Masculine cards with World of Good Designer Series Paper

I’ve had the World of Good Designer Series Paper since pre-order back in May and *gasp* had never used it! Enough was enough, so I finally cracked it open.

The only issue is... I didn’t buy the Beautiful World stamp set to go with it, so would I be able to create anything without the benefit of Stampin’ Up!®’s amazing coordination? Of course I could! And it’s PERFECT for masculine cards – something I know many people struggle with.

For starters, that old favourite from last year, Sailing Home, goes perfectly. Here are two cards which tap into the nautical theme in traditional blues. 

I love how Sailing Home and the Smooth Sailing Dies are given a refresh with our new colour, Misty Moonlight. Die-cutting from Brass Foil sheets picks up the foiled accents from the DSP. 

They are product-heavy projects but if you have it, use it! I was also following this sketch – which is based on the card on page 87 of the current Annual Catalogue – for these projects, after setting my customers a challenge to do the same. 

And of course, Designer Series Paper on its own can help you make fabulous cards, too. Mixing things up a little, I made two more cards using the browns from the pack. This is where Cinnamon Cider cardstock and ribbon comes into play. The 21st birthday card is a total CASE from Ellen Woodbridge’s fabulous 50th birthday card.

I used the Playful Alphabet dies (an absolute must-have, in my opinion) and the equally essential Foam Adhesive Sheets. The greeting from Whale Done is just the job for a 21st birthday card, and the map design reflects the recipient’s love of travel. 

The final card showcases one of my favourite greeting stamps of all time, from Happiest of Birthdays. I sliced off half of the front of the card, then decorated the front panel and the inside with contrasting designs of World of Good Designer Series Paper. It’s finished off with Gilded Gems.

To get the shadow effect you see on the Happiest of Birthdays card, use the Stamparatus. Position your cardstock in the corner, then move it a hair’s breadth down and towards the centre (left or right, depending on how you use your Stamparatus). Hold it down with a magnet and stamp in your dark colour.

Then move the cardstock into the corner and repeat. You can do this with the same colour without reinking, to get a paler shade, or clean off the stamp and use a different shade, as I’ve done here. I used Early Espresso and Cinnamon Cider. 

Let's go somewhere and do something... within social distancing guidelines

The beauty of Memories & More cards is that you can use them as they are for fast projects, or add to them. I couldn't resist this one when I found it in my stash.

The message just made me laugh as, right now, the only things we can go and do are visit the supermarket for essential shopping, take exercise from our homes or go out to help a vulnerable person. So maybe the message should read “Let's go somewhere and do something... within social distancing guidelines”!

Memories & More cards provide a great starting point for projects. I've sponged and stamped this one, and added other embellishments.
 

Nautical but nice in Mossy Meadow

Lovely Mossy Meadow gives you new options with the Come Sail Away Suite, instead of the predictable Night of Navy. Soft Sea foam provides the perfect contrast. What do you think? Makes a change from the traditional Night of Navy look, doesn’t it?

This card employs the “rule of thirds”, with the Designer Series Paper taking up the bottom third of the main layer. If you imagine a noughts & crosses grid splitting the card into nine, aim to have your major elements falling where the lines cross. This will give you a universally pleasing layout. 
 

Sailing Home slider card

I'm not normally one for “clever” cards – you know, fancy folds or moving elements – but these yachts are just crying out to be made into a slider card. Pull on the wheel and the yacht sails downstream like this...

These yachts also go beautifully with the Waterfront stamp set; an old favourite that has plenty of mileage left in it yet. I love that, no matter what you do with Waterfront, thanks to its washy effects, it always looks fab.

The rope die from the Smooth Sailing Dies is the perfect size to create an aperture to house the simple slider mechanism. Just make sure you pop up the top layer on Stampin’ Dimensionals to allow the yacht to slide easily. 

Sailing Home nautical duo

One reason you're mainly seeing nautical projects on the blog at the moment is that, until last week, Sailing Home was the only new stamp set I had from the upcoming catalogue.

The other reason is that I just love nautical projects. Any seaside projects, in fact, so there's another stamp set – Seaside Notions – that I can't wait to get my hands on, too.

I've made the Come Sail Away Suite the theme of this month's classes, starting with Cuppa & Card, where the ladies made these two simple projects. I know the boat card doesn't look so simple but I did cut all the die-cut pieces in advance to speed things up. Any leftover will get used with the WI craft group later in the month.

Use the long narrow stamps from Waterfront to create a quick and easy water effect to go with your sailing yachts.

Beautiful boats in the Come Sail Away Suite

There are so many possibilities with the new Come Sail Away Suite, which is why I've bought the whole suite - unheard of for me!

I loved this card by French demonstrator Sandrine Greusard and couldn't resist making my own version. The lifebelt is inspired - although quite fiddly! I made two matching circles using Layering Circle Dies, then attached them together lightly, white on top, before snipping away sections to reveal the Blueberry Bushel beneath. I didn't have the Baker's Twine (I've ordered it now!) so used linen thread to wrap around the joins. 

You can purchase this beautiful suite from 4th June - it’s definitely one you won’t want to miss. 

 

Come Sail Away with brayered border

It’s time we had another sneak peek as I’ve been a little behind in this department and all of a sudden it's nearly June!

So far, I only have one stamp set from the upcoming catalogue (gasp!) and that set is Come Sail Away, a gorgeous nautical set of images including this lovely lighthouse.

You know what it's like when you have new products - you want to use it all at once so I merrily grabbed my new Pretty Peacock ink pad... and then realised there was no Designer Series Paper to match in the Come Sail Away pack. No problem: I just brayered it.

I say "just"; I actually used four colours - starting at the top with the lightest and working my way down to the bottom with the darkest. The colours are Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay and, of course, Pretty Peacock. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out - what do you think?