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.

New August-December Mini Catalogue goes live today

It’s beginning to look a lot like... there’s a new catalogue! Today is the day when you can order from the brand new August-December Mini Catalogue from Stampin’ Up!® And it’s packed to the drawstring with gorgeous projects for autumn, Hallowe’en and – gulp – Christmas.

You can see – and shop – the new products here

Here are just a few of the products which have my name all over them...

The Gilded Autumn Suite – gorgeous! I loved this so much that I bought the whole Suite. The punches are so cute and the paper is currently too nice to use...

In The Pines Bundle – well you know I’m a sucker for trees, and especially pine trees as I’ve just returned from a week in the Abernethy Forest in the Scottish Cairngorms. They’re really good for you, too – they emit chemicals which boost your mood and your immune system. Clever things, trees. 

Coming Home Bundle – such a fun bundle, comprising the Coming Home stamp set and the Home Together Dies. Add the paper for even more fun. Best of all, if you purchase this stamp set, £2.50 will be donated to charities devoted to adoption, foster care and infertility. 

Yuletide Pasture stamp set – well, what can I say? It has a cat in it! Along with a sheep (baa humbug cards coming soon) and a Highland cow. I can see me combining this set with In the Pines for a truly Highland Christmas card. 

Christmas Countdown advent calendar kit – yes, it’s back! This was SUCH a popular kit last year and there’s plenty of mileage left in it yet. As you can see from this photo, you don’t have to make a Christmas project; use it with any Designer Series Paper or stamped images to create a year-round décor or storage item. And guess what? You can decorate BOTH sides of those boxes, so you can make your advent calendar on one side, and something else on the other. It’s a twofer!

Which ones are on your wish list?

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?