Crafting on the Road

Whether my husband likes it or not, I always bring supplies with me so I can do some crafting on the road! And that includes our recent family camping trip as well as our trip to Disney earlier this year. What I bring depends a lot on what I’m working on at the time. But one thing that never changes are the tools that I bring with me! So here are the top 3 things I always make sure to have even when I’m trying to travel light.

1. Adhesives

Of course adhesives are at the top of my list! No matter where I go I have to have my Stampin’ SEAL (aka tape runner). Stampin’ SEAL is my go to adhesive for just about all of my projects. I also save the sheets of Mini Glue Dots from my Paper Pumpkin kits so I can bring a few of those along and not have to worry about them taking up a lot of space. These are great for the smaller pieces where Stampin’ SEAL just won’t work. Then if I have a little more room I’ll also bring some Stampin’ Dimensionals. If I don’t I leave the pieces I want to pop up until I get back home.

2. Simply Shammy

While I love my Stampin’ Scrub to clean my stamps, it’s not always the best option to bring on the road. So instead I bring my Simply Shammy. It fits perfectly into a clear stamp case and all I need is water! Plus it fits inside a Paper Pumpkin box which I often use to hold my paper supplies and a few other things. Then once I’m home I’ll give my stamps a good clean using my Stampin’ Scrub.

3. Take Your Pick Tool

I don’t know how I crafted before I got the Take Your Pick Tool! It’s such a great tool, so I definitely bring it with me wherever I go. It helps scoop up those Mini Glue Dots and any other embellishments I bring. The putty tip is great with embellishments and positioning my cardstock if I’ve brought a punch along. And in the case I need to reposition my cardstock or patterned paper I can use the spatula tip to slowly and carefully pull the paper up.

Now if I have more room I’ll bring my Paper Snips, Bone Folder and a couple of blocks. But really you don’t need a lot when you’re crafting on the road.

Crafting on the Road

Find all the tools listed here, and lots more, in my online shop. As for the pouch I use to carry my tools, that I got from Stampin’ Up! for being a demonstrator. There’s lots of great perks when you’re a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. Find out more about how to join my team and the Stampin’ Up! family here.

Double Fan Fold Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

This month the Fancy Folds Design Team is making a Double Fan Fold card. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the name. The video from Brenda Quintana, a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator from the US, was helpful. Check that out here. My design started once I figured out what images I wanted to put in the centre. I went with Bottles of Happiness. Great flowers and I can use the coordinating punch to make it a shaker card. I love the Vintage Bottle Shaker Domes and Loose Frosted Dots!

Usually I stamp first and then punch. But this time I switched it around. I wanted to make sure that I got the punch up as far as I could. Once I punched then I stamped the bottle outline. Doing it this way also make it much easier to stamp the flowers and foliage in the right place. I stamped the centres and foliage first in Crumb Cake ink. Then I stamped the flowers on top in Pretty Peacock.

The sentiment is from the Season of Chic stamp set. And I die cut it using one of the Meadows dies. I popped that up with a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then to decorate the side panels, I used a Pretty Peacock design from the Masterfully Made Designer Series Paper pack.

Double Fan Fold Card

Check out the next Double Fan Fold card by Mette Nordling Shaw from Australia here. And then keep hopping around the world to see more!

And you can find last month’s hop here. Last month we made a Double Decker Pop Out card.

Welcome Inn

I realized the other day that I haven’t shared any of my Paper Pumpkin cards in a long time. So here I am with a couple alternative cards with June’s kit Welcome Inn. I love the blues and grays in this kit!

For the first alternative I used a Night of Navy card base and cut one of the patterned card bases to make the card mat. On top of that I layered a strip of Night of Navy cardstock that I stamped with Night of Navy ink which I popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. And on top of that I have a small piece of Basic White cardstock that I stamped a sentiment on and a die cut vase that I stamped on as well. To finish it off I added a few of the Navy Dots. These are so cute!

Welcome Inn

The second card has a Calypso Coral base and a strip of the same patterned card base from the first card. Then I layered one of the larger die cuts on top. On that I used one of the die cut vases and stamped some flowers on top. I also stamped a few extra flowers on a separate piece of Basic White cardstock that I die cut along with a few leaves using the add-on dies. I popped these flowers and the die cut vase up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals along with one of the die cut sentiments from the kit. Then to finish it off I of course needed to add a few of the Navy Dots.

Welcome Inn

I had a lot of fun with the Welcome Inn Paper Pumpkin kit! And I’m looking forward to this month’s kit. I don’t think I’ve ever made an accordion-fold card before!

In the meantime I’ll be crafting with some old Paper Pumpkin kits on our camping trip this weekend. I always take Paper Pumpkin with me when we go. It’s easy to bring along and my munchkins love them too!

See what I bring with me when I travel here. And if you missed out on this month’s Paper Pumpkin kit, don’t worry! You have until August 10th to sign up for next month’s kit. It looks really pretty! Sign up here.

Enchanted Butterfly Slimline Card

I haven’t made one of these cards in a while. And something about this stamp set told me I needed to make an Enchanted Butterfly slimline card. I’m just getting started with this new stamp set from the Annual Catalogue and can’t wait to see what I else I end up crafting! This set will definitely be used to make some thank you tags for my customers. In the meantime though this card was a lot of fun to make.

I decided to use Blackberry Bliss and Lost Lagoon for my colour combination. Since the return of Lost Lagoon I’m finding I’m using it ALOT! Plus it’s a nice compliment to the darker Blackberry Bliss. I used Blackberry Bliss for the card base and then added a strip of Lost Lagoon cardstock to frame the large Blackberry Bliss flowers.

Behind the flowers I have some Lost Lagoon leaves. Then on top of that I stamped a sentiment from the Season of Chic stamp set. I used one of the Something Fancy dies to cut out the sentiment and then popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. I had to add a butterfly of course! And this one is stamped with Crushed Curry. I kind of wish that there were coordinating dies for this stamp set, but the images aren’t too bad to fussy cut. The butterfly is popped up too. And to finish it off I added a few Brushed Brass Butterflies.

Enchanted Butterfly Slimline Card

This stamp set has a few larger images in it. So an Enchanted Butterfly slimline card, works out great!

Check out the card I shared earlier this week using the same stamp set here.

And you can find the Enchanted Butterfly stamp set in my online shop.

Enchanted Butterfly Birthday Card

I was so excited when I saw this new stamp set from Stampin’ Up! If you’ve been following me for a while then you’ll know I LOVE butterflies and that I was pretty sad when the Butterfly Brilliance stamps and dies retired. (I’m holding on to those for sure!) Enchanted Butterfly was not part of the demonstrator pre-order back in April, so I had to wait. But I finally have it now and I’m so excited to get crafting with it! My first project is an Enchanted Butterfly birthday card.

Recently a team member shared a card in our group and I liked her design. (Thanks Diane Kent!) So I used that as my starting point and tweaked it as I went. I of course was adding a butterfly so I flipped through the Inked Botanicals Designer Series Paper pack for a design that would work for my background. Usually I don’t use a lot of yellows when I craft, but I loved this Crushed Curry design. It’s so simple and so pretty! To help it pop I’m using Basic Black cardstock for my base and for the centre frame.

On top of my DSP card mat I layered a piece of Crushed Curry cardstock that I embossed with the Painted Texture 3D embossing folder. This is one of my favourite embossing folders right now. It just adds that little something more you know. Then on top of that I used a “happy birthday” from the Biggest Wish stamp set. I stamped that with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and sprinkled some crosses around it using Crushed Curry ink.

Next I stamped the front facing butterfly image with Memento ink on a separate piece of Basic White cardstock. Once that was dry I flipped over the stamp to colour it in using Crushed Curry ink. Because this stamp set is reversible you can get nice clean images no matter what side you use. With other, non-reversible, stamp sets the image doesn’t line up when you flip them over. Then I popped up the butterfly and sentiment using some Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Enchanted Butterfly Birthday Card

If you want to add a little something more to this Enchanted Butterfly birthday card, you could add some Wink of Stella to the butterfly. Or you could add some Brushed Brass Butterflies.

You can find the Enchanted Butterfly stamp set and Inked Botanicals DSP in my online shop.

And you can check out this project I made using the recently retired Butterfly Brilliance stamp set here. I’ll be sharing another project using Enchanted Butterfly later this week, so make sure to follow my blog to get notified when I post!

Different Kind of Gatefold Card

I totally took advantage of this month’s Designer Series Paper sale from Stampin’ Up! There are so many options. But I was able to keep it to just 2 new packs of DSP. For today’s card I’m sharing one of those packs… Fresh like a Daisy. And I’m making a different kind of gatefold card. Fresh like a Daisy is such a great pack of patterned paper for this time of year! Lots of flowers and colours. It actually uses all of the new 2023-2025 In Colours AND some of the other new colours from the Colour Refresh.

