Thinking Stamping: Alphabest

Saturday, 19 November 2022

A trip to Paris for AYSI 288

It's theme week this week at As You See It and we're asking you to think vacation activities - or holiday activity as we'd say here in New Zealand.

We like to travel and sightsee on our holidays. I have a backlog of scrapbooking opportunities as a result so I got out this picture from our trip to France in 2019, just before the world went mad.

We arrived in Paris at 7am in the morning, and realised it was almost exactly 24 hours since we'd left our house, although according to our calendars we'd arrived the day before we left! Tired as we were, we dropped our bags at the hotel - after a hair-raising introduction to Parisian driving - and walked along the river bank down to the Eiffel Tower. Then we knew for sure that we'd arrived and I took this photo from almost underneath it!

When I'm scrapbooking, my desk is even messier than usual as I often draw from many different sets and use different tools. This is no exception!

I started with the Artistic Mix Decorative Masks to create a ground. I chose the trellis to echo the grid work of the tower. I used a blending brush with Mossy Meadow, chosen to go with the green foliage in the photo,

I used Crumb Cake as it was the closest match to the colour of the tower. I used the splatter stamp from Forever Fern and the Parisian postmark stamp from Ranunculus Romance to build the background.

The 'bonjour' I created with the Alphabest set, then used the stamps and punch to create the 'Paris'. For the title, I also punched the same shape in Distressed Gold Specialty DSP to create a highlight. The ribbon backing it is the Natural Finish 2.2cm ribbon that is part of the Abigail Rose suite.

I had some narrow strips of Distressed Gold DSP on my desk from classes earlier in the month and added them in to add the sense of strong vertical, along with metal work and age.

Once I'd laid it all out, the white title needed some balancing, so I added in the postmark in Mossy Meadow and coloured with Crumb Cake in the opposite corner. I used one of the banner dies from Stylish Shapes to create the stitched detail.

So, as you see, scrapbooking - at least mine - is an eclectic mixture!

You can see what the rest of the team have done and link up your own entry at the As You See It page.

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.

Product List

Alphabest Bundle

[158886]

$69.25

Ranunculus Romance Cling Stamp Set (English)

[157968]

$49.00

Forever Fern Cling Stamp Set (English)

[152559]

$51.00

Basic White 12 X12 (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Cardstock

[159231]

$17.50

Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock

[133683]

$19.50

Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock

[121685]

$19.50

Distressed Gold 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper

[159237]

$10.50

Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad

[147111]

$17.00

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad

[147116]

$17.00

Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154882]

$19.00

Artistic Mix Decorative Masks

[159178]

$21.00

Blending Brushes

[153611]

$26.25

Stylish Shapes Dies

[159183]

$63.00

Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels

[151193]

$12.75

Natural Finish 7/8" (2.2 Cm) Ribbon

[159051]

$18.00

Friday, 26 August 2022

Butterfly Brilliance et al for AYSI 282

Welcome to the latest challenge at As You See It and after recipe week, it's always theme week. I hope you like this theme because I chose it way back in January when I was in the first flush of being a first-time Grandma!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how to best build your stamp collection when you first start out. I always advise people to look for something 'versatile'. This is something you often hear but what does it actually mean? I think it means looking for images that could easily be used for different occasions by changing up the colours and/or the sentiment. For that reason, I often suggest that a good first or second set is something floral, foliage or butterflies and a set with a variety occasions in the sentiment.

So, although I have a couple of excellent baby specific sets, I set out to make something without using them to illustrate the point. 😀

I used the Butterfly Brilliance set and coordinating Brilliant Wings dies. Instead of a sentiment set, I used something similar. I used the new Alphabest bundle, which lets you create your own wording. The 'hello' is from a set in my stash, Forever Fern.

Since I was making baby cards, I stuck with pastel colours, one each of So Saffron, Pool Party and Blushing Bride. You could choose whatever colour you like with this layout.

You can see how I made these cards in this video.

You can see what the rest of the team did with these ingredients and link up your own entry at the As You See It Challenge page. We'd love to see what you do with this theme!

Product List