TGIF Challenge – Layout Design

By | March 4, 2024

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 …

Pop Out Swing Card – Trucking Along

By | February 22, 2024

Hi there

The saying goes ‘don’t reinvent the wheel’ so I’m putting that into practice in my crafting. Rather than coming up with a new card design I’ve gone back into my archives and selected a card style I’ve made many times before. This time I’m adapting the card to use current product to achieve a similar result.

Trucking Along Fun Fold

Once I knew the design I wanted the next thing was ‘what elements will I use?’ I tried the Trusty Tools but they were too big for the size of my square (Stylish Shapes dies). I looked on my desk and found the truck, already coloured, and it fit perfectly. The next question was ‘what colour card base will I use?’ Out came the colour coach but none of the combinations looked right so I used another tool My Create Ink and chose Pool Party. Full steam ahead and my card is created. The sentiment is from Phrases for All.

Trucking Along Fun Fold

To create the circle ‘tab’ I folded a piece of Pool Party cardstock in half and using the smallest circle die from the Stylish Shapes cut it out. By placing the die a little bit over the fold you end up with two circles joined together by the fold – creating a tab. You can then adhere this to the square mat.

Trucking Along Fun Fold

Check out my previous cards by clicking here, here and finally here which has the measurements. I hope these cards inspire your to recreate with products you have on hand.

Until next time …

Bee My Valentine Alternative

By | February 6, 2024

Hi there

Well I haven’t been good at starting my new habit for 2024 of blogging more often – oops. I must admit by the end of the day I haven’t really wanted more screen time so have been enjoying reading over the summer.

Have you seen the Bee Mine Suite in the current mini catalogue? The bees are so cute and the sentiments are perfect for not only Valentine’s Day cards but wedding anniversary cards. Phil and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary last month so this was the set I used for his card. My parents have their 65th wedding anniversary on Valentine’s Day so I’ve created a card for Dad to give Mum using this same set.

This is the card I made for Phil which features the Bokeh technique for the background. It’s been ages since I used this technique. I’ve used a mix of Balmy Blue, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana and Azure Afternoon ink applied with Blending Brushes before adding White Craft ink with a dauber to create the ‘blur’ of the technique. Check out my Facebook Live from Monday 22 January to see how I did this technique. The bees wings have been heat embossed in white on Vellum before being punched out with the Bee Builder Punch.

This is the card Dad chose to give to Mum – love the sentiment. I’ve used the new Everyday Details dies to create a frame for my scene in the background. The scene is stamped on a separate piece of Basic White and adhered directly to the card base. The Basic White card front has then had largest die die cut from the centre to create the window. To create the frame I cut a piece of Poppy Parade measuring 2 7/8″ x 4 3/8″ then die cut the largest die from the centre and adhered it on top of the Basic White card front. This is then adhered with dimensionals to the card base.

This is a similar card design although this time I’ve made it a shaker card. I’ve used Adhesive Strips and Window Sheet to keep my Loose Silver Sequins intact. The background Designer Series Paper (DSP) is from the Bee Mine Suite. If you’d like to see how I made this shaker card check out my Facebook Live for Monday 15 January.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these cards and give these techniques a go yourself. I do a regular Monday Facebook Live at 7pm NZT and would love you to join me over on my business page – Yellowbear Stamping.

Until next time …

Bee Mine Suite - Wedding Anniversary cards

Sale-A-Bration is here plus a new Mini Catalogue

By | January 4, 2024

Hi there

Welcome to 2024 and a fresh year ahead. I saw a post on Facebook the other day asking what New Year Resolutions people had made. I personally don’t make New Year Resolutions but I did like one persons reply – make new habits instead of resolutions. So my new habit for 2024 is to blog more often. I hope I can make this habit stick.

January is a busy month in the Stampin’ Up! world – we have a new mini catalogue that started today and goes through until 30 April 2024. It’s filled with amazing products and ideas. If you haven’t received a copy yet please message me and I’ll send you one. In the meantime check out the pdf version via my Catalogues page or from the sidebar on my home page.

