Kylie Bertucci's August International Highlights

Hi there

Wow, I can't believe another month has flown by, where does the time go!

This month the theme is 'teacher's gifts'.  I thought it would be fun to make a notebook holder out of Stampin' Up's large plastic wood mount stamp case (full), which you can buy empty, they sell them in packets of four.

  

I cut a piece of the new Painted Autumn DSP, which will be available from 1st September from the new holiday catalogue and slipped it in to the plastic sleeve as the main cover, then I decorated the front with banners, leaves and flowers from the Banners for You stamp set and two die cut birds from the Birds and Blooms Thinlits that also team up with the Best of Birds stamp set, which I didn't use as I die cut the birds in watercolour paper and painted them with an aqua painter brush.  The branch is die cut from the Seasonal Layers Thinlits that co-ordinates with Colour Seasons stamp set.

On the inside I decorated a notebook and adhered it to the right-hand, inside back section.  On the left-hand side I made a gusseted pocket out of DSP also from Painted Autumn DSP and a flap as a lid which closes with a magnet to keep paper clips or any other small items :) The pen is held in place with a small round strip of old olive card stock.

While I was playing with this gorgeous DSP I also made a card for the holiday season featuring some lovely pumpkins, what lush colours. The sentiment is from the new 'Count my Blessings' stamp set also available from 1st September, along with the label punch.  My... I have used a lot of exciting new products, not long now until you can get your hands on them too :)

Please do hop on over to Kylie's blog to see all the other gorgeous ideas for this theme, you can vote for 5 fabulous projects (even mine! LOL) :)

Take care and have fun getting inky.

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

Kylie Bertucci's International Highlights - July

Hi there

Well I am still recovering from all the excitement last month... thank you so very much to everyone who voted for me :)

This month the theme is 'Gratitude for Thailand'.  Kylie and Bruno will actually be in Thailand on the Stampin' Up Incentive Trip, so exciting for them, I am sure they will have an amazing time there.

For the challenge I decided to make a tropical beach canopy/shelter - the ones I have seen are made from dried palm tree fronds that are partly woven and many branches are tied on to wooden battens, which are then used like huge tiles to make a roof and even walls for cool and breezy beach shelters.  I imagined that I was sitting under the canopy looking out at the white sandy beaches and blue azure sea... wishful thinking! LOL

Now that I see my photo, I realize that I could have made my sand and sea much darker, but in person these do show up quite well - LOL

I have used the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set and Bouquet Bunch thinlets for the flowers and leaves and the deck chair and drink is from Colourful Seasons.  The sentiment is from Paisleys and Posies.

Thank you so much for visiting me today, please do pop on over to Kylie's blog and vote for your favourite five cards :)

Take care and have fun getting inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

Happy Birthday Gorgeous - again!

Hi there

Hope you are all keeping well.  I can't stop playing with the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set, it is so much fun!

Here is what I have made using Berry Burst, Powder Pink, Tranquil Tide and the Banners for You set.

I am sure I will have a few more using this set, but I really must ink up some of my other sets - tee hee :)

Take care and have fun getting inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :) 

Happy Birthday Gorgeous

Hi there

I have been having so much fun playing with the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set, it is great for building up flower scenes and sprays of foliage - love it :)

I used pool party and peek a boo peach, along with tranquil tide and fresh fig to make this card.

The sentiment comes from Banners for You, which has matching dies that cut out the little banner shape.

Take care and have fun getting inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

Kylie Bertucci's International Highlights - June

Hi there

I am playing along with Kylie Bertucci's International Highlights for June, the theme this month is 'Baby', I don't really have many baby stamps and what I do have are retired... LOL!  Most of my family and friends have either past the baby stage or not yet started it - tee hee :)

For the challenge, I used some of the Colour Theory suite; there is 6 x 6 inch designer series paper, coordinating A4 cardstock packs, a stamp set called Colourful Seasons, the Seasonal Layers Thinlits and our new Memories & More coordinating cards in two different sizes, which are gorgeous.  Naturally, I have not used everything!

I also used a sheet of the new Wood Textures designer series paper, also 6 x 6 inches, on page 187 of the new catalogue.  I die cut two chairs using the Seasonal Layers Thinlits and snipped them a bit to make a baby's rocking crib.  The cute banner in the corner uses the new In Colours and the Fox Builder punch :)  I just used a Stampin' Write marker to add the string.

Do pop over to Kylie's blog to see all the fabulous contributions from other crafters from all over the world!