To pick my colours I picked my piece of DSP first. I’m using one of the designs with Moody Mauve and Wild Wheat. I just love the large daisies on this design! And I love how this gatefold doesn’t meet in the middle like usual.

For the belly band I used a piece of Moody Mauve cardstock to match the card base. Then I put a little bit of the other side of the same sheet of patterned paper on top. And in the middle I used the Circle Sayings bundle. I stamped the floral image twice to make a Moody Mauve wreath. And then I stamped the sentiment with Wild Wheat ink. Once it was dry I punched it out with the coordinating punch and popped it up with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals. And to finish it off I added some Wink of Stella to my wreath.

I enjoy a good fun fold card and so making this different kind of gatefold card was fun!

Check out another card I made with one of the other beautiful packs of DSP that are on sale right now here!

And today’s the last day to get 15% off all of Stampin’ Up!s regular packs of DSP, so don’t miss out! You can find them all in my online shop!

Patterned Paper Birthday Card

Without even realizing it I chose a great sketch design for Designer Series Paper for my team’s monthly creative challenge! Each month I choose a sketch design, theme or colour combination for them to use to spark some inkspiration and have some creative fun. They use whatever they have on hand and then post a pic in our Facebook group. For mine I’m making a patterned paper birthday card.

Patterned Paper Birthday Card

I’m having a lot of fun right now crafting with the online exclusive Hello Irresistible DSP. The colours… the designs… so pretty! I especially like the designs using Petal Pink and Flirty Flamingo. To help the colors from the patterned paper stand out I’m using a Basic White card base. Then I layered 2 different designs on top. In between the 2 layers of DSP I have an embossed piece of Flirty Flamingo cardstock. I embossed it using the splatter 3D embossing folder.

Then to make it a birthday card I used a couple of sentiments from the Circle Sayings stamp set. I used Petal Pink ink for one and Flirty Flamingo ink for the other. Once I punched them out using the coordinating punch, I popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. And to finish it off I added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Stampin’ Up!s DSP packs make it really easy to create a pretty patterned paper birthday card… or any kind of card really!

Check out the card I made earlier this week using the same pack of DSP here.

If you want to join in on all the fun then join my team! I’m surrounded by a wonderful and creative bunch of people on both my smaller and larger team. PLUS if you join before June 30th you’ll get $206 worth of Stampin’ Up! product instead of $165 for only $135 (no tax or shipping depending on the province)!!! Sign up here!

#SimpleStamping with Hello Irresistible

This week instead of a particular stamp set to feature, I chose some pretty patterned paper! And for this card I’m doing some #SimpleStamping with Hello Irresistible. This month’s #SimpleStamping challenge from Stampin’ Up! is to make any kind of card you want using stamps, ink, paper… and some Designer Series Paper.

The online exclusive Hello Irresistible 6×6 DSP is one of my favourites right now. And with this design I get to show off a few of the different designs in this pack. The designs I chose are using Petal Pink, Flirty Flamingo and Daffodil Delight. So for my card base I’m using Petal Pink.

I popped up every other strip of the DSP using Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then on top of that I added a sentiment from the Bottled Happiness stamp set. I stamped it using Flirty Flamingo ink and then framed it with a piece of Petal Pink cardstock. And since some of the strips are already popped up, I just layered that on top using some Stampin’ SEAL.

#SimpleStamping with Hello Irresistible

It’s hard to stick with #SimpleStamping with Hello Irresistible DSP! I’m so tempted to add some Brushed Brass Butterflies or die cut the sentiment with the Something Fancy dies. I might just have to make another stepped up version.

Check out another card I made using the Hello Irresistible DSP here.

And check out all the packs of patterned paper that are on sale this month, including Hello Irresistible, in my online shop. They’re all on sale for 15% off. Don’t miss out!

Double Decker Pop Out Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

This month the Fancy Folds Design Team is making a Double Decker Pop Out card. I know the name sounds kind of intimidating. But it’s not, I promise! It’s kind of like a Z-fold with a little something extra.

For my design I decided to take this opportunity and make a graduation card for my oldest munchkin who’s graduating grade 8 this year. I wanted to make something special and so the timing couldn’t be better!

Black and gold are classic graduation colours, so that’s what I’m using for my colour combination. I used Basic Black cardstock for the card base and panels. The panels are also embossed using the splatter folder from the Stripes & Splatter 3D embossing folders. But I’m not sure you can really tell in the pictures. I also used Basic Black cardstock for the large balloon to help the gold pop. For the gold I used 2 different designs from the Golden Celebration Specialty Designer Series Paper pack.

The sentiment is from the Beautiful Balloons stamp set. And I used the coordinating dies for the balloons and gold foil tassel. The black tassel is stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. And I popped up both of the balloons using some Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Now I have to make sure I keep this in a good hiding spot so my oldest doesn’t find it!

Keep going on the hop and check out the next Double Decker Pop Out card! This one is made by Mette and you can find her post here.

Check out last month’s hop too! We made as Easy Wiper Pop Up card. It was a lot of fun! Start that hop here.

Crafting Community

It’s been a very long time since I saw my larger team in person! The last time was around Christmas before the pandemic I think. I’ve still been connecting with them of course, but over ZOOM and in our Facebook group just isn’t the same. And that was totally confirmed for me when I got to hang out with my crafting community on Saturday!

On Saturday I spent the whole day in Burlington with them… laughing, catching up and of course crafting! And as usual it felt like no time had gone by since I saw them last. It was so easy to just sit and chat and spend time with these wonderful women!

This is probably the number one reason why I love being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator! If it weren’t for Stampin’ Up! I never would have met these people. And I definitely wouldn’t have gotten to meet Cori from Stampin’ Up! head office.

Crafting Community

As usual there were treats waiting for me when I got there. Prizes from our awesome team leader. And a little something from Stampin’ Up! to celebrate it’s 35th Anniversary. We were all so excited to hear that our event was chosen as one of the 35 events Stampin’ Up! would be dropping in on this year… and they did not disappoint!

And once the day was done I went for dinner with one of my best friends, who also happens to be my upline. It’s been a while since we got to hang out so it was a great way to end a great day!

If you live in Canada and are looking for an awesome crafting community, you can join my team here! Or if you want more info, check out my Join my Team page.

Plus right now there’s a great deal on Stampin’ Up!s Starter Kit! For the usual price of $135 (no tax or shipping in some provinces) you’ll get $206 worth of Stampin’ Up! product.

Father’s Day Shaker Card

I got the idea for this card when I first started crafting with the He’s All That stamps and dies. Well maybe not this card exactly, lol! I love using the argyle dies and I got the idea of saving all the little cardstock bits to make a shaker card. So here I am with a Father’s Day shaker card. It’s not filled with jewels or sequins like a typical shaker card, but I love the confetti that was created!

So my confetti was my starting point. There’s a mix of Old Olive, Mossy Meadow and Crushed Curry in there, which is a nice colour combination for a masculine card. I used Mossy Meadow for the card base and frame. Old Olive for the card mat and one of my argyle pieces. And then Crushed Curry for the other argyle piece.

Then of course I wanted to use the He’s All That stamps and dies. I used Mossy Meadow and Crushed Curry to stamp a couple of the smaller images to make a background for my shaker. Next I framed it with the Foam Adhesive strips. Once I poured in all my cardstock bits I covered it with a piece of Window Sheet. Then I added a Mossy Meadow cardstock frame to cover the adhesive strips.

To finish it off I added the argyle pieces and the sentiment I die cut using one of the simpler coordinating dies. And even a masculine card needs some bling, so I added a few of the Brushed Metallic Dots.

Father's Day Shaker Card

I just love this Father’s Day shaker card! Now… do I use this next weekend or add it to my stash for when I’m stuck for a masculine card?

Check out last week’s card using the He’s All That stamps and dies here.

And you can find both in my online shop here. Just type “He’s All That” in the search bar.

Colourful Patterned Paper

One thing I still have a hard time using up or purging is all my colourful patterned paper! And the new Annual Catalogue is not helping me. Tehre are so many great packs of Designer Series Paper right now!

If you like florals, then you’ll want to check out the Fresh like a Daisy and Inked Botanicals. Or if you like colourful designs, you might like the Masterfully Made, Stargazing or Bright & Beautiful packs. And for those of us who enjoy whimsical or black and white designs, you definitely need to check out Zoo Crew. Super cute! One of my favourites is the online exclusive, Hello Irresistible, DSP pack. The colours and designs are really pretty!

Plus the great part is, this isn’t even half the options. And it doesn’t include any of the specialty pack of paper, which are also awesome! I’ll definitely be adding to my collection over this next year.

