May 29, 2018 | 2018 Occasions Catalog, Brusho Crystal Color, Cards |
I created this card a while back – you can see that the stamp set I used to finish it was one of the Sale-A-Bration sets. But I wanted to share this background technique with you because I used the Sweet Soiree Decorative masks that are about to retire. I should have shared this a long time ago but life is life and that didn’t happen so I’m sharing it with you now. The good thing is the Brusho Crystals will be in the new catalog and you could create your own masks or try this with a different mask if you don’t have the one I used. Or hurry up an order it before May 31st.
I’m not sure what you would call this technique exactly – a masked and reversed masked Brusho background perhaps. I just made that up. This is a bit messy so you will want to cover your work surface well and have plenty of paper towels nearby. I actually lay down some paper towels to work on top of. Here is a look at my finished cards. What I’m going to explain is how I created the background.
Steps to create the background
- cover your surface with paper towel (I also had a piece of cardboard underneath)
- go ahead and get two pieces of Shimmery White card stock – I made two backgrounds at a time
- cover one piece of card stock with the mask – I used the vine mask from the Sweet Soiree Decorative Mask set
- sprinkle Brusho crystals over the mask – I used blue, yellow and a little bit of the mossy green
- use a Spritzer to spritz water over the crystals (if needed add more crystals)
- give it just a few seconds to let the water and the crystals interact and spread into the spaces of the mask
- have your second piece of card stock ready
- lift the mask straight up from the first piece of card stock and then I flipped it over and laid it on the second one
- wait a few seconds then lift it off the second piece
- let both pieces dry
- And don’t forget to clean your mask
Each background piece will be unique and different – you won’t ever get two exactly alike. The first one you make will have the open spaces of the mask filled with color, while the second piece is the opposite because you are using the color that is still sitting on top of the mask. You could also lay the mask down without flipping and then place the second piece of card stock on top of it and press down to transfer the color.
Here are a few photos for reference:
Once your background is dry then you can use it to create a card. I used it here with one of the Sale-A-Bration sets that were available earlier this year. You could try creating your own mask using a window sheet and some of our dies or use the Pattern Party Decorative Masks. If you want to use the same mask I did be sure to order it now – it’s retiring on May 31st.
Supplies list
- Brusho Crystal Colour
- Shimmery White card stock
- Sweet Soiree Decorative Masks (retiring)
- Stampin’ Spritzers
- Crumb Cake card stock
- Aqua Painter
- Basic Black Archival ink (retiring)
- Linen Thread
- Blossoming Basket Stamp set (Sale-a-bration retired)
- Paper Snips
- Stampin’ Dimensionals
- Classic Ink – Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Old Olive
There are only a few more days left to order from the 2018 Occasions Catalog and the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog. Both will be gone on May 31st. Click on my signature to go straight to my store.
May Hostess Code: EJB9FJAP
Thanks for stopping by!
May 25, 2018 | 2018 Occasions Catalog, Designer Series Paper, Masculine |
We have a really nice masculine stamp set that is about to retire – the Truly Tailored stamp set. It will be retiring on May 31st (unless it sells out sooner) so hurry and order it today if you don’t have it already. Or order the bundle which includes the Tailored Tag Punch. The punch will be in the new catalog. This stamp set pairs up with the True Gentleman Designer Series paper for some sharp looking masculine cards.
Back in April I hosted a demonstrator training event after the Stampin’ Up! OnStage event that was held here in the Atlanta area. The theme for the After Party event was masculine and all the projects were based on the True Gentleman suite of products. I wanted to share one of our make&take cards with you today.
The cards were designed so that any of the patterns in the paper pack could be used. The Tailored Tag Punch was used to create the background element. Punch from various colors of card stock – I used Tranquil Tide, Chocolate Chip and Night of Navy to coordinate with the paper. I also cut a piece of card stock to the size I wanted my rectangle to be. Then glued the tag punched pieces on in a pattern covering the whole piece of card stock.
Once the entire piece is covered trim off any excess that is hanging over the edge so that you end up with the rectangle piece.
You will use that piece on your card front. Then add Linen Thread around it and one of the True Gentleman buttons. Stamp and punch the greeting and add it along with the square to the front of the card. With Father’s Day coming up in June this set and suite of products are perfect for making projects for the men in your life.
Supply List
- Truly Tailored stamp set (retiring)
- True Gentleman Designer Series paper (retiring)
- True Gentleman card stock pack (retiring) – includes Crumb Cake, Tranquil Tide, Night of Navy
- Tailored Tag punch
- Chocolate Chip card stock (retiring)
- Very Vanilla card stock
- Chocolate Chip ink (retiring)
- Linen Thread
- True Gentleman buttons
- Stitched Shapes Framelit Dies
- Big Shot Die Cutting Machine
- 2-1/4″ Circle Punch
Time is running out to order the retiring products – the last day is May 31, 2018 – but all items are on a while supplies last status at this point. Check my online store to see what is still available.
Click on my signature to go straight to my store.
May Hostess Code: EJB9FJAP
Thanks for stopping by!
May 23, 2018 | Masculine, Stamparatus, Stampin' Blends |
It won’t be too much longer before the new Stampin’ Up! Annual catalog starts and the amazing new STAMPARATUS will be available for everyone! The Stamparatus is a must have tool for all stampers! One of the awesome features is that it allows you to perfectly align your stamp images and stamp multiples precisely. And because it can do that it means you can get the look of embossing from all 50 colors of Stampin’ Up! ink without having embossing powder in all those colors! Isn’t that amazing? Let’s take a look at this card I made with my Stamparatus.
To achieve the embossed look on this card I stamped my images in Early Espresso classic ink. I also used the step feature and stepped my plate over to stamp the image of the pens a second time – perfectly lined up across my card stock. Next I cleaned my stamp – leave it on the Stamparatus plate – the new Simply Shammy is perfect for clean up when using the Stamparatus. Now ink your stamp with VersaMark ink and stamp right over the original image. Cover with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set and now you have an Early Espresso Embossed image! Choose any color of ink from our 50 colors and paired with the VersaMark ink and Clear Embossing Powder you can get any color that you want! Here is a closer look.
I finished the pens by coloring them in with my Stampin’ Blends – also available in the new catalog. Previously released colors will be available June 1st and new colors will be available mid June. The Thank You greeting is also embossed the same way with the Early Espresso ink and then VersaMark and Clear Embossing Powder over the top. This would be nearly impossible to line up without the Stamparatus tool.
Supply List
- Stamparatus (available June 1, 2018)
- Crafting Forever stamp set
- Vertical Greetings stamp set
- Early Espresso classic ink
- VersaMark ink
- Clear Embossing Powder
- Heat Tool
- Stampin’ Blends – Smoky Slate, Bronze, Ivory, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Color Lifter (available June 1, 2018)
- Soft Suede card stock
- Very Vanilla card stock
- 1/4″ Copper Trim
These pens are a perfect masculine card. They look like inlaid wood pens that you’d find on someone’s desk in their fancy office.
The Stamparatus will be available from Stampin’ Up! in my online store beginning in June. I’ll be holding a Stamparatus Class on June 22nd in my studio at my house. Click to go to my events calendar here.
Click on my signature to go straight to my store.
May Hostess Code: EJB9FJAP
Thanks for stopping by!
May 18, 2018 | Cards, class |
Come join me for my monthly Card Maker’s Class on the last Friday of the month. For May it will be on Friday, May 25th. There are two class sessions – one at 10 am and one at 7 pm. Both held in my studio at my house in Woodstock, Georgia.
Each month you get an assortment of different cards to choose from allowing you to make what you need. There are typically 10-12 different choices of cards and many of those can be for various occasions – you just change the sentiment. Others may be specific – for example in the samples above the card with the 2018 is designed and meant for a graduation card. While the other two cards could be birthday or thank you cards by changing the sentiments. Many stamp sets have various greetings and if needed we can pull something from a different box.
This monthly class is perfect for all levels of stampers from the brand new to the advanced. Everyone works at their own pace. I can spend more time helping those that need guidance while a more experienced stamper works on their own. Each card will be set up inside it’s own box – with all the supplies and prepared pieces inside. You select the box you want to work from and then take it to your table to complete. Then return the box and choose another.
Plan ahead for the next month by bringing a list of what you need for the upcoming month and make those cards all in one sitting. The class fee includes your choice of six cards but if you have time you can make additional cards priced by the card. If you are local I’d love for you to join me for class this month or in the near future. Visit my calendar of events to see the schedule and RSVP.
May 16, 2018 | Cards, Designer Series Paper, Stampin' Blends |
It’s Try it Tuesday on Wednesday. It seems as soon as I get some things figured out and working other things stop working. Sigh. When I was trying to edit my photos my editor wasn’t working correctly. I have no idea what was wrong. Our power went out Monday evening for about 30 minutes and then once it came back our internet and wifi were messed up. It took a while to get all that going again. I think we basically had to shut everything off and then get everything to reboot. We keep getting more and more things that rely on internet/wifi. Then when I went to reboot the computer it decided it was time to run a bunch of updates. Anyway things weren’t working and I had to walk away. Sometimes its best to walk away and come back later.
So on to today’s project. Have you tried using the new Stampin’ Blends to color on Designer Series Paper? I love it! I love to use the black and white prints and add pops of color – it totally changes the look of the paper. For today’s card I used the Pick a Pattern Designer Series Paper – the black with white spots.
I used the Stampin’ Blends in Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral and Bermuda Bay. Both the dark and light marker for each of the colors and just randomly coloring in the white spots. I was able to maximize my paper by using 4×4″ pieces on my cards. The images I stamped are from the Pick a Pattern stamp set. This stamp set turned out to be one of my favorites from this catalog. I used the different images and the coordinating paper a lot more often than I thought. It’s just really fun! The flowers are also colored with the Stampin’ Blends and the one extra flower was fussy cut and added to the front.
Supply List:
- Pick a Pattern stamp set (retiring)
- Pick a Pattern Designer Series paper (retiring)
- Whisper White Thick card stock
- Whisper White card stock
- Stampin’ Blends: Daffodil Delight Combo, Bermuda Bay Combo, Calypso Coral Combo
- Daffodil Delight Double-Stitched Ribbon
- 1-3/4″ Circle Punch
- Paper Snips
- Dimensionals
You could do any color combination that you wanted with the Blends and Black and White Paper. Have you tried coloring on your paper yet?
Don’t forget to order retiring products before they are gone! Use my May Hostess Code – EJB9FJAP when you check out in my Online Store and receive a little surprise for orders over $25.
I hope you are having a great week. Ryan just got home from school on Tuesday night and he will be here for a few days before heading off to his next adventure. He has a summer internship at Facebook in San Francisco. I’m so excited for him!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you are enjoying the new look.
May 14, 2018 | Cards, class |
I started a new class a couple of months ago called Cocktails & Card Making. It’s held at the Tavern at Towne Lake – which is in the front of my neighborhood. It’s a place for friends to gather for a drink and some food and while you are there you can join me for some creative time. I’d love to have you come to my class.
Each month we will be making hand-made cards. There is no experience necessary and all supplies are provided. Grab a friend for a girls night out and join us. This month we are making some fun colorful celebrate & birthday cards. These will be perfect for the summer months to use for birthdays or end of school celebrations or anything else that might pop up.
Here is a peek at the past two classes. The girls worked on 5 different cards each month in March and April.
Plan to join me this week on Wednesday, May 16th at the Tavern at Towne Lake. We will start stamping at 7 pm. Come early to get food and cocktails from the Tavern.
