Kelly's Stamping Friends Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to a super special blog hop for my fabulous friend Kelly Kent! Kelly is celebrating 5 years of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator so she thought she would celebrate with a blog hop. Because of the fabulous response from her stamping friends you are now hopping on night two of this fabulous celebration blog hop.

I've had the pleasure of being on the Just Add Ink design team with Kelly over the past year and had the pleasure of meeting her in person at last years On Stage Live event in Brisbane.

I love the idea of celebrating SU milestones with a blog hop and sharing this special occasion with all your stamping friends and I'm super happy to play along.

You may have come here from Billie Moan or you are just starting here with me. Either way you are in for a blog hop treat!

The overall theme for the hop is 'Happy' and usually I would make a birthday card with some sort of 'Happy Birthday' sentiment splashed across the front but I'm actually thinking more along the lines of happy mail in the form of a RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) card. #happymail #makeacardsendacard

We all love getting handmade cards in the mail and that makes us happy (especially when there are no bills with it either). Well it makes me happy and I just love seeing these handmade treasures in the post.

I had a play with a new stamp set 'Pieces & Patterns' which you can get TOMORROW (June 1st)!!! Oh yeah!! I've also teamed up the stamp set with the DSP that co-ordinates with this set - Pick a Pattern. A fun stamp set teamed with a super cute DSP! Love it!

I first started with a water colour wash of Flirty Flamingo. The water pooled quite heavily in one section so I turned the cardstock around a bit and then some of the water colour ink ran across the cardstock. Makes for a fun look like that.

Over the Flirty Flamingo I then flick the brush tip end of the Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker over the whole Shimmery White layer. I love the look of the splatters across the cardstock. 

Then using the Sahara Sand ink I repeatedly stamped 'Enjoy Today' either in full strength ink, stamped off once and even stamped off twice. I love the different variations in the strength of the 'Enjoy Today' background.

 I then used White Stampin' Emboss Powder to stamp the 'Hello There' circle on Basic Black cardstock and then fussy cut that out. The little flower also comes from Pieces and Patterns set. Its all finished off with some strips of the DSP down the side and then some of my favourite trims that have fortunately carried over to the new catalogue that starts tomorrow! WOOHOO!

Congratulations Kelly on you 5 years with SU and all the hard work you've done. Here's to another 5 (or more fabulous years)! Cheers!

Next on the hop is super talented Kayla Renee MacAulay in Tasmania, Australia . 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Live in Australia?
 Shop for Stampin' Up! with me 24/7

 Recreate these cards at home using the following Stamin' Up! products. Click on the images below to see the product information and to shop from my online store.

 (Australian Residents Only)

Tweet

Tranquil Tide Eastern Palace

Did you see my very first tip for Stampin' Up! on their Instagram page? Super excited that it is finally published. You can see it here.

As you may know I love making my own backgrounds for my cards and my tip today shows how you can make a striped background with Washi tape. A fabulous way to use up that retired tape you have lying around at home. One of my most favourite DSP patterns from the 2016 - 2017 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue was the black and white stripe from the Pop of Pink Specialty DSP, now retired. Sniff, sniff. Now by using the washi tape I can recreate that look by making it myself.

First stick your washi tape down on your cardstock. I've used Shimmery White here but you can use a coloured cardstock for a tone on tone look too. Then go over your cardstock with the Classic Stampin' Pad and the sponge brayer. Roll the inked up brayer over your cardstock until you are happy with the amount of ink coverage.

Now for the next part you can do one, both or none of the next steps. Its up to you what you want your card to look like. But what I've done here is use the Stampin' Spritzers, filled it with water and 'spritzed' on the cardstock for a splattered look. You could also flick an aqua painter brush tip filled with water. That will give a similar look.

Over top of the spritzing to continue with the splattered look I've embossed Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder down the front of the card using the splatter image from the Swirly Bird stamp set.The embossing powder will set over the washi tape but it wont affect the card front when trying to take the tape off.

