Stepping Up Hugs from Shelli

I've always liked the style of stamps designed specifically by SU's co-founder, Shelli Gardner, so when her special Paper Pumpkin kit became available I couldn't resist.

For my first play I took the image that was shown to everyone and upscaled it a little - here's the basic card folks made at the SU events held in April:

As these notecards are the perfect size for layering on our A5 card, I "upsized" and added in a touch more pink along with some rose gold foil.

You may also notice the eggs in the nest stand out a little more - I coloured them with a white watercolour pencil. The die-cut flowers were super easy to pop out and attach and I also added one of the delightful bird charms (is that a swallow?) from the embellishments in the kit. I used more rose gold foil around my sentiment panel and added Dimensionals to everything for extra depth.

Given that I originally thought this brown card was the least attractive of the four designs in the pack, I rather like my finished product!

Materials used:

• Hugs from Shelli Paper Pumpkin kit
• card - petal pink, early espresso, rose gold foil
• other - mini glue dots, Dimensionals, watercolour pencils, aqua painter

For my second design I again took one of the notecards and made it a layer on a larger card.

The background pool party piece was spritzed with white shimmer mist before running it through the Big Shot with the subtle embossing folder, giving it a beautiful sheen as well as that lovely texture. The frame is new in-colour pretty peacock - isn't it gorgeous? This time I teamed the Paper Pumpkin elements with an image from complimentary stamp set Free as a Bird.

Materials used:

• Hugs from Shelli Paper Pumpkin kit
• stamps - Free as a Bird
• card - pool party, pretty peacock, whisper white, vellum
• other - stitched rectangle dies, Big Shot, subtle embossing folder, white shimmer mist, Stamparatus, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends - pool party, Bermuda bay, pineapple punch, pumpkin pie, soft sea foam

Again, in my third card, I've added some layers to dress up the kit contents, but it's still a simple and straightforward card. The sentiment is from Free as a Bird once more and don't you love the pink chenille cord? So soft and lovely.

Materials used:

• Hugs from Shelli Paper Pumpkin kit
• card - very vanilla, mossy meadow
• other - mini glue dots, Dimensionals, Lots of Labels framelits, sponge dauber

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Whale Hello There

Two nautical posts in one day! Can you tell I'm gearing up to be on the boat? Lol.

I've made another project to decorate our boat - and replace the *cough* 'artwork' that was left behind by the previous owners. I really wanted to (a) use a distress oxide background, and (b) try out a new stamp set bought a few weeks ago. The biggest stamp in the set is rather large (it's 15cm long and 8cm high), so I began with an A4 sized sheet of heavyweight watercolour paper then cut it down a little. The open edges of my Stamparatus came in very handy to fit this mammoth piece in!

There's still a frame to find for it, but here it is so far:

Materials used:

• stamps - Whale Nautical Series (Pink Ink Designs)
• card - basic black, 425gsm watercolour paper
• distress oxide inks - peacock feathers, mermaid lagoon, blueprint sketch, wilted violet (for the sea); tumbled glass, stormy sky, faded jeans, antique linen, tea dye (for the whales)
• other - blender tools, water spritzer, glitter epoxy dots, Stamparatus, sticky strip, clear embossing powder, heat tool

I stamped the whale images on the background piece and again on a separate sheet of watercolour paper using black craft ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. They're hand cut and attached using strong adhesive after I coloured them, again using DO inks. Using the thicker watercolour paper gives more strength to the background but also dimension to the stamped whales - they almost look like they're popping off the paper! I used more images from the set - the bubbles and swirls - on my background, added some glitter epoxy dots and sponged around the outside edges with night of navy ink.

I must admit I'm in two minds about the swirls - I think they make it a little more whimsical than I would have liked - but the space looked bare and unfinished without them, so...what are you gonna do?

Can't wait to see this hanging up in situ. Only 15 more sleeps until I leave!

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Setting Sail

This week for class we're doing a Shoebox Swap, something my ladies enjoy - as long as I don't ask them to do it too often, lol! In case you're not familiar with the concept, each person designs and makes a card, then cuts the materials for everyone else to make it and puts all the resources - stamps, inks, card, embellishments, punches, etc - into a box. Then at class we sit and work our way through all the boxes and end up with a host of cards to take home.

It's our last class before I head away and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a marine themed card and introduce them to some new product from the 2019-2020 annual catalogue at the same time. Here's my offering:

I've used a new stamp set, new in-colour inks and new designer series paper. Some background stamping and simple watercoloring make this a quick and easy card to put together.

