Sneak peek: Fun new Stampin' Up!® set Long Time No See

I have a new stamp set and my mojo is back! The new Long Time No See stamp set is a Stampin’ Up!® Online Exclusive available to customers in July.

As soon as I saw this fun stamp set, my head was teeming with ideas and I’m excited to share some of them with you today.

PLUS I am offering a tutorial for one of the interactive cards for a very modest fee.

Sneak Peek: Blooming Phrases new Stampin’ Up!® stamp set

Do you want another Stampin’ Up!® Sneak Peek?

This versatile new Stampin’ Up!® stamp set is called Blooming Phrases (165523) and it goes live in the Online Exclusives collection on 6th May.

Sneak peek: three projects using Under the Moon, new Stampin' Up!® stamp set

Are you ready for a sneak peek? Today I have three projects using the brand new Under the Moon and Simply Said Stampin’ Up!® stamp sets plus two tiny peeks of two new colours. These fab products will be released to customers on Wednesday 1st May.

Stampin’ Up!® Sneak peek: Watercolor Melon Sale-a-Bration stamp set ideas

Are you ready for a sneak peek? This fabulous new Stampin’ Up!® stamp set, Watercolor Melon, will be part of our Sale-a-Bration offering in January and February. 

 

To get your hands on this fun new Watercolor Melon stamp set, just spend £45 and choose it as your FREE Sale-a-Bration gift. 

Sneak peek: Grassy Grove bundle

 

My final Christmas project of the year is this set of simple cards, which blend Stampin’ Up!® products old and new. I have used the absolutely gorgeous Blackberry Beauty Designer Series Paper which is retiring soon... in fact in Europe I believe it has now sold out.

But I couldn’t pack it away without giving it one last outing so used it to make these Christmas cards, combined with the brand new Grassy Grove bundle which is coming in the new Mini Catalogue on 4th January.

This new Mini Catalogue has lots of products which are out of my comfort zone, so I have been having fun with some of those to challenge myself – but it also has many which are right up my street so I bought some of those as well, to satisfy my cravings for projects themed around wildlife and trees. 

 

For these cards I began my creating a background using Blackberry Beauty Designer Series Paper, as many designs have quite a festive feel. The design on the left in this image even features holly, albeit in Blackberry Bliss on Rich Razzleberry. 

 

I used a panel created with the Stitched So Sweetly Dies, which are among my most-used dies, especially since I lost my favourite die from the Stitched Rectangles set! Some are cut from Basic White and some from Very Vanilla – with this Designer Series Paper it really doesn’t matter which you use and I am trying to use more vanilla because it’s so soft and lovely... plus it doesn’t go on back order quite as often as Basic White!

I stamped the trees in Rich Razzleberry, the greeting in Blackberry Bliss and the deer in Cinnamon Cider. I used the Stamparatus for this as it meant I could get the trees and greeting in the correct position each time, and also that I could die-cut the deer in advance then just stamp straight onto them, maximising my use of cardstock and saving time. 

 

For the ground, I experimented with blender pens but didn’t like the look, so eventually settled on one of the cloud images from the stamp set that comes with the No Matter The Weather Kit. Many of these kits come with really useful little stamp sets which are well worth hanging on to once your kit is completed. I stamped this in Cinnamon Cider, stamping off onto scrap paper first. 

 

 

In fact, the greeting – along with the one inside – comes from the Christmas Whimsy Card Kit – this is a stamp set I have probably used more than any other this Christmas, as the greetings are so useful. 

Finally I tied a piece of Elegant Trim around the whole card to finish it off. 

 

 

This Designer Series Paper may have sold out but there are still some amazing products on the Last Chance List and Clearance Rack. If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the current host code TFBG2JJB, I’ll send you a thank you gift in the following month.

To make it easy for you, please 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.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

Sneak peek: Five cards with the Rainbow of Happiness bundle

Do you love rainbows? Come on, who doesn’t? Well, how about a sneak peek today? Do you want to take a look at one of the fabulous new bundles coming up in the Stampin’ Up!® January-June 2022 Mini Catalogue?

