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

Stampin’ Up! Happy Hedgehogs

My card today features the Stampin’ Up! Happy Hedgehogs stamp set, without the Hedgehogs!

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for me, I have struggled with quite a lot of what is still going on around the world. I am sure there are many who are also struggling with what has become a long and drawn out situation which none of us would have chosen.

I’m not going to get into politics or even my beliefs, all I am going to say is that while I know there are many who are suffering a lot more than I am, I don’t believe there is a single person on the planet at the moment, who doesn’t need the sentiment on my card.
Happy Hedgehogs is such a cute stamp set, and I have chosen to colour the tree and butterfly with watercolour pencils. The coloured image is combined with a panel which has been embossed with the wonderful Hive Embossing Folder and one of the gorgeous Bumblebee Trinkets.

It’s not always easy to stay positive right now, but that is my message today, just hang in there.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Product List

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

February Host Code:

CHY3YYAM

Use this host code when you order, and if you order $90 or greater you will receive a free gift from me!  If your order is $250 or over, please do not use this code, you’ll still get a free gift – your choice of any item valued up to 10% or your order (excluding shipping costs) from the 2021-22 Annual Catalogue or January-June 2022 Mini Catalogue!  That includes some of the Host Exclusive items. (Australian orders only please).
And don’t forget to add your FREE Sale-a-Bration item, only available until the end of February, when your product order totals $90 or above.

***Make sure that you can see my name on the final checkout page listed as your Demonstrator when you order so that you know that you’re ordering with me and you’ll get my rewards!

Stampin’ Up! Friendly Hello with Sunshine and Rainbows

On Friday I received a Big Brown Box full of “new to me” goodies, and I just couldn’t wait to start playing!

I had already coloured some of the images from Friendly Hello with my Stampin’ Up! watercolour pencils, it was just waiting for the right additions! I just love the Sunshine and Rainbows Designer Series Paper which is available from the Sale-a-Bration catalogue until the end of February. The issue was, which one of all of those gorgeous papers to use as my background. I chose this one to match the centres of the flowers.

Also in my order were some of the beautiful Opal Rounds, and also a punch which has been on my wish list for a very long time – I am very happy to finally have it – the Detailed Trio Punch. I love it!!!

I hope your weekend is a crafty one!
Happy stamping
Chris

Product List

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Stampin’ Up! Sweet Talk

A very quick post this evening to share with you a card I made yesterday using the Sweet Talk Designer Series Paper.

I have combined it with stamped images from the Sale-a-Bration set Friendly Hello (available when you place an order of $180 or more) which has been very quickly coloured using Stampin’ Up! Watercolour Pencils.
Hope your week has been wonderful!
Happy stamping
Chris

January Host Code:

BTZM4CRW

Use this host code when you order, and if you order $50 or greater you will receive a free gift from me!  If your order is $250 or over, please do not use this code, you’ll still get a free gift – your choice of any item valued up to 10% or your order (excluding shipping costs) from the 2021-22 Annual Catalogue or July-December 2021 Mini Catalogue!  That includes some of the Host Exclusive items. (Australian orders only please).

***Make sure that you can see my name on the final checkout page listed as your Demonstrator when you order so that you know that you’re ordering with me and you’ll get my rewards!

Playing with Colour

I don’t have a card to share with you today, I am spending the day at the lake while my son sails. And while he is, I am enjoying nature, listening to the beautiful Bellbirds, and enjoying this view.

And also playing with colour with some new images. I’m not sure what I will make with this yet but I will share the finished project soon.

Enjoy your day!

Happy stamping!

Chris

Stampin’ Up! Friendly Hello

My card today uses the Stampin’ Up! Friendly Hello stamp set, one that you may not have seen yet. It is a brand new one, available from the 4th January 2022, along with the pretty Friendly Hello Designer Series Paper.



I fell in love this with gorgeous little bird as soon as I saw it, and am so grateful that I am able to earn free goodies from Stampin’ Up! just for choosing to be a demonstrator and share what I love doing. And of course, it’s always fun to receive free things, and this is one that you can also receive for free during this coming January/February Sale-a-Bration.

Cute little birdie is coloured using the Stampin’ Up! Watercolour pencils, but with no water involved, just coloured with the pencils.
Isn’t this just the most gorgeous image?
I have also stamped on the inside of the card with a smaller image from the same set, also coloured with the pencils.

