Hello stampers. It is the season for lots of different celebrations including weddings, graduations and of course, birthdays and babies. Hand Delivered is great for all occasions! It is a two-step stamp that is so cute and versatile. I am going to use it for my coffee and a card class on Tuesday since I need a card that can do the job for various occasions. Not everyone needs a graduation card, so let’s see what I did with just one card and three different sentiments.
I could have used the stamp that has the stack of books with an apple on top but I really love these cheerful balloons. Maybe I’ll do the stack of books in my video. The balloons are just beautiful coloured with Blends. See below for the colours I used.
I liked grounding this card with a one inch strip of Wood Textures paper and then adding a pop of colour with the Metallic Ribbon in Petal Pink.
The first time I used this stamp I thought the buttons were supposed to go on the skirt. That looked terrible because the balloon strings also ended up on the skirt and the hands were all bunched up in her waist. So be careful to put the buttons above the skirt. Does this sound crazy to you? Well, this is a two step stamp. The skirt and the legs is one stamp and the balloons with the hands and the blouse is another stamp. Here is a picture of the stamp set so you can see what I am talking about.
One last tip. If you want to pop up one of the balloons, our 1 1/4″ circle punch is perfect for the job. Sadly this punch is retiring and sold out. Our circle framelits will also do the job.
Thanks so much for stopping by, I will share a video to show you how this set works and also a few tips and tricks on colouring with Blends. If you order online this month using the host code TXE4JNCY you will get a chance to win this stamp set!
I realize that my video got cut short because my phone ran out of space but I am on “Oma” duty right now, so I will redo the video when Leo is in bed this afternoon. Thanks for your patience!!
Hello stampers. Do you like colouring? Do you hate colouring? Beautiful Blends are the answer. If you love colouring then you will love it even more when you colour with Blends. Do you hate colouring? You just might be very pleasantly surprised if you try the Blends. How do I know this? I think I have now had around 50 Blends club members as well as people at my coffee and a card classes say that they hated colouring until they tried the Blends. That just makes me so happy. Did you know that when I was in grade 2 I won second prize in a colouring contest run by the Guelph Daily Mercury? I was so happy! My prize was a dozen tulip bulbs and this was a kids colouring contest. How silly is that? Anyways, even with that legacy, colouring can still stress me out sometimes especially if it is a really detailed line image stamp. But Blends are different. Try out a few and you will see what I mean. I would like to show you two cards we made at our last Blends Club. Both of them are using stamp sets that will soon retire, so if you love them, be sure to add them to your collection before they are gone and sell for an astronomical price on Ebay.
Now doesn’t this card just make you smile? Two by Two is great for baby cards but also for birthday cards or get well cards for kids. It is also perfect for colouring therapy. I used flirty flamingo, balmy blue, soft suede, smoky slate, daffodil delight, pumpkin pie, basic black, real red, crumb cake, old olive and pool party to colour this card. I think it is a winner. I used the stamparatus to make sure my sentiment was a beautiful, deep black.
Bubbles and Bubbly just recently made its way to my house. This bathtub looks a lot like mine, and with a saying like that, don’t you think The Pampered Stamper needed to own this set? I thought so too and just in time too since it is retiring at the end of May. I layered vellum over top of the pool party circles to soften it up a bit but you could also use our sequins for a fun look. I am sure there are not too many rich razzleberry bathtubs in the world but I like the funky look of it.
Thanks so much for stopping by and get ready for six more Blends colours coming in the new annual catalog: so saffron, gray granite, pretty peacock, seaside spray, rococo rose and purple posy. Have a super day.
Hello stampers! Framed samplers are so much fun to make and to display, but this Crafting Forever one is ideal for your craft room if you are lucky enough to have one. You could also make it as a gift for your favourite crafty person. I made it specifically as a thank you for all my club members. They make a commitment to meet five times a year to make cards with me and place orders and I think that deserves a reward. Lasting friendships are made through my clubs and that is the very best part for me too. I always tell “my people” that attending classes is the best thing that they can do for their hobby because it ensures that they use the things they buy. When you go to classes you are inspired to create. You learn new things and that motivates you to put your knowledge into practice and to share what you love with others. Homemade gifts never go out of style. Shall we take a look at this beauty?
This sampler measures 8″ by 10″. I might tweak it a little bit yet and I always encourage my class attendees to feel free to make it their own by adding or changing the embellishments or anything else they with to change. I think I will add a little bling to the top left square. You could also choose to colour in the cafe image on the bottom left rectangle. Everything was stamped on whisper white and matted with basic black. I used an assortment of Blends to colour my images. There is a LOT of fussy cutting. The only truly fussy one was the clay pot with the brushes. The wine glasses were stamped on shimmery white cardstock which makes them look more like glass. They are a different shade of white so they pop off the white background subtly. I bought the frame at Michael’s, it is part of their everyday value collection, so it was only $12 in Canada.
