Stamping Sunday Blog Hop - Favourite Retiring

Good Day Crafty Friends,

Welcome to the Stamping Sunday Blog Hop for May. This talented group of Designers hop once a month on the second Sunday. This month we are celebrating our FAVOURITE RETIRING items with a farewell Hop.

Its always a sad of time of year in the Stampin' Up! world, as we wave goodbye to favourite in colours, stamp sets and DSP. This year saw a lot of my favourites get the chop which made it hard to chose just one. I decided the bundle I would miss the most is Floral Frames. I adore the fonts, the framed die cut but most of all, I just love the foliage framelits.

I love to create my own backgrounds using fun techniques like Polished Stone. I will miss the Glossy Paper immensely so decided to incorporate it in today's creations.

This post is dedicated to the coolest bundle of 2019 - R.I.P. Floral Frames - may you rest well on my bookshelf.

I made two sets of cards using two different sheets of Glossy Paper. The first sheet had Stampin' Blends literally scribbled all over the paper in pink tones. The second sheet was a little more dramatic, using the wood grain technique by swiping the ink pads across the Glossy Paper with blue and purple tones. To blend the colours I spritzed with rubbing alcohol which had a few drops of Blushing Bride reinker added.

For these two pinky toned creations, I have started with an embossed card front using a Brick wall stencil (item #144103) and embossing paste (item #141979). The Stitched Shapes (item #145372)  framelits were used to die cut the sentiments from the Floral Frames Stamp Set. The floral images were stamped on the same sheet of Glossy Paper the die cuts are made from, die cut and added to the card with mini dimenionals (item #144108).

The next set of projects have utilised the second sheet of Glossy Cardstock with the blue and purple tones. I have kept the stamping simple with black ink directly on top of the Glossy card.

A few black elements have been such a ribbon, die cuts, ink splatters and sequins as it really pops against the purpley-blue tones and ties in nicely with the plain black stamped images and sentiments.

The panel on the left hand side of this card shows what the glossy sheet looked like before I stamped and die cut it. As you can see, it doesn't have to be perfect, especially when using for die cuts.

I just adore this little decorative die cut and had to use one for this simply decorated box. Again, using the purple-blue tones for the die cuts and flirty flamingo ribbon. The stamped frame was coloured with Stampin' Blends.

That's it from me today. I hope I have inspired you to get into your crafty space and show some of your favourite retiring or retired stamp sets some love by inking them up and making someone you love a handmade creation from the heart.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be sure to follow the Hop all the way through for loads of creative and inspirational projects that the Stamping Sunday Blog Hop Design Team have to share with you.

Blog Hop Participant List








You can find the items I used to create today's creations in my Online Store by clicking on the images in the Product List below. Happy Shopping x

Product List

Floral Frames Clear-Mount Bundle [148406] $75.50	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372] $50.00
A4 Glossy White Cardstock [144241] $13.50	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $10.00
Light Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends Marker [147031] $7.75	Petal Pink Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [147272] $15.50
Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad [147097] $13.00	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad [147103] $13.00
Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [131157] $6.50	Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [144108] $6.00
Pattern Party Decorative Masks [144103] $10.00	Embossing Paste [141979] $11.50
Black/Silver 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Striped Metallic Ribbon [148486] $12.25	Metallics Sequin Assortment [144214] $8.75
Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker [100082] $6.00

Stamping Sunday Blog Hop - Amazing Life

Good Day Crafty Friends,

Welcome to February's Stamping Sunday Blog Hop. You are currently visiting Jackie Aitken in Western Australia. If you are following the Hop, you will have arrived here having just visited super talented Tami Hewlett, and prior to that, Cheryll Miller and Sara Levin.  

This month the talented Design Team are showcasing the "Amazing Life" Stamp Set. Such a versatile set with both large and small sentiments plus a few super cute images that tie in perfectly with the greetings. And in case you weren't aware, this is the Stamp Set that coordinates with the adorable Stitched Rectangle Framelit Dies.

This year the Stamping Sunday Design Team will be doing things a little different. Some of us will still continue with the usual format of card and 3D project, others will take on the new challenge theme of creating projects for the Beginner, Casual and Avid crafters.

I absolutely adore anything with stitching and when I saw the Amazing Life Stamp Set it was instant love.  The stitched detailing on the flower and clover are ever so sweet and look right at home when using any form of stitched framelits.

I have chosen to use the fun birthday cake image for all three cards, with the beginners version featuring just this and the fun greeting "Life's too short to say no to cake".

Supplies: Whisper White Card Base, Tuxedo Memento Black Ink, Daffodil Delight and Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends.

Nothing can be simpler and yet more effective than an image repetitively stamped to create a basic background for a card. The birthday cake from Amazing Life stamp set has been stamped multiple times onto a Whisper White Card Base in Black Ink.  The teeniest bit of colour has been added with a few Stampin' Blends to the word "cake" and on the candles. Nothing a beginner could not handle. 

