Darling Dinos are just Darling!

  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® 's Annual Catalogue was released last year with a very different format & 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. I explored this in a bit more detail in my 1/1/25 mid week blog. The new mini catalogue was launched on January 7th with lots of lovely stamps, dies & papers to ooh & aah over. If you would like a copy of this new catalogue then please contact me at craftedbyalison@gmail.com. Stampin' Up® also have products available only online. These are called Online exclusives & have no end date, when the stock is sold out, that's the end of it.

This week I am sharing a super cute stamp & die bundle called Darling Dinos. I love a whimsical stamp set & this one is adorable. It features young dinosaurs with partying paraphernalia. Here is the first creation I have made. In future posts I will share more creations.

I love this simple creation. There is a Basic White base then a Pebbled Path matte & a Toadstool Gardens DSP matte. This was a Sale-a-bration item that finished up at the end of February. The design was perfect though for the outdoor landscape look that I was after.

To create the scene I stamped some rocks on Pebbled Path, Gray Granite & Crumb Cake & diecut them. Next, I used a blending brush & gave the rocks a textured finish with the same ink colours. I was mindful to 'smack' the ink on rather than slowly rubbing in circles. I wanted a rough finish, not a smooth blend of colour. I then grouped them & adhered 2 groups of three.

The egg shells were the next step. On a base of Very Vanilla I blended some Basic Beige then splattered some Gray Granite by flicking the paintbrush tip inside the cap & onto the cardstock. One of the stamp images is a group of dots. This was stamped next in Pebbled Path. With the two eggshell dies I diecut 3 pieces, making sure that each one had some of the spots on them.

My colourful dino was next. Stamped in Memento black I coloured it with Summer Splash, Azure Afternoon & Pale Papaya Stampin' Blends® then diecut the image.

The last step in stamping was to create some grass tufts & a sentiment. I chose Old Olive for the grass & Brass heat embossing for the sentiment. For correct placement of the tufts I placed all of the diecut pieces onto the card & when I was happy with the whole scene I stamped each of the tufts, moving pieces if needed. The diecut pieces were then adhered with 1 piece of rocks adhered on the edge, trimmed & the excess placed on the opposite edge. I added a small amount of blended Daffodil Delight to the very top of the DSP for the appearance of some sunny skies.

My dino was then adhered to half of a shell & with dimensionals attached, was placed as if coming out of it & onto a nearby rock.

Finally, I chose some retired gems, Opaque Faceted gems, to add as little pebbles.

Here's a closeup of some of the elements of the card...

This is such a cute stamp set. It is perfect for the littlies that love dinosaurs & with the right inks & papers can be for any gender.

So that's it for this post, just the one card this time. I really enjoyed creating with this stamp set, 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 catalogues 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 available under the Online Exclusives section of the Stampin' Up® shop. 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. 

There is also another Sale-A-Bration happening right now until February 28th where you get free stuff, just for ordering product! YAY for free stuff!!!! There's also a great new joining offer inside the Sale-A-Bration catalogue. But there's not much time left so be quick if you want to take advantage of this offer!

Stampin' Up® have a great range of Kits including crafting, card making & gift giving. There were 2 brand new kits just added to the collection. Click here to check them all out in my online shop. As Stampin' Up® have so many beautiful kits available I feature a different kit in each blog so that you can see the range. 

This week's featured kit Heirloom Arrangements. It is a beautiful, vintage themed kit that is designed to allow you to use your own creativity when crafting.

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

Do you love the convenience of crafting with an all-inclusive kit but wish it offered a little more wiggle room for creativity? Then the Heirloom Arrangements Kit is perfect for you! With detailed vintage designs, eight card options, and loosely choreographed instructions, you can let your creativity shine and still have everything you need for your projects right at your fingertips.

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

If you shop with me then don't forget to use this month's host code QTKJG2A2. 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 added to the clearance rack which is now called Last Chance items 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. 

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. I certainly had a lot of fun creating with leftovers. If you would like me to send you a copy of the current Annual catalogue or the new mini  then please message me via my FaceBook page, Crafted by Alison or send me an email at craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

That's all I have for you this week. My next blog is on Wednesday & I will have a lovely fun fold for you to try.

My next Sunday my blog will share how to use embossing folders to create interest & detail on your creations.

I 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. 

Til next time, take care & keep creating! XX Alison.

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

Shop with me

Stamps, Dies, Embossing folders & punches

• Darling Dinos stamp set
• Darling Dinos dies
• Darling Dinos bundle 10% saving

Cardstock, DSP & paper goods

• Basic White Thick cardstock
• Pebbled Path cardstock
• Crumb Cake cardstock
• Basic Beige cardstock
• Very Vanilla cardstock
• Gray Granite cardstock

Inks & Markers

• Pebbled Path Classic Stampin' pad
• Basic Beige Classic Stampin' pad
• Gray Granite Classic Stampin' pad
  
• Old Olive Classic Stampin' pad
• Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' pad
• Versamark ink
• WOW Metallics embossing powders
• Summer Splash Stampin' Blends
• Azure Afternoon Stampin' Blends
• Neutrals Stampin' Write Markers (Gray Granite marker)

Embellishments

• No current embellishments used this week

Adhesives

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

Tools

• Paper Trimmer
• Take Your Pick tool
• Paper Snips scissors
• Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine
• Water painters
• Heat tool
• Blending Brushes
  
• Sponge daubers