by Jackie Bultje | Feb 16, 2019 | Big Shot, Sitting Pretty Bundle |
Hello stampers. Today’s blog post is all about the Sitting Pretty bundle. This is one of those sets that offers way more than what you see at first glance. I was first introduced to this bundle last April at OnStage which is a semi-annual Stampin’Up! event that any demonstrator can attend regardless of whether they are there own only customer or not. We do have so much fun together at these events. Imagine a room full of people who are just as addicted to stamping as you are!! Well, the person who demonstrated this bundle did an awesome job showing what you could all do with it. I would say the biggest thing that is most easily overlooked at first glance is that there is a framelit in the bundle that does NOT coordinate with any of the stamps in the set. It is a regular park bench. The stamp is the set is an ornate wrought iron bench which is super cute and also comes with a framelit, but the extra bench framelit really adds a lot to this bundle and makes it much more versatile. That straight lines of the second bench make for a more masculine card and it can also be altered to turn into a table. I chose to pair with a favourite set of mine that has been collecting dust for way too long: Half Full. Let’s take a look at my card.
This card was inspired by a card in the catalog that used Sheltering Tree in the background. I forgot how much I love this set! At first I was afraid that the wine glasses would look too big on the table but by giving the illusion that the table is in the foreground and the tree is in the background, I think it works. What do you think? The bench was cut out of our copper foil paper and then the back was cut off turning it into a table. I rather like that. I was going to switch it to a wooden bench, but the copper one was on there quite permanently and I was too lazy to start over making a new card, so you can try the wooden look and let me know how it turns out! The next three cards were inspired by cards I found on Pinterest or by the samples in the catalog which really is an amazing idea book that we often overlook.
You can guess that one of the reasons I love the Sitting Pretty Bundle is that includes a squirrel. I often refer to myself as a busy squirrel so this little guy just makes me smile. The bull dog (slightly out of focus but I am also slightly out of time) is looking a little morose, but the squirrel is trying to convince him that he is very happy for his friend’s company. The bricks are just made by repeatedly stamping the image which is easy to do since the stamp set is photopolymer which means you can see right through it. The bench is die cut from copper foil paper which I adhered to our adhesive sheets turning into a very easy to use sticker. It’s also super important to know that it popped easily out of the framelit with no poking necessary.
If you like tear jerker movies or chick flicks, then you will also appreciate the “sappiness” of this set. But seriously, wouldn’t a spouse or child be happy to get this card or to find it tucked into their suitcase when they are away on a business trip or off to school? The paving stone image was made with a framelit and embossing mats and then sponged with soft suede ink. Love the soft look of that combined with the watercolour wash in the background. I used shimmer white cardstock for this base of this card since it not only has a beautiful shimmer to it, it also holds up very well with watercolouring. The bench, the sentiment and the bulldog were all embossed in black.
This last card uses the Delightfully Detailed laser cut paper. I just love the Victorian feel of this card. The laser cut paper mimics the pattern of the bench which was embossed with silver. All images on this card come from the Sitting Pretty Bundle. Bashful Blue is the cardstock I used as a mat.
Do you love these cards? Then come to my Sweet Suite Saturday class next week at 1pm. You can make them for free if you purchase the bundle or you can choose to pay the class fee of $25 for four cards. If you order online, please use the current host code and I will send you the materials to make these cards. Here is the video that I made showing the cards and talking a little bit about the process. Enjoy and have a super day.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irtadFhgqHM&t=2s
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by Jackie Bultje | Feb 11, 2019 | sale-a-bration |
Hello stampers! If you know me at all you know that I love birds. I love watching them, I love feeding them and I love to take pictures of them at my feeders. Roosters are the exception. While they are a beautiful, proud bird they are also quite mean. I am sure we all have a rooster story. I grew up on a dairy farm and I helped milk the cows many early mornings and evenings. That wasn’t so bad except for the resident rooster. He was mean! He had a nasty disposition and found great joy in sneaking up on me while I was sitting between the cows either washing an udder or putting a milk machine on. In other words when he knew my hands were occupied and I was vulnerable. He would literally attack with wings flapping and beak pecking. Given the chance I would send him flying with a well-placed kick, but sometimes he won. I swear that bird gave me a nervous disorder! That being said, I do love the free stamp set Home to Roost. The rooster is oh so fun to colour with our Blends either accurately or whimsically. Why not colour that bird any which way you want? He also looks good in a monochromatic scheme. Let’s take a look at a few different cards. Who knew a rooster could be this cute?
