Saturday 11 June 2016

It's not all black and white...

Monochrome is not just black and white, although that is how we often think of it. The dictionary definition is "A picture, especially a painting, done in different shades of a single colour."
This can be created with ink, paper, ribbon and the co-ordination we are given with Stampin' Up lends itself so readily.
Bermuda Bay DSP Stack, ink, embossed card and stamps from balloon celebration punched out with co-ordinating punch.

Perfect plum DSP stack, ink, card, white embossing powder and ribbon. This stamp is now retired, but lots of stamps lend themselves to this style.

Tangerine tango card, ink, DSP stack,, Build a Birthday stamps and twine (now retired)

Crushed curry card, ink, ribbon, clear embossing powder, "Awesomely artistic" stamp set.
Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Perhaps you can pick your favourite colours and see what you can come up with.

Helen

xx


Thursday 9 June 2016

Garden in Bloom


 I had a one sheet wonder class last week using the Garden in Bloom set and the new In Colors. We had great fun with this set that uses the 2/3 step technique to build up the flowers, leaves and bees on a piece of A4 whisper white card. We in filled the gaps with the spotty stamp from the "Awesomely Artistic" set. Once we were happy with our sheet we then proceeded to cut it into 4 to create 4 different cards.

For this first card I used the new layering squares dies to cut an aperture in an A6 card front created from the emerald envy card. I then cut a frame using 2 of the squares. The sentiment is from the new Layering Love stamp set and I embossed it with white embossing powder.


For the second card, I matted some of the decorated card onto some peekaboo peach card. The sentiment is from the Garden in Bloom set. I stamped it in Dapper denim and punched it out with the decorative label punch and matted it onto some peach card.. I stamped and cut out an individual butterfly which I attached to the sentiment topper. The finishing touch was some peach ruched ribbon.


Card number 3 uses layers of the sweet and sassy layering framelits as a topper. I added faux stitching with the chalk marker. The greeting came from "endless birthday wishes." I added some more of that ruched ribbon - in flirty flamingo this time


For the 4th card, I cut a square of card and then cut that into 4 equal squares. I rounded the opposite corners on each square to create the flower pattern. I matted these onto dapper denim card and then onto gold glimmer card. I punched a banner from the gold glimmer card. I stamped a banner with dapper denim ink and by curving the photopolymer greeting stamps slightly, I stamped inside the banner. I fussy cut this banner out so that it would fit inside my gold banner. I added some wisps of gold thread at the back of the banners before attaching them to the front of the card.


This final card was created with small pieces of card I had trimmed from my 4 quarters of decorated cardstock. I cut 2 pieces with the layering squares and cut slightly larger squares from the emerald envy card. I used the woodgrain embossing folder to give some texture to the emerald mat on the base of the card. More ribbon - this time Emerald envy. The scalloped card blank was one I had in my stash.


So one A4 sheet of card actually created 5 different cards. 

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

 Until the next time
Happy Crafting

Helen
xx

Tuesday 7 June 2016

On the flip side....

Star framelits and hearts and stars decorative masks

It was quite sometime ago that we tackled these flip cards at a Monday class and so some of the product has now retired -but the technique is far from old hat. The basics for all of these cards is taking a card, scoring down the centre of the front panel to make a panel that folds back on itself. Then using your framelit shapes, be they stars, ovals, squares, hearts, labels... you only die cut them up to the fold, so that half the shape then sticks up and the aperture in the panel "floats" over the shape once it is folded back.


If that all sounds complete gobbledegook, or if you are a visual learner, there are various you tube videos describing the technique, including this one from Brandy Cox. I love her tip about the embossing folder covering the score line.


Butterfly Basics and elegant dots embossing folder


You can see this was a while ago - this card is wishing you a Happy Easter - and I promise you I am not that organised!! However the flowers are still available and would be just as appropriate for a Happy Birthday or Thank you card.


Sheltering Tree and Brick Wall embossing folder

This tree is very much still with us in the current catalogue and is such a useful collection, because you can make it relevant for every season of the year.

I need to revisit this technique using some of our new layering framelit sets.They give so much scope for creating cards like this.

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.


I hope you have fun with this technique

Helen

xx

Sunday 5 June 2016

Creating art with new colours



I am genuinely really excited by the new colour palette that makes up the 2016-2018 in-color collection. They sit somewhere between bright and pastel and will prove themselves to be so useful. I have been happily playing with them as a collection, but I am going to soon have to start integrating them with the spectrum of colour that makes up the Stampin' Up offering and see how they play with other colours.
However for today, I have taken a new stamp set, a new DSP paper stack, some new washi tape and the new new copper embossing powder and I have had a play.
The "swoosh" stamp, the dotty stamp and the sentiment all come from  the new "Painter's Palette" stamp set. It also contains a lovely easel stamp, which I haven't used today, but it co-ordinates with the new layering squares framelits. This enables you cut your frame out separately to give it dimension and to place all manner of "canvases" in your frame - even photographs. A useful tool for your Project Life pages.

I stamped the swoosh in each of the 5 new colours onto whisper white card and the spots I stamped in sweet sugarplum, having stamped off first on my  grid paper to give a subtler shade.
The new copper embossing powder is gorgeous and the colour is very on trend. This photo gives you more of a close up of the sentiment embossed in this new powder:


I have added a knot of the dapper denim ruched ribbon - I am going to be using these ribbons a lot I think.
A mat of the dapper denim card was attached behind the white card and this was layered onto the emerald envy spotty paper that comes from the "Playful Palette" DSP Stack. To add a little more bronze into the picture, I attached some little flashes of bronze spotty washi tape from the "Affectionately yours" collection.

This is quite a bold card, but good fun.

If you would like to look at any of the new products, do check out the shop, or get in touch

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Have fun with your crafting

Helen
xx