The Love Affair Continues.....

.......with the Simply Scored!  And as we are coming to the end of a catalogue, I thought I'd better use up some designer series paper.  I do tend to have a lot left over from previous catalogues so clearly I have a passion for paper!

Anyway, my card today uses the Berry Blossoms DSP.   It's very bright in Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral & Lucky Limeade.   

My Simply Scored detail is on the top half of the Wisteria Wonder cardstock.  I've scored across every half centimetre, then I turned it over and scored it again every half centimetre in between the first score lines.  It's given a crimped effect because some of the lines are mountains, and others are valleys.

Only one more day until we get the Retired List from Stampin' Up!  Be sure to check it out & order before stocks run out.
Cheers
Karen

Simply Made

What do you do when you have a piece of Spice Cake DSP lying around?   Here's what.....

Super simple, but so gorgeous!  The Simply Scored features in the border around the paper.  And the butterflies were made using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit.

As this was a custom sized card, I needed an envelope.   Enter, the SS Diagonal Plate!  So, yes, I made the envelope too.    Are you envy-ous!   If so, order yours today.

The photo corners were made using a retired Stampin' Up! punch.

I've made the envelope fasteners by punching out two circles, 1/2" & 3/4" and sticking them together with snail.  Then I put a brad in the centre.  I attached crochet thread under the brad and tied it in a double knot so it's secure, then trimmed the end off.   The bottom fastener is made in the same way but I just wrapped the lose end of the thread around it 3 or 4 times then cut it off.  I've left it quite long so you've got some to hold on to.   Both fasteners are held in place with Sticky Strip because it's really strong.

I love lining envelopes with DSP.  It really makes it so very special!

When you buy your diagonal plate you'll receive some instructions with measurements for standard sized envelopes.  It is so easy to use.   I had to figure out my own measurements because my card is a 12cm square (and not standard), but it really was very easy to work out.

Hope your week is off to a great start.
Cheers
Karen

Put Simply, it's Brilliant!

I've had a scoring system for a few years now, and marvel at how far we've come with crafting tools since a stylus & metal ruler!  That's fine if you still prefer the old way, but I'm here to tell you that I've moved on!

Recently Stampin' Up! introduced their own scoring system called the Simply Scored.   It is so good, that it has a permanent place on my desk rather than being religated to a drawer.    Basically, I use it all the time so there's no reason to put it away.

I love it so much because I can use it in inches or centimetres and it has a nice deep wall to push your cardstock up against so once you've scored, you can fold up to the straight edge making your cardstock line up perfectly every time.

My most recent aquisition to this system is the diagonal score plate.  Really fabulous for making envelopes & adding texture details to my projects.

I'll pop back over the next few days with some projects for you to see.

Meanwhile, I wanted to share these mini albums that I've made for a birthday party I'm doing. They are 6" x  6" and have 8 pages inside.  They were so quick to make and with the Simply Scored I was able to put all the pieces for each album onto the base plate and assemble them really quickly.

If you'd like to order this wonderful toy tool, let me know!
Cheers
Karen

SUO Challenge #50

Thought I'd do a little challenge today from the SU Only blog.   The brief was buttons & brads.   And because it's SU only, the rules are that you can only use Stampin' Up! products.  Well, naturally, that's easy for me!

Here it is:

The paper I've used here will retire at the end of August, as all our DSP does when we get a new catalogue in September.    It's called Berry Blossoms.   I quite like the colour combination of Lucky Limeade & Calypso Coral with the ever favourite Early Espresso & Whisper White to crisp everything up.

My buttons are SU, although they're all from a pack that was retired some time back.    I've used the Blossom Punch to do the flower, with the Scallop Circle & 5-Petal Flower Punches in the middle.  The Stripes embossing folder was used in the Big Shot.   I crushed the cardstock accidentally - my Big Shot needs that particular folder on "no tabs" rather than "tab 1", and I almost always forget, but I guess it means I got a bit of extra texture for free!

Happy Thursday!
Karen

Stamped Acrylic Block Background Technique

Good Morning!

Today I thought I'd share the technique we did at Darling Stamp & Scrap club on Saturday.

It's really simple, but the results are many and no two projects turn out the same.

Basically, you use your acrylic blocks to ink up and stamp onto cardstock.   I like to use varying sizes for interest, but the technique is the same regardless.   Choose two ink colours - I find a light and dark shade of the same colour work best.   Ink up the block with the lighter colour first, then ink the edges in the dark colour.   Mist lightly with water and stamp onto neutral coloured cardstock.   Done!  The amount of water will determine the depth of colour and the "pattern" you create.   I think you get a better result if you work on a soft surface - a foam pad or mouse pad works well, otherwise you can just stack a few sheets of grid paper or scraps and work on those.

Yes, I do attempt a scrapbook page from time to time!

I love how different these all turned out.

Probably the most elegant of them all.

Instead of ink pads, I used markers on the block for this.  Always start with the lighter marker first so you don't dirty the tips because it's important that there's no gaps.

This one is very random!

