Totally Techniques Stampin' Demonstrator Blog Hop sharing Sponge Stencilling

Welcome to the Stampin' Up! Global Demonstrator Totally Techniques  May Blog Hop 

Shannean Moncrieff down in Australia chose our Totally Techniques theme this month and so we are sharing cards demonstrating the stencil sponging or sponge stencilling technique.  I've got a couple of ideas to share starting with this one which also show cases a new suite of products from the 2019 -2020 Stampin' Up! catalogue which is available for shopping on Tuesday 4 June.  This bundle is called the Sailing Home Suite and is going to be an awesome suite of products for male cards, holiday scrapbooking and much much more.  

So to begin I used a layered circle die to create a very simple circle stencil from a piece of vellum.  As you can see I fixed it to my work space using painters tap which also held a piece of whisper white card underneath it just where I wanted it.  I used sponges and a combination of Balmy Blue, Seaside Spray, Pretty Peacock and So Saffron to spong my circle.    I started with the lighter shade of blues and left almost white space to create a moon in the sky and using a small circle punch and a post it note created a mask just to keep a rough circle for this purpose.  The So Saffron gives a glow to create the impression of a not quite dark sky.  

I stamped the sailing boat in Night of Navy ink with the top of the mast just overlapping the moon. 

I then cut the same size circle from a larger piece of whisper white card which was 10 cm x 14.3cm.  I also added a sentiment in Early Espresso and separately stamped the lighthouse and die cut it out.  I used the sponges to add some shading having coloured the stamp with marker pens to stamp a double coloured image.  I gently added light into the top of the lighthouse using a So Saffron marker pen.  I made sure that when I used stampin dimensionals to stick the layers together that the lower layer with the sponged circle lined up with the top layer and did not protrude beyond this top layer.  

I added some silver thread using dimensionals to adhere it to the back of the top layer and some Tranquil Texture  Sprinkles to each thread before sticking across the circle with another set of Stampin' dimensionals.  If you wrap the thread around the dimensional several times and then double mount the dimensionals to give sufficienct depth for the beads to slide as you can see here in this mini video. 

Check out the video for the hidden extra  HERE

A second way to sponge stencil is to use a pre-made stencil similar to one in the Stampin' Up! pattern party decorative masks pack.  Using the same stencil I created with the vellum above, I used it to create a mask to reveal only a circle of the card layer.  I slid the decorative stencil/mask under the vellum.  As shown below.

With sponges and a dauber I added different colours over the stencil.  To control where the colour went I used the circle die cut to create the top layer for the first card to mask parts of the circle and more painters tape.

Additionally for the small circles I used a marker pen to add a deeper shade of blue.

To control the amount of ink that is on each sponge I use a piece of acetate, plastic embellishment bag or the stamp a ma jig sheet if you still have one to rub small circles having added ink to each sponge directly from an ink pad. This allows the ink to sink into the sponge and reduces the chances of having a heavy spot of ink when you first start to add the ink.

To finish the second card I stamped a simple sentiment and added some rhinestones and basic adhesive backed sequins to the design and then mounted the stamped/stencilled layer onto a  matt layer of Pretty Peacock before adding to a whisper white card base.

Copies of the new catalogue will be coming through your door very soon if you've shopped with me in the past 6 months or indeed will be given out at my new catalogue launch party on Saturday 22 June.  If you are local and would like to come along please email me for the details.  However if you'd like a copy to browse please do contact me to arrange for one to be posted to you.
You can contact me at zoetant@live.co.uk or message me on facebook at www.facebook.com/zoetant

Now please do carry on with our Global blog hop and see more inspiration for this inky technique.  You can visit the other demonstrator blogs by clicking on each picture below.

Thanks for visiting Zoe x

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Stampin' Up! Alaska Achiever's Blog Hop

I can't believe how quickly the months are passing, but then after the weather we've been having in the UK the sooner Spring arrives with some brighter, warmer days the better.  It does mean it's time for another Stampin' Up! Achiever's Blog Hop though and we're sharing Saleabration and Spring catalogue inspiration with you.  

