More PURE COLORS

Hello...hello...Joni here! I hope you are loving the new PURE COLOR South Beach Collection so far. They really complement the Original PURE COLOR Collection. For my first project the inks I used are Flamingo, Miami Spice, Coconut Husk, Silver Lining, and Appletini.

1. For the card base I smooshed the ink pad into the bottom of my card stock to dye it the Coconut Husk color at the bottom. You can simply smooshed any of your PURE COLOR ink pads on any white cardstock for an instant colored cardstock.
2. Next, I cut a panel same size as the A2 card base, stamped the image from Borders & Backgrounds 2 in Silver Lining ink and die-cut the bottom using the Scalloped Border Die.

3. Then, I die-cut the center of the panel to create a shaker card, filling it with sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.
4. For the sentiments, I used the stamp set Fanciful Feathers. I stamped "So Grateful" in Coconut Husk and "For Your Kindness" in Miami Spice inks, both from the new South Beach Collection.
5. Before adhering everything together, I distressed the card base with Miami Spice. I wanted to give just the hint of the softness from the color scheme. You can see at the bottom of the sentiment just the right hint of peach..Love <3 this colors so much!

For my second card, I used the Coconut Husk, Ocean Drive, and Mojito.

1. I started by stamping the tiny flowers from Valentine Wishes stamp set on by top panel of card stock. I used the Second Generation Stamping Technique for the flower background. I stamped it first on a piece of scrap paper and then stamped the image on the panel without re-inking the stamp.
2. Next, I die-cut white cardstock and vellum using the Spring Wreath die and adhered them onto the panel.
3. For the flower, I used the Pretty Poinsettias stamps and companion die.

4. After die-cutting the flowers, I distressed them using Ocean Drive on the large flower, and Mojito on the smaller flower. So loving this color combo! The leaves are distressed with Coconut Husk.
5. To finish the flowers I stamped some of the detail images using the Second Generation Stamping Technique.

6. All the sentiments are inked with Coconut Husk. I'm really loving this shade of brown - not too dark and not too light. The "Friend" sentiment is from Fanciful Feathers, and "I Hope Your Day Is Extra Special Just Like You" is from Strictly Sentiments 4.

For my last project, I went wild and used most of the inks in the collection, some original and some new. From the South Beach Collection, I used Coconut Husk, Mojito and Miami Spice. I also used Lake House, Silver Lining, Sweet Gelato, Nautical Navy, Appletini and Wild Mango. I used the stamp set Paisley Patterns , one of my favorites.

1. To begin this card I cut a panel a little bit smaller than the regular A2 card.
2. I stamped the larger paisley first and then filled them with the other images from the the set.

3. For the sentiment, I die-cut the Hand Lettered Hello from the panel and then adhered the panel onto the woodgrain patterned paper from Crate Paper.
4. At the bottom of "hello" I stamped the "Sweet Friend" sentiment from the Hand Lettered Hello stamp set in Nautical Navy.

I hope that you are enjoying viewing these FABULOUS ink colors! Remember, the South Beach Collection will be available for purchase on June 5, 2014, at www.wplus9.com as a whole collection and individuals.

And be sure to stop by Kara's blog and Maureen's to see more of this new color collection in action!

Thank you so much for joining me! Have a Wonderful Day :)

Introducing the PURE COLOR South Beach Collection

Are you ready for summer?

I know I am! This is Kara and after a long cold winter in the northeast I've been dreaming of somewhere warm, sunny, and full of color; somewhere like South Beach, Miami. It's no wonder Dawn chose this vibrant city as the inspiration for WPlus9's new Pure Color Dye Ink Collection!

This new collection of colors will be available for purchase on June 5, 2014, at www.wplus9.com as a whole collection and individually.

Wplus9 PURECOLOR South Beach Collection

Vibrant color and even coverage for easy stamping.

• Acid-free, archival, and fade resistant
• Waterproof for watercolors & markers
• Dries permanently & quickly on most papers
• Full sized pads with raised surface for easy inking of all stamp sizes
• Color absorbs as it dries for even stamping every time
• Approx. 4 x 2.75"
• Will be available June 5, 2014 for $6 each

***Available exclusively at www.wplus9.com, not available for wholesale.***

With names like Mojito, Miami Spice, and Flamingo, they really had me inspired.

The colors are vivid and eye-catching! If you love the Original 10 Collection you are going to love these too. They have the same great properties that we love about the original inks, for example, the awesome coverage! Each of these die cut letters has been colored with the new ink using a finger dauber.

I used images from the Dockside stamp set to represent the letter in the word or the object that the word spells out.

Wplus9 Supplies:

Stamps: Dockside // Inks: Ocean Drive, Miami Spice, Flamingo, Mojito, Coconut Husk (available 06/05/14) // Dies: Folk Art Alphabet // Cardstock: White

Several of the teacher's that I work with are retiring at the end of this school year. I made this card for one of them. I think it's a fun and funny sentiment for retirement.

It's like they are jumping ship and leaving us high and dry.  'S.O.S! Man Overboard', get it? ;)

You can't think of Miami without picturing a sunset. The colors in this collection make a beautiful one. I created a mask for the sun by die cutting a circle and then trimming off the bottom slightly. Then I swiped the ink pads directly onto the card stock. With a finger dauber, I added just a bit of color to the masked circle so it wasn't a stark white. To create silhouettes, I stamped some leaves from Spring Blooms and images from Dockside in black ink. To finish it off, I sprayed the whole thing with  shimmer mist to capture the feeling of scintillation.

Wplus9 Supplies:

Stamps: Dockside, Spring Blooms, Heartfelt Mix // Inks: Ocean Drive, Miami Spice, Flamingo, Coconut Husk (available 06/05/14) // Cardstock: White, Black

 

I chose a sentiment from Heartfelt Mix that reflects the feeling you get from a little R&R, refreshed and renewed. OK, now I need a vacation! Thanks for stopping by.

In the days ahead Dawn, The Design Team, and I will be sharing more South Beach inspiration.

 

Tips & Tricks: Watercolor Trees

I have another requested tutorial featuring watercolor. This time, I'm sharing an easy way to create these realistic trees using the Coming Up Roses stamp set.

I am having a blast experimenting with our multi-step stamp sets! And I'm sharing not one, but four different types of trees that you can create.

Watch above or in HD at YouTube

These are just the ones that I've created so far. I gotta tell you, this technique is addictive and I can't get enough of it. I hope you don't mind. LOL

WPLUS9 SUPPLIES:
Stamps: Coming Up Roses

I'd love to see what you come up with! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Nail Polish Marbling

Hi, It's Kara!  Recently I have been experimenting with different mediums to create marble effects. My favorite so far is definitely the nail polish technique and I'm excited to share it with you.

It's so easy, a little messy, but the effects are so beautiful.  When you lift your paper up and look at your results you'll have one of those, "Ohhh!" moments. The results are different every time.

Before you get started you will need to gather your supplies:

Supplies:

1. A shallow disposable container filled with a few inches of water
2. Nail polish in desired colors
3. A tool to swirl your colors together {ex; the end of an old paintbrush, a toothpick}
4. Watercolor paper
5. Gloves {optional}

Before you begin, make sure you are in a well ventilated area because the smell from the nail polish can be quite strong. If you've just gotten a manicure you might want to wear gloves. Chances are you'll get some polish on your hands.  But, everything cleans up easily afterwards with nail polish remover. I like to shake all of my colors and remove the caps before I begin.  You have some time, but do have to work quickly since the nail polish begins to dry.

Instructions:

1. Drizzle each color onto the surface of the water with a steady hand. You want the polish to float on the surface rather than sink to the bottom of the container.
2. Once you have added all of your colors use your tool to swirl the colors together until you are happy with how it looks.
3. Lay your watercolor paper onto the surface of the water and lightly press making sure the entire surface of the paper makes contact with the polish and then lift off.
4. Set the piece aside to dry.  Once it is dry you can use it as a background, die cut it, stamp on it, glitter it, or anything else you can imagine!

***Try experimenting with different amounts of polish and colors to see the different results

Here are a few examples of how I have used the marbled papers I have created. 

Wplus9 Supplies:

Stamps: Epic Dad, Strictly Sentiments 4 // Dies: Epic Dad Die // Cardstock: White, Black

Wplus9 Supplies:

Stamps: Fresh Cut Florals  // Dies: Quilt Cuts 2 // Cardstock: White

I hope you give this technique a try.  Think beyond just paper.  See those pencils and wood veneer butterflies?  Yup, I marbled them too!

Design Clips: Fresh Cut Watercolors

Happy Mother's Day weekend everyone! I hope it is off to a great start!

Today, I have a requested tutorial featuring Fresh Cut Florals and watercoloring.

This is a deceptively easy technique. Watch below to see how you can use your stamps, Tim Holtz Distress Inks and a little water to create gorgeous cards with that hand painted look.

Watch above or in HD at YouTube

You may have to experiment a little bit to figure out the water to ink ratio that you are comfortable with. Remember, there is not a right or wrong way and each result will be slightly different and unique. But once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to create these in no time. This example took me about 20 minutes from start to finish including drying time.

WPLUS9 SUPPLIES:
Stamps: Fresh Cut Florals, Heartfelt Holiday // Ink: Old Gold // Cardstock: Oatmeal

Stock Updates

I realize that we are out of stock on what seems like everything. We have several orders due in and should be fully restocked on almost everything in the store by the end of this month.

In fact, we have several new wholesalers coming on and to keep up with demand, we will not be releasing any new stamps or dies in June. Instead, we are devoting the entire budget to restocking the store.

We will however be releasing five new ink colors and re-inkers for all of our PURECOLOR dye inks!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Epic All The Way

It's my last day on the WPlus9 blog, and this time I'd like to share a few 'epic' cards :)

I find myself quite fond of that particular word die from Epic Dad. Once I pulled it out of the package I didn't want to put it away. On the card below I used it to create a 'shadow word'.

I stamped the rays from the retired Super Star stamp set once on the panel and once on the die cut word, checking the alignment carefully. I also die cut the word with a strip of the pink cardstock at the bottom, it makes the further alignment a bit more fiddly but it's worth the fuss.

I stamped the word 'dad' from the same retired set, in Lake House Dye Ink and the rays + the sentiment above the rays in Wild Mango. The pattern from Borders and Backgrounds 4 was stamped at the bottom of the panel in black. I finished the card by adding a few diagonal strips of White cardstock to the card base.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Borders & Backgrounds 4, Super Star // Ink: Lake House Dye Ink, Wild Mango Dye Ink // Dies: Epic Dad Die // Cardstock:White

I inked up Borders & Backgrounds 4 again here, in order to create a masked background on this stepped up one-layer card. I stamped the pieces in Sweet Gelato, Sweet Nectar, Bloomsberry and Silver Lining Dye Inks. Then I added a thin strip of black cardstock to the bottom of the card.

I pulled out the retired Super Star stamp set once again, to stamp the wording above and under the Epic Dad die cut. I also stamped the arrows from Cupid's Arrow to accentuate the word.

The word 'epic' was die cut once from white and once from black cardstock, and the pieces aligned to create a shadow.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Cupid's Arrow, Borders & Backgrounds 4, Super Star  //  Ink: Sweet Nectar Dye Ink, Sweet Gelato Dye Ink, Bloomsberry Dye Ink, Silver Lining Dye Ink  // Dies: Epic Dad Die // Cardstock: White

I have one more card to share, this time I played with the Epic Dad stamp set and a whole lotta spray mists :)

I misted the panel first, and once dry I applied a thin layer of white gesso over some of the misted areas to mute down and grunge the colours. Then I stamped the sentiment, partly in black and partly in White Pigment Ink & Cranberry Crush Dye Ink. I stamped the outline in white first, and then the filling in red. The effect is subtle but makes enough of a statement.

I also stamped he word 'epic' a couple more times around the sentiment, using the secondary stamping technique - I stamped off some ink on scrap paper first, and then on the panel with the remaining ink, thus making a lighter impression. I used Appletini and Silver Lining Dye Inks for this.

I finished the card with some washi tape and a wood veneer star, which I smudged some more ink over.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Epic Dad  //  Ink: Cranberry Crush Dye Ink, Appletini Dye Ink, Silver Lining Dye Ink, White Pigment Ink // Dies: Epic Dad Die // Cardstock: White

Thank you for joining me this week, I hope you had as much fun checking my cards out, as I had making them!

Hello Two Ways

Hi it's Chupa again, I have a couple of colourful, feminine cards to share today!

I used a Foliage Frame Die to frame a layer of polka dotted patterned paper, white embossed the sentiment from Hand Lettered Hello on the paper, and gave the butterflies from my old favourite - Fauna & Flora I, the same treatment. I white embossed them on a different piece of patterned paper, fussy cut and mounted inside the frame.

I filled in the letters in the 'hello' word with a yellow Copic marker.

The edges of the frame are glittered. I created them by applying strips of double-sided tape around the frame and coating them with fine loose glitter.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Hand Lettered Hello, Flora & Fauna I // Dies: Foliage Frame Die

Here I used a Hand Lettered Hello Die to die cut negative space in a White cardstock panel, and sponged red and orange Distress Inks on a scrap piece of cardstock underneath.

I stamped the foliage from Spring Blooms in Sweet Nectar Dye Ink, and added the sentiment from Hand Lettered Hello on a small ribbon banner from Banner Trio Die. Then I mounted the panel on an Oatmeal card along with a couple of layers of patterned paper.

I finished the card by adding a flower arrangement, stamped with Spring Blooms stamp set and die cut with a companion die.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Hand Lettered Hello, Spring Blooms  //  Ink: Sweet Nectar Dye Ink, Lake House Dye Ink  // Dies: Hand Lettered Hello Die, Banner Trio Die, Spring Blooms Die // Cardstock: White, Oatmeal

See you tomorrow for a final day from me!