Some Thoughtful Wishes creations

 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® 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 & also in my midweek blog of 24/7/24 but it's not what this week's post is about, that is something I will explore more in future blogs.

This week I'm happy to share a lovely stamp & die set with you called Thoughtful Wishes. It comes in a suite called Thoughtful Journey which includes beautifil 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper, stunning foiled special DSP & gorgeous co-ordinating pastel pearls. As there is so much in the suite I decided to create projects that didn't just rely on the lovely stamps, there are 3 cards using all of the items from the suite, one from my 31/7/24 Midweek blog. I hope you enjoy my creations.

Here is my first card which I created for my son's birthday.

My son loves his sport & works hard on his business but there were no stamps in my cache that were suitable so I chose some good earthy toned DSP from the suite & created a Z fold for him.

The base is a regular size in Cajun Craze but after the centre is scored I also scored the front panel in half which gives you the first Z fold. A layer of DSP was added to the front section & a strip also added to a white matte inside. 

Next I cut a 13.5cm x 6cm strip of Cajun Craze & scored it at 5cm & 10.5cm leaving me with a 5cm, 5 12/cm & 8cm section. Basic White mattes were added to the 5cm & 8cm section with the inside (8cm) fold stamped on using a sentiment from the retired Crane of Fortune stamp set. 

To adhere this Z fold to the base card I applied liquid glue to the bottom of the Z & slotted it inside the folded card so that it aligned evenly & pressed down til it was attached. The top section needs more care when glueing so that there is no seeping glue. My top tip for this is to apply glue to the left edge of the Z fold panel & to the right edge of the Z fold. When you press down the two areas of glue then work perfectly to keep the fold in place.

I then diecut a square of Basic Beige using the Stylish Shapes dies. The foliage is diecut in Cajun Craze & Basic Beige with some Wild Wheat blending on the Basic Beige piece. These were adhered to the rotated square. The sentiment, from Go To Greetings, is heat embossed on Cajun Craze, diecut with Stylish Shapes & raised with some dimensionals. I carefully applied liquid glue to half of the diamond & attached it to the centre line at the front of the card. Some Brass Dragonflies from the Adhesive Backed Dragonflies & Birds pack was the final touch. 

My second creation uses some of the stunning Thoughtful Designs Specialty DSP. Each sheet has a subtle ombre quality with a mixture of two of the colours featured in 5 different combinations. Here is a pic of the stunning gilded colours from the pack...

I chose the blue toned piece which features Lost Lagoon & Pretty Peacock, cutting it for a feature of the card front.

I attached the DSP to a Lost Lagoon base then added a strip of Pretty Peacock across the centre. There's not a lot needed when using this paper so I added a Stylish Shapes Lost Lagoon circle then a smaller Basic White circle over the strip, stamping some splotches in Lost Lagoon & Pretty Peacock. 

I then added 2 sprigs to the left of the circles, diecut from Silver foil & a beautiful blue from the retired Blue Foils pack. The sentiment from the Thoughtful Wishes set was heat embossed in silver on Pretty Peacock, fussy cut then raised on dimensionals & glue dots.

The final touch was a couple of Basic Gray & Smoky Slate Pearls. I added a Basic White insert with some splotches & a thin strip of DSP to the inside of the card as well & the card was finished.

My final card was featured in my midweek blog of 24/7/24 where I shared how to create some interest using a Peekaboo technique. This is simply punching a hole in a top matte of a card to show an image stamped behind it. Full details of how it was made are in the midweek blog, just click on the link above to read it.

That's all I have for you this week, I hope you've enjoyed this fun stamp & die set. It's a great set to have on hand as it's versatile for many different occasions, young, old, birthdays or new babies.

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 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® have also released a whole lot of new items at the beginning of July. As a demonstrator I was able to order in a pre-release which is a great perk of being a demonstrator.
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. 
4. Exciting news! For the month of July, Stampin' Up® had a rewards promotion that gave you credit vouchers to use in August! For every $90 you spent during July, Stampin' Up® sent you a voucher for $9 that can be redeemed in August. This means that if you shopped in July & earnt some of this free money you can now redeem them! 

But... before you race off to redeem them, Stampin' Up® also have a promotion starting on the 6th August with 15% off of selected DSP.

Visit my online store for more details.

This week's featured kit is a pretty kit featuring butterflies that is perfect to send to someone just to cheer them up or put a smile on their face. It is an all inclusive kit which means it comes with everything you need to complete 9 cards & doesn't need to be stamped - all of the sentiments are pre stamped & ready to pop onto your cards. 

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

Send some cheer with the Notes of Cheer All-Inclusive Card Kit. DIY craft kit includes delicate and gorgeous kaleidoscope of butterflies. All pieces are printed, die cut, and ready for you to craft. The butterfly-shaped card is sure to surprise and impress your recipients. Love and support themed greetings come printed in Dutch, English, French, and German.

If you feel that you'd like to add this to your list then click here to purchase one from my online store. Please be aware though that the numbers have been low in the shop as it's a very popular kit, so if you find that it's not available when you visit my shop, please check back a few days later and hopefully it will be fully stocked again.

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  VG7GXPAJ. 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 share how to create a funfold using DSP as the focus. Sunday's blog is about Friendship with the Friends for Life bundle from the Full of Life suite. It's a stunner!  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

• Thoughtful Wishes stamp set
• Thoughtful Wishes dies
• Thoughtful Wishes bundle
• Thoughtful Journey suite
• Stylish Shapes dies

Cardstock, DSP & paper goods

• Basic White Thick cardstock
• Basic White cardstock
• Basic Beige cardstock
• Cajun Craze cardstock
• Lost Lagoon cardstock
• Pretty Peacock cardstock
• Thoughtful Journey 6"x6" DSP
• Thoughtful Designs Specialty DSP

Inks & Markers

• Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' pad
• Wild Wheat Classic Stampin' pad
• Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' pad
• Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin' pad
• Granny Apple Green Classic Stampin' pad
• Early Espresso Classic Stampin' pad
• Versamark ink pad
  
• Metallics WOW! embossing powders
• Brights Stampin' Write markers collection

Embellishments

• Basic Gray & Smoky Slate pearls
• Adhesive backed Dragonflies & Birds

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
• Heat tool
• Blending Brushes
  
• Embossing Additions tool kit