Bloom & Grow Poppies

Hello, Crafters.

At long last! The 2019 – 2020 is LIVE! I put my order in this morning and was very careful not to go OTT!. As a crafter yourself, you know this isn’t easy! As from today, I’m happy to start playing with the new products. But rest assured I won’t be overlooking products that have been brought forward. Yesterday I made ten cards for a swap group I joined recently. I need to get nine cards in the post tomorrow, and I will receive nine cards back in return. I made ten so I would have one for myself. The stamp set I used for my card was Little Elephant with the matching punch. More on that in due course, and the nine swaps!I chose to use the Bloom & Grow Stamp Set, plus the matching dies called Budding Blooms. Stampin’Up! have changed the format of the layout for bundles. You can see the stamp set on page 130, and as usual the stamps which are highlighted in grey, have a corresponding die. The bundle offer, which will save you 10%, is on page 131, and you can see all the dies on page 191. The actual dies are Stampin’ Up! products now, not Sizzix. I used a die to cut out my poppies and visually, it lined up to the edge of the black stamped image. The result was an even white gap all round the die cut, with no guessing on my part! The die worked brilliantly! Thank you, Stampin’ Up!To make my card, I embossed the top Whisper White Cardstock (CS) layer using the Subtle Dynamic Embossing Folder. Using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, I stamped the poppy image, and the sentiment on separate pieces of Whisper White CS. I didn’t need the bottom line of stitches underneath the sentiment, because I was going to be covering the lower part of the Whisper White CS with the image. The colours I used for the image are Light and Dark Poppy Parade, and Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends. In my mind’s eye the bobbles are white so no colouring was necessary. Instead, I painted them using my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen, although I don’t expect it to show in the photographs! I adhered the poppies on the base of the sentiment so the lower edge of the die cut can’t be seen! It may look to some crafters as if the image and the sentiment is one continuous piece of cardstock!To decorate the inside of my card I added a layer each of Poppy Parade and Whisper White CS. I chose a small stamp from the set which shows some leaves and some little white bobbles! Again, I paint the bobbles with my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen, and the leaves with the Light and Dark Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends. To finish the front of my card I added three large Rhinestones between the sentiment and the image. Although there was fair bit of colouring with the image, it’s quite a simple but very striking card to make!That’s it from me today. I’m looking forward to playing with more new products now! I’ll be back with you tomorrow. In the meantime, happy shopping if you’re treating yourself to something from the new catalogue, and happy crafting whatever your plans are!

JanB. xx

Products used: please click on any link to be taken to my 24/7 online Stampin’ Up! shop. Thank you.