Monday, 10 February 2025

Terrific Toadstools 5-3-1 card 3

 For part 3 of the 5-3-1 formula mini series I've gone toadstool crazy 🍄! Not only does today's inspiration uses the whimsical Toadstool Gardens but also the fun Terrific Toadstools stamps. The papers perfectly coordinate with the stamps and there is a Bundle of the stamps and a builder Punch if you want to go one step further!

The terrific toadstools stamps are photopolymer making placement so easy. You cannot build your own color combinations and creat wild and waky toadstools or go for more realistic looking ones. For today's card I've stuck to the colour palette from the pattern papers. 

Terrific Toadstools stampin up 5-3-1 formula fun card

So for card 3 of the 5-3-1 mini series I've used a piece of the pattern paper and cut it into 3 strips. This means that the piece of paper I had miss cut could be stretches to fit 😜. Another great way to use up bits that are too big to be thrown but not quite big enough for their original purpose! Using up your scraps is such a rewarding feeling! As I'm often want to say " waste not want not" !

Terrific Toadstools stampin up 5-3-1 formula fun card

For the 5 elements I stamped and fussy cut out four toadstools and stamped one sentiment panel. Adding colour by stamping the grassy mound over the sentiment it's self brings a touch of colour to any otherwise white area.
Talking of white areas I did of course decorate the inside of the card. This time stamping the grassy mound and creating another toadstool. The ability to mix and match the stamps to make different variations is definitely one of my favourite things with this cute stamp set 😍. 

Terrific Toadstools stampin up 5-3-1 formula fun card

For the final element on the card I have used a swoosh of white ribbon.  This counts as my 1 in the 5-3-1 formula. 

Terrific Toadstools stampin up 5-3-1 formula fun card

I hope you're enjoying this 5-3-1 mini series. You can find the others here and here

Coming soon will be the final  part of my 5-3-1 formula mini series. 

Saturday, 8 February 2025

5-3-1 card Cake celebration and Toadstool Gardens

 I was so inspired by my first 5-3-1 card that I just had to have another go or 3 😜 so here is number 2 in this mini series . The 5-3-1 formula is simple choose 5 of 1 thing, 3 of another and finally  of something else . Use all these elements to create you design . Here is the original card I made using this formular.  The card today features the amazing Cake Celebration stamp set and Toadstool Gardens pattern papers.

The Cake celebration stamps are photopolymer so perfect for building up you cakes 🎂 

Cake celebration stampin up 5-3-1 birthday card

For today's inspiration I used 1 piece of patterned paper from the Toadstool Gardens paper pack. This was the inspiration for the colour palette for the card. The bright pinks, oranges and turquoises are just such fun 😃

Cake celebration stampin up 5-3-1 birthday card

The 3 stamped portions show how versatile the Cake Celebration stamp set is don't you agree? The frosting stamp was used for the first layer. Then the cake was stamped and decorated on the second layer and the third layer holds the sentiment. 
Of course you have to add a little something to the inside of your cards don't you? So I stamped the flowers and leaves to create a little bouquet.

Cake celebration stampin up 5-3-1 birthday card

For the final part of of the 5-3-1 formula I used 5 of the gorgeous Sunny Day iridescent dots. If you've been here before you'll know I just can't resist iridescent embellishments 😜 so five was the perfect number to add!

Cake celebration stampin up 5-3-1 birthday card

Join me next time for part 3 of this 5-3-1 card mini series. 

Thursday, 6 February 2025

Toadstool Gardens birthday card

 At my last event I got to spend time with friends old and new. One of the lovely ladies was Karen. She was my very first team mate and has been a demo for nearly as long as I have! As we chatted and crafted Karen  shared some of her latest makes. Karen makes Christmas cards all year long so was sharing some of her gorgeous designs. One that particularly caught my attention was what she called a 5-3-1 card. She explained that the principle was to have 5 of one thing, 3 of another and finally 1 other item. So today I'm sharing my take on a 5-3-1 card using the super fun Toadstool Gardens pattern papers. 

These papers are only available to the end of February 2025 and are free, yes Free, with a qualifying purchase!  How cool is that! The beautiful colour palette of pinks, greens, lilac and orange just make me happy. The cute images just make me smile 😃 

Toadstool Gardens stampin up fun cute birthday card

For my 5 element on today's inspiration I chose to use 5 scrap strips of the pretty paper. Because the papers are part of a pack that have a common colour palette and design they all work beautifully together. I adhered them to a basic white panel and then adhered the panel to a white card base using 3d foam. 

Toadstool Gardens stampin up fun cute birthday card

For the 3 element I went with fussy cutting 3 of the cute toadstools out of another scrap of the pattern paper. I used 3d foam to adhere these to the card front. Then cut another 3 out as well to decorate the inside of the card because I just couldn't resist them 🍄😃

Toadstool Gardens stampin up fun cute birthday card

The final 1 element on the card is the sentiment. I chose to go with a die cut sentiment and shadow from the Wanted to Say dies.

Toadstool Gardens stampin up fun cute birthday card

I really enjoyed using the 5-3-1 formula for today's inspiration.  My mind is now thinking about mixing it up . Maybe 1 piece of pattern paper,  5 gems and 3 stamped sentiment / images... and off I go to make more cards 🤣 Will you give this 5-3-1 formula a go? How would you do it? 

Tuesday, 4 February 2025

Black on Black Birthday Celebration card

 Why is it that celebrating my son's birthday makes me feel older than celebrating my own does??? My son is my youngest child and he just turned 25 😜 oh my day's where has the time gone? And next year will be worse my eldest daughter turns 40 😱... I must be getting old !!! 🤣. Anyway back to the card making, which by the way keeps me young 😉. Today's inspiration is the card I created for my son. He likes very graphic, architectural design and his colour palette is shades of grey, black with pops of reds and purple. With all that in mind and the fantastic Birthday Celebration stamps and dies to hand here is what I created.

Birthday Celebration stampin up black on black 25th card

I used basic black cardstock for the card base which is a piece of A4 cardstock folded in half to create an A5 card base. Then I used a piece of the Two-tone basic black cardstock and the number dies from the Birthday Celebration bundle and cut the numbers out, make sure to save the inner parts of the numbers. 
 The Two-tone cardstock has a darker side and a lighter side with a white core and comes in a range of colours.
Next adhere another mat of the Two-tone cardstock but with the lighter side uppermost to the card base. 
To add more texture to the card I used a 3d embossing folder from the sadly retired Basics 3d embossing folder pack.
I adhered the die cut panel onto the card base using  black 3d foam. I also added a piece of silver foil behind the number 25 to highlight it.
The sentiment was stamped in versamark and heat embossed with silver powder then die cut out using the largest banner die from the set.

Birthday Celebration stampin up black on black 25th card

Waste not want not is a great motto to help continue the decoration to the inside of the card don't you agree 😀

Birthday Celebration stampin up black on black 25th card

Well I'm pleased to say that my son liked his card and had a lovely birthday.  Would you try a black on black card?

Sunday, 2 February 2025

Cute as can Bee scrapbooking

 Wow what a day I had yesterday!  Yesterday was the first scrapbook and memory keeping event I've ever held.... and it was amazing! The 10 lovely ladies who took part shared their creativity and their laughter at this fun event 😀.  The session was an introduction to scrapbooking and memory keeping . I designed a double page scrapbook layout, a very simple mini album and photo frame. All were designed using the oh so cute and pretty Cute as can Bee pattern papers and sticker sheet.

The colours in these papers and stickers are just delightful. 

Cute as can Bee stampin up fun simple 12 x 12 double page layout scrapbook

For the event my focus was on clean and simple. The layout was designed to inspire but not overwhelmed the new scrappers. I wanted to show that you don't need lots of stash to create beautiful pages.

Cute as can Bee stampin up fun simple 12 x 12 double page layout scrapbook

All the talented crafters who came knocked it out of the park! They added their own flair to their pages  and enjoyed playing with the layout which was amazing 👏 🤩 
As I watched them develop their layouts I was so inspired I just had to create my own stepped up version!

Cute as can Bee stampin up fun simple 12 x 12 double page layout scrapbook

The simple additions of mats and extra embellishments whilst keeping to the feel of the original inspiration made for 2 new pages that still delight me. The mats and embellishments give the layouts more dimension.

Cute as can Bee stampin up fun simple 12 x 12 double page layout scrapbook

Flagging the ends of the strips and adding some simple stamped bee trails give the layout extra movement. The placement of the photo mats also help give more movement to the pages.


Cute as can Bee stampin up fun simple 12 x 12 double page layout scrapbook

All in all I'm loving these stepped up pages especially as they were inspired by the wonderful ladies who I had the pleasure of spending time with. Thank you all Heather, Karen, Lynn, Andrea, Ellen, Maria, Carole, Jackie,  Kay and Jane. You ladies rock 🤩 Can't wait for our next scrap-together 😀

Cute as can Bee stampin up fun simple 12 x 12 double page layout scrapbook


Wednesday, 29 January 2025

Darling Dinos

 When I got my first glimpse of the January to April mini catalogue the stamp set that caught my heart straight away was the Darling Dinos.  Why have I waited to share a sample with it till now? Who knows! But today I'm making amends! 

The stamps are so cute and fun full of character and charm.


The stamps come with coordinating dies which include fun elements to enhance the stamps as well as cut out the images.

Darling dinos stampin up baby card and gift tag

Darling dinos really are versatile but today's inspiration has a new baby vibe to it. The beautiful shades of yellow are not only non gendered but also cheerful and bring spring to mind 💛. 

Darling dinos stampin up baby card and gift tag

The sentiment and hexagon shapes are from the Meant to Bee bundle another very cute stamp and die bundle. The sentiment words are cute as can bee but for today's card all you need to do to change it is to mask off the second "e" before inking the stamp up.

Use your scraps to give a simple splash of something to the inside of the card.

Darling dinos stampin up baby card and gift tag

When I was tidying after making the card I really liked the shape that die cutting the dino out left and decided to use it to create this coordinating tag.

Darling dinos stampin up baby card and gift tag

Don't you agree they look together? 

Darling dinos stampin up baby card and gift tag


Sunday, 26 January 2025

Terrific Toadstools

 What a day! It's wet, windy and wild here! So of course I had to make a bright and colourful card for today's inspiration 😅 . Stamping is my happy place and I love to create whatever the weather. But there is just something magical about listening to the wind and rain whilst snug indoors making some sunshine of your own isn't there?

To help bring the sunshine inside I chose to play with the fantastic Terrific Toadstools bundle of stamps and coordinating builder Punch. These stamps are perfectly matched with the amazing free with qualifying order pattern paper stack called Toadstool gardens. If you like the papers be quick because they'll be gone once sale-a-bration is over if not before!

Terrific Toadstools bundle toadstool gardens stampin up simple easy fun fold

Aren't they just gorgeous with their bright  pink, orange, green and lilac colour palette? So why not let the paper do the talking and make a simple fun fold that shows it off so well!

Terrific Toadstools bundle toadstool gardens stampin up simple easy fun fold

The card base is made using a piece of cardstock measuring 14.85cm x 18cm scored at 10.5cm.  ( 5½" x 7" scored at 4¼")
Then mat and layer to your hearts content 
Don't forget to decorate the white panel on the inside. This is where you will write your personal message. 

Terrific Toadstools bundle toadstool gardens stampin up simple easy fun fold

The focal point on the front is made by stamping and punching and fussy cutting the Toadstools.  Use the large toadstool topper on the punch to create the green hill onto which the toadstools are adhered. 

Terrific Toadstools bundle toadstool gardens stampin up simple easy fun fold

A simple fun fold that makes for a great smile inducing card with these bright colours and zany images. 

Thursday, 23 January 2025

Ocean friends and friendly Seagulls thank you card

 How you all doing? It's cold,grey and damp in my small corner of the world 🫤 So to cheer myself up I've made a bright and zingy card using the fun Ocean Friends bundle of stamps and coordinating dies. As well as the amazing Friends of the Ocean pattern papers. These papers are really eye catching in a wonderfully bright and bold colour palette combined with a fun take on the ocean theme. Perfect if you're looking for something a little different or quirky. 

Ocean friends friendly Seagulls stampin up fun fold z fold thank you card

The ocean theme of the stamps and papers are a perfect match for the Friendly Seagulls
 Stamps that are part of the sale-a-bration 2025 exclusive free offering! You could recieve the stamps free if you purchased the Ocean Friends bundle and the Friends of the ocean pattern paper pack 😉
With all these fun products on my table knew I would have  great fun making a card with them. 
If you want to show off pattern papers then a simple z fold card is a great fun fold to do your papers justice.
 The card base is created with a piece of cardstock measuring 14.85cm x 21cm scored at 5.25cm and 10.5cm.  ( 8½" x 5½" scored at 2⅛" and 4¼"). Fold along the scorelines as a mountain fold then a valley fold, ie folding back upon it's self. 
Next cut a strip of cardstock measuring 5cm x 21cm and score at 5.25cm and 10.5cm. ( 2" x 8½" score at 2⅛" and 4¼")
Now decorate the panels of the card base with pattern paper. The adhere paper to the largest panel of the narrow strip and the small panel next to it. Then turn the stip over and add another piece of pattern paper to the final panel. 
Turn over again and adhere the end of the strip with the largest panel onto the front of the card base. Fold the strip along the scorelines both as mountain folds. 
With the larger panel adhered open the card and fold the 2 short panels behind it. Now apply adhesive to the last small panel and close the card base. This will ensure that the strip is now perfectly aligned.
With the card base complete decorate to your hearts delight. 
When closed the card will fit in a standard C6 (A2) envelope. Make sure that your decorations aren't over hanging when the card is closed.

Ocean friends friendly Seagulls stampin up fun fold z fold thank you card

Ocean friends friendly Seagulls stampin up fun fold z fold thank you card

When open the card stands really well and is sure to be a hit with the recipient 😀.

Ocean friends friendly Seagulls stampin up fun fold z fold thank you card

The picture above shows how the fold works.
If you decide that you need somewhere to write your personal message may I suggest that you add a piece of white cardstock to the large background panel of the card. This gives you even more space to decorate 😜.

Ocean friends friendly Seagulls stampin up fun fold z fold thank you card

Well I hope that you like this bright and zany card and will consider having a go at making one yourself.  

Ocean friends friendly Seagulls stampin up fun fold z fold thank you card


Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Friendly Seagulls pop out card

 Looking for a fun easy card ? Want to share something a little different?  Well I have just the card for you! Made using the sale-a-bration exclusive free stamp set Friendly Seagulls this easy pop out card is both fun to make and fun to receive 😀 

The Friendly Seagulls stamps are only available during the months of January and February.  They are free with a qualifying purchase and so worth getting 🤩 Fun and quirky they will add a little something different to your stash for sure.

Friendly Seagulls stampin up fun easy pop out card

Friendly Seagulls stampin up fun easy pop out card

The embossing folder used to decorate the front of the card is called Soft waves. This 3D embossing folder is just gorgeous 😍. 
The little boat is from a stamp set called Choose Happy.  A great photopolymer stamps set full of sentiments and cute images.
The card base is made using 2 pieces of cardstock measuring 14.85cm x 12cm both scored at 10.5cm. ( See the video at the bottom of this post for the how too)

Friendly Seagulls stampin up fun easy pop out card

The pattern paper used for the background on the inside front of the card is from a pack  called Everyday Skies.
The wood effect pattern paper is from a pack called Country Woods.

Friendly Seagulls stampin up fun easy pop out card

The seagulls and chip boxes are coloured using Blends which are alcohol markers. For the seagulls I used light and dark smoky slate and pumpkin pie. For the chips I used dark lemon lolly and for the boxes light and dark real red.
This easy pop out card  technique would work so well with other themes such as flowers, other cute critters, lego block... the list is only limited by your imagination! 

If you'd like to see how to make the fun card watch my video below



Sunday, 19 January 2025

With you in mind best wishes cards

 Isn't colour a wonderful thing?  It is a way to share who we are, how we feel and so much more. But did you know that there is such a thing as colour theory? There's so much more to it than you might think. Today's cards are made using 2 of the basic 4 ways to combine colour. It all starts with a colour wheel. Now if you don't have one maybe take a look at pages  132 and 133 in the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. You can even buy one here ! 

The Stampin' Up!  Color coach is a great tool to explore all the colours that Stampin' Up! offers and explore a little of colour theory.

With you in mind Stampin up best wishes card colour theory

So back to the cards. The stamps used are called With you in Mind. These photopolymer stamps are a fantastic size for both as focal points on the front of cards and as messages for the inside of your cards. The 5 solid image stamps are fun and oh so useful 👌 

With you in mind Stampin up best wishes card colour theory

The first card is made using a monochromatic palette.  This is great for those who are just starting out, those who have limited stash to play with and of course those who are just exploring colour. Monochromatic is where you take 1 colour and pair it with shades and tints of the same colour or just chose 1 colour and add white! This is a great way to start. 
I chose to use a lovely lilac colour called fresh freesia for both ink and cardstock and paired it with crisp white for a clean and fresh look.
The background is made by using the heart stamp to create flowers randomly stamped across the white mat. The stamps are photopolymer so make it very easy to position so that they slightly over lap. The  layers of ink as you stamp create  beautiful shades of the original colour.
A mat of fresh freesia cardstock and a white card base make for a simple card. The sentiment stamped again in fresh freesia onto white cardstock is then punched out using a circle punch. Layer this onto a fresh freesia circle slightly larger to tie everything together. Positioning the sentiment circles  slightly off the edge of the background mat and cutting the over hanging edges off makes for a quirky focal point to the card.

With you in mind Stampin up best wishes card colour theory

The second card has an analogous colour palette . An analogous colour palette is one where you chose three colours that are side by side on the colour wheel. These colour neighbours work together  beautifully to give a harmonious and balanced feel.
The colours in my sample are all shades of pink with an orange undertone. The lightest colour is called petal pink. The mid tone is called flirty flamingo and the darkest shade is  pretty in pink.
 
With you in mind Stampin up best wishes card colour theory

Instead of using any white cardstock for the background this card is made using the same petal pink colour cardstock as the base. The hearts are stamped in the same flirty flamingo pink as the cardstock mat and larger circle. This layering of colour on colour with the ink creates more unique shades of colour. The sentiment is stamped in the darkest pink, pretty in pink, to add another layer of colour to the project.

With you in mind Stampin up best wishes card colour theory

Which do you prefer?  The monochromatic colour palette? Or the analogous one?


Thursday, 16 January 2025

Cake celebration birthday card

 How do you find inspiration?  It's a question I get asked quite a lot and today I thought I'd share one way that I get inspiration.... catalogues! That's right I use the beautiful projects made for catalogues as a fantastic source of inspiration. Years ago they they were described as being ideas books and that just stuck with me. Now in this digital age how does it work I hear you wonder 🤔 Well  if you go explore my Stampin' Up!  Online Shop you'll find projects galore. For every stamp, die, punch, pattern paper there are beautiful stylish project ideas shown. Whilst the ideas might be related to a certain product don't think that you need to use those products! Today's card was made using inspiration from 1 set but using something completely different! 

Today's inspiration is using the gorgeous Cake Celebration stamps and coordinating dies. But the inspiration was from and very different set called Hearts and Hugs! Cake celebration has a watercolour feel and is all about, as the name implies 😉, cake. Whilst the Hearts and hugs is what I call a cutesy animal based one. They're very different!

Here is the Hearts and Hugs sample from the online shop ...

Cake celebration hearts and hugs stampin up birthday card

Now I know I said it was an animal set but the coordinating dies have lots of extras in it which are featured in this sample.
Now here is what I created using the Cake celebration stamps and dies....

Cake celebration hearts and hugs stampin up birthday card

Can you see the similarities?  The use of the 3 panels of embossed cardstock. The use of 1 colour predominantly. The softening of the edges using time on tone ink blending.

Cake celebration hearts and hugs stampin up birthday card

Same but different.  This is what I call casing. This is where you use a card to inspire your own creation. Sometimes you will just tweak the original slightly. Other times you might just use it as a starting point. But there is always a connection to the original inspiration. I think to case a card is OK but please remember to give credit to the original inspiration and it's creator. 

Cake celebration hearts and hugs stampin up birthday card