Simplicity Is Often The Best Solution

Delicate Forest Bundle - so beautiful and has the option of being simple or as complex as you wish. I decided for my last class to use this bundle in different ways. This stamp set and dies will continue into the next catalogue, but not as a bundle, so if you want to save 10% on your purchase, now is a good time to order

The simple way was to case the catalogue (a wonderful help if you are stuck for ideas) and add a little touch of texture by running the stamped section through the Stampin' Up! Cut & Emboss Machine. Any texture can be used and I have a couple of  "go to" folders that simple add texture and not so much pattern. 

HINT: It's always a good idea to cut your paper to the correct size before embossing it as it is more difficult to cut sharp cutting lines when the paper is textured.

I chose some coordinating patterned paper which I mainly chose because of the colour. In this case the beautiful colour from the SUBTLES RANGE -  Lost Lagoon.

I teamed it up with Lost Lagoon ink and Fresh Freesia Ink. The Fresh Freesia ink was stamped off to give a lighter colour and the Lost Lagoon was stamped at full strength to provide good coverage  when overlapping. It was then just a simple step to adhere the pieces on the base card using Multipurpose glue. You can choose any colour combination that you love, and remember all of the colours from Stampin'Up! coordinate beautifully with the 6 x 6 inch Designer Series Paper Assortments from all the colour families.

The greeting brought in another technique for the class - that of heat embossing. It is a while since we've done that in class and I always like to refresh memories of the techniques available. Because we embossed in White on Lost Lagoon card stock it was important to remember to use the Embossing Buddy to eliminate any little white specs on the background. 

The finished card:

Feel free to contact me for further information, or you can visit my Facebook page: Ann Craig Independent Demonstrator Stampin' Up Supplies and Ideas. 

Until next time,

Happy stamping

Ann Craig

A Christmas Craft Fair

Christmas Ornaments I Love To Make

It's been a while since I added anything to my blog, and after many months I'm ready to get back to sharing with you all. 

The event that took up so much of my time at the end of last year, was preparing for The Canberra Christmas Craft Fair. My friend and fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator Lorraine Spencer really enjoy this event as the other stall holders are so friendly and the organisers are awesome. We spend time making ornaments and Christmas gifts to sell to customers. Some want them for their personal use and others find just the right thing for work team gifts or stocking stuffers. We try to have a variety on offer so there is something for everyone. 

The ornaments at the top of the post are my staple. I cannot imagine how many of these I've made over the years, but it must be in the thousands. They sell so well and are quite relaxing to make. They also are a great way to use up your Designer Series Papers that you just had to buy and then didn't want to use! 

I have a video that shows you how to make these, but if you live locally and would like a class, then I'm happy to arrange that for you. 

Another ornament that I enjoy making is the Shaker Ornament.

These ornaments indulge my love of watercoloring. Simply stamp the image on a pre-cut 2 and1/2 inch circle of Basic White A4 using a permanent ink such as Stazon Jet Black, then colour with Water Painters and your chosen colours. Use any small sequins or snowflakes as the shaking medium, then cover with a Snow Globe Shaker Dome. (now retired from SU but I'm sure you can find them on-line somewhere) I cut the trim using the SU Snow Globe dies and the ornament was backed with a 2 and 1/2 inch glitter circle. these were very popular lat Christmas. 

Another of the ornaments that I always enjoy making are the Christmas ornaments using Designer Series Papers. These were featured in the Holiday Mini Catalogue in 2012 - it just shows you how timeless some of our paper craft can be, and because of the layers of glue used, these ornaments are sturdy and last a long time.

The framelits used are from the Ornaments Keepsakes stamps, but I've also made these using the Gleaming Ornaments 2 pack punch set. They are a little smaller but still beautiful.

I hope I've inspired you to make some of your own Christmas ornaments. It is never too early to get started and already we are in the 4th month of the year. I can't believe how fast the year is flying by. 

I would love you to go to my Stampin' Up! Demonstrator website if you want to look further at what is in the current catalogues. You'll also see an on-line version of the new 2024 - 25 Annual Catalogue and lists of the retiring products. There may be something you've been holding off on getting, so do check to make sure you don't miss out.

Until next post,

Best Wishes and Happy Crafting

Ann Craig

Lots of Birthdays This Month

 It's been such a long time since I posted anything on my blog, but that doesn't mean I haven't been creating, I've just been busy with other things in my life.

This includes taking refresher classes in wheel thrown pottery (after more than 40 years) and trying to improve my painting skills as well as continuing with in-person classes for card making. There also seems to be lots of grandma opportunities for me to be involved with my grandchildren's activities and as they are such fleeting times I'm taking every chance to spend time with them.

This week it is my middle daughter's birthday and she is one of those super mums who manages to do everything except relax enough. I made her a card and used the opportunity to relay my message that she needs to take more care of herself as well as wishing her a very happy birthday. 

For the base of the card I used one of the designs from one of the Stampin' Up! Kits - 

Saying Thanks Kit (162361)

To personalise the card I stamped an image from "In The Moment" stamp set (157987) onto Shimmery White card stock and roughly coloured with Watercolour pencils. These pencils are really good for a quick water colour technique as they transfer easily to the paper and have strong pigmentation for great colour. Add a little water with either a damp brush or the Water Painters (151298) to achieve  a nice watercolour effect. The w/c pencils come in 2 Assortments, giving you plenty of colours to choose from, and like paints they can be blended to create new colours. I'm a fan of the pencils and they are a really good way to start with water colouring.

Assortment 1 (161700)   Assortment 2 (149014)

The completed card. The hearts from the kit card provided the perfect backdrop, bright colour and dimension that I was looking for and I simply adhered a different greeting and the stamped image. (Along with a bit of bling!) 

The Stampin' Up! Kits range is perfect if you are looking for a quick card. They come in a variety of themes, and as I've shown you here, they can be used as lovely stand alone cards, or they can be personalised to display your own creativity. 

I hope you've enjoyed my take on this Kit and to see lots of Stampin' Up! products simply follow this link to my on-line store

If you are looking for a genuine bargain, the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack has been refreshed this week and there are lots of wonderful bargains to inspire your card making, and scrap booking. You will find this when viewing my On-Line store.

Ann C.

Christmas Card - Joyful Holly

Do you love to create quick cards? 

Quite often I find making a card or more in a short time, very satisfying, and while I love to create intricate and time-consuming cards, come Christmas time when we are all very busy, something like this card is just perfect. 

I created this card at Christmas time last year, and forgot to complete the post, so here it is for your inspiration!

 It is easy but has a strong graphic quality because of its simplicity. 

I've used the Joyful Holly stamp set by Stampin' Up! because of the strong lines and simple shapes - combined with traditional Christmas colours - Cherry Cobbler, Shaded Spruce and Gold. 

Images copyright 1990 - 2022 Stampin' Up!®

The holly image is stamped twice in Memento Black and the colours are placed using a Stamparatus. You can also do this by eye, as the stamps are photopolymer and easily lined up.

 Images copyright 1990 - 2022 Stampin' Up!®

Cute Punch Note Cards with Hello Ladybug

 Punches are wonderful tools that assist you to make quick and pretty cards of all sizes. 

Today I've chosen to create little note cards using a builder punch from the 2022 -23 Annual Catalogue

This little card uses images from the Hello Ladybug stamp set and the coordinating Ladybug Builder Punch. It also coordinates with the Medium Daisy Punch

 

The card size is 7 x 7centimeters. This will fit perfectly in the 3 x 3 inch envelopes available in the Annual Catalogue

I stamped the daisy directly onto the card, punched out the ladybug body in black and the wings in red. I then stamped the black dots onto the wings. The "Hello" greeting is also from this set. The border is hand drawn with a Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker. The daisy centre is from the Glossy Dots Asssortment

It is so quick to make a set of these and they would be a lovely gift.

Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

You can see more ideas for using this punch on page 30 of the 2022-23 Annual Catalogue

Australian residents are welcome to use my on-line store for any supplies, or simply select one of the above links in the description to go directly to that product in store.

Sometimes it is really fun to create something that takes very little time, and is very useful to have on hand.

Until next time enjoy your crafting,

 

Christmas Fun With The Sweet Gingerbread Bundle

The super cute Sweet Gingerbread Bundle consists of stamps and matching dies. 

