International Happiness Day

Stampin' Up! Foxy Friends looks great on Painted Seasons papers

Today is International Happiness Day so I'm sharing a little hello with you to make your smile and hopefully therefore HAPPY!!!!

The sun has shone here today and I've been for a lovely walk with Little Miss Naughty, done some chores and rewarded myself with a little time in the room of craft. Yay me I'm happy.

I made this simple card using the Painted Seasons papers from Stampin' Up! Saleabration and thought this piece matted onto some yummy Poppy Parade card would make a super scene for cute little foxy loxy.  He's been a little forgotten recently but is a great punch with his matching Foxy Friends stamp set.  When he first hit the scene he was very popular as he comes with lots of friends as you can see from my Foxy Friends post.

I've also used my Itty Bitty Sentiments set for the sweet little hello statement and before I stamped it I used the classic label punch to create an aperture and then stamped the sentiment with the aperture layer flat on the base card.  It creates a little detail that is different and easy to do. 

Wishing you a day of Happiness wherever you may be.

Hugs Zoe x

PS don't forget you can join Stampin' Up! this month and choose from two kits. Both have £170 of your choice of products and one has an additional lovely tote bag. 

JOIN HERE

Christmas Card Club - Anything Goes

#simplestamping 

It's been a while since I've been organised enough to create a card and share it with my lovely Christmas Card Club friends.  The challenge for my return was festive food, but I couldn't find anything from my stash so as I'm having so much fun with Stampin' Up! Painted Seasons I thought I'd share this card under the Anything Goes get out of jail free option.  It has been a popular design with lots of folk using different colour ways and sometimes the flowers in the set, but I decided it was just perfect for a Christmas card too.   I adore the pine cone because of the detail that you get with this set due to the distINKtive manufacture of it giving you light and shade.  I've added a simple sentiment, sequins and gold metallic pearls just to give a little depth, but it would be easy to create a batch of these cards in no time at all. 

My colours are Tranquil Tide, Lemon Lime Twist, Cherry Cobbler and Soft Suede. Remember that the two greens will retire from the Stampin' Up! colour palette at the end of May, so be sure to get them while you still can and consider a bottle of re inker too to add to their longevity. 

You can see the other lovely CCC ladies cards via the link to them at the top of my blog.

Happy Monday and have a great week.

Hugs Zoe xx

Love Stampin' Up! products then join my Discount Shoppers Gang and benefit from discounts offers and early access to lots of goodies. 

£170 of product and this bag for just £125 until 31 March 2019

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Oh I love this stamp set - Painted Seasons

I can't stop playing with this stunning stamp set bundle.  I just love the 3D effect of the DisINKtive stamps and the fabulous creations you can make throughout the seasons with Painted Seasons.  As you've probably read here before it is a stamp set that comes free with a pack of designer papers when you place an order of £90 this month.  You can also, perhaps as part of your £90 order, purchase a set of coordinating dies to go along with the stamps. 

In my card today I used the soon to retire Berry Burst, Tranquil Tide and Lemon Lime Twist inks from Stampin' Up! 2017 - 2019 in colours. I will really miss these gorgeous colours and if you want to carry on using yours or haven't ventured into this bunch of in colours you will need to act soon. They will sell out as the end of the annual catalogue approaches.  The ribbon is Berry Burst with a silver edge which just makes the flowers pop more.  I wrapped it around my designed layer before sticking to the base card and then instead of a bow to secure it I added a small amount of snail behind the designed layer before then tying white bakers twine around the two ends of the ribbon.  It's a less bulky way of adding ribbon, but a little more fiddly.  Quick tip tie the bakers twine in a double knot before adding the bow loops. 

I mentioned the free pack of papers and have used the subtle side of one piece to fill the aperture I created by using the Stitched Rectangle dies.  It creates a super background for my floral spray.  I've also used the Well Said Stampin' Up! set to create the sentiment which is heat embossed in white powder onto black card.  I hand cut these out and added with mini stampin' dimensionals. 

Another quick tip is to get a softer shade of the darker green leaves be sure to stamp off on scrap paper or whisper white for diecutting later for another project. I felt that the full power of the Tranquil Tide for this card would have been a little overpowering. 

Regular readers know I like a bit of bling so there's the ribbon and some gold metallic pearls too.

Happy Friday All and have a fantabulous weekend.

