Month: April 2020

I’ve been meaning to create something for Stampin’ Up!s April #simplestamping challenge all month, but with everything going on my inkspiration has been running low and so I kept putting it off. In the last week or so my creativity and inkspiration has started making a come back and so I was finally able to tap in and come up with an idea.

The challenge for this past month was to create a birthday card using only stamps, ink and paper. One of my go to stamp sets for birthday cards has been Broadway Birthday and so that’s where I started for my card design. For the colours I pulled from the Best Dressed 6×6 Designer Series Paper because I knew that I wanted to use that in my stepped up version; I went with Petal Pink and Blackberry Bliss for my paper and ink.

I also decided to use the small bubble image from the Beauty Abounds cling stamp set because I wanted to add something other than balloons or candles for this birthday card.

Here it is…

For my stepped up version I added Stampin’ Dimensionals of course, I had to fight my urge to use dimensionals on the #simplestamping version. I also added in another colour ink; Purple Posy using the Stampin’ Write Marker to ink up the stamps. Then I also used a strip of the Best Dressed 6×6 DSP and added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

I will be sad to see Broadway Birthday and the Best Dressed DSP go, but I’m excited to see what the new Annual Catalogue will bring. If you want to grab these or any of the other products that will be retiring check out my online shop.

All over the world we are being challenged by Covid-19. We are all being asked to stay home, businesses and schools are closed and yet for many work and school are still happening.

While I thought of writing this post a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t in the place to write it. At that point we were only a couple of weeks into this whole social distancing thing and we were still waist deep in trying to figure out what this new “normal” was going to look like without killing each other. I was also still trying to figure out what I needed to do for myself to stay positive and keep my mental health in a good place.

When this all started I was definitely struggling to find my inkspiration. I would get to the end of the day and I was exhausted, so there wasn’t much crafting happening for a while. Fortunately one weekend my youngest munchkin said he wanted to make a card and I remembered I still had some Paper Pumpkin kits that I hadn’t finished. So we all ended up making some cards from last March’s Paper Pumpkin kit. It was nice to make a card without having to really think about it.

Since then I’ve also been making it a priority to get outside for a walk everyday… read more… colour more and enjoy some peace and quiet as often as I can (and with two munchkins that can be hard to find some days).

Thankfully we seem to have found our rhythm, although we still do have our days. My creativity and inkspiration also seem to be flowing a bit more easily these days which is nice. I do realize though that there are still going to be days that are a bit more challenging and so I have a few go tos for when I need a good laugh. Laughing is another thing that I’ve found really helpful during this time.

So here’s a little something that I hope will make you laugh or at least bring a smile to your face.

Stay safe and stay positive!!

It’s that time of year when we’re about to say goodbye to a group of In Colours to make room for the next ones from the upcoming new Annual catalogue. Which is why I thought I would make some cards featuring the 2018-2020 In Colours. The inkspiration for this design came from a fellow demonstrator; Helene Den Breejen. It’s a great way to feature a single colour, plus they have butterflies…. so I couldn’t resist!

For the butterfly I used the Butterfly Wishes cling stamp set along with the coordinating Butterfly Duet punch. Then for the frames I used the 2 largest squares from the Stitched Shaped dies and the smallest die from the Stitched Rectangle dies for the phrases.

I used phrases from different stamp sets for the cards. With the Call Me Clover  and Pineapple Punch cards I used phrases from the Itty Bitty Birthdays cling stamp set. Then with the Blueberry Bushel card I used “congratulations” from the First Frost cling stamp set.

With the other two cards, using Lovely Lipstick and Grapefruit Grove, I used phrases from the Beauty Abounds cling stamp set.

To create the background I used the different inkpads on the raised side of the Scripty 3D Embossing Folder and then placed the card front in the folder and ran it through my die cutting machine.

To finish it off I popped up the butterflies and frames using Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals. I debated about adding some pearls or rhinestones, but decided to keep it simple.

I really like how these turned out and am definitely going to miss these colours when they are gone!

If you live in Canada and want to find out what else is retiring when the new catalogue arrives, or if you want to get your hands on a copy of the new Annual catalogue, send me an email and I will gladly send them to you!