Materials used:

• stamps - Sailing Home
• card - seaside spray, night of navy, watercolour, Come Sail Away DSP
• inks - seaside spray, night of navy, terracotta tile, soft suede, black StazOn
• other - jute twine, Dimensionals, mini glue dot, aqua painter, Stamparatus, stitched framelits, Big Shot

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Faux Retirement

It's the 14th, which means it's time for another Stampers Anonymous team blog hop!

This month we're featuring retiring products and I decided to showcase a set that's a bit of an 'unsung hero' - ie the stamps we often use on our backgrounds but aren't the focal point of our cards. Such a one is Timeless Textures. This is a set that will be staying on my shelves despite passing its 'use by date'; it is just too versatile and one I reach for often to add texture and interest to my backgrounds.

For my first card I've paired it with another retiring favourite, Dragonfly Dreams, as well as retiring in colours.

Here you can see how glittery the dragonfly is

Materials used:

• stamps - Timeless Textures, Dragonfly Dreams
• inks - lemon lime twist, grey granite, berry burst, tranquil tide
• card - lemon lime twist, whisper white
• other - sponge daubers, Big Shot, clear Wink of Stella, mini dimensionals, distress tool, Detailed Dragonfly tints dies

Keeping with the retiring in colours, my second card uses some sponging and the faux tile technique to create a gorgeously rich tapestry for my focal point. 

For this technique I like to use an ultra thick embossing enamel as it gives a deep, glossy texture that looks stunning in real life. In this second photo you get a hint of its shine and depth.

Materials used:

• stamps - Timeless Textures
• card - thick whisper white, powder pink, fresh fig
• inks - powder pink, berry burst, fresh fig, Versamark
• other - 1 3/8" circle punch, post-it notes, sponges, heat tool, UTEE, white gel pen

That's all from me! Click on the links to take you forward or back and have fun checking out what others on the team have to show you. Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

More of You

As we're going away soon, I tried to be really good about not getting too much new stuff in the pre-order we demonstrators are allowed from the upcoming annual catalogue. One stamp set I simply could not pass up, though, is Free as a Bird. Living in the Blue Mountains, we are visited by a huge variety of feathered friends on a daily basis, so these cute little guys were irresistible. There's some gorgeous designer series paper to go with the stamps and my very first card featuring 'new stuff' uses both of these products as well as a new punch.

Take a lookie:

Are they adorable or what? Why yes, Kerry (I hear you say), yes they are.

The branch going across the frame is a stamp from the set, the background is the DSP. And do you love the punch? Yeah, me too.

Materials used:

• stamps - Free as a Bird
• card - pool party, so saffron, whisper white, basic black, Bird Ballad DSP
• other - stitched framelits, Big Shot, subtle E/F, Stampin' Blends, Dimensionals, white embossing powder, heat tool, timeless label punch

I'll try to be back with more 'new stuff' soon (can't promise anything though), but coming up in a couple of days is our team's blog hop and there we're showcasing retiring products. That should give you plenty of ideas for last minute projects!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Rosy Relaxing

Our team challenge this month is to draw inspiration from the current Everything is Rosy product medley promotion.

I wanted to use the colours as my inspiration but was having trouble deciding on a stamp set and design until I woke this morning with the idea to brayer a beautiful sunrise. After that the rest just fell into place, except now I'm jealous of anyone relaxing in a warm tropical setting while here the weather cools more every day!

I kept the front simple and put my sentiment inside.

Materials used:

• stamps - Beach Happy
• card - whisper white, melon mambo, night of navy
• inks - night of navy, blushing bride, melon mambo
• other - Stamparatus, brayer, post-it notes, 2 1/2" circle punch, sponge dauber, stitched framelits, Big Shot, mounting tape, night of navy marker, washi tape

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Prepping for Boat Life

At the beginning of June I'm heading off to spend the European summer on the boat. Naturally, I can't not craft in all that time, no matter how busy I'll be exploring new places and catching up with DD27 and her partner in the UK, so I'm having to be (a) selective and (b) creative in deciding what craft stuff will go with me (sadly, I can't take everything). With limited space aboard, where and how things will be stored of course becomes very important and it was with those constraints in mind that I asked Santa for a Big Shot Foldable die cutting machine. Luckily, the big guy came through:

Cute, huh? I know it's a heavy thing to have to cart over in my luggage allowance, but I couldn't find it available for purchase over there, so... Anyway, I love how it takes up much less space than the regular one, but is still full width.

I've also been doing a bit of organising this morning with embellishments and SU's copper tins have come in very handy indeed:

Small and compact, check. Lids to stop things falling out easily with movement of the boat, check check. Labels so I know what's in there, check check check. 

Now to sort out stamps and dies and inks and tools and...oh my! (Lucky for me SU has a presence in the EU and I can order anything I leave behind!)

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great creative day.