Zoe x

ps Love all these products consider the Stampin' Up! starter kit and you can currently get £170 minimum for your join fee of £99.  For more details please email me or visit the join link above.
zoetant@live.co.uk

Stampin' Up! Painted Seasons Mixed Media Style

Stampin' Up! Painted Seasons - Mixed Media style

Today I'm sharing something a little different from the usual clean cut Stampin' Up! design and yet I'm still using Stampin' Up! products.  I've taken the Painted Seasons stamp set in another route to create a different look and I really enjoyed tinkering with inks, sponges and watercolour.  I'm also participating in a mini blog hop with my lovely friend and fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Shannean Moncrieff in Australia.  She has some Home to Roost stamp set ideas to share with you to give you some inspiration for  two sets which  are part of the  super FREE gifts available this month from Stampin' Up! with a qualifying order. 

A different look for Painted Seasons

I started by stamping the images onto a piece of watercolour paper and then spritz gently with water to get the ink to run and blend.  I quickly dabbed off excess water with kitchen towel and heat set it all with my heat tool. I stamped the mini stars over the top and also added some gold embossed stars. With sponges I added extra colour to fill in the white space and also to define the edges of the watercolour paper.  I used Melon Mambo, Coastal Cabana and Granny Apple Green inks and lightly, free hand stamped the flowers again to add some detail back to them.  Torn edges of scraps sponged to deepen the tones create interest at the bottom of the card and allow for a touch of sponged Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper to be added along with a torn extract nearer to the top.

My matting layer is a piece of whisper white card which I sponged to get a 'softer' shade of Melon Mambo and having defined the edge of the watercolour paper with sponging I also flicked my Versamark ink pad along the edges to add random smudges of gold embossing to define it further before adding to the matt layer.  

The sentiment is partly die cut in gold foil card and the remainder stamped with Versamark and heat set with white embossing powder on black card stock.  The sentiment is from the awesome Stampin' Up! bundle Well Said which is so worth the investment!

I've entered my card into the Craft Stamper Magazine Take it Make it Challenge also. You can join the challenge HERE

The second half of the bundle is a pack of beautifully hand painted then printed designer series papers.  You can see the whole bundle in my Stampin' Up! Online Shop

Now check out Shannean's design for another take on this gorgeous stamp set bundle.  

Thanks for visiting Zoe x

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Happy Stamping Times

One thing I love most about being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is the opportunity to share my passion of papercrafting with others either at a fun party or giving back to the community at the Welcome Club which I attend every couple of months to make simple cards with some of the regular and new attendees who come along for coffee and to meet new people.  I was there late last week and as it was St David's Day we made cards with the pretty You're Inspiring Stampin' Up! set and used some of the fabulous Gingham Gala papers.  It was a simple card, but easy to do.  Some of the ladies did their own take on my simple design which was great and I love to see what folk do when they experiment themselves with the kit.  We just stamped the Daffs and coloured them in with pencil crayons.  You can't beat #simplestamping

I love the arm peeking in. This lady was shy, but her card was lovely and she was happy to share it for the photo. 

At Sue's party we used one of the Saleabration level 2 free gift stamp sets. It's called Painted Seasons and it is what is known as a DistINKtive stamp set due to the process of design and manufacture it creates a 3D looking image with light, shade and definition.  I love it and am sad it is only available until the end of the month.  It really covers the Seasons and whatever colour you use it is perfect.  At the party we stamped in Blackberry Bliss which I know is a favourite Stampin' Up! colour of Sue and her friends.  There is also a little star or two of Rich Razzleberry.   We used painters tape to mask a border across the card and then stamped to create the pattern.  We removed the tape carefully and then added a strip of card with our sentiment.  We also added some Petal Pink rhinestones that look fabulous with the Blackberry Bliss.  I CASE'd (copy and share everything) the design from the talented Chris Smith and added my own twists.  

There were smiles all around and everyone loved the Painted Seasons bundle.  

If you'd like to host a Stampin' Up! gathering where you can offer a fun couple of hours to your friends, crafty or not as we can all have a go, then please do contact me. If you aren't in Lincolnshire then one of my more distant team members can probably offer you and your friends a stamping party too. Just let me know and I'll make sure you are put in touch with someone.  

You can see other examples of the Painted Seasons bundle here and here. 

