Hats Off to DSP

If there’s one thing I love every new catalogue, it’s new DSP options. And I’m excited to be able to share that starting from 1st July and running until 2nd August, we can all enjoy 15% off selected DSP.

I’ve used three different DSPs on these cards – can you pick them?

They are all reverse patterns which makes it a little hard to place them but you may be surprised! The Cajun Craze pattern is from the In The Wild DSP, the Bumblebee pattern is from the Pansy Petals DSP and the Just Jade pattern is from the Sweet Symmetry DSP.

The stamp set for these cards is the Hats Off set, together with the Hat Builder Dies. I love how many themes you can use to create fun & easy cards using this bundle. It also has great sentiments and the stitching on the hat die takes it to a whole other level of detail!

You can place an order in my online store for DSP and all the Stampin’ Up! S supplies on your shopping list. Click here to browse the online store.

Coordinating Cards | Monopoly Jnr

I love buying birthday presents but I hate buying things for people that they don’t want. More toys when they have enough, bath bombs when they don’t own a bath or chocolate when they’ve decided to stop eating sugar! And in this day and age of mass consumerism, it’s so hard to know what people already have. So… my go-to strategies for gifts are experiences, vouchers that can be turned into the perfect gift or asking for gift ideas.

If it doesn’t ruin the surprise I will use the ‘ask and you shall receive’ strategy. When I asked one of my gorgeous friends what her little Mr 5 would like for his upcoming birthday she suggested a board game he had played with family but didn’t own. We love games at our house and have an overflowing cupboard of board, game and other types of family games.

The request was a classic – Monopoly Junior. We have this game – ours is a classic version with the old school car tokens and primary coloured houses. When I went shopping, I found a new version with awesome tokens – a dinosaur, a duck, a penguin and dog.

Always on the lookout for an option to make a card personalised, the layout of the box provided great inspiration for a coordinating card.

We are currently in the final days of the Last Chance Retirement List for the Annual Catalogue . You have until tomorrow (Monday) evening to buy any favourites. This DSP on this card – for the background and birthday boy name – is from the Artistry Blooms DSP pack. It’s on sale at just $16.

The letters are from the Playful Alphabet Dies, which I am happy to see carryover to the new Annual Catalogue. This starts on Tuesday (4th May) and is filled with so many amazing new products to fall in love with.

The dinosaur is from a retired DSP pack – Dinoroar. I have an extensive collection of DSP which comes in handy for custom themes.

Happy birthday to the birthday boy! We hope enjoy Monopoly Jnr all year long!

Treasured Medallion | step it up

The last time I shared a card made using the Tresured Medallion stamp set I had borrowed it from a friend. I loved it so much I bought my own! You can see the card that started my love affair by clicking here.

Searching through my DSP stash revealed the Fine Art Floral DSP has a fabulous tiled pattern that I thought was perfect for the mandala style of this stamp set.

I don’t often use Petal Pink – but it was a great contrast to the pretty pink of the DSP pattern.

The sentiment stamping is wonky on my card – whoops! Should have gotten out my Stamparatus! But actually, I’m ok with my stamping being a range of perfect!

After making this card I thought it would be so easy to step it up to a something a bit more fancy.

My pathway to stepping it up –

• Add layers
• Add embellishments
• Change to a fancy fold

This is another great way to make a set of cards – one to send, one for your stash. Sometimes a simple card is perfect for the occasion, sometimes you want one with all the extras.

I always love adding stamp sets to my collection that add diversity. This set is available until the end of June 2021 and after that will enjoy being on my retired shelf to enjoy for many occasions to come.

You can buy all your long term favourites in my online store. Click here to browse. You can currently choose from the 2020-2021 Annual Catalogue and Jan-June 2021 Mini Catalogue.

Hey Spotify, Play Happy Birthday!

This idea has been circling my mind for quite some time and I’m super excited to bring it to life!

It’s my take on the Spotify Glass Plaques – but in card format. The artwork emulates the screen when listening to a song on Spotify (a popular music streaming service). I’ve cut it in black vinyl to give it a luxurious feel.

The theme for this card was inspired by the gift – a vintage typewriter plant pot. It’s for a friend who turned 40 this week and I can see it being the perfect addition to her craft desk!

