Hi there! Well, it has certainly been a long time between posts. I am still here and still crafting, and feeling like I am starting again from scratch with cardmaking and blog posts. But sometimes, that’s how life goes. While I have been doing a fair bit of crafting, I haven’t been doing any cardmaking, there’s been a lot of crochet, journal making and pyrography, and I might start sharing some of those here as well as my papercrafting.
Despite all of the challenges I have been facing over the last few months, I am still a member of the lovely Design Team for Craftin’ Round The World Challenges. And today’s card is using the Sunrise Sailing stamp set and coordinating embossing folder, along with some of the Peaceful Garden Designer Series Paper which will be available in the upcoming mini catalogue, available on the 3rd September, and which also contains a lot of gorgeous Christmas goodies!
That’s it for today, thanks for reading along. Happy stamping, Chris
You can shop for your own Stampin’ Up! supplies in Australia by scanning the QR Code below….
Welcome back to day 2 of our month of Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue sketches. Below is today’s sketch. You can find Day 1 of the month of sketches here.
This could be a very simple card or it could be more complex as I have made mine today. My card features the Changing Leaves bundle which is an Online Exclusive, and a very versatile bundle.
For my card base, I cut a piece of Lost Lagoon cardstock at 21cm x 14.5cm – you should be able to get two card fronts from one full 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 then used some Pretty Peacock cardstock which is 9cm x 13cm, and have run that through the Changing Leaves embossing folder. The basic white sentiment has been cut with one of the Changing Leaves Dies and the sentiment itself, also from the Changing Leaves stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock ink. The leaves are in Lost Lagoon, Moody Mauve and Copper Clay cardstock. And of course some Linen Thread tied into a large bow and adhered to the back of the sentiment. If you wanted to keep it simple though, you could leave off all the leaves, and just use the embossed panel with a sentiment and bow.
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.
Hi and welcome back. For those who have been following along with my blog posts for a while, you will know just how much I enjoy taking part in challenges, and I do particularly enjoy a Sketch challenge. So I decided to use the current Just Add Ink challenge to inspire my card today. Here is the sketch:
My card features the mushroom image from the Inspirational Sketches stamp set. I was a little sad when the new Catalogue first came out, I thought that this gorgeous stamp set had retired, but you will find it sneaks in with some images on pages 110 and 111. I am very glad it’s a current stamp set, it’s a lot of fun to use.
I have used some Grey Granite cardstock as my base, and the background layer has been embossed with the Timber Embossing Folder, and then I have run the Grey Granite ink pad over it to highlight the embossed parts. I have taken one of the large die cut circles from the Spotlight on Nature Dies, cut it in half, and then stamped the image in Grey Granite. The red mushrooms were stamped in Black Memento ink, which I stamped off on scrap paper before stamping onto the cardstock, just to make the outline a little lighter. The image as been coloured with Stampin’ Blends in Crumb Cake for the stems, Ivory for the underneath of the mushroom caps, and Dark and Light Real Red. And yes, the image was fussy cut (I love fussy cutting!). The white dots….. there are several ways to achieve the white dots on the mushroom caps, which do make them look more realistic. If you have White Craft Ink, you can use a stylus, dip that into the ink on the ink pad, and dab it onto the image. You may have to do this several times to give a good coverage. Alternatively, you can use a white gel pen or similar and that is much easier to do. Did you know that Stampin’ Up! used to sell these? I’m talking way, way, way long ago in the deep dark past, not long after I first joined as a demonstrator. And believe it or not, I still had one that I bought from Stampin’ Up!. It doesn’t work any more, not surprising, since they do dry out after a while. Perhaps it’s time to do a very big clean out.
