Tag Archives: DSP

August is Sketch Month – Sketch 1

Posted in Cards by

Hi and welcome back.
If you have seen the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue, you may have seen that there are quite a number of card sketches through the catalogue, and on Page 22 there are 22 sketches to use as inspiration for cards.
So I am challenging myself!
I plan to share a blog post every day with the sketches in the order they are in the catalogue, along with a sample of how I made that sketch PLUS the measurements I have used.
I have seen a few different people sharing PDFs of the sketches with measurements in Imperial, but I am in Australia, and we use different size card fronts here. So my measurements will be in centimeters and based on our card size.

I have been busy on Canva recreating the sketches from the catalogue, so they are not exact copies of what is in the catalogue but close enough. And since I have put my time and effort into creating these I would appreciate acknowledgement of where you got them from if you plan on using them.

I hope you enjoy them. Here is the first one!

My card using this sketch features some of the beautiful Designer Series Paper which was only available to Stampin’ Up! demonstrators (but is too beautiful not to share) along with the Poised Peony stamp set.

In Australia our card bases are basically half of an A4 sheet of cardstock.
However, I have found that it is much easier, especially for beginners to measure it slightly differently, and have a small strip left over.
So for my card base, I cut 21cm x 14.5cm – you should be able to get two card fronts from one piece of cardstock. Then along the long side, score at 10.5cm and fold, so when it’s folded, your card front will be 10.5cm x 14.5cm. I have used some Pretty in Pink cardstock for my card base.
I have then taken a piece of Designer Series Paper (patterned paper) the same size – 10.5cm x 14.5cm and adhered it onto the card front.
The next layer of Designer Series Paper (the darker pink) is 8.5cm wide x 9.5cm.
The Basic White focal layer is 7cm x 9.5cm.
I decided not to put my sentiment onto a separate piece but rather to stamp it directly onto the panel with the main image, and also to add some Linen Thread, and some Purple Fine Shimmer Gems.

I hope that these will be helpful to someone, and hopefully I can get through all of them for you.
Please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me if you have any questions.
Happy stamping,
Chris

Spotlight on Spring

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Another seasonal inspired card today, to go along with the current challenge at Craftin Round The World, this time Spring inspired, and I have featured the Spotlight on Nature stamp set and Dies for my card.

In the background is some of the Country Woods Designer Series Paper and I’ve also used the Fun Patterns embossing folders to create some texture.

The flowers and leaves have all been coloured with watercolour pencils and then fussy cut.
Yes, there’s a lot of fussy cutting there.
So what’s the trick to fussy cutting? (fussing cutting is cutting around an image using scissors rather than using a die to cut). The trick is to move the piece you are cutting, rather than moving your hand around the piece, so keep your scissors in one direction as much as possible, and move the piece of cardstock, paper or whatever else it might be. I’ve found that to do this successfully I need to keep the piece of cardstock as small as possible, so I usually do two cuts, one to reduce the size and then one around the image.
The other trick is to make sure your Paper Snips (scissors) are nice and sharp.
And I enjoy fussing cutting, I find it quite relaxing, a little like meditation.

Happy stamping, and happy crafting.
Chris

Craftin’ Round The World Challenge

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Welcome back. Today I am sharing a card I made for this month’s Craftin’ Round The World Challenges.

I’ve made a Winter themed card for this challenge, and since I am in Australia, we are in the middle of winter now. Winter is not aligned with Christmas for us here, so I wanted to make a winter card that is not also a Christmas card.

I have used some of the retired One Horse Open Sleigh Designer Series Papers along with a piece of Die Cut fence from something else that retired some time ago – sorry, I can’t remember what the name of that one was. Sometimes it’s good to use up those random bits and pieces that are around.

We love to see your creations, so come and share your projects with us. Craftin’ Round the World is a Facebook group that is closed, so is a safe place for you to share your projects. Come and join in the fun.
The link to the group is here.

Happy stamping!
Chris

Don’t forget the Earn and Redeem promotion that is happening for the rest of July – simply spend $90 and receive a $9 coupon to spend in August,. Scan the QR Code below or click here to go to my online store.

Inspired By A Song

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The Beatles Song “And Your Bird Can Sing” is the inspiration for my Design Team project for Craftin’ Round The World Challenges today, and I had so much fun creating this card.

I have used the new Basic Beige cardstock for the card base and also the next layer, which has been stamped tone on tone with Basic Beige ink and the Stippled Roses stamp set.
I have taken a piece of old sheet music – I’ve been a musician since I was very young, so there’s plenty of it lying around – and I have scrunched it up before sponging some Crumb Cake ink around the edges and on the raised areas.

I’ve used some of the Country Woods Designer Series Paper and the Country Birdhouse Dies to create the bird house. For those cute little birds I have used the reverse image technique, of stamping the image from the Country Birdhouse bundle onto a Silicone Craft Sheet in Memento Black ink, and then pressing a piece of white cardstock over the image, which in effect, reverses the image when it goes onto the cardstock. Perhaps this is a good time for me to get back into doing Facebook Live and YouTube videos to demonstrate that one.

If you are on Facebook (or even if you are not), come and share your projects with us at Craftin’ Round the World Challenges, we love to see what you have been creating.

And don’t forget that the Country Birdhouse Bundle, and all the Bundles are an extra 10% off the already discounted price until the end of June, and you can find them in my online store.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Product List
Country Birdhouse Bundle (English)
[163401]
Country Woods 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[163393]
Silicone Craft Sheet
[127853]
Basic Beige A4 Cardstock
[164512]
Basic Beige Classic Stampin Pad
[163806]

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Stampin’ Up! Let’s Set Sail

Posted in Cards, Masculine by

My card today features both retiring items, some that are staying on, and some that are in the new Annual Catalogue and not available until May.

My son is an avid sailor so the Let’s Set Sail stamp set with the matching Sailboat Builder punch was a bundle I had to have! But I am sad that it is retiring. It will be staying in my own personal stash though.

I’ve watercoloured the background behind the boat and used some of the new In Colors, Shy Shamrock, Summer Splash and just a touch of Peach Pie. The boat has been stamped in Shy Shamrock and some of the new Basic Beige. I’ve also used some Balmy Blue and Azure Afternoon ink for the watercolouring, along with a tiny touch of Starry Sky ink.

And behind the watercoloured panel is some of the new Lily Pond Lane Designer Series Paper which is also available in May in the new Catalogue – just one of many perks of being a demonstrator, we get to play with new goodies before they are released publicly.

I do hope it’s your best day ever!!

Happy stamping!

Chris

Stampin’ Up! Flowering Zinnias

Posted in Uncategorized by

I’m not sure about you but this gorgeous Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper is just beeeautiful!!

I apologise for again a huge gap in my posts, I’ve had a lot of trouble with internet and getting WordPress to behave, so I will keep this short and sweet.
It’s called the Flowering Zinnias Designer Series Paper and is one of the Online Exclusives. It doesn’t really need anything else, does it?
The creation of this set of four cards used one sheet of the paper and took just a few minutes.
You can purchase the Flower Zinnias DSP right here in my online store.

Stampin’ Up! Tartan Foil Designer Series Paper

Posted in Cards, Christmas by

I decided to use the new Online Exclusive Designer Series Paper called Tartan Foil this week during my Facebook Live, as a background for a Christmas Card, and I’m very pleased with the result. The Tartan Foil comes in three colours, this one is Copper Clay, and also in Lost Lagoon and Pebble Path. Perhaps I will make similar cards in the other colours, too.
The candles have been coloured using watercolour pencils and then some Wink of Stellar to add some shimmer and help the colours blend.
Below is the youTube video of how I made the card. I did add some ribbon and some extra leaves after I finished the video.

Have you started making your Christmas Cards yet?

Happy stamping!
Chris

Product List
Radiant Light Cling Stamp Set (English)
$41.00
Tartan Foil 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper
$17.50
Watercolor Pencils Assortment 1
$28.00
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush
$14.00
2023–2025 In Color™ Dots
$14.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Colour Creations Stampin’ Up! Blueberry Bushel

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This week’s Colour Creations Blog Hop is featuring Blueberry Bushel, and I have two contrasting projects to share with you today.
My first card is a simple fun fold card, where I have paired the Blueberry Bushel with some Parakeet Party. As a former professional musician, the stamp set Enjoy The Rhythm was one I had to have, but it has been sadly neglected recently, so I thought I should use it for this challenge. The drum kit has been coloured with Stampin’ Blends, and I have used some Glorious Gingham and Bright and Beautiful Designer Series Papers.

My second card is more in a vintage style, and features the gorgeous Everlasting Beauty stamp set, which I have watercoloured using a Water Painter and ink.

I have stamped the background layer, tone on tone with Crumb Cake ink, before distressing the edges. The focal image is stamped on Fluid 100 watercolour paper in Stazon ink, and watercoloured with Blueberry Bushel and Mossy Meadow inks, with a wash of Crumb cake ink around the outside of the image.

Next along on our blog hop is the talented Tina Gillespie. Hop along to see what Tina is sharing to inspire you with today.

If at any time you find a broken link, please go to the blog of our Colour Creations host, Catherine Proctor, who will have a list of all of the participants in the Blog Hop.

Thanks for stopping by.
Happy stamping, and happy hopping,
Chris

Product List
Enjoy The Rhythm Cling Stamp Set (English)
$37.00
Blueberry Bushel Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack
$17.50
Glorious Gingham 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
$18.50
Bright & Beautiful 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
$21.75
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
$11.50

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Product List
Everlasting Beauty Cling Stamp Set (English)
$46.00
Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper
$15.75
Water Painters
$23.00
Scalloped Contours Dies
$61.00
Classic Matte Dots
$12.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Stampin’ Up! Cottage Wreaths Cards

Posted in Cards, Online Class by

This morning’s Facebook Live is now available to watch both on Facebook and YouTube.

As you can see, the Cottage Wreaths stamp set and matching dies are great for cards of all occasions, as well as Christmas.
I hope you enjoy watching the video, although I have to apologise for being quite distracted towards the end, one of my cats could hear me talking but couldn’t work out where I was and was getting quite vocal. Cheeky little rascal.

The kits to make the three cards are available for free to anyone who places a $30 order in my online store before midnight this coming Sunday 30th July (shipping extra). The kits will be sent out separately to your order.
And just a reminder that due to Stampin’ Up! policy, I am unable to stamp images to include in the kits – that means you get to do the fun stuff!
Don’t have the Cottage Wreaths stamp set? Try the cards with a different stamp set, that’s part of making creativity fun. Alternatively, you can order the stamp set and dies by clicking on the images below.
Happy stamping,
Chris

Product List
Cottage Wreaths Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)
[159652]
$34.00
Country Wreaths Dies
[160238]
$68.00
Inked Botanicals 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[161157]
$21.75
One Horse Open Sleigh 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[162118]
$21.75
Blending Brushes
[153611]
$23.00
Add All to Cart

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Colour Creations Stampin’ Up! Berry Burst

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This week’s featured colour is the gorgeous Berry Burst, and I have had a lot of fun this week, combining Berry Burst with the Host stamp set Night of Flight, to create a number of projects. I shared some of those in my previous post, but here are some more, these two were some of the projects we made at a face to face Card class that I ran this morning.

Behind the stamped panel, there is some Delightfully Eclectic Designer Series Paper which has been embossed with the Timeworn Type Embossing Folder, plus a small strip of Glorious Gingham in Berry Burst.

For both cards I have used a cardbase of Early Espresso, which I liked combined with Berry Burst.

My second card again uses some of the Glorious Gingham DSP, and this time we have used the two step stamping method, and I wanted a pop of a different colour, so have added some Azure Afternoon.
Here is the card open….

Next on our Blog Hop today is Di Furniss.

If at any time you find a broken link, please go to the blog of our Colour Creations host, Catherine Proctor, who will have a list of all of the participants in the Blog Hop.

Thanks for stopping by.
Happy stamping, and happy hopping,
Chris

If you live in Australia and would like to make the most of the 15% off stamp set sale, you still have a few hours to make the most of it. You can click here to go straight to my online store. Stampin’ Up! stamps are fantastic quality, and well worth paying full price for, so this is an awesome deal.

Product List
Night Of Flight Host Photopolymer Stamp Set
[161281]
$25.00
Glorious Gingham 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[163170]
$18.50
Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad
[147143]
$15.75
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad
[147114]
$15.75
Azure Afternoon Classic Stampin' Pad
[161663]
$15.75
Add All to Cart

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com