Bethinking

Saying Goodbye

August is the last month for our Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue, which means that it's the time to say goodbye to lots of favourite stamps and accessories!

Next Thursday, 18th August, at 7:30pm, I'm holding a "Bon Voyage" stamp-a-stack. At this class, you'll make 9 cards, 3 each of 3 designs, all using some of my best loved retiring stamps and accessories. It's at my place in Turramurra and the cost is $20, which includes all materials. Please let me know if you'd like to come along!

Stampin' Up! has released a list of which products are retiring, which you can see by following the link here. Some things are already sold out, so if there's anything there that you'd like, please let me know as soon as possible! Some are also up to 40% off, so there are great bargains there.

 

 

 

Some of my favourites which are retiring are:

• designer series papers - all of these are retiring!
• Kimono Kids stamp set
• Cheep Talk stamp set
• Scribble This stamp set
• ribbon - lots of the colours of satin ribbon are going

I'll be back soon to show you a card using Kimono Kids that we made at Stamp Club the other night. In the meantime, don't forget to contact me with your order, or to RSVP for the Bon Voyage class!

 

Still learning...

I learned a couple of important things while I made this card.

1. I love the Polka Dot Punches stamp set! When I first saw it in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue, I wasn't really blown away by it, but now that I've had a chance to finally play with it, I love it! It's so easy to use because it coordinates with our punches and I love the swirly patterns. Don't know what I was thinking before.

2. I can't live without my paper trimmer. I had to make this card without it, because I didn't have it for a couple of days, and the simplest cutting of paper turned into a nightmare! I tried using an old guillotine (dodgy and not sharp) and then I had to resort to using scissors. Scissors! I'm sure I failed scissor work in Primary School because I could never cut straight.

So the moral of the story: having the right tool for the job makes it so much quicker and less frustrating.

Now onto the card... I like the concept but I think it's missing something still. The colours are Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Lavender Lace and Gable Green. I like that it's bright, but something about the composition isn't quite working for me. But that's okay, 'cause it just gives me a reason to try out my Polka Dot Punches stamp set again!

Beate's Sketch Challenge

There's some great card sketches on the Web if you know where to find them. One great place is Beate's Blog. Every weekend Beate puts up a sketch challenge. They're always great sketches, but this is the first time I've ever finished one in time to actually post it within the deadline!

So, here's my first card, which I was pretty happy with. Scribble This is my all time favourite stamp set, and I love how it looks coloured in and glittered - not that you can really see the glitter in the photo!

I decided to use the sketch to make a Christmas card as well, as I'm trying out some different colour combinations and layouts for Christmas stuff. I still like the layout, but I wasn't sure if this one was "Christmassy" enough - what do you think? 

Still the favourite!

I did warn you that I love this stamp set! At the last team training session I went to, we learnt how to do a stamping technique called "Crayon Resist", so I've been practicing with my daughter's white crayon (she hasn't missed it yet!) and my Scribble This stamp set. I've used Glossy white cardstock, and the 4 colours are Cool Caribbean (current favourite colour), Certainly Celery, Regal Rose and Rose Red.

The layout of this card is based on a card idea from Alisa Tilsner. The "Thanks" stamp is from the set "Riveting", which is one of the sets that you can earn free when you host a Stampin' Up! workshop. I've punched it out and used some Crystal Effects on the centre flower to make it shiny.  I think I've still got some more practice to do, but I'm loving using this stamp set. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what your current favourite stamp set is!

My Favourite Stamp Set

My current favourite stamp set, although this does change fairly often, is "Scribble This". It's really my style, and I love the way it looks when it's coloured in using Stampin' Up!'s Watercolour Wonder crayons or Stampin' Write markers. It's really versatile, too. I've used it on heaps of cards and scrapbook pages. Another great thing about it is that it has a matching Stampin' Around wheel, (appropriately called "Scribble") which is fantastic to use with the big flowers from the stamp set. It's a really detailed wheel - rubber stamping is great for the detail it allows in the images.

The only problem with the "Scribble This" set, is that it's in the Spring Mini Catalogue, so it's only available to buy until the end of November! The same with the "Polka Dots and Paisleys" designer series paper that I've also used in this layout.

To create this scrapbook layout, I used the Scribble Wheel with Creamy Caramel ink and coloured it with inks and markers. I stamped the big flowers with black StazOn, and watercoloured them as well, then put Crystal Effects on top to give them a glossy finish. I've used White Craft ink for the title, with some glitter added, and also white for the background.

If you'd like to order anything from the  Spring Mini Catalogue   you can do that through me - I'm based in Turramurra, Sydney, but am happy to organise for orders to be shipped anywhere in Australia! Please contact me on mail@elisabethstewart.com .