Strength and Hope

I’ve just realised how long it’s been since I posted on my little blog – I’m afraid school, shopping and snotty noses have got in the way of being crafty over the last week or two, but hopefully now I’m back on track.

This time I’m showing a recent scrapbooking page (yes, I do scrapbook, but not as often as I should!). The colours I’ve chosen are from the Elite Challenges blog, where the lovely Carol Dunstan sets three monthly challenges for those of us on the Elite Team.

• Stamp Set: Strength & Hope (available until 31st July in the current Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue)
• Ink: Early Espresso
• Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso
• DSP: Woodland Walk
• Big Shot: Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Top Note Die
• Accessories: Stampin’ Dimensionals, Scallop Circle Punch, Old Olive 3.2mm Taffetta Ribbon, Distressing Essentials Kit, Neutrals Designer Buttons, Basic Pearls

The challenge colours were actually Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi and Chocolate Chip, but I didn’t have quite enough Chocolate Chip cardstock so I fudged it a little and used Early Espresso. I think it still looks lovely.

This scrapbooking page is part of my ongoing project to create two ‘family tree’ albums for my girls. The photo is of my husbands grandmother – doesn’t she look gorgeous glammed up in her Sunday best? We lost her to breast cancer about a year after I met her – she was a very strong, corageous and caring woman, who loved all sorts of creative pursuits, and who always put her family first. I was very proud to be able to name our first daughter after her. One of the last things she ever said to me was to make sure I kept being creative, and in being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, I hope I am living up to her expectations.

On the matching side to this page, I’ll have some smaller photos, along with some of her life story, and where she fits in the family tree.

Thanks for taking a peek today.

Cheers,

Retiform – what on earth is that?

That’s what I said the first time I heard of this technique, but it’s one of my favourites. A little involved, but you can get such a beautiful finish on your cards. It’s a little like making a patchwork quilt with stamps and ink, and if you’re a ‘shabby chic’ kinda gal like I am, too much is never enough!

We made this card in my Retiform Technique class last night, and it’s going straight into my ‘birthday box’ of cards for family birthdays. I’m really pleased with the way it turned out. I hope you like it too.

• Stamp Sets: Strength & Hope, Bring on the Cake (both sets available in the Autumn-Winter Mini until 31 July)
• Inks: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Baja Breeze, Night of Navy
• Cardstock: Early Espresso, Glossy White, Naturals Ivory
• Big Shot: Circles No.2 Die
• Accessories: Basic Pearls
• Non-SU!: Post-it Notes

Retiform seems to work best if you have a few coordinating stamps (which SU! Stamp Sets are perfect for!), one of which you make a focal point of your card. It’s a process of masking, sponging and stamping which gradually builds up your ‘quilt’. It’s not tricky, but it is time consuming, so probably best reserved for those special cards and scrapbooking pages.

I learnt this technique by watching Beate (pronounced Bee-art-ah) from Splitcoast Stampers make this amazing Christmas Card on YouTube. This one is a very involved card, but Retiform can be as simple as sponging a square or pentagon around your focal image and then stamping coordinating stamped images in each section.

I won’t be holding another Retiform Technique Class in Summer Hill until after the July School Holidays, but if you’d love to see how it’s done close up, why not book a special class at your home? I need at least two attendees – call or email me to see when I’m available.

I could also demonstrate a simple version of this card at a Workshop. If you have been toying with the idea of scheduling a workshop soon, I’ve got some news for you. Stampin’ Up! have just announced a special deal – the Extra! Extra! Hostess Promotion!

Hold a $450 workshop (including GST and shipping) between 23 May and 30 June 2011, and earn an EXTRA $70 in hostess rewards! This is in addition to our regular hostess benefits.

Pretty good deal huh! If you’d like to find out more, click on my ‘Book a Workshop With Me‘ icon on the right hand side of this page – it’s all about getting crafty and having a fun afternoon or evening with friends.

And while you’re here, today is Wednesday, so don’t forget to click on the ‘Deals of the Week’ banner to find out this weeks new bargains.

Thanks for taking a peek today.

Cheers,

Tea Rose

I love getting ready for my Technique classes. Sometimes it’s a technique that I’m really familiar with, and want to share, and other times it’s one I haven’t tried before, but have always wanted to have a go!

Last night I did a class on Bleached Out Images. I’ve always had trouble making stamping with bleach work for me (and it’s very smelly and gives me a headache), but stamping and embossing your image first, and then bleaching out the colour with a paintbrush is lots of fun, because you get to experiment and see what colour your image will turn out! And, if you put the bleach in your Aqua Painter, you don’t even have to smell it (much!).

Here’s last night’s card.

• Stamp Sets: Fifth Avenue Floral, Strength & Hope (available until 31st July)
• Ink: Early Espresso, So Saffron
• CS: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Soft Suede
• Big Shot: Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder
• Accessories: Early Espresso Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Distressing Essentials Kit, Antique Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool
  

You might think by looking at that stamped rose from Fifth Avenue Floral that I’ve bleached it and then coloured it all in So Saffron, but that’s actually the colour of the base cardstock – the bleach removes any dye in the cardstock and takes it back to its original colour. I’ve just used a So Saffron marker to create a few shadows, which the bleach does anyway for you! By embossing the image with Clear Embossing Powder, the stamped outline is protected from the bleach, and remains dark.

We used the Tea Stain and Flat Stamp from the Distressing Essentials kit to highlight the detail created by the Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder – not too much, but just enough to tie in the colours.

And I couldn’t help adding in that beautiful butterfly from the Strength & Hope set – it’s my latest purchase, and I was just itching to use it. To make life easier for myself, I stamped the image directly onto the rose first, and then stamped it again onto some Very Vanilla cardstock and popped it up on dimensionals after cutting around the main part of the butterfly – that way, I didn’t have to cut out those fiddly antennae. Sponging the edges with the same colour ink hides any inaccuracies with your scissor work 😉

If you’ve got any questions about this technique, don’t hesitate to drop me a line, or if you’re in the Inner West area of Sydney, why not come along to my next class demonstrating this technique on 29th June?

Thanks for taking a peek today.

Cheers,