I've been doing lots of sponge brayering with the Saleabration Springtime Foils designer series papers and thought I would share those. At my classes the ladies have loved seeing what you can do with these gorgeous papers. They are one sided, FREE, white embossed with silver gold and copper and FREE did I mention that with a qualifying order of £45 until the end of this month.

All you need to do is choose 3 coordinating colours and start brayering with the lighter colour first and slowly build up the colour and blending of one colour into the next. You can of course use 3 shades of one colour like green or blue to make a similar effect.  I then chose to use the Celebrate You dies also free with an order of £90.   I cut out the 'celebrate' and and stuck the coloured foil paper onto a piece of black card to make the word 'pop'.  I've added a couple more words from the Happy Celebrations stamp set and layered it onto a sweet sugar plum card base.  Other colours used are peekaboo peach and flirty flamingo.  These three colours along with dapper denim and emerald envy are our outgoing in colours so if any are your favourite stock up now before the rush especially on re inkers.

Now with the die cut word I created another card .

I took another piece of the Springtime Foils which is actually nearer in weight to card than paper and so is good for gift boxes and bags too. I die cut a label and again brayered colour onto it with sweet sugar plum.  I layered it onto a larger die cut in the same colour for tone on tone and added some silver thread, rhinestones and silver metallic edged ribbon.  A little spotty stamping with the mini background stamp from Stampin' Up! You're Inspiring to draw in all the colours.  By using the die cut and the stencil it created it leaves very little waste and you really get value from your card.

Saleabration will end soon which is always a little bit sad as we've all benefitted from free gifts, extras as hostesses and those who've taken the plunge to join our fantastic company have been rewarded with extra stamp sets. There's still time until 31st March to get some bonuses for you too so please do check out Stampin' Up! 's Saleabration deals.

Enjoy the rest of the hop by visiting others on the list below.

Thanks for visiting me.

Zoe Tant UK

Stampin' Up! Reflection Technique Tip

It's Happy Birthday to our lovely neighbour Dawn today.  She loves her garden and so I've made a card using one of my favourite sets from the Stampin' Up! UK annual catalogue, From the Garden. 

It's such a cute set and perfect for anyone who enjoys their garden.  My friend Mikaela made a fab gift set for her friend's birthday recently and you can see it and find out more here on the Stampin' Up! website.  She bought the set especially to make a gift for her friend who's surname is Spice! 

You'll find that blackberry bliss and mint macaron work really well together from our Stampin'  Up! in colour ranges.  To give some depth to a card like this you can stamp twice in order that you can cut out the plant pots and add them over your original stamped image with stampin' dimensionals to give some depth.  I've also added some epoxy stickers to give more detail.  

I wanted to add the watering can from the stamp set, but wanted it the opposite way around so to do this I stamped the image onto my Stampin' Up Stamp-a-ma-jig imaging sheet and then carefully turned it over the add the ink that stays on the sheet to my card.  Hence you'll see it's a muted image but is just enough to be seen subtly on my card.

I've also stamped another sentiment inside the card which came from Butterfly Basics another current favourite of mine, along with the welly boots from the garden set.  

I've gift wrapped her present in the same colours so it makes a lovely combination.  

Happy Birthday Aunty Dawn as she's known in our house!

Remember you can visit my Stampin' Up! Online Shop to take a closer look at these beautiful stamp sets.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! 

Zx

Stampin' Up! offers a whole lot of love!

"Oh my goodness!" I hear you cry. She is finally blogging and finally here to wish you Happy New Year and to thank you for your support and friendship over the past year, but also for your patience at my lack of blogging in recent weeks. 

I have to say that the beauty of being an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that you can take time out when you need to and I really needed to.... The lead up to our annual convention is always hectic and then of course it came so close to the Christmas period that I didn't have time to stop. I'm glad to say that over Christmas I've enjoyed doing things with my family. 

