Black Ice
I’m sure you would have seen a number of cards made using this gorgeous technique. Well today I had my first play after watching a video by Melissa Kerman on You Tube. The technique is not very hard but you do need to take a little care over each step. I used the same colours as Melissa did in her video but I used the Waterfront Stamp set to create the image panel. I lightly dragged the Basic Black Archival ink over Basic Gray card and then stamped the greeting from the Flourishing Phrases stamp set. 
I set the panel aside to let the ink dry while I created my focal panel. I dragged the Basic Black Archival ink over Silver Foil and then stamped the mountains, water and trees using the same ink. I used my heat gun to set the ink and then dragged Versamark ink over the panel, sprinkled it with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it. 
I had to add versamark twice to my panel and I still missed a few bit but I am happy with my first attempt. I attached the panel to Basic Black card, then the Basic Gray stamped panel and lastly to scored and folded Basic Black card. I dragged the Basic Black Archival ink over a narrow strip of Basic Gray and attached it to the bottom of Whisper White card. The panel is attached to the inside of the card.
This is such a fun technique to play with. I have a couple more cards to share with you using this technique.
Bye for now
Kris
Product Used:
Australia Day Memory
I am trying to share some of my Memory Keeping with you guys and have decided to try and post something every Saturday. Today it also helps to keep my mind off the fact that all my Stampin’ Up! friends are attending Onstage in many different locations around the world. My lovely friends Jenny and Joyce are attending in Sydney and I know they will have an amazing time. Of course, I am just a little jealous that they will see the new Annual Catalogue and probably some new product which I will have to wait a little longer to view. Since the April Onstage Live event will nearly always fall in school holidays I will probably almost always miss out on this event, but spending time with my grandchildren comes first.
My project today was created a few months ago and I cannot be specific with regard to the exact card pack I used to fill the blank spots in my layout, but you can take the general idea and use it to create pages of your own. I do like the idea of traditional 12 x 12″ page scrap booking but for me it can be quite time consuming, as I place pieces and put it aside and come back and add or take away pieces from the design. 
Since Stampin’ Up! introduced Project Life and now our Memories and More Card packs, I find it easiest if I stick to layouts that use 6″ x 4″ photos or cards and 3″ x 4″ photos or cards. The layouts seem to come together quicker and I only need a few embellishments to complete the pages. I have probably done more scrap booking over the last year or so than ever before.
This traditional page uses one pocket card for journalling and a retired stamp set Gorgeous Grunge to create the background. I also used the retired Timeless Type Alphabet to cut out the title. The second page just uses one pocket card to complete the layout. I know that the pocket page layout is no longer available but the idea can be transcribed to any style of layout.
I hope you are getting your photos off the camera/computer or whatever and getting them onto pages. I know that it gives me great pleasure to remember the events depicted on the pages and my grandchildren absolutely adore being able to look at a photo and then laugh and tell stories related to them.
Because most of the items on these pages are retired, I have no product links, but you can visit my store and check out the Memories and More card packs and the pocket pages and albums we now have in stock.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Brusho One Sheet Wonder
I saw a post on a Demonstrator only Facebook page by Desiree Smith (I’m sorry I can’t find a blog for Desiree). She created a patterned 6″ x 6″ sheet of Shimmer Card using the Brusho Crystals. I used her idea to create these cards. I also found the template for cutting the 6″ x 6″ piece of card here on Deb Valder’s blog. You can find photo’s of the cards Deb Valder made here. 
So this is how I set about creating this set of cards. I took a piece of Shimmer Card 21cm x 6″ and sprinkled each of the five colours in the Brusho crystals (Prussian Blue, Yellow, Gamboge, Brilliant Red and Moss Green) over the piece of card. 
Then I used a spritzer to add water all over the card and watched the crystals burst. You have to be careful not too add too much crystal or your colours will run together and get a little muddy. So sprinkle lightly and when you add the water if you think you need more colour, just add a few more crystals in the colours that you want. If you get too much pooling of water on the card, just use a piece of paper towel to absorb the excess water. I placed my card on a piece of paper towel and left it to dry while I cut up Basic Black, Lemon Lime Twist and Whisper White to create the embellishment panels for the cards. The card bases are Thick Whisper White card. I also decided what images I wanted to feature on each card so I could create the panels to suit the stamp or embellishment. 
