Bee Busy

It's very nearly Sale-a-Bration season, and my absolute favourite thing out of the freebie brochure is the Golden Honey DSP.  It has no colour, apart from black, white and gold, but the sheets with gold designs on them colour up beautifully, as you can see here. I sacrificed a whole sheet (shock horror!) to trying out some different colours, and then had a go at a really simple card with the results. How pretty is that? I can see there being some more of these in my future - can't wait to have a play with the other colours too!

Happy Christmas!

Well, here are some of the things I haven't been able to post until now!

Clockwise from top left:

Packaging for coasters, featuring the Feels Like Frost papers and heat embossed tag

Mr Badger's Christmas card, using the Shine Bright stamp set

Some of the coasters I gave as gifts to family this year

The Cub's Christmas Card, using Let It Snow DSP


Happy Christmas to you all!

Pink Christmas

Pink might not be your first thought for Christmas decorations, but I'm really enjoying using the muted Rococo Rose for some of mine. I might have made a slight mistake in colouring in the holly (I was going for the berries, intending to make the berries Mint Macaron, but they ended up the other way around: the Cub thought this was the most hilarious thing ever), but hey: add a bit of sparkle and we could just have the most fabulous Christmas ever!

Beginner, Casual or Avid?

Did you know that as Stampin'Up! demos we are encouraged to demonstrate projects that appeal to - and are achievable by - not just seasoned stampers, but beginner crafters too? I love watching people stamp for the first time, and the smile that accompanies that sense of achievement when they have made something they are proud of.

All these cards below area made to the same basic design - three strips of DSP, a matted picture panel, and a stamped greeting. This basic design is lovely - clean lines, and very achievable. But by adding just a few more elements to it, we have a mid-level and then a fancier card, just by adding in an extra technique or embellishment. Working through the different levels like this made me realise how easy it actually is to step up a basic card, so everyone can make something with a real wow factor.

Swishy Swirly

I love all things Stampin'Up!, but I do like to use other techniques as well. These cards were all made using some card I marbled back in the summer: I got around to adhering them to cards as a mat layer, but didn't get any further than that!

Like the watercolour cards from my recent post, I think these work best with the design kept simple, because the marbling itself is a nice feature. I think it works better on some of these than others, but I keep changing my mind about which works best, so maybe I can draw the conclusion that they're all at least OK!

Ring o' Rainbow

How pretty is this wreath arrangement? This is made using the foliage spray from Soft Spring, and once I'd tried it a few times I got the hang of lining it up to make a circle, and I'm so pleased I took the time to get it right. I love the autumnal colours, but I have to say that the rainbow wreath edges it for me - no surprise there, then 😂

 

Keeping It Simple

I'm trying to clear the decks a bit in terms of some of the hoarded materials I have stashed away, so I started working through a pack of watercolour notecards. I've kept these simple, because I love the watercolour effect, and I really don't think they need much more than a motif and a greeting to look really pretty. I'm looking forward to doing a few more of these!

Getting Organised

I've been making drawers. I've been playing with the thick backing card that comes with the DSP packs a lot recently, mostly making albums and other small gifts, so I thought I'd have a go at drawers. We've recently had a new TV, and needed some small storage bits to go underneath it, because the gap is slightly smaller than the gap under the old TV.

 

Typical Badger, though: I didn't like them there, so moved them over to the dresser, where they have become a much better storage solution than the ancient desktop organiser we had there already.

And I've made some more, individual boxes to go under the TV. The only downside is that I've used all my Crumb Cake card... ah well, that's easily remedied, as I need to put in my pre-order for the Spring/Summer catalogue anyway - what an excuse, eh?

Christmas Post (It)

Coming up to Christmas it can help to have some ideas for stocking stuffers and Secret Santas, and this is one such idea. This little book is made from scratch and holds enough post it notes to keep even the most scheduled of people happy for at least a couple of months! I've personalised this one with an initial, but you could add any kind of decoration, and there is room inside to add a plain piece of card with a special message on it as well.

