Artisan Design Team January Share!

OMG friends! I can’t believe I can actually TYPE the word ARTISAN…its literally been a dream of mine for the last few years and a GOAL (big difference) over the last 18 months. I started my blog with the purpose of having a platform to apply for the team and to create a digital archive of things I love. Scrapbook pages, recipes, cards and experiences. I joined some blog hops which has been exciting and has helped me grow and develop, meet deadlines, improve my photography and so much more! My blog is a place where I can be somewhat interactive with you (I love comments) and I am still learning and wanting to add more features!

So when I got the call on September 16th, yes I know the date as it was my 20th wedding anniversary, I cried. Like ugly cry and was so so happy. My daughter was in the car with me and had no idea what was going on!!! Haha! My biggest hope for my kids is they can set a goal, work and strive toward it with vision and purpose and achieve it. It is actually quite amazing. So I am SO HAPPY to be on the 2021 team and to share my creations with you!

My very first Artisan project featured the In Bloom Bundle and Paper Blooms Designer Series Paper (from Sale-a-bration 2021).

Let’s start with the fun pull out birthday card in the Love You Always Treat Boxes! As soon as I saw how these treat boxes worked I knew I wanted to create some kind of pull out project. I decided on a birthday card after seeing all the fantastic sentiments in the In Bloom stamp set.

The boxes are easy to assemble which is awesome. To create the pull out feature you need a piece of Basic White card stock measuring 3 1/2 x 11 1/4. Score at 2 1/4, 4 1/2, 6 3/4 and 9. Accordion fold it and add the Petal Pink panels on measuring 2 x 3 1/4. You need 5 panels.

Then you can stamp and embellish as desired!

The colors I used to create this pull out birthday card are Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Sahara Sand, and Gold Foil accented with the Gilded Leafing. To add the Gilded Leafing to my flowers I used Heat’n Stick Powder with a finger dauber. The dauber allows you to have more control over where you want to apply the Heat’n Stick powder. Once you heat set the powder (do not over heat as it will lose the stickiness) press it into your Gilded Leafing and use the large Water Painter to brush off the excess and reveal the details.

Of course I also had to create a scrapbook page to feature this fantastic Paper Blooms Designer Series Paper and my sons 16th birthday!

I chose the dark pattern from the DSP because I thought the Night of Navy would really pop against a Basic White background. I flanked each side with strips of Calypso Coral card stock. I didn’t want to use 12x12 paper (I covet for page bases) so I cut the strips from 8 1/2 x 11 and pieced them together behind the photo mat. I also popped the Gold Foil photo mat up on Dimensionals.

You may notice some circles on the layout and those are cut with punches from the DSP.

I applied the same technique to the flowers on this page as the pull out birthday card with the Gilded Leafing.

This layout combines flowers cut using the Pierced Bloom dies, stamped flowers and flowers cut from the DSP. You will notice in this picture that I stamped the “You are Amazing” right on the circle cut from the DSP and embossed it in gold. I love this feature!

I used the new Resin Hearts, Gilded Gems and Gold Metallic Pearls as accents on the page. I love the fun bow cut with the dies and Gold Foil paper.

I hope you enjoyed my first official Artisan Design Team showcase projects! Make sure to check out Stampin’ Up!’s Facebook page to see everyone’s creations and follow me over on Instagram @stampwithbrenda

If you live in Canada and would love to create these projects yourself you can shop my Online Store or use the Hostess Code to have items sent direct to you! Just confirm it says “Shopping with Brenda Nelson” in the shopping bag :)

Flip & Pull Mini Album Project

I wanted to share a mini album I made for my Mother in Law for this past Christmas. I took a class that my friend and fellow demonstrator Jessica, @jessbstamps, offered in November. We put this album together over 2 sessions and then were left to add photos and embellishments on our own. It truly is a one of a kind project and gift!

This completed album definitely has some weight to it. Because the album was so interactive with photo panels opening and flipping in every direction, I did have to be more aware of embellishing. So while I didn’t embellish to my typical avid standards I am happy with what I was able to add into the album. I think it will make a really great keepsake as it is pretty well constructed. We used a lot of Tear & Tape on this project!

