May Kit By Mail: Pansy Petals

It's time for another Kit By Mail – and this month I am focusing on Stampin’ Up!'s new Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper. I’ve chosen this one for several reasons, not least because it has some excellent images which are perfect for cutting out, so it can be used on its own, or combined with the Pansy Patch stamp set and/or the Pansy Dies.

It also coordinates with lots of different colours, making it extremely versatile – and I know lots of you love your purples! And, of course, it’s lovely – otherwise why would I have picked it?

As well as some of the brand new Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper, I’ve designed this kit to feature some gorgeous co-ordinating cardstock colours, along with just a hint of shimmer. 

 

The kit contains:

• half a pack of Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper (cut to 6"x12")
• half a pack of Pearlescent Speciality Paper (cut to 6"x12")
• half a pack of Bumblebee Trinkets
• 2m Blackberry Bliss Striped ribbon
• 2m Evening Evergreen Chevron weave ribbon (not shown in pic)
  
• 3 sheets Fresh Freesia A4 cardstock
• 3 sheets Soft Succulent A4 cardstock
• 2 sheets Blackberry Bliss A4 cardstock
• 2 sheets Bumblebee A4 cardstock
• 1 sheet Shimmery White cardstock
• 1 C6 Acetate box

Check out these samples I have made using the kit (although the ribbon hasn’t arrived yet so I haven’t been able to use that). Everyone who purchases the kit will also receive access to a PDF of more project ideas, including cards, at least one 3D project and a scrapbook page – and these WILL use the ribbons.

 

I only had a tiny scrap of this Blackberry Bliss striped ribbon left so cunningly cut it into two pieces to use behind the greeting panel. It goes beautifully with the new Fresh Freesia colour, which is one of our new In Colors for 2021 to 2023. This is the colour of the gorgeous gingham Designer Series Paper – who doesn’t love a bit of gingham?

The card base and the stamped greeting are in another new colour; Soft Succulent, a lovely soft green which is a darker shade of Mint Macaron. On top of this I have used some cut-out pansies and leaves. These are very easy to fussy-cut, although I have to say, after a year of fussy-cutting for remote classes, I’m a little bit scissor-weary!

This card shows off two more of the Designer Series Paper designs. One is a subtle Bumblebee (colour, not insect) pattern, while the other features actual bees, as well as some pretty pansies and foliage. This card design was inspired by one I saw by Cindy Brumbaugh.

The words this time are stamped in Blackberry Bliss, and sentiments for both cards are from Sweet Strawberry.  Don’t you just love that little gold bee? I do; I’ve always loved bee images.

If you’d like to order one of these kits, the price of £20 includes postage to anywhere in the UK. 

 

Please reserve your kit here

I am only taking orders for this Kit until Friday 7th May, so please don't delay if you would like to join in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50 new Stampin’ Up!® In Color colour combinations

They’re here! By popular demand, I have created 50 new colour combinations using Stampin’ Up!®'s brand new 2021-23 In Colors™️. That’s 10 new combinations each for Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen, Pale Papaya, Fresh Freesia and Polished Pink. These colours will remain current for two years, retiring in 2023.

On the whole I try to match the new colours with our existing colours, rather than within the new collection. This means you can match them with your current cardstock and ink pads, even if you only purchase one or two of the new colours. 

 

Please feel free to use these colour combinations in your projects; I would appreciate a link back to this page, or at least a credit.

Scroll down past the colour combinations to see how the new colours compare to our existing and past shades. Often people will point out that a new colour is very similar to an old one; if this ever happens, I advise them that this is a fabulous opportunity to dig out their old ink pads and use them with the new cardstock, ribbon and embellishments. I cannot stand waste so, if you’re not a demonstrator, there’s absolutely no need to replace those old pads if they still have life in them. 

Want to get your hands on these colours? Please click here for my 2021 In Color Shares 

 

Please click here to see colour combinations from previous years

 

 

Want to get your hands on these colours?
Please click here for my 2021 In Color Shares

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

Sneak peek: Hand-Penned Petals with Stampin’ Up!®'s new 2021-23 In Colors

My Stampin’ Up!® pre-order goodies finally arrived... just before I went away for the week, so I have hardly had any chance to play with them but I did crack open the new In Colors and the Hand-Penned Petals stamp set to make these five simple cards.

Hand-Penned Petals is a lovely two-step stamp set. A note for my regular ladies here: the solid images are not supposed to fit the outlines perfectly. I repeat: they are NOT supposed to fit perfectly! I know this will freak some of you out, but trust me, they are supposed to look like that. It’s artistic, dontcha know?

 

I stamped each outline image and the greeting in Memento Tuxedo Black, using the Stamparatus for speed and precision. I used the Stamparatus again for the flowers, but switched to a block to add the leaves because you use the same leaf stamp three times. 

 

Please click here for details of in my In Color Shares

 

The large leaf stamp is not stamped the same way round each time. Simply turn it around to fit the image in the best way and remember: it’s not supposed to fit perfectly!

 

Polished Pink

This card showcases Polished Pink, which is going to be the hardest new colour for me to love as I'm not a pink person at all. But I know lots of people are so it's going to be popular, I'm sure!

 

It’s quite close to Magenta Madness, but a little softer so, in my view, that makes it easier on the eye. The ribbon co-ordinates perfectly with Magenta Madness, too. 

 

The leaves on this first card, and most of the cards here, are stamped in Soft Succulent...

 

 

Soft Succulent

This is LOVELY. It’s like the big brother of Mint Macaron which means the ribbon co-ordinates perfectly with Mint Macaron, too. Soft and gentle but with a bit more bite. 

 

 I’ve stamped the flowers on this second card in Fresh Freesia... 

Fresh Freesia

You’ll love this because it’s like nothing we have already, at least not for years. It’s reminiscent of the old colour Orchid Opulence from times past but softer and gentler. Even if it doesn’t float your boat on its own, stick it with Blackberry Bliss and it will definitely capture your heart. 

 

 

Pale Papaya

This is very subtle, a little like Grapefruit Grove from a few years ago but again, gentler. 

 

 
Soft and gentle is the theme of most of this collection, until we come to...

Evening Evergreen

This is by far my favourite. It's so deep and rich and lovely. I always love the greens, as some of you know, but this one surprises me as it's almost bottle green which used to made me shudder as it was the colour of my school uniform! It's a darker shade of Shaded Spruce, so they will work well together. 

 

Please click here for details of my In Color Shares

 

 

Love colour? Please come back on Thursday for my new In Color colour combinations!

If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the April host code TRPKSXWR, I’ll send you a thank you gift in May!

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

Seashells Embossing folder thank you cards

I had a splashy fun time creating these cards as customer thank yous. Pretty much everything was covered in speckles of ink by the time I'd finished.

These are just a few of the cards I made; I rashly packed up the others before I remembered to take any pix. Oops - thankfully I remembered just in time. 

I sent these out to everyone who shopped with me in March. Those who used the host code also received a thank you gift of a retiring stamp set, Parcels & Petals. This is SUCH a bargain set that I couldn't resist ordering one for everyone. Well, not quite everyone; the lady who already had one received something different. Yes, I really did go through them all to check.

I used the Seashells 3D Embossing Folder, which is a relatively new addition to my craft stash. It goes perfectly with the Friends Are Like Seashells Bundle but I haven’t had chance to use them together yet.

For these relatively quick and easy cards, I simply speckled some pieces of Basic White cardstock using a wet paintbrush to pink up ink from the ink pad lid and then spatter it across the paper.

The wetter your brush, the bigger and paler the splashes you'll get. Keep the water to a minimum and you'll get smaller, darker speckles.

 

 

I used three outgoing In Colors; Pretty Peacock, Terracotta Tile and Seaside Spray, and took the opportunity to use up as much retiring stash as possible before it goes forever.

The card bases are Terracotta Tile, with a Pretty Peacock Layer. This lovely scalloped ribbon is retiring and is now reduced to £4.50, while the Classic Label Punch has already sold out in Europe.

Carrying over into the new catalogue, you'll be pleased to know, are the Linen Thread and the Seashells Embossing Folder. 

 

There are still lots of bargains to be found on the Last Chance list and on the Clearance Rack. If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the March host code TRPKSXWR, I’ll send you a thank you gift in May!

 

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

 

 

Enjoy the Moment - five card ideas with one stamp set

One of the things I love about papercrafting and Stampin’ Up!® projects is the versatility. You can take one design and reuse it with different products – which is why our catalogue used to be called an Idea Book & Catalogue. SU actually dropped the name because nobody bothered to say it all – we just called it the catalogue. 

This stamp set, Enjoy the Moment, is actually one of my favourites from the January-June Mini Catalogue, but I confess I haven't used it as much as I should. Fortunately, it’s carrying over into the new Annual Catalogue, which comes out in May so I will have plenty more chances to create with it. 

What I did do was spend time attempting to recreate some of the designs from my Dandy Garden Day using Enjoy the Moment instead.

Happily, many of the projects were easily adapted. This is exactly the principle of CASEin (Copy And Share Everything). You don't have to copy something exactly; you can always take inspiration from a project even if you don’t own the same stamp set, or paper, or colours. 

 

This card is very similar to the original which you can see here. I just changed the images and moved the braided linen thread to a different position. The ‘hello’ is actually from Garden Wishes and because it’s so small, I’ve stamped it three times, and I’ve coloured around the main image using the Light Pool Party Stampin’ Blends marker.

This, too, is a version of a card from the Dandy Garden Day. I created the background in the same way, using Blending Brushes and spatters of diluted ink, loosely followed the same card design but omitted the ribbon, changed the greeting panel and of course the images.
 

I love creating ‘messy’ backgrounds like this as they give your images extra depth and are of course very fun to do!

I strayed into new territory for the rest of the cards, including this note card. As you can probably see, I had begun colouring around the image in Pool Party but decided I wasn’t keen so went for the Blending Brushes instead, using much darker shades of Old Olive, Mossy Meadow and Soft Suede. 

It was a little blotchy (it looks worse in the photo, I promise!) so I attempted to disguise this with some stamping and finally by running it through the Subtle Embossing Folder (retiring soon!). It’s all set at an angle on some Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper.

Don’t give up on a project if it doesn’t go to plan. Keep sponging, blending, ageing, embossing, stamping... whatever floats your boat. Worst case scenario will see you throwing it in the recycling after all. The best case scenario will see you creating something wonderful!

This is another fun background technique. Lots of blending with the Blending Brushes to create a dark, moody background. This has a vague ombré effect, with darker ink at the bottom of the card. On top of this I have stamped ‘Happy Birthday’ repeatedly without reinking, overlapping the words over and over again, to create an interesting effect. This really helps the seed heads to stand out; of course it also helps that I popped them up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. 

Finally I created this simple Thinking of You card using the large greeting from Rooted In Nature. I masked a vertical line and applied Misty Moonlight ink using a Blending Brush, then stamped the images on top, popping up a couple to add interest. I kept it fairly simple because I feel that cards of this type shouldn’t be brash, as their purpose is to convey sympathy rather than show off our skills!

The Enjoy the Moment stamp set is available in the January-June Mini Catalogue. If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the April host code TRPKSXWR, I’ll send you a thank you gift in May!

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  

 

Please message me via my website