Let It Snow!

Puff Snow wm

Even though the snow has melted here I had to create a card with the Snowfall Accents Puff Paint and Snowman Season photopolymer stamp set!

I’m just loving this stamp set and so even though I’m excited to get creating with the stamps and everything I got at OnStage, I’m not ready to put these cute little guys away just yet.

For this card I used Pool Party cardstock for a card base and thought that a Night of Navy card mat would really make things pop. For the card front I of course went with Whisper White cardstock. I also added an extra strip of Whisper White at the bottom of the card and I tore it along the top edge to give a bit more texture and to provide some hills.

To stamp the snowmen I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink and to create the broken up snowman on the left I simply stamped one section of snowman at a time and used an extra piece of paper to make sure that any leftover ink didn’t make its way onto the card front.

For the large snowflakes I used Pool Party and Night of Navy for the smaller ones. I also stamped “Let it Snow” in Pool Party on a separate piece of Whisper White and then cut it out using the Stitched Shapes dies.

Once all the images/phrase were stamped I coloured the snowmen with some blends; Pumpkin Pie Dark Stampin’ Blends for the noses, Pool Party Dark Stampin’ Blends for the stripes on the scarf and hat and Pool Party Light Stampin’ Blends for the hat itself.

Then I popped up the phrase using a couple Stampin’ Dimensionals and added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels for some bling and a few more snowflakes.

Finally I added some Puff Paint on the extra strip of Whisper White at the bottom of the card front. Initially I only added a little bit, but I felt the need to add more and I’m so glad I did! I used my Heat Tool to puff it up, but I didn’t stop there. I pulled out my Light Pool Party Stampin’ Blend one more time and lightly coloured the Puff Paint.

I really like the idea of being able to colour the Puff Paint so I’m going to have to think of another project using this technique!

I hope you like this card as much as I liked making it!

C.A.S.E. (Copy and Share Everything)

CASE

Usually I have some ideas or projects floating around in my head that I’m inspired to write to you about, but today my brain was having trouble landing on one particular thing. So then I started thinking about things that are helpful when I’m feeling less than inkspired. And this is definitely something that I, as well as many other Stampin’ Up! demonstrators and crafters in general, have used in these kinds of situations.

C.A.S.E.ing!

C.A.S.E. stands for Copy And Share Everything! You would think that copying other people’s project ideas would be frowned upon, but actually this is something that Stampin’ Up! strongly encourages. In fact their catalogues were initially called “Idea Books” so that people could see the cards and other projects in the catalogue and then be able to recreate them!

How I got started with crafts and even stamping was by following someone’s instructions to recreate that particular card or craft (I’m sure this is the way that most of us got started). After a while of making scrapbook pages, cards and other papercrafts, I started coming up with my own ideas, but there are still times when I need a card or want to create something and am running low on ideas and need some inkspiration.

Sometimes simply seeing someone else’s project is enough to spark an idea and use it as a jumping off point in terms of colours or images. Sometimes I have actually cased a card. Here’s one that I cased from the 2018-2019 Annual Catalogue using the now retired Sheltering Tree stamp set.

If any of my cards or projects help spark your inkspiration or you end up caseing one, I’d love to see it. Share it in the comments. I can’t wait to see what you create!

OnStage 2019

This past Saturday I attended OnStage Local at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre downtown. What is that you may be wondering?… It’s a full day Stampin’ Up! event focused on the upcoming catalogues (Occasions and Sale-a-bration) and business development. I’ve attended a couple of OnStage events so far and this one, like the others, was full of stamping fun, the chance to meet with other demonstrators (new and familiar) and of course free products!

One of my favourite things about these events, and Stampin’ Up! in general, is how warm, friendly and supportive everyone is! The picture on the left are those from my larger team who were also able to come to OnStage and the picture on the right is my smaller, more direct team. Even though I don’t get to see them very frequently in person, whenever we do get together it always feels like no time has passed at all! We joke and laugh and have a great time no matter if it’s been a few weeks or even a few months.

I also love that we get a chance to see other demonstrators’ projects and get inkspired while we watch them create some of these projects on stage. I pick up so many tips and tricks when I watch these presentations! Plus we also have the chance to make some projects ourselves!! You just can’t have a Stampin’ Up! event and not stamp something!

Then of course there’s all the goodies you get when you attend OnStage! I walked away with not only the new catalogues which don’t launch until January 2020, but an awesome backpack, 4 stamp sets, a punch, ribbon and more!! I can’t wait to get creating with these!

There’s also one other thing that I loved about Saturday…. I spent a whole day with adults! As much as I absolutely LOVE both of my munchkins it’s nice to get away and spend a day doing something just for myself!!

I’ll be posting the cards I made at OnStage on my Facebook page this week so make sure to pop over and like my page so you don’t miss them!

www.facebook.com/InkspirationCards

 

#simplestamping congratulations

Magnolia Congrats wm

Another month, another #simplestamping challenge from Stampin’ Up!

With all of the challenges the idea is to keep the card simple (of course), something that would be easy for a beginner to take on and not use too many products (e.g. stamps, ink and paper only). For this month’s challenge we were asked to make a congratulations or celebration card and we could also use an embellishment in addition to the stamps, ink and paper.

As soon as I started thinking of ideas for this challenge I immediately thought of the Magnolia Blooms set from the Beginner Brochure. And while we weren’t able to use Designer Series Paper, my colour combination was inkspired by the Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper colours (e.g. Mossy Meadow, Petal Pink, Whisper White, etc.).

