Celebrating Pale Papaya with Hand-Penned Petals

I enjoyed a wonderful crafting treat at the weekend; an actual real live in-person event! This was my first in-person event since March 2020 and it was so wonderful to get people back together. 

 

Although we are all now fully vaccinated, to keep us all safe, I held two sessions in the garden and. I had borrowed a very large gazebo but thankfully we didn’t need to put it up (it’s very heavy!) as the sun shone brightly all day.

 

It was ostensibly a catalogue launch party but there wasn’t a lot of crafting – just one demo and one Make & Take – because I knew everyone would want to chat properly for the first time in ages.

 

 

This was the Make & Take card, which used the beautiful Hand-Penned Petals stamp set and the co-ordinating Hand Penned Memories & More Cards & Envelopes. These are gorgeous and a great way to give your card a lift without having to cut into your Designer Series Paper. 

 

But cut into the Hand Penned DSP we did, just for this little strip at the bottom of the Stitched So Sweetly die-cut shape. The image is stamped in Mint Macaron, Pale Papaya and Calypso Coral. The envelope actually uses Cinnamon Cider, but I found that a little dark.

During the week I have been playing a lot with Hand-Penned Petals and making lots of projects using Pale Papaya, which is a really lovely new In Color™ for 2021-2023. 

 

For this card I’ve used a Pale Papaya base and two designs of the Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper. I was playing around with some spritzing for this card – spritzing the stamp before stamping onto the paper. Unfortunately, I forgot to use Stazon ink so there is some smudging on the top right flower. It’s a fun technique though and one worth revisiting with this set as I think I could get some better results. 

The sentiment is stamped onto a die-cut shape created with Tasteful Labels. This is one of my most-used die sets, but I believe it will soon be equalled if not overtaken by Stitched So Sweetly. Either would make a really useful addition to your craft stash.

This bag was kinda thrown together with some leftovers. The main image is stamped in Polished Pink, Soft Succulent and Pale Papaya – all new In Colors™ for 2021-2023 – while the little flowers behind are stamped in Soft Succulent and Blushing Bride. The die-cut is Mint Macaron; what I love about Soft Succulent is that it is a darker shade of Mint Macaron so they coordinate beautifully.

These new Ombre Gift Bags are lovely and come in a mixed pack of our five new In Colors™– I’ve used Pale Papaya here with a strip of Polished Pink Open Weave Ribbon.

This card uses a large piece of Designer Series Paper to cover the whole card front – it’s my new favourite thing to do! I love how it gives a seamless look to your projects.

For the main image, I’ve stamped the same flower cluster as above along the bottom edge, turning it slightly each time so it doesn’t look like a uniform row. Then I’ve just stamped on top as before, this time using Pale Papaya, Soft Succulent and Blushing Bride. 

 

The greeting is popped up onto a Stitched So Sweetly die-cut, stamped lightly with some of the tiny flower heads in Blushing Bride. 

I hope you like my Hand-Penned Petals projects. They are a bit of a departure for me, as I don’t usually gravitate towards floral images and pale colours. But it’s good to climb out of your comfort zone now and again to see where it takes you. 

All of the products you see here are available from my online store. If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the June host code HVTHW7HM, I’ll send you a thank you gift next month.

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 

 

For the Guys All-inclusive kit from Stampin’ Up!®

I couldn’t let the week go by without showing you the projects I made with one of our wonderful new kits, which launched on Tuesday. This one is called For The Guys and it’s an absolute must for anyone who struggles with masculine projects as it’s all done for you.

 

 

Best of all, you get a really handy photopolymer stamp set featuring greetings for pretty well the full set of male family members. And because it’s photopolymer and they are all in capitals, you can mix and match to make Grandad or Granddad from Grandpa plus Dad. 

 

I had a very quick play with this set at the weekend and made one of each card design. These kits are designed to be copied exactly so that’s what I did... but I’m sure nobody would mind if you bought one and did your own thing, too. 

 

I love the fact that we now have something which is totally perfect for the new stamper, at an affordable price, and which includes stamps, ink, clear block and even adhesive. The kits like this one, which include stamps, are just £18. Those without stamps are an even more affordable £11.25.

These fab kits are also ideal for gifts and again, you won’t have to supplement your gift with a block, ink pads etc.

Take one on holiday and you won’t have to worry about forgetting anything, either. Just pack some scissors and you’ll have everything you need to keep you busy on a long journey or a rainy day. 

See how easy it is to make the projects in this kit in this video:

 

This kit is ideal for Father’s Day and beyond so if you are in the UK and would like to order this (or any other kit or product), please visit my store and, if you use the June host code HVTHW7HM, I’ll send you a thank you gift next month!

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 

 

Savings of up to 50% in the January-June Mini Catalogue Last-Chance Sale!

I hope you had a good bank holiday weekend, if you’re in the UK. May is a great month for holidays, which give you a well-earned breather and a chance to enjoy the spring.

Today sees the start of the countdown to the end of the January-June Mini catalogue, which means... last-chance products! The discounts go live at 7pm today.

A list has been released showing all the products on the last-chance list, including many which are reduced by up to 50%.

You can see my edited list here, which has had the foreign language sets and prices removed to make it easier to digest:

 

Last-Chance List for Jan-June Mini Catalogue (UK)

There are some fantastic half-price bargains available, and I’ve highlighted some of my favourites here, with project images to show you what I made with them. 

 

 

This is a MEGA bargain. My customers loved this set when we used it at a class back in February. We just used the refill kit, which is also available at half price, but the full Product Medley is the best value as you get the stamps and dies to use, too (item code 155400, reduced to £16.50). 

 

 

These are some of the projects I made with the refill kit; you could do even more with the stamps and dies, too!

