by Jackie Bultje | May 8, 2019 | #loveitchopit, focal point, Framelits |
Hello stampers. Now that I have been stamping for a good long while I know how important it is to have a focal point on a card. You need something for the eye to be drawn towards otherwise your card loses its focus. People just look everywhere because the eye can’t find out what is the most important. Sometimes when I do a kids class or have a very excited adult beginner, they are having so much stamping that they just stamp everywhere there is a blank space! Now beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but having a focal point really helps you to have an eye-catching card. Today I am going to show you a card that has the exact same layout as a card I showed earlier this week and yet it looks completely different. I changed up the designer series paper that I used and I changed where I put the focal point. Let’s take a look.
I designed this card for my Upon Request Club. The host wanted to use Climbing Roses on a simple card. It is also a “pocket shaped” card front but I moved the focal point up to the top right corner instead of by the point. The pretty metallic rose is from the Share What You Love embellishment kit which comes in that pretty box and the paper is Share What You Love as well. This paper is gorgeous with its pearlized finish. It is also more like cardstock so great for making boxes and bags, and yes, it is retiring!
Here you can see the detail better. The roses are stamped tone on tone in the background. Tranquil tide is the colour of the cardstock and the ink. This amazing colour coordination is one of the main reasons I fell in love with Stampin’Up! 13 years ago. Tranquil Tide is also found in the patterned paper and this also makes the card visually appealing. The velvet ribbon and the scalloped circle are both rich razzleberry, also found in the patterned paper.
Look at the two cards side by side. They each have the same design and layout. The only difference is the placement of the focal point. What a difference! I first put the circular focal point in the same place as the teacup one, but it just didn’t work. It is such fun playing around and making it just right.
I made a video to show you how to do the pocket shaped front on the card. You can also check this post for a diagram with the measurements. When you see the diagram you will see that this is a perfect card for the #loveitchopit method. The patterned paper piece measures 4″ by 4″. That means you will get nine pieces from each 12 x 12 sheet of patterned paper. Trust me, when you chop your paper you make more cards and you get more inspiration. I challenge you to give it a try.
https://vimeo.com/334541849
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have some time to make a fun card like this. This Share What You Love paper is a perfect example of making sure you have the right supplies to coordinate with the retiring products you already have. Love tranquil tide? Then this paper is awesome to go with it. Just look in the catalog in our patterned paper section, it tells you exactly what colours are featured. I find that you use ink pads a lot more when you have coordinating patterned paper. Have a super day, I am off to pickleball.
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by Jackie Bultje | May 1, 2019 | #loveitchopit, Blends, embossing, Stained Glass Hummingbird, technique cards, window sheets |
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.
http://https://vimeo.com/333627494
Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!
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Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder
[109133]
$6.25
by Jackie Bultje | Mar 25, 2019 | #loveitchopit, DistINKtive stamps, Life is Grand, Painted Seasons |
Happy Monday stampers. Life is grand! It is easy to say that when things are going well, but you have to dig a little deeper to say it and mean it when things are not going well. But life is grand. We need to live every moment, to take joy in the little things because sometimes there are only little things. Today as I was driving home from pickleball I noticed how the sunlight was glinting off the Thames River that runs through town. Now the Thames is not a very pretty river. It is usually muddy brown, but when the sun is glinting off it, wow, it sure does look beautiful. Now I am going to talk about the stamp set Life is Grand. What makes this stamp set so appealing to me is first that the font is large and flowy. Second, it is a distINKtive stamp, which means it shows up ombre, or in at least two colours and that really has a wow effect without you having to do anything for it. It is also not a fussy distINKtive stamp. Doesn’t matter if your ink pad is juicy, it will still give you that beautiful effect. Let’s take a look.
Here you get a closeup glimpse of the beautiful lettering. This was done in Real Red, my favourite colour. I absolutely love it with Granny Apple Green. You probably recognize the frog from So Hoppy Together. You can get this beauty for free with a $60 purchase until March 31. Time is running out!! The toadstool is from a gorgeous set in the annual catalog called Sweet Storybook.
I love everything about this card and I don’t even feel bad saying that even though I designed it myself and am tooting my own horn. This card just makes me feel happy when I look at it. I love, love, love the paper and sadly it is only available until March 31 as a free saleabration item, so if you love it even half as much as I do, you want to make sure you get it. If you live anywhere in Canada you can order through my online store. If you use the host code I will love you just a little bit more and send you a card to thank you. Well, let’s be real, you will get a card regardless because I believe that you deserve to be thanked if you give me your business. The toadstool (or mushroom) is from the set Sweet Storybook. I stamped the base on the white “band” of paper and then I stamped again and cut out just the top of it so that I could have it sticking out above the white band. I love the effect of that and it wasn’t difficult to do. I coloured the grass and the frog with our Blends. They are a wonderful product and at $6 each they are just slightly more expensive than our markers and infinitely better. One last thing to crow about with this card: the patterned paper is cut exactly to 4″ by 6″ which makes it perfect for #loveitchopit. You can get six card fronts out of one 12×12 piece of paper with no waste. It then fits on our Memories and More cards which measure 4 1/4″ by 6 1/4″ and come with their own envelopes. So fast, so easy. The white strip measures 1 7/8″ by 6″.
Don’t you just want to touch your screen right now to feel those letters? Stamped in tranquil tide on Painted Seasons paper, they just pop off the page. I combined it with Wood Textures Paper covering the entire card front. Since the Wood Textures paper comes in 6 x 6 I didn’t feel bad cutting it to 5 1/2″ by 4 1/4″. You can use the remaining bits to decorate the inside of your card if you don’t want to waste it. Another great example of a #loveitchopit card.
I love the effect of stamping on the patterned paper. This works especially well when it is muted background rather than a busy pattern. Both papers are from Painted Seasons, the same set as the bright and colourful paper on the first card. This card would be great for a man, even though it has a linen thread bow. Nothing can come close to our linen thread, and now you can get it in old olive as well.
Here you can see the beautiful paper and the stamp set. You can get them free as a bundle with a $120 purchase or you can get just the paper with a $60 purchase. Let’s take a look at my last card. It doesn’t use this paper or the stamp set but it does use Life is Grand as well as So Hoppy Together.
Oh Granny Apple Green, how lovely you are, both on the lettering and on the frog. One of the things I have always loved so much about Stampin’Up! is the colour coordination. It makes it so very easy to take your cards from nice to stunning. On this card the ink pad, the cardstock and the Blends all match. The balloons were punched out with grapefruit grove and lovely lipstick foil paper and bermuda bay glimmer paper which I believe is still available on the clearance rack. I adhered the bakers twine to the balloons and to the frogs “hand” using our mini glue dots, also the very best in the industry. Just ask my class attendees who have brought “contraband”. Now they are believers too!!
I really hope that you get all you can out of the saleabration promotion which ends on March 31, which is Sunday. I have room for you on my team, and all my customers are also greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have a super day! Hugs from Chatham, Ontario.
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by Jackie Bultje | Mar 31, 2018 | #loveitchopit, designer series paper |
Hello stampers. Now that is one strange title isn’t it? #loveitchopit This is the catchy title given to a very simple method guaranteed to get you using your designer series paper, or for those not used to such papercrafting “technospeak”, your patterned paper. We tend to buy paper because we love it and then we hoard it because we love it. So silly really. You should use the things you love. You can always buy more if you just want to look at it. So the reasoning behind this catchy title is that if you love it, you should chop it. That’s right, take a whole pack of paper and cut it up into usable pieces that will make it easy for you to make beautiful cards. I have found that you can cut two sheets of designer series paper at the same time, so this will also save you time.
For your 12 x 12 paper you simply cut it into four inch wide strips. Then cut the four inch strips into 5 1/4 inch sections. One sheet of 12×12 will give you six card fronts, so an entire package will give you 72 card fronts!! You will have 4″ x 1 1/2″ strips left over that can also be put to good use. Here are some examples:
You can see how I used the small 4″ strips as well. Here is another one using the same layout and paper.
You will be so very pleasantly surprised to see how fast you can put these cards together when you have all your patterned paper already cut. No need to reinvent the wheel each time as the cards are going to different people. Only the sentiment is stamped on this card. Easy-peasy.
This last card takes a little more time. The Bubbles and Fizz paper is in the background and then a piece of shimmer white cardstock. I stamped the sentiment in Memento black and then colour washed with Brusho to give a rainbow effect. Add a few rhinestones and you’re done!
It is embarrassing to admit that I have had this Petal Garden paper for almost a year without using a scrap of it. Once I used the #loveitchopit method I had a few cards made in no time at all. What is so lovely about our Stampin’Up! paper is that it coordinates beautifully together and with our cardstock so it always looks polished and professional. (sort of like mixing and matching coordinating outfits)
For the 6×6″ paper I find it most useful to cut it two ways, either into 3″ squares or into 2′ x 5 1/2″ strips. Both maximize the use of the paper with very little waste. In fact you can use the 1/2″ strips as well. Here is another card using the 3″ squares but with the addition of the 2″ x 5 1/2″ strip for a decadent use of paper!! Just kidding.
The third card using the Petal Garden paper and the #loveitchopit technique is super simple and perfect for those of you who don’t like tying bows. Simply wrap the ribbon around your strip of patterned paper and adhere it to the back. Not even a knot required!!
Now all this chopping begs the question, how do I now store this paper? I find it very convenient to store things in a similar way, so the best way in my humble opinion is in our wide clear cases. Label them and they store wonderfully right along with your stamp sets. Take a peek at what I did, and ask anyone, organizing does not come naturally to me, but once you start it sure does make your life easier!
The #loveitchopit method results in smaller pieces of patterned paper which now store beautifully in these clear cases. I am pretty excited about this. I find that when your products are all ready to go and stored in a logical fashion you will use them more readily and more quickly. Anything to make card making more easy right?
I will end this blog post with a short video that I shared earlier. A special thanks to Kylie Bertucci from Australia for coming up with this catchy title. It certainly piqued my interest and when I watched her video I saw that her method was very similar to what I was already doing and finding very successful. Kylie cuts her 12×12 paper into 6″ strips whereas I like to cut mine into 4″ strips. You will find the way that works best for you, as long as you don’t keep it on the shelf and hoard it!
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B0Gx_3E-yc
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