Masterfully Made Simple

A simple card can have just as much impact as one that we have spent hours creating, and can give the receiver just as much joy.

This particular card took me quite literally five minutes to make from scratch.

Admittedly, Stampin’ Up! does make this very easy. My card features a strip of the beautiful Masterfully Made Designer Series, mounted it onto a piece of Pretty Peacock cardstock, and then onto a Basic White cardbase. So simple.

This is one of the Designer Series Papers that you can get at 15% off in June, so make the most of that.

Hope you are having a crafty day,

Chris

Foursquare Decorative Masks

I prefer to call these Stencils, I think that’s what they always used to be called. Whatever you prefer to call them though, these are an amazing and versatile tool for making all sorts of papercraft projects.
My card uses these masks, as well as the technique of masking to create a card that looks like it has three panels on the front, but is, in fact, just one piece of Basic White cardstock.

I have masked off the three sections first, and sponged ink through the Decorative Mask with Fresh Freesia, Coastal Cabana and Daffodil Delight inks using Blending Brushes.
I have then inked the image from the Quiet Meadow Stamp set with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, and masked off the outside of the three panels before stamping.
The images have been very lightly coloured using Stampin’ Blends, as have the Rhinestone Jewels.

I am having a lot of fun with these Decorative Masks, and I am also in the process of creating a Tutorial / Class featuring them, so watch this space for that.

Happy stamping!
Chris

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Wedding Fair Flowers

We had a crazy busy weekend, getting everything ready, then set up for, and then the Wedding Fair at Oakland’s, Pambula on Sunday. But I thought I would share some photos of our set up, my son’s gorgeous woodturned pieces, and of course, some paper flowers.

The Wood Warrior

The focus of our set up was, of course, my son’s work, his beautiful woodturned cake plates, and so much more that he worked incredibly hard to get ready for the day.

However it was a real privilege to be able to compliment his work with some of my own. So here are some photos of the flowers, all handmade by me from cardstock, Designer Series Paper and some florists wire and a hot glue gun!

Oh, and I forgot the sheet music I used for the bouquet above.

It was a huge effort by both of us, and we are both taking some time out to rest for a couple of days but I’m sure we’ll be back in creative mode very soon.

Happy stamping!

Chris

Colour Creations Stampin’ Up! Copper Clay

This week’s Art With Heart Team blog hop features the new In Color, Copper Clay, another versatile colour, which I have combined with several of the other new In Colors for my project today.

I have made a standard Z Fold Card, with some Copper Clay cardstock as my large piece at the back, and Basic White cardstock for the front Z. And I have featured the adorable Happy Hedgehogs stamp set for my card today.

For those of us who a financially challenged in the current climate, along with a colour reset plus a new catalogue, brings the question of how to make the most of the new colours without breaking the bank, and I have chosen to buy the pack of Stampin’ Write markers, and use these to colour the images.

The trees have been coloured with Copper Clay for the trunk and branches, Old Olive for the leaves, Moody Mauve for the flowers and Wild Wheat for the buds. And the bird is coloured with Pebbled Path.

I hope my card today makes you smile, I just love these gorgeous little hedgehogs, with their friends.

And for some more inspiration, it’s time to hop along to see what Tina Gillespie has made using Copper Clay.

If at any time you find a broken link, please head to the blog of this week’s host of the AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop Cathy Proctor, who will have a list of all the participants in the Blog Hop.

Happy Stamping, and Happy Hopping!
Chris

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Stampin’ Up! Colour Creations Boho Blue

Boho Blue is one of my favourite of the new Stampin’ Up! In Colors, and what better way to showcase it than to take part in a Blog Hop, with other members of the Art With Heart team.

My card features the Sending Smiles stamp set which I have coloured using Boho Blue for the flowers, Old Olive for the leaves and the new Wild Wheat for the flower centres. Add some Night of Navy as a dark contrast and some of my favourite Fresh Freesia as a pop of different colour. And I decided it was time to have a go at making one of the Vase Fun Fold cards, so here is what’s on the inside.

A vase of gorgeous Boho Blue and Fresh Freesia flowers!

