Jun 2, 2019 | Blog Hops, Cards - Friendship, Challenges |
Hi Friends,
Thank you for stopping by my blog – Stamping Flair. Today I’m participating in a Blog Hop with my fellow demonstrator friends from the Facebook group ESAD. It’s great that you are able to join in the anticipation and excitement of the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue which launches 4th June by taking a look at a variety of beautiful projects featured in this Blog Hop.
You will find lots of inspiration in the projects that are shared. Make sure you visit each one and check them out. I’m certain that you will fall in love with the suites and individual products featured and then have a very long wish list just like I have!
I have chosen to feature the Bird Ballad suite which is from Pages 90 to 92 of the Annual Catalogue. I have also highlighted one of the new In-Colours which is my favourite. Can you guess which one it is?
Take a look at my blog header for a clue!
Yes…you’re right – It’s none other than Rococo Rose. I just had to!
There are a number of products that coordinate to form the Bird Ballad Suite.
Products in the Bird Ballad Suite
- Free as a Bird stamp set (Item No. 149468)
- Stitched Nested Labels Dies (Item No. 149592)
- Bird Ballad Laser Cut Cards & Tin (Item No. 149595)
- Scalloped Lace Trim (Item No. 149593)
- Bird Ballad Trinkets (Item No.149594)
Buying the stamp set and dies as a bundle saves you 10%. Look for the 10% off sign in the catalogue to save on bundle purchases. Bird Ballad Bundle Item No. 151123.
Simplified Ordering
A new feature in this catalogue is that you can order a complete set of products in a suite using just ONE product number. So, for instance, when you just NEED the the Bird Ballad suite (wink, wink) you won’t have to enter 6 different item numbers. You just enter the one Item No. 152190, making it easy to get everything you want in one simple step. This type of simplified ordering is featured throughout the entire catalogue so keep a look out for it.
Double Embossed Card
Nesting dies in general are a favourite tool of mine and I can see these Nested Label Dies getting a lot of use by me. There are 9 dies in the set. With the stitched edging it gives a lovely finish to the label.
I have used these dies in a few ways on this card. First I have used it to partially emboss the cardstock, then I used it to emboss the outline of the die into the cardstock and lastly to create a frame.
Partial Embossing
To prepare the shims I used the cardstock that backs some of our Designer Series Paper packs. You will need 3 pieces of cardstock at 14.8 x 10.5 cm which is the size of the card base.
A. Align the die according to which part of your card stock you don’t want embossed. In this case, I wanted the empty space in the centre so I set my die and secured it with washi tape. I ran it quite a few times through my die cutting machine. However, as it was so thick it didn’t cut through but it left a deep indentation which made it easy to cut through with my paper snips. Just cut from the edge of your cardstock and then round the shape (this won’t affect the process).
B. Prepare another 2 pieces like this. Instead of running through the die cutting machine this time, I used the first piece as a template.
C. Attach the 3 pieces together with a couple of strips of washi tape.
D. Cut a piece of Thick Whisper White cardstock at 14.4cm x 10.1cm. Using your die as a template, pencil in the shape on the cardstock.
Partial Embossing Sandwich for Big Shot
The number of shims (cardstock) will vary according to the thickness of your embossing folder. This is what I used for the Layered Leaves embossing folder which is a thicker style folder.
- Big Shot Platform
- Embossing Folder with Whisper White cardstock inside
- Shims on top of closed embossing folder. The opening should line up with the drawn label on the Whisper White cardstock
- Blue silicone sheet
Run this through the Big Shot and you will have an embossed outer section with a blank centre. Next I used the same die to create an embossed outline for the centre using Embossing Mats.
Using 2 smaller dies I die cut a frame from Rococo Rose cardstock. Doesn’t that stitching look lovely?
Now for my centrepiece – those beautiful birds. I stamped them on Shimmery White cardstock in Stazon ink. Watercolouring this image was what I had in mind but I had done the unthinkable and ordered ink pads without refills so I found a work around. I inked up some Clear Blocks with Rococo Rose, Daffodil Delight and Bermuda Bay and used the ink on them to watercolour the birds with an Aqua Painter. Sometimes this can give a little bit more control over the colours as it’s not so strong as ink refills.