Check out a card I made last week using the Hello Irresistible DSP here. And here‘s one using the Bright & Beautiful DSP pack.

And right now almost all the colourful patterned paper is on sale! Get 15% off of any of the regular Designer Series Paper packs all this month. Sadly the specialty packs aren’t included, but maybe with what you save you can splurge! Check out all the different options in my online shop. And let me know if you have any questions.

As an added bonus, when you shop with me online this month remember to use this month’s host code and get a FREE card making PDF tutorial from me as a thank you!

Colourful Patterned Paper

Handmade Father’s Day Card

June is here! Soon it’ll be summer and in just a couple of weeks is Father’s Day. There’s lot going on around here. Hopefully it settles down soon so I can get to my garden. In the meantime I’m sharing a handmade Father’s Day card. I was very glad to hear that the He’s All That stamp set and dies were carrying over to the new Annual Catalogue! This was one of the first sets I got when it came out in last year’s catalogue and I’ve been enjoying crafting with it. It’s definitely made making masculine cards a lot easier!

For this card I put Mossy Meadow and Crushed Curry together for my colour combination. I also added in a splash of Night of Navy. The sentiment is from the He’s All That stamp set, of course. Next I die cut it using one of the coordinating dies and then popped it off with a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals.

In the background I stamped some paint splatter using the Quiet Meadow stamp set. And added a few of the argyle die cuts around the sentiment. For these I used all three colours and popped them up using some of the Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then to finish it off I added a few Brushed Metallic Dots. A nice way to add some bling to your masculine cards!

Handmade Father's Day Card

Now this isn’t the handmade Father’s Day card I’ll be giving to my dad. But I’ll definitely be using the He’s All That stamps and dies!

Check out another card I made using He’s All That here.

And grab the stamp set and dies over in my online shop.

In Color Thank You Cards

I went through my last batch of thank you cards for my customers. And with the recent launch of the new Annual Catalogue, of course I need some more. So this time I’m making some In Color thank you cards. I’m still getting used to some of the new colours and so I thought this would be a good chance to play with more than one of them.

The design for this card is this month’s creative challenge for my small team. There was also an extra piece this time… use at least on of the new colours. To keep it simple, I’m using a Basic Black card base for all of them. And instead of using the 2023-2025 In Color Designer Series Paper, I took a piece of cardstock and embossed it using the Timeworn Type 3D embossing folder.

On top of that layer I stamped on pieces of Basic White cardstock using the different In Colours and the Season of Chic stamp set. The “thanks” also comes from this stamp set. Then I die cut the sentiment using the Something Fancy dies and popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. Next I used a few of the different images from the same stamp set and die cut them with the coordinating dies. I wanted them on the same level as the sentiment so I popped them up too. And to finish them off I added a few of the coordinating In Colour Dots.

In Color Thank You Cards

I hope my customers like these In Color thank you cards!

Check out another thank you card I made a while back here.

And find the stamps, dies and In Colour products in my online shop.

Monochromatic Card with Patterned Paper

For most of my cards I use 2 colours, sometimes 3 or 4. But I also love a good monochromatic card. And crafting a monochromatic card with patterned paper is a simple way to make it really pretty. I just love the Hello Irresisitible Designer Series Paper! This is such a pretty pack of paper… and great for this kind of card.

To start I picked my DSP design. I chose a simple Pretty Peacock design and so I used that colour for my card base and ink colour too. This is such a pretty colour. I’m really glad Stampin’ Up! brought it back with the recent Colour Refresh they did.

On top of the piece of DSP I added a strip of Pretty Peacock cardstock. But first, to spruce it up a bit I did some tone on tone stamping with the ink splatter image from the Quiet Meadow stamp set. Then on top of that I added the sentiment. This one comes from the In the Moment stamp set. It’s of course stamped with Pretty Peacock ink too.

To finish off this simple card, I popped up the sentiment with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals. And then I added a few of the Flat Adhesive Backed Pearls. Don’t you just love the rainbow effect you get when these catch the light?!

Monochromatic Card with Patterned Paper

It’s so easy to craft a beautiful monochromatic card with patterned paper! All you need to do is pick a design. And right now there’s ALOT of options, so that’s probably going to be the hardest part.

Check out this other card I made using the online exclusive Hello Irresistible DSP here.

And check all the different packs of patterned paper that Stampin’ Up! has in my online shop.