MAKING A CARD WITH THE TRADITIONAL WREATH EMBOSSING FOLDER

This holiday season, Stampin’ Up! has not one but two gorgeous embossing folders. You’ve seen the Peaceful Greenery Embossing folder – now say hello to the Traditional Wreath Embossing Folder!

  • Stamps: Seasonal Tags
  • Color Palette: Basic White, Shaded Spruce, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler
  • Accessories: Stamp Cut & Emboss Machine, Traditional Wreath Embossing Folder, daubers, Circle Punches, Gold Stripe 3/8″ ribbon, Stampin’ Blends, retired red gems, Stampin’ Dimensionals

The easiest way I’ve found to add color to this wreath is to use daubers. Brush lightly and the raised images pick up the color, keeping the texture of the embossing. I colored the berries with Real Red Stampin’ Blends, and a few of them have a few sparkly gems from eons ago.

I love that this wreath isn’t so distinctively “holiday”. You could easily use it year around in other color combinations (stay tuned!) This is a 6″ square embossing folder. The entire wreath doesn’t fit on a traditional card front, but it works well as a partial panel.

The Seasonal Tags are a bit of a sleeper, so don’t let them pass you by. You’ll reach for them again and again!

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PEACE ON EARTH

Do you love DSP that does all the heavy lifting the way I do??????? Here’s Traditions of Christmas again with a completely different feeling. This luxurious red and gold poinsettia motif does all the work.

Friends, you NEED the Embossing Additions Tool Kit. The tray has an end cap that screws on and off – no more breaking fingernails pulling out the plug! There’s an embossing buddy, a brush, and THE BEST craft tweezers you’ve ever held in your hand. Run don’t walk to get this one!

This DSP is amazing. Snap it up while you can – it’s in the Online Store.

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TRADITIONS OF CHRISTMAS DSP AND THE PEACEFUL GREENERY EMBOSSING FOLDER

The Traditions of Christmas DSP does it again! This image can also be cut with the Stamp Cut and Emboss Machine using the Christmas Greenery dies. You’d be surprised how quickly this card comes together when you have a ready-made focal point.

This image is plentiful on the page of DSP, and comes in 3 color ways. Look closely at the background of the Pool Party die cut, as it’s been stamped with our new Lasting Linen stamp. The texture is GORGEOUS and I hope this one sticks around for a very very very long time.

When the coloring is done for you, the cards go together very quickly. I don’t know about you, but it seems as though this time of year I need a LOT of cards. Head over to the Online Store if you need a little more DSP or some dies.

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QUICK CARD MAKING WITH THE CHRISTMAS GREETINGS CARDS & ENVELOPES

Our card and envelope packs are one of my favorite short cuts to card making. The Christmas Greetings Mix and Match cards and envelopes remind me of a Hawaiian fabric pattern called palaka, so I snapped up a couple of packs in my sneak peek order. Turns out they are a great match to the Traditionsmof Christmas DSP!!

Multiple images from the DSP can be cut with the coordinating dies, another big time saver. You’ve seen my coloring: it’s not like this!! And all that gold detail is just glorious.

Our Gold Mesh ribbon was on Last Chance and has sold out, but there’s a beautiful new option in the Online Store. And that new Christmas Words Hybrid Embossing Folder is AWESOME. You can cut out the individual words, but I like it just as it is!

The cards come with coordinating envelopes and the overall look is luxurious but just a little bit country. Pick up a couple of packages for your holiday cards and you’ll be halfway done! Shop the Online Store.

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PETAL ARRANGEMENTS IN WATERCOLOR PENCIL

I had forgotten how much I love our watercolor pencils until I put them to use with these beautiful tropical images. The coloring does not need to be precise, which makes it so relaxing. I used the blender pen to smooth the colors together.

I stamped the images in Memento Black ink, more out of habit than necessity. I colored the leaves with Garden Green and added Granny Apple Green accents, then colored the flowers with Daffodil Delight and added Crushed Curry accents. When the coloring was done, I gave each flower a soft brush with the Blender Pen. It smooths and brightens the color, but it leaves a more translucent look than the Stampin’ Blends.

Petal Arrangements has three unique plumeria designs and 3 unique protea designs. They’re red rubber stamps, which means that they’re not going to last forever. As supplies of red rubber dwindle, our red rubber stamps will retire. Needless to say, if you like this one, get it now! You’ll find it in the Online Store.

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USING CONEFLOWERS WITH COLLAGE STYLE BACKGROUNDS

I love this coneflower image, but it’s big. It fills a card front pretty quickly, so I decided to focus on the background. After a few tries, I hit on the idea of a medley of background stamps. I had a pretty big mess on the my craft desk when I was done!

  • Stamps: Coneflower, Beautiful Motifs, Textured Notes, Elements of Text (retired)
  • Color Palette: Basic White, Daffodil Delight, Peach Pie, Timid Tiger, Old Olive, Pecan Pie
  • Accessories: Stamp Cut & Emboss Machine, Coneflower dies,Stampin’ Blends, Masking Paper, Stampin’ Dimensional

Both flowers are colored with Stampin’ Blends and cut with the Coneflower dies, but one is adhered directly to the card front and one is on Stampin’ Dimensionals. Is it even possible to make a card without Stampin’ Dimensionals?

I played with the layers for the collage for quite a white. I haven’t done much collage, so it takes a long time for me to find the color, shape and textural combination. There was a lot of trial and error, but isn’t that what crafting is all about??

Find yourself a nice big image and play with the background. Then come back an tell me how you did!

