Citrus Blooms part 3 - Spotlighting the Mediterranean Blooms DSP

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!

Can you believe that we are now officially half way through 2024!!! 🤯😮 Time has just been flying this year. 

 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® launched their new Annual Catalogue in May & 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. 

In the last 2 Sunday blogs I shared cards with you that featured the Mediterranean Blooms DSP, fussy cut & die cut as the main features of the cards then images that were coloured. Today I am sharing some cards that use the beautiful DSP as the main feature - without much diecutting or fussy cutting!

Here are the two cards I created using just DSP, cardstock, stamps, bling & one diecut.

For the first card I simply cut two pieces of different DSP with lemons as the feature & adhered it to the Night Of Navy base. I place a diecut on dimensionals & glue dots to the left, leaving enough space for an embossed sentiment from the Citrus Blooms stamp set. Two little yellow gems from 2022-24 In Colour Matte Decorative dots & the card is done. Super quick but still gorgeous.

                   

Card number two was just as quick. I cut some strips of orange patterned DSP, backed it with some Garden Green cardstock then mounted them, evenly spaced on a Peach Pie base. A quick sentiment in Evening Evergreen plus some old bling - green Holiday Rhinestones & tiny Pearls - and the card was done! Using the DSP as the focus was easy as the patterns were busy enough to not need much else.

That's all I have for you this week, I hope you've enjoyed this final instalment in my foray into all things 'Citrus'. 

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 one for the muso's in your life - Rock Legend. There is no stamping in this kit, but there is all the supplies you need to make at least 8 cards. In my experience, there's always leftovers when you create with these kits so with some creativity you can stretch the supplies out to create loads more.

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

Create handmade cards for all the rockstars in your life with the Rock Legend Kit! This all-occasion paper crafting kit comes with everything you need to make cards that totally rock. Get crafting with die-cut paper pieces of electric guitars, lightning bolts, stars, and other awesome designs. Make eight cards (four each of two designs) with bold colors and preprinted sentiments to celebrate birthdays and more!

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  4A7DHHDV. 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 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 and I will be sharing a technique for using DSP with a difference. Sunday's blog will feature a cute stamp & die set called Filled with Fun. 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
  
• Filled With Fun stamp set

Cardstock, DSP & paper goods

• Basic White Thick cardstock
• Basic White cardstock
• Peach Pie cardstock
  
• Garden Green cardstock
• Nigh of Navy cardstock
  
• Mediterranean Blooms DSP

Inks & Markers

• Versamark pad
  
• Basics Embossing powders
  

Embellishments

• No current embellishments used this week

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