Peaceful Place... viewed through the round window

I absolutely love this image from Peaceful Place and I’m determined to make time to use this stamp set more, if only to prove to one of my doubting customers that it IS versatile!

For this card I began by watercolouring the image on watercolour paper. I stamped with Stazon and – top tip – if you do this using the Stamparatus, you can ensure you get a totally crisp image, which doesn’t always happen when stamping on watercolour paper. How? You stamp once and then if you’ve missed a bit, or it’s simply not crisp enough, you ink up the stamp again and stamp again... in exactly the same place. 

I needed an accent to go on the card and suddenly remembered I have these lovely wooden elements which I’d almost forgotten about. They're called Frames Elements and I received them way back in February when I received my box of goodies for my OnStage display projects. I used loads of them at the time, so was surprised to see that I still have loads left. 

Peeping Panda

I CASED this project from a similar one by a lady called Nichol Spoor, whose creation was made with non-Stampin’ Up!® stamps. It seems pandas are a trend so are cropping up all over the craft world.

I teamed the Party Pandas (Sale-a-Bration stamp set) with the leaves from Pop of Paradise to give him a tropical hideaway. I inked the leaf stamps in a pale green, then sponged some darker green around the edges. Lemon Lime Twist with Emerald Envy, then Emerald Envy with Tranquil Tide.

Some sparkly black ribbon finishes it off.

Mix It Up Monday: Pieces & Patterns

Mix It Up Monday is back! My computer is still broken but I'm working round it (it's a bit laborious though - I don't enjoy change), although photo quality is suffering unfortunately.

Anyway, here's a fun way of using those circle dies and showing lots of images from one stamp set - in this case, one of my favourites; Pieces & Patterns. My daughter dared me to do the doodling... which was a bit scary when I already thought I had a completed card! 

This colour combination from my In Color charts left me a little cold; I'm not a fan of pink as you probably know, but in this case I enjoyed teaming the Powder Pink with Cherry Cobbler and in fact it was the Marina Mist which threw me. But it's worked out ok, I think?

Mix It Up Monday: Cat punch birthday card

Continuing my campaign to prove that you don’t need to celebrate Halloween to enjoy the new cat punch… here’s a fun birthday card in this week’s Mix It Up Monday colour combination from my In Color charts. It’s a great combo but I wish I’d made more of the Old Olive as it does get a bit lost.

Cat-wise, I’m loving the cat in an ombre Berry Burst – I knew I’d come round to colourful cats eventually. 

Sneak peek: Spooky Cat owl birthday card

It’s birthday season – from last week until the middle of September it’s just birthday, birthday, birthday. There’s even a run of four or five on consecutive days. And, in most cases, I can’t just root around for a card in the samples box. For instance, I don’t have an 18th birthday card lying around, so made this one specially, using a number of stamp sets:

• Spooky Cat – as part of my mission to prove that it’s good for more than just Halloween
• Number of Years – perfect for those age cards
• Best Birds – so the owl doesn’t fall off his perch
• Labeler Alphabet – for the inside greeting. 

Sneak peek: Hometown Greetings Edgelits

What I would like to know is this: how come, when a German demonstrator (any German demo – they all seem to have this talent) creates a project using Sahara Sand (or Crumb Cake) and one other colour, it looks fabulous and stylish and gorgeous... but when I try it, I never seem to be able to pull it off?

But while the cards may not overwhelm, I think the products will. I LOVE the Pinewood Planks embossing folder, which I have only just purchased, and I LOVE these new Hometown Greetings dies.

I made a batch of these for this month’s club ladies, to thank them for their orders. I wanted to showcase some of the new Autumn/Winter products but in all honesty, I’m not quite ready for Christmas just yet. I know if I start on the Christmas cards this early, I’ll be sick to the back teeth of it by November.

But these little die-cut houses are good for lots of occasions. They are part of a border, so I had to cut off another house, and they are one of my favourite products in the upcoming catalogue. I have lots of ideas for these, and a trip to Ikea may be in order.

Blooms & Wishes gift pack for a special silver celebration

I am very proud of my team member, Sue, who has just promoted to Silver! I may not be Sue’s direct upline but I’ve pledged to be better at celebrating my team members’ achievements so popped a little packet of Rhinestones in the post for her, with a matching card.

I used flowers – because Sue LOVES flowers – and a splash of silver to mark the occasion.

Happy Birthday to a Fun Guy

I crack myself up, I really do. I’ve been waiting for inspiration to strike with this mushroom-themed DSP for some time. I really love it so didn’t want to cut into it for the sake of it (I know, I know, I should practise what I preach). Then I had this idea and chuckled to myself all the time I was making it. Well, somebody has to laugh at my jokes!