Stamping on patterned paper is fantastic. Here the rooster is stamped in blueberry bushel on our Wood Textures paper. The stitched shape framelits give just the right “country” feel to this card as does the gingham gala paper and the burlap ribbon. This card was made for me by my team member Alison Reid. Thanks Alison!! Don’t you think that balmy blue looks great with blueberry bushel? And don’t you agree that anyone not in the stamping world would wonder what the heck we are talking about?
This card was a swap card made by another team member, Yvonne Macfadyen. Simply lovely. This clean and simple card has only one difficult aspect to it. You have to fussy cut the rooster unless you have a scan and cut machine, that is a great way to cut down on cutting time (pardon the pun). Our nasty bird was stamped in Memento black and coloured with Blends.
I keep looking at these cards and thinking how beautiful they are and how much I love the set but hate the bird!! I am sure there must be some nice roosters out there. What do you think? This one was stamped on a window sheet (otherwise known as acetate) using Stayzon ink since it will not smear. Flip it over and colour with Blends on the back side. I used three glue dots to adhere it to a glimmer paper circle. Both were cut out using the layering circles framelits. The card base is basic black layered with bermuda bay and accented with lovely lipstick and the lovely lace edgelits. The polka dot paper is from the neutrals 6×6 designer series paper (boring name right?) on page 191 of the annual catalog.
This last card was also made by my team member Alison Reid and she was inspired by Amanda Petersen. It has a very vanilla base and the Buffalo Check background stamp was used to create the “patterned paper” look using cajun craze and it measures 5″ by 3 1/2″. The rooster was stamped in Memento Black and coloured with Blends. Our stitched shape framelits once again come in handy for creating a simple but elegant focal point. The burlap ribbon adds just the right finishing touch don’t you think?
I decided to add one more card to this post. I saw it posted and made by Brenda Keenan and I just tweaked a wee little bit. I love how she stamped the rooster in black on crumb cake as background paper. I used my Stamparatus so that the images would all be nice and dark. I add the black and silver ribbon from the Garage suite and it works! Sometimes it’s nice to mix things up a bit.
He is definitely magnificent to colour with the Blends. I used just two colours, cherry cobbler and crumb cake on the rooster and then bronze for the ground under his feet.
Well what do you think about our resident rooster? He is safe on paper and he colours beautifully. He makes no noise at 5am so that is an added bonus. He is also free with a $60 purchase during sale-a-bration which is the annual, epic Stampin’Up! sale that goes until March 31. He is also a part of a package deal that Stampin’Up! puts together for you. The package is called Home to Roost Cards on page 11 of the sale-a-bration brochure. They put together a collection of products that they have used to make the card samples, so no guesswork. If you scroll to the bottom of the post you will see the link to this collection. The best part of it in my opinion is that you can get the bundle for half price if you host an epic workshop. At $550 in sales you get a half price item. Before I was a demonstrator I always hosted a big party during sale-a-bration and everyone would order at least $60 to qualify for a freebie so I would always get a half price item too. I truly do not understand why people are so reluctant these days to host a workshop. It was such fun for everyone! If you would like to gather a group of friends for a workshop at my studio and get free stuff, please contact me. It is one of my favourite things to do.
I thought I would end this post sharing a fun card that fellow Canadian demonstrator Lynsay Mahon made. I just had to case it. Another confession. I was using the tiny letter stamps from Make A Difference and I totally lost patience and I hand wrote the last two letters. Do you like how vivid the roosters are in the samples that have colouring? You might want to consider joining the Blends Club. Read the details here. If you live in Canada and don’t already have a demonstrator, I would love to have you order from me. Just click on any of the icons below and it will take you straight to my online store. If you could also use the host code 2HGCDSXE that would make me very happy. Keep smiling and have a super day.
