Building Foxy Friends

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

Oh my word………… I have finally had time to try out the Foxy Friends stamp set and the Fox Builder Punch and I LOVE them.

For the first card I kept it simple stamping the fox in Cajun Craze ink onto a small piece of Whisper White cardstock. I stamped the head again onto a piece of scrap Whisper White and punched it out with the Fox Builder punch. I stamped the wider of the ‘faces’ with Basic Black Archival ink and added it to the stamped fox using Dimensionals. So cute, I love him …. and it is definitely a him. I rounded the upper left hand corner and stamped the sentiment from the Banners For You stamp set using the Basic Black Archival ink. I layered the stamped piece onto some Cajun Craze cardstock leaving a 1/8” border.

Using the new Petal Burst embossing folder, I ran a 2” wide piece of Crumb Cake cardstock through the Big Shot. I adhered a thin strip of Cajun Craze down the long side of the debossed side of the Crumb Cake panel then added it to the left side of a Thick Whisper White card base before adding the stamped panel with dimensionals.

I made a landscape version for my second card. I added a thin piece of Old Olive cardstock to the embossed Crumb Cake panel and stuck it to the Thick Whisper White card base. I stamped the walking fox image in Cajun Craze and the tree trunk in Soft Suede onto scrap Whisper White card and fussy cut them out using scissors. The tree trunk was added to the card base with Tombow adhesive and the fox with Dimentionals. The mushrooms were stamped in Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede ink.

The third fox was stamped in Calypso Coral ink and Basic Black Archival ink with the legs added in Soft Suede. I used a 2” punch to cut out the image. I backed this panel onto a circle cut from Soft Suede cardstock using the Layered Circles Framelits. The dsp comes from a retired pack called Best Year Ever and was added to a thin strip of Soft Suede card. I wrapped Linen Thread around the dsp panel before sticking it to a Crumb Cake base. The stamped circle was added with dimensionals. I stamped the sentiment from the Baby Bear stamp set in Soft Suede ink.

I really, really, really like this stamp set and its co-ordinating punch, so many other creatures to make. Watch out for more projects using this in the future.

To purchase any of the products go to http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes/ – click on the Shop Now tab. If you would like to join my team go to – http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes/ – click on the Join the Fun tab.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

Places You’ll Go

Posted on July 5, 2016July 5, 2016 by Mo Rootes

We have had some very good news this past weekend. Our son, after a long and difficult journey and subject to a final medical, has been offered a place at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Whoop whoop…….this is the first step to his becoming an officer in the Army and because it’s what I do I wanted to make him a card to congratulate him.

I chose the Places You’ll Go stamp set which seems appropriate and stamped the stand image in Basic Black Archival ink onto a piece of Whisper White card. The globe image was then stamped in Island Indigo ink, love photopolymer stamps, so much easier to line everything up. I thought it looked a bit bare so added some spots in Cucumber Crush, Pool Party and Chocolate Chip ink using the splatter stamp from the Timeless Textures stamp set. I added the sentiment in Island Indigo ink below the stamped image and as an accent I added a strip of Blooms and Bliss dsp to the bottom of the stamped panel.

I adhered the stamped panel to a smaller but longer piece of Basic Black card; I think it looks really quirky. I rounded the upper right corner of the stamped piece to balance it out before adding the whole piece to the Island Indigo card base.

I made a second version with a piece of retired Lost Lagoon washi tape instead of the dsp.

I hope you like the cards.

To purchase any of the products click on the Shop Now tab. If you would like to join my team go to – http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes/ – click on the Join the Fun tab.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

Confetti Celebration CASE’d

Posted on June 30, 2016June 30, 2016 by Mo Rootes

Whilst scrolling through Pinterest last week I came across a card that really attracted me. It was made by Marelle Taylor, an Australian demonstrator, using two of the new in-colours for 2016 – 2018, Dapper Denim and Emerald Envy plus the Confetti Celebration stamp set from the new annual catalogue. I love this colour combination, so strong and bold.

I decided to make the card myself, with a few changes…… I took a piece of Emerald Envy cardstock and added a smaller piece of Whisper White on top, adhering it down lightly with Snail adhesive. With the Dapper Denim ink I stamped the really cute string of baubles onto the Emerald Envy cardstock making sure that a couple of loops crossed the Whisper White piece. I removed the Whisper White piece and continued to stamp the baubles down the Emerald Envy panel.

I mounted 3 of the sentiments from the Confetti Celebration set onto a single acrylic block and using the Dapper Denim and Emerald Envy Stampin Write Markers, coloured in the words before stamping them onto the panel of Whisper White. Using the same markers I coloured the baubles on the Whisper White cardstock. I added the Whisper White panel to a piece of Dapper Denim cardstock and added a 3 inch piece of Dapper Denim ruched ribbon to the top of the panel in the centre with a Mini Glue Dot then added the whole piece to the stamped layer of Emerald Envy using dimensionals. The ribbon was stuck to the back of the Emerald Envy piece using sellotape and the whole topper was attached to a Thick Whisper White card base.

Love how the card turned out, a great masculine option. This would also be a really versatile set for a new crafter. Check out Marelle’s blog for more ideas using this set – http://www.marelletaylor.com

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

Birthday Fiesta – Loving the Llama

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

Birthday Fiesta was the first set in the new catalogue which caught my eye, maybe because it is at the front …… and maybe because my family and I have been fortunate enough to travel around South America and have seen llamas and alpacas in their natural habitat and it is definitely the llamas that make this set for me.

It is my daughter Camilla’s birthday this week and I couldn’t wait to make her card using this stamp set.

I stamped the llama using Soft Suede ink onto Crumb Cake card stock and die cut it out using the co-ordinating Fiesta Time framelits. I wanted some banners across the top of the card and, after a lot of playing decided to ink up the Boho Chic embossing folder using Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Calypso Coral and Watermelon Wonder ink pads direct to the embossing folder, adding a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and sending it through the Big Shot. I then used the embossed card to die cut my banners using the Fiesta Time framelits. I love the effect these gave, really bright and party like. The llamas back cloth was stamped in Watermelon Wonder onto Very Vanilla cardstock and fussy cut out. I added the llama to a panel of Very Vanilla cardstock using dimensionals. The banners were adhered using the Tombow liquid glue and the sentiment from Designer Tin of Cards stamp set was stamped in Watermelon Wonder. The whole panel was added to a piece of Watermelon Wonder cardstock and added to a Crumb Cake card base using dimentionals. I absolutely love this card, the llama is so gorgeous. I hope Camilla likes it.

The second card was made using a similar layout. The llama was stamped in Archival Basic Gray onto Smoky Slate cardstock and die cut as before. This time I stamped the streamers across the top of the Whisper White panel using Island Indigo and Night of Navy ink. The llamas back cloth was stamped in Island Indigo onto a scrap of Whisper White and fussy cut. After adding the llama to the stamped panel, I added it to a piece of Smoky Slate cardstock and adhered the whole piece to an Island Indigo card base using Tombow. The sentiment comes from Designer Tin of Cards. This would make a great masculine card.

The last card of this batch uses a Bermuda Bay card base. The llama is stamped in Tip Top Taupe ink onto Whisper White cardstock and die cut. I cut a circle from Watermelon Wonder cardstock using the Layering Circle Framelits and used the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and Watermelon Wonder ink to add some texture. I choose a piece of dsp from the retired Cherry on Top pack and added it to a layer of Basic Black cardstock. The circle was glued to the right side using Tombow and the llama added onto the circle using dimensionals. The back cloth for the llama is a piece of dsp from the same pack which I fussy cut and adhered on with Tombow. The whole topper was then added to a Bermuda Bay card base using Tombow. I stamped the sentiment in Watermelon Wonder ink onto a scrap of Whisper White cardstock and used the Banner Triple punch to shape the end, this was attached using Tombow. Love this card it is so bright and cheerful.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

In The Meadow

Posted on June 21, 2016June 21, 2016 by Mo Rootes

My friend and downline Jo recently gave me the ‘In The Meadow’ stamp set which had been on my wish list for a while……….and I love it, thanks Jo x.