When I had finished my preparations, the card was dry enough to turn over and use the heat gun to finish drying the panel. I trimmed the card down to 6″ x 6″ and followed the template to cut up the card. Each of the Brusho pieces are attached to Basic Black card as well. 
For two of the cards, I used the excess piece of card to cut out three dragonflies using the Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies and also a butterfly using the Butterflies Thinlits Dies. I used the Bold Butterflies Thinlits Dies to cut the detailed butterfly from Basic Black card. I used one of the stamps from the Vertical Greetings stamp set to create the next card. I inked the image using Stampin’ Write Markers, Cajun Craze on the pot, Early Espresso ont he trunk and Perfect Plum with some Elegant Eggplant thumped over the top to create the flowers. The next card uses two stamps from the Perennial Birthday stamp set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink for the greeting and Night of Navy, Crushed Curry and Cherry Cobbler for the confetti.
The next card uses the Touches of Texture stamp set. The leaves are stamped in Lemon Lime Twist ink the solid flower is stamped with Real Red ink which has been stamped onto scrap paper first. The detailed flower image is stamped with Real Red ink. The last card uses an image from the Lift Me Up stamp set which is stamped using Night of Navy card and cut out with the c0-ordinating Up and Away Thinlits Dies. Each of the cards has three Metal Rimmed Pearls attached as a last embellishment.
Because I loved how these cards turned out so much, they have featured in my March Classes and one of the recent classes at Beachmere. At my March classes the ladies created the panel as the bonus project for that month and then created the card with the dragonflies. They had all the rest of the pieces to play with at home. At my Beachmere class, the ladies created the Brusho piece and created three cards in class and took home the other pieces to create with at their leisure.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Another Brusho Share
This card uses the same left over kits as the card I shared in my last post, however, this time, I made the orientation portrait instead of landscape. I embossed the Whisper White card using the Simple Stripes Embossing Folder and attached it to scored and folded Daffodil Delight card. I punched Daffodil Delight card using the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch and attached the card behind both long edges of the Whisper White panel before attaching to the card front. The greeting from the Beautiful Day stamp set is stamped onto the banner using Pumpkin Pie ink and the same ink is sponged lightly around the edges. 
The banner is attached to the card front using dimensionals. I inked the flower from the Beautiful Day stamp set using Versamark ink and then Basic Black Archival ink before stamping onto Shimmer Paper. I sprinkled the image with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it. 
This time to colour the image, I used the Aqua Painter to add ink inside the embossed image. You need to make the water pool inside the embossing, so that it stays fairly wet. I used Yellow, Gamboge and Brilliant Red Brusho Crystals to colour the image by adding each colour to a clear block and mixing the crystals with the Aqua painter. I used the Aqua Painter to lift the colour and dab it into the water (first yellow, then Gamgoge and then Brilliant Red). The ink spreads inside the embossed image and colours the water. This method lets the colour spread where it wants and creates a one of a kind image. The leaves are coloured in the same manner using the Moss Green Brusho. I waited until the image was dry and then cut it out and attached it to the card front using dimensionals.
To decorate the inside of the card, I punched a strip of Daffodil Delight card using the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch and attached it behind one long edge of Whisper White card embossed using the Simple Stripes Embossing Folder. The panel is attached to the bottom of Whisper White card.
Don’t you just love how the exact same pieces of card can be changed up to create a totally different look?
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Brusho Kits
Remember this card I shared with you recently, well this is one that we made at my Beachmere Classes and once more I had a few kits left over, which I wanted to use up. This time I did some experimenting with Brusho which I am falling in love with. The first card uses exactly the same layout as before except I embossed the background using the Stripes Embossing Folder. The Daffodil Delight card is once more punched using the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch and all the panels are attached in the same way. 
I stamped the greeting from the Beautiful Day stamp set onto the banner using Pumpkin Pie ink and sponged the edges lightly using the same ink. I inked the flower from the You’ve Got This stamp set using Versamark and then Basic Black Archival ink and stamped onto Shimmer Paper. I sprinkled the image with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set. To colour the image I didn’t want to just sprinkle Brusho crystals over the image, so I sprinkled a small amount of Yellow Brusho onto a clear block and used the Aqua Painter to mix the crystals, then I picked up the colour on the Aqua Painter and painted the flower all over. I cleaned the block, added some Gambouge Brusho crystals and painted them onto the image. Lastly I did the same thing with Brilliant Red Brusho, but I didn’t use a lot of crystal and made the colour very light. This method let me control where the colour went and how finished flower looked. 
