Saturday 11 March 2023

Stamping Inkspirations Blog Hop - A Technique 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 the Stamping Inkspirations blog hop is technique challenge.

The challenge for us this month is to use our dies. I love using dies in my crafting - after some deliberation I decided that the way I use them most is to create frames and layers. Indeed, several sets are designed to do just that. Other sets have a series of nesting shapes that can be layered to wonderful effect.

Of course, I also love using dies to cut out the images from Designer Series Paper and also images that I've stamped. I have lots of birthdays to celebrate during March so I set to work making a soft, feminine card which is suitable for a birthday or a just a note card.

Using the largest die from the Fabulous Frames dies, I created a large textured frame in Petal Pink that I mounted onto a top-folding Thick Very Vanilla card base. When you use the die to cut the frame a perfectly sized layer is cut at the same time. So, I cut a second set from Sahara Sand to create my inside layer. (I've saved the Petal Pink inner and the Sahara Sand frame for another project.) The deep texture on the Sahara Sand layer is added using one of the new, Online Exclusive Basic folders.

The I made the focal point of my card using the Fragrant Flowers Bundle. The large flower was stamped using Versamark, white heat embossed and then die cut using the coordinating die. Then, I used a selection of inks to colour the image with my Waterpainters. I transferred a little ink from my ink pad on to a clear block, added some water to dilute it down before adding it to the heat embossed image.

The heat embossing resists the watercolour so, it was relatively easy to keep the Pear Pizzazz on the leaves away from the Petal Pink and Calypso Coral on the petals. I kept the colouring subtle and gentle by adding plenty of water before going to the card. As the flowers dried, they curled a little. By using Glue Dots to adhere them to the card base allowed me to retain the curl which added a bit more texture to the composition.

The sentiment is also white heat embossed, but this time is used Vellum to allow the colour to peep through. The Glue Dots are hidden under the letters! To finish I added a bow made from Very Vanilla Baker's Twine and some Elegant Faceted Gems.

I hope that you are inspired by my card today and that you will 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.

Mo Rootes ● Leonie Stuart

Gez Carpenter ● Aurélie Fabre ● Jan Musselman

Karen Henderson ● Ann Krucek ● Lorraine Tierney

Marieke Bart ● Tricia Butts ● Danielle Kassing

Linda Moore ● Susan Webster ● Shel Anderson

Vickie Littlewood ● Judith Patterson

Do you need any of the products used on today's card? If you live in the UK you can click on the shopping links below to add them to your collection today.

Thank you for joining us today! Looking forward to seeing you next time.

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 purchase the items used for these cards, or any other supplies, 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. Use the current hostess code (March 2023 code: DXPBGKYG) to get some free product (it will follow in the post after the end of the month). If your order is over £150 do not use the code as you become the hostess and get the rewards. To place an order please visit my online shop HERE.

If you would like to join my team, you can choose your starter kit HERE and if you have any questions, please contact me at furrycatdesigns@gmail.com

All Star Tutorial Bundles

All Star Tutorial Bundles have 12 AMAZING video tutorials to inspire you each month.

Click HERE for sneak peeks or to purchase.

FREE with a purchase from my online store

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

Rembember to use the current hostess code.

March 2023 code: DXPBGKYG

Wednesday 8 March 2023

All Star Design Team Blog Hop - By the Bay Suite

Hello and welcome to our All Star Design Team Video Class Bundle Blog Hop for March 2023. This month we are using the By the Bay Suite. The projects featured in the Video Class Bundle are exclusive and the tutorials come complete with photos, video directions and a supply list that includes both Metric and Imperial measurements.

Here is a sneak peek of the By the Bay Suite bundle of tutorials.

To enjoy the tutorials you have several options:

shop with me - if you order from my online store you will receive that month's bundle for free
purchase - buy the bundle for £11.50
Join my Team - team members will receive the tutorials for free

In this six-month block of tutorials we will be using current Stampin' Up! Suites to create a Video Class Bundle, each containing 12 exclusive video classes. We will be using products from both the January-April Mini Catalogue and the new Annual Catalogue:

January 2023 - Fancy Flora Suite
February 2023 - Country Floral Lane Suite
March 2023 - By the Bay Suite
April 2023 - Regency Park Suite
May 2023 - Annual Catalogue Suite
June 2023 - Annual Catalogue Suite

For the blog hop at the start of the month, each of us create another project using the featured suite of products to give you even more inspiration. Here is my additional By the Bay project.

I have used one of the fabulous sheets of DSP as a backdrop for my stamped and die cut shells on this fun shaker card. I cut a circular aperture in a card front sized piece of Mint Macaron which I then embossed using the 3-d Seashells folder. I added acetate behind the aperture, adhesive strip around the circular edge and a few Effervescent Elements for the shaker part. They look like bubbles and have a wonderful sheen.

I used some of the left over shells from my previous project (and added a few more using Mint Macaron ink) to surround the aperture and I left some gaps so that there was some room for the pretty flat backed pearls. I couldn't resist using some more of the Pearlescent Speciality Paper to cut out one of the large shells. There is so much embossed detail from the die.

I hope that you like my card and that you make something special with these By the Bay Suite of products. Let me know what you think in the comments below. If you want to be inspired with more ideas using this suite you can purchase the tutorial bundle (along with previous tutorials) HERE.

Thank you so much for visiting today. Click on the names below to hop around and see all the other amazing projects. Enjoy! If you live in the UK you can purchase these products below.

Blog Hop List:

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. Use the current hostess code (March 2023 code: DXPBGKYG) to get some free product (it will follow in the post after the end of the month). If your order is over £150 do not use the code as you become the hostess and get the rewards. To place an order please visit my online shop HERE.

If you would like to join my team, you can choose your starter kit HERE and if you have any questions, please contact me at furrycatdesigns@gmail.com