Sunday 31 March 2019

Fab Friday plus TGIF Bonus

A few weeks ago, I watched a video by Jennifer McGuire showing her pop-up shadow box card. I was very keen to try it and the challenges at Fab Friday and TGIF gave me the perfect inspiration.

TGIF have a celebratory balloon challenge, while Fab Friday have a lovely summer colour challenge.


For balloons, it's hard to go past Balloon Celebration. The two sizes of balloon in the set help to give a sense of distance, with the smaller ones at the rear. I sponged clouds onto the back panel of the card with a cloud mask and Bermuda Bay ink. I used Stitched Rectangle dies to create the window.
The lovely 'Hooray' balloons come from Happy Birthday Gorgeous. They also work with the Balloon Bouquet punch.


There are balloons in three planes: the back wall of the card, on the frame and one attached to acetate in the middle ground. (That was the best little tip in Jennifer McGuire's tutorial.)


Best of all, this 3-D card folds flat to fit in an envelope.

UPDATE: Delighted to be the FAB FAVE at Fab Friday!

If you live anywhere in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up demonstrator, I'd love to be yours and 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 any of the products pictured below or the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar of this blog or you can message me.

Product List

Friday 29 March 2019

As You See It 197 - Design Team Card

Welcome to a new challenge at As You See It! This week, we have a great sketch for you. I'm sure you'll see the many possibilities. If you visit the As You See It blog, you'll see the super examples that the rest of the ream have done.


As this challenge begins, it's the final few days of Sale-a-bration - your chance to earn fabulous freebies with qualifying orders, which is a great way to make your crafting money go further. So my card uses a number of Sale-a-bration freebies: The Botanical Butterflies DSP, the organdy ribbon combo pack and the Butterfly Elements embellishments.


In fact, I got so carried away with the sketch that I made a whole set of cards using the design. The SAB ribbon pack has five colours in it, so I made one of each colour.


I've CAS-ed an idea from the ever-amazing Paula Dobson. She made some cards where she coloured in the negative space on the black and white butterfly paper. This was an idea I completely loved and have used for these cards. The Stampin' Blends make this so very easy.


The sentiments come from Itty Bitty Birthday and, for the thank you, from Detailed with Love.
The lacy edge is from the Doily Builder thinlit set, a real honey of a set which is set to sell out soon so if you want some - get in quick!

You can play along with us until Wednesday 10 April, 11.55 p.m. PST. We'd love to see what you do with the sketch!

If you live anywhere in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up demonstrator, I'd love to be yours and 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 any of the products pictured below or the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar of this blog or you can message me.

Product List (for the Granny Apple Green card)

Wednesday 27 March 2019

Colour Inkspiration 52 - Crew Card



Time's really flown and it's already time for a new challenge at Colour Inkspiration. If you haven't played with us before, we're a group of Australian and New Zealand Stampin' Up demonstrators. You can play with us by joining in our Facebook group here which will let you play along, comment and vote for your favourite from the top 5 selected by the crew.

Here's the combination for this fortnight: Early Espresso, Granny Apple Green, Soft Sea Foam and Whisper White. Doesn't it look delicious?


Next month, my classes will be playing around with shaving foam so since all the gear was out, I made a background using shaving foam mixed with Granny Apple Green and Soft Sea Foam re-inkers. I liked the freshness and sense of movement in the piece so that lead me along to Enjoy Life, one of the sets from the 2018 Annual Catalogue. I find it's great for masculine cards - although there are pretty feminine options too.


Helpful hint: Stamparatus comes in handy when stamping silhouettes because you can re-stamp with accuracy if the coverage is a bit patchy.

You can see the lovely sense of movement in the background in this close-up. You can also see how the stitched rectangle dies really add a touch of class to an element, without stealing the show from the focal point.

The Subtle embossing folder adds another touch of texture to the card in a ...  well, subtle way, too.


I'd love to see what you make with these awesome colours.

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 any of the products pictured below or the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar of this blog or you can message me.


Next on the hop is the fabulous Rachel Palmieri who has some pretty plants for you to admire.




Product List