Spotlight on Nature

 

When I read the name of this bundle, I imediately thought of the the giant search lights that are were over New York City and Chicago when I was a kid. Those rotating beams drew attention to clubs, theaters, car dealerships, grand openings etc. My Daddy trained and owned race horses so we spent the summers in big cities racing. While sitting in the grandstand watching Daddy's races with my Mom, I'd see those lights and wonder what people were drawn to them and what event it might be. I had a great childhood, growing up on a farm, but with exposure to all big cities had to offer as well. 

The spotlight in this bundle is the circle dies. There are 12 dies and patterns with six different sizes. You can use these dies to spotlight the stamps in the set in many different ways. I have three examples to show you today. All using the Spotlight in Nature bundle, but with different colors and layouts. Colors are listed below each card and a full tutorial for the last one.

You'll notice I always say, "alcohol ink markers." I already had a HUGE collection of Copic Markers when Stampin' Up! came out with Stampin' Blends. It was not difficult for me to come up with a fairly close equivilent to SU colors. I couldn't just let all those lovely Copics sit there unused. I did buy a rather nice collection of Stampin' Blends to use in my classes. Stampin' Blends are a great product, especially if you are new to alcohol inks, as they are cheaper and easier to use with a simple blending system; each marker comes in light and dark. Copics have a rather complicated blending system using the numbers and letters of the markers. Odd and even numbers two away from each other blend nicely, etc. If you too, have Copics, and would like  to know what colors are an approximation of SU colors. I made a chart (of course!). Here is a copy.  I got design inspirations from Christey Gridley and Tammy Civello. 

Cardstocks: Basic White, Berry Burst. White embossed greeting, images stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Alcohol ink markers. Butterfly has Wink of Stella to provide some glimmer. White baker's twine.

Cardstocks: Peach Pie, Basic White. Ink Pads: Memento Tuxedo Black, Peach Pie, Petunia Pop. Colored with Alcohol ink markers. Butterfly has Wink of Stella to provide some glimmer. Unbounded Love dies, Peach Pie Bordered Ribbon, Zinnias embossing folder inked with Peach Pie then run through Cut & Emboss machine.

All Measurements in Inches

Materials:

• Stamps & Dies: Spotlight On Nature bundle

• Cardstocks: Coastal Cabana, Basic White, Shaded Spruce, Highland Heather

• Ink Pads: Shaded Spruce, Coastal Cabana, Highland Heather

• Linen Thread

• Dotted Circles 3D Embossing Folder

• Purple Fine Shimmer Gems

• Stampin' Dimensionals

Preparation:

• Coastal Cabana cs card base 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 scored at 4-1/4.

• Embossed Coastal Cabana cs panel 5 1/4 x 4 plus two embossed 1/2 x 4 strips.

• Shaded Spruce cs circle 3 1/4 die cut with the Spotlight On Nature dies.

• Embossed Coastal Cabana cs circle 2 1/4 die cut with the Spotlight On Nature dies.

• Highland Heather cs circle 2-3/4 x 2-3/4 die cut with the Spotlight On Nature dies.

• Basic White cs leaves, flowers, & butterflies – fussy cut with paper snips.

• Basic White cs sentiment panel 3/4 x 2 and use paper snips to cut both ends at a slant.

• Basic White cs inside panel 5 1/8 x 3 7/8.

• Linen Thread

Assemble Card:

1. Start with a Coastal Cabana cardstock card base. Cut a Coastal Cabana cardstock panel.

2. Diecut three circles from the Spotlight On Nature dies: Shaded Spruce, Coastal Cabana and Highland Heather.

3. Dry emboss the 5-1/4 x 4 Coastal Cabana and the diecut circle with the Dotted Circles 3D embossing folder.

4. Glue the Shaded Spruce cardstock circle to the center of the embossed Coastal Cabana panel. Then glue the embossed Coastal Cabana cardstock circle and the Highland Heather circle to the card front overlapping the Shaded Spruce circle.

5. Stamp the leaves twice in Shaded Spruce ink, the flowers in Coastal Cabana ink, and the butterfly twice in Highland Heather ink on Basic White cardstock.

6. Color the leaves and the butterflies with Stampin’ Blends and the flowers with the Coastal Cabana watercolor pencil & blender pen. Fussy cut the colored images. Add Wink of Stella to the flowers and the butterfly wings.

7. Glue the leaves to the card front overlapping the diecut circles. Add the flowers with Stampin’ Dimensionals overlapping the leaves and diecut circles. Use glue dots and a Stampin’ Dimensional to add a butterfly above and slightly tucked under the flower.

8. Tie Linen Thread in a bow and adhere on the right side of the card front. Adhere the panel to the card front with Dimensionals.

9. On a Basic White scrap, stamp the sentiment from in Highland Heather ink. Cut both sides of the sentiment panel at a slant.

10. Add the sentiment to the left side of the card front overlapping the Linen Thread and flowers & leaves with a Stampin’ Dimensionals and glue dots. Add Purple Fine Shimmer Gems to the sentiment panel and card front.    

What is Black and White and Red All Over?

 A Beautiful Stampin' Up! card!! I'm telling you, if you don't have the layering Beauty bundle with layering stencils, rush, run, no sprint now to order. I PROMISE you will love it. My friend Deb and I both got it and we are having so much fun with it!

I still have some of the black and white checked ribbon from the last catalog and decided it was crying out for black, white and red. For the stenciling, I used a light application Real Red for stencil #1, heavy application of Real Red for stencil #2, Cherry Cobbler for stencil #3, Old Olive for stencil #4 and Garden Green for stencil #5. The cardstock colors are Basic Black, Basic White and Real Red. The greeting was heat embossed with white embossing powder. The white layer was dry embossed with Exposed Brick embossing folder. The DSP.... is NOT DSP! I didn't have any small print black and white so I made my own! I just used Memento Tuxedo Black ink and the splotch stamp from the Forever Forest stamp set. I wanted a smaller cluster of flowers, so I cut off some of the stamped & diecut image and used it on the inside.

Triple Diamond Z Fold

 I learned of this design from Sally Poole. It's simply a Z Fold with three diamonds on the front flap. I haven't put a sentiment on it yet... I think I'll use Get Well on the inside and no greeting on the outside.

Unbounded Beauty DSP, Pretty In Pink, Basic Beige and Basic White cardstocks. Country Birdhouse Dies and Notes of Nature Dies.

Cardstock Measurements:

• Card base: 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 score @ 2-1/8 and 4-1/4

• 2 pieces of cardstock 1-7/8 x 5-1/4 (mats for small panels)

• 2 pieces of DSP 1-5/8 x 5 (mats for small panels)

• 2 pieces of second color cardstock 1-3/4 x 1-3/4 (small diamonds)

• 2 pieces of DSP 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 (mats for small diamonds)

• Second color cardstock 4 x 5-1/4 (mat for inside panel)

• DSP 2 x 5 (mat for inside panel)

• Basic White cardstock 1-3/4 x 5 (inside panel)

• Second color cardstock 2-1/2 x 2-1/2 (large diamond)

• DSP 2-1/4 x 2-1/4 (mat for large diamond)

• Scrap cardstock (diecut flowers and leafy branch)

• Scrap of Pretty In Pink (diecut)   

Flowers For Their Garden

 How about a sweet gift to send or give to someone? Some flower seeds in a pretty floral card?  How about Zinnias? Stampin' Up!'s colors are so bright and vibrant and there are so many colors in the Zinnia DSP you can make loads of choices. 

1. Old Olive card base: 5-1/2 x 11 scored @ 4-1/4 and 8-1/2 on the long side. To cut the diagonal off the small side, make a tick mark 1" from the edge. Cut from the tick mark to the corner.   
2. Basic White both sides inside and mat on cover: 4 x 5-1/4 (3)
3. Basic White mat for small cover piece(left side): 2-1/4 x 5-1/4 make a tick mark 7/8" from the edge, then cut from the tick mark to the corner.
4. Basic White greeting label
5. Cover DSP mat 3-7/8 x 5-1/8
6. DSP mat on small left side of cover 2-1/8 x 5-1/8 make a tick mark at 3/4" from the edge then cut from tick mark to the corner.
7. DSP pocket for seed packet 1-1/2 x 4
8. Pop up small flower with mini Dimensionals cut in half, place on the right side leaving the left 'open' for the small flap to catch inside for closure.

While waiting for the UPS man to bring my Zinnia DSP, I made this one with the Painted Lavender DSP.

Encircled In Nature

 I fell in love with Encircled In Nature the minute I saw what the Stampin' Up! Artisans made with it. They don't provide tutorials, but plenty of inspiration! I figured out out how to make it and wrote up directions for you. This bundle can be found in the Online Exclusives.

