Keeping it Simple

As a demonstrator, I need to make sure that I have samples using current products to show people what they can achieve with Stampin' Up!

However, with the announcement a few months back that many of the "core colours" were being retired in a major colour reconfiguration, combined with the recent Last Chance List of retiring stamps, I have found that a lot (and I mean a LOT) of my samples will no longer showcase products that the customer can buy.

It was a sad day when I went through my samples folder and display board. This is the result (note that the cards on the table didn't all come from the board shown, but also from my big book). And I keep finding samples I had stashed away and forgotten to add to my book.

But the cloud has a silver lining. I have the perfect excuse to stamp up a heap of new cards, and while it will take a while to replace all the old samples, I've made a start.

Here's a card I whipped up the other night - very quick, very simple. I've just stamped the three flower stamp from Eastern Blooms three times in different colours - Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie and So Saffron. There is a style of stamping called "Clean And Simple", and I believe this card fits nicely into that category.

I took inspiration from this card over at SplitcoastStampers.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red
Other: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Gailforce Stampers Mojo Challenge

What an odd title for a post.

Well, if you know the backstory, perhaps not.

Over the summer months, sometimes it can be hard to find creative juices (or "mojo" - thanks Austin Powers!) with the warmer weather beckoning us outside, school holidays in full force and other distractions.

It's very easy to lose your way creatively during these times, and so I was delighted when Anne-Marie, a member of the Gailforce Stampers team (headed by my upline, the lovely Gail) , recently challenged the rest of us to create a card conforming to very strict parameters.

The card could ONLY use the colours in the Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper (available in the current Summer Mini Catalogue), plus Whisper White for a neutral. In other words, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Only Orange, Pink Passion and Pixie Pink. And if you know your Stampin' Up! colours, you know that whatever we made was going to be BRIGHT!

These are not colours I would normally reach for, let alone put together, so it was tricky. But a challenge is a challenge and needs to be met, and I managed it! Not once, but twice!

The first card can be seen above, and here is the second ... I should have put a sunglasses warning in this post, huh.

Anyway, thanks for the challenge Anne-Marie!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Card 1:
Stamp/s: Eastern Blooms, Short & Sweet
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Only Orange, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Pink Passion, Green Galore, Whisper White
Other: Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Card 2:
Stamp/s: Hello Again
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Other: Spiral Punch, Retro Remix Standard Stampin' Around Wheel

Eastern Blooms part 3

The last of the cards I made the other night (the others are shown here and here).

This one was quick & easy - the branch is stamped twice in Whisper White craft ink (a thick pigment ink), and the edges of the panel were sponged in the White as well.

I let the card sit for a little to allow the ink to dry - the craft ink, being oil based, takes a lot longer to dry than regular classic (dye-based) ink. This is an advantage if you want to emboss or use Heat & Stick powder, but a bit of a chore if you don't *g*.

Once the ink dried, I put a little dab of Two Way Glue on the centre of each flower and tipped Dazzling Diamonds glitter across the top (being careful not to sneeze before I managed to get the excess back in the container - and it being spring and all, and the hayfever acting up, this was no mean feat!).

It's very pretty in real life, but doesn't really show up so well in a photo.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Whisper White
Cardstock: Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, 1/4" White Grosgrain Ribbon, Two Way Glue, Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Another Eastern Blooms card

Following on from my post the other day, here's another card I made while I had the Eastern Blooms set sitting out amongst the chaos on my dining room table (ie. the stamping area) (one day I will manage to snaffle a bedroom to turn into a craft room, but one of the kids has to move out first, and that's going to be quite some time).

The branch and flowers on this are coloured with markers ... first I inked the whole stamp up with Summer Sun, then used my Old Olive and Ruby Red markers on the branch and flower petals. I figured this was a little quicker than using all markers to ink the stamp.

Down the side, to give it a little texture, I used the Tres Chic stamp, and added yet more texture on the Summer Sun strip with the Sanded background stamp (inked with Apricot Appeal to show up a little).

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Eastern Blooms, Tres Chic, Sanded
Ink: Ruby Red, Summer Sun, Apricot Appeal
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Punch, Stampin' Write Markers in Ruby Red and Old Olive

Bright Eastern Blooms

*phew* It's a little dusty here! Yes, I'm still around, however my mojo was taking a break and suddenly it's over halfway through October.

Last weekend, a large number of excited Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around Victoria flooded into the Crown Promenade Hotel in Melbourne to attend a regional training session. We spent six hours listening to inspiring presentations, seeing some "wow" demonstrations and making projects with the stamp set and supplies kit provided to us.

I can't show you the stamp set yet - for that you will have to wait until next month, as it won't be available for purchase until the Summer Mini is released later this year - and I didn't make any swaps so really there's not much to see here LOL. You can take a quick trip over to my dear friend Pauline's blog and see the swap she made - they were very popular, and she ran out by the first break!

However I did come away from Regionals with a new enthusiasm, and last night had a play with an old favourite stamp set, Eastern Blooms. Here's one of the cards I came up with.

I really like this colour combination (which I've used in the past, here). Who would have thought that Apricot Appeal, Pixie Pink and Real Red would work so well together?