As mentioned in my blog title it’s Sale-A-Bration time too – one of our biggest promotions of the year. There are three ways to benefit from Sale-A-Bration during January and February – Shop, Host and Join. Shop – earn FREE products with every NZD$110 you spend and there are special products available when you spend NZD$220. Check out my Catalogues page to download the brochure to see the products.

Host – gather some friends together for a workshop with me where we’ll make two projects and you could receive an additional NZD$57.50 to spend on product when your personal or group orders total NZD$575.

Join – join my Stampin’ Up! team during January and February and in addition to your Starter Kit (NZD$285 worth of product for only NZD$189) you get to choose one of the two FREE bonus options – a Glass Mat Studio or an additional NZD$57 in product. I’d love to have you join me and be part of the amazing Stampin’ Up! community.

If you have any questions about Shop, Host or Join please contact me for more details.

I’ll be starting my weekly Facebook Lives on Monday 8 January at 7pm NZT – I’d love to have you join me – https://www.facebook.com/yellowbearstamping

Until next time …

Masculine cards in Blue

By | November 6, 2023

Hi there

Back in September I participated in a 14 day Social Media challenge on Facebook and since then I’ve been trying to build up my presence on my business Facebook page. I’d love to have you join and follow me there. I am now going to try and incorporate posting here again too as I know not everyone is on Facebook and I’d hate for you to miss out on seeing my creations and what’s new in Stampin’ Up!

One of the biggest challenges during the 14 days was to do a Facebook Live – eek I’d never done one before but I stepped out of my comfort zone and actually enjoyed doing it. I am now doing a regular Monday Live at 7pm (NZT) and would love for you to join me. Unfortunately I had a prior engagement tonight so am posting a project rather than making it ‘Live’.

On a Friday I ask a ‘this or that’ question which will determine what I create on a Monday. My question was ‘which colour do you go to when creating a masculine card – blues or neutrals?’ Blues won hands down so here are some cards which I hope will inspire you.

None of my family are into fishing but I really liked the Let’s Go Fishing Designer Series Paper (DSP). One side is ‘fishing’ and the other is designs of blues and neutrals. The Twisted Rope 3D Embossing Folder goes really well with this paper. The banner is cut from two of the largest banner dies from Nested Essentials – the join is hidden under the sentiment. The sentiment mats are also from the Nested Essentials dies. I’m not sure what shape this is but I’m calling it an elongated hexagon. I’ve used Boho Blue and Misty Moonlight with a Thick Basic White base.

For this card I’ve used a different design of paper and cut three panels measuring 4.5cm x 9.7cm. Before adding it to the mat (10cm x 14.3cm) I’ve run each panel through the Stampin’ Cut and Emboss machine using the Timeworn Type 3D Embossing Folder. This gives an added texture to the paper. The sentiment is from Phrases for All and is adhered to the largest tag from Tailor Made Tags.

These designs are a great way to use up your DSP and can be used for masculine or feminine cards.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these cards and give them a try yourself.

Don’t forget to pop on over to my business Facebook page – I’d love to have you follow me there.

Until next time…

Patchwork Crafting With You

By | August 20, 2023

Hi there

I’ve had so much fun creating projects with the Crafting With You bundle. Here are two more cards I made to share at the recent crafting retreat I attended.

I made this card for my Sister-in-law who had a birthday yesterday. She has made some amazing patchwork quilts so when I saw this idea on Pinterest (thanks Marcie Besecker) I knew I had to recreate it. I cut my squares from the various designs of the Countryside Inn DSP and adhered them to a piece of copy paper. Before adhering them I had a play with the positioning – it changed a number of times. I adhered the DSP to a piece of Night of Navy cardstock that was slightly bigger to create the binding. I love the texture on the cotton spools – the die cuts and embosses at the same time.

When I was creating the jotta pad table gifts for the retreat I’d been playing around with various colour combos. I decided to use the ‘trials’ to create a card similar to the jotta pad. The paint brush outlines were stamped in Crumb Cake so to add some colour I used my Stampin’ Blends on the handles and brush tips.

Don’t forget we have our Kit sale on this month – ends 31st August. I’m going to purchase a couple of kits and put them aside for when I have my Christmas holiday. These kits are all inclusive – way easier to pack a small box that trying to remember to pack all the bits and pieces to create cards. Check out my post here about our kits.