LOADS of items in the Dandy Garden Suite are retiring and reduced, although I’m delighted to say the two stamp sets and dies carry over into the Annual Catalogue. 

 

Here’s some of that lovely Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper in action, along with those cute (and popular!) little Ladybug Trinkets, which – great news! – are also half price in the sale:
 

 

 

One item from the Suite which you may have overlooked is this gorgeous Dandy Laser-Cut Paper, which is so delicate and classy.

Here are some of the die-cuts in action; as you can see, you can leave them white or colour them to match your project as I’ve done here.

The absolutely stunning Hydrangea Hill Designer Series Paper is also half price and would make an excellent addition to your craft stash. Such gorgeous colours and beautiful patterns, too. Here are some projects I made with this paper...

If you love colouring... and dogs... and fun images... then don’t miss your last chance to buy the Hot Dog Stamp Set.

It’s a really fun set which taps into the current popularity of Dachshund dogs and I made a few projects with this. ‘Bone-Jour’ still makes me laugh as it’s such a terrible pun!

There are many, many more fabulous products in the last-chance sale, which I don’t have room to highlight here, so don’t forget to check out the list!

And if you are in the UK and would like to like to buy from the list, please use the June host code HVTHW7HM and I’ll send you a thank you gift in July! Remember: the discounts go live at 7pm today.

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 

 

Five projects with the Simply Succulents bundle

 

I’m a day late with this blog post but you know what? I think I am going to switch to Tuesdays as it will give me my weekends back. It’s obvious when you think about it really.

Anyway, I’ve had a really busy weekend with my BOGOF sale for customers and an actual outing to meet friends for a socially distanced dog walk and picnic, which was lovely. This is why I’m a day behind, but now I am here, I want to show you this gorgeous Simply Succulents bundle, which is very enticing – I keep seeing more and more gorgeous projects with them.

They are in the Jan-June Mini Catalogue from Stampin' Up!® but I'm pleased to say that both elements carry over into the new Annual Catalogue. 

 

 

However, I must warn you that they are only available as a bundle for the duration of the Mini catalogue so hurry along if you want to save 10% by buying them together. 

 

 

This card uses a fun technique which gets extra mileage out of your dies. Die-cut the large pattern using any cardstock, then use it as a mask for embossing paste. Remove the mask and allow the paste to dry to create this interesting textured effect. 

The foliage behind the greeting label is created with dies, too – they are coloured with watercolour pencils to make them stand out. The greeting is stamped and embossed in white onto Bumblebee cardstock (one of my favourite colours!).

 

This project, too, uses white embossing for this stunning watercolour effect. Begin by embossing the image with white embossing powder, then heat set. Now it can be coloured using ink and Water Painters (or a wet paintbrush); just make sure you allow each colour to dry before switching to the next one. This is coloured using Old Olive, Mint Macaron, Highland Heather and Pool Party. 

 

 

This treat bag is decorated with a cut-out image of succulents and tied with Baker’s Twine. The image is stamped in Memento Black and coloured with Stampin’ Blends in Calypso Coral, Soft Sea Foam, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and Smoky Slate. 

 

 

This is a much simpler project, but no less effective. It uses a rich Cinnamon Cider card base stamped on top using Gorgeous Grape ink, which sounds radical but works really well. 

 

See that cool striped Designer Series Paper behind the greeting? That’s just a piece of Mint Macaron cardstock with some hand-drawn lines using a Dark Just Jade Stampin’ Blends Marker. Be brave and you too can make hand-drawn patterned paper for your projects!

 

Sticking with the same colour scheme, this is a Mint Macaron card base with the image stamped in Gorgeous Grape and coloured with Light and Dark Just Jade Stampin’ Blends. You can use Stampin’ Blends with any water-based ink pad, so they are ideal for colouring images stamped in any of our core colours.

Does your wish list come to more than £99? 

 

There’s a fabulous deal at the moment which gets you LOTS of lovely craft supplies of your choice. 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 

 

Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper cards

Last Friday was my Crafty Friday event; a monthly class which I have managed to keep running throughout the pandemic thanks to the miracle of Zoom.

We used gorgeous Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper from the Stampin’ Up!® Jan-June Mini Catalogue, alongside some retiring cardstock (Rococo Rose and Seaside Spray), partly because it coordinates so beautifully and partly to use it up!

Our first card was this fun W-fold which is a great way to show off your lovely Designer Series Papers. For our images, we cut out the large shells from the Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper as not everyone had the stamp set, and we used our own greetings. I used Happiest of Birthdays for these samples – this is probably my most-used set of all at the moment, although I suspect it’s going to be overtaken by Biggest Wish very soon. 

 

The W-fold card uses the sea urchin design, with lots of cut-out shells on top. If you prefer, you could stamp the shells and cut them out or use the coordinating Seaside Seashells Dies. The main greeting is stamped onto a shape cut with the Stitched So Sweetly Dies, which is my new favourite set as it’s so versatile.

Inside the card I’ve left the two white panels fairly blank for a message, but you could stamp more greetings here, too if you liked.

Our second card was just a simple design. This version uses a So Saffron base and a Flirty Flamingo cardstock layer – the colours used in the Designer Series Paper – but I quickly realised I didn’t have enough of either colour for my class kits!

For this version of the card, the one we made in the class, I switched to Rococo Rose, which isn’t actually the colour used in the Sand & Sea DSP but I think it coordinates pretty well, if not better. 

I’ve started covering my card fronts with Designer Series Paper right up to the edge, as Ive done on the card on the right, below. This gives it a completely different look compared to leaving a narrow border as I usually do. Which one do you think works best?

If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the May host code RMSS4YFY, I’ll send you a thank you gift in June.

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