by Jackie Bultje | Jan 13, 2018 | Baby Wipe Swipe technique, masculine cards |
Hello stampers. I have a feeling that many of you are paper hoarders like me. When you find paper that you really love, it is so hard to use it because then it is gone!! That is why I love a great background technique. No worries about using it all up because you can always make more. It is even better when that technique is super simple AND cheap to boot. This “baby wipe swipe” technique is just that. It is super simple using just a baby wipe cut into three equal pieces, three ink pads and whisper white cardstock. This is not an original idea of mine, I saw it on Lyssa Zwolanek’s blog here. She has a ton of great technique ideas complete with instructions.
I used Colorful Seasons as well but decided not to use the sand on my card. It is just such a beautiful “clean and simple” card and perfect for this time of year when some people are getting cabin fever and dreaming of a day (or a week!) at the beach. I also used the new Stamparatus which makes it super easy to line up perfectly. If you did not pre-order one in December you will be able to order it in the new annual catalog in June.
In case you do not recognize the saying on this card, it is from the retired card kit called Watercolour Wishes. I still have some in stock if you are interested! The colours I used on this card are sahara sand, bermuda bay and soft sky. The chair is melon mambo and early espresso.
This branch used to be so difficult to stamp with the flowers! With the new Stamparatus it is a dream! The birds and the grass are from High Tide. The grass is stamped in crumb cake. The branch combines both the stamp and the framelit from Colorful Seasons. I decided not to add a sentiment so it can be used for any occasion.
I tried using the High Tide set at my technique club but it was an epic fail even with the Stamparatus!! The problem was poor lighting and bad staining on my lighthouse stamps, so I decided to trim them and it worked! By trimming them I was able to align them a lot better. The Baby Wipe Swipe technique just involves pressing the edge of a baby wipe into the ink pad and then swiping it across the whisper white cardstock. It does not seem to harm the ink pad at all, but after doing about a dozen cards or so you might want to re-ink your ink pad. I will include a video at the end so you can better see how this technique works.
I think this might just be my favourite card with this technique. I love, love, love the colours and the fact that it evokes such a peaceful, tranquil feeling. I used soft suede, garden green and marina mist for the swiping and old olive for the tree and early espresso for the sentiment. The tree is from the old favourite Lovely as a Tree and the saying is from the new set Waterfront. I predict that this new set is going to be a classic as well.
I like this card as well, but it almost covers the background technique. The sentiment is from the January Paper Pumpkin. Did you know that if you get a three month Paper Pumpkin subscription you will also get a free sale-a-bration item? I am also loving the ink spots that you get in your monthly Paper Pumpkin, they work so well with the Stamparatus.
This last card was born from a mistake. I didn’t like how my card front turned out, the layering of the different trees just didn’t work. I should have taken a picture! I had tried to place the oak tree in front of this line of trees and it just didn’t look right at all. So I decided to salvage some of my art work and I used it on this card to great effect. I unwrapped my new Tailored Tag punch that is part of the True Gentleman suite and it all came together rather nicely. I love “embellishment opportunities”, don’t you?
I hope you have as much fun with this technique as I did. Here is the video. Have a super weekend!!
http://https://www.facebook.com/ThePamperedStamper/videos/2055204364509574/
by Jackie Bultje | Jan 8, 2018 | Brusho |
Hello stampers! If you have not heard anything about Brusho yet, hold on to your hat. Brusho is an intensely coloured pigmented water colour ink powder. A little goes a long way! See my earlier post here for more information. I recently learned that it works best when you use warm or hot water! For this post I have mainly used Brusho for painting. You simply put a little powder on one of our acrylic blocks and then squeeze on a little water using an aquapainter.
Our colours work great all by themselves but you can play around by mixing them up to make lots of new colours and shades. Trust me, this could lead to an all day adventure!! This is the first card I made using this technique. I used the stamp set Petal Palette. It was so nice to have the framelits to cut it out too.
I lightly inked up the Pinewood Planks embossing folder with sahara sand to give it an even more realistic look. The framelits are all from the Petal Palette bundle except for the oval which is from the Stitched Shapes framelits. Very, very nice. Now this is an expensive bundle, I’m not going to lie. The best way to get it in my opinion is to get the starter kit. It is such an amazing deal at this time of year. I have a video explaining why I think it is too good to pass up.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCq8tmWeo4k&t=6s
Here is a close up of the Petal Palette card that shows the two framelits I used for the sentiment. I love this look, so delicate and yet so easy to use.
The next thing I did with the Brusho was paint the birds from Best Birds. I was really happy with how they turned out. I am using Shimmer White paper because I used up all of my watercolour paper and I simply couldn’t wait for it to arrive. The shimmer white holds up really well, so it is a great option for watercolouring.