As you can see from the first image, the card folds flat for sending, and the Vase pops out using a simple but clever mechanism.

And now it’s time to continue hopping along to the next inspiring Boho Blue project with Di Furniss.
We enjoy your comments so please leave us some love along the way.

If at any time you find a broken link, please head to the blog of this week’s host of the AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop Cathy Proctor, who will have a list of all the participants in the Blog Hop.

Happy Stamping, and Happy Hopping!
Chris

#colourcreationsbloghop

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Colourful Technique with Embossing Folders

My card today features a great technique using embossing folders and sponging shared by US Demonstrator Lisa Freeman, which you can find on here on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/live/sPBk3ozLTSI?feature=share

I have no idea what the name of the technique is, but it was a lot of fun!

My card features the Elegant Eucalyptus Embossing Folder and I’m enjoying playing with the returning colour Berry Burst, which is just soooo yummy!

Here’s the inside of my card…

And below are some other embossed panels that haven’t been used yet but you can see how the technique shows up. Check out Lisa’s vid, it’s a lot of fun playing with this technique.

Happy stamping!

Chris

Hello, Irresistible

As soon as I saw this divine Designer Series Paper, it became a “must have”. Actually a “must have immediately!!” Such beautiful colours and designs.

My set of cards is inspired by one made by a US demonstrator, Amy Koenders from stampwithamyk.com.

The only stamping on these cards are the sentiments, everything else is from the DSP pack. This first card is similar to the one Amy made, and then I’ve used different colours from the DSP.

Which one do you like best? Originally I thought the first was my favourite but today it’s the middle one. Maybe tomorrow I will like a different one best.

If you love this paper as much as I do, and you live in Australia, you can order this through me. It’s not in any of the catalogues though, this is only available for a short time.

Happy stamping

Chris

A Special Thank You

Today’s card is a Birthday Card, made for a very special lady, who single handedly allowed my Stampin’ Up! business to stay afloat in 2022.

Not only did she consistently place orders with me, but she collected them from a neighbour as well. Enough orders so that I could continue as a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator into 2023 and beyond.

So, Anne, thank you is not enough, thank you with all my heart, for all that you have done to help me in the last year. And Happy Birthday.

Every demonstrator needs an Anne!!

The card I made for Anne uses the Abigail Rose Designer Series paper, this time coloured with Watercolour pencils.

The stamped panel uses stamps from the Sentimental Rose kit. And one of the things I most love about Stampin’ Blends is being able to change the colour of the pearls.

The inside of the card features a fold over of the DSP with a separate pull out card underneath for words.

Happy Stamping everyone,

Chris

Sit Stay Relax

Today’s card is inspired by the current colour challenge at TGIF.

I’ve used the Sit Stay Relax Host set and kept the layout nice and simple.

Little kitty has been stamped separately with Memento ink and coloured with blenders, then fussy cut and adhere to the chair. It reminds me of just how one of our own kitties often sits, with one leg hanging over the edge. So cute!

It’s quite a hot day here in my part of Australia, so with all the curtains and blinds drawn against the heat and glare, the Early Espresso looks almost black.

Hope you are having a crafty day. And staying cool!! Happy stamping,

Chris

It’s been 10 months…??

I can’t believe it has been ten months since I last blogged. Ten months or more really, of being without the slightest bit of inspiration, totally mojo-less, and really struggling with everything creative.

Thankfully the urge to create started returning a few weeks ago, yesterday I started de-stashing my crafting space with the intention of sending out a heap of cards to people, and finally, finally getting back into stamping and creating again.

So, without further ado, here it is….

I started with a piece of the Abigail Rose Designer Series paper from the current Annual catalogue, which I have coloured using Stampin’ Blends, the flowers in Mango Melody. The centres of the flowers were coloured with Real Red and Mango Melody blended over the top to change the colour.

I fussy cut two of the flowers, one raised on Dimensionals on the front, the other on the inside of the card.

I love how vibrant these colours have turned out.

If you are still here, and have been patiently waiting for me to return, thank you, I am very grateful.

Let’s hope this year is one of creativity, love, laughter and fun.

Happy stamping,

Chris