Please don't assume all beginner stampers cannot do a particular technique, they possibly just need to be reminded they have the skill or may have learnt something similar in a different craft and are just being shown a different version/way which they are not familiar with. 

Supplies: Whisper White Card Base, Flirty Flamingo, Whisper White and Black Card Stock, Tuxedo Memento Black Ink, White Heat Emboss Powder, Mini Dimensionals, Smoky Slate & Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends.

Adding an embossed card front is a great way to provide texture and interest without being too time consuming. DSP is another great way to "step it up" by adding layers and coordinating patterns/designs. I decided to take it right back to basics and design a card that is quick to replicate, and even enabled some of the colouring and construction to be done outside the craft room.

I stamped a whole heap of the birthday cake images onto panels of whisper white card stock and was able to colour them with two Stampin' Blends while waiting in between appointments, at the hairdressers etc.  This panel has been cut down and then layered with a panel of Blushing Bride and then Black Card Stock.To finish the card a simple White Heat Embossed sentiment has been die cut with the coordinating Stitched Rectangle framelits and added with mini dimensionals.

Next up is a creation for the Avid Level card maker.

Supplies: Whisper White Card Base, Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Black Card Stock, White Heat Emboss Powder, Tropical Chic DSP Pack, Smoky Slate & Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends.

The card I have created for the Avid Crafter definitely is a case of having time not necessarily that any components of the card are difficult to create. The Pocket Card requires an Envelope Punch Board, DSP, Colouring and Fussy Cutting. Again, the fussy cutting I was able to complete while "on the go" - not necessarily something you have to be confined to a craft room table to complete.

I love Pocket Cards, they are such a fun way to give the recipient a keepsake while giving a gift card that gets thrown away after its all used. 

Supplies: Whisper White Card Base, Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Black Card Stock, White Heat Emboss Powder, Tropical Chic DSP Pack, Smoky Slate & Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends.

I made an extra card for the Avid Crafting Level - A sponged shaker card. Again, nothing difficult or any amazing new techniques, just some time and possibly spreading it over a couple of crafting sessions, as I like to let my sponging completely dry overnight before I touch it and leave fingerprints on the sponged area or all over what was once nice clean whisper white card stock.

Supplies: Whisper White, Shimmer White Card Stock, Metallic Sequins, White Embossing Powder, Melon Mambo, Flirty Flamingo Ink, sponges. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Up next in the Blog Hop is Ashley Fifer with her stunning and creative projects. Be sure to follow the Hop all the way through for loads of wonderful inspiration using the Amazing Life Stamp Set. The Stamping Sunday Design Team are so amazingly diverse with their creations so there is sure to be something that tickles everyone's fancy - we may even convince you to purchase the Amazing Life Stamp Set if you haven't already.

Participant Blog Hop List







Thanks so much for stopping by today, we appreciate the time you have taken to visit our blogs. Until next time stay awesome and stay crafty

Tea Together

Hello Crafty Friends,

Hope you all are keeping well. How is your festive season preparations going? I am so far behind it feels like we are not going to be having a Christmas at all. We have the tree and decorations up but with work being so full on at the moment, I feel as if I haven't had time to enjoy the lead up. Last year was so special with my Mum visiting from New Zealand, we were hyped and ready by mid November lol.

I did manage to post all my Christmas cards off yesterday. Can you believe it took me a full day just to write the inserts for 57 cards!! So with that done, I put away the Christmas stamps and opened up my new box goodies.

Ohhhlalala what a delightful box of fabulousness!!! As Demonstrators, we get to preorder products from upcoming catalogues. January 2019 is the release of the Occasions Catalogue and its also SALE-A-BRATION time!!! You are going to love this years Sale-a-bration items. Even more items have been included that coordinate with products in both the Occasions and Annual catalogues.

An example of this is the Tea Together stamp set - Page 49 of the Occasions Catalogue. It has coordinating framelits that can be earned during Sale-a-bration. Todays card uses both the Tea Together stamp set and the Tea Time Framelit Dies - Page 17 of Sale-a-bration brochure.

Both cards also use pieces of Botanical Butterfly DSP which is also a SAB item. The first card has the diagonal striped panel running down the left hand side and the black and white butterfly DSP die cut using the Tea Pot framelit. Before adhering the Tea Pot to the Whisper White card front, I gave it a little flick with a Basic Black Stampin' Write marker. 

The Whisper White card front was then lined with a panel of black and then Gold Foil before adhering to the diagonal striped DSP with Tombow. I have then attached this to a Black card base.

Gold Metallic Thread has been tucked behind the Tea Pot with a few Gold Glitter hearts and Epoxy Heart Droplets were added. A panel of vellum has been Gold Heat Embossed with a sentiment and adhered with Tombow and a sponge. 

The second card uses another panel of the diagonal striped DSP, this time I have teamed it with the floral images from the Tea Together stamp set. I did borrow the sentiment from another stamp set - Country Home.

