Thoughtful Wishes for AYSI 335

 The recipe challenge is one of my favourites in the As You See It schedule. Sometimes it's just nice to be given a starting point to create with, then let it roll and see where it goes. This time, our five 'ingredients' are quite opulent - the caviar and lobster of the craft room!

To join in the challenge with us, just create something that included metallics, textured embossing, a 'thinking of you' sentiment, a tag and use warm tones. 

Here's what I came up with.

I chose a square format for a change. I cut one of the tags from the Something Fancy dies in Very Vanilla and a shadow from Mossy Meadow.

I stamped the little flowers stamp  from Thoughtful Wishes in Blackberry Bliss then coloured it with Peach Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends. I added in some splatters in Blackberry Bliss.

After gluing the tags together in the desired position, I added in a bow of Linen Thread, one of my very favourite SU products of all time!

The die cut flowers and foliage were cut with the Thoughtful Wishes dies in Peach Pie, Copper Clay, Mossy Meadow and Blackberry Bliss. The card base is Blackberry Bliss.

The sentiment is  stamped in Blackberry Bliss on Very Vanilla and cut with a die from Everyday Details.

However, the thing I enjoyed playing around with the most was the card front.  I started by embossing a piece of Very Vanilla with the Distressed Tile 3D embossing folder - another favourite of mine. Then I applied some Copper Enamel Effects from the Metallics Enamel Effects Basics, using a dry Water Painter.  I love how this came out, with the richness of the copper picking out the embossed pattern, rather like a Victorian pressed tin ceiling. I'm keen to try this with the gold next time. 

The finishing touch was the addition of three Regal Foiled Dots. I picked Blackberry Bliss ones, each with flecks of gold foil - beautiful!

The team and I would love to see what you can cook up with this selection of deluxe ingredients. Visit the As You See It page to see what the rest of the team have done and to link up your entry. You can join in the challenge until Wednesday November 6, 11.59pm PST.

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 here.

Layered Florals for AYSI 334

The latest challenge at As You See It is our 'fill in the blank' challenge. Team member Deborah is asking us to think about our favourite crafting item.

Well, that's a bit like asking which is your favourite child! I have many favourite crafting items. But when I really thought it through, one thing that I use almost every time is an EMBOSSING FOLDER. I love texture and will always look to add it to a design. I'm way more likely to use a folder than to use patterned paper. (Speed Challenges excluded!)

Usually I like an embossing folder because they tend to be subtle. They add interest without dominating or crowding the focal point. However, to celebrate the Embossing Folder and to honour my favourite craft item, I created this card and let the folder be the star. ☆

While there are also many interesting techniques you can use with an embossing folder, I've kept it pretty simple. This is because the Layered Florals 3D Embossing folder really isn't a subtle one. The impressions are really deep and therefore stand proud. 

I embossed a piece of Gold Foil, then gently swiped Jet Black Stazon Ink over the top before cutting it into three strips. 

Then I used a second (more subtle) embossing folder - the cross hatch pattern from the Basics 3D Embossing Folder set -  on a piece of Basic Black card. I mounted the three foil strips on it before attaching it to the Basic Black card base. 

The sentiment is from Something Fancy stamped in Tuxedo Black. The white circle is from the Everyday Details die set while the black circle is from Spotlight on Nature.  I like that mixing and matching die sets gives more options. There's a plain Gold Foil circle under the white one so that the gold peeps through. 

The bow is from the retired Elegant Trim combo. If you don't have any of this in your stash, there's a very similar gold cord coming up in next month's new Online Exclusives  you could keep an eye out for. 

Since I had a black/white/gold theme going on, I added three Brushed Brass Butterflies. It only seemed right for the garden of flowers to have butterflies. 😀

The team and I would love to read all about your favourite craft item - items. Visit the As You See It page to see what the rest of the team have done and to link up your entry. You can join in the challenge until Wednesday October 23, 11.59pm PST.

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 here.

Notes of Nature for AYSI 316

Welcome to the latest challenge at As You See It! This time, it's our 'fill in the blank' which always comes straight after a colour challenge. With the new January-April Mini Catalogue just out, I'm sure there's plenty of candidates for this one!

I did indeed have many candidates, but there were two items that were still in the packaging from my demonstrator pre-order box. They were the Mini Alphabet Dies and the brayer. It was the brayer that caught my eye and experimentation began!

In the past, I've had trouble getting a result I was happy with when I attempted to ink up my embossing folders. When I tried it with the brayer, I was much happier with the outcome.

I started by inking all over with Soft Sea Foam, then added in some random swipes with Lost Lagoon, put it all through the machine and this is what turned out. So then it was a question of turning it into something!

I didn't want to obscure the patterning too much, so went  for a cluster of die cuts from Notes of Nature. When I tested out a few options for the colour pop, Wild Wheat was certainly the outside chance but I just kept coming back to it - so here it is!

My brayer experiments are certainly not over but I'm pretty happy with day 1. 😀

Don't forget to pop over to the As You See It page to see what the rest of the Design 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 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. 

You can earn free gifts while you shop with me:

• During the month of February, you can earn Sale-a-Bration rewards. Choose your own gift from the Sale-a-Bration brochure for each $110 spent in a single order (ex postage).
• Buy the Gorgeous Garden dies and you'll receive a Join in with Joanne and Jan tutorial package containing four unique tutorials: two from me and two from Joanne James aka The Crafty Owl.

• Spend over $90 in a single order, and I'll send you the latest Creativity Abounds tutorial PDF containing 13 tutorials on a birthday theme.

Product List

Notes Of Nature Bundle (English)

[162640]

$99.00

Distressed Tile 3 D Embossing Folder

[162189]

$20.00

Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock

[133686]

$21.00

Soft Sea Foam A4 Cardstock

[147012]

$21.00

Wild Wheat A4 Cardstock

[161734]

$21.00

Basic White A4 Cardstock

[159228]

$22.25

Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad

[161678]

$19.00

Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad

[147102]

$19.00

Wild Wheat Classic Stampin' Pad

[161651]

$19.00

Stampin' Brayer

[162936]

$34.00

2023–2025 In Color™ Dots

[161620]

$17.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$9.00

Easy Elegance with Layered Florals Embossing Folder

I'm having a lot of fun playing with the Layered Florals 3D embossing folder. The gorgeous pattern and the deep impression it gives create all sorts of opportunities to play around with it.

You can see one of those experiments here.

If you're interested in seeing how I made this card, you can view the tutorial below. If you make one, or CASE one, I'd love to see 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 here.