7 weeks of Christmas parts 5 & 6

Hi Stashers.  I have another two cards to share  with you today.

This first card was totally unplanned.  I grabbed an arm load of stuff and had a play.  Check out this video to see how this card was made.

I love crafting like this, just grabbing a few things and seeing how the project turns out.

I'm not good at simple cards.  I keep wanting to add more stuff to fill in the spaces, but I managed it with this double Z fold card.

I chose Very vanilla - 106550 and Berry burst - 144249 card stock for this card along with the berry burst ink pad - 144083.

Double Z fold cards are super easy to make, they just look complicated.  They are a quick make too once you know what you are doing, so you can make something wow in no time at all.

I think of all of the colour combos that I have used for Christmas cards this year, this is my favorite.

I have one more card to share with you, which I will post tomorrow.  I hope you are all managing to stay warm (it's very cold here in the UK at the moment) and toasty.

Thanks for stopping by.

Ny x

7 weeks of Christmas parts 3 & 4

Good morning Stashers.  Things have been so busy in the run up to Christmas that I am behind on my blogging and I have so much to share with you.

For this first card I used the Hometown greetings edgelit dies - 144671 to make reusable stencils.  Watch the video below to find out how this card was created.

There are so many dies that you can do this with and this is just one of my favourites.  If you cut off the snowmen and trees, this card would work for a new home card and so much more throughout the year.

I used Smoky slate - 131291 to make the card base and Berry burst - 144249 for that pop of colour.

When you are making stencils this way, it's not just the die cut that can be used.  Take a look at the negative space (the card that you cut your die from), can that be used?  A lot of the time it can.

For the fourth card in this series, I used the Color theory suite.  The Memories and more card pack - 144210 is choc full of cards that allow you to make greeting cards quickly and easily.  I used three in on this card along with some of the Color theory designer paper - 144193.

Such a simple card to make but oh so effective and you could dress it up with all sorts of embellishments.

I have already started making samples to show you featuring products that will be available from January 3rd.  I can't wait to show you.

Please follow my blog so that you don't miss out on what is coming next.

If you haven't already, then subscribe to my youtube channel and join my group on Facebook.  You can find the links to both in the side bar.

Happy crafting every one.  Thanks for popping by.

Ny x

7 weeks of Christmas part 2

Hi Stashers.  Today I would like to share with you my second video in the 7 weeks of Christmas series.

Featuring the Card front builder thinlit die set - 144674 and the Hearts come home stamp set - 145416 this card is super easy to make and doesn't take that much time either.

I love elegant eggplant, so that is the main colour that I have used and I think that Tranquil tide is the perfect green for projects like this.

Please check back tomorrow for another video in the series.

Take care every one and thank you for stopping by.

Ny x

7 weeks of Christmas part 1

Hi Stashers,  I hope you are all managing to stay warm now that the weather has turned so cold.

I'm playing catch up, so today I would like share with you part of a collaboration that I have been doing with my friend and upline Tina (Ivory Moon).

Every week for seven weeks, Tina and I are sharing videos (Tina is doing hers live) showing you how to make a Christmas card or project.

Now I am behind on my blogging so I will be posting the first four videos over the next few days.

This is my first project featuring the Paisley framelit dies - 141849 

Check out the video below to see how it was made and what else I used.

This was a fun make as I really wanted to show that just about any of the die sets could be Christmasy if you thought about it.  I love how the flower in the middle turned out.  I can see me using that flower in different colours on other projects 😊

Thank you for stopping by.  I will be posting week two of the 7 weeks of Christmas tomorrow.

Please follow this blog so that you can see all of the new posts as they happen.

Catch up with you all soon.

Ny x

Craft Life

Hi Crafters.  I wanted to share a little with you about my crafting journey.

I originally got into paper crafting about twelve to thirteen years ago, doing scrapbook layouts and cards that looked like this.  My photography work has improved a bit since then thank goodness lol

Over time I learned new techniques (thank you Youtube posters) and my card making started to improve a bit.

After a few years I started feeling a bit limited by cards as I wanted to go more 3D and I started to decorate boxes.

I was in my element for quite a while I can tell you. Working with 3D projects meant learning new skills and taking my crafting further than I had imagined at the start of my journey, but I still wanted more.  It was about this time that I discovered mixed media and started playing with canvas.

There were some serious "Girl what were you thinking?" makes, but I kept going because inky or paint covered fingers are my happy place.

I keep coming back to paper crafting though.

I love being a Stampin' Up demonstrator.  There are so many quality products to play with and I am looking forward to seeing where it takes me next in my crafting journey.

Thanks for visiting.

See you soon with my next make.

Ny x

Stamparatus

Hi Stashers.

I'm so excited I am wiggling in my seat.

I went to the twice yearly Stampin' Up conference on Saturday and one of the items that they showed us was the Stamparatus.

Before I start raving about all of the ideas I have for using it, here is a video explaining it to you.

I think this is perfect if you want to make invitations, mass produce cards, prep for classes or just make sure that your own stamping comes out perfect every time.

I love the fact that you can stamp in exactly the same place multiple times to create a more saturated colour using just one ink pad.  Creating your own perfectly lined up back grounds will be a breeze with the Stamparatus.

I need to stop a breath for a minute lol

Did I mention creating your own scrapbooking backgrounds with the Stamparatus?  The Stamparatus is open on two sides, allowing you to easily create your own 12 x 12 inch backgrounds and design paper to match the photo that you are working with.

The Stamparatus retails at £44.  If you would like to know how to reserve one for yourself, please feel free to get in touch with me via my page on Facebook  The Stampin' Stashers

Or by email: thecraftystashers @ gmail . com  (you will need to remove the spaces)

I'm off to scribble down more ideas.

Catch up with you all soon.

Ny x

Because I'm HAPPY

Good morning crafters.  I managed to fit in some play time today and decided it was time to get inky in the best way.

I love making mixed media creations and I wanted to see if I could do it with my Stampin' Up stash.  This is what I made

I started off with a sheet of 12 x 12 Crumb cake card stock from the Neutrals best 12 x 12 cardstock pack.   A lovely blank canvas to work with and the colour is a perfect match for the mushrooms at the bottom of the picture. 

I took a piece of Tempting turquoise card stock (it was the closest match I had to the blue in the photo) and distressed it a bit with my scissors before going around the edge and adding brown paint using my finger. With that done, I was able to work out a rough position for where the photo would go before I started stamping.

I used Early expresso ink on the edge of a Timeless textures stamp to create the vertical line and then added two different strips of Year of cheer speciality washi tape to add a little shine and to use as a guide for my stamping.

Most of the stamping was done using this stamp from the Timeless textures set.

You can see a closer view below of how that turned out.

I also used this stamp from the Charming stamp set (retired) on the top left of the layout.

Once I was happy with the back ground, I used ink refils (Pacific point and Early expresso) and a little mica powder in a mister spray bottle to colour white flowers to match my project.  I also added some 2mm flat backed pearls for added interest.  I am not good at minimalist, so I am always looking for ways to add texture or layers.

Lastly I die cut happy birthday using the Happy birthday thinlits die from a piece of Early expresso card stock and trimmed off the happy to use as a title for the layout.

I hope you like it.  If you have any questions or suggestions about this layout,  I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for stopping by.

Ny x

Shopping list
Neutrals best 12 x 12" cardstock pack - 145411
Tempting turquiose  - 108598
Timeless textures stamp set - 140517
Charming stamp set (retired)
Early expresso ink pad - 126974
Happy birthday thinlits die - 143700
Year of cheer speciality washi tape - 144644
Pacific point ink refil - 111840
Early expresso classic ink refil - 119789