Well, isn’t that a bit of a tease? Nothing’s Better Than is actually the name of a pretty fun stamp set. I would say that nothing is better than being loved and loving that person back and both of you feeling like you’re the lucky one! Today I am sharing a card that I made using Nothing’s Better Than for the first time. This card was made for next month’s Create With Us International tutorial bundle which has the theme of Heat Embossing.
Nothing’s Better Than Cocktails
Cocktails are a lot of fun, but they are so expensive!! I made this card not just because I really do love a good cocktail, but I also love the cheerful colours that we want to hold on to while summer is becoming a distant memory. First I’ll show you the card and then I will tell you about the different ways that I have used heat embossing to make it.
Here is a closer view of the card.
Heat Embossing Three Different Ways
First I used heat embossing to create an emboss resist technique with a stencil or decorative mask. Place the mask over your cardstock and press all over with versamark. Heat emboss with clear embossing powder and then sponge on your ink for a beautifully patterned background.
Second I used versamark and clear embossing powder directly on the die cut to make the cardstock glossy and almost three dimensional.
Lastly I used masking paper and clear embossing to create some texture for the liquid in the cocktail glasses. Embossing doesn’t always have to be in metallics or colours. Clear embossing is super versatile and can be used quickly over top of any stamped image to make it look like it has been embossed in colour.
Get Your Own Discount
Did you know that you can get your very own discount on Stampin’Up! products by getting the starter kit? The starter kit is always a great deal but this month it is even better. Rather than me writing a big long story about it, grab a cup of coffee or tea and watch my short YouTube video. I wish someone had shared this with me earlier!
Belgium and Ireland
Did you know that Stampin’Up! has now expanded into Belgium and Ireland? I can now recruit people from these countries too because I have a European team through my Dutch demonstratorship. Please reach out to me if you are interested or you can simply sign up here incognito if that is more your jam.
Nothing’s Better Than….
With a title like that I just had to share a picture of Gerard and me. We had such a wonderful, romantic evening last Saturday and my cousin took this photo of us. I had to share both photos because the first one highlights the dramatic entrance with the red carpet. It really makes you feel like a movie star. I was happy that I chose to wear my little black dress!
You can’t tell in the photo, but my lovely scarf actually has a squirrel on it. Next time I will share a photo of it. My friend Tracy had this exact same scarf and I complimented her on it so many times that she gave me one for my birthday. It is still one of my favourite scarves! Do you have a favourite gift that you still treasure?
Happy stamping and thanks for joining me today! Oops, almost forgot, the Create With Us International tutorial group has a new Fancy Folds tutorial just out. It’s amazing!! You can get it for free with a $60 purchase or you can buy it here on my blog.
Hello stampers and happy Friday to you. I love you to the moon and back! Have you ever said that? If so, this card might really resonate with you. I just love the big moon in this stamp set, or is it the earth? Doesn’t matter, it is open to creative interpretation! Either way this is a fantastic card and I am so glad that I came across it online. Thanks so much to Julie Petrie for the fabulous inspiration! I made some minor adjustments but the idea certainly wasn’t mine. Does it remind you of E.T. Comes Home?
A Funny Story
If you look carefully you might notice that my bear looks a little different than the bear in the stamp set. Do you know why? I cut off his back leg!! For the life of me I couldn’t figure out what this was until I did a video showing this stamp set and asked people to help me out. I thought it was something in his pocket, or a big seat, I had no idea! Now of course it looks obvious! Here is the original card and link to Julie’s blog.
A Few Instructions
I first stamped the dots from Time of Giving (I forgot to add that one to the supply list at the end of the blog post!) The dots were stamped in versamark and clear-embossed. After that I sponged on Misty Moonlight with blending brushes over the entire white panel which measures 4 1/8″ by 5 3/8″. The trees are from Mountain Air and I used the Stamparatus to stamp them in Memento black to make sure they were nice and dark.
The moon was stamped in Smoky Slate and cut using the layering circles dies.
The bear was stamped on shimmery white cardstock and coloured with a waterpainter. See the colours in the supply list below. Don’t forget to cut off his leg!!
The sentiment was die cut using a die from the Seasonal Labels dies in the holiday catalog. Remember, if you want to purchase any of these things, just click on the images in my supply list! I’ve made it so easy for you.