Many thanks for visiting me today, make sure you head over to Kylie's blog to vote for my card, I would love to be chosen for the International Blog Hop :) please just click on this link to vote for me - very many thanks :)

Take care and have fun getting inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

Colourful Seasons

Hi there

Well, I am at it again... casing Kylie Bertucci :) love her designs :)

Kylie showcased an embossed resist technique and I just had to try it out :) You can see her card here.

I have had so much fun getting inky doing this embossed resist technique using the new 'Colourful Seasons' stamp set from Stampin' Up's new annual catalogue, which came out this month (June 2017).

I followed Kylie's directions and stamped the flowers all over in versamark then heat embossed in white.  I tapped Tranquil Tide and Lemon Lime Twist on to a plastic bag, spritzed it with a few sprays of water, then laid my piece of embossed card on top and let it soak up the ink.

I cut my cardstock into two pieces and layered them onto Stampin' Up's Whisper White Note Cards to make two cute cards :)

I also used the new lovely 'Label Me Pretty' stamp set and the coordinating Pretty Label punch.

I am pleased with the way they turned out and will definitely try this technique out again :)  I need more time to play with this stamp set, I have lots of ideas for it!

Take care, have a great week and have fun getting inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

Dare to Dream

Hi there

I finally managed to get some time to play with the new hostess set 'Dare to Dream' it is a really fun set, so I decided to use it for a team challenge to make a masculine card :)

This is almost a one layer card! I used the new label punch (like a cloud! LOL) and a strip of the Colour Theory DSP.  I coloured in the balloon using watercolour pencils, then swiped it with my aqua painter to soft the colouring.

I am super excited that the new catalogue goes live today (1st June) and copies are in the post to my customers, although some will be collecting them in person! 

Take care and have fun getting inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

WOO HOO new catalogue is live :)

Hi there

The day is finally here, the new Stampin' Up catalogue is now live - enjoy all the new fun products as well as seeing which of your favourites has returned :).

Click the image of the catty on the side to download a pdf copy from the Stampin' Up website.

If you have ordered from me, there will be a catty in the post to you.  Please let me know if you would like me to be your demonstrator and I will be happy to send you one :)

Take care and have fun getting inky :)

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

So Excited... New catalogue - tomorrow!

'Hi there

Woo hoo, I am sooo excited Stampin' Up's new catalogue goes live tomorrow :)

I have been busy preparing catalogues to go to my customers, I can't wait to share all the lovely new products and the five new In Colours, they are lush :)

Here is a photo of the front cover, isn't fresh and flowery?  Spoiler Alert! (sneak peek)  Can you spot two of the new In Colours in the photo...

You will be able to look inside tomorrow and even download a pdf from the Stampin' Up website or from my shop link :)  I will update the link to the new catty tomorrow :)

Until then, take care and have fun getting inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

High Tide

HI there,

Do you sometimes see a great layout and think I have just got to try that out...

I was reading a post from the amazing Amy Koenders, from 'Stamp with Amy K', she had a fab sketch on her site, which she was using and I just loved it.  Amy was using a new stamp set that will be released on 1 June in the new Stampin' Up catalogue.  You can see Amy's card and layout here.

Here is my take on this layout, I have used the wonderful High Tide stamp set, I love the images in this set, anything to do with the sea, beach, boats and lighthouses and I am there!  As soon as I saw this set I knew I was going to buy it! LOL

I have used Crumb Cake and Soft Sky card stock and Crumb Cake, Real Red and Dapper Denim inks, after all you just have to have a red and white lighthouse - right?

Take care and hope you have fun getting inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

Kylie Bertucci's International Highlights - May

Hi there,

I am playing along with Kylie Betucci's International Highlights for May, which feature masculine cards for this month.  This is my contribution, using the 'Lovely as a Tree' stamp set :)  I stamped the background in Crumb Cake using the woodgrain background stamp and dry embossed the Garden Green banner with the Petal Burst embossing folder.  The sentiment is from the Thoughtful Banners set.  I hope you like it :)

Please do pop over to Kylie's blog to see all the lovely contributions from Stampin Up demonstators and crafters from all over the world!  You can vote for your top five favourite projects - how exciting is that!

Thanks for visiting me today, make sure you head over to Kylie's blog to vote for my card, I would love to be chosen for the international blog hop :)  please just click on this link to vote for me - very many thanks  :) 

Swirly Bird

Hi there,

TGIF, I love Fridays :)  There is a great sense of expectation about going into the weekend.... one usually has a plan or two, which is sooo exciting :)

I really like Stampin' Up's In Colours and this lovely shade is no exception, it is called Sweet Sugarplum, it reminds me of a song, but I can't quite bring it to mind... something about a hummingbird I think?

