More Old Favourites

Recently I posted about rediscovering an old favourite stamp set, Always. I had a ball making new cards with the set, trying out this and that to see what worked. Here's one from that session I didn't get around to posting.

Usually I will use pinks and warm colours with this particular stamp, but I wanted to break away from that - managed pretty well here, I think *g*!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Always
Ink: Pacific Point
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Whisper White
Other: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder

As promised...

The other day I showed you a hint of Vintage Wallpaper - a new embossing folder for your Big Shot. The folder will be available for purchase from September 1 from the new 2010-11 Ideas Book & Catalogue.

Here is another card using this folder, which shows a little more detail. Not a great deal, mind, as it's largely hidden behind the front panel, but you can probably get the idea.

The Stampin' Up! folders are sized to cover (most of) a card front. I personally prefer to use them for layering, but that's just me. And they're reasonably priced - so much so that I am probably going to get another one of these to experiment with (wait and see!).

The card itself was just the result of a table full of stuff, the stamp set "Always" sitting nearby, and a desire to try making something that wasn't pink out of this set. I won!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Always, Baroque Motifs
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla
Other: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder

CASEing a CASE...

A couple of years ago, I borrowed a card style from a Stampin' Up! mini catalogue ... the other night I revisited the layout with updated colours to see what would happen.

I like it *g*.

The colours here were inspired by a Designer Series Paper set from the upcoming 2010-11 Catalogue (contact me to reserve your copy *g*) - the combination of Very Vanilla, Basic Black and Riding Hood Red is very rich and yet very simple.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Always
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Riding Hood Red
Other: Very Vanilla 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Always...

You know, I still love this set, after all this time. It just got kind of "lost" under other stamp sets and hasn't been out for a little while.

But in my quest to recreate samples or think up new ones, I dug it out to give it some love.

This is a (kind of) copy of a card I made last year - which I'm not going to show you, it never quite came out how I had pictured it. The card shown here worked out MUCH better, and was fun to make as well!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Always
Ink: Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Other: 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Top Note Die

Valentine's Day Cards

I don't think I've ever deliberately set out to make a Valentine's Day card. Even when I made these, that wasn't the original intention - I was just playing around. It wasn't until I was done that I realised *g*.

The idea for the main piece originally came from something that Nicki Tidbold made (I don't think she has those particular cards on her blog, but have a look anyway - she has gorgeous stuff!). She hadmade a beautiful piece of work using reverse masking and made me realise I hadn't done anything like that for ages.

This is the result. I chose to use very neutral colours with the addition of Real Red for a bit of impact, and the hearts seemed to be the right choice in combination with the bird and the script. And that's how they became Valentine's Day cards *g*.

I tried to write a tutorial for masking but it turns out that the Stampin' Up! website has a much better version for you to check out if you're not familiar with this technique. Check it out! And to create a "reverse mask" such as the one I used to stamp the text in the cards above, just cut or tear a hole in scrap paper and stamp through it. Simple!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Always, En Francais, Simply Said
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, Basic Gray, Going Gray
Cardstock: Kraft, Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Cutter Kit, Stamp A Ma Jig

Stampin on Candles

I have to admit, the title of this post is something of a misnomer - but it's the easiest way of describing this technique.

You don't literally stamp "on" the candle, rather you stamp onto white tissue paper (the cheap gift wrapping kind), then use your heat gun to fuse it gently into the wax.

The result is effective and yes, you can still burn the candles, although I would recommend removing any paper, ribbon or "bling" that may be attached.

I was inspired by the lovely Simone Bartrum's presentation on "candle stamping" at the recent Melbourne regional Stampin' Up! seminar (as was just about everyone else in the room). She showed us some simply stunning projects using ideas I had never thought of before - check out her blog, she is super-talented.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Always, Priceless, Live Like You Mean It, Season of Joy
Ink: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Not Quite Navy
Other: Sweet Always DSP, 1/4" White Grosgrain Ribbon, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker

What have I been working on ...?

Well, mostly these. Okay, so there's only four cards here, but what you can't see is the other 96 which I made recently (with the help of Sharon - thanks Sharon!).

My day job is for a small company which supplies raw materials to label printers. It has become something of a tradition that we send out handmade cards to our customer base (which all began when I first started there and the boss found out I was a cardmaker). At first it was a pretty easy task, but somehow we gathered more customers over the years and I'm wondering what monster has been created LOL.

