Catalogue countdown, day 5

Earlier this year I was asked by a customer if we sold a bunting punch to go with Party This Way. The answer at that time was, unfortunately, “no”... but the good news is that all has changed!

From tomorrow’s new catalogue, we DO sell a bunting punch, although it’s called a Pennant Punch. The other good news is that we also have a new bunting stamp set to go with it! It’s called Pennant Parade and I’m sure it’s going to prove popular as it’s so versatile.

I’ve used both new products on this card, which I CASEd (copy and share everything) from the internet. The original was made, I think, by a US Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator called Mindy Bingamon.

As well as Lucky Limeade, it uses another new In Color: Pool Party. This is my absolute favourite new In Color because it’s gorgeous. A pale aqua which will look fab with so many of our existing colours.

To make this card, I stamped the bunting on to Lucky Limeade, Perfect Plum and Pool Party cardstock, using ink of the same colours. I punched them out and popped up the triangles.

The white layer is embossed using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and layered onto Perfect Plum cardstock and a So Saffron card base. The bunting was then hung from a linen thread line and embellished with flowers and a “hello” tag.

Stamps: Pennant Parade

Cardstock: So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Whisper White, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Perfect Plum, Pool Party

Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Modern Label Punch, Itty Bitty Punches, Basic Rhinestones, linen thread

All products by Stampin’ Up!®            

Catalogue countdown, day 4

Now, before you think “wow, she’s upped her game!”, let me confess that I did NOT make this card! It is, of course, the work of the super-talented Kelly, who joined me for a fun stamping session last week.

Unlike Tuesday’s creation – which was so simple that it just had to be my own – this was not a quick card to make, although it was positively speedy compared to the other one she made which I’ll show you another time.

It uses a brand new stamp set from the new catalogue which is really fun. Those of you who love colouring will LOVE this year’s catalogue as there’s lots more in there for you. There’s still plenty for folk like me who prefer to “stamp and go”, but I’m delighted to see more outline images for those who love the therapeutic powers of markers, crayons and blender pens.

What Kelly’s done here is quite simple when you break it down, but looks amazing when put together. The wagon is made from the Curly Label Punch and the elephant is simply coloured in and cut out. Well, not strictly true as she has painstakingly paper pieced the top and bottom of the ball using our new Designer Series Paper, Cheerful Treat.

Stamps: Under The Big Top, Party This Way

Cardstock: Concord Crush, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White

Paper: Cheerful Treat

Ink: Basic Gray, Concord Crush

Accessories: Curly Label Punch, Itty Bitty Punches, Linen Thread, Basic Rhinestones, Big Shot, Polka Dots embossing folder

All products by Stampin’ Up!®            

Catalogue countdown, day 3

Staying with the Christmas theme, Pennant Parade, one of our new stamp sets, is perfect for Christmas cards – because if you turn the stamps upside down, you get these lovely trees! There’s even a pot in the stamp set, as well as a star, although I’ve not used the star here.

The background is “debossed”, which means the dots go in instead of out. Whether that was by accident or design, I’ll leave you to decide! I made the ground using torn vellum... the trees didn’t look right without it, they were just floating.

Stamps: Pennant Parade

Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Vellum cardstock

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Lucky Limeade

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Pennant Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Big Shot, Polka Dots embossing folder, Scallop Edge Punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®            

New catalogue countdown, day 2

This is one of my favourite samples with new catalogue products – and yet it’s so simple, it only took a few minutes to make.

I stamped the image in Basic Grey onto Whisper White cardstock, then coloured the leaves with blender pen and ink pads. I layered it onto Sahara Sand and Always Artichoke cardstock, then created the mistletoe berries with Basic Pearls. Cool, eh?

The card base is textured to give it an extra bit of something to make up for the simplicity of the design and I stamped the mistletoe once more in Sahara Sand in the corner. Simples!

Stamps: Easy Events

Cardstock: Sahara Sand (textured and smooth), Always Artichoke, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Grey, Always Artichoke, Lucky Limeade

Accessories: Blender pen, Basic Pearls

All products by Stampin’ Up!®            

New catalogue countdown!

You’ve all been very patient, waiting for new catalogue sneak peeks. So here’s something to whet your appetite.. a joy fold card featuring a brand new stamp set called Easy Events. It’s a really cute set and I’ve paper-pieced the shell using this beautiful new paper collection, Cheerful Treat. The paper is for hostesses only, so if you want to get your hands on it, get in touch to book your party soon!

There’s another new product on this card, too, but it’s hard to see from the photo. The base card is created from one of our gorgeous new In Colors, Lucky Limeade. It’s like Old Olive, only brighter and slightly more acidic and I love it!