If you love Stampin' Up! products as much as I do and have a wishlist as long as your arm or £90 or more then consider joining my team and hosting your own parties or classes or just enjoy being a discount shopper with a minimum of 20% discount on all our products.  For more information look on my Join Stampin Up page or contact me at zoetant@live.co.uk.  There are bonus goodies to be had until the end of this month with two options for joining. 

I was brave 11 years ago and took the plunge and have had nothing but fun ever since. You can too, you just need to join.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting

Zoe x

Have you seen this?

This new Stampin' Up! Saleabration stamp set is just gorgeous. I so love the textured look that you adchieve as the stamps are DistINKtive and so you get all this beautiful light and shade which makes the flowers and other images look as though you could just pick them off the page. 

For my simple card I used my Stamparatus, stamp positioning tool, to add first the smoky slate ink and then using markers I added different colours to the centre of the flower. It took a little bit of patience to stamp each flower individually, but I wanted to define the flower centres using other colours.  I used Mossy Meadow in the very centre and then lined it with black and Soft Suede.  I did each layer at a time cleaning in between most layers.  Using the Stamparatus allows you to go back if you missed a bit or needed darker. bolder colour.  The Lemon Lime Twist ombre ribbon and die cut leaves in the same colour just add a bit of POP and then I've matted my stamped design onto a piece of Soft Suede card stock that just added some warmth, but not too much pop as if I'd added it in lime.  The die cut leaves and sentiment oval are from the Spring Catalogue's Wonderful Floral Framelit dies and the sentiment is from the Perennial Birthday stamp set.  

These stamps look amazing in any colour and even more special they are FREE, yes free with a qualifying order.  Pop by my Stampin' Up! online shop to see them and the stunning papers they come with which you can see used on my stampingscene post. 

images © stampin' up!

Painted Seasons images © stampin' up! 

There is more exciting news you'll be able to purchase a set of dies to go with the Painted Seasons stamp set in March. 

Remember that if you love all of these lovely products and have a wishlist that is over £99 then you can join my team and choose one of the following options until the end of March 2019.

Please do contact me for more information at zoetant@live.co.uk 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Zoe x

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Paper Adventures Guest Designer

Welcome to my blog today especially if you haven't been here before but are part of the Paper Adventures Team Blog Hop. I'm honoured to be a guest designer for their February hop and I hope you'll go around the lovely blogs of these talented ladies who are all in the South Pacific. Thanks to Kelly for inviting me to join them today.

We're following this sketch in any way each designer chooses and so I decided I just had to share these beautiful designer series papers and stamp set that are now available as a free bundle, yes you read that right, FREE.  Check off some items on your wish list and you could be in for a bundle which is called Painted Seasons.  It includes the Painted Seasons stamp set and coordinating papers.  There are 4 designs and you get 3 sheets of each double sided design.  As the name suggests there is a design for each season and they are just gorgeous.

I used marker pens to colour the flower and leaves and then used yet another surprise as set of matching dies that you can purchase in March, but you'll need to be quick as this mini suite of products is going to be oh so popular.  I've layered the flower and foliage to create the different 'circles' of the sketch and I've added a little touch of petal pink/whisper white variegated ribbon which I folded in half over a strip of tear and tape to narrow down the ribbon.  There's a touch of gold thread to draw on the gold foil 'happy' which is a die from the Well Said bundle which also has the stamps to give you Mother's Day which is stamped in early espresso.  I love the metallic pearls we have in the annual catalogue as they too bring some subtle, elegant richness to your projects and you need that for sure when making a card for your Mum.  To make the sentiment and die cut pieces pop I layered them onto my main stitched shape circle in whisper white.

Stampin' Up! have got a winner with this beautiful bundle and you're on to a winner today with this blog hop.  Remember to see them all as the sketch is the only constant thing so there's lots of inspiration to be had.  I've always stuck to sketches in the past, that is to say the exact sketch, so go see if the others stick to it or go with a twist like me.

Remember that free gifts are available for qualifying spends during Saleabration which runs through to 31 March with new additions from today.  Some have been so popular they have already sold out so don't be disappointed and get your first choice early.

Enjoy the hop and thank you for stopping by my little Stampin' Up! blog today.

You're now off to the very talented Kelly Kent's blog.

You can see the beautiful Painted Seasons bundle HERE

and you can shop and see all the Saleabration products in my online SHOP

Don't forget to visit everyone on the hop and enjoy all the gorgeous projects.