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by Jackie Bultje | Feb 8, 2019 | DistINKtive stamps, Lovely Lipstick Foil Paper, sale-a-bration |
Hello stampers! It is a windy, blustery, cold day here in southern Ontario. A great day for playing with stamps, ink and paper. I have just discovered the beauty of our Lovely Lipstick Foil. Did you know that it is one of the free choices with our sale-a-bration deal? Until the end of March you get to choose from select items with a $60 purchase, and the Lovely Lipstick and Grapefruit Grove foil sheets are one of your options. They are on page 12 of the Sale-a-bration brochure. I have only had a little time to play with it and I love it! It is striking the way it catches the light and how it coordinates with several of our paper collections. It is perfect for luscious Valentine’s card too. Let’s take a look what I have done with it.
The inspiration for this card came from page four of the Occasions catalog where they used a band across the card as well. I thought the foil paper would be perfect for that. Here you can see it in more detail:
Here you can see a few things. 1. The lovely lipstick foil coordinates perfectly with the All My Love paper. 2. The Meant to Be stamp set is a DistINKtive stamp which means the stamps are made so that you get the look of different colours using only one ink pad! It truly is amazing when you experience it. 3. Stamping over top of your sentiment really is pretty!
You can use what is meant to be a Valentine’s set for other things as well. I love it when a stamp set is versatile!
Now this card doesn’t use the foil, but you could definitely replace the lovely lipstick cardstock with the lovely lipstick foil. I so wish I had more time, but you will have to use your imagination!!
For this card I used vellum behind the lovely lipstick foil on top of the card and I also popped it up to make it more of a focal point. I also used the foil paper under the sentiment. It really is a stunning combination with the All My Love paper.
Now this card also has no lovely lipstick foil on it, but I had to include it to show you how beautiful the stamps are in the Forever Lovely stamp set. Here you can once again see that it is a DistINKtive stamp when you look at the lovely lipstick flowers. Do you see all the shading? It stamps like that!! No fancy techniques needed. I absolutely love it. I was playing with the stamps and the framelits and my focal point ended up being smaller than I wanted and that prompted me to use the Delicate Lace edgelits so that I wouldn’t have to throw my lovely piece away! I like how it turned out. I used the Lace dynamic textured embossing folder to make the card feel more Victorian and decadent. It’s all about the textures and the feeling that it evokes. Here you can see all the lovely details even better:
I also used a piece of the Grapefruit Grove foil paper to make a very simple butterfly card. The colours are tranquil tide and petal pink. I was going to play some more to add more layers and details to the butterfly, but really it is already quite stunning. There are four sheets of each colour in this amazing sale-a-bration offering. Just choose item #149712 when you place your order.
Well, that’s it for today people! I hope that I have inspired you with a few ideas of what to do with this amazing foil paper. Both the Lovely Lipstick Foil and the Grapefruit Grove foil are beautiful and with four 12 x 12 sheets in the pack you don’t have to be frugal with it. #loveitchopit will work great with this paper. Remember when you hoard you really don’t enjoy it nearly as much as when you use it to create beautiful cards.
Here is a video I did showing some of these cards under construction.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gxDktfwxP0
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by Jackie Bultje | Feb 4, 2019 | Incredible Like You Card Kit |
Hello stampers! Do you ever order take out? I love to do that, especially if it is from a great restaurant. It means that I get to eat in the privacy of my own home, open my own bottle of wine and truly relax. I can put it on my own nice dishes and I get a great meal without any clean up. That is what a card kit is for card makers. We all know how to make a beautiful card but sometimes it is so nice when you get to make incredible cards without having to think or prep anything! Now not all card kits are created equally. There are some that I really don’t like at all because they LOOK like card kits. They look like something that you might have picked up at the dollar store and all you had to do was add a little glue. Yuck. Incredible Like You is not that kind of kit. No way! It is a kit that is just beautiful, a kit that makes you wonder, how did you do that? A kit that makes you say, I want it and I want it all. Now the best part about a kit like that is that you can finally invite your non-cardmaking friends to join you for a fun evening. Just promise them some wine and good food and an evening of fun and you will have an event that you will talk about for years to come. I LOVE hosting events like this, so if you live in the Chatham, Ontario area, message me and I will help you plan a fun evening for your friends. We can tailor it to your budget or their budget. If you live far away we can do a Facebook chat or a Skype call and I can coach you through how to have a fun event with your friends. We could all use some more fun in our lives! Let’s take a look at what you can make with this kit.