I stamped 3 lots of these birds so I could layer them for depth. The other colours I used for the rest of the image were Mossy Meadow, Terracotta Tile and Early Espresso.
To add a dash of colour to the partially embossed cardstock. I lightly watercoloured some Bermuda Bay in the centre. Then I inked up Clear Block A with Daffodil Delight, stamped off and then lightly stamped over the Bermuda Bay. This created a subtle background for the birds.
The sentiment has been stamped on Sahara Sand cardstock and embellished with the lovely Bird Ballad trinkets. These have a lovely vintage feel to them and look really cute. Here I’ve added a cluster to work in with the rest of the foliage.
Laser Cut Card
My second project uses the laser cut cards which come in a beautiful Petal Pink keepsake tin. You get 12 laser cut cards with envelopes in this tin.
I stamped a smaller piece of Very Vanilla cardstock with So Saffron and Coastal Cabana Ink using the Artisan Textures stamp set. Then I adhered this to the back of the laser cut panel which gave a lovely background.
I have used several of the Bird Ballad Designer Series Paper on this card. They are great for fussy cutting, as I have done here.
I stamped the Artisan Textures stamp (off stamped a couple of times to lighten it) in Coastal Cabana on Whisper White cardstock. Then I stamped the leaves in Coastal Cabana and die cut the circle. A frame was die cut from Coastal Cabana cardstock using 2 smaller circles to bring out the colour more without overpowering the image.
The sentiment has been heat embossed in white and layered on some white Flax ribbon and the new Woven Threads ribbon. When the stitches are cut on this, it creates tassels and looks really cute.
If you would like to have a copy of the new catalogue, please get in touch with me and I’d be glad to send one out to you.
Enjoy hopping your way through all the blogs and I hope it inspires you to get creating with these new products.
Blog hop participant list:
- Lou Kitzelman
- Rochelle Blok
- Kelly Kent
- Jo Stubbings
- Nicole Wilson
- Denise Buetler
- Sandra Mastello
- Rochelle Laird-Smith – You are here
- Siobhan Fitzsimmons
- Shannon Kissane
- Libby Dyson
- Jo Weedon
- Peta Stephen
- Carly Middleton
- Lisa Whitehead
- Bronwyn Eastley
- Cathy Pinchbeck
- Monique Fielder
- Rebecca Scurr
- Richelle Fletcher
- Jackie Noble
- Mandy Depiazzi
- Sharon Dalton
- Maree McIntosh
- Samantha White
Product List for 1st Card – Bird Ballad Suite plus the following
Product List for 2nd Card – Bird Ballad suite plus the following
Apr 18, 2019 | Cards - Other, Challenges |
As I saw this sketch, the first bundle that came into my mind was the Wonderful Romance bundle. I thought the bunch of flowers from this stamp set would work well on that right corner of the card.
On this project I have used a number of our retiring products from the 2018 -2019 Annual Catalogue and 2019 Occasions catalogue. See all last chance products here. Retiring stamps are guaranteed to be available until 24th May. All other products are while supplies last.
The Gingham Gala Designer Series Paper is my absolute favourite in the Occasions Catalogue. It works well for any type of card whether baby, men, country style – the possibilities are endless.
The bouquet has been stamped in Jet Black Stazon ink and coloured in with an Aqua Painter using ink refills. Aqua painters come in a pack 2 with a medium and large brush tip making it handy to use for painting. I used our retirng colours Lemon Lime Twist, Tranquil Tide and Berry Burst. My variation on the scalloped border was the leaf border die from the Wonderful Floral framelits. I trimmed this to get the right length and the exact leaves I wanted from it. The Rectangle Stitched Framelits complete this card with a lovely Balmy Blue frame.
Sketches are great to give you a starting point for creating a card or scrapbook layout. To see how others have interpreted this sketch, click on the challenge image at the start of this post.
This bundle is on the retiring list and although stamps are guaranteed until 24th May the dies are while supplies last. Want to place an order, click on the link below or on any of the product images … or just message me! Host Code XN6TFXAU.
Product List
Apr 15, 2019 | Cards - Thank You, Challenges |
Mint Macaron and Blushing Bride is my chosen colour combination for this sweet, feminine, thank you card. I have drawn inspiration from a couple of challenges.