December and January are particularly difficult in our family, so many of our loved ones have passed on, so it is inevitably a quiet and reflective time of year, and a time when I rarely want to do any crafting. This year has been especially difficult with the financial situation that so many of us are facing, which for us became a whole lot more difficult at the end of December. And to top it all off, the email service provider that I was using to send out my regular newsletters, did some weird stuff, including sending out some unsolicited and rather abnoxious emails to people. I am desperately hoping they didn’t go out to any of you, but if so, I can only apologise. As well, I don’t have access to everyone who was previously subscribed to my list but I am hoping this will get to those who need to see it. So… onwards and upwards, starting again and moving forward.
I plan to send out a regular newsletter featuring one product which I have used in different ways, and hope that it will inspire you with some ideas. I won’t promise to do it weekly, but hopefully at least once each month, and I will also include any promotions and sales, as well as any personal news and Stampin’ Up! news.
So this week’s focus is on the gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous Layered Florals Embossing Folder which is available from the current Mini Catalogue until 30 April 2024.
Isn’t it just beautiful? If, like me, you can’t do without it, you click here to go directly to my online store to buy it. So many ideas, so little time.
As always at this time of year, demonstrators start thinking about the upcoming change over of not just the Annual Catalogue (new catalogue at the start of May) but also the retirement of one set of the In Colors. So if you love them, make sure you get in quickly and stock up on your reinkers and cardstock – they always sell out quickly. Pop over to my store and get what you need before they are no longer available. Do you have a favourite from these five colours? I love both Orchid Oasis and Starry Sky but will admit that they haven’t had a lot of use over the two years. As always, I look forward to seeing what is coming with the new lot of In Colors.
In some other sad news this week, I was so sad to learn that the stamping and scrapbook company Close To My Heart will cease operations on June 30, 2024! It is never easy to hear of the closure of yet another business in these difficult times. From the Founder of CTMH: “Dear Close To My Heart Community,As the founder and owner of Close to My Heart, I have devoted my life’s work to building and supporting this community, helping millions of people to preserve memories and celebrate relationships in meaningful ways. This company has grown and developed into a beautiful, vibrant community devoted to touching hearts with these vital creative arts, offering incredible products, rewarding business opportunities, and deep connections with fellow crafters.As much as I love what Close To My Heart stands for, after a great deal of deliberation, prayer, and counsel, I have come to the heartbreaking conclusion that the time has come to discontinue the business. Close To My Heart will cease operations effective June 30, 2024.The reasons that have brought me to this decision are too many to enumerate fully here. My health is a major factor, as the stresses and demands of the business continue to take their toll on me. At the same time, we have not seen the kinds of growth that were needed in order to achieve long-term stability. The way the company and the economy are trending, I foresee considerable challenges ahead that we simply are not equipped to overcome.Ultimately, I am choosing to end Close To My Heart on my own terms rather than being forced to close at some future date in less favorable circumstances. As upsetting as it is for me and for our thousands of Makers, by taking this course of action now, we can provide our community and our employees with as much notice and as many opportunities as possible.Because I cherish the community we have built together, I have been working with my team to find a new home for our Makers, where they can continue to benefit from the years of work they have poured into their individual Close To My Heart business. We are in the midst of conversations with Stampin’ Up!, collaborating on a solution that we hope will help our Makers make the most of their investments of time and resources and that will maintain at least a part of the legacy we always hoped to build.In the meantime, we still have a lot of product to offer, and we will continue to fulfill orders as usual over the next few months. It is possible that turnaround times may grow a bit longer depending on order volumes, but we will do our best to process orders in a timely manner. We encourage you to continue shopping with your Close To My Heart Maker in order to support them through this transition period.I express my appreciation to you for joining me on this journey and respecting my decision at this time. It has been an honor to be able to serve this amazing community for the past 40 years. I have given my all to the success of this company, and I will forever cherish the love I have felt from you and for you. My heart goes with each one of you as your personal journey takes you beyond the time that we have been blessed to share with one another through this marvelous company. You will always remain Close To My Heart.Sincerely,Jeanette R. LyntonFounder & CEO”
My heart goes out to all involved with CTMH.