It’s time for another Fancy Fold Blog Hop…. and this month’s fold is the Free Standing Pop Up card. Here’s a YouTube video to help you create one for yourself. I’ve also created a step by step instruction sheet, so make sure to scroll to the end!

For my card I started with the colours and then built up the design from there. I used Bermuda Bay cardstock for the card base, with Crushed Curry for the ribbon and cardstock behind the birds and I also decided to throw in some Pear Pizzazz cardstock for the tag and cardstock behind the phrase.

For the phrase and image I used the Free as a Bird cling stamp set and then used the Layering Circles Dies to cut them out as well as the borders behind them. I also wanted to add some extra texture to my design, so I used the Country Floral 3D Embossing Folder for the base and the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder for the tag.

To finish it off I used some of the colours from both sets of Watercolour Pencils to colour the bird image and then added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels for a little bling.

I really enjoyed making this card and love how it turned out! If you would like to make your own grab the instruction sheet and then post a pic in the comments. I’d love to see your cards!

2020 Free Standing Pop Up Card Sheet

If you liked this card make sure to hop over to Nadine Schweda’s blog and check out her card as well as all the other projects. And make sure to follow my blog so you’ll be notified whenever I post!

I enjoy decorating our house depending on the season we’re in and this Spring is no exception, although with everything happening right now I tried to stick to using what I had in my home already.

The idea for this framed piece originally came from a print I saw at a Michael’s a while ago…

I absolutely LOVE butterflies and so loved this idea!

For my version I used the Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper from last year’s Sale-a-bration and the Butterfly Duet Punch. I did also have to use my scissors to cut out some of the bigger butterflies, but thankfully the punch took care of most of them.

It definitely took some time and patience to get this done, but it was totally worth it. I love how it turned out! Now I just need to figure out where to hang it. Thoughts?!

If you like this project make sure to follow my blog so that you’re notified whenever I post!

This weekend is the Easter long weekend and it will definitely be different than previous years. With everyone staying home families are getting together online using different platforms. We actually used ZOOM earlier this week for a big family dinner and are thinking we might use it more often just to check in with everyone.

Even though we won’t be getting together and having our usually Easter family dinner, I still wanted to make a card to celebrate. I’ve made easel cards before, but this one’s a bit different. It was inkspired by another demonstrator, Janice McIntyre.

For my version I used the Timeless Tulips bundle and the See a Silhouette Designer Series Paper (I’m really loving the pack of DSP!). I also used Night of Navy as my card base and a few images from the Beauty Abounds cling stamp set.

I used Night of Navy, Blackberry Bliss and Pear Pizzazz to stamp the tulips and Blackberry Bliss for the butterfly and phrase.

For two of the tulips I simply used the punch with the See a Silhouette DSP and popped them up using Stampin’ Dimensionals. I also stamped the floral flourish with Versamark so that I could heat emboss it with White Stampin’ Emboss Powder.

Here’s a basic template for you to create your own Twisted Easel card…

2020 Twisted Easel Card Sheet

If you like this card please follow my blog to get notified whenever I post.

I loved this technique as soon as I saw it! It’s so simple, looks beautiful and is a great way to use your Designer Series Paper. Bruno Bertucci, a demonstrator in Australia, came up with this and it’s one that I’ll definitely be using again.

For my take on this technique (#scrappystriptechnique) I used the Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper and Mossy Meadow for my card base.  I love that you can see the different designs of the DSP with this technique and with the Mossy Meadow card base the colours really pop!

“Happy Birthday” as well as the images came from the Magnolia Blooms stamp set from the Beginner’s Brochure. The phrase and large bloom on the inside of the card were stamped using Petal Pink, while the leaf on the front of the card was heat embossed using Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder. I wanted to pull in the silver from the Silver Metallic-Edge Ribbon and I think it turned out nicely.

I also used the Stitched Nested Labels dies to frame the phrase which I popped up using a few Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I’ve been having fun creating some cards featuring DSP, I’m going to have to remember these! Here’s the other card I created recently using DSP.

If you like this card make sure to follow my blog so that you’re notified whenever I post.