The first is this Tic-Tac-Toe challenge by Stamp Ink Paper and I chose the top line of Subtles, Circle and Ribbon. So off I went to my Subtles collection and came up with a pretty colour combo.
The next challenge was this lovely sketch from Sunday Stamps.
I layered a panel of Tropical Escape Designer Series Paper 10.1×14.4 cm on a Mint Macaron card base. The 3 Whisper White panels were cut at 9.3 x 4cm. Then I embossed each of these separately. To get this look, take your Mint Macaron ink pad direct to the embossing folder and ink the raised side. Then run it through the Big Shot. This embosses with the colour showing in the indents. I love this method of quickly adding colour to projects.
Tip:
Clean the embossing folder prior to running through each time so the ink doesn’t transfer onto the next strip of cardstock. Also use Thick Whisper White cardstock as it doesn’t crease.
I stamped the sentiment and coloured in the leaves with a Mint Macaron marker. The ribbon has been layered using double sided tape.
The leaves from the Framed Elements were embossed with White embossing powder. Then I coloured them in with the Dark Mint Macaron Stampin’ Blend. Doing this allows you to use it on so many projects by just colouring it to tie in with your colour scheme.
For more inspiration using this sketch and to see what others have picked for their tic-tac-toe option hop onto Sunday Stamps and Stamps Ink Paper.
Product List
Mar 11, 2019 | Cards - Baby/Kids, Challenges |
I’m participating in the Just Add Ink sketch challenge this week. I love working with sketches as it gives me a starting point but yet so many options to work with.
I chose my bunny friend from Fable Friends for this card. This time creating a newborn card and using the sentiment from the Baby Bear stamp set.
I added Soft Sea Foam to the Country Floral Embossing Folder before running through the Big Shot to create the background. I’m really loving this effect. It’s so pretty and soft. I stamped the bunny then masked off it off to stamp around it using the Artisan Textures stamp. The jacket has been coloured with Soft Sea Foam Stampin’ Blends and the bunny in Early Espresso Water Colour pencil. I used Whisper White cardstock and gently blended it in using a Blender pen.
As I didn’t have any So Saffron ribbon and felt the card needed it, I coloured the tulle ribbon with a sponge dauber. The soft look suits this baby card.
Embossing the envelope added a nice touch to create a matching look.
Stop by the Just Add Ink blog to view the other creative entries using this sketch.
Product List
Feb 27, 2019 | Challenges |
Embossing – one word with so many methods. Heat embossing, Embossing Folders, Embossing Paste. Then there are all those embossing techniques Emboss Resist, Joseph’s Coat, Partial embossing etc. For my entry in this week’s Just Add Ink challenge I think I managed to give the Sale-A-Bration products a good workout without even realizing it. I think they just gravitated to my card!
When I first got the Painted Seasons bundle in the second release Sale-A-Bration offering, I had a picture in my mind of working the beautiful Designer Series Paper in with the Tea Time Framelits dies. There was something about that paper that reminded me of pretty tea sets. I’ve seen quite a lot of these type of sets in specialized tea shops with the ceramic tea pots which have gold edging. So I went about recreating this look.
I started off by stamping the image in Versamark direct onto the Painted Seasons Designer Paper and heat embossing in Gold Embossing powder. The paper has hand painted images for all seasons and is part of the Sale-A-Bration Painted Seasons Bundle (stamp and DSP). Then I die cut it. This in itself looked really pretty and it was such a simple process. Even this coffee drinker wouldn’t mind a cup of tea in that pretty cup.
Next I embossed the card front with the Country Floral embossing folder. This is a Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder therefore the image is very detailed and looks really pretty. This is also a Sale-A-Bration offering. I could have just added a sentiment and left the card like this and it would have looked great because it had so much texture. In this photo you can see the beautiful texture of this embossing folder.
The coordinating cardstock and sentiment was from the Tea Room Memories and More Card Pack. With a name like that, it would seem that all these products were just meant to be together. And what about that sentiment? I think it fitted in perfectly for this particular card with those Rectangle Stitched Framelits working overtime for me again. I seem to be using them on all my cards. The little butterfly is from the Memories and More card pack and I’ve mounted it with Dimensionals.
For more inspiration with various embossing techniques, take a look at the other entries on the Just Add ink site.
Products Used