The leaves were coloured in the same way using Moss Green Brusho. I cut out the flower and also the extra leaves, which I attached behind the base of the flower. The image is attached to the card front using dimensionals. To decorate the inside of the card, I punched Daffodil Delight card using the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch. The punched piece is attached behind one long edge of Whisper White card embossed using the Stripes Embossing Folder. The panel is attached to the bottom of Whisper White card.
This card is bright and cheerful and the orange tones of the flower co-ordinate perfectly with the Daffodil Delight card, don’t you think. I have one more card using up these kits, I will share with you next time.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
It’s finally here
My Stamparatus arrived on Monday and I was so excited to be able to try it out. I had a bit of fun creating a simple card, which I had seen on the net somewhere. It also gave me a chance to use the Epic Celebration stamp set which unfortunately is no longer available. I am sorry I didn’t share these earlier, but thought that you would like to see them anyway. Before I started using the Stamparatus I watched this video from Stampin’ Up!.
After watching the video I placed my card into the corner of the stamparatus and placed the “happy birthday” stamp from the Perennial Birthday stamp set onto the card and closed the lid.
For the pink card I stamped the first “happy birthday” using Pink Pirouette ink. I stamped the second greeting using the same ink but this time I re-inked and stamped over the image once more. The stamparatus makes this so easy. You don’t have to worry about the stamp moving, it is always perfectly aligned. 
I stamped the third greeting using Sweet Sugarplum ink and the fourth greeting uses the same ink stamped twice. The last greeting is Melon Mambo ink. The panel is attached to scored and folded Melon Mambo card. I stamped the shoe image from the Epic Celebration stamp set onto Whisper White card using Basic Black Archival ink. I coloured the image using a Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write Marker and cut it out. The image is attached to a circle of Whisper White card cut using one of the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies. I attached the image to a Melon Mambo scalloped oval cut using the Layering Circles Framelits Dies before attaching to the card front using dimensionals.
To decorate the inside of the card, I stamped “here’s to an epic celebration” from the Epic Celebration stamp set onto Whisper White card using Melon Mambo ink.
The blue card uses Pool Party, Marina Mist and Dapper Denim ink. The image is coloured using an Island Indigo Stampin’ Write Marker and the scalloped circle and the card base are Island Indigo card. The inside of the card is decorated in the same way as the pink card.
Oh, I know this is going to be so useful in my crafting. Of course, it would be extra-fantastic if you are stamping multiples of the same image. I will spend a little more time getting to know this Stamparatus and share some more ideas with you soon.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Cousins
This is another of the photos that my Mum and Dad gave me to start documenting our family history. It’s a photo of myself with my sisters and my cousins. We are standing in front of our grandparents Holden station wagon. Unfortunately I don’t know exactly when this was taken but judging by my youngest sister, I would estimate that I am around 8 years old in this photo. To decorate the Whisper White 12″ x 12″ card, I used one of the Sweet Soiree Decorative Masks and Shimmery White Embossing Paste to decorate across the top of the page. 
I attached two 3″ x 4″ cards from the Sweet Soiree Memories and More card pack to the left hand side of the page. I also attached two of the 6″ x 4″ cards from the same Memories and More card pack to the right hand side of the page. This Sweet Soiree Memories and More Card pack will not be available after today (Sale-A-Bration ends today). I attached my photo to Sahara Sand card and then placed it over the Memories and More cards. I cut the title from Sahara Sand card using the Timeless Type Alphabet Dies (retired) and attached the letters below the 6″ x 4″ cards. I wrote my journalling onto the top 6″ x 4″ Memories and More card. I don’t think you can see it in the photos but the embossing paste is so sparkly and really adds to the dimension on the page.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Happy Birthday Ava
My youngest granddaughter is celebrating her 8th birthday tomorrow. I wanted to create something a little different for her so I used the instructions at Splitcoaststampers to create this Screen Divider card. I love the gorgeous Picture Perfect Designer Series paper so of course I had to use it on this special card. 