Pink toned Stampin' Blends were used to colour the petals and Soft Sea Foam for the leaves. Silver Glitter foliage has also been added between the layering of the floral elements (I couldn't help myself lol)

I absolutely adore the floral images in this stamp set and the Mothers Day sentiments, I cannot wait to use the large statement stamp for my Mumma's MD card next year. That sounds so distant but in reality, next year is just around the corner.....eeekkkk!! Almost time for me to start my journey on the 2019 Artisan Design Team.

I am excited beyond words to start my year with the Talented 2019 ADT crew, they are all such lovely ladies and I am so happy to be sharing this experience with them all. They are all deserving and amazingly inspirational woman. Be sure to join us in 2019 as we overcome our nerves lol and share what we all love - creating with amazing Stampin' Up! products.

As the new team is about to start their tenure, the 2018 Artisan Design Team are winding down with possibly there last Blog Hop for the year. Thank You to the 2018 ADT, your creations throughout this year were amazing, with so much creativity, inspiration, colour, diversification, tips, encouragement and support. Big thanks to Susan Wong and Jennifer Frost for encouraging me to apply for 2019. You ladies along with a few others had more faith in my skills than I did lol Forever grateful for this opportunity!!! Just hope I do not disappoint.

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

Signs of Santa - Masking

Good Day Crafty Friends,

I hope you are having a great day. My Christmas card collection is growing fast, thanks to the Signs of Santa stamp set, I am pumping them out.

Today's card uses lots of masking to achieve Santa's and Mrs Claus huge posse of helpers. I started by stamping the elf in one corner and working my way along the bottom of the card front and then behind.

The images have been stamped and coloured using Stampin' Blends in: Cherry Cobbler, Flirty Flamingo, Bermuda Bay, Highland Heather and Granny Apple Green.

Before adhering the card front to the base, I trimmed it down slightly and stamped the sentiments. Two strips of Brights DSP in lovely lipstick were adhered to the card base with Tombow. A thin strip of Black card has been adhered to the card front before adhering to the base.

The Signs of Santa stamp set (below) is part of a large suite which includes: dies, DSP, Memories and More cards, enamel shapes, twine, rhinestones ribbon and the cutest little Santa Sacks. Be sure to make your christmas crafting easy with coordinated products like this cute suite or one of the others in the new HOLIDAY catalogue.

Thanks for stopping by today, until next time, stay awesome and stay crafty

Colour INKspiration #41 - Regals - Country Home

Good Day Crafty Friends,

Welcome to Colour INKspiration #41. You are currently visiting Jackie Aitken in Western Australia. If you are following the Blog Hop you may have arrived here having visited super creative, Tanya Bell.

Stampin' Up! ® has just had a major colour revamp so to start off the new catalogue year at Colour INKspiration we've decided to feature a Colour Collection for the first challenge each month (2nd Wednesday) until we have showcased them all! The second challenge in the month (4th Wednesday) will be a Pinterest inspired pic as per usual just to mix it up a bit. This month we are playing with the brights COLLECTION and you can choose any 3 colours from that range for your challenge project. We are also changing the rules about what else you can add to the mix; essentially just the Basics - Whisper White, Very Vanilla and Basic Black as well as metallics.

This fortnight's challenge colours are any three from the Regal's Colour Family. If I am honest, the Regals colour family is the collection I use the least, so this was a huge challenge for me. 

I created a few projects for this colour challenge using the new Country Home stamp set. The first is a set of gift tags - the right has little balls of cotton wool pulled from a cotton bud and adhered with Tombow.

The stamped images have been coloured using Stampin' Blends in the following colours: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry and Pumpkin Pie, in addition the jug was with Smoky Slate. An Old Olive doily has been added to a whisper white stitched die cut before adhering the stamped images with mini dimensionals. 

Below are the two cards and two gift tags created for this fortnights challenge.

The card below has a Thick Whisper White card base with a matching frame - created by extending square framelits. The Shaded Spruce inner frame was created the same way.

The Country Home image has been stamped and coloured using Stampin' Blends in: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry and Pumpkin Pie. The image was then given a light splash of ink with a Pumpkin Pie marker. To finish the card, a strip of whisper white card has been lined with Gold Foil card stock and placed over the gap between the two stamped images. A panel of vellum has been gold heat embossed with the sentiment, which has been tucked under the frame.

The last creation is a Folder Card or that is what I am calling them lol. The folder part is just a piece of Old Olive card stock, folded and decorated with a piece of DSP (also used on card front) and Old Olive and Polka Dot ribbons.  

This also acts as the envelope when gifting in person. The card itself is a side folded piece of Thick Whisper White card stock.  The card front has a piece of Tropical Escape DSP lined with strips of Gold Glitter card. The images from Country Home has again been coloured using Stampin' Blends, fussy cut and adhered with mini dimensionals.

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. 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.

Up next in this fortnights Colour INKspiration Blog Hop is Narelle Farrugia with her stunning creation. Thanks for stopping by today, we appreciate the time you have invested to hop with us today x

Until next time, stay awesome and stay crafty