Winter Solstice Card for Holiday Blog Hop

Christmas may get most of the attention but there are many more December celebrations around the world and it is these which are the theme of our international Holiday Blog Hop, which has been set up to promote #stampingdiversity.

One of the oldest celebrations in the world is Winter Solstice, which has been around since long before Christianity. In fact, many Pagan traditions surrounding the Winter Solstice – cutting mistletoe, gift giving, decorating trees – were absorbed into Christmas celebrations and continue to this day.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is on 21st December; the shortest day and the longest night. I always welcome its arrival as it marks the turning point of the year and means the days will once again start to lengthen. 

To celebrate, I made this card using a variety of products and – surprise, surprise – a whole lotta sponging. Actually, I used a brand new Stampin’ Up!® product from the upcoming January-June Mini Catalogue. It’s a set of three Blending Brushes which are just amazing for getting all the look of sponging with a lot less risk of smearing. For ease, I’m going to use the term ‘sponging’, even though I used the brushes.

To get the huge setting sun (or is it a rising moon?), I die-cut a large circle from a piece of scrap paper to leave the aperture template, then laid a separate curved hill on top. I gently sponged inside here using Daffodil Delight.

Next I used the circle of scrap paper to act as a mask on top of the yellow sun, so I could sponge around in Seaside Spray and Night of Navy to represent the sky.

On top of this I stamped the row of trees from Winter Woods. Something was missing, though – you can’t have a huge sun/moon casting light over trees without some shadows. So I hand-cut a long, narrow triangle from another piece of scrap paper and used this as a mask to sponge with some more Seaside Spray. I didn't worry about creating shadows of the foliage as I knew my words would be covering this area.

I inked up part of the Season’s Greetings stamp from Peaceful Boughs with a Night of Navy marker and used this to stamp towards the bottom. 

Next I used the Playful Alphabet Dies to cut out the word ‘solstice’ from some In Color Designer Series Paper in Seaside Spray (oops! This is the old design!) – first backing it with a foam adhesive sheet to give it dimension and make it easy to stick down. Spacing was something of an issue, as you can see, and there was only just enough room on my piece of cardstock. This wouldn’t be an issue in North America, as their card bases are slightly wider.

I finished off with some Seaside Spray Scalloped Linen Ribbon and some cut-out leaves using Beautiful Autumn, one of my favourite sets from the Aug-Dec Mini Catalogue. 

Inside I echoed the DSP and leaves from the front and added a greeting from Peaceful Boughs, which seemed perfect for the occasion.

I hope you like my Winter Solstice card and it has inspired you to create a project for different holidays. Please now visit the rest of the blogs in the hop to see some amazing projects from talented Stampin’ Up!® Demonstrators around the world.

If you would like to order any of the products shown here, please visit my online store and shop using the December host code SX4NGWRH.

 

In the Pines stamped onto DSP

In The Pines is not just for Christmas! I used it recently to make a batch of cards for a variety of occasions.

The small cards are to thank customers who ordered from me at a party I held for a long-time customer, Mandy. Mandy has stuck with me for many years, for which I’m truly grateful. 

So how did I make them? The small cards are simply a standard card base cut in half. I stamped them using the Stamparatus for speed and accuracy, in Balmy Blue and Misty Moonlight ink. The “Thanks” comes from Waterfront – a must-have set which has been around a few years but remains as versatile and useful as ever – and the gorgeous Misty Moonlight twine is from the Flowers for Every Season Combo Pack.

The spattering is done with a paintbrush. I wet the brush and then picked up some Balmy Blue ink from the ink pad lid, then tapped the brush on top to spatter the ink across the project. Very simple but very effective.

For the standard-sized cards, I stamped directly on to In Good Taste Designer Series Paper, which gives the card a look of texture without the bulk. Then I stamped as before, with larger stamps, using the Stamparatus and the same colours. I used various greetings; some from Beautiful Autumn and the congratulations sentiment is from Beautiful Friendship. 

The BIG celebration was my downline Sue, who celebrated her 10th anniversary as a Stampin' Up!® demonstrator. This is an amazing achievement but of course, she wouldn't have stuck around if it hadn’t been so much fun! 

On these cards, I spattered ink in both colours; Balmy Blue and Misty Moonlight. The water dilutes the colour for a soft effect.

I really enjoyed making these projects and it made a change from Christmas cards! I love how the trees look in blue and it just shows how In The Pines – which at appears at first glance to be a Christmas stamp set – offers so many more possibilities.

If you’d like to order this set – or anything else – please follow the link below and use the November 2020 host code RMK743TS if you’re spending less than £150. If you’re spending more than £150, please talk to me first and I will help you get the best value. 

 

Beautiful Autumn Suite - two colourways

I’ve just spent a week in the beautiful Lake District, where the autumn colours were rich and stunning. I do love this time of year, which is why I was so drawn to the Gilded Autumn Suite.