Pick a Pattern DSP with glittery embossing

I’m going through a glittery embossing phase, and it all started with a video by Kristina Werner, which inspired me to try some sparkly techniques. While Kristina’s techniques didn’t directly translate to Stampin’ Up!® supplies, the concept certainly did, so I set to work.

I began by watercolouring a background in some bright colours, the die-cut a circle using the fabulous, must-have Stitched Shape Framelits. I embossed the greeting on top in white, then embossed the whole thing using a mix of clear embossing powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter. Sparkly!

The only ribbon I had in a relevant colour was Crushed Curry, which didn’t quite look right, so I turned to my talented team for some help in finishing off the project, and this suggestion was put forward... curly strips of cardstock. I love it! And it means you can create fabulous embellishments from the bits you’d normally throw away. 

Here’s the card to go with the present – another sparkly greeting and the same fabulous Designer Series Paper. I’m so glad I finally plucked up the courage to start using this paper, instead of just looking at it.

Sneak peek: Pieces & Patterns

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: How cute is this little dinosaur? For this card, I made a mask from a post-it note so I could enable the T Rex to write with his tiny hands - I just hope he doesn’t drop the pencil as he’ll never be able to pick it up again. 

I enjoyed making this card so much, that I had another go, with a pencil-themed variation and the perfect greeting from Crafting Forever. This Designer Series Paper goes perfectly with this sentiment, doesn’t it?

Detailed Dragonfly gift bag

A bit of coppery bling for the depths of winter... guaranteed to brighten up the darkest day. I created this gift bag using the Gift Bag Punch Board for my friend and downline Alison, who unfortunately has her birthday on Christmas Day. I thought the dragonfly hinted at brighter, sunnier days to come... and also made for a really quick and easy project in the busy days running up to Christmas! A little glimpse of Emerald Envy really stands out from the copper, I think.

Sale-a-Bration sneak peek - Hey Chick!

If this was the only stamp set in the Sale-a-Bration brochure (it isn’t, don’t panic!), I would be happy. I am so excited about this set as it combines two of my great crafting loves; animal images and the potential for watercolouring.

Plus, the images are cute without being “cutesy” and comical without having to wonder if the pun works if you say it in an American accent (yeah, yeah, I know there’s more than one “American accent” – it’s the same here, too).

I had lots of fun painting up some images from this set and have even managed to turn a few of them into cards, including this one of course, for my good friend Amanda. Who, as far as I know, has never expressed any interest in chickens whatsoever.

So how do you get this set? You have two options:

1. Join Stampin ’ Up!® NOW and you can order it in a week – free with a £45 order.
2. Wait until 4th January and get it free with a £45 order.

Either way, it’s FREE, which is everybody’s favourite kind of stamp set, right?

In The Meadow CAS card

This card combines my current love of white backgrounds with my ongoing love of watercolouring. I made it for my Mum’s birthday as I know she isn’t too keen on over-fussy styles. She’s definitely a fan of the “Clean and Simple” (CAS) approach.

I love this stamp set, the dies and, perhaps most of all, the mini pinecones, which I have been hoarding since the arrived, unable to bring myself to use them because they fall into the “too nice” category. Yes, I can preach it, but am not so good at practising it myself!

In The Meadow Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140754] £18.00	Wetlands Clear Stamp Set [126697] £16.00	Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] £32.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50
Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock [141419] £7.25	Watercolor Paper [122959] £4.50	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad [141394] £6.00	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [126975] £6.00	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad [126965] £6.00
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953] £6.00	5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon [141487] £6.50	Linen Thread [104199] £4.25	Mini Pinecones [141990] £6.75	Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad [101406] £8.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Birthday Fiesta - out of this world llama

Continuing the white card base theme, this project is clean but not so simple as it uses not one but four different stamp sets. I had a concept in my head which looked a little like this, and it was fun to create a crazy dream-like situation for this llovely llama. I made it for my friend and former colleague Kerry, who kindly organised a collection for me when I left work... and in an absent-minded move, almost asked me if I’d like to contribute! Bless her.

Birthday Fiesta Photopolymer Bundle [142268] £38.50	Mixed Drinks Photopolymer Stamp Set [141928] £19.00	Marquee Messages Photopolymer Stamp Set [141727] £19.00	Sprinkles Of Life Photopolymer Stamp Set [139971] £19.00
Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] £32.00	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50	Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock [141420] £7.25	Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock [138345] £7.25
Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock [138341] £7.25	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad [131179] £6.00	Emerald Envy Classic Stampin' Pad [141396] £6.00
Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323] £6.00	Tree Builder Punch [138295] £16.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com