The Mediterranean feel of Citrus Blooms

   Hello & welcome to my blog,

My name is Alison & I live in beautiful Melbourne, Australia. For those of you who have previously visited my blog & are now returning, thank you. For those of you who are here for the first time, welcome!

 Here's a little bit about me. I love creating cards & gifts for my loved ones & this blog will show you how to create something special for those you love. I blog twice a week, once on a Sunday where I mainly showcase a stamp set or dies, embossing folders, projects & sometimes special DSP and Wednesday evenings when I highlight a technique, fun folds or tools & tips. I would love to hear from you if you have any questions or suggestions & my email address for that is craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

Stampin' Up® have just launched their new Annual Catalogue & it's a beauty! It's set out quite differently to previous catalogues but there are benefits to that. They now have sectioned it to have beginners, which is a step by step collection of materials in kits, then there is quick & easy where you select base materials & packs of pre-printed or diecut materials plus some stamp sets then there is create your way where you choose all the materials, stamps etc yourself & create your way! In the quick & easy section Stampin' Up® have also provided some inspiration with a colour wheel & information of various ways to use colour combinations. There is a section explaining 4 different ways to vary your colours - Monochromatic, Complementary, Analogous & Triadic. It's a wonderful tool to help with creativity & I shared my first post using it in my midweek blog of 29/5/24 but it's not what this week's post is about, that is something I will explore more in future blogs. 

I had a lovely delivery from the postie this week that really sparked my creativity so I will be featuring it over a 3 week period. The first blog will feature cards made with DSP as the main feature. The second week's blog will feature images stamped & coloured. The third week will feature the reverse side of the DSP as the background of the cards. 

Here are the first two cards I have created with the DSP.

The stamps & dies that I have been having a play with are a brand new stamp & die bundle that features in the new catalogue called Citrus Blooms. It's a very pretty stamp set with loads of dies to support it. To add to this lovely set there is also a gorgeous pack of DSP with stunning images, some of which can be die cut for very quick cards. The DSP is called Mediterranean Blooms & my first card is made using the pieces cut from the edges of that paper.

The DSP has many images that can be diecut using the co-ordinating dies. This leaves some DSP that still has images that are too gorgeous to cast aside so I decided to create a frame of the fruits by adhering them around the edges of a Basic White matte. I also added a few dainty diecut flowers from the paper, a sentiment in the centre & some 2024-26 In Colour Shimmer gems. This was then added to a Pumpkin Pie card base. To decorate the inside of the card I added a two more pieces of the DSP edges, leaving plenty of room for writing a message.

My second card is also made using DSP as the main feature but has an added frame created using the dies. One of the dies is a frame which has an inner die that cuts the leafy image below.

I used Lemon Lolly for the frame & adhered it to Garden Green cardstock which I fussy cut to give a small border around it. Diecut lemon bunches were added to the frame. Due to the size of the frame I wanted a slightly bigger card than the regular size I use so I decided to create a square, 14cm x 14cm card with Early Espresso. For some added detail & interest I scored 1.5cm in from the centre score line to create a bookbind fold. I also embossed the front with the retired Old World Paper embossing folder. 

In this picture you can see the retired Soft Sea Foam Seam Binding ribbon that is tied along the spine and the Adhesive Backed Solid gems that are the embellishments of this card. The sentiment is stamped in Evening Evergreen & comes from the Beach Days stamp set.

This picture shows the detail of the embossing on the front plus the images I chose to decorate the inside of the card.

That's all I have for you this week but as I mentioned earlier, there will be more creations in the next 2 weeks using the Citrus Blooms stamps & dies & the Mediterranean Blooms DSP & I can't wait to share them with you.

Now I'd like to share some of the latest news from Stampin' Up®.

Stampin' Up® has a number of ways to purchase their lovely products. You can look through their physical catalogue or browse through the Annual catalogue online  but there are also some products that are only available exclusively online that don't appear in any catalogues. These products are called the Online Exclusives & are only online. Check out the online exclusives in my online store. Stampin' Up® adds more product items to the online shop so don't forget to keep checking the store to see what's new. There are some lovely new products now available including kits, embellishments, stamps, dies & embossing folders. Something for everyone! If you would like a copy of the catalogue please send me a message at craftedbyalison@gmail.com or on my Facebook page, craftedbyalison. 

NEWS & REMINDERS: 

1. Stampin' Up®'s newAnnual Catalogue is live! It's a beautiful piece of artwork as well as an amazing resource for crafting. As mentioned before, it's very different to any other catalogue that I've seen from Stampin' Up®. They have changed the front cover from featuring cards or supplies to a casual stamping picture as well as a radical change to the layout of the contents. There are still lots of beautiful pics of the products & ideas aplenty, it's just set out differently. I think you'll love it. If you would like a copy of the new catalogue then send me a message at craftedbyalison on Facebook or email me at craftedbyalison@gmail.com & I'll send you one. 
2. Don't forget the Online Exclusive products with new products added and available now Check out my online shop here. Stampin' Up® will also be releasing a whole lot of new items at the beginning of July. As a demonstrator I am able to order now in a pre-release so will give you a sneak peak when the arrive.
3. Stampin' Up® have a great range of Kits including crafting, card making & gift giving. Click here to check them all out in my online shop. As Stampin' Up® have so many beautiful kits available I will be featuring a different kit in each blog so that you can see the range. 

This week's kit is called Wreath of Blooms. It's a home decor kit that makes a lovely floral wreath to decorate your home, office or to gift to a friend. It would also make the perfect gift for someone you know who likes to create their own projects - gift it to them unopened for them to create or buy a few kits & organise a crafting day with a few friends. If you really want to get creative, have some extra stamps, dies & cardstock supplies on hand for them to personalise their own way!

Here's how Stampin' Up® describes the kit...

Create a handmade decor piece for your home using the Wreath of Blooms kit! This kit is a unique project that allows you to try out several new crafting techniques. Each kit comes with an 8" (20.3cm) diameter chipboard wreath that you can completely customise. Roll & shape the included pre-cut paper pieces to make three-dimensional flowers. Pin it all together with the brads & decorate the wreath however you want using different adhesives. This kit includes all the paper pieces you need to create a beautiful wreath full of paper blossoms and greenery. (Please note that you will need a hot glue gun for this project which is not included in the kit.) Whether you make the wreathe for yourself or a gift for a friend, you'll love seeing this paper project proudly on display.

If you feel that you'd like to add this to your list then click here to purchase one from my online store.

A lot of demonstrators use the special Host Code for their customers but I'm trying it this year as a new idea to see if this is what you, my customers would like to use. If you shop with me then don't forget to use this month's host code V72GRGRK. This will allow me to pass on any hostess benefits to customers when the sales reach the required qualifying amount.

Lastly, there have been lots of great items in the clearance rack so make sure you check them out using this link to my online store.

If you would like to purchase any of my creations that I feature in my blogs they can be found in my FaceBook shop at craftedbyalison or you can order something unique. 

If you would like me to send you a copy of the current Annual catalogue or the new one when it's released then please message me via my FaceBook page, Crafted by Alison or send me an email at craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

My next blog is on Wednesday is a teaching blog where I share with you how to use Embossing Paste. Sunday's blog will feature the next instalment of the Citrus Blooms stamps & dies. I'm really looking forward to sharing both of these blogs with you & hope you can join me for both of them.

Well, that's it for another week. I hope you enjoyed this post & come back for more next week. Til next time, take care & keep creating! XX Alison.

Here are some links to the products I used today & some craft room essentials.

Shop with me

Stamps, Dies, Embossing folders & punches

• Citrus Blooms stamp set
• Citrus Blooms dies
• Citrus Blooms bundle 10% off!
  
• Mediterranean Blooms suite
  
• Beach Days stamp set

Cardstock, DSP & paper goods

• Basic White Thick cardstock
• Basic White cardstock
• Pumpkin Pie cardstock
• Early Espresso cardstock
• Lemon Lolly cardstock
• Garden Green cardstock
• Mediterranean Blooms DSP

Inks & Markers

• Garden Green Classic Stampin' pad

Embellishments

• 2024-26 In Colour Shimmer gems

Adhesives

• Multipurpose liquid glue
• Tear and tape
• Dimensionals
  
• Mini Dimensionals
  
• Foam adhesive strips
• Mini Glue Dots

Tools

• Paper Trimmer
• Take Your Pick tool
• Paper Snips scissors
• Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine