New at SU! Blog hop - Birthday and fun folds

  Welcome to the July blog hop for New at SU!  Our theme is to combine fun folds with birthdays!  What a magical way to celebrate someone special than to create a card a little more fun than a usual card.  

I was recently excited to see a fun fold that was new to me online, created by a fellow demonstrator, Louise Haydu.  Louise was playing with a Paper Pumpkin kit and I thought that this fun fold would really look great with the Waterside Retreat DSP to create a masculine birthday card.  

The ever popular Waterside Retreat DSP has me reaching for it recently for all the masculine cards I've needed!  I love that the smaller images are easy to cut out and used them to embellish the large centre of this card.  

 

Although I didn't create a video for this fun fold, I'm sure at some time in the future I will add it to my Youtube collection.... but for now here is a sketch of the base of the card.  Its as simple as making 5 score lines to create this fun fold. 

 TIP: If you feel you need to, add some dimensional dots to the back of the origami style section, so that the card sits up slightly from the desk.  

Its been lovely to create this month with the Design team at New at SU!  Follow along the links below so you can hop along to the other projects - amazing work that will keep you inspired for weeks!  

Happy creating, 

Rach

Secret Sketches of SU!

 Psst... want in on a secret?  Want fabulous inspiration?  Have you seen the sneaky sketches in the new catalogue?  Check out our newest NEW AT SU! Blog hop and prepare to be inspired!  

We are a group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators from around the world who are full of creative paper crafting ideas to share with you and get you crafting! Today we are showcasing those fabulous little sketches found in the new catalogue. 

I had a really difficult time choosing the sketch I wanted to use, so I've taken inspiration from this one:

The flowers and frames 12x12 DSP is a special paper pack, not only are the prints and colours stunning but it comes with so many punched out elements to use also.  

The Cane Weave 3D embossing folder makes for a lovely textured backdrop to show off the 3 bordered panels of this DSP.  I've added a sentiment (heat embossed) to a circle cut from the Spotlight on Nature Dies.  

Using the sketch made this card very easy to assemble!  I've added my own touches to the layout with additions of matting, bling and additional diecut elements to embellish but the idea is the same as the basic sketch.  

I hope you join the team and hop along to the others in the group, the inspiration from their projects will only be the jumping point for you to create. Also check out the other sketches in the catalogue and keep an eye out for where the designers have used these in the samples photographed so beautifully within the pages.

Happy Stamping,

Rachael xx

Scrapbook Sunday Blog Hop

 Hi everyone and welcome back to another blog hop.  Yes, I'm trying to revive my blog  (and keep pushing my creativity) with more hops.  I'm pleased to join the Crafty Collaborations team again for this hop!

In case you are new here, I've chosen to jump back into scrapbooking after a long hiatus.  I was a scrapbooker in a previous life, when my now adult children were young, including a member of online forums, design teams and published pages in magazines.  It was a busy time that fell away as life got busy and work became more demanding.

  We now have 3 beautiful grandsons to scrapbook about as well as new adventures to keep us busy and my camera roll full.  I've chosen to use 8x8 pages for my first album, easily cut from Stampin Up's Basic White Thick.

Today's page features the Adventurous Sky stamp and die bundle as well as the matching DSP.  A great background theme for 3 little boys.   And see those adorable metal embellishments that look like they belong on a plane?  They come in the Suite collection and are easily placed on the page using glue dots!  They add that masculine bling to the page!

The dies in this Suite make cutting out these fabulous detailed hand drawn planes so much easier than by hand.  I loved putting this together with the different sizes, each not only representing one of our boys but also to give the illusion that the planes were coming in to land, some in the distance and some in the foreground. 

Oh and a handy trick - I've created a lift up section which the photo is mounted on to hide journalling. So simple to do and by adding the top part of a tag (which is actually from the DSP, just cut out and use!), this flap remains hidden when in the album but contains all the important memory keeping too.

Please hop over to the other pages, leave some love for everyone.  Blog hops are a great way to grab a heap of inspiration in one place, and I'm excited to be joining these each month.  

Happy creating,

Rach xx

Blog Hop Index

Fandom Blog hop

 Welcome to another blog hop with the Crafty Collaboration Design Team! 

I was really keen to be joining this one, after taking a break from the team blog hops for a while. 

The theme for this hop is one of fandom; it was one that really intrigued me and spoke strongly for ideas. I immediately thought of Marvel comics; my brother as a child loved these, so they have been a part of my life for what seems forever. Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Black Widow.... all the big names were ones that I knew growing up and now have become a quiet fan of as an adult.  My own kids have seen all the Marvel movies (and know NOT to leave the theatre until after the trailer credits - if you know, you know!).  This is what inspired the comic strip colour blocked panels on the front of my card. 

But of course there’s other fandom themes that are considered iconic in pop culture, including the timeless hype of Beatlemania!  Whilst I’m a little bit too young to be a traditional Beatles fan, I do remember the cartoon style music clips on TV when I was young. So much fun and so much colour!  A firm favourite of mine was Yellow Submarine. It’s one of those songs that just gets in your head and loops! 

Of course this meant a natural choice of combining the comic strip idea with our yellow Submarine. Naturally, the submarine life stamps is perfect for this theme! 

I've created a series of backgrounds on each colour block with all the fun small background making stamps from a variety of stamp sets.  This gave the card a little more interest.  To keep it more subtle, these were done using watermarking (Versamark ink)

This is a hop, so please be sure to jump over to the other team members and leave them some love for their projects:

The main products featured in this card include the following:

• real red cardstock
• pumpkin pie cardstock
• azure afternoon cardstock
• daffodil delight cardstock and ink
• basic grey ink
• versamark ink
• basic white embossing powder
• black resin dots
• Submarine Life stamp bundle
• basic white and basic black cardstock

Thanks for taking the time to pop by my blog!

Rach xx

New Catalogue Blog hop

 I'm always excited for a new catalogue, especially the big fat annual catalogue full of new goodies.  But even better, a blog hop to show off the goodies!!!

I have to admit, the Flowering Tulips Bundle has been in my stash and on my wishlist to use for several weeks and yet, I didn't get around to using it until Mothers Day was fast approaching.  I've used the blending brushes to add colour to the die cut tulip pieces, which I layered up with 3 layers to give lots of depth.  

This card came together easily when paired with the Simply Succulent pot. I've also added in lots of 'dots' using my blender pens which gives a nice natural feel and texture to this almost single layer card.  

Thanks for popping by my blog.  I'm so pleased you've come by and am encouraging you to jump over to the other blogs for some fabulous creations.

Happy Stamping,

Rachael xx

Blog Hop Index

Ink & Inspiration - April

Check out these fabulous colours for this months Ink and Inspiration blog hop!  I wasn't sure how I would use them all together without them competing for top spot.  So I went minimalistic with loads of white space!

I uses the dies from Flowers of Home set that can be seen online HERE.   I love how dainty they come out and are the perfect curve to form a wreath.  

I also cut the flower elements from this die set, using water and ink to watercolour them in some of the colours from the inspiration image.  

Lastly I used my label die from the Potted Succulent set.  I've added gemstones (coloured in Misty Moonlight with my Stampin Blends), some dots using Stampin Blends as well to finish it off.  

Don't forget to jump over to the other blogs for more inspiration :) 

Happy Stamping,

Rachael xx

 

Crafty Blog Hop

I'm so pleased to welcome you all to my part of the Crafty Challenge blog hop where we have been given a sketch as inspiration.  

This is probably one of the last times I will use this fabulous stamp, die and DSP set as its retiring.  The colours are a combination that I wouldn't normally choose but seem to be so tranquil together.  

I took the sketch quite literally but used some background stamping and the die cut leafy design to add layers and texture.  I had so much fun putting this one together.  Don't forget to pop over to the other blogs for the hop, the others will have loads of inspiration for you. 

Happy Stampin, 

Rachael xxx

Inspirational Music Blog Hop

Welcome to our latest blog hop, where we take inspiration from music....

I'm a 1970's baby and growing up I was surrounded by music from some bands and singers who are still well known today.  There are so many songs or albums that form a part of my childhood memories because, as most were on tape or vinyl, they were played on repeat.  One part of my life (probably only 4 or 5) really focuses on the likes of Neil Diamond, John Denver, Charlie Pride and Dolly Parton.  So naturally, this card and song gives me all the feels of childhood.  

Any guesses to the song I've used for inspiration?  Whilst there are many favourites of Dolly's that sit in my memories (especially Coat of Many Colours), the song "Love is like a butterfly" really is one that makes my heart happy.  I've use the Butterfly Brilliance stamp and loads of different Stampin Blends to create pastel wings, adding some bling with silver cord and gems to make it sparkle.  I've coloured the background with the Blends also to create a mottled backdrop.  A little bit of white gel pen came in handy to create additional texture to the backdrop with lots of little dots.  

Please pop along to the other blogs to see where they draw their music inspiration from and the projects they chose to create from them.  

Happy Stamping,

Rachael xx

Valentines Day Blog Hop

Welcome to another fun Crafty Collaboration Blog hop with demonstrators from around the world.  Todays theme is Valentines Day. I went through my current stash and don't have many stamp sets that lend themselves to the idea of valentines but I did find several die sets to use for my card.  

Supplies:

Pattern Party DSP

Cardstock - Granny Apple Green, Flirty Flamingo, Pool Party, Poppy Parade and Petal Pink

Dies - Floral Gallery, Give it a Whirl, Tailor Made Tags

Stamp - Hydrangea Haven

The finished card is bright and fun, with very minimal stamping but uses some die sets that may not have been designed with Valentines day in mind.  

Thanks for popping along to our hop, don't forget to check in on the other projects and leave some comments.  

Happy Stamping,

Rachael xx

Stamping with friends blog hop - sketch

 

Welcome to another blog hop with Stamping with Friends group. 

This hop is a sketch theme.  I've chosen to ink up my new SaleABration stamp set that I got for free with my last order. 

Isn't this otter cute???  Of course we don't have them here in Australia... although I think he would fit right in.  

What says happy birthday better than bright colours and balloons.  I cut the balloons from the smallest circle die and added some hand drawn elements for the string.  

The combination of basic gray, melon mambo and granny apple green really turned out great, the brighter colours pop on the darker background.  

Thanks for joining me on the blog hop.  

Click the image below to jump over to Deb's blog for more inspiration. 

Happy Stamping, 
Rachael xx

Roll Call for this blog hop:
Linda Moore
Rachael Merrick
Deborah Schultz
Caron Bailey
Lorraine Tierney
Donna Lester
Karen Egan
Robbie Susan Chandler
Nicole Mahler
Tricia Butts
Diane Evans
Victoria Littlewood
Kelly Place Taranto
Melva Peters
Helen Jennings
Tina Hewitt
Candi Suriana Grace
Mickey Moore
Mo Rootes

Blog hop for the new mini catalogue!!!

 

Welcome to a very exciting blog hop, today we celebrate the new mini catalogue and I get to showcase this fabulous Amazing Silhouettes stamp set.  

I chose to go with a brights theme, and created a backgound cutting several strips of cardstock.  I then matted it in basic black.  

The image was stamped using my stamparatus so that I could get a dark image.  I then used my Blending brushes to add colour to the image  and then added a sentiment and some of the white matte dots also from the catalogue.  I really love the result.  Vibrant and cheerful for a birthday.  

Don't forget to pop over to the other blogs, there is bound to be a huge amount of inspiration waiting.  

Happy Stamping,

Rachael.

Simply Sketchin Saturday #001

 Happy New Year everyone!!!  

Welcome to todays Simply Sketchin' Saturday blog hop with a fabulous sketch.  

I've used it to create cards in bulk... something I like to do when I need a large amount of cards for an occasion, one simple design and an hour or two has great results.  And yes, I send out birthday cards to all my crafty friends so if you would like one in the mail from me this year, please send me a message with your address.  

I love that sketches give us a great place to start and this year I hope to participate in as many of the Saturday sketches as I can.  

Main Supplies:

Artistically inked bundle

Expressions in ink DSP

Melon Mambo cardstock and ink

Pear Pizzazz cardstock and ink

Pale Papaya ink

Shaded Spruce ink

Have you had a go at making cards in bulk, using a sketch as your muse?  

Happy Stamping,

Rachael.

PS.  Don't forget to pop over to the other blogs and see what fabulous interpretations they have for you.  And don't forget, all bloggers love a little bit of comment love, so leave a message below.