May 2, 2019 | Cards - Birthday |
The Classic Garage suite – something for every classic car lover, mechanic, motor head in the family. It’s ideal to create those great masculine cards. I’ve created many projects using this suite and find it has some great sentiments as well. However, when I get a stamp set, I try to picture it in a completely different setting or colour scheme to what is mainly being promoted. This makes me think more creatively and work in different colour schemes, giving me more options with stamp sets.
This classic car spoke ‘pink’ to me. Ok, I know it’s my favourite colour but I also chose it because it was so different to the strong colours which I had been previously working with for this set. I thought I really should create this card especially for the ladies.
I have used the Classic Garage Designer Series Paper as my background. The great part of double sided paper is that it has exactly that – 2 sides. The colour palette of this Designer Series Paper is Basic Black, Basic Gray, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Tranquil Tide, Very Vanilla, Whisper White. This Basic Gray muted background would work well with many colours and I loved how it looked with my Flirty Flamingo car.
I layered 2 ribbons together to create an accent on this card. The Glittered Organdy Black ribbon has just that enough sparkle for this card for the lady who loves her cars. The many dies make it easy to create the background with metallic foil.
The sentiment was stamped and punched with the pretty label punch. I created this look by using a shorter piece of cardstock so it squared the top and bottom. Just like us ladies who love our accessories, the metal key is the perfect accessory to complete the look.
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Apr 21, 2019 | Special Occasions, Step-It-Up Sunday |
Blessed Easter to each one of you. How are you celebrating today? I made little Easter boxes for the child and the big child (!) in the house. The Easter egg hunt will be later this evening because Adrian’s out accompanying a choir and he likes to be part of the action.
Being Easter Sunday, I couldn’t go past the God’s Grace stamp set for Step-it-Up Sunday. It has lovely floral images and really meaningful Easter sentiments. I have chosen the single flower in this set as my focal image.
The card base is Gray Granite Cardstock which is 21 x 14.8cm scored in half to form a card base of 14.8 x 10.5cm
Beginner
Shimmer White panel 6.8 x 9.9cm
Clear Block Stamping Technique
This is a very quick way to add colour to a piece of cardstock. I used the Clear Block stamping method to add colour to the Shimmery White cardstock. Do this by spritzing the cardstock with water. Then use Clear Block E and directly ink it up with the Pear Pizzazz stamp pad. I stamped off on a scrap piece of paper once so the colour wasn’t so strong. Then stamp this onto the wet cardstock. Spritz extra water if necessary to make the colour move and add extra colour as required.
I used the Stamparatus to stamp the flower and the sentiment at the same time using Stazon ink. I chose to use Stazon ink as i wanted the image to really stand out against the Pear Pizzazz background. The advantage of using the Stamparatus is that it gave me the opportunity to restamp the image to get it as dark as I wanted – I did this 3 times. Without it, this would be impossible to line up.
Adhere this to the card base and you have a very simple yet pretty card all done in minutes. #simplestamping
Casual
I added a sheet of Designer Paper from the Floral Romance pack which already had a pale woodgrain effect. Then I stamped this with one of my favourite stamp sets, Hardwood, in Pear Pizzazz.
The flower was stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento ink and coloured with Stampin’ Blends. I added the Lovely Lipstick on the flower and I like how it adds that pop of colour. The flower was fussy cut and mounted with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then I mounted the entire panel using Dimensionals.
Avid
I stepped this card up by using the Emboss Resist Technique on the Shimmer cardstock. The leaves were stamped and embossed with White embossing powder. I then covered part of the cardstock diagonally with a scrap piece of cardstock. I spritzed this section with water and sprinkled Moss Green Brusho Crystal to it. After letting it dry a little, I covered that section and spritzed the other half and sprinkled Yellow Brusho Crystal on it. I did want the colours to merge at the centre, I lifted my scrap paper so the yellow ran through and added a bit more green to it as well. Once this dries, you will notice that the leaves that have been embossed can still be seen.
Lots of layers add extra dimension and interest to this card. The lacy look at the back was achieved by using the laser cut specialty paper which I embossed with Black embossing powder. I really love the glossy, elegant look of this. The possibilities with laser cut paper!
Hope your Easter is wonderful. We’ll be having a special dinner tonight and watching Hop this evening.
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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.
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Apr 14, 2019 | Cards - Friendship, Step-It-Up Sunday |
Hi Friends,
How are you all? Hope this Sunday finds you well. I am looking forward to a better week. Last week was a little bit stressful and I felt like I was caught in a whirlwind. Fresh week of holidays and a new Stampin’ Up! catalogue to browse through on Tuesday. I’m all set!
Stampin’ Up! demonstrators all over the world have been attending the On Stage conference in different countries over the last few days. Others of us who didn’t attend, have been living virtually through photos of new catalogue items. There are beautiful products, suites and embellishments which you are going to LOVE! If you live in Australia and would like a copy of the new Annual catalogue, please email me at rochelle@stampingflair.com and I’ll send one out to you.
If you can’t wait to get your hands on these new products then Join my team and you will be able to pre-order products from 2nd May. These could be included in your Starter Kit. This is one of the benefits of being a demonstrator. All future orders get you 20% off with potential to increase it to 25%. So a fabulous deal all up.