In the meantime, shop the Online Store.

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COLOUR INKSPIRATION CHALLENGE #CI193 FEATURING BRANCHING OUT

Oh, I loved colour challenge #CI196 – Shy Shamrock, Summer Splash, Gray Granite and Early Espresso. I knew I wanted to use a lot of white space with those intense In Colours and Branching Out provided just the image I needed.

  • Stamps: Branching Out, Layers of Beauty
  • Color Palette: Basic White, Shy Shamrock, Summer Splash, Gray Granite, Early Espresso
  • Accessories: Stamp Cut & Emboss Machine, Branching Out dies, White 1/4″ ribbon, Woven Textures DSP, Blending Brush, Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Write Marker, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Shy Shamrock and Summer Splash are next door neighbors, but I assure you they’re both here. I used Shamrock for the greenery, then added a gentle wash of Summer Splash behind it with the Blending Brush. The layer under the Woven Textures DSP is also Summer Splash. And the Stampin’ Write Marker splatters are Shy Shamrock. (I may have to stock up on markers just so I can make those fine splatters!)

The white ribbon was transformed to Gray Granite ribbon with the magic of Stampin’ Blends. That ribbon is now on the Last Chance list (sigh) so you might want to stock up while you can.

I enjoy the Colour INKspiration challenges so much, and the team is the nicest group of crafters you could ask for. Take a look at their page – maybe you’d like to give this challenge a try! Here’s the inspiration photo for CI#196

And as always, I’m grateful for your support at my Online Store.

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ADD LAYERS FOR A CONEFLOWER BIRTHDAY

I’ve had the Coneflower Celebrations bundle for a while, but as sometimes happens, I was busy with other things and left it languishing on the shelf. I decided it was time to see if I could play with the 3D aspect of the dies.

  • Stamps: Coneflower Celebrations
  • Color Palette: Basic White, Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Pecan Pie, Garden Green
  • Accessories: Stamp Cut & Emboss Machine, Coneflower Celebrations Dies, Linen Thread, Blender Pen, Blending Brush, Dauber, Wink of Stella

I used three different dies for the flowers. One layered the top set of petals and needed nothing more than a bit of ink – I brushed on Crushed Curry and daubed a little Pecan Pie on the edges.

The second layer went underneath. You can stamp one side and run it through the Stamp Cut and Emboss Machine with the double sided die, but then you need to align that image for the second side. These stamps are photopolymer, so it’s pretty easy. These petals had color added as well – you can see the difference in the top part of the two-sided flower.

The final die is the “cap” done in Pecan Pie with a very generous application of Wink of Stella. When all those pieces were assembled, I stamped the leaves and stem and colored them with the Blender Pen, then put it all together.

The final touch was ink splatters – I used a different splat die, then realized that Coneflower Celebrations has a gorgeous splatter! In my house, we call that delayed intelligence. Hope you enjoy! All products are available in the Online Store.

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PEACEFUL GREENERY IS NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS!

I took a very good look at the Peaceful Greenery 3D Embossing Folder and said to myself, “SELF, that is not just for Christmas!” I grabbed the Peace on Earth dies and a few odd floral die cuts languishing on my craft desk and set to work.

  • Stamps: With You In Mind
  • Color Palette: Basic White, Lost Lagoon, Pretty Peacock, Lemon Lolly
  • Accessories: Stamp Cut & Emboss Machine, Peace on Earth dies, Delightful Wishes dies, Peaceful Greenery 3D Embossing Folder, 1/4″ White Ribbon, Dauber, Party Dots (retired), Stampin’ Dimensionals

Those flowers are Lemon Lolly, cut from the Delightful Wishes dies. They have a little Daffodil Delight ink daubered on them for dimension, and there are some flecks amongst the Peaceful Greenery as well.

I added a few white die cuts on top of the Embossing Folder, and tucked in a Lost Lagoon one as well. The text from With You In Mind was cut out with my trusty Snips (oh, I hope we have a substitute soon!)

I had a moment of complete inspiration and ran the back flap of the envelope through the Stamp Cut and Emboss Machine with the embossing folder and let me tell you, it is GORGEOUS. Run, don’t walk to the Online Store for the Peaceful Greenery 3D Embossing Folder. Your SELF will thank you!

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MAKE THIS BEAUTIFUL GALLERY DSP FLOATING FLIP CARD!

Well! Can you say that 3 times?? I’m calling this a Floating Flip. The idea came from Susan Seki, and I’ve followed her design pretty closely with just a few adjustments to the floating strips. It’s a great fun fold, and the Beautiful Gallery Designer Series paper makes it quite suited as a Manly Card.

  • Stamps: Beautiful Motifs
  • Color Palette: Mossy Meadow, Pecan Pie, Basic White
  • Accessories: Stamp Cut & Emboss Machine, Exposed Brick 3D Embossing Folder, Textured Notes dies, Window Sheets, Beautiful Gallery Designer Series Paper

The DSP is trimmed to fit the sides of the card, which are stationary. The center panel is mounted on a window sheet, which is then added to the moving part of the Split Fold card. It’s another way to use your DSP stash!

Inside the flap is a panel for your message. I’ve matted it with Pecan Pie to emphasize and pull together the earth tone color palette.

You can stamp on DSP! This piece was a remnant from trimming the panels to fit the card, and I love the textured look it offers. A solid color would be distracting from all of that gorgeous scenery.

How are you using your DSP? I hope you’re using it up! Here’s one more card with the gorgeous Beautiful Gallery DSP – I hope you have it in your stash!

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