Circular Stamping with Stamparatus

Hello, Crafters. 

Yesterday I was playing with my Stamparatus, experimenting 

 with circular stamping. I've watched so many videos seeing how 

different demos do theirs, and I think I've picked up tips from them

all. Whilst this is basically a good position to be in, it

 does mean I can't credit any one person for inspiring me!

This technique requires a template, and I found two ways of 

doing this. One method I liked needed a template with a 

cut-out so the cardstock could be slotted into the opening, which

 meant the cardstock was held in place. 

The disadavantge of the cut-out is that you'd need one template for

 each different size you wanted. The other method required a

 sheet of acetate which features the same shape, as used on the 

cut-out template, but drawn on in various sizes; typically

 I saw templates with three sizes drawn on. 

The disadvantage of this type of template is that you need Washi 

tape, or something similar to hold the cardstock in position. Personally,

 I think I'll probably use the drawn templates, and anchor my 

cardstock down because I can vary the size of my cardstock.

To create today's card I used the leafy stamp in Pear Pizzazz Ink,

 and the berries stamp in Berry Burst Ink, both from the Banners for 

You Stamp Set. The little fawn in the centre is from A Good Day

 Stamp Set, and I stamped him in Soft Suede Ink.

 Next I painted him using my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen,

 which pulled some colour from the ink, to make the fawn a

 very light brown! I chose the sentiment from the Beautiful

 Bouquet Stamp Set, which I stamped with Soft Suede. 

 I also stamped the fawn on the inside of my card, in the bottom

 right-hand corner, and coloured in the same style as the fawn on 

the front of the card! All three stamp sets I used for today's card are 

being carried forward to the new 2018 - 2019 Annual Catalogue!

After I'd finished my card and put it all together, I put some Fine 

Tip Glue on all the berries to give them some 3D dimension and 

also to make them shiny. I'm very disappointed to see that the 

glue seems to have bleached the berries - they were a really good

 Berry Burst colour before I put the glue on them! 

I don't know if you can pick this up in the photographs, but some 

of the true Berry Burst colour can be see around the edges of the

 berries! Has anybody else experienced this before? 

I'm off to a training event today and tomorrow, and I'm hoping to

 pop back for a quick visit tomorrow morning, so in the 

meantime, happy crafting. 

JanB.

No-Die Mini Treat Bags Video

Hello, Crafters.

Earlier this month, I made all my March online customers a Mini

 Treat Bag, using our dies, into which I'd put a cotton 

handkerchief! I had every intention of making a video showing 

how I'd made it, but events conspired against me!

  First of all, the Hostess Order I'd placed on 1st April didn't arrived

 until 12th April 2018 - this delay is extremely rare. By the time

 I'd parcelled, and posted all the happy mail, and allowed three or 

four days for the post to reach my customers, I'd received the 

Retiring List, only to see that the Mini Treat Dies were retiring!

  Apart from being really disppointed - I've used my dies so

 many times - I also decided that there wasn't much

 point in making a video.  A few days later I asked myself

 what I'd do in the future when I wanted a Mini Treat Bag, and 

my answer was that I'd make one.............hence today's video!

I'd run out of the little wooden clothes pegs, which I didn't

 realise  weren't in the current catalogue, so I used old 

non-Stampin' Up! pegs! Towards the end of the video, one of them 

broke and pinged across my studio, making me jump out of my skin!

 It also reminded me why I gave up on using pags, until someone 

gave me SU pegs. They never broke, so I was hooked again!

Pardon the pun!

I wish you a very blessed Sunday, and until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.

Mini Embroidery Hoops

Hello, Crafters.

Yesterday morning I went to the hairdressers to get my hair done ready for the weekend, and this morning I'm off to get my nails done!
 
It isn't only stamp sets I buy and don't get round to using...............it's also embellishments! 

Yesterday I decided to have a play with the Mini Embroidery Hoops that are in the Spring/Summer Catalogue (page 14). 

The size of the hoops co-ordinate with the A Happy Day Stamp Set, as well as the two New Scallop Circle Punches - 1 1/8" and 1 3/8".  

The only projects I've seen made with the hoops are with stamped images from the stamp set inside the hoops, and (I imagine) popped up on Dimensionals. 

I have made mine a little bit differently, in as much I have tied mine to the smallest Mini Embroidery Hoop, with the little deer suspended on a piece of Linen Thread. 

Without recording a video, the only way I could think of photographing the hoop hanging lose is by tilting the card forward - see the last photograph.

I used three stamp sets for this card:-
A Good Day for the deer
Touches of Textures for the background behind the deer and behind the sentiment
Confetti Celebration for the sentiment.
 
I also used five different punches!

I used::
Banner triple punch to fishtail the end of the banner
Ticket Tear Border Punch for the decorative strips down both sides of the banner
1" circle punch for the deer
1 1/8" Scallop Circle Punch to layer the deer onto
Classic Label Punch for the sentiment, which I stamped with Basic Black Archival Ink. 

The colour scheme of my card is Berry Burst, and I chose the brick wall design from the Painted with Love Designer Series Paper (DSP). 

For the top Whisper White layer, I dry-embossed it using the Brick Wall Embossing Folder but I didn't like the look - it looked crowded.

I dry-embossed another sheet, but this time I used the Simple Stripes Embossing Folder, from the Spring/Summer Catalogue, with the stripes going horizontally.

To finish decorating the front of the card, I added five self-adhesive sequins in Berry Burst, and then popped a small Rhinestone in the center of each - it's amazing how much of a pop they give the sequins!

Inside the card I adhered a layer of Whisper White CS, on a layer of Berry Burst CS. 

When I first started my card, I was going to use a die cut  of the deer, but it was too big for my needs, so I adhered it inside the card instead.

That's about it from me today, so I hope you have a great day, and until tomorrow, happy crafting!

JanB.

New Baby Card

Hello, Crafters.

This is another unusually busy card for me, but I think I quite like it! LOL!

My first idea was to heat emboss the three images that are inside the three large hearts, but for some reason two of the three Versamark stamped images just would not pick up the Copper Embossing Powder! 

I gave up after three attempts, and settled for Basic Grey Archival Ink, but I would still like to know why two of the images refused to pick up the embossing powder!

This card is another example of how easy it is to mix and match Stampin' Up! stamp sets. 

I chose the Welcome stamp from the Wood Words Stamp Set, the rabbit from A Good Day Stamp Set, and the Hello Baby stamp is from the Moon Baby Stamp Set. 

Wooden elements have never appealed to me, but I have played with the hearts before on a previous card, and they are really beginning to grow on me!

You can find them on page 196 in the Annual Catalogue and are called  Hearts & Stars Elements. They are excellent value as you get 72 pieces for €7.50/£5.50. 

There's another set of wooden elements in the catalogue called Touches of Nature Elements, which I have been playing with recently, too!

I used my Watercolour Pencils as regular pencils, to colour the rabbit. The colours I used are Basic Grey for his body and ears, with a soft touch of Melon Mambo on the outer edges of his ears, and also for his nose; I used Pacific Point for his bow. 

The Whisper White Baker's Twine bows were tied around the heart frame before they were adhered to the card front, with Fine Tip Glue Pen. 

It was an effort to do this with the Glue Pen,  so when I was ready to adhere the medium heart frames and the small solid hearts, I used Tombow which was so much easier! 
 
The Designer Series Paper (DSP) that the hearts and images are adhered to is the Naturally Eclectic DSP. 

Then the DSP is on a layer of Pool Party Cardstock (CS), and then a layer of Silver Foil.

The card base is Whisper White CS, with a layer of Pool Party, and a top layer of the Sale-a-bration (SAB) DSP which is called Springtime Foil. 

To decorate the inside of the card I added a layer of Pool Party CS with a layer of Whisper White CS on top. 

When I created the first stamped images on the DSP it didn't work out because I'd cut it too short to fit the three large hearts on.

Rather than waste it, I punched out the three images using my 1 3/8" Scalloped Circle Punch, and adhered them along the bottom of the CS inside the card!   

That's about it from me today. Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.   

A Good Day Scallop Circles Video

Hello, Crafters.

I hope you're enjoying a good weekend.

This morning I uploaded my video showing how I made the the three scallop circles card I shared on Thursday. 

I included a quick two minute tutorial after I'd finished the card to show how to colour our ribbon using our Stampin' Blends. 

I used Light Pool Party and the effect was gorgeous! 
 
After I referred to my Stamp Reference File the other day, one lady asked if I could show my file on a video so she could see how I keep a record of my stamp sets for easy reference. 

So I also showed that and my Dies & Embossing Folfder Reference File to. 

I didn't do anything to get them spruced up for their video performance, I showed them exactly as they are! LOL! I surprised myself with the amount of hints and tips I've put in this video - I hope you enjoy them!

I wish you a very happy Sunday. Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.

A Good Day with Berry Burst

Hello, Crafters.

My Stampin' Up! delivery yesterday included the two new scalloped circle punches, and I wanted to play with them straight away!

They co-ordinate with the Good Day Stamp Set brilliantly so it was easy to decide what I was going to base today's card on!

After a lot of fun stamping and punching images, using different inks, and different cardstocks, I knew which direction I wanted to go in. 

The scalloped circles produced by these punches are 1 1/8" and 1 3/8", and a lot of the images in the Good Day Stamp Set can be punched out with a 1" Circle Punch. 
 
When these stamped images are layered on to the larger scalloped circles, they leave a good 3/8" scalloped edge visible. 

I'm really taken with the border on the Just Because Stamp, because it's something different, and with the inner circle being just 1", it will take one of the little images. 

I stamped three Just Because stamps using Basic Black Archival Ink, on Berry Burst Cardstock (CS), and rather foolishly punched them out before colouring them!

It made painting the little "raindrops" that were decorating the outside rim, that more difficult, but I persevered with my Berry Burst Marker Pen. 

Normally I would have gone for my white gel pen, but I do try to be unpredictable, and I do think on this occasion it was a good decision to bypass it in favour of my Marker Pen!

Using Whisper White CS, and Basic Black Archival Ink, I stamped the rabbit, the tree with the swing and the sunshine stamp.

Using my Marker Pens, I coloured the images, and then punched them out using the 1" Circle Punch.

The first two fitted in the punch beautifully, but the last one had a sentiment going in a half circle over the top of the image, rather like a rainbow; I was careful as I did it and succeeded!

I took a Whisper White CS card base, and adhered a Berry Burst CS layer on the front and on the inside. I dry-embossed the front Whisper White CS layer with the Petal Burst Embossing Folder, before adhering it onto the Berry Burst CS layer. 

Next I added Dimensionals to the three Berry Burst Scalloped Circles, and then adhered the three images to them, again using Dimensionals.

Finally, I adhered them in a horizontal line across the top of the card. 

I chose the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Sorthern Serenade Stamp Set, and stamped it on a piece of Whisper White CS, using Basic Black Archival Ink. 

I used one of the the Stitched Shapes Oval Framelits dies to die cut the sentiment, and adhered it to a scalloped oval in Berry Burst CS which I'd die cut using the Layering Oval Framelits Dies.
 
I folded a piece of the Berry Burst Metallic Ribbon like a breast cancer ribbon, and put a Glue Dot where the two pieces crossed over each other, and then I added some Tombow, to make sure the ribbon didn't go walkabouts.

Using Berry Burst Ink, I stamped two little flowers from the Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set onto a scrap of Berry Burst CS, and punched them out using the Tree Builder Punch.

Using more Dimensionals, I adhered them onto the sentiment oval, and added a Basic Pearl to the centre of each.

To complete the card, I stamped the Bring on the Sunshne image on the Whisper White CS layer inside the card using Basic Black Archival Ink.

I coloured  the image in the same way I did on the front of the card. The only question mark I have over this card is, should I have cut the ribbon both ends instead of having a loop at one end?

I think it would look better, but if I try it and I'm wrong, I'm snookered! What do you think?

I've thoroughly enjoyed creating the last two cards......can I make it a hat trick today? Time will tell! Until tomorrow, Happy crafting,

JanB.