Another Card for Ukraine

I wanted to join in on the #cardsforukraine drive to be one more hashtag against the atrocities happening in Ukraine at the moment.  I also wanted to show the versatility of the Sunflower dies that are part of the current Savings are in Bloom promotion SU! have running this month.

I wanted to do the Ukraine flag as my background and I have to admit I tried with Balmy Blue but it just didn't look the right blue shade so I grabbed Salty Ocean and Squeezed Lemonade distress oxides for my blend. I used a large post it note to delineate them as I didn't actually want them to blend.

My saying is from a very old SU! Christmas stamp set Greetings of The Season, long retired but so appropriate at this time. I have white embossed it.

I love my Sunflower die but my most favourite die that I use all the time is the Stitched Rectangle set and I have used the largest and the 3rd rectangle to make my frame. 

I have used Shimmery white card stock for the blended piece as it is perfect for blending on and our new Iridescent rhinestone jewels are perfect with any colour as they take on the colour they are close too.

#cardsforukraine

✿ Karen ✿

How to cut out perfect die shapes

If you are like me and love stamp sets with matching dies but then feel disappointed when you cut it out that the white space is not even.

I also own a magnetic platform and  use washi/removable tape to hold the die in place but sometimes it is just not right and to be honest 9 times out of 10 it truly doesn't matter. But if you like it to look perfect, have I got a quick tip for you.

Before lining the die up with your stamped image cut out a "frame" with a darker card stock (or just a scrap of something sitting on your desk).

You can then frame your stamped image with the die cut image so there's a nice white border.  

The die will actually plop into the hole and sit quite nicely and using my magnetic plate I find I don't need to tape it down.

And viola....

✿ Karen ✿

Will Paper Munchkin allow me to come back ;)

Happy weekend everyone today I thought I would share 2 projects.

Now one of the best things about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator are the friendships you KReate along the journey, they truly are priceless and precious. One of the first demos I meet at a Stamp Camp I attended with my big team when I returned was Alicia Yap aka Paper Munchkin. Alicia is so talented and kind and loves to share her knowledge and love of stampin'. I was so proud of her when she made the Artisan Team last year as she works and has 2 small children at school plus running her stampin' business.

Now I've finally settled in Hamilton and moved into my new home and Covid permits us getting together to KRaft and I'm nearly Alicia's neighbour so I was very happy that she allows me to attend her classes.

She has posted on Instagram the 3 cards we created at our class last week which you can check out HERE 

 Now I must have been my most klutziest last week as everything I touched went wrong but they all looked fab in the end. So to shorten the story this is my take on the watercolouring of the large flower bloom from Blessings of Bloom bundle from the new mini catalogue. We used aquapainters and the ink from the inkpad lids to colour our bloom up, using Shimmery White card stock for the stamped and coloured image.

Alicia's was much brighter than mine but I like quite a lot of white on a card so I'm really happy how it all turned out. I just "coloured up" the white flowers with my Wink of Stella. I also added some Balmy Blue to my green when colouring the leaves as that is what I do when I watercolour leaves or use alcohol blends - it just looks more realistic to me. I managed to stick my flower bloom on the wrong side of the front panel and upside down and it was too pretty to give away as a thank you card so I made it into a HB card when I got home. Poor Alicia she must have despaired of me but I think she had most of her hair remaining when I finally went home and hopefully I will be allowed back, if you live in Hamilton keep an eye on Alicia's FB page which you can see HERE or ask to go on her mailing list, as isn't this a stunning card, I JUST LOVE IT! 

#papermunchkin

Supply List (all SU!):
Stamps: Blessings of Home, Lemon Zest (HB saying - retired set)
Ink: Polished Pink: Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Polished Pink, Highland Heather, Balmy Blue, Stazon Black
Paper: Shimmery White, Basic White, Daffodil Delight
Dies: Flowers of Home, Stitched Greenery, Stitched Rectangle
Other: Iridescent rhinestone jewels, aquapainters, Wink of Stella, dimensionals, glue dots, white linen thread, Tombow 

Now I may just make my own special hash tag for KReations by my wee 2 and a half year old granddaughter and I;) 

#handmadebynannykandindie

No 2 bubs is due this week so we made a delightful wee tag using the long retired stamp set Sweet Little Something, SU! also made a Teddy Bear stamp set like the bunny with the 3 layers so you build up details which was also fab. As we don't know if its a boy or a girl we used purple colour combo: Fresh Fressia as the base, then Highland Heather and finally Gorgeous Grape. Indie also did some colouring with watercolour pencils.

It's been a fab KRaftin' week I also made an amazing 8x8" sample with Megan Teare which I will share on my next post and another team mate Sarah is coming to help me master a double window-box card real soon.

So if you have often wondered about what being a SU! demo now is a really great time to join during Sale-a-bration which closes in approx 10 days time, so drop me a line if you'd like to chat about the opportunity to earn a discount, make new friends and if you so desire start your own business.

Inky hugs 

✿ Karen ✿