#simplestamping with Poinsettia Petals

Happy Sunday to one and all.  It's been a busy weekend here particularly for me with the Stampin' Up! Leaders Summit which closed its doors about 1.30am this morning, but I have to say tiredness beat me around 1am.  The great thing is I can watch bits I missed on replay and have learned so much from fellow demonstrators and the Company team.  Martin and I also popped to Sheffield to collect my Mum from her holiday and bring her back to my patient Dad who had missed her.  He stayed with us as he is elderly now and benefits from environments he knows and has been a super house guest. 

I have managed to make some cards for Christmas Card Club today too! Lovely Lorraine asked us to make cards with mainly red on them and I think I've just about managed it making these #simplestamping cards. Yes I know you might be thinking that these are not simple stamping, but they are mainly just stamps, ink and paper.  Fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator Ruth Trice shared a fab tutorial with the UK demos to create fabulous one sheet wonders and then chop them up to make stunning cards with simple additions of card base and sentiments.  You should visit her youtube channel where she shares lots of different ways to stamp these. 

For mine I used the gorgeous Poinsettia Petals stamps from the winter mini catalogue.  I started believe it or now to create a very subtle background with pale neutral colours stamping with my HRT packet!!! Yes I know who would have thought that an HRT blister pack could work for stamping.  I pushed the pack onto to my ink pad and then used it like a stamp until the ink ran out.  You may not be able to see it on the cards but it is there and effectively adds depth to the project without you realising.  The card below is probably the easiest to spot it on.  I like using items that aren't obviously stamps to create patterns and find others that work well are net bags from fruit/onions, scrunched up paper or a plastic bag, a pencil with a small eraser on the end and other household bits and pieces.  Your own imagination is all you need. Just be mindful of your ink pad as you place such items on it and also be sure that it doesn't affect what you use if it is required for another purpose. 

You build up the images bring stronger colours and first generation ink in last.  This poinsettia has two parts one is the outline of the flower with five petals, but you can twist it slightly for the second set of flowers ie stamp it twice with a small rotation of the stamp in between and then it has a second stamp that adds some colour and gives depth to the image.  The set includes holly, berries and other greenery along with some lovely sentiments although the one above is from the Tags, Tags, Tags set.  You can fill in gaps with splatter stamps from sets like Waterfront, Christmas Gleaming and use pinecone stamps and fir to add more detail.  I also put in the odd Pool Party snowflake too!

Adding matting layers of card and a base card are all you need then to construct your cards and add sentiments and small details like gold twine or odd sequins and gems.  

I'm off now for Sunday roast before chilling for the rest of the bank holiday weekend.  It's dry today so far here in Lincolnshire and I hope it is with you.  You can see the other ladies in our club by visiting the button at the top of my blog Christmas CC. 

If you are here in the UK enjoy your long weekend . Keep safe all. 

Hugs Zoe xx

 Poinsettia Petals Stamp set

Regals Ink Pads 

Gilded Gems 

Christmas Card Club Challenge - Christmas Poinsettias and foliage

I'm a little behind the curve as we had a busy weekend celebrating Charlie's birthday which included a visit to see Olivia at university and also the main reason I haven't posted for a few days my desk top has been on strike not wanting to play.

No matter the age cake is always wanted!

However I'm here now sharing my club challenge card set by Mary.  I made a shaker card using the very pretty stamp set Peace This Christmas which I will be very sad to see retire from the Stampin' Up! range in May.  It's been a trusty set of mine and fab for foliage cards like this.  I used one stamp and coloured it with my stampin markers to stamp it twice and then fussy cut them out. I then also stamped the whole image with cherry cobbler ink to be able to fussy cut the central flower and add a little dimension with glue dots to my floral sprigs.  I also stamped a sentiment from the same set in Mossy Meadow ( a returning colour for Stampin' Up! in June) and the border is cherry cobbler from the same set too.  I used this set for previous challenges,   you can see a couple an earlier stamping scene posts and also here. The latter uses the very popular Large Letter Dies that I'm pleased to say are staying in the new Stampin' Up! catalogue and gives a different use to the popular eclipse cards. 

