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 

AddINKtive Designs - November - Pocket Card

Good Day Crafty Friends,

Hope you are having a fabulous day. I have a slightly different version of my Pocket Card to share with you all today. The base has been constructed using the Envelope Punch Board, just with the top chopped off slightly, creating a squarish version.

The front of the Pocket Card has been decorated to resemble a picket fence covered with flowers. The little fence was created using strips of whisper white card.

The Whisper White insert has had the top portion die cut using the Detailed Floral Thinlits. This panel was then adhered to another piece of Whisper White card exactly the same size and then the outer edge thinlit was used to cut both pieces.

The insert was then stamped with the sentiment from Stitched All Around stamp set in Highland Heather ink to coordinate with the flower adhered to the top left.

The Granny Apple Green die cut foliage has been created with the Petals and More Thinlits. The large die was cut twice and then snipped in several places to spread the pieces over the fence. All the flowers have been adhered with mini dimensionals.

This little pocket card has been created for someone who adores gardening and yes she has a white picket fence covered in Flowers. She also adores anything Watermelon related so I decided to include a handmade soap I created. 

I am totally addicted to Soap Making and am loving the challenge of coordinating my soapy creations with my paper, stamp and ink projects. I have been working with both natural and synthetic colourants to match the Stampin' Up! colour families and came super close to Granny Apple Green and a shade in between Flirty Flamingo and Melon Mambo for the Watermelon Soap Loaf.

How is your Festive Season preparations going? I ask because my next task after publishing this post is drag the Christmas decorations and Trees out. Is your tree up yet? Can you come and do mine lol. At least I can say my Christmas Card stash is almost ready for posting - yipeeeee! I will post photos of my loud, bright and Flamingo inspired Christmas decorations soon x

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

Just Add Ink #428 - Colour Combo

Good Day Crafty Friends,

Hope you are having a fabulous day. Welcome to Just Add Ink Challenge #428. This week we have a super fun, bright and cheerful colour combination to play along with: Pool Party, Lemon Lime Twist and Calypso Coral.

I have a stack of the Wood Textures DSP Pack left so thought I better start using some instead of admiring it from desk. I personally love it with any floral images and really wanted to give the First Frost stamp set a whirl in these colours.

I created a Folder Card - the Folder acts as an envelope/holder, the actual card slides out and is perfect for holding gift cards.

The floral images from First Frost have been inked in Pool Party and Calypso Coral with the leaves stamped in Lemon Lime Twist. To eliminate the bulk, no dimensionals have been used - just Tombow.

To finish the card, a few iridescent sequins have been added to the card front and some Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon to the Folder panel.

Be sure to stop by all the Just Add Ink Design Team members blogs for more inspiration with this weeks Just Add Texture challenge . We would love for you and your crafty friends to play along, if you have a blog you can add your card to the Just Add Ink gallery here. Don't have your own blog? No problem! Just send us an email to just-add-ink@hotmail.com with a photo attachment. We'll upload it to our challenge entry blog.

A product list has been provided below with all the items I have used to create this card. Click on the product images below to be taken to my Online Store.

Product List

First Frost Clear-Mount Stamp Set [148420] $38.00	Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack [144177] $19.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] $17.00	Whisper White 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon [146912] $13.00
Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad [147145] $13.00	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [147107] $13.00	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [147101] $13.00	Iridescent Sequin Assortment [144212] $8.75
Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755] $7.00

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

Country Home with Wood Textures

Hello Crafty Friends,

I hope you are having a great week.  Today's card is another using the fabulous new Country Home stamp set. It is also another quick and easy creation, enabling me to whip up a few in a short amount of time.

I have started with a Black Card Base, to which I have added a piece of Wood Textures DSP. The card front has been stamped twice (with a gap in between the two images). The stamped images were coloured using Stampin' Blends.

Before attaching the stamped card front to the DSP, I have used the criss cross stitched die from the Stitched Labels Framelits and then wrapped Black and White Bakers Twine in between the die cut lines.

The sentiment from the Country Home stamp set has been inked in Black, die cut using a frame from the Foliage Frame Framelits and then adhered it over the Bakers Twine using mini dimensionals.

Love this stamp set as much as I do? Click on the image above to be taken to my Online store.

Floral Frames with Tropical Chic

Good Day Crafty Friends,

A quick post today as I just wanted to share a couple of cards I thought I had shared already but on checking back through my Pinterest account, it seems I haven't.

The Floral Frames Bundle has so many elements. The stamp set and coordinating dies are gorgeous, I love the fonts of the sentiments and the framelits have stunning foliage dies.

The first card uses the large floral frame decorative framelit. I have die cut it from Whisper White card and attached to a card front that has been embossed with the Basket Weave Embossing Folder. The Frangipani flower, from Tropical Chic stamp set has been inked in Melon Mambo and Pineapple Punch. The stamped foliage is from Jar of Love stamp set and the Lemon Lime Twist die cut leaves were created using one of the many dies from Foliage Frames.

The second card was kept nice and simple with a subtle embossed background created using the Softly Falling Embossing Folder. The large floral frame image was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Ink and coloured using stamping blends. The extra black foliage from Jar of Love was fussy cut and tucked behind the frame.

The third card again uses the large floral die cut from Whisper White card. The Frangipani flowers were inked in Pineapple Punch and then the centre sponged with Flirty Flamingo ink. The background has been embossed with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder and then a panel of Wood Textures DSP. A strip of Pineapple Punch card was adhered to the Wood Textures DSP to coordinate with the matt layer under the card front.

These cards were all very easy and fast to create thanks to the wonderful Floral Foliage Frames bundle and some embossing folders.

Until next time, stay awesome, stay organised and stay crafty

There are only a few days left to take advantage of the amazing Stampin' Up! ink pad promotion. If you have ever thought about joining Stampin' Up!, now is the time. Not only do you get all the normal joining benefits, until the end of July 2018 you also get a set of 10 Ink Pads for FREE. Join now and remain a demonstrator until Jan 2019 without paying another cent. If you are interested in this amazing opportunity but have further questions, feel free to email me here and I will be happy to answer any queries you may have.

ESAD DSP Promotion Blog Hop

Good Day Crafty Friends,

Welcome to the ESAD Designer Series Paper Promotion Blog Hop! You are currently visiting Jackie Aitken in Western Australia. If you are following the hop you may have arrived here having visited Peta Stephen.

The Buy 3 Get 1 Free DSP Promotion is such a great way to increase your DSP stash.  The Annual Catalogue is full of stunning patterned papers and this promotion enables you to grab some of the DSP packs that may have been on your wish list.

I have a few cards to share using two of the selected packs in the DSP promotion -  Tropical Escape and Wood Textures. The first two cards are the same design - gift card holders. The actual card slips out of the folder and opens to reveal a space for a gift card.

Thick Whisper White card works best for the card folder base. Wood Textures DSP has been added to the card folder flap and then ribbon is used to secure the flap closed. The card front has had the same piece of DSP added so the lines in the wood grains matched the piece on the folded flap.

The embellished cluster has been created using a combination of stamps and framelits: cake soiree, tropical chic, foliage frames and stitched labels. I left the sentiment for the inside of the card.

The second card in this design uses a smaller panel of DSP from the Tropical Escape 6x6 DSP Pack. A strip of Black and White DSP has been added to the folded flap for this card. The ribbon used to secure the fold closed has had two sponged feathers added with bakers twine. The stamps and framelits used to create the cluster in the right hand corner are fairly much the same as the first card.

I have used Coastal Cabana and Lemon Lime Twist as I love the contrast with the Black and White DSP.

The next card uses the Wood Textures DSP to create a frame.  The new Stitched Season Framelits were used to create the detailed stitched frame. The Shimmery White Card has been sponged using a mask created with the negative die. The stamped floral image from the new Blended Seasons stamp set were coloured using Stampin' Blends and adhered over the frame with mini dimensionals.  

This limited edition bundle is only available to customers during the month of August 2018. Make sure to order during this period to avoid disappointment of missing out.

My favourite DSP Pack that is part of this Buy 3 Get 1 Free Promotion is Tropical Escape. I love the tropical theme and the colours are right up my alley. Here is a few cards I created with only 12 of the 48 sheets that come in this pack of deliciousness.

I also mixed in a few pieces of the Wood Textures DSP along with the Tropical Escape DSP to create these ten cards. For more details on these sets of cards, you can check out the details in an earlier post here.

That's all from me today. Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate you and time you have invested to read my blog post.

Up next in the ESAD DSP Promotion Blog Hop is talented Rebecca Scurr. You can use the arrow button or the Blog Hop participant list below to navigate your way through the hop. Enjoy the creativity and inspiration and please leave the talented folk Blog Hopping, a comment for sharing their crafty projects with us all. 

Blog hop participant list:

1. Lou Kitzelman

2. Kelly Kent

3. Rochelle Blok

4. Fi Cobbin

5. Delys Cram

6. Sharon Dalton

7. Kim Oliver

8. Siobhan Fitzsimmons

9. Nicole Wilson

10. Peta Stephen

11. Jackie Aitken

12. Rebecca Scurr

13. Narelle Fasulo

14. Barbara Williams

15. Maree McIntosh

16. Libby Dyson

17. Cheryll Miller

18. Denise Buetler

19. Mandy Depiazzi

Until next time, stay awesome, stay organised and stay crafty