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. 

Whale Done silver congratulations card

Purchasing the Whale of a Time Suite must have been a good omen as the reasons to congratulate people just keep coming!

This time it was my downline Ian promoted to Silver. This is a major achievement for any Stampin' Up!® demonstrator, so I sent him a gift and this silver card.

I combined the Whale of a Time Suite with the Smooth Sailing dies and a hint of In Good Taste Designer Series Paper.

I achieved a “debossed” look on my silver foil cardstock by placing it upside down in my folder. I’d like to say this was deliberate...

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.
 

Friendly Silhouettes meet Perennial Essence DSP

 

I love these Friendly Silhouettes Dies and couldn't wait to get my hands on them... and then, as is so often the case, they sat in the craft room unused for weeks. I finally managed to play with them last week and came up with these two projects for my team achievers this month.

I had planned to create watercoloured backgrounds but time was short so the Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper came to the rescue. With the white silhouettes in front, I think it works just as well, if not better.

Your eyes are not deceiving you, by the way; the top card is slightly deeper than the bottom one, because I got my cutting measurements wrong! Still, there are no mistakes, eh?

 The 3/8" Reversible Ribbon in Old Olive/Pretty Peacock was just right to go with these cards but was too wide to work well; it just overwhelmed. So I snipped off the edge and extracted some of the shiny threads from the length of the ribbon to add some colour and shimmer behind the greeting. 

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. 
 

Tent fold easel card with Come Sail Away Suite

I was inspired to make this card by Karen from Donemark Papercrafts but wanted to change it to fit inside a standard C6 envelope. I also simplified the easel mechanism.

So please do follow Karen’s instructions but if you want to make the smaller version for a C6 envelope, it is as simple as cutting a square of cardstock which is no longer than your envelope. So I used a 14.8cm x 14.8cm square of cardstock, scored into quarters.

For the easel mechanism, I cut an 8cm x 2cm cardstock strip and scored at 2cm and 4cm.This is where you need to score (dotted lines) and fold (solid line) your main piece:

You can make this card any size you like, just score the square in quarters, as shown in the diagram. To make it fit in your envelope, just make sure the square is no longer than your envelope - for a C6 card (which is just over 16.2cm long), I used a 14.8cm square. I could have made it bigger but this way I could get two from a sheet of A4 cardstock. 

The key fold is the centre vertical – make this crisp to ensure the card stands up nicely, with the two base squares overlapping. 

As with any easel card, weight is the key to making it sit properly. If the decorated section isn’t heavy enough, it will float mid-air. 

Finally, your easel needs something to rest against, which is why the greeting panel is popped up. This creates a step to stop the decorated panel from sliding forwards.

Seaside Notions shell collection

I’ve always had a bit of a thing for seaside stamps. Way back before I was a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator, I organised my various stamps into shoeboxes and had one whole box dedicated to seaside themes.

Naturally, I couldn't resist the new Seaside Notions stamp set – it was the first item on my order on 4th June! I love how it goes so well with the new In Colors (I’ve used Terracotta Tile and Seaside Spray) and the weeds die from Smooth Sailing dies set.

Can you spot the dotted background? To create this, I wrapped a piece of bubble wrap around a clear block and used it as a stamp. Household items such as this can give you some really cool and unique background effects to supplement your stamp collection.

Smooth Sailing Dies - the lighthouse that nearly got away

I found the Come Sail Away Suite so inspiring because it appealed to my love of all things nautical and I could see watercoloured backgrounds coming into play, too.

Unfortunately, my first attempt to create lovely, rich watercoloured backgrounds didn't go to plan and all I ended up with were rejects. A few days later, however, and I was idly fiddling with a template left behind after die-cutting yet another lighthouse when I fortuitously placed it over one of my watercoloured rejects. Suddenly a new card idea was born!

I stamped my greeting then embossed the white cardstock using the Subtle Embossing Folder, then added a couple of extra elements to complete my card. And, as is so often the case, it's turned out to be one of my favourite Come Sail Away projects so far. 

Keep your rejects as you never know how you will be able to use them in the future. I keep all my in my UFO (unfinished objects) box.

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.

Free As A Bird Delightful Tag pouches

Today is the very last day you can order from the 2018-2019 Annual Catalogue, so please don't leave it right up to the deadline (10.50pm in the UK).

To be honest, I'm all about looking forward now, not back... so have another new stamp set to show you. It's just a glimpse, mind as the lovely birds from this Free As A Bird stamp set just didn't want to stay put on this project. No matter where I put them, they didn't look right, so I stuck with just the flowers.

I've also used the Delightful Tag Topper punch and the frame die from the new Smooth Sailing Dies set.

The new Delightful Tag Topper punch can be used to make all the same cool 3D items as the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, giving you loads of possibilities. 

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?