Showing posts with label Quick and easy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quick and easy. Show all posts

Tuesday, 22 April 2025

Sneak peek: three ideas using Beautiful Gallery Designer Series Paper

Stampin Up card ideas Beautiful Gallery

When I first saw the Beautiful Gallery Suite from Stampin’ Up!®, my first thought was “Finally some grungy Designer Series Paper in dark, moody colours!”

While I love all the bright and pretty designs in the current (and upcoming) Stampin’ Up!® catalogue, I do sometimes long for something a bit murkier. And Beautiful Gallery Designer Series Paper fits the bill perfectly, with designs based on old paintings and artistic details. You’ll find full 6"x6" sheets with a self-contained design, as well as old-world patterns and some painterly effects too.

Over the Easter holiday I was short of time and inspiration so turned to THREE tried and tested card designs so I could give them a new spin using Beautiful Gallery Designer Series Paper. 

Tuesday, 30 April 2024

Stampin’ Up!® Ephemera Packs – the new way to make cardmaking EASY

Stampin Up Ephemera Pack easy cardmarking

An exciting new product range in the new Stampin’ Up!® Annual Catalogue is the Mix and Match range, which includes four fun Ephemera Packs. Read on to see all the projects I’ve made with these fun packs... so far.

One of the things I love most about the catalogue, which goes live tomorrow, is that it is so accessible for new crafters.

There are lots of products in the early pages which are suitable for those who have never made a card before, and lots of tips to help them on their way.

I’ve been cardmaking for well over 25 years now but these Stampin’ Up!® Ephemera Packs – which some will view as “beginner” products – appeal to me, too. In fact they are perfect for anyone who is short of time, short of space or wants to pack up a little craft kit to take on holiday. And, drum roll please... Ephemera Packs are perfect for scrapbooking.

Tuesday, 13 February 2024

Six EASY cards using Sunny Days Designer Series Paper from Stampin’ Up!®

EASY cards Sunny Days Designer Series Paper Stampin Up UK

Sale-a-Bration is a wonderful time of year for Stampin’ Up!® fans as we can earn lots of gorgeous free products.

One of them is this pack of Sunny Days Designer Series Paper, which I've used here to create six REALLY simple cards which anyone can make with no special equipment.

All I have used here is some Thick Basic White cardstock, Basic Black cardstock for layering, some Stampin’ Up!® greeting stamps, a paper trimmer and some ribbon. 

Tuesday, 10 October 2023

Are these the easiest Christmas cards ever?


Stampin Up easy Christmas card idea

 
Do you have no time for crafting at the moment? Or maybe your mojo has gone walkabout? I'm hearing both of these issues from many of my Stampin’ Up!® customers and friends.

In fact, thanks to a new job and the commitment of rehabilitating a rescue dog, I barely have any crafting time for myself either.

Undeterred, I decided to throw some quick Christmas cards together at the weekend to show you how quick and easy making cards can be. 

Tuesday, 28 February 2023

Easy cards using Love Cats stamp set from Stampin’ Up!®

Love Cats card ideas Stampin Up UK

Do you love cats and cat cards? If not, I suggest you move swiftly on as today all my projects feature the fabulous Love Cats stamp set from Stampin’ Up!®

While the stamp set is in the Valentines section of Stampin’ Up!®’s January-April Mini Catalogue, this set offers so much more. 

Love Cats stamps Stampin Up UK

I don’t make Valentines projects but this wasn’t going to put me off the best cat stamp set Stampin’ Up!® has offered for years. In fact, I have taken scissors to rubber and trimmed down the “Hi there, Valentine” stamp so it reads simply “Hi there”. 

For these projects I have teamed the Love Cats stamp set with various other Stampin’ Up!® sentiment sets so I can send cards for all occasions to my cat-loving friends. 

Tuesday, 14 February 2023

Easy card making using Enjoy the Adventure Memories & More Cards from Stampin’ Up!®

Stampin Up easy cards Enjoy the Adventure Memories More

 
Have you ever used Memories & More Cards from Stampin’ Up!®? I love them for quick and easy projects.

They are of course perfect for pocket scrapbooking, but also great for so much more. I have used them here to make some simple cards, combining Stampin’ Up!® Enjoy the Adventure Memories & More Cards with the coordinating Enjoy the Adventure Memories & More Cards & Envelopes, with just the addition of some fab Black and White Gingham Ribbon (a favourite of mine).

Tuesday, 2 November 2021

Love, Santa Tag Kit - alternative projects


Have you seen Stampin' Up!®’s new kits? They are perfect for new crafters but also great fun for those who have more experience, too, as the elements can be used for all kinds of projects.

Today I am taking a closer look at the Love, Santa Tag Kit from Stampin' Up!®. I will show you what you can make with the kit, how you can use some of the stamps after you have completed the tag projects within the kit – and how you can modify the projects to make some stunning cards, too...
 

