by Jackie Bultje | Dec 18, 2017 | Blends, Christmas |
Hello stampers! Have you tried our new Blends yet? They are amazing. Beautiful colours and so very easy to use. Even people who don’t usually like to colour are falling in love with these beautiful alcohol markers. They can be used individually for plain colouring with no lines or together if you want to blend and make it look even prettier. Now I totally understand how even the word “blend” can make you break out into hives. It implies that you need a certain level of artistic ability. Not true. My mind does not work that way. I don’t think to myself, now which way is the light coming in and where would the shadows be? I wish my mind worked that way, but even if it doesn’t, you can still do beautiful colouring and enjoy it. Recently I made some great Christmas cards using the Blends. Check it out.
We also used Blends at my Bingo party on Thursday night. Now I am telling you this was a rocking party and everyone was having a lot of fun and it was loud!! But as soon as the Blends came out, it quieted right down. Everyone just got really zen and relaxed. Truly amazing to see. So if you are feeling a bit of holiday stress, try colouring, it really helps. Tomorrow at coffee and a card class we will be using the Blends to make this card and two others. Class will be a bit different than usual. SInce last week was a “snow day” we are having coffee and a card at the regular time of 10am but then we are going to have a lovely lunch together and do another class after lunch and that is the one where we will be using the Blends.
For this card I used Pool Party, Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate and Old Olive Blends. I used a touch of our embossing paste on the cuffs of the dress, or is it a coat?
The last card that I am making at class was totally cased from my friend Pat Skirtschak who sent me this very card in the mail. It was her card that just made me want to have the set Christmas in the Making and now I am so glad that I have it. It is one of those stamp sets that just makes you happy to look at.
I used Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette and Crumb Cake on this card. The pretty metallic ribbon was one of the sale-a-bration freebies last year. After I was done making these cards I wanted to try them with a new kit that I got from the Occasions catalog. It will be available to you on January 3. The kit is called Lots of Happy and it comes with 20 cards, a stamp set, a block and four watercolour pencils and an archival black ink spot. The pencils are lovely but the kit also works beautifully with our Blends. The best part of this kit is that two of the watercolour pencils are brand new colours that are not in the watercolour pencil kits that are in the catalog: lemon lime twist and flirty flamingo.
The best way to get the Blends
Did you check out the link above to the Blends? Did you have a mini heart attack? They are NOT cheap. To get the complete set of blends is $162 before shipping and tax. So what is the best way to make this investment? I thought of two great ways.
- Wait till January and get the Starter Kit. You could get the kit now as well and it would still be a great deal and you would also be able to get all the things out of the Occasions catalog because as a demonstrator we can preorder now already and we can earn sale-a-bration rewards on our purchases in December. BUT…in January you will also get TWO free stamp sets with your kit and that is a pretty sweet deal. The starter kit is $135 but you get to pick out $165 worth of stuff and the blends are $162. You pay no shipping and no tax. After getting the starter kit you get a 20% discount on all your own purchases and you earn 20% on anything you sell to other people. I would love to have you on my team and will support you any way I can so you get the most value for your investment. Here is the link to get the starter kit.
- Join the Blends Club. We meet on the third Wednesday of each month from January till April. Each time I will have three sets of blends waiting for you and we will make two free cards. You pay $36 plus shipping and tax. You also get a free ivory, bronze and colour lifter for joining. This way you spread out your investment over four months, you get freebies and you make free cards and have four fun classes where you will learn some great tips and tricks for colouring.
Here are the finished cards from the Lots of Happy kit. Both versions turned out well. Which one do you prefer?
If you have any questions about the starter kit or about joining the Blends Club, send me a message at [email protected] or comment here. I always love to hear from you. Wishing you a great last week before Christmas, and remember to take some time for yourself to relax and unwind.
by Jackie Bultje | Dec 14, 2017 | Brusho, watercolouring |
Hello stampers! Deep down we all need and love to create, but sometimes we are afraid. The reason I fell in love with stamping is the beautiful images. All I had to do was put the stamp on an ink pad and then on paper and I was already off to a beautiful start! Now there is Brusho. Wow! This post is just about the most simple way of using this amazing product. What is it?
Brusho is watercolour ink crystals in very brilliant and intense colours. It is made in England and Stampin’Up! now sells this in an assorted pack of five colours for $40.00. It will be available on January 3. The colours include Brilliant Red, Gamboge (orange) Moss Green, Prussian Blue and Yellow. You pierce a hole in the lid with a push pin (a thumbtack with a head on it that you can use as a handle as well) Then use the push pin to seal the hole when you are done. Just shake a little powder over a piece of watercolour paper that you have already spritzed with some water. Spritz a little more water on afterwards and watch the magic happen. You can re-apply again after it is dry if you want to change it. This is the most simple way of using this product, but that is just the beginning. You can also use our aquapainters to paint with it for a more controlled look. Here are some very simple cards that I made using a brand new sale-a-bration stamp set called Epic Celebrations.
We are actually making these fun cards at my Bingo Party tonight. Every quarter I have a Bingo party as a fun way of introducing new products to my customers. Everyone goes home with a prize from the new catalog and the four projects we make all use brand new product too. That way you can make informed choices when ordering from the new catalog. Epic Celebrations in a sale-a-bration set that you can get for free when you make a $60 purchase in Canada. The words for the cards come from a new set called Let the Good Times Roll. Yes, it is roller coasters and comes with framelits!!
This is definitely my favourite card. I have found my inner artist!! All you do is stamp the shoes in versamark and then emboss with clear embossing powder on watercolour paper. This one is 3″ square so it fits in our mini pizza boxes. How much fun is that? After you have embossed the shoes, spritz the paper with water, sprinkle on the Brusho and dry it with the heat gun. This also moves the colour around. The words are stamped in archival black.
With this red card I chose to emboss the headphones in white to make it pop even more. You could use this simple card for any occasion or no occasion at all, just a note of encouragement to put in a lunch or backpack.
I love this one too. Can you believe (if I remember correctly) that it only uses the Mossy Green Brusho? I find that it has an impressionistic look. This card makes me feel very artistic and that is the last word I would use to describe myself. I never took art in high school in fact I was terrified of taking an art class. From about grade 2 I knew that I had no artistic talent. Now, as an adult, I know that is not true. But it is sad that I felt that way for so many years. My greatest joy is showing others that they are artistic and that they can create beautiful things.
I haven’t had time to make a video for this yet, but I promise I will. In the meantime, if you have some time, Patty Bennett made a great video with super tips and explanations why this product is better than watercolouring with ink refills. Check it out. I would love to hear what you think. Have a super day.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDSEH0tHnaA
by Jackie Bultje | Dec 4, 2017 | Christmas, Musical Season |
Hello stampers. Music is such a big part of Christmas for me. I love all the old religious classics and I have even joined a choir just to be able to sing in Handel’s Messiah! That’s why the Musical Season bundle and the Merry Music specialty paper made me very, very happy this year.
Those of you who know me also know that I can be quite scattered and that whereas I truly strive to be an organized person, it is definitely NOT my natural bent. So I had to scroll through my old posts to make sure I hadn’t already blogged about this great set. Well, I hadn’t and it is better late than never. That being said, if you want these products you better not wait and order them asap before they disappear forever! Be sure to use my host code on the sidebar and I will be sure to pop a card in the mail for you, you can even request a card using a specific stamp set if you like.
Here are some cards that I made for my coffee and a card class a few weeks ago. When a card fits that category, you know it will be relatively quick and easy.
The plaid paper that also goes well with any Christmas cards comes from Christmas Around the World. I am not so into the “cutesy” paper but there were enough classic patterns in there to make it irresistible for me.
The next card is the easiest yet. When the paper is this great you don’t need much to make a very striking card. The sentiment is from the Christmas Pines stamp set in the annual catalog.
The last card uses more of the instruments and the treble clef in red for a great pop of colour. Add some silver glimmer paper and a stitched red circle and you have some very pretty contrast to the black musical paper. The harp is embossed in gold but the lyre is simply stamped in basic black.
If you were planning to make a bunch of these cards I would recommend that you stamp a bunch of harps in versamark and emboss them with gold all at once. This is much more efficient than embossing one at a time. The Merry Music specialty paper is also great for making multiple cards. It is lightweight, has 24 sheets, four of each design and all in black and white. I used every bit of this paper and never got sick of it. I will be sad to see it go!
In the card above I stamped the drummer boy in Memento black and then used a direct to paper technique with Versamark and clear embossed to make it a bit more special. I am including a video at the end of this post to show you how to make this bow and several others.
The 1/8″ silver ribbon from the annual catalog combine with the 1/8″ real red ribbon from the Holiday catalog to make this beautiful triple bow.
Finally, here is a video that will show you how to make these bows yourself. Bows are a great addition to a card and they don’t have to be difficult to make. I had lots of experience raising my three girls tying ribbons in their hair and sashes on their dresses. One of my favourite memories as a little girl was a big red satin bow in my hair whenever I had a half ponytail. So yes, I love bows!
