Nutz about Stamping

You just never know what exciting things you might encounter on a day's walk

Did you know that I live in the Netherlands? I have this amazing job that has taken me on a life adventure for a few years and I am loving every minute of it. 

Now the Netherlands is quite different from the part of the US and Canada that I have lived in before. It is very flat and very well organized. And situated beautifully on the North Sea. Although the country is small there has been importance placed on keeping the forests and the dunes as spots for daily strolls. And the Dutch do that. They are always out walking and cycling, even when the weather is wet, cold and gloomy. 

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. 

Last weekend as I walked 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 but he didn't. He just watched. And amazingly, I got to the point where this shot could be take - no zoom needed:

How about that for breathtaking! 

I plan to scrapbook these two photos when I have the time. What a memory to preserve. 

How to preserve your fun winter memories

As you know, Stampin' Up! has announced which products are retiring forever from the Aug-Dec Mini catalog. It wasn't much of a surprise to hear that the Trimming the Town suite was on that list:

Every single product is retiring so I knew that this week I wanted to create one last project idea as a happy farewell. With Christmas around the corner I decided to make a memory page and to share this idea with you. 

Click here to see the retiring list! 

Note: you can still order the products in this suite, or the entire suite while supplies last: from 8 December to 3 January. Click on any of the product photos in the post to link over to my store (USA only). Contact me if you live in Europe as I have a store there too!

The first thing I did was die-cut the houses and trees from my left-over scraps. Next I decided to use another scrap of the Trimming the Town paper as my title - what fun is that to see all those different languages:

I love the colors in this paper pack, they are so bright and happy! I decided to stamp two light posts and color them using my Mango Melody Stampin' Blends. And after my page was almost done I chose to stamp some Pool Party snowflakes (from the Coming Home set) to add a bit more visual interest. 

And here is my page. I can't wait to add my photos and journaling! 

If you want step-by-step instructions, watch my video below. And don't miss my bonus tips along the way!

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!

See the perfect project for a world traveler

Do you like adventures? Are you a world traveler? Do you have lots of photos and memories to preserve? Then today's project is perfect for you! 

This week I got the new Playful Alphabet dies in the mail and I am so excited to introduce them to you and show you just one way you can use them:

Playful Alphabet Dies
$34.00

 

 

 

 

There are many things I love about these dies:

• the size (3/4" x 3/4") - not too big, not too small, just right
• duplicate letters: A, E, I, L, N, O, P, R, S, T - so clever Stampin' Up!
• numbers! 
• punctuation

I am excited because this means personalization. Think card making and creating someone's name on the front: for birthdays, baby cards, graduation, and more. I will admit that I have many scrapbook pages without titles because I wanted to use dies instead of trying to hand print a title on them. I can now go back and add titles or fun phrases to these pages using Playful Alphabet. 

I also used the Beautiful World bundle on today's project. I have certainly got my money's worth from this bundle in one short month. Scroll back through my blog to see the projects. Two of my recent faves this clean and simple card here and this card technique here. 

Beautiful World Bundle
$48.50

 

 

 

 

Here's a photo of my semi-finished page - I will add journaling boxes later. For the page itself I used a sheet of the World of Good designer paper - perfect for this project, don't you think?

Playful Alphabet Scrapbook page

Stamp set: Beautiful World bundle (154091)

Ink: none

Paper and cutting dimensions:
        World of Good: 12" x 12" sheet
        Cinnamon Cider: varying sizes to mat your photos
        Copper Foil: 2" square
        Misty Moonlight: 3" x 2 1/4"

Other: Playful Alphabet dies (152706); Copper Foil Sheets (142020); World of Good Memories & More card pack (153600); SNAIL adhesive, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

I also created a video showing you how to make this page along with some bonus tips:

 

 

 

 

 

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? 

Have you ever made this funny mistake?

I shouldn't even admit this but it's funny - or not funny. Let me start with my backgrounders story to help you understand why this happened.

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I was going to start scrapbooking again. I really miss capturing my memories and even thought I doubt that I will every share my scrapbooks with anyone, they are a record of my life. And that's important to me. 

I am very fortunate to have a job that takes me all over the world. There have been so many amazing place that I have visited that I decided to do something with all the photos I have been gathering in the past few years. I know that with time I will forget some of these memories so decided to get back to a crafting hobby that I really loved. 

So I decided to purchase a photo printer so that I can't use the lack of photos or time to get them printed as my excuse. And I will just scrapbook in my free time and enjoy doing it. 

I also wanted to use some of my crafting supplies on my pages - as they were also gathering dust which is a shame. So spurred to make my first page in a year or more, I chose two photos from a recent trip. As there are leaves in one of the photos I decided that my base page would have leaves stamped all over it using the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set and Versamark ink:

Good Morning Magnolia Cling Stamp Set
$36.00

 

 

 

I saw a scrapbook page map on Pinterest that I loved that would give me guidance:

I used the colors in my photos for the banners layers and the only thing I was struggling with was the title. 

And then I remembered that I have the Lined Alphabet stamp set!

Lined Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set
$34.00

 

 

 

 

So I created my title using the Lined Alphabet stamp set and colored each letter to match my banner colors.

The final touch was adding my photos and some matching sequins and my page was done!

And it was two days later when I realized: this it NOT Barcelona! This is Geneva!!! Oh my gosh. Now what!

Have you ever made this funny mistake?

 

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!