Be Inspired Blog Hop--Let's Get Crafty with the Regals!

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Ok friends! Hello and welcome to another fun Be Inspired Blog Hop—now I don’t know WHO it was that decided that we should design with the Regals this month, but at first I didn’t like you much. Now I am thankful and grateful because a) I was pushed out of my normal crafty zone by having to use these colors and b) I created a page that literally reduced me to tears.

The universe sent me a gift when it gave me my son Reese, from the moment he was born he just had that sparkle in his eye, electric and boundless energy, and the BEST personality. Every teacher he ever had reported back the same thing and its a gift that will carry him far in life.

Reese went away to Millar College of the Bible earlier this year…so mom’s who have had kids leave the nest, you get why looking at this picture and creating this page brought me to tears. Hands down, the best decision I ever made was to scrapbook my families life.

I think to myself—where would this picture be now? On a camera roll, maybe if I was lucky, in a shoe box somewhere? But now it is living large on this gorgeous scrapbook page and I can pass it down to my son and his family one day. Okay, enough crying! Seriously, here are the Crafty Details!

I started with an awesome piece of DSP from the Delicate Desert 12x12—I was so excited to see this piece designed with Cajun Craze! I cut a piece of card stock down to 11x11 to give the page a solid base. I then matted my photo with another piece from the DSP that had Cajun and Gray Granite. It was perfect!

And then I started to think about my stamp collection. With the end of this catalogue on the horizon I start to think of the sets that I really truly love and I was reminded of the Hand Penned Petals bundle. I have not crafted with it in a while and I am so happy I dusted it off. It really brings this page to life.

I stamped the main floral image from the stamp set in Basic Grey ink. Black ink just felt a little to strong for the look I was going for. I then colored the flowers with my favorite technique, Lazy Watercoloring using Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Crushed Curry and Cajun Craze. I was really pleased that I could incorporate 4 colors from the Regals family into my design!

The stitched heart die cut is from the new Radiating Stitches Dies which are a new Online Exclusive product and the sentiment “You are Easy to Love” is from the recent Sale a bration set Beautifully Happy. Its the perfect sentiment for this page and how I feel about my son. I added some gold metallic thread behind it because it was one of my fav embellishments of all time and I have SO MUCH of it!

The best part of the Hand Penned Dies are the amazing flowers they included. I decided to cut them out in Cajun Craze to have that tone on tone textural feel to them. When I dug into my bin of card stock scraps I found a piece of Cajun Craze that had a torn edge. I tried laying it underneath my photo mat and it was perfect—its like this scrap of paper was just waiting to become something special. I think the juxtaposition of the torn paper and the flowers is really special.

TOP TIP: Moms of boys—please use florals on your scrapbook pages! Boys are like nature, wild and free! Embrace it!

The most powerful element on this page is the sentiment “Anything is Possible” that I stamped in Old Olive ink and extended the phrase with ‘Son’, cut in Gold Foil paper with the Alphabet A la Mode dies. Isn’t this the message we want our children to feel?

And I love the mix of the watercolored flowers with the die cuts and some of the gold sequins from the Subtle Adhesive Backed Sequins.

This might be one of my favorite scrapbook pages EVER.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of the squad has designed using the Regals family! I also cant’t wait to see the new and updated Regals family in the 2023/24 Annual Catalogue being released in May! I hope all of the colors I used on my layout will be returning! Fingers crossed!

Please check out what my friend Carolynn has created by clicking on the link below! I am excited to see what the whole team has designed so make sure you hop all the way through!

Artisan Design Team Project featuring Delicate Desert

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Hello friends! I could not be more excited to share my projects for March that I created for the Artisan Design Team. I absolutely loved designing with the Delicate Desert Suite especially because I used one of my all time favorite pictures of my youngest son, Shepard.

I recently updated my Scrapbook Gallery on my blog as well—so if you are looking for more scrapbook page inspiration, please check there!

Shep really was the happiest baby and such an easy toddler—I simply cannot believe at the time of writing this he is 12. I wish i had a time machine to go back and cuddle this little guy again.

I decided to make a scrapbook page AND a card for my Team projects this month. I really love the color palette of this suite—Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Cajun Craze, Pale Papaya, Soft Succulent and Gray Granite look so AWESOME together!

For my scrapbook page, I started with a sheet of the Delicate Desert 12x12 DSP as the base and then I added a layer of Basic White over top that is cut to 11x11. This lets you see a little bit of the pattern behind. I used another piece of the DSP for the photo mat as well and cut out the leaf like shape out of the DSP and the Dry Brushed Metallic 12x12 paper. If you haven’t ordered the Dry Brushed paper yet, you should really take a chance on it. It is really cool and has alot of fabulous texture w the hints of gold layered through.

Seriously, look at Sheppie’s cute face. I can’t even.

Because the Dry Brushed Metallic paper has gold in the design I decided to stamp one of the larger flowers in Versamark and use Gold Embossing Powder. I then used my Blending Brush with Pale Papaya ink to a bit of emboss resist. It is such a classic technique, and I find everyone is impressed with embossing! I also die cut some of the triangular shapes (they remind me of a pattern on a western blanket) to add it to represent foliage. I think it worked really well!

The sentiment could not be more perfect for this scrapbook page! However, the Desert Details Dies do not have a label shape, so I borrowed this one from the He’s the Man Dies. The suite also includes the Pale Papaya Faux Velvet Trim which I cut in half to add underneath the sentiment.

My favorite part of this scrapbook page is actually the base where I used both of the large panels to create interest and texture by die cutting them in Basic White. They are added flat to the page with all of the other elements on top. I also used the Gold Faceted Adhesive Backed Sequins to add interest to the scrapbook page.

The stamp set also includes two longer border type stamps which I used along the right side of the photo. I thought it was an interesting way to bring in those design elements.

 

The sentiment in the top left, “Your Smile is Pure Magic” was also a fantastic addition to this page. I stamped it in Pale Papaya first and then used my Calyspso Coral marker over the ‘magic’ to make it pop. I added some of the Pale Papaya Ribbon and a die cut element.

TOP TIP: I cut the element horizontally into two pieces so I could spread it out and give the illusion of it being larger than it really is

For my card design, I started with a base of Grey Granite, and then I used a piece of the DSP as a base, with another DSP design die cut with the larger decorative panel. I then cut the smaller decorative panel in Basic White. I love the edge detailing on both of these dies and how they nestle together.

The Basic White panel has a touch of color added by using a Blending Brush and Pale Papaya ink. I also flicked my Pale Papaya Stampin’ Blend over top.

The flower is also stamped in Versamark, then I added ink in Pale Papaya and Calypso Coral with a Blending Brush and finished it off with Clear Embossing Powder. This gives the flower a glossy feel. I used both the Delicate Desert and the Dry Brushed Metallic paper with the foliage die to layer behind the sentiment.

The border die included in the set was used as an accent underneath my sentiment as well. And of course, who can resist bling? So I added some of the Gold Faceted Adhesive Backed Sequins to this project as well.

I hope you enjoyed these projects and all of the other amazing things created by the Artisan Design Team! For more inspo with the Delicate Desert Suite check out on Instagram and Facebook the Stampin’ Up! Official account as well as Heather Thomas @thesongbirdstamper , Karine Lison @karinelison73choupinette, Sandra Herzog @herzerlskreativecke and Tammy Wilson @stamppaperscissors

Please feel free to shop my online store by clicking this button or any supply images! If I have inspired you, I appreciate your support so I can keep loving what I do :)

Color Fusers--March 2023

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Hello friends—welcome to the Color Fusers Blog Hop! I am so excited about this month as I absolutely LOVE this color combo that we are creating with this month—Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron and Soft Seafoam!

