Join the Team

Posted in Stampin' Up! promotion by

Do you love crafting?
Would you like a discount on your craft supplies?
Do you regularly restock your craft supplies, or have friends who do?
Are you new to papercrafting and would love to know where to start?
Are you a former demonstrator who would love to get back into stamping and papercrafting?
Are you a crafter who would like all the early information, discounts and perks that go with being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator?
Would you like to find a strong and supportive family of other papercrafters to engage with and get inspiration and help from?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, then this is an amazing opportunity for you!

The Start with Savings Promotions ends on the 30th November 2021, and is a wonderful opportunity to start your own business, in any capacity, whether that’s a full time business or a hobby, or anything in between. At just $130 (normally $169), you can choose $235 worth of your choice of Stampin’ Up! products. Now that’s a good deal!
On top of this amazing deal you will also get:
A minimum 20% discount off retail prices
Free catalogues to share with family & friends
Access to demonstrator only events
See new product releases & access to new products early, through exclusive pre-order opportunities.
And plenty more!!!
If you live in Australia, and you are interested in what is currently on offer, please feel free to reach out to me, I am happy to answer any questions you have, you can find my contact details here, or leave a comment below with your email, and I will contact you.
You can also find more information and a link to sign up here.

I am looking to work one on one with more team members, to support you in whatever it is that you would like your Stampin’ Up! business to look like, and also have a supportive and active larger community that you would be part of.

So I hope you will start by just asking me the questions you might have, who know where it might lead you.
Happy stamping!
Chris

CAS Sketch Challenge

Posted in Cards, Flowers by

Another card that I made for a challenge again today, and I ended up featuring the Quiet Meadow stamp set again. It seems to be a current favourite! I do like the different elements in this set, which combine so beautifully with many other stamps.

My card uses the largest die from the Beautiful Leaves Dies as a background behind the flowers.

The flowers from Quiet Meadows have been coloured using an Aqua Brush with inks, and then fussy cut (the dies will be in my next order!!) and I have used some of the leaves from Beauty of Tomorrow stamp set to complete my posy of flowers. I have added a few splodges of colour, very lightly to add a little more of the pretty Pale Papaya colour.

Here is the sketch from CAS Colors and Sketches which I used as inspiration for this card.

I hope you are having a crafty week!
Happy stamping.

Chris

Quiet Meadow CAS Colour Challenge

Posted in Cards, Flowers by

I enjoy making all sorts of different styles of cards, in particular, I love making vintage style cards. But sometimes I also love to make Clean and Simple (CAS) cards, and sometimes I like to make them very clean!!

This card is a colour challenge from CAS Colours and Sketches challenges, using the colours below. I used Stampin’ Write markers to colour directly to the stamp, using the three colours on the one stamp. Originally, I had planned to add a sentiment and perhaps a few splotches, but in the end I decided I liked it just like that.

What do you think? Would you have added more to it? Leave me a comment and let me know.
Happy stamping!

Chris

Darth Vader Technique

Posted in Cards, Flowers by

When I first started stamping in 2008, this was one of the first techniques I was taught . I’m sure there are other names for it but that’s what we called it, the Darth Vader (from Star Wars, for those that don’t know) Technique.

The reason this was one of the first techniques I was taught is because it uses Stampin’ Write markers to ink the stamp, and at the time, you could buy these markers individually, making it a cheaper way to get more colours in my stash.

Both the stamps were inked with markers on this card. So why is it called the Darth Vader Technique? Once the ink is on the stamp, it’s important to “huff” onto the stamp, the humidity from your breath keeps the ink damp enough to create a nice clear image.

I did a video of making this card on my Facebook page this morning – you can find a link to the page on the sidebar, so please drop in and say hi and leave a comment.

The card used the Elegantly Said stamp set, Scalloped Contours Dies and the Hand-Penned Designer Series Papers.

Happy stamping

Chris 💜

Favourite Stampin’ Up! Colour??

Posted in Cards by

My very favourite Stampin’ Up! Colour is Rich Razzleberry. Yesterday I was chatting online with the lovely Clare from Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator Support and she gave me this colour combo to try out – Rich Razzleberry, Crumb Cake and Champagne. So, this is what I came up with…….

The strip of Vellum has been embossed with the Timber 3D embossing folder, the leaves die cut using the Intricate Leaves Dies, and the stamped leaves were inked in Crumb Cake and then sponged around the edge with Rich Razzleberry ink on a sponge dauber. The stamp set is called Gorgeous Leaves.


Leave me a comment below and let me know what your favourite Stampin’ Up! Colour is? Do you have a favourite combination using that colour? I love hearing about all the different favourite colours, it is hard to pick just one though.

Someone decided I had done enough stamping after this card, and it was time my attention was elsewhere. We had a lovely snuggle with the sunshine streaming in through the window.

Happy stamping,

Chris 💜

Black and White Christmas

Posted in Cards, Christmas, Masculine by

It’s been quite a while since I shared here, and definitely time to get back into blogging.

So let’s get straight into it!! I have made a fairly simple card, a black and white Christmas card which features the cute bird from the Happy Holly-Days stamp set, and Christmas greeting from the Sweet Little Stockings stamp set.