Punching for the Stars

This is another make from Julie Wade's retreat - this 3D star is made from punched baubles, and it's so pretty! I plan to make a lot more of these to decorate gifts this Christmas, and I might also make one for the top of the Christmas Tree, because a certain small Cub has been bemoaning the fact that we don't have a "proper" star at present. It might be fun to suprise him with one when we put the tree up 💚🦡⭐🎄💚

Stampin' Snow Front

I have wanted the Snow Front set since I first saw the Autumn/Winter Catalogue back in July, but I have been ever so good and waited until Julie Wade's retreat where I knew it would be included in my pack, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Here are some of the cards we made - all Julie's design, I take no credit for these - aren't they stunning? I love that they are so subtle, and can be put together into loads of different combinations. It's a big set too - 17 stamps, and it coordinates with the Waterfront set too, so the possibilities are almost endless.

Experimenting Again

Ooh, look at me all floral! I love my watercolour pencils, and have been wanting to do more with them for ages, and I finally had a go at this multi-layer technique which I think is quite effective and I'm quite pleased with it as a first attempt! It's definitely something I'll be playing with more, and I might mix it up a bit with inks as well, to see if I can get some bolder colours going as well.

All in the Detail

You know those products you buy and can't bring yourself to use? Well, I just did! Go me! The laser-cut speciality DSP just became an anniversary card for my parents-in-law, and it's easy to see why it's so popular - it makes for a beautiful card with very little effort, except for keeping a steady hand with the Tombow. I even found a bit of shiny thread to match the colour scheme, which made me feel very artistic 😂

All in all, a quick card that looks like it took a lot longer than it actually did. Win.

Northern Lights

I recently came across the beautiful Northern Lights Technique by Denise McCabe (ably demonstrated in her video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBnTpF5obaQ  ) and I couldn't wait to have a go. As I'm mostly focused on Christmas - let's face it, I have been since July! - I ended up using it for a couple of festive designs.

The first is a simple 3D fold using the trees from the Rooted in Nature stamp set and the deer from the Snow Globe Scenes die set. The little greeting is from Itty Bitty Christmas. I've deliberately made this card small-ish so it can fit in a C6 envelope when it folds flat - perfect for posting.

The second card uses the Northern Lights effect as a background for the snowglobe, and obviously I used those dies here too. I love these bears - don't they look happy in that snow? I think if I did it again I would make the snow on the ground deeper, but I like the effect of the background within here - I think it gives it a little extra something.

 

Family Portraits

I loved making these little thank you cards for the ladies who came to my Halloween fundraiser for the Meningitis Research Foundation - a little concertina booklet of portraits, with the scariest saved for last!

In total I have raised precisely £300 so far, and I'm pretty chuffed with that, considering I wasn't actually going to do a fundraiser this year. Thank you for all your support - it really does mean a lot.

Have a spooky Halloween....

...Don't forget to PARTY!

By the Pricking of My Thumbs...

When I get a colour challenge like this (Purple Posey, Blushing Bride, Blackberry Bliss) I tend to have a knee-jerk reaction towards the floral... and then a knee-jerk reaction away from it as well, because I don't like to be too predictable. So here's my attempt at fulfulling the brief using the Wonderfully Wicked set - I'm quite pleased with that!

Feeling Like I'm Being Watched...

Oh my, it's time for some Halloween makes for the next few posts! We made the twist-pop cards in class last month, and these little monsters once again got in on the act. I didn't want to do too much for the front of the card, so went for "understated spooky". Coastal Cabana might not be everyone's go-to Halloween colour, but I think it works here, and pretty well with the Pretty Peacock too.

Walrus Look on the Bright Side of Life

If someone had said to me on 1st January "Sarah, this is the year you'll make loads of walrus-based cards" I'm not sure I'd have maintained the conversation with them for very long! But this set is now a firm favourite, and I definitely believe you can't have too much walrus. They just fit nicely in this little twist-fold too, and are great for a bit of non-challenging colouring in.

#gowalrus #walrusforever

A Berry Merry Everything

How pretty is this sprig? I love it - it's so versatile, even using the same design for these four different colourways. This is one of those sneaky stamp sets that I missed on my first few looks through the catalogue, possibly because the paper and ribbon from this suite caught my eye first. This is Frosted Foliage, and it's so easy to make a colourful, eye-catching card with just the stamps, because it comes with some lovely large greetings too. But of course, you can embellish as I have done below. I'm going to be playing with this set a lot more, and I can't wait to see what I can come up with.

A Whole New World of Possibilities

Colouring in on DSP? Don't mind if I do! What a brilliant way to coordinate your favourite papers with the colour-scheme you have in mind, and I hadn't even thought of doing it until it was mentioned to me as an idea for a class. These were from my Stamp-a-Stack (OK, Colour-a-Stack. Colour-a-Column, maybe..?). These are the Magnolia Lane papers - can you think of others where this might work well too?

Follow Your Art

The Follow Your Art stamp set is perfect for cards for fellow crafties, especially fellow Stampin'Up! people, as it features some of the actual products - I think my favourite are the pens, because they are so instantly recognisable as SU! I've added some of the felt flowers from the embellishment kit here, and have coloured up the die-cut strip of buttons. The colour combo is maybe a bit unusual, but I think I like it...

I also have a pens-only design, in rainbow of course! I was naughty and cut my stamp, but if you can't bear to do that you can get the same design by masking the other two pens on the stamp.

Colour Me Happy

Sometimes I get carried away with fancy folds and adding a lot of embellishment, and I can forget what a joy a simple bit of colouring can be. The above were all examples for one of my children's classes over the summer - I wish I'd got some photos of their creations because they were, without exception, brilliant. A square, a mat, a greeting and some pens - what more do we need?

Sets above are Wiggle Worm, Boo To You, and We'll Walrus Be Friends. All have been coloured with Blends*.

* No, I did not let the kids use my Blends! 

Wise Old Olive

I'm not sure I can put into words just how much I love this owl! She's from the Check You Out set, and she's currently inseparable from two other stamp sets: Praiseworthy Prose, which has the wonderful little "dictionary definition" phrases, and Very Versailles, which has the gorgeous block of script that I've used as a background. Olive (the owl - sorry, I should have introduced you properly earlier) and the stack of books were stamped and then fussy cut out as one piece.

This was another colour challenge: Terracotta Tile, Soft Suede and Mossy Meadow.

Magnolia Waterloo

I think I'm ready to talk about this card. This card nearly broke me. I wanted to try a "very simple" card using a Memories and More card, and a greeting. That's all. Simple.

Could I get the placement to look right? I could not. All hail to the people who can stamp a greeting in a white space and leave it that way - it turns out I fail at simple 🤣 It took me three days of picking this up, rearranging it and putting it down again before I committed to using glue.

It might be a while before I try this again...!

All the Florals

In every catalogue there are hidden gems. Products that you might not notice the first time, or even the second time that you look through, but that suddenly grab your attention and become firm favourites. The Budding Borders stamp set is one of these items for me. Not only do they give you a really pretty border on their own, but they also line up to form a two-step, multi-coloured design that is subtle, but can make a project really pop. I think this looks like early 20th Century wallpaper - seaside cottage bedroom, maybe?

I've been doing my colour challenges again, although admittedly not keeping quite up to date! This is one of them - Rococo Rose, Merry Merlot and Mint Macaron.

Wouldn't Get That Long For Murder

                                         

Mama Badger and Papa Badger recently celebrated their 45th Wedding Anniversary (aw!), which I have learned is commonly (although not THAT commonly, clearly) known as the Sapphire Anniversary. Cue to break out the blues! I was thrilled to have an excuse to use the Noble Peacock Speciality DSP, because it's just so pretty, and although I was doing my usual trick and saving it for a special occasion... well, what occasion is going to be more special than celebrating 45 years of marriage? I haven't even managed 10 yet!

