All Geared Up To Celebrate

Hello everyone,

My youngest little one has been attending quite a few parties for his daycare and kinder buddies lately so I have been busy creating cards for him to give to his friends at these events. Not to typecast but most 4 year old boys love cars so the cool images from Geared Up Garage were the perfect go-to for these cards.

Now two of the cards I made were whipped up quite hastily before we headed off to the parties but I did manage to have enough time to take a pic of this one.

When creating this card I drew some inspiration from the team at the Global Design Team and their current sketch challenge GDP#186. Here is the sketch that inspired the layout of my card

I really love the detail in all the images in the Geared Up Garage stamp set. In this card I've used the oil can image to add a little extra detail to the DSP background and the oil stain stamp added some texture to the Basic Gray starburst circle.

The little splatters of silver were created using my favourite stamp from the Timeless Textures stamp set. I'm really going to miss this stamp when the set retires at the end of May. 

That's all for this post today but be sure to pop back and check out my blog again throughout the week. I've been very busy behind the scenes creating some great projects to share without in various posts over the next couple of weeks, including an amazing limited release surprise from Stampin' Up!.

Thanks for stopping by.

- Tan xx

Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team Blog Hop - Needlepoint Nook

Hello everyone and welcome to another Artisan Design Team blog hop. This month we've had the opportunity to play with the products from the Needlepoint Nook Suite, particularly the Needle & Thread Stamp Set and the Needlepoint Element Framelits Dies.

When I sat down to play with these products I immediately knew I wanted to create a home decor item and it didn't take too long for me to decide to go with this project.

When creating this I really wanted the Needlepoint Nook Designer Series Paper to look like it was actually an embroidered piece of fabric, particularly as this pattern is photographic imagery of actual hand-stitched embroidery, so I had to experiment a little to work out how to mount the DSP on to the embroidery hoop. Do not fret, no beautiful Designer Series Paper was harmed in these experiments, only once I was successful at mounting a sheet of plain copy paper did I then attempt to mount the
DSP.

Of course I had to include some die-cut stitching in this project so the Stitched Rectangle Framelits were the obvious choice for the centre panel and I used a bit of masking and the Make a Difference Stamp Set to alter the "People like you make the world a better place" sentiment from Needle & Thread.

I absolutely love how the Distinktive images of the stitched flowers look like actual embroidered flowers although I have to admit I did have to practice a little to get an image I was happy with. My tip for using Distinktive Photopolymer stamps is to make sure your ink pad isn't too juicy (a quick dab with some paper towel is an easy way to remove excess ink) and make sure you put a foam mat under your cardstock before stamping (the one that comes with the Stamparatus is perfect).

You can also see in this close up pic that I also included the some of the teeny tiny Needlepoint Nook Mini Buttons. Aren't they the cutest?

Enjoy the rest of the hop, I can guarantee you are going to love all the projects that my fellow Artisans have created. Next up is my beautiful friend, Angela Meiritz-Reid.

Happy stamping

- Tan xx

Supplies used

Stamps: Needle & Thread, Make a Difference
Card: Whisper White, Tranquil Tide, Old Olive, Needlepoint Nook Designer Series Paper

Ink: Night of Navy, Berry Burst, Highland Heather, Old Olive, Balmy Blue, Crushed Curry, Petal Pink
Accessories & Tools: Needlepoint Elements Framelits, Stitched Rectangle Framelits, Needlepoint Nook Mini Buttons, Whisper White Bakers Twine, Old Olive Linen Thread, Whisper White Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon

Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team Blog Hop - Geared Up Garage

Hi and welcome to another Stampin' UP! Artisan Design Team blog hop. Today we are showcasing the products in the Classic Garage suite  from the 2019 Occasions Catalogue, particularly the Geared Up Garage Stamp Set and Garage Gears Thinlits Dies.

I love love love this suite with it's grungy images and bold colours but my favourite product in this suite are the Garage Gears Thinlits Dies, particularly these gear dies. 

For this particular project I experimented a little with embossing powder and foil sheets to create these steampunk style gears. 

To achieve this look I first swiped some Versamark over a piece of Silver Foil Sheet, then I scattered a little Copper Stampin Emboss powder over the Versamark, lightly in some areas and a little heavier in others. After heat setting the copper powder with a Heat Tool, I swiped a little more Versamark over the piece of foil sheet and then scattered some Black Stampin Emboss in the same random manner as the copper. After setting the black powder I repeated the same steps for a third time with Silver Emboss Powder, however this time when heating the embossing powder I heated it for a bit longer until the three different coloured embossing powders began to melt and merge into each other. Because the foil sheet is a smooth none porous surface the melted powders will slowly flow over the surface while being heated. Once I was happy with the look I allowed the embossing to cool and then cut the gears out with the thinlit. 