For my Step-it-Up Sunday blog posts each week, I try to feature a different stamp set each time and create with different occasions and interests in mind. Today my chosen stamp set is Nine Lives. Together with the matching punch, these stamps make it easy to add dimension to any cute kitty. I love the added extras in this set like the food bowl, ball of wool, fish and mouse with which you can create a cute picture.
When I struggle for colour combinations, I tend to go for my Designer Series Paper and work off them. I chose the Garden Impressions Designer Paper and the colours of Blueberry Bushel, So Saffron and Mango Melody. Two yellow shades? Not the usual but then I added my cat in Crumb Cake to break it up.
Basic
I first adhered the strip of Garden Impressions Paper. The sentiment and ball of wool has been stamped in Blueberry Bushel. I stamped the cat in In Soft Suede ink on Crumb Cake cardstock, punched it out and attached with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then this entire panel was attached onto the card base with Dimensionals.
Casual
An addition of Mango Melody behind the Garden Impression panel and embossing on the So Saffron square steps this card up for the Casual crafter. I also created a mock ball of wool with the Night of Navy baker’s twine.
Avid
For this card I took my inspiration from our fluffy – Toulouse. She is a rescue cat we got at 7 months old and now she’s been with us nearly 2 years. How did she get her name? My daughter, Cassidy loves Disney. The movie Aristocats has a cat named Toulouse who is a ginger. AlthoughToulouse is female the name suits her. Here she is with Cassidy who loves her to bits.
I wanted to get my colours similar to Toulouse’ colours. I stamped the cat outline in Soft Suede and stamped the inner markings with Soft Suede stamped off once. This allowed me to colour over it with the Stampin’ Blends.
The Stiched Label Frame was die cut from Shimmery White cardstock then I sprinkled Yellow Brusho Powder on it. I spritzed it with water and left it to dry. Then I used an Aqua Painter to apply Mango Melody reinker over this in sections to add a deeper colour. Immediately I stamped the hearts in Mango Melody over the entire label. This gave the hearts a water colour look with no real definition and I liked it because you get a subtle background.
The Frame Elements is part of the Animal Expedition suite. I like the various wood elements in this set which can be used on different projects. For this card I have embossed it in Black Embossing Powder.
I’ve listed all the products used in these projects at the bottom of my post. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
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May your week be blessed.
Products used to Create these Cards
Apr 7, 2019 | Cards - Men, Step-It-Up Sunday |
Many times it’s been said that cards for men are so hard to make and ideas are hard to come by. In the current Occasions Catalogue we have 2 bundles, apart from stamp sets, that really make it easy to create those hard to make men’s cards. The Geared Up Garage bundle is great for the car enthusiast or mechanic in your family. I’m using the Best Catch bundle today. This is great for the outdoor person who loves fishing.
Beginner
This card for the beginner stamper creates a scene with stamping in dfferent colours. I incorporated the water in Balmy Blue and the grass in Mossy Meadow from the Fabulous Flamingo stamp set. The sentiment is stamped on Balmy Blue cardstock. I I was unsure about what colour card base to use and in the end went with Cajun Craze. I like the earthy look it brings to this card.
Casual
Lots of die cut grass was added from the Catch of the Day framelits as well as Lakeside Framelits. I also die cut the fisherman and attached him with Stampin’ Dimensionals. When trying to align the stamp and the die I ran into a bit of trouble. Every time I stamped the fisherman, one part of it didn’t align with the die. So I went back to a method I have used in the past when I have this problem.
Aligning Tricky Stamps
First die cut the shape from a piece of cardstock. Then place your stamp inside the die cut space. It’s a bit like a puzzle piece. This ensures that the stamped image is not slightly askew and then it will align with your die. Keep your template for future use.
Avid
This card has been stepped up for the Avid crafter with a die cut oval in the centre and an embossed fish added to create more technique to this card.
To create the die cut oval temporarily attach the Very Vanilla panel on top of the card base. I added a bit of tombow glue to the back of the Very Vanilla cardstock and let it dry for a couple of minutes. This makes it tacky and allows you to attach it together for die cutting.
Once the oval was die cut, I separated the Very Vanilla panel and ran it through the Big Shot with the larger Stitched Oval. This creates the frame so that the Cajun Craze cardstock shows through.
Using the Stitched Oval die that was used to cut the Very Vanilla panel, I embossed the Cajun Craze cardstock oval with Embossing Mats to show the stitched effect.
On the inside of the card I added a piece of cardstock which was die cut with the In the Wood framelits die and sponged with Lemon Lime Twist and Old Olive ink. The bag has been stamped in Soft Suede on Crumb Cake cardstock with sections coloured with a Crumb Cake Stampin’ Blend.
I think my favourite image in this set is the fish because it’s a larger image and you can colour it so many ways. Several Stampin’ Blends combined to create this look.
Next I wanted to get a metallic look on the fish like scales. Wink of Stella was applied in sections then I poured Gold Embossing Powder and heat embossed it. I did this a few times until a got the look I wanted. The Wink of Stella takes the place of Versamark in this instance.
This would be a fun card to give anyone who loves fishing. This fish is definitely the b-i-i-i-i-g catch fisherman talk about.
Have a wonderful week.
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