For the card base I used Petal Pink cardstock and Mossy Meadow cardstock for the card mat. I stamped the magnolia images on Whisper White cardstock and decided on Petal Pink for the smaller flowers and Mossy Meadow for the large flower and “congratulations”. In keeping with the idea of #simplestamping and not wanting it to look too overwhelming I only stamped a few magnolias. Then for the embellishment I used two pieces of the Silver 3/8″ Metallic Edge Ribbon. The first I adhered to the Whisper White card front using SNAIL Adhesive and then I tied a smaller piece onto the larger piece to make a bow.

I really love how the ribbon steps up this card without having to add too much! I hope you enjoy this card as much as I enjoyed making it.

Frosty Snowman

Snowman Vellum wm

I’ve been having so much fun creating with the Snowman Season photopolymer stamp set and I still have a bunch of ideas swirling around in my head. These snowmen are just too cute!! This is a stamp set I’ll definitely be holding onto even if they don’t carry it over!

For this card I used Seaside Spray cardstock as the card base and Pool Party cardstock for the card mat. I love using different shades of blue for holiday cards, especially when the main focus is snowmen and snowflakes.

I also love the frosty effect of the Vellum so I stamped on it as well as Whisper White cardstock. I stamped the snowman on the Vellum using Tuxedo Black Memento ink first to allow it some time to dry. On the Whisper White card front I stamped the snowflakes in both Seaside Spray and Pool Party ink.

To adhere the vellum to the Whisper White card front I used Multi-purpose Liquid Glue at the centre of a few of the snowflakes to help disguise the glue. It worked really well, I can’t even tell which snowflakes are the ones I added glue to.

The phrase for this card also comes from the Snowman Season stamp set and I stamped it in Seaside Spray and then cut the ends of the cardstock to create a banner. I then popped up the banner using some Stampin’ Dimensionals on top of a piece of Seaside Spray 1/4″ Metallic Ribbon. For a little extra bling (cause I just couldn’t resist) I added a few rhinestones on the vellum like snowflakes.

I can’t get over how cute these snowmen are and I can’t wait to get creating with this stamp set (and maybe even the punch) again!

Modified Z-fold with First Frost

First Frost Modified Z Fold wm

I totally fell in love with the Feels Like Frost Specialty 6 x 6 Designer Series Paper as soon as I saw it in the Holiday Catalogue! The pictures are amazing and like many demonstrators I’ve been having a hard time cutting it up to use… somehow it feels wrong. So when I saw a similar project by Rachel Tessman (a fellow demonstrator) on Facebook I had to try it out.

It’s a version of a Z-fold card and allows you to use just about an entire 6 x 6 sheet of DSP. The sheet I chose for this card I thought would coordinate really well with Purple Posy cardstock, plus I love how the branches look covered with ice.

The phrase and image came from the First Frost cling stamp set and I stamped using the Purple Posy Stampin’ Write Marker for the ink colour. I also used the Stitched Shapes dies and a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals to pop up the phrase, then I added a Rhinestone Basic Jewel to play off the sunlight off of the icicles on the DSP.

As for the paper… I cut the DSP into 3 strips: 2 3/4″ x 5 1/4″, 1 1/8″ x 5 1/4″ and 2 1/8″ x 5 1/4″. I cut one strip of Whisper White cardstock for the 4th panel; 1 7/16″ x 5 1/4″. For the Purple Posy card base I took a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ piece and scored it at 3″, 4 6/16″ and 6 3/4″.

I love how this card turned out! So much that I may have to make a few more with some of the others sheets from this pack.

Christmastime is Here!

Well…. actually it’s November and the Christmastime is Here suite of products is here. A Christmas suite that’s a bit unconventional!

Christmas time is here bundle

With the holidays only 50 days away it’s time to start your holiday crafting, if you haven’t already (which I haven’t). This suite of products offers just about everything you could possibly need for creating holiday cards, tags and even gift wrap. Plus with this suite you can get all of it or just the products you want.

So here’s what is in the suite….

To start there is the Christmas Rose photopolymer stamp set which includes 13 stamps with a variety of images and phrases. This set coordinates with the Roses dies, 7 in total, and can be purchased as a bundle and will save you 10%.

Christmastime stamps and dies

Every good suite needs Designer Series Paper and this 12 x 12 pack of specialty DSP offers designs that coordinate with the rose images from the stamp set as well as more traditional Christmas images. There are 12 sheets in the pack and you get 4 sheets of the 3 double-sided designs.

Christmastime DSP

And of course you can’t forget the bling! There are two options as part of the Christmastime is Here suite. One is the Gold 1/4″ Shimmer Ribbon (10 yards) and the other is the pack of Gold Glitter Enamel Dots (4 different sizes and 160 dots in total).

Another reason to love this suite is that it has it’s very own bracelet! The Rose bracelet has a rose charm as well as a Stampin’ Up! charm and comes in it’s very own designer box, so you can give yourself a little something or give a gift to that special stamper in your life.

Christmastime bracelet

To get your inkspiration going here are a couple of samples created using the Christmastime is Here suite of products….

To get your Christmastime is Here products and whatever else you may need head over to my website. I’m also happy to answer any questions that you may have, you can email me at inkspirationwithteresa@gmail.com.

www.stampinup.com/inkspirationcards/christmastimeisheresuite