Dexterous Designs

Sunday, 16 March 2014

Stampin' Up! Uk - The Open Sea meets High Tide DSP

I have been struggling to use the High Tide Designer Series Paper so went back to basics with this one and pulled out The Open Sea stamp set as well. I love the way Stampin' Up! tells us which colours coordinate with the papers - it makes crafting so much easier. I used Calypso Coral, Pacific Point, Smoky Slate and Soft Sky in this card.

I stamped the ship image onto Whisper White card and also a Post-it Note (other sticky papers available!) which I cut out to create a mask of the ship. I covered the stamped image with the mask and stamped the inventory over it. When the mask is removed you are left with the inventory image surrounding the ship.

The sentiment is from the Four You stamp set - I trimmed the card to 1.5cm and then used the Banner Punch (available for FREE in the current Sale-a-bration promotion with purchases over £45) to shape the banner as shown below:

The edges of the stamped pieces and papers from High Tide were sponged with Soft Sky ink and matted on various co-ordinating cardstock. The card was finished with Baker's Twine, shapes from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack and Calypso Coral Candy Dots.

Here are the main Stampin' Up! supplies used to make today's card. Remember you can now order online if you prefer - if you click on the image you will be directed to my online store where you can pop them into your shopping basket. If you would prefer not to order online please either email me or give me a call on07530 368466 and I will be happy to help.

Don't forget that for every £45 (excluding P&P) you spend you can chose a Sale-a-bration item FOR FREE! Sale-a-bration ends on 31 March so DON'T miss out!

Tuesday, 11 March 2014

Stampin' Up! Uk - Happy Watercolour Meets My Digital Studio

I was commissioned to make today's card and the brief was purples and orchids (I have obscured the name - there isn't a random oval on my card!). I was assured by my botanically-minded friends that one of the stamps in the Happy Watercolour stamp set is an orchid so that part was easy.

I loved the Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper when it was released in a promotion back in 2010 so I was thrilled to find it is still available as a download on My Digital Studio (so you can print out as many sheets as you like for just £3.50) - how great is that! I was also able to print out frames for matting in a matching purple (Orchid Opulence - again retired).

Stepper card template - click to enlarge

The base stepper card (template above) was cut and scored using Rich Razzleberry card and the layers added. The floral image was stamped in Black Stazon ink and coloured using Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive markers and a Blender Pen. The layers were cut using the Ovals Collection Framelits.

The sentiment was printed out in Rich Razzleberry and decorated with flowers from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack set and Pearl Basic Jewels. A piece of Whisper White Organza Ribbon was tied in a bow and topped with a piece of Rich Razzleberry Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon.

I made the coordinating envelope using the Envelope Punch Board - such a great tool - and a handmade envelope finishes off your projects nicely.

Here are the main Stampin' Up! supplies used to make today's card. Remember you can now order online if you prefer - if you click on the image you will be directed to my online store where you can pop them into your shopping basket. If you would prefer not to order online please either email me or give me a call on07530 368466 and I will be happy to help.

Don't forget that for every £45 (excluding P&P) you spend you can chose a Sale-a-bration item FOR FREE! Sale-a-bration ends on 31 March so DON'T miss out!

Saturday, 8 March 2014

Stampin' Up! UK - Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack

A change of style for today's card - something far "cleaner"! I love the Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper in this year's Sale-a-bration brochure - although the picture in the brochure does not show just how lovely it is! I have used the DSP, the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder and the Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack to make this card - all available with a purchase of £45 (excluding P&P) as part of the Sale-a-bration promotion.

A piece of Whisper White card was embossed, mattted on Pool Party card and then pieces of the coloured Twine from the kit wound round and secured with Sticky Strip. A piece of DSP was matted onto Crisp Cantaloupe card (again!!). The sentiment is from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set - stamped in Sahara Sand ink. The Bitty Banners Framelits were used to cut both the sentiment and the mat.

Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack

The cork flowers are also from the Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack - they are adhesive backed so super easy to use. The base card is Sahara Sand with Summer Starfruit and Whisper White mats.

