Peninsula Craft Expo - September 5-6 2009

If you're at a bit of a loose end during the first weekend of September, and you live somewhere near the Mornington Peninsula, you could do worse than visit the Peninsula Craft Expo in Mornington and say hi to those of us working on the Stampin' Up! stand there.

The fair is being held on Saturday September 5 and Sunday September 6, from 9am till 4pm each day. Entry is only $5.00, and you will see a variety of craft retailers from the Mornington area.

You can read more about the Expo at their website here.

Bright & Cheerful

Another card made at a recent Girls' Nite, this time a very cheerful and simple card using the little set Tart & Tangy. As well as the orange, apple and cherry images shown here, there is also a strawberry.

This is a rough-&-ready CASE from a card I saw a while back on Splitcoast Stampers, made using the limited supplies I had on hand at the time. I would have preferred to use red ribbon across the front but had to make do with a strip of red card.

My daughter has suggested that next time I make this as a "spinner card" ... stay tuned! That's a great idea!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Tart & Tangy
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Real Red
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Real Red
Other: 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch

Attempting Faux Embossing

I have seen stunning examples of this technique (at Felicity's blog, for a start), and would love to say that my attempts were wildly successful, but so far I'm not 100% happy with the results.

However, this card which I made recently came kind of close to the effect I was after.

Faux embossing is a technique whereby you stamp an image in white, then (a Stamp-a-ma-jig is essential for this) stamp again a fraction of a centimetre off to one side in a dark ink. The result is supposed to trick your eye into seeing a slightly raised image, as if it was embossed.

The photo here doesn't really show the effect very well, sadly, and I have seen much better samples, but I like the colours and layout of this card enough to show you how it came out.

Originally I tried the overstamping in Real Red ink to match the cardstock, but for some reason it came out an odd burgundy colour over the top of the Whisper White ink, so I redid it with the Chocolate Chip - much better.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always
Ink: Whisper White Craft, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Basic Black, Kraft
Other: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Always in Bloom Standard Wheel

Another Monochromatic Card

After I made the card in my last post, I tried another monochromatic card, this time using the Dynamic Duo of Old Olive and Certainly Celery. Again, this is a shameless CASE of someone else's card - one I saw in our display at the Craft & Quilt Show recently ... I have no idea who made the original (which was made in browns), but it was so striking I had to try it.

I love how it came out!

First I stamped the grass image onto Certainly Celery cardstock, then dusted the image with the Embossing Buddy in preparation for embossing. The Embossing Buddy helps to dry any damp ink and stops embossing powder sticking to places it shouldn't.

The flowers were stamped with Whisper White Craft ink (I could have used Versamark but wanted to make sure the resulting image was as white as possible) then embossed with white embossing powder.

My kids said the card was "too green", but I like it. I will definitely be trying this style again with different colour combinations.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Inspired by Nature
Ink: Old Olive, Whisper White Craft
Cardstock: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Other: Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Embossing Buddy, White Stampin' Emboss Powder

Dynamic Duos

Stampin' Up! colours aren't selected randomly ... they are designed specifically to coordinate with each other, and this is most obvious in the colour pairings knows as "Dynamic Duos". This means that two colours are the same, simply a different shade, as shown here with Pumpkin Pie and Apricot Appeal.

It's a handy way of creating a card when you're a bit short on colour inspiration but want to ensure the finished result will please the eye.

I completely CASEd the layout of this card from one at Splitcoast stampers (kudos to the originator, I just wish I knew the link so I could show you), but changed the colours from green to orange.

Sadly the photo doesn't do the card justice ... the colours are more vibrant in real life and the whole thing isn't quite as blurry (poor photography skills showing through there *g*).

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Pocket Silhouettes, Inspired by Nature, Best Yet (hostess set)
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla
Other: Designer Label Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch

"Deer" Me!

