Some Pretty Petals projects CASED from the Stampin' Up! Catalogue and some pretty good deals to be had too!

Today I have another couple of versions of the Six-sided Sampler card that is on page 105 of the Stampin' Up! 2015-16 Annual Catalogue, similar to my recent CASE that I based my team training swaps on.

Here is the original card that is in the Catalogue. I think it is so pretty:

And here are the CASED versions I showed you recently, that I made for my Inspiration Station based on the Go Wild Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack. (The second of these photographs shows my 3x3" swaps.):

I so love the layout of the Stampin' Up! card and I really wanted to try it in other colourways. I recently bought a stack of the 6x6" (15.2x15.2cm) Pretty Petals DSP, which, like the Go Wild stack has a matching cardstock pack to go with it. The DSP Stack has 48 sheets of gorgeously patterned papers (4 sheets each of 12 double-sided designs) for a bargain £7.25/9,75€. The Pretty Petals A4 Cardstock Pack has 8 sheets each of Calypso Coral, Old Olive and Mint Macaron (so 24 A4 sheets in total, for £6.50/8,50€) - perfect for making multiples of your projects and for getting the most out of your paper stacks too!

I have been itching to use the Pretty Petals papers ever since I got it, but haven't had a chance until now - here is what I made yesterday:

Aren't those patterns just gorgeous - and I've only used a few of them in these two cards. I decided to just use three punched hexagons of the paper on the Mint Macaron card - mainly because I couldn't decide which of the remaining gorgeous patterns to use for the two extra hexagons - there are so many fabulous combinations and they all look good!

I used the Silver Metallic Thread, Silver Glimmer Paper and Silver Glitter Adhesive on these ones, instead of the gold, as per the black and white cards above. I also used Very Vanilla as the mat layer on the card, as the Pretty Petals DSP is vanilla-based instead of white-based. I love how muted and vintage these look with the use of the Very Vanilla and I wonder why I don't seem to use Very Vanilla more often in my projects? Silly really, as it gives such a nice, soft look, don't you think?

I am going to use these as one of my next class projects. I will make an Old Olive version when I demonstrate to my class attendees how to make them, so that they can choose which of the three base colours they prefer. I might even offer them the option of making the Go Wild black/white/taupe version too!  I love how just one example shown in the catalogue, has inspired so many versions of effectively the same card, but with such different outcomes. Just goes to show how versatile Stampin' Up! Products are and how beautifully they coordinate with each other!

Which one is your favourite? I'm not sure I can decide!

Here are a couple of close-up shots to show you the butterflies in more detail - I have used the Bold Butterfly Framelits SO much since I got them, they are so pretty and so useful:

I love how the Silver Glimmer Paper, Glitter Adhesive and Metallic Thread shine so prettily in these photographs. They really are that shiny in real life - sometimes it can be hard to capture just how shiny they are in photographs. It was such a dull and gloomy day yesterday; I had to resort to using my daylight lamp when taking these pictures, rather than my usual preference of diffused, natural daylight. A happy "accident" perhaps? - They do say that things happen for a reason! Hehe!

Talking of happy things - today we have a new set of Weekly Deals out! Again, there is only a limited stock of each item, so once that item's allocation has sold out, the deal price will no longer be available and the item will revert to its normal, full catalogue price.  So hurry up and place that order if you don't want to miss out on the discounted prices! I think that there are some fantastic products this week. Come and take a look:

I have the Stars Framelits and have used them so much - and not just for Christmas projects. Having seen what is in this week's deals, I have had an idea for a card that uses the Stars Framelits and the Every Day Chic Designer Washi Tape, plus the Metal Rimmed Pearls... so come back soon and see what I come up with!

To buy any of these Weekly Deals items click here and you will go to my online shop. Remember to add the host code of FQZ4JER4 (for this and any other online purchases from me before 31 July 2015) and I will send you a thank you gift in the post in August. To get your gift, you will have to make sure that you un-check the "no contact" option, otherwise I will not be given your contact details and will not know to whom or to where to send your gift! If you have any questions, please do contact me to ask and I shall be happy to help!

Thank you for taking the time to visit and read my blog post today. I do hope you have been inspired to go and do some crafting yourself. Do leave me a comment, as I would love to hear what you think of today's projects.

So, until next time, happy stamping everybody!

Lucy x

First play with my Watercolour Wings stamp set and a Colour Challenge!

I have totally fallen in love with my brand new Watercolor Wings stamp set which arrived this week. I adore butterflies and this set is just so versatile and full of potential! The butterflies are simply stunning... swoon!

This gorgeous two-step stamp set comprises of a total of 15 stamps, for you to make several designs of two differently-sized butterflies, three sentiments and a couple of dotty patterns. As it is a photopolymer set, it is really easy to line up the different "layers" of the butterflies (without the need for a Stamp-a-majig!). 

Here are the stamps in the set:

Watercolor Wings Photopolymer Stamp Set 139424 £23.00/31,00€

You can buy the stamp set on its own, or as a bundle, with the Bold Butterfly Framelit Dies, which will save you 15%. (140232 £32.50/44,00€) They also co-ordinate with the Butterfly Thinlits too. However, today I decided to just use the stamps on their own to make a card:

The colours used are Calypso Coral, Night of Navy and Tip Top Taupe. I love how the stamps are designed to look a bit patchy on purpose to give a water-coloured look, with no need for a paintbrush! I inked up the more solid, base stamp of the larger butterfly with Calypso Coral and then stamped it off first onto my grid paper to give it a paler look on the Very Vanilla card layer. Next was the edged-wing stamp which was straight-up Calypso Coral; then the spots and splodges wing pattern stamp was inked with Night of Navy. The butterfly bodies and antennae plus the trios of dots in the background of the card were all stamped in Tip Top Taupe.

I chose the colours to go in the Always Playing With Paper Challenge #38 colour challenge which asked for coral, navy and kraft inks. I think that Tip Top Taupe falls under the Kraft category, don't you?

 Of course I couldn't leave the inside of the card undecorated, could I? 

I had such a fun afternoon playing with this glorious stamp set. I even stamped up the smaller butterflies in the same colour-combo too onto a 5cm wide strip of Very Vanilla Cardstock too. Aren't they gorgeous? I haven't decided yet whether to make this panel into a bookmark or to add it onto a card base - I am waiting for my Ornate Tag Topper Punch to arrive (which I bought at a reduced price in last week's Weekly Deals) so I think I might use that when it arrives and turn it into a bookmark. I think it would make a beautiful gift tag too - decisions, decisions... what to do? See, I told you this stamp set was versatile, didn't I? And as usual I have more ideas whizzing around my head than time to make them all!

Hope you have enjoyed seeing my first projects made with this fabby-tastic stamp set, I am SURE that you will be seeing many more butterflies here in the next few weeks and months. I think it will become one of my "go-to" stamp sets for all sorts of occasions and it will definitely feature in a class or two I think, so watch this space!

Well, that's it for today, I'm off to make some more butterflies in different colours... Until next time, happy crafting everyone!

Lucy x