The Open Seas

CCMC162 – The Open Seas

August 11, 2011 By Connie | 13 Comments

Taking a break today from showing off my Wedding projects! Thank you for all the sweet comments! I do enjoy hearing them!

Here is the Create with Connie and Mary Sketch Challenge this week! We have a FUN one for you to try. You'll be amazed at all the different looks we got from the Design Team! Check it out over on Create with Connie and Mary!

I decided to make a masculine card and use Stampin' Up!'s The Open Seas stamp set…this set is NOT in the big catalog, so August 31st will be the last day to order it and the coordinating Nautical Expedition Designer Paper! Don't miss out!

I started with a base of Night of Navy. I added a layer of Crumb Cake that I ran thru the Big Shot sideways with the Stripes Impressions Folder…I had to run it thru twice, overlapping the stripes on one end so I could get it to cover the entire width of the card. I also only partially embossed it…but the Nautical Expedition Designer Paper at the top hid the non-embossed area. I wanted the stripes of the Impressions Folder to stand out, so I used my sponge and Soft Suede Classic Ink…rubbing it across the front to highlight the stripes. I added the little anchor print from Nautical Expedition DSP to the top and then a strip of the Denim Ribbon! That gave it a real rustic look to go with my "faux wood plank" background.

I stamped the ledger and ship from The Open Seas stamp set in Crumb Cake and Early Espresso on a 3" Bigz Circle of Whisper White cardstock. I used my Circle Scissors and cut a 3 1/4" circle from Night of Navy. I layered the two together and placed the top partially under the DSP. I added the compass and the cut out anchor. Then I decided I needed a greeting. I used the new Petite Pairs stamp set and stamped Sending Many Thanks in Night of Navy on Whisper White, punched it with the Modern Label punch and cut it in half to tuck under the anchor. I added an Antique Pewter Mini brad to the center of the compass. For a different look on the ribbon, I cut some more Denim Ribbon and looped it over the existing ribbon, then used another Antique Pewter Mini Brad to secure it. I think it is a more masculine look than a bow would have been!

Thanks for stopping by…make sure to check out the rest of the Design Team, then pull out your stamps and play along! Add your card to Inlinkz over on Create with Connie and Mary!

Tomorrow I'll be sharing my Rehearsal Dinner centerpieces! Sharing creativity one stamped image at a time!

Create with Connie and Mary – Week 1 Challenge

May 21, 2011 By Connie | 2 Comments

It's time for our Week 1 challenge for subscribers of the Create with Connie and Mary Summer Edition! Subscribers can play along and get a chance to win one of two $75 merchandise gift certificates or one of two Holiday Edition subscriptions FREE! They just upload their creation over on the subscriber-side of Create with Connie and Mary! But…everyone can enjoy what the CCM Design Team has made for this week's challenge by checking out Create with Connie and Mary. It's not too late for you to subscribe and join in on the fun and play along for a chance to win!

Our first challenge is a color challenge using the above colors of Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso and Basic Gray along with a Neutral. I used Crumb Cake as my neutral. Here is my card using Stampin' Up!'s The Open Seas stamp set (again!)

I wanted a kind of panel look to the background, so I used three different prints from Nautical Expedition Designer Paper and layered them on Cherry Cobbler. I added that to the base card of Crumb Cake. I stamped the ship with Not Quite Navy Classic Ink on Crumb Cake, then punched it with the 1 3/4 Circle punch. I took Bakers Twine and wrapped it around a 2 1/2 Punched Circle of Not Quite Navy many times…I like how it looks sort of like a ships wheel! The ship element is placed on top with Stampin' Dimensionals and then it is placed on the card with more Stampin' Dimensionals. I added two silver Jumbo brads in the upper left corner.

I stamped 24/7 from Hodgepodge Happiness in Early Espresso on Crumb Cake and then punched with the 1" Circle Punch and placed it partially under the 2 1/2 circle on the front. I'm really happy with how this card turned out!

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Create with Connie and Mary Design Team did this week over on Create with Connie and Mary. Then…why not sign up? You'll still have accses to all the projects we've done so far and they stay up long after the session is over!

Stamping 411 – The Open Seas

May 20, 2011 By Connie | 3 Comments

This week on Stamping 411, we have another fun sketch for you to try! Make sure to upload your creation over on Stamping 411…we love to see what you make!

My card uses Stampin' Up!'s The Open Sea stamp set again this week. This one came together pretty quickly and I love the clean lines of it.

I started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. I layered on Crumb Cake cardstock that I ran thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. At the bottom, I placed a strip of Nautical Expedition Designer Paper, covering the seam with some Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon that is wrapped around to the back and adhered.

I stamped the globe image from The Open Seas stamp set in Early Espresso ink on Whisper White, then layered it on Cherry Cobbler cardstock. That is placed on top of the anchor print from Nautical Expedition. I stamped the compass from with Early Espresso on Crumb Cake, then punched with the 1 1/4 Circle Punch and layered on the 1 3/8" circle of Cherry Cobbler. I placed an Antique Brad in the center. I stamped Happy Father's Day from Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set in Early Espresso on Crumb Cake and punched with the Decorative Label punch, cut it in half, and placed it under the Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon.

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Stamping 411 Design Operators did this week! They are all fabulous, I'm sure!

Sharing creativity one stamped image at a time!

May Tour de Freaks Blog Tour!

May 19, 2011 By Connie | 12 Comments

It’s time for the WONDERFUL Tour de Freaks, brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers! Now…you’ve probably just come from Lisa Young’s blog…weren’t her projects fabulous? Of course…all the Freaks do a WONDERFUL job with this blog hop! Our theme this month is For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow…masculine and Father’s Day projects. If you are arriving prior to May 20th, please note that not all links may be working yet.