I kept the card simple, using just a bit of the Mercury Glass Acetate over the numbers (retired dies) and colouring it in with a Night of Navy Blends pen.

Their present also featured Stampin'Up! products - of course, because they're the best! These embellishment pictures are a favourite of mine, although they take aaaaages to do (this one was about 12 hours). Just to give you an idea, the smallest pearls and diamante on this picture (close up on the right hand side) are just 1mm across, so there are literally thousands and of individually placed embellishments in this heart. All worth it, though, for the best parents in the world 👰💙🤵

Not a Wedding

These stamps are retired, but I really wanted to share this because I was so pleased with how it turned out. This was a commission for a not-a-wedding-or-a-marriage-more-of-a-partnership-celebration-or-a-big-party - well, that's quite the brief! But I think I got the idea, and this went all the way to Holland, which made it my first international commission! I hope it was well received when it got there - I certainly enjoyed making it!

Tisn't Quite the Season...

I always do a Christmas All Day class in August. People look at me as if I'm crazy when I say that, but honestly, I do! And what's more, I think it's a really good time to do one. People are getting tired of entertaining the kids over the long holidays, the weather is either really hot or chucking it down, and we need a bit of a pick-me-up. And what better way to do that than with some brand new goodies from the brand new Autumn/Winter Catalogue pre-order?

I gave my ladies the choice of two Christmas stamp sets from the Annual Catalogue - Winter Woods, and Dashing Deer - but used new DSP (Feels Like Frost and Brightly Gleaming), embellishments and dies. Everyone made everything below! I love the sampler - I've never done one in class before - but I think my favourite thing is the little Curvy Keepsake box in the Mercury Glass Designer Acetate (far left, in front of the purple card with the fir trees). I think I'll be making a few of these in the run up to Christmas!

Cute As A Bug

One of the greetings stamps in the Wiggle Worm stamp set says "Cute as a Bug", and aren't they just?

It's actually relatively rare that I get coordinating dies with stamps (prefering to spend my pennies on... well, more stamps!), but I did get the dies as a bundle this time, and I have to say, they do make things easier with cutting out, especially with the very fine detail, like the legs on the bugs.

I'd also like to give a big shout out to this leaf die - so many uses, so little time! And is it just me that sees ice cream in those clouds...? 🍦

Marvellous Multiple Mosaics

Every now and then I have a few days where I attempt to make a dent in my (cough, four boxes of, cough) retired DSP. I very rarely make much of a dent, but I do try, and as I give a lot of cards to charities it makes making multiples relatively easy.

I used the two-step Verdant Garden stamp set, coordinating the colours with the DSP panels, and I kept it simple by leaving a gap in the mosaic area for the greeting, rather than adding another layer. a few little flowers, pearl accents, and some punched sprigs of green and they're ready to go.

And the boxes of DSP go back in the cupboard for another day 😂

All That Glisters Is Probably Gold

Is there anyone else out there who hoards foils and Speciality DSP? Keeping them for a "special occasion"? I hold my hand up - that is me all over! So I decided to keep things simple but special for the scrapbook page. I only had two photos I wanted to use, but also used a postcard from IKEA (my mum LOVES IKEA - I think she's hoping that's what heaven is like), and popped them on a whole sheet (eek!) of gold foil.  I wondered whether to add some embellishments in the corners of the photos, or some borders or matting layers on the photos, but in the end I decided against it.

I just wish I could get a photo which did the shininess justice!

Tell Me A Story

I'm a bookworm, and I will happily admit it. So I had to snap up the "Check You Out" stamp set as soon as it was released - and how cute are these little critters?! And I think they go really well with the "definition" stamps from Praiseworthy Prose too. I need to get on and play some more with this set - it's definitely in my top five at the moment!