Vintage Friendly Hello

As I am sure you can tell, I just love the Friendly Hello Sale-a-Bration stamp set (available 4th January 2022), I am also loving the Heart and Home Suite (also available 4th January from the new Mini Catalogue) – yes, there is a lot to look forward to with all the gorgeous new goodies coming soon.

I made this card during my regular Wednesday morning Facebook Live, I have to admit though, I was very tired and probably sounded it. However I think the card turned out ok. This is a style I love to make, I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but it is easy enough to adjust it to be less “fussy” and appeal to a wider range of people.
The gorgeous flowers from the Friendly Hello set, have been stamped in Basic Gray and then coloured with Pale Papaya ink and Blender Pens. And that gorgeous Basic Gray doily is part of the Heart and Home suite.
Did you know that you can watch most of my Facebook Lives on my YouTube channel? Make sure you hit the subscribe button to get regular updates. Click here to go straight to my youTube Channel.
I’m not sure about you, but I am looking forward to some holiday time and some down time to connect with some creativity and have a play with some new products and ideas.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Stampin’ Up! Calming Camellia Sketch Challenge

The Calming Camellia stamp set is the Host set in the upcoming Sale-a-Bration catalogue (January 2022) and just soooooo beautiful! I think I need to add a few more “o” to that soooooooooo. It really is a stunning stamp set, and so I had to get it inky!

I have stamped it in Pale Papaya and combined it with some of the Heart and Home Designer Series Paper. Loving this colour as well, so pretty.
The only way to get this set right now, is for you to join Stampin’ Up! as a demonstrator, and if you are in Australia, I would love to have you in my Stampin family, so reach out to me for more info, or click the link.
The set will be available from the 4th January 2022, with a party or personal order over $500, so start collecting those orders now, and contact me to ask about having an online cardmaking or scrapbook party with your friends and family.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Masculine Monday Friendly Hello

You may think I am a little obsessed with the Friendly Hello stamp set. You would be correct! It is so gorgeous and lovely to work with. It’s so pretty, with those gorgeous flower images and pretty colours in the matching Designer Series Paper. However, I wanted to show that it can be used for more neutral or even masculine cards, so used it during my Masculine Monday Facebook Live this morning.
This is the original design that I put together before I went Live…..

And I decided to use the same elements but change the layout…. there’s nothing like improvising during a Facebook Live, it keeps it interesting!!

For the second card, I fussy cut the bird after stamping it, to remove the flowers and make it more masculine.

Which do you like better?
If you prefer not to watch video on Facebook, you can find many of my Facebook Lives now on my youTube channel, make sure you Subscribe so that you know when something new has been added.
While the stamps and Designer Series Papers I have used for this card are not available until January 4th 2022, make sure you check out what’s available in the Clearance Rack, there are some great specials available.
However, if you really want this gorgeous stamp set, and you want it right now (and if you live in Australia), I would love to have you join my family of demonstrators, and you can join my team here. As a new demonstrator you have early access to all of the upcoming new goodies!!

Happy stamping!
Chris

Ever Eden for Christmas cards

I’m loving this combination for Christmas cards.

The Ever Eden Designer Series Paper is just beautiful for Christmas cards, and I have combined it with the Stockings Dies and Encircled in Beauty Dies.

I need to keep this short today, our area is in flood watch and we have had massive amounts of rain which is still going on, and is effecting our internet. So hoping this will post now.

Happy stamping

Chris

Saturdays are for Sailing!

My son started learning to sail a few years ago, and loved it straight away. He’s a natural and sailing is the highlight of his week. So every Saturday we head to the nearest lake where the club get together for some races, or sometimes just a friendly sail.

Today wasn’t the best weather for it, in fact we’ve had a few weeks in a row where it’s been cold, raining and very windy, and today was no exception! But they go out anyway.

Needless to say, I don’t get any time for crafting in a Saturday, although sometimes I take some crochet to do.

But I will share a quick and easy card that I made using the BlackBerry Beauty Ephemera Pack.

The card uses just four elements from the Ephemera Pack with some of the matching Designer Series Paper behind them. Cardmaking couldn’t get any easier than that!!

Hoping your weekend is sunnier than ours!!

Happy stamping,

Chris

Blackberry Beauty

Just a quick post today to share a card that I made, using this tutorial from Mary Fish.
When I saw the card on her blog, I just knew I had to create one. So simple yet stunning.

And it uses my all time favourite of all of my favourites, the Blackberry Beauty Designer Series Paper.

Happy stamping!
Chris

Black and White with a pop of colour!!

In my post yesterday I shared some cards using Designer Series Paper, including a bright and cheerful birthday card. Today’s card uses the reverse side if that same paper, from the Host DSP called Pattern Party.

The black and white flower patterned paper has simply been coloured using Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Blends. Another quick and simple card.

I might pop a rhinestone or two on this one, just to add some bling!!

Happy stamping,

Chris

Designer Series Paper for easy and beautiful cards.

I did a Livestream on my Facebook page this morning, featuring the Whimsy and Wonder Designer Series Paper, to make quick, easy and gorgeous Christmas cards, and to show that you really don’t need to spend a lot of money in order to get going and make some homemade Christmas cards.

These first three cards use exactly the same layout, with different patterns from the same pack of DSP.

I also showed this same layout using a completely different DSP to create a bright and cheerful birthday card, using the Host DSP Pattern Party.

And a couple of different layouts using Whimsy and Wonder DSP.

They were fun to make, and now I have a bigger stash to sell at the markets this week!!

Happy Stamping!

Chris

Darth Vader Technique

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 💜

From Basic to Brilliant

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