Watercolouring with Happiness Abounds

I’m really enjoying all this watercolouring for World Watercolouring month! It’s something I love to do, I just don’t always think of it when I’m designing my cards. Hopefully that’ll change after this month. In the meantime I’m enjoying myself and watercolouring with Happiness Abounds is so much fun. The images in this stamp set make it so easy! Plus the Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper makes for a nice background. And that’s exactly where I started for this card.

To pull my design together I started with choosing the piece of DSP. All these designs are so colourful, but I wanted to choose a design that wasn’t too busy. I wanted the watercolouring to be the main focus. The piece I chose was nice and simple, plus I love purples and blues. Then to really help the colours pop I used a Basic Black card base.

Layered on top of my patterned paper I stamped some flowers on a piece of Basic White cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento ink. Next I used 2 different Stitched Rectangles dies to add a little something more to the stamped cardstock.

For the other flowers I stamped them using the same ink but on some of the Fluid 100 Watercolour paper. Just to be sure I gave them lots of time to dry. Then I used my Water Painters to add Pool Party and Rich Razzleberry ink to them. To get the darker colours I added the ink straight onto the stamped watercolour paper. And for the lighter shades I brushed off a little bit of ink onto the side of the ink pad lid before colouring. Once these dried I cut them out using the Blossoming Happiness dies and popped them up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then to finish it off I added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels. Gotta add some bling!

Watercolouring with Happiness Abounds

So pretty! I just love how this card turned out. Watercolouring with Happiness Abounds is super easy. This suite has become a fast favourite of mine… if you haven’t noticed yet, lol! Check out another card I created using Happiness Abounds here. And you can check out the entire Hues of Happiness suite in my online shop.

Don’t forget about Sale-a-bration too! Products are starting to sell out and we’re not even half way done. Remember to use this month’s host code when you shop with me online. When you do and your order is $49 or more you’ll receive a FREE card making tutorital complete with a list of supplies and step by step instructions.

Mirror Fold Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

It’s blog hop time again! And this month the Fancy Folds Design Team is making a Mirror Fold Card. I saw this card a little while ago and am excited to share it with you. For measurements and steps to try this yourself check out my YouTube video. Just as a heads up there were a couple of parts that were a bit tricky, but I still love how these cards turned out.

For whatever reason I decided to make two different versions of this card. Maybe it’s the excitement from the newly launched July-December mini catalogue. Who knows?! Anyway… I made one version using the Hues of Happiness suite of products to make a birthday card. And the other version is a Christmas card using the All Spruced Up bundle.

For the birthday card I used Melon Mambo for the card base and a simple design for my patterned paper. The Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper is sssooo pretty, but I wanted a simple design so the the flowers would be the focus. I cut out the flowers using the coordinating dies. Don’t you just love it when the dies work for both the stamped images AND the images in the DSP pack? I know I do! I popped up the flowers on the front panel using some Stampin’ Dimensionals and then heat embossed “happy birthday” in white on a piece of Basic Black cardstock. Then to finish it off I added a couple of Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Mirror Fold Card

For the Christmas card I used Pear Pizzazz for my card base and the Painted Christmas Designer Series Paper. I’m so glad this pack of patterned paper is back! The designs are so pretty and some can be used for occasions other than Christmas too. To decorate this version I used the All Spruced Up dies with a few different papers, including the Gold & Silver Foil DSP from the Sale-a-bration catalogue. I cut out the phrase with one of the He’s All That dies and popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. And when I finally found my Festive Pearls I added a couple of the gold ones to the card to finish it off.

Mirror Fold Card

I hope you enjoy this month’s fun fold! Keep hopping around the world and check out the next Mirror Fold Card from Mette Nordling Shaw here.

And you can always check out what we made last month, which was a Diamond Z Fold card. Check out that hop starting here.

Blossoming Happiness

Usually my cards are fairly simple… pretty but simple. I’ve seen some cards with layers upon layers of different things and can appreciate the work that goes into them. For me those designs can be a bit much sometimes. But lately I’ve been wanting to add some more layers to my cards while still keeping it simple. I think it all started with the Hues of Happiness suite. The images from the stamp set and Designer Series Paper are so pretty and the Blossoming Happiness dies lend themselves well to layering.