I want to note that because I do not have this album in front of me anymore, I cannot exactly remember the order of the pages. So the way my photos are shared my not actually be how they are in the album! Disclaimer! And I have NO measurements or anything for you as I did not design this project.

We have so many fantastic stamp sets to choose from that I had no shortage of inspiration to embellish this album. I added in a variety of ribbons and Silver Metallic Pearls through out and kept the colors true to the Peony Garden DSP. The base of the album is Smoky Slate card stock and we almost used an entire package to make this album and almost the entire package of Peony Garden DSP.

We have a very large family on the Nelson side. 19 grand kids! My nephew recently married so we are now at 20, plus all of the adult adults! So this project was a perfect way to showcase everyone and reflect on the many amazing family memories we have made so far.

My favorite aspect to this album are all of the fun pullout pages and the pages that lift up in every direction possible. Some flip up, some flip down! Pages pull out and fold it. Its actually quite spectacular!

There is so much to explore and see while looking through this project.

One of the gals that took this class with me called these little panels ‘Saloon Doors’, we all thought that was the perfect way to describe them!

I hope this project has inspired you! I would love to make another one and fill it with memories of my family, but for now I know my Mother in Law and extended family, who live a province away, will enjoy looking at this mini album!

Create with Connie and Mary-Favorite NEW Product!

Hello friends! Welcome to a new year and new projects and inspiration! So excited to have you joining us every Saturday for 2021. Wishing you and your family all the best as we kick off 2021 with a renewed spirit and intention. My theme for 2021 is Make it Happen. I have big goals to accomplish this year!

Our first weekly theme is FAVORITE NEW PRODUCT! I have to say, it was almost hard to pick because there are just so many fabulous items in the new January to June Catalogue (or the JJ catty as some are calling it!).

I landed on the Fine Art Floral Suite. Florals just have so much potential as you can use them on every single theme in one way or another. I wanted to kick off my first project share in the Create with Connie & Mary Hop with a great gift or home decor idea using this suite.

I can often find these rustic frames with the built in clip at Homesense. I snatch them up whenever I can find them! They are perfect for embellishing with your favorite stamps!

I started with a large base of DSP from the Fine Art Floral collection and layered on a mat of Poppy Parade. I stamped the flowers from the Art Gallery stamp set in two colors for each flower. The large bloom is actually designed to work this way as there are two separate stamps. The cluster of blooms is only a single stamp with one extra stamp for layering. I decided to use a marker to tap on a darker color.

I used the colors in the DSP to guide the colors I used for the flowers. The flowers in this DSP were actually hand painted on a canvas! I love this paper especially the sheets that look like paint smeared on canvas, so I chose that piece to stamp my sentiment “You Make the World...” in Versamark with Gold Embossing Powder.

The sentiment is from the Beautiful World stamp set in the Annual Catalogue.

I added some Wink of Stella on top of the flowers for a little shimmer!

The Art Gallery stamp set only has one stem image so I stamped it in Old Olive ink on the same color card stock and then cut it apart to look more like leaves. The Fine Art Floral ribbon was also perfect to layer behind sentiment (cut with Stitched Circle Dies) to continue the gold theme on this project.

I stamped “You are Lovely” in Old Olive Ink on the coordinating card stock and cut it with a die from the Floral Gallery Dies. I added a couple more flowers underneath the sentiment.

After I took this picture I thought…it needs something! So I went back and cut the word “friend” in Gold Foil paper using the Well Written Dies (see the first picture to notice the addition!).

I was so happy to give this gift to my friend Tammy. We met on the Alaskan Incentive Trip and have kept in touch ever since. This is a picture of us on the Greek Isles Incentive Trip in the infamous Hospitality Room. I absolutely LOVED this trip and am keeping every body part of mine crossed that we can see each other again in Maui this spring!

I can’t wait to see the other members of the Design Team are sharing a their favorite new products. You can go BACK to see what Melissa has designed and NEXT to see what Connie has created! Please feel free to shop with me if you live in Canada! All of these new and amazing products will be available on January 5th. If you live in Canada you can shop my Online Store or use my Hostess Code at any time!

A Card a Day in December--Day #27

Hello friends! Well I am officially shifting gears from Christmas to New Years and am going to share some New Years projects now through Dec 31st. I am sure we will all be happy to say goodbye to 2020. It was a year of trials and tribulations and SO MANY AWESOME THINGS!! I think there are many things that are better and improved in my life! I hope you have a few of those things to add to your list too when reflecting on 2020.

I made this cute, STAMP FREE, celebration wand with my team at our last zoom party!

Some people call them lolli’s, some people call them rosettes, but no matter what you call them they are a just FUN!

Because this is a stamp free project it could be a great idea to make a version to create with your team in the future!

I started with two strips of 2 1/4 x 11 Smoky Slate card stock that I scored at 1/2 increments. You may have a slight piece to trim off at the end. Attach these two strips together with a strong adhesive. Now you should have one long strip of accordion style card stock.

HOT TIP: I think this tip might actually change your life (bold statement right?) as far as rosette assembly goes! Once you have your rosette scored, heat your hot glue gun. You will need a silicone mat. Pinch your paper closed as tight as you can and put a big glob of hot glue on the end of the squashed card stock—-as shown below and press the hot glue into the silicone mat to set. Once set remove and the glue will help your rosette stay flat (once you push the center).

You will also want to reinforce your rosette with a circle on the front and back.

After your have your basic rosette constructed you can decorate as your heart desires! Because I wanted to celebrate the NEW YEAR with my team and I wanted them to play with new stuff I decided to use the Snail Mail Designer Series paper from the upcoming January to June Mini Catalogue (or the JJ Catty as its been nicknamed).

I started with a large circle in Silver Foil and then layered a circle from the Snail Mail DSP.

I cut the ‘hello’ from the DSP! Isn’t that fun?

The label that 2021 is on is from the Potted Succulent Dies and the numbers are cut in Mint Macaron card stock using the Playful Alphabet Dies and Foam Adhesive sheets with some Wink of Stella on top (of course!)

I tied some ribbons around the handle (a basic dowel that is hot glued in place) to fancy it up and voila! The cutest little rosette you ever did see to welcome in 2021!

A Card a Day in December--Day #26

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday and is enjoying all of their new gifts that Santa brought! Today I want to share a winter scrapbook page with you. I know NOT A CARD, but I figured we will all have winter photos that we want to save so hopefully this page provides you with some inspiration!

This double page layout is on a base of Pool Party 12x12 and is accentuated with colors found in the Snowflake Splendour Suite. I LOVE this designer series paper and how many different tones of blue and purple there are to work with.

I added two different 3 x 12 strips of the DSP to each page to bring in some of these colors so that I could in embellishments in a variety of colors.

I used the So Many Snowflake, Peony and Beautiful Bows dies on these two pages.

Winter and Wishes are cut using the Playful Alphabet dies with the Foam Adhesive sheets and the Well Written dies.

“In the Coldest Moments…” is stamped in Pacific Point ink on Whisper White and is punched with a 2 1/2 circle punch. The Stitched Circles were perfect to cut a layering piece out of another selection of DSP. In between I added some In Color ribbon and Playing with Patterns ribbon.

Adding some Highland Heather snowflakes along with boughs cut in Whisper White were perfect.

You will notice there are a bunch of snowflakes stamped in the backround.

Here is fun tip: Place all of your desired stamps onto one of our larger blocks. I used the E block for this. Then you can stamp a bunch of images at one time and slightly rotate the block each time so they look different.

The second page of my layout has many of the same elements but in a vertical presentation instead. Not only does this allow for a photo going in a different direction (consider that most selfies are this orientation) it allows for a different look while feeling unified.

The sentiment on this page is from the Snowman Season stamp set. A returning favorite from last holiday! It is cut with a Stitched Circle and the DSP behind it is cut with a punch. A reversal from what you found on the other page.

Once again I added in Highland Heather snowflakes and a border with the Peony die in Misty Moonlight.

Both pages have some Blue Backed Gems and Rhinestones. The sentiment on this page also has some Pool Party Sheer ribbon behind it to mimic the other page.

I really love how these two pages turned out. I hope you will try your hand at some memory keeping if it is not something you already do! If you live in Canada please feel free to SHOP by online store direct to Stampin’ Up! Thank you in advance!