A New Ink on Life

Soar Above

 I have spending a lot of time lately playing with the Lift Me Up stamp set and Framelits Bundle. It is such a great stamp set that today I decided to use just the images and two of the layering circles framelits to create this cute and simple card.

Basic Black

Real Red

Whisper White

I started off using Whisper White Thick cardstock for the base of the card. This card stock has been my go to lately as it has an excellent heaviness and can stands up to a lot of layers. Even though this is a very clean and simple card I love adding layers to give a card more impart. Of course my other go to product is Dimentionals. I rarely ever make a card with out adding at least a few (or ten, lol). Another design tip is mixing different contrasting patterns, like I did here with polka dots and stripes, this really helps to make a design more interesting. Also using a black and white colour palette and adding a pop of red really makes the design stand out, even though the overall design of this card is very basic. 

I hope that this quick and fun card sends a little inspiration your way today!

Happy Stampin'

Jenn

  

Tea for Two

When I first started paper crafting over 9 years ago it was all because I want to make some Christmas cards. I remember that feeling of accomplishment when I first pressed that inked stamp image to paper and pulled it up to reveal a perfect image. It was shortly after that experience that I also fell in love with scrapbooking. 

I will admit that I have turned into a total mamarazzi but as my children get older they are not wanting me to take their pictures as often as I used to, but when they do you better bet that I scrap them. We all went to Disneyland back in August and had such a great time. The kids and even my husband (occasionally) indulged this shutterbug, and I couldn't be happier with having those memories captured forever:)  

 

I used the following colour palette for this 12x12 scrapbook page: 

Whisper White

Real Red

Soft Sky

Basic Black

 

 

This photo in particular stole my heart as I just love the goofy expressions on my girls faces. There is almost 8 years between the two of them and in this moment they were both little kids (not 9 and 17) enjoying an imaginary tea party at Minnie's house.

I created a background of circles using the Sending Love DSP stack and the Layering Circles Framelits and arranged them in the shape of a heart. I even created a little Mickey icon using the circles:) 

Just a quick reminder that Sale a bration is going on right now, so for every $60 spent you can get something FREE! And remember you can visit my website, place an order and have it delivered to your door!

 

Just a Note

Do you ever send of give a card just because? One of my goals for 2017 is to send out some happy mail. I have always been good about making the cards, just really a bad and sending them. There are several people in my life that could use a little acknowledgement, so what better way to let them know you appreciate their friendship than sending them a handmade card?!

Of course I could spend hours creating a mini work of art, however I know me and I know that I sometimes have a hard time actually letting go of those types of projects, lol (please tell me I am not the only one). Plus they need to be mailable and I also know it is not how fancy the card is, it is the thought that goes into, right?

This is the clean and simple design that I came up with. A great way to add depth, interest and the illusion of layers is by doing a little collage stamping. For this card I used the Timeless Textures Stamp set (one of my absolute favourite sets and definitely a go to for me). To create a tone on tone or "watermark" effect I used Versamark and several of the images to create a layered background. I then used the small "splatter" image with Whisper White Craft Ink. A decorative die cut edge was layered behind a strip of DSP, then a little ribbon tied into a bow. I also used the Layering Circle Framelits and the new Stitched Shapes Framelits to frame the sentiment.

There you have it, a quick and simple card that I am hoping any one of my friends would love to receive:)

Jenn

 

Quick and Easy Birthday Card

Having my youngest still in elementary school means a lot of birthday party invitations and of course also means making a lot of birthday cards. I try to keep the kids cards relatively simple because lets face it, it's not like 9 and 10 year olds really look at the card anyway,lol! 

 

The Balloon Adventures stamp set is easily becoming my go to birthday stamp set. It is equally full of great sentiments and cute images. I used it here with the Cupcakes and Carousels DSP stack. This card was super quick and easy to put together thanks to coordinating cardstock and inks ( one of my favourite things about SU!). I used Watermelon Wonder, Bermuda Bay, So Saffron and Peekaboo Peach.

And I also want to remind you that it is SaleaBration time with Stampin' Up! right now and for every $60 spent you can choose a FREE item from the Sale-a-bration Catalogue!

 

 

 

Display Stamper Application

One of of the many great things about Stampin' Up! is that hey have amazing events where demonstrators can get together, have fun, stamp and learn about new product launches. I had the pleasure of going to a local OnStage event this past November in Vancouver and had so much fun!

Not only do we get to use new and upcoming products there are also amazing displays containing several samples using these products and they were all created by Stampin' Up! demonstrators. Right now they are calling for submissions for Display Stampers and i thought I would throw my hat in the ring:) I was fortunate enough to be chosen to create samples for the fall OnStage and it was such a fantastic experience!

For my submission I had to create 3 cards, 2 3D items and a scrapbook page, they didn't have to be brand new projects so I used a few recent ones and created a few new projects too.

For this scrapbook page I used the new Sending Love Suite from the Occasions catalogue. I am a total mamarazzi so even my dogs are not safe from getting there pictures taken and scrapped! (They even have their own Instagram account @griffinthebasset, yes I am a crazy dog lady!)

I love the Cupcakes and Carousels 6x6 DSP stack. For this card and cute little gift box I used several of the patterns and the Balloon Adventures Stamp set and matching Balloon Bouquet Punch.The little box is a SU!'s white gift box just covered with the DSP and a little tag added. Such a quick, cute and easy way to wrap up a small gift.

What better way to give a sweet treat then to wrap it up in a glassine bag. Unforunately I didn't have anything to put in it, somehow we have a house full of cookie monsters (me included;).

I have been busy creating with lots of sale abration and occasions catalogue goodies so I will be back later with mores projects.

 

I'm Part of the Creative Crew and the New Occasions Catalogue is Live!

So if you have been paper crafting for any amount of time I am sure you have heard of SplitcoastStampers and if not be sure to check it out! It is a great resource full of beautiful projects, has a fantastic forum, and an amazing resource library full of techniques and tutorials.

I was asked a few months ago if I would be interested in joining the Creative Crew Team for the Stampin' Up! demonstrator monthly challenges at Splitcoast. Well that was just the kick in the pants I needed to create on a more consistent and frequent basis. The Challenge for this month is Take Flight.  This could mean dragonflies, hot air balloons, birds, flying insects and even butterflies. It can also be your theme for 2017: Have your dream take flight. These challenges are for Stampin' Up! demos but anyone can view the samples by checking out the gallery HERE. There are some really beautiful projects using a lot of new product from the new Occasions Catalogue that just went live today, starting today until the end of March you can earn FREE products with every $60 purchase during Stampin Up's SALE A BRATION!

The first challenge is STEP IT UP. Create a CAS project then create a second same project and amp it up with more additions, layers ...whatever you choose to really Step It Up!

This was one of my favourite challenges, I love how easy it is to create a quick cute card using just basic ink, stamps and a little paper. Then to take it to the next level by adding in a little glimmer paper, ribbon, a die cut image and a few extra layers. I used the new Lift Me Up stamp die bundle; you are going to see this set being used a lot from me.

Next up is the LOVE A TECHNIQUE CHALLENGE. As I mentioned earlier, SCS has a huge resource library for of different technique tutorials, so for this challenge I had to pick one! I chose the Watercolor Bokeh Technique. I had never tried it before but I loved the end result.

 

 

For the background I used my aquapainter brush and lots of water with several colours of inks to create a wash on watercolour paper, then sponged on the white craft ink as per the tutorial. I love how this created such a soft diffused effect.

I have always loved using sketches to jump start my creativity, so I was so happy to see a SKETCH challenge too.

This is the card that the sketch was based on:

and here is my take on it:

 I have a huge weakness for patterned paper and these papers from the Cupcakes and Carousels DSP stack is no exception! I really like to mix several different patterns on a projects to give fun pops of colour and contrast.

The last challenge is a PHOTO INSPIRATION challenge. There were several different photos but I chose the one with the hot air balloons:)

 

There are a lot of new goodies used on this card as well. Including new patterned Glassine sheets that are perfect for die cutting!

 Well there you have it, my first of hopefully many, post for 2017! Be sure to check out the new Occasions Catalogue and Sale a Bration Rewards Catalogue and if you have any questions or would like to place an order please feel free to contact me:)