I love the soft feel of these colors—they feel like spring and Easter and I thought they were absolutely perfect for a scrapbook page featuring one of our new Online Exclusive stamp sets—Irresistible Blooms.

The base of my page is Blushing Bride and then I layered Basic White on top. I anchored most of the design on the top right of the page for something that feels a bit different but you could easily center everything in the middle of the page if you prefer that look.

I used a 6x6 piece of Mint Macaron DSP from the Country Gingham collection to act as my large photo mat and to ground the picture. I decided to add gold accents to my design so along with a Mint Macaron photo mat, I added a layer of the Fine Shimmer Paper. If you have not ordered this paper yet—you NEED to #addtocart! Its absolutely AMAZING!

 

I knew I wanted to use the new Irresistible Blooms bundle on my page so I decided to stamp the 2 blooms from the stamp set with Whisper White ink and embossing powder. I then used my Blending Brushes to add Blushing Bride ink to the flowers for an emboss resist technique.

I did the same technique with the leaves using both Soft Seafoam and Mint Macaron.

I also pulled out an old favorite die, Scallop Contours, for the amazing stitched scallop border die. I thought it was a the perfect accent piece to run underneath the DSP layer.

 

You can actually create quite a bit of depth and tones of ink by just using an ink pad and Blending Brush!

One of the best parts of the Irresistible Blooms dies is the dotted circle wreath (for a lack of what else to call this). When you die cut it on a square of paper it is actually still connected to the paper, but with a few snips with my Paper Snips I was able to free it to add a really fun wreath accent to my design. For my page, I wanted this to blend softly into the design so I decided to cut it out with Vellum.

This picture was taken when me and the kids went to see Reese play in a soccer tournament. These moments together are even more special since he went away to school 8 hours away.

There are two sentiments on my page—one is from Irresistible Blooms—I Like You and the other is from Happy Labels and I added some Gold Shimmer Ribbon underneath. The sequins are the Pastel Adhesive Backed Sequins and have been one of my favorite embellishments from the Occasions Catalogue.

I hope this project inspires you to create something amazing with this color palette! I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Color Fusers team has created this month. I am always inspired by them!

Next up on the Hop is Bonnie O’Neill— I know she has something amazing to share! You can go all the way through by visiting Bonnie next or go in reverse by clicking on Previous. This will take you to the talented Sue Vine!

If my scrapbook page has inspired you to #addtocart you can click on any image to shop my online store. Thank you in advance!

Be Inspired--February Blog Hop!

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Hello friends! Welcome to the Be Inspired Blog Hop! I recently joined this Blog Hop back in November and then had a couple month hiatus! But I am back crafting with them again! This months theme is “Brights” and I took this to mean two things—incorporating some colors from the Brights family and making a bright project!

As you can see I chose Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green (my two favorite Brights colors) as the focus of my page and then added in some other supporting colors from other color families. In my opinion I think this is the way Stampin’ Up! intended our colors to work together. Supporting and uplifting each other. AND there is the rumoured color refresh happening so I am so excited and curious to see how the color families are going to change!

Normally I always add a picture to my layouts but in this case I wanted to share one without a photo to really help you focus in on the design.

I cut six swatches of DSP from the host stack of DSP Flowers & More in the brightest patterns I could find (I also used some from the retired stack from last years annual catalogue). Sometimes it is intimidating to know how to craft with these bright colors and patterns. So paring them down to smaller segments I find often works best. All of these panels are 3 x 4 so you can also get a lot out of one sheet of DSP.

I decided to use three stamp sets to add to my page design, Happy Labels and Love for You. This was my first time crafting with the Brushed Bouquet bundle and I really love the shape and design of the flowers. I always love when a stamp set has multiple sizes of flowers.

The multi stripped piece of DSP was the anchor for my page design as it let me bring in all the different colors. It is very bright and fun! I wanted to add it to the top left of my page to create a little vignette and having this pattern in the bottom right corner helps your eye look around the page.

I stamped out 3 different flowers and use the leaf dies to embellish the sentiment. The sentiment is cut using the new Happy Labels Pick a Punch. I love how you can use one punch to create multiple looks.

 

The bright bold patterns of this page are definitely softened by the Basic White base. I think it really helps the colors pop off of the page, especially the bold So Much Love which is stamped in Poppy Parade and die cut with the Stylish Shapes Dies.

I added tons of blooms and leaves to frame the sentiment. Placing it on the right helps to balance the layout.

I really love how this page turned out and I can’t wait to add a photo to it! I think it is a great page for February, the month of Galentine’s and love, friendship and family. These are all the things I think of for February. I love mixing and matching colors but anchoring many of the details with Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green to create a bright fun layout with wild patterns! I used up some retired products too (the Pale Papaya ribbon and gems) with brand new products to encourage all my fellow crafters to #useyourstash which is my new personal goal for 2023. I think all crafters tend to hoard a teeny bit, don’t we? Hahaha!

I can’t wait to see what Janneke Dijkstra - de Jong has designed for us this month. You can click on the NEXT button to see what Janneke has created but make sure that you follow all through the Hop to see all the fabulous creations featuring ‘Brights’!

If my design has influenced you, please consider shopping my online store. This allows me to continue to love what I do! You can click any image to go directly to my store! AND if you are local to YEG and are interested in attending one of my many scrapbook page classes please reach out! I would love to share my passion with you!

Color Fusers--February 2023

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Hello friends! Welcome to the February Color Fusers BLOG HOP! I love to hop with this creative crew and I look forward to crafting with our color challenges each month!

This month we have a really unique color combination for you—Calypso Coral, Balmy Blue and Pale Papaya!

I love that our color challenge this month is NOT what you would expect for Valentines projects but I decided to make one with this combination anyway!

The reason I liked this color combination for a valentine’s card is because it doesn’t have to be a holiday about your spouse or significant other. It can also be a holiday about those who you LOVE so I designed a card that you could give to your mom, or a friend, or someone in your life who means something special to you.

I decided to make the base of my card Pale Papaya and I am officially going on record to say how much I will miss this fun color. It is a tone that seems to works so well with so many of our core colors!

I also had not used my Dots & Spots die in a while so I pulled it out to created an interesting first layer on my card. And because its Sale a Bration I had to use some of the DSP from the Favoured Flowers collection to anchor the bottom half of the card and create a base for the design. I also love how it has a more geometrical design that works well with the polkadot first layer.

One of the things I was most excited about in the new Occasions catalogue was the Love for You bundle. I think it is fantastic for card making AND an amazing set for scrapbooking (my first love).

I stamped out the sentiment ‘So Much Love’ in Balmy Blue. Now I think Balmy Blue is having a moment. If you flip through the Occasions Catalogue you might notice that it is showing up in a lot of the new DSP designs!

 

The flowers from Love For You are stamped in both Calypso Coral and Balmy Blue. I stamped the solid layer of the flower off on my grid paper and then the detail part of the stamp full strength over top. You can also add a little center if you desire as well. Seriously! The designers at Stampin’ Up! think of every possibility!

The centers and the cute little hearts are stamped in Pale Papaya.

I added Happy Valentine’s Day onto the design but you could easily omit it. But I love that you can send this card to someone who isn’t your sweetheart. And I couldn’t resist a bit of Linen Thread underneath the sentiment.

A few Pastel Adhesive Backed Sequins in blue completed this unique card! I really hope you like the twist on this Valentine’s Day project!

Next on the hop is the amazing Bonnie O’Neill so click on the image to head directly to her blog. If you want to go backwards you can click on PREVIOUS to see what Sue Vine has designed this month.

Make sure to check out everyone on the Hop and please leave a comment if you enjoy my project this month. I would love to hear from you!