Here are the main Stampin' Up! supplies used to make today's card. Remember you can now order online if you prefer - if you click on the image you will be directed to my online store where you can pop them into your shopping basket. If you would prefer not to order online please either email me or give me a call on07530 368466 and I will be happy to help.

The Sale-a-bration products used are each available FREE with a purchase of £45 (excluding P&P) until 31 March 2014.

Thursday, 6 March 2014

Stampin' Up! UK - Sassy Salutations

I seem to be using Crisp Cantaloupe loads at the moment - I just love the colour and it works so well with neutrals. Today's card was for lovely friends of ours who recently got engaged and uses a sentiment from the fabulous Sassy Salutations stamp set. The sentiment was stamped in Soft Suede and cut out using the Apothecary Accents Framelits and matted on Soft Suede card. A piece of Naturals White card was run through the Big Shot using the Honeycomb Embossing Folder and sponged round the edges.

The patterned papers are the Crisp Cantaloupe from the 2013-15 In-Colour Designer Series Paper Stack & Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper. The Large Scallop Edgelit was used to cut a piece of Pistachio Pudding card which was also paper pricked using a template from the Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack and layered under a piece of DSP. A piece of Victoria Crochet Trim and Linen Thread add texture.

The hearts were cut using the Hearts a Flutter Framelits and the whole card sprayed with the Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz (you can see the shine in this photo). Basic Pearl Jewels finished off the card.

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Stampin' Up! UK - The Spiral Flower Die Goes Vintage

Have you seen the Spiral Flower die from Stamping Up yet? I LOVE it - so many possibilities.

I had had this basic idea for a card and it kind of just evolved as I sponged. spritzed and distressed! The colours used on this card are Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Crisp Cantaloupe.

The Tea Lace Paper Doilies are just about the right size to cut using the Spiral Flower die and add a fabulous shabby touch to the flower.

I used 3 doily cuts - one rolled with the Crisp Cantaloupe card and then two wound round the outside. Lots of sponging, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Sptritz and a Pearl Basic Jewel finished off the flower.

The background is the En Francais stamp which I inked with Crumb Cake ink and then spritzed with a spray made from rubbing alcohol and Crisp Cantaloupe re-inker. The Paper Doily Sizzlits was cut from Very Vanilla card and sponged. Burlap Ribbon and Linen Thread were wrapped around the card.

The sentiment is from the Four You stamp set stamped twice using a Stamp-a-ma-jig in Crumb Cake & Crisp Cataloupe ink. The border is from the Creative Elements stamp set cut out using the Apothecary Accents Framelits. The card was finished with lots of sponging and spritzing.

As the card was too thick for a standard envelope I made a box envelope with the Envelope Punch Board - I love this tool - so versatile. It is decorated with a piece of Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper - available FREE with an order of £45 (excluding P&P) or more during Sale-a-bration.

Don't forget that for every £45 (excluding P&P) you spend you can chose a Sale-a-bration item FOR FREE!

Sunday, 2 March 2014

Stampin' Up! Uk - Embossed and Sponged Happy Watercolour

This is such a quick technique but looks really effective. A piece of Whisper White card was masked off using a sticky note. I stamped the floral image from the Happy Watercolour Stamp Set in Versamark and heat embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder. Soft Sky, Pool Party and Smoky Slate ink were then sponged over the image to create a graduated effect.

To add more texture I then stamped the splatters (technical term!) from the Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set over the sponging in the same inks. The sentiment is from the A Round Array Stamp Set and was punched out using the 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch. This was popped up on Dimensionals over a piece of Whisper White Baker's Twine. The card from was matted onto Soft Sky card and a Basic Black card base.

I then made a quick envelope using the Envelope Punch Board - such a versatile piece of kit and a great way to use up retired papers!

Here are the main Stampin' Up! supplies used to make today's card. Remember you can now order online if you prefer - if you click on the image you will be directed to my online store where you can pop them into your shopping basket. If you would prefer not to order online please either email me or give me a call on07530 368466 and I will be happy to help.