While this one is only available to demonstrators prior to the 4th January, if you really want it, you could join my Stampin’ Up! family of demonstrators, with all the benefits that go along with that.
Of course there are always the items that are on the Last Chance List and in the Clearance Rack to craft with until January, and I will be posting up some projects using those soon.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Colouring with Pencils

As I always do on a Saturday during the spring and summer, I spent my day at the lake watching my son sail.

But there’s plenty of time while rigging and de-rigging and all the rest, for me to need something to do. So today I stamped some images from one of the stamp sets from the upcoming Sale-a-Bration catalogue (just one of many perks of being a demonstrator, is early access to products before they are released to the public), and took my watercolour pencils for some relaxing colouring.

Maybe tomorrow I will show you one of the finished projects.

If you are in Australia and would like a catalogue, send me an email, I have the right here and can send one out to you. dotdotstamping@gmail.com

Happy Stamping

Chris

Masculine Monday

Summer Days Masculine Card Colouring July 2020

It sure has been a crazy busy few weeks, and I will share more about that later in my post.  I have had time to think and ponder during those few weeks though, and I thought it was time to add a little structure to my creating, and so this is the start of that, Mondays are going to be for my masculine cards. (That’s Monday Australian time!)
Here’s hoping that I can maintain it and that things don’t get too crazy busy again anytime soon.

I made some time to create a card for brother’s birthday though, using the Host stamp set from the Annual Catalogue, called Summer Days.
Summer Days Masculine Card July 2020
In the background is some of the paper from the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper, and the image stamped in Early Espresso ink, before being coloured with Watercolour Pencils, and then gently painted over with an aqua painter.

I had to go with a wood theme for this card after the last few weeks.  My incredible 14 year old son decided late last year that he wanted to have a go at woodturning.  He had been doing some woodwork classes for a few years but had never tried woodturning.
He took to it straight away and started making beautiful things and learning and growing every day.  He just loves it and spends as much time as he can in front of his lathe.
A few weeks ago, he was asked to make 100 Spatulas for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and they wanted them as quickly as possible.
I’m sure you can imagine that this was an amazing opportunity for him, not just to get paid to woodturn but also to get his name out as a talented woodturner.
So here is a photo of my boy, with the 100 spatulas before they were delivered to the Department.  His Spatulas are to be used as gifts for special guests at public diplomacy and cultural programs overseas.
Jamie with 100 Spatulas

Hopefully I will have a little more time for crafting from now on.
Happy stamping!
Chris
xx

Sketch Challenge

AWH Monthly Showcase

Welcome to the Monthly Art With Heart Creative Showcase.
This month the Art With Heart Team have amazing projects to share with you that have been inspired by the card sketch below.
The sketch is to be used as a starting point and has been interpreted in many creative ways by the Art With Heart Team.

Sketch Challenge May 2020

I have used the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set for my card, a favourite which I am very happy to say, is carrying over to the new Annual Catalogue!!

Watercoloured Magnolia Good Morning Magnolia Pencils Stampin' Up! 2020 Christina Barnes

I have watercoloured the image with watercolour pencils and an aqua painter.
The pencil colours are in Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry colours, but they come out a lot lighter when they have been diluted with the water.
The flag on the top left has been run through the die cutting machine with the Parisian Flourish Embossing Folder.
Watercoloured Magnolia 2 Stampin' Up! Pencils Dot Dot Stamping Christina Barnes
I love this style of watercolouring, stay tuned for a Tutorial coming soon!!

Watercoloured Magnolia 3 Pencils Stampin' Up! 2020 Christina Barnes Dot Dot Stamping

The next demonstrator to share her interpretation of the sketch is the very talented and lovely Claire Daly.  I am sure Claire will have some wonderful inspiration for you.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy all of the inspiration from this group of talented ladies.
Scroll down to the bottom of the post to see a list of the products used for my card.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

If you have a broken link or have come to this blog hop midway, you can view all the participants below:

Caroline Manwaring

Rebecca Jacovou

Tina Gillespie

Catherine Proctor

Sharon Davern

Vicki Boucher

Christina Barnes

Claire Daly

Kate Morgan

Andrea Sargent

Kathryn Mangelsdorf

Amie McIlroy

Rachel Woollard

Judy May

Michele Taylor

Thanks for visiting, come back next month, our Showcase is featuring our favourite products from the new catalogue.

If you would like to purchase the items I have used to make this card, please see the product list below and head to my online store, which you can find here.

Product List