Kissing Butterflies

Did that title grab your attention? 

The kissing technique is what I taught at a couple of my recent workshops.  You do need a solid stamp for this technique to be effective.  Ink up your solid stamp with a light colour, then 'kiss' it with a patterned stamp which you first ink in a darker colour.  We used Wisteria Wonder with Elegant Eggplant on the card in front; and Pool Party and Island Indigo for the one in the back.  All new colours, except for Elegant Eggplant.

The rows of butterflies were stamped with the Butterfly Collection wheel.  I say stamped because I actually took the rubber off the wheel and backed it with foam mount to enable me to use it as a stamp - it self clings to a clear mount block in the usual way.

The accent butterflies are from Papillon Potpourri stamp set on page 90.  They were punched out with coordinating punches which you will find on page 183 - Bitty Butterfly and Elegant Butterfly.  The little floral butterfly in this set was the one we used for the kissed impression on these cards.

Thank you for visiting.  See you again soon...

Bright and gorgeous grunge

Now then, do you like this one?  It was very popular at my recent workshops.  This stamp set is sooooooo versatile.  The recent hot, sunny days inspired me to go bright and colourful.

The stamp set is of course the new Gorgeous Grunge.  You'll find in on page 109 of the 2013-2014 catalogue.  Colours used are Melon Membo, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip, oh, and Whisper White.

I used the Floral Fusion Sizzlits - on page 188 - to cut the flower layers. All held together with a mini brad - they're on page 170.  

Come back soon, I have more to share...

Best of flowers in Calypso Coral

Love this new colour.  It's Calypso Coral, a previous in-color come back as part of the subtles collection.  As promised, here is the fourth image from June's 'best of' stamp set. Do you like?

I used Basic Gray to stamp the image on Whisper White card, then coloured in using marker pens in, you guessed, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry and Pear Pizzazz.  All new colours this year - Pear Pizzazz being another returning previous 'in-color'. I know I've been inconsistent with UK/US spelling of some words but it's spelt 'in-color' in the catalogue so there you go.

That label is one of the dies from the Apothecary Accents set - a perfect size for this image. Paper piercing was made easy using the coordinating template from the Essentials paper piercing pack.  There are three paper piercing packs to choose from on page 179 of the main catalogue.  Do contact me if you would like your very own copy of the catalogue.

I coloured the pearl by mixing a drop of re-inker with a little Crystal Effects then paint on and leave to dry well before placing on your project. It can get a little messy around the edges, as we found out at a recent workshop, so be careful.

As usual, the inside and the envelope have been finished off to coordinate with the front of the card. Thank you for visiting. Come back tomorrow to see my bright and cheerful design using the new Gorgeous Grunge stamp set!

 

More best of flowers

Hello there.  I have more best of flowers cards to show you today, this time using the hydrangea stamp.  This easel card was fun to do.  I coloured the stamp with my markers in Wisteria Wonder and Wild Wasabi then stamped it on watercolour paper. I then 'coloured in' with a blender pen by simply pulling in the colour from the edges. You do need to use watercolour paper for this technique - the ink doesn't react in the same way on other types paper or cards. At least that's what I found.

I then masked the image and stamped the background - in pink to coordinate with the card base. The background stamp is from the Oh Hello stamp set on page 34 of the main catalogue.  It coordinates with the Ovals Framelits dies, which of course is what I used to cut out the oval.  As you can see, I embossed the base card using the Chevron folder.

The envelope was finished off with the same stamps sets to coordinate.  

 

Here's another card made in the same way except I used Naturals White cardstock for the base. Thanks for stopping by. Come back tomorrow to see the fourth image in this set ..

Hello there daisy

I had some 'bits' left over from previous projects, I cut up some more, like the layers behind the main image and the embossed background, put them all together and viola...

The greeting is from Happy Day stamp set, new in the 2013/2014 annual catalogue.  I stamped with Versamark ink and embossed with white embossing powder on parchment.  I then coloured the back of the parchment with my marker pen so it all coordinates nicely.  The daisy is from best of June stamp set and the little butterfly from the now retired Kindness Matters set.

Colours used are Whisper White and River Rock - now retired.  As you probably already know, ten new colours have been introduced in the new catalogue (and ten retired), well my stash arrived today so look out for my next project which will be using the yummy new colours.  Thanks for visiting x

Upsy Daisy best of June

A quick post today.  I had a play with one of the stamps from June's 'best of' sets and came up with this.  Hope you like it.  I used Primrose Petals, Midnight Muse and Very Vanilla. 

Pop by tomorrow for another card using the single daisy stamp in the same set ;)

Secret Garden and Lattice Bigz

I recently bought the Lattice Bigz die and couldn't quite decide on a card design until I saw a tutorial for this spring card. I've made spring cards before but have never pleased with them because they always flopped one way or another.  This fold is different, check it out here on Dawn's blog (thank you Dawn).  See how nicely it stands? 

I had to change the measurements for my card in order to get the right size for the die to fit nicely.  We will be making this card, or one very similar, in class this month. Actually this was my practice card, made using retired card stock, but as it turned out pretty good I thought I'd share it.  Hope you like it. Thank you for stopping by x

By the way, don't forget to check out my promotions page for current offers....

Two new promotions for July

We have three greetings stamp sets on sale for 25 percent off during July! Our stamp sets don’t go on sale very often, so make sure to take advantage of this offer. You’ll be all set with greetings for every holiday and occasion. So contact me to grab your greetings! 

Here's what you get...

Sale Price	Catalogue Price	Description/Stamp Set	Item
21,71 €/£15.71	28,95 €/£20.95	Sassy Salutations wood-mount	132070
17,21 €/£12.71	22,95 €/£16.95	Sassy Salutations clear-mount	126707
17,96 €/£13.46	23,95 €/£17.95	Sweet Essentials wood-mount	132085
14,21 €/£10.46	18,95 €/£13.95	Sweet Essentials clear-mount	126457
14,21 €/£10.46	18,95 €/£13.95	Tendres basiques clear-mount	128225
14,21 €/£10.46	18,95 €/£13.95	Kleiner Wort-Schatz clear-mount	128315
26,21 €/£19.46	34,95 €/£25.95	Petite Pairs wood-mount	128706
20,96 €/£15.71	27,95 €/£20.95	Petite Pairs clear-mount	122497
20,96 €/£15.71	27,95 €/£20.95	Quelques lignes clear-mount	125682
20,96 €/£15.71	27,95 €/£20.95	Perfekte Pärchen clear-mount	125307

The second promotion is this month's 'best of' stamp set, it's the Best of Butterflies.  They are so pretty.  View the flyer via the link on the right to see for yourself. I'll be ordering my set this weekend.  Contact me if you'd like me to add your order to mine. 

Whoo hoo, it's here....

The new annual catalogue is live!!!  View it online here, or download the pdf version by clicking on the image below...

Stampin' Up! have excelled yet again.  There are so many new and exciting products.  What to choose?  Browse through online and see for yourself.  Better still, do contact me if you would like to order your very own brand new copy, or if you would like to order any of the products.  Happy browsing...