Peaceful Boughs in metallics and white

 
Waste not, want not... here's the missing piece from the pizza box lid, refashioned into a layer for a co-ordinating card.

I made two versions of this card for my class as I know some of hte ladies prefer stamping to standing up to use the Big Shot, but I confess I like the Tin Tile Background version more; I just love the look of that embossing folder.

To get this look with the metallic thread, lay a piece of double-sided tape on your project then fold the thread around in a figure of 8 fashion. When there's enough, seal it on top with another piece of tape and cover it up with your top layer. 

Peaceful Boughs Christmas ornament in gold pizza box

I do love a woodland theme... and particularly a woodland-themed Christmas ornament, so it wouldn't be the festive season without one of these making its way into my craft classes!

I bought some MDF hearts from eBay, painted them white and then set to crafting by stamping them with the Birch Background stamp and Peaceful Boughs.

I embossed the boughs with clear embossing powder on top of the Mossy Meadow (hurrah for the Stamparatus!) and, because the Crumb Cake Birch image still wasn't quite dry that picked up some of the powder, too. I call this a happy accident! There's even a hint of glitter!

The box is die-cut (look out for the missing piece coming soon!) and given a window sheet insert which is stamped in Whisper White ink and heat set, then we wrapped our ornaments in stamped black tissue paper ready to give as a lovely handcrafted gift.

I don't like glitter because it can end up in our oceans but still have quite a bit left so I now only use it when mixed with glue or embossing powder. Here I mixed it with the clear embossing powder to stop it from going astray. It adds a touch of glitz to an otherwise quite understated project. 
 

Simple Stamping with Peaceful Boughs

You don't need a lot of products to get started in stamping... something which I think we forget at times!

The card on the left just uses stamps, three ink pads and a Whisper White notecard, and yet it's still lovely (although I say so myself).

For the card on the right, I stepped things up a little with some extra stamping, some gold embellishments from the new Christmastime is Here Suite and some subtle copper stamping.

Simple stamping can be as simple as you like! My tip when bulk making is to start simple and then only add the extras if you still have time.

Nature's Beauty meets Feels Like Frost

If only real winters were as beautiful as the Feels Like Frost Designer Series Paper!

I've used this pack for loads of projects already and it still shows no signs of running out. The beauty of this pack is that you have lovely wintry views on one side, and white and silver foil designs on the other, which you can colour, brayer, sponge... you name it, you can do it.

This was the Make & Take for a party on Friday evening; guests could choose their piece of paper so all their cards were different.

Cut your Designer Series Paper slightly smaller than the white panel on the front of these Silver Foil-Edged Cards and you get the appearance of an extra layer without adding bulk or weight. 

Christmas blues with Peaceful Boughs

Got the Christmas blues already? Even though I'm a bit of a traditionalist and usually favour red and green for my Christmas projects, I do like this combo of Blueberry Bushel, Real Red and Whisper White, with a splash of silver. I used Stazon to stamp onto the silver foil because it's a permanent ink which dries quickly.

Using the Stamparatus for embossing is a real game-changer. It means you can ink the stamp more than once and stamp repeatedly to get more ink on the page before embossing. I always “double up” when embossing in white; I use White Craft ink AND White embossing powder to get a really crisp and clear look.  

Nature's Beauty gets the feminine touch

Add a feminine touch to the Nature's Beauty stamp set by using a piece of floral Designer Series Paper. This is from the Perennial Essence collection, which has a distinctive impressionist vibe.

This is the gorgeous Nature's Beauty stamp set - buy this and you'll be supporting Mental Heath Europe, which will receive £2.50 from the sale of each stamp set sold in Europe. If you're in a different market, ask your demonstrator which mental health charity will benefit.

Don't attempt to glue your ribbon down – it looks more natural when it's appears to be free. I simply taped this piece of ribbon at the back, then tied the embellishment around it using linen thread.

#Simplestamping for Christmas with Peaceful Boughs

Peaceful Boughs has definitely become my go-to stamp set for Christmas projects.

We used it at my Crafty Friday session last week to make this beautiful shaker dome pizza box but it's just as good for simpler projects such as this one. This would be a great design for mass producing Christmas cards as it's just one layer, stamped, with some ribbon around it, stuck onto a pre-cut foil-edged card. Quick and easy, but pretty effective.

If you want to create the one-layer look, use a fairly pale green ink for the boughs; I've used Pear Pizzazz here with Soft Suede pine cones stamped on top. I've tried all of the darker greens and the pine cones don't stand out enough. 
 

