Stampin' Up! Betsy's Blossoms for Fathers Day!

Hi everyone
Can you tell that I'm might be getting addicted to the Dynamic Duos Challenge blog and the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge ??? :)

For my card, I used the leaf stamp from Betsy's Blossoms and was inspired by these two cards by Mary Fish.....here.....and here . I like how Mary used the leaf to make a custom designer series paper in the first card....and I was really inspired by the boldness of the second card...the way Mary has used a dark colour on a lighter neutral....it is so striking! :)

I loved how well River Rock, Whisper White & Basic Black went together...I would have never guessed....that is the great thing about these challenges....the more you do, the more your colour palette expands.

Materials used:
Stamps - Betsy's Blossoms, Well Scripted (retired)
Ink - Basic Black
Cardstock - Whisper White smooth & textured, Basic Black, River Rock, River Rock Designer Series Paper from the Neutrals stack
Accessories - misc brads
Tools - Paper Cutter, Snail, Itty Bitty Punch pack, Mat Pack, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch, Large Oval Punch 

Stampin' Up! Mixed Bunch - Dynamic Duos #12

Hello!

There is a wonderful new challenge blog called Dynamic Duos .It is really cool....check it out!

This week's Dynamic Duo Challenge is Poppy Parade + Basic Black with a 'dessert option' of punches.

For my card, I used the Scandinavian design from Stampin' Up! Mixed Bunch....I like this stamp as it reminds me of Kikki K stationery, or something that you might see on an Ikea cushion! :)

I layered this punch onto a 'sneak peek' stamp (yet to be released here in Australia, but not long now if you can hold out until 1st September). I was lucky enough to receive this stamp set at Convention back in May. :)

This was going to be a very Clean & Simple card, but to continue the 'punches' theme,  I had thought of doing a ribbon banner with punched out windows, so I used my Itty Bitty Punches and a strip of Basic Black cardstock and punched out a series of them. I layered this onto some Basic Black satin ribbon.

I haven't added a sentiment as I thought I'd keep my options open....plus it would just be my luck to smudge the last thing that I stamped, so I thought I would quit while I was ahead!! LOL!

Hope you like my card!! :)

Materials used:
Stamps - Mixed Bunch + "I can't tell you yet!!!"
Ink - Poppy Parade, Basic Black
Cardstock - Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories - Basic Black Glimmer Brad, Basic Black Satin Ribbon
Tools - Blossom Punch, Itty Bitty Punches, Mat Pack, Dimensionals, Multipurpse Liquid Glue, Paper Trimmer   

Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration ESAD Blog Hop

Greetings Blog-hoppers!
Welcome to Gothdove Designs!! Hope you are enjoying the ESAD Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop....and feasting on the Stampin' Up! wonderment created by the lovely ladies from ESAD....it's a fantastic group to belong to!

What is ESAD?

ESAD stands for "Extra Special Australasian Demonstrators" and it is an on-line group just for Australian and New Zealand Stampin Up demonstrators.

We so love what we do and not only do we love to share it with our customers, friends, and wonderful blog visitors, but we share our love for what we do with each other as demonstrators. We run swaps, challenges, tutorials, product know-how, and cyberstamps, and we are always there to help and support each other when it is needed.

So if you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator located in Australia or New Zealand, then please feel free to click here to join our wonderful group.

So onto my Sale-A-Bration creations......

The Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper from this year's Sale-A-Bration is BEAUTIFUL!!! So beautiful, I almost didn't want to cut it!....but I gave in in the name of creativity. When I first looked at it, the paper spoke 'folk-art' to me (in a good way!!).......you know, that wonderful vintage Ikea- Kikki K- Scandinavian-sort-of neo-folk design....but I thought I would go against instinct and use a piece of the paper in a modern way...with my Cupcake Builder Punch + a bit of bling. This card sketch is an oldie, but a goodie....so simple but still effective. I used the Decorative Label Punch to punch a piece of DSP as the base layer under a Very Vanilla strip. The bottom of the cupcake is the "blue" Everyday Enchantments DSP and what's that on top?........Is it Calypso Coral Glimmer Paper you ask?????

WELL.....for the frosting......I used a sponge dauber to apply Calypso Coral ink to a piece of the Silver Glimmer Paper...did you know you could sponge the glimmer paper!!!! Just think....Glimmer Paper in ANY of the Stampin' Up! colours!!! In my previous post, I sponged it with Daffodil Delight......so cool!!! Just a tip....wait for it to dry before assembling your project....the ink will be wet for a little while. I used this same technique for the sentiment scallop oval. It really looks VERY sparkly in real life! :)

For my next card, I used the 5-Petal Flower Punch to punch out 3 flowers from Lucky Limeade cardstock...then I sponged the edges with Versamark to give some depth....and get this...the Boho Blossom punch layers perfectly over the floral design on the blue/green/vanilla Everyday Enchantment DSP.

Layers perfectly! ! 'tis TRUE!

Add the brads from your SAB ribbon/brad kit and voila!....gorgeous little flowers! I really like the way these came up. :)

I made the stalks out of the SAB Lucky Limeade ribbon and made the Calypso Coral ribbon into a little bow for the bouquet. I put it all on Naturals Ivory cardstock with the sentiment from "Friendly Phrases" - I REALLY like this sentiment set.....you know when you think you have enough sentiment sets....and then Stampin' Up! bring out a set like this!! Put it on your wishlist now. Just do it. No arguments.

Oh and here's what you do with the other Boho Blossom flowers that get punched out while making the other card.... I am so loathe to throw punched shapes away. :)

...and finally....did you know that you can curl the SAB organdy ribbon....lookie here!! :)

My card recipes are below if you want any further info but let's get cracking onto the next stop on the ESAD Blog Hop...the very talented Corina Beyer at http://www.beyondinkstamper.com/

Thanks for stopping to have a look at my blog! xx

Materials used:
Card 1
Stamps - Create-A-Cupcake
Ink - Calypso Coral
Cardstock - Everyday Enchantment DSP, Very Vanilla smooth CS, Very Vanilla textured CS, Silver Glimmer Paper, Red Glimmer Paper
Tools - Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Cupcake Builder Punch, Sponge Dauber

Card 2
Stamps - Friendly Phrases
Ink - Lucky Limeade, Versamark
Cardstock - Everyday Enchantment DSP, Naturals Ivory, Lucky Limeade
Accessories - Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brads
Tools - 5 Petal Flower Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Mat Pack, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Card 3
Stamps - Perfect Punches
Ink - Lucky Limeade
Cardstock - Everyday Enchantment DSP, Naturals Ivory
Accessories - Everyday Enchantment Brad
Tools - Decorative Label Punch, Extra Large Oval Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Mat Pack

Card 4
Stamps - Perfect Punches
Ink - Poppy Parade, Versamark
Cardstock - Everyday Enchantment DSP, Calypso Coral, Red Glimmer Paper, Lucky Limeade (for flower)
Accessories - Everyday Enchantment Brad & Ribbon, Brights Brad (Real Red)
Tools - Scallop Square Duo Bigz Die, Curly Label Punch, Itty Bitty Punches, Mat Pack

Baby Girl Card - ColorLab Challenge

I created this card for my friend's baby - she is due in about 6 weeks, but I'm due in about 2 weeks so I thought I'd better get the card ready now. :)

This was also for the ColorLab Color Challenge #31 which involved matching Pink Pirouette with Peach Parfait & Baja Breeze. It wasn't a combo that looked like it would work, but it seemed to team quite nicely - especially with a crisp white.

Even though I had a piece of of Pink Pirouette CS, I only had ink in Blushing Bride so the stamp is inked in that - you can't really tell though.

Materials used:
Cardstock - Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Peach Parfait

Ink - Blushing Bride, Versamark (for edge of card)
Embellishments - Kaisercraft rhinestones

Tools - Cuttlebug embossing folder Swiss Dots, Itty Bitty Punches