Fern and Flora Triple Panel Card

By | June 23, 2026
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Hi there

Today’s card is a variation of a layout I recently shared, this time featuring the beautiful foliage dies from the Fern & Flora bundle. The three die-cut panels showcase ferns (very Kiwi) cut from Old Olive cardstock, with ink blending added to create depth and dimension.

The card is built on a Mossy Meadow card base with a subtle patterned paper from the Moonlit Flora Designer Series Paper in the background. Across the centre, a strip of Peaceful Pine Two-Tone Cardstock has been stamped with Peaceful Pine ink using one of the Fern & Flora stamps, adding texture and interest to the design. Linen Thread wrapped around the strip adds another touch of nature.

Because the fern dies are quite intricate, I applied Adhesive Sheets to the back of the Old Olive cardstock before die cutting. This makes adhering the finished die cuts so much easier and eliminates the mess of liquid glue or the challenge of applying adhesive to delivate pieces. The delicate flower embellishments are constructed from three separate die-cut pieces, so once again I reached for Adhesive Sheets to simplify the assembly process and avoid the fuss of applying adhesive to such small elements.

Another tip is to leave the die cuts in the surrounding cardstock after cutting and do the ink blending before removing them. The surrounding cardstock acts like a mask, protecting the delicate edges and preventing them from catching or tearing while blending.

To finish the card, I added the flower embellishement cuts from Berry Burst Cardstock, providing a lovely pop of colour against the green foliage. The result is a clean and elegant friendship card that celebrates the beauty of nature-inspired elements.

I hope seeing a variation on the same layout inspires you to have a go with this design. Check out my YouTube channel to see the videos of these cards and more.

Until next time …

Moonlit Flora card with Vellum

By | June 6, 2026
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Hi there

The Moonlit Flora Suite is one of my favourites from the May-August catalogue. For this project I’ve used the rich, dramatic patterns of the Moonlit Flora Designer Series Paper to provide a beautiful backdrop for the coordinating blooms from the Fern & Flora Stamp Set and Dies.

For the focal point, I stamped three of the floral images and using Stampin’ Blends (Pumpkin Pie, Berry Burst, Old Olive and Soft Sea Foam), created two coordinating colourways that stand out beautifully against the darker background. The images were then die cut and mounted onto panels created with the Perennial Postage Dies. I love how the postage stamp edges add texture and interest while framing each floral arrangement perfectly.

To soften the design, I added strips of Vellum across the centre of the card which also helps to lighten the DSP. This simple addition helps separate the focal elements from the busy background without hiding the gorgeous details of the Moonlit Flora paper. It’s a great technique to use when working with dark or busy patterned paper, as it allows the DSP to remain visible while ensuring the focal images take centre stage.

A few embellishments complete the design, adding just the right amount of detail without overwhelming the card.

This card would work beautifully for a variety of occasions, from birthdays and thank you cards to thinking of you greetings. By simply changing the colours of the flowers or adding a sentiment, you can easily adapt the design to suit your needs.

I hope this project inspires you to mix and match products from your craft stash and experiment with layering vellum over patterned paper. Check out my YouTube channel for the measurements of this card.

Until next time …

Capturing Smiles – special 70th birthday card

By | May 27, 2026
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Hi there

Yesterday was a very special day in our house as Phil and I both celebrated our birthdays. Milestone birthdays deserve something extra meaningful, so I created this personalised card especially for Phil, combining one of his hobbies — photography — with some favourite memories we’ve shared together.

Phil loves capturing special moments, beautiful scenery and everyday memories through the lens of his camera, so the Capturing Smiles bundle was the perfect choice for this project.

I designed the card using a bold black camera – heat embossed in silver – layered over the bright Daffodil Delight patterned paper from Beautiful Ordinary Life to create a fun and striking contrast. The film strips were my favourite part of the design because they allowed me to include photos of the two of us alongside the stamped scenes that represent adventures and happy memories together.

The large ’70’ keeps the focus on this very special milestone while the overall design celebrates the joy of looking back on happy memories.

To complete the card I created a cute 3D ‘camera’ box thanks to inspiration from fellow demo Barbara Bicknell.