I won't list all the colours and supplies for my samples, but feel free to email me if you want details of a particular project.





Stay warm & dry on this chilly wet Tuesday!
Cheers
Karen

The Right Combination

Sometimes, you just have to reach for a colour you don't normally work with (or like), because it's good for your creativity.   Yes, you may end up with a project that you're still not overly fond of, because that colour doesn't sit well, or, you could find yourself thoroughly loving the look, and hopefully trying that colour out a bit more in the future.

This is the case for me with River Rock.  Not quite sure what it is about the colour, it's a little yellowy and "dirty" looking perhaps?   Anyway, after making this card, I've decided that paired with black and white, it's rather elegant.

I guess this card also satisfies a clean and simple theme, and it uses minimal supplies and has no extra embellishments so it was really quick to make.  I think I'll whip up a batch to use to thank my customers for their orders.
If you'd like to see more of this technique I'll be demonstrating it on Saturday at Darling Stamp & Scrap Club.  Visit the DSNS page here.

Happy Thursday!
Karen

Candle Stamping

Is that like potato stamping?   Do you cut shapes out of candles, press them in ink and stamp them on stuff?    No, you stamp on the candle silly!  Not with your size 7's, just with your rubber stamps and inks!! 

Ok, enough silliness on this Wednesday morning.   I saw this stamping technique on SCS and it sounded quite simple so I thought I'd try it, and you know what? It is!

Basically, you stamp onto tissue paper, cut it out (close to the edge but without worrying about the details).  Then you place the tissue onto the candle where you want the stamped image to be, and wrap it in wax paper.  You need to hold the wax paper tightly so the tissue is held firmly on the candle.   Using your heat gun, heat the image for a few seconds.   The image will quite literally "melt" into the surface of the candle.  Gently peel back the wax paper & you're done.

Here's one I did with the Music Notes wheel.   I actually tried it first and although it was harder to do than the hearts, I was surprised how well it turned out.  

You get the best results with light coloured candles, and should note that the image comes out a little lighter on the candle than it looked when first stamped onto the tissue paper.  SCS recommends white tissue as well.   I might challenge that with some coloured tissue.  I'll get back to you!

Happy mid-week!
Cheers
Karen

Same Stuff, Different Result.

Remember those scraps on the desk from yesterday?  Well there was enough to make another card as well, but although I've used a similar card sketch, it turned out quite differently.

I love the way the green (Pear Pizzazz) and the red (Riding Hood Red) from the Twitterpated DSP looks with the Basic Black stripes.   And how lovely are the shapes created with the Framelits?  The layering is just so gorgeous and you get great framing options every time.
The greeting is from Baroque Motifs (same as yesterday too!).  And the Baja Breeze strips were also leftover from last weeks classes and seemed to be just right to frame the greeting.
My dotty background was made using the Texture Plates for the Big Shot.  Not available here unfortunately, I bought them when I was living in the U.S.  
Real Red  & Whisper White are the cardstock colours again, and the scallop trim was made using the punch of the same name.

So, I hope you are inspired to go use up some scraps.
Cheers
Karen

What's on Your Desk?

After packing away all my tools & leftover materials from last week's classes, I had some paper scraps on the desk that I couldn't throw away!  Bet that happens to you too, right? 

I also have to make a start on my Christmas cards soon - no, not my own, I always leave those till the last minute, but my stash for our Australian Armed Forces.  If you want to know more about this, check out the page on my sidebar.

Supplies used:
Stamp Set: Baroque Motifs & Word Play
Cardstock:  Whisper White & Real Red
Ink: Silver pigment ink
DSP: Twitterpated & Basic Black from the Neutrals Stack
Large silver brad is from our Hodgepodge Hardware.
Stripes embossing folder, Big Shot
Silver embossing powder & heat tool

Thanks for looking!
Karen

Extra Large Mickey

My daughter asked me to make a card for her friend's birthday.  Apparently she loves Mickey Mouse and having never made a MM card, I turned to my endless source of inspiration, blog-land.   Thanks to a very talented lady by the name of Michelle Reynolds, I was able to C.A.S.E. this!

I make no apology for casing - Michelle had done a perfect card, so why mess with perfection?!   

My card is however, larger than standard.  I started with a whole piece of A4 in Real Red and folded it in half.   The Basic Black layer has been run through the Big Shot with a Textured Impressions Plate (I bought it when I was a demo in the U.S.).  Thank goodness I still had it - it allows you to dry emboss a piece of cardstock that's almost A5 in size. 

I used the 1 3/4" circle for the head, and 1 1/4" circle for the ears in the main Mickey.   The sentiment is from Word Play.   The word "Dream" is a stamp I had in my stash which I punched out using the Decorative Label.  But I may just have to buy the set "Loving Thoughts" on page 20 of the current mini now!

The 3 smaller Mickey's were made using the 1" & 3/4" circle punches.   Unfortunately, the gingham ribbon is retired.  I do wish they'd bring it back.....pleeeeeease!   The scallop trim border punch, and corner rounder punch adds a little extra detail. 

Thanks for looking!

Have a super day.
Karen