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7G48RbHd90
by Jackie Bultje | Nov 27, 2017 | bridge fold card, Christmas |
Hello stampers. For the most part I make regular cards, but once in a while it is such fun to switch it up with a fancy fold card and the bridge fold card is a great one, especially for Christmas. You can go over the top amazing with these cards (I will share a few that other demonstrators have made) or you can go fairly simple and the result is still quite wonderful. Of course, they fold flat in an envelope for easy mailing which is necessary at this time of the year.
Before I tell you more about the bridge fold card, I want to share with you that for today only there is FREE SHIPPING! That is a rare event in the Stampin’Up world and I am going to also offer a draw for host benefits as well as a $20 gift certificate with every $100 order. The gift certificate can be redeemed for classes or products from January 1 to March 31.
Now on to the card. My first card was actually given to me in pieces by my friend Joanne McTavish. She had made this card at her last event and had some left over. What a treat. I changed it only a little bit.
Here is a diagram with the measurements for the base pieces. The patterned pieces for this card are 4″ by 1″ (2 of them) and for the bridge part you use old olive 1 1/4 by 5 1/2″ and patterned paper (Merry Little Christmas) 1″ by 5 1/4″.
I was quite pleased with my second card. I knew that I wanted to use the Night in Bethlehem framelits and that I wanted a card that would be larger than normal but not require a special envelope. So….I made this one to fit into a regular business sized envelope.
What makes this card unique is that it uses a strip of our window sheets (known in the regular world as acetate). This strip measures 8″ by 1 1/4″. I adhered it to the card before adding the silver glimmer strips which are 1 1/2″ by 4″. The framelits from Night in Bethlehem were cut using basic black and silver foil sheets. The stars were stamped in Versamark and silver embossed. The Mary, Joseph and Shepherd were stamped in night of navy and adhered to the strip of window sheet.
The last card I made uses the Musical Season bundle. The dimensions are the same as for the old olive Carols of Christmas card.
I love the pop of red with the musical notes on the sides. This card also uses window sheets as the bridge and it is tucked under the merry music paper.
With this last picture you can see the structure of the card and the way the card folds and is held in shape with the “bridge” part. So simple and so effective, plus it folds flat to go into a regular envelope. Finally here are some great cards by some other demonstrators around the world that use this same structure.
Kate Morgan made this great card using the Detailed Gate thinlets die.
Amanda Bates from the UK made this incredibly detailed card.
Dutch demonstrator Sacha van de Kerkhof made this tranquil tide bridge fold card.
I hope to add a short video later showing how to make this card, stay tuned for updates and happy shopping with the free shipping today only. If you live in Canada and do not have a demonstrator I would love to have your business. If you spend $100 you will get a $20 gift certificate from me to use in January!
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeLphkd37NQ
by Jackie Bultje | Nov 24, 2017 | Wedding Gift Card, Year of Cheer Suite |
Hello stampers. Weddings are not that common at this time of the year, but our Year of Cheer suite is so versatile that they have made it perfect for Christmas, New Year AND weddings. With that thought in mind, I thought I would use the same recipe as the Christmas gift card holder and make it for a wedding. If you want to see all the details and measurements, check it out here. The wedding version is even easier than the Christmas one since it uses punches rather than framelits, so it cuts down on time.
I love how quickly this card came together. A gold foil snowflake, the image embossed in gold and punched with the 2″ circle punch and then the gold foil punched with a 1 3/8″ circle punch. Mr and Mrs is stamped in soft suede. Here is the inside:
I finished the inside with the Year of Cheer specialty washi tape. Originally I had used a strip of the specialty paper but the edge got caught in the sliding mechanism, so my advice is to keep your edges smooth, so the washi tape worked out perfectly and it is so very pretty too!
I will finish this post by sharing some simple tips and tricks for the Christmas gift holder that I posted previously. I now had the Labels to Love available and that makes all the difference!
Not only can you use two pieces the same size to make cute layers, you can also use the same image stamped in two different colours and then paper piece and layer them to make it even prettier.
Finally here is the finished card using the Labels to Love stamp set. This stamp set is great because it is good for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Valentine’s Day. Wow! An 11 piece stamp set for only $28 and it coordinates with our Everyday Label Punch to make creating quick and easy.
Have fun making these easy gift card holders. Have a great weekend and I hope to post again on Monday.