This month I thought I’d feature The Open Seas stamp set for my projects. I’m so happy that Stampin’ Up! has a nice selection of masculine products in the Summer Mini! Now…due to time constraints, I sort of combined these with items I am taking with me on the SU Alaska Cruise! Woohoo! The first card is one that I will hand over to Stampin’ Up! to post on the boards on the ship.

I started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock and layered on Crumb Cake. I stamped along the left side with the large globe in Early Espresso. Then I placed a strip of Sticky Strip and ruffled the 1 1/4 Striped Ribbon that I cut down narrower and ragged the edges. I stamped three of the anchors with Versamark and embossed them with a mixture of Gold and Silver Embossing Powders, then cut them out. I placed them on a piece of Early Espresso cardstock that I ran thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. I punched a hole in the top of the anchors with the Crop A Dile, then pulled the Early Espresso Bakers Twine thru and adhered across the top. To cover the ends, I punched the Modern Label from Brushed Gold Cardstock and stamped Happy Father’s Day with Early Espresso ink on Very Vanilla and punched with the Word Window punch. I layered it on top and added Silver mini brads at each end. I was going for a award metal look with the hanging anchors! The focal piece is layered on more Brushed Gold cardstock and placed on the front of the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For my second project, I again used The Open Seas, but I made this for a gift for my upline and another friend who also earned the Alaska Cruise Incentive Trip. It has a masculine feel with that stamp set and Nautical Expedition Designer Paper and you could easily substitute the word “Alaska” with “Father”! It’s a Waterfall Mini Album that I made for them to place some pictures of the places we visit. I hope I don’t get in trouble that I “fudged” on the theme just a little bit! lol!

I kept it pretty simple for a couple reasons. One, I wanted something that could be duplicated for a class and two, you don’t want the waterfall pages to get stuck on any embellishments. The photos will make it even thicker than it is now and you still want it to work and close properly.

I only showed you a few of the photos because we have a limit on the number of photos we can post AND I’m VERY short on time before I leave!

Hope you enjoyed my projects…I’d LOVE to hear from you with a comment! Next stop is the FABULOUS Mary Brown…I know you’ll love her projects…I know I do!

Sharing creativity one stamped image at a time!

Stamping 411 – The Open Seas

May 13, 2011 By Connie | 13 Comments

Yes, another very cool sketch from Stamping 411 for you to try this week! I'm sure it will be very popular!

I knew immediately when I saw the sketch this week what I was going to do. I used Stampin' Up's awesome masculine set, The Open Seas, available in the Summer Mini This is a technique I used in my Technique Class this month…I called it Faux Parchment.

The base of the card is Soft Suede. I distressed the edges of the Crumb Cake layer and added the map print from Newsprint Designer Paper, sponging around all the edges with Soft Suede Classic Ink…and on the map DSP itself. I wrapped around the Basic Black 1 1/4 Stripe Grosgrain Ribbon, then tied on the Jewelry Tag with Linen Thread. It is stamped with 4 You from Tiny Tags Stamp Set in Soft Suede. I added two of the brads from Vintage Trinkets in the upper left corner and the safety pin above the Jewelry Tag.

I cut the larger Scallop Square from the Square Duo Die in Soft Suede and crumbled it up, then used Soft Suede ink around the edges. I added the Faux Parchment Technique square, embossed with The Open Seas ship over top. The ledger is stamped in the background, too. I love how real the "parchment" looks! Again, the edges were distressed with the Distressing Tool and sponged with Soft Suede! My Technique Class really loved this card!

I love the masculine look and feel to this card! Make sure to check out what the rest of the Stamping 411 Design Operators did this week! I'm sure you will be amazed!

Stamping 411 Reveal

April 27, 2011 By Connie | 2 Comments

Wow…that was a tough contest, wasn't it? The Stamping 411 Operators really changed things up. I thought I had a pretty good handle on whose card was whose…ended up that I only had THREE right! Not even the one that I had posted on MY blog! lol! Oh well!

So…HERE is the card that I posted last Friday…did you guess right? If you guessed GRETCHEN…you would be correct! I didn't…I thought for sure it was Kerin's card!

Anyway…here is MINE:

Since the Stampin' Up! Alaska cruise I'm taking in a few weeks has been on my mind lately, I thought of doing a "port hole" for my nautical card! Stampin' Up! has a wonderful new set called, The Open Seas, in the Summer Mini. I stamped the anchor from this set in Cherry Cobbler on Sahara Sand and punched with the 1 3/4 Circle punch. Then I punched the 2 1/2 Circle from Early Espresso. I measured top to bottom and side to side and pierced holes for the Vintage Brads to go around the circle.

The base of the card is Sahara Sand and I textured the front with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. I placed a section of the Nautical Expedition Designer Paper (anchor print) on the front and the coordinating stripe print across the top. I used the Curly Label punch and made a row of scallops along the bottom, and placed one for the greeting above the Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine that was wrapped around three times. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and stamped in Early Espresso Classic Ink.

I had a lot of fun making my card. I hope you all had lots of fun playing along with the Operators this week! If you want to see whose cards were whose, you can see them all over on Stamping 411.

And…the winner of my Blog Candy is…………………

Mitzi Luttrull said:

My guess for this card is Gretchen. Thanks for doing this fun game.

She even guessed right! Congrats, Mitzi! Please EMAIL me with your address!