Very gently pull the tape back and you'll be left with a fun and funky striped patterned cardstock ready for your next creation.

I've mixed up my striped background with some of the elements from the Eastern Palace Suite and some gold trims for a gorgeous card. 

Can't wait to see all your creations using the Washi Tape background. Mix it up, use different sized tape, put it on an angle, make a criss-cross pattern or even make a tartan/plaid pattern. You are only limited by your imagination.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

 

Tweet

#TGIFC109 Designer Inspiration - Rochelle Blok

Hello, Hello!!!! Yay! Its Friday! Fri-nally!! I just love the weekend. Spending time with my hubby and kids, not having to rush out the door for school and our routines and maybe even a sleep in or two if I'm lucky. Another fabulous thing about Friday is that its #TGIFC time. Whoop, Whoop!! 

This weeks challenge is a designer spotlight challenge and the design team is gaining their inspiration from ... ME!!! Super excited with this challenge and super excited to see how people interpret my designs.

This weeks card I haven't cased one card in particular but I added some of my favourite elements that I love to use on my cards and creations - vellum, stitching, lots of ribbon and trim, gold embellishments, layers, Wink of Stella, bling. Although if I had have used all the things that I love to used my card would have been one hot mess. 

I started with the furthest card on the right and that has lots of layers, all my favourite embellishments and all the things I love to put on my cards. I then thought once that was made, why not strip the cards back and step them up from Beginner to Advanced.

The first card is the beginner card. To start off all you need is a couple of layers, cardstock,  a gorgeous DSP, little bit of stamping and a little bit of bling. You really don't actually need that many products to make a beautiful card. Sometimes all you need to do is let the things like the DSP be the stand out in your cards. How stunning is that DSP by the way? Its the new Delightful Daisy DSP that will be available come June 1st!!! Put it on your wish list now! Seriously its AMAZING!!!

Next this card is stepped up a little with a couple of added layers, vellum and some embellishments like the Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate and the Tranquil Tide 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon. 

Last is the card that I originally created. It still has the vellum layer but I've hand stitched around it with the Gold Metallic Thread. Lots of ribbon and trim, a leaf die cut using the Flourish Thinlits, stamped leaves from the Daisy Delight stamp set and the stamped off technique, gold ribbon and some gold sequin embellishments. All the things I love to create with. Pretty!

 The sentiment comes from the Swan Lake stamp set and on the inside of all of the cards it says 'may happiness follow'.  Perfect for some Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) cards.

How gorgeous is that daisy from the Daisy Delight stamp set? That too is available from 1st June. The most fabulous thing is that it has a co-ordinating punch!! Oh yeah!! Got to love SU's co-ordinating products. They are so good at it!! A fabulous thing about these products is that when June 1st comes around you can get the Daisy Delight stamp set and the Daisy punch a a bundle price saving yourself 10% off the retail price of the two products separately. Winning!!!

I'm in love with this DSP pattern. Just soft, gorgeous and super pretty! I'm a sucker for anything pretty!

Have you noticed the Gold Faceted Gems in the centre of the Daisy's?  They too are a new product. They come in the Gold like you see here but also Clear as well. I hope that you are putting all these new things on your wish lists so they are ready to go come June 1st! 

 Why not play along with us and show us your interpretation of my creations? I'm so looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Click here for all the details on how you can join in and for all the inspiration from the Design Team.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 Live in Australia?
 Shop for Stampin' Up! with me 24/7

 Recreate these cards at home using the following Stamin' Up! products. Click on the images below to see the product information and to shop from my online store.

  (Australian Residents Only)

Tweet

Stampin' Up! Artisan Blog Hop | Happy Celebrations

Hi there stamping friends! So glad you could stop by. This week the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team are creating with either the Cool Treats set or the Happy Celebrations set. As you can probabaly already see I'm on the Happy Celebrations team.

I'm bringing you an 'oldie but a goodie' technique today which lends itself perfectly to the circle images in this set. The 'Rock'n'Roll' technique is quite a simple technique but it produces stunning results.

I've kept my cards today quite simple as the background is quite busy. The contrast of the brightly coloured background with the Basic Black cardstock embosseed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder has made for some gorgeous results. If I do say so myself. Ha!

Here are the different variations in different colour combinations. For best results its best to have a complimenting light and dark colour. You can even have the darker colour in the middle and the lighter colour on the outside. It is really all up to you and how you want you card to look. I might go and try it now with the darker colour in the middle and the lighter on the outer. I'm intrigued now to see what that will look like.

 Pink Pirouette and Melon Mambo

 Pool Party (Stamped-Off) and Bermuda Bay

 Wisteria Wonder (Stamped-Off) and Elegant Eggplant

 Daffodil Delight (Stamped-Off) and Pumpkin Pie

Here's how to do the Rock 'n' Roll Technique -

1. Ink up your stamp in the lightest colour first.
2. Taking the darker colour gently rock 'n' roll the edge of the stamp image around in the darker ink. You only want the edge of the stamp in the darker colour.
3. Stamp your image down on your cardstock and you should have the two contrasting colours on the one image.  

Check out the You Tube clip Stampin' Up! put out a while ago and this shows you exactly how to do the technique if you are unsure as to what to do.

Another way to do the Rock 'n' Roll Technique is to, and I did it this way becuase it was easier when stamping all those circles, is -

1. Ink up your image in the lightest colour first.
2. Using a sponge dauber, ink up your dauber with the darker contrasting colour.
3. Tap the dauber around the edge of the stamp so only the outside of the image is inked up in the darker colour.
4. Stamp your image on to your cardstock.

Doing it this way is a little bit more easier and you get a bit more of an even coverage with the darker colour on the edge.

Just something a little fun using up some of the old techniques that we sometimes forget about but are so fabulous to do.

Next on to Shannon Lane in Canada. Gosh that girl is crazy creative and I love her work. I think I've said that before but she is amazing!!

Allison Okamitsu

Aurelie Fabre

Cathy Caines

Dani Dziama

Holly Stene

Jennifer Sootkoos

Jessica Winter

Katy Harrison

Kimberly Van Diepen

Louise Sharp 

Maike Ulbrich

Martha Inchley

Mercedes Weber

Mindy Bingamon 

Miriam van Eyden

Paula Dobson

Rochelle Blok

Shannon Lane

Sylwia Schreck 

Tanya Boser 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Live in Australia?

Shop for Stampin' Up! with me 24/7

Recreate these projects at home using the following Stamin' Up! products. Click on the images below to see the product information and to shop from my online store.

(Australian Residents Only) 

 

Tweet

Just Add Ink #360 | Just Add a Sketch

We have another sketch challenge for you Over at the  Just Add Ink challenge blog. This sketch was designed by the card queen herself, Narelle Farrugia. If you haven't seen her work you must go and check her out! She is amazing!

 This sketch is fairly straight forward but it has a few elements that I love. I love circles in my cards and this sketch is perfect for this weeks challenge.

I've pulled out a few sneaky peek Stampin' Up! products that will be available June 1st. The stamp set Wood Words, Wood Textures DSP stack, 1/4" Copper Trim and the tag comes from a Framelits set that co-ordinates with the Wood Words set, Wood Crate Framelits.

I first started out with the stamping of the floral image on Shimmery White cardstock and used the Watercolour Pencils to colour some of the open flowers in the stamped image. The card and the colour combo then built from there. 

The same floral image that is stamped across the Stitched Shapes circle is also stamped down the side of the Melon Mambo outermost layer. The Melon Mambo layers are then layered on one of the sheets of the new Wood Textures DSP stack.This DSP is fabulous with all its wood grain textures. It 'brings the look of outdoors inside with natural, rustic patterns'. 

Along with the all  new 1.4" Copper trim this card is all finished of with other copper elements such as Copper Stampin' Emboss powder and Copper Metallic Thread.

Why not play along with us and show us your interpretation of this weeks sketch. Click here for all the details on how you can join in and for all the inspiration from the Design Team.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Live in Australia?  
 Shop for Stampin' Up! with me 24/7

 Recreate this card at home using the following Stamin' Up! products. Click on the images below to see the product information and to shop from my online store.

 (Australian Residents Only)

Tweet

Dragonfly Dreams

Over the weekend I was a guest blogger over at Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine showcasing the Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp set and the Detail Dragonfly thinlits. I wanted to show the stunning set used not only for cards but also for home decor and gift giving as well. 

If you want all the finer details on how each item was created check out the full blog post here.

For now I'll just show you the pictures of all the Dragonfly Dreams creations...

I just love the size of the stamp images and the thinlits. Perfect size to accent a gorgeous frame and also prefect to embellish little treat boxes. So versatile!

Remember all the details of these creations are on the Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine Blog.

Time now to go an get your Dragonfly Dreams stamp set and the Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Live in Australia?

Shop for Stampin' Up! with me 24/7

Recreate these projects at home using the following Stamin' Up! products. Click on the images below to see the product information and to shop from my online store.

  

 (Australian Residents Only)

Tweet

#TGIFC 107 | Sympathy or Get Well

Hello and welcome to another TGIF Challenge. Isn't the year rolling by fast!!! It's the middle of May, we are about to celebrate Mother's Day this coming Sunday here in Australia, my eldest just celebrated his 14th birthday and we are nearly into the beginning of Winter. I know everyone says it every year but this year is going so quick!

This week at TGIF our theme is those cards that we all dislike making and sending because it usually means that someone close to us is going through a difficult time in their lives. Although we don't like to make Get Well or Sympathy cards it is really good to have some of these in our stash ready to send out quickly to our friends in their time of need.

My card today is quite 'pulled back' from my usually style but I find that these types of cards don't need all that 'fluff and stuff' just a simple, heartfelt message to convey your love and sympathies. I've used the Heartfelt Sympathy set, which I thought I didn't have but I do, and combined it with some new products coming out 1st June 2017.

The DSP is from the Delightful Daisy DSP. I did just have a plain piece of cardstock behind the embellishments but that looked too stark and it just needed something. Those spots on the DSP was just the 'something' that the card needed without being to over powering and in your face. How cool is that mottled look the DSP has? Almost like a watercolour wash without any of the mess.

I made a rectangle out of the square stitched shapes framelits and then using my Paper Trimmer cut out the inside of the rectangle. Love the frame that it left behind. The paper trimmer makes for cutting pieces out like this so easy because you can line up the trimmer blades exactly to where you want to cut and the trimmer arm is clear which makes it easy to see where you need to cut to. Love my SU trimmer. 

Did you see the piece of new In Colour Tranquil Tide ribbon??  It is gorgeous!! Love that it isn't too thick and it has a beautiful woven feel to it. Love it. Here's a picture that I put on Instagram this morning of all the new In Colour ribbons together!! I'm in love!!!  I'm such a sucker for beautiful ribbon and trims.

I don't normally embellish the inside of the cards but I really wanted to add this beautiful sentiment to my card.

'May you be comforted by the outpouring if love surrounding "

Isn't that beautiful? I know I would love that if I was going through some sort of hardship.

Again on the inside I've used the Delightful Daisy DSP and the Tranquil Tide ribbon with some Linen Thread, but you may have noticed another new product. The gorgeous Faceted Gems. These come in Gold, like I've used here and also in Silver. So pretty and I love the way the light bounces off all the different angles for a stunning sparkly effect.

I hope that I've given you a little bit on inspiration for this weeks theme. Why don't you play along with us this week? Click here for all the details and all the amazing inspiration from the TGIF gals.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Live in Australia?

Shop for Stampin' Up! with me 24/7

Recreate this card at home using the following Stamin' Up! products. Click on the images below to see the product information and to shop from my online store.

(Australian Residents Only)

Tweet