The joy fold card is very simple to make but looks impressive. Click here for more information.

Stamps: Easy Events, Sincere Salutations

Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Basic Black, Whisper White

Paper: Cheerful Treat

Ink: Basic Black

Accessories: Markers, blender pens, 1 3/8” Circle punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®            

Distressing class projects

Sorry for the lack of posts lately – I’ve been up to my ears in preparing for my new Catalogue Launch Party, trying to make samples, changing my email address, setting up new-style newsletters, not to mention nursing a stinking cold!

But now, better late than never, are some of the projects we made at last week’s Distressed About Distressing class. Unfortunately, I took a picture of the pirate card on my phone in a hurry before posting it to a friend, and the picture came out soooo badly that I can’t bear to post it here. But here are the other projects.

We made three cards – the aforementioned pirate card, which used the crumpled paper technique, plus this flower card (some people made a Cherry Cobbler version) and the birdcage card, which is a variation on this wedding card I made recently.

We used lots of distressing techniques, some of which I’ll talk you through.

Flower card

The flower card really took a hammering! The flower itself is punched twice – once from Newsprint and once from Basic Black cardstock. The Newsprint flower was inked at the edges using the flat stamp from the Distressing Essentials Kit, then run through the paper crimper. The flat stamp was used again to ink the raised areas formed by the crimper, then it was run through the crimper again, and again, inking occasionally. Once it was well and truly battered, we flattened it out using the bone folder, this broke down the fibres so that some of the petals “split”. Nice effect – and great to use up those bits of creased or marked Designer Series Paper!

The Eggplant panel is inked around the edges using the flat stamp, too.

The elaborate Crumb Cake panel is made with the Top Note die. Put it through once, then turn your cardstock 90º and put it through again. I’d done these in advance to save time, but the classgoers got the opportunity to run it through the Big Shot again, with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. Next we inked the raised areas using the flat stamp and Crumb Cake ink, then dabbed them with a sponge dauber and some beautiful Champagne Mist shimmer paint. You can’t see it in the photo but it gives it a really gorgeous sparkle.

The black strip is crimped and the ribbon is simply folded and twisted onto a length of Sticky Strip.

Birdcage card

The front of this card was stamped and stamped off using Crumb Cake ink and the foliage stamp from Nature Walk. Then it was spritzed using the Night of Navy marker. A section of the front was crimped, to add interest.

The main image was created by inking the En Francais background stamp lightly and erratically with the flat stamp, so that areas were missed. Then the foliage was stamped and stamped off.  The edges were inked with the flat stamp, too. The birdcage was stamped separately, cut out and popped up.

The edges of the cardstock were distressed using the files from the Distressing Essentials Kit.

Pirate card (not shown)

For this card we used the crimper again, plus the crumpled paper technique. For this, we took a piece of perfectly good cardstock, soaked it in water and screwed it up tightly. We opened it out and left it to dry, then tore it into a random shape. You at home can use damaged cardstock for this technique – it’s brilliant for salvaging seemingly useless scraps. If your cardstock is marked, you can ink it once it’s dry, using the flat stamp, or the Direct to Paper technique with your ink pad.

Recipe (retiring products in red)

Stamps: Just Believe, Nature Walk, En Francais

Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Night of Navy

Paper: Newsprint

Ink: Night of Navy, Crumb Cake, Elegant Eggplant

Accessories: Distressing Essentials Kit, Colour Spritzer, Night of Navy Marker, Linen Thread, Regals Buttons, Fancy Flower Punch, 1” circle punch, ¾” circle punch, Big Shot, Top Note Die, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, sponge daubers, Champagne Mist shimmer paint, Paper crimper, Basic pearls, Satin Ribbon – Night of Navy (now out of stock)

We also used Beware, Pirates, which is retiring

All products by Stampin’ Up!®            

He's been framed

When I decided to make a frame out of the Woodland Walk paper, I discovered just how difficult it is to mitre corners!

The crocodile is stamped, coloured and then covered with Crystal Effects. The grass is handcut using my fab Stampin' Snips.

To create the frame, I cut strips of Woodland Walk paper. I mounted this on a piece of the backing card which comes with Designer Series Paper and trimmed it to the correct length and width – don’t ask me what they are, it doesn’t really matter as long as they are all the same width. Measure the size of your completed frame and cut two pieces to the width and two to the height.