Cheers

Kez

Boxed Set

In class this week we'll be making a boxed set of cards; this makes a terrific gift to give, or - if you can't bear to part with it - a gift for yourself! Nothing wrong at all with giving yourself gorgeous things.

The design is pretty much a case of a lovely card by Jackie Bolhuis though I did make some minor cosmetic changes. Thanks for such wonderful inspiration, Jackie!

Here's the box all wrapped up

 

And the cards

We'll also decorate the inserts

Plus a touch of lovely on the envelopes

Materials used:

• Abstract Impressions, Timeless Textures, Forever Lovely, Painted Glass, Eastern Beauty
• card - crumb cake, basic black, whisper white
• ink combos - flirty flamingo and balmy blue; highland heather and mango melody; calypso coral and daffodil delight; lovely lipstick and blushing bride; daffodil delight and coastal cabana
• other - pretty label punch, linen thread, white embossing powder, heat tool

If you're inspired to make your own, here's a link to Jackie's blog post where she has a 'how to' video. Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Exotic Torture

As you guys know, I don't often do lots of bright, vibrant colours. Not that I don't love them, I do - well, certainly Bermuda bay (which I've used today) is one of my favourites - but it's rare that I combine a bunch of them together. However, today's card breaks the bank on that scheme.

It all began yesterday when I was browsing one of my fav craft sites and saw Graphic 45's new Kaleidoscope papers. Here's a sample to show you:

See what I mean? Very vibrant, very in-your-face, and they obviously stuck in my mind because this morning when I woke, I had a design idea in my head to use these colours and the Eastern Beauty bundle (which almost had cobwebs on it, lol). Much as I tried to push the idea away - because lord knows I've got tons of other things to put my mind to - it persisted front and centre until finally I knew there was nothing for it but to give in and see if my idea would work. Well, it didn't, not the first time anyway, but I vowed to give it a second shot and if that came to nothing I'd know I'd tried and put it behind me.

So, here's my card. Very outside my comfort zone, very so-not-me, and no doubt for some of you, it won't be your thing either, but it got the itch out and it will appeal to someone (cross fingers!).

Materials used:

• stamps - Eastern Beauty
• card - Bermuda bay, basic black, melon mambo
• other - rhinestones, Eastern Medallions dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, melon mambo embossing powder, heat tool, orange tinsel embossing powder (Ranger), pumpkin pie satin ribbon (long retired), embossing buddy, Versamark ink

The orange embossing powder, being tinsel (glitter by any other name), goes everywhere, no matter how much I rubbed with chalk dust (embossing buddy) beforehand!

If you love it, please let me know - it will sure help me feel less unsure about trying things outside my box again. If you hate it, please keep that to yourself!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Best Laid Plans

I have got to stop leaving the making of my class cards until the last minute...and by last minute I mean less than the time it takes to order more materials from SU that I've just discovered I don't have enough of, especially in a short week. Ho hum. Ah well, that's what emergency substitutions are for, right? So you have to imagine the green in today's card is granny apple green (which I had planned to use but discovered I'd run out of) rather than cucumber crush (which I had to substitute for, despite it being retired, because I had plenty on hand and it was similar enough in tone). M'kay? Cool.

With many of my ladies needing cards suitable for the men in their lives, we're using another retiring set and semi, sort-of CASEing a card by Kimberly van Diepen. I know a couple of the hubbies/sons/sons-in-law are into motorbikes, so hopefully this will be right up their alley.

Materials used:

• stamps - One Wild Ride
• card - cucumber crush, whisper white, basic black, black glimmer, retired DSP
• other - layering circles dies, Big Shot, Stamparatus, Dimensionals, basic black marker

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Hello Beautiful

Over at the Clean and Simple on Sunday blog the challenge theme for this week is butterflies and I found myself unable to resist making a card for it. Here's my offering:

Materials used:

• stamps - Butterfly Gala (SU), Climbing Roses (SU), Leafy Vines (Hero Arts)
• card - whisper white
• distress oxide inks - squeezed lemonade, abandoned coral, cracked pistachio, peacock feathers
• other - butterfly duet punch (SU), clear Wink of Stella, mounting tape, white embossing powder, heat tool, Versamark ink, Stamparatus, blending tools

Aren't these colours gorgeous together? The butterfly is sooo shimmery too, after I slathered it with Wink of Stella! Love that stuff.

Well, thanks for calling in. Have a beautiful day.

Cheers

Kez

Goodbye Again

It's always sad once Stampin' Up's retiring lists come out and we have to say goodbye to some of our favourite stamps and accessories. Some I miss for a short period of time and some stay with me - quite literally - for many years.

Amongst my favourite retiring stuff this year are some of the products I've used for this card:

This project was inspired by two others and I had a lot of fun combining the elements of each that I loved, while adding a touch of 'new' in there as well.

Materials used:

• stamps - Dragonfly Dreams, Climbing Roses
• card - very vanilla, soft sky, Sahara sand, watercolour, Delightfully Detailed laser-cut speciality paper
• inks - early espresso, soft sky, so saffron, soft sea foam
• other - aqua painter, clear Wink of Stella, markers, large letter dies, Big Shot, hexagon embossing folder, Dimensionals

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kez

Waving Hello

It's time for another Stampers Anonymous team blog hop and this month we have a sketch to play with.

Here's my card:

For the background I drew some wavy lines on a sheet of acetate then cut them out to make a template, which I used with sponge daubers and pool party, coastal cabana and Bermuda bay inks. The first time I tried it I used regular sponges but wasn't happy with the result, so switched to daubers. The octopus was stamped in Pacific point then sponged randomly with gorgeous grape to add a bit of depth. Gorgeous grape was used again for the weeds on the vellum piece. The inside of the stitched frame piece is raised up with Dimensionals. The very subtle sentiment was stamped with Versamark and embossed in white. The glitter epoxy shapes which were the finishing touch are no longer sold (my bad) but they were so perfect for the card I couldn't resist using them.

Materials used:

• stamps - Sea of Textures, Itty Bitty Greetings
• card - whisper white, vellum
• inks - pool party, coastal cabana, Bermuda bay, Pacific point, gorgeous grape, Versamark
• other - acetate template, sponge daubers, white embossing powder, heat tool, washi tape, Dimensionals, mini dimensionals, Big Shot, stitched rectangle framelits, under the sea framelits, clear and glitter epoxy shapes, tweezers, Stamparatus

Now move on to see what delights the rest of the team have for you. Kristy is up next!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

 

Hey, Chick

So I was wandering the craft aisles in Spotlight the other day (as you do) and spied some bright and cheerful core'dinations card that instantly made me think, Easter basket. Well, naturally, I couldn't walk away from that, now could I? You know me so well! Of course, having bought it, the dilemma was what style of project to make and in the end I went with a bag in a box handbag, adding a no-line watercoloured image. Here's how it turned out:

Simple but cute, yeah? Let's hope my ladies enjoy making it in class this week.


Materials used:

• stamps - Little Cuties
• card - daffodil delight, grapefruit grove, watercolour, core'dinations Yellow Small Dot (non SU)
• other - 1 3/4" circle punch, layering circle framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals, aqua painter, Gingham Gala sequins, markers, sticky strip

Well, thanks for calling in.


Cheers
Kez

What the heck happened...

...to March?

When people used to say 'the older you get, the faster time passes' I'd think, "What a load of piffle!" Now I know it's so, so true, and that's...well, it's scary, is what it is.

This month I became an 'empty nester'. Not before time, I know; heck, we were really lucky to have our younger daughter still living at home while she did her first three years at uni. But a couple of weeks ago I went with her to Auckland, New Zealand, where she's continuing her educational journey with a master's degree and now it's just me at home. Well, me and her cat (who'll be moving to NZ too soon) and the chickens. But they don't talk much. Hubby's been away for a month but he'll be back this weekend, so we'll be Darby and Joan, lol. It'll be 28 years since it's just been the two of us - now that's going to take some getting used to!

Any-who, life goes on, as they say, and this week I've got my regular class with my lovely ladies. As the Sale-a-bration promotion is about to end, we'll be playing with a few SAB stamp sets, some of which haven't seen much action. Here are the cards we'll be making.

Materials used:

• stamps - So Hoppy Together, Itty Bitty Greetings
• card - granny apple green, basic black, whisper white, Botanical Butterfly DSP
• other - googly eyes, Dimensionals, Stamparatus, Stampin' Blends

This one is a bit of a simplified CASE of a card by Nadine Weiner. I couldn't resist adding the googly eyes cos in my opinion they really make these cute little guys irresistable. 

Our second card is a peekaboo, inspired by a Tammy Beard creation. There's clear acetate in the 'window' for the glass cloche.

Materials used:

• stamps - Hello Cupcake
• card - whisper white, balmy blue, lemon lime twist, Gingham Gala DSP, acetate
• other - Big Shot, Call Me Cupcake framelits, organdy ribbon combo pack, mini glue dots, Stamparatus

And lastly a card sort-of cased from Nikki Spencer, using the aptly named Lovely Lattice stamp set.

Materials used:

• stamps - Lovely Lattice
• card - whisper white, basic black, powder pink, watercolour, Botanical Butterfly DSP, poppy parade
• inks - powder pink, poppy parade, granny apple green, craft black
• other - aqua painter, Dimensionals, Big Shot, Well Written thinlits, markers, scissors, clear embossing powder, heat tool, embossing buddy

All that colouring should keep my ladies busy!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez