MASCULINE MONDAY TUTORIAL - TOTALLY TREES

This week's Masculine Monday uses the Colour Block Technique - a great way to use up your precious scraps of cardstock or DSP.  

I've used some blue tones here for my cards and the stamp set Totally Trees.

The colours of cardstock I've used are:

Bermuda Bay
Mint Macaron
Tempting Turquoise
Soft Sky
Island Indigo

The base card is Mint Macaron. 
Ribbon - Mint Macaron Sheer Linen

Inks:
Rich Razzleberry
Island Indigo

Copper Embossing Powder

    

TOTALLY TREES - DELICATE DETAILS - SALE-A-BRATION - WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY

This week's challenge at Watercooler Wednesday is a sketch challenge - I love these - really makes you think outside of your usual box. This is the sketch for us to work with.

 

 I turned to Totally Trees for my card.  I've done a purple card for a change - its not my normal choice of colours but my daughter has Epilepsy and purple is the colour for the charity.  This month they are holding Purple Days to raise money and awareness for this condition so I will be making a lot of purple cards for her.

I used Rich Razzleberry on the tree here and then embossed over it with our Copper Embossing powder - this is so lovely!

The edging was done with one of our Sale-A-Bration FREE sets - did I mention it is FREE if you spend £45 on one order.  This set is called Delicate Details and has some gorgeous lacey images which look so lovely when embossed - embossed here once again in the Copper Embossing Powder.

The little bird is from the Best Birds Framelits. I used a white gel pen to go over him and give him some stitching marks to match the Stitching Framelits.

SUPPLIES USED:

Cardstock - Wisteria Wonder - Blushing Bride
Inks - Perfect Plum Elegant Eggplant, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry
Stamp Sets - Totally Trees, Delicate Details, Jar of Love (For You sentiment)
Framelits - Stitched Framelits, Birds and Blooms,  Bunch of Banner Framelits
Accessories - Copper Embossing Powder, Enamel Shapes, Sequins Trim, Very Vanilla Lace Trim, Wink of Stella (on bird) 

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment - its great to hear from you

HAPPY CRAFTING 


 

TOTALLY TREES, LOVELY STITCHING, DANEBURY IRON AGE HILL FORT

HA! I bet that heading made you look twice - not often you see an Iron Age hill fort on a crafting blog.  But I thought I would share some pictures with you.

I'm lucky enough to live near one of the most important Iron Age Hill Forts in my area in Hampshire, UK, called Danebury.  Its a lovely place to walk my dogs and the views are wonderful.  You can see why they built their fort though thousands of years ago.  Its also a very peaceful place.

I love trees, especially Yew trees and there are some magnificent samples at Danebury. Here are my dogs around one particularly wonderful Yew Tree.














There are even wild ponies on the fort.














The Inner Ring of the Hillfort

 
  













It got me thinking of making a tree card when I got back home so I turned to Totally Trees for some inspiration.
 

I've used Island Indigo cardstock and ink and a gatefold card (I think that's what it's called) which I had left over from making some of the mice cards at Christmas.  I've added some Blooms and Bliss Designer Series Paper which looks a bit like leaves I think.

The image was stamped with Island Indigo Ink and then double stamped with the detailed image in Versamark and embossed with our goreous Copper Embossing Powder.  I've also added some of our Copper Metalic Thread around the cardstock.

If you can see I've used the square Stitched Framelit but turned it into a rectangle thanks to Dawn Griffith's instructions.

I used the Lovely Stitching for the sentiments and also embossed them in the Copper Embossing Powder.  I've used one of the Banner Framelits to cut out the smaller sentiment.  Popped onto dimensionals just left of the tree it helps to keep the card closed.

I love the look of this copper on the Island Indigo - I can see I'm going to be doing this a lot!

As always all products can be purchased from me if you are in the UK.  Just click on the logo below to be taken to my store.

 HAPPY CRAFTING

 

POOTLERS DESIGN TEAM - WEEK FOUR - TOTALLY TREES

It's my final week on the Pootlers Design Team and its been such a treat to be part of this team.  Here's my final card for the wonderful Totally Trees stamp set and, in keeping with my theme for these cards here's my Winter card.

I've used Night of Navy as my background cardstock with Whisper White.  The Trees have been stamped in Night of Navy also and covered in Wink of Stella to make them sparkle.

The snowman is from the Christmas Magic set as is the Sentiment, embossed in some of our Silver Embossing powder.

A touch of Stitched Ribbon in Smoky Slate finishes off the card.

 Good luck to the next Design Team - I can't wait to see what they all come up with for the next month's designs.



 

POOTLERS DESIGN TEAM - TOTALLY TREES AUTUMN

It's week three of the Pootlers Design Team month of Totally Trees.  My cards have been going through the seasons and this week its Autumn.  My favourite time of the year, even though the nights are drawing in.  There is something so comforting about dark nights, fires, comfort food, and making preserves.

 I've used some of the Serene Scenery DSP here as the background - it looked kind of autumnal.  The sentiment comes from Jar of Love and I thought it had sort of an autumnal feel to it.  I do love this set and can see its going to be used a lot.




 

POOTLERS DESIGN TEAM - TOTALLY TREES SUMMER

Hi Crafters - its Thursday again which means another look at the Pootlers Design Team projects using the lovely set Totally Trees.  Look at all those lovely images to play with!!!!

In keeping with my theme of the seasons, my card today is a Summer card.

I've used Mint Macaron and Crumbcake for this card and I've also added some stamps from the Wetlands stamp set.  I've also used some of the DSP Serene Scenery.

I've used the palm trees from the set and added some of the coconuts and wanted to do a beach style card.  I used to rip my papers when I made cards years ago - I think this sort of went out of fashion but I may just re-introduce it.  It gives a softer feel to the paper which is what I wanted for my beach scene.

A touch of the Stitched Ribbon in Bermuda Bay and a tag from the Decorative Label Punch finishes off my card. The inks I used were Early Espresso and Old Olive for the branches. 

Thank you for stopping by and do go and see the great inspiration from the other team members.

Happy Crafting

 

WHY AM I A CRAFTER - SPLITCOAST STAMPERS CREATIVE DESIGN CREW

I'm lucky to be on a great team within SU with an inspiring Upline who recently set us the task of telling "our Story".  What started our journey with Stampin' Up!

My story actually began back in 2002.  I started crafting when a friend introduced me to scrapbooking and I took to it like a duck to water.  Before that the last time I had used glue, paper, inks had been when I was in Junior School and I loved the relaxing feel I got when scrapbooking precious family memories.

In 2002 our lives changed when we moved from Hampshire in the UK to Houston Texas.  I met a neighbour who knew I scrapbooked and asked whether I had ever tried rubber stamping.  I said no and she invited me over to my very first Stampin Up demo as she was a demonstrator.  She told me I would get hooked and at the time I didn't believe her.  Well.... she was right!  I loved everything about it and the fact that here I was, someone who didn't consider myself to have a creative flair for drawing, or paper or ink and I was making art!  Stampin Up made it easier for me and I was drawn into this creative world.

Fast forward to 2005 and I returned home to the UK with all the stamps and ink I could bring!  Fast forward three more years to 2008 and Stampin Up finally came to the UK and I signed up as one of the very first demos.  Sadly, though my time with SU only lasted a year and I actually put away all my crafting tools and didn't do anything for a long time.  

In 2015 I started up a small soap company and one day whilst looking for inspiration for soap boxes I came across Sam Hammond on YouTube making boxes.  So I got out all my old SU stuff and had a go.  I found I loved it so much I contacted Sam, became a Demo again and swapped soap for paper.

Twenty years ago I had given up my career to look after my children.  When they no longer needed me and they went off to University I looked around for a part-time job.  Even with my skills no-one wanted to hire me because I had been out of the workplace for 20 plus years.  So digging deep and finding some confidence I decided I was going to try and start my own business and it was going to include Stampin Up.

It has not been easy and it still isn't but then starting a business never is.  It takes time, money, committment and yes I believe a little luck.  I am still my best customer but I have a small customer base and I am going to keep knocking on doors and building my little empire and hopefully, as it says in the movies, they will come.

One of my favourites places to hang out when I first started using SU was Splitcoast Stampers.  A great forum with a wealth of knowledge and inspiration for Stampin Up and now other stamp companies.

Imagine my delight when last month they asked me to be on their Design Team for the next few months.

Here are my projects for October:

Project one  was to be inspired by the image and I used the Jar of Love set and the flowers from Botanical Builder Framelits.

The second project was a step it up card - I used the lovely stampset Wetlands with some watercolouring in the background.

 The third project was a sketch and I turned the sketch around.  I used the set Totally Trees.

 The fourth project had to be a technique - so I used this great technique of a magic card which when it opens the sentiment is shown.
 

 All the other Design Team projects can be found on Splitcoast Stampers in the gallery here

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting 

 

POOTLES DESIGN TEAM - TOTALLY TREES - SPRING

 



I was so delighted to be given the chance to be on the Pootles Design Team for the month of October.  This means that every Thursday for the next month you will find a new project by the team using the stamp set Totally Trees which you will find in the new Winter Catalogue.

I adore this set Sam Hammond sent us.  And I must admit I over looked it when I was pouring over my new Catalogue for all its showier Christmas cousins.  But what a versatile set this is.  It comes as a Polymer set with 27 yes 27! stamps.

I am basing my cards for the next month on Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.  I do have a wonderful retired stamp set by SU from 2005 called Season by Season which actually has this wording on it but sadly I couldn't use it for this challenge.  But I found ways around using the actual words.  

So my Spring card uses one of the trees with extra leaves stamped on it.  The birds are a sweet addition to this set - those facing right to left have been stamped using the reverse technique.  Basically you stamp them on to some acetate and then press this on to your card stock.

 I've used Mint Macaron and Crumb Cake here - Mint Macaron is one of my favourite SU colours!  I've used some of the lovely DSP from the Serene Scenery.  The sentiment is from the Jar of Love set.

 

 For the ribbon I have glued some of the gorgeous Mint Macaraon Sheer Linen onto the Burlap which gives great texture.  A little addition of some Enamel shapes finishes off the card.