The flowered branches are stamped a few times in Versamark on Whisper White cardstock, then clear embossed. To apply the colour I used a brayer (a rubber roller), inking the lower part of the card in Apricot Appeal and the upper with Pixie Pink (overlapping in the middle to blend the two colours), finally sponging a little Real Red along the top.

The embossing resists the ink so the Whisper White cardstock shows through on the branches.

I chose to use Whisper White rather than Glossy White (which I would normally use for brayering) because I like the soft look that it gives when it's brayered with colour. A while back a friend and I experimented with different, competing brands of white cardstock, and found that the Stampin' Up! Whisper White (and Very Vanilla) produce the best result, due probably to their ultra-smooth matte finish.

A quick heads up, too ... don't forget that the items in the current Spring Mini are only available for another six or so weeks - and that includes the Scallop Oval Punch shown here! Contact me today and snap it up while you can!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Eastern Blooms, Big Bold Birthday
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Pixie Pink, Real Red
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Apricot Appeal, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Brayer, Clear Embossing Powder, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Wide Oval Punch

Trying new colours

Well, the colours themselves aren't new ... you might recognise them as just regular colours from the Stampin' Up! colour families, but using them together in this way was new to me.

The inspiration from this first card came from Splitcoaststampers, but I honestly couldn't tell you which of the many beautiful samples showcasing this set I was thinking of - after a while you've seen so many cards that it's hard to remember where you started *g*.

Anyway, I'm happy with the outcome. The cut out flowers have brads in the centre, and are attached with Stampin' Dimensionals. The sentiment is from Cheep Talk - it just seemed to be the right stamp for the card and fit so well.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Eastern Blooms, Cheep Talk
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Punch, Stampamajig, Stampin' Dimensionals, Vintage Brads

The second card was made because I was on a roll and had the stamps, ink and so on already out. That's not to say it was easy ... originally the focal image was something completely different and ended up in the bin (I hate having to throw stuff out, usually I try to reclaim it somehow, but this piece was beyond help *sigh*).

I used the Scallop Edge Punch on the lower edge, then backed the card front with a piece of Old Olive so the card still sits okay (the Edge Punch takes off about 1cm of cardstock). I like the contrast this gives. Next time I might trim the back to suit instead, just to see what it looks like.

I've left the lower left corner blank until I can think of an appropriate phrase for this card. For now it's a good place to put my watermark *g*.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Real Red, Bashful Blue
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Punch, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-14" Circle Punch

Creative differences

Sometimes it's interesting to give a group of stampers the exact same materials just to see what they come up with. On Friday, the guests at a workshop were given materials to make something similar to the second card in this post. I knew from past experience these particular ladies would all come up with something completely individual, and I wasn't disappointed *g*.

If only I could remember who made which one! Thank you to Heather, Sue, Dot, Lesley and Rae for a fun evening.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms, Short & Sweet
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, So Saffron
Cardstock: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Gift Card holder

I stumbled across Jackie Topa's blog the other day, following a link from somewhere (probably Splitcoast Stampers) to her "faux alligator skin" tutorial. From that I found her "gift card purse" instructions. So simple and effective! So I whipped up one of her sweet little handbag gift card holders to see what it came out like (well, surprise! Just like her picture!).

Anyway, it turned out that DD, who has a birthday party to go to this afternoon, wanted to give her friend a gift card. And was quite happy for me to make a holder to put it in. This is unusual, normally she would rather store-bought packaging and cards, so of course I leapt at the idea.

I tinkered with Jackie's instructions a little, making the handbag a little narrower overall because I only have a 4" circle cutter, making the base narrower as well, and adding an extra fold at the top so I could use a strip of cardstock as the handle (because I don't have wire, or matching ribbon). I love how it came out - I hope DD's friend does as well!

Can you see the sparkly, glittery centre to the flower? Love those Dazzling Diamonds! I stamped the same flower in pink and punched out the middle after using Heat & Stick powder to stick the glitter down.

Oh, and DD said I "cheated" ... the stitching on the green strip of cardstock is actually holes pierced with my paper piercer and Stampin' Up! Mat Pack, with "stitching" drawn on with my white gel pen. She didn't realise until she took a really close look *g*

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Summer Sun, Pink Passion, Versamark
Cardstock: Pink Passion, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Other: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Mat Pack, uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen, Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds,

Afternoon at Gail's

On Sunday I was lucky enough to go to Gail's house to take part in a fundraising Stamp-A-Stack. Not heard of a Stamp-A-Stack? Basically, it's exactly what it sounds like ... for a fee, you get to make ten cards (five each of two designs) - no cutting or preparation involved (well, not for the guests anyway *g*), just an afternoon of stamping a stack of cards.

Gail is running a few of these Stacks over the next few weeks with all proceeds going to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal ... I have heard that the response was terrific and all the spots are now booked out so I'm glad I got to go!

So, what did we make?

Well, this first is using my current fave, Eastern Blooms. I got to use the crimper (available in the Stampin' Up! catalogue) for the first time, and enjoyed it, which surprised me. It's a lot bigger than I thought, too, you could fit a whole card front in there if you wanted. As you can see, we've run a Close to Cocoa inkpad over the top to emphasise the dimension on the main panel.