So please read on to find out everything you need to know about the Love, Santa Tag Kit from Stampin’ Up!®.

What does the Love, Santa Tag Kit make?
This kit makes 12 gift tags, three each of four quick and easy festive designs. There’s a Christmas tree, a Santa, a fun yellow car piled with parcels and a white tag with berries and foliage. These are the different tags the kit makes...

You can also purchase a pack of coordinating food-safe bags which I have, but haven’t used yet as I am saving them for some Christmas baking.


What’s in the Love, Santa Tag Kit?
All the tags and elements are pre-cut, you just need to pop them out. You get all the components to complete your tags, including a stamp set, Night of Navy Stampin' Spot, a roll of red and white baker's twine, some small gems and adhesives. 

What skill level is required?
None whatsoever. In fact, I would argue that this kit is a little too simple and doesn’t involve as much stamping as some of the other kits I have tried. For three of the tags, all you have to do is stamp the greetings. Only the foliage one requires a little more, in that you stamp the fir sprigs onto the tag before adding the leaf and greeting on top. 

What’s the Love, Santa Tag Kit stamp set like?
There are 10 stamps, including a large-ish fir sprig, some berries and a small square parcel. The remaining stamps are greetings, including ‘Love, Santa’ in reverse on a circle, ‘Joy’ in reverse on a rectangle, a bold “Merry” and some lovely small script stamps which say “Special delivery”, “To: From:” “Christmas”, “and bright”. 


Is it useful? Yes? Could you make other projects with it? Definitely. I use the stamp sets from kits all the time as they often have versatile greetings. Here are some tags I made using this set, with the addition of Seasonal Labels Dies, some red ribbon and ink pads in Real Red, Mint Macaron and Shaded Spruce.

I used some of the leftover Baker’s Twine from the kit and stamped Love, Santa onto a leftover circle.

 

Do you have to make tags with the Love, Santa Kit?
Not at all! As you can see above, you can adapt this kit to make cards or other items using the components.
Here I have trimmed off the top of the tag and mounted the images onto cards. This is something you can do whether you’re an experienced crafter or not


I was inspired to make this cheerful card by Stampin’ Up!® Demonstrator Mikaela Titheridge, who created a moody cityscape for her version. I decided to see what I could do using just the stamps in the kit so created a night-time forest background using the sprig stamp and Night of Navy ink (included in the kit) on some Pacific Point cardstock. I mounted it onto a Poppy Parade card base and stamped “Merry and bright” inside. 

I have speckled some white ink across the card but this faded a little, probably because the Night of Navy ink was quite intense and still drying. For my second card...

...I used the Christmas tree tag and created the same forest background using the stamp and ink from the kit. This time I mounted the card onto Pacific Point and added the snow at the end using a Chalk Marker. 

So to make these cards, all you need is a pack of assorted A4 Brights Cardstock and a Chalk Marker.


How much is the Love, Santa Kit?

  • The Love, Santa Kit (158375) on its own is £18, which includes everything you need to make the tags. 
  • Love, Santa Treat Bags (158381) are £6.50 and are printed to coordinate with the tags.
  • The Love, Santa Project Collection (159362) is £24.50 and includes the kit and the tags in one easy purchase.

Would I recommend the Love, Santa Kit?
If it’s a stamping experience you’re after, you may prefer to adapt this kit to make alternative projects like I did. If you want to make quick and easy tags, then it’s perfect as it is. I would even go as far as to say I would say the kit is worth purchasing for the stamp set alone.

Want to buy this or any of our other lovely kits? If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store to 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.  
 
 

Thursday, 5 November 2015

Quick, easy and economical Sleigh Ride card


If my customers are anything to go by - and I don’t see why they wouldn’t be, fine arbiters of taste that they are - the Sleigh Ride Edgelits are the BIG seller of this year’s Autumn/Winter catalogue. 

Yes, they are a bit fiddly, but so worth it, as you can make beautiful festive scenes, perfect for Christmas cards, gifts and home décor. 

One idea I picked up from the Autumn/Winter catalogue is to use the “negative”, too - ie the bit you leave behind when you die-cut your shapes. This gives you a pleasing “two for one” deal, maximising your use of cardstock and speeding up the Christmas card-making process. If you’re short of time, or frugal like me, you’ll love this tip!

Here’s one we made at my Christmas workshop a few weeks ago; if I ever find the card we made with the other piece of white cardstock, I’ll show you that, too! (MUST get my craft stuff organised!)



The small print

This is my personal blog and my sole responsibility as an Independent Stampin' Up!® demonstrator. All images are © Stampin' Up!® All content including photographs, projects and text are © Helen Read, unless otherwise stated. Please feel free to copy my ideas for your personal use and inspiration - if you are a SU demonstrator you may use these ideas for your events but please give credit where it is due. Please do not use my ideas for monetary gain, competitions or publication. The images on this blog - including blog buttons - should not be copied and used elsewhere on the internet or on CDs.