By the Bay Week: Simple or stepped up?

By the Bay Week comes to a close with two projects which aren’t a million miles from the Make & Take I showed you earlier in the week, and uses the same technique to mask the birds...



In fact, these were early prototypes for the Make & Take and are an example of how the same design can be extremely simple (the card on the left) or slightly more complicated (on the right). In fact, the card on the right isn’t complicated at all; it’s just more expensive to make as it uses the Rectangle Stitched Framelits to add stitching to most of the elements, and there are some pearls embellishing the card, too.

But #simplestamping projects can be just as satisfying – and are perfect not just for beginners but for crafters in a hurry.

Now seems like a good opportunity to remind you that time is running out to get this beautiful stamp set... which is only available free with a £45 order during Sale-a-Bration, which ends on 31st March. Please don’t leave it too late, as it’s a gorgeous set which you’ll be using for years to come!

By the Bay Week: Eclipse card

This is one of my favourite projects from my By the Bay Week celebration... it’s an eclipse card, although I admit my photo doesn’t show this off to its best advantage.

All that means is that the main image is popped out on dimensionals, with a Night of Navy layer beneath, to give it extra shadow.

The image is coloured with Watercolour Pencils and Blender Pens and it’s embellished with some Wooden Elements, one of which is coloured using a Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker.

I covered the front of the card base using some Wood Textures Designer Series Paper, which I really love and suspect will retire this year, as it has served for two whole catalogue periods now, which is most unusual for Designer Series Paper. In other words... get it now, while you can!

By the Bay Week: Masked and sponged image

I was having so much fun sponging for Monday’s project that I simply couldn’t stop. For this project, inspired by the sample in the Sale-a-Bration brochure, I coloured the image using Watercolour Pencils and blender pens, then masked off the cottage and masked a frame using sticky notes, before sponging with a mix of Pacific Point and Nigh of Navy, leaving a lighter patch to give the impression of the moon.

Leaving the masks in place, I spattered the image using Frost White Shimmer Paint, which is one of my favourite products and, I’m happy to say, currently still available as a carryover item from the Autumn/Winter catalogue.

By the Bay Week: Masked birds, with video tutorial

Hello! A rare Tuesday post but that’s because it’s By The Bay Week here at All Things Stampy, when I celebrate this gorgeous stamp set from Monday to Friday.

Today I have the Make & Take from last Friday’s party to show you... with a lot more seagulls than you’d expect... or perhaps even want, if you’re eating a picnic on the beach.

How did I get the extra birds? Take a look at my video to see ... and watch out for the feline interloper!

By the Bay Week! Sponged seaside cottage

It’s By the Bay week here at All Things Stampy – a time to celebrate this gorgeous but oft-overlooked Sale-a-Bration stamp set with a new project every weekday. Some of you may have been put off by the thought of colouring that highly detailed main image, but here is a technique which makes it simple...

Thanks to this wonderful tutorial from Mitosu Crafts, I created this sponged image. I used slightly different colours, as I prefer the vivid Pacific Point to the dark and moody Night of Navy, and I added a red front door to make it pop.

I was showcasing the fabulous Stitched Rectangle Framelits, which can be used to make many more sizes of rectangle than the ones included in the pack. Here I used a die wider than the pouch to create the stitched effect just along the top and bottom of the image.

Inside the pouch is a pack of Old Olive Baker's Twine for the host – it’s one of her favourite colours.

I also showed this version, made into a card. This one uses the darker Night of Navy ink around the edges and, instead of creating the stars with a chalk marker, I spattered Frost White Shimmer Paint across the image and the whole card for a brighter, shinier effect. I actually prefer this but didn’t demo it as it takes quite a while to dry.

Big thanks to Barry and Jay for their tutorial!

By the Bay Sale-a-Bration stamp set

This was my joint first choice out of the Sale-a-Bration brochure... luckily my order meant I could earn more than one freebie.

Every £45 you spend during SAB (Jan-Mar) earns you a freebie from the brochure. I highly recommend By the Way, used here on a product-heavy card which we made at Crafty Friday.

Look out for two carryover items; the Sprig Punch and Braided Trim, both still available from the Autumn/Winter catalogue.