Wednesday Wideo - Bloom Where You're Planted

Think this Bloom Where You're Planted suite is my second favourite suite in the new catalogue... 

So... thought I should quickly share the Bloom Where You're Planted Suite video...Just click on the arrow to play...

And as always... do let me know if you would like the co-ordinating Paper, Card, Ribbon & Embellishment kit... £20 posted, £17 collected (OR the co-ordinating Card etc Kit for free with the Suite purchase... but remember to add the Host code) As I really do need an excuse to have to buy these come June!

And here are all the product images...

Starting with the full Suite Collection... so you can buy it all with just one click!

Comprising the Plentiful Plants bundle... with 10% off the whole...

Which includes the Plentiful Plants stamps...

And the Perfect Plants dies...

Then we have the stunning Bloom Where You're Planted Papers... Click here for the sheet by sheet shots... So perfect for my brick and greenery scenery projects!

And.. last but not least... the Paper Lattice

And here are an inspiring set of projects using the Suite... loving these...

Christmas Conservatory Card for Fancy Fold Friday

Remember this creation...

Well I thought it high time to dress my little Conservatory (or Greenhouse) for Christmas...

And we have the perfect papers, Feels Like Frost to do so... so peaceful and christmassy... just perfect!

With the gorgeous topiary care of Beauty & Joy to finish off...

Greeting(s) care of Itty Bitty Christmas... the stamp set that just keeps giving! See bottom right greeting and snip as required! Including the AND A on the door...

Click here for the Card Tutorial... and I used 2 pieces of the same paper to fill in my little scene.... though not much was needed from the second piece...

 Windows and door from (the very sadly) retired Hearth & Home...

Happy Greenfingered Birthday to my Dad!

Wonder if you can guess how old he is today!!?

So I had to make another of these Greenhouse Cards using the Hanging Garden stamp set... as my Dad loves to spend time in their conservatory and potter in the garden so this covered both angles... though I forgot to share this at the time it was made... I am not used to being so organised for family birthdays...

This time I used a Soft Sky card panel for the back to add some colour... though for some reason this colour backing made it very difficult to photo...

And please excuse me for - and ignore the fact that - the wonderful Hearth & Home window dies I used for the main feature are now retired (and no, before anyone asks - mine are definitely not for sale!) - as well as the Soft Sky card colour I used for the back!

Just click here for the Tutorial for the card...

And here are the two versions together... so you can compare and contrast... and do you have any particular preference???

Fiftieth Birthday Conservatory card...

So an up-graded card to last week's Greenhouse card (for which the Tutorial was posted here) for a fellow demo friend... on her special birthday...

I added a bit more furniture... a couple of chairs using the Seasonal Layers dies & the Wood Textures papers... and a Big On Birthdays greeting on the table top...

And a tip... I had to give my chairs legs so that they were the right height! Easy to create from the left over bits from the tables... about 2 cm/3/4" in height...

And then I added the sentiments for the 50th special birthday... from Milestone Moments (Retiring!!)... on both the front of the windows and the flower pots... though you will have to look closely at the flowerpots to see it!

But that is where I came unstuck... as OMG.... I was a whole year early!!! Oh my... what am I like... Luckily she loved it.... and reckons it is even better in the flesh than these photos portray... 

And more importantly in the circumstances... it has thoroughly amused both of us... though I get the feeling that I will NEVER EVER live it down!!! 

Fancy Fold Friday - The Greenhouse Card Tutorial

Otherwise known as the Conservatory card... OR the New Extension card!! And great for a New Home card too...

Well this one proved very popular when I shared it here last weekend... so... by popular request... here is the Tutorial as promised...