If you’d like to place an order you can do so via my online store or contact me directly.

Until next time …

Crafting With You – Weekend Retreat Projects

By | August 9, 2023

Hi there

Last month I attended a weekend craft retreat with 9 others. We had a great weekend and I came away with lots of samples and ideas. We each taught a project and for those of us that participated in the swap we used the same stamp for our swap. I used the Crafting With You bundle (page 91). I also made my table gifts with this set. The Crafting With You bundle covers a number of ‘crafts’ – painting, sewing/knitting and paper crafting so I featured these across my projects.

For my table gift I covered and decorated a jotta pad going with the ‘painting’ theme.

Crafting With You bundle

For my swap I went with the sewing/knitting items in this bundle.

Crafting With You bundle

I went through a few iterations for the layout of this card and finally settled on the above. To colour the flowers in the ‘hoop’ I used daubers carefully applying the different coloured ink. The spools of thread are so cute – it’s a bit hard to see in the photo but the coloured bits are textured.

For my project that I taught (and the others got to make) I used the rest of the elements from this bundle – the paper crafting items.

Crafting With You bundle

This is a fun fold ‘book fold’ card – one of my favourites (you can see some other designs here and here). There is very little stamping on this card and quite a bit of die cutting. I love the paper trimmer and scissors. To create the side panel I used one of the dies from the Beautiful Balloons bundle (page 15) and threated a strip of cardstock in between the slits for a ribbon effect. Instead of using normal ‘bling’ for the embellishments I used the Enamel Effects Basics Metallic of copper, gold or silver. If you’ve missed this product check it out on page 137.

To recreate these projects hop on over to my online store to purchase this great bundle.

Until next time …

Kits Sale – up to 30% off

By | August 2, 2023

Kits are an easy and economical way to try crafting – that’s how I started my crafting journey, over 12 years ago. Kits are fun, quick and easy, and all-inclusive so there’s nothing extra to buy. For the month of August you can save up to 30% on amazing kits from the Kits Collection by Stampin’ Up! What are you waiting for? Start shopping and crafting as this is a limited time offer you won’t want to miss.

You can place your order via my online store or contact me directly.

24-Hour Stamp Sale – 19 July

By | July 18, 2023

Do you find yourself staring at multiple stamp sets from the 2023–2024 Annual Catalogue and can’t decide which ones to get? You won’t have to stare for much longer because tomorrow – 19 July 2023, you can get those stamp sets you’ve been wanting at a 15% discount! Be sure to place your order on the 19th via my online store or message me directly – don’t wait as this lightning deal will only last for one day, so make sure you are ready to shop ‘til you drop! This is definitely a deal you don’t want to miss out on. PLUS for every NZD$110 you spend (excluding shipping), you will receive an NZD$11 Bonus Days coupon, which can be redeemed in August for extra savings

Please note that this sale does exclude host stamp sets.

Timeless Charm – Online Exclusives and updated Clearance Rack

By | July 6, 2023

Hi there

You’ll want to check out my Online Store today as we have the latest release of Online Exclusives plus the Clearance Rack has also been updated. Don’t forget for every NZD$110 you spend during July you earn a NZD$11 voucher to redeem in August.

Last month I mentioned that we’d had a team training day and I shared four of the cards we made. Today I have the final card we made which uses one of the new bundles from the Online Exclusives. It’s called Timeless Charm. We’ve also used two circle punches which were in the first Online Exclusive release back in March – check out the links below to find them in my Online Store.

This is a simple but effective card and the design could be used for all sorts of stamps and dies that you currently own.  To create the three circle rings punch the smallest circle (1 3/4″) from a piece of cardstock 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″, then using the next size up (2″), centre the hole within the bigger punch and punch.  This creates the ‘ring’.  Repeat again with the 2 3/8″ punch.  Using a selection of embossing folders, emboss the rings.  The flower and greenery images have been die cut from Basic White using the Timeless Charm dies.  Using Stampin’ Blends you can colour your images whatever colour you want.  You could die cut a whole lot of these to have on hand to create quick and simple cards.  The sentiment has been heat embossed using the Timeless Charm stamp set.