Our team challenge this month is to make a masculine card using product from the new catalogue. Masculine cards can be bit of a challenge but I thought In The Meadow was a good set to try making a card to fit the brief.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up In The Meadow and painter’s Palette

For my first attempt I went back to another favourite set, Painter’s Palette as I thought the easel image would work really well with the deer image from the In The Meadow set. I stamped the easel on a Whisper White panel using Basic Black Archival ink. This is my favourite black ink; it is a really strong, dark colour. I stamped the deer image in Soft Suede ink onto a scrap of Shimmery White cardstock as I planned to do a little water colouring. I used the Aquapainter to add a little of the Soft Suede to the deer and a little Garden Green to the grassy area the deer are standing on. Gorgeous image. I then used the Layering Squares Framelit dies to cut out the image and added it to the stamped easel image with dimensionals. Such a simple card but so effective. I mounted the whole panel to a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, rounding the upper left corner of both pieces. This piece was then adhered to a Thick Whisper White card base using Tombow .

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up In The Meadow

For the second card I masked off a rectangle in the centre of a piece of Whisper White cardstock using Post It notes. Using a ¾” circle punch, I punched a small mask from a Post It and added it to the upper left hand side of the rectangle before covering the rectangular area with Island Indigo ink using a sponge dauber. I peeled away the masks to reveal the coloured area and added some So Saffron ink to the ‘moon’ with a sponge dauber. The tree image from the stamp set was stamped using Archival Basic Black ink, overlapping the coloured rectangle. I backed the stamped panel with Basic Black cardstock before adhering it to a Thick Whisper White card base.

This is such a versatile set, I can see myself using it in conjunction with a lot of other stamp sets to create great cards.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

Birthday Blooms Classes

Posted on June 15, 2016June 15, 2016 by Mo Rootes

I had two lovely classes this week using the beautiful Birthday Blooms stamp set.

crafty-rootes.com -Tuesday class using Stampin Up Birthday Blooms

We stamped the rose image for the first card in Versamark ink onto Vellum, covered it with Copper Embossing Powder and melted the powder using the heat tool. Love watching embossing powder melt, such a cool effect. We then colored the reverse side of the image using Stampin Write Marker Pens. For the petals we used Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo, Calypso Coral and Watermelon Wonder with the centre in Crushed Curry. The leaves we colored using Wild Wasabi and Garden Green markers.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up Birthday Blooms on Vellum

We adhered the vellum to the left hand side of a piece of Whisper White cardstock using Tombow and covered the area with a strip of dsp to hide the glue, then carefully placed a couple of Mini Glue Dots behind the centre of the rose where they would be hidden by the colouring. A strip of Flirty Flamingo ruched ribbon covered the join between the vellum and dsp and we added a separate ribbon bow on top. The stamped topper was added to a Whisper White card base using Tombow Liquid. We colored 2 White Perfect Accents using a bronze Sharpie Marker and added them to the image, hiding a mini glue dot behind each to help anchor the vellum. We die cut the ‘thanks’ sentiment from the retired Greetings Thinlit dies twice and adhered them one on top of the other for added dimension. They were added to the topper with Tombow. I loved the way everybody’s card was different, some flowers were very light and delicate looking, others went for a richer, deeper tone, all beautiful.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up Birthday Blooms water colored

For the second card we stamped the rose image in Versamark and embossed it using the Copper Embossing Powder as before but onto Shimmery White cardstock. Using Aquapainters we water colored the image using Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo, Calypso Coral and Watermelon Wonder inkpads for the petals, Crushed Curry for the flower centre and Wild Wasabi and Garden Green for the leaves. Using Pool Party ink we water colored around the image to ground it. The water colored piece was adhered to a layer of Basic Gray, then a layer of Flirty Flamingo before adding to a Thick Whisper White card base. To add a little more interest we rounded the top left hand corner of each layer before adhering together.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up

The last project was a small box made using the Envelope Punch Board and a piece of dsp 6” by 6”. This project was cased from a YouTube video by Sam Hammond – Pootles way Back Wednesday – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCqO04Y4rbw

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

Birthday Blooms coloured

Posted on June 12, 2016June 12, 2016 by Mo Rootes

I am using the Birthday Blooms stamp set for my class projects this month – more on that later this week – and wanted to showcase the versatility of the large wild rose stamp by showing it in other color variations. It is a beautiful image to color with markers, blender pens and for water coloring.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up Birthday Blooms

