Did you know that you can use sponge daubers and inks with your Stamparatus stamp positioning tool to ink a multicolour flower for your handmade cards. 

Technique Tips:  First I positioned the flower stamp on my Stamparatus.  I inked it with the Petal Pink ink pad and stamped the image.  Then I added some Rococo Rose with a sponge dauber to some areas and stamped again.   I sponged some Crumb Cake ink onto the stems and leaves and stamped again.  The final one was with a touch of Soft Suede ink.  The end result is a lovely multicoloured flower.  This technique would work well with any large stamp.  

Cardstock Colours:  Crumb Cake, Petal Pink, Shimmery White

The first half of this video gives you a closer look at how to make this card.

The card below has a more subtle variation of the same technique.  I've stamped first with Crumb Cake on the Petal Pink cardstock then added a touch of Soft Suede. 

Wishing you a cosy weekend.  Bit chilly here so I'm enjoying snuggling up at home - might be time to go find a lap blanket I think!  

Take care and stay safe,

Sue

Click image to browse or shop some of the supplies used to make these cards:  

Stamparatus [148187] $85.00	Prized Peony Bundle (English) [154056] $100.75	Sponge Daubers [133773] $9.00	Shimmery White A4 Card Stock [121717] $17.50
Petal Pink A4 Cardstock [147009] $15.25	Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad [147108] $13.00	Rococo Rose A4 Cardstock [150888] $15.25	Rococo Rose Classic Stampin’ Pad [150080] $13.00
Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock [121685] $15.25	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [147116] $13.00	Soft Suede A4 Card Stock [119982] $15.25	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [147115] $13.00
Stitched Rectangles Dies [151820] $61.00	Stitched Shapes Dies [152323] $50.00	Elegant Faceted Gems [152464] $13.00	Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels [151193] $10.50

Oops that was a slightly longer break from our weekly colour creations blog hop than I'd intended.  Back again with the crew this week though for Pineapple Punch.  

I don't think I've actually used this colour before!  It is a bright, happy yellow. 

Today I decided to give it a whirl with some watercolouring and teamed it with Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay and Mango Melody.  

I coloured the flowers with Pineapple Punch ink and used the cardstock for the word and for the narrow trim.  

This card is based on a beautiful Gail Ellis design (here.) 

I've been enjoying playing with this technique.  I've used watercolour paper and taped off a border using low tack adhesive painters tape from Bunnings.   It helps to wet the watercolour paper first.  I usually pop a few drops of my various colours of reinker onto a clear block which I use as a palette.  I couldn't find my Pineapple Punch reinker so instead I pressed a small clear block into the ink pad then used my aquapainter to grab the colour.  So much fun to just play around with the colours.  I'm going on a craft retreat soon (my first!) so I think I'll take a bunch of these and colour away.  Very relaxing.  

Here's a closer look at a few bits.  I have no idea what I'm doing with watercolouring really but it is fun and you really can't go wrong.  They all seem to dry quite nicely.  Great technique to play with to feel a bit artistic.  

My base card is Crumb Cake and I've embossed the flowers and leaves from Wonderful Romance stamp set with white embossing powder for a soft look.  Rather hard to see when you're starting to colour but got there in the end.  

Want to see some more Pineapple Punch creations.  Head on over here to Catherine's blog to see the full list of participants and click the links to check out all their projects. 

Happy stamping! 

I'll be back on Thursday for our February Blog Hop.  

Cheers, Sue

Still finding my feet with videos but I've just finished the first in a planned series - Sue's Stamping Technique Tutorials.  We're kicking off with a nice easy one - Faux Silk Technique.  If you've not tried this one before, here's some step by step instructions for making a lovely textured feature for your next card.

Happy stamping!

Cheers, Sue

We've had such a lot of fun in card class last month using Brushos watercolour ink crystals and a water spritzer to make gorgeous backgrounds.  Every one turned out differently. 

This technique is so easy.  Just emboss your image onto watercolour card - I used Dandelion Wishes stamp set and white embossing powder.  Then sprinkle some of the Brushos crystals - there are 5 colours in the pack.  Last you spritz some water. 

You can wet the paper first then sprinkle but I love the element of surprise you get when you spritz last.  Add just a little water for a more speckled look, or spray away and get more of a watercoloured look.  SUCH a lot of fun to experiment with.  These were my two favourites from my batch. 

Add some Brushos and watercolour paper to your next order if you'd love to have some creative colourful fun.  Don't forget to protect your surfaces to prevent staining.  Great way to use some of that brown packing paper that comes in our boxes!  Another tip - don't open the lids. Just pierce them with a pin.  I leave the pin in when I'm not using them or you can seal them with some washi tape. 

Have a colourful weekend!

Cheers, Sue

Shopping Links:  Use the host code QHC24T6B when ordering and I'll pop a gift in the post for you next month. Contact me if you have any product/technique questions.

Brusho Crystal Colour [144101] $52.00	Watercolor Paper [122959] $8.75	Stampin' Spritzer [126185] $5.00	Grid Paper [130148] $19.25
Dandelion Wishes Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146747] $35.00	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132] $8.75	Heat Tool [129056] $50.00	Stitched Labels Framelits Dies [146828] $57.00
Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146667] $63.00	Classic Label Punch [141491] $31.00	Poppy Parade A4 Cardstock [121694] $14.75	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock [106577] $14.75

Are you in Melbourne's west?  Are you keen to catch a card class this month?  I've got space left on a few dates in August.

We'll be having LOTS of fun with Brushos watercolour ink crystals for our technique this month.  Sneak peek below.  Make a sample to pop in your technique book plus we'll make another into a card. 

We'll be making two other cards using other snazzy products. 

Plus you can put together two more colour family charts if you'd like a sample cardstock colour swatch to take home. 

Classes are suitable for beginners and enjoyable for more experienced crafters.  Class fee is $25 and everything is supplied.  We'd love to make you feel welcome at class this month. Pick a date that suits and contact me to book your spot.

Here's the dates:

Wednesday 22nd August: 7.30 - 9.30pm   4 spots left

Friday 24th August: 10.00am - 12.00     2 spots left

Thursday 30th August: 7.30 - 9.30pm Booked out - ask to go on the waiting list.

Friday 31st August: 10.00am - 12.00   4 spots left

Best not to wear white to this class - it could get messy.  Wink! 

Want to try it at home.  I'll have the finished card and instructions after the last class is done so check back here on the blog in a couple of weeks. 

Happy stamping.

Cheers, Sue

We had such a lot of fun with this beautiful watercolouring on craft ink technique at classes in July/early Aug. It looks lovely and artistic and is very easy to do with just a few bits and pieces. 

(Note: Technique inspiration from the talented Patty Bennett.  Find her card, technique post and video here. )

Technique Instructions:

Stamp your outline image in white craft ink and emboss with white embossing powder. 

Squirt a drop or two of white craft ink onto a lid or palette and use a damp aquapainter to pick up some ink.  Use the craft ink to colour your image.  It soaks in a little so you may want to do a layer or two.  Leave to dry thoroughly, or use a heat gun to speed this up a bit.

Now comes the fun bit.  Choose your colours and pop a drop or two of your classic ink reinker/s onto your lid.  Pick up a little ink with your aquapainter.  I like to do a brush stroke or two onto scrap paper first or a tiny blot on paper towel or I seem to get too much ink on that first dab. 

Colour in your image.  It blends beautifully over your base layer of white.  You'll find you'll naturally get more and less ink in places which looks really effective and effortlessly artistic I think!   Leave to dry or use that heat gun again. 

The colour fades a little once dry.  You end up with a lovely soft looking image. 

This sample uses Melon Mambo and Shaded Spruce.  I've used the exclusive August only Blended Seasons bundle for these projects.  Get yours today before it is gone for good.  Blended Seasons Bundle

Here's some more colour combos inspired by the cards my lovely class regulars made.   This one uses a mix of Smoky Slate and Night Of Navy for the flowers with the leaves left white and Wink Of Stella Glitter Pen for highlights.  So sparkly in real life.  (Inspired by class member Maree M - loved this combo.) 

Love this one too with the flowers left white this time with Daffodil Delights centres and a pale wash of Pear Pizzazz for the leaves.  Those speckles are the sparkles - hard to photograph. 

Class regular Brenda loves purple.  I gave her combo a whirl too - Highland Heather with a touch of Navy for the centres. 

What's your favourite colour combination?  This is a great technique to try on Crumb Cake cardstock with any of your favourite outline style stamps. 

You can see these cards on this week's Monday video here:  

Happy colouring!

Cheers, Sue

 Shopping from home?  Here's the shopping links if you need them. 

Product List

Blended Seasons Clear-Mount Bundle [149894] $113.00	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Ink Refill [101780] $8.00	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132] $8.75	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] $11.50	Aqua Painters [103954] $20.00
Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock [121685] $14.75	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [131160] $6.50	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [147167] $6.50	Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [119791] $6.50	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [119672] $6.50

A quick little handy hint for you today.  Do you ever struggle to get a wood mounted stamp set back into its case?  I know I have had a few arm wrestles with those blocks - feeling a bit like I was doing a tricky jigsaw or a Tetris puzzle. 

Now if I open a new wood mounted stamp set and it looks quite full, I quickly grab my phone and snap a pic before unpacking and mounting the stamps.  I make sure to get a little of the sticker so I can see which set it is.  Then I can refer back to the pic if I'm having a bit of a spatial stamp packing challenge. 

If I'm feeling super organised I take another pic once I've mounted the stamps and put all the stickers on. 

Happy Stamping!

