One of the many reasons why I LOVE being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator is because I get a chance to see and even create with the new upcoming products before they are officially launched. I’ve had the chance to see what’s coming in the January – June Mini catalogue as well as the great products you can earn for free as part of Sale-a-bration 2020 and I can’t wait for you guys to see it too! In the meantime I’ll be able to give you some sneak peeks. I’ve already posted some from when I went to OnStage back in November on my Facebook page so make sure to check those out.

For this card, I used a set I got when I was at OnStage Local in Toronto; the Lovely Lily Pad stamp set. This was part of a 2 stamp set giveaway where the recipients had to giveaway one of the two stamp sets they received and I was lucky enough to be given this stamp set which I had had my eye on since I saw it in the catalogue earlier that day.

I used Petal Pink and Mint Macaron for my colours for this project. For the card base I used Mint Macaron cardstock, the card mat is Petal Pink cardstock and I stamped on a Whisper White card front.

All the images for this card came from the Lovely Lily Pad stamp set and the phrase came from the Free as a Bird cling stamp set. The phrase and outline of the lilies were stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. For the colour of the lilies I used Petal Pink ink, but first I gently stamped off onto another piece of paper before stamping on the Whisper White cardstock to give a more subtle look. For the lily pads I used Mossy Meadow ink for the outline of the pads and stems and Mint Macaron ink for the colour of the lily pads. To make sure that I didn’t get the lines from the lily pad or Mint Macaron on the lilies I used the masking technique.

How to Create a Mask for Stamping…

All you need to do to create a mask is stamp the image you want to create a mask for onto a piece of paper. Just grab a piece from a notepad or even your printer, cardstock is too thick and will create extra space between the images. Some people like to use post it notes to create masks so that way you don’t have to worry about the mask sliding or moving. Once you’ve stamped the image onto the paper/post it note just cut out the image and you have a mask that you can use over and over again.

Now that you have your mask, or in this case masks, you can start stamping your images. First you need to stamp your outlines, making sure to cover the outline of your lilies once you get to adding your lily pad and possibly even the stems, just in case. Then once you have your outlines, you add the colour to your stamped images. Again make sure to cover your lilies with your masks so that your lily stays a faint Petal Pink.

I also decided to put an extra piece of Whisper White cardstock on the inside of the card and stamped another lily on the inside as well. This time I stamped the Petal Pink ink at full strength.

To finish off the card I added some Silver 3/8″ Metallic-Edge Ribbon and once I popped up the phrase that I had cut out using the Stitched Shapes Dies using some Stampin’ Dimensionals, I added a single Rhinestone Basic Jewel. Gotta have some bling!!

This is the first of many cards to come using this stamp set, which will be available for you to earn FREE once Sale-a-bration starts on January 3rd , 2020. I just love water lilies and so to have a stamp set with them is just awesome! I’ve even already seen a few projects that I would love to C.A.S.E. so stay tuned for more.

Here’s the project sheet for this card complete with step by step instructions and a list of all the supplies you’ll need.

2020 SAB Friendship Lily Project Sheet.docx

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I’ve been stamping and scrapbooking for a number of years now and somehow I never noticed when Stampin’ Up! started putting stickers on the bottom of their inkpads instead of showing the colour on the edge. As a result I’ve been digging through my stacks of inkpads to find the colour(s) I needed for my projects.

Since I finally figured it out I’ve been working on putting the stickers where they belong and thought that I would share my inkpad makeover with you.

It’s super easy… all you need to do is peel the sticker from the bottom of your inkpad, in your language of preference, and stick it to the front edge of the inkpad.

So now for the big reveal! Here’s my ink storage before…

As you can see it wasn’t so easy to find the ink colours I needed. The two inkpads where you can see the colour in this picture are some of my first inkpads when Stampin’ Up! had the inkpad colour built into the design.

And here’s the after…

This is going to make crafting so much easier, plus it looks way better!! I also sorted my inkpads by colour collection; with the In Colours on the top shelf and then the other colour collections below. I’m also planning on using a couple of storage toppers from Stampin’ Up!’s new storage products to put my refills and other things in that are just loose on the top shelf right now.

I’m really loving how this turned out!

If you like this post please like and follow my page, you may also want to check out my post Paper Pumpkin Storage.

Ever since I got this stamp set I’ve been dying to make a shaker card… and finally here it is! I can’t say often enough how much I love these snowmen and this set is a definite keeper for me.

