Nutz about Stamping

With this bundle you can create love notes all year round

Here's this week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge:

 

When I first saw this map I stumbled a bit - I don't have a starburst die or punch and that closed off my imagination and design thinking for a bit. So instead of concentrating on the map elements I looked instead at my stamp sets and bundles. With Valentine's Day coming soon I thought you might like a fun idea to try so I looked instead at a theme idea and how I could 'tweak' the map elements as a result. 

I am having so much fun playing with the Sweet Conversations bundle. I recently created a YouTube Video (here) and thought maybe I would use the bundle to give you another idea. 

The Sweet Conversations Bundle includes the Sweet Conversations Stamp Set and the Sweet Hearts Dies. The hearts in these products make it so easy to create unique valentines. You can also use them to create love notes throughout the year. (Also available in French)

This fun, Sweet Conversations valentine-themed set (17 stamps!) includes a variety of hearts—including conversation hearts—that can be used on valentines and with other love-themed projects. It also includes circles, stripes, and a tag, all things that make this set even more versatile.

The Sweet Hearts Dies (16 in the pack) is an explosion of hearts. But that's not all. In addition to the hearts, this set of dies include banners, a box, and a tag. Use them to make easy valentines, little love notes, and tiny treat boxes. You'll love seeing what you can create.

I thought it would be fun to replace the sunburst element with a heart and the square element with a tag. Once I did that, the rest was easy. 

Here's my card:

Why not give our card map challenge a try and see what you come up with too? Think outside the card map box and have fun! 

If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here. 

There are so many possibilities for this simple card map challenge

Sometimes it is nice to see a simple card map design as it helps us to revisit our crafting products and see all the possibilities waiting there. 

That's the approach I took for today's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge. 

At first I thought that I would use a layer of designer series paper on the card base. But I didn't really have a paper design that 'jumped out' at me. 

So I thought, instead, about the stamp set I might use and that came to me easily:

The Awesome Otters stamp set is a FREE choice for Sale-a-bration right now - available with at $50 order (or €65 in the NL) until the end of February. Learn more about Sale-a-bration here! 

I decided to use the otter image in the water and then it hit me. Rather than using designer paper on the card front, what if I used an embossing folder instead? So that's what I did. To achieve the affect I wanted, I first used my Blending Brushes...

.... to add two different colors of ink: Balmy Blue and Misty Moonlight. After that was applied to the Basic White card base I then embossed this layer with the Painted Texture 3D embossing folder:

 

This folder kind of looks like splashing water so that works for me. 

Here's my Awesome Otters card map challenge card:

So dang cute! And now it's your turn - see what you can create using this week's card map challenge and see what speaks to you from your crafting space. 

If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

 

The perfect challenge: create a card with anything you like

Now this is my kind of challenge, how about you? 

 

I decided to use a new set of dies, ones that are bundled with the Amazing Silhouettes stamp set. An odd couple but I love them! 

Do you ever have those design moments where you know exactly what you are going to create? Those happen rarely for me but not today! I knew immediately that I wanted to use a gorgeous design from the Symbols of Fortune designer series paper pack - also new!

And one single die-cut using my Dandy Wishes dies:

Put all these yummy products together and here's one idea you can create:

Here's some even better news! All the products I used are now available to order. Click on any of the photos to order at my online store. 

Want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's card map challenge? Click here. 

 

I invite you to join my exciting countdown to the new catalog: Crane of Fortune

Here's an easy Paper Craft Crew card map challenge for the week - perfect for those of you needing a little crafting inspiration. 

When I saw this challenge I knew right away that I wanted to use the Crane of Fortune bundle - on page 24 of the new Mini Catalog:

I chose to emboss the card base and the banner layer using the new Gingham embossing folder and used a piece of the matching Symbols of Fortune designer series paper for another layer. 

What I chose not to do is add a phrase to my card front. Instead I used a layer of Evening Evergreen to pull the colors together. And I can add a phrase to the inside once I know the occasion for which it will be perfect. 

Here's my card map challenge card:

Now it's your turn: try our card map challenge and see what you can create. If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here. 

When you are ready to add this bundle to your crafting collection, click on the shopping cart image on the right side of my blog to head to my online store! Tip: this bundle is available for ordering on 4 January! 

What are your favorite colors for this card map color challenge?