Are you stuck in a rut? Having a hard time finding inspiration? Have a case of the winter doldrums? Then order yourself this kit and invite some of your friends to join you in making them. Even the most “non-crafty” people will have success with these cards. Most people don’t know it, but deep down we are all creative. We all want to make beautiful things but we are bound by fear of failure. Let’s get out of that box. It would bring me great joy to help you on that journey. The cards that are shown above are made using the matching stamp set Incredible Like You. If you scroll to the bottom of this post you will see the icons of all the products used in this kit. If you want to order them and you live in Canada, just click on them and you will be directed straight to my online store. It is a bit scary how easy it is to be separated from your money! But, hey, you can’t take it with you and the purpose of having it is to bring joy to your life, so let go and live a little. You deserve it. You can change up the cards entirely by simply changing the sentiments. I used the stamp sets Hello Cupcake (a free sale-a-bration set with a $60 purchase), Strong & Beautiful and Itty BItty Birthdays to make my alternative samples.
This one has a beautiful Granny Apple Green sparkle paper background. It is so beautiful in real life. The sentiment comes from the Itty Bitty Birthdays and is a cinch to stamp with the Stamparatus.
Here is a close-up of the first card. I love the details that are part of this kit. The thick grapefruit grove baker’s twine, the silver edged labels for the sentiments and the rhinestones, not to mention the glimmer paper accents. The sentiment “You are loved completely” comes from the set Strong & Beautiful.
The card below is simply stunning. The watercoloured flowers are already printed on the card base but they match perfectly with the coordinating stamp set Incredible like You, so you can stamp the inside to match the outside!
The card below also makes you look like a creative rock star. The watercolour wash background is preprinted on the card base. All you have to do is stamp a sentiment on the label and layer it all together. So easy to do after a long day of work. It requires very little concentration so it is perfect in a group setting with your friends, some lovely appetizers and a mellow glass of wine! Who says that winter is a terrible season? Take advantage of those cold, dark days and do something creative and fun indoors. Cultivate your friendships and make them more meaningful.
One of the things I like the most about the stamp set Strong & Beautiful is that we can use it to celebrate each other. As women we are often in a competitive and sometimes hostile environment. We can change that! When you notice something in another woman, celebrate it. Tell them. Boost their confidence and make them smile. We could all use a little more of that in our lives, so be the change you wish to see in the world!
This kit would also be perfect for a fundraiser. If your would like to raise money for a worthy cause, let me know and I would be honoured to help. I will give ALL of my commission on the sale of these kits to raise money for your charity.
The one thing that I used for making the cards in this kit that I found to be most useful is the silicone mat and tombow adhesive. You use the sponge technique where you put a little squeeze of liquid glue on the silicone mat in the corner. “Flatten” it out a bit with your sponge and then you can sponge the back of the pretty lacy mats so that you can adhere them to the card fronts without glue oozing everywhere. I also used this on the back of the open glitter leaves.
Here is a video that I made showing you the different options and telling you what I think about this kit and how you can use it. I hope that you have a super day and that you can positively impact some lives with the cards that you make and send. It’s the little things that can make the biggest difference!
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crxrphMTZBc
If you live in Canada and would like to purchase any of these products, please click on the icons below and that will take you straight to my online store. Please do use the current host code and I will send you a lovely card in the mail to show you my appreciation. You can find the host code in the sidebar to the right of this post. The best deal is always the starter kit, and now even more than ever! You can get $225 in product for only $135, no shipping or tax. Want to do that? Just click here.