I stamped the image using the Basic Gray Archival ink onto Stampin Up!’s Thick Whisper White cardstock and colored it in using a Blender Pen to apply a layer of Soft Sky to all the petals. I then added some shading using the Blender Pen and Pool Party ink. The leaves were colored in the same way using Mint Macaron and a touch of Wild Wasabi ink. The centre of the rose was colored in using So Saffron ink. Using Tombow Liquid Adhesive I mounted the stamped panel onto a piece of Basic Gray cardstock adding a piece of Mint Macaron designer series paper (dsp) to the left side and a thin strip of Silver Foil cardstock as an accent. This whole piece was the added to a card base of Soft Sky with Dimensionals. I loved the way this card turned out, such a soft, subtle color palette.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up Birthday Blooms

For the second card I stamped the image in Basic Black Archival ink onto some of our thick Vellum cardstock and used Stampin Write Marker Pens in bolder colors to add the colors. I used So Saffron as my base color and added Crushed Curry and Delightful Dijon to give depth and shading. The centre of the rose is Calypso Coral and the leaves are Old Olive and Always Artichoke. I adhered the vellum to the left hand side of a piece of Whisper White cardstock using Tombow and covered the area with a strip of Crushed Curry dsp to hide the glue. I then and carefully placed a couple of Mini Glue Dots behind the centre of the rose where they would be hidden by the coloring. I added this stamped topper to another layer of the same dsp and mounted the piece using Tombow to a Crumb Cake card base. I really liked the rich color of this rose and loved the Crumb Cake card base against the yellows.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up Birthday Blooms

For the third card I decided to stamp the image on Thick Whisper White cardstock using Versamark ink. I covered it in Stampin Up!’s gorgeous new Copper Embossing Powder and heat set the powder using my Heat Tool. I used a Blender Pen to add a base coat of Pink Pirouette then added Sweet Sugarplum and Perfect Plum to give dimension to the petals. The leaves were colored in Mint Macaron and Wild Wasabi and the centre is Crushed Curry. I stamped the sentiment and the small clusters of dots using Crumb Cake ink and added the stamped piece to a layer of Crumb Cake cardstock adhering it to a Thick Whisper White card base using Tombow.

Really happy with these 3 cards, can’t wait to try water coloring the image………watch this space

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

Grateful For You – Team Training

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

I have been inspired this week to use the Grateful Bunch stamp set and co-ordinating Blossom Bunch Punch which we used during our Team Training session last Saturday. 8 of my fellow Stampin Stylettes team members, including my upline Mikaela – craftyoinkpen.blogspot.com – and 2 of my downline, Jo and Lyn gathered to chat through business ideas and to do a little crafting including a couple of make and takes from Mikaela using this stamp set and punch. I have had the Grateful For You stamp set and the co-ordinating Blossom Bunch Punch for a while but haven’t really done much with it. Not sure why as it is gorgeous, especially the lacy border and the dotty leaf image.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up Grateful for You

Mikaela chose Tip Top Taupe, Sweet Sugarplum and Whisper White as her colour scheme and we used some of the new Sweet Sugarplum ruched ribbon which is lovely; it ties beautifully. Loved both of these cards and was inspired to get my own set out and have a play.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up Grateful for You

I made the first card using Whisper White, Night of Navy and Pool Party, a classy colour palette if I do say so. The lacy border reminded me of bridal showers and veils, so it became a wedding card. I loved punching and stacking the flowers to create dimension on the card. I also couldn’t resist adding Clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for a bit of sparkle.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up Grateful for You

For my second card I used only the butterfly image from the stamp set and kept it simple using 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th generation Dapper Denim ink onto a panel of Whisper White cardstock. I added a strip of Silver Glimmer cardstock for a bit of bling. I was really happy with this card, simple but effective.

crafty-rootes.com – Stampin Up Grateful for You

The last card I am showing today uses Whisper White, Tip Top Taupe and Cherry Cobbler. I added a strip of Cherry Cobbler washi and covered the flowers with Clear Wink of Stella. I know I am addicted to the stuff. Pretty card I think.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

You’ve Got this Lyndsay and Richard

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

Today I am sharing a card I made for my lovely friend Lyndsay and her husband Richard’s wedding anniversary. I have known Lyndsay for nearly 40 years ……..OMG REALLY……..that is a long time, but it was only a year ago that I discovered that she likes; what she describes as same – same things. Basically she loves cards made using one colour. So, that was my challenge for this card.

crafty-rootes.co.uk – Stampin Up – You’ve got This

I love the large flower image in the You’ve Got This stamp set, very bold and dramatic and it’s a dream to water colour. I started with a card base in Soft Sky which is such a gorgeous soft colour.

