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

Stampin' Up! Corporate Blog Post March - Needlepoint Nook

Good Day Crafty Friends,

I am super excited to share my first ever blog post for Stampin' Up!. As Artisan, one of the assignments the Design Team members are asked to complete is a corporate blog post which Stampin' Up! publish on their Facebook Page. You can find these inspirational posts from the Artisan Design Team in the notes section.

Here is my post that went live on the 15th of April ........

Needlepoint Spool Cards 

I was super excited when I saw all the elements in the Needlepoint Nook Suite, it instantly reminded me of my Oma and her love for crafts created with thread and wool. It conjured memories of my childhood, sitting in her “loom room” chatting while she spun wool or listening to the pedal shifts on the loom while I tried my hand at cross stitch or knitting.  I specifically remember the many drawers filled with old fashioned wooden spools wrapped tightly with embroidery thread. My Oma would have loved these spool shaped card projects I hope to inspire you with today. 

The Needle & Thread Stamp Set (item 148724) has such realistic embroidery stitched images, one could be fooled into thinking you have stitched some intricate patterns and floral arrangements right onto the card front.  Even more marvelous are the coordinating Needlepoint Elements Framelit Dies (item 148541), no fussy cutting required and four of the twelve framelits are embossing dies - how fabulous is that!

All four cards have the same card base design and showcase the fun patterns and colour combinations in the Needlepoint Nook Design Series Paper (item 148807).  The spool shape has been created using the Envelope Punch Board (item 133774) and a regular sized tent fold card that has been punched at 1 3/8" from the top and bottom on all sides, then using a Stampin' Trimmer (item 129722) to cut away the remaining section in between the two notches.

After creating the spool card bases, each of the four cards have been lined with a wood theme designer series paper either from the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper  (#144177) or  Floral Romance Specialty DSP (item 148632) . Over the top of the wood, a panel of the Needlepoint Nook DSP has been added before decorating with various ribbons and twines.  

The first card has a faux embroidery hoop created using the Layering Circles Framelits (item 141705) with the outer edge or hoop rim made from the Wood Textures DSP. Fussy cut images from the Needlepoint Nook DSP have been added to the inside of the hoop with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (item 144108). Old Olive Linen Thread (item 148811) has been wrapped around the wooden peg image from the Crafting Forever Stamp Set (item 143958) The scissors are also from this stamp set, with both images coloured using Stampin' Blends and fussy cut. To finish the card a couple of wooden embellishments and a white bakers twine bow have been added. 

For the next card, the little cross stitch stamp from the Needle & Thread stamp set has been white heat embossed directly onto the Wood Textures DSP before adding the panel of Highland Heather Needlepoint Nook DSP. The pretty detail behind the DSP panel has been created from Sparkle Glimmer Paper (item 146957) with the border thinlit die from the Doily Builder Thinlit Dies (item 148553).  Old Olive Linen Thread has been wrapped around the centre of the card base to coordinate with the bow. The Needlepoint Nook Mini Buttons (item 148810) are soooo cute, I had to add one to the top of the bow.  I have added a few Glitter Enamel Dots (item 146934) to the centre of the stamped floral images.

The third card front has been embossed with the Needlepoint Elements Framelit Dies before the panel of Night of Navy Needlepoint Nook DSP has been adhered. Pineapple Punch 1/8” Grosgrain Ribbon (item 146953) has been used to decorate this card with simple knot ties exposed on the front. The sentiment has been heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder (item 109132) using a Heat Tool (item 129056)

The final card has been stacked with the stamped embroidery images and finished with a Happy Mothers Day sentiment from the Tea Together Stamp Set (item 148779) which has been die cut using the Stitched Labels Framelits (item 146828).  

Have fun and experiment with different types of ribbons and twines, varied widths, colours and textures. Or replace the ribbon/thread with paper trims. And try changing up how you wrap them – ombre colours, knots or bows, straight or angled etc. 

Thanks so much for letting me share my creations with you today. I hope I have inspired you to have a go at creating these Spool Cards. Thanks for stopping by today, until next time, stay crafty x 

Colour INKspiration #50

Good Day Crafty Friends,

Welcome to the Colour INKspiration Challenge #50 Blog Hop. I am so excited as this is the first Colour INKspiration challenge for me in a few months and there are loads of new and awesome changes since I last hopped. New Design Team members - yipeeee! The more talented faces the merrier I say! And thanks to our very amazing DT crew member Rose, we have a new look with a gorgeous colourful banner and new watermarks. Thanks, Rose!!

This fortnight we have an absolutely gorgeous inspiration picture and colour combination for you to play along with - Blueberry Bushel, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Sahara Sand and Mango Melody. 

When I first glanced at these colours I was a little stumped as to what stamp set I should use as so many in my collection are floral and none were speaking to me when I browsed the shelves for some inspiration. I decided to revert to card stock which I often do when playing along with colour challenges. Panels of Blueberry Bushel, Bermuda Bay, Sahara Sand and Mango Melody card stock have been adhered to a whisper white card front which was then adhered to a tent fold Thick Whisper White card base.

Once I had the card front sorted, I decided I would ink up a florally type stamp set after all! Today's card features the stunning Needle & Thread Stamp Set and coordinating framelit dies. I just adore the realistic embroidery images this stamp set produces and couldn't wait to get it inky again for this challenge.

The Needlepoint Elements Framelit Dies has a gorgeous embossing die, which I have used over the four coloured panels for an added bit of interest before adhering the clustered stamped elements.

The images from the Needle & Thread Stamp Set have been stamped in Coastal Cabana, Blueberry Bushel, and Mango Melody inks and adhered to the card front with mini dimensionals and foam strips. I personally think a slight variation in height of the stamped images provides added interest to this fairly clean and simple design. 

To finish the card a few Coastal Cabana Glitter Enamel Dots have been added plus a little Silver/Whisper White Bakers Twine bow just below the white heat embossed "Thank You".  Nothing too bold or distracting, just something to draw the eye to the embossed detail on the card front and the sentiment.

That is all from me today and I am the lucky last hopper in today's Blog Hop. INKspired to join the challenge? It's so easy. Firstly, get some INKspiration by hopping around to see what all of the Colour INKspiration Crew have to show you. Then you have 12 days from today to make and upload your creation to the Facebook Colour INKspiration Group. You don't have to have a blog to participate but if you do you can link back to your post. Make sure you use all of the challenge colours. You can also use Whisper White, Very Vanilla and Basic Black as well as Metallic s. Not a member of the Facebook group yet? Just click here and ask to join Colour INKspiration, add the group to your favourites and share it with your crafty friends so they can join in the fun too. We can't wait to see what you create with these gorgeous colours.

If you have missed any of the creative and inspirational idea's shared in today's hop, be sure to head back to the beginning and start with Rebecca Scurr by clicking on the next button below.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Until next time, stay awesome and stay crafty

You can find all the products used to create the card shared in today's post in the product list below. If you live in Australia, you can click on the images to be taken directly to my online store. Happy Shopping x

Product List

Needle & Thread Photopolymer Stamp Set [148724] $37.00	Needlepoint Elements Framelits Dies [148541] $52.00
Big Shot [143263] $159.00	Heat Tool [129056] $50.00
White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132] $8.75	Versamark Pad [102283] $15.75
Stamparatus [148187] $85.00	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] $13.50
Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay [131286] $14.75	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock [121695] $14.75
Mango Melody A4 Cardstock [147013] $14.75	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock [146991] $14.75
Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad [147097] $13.00	Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad [147093] $13.00
Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad [147138] $13.00	Glitter Enamel Dots [146934] $12.25
Silver Baker’S Twine [145569] $7.00