And on that note, these difficult times mean that my own Stampin’ Up! business is struggling to stay afloat, and without many orders coming in, I will also have to close. Unless that is, you my valued customers, can help with even just a small order. Every single order helps and is appreciated more than you can know. So if there is anything you need, your order in March would be valued, and you never know what extras might come your way, just to say thank you. You can pop your orders through here, or alternative, send me an email if you live close enough to come and pick up your order from me directly.
Thanks for being part of my papercrafting journey. Happy stamping, Chris
This morning’s Facebook Live is now also available to watch on YouTube. The cards I made during the Live feature the Softly Sketched stamp set and the Faux Tile Technique. If you are in Australia and would like the card kits posted to you for free, all you need to do is to place an order at this link, of $30 or over of product (shipping costs are extra) before midnight on Sunday 6th August. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email if you have any questions. Enjoy! Happy Stamping, Chris
This month for the Crafty Addicts Design Team, I have again used the gorgeous Koala image from the Wild and Sweet stamp set. I just love it, it’s soooo cute! But I promise to start sharing some cards using the rest of images from the set soon.
The background on my card is a piece of Pecan Pie cardstock which has been embossed with the Timber 3D Embossing Folder. The koala has been stamped with some Early Espresso Ink, and very gently coloured with Blender pens in Mossy Meadow, Pecan Pie, Early Espresso and some white Craft ink.
I did make a youTube video of creating this card, the lighting is not great but hopefully you can get an idea of how I have made it. And I’ve been working on fixing the lighting situation, I’m going to try that out shortly.
Make sure you check out what the rest of the Crafty Addicts Design Team have made this month, and please feel free to share your creations with us, we love to see what you have been making. Happy stamping! Chris
If you live in Australia, and would like to order the items used in the card I have made, you can click on the images below. Alternatively, you can use your device to scan the QR Code below to go straight to my online store. Don’t forget the fantastic July Promotion, spend $90 of product and receive a $9 coupon to spend next month. My favourite promotion! That’s the equivalent of getting 10% discount on your gorgeous Stampin’ Up! products. Love, love, love!!
The musician in me couldn’t help but want to turn this Designer Series Paper into a jam session, and while I have made a card today, I may well end up using it for some scrapbook layouts. The Zoo Crew Designer Series paper is just so cute, but the images are not all music related, there are all sorts of animals doing crazy things. Really fun DSP, and great for all sorts of papercrafting.
The background cardstock is Lemon Lime Twist which has been embossed with the Merry Melody embossing folder, and then distressed and sponged with black ink to give it more of a grungy feel. The sentiment is from the Let’s Set Sail stamp set, which is the only stamping on the card.
This card is going in the Just Add Ink challenge, which for this week is…. Just Add Music.
Zoo Crew Designer Series Paper is one of the paper packs you can get at a discount of 15% off in June, it has the great black and white prints on the reverse of the animal prints, making it a very useful and versatile DSP. Definitely worth grabbing an extra pack this month. You can find it, and all the other DSP on sale by going to my online store here, or use your device to scan the QR code below.
Another short post tonight, I wanted to share a card that I started a week or so ago, but put aside because it just wasn’t going together.
Yes, we all have those, sometimes things just don’t feel right and don’t go the way we think they are going to.
My solution has always been to put it aside and do something different. My challenge has been, going back to those projects that weren’t working out, to try to finish them. And it’s one of the things I am determined to continue to do – complete those projects, and use the scraps and little pieces that are left over.
So my card was originally one that I was making to feature on the Wild Wheat Colour Creations blog hop, and it does have some Wild Wheat, but not very much.
My card features the Color and Contour stamp set along with the Elegant Eucalyptus embossing folder.
Don’t forget the fantastic joining deal that’s on during June. Reach out if you have any queries. In the meantime, happy stamping.
Dot Dot Stamping Designs 