Thinking Stamping: Season of Chic

Showing posts with label Season of Chic. Show all posts

Sunday, 18 January 2026

Season of Chic for Paper Players 769

Players made an awesome start to 2026 with LeAnne's colour challenge last week - such pretty cards in the gallery! Let's see what you do with Joanne's Clean and Simple Challenge this week.

So it's a double challenge this week. Not only is the theme 'signs of winter' but the additional challenge is to do it in a Clean and Simple style.

By Clean and Simple, we mean minimal layers and embellishments and plenty of clean, uncluttered space.

In the Southern Hemisphere, it's the middle of a very hot summer so it was nice to focus on something cool. I had to have a hunt around my Stamp Library to find something suitable and remembered the lovely snowflake dies in Season of Chic, an old favourite set of mine. Sadly now retired, this set is a beauty, with something for every season.

So I started with a trio of snowflakes, one in a scrap of silver Glimmer Paper and two from a piece of Balmy Blue DSP from the Beautiful Bokeh stack, which I think could be another retired item.

Keeping with the colour palette, I stamped the sentiment in Balmy Blue using a sentiment from Season of Chic.

By now it was clear that this card was going to be one that made use of my Stamp Library and not the current shelf, so I also got out one of my all-time favourite embossing folders, Distressed Tile. I was originally doing an embossed rectangular standard card front but decided I wanted something a bit different so went for a jaunty angle piece instead.

The finishing touch was a trio of Basic Rhinestone Jewels.

What will you do with this double challenge: signs of winter (but not Christmas) in a CAS style?

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

Create a new paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL, including ours
Have fun, and thank you for playing with us!

Don't forget to check out the great inspiration from the rest of the design team.

Anne Marie Hile (on leave)

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier - You are here

Stef Perry

Eliz Stewart

Christy Stanford

You can stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.

Thursday, 11 April 2024

Faux Torn Paper Masking for Stampin' Fancy Friday

This month, the theme at Stampin' Fancy Friday is 'A Favourite Technique'.

We don't blog hop as such but the team at Stampin' Fancy Friday do a daily inspiration post on Instagram. The team at Stampin' Fancy Friday are all current or past members of Stampin' Up!'s Artisan Design Team, so it really is a great place to pick up ideas or recharge your creative mojo. Follow @stampinfancyfriday if you don't already. 😀

A favourite technique of mine is Faux Torn Paper masking. It's very easy to do and gives an interesting look. Simply tear a piece of photo copy paper or grid paper to use as a mask, blend over your chosen ink colours, stamp, remove the mask then carry on with whatever embellishments you like.

I used the Season of Chic bundle because I love the marine images and dies - and that wonderful net die makes everything look good! Season of Chic is retiring at the end of April, so look out for it in the Last Chance Sale.

The colours I've used are Pool Party, Coastal Cabana and Azure Afternoon.

If you're unsure of the technique, you can see a video of another card I made using the same technique here.

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.

Wednesday, 13 December 2023

Season of Chic for Around the World on Wednesday

Welcome to a new hop with the crew at 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, we have a technique to share with you. We're all playing around with INK SMOOSHING. I was delighted by this choice as it's one of my favourite techniques. If you've never done it before, or would like a refresher, then watch the video tutorial below. It's such a fun technique and it's one of those ones where you're never quite sure what you're going to get. 😀

I started out by ink smooshing a piece of Fluid100 Water Colour paper then die cutting my snowflakes from it. I love the way that this technique creates such a lovely flow and blend of colours.

The background is embossed with the Distressed Tile 3D embossing folder and I've used silver Festive Pearls to embellish my snowflake wreath.

You can see how I put it all together here.

The next stop on the hop is the fabulous Leonie Stuart from Australia.

You can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking here.

You can earn free gifts with your orders:

Any order of $90 will receive the Creativity Abounds Tutorial Bundle, with 13 projects. This month the theme is gift packaging or decoration.

And if you purchase the Joy of Noel bundle, you'll also receive a project bundle from 'Join in with Joanne and Jan' which will give you two project tutorials from me and two from my buddy Joanne James, aka The Crafty Owl.

If you get lost around the hop, here's a list of participants to help you find your way.

