2014 Showcase, Part 2

Welcome back for Part 2 of the 2014 Showcase here at Snapdragon Stamps!  Let's go.

Eastern Influences

My pick for May is this scrapbook layout of the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan.  Some great pictures that I'm so glad are immortalized on a scrapbook layout, and a great excuse to use some of my favorite colors :)  However, I couldn't pick just one project for May, so here's a bonus:

Hello Lovely, Nacho card!

This card took under 5 minutes to make and I still love it.  That patterned paper is workin', y'all!  Proof that a really cute card doesn't have to take forever.

Wanderlust, World Map, The Open Sea, Nacho card!

June's pick is this travel-inspired card, which I immediately sent to a friend who travels so much that she makes me and the hubs look like shut-ins.  In three years, she and her hubs visited 50 countries!

Stippled Blossoms, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Nacho card!

My July pick is yet another Nacho card, this time anniversary roses.  I do love those roses.

Starburst Sayings, Alphabet Rotary, Gorgeous Grunge, Positively Chevron, Nacho card!

And finally, my August pick could be none other than this Princess Bride-inspired Inigo Montoya card.  I giggled like crazy the whole time I was making it and I know it gave my dad a chuckle when he opened it up, too.

One more part of the 2014 Showcase coming up, but first...ya know tomorrow is Nacho Average Challenges day :)

Nachos: Will Travel

Bonjour, Nacho fans!  I hope you're having a lovely Tuesday :)  Nacho Average Challenges has a lovely color combo for you today, take a look:

I looooooooooooooooove this color combination!  Like, a lot.  So here's my travel-inspired card:

That's definitely been me and my hubs for the last several years!  Since we moved to England, we've visited seventeen countries if I've counted correctly (18 if Scotland votes to become independent of Great Britain again).  Pretty cool!  Our travels will shortly come to an end; our house is getting packed up this week...but we're still going to Wales in a couple days  :D

Anyway, I knew what I wanted my World Map panel to look like, but it took me three tries to get it right.  I took a piece of watercolor paper, spritzed it pretty heavily with water, and painted on some Pool Party and Pistachio Pudding ink refills (I diluted them a little bit first in a cheapo plastic paint palette).  Once I had the whole piece colored, I let it dry while I worked on other stuff, and then when it was dry I stamped the World Map background on it in Island Indigo.  On one of my previous tries, I put the stamp face-up on my desk and then put the paper on top and burnished it with my fingers, but part of it ended up blurry because I accidentally moved the paper a bit.  So I had to start all over!  The next time, I put the colored watercolor paper on my scratch paper, inked up the stamp really well and put it down on the paper and LEANED on it with all my weight for a good solid minute.  Worked great!  I got a clear, crisp image even though watercolor paper has a bit more texture than Whisper White (the Whisper White doesn't work so great with the spritz-and-paint technique, I tried that too).  The rest of the card came together in a snap with an old SCS sketch, a few punches and some Candy Dots.

So!  Go check out the Nacho Average Design Team creations and then link up your own beautiful artwork on the Nacho blog!  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Wanderlust (photopolymer), World Map, The Open Sea
Ink:  Pool Party, Pistachio Pudding, Island Indigo
Paper:  Pool Party, Pistachio Pudding, Island Indigo, Whisper White, Watercolor paper, Pistachio Pudding DSP
Accessories:  Circle & Scallop circle punches, Regals Candy Dots, Dimensionals