So in the spirit of keeping it simple I went with a neutral colour combination, Basic Black and Crumb Cake. Then I added a pop of colour with Flirty Flamingo. I stamped some leaves and one of the smaller bouquet of flowers images around the edge of the piece of Crumb Cake using Crumb Cake ink. The tone on tone stamping keeps it subtle and really helps the Flirty Flamingo stand out.

I also stamped a couple of the larger flowers on a piece of Basic White cardstock using Crumb Cake ink. Once that was dry I used one of the Blossoming Happiness dies to create a torn notebook page look. This is such a cool die! I added that to the Crumb Cake card mat on an angle with some Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Then for my last layer I stamped a few flowers using Tuxedo Black Memento ink on some Basic White cardstock. And here’s where the Flirty Flamingo comes in. I coloured the flowers using the Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Blends. I just love colouring with these markers!! Then I cut them out using the coordinating dies and added them to my card. To finish it off I added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels and some Wink of Stella to the centre of the coloured flowers.

Blossoming Happiness

I’m slowly easing my way into adding more layers to my cards. It’s a new kind of design, so it’ll take me a few attempts before I start to get the hang of it. But I love the Blossoming Happiness dies and know that they will definitely be a part of future layered creations!

Check out one of my other cards using the Happiness Abounds stamp set here. And you can check out the full Hues of Happiness suite in my online shop.

Simple Card Sketch

My team’s cards from our recent card swap have all arrived and I’m excited to share them with you! With 15 cards I always look for my favourites to share here. This time around I love them all, so stay tuned for the rest over the next few weeks. The cards I’m sharing today all use the same simple card sketch… and of course each has their own spin on it.

This first card is from Wendy Fee. She used the Full of Love stamp set which she coloured with a variety of Stampin’ Blends. She cut out the image using the Stylish Shapes dies and her strip along the left hand side of the card is a piece of So Saffron cardstock that she embossed using the Cascading Ruffles 3D embossing folder. I also like the Solid Faceted Gems that she added. It adds a little something more to this cute card!

Simple Card Sketch

The next card is from Linda Warrington. She’s using one of my favourite Designer Series Paper packs from the Annual Catalogue… the Sun Prints DSP. It’s such a beautiful pack of patterned paper! On the left hand side of the card, next to the piece of DSP, is a strip of Basic White embossed using the Fern 3D embossing folder. The “thank you” comes from the Good Feelings stamp set. This is a great sentiment filled stamp set. And she circled the sentiment using the Natural Prints dies.

Simple Card Sketch

And this last card is from Lorraine Melanson. This card really shows off the Tea Boutique products. Her strip on the left hand side of the card is a piece of the Tea Boutique DSP. And then her central focus uses the Cup of Tea bundle and Stylish Shapes dies. I LOVE tea and I just think this set of stamps and dies are so cute! It’s definitely one near the top of my wishlist.

Simple Card Sketch

It’s so interesting to see how the same simple card sketch of a strip along the left hand side and phrase/image in the centre can turn out so differently! This is why I love joining my team card swaps. There’s always so many great ideas to be found!

If you love to craft and be creative and would love to join a great team of positive, creative and supportive people, then join my team. I’m happy to answer any questions you have or you can check out my page where I talk about why I love being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. Or you can just dive right in here. And right now when you join you’ll also get an awesome planner complete with an exclusive stamp set and stickers to get you started in your business or just get you organized!

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day everyone! I’m looking forward to this long weekend. Some nice warm weather… some time off from my “9 to 5″… and extra time for crafting!! What could be better?! So to celebrate I wanted to make a special card. The idea for this card came to me when I was looking at the Hippos dies from the new Sale-a-bration catalogue, which kicks off today.

The base for this card uses Basic White and Real Red to create a Canada flag look. I kept the Real Red cardstock plain. Although I wish I had the Leaf Fall 3D Embossing folder from the new July-December Mini catalogue! It would really add something to the Real Red panels.

