Wednesday, 17 June 2026

Exploring two-tone cardstock for the New at SU! Blog Hop



Hello and welcome to my blog. Today, I am participating in the New at SU! blog hop. We are a group of Stampin' Up!® demonstrators from around the world who are full of creative papercrafting ideas to share with you to get you crafting. For this hop we are exploring Two - Tone cardstock. 

Two-tone cardstock has been around for a while but i have to admit that I don't use it as much as I should! It's a great product to have in your stash. One of the things that Stampin' Up! is well known for is the coordination throughout their range of products. Two-tone card stock expands the coordinated range.

This description comes straight from the website:

Our 12" x 12" (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Two-Tone Cardstock is great for handmade cards and other paper crafts. It’s high quality, acid free, and lignin free, making it a favourite scrapbook paper, too.

This cardstock is two-tone meaning one side is the full-strength colour and the other side is a lighter version of the colour. The ultrasmooth surface makes it an ideal paper for stamping, giving you clean, crisp images.

It is available in both single colour packs and mixed colour packs (which coordinate with Scrapbook Workshop kits and are a great way to collect a variety of colours!).

The simplest way to utilise two-tone card is to use it to create a graduation of colour when building layers on a card or scrapbook layout. Not only do you have the dark and light sides of the two-tone card, there is also a slight colour variation when you compare them to regular A4 card.

The real magic of two tone card becomes apparent when it is altered to expose the white core layer. After using an embossing folder the white core can be exposed my sanding off the very top layer of the card. Distressing the edges of die cuts or layers using the blades of your scissors will also expose the white core. Another way to achieve interest is by tearing the two-tone card thereby creating a rough, white edge.

I decided to use the Bloom Boutique bundles to create my project - the flowery scallops together with the blousy flowers really spoke to me. I can just smell the scent of the flowers on a hot summery day!


The first card I created focuses on a graduation of colour between the layers - there are three subtle shades of Pool Party card plus some tone on tone stamping to create the background. The Happy Birthday is stamped in Pool Party on Basic White card and fussy cut to create a delicate sentiment. The embellishments are a large loopy Bakers Twine bow, a few white die cut leaves and Basic Gemstones to add a little sparkle.

For my second card, I used the same layout but I incorporated an embossed layer which I sanded to expose the white middle layer. I also dragged the blade of my scissors along the edges of the layer to rough them up too. I kept the finishing touches the same!


I hope that you have been inspired by my project today and that you'll have a go at creating a project that incorporates some two-tone elements. Continuing along the hop to the others will provide you with even more project ideas - you are currently with me, Furry Cat Designs by Karen Henderson - but before you hop on to the next post, please take a moment to leave a comment. We love reading your comments!

Blog Hop Index

Do you need any of the products used on today's cards? If you live in the UK please take a look in my online Stampin' Up! shop. You can follow the link or click on the pictures below of the products I have used today.

Stay safe and as always, happy crafting,


If you would like to order any supplies, and you live in the UK, I would love to be your demonstrator.
To place an order please visit my online shop HERE. The products I have used on today's project are linked from the images shown below.

Stampin' Rewards Program 


When shopping, remember to opt in to Stampin' Rewards on orders over £20.

Click on the images of the products I have used today to purchase them in my online shop:










Saturday, 13 June 2026

Stamping Inkspirations Blog Hop - Tic Tac Toe Challenge



Hello and welcome to my blog! Today I am taking part in a blog hop with some fellow enthusiasts who love sharing their creative talents using their Stampin' Up!® products. This month in the Stamping Inkspirations Blog Hop we are creating projects using a Tic Tac Toe board to inspire us.


Using a prompt, whether it be a sketch or a colour combination, is a great a starting point when you are designing a card. The idea with a Tic Tac Toe board is that you select the elements from a line (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) to include in your design.

I selected distress, white and flower from the left hand side and I'm also including blue! I worked with two bundles to create my card - Delicate Whispers and Extraordinary Life. The clolours I used were Hydrangea Hue and Secret Sea.

Obviously, there is some white too!I began the process with the distress element which was a lot of fun, but a little unpredictable. To a square layer of Hydrangea Hue card added ink using a blending brush. Roughly speaking, I applied Secret Sea to two of the corners and Hydrangea Hue went diagonally through the middle. Once the card was covered with colour, I removed some of the ink by flicking on water droplets and then blotting with a cloth thereby producing a mottled water stain.

Once the layers were dry I added further detail to the background! Ditsy flowers from the Delicate Whispers set were stamped using stamped off Secret Sea ink and mini hexegons from the ExtraOrdinary Life were added with Craft White ink to create some interest. I also added some spltters using white ink and the Hydrangea Hue Glimmer Brush.


Before constructing the card I experimented with the flowers. I knew I wanted to heat emboss the image before I coloured it, so I tried white and copper embossing on both White and Hydrangea card. Then, I coloured the petals and leaves using Blends. Similarly, I chose to heat emboss the sentiment too.

With all my elements ready I began to layer up the cards. I added an embossed layer to a card base followed by a double square layer wrapped with a bakers twine bow, a cluster of flowers, the sentiment and a trio of embellishments.


There are three versions of the same card each with a different degree of distressing. There is the basic one with the background adhered flat where the water splatters on ink plus the stamped background create the distress. The next one adds a shabby dog-eared corner to the level of distress and the third one is fully crumpled and flatterned before it is adhered.  


My desk had become a messy dumping ground, but after a good tidy I was glad to be back in my happy place and creating these cards. Which version do you prefer? I think that I the middle version is my favourite, although crumpling the paper for the most distressed version was quite therapeutic!


Please continue along the hop to see what the others have created too...enjoy the projects! We would love to hear from you and so if you have been inspired, please leave a comment.


 


Leonie Stuart  ●  Mo Rootes

Jan Musselman  ●  Karen Henderson

Kelly Taranto  ●  Angie McKenzie

Do you need any of the products used on today's cards? If you live in the UK please take a look in my online Stampin' Up! shop. You can follow the link or click on the pictures below of the products I have used today.

Stay safe and as always, happy crafting,


If you would like to order any supplies, and you live in the UK, I would love to be your demonstrator.
To place an order please visit my online shop HERE. The products I have used on today's project are linked from the images shown below.

Stampin' Rewards Program 


When shopping, remember to opt in to Stampin' Rewards on orders over £20.

Click on the images of the products I have used today to purchase them in my online shop:









Saturday, 9 May 2026

Stamping Inkspirations Blog Hop - A sketch challenge


Hello and welcome to my blog! Today I am taking part in a blog hop with some fellow enthusiasts who love sharing their creative talents using their Stampin' Up!® products. This month in the Stamping Inkspirations Blog Hop we are creating projects that are inspired by a sketch.


A sketch is a great starting point for a creative project. It can be followed quite literally representing each element from the sketch on a card design or it can be just a jumping off point to start the creative juices flowing. 


I started by following the sketch closely, but then as I progressed with my card the design evolved! I chose the Delicate Whispers Bundle to work with - I love the foliage which reminds me of the cow parsley I am seeing in the hedgerows this month. The five petalled flowers are adorable - so dainty.

The Designer Series Paper has a luxurious feel to it with the addition of bronze foiled accents. On this occasion, I haven't used the papers but I have included copper heat embossing (and some retired copper foil from my stash) to add that touch of luxury.


The colours I've worked with are Crumb Cake, Secret Sea and Basic Beige. These neutral colours, together with Hydrangea Hue and Mossy Meadow Blends I used to colour the flowers, work well with the natual mood of this suite.

My favourite bits of this card are the ditsy tone on tone flowers to create the backgrounds and the Wink of Stella sheen on top of the focal point flower. I always love heat embossing too. Every time it is magical to melt the powder into a shiny image. The copper looks wonderful, especially on Secret Sea. Oh and the linen thread bow and the little gem for the centre of the flower are the perfect finishing touches!


I had a lot of fun making this card even there was a fair bit of deliberation to get an arrangement I was happy with. Now I've picked my elements I think I willl make a few more! Please continue along the hop to see what the others have created too...enjoy the projects! We would love to hear from you and so if you have been inspired, please leave a comment.


 


Do you need any of the products used on today's cards? If you live in the UK please take a look in my online Stampin' Up! shop. You can follow the link or click on the pictures below of the products I have used today.

Stay safe and as always, happy crafting,


If you would like to order any supplies, and you live in the UK, I would love to be your demonstrator.
To place an order please visit my online shop HERE. The products I have used on today's project are linked from the images shown below.

Stampin' Rewards Program 


When shopping, remember to opt in to Stampin' Rewards on orders over £20.

Click on the images of the products I have used today to purchase them in my online shop: