11 April 2022

I'm in love with stenciling to colour

I was really lucky to get the first Craft Your Life kit from Altenew (Seasonal Blooms) which was released way back in  July 2021. It sold out in the States I think overnight but luckily for me they re-released it and Meetu from Krafters Cart got me a set. As my craft room was in a box for the majority of last year with moving I finally found some time to have a play with the set in the last month.

It's a great concept as it comes with layering stencils (3 in total) so you can colour in the stamped image or just use the stencil to colour. You may have to use post it notes to cover up some of the flowers or leaves but it is still so much faster than colouring in using other mediums and looks fab. The set also came with dies and a co-ordinating embossing folder but it upsets me that the EF is not really identical to the large stamped image and it could have been as it's damn close but still adds some more dimension. 


The first time I played I used the following Stampin' Up! inks and a blending brush
Yellows: Daffodil Delight and Mango Melody
Purples: Gorgeous Grape and Highland Heather
Greens: Granny Apple Green and Old Olive
Browns: Soft Suede and Early Espresso

The large image has been die cut out, embossed and actually snipped in half to make a 5 x 5" square card

The next time I played with it all was a few weeks later and everything that could go wrong did go wrong but it still turned out amazingly and both cards have been sent away to happy recipients.


I actually thought when I made this card I had lost a stencil as I thought there were 4 stencils but I had covered the tulips up with post it notes and I couldn't understand why I didn't have a stencil to colour in one set of the tulip petals, so I ended up colouring them in with Copics, luckily I had used Memento Black to stamp out my image and then I had to use my Copics to add more depth to the leaves and in the end I also used a B000 to outline as the white on the Grapefruit Grove card stock (SU!) looked wrong. I also used the now retired Subtle embossing folder (SU!) on  the Grapefruit Grove card stock.

The next boo boo was I thought I would lightly spray the image with some Shimmer Spray and oops Memento Black is not waterproof so had a few runs so placed the jewels strategically to hide the worst runs.

The card looked so happy and cheery in real life I had no problems posting it away to a friend who loved it!

Before I launched into the Altenew set I had a go at a much more simple stencil and matching stamp called Butterflies (#TEHN53) from Taylored Expressions, it was so easy and so effective it's why I had no hesitation in going we can do it with the Craft Your Life set. This set comes with just 2 stencils.


Again I have just used SU! inks to colour but I can't remember what colours and I've just used thick Whisper White to stencil/stamp on. 

I thoroughly love both these sets and I also squirreled away from SENZ last year 2 sets from PinkFresh Studios I haven't played with so hopefully I will colour them up real soon and share.
 ✿ Karen ✿

10 April 2022

My INKredible Journey

Just a quick line to let you all know I am no longer a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and I've sent out my last newsletter as such, if anyone is interested in a good yarn and quite a few memories from me and where to from here you are welcome to read the Newsletter HERE. Stampin' Up! will continue to play a part in my KReative adventures but it won't be the predominant focus. I'll also start working on my "about me" tab above so keep an eye on that too.

Stampin' Up! had it's 15th anniversary in NZ this week and I have been a demo for approximately 10 years so it's been a BIG part of my INKRedible journey. I hope to blog every day this week as I have a lot to share at the moment, some SU! some Altenew and some Taylored Expressions so do stay tuned....

Inky hugs
✿ Karen ✿

5 April 2022

Double Pop Up Fancy Fold




Hi everyone, daylight savings has ended in NZ and we have foggy mornings and it's hard to take nice pictures again, so hopefully I can do justice to this Rainbow of Happiness card as it sure makes me happy looking at it in real life. 

I often fall asleep watching videos on YouTube by creative crafters and I fell asleep the other night watching Susan Levasseur from WOW NOLA Creations, I nearly actually got out of bed to make it at the time as I love cards that are "simple" with a bit of WOW and this sure ticks that box. 

Like Susan, I also used Magenta Madness as my cardstock as it was an in-colour that never ticked any boxes for me and I was actually glad it is finally retiring in just under a month, but now after making this card I'm wishing I had more than 2 pieces of card stock left in my stash.

I had originally intended to use the Sweet as a Peach stamp set and its coordinating DSP which are also retiring but was thinking lets get rid of that Magenta Madness I hate.

 I love cards with card stock and matching DSP as in all honesty the rest is pretty easy after that.

 The cutting and scoring dimensions are:
Card stock: One piece 4¼" x 9½" (score at 5½", 6½", 8" and 9"). One piece 3½" x 5¾" (scored at 4¼" and 5¼").
DSP mats: One piece 5¼" x 4", one piece 4" x 1¼", 2 pieces 4" x ¾" and one piece 3¼" x ¾"
Basic White mats : Back mat 4" x 5¼", front mat 4" x 3¼"

This is a really sturdy card and I think this is an excellent design for a Christmas card as it shouldn't blow over and there really isn't too much cutting and scoring of bits, it also folds flat to fit in a standard envelope. It has a big mat on the back to write on and decorate. So Susan sure did a WOW-tastic job!



Supply List (all Stampin' Up! apart from cloud stencil):
Stamps: Rainbow of Happiness
Ink: Pool Party (clouds), Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody, Magenta Madness, Early Espresso
Paper: Magenta Madness, Basic White, Sunshine and Rainbows DSP (SAB)
Dies: Brilliant Rainbow (wee cloud), the rainbow is hand cut
Other: Dimesionals,  Wink of Stella (on clouds), left over self stick sequins from a Paper Pumpkin kit, small wee cloud stencil (Dutch Doobadoo)
 

PS the Rainbow of Happiness and matching dies are in SU! current January-June mini catalogue but they are NOT in the next Annual Catalogue coming May 2 2022, so they like Magenta Madness are also "retiring" so if you thought you might want to get it I would highly recommend it. I have some more cards that I have made with this set including a cool shaker card which I must share real soon!

I hope to blog more now I am officially retired and enter a few challenges to stretch me, one of my fav sites is Just Add Ink and their challenge this week is to Use Two (Flower, Paper, Pattern) so I will enter with my DSP and my rainbow pattern



Inky hugs until next time
✿ Karen ✿