Friday 29 March 2019

Bloom by Bloom One-Sheet Wonder


I do like a One-Sheet Wonder; it's a really satisfying way to make a lot of cards in one session.

If you’ve never heard of this, you simply stamp all over your cardstock at random, then cut it up to make projects. There are lots of OSW templates out there – just Google "One sheet wonder A4" (or whatever size you want) – or you can just make your own up as you go along.


Here are my tips for One-Sheet Wonders:

1. Start with the largest image using the lightest colour.
2. Work your way to the smallest image in the darkest colour.
3. Don’t be afraid to overlap images.
4. Fill in any gaps with the smallest images in any colour – use this as an opportunity to balance the colour distribution.

Bonus tip: Stamp with just a few colours, then cut your sheet in half. Continue stamping in more colours onto one sheet only. This way you can get two completely different looks from just one sheet.



Thursday 28 March 2019

Clear Tiny Treat Box gifts


I used the lovely and soon-to-be-retired Painted Seasons bundle to create some cute little welcome gifts for the ladies who attended my event on Saturday. Inside the clear tiny treat boxes are a chocolate chick and some mini eggs.

The Bitty Blooms Punch Pack fits perfectly on the Painted Seasons Designer Series Paper to make these striped punched flowers, too!

Wednesday 27 March 2019

Bloom by Bloom Journal



Saturday was my Spring All-Day Craft Event and we had a lovely, relaxing time creating projects using the Bloom by Bloom stamp set.

Everyone received the stamp set in their kit and brought along their own ink pads, so they could stamp merrily away without having to leave their seats.

There were two separate classes, with lunch provided in between.

One of the afternoon projects was a one-sheet wonder, which allowed guests to use their own colours combinations... as long as they included Daffodil Delight and Night of Navy. They made four cards (coming soon!) and this lovely cheery journal.

Some of the products in their kit were Butterfly Elements, so they could sprinkle these liberally across their projects, and some Grapefruit Grove and Lovely Lipstick Foil Sheets, so they could choose which went with their colour scheme the best. Here I've used Lovely Lipstick as I love the way it pops.



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Monday 25 March 2019

Painted Seasons – don’t leave it too late!



I’m having some blog trouble – it won’t keep me logged in. Even though I can post, I can’t reply to comments and I have no idea why. I’ve wasted too much time on it already and am hoping it just resolves itself. Meanwhile, please forgive me if I don’t reply to your blog comments!




And now to today’s projects... this Painted Seasons Designer Series Paper is one of my very favourites - so I find it particularly sad that it’s been available for such a short period of time. I only managed to open the pack last week and now I wish I’d taken advantage of it sooner.


It’s my personal choice not to use retired products – purely because I don’t like having to say “no” to potential customers if they ask to buy it. However, if this isn’t an issue for you – and if you’re not a demonstrator, it most definitely won’t be – then I highly recommend you get this paper while you can. This is just one of the fabulous designs. The others are below...



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Friday 22 March 2019

By the Bay Week: Simple or stepped up?


By the Bay Week comes to a close with two projects which aren’t a million miles from the Make & Take I showed you earlier in the week, and uses the same technique to mask the birds...



In fact, these were early prototypes for the Make & Take and are an example of how the same design can be extremely simple (the card on the left) or slightly more complicated (on the right). In fact, the card on the right isn’t complicated at all; it’s just more expensive to make as it uses the Rectangle Stitched Framelits to add stitching to most of the elements, and there are some pearls embellishing the card, too.

But #simplestamping projects can be just as satisfying – and are perfect not just for beginners but for crafters in a hurry.

Now seems like a good opportunity to remind you that time is running out to get this beautiful stamp set... which is only available free with a £45 order during Sale-a-Bration, which ends on 31st March. Please don’t leave it too late, as it’s a gorgeous set which you’ll be using for years to come!


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Thursday 21 March 2019

By the Bay Week: Eclipse card


This is one of my favourite projects from my By the Bay Week celebration... it’s an eclipse card, although I admit my photo doesn’t show this off to its best advantage.

All that means is that the main image is popped out on dimensionals, with a Night of Navy layer beneath, to give it extra shadow.