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by Jackie Bultje | Jan 29, 2019 | Blends, Valentine's |
Hello stampers. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and this fun and innovative stamp set with coordinating framelits is just awesome for both kids and grownups. It is great for mushy cards but also for fun or serious cards. I love how the framelits can be used for both cutting out puzzle pieces or for creating an embossed focal point. The very best part is that it is quick and easy. This product makes it look like you really slaved over making a super special card, so whoever receives one from you will really be feeling the love. Only you know how much fun you had making it and how easy it really was. I went online for inspiration and all but one of these cards was cased from other talented demonstrators. The first one was from Tami White.
I love how all Stampin’Up! products coordinate. If you really want to look “put together” then limit yourself to one suite at a time when you are purchasing instead of dabbling with several suites at a time. The All My Love ribbon is the perfect accent to this card. Now just to be contradictory, you can mix and match. The negative piece from the light pink heart is from the Tropical Escape paper from the annual catalog. Thanks to Tami White for the inspiration, I might not have thought of that! I could have used the epoxy heart droplets in the suite but I just noticed them now. You know what? This photo is a little out of focus, so I am going to add a droplet and take another picture just to make up for it!! I have been known to be impulsive, so why not live up to my reputation?
The next card is just so colourful and it makes me so happy. This one was originally created by Laura Vanverloh. She made it for an autism awareness event with is a perfect fit! I changed up the background by using Touches of Texture as well as the little hearts from Love You to Pieces.
This next card combines Grey Granite with Night of Navy for a perfect masculine card. Thanks to Jackier Beers for this clean and crisp design.
I really love the next card as Lori Wilcox was really thinking outside of the box. She used the High Tide set to create a beach scene which was then cut using the puzzle framelits. One piece was taken out to make a cute statement. A simple trick with this card is to put adhesive on the back before taking them out of the framelits. Flip it over, framelit and all and press onto your cardstock mat. Then pop the pieces out and they will stick to the mat without you having to align them all.
Here is a look of the panel before being attached to the card.
The last card was my own creation and I made it because I wanted to show my customers that this puzzle stamp had a good use. You see, it doesn’t fit with the puzzle framelit and we found that a little annoying. I then suggested that it could be used to stamp a background. So I tried it this afternoon and I loved how it turned out. This bright card also uses the rectangle stitched framelits. They are easy to adapt to different sizes as well. Tomorrow I will do a video on that and include it in this post.
A clean and simple card…the inside is pretty cute too. I used Blueberry Bushel, Call Me Clover, Pineapple Punch and Lovely Lipstick for the puzzle piece background. Do you know what these colours all have in common? They are all this year’s “In Colours”. The only one missing is Grapefruit Grove. I cut out one “puzzle” from each of the colours mentioned and then I keep the leftovers in a small Ziploc bag inside the stamp case. That makes it super easy to add some of these colourful puzzle pieces to any card. I really loved playing with this set, it brought out my inner child and the bright colours were so cheerful on this cold winter day.
As you can see this bundle can be used for so much more than just Valentine’s Day. I hope you have been inspired by these cards and I challenge you to pop a card in the mail this week and show someone some love. If your wish list is long, you know what to do. The very best deal, especially at this time of year during the sale-a-bration sale is to get the starter kit. You can pick out a whopping $225 worth of any product you choose from the current catalogs and pay only $135. No shipping or tax. Click here to start the process. I will finish this post with a video I shared earlier this week on Facebook.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmxtpVQQnDg&t=1s
If you live anywhere in Canada and do not already have a demonstrator I would love your business. You can shop online very easily and if you also are so kind as to use the host code
2HGCDSXE
I would be ever so grateful and I will send you a fun card in the mail. If however your order is $200 or more you should just do a customer order because that will entitle you to host benefits. During sale-a-bration if your order is $300 you will get $65 in free host products. You can choose from exclusive host sets but you can get anything you want from the catalog or the clearance rack. You can also put your host rewards towards the purchase of a starter kit. Good to know, right? Have a super day and thanks for stopping by.
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