This card was inspired by one created by a Stampin’ Up!® designer. It uses the same sketch and the same Beautiful Autumn bundle, but I’ve changed the colours to use the Gilded Autumn Designer Series Paper.

I have adapted the project to suit the products I have, so have used the Story Label Punch for my main greeting and yes, even for those semi-circular elements.  

 

Punches can be trimmed, punched again and more. I have create the illusion of semi-circular elements using the same punch as I used for the greeting, simply by trimming off the ends and only allowing the curve to show. You get two from each punch, too.

The card is finished off with some Basket Weave ribbon in Mint Macaron, Linen Thread and some Gilded Gems for a touch of bling.

In contrast, the Stampin’ Up!® designer went for a much more vibrant colour scheme for this project, using the Flowers for Every Season Designer Series Paper and Bumblebee Ribbon. The project uses four of the five 2020-2022 in Colors and has a much more flamboyant feel. It just shows how you can get very different looks from the same stamp set, simply by changing the colour scheme.

Take a look at some more ideas from Stampin’ Up!® designers...

 

This fun project is a decorated Round Tin, and uses the Stitched So Sweetlydies and Subtles Designer Series Paper Pack.

These cards are easy to make in any colours. For instructions and metric measurements using A4 cardstock, please download the PDF from my website here.

 

Blog hop: Gilded Autumn projects

Would I like to take part in a blog hop showcasing the Gilded Autumn Suite? Yes please! This is my favourite suite from the August-December Mini Catalogue; I love autumn and love woodlands so both the colours and the images speak to me. And what were they saying? “Buy me!” of course.

 

 

These projects were made for my Crafty Friday event this month – waste not, want not! We made two cards; a W-fold card and an aperture card.

My classes are still taking place via Zoom so I’m having to provide creative ways of supplying kits which guests can add to with their own stamp sets. This time I was tardy so didn’t have time to order their optional extras of stamps and punches ahead of time so they had the unenviable task of fussy-cutting all those leaves and acorns out. I didn’t – I used the punches, which fit the images on the Gilded Autumn Designer Series Paper perfectly. 

We began with this W-fold card, decorating the front with some strategically placed Gilded Autumn Designer Series Paper and punched out images using the Autumn Punch Pack.

I used this large greeting from Happiest of Birthdays, stamping it in Mint Macaron and Early Espresso for a bit of variety. You can do this using the Stamparatus, or sponges, or simply by winging it with two ink pads. Just remember to start with the paler colour first, so you don’t cross-contaminate. 

Inside, it’s a simple case of adding some squares to a strip of cardstock, which you score in quarters. If you wish, you can download the class instructions here.

I’d sized the squares inside to fit the Stitched Shapes Dies, as I know almost all of my customers have those. But if they didn’t – or didn’t want to die-cut – they could cut them to size using a paper trimmer. I like the addition of a few popped up coloured leaves and acorns to embellish the metallic papers. 

I made two versions; one as a sample ahead of the class, then I changed things up a little on the day. Mainly because, although I am quite disorganised, even I don’t need to stockpile belated birthday cards! 

 

After the class I decided to go a step further by decorating the envelopes with some leftover strips of Designer Series Paper. This is simply a case of applying adhesive to the envelope flap, sticking it to the DSP and cutting around it carefully with scissors. 

Our second card was a simple aperture card – and the beauty of this is that you can cut any aperture in the front, depending on the dies or punches you have. 

Again, I changed the greeting on the day of the class to make a birthday card. I have lots of autumn birthdays so won’t struggle to find a suitable recipient. 

 

Cut the inside piece and hold it in place without sticking, then stamp the greeting through the aperture. This allows you to get it in position, while still giving you the opportunity to turn it over and have another go if it doesn’t stamp exactly how you planned.

I hope you have enjoyed these projects and are inspired to take a closer look at this gorgeous product suite. For more inspiration, please visit the other blogs in the hop here:

Gilded Autumn Suite - two beautiful cards for the best season of the year

 

 

It’s Monday! And let’s start the week with a look ahead to autumn, one of my favourite times of year.

Summer isn’t really my thing; I burn to a crisp in minutes and the heat just drags me down. Thankfully, not a major problem in the UK, although sadly becoming more of one. As the days shorten, I miss the long, light evenings, but I welcome the cooler weather and beautiful colours that autumn brings. 

It is no surprise, therefore, that the first products I bought from the new August-December Mini Catalogue was the whole of the Gilded Autumn Suite. I haven’t used every part of the Suite yet but I have been enjoying the Beautiful Autumn stamp set, the Autumn Punch Pack and the stunning Gilded Autumn Specialty Designer Series Paper which has beautiful copper and gold foil on some designs, such as the one you see here. 

 

I have to say, the stamps line up beautifully. They are photopolymer, which helps, and lining up the leaf and acorn centres with the outlines is really easy, although they look good offset, too, if there’s enough of a colour contrast.

