Something different with DSP

 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. That means that it will retire soon as it is valid from January to the end of April. Once the selling period is over there will just be the Annual catalogue until the next Mini catalogue is launched around September.

 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. The new Annual catalogue is coming very soon. There'll be more news about that later.

One of the online exclusive DSP packs is Botanical Textures. It's part of the Botanical Textures suite collection & is different to other DSP in the Stampin' Up® range as the designs are all black & white. Not everyone likes black & white but it can create stunning monotone creations or, if you want to change it up, you can colour it! That's exactly what I chose to do this week.

Using one sheet of the DSP but using both sides of the one sheet I created 2 unique cards...

This is the paper in it's original state along with a piece of both patterns that have been coloured...

I started with the leafy pattern, using water colour pencils & the Colour Lifter pen to create a tranquil, nature background.

Once I'd finished colouring the pattern I backed it with some Wild Wheat on a Shaded Spruce card base. As I had used Old Olive when colouring I added some Wild Wheat diecut leaves, scattered across the front to give the illusion of Autumn leaves falling & to tie in the Wild Wheat matte.

For the sentiment, I chose Shaded Spruce & Basic White, stamping a sentiment from Cake Fancy in the retired Evening Evergreen ink. Both colours were diecut with the Everyday Details dies & raised on dimensionals.

The final step was to add a few of the gorgeous Antique Pearls. Here's a closeup...

The second card I made used the reverse side of the DSP which has a mottled pattern with black, greys & white. I chose to add some blended colour, using Melon Mambo, Lemon Lime Twist & the retired Starry Sky. This was backed with Basic Black on a Lemon Lime Twist card base.

To tie in more colour, I used a wing stamp from the Beautiful Butterflies stamp set with the same inks in first & second generation.

I added a black heat embossed sentiment from the same set then diecut it with the Everyday Details dies. Instead of embellishments this time, I stamped a butterfly image in Memento Black on Lemon Lime Twist & coloured parts of the wings with Melon Mambo & Starry Sky blends.

I love the bright colours & the mottled, rainbow effect of the DSP. This was such a fun way to create, but now I'd like to share some 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! 

Every year there is a new annual catalogue launched at the beginning of May and that means that there's a new one just a few days away! I've already been able to browse it online as all demonstrators have early access to the catalogue & products. This is so that we can play with the new products & have ideas & examples ready to show you once it is launched.

If you would like a copy of any of the catalogues 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 brand new kits added to the collection every month. 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 a card kit called Paper Bouquet & is a home decor kit that has all the supplies you need to create a beautiful bouquet of flowers that never need watering & never die!

Here's how Stampin' Up® describe it...

With the Paper Bouquet Kit, you’ll bring the beauty of fresh flowers into your home. And the best part is, they’ll never wilt! This kit comes with precut leaf and flower pieces, floral wire, and pony beads. You’ll layer and curl the paper pieces, forming a vibrant bouquet with 23 flowers and 11 leaves. Place the paper bouquet in a vase to give your décor a timeless touch or gift it to a loved one as a heartfelt keepsake!

If you feel that you need to add this to your list then click here to purchase one from my online store. This has been a popular kit so please be quick if you want to purchase it as stocks are low.

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 with this challenge. 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 more ways to use the Colour Wheel to create projects.

In my next Sunday blog I have some gorgeous unisex cards created with the Maritime Moments 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 that I used today & some craft room essentials.

Shop with me

Stamps, Dies, Embossing folders & punches

• Beautiful Butterflies stamp set
• Cake Fancy stamp set

Cardstock, DSP & paper goods

• Basic White cardstock
• Basic White Thick cardstock
• Basic Black cardstock
• Lemon Lime Twist cardstock
• Shaded Spruce cardstock
• Wild Wheat cardstock
• Botanical Textures DSP

Inks & Markers

• Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' pad
• Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' pad
• Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad
• Melon Mambo Stampin' Blends

Embellishments

• Antique Pearls

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