Let’s Use Some Returning Products

 You will find plenty of Returning Products in the Stampin’ Up!  2024 - 2025 Catalogue - just look up page 74 onwards for all stamps and dies. Today I’m using retired papers from the Perennial Lavender Papers and the current Perennial Postage dies. The Painted Lavender stamps and dies are still available in the returning Products page (74)

The patterned papers from Stamp[in’ Up! Make really beautiful cards and when you combine them with embossing folders, you can take your card to the next level. 

The little birds are fussy cut from the retired Flight & Airy 12 x 12 inch Designer Series Paper. 

Arranging the punched shapes creates interest on an otherwise plain background. The patterns and colours coordinate well and a simple stamped greeting is added. Some gold cord was arranged behind the birds that have been raised up with dimensionals. 

Another product that I love to use on simple cards is the retired New Horizons 6 x 6 inch paper. 

I’ve made a set of 6 cards using these papers and the Aspen Tree dies and the Delicate Forest Dies. I plan to gift these to one of my customers next month, but here is a peek of some of the cards. If you don’t have these papers the Thoughtful Journey papers also work really well

And finally I made a fun Shaker Card using the same products. I’ve used Window Sheet and Foam Adhesive Strips to lift the front of the card. I little trick given to me by a friend is to place a tiny drop of Fine Tip glue on the Window Sheet and adhere a couple of the shaker sequins to it. That way you don’t have a blank scene when you first give or receive the card. 

A short video:

I hope these sample give you some inspiration for your own card making. If you would like to purchase Andy of the Stampin’ Up! Products mentioned or a variety of other coordinating craft items then you can see everything available in my Online Store

I would love you to visit and you might win the set of 6 cards that I’m giving away in July.

Best Wishes and Happy Crafting

Ann Craig

Spotlight On Nature

 If I had to pick favourites out of the Stampin’ Up! 2024 -2025 Annual Catalogue, I think that the Spotlight on Nature Bundle would be right at the top. I love the simplicity of the images and the dies are so versatile and pretty. 

Recently I held a catalogue launch and was rushing to get samples made, so for this bundle I decided to case the catalogue. This is a wonderful way of getting inspiration for your craft projects - the designers at Stampin’ Up! are so creative and the samples they make are wonderful to either copy directly or, as in my case, get the inspiration and add a little of yourself into the card. 

Here is my finished card.

I used Old Olive card stock for the card base and the embossed background. The background was swiped with Gold Ink (don’t forget to let it dry) then layered onto some of the gorgeous new Textured Metallic. I also cut Textured Metallic with the largest of the Spotlight On Nature dies. Can you see the detail on the edge of this die? It’s gives a lovely finish to the circle, whilst the subtle texture of the paper enhances the images layered above it. 

               

I stamped the images with Memento Black then coloured them with Stampin’ Blends. Old Olive Light and Dark plus a little Light Calypso Coral on the leaves and Calypso Coral Light and Dark on the flowers.  I love how the shading on the stamps enhances my colouring and makes it easy to decide where to add slightly darker areas.

I fussy cut the images with my Paper Snips from Stampin’ Up! I’ve had these for 18 years - lots of use and still just as sharp as ever. Totally worth the $’s. I also used a blade knife for cutting the bits that scissors wouldn’t reach. I layered these images with Dimensionals, added a bow of Linen Thread and a greeting cut with Deckled Rectangles.

The Bundle consists of :

                  

To see more details from the bundle select each of the images.

I hope you enjoy inspiration from this card. If you’d like to order any of the products (and you are an Australian resident) then please go to my on-line store. You’ll find so many high quality products (just like my paper snips) that last for so long. 

If you prefer you can contact me via email to place an order or ask questions about techniques.

I can’t wait to try out lots of different ideas using this bundle.

Until next time

Enjoy your crafting.

Ann Craig

Country Birdhouse Bundle - Sweet Card

When browsing through the 2024 -25 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue, I was delighted to see a birdhouse stamp. I've always loved birdhouses and have started a collection of them at our holiday house. 

Today I'm sharing the first card I made using the Country Birdhouse Bundle that is part of the Country Woods Suite in the new 2024 Annual Catalogue.

I've combined some stamped images with some die cuts from the coordinating Designer Series Papers - Country Woods

 The background of the card is from the Thoughtful Journey 6 x 6 inch Designer Series Paper Pack. This is such a beautiful pack with lots of gorgeous scenery designs on one side and beautiful colours on the reverse. Here is just a sample of the beautiful colours and backgrounds available in the pack.

                                                             

                    

I stamped the bird and flower images in Memento Black and coloured them with Stampin' blends. I do love using the Blends as they give such beautiful colour that coordinates with everything else Stampin' Up!. I also love that the colours really do blend together, giving you a lot of freedom for creativity. 

HINT:

Colour with the Light Blend first then add a little of the dark where needed and then go back over the edge where they join again using the Light Blend. Work quickly for best results.

I also use the Colour Lifter Blend to smooth out areas that abut white card.

The birds and flowers are die cut with the Country Birdhouse dies.

The Bird house is die cut from the Country Woods Designer Series Papers. Fabulous papers for anything country themed but also great as a base for masculine cards.

The chain on which the birdhouse is hanging is one of the stamps included in the Country Birdhouse Bundle

You will find coordinating embellishments in the Suite, and there are many other Stampin' Up! Embellishments that also coordinate so check out the variety on pages 114 - 115 of the 2024 Annual Catalogue.

I plan on creating so much more with this Country Birdhouse Bundle and I can't wait to share it with you. 

While I'm on the topic of sharing, Stampin' Up! has a really good offer for anyone wanting join the company during the month of May. Here are the details:

Choose $235 of product for $169 - this is your personalised Starter Kit

Receive Catalogues and other helpful business stationary - value approx $80

Free Postage 

Plus this month only include 

5 Ink Pads - 2024-2026 In colors

A mixed pack of In color Cardstock

2024 -2026 Stampin Write Markers (5) 

Pack of In Color Patterns Designer Series Paper

Total value $144 for additional free items

Select the image below to see further information

I would love you to join my friendly and relaxed team where you can be yourself, create at a discount and enjoy new friends.

If you would like to shop any of these products you can select the links above or for general shopping to see the enormous range from Stampin' Up! 

SHOP HERE

Until Next Time

Happy Crafting

Ann Craig

Merriest Moments meets Whimsical Wonder Designer Series Paper

 I am enjoying the Merriest Moments Bundle so much.

As I mentioned in a previous post, it is very versatile so today I have an easy card that uses the Merriest Frames dies and hybrid embossing folder with a lovely pattern from the Whimsy & Wonder Designer Series Paper pack.

 

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

 The card has a vintage look because of the colours I used - white, silver and Blushing Bride.

The snowflake embellishments are from the So Many Snowflakes die set in the Annual Catalogue.

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

Layering the different elements of the card is easily done with Dimensionals. This creates visual interest. These elements would look great with a variety of DSP backgrounds, so give it a try.😄

 

We all love the fabulous quality that only comes with Stampin' Up!® products.  Right?

If you love this product and would like to access it with a discount, now is a perfect time to join Stampin' Up!®. Until September 30th, 2021 we have a wonderful bonus for new members who can choose a FREE bundle from the list below. Check out the value. You could be adding up to $104.25 to your already discounted Starter Kit.

Still only $169 for $235 value PLUS  the bundle of choice from the list below.

I would love you to join me in this adventure, so take a look around the  

JOIN STAMPIN' UP! page on my blog, choose your free bundle, decide on the products you want in your Starter Kit and follow the link to join my team of stamping friends.

 

 

 

Whimsy & Wonder Random Patchwork Card

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

The Whimsy & Wonder Suite in the Stampin' Up!® July - December Mini Catalogue, caught my eye the first time I saw it. The colours are gorgeous and I was particularly attracted to the long stemmed trees in the accompanying dies. I've used the die cut trees as focal points in my cards.

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

 The colours in the Designer Series Papers are fresh and work beautifully together so I decided to show off a few of them at a time using the Random Patchwork background technique. 

An easy technique that requires 4 different patterned papers all cut to the same size for your background. Then you layer the papers one on top of the other, and make 4 angled cuts through the 4 pieces of paper. Next ,it's a simple matter of placing the pieces so that you end up with 4 backgrounds each being slightly different . You will make these backgrounds back to the original size before they were cut.

Adhere the pieces to a white background then die cut any large shape you would like to use. I used Scalloped Contours dies

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

You can make a variety of cards by changing the background papers, the mat colours and the die cut images. This next card features the Christmas baubles heat embossed in silver , hand coloured with ink and die cut with dies from the set.

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

 To shop for these products select the images above for any items you want to own.

If you'd like further information on joining Stampin' Up!® we have a wonderful Starter Kit Promotion happening at present, where you can choose one additional Bundle of stamps and coordinating dies along with your choice of items worth $235. All you pay is $169.

 Look at the extra value you can get until the end of September 2021. 

The last item is the Whimsical Trees bundle that I've used in these projects and it could be yours for free. You can contact me any time or see more details in the JOIN STAMPIN UP page on this blog.

 

			I would love you to join my team so we can share more craft ideas and inspiration.
			.

The Craft of Giving - Freshly Brewed Projects Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to another Freshly Brewed Projects Blog Hop.

This week we are showing a variety of crafts suitable for Giving. It's always such a joy to receive something made by hand, and being paper crafters gives us the opportunity to take either a simple or intricate approach to gift giving.

 I've chosen to use the Pretty Pillow Box Dies from the July - December Mini Catalogue as the basis for my Giving items - a simple and cute form of gifting

There are 11 dies in this set including some embellishments and cut-out details, making it quick and easy to create pretty little gift containers from a variety of Designer Series Papers or from card stock.

 

    Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022 

The first one I made using the beautiful Blackberry Beauty Specialty Designer Series Paper. You can find this paper in the July - December Mini Catalogue. The colours in this set of papers are so rich and elegant. I cut an additional top flap in Gold Metallic Specialty Paper from the Annual Catalogue, to highlight the stitching and scallops. I used the same metallic paper for the tag.

The flower is one of the embellishment dies from the set. 

                                           Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

As these are so quick to make I decided to do a few Christmas gift packages - this time using Whimsy and Wonder Specialty Series Paper. I love the colours in this paper - it is perfect for our Summer Christmas in Australia.

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

I was very careful to have the design on the paper going the "right" way in the parcel paper, but totally forgot about that concept with the Bauble paper. Never mind it still looks pretty. The soft colours in this set of papers have been favourites of mine at Christmas time for many years and it is awesome that Stampin' Up!® has produced papers in this range.

   Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

These dies make such pretty little parcels - great for jewellery, treats etc. They can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion.

If you find yourself wanting lots of items from the current catalogues, you are welcome to take advantage of the Sale A Bration offer to join my Stampin' Up!® team.  You can select the items you want to the value of $235 and only pay $169 for your Starter Kit. During Sale A Bration there is a wonderful bonus for joining and that is your choice of a bundle from the list below - and it is FREE.  There are so many advantages of being a member of Stampin' Up! not to mention a generous discount on your personal purchases.

Isn't that an awesome opportunity? Feel free to contact me if you'd like more obligation free information, and keep an eye on my blog for further samples using some of these fabulous bundles

Here is the list of the other participants. Select each name to view their inspiration, and I'm sure you'll find lots of inspiring ideas for your Christmas crafts.

 

·       Leonie Schroder

·       Michele Miller

·       Jeanne Moss

·       Ann Craig

·       Jessie Holton

 

 

Best Wishes and happy hopping

 

Product List

Pretty Pillowbox Dies

[156321]

$59.00

Blackberry Beauty 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[156458]

$26.00

Whimsy & Wonder 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[156329]

$26.00

Gold & Rose Gold 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Metallic Specialty Paper

[156844]

$8.75

Basic White A4 Cardstock

[159228]

$17.00

Polished Pink 3/8" (1 Cm) Open Weave Ribbon

[155714]

$12.25

Soft Succulent 3/8" (1 Cm) Open Weave Ribbon

[155780]

$12.25

Paper Snips

[103579]

$17.00

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$8.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

$7.00

Simply Elegant Trim

[155766]

$13.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$209.00

Add All to Cart