The Rainbow of Happiness bundle features the beautiful and versatile Rainbow of Happiness stamp set and the coordinating Brilliant Rainbow dies.

Rainbows can mean many things to many different people. They have spiritual significance for people of various religions and cultures, they can be a sign of good luck to those searching for a pot of gold at the end and they are a sign of equality for the LGBTQ+ community. They are also pretty amazing to see on a wet day, as I did when out walking in the Derbyshire countryside on Saturday.

Whatever your reason for loving rainbows, the new Rainbow of Happiness stamp set will enable you to add more than a splash of colour to your craft projects and I made a batch of cards using this fun new set, to mark a number of celebrations. 

First of all I wanted to celebrate two of my team members who were recognised by Stampin’ Up!® for their achievements during 2020-2021. I used the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper which is only available if you host a qualifying party but had just the right colourful vibe to go with these projects. 

For the first card, picking the colours from this paper, I used Poppy Parade, Pumpkin Pie, Granny Apple Green and Pool Party to stamp my rainbow to match the Designer Series Paper behind. 

 

I added interest to the white panel with a polka dot design created using the Checks & Dots Embossing Folders and a subtle greeting from the Sweet as a Peach stamp set.

For the second team card, I needed make the card a little more masculine so stamped in shades of blue/green. I used Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay and, after trying several blues and not finding the right one, finally settled on Shaded Spruce. 

I used a spotty piece of Designer Series Paper from the same Pattern Party pack, so this time used the checked embossing folder. These are narrow embossing folders which means you can use them in the Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine – but you can also used them with a larger piece of cardstock if you run them through twice as I did, carefully positioning the cardstock so the pattern repeats. 

Next up was a congratulations card to celebrate the birth of a baby girl. I don’t currently have much call for baby cards so I was struggling for a stamp set, but then saw this beautiful card created by Canadian Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator Tina Zinck and used that as the basis for my own version.

I used Shimmery White cardstock to add some sparkle (which doesn’t really show up in the photos) and gave one piece a wash of Pool Party ink to look a little like the sky. This was die-cut using the must-have Stitched So Sweetly Dies.

On top of this I created a pink rainbow and clouds using Brilliant Rainbow dies, and added a penguin stamped using Count on Me and fussy cut. 

Finally I wanted to make a card to support a friend who is transgender and has been receiving lots of hateful messages online purely for being her true self. I began by researching the colours of the trans flag, which is pink, white and blue – not colours I would normally use. I ended up making two cards as I couldn’t really decide where I was going with it. 

This one – the one I sent – is based on a card demonstrated by Emma Parkin-Wilson at OnStage@Home, an event for Stampin’ Up!® demonstrators. Emma’s card used Designer Series Papers behind the white rainbows but I was limited to Balmy Blue and Blushing Bride so stamped them to create my own pattern. As the stamps I used were tiny, this was quite the task!

The greeting is cut out using Tasteful Labels Dies. I keep spare labels die-cut in Basic White to hand so I can finish projects without having to pull out lots of different die sets. The card is finished off with a hint of silver in the cord and rhinestones. The result was that this really did brighten my friend’s day. 

And finally, the one that got away, which I didn’t send in the end. The rainbow is stamped in Balmy Blue and Blushing Bride with the greeting fitting perfectly in the centre. The cute border comes from the Brilliant Rainbow dies, and I still had the Checks & Dots Embossing Folders out from the earlier projects.

I hope you enjoyed these projects and will maybe consider adding this bundle to your wish list for when the Stampin’ Up!® January-June 2022 Mini Catalogue goes live in January. I have to say this is not my usual stamp set style but I thoroughly enjoyed using it and plan to make many more cards to brighten people’s days. 

Meanwhile, there are lots of fabulous products which are due to retire very soon, with some of them reduced by up to 50%. You can check them all out in my online store and, if you use the current host code TFBG2JJB, I’ll send you a thank you gift in January.

To make it easy for you, please 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.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

Sneak Peek: Blackberry Beauty Suite

Oh my! The new Blackberry Beauty Suite in the latest Stampin’ Up!® Mini Catalogue is going to Blow. Your. Mind. It’s SO rich and gorgeous, with some lovely shiny autumnal elements, too.

I love the combination of Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss and Cinnamon Cider – that’s a combination I would never have come up with but it works so well. And, I have to admit it, I quite like Polished Pink in this context too – it provides a splash of brightness that really lifts the projects. 

Customers cannot order these products until 3rd August but I will be using this Suite for my August Kit of the Month, which I just know is going to be hugely popular. I had a lovely day playing with the elements of this kit, which I have hand selected for perfect coordination. 

Take a look at some of the projects I made using. My kits don’t include any stamp sets (although there is the option to add them) so I added my own greeting stamps from my existing stash. All the main images you see are from the Blackberry Beauty Ephemera Pack, which features 40 pre-cut elements to make crafting really easy. 

 

This gorgeous owl is my favourite piece from the Ephemera Pack and I took inspiration for this card from the sample you can find on page 44 of the new Stampin’ Up!® Mini Catalogue. 

 

 

 

The Stampin’ Up!® artist has made a simple tag, so I’ve recreated this tag (more or less) and turned it into a card instead. This gave me chance to show off more of the lovely Designer Series Paper. 

 

 

I’ve used Polished Pink Open Weave Ribbon, as this will be part of my kit of the month, and it picks up the colour from the Designer Series Paper nicely, too. My Best Wishes stamp is from the Artistically Inked stamp set.

I took inspiration from the July-December Mini Catalogue for this card, too, creating a card based on the “I’m here for you” card on page 44, using a thank you stamp from Timeless Tropical instead. I can never have enough thank you cards. I’ve always been a sucker for a seed head image, so this sheet of Designer Series Paper is a favourite of mine from the pack. 

 

Here you can see the lovely new Gold Shimmer Ribbon clearly; in the kit pic below I used the wrong one! This one, from the new Stampin’ Up!® Jul-Dec Mini Catalogue, is even more shimmery and ideal for both autumnal and festive projects.

 

My third card is a celebration of Cinnamon Cider, using one of the Ephemera Pack frames, popped up over a piece of white cardstock stamped using the Timeless Tropical stamp set. It shows just how well the rich purples of Rich Razzleberry and Blackberry Bliss go with Cinnamon Cider.

You can also see a hint of Gold Shimmer Vellum; another new product which is part of this spectacular suite. The flower image is another pre-cut piece from the Ephemera Pack; you get loads in this pack – two of everything which makes it easy for me to split them for the kits. 

 

My final project for today uses the stunning oak and acorns piece from the Ephemera Pack as its main image. I’ve popped this onto a shiny frame, with a piece of coordinating Blackberry Beauty Designer Series Paper inside. Happy Birthday is stamped using the Artistically Inked stamp set, in Cinnamon Cider. 

 

When I first opened this gorgeous pack of patterned paper, I thought I’d never use the “boring backs” with the less glamorous designs, but this zig-zag pattern provides the perfect semi-neutral background for the more vibrant design and oak leaf. Even with the Blackberry Bliss in there and the glitzy bow, I think this card could fall into the masculine category. I would send it to a man, anyway! 

 

Here’s the contents of the kit spread out so you can see what you get (more or less; remember I used the wrong ribbon for the pic!).

Everyone who orders this kit from me will also receive a PDF of projects with measurements, so they can make their own at home, or simply use them as inspiration. The kit costs just £20 delivered to anywhere in the UK. There’s no limit to the number of kits I can make but I am only taking orders for this kit until Tuesday 3rd August when the new Mini catalogue goes live. Please don’t miss it as I know you’ll love it.

 If you are in the UK and would like to order this gorgeous kit, please click/tap here

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.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

Sneak peek: Hand-Penned Petals with Stampin’ Up!®'s new 2021-23 In Colors

My Stampin’ Up!® pre-order goodies finally arrived... just before I went away for the week, so I have hardly had any chance to play with them but I did crack open the new In Colors and the Hand-Penned Petals stamp set to make these five simple cards.

Hand-Penned Petals is a lovely two-step stamp set. A note for my regular ladies here: the solid images are not supposed to fit the outlines perfectly. I repeat: they are NOT supposed to fit perfectly! I know this will freak some of you out, but trust me, they are supposed to look like that. It’s artistic, dontcha know?

 

I stamped each outline image and the greeting in Memento Tuxedo Black, using the Stamparatus for speed and precision. I used the Stamparatus again for the flowers, but switched to a block to add the leaves because you use the same leaf stamp three times. 

 

Please click here for details of in my In Color Shares

 

The large leaf stamp is not stamped the same way round each time. Simply turn it around to fit the image in the best way and remember: it’s not supposed to fit perfectly!

 

Polished Pink

This card showcases Polished Pink, which is going to be the hardest new colour for me to love as I'm not a pink person at all. But I know lots of people are so it's going to be popular, I'm sure!

 

It’s quite close to Magenta Madness, but a little softer so, in my view, that makes it easier on the eye. The ribbon co-ordinates perfectly with Magenta Madness, too. 

 

The leaves on this first card, and most of the cards here, are stamped in Soft Succulent...

 

 

Soft Succulent

This is LOVELY. It’s like the big brother of Mint Macaron which means the ribbon co-ordinates perfectly with Mint Macaron, too. Soft and gentle but with a bit more bite. 

 

 I’ve stamped the flowers on this second card in Fresh Freesia... 

Fresh Freesia

You’ll love this because it’s like nothing we have already, at least not for years. It’s reminiscent of the old colour Orchid Opulence from times past but softer and gentler. Even if it doesn’t float your boat on its own, stick it with Blackberry Bliss and it will definitely capture your heart. 

 

 

Pale Papaya

This is very subtle, a little like Grapefruit Grove from a few years ago but again, gentler. 

 

 
Soft and gentle is the theme of most of this collection, until we come to...

Evening Evergreen

This is by far my favourite. It's so deep and rich and lovely. I always love the greens, as some of you know, but this one surprises me as it's almost bottle green which used to made me shudder as it was the colour of my school uniform! It's a darker shade of Shaded Spruce, so they will work well together. 

 

Please click here for details of my In Color Shares

 

 

Love colour? Please come back on Thursday for my new In Color colour combinations!

If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the April host code TRPKSXWR, I’ll send you a thank you gift in May!

To make it easy for you, please 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.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

Sneak peek Friday - Berry Blessings Sale-a-Bration stamp set

I had a berry nice time (sorry) creating these cards using the brand new Berry Blessings Sale-a-Bration stamp set and the Sweet Strawberry set from the Jan-June Mini Catalogue.

This set is part of a larger bundle which includes some fabulous Designer Series Paper. Sadly, I couldn’t bring myself to cut this up for these projects so just stuck to the stamps for now.

Each of the images has a background and a foreground so you can use the much-loved ‘two-step stamping’ method, stamp the outline and colour in, or simply stamp with the bold images. 

 

For the blueberry card, I got so carried away with my stamping that I ended up with enough for two. I stamped in Granny Apple Green and Pacific Point, then immediately regretted it as I couldn’t find any ribbon in my stash to match! But I think this Seaside Spray and Linen Thread goes pretty well, don’t you?

A variation on the blueberry card uses just blueberries in the background, with a few cut-out leaves and blueberries on top of the greeting, which is die-cut with the ever-popular Tasteful Labels dies. 

For the raspberry card, I played around with a few colour combos before settling on Melon Mambo for the background images and Rich Razzleberry for the outline on top. Again, this left me with a ribbon issue, but I compromised with some Magenta Madness and linen thred. It was a little bright so I toned the card down with a Blackberry Bliss base and greeting (which is taken from the co-ordinating Sweet Strawberry stamp set from the Mini). 

What do you think? Will these be on your wish list for January and February? I think they provide a welcome splash of summery colour for the dark winter days. 

Did you know? Stampin’ Up!® demonstrators get an extra month of Sale-a-Bration, when we can earn free DSB stamp sets and Designer Series Paper on our December orders. This is just one of many perks of being a demonstrator. You don’t have to run a business; it’s all about getting the best value for your money, so why not get in touch using the info at the top of the page, or via my website, and I can answer any questions you may have.