Now measure the width of your frame pieces. Let’s say for example it’s half an inch. Measure half an inch along the length and mark it with a pencil. Draw a line from this mark to the top corner and cut. Repeat until you’ve done all four pieces and they (hopefully) match up reasonably well.

I used the flat stamp from my Distressing Essentials Kit and some Crumb Cake ink to weather the edges of the frame, all the way round, to make it look more like wood.

Next I punched a hole at the pointy ends of each piece using my paper piercer. What I realy wanted was some Antique Brass brads but I don’t have any of those so I compromised. I took some plain silver brads and coloured them with a permanent black marker (Sharpie). When they were dry, I sanded them ever so lightly with the sanding block from my Distressing Essentials Kit. This gave them a weathered look and possibly works better.

The black strip is corrugated using my Paper Crimper and the whole lot is mounted on a piece of Garden Green cardstock and a Crumb Cake card base. The card opens at the side because it’s quite heavy so wouldn’t stand up if it opened in the traditional way.

Recipe (retiring products in red)

Stamps: Long Fellows (hostess)

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Whisper White, Basic Black, Wild Wasabi

Paper: Woodland Walk

Ink: Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Silver Brads, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Distressing Essentials, Paper Crimper, Crystal Effects®

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Elegant butterflies

You don’t want to let these beautiful papers slip away do you? You only have until the end of September to order any of the Designer Series Papers in the current catalogue. Well, I say “any” – Jolly Holiday has already sold out and other items are selling fast, so don’t delay! Shipping is £4.95 to anywhere in the UK – and if you spend £50 or more, I’ll pay the shipping for you!

This card was the birthday card I made for my friend Kelly. She’s a super-talented stamper and all-round genius, so the pressure was on.  I know she loves the Elegant Soiree papers and colours but only had a few bits left. Never mind – there was enough colour crossover with this piece of Blueberry Crisp (small butterfly) to finish it off.

I pasted the patterned paper to some thick cardstock – I use the backing from Designer Series Paper all the time for this, it’s perfect. Once it was fully dry, I ran it through the Big Shot using the Butterfly die. Next I painted both butterflies all over with a thin layer of Crystal Effects® and set aside to dry.

I faffed around for ages with the ribbon as really wanted some narrow ribbon in Soft Suede but we don’t carry it... yet. New catty hint: Soft Suede taffeta coming soon! The Early Espresso (retiring) was close enough though, and I tied it in a knot, topped with a flower button and a large pearl.

The butterflies are popped up on Dimensionals – both layers, as is the Modern Label with its tiny pearl and linen thread. The only stamping is the word “friends” on the front and the greeting inside, which is decorated, too, but I forgot to photograph it. Doh!

Retiring products are shown in red:

Stamps: Tiny Tags

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla (inside)

Paper: Elegant Soiree, Blueberry Crisp

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Crystal Effects®, Basic Pearls, Butterfly Die, Modern Label Punch, Linen Thread, Neutrals Buttons, Early Espresso Taffeta ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Products still selling out fast!

Keep your eye on the retiring list because more items are selling out daily. One of the latest victims of its own success is Tart & Tangy. I had a sample to show you using this set but didn't want to reveal it until I'd given it to the recipient. Oh well...  moving on...

Name cards are easy when you’ve borrowed somebody’s alphabet dies! I’d been asked to create a christening card for a child, ie not a baby, and it isn’t easy, I can tell you! Especially when you don’t have any religion-themed stamps at all. So we settled on a simple Best Wishes inside and went for a funky, brightly-coloured card front.

LOVE this owl punch by the way! I wasn’t sure if it would be too fiddly for me but it’s not.

Stamps: Sincere Salutations (inside)

Cardstock: Old Olive, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Pacific Point, Whisper White

Paper: Play Date, Celebrations

Ink: Real Red

Accessories: Owl Punch, Bird Punch, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Dies, Big Shot, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon – Real Red

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Here's looking at you...

I'd forgotten how nerve-wracking September can be, with the retiring list and products selling out, left, right and centre! I will be placing a group order with free postage this evening - and after that it will be individual orders only, which I will place as soon as they arrive. Shipping will be £4.95 to any UK address - but if you spend £50 you can have FREE shipping! It doesn't have to be retiring products, and you can team up with a friend if necessary. 

So, to today's card... monsters and goggly eyes – was there ever a match more made in heaven? I don’t know what my son is going to say when he realises just how many of his goggly eyes I’ve used lately!

These monsters are each stamped twice – once on Whisper White and punched out using the 1 3/8” square punch and once on scraps of Woodland Walk Designer Series Paper. I thought the “bubbly” paper was particularly good for the monsters as it looks a little like scaly skin.

