Stampin Creative New Catty Hop

Good Morning and welcome to another hop around the Stampin Creative girls world of creativity. You have joined me from the lovely EIMEAR

It's been a funny month weather wise but when I created this project it was a gorgeous suny day and I was definitely feeling the tropical love!

I am so in love with this little set, Garden In Bloom which can be found on pg 119 of the new catalogue. It is a set of 20 stamps and includes the cutest bumble bee ever!

I used Wild Wasabi, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie and the new Watermelon Wonder inks to give a totally tropical feel. 

As you can see I stamped the Watermelon Wonder in second generation using the solid little flower stamp then used first generation to over stamp the outline. This is a lovely way to get various shades of the same colour ink and works really well with the deeper colours. 

I was also careful to NOT line up the images too perfectly as I wanted a more relaxed style to the card and gift box. 

Here is a little peep at the very simple but gorgeous butterfly which is also in the set. It can be stamped simply like this as an outline or filled in using 2 or 3 step stamping to create a more intricate butterfly. 

The sentiment comes from the set too and I just coloured the stamp using my Stampin' Markers. I have inked the rest of the sentiment seperately and stamped it inside the card. A lovely way to get an insert for your cards.

Right, it's now time for you to hop on over to the lovely EMMA and see what she has created for us.

Have a lovely hop and do leave a comment about today's creations.

Stampin' Creative Blog Hop - May

Hello and welcome to another months blog hop brought to you by the Stampin' Creative crew.

This month we are focusing on sneak peeks from the new Stampin' UP! catalogue that will be going live to you all on Tues 2nd June. 

We demonstrators are lucky to get an early 'bite at the cherry' and have been able to order some of the new goodies for the last month. With that in mind we thought you might like to see what we have been creating. 

You have joined me from the lovely CARO who has been having fun I'm sure you will agree.

Recently we had a training day at Telford with over 350 demonstrators attending and I was very lucky to be asked to create some of the display items for the day. I was given 2 kits to play with and this is the one I chose to share with you today.

It is the Sweet Stack Project Kit (on page 152 of the new catalogue) and was so lovely to put together. 

All you need is in the kit and it makes a lovely display piece or 'office cake' for all those birthdays which seem to come around. Each box can hold a little something too so good to gift small items. 

The banner can be changed to say anything you like so ideal for baby showers, birthdays, leaving do's etc. 

I have also been having fun with the lovely new In Colours and a personal challenge to myself to work on my clean and simple cards. This is something I have been struggling with for a while and like all struggles it is easier to avoid than face but I took the stamp to the ink and faced the fear lol.

Here is a card using the new colours of  Cucumber Crush,Watermelon Wonder and Delightful Dijon.

The lines of colour are stamped using Work of Art and I added a simple bold sentiment from Perfect Pennants stamped in Staz On.

Please let me know if you think I am on conquering my fear and mastering the art of Clean and Simple.

Next you can hop over to PIP and see what fun she has been having with new goodies. 

Stampin Creative Blog Hop

Hi and welcome to another Stampin Creative Blog Hop. Can you believe it has been a month since the last one? 

You will have joined me from the lovely  KIM who has provided us with more lovely inspiration using the retiring In Colours 2013-2015.

I made some gifts for a recent retreat and used the In Colours for each guest so although they all had the same they looked a little different.

Here is one of the gift sets in Coastal Cabana.

I stamped the butterflies on the card in 1st and 2nd generation of Coastal Cabana and Baked Brown Sugar to give varying tones. 

The fry box and tag were both stamped tone on tone and a decorative butterfly added to bring the set together.

Here is the same set in Strawberry Slush. I think it looks completely different don't you? Each set had their own personality which the ladies loved. 

Finally I CASED this lovely card from a friend of mine and very talented Demo in Ireland, Lillian. 

I used the bunny from Baby you've grown.

The inks used to brayer the card included Pistachio Pudding and Coastal 

Cabana alond with Marina Mist and Pear Pizzazz. The mat layer was Baked Brown Sugar layered onto a Pistachio Pudding Screen card.

I stamped the tree in Baked Brown Sugar and Strawberry Slush which I think gives a very summery feel to the card - shhhhhh don't tell the Nutty one but this is his anniversary card for next week when we celebrate 8yrs of  meeting!

I hope you like my creations with the retiring 2013-2015 In Colours and I hope you have plenty to stroke in your cupboard as for the first year ever I am going to miss each and every one of them.

Now over to MIKAELA to se the beautiful things she has for us today xx

Stampin' Creative Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to another blog hop from the Stampin' Creative team. This month I am at the start of the hop but you may have joined the hop from Lou  who once again has a lovely project for you.

This month we have been set the technique of Masking when creating our card. 

I choose to bring out a stamp I fell in love with when I saw it but in reality have used very little until now. Possibly because the weather has been so gloomy! A few days of bright sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures have awoken my spring fever so time to banish the winter blues. 

In this project I have used 2 different ways to mask. Firstly I have used a mask to create the oval through which I have stamped. I held the mask in place with post it notes.  I stamped the Sweetbriar Rose through the oval using Soft Suede. 

Next I created a mask for the Sweetbriar Rose image by stamping onto a post it note and fussy cutting around the image. You don't need to get into all the teeny tiny areas but cut as much detail as you can.

Secondly I placed the cut out image over the image on my card stock and replaced the oval mask again holding it in place with post it notes. 

I then stamped the Hardwood stamp over the whole area in Crumb Cake. 