Isn't this just the cutest little stamp? This is part of the "Forest Friends" set from the current Spring Mini Catalogue. Along with the deer and tree shown here, there is also a rabbit and owl, all for under $25!

A word of warning ... this picture might be a little misleading. The finished card is actually made from a quarter sheet of A4, folded in half, so it is half the size of the cards I usually make (ie. the front is what I guess would be called A7, one-eighth of an A4 sheet). I feel I should point this out so you're aware that the images are quite small - the tree image for example is only 4.5cm tall.

This card took ages to make, even though it's so small, with all the design changes it went through. Originally I had stamped the tree in Rose Red on the Rose Red cardstock but it didn't stand out enough, then the greeting I had chosen originally didn't suit the style ... thankfully with advice from my kids we worked it out and this is the result.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Forest Friends, Best Yet (hostess set)
Ink: Regal Rose, Rose Red
Cardstock: Rose Red, Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery
Other: Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch

An unusual fold

You have to agree that this look is a bit different from your run-of-the-mill greeting card.

I followed instructions on Mae Collins' blog to create these cards which came out pretty much as I had imagined (very unusual occurrence *g*). For the purposes of the test run I grabbed out a stamp set that has been somewhat neglected of late - One of a Kind - because the design of these stamps is perfect for that "all over" floral look I was going for.

Still lovin' this Pacific Point blue! It is so strong but I still don't find it overwhelming.

Here is a small picture of one of the cards laid out flat - as you can see there is room for a greeting behind the front panel without detracting from the look of the card as it stands up.

Now I need to find (or make) an envelope to fit these cards in! Didn't think of that, doh!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: One of a Kind, Always
Ink: Pacific Point
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Whisper White
Other: 1-1/4" Square Punch, 1-3/8" Square Punch

One Sheet variation

My last two posts showed a One Sheet Wonder project which yields 10 cards from 9 sheets of cardstock (plus scraps). Here I have created a much simpler version using a quarter sheet of stamped cardstock per card, and a sheet of A5 cardstock scored and then ripped across the front as the card base. It's quick and simple and quite effective as well.

You don't need any special tools for this style of card, so long as you have a trimmer and perhaps some punches to add a message.





Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Fifth Avenue Floral, Oval All
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Spring Mini Catalogue has arrived!

It only seems like yesterday we got our new 2009-10 Idea Book & Catalogue, and already it's time for a new Mini Catalogue!

The 2009 Spring Mini Catalogue is chock full of some lovely stuff which I know you're going to want to get your hands on. If you haven't got a copy of the Mini yet, you can check it out online, or contact me to receive a copy in the mail.

I think I've said this before, but one of the perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that we get to preorder from the catalogue in the month prior to release so we can get our hands on some new items to create our samples from, and as always we weren't slow on taking up the offer!

I had to have this train set (called Choo Choo), not because I have little kids or even know anyone who I could use these stamps for, but just because they're so darned cute! And look, a matching standard wheel!

This is a somewhat different design for a greeting card, being a pocket into which the main layer slips so the result is a bit of a surprise *g*. You could slip some money in there for a really special treat.

I have used a couple of the new Jumbo Brads (in the smaller size ... which aren't nearly as Jumbo as the big ones!) to add detail to the outside of the card, and used a marker to ink up part of the words of a stamp from the Hostess set "Best Yet" as the greeting on the front.

Inside, I again used a marker to ink up just the phrase from one of the Fun & Fast Notes stamps because for some reason as yet unexplained, I don't seem to have many stamps that say "Happy Birthday", and none that suit this card style at all. An oversight I must rectify as soon as possible (perhaps with one of the new single stamps - yes, that's correct - from the Mini, "Birthday Wish").

Anyway, I'm excited by the new opportunities for creativity that this Spring Mini Catalogue presents, and hope to share more new creations with you over the coming weeks.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Choo Choo, Best Yet (hostess set), Fun & Fast Notes
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Bashful Blue
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 5/16" Jumbo Brads, Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker, Right on Track Standard Wheel