Hey Chick!

Hello friends! This month the Artisan Design Team is sharing projects that feature the Hey Chick and Hey Birthday Chick bundles, the Sand & Sea suite and the Cactus Medley with the Succulent bundle! My assignment was to create some fun projects featuring the CHICKENS! Such a fun and cute couple of sets to work with!

As soon as I saw the big chubby chicken and the little chicks I knew I wanted to showcase them with a Diorama Card! This is such a unique card style to showcase a ‘scene’ and its a throwback to those fun shoebox diorama projects I loved make as a kid for a school project.

To recreate these projects you will need some Stampin’ Blends to add a hint of color to your chickens. The secret weapon and fun tip with this project is to take the wood stump die and the fence die and add extra details and dimensions to them by pressing them into the Cinnamon Cider ink pad prior to running them through the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. The ink on the die will press into the card stock and transfer, giving the recessed area some ink detail!

I also used the Wired Up background stamp set with my projects. I inked it up, keeping it right in the stamp case, with Grey Granite and then lightly touched my surfaces to the stamp. By not fully pressing it I was able to just add the chicken wire detail in a few places. Its a faint but awesome detail.

I think the bright colors of Poppy Parade, Coastal Cabana, and Daffodil Delight really added to the whimsical feel of these projects. I was really happy with how cheery and fun the finished projects turned out!

The Daffodil Delight card is a traditional card fold. I added die cut chicken wire poking out from each side of the main panel for a fun detail. The sentiment in Coastal Cabana at the top of the card is the sign trimmed to look like a board instead of a sign post. I always look for ways to change how a die works and this was easy! I added a light coloring detail to the chicken on this card with Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight and Mango Melody Stampin’ Blends.

To create the Diorama card you will need a large die to cut the window in the front. I used the largest circle die from the Circles Dies in the Annual Catalogue (a crafters must have set!).

The base of the Diorama card is 6 3/4 x 4 1/2. You want to score this at 3/4, 1 1/2, 5 1/4 and 6. You want to peek and valley fold these score lines to create the raised up front area.

The Basic White background piece is lightly stamped with the Chicken Wire background stamp and measures 4 1/4 x 4 1/2. You can attach this and then piece in the chubby bowtie chicken and fence. I found this was easier as I knew exactly where to place it instead of adding it to the Basic White first.

I then added a Coastal Cabana back piece to the card which measures the same as the Basic White, 4 1/4 x 4 1/2. This also gives the card a bit of weight and makes it easier to stand up.

The little chick on the left hand side is attached with a Glue Dot on his one leg. This gives him the illusion of popping out. The two streamers are cut in Pumpkin Pie and Mango Melody card stock and are attached to the inside of the window. This also contributes to the diorama style and feel.

I finally I just love the belly band on the Mini Paper Pumpkin box. I just love these boxes. They are the perfect size for giving Gift Cards and little treats and fit our Basic White Notecards perfectly!

I created the Poppy Parade belly band to be 2 inches wide and stamped ‘Hey Chick’ in the coordinating ink randomly along the band. I used the chicken wire die again, this time in Coastal Cabana cards stock to add a bit of detail. The chicken with the balloon is colored with Stampin’ Blends and I couldn’t resist giving him a little bowtie! I love that the Birthday Chick dies have a die that cuts Happy Birthday! It was a fantastic addition to this project with the little cupcake trimmed from the Hey Chick stamp set.

If any of these projects have inspired you and you live in Canada, please consider shopping with me. I would love to get to know you and help in your creative stamping journey! I teach a lot of classes and facilitate a number of monthly groups!

Create with Connie and Mary--Easter Cards!

Hello friends! Our official theme this week is Easter Cards, however I have been sharing some Easter inspiration over the past couple of weeks. So hopefully if you haven’t visited in a while you can go back and take a peek! I really love designing Easter cards because I love the soft pastel colors of spring and Easter. Fun Fact—my 5 bridesmaids all wore a different shade of pastel back when I got married 20 years ago! 20 years! Where does the time go?

It was really easy to design this card based around the sweetest bunny ever! You can find this cutie along with an adorable lamb and butterfly in the Springtime Joy stamp set. I have made quite a few things with this set over the past few weeks. You can also follow me on Instagram @stampwithbrenda as I do post almost daily over there!

