Friday, July 28, 2017

BUNDLE OF LOVE - FANCY FRIDAY

It's Fancy Friday and this month we are featuring the amazingly versatile Memories & More Card Packs.  You may have just been visiting with the uber talented Cindy Schuster, so welcome to my blog if you have just come from there.  When you get to the end of my post, hit the "next" button so you can hop to the next project!


Now, I would normally use the Memory & More Card Packs to help record precious photo memories, as they are designed for.  But there is the "& more" element to these packs too, which meant I could get really creative with it.  It just so happens I am going to be needing a couple of baby cards very, very soon!  So I choose to use the Bundle of Love Card Pack to create one of my cards with.


I am so glad I did too!  I really love how it turned out. Can a baby card be playful and sophisticated?  I think so.  At least, that is how I think it feels with Gold, Black, Pink and Very Vanilla!  It still has the cuteness factor suitable for a baby girl too though lol.  This Bundle of Love card pack works so well with the Moon Baby stamp set which I have used for the front sentiment and also on the inside of my card as well.


The card patterns, the lovely gold stripes and the pretty little elephant image didn't need much help to make this card perfect for a little girl, so my embellishments were kept really simple with just a little Black Bakers Twine bow and a few little wooden stars.

Next up on the hop is my wonderfully talented friend Cathy Canes!


All product used in this project are listed below.  Shop Stampin' Up! Products with me!
If you live New Zealand, I would love to be your Demonstrator! When you shop Online with me, please the current host code (in my side bar) and allow Demonstrator contact, so I can invite you to my exclusive VIP Facebook Group and thank you properly with the gift of a card when you place an order.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

LIFE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING - STAMP TO SHARE

One of the most popular stamp sets and bundles from the new catalogue amoungst my ladies has to be Colorful Seasons.  I am thrilled that the Stamp to Share blog hop this month features that very same bundle!


I created two completely different cards for today's hop.  The first is a sympathy card, little realising when I made it that I would be giving it away almost at once, sadly.

I absolutely love the new Very Vanilla Thick card.  It's perfect for card bases and for embossing on.  To create the texture I have on the little leaves, I simply inked up my stamp as normal, then before lifting off the ink pad to stamp, I slid it off instead, creating this fab texture!  I recently featured this technique at my local Techniques classes and it as a huge hit!


The second card is bright and fun, completely opposite to the neutrals of the first card.  I was dreaming of summer when I made this card - can't you tell?  Winter is making itself felt right now and a beach chair is certainly holding some big appeal!


Colorful Seasons is a photopolymer stamp set, so even though there is a ton of repeat stamping on this card, I didn't need to use a stamp placement tool to make it.  I could see exactly where I was stamping.


I was going to make this a single layer card, but in the end, it was begging for a bright sunshiney bow and the sentiment was a great size to place over the top.  Don't you just love the Glitter Enamel dots?  They make the perfect accents!

Next on the hop is the lovely and very clever, Caroline van der Straaten in the Netherlands!


Monica Gale - UK
Amy Koenders - USA
Rochelle Blok - Australia
Sandi MacIver - Canada 
Paula Dobson - New Zealand (You are here)
Caroline van der Straaten - Netherlands
Barbara Becker - Austria
Nadine Koeller - Germany
Moira McIlroy - France

All product used in this project are listed below.  Shop Stampin' Up! Products with me!
If you live New Zealand, I would love to be your Demonstrator! When you shop Online with me, please the current host code (in my side bar) and allow Demonstrator contact, so I can invite you to my exclusive VIP Facebook Group and thank you properly with the gift of a card when you place an order.

Friday, July 21, 2017

JUST BREATHE HOME DECOR - STAMPIN' UP! ARTISAN BLOG HOP

Welcome to the Stampin' Up! Artisan blog hop.  You have probably just arrived from Miriam van Eyden's beautiful blog.  I just love everything Miriam makes!  If you are just starting here, hit the "Next" button at the end of this post to continue on the hop.

This month the Artisan Design Team are featuring the Colorful Seasons stamp set and suite of products.  This beautiful stamp set is proving to be so popular with a ton of card ideas on Pinterest already!  Is it any wonder, with all seasons covered in this set.  I thought I would try my hand at a home decor piece so I could admire it in my office/craft space for months to come!


We are in the middle of winter in the South Pacific, a season I actually love.  I find it easier to warm up than to cool down, lol.  While typing up this post, it is howling with wind outside, the rain is coming in sideways, and I am sitting in front of my heater all toasty warm.  You probably think I am mad for creating a winter scene when I could be creating warm sun and sandy beaches!


I love winter because it is time to hibernate and just take time to slow down a little.  The "Just Breathe" sentiment is also a perfect reminder to do this!  I love the large, flowing font.  The photo above shows how I have masked and sponged this background.  I have only used two colours to create this scene as well - Old Olive and Dapper Denim.  The masking has helped to create an ombre effect which also makes it look like I have used a ton of different shades, when in fact I haven't!  This background took me less than 5 minutes to create!

After sourcing a shadowbox frame, I removed the picture mat and used a Dapper Denim sheet of paper from the Color Theory Paper Stack to cover the mat.  The mat was a lot larger than the 6" length of the paper stack, but this crackle paint effect hides all the joins really, really well!  I used some of the fun dies from the Seasonal Layers Thinlits to create a more 3 dimensional look to my work.  These stamps and dies have been conveniently bundled to save you 10% too!  Honestly, Stampin' Up! think of everything.

It would be so easy to change the look of this piece, simply by stamping and die cutting some blossoms and adhering them to the branches.  You could use your sponge brayer and masks again to create a new summer background.  Stamp a deck chair and a glass of lemonade and you could be sitting in the Bahamas!  This suite is just THAT versatile.

The rest of the Artisan Design Team have yet more inspiration for you.  Click on the "Next" button to visit with my good friend in Australia, Rochelle Blok.



Paula Dobson - You are here!

All product used in this project are listed below.  Shop Stampin' Up! Products with me!
If you live New Zealand, I would love to be your Demonstrator! When you shop Online with me, please the current host code (in my side bar) and allow Demonstrator contact, so I can invite you to my exclusive VIP Facebook Group and thank you properly with the gift of a card when you place an order.