Star of Wonder Trio

My annual Stamp A Stack is coming up, a lot later than I anticipated, unfortunately. But it's still coming up and I was at a loss for what to create for said class. I thought of a one sheet wonder (love them!) but I really wanted to narrow the class down to 1 stamp set as I usually have 3 or more on the go. I tried the Endless Wishes but I lost my mini snow flake in the set and just couldn't get inspired. I adore the Star of Light set but I could not see anything with it. It was pretty, but I couldn't really 'see' anything beyond what was in front of my face. Plus as beautiful as the large star was, I thought it was so big and wasn't' sure what to do with it.
Then after browsing pinterest, I found some really neat ideas from the crafting community. I can't recall who's original idea these were, as I was inspired by so much and mashed them together- added bling and made them my own!
Oh. And I fell in love with the whole monochromatic theme.
Totally in love.
Inspired more ideas- to come soon!

So here is what I came up with! (with the help of fabulous artistic pinners!)

Also, trying new photo editing software, as well as watermarks. Trying to figure out how all these fabulous bloggers get their pics to look so amazing has inspired, and frustrated, me.
I hope to get it someday, and I know I'll figure it out.

Now back to cards! Whisper White cardstock bases are a must, of course. I used White embossing powder to do some emboss resist on each card.

Then I used Dapper Denim (LOVE IT!) with Marina Mist, Rose Red with Sweet Sugarplum and Perfect Plum with Wisteria Wonder. I used some old Silver Tape from last year's Sale-A-Bration and Basic Rhinestones to finish them off. Nice and flat, but bold in color so great for mailing and super easy to whip up.


So that's it for me! I hope you were inspired to dig out a stamp set that has you stumped as I was and get creating!

~Brandie~

Home Sweet Home

Hello all!

Oh.
My.
Goodness.

Y'all have NO idea how utterly, amazingly adorable the Home Sweet Home bundle is from Stampin' Up! I got mine early this month and have been happily playing and pinning away- not to mention all the inspiration just looking at the set gives me.
Oh I can't hardly wait!
So here's some of what I came up with:
Halloween of course :)

 The cute little ghost makes this set pop- as well as the shattered shingles. There is another adorable Halloween set called "Spooky Fun" item #144437.
It comes with a picket fence (not the one pictured), gravestones and pumpkins. It'd truly make this set pop for Halloween decor- I just don't Halloween much beyond the free candy tax I charge the kiddos ;)



Next I went a little wood cottage inspired with this fun creation:

 

I used the Woodgrain Background stamp in Crumb Cake on Very Vanilla cardstock. Using the retired Itty Bitty set I made tiny flowers in the little flower sills. The sill was just using the 'dog dish' upside down. Dog dish- by the way- with the little bones would make a cute little 'dog house' creation ;)
So flowers, and banners and hearts and all things pretty can create a little Snow White-esque cottage of your very own. Put it in a shadow box with flowers and fairies to give to the princess in your life.

Then OBVIOUSLY we have the lovely Gingerbread House. I am not a fan of how mine turned out, I had seen better, but for a first attempt it was okay.   I really liked the sides of the house over the front.

 

What I love most about Stampin' Up! is the coordinating abilities between different sets. Doing the gingerbread house with the Home Sweet Home set, then adding on from the Cookie Cutter Christmas set (item# 143493) or the Candy Cane Christmas stamp set (item# 142040 in clear 142037 in wood), would just be the perfect finishing touches.

Last but not least is the Sweet Shoppe. I am SO proud of this little ditty. I turned the home on it's side- using the slope of the siding with the word window punch to create a lovely awning that you'd find on any little chic shop.

 

 I used the "Sweets for the Sweet" sentiment on a retired Sweets for the Sweets set. I also used a retired hostess set to stamp some cakes, color them in and then trip then to size. I am sure you have some oldies but goodies in your stashes to create a similar look.

I created the extra long window by cutting out 2 windows from the Home Sweet Home die set, lining them up and carefully trimming 1 end off. I then used a glue pen to glue them over the image, trimmed it and then added Dazzling Details to mask the edge where it was cut. Nothing wrong with glittery window frames- right?

So there are all my little houses all lined in a row. I can just imagine creating a holiday lane or a little downtown street or...or...or... the possibilities are really endless. This has to be my current favourite stamp set. I would highly recommend trying it out.

So feel free to click on the link on my blog to take you to the Stampin' Up! site. Locals can locate me under the demonstrator finder by searching Brandie Nellis

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

~Brandie~

Z Fold Fun

Hello all!

I have no idea how many times I put 'fun' in my titles to be honest. But let's face it, paper crafting IS fun! There is something enjoyable about making something beautiful with your hands. It's therapeutic and calming and just....tops!

So this is an older card I made (digging through my archives while working on some cute items using the new products from the new Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalogue).
I gave this one to a co-worker of mine for his birthday. I will admit, it is a bit more 'kid-friendly' but I had this puppy on hand.

 Using the Celebrate Today Stamp and Die Bundle (item #137138 and 137362). I adore the color pallet of Pool party, Bermuda Bay and Smokey Slate (I was so happy when SU! came out with the light grey shade!)

I cut a full piece of 8.5x11 Smokey Slate in half at an angle to make 2 cards of roughly the same size (you may be a quarter of an inch difference on either card -or at least I was). I angled the paper in my trimmer on the 8.5 side. The top left corner (at an angel) at the 5.5 mark and the bottom left at the 3.25 mark and then cutting from there. You should have 2 angled pieces. I haven't been able to perfect this yet- so 1 piece may be about a quarter of an inch shorter.

