November 30, 2016

Basket of Sunflowers - Artisan Design Team Blog Hop

Hello friends, and welcome back for another Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team blog hop!  We are hopping around the world tonight - our second last one of the year, sadly - which means you're probably coming from Rachel in France.  Thanks for visiting me (Shannon in Canada) today!

This week's post is an "open" hop, which means we can choose whatever we'd like from the last box of Artisan supplies.  Much to my surprise, I still had three stamp sets that were entirely unused!  I needed to remedy that, so I cracked open Basket of Wishes.  And I knew I wanted to use the gorgeous sunflower!


The colours in the All Year Long Project Life collection would coordinate perfectly with the images in this stamp set, so I pulled those too - Very Vanilla, Mint Macaron, Early Espresso, Delightful Dijon, and Crumb Cake.  So beautiful together, and great to accompany a basket of sunflowers.  I love the delicate printed vellum and the bold woodgrain.  So lovely!  


I'm a sucker for a good sentiment, but sometimes, a blank card is exactly what you need.  A delicate image stamped on the envelope adds a nice touch, too!

Let's visit Steffi next and see what she has up her sleeve...


Have a great day - happy stamping!   

Cheers,
Shannon

Watercolour Jar

Hello friends!

A few weeks ago, I spent some time working on watercolour.  Colouring has never been a strong suit of mine, and while I've become comfortable with the Blender Pens over the last year or two, watercolour is still my nemesis.  You'll be seeing a lot of watercolour coming up in the next few weeks!

This card was a fun trial and error - it's easy to practice on images that don't require precision, so a jar was a great place to start!


Filling the jar with bright touches of yellow and pink was lots of fun; watching the colours swirl and blend together, without having to worry about things going awry!  Not a bad place to start, if you're like me and really struggle with watercolouring!

Cheers - see you again in a handful of hours for an Artisan Design Team blog hop!

Cheers,
Shannon

November 25, 2016

Snow Much Love

Hello friends!  Can you believe that today is one month until christmas day?  I can't believe how the last few weeks have flown by.

This fun card was put together with Mountain Adventure, a fabulous winter set from the holiday catalogue.  I didn't realize at first that this set is regional - it's not available in the South Pacific market, since christmas falls in the summer on that side of the world.  Pretty nifty, right?  


We definitely, certainly, very-much get winter where I live, though, and I love this set - perfect for all occasions, not just christmas!  My favourite part, though, is the shimmer of Wink Of Stella on the mountain tops.  Isn't it lovely?

Thanks for stopping in - see you soon!

Cheers,
Shannon

November 16, 2016

Artisan Design Team Blog Hop: All Wrapped Up with Fancy Frost, Here's To Cheers, and Tin of Tags

Hi friends, and welcome back to another Artisan Design Team blog hop!  We are the official design team of Stampin' Up!, and you're in for a virtual trip around the world as we share some holiday gift packaging with you today.  You're here with Shannon in Canada, and you'll be off to Steffi in Germany next - enjoy!

Today's blog hop comes with a funny story.  If you've been here before, you'll know that I typically have 3 or more photos (sometimes up to 12!) for my blog hop projects - lots of detail shots and focus on different items and aspects.  And this week's would've been no different, if it weren't for my own stupidity... Long story short, I took the photos and submitted my project to Stampin' Up!, and then I deleted the photos without saving them.  And then I realized this yesterday, so I thought "that's okay - I can retake them!  Lots of time to spare!"  And then I remembered that once these photos were done, my bestie and I tore apart the packaging and ate the goodies inside.

I wish I was kidding because this is just that ridiculous - but that's basically the kind of person I am in a nutshell.  Hi, it's nice to meet you.  :)


As I mentioned, our theme this week is holiday gift packaging - and nothing says holiday to me like Real Red.  It is THE quintessential perfect christmas red.  And nothing compliments red in a perfect, classy way like crisp white and fabulous silver.

Starting with a base of Fancy Frost DSP makes any project super glamourous.  The fabulous, thick, rich, crisp white cardstock is embossed with beautiful patterns - just enough of a touch to make it totally over-the-top gorgeous, yet a perfectly neutral base, perfect for embellishment.  The Tin of Tags kit has embellishment in spades.  Most of the gorgeous touches on these projects come straight out of this kid - the silver doilies, the red tassles, the striped paper, the silver twine, and the skinny washi tape.  All total perfection!  And with some beautiful sentiments stamped in Real Red, the treats are sealed and ready for delivery.  Love!


Don't hesitate to reuse the beautiful red polka dot tin that the kit comes in - it is perfect for holiday gift giving!

Let's hop over to Steffi now and see what she's whipped up this week.


Thanks for stopping in to join us on our blog hop - and happy holiday crafting!

Cheers,
Shannon

November 14, 2016

Jolly Santa

Hello friends!  It is mid-November, which means I (begrudgingly!) shift into Christmas mode - I'm not a Christmas person (my bestie says it's one of my fatal flaws, along with my love of game shows) but I've at least got to try! 

Jolly Friends is one of the most adorable sets in the 2016 Holiday Catalogue, and you'll be seeing lots of it in the coming weeks - the sweet images are perfect for any recipient!  I wanted to start with the Santa and keep is classic.  


His sweet little face is just perfection - combined with a few tiny touches of red and classic black, white, and silver, this classic card is perfect for anyone on your list!

Have a fabulous day - see you Wednesday night for an Artisan Design Team blog hop!

Cheers,
Shannon