Dragon Fly Dreams Card - with Stampin Up Watercolour Pencils

So, it was the massive Stampin' Up! annual catalogue launch last Thursday.  One can only imagine tens of thousands of orders pouring in on one single day, including mine.  No joke.

Whilst I  wonder when my first order is gonna come, I flip through my stash of numerous unused papers, stamps and dies, and begin to use the watercolour pencils on the designer paper "Inside the Lines" (the one with flowers, dragonflies and bees).  It came surprisingly well. So I put some papers together and made a card out of it.

Again, surprisingly the detestable Hello Honey (oops did I just say that) go so well with the Blackberry Bliss.  It just goes to prove that no colour is unusable, even the undelightful Delightful Dijon, which I happen to have as well.  

The star of the card is without doubt the watercolour pencils. They came in 13 vibrant pencils and I chose Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive and the lovely Daffodil Delight.  With the help of the Blending Pens all of a sudden the colours come alive and you get a beautiful result.

I suggest everyone should have a set of the watercolour pencils.  They are so easy to apply, work absolute magic and are only $27.75!  And of course you'll need the high quality Specialty Designer Series Paper like these.  The images match the current stamps and makes it simple to match and look professional with your projects.

And yes the Hello Honey ink pad is on clearance price at $4.6 (RRP $11.5) until sold out. That's the colour I used on both bees.



You may be interested in these: 

Happy Birthday - Masculine Card for a Mate

Several days ago I made a card for Peter M, my husband's good mate and ex- coworker since decades ago, whose birthday is coming soon.   Peter (my husband)  told me that Peter M's having his birthday away with his siblings coming from NZ and Brisbane, so I guess I'll have to give the card to him after he comes back.

Peter and Peter are always goofy when they get together.  Although they haven't seen each other for many years with Peter being an expat all over the world, they still bound and remain good mates.
I've never seen my husband so chatty with another person other than me, so you can just imagine what sort of person Peter M is.  Besides being pleasant'y chatty too, he's always a joy to talk to, and is absolutely lovable.   When my Peter was looking for a new job after we moved back to Oz last year, Peter M had always tried to call and catch up with him at least once a week.  I could see that he tried to cheer my Peter up since job-seeking at this time of the economy was not entirely like a summer breeze.   He found a new job later in April so the stress was taken out a great deal.  Not a perfect job, but not bad either.

Now, there's something I haven't mentioned.  Peter M lost his partner early this year, and the terrible sickness had taken her away and along with his cheerful spirit too.  He couldn't eat or sleep well, he looked terrible at that time,  and had since lost a lot of weight.  We love Peter dearly, and therefore always invited him over for coffee or dinner quite often.  And I guess from January to April was the special time when both Peters needed a great deal of morale support from each other, and they gave each other that.  They talked about anything and everything, from the goals in life to that drilling tool on special at Aldi's.  They would go bike riding with other mates for a whole day and then had dinner altogether.   I'm happy to say that Peter M has at least cheered up quite a bit from then, and although not fully recovered from the loss, he has at least put himself together.

Peter M and I would go out too.  We have been to IKEA and Costco, and chatted along and laughed a lot.  We talked about life, work, and the future too.  To me he's a dear friend as well, and he demonstrates what friendship is all about.  He supports my husband spiritually whilst he himself needs it at the most difficult time of his life.  You can't ask more than that from a friend.

And here's Happy Birthday, Peter!

I use Hello Honey cardstock for the base, and Moonlight Designer Series Paper Pack.  I got the paper pack from clearance a couple of months ago and it's a steal.  Got lots of simple geomatric patterns, perfect for masculine styled cards.

The stamp set is from Sale-bration early this year.

PS: For men's birthday I never think it's a good idea to put bows or ribbons on.  It's just too feminine.  Unless he specifically likes those things.  To me a men's greeting card should always be simple and cool.  They don't want flowers or butterflies so don't put them on just because we like them.

I use the following Stampin' Up materials for this card:

Happy Birthday Card: Lettuce Celebrate!

News of the week:

The Annual 2016/2017 Stampin' Up catalogue is finally online on June 1st!

This is all very exciting to me as well as my friends who are into the awesome SU products.    Anyone can directly order online (domestic shipping only)  or contact their demonstrators for further details of the purchase.  And I just can't wait for my order to arrive at the doorstep.


Now there's another way of looking at this news.  Reality tells us that not everyone can splurge 500 dollars on these crafty things straight away.  In fact, many people have to think twice even before spending 50 dollars on something crafty, which is quite understandable when it comes to priorities in life.  Does milk and bread come before the hobby?  Of course yes.  This is why some people choose to be customers, rather than joining Stampin' Up whereas once becoming a demonstrator, you'll have to maintain a seasonal purchase quota to remain the title.  As a customer you will buy it when you have money to spend on your hobby and not bound by the SU policies.  This makes total sense
 

In this regard, I recon there is still a way to get some of the things you want without having to spend money on every single item in the catalogue.  Product-sharing.  It means that you and your friends can place one order together, and share some of the items such as twines, embellishments, papers and so on.  In fact I think you can share all but the stamps, dies and other tools.  This is how my friends  (who are new demonstrators as well) and I make it work.  We share card stocks, papers, and other accessories while we order our own stamps, dies etc.  This way we all get what we want without spending a lot on the same things.

I don't want my friends or customers to be stressful about having to spend lots of money.  So I highly recommend product sharing. And as a crappy salesperson I would say the best way to save money while still being able to craft with SU products, is just go to craft classes.  See how the demonstrators use the supplies to make gorgeous cards and gift bags.


Alright now back to the card.  I made this card from this retiring stamp set called "Market Fresh" and I am just glad that I decided to get it before end of May.  It's simple and unique, and I couldn't be happier.  This stamp set will be in my hobby stash and will never retire.

 I haven't worked out the best green colour for the lettuce so it looks a bit funny.  But you can't notice it from a distance hehe.

I still have problems with the lightness of the photo, which I have been working on.  But at least the background issue has been solved.  (My background used to be my window and and backyard plants, and they were not complimenting the card at all!) 


I use the folliwing products:

Sending Wishes Your Way - the very Clever Butterfly Basics Stamp Set from Stampin' Up

Just some thoughts.

Since I got the fresh and new catalogue for 2016/2017 with my last order, I have been browsing it from time to time.  There are so many inspirations and possibilities that only those who have been paper-crafting for some time know.  But I also know that not everyone is as excited as I am.  

My friend, for example, loves the Stampin' Up inspirations.  So she gladly take whatever free books, catalogues and some of the old stamps and papers that I don't want anymore.  But yesterday I asked if she would like to pay 5 dollars for the new catalogue, she said no.  I feel a bit frustrated.  Perhaps she needs more time to really get the joy from cardmaking (which she came twice to my house to use everything and made 3 cards and 1 3D craft, and took my new glue without paying)  

Perhaps she's just one of those friends who really have to watch where every penny goes.  I don't know.  I don't expect to make money out of her pocket, which I never do.  I just want to share the joy and fun with my friends.  

Anyway, enough ranting.  Happy time now.

Yesterday morning I saw a page on the new 2016/2017 catalogue which gave me an inspiration.  It was a treat bag using the Butterfly Basics stamp set.  So I thought I CASE it on a card and see how it goes.  It turned out great.

This is rather pretty, and it's easy to make because you have all the elements ready in the stamp set.  All you need is some card stock for card base and die-cutting, then you're good.  You can use any baker's twine for the bow.  I use the one with gold accents to add a bit of pop. 

For this card I use