Supplies used for this project include:
Stamp and Dies – Timeless Charm Bundle
Cardstock – Basic White, Gray Granite and Basic Gray
Other – 1 3/4″2″ and 2 3/8″ Circle Punches, White Embossing Powder, VersaMark, Heat Tool, Embossing Folders

If you’ve got items on your ‘shopping list’ July is a good month to shop as you earn Bonus Day coupons which you can redeem in August.

Let me know if you have any questions or want to place an order.

Until next time …

Bonus Days are here again

By | July 5, 2023

We’re bringing back one of our favourite promotions—BONUS DAYS! Because do you know what’s a great deal? Getting rewarded for all the crafting supplies you’re already going to buy! When you shop between 6–31 July and spend $110 NZD you will earn a $11 NZD coupon! Make sure you save all your coupons because you can redeem them (and we mean ALL of them) between 1–31 August.

  • Earn a $11 NZD coupon for every $110 NZD spent (before shipping and tax) between 6 July and 31 July.
  • All coupon codes will be emailed right after a qualifying purchase has been made. You can place an order via my online store or contact me directly with your order. I’ll then forward you your coupon codes.
  • If you earn multiple codes from a single order, you will receive one email with multiple codes. If you earn multiple codes from multiple orders, you will receive separate emails for each code earned.
  • There is no limit to the number of coupon codes you can earn per order or throughout the duration of the earning period.

If you have any questions please contact me.

Four Card Projects from team training day

By | June 25, 2023

Hi there

I hope you’ve had a good weekend. Yesterday I was fortunate to spend the day with 39 other demonstrators. We created four projects using new products from the 2023-2024 Annual Catalogue. We had a fun day with lots of laughs, chatting and plenty of crafting. This will be a longer post as I have four cards to share so grab a cuppa and enjoy.

Card One – It’s A Science – page 80

A fun card involving a couple of techniques – dry and heat embossing. Unfortunately the camera hasn’t captured the true colour of the cardstock. In the top left we have Highland Heather embossed with the dots from the Basics 3D Embossing Folders; top right is Fresh Freesia with the crosshatch design also from the Basics 3D Embossing Folders; bottom left is Fresh Freesia with Stripes 3D folder and bottom right we have Gorgeous Grape with Metal Plate 3D. The Basic 3D Embossing Folders come in a pack of 3 and are part of our new Online Exclusive offerings. (These items are not part of any printed catalogue but can be viewed via my Online store).

Card Two – Earthen Elegance Suite – page 70-71

It’s hard to tell from the photo but this card uses a 6×6 piece of Designer Series Paper (DSP) to create the card front. It uses all the elements of the suite – stamps, dies, designer series paper and embellishments. Doesn’t the pot look cool – this is die cut from the DSP. I love the colours in this suit and can’t wait to have a play with this suite.

Card Three – Textured Floral – page 65

This is a bundle I had overlooked in the catalogue so it’s nice to have a sample. The colours work really well together – Pool Party, Wild Wheat, Night of Navy, Mossy Meadow and Lost Lagoon. The ‘script’ image is from Quiet Meadow on page 66. The sentiment is from the new Wonderful Thoughts bundle on page 41. This set has 14 sentiments with coordinating dies which give a ‘fussy cut’ effect. The ribbon is the 2023-2024 In-Color Jute Trim. The jute has three strands and is easy to separate if you don’t want the thickness of the full jute. I love the crimped effect you get when separating the threads.

Card Four – Countryside Inn Suite – page 62-63

I’m loving this suite – who would have thought a single stamp could be so versatile? Again we’ve used all elements of the suite for this card – stamp, dies, DSP and embossing folder. The Boho Blue mat has been dry embossed with the Countryside Blossoms Embossing Folder. To give the design some more definition we gently ‘swiped’ a White Craft ink pad across the cardstock. We had the option to add dimensionals to one of the layers – I decided to make my top layer the raised layer. The sentiment is from the Lasting Joy set on page 64. Even though this set is not part of the suite the style of font goes really well with the DSP.

I have one more card to share but you’ll have to wait a few more days to see that. Thanks to our wonderful presenters – Jacque, Angela and Madeline.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these projects. If you would like to purchase any of the products so you can recreate these projects yourself, click on the links in the headings to visit my online store or contact me directly.

Until next time …

Circle Sayings Cupcake Card

By | June 20, 2023

Hi there

As promised here is the second project we made at my recent workshop. This project features the Circle Sayings Bundle and the Bright & Beautiful 6″x6″ DSP. I’m loving this paper pack and have almost gone through a whole pack since the beginning of May. Don’t forget you have until 30 June to get 15% off selected Designer Series Paper – click here for more info.

I CASE’d this card from Denise Cox – why reinvent the wheel when you see something you like – thanks Denise for your inspiration. I did make a few measurement changes so that the design would fit on a Notecard and used a different colour combo.

Aren’t these cool? The Bright & Beautiful DSP uses all the new and returning core colours bar Pecan Pie. You really can’t go wrong with this paper pack. There are so many colours and designs and there really isn’t a design/colour combo I haven’t used.

The measurements for this card are – mat is 2 7/8″ square of Blueberry Bushel; DSP is 2 3/4″ square and a 3 3/8″ x 4 7/8″ piece of Basic White. I find it’s best to stamp your sentiment before adhering your project together. The sentiment is from Circle Sayings and is stamped in Blueberry Bushel – I do love this blue.

With Photopolymer stamps being ‘see through’ I’ve found it’s easier to punch the circle then stamp. You can then line your image/greeting up to fit inside the circle or shape your stamping on. To get a good image when using photopolymer stamps I recommend placing a Stampin’ Pierce Mat (page 151) under your cardstock before stamping. There are so many image and sentiment combinations in this set – I can see it being a favourite.

On a scrap piece of Basic White we stamped our cupcake image in Memento Black then coloured it in with a range of Stampin Blends. These are alcohol markers and tend to ‘bleed’ through the cardstock so it’s good to have it as a separate image to be adhered. To create the DSP banner we used the Banners Pick A Punch.

As with the previous project this design can be quickly transferred to a full size card by adding a mat. I also stepped it up by adhering the cupcake with dimensionals and adding some embellishments. When using Notecards you can’t have them to0 raised as they fit snuggly in the envelope.

If you would like to recreate this project click on the links above which will take you to my online store or you can message me directly.

Until next time …

Countryside Inn Suite and Lasting Joy Notecards

By | June 19, 2023

Hi there

Last weekend I held a workshop with my group of ladies and we created two projects – one using the Countryside Inn Suite and Lasting Joy and one using the Circle Sayings Bundle along with the DSP from the Bright & Beautiful Suite. We had a great afternoon crafting together.

The Countryside Inn Suite includes the beautiful Countryside Inn 12″x12″ Designer Series Paper in a range of ‘blues’ – Balmy Blue, Misty Moonlight, Boho Blue and Night of Navy; the Countryside Corners stamp; the coordinating Countryside Corners dies and the lovely Countryside Blossoms Embossing Folder. The stamp is a single stamp and when paired with the dies allows you to create six different border frames or combinations thereof. There are six nesting dies and one banner die in this set – a must to be added to your craft stash even if you don’t buy the stamp. The stamp and dies also come as a bundle which saves you 10%. Now onto our first project.

As mentioned above the Countryside Corners stamp is a single stamp. From the image below you can see it has six different sized border images which you can die cut with the corresponding sized die to give you six ‘frames’.

The image was stamped in Misty Moonlight then with the nested dies on top we ran it through the die cutting machine to get our six frames. Placing the largest and third largest die on our DSP we cut two frames – with the DSP being double sided flipping the inner frame gave us two designs from the one piece of DSP. After arranging the ‘frames’ on top of the DSP this was adhered to the Notecard. For the centre we die cut the smallest frame from Basic White and stamped our sentiment and image from Lasting Joy which coordinates nicely with this Suite. As we no longer have Basic Pearls we used the White Pearlized Enamel Effects for the flower centers.

This design can also be used for a full sized card by adding a mat. I ran a piece of Misty Moonlight cardstock through the embossing machine using the Countryside Blossoms Embossing Folder and adhered the ‘frames’ to the mat with dimensionals.

If you would like to purchase any of the products used in this project click on the links which will take you to my online store or message me directly.

Check back tomorrow for the second project featuring the Circle Sayings Bundle.

Until next time …