Charlie was a shepherd in the school carol service in St Mary's Church and we loved joining in with those rousing carols.  We also thoroughly enjoyed the Banovallum Brass Christmas Concert also in the church.  I'm ashamed to say we've never been before, but when your children are involved you find the time to attend events and so we had a super evening listening to the band, joining in the singing and actions and also were proud to see Charlie receive the result and certificate for his recent cornet exam.  We secretly knew that he had passed, but didn't tell him or anyone else so that it was a lovely surprise at the concert. 

Olivia was busy too, as she's a great baker and makes delicious mincemeat cupcakes and also her gingerbread biscuits were very moorish. 

All this led to a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. The best part is that we still have a believer in our midst so the magic continues...!

Now a new year has begun with mixed blessings for many, but I'm thankful that we are very lucky and have no complaints so far. 

All I need to do now is share the details of some gorgeously cute Valentine items available from Stampin' Up! right now!  You can see additional items in Zoe's Stampin' Up! shop.

These make great gift tags, party favours, love you notes or whatever you want them to be! SOOOOOooooooo sweet.

How cute is that little botty!!!!!!

Back much sooner! Zx

A Stampin' Up! favourite back by popular demand

Last few days to get your free ribbons and brads

The Sale-a-bration Everyday Enchantment papers were loved by you all and you all wanted more.....! Well now you can have more. You can order them while stocks last during July for £9.95.

There's is an added bonus for you also. Free brads and ribbons with every spend of  £45 during July.  Place an order for £45 during July and you'll get these gorgeous brads (30 per pack) and two rolls of very pretty, delicate organza ribbon, one lucky limeade the other calypso coral.  They perfectly match the Everyday Enchantment papers and are excellent for any project. 

Here you can see the ribbons and brads in use and also if you look back to my stampin' birthday post you can see use of the papers and the free accessories.

Golden Thank You!

Charlie takes his first trumpet exam tomorrow. He will be accompanied on the piano by one of the sixth form boys at one of the local secondary schools and to say thank you to Josh for coming into school to help Charlie, I've made him a card using the Musical Medley stamp set (retired US), stripes embossing folder and framelits.

It's a bit of happy accident really. I wanted to emboss the stripes made by the folder in gold, but just didn't ink the folder enough and so it didn't do what I intended, but I quite liked the look it achieved so ran with it.

The sentiment is from Thank You Kindly.

My card also fits in with this week's Less is More Challenge which has a colour theme of GOLD.  Check out their blog for lots of inspiration from many talented crafters including  Mandi and Chrissie who run the challenges there.

Linda, Victoria and I are on Stand E34 at the Summer Crafting Show this Saturday and Sunday, at Doncaster Racecourse,  so come and say hello if you are there.  We have demonstrations and a great raffle each day.  Also a great show special including free shipping* and free gift while stocks last.

Hope to see you soon.

Zx

Supplies

Stampin' Up! Stamps - Mixed Medley, Thank You Kindly

Stampin' Up! card - very vanilla and whisper white

Tools and inks - versamark, big shot, framelits labels, stripes embossing folder, gold embossing powder all available from Stampin' Up!

Challenges

Less is More - GOLD

*with qualifying order of £45

Christmas Card Club

Yes another fortnight has passed and it's time for Christmas Card Club Challenge. This time the lovely Lorraine has set the challenge. We had to make a card where the sentiment was the key feature of the card.  I think I've achieved that and this card does exactly what it says on the tin! 

Stampin' Up! Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits with Holly Berry DSP

A great way for you to cut out letters is for you to use your Big Shot and the Stampin' Up! Timeless Type Junior Alphabet sizzlits.  They offer you both upper and lower case letters and here you can see I've used the upper case die cutting letters from the different sheets of the Holly Berry Bouquet Specialty Designer Series papers.   Snowflakes in soft suede from the Serene Snowflakes stamp set and the lace border punch gives a pretty decorative border along with pearls, rhinestones and taffeta real red ribbon. 

Don't forget to check out the other challenge members blogs for more inspiration and if you fancy joining please let one of us know.

Back with another Christmas Challenge on 17 June.

Zx

Challenges
Christmas Card Challenges - Bling

School Jubilee Picnic

Charlie had a school jubilee picnic yesterday and was asked to bring a red, white and blue themed cake/snack for dessert and so I went the whole hog and made a cake for each child in his class and a few more! No there are more than 7 in his class they just wouldn't all fit in my photo cube!! LOL

They did take some carrying to school though with these festive picks included.  You can make your own cake decorations using Stampin' Up! products to any theme you choose.  My crown is from one of my favourite stamp sets Artistic Etchings.  It's a favourite for two reasons;  I love all the stamps in the set they are so fun and with the Eiffel Tower included you can make male and female cards with this set. The second reason is I won it in prize patrol at convention in Paris last year which you can attend as a demonstrator. 

Stamped in night of navy on whisper white cardstock and matted onto a real red scallop circle you can't help, but be a patriotic winner!  Of course it also lets me add my bling as rhinetones work perfectly for the DIAMOND jubilee as well as being a girls best friend!

Have a wonderful Jubilee weekend.

Hugs Zx

Challenges

one stop crafting -  crowns, diamonds or red white and blue

Stampin' Up! Regional Training Projects

I can now safely share these make and take projects that demonstrators were given the materials for when they attended one of the Stampin' Up! regional training days over the past month.  The last one in Leeds, today, will almost have finished as I type and so I can share with you the fun projects and not spoil the surprise for those who hadn't yet attended. 

 A very pretty scrapbook page using the Twitterpated Papers from the Summer Mini.

A card made with the Blossom Punch and Mixed Bunch Stamp set

A mini milk carton gift holder again with the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper.

By now you've probably realised that you can join the Stampin' Up! family for less than ever before and with lots more flexibility.  The starter kit costs £99 and is fully customizable to your own tastes and needs. 

Buy choosing to join Stampin' Up! you will benefit not only from the discount on your future Stampin' Up! purchases, but you'll also have access to fun training events where you can mix with like minded crafters, have lots of fun and learn lots of techniques.  You'll have access to the demonstrator website packed full of resources for your own personal use or for use in parties, classes or just with friends whom you like to craft with. 

There is an additional bonus if you buy your starter kit during May 2012; you will receive free registration for the 2012 European Convention worth £149 which will give you stamp sets, convention bag, access to classes, make and takes, prize patrols and a whole lot more..........

If you like the sound of this much fun, then please contact me for an informal chat to find out how we can make it work for you and take a look at more details about becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in the UK.

more soon

Zx 

Design flowers with Stampin' Up! Build a blossom stamps and punch

Your own imagination can take you anywhere with this wonderful punch.  The Build a Blossom stamp set and blossom builder punch offer great versatility and you can turn each group of petals into flowers or anything you want them to become.  Here a beautiful blossom has been created for you,  and quite by chance the timing falls in with the Less is More challenge this week, which is to use die cuts or punches. 

With the crimper you can create texture to your naked card base and then the dramatic nature of the flower needs little more.  A simple sentiment sends the message and comes from Tiny Tags and the jewellery tag punch cuts it out perfectly. 

To receive a free gift purchase the following or any £45 combination

Blossom Petals Builder Punch  121808 £15.50

Build a Blossom Stamp Set 121923(Wood Mount)  £24.95

 OR 121994 (Clear Mount) £19.95

Ink pad of your choice £4.95

24 sheets of one colour cardstock £6.25

and you have a free gift with your purchase in the form of a stamp set or a pack of very strokeable designer series paper  which you can view here.

 Remember Sale-a-bration is the most wonderful time of the Stampin' Up! year.

Contact your demonstrator to find out more and if you don't have one I'd be happy to help you choose your order and FREE gift.

Supplies

Stamp Sets - Build a Blossom, Tiny Tags

Card stock - Poppy parade, whisper white

Ink - poppy parade

Accessories - crimper, blossom petals builder punch, stampin' dimensionals, neutrals buttons, crochet thread

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2012 and to thank you all for your support over the past year.  I'm lucky to have such a lovely group of ladies in my team and also so many wonderful customers.  I look forward to sharing, creating and inspiring you all next year and to also learning much from all of you.

Have fun this Christmas.

Hugs Zx

More Stampin' Up! Convention Presentation News

stampin up demonstrator uk zoe tant

In my last post I mentioned that I was a presenter at convention in Disneyland Paris and I shared with you one project that I demonstrated. Here I have another which involves using the Big Shot to emboss fabric.  Above if you look closely you can see that the melon mambo Flirtatious fabric is embossed and this is achieved by using a piece of fabric, cardstock (I used whisper white) and Big Shot multipurpose adhesive sheets.  If you peel away the printed backing paper on the adhesive sheet and position it onto your fabric (reverse side of fabric) and smooth it out.  Then remove the other backing sheet and stick on to a piece of cardstock. Make sure that our fabric and cardstock are slightly bigger than the adhesive sheet and it's much easier to handle.  You can then use your Big Shot to die cut a shape, I used the Top Note Die and then use an embossing folder to emboss your die cut.  The Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder works really well for this.  

This process adds great texture and a different dimension to your project and teams up well with our new hostess only stamp set Simply Soft which is watercoloured using the blender pens and ink pads. 

If you'd like to see either of these techniques in more detail then why not drop me an email to book a workshop or find out about my techniques club which will be starting in January.  Enjoy a free techniques class once a month for 10 months and agree to spend a minimum of £15 at each class. For one of the months you will be the lucky person to receive the hostess spends which can be used to buy exclusive hostess/qualifying order items like Simply Soft or to buy other items from the current catalogues.  You're spend will be a minimum of £25 and you'll also receive technique training, the project you make each month and a FREE copy of all current catalogues during the 10 month period.  Many of my customers who have taken part in one of these clubs, join in every year as they love the opportunity to try products before they buy them as well as learning wonderful new techniques along the way.

Find out more by emailling me martin.tant@homecall.co.uk

Below I've used the same technique on the fabric.  This time I've used Deck the Halls fabric and the new Petite Pennants Builder Punch to make a vintage feel Christmas card.  Also included is paper from the Designer Series Paper Stack in Regals and a sentiment from Curly Cute.  Sponging and an additonal top note die finish off a simply but elegant card.

And of course the Victoria lace and antique brads just add the final touch of 'vintage'.

Have a great day even though the weather's not great and pop back soon.

Zx

Buttons & Bows Challenge

 

Click on the images to enlarge!

Well we've warmed up slightly it's now only freezing and this morning there was no ice on the windows, just a fun skate to school where untreated roads are sheet ice covered with icing sugar snow!!! Oh joy and sad children as the school next door to them is closed as the pupils travel in from all over the county, but my two have had to go to school.  I'm a bit sad too as it means I have to collect them.  More joy!!!!!!

To take my mind off the drive I'm sharing this card with you that I made yesterday for the Sweet Stampin Challenge of Buttons and Bows.  It just so happens that my card fits in with these challenges also.

Meljens - Buttons & Bows

Fairy Fun Friday - Buttons & Bows

Papertake Weekly - Cut it out

The buttons and bows on my card are obvious in the accents to the bottom right and the bows are made from Stampin' Up! gold elastic cord and real red taffeta ribbon at the top of my washing line posts.  For cut it out I have punched mini hearts for the tops on the washing line posts and I've also cut out each letter from the Stampin' Up! Newsprint Designer Series Paper just like Shelli did at Convention recently.  Of course you can spot my scallop trim borders and also the curly label pieces to the top left.  A few self adhesive rhinestones adds the sparkle that we need for the festive season and there you have it a challenge entry to cover all.  Why not take a look at the other challenge entries for more inspiration. 

Don't forget I'll be launching my special GIFTS TO GO packages very soon so check back.

Hugs Zx

Zoë Tant Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator