Nutz about Stamping

How this this set will inspire you with its flowers and beautiful line-art images

I love spring, it's my favorite time of year. And here in the Netherlands spring bring tulips, crocuses, hyacinths and peonies, just to mention a few gorgeous signs that much better weather is on the way. 

One tradition each spring is to drive to the tulips and hyacinths fields when the flowers are in full bloom. You can only see them for a few short weeks before they are harvested. And this year they were fabulous - maybe because we have been inside for so many months! Each time I visited the fields this year I took a few photos and decided that two of them were definitely a memory I wanted to preserve. 

Here's the funny thing. Although I own the Timeless Tulips stamp set, I decided not to use it on my page. Instead I chose the Painted Poppies stamp set (gasp). 

Painted Poppies 

When this set was first released it was bundled Painted Labels dies and you could also purchase a coordinating pack of elements - which of course I did. I promised myself that this was the year to use up my supplies, even the ones that are retired. And I know you will forgive me, right? Plus coloring these images with the Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends made a perfect match for the color of the tulips in my photos. 

Here's my page:

I will add journaling in a bit - that's pretty personal to me so I prefer to keep it private. I hope that you will preserve your special memories and lovely photos too - why not try my layout or if you also have the Painted Poppies stamp set, see how you can use this set on your next memory page. 

The perfect way to preserve your amazing life experiences

Since the pandemic hit, I have made it a daily feature to take a walk when my work is over - to get up and moving and out in the fresh air. Sometimes I take walks in the dunes. And I mean long walks. You can literally walk for hours in the dunes, up and down winding paths that sometimes give you a glimpse of the sea as you go. 

Back in March I came across two amazing sights: 

Believe it or not, these Scottish Highland cattle are wild. They roam freely through the dunes here and there, keeping the grass under control. You never know when and where you might see them so I was really excited to come across them on my walk. They look so docile and I would love to touch those long shaggy manes. But best not. 

As I continued on my walk another amazing experience happened. I came down the path and spotted this fellow:

I stopped for a while and watched him (her?) watching me. After a bit I started walking towards him and he didn't move. At all. I kept expecting him to dash into the brush or challenge me, but he didn't. He just watched. And amazingly, I got to the point where this shot could be taken - no zoom needed:

How about that for breathtaking! 

I was so taken with my fox sighting that I decided to grab two packs of dies and create a scrapbook page using this photo. 

Meadow dies

And the Dandy Wishes dies: 

Here's the page I created, featuring the wild grasses and the fox in the dunes: 

What a great way to preserve this very special memory. It took a lot of thought for me to get to this point and I just realized that I didn't have a date or location on my page so I will definitely add that soon, so I have a time-stamped memory to look back on years from now. 

If you want to add these two packs of dies to your craft room, click on either photo to head over to my online store! 

How to create fun memories with this pick five challenge

I cannot believe it was almost two years ago that I was in Malta. It feels like it was just a few months ago. I truly feel in love with these two islands and would love to go back some day. 

I chose to scrapbook two of my Malta photos for this weekend's Pick Five challenge:

• Masculine theme
• Gears
• Pattern papers (at least two)
• Banner
• Two word title

I started by choosing my photos first and once those were printed I chose the Garden Green 12x12 page base to match the green color in the water. I knew that I wanted to choose patterned paper that had Night of Navy in them - to match to the water in the photos and act as a nice compliment to Garden Green.

My paper choices came from the In Good Taste pack...

...and a retired strip I had left over from last year's catalog. It is important to use up what is lying around, right?

I decided that the Garden Green page base was too plain and thought it would be fun to stamp, using Versamark, the large sailboat from the Sailing Home stamp set. I really like how the stamped images look.

But then those gears.....hmmmm. Until I remembered that the Smooth Sailing dies have a 'steering wheel' in the pack and it looks close to a gear - so I chose to die-cut 5 wheels to add to my page. 

I did a bit of a cheat for the title - I trimmed down one of the World of Good cards because I thought it would be fun as a title - yes it it three words but close enough. 