Materials:

• Stamp Sets: Encircled in Nature

• Papers: Boho Blue, Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight, Basic White, Pecan Pie, Garden Green

• Ink pads: Misty Moonlight, Night of Navy, Craft White

• Water Painter

• Wink of Stella

• White Gel Pen

• Stampin' Dimensionals

• Classic Label Punch (retired)

Preparation:

• Night of Navy 5-1/2 x 8-1/2, scored at 4-1/4 (card base)

• Boho Blue 4 x 5-1/4 (inked layer)

• Pecan Pie 1-1/2 x 2-3/4 (twigs)

• Pecan Pie 1 x 3-1/4 (greeting)

• Misty Moonlight 3-3/4 x 4 (wreath)

• Garden Green 2-1/4 x 2-1/2 (trees)

• Basic White 4 x 5-1/4 (inside)

Assemble Card:

1. 4 x 5-1/4 Boho Blue, blend Misty Moonlight & Night of Navy ink to the outer edges leaving the center uninked.

2. Flick white ink across the inked layer with water painter. You may wish to add a few dots with Gel Pen>

3. Diecut Pecan Pie twigs, and Misty Moonlight wreath.

4. Glue twigs on inked layer and glue wreath over them.

5. Apply Wink of Stella to the tips of the wreath.

6. Heat Emboss Moon inside the wreath.

7. Diecut trees from Garden Green. Then use a sponge or paint brush to stipple white ink on the branches of trees.

8. Add a double Linen Thread Bow. Adhere to card front with dimensionals.

9. Stamp sentiment in Versamark, and heat emboss with white powder on Pecan Pie cs, use Classic Label punch.

10. Inside and Envy: stamp partial circle of trees in Misty Moonlight, then stamp again without reinking for shadows.

Grassy Grove Pop Up

Grassy Grove carried over to the new catalog! I'm so happy about that, because it is a great set. 

to color the leaves in a realistic way, I used Post It Notes to cover the edges of the card. Then used the three trees stamp in Granny Apple Green and Old Olive on the trees. This gave a more leafy appearance than if I'd simply sponged the tree tops in one green. I did sponge the trunks with one color; Pecan Pie. Behind the trees is a piece of the Garden Meadow DSP to add some depth to the scene. The deer were diecut from black cardstock and glued in plase. 

Using Bits and Pieces

 Yesterday I shared some cards made with the Layering Beauty bundle and stencils. Today I made a card with the pieces left after I cut out a flower. On the card below, the largest rose has been popped up. It was cut out with a die in set for just that single flower, which left a lot of good usable roses. I used them along with the Unbounded Love bundle. I adore the dies in that set! The card base is Berry Burst and the embossing folder is Exposed Brick.

Layering Beauty Bundle With Stencils!

 Layering stencils are the most fun!!! When I first saw this set in the catalog, I thought yeah that's nice. I did not think, 'Oh my gosh I've got to HAVE that' until I watched a fellow Demo, Patty Bennett use it. Oh my goodness, I sure hope Stampin' Up! makes MORE of these layering stencils! The stencils can be held in place with your fingers or low tack tape if you prefer.

I've looked at several Demo's cards with this bundle thinking I wanted to see the best color combinations. But you know what? Any combo I've come up with is pretty! You MUST GET THIS BUNDLE! I promise you won't be sorry!

On the card below, The base is Berry Burst, with a layer of Fresh Freesia. The DSP is Thoughtful Designs and it has a beautiful metallic pattern on an ombre of Petunia Pop and Calypso Coral. The next layer is Basic White which has been embossed with Layered Florals embossing folder and popped up with adhesive strips. Then comes the magic! With the stencils I used Fresh Freesia, Petunia POop, Berry Burst, Granny Apple Green and Garden Green. I diecut the floral masterpiece then added a few 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems for sparkle.

click to view close up

Flirty Flamingo card base, another sheet of Thoughtful Designs DSP, stenciling done with the following inks: Flirty Flamingo, Poppy Parade, Real Red, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green. click to view close up

Petunia Pop card base, Thoughtful Designs DSP, stenciled with the following inks: Peach Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Petunia Pop, Granny Apple Green and Old Olive. click to view close up

Free For the New Catalog

 The new catalog has a two page spread with the basics of color theory and a color wheel consisting of all the SU colors! It's so popular that we are in the midst of producing an operating color wheel that will be available for purchase later this year!! Below are also some videos for you.

FREE Color Coach to help you choose colors that work well together.

FREE Stampin' Blends Tracker

FREE Stampin' Up! Hex Values

STAMPING TECHNIQUE: REVERSIBLE STAMPS

EMBELLISHING MADE EASY

UNBOUNDED BEAUTY SUITE COLLECTION

MEDITERRANEAN BLOOMS SUITE COLLECTION