Gail's design had a word on it, but I couldn't decide so just left the card blank ... I can always add something later when I need to.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Naturals Ivory
Other: Crimper, Tempting Turquoise Grosgrain 1/4" Ribbon, Stampin' Write Markers in Chocolate Chip and Pixie Pink


The second card uses a set I don't have but might need to buy now that I've used it ... we used Versamark to stamp the horse and word on glossy white cardstock, then brayered Close to Cocoa ink over the top. The areas with Versamark (and occasionally fingerprints) "resists" the dye ink and shows through as a sort of ghostly image ... very effective!

I like the brown/red/black combination - very masculine.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Wanted
Ink: Versamark, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White Craft
Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Black, Glossy White, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa
Other: Brayer, Vintage Brads, Photo Corners Punch

So thanks to Gail for a fun afternoon (and waves to Sharon, Liz and Pauline) and I hope you raise a bunch for the bushfire appeal!

More from Liz

At our recenty Girls Nite at Deb's house, Liz again got into her creative streak ... and she has been so kind as to allow me to photograph her creations to share on my blog; because she's using current Stampin' Up! stuff, they all qualify to be shown here!



This card is a case of the one I made at our last GNI, however Liz has used only the current "In Colors" (which are only available until the expiry of our current catalogue, so if you like them, get in quick!).

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Ocean Commotion
Ink: Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi
Cardstock: Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals



I like this one! In fact, I'm planning on CASEing it myself! Again, Liz has only used "In Colours", and don't they work well together!

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Big Bold Birthday, Warm Words
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate
Cardstock: Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White



A birthday card with a definitely masculine colour scheme.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Big Bold Birthday
Ink: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky
Cardstock: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Blue Bayou, Whisper White



And lastly a card using my personal favourite Eastern Blooms. At first I had this up the wrong way, but Liz had designed it so the message is sideways at the top of the card, not the right way up at the bottom of the card. And Liz has used her scrap from the scallop edge punch, just like I've been doing! Waste not, want not.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Easter Blooms
Ink: River Rock
Cardstock: River Rock, Always Artichoke, Blue Bayou, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Circle Punch

Thank you again, Liz, for allowing me to share these.

Just a quick one

Today I am sharing a card I whipped up last month to send to a hostess (waves to Lesley, looking forward to Friday!). I was inspired by a card at Splitcoaststampers (this one), playing around with the colours a little. I used markers to colour the smaller flowers, as they are all mounted on the one stamp and trying to ink just the one flower at a time is do-able but a right pain.

Very happy with how this turned out.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Rose Red
Cardstock: So Saffron, Old Olive, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
Other: Stampin' Write Markers in Rose Red and Pretty in Pink, Scallop Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Eastern Blooms

I have been a little slack with my updates lately ... what do you mean, you've noticed? As I've said before, it's been Christmas, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I hope that this will help you forgive me - just a little something I whipped up with Eastern Blooms from the Summer Mini Catalogue. This set is just so pretty, and as soon as I saw that branch with the little flowers on it I knew I had to use my markers to colour it in.

And, of course, how could I not use the new Scallop Edge punch? I love this thing! Makes scalloped edges a snap, and then you can dress them up with the stamps in All Scallops (also in the Summer Mini).

Just a note ... you might be used to stamping your image, then lining it up and punching it out, but that just isn't going to work with the Scallop Edge punch. It is kind of hard to get used to doing it the other way around, but worth it as you can see.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms, All Scallops
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun, Pink Passion, Whisper White
Other: Stampin' Write Markers in Chocolate Chip, Pixie Pink and Summer Sun, Scallop Edge Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Eastern Blooms

Finally I have found a little time to post this ... my new favourite stamp set (available until March 31, 2009 from the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalogue)

This one is called Eastern Blooms, and comes with a large flower, a small flower, a tiny flower, a floral trio and a flowering branch. I like flowers, can you tell?

I have used the little trio of stamps to create this 70s inspired card ... it started out quite different, and certainly wasn't going to be these colours, but that just how it goes sometimes. I knew someone who had a kitchen in this colour scheme (even the stove was orange ... mmm-mmm!). Not so common now, but definitely all the go in the mid-70s.

I don't usually go for the warmer colours (I think I might have said that before) but they just seem to be working for me lately *shrug* so here it is.

Just so's you know, it was pretty darn fiddly to get all the circles lined up and in the right position. Not nearly as easy as I thought!

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Very Vanilla
Other: 1" Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch

Another card, same stamps ... I'm very happy with this one!

I'm pretty sure the layout for this was from a card sketch on SplitCoast Stampers, and the colours are the same ones used here (in fact, they were made during the same stamping session). Must try them out a little more - they work really well.

Love that branch stamp (shown here stamped a couple of times to fill in the left side of the card a bit).

See the leaves on the little cut out flower? Not leaves at all! I stamped one of the trio of flowers in green and trimmed out a couple of petals to look like leaves. I patted myself on the back after that one *g*.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms, Short & Sweet
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, So Saffron
Cardstock: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals