by Jackie Bultje | Jan 31, 2020 | Inspiring Iris, washi tape, watercolouring |
Hello stampers and happy Friday. Today I want to talk to you about making the most of your investment. If you are reading my blog, chances are quite good that your hobby is stamping and cardmaking. Like most hobbies, this is not a cheap venture. There is no need to apologize for that. Stamping brings you joy and what you create brings others joy and that is more than you can say for some hobbies.
Making the Most of Your Investment
You may be asking, how DO I make the most of my investment in stamps? First of all, use them! Second, send them. Yes, don’t hoard all your cards, send them to people and spread the love and the joy. I used to make two cards every time I stamped, that way I would be able to send away one of my creations. Use your paper, don’t hoard it. When it’s all gone you can buy more! I have found that when you attend classes and learn new ways of using your stamps you are far more likely to ink up your stamps at home.
Take time to play. Lay out all your coordinating products, the stamps, the dies, the ink, the paper and the cardstock. Just enjoy them for a minute and absorb the colours, the textures and the shapes. Ink up all the stamps and stamp them on scrap paper just to get a feel for what they look like in real life.
It’s ok to find inspiration online. Just type the name of the stamp set along with Stampin’Up in the Google search box and then click on Images at the top of the screen. You will get SO many ideas. Then make at least three cards using your stamp set. You will feel much better about your purchases if you take the time to get to know them and to use them.
Find a Stamping Buddy
Don’t assume that you already know who will like to stamp and who won’t. I never thought I would!! Invite some of your friends for a girls’ night out. People go to paint nights, or sign painting nights or pottery nights. Why not a card making night? The best part is that if you have friends who stamp, then you will have another reason to get together and have fun. You can also pool supplies. The possibilities are endless. I would love to host you and your friends for a fun time of stamping.
Hate to Host?
I can understand that hosting an event can be stressful. Many people are not very good at committing and when you host an event and not many people come, then you might feel unpopular or unreliable. No worries. Just come to one of my classes and invite a friend or two to come along. Once people know how much fun it is they won’t want to miss out the next time you invite them.
More Inspiring Iris
Just to prove my point, here are some more great cards using Inspiring Iris. I showed you my simple creation a few days ago. If you missed it, you can find it here.
If you make at least three different things with your stamp set, you will find that it really gets your creative flow going. It sure is a good feeling to have a good card stash on hand for many occasions. Do you see how everything changes when you use the thistle instead of the iris? When you change the colour scheme? Look at the addition of the washi tape and the linen thread. You get a country feel to your card.
This card uses the watercolour technique with our lovely watercolour paper. Do you see the vellum accents underneath? The sentiment has been embossed in gold. Be sure to use your stamparatus for that because watercolour paper is “bumpy” and you need to stamp several times to get good coverage.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today, I hope I have inspired you to get the most out of your investment. Enjoy your hobby and spread joy. Remember, the best deal is the starter kit and there is room for you on my team wherever you live in Canada! Here is the link to get you started on this amazing journey. Don’t forget, our very own Dale Hampshire is joining us at the next team meeting on February 6!
I hope you have a super day and happy stamping.
Product List
by Jackie Bultje | Jul 20, 2019 | paper, Pressed Petals, Vintage, washi tape |
Hello stampers and welcome to a rare Saturday blog post. Since I had an “oma” day yesterday, I thought I would do a blog post today. I am featuring Pressed Petals specialty designer series paper for my Tuesday coffee and a card class so this post will showcase those cards. My main point is that when you have beautiful paper like this, it needs to be the star of the show. You start with the beautiful paper, then you choose a coordinating cardstock, which is very easy to do just by looking at the description of the paper in the catalog. Right there it will tell you which colours are in the paper and that makes it simple to choose which colour you want to accentuate in the paper. Add a little texture with ribbon or embellishments, choose how you want to frame your sentiment and you are all set!
While these three cards all look very different, they all use the same collection of Pressed Petals specialty designer series paper. Each card just focuses on a different colour found in the paper. Which one is your favourite? I don’t have the Path of Petals stamp set yet that goes with this suite because the coordinating framelits were backordered. I also wasn’t sure if I needed another stamp set with flowers. After a second look at this set, I realize that I really do love the sayings in it, so it will be on my next order! I chose to use the Woven Heirlooms stamp set instead which I think is a very good fit too. Here are some close-ups of the cards.
It is a bit difficult to see in the picture that I used the Scripty embossing folder in the background on the Blueberry Bushel cardstock. It mimics the script of the sentiment from Woven Heirlooms. It may be a bit bright for a sympathy card but I feel that it is entirely appropriate if it is indeed a “celebration of life” event for someone who has lived a good, long life. Sympathy cards don’t always have to be dull and gloomy.
For this card I pulled the burlap theme from the background of the Pressed Petals patterned paper. I also distressed the background on the sentiment panel by stamping off with Rococo Rose and Woven Heirlooms. The sentiment was stamped in Merry Merlot. Both of these colours can be found in the Pressed Petals patterned paper. Layering the lace over the burlap ribbon evokes a lovely vintage feeling. You could also add some pearls if you wanted to.
This last card uses my favourite washi tape ever! It is called Pressed Petals specialty washi tape because one of the rolls actually uses individual flower petals that you can easily combine into different flowers. How awesome is that? The card also uses two of the coordinating sheets of the Pressed Petals designer series paper. I once again used the Scripty embossing folder for the background of this very vanilla card.
I am very excited to announce that I am going to start doing regularly scheduled weekly live Facebook sessions every Tuesday evening at 7pm called Coffee and a Card Revisited. It will feature the cards we made that morning at coffee and a card as well as any special insights that may have arisen during the class or cards evolved from it. Of course, given my squirrely nature, there also be random Facebook lives and other videos posted both on YouTube and on my Pampered Stamper Facebook page.
If you are a demonstrator needing or desiring more training and inside tips on how I work my business, you may want to join the Pampered Stamper Training Group. It is only $5 month just to slightly compensate me for my time. I am very excited to see how my trainees achieve greater success through their participation in this group.
Today is July 20, so there are only 11 days left for Bonus Days. If you spend $60 in July, you will get a $6 bonus coupon to spend in August. I thought I would end this post with a photo of yours truly on one of the formal nights of the cruise. I am on our own private balcony on the ship. Stampin’Up! spoils us with the best rooms. I had some truly relaxing moments on this balcony with a very full heart of gratitude.
After a hot week in Rome it was so nice to enjoy the cool breezes off the sea. Thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Product List
by Jackie Bultje | Jun 29, 2019 | Pressed Petals, technique cards, Vintage, washi tape |
Hello stampers. It is a Friday afternoon here in southern Ontario and it is officially summer and it feels like it too! Can’t complain about the heat after such a long wet and cold spring! (I didn’t get the post finished, so it is now almost noon on Saturday!!) I have just discovered the Pressed Petals paper and the coordinating washi tape. Both are just so lovely!! I did a quick Facebook Live video on my page, I am hoping that you can access it here. Pressed Petals has a very vintage feel to it and the washi flowers look so real you want to touch them! I am very, very impressed. I think you will have a LOT of fun with this product. As adults we definitely need to play as well and I think that is something that is seriously lacking in most people’s lives. When is the last time that you played?
The best part of this card is the amazing washi tape flower! It looks like a roll of washi tape but it is actually individual petals with which to make very realistic flowers. They are beautiful to look at and touch and the delightful surprise is that they are so very easy to make.
The best tool for making these pressed petals washi tape flowers is the silicone mat. After you have made your flower, use the embossing buddy and tap the back of the flower to take the stickiness away. That way your flower will sit naturally on the card and not get stuck to it and lose the dimension.
Here is the paper in this beautiful suite of products.
Let’s take a look at the inside of the card. I used the other spool of washi tape which is absolutely beautiful and also has a great vintage feel to it. I used Woven Heirlooms for the sentiment.
Here is a closeup of the pretty flower! The Perennial Essence floral centres are perfect for the Pressed Petals washi tape flowers.
Thanks so much for joining me today, I hope you like the card. As always, if you want to order anything, and you live in Canada, just click on the images below and you will go straight to my online store. If you live in the USA, click on the shop with Julie link and she will help you out! Have a super day.
Product List