The image is coloured with Watercolour Pencils and Blender Pens and it’s embellished with some Wooden Elements, one of which is coloured using a Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker.

I covered the front of the card base using some Wood Textures Designer Series Paper, which I really love and suspect will retire this year, as it has served for two whole catalogue periods now, which is most unusual for Designer Series Paper. In other words... get it now, while you can!


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Wednesday 20 March 2019

By the Bay Week: Masked and sponged image


I was having so much fun sponging for Monday’s project that I simply couldn’t stop. For this project, inspired by the sample in the Sale-a-Bration brochure, I coloured the image using Watercolour Pencils and blender pens, then masked off the cottage and masked a frame using sticky notes, before sponging with a mix of Pacific Point and Nigh of Navy, leaving a lighter patch to give the impression of the moon.

Leaving the masks in place, I spattered the image using Frost White Shimmer Paint, which is one of my favourite products and, I’m happy to say, currently still available as a carryover item from the Autumn/Winter catalogue.


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Tuesday 19 March 2019

By the Bay Week: Masked birds, with video tutorial



Hello! A rare Tuesday post but that’s because it’s By The Bay Week here at All Things Stampy, when I celebrate this gorgeous stamp set from Monday to Friday.

Today I have the Make & Take from last Friday’s party to show you... with a lot more seagulls than you’d expect... or perhaps even want, if you’re eating a picnic on the beach.

How did I get the extra birds? Take a look at my video to see ... and watch out for the feline interloper!




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Monday 18 March 2019

By the Bay Week! Sponged seaside cottage



It’s By the Bay week here at All Things Stampy – a time to celebrate this gorgeous but oft-overlooked Sale-a-Bration stamp set with a new project every weekday. Some of you may have been put off by the thought of colouring that highly detailed main image, but here is a technique which makes it simple...

Thanks to this wonderful tutorial from Mitosu Crafts, I created this sponged image. I used slightly different colours, as I prefer the vivid Pacific Point to the dark and moody Night of Navy, and I added a red front door to make it pop.

I was showcasing the fabulous Stitched Rectangle Framelits, which can be used to make many more sizes of rectangle than the ones included in the pack. Here I used a die wider than the pouch to create the stitched effect just along the top and bottom of the image.



Inside the pouch is a pack of Old Olive Baker's Twine for the host – it’s one of her favourite colours.

I also showed this version, made into a card. This one uses the darker Night of Navy ink around the edges and, instead of creating the stars with a chalk marker, I spattered Frost White Shimmer Paint across the image and the whole card for a brighter, shinier effect. I actually prefer this but didn’t demo it as it takes quite a while to dry.

Big thanks to Barry and Jay for their tutorial!



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Friday 15 March 2019

Awesome Accented Blooms



Accented Blooms is the name of this stamp set, and it's a great one for adding a greeting to, with its perfectly shaped slot for the Tailored Tag Punch. I mixed things up a little here by stamping onto a piece of Wood Textures Designer Series Paper and then colouring it with Watercolour Pencils. This paper is absolutely gorgeous and so versatile for so many occasions - it's stuck around for TWO whole catalogues which can surely only mean one thing, right?* DSP usually only stays for one catalogue period, so I highly recommend that you stock up now! *I have no inside knowledge, just 11 years of experience as a demonstrator!





Wednesday 13 March 2019

Animal Outing new baby card



I love this Animal Outing stamp set, which I received as part of a kit to create projects for OnStage Local back in April 2018 It's a lovely stamp set for lots of occasions, including for a new baby so I was delighted to have the opportunity to make this baby card recently. It was supposed to be a simple project but I ended up using three stamp sets plus dies and Stampin' Blends... oops!

Can you work out which stamp sets they are? (Clue - the answers are in the labels)

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Monday 11 March 2019

Love cats? Nine Lives gift packaging



It's not always about cardmaking. Having all these lovely supplies at my disposal means I can make matching gift packaging, too. 

I was planning to send this card to a friend and wanted to wrap the small gift to match, so I created a box using the Envelope Punch Board and decorated it with some Call Me Clover Designer Series Paper and a punched cat. The box is a bit wonky (slipped up on a measurement somewhere) but you can't tell unless you look hard or someone points it out!

If you love cats – or dogs (or both!) – don’t miss my Cats & Dogs craft workshop in Aston-on-Trent next month. Places are going fast but there are a few left so please hurry over to the registration page to book your slot.




Friday 8 March 2019

Incredible Like You Week - celebration cards


I’m ending my Incredible Like You Week with two similar cards I made to celebrate some amazing team members.

I’ve combined the stamp set with some greetings from Stamp Your Way to the Yop, a demonstrator-exclusive stamp set which helps us honour our teams.

On the left is a welcome card for Karen, my latest recruit, who couldn’t resist the fantastic Sale-a-Bration offer and the beautiful craft tote...


From my newest team member to my oldest (in the terms of longest serving, that is!)... the second card celebrates an incredible sales milestone by Tracey, who joined me nearly 11 years ago and has worked consistently hard ever since.


The colour combination is well away from my usual palette but I really like it. Flowers, pastel shades and fussy cutting? What on earth is happening to me?


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Wednesday 6 March 2019

Incredible Like You Week: very simple projects for Cuppa & Card


It’s Incredible Like You week here at All Things Stampy and this is the perfect set for new stampers because you get a good variety of images and greetings, which you can maximise with just two stamp sets if you wish.

I was inspired to start using this set by Mikaela Titheridge at The Crafty oINK Pen, who has been showcasing some beautiful projects with it.

These are the projects I am making with the good folk of Borrowash this morning at my Cuppa & Card session at Dawson’s Café.


This first card is incredibly simple and, as well as the stamp set, uses just a Notecard, a scrap of Whisper White cardstock and two ink pads. The images in this set are so clever that you can stamp them with the same ink pad without stamping off; you’ll still get this amazing two-tone look.


For our second project, we will be making an ever so slightly more complicated card... in that it has a zingy Lemon Lime Twist layer and a little more fussy cutting. I hope it goes well!


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Monday 4 March 2019

Incredible Like You week: simple thank you cards


After ignoring the stamp set for several months, recently I’ve been stamping up a storm with the Incredible Like You stamp set, so I will be showcasing this versatile set all week. 

I made a BIG batch of cards like these to thank my February customers (and still ran out!). I’ve used Calypso Coral for the flowers, and everybody’s favourite Mint Macaron for the leaves and greeting. The Designer Series Paper is Nature’s Poem. 

And, of course, the Stamparatus made producing multiples of these cards incredibly speedy!

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Friday 1 March 2019

Incredible Like You - Crafty Friday projects


Today is Crafty Friday and the first day of a new organised me! With an increasing number of events planned, I have decided to focus on one stamp set per month ... for most of my events at least. This means that this month, at least three of my events will be using this lovely stamp set called Incredible Like You.

I have owned this stamp set since last November, when I was given it at OnStage Local in Telford. However, I dismissed it as “not really me” until last month when I was inspired by Mikaela at The Crafty oINK Pen to start using it. And, I have to say (U-turn alert!), I’ve really enjoyed it.


These are the projects we will be making at this morning’s Crafty Friday event. I love how you can make the stripes really evenly spaced using the Stamparatus, or just wing it by doing it freehand, because the stamps are photopolymer, which means you can see where you’re stamping.

We’ll start with the #simplestamping project above, then move on to the slightly more complicated card below, which uses Soft Sea Foam for the background spots (love this polka dot effect).

The flowers are stamped in Lovely Lipstick, to match the Sale-a-Bration foil (still available in the UK but low inventory!). What is incredible about this stamp set is that you can stamp the background to the flowers and the foreground petals using the same ink pad, without having to stamp off – the stamps are VERY cleverly designed. The same goes for the two-tone leaves.

Hope you like them!



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The small print

This is my personal blog and my sole responsibility as an Independent Stampin' Up!® demonstrator. All images are © Stampin' Up!® All content including photographs, projects and text are © Helen Read, unless otherwise stated. Please feel free to copy my ideas for your personal use and inspiration - if you are a SU demonstrator you may use these ideas for your events but please give credit where it is due. Please do not use my ideas for monetary gain, competitions or publication. The images on this blog - including blog buttons - should not be copied and used elsewhere on the internet or on CDs.