Jan Clothier - NZ - You are here

Leonie Stuart - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Aurélie Fabre - FR

Mikaela Titheridge - UK

Product List

Festive & Fun Cling Stamp Set (English)

[162078]

$55.00

Chic Dies

[158815]

$78.00

Stylish Shapes Dies

[159183]

$63.00

Fresh Freesia A4 Cardstock

[155614]

$21.00

Basic White A4 Cardstock

[159228]

$22.25

Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper

[149612]

$19.00

Fresh Freesia Classic Stampin' Pad

[155611]

$19.00

Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad

[147103]

$19.00

Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad

[147105]

$19.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$20.00

Metallics Embossing Powders

[155555]

$38.00

Distressed Tile 3 D Embossing Folder

[162189]

$20.00

Festive Pearls

[159963]

$14.75

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$9.00

Friday, 28 July 2023

Season of Chic for AYSI 304

This week at As You See It, it's 'fill in the blank' week. Summer. As I sit here watching the winter rains fall and double check the heat pump to make sure it's working, it seems a long, long way away! But I do love summer and then I love nothing more than spending some time at the beach.

I love wandering along the sand seeing what the tide has brought up. I like to pick up sea shells. So off the stamp shelf came Season of Chic since I really like the sea shell images and die cuts in it.

Originally, I had my cluster of seashells and seaweed on a plain background but then got inspired to add in some texture. I used this folder from the Basics 3D Embossing trio (online exclusive) because of the South Pacific feel of the images although, now I see it photographed, I'm beginning to regret the decision! Be assured, it's less strong in real life!

Once again, I'm reminded of what a fantastic product the Distressed Gold DSP is - just perfect for so many situations.

What's the best thing about summer for you? Why not make something and show us? You can link up your entry, and see what the rest of the team have done, right here.

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

Season Of Chic Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[158810]

$57.00

Chic Dies

[158815]

$78.00

Something Fancy Bundle (English)

[160425]

$97.00

Early Espresso A4 Card Stock

[121686]

$21.00

Soft Sea Foam A4 Cardstock

[147012]

$21.00

Basic White A4 Cardstock

[159228]

$22.25

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

[159237]

$10.50

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad

[147114]

$19.00

Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad

[147102]

$19.00

Bubble Bath Classic Stampin' Pad

[161664]

$19.00

Basics 3 D Embossing Folders

[161598]

$63.00

Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels

[151193]

$12.75

Friday, 16 June 2023

Season of Chic for AYSI 301

Love it or hate, after each theme challenge we have our SPEED STAMPING challenge. For those who think stamping is a calm, relaxing hobby - almost akin to meditation or yoga - then clearly, they haven't ever participated in the speed challenge. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to create a project from scratch on the theme of 'seashells' in ten minutes or less!

Before you panic, your ten minutes does not include mental planning, setting up of equipment or clean up time. It's just the physical crafting of the item. So you can have your idea in your head, you can have your stamp sets blocked up, your dies on the bench, your embellishments ready to hand etc. BUT the moment you actually begin - you cut the card stock, you ink the stamp, you run a folder through the machine - THEN the timer starts. It's amazing how that ticking timer gets the heart rate moving!

If you regularly participate in the speed challenge, then you'll have developed some tricks to get maximum impact from the least time. Pretty paper and big die cuts are two of mine and both are on show here.

When buying stamps and bundles there are some I get knowing they're only in my collection for a while. Others are keepers and are part of the permanent collection. The Seashells dies and embossing folder are in this category. I just love the dies, especially when embossed on Pearlescent paper. It's sadly retired now but I'm sure most of us stocked up on it before it went. So pretty!

Another item from the retired collection was this lovely DSP from the Waves of the Ocean collection as it made a perfect backdrop for the seashells. It's another keeper in my book too.

Not everything was retired. That's the fun of a permanent collection - you can mix and match it with new things. So the sentiment is from Season of Chic, the label from Something Fancy dies and the gorgeous Natural Wavy Trim is from the 2023-4 Annual Catalogue. The embellishments are Iridescent Rhinestones.

How long did this take?

Be sure to pop over the the As You See It Challenge page so you can see what the rest of the team have done with their ten minutes and to link up your own entry.

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

Product List

Items from my Permanent Collection (retired): Seashells dies and embossing folder, Waves of the Ocean DSP, Pearlescent paper.

Season Of Chic Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[158810]

$57.00