The corners have been punched out using the Holly Border Punch.

Don’t you just love that bird? Gorgeous for colouring but equally beautiful just like that!! I’ve stamped using just Momento Black ink.

The Male Room have a Black and White challenge happening, so I am going to add this one.

I hope each of you are coping with the situation around the world. Keep crafting and keep smiling.

Happy stamping!

Chris

From Basic to Brilliant

Posted in Cards, Designer Series Paper, Flowers by

Happy New Year to each and every one of you. I have, once again, been very quiet on the crafting and blogging front, but with so many gorgeous new Stampin’ Up! goodies, I couldn’t resist having a play today.

And since we are about to have a heat wave in this part of Australia, it may well be a good time to stay inside, in the cool, and do some stamping and creating.

One of the things I decided I would like to share with you this year, is that you don’t need a lot of products to make gorgeous cards. Many of us have financial challenges right now, and it’s always good to find ways to make the most of what we already have.

And I also want to show how to take a simple card, and to dress it up in various ways. 

So, my first card for 2021 uses the gorgeous new Designer Series Paper called True Love DSP, I can see myself using this a lot.  This was at the top of my list from all of the beautiful new things in the January – June Mini Catalogue.

I started out with just a black and white card – elegant and quite easy to make, and all you need is the True Love Designer Series Paper, some white and some black cardstock.

The flowers have been cut from the Designer Series Paper using paper snips.

So then to make it different, I coloured the flowers using Stampin’ Blends in Rococo Rose colour, with Old Olive for the leaf.

It’s lovely just like that, but I have some of the Forever Gold Laser Cut accents that were calling out to be used, so I have added one behind the flowers.

The gold accent adds some lovely depth and texture to the card.

I felt it needed a little more Old Olive, and had some spare leaves from another project, which I have added in, and I am happy with the end result. I’m sure there is more that could be added but I like as it is.

It looks like a gorgeous, cheerful bunch of flowers to brighten your day!

Here is the same card with the flowers coloured in Rich Razzleberry.

The words come from the Posted For You stamp set (but you could use anything that you already have), and the lovely curved edge is the Curvy Dies.

I hope the weather is not too extreme wherever you are in the world. And I hope you are able to get in some crafting time, just for yourself.

Happy stamping!

💜 Chris

Using up the left overs.

Posted in Cards, Christmas by

I am on a mission to use up those bits and pieces that get saved from other projects. I seem to have an accumulation of these that never get used and they soon mount up. Am I the only one?

So today’s card came from the need to use the gold frame, rather than have it sitting in my stash, and I have used it as a frame for some of the beautiful Poinsettia Place Designer Series Paper, one of my favourites from the current Mini Catalogue.

The background layer has been embossed using the Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder, and then the framed layer offset.

The two flowers in the bottom corner have been fussy cut from the paper, and gold sprays of leaves are from the new Curvy Dies.

Now I am wondering who I should give that card to?

Happy Stamping!

Chris x

Joy to the World!

Posted in Cards, Christmas, Paper Pumkin by

I must apologise….

Firstly, because you now have a Christmas Carol going around in your head, and secondly, for my extended absence.

We have been so lucky here in this part of Australia, with very little change to our daily lives. And in fact, we are doing more than we were prior to the lockdown situation in this household.

So my crafting time took a back seat for a while, and perhaps I needed a break from it. However, I have been feeling more inspired recently and yes, I have cards to share!!

Stampin’ Up! Is definitely still part of my life, and this month, November 2020, saw the release here in Australia, of the Joy to the World Paper Pumpkin kit. It’s gorgeous, and I had to get a kit for myself. As usual though, I needed to make the designs my own, so here are a couple of the alternative designs I came up with.

The gold leaves are not part of the kit but they work well with the cards and were asking to be used!

That’s enough for today, but I do have plenty more to share. Plus a new phone which makes it much easier to take photos of my cards and blog as well!! Definitely joyful!!

If you are in Australia and would like to order the Paper Pumpkin kit, just send me an email or leave a message, lots of gorgeousness in this kit!!

I hope each and every one of you are doing well and staying safe.

Happy stamping!

Chris

Forever Greenery

Posted in Cards, Masculine by

A quick post today to share a quick card!
The Forever Greenery was my absolute favourite out of all of the Designer Series Papers in this year’s Annual Catalogue, but I haven’t  really used them much yet, so it was time to make a card with it.
Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper DSP Stampin' Up! 2020 Christina Barnes Dot Dot Stamping
It’s very simple, some Garden Green cardstock for the base layer, a layer of the Forever Greenery, and then a frame of white cut out with the Stitched Rectangle Dies which are layered over the patterned paper.
The sentiment is from Best Year stamp set and stamped in Garden Green ink.
Because there are so many different patterns in this paper, it would be very easy to completely change the look of this card, just by using a different sheet of DSP from the same pack.
This one I am adding to the current challenge at The Male Room.
I guess that is the beauty of this paper, it can easily be used for either masculine or feminine cards.

Happy stamping!
Chris
xx