Saturday, 14 February 2026

Fragrant Layers for the Stamping Inkspirations Colour Challenge Blog Hop

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 we have a colour challenge for the Stamping Inkspirations Blog Hop.

Our challenge is to use at least three of the colours from the selection. We can choose from Azure Afternoon, Darling Duckling, Pretty in Pink, Granny Apple Green and Pecan Pie.

I selected the floral Fragrant Layes bundle to create my cards with. I stamped the detailed floral image, using Versamark, on to Basic White card and then heat embossed it using gold powder. I always love watching the transformation from powder to the beautifully smooth, shiny raised finish that you get with heat embossing.

Next, I used in fill stamps to colour the petals and leaves. These two step stamp makes colouring a breeze. The stamps intentionally add texture. I enhanced this by adding some tone on tone dots using one of the smaller stamps in the set. The heat embossing resists the ink, so to avoid smudging, it is important to dab the coloured image with a clean cloth to remove the excess ink. Initially, I forgot to do this and ended up throwing away some fuzzy images!

Using a blending brush I added colour to the edge of the Basic White before adding it to a slightly larger matting layer. This in turn was added to an embossed piece which was adhered to the base card. The simple Hello was also heat embossed in gold and then die cut using the stitched edge banner. Both the sentiment and banner are included in the bundle. Finally, I added a trio of gems from the Strawberry Slush and Pretty in Pink pack. The palest ones even coordinated witht he Azure Afternoon flowers!

True to form, I couldn't stop at just one card. They all start with a gold heat embossed image which is coloured using the two step stamp and I had fun playing with the palette of colours. This last one was a little more tricky to make because I wanted to overlay the die cut flower frame over the stamped image. The gold heat embossing still shines through the gaps.

Here they all are together!

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

Angie McKenzie ● Karen Henderson

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.

Join Offer

For a limited time, new demonstrators will receive the new Stampin’ Positioner tool FREE along with their Starter Kit! Be quick, the offer ends 2nd March 2026.

Bonus Days Coupons

Now is the time to redeem your Bonus Days coupons! They can be used until 28th February.

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:

Wednesday, 11 February 2026

Using the new Stampin' Positioner with Cute as a Bug Suite for the New at SU! Blog Hop

Add photo here

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. We are creating projects using the new Stampin' Positioner. I am using it to help speed up my stamping/die cutting process. Further down in my post you will find a link to the posts from other people who are participating in this hop - you will want to take a look at them all so that you gather all the tips and tricks for using the Stamp Positioner.

This fabulous tool was available to pre-order by Demonstrators for a short while and will become available to buy in the future. There is exciting news! Until 2nd March, the Stamp Positioner will be added to all Starter Kits for FREE.

Before I talk about the cards I have made today, let me show you some step by step photos of how I used this fabulous tool to help me with my stamping and die cutting.

The first step is to lie the stamps down on the platform, stamp side down on the card - The card is positioned at an angle and lines up with a groove in the platform to help with this and enables you to replace a sheet of card in the same position again and again. I have also used a sheet of grid paper beneath the card - this cleverly sits on the little nodules to keep it securely in place.

Next, place the stamping plate onto of the platforn to pick up the stamps.

Remove the plate and ink up the stamps. If you use a full size ink pad some ink may transfer to the plate, but this should not affect the finished project. Using a Stamping Spot will allow for greater control over where the ink goes!

Remove the plate to reveal the stamped images - the plate can be replaced if you find that some of the images are not stamped clearly.

Spend some time carefully aligning the dies over the stamped images and secure them with repositionable tape.

Die cut the first set of images. I have added this next instruction as a belt and braces tip to ensure everything lines up! I drew a line around the position of the card to reinforce the locked in position of the card - it is an extension of the grove on the platform. I also stamped the images onto the grid paper. By doing these two things it was very quick for me to see if my stencil card had moved from the correct position.

Die cut multiple shapes and replace them into the stencil ready to stamp!

Multiple die cut images stamped quickly! I love this method of stamping multiple images. I can die cut blank images quickly, then stamp them easily and I only have to align the die on the stamp once = happy stamper!

I had a heap of images just waiting to be coloured. Initially, I intended to colour with Stampin' Blends. So, some of my images are stamped with Basic Grey and others with Memento Black. However, I discovered that a couple of the Blends needed to be replaced so I switched to using colouring pencils. I used them purely as pencils without using water or a blender brush and lightly layed down the creamy colours to achieve the look I wanted - it didn't matter that I hadn't used StazOn.

That was quite wordy, but I hope it helps you understand my process.

I have created a scene with the little critters displaying them on a bridge fold card. I have made this type of fold before, but this version is mini and perfect for the cute little images. The idea with a bridge fold card is to make a stage in the middle with wings/flaps at the sides to make it stand up.

The dimensions I used for the basic card are:

Base card 16 x 8cm, scored at 2cm, 4cm 12cm and 14cm. Bridge 12 x 2cm.

The Imperial measurements are:

Base card 6 3/4" x 3 1/4", scored at 7/8", 1 3/4", 5" and 5 7/8". Bridge 5" x 3/4".

The central stage is a square, and then I added matting layers using DSP or embossed card stock. The cards will fold flat and they fit into a notecard sized envelope.

I really enjoyed using the colouring pencils. I made a new swatch using the names and numbers on the sides of the pencils which helped me to select the colours to use. I used the DSP as a guide and used a light circular action to lay down the colour. Several layers of the same colour were used to darken the shade. Occasionally, I used two or three pencils to create a unique shade. The points of the pencils were kept fairly blunt to promote a smooth layer of colour.

The backdrop for this one is a panel from the DSP. The bridge is layered with ditsy flowers for the creatures to walk on.

If colouring isn't your thing, or you are pushed for time, you can cut out images from the DSP. Some even have dies! This one is made using the imperial measurements. Below, you can see them all together.

I hope that this encourages you to use the Stamping Positioner to create multiple images and that you'll hve a go at making a bridge fold card. 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!