Cheers, Sue

Over on my brand new team facebook group page we've had a bit of a party weekend with challenges and prizes and lots of fun.

One of the creative challenges was to make a card inspired by this painting (from Hannah's bedroom.) 

I decided to try cutting one of the big butterflies from watercolour paper.  Then I selected some reinkers (inspired by some of the colours in the print.)  So Saffron, Lost Lagoon, Cajun Craze, Blackberry Bliss and a touch of Basic Black.  I sprayed the butterfly with water and dripped reinkers. 

Once I'd dripped lots of colour I sprayed it again with water.  (I have an empty Stampin' Mist bottle that I've filled with water and clearly labelled so I don't mix it up.)

Now leave it to dry. 

In the meantime I quite liked the leftover blobs of watery ink.  I decided to pop a piece of naturals white cardstock under my damp inky base paper and press. 

I added some stamping using the Butterfly Basics stamp set.  I REALLY love the netting stamp from this set and the dashed border too.  I used the greeting from this set as well. 

I really love this card.  Can't wait to try it in some more colours. 

Tip:  Use lots of the lighter colours and only the TINIEST bit of the darker ones - the dark ones really take over. 

I enjoy cards where they turn out differently each time and there's an element of random in how they end up looking. 

Happy creating.

Cheers, Sue

If you're shopping for the products used in this card, here's the links:

I've got another couple of congratulations cards to share with you today now that they've arrived in the post to my team members.  (Isn't it lovely to celebrate achievements.) 

For today's card I've used the technique of masking with some of our beautiful big background stamps.  Here are a few tips and step by steps.

I tore a piece of regular paper (grabbed from the printer) and made sure it was just bigger than my 'Congrats' greeting stamp.  Place this over your cardstock then stamp your background stamp firmly.  Now remove the piece of masking scrap paper. 

Our new photopolymer stamps make it easy to line up the greeting to fit into the masked area.

To finish the card I trimmed this panel, added a matting layer and attached to my base card.  Some rhinestones and sequins for some finishing touches. 

Here's another version this time with the stylish Hardwood background stamp.

This technique/card design would be handy for any large greetings. 

Happy card making.

Cheers, Sue

Here are a few of the products featured if you're shopping from home:

I Love Lace Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$30.95

Hardwood Wood Stamp Set

$30.95

Bravo Photopolymer Stamp Set

$44.95

Frosted Sequins

$8.95

Shimmery White A4 Card Stock

$13.95

Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

 

Table by StampinBuddy.

 

I've so been looking forward to this blog hop since Ros let us know the theme would be techniques. I know - great idea isn't it!  I always love learning new things, or being reminded of a technique I've forgotten.   Grab a cuppa and have a browse round the 7 stops in today's hop and get some tips for 7 different stamping or craft techniques. 

Waving a hi if you've arrived here from Ros's blog where she's showing us all about washi tape.  And a hello if you're kicking things off from here. 

My card today features glitter panel technique - one my Christmas In July class regulars know well as I think I include it every year. 

First up you need to stamp your image.  I've used the gorgeous gingerbread man (and star) from Scentsational Season and the colours Cherry Cobbler and Baja Breeze.  I used the labels framelit and my Big Shot to cut out the piece of cardstock.

Grab your Versamark Pad out.   Is yours all beautiful and pristine or has it had a bit of an interesting life like mine!! 

See!   Tap your cardstock on the versamark pad (stamped image side down) - you'll need to move it a few times. 

 


Move and tap, move and tap, until your cardstock is nicely coated with versamark.

Now it is time to get out the heat gun, heat and stick powder and Dazzling Diamonds.

Tip heat and stick powder to liberally cover the cardstock ......

And then tap off the excess ...

... and heat with the heat gun until you see the powder change.  It will look shiny and you'll notice it is quite sticky.   Don't keep at it with the heat gun as this tends to dry it out and it will lose a bit of  tackiness. 

Now time for a dip in the Dazzling Diamonds fine glitter. 

Tap off the excess and I usually give it one more quick blast with the heat gun.  You won't see a change but it seems to help do that last little bit of setting.  (And blows off any excess that is not stuck down.  We have a nice sparkly floor in July!) 

Here's our glitter panel on a card.  (The card layout is based on this Tina Gillespie card that I really liked.) 

Some silver glimmer paper 1" circles to form the scallop trim, some Be Of Good Cheer DSP and shimmery white cardstock for the base and embossed panel. 

I hope you get a chance to get all sparkly trying glitter panel technique.  Holler if you've got any questions.

Now it is time to head along to the lovely Margaret's blog to find out about kissing with an embossing folder - sounds intriguing!  Click here:   Margaret's blog

Have fun and I hope you learn some new techniques while you hop along the stops in today's blog hop.  Now I'd best be off - we have a certain little lad turning 6 this weekend so a cake to decorate and presents to wrap!

Cheers,  Sue