Friday 30 March 2018

Just Add Ink 402

I'm feeling some relief today. Not only is it the start of the long weekend but my swaps are made for On Stage (my first one), my classes for April are planned and almost ready and all my Design Team cards are up to date - even ahead. And the sun is shining and we're doing well on the first day of the cricket test against England!

So when I saw the new challenge at Just Add Ink today, I was delighted to be able to play.


Beautiful Bouquet was the first thing I wanted from last year's catalogue and yet I've not used it as much as I thought I would. So today, I decided that it was time to give it some action. I'd also seen today a technique that I hadn't seen before on this card, which was edge stencilling. So I thought I'd have a try at it for this challenge.




Copper foil made a good accent for Fresh Fig, where it is not only a mat but is in the flower centres and in some of the foliage of the bouquet. I embossed the centres with an retired embossing folder that I cannot remember the name of but I like the way it's just added a touch of texture to them.




There are so many elements in the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set and Beautiful Bunch dies that you could create hundreds of different looks. I like using the flower centre stamp as a kind of fluffy blossom background element. The tiny blossoms stamp works just like gypsophila does in a flower arrangement - great for filling the gaps. So I'm not sorry I got this set. I just need to remember to use it more frequently!

Will it make the 2018 catalogue? Watch out for the retiring list when it comes out later in April.

Update: Delighted to pick up the win at Just Add Ink.

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Thursday 29 March 2018

Freshly Made Sketches 330

This morning I saw the new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches and I liked it.


It drew me back, yet again, to my favourite set from the Occasions Catalogue - Petal Palette.


I coloured the image using Stampin' Blends and experimented with using both shades of both Pink Pirouette and Rich Razzleberry to get variations in the three blooms. I stamped it twice and fussy cut the largest bloom and popped it up to add even more dimension.


I used the blends to colour up two small pearls for the sentiment label.

I can't help myself - I can't get enough of this set!

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Tuesday 27 March 2018

Retro Rubber 83 - Design Team Card


This week at Retro Rubber Challenge, we have an always popular challenge: Anything Goes As Long As You Use Stamps Older Than A Year. Also, don't forget to tell us how old your stamp is (approximate age is fine),


For this challenge, I thought I'd pay some respect to my first ever stamp set, Flower Shop. In my first order ever was this set plus one that is now retired, By The Seashore. I can still remember the excitement of receiving my first order, although to be honest, I always feel a little excitement when the courier comes up the driveway! Anyway, Flower Shop first appeared in the 2014-14 Annual Catalogue and is still current. I wonder if it will make the cut into the new catalogue?


I started by stamping one of the floral images from Flower Shop in black on white, then cut a square from it. I also gold embossed one of the same image, which is popped up on a dimensional over one of the black images.


The gold embossed sentiment is from Big On Birthdays, which also just qualifies as an aged stamp as it first appeared in January 2017. The black layer is embossed with the Pinewood Planks textured impressions folder.

If you live anywhere in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up demonstrator, I'd love to help you with ideas and Stampin' Up products. Sale-a-bration drawing to a close but you can still earn free items with qualifying orders. Please message me through my Facebook page, linked in the sidebar of this blog or leave a comment below if you'd like to know more.

If you live in New Zealand and you would like to join my Stampin' Up team, message me for a chat. And, of course, you can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking the SHOP NOW icon in the sidebar or from my Facebook page.

Inspiration for the layout came from Fab Friday's latest challenge and you can still play with them until March 29.


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Sunday 25 March 2018

The Paper Players 386 - Design Team Card

What a gorgeous rainbow selection we had last week at The Paper Players! Such clever ideas from so many people!

This week, Claire has a sketch for us. It was a challenge to me because I like things very clean and simple so the thought of so many layers was a bit scary for me. However, I really enjoyed the challenge although I suppose part of that was the pleasure of playing with newly arrived supplies!


So yes, there's me late to the party again. I ummed and ahhed about the Truly Tailored suite for far too long but it arrived recently and I enjoyed breaking it out for Claire's challenge.


I was surprised by the versatility and co-ordination of the papers. The little bow-tie stamp that I added in to the sentiment is a charmer too, in my opinion.


I loved working with Claire's sketch and I hope that you will too. We'd love to see what you do with it. Here's a reminder of the rules.
  1. Create a NEW paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
  2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
  3. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
  4. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, total. Entries linked to more than 4 challenges, including ours, will be deleted without notification.
  5. Have fun!
Pop over to The Paper Players to see the creations of the rest of the Design Team.

If you live anywhere in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up demonstrator, I'd love to help you with ideas and Stampin' Up products. Please message me through my Facebook page, linked in the sidebar of this blog or leave a comment below. 

And, of course, you can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar of this blog

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