The typewriter is from a retired set that I haven’t been able to part with yet – PS You’re the Best stamp set. I’ve stamped it in Misty Moonlight ink and coloured with Seaside Spray and Misty Moonlight Blends.j

The flowers are from the Art Gallery stamp set, which coordinates with the background DSP for this card – Fine Art Floral. I love the texture of this DSP and it worked beautifully with my vintage theme. Turning 40 is a perfect vintage – don’t you agree!

The code at the bottom of the panel is real – when you scan it on the Spotify app it plays Happy Birthday. I love an interactive card!

Happy birthday wishes have never been so much fun!!!

Sweet Strawberry

My gorgeous sister-in-law celebrated her birthday last week and one of the presents we got her was dehydrated strawberries. So, it seemed wonderfully fitting that I could make a strawberry card to go with it.

I was able to earn the Berry Blessings DSP during Sale-A-Bration but didn’t get a good chance to use it. It works so well with the Sweet Strawberry stamp set – which we get to enjoy for some time yet, so I’m feeling lucky to have this in my stash.

The stamp set coordinates with the Strawberry Builder Punch, which makes it oh-so-easy to make those cute little strawberries. I’ve stamped them in Real Red with Garden Green stalks. The leaves are Old Olive & Granny Apple Green and the flowers are Balmy Blue. The best part? The punch cuts out all of those cute pieces! No fussy cutting required!!!

The pleats on the front of the card are a bit of a give away that there’s more to this card. I have no idea what this fancy fold is called but it was fun to make. The card base was 10″ wide, scored at 1″, 3″, 7″ & 9″. The length is 5-7/8″.

I love this fold for showing off the DSP! If you cut it right you can line up the patterns on each side to create a split panel.

The best way to keep this style of card together is using a belly band. I’ve jazzed it up with more DSP and a double layer of die cuts from the Tasteful Labels Dies.

The sentiment is from the Sweet Strawberry stamp set in Night of Navy. I don’t often use black for sentiments – the darker classic tones work so well for a bold & smooth finish.

If you also have some Berry Blessings DSP but haven’t yet bought the Sweet Strawberry stamp set, let me enable you to *NEED* it! At $55.75 for both the stamp set and punch, it’s one of the best value combinations in the catalogue!

Shop online in my Stampin’ Up! store by clicking here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hydrangea Housewarming

Today I’m sharing a house warming card. The Hydrangea Hill DSP set the tone of the card and helped with choosing the colours and styling for this pretty creation.

I set the DSP out in a patchwork style layout – two large squares and eight small squares. On the large squares, I added circle embellishments using stamps front the Circle Celebration stamp set and a house die cut from the now retired Home Together Dies.

The sentiment for this card is from the A Grand Kid stamp set. I don’t have grand kids, but this set is perfect for so much more than that!

The butterflies are from the Fluttering Dies – cut on the DSP over a hydrangea. The colours in the card are Seaside Spray, Rococo Rose, Highland Heather and Basic White.

This card was fun to make and it a layout you could use with any DSP. The most wonderful thing about Stampin’ Up! DSP is that they’ve already coordinated the colours and patterns for you, so it all just works!

If you need to order DSP or any Stampin’ Up! products, you can shop in the online store 24-7. New or regular customers can select me as their demonstrator using the demonstrator locator (“Kelly Kent” + Dalyellup, WA). Happy shopping and stamping!

Treasured Medallion Birthday

I borrowed the Treasured Medallion stamp set from a friend (thank you!) and found it really hard to give it back – it’s such a gorgeous set with great images!

I had more ideas than time, but my main purpose was to create this birthday card for a special friend. Now that she’s received it, I can share it on here. She probably trying to keep it quiet, but the gorgeous Lou Kitzelman had a zero birthday last month. Pop over to her blog – With a Bow on Top by Lou – and wish her a very happy birthday!

I chose a classic navy & white colour scheme for this card to fit with the elegance of the mandala image.

I heat embossed the mandala in silver on Shimmery White cardstock. I also heat embossed a second mandala in white on Night of Navy cardstock and cut the middle portion out. I’ve adhered this to the middle of the silver mandala with two of the ribbons from the Flower for Every Season ribbon pack.

The DSP on the card base is from the In Good Taste DSP – a favourite from the Annual Catalogue range. The finishing touches for this card was a happy birthday sentiment (of course) and some ink splatters in Night of Navy.

Happy birthday Lou – may this decade be your absolute oyster.

Butterfly Brilliance Collection

There’s a new range of butterflies available – and although they will appear in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue in May, they couldn’t wait to stamp with you and have released early!

The collection includes the products listed below, or you can order them under one product code (159408) as the Butterfly Brilliance Collection for $125.

– Butterfly Brilliance Cling Stamp Set (155092) $30
– Brilliant Wings Dies (155523) $77
– Butterfly Brilliance Bundle – stamp set & dies (155821) $96.25
– Butterfly Bijou 6”x6” DSP (156824) $20
– Natural Touch Specialty Paper (156825) $8.75

You know I love DSP and buy it all, so of course I couldn’t resist getting the Butterfly Bijou DSP during the demonstrator preorder period!

The butterflies in the DSP can be fussy cut with scissors or with amazing product coordination by SU! they can also be cut using the Butterfly Wings Dies!

The sentiment is borrowed from the Boho Indigo stamp set in the Product Medley. The Butterfly Brilliance stamp set is 6 delightful butterfly images, meaning you can mix & match it with your favourite sentiments.

The beautiful watercolour style background is on the reverse side of the DSP and showcases the colours of the DSP perfectly. I’ve cut it using a square die from the Stitched Shapes Dies and then layered on another piece of white. To change it up from my usual standard card size, I’ve made this one as a slimline card – long and skinny.

All of these gorgeous butterfly products are now available in the online store or via your Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator. If you live in Australia and don’t have a demonstrator, please contact me as I’d love to get some butterflies into your craft room!

Just Wanted to Say | baby

Don’t tell Mr Papercraft, but sometimes I will buy a die set (or stamp set) just for one favourite image. I like to think it’s a good strategy because usually you end up loving the other images or dies too and then it’s a whole fabulous set with lots of potential.

I really love the ‘just want to say’ die from the Floral Gallery Dies.

I love the tone and style the die adds to the card. Start here then add the rest of your theme. I needed a card for a gorgeous new baby and his parents to go with a parcel I was sending and ‘just wanted to say’ congratulations – this was perfect!

I added a baby onesies from a favourite retired set – Made with Love and the sentiment from the new Many Messages stamp set and coordinating die. It stamps and cuts a whole range of sentiments – ready for any occasion.

I used Adhesive Sheet on the Basic White cardstock before I cut it, which makes it super easy to apply to your card. For this card, I layered it on Seaside Spray cardstock and then fussy just around the whole sentiment.
Tip: use the negative space of the die cut out to line up your letters perfectly!

I love the range of blue tones in the Stampin’ Up! Range. I’ve used quite a few of them here – Misty Moonlight for the card base, Night of Navy for the card mat, Seaside Spray for the blue accents and Balmy Blue Stampin’ Blends for the baby onesie.

The DSP coordinates perfectly and was a surprise love from this Jan-June 2021 Mini Catalogue DSP range. It’s one of the patterns in the Sand & Sea DSP – not a pack that I had my eye on, but oh my! It’s amazing when you see all the sheets in person. The scalloped edge die is a favourite from the Oranate Borders Dies. And I love having white twine back on offer in the Snail Mail Combo Pack.

I hope you have a wonderful crafty day!

Perennials Petals & Ice Cream Punch Art

It’s the last day of school holidays here in WA, so it seemed fitting to end the summer holidays with some ice cream! When I got out the Sweet Ice Cream Bundle, this was not the card I thought I’d be making. But somehow I fell down the messy rabbit hole that is punch art, and made this –

Isn’t she just the sweetest? I haven’t used the Perennial Petals Dies for flowers but they are a dream for people punch art!

Here’s the breakdown of the punch art pieces

The Ice Cream Corner DSP is full of pretty colours and patterns. I’ve used it for the card background (cut with the Curvy Dies), the dress and the ice cream parts. There’s patterns that work well for the ice cream and the cone. Or you can use the stamp set to create any colour ice cream your heart desires.

The finishing touches for the card are a cute little sentiment from the Sweet Ice Cream stamp set in Old Olive and a scatter of Ice Cream Corner Sprinkles.

And that’s a wrap on our summer holidays! First day of school tomorrow! Looking forward to seeing all the first day of school photos across Facebook – but don’t forget to lock down your security settings and keep the sharing to your immediate circle only.