I stamped the flower in Archival Basic Black ink onto a panel of Shimmery White card. I was planning to water colour the image and the Shimmery White cardstock can take quite a lot of water without ‘pilling up’. Using an Aquapainter, I laid down a thin layer of water over the flower then using the Soft Sky inkpad added a layer of the ink over all the petals. I added shadow and depth with Pool Party ink, a darker shade so I consider it the same colour…… The leaves were painted in the same way using a Wild Wasabi inkpad.

crafty-rootes.co.uk – Stampin Up – You’ve got This

I cut the painted panel into 4, deliberately choosing to have larger and smaller shapes and mounted the cut pieces onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock. Such a dark background really makes the flower stand out, I was really happy with how it looked. I added a piece of Pool Party Glitter Ribbon, now sadly retired to the bottom of the panel and added the sentiment, from Teeny Tiny Sentiments on top of the ribbon. I then added the whole piece to the Soft Sky card base.

I really liked the card but felt it needed a bit of bling ……. so I added Clear Wink of Stella to the petals and a few sequins from my stash and the card was complete. Love it.

I hope Lyndsay and Richard like it too.

To purchase any of the products go to http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes/ then click on the Shop Now tab. If you would like to join my team go to – http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes/ – click on the Join the Fun tab.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

Sitting Here – Water-coloured

Posted on May 30, 2016May 30, 2016 by Mo Rootes

I can’t get enough of the Sitting Here stamp set, I just love it.

crafty-rootes.co.uk – Stampin Up – Sitting Here

I wanted to use the stamp set to try my hand at water colouring. I stamped the swing seat in Chocolate Chip ink onto Whisper White cardstock and used an Aquapainter with a tiny bit of water to paint the wooden slats. I wanted a really light, distressed effect to the wood – it worked really well. I used a Night of Navy marker to colour in the stripes on the cushion.

Using the Awesomely Artistic stamp set, I stamped the leaf and foliage image using Basic Grey ink and coloured it in using Sweet Sugarplum – one of the new 2016 – 2018 InColours available from 1^st June – Daffodil Delight and Wild Wasabi inkpads and the Aquapainter. The cat was also stamped in the Basic Grey and lightly coloured using Smoky Slate ink and added a light swipe of grey to ground the cat. I really liked the way the image turned out. I added the mat to a Thick Whisper White card base and called it done.

crafty-rootes.co.uk – Stampin Up – Sitting Here

The second card was stamped in exactly the same way using the same colours. I tried to watercolour the background, not very successfully as I was using regular Whisper White cardstock. The regular cardstock is thin and starts to pill if it gets wet; I should really have used Thick Whisper White or Shimmery White cardstock which both cope better with water. Best of all would be Water Colour paper which, of course, I have run out of. I added a layer of Chocolate Chip cardstock, leaving a thin border. I put the panel onto a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock whilst I looked for a piece of Whisper White and decided I liked it better.

crafty-rootes.co.uk – Stampin Up – Sitting Here

I mixed it up again with the third card by stamping the cushion in Bermuda Bay ink onto Whisper White cardstock and masked it off before adding the swing seat is in Basic Grey. Because this is an archival ink it doesn’t react with water so I coloured it lightly with Smoky Slate ink. I added the leafy canopy from the Sheltering Tree stamp set using 1^st and 2^nd generation Wild Wasabi ink. The grass, stamped in Garden Green, comes from the In the Meadow stamp set as do the flowers and the butterfly, which I coloured with a variety of markers. I added some shadowing using Smoky Slate ink. It needed some sky so I used a cloud punch out from the Tree Builder Punch and a Sponge Dauber to add light Soft Sky shading, love the puffy cloud effect this gives.

I love the 3^rd card; it looks just like a painting. I am tempted to frame it.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x