Celebrate Today for a Special Birthday

Posted on March 29, 2016March 29, 2016 by Mo Rootes

On this wet and very windy day I abandoned plans to go out for a walk and stayed inside to craft…. I know, any excuse……

So, having made a special birthday card for my mother to give her sister in law, see post (Number of Years) I decided to make my own 70^th birthday for her.

I looked through my stamp sets for inspiration and was attracted by the set, Celebrate Today. I used this set a lot when it first came out but haven’t used it for a while. I thought it might make a fab special birthday card.

Stampin Up! Celebrate Today and Number of Years

I used a panel of Whisper White and stamped along the edge with the spotty stamp using Pink Pirouette ink. This stamp is designed to add spots to the balloons, but thinking outside the box, it made a great border. I stamped the solid balloon in Pool Party ink using a Stampin Pierce Mat under the cardstock; I find this gives me a better stamped image when using a Photopolymer set. I love the sentiment on the balloon string from the Balloon Celebration stamp set and stamped it in Rose Red. The Happy Birthday was stamped using the Rose Red and Pool Party ink.

I love the Tombow Multipurpose Glue and used it to adhere a strip of the gorgeous Pool Party Glitter Ribbon to the left side of the stamped panel. I decided to round the upper right corner of the stamped panel and the piece of Silver Foil cardstock I used as a mat, before adhering them together leaving a small border.

I then stamped the numbers from the Number of Years stamp set using Rose Red ink onto a scrap Whisper White cardstock and die cut them using the BigShot and the Large Number dies.

My Aunt is a lover of pink and I used a card base of Rose Red. I rounded the upper right corner, mimicking the stamped panel and mounted the panel using Dimensionals. I decided to tilt the stamped panel on the card front for a more modern look. I finished by adding the die cut numbers onto the balloon with dimensionals and adding some co-ordinating candy dots.

I absolutely love this card and will be using this set again for some other special occasion cards I need to make, so watch this space…….

Don’t forget Sale-A-Bration ends on the 31^St March, so check out my online shop at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes and hit the ‘shop now’ button. You can pick one free item for every £45 you spend, don’t miss out.

Looking forward to seeing you again.

Mo x

Birthday Blooms – Tiled

Posted on March 26, 2016March 26, 2016 by Mo Rootes

Earlier this week I saw an amazing technique video on Youtube. It was posted by Tami White of stampwithtami.com. In the video Tami uses the What I Love stamp set, which is one of the Sale-A-Bration sets available for free with a £45 order in my online store until the 31^stMarch. She stamps these lovely flowers onto a sheet of small stickers to give a tiled effect. The card she made looked amazing and I couldn’t wait to try the technique for myself.

I chose to use the beautiful Birthday Blooms stamp set for my card. I stamped the large rose image using Archival Black Ink onto a panel of stickers. I learnt the hard way that you need to leave this for at least 15 minutes to dry otherwise it will smear. Even then I tried hard not to touch the mage with my hands whilst colouring as the moisture on the skin can cause smudging.

Stampin Up! Birthday Blooms stamp set

I coloured in my images using the retired Stampin Up! Blendabilities but you could use Stampin Write Markers or a Blender pen and inkpads. I would not advise using an aqua painter as the label sticker backing sheet holds the water and everything runs …… trust me, I tried it and the result was not attractive.

Stampin Up! Birthday Blooms

I coloured the first image using the Pink Pirouette and Wild Wasabi Blendabilities and mounted the tiled panel onto a piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock, then onto a card base of Thick Whisper White cardstock. The sentiment comes from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.

Stampin Up! Birthday Blooms

The second image is coloured using the Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi Blendabilities and mounted the tiled panel onto a piece of Marina Mist cardstock, then onto a card base of Thick Whisper White cardstock. The sentiment again, comes from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.

Stampin Up! Birthday Blooms

For the third card I changed the orientation to portrait and used the darker, Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities along with the previously used Wild Wasabi Blendabilities. I mounted the tiled panel onto Rich Razzleberry cardstock and added two strips of the Gold Glitter Tape which is another Sale-A-Bration item.

I love this technique; it looks amazing but is actually quite simple to do. I hope you like the projects.

Don’t forget Sale-A-Bration ends on the 31^St March, so if you would like the what I Love stamp set or the Glitter tape, or indeed any of the other items go to my online shop at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes and hit the ‘shop now’ button. You can pick one free item for every £45 you spend.

Looking forward to seeing you again.

Mo x

Unused Colour Challenge

Posted on March 24, 2016March 24, 2016 by Mo Rootes

So, yesterday I was at my upline Mikaela Titheridge’s (http://thecraftyoinkpen.blogspot.co.uk/) house with fellow team member Susan Merrey (http://craftyduckydoodah.blogspot.co.uk/) and the conversation got around to what are our least used Stampin Up! colours. It turns out we all had 3 or 4 colours that we rarely, if ever use. It is just so easy to reach for your favourite colours and colour combinations when designing a project.

The upshot of the conversation is that Mikaela has challenged the team to name our 4 least used colours and to design a project using at least 3 of them. Got to say I love a challenge…….. so, here goes….

Stampin Up! inkpads

My least used colours are Chocolate Chip (there were cries of horror from Susan when I announced this one), Always Artichoke, Rich Razzleberry, I like the colour but can never seem to combine it successfully with anything else. And lastly, Pumpkin Pie, I struggle with oranges in general and could just as easily have picked Tangerine Tango or Tangelo Twist, except, I don’t have either of those … says it all really.

My first thought was to use the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set, but on reflection I thought this was a bit of a cop out. I decided I would up the anti by also choosing to use Very Vanilla cardstock and the Happy Patterns stencil pack. I have used both the cardstock and the stencils twice since I bought them and I thought they might work with this colour combo. I also decided to use all 4 of the colours I had selected for the challenge.

I got out some sponge daubers, chose the dotted line stencil pattern and set too. I decided to use a sentiment from the Perfect Pairings stamp set, one of the Sale-A-Bration options which I have not yet used and the Lots of Labels dies, again, I bought these a while ago and haven’t used them. I was so happy with the result; bizarrely the colours seemed to work well together and gave the card quite a masculine look. I added a small amount of the Metallic Gold Thread and some Candy Dots to give the card a bit of texture and called it done.

I decided to try another stencil from the same pack, there are 4 altogether. The sentiment is from Perfect Pairings and I added a small piece of Gold Glitter Tape, another Sale-A-Bration option and used the Banner triple Punch to flag the end of the sentiment.

I have to say, I really like both of the cards and all of the colours I used. What a revelation. I also loved the stencils which were so quick and easy to use.

Hope you like the projects and maybe you could try the challenge for yourself. Let me know how you get on.

Don’t forget Sale-A-Bration ends on the 31^St March, so if you would like the Perfect Pairings stamp set or the Glitter tape, or indeed any of the other items go to my online shop at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes and hit the ‘shop now’ button. You can pick one free item for every £45 you spend.

Looking forward to seeing you again.

Mo x

Rose Garden another way …… Notecards

Posted on March 22, 2016March 22, 2016 by Mo Rootes

I made the cutest set of notelets today using the lovely Rose Garden framelit dies. I have used these dies before to die cut the fantastic, huge rose and smaller rose. I have also used the pretty little sentiment frame from the set but the little leafy branch has, until now, passed me by. No longer…….

I saw a Youtube video earlier this week by Mary Fish – www.stampinpretty.com – using the leafy branch die. So I got out the Rose garden Framelits and set about CASEing the card.

I started by die cutting the leafy branch from a panels of Rose Red cardstock and Pink Pirouette cardstock. I then inserted the Rose Red die cut into the negative space cut in the Pink Pirouette panel and the Pink Pirouette die cut into the negative space in the Rose Red panel. I backed both pieces onto Whisper White cardstock. I love the way white shows through, so pretty. This panel was mounted onto a piece of either Rose Red or Pink Pirouette cardstock and added to a Whisper White Notecard. Prior to matting and layering I decided to corner round opposite corners of all the pieces to add some interest.

The sentiment comes from the Birthday Blooms stamp set and was punched out using the Large Oval Punch. I added a flower in either Rose Red or Pink Pirouette using the flower punch from the Itty Bitty Accents punch pack. Each flower has a candy dot in the centre.

I was really happy with the way these cards turned out and decided to try some other colours. The second pair of cards are in Lost Lagoon and Soft Sky. The third set are in Pear Pizzaz and Mossy Meadow and I love them all. I think they look great.

I want to gift this set to a friend so made a simple box using Thick Whisper White cardstock. The panel on the top is in Pacific Point and Tempting Turquoise, another great colour combo.

I am really happy with these notecards and box and love all the colour combinations. Hope you do too.

Looking forward to seeing you again.

Mo x

Number of Years

Posted on March 16, 2016March 16, 2016 by Mo Rootes

Mum asked me if I would make a card to celebrate her sister in law’s 70th birthday in May……I know it is only mid-March but Mum does like to be ahead of the game.

I decided to use a card I made at my upline Mikaela Titheridges’ recent stamp-a-stack (thecraftyoinkpen.blogspot.co.uk) as my base card. The card uses the Number of Years stamp set with the Large Numbers co-ordinating dies and pretty paper from the Birthday Bouquet dsp stack.

I stamped the leafy stamp from the Number of Years stamp set twice in Old Olive ink onto a panel of Whisper White cardstock and used Blushing Bride, Watermelon Wonder and Daffodil Delight ink to fill in the sweet little flowers. I then stamped the ‘Happy’ sentiment in Watermelon Wonder ink. I stamped the ‘Birthday’ in Watermelon Wonder and stamped the banner shape around it in Basic Grey ink and die cut the piece using the co-ordinating die. I stamped the 70 in a couple of different colours before settling on Pool Party and I die cut them using the co-ordinating dies. To give it a bit of sparkle I added the numbers, using dimensionals to a punched circle of the gorgeous Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper, love that stuff, sparkly but not messy. I added a little piece of the shiny Pool Party Glitter ribbon and attached it with the sweet little Bow Paperclips. I added dimensionals to the back of the panel and added it between the 2 pieces of dsp.

Mum loved the card and thinks my Aunt will love it as well. Hope she does.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. Hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

Botanical Builders dies for Mother’s Day

Posted on March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 by Mo Rootes

So, last Sunday was Mothering Sunday in the UK and I used the Botanical Builder Framelits to make a card for my lovely Mum. She has a very plain and simple style and with this in mind I designed a fairly unfussy card for her.

I went for a 5 ½” by 5 ½” card base made using Naturals White cardstock which is sadly now retired. I just love the slightly flecked appearance of this cardstock which goes particularly well with flower and leaf stamps and dies. When the cardstock retired last year I bought a couple of packets which have sadly nearly all gone. The card would however, look just as lovely on Whisper White or Very Vanilla cardstock.

I chose to die cut a variety of flowers and foliage using the Botanical Builders dies using Island Indigo, Rose Red, Blushing Bride, Soft Sky and Tip Top Taupe cardstock and inked the edges with the co-ordinating inks and sponge daubers. This gives them a lot of dimension and character

I arranged the flowers and foliage at the bottom right hand side of a panel of Naturals White cardstock and stamped ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ from the Teeny Tiny Sentiments stamp set in Rose Red.

I mounted this piece onto a piece of Rose red cardstock and backed this with a piece of Tip Top Taupe cardstock. I then mounted the whole topper onto the card base using dimensionals.I added some of the gorgeous metal rimmed pearls to the larger flowers and scattered some basic pearls around the other flowers. I then made an envelope for the card from some retired Rose Red dsp.

I really liked the card and luckily, so did Mum. I hope you like it too.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and I hope to see you again

Mo x

Botanical Blooms stamp set and Botanical Builder Framelits for a special card

Posted on February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 by Mo Rootes

Botanical Blooms stamp set and Botanical Builder Framelits for a special card

At last, after nearly 3 weeks of illness I am back in the craft room – whoop whoop – and just in time to make a special card for my youngest Aunt who turns 70 on Saturday.

I got out the Botanical Blooms stamp set and the co-ordinating Botanical Builder Framelit dies and a selection of cardstock from the subtles family and spent a happy hour die cutting flowers and leaves. I love that you can stamp the die cuts to add texture to the shapes.

I used So Saffron, Wisteria Wonder, Soft Sky, Pink Pirouette, Wild Wasabi and Basic Grey cardstock and layered up the flowers with the different colours to give dimension. I also inked the edges of the flowers using co-ordinating inks and a sponge dauber to add some depth to the cardstock.

I used Thick Whisper White cardstock to make a 5½” square card and stamped the sentiment ‘Look Who’s Turning ‘ – from the Number of Years stamp set, in Basic Grey ink at the top of the card on the right hand side. I then stamped the 7 and the 0 with the same colour ink onto Whisper White cardstock and die cut the numbers using the co-ordinating Large Number Framelit Dies and added them to the card front with dimensionals.

I then arranged the leaves and flowers around the numbers and sentiment. I stamped the dotted stamp with Wild Wasabi ink around the die cut flowers to add some more texture and added some basic rhinestones for some bling. I then made an envelope using the Envelope Punch Board and a piece of dsp from the Wildflower Fields stack. This is one of the Sale-A-Bration items you can choose for free with a £45 order.

I am really happy with the card and I really hope my Aunt likes it

Thank you for stopping by my blog today and I hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

Something for Baby – Faux Resist

Posted on February 1, 2016February 1, 2016 by Mo Rootes

The daughter of an old friend is expecting a baby soon and I was playing with ideas for a baby card for her and her partner.

I pulled out the Something for Baby stamp set and co-ordinating Baby’s First dies. I just love the onesie stamp from this set and the matching framelit, such a simple design but it looks so effective and can be used for both sexes.

I wanted to try a technique called faux resist which I saw on YouTube demonstrated by Dena Rekow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMS-IRUhiWg

I mounted the flower and heart stamps from the set together on the same acrylic block, then stamped them over the upper ⅔’s of a layer of Whisper White cardstock using Whisper White Craft ink. I then stamped the onesie in Blackberry Bliss ink in the centre of the white stamped area. It looked like a smeared mess but as it dried the Whisper White craft ink began to show through the Blackberry Bliss like a shadow. Such a cool effect.

I stamped the sentiment from the Sky is the Limit stamp set in Blackberry Bliss ink at the bottom of the card layer and used the Curvy Corner Trio Punch to decorate the 4 corner. I then die cut the stamped onesie from the stamped white layer.

This layer was then adhered to a piece of Blackberry Bliss cardstock ¼” bigger to provide a narrow frame. The die cut onesie was lifted up on dimensionals and slightly offset to show the Blackberry Bliss layer underneath. I then added the whole piece to a Thick Whisper White card base

I also tried this technique with other colours and found that it worked best with a darker or richer toned ink.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. See you again

Mo x

Bloomin’ Love unmasked

Posted on January 27, 2016February 1, 2016 by Mo Rootes

I have been playing with the Bloomin’ Love stamp set and the masking technique today.

I don’t know about you but what drew me to this stamp set was the delicate lacy heart image which mimics the gorgeous Bloomin’ Heart die. However, I found myself using the 4 individual flower stamps included in the set. I love masking off areas of card when using these small stamps, you can get some really cool effects.

For the first card I masked off a diagonal strip with low tack masking tape and stamped the flowers in Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Night of Navy and Mint Macaron ink. I deliberately stamped the flowers close together and onto the masking tape to create this effect. After I removed the masking tape I added a strip of Night of Navy cardstock to help focus the eyes in on the pattern. The sentiment came from the Balloon Celebration stamp set and is stamped in Melon Mambo ink. Finally, I added some of the It’s My party Enamel Dots from the new Occasions catalogue.

I was hooked on this technique and used it again when I cut a wedge from a layer of Whisper White cardstock. This time I stamped the flowers in one of my favorite color combos Bermuda Bay, Pear Pizzazz and Night of Navy ink. When I stood back and looked at the stamped piece I felt it was missing something and after some thought, stamped the small open heart image, from the same stamp set in Calypso Coral ink. I really liked the result. I mounted the pieces onto a Bermuda Bay card base and added die cut flowers in Calypso Coral and Bermuda Bay at the apex of the triangle. I stamped the sentiment from the Balloon Celebration stamp set in Bermuda Bay ink. For some extra dimension I added Basic Pearls to the center of some of the flowers

I really enjoyed working with this set, such fun. Thank you for visiting my Blog today, come again soon.

Mo x

Bloomin Heart and Bloomin Love

Posted on January 19, 2016January 19, 2016 by Mo Rootes

Bloomin Heart and Bloomin Love

Love is in the air and it’s never too early to think about Valentine’s Day, now less than a month away…eek.

With this is mind I thought I would try the Bloomin Heart Die from the new Occasions catalogue and I have to say I love, love, love it. This die is absolutely gorgeous, so delicate and detailed but having watched a few YouTube videos and read some blogs I knew it could be tricky to get a good cut.

With this in mind I had a couple of trial runs using different cardstock and BigShot sandwiches.

For the first run I used the BigShot sandwich as recommended by Stampin Up! – the multipurpose Platform (no tabs) + Precision Plate, cardstock, die and finally an acrylic plate. I found I needed to run the die through the BigShot 5 or 6 times to get a good cut.

For comparison I also tried the Magnetic Platform + the Precision Plate, card, die and acrylic plate and needed to run this sandwich through the BigShot a couple of times to get a good cut if I was using Foiled cardstock or Glimmer cardstock. This was the option I then used to make my cards but as every machine is calibrated slightly differently I suggest you have a play with your own BigShot to determine what works with your machine.

For the first card I die cut the intricate heart from Red Foil cardstock, so shiny and decadent looking. I then die cut the heart from a panel of Whisper White cardstock, popped out all the pieces to create a frame and backed the hole with a piece of Window Sheet. I slotted the Red Foil die cut into the frame and adhered it to the Window Sheet with tiny dots of Tombow adhesive.

I decided to keep the card fairly simple and added a strip of Real Red satin ribbon below the die cut heart. The sentiment is from the co-ordinating Bloomin Love stamp set and is stamped with Real Red ink and framed by the banner stamped in Basic Black Archival ink. The banner was then die cut using the co-ordinating die from the Large Numbers Framelit dies. I think this is such a classy looking card.

The second card I made has a softer look. I started with a card base in Pool Party cardstock and die cut the heart from Whisper White cardstock adding the smaller die cut flowers stamped in either Pool Party or Real Red. At this point I decided to turn the card on its side to make a landscape card.

I adhered the die cut heart to the right side of the card adding a piece of Blushing Bride cardstock with a flagged end cut using the Banner Triple Punch. Using the smaller flower stamps from the Bloomin Love stamp set, I created a background piece by stamping the flowers in Pool Party, Blushing Bride and Real Red and punching a banner end. I loved the look of this piece; it really tied all the colours together. I added a piece of the lovely, sparkly Pool Party Glitter Ribbon and some Basic Rhinestones to finish the card off.

I am really loving this set and hope you do too.

Mo x