Heart of Christmas - Week 4

Hi there

Welcome to Week 4 of Heart of Christmas with the  Art with Heart Stampin' Up! team. I can't believe we are into week 4 already!

This week I'm focussing on the new Mercury Glass Designer Acetate that is on page 33 of the Holiday Catalogue (bottom right corner).  It has 2 sheets each of 2 designs; one is more of a crackle paint design, which I'm using on my card and the other is more of a traditional bubbly look of mercury glass. Both are are a lovely shiny silver, so have a big wow factor on your project.

First up, I need to say that it is really difficult to do justice to this product as it is extremely difficult to photograph, with the reflection off the acetate. Without the light, you don't really appreciate the lovely shiny silver colour, but then it is difficult to see as well.

I wanted to keep my layout clean, to let the Mercury Glass Designer Acetate be the hero. My base card is Pretty Peacock Peacock and then I added a layer of Whisper White to sit the acetate on. I think white really shows up the design, but it does also look quite dramatic directly over rich colours too. I just added a couple of strips of double-sided tape to the centre of the acetate where it would not be seen behind the label. Another thing to know, is that there is a film over one side of the acetate which is quite difficult to see, but may become apparent when you cut it. If it doesn't start lifting after being cut, it is probably easier to leave it, rather than scratch the acetate trying to find it.

I've used the large label from the Stitched Labels Dies to provide a background for my greeting from the new Itty Bitty Christmas stamp set. This is a fabulous set of 18 stamps in various sizes and fonts that should have your Christmas greetings covered. I've stamped it in Pretty Peacock and cropped it with a stitched oval from the Stitched Shapes Dies before popping up on the Silver Glimmer and then popping up onto the label. There is lots of dimension and plenty of bling to this card! The label sits over a band of Pretty Peacock trimmed in more Silver Glimmer. I finished with a white Baker's Twine bow and bling around the label.

For the inside, I have kept it very simple with a Silver Foil mat to my while writing panel. I added a narrow strip of Silver Glimmer at the base to ground the smaller of the ornaments from the Christmas Gleaming stamp set. I've heat embossed it in white on Perfect Peacock card stock.  

All of the new products from the Holiday Catalogue are now available in my Online Store.  If you don't have your own copy of the new Holiday Catalogue yet, then head to my 'Free Catalogues' page (tab at the top of the page) to register your details and I'll pop one in the post for  you.

Project Details
Stamps	Christmas Gleaming, Itty Bitty Christmas
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Perfect Peacock, Silver Foil, Silver Glimmer, Mercury Glass Designer Acetate
Ink	Pretty Peacock, Versamark
Accessories	Silver Metallic Edge Ribbon, White Baker's Twine, Rhinestones
Tools	Layering Ovals Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Stitched Labels Dies, Big Shot, Gleaming Ornaments Punch Pack, Dimensionals, White EP, Heat gun

 

Make sure you check out the inspiring projects from the other ladies participating tonight. Head over to Claire's blog for the links.

Thanks for visiting today!

CASE-ing the Catty - Let it Snow Suite

Hi there

Welcome to another week of CASE-ing the Catty!

If you've come from looking at the lovely project on Michelle's blog, then welcome! If you're visiting me, I appreciate you stopping by today!  You can continue your journey to see the other inspiring creations from the CTC Crew by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the post. 

This week, we're taking our inspiration from the Let it Snow Suite on pages 18-23 of the Holiday Catalogue.  

I've taken my inspiration from the card above, using the cute Yummy Christmas stamp set. I love colouring, so this set jumped out at me straight way, plus, the image is just so darn cute! 

I started by stamping and colouring the gingerbread house with my Stampin' Blends Alcohol markers. The first thing I had to decide was which red and green shades to use. I had in mind to use the Wrapped in Plaid Specialty Designer Paper, so I chose Shaded Spruce for the green. It is a nice vibrant green for Christmas and pairs well with Real Red. I wanted to create a little scene, so I did a watercolour wash on Shimmery White card stock for the background to help ground the images. I started with Crumb Cake at the bottom, Shaded Spruce in the middle and Balmy Blue at the top. Once this was dry I used the retired Pattern Party Decorative Masks and the Shimmery White Embossing Paste to add some clouds, which are lovely and sparkly, although not really showing well in the photo.

The art panel is very dimensional with the gingerbread house and lots of other elements popped up at different heights. I added another fussy cut bow on the wreath and popped up another gingerbread man on the house, as he was getting a bit lost. I kept adding elements until I was happy with the scene and it kind of turned into a labour of love!  For the greeting I stamped the 'wishing you a .... Christmas' in Shaded Spruce and cropped it with a stitched circle from the Stitched Shapes Dies. It cleverly comes as a single stamp with the space in between so you can add the 'happy' or 'yummy' in another colour and being photopolymer it is super easy to line up. I stamped the 'yummy' on a scrap and then fussy cut it and popped it up between the words. You can see I added lots of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter with a glue pen for more sparkle.

For the inside I have a Real Red mat for my writing panel and I added a leftover strip of the designer paper at the base. I stamped the greeting from the #Elfie stamp set in Shaded Spruce and added some coloured and fussy cut images in the corner.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Yummy Christmas, #Elfie
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Shaded Spruce, Real Red, Shimmery White, Red Glimmer, Wrapped In Plaid Specialty DSP
Ink	Memento Espresso Truffle, Shaded Spruce, Real Red
Accessories	Dazzling Diamonds Glitter
Tools	Well Written Dies,Stitched Shapes Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue, Stampin' Blends (Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Shaded Spruce, Daffodil Delight), Glue Pen, 1 1/2" Circle Punch, Pattern Party Decorative Masks (retired)

If you would like your own copy of the 2019-20 Annual Catalogue or the new Holiday Catalogue, then leave your details over on my Free Catalogues page.

Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see what Siobhan has to inspire you this week. 

We would love you to join us with your CASE this week, using our Facebook group. Click on this link or the image below to go there. The first time you will need to click on the 'Join Group' button at the top. Once you have been added to the group, you can go ahead and post your creation and you do not need to have a blog. 

I hope you've enjoyed my project inspired by a card layout and thanks for visiting me today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

Brightly Gleaming & Dashing Deer

Hi there

I'm just popping in with a quick post today to show you another alternative for the layout I used in this weeks Heart of Christmas post. In the lead up to the holiday season, my intention is to make 2 of every card while I have everything on my craft desk and remember all the measurements!

I have kept the layout of the beautiful Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Paper exactly the same, but this time I've used last years favourite Detailed Deer Dies as the embellishment. I have cut the leaping deer twice, once  in Crumb Cake card stock and the other in Copper Glimmer paper from last years retired Joyous Noel Glimmer Paper. I adhered the 2 die cuts together to make it more robust as I've popped him up on the stitched oval and left the antlers free. 

I've dry embossed a piece of thick Very Vanilla card stock  with the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder and die cut it on an angle with the largest oval from the Stitched Shapes Dies. It provides a neutral background so all the detail of the deer can be appreciated. I added an eye with a 2mm rhinestone, coloured with an alcohol marker and a sweet bow in the retired vanilla and copper 1/8" Tea Room ribbon. The embellishment has been placed on the left this time as it suits the direction of the deer and the die cut greeting from the Jolly Season Dies is on the right. This version is simpler and quicker for creating multiples as it doesn't have the stamping, colouring and fussy cutting but still has lots of wow factor.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Christmas Gleaming
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Copper Foil, Brightly Gleaming Specialty DSP, Copper Glimmer (retired Joyous Noel Glimmer)
Ink	Night of Navy
Accessories	Tea Room Ribbon Combo Pack (retired)
Tools	Jolly Season Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Detailed Deer Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue

 

I also want to let you know about the Designer Paper Pomotion running now until 30 September.  When you buy 3 packs, you get the 4th FREE. Here is the list of designs you have to choose from:

The very popular Magnolia Lane, Bird Ballad and Come Sail Away are included and even the more expensive Pressed Petals Specialty pack. If the Pressed Petals Specialty DSP is on your list then make sure you add it to your order as the 4th item, so you will get the most expensive pack for FREE! Why not get together with a friend and share the cost and the free pack too! Pressed Petals is a lighter weight paper, so perfect for layering without bulk. I used it on this card and compendium I created.

You can see all of the papers on sale in a special section in my Online Store or check out this video from Stampin' Up! that shows you both sides of each design in full 12 x 12 size for each pack. 

If you have queries about any of my projects or anything Stampin' Up! related, then please get in touch. I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

Heart of Christmas - Week 3

Hi there

Welcome to Week 3 of Heart of Christmas with the  Art with Heart Stampin' Up! team. This week I have the pleasure of hosting the other lovely ladies from the team who are sharing their Christmas inspiration.

Well, today is the day!  The fabulous Holiday Catalogue is now LIVE and all products are available for customers to order.  Waiting patiently for the BBB (big brown box) to arrive with your new goodies is always hard. I've got my fingers crossed that Australia Post will be kind to you! 

This week I've used products from the gorgeous Brightly Gleaming Suite for my card.  The copper accented designer paper and the coordinating products make it easy to create holiday projects you will love.

I started with a Very Vanilla card base and then added 2 coordinating designs from the Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Paper. The Pretty Peacock and Night of Navy filigree design is on the reverse of the copper accented diamond pattern. I added a narrow band of Copper Foil to separate the two designs. The greeting was cropped with a die from the Jolly Seasons Dies, also in Copper Foil.

For my embellishment, I started with a piece of thick Very Vanilla and dry embossed it with the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder before cropping it with a stitched oval from the Stitched Shapes Dies. My ornament was punched from Copper Foil that has been embossed with the fabulous new Hammered Metal 3D Embossing Folder. To make it more ornament-like, I used the retired 1/8" handheld punch to create the hole at the top. It is easier if you punch the hole first and then position your ornament punch accordingly.

The lovely holly image is from the Christmas Gleaming stamp set and I've coloured it with Stampin' Blends using Light Mossy Meadow for the base (as it is the green in the paper) and then used Dark Old Olive for shading and some Light Old Olive in the centre to lighten it up a bit. The berries are in Cherry Cobbler for a pop of colour.  I fussy cut it right on the line as I didn't want any of the Whisper White base to show. I finished with a bow using the retired 1/8" copper edged vanilla ribbon. 

For the inside, I have kept it very simple with a narrow strip of the Pretty Peacock and Night of Nay filigree design down the sides. I stamped the filigree border in Night of Navy ink at the bottom of the Very Vanilla writing panel and then trimmed each side with a narrow band of Copper Foil. The Stamparatus made lining up the border so easy with the step-stamping feature.

All of the new products from the Holiday Catalogue are now available in my Online Store.  If you don't have your own copy of the new Holiday Catalogue yet, then head to my 'Free Catalogues' page (tab at the top of the page) to register your details and I'll pop one in the post for  you.

Project Details
Stamps	Christmas Gleaming
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Copper Foil, Brightly Gleaming Specialty DSP
Ink	Memento Espresso Truffle, Night of Navy
Accessories	Tea Room Ribbon Combo Pack (retired)
Tools	Jolly Season Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Big Shot, Gleaming Ornaments Punch Pack, Dimensionals, 1/8" Handheld punch (retired), Tombow Glue

 

Now it's time to see the inspiring projects from the other ladies participating tonight:

Christina Barnes

Michele Taylor

Kate Morgan

Tina Gillespie

Caroline Manwaring

Diane Furniss

Rachel Woollard

Catherine Proctor

Sharon Davern

I hope you've found something that will spark your Christmas creativity.

Thanks for visiting today!

IDEAS Blog Hop - 'Pressed Petals' Compendium

Hi there

I'm back with the IDEAS (International Demos Exciting Artistic Stampin') team this month to share more fabulous projects. We are a group of international demonstrators who create a Tutorial Bundle each month to give you, our customers and readers a heap of inspiration for your crafting. The theme for this month is thanks and gratitude. We have 12 fabulous tutorials in this month's bundle, each including at least one card and 3D project. 

If you've come from looking at Dorothee's gorgeous gift packaging, then welcome! If you're visiting me, I appreciate you stopping by today!  You can continue your journey to see the other inspiring creations from the IDEAS Team by clicking on the NEXT button at the bottom of the post. 

As we head towards the holiday season, we start to think about the people who have helped us during the year; friends; colleagues, neighbours, teachers and those who have provided service. What better way to thank them than with a beautiful handmade card or a compendium that is both practical and beautiful. We all want to feel valued, so take the opportunity to thank someone who has made a difference in your life this year.

I have used the beautiful Pressed Petals Specialty Designer Series Paper as the focus for my projects together with the Very Versailles stamp set.  This is a lighter weight patterned paper that is perfect for layering without adding too much bulk. My tutorial has step by step instructions to make the card and compendium you see in the photo. You can see a preview of all the projects in the bundle as you move through the hop.

Would you like a copy of the instructions for these projects for your personal use, or even to use in your classes? 

There are 3 ways you can get the September 2019 Tutorial Bundle.

1.  Place an order with me for $50 or more using the current month's Host Code (shown in the side bar on the right) and you will receive the tutorial bundle for FREE. I will email you the PDF file within 24 hours of your order being confirmed. 

2. You can purchase the tutorial with Instant Download through my Etsy store by clicking here. You can pay with a credit card or PayPal and you DO NOT need to sign up to Etsy to make a purchase. Check out as a guest if you are not a member.

3.  Join my team and you will get this bundle of tutorials for FREE every month to use for your personal crafting or for classes. You can see all the details over on the Join My Team page. 

Once you have received the tutorials, please remember not to share or distribute the printed or electronic copies of these bundles. We have worked hard to provide these exclusive projects for your use. If you know someone that would like to purchase the bundle, please direct them to me to obtain their copy. Thanks for your support.

Now it's time to hop over to Odette's Blog to see her lovely projects.

Thanks for visiting today!