Retiring stamp: Accented Blooms

Ok, it’s time to start showcasing some retiring stamp sets because a) if I don’t show you the projects now, I never will and b) you need to see what you’ll be missing if you don’t buy now!

This set is called Accented Blooms and it goes perfectly with the Tailored Tag punch. I’ve used it here with Peaceful Moments (not retiring) to create a simple sympathy card. It was quick, too, as the main image came out of my UFO box (unfinished objects). I just hope I don’t need to use the card any time soon.

Any image which fits the Tailored Tag punch works well with this stamped image, giving the set even more versatility. 
 

Hello card with Accented Blooms

Well, hello! I love the greetings that go with this Accented Blooms stamp set because sometimes you just want to send a card to say "hello".

I've coloured the image using ink pads and blender pens, for speed, and teamed it up with some leafy Nature's Poem Designer Series Paper. Remember, this paper will be retiring soon, as will the main colour on this piece, Tranquil Tide, although the stamp set and punch live to tell the tale for another year.

#Simplestamping with Accented Blooms

My new(ish) Cuppa & Card sessions at Dawson's Café in Borrowash are a great way to meet new people... and I’ve already signed two of them up into my team. Not a bad start to the year.

This month we used the lovely Accented Blooms stamp set, which is really popular not just because of the great images but because there's a co-ordinating punch. Who doesn't love a co-ordinating punch?

I kept things simple (#simplestamping is the best!); the first card is just stamped in Gorgeous Grape and the colour pulled from the edges using a Blender Pen. The second card is a little more complex, with the image coloured in using ink pads and blender pens.

Wet on Wet watercolouring with Accented Blooms

Look closely at the punched "Hello" panel on this card and you’ll see two shades in action. I inked up the whole stamp using Pumpkin Pie, then added some Poppy Parade around the bottom with a sponge dauber. I love the ombre effect it creates and it’s ever so simple to do.

The image itself is embossed in white then coloured in using a wet on wet watercolour technique – always fun... if a little unpredictable! Once it had dried, I went back and added some stronger splashes of colour.

Behind the image I’ve stamped some Artisan Textures splatters, just because I could and to break up the large expanse of Very Vanilla.

Accented Blooms Mother’s Day card

I made this card for my Mum for Mothering Sunday, which was a week or so ago here in the UK. It uses – as do so many of my projects this month – the Accented Blooms stamp set which I’ve coloured in using ink pads and blender pens.

I’ve fussy-cut the image and overlaid it onto two stitched squares in Granny Apple Green and some Nature's Poem DSP. TWO stitched squares? Yep, you read that right.

There’s a really simple way to create stitched squares using the Stitched Rectangle Framelits and I’m sure you’ve already worked it out for yourself; you simply cut each shape twice to make exactly the size and shape of rectangle/square you need. The corners aren’t as perfect as when you just cut once but nobody's going to notice, I promise you!

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.

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!

Keeping it simple with Accented Blooms

There’s a theme to this week’s blog posts, which wouldn’t necessarily be obvious at first glance.  I’m using three different stamp sets, three different colours schemes and the cards are for three different occasions. So what’s the theme?

The theme is ... #simplestamping.

We demonstrators have realised that we get so into our craft that we sometimes neglect the new stamper. We are so keen to throw everything at our projects – purely because we can – that we forget that some people are starting out with limited supplies.

This project, then, takes things back to basics. One ink pad, one stamp set, one colour cardstock, one punch and one pack of embellishments. Perfect for the new stamper... or the experienced stamper in a hurry.

Brayered background with Delightfully Detailed laser-cut paper

I do love a fancy background technique. Well, I say “fancy” but often they are really easy to create, as with this one which is simply brayered with Grapefruit Grove, Poppy Parade and Lovely Lipstick. 

It goes really well with the Very Vanilla laser-cut paper laid on the top. But what do you think of the colour combo? Be honest, I can take it!

Accented Blooms meets Pinewood Planks

Accented Blooms is one of those sets that illustrates what Stampin’ Up!® does so well - co-ordination. It goes with the Tailored Tag punch, which was launched in the spring along with a masculine set. Now the Tailored Tag punch is back for the new catalogue with a floral stamp set. I love the panel for the greeting and the big blowsy flowers.

I must admit I did think at first that this set might be a bit of a one-trick pony, but I intend to prove that theory incorrect.

For this project, I painted the image using ink pad lids and an old-fashioned paintbrush - you do have to work quickly when using Whisper White. Then I fussy-cut around the whole image - that was a decision I regretted before I was even a quarter of the way around - and mounted it onto some Whisper White cardstock embossed with one of my favourite folders; Pinewood Planks. Some of those fab new self-adhesives sequins finish it off nicely.

Tropical Chic Hello card... with a little help from a feline friend

It’s another outing for Tropical Chic and this time a really simple project which I threw together in minutes. You could step it up by embossing those leaves which would look stunning, and adding some embellishments, too. But sometimes a quick project hits the mark and I like to keep things simple.

If only taking the photograph had gone so smoothly... thanks for the “help”, Hamish!