What Would You Do Without White Cardstock | TGIF Challenges #383

 Happy Friday!! It's been a while since I've had some quality time at my craft desk but  I am so pleased to be back participating in this week's TGIF Challenges. 

Wow! This is was a tough challenge. White cardstock is by far my most used product and scrolling through my past projects, I only found 1 or 2 projects that were free of white cardstock. However, with a little fussy cutting and some gorgeous DSP, I managed to put a little something together. 

What do you think? I love it when a few simple elements come together so well. 

Want a little more inspiration? Pop over to the TGIF Challenges blog to see what the rest of the team have created and while you're there, why not have a go at creating your own "white cardstock free" project. We'd love to see what you come up with. 

Happy Stamping

-Tan xx

Banner Love | TGIF Challenge #327

Woo Hoo!! It's Friday again and time for another fun TGIF Challenges project. 

This week we are celebrating all things banners.

And here is my project. 

Long skinny banners are a great way to use up offcuts of DSP and by using strips from the same Designers Series Paper pack makes it easy to mix and match patterns and colours. Don't these gorgeous patterns from the Tidings of Christmas DSP look beautiful together? Sticking with the Cherry Cobbler, Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen from the DSP I have then added a Poinsettia and some greenery from the new Merriest Moments Stamp set and Christmas Trimming Dies. 

To see what banner inspired projects the my fellow TGIF Challenge designers have created be sure to pop over the the TGIF Challenges blog and while you are there feel free to share your own banner creation.

 

Decorated Envelopes | TGIF Challenge 326

 

Whoop whoop! It's Friday! If your week has been anything like mine I'm sure you are as happy to see Friday as I am. I have, however, found a few moments to get crafty this week, just in time to create for this weeks TGIF Challenge.

This weeks challenge is to create a decorated envelope and it gave me the perfect excuse to get organised with a little thank you gift I've been meaning to get together for a special someone. 

Hands up if you often give people Gift Vouchers/Certificates. I've always had mixed feeling about gift vouchers as I always like to put thought into the gifts I give people and a voucher can sometimes be seen as a bit of a "cop out" and rarely do stores issue beautifully packaged gift vouchers. However, this dilemma can easily be solved by creating your own decorated envelope. 

To create this envelope I used a sheet of the Sweet Symmetry DSP and added an embossed cardstock belly band and a simply stamped tag. By using DSP for the envelope, not only is the envelope decorated on the outside, but beautiful on the inside too.

To see what the rest of the TGIF Challenges team have created be sure to pop over to the TGIF Challenges blog and why not take up the challenge to create your own decorated envelope.

Farmhouse Chic - Designer Takeover | TGIF Challenge 322

 Hey hey, it's Friday!!! And time for another TGIF Challenge. This week's challenge has been set by Andrea Tracy-Tucker from One Stampin' Mother Tucker.

Admittedly Farmhouse Chic is not a style that I'm familiar with but after a little scrolling through Pinterest pointed me in the right direction and I relished the opportunity to ink up my Celebrate Sunflowers stamp set again. I chose to stick with the natural feel of the timber and fabric from the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper and added a little gingham ribbon and a splash of gold foil. 

If like me, you are intrigued to see what the rest of the team have created based on this theme make sure you pop over to the TGIF Challenges blog and if your are inspired to create your own Farmhouse Chic project we'd love you to share it with us.

- Tan xx 

Night of Navy Beauty | TGIF Challenges #319

Happy Friday everyone. It's time for a colour combo challenge this week and we are challenging you all to create a project with Night of Navy, Basic Gray and White. 

With a combo like this I'd normal go towards creating a mostly white project with touches of the navy and gray but in this case I've made Night of Navy the hero of my project.

How pretty is this Night of Navy patterned paper from the Sweet Symmetry Designer Series Paper? The lighter shades of Night of Navy in the pattern tie in perfectly with the water coloured butterfly.

To see what the other TGIF Designers have created make sure you check of the TGIF Challenges blog and if you've been inspired by this challenge please share your creations. 

- Tan xx

 

Fabulous Florals | Lets Get Hopping #40

Hello everyone and welcome to another Let's Get Hopping Blog Hop and this month's theme is Fabulous Florals. There are so much floral options available in the range of Stampin' Up! stamp sets, finding something to work with for this theme was not going to be a challenge but, it was a piece of Designer Series Paper leftover from another project that ended up becoming the feature for this project.

Inspired by my fellow Let's Get Hopping friend, Mikaela Titheridge, I've coloured these flowers from the True Love Designer Series Paper with Stampin' Blends in So Saffron, Mango Melody, Petal Pink and Calypso Coral and the leaves are in Granny Apple Green. The gold embossed sentiment is from the Forever & Always stamp set and die cut with the coordinating Always Dies.