The final element - banner - I created three - two small ones (can you spot them?) and one larger one that I used to note where the photos came from and what year. That's when I got a shock that this fun trip happened two years ago! Wow how time flies. 

Here's my page! 

Now it's your turn - try this Pick Five challenge to make a card or a scrapbook page. You just might love how it turns out too!

How to remember your daily adventures in a fun way

COVID-19 has impacted so many of us for a very long time, hasn't it? Some countries are slowly opening up again and some schools have reopened for students once again. Other countries are taking a more needed cautious approach.

In the Netherlands schools have reopened but offices are encouraged to keep their employees working from home as yet. My office has decided that we will work from home until 4 January 2021 at the earliest - a bit of a surprise when I first head this news but I think it is the right decision as our office is open area for almost everyone. 

As an expat living away from home, my only social time was with my work colleagues so the past 171 days (yes I have been counting) has meant a lot of solitude and sometimes a bit of loneliness. A few weeks ago a colleague invited three of us to her place for Friday night Pizza and Games night. It was so much fun that we decided it would be a weekly event - a way to socialize a bit in safety. 

And so a pizza night tradition has begun and each week we show up at her apartment to make pizzas. But not any normal pizza, no way! Each week we try three different types of pizzas and stretch our culinary skills and imagination. 

When I saw this sketch challenge and three photos I immediately decided to create a memory page of Pizza Night as years from now looks at this page will bring a smile to my face. And that's what we want memories to do, right? 

What I like about the above sketch is all the different elements the page. I have always been attracted to splatter stamps and shapes so I was eager to get started. What proved quite challenging was the hexagons. I could have used another shape but I liked the elements. So [shock] I dusted off a required hexagon punch from a couple of Annual Catalogs ago to decided to use it. 

Next was the paper choice for the hexagons. I looked for color inspiration in the photos and chose Cherry Cobbler and Shaded Spruce which are two colors in one of the patterns in Plaid Tidings paper:

I used some splatter stamps from the Painted Poppies stamp set and I created the title from the Make a Difference stamp set. I did a second little cheat and used another splatter stamp from the retired Gorgeous Grunge stamp set. Remember that set? 

 

I am really happy with how my page turned out - it has a very different style from what I am used to creating and I love it!

What weekly events would you want to remember years from now? Choose one, take some photos and try this Sketch Challenge too. 

How to use only 5 elements to make a beautiful page

This weekend I joined another Pick 5 challenge and had so much fun making my page. 5 elements had to be on our page but I modified the list a tiny bit to match what I had on hand:

-blue or gray letters

-designer paper

-triangles

-torn paper

-something metallic

When I saw that I had to have blue on my page, I immediately thought of a trip I took to Greece last year because the photos I took had lots of blue in them. I matched the blue in my photos to Pacific Point and then had to figure out what I would use for triangles. I don't have any triangle dies and could cut squares in half but then I spotted my Tailored Tag punch:

I figured out that if I punched a Pacific Point tag I could cut it in half lengthwise and end up with a triangle shape. I punched and cut several tags and arranged them on my page to look a bit like steps. 

The letters I created with the Playful Alphabet dies and used Basic Gray to match the color of the steps in one of my photos. 

Next I chose some of my left over Forever Greenery paper and tore the ends of each piece. This paper would be the base for my journaling. 

Finally, I needed something metallic. I chose a title sticker from World of Good Memories & More Card Pack. The sticker has brass foil letters and the word is perfect match. 

Here's my Pick Five page:

Fun right? Why not give our Pick Five challenge a try - and yes you can tweak one of the items like I did. Have fun! 

How to preserve those day to day experiences

A few months ago I joined a Facebook group for beginner scrapbookers because one of the group leaders placed an order at my online store. We made a great connection and she invited me to join her group. I am so happy that I did because they are a fun group of crafters who are really open to share their journeys into scrapbooking. 

A couple of weeks ago the group leaders started posting a Saturday layout challenge. Most of the weekends I don't participate because I am so busy making cards to post here on my blog. But this weekend I decided to join in because this sketch looked pretty fun:

Since lockdown and working from home happened around the same time I joined this scrapbooking group, I started taking walks in a forest that is pretty close to my apartment. i have watched spring arrive, then summer and now each day I enjoy the shade and coolness that this amazing forest provides on my walk. I am often 'wowed' with the paths I take, the different shades of green I walk by and how the sunlight filters through the branches. At times I stop and take a quick photo during my walks. 