Then I scored in thirds, 3.75 and 7.5- leaving the back piece about a quarter of an inch shorter as well- but that's fine :) No one will notice ;)

Then I created a back ground by stamping Bermuda Bay ink on Bermuda Bay cardstock with the 'ball' stamp from the set. I didn't reink between stamping so I got a few different tones will I stamped randomly. I cut the Bermuda Bay a quarter of an inch shorter all the way around, creating back ground panels for each of the card 'fronts'. I stamped "birthday" over and over in a row creating a 'banner' for the card front with a piece of Pool Party slightly larger layered behind it.

I loved using the banner stamp and die across the balloons and the card- giving it such dimension. Pairing that with the balloon stars stamp just created a fun visual.

So I hope you enjoyed! Have an awesome day - until next time!

~Brandie~

One Sheet Wonder

Hello stampers!

Brandie is back and fresh from her first ever trip out of Canada. My husband, Chris, and I had our very belated honeymoon (12.5 years in the making) to the Mayan Rivera to Playa del Carmen in Mexico. Absolutely fabulous! One full week without our kids, without having to cook or clean and wonderfully warm weather. We checked out ruins and Chris tried snorkeling (I was too chicken!).
But it was also a week away from my crafty heaven so I am in a little bit of withdrawal. Being back at my desk all refreshed has inspired and motivated me in so many ways!

So our annual catalogue has been out for 2 months now and our Holiday Catalogue is on it's way in about a month's time. To prep for that I am hosting a book party, and thinking of hosting a One Sheet Wonder workshop.
I do love patterned paper and have been known to hoard and resist using it. I also love to smell a freshly opened package of patterned paper *U* But I also absolutely love creating my own patterned paper. I have been pinning new techniques (to come soon!) So many options in doing this :) Layering stamp sets or sponging techniques or masking or using stencils or making stencils or....
I'm getting ahead of myself :) Like I said, inspired.

So I love creating my own backgrounds and patterned paper to customize my projects. Now I don't have any 12x12 paper, which when doing One Sheet Wonders is pretty standard, so I used a basic 8.5x11 sheet of Whisper White and created 8 similar cards in notecard style instead of A2. You have options here, you can purchase Stampin' Up!'s Note Card and Envelope sets (item # 131527- Whisper White or 133766- Crumb Cake) and have 20 pre-scored 5x3.5 cards and matching envelopes, or you can put your Envelope Punch board to use (item# 133744) to create your own.

I used the envelopes from a Notecard set I had but then cut and scored my own cards. I also used my Envelope Punch board and created a fun envelope box to hold them in.


I used Smokey Slate, Melon Mambo, Basic Black and Whisper White to create the color combo.
I stamped my images on a full sheet of 8.5x11 using the Flower Patch (item# 104207) stamp set I was random but did some layering with the sets. That's what I feel made it fun, was just being random :) but you can always create a repetitive pattern if that's more your style. Then I cut my cards into basic card folds and cut various squares and strips and other pieces to create both background and focal pieces. Then highlighting them by layering the pieces on solid colors to accentuate the paper.

Again, so much fun, quick and easy and a way to not only be creative and design a style that works for you, but again with customizing your colors and design to work with your project :)

So give it a try! You may have tried doing the One Page Wonder but give it a go creating your own background.

Have fun and Happy Stamping!

~Brandie~

Floral Grunge

Hello Friends!

Once again I apologize for not being 'on it' in the blogosphere. Life, as we all know, can be hectic, harried and before you know it days turn into weeks turn into months.
So even with work and kids and homelife, I have still been crafting up a storm for Stampin' Up! and creating products for my hand crafted items, The Paper Gift Boutique.

I just finished whipping up stacks of all occasion cards using my new favourite stamp sets. I will admit, when I first saw Gorgeous Grunge, I thought it was not very attractive. I ADMIT IT! I could not see the point of a stamp set that just had splatters. But oh Pinterest, you wicked beast. I caught a glimpse of some of the amazing projects others had used with it and then I had to get it for myself. And now I am hooked! I can't believe how versatile it is. I especially love using it with the Petite Petals and Flower Shop stamp sets. I also splurged and got the Hardwood background stamp set and that just brought it up a notch.

So trying to use some more vintage colors, as opposed to bright pops of color, I used Blushing Bride with Calypso Coral and Island Indigo with Pool Party. Adding either of those comos to Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake gave it that old school feel I was going for. Topped with Linen Thread (or thicker Twine if you can find it) and Basic Pearls, I found that these cards had a simple elegance to them. I tried doing different folding techniques to make them pop in a different way. So check these out.

 So I did a traditional gatefold card, but using the blooms to create a 'closure' for the tag (oh- and I am also a bit obsessed with the font from the various "Endless" sentiment sets. I have Birthday, Thanks and Wishes (a holiday one which works great with the others, but is retired unfortunately). Creating my own sentiments and then using the Tags and Labels Framelits really brings the look together.

I had so much fun with these sets!

I have no idea what these ones are called, to be honest, but the one on the left is a Joy Fold Card.

The ones on the right were inspired by pinterest as well. I really love cutting 'chunks' out and creating a 3D feel with the negative space.

The bottom card has become a go-to unique cut as well- as I used this particular design on plenty of holiday cards last year. (I'll have some of those to show at a later date!)

Cardmaking for the past decade has taught me a lot, as has being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.

 I used to go all out and think cards needed a big splash to be great. I love this simple approach with minimizing and creating uniqueness using different card cuts and layering. The bonus is that you're spending LESS on materials, but still maintain a wow factor.

Anyways, that's all I have for now. Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~