Pizza box with shaker dome lid

Let's start the week off with an over-the-top, complicated project, shall we? Actually it's not as complicated as it first appears; it's just that I've overstuffed my dome and didn't have enough pizza boxes to make another one.

In fact, the hardest part of this project was cutting out the dome shape from the lid of the pizza box as you have to get through quite a lot of layers and the inside of the box has a plastic coating to make it food safe. Once that was done, it was just a case of assembling the pieces in the right order.

When die-cutting foil, you need either a really unblemished cutting plat on top, or a piece of scrap paper to protect it. Otherwise you will get imprints from the plate in the delicate foil surface. 

 

Nature's Beauty: masculine/feminine

Oops, looks like Friday’s project didn’t post! Anyway, better late than never and yes, I know I've shared a card with this very same design before but I just can't get enough of it and wanted to show you how it can look in different colourways.

Here I made a masculine version using Come Sail Away Designer Series Paper as the background, and a feminine version using polka dot pink paper from Bird Ballad. In both cases, I sponged around the edges and bottom of the DSP to give it some depth.

Even Sahara Sand was a little too dark for this project, so I stamped off onto scrap paper first. Using the Stamparatus meant I could line the stamp up perfectly to repeat the image and create a subtle background for my woodland creatures.

Simple Stamping with Animal Outing

As a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator, you can imagine that I have a pretty impressive stash of craft supplies and the temptation is always there to as much as possible for each project.

But sometimes it’s good to scale things back and show that crafting doesn't have to be complicated at all. These little cards (they’re half-sized so you get four from a full sheet of cardstock) use just stamps, ink, cardstock, watercolour pencils and blender pens... and that last item is optional. Ok I confess I used the Stamparatus, too – but I was making a LOT of these!

If you're not sure where to add shading when colouring an image, be guide by the original artist. Look for the shading on the stamped image – under the chin, between the legs, etc – and add your darker colouring there. 

Peaceful Boughs with Feels Like Frost

The fact that I have pine cones in every project photo should give you a clue that I love woodlands... which is why Peaceful Boughs was the first stamp set to go on my shopping list when I saw the Autumn/Winter catalogue back in August.

I’ve patiently held off with the set until now as I know my customers’ enthusiasm for Christmas projects doesn’t start quite as early as mine, but this is my stamp set of the month for October so there's no more holding back!

I’ve been creating lots of projects with this beautiful bundle. I can’t show many just yet as they are for classes and events to be held this month but this is one that didn’t make the cut. I’ve used the gorgeous Feels Like Frost Designer Series Paper (every sheet has a silver foil design on the reverse) and the new Hammered Metal 3D Embossing Folder, too.

When using embossing paste, be aware that it soaks up any ink beneath it. One way to reduce this is to apply a thin layer first and allow it to dry before applying thicker paste on top. 
 

Shabby chic Nature's Beauty cards for a team celebration

I’m still getting lots of mileage from the Nature’s Beauty stamp set - which is raising money for Mental Health Europe and other mental health charities around the world.

I used it here to celebrate my team members this month and combined it with Countdown to Christmas - can you even tell I've used a festive stamp set?

I've repeated the background stamp in Mint Macaron on the card base of the same colour. By twisting and turning the stamp, it doesn't matter if I overlap or the image doesn't quite fit because it gives it a vintage “shabby chic” look. 

Rusty old cogs with Garage Gears dies

I've wanted to have a play with these cogs for a long time but couldn't justify getting the whole bundle - and this is one case where three of the dies just wouldn't work well without the co-ordinating stamps.

Downline to the rescue again! One of my team members, Ian, kindly die-cut some cogs for me so I could make this card for a cyclist friend's birthday.

I used a really fun technique which was demonstrated by Kim Fee at OnStage Birmingham last November; the technique stuck with me and I've been eager to try it.

You start with a cog - mine was made from Crumb Cake cardstock - and sponge in your chosen colours. I used Early Espresso, Copper and Cajun Craze. As you go along, you add some Versamark and clear embossing powder, then brush some off, randomly. Repeat and you get this lovely rusty effect.

The cogs can be cut apart if you’re careful. The small cog looked a little ropy when I detached it from the main die-cut, so I simply hid the ropey bits behind the greeting. Nobody will know unless you’re like me and tell them!

And I've said it before but don't feel bound to stick to Suites and products designed to co-ordinate with each other. For the background of this card I used an image from Countdown to Christmas – you wouldn't know it was a Christmas stamp set.