Handmade cards become even more meaningful when they are created with the recipient in mind, and this one was extra special to make. I hope this card inspires you to personalise your projects with photos and meaningful details.

Until next time …

Artisan Sketched Gardens DSP

By | May 20, 2026
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There’s something satisfying about taking a beautiful black-and-white design and bringing it to life with colour — and that’s exactly what we did with the gorgeous Artisan Sketched Garden Designer Series Paper for our Make & Takes at OnStage Sydney in March.

These cards reminder us that Designer Series Paper can be so much more than just a background layer. By colouring directly onto the DSP with Stampin’ Blends or Watercolour Pencils, the floral images become completely transformed, and each card ends up looking hand-painted and unique.

For the blue version, I used Azure Afternoon Stampin’ Blends to create a bold monochromatic look. I love how striking the bright blue background is against the crisp black outlines — it really makes the florals pop while still keeping the card design simple and elegant.

The second card was coloured using a combination of Fresh Freesia and Bubble Bath Stampin’ Blends for the flowers, with Old Olive added to the foliage. This version has a pretty, delicate feel and shows how versatile this paper can be depending on your colour choices.

Both cards were finished with:

I love how versatile this DSP is – great on it’s own, colouring the image or the background. It’s a fantastic way to personalise your Designer Series Paper and coordinate it with your favourite colour palette. If you enjoy colouring, this is definitely a technique worth trying with your patterned papers.

Until next time …

2026-2028 In Colors and new catalogue

By | May 12, 2026
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The new 2026-2028 In Colors have now arrived – Barely Blush, Crisp Cantaloupe, Golden Glow, Peaceful Pine and Hydrangea Hue. They are a softer palette of colours this year.

Along with the new In Colors we have a new catalogue. This year, Stampin’ Up! is refreshing the way it shares products in print, with a new, streamlined catalogue strategy designed to make shopping from our catalogues easier and more intuitive. Instead of an annual catalogue and multiple minis, we are moving to three beautifully designed catalogues per year—each one complete, current, and easy to use on its own. No more overlapping catalogues. Catalogues will be released every four months: January-April, May-August and September-December. Each catalogue will introduce new products alongside a selection of customer-favourite staples—such as stamps, ink, paper, tools, and adhesives—bringing the feel of a mini catalogue and an annual catalogue together in one place. This balanced approach creates a well-rounded, easy-to-shop print experience that supports confident ordering.

One of the new Designer Series Papers is the Artisan Sketched Garden DSP (167752). This DSP is the first of the rank to be cut into – a new motto for this year – cut and use my DSP. I’ve created five cards of the same design to showcase the new In Colors – do you have a favourite? Check out my YouTube channel to see measurements and how I created these cards.

Another of my aims for this year is to get back into blogging and share more of my creations, tips and techniques with you.

Until next time …

Florals in Bloom

By | September 5, 2025
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Hi there

One of my favourite Suites in the 2025-2026 Annual Catalogue is Florals in Bloom (pg 40-47). It highlights all the new 2025-2027 In Colours – Strawberry Slush, Timid Tiger, Darling Duckling, Cloud Cover and Secret Sea.

Our catalogues are full of inspiration and the 2024-2025 catalogue included a new feature – 22 sketch designs – to help inspire us with our creations. I decided to use #18 as my base – changing the order of the elements so that the design worked for me.

Don’t feel you have to keep exactly to the sketch – change the orientation, order or add/remove a layer. The Florals in Bloom DSP has a mix of floral designs on one side with the reverse being a more solid pattern design. I’ve mixed and matched my papers for one card and added Two-tone cardstock for the other.
This suite is a ‘mega’ suite with two stamp/die bundles. I have used the Pretty Florals bundle which is a two step image only set and my ‘go to’ sentiment set – Simply Said.

Sketches are a great way to craft so don’t forget to check out the other designs on page 22 of the 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue.

Until next time …

Happiest Day

By | April 22, 2025
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Hi there

The Happiest Day stamp set on page 99 of the Annual Catalogue is a stand alone set meaning there are no coordinating dies or punches. Thankfully the images are easy to fussy cut to give the same effect.

