STAMPIN' UP! CONVENTION SWAP

I've scheduled this post to publish while I am at Stampin' Up!'s Convention in Brisbane.  It's three days of full-on fun, hype and information .... and, best of all, catching up with friends from all around Australia and New Zealand.

I was disinclined to make swaps this year, as I have been feeling even more time-poor (and less organized) than I usually do .... and felt a bit overwhelmed by the fact that there will be close to 700 people attending Convention!!  However, I knew I'd regret it if I didn't take part in the process of swapping with other demonstrators, so I managed to make 50 swaps before leaving Melbourne.  I've gone with a simple (easily replicated) design, using a colour combo suggested by Stampin' Up!s Color Coach - and with a masculine theme, as I know a lot of people like ideas for male cards (and they're my favourite kind to make).  Here's my swap for this year:

 

Stamps: Blue Ribbon, Bring On The Cake, Netting, Candle Crazy Builder Wheel

Card: Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Marina Mist

DSP: Tangerine Tango Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso, Marina Mist stampin' pads

Other: Tasteful Trim XL Bigz die, 1 3/8" Circle punch, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, Bitty Banners framelits, sponge daubers

 

 

 

STAMPIN' UP! STIPPLED BLOSSOMS - CLASS CARDS PART 2

Welcome back to the second instalment in my two-part "series" of Stippled Blossoms cards, showing what we made in classes this month.

This card is my personal favourite, of all four we made - and it was a hit with my class attendees.  Stippled Blossoms works so well with a range of colours; and in neutrals, it's stunning.  Even though I designed this card as a sympathy card, I think it would work just as well as a wedding or engagement card, or even a 'get well' or 'thinking of you' card.

Stamps: Stippled Blossoms, Itty Bitties, Petite Pairs

Card: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake

Ink: Crumb Cake and Soft Suede stampin' pads

Other: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes circle punch, Designer Builder Brads, Stamp-a-ma-jig, 7/8" Cotton Ribbon

Lastly, we made a card in blues, using two retiring colours - Not Quite Navy, and Baja Breeze.

 

Stamps: Stippled Blossoms, Blooming With Kindness

Card: Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Baja Breeze

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze and Old Olive stampin' pads

Other: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Apothecary Accents framelits, Essentials Paper-Piercing pack, Stampin' Pierce Mat and Paper-Piercing tool, Lacy Brocade embossing folder, Silver Mini Brads, sponge dauber, Whisper White 1/4" stitched grosgrain ribbon, glue dots, stampin' dimensionals

 

 

 

STAMPIN' UP! STIPPLED BLOSSOMS - CLASS CARDS PART 1

This month I've run a couple of classes focussing on the beautiful Stippled Blossoms stamp set.  This two-step stamp set provides a real "wow" result, when you stamp the overlay image over the solid base image.

I am sharing with you today the first two cards we made in class.

The first card was inspired by the work of a German SU! demonstrator, Nadine - here is her card.  I love the tiny flags created with the Bitty Banners framelits.  My chosen colour scheme for this card is River Rock and Bravo Burgundy - two of the colours that will retire from Stampin' Up!'s range at the beginning of July.

 

 

Stamps: Stippled Blossoms, Bring on the Cake

Card: Very Vanilla River Rock, Bravo Burgundy

Ink: River Rock and Bravo Burgundy stampin' pads

Other: Bitty Banners Framelits, Scallop Edge border punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponge dauber

 

 

 

 

 

The next card we made was using the colour combo of Summer Starfruit and Basic Gray.  This card has a much less 'formal' look about it, and uses the smaller flower from the set.

 

 

 

 

Stamps: Stippled Blossoms, Perfect Punches

Card: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper

DSP: Summer Starfruit Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Summer Starfruit and Basic Gray stampin' pads, Versamark inkpad

Other: Pewter embossing powder, XL Oval punch, Bitty Butterfly and Elegant Butterfly punches, Borders Scoring Plate and Simply Scored tool, Neutrals brad, sponge daubers, Stamp-a-ma-jig, stampin' dimensionals

 

 

Tomorrow I'll post the other two cards we made in the Stippled Blossoms classes.  I hope I inspire you to get out this gorgeous stamp set (and buy it, if you don't own it already!), and have a play.

 

 

 



JAI #166 : A SHAVING FOAM, EASY EVENTS, COLOUR CHALLENGE!

This week at Just Add Ink, Delys has come up with an awesome colour combo for us to use on our cards/scrapbook pages:

I was tempted to make a masculine card with these colours, but am in need of "happy anniversary" cards at the moment, so decided to make a rather rustic-looking anniversary card.

Using the shaving foam technique, that I've latched on to a bit of late, I created a background panel with Lucky Limeade, Night of Navy (as I don't have Midnight Muse - must rectify that!) and Crumb Cake re-inkers. 

Stamps: Easy Events, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Card: Crumb Cake, Lucky Limeade, Midnight Muse, Whisper White

DSP: Print Poetry Designer Series Paper stack

Ink: Midnight Muse stampin' pad, Crumb Cake stampin' pad, marker and re-inker, Lucky Limeade stampin' pad, marker and re-inker, Night of Navy re-inker

Other: 2 1/2" Circle punch, Perfect Pennants Bigz die, Midnight Muse stitched satin ribbon, Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon, Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, sponge daubers, Stamp-a-ma-jig, glue dots, shaving foam

 

 

 

The rest of the Design Team at Just Add Ink have come up with some great creations for this colour challenge.  We'd love to have you play along with us!

 

 



FUSION #6: STAMPIN' UP!'S MORNING CUP

The card I have to share with you today was inspired by both the sketch and photo inspiration at Fusion Card Challenge:

I just love all those cute, bright, tea cups on a grey background - so pulled out my Morning Cup stamp set, embossed the stacked cups a few times with pewter embossing powder, and coloured them with markers in similar happy colours.

 

Stamps: Morning Cup, Friendly Phrases

Card: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Melon Mambo

DSP: Regal Rose Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Melon Mambo stampin' pad and marker, Regal Rose marker, Pumpkin Pie marker, Daffodil Delight marker

Other: Pewter embossing powder, Itty Bitty Shapes punch, Boho Blossoms punch, 1 3/4" Circle punch, Paper daisies, Basic Pearls, Finishing Touches edgelits, flag die (not SU!), sponge daubers, glue dots

STB #16: STAMPIN' UP!'S THE OPEN SEA

Thankfully, the challenges at Seize the Birthday have gone to a two-week format, rather than weekly ... for the past week and a half, I've been meaning to play along, and finally have some time free.  I'm enjoying my Mother's Day treat, of time in my craft room!

During the week I had some friends over for a stamping day, and I showed them how to make gorgeous patterns on card, using the shaving foam technique.  Judy chose a colour combo of Night of Navy, Pool Party and Crumb cake.  The end result looked quite 'nautical' to me; it lent itself perfectly to being used on a card with The Open Sea stamp set (a GREAT 'guy' set).

Here's the sketch, to be used to make a birthday card:

 

 

 

Because of the swirly detail on my 'shaving foam' panel, I've left my card rather un-embellished; it was difficult to not add brads or buttons, but I think it works, for a male card!

 

 

Stamps: The Open Sea, Perfectly Penned

Card: Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Pool Party Core'dinations

Ink: Crumb Cake stampin' pad and re-inker, Night of Navy stampin' pad and re-inker, Pool Party re-inker

Other: 2 1/2" Circle punch, sponge daubers, Argyle embossing folder, Crumb Cake tulle (retired), Blue denim ribbon, flag die (not SU!), shaving foam

 



JAI #165 : JUST ADD WOODGRAIN

This week at Just Add Ink, we're challenging you to add WOODGRAIN to your card, or papercraft project.  Maybe you have a stamp, some patterned paper, or an embossing folder that fits the bill.  We'd love to see what you come up with!

I've used my Woodgrain background stamp, from Stampin' Up!, and have gone to town with Gumball Green!   I did stamp the Woodgrain on the patterned paper, but it didn't show up (you might just have to take my word for that one).

Stamps: Woodgrain, Aviary, That's the Ticket

Card: Gumball Green, Whisper White, Basic Black

DSP: Print Poetry Designer Series Paper stack

Ink: Gumball Green stampin' pad, Jet Black Staz-On inkpad

Other: 2 1/2" Circle punch, Ticket Duo punch, Neutrals brads, Gumball Green stitched satin ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig, In Color Dahlia, Stampin' Distress tool, sponge dauber, glue dots

 

 

I must give credit to my friend Leanne, for suggesting I use a black sentiment ticket in the centre - doesn't it look fabulous?  I just love how it stands out.

 

 

Make sure you check out the rest of the samples created by the Design Team; there are some VERY cool ideas to inspire you!