For this card, I used one of my favourite Annual Catalogue stamp sets, Happiest of Birthdays. This is SUCH a great stamp set and ideal for masculine and teen cards as the greeting does all the heavy lifting for you.

Yes, this is a product-heavy card; on top of all the Gilded Autumn goodies and the Happiest of Birthdays stamp set, it uses the Stitched Rectangles Dies to create a DSP frame around the words. I’ve embellished the frame using those beautiful stamped and punched leaves and acorns.

 

 

When it came to the second card, I had a bit of a wobble about my acorns, and decided the colours should be the other way round. Green cap, brown acorn. Then I checked with my husband, a keen naturalist (I said naturalist!!!!) and he confirmed that either is fine as they change colour over the course of the season. 

 

 

This little Very Vanilla Notecard used up some leftover punched pieces and DSP, and the Stitched Shapes Dies. It’s always great to be able to product a second card from the bits left on your craft table, isn’t it? 

 

I love the colours, the crispness and the images... yes I know I shouldn’t say so myself but why not? I made a card and I love it. If you receive this – or indeed the first card – in the post, you know you’re pretty high up in my estimation!

To get the three-colour greeting, I used the Stamparatus. Always start with the palest colour... inking the top of the stamp using your ink pad or sponges, or even a brayer if that’s easier.

Stamp it using the Stamparatus and then, without moving the cardstock (held down with the magnet), ink up with the next colour. It can be difficult to do this using an ink pad, and can give you a harsh line, which is where the sponges, sponge daubers or brayer come in handy. Even if you manage it with an ink pad, the sponge can soften the line. Stamp and repeat with the darkest colour at the bottom.

Using the Stamparatus allows you to avoid any gaps and go back and add more colour where required.

Sneak Peek: Beautiful Autumn One-Sheet Wonder

The theme of today's post is the wonderful One-Sheet Wonder which is an old technique that never goes out of style.

Each week in my customer Facebook Group and in our weekly Show & Tell Zoom sessions I set a challenge. Last week this was to create a One-Sheet Wonder then use it to make one or more projects.

I was blown away by their creativity; we had dogs, leaves, flowers, snowflakes, pine boughs and even cars – and some amazing projects made with their sheets. Not everyone made cards; some made scrapbook pages or boxes, too! Really, anything goes.

Best of all, everyone said they had really enjoyed the challenge and loved making their One-Sheet Wonders.

If you’re not familiar with the One-Sheet Wonder concept, it’s very simple. It’s just a fancy name for making your own patterned paper so all you have to do is take a sheet of any cardstock – it doesn’t have to be white – and stamp all over it.

I’ve stamped here using the new Beautiful Autumn stamp set – yes, this is my first Sneak Peek from the new August-December catalogue. I bought the whole Suite of products again because it’s just so lovely, but I have only had chance to use the stamps and dies so far.

I wouldn’t say this was the ideal set for a One-Sheet Wonder, mainly because the images are so small that it’s quite time-consuming. This A4 sheet took me over an hour to stamp ... but then I did use eight different ink pads!

However, I think it was worth it; I have to blow my own trumpet a little and admit I think it looks pretty fab. Hope you like it too!

The Beautiful Autumn Bundle includes the Autumn Punch Pack; three fab medium-sized punches which create these gorgeous little leaves. The stamps are all two-step, too, so I stamped the outlines in a darker shade and then filled in with a lighter one. They’re photopolymer, so positioning is really easy.

To mat the greeting, I used the Tasteful Labels dies on Soft Suede cardstock  and embossed them using the Greenery Embossing Folder. My obsession with leaves and trees means many of my products co-ordinate beautifully across different Suites.

My main tip for creating a One-Sheet Wonder is to start with the largest stamps and stamp randomly over the sheet, leaving roughly equal spaces between them. Remember to keep turning the stamps so you don't end up with a pattern.

Take the next largest stamp and stamp again in a different colour. Repeat until you get to the smallest stamps. This allows you to maximise the space and get as many images on there as possible.

I usually say to start with the palest colour and work your way through to the darkest colour, but this is one rule that is definitely made to be broken!

When your sheet is stamped, you can cut it up as you wish to make as many projects as you like. I simply cut my sheet into quarters, then cut each one down to fit onto a card front, slicing them into thirds. The excess strips were used to embellish the insides of the cards.

When you cut up your sheet, you may find you have some empty areas around the edges. Don't worry, you can fill these in with more stamping if necessary.

Another tip to maximise your One-Sheet Wonder is to stamp all over with your chosen colours, then cut in half and add another colour to one of the pieces. You can repeat this if you wish to get lots of different looks from one sheet.

One of the main advantages of a One-Sheet Wonder is that it’s a time-saving device if you have a lot of cards to make (unless you use tiny stamps and eight different ink pads!), which means it’s ideal for your Christmas cards or for party invitations.

The other main advantage is that it’s very therapeutic. You just stamp away merrily without having to think too hard about what you’re doing. And we all need a bit of mindless crafting these days, don’t we?