Global Stamping Friends Blog Hop - Holidays

Hi crafters,

As it's the first Friday of the month, the Global Stamping Friends team are showcasing projects in our monthly blog hop.  We are a group of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators from around the world.  Our theme for November is holidays.  If you've hopped from Lisa Ann's fabulous post, you are on the right track.  There is also a full list of participants at the end of this post.   

There was only one stamp set calling me for this theme and that was Gnome For The Holidays!  I love these cute images and have two projects to share.  

For my first project I made a standard card using Thick Whisper White cardstock.  I added a panel of the Trimming The Town DSP to the front which had been run through the Evergreen 3D Embossing Folder and inked with Old Olive ink.  This is fairly tricky to capture in a photo.  I added some snow banks using one of the dies from the Coming Home bundle and then highlighted the change in depths using a Balmy Blue Stampin' Blend.  I stamped the Gnome image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured using Stampin' Blends.  I used Old Olive, Balmy Blue, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight, Smoky Slate and Ivory.  I fussy cut the image and didn't include the mistletoe on the end of the gnome's hat.  I used the Home Together Dies again and used night of Navy, Balmy Blue and Old Olive cardstock for the small house.  I stamped the sentiment onto Whisper White cardstock in Night of Navy ink and then die cut using the largest label in the Snow Time Dies.  I outlined the sentiment by drawing inside the smaller label die in the same die set.  I used Stampin' Dimensionals for the sentiment label and the gnome.  

The second project was much more involved!  I was inspired by a video from Jennifer McGuire to make a card with a belly band ornament.  Please check out Jennifer's video because it's really informative and Jennifer is a crafting genius!

I started by creating a gatefold card using Whisper White cardstock.  I used the Envelopes Dies on each of the gatefold flaps.  I added a section of DSP from the 'Tis The Season pack behind each of die cut sections.  Next I went about creating my ornament.  I used Cherry Cobbler cardstock and the Laying Circles Dies to create the body of the ornament.  I cut six of these circles, gluing three together to create the two sides of the ornament.  I adhered these together, only gluing at the top and bottom so that the belly band could slide through the ornament.  I cut a smaller circle from the same die set in Whisper White cardstock and embossed this with the Pinewood Planks 3D Embossing Folder.  Next it was the turn of the Gnome For The Holidays images.  I stamped these onto Whisper White cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with Stampin' Blends in Cherry Cobbler, Shaded Spruce, Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede, Ivory, Petal Pink and Crumb Cake.  

I cut a strip of Cherry Cobbler cardstock to create the belly band and loosely wrapped this around the card to find the right tension.  I cut two slits in the back one on the top right and one on the bottom left and slotted these together to create the closure.  I stamped the sentiment onto the belly band with Cherry Cobbler ink for a tone on tone look.  

Don't do what I did and forget to insert the ribbon to hang up your ornament!  I used Whisper White Crinkle Seam Binding Ribbon and should have inserted this between the two halves of the ornament but I forgot to do this before gluing.  Thankfully I had used Multipurpose Liquid Glue and could squeeze the ribbon into place easily even after adhering the ornament together.  

I hope you are having fun on our holiday hop.  To keep hopping, head to Tricia's brilliant post next by clicking the arrow below.  

Blog Hop Roll Call

1. Amanda Farlinger

2. Jenn Curtis Charles

3. Libby Dyson

4. Lisa Ann Bernard

5. Rachel Macleod ***You are here***

6. Tricia Butts

7. Jan Musselman

8. June Olsen

9. Kimberley Anne Morris

10. Marieke Bart

Happy crafting,

Rachel x

Product List

Gnome For The Holidays Cling Stamp Set (English) [153322]	Coming Home Bundle [155144]	Evergreen Forest 3D Embossing Folder [153576]	Snow Time Dies [153564]	Envelopes  Dies [153531]
Layering Circles Dies [151770]	Pinewood Planks 3D Embossing Folder [152320]	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]	Stamparatus [148187]	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549]
Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock [147007]	Old Olive A4 Card Stock [106576]	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock [106577]	Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock [121681]	Trimming The Town Designer Series Paper [153491]
‘Tis The Season 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [153489]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Balmy Blue Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154830]	Bronze & Ivory Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154922]	Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144598]
Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144601]	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144603]	Night Of Navy Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144040]	Old Olive Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144597]	Petal Pink Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [147272]
Shaded Spruce Combo Pack Stampin' Blends [147938]	Soft Suede Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [147273]	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [147090]	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [147110]	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad [147083]
Whisper White 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon [151326]	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [154974]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

Festive Sunday Inspiration Week 12 - Merry Christmas Rainbow Skies

Hi crafters,

It's time for the next installment in my Festive Sunday Inspiration series.  You can still catch up on the previous posts, take a look back at the first post.  I will be bringing you a post every Sunday until 29 November featuring festive projects to spark your creativity.  Projects will feature Stampin' Up! products from the August-December 2020 Mini Catalogue and the Annual Catalogue, using a variety of techniques.  If you would like to purchase any of the products for yourself, please visit my online shop which is open 24/7. 

I have two same but different cards today featuring rainbow ink blending.  I used the dies from the Coming Home bundle.  This stamp set is special because £2.50 will be donated from the sale of each stamp set (either individually, in a bundle or a suite collection) to charities devoted to adoption, foster care and infertility.  You can make a difference today by getting yours.

I cut two panels of Whisper White cardstock slightly smaller than my card bases which were made with Thick Whisper White cardstock.  I used inks in Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Balmy Blue and Pacific Point to create ink blended rainbows.  I ink blended the brighter colours first and then used the leftover ink on my blending brushes for the paler card.  I changed the blue for the subtle card to tie in with the soft hues.  After the ink blending I used a some drops of water to create texture.  I used the hill die from the Home Together Dies and cut one each in Whisper White and Basic Black cardstocks.  I added fun foam behind the die cuts so that they wouldn't bow in the mail and added them to the card fronts with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.  However before adding the die cuts I used my Stamparatus and stamped a sentiment from the Poinsettia Petals stamp set in StazOn ink for the bright card and white heat embossing for the subtle card.    

So I would love to know which is your favourite.  My boyfriend said he loved the contrast of the bright card.  Do you agree?

Happy crafting, Rachel x

Product List

Coming Home Bundle [155144]	Poinsettia Petals Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [153475]	Stamparatus [148187]	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490]
Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549]	Basic Black A4 Card Stock [121688]	Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Pad [147050]	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad [147105]
Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad [147098]	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [147094]	Stampin' Spritzer [126185]	Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [101406]
Versamark Pad [102283]	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]	Heat Tool - Uk Plug [129054]	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [154974]