So with this card I used Pool Party cardstock as my card base and then stamped on Whisper White cardstock using the Snowman Season photopolymer stamp set set. For the snowman itself I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink. Then for the snowflakes I used a combination of Pool Party and Seaside Spray ink. The phrase, which is also from the Snowman Season stamp set, was stamped in Pool Party.

Once I got everything stamped I used the 2 1/4″ Circle Punch to cut out the snowman. I then adhered him to the Pool Party card base as well as a piece of Feels Like Frost Designer Series Paper to the bottom of the Whisper White card front using SNAIL Adhesive. The phrase wasa adhered onto the Feels Like Frost DSP using a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To create the shaker window, I adhered a piece of Window Sheet to the back of the Whisper White card front and then placed some Foam Adhesive Strips around the outside of the hole. I also put some Stampin’ Dimensionals in the corners of the Whisper White card front to help keep it solid once it’s adhered to the card base.

Next came the sequins…. I sprinkled a bunch of both the Iridescent Sequin Assortment and Snowflake Sequins onto the snowman. Then once I peeled the backing off of the Adhesive Foam Strips and Stampin’ Dimensionals I adhered the card front to the card base.

This card is definately one of my favourites using this stamp set! If this card sparks a shaker card of your own I would love to see it, so post it in the comments.

If you like this project follow my blog to get notified whenever I post. You can also join my email list over on my contact me page to get projects like this and much more delivered right to your inbox every week.

Things have been pretty hectic lately so it’s been a while since I participated in a Paper Craft Crew Challenge. Finally things are slowing down a little bit and so I decided to give this week’s challenge a try.

Here’s the sketch for this week’s challenge (PCC 360).

For my project I started with a piece of magnolia DSP and the bird stamp set. In terms of colours I took pp from the DSP and used cc as the card base. I stamped the images on ww and thought that a pop of Mossy Meadow would work well.

I stamped the flowers in pp, some fully inked and others stamped off once. “Thank you” was also stamped in Petal Pink. The leaves were stamped with mm and I used cc to stamp part of of the branch full of birds. To do that I first inked the part of the image I wanted and then covered the rest of the stamp with a piece of paper.

To colour the bird I used the wc pencils. EE for the branch and most of the bird, FF for the blooms and tummy of the bird and for the leaves I used a combination of gg and oo.

I adhered the leaves and banner to the bird which I framed with Crumb Cake cardstock and then popped it all up using dimes. Finally I added 3 pearls for that little something extra.

I’m loving how this card turned out! I always enjoy participating in these challenges and wish I had more time to do more.

If you’d like to check out the other projects for this week’s challenge simply follow the link…

www.papercraftcrew.com/pcc360

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!

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!

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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%.

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.

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.

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

The September Paper Pumpkin kit offered some great Halloween treat boxes. I’m not usually much for making Halloween cards and we get too many trick or treaters to use these for handing out candy, but this kit was so cute. I had a lot of fun creating with it!

Once I’d made the treat boxes following the Paper Pumpkin instructions, I set out to make a couple of alternative projects.

The first was an alternative tag for one of the treat boxes. I used the “Eat If You Dare” stamp and stamped a few Gorgeous Grape skulls onto one of the vellum circles.

Then I created a Halloween card. I used one of the sides from each of the treat boxes and then cut them in half to create these squares. The skeletons in the background are simply stamped using Whisper White ink and the one on the tag, as well as “Happy Halloween”, I heat embossed with White Stampin’ Emboss powder.

I haven’t gotten to making the Haunted House using this kit (including the box it came in), but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to soon. Once I do I’ll post it here.

Happy Halloween everyone!

This past weekend was my daughter’s birthday party and she’s really gotten into Harry Potter (we’re currently working our way through The Deathly Hallows), so I knew that it was only a matter of time until she wanted a Harry Potter themed birthday party. So when she said that’s what she wanted this year, my Pintrest boards and I were totally prepared!

Over the summer she and I went through my pins and she chose what activities she wanted to have (table top Quidditch), food (sorting cupcakes and a Honeydukes candy shop) and a few other things. Of course I kept a few things to myself to surprise her!

With the party on it’s way to planned, the next thing was the invitations. The inkspiration for the invitation came from some thank you cards created by a fellow Stampin’ Up! demo Wendy Cranford (https://luvinstampin.com/harry-potter-party-thank-you-cards) and I used a combination of current and retired products for this card.

