Hello & welcome.
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 have been creating with the Terrific Toadstools stamps & punch plus the co-ordinating DSP that was free during Sale-a-bration. It's a cute, whimsical collection that can be used for birthdays, nature lovers or to team with children's themed DSP's or stamps. I hope you enjoy my creations.
For my first card I created a floating panel to highlight the toadstools.
The base is Gray Granite & to achieve the split portion of the card I simply cut a regular card base (21cm x 14.85cm, scored at 10.5cm) then with the centre score line to the left, I trimmed the right side at 5cm. From the piece that was cut I then cut a 5cm strip. The remainder of the cardstock can be used for another project.
DSP from Toadstool Gardens was cut to size for the two panels, 10cm x 9cm, then cut in half. This gives you two pieces of 10cm wide by 4.5cm long so that the scene continues from one panel to the other.
I also attached a different pattern to the inside of the card.
To create the floating panel & a space to write in I needed 2 panels measuring 7cm x 8.5cm in Gray Granite & 3 panels measuring 6.5cm x 7.5cm.
The Gray Granite panels were embossed with the new Plaster Painting embossing folder to add some extra texture.
The front centrepiece has stamping directly onto the Basic White -
Granny Apple Green grass, Pebbled Path & Pumpkin Pie baby toadstools. I then stamped some Toadstools in Real Red on Gray Granite, Melon Mambo on Bubble Bath & Gray Granite on the same cardstock. There was also one stalk left from a previous project that was stamped in Crumb Cake on Basic White & punched with the matching punch. I chose these colours to pick out the images from the DSP.
I layered the two larger toadstools using glue dots & dimensionals.
The two inside panels have some matching images including some Granny Apple Green greenery.
Now, the trick to assembling this card is simple. With the front closed, apply glue to the top section of the front panel & the edge of the top of the card front. Next, place the bottom section flush with the base of the card & apply glue the reverse order of the top - ie. the bottom of the front, floating panel & the top edge of the bottom piece. This method should give you a perfect result every time.
Attach the remaining images now or wait if you are adding dimensionals until the inside panel is attached.
With the card front now open, place adhesive the same way as the front & carefully align the inside panel with the front panel.
In order to have perfect placement of the base writing panel I applied a small amount of double sided tape to one of the inside panels but I made sure that much of the tackiness had been removed. This allowed me to place the writing panel directly onto this panel then press the card front down, adhering the writing panel down but not making it a permanent bond.
If this way is too tricky for you, you can place the inside panel down first then align the front panel with this, effectively reversing the steps I took.
When the Terrific Toadstools was first released I noticed that many of the cards on socials were made with colours that were common on the DSP. These were similar to my first card & all lovely but when I think of toadstools or mushrooms I also think of neutral tones. So, for the second card I decided I would use more earthy tones.
My base is Crumb Cake & has a matte of the same that has been run through the embossing machine with the Mini corrugated embossing folder.
I added some Crumb Cake ink around the edges with a sponge dauber.
The centre piece has two pieces of Crumb Cake diecut with the retired Layering Diorama dies & sponged in the same way. To create the two layer effect I selected 2 dies directly next to each other in the nest & placed them on the same piece of cardstock before running through the machine. This saves using 2 different pieces of cardstock. I also added some more ink with a blending brush to the centre of the smaller piece.
The toadstools are stamped in Early Espresso & Copper Clay on Gray Granite. The stalks are Crumb Cake & Basic Beige. A tiny ladybug was stamped with Saddle Brown Stazon ink.
To add some focal interest I diecut some foliage in Wild Wheat using the Lovely & Sweet dies & placed them around the toadstools with some flowers placed on the card front as well.
I used double glue dots to raise the centre piece slightly for some interest & added dimension.
The sentiment is from Beautiful Butterflies & is heat embossed with copper then fussy cut. I wrapped some Linen Thread behind it before raising it on dimensionals.
When decorating the inside of my cards I generally add some matching DSP or stamp some images to compliment the main section of the card. With this card I decided to add some extra detail by using one of the largest Layering Diorama dies & Very Vanilla. I sponged the edges & stamped some small fungi for visual interest.
So that's it for this post. I really enjoyed creating these two different colour themed cards.
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.
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 is called Maritime Moments. It's a brand new nautical themed card kit & I will be featuring it in my blog in the future.
Here's how Stampin' Up® describes the kit...
Let your creativity set sail with the Maritime Moments Kit. Drift in the soothing watercolours and costal imagery of these cards that can be either feminine or masculine. With printed sentiments, twine, and a stamp set of nautical images, this kit comes with everything you need to make cards for your favourite sailors.
If you feel that you need to add this to your list then click here to purchase one from my online store. Just a word of warning though, this kit has been very popular lately so check if it's still available & be quick if it is! If you
shop with me then there are some new changes to the rewards program that you should know about. In the past we were able to create a host code & group together individual orders & pass on the 'hostess' benefits to customers with qualifying orders. This has now been replaced with a 'Rewards' program that gives
all customers who place an order with a
qualifying amount a credit of 10% of their order to use on future orders. This will be displayed during the checkout process or your order. Stampin' Up® feel that this is a fairer way of rewarding all customers.
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 enjoyed creating again with this lovely stamp & punch bundle. If you would like me to send you a copy of the current Annual catalogue or the 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 be sharing a paper technique called Fault Line.
In my next Sunday blog I will have some cards made with the Heirloom Arrangements kit.
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 products I used today & some craft room essentials.
Stamps, Dies, Embossing folders & punches
Cardstock, DSP & paper goods
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