In the centre I used the Layering Circles dies with some Real Red and Basic White cardstock in place of the usual Maple Leaf. Then in the centre of that I have one of the cute hippos that you can earn for free right now during Sale-a-bration, the Hippest Hippos. I stamped the hippo with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and then once that was dry I coloured it in with Stampin’ Blends; Smoky Slate and Flirty Flamingo.

The sparklers is where this whole card design began. I of course used the coordinating die to cut out my hippo, but I also used the flower dies to create the sparklers. The Brushed Metallic cardstock worked perfectly for this. I just layered the smaller flower on top of the larger one with a Mini Glue Dot. And then I cut a thin strip of another sheet to create the sticks.

Happy Canada Day

Super cute right?!

Check out another project I made last year to say Happy Canada Day here. And if you want to check out the new Sale-a-bration catalogue, head over to my online shop! Remember every order of $60 will earn you one of the free products from the Sale-a-bration catalogue. If you have any questions about how Sale-a-bration works just let me know (inkspirationwithteresa@gmail.com). I’m happy to answer any of your questions!

Simple Handmade Wedding Card

I’m finally getting around to sharing the card I made for my team’s recent Annual Catalogue card swap. With every new catalogue we always do one and I just love all the different card samples I get! I can’t wait to share some of my favourites with you. In the meantime here’s my simple handmade wedding card.

For our swaps we have to use a new stamp set as our main focus. And we need to have an embellishment of some kind. It could be Designer Series Paper, ribbon, jewels. Just something a little extra to step up your card design. For my design I used the Happiness Abounds stamp set. I wanted to make something simple as I needed to make 15 cards. While I sometimes enjoy making cards with a few different pieces/layers, those cards do tend to take a little bit more time.

For my colour combination I used Pale Papaya and Pear Pizzazz. Both are such nice soft colours and they go so nicely together. And instead of adding some of the coordinating DSP, Hues of Happiness, I added some extra colour using the Blending Brushes. I added some Pear Pizzazz behind the flowers and Pale Papaya to colour the flowers. You can stamp the flowers first and then use the Blending Brushes or vice versa. It’s completely up to you. Just make sure if you stamp first that you give plenty of time for the ink to dry so you don’t end up smudging the lines from the stamped images.

From here I used the Blossoming Happiness dies to cut out the two smaller flowers. Then I popped those up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. And the embellishment I used was a few of the Rhinestone Basic Jewels. If you want to add a bit more sparkle you can add some using the Wink of Stella Glitterbrush to the flowers.

Simple Handmade Wedding Card

Such a simple handmade wedding card! Check out this other card I made using the Happiness Abounds products here. And you can check all the products from this suite in my online shop.

Colourful Butterflies

I’m always on the look out for ideas for projects. Sometimes to craft something different and sometimes because I just need ideas. And one stamp set that I’ve needed some ideas for is the Amazing Silhouettes stamp set. I really like the images in this stamp set, but I seem to get stuck. So this card design came from a few different cards I’ve seen lately. And I thought it’d be fun to add some colourful butterflies using some of the new In Colours.

To really help the colours pop I used a Basic White card base. But I didn’t want just a plain card base so I embossed the front of it using the Painted Texture 3D Embossing folder. Then to frame the images and phrase and help the colours stand out even more I used some Starry Sky cardstock. For the butterflies I first stamped the image from the Amazing Silhouettes stamp set in Starry Sky, Sweet Sorbet and Parakeet Party on a piece of Basic White cardstock.

To create the butterflies to layer on top I used my Blending Brushes with each of the ink colours on a few pieces of Basic White cardstock. Once they were dry I used one of the Brilliant Wings dies to cut out the butterflies. Then I used some Mini Glue Dots to adhere them to the stamped cardstock.

I popped up the framed cardstock with the butterflies using some Stampin’ Dimensionals. And the phrase I pulled from the Bottled Happiness stamp set. I cut it out with one of the smallest Stitched Rectangles dies and then used a bit of Stampin’ SEAL and Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals to have it on the same level as the butterflies.

Colourful Butterflies

I really love these colourful butterflies! This was such a simple card to make and I love how it turned out.

Check out this other card I made using the Amazing Silhouettes stamp set here. And you can grab the stamp set along with anything else you need in my online shop.

