Partial Die-cutting Video

Hello, Crafters.

The video I posted this morning is my second HOW TO video and 

it shows how to do partial die-cutting. I first saw this technique used for

 this style of card in a video by Jesse Larsson about five years ago. 

As far as I can tell Jesse wasn't a Stampin' Up! demonstrator at that time and 

stopped making videos about four years ago. She put I ♥ U in her

 three windows, and I thought it looked fabulous, which is probably

 why it stayed in my mind all this time. Many thanks to 

Jesse Larsson for the inspiration for today's card!

Although it isn't strictly necessary, I made a template that can be used 

again and again in the future. This made today's video extra long, but 

the template will make it a fairly quick card to make. 

I certainly think it's well worth the time and effort to make a template, 

not only for this style of card, but any card you want to make that 

has three squares either vertically, or horizontally.

The ribbon I used in the video - the Blackberry Bliss and Petal Pink 

card you see above - is actually Fresh Fig, but I think it goes with 

this colour combo brilliantly! 

My first order since the new 2018 - 2019 Annual Catalogue

 went live will be arriving tomorrow, and I have ordered this

 ribbon in all five of the 2017 - 2019 InColours!

The colour scheme I used for the card at the top is Night of Navy

 and the ink used also includes Melon Medley, which I found went really

 well with the retired Crushed Curry Ribbon you see on the first card.

That's about it from me today. I hope you enjoy the video, and

 until next time, happy crafting. 

JanB.

Sure Do Love You

Hello, Crafters.

I hope you've had a great weekend.

Today's card is another project we had at team training last weekend, but with my spin on it. 

I'm really pleased how this card turned out. 

The object of the three projects we were given,was to show that the Painted With Love Suite wasn't just for St. Valentine's day, but to show that all the products sat just as comfortably as wedding, anniversary and engagement cards, too! 

I started with a Whisper White Cardstock (CS) card base, with a layer of Melon Mambo CS, with a top layer of Powder Pink CS. 

I dry embossed the top layer using the Petal Burst Embossing Folder. 

Next I took a 2 3/8" strip of the larger heart design from the Painted With Love Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP), and added a Rich Razzleberry trim - top and bottom - that I'd made using the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch. 

I adhered both pieces so the scalloped edge was facing outwards on both sides, and then painted them with my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen. 

Then I adhered this across the card horizontally, using Tombow.

Next I took a layer of Melon Mambo CS, with a layer of Whisper White CS, onto which I stamped two of the leaf heart designs from the Sure Do Love You Stamp Set, using Melon Mambo Ink. 

I adhered the Whisper White CS layer to the Melon Mambo CS layer, and then adhered it to the card front using Dimensionals.

Using Powder Pink CS and Powder Pink Ink, I stamped two large solid hearts, and die cut them using the large heart die in the Lots To Love Box Framelits Dies. 

Next I ran the hearts through the Big Shot using the Petal Burst Embossing Folder, and adhered them inside the stamped hearts using Dimensionals. 

To create the banner, I started with a scrap of Whisper White CS, some Rich Razzleberry Ink, and the banner stamp from the Thoughtful Banners Stamp Set.

I chose the congratulations sentiment from the Best Birds Stamp Set, and I curved the stamp round on my block so it would fit the shape of the banner stamp. 

It was a bit hit and miss but the way I did it was to stamp an image of the banner on a scrap of paper, and put the stamp on the block at what I thought look right. 
 
I put the stamp over the banner image so I could see where it needed to be adjustedt, and kept going until I was happy with it - one of the benefits of photopolymer stamps! 

Next I punched the banner out using the Duet Banner Punch, and adhered it across both hearts using Dimensionals.
 
To decorate the inside of the card I took a layer of Whisper White CS, and stamped two of the large solid hearts, using Powder Pink Ink as before, overlaying and offsetting them so they came off the sheet. 

I adhered this Whisper White CS layer onto a layer of Melon Mambo CS, and then adhered them inside the card.

As I said before, I'm pleased how this card turned out!

Tomorrow I'm hoping to work on the third project which is a box!

Before I go, I want to share a funny story with you about something that happened at Church yesterday! 

A man was giving his testimonial on how and why he became a Christian. He said he went to Church with his new girlfriend - now his wife and the mother of his children - and he was surprised that the men in the congregation were "normal" men! 

I'm not sure what he was expecing, but as you can imagingine, it caused a ripple of laughter through the Church! 

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

JanB.

March Thank You Cards

Hello, Crafters.