I thought I would show you what it looks like outside of the frame so that you can properly place your elements on the 8″ by 10″ white insert. Would you like some measurements?
wine and scissors rectangles: 5 1/2″ by 2″ (white) 5 3/4″ by 2 1/2″ (black) each
spools: 2 5/8″ by 2″ (white) 2 7/8″ by 2 1/4″ (black)
Crafting and pens: 2 1/2″ by 2 1/4″ (white) each, 2 3/4″ by 2 1/2″ (black) each
get creative- 2 1/4″ by 4 5/8″ (white) 2 1/2″ by 4 7/8″ (black)
You can adapt this to your favourite colour scheme. For a complete list of products that I used, just scroll down. I was inspired by Chris Galbraith, you can find her sampler here.
I used an aqua painter to make a swoosh of smoky slate under the clay pot of brushes. SInce I was using regular whisper white cardstock I had to just make a quick swoosh. You do not want to add a lot of water to this paper or it will disintegrate. It might have been a better choice to just stick with Blends. You can see from the picture that some of the elements are popped up to add visual interest. I used the little background dots from Timeless Textures to add some interest to the scissors rectangle. I first stamped them in smoky slate (second generation stamping which is the new way of saying “stamped off”) I also used second generation stamping in daffodil delight and berry burst. I wanted to add some berry burst to the stamped images to tie in the berry burst metallic edged ribbon. This gorgeous ribbon is retiring, so get it before it’s gone!
Thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope you enjoyed this post. Happy stamping!
Hello stampers. Have I ever told you how thankful I am for the inspiration I get from my fellow demonstrators? France Martin inspired me with this beautiful stained glass hummingbird. When I saw her beautiful creation I just had to know how she did it. Thankfully she also shared a video where she explained it step by step. Today I am going to show you my creation as well. First of all you need window sheets, heavy duty aluminum foil, adhesive sheets and of course the Humming Along bundle for the hummingbird and the framelit.
You start by embossing your hummingbirds on window sheets. Be careful when using the heat tool and don’t overemboss or the window sheet will warp. Then colour your hummingbird with Blends. Crumple up the aluminum foil and then carefully straighten it out and smooth it a bit. Peel off the backing of an adhesive sheet and lay the foil on top. Cover this again with the backing that you had just removed and burnish it with your bone folder. Carefully pull the adhesive sheet off of the foil. Press the hummingbirds on the window sheets onto the sticky back of the foil. Cut out with framelits and Big Shot.
I did find out by accident that you can use Tombow liquid adhesive and it works as well. I started to make my hummingbirds before watching France’s video. So I made a small puddle of Tombow on the corner of the silicone mat and then flattened the puddle with a sponge and then sponged the Tombow on the back of the hummingbird and then pressed it on the foil. I place a punch on top of it for a couple of hours while I made supper and then when it had dried I ran it through the Big Shot with the framelit. Looked great! It just takes a little more time than using the adhesive sheets.
This is what it looks like. If you want you can add more depth to the colour by adding another layer of Blends to your hummingbirds.
Here is a closeup of the stained glass hummingbird. The black embossing and the crumpled aluminum foil under the coloured window sheet really does mimic the look of stained glass. Let’s see what it looks like on a card.
I couldn’t decide which picture showed the colours better, the card laying flat or the card standing up, so here is the other one. I used the Share What You Love designer series paper which is such beautiful thick and textured paper. I have to confess that I was hoarding it a bit, but now that it is retiring I have a feeling of largesse, and I cut entire card front sizes of it: 4 1/4″ by 5 1/2″. #loveitchopit If you love your paper you really do need to chop it, because then you will use it and you will be inspired to create even more.
Here is the second card that I made, this one has a softer look and I used an unusual choice of paper: Tranquil Textures. I guess for me it was unusual because I sometimes think inside the box. That paper was shown with an ocean themed set so then I only think of using it with nautical cards. I am told by my girls that I do the same thing with my clothes. If I buy it as an outfit I forget to mix and match with other items of clothing in my closet. Funny, right?
Once again, when I laid this card down the light seemed to catch the colours on the stained glass hummingbird better. I picked this paper because it reminded me of a summer sky. The Beautifully Detailed Laser-Cut specialty paper is hidden away on page 48 of the Occasions catalog. One side is whisper white and the other is petal pink.
I just want to use this beautiful hummingbird everywhere! I will make a video showing you how to do it yourself. This technique is another one that is better shown than described. Humming Along is a retiring stamp set, so it will only be available while supplies last. If you live in Canada and want to purchase it, please click on the images below to go to my store. If you could also use the current host code, that would make me very happy. If your order is over $200 do NOT use the code because then you will qualify for your own host benefits, which is 10% of your total order. You can use this for exclusive host sets or for any other products in the catalog or on the clearance rack. Here is the code: TXE4JNCY.
