Find ideas, instructions and materials used to make a variety of paper-craft projects using Stampin' Up! products. As an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator in New Zealand I love to share my passion for creating things with paper including cards, boxes, gifts and decorations. I find that making things is a fun and relaxing past-time which relieves stress and gives me a purpose to be active every day. If you have any questions or want to learn more about Stampin' Up! feel free to contact me.
The spooky season is upon us and I've made a peekaboo card with the Apple Builder Punch and matching stamp set.
When you pull the skull you will see what is hiding behind the jack-o’-lantern.
Boo!It's a scared little owl hiding behind a small jack-o’-lantern!
There's more spookiness inside the card with an owl being scared by a little spider in the tree.
If you'd like to make your own peekaboo card, I show you how in this video.
The owl from the Have a Hoot set is so adorable that I used it to decorate a package made from the Little Treat Box Dies.
I also made several other treat holders with the Little Treat Box dies in Halloween colours of Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie.
I then made a coffin box using last year's little boxes which I embossed with the new Cobwebs 3D Embossing Folder.
I used the retired Cookie-Cutter Halloween stamps and punch to create a vampire which pops out of coffin.
I even made a little 3-D pumpkin using the the Apple Builder Punch. I cut out five pumpkin shapes I had stampedon Pumpkin Pie cardstock and then stuck each one together to form a little 3-D pumpkin. I then embellished the pumpkin using a decorative die from the Butterfly Beauty Dies and some Old Olive cardstock which I glued into the top of the pumpkin and along the bottom to look like a vine.
I've had so much fun making lots of cute cards and decorations with products from Stampin' Up! I hope you enjoyed seeing them.
I watched a video by a Canadian demonstrator, Tina Zinck, about the Open Book Easel Card technique. This method creates very impressive cards but it is a simple technique. Since I am spending more time at home due to the pandemic I finally got a chance to try this technique and now I am totally in love with Open Book Easel Cards!
You can make them for any occasion just by changing up the type of designer series paper and stamps you use. So far I have made six different cards using a variety of papers and colours, but I'm sure I'll be making lots more!
I used a gold foil edged card as the background for my Christmas Tree design. The layers were made from papers in the Most Wonderful Time Product Medley along with the stamps and dies. I used the Scripty 3D Embossing Folder to create the top layer and lightly sponged some Old Olive ink on the lettering to make it stand out. I made some Gold Foil ornaments for the Christmas tree using the little bauble die from the Little Treat Box Dies.
I then decided to make a monochrome card using some black and white music paper (retired from Stampin' Up!). I used a piece with the music and words for Deck the Halls as the front layer and I didn't feel I should cover it up, so I decorated around it with a garland made from the Wreath Builder Dies. I added a little bow with the Real Red Braided Linen Trim and embellished the wreath with Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels.
As soon as I looked at the new catalogue I fell in love with the Playful Pets Suite from Stampin' Up! The dogs and cats on the Playful Pets designer series paper are so cute! They remind me of Disney movie characters and I couldn't wait to create something with them.
Playful Pets Designer Series Paper -- Product #152489
I had the perfect opportunity to work with this gorgeous paper when I was asked to make table gifts for an upcoming event, so I designed mini suitcases to fit packets of travel tissues. I decided to decorate them with the cute Pampered Pet images.
There is a set of matching Pet dies which fit the four animal images in the stamp set so you can easily cut them out with a die cutting machine. However, I fussy cut 50 dogs and cats out of a few pieces of the designer series paper and still had plenty of paper left over for other crafts!
There is a fifth die in the set that cuts out three cute little paw prints and I used them to decorate the bottom of my mini suitcases. I discovered there were little hearts in the centre of each paw print which I used as decoration as well. I was pleasantly surprised to find I could use the paw print die to cut out some of the hearts on the DSP. I also cut some of the matching dog and cat images with two of the dies.
I cut two little rectangle pieces of the designer series paper to decorate each suitcase and since the paper is double-sided I just turned it over to use the other image on the back side of the suitcase.
The sentiment was stamped on a 3/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock and then I used the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch to make the ends look pretty before adding a couple little hearts.
I popped each element up with some dimensionals. I also added a little suitcase handle on the top using the smallest Stitched Rectangles Dies and re-cut it into a small rectangular strip before adding a couple Metallic Pearls to make it look like rivets holding a stitched leather handle on to the suitcase.
I sized my mini suitcases to fit the little travel tissues I bought at Yoyoso, which can easily be slipped out the open side to use.
Here is a video I made to show you how easy it is to make these cute little suitcases.