After creating this first card I decided to create a second one but switched around the colours and orientation and included a fussy cut car from the Classic Garage Designer Series Paper instead of a motor bike.

That's all for me today. Next up in the hop is my talented friend, Angela Meiritz-Reid from New Zealand, I know you are going to love what she is sharing today.

Thanks for hopping along with us today

Happy crafting

- Tan xx

Supplies used

Stamps: Geared Up Garage
Card: Real Red, Basic Black, Crushed Currey, Silver Foil Sheet, Classic Garage Designer Series Paper, Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Accessories & Tools: Garage Gears Thinlits, Layering Circles Framelits, Whiite Stampin Emboss Powder, Copper Stampin Emboss Powder, Black Stampin Emboss Powder, Silver Stampin Emboss Powder

CASE Yourself | Let's Get Hopping #18

Hello everyone and welcome back to another Let's Get Hopping blog hop.

This month the Let's Get Hopping designers have taken on the challenge to CASE a project they have created in the past. For those of you who aren't aware of what CASE means it stands for Copy And Selectively Edit (or Copy And Share Everything). Essentially CASing a project means taking inspiration such as a colour combo, sketch layout, or idea from one piece of work and adapting it to your project. Often crafters will CASE another crafters work when looking for inspiration but I think we tend to forget to look at our own work.

When looking back over my past projects I was drawn to this project I created last year for a TGIF Sketch Challenge (see the original post here).

Here is the project I created when CASing this card

This is the sketch that I worked from for the original card and as you can see at the time I decided to flip the sketch upside down

However with this project I decided to go with the pointed panel pointing towards the bottom of the card. I also chose to go with a woodgrain patterned DSP, this one from the Floral Romance Speciality Designer Series Paper pack. 

This cute little baby card was made especially for my cousins little baby boy who decided to come into the world on Australia Day so I felt it was only fitting that I include this gorgeous kangaroo and koala from the Animal Expedition Designer Series Paper in the design. 

Thank you for joining me today. Next up is Nina from Nina's Southern Accents. I can't wait to see what project she is sharing with us today.

Happy crafting 

- Tan xx

Supplies used

Stamps: Well Said,
Card: Balmy Blue, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Shimmery White, Floral Romance Speciality Designer Series Paper, Gingham Gala Designer Series Paper, Animal Expedition Designer Series Paper

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Grapefruit Grove, Versamark,
Accessories & Tools: Well Written Framelits, Lovely Flowers Edgelits, Be Mine Stitched Framelits, Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon, Whisper White Bakers Twine, White Stampin Emboss Powder, Frames Elements

Sale-A-Bration Coordination Promotion | Artisan Design Team Blog Hop

Welcome to another Artisan Design Team Blog Hop and today we are sharing some more projects created with products from the Sale-A-Bration Coordination promotion.

The Sale-A-Bration Coordination promotion features brand new products that coordinate perfectly with select Sale-A-Bration items. These products are only available for a limited time.

The products I am showcasing today are the new Hop Around Framelit dies that coordinate with the So Hoppy Together stamp set. The So Hoppy Together stamp set is a Sale-A-Bration item that you can order for FREE for every $90 you purchase and the coordinating Hop Around framelits are available to purchase from today, 1st March, but you need to get in quick to add these to your crafting supplies as they will only be available until 31st March, or while supplies last.

These little frogs are just so cute but they are now so much more fun to play with when they are paired with these new Hop Around framelits. There is a framelit to cut out all three frogs, the dragonfly,the little crown and those gorgeous lil' flies. Stampin' Up! has also included some waterlily and lily pad dies to compliment the stamped imaged.

When creating this project I just couldn't decide which frog to use so I solved my problem by creating this "pop and twist" section for the inside of my card

What I love about these framelits is that I can stamp and colour my images on whisper white and quickly die-cut them to layer on my projects. Admittedly I do love a bit of fussy cutting, but die-cutting is so super quick and easy. 

These "Pop and Twist" cards are such a fun card to make and receive. Over the years I've made quite a few of these cards for my kids birthdays and I've found this tutorial by Nicky Gilburt super easy to follow. For those of you that have not seen these fun fold cards before the photos below show you how the card twists and folds to tuck away the panels that pop out once the card is opened.

I hope you have enjoyed this card and don't forget this stamp set and framelit set are only available for a limited time so be sure to get your order in as soon as possible to ensure you don't miss out.

Next up in the hop is my fabulous friend Angela who has some truly beautiful projects to share with us

Thank you for joining me today

Happy Stamping

- Tan xx

Supplies used

Stamps: So Hoppy Together 

Card: Lemon Lime Twist, Basic Black, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Tropical Escape Designer Series Paper

Ink: Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Melon Mambo, Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody Memento Black, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight

Accessories & Tools: Hop Around Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Tropical Thinlits, Whisper White Bakers Twine, Frames Elements, Embossing Paste