I cut Thick Whisper White card following the directions and then used the heart border from the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies to cut all the way across the top of the card. 
I used the Every Day Label Punch to punch along the bottom of the card, to create the feet for the Screen Divider card. Then I embossed the whole of the card using the Softly Falling Embossing Folder. I cut four different pieces of the Picture Perfect Designer Series Paper and attached them to Basic Black card and then one to each panel. I cut Melon Mambo card using the Happy Birthday Thinlit die and trimmed away the “birthday’. I attached the “Happy” to the first panel. I stamped “birthday” from the Perennial Birthday stamp set onto Whisper White card using Melon mambo ink. 
I punched one short end using the Triple Banner Punch and lightly sponged around the edges using Melon mambo ink before attaching to the first panel. I stamped the Panda with the balloons from the Party Pandas stamp set onto Whisper White card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and cut it out. 
I coloured the balloon with a Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write Marker and attached the panda to the second panel. I stamped the panda with the party hat onto Whisper White card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and cut it out. I coloured the party hat using a Melon mambo Stampin’ Write Marker, cut out the panda and attached the panda to the third panel. For the last panel I stamped the Panda with the small heart using the same ink and coloured the heart using the same Stampin’ Write Marker. 
This image is cut out and attached to the fourth panel. I created two panels for the back of the card, one which is Whisper White card attached to Basic Black card for me to write on. For the second panel I stamped the images from the Number of Years stampset. I inked the “happy, “th” and “birthday” using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The “8” is coloured using a Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write Marker.
I love how this card turned out and I hope that Ava did too.
Tomorrow is the last day that you can place a qualifying order to earn a free gift. There are some fabulous products on offer including this Party Pandas stamp set. I hope you don’t miss out on what you “need”.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Happy Anniversary
My youngest daughter and son-in-law recently celebrated their Wedding Anniversary and this is the card I made for them. I attached a piece of the Painted with Love Specialty Designer Series paper across the bottom of Whisper White card. I coloured the Whisper White 1/4″ Organza Ribbon using the darkest Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Blend. 
When the ribbon had dried (which doesn’t take long) I tied a knot in the ends and then attached it across the top of the Designer Series paper. I stamped “happy anniversary” from the Best Birds stamp set onto the right hand side of the card front above the ribbon using Rich Razzleberry ink. The stamped card is attached to scored and folded Rich Razzleberry card. I cut the large heart from Gold Foil using the Bloomin’ Love Thinlits Dies. 
I attached the die to the left hand side of the card front. I stamped two large and three small flowers from the Bloomin’ Love stamp set onto Whisper White card using Rich Razzleberry in and cut them out using the matching Bloomin’ Love Thinlit Die. The stamped flowers are attached to the die cut heart using Mini Glue Dots. I coloured some large and medium Basic Pearls using the Dark Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Blend and attached them to the die cut heart.
To decorate the inside of the card, I stamped the banner image three times across the bottom of Whisper White card using Rich Razzleberry ink. Oh, how much easier this would have been if only my Stamparatus was here when I created this card. I have a confession to make, I was a little late getting this card in the mail but my daughter forgave me.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Notecard Pandas
I’m still working on that pile of pre-cut pieces from last month’s class and today uses up a few more pieces. This time I am decorating the Whisper White Narrow Note Cards and Envelopes. I already had the pieces of Painted with Love Specialty Designer Series paper cut to the right size so I attached them to Basic Black card and then the front of three of the Narrow Note Cards.
I stamped each of the three Pandas from the Party Pandas stamp set onto Whisper White card using Basic Black ink. I cut each of the Pandas out and coloured the balloon, the party hat and the small heart using a Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write Marker.
I attached one of the Pandas to each Note Card – don’t they look cute? This is one stamp set that I didn’t think I needed and now I will be so sorry to see it go at the end of the month. I hope you have placed your order to earn this stamp set for free before Sale-A-Bration ends. I cut the same Designer Series paper patterns with one of the Layering Circle Framelit Dies to decorate the inside flap of the envelopes. I also stamped the Pandas onto each envelope front as well, just because I could and because it looks so darn cute when they match.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Stamping with Kris 