I hope you enjoyed this project and can see how easy it is to create a decorative holder for everyday objects. If there is a special project you'd like to see me make, please let me know in the comments!
Most people think of card making when you mention rubber stamps but there is so much more you can do with your stamps! A year ago I wrote a blog showing that you can stamp on coffee mugs and now I've been Stamping Outside the Paperagain by using fabric.
I had a challenge from an embroidery group I am a member of (Counties Embroiderers' Guild) to stitch something on a square of fabric using three assigned colours. I was given red and two shade of purple threads as well as a small piece of even-weave fabric to work with. At first I had trouble trying to think of what to stitch as I usually work with embroidery kits or from instructions. Then I had an 'AHA!' moment when I realised I can stamp on fabric.
I had never done this before but I've seen pictures online of projects like bags, shirts, towels and coasters stamped with StazOn black ink so I decided to give it a try. The hardest part was choosing which stamp set to use for this project. I chose the large butterfly from the Beautiful Day stamp set, which is now retired.
I use StazOn black ink to stamp the image because it is a permanent ink which works well on non-porous surfaces. I liked the look of the large spaces on the butterfly image as they would be easy to fill in with the three colours I had to work with.
I first stitched the centre parts of each wing with solid red thread using a long and short stitch. Since I didn't want the same colour to be touching each area of the wings I combined a couple coloured threads to create a varigated looked on some parts of the wings. I used the dark purple thread to outline the wings and create a contrasting body for the butterfly.
I am very happy with how this project turned out. If you are like me and enjoy stitching as well as stamping then you should try using your stamps on some fabric. I'd love to see what you create!
The 2020-21 Annual Catalogue from Stampin' Up! has been released and there are some fabulous new products in it!
I made a Facebook Live video using the new Jar of Flowers Bundle (Jar of Flowers photopolymer stamp set plus Jar Punch) to make a couple triple fold cards. This stamp set has four bunches of flowers to go with the mason jar images. However there are no sentiments in this stamp set, so I used the new Comfort & Hope cling stamp set for the words on the front and inside of my cards.
I started with a piece of the new 2020-2022 In Color cardstock (Cinnamon Cider and Bumble Bee) cut to 13.5 x 29.7 cm (5-1/4" x 11-2/3") and scored at 10 cm (4") and 20 cm (8"). This created a tri-fold card base. I used two pieces of Whisper White cardstock that were 9 x 12.5 cm (3-1/2" x 5") plus a scrap piece to stamp two of the flower images on which I fussy cut out after colouring with Stampin' Blends.
I used the Jar Punch to punch out a hole in the front of the card as well as one of the Whisper White pieces of cardstock. If you hold both pieces when placing them into the punch you will have the hole punched out at the right spot (watch my video to see how I did this).
I then stamped the jar and the stem images on the Whisper White punched out jar piece with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I coloured them with Shaded Spruce and Pool Party Stampin' Blends. You can add some shine by colouring in the jar with a Fine Tip Glue Pen and let it dry.
Stick the stamped jar through the hole on the front piece of the card to help with placement when attaching it to the middle section of the card (right side). I used some dimensionals to place one of the flower bouquets (stamped on the scrap paper) on top of the jar.
I used Memento Black Ink to stamp a flower image above the jar shaped cutout on the Whisper White cardstock as well as on the scrap piece of cardstock and coloured both images with the same Stampin' Blends. I fussy cut the image on the scrap paper and used it to create a 3-D effect on the front of the cards.
The second piece of Whisper White Cardstock was for the inside (middle) of the card. I used the reversible striped stamp from the Jar of Flowers photopolymer stamp set to create a little border at the bottom of the piece before stamping a sentiment at the top from the Comfort & Hope cling stamp set.
By making a tri-fold card I was able to showcase two of the beautiful floral stamps on each card, using the jar dome as a peek through. Next time I will make a shaker card with the Mason Jar Domes.
My latest Mailbag Make has been created using the Best Dressed designer series paper with some mini cards and envelopes. The supplies in this kit allow you to make two little 3-1/4" square booklets which you can use as a mini photo album, journal, or special gift.
The front of two booklets and one side of the Best Dressed DSP.
You get six mini cards with envelopes, pre-cut cardstock, and 12 square pieces of Best Dressed double-sided paper so you'll have a huge choice of colours and designs to decorate your books.
The back of two little booklets and the reverse side of the Best Dressed DSP.
You will also get a link to my private instructional video in which I show you how to make the booklets and explain how you can decorate them by fussy cutting some of the designer series paper. If you'd like to stamp your books, as I have done in my sample, you may like to purchase the Dressed To Impressstamp set.
There are enough supplies with this kit so you can make two little booklets with pages made from the mini cards and envelopes.
The first six pages of the booklets made from cards and envelopes and decorated with stamps and fussy cut images.
You can stamp on the pages with your own stamps and ink or attach your favourite photos to them.
The last six pages of the mini booklets decorated with fussy cut images from the designer series paper.
The envelopes pages make small pockets which are perfect for hiding little surprise messages!
The inside of my original booklet with stamped and die cut images as well as some fussy cut paper.
If you don't have any stamps you can write on the pages or just decorate them with images from the designer series paper.
If you want, you could make some mini cards instead of two booklets as you'll have plenty of supplies at hand with this Best Dressed Mailbag Make kit. Just add adhesives and some scissors!
Have a look at my Sneak Peek Video to see what's included in the Mailbag Make and to learn how to order yours!
I must admit that I am a hoarder, but not in a bad way. I only hold on to things that I know I will use in the near future. For example, when I cut my card mats to size there is always a little sliver of paper left over and I keep all those little pieces in a scrap paper drawer so I can use them on future projects.
Sometimes they are useful for stamping sentiments for the fronts of my cards and some pieces are just big enough for a little die cutting. However I end up with lots of straight strips of paper which are great for making backgrounds on cards.
I made a video to show how to use the little strips in three different ways on card fronts.
The first card I created by gluing a variety of coloured strips on to a thin piece of Whisper White cardstock. I used the coloured piece as a background to stamp an image of birds from the Free As a Bird stamp set in Gray Granite ink. I then embellished the front with Mossy Meadow Twine and a sentiment stamped on a scrap of Balmy Blue cardstock.
For the second card I used scrap strips of Come Sail Away designer series paper. I stamped a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock with a sentiment from the Peaceful Moments stamp set in Mossy Meadow ink on a diagonal. I glued the dsp strips on the same angle, leaving a little gap between each piece so the Sahara Sand cardstock could be seen. I then added a little anchor from the Sail Away Trinkets with some Night of Navy/Sahara Sand Baker’s Twine.
I attached this to the front of a Night of Navy card base and use another piece of Sahara Sand cardstock on the inside which I stamped with some images from the Sailing Home stamp set in Night of Navy and Sahara Sand ink.
The final card I made with only two colours -- black and white. I wove the scrap pieces together to make a background mat which I cut with the second largest Stitched Rectangles die. You can learn how to weave paper by watching my video.
I glued the woven die cut piece on to some Real Red cardstock I had put embossed with the Subtle 3D folder. I stamped the field of poppies image from the Painted Poppies stamp set on to a scrap piece of thick Whisper White cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and coloured them with Real Red Blends.I finished off the front with some Real Red ribbon, rhinestones and words cut with the Well Written dies. This was all attached to a Basic Black card base.
For the inside I used some more images from the Painted Poppies stamp set in Memento Black and Real Red ink on Whisper White cardstock.
I hope my three cards have inspired you to keep those scrap pieces of paper to make your own unique cards!
Now that things are slowly moving towards a 'new normal' I am gearing up to have crafting classes in my home again. To protect my students as well as myself, I decided we should all wear face masks while crafting in close proximity.
I looked online to learn how to make homemade face masks and once I found a design I liked, which I could easily make with materials I have here at home, I got started on sewing the masks. However, being a creative person I had to decorate them as well!
I started with a 5" x 9" (12.5 cm x 22.5 cm) rectangle piece of material which was not porous and had a flat surface so I could stamp on it. I marked 2" (5 cm) in from each corner and connected the marks with a diagonal line which I then cut off as shown in my video.
I folded down each long side 1.5" (3.8 cm) and ironed it in place, making a crease. I then folded over each short end twice to make a sleeve for the ribbon and sewed it in place. Next I folded back the long sides and placed a few small stitches on an angle to make a pleat which created a 3-D effect. You could even colour the image in with permanent pen like Stampin' Blends to make it prettier.
To finish up I pulled the ribbon through each sleeve, leaving a loop on the bottom of the face mask. After placing a bead on the ends of the ribbon I was able to secure them with a double knot. To wear the face mask, place the loop over your head and around the back of your neck. Tie the ribbon into a bow on the top of your head to hold the mask in place.
I hope you are able to follow my instructions and will make your own face mask to stay safe and healthy. Don't forget to decorate it with your favourite rubber stamp!