   

The end result is an image in an oval. Any shape can be used to create the mask so why not give it a go and see just how simple but effective this technique can be.  

For more inspiration hop on over to Emma and see what she has been doing.

What's New Wednesday...

Hello and welcome to the second of my new weekly blog posts.

 What's New Wednesday will bring you all the new updates from Stampin' UP! as well as new techniques and projects.

Firstly we have this weeks weekly deal. The products below have been discounted for the next week only and are available through my online store HERE.

Other news this week isn't so good I'm afraid. Due to issues in the manufacturing process Stampin' UP! have made the decision to pull Blendabilities from the range of products available. It has been a hard decision but on the company feels that the level of issues is more than they are willing to tolerate and believe it is best not to offer a product where the quality is compromised. 

They are going to continue to look for a way to offer customers the option of an alcohol based marker but until they are 100% happy then Blendabilities are no longer available. 

Whilst this is a disappointment I firmly believe that it is the right thing to do. Stampin' UP! offer the highest quality crafting materials and this is another step in ensuring they only bring you the highest quality. 

If you have been affected by this issue then please contact your demonstrator.

My Way Monday...

Hello and welcome to My Way Monday.....

My Way Monday is going to be a weekly post showing you how I do things, from storage of my products to ways I design, stamp and put together my projects. 

Recently I have had a few comments from class attendees on my craft storage so I thought I would start with how I store my scraps. 

It's a pretty simple system designed to encourage me to reach for this basket before starting a whole new sheet.

As you can see it is nothing fancy. I used a basket I had around the house which didn't seem to have a purpose and the card dividers are made from the backing card of the Designer Series Paper. I simply cut each one to 6" wide and then I had 2 dividers.

I used my lovely label machine to add clear labels to each divider and I kept it simple by only using colour groups. I have Neutrals, Blacks and Greys, Browns, Oranges, Yellows, Greens, Blues, Purples, Reds and Pinks. You could of course keep them in Stampin' Up! family groups if you prefer. 

Here you can see all the 'Blues'. My rule of thumb is only full, half and quarter sheets are kept in their poly pockets, the rest goes in here. I do clear out my basket every month and donate the scraps to my sons infant school or treat my ladies to a rummage.  

Here you can see the basket in situ. It is at the end of my little desk which sits to the left of my main desk so it is easily accessible as I trim all my card at this desk. It is also handily placed with in arms reach of my big shot which you can see in the background.

Since I have rearranged how I store my scraps I find I am getting much more use out of them. 

Please feel free to share how you store your scraps in the comment section. I hope you have been inspired to treat you scraps to a little TLC. 

If there is anything you would like to see on MY WAY MONDAY do let me know and I will share with you how I do it.

The Creative Blog Hop

Last week I was nominated by the lovely Jeannie over at Jeannie's Happy World to take part in the Creative Blog Hop. 

Why not I thought....... and then the nerves set in! What would I make, will it be good enough, what are the readers out in blog land looking for? That and a million other questions rolled round in my head. I have been quietly working away on my blog, occasionally inviting people in for a nose around but mostly just journalling my creative journey. 

The creative part came quite easy in the end as I have been working on some projects for my next weekend retreat which is coming up. I decided to take inspiration from the project I was creating and turn it into a card.

So here is my card....

and a close up of the elements which are placed on dimensionals to give a little depth to the card. 

I'm totally in love with this very soft, simple colour combo. Stampin' Up!s Baked Brown Sugar and Basic Black on Very Vanilla.

Now for the scary part!

Questions!!!

# 1. What are you working on right now?  

I have several things on the go just now including projects for my upcoming retreat as well as card classes. Unfortunately all of which has to be kept secret for a little longer. I am also working on some display pieces for a local seaside cafe. 

# 2. How does you work differ from others in your genre?

I'm not sure it does really. As an active Stampin' Up! Demo I have to be happy showcasing lots of different styles and techniques. I guess I am a  less is more kind of girl who likes a softer colour palette.  

# 3. Why do you create what you do?

In a word... THERAPY! I started my creative journey many years ago as a cross stitcher, believing that I didn't have a creative or artistic bone in my body. I had once asked a friend at college if she would teach me to draw... It failed and I resigned myself to a life with out creativity. Until I picked up a needle and I realised I could create something. One year while in a hobby shop looking for a new pattern for my needle to work on I saw some cute snowman toppers and though I could stick those onto some card and make special cards for my 3 daughters for Christmas. 

I was hooked! I started buying more toppers and sticking them on all I could. The journey from there was rapid and more inspiring than I ever thought. I quickly found stamps which became my tool of choice as I could change a blank piece of card into my own work of art. 

# 4. How does your creativity work?

In mysterious ways! I find inspiration in the strangest of places, (just ask my other half who has to sit there while I ask strangers if I can take pictures of their skirts etc). 

I usually start with something like that and take the colour combination or style and then sketch out a design. I'm loosely methodical in my approach and enjoy the thinking part as much as the doing part. I tend to work the design out on based on a set size (A6) and then expand from there. This gives me the confidence to know that the colours, design etc work how I want them and then I can move it on to a larger size eg scrapbook page or 3D item. 

Often my best creative moments are in the last min and I work better with a deadline than an open ended timescale. In moments like this adrenalin is my muse friend and I tend to make less creative errors!  

I hope you have enjoyed this little insight into my world. It's a tranquil part of a very chaotic life and I honestly would be lost with out craft.

My very talented and lovely friend Michelle over at Doodlebird Deisgns will be sharing her journey with you nest week so be sure to mark the date and pop over for a look.