Let's have fun with the Sand & Sea!

The Sand & Sea products are one of my favourite collections in the new mini catalogue by Stampin' Up!

All the products work so well together -- Friends Are Like Seashells Photopolymer Stamps, Seaside Seashells Dies, Seashells 3D Embossing Folder, Opal Rounds self-adhesive gems, Seaside Shells stickers, Pearlescent Specialty Paper, and the Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper. You can stamp five of the shells on the large die cut image and them emboss them all in one go with your Cut & Emboss Machine!

Then you can use it as one large background image on a card or you can cut away each seashell to use them individually.

I even combined the two methods by attaching five stamped shells onto the large die cut image (Old Olive cardstock) and placed them on some Sand & Sea DSP.

You can get a stunning look by just embossing on the Pearlescent Specialty Paper.

For another card I highlighted the raised spots on the large die cut image using some Heat & Stick powder with the Gilded Leafing embellishment to make an elegant birthday card.

I created a card with the embossed background and added some sheen by sponging the Mossy Meadow cardstock with some Frost White Shimmer Paint. The shell and starfish were stamped on a piece of Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper before die cutting.

I sponged some Seaside Spray ink on Basic White cardstock which was embossed with the Painted Texture 3D folder to make it look like my seashells have been washed up on a sandy beach.

I used some blending brushes with the Pearlescent Specialty Paper to create realistic looking seashells and combined them with some of the beautiful Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper.

The coloured pearlescent shells also stand out well on a white embossed background.

I show you how to create this gorgeous card in my YouTube video below.

I've also made a few quick videos to show you how to get the best use out of the Sand & Sea dies and 3D embossing folder. You can see all of them on my C & C Designs channel.

There are so many things you can do with this fabulous collection that I am sure it will keep you crafting for a long time!

#KeepCalmAndCraft #ComputerAndCraftDesigns #StampinUp #CreativeTherapy #KeepStamping #RubberStamping #CardMaking

Hey Chick and Hey Birthday Chick are such fun sets to create a Z-fold card!

The Hey Chick stamp set has returned and works perfectly with the new Hey Birthday Chick stamp set from Stampin' Up!

I kept the original Hey Chick stamp set I got during Sale-A-Bration in 2017 and I am so glad I did because now there are dies that work with that set as well as new dies for the Hey Birthday Chick set.

These dies not only cut out the chicken images from the stamp sets, they also have a lot of extra accent pieces you can cut from cardstock.

I love the fence and chicken wire as well as the adorable corn pieces which can be put together on the stalk or used separately.

There is even a little die that will cut out marks that look like chicken scratches on the ground!

I made a few cards back in 2017 with the original Hey Chick stamp set but I don't like fussy cutting so I was limited with my creativity.

I made a round spinner card using buttons on the backs of each egg so they would not slide too quickly as they moved around the middle of the card.

I also made a spinner card with one egg being tossed between two colourful chickens!

With the new dies and a bit of inspiration after seeing a Z-fold card made by Patti Bagin, I threw myself into making my own fun fold card.

Here is the front of the card when closed. The little blue bow tie and chicks are made from the dies and I think they are so cute!

This is the card fully opened with all the chickens saying Happy Birthday!

This is a close-up shot of the front of the card as it would stand on a shelf.

I added layers to my card using Crumb Cake cardstock to hold up the chickens on the interior.

I coloured all the images with Stampin' Blends to give it a vibrant look!

Everywhere you look there is something different going on. The dies for these stamps sets allow you to make any type of farm scene you want!

I really like the cute little chick die cuts to which I added some colour with my pens.

The chicken tied to a balloon was so large I had to put it at an angle to use it on this landscape card.

I especially liked using the little die to create chicken scratch on the ground and the wooden fence can be made to any length by attaching more die cut pieces.

I even decorated a large piece of white cardstock on the back of the card so I had room to write a birthday message to the recipient.

I hope you enjoyed all the pictures of my chicken farm z-fold card!

#KeepCalmAndCraft #ComputerAndCraftDesigns #StampinUp #CreativeTherapy #KeepStamping #RubberStamping #FunFoldCard #CardMaking #HeyChick #HeyBirthdayChick

Don't throw your scraps of paper away!

Whenever I cut my cardstock to make cards and other papercraft projects I end up with little strips of leftover pieces. 

When I first started as an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator I didn't have a lot of cardstock so I saved every little piece of paper because I thought I might find a use for them . . . 

and I have found lots of ways to use my leftover pieces.

I have layered them on a card front to make an interesting background and then I decorated it with die cut flowers, leaves and a punched sentiment.

My daughter die cut through layers of cardstock to make an cute tag for her school lanyard.

You can make a unique card by gluing different sized strips of coloured cardstock on a card front and then stamp it with an image. Just make sure the colours aren't too dark for the image you're stamping.

I've made quick and easy cards by gluing scraps of Designer Series Paper onto a card base and just adding a sentiment.

I wove together some black and white scrap pieces to make an interesting background for a stylish birthday card.

I've even used scrap pieces to add colour behind a die cut shape and to create a Christmas decoration.

I always end up with lots of strips of white cardstock which are the perfect size to create sentiment banners. I added some gold gilding to the space between the sentiment pieces to make this card shine!

You can even create a theme for your cards by carefully selecting the type of sentiments you choose.

For my butterfly card I chose encouraging and loving sentiments which would make it a great Valentine's Day card.

I made a video showing how to use the Itty Bitty Birthdays stamp set to make a colourful birthday card decorated with a hummingbird from the Touch of Ink stamp set.

So next time you have scraps of cardstock remember to keep them, because you can create a wide range of interesting cards!

#KeepCalmAndCraft #ComputerAndCraftDesigns #StampinUp #CreativeTherapy #KeepStamping #RubberStamping #FunFoldCard #CardMaking #ScrapCards