Now that I'm getting back into my normal routine, I'm extra busy because I'm updating my database with my new contacts. 
 
Yesterday I was also working on my customer Thank You cards for March. 

I decided to go for the easy option and based the design on the card we were doing as our make-n-take at the Make It Show. 

The three changes I've made is that I changed the sentiment to Thank You, I also put the image onto a co-ordinating layer before adhering it to the card front using Tombow, and I used Gold Glimmer Paper instead of Silver.

At the show, we didn't include this layer but adhered the image using Dimensionals instead. 

The colours at the show were Real Red, Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie. 

The make-n-take table is always very popular and there's invariably a queue of people waiting to take the next empty seat!

As usual I used our Whisper White Notecards and Envelopes which come in a pack of twenty. 

These are such a great size for Thank You Cards. 

I cut an Oblong of Whisper White Cardstock (CS) and a slightly larger piece of Delightful Dijon CS. 

With the exception of the Melon Mambo and Real Red cards, I used the 2015 - 2017 Designer Series Paper Stack (DSP) in Delightful Dijon and I made sure I used all four different designs!

I cut a small oblong of DSP for the bottom of the image and a narrow strip of the Gold Glimmer Paper to go on the top edge of this strip. 

Using our Archival Basic Black Ink, I stamped the image towards the top of the white oblong and then again on the DSP.
 
I chose the THANK YOU from the Thoughtful Banners Stamp Set, and stamped just below the stamped image.

This allowed me enough room to adhere the small DSP oblong and the Gold Glimmer Strip onto the image oblong.

I cut out the dress, and made sure I went inside the black lines on the left-hand side. 

There's no right and wrong about this, just what you prefer!

For the hat, I cut on the upward-curved line of the hat so it looked as ifthe inside of the hat is white. 

Again, there's no right and wrong about this, just what you prefer!

I adhered the dress and hat in place using Tombow, and then adhered the image to the card front at the same angle we were doing at the Show. 

The reason I made one with the girl with the umbrella is because I was demonstrating this stamp set and technique at the show. I did a card where I'd used this image but the patterns were all reversed and this

I think that's about it for today. Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.

Cajon Craze Touches of Texture

Hello Crafters.

Hubby and I had a really super day out in Tenterden yesterday to celebrate my birthday which is today! ☺The weather was dry with some sunshine, too! Considering this has been a lousy summer, we were lucky!

Tenterden wasn't quite the same "olde worlde" place hubby remembered but it is a very delightful largeish village. There was definitely an "olde worlde" charm,  lots of old buildings and no fast food outlets, which wre very conspicuous by their absence! 

Yesterday evening I played with the Touches of Texture Stamp Set again and chose to heat emboss the large single flower using our new Copper Embossing Powder.

I started my card with a base of Cajun Craze Cardstock, with a layer of Crumb card and a top layer of Cajun Craze.

I dry embossed this top layer using the new Seaside Embossing Folder.

I inked the flower stamp with Versamark and stamped it  onto a piece of Whisper White Cardstock.

I sprinkled Copper Embossing powder over the Versamark and heat set it.  

Then I stamped the image again on a Post-It Note twice - once so the flower would have some sticky on the back of it when I'd fussy cut it and again so the leaves would too.

Once I'd finished fussy cutting, I fixed them on the heat embossed images.

Using Cajun Craze Ink, I inked the large  splatters stamp, stamped off twice and then over the embossed image.

I was really pleased with the impression I achieved!

I squeezed some Cajun Craze Ink into the lid and, using a Blender Pen, coloured the flower petals.

I used my Cajun Craze Marker Pen to colour the centre of the flower and the leaves.

Using the copper embossed specialty sheet from the Affectionately Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP) and the Layering Squares Framelits Die, I die cut a Frame to lay around the image.

I think this card would look equally as good if I'd used Crumb Cake Cardstock for the frame.

I adhered the two layers to the card base, then two of our delicate White Doilies (I prefer the more intense white that's produced if you leave two or more together).

Finally I adhered the framed image over the doily.

For the sentiment, I chose a frame from the Thoughtful Banners Stamp set and heat embossed it in Copper Embossing Powder.

I also chose Happy Birthday from the same stamp set, lined them up on a clear block and stamped them inside the banner using Cajun Craze ink.

I punched it out using the Duet Banner Punch and adhered it to the card front using Dimensionals.

The last three photographs are just a glimpse at Tenterden.

The first photograph is the White Lion Hotel and Pub where we had a super lunch.

There was a large area outside but we dined inside and had a super Ploughman's lunch.
 