Here is the video that shows you how to make the hummingbird.
Hello stampers. Am I the only one who thinks of their mother when they see hummingbirds? My 87 year old mom loves hummingbirds and she always keeps a nectar feeder stocked for them. A customer tonight who is coming to this class said that my cards reminded her of her mom who died a few years ago. I love Humming Along not only because of the hummingbird but also because it is absolutely fantastic for colouring with Blends or watercolouring. It also comes with some pretty amazing framelits and dies. For my first two cards I was inspired by the catalog and by Artisan Award winner Stesha Bloodhart.
This card was inspired by a card in the Occasions catalog. I changed up the way the sentiment was done. The background is watercolour paper and that interesting design is made using one of the framelits in the bundle. I used an aqua painter to spread some water on the watercolour paper and then I loaded it with balmy blue ink and add colour to the wet area. This helps it spread more naturally to give that amazing artistic watercolour look. I cleaned my aqua painter and then picked up a few drops of smoky slate ink and spattered it on the background by tapping it firmly above the paper. The hummingbird was cut out with a framelit and the Big Shot and was coloured with Blends: balmy blue, mossy meadow and smoky slate. The sentiment was stamped in balmy blue and cut with a framelit from the bundle.
This great card was cased from Stesha Bloodhart. The only thing I did differently was colour with Blends. Stesha watercoloured hers which is also very beautiful. The flower was stamped on shimmer white cardstock and coloured with granny apple green and lovely lipstick blends. The sentiment was embossed in white on black cardstock. For the background I stampedthe sentiment repeatedly in smoky slate. I stamped off for the hummingbird so that it would nice and light.
I still have to make two more cards for this Sweet Suite Saturday class, but I have run out of time so they will be featured in another post. This class will be next week Saturday April 27 at 1pm. You can buy the bundle and make the four cards for FREE or you can pay $25 for the class. Sadly this bundle is retiring, so be sure to get it before the end of May. I wouldn’t wait that long because the possibility of it selling out is high. If you live in Canada, just click on the images below and you will go straight to my online store. If you use the host code in the sidebar I will be most appreciative!! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a super day.
Wonderful Moments is a great stamp set that has six lovely images, 12 different sayings and a few design elements. It can be used all alone without any embellishment or colouring or you can colour the images with Blends, an aqua painter and ink, watercolour pencils or with a blender pen and ink. Not sure where to start? “Case” the catalogue. That simply means to use the samples in the catalogue and copy them. That is what my team member Carolyn Hanson-Henderson did with this card. A few months ago we did a card swap with our team and that was the theme: “case the catalog”. C.A.S.E. means copy and share everything. Here is Carolyn’s gorgeous card.
Carolyn used blackberry bliss as the card base which she embossed with the Ruffled embossing folder, fresh fig ribbon and regals collection designer series paper. I liked this card so much that I decided to case it in night of navy for my Blends Club on Thursday since night of navy is one of the colours that all the club members are getting.
I love the combination of night of navy and granny apple green so I immediately thought of our Tropical Chic designer series paper. I also love gingham, so this ribbon was just perfect. Since the pattern in the paper is also small it is possible to mix a few patterns together for great effect. The little strip of green patterned paper is 3/4″ by 5 1/2″, perfect if you #loveitchopit to use up all your scrap. If you cut a card front layer out of 6″ x 6″ paper then you will have a strip left over that will be enough to cut two strips for two of these cards! Don’t hoard your paper, love it, chop it and use it.
Blends are perfect for colouring this lovely lady. I used the Bronze Blend to colour her hair and Ivory on her legs and hands. Night of Navy is used on her dress, shoes, balloons and gift bag. Do you notice the shadow around her? I created that using Light Pool Party which I lightened some more using the Colour Lifter. Here is a closeup.
I realize that with the pop of granny apple green it really isn’t a monochromatic card anymore!! I still love it and there are blue dots in the paper…. I have to say I am super pleased with how the Blends show up in this photograph. Everyone in the Blends Club (this is now the second one I am offering) is super happy with how they colour. I hope to offer a third summer session if there is enough interest. I am also thinking it is high time for me to offer online classes! I keep procrastinating. I would love to hear from you if you are interested in online classes. Maybe that will give me the push that I need to get started. I also think that the ruffled embossing shows up really well. This folder is so beautiful, it truly creates a 3D effect that makes you want to touch the paper and hold it at different angles to see if it has been coloured like that!
Thanks for stopping by today. If you need anything or wish to recreate this card, just click on the images below and you will go straight to my online store. If you could also use the host code when you shop online that would be fantastic. The code is always found on the sidebar of my blog.