This weekend I realized that these kind of moments are what I will always treasure from living in The Hague. Years from now, no matter where I am living, I will remenber this forest fondly. 

So why not scrapbook this to remember? 

Digging through my crafting stash, I decided to create a page filled with the greens in my photos. I chose the Forever Fern bundle:

Along with the Forever Greenery paper:

The idea for my title came so easily, using the fabulous Playful Alphabet dies. 

I also used the new Foam Adhesive Sheets when die-cutting my title so that they would pop up off my page. 

Speaking of my page, here it is. I will add my journaling when I have a few quiet moments and time to think about what I want to say. If needed I will add another tag behind the first. 

Do you scrapbook? If so, would you like to see more pages posted on my blog to give you inspiration. Please leave me a comment to let me know. I love hearing from you!

Here's how to celebrate the beauty of spring

In the past few weeks I have tried to take a walk every single day, knowing that it is good for my well-being to get some fresh air and exercise. 

I will say that I do feel better after my walk and I have already seen a difference in how I look too. One day a take a half-hour walk and the next I take an hour and 10 minute walk - both through a beautiful forest that is near to where I live. 

Along with my daily walk I have started to notice signs of spring along the way - to trees (finally) budding leaves, to all the flowers that are now blooming. When I see something that really strikes me as beautiful I have stopped to snap a photo or two with my phone. 

This week I decided to take a couple of my photos and create a scrapbook page - to celebrate the beauty of spring and also to remember that life does go on despite all the tragedy I feel happening in the world. When it came tome to make my scrapbook page I chose colors that matched the colors in my photos:

• Mossy Meadow
• Mint Macaron
• So Saffron
• and a touch of Real Red

I also decided to use some left over Garden Lane designer series paper - the name says it all!

Garden Lane Designer Series Paper
$11.50

 

 

 

 

 

The design of this page was a bit of a challenge but ideas started to flow I knew that I wanted to create some small and some large daisies as embellishments. 

Enter my daisy punches!

Daisy Punch
$18.00

Medium Daisy Punch
$16.00

I don't currently own a printer so for my title, rather than print something I used my Lined Alphabet stamp set and colored the letters in the title with my Mossy Meadow Dark Stampin' Blend. 

Lined Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set
$34.00

 

 

 

Here's my final page. I will likely add a journaling box to record not only this time in history but also how I was feeling. These are the times that are important not only to capture but also to remember. 

What memories are you capturing at this moment in time and what will you do with them? 

You need to see the Night Before Christmas suite!

The Holiday Catalog has been live for under a week so it's time to turn those pages and start noticing things! As you explore, here's a wish list so you can pencil in your favorites as you go. 

Click on the photo above to download a full page list!

So, where shall we begin? How about with a product suite? What is a product suite you ask? Great question! It is like a complete bundle of coordinating products that you can purchase in all together OR as separate products too.

You will design your cards, tags, scrapbook pages (etc) all on your own. Think of the suite as a one-stop shop. As a grouping of products that Stampin' Up! has selected for you, for hours of crafting fun. 

So now that you have your catalog, turn to page 24. Introducing the Night Before Christmas product medley (order #153470)! Also available in French and German. 

Night Before Christmas Suite Bundle (En)
$90.50

 

The Night Before Christmas Suite bundle gives you a coordinating selection of products with one simple purchase. It includes the stamp set and tool bundle at 10% off plus one each of the other items listed. Also available in French and German.

The Night Before Christmas Suite Bundle includes
* Holly Jolly Christmas Cling Stamp Set (10% off)
* Jolly Season Dies (10% off)
* Night Before Christmas Memories & More Card Pack
* Night Before Christmas Memories & More Cards & Envelopes
* Night Before Christmas 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper
* Cherry Cobbler 3/8" (1 cm) Diagonal Stripe Ribbon

Add ink, cardstock, and adhesive to complete your project.

My friend Santa, is here to show you more! 

 

You need to see how to create your own scrapbook paper designs

Have you ever made your own scrapbook page background designs? I got the idea to give this a try and I am so happy I did. I knew from the start that I wanted to use the Verdant Garden stamp set and randomly stamped the two images all over a piece of 12x12 Whisper White card stock:

Verdant Garden Photopolymer Stamp Set
$16.00

Because this set is photopolymer it was so easy to stamp one image on top of the other.

Next I decided to feature only one single photo on my page. 

 

But that single layer seemed a bit lost on my page so I added a journaling layer and used two of the sticker strips in the Magnolia Lane Memories & More card kit on either side. The phrase comes from the Colorful Seasons stamp set:

Colorful Seasons Photopolymer Stamp Set
$27.00

Of course the photo I select to feature on this page will really make it a stand out and I hope that for now I have given you some courage to make your own background paper on your next pages. It's fun especially when you can:

• choose your colors: soft, bright, coordinating, contrasting
• choosing stamp set designs: large, small, layered (like mine) 
• choosing where to stamp: across the top, bottom, up one side or both, or randomly like I did
• create pages that are a perfect match for your photos and memories, now or in the future

How to create the perfect life adventure page

When you first saw the Come Sail Away product suite in Stampin' Up!s Annual Catalog, did you say to yourself: this is not for me, because I don't sail/live near the ocean or think I don't go on ocean cruises? Well, think again. These products are perfect to feature ALL life adventures, watery or not!

Yes, there is clearly an underlying nautical theme but think beyond that. These colors are perfect for travel pages, masculine pages, goals and ambitions, graduations and much more. 

When you scrapbook, do you tend to stick to the same type of layout? I sure do, so this week I challenged myself to try a layout that was outside my comfort zone. And that would be a photo that features a single photo. 

First I chose the colors and Come Sail Away card pack cards that I wanted to use. Next I turned to the sticker sheets to use as additional features on the page. 

A really fun feature is the 'Happy' double (night of navy and soft suede) phrase which I layered. Don't you love that!

The Sailing Home stamp made a soft background over the entire Balmy Blue base. The final touch was to add one of the Sail Away Trinkets, just for another eye-catching element that adds texture to the page. 

Here's my page:

As you can see this page was created to remember a particularly happy day in my life, on water or not it really doesn't matter, does it?

If you want to purchase the products to make pages like these, click the 'SHOP NOW' button on the right side of this page (shopping cart). That button will take you over to my online store. 

How to scrapbook like a boss

Scrapbooking doesn't have to be complicated to be fun and in just a few steps you can create a beautiful page and have everyone convinced you are a scrapbooking boss!

Here's how I created the page below. Follow my steps and be prepared at what you will create.

Step one: Choose your designer paper and let it be your color and style guide.  

For my page, I chose Magnolia Lane: I love the colors and patterns.

Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper
$11.50

Step two: Choose your main page layout color. Pick one of the colors in your designer paper.

Step three: cut one strip of designer paper 12" x 2". Cut a second pattern 5" x 7".

Step four: adhere both designer strips to your page (see page photo below).

Step five: Cut three photo mats 5 1/2" x 3 1/2". Pick a photo mat color that coordinates with your designer paper.

Step six: choose a journaling card and embellishments. This is where Stampin' Up! can help, with their fabulous card and embellishment packs:

Magnolia Lane Memories & More Card Pack
$11.00

 

 

Step seven: Add other fun embellishments that coordinate in style and color:

Magnolia Lane Cork Embellishments
$8.00

Step 8: choose a stamp set and stamp an image (or more!) on your page to help pull the layout together. Another bonus from Stampin' Up! with their collection suggestions.

Good Morning Magnolia Cling Stamp Set
$36.00

Step nine: Add all the bits and pieces to finish your page!

Step ten: Add photos and journaling and prepare to look back years later and smile with the memories (and layout!) that you created!

How to create the perfect companion page

This week I made the perfect companion page to a recent Sailing Home scrapbook page that I posted a couple of weeks ago. I started with a matching Come Sail Away paper design and then chose a 12x12 sheet (Smoky Slate) as the base. 

I knew I wanted to use a phrase from the Sailing Home stamp set and decided to create a Smoky Slate banner to feature it:

Sailing Home Cling Stamp Set
$24.00

Next, I added three photo mats: two are 4 1/8" x 6 1/8"; one is 3" x 3".

 

My final touch was to add some additional embellishments: three sailboats and two compass rose(s). What is the plural of compass rose anyway! I popped each embellishment up using a Stampin' Dimensional for added visual interest. 

The banner in the middle of my page is really for journaling. Once I add my photos and journaling I will then think about adding a touch of sparkle to my page, perhaps some white Basic Adhesive-backed Sequins?

Do you scrapbook? Would you like to see more page ideas to help you preserve your memories? Leave me a comment below and tell what you'd like to see in the weeks ahead!

Do you want to sail away under the beautiful sea?

Well now you can, with the fabulous Come Sail Away product suite! And today I have a fun scrapbook page using many of these elements. 

First, here's the suite, in case you haven't seen it yet:

I decided to make a page featuring two photos and to use up some of the Come Sail Away paper that I had left over from another project. After centering this paper strip down the middle of my page I then added two Basic Black photo frames, one on either side. 

Come Sail Away Designer Series Paper
$11.50

 

Then I turned to the Memories & More card pack in this suite and chose 2 cards to compliment the grey and black theme that seemed to be emerging. 

And finally, to match my paper design I die-cut two underwater plants to add some visual interest to each of the cards. The final touch was to add some Adhesive-backed Sequins for a final sparkly touch. 

Here's my page:

After I find and add the perfect photos for my page I may add some additional elements and if I do I will add a photo to this blog post as well. 

If you want to see another scrapbook page I created using the same Come Sail Away suite, click here!

Capture your life adventures with this fun suite

Today I have another Come Sail Away product suite idea - a memory (scrapbook) page to help you capture and record your life adventures!

This suite is super cool - there are so many products to help make crafting a breeze! 

My page layout is not the usual so let me explain my design process:

• I chose the Memories & More card first and decided that it would sit in the middle of my page, popped up using Stampin' Dimensionals in the middle of the card so I can easily slide photos underneath. 
• I chose a second card from the same pack, one for journaling
• Because of the size of these two cards, I created three 4" x 4" photo frames
• I stamped and die-cut the sailboat and lighthouse
• I die-cut the two steering wheels and rope images
• I stamped the two bird images and then placed the sailboat and lighthouse

After adhering everything down I still see one open spot at the top of my page. What would you put there? For now I am going to leave it blank - maybe after I add my photos I will figure out that final touch to complete my page. 

If you have life adventures that you want to preserve, click here to link over to my online store and purchase this amazing product suite! 

Last chance for the perfect products for memory keeping

If you love to travel like I like to travel then I hope you are doing something with those amazing photos you are collecting on all of your devices. 

The Stampin' Up! Annual catalog (retiring soon!) offered the perfect product suite for those of us who love to travel: Best Route! These products are amazing and offer you such a variety of options for memory keeping. And this is your last chance to order them because they will ALL be retiring at the end of this month. 

Best Route Enamel Shapes
$7.00

Best Route Washi Tape
$5.50

Best Route Memories & More Card Pack
$10.00

Best Route Designer Series Paper
$11.00

En Route Clear-Mount Stamp Set
$21.00

I bought everything in the Best Route suite when it was first revealed and have made so many fun page ideas using it. I have also used many of these products for cards. 

I used several of the Best Route products to make the page below. Color coordination was super easy, following the colors in the designer series paper. The page was also very easy because I used the Best Route Memories & More card pack for my journaling cards. Add some embellishments and washi tape and my page is done:

My photo layers are 1/4" larger than the photos will be so some Mango Melody will frame them nicely. 

The Best Route suite is retiring at the end of this month - that means all of these products will be gone for good (sob). If you want to add them to your crafting collection, click the image below to link over to my online store - don't wait as once these products are sold out, they are gone for good!

If you want to see a video showing you how to create a Best Route memories pocket page, click here!