Be Inspired Blog Hop - April - Watercolour

Hello Crafty Friends,

I am super excited to be joining my first Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop. The Be Inspired Design Team are a group of extremely talented Stampin' Up! Demonstrators from all over the globe, uniting once a month to share themed creative and inspiring projects.  You are currently visiting Jackie Aitken in Western Australia - Hello and Welcome.

If you are following the Hop, you may have arrived here having just visited Janneke de Jong in the Netherlands. Thanks for joining us. Our theme for today's hop is WATERCOLOUR - yay!!! I do love me some watercolouring.

I have two cards to share with you today, created using two different types of water colour mediums.

The first card has had the main image white heat embossed onto Shimmery White Card Stock and then colour applied with Watercolour Pencils. An aqua painter with no water in the tube was used to blend the colour from the water colour pencils by dipping the tip of the Aqua Painter into water and brushing off any excess water onto scrap paper.

When working with such bright colours I like to really make them pop by teaming them with black and hints of metallic's like below with silver accents in the ribbon and embellishments.

The second card uses Stampin' Up!'s Classic Ink in various colours applied with a wet Aqua Painter. To achieve the vivid tones, ink has been applied several times, drying with a heat tool in between layers and ink application. The splashes and little pools of ink are easy to achieve by blowing the ink around with a Heat Tool.

Once dry, the water colour card front has been embossed using the Subtle Embossing Folder. Glimmer White card stock has been used to Die Cut the "Happy" Thinlit which has been stacked on a few layers of plain white card to achieve a little bit of height. A couple of epoxy heart embellishments have been added which of course the photo does not show very well but trust me when I say they are there and look amazing.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  We appreciate the time you have invested to visit our Blogs. Up Next in the Blog Hop is super talented Cathy Caines with her inspirational water colour creation. Enjoy x

Blog Hop Participant List

Nadine Hößrich

Janneke de Jong

Jackie Aitken - you are here

Cathy Caines

Carolynn Sander

Emma Goddard

Stesha Bloodhart

Until next time, stay awesome and stay crafty xx

Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team - April - Needlepoint Nook

Good Day Crafty Friends,

Welcome to the Artisan Design Team Blog Hop for April. You are currently visiting Jackie Aitken in Western Australia. Thanks for Hopping with us as we share inspirational idea's and projects using the Needlepoint Nook Suite.

I have thoroughly enjoyed getting creative with this amazing suite. The Designer Series Paper has the most gorgeous colour combination with realistic cross stitch images that make for fun card backgrounds or amazing fussy cut clusters. 

I have a few creations to share with you today, the first three have been designed around the Polished Stone technique backgrounds created with Glossy card stock and Isopropyl Alcohol. I absolutely adore this technique, its so much fun to watch the magic happen right before your very eyes and the outcome is different and so unique.

All three cards have been created with a Berry Burst, Blushing Bride and Fresh Fig colour combination. Two of the card fronts have been cut in a variety of ways to show how easy it is to create eye catching backgrounds with a paper trimmer.

The first card has been cut into six panels, two thick and four thinner strips. These have been mounted onto Whisper White card which has then been cut and adhered to the Fresh Fig card base with an opening between the two. Before adhering the stamped images, the card front has been embossed using the detailed embossing die.

The Needlepoint Nook images have been stamped in Fresh Fig, Berry Burst and Memento Tuxedo Black inks. A white heat embossed sentiment has been added along with a few Share What You Love Artisan Pearl Embellishments.

The Polished Stone card front on the next card has been cut into three equal sized panels using the Rectangle Stitched Framelits. These panels were then adhered to a layer of Whisper White card stock before running them through the Big Shot with the embossing die from the Needlepoint Elements Framelits. The images have been stamped in Fresh Fig, Blushing Bride and Smoky Slate. A few die cut elements in White White and Silver Foil have also been added to the cluster with a mixture of Multipurpose Liquid adhesive and Mini Dimensionals.

The third card I have to show uses a more intensely coloured background with a smaller panel of the lighter colours used in the previous two cards. I have applied a lot more Berry Burst reinker to the cotton wool ball with less alcohol to achieve the rich colour. 

I decided to not cut the Polished Stone background rather opting to cut the Whisper White die cut created with the Rose Trellis Thinlits Dies,  using 3/4 under the floral cluster with the remaining 1/4 at the top of card for something a little different.

For some additional inspiration, I have included photo's of other projects I have created using elements from the Needlepoint Nook Suite.

Spool Cards created for Stampin Up! corporate blog post which can be found on Stampin' Up! Facebook Page in the "notes" section.

I love cards that have an unusual shaped card base like the Spool cards above and the Chalk Board card below.

This little easel card has been embossed with the embossing die and then gold metallic thread has been hand stitched into the embossed holes. The Needlepoint Nook Mini Button embellishments are perfect for holding the easel card up and not too thick when mailing, plus they are so darn cute!

My swaps for Onstage in Auckland last week were also created with this amazing bundle. I had found 120 mini chalkboards on ebay for a Demo Retreat Day I held recently. I only needed 50 for the Retreat Day so decided to use the remaining 70 for my gifts at Onstage - I didn't swap as such as I did not really have the room in my suitcases. The sentiment on the front has been White Heat Embossed with my personalised Artisan Design Team stamp on the back. The die cut stamped images were attached with Multi Purpose Liquid Adhesive and mini Dimensionals.

How creative are my fellow Artisan Design Team members!! Check out the awesome line up of stunning projects we have created to share with you on this Blog Hop. Be sure to follow the Hop all the way through for amazing idea's and inspiration using elements from the Needlepoint Nook Suite.

Up next in the Blog Hop is super talented Jennifer Picard with her fabulously stunning creations. Enjoy x

2019 Artisan Design Team Blog Roll

Angela Meiritz-Reid

Ashley Van Camp 

Aurélie Fabre  

Emma Goddard 

Jackie Aitken  - That's Me

Jennifer Picard 

Kaylee van Es 

Lauren Alarid 

Maike Beimler 

Manuela Geiswinkler 

Mikaela Titheridge 

 Narelle Farrugia 

Rochelle Blok 

Stesha Bloodhart 

Sylwia Schreck 

Tanya Rees 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I appreciate the time you have taken to visit my blog. If you live in Australia, you can purchase any of the items I have used to create today's projects in the product list below. Just click on the image and you will be taken directly to my Online Store. Happy Shopping.

Product List

Needle & Thread Photopolymer Bundle [150626] $80.00	Needlepoint Elements Framelits Dies [148541] $52.00
Needlepoint Nook 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [148807] $19.25	Needlepoint Nook A4 Cardstock Pack [148809] $14.75
Needlepoint Nook Mini Buttons [148810] $12.25	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies [148551] $61.00
Rose Trellis Thinlits Dies [148549] $49.00	Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack [144177] $19.25
Whisper White 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Flax Ribbon [148764] $12.25	Old Olive Linen Thread [148811] $8.75
A4 Glossy White Cardstock [144241] $13.50	Fresh Fig A4 Cardstock [144248] $14.75
Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] $17.00	Basic Black A4 Card Stock [121688] $14.75
Share What You Love Artisan Pearls [146927] $10.50	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad [147095] $13.00
Fresh Fig Classic Stampin' Pad [147144] $13.00	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad [147143] $13.00
Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [131157] $6.50	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [144089] $6.50
Stampin' Trimmer [129722] $50.00	Big Shot [143263] $159.00
Heat Tool [129056] $50.00	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132] $8.75

Stamping Sunday Blog Hop - Flowering Desert

Hello Crafty Friends,

Welcome to the Stamping Sunday Blog Hop for April. This month we are showcasing the Flowering Desert Stamp Set which can be found on Page 29 of the Occasions Catalogue. When I first laid eyes on this set I was in love, however, I have only recently take possession of it. After a quick play I was extremely impressed.

This stamp set is sooooo much fun! I loved making my cacti in different colours for really cute fun creations try some bright vivid colours.

I have a few cards to share with you today, designed for a variety of crafting levels - beginner, casual and avid. The first card I have to share is perfect for the beginner crafter - it has a fun colour combination, with the images stamped in Melon Mambo and Coastal Cabana.  The stamped images have been die cut with the Rectangular Stitched Shapes Framelits and adhered to the Coastal Cabana card base over a panel of Melon Mambo Brights DSP.

BEGINNER crafting level

The following two projects would make perfect cards for the casual crafter. Lemon Lime Twist Gingham Gala DSP was the inspiration for the next card. The images have been stamped in Lemon Lime Twist and Melon Mambo with a white heat embossed sentiment on Melon Mambo card stock to tie in with the layer behind the embossed card front.

For the CASUAL Crafter

The second card for the Casual Crafter, again features embossing, DSP, die cuts and heat embossed sentiments.

AVID Crafting Level

The Avid level creation that I have to share  features the large Cactus image surrounded by one of the sentiments from the stamp set.  The Flowering Desert has 16 photopolymer stamps, meaning the sentiments can be shaped to stamp however you wish them to appear. Using my stamparatus and circle die cut, I bent the stamp in a circular shape using the die cut as a guideline.

As simple as this card looks it has many elements that would appeal to the avid crafter - colour blocked die cut sun, circular sentiment, fussy cutting and the "inked" or drawn outline. Yes, I have hand drawn the black detail around the cactus and shrub. Just use a fine tipped ink marker and use the stamped image as your guide.

Casual - Avid

I have one more project to share that possibly fits perfectly between the casual to avid crafting level. It has a few stepped up techniques but not as many as in the Avid crafter card. Again, stamping that awesome sentiment "be your own kind of beautiful" in a circular shape with the images stamped in Flirty Flamingo and Berry Burst. My final card is a great in between for the casual and avid crafting levels. It has a few stepped up techniques but not as many as the first card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope I have inspired you to create some fun, bright cards with the awesome Flowering Desert Stamp Set. Be sure to follow the Blog Hop all the way through for even more inspiring ideas and creativity.

A participant list has been provided below. Up next in the Hop is the super talented Tami Hewlett with her stunning creations - Enjoy x

Until next time, stay awesome and stay crafty

One Stamp At A Time Blog Hop - Spring Fling

Hello Crafty Friends,

Welcome to this months One Stamp At A Time Blog Hop. You are currently visiting Jackie Aitken in Perth, Western Australia. This month the talented Design Team memeber will be sharing inspirational creations with a SPRING FLING Theme.

I have three cards to share with you today, all with floral stamped images created with the Incredible Like You Stamp Set (item #148708) which can be found in the Occasions Catalogue, Page 21. I love Spring, the weather is perfect for Wild Flower Blooms, which are jaw dropping sights here in Western Australia. To me nothing says spring more than Flowers.

All three cards have the same colour combination - Coastal Cabana, Highland Heather, Blushing Bride and Granny Apple Green.

The first card has been stamped in a circular pattern and then a Coastal Cabana doily applied before adding the stitched circle sentiment.

The second card has been stamped onto a piece of whisper white card stock that has been die cut with one of the large Rectangle Stitched Framelits. A panel of DSP from the How Sweet It Is DSP Pack has been added to the card base before attaching the card front.

The final card has a piece of Highland Heather card stock tilted on an angle and adhered to the card base with Tombow. Again, the images were stamped onto a die cut rectangle, with a Coastal Cabana Doily tucked in behind the stitched square and fussy cut sentiment.

That is all from me today crafty friends. Apologies for the short post. As this post goes live I will be holidaying in New Zealand with my family having just attended Onstage Live!! I've been busy packing and sorting all the things you sort when you are away for a few weeks. I am going to miss my fur babies and crafty space so very much!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and blog hopping with the One Stamp At A Time Team.  We appreciate the time you have invested to visit our blogs. Enjoy the rest of the hop by clicking on the list below all participants blog posts. Enjoy xx

One Stamp At A Time Blog Hop Participant List