Totally Techniques Stampin' Up! International Demo Blog Hop

Bokeh Technique using Stampin' Up! Beautiful Day

Welcome to our monthly Totally Techniques Demonstrator Blog Hop. We're sharing the Bokeh Technique this month which is really simple.  All you need is to create a WOW background and possibly add some images like my Stampin' Up! Beautiful Day butterfly and you are half way there. The finishing touch and the Bokeh part is to add dreamy circles like bubbles in the air. 

To do this I used a self made stencil using circle punches of different sizes and I punched holes in a piece of vellum.  If you are careful you can use thinner window sheet, but need to try it in one corner with an old punch first as the sheet may be more than your punches can handle.   Once your back ground is dry you can add the bokeh.  My background  was created on water colour paper by first stamping and heat embossing the butterfly with silver embossing powder. I covered this to then shield it from the water i added with an aqua painter brush and then sprinkled Prussian Blue Brusho Crystals on and allowed them to spread through the water.  I left some with very little water so as to create to speckled effect in the top left hand corner.  You can remove excess water with a piece of kitchen towel and add more if required.   To add the bokeh you then need to use a sponge and add white craft ink using the stencil you have made. Add little as you can always add more, but you can't take it off .  Overlap circles and sizes to create the effect. 

I've mounted my artwork onto Lemon Lime Twist card and also a piece of silver foil card. The sentiment is from Another Wonderful Year which is another new set. It comes as one long sentiment so I just stamped the 'Just a Friendly' part in Blueberry Bushel on a narrow strip of whisper white then also stamped the last word of the stamp in Lemon Lime Twist and punched it out with a 1" circle and added it to the end of the original strip.  You can also then add rhinestones or some of the new Stampin' Up! self adhesive sequins and ribbons to enhance your design.  

You're off next to Shannean's beautiful blog down under in Australia.  Have fun.  

Zoe x

Beautiful Day Stampin' Up! is just that....

I've shared my first make for the June issue of Craft Stamper magazine and here is the second.  The Stampin Up set Beautiful Day is just a small set with BIG WOW. It is home to the beautiful butterfly you've seen in so many places and also this stunning flower and a couple of simple sentiments. I've shortened  one to make mine having stamped it and then cut the words I wanted to use free hand.

The design itself started with the flower being embossed with copper embossing powder and then coloured with the Stampin Up Blends.  Sadly these are currently unavailable to purchase as the demand was so high we simply ran out and so are waiting for more from the manufacturer, but I wanted to share my design as I was so delighted with it.  To add a little more definition I also stamped a spare flower onto a spare piece of card ie thick whisper white which is perfect for use with alcohol markers like the Stampin Up Blends.  I embossed and coloured it in the same way and fussy cut it out and then added it to the design using Stampin dimensionals just to lift it and also off set it slightly from the main card.  To finish off I colour washed the remaining space and added the sentiment.

I love Craft Stamper magazine not only because I was asked again to design for an article featuring Stampin' Up!, but also as it is such a good read and full of useful techniques and information.  

I'm also delighted that this stamp set will remain in the Stampin' Up! new annual catalogue.  It's inexpensive, but as I've already said big on the Wow factor.  I hope you like it too.... 

You can contact me to request a copy of the new Stampin' Up! catalogue by emailing me at zoetant@live.co.uk

Thanks for stopping by and one last reminder that the retiring list from Stampin' Up! will disappear on 31 May so don't miss out on those last minute wish list items or you'll be very sad.  

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more soon 

Zoe x

Craft Stamper Designer

It seems like forever ago that I created my latest batch of projects for Craft Stamper magazine and submitted them, but at last the magazine is out and in the shops.

This is the first I'm sharing and it is a plaque I created using an MDF blank, some old tester pots of emulsion paint and a candle.

I painted the plaque with a darker shade of a tester pot let it dry.  I rubbed a wax candle onto the plaque in random spots,  then added a coat of a lighter shade. It helps to keep the brush strokes in the same direction.  Once dry you can use a light sanding pad to lift off some of the top coat of paint which comes off easily as it doesn't key to the wax underneath.   I used the Stampin' Up! sets Butterfly Basics (sadly retiring at the end of this month), Petal Palette, You're Inspiring and Beautiful Day to add a design on the plaque using Early Espresso, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake ink.  I also added some die cut shapes in Early Espresso.  From a short strand of mini gold sequin trip I took a few individual sequins and added them give a little touch of sparkle.

The Butterfly was stamped in black Staz On ink onto the plaque and I used my Stampin' Blends to colour it in. I also stamped it onto watercolour paper and again used the Stampin' Blends to colour in the butterfly. I fussy cut it out but didn't attempt to cut out the antennae so just snipped those off and used the ones stamped on the plaque.  To give a stained glass look to the butterfly I carefully added fine tip glue using the black outline as the guide to give some shine and depth.  In places where it dried flat I added a little more to raise the texture.  Again with Blends I coloured some rhinestones as the alchol ink sticks to the rhinestones and popped them on the body.

To hang the plaque I used some Library Clips (carrying into the new Stampin' Up! catalogue) and a longer length of sequin trim.  The clips aren't fixed so can be taken off at any time, but they are just enough to hold the trim in place as a hanger.

I'll share more of designs using the Stampin' Up! Beautiful Day set soon.  In the meantime you can buy the magazine in various ways.
at www.craftstamper.com for subscriptions, www.mags-uk.com for single copies or digital copies from www. pocket mags.co.uk

It's a fab monthly magazine with lots of tutorials and techniques.  It's a mixed media magazine with the focus on stamping.  I hope you enjoy reading it.

Thanks for popping by today.

Zoe x
    

Stampin' Up! Incentive Trip Achiever's Demonstrator Blog Hop - Sneak Peek

It's Stampin' Up! Incentive Achiever Blog Hop time again so join on a journey of all things wonderful as a demo and attending our recent regional Stampin' Up! events.  As a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator you are able to attend Stampin' Up! events where you are one of the first to see new catalogues and products and share a fun time with other demonstrators from your country and sometimes from other countries too when there is an event called Onstage Live in your market. Of course you can choose to attend any event worldwide so could make it your ambition to travel the Stampin' Up! globe and see lots of countries, cities and of course fellow demonstrators.

Recently I went to the UK local event held at Telford.  It was a fab weekend as hubby and son came along too and they were able to attend The Telford Museums courtesy of Tesco vouchers.  It kept them entertained whilst I went to centre stage, an event for senior managers and then the following day to the main event where we were given a copy of the new 2018 - 2019 Annual catalogue. Oh boy are you in for a treat..... that's all I'll say for now. However I can share that this fabulous stamp set is staying in the new catalogue.  I used it to make some of my swaps that I traded for ideas with other demos.

I love that it all fits around family life too and that we got to stay in a beautiful place, eat good food and also my boys were entertained at The Ironbridge Museum.

Not Ironbridge but a mini version near the pub!

At Onstage we also get to play with new products in the form of Make and Takes. I'm always too busy talking and catching up with friends so I gathered together the pieces needed and decided to make my own versions at home. This is what I've done with the leafy laser cut piece I received. I've teamed it with some current and you might spy a sneak peek of a new stamp set being launched very soon.

The laser cut piece is delicate and so I decided to attach it to my card by overlaying a piece of vellum onto it before machine stitching both to the base card. The laser cut piece is held in place by the vellum.  It's so so pretty.  Our colour collections are changing too which is why you may have noticed many on the retiring list.  However it's time for some returning favourites like Mossy Meadow which you can just spy as a scallop circle matt layer and some awesome new colours for Stampin' Up! 

 

So you can see why I love my life as a demonstrator being able to share what I love about it with you.   It's always fun meeting up with other demonstrators to share swaps and tips and get an early sight and possession of the new Stampin Up catalogues.  One of the best things about these events is connecting with my team as we don't all live down the road from each other.

This is Telford with some of the team and some were in Utrecht in The Netherlands. 

Enjoy the hop lovely visitors and remember to check out the retiring list of products that will no longer be available at the end of May or sooner if they sell out.  Your wish list needs checking.....

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Thanks for stopping by and see you again soon.

Zoe x