To make the shaker I used the Stitched Shape framelits largest circle die and cut from a piece of very vanilla card 9.5cm x 13.8cm.  I placed the vanilla layer onto my mossy meadow base card (10.5cm x 29.7 scored at 14.8cm) and let the cut circle stay on the base card whilst carefully removing the outer vanilla card. I kept my finger on the circle and drew a light pencil circle around it for respositioning later when I put it all together.  I added window sheet to the back of the vanilla layer and a circle of adhesive shaker strips.  Half a teaspoon of gold glitter flakes sit nicely on the sentiment before replacing the vanilla layer with window and sticky strip to hold it all in place.
Top Tip
Did you know that you can reduce the static by using an embossing buddy on the sentiment and window sheet before putting it all together?

Please do visit the club members and take a look at their wonderful foliage creations.

Thanks for popping by and see you soon.

Zoe x

Christmas Card Club Challenge - Sentiments

The weeks are ticking by and the festive season is fast approaching.  However the Christmas Card Club are getting organised with our fortnightly challenge.  This time Sylvie has asked us to create a card with the sentiment as the focal point.  I love simple and you don't get much simpler than kraft and white card stock.  I've used the Stampin Up stamp set Peace This Christmas to create a simple stamped frame for my sentiment from the same set.  Along the bottom I have gold embossed the border stamp and I've added a petite bow in the gold metallic edged ribbon which is wonderful for all sorts of cards and projects, especially Christmas.  There are the inevitable rhinestones for my bling festish too!  

I love the effect of layered stitched shapes on the layering circles dies which help to make the focal point sentiment 'pop'.  

Inks used are Stampin Up early espresso, garden green and craft whisper white pigment ink. 

Have a great Sunday and week ahead.  Mind out for the ghosts on witches on Tuesday. We've been invaded by cheeky, naughty spirits this weekend with my neice and nephews.  So much fun.  

Take care all

Zoe x

Christmas Card Club - Christmas Flowers

Stampin' Up! Botanical Builders Framelits have been my got to dies this week with my Totally Techniques post a couple of days ago with the Bokeh technique and now today for our fortnightly Christmas Card Club challenge set this time by Carol who has two super cards to share with you so please  do visit her and the other other lovely ladies by clicking on the link at the top of my blog.  

I've gone for white and silver and whilst I've made this a Christmas card by adding a simple 'Happy Christmas' you could turn it just as easily into a silver wedding card or card for a special birthday just by changing your sentiment.

As a base for your card you can use the stitched shape framelits to add the white circle and some organza ribbon and the silver thread ribbon is from the now sadly retired SAB freebie gifts.  I've used the dies to cut various flowers and leaves and a bone folder to add little touches of dimension to create veins on the two centre leaves.  You can also just see some of my lifetime supply of silver thread to just life the sentiment which I stamped with individual words from Designer Tin of Tags stamp set in Memento black ink.

It's a peaceful day here although I'm enjoying thinking of my wonderful  hubby who is on a spa, yes a spa, day with his colleagues.  I'm intrigued to hear how his day has gone when he gets home.  Olivia is out watching Beauty and the Beast with the Brownies and Charlie is, he tells me, doing his homework, but I'm sceptical as I don't think the teachers usually set computer games for home study!!! Me I'm typing for you and then making delicious gift wrap for my teamie presents as I'm off to Amsterdam for a big Stampin' Up! event later in the week.

Enjoy your Sunday and don't forget to visit the other ladies blogs for oodles of lovely inspiration.

Hugs Zx

Christmas Card Club - Carols

Oh dear this weekend and this challenge came around quicker than i had in my head, you know the problem you get busy packing for your first ever cruise and things slip back in your mind.  This challenge theme is Christmas Carols from Rita and so mine is very loose in the terms of carol.  It is linked to that Christmas song of Cliff Richard 'Peace on Earth, can it be .....'  So whilst it is Christmas it's perhaps not a carol in the traditional sense.

However I've managed to share some new in colours which are Emerald Envy and Dapper Denim.  There's new washi in there too and some lovely snowflakes from the Perpetual Birthday stamp set.  I've embossed some and just over stamped in denim also.

I love the variation on traditional colours and used a set of thin lets that retired but are just fab and so I can't part with them and I attached the peace with staples, it's much easier than fiddling with glue sometimes.  The 'on earth' is from Holly JollyGreetings.

Please forgive my twist on a carol!

Have a great Sunday. I'm on my way home from Barcelona.

Zx