Hippest Hippos

Summer is officially here! I’m looking forward to a slower pace and more time for crafting. And I’m definitely looking forward to round 2 of Sale-a-bration. I especially love the Hippest Hippos stamp set and coordinating dies that you can earn for FREE starting next Friday with qualifying orders. So to celebrate the first day of Summer I thought I’d pair these cute hippos with the Friends are like Seashells stamp set.

With that in mind I went with a beach themed colour combination. Pool Party and Crumb Cake I feel work great for this. I used Crumb Cake for my card base. And then I added Pool Party to mat the images and phrase. Before I stamped my images I used my Blending Brushes on the main piece of Basic White cardstock. I used Crumb Cake along the bottom to create a kind of beach and then Pool Party along the top for a water/sky look. On top of the blended inks I stamped some specs of sand and a few seashells.

Then for the hippos I stamped them with Smoky Slate on separate pieces of Basic White cardstock. Once they were dry I used some of my Watercolour Pencils to colour them in. Then I cut them out with the coordinating dies and popped them up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The phrase comes from the Friends are like Seashells stamp set. And I cut it out with one of the Stitched Rectangles dies. Then I popped it up with some more Stampin’ Dimensionals and added a few of the Faux Sea Glass Shapes.

Hippest Hippos

This was such a fun card to make! I can’t wait to create some more with the Hippest Hippos. Stay tuned for more cards featuring these guys.

For information about how Sale-a-bration works check out this post from this past Sale-a-bration. And make sure to bookmark my online shop so you’re all set for when it kicks off.

Diamond Z-Fold Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

It’s that time of the month… time for a Fancy Fold Design Team blog hop! This month we’re making a Diamond Z-Fold card. I love the look of this card! It’s so neat! To see it step by step, check out this video from Jan, a Stampin’ Up! demo from the UK. She has a couple great tips and all the measurements you’ll need to make your own.

For my design as soon as I saw this fun fold I knew I wanted to use the Happiness Abounds suite. I just LOVE this Designer Series Paper… so pretty and so colourful! This is a great card to show off a couple of the designs. But with so many great designs to choose from I needed to pick my colour combination first. I went with Coastal Cabana as my base colour. It’s such a nice bright colour, but not too overpowering. Next I choose a design that had that colour along with a few others; Fresh Freesia, Gorgeous Grape, Melon Mambo and more. The other design is simply the flip side of the first one.

On top of each of the diamonds I have flowers from this same stamp set. To start I stamped them in Tuxedo Black Memento ink on some Basic White cardstock. Then I coloured them with Watercolour Pencils and softened it with a Blender Pen. Then I cut them out with the coordinating dies. The phrase comes from the Happiness Abounds stamp set and I cut it out with one of the Stitched Rectangles dies. Which I popped up with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I love how my Diamond Z-Fold card turned out! This is such a fun fold to make. To keep hopping around the world check out Mette’s card here.

Check out last month’s blog hop here.

#SimpleStamping with Artfully Composed

This month’s #SimpleStamping challenge from Stampin’ Up! is to make a “just because” card using stamps, ink, paper and an extra bonus this month…. Designer Series Paper. So for my card I decided to do some #SimpleStamping with Artfully Composed DSP. This pack of patterned paper is retiring soon. I still have a few sheets left so I thought this would be a great chance to use it.

For my card base I used Evening Evergreen. It’s a colour that’s in a lot of the different designs in this pack. And it’s nice and dark so it’s almost like a neutral colour and it helps the other colours from the patterned paper really pop. I added a piece of Basic White cardstock behind the DSP. This makes it easier to create the jigsaw puzzle type layout. I really like this kind of card design when I’m using DSP. It’s such a great way to show it off. And it’s especially helpful when you can’t decide which design you want to use. So I chose a few different designs and cut them into different shapes and sizes.

On top of the different DSP designs I added a fussy cut leaf that I had left over from another project using the Artfully Composed DSP. And I used a phrase from the Dragonfly Garden stamp set, which I’m glad to say is not retiring. I popped these up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals to add a bit more depth to the card.