I also wanted to create a card that used some items that you wouldn’t necessarily think of as ‘Easter’ themed too!

I started with a crisp base of Basic white and ran a layer through the awesome Dainty Diamonds 3D Embossing Folder.

I then cut some squares from various papers to create a fun focal point.

I started with a square of the Love You Always Foil Sheets in the Sahara Sand. On top and at an angle I added some of the Love You Always Specialty Designer Series Paper in the Blushing Bride tone.

And finally I thought this was a good opportunity to showcase the Stitched With Whimsy Dies on a Basic White square with an amazing Gold Hoop! I love these embellishments and I really hope they continue with our new catalogue coming out in May.

I added a little greenery using the Forever Flourishing Dies in Soft Seafoam and added it to the left of the hoop with some glue dots. The cute little bunny is stamped in Momento Ink and colored with the Stampin’ Blends. A fun tip is to use the light Smoky Slate Blend to delicately color around the flower crown to give it a little depth and dimension.

The Springtime Joy stamp set doesn’t have a sentiment that says Welcome Easter so I had to stamp two different sentiments and hand trim them to create my own. I find you can almost always get the sentiment you want by combining a few different stamps!

I hope you are inspired to create something with this set! I have a few other projects I haven’t shared yet so keep checking back! I know the other designers have made some fantastic projects this week too. You can go BACK to see what Melissa has designed and NEXT to see what Connie has made.

So Happy...

Today I committed to making a project that was just for myself—this might sound crazy but with all of my Artisan commitments and the various classes and groups I offer, most of my creative time is designated to that. So it was refreshing to make a scrapbook page, my favorite thing, for just me and to display in my crafty space!

This is a picture from a family photo shoot 2 years ago already! Sometimes, moms can relate, I just can’t wrap my head around the passage of time. The days can be long but the years go fast, is such a perfect way to describe ‘time’ and this motherhood journey!

I started with a base of Basic White because I really wanted to use the So Happy bundle. I have had it sitting on my craft table for the last month and was itching to create a stencil of sorts to create some clouds. I also wanted to use this set in a non-traditional way as at first glance it looks like a birthday set. With a little creative design I think I did create a page that has nothing to do with birthdays!

I used Pool Party and the new Blending Brush to create the clouds. You could use any of our amazing blues, but I find Pool Party and Pretty Peacock look amazing together. I will be sad to say goodbye to Pretty Peacock next month but I am also excited to see the new In Colors that will be released.

I cut a ‘stencil’ using the cloud die from the Happy Die Set and then used its edge repeatedly create a cloud like look on my page.

I blended the clouds about half way up my page and added two feature areas to the page. The top left little area is where I was able to introduce Calypso Coral and Petal Pink—two other colors that I find look amazing together. The half 2 inch circles are from the new and exclusive Butterfly BIjou DSP and had a similar shape to the clouds which I liked.

Using the dies I was able to cut out the little banner in the Natural Touch Specialty Paper. I sniped it apart so it looks longer than it is in reality. “Happy” is stamped in Pretty Peacock and then cut with a Stitched Rectangular die.

I love to add texture and interest to my sentiments by combining different ribbons. Here i used the Polkadot Tulle ribbon and the gold thread from the Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack. The Gilded Gem and itty bitty gold star (from the dies) just add a fun element!

What I also love about this bundle is how the different phrases build off of the word HAPPY. I was able to cut the die down a bit from its initial form to change its appearance a bit too. I cut the ‘Happy’ out of the Natural Touch Specialty Paper as well. This helps tie the two feature areas together.

I also modified how the ‘Happy’ looked by trimming the top edge off of the die and shortening the edges.

I stamped ‘to have you in my life’ on Petal Pink Card stock and stamped the stars in the same color. I used Calypso Coral for the actual sentiment. The stars are stamped using the four colors that make up this page and also serve to create continuity across the page.

Making this page just filled my cup today! I am so blessed that my hobby is something I love so passionately and has become a business that has allowed me to stay close to home to raise my kids.

If you are inspired by this page and want any of the project supplies I used, please feel free to shop my store or use my Hostess Code!

Create with Connie and Mary--Punch Art!

Happy Saturday! Thank you so much for joining us today while we create some projects with PUNCH ART…I won’t lie, this is a challenging theme for me! However, I have discovered a really easy way to transform my Daisy Punch into something super cute!

I also wanted to combine our design theme of Punch Art into something with Easter as that holiday will be here before we know it!

I paired up my Daisy Punch with the Arrange a Wreath Bundle to create this adorable Easter Card!

Isn’t this card just the sweetest? I love how it turned out!

Okay, let’s talk creative details!

The base of this card is So Saffron and I added a small strip of Flowers for Every Season DSP to the left hand side of the card base.

I cut a wreath from Soft Seafoam and flicked my Granny Apple Green marker over top to add a little texture. Flicking a marker is my favorite technique! It is the simplest way to add texture and interest.

The box is stamped in Cinnamon Cider and is hand trimmed. The eggs however are cut with a die and are stamped in So Saffron, Flirty Flamingo and Pool Party.

The Punch Art aspect of my card in the bunny I was able to create with the Daisy Punch! Its literally SO EASY! Just punch yourself a daisy in a bunny friendly color and trim away all of the petals until you have 2 bunny ears left! I then just tucked this into the box so it looks like the bunny is peaking out! CUUUUTE!

Happy Easter is stamped in Granny Apple Green on Soft Seafoam card stock (who says you can’t mix greens?) and the teeny flowers on the wreath are found in the die set! A little Elegant Faceted Gem was perfect for the center.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Design Team shares this week! You can go BACK to see Melissa’s design and NEXT to see what Connie has created! Please feel free to use my HOST CODE (on the side bar of my blog) if you live in Canada :)

Around the World on Wednesday--3D projects!

Hello friends! I love when I can participate in a 3D Design Challenge because I loosely interpret 3D as anything but a card—-so the sky is the limit with what you can create! I can’t wait to see what everyone has designed this month!

The days are getting sunnier and the snow is melting here in Edmonton, where I live! So I have definitely been feeling those spring vibes and I wanted to create a wreath for my front door to welcome in the change in season!

I picked up a twig style wreath from my local craft store. Typically these are pretty inexpensive wreaths that have a lot of creative options.

I used hot glue to pretty much assemble the entire project from the flower construction to adhering everything to the wreath itself.

The Butterfly Brilliance Bundle is really exciting and new right now so I knew that I wanted my spring wreath tot have some butterflies on it. I stamped them with Momento Ink and colored them with a light hand using the Water Painters and the following ink colors—Calypso Coral, Mango Melody, Just Jade and Mint Macaron. I also added Wink of Stella over top of the butterflies to give them a little glimmer.

I love that you can stamp all these butterflies ONE TIME and then die cut them all in one go! It makes creative projects like this so much faster to put together.

I cut the word SPRING out using the Playful Alphabet Dies and the Foam Adhesive Sheets. The letters are cut from the Butterfly Bijou Designer Series Paper and are placed on a Stitched Oval that is stamped with some of the butterflies from the Butterfly Brilliance stamp set in Soft Seafoam. Behind the sentiment I created an oversized bow with the Fine Art Ribbon from the Art Gallery Suite.

The large Calypso Coral flower is created using the Heart Builder Punch. The inside is just a strip of Bumblebee card stock that I cut little slits into and rolled up to add to the center. When its rolled you just fan it out!

I used both of the daisy punches (original and medium) along with the Perennial Petals Dies to fill in my wreath. I stamped some medium daisy’s in Pool Party from the Daisy Lane stamp set.

The Blushing Bride and Calypso Coral flowers shown beside are created by cutting the flower 5 times and then stapling them together. You can then fold and squish them together and add a smaller flower into the center to hide the staple.

I love how the Perennial Petals Dies layer up so well to create so much dimension! The Pool Party flower shown here has 4 layers with an Elegant Faceted Gem in the center.

I am really happy with how this spring wreath project turned out and I can’t wait until I can display it on my door full time. Living here you never know when 3rd, 4th or 5th winter might kick in again! Hahaha! Probaby after May long weekend we should be safe.

Next up on the hop you will be visiting the awesome Tricia Butts in the United States! I love how our hop takes you all around the world!