For the last card I first wet the shimmer white cardstock with water and then I sprinkled on three different colours of Brusho- the Prussian Blue, Brilliant Red and Yellow. Then I stamped the girl from Beautiful You with Archival Black ink and when it was all dry I painted the girls dress with more Brilliant Red Brusho. I so love this card!!
One of the reasons that I fell in love with Stampin’Up! is that the artwork from the stamps combined with ink and paper truly made me feel artistic and creative. For someone who would never take an art class in high school that is quite the statement. Brusho has made me even happier as it takes card making to a whole new level of fun and creativity!! Here is a close up of the Beautiful You girl.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of what you can do with Brusho! As you can see, I have totally fallen in love with it and I am going to offer an introductory class on Wednesday February 7 at 1pm and 7pm. Included in the class is a pack of Brusho, a package of watercolour paper and two aquapainters. Cost is $69.25 plus shipping and tax, but you also get a free sale-a-bration item and you will make five cards for free! Class is limited, so please sign up soon to avoid disappointment.
I will finish this blog post by sharing a video on how I made the images for these cards. I hope you find it helpful!!
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El7sNP0mi08&t=122s
by Jackie Bultje | Jan 2, 2018 | Big Shot, stamping on embossing folders |
Hello stampers and Happy New Year! Today I am sharing a cool technique that involves inking up your embossing folders and stamping on them before running them through the Big Shot. I shared a video last week on how to do this and it was a big hit. Today I thought I would also talk you through the steps of doing this and show you a few pictures of several variations. Here is what you need:
I found that these colours worked together really well. First you ink up the entire Woodland embossing folder on the Sizzex logo side with Soft Suede. Then you swipe it a few times with the night of navy ink pad. Then stamp the tree from Lovely as a Tree with Garden Green several times at different heights. Lay a white piece of cardstock 4″ by 5 1/4 inches on the uninked side of the folder about 1/4″ from the folder seam. If you look carefully you will see that the bottom of the trees starts at that point. Close your folder and run it through the Big Shot with just the base and two clear plates.
This is what it will look like, but each time it will turn out differently which makes this technique so artistic. I used a 1 3/4″ circle punch to cut out the sentiment which is from Rose Wonder. The 2 3/8″ scallop circle punch with night of navy is a great accent.
With the card above you can see that I swiped the night of navy on the folder on an angle at the bottom making it look like a woodland hill. This is just a happy coincidence! Swiping the folder with this dark colour also accents the bark on the birch trees beautifully don’t you think? Here is another one so that you can see how two identical cards can still look very different with this technique.
This second card has more intense inking on the folder and therefore looks a lot different than the first one. I realize that the scallop circle punch is retired but thankfully Stampin’Up! offers the Layering Circle framelits which will also do the job. Both cards have a base of Night of Navy cardstock.
You can make this card even more detailed by adding another stamp to the mix. I used the antique car from Guy Greetings. I also want to show you the difference when you choose different colours for the car. For one I used early espresso, which I thought was a suitably dark colour. For the other card I used night of navy for the car. Which one do you like better?
The other difference with this card is that I inked the folder first with marina mist and then I brayered over the trees lightly with early espresso. I prefer the first colour combination as I find that the birch trees pop more in those cards. I do love the car in behind the trees though. This just shows that you need to play around a bit with different colours and techniques to see what you like best. I just clean the folder with a baby wipe in between cards. You do need to start with a clean embossing folder each time. I have not found that this technique does any damage to your ink pads either. Rest easy. Breathe. It’s ok!!
Do you notice the difference it makes when you do the card “landscape” style rather than “portrait”? It allows you to add more trees and I really like that too. This also contrasts the two different inking techniques. On the left is the marina mist with brayered trees and on the right is the first formula with soft suede and night of navy.
I hope you have a lot of fun playing with this fun and easy technique. We are in the middle of a cold snap with lots of snow so it is great to play inside a warm house with ink and paper. Here is the video that I shared last week. I hope you all have a fantastic 2018! Remember, today is the last day to order from the Holiday catalog and tomorrow Sale-a-bration starts. What fun.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYwD_fOeq6U&t=8s
by Jackie Bultje | Dec 28, 2017 | Love Today Planner Kit |
Hello stampers! I am hoping that you all had a lovely Christmas. I thought that with New Year’s Day so close at hand it would be fitting to do a blog post on our beautiful Love Today Planner Kit. I have had this gorgeous planner since July. Can you believe it? I had just returned from my epic Europe and Thailand trip celebrating my 50th birthday and had a lot of other things going on in my life. Besides, it was summer time and I don’t know about you, but planning sort of takes a back burner at that time of the year. Not any more!!
I have resolved to be more organized once again. This is definitely not my strong suit, although I try very hard. My desk doesn’t stay tidy for long and I keep my important notes in too many different notebooks which is also not ideal. So Love Today Planner to the rescue. It is a beautiful book with lots of pretty things to put in it. Take a look.
Now this is what I wish my desk looked like!! I do think that we are more inclined to want to use a planner when it is pretty like this one. It also comes with refill pages so that you can use it year after year.
I also love that this planner has three pages included that remind you of what is truly important. You can add pictures or quotes or whatever you want to help you focus. Sometimes we get bogged down by the details in life that we forget the important things or that the little things are what truly is most important.
I learned a long time ago that when you plan your months you first put in the things that are most important, the non-negotiable items. For me that would be my family. After that you put in the things that are important like doctor and dentist appointments, workouts that are essential to good health. Then you add your work things. Be sure to schedule some time just for you as well. I have found that when I don’t do that then my family, my friends and me simply get the leftovers as I give in to my workaholic tendencies. It doesn’t help when you really love what you do!
So….I hope to make a video to show you how to put this gem of a book together, it really isn’t hard, but there are few tips and tricks. I also want to end the year on a nice note, so I am offering free shipping and no tax if you want to order one of these for yourself. Just click here to see it in my online store. If you do order online I will send you either a rebate cheque OR some cute things that you can use in your new book. You choose which you would like. Be sure to use the host code or the offer is not in effect.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtHeJyvsyg0
by Jackie Bultje | Dec 21, 2017 | Christmas, gift card holder, treat holders |
Hello stampers. It is that time of the year when we truly embrace gift giving. We would like to be able to give presents to everyone, but that can cost too much money or involve too much time. There is a solution. Even simple, inexpensive gifts can seem so much more extravagant when you put some thought into the packaging! This treat holder fits the bill.
Christmas time is also a great time to gather with the family and watch some classic movies. One of my favourites is The Sound of Music and the song My Favourite Things. Hence the title, “brown paper packages tied up with string”. At this time of the year I really love to remind the adults around me to take pleasure in the simple things. After all, we are still all children at heart, and these simple treat holders will make anyone happy.
My favourite go-to quick gift is the diaper-fold pouch. You simply take a six inch square and fold it into triangles to make a pouch. I will share a video at the end so you can see how it is done. Then I put a cookie inside and give it to lots of friends, to shopkeepers, waitresses, mailmen, anyone who crosses my path that day. Everyone is just so delighted to get something homemade and they whip up so quickly that it is easy to find the time to do this even in the midst of a busy Christmas season. A big bonus for any paper crafter is that this will also deplete your stack of excess paper!
The trick with these cute treat holders is the circle. Stamp a cute snowflake and a greeting and punch it out using a 1 1/2″ circle punch and then punch a coordinating colour with the scallop circle punch. This hides any imperfections that might arise from making a bunch of these in quick succession. If the cookies are not going to be consumed right away you might want to tuck them into a cellophane bag. We sell different sizes of these on page 195 of the catalog.
To make this treat holder I used retired paper from last year as well as retired stamp set that I just couldn’t part with. Snowflakes never go out of style! I did however think it fitting to make another one with current product as well. The saying on this next treat holder comes from the stamp set Christmas in the Making which retires on January 2. My advice is to get it before it sells for a ton of money on Ebay!! The paper is Merry Music Specialty paper, also something you don’t want to run out of for a long time. Do you see what a difference one little rhinestone can make? I put one on the treat holder using the retired paper, but I forgot to put one on the music themed one. I will have to fix that!
So, although this wasn’t a brown paper package tied up with string, it did bring a smile to many faces this morning and that made me happy too! Inside the pouches was a sea salt caramel chip chocolate cookie. These cookies are amazing. I adapted the recipe from the Hershey’s recipe on the package by adding a teaspoon of espresso powder. I am sure that this will be added to the Christmas repertoire of favourite, not to be missed cookie recipes. The trick is to not bake them too long so that they are crunchy on the outside but soft in the inside.
This recipe makes about 36 cookies and they do not last long! Let me know how they work out for you.
I tucked a business card in behind the cookie so that people could find out how and where to make things like this if they want to, but you could also easily use this as a gift card holder for teachers, mailmen or newspaper delivery people or really anyone you want to treat.
I thought it would be good to have a diagram as well for how to make this but didn’t have time to make one up myself, so I went to the best resource ever, the internet and found this great one from Dawn Olchefske. Thanks Dawn!!
Here’s the video so that you can see how easy this is to do. Happy Christmas everyone and have fun spreading cheer while simultaneously diminishing your excess supply of paper!
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uOBRktrm8U
