Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and as it's the fifth Sunday of the month I have a tic-tac-toe challenge for us to work with:
I made a board filled with the things I love to craft with, so there are plenty of creative combinations to choose from! I chose the middle column of flowers/free/word die and decided to make a colourful rainbow slimline card - take a look:
Here's the low-down on today's card:
Floral Impressions - Whilst I've used both the stamps and dies from the Online Exclusives Impressions Abloom on previous projects, I had not yet been brave enough to cut into my Floral Impressions paper. As a DSP lover I had considered it several times, but it was just too pretty! In the end, I decided too pretty not to use so chose my favourite sheet, showcasing a rainbow of flowers, and got my paper trimmer ready! I may or may not have already purchased a second pack of this paper this month, as it's one of the ones that has 15% off during this month's in-color sale. Today is the last day when you are able to take advantage of the in-color sale promotion, so if you need a second pack of this paper too, or any of the other in-color products included in the promotion, here's your reminder to click on the link below and place your order!
CASE The Catalogue - The eagle-eyed amongst you might feel like there's something familiar about today's card - and you may well be right. Today's card is a CASE of one on page 41 of the current Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. To CASE - Copy And Share Everything - is a great way to take a project and use it to inspire something completely different, but where you can still see the source of the inspiration. An unwritten rule is that you should change at least 3 things for your card to be considered original and distinct from the project you are CASEing. So in my CASE, I retained the slimline layout, but I changed out my strips for a rainbow of flowers in a different paper pattern. I changed the stamped banner sentiment for one based around the Sweet Blooms 'Bloom' layered diecut (one of my favourites and the perfect encouraging sentiment to play over at Time Out this week) and whilst I retained the cluster of accent flowers, I incorporated more texture and detail (more on that below). If you compare the projects side by side, it's easy to see how the first card inspired the second one, even though my card today is my original work.
Try Something New - In CASEing the card in the catalogue, it did cause me to try something new on today's card. The flower accent on the sample consisted of a mix of diecut florals and a flower fussy cut from the Florals In Bloom designer paper. Whilst I ordinarily wouldn't mix in this way, I decided to give it a go and in the end made an accent from a variety of diecuts and florals cut from another of the papers in the Floral Impressions pack, but also added in some large golden yellow enamel dots and a fuzzy flower middle from my stash that I thought worked well, having first coloured the edges of it with my Early Espresso marker pen to tone in with the diecut florals. It's difficult to pick up the detail in the main photograph, especially as the background strips are so busy - the close up below shows a little more of the detail:
This adds more texture and dimension and whilst this is something of a departure for me, I really like the effect - and I wouldn't have tried it if the catalogue sample hadn't inspired me to give it a go. What do you think? Do you ever CASE projects in this way? Leave me a comment below - I'd love to know where you find your inspiration.
Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:
You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any.
Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:
The Paper Players Design Team
Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:
1. Create a new paper project
2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
3. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4. Have FUN!
Enjoy your day; we are hoping for sunshine here to round off this weekend's second cricket game, but I'm note sure we will be in luck. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!
Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:
