Let's go somewhere and do something... within social distancing guidelines

The beauty of Memories & More cards is that you can use them as they are for fast projects, or add to them. I couldn't resist this one when I found it in my stash.

The message just made me laugh as, right now, the only things we can go and do are visit the supermarket for essential shopping, take exercise from our homes or go out to help a vulnerable person. So maybe the message should read “Let's go somewhere and do something... within social distancing guidelines”!

Memories & More cards provide a great starting point for projects. I've sponged and stamped this one, and added other embellishments.
 

Friendly Silhouettes meet Perennial Essence DSP

 

I love these Friendly Silhouettes Dies and couldn't wait to get my hands on them... and then, as is so often the case, they sat in the craft room unused for weeks. I finally managed to play with them last week and came up with these two projects for my team achievers this month.

I had planned to create watercoloured backgrounds but time was short so the Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper came to the rescue. With the white silhouettes in front, I think it works just as well, if not better.

Your eyes are not deceiving you, by the way; the top card is slightly deeper than the bottom one, because I got my cutting measurements wrong! Still, there are no mistakes, eh?

 The 3/8" Reversible Ribbon in Old Olive/Pretty Peacock was just right to go with these cards but was too wide to work well; it just overwhelmed. So I snipped off the edge and extracted some of the shiny threads from the length of the ribbon to add some colour and shimmer behind the greeting. 

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.

Animal Outing new baby card

I love this Animal Outing stamp set, which I received as part of a kit to create projects for OnStage Local back in April 2018 It's a lovely stamp set for lots of occasions, including for a new baby so I was delighted to have the opportunity to make this baby card recently. It was supposed to be a simple project but I ended up using three stamp sets plus dies and Stampin' Blends... oops!

Can you work out which stamp sets they are? (Clue - the answers are in the labels)

Cat or dog? Nine Lives or Happy Tails?

The two stamp sets in the new Spring/Summer catalogue which caused me the most excitement are these... Nine Lives and Happy Tails. At last we have a stamp set to go with the lovely cat punch, and now there’s a dog punch, too.

I made two very simple cards in the same design, so appeal to both the cat people and the dog people. Which one is your favourite?

Centre Stage and team notebooks with Tin Tile and copper

Over the weekend it was the BIG event of the Stampin’ Up!® year... OnStage! We hold these twice a year, exclusively for demonstrators, but this was the BIG one because it’s the 30th anniversary of Stampin’ Up!®

I was there, with a group of team members, and I have some more news about the event below. 

But first I would like to share with you the gifts I made for my team... a monogrammed notebook with on-trend copper accents.

I used the Tin Tile embossing folder (because I love it), which I swiped with copper shimmer paint for a verdigris look. They are finished off with a copper monogram, some leaves from Rooted in Nature, a flower from Best Birds, some Rich Razzleberry velvet trim, copper thread and a wooden heart, sponged in copper shimmer paint. Oh yes, I used circle dies and the Artisan Textures stamp set, too.

Yes, they are product heavy – but there’s no need to hold back when creating for fellow demonstrators!

This one is a little different, as I have a man in my team, so I created a more masculine look for his notebook. I also used both initials as the “I” on its own looked a little lost.

The main event was held on Saturday, but on Friday evening there is an even more exclusive event, for demonstrators who reach certain sales and recruiting levels. This is called Centre Stage and they really treat us well at these events. We had an incredible four-course meal, some sneak peeks about the coming announcements and some great gifts. Take a look...

If you’d like to find out how you can enjoy exclusive demonstrator events, I’d love to talk to you about joining my growing team. The best thing about being a demonstrator is being able to do it YOUR way... whether that means holding classes and events, or running an online business, or simply stamping with friends. There's room for all of us!

Please click here if you’d like to arrange a no-obligation chat or, if you already know you’re ready to take the plunge, you can join my friendly team here.

A citrussy, crafty birthday

Do you get clusters of birthdays on your calendar? We do. I find I have loads of birthdays around Christmas – most of them are my downlines or other crafting friends. And right now is another heavy birthday season, with them coming thick and fast.

This one was for Ruby, who turned 18 last week and is a keen artist, so the Crafting Forever stamp set was just the job.

I began by watercolouring some citrussy colours onto watercolour paper, then die-cutting using the Happy Birthday Thinlits. I covered the whole lot in Versamark ink and then embossed using a mix of clear embossing powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

I’m not a big glitter fan – it gets everywhere and is a nightmare if it ever goes down the drain as it can pollute our seas, so this is a great workaround for me as it keeps the glitter nicely contained.

The card is finished off with some paintbrushes and some splatters made with the Artisan Textures stamp set. Hope she likes bright colours!

Peaceful Place squirrel

I do love this little squirrel from Peaceful Place - I've stamped him onto Wood Textures DSP for a different look. The background is Hardwood and I've used the Layered Leaves embossing folder down the side for a bit of extra interest. 

Oh, and Artisan Textures around the edge of the card, and a tiny greeting from Waterfront. Yes, it's product heavy but if you've got it, use it!

Rooted in Nature gift bag of cards

I LOVE the new Rooted in Nature stamp set and, for a recent crafty weekend, wanted to make a set of cards on a mixed metallics theme.

This is how I discovered that stampin the trees and leaves onto foil cardstock in Stazon looks absolutely gorgeous... I particularly love the look on the Champagne Foil, above.

These, plus two other cards, will form the basis of an upcoming workshop, so if you like the look of them and want to make them, please watch this space. I reserve the right to change them slightly, of course; you know I can’t help myself!

Celebrating 10 years with the new Rooted in Nature stamp set

How amazing is this? My downline Tracey has just celebrated her 10th anniversary as a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator. Tracey joined not long after I did, and I’m so happy she chose me as her upline. I remember her sitting in my kitchen, testing out the rubber stamps and being really impressed by the quality. It’s fantastic that she’s stuck around for so long. Congratulations, Tracey!

To help her celebrate, I sent her a gift and this card, which uses one of my favourite new stamp sets, Rooted in Nature. I teamed it with the Hardwood background stamp and the new Artisan Textures stamp set to distress the edges.

Some flowers from Best Birds give the project a pop of colour, and the Champagne Foil die-cut word adds some celebratory bling.