Love You To The Moon
This is not the only wonderful saying in this set. I also love “Always reach for the stars” and “more thanks than stars in the sky”. There is a row of images of the moon in its different phases with the saying underneath “enjoy this new phase of life”. Lastly there is a beautiful “congraulations” in a gorgeous handwritten font.
I absolutely love books and have been addicted to reading ever since I could put two letters together. When I see this stamp set I am reminded of these two classic children’s books. Do you love to read?
Time to Evaluate
Be sure to have a good look through the holiday catalog. Many sets, accessories and paper are retiring. It’s so much easier to order them before they disappear rather than search for them on Facebook sites later. With a $60 purchase you will also get a free pdf tutorial from me. If you have a preference as to whether it be a Demo Design Dream Team tutorial or an International Create With Us tutorial, just let me know!
I hope that you have a super day and a good weekend. Christmas is almost here! It looks like it will be a subdued celebration again this year with COVID numbers and the variant alive and well and governments raising the alarm bells. I know that I am thankful for this hobby, this business and all of YOU!!
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday. Oh the magic of embossing! While this was one of the first techniques I learned, even before the die cutting machine, emboss resist takes it to a new level. Today I am going to show you two emboss resist cards that are very simple to do and very different in their finished look.
Emboss Resist
When you do an emboss resist card you start by embossing your image, usually in white but other colours work as well. Depending on which cardstock you used, you can either sponge ink over top of your embossed image or you can do a colour wash with an aqua painter over your image. With today’s cards I used a sponge and ink. If you watch my daily Facebook live videos at 3pm then you have seen me make this first sunflower card.
Echoing the Colours of Yesterday
I loved the colour combination so much from yesterday’s Bargello technique cards that I decided to replicate it on this card. Why not make the sunflowers funky rather than realistic? It is amazing how the card looks completely different just by switching up the colours and changing the shape of the sentiment. What I really like about both of these cards is the addition of a spattering of water droplets. You could use a toothbrush to do this but I had a flat brush that I use for brushing away excess embossing powder. Just wet the brush and then give it a sharp flick so that you get a few water droplets falling on your card. They leave a great watermark which you can then accentuate with frosted or clear epoxy droplets.
The Video
If you would rather see the technique rather than reading about it, check out this video. I am really enjoying hearing where everyone is from and watching the community grow. It would be great to hear from YOU. What do you like about the videos or my blog? The more interaction there is between me and my readers and viewers the more likely you will see and read what you want to. A great example of that was yesterday’s video. Someone had requested sympathy cards, so that is what I made.
A Fantastic Opportunity
Do you love stamping? Do you have a hard time narrowing down your wish list? Maybe it’s time to make a wise decision and get the starter kit. It could be that you just want your own discount and that is totally ok. In fact if you love to make cards or scrapbook, why are you not getting a continual discount on your products? If you live in Canada you can get the amazing deal on the starter kit through me. Just click here and you can pick out $165 worth of products PLUS a FREE bundle. If for example you chose the Prized Peony Bundle you would get a bonus of $78.25 which would cost you $96.25 as a customer. You also get a free Paper Pumpkin in your kit which is worth $35.
Do What You Love and Get Paid!
If you are truly passionate about making cards and also get great satisfaction from sharing what you love and what you know, then there is an amazing opportunity here for you. I cannot tell you enough how tremendously satisfying it is to own your own business, to develop it as you want and to be able to call your hobby your job! The best thing for you, not to brag, is to have ME as your upline because you get to benefit from everything that I have learned over the last fourteen years. I love to share with my team what made me get to the pinnacle of the stamping world in Canada and the world. Last year I was number four in Canada and number forty nine in the world out of more than fifty thousand demonstrators!
Thanks!
As always, thanks for popping over to read my blog. I truly appreciate you and I hope that you have a wonderful day. Take joy in the little things, find a way to brighten someone else’s day and get creative. See you at 3pm for my live video, I think I will be unveiling the Prized Peony bundle.
Hello stampers! Do you want to hear about my super simple emboss resist technique? It really doesn’t get any easier than this and the results are simply spectacular. That is exactly what we want in our card making experience: great results with very little effort.
The Card
Here is a closeup of the tree and present collage. The presents were all fussy cut from the patterned paper that comes in the Most Wonderful Time product medley. You can see the gorgeous colour from the simple emboss resist technique. The blueberry bushel really makes the gold stars pop in the background. The star is made by pressing the framelit which is part of the product medley into the copper delicata ink pad and then running it through the die cutting machine on whisper white cardstock.
The Technique
The reason this simple emboss resist technique is so very easy is that the embossing is already done for you! Twelve gold embossed card fronts are included in the Most Wonderful Time product medley. All you have to do to get this rich look is to sponge blueberry bushel ink all over the card front. The more you sponge the deeper the colour you will get. I prefer to leave mine with a little ombre effect so it is not the same depth of colour everywhere, but that is a personal choice. the sponging works best when you work in a circular motion starting off the edge and working your way inwards.
The Measurements
Card base: thick whisper white cardstock 8 1/2″ by 5 1/2″ scored at 4 1/4″.
Card front- no measuring necessary since it is included in the product medley, simply use as is.
cardstock vellum: 2 1/2″ by 4 3/4″ cut into a banner at the bottom
Blueberry Bushel cardstock- due to circumstances I had to fussy cut a circle! I used our tear’n’tape adhesive and traced the inside of the adhesive on the cardstock. It actually worked!!
The Christmas Tree
The tree was stamped in Shaded Spruce on shimmery white cardstock and then it was colour washed with an aquapainter. I then pressed a clear block into some Call Me Clover ink and used the aquapainter to colour wash the tree again to get a great depth and variance of colour. Let it dry for a few minutes and then use the die that comes in the Most Wonderful Time product medley to cut it out using a die cutting machine. Put a strip of tear’n’tape on the back of the Christmas tree and then wrap tinsel trim (also included in the product medley) and wrap it around the tree. Pop the tree up on the blueberry bushel circle and add some presents.
If you would like to see some of this card being made as well as a few other cards that I have blogged about in the past few days, you can watch my Facebook live video here.
A Story
If you have watched my Facebook live video, you might find it interesting to hear a little background story. I had originally given myself two hours to first make a card for my blog post today and then to get ready for my Facebook live. Then life happened. First three flower buyers came to negotiate prices with Gerard. He really wanted me to be a part of the process. So we had coffee and “gember koek” which is a delicious Dutch cake with chunks of candied ginger. The flower buyers had been told about me and they brought me gorgeous roses!! I learned that flower prices are negotiated to a tenth of a cent!! It’s a tough market.
Then I got a text from my Tante Nel asking if she could drop by. Well of course I was thrilled to see her and she brought a drawing that my Tante Irene had made for my mom the day before she died. I can only imagine how much that is going to mean to my mom. By the time my Tante Nel left it was 2:45 and I had fifteen minutes to prep for my video. That is why it was a bit crazier than normal today, at least that is what I like to tell myself. Perhaps this is par for the course, but at least it keeps things interesting.
Thank You!
I always like to thank you personally for stopping by to read my blog. There are many things that you can choose to do with your time and I am honoured that you have chosen to spend some time with me. I hope you were inspired to make some pretty Christmas cards with your friends. When you consider that if you chose to go out for an evening with a group of friends for some drinks and appetizers then you have a pretty good idea what that might cost. Consider the alternative of buying the Most Wonderful Time product medley and gathering with your own wine and snacks and instead making pretty cards that will be fun to do and also fun to send out. A fine investment I think and perhaps the beginning of a fun new tradition. Have a super day and happy stamping.
Hello stampers! I bought the Birthday Banners stamps set on a whim about two months ago and it is finally time to use it. I bought it because it coordinated with some banner framelits that I already have. I am going outside of my usual style and that is a good thing to do once in a while. You don’t want to get predictable, that’s boring! I don’t make enough cards suitable for kids, and these fit the bill for any age.
Now is a good time to take inventory of your stamping stash. You want to get the most use out of what you already have especially with your framelits and punches. Framelits will go on the clearance rack every now and then, but NEVER bundles. So you want to be sure that you have as many stamps as possible that coordinate with the framelits you already have because then you will use them more often. Is there a retiring colour that you really love? Make sure you have not only the card stock and the reinker, but also ribbon, twine and patterned paper that has that colour in it. On these cards I decided to use up my lemon lime twist. I love that colour, but as a demonstrator I will not be using it after May 31. No sense having someone fall in love with something they can’t buy!
I purposely took the picture of this card so that you could see the inside with the bright balloons. I even put string on them and tied them together to make it extra special. These balloons are in the Birthday Banners stamp set and they coordinate with our balloon punch to make it super simple to make a balloon bouquet. I cased this card from Michelle Zindorf, the queen of brayering. I didn’t brayer though, I sponged the background with blueberry bushel after embossing the swoosh from Star of Light in white. Michelle was a genius to think of the swoosh to make the candles look like they are being blown out! I embossed the candles in that gorgeous in colour embossing powder collection that is retiring. Here I used the lovely lipstick and pineapple punch embossing powders, great for the emboss resist technique.