You'll find these on page 20 of the July - December Mini Catalogue

There are so many cute accessories in the stamp set that you can make either complicated or simple projects, and because the stamps are photopolymer, it is easy to add in the windows, door and window frames and other accessories without using a stamp positioner. You can see right through the stamp!

I have 2 samples for you - one is a quick tag that takes very little time to create. I combined the stamped images with Embossed Treat Bags from the Annual Catalogue, and some of the gorgeous new In Color Ribbons, specifically Sweet Sorbet, Tahitian Tide and Orchid Oasis 3.2mm Metallic Woven Ribbon (p. 146 of the Annual Catalogue)

Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

Those little trees and lollipops are so cute.

I also made a card that demonstrates the wonderful coordinating dies. I chose a bright spotty background and used non traditional Christmas colours to stamp the images. One house is popped up with dimensionals as are some of the trees and the lollipop. I love how the different heights add so much to a card.

 

                                           Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

 I hope you've gained a little inspiration from my projects, and if you would like to shop on-line for the products, you can go to my on-line shop or select some of the links above.

thanks for joining me today

 

Creating With Punches - Christmas Decoration

 I'm very excited to share this method of creating something with Stampin' Up!® punches. I love eveything to do with Christmas and for over 10 years have been participating in the Canberra Craft & Quilt Fair, where my friend and I sell lots of our creations.

Christmas is our specialty - each year we try to come up with a new papercraft ornament, but this is one of my all-time favourites. 

I've used the Gleaming Ornament Punch Pack that is bargain priced on the Clearance Rack right now, so if you hurry you will be able to get it. 

  

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

 We all have lots of Designer Series Papers that remain unused, don't we?

I certainly do and this is a really pretty way of using those papers up. These ornaments are designed for Christmas, but you could use them for any occasion by simply changing the papers.

I find it beneficial to choose a light and a darker patterned paper so that I achieve some  variety and maybe a little drama in the finished ornament. 

I need to give credit to Stampin' Up! for the original idea on a catalogue many years ago. I have simply adapted and simplified it to suit these punches.

 This sample is not particularly Christmassy and I love the colours. You can see how, by choosing a light and darker patterned paper that you achieve a good contrast in the ornament.

You need to cut out 20 of each shape to make 5 sections of each shape. Fold 3 of them in half, glue them together and then glue to the remaining flat piece using Multipurpose glue.

I've used lots of hot glue to assemble the ornament. Use a silicone mat to work on so the glue will easily peel off. Place a circle of hot glue, about the size of a 20 cent piece onto the silicone mat, then arrange the 5 shapes around the glue. The shapes will be almost touching.

Next cut and fold some tulle and glue into the spaces between the shapes, then add more hot glue and arrange the smaller shapes over the tulle. Find a nice button or jewel to use as a centre and glue it in place.

I've used olive coloured tulle under the smaller shapes and finished the ornament with one of the retired brass buttons and linen thread. 

 You can get different results by placing the shapes in a different direction - so the outer tip will become the inner tip. 

I've made these with  other retired ornament shapes - this will give you larger and different shaped ornaments. They are lots of fun to make.

Here are some made over the years using different dies from Stampin' Up!®.

   

 

 

 

 

Punches can be used to create complicated items or simple fun cards. They are particularly good for children's cards.

 

Choose any Designer Series Paper that you love and combine it with the following items available in my store.

I suggest Tidings of Christmas from the Annual Catalogue

 

Gleaming Ornament Punch Pack

Multipurpose Liquid Glue 

Simply Elegant Trim 

Silicone Craft Sheet 

 

Heat Embossing Backgrounds

 Heat Embossing is one of the most dramatic and fun techniques in stamping. 

I'm thrilled to participate in this weeks Freshly Brewed Projects Blog Hop that will show you some different ways to heat emboss. One of my favourite things to do is create interesting backgrounds with an embossing folder and heat embossing.

This is quite simple and gives some wonderfully creative results.

I started by dabbing Versamark ink to the inside of the Parisian Flourish 3D embossing folder. Because I wanted some options I did this twice, once on each surface of the inside of the folder so I could have both the positive and negative images embossed.

This is what I achieved after sprinkling with gold embossing powder and heating with the Heat Tool.

