Cards and scrapbooking using Dandy Garden Memories & More Cards

 

Over the course of the past year I have welcomed some new ladies into our little crafting community who just happen to be scrapbookers. They make cards, of course, but scrapbooking is their first love.

I used to be a keen scrapbooker but fell out of the habit but I am happy to say their enthusiasm is reigniting mine. At last week’s Crafty Friday class on Zoom we were chatting about Memories & More cards. These are packs of 6"x4" and 3"x4" cards and sticker sheets which co-ordinate with some of our most popular Suites. They are designed to go with our Photo Pocket Pages which makes scrapbooking REALLY quick and easy, but as the ‘& More’ part of the name suggests, they can be used for so much more.

Order the Dandy Garden Memories & More Cards here

With this in mind, one lady asked how they could be used on a 12x12 scrapbook page, while others said they’d love some ideas for using them on cards.

Challenge accepted! Over the weekend I made several projects using Dandy Garden Memories & More Cards. A 12x12 scrapbook page, as promised, and a few simple cards.

I say simple because there are genuinely no fancy techniques here. Other than the cardstock, few bits of ribbon, the ladybirds, the odd image from the Dandy Laser-Cut Paper and one stamp, everything comes from the Dandy Garden Memories & More Cards.

Shop the project here

This scrapbook page was my first project and it came together so easily. I followed the principles outlined by Stampin' Up!® CEO Sara Douglass in her Facebook Live a few weeks ago. She simply made all her elements the same width as the Memories & More Cards and her page came together easily. 

You can watch Sara’s video here; you don’t need a Facebook account

I used Crumb Cake cardstock as my backing, because it’s a good neutral background – but mainly because that’s what I had (I really must get some more 12x12 cardstock!). 

Using a VERY old picture of my daughter (which I have actually scrapbooked before I think!), I found  the purple of her outfit was picked up beautifully by the Blackberry Bliss of the Memories & More Cards. But I found I could introduce strips of cards in other colours as long as I balanced them out. There are so many colours in the Dandy Garden Suite that you’ll find something to go with almost any photo.

I kept the page pretty simple, with some some of the sticker elements, Ladybug Trinkets and a leaf and dragonfly from the Dandy Laser-Cut Paper as decorative elements. The ‘smile’ is cut out from a Memories & More card and all I can say is I’m glad you get two of everything as I completely messed up my first attempt!

Shop the project here

There’s only one element I’m not happy with and that’s the sticker saying “A very special day”. I didn’t want to use it there but had a smudge of glue which pulled up the paper when I tried to remove it. Still, there are no mistakes, so the sticker did the job. 

 

Shop the project here

 

Before popping up the stickers on Dimensionals, make sure you “de-stick” them first. You can do this using the old Embossing Buddy, some talc or cornflour, or simply by pressing them repeatedly onto your clothing to pick up the fluff. This will stop them from sticking down where they aren’t lifted by Dimensionals. Alternatively, you can stick them to a Foam Adhesive sheet and cut them out.

Shop the project here

This card is a lovely celebration of dandelions, which are excellent for breeding butterflies. I chose various elements in Mossy Meadow and Bumblebee. 

Shop the project here

Just as I’d added some Bumblebee Gingham Ribbon, I remembered I was saving it for my Butterfly Bijou Kits, so swapped to Mossy Meadow Braided Linen Thread instead. I quite like the contrast. 

Shop the project here

For this card, I suddenly remembered I have some Basic White Assorted Memories & More Cards & Envelopes, which are perfect for making quick cards. For super-fast cards, simply stick the Memories & More card on the front and you’re done, as they are sized to be slightly larger.

Shop the project here

But I felt that was a bit of a cop-out so made slightly more effort with this one, fussy-cutting the greeting label from one of the Memories & More cards as my focal point and using some co-ordinating Calypso Coral-based cards as my background.

Shop the project here

The Basic White Assorted Memories & More Cards & Envelopes come in two sizes, to co-ordinate perfectly with the Memories & More Cards themselves, so there are these cute little cards, too. For this I just used some leftover strips to decorate the card front, finishing off with a sticker label which I stamped using Sweet Strawberry.  

Shop the project here

I hope you have been inspired to take another look at the Dandy Garden Memories & More Cards and consider their many possibilities. If you are in the UK and would like to order them, please visit my store and, if you use the March host code HYEBNWP3, I’ll send you a thank you gift in April!

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

Dandy Garden Suite: Garden Wishes or Dragonfly Garden - Part Two

 

Part two of my Dandy Garden Day projects features this little box of notecards. This set above shows the box and cards made using the Dragonfly Wishes bundle. 

However, once again I made samples using both the Garden Wishes and Dragonfly Garden bundles, and again guests could use the Designer Series Paper to add their dragonflies or bees, if their stamp set didn't feature the one they wanted. As you can see from the image above, I cut out the bee from Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper, even though there is one featured in the stamp set. 

We used Dandy Garden DSP to cover the box, just applying paper to the top, front and back. 

 

Wet adhesive such as Tombow is best when covering these Mini Paper Pumpkin Boxes as it gives you that all-important “wiggle room”. If you apply the DSP all while the box is flat, the paper will stretch so assemble the box first then apply adhesive to the top only, leaving DSP hanging over the front to cover the flap with about 5mm (3/16”) on each side and the bottom edge. 

 

Only when the top is stuck should you add adhesive to the front and back panels, then carefully smooth the paper around to adhere.

 

The first of our cards to go inside was arguably the most complex, although even this is not too fiddly. We stamped our tallest image on a white panel, popped this up onto the note card, showing a strip of co-ordinating DSP to the right. Then it's finished off with a dragonfly (stamped or cut from the paper), a greeting and a ladybird. 

 

The Ladybug Trinkets are hollow so the best way to stick them down is using Mini Glue Dots. Don’t have any Mini Glue Dots? (Why not, they’re amazing!) You could use a small piece of double-sided tape, but it will be fiddly!

This Designer Series Paper is too beautiful to hide so these cards show it off by making it a feature of both the cards and the envelopes.

Covering the envelope flap is really easy but be warned: 6x6" DSP is only wide enough to cover the flaps of a notecard envelope, not our standard C6. 

 Simply apply adhesive all over the envelope flap then, making sure you have the pattern the right way up (if that matters with your chosen design), stick the full piece of DSP to the flap, butting it up neatly to the fold. Then turn it over and cut it out freehand, using scissors. 

These cards are scaled right back but are no less striking for their simplicity. The card on the left features dandelions stamped onto separate cardstock and cut out with the dies. ‘Hello’ looked a bit lost on its own so I stamped it three times. 

The card on the right has its flowers stamped directly onto the notecard, with a popped up dragonfly cut out from the DSP. 

 

Even simpler are these two note cards, with no colouring, just the image stamped in a colour directly onto the card. In both cases, the inset is cut out from the DSP. Did you know the bee from the Dandy Wishes dies fits the DSP perfectly? So you can stamp and cut or just cut them out of the paper if you prefer.

Similarly, the Dragonflies Punch fits both the stamp set and the DSP. You can punch both the largest and medium dragonflies from the paper although not at the same time. You will need to rough cut them out first to avoid spoiling the surrounding dragonflies. 

Since the ladies shared their projects in our private customer group at the weekend, orders for one or both of these amazing bundles have been flooding in. If you would like to order any of the products you see here, remember the best time to do so is before the end of the month, as orders over £45 will qualify for a free Sale-a-Bration item. You can either contact me and I will place the order for you – if you are local you an even hop on to my order and save shipping costs – or shop via my store. If you use February host code D6PKN76U, I’ll send you a thank you gift in March!

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link 

 

Please do check you are shopping with me at the store, as if you leave and return, it may default to a different demonstrator and/or lose the host code.

 

And if you have any questions about ordering, or would like to know more about maximising the value by purchasing the Starter Kit, please message me using the details on my website.

 

Dandy Garden Suite: Garden Wishes or Dragonfly Garden?

The Dandy Garden Suite is ‘my’ suite. I love everything about it. Many Suites are lovely but none has spoken to me like this one has. But which stamp set is best? 

 

Garden Wishes?

Or Dragonfly Garden? 

I couldn’t decide so had to have both. In fact, I think I ordered the entire Suite Collection. 

To justify my investment, I decided to hold a big event. Normally I would hold an all-day event at this time of year, hire a local hall and get together with customers for a fun day of crafting. We may not be able to meet in person but I wasn’t going to let lockdown stop me from holding my event. So, just as I have been doing since last spring, I held it on Zoom.

This was a day of choices. I realised that not everyone would want to spend an entire day Zooming so offered the opportunity to book just for the morning or the afternoon. Turns out everyone was quite happy to spend the whole day on Zoom after all!

I couldn’t decide whether to run it with the Dragonfly Garden or the Garden Wishes stamp set... so I gave the guests a choice. Of course, this meant I had to make double the samples but it did show off the versatility of the sets beautifully. 

Both sets feature a tall flower stamp. Both feature a beautiful insect. And both co-ordinate with the Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper. Everyone received half a pack of this, giving them lots of options – and it also meant everyone who chose the Dragonfly Garden stamp set could cut out bees from the DSP, and everyone who chose the Garden Wishes stamp set could cut out dragonflies, just as you can see in the cards above. The top card has a dragonfly cut from the Designer Series Paper, while the bottom one is stamped and lightly coloured in.

We made so many projects that I am going to split them across two blog posts. Please come back on Thursday to see the second batch.

 

Half of the day was spent making these four cards. This one is probably my favourite, using gorgeous Blackberry Bliss. I blended some ink around the bottom of the white cardstock using Blending Brushes. Those who don’t yet have these amazing brushes could use a sponge instead. 

To get the spatter effect, squeeze your ink pad to create a pool of ink in the lid. Using a wet (but not too wet) paintbrush, pick up some of this ink and splash this across the card. I do this by holding the paintbrush horizontally and tapping the top.
NB: The wetter your paint brush, the bigger and paler the spatters will be.

 

 

I made these Bumblebee cards deliberately different, to showcase the versatility of the DSP. They look so different with the bold designs on the right, or the subtle Bumblebee designs on the left, but which do you prefer? I can’t really decide. 

When attaching strips of DSP in a design like this, start with the two outer edge pieces, then finish off with the centre. That way you retain an even border around the outside edges of the card. 

 

This card again shows the versatility of the Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper. The card on the left uses a bumblebee cut out of the DSP, while the one on the right is stamped from the Garden Wishes stamp set. The images in the DSP meant nobody had to miss out, regardless of the stamp set they had chosen for their kit.

If you love these products as much as I do, I would urge you to act fast. No, they’re not going anywhere but if you order before the end of February, you can take advantage of Sale-a-Bration. 

 

Order both of the above and you can of course choose TWO Sale-a-Bration items or one Level 2 SAB item.  If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the February host code D6PKN76U, I’ll send you a thank you gift in March!

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link

However, for the best value of all, I would recommend the Starter Kit, which gives you £130 of craft supplies of your choice, plus five packs of Designer Series Paper worth £53.75. It’s shipped to you free of charge and entitles you to discounts and sneak peeks. Please do message me via my website to find out more or click here to get started. 

Please message me via my website

 

Serene cards with the Dandy Garden Suite

 

Have I mentioned how much I love the Dandy Garden Suite? Thought so. But is that going to stop me telling you again? No way! Here are some of the projects I’ve been making with this Suite lately.

I needed to replenish my stock of ‘Thinking of You’ cards after my Mum totally cleaned out my last batch. She said she needed two cards so I sent her everything I had so she could choose and the box came back empty. 

 

This set is just perfect for simple, understated cards for such an occasion, so I made a handful by stamping the tall flowers image from Dragonfly Garden onto white cardstock and lightly colouring the image using Stampin’ Blends. The greeting on this card comes from Peaceful Moments. 

On most of the cards, I adding some background using our fabulous new Blending Brushes. These are so easy to use and create lovely soft backgrounds. On top of this I flicked some clean water to create a speckled effect, a technique I love for its simplicity.  The greeting on this card some from Field of Flowers. 

 

I mounted them onto some card blanks I’d made previously (I keep a box of these on hand from leftover Make & Takes and projects where I change my mind partway through) and soon rustled up a batch of these landscape cards, finishing off with a greeting from Woven Heirlooms and some Linen Thread.

For something a bit more complex, I used a big chunk of my craft supplies, starting with the Dandy Wishes Dies. These coordinate with the Garden Wishes stamp set and are available as part of a bundle, too.

The image panel is created using Tasteful Labels Dies, which are probably the most-used dies in my craft room since they were released last summer. The greeting here is from Happiest of Birthdays, which is probably my most-used greeting stamp set of the past 12 months, too. The background is one of the Greenery Embossing Folders, another much-loved product in this house. 

Inside I used Happiest of Birthdays again, along with a dandelion image from the
Garden Wishes stamp set. 

  

The entire Dandy Garden Suite is a must-have, in my opinion! If you’d like to order any of the items shown here, or indeed any other Stampin’ Up!® products, please head on over to my store and, if you use the host code YK2NNMYW, I’ll send you a little thank you gift in February! 

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link (opens in new window)

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  Please message me via my website.

 

Best Suite ever? Dandy Garden featuring Dragonfly Garden and Garden Wishes

When I say the Dandy Garden Suite is my favourite of all time, I do not use those words lightly. I have been a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator for 13 years now and this is honestly the most gorgeous suite I have ever seen. I’ve liked plenty of suites in the past and loved many of them a lot... but none has spoken to me like this one.

Last week I held my annual Twixmas Party, albeit this time on Zoom. In fact, the Zoom format worked so well for this event that I think this one will definitely remain on Zoom in the future, even when we are allowed to meet again. Nobody had to worry about the weather, and guests could celebrate with a glass of fizz if they wished.

We had games, prizes and demonstrations. For this demo I used the Zoom polling feature so the guests could choose what I made. This was the winning design; guests voted for the Dragonfly Garden stamp set, the Blackberry Bliss colourway and finally to embellish with a die-cut bee from the Dandy Wishes Dies set rather than a dragonfly using the new Dragonfly Punch. Of course, I had some variations to show them afterwards, too, so everybody got to see their choices in the end, even if they didn’t cast a winning vote.

I took the opportunity to demonstrate the gorgeous new Blending Brushes which feature in the new January-June Mini Catalogue (p70, £11.25 for three). These are SO luscious and so easy to use. Even my 20-year-old son – who normally shows zero interest in craft supplies – picked one up and said “why are these so nice?”

  

They look like sponges in the catalogue photo but are actually very dense brushes with the softest bristles. You can rinse them under the tap when you’ve finished and because they are synthetic, they dry very quickly, although having three in a pack means you can switch between colours without risking getting water on your project.

It was also the first public outing for my Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine, nicknamed Little Roland. This fits the Greenery Embossing Folders perfectly and is more than adequate for the vast majority of our dies, including the Stitched Nested Labels Dies I’ve used here.

Little Roland and the Dandy Garden Suite all go live tomorrow with the launch of the January-June Mini Catalogue, which is when Sale-a-Bration goes live, too!

Here are some tips for shopping wisely:

The Blending Brushes give you a soft, natural-looking background which offsets these images perfectly. The wildflower image requires very little colouring, so giving it a hint of a background allows the image to stand out.