January Mediterranean Achievers Blog Hop . . . All you need is LOVE!

Welcome to the Grand Vacation Achievers Blog Hop for January. This month our theme is All You Need Is Love. We are sure that you will find some incredible inspiration from the projects that you are about to see. 

You may just be starting the blog hop here at my blog or may have come from the person previous to me in the list. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you see all the projects. 

At the moment you are visiting Bec Ross. 

You know,  think I might be just about the only Stampin' Up! Demonstrator who didn't purchase the Love Blossoms suite of products from the Occasions catalogue! So when it came to this "All you need is love" themed blog hop, I had to look elsewhere for some love themed stamps. What I discovered is that almost all the other stamps that I did purchase could work really well for a Valentines card. Many of the sets in that catalogue can cater for a variety of occasions within just one stamp set!

I decided to go with the Balloon Builders stamp set once I spotted the heart shaped balloon.  The set even has a great love themed sentiment.

When it came to colour choices I decided on Rose Red in an effort to show that colour some love after a long period of 'neglect' - I think it has been well over 6 months of not being used on my projects! Oops!  I teamed it up with Soft Sky as well as Sahara Sand - a great neutral colour. 

Although the Balloon Bouquet punch coordinates with the Balloon Builders stamp set, it doesn't punch out the heart shape so I hand-cut those with my paper snips (best scissors ever for that sort of work!)

Do you like the spotty background? I sponged some Soft Sky ink onto the Color Me Irresistible Specialty paper - since I didn't have any ready-made soft sky patterned paper, this was a good alternative and a fun technique.

Something that I have found to be very beneficial when using photopolymer stamps is the Stampin' Pierce Mat underneath the Card stock that I'm stamping onto.  I have found this makes a huge difference in getting a nice clean image.  If you ever have trouble getting your photopolymer stamps to stamp nicely, try that mat underneath - I'm sure it will help.  I have one mat for piercing (so its full of holes! lol!) and the other one I keep for stamping only, so its nice and smooth for a good result.

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Thanks for taking part in our blog hop, there are so many amazing ideas and inspiration you don't want to miss. Remember that currently you are at my blog -Bec Ross - so check the blog hop line up list to see who is next in the list

Bright Balloon Builders!

Loving these brightly coloured balloons! So much cute. :-)

I tried a new way to watermark - on my phone!  But I think I like the one I do via my computer better...

Planning to make a Valentine's card with the heart shaped balloon from this set next, stay tuned!

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Stamp Club Gifts

The first session of this round of our Stamp Clubs was held on Sunday and to welcome the ladies to this round of club I gave them a little gift:

A mixed pack of 6x6 designer series papers and a little book of post-it notes. 

The tags were created with the Watercolour Wings stamp set and the 2014-2016 set of In-Colour inks.  I also added some of the Gold Wink of Stella around the edges.  

I just love these multi-step stamp sets - its so much fun to experiment with different colour combinations and layering.  

I hope my club ladies enjoy using their papers and post-its :-)

Our next round of clubs will start in June when the new Annual catalogue comes out - contact me if you are interested in joining one of our clubs!  We make a couple of fun projects at each monthly gathering and each person take a turn at being the "host" which means they get FREE STUFF!!  Its a really great way to spread out your purchases over a few months too.

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Rose Garden "inlay" Technique

 I've used the gorgeous new Rose Garden thinlits dies with this "inlay" technique to create this fun and pretty card.

I cut the rose from the gold foil sheets and used the Big Shot Die Brush to remove all the little pieces.  Then I cut the same rose from the Perfectly Artistic Designer Series Paper (available as a free product during sale-a-oration right now). I glued the gold rose outline down (using the fine tip glue pen) and then laid in all the little pieces from the pink designer paper into the spaces.  It was a little bit fiddly but really not too bad!

Before I glued the rose down, I stamped the leaves from the Rose Wonder stamp set in Wild Wasabai ink.  I also stamped the sentiment in Wild Wasabi and cut it out with the matching die.  This bundle coordinates just perfectly!

My stamp club ladies will be making this card on Sunday :-)

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Have a cuppa card

The Cup & Kettle Framelits dies and the A Nice Cuppa stamp set combine to make some super cute projects!  The colour combination from the Have a Cuppa Designer Series Paper Stack is bright and happy and the Have a Cuppa Embellishments added that little something special.

Don't you just love the sparkle in the Pool Party Glitter Ribbon? I've also added some subtle shimmer on the tea cup with the Wink of Stella Glitter Brush.

My layout was inspired by this week’s Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge (MOJO430).

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It's my 15 year wedding anniversary today :-)

Here is the card I made for my husband.  He likes clean and simple rather than "fussy-la-la" so I think this card is just right.  

I've used the Going Global stamp set and World Traveller embossing folder (again!)

The banner behind the sentiment was made using the Going Places Designer series paper and the Triple Banner Punch.  

The "world" on which I stamped the sentiment was created with a stamp in Old Olive but I 'stamped off' once first to make the ink lighter and more blotchy. Then I lightly sponged some Soft Sky ink to create the water.  I used dome dimensional to layer it up.

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Birthday Blooms and Birthday Bouquet

I really enjoy simple cards. As much as I love fancy techniques, fussy cutting, heat embossing, brayered backgrounds etc, you just can't beat a simple design and simple technique when it comes to building up a stash of cards to have on hand.

This card using simple watercoloring with ink from the ink pads, aqua painter and the shimmery white card stock.  A 3x3 inch square of Birthday Bouquet designer series paper and a snippet of doily completes this simple layout.

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World Traveller - my new favourite folder!

I am so loving this new embossing folder!  What a quick and easy card this was - the background does all the work :-)

Simply use a brayer to apply ink to the INSIDE of the folder and then run it through the Big Shot. (You could also use a sponge or just swipe the ink pad directly into the folder for a bolder, more inky look)

When you are finished with your inky embossing folder you can simply run it under the tap and the ink will wash right off.

The Happy Birthday sentiment came from the Age Awareness stamp set and the designer paper strip is from Going Places Designer Series Paper Stack.

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Party Wishes for boys and girls

Once a month I run a Stamp-a-Stack class where we make multiples of 3 different card designs. Where suitable I like to offer the designs in some different colour options to suit different people. This Friday we are focussing on birthdays and what better set to use than the brand new Party Wishes?! :-)

Attendees will be able to make both options so suit their different recipients.

Stamp-a-stack classes are fabulous for building up your stash of cards quickly, as well as learning some simple techniques such as embossing and sponging as seen in these to cards.  We like to stick to simple techniques at these classes as we are making 9 cards in 2 hours.

If you would like to attend my class this week (or any other time) please visit my events calendar for more information and to RSVP.

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