It has a mix of images and sentiments to create fun projects. My favourite image is the Dragonfly. Combine the outline stamp with the separate ‘wing’ stamps to create dragonflies of all colours.

Happiest-Day-Dragonflies

The Regal colour family is one that I don’t use that often so I challenged myself to use at least one colour for this project. Our Colour Coach comes in handy to select colour combo but I also like to use the My Create Ink website. I started with Gorgeous Grape and it suggested I use Pretty Peacock, Berry Burst, Blueberry Bushel and Daffodil Delight.

Have you tried the ‘stamping off’ technique to make your colours go further? This technique is great when you want to shades of the one colour. Stamp the image in full strength ink then stamp again to get a lighter shade. That is how I created my two tone dragonflies.

The Happiest Day set is on the Last Chance List – so don’t miss out getting this great stamp and with FREE shipping from tomorrow (23 April) until Friday 25 April – what are you waiting for.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this project.

Until next time …

Full of Life Thank You Cards

By | March 26, 2025
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Hi there

When needing masculine cards – whatever the ocassion – my ‘go to’ ideas are either fun folds or using DSP. So when I needed two masculine ‘Thank You’ cards I reached for some DSP. The Full of Life DSP has so many colours and is nice and bright so that jumped onto my desk. With a few cuts here is what I created.

I don’t use the Regal colours much so picked the Shaded Spruce colour from the papers for my card base. After cutting four DSP designs measuring 2.5cm x 9.5cm and adhering them directly to a Basic White mat measuring 10cm x 11.3cm my card front was almost complete. The strip of DSP running behind the main focal point was a scrap I had – this is about 2cm and the Basic White was another offcut I had – it’s about 4cm wide. These pieces can vary – just use what you have on hand.

I decided I’d make another one with a slight change.

Did you spot the difference? Not just the colour which is Pumpkin Pie. The strips of DSP are the same width, just a little bit shorter at 9cm and the mat measures 9.5cm x 11.3cm allowing a bit more of the base to be seen. The DSP strip behind the mat is 2.5cm wide with the Basic White being 4cm.

These first two cards use the Thank You sentiment from With You In Mind – a great set to have in your stash.

While I was playing with the DSP I created another card using the Spring Corners set for the sentiment.

After selecting the paper I found a large offcut of Basic White in my stash and then cut the DSP to fit. The DSP measures 7.5cm x 11.5cm and the mat is 8cm x 12cm. Don’t be afraid to stamp your sentiments directly on to DSP. I know I don’t do this enough. The background mat of Granny Apple Green measures 10cm x 14.3cm.

I didn’t take an actual photo of the insides of the card but in each one I adhered an offcut that I had that coordinated with the front. Another great way of using up the small strips.

I hope you get some inspiration from these cards to use up some of your DSP scraps.

Until next time …

Floral Delight Suite Fun Fold

By | March 11, 2025
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Hi there

A couple of weeks back I discovered a new fun fold created by US demo – Connie Stewart. I love a fun fold, especially one where I can get two bases from a sheet of A4 cardstock.

It folds nice and flat so is easy to post and when opened it stands on it’s own to show the ‘fun fold’.

This is such a versatile fun fold and really easy to make – three score lines and two cuts and you are ready to decorate your card. I’ve manage to use a bit of everything from the Floral Delight Suite (page 33-37 of the Jan-Apr Mini Catalogue).

So as not to spoil the lovely fun fold with a space to write your message the back of the card base has been utilised for that.

You still get to decorate the ‘insert’ and have plenty of space to write.

I love teaching and sharing my love of paper crafting. If you’d like to make this card why not get some friends together for a card class. Message me to book in a time.

If you like this suite check out my earlier post using these products.

Until next time …

Beautiful Butterflies – Baby Wipe Technique

By | February 19, 2025
2 Comments

Hi there

Last month I participated in a team swap. What is a swap you ask? A swap is where you make multiple cards of the same design. You then give one of your cards to each member of the group and they give you one of theirs. This means you end up with multiple different samples. It’s a great way to get ideas and be able to showcase a wider range of products. I used the Beautiful Butterlies bundle paired with the Baby Wipe technique.

I went with two colour ways – Berry Burst and Pumpkin Pie – I couldn’t decide which one I liked best.

The Baby Wipe technique is a great one for this type of stamp design. I have some other samples from previous years using this technique here and here.

To create my card I die cut the solid butterfly first then stamped. As this is a Photopolymer set I recommend using a Paper Pierce mat under your cardstock. This gives a better impression. The die cut overlay is adhered only on the body not the wings. This was so the wings could be lifted up to add dimension to the card.

To create the mat for the sentiment I used the same die as the words and then cut it in half. This gives a nice coloured edge especially when the sentiment and mat are white.

Here’s a list of the supplies:
Stamp and Dies – Beautiful Butterflies Bundle – stamps, dies and embossing folder
Card Stock – Berry Burst or Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Basic White
Reinkers – Berry Burst, Fresh Freesia and Balmy Blue or Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight and Poppy Parade plus Memento Black Ink Pad
Other – Glossy Dots Assortments, Baby Wipes

Don’t forget Sale-A-Bration finishes at the end of February, so place your orders of NZD$125 or more to receive a free product. Check out my Promotions page.

Until next time …

Five-Three-One Card Design

By | February 6, 2025
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Hi there

Do you ever find a card design and then make multiples of that design? We’ll that’s what I’ve been doing this week.

I saw a simple design by Sue’s Paper Creation’s that is so versatile and it uses those small pieces of Designer Series Paper (DSP) we all have. The card is called a 5-3-1 design – five stips of DSP, three fun images and one sentiment.

I taught these two cards at a recent workshop using the Notecards and Envelopes, Bloom Impressions DSP (Sale-A-Bration product), With You In Mind stamp set (January-April Mini), Everyday Arches dies (Online Exclusive) and the Purple Adhesive-Backed sequins (Sale-A-Bration).

The DSP measures 2cm or 2.5cm x 8cm. Depending on the size of card you’re making you can alter the widths of the DSP to fit the card. I’d cut more strips than I needed as I wanted the ladies to have a choice on paper designs. I got a bit carried away and made an additional three full sized cards with the left over strips of DSP.

For the above and below card I cut a Basic White mat measuring 13.3cm x 9cm and adhered the DSP directly to the mat. I then cut a coloured co-ordinating mat measuring 14.3cm x 10cm and adhered the two together. I don’t mind fussy cutting but if you’re not into that find a small image that can be die cut.

For my last sample I decided to arrange the DSP at different heights – I quite like this look. The Basic White mat is slightly bigger than the previous two cards and measures 13.8cm x 9.5cm.

I hope these cards have inspired you to use up your DSP scraps – have a play with the widths – they could be five different sizes depending on what paper you have.

Until next time …

Floral Delight Suite

By | January 28, 2025
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Hi there

Can you believe it – I almost didn’t buy this suite. What – you’re saying but it’s Yellow. I know – but I was going to purchase the bundle. Sometimes when I see Designer Series Paper (DSP) I think – will I actually use this? Do I like all the patterns? Can I bring myself to cut into it? After purchasing the entire suite I decided my first card needed to use the DSP so I cut into not one sheet but two sheets and one of the vellum. It actually felt good.

The Floral Delight Suite consists of a bundle (stamp and dies), DSP, vellum, ribbon and some cute bee trinkets. If you want to purchase all items use this one code to get everything 164716.

I set myself a challenge when I created this card. Could I use all the elements of this suite on the one card? The answer – yes. My card mat is 10cm x 14.3cm with strips of DSP and vellum measuring 3cm x 13.8cm.

I also sneeked in another new product – the Everyday Arches – one of the new Online Exclusive items. They create a window effect – looking through to the flowers. The stamp set is a ‘two step’ stamp set which helps you build your image with multiple colours. I also stamped the flowers on a scrap bit of cardstock, die cut them and adhered with dimensionals.

There are five sentiments which work well with the ‘wishing’ which can be stamped, stamped and die cut or die cut as I have done here. A good tip when die cuting words like this – use adhesive sheets on the back ot the words – it makes for easy no mess adhering.

To adhere the bee I folded a glue dot in half and placed the bee on top – it covered the glue dot perfectly – then carefully remove the glue dot from it’s backing and adhered it to my project.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this project – there will be more to come from this Suite.

Until next time …

Happy Anniversary – Hearts & Hugs

By | January 19, 2025
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Hi there

Today Phil and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. We had a lovely lunch out at a local cafe and have a dinner booked for later this week – it’s an ‘experience’ and a dinner.

I don’t own any traditional wedding anniversary stamps so normally go with a fun option for Phil’s card. This year I’ve used the Hearts & Hugs bundle. This bundle includes some cute ‘furry’ characters one of which is a mouse. Now I am not a fan of mice in real life, but I must admit the stamped image is rather cute.

I stamped the mouse with Memento Black then coloured it in with Smoky Slate, Pretty In Pink and Poppy Parade Stampin Blends then die cut it with the coordinating die. The dies in this bundle also include flowers, greenery, a banner and hearts. I die cut the hearts (all one die) from the white mat to allow the coloured mat below to show through. As yellow is my favourite colour my flowers are Daffodil Delight.

From now until 28 February we are celebrating Sale-A-Bration – check out my Promotions page to learn more. With every order of NZD$125 or more you can select a FREE product from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. If you like the Hearts & Hugs bundle and added a pack of card stock you would qualify for a Free product. You can place you order via my online store or message me directly.

Until next time …

Welcome to 2025 – new beginnings

By | January 17, 2025
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A new year has begun and with it hopefully new routines. I had good intentions to have regular blog posts in 2024 but life happened and blogging was the first thing to drop by the wayside. 2024 was a rollercoaster of a year – highs (attending OnStage in Melbourne, a wonderful holiday with friends in the South Island) and lows (a major company restructure (thankfully I still have my job), my MIL dying). The biggest low was my Dad being diagnosed with a terminal illness and then dying at the beginning of December.

After having a break at Christmas, I am ready to get back into my crafting. Hopefully I can keep to regular blog posts and get back into having classes – I have missed both of these.

With a new year comes new catalogues. We have a new mini catalogue, a new release of Online Exclusives and a new scrapbooking brochure. To top it off we have Sale-A-Bration happening during January and February.

Now onto my first project for the year. When I received the new mini catalogue the first set that jumped into my cart was the With You In Mind set. This set was inspired by Million Sales Achiever Julie Davison. I love the big font for the sentiment and the five images that can be used with all the sentiments.

I wanted something bright and cheerful to start the year off. I’ve stamped and ‘fussy cut’ the flower image in rainbow colours – Red (Poppy Parade), Orange (Pumpkin Pie), Yellow (Daffodil Delight), Green (Granny Apple Green), Blue (Balmy Blue), Indigo (Blueberry Bushel) and Violet (Gorgeous Grape) – and adhered them with dimensionals. Before adhering them I stamped the sentiment in Memento Black at the bottom allowing room for the rainbow to frame the words.

For the centre of the flowers I used the white sequins from the Purple Adhesive-Backed Sequins which are a FREE Sale-A-Bration product when you place an order of NZD$125 or more between now and 28 February.

Check out my Promotions page to find out more about Sale-A-Bration.

Until next time …

TGIF Challenge – Layout Design

By | March 4, 2024
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Hi there

I don’t know about you but sometimes I struggle to come up with a layout design for a project. That is where challenges are great. There are a couple of types of challenges that I use – a colour combo challenge – where you’re given two or three colours to use or a layout design challenge – this is where you’re given a layout design and you add your own colours and stamps to fit the design. Last month I used a layout design from TGIF Challenges and this is what I came up with.

TGIF Challenge

This was the layout we were given and here’s my template with measurements – so I can use it again.

My first card uses the Earthen Textures bundle (pg 71 of AC) and the second card uses the Pansy Patch stamp and dies (pg 27 of AC)

Earthen Textures Bundle
Pansy Patch stamp and dies

If you want to see how I created these cards check out my Facebook Live – Yellow Bear Stamping On that note – I do a Facebook Live every Monday night at 7pm – I’d love to have you join me.

Until next time …