Craft Spa Recipe
Thick Whisper White 20 cm x 10 3/8" (7 7/8" x 10 3/8")
Window Sheet 20 cm x 6" (7 7/8" x 6") NOTE - this works best if slightly shy of 6" H
Sahara Sand 14cm x 1 1/2" (5 1/2" x 1 1/2")
Embossing Paste & Soft Suede ink refill
(D) Thick Whisper White 7.4cm x 21 cm (x3) for the windows
(St) Thick Whisper White 6 x 18cm for the 3D'd hanging baskets & plant-pots
where (D) is for die-cutting and (St) is for stamping

Stampin Up Products used
Hearth & Home dies
Hanging Garden stamps
Bookcase Builder stamps
Barn Door stamps

Pattern Party Masks
Embossing Paste & Palette Knives
Wood Textures papers
Window Sheets
A4 Thick Whisper White card
Inks - Memento Black ink; Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Always Artichoke
And Stampin Blends or Many Marvellous Markers for colouring


Craft Spa Tutorial

1.       Mix a few Soft Suede ink drops with the Embossing Paste

2.       Mask & apply the embossing paste to form the bricks

3.       Remove the mask (and quickly clean everything up!)

4.       Leave to dry (I reckoned they were touch dry after 30-40 minutes or so –maybe sooner)

5.       Score large Whisper White panel LANDSCAPE (long side across top) at 1 ½”, 2 ¾”, 4” & 10”

6.       Turn scored card over (so mountain fold to top) and lay down PORTRAIT (short side across top) with the thin/1cm score line to the top

7.       Ink up & stamp the 3 hanging baskets (Memento Black) down from the top score line

TIP: mark along top score line at 7, 10 & 16cm if you want to stamp the baskets equidistant (1 ½”, 3 15/16” & 8 7/8”)… though I have my stamps all lined up on my Stamparatus tool so that it is a quick job for my ladies in class

8.       Optional –for 3D baskets…  Ink up and Memento stamp the 3 hanging baskets again on scrap Thick Whisper White & colour as necessary with Stampin Blends – and fussy cut!! Does look really nice…

9.       OPTIONAL : for 3D pots on the table… Ink up and stamp Cajun Craze pots and Old Olive/Always Artichoke grasses… and fussy cut!

10.   Ink up & stamp Early Espresso Barn Door on a piece of Wood Textures paper

11.   Cut Table as shown below

12.   Die cut 6 Thick Whisper White windows

13.   Make up a door (Quick pictures for you here… but click here for the full door tutorial)
And sorry - I do not know why they have turned on their sides!! But it is the same pic after all...

14.   Make up 2 windows (Again pictures here…but click here for more step by step  - though note that I used a double joining “slat” for this one)

15.   Trim the brick wall piece to 7 cm (2 ¾”)wide (x2)

16.   Grab all your decorative parts… and lets make the card!!

17.   Bone Fold main card -  Bottom Front= Valley, then Peak, then Valley and last one/thin Top Front section = Peak

18.   Pencil mark centre of Bottom Front section 3 cm (1 ¼”) down… and then at 7 and 13cm (2 ¾” & 5 1/8”) across at 3 cm (1 ¼”) down. Cut out notch

19.   Apply Tear & Tape adhesive to back of Top Front/narrow section  & back of Bottom Front ( ie at the top edge to either side of the notch)

20.   Stick in the acetate to top and bottom ( I didn’t but… you may find you need to trim a sliver off the height to get it all to lay flat… depends on your prepping/scoring… )

21. Finish internal decoration... there are also the terracotta pots on the table... but these are missing from this shot as I have made another as a surprise for someone... and they would give the game away...

22.   Stick brick panels to the Bottom Front sides
23.   Stick in windows to left and right hand side

TIPS:-

(a)the tops line up with the top of the card and the bottoms just cover the bricks….. AND
(b) the outside edge of the window moulding (top and bottom) is lined up to the outside edge of the card…so you can see the acetate to the side of the main part of the window… you can trim this if you like…I didn’t bother… keeps the card stronger that way

24.   Stick in door so that it covers the windows very slightly to left & right (well that’s the plan!!)

And the eagle eyed will have noticed a slight addition to the internal decoration in this tutorial... but more on that another day... again a surprise...