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 & also in last week's blog. The mini catalogue was launched on January 7th and has now retired so there is only the Annual catalogue & the Online Exclusives until the next Mini catalogue is launched in 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 now live! If you'd like to browse the new catalogoue online then click here. If you'd like a copy to hold in your hands, leaf through & put little notes all over it of what's on your wish list then shoot me an email at craftedbyalison@gmail.com or message me on my facebook page at craftedbyalison.
Last week I shared some lovely cards I created with one of Stampin' Up®s kits - Maritime Moments. It's a nautical themed kit that makes 8 cards that are perfect for males or people who love the ocean, seaside or boating. This week I have used some of the same materials from the kit to create alternative cards using just a few supplies that I had on hand. Here are the finished cards...
Here are the cards as they are made following the kit instructions...
Now I will share how I created my alternatives & the materials I used.
I started simply with a base from the kit, a scene, DSP & a sentiment.
I then added a strip of Night of Navy that was embossed with the retired Twisted Rope embossing folder & adhered 2 pieces of the DSP & the cardstock to the base.
I stamped some gulls onto the scene in Gray Granite & wrapped some retired Linen Thread around it.
This was then adhered to the base.
The sentiment was matted on some Night of Navy & raised on dimensionals & the card was complete! Quick & easy with only some cardstock & thread.
For my second card I decided to 'zhoosh' it up a little with a funfold.
This looks like a regular stepped card but it actually has a twin column section on the front of a regular card base.
I started with 2 regular (21cm x 14.85cm) Early Espresso card pieces, scoring one at 10.5 for the base but the other piece has a lot more score lines - 1cm, 3cm, 5cm, 7cm, 14cm, 16cm, 18cm & 20cm.
Once folded & burnished the folds become two tubes with a centre piece.
This was aligned with the left side of the card & adhered. A strip of DSP from the Timeless Plaid pack was added to the front panel & the sides of the card front...
To decorate the front panel I chose the circle image, the pelican & a spray of seaweed & sea stars.
The circle was adhered to the panel directly.
I wrapped some Natural Tones Linen Thread around the pillar for the pelican & raised in on dimensionals in front of the image for a 3D effect.
The seaweed spray was attached to a sentiment from the kit & also raised on dimensionals.
Lastly, I added some (old!) Faux Sea Glass shapes at the base of the pillar and a Basic Beige insert with a strip of DSP for the inside.
The circle was positioned so that when the card is folded flat it remains within the area of the card base & will fit into a regular envelope.
So, that's two alternatives for the Maritime Moments kit. There are loads more that could be created & the original cards made with the instructions are lovely but sometimes you need to let those creative juices flow & 'make them your own'.
I really enjoyed playing around with my supplies on hand & this kit to create something different. Kits are always 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 brand new catalogue now available! 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® also have a great joining offer available at the moment. If you join between the 6th & 31st May you can purchase $303 worth of any product you like for only $169!! That's a great saving of $134, nearly double your value and a great way to set your crafting journey up. If you're interested you can contact me via email or via my online store.
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 called Beautiful Blues. It's one of the latest releases from Stampin' Up® &, as blue is my favourite colour, it's going straight onto my wish list!
I think it's stunning & can't wait to create the kit cards & maybe some alternatives with it?? 😆
Here's how Stampin' Up® describe it...
Craft timeless handmade cards for sharing messages of friendship, support, and sympathy with the Beautiful Blues Kit. This all-inclusive crafting kit comes with everything you need to create nine lovely cards featuring hand-painted floral designs and a palette of soothing blues.
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 these alternatives for this kit. 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.
That's all I have for you this week. My next blog is on Wednesday & I will be looking at how to create a torn edge look with blending.
In my next Sunday blog I have some more scrapbooking ideas for you.
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.
Stamps, Dies, Embossing folders & punches
Cardstock, DSP & paper goods
Posts
Comments
Post a Comment