I have used Sweet Sugarplum and Rich Razzleberry ink to stamp images from the Swirly Bird stamp set, I also die cut the cute little bird, which is part of the set, with a co-ordinating thinlit from the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies on page 194 of the current catalogue.  The Swirly Bird stamp set is on page 152 and you can purchase both the set and the thinlits as a bundle for a 10% discount.  This is a fun set and I am sure I will be playing with it again very soon.

Hope you have a fantastic Friday and wonderful weekend :)

Take care and have fun getting inky.

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

Love & Affection

Hi there,

I have had sooo much fun with the Love & Affection stamp set, it is great for making your own 'one sheet wonder' as all the small elements combine beautifully to make your own background DSP for you to use on your cards :) I like that little branch of leaves, it just seems to finish things off and I find myself reaching for it all the time! LOL

The lovely Jessica Winters, who is part of the Artisan Design Team made a fabulous card using the Love & Affection suite and I knew I just had to CASE it :)  You can see Jessica's card here.  This is my take on it, as you can see I have changed the colour palette :)  Thank you Jessica for sharing your wonderful talent and your lovely cards :)

I love using Crumb Cake, it is such a great neutral base to build on, the embossing folder is part of the Floral Affection Textured Impressions Embossing Folders on page 195 of the current Annual catalogue, which runs until 31 May 2017.  The sentiment is from Cottage Greetings on page 74.

If you are one of my customers, you will receive the new catalogue in June.  If you do not have a demonstrator and would like a copy of the current or new catalogue, please let me know and I would be happy to send you a copy.

Take care and have fun getting inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

Blooms & Bliss DSP

Hi there,

What a gorgeous sunny morning it is here in Essex :)  I have a few cards to share with you from my current class :)  We are using the lovely Blooms & Bliss DSP to make some pretty flower cards - I love flowers :)

The DSP showcases Island Indigo, Mint Macaron, Rich Razzleberry, Sweet Sugarplum, Blushing Bride and Sahara Sand, the 12" x 12" papers have 12 different designs to choose from, so lots of choice...

We made a square card using Mint Macaron cardstock, the cut out frame is produced by cutting a corner section on two diagonally opposite corners and folding the cut section back on itself.  We then decorated it with DSP and punched out flowers using the Blossom punch, which retires at the end of this month.  We also added a couple of butterflies - just because we could - tee hee ;)

The second card uses the lovely 'Special Reason' stamp set and Stylish Stems Framelits dies, I CASED this gorgeous design from the lovely Juana Ambida at Juana Create, you can see her card here, I have just changed the colours to match the Blooms & Bliss DSP, we all enjoyed making this card - thanks Juana for the inspiration, your cards are amazing :)

We also had fun using the flower shop and petite petals stamp sets and co-ordinating punches to make this cute card in Sweet Sugarplum cardstock.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the cards for this months class :)

Take care and hope you have time to get inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :)

Balloon Adventure pop up card

Hello there :)  I am pretty rubbish at posting regular blog posts, defo something I need to improve on... LOL

In last month's class (April) we had fun playing with Stampin Up's 'Balloon Adventure' stamp set and co-ordinating 'Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits dies', which are featured in the Spring/Summer catalogue that retires at the end of this month (31 May 2017).

We made this cute pop up card in Calypso Coral and coloured the balloons in Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral and So Saffron. What do you think?

Here is the front of the card with the pop up flap down flat...

This second card used the thinlits to make a raised cut-out front, you could easily make this a shaker card by adding a piece of window sheet the the back of the die cut, but we left it plain and put a piece of Cupcakes and Carousels DSP behind and popped it up on the long foam strips, which are great to work with.

Another fun card was this next one in Bermuda Bay with lots of stamped and punched out balloons using the balloon punch and the stamp set Balloon Celebation.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the cards we made in the class, If you would like to pop along to one of my classes or find out more, please contact me for more information.

Take care and hope you have some time to get inky!

Crafty hugs, Anne :) 

First post

Woo hoo, this is my first blog post thanks to Kylie Bertucci's blogger training videos, which you can purchase direct from Kylie (click here to go to Kylie's blog) and learn more about her training and business videos.

I am excited to be able to share my love of  card making with you, as well as upcoming classes.

Take care - crafty hugs,
Anne :) x