 You can see that the effect is quite different even though I've used the same folder. I decided to use the sample on the left for my card today. I'll keep the other one for another time!

Next, using the lovely soft Blending Brushes, I applied Mango Melody, Pool Party and Magenta Madness inks in that order, to the card. I love the variety of other colours that come by combining these colours, and I like to include a good strong yellow to liven up the other colours.

 

The completed card is highlighted with black card stock and black silhouettes cut with Natures Harvest Dies and the Stampin Cut & Emboss machine. The greeting is heat embossed with gold on black and is from the Artfully Layered stamp set. The card base is Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock. 

 

                                                 Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022 

 

 A quick reminder to those of you who love free product - Saleabration has another 2 weeks here in the South Pacific and you can choose free product from the brochure for qualifying orders.

See the products in the sidebar.

I hope you've enjoyed this alternate method of heat embossing and I'm sure my fellow demonstrators will have some lovely inspiration for you, so hop along using the link below.

Product List

Parisian Flourish 3D Embossing Folder

[151474]

$17.50

Harvest Dies

[156504]

$66.00

Artfully Layered Cling Stamp Set (English)

[157752]

$42.00

Shimmery White A4 Card Stock

[121717]

$17.50

Very Vanilla A4 Thick Cardstock

[144238]

$14.25

Basic Black A4 Card Stock

[121688]

$15.25

Metallics Embossing Powders

[155555]

$31.00

Heat Tool

[129056]

$50.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$16.50

Blending Brushes

[153611]

$21.00

Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad

[147093]

$13.00

Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad

[147107]

$13.00

Magenta Madness Classic Stampin' Pad

[153117]

$13.00

Stampin' Trimmer

[129722]

$50.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$209.00

Add All to Cart

Hearts/Love

 After a big break over the summer holidays here in Australia, I'm back participating in the Freshly Brewed Projects Blog Hops.

It's good to be back, getting some projects completed using some of the beautiful products from the January - June Mini Catalogue and combining them with some of my favourite techniques and other products.

The theme this month is Hearts/Love inspired by Valentines day. I don't really celebrate Valentines Day so my card can be used for any occasion where I want to send love to someone. 

 The hearts component on my card comes from the Sweet Conversations Bundle and the background and large flower are stamped using the large floral shape from Artistically Inked stamp set. The greeting is from the Pansy Patch stamp set.

 I created the background by spritzing some Shimmery White card stock before randomly stamping with Blushing Bride, Soft Succulent, Pool Party and Mango Melody. Some of the images are stamped full strength and others are stamped off to achieve lighter tones of the colour. While still damp I ran the background through the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine. Having the card stock slightly damp gives more definition to the embossing folder design. 

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

 Some of the hearts are raised on dimensionals and the large flower is loosely attached to the background.

This is an unusual palette of colours for me to use, but I quite like the end result. It's always fun to experiment. 

Please excuse the slightly wavy card. I stuck it down crooked using Fast Fuse, and could not stand it, so out came the heat gun ( a perfect tool to soften glue so you can un-stick items)  A little patience while heating from the back and the stamped area peeled off without a problem. 

 It's now time to see what the other ladies have created.

 

Follow the link and enjoy.... 

Love & Happiness Book Fold Card - Freshly Brewed Projects Blog Hop

Hello

It's time to preview the new January to June Mini Catalogue and it has so many wonderful new products that it was hard to choose  just one.

I decided on the Love & Happiness bundle and the Bouquet of Love Hybrid Embossing folder - you can find these on page 11 of the catalogue.

 I combined this bundle with the Gold Shimmer Vellum from the July - December Mini as I was thinking this would be suitable for either Valentines Day or an Anniversary card.

Have you tried the Stampin' Up!® Hybrid Embossing Folders yet?  They are amazing as you can cut and emboss at the same time. This makes it easy to achieve a layered look. 

       Look at the pretty design from the Bouquet of Love Hybrid embossing folder.

When purchasing this you also get 9 coordinating dies. I've used 3 of them. One to die cut the heart, one for the flowers and one for the greeting.

  Images copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990 -2022

 I raised the heart on dimensionals and cut a piece of white card stock to place behind the heart to give it strength and opacity. The little flowers were cut from Blushing Bride card stock and then sponged lightly with Blushing Bride ink.