A patch of purple poppies

 

Who says poppies have to be red? They absolutely don't and I love the colourful Californian poppies which sometimes spring up unexpectedly in the garden.

Purple poppies are beautiful, too, and I've just this minute learned that they are symbol of remembrance for all those animals which served in wartime, such as the military working dogs, horses and ponies which didn’t ask to get involved in human conflicts.

On a brighter note, here are two cards I made along very similar lines, using the lovely and oft-neglected Purple Posy cardstock. 

I love the version with the bold flowers and on-trend white embossing on a black die-cut label but knew this wouldn't be practical in a home party situation so made the one with the flower border and Story Label punch, too. But which do you prefer?

We may not be able to order Purple Posy ink but we can get the look with Highland Heather by stamping off onto scrap paper first. You can also get the look with Versamark and, of course, our Stampin’ Write Marker and Stampin’ Blends Alcohol Marker.

One pack of Designer Series Paper, one card design, two looks

Using the same basic card design and most of the same elements, I created two very different looks here to celebrate the male and female members of my Stampin' Up!® team. Yes, men can be demonstrators, too!

I decided to let the Designer Series Paper do the talking and pulled out the paper sampler that you can earn FREE as part of your Starter Kit if you join during Sale-a-Bration.

The feminine cards use the Best Dressed Designer Series Paper, while the masculine card uses the Country Club Designer Series Paper, with a little die-cut polar bear as its accent. This is from the Snow Globe Scenes Dies, which have carried over from the Autumn/Winter catalogue.




Neither of these paper packs were on my radar so it’s great to have just a little taste of them to play with and to show to customers.

Other than the polar bear, all the other dies are from the Painted Labels Dies from the Peaceful Poppies Suite. The "from me" sentiment and stars are from Label Me Bold, one of those stamp sets which looks a little uninspiring on first glance but turns out to be really useful.

By fussy-cutting elements from Designer Series Paper, you don’t always need the co-ordinating stamp set. This allows you to experiment with styles outside of your comfort zone.
 

Do the Impossible runner card

Do the Impossible is a stamp set that's just made for those with active friends. And my friend Hilary is an incredibly keen runner; in fact, in 2019, she set herself the challenge to run every day – and actually did it! That’s 365 more runs that I went for last year.

I stamped the image using Gray Granite ink and then coloured it using Stampin’ Blends. The papers is from the Bird Ballad Suite – I just liked the cheery colours for a dark January day.

You can use any of our water-based Classic Stampin’ Pads with our Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. The pads to avoid with alcohol markers are any permanents inks such as Stazon, as the alcohol markers will drag the ink around and cause smudging.  
 

Painted Poppies notebooks

 
My team is growing fast this Sale-a-Bration and I decided to welcome the first new members with a handy little notebook so they can write down everything they need to know about being a Stampin' Up!® demonstrator... or perhaps their stamping shopping lists!

These note books have a plastic sleeve front and back which makes them really easy to cover. I’ve had them for a long time but think I bought them in Home Bargains. Seems very probable.

 

The Painted Poppies stamp set is designed so you can colour the black outline of your poppy with just one stamp in red ink. But if you like a really intense colour – or your ink pad is getting ready for a refresh – simply ink and restamp a few times. It doesn’t matter if you go over the lines because you’re cutting out the image and it doesn’t matter if the ink is darker in places... in fact it looks more natural. 

Peaceful Poppies Suite - three-way split

I’ve reused this three-way split design but unfortunately I think the flowers get lost and now wish I'd added a white circle element behind to help them stand out. But these lovely papers are almost too beautiful to cover up!

When placing your three pieces of Designer Series Paper on your card front, start with the top and bottom pieces to get them evenly spaced from the edges. Then you can add the centre piece, trimming down slightly if necessary. 

Do the Impossible - Tour de France cyclists

When I saw the new Do the Impossible stamp set, I immediately thought of several friends (and one husband) I could make cards for! It features cycling, swimming and running images – so ideal for those into triathlons, too.

There aren’t many samples out there with this set yet but I’m hoping to change that, starting with this card, which I've coloured to represent Tour de France jerseys!
The embossing folder is the new Stone embossing folder from the Sale-a-Bration brochure but my husband has pointed out that the Mosaic embossing folder would be better as it would look more like the cobbles of the pavé stage.

(To be clear, he didn’t actually say “You’ll be wanting the Mosaic embossing folder for that”, that would demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of our products that I wouldn’t expect him to have. 😂)

Give your embossing extra dimension by sponging it lightly. It will make the stone effect look more natural.

Painted Poppies simple desk calendar

A simple calendar which fits inside a standard envelope so you can post it as a card. Perfect for those January birthdays.

It’s simply half a sheet of A4, cut lengthways, with a bracket inside. There are no set measurements, really. I think this one was 10cm wide (just needs to be slightly narrower than the card itself) and about 8cm, scored at the 4cm point, then again at 1cm from each side. Fold it into a W shape and attach the narrowed strips to the inside of the card using double-sided tape.

I made a card on the same theme, too...

To colour the leaves, take the small splatter stamp inked in Old Olive and, starting at the base of the leaf, stamp repeatedly towards the tip of the leaf, without reinking. This gives you a lovely graduated effect.

Signing up as a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator during Sale-a-Bration

Big day for stampers!

Spring/Summer catalogue goes live today 

It’s a BIG day for Stampin’ Up!® fans, with lots of news to share today. I’ll begin with our beautiful new catalogue... please click the image to head straight to my store.

Sale-a-Bration begins today

Today also marks the start of Sale-a-Bration, a fabulous promotion which runs until the end of March. There are three elements to SAB, meaning you can all benefit if you...

Whether you shop online or direct with me, you can earn a free product when you spend £45 or more on any products from any catalogue. Higher value products are available if you spend £90... and there is no limit to the number of products you can earn.

Whether you hold a party in your home, mine or simply gather enough orders to qualify, there are extra freebies during Sale-a-Bration. It’s slightly different this year; hosts whose parties reach £275 will earn this cute Little Ladybug stamp set on top of their usual Stampin’ Rewards!

 

Want the best deal out of Sale-a-Bration? Then why not join my team? We are a mix of business demonstrators and hobbyists who all share the same passion for crafting. The Starter Kit costs £99, with free shipping, and is fully customisable so you can choose the craft supplies which will most benefit you. Plus, during Sale-a-Bration, you get three fabulous extras:

1. An invaluable mini trimmer which I absolutely love. It’s just 6"x4" but oh so handy to have around. There is no guarantee this will appear in a future catalogue so if you want this, I’d join now!
2. A Designer Series Paper sampler, featuring a couple of sheets of every standard pack of DSP in the new Spring/Summer catalogue. What a great way to try them all or get lots of variety in your crafting!
3. Any extra stamp set of your choice, up to any value (host sets and SAB sets excluded). 

I’d love to have you on my team, so please get in touch if you have any questions or click here to start the sign-up process. 

Sneak Peek: Timeless Tropical

Happy New Year! In the crafting world, a new year does, of course, mean new stamps!

Flower power is not my area but something odd has happened: I've gone bafflingly botanical! I honestly don't know what's come over me but I do know that I love this new stamp set, Timeless Tropical, which is coming to Stampin' Up!® on 3rd Jan. What do you think? Looks great stamped in brown Stazon, doesn't it? Yep, that's another fabulous new product we can look forward to.

When creating cards with lots of elements, it's a good idea to lay them all how you want them then take a quick photo with your phone. It makes it a lot easier to recreate the same layout when you start adding adhesives.