Emboss resist simply means that you emboss your image first. That means that you stamp the image in versamark which is a sticky watermark ink. If you don’t add embossing powder you will just get a great tone on tone effect which is great for backgrounds. If you choose to emboss, then you sprinkle embossing powder on to your versamark stamped image, tap off the excess on to a clean coffee filter and then heat with the heat tool (which I call an embossing gun) After you have embossed your image you can sponge on ink or use a brayer and it will not stick to the embossed image. Do you see the blue on my one candle? That happened because the white part of the candle is not embossed. Next time I think I will cut out the candles and pop them up so that doesn’t happen. I could also have embossed the happy birthday but since this card is for my coffee and a card class I didn’t want to add too many steps. Do you see the fine detail in the swoosh from Star of Light? I love that you can use a Christmas stamp set for a birthday card. A lot of people have also used this swoosh as a Disney element (aka fairy dust) on cards or scrapbook pages. This stamp set is retiring as are the coordinating framelits.
I simply had to include this card even though it contains a glaring error that will have you laughing at me. Do you see what I did wrong on this card? I love the cute enamel dots, the raised banner with the two colours and the bright and cheerful candles. That banner cuts out with a framelit of course and there are two stamps so you don’t have to colour your stamp with a marker, also makes you look like a rock star. But when you stamp your candle flames upside down, well, that’s not such a bright idea is it?!! I really hope that maybe a few of you would have done the same thing.
I am going to stop this blog post now since I really, really want to go to pickleball, and it was canceled all of last week so I am in withdrawal. I also think my girth may be expanding due to lack of exercise! I will continue this post tomorrow including a new and improved version of this card in a different colour scheme of course as well as the last card in the trio. Thanks so much for stopping by, remember if you need to purchase anything and you live in Canada and are looking for a demonstrator, just click on the images below and you will end up at my online store. How easy is that?
Hello stampers. It’s that time of year again when we announce the retiring list. We all sigh over our favourites that are leaving but the truth is we would have an enormous catalog if nothing ever retired. The old makes room for the new. Beach Happy is one fantastic set that you might want to get before it is gone. I loved playing with it. With the stamparatus it is so easy to make the beach chair and umbrella. I tried it with a regular acrylic block and I struggled. With the stamparatus it was perfect the first time and every time. How I love that tool!! I made one card for my Blends Club and one where I wanted to play with embossing and watercolouring. Let’s take a look.
I used Blends on the umbrella, the sand and the hat. I fussy cut the hat and the beach bag. This is a super simple and very fast card to make but yet it packs a big visual punch. I have to say Beach Happy is a fantastic set for both masculine and feminine cards.
I haven’t used my In-Colour Emboss Powder enough this year and a little goes a long way so I think I could really go crazy and do beach scenes in lots of colour combinations and not run out. I love how you can do an emboss resist technique. What does this mean? I stamped and embossed my images on shimmer white cardstock. I was then able to do a colour wash right over top of the images and the colour doesn’t stick to the embossed images, just to the paper around it. Fast, easy and fabulous!! The chair is embossed in black and lovely lipstick and the umbrella is in black and pineapple punch. The colour wash was done in coastal cabana, crumb cake and soft suede. I am feeling very artistic and that is saying a lot!! If I can do it, you most certainly can as well.
I had a lot of fun making these cards, stamping is indeed therapy. One of the first techniques I ever learned when I started stamping was embossing. It still gives me great pleasure to see dry powder transform into a glossy surface. If you have never tried it before you most definitely should. If you would like to book a class with me I would be happy to teach you this fun technique. Remember, this is the girl who never felt artistic and avoided any art classes in high school like the plague. I am slowly starting to change my self image when it comes to art and creativity. Discover how easy it is to become artistic with stamps, ink and paper.
I hope you all have a super day and I thank you for stopping by today. If you would like to purchase any of the items needed to make these cards, just click on the images below. You do need to live in Canada in order to shop from me. Sad but true. Same thing for joining my team. I live in Ontario, but my team is from many different provinces and that makes me ever so happy. Would you like to join too? Just message me, of click here to get started on that amazing journey.
