The Holidays!

The holidays come early today for all Stampin' Up! fans... the holiday catalogue goes live!! It's always an exciting time for me and gotta love all the new products! Unfortunately, I was only able to put in a tiny pre-order and have not been able to play with what I got yet. :( BUT, I do have a holiday card for you today to celebrate. Check it out:

Now, you may be asking yourself "what Christmas set is that?". It's not! I used a few key pieces from the Flower Patch stamp set in the Annual Catalogue. As I wrote yesterday, it's a MUST-HAVE set, in my opinion. So much versatility, "bang for your buck" and the Photopolymer is so awesome for the layering effects you can achieve with this set!

For the inside, I stamped the same pattern and added a few more key sequins. I opted out of any inside text. I always decorate the inside to match the outside, but it's not often I add a stamped sentiment.

What do you like to do on the inside of your cards?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Suede, Gold Foil, Whisper White
Ink: Pistacio Pudding, Old Olive, Real Red, Baked Brown Sugar
Stamps: Flower Patch, Petite Pairs
Tools: Big Shot, Stylish Stripes TIEF, Punches: Word Window & Modern Label
Accessories: Buttons (all retired), Sequins

Ink Fix

Earlier today I posted a picture on Instagram (find it here) about a completed project that landed on top of an open ink pad. Argh! That'll teach me to have a messy cluttered "working" desk because I have several projects on the go. ;) Although, this isn't the first time this has happened, so no lesson learned! ha.

Anyway, here is the fix:

In all honesty, the strip at the bottom really works. It's like it was meant to be! Although, if it were really meant to be there, I would've left more room to the right of the sentiment. :) I used the new (and in my opinion MUST-HAVE) stamp set Flower Patch. It's an awesome Photopolymer stamp set with tons of layering options AND coordinating Framelits!

The inspiration for the card came from some button-holed wood flower pots I had laying around. Having to pack up and move to a temporary space left me searching through my "must haves" of all my craft supplies... and all the stuff I've been hoarding saving for a rainy day. It came down to a "use them or lose them" sort thing.

I stamped the stem in Mossy Meadow and adhered some flower buttons (I'm trying to use more buttons!) to the top with a jewel in the middle of each that I coloured with my darkest Old Olive Blenabilities marker. Love those too!

Anyway, stay tuned tomorrow for something a little different that I've done with the Flower Patch stamp set. You won't want to miss it!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Summer Starfruit (retired), Mossy Meadow, Whisper White, Fresh Prints Paper Stack (retired)
Ink: Mossy Meadow
Stamps: Flower Patch
Accessories: Thick Baker's Twine (Summer Starfruit, retired SAB 2014), Buttons (retired), Jewels

Something's Fishy at Sunday Stamps

I'm so glad to be back designing with this great team again - and excited to have a couple new members too! I took about a two-month hiatus and it feels good to be getting all inky again. This week we've got a colour challenge - Pink Pirouette, Old Olive & Marina Mist.

I've been wanting to make this type of card for a while now and since I never inked up my By the Tide stamp set yet, these colours were calling me to do so! My paper was cut down to 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" and I scored at 3-1/2" and 6". Next, I rant my Window Framelits through the Big Shot, making sure to only have my cutting plates over top of where I wanted to cut. Once that was done, I stamped all my images.

Lastly, I ran my card base through again, this time with the Fancy Fan TIEF. I actually ran it through twice because I wanted the texture to be running a certain way. I thought this TIEF looked like fish scales. ;)

To finish things off, I stamped on a separate piece that I cut with the same Window Framelits and then  layered with my various pieces & some twine. The sentiment is from the new And Many More... stamp set. I love the birthday font and the entire set is fast becoming my go-to for sentiments!

Hope you'll play along with us. You've got two weeks to link up, the collection closes on Friday, September 5th. Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT for great inspiration... and welcome the new members too!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Old Olive, Marina Mist, Whisper White
Ink: Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette
Stamps: By the Tide, And Many More
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Typeset Alpha Bigz Die (retired), Modern Label Punch
Accessories: Twine
Challenge: Sunday Stamps

Very Merry

Here's a new design for you! Inspired from various different magazine sources - using border punches, strips of paper & pleating with paper.

Recently, I spent a few days away from home and when deciding what craft stuff to bring along, I turned to the paper stacks from Stampin' Up! This one is no longer available, but I barely even used it. Gasp! Anyway, I choose to take these along because they're perfect for card making, plus, it helped me to choose what solid card stock to take also. I was able to take along a lot of patterned paper (because I have several packs) and limited card stock. :)

I cut about 1" strips and then punched one side with my Scallop Border Punch. I mixed eight strips together and angled them randomly on my card base. The base of my card is only 3-3/4" wide because I wanted my pleated strip to hang over the edge to create extra interest. I finished off with a button (retired), some twine and a couple of Candy Dots.

Hope you like it!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Naturals White, Fresh Prints Paper Stack
Ink: Real Red
Stamps: And Many More
Tools: Scallop Border Punch 
Accessories: Button, Twine & Subtles Candy Dots

Wax Paper Transfer Technique

Let's call today, Technique Thursday! I'm sharing with you a technique I tried out a while back. I think I was watching a crafting show with my 4-year-old where they showed this and I immediately ran to try it out - printing on wax paper!

I opened up MDS (My Digital Studio) and picked a few random images, placed them on the artboard and coloured them. Next, I cut my wax paper down to 8-1/2 x 11 and printed. You can see from the image above that the bottom two printed great, but then the ink go pretty runny. Perhaps this technique is only good on more solid-coloured images?!

Once you've printed and cut down your sheet, you're ready to transfer! Place where desired on your card stock and rub with your bone folder.

Viola! Transfer complete!!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Wax Paper (from the kitchen), Very Vanilla
Tools: Computer, My Digital Studio Software (MDS), Printer

Baby Alpha

Believe it or not, I've got so many "draft posts" that I never got around to writing or publishing during my disappearance. Some of the upcoming posts will be older projects (that may even feature now retired items!), but I'll mix in some newer stuff too. What I'm saying is, I've got posts coming out my...

Anyway, here are some cards I designed using my Alphabet Home Decor print I designed and sell in my online store. These were misprints, but perfect enough to cut up and use on some cards! Check 'em out:

These babies were actually quite popular that I've just about sold out of them! Other than my print, I just accented with ribbon and some texture with an embossing folder and glimmer paper. The paper colours aren't your typical soft hues for a baby card, but it works! At the time, I was trying to use up retiring In Colors...

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Gumball Green, Primerose Petals, Summer Starfruit, Naturals White, Whisper White
Ink: Gumball Green, Primerose Petals, Summer Starfruit, Early Espresso
Stamps: Zoo Babies, Baby We've Grown
Tools: Big Shot, Decorative Dots TIEF, Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Punch
Accessories: Stitched Satin Ribbon (retired)

I'm Baaaaa-ack!

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last post!! I have been on a hiatus, dealing with some personal issues, in which I had to pack up my craft space. :( Anyway, I've created a temporary space now so that I can get back to my crafty ways. I'm also very excited to be able to get back to Sunday Stamps and design with the other very talented DT ladies!!

I didn't make it back in time to post for this last challenge, but I will link-up. I had a lot of fun with this sketch and it helped me design this custom card for a client. Check it out:

I kept the card relatively simple, but added lots of texture with a doily, some buttons and ribbon. The paper doily was inked up with my Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities to create an Ombre effect. That effect was kinda lost when I cut it in half and pleated it, but you can still see the different tones. ;)

The buttons are some retired SAB freebies from a couple of years ago and instead of threading them with ribbon, I punched the flower shape from the retired Punch Pack from the same DSP I used on the card.

The ribbon is also retired (jeez, I didn't realize how many retired items I used for this card!) and I wrapped it around my card front and then glued a few strips on top to create a fringe.

Hope this card inspires you... and for even more inspiration, check out what the other DT members created for you. You have until Friday, August 22nd to link up and join the fun!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Smokey Slate, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink: Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities
Stamps: And Many More...
Tools: Big Shot, Decorative Dots TIEF, Typeset Alpha Bigz Die (retired)
Accessories: Basic Grey Stitched Ribbon (retired), Rich Razzleberry Buttons (retired), Paper Doilies
Challenge: Sunday Stamps