Anyway, this year Sharon and I put our heads together and came up with this design (which is supposed to look kind of like a branch of a Christmas tree with baubles - or a pleasing abstract design, whichever you like), and we decided to do four different colourways so as not to drive ourselves insane doing 100 cards in the exact same colour scheme.

I like to think that our customers appreciate the effort - we have had some lovely feedback from them in past years, and when printers are liking your work as a cardmaker, you must be doing something right!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Baroque Motifs, Always, Best Yet (hostess)
Ink: Card 1 - Old Olive, Rose Red; Card 2 - Pale Plum, Elegant Eggplant; Card 3 - Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy; Card 4 - Gable Green, Taken with Teal
Cardstock: Card 1 - Old Olive, Rose Red, Whisper White; Card 2 - Pale Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White; Card 3 - Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White; Card 4 - Gable Green, Taken with Teal, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch

Always

A couple of weeks ago I was in need of a quick, easy and impressive card for a workshop I was doing (waves to Sue). While surfing around the net, I stumbled across this gorgeous card and was immediately inspired.

We were going to be using Stampin' Pastels at the workshop, so I used the heart stamp from Always to demonstrate a technique known as "poppin' pastels", where you stamp in Versamark and then dust over the image with chalks - the chalk sticks to the Versamarked image, but not so much to the cardstock surrounding it, giving a subtle and soft finish.

This is the card we made. And look! I actually cut into my precious stash of Designer Series Paper (this particular piece is from the collection known as "Sweet Always" which coincidentally matches the stamp set Always). We used the colours in the paper scrap to carry over to the chalked heart, that is Regal Rose and Pumpkin Pie.

One of the guests chose to use the other side of the DSP (all SU DSPs are double-sided, and come with two sheets of six designs per packet), which was a gorgeous look as the reverse of this striped piece is pink with a white floral design similar to that on the heart.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always, Best Yet
Ink: Versamark, Regal Rose
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Stampin' Pastels, Sweet Always Designer Series Paper, Eyelet Border Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch

While I was fluffing about trying to decide on the card the workshop guests would make, I did a few other variations, mostly to show different looks for the same layout using assorted techniques.

The first of this group is pretty much the same card, however rather than stamping with Versamark then chalking over the top, I chose to ink the stamp with the Versamark and then colour directly onto the (now sticky) rubber with the chalks, then stamp.

This gives a soft effect but more crisp than that achieved with the "poppin' pastels" technique.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always, Short & Sweet
Ink: Versamark, Regal Rose
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Stampin' Pastels, Eyelet Border Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch

The next card uses the same techniqe on the heart, however with this one I also used the matching Always in Bloom wheel in Whisper White ink across the top of the base card to provide some depth.

A tip for seamless coverage when using a wheel - roll it across the cardstock diagonally. This camouflages the joins a little and looks more natural.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always, Upsy Daisy
Ink: Versamark, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Stampin' Pastels, Eyelet Border Punch, Always in Bloom Standard Wheel, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch

The last is my favourite - this time I ditched the pastels altogether and went for sparkly! The heart is inked first in Versamark, then directly into Regal Rose before stamping. This means you can utilise the stickyness of Versamark and the colour of the dye ink to create coloured embossing and glittering effects.

I used Heat & Stick powder and Dazzling Diamonds (I wish you could see it in real life) to sparkle up the heart, then before assembly used the Always in Bloom wheel and Whisper White craft ink to create a very subtle pattern on the Pink Pirouette cardstock. The Pink Pirouette is so pale you can barely see the white ink, but it really makes the card pop.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always, Best Yet
Ink: Versamark, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Always in Bloom Standard Wheel, Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Designer Label Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch

Tri-Shutter Card

There seems to be a lot of samples lately of a style of card known as the Tri-Shutter (for reasons which become obvious as you play with one of these). I finally got around to making my own version recently, and have to say I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

These cards are really not that hard to make. I used the instructions found here, modified slightly to suit an A4 piece of cardstock. So long as your score lines are evenly spaced, with an interval in the middle twice the size of the outside folds (that makes no sense written down like that, but if you follow the instructions you'll see what I mean), it should work just fine.

And they're fun to decorate. Here I've used the Designer Series Paper "Sweet Always" as the inspiration for the colour scheme and stamp set - Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie is perhaps not a colour combination you would consider in the normal scheme of things, but it really does work as you can see.

I have a little more work to do on the inside of the card, but it looks so darned pretty as it is I don't want to mess it up *g*.

And here's a shot of the card from above, so you can see how it stands and get an idea of how it all folds together to fit in a regular C6 sized envelope.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always
Ink: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Whisper White
Other: 1/2" Circle Punch. Sweet Always Designer Series Paper

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

"Always" is back

With the return of some stamp sets from previous mini catalogues in the new Stampin' Up! catalogue, one in particular I was happy to see was "Always". And to celebrate I whipped up this nice quick card, inspired by one Karen made a while back.

Yeah, it's pink ... what can I say? I think Pretty in Pink and Rose Red go so well together.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Whisper White
Other: 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Uniball Signo White Gel Pen

Always playing about

I keep finding new reasons to love this stamp set ... this time it's shrink plastic. Yes, I know, not something that Stampin' Up! sell, but it was so much fun I had to share with you!

I found some shrink plastic that I bought a while back and decided to have a play - but the thing with this stuff is that ... well, it shrinks. You need to use an image that is a decent size to start off with as the finished product will be around a third of the original size. And that's where the heart from Always comes in - it measures about 6cm from top to bottom so makes a good sized charm when shrunk.

So how did I do this? I simply stamped the heart onto the shrink plastic with Stazon (carefully so as not to smudge the ink), trimmed it as neatly as possible, punched a hole in at the top (very important to do this *before* you shrink) and blasted the plastic with my heat gun while it curled and contorted and finally shrunk to its finished size.

When the plastic has finished shrinking the piece will be considerably thicker than it was at the start, and sturdy enough to make fun jewellery from. I decided not to colour these earrings, but I could have used coloured Sharpies. And because I have been known to suffer allergic reactions to jewellery findings I just used some jump rings and made a chain to hang the hearts from my (non allergenic) sleepers.

A reminder that this particular set is from the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalogue and as such, is only available until the end of this month ... if you have been thinking about buying it but kept putting it off, I would hate for you to miss out! Contact me to place your order today!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Stazon
Other: Cropadile
The stamped heart uses Purely Pomegrate ink on Whisper White cardstock, and Pretty in Pink ink on Pretty in Pink cardstock.

Wedding Card

A member of my upline's group was recently married (congratulations Flick!) so of course I had to attempt to make a card for the happy couple. Naturally I didn't get it made before the wedding, but I did manage to catch up with her a couple of weeks later.

Now Felicity is a big lover of the colour pink - even her stamp room is pink! - so of course that's the colour I used. I had no idea just how pink it was going to come out, but sometimes that's how it happens when you're working on something - it takes a direction you didn't expect. Which is often a good thing!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate, Versamark
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Other: Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel So Swirly, Stampin' Around Jumbo Handle, Scallop Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1/4" Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon, Corner Rounder, Stampin' Pastels, Stampin' Sponges

CASEing the Catalogue

Sometimes you want to make a card but the effort of thinking of a design and/or colours for yourself can be so tedious *yawn* ... that's when the samples in the Stampin' Up! Ideas Book & Catalogue (and the current Spring Mini Catalogue) come in so handy *g*.

Take this, for instance ...

The layout and colours are from the sample on page 4 of the Spring Mini catalogue. It was quick, easy and effective and took very little time to do, because I didn't have to think about it too hard.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Other: Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp A Ma Jig

Then I tried again, this time using the featured stamp set as in the original sample, but mixing up the colours somewhat ... I'm not so sure that this one worked, but I wanted to try green/purple together.

The little row of flowers from this stamp set placed under the main image just seemed to tie the card together and finish it off. I liked that bit.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: One of a Kind
Ink: Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Perfect Plum Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Certainly Celery 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Boho Blossoms Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Sponge, Stamp A Ma Jig

The samples in the catalogues are there to provide inspiration for you, so why not use them? You can even check out pages 155-159 of the main catalogue to see exactly what supplies have been used to create each of the beautiful projects throughout the book.

River Rock

I'm rediscovering this great colour ... by itself it doesn't look like much but once you pair it with different colours it really grows on you!

First up is a card using one of the stamp set/wheel combinations you could buy with this month's promotion - the set is Priceless and the wheel is called So Swirly. Buy Priceless and get So Swirly for free, but only for September! Contact me today! (sorry, just had to get a plug in there *g*).

I loooove this set and this wheel.

I've combined River Rock with Purely Pomegranate just because I love these two together. Sorry the pic is a little dark, I was in a hurry.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Priceless
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, River Rock
Cardstock: River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Other: So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel & Handle, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

The second card was mostly made to see what River Rock looked like with Perfect Plum and Pale Plum - I think it works. I wish you could see this card in person - it is a spinner card and so much fun to play with! You hold the card almost upright then tilt it from side to side and watch the circular element spin down the slot and back again.

Once you get the hang of making spinner cards, they take about 10 minutes to put together, then you get an hour of fun playing with them LOL.

Just a quick note ... if you are going to make one of these, I would suggest using a Word Window punch rather than cutting the slot yourself as shown in the instructions in the link. Much quicker and less frustration for all concerned. Simply push the punch in as far as it will go, punch once about an inch in from one side, then slide along and punch again. Also, use two Dimensionals on top of each other to lift the main layer away from the backing, in order to give the spinner plenty of room at the back to do its thing.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, River Rock
Cardstock: River Rock, Perfect Plum, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, Scallop Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Paper Piercing tool

A rare event

As you may have noticed, there is a distinct lack of scrapbook pages on my blog. This is because I have been a cardmaker since ... well, it seems like forever, but it's certainly been a very long time, and until recently photos were something that got shoved into slip in pockets (if they ever left the chemist's envelope) and looked at every so often, usually by the kids.

Now I am trying to move out of my comfort zone occasionally and to this end I have created a very simple 6x6 page (with no journalling - I haven't got my head around that yet!) using a glamour photo of my mother from before she was married.

Love this colour combination ...! As always, you really have to see it in the flesh so to speak to appreciate just how pretty they are together.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock
Cardstock: River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White

The card revealed

It has been pointed out to me that I have been forgetting my promise to upload the Plums/Vanilla/Chocolate card I made the other week, so here is the entire thing at last!

I like how it came out. Thank you Gail for making me use these colours together - they work really well.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum
Other: Stampin' Write Markers in Soft Subtles, Cutter Kit, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Sneak Peek

I just wanted to pop in with a really quick update ... but it's only a "sneak peek" because I don't have the original file with me to show you.

The card is the result of a challenge thrown down by my Fearless Leader, Gail - she challenged her team to create a card using the colours Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla (and after all that plum, chocolate and vanilla I was feeling kinda hungry after I finished *g*). It took me a while and ended up being nothing like the idea I had in my head (which, once I'd nailed it down on paper, turned out to be absolutely hideous).

And thanks to Karen for reminding me on Sunday that the heart from the set Always looks stunning coloured with markers. I had to make myself not use Old Olive on it (mmm, new colour combination coming up).

I will post the full card later ... stay tuned!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pale Plum
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum
Other: Stampin' Write Markers in Soft Subtles, Cutter Kit, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

"Always" on my mind

At last, new samples from the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalogue!

It's taken me a while to get organised with my new stamp sets ... they've been sitting here for a few weeks now but I have been somewhat distracted by the craft show and other things. At last, I have had a chance to play with them a little, and here are the first results ...

This first card was a bit of a challenge. I stamped the heart from "Always" first in Versamark, then used my Stampin' Pastels to apply colour. Using the Pastels this way you get a very soft effect, because the chalk will stick a little to the cardstock as well as the Versamarked area.

It's not quite that "yellowy" in real life, blame my scanner and/or photo editting program. Or me, if you like *g*.

You can't see in the scan, but the Vanilla piece of card has also been stamped with the three small stamps from this set, also in Versamark but not chalked. The watermarked effect is so subtle you really have to get up close to see it!

And lastly the "always" stamp, from the same set, which as you can see fits nicely in the 1-1/4" circle punch.

You know what's missing from this card? Ribbon. Sadly I don't have any of the gorgeous Regal Rose 5/8" ribbon :-(

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Always stamp set, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Regal Rose and Old Olive cardstock, Versamark and Regal Rose ink, Stampin' Pastels, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch.

The second card I have to show you tonight uses the same stamp set, however this time I have stamped the heart in Versamark on the Stampin' Up! white glossy cardstock (and believe me, this stuff is super glossy!). Because the Versamark acts as a resist, I could give it a blast with my heat gun to dry it a bit, then brayered Ruby Red ink over the top to create the negative effect.

Trimming around the heart was a bit of a pain, which doesn't explain why I ended up doing it three times for this card alone *sigh*. It looks good though *g*.

I like how this one came out.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Always stamp set, Whisper White, Gloss White, Not Quite Navy and Soft Sky cardstock, Versamark, Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy and Soft Sky ink, Brayer.

This stamp set also has a gorgeous bird silhouette; I'm working on something featuring that.