What a fun challenge for the week ahead! 

I have my Jan-June Mini Catalog order just waiting to be used and so I decided to try one of my new stamp sets - it's called Amazing Silhouettes - and it's kinda funky. This set is very different from anything I would normally craft with and that is a challenge in itself. 

Here's a photo of this new set so you can see for yourself how different it is. 

I decided to use Blue for my monochromatic card: Balmy Blue, Misty Moonlight and Night of Navy. I applied color to my card layer using my Blending Brushes. 

Super easy to do and then a layer with the stamped image and, taa-daa!

Are you wondering where that phrase came from? It's a FREE choice in our next Sale-a-Bration event, which begins in January too. So much exciting stuff coming your way and it's hard to keep it all a secret for now. 

Now it's your turn: try this week's color challenge and see what you can create, using Blending Brushes or simply layers of cardstock. There are so many ideas, why not try them all!

If you want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here. 

Sometimes the simplest stamp set can create beautiful cards

What would you create using the Paper Craft Crew card map below? It is simple in design but that means so many possibilities. 

I decided to use my Bamboo Beauty stamp set to match the simplicity of the challenge map.

 

Bamboo Beauty

You can create a serene escape with the brushstroke style of the Bamboo Beauty set; the images are sized perfectly for card making; either stamp the branches in a random pattern for a minimal look or use the bamboo and branch images together to create a bamboo forest! The authentic kanji symbols translate to “friendship” so be sure to send a card to all your favorite friends as this stamp set is gender neutral.

I decided to pair the set with a very neutral patterned paper, keeping to my 'simplicity' theme. Yes, it is a Christmas themed paper on one side but the other side has patterns that can be used beyond Christmas which is what I love about this pack. 

The Peaceful Place paper pack has a very subtle and simple pattern on one of the sheets, making it the perfect match. And rather than adding another layer to my card I chose to stamp directly on the paper itself. Tip: this paper pack is retiring at the end of December and while supplies last. If you love these designs, click on the paper pack photo to order it at my online store. 

Add a splatter stamp for added visual interest, and to match the card map above, and here is my card:

 

Now it's your turn: see what you can create using this card map challenge. And if you want to see what the other design crew members created this week, click here. 

Which dies are great for handmade birthday cards, scrapbook pages, and other paper crafts?

It's time for another Paper Craft Crew card sketch! This week's map is super fun and has so many possibilities:

I thought it would be fun to create my card map card using the Playful Alphabet dies. You can create custom die-cut letters, numbers, and more using the Playful Alphabet dies. The dies include duplicate letters (A, E, I, L, N, O, P, R, S, T). Pair with the coordinating Pattern Play Stamp Set for more creative options. These dies are great for handmade birthday cards, scrapbook pages, and other paper crafts. 

I need to get going on my Christmas cards so thought that it would be fun to create a holiday card for this week's challenge. I originally thought I would use the Heartwarming Hugs designer series paper. I chose my two matching designs and after my card was finished I realized that one of the patterns is NOT part of the Heartwarming Hugs paper pack. Go figure: another piece of evidence that I am a scrap-a-holic and save everything! 

For the phrase I chose the Poinsettia Petals stamp set. I love that phrases in this set!

But I still like my card - even though it is a bit crooked and I have no idea where that paper came from:

Now it's your turn! Why not try this week's map and see what you can create? Then you can celebrate having one of your holiday cards done for this season. 

You need to try this bundle, perfect for a peaceful, wintry scene

You ready for a super fun Paper Craft Crew tic-tac-toe challenge? I sure am! 

There are so many possibilities, aren't there? I quickly realized were narrowed by the fact that I don't have Halloween sets and papers so I needed to look at Christmas. Or did I? I spotted one set that would work and using a brand new bundle that just arrived this week!

I have been wanting the Peaceful Cabin bundle ever since I saw it on the Aug-Dec Mini catalog. But I held off until this month. 

Immerse your paper crafting projects in tranquility with the Peaceful Cabin set. This versatile set has stamps you can use separately, or you can pair them together for a peaceful, wintry scene. Send some warmth and reflect the beauty of the season by adding these serene greetings and images to your handmade cards, notes, and gift tags today. (This stamp set is also available in French.)

I paired the bundle with Peaceful Place designer series paper - YUM! The perfect match, right? I decided to keep my card pretty simple, what do you think? 

Now it's your turn: try our tic-tac-toe card map challenge and see what you can create. If you want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew design team members created for this week's challenge, click here!

There are so many fun possibilities with this simple card map challenge

Today's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is super fun! There are so many possibilities to use:

 

I knew right away what I was going to use too. On my daily walks I have been encountering many different flowers along my way, and on one particular walk I spotted these beauties blowing in the wind: 

I know these are not daisies but right away I thought of my daisy punch. And when I had a look at my card map challenge for the week I immediately thought: not butterflies. I can try daisies! 

So I grabbed my two Daisy punches and got right to work. I pushed six daisies - 4 small ones and 2 large ones and then used my Blending Brushes and Fresh Freesia ink pad to add color:

I  am telling you - if you have not used these brushes before then you are seriously missing out! Blend ink beautifully using our FAB Blending Brushes. Apply extremely light shades of ink or create soft gradient backgrounds with no lines. Or use them with Decorative Masks or stencils. The velvety soft bristles blend ink perfectly.

In mere seconds I had all daisies colored, attached together and ready for my card front. At that point I decided to use my Timeworn Type embossing folder to emboss the layer for my card. 

I love love love the look that this folder creates. Once I embossed my Fresh Freesia layer and added my daisies then I popped on a stamped and die-cut phrase and 6 lovely In Color Jewels. 

Here's my card:

I am crazy about my card - and hope that it will make a special friend feel better when she receives it. 

Why not join our card map challenge this week? And if you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

 

Are you ready to sail off to new crafting adventures?

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge speaks to my heart. 

I love to be near water, and always have. So when I saw this week's challenge I was thrilled. Until I looked at my stamp set collection and realized that my beach-themed stamp sets retired last year. 

But I knew I have my trusty Sailing Home stamp set and Smooth Sailing dies: 

Whether you're sailing home or going off to new adventures, the images and sentiments in the Sailing Home Stamp Set will inspire you on your journey. I have used this set for masculine cards, scrapbook pages and gift ideas. 

When thinking about my card deign I decided to take a little cheat and have no sand on my card. My card, instead would be a water theme only so I used my Blending Brushes to create a waterscape background. 

I love each brush's velvety soft bristles - perfect for applying a little or a lot of ink. I decided to use Misty Moonlight for the water and then Bumblebee and Pumpkin Pie for the sky. Add a lighthouse, a sailboat and some birds in the sky and my card was complete. 

To make my layers stand out I used my Stitched Rectangles dies - and to add a little glamorous touch and visual interest. What do you think? 

Now it's your turn: try our card map challenge for the week and see what you can create. And if you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

 

 

How to use up your crafting supplies with a super fun design

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge will help you use up lots of your supplies with a super fun design:

 

You have several layers, different colors and can embellish to your heart's content. 

For my card I chose some left over bits of my Beauty of the Earth designer series paper. I am proud to say that I have used almost the entire pack - a rare thing for me, the scrap-a-holic that I can be:

And this is kind of funny: I had my design all figured out, turned over the layer of Beauty of the Earth paper that I had chosen and in the last minute reversed sides - the one that should have had glue applied ended up being the layer that you see on my card photo below. 

I also dusted off my Dandy Wishes dies - gosh I find these really hard to use. But I love the two 'tree' sizes on my card front. 

The phase comes from the Art Gallery stamp set - love the font. 

And here's my card map challenge card. As unusual as it looks, I still LOVE it! 

PSST: if you want to purchase any of these products from me, click on the photos to hop on over to my online store!

Why not give our card map challenge a try this week - use up some of those supplies and end up with a card you love too! If you want to see what the Paper Craft Crew created this week for this challenge, click here. 

 

Do you know how to create a card with dark patterned paper?

This week's Paper Craft Crew's card map challenge is super easy: 

I decided to use up some of my Blackberry Beauty paper for the background, and chose one of the darker patterns on the card base. 

This paper pack is perfect for autumn cards and projects, with its rich colors and traditional autumn images of leaves, sprigs, and bird. This nontraditional color palette is sure to bring unexpected impact to all of your paper crafting projects, especially with the added shine of gold foil accents! 

Here are the coordinating colors: Blackberry Bliss, Cinnamon Cider, Early Espresso, Polished Pink, Rich Razzleberry - so cool right? 

Once I chose my darker patterned paper I then chose a light pattern for one of the layers, to help my phrase stand out a bit and to make my card even more interesting.  

I then did something unusual: I chose two phrases for the front of my card, one to match the map and the other to be a standout of my card. The larger one comes from the Tasteful Touches stamp set:

The second phrase comes from the Best Year stamp set - and adds a playful touch!

Here's my card - can you see what I did for the 'ribbon' on the map? Did you spot the bling? 

Now it's your turn - try this card map challenge using what you have on hand. And if you want to see what the other design crew members made for this week's challenge click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

What could be better than a card challenge using your sparkling products?

Nothing could be better I am sure. And this week's Paper Craft Crew challenge does just that:

I love cards that have bling on them even though I am not really a bling-y kind of person in real life. I made a New Year's Resolution two years ago to use my embellishments rather than hoard them (is this you too?) and have been making good on my promise. 

To make my card I used only three products, one of them creates the phrase:

1. Blackberry Beauty designer series paper (LOVE!)
   
   
   
   
2. Meadow dies (so versatile)
   
   
   
   
3. Floral Gallery dies (the perfect phrase)

And to make my card I tried a brand new fun fold technique - new to me, that is. I have never tried a Center Step fun fold card and was so surprised how easy it was to make. 

If you want to learn how to make a Center Step fun fold card, click here to see my YouTube video. 

Here's my card - can you see the bling? 

Now it's your turn: give this card map challenge a try and see what you can create that uses your sparkling products. And if you want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew design crew members create for this challenge, click here. 

What designer series paper would you use for this card map challenge?

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is a great way to feature your favorite designer series paper!

I am currently loving the Blackberry Beauty designer series paper - heck, I even love the name! Wouldn't it be fun to have to name papers and colors for Stampin' Up! I'm in!

 Anyway, the colors in this paper pack are perfect for masculine cards, fall cards and Thanksgiving projects. I decided to use a left over piece for my card. Funny but when I first had everything all laid out and ready to attach, I turned over the Blackberry Beauty layer and decided to use it on top instead. Has that ever happened to you? 

The large square kind of stumped me until I thought about my Floral Gallery dies - and realized it could be my feature instead of something else. And instead of making it a square I used my Stitched Rectangles dies so that the phrase would fit nicely. 

And then I decided to turn my card on it's side - instead of a portrait layout I would have a landscape layout. I love the look!

Now it's your turn! Try this week's card map challenge using what you have on hand. See what you can come up with! If you want to see what the other design crew members created this week, click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

Here's an easy way to use up your left over paper scraps

Today's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is an easy way to use up your left over paper scraps. This must be the week for using up paper scraps - check out my Sunday blog post and video tutorial showing you a second way to use paper scraps! 

At first I thought the map was pretty plain but of course I decided to give it a try  and chose to use my Beautifully Penned designer series paper. Did you know you can earn this paper pack for FREE with a $50 order? (or 60 Euros in AT, DE, NL, GB and FR). Learn more about this offer here. 

For the sentiment on the front of the card, I chose to use one from the Tasteful Touches stamp set:

Funny but it was the strip across the front of the card that stumped me a bit. In the end I chose to use a second piece of the Gray Granite ribbon as the strip and love how it looks!

Here's my card: 

Now it's your turn: what will you create using this week's card map challenge? If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this challenge, click here to hop on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

Join this fun challenge using the 5 Olympic colors

This week's card map challenge was a tough one for me. A fun theme but I kinda went blank when I saw it.  What can you create with these five colors?

I dug through my designer paper stash, I looked through my card stock colors and through my stamp sets. Nothing came to mind. Then I spotted a left over square of the Beauty of the Earth designer paper.

And that particular pattern has 3 of the 5 colors - almost four if you consider the orange-red leaves a kind of red. This paper pack is seriously yummy and I have almost used it all up - and Fall isn't even here yet! Well done me but, yikes! 

So I added a black layer under the square (with Bumblebee on top), a layered phrase and two dragonflies from the Dragonfly Garden bundle:

And here's my card! 

For all the fuss and mess I created trying to find success with this week's challenge, I am pretty happy with my result. I can't wait to see what the other design crew members create using those Olympic challenge colors! Click here to see what they made.