 

While the theme for this hop was to feature florals, I wanted to create this background that has been bouncing around in my mind since I first saw the Floral Heart Dies in the Stampin' Up! January - June Mini Catalogue. Now it did take quite a bit of die cutting and my desk was covered in teeny tiny hearts afterwards but I really love how it has turned out, so it was totally worth it. What do you think? I have plans to create another rainbow version when time permits so keep an eye out in the next week or two.

Next up in the hop is Shelly Wadge. If you have a scroll through Shelly's Instagram feed you'll see lots of floral inspiration and I'm certain she will have created another stunner for us today.

- Tan xx

 

Punch It | Let's Get Hopping #39

Hello again, two blog posts in a week!! Today's post is for the first Let's Get Hopping blog hop for 2021 and this month we are all showcasing punches. While there are so many different tools out there I think punches are one of the best beginner tools out there and the Ice Cream builder punch from Stampin' Up! is one of my current favs.

When creating this card I used my Ice Cream builder punch to cut out these delicious ice creams from the Ice Cream Corner Designer Series Paper. The water colour splotches are perfect for the scoops of ice cream and the Cinnamon Cider crisscross pattern is the obvious choice for a waffle cone.

That's all from me for today but please make sure you continue hopping through to see what the other designers have punched out, starting with the lovely and talented Alicia Yap

- Tan

 

Paper Blooms | TGIF Challenge 304 Its All About Sale-A-Bration

 

Hello and welcome. It's Friday again so time for another TGIF Challenge and this week its all about Sale-A-Bration. With only a little over a week left to pick up some exclusive Sale-A-Bration freebies its the perfect time for you to get some inspiration and put in that last minute SAB order.

Every year when the Sale-A-Bration catalogue is released the very first thing I look for is what Designer Series Paper is on offer and this years offerings did not disappoint. However the Paper Blooms DSP pack was my hands down fav so it's no surprise that its the SAB product I chose to feature today.

If you weren't already aware, I absolutely love fussy cutting and while we were away camping last month I took a couple of sheets of this gorgeous DSP and spent a bit of time fussy cutting flowers. It was so relaxing and a great way to still be a little crafty without lugging my whole craft room away with us. These particular flowers are from one of the patterned pages, but if you see below there are a several pages of flowers that are great for fussy cutting.

Well I'm off to make a few more cards with my fussy cut flowers, but if you are looking for more Sale-A-Bration inspiration be sure to pop over to the TGIF Challenge blog to see what my fellow designers have created and don't forget to share your creations if you are inspired by this challenge.

- Tan

Sunshine & Happiness | Be Inspired Blog Hop

Hello everyone. Wow!! I can't believe it's already the last Wednesday of the month and time for another Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop. This month's theme is Sunshine & Happiness and, Boy, do we need some sunshine and happiness is the world right now. 

When I think of sunshine, bright yellows always come to mind and my happy colour is pink so I immediately knew I had to include this gorgeous striped pattern from the Flowers For Season Designer Series Paper in this design. With such a busy background I wanted to keep the rest of the card fairly simple with the word "Sunshine" die cut with the Playful Alphabet Dies and a sun created with  medallion from the North Pole Wonder dies.

What do think? I'm sure receiving this card in the mail would bring some sunshine to someone's day. Next up in the hop is my talented friend Janneke Dijkstra de Jong with another bright and happy project for you.

Thanks for joining me today

- Tan xx

Be Inspired Design Team Blog Roll

 

Tanya Rees (You are here)

Janneke Dijkstra de Jong

Cathy Caines

Carolynn Sander

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Stesha Bloodhart

Angela Meiritz-Reid

Peony Garden | Stamping Sunday

Hello and welcome. Well it's been a while since I've joined the Stamping Sunday crew for a blog hop but I'm glad to be back sharing with everyone today. I'm particularly excited to be sharing projects featuring products from the Peony Garden Suite from the Stampin' Up! 2020-2021 Annual Catalogue. 

Today I'm sharing three cards created the same set of supplies but each with either a beginner, casual or avid crafter in mind. I absolutely adore the soft tones of grey and Petal Pink in this suite however for these projects I wanted to try a slightly bolder colour scheme.

When creating this first card I have coloured the Basic Grey and Whisper White pattern from the Peony Garden Designer Series Paper with blends in Rococo Rose, Old Olive, So Saffron and Pool Party. Then I've layered a piece of Whisper White with a Basic Gray matt and stamped the sentiment from the Prized Peony stamps set in Basic Gray. Finally to finish it off I've added a few Elegant Faceted Gems.

  

For this second card I have created the same background by colouring the DSP with blends, however keeping the casual crafter in mind I've added a centre panel with a peony image stamped in Pool Party, some linen thread, a heat embossed sentiment and a trimmed section of a Vellum Sqaure Doily.

Finally, I stepped up my last card to a more avid crafter level by including a die cut panel and peony, some subtle background stamping and a fussy cut sentiment. As I wanted the peony in the centre to be the focal point, I only coloured the background portion of the DSP in Pool Party and left the flowers and leaves in their original colours of Whisper White and Basic Grey. Isn't it amazing how you can get two completely different looks from the same piece a DSP?

Thank you for joining me today. Make sure you check out what the rest of my Stamping Sunday friends have created with this beautiful suite by clicking the links below.

- Tan xx

Sale-A-Bration | Be Inspired Blog Hop

 

Hello everyone and welcome. Today I'm participating in the Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop and this month we are sharing projects created with Sale-A-Bration products. With such a great range of products to choose from it was tough to decide what to feature in today's hop but in the end I had to come back to two of my favourites, the Golden Honey Speciality Designer Series Paper and the Happy Birthday to You stamp set.

So what do you think? I am absolutely loving my Lovely Lipstick blends at the moment and the bright bold pink works so well with gold, white and black.

What's your favourite Sale-A-Bration product? I'm sure the Golden Honey Speciality DSP would have to be at the top of most peoples list. If you have visited my blog recently you would know that I just can't get enough of the black and white stripe but the DSP pack has a great selection of stunning patterns and this gold foil and white honeycomb pattern is no exception.

Next up in the hop the amazingly talented Janneke Dijkstra deJong. Click on the next button below to check out her gorgeous creation and make sure you continue on the hop to see what the whole design team has shared.

Be Inspired Design Team Blog Roll

Tanya Rees (You are here)

Janneke Dijkstra de Jong

Jackie Aitken

Cathy Caines

Manuela Geiswinkler

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Stesha Bloodhart

Angela Meiritz-Reid

New Beginnings | Let's Get Hopping Blog Hop #27

Hello everyone and welcome back to another Let's Get Hopping blog hop. This month's theme is New Beginnings and I just couldn't go past creating a card for a new baby. 

While a baby card isn't the first thing you think of when you see the Come Sail Away Suite but this striped DSP pattern is so versatile and Balmy Blue is a perfect baby blue colour.  That said I'm sure this design could easily be adapted to create a card for a baby girl. 

That's all from me today. Next up in the hop is my beautiful friend from the US, Nina King McMillan. You are going to adore what she's created. 

- Tan xx

Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team Blog Hop - Toile Tidings

Hello everyone and welcome to another Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team Blog Hop. Well there's no denying that Christmas is fast approaching and this month we are showering you in red and green with the Toile Tidings Suite from the 2019 Holiday Catalogue.

The traditional vintage feel of this suite is very different to what I'm normally drawn to for Christmas craft but once I got my hands on the products in the suite it didn't take me long to be flooded with inspiration. For these particular projects I really wanted to find a way to showcase the beautiful Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper, however I changed the monochrome feel of the paper by colouring a sheet of the leaves and berries patterned paper with Stampin' Blends. Isn't it amazing how you can achieve a completely different look simply by adding a little colouring.

For this card I used my custom DSP as a background for a couple of die cut wreaths in Granny Apple Green and Garden Green and a contrasting black banner with a white embossed sentiment. The addition of some Gold Glimmer paper, Gold foil "swishes", Real Red Ruched Ribbon and some rhinestone "berries" take the card up a notch to something extra special.

Once I had finished my card and saw how well my custom DSP went with gold the next obvious step was to decorate a Gold Mini Pizza box to be used a gift packaging. Since I wanted to use the beautifully wide Real Red Ruched Ribbon to tie a bow around the box I needed to keep the other elements to a minimum so I simply added a couple of gold glimmer leaves, the white embossed sentiment on a Stitched Shape circle and a fun gold Jingle Bell tied on with some Linen Thread

For me gift tags are an essential part of Christmas preparations so of course I had to create a few coordinating gift tags to use with the Toile Tiding Gift Wrap. What do you think? Doesn't this gift look just too pretty to unwrap? 

Next up in the hop is my beautiful Kiwi friend Angela Meiritz-Reid, who has some gorgeous gift packaging to share with you all. 

Thank you for stopping by. 

- Tan xx

Supplies used

Stamps: Toile Christmas
Card: Garden Green, Granny Apple Green, Basic Black, Very Vanilla Gold Glimmer Paper, Gold Foil Paper, Vellum, Toile Tidings DSP, Toile Tidings Gift Wrap

Ink: Versamark,
Accessories & Tools: All-Around Wreath Dies, Christmas Cardinal Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Light Granny Apple Green Blend, Dark Real Red Blend, Dark Crumb Cake Blend, Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Real Red Ruched Ribbon, Jingle Bells, Gold Mini Pizza Boxes, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Gold Glitter Enamel Dots, Gold ¼” Glimmer Ribbon, Linen Thread