Thinking Stamping: May 2023

Wednesday 24 May 2023

Gorgeously Made for Colour INKspiration 144

Welcome to the latest challenge at Colour INKspiration! This sweet confection of a palette was chosen for us by Crew Member Monica Formosa.

If you haven't played with us before, we are a group of Stampin' Up Demonstrators from the South Pacific. Challenges are shown and entered via our Facebook Group page. If you don't belong, and would like to, click here. Don't forget to answer the three easy questions you'll be asked when you ask to join the group.

Each challenge, Top Picks and a winner are chosen by the crew and the winner offered a chance to Guest Design with us for a future challenge.

If you don't have an exact challenge colour, feel free to replace it with whatever you have that's closest, for example Granny Apple Green for Parakeet Party. Black, White, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand and metallics are free colours, as are flesh toned Stampin' Blends.

I found this colour group a challenging one. Fortunately, I'd just cracked open a new bundle from the 2023-24 Annual Catalogue, Gorgeously Made. This eclectic set lends itself to a multi-colour treatment. Although it comes with the most fantastic DSP, you can of course, use any colours you want with the stamp set.

I made two versions because I couldn't decide which I preferred: the Lemon Lolly foliage or the Crushed Curry. Which do you prefer?

One of the many things I like about this set is how much impact, and variety, you can get with just stamps, inks, paper and some die cuts.

You can see more about this bundle, get some tips on stamping and see how I made this card in the tutorial below. I also share how to make this lovely decorative edge.

We'd love to have you join in the challenge with us. Visit the Colour INKspiration page to check out the album of Crew Cards for inspiration. You can also add your entry there. We all enjoy seeing what you do with our colour palettes, so join in!

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the Contact Me tab at the top of the page.

You can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking here, or on any of the products below.

Product List

Gorgeously Made Bundle (English)

[161203]

$107.00

Azure Afternoon A4 Cardstock

[161728]

$21.00

Lemon Lolly A4 Cardstock

[161729]

$21.00

Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry

[131288]

$21.00

Bubble Bath A4 Cardstock

[161727]

$21.00

Parakeet Party A4 Cardstock

[159260]

$21.00

Basic White A4 Cardstock

[159228]

$22.25

Azure Afternoon Classic Stampin' Pad

[161663]

$19.00

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad

[147087]

$19.00

Parakeet Party Classic Stampin' Pad

[159208]

$19.00

Adhesive Backed Solid Gems

[161300]

$17.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$9.00

Friday 19 May 2023

Dainty Delight for AYSI 299

Welcome to the latest challenge at As You See It. It's time again for the Recipe Challenge: what can you cook up using all five of our mystery ingredients?

So? What to do with a frame, a bow, a die cut, flowers and shades of blue? Well, it was time to play with some new things and try them out with some older things. Can you see what's new and what was already in the stash?

I started by watercolouring some Fluid100 paper with Azure Afternoon, Boho Blue and Misty Moonlight. (three new colours right there! )From that, I cut some flowers using the Dainty Delight dies (already in the stash). The stems and leaves were cut from Night of Navy. That ticked off three of the ingredients: shades of blue, flowers and die cut,

The frame was cut using the two largest squares in Stylish Shapes (a staple ingredient in my craft room 😀). So, another die cut. The sentiment and the label are from Timeless Arrangements, a new but not yet explored, new bundle. It's stamped in Azure Afternoon.

I added the double bow to accentuate the sentiment. The card front is embossed using a new folder - Exposed Brick 3D. So now, with the frame and the bow, all ingredients have been used.

We'd love to see what you can come up with using these five items. Pop over to the As You See It page to see what the rest of the team have done and to link up your own entry.

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products.

You can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by visiting my online store or by clicking on any of the items below.

Product List

Dainty Delight Dies

[160674]

$76.00

Timeless Arrangements Bundle (English)

[161526]

$114.25

Azure Afternoon A4 Cardstock

[161728]

$21.00

Basic White A4 Cardstock

[159228]

$22.25

Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock

[106577]

$21.00

Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper

[149612]

$19.00

Azure Afternoon Classic Stampin' Pad

[161663]

$19.00

Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin' Pad

[153118]

$19.00

Boho Blue Classic Stampin' Pad

[161650]

$19.00

Stylish Shapes Dies

[159183]

$63.00

Exposed Brick 3 D Embossing Folder

[161600]

$23.25

Water Painters

[151298]

$28.00

Baker's Twine Essentials Pack

[155475]

$23.25

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

[144220]

$12.75

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$9.00

Wednesday 17 May 2023

A First Date with Earthen Textures

I treated myself yesterday by cracking open one of the new bundles I ordered from the 2023-2024 Annual Catalogue, Earthen Textures. I was attracted by the gorgeous pots and foliage, the interesting font of the sentiments and the extra baubles in the matching dies.

Although it's part of a suite and so has fabulous paper to tie in with it, for my first date I chose to use only the bundle. The video below shares with you my first impressions of the bundle and my very first project made with it. As an added bonus, I've used three of the new In-Colors: Pebbled Path, Copper Clay and Wild Wheat.

If you've never masked to create layers of stamping before, make sure you watch this video as there's a segment on how to do that.

So, make yourself a coffee and enjoy!

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products.

You can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by visiting my online store.

Happy Stamping!

Wednesday 10 May 2023

Sweet Citrus for Around the World on Wednesday

It's already time for another Inspiration Hop with Around the World on Wednesday. On the second Wednesday of each month, the team put together a thematic hop to give you some inspiration for your own crafting. We love it when you try out something new or CAS(E) one of our projects. The team is truly international, with members from each time zone of the world that Stampin' Up! operates. You're with me, in New Zealand - the first place in the Stampin' Up! world to change the date. 😀

This month, our inspiration is this sketch.

I like a sketch for inspiration as it's great to have a starting point. What I saw here was a strong vertical along the first third of the card front, something different on each side of it and a sentiment placed in the bottom half centre to right side.

I was very late to the Sweet Citrus party, having only acquired it in the latest box of Stampin' Up! supplies. This is my first go round with it and when I saw how the beautiful 3D impression the hybrid embossing folder makes on the fruit, I'm sorry not to have got it sooner!

I started my experiment by stamping our the fruit stamp (they're all on the same stamp) firstly in Daffodil Delight and then two-stepped with Lemon Lolly, then a second set in Granny Apple Green two-stepped with Lemon-Lime Twist. These I die cut and embossed to try out all the bits of the bundle. I was sold on them - the fruit looks so real!

The leaves were stamped in Garden Green and having two dies for them speeded up the process.

I much prefer texture to pattern, so for the two section of the card front, I tried out another new acquisition: the Basics Embossing Folders trio from the On Line Exclusives. One pack, three folders and I used two of them here. The On Line Exclusives products are varied and gorgeous but you won't find them in any catalogue, only in the On Line store. You can see them here. They're well worth a look. You can buy them online or with an order form just like any other catalogue product. Ask your demonstrator if you're unsure.

What will you do with this sketch? Hop on the wonderful Leonie Stuart and see what she has done with it.

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the Contact Me tab at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar or on any of the products below.

If you get lost in the hop, or want to re-visit someone, here's a list of the participants for you.

Jan Clothier - NZ - You are here

Leonie Stuart - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Cheryll Miller - AU

Melissa Gifford - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Ximena Morales - DE

Aurélie Fabre - FR

Mikaela Titheridge - UK

Annette Ball - CA

Wendy Lee - US