The second photograph is a view taken from the Millenium Garden - it's an idyllic little oasis tucked away and could easily be missed!

There were three or four groups of people sitting on benches eating their lunch.

The third photograph shows a really olde worlde building that has been converted into a restaurant. 

That's about it for today. I'm having a delightfully easy day today, just catching up with lots of little jobs that have been
building up recently. I will create a new card to share in the morning but apart from that, normal service will be resumed tomorrow! LOL!
 
 Have a great day. Until tomorrow, happy crafting,

JanB.

Biggin Hill Festival of Light - Today 9.30 am - 5.30 pm

Hello, Crafters.

Today's the day for the Biggin Hill Airshow! Hubby and I went down to the Gingham Goose Craft Village late yesterday afternoon so we could set up our tables, tablecloths, banners, shelving and racking, etc. We didn't take any stock with us although several people were leaving theirs overnight. 

Because my products are all papercraft, I had the additional worry that if it rained overnight - it may be summer but this is England! LOL! - I wouldn't be able to rescue anything if the roof leaked or if it became damp in the marquee. Guess what, it rained overnight! Fingers crossed everything will be fine when we get there in a little while. I'm glad I decided to play safe rather than be sorry! A couple of years ago, we did get caught out in a downpour when we had a gazebo. The good thing about that kind of experience, you only ever get caught out like that once!!

We came home and made our final check that all products were nicely priced and that I had remembered business cards, catalogues, classes leaflets, recruitment packs and of course my float! I was up at 5.30am this morning so I had plenty of time to shower, wash my hair and be off by 7! At this time in the morning, we should be able to get to the airfield comfortably in half an hour. We've been advised to get there before the roads get jam-packed with visitors - surely they can't get there more than two hours before it starts, can they??

Yesterday, I made my video showing the products I've bought from the new catalogue. I also included the products I won, or was given, at Convention in April, plus products I ordered during the pre pre-order and  the pre-order. As the video runs for 46 minutes, you may want to get yourself a cup of tea or coffee, and a biscuit or muffin before settling down to watch it. ☺ You may want to have pencil and paper handy as I've said which page each stamp set can be found on.

To make today's card I used the beautiful Artistically Asian Stamp Set. I fell in love with this stamp set the moment I saw it and it's been an absolute dream to work with! There are two stamps in the set that have Chinese symbols on  that I've used as part of the design for my own DSP but I don't know if they are actual symbols and, if they are, what they say. If you know the answer to these questions, I'd really love to know it. Would you be kind enough to leave a note in the comments box below for me, please? ☺

To make today's card I started with a card base of Whisper White Cardstock, then a layer of Sweet Sugarplum and a top layer of Whisper White, which I used to create my own Designer Series Paper (DSP).  I put the two Chinese symbols on one block, one above the other and stamped a border on either side of the Whisper White layer but it looked rather bland, so I added two more columns. Then I took the solid lily-like flower stamp from the Live, Love, Grow Stamp Set, inked it with Sweet Sugarplum Ink, stamped off once - except for the very top flower when I forgot! - and stamped in between each set of two stamps. If I'd planned this design from the beginning, I would have made more effort trying to get it all lined up but I'm pleased with the finished effect and rather pleased that this is a Topsy design i.e. it just grew!

I chose the chrysanthemum-looking flower for my main image and painted it with Marker Pens: Sweet Sugarplum for the two flower heads, Emerald Envy for the two leaves and Soft Suede for the stem. Before I stamped onto Whisper White, I huffed on the stamp in case any of the ink had dried. It came out beautifully. I die cut it using the Layering Oval Dies and the layered it onto a Scalloped Layering Oval - I love these new dies! I adhered the two layers together and then attached it to the card front using Dimensioanls.

For the sentiment, using Emerald Envy Ink, I stamped one of the banners from the Thoughtful Banners Stamp Set and chose Happy and Birthday for the inside. Putting the two words at a sensible angle on the block wasn't quite as easy as it sounds! What you see on my card was my third attempt. The first try was on scrap paper just to test how easy it was to line the image into the stamped frame but it also gave me a chance to move the sentiment - it didn't look anywhere near as curved as it actually was! I loosened the curve, stamped on another piece of scrap and then I went for it using Sweet Sugarplum for the sentiment and punched it out using the Duet Banner Punch. I attached this to the card front with Dimensionals and voila!

Well, I must dash! If you're planning to visit the Biggin Hill Festival of Flight today, please pop into the Gingham Goose Craft Market and say Hello. It'd be great to see you! ☺

I hope you have a great weekend and until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.