#SimpleStamping with Artfully Composed

While I love how my card using #SimpleStamping with Artfully Composed DSP turned out, I was tempted to add a little something more. If you want to level this card up you can simply add a few of the Faux Sea Glass Shapes. Or even use one of the smaller Stitched Rectangles dies to cut out the phrase.

That said I enjoy doing #SimpleStamping. Check out my last #SimpleStamping card here. And you can check out the Artfully Compsed DSP as well as all the other retiring products in my online shop.

Goodbye to Dahlia Days

The clock is ticking as we get closer to summer, warmer weather and of course the end of the January-June Mini catalogue. I’m always sad when Stampin’ Up! releases it’s list of retiring products. But at least that doesn’t last that long as there are new goodies on the way! In the meantime I’m sharing some projects over the next few weeks featuring some of the products that will soon no longer be available. This week I’m saying goodbye to Dahlia Days! I have been having so much fun crafting with this bundle. This is definitely one that I’m particularly sad to see retiring. I just love the images and phrases… this might be one that I hold on to even after it’s retired.

Anyway… for this card I wanted to show off both the stamp set and the coordinating dies. For my colour combination I used Petal Pink, Pear Pizzazz and Crumb Cake. Petal Pink is such a nice soft pink and Pear Pizzazz has become my go to colour when I’m stamping leaves, etc. The Crumb Cake is a nice, soft neutral colour to help the others pop.

Once I stamped my large dahlias and leaves I cut them out using the coordinating dies. For the phrase and smaller flowers I used one of the smaller Layering Circles dies. Then behind it all I used the more detailed die with some Basic White cardstock. I thought about using some Sponge Daubers to add some colour to the detailed die cut, but I like the simplicity of this. Plus it doesn’t take away from the other stamped images which I popped up using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To add a little something more to this card I added some of the Petal Pink cotton ribbon from the Cotton Ribbon Combo pack. (this ribbon is retiring as well) And of course I needed to add a little bit of bling. But in this case I added a few of the largest Brushed Brass Butterflies.

Goodbye to Dahlia Days

I’m so sad that I have to say goodbye to Dahlia Days. If you love this stamp set too then make sure to head over to my online shop before it’s sold out. The sale is only on until June 30th!

You can also check out a project I did with another retiring bundle, Sweet Talk, here.

3 Reasons Why I Love Stamping Kits

All this month Stampin’ Up! is having a BOGO… buy one get one 50% off on all their kits! I love these kits for a few different reasons. So I thought I would share just 3 reasons why I love stamping kits.

First of all they’re great for beginner stampers! These kits come with everything you would need to get started… adhesives, paper as well as stamps and ink for the stamping kits. The projects are usually fairly simple and they come complete with instructions. So you don’t have to worry about not knowing what to do or feel overwhelmed.

My second reason is that they’re great for on-the-go crafting! Everything comes inside a neat little box that you can stuff into your bag no matter where you’re going. There’s also extra room in the box for extra supplies. I always bring a kit with me when we go camping in the summer. My husband shakes his head when he sees my packing my crafting supplies along with our tent, but I just LOVE crafting that much!

The third reason is the variety of projects. While with the Paper Pumpkin kits you’re in for a bit of a surprise, with these kits you can see exactly what the projects are. Right now there are card kits for birthdays, Christmas and just because. There’s also some great project kits. like the Celebrate Today Magnet Board kit and the newest arrival the Love This Memory Notebook kit for all of us scrapbookers who wish we had more time to scrap.

Here are a couple of cards from the For the Guys card kit. This is a great kit for Father’s Day or whenever you’re stuck for a masculine themed card, which for me happens regularly.

These are just 3 reasons why I love stamping kits. There are lots more, but I’ve gotta leave something for you discover yourselves! Stampin’ Up! adds new kits fairly regularly, so you’ll want to check back to see what’s new. But don’t wait, some kits become temporarily unavailable. To check out all the kits either for yourself or the crafter in your life head over to my online shop.

You can also check out how I craft when we go camping here!

3 Reasons Why I Love Stamping Kits

He’s All That

June is here! Which means that summer’s coming and Father’s Day is around the corner. In just over two weeks acutally. Maybe that’s why I’ve been making so many masculine cards lately… or maybe it’s because I just love the He’s All That bundle. Either way I thought I’d share another card using this bundle. Check out this one that I made for a Paper Craft Crew vertical sketch challenge here.

For this card I went with all neutral colours. Yes navy is a neutral colour. I used Basic Black for the card base. Then I mixed in some Smoky Slate and Night of Navy. To add a little something to the smaller pieces of cardstock I embossed them. I embossed the piece of Smoky Slate using the Painted Texture 3D embossing folder. And the piece of Night of Navy cardstock with the splatter folder from the Stripes & Splatter 3D embossing folders.

For the stamping I added a little bit of ink splatter from the Quiet Meadow stamp set using Night of Navy ink. And the phrase, from the He’s All That stamp set, I stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento ink. To cut out the phrase I just used one of the coordinating dies. Then to finish it off I popped up the phrase with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals. Here it is…

He's All That

The He’s All That stamp set and dies are great for masculine cards… and for Father’s Day. These kinds of cards are definitely more of a challenge for me so I’m glad to have something that makes it so much easier! Check out the whole suite of products in my online shop. I especially love the Designer Series Paper and can’t wait to get my hands on that too!

Colouring with Happiness Abounds

I crafted this card live on my Facebook page last night. Check out the replay here. I’ve been dying to do some colouring with Happiness Abounds! This stamp set from the new Annual catalogue is a great one. The images are perfect for colouring and the phrases are so versatile.

For this card I used Stampin’ Blends to colour. At some point I’ll use the Watercolour Pencils, but I love the depth of colour you get from these alcohol-based markers. For my colour combination I went with Pool Party and Old Olive. They really compliment each other. To start I stamped a phrase and some leaves using Old Olive ink. Then for the images I’m colouring I stamped them in Tuxedo Black Memento ink. Once that was dry I could get to colouring.

When I colour with Stampin’ Blends I tend to start with the light version. Then I add the dark where I want the depth and shadows. And to finish it off I do another layer of the light Stampin’ Blends. Some people start and finish with the dark version which also looks great. It just gives a different look.

Once the coloured images dried I popped them up with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals. And of course I needed to add some bling… so I added two Rhinestone Basic Jewels on either side of the “congratulations”. Here it is…

Colouring with Happiness Abounds

If you want to add a little something more to this card you can always use the Stitched Rectangles dies. It’s an easy way to cut your cardstock and add another level to your design.

I can’t wait to do some more crafting and colouring with Happiness Abounds! Check out the recent card I crafted using the coordinating Designer Series Paper here.

Happiness Abounds

I’m finally getting to some crafting with the new Happiness Abounds bundle from the new Annual Catalogue! This is one of the sets that was at the top of my list when I first saw it. But the He’s All That bundle just snuck in front for my pre-order back in April, so I was super excited when these finally arrived. I’m also loving the Designer Series Paper that’s part of this suite! I’ve already got a bunch of ideas in my head and think I might need to order another pack.

For this card I wanted to show it all off. So I have a Basic White card base to really help keep the focus on the other colours. Most of the colour for this card comes from the piece of Happiness DSP that I used for a card mat. Then I pulled the ink colours and colour for the other flower from there. I used Flirty Flamingo and Daffodil Delight for the phrase and flowers. And I threw in a little bit of Pear Pizzazz for the stamped leaves. Then I cut out both the DSP and stamped cardstock using the Stitched Rectangles dies.

I fussy cut a couple of Daffodil Delight flowers and some leaves to layer on top. (I started this design up at my in-laws farmhouse so I didn’t have my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss machine to use the dies.) But it wasn’t too bad to do the fussy cutting. I layered the extra flowers and stamped piece of cardstock onto the DSP card mat. And then popped it ALL up using some Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To finish it off I added a few Polished Dots. I always need to add a little bit of bling to my cards. Who’s with me?!

Happiness Abounds

I’m looking forward to crafting even more with the Happiness Abounds bundle, so stay tuned for more! In the meantime you can check out this card using the He’s All That stamp set here… Father’s Day is just around the corner!

And you can check out the full Hues of Happiness suite here in my online shop.