To create the Hogwarts House colours on the outside of the card I used Cherry Cobbler and Crushed Curry for Gryfindor, Daffodil Delight and Basic Black for Hufflepuff, Emerald Envy (retired) and Smoky Slate for Slytherin and Dapper Denim (retired) and again Smoky Slate for Ravenclaw. To have a different shade of grey for one of the last two houses you could use Grey Granite (I didn’t have any in my stash).

Then I heat embossed “you’re invited” using White Stampin’ Emboss powder. On the inside I used some images from the retired stamp set Spooky Cat. The owl, hat and outline of the potion bottles are stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and the potions themselves are stamped using Bermuda Bay, Lemon Lime Twist (retired) and Pumpkin Pie ink.

For the party itself, I recreated Platform 9 3/4 by simply sponging paint onto a shower curtain and hot glued and then painted wands for the girls to “choose”. It took a lot of gold paint to create this version of table top Quidditch and I almost ended up looking like a golden snitch.

Then there is the card for the birthday girl herself! She is a Hufflepuff so I used the same idea for her birthday card that I used for the invitations; only using Daffodil Delight and Basic Black. This time I used the Broadway Birthday photopolymer stamp set and the Stitched Nested Labels dies.

For both the invitation and the birthday card I used a Gatefold and then popped up the phrase on one side using Stampin’ Dimensionals. The dimensions that I used for these cards are as follows….

• 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
• Scored at 2 2/16″ and 6 6/16″
• The strips with a small border around the edge measured 2″ x 5 6/16″ for the full size and 2″ x 10/16″ for the half size.
• The stripes for all the cards were 1/2″ wide and about 2 3/4″ long (I just cut off the edges once I had them all adhered into place)

I hope you enjoyed these as much as my daughter did!

I’ve had the Snowman Season bundle for a little while now, but with my oldest munchkin’s birthday party this coming weekend I haven’t had a chance to create with it yet. Finally some of the ideas that have been floating around in my head are starting to be able to get out. This card is the first of many to come.

The idea for this card originally came from a sketch challenge that I was hoping to participate in, but wasn’t able to pull together in time. Some elements have changed from the initial sketch but the original colour combination I chose stayed the same; Pool Party and Pretty Peacock.

I used Pool Party cardstock for my card base and Pretty Peacock cardstock my card mat. The card front is Whisper White cardstock, which is what I also used to stamp the phrase and snowman on. The strip of Designer Series Paper is from the Feels Like Frost 6×6 specialty pack. I’ve had a few strips left over from projects using the other photograph side and have been just waiting for an opportunity to use it!

On the card front I stamped the larger snowflakes using Pool Party ink and the smaller snowflakes using Pretty Peacock ink. The “Merry Christmas” was also stamped using Pool Party and the snowman with Tuxedo Black Memento ink.

Once the snowman was dry I used Stampin’ Blends to colour his nose (Pumpkin Pie) and add a little colour to his scarf (Pool Party).

I framed the snowman using the largest oval from the Stitched Shapes dies and attached him using SNAIL Adhesive. Once I adhered the phrase and DSP together I popped it up with a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To finish it off I added a few of the smallest Rhinestone Basic Jewels randomly to the card front.

I’m hoping that once my oldest’s birthday party is over I’ll be able to post the odd template/project sheet.

In the meantime if you’re missing the project sheets make sure to add yourself to my email list! (contact me page) We’re in week 3 of my 12 Weeks of Christmas, which means a different holiday themed project sheet is emailed right to you, complete with a supply list and step by step instructions. I hope to see you in your inbox!

This week’s Paper Craft Crew Challenge was a horizontal sketch challenge and when I was thinking of what stamp set to use I took advantage of this opportunity to create a birthday card for my mom using the Beautiful You cling stamp set!

For colour combination, I went with one that I haven’t used before but sparked a little something in me as I wanted bright colours; Grapefruit Grove, Mint Macaron and a splash of Smoky Slate cardstock. For stamping I used Grapefruit Grove for the squiggles of colour, Mint Macaron for the phrase and Tuxedo Black Memento ink for the woman dancing. These were all stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock.

For the bow I used some Mint Macaron thick twine from the Nature’s twine pack and then added a bow using Gold Metallic thread (retired) on top.

I really enjoy participating in these challenges as the often spark different ideas than I might have thought of usually. I hope my mom likes it!