In keeping with the slightly unhinged nature of this card, I punched some circles out of the papers and scattered them across the background. Hurts your eyes a bit, this one!

Stamps: Make a Monster, Party This Way

Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Whisper White

Paper: Woodland Walk

Ink: Basic Black, Garden Green

Accessories: Modern Label Punch

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Products selling out fast!

Red alert! Some products on the retiring list are sold out already! I'm upset about Sense of Time because I was planning to use that at the Distressed About Distressing class later this month! So the lesson to us all is: get your order in early!

Now, onto today's card... and doesn’t our little owl  go well with this woodgrain paper from Woodland Walk?

This is for a friend who starts her new job, training as a modern languages teacher this week. Yes, she’s a towering intellect – who else could retrain in their 40s to teach French and German? I’m sure she’ll do it brilliantly, too.

It would have been nice to have had the French version of this stamp set on this occasion but limited usage so probably not worth the investment!

Stamps: Sincere Salutations

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Paper: Woodland Walk

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Owl Punch, Bird Punch, Seam Binding Ribbon – Crumb Cake

All products by Stampin' Up!®

It takes all sorts...

I’ve been having fun with those monsters again! There’s something very cheering about these little fellas and I thought I’d have another play with them, just in case they ended up on the retiring list (thankfully, they didn’t!).

It all really started with the goggly eyes – and it amused me to put eyes of different sizes on this monster. I stamped him twice – once onto the Whisper White cardstock and once onto a scrap of Designer Series Paper. His tongue is stamped on another scrap of Designer Paper and cut out. Yes, cut out! (I don’t do fiddly stuff, so this is quite a feat for me.) I’m trying to use up my vast stash of Designer Paper before it all retires at the end of September – but these little bits have barely dented the “problem”.

I coloured the arms and legs using marker, stamped the balloon and hand-drew (badly) a string. I might add a scribble of pale marker under his feet, too, to give him some ground to stand on.

And here’s another, similar, card that started out the same but went “different”.

Recipe (retiring products in red)

Stamps: Make A Monster, Party This Way, Basic Phrases

Cardstock: Real Red, Pacific Point, Whisper White

Paper: Celebrations (large dots), Play Date (small dots), Lap of Luxury (tongue!)

Ink: Pacific Point, Basic Black

Accessories: Round Tab Punch, Stampin’ Write Markers, Stampin’ Write Journalling Pen, Modern Label Punch, 5/8” Grosgrain ribbon – Real Red, 1/8” Taffeta ribbon – Real Red, Taffeta ribbon - Daffodil Delight

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Strength & Hope

I have a friend who is in great need of some strength and hope at the moment following some family news, so I made this card for her. I have to admit I haven’t always got on well with this stamp set but having a real person to make a card for made all the difference and I really like the results.

Remember, if you buy this stamp set, Stampin’ Up!® will donate £1 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which carries out research worldwide.  I can’t wait to hear how much they’ve raised! Also remember that this is a limited edition stamp set which will not be available after the end of the month!

The front of the card began life as an insert for another card which went “different”. There was a smudge of ink on it which I didn’t have time – at the time – to cover up, so I just cast it aside and sent that card without an insert. So, starting with a piece of Whisper White and a strip of Blueberry Crisp paper, I added a strip of scalloped Pacific Point and some ruffled ribbon and mounted it on a piece of Pacific Point cardstock.

By stamping off on scrap paper first, I stamped a strip of words very very lightly along the bottom of the white. I stamped a full-strength butterfly in Crumb Cake on the card and then again on some scrap, which I cut out and mounted – stuck flat in the centre and popped up on Dimensionals on the wings. This gives you a nice cut-out butterfly without having to worry about the antennae! It is finished off with some pearls.

The tag is created using the remaining stamps from this set – the large flourish and the H for hope.

The card base is inked around the edges using the flat stamp from the Distressing Essentials Kit and Crumb Cake ink.  I used the same method on the inside of the card to give the Whisper White a bit of depth – sorry about the duff photo.

Remember, items in red will retire at the end of the month, so order now if you want them!

Stamps: Strength & Hope

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Pacific Point, Whisper White

Paper: Blueberry Crisp

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pacific Point

Accessories: Seam Binding ribbon – Crumb Cake, Scallop Edge Punch, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Crop-A-Dile™, Basic Pearls, Distressing Essentials Kit

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Catch 'em while you can!

Here's the link to the list of retiring products! And guess what? A few selected items are reduced by up to 40%!

But remember that ALL these products are only available while stocks last, so if you want to order anything, please let me know ASAP!