Hello stampers. Today I was inking up in Holland for the first time. I hadn’t stamped in exactly a week!! That is a very rare occurrence and I was worried that my creativity might lag. I used my usual tricks and it all worked out just fine. Do you want to know what I do to jump start my creativity?

Jump Starting my Creativity

I have a fairly simple system to jump start my creativity. In the past I would have trolled the internet and wasted a LOT of time. Now I simply stamp all the images in the set a few times. I colour the ones that could use that approach and then I use the framelits to cut out a bunch of images as well. Everything is laid out: all the patterned paper, the copper bees,  the ribbon and the die cuts. I tied a few bows and knots and then I start playing with layouts, deciding which paper to use, what to cut in strips and which sentiment to use. It helps to have had a cup of coffee or your favourite beverage and to have some nice music going.

Use the Stamparatus for your sentiments

The stamparatus is perfect for stamping your images correctly on the labels from the Botanical Prints Product Medley. After I have stamped the three I pop them out and put a new blank one in the template. That way I can leave my stamps in the right position. It is also super helpful when you are working with a relatively old and abused Memento ink pad. I had to stamp three times to get the right intensity and that would have been a nightmare without the Stamparatus.

The Basic Layout for the Card

This is the basic layout for the card. I used a whisper white thick cardstock base of 8 1/2″ by 5 1/2″ scored at 4 1/4″. I then cut a card front out of mossy meadow, 4 1/4″ by 5 1/2″. I used tombow and a sponge with the silicone mat to adhere the detailed die cut piece to the front. There are four of these included in the product medley. It was so much fun to use the mini paper trimmer to cut a strip of paper for some pretty contrast.

There are four different coloured die cuts all ready for to use when you want instant gratification. Now to decide whether we like the peaches or the plums best. Tomorrow I will use a different die cut on my card, but you can see it already in the live video. One thing is certain, those copper bees are adorable!!

Everything on this card comes from the Botanical Prints Product Medley. The card base is mossy meadow but the ribbon is old olive. These two greens work very well together and I am really happy about that because I have no old olive paper with me. It is a good challenge for me to work with what I have. Makes me feel a bit more like my customers!! I am so happy that the copper bees came in this product medley.

Copper Bee Embellishments

I used a copper bee embellishment on both of the cards, they are just so very pretty. Of course they will work very well with several of our new stamp sets in the new mini catalog and the saleabration catalog. These bees are only available as part of the Botanical Product Medley. Here is a close-up of the bee:

When Can You Get It?

Well, that is always the million dollar question isn’t it? If you are a demonstrator you can get it right now. If you get the starter kit, you can put it in your kit right now as well. Or you can get it as part of my retreat in February. This entire kit is included in your cost which is an amazing deal. We will be making all the cards that I blog about as well as the one I am designing for the new design team I am a part of. How exciting is that? Of course, if you are a patient person, you can wait until January 3 to order this great product medley.

Facebook Live

I showed how to make these cards at my Facebook live this morning (or afternoon depending on where you live). If you missed it, you can catch it here. I will go live every Tuesday at 9am EST which is 3pm in Holland. The one on New Year’s Eve day will probably just be a live video showing me making oliebollen.

Thanks so much for joining me today, I love connecting with you on my blog. I almost forgot to remind you that there are LOTS of amazing new deals on the clearance rack. You can check them out here, there are lots of amazing framelits, embossing folders and ribbon for really good prices.

Product List