Almost time to Say Goodbye - More retiring stamps you may want to get while you can!

Yesterday I shared some blast from the past cards featuring retiting Stamp Sets starting with the letter A - today I am going to show you some starting with B and C!  There are other stamp sets retiring but these are three of my favourite stamp set and its been fun looking through the cards I have made with them and have loads more ideas for using them now!

Bordering on Romance - oh How fun this stamp set is to colour

Circle Circus - beautiful as a background or as the main feature of your card

Curly Cute - my go to sentiment set!  Ideal for bold statement sentiments and just as good as part of an overall design  You have already seen it on one of the cards above!

To order any of these stamp sets, or indeed any other retiring products please email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

Happy Stampin'

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Serene Silhouettes Congratulations

Today I am going to show you another card made using the technique I shared in this recent video

This card features some of my favourite stamps, Serene Silhouettes, Distressed Dots and Curly Cute.  The colours are Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Pool Party.

While you you checking out this video why not subscribe to the FeelingCraftyBekka Channel so you will get notification of any other videos I upload.

Happy Stampin'

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Find Out About Friday - How to Make a Mottled Background using your Clear Stamping Blocks

Recently a number of people have asked me how I created the mottled background effect on the Thank You Cards I sent them - so for this week's Find Out About Friday I thought I would share that with you all.

First here is the card which sparked all the questions

The pool party mottled background stripe was fast and fun to create.  I love the texture it brings to the card and all without adding any depth - so important for cards that you are going to post.

You only need two things to create this effect - an ink pad in the colour of your choice and a clear stamping block, (the kind that do not have an adhesive layer on them).  Choose a clear block the size of the background area you want to create this mottled effect on.  If you block is larger than the area you want to cover mask off the areas you do not want to get ink on.  Make sure your block is clean before you start.

In addition to my choice of block and ink, I found that having a tissue on hand was helpful too as I am good at getting ink on me when I stamp!

To create the mottled effect take your ink pad and tap it onto your clear block making sure you get a good coverage all over.  The ink will not cover the block evenly and that is OK.  Stamp your block onto your card where you want this effect to be.  When you lift up the block you will have a beautiful  mottled background which can frame your image ready to stamp onto.

Yes that really is all there is to it :-)

To clean your block when you have finished either scrub it on a Stampin' Scrub or run it under a tap

Enjoy creating your mottled backgrounds and if you have any questions please just ask

Happy Stampin'

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Triple Time Stamping with The Open Sea Stamp Set

I have had a lot of fun creating Triple Time Stamped Cards and today I am going to share one which features the lovely The Open Sea Stamp Set

Like everything in the Summer Mini Catalogue it is only available until the end of August - we can hope that some things will come back in the next Annual Catalogue, but we won't know until after the end of this Summer Mini Catalogue.  So if there is anything in the Summer Mini Catalogue that you really want then please make sure you order it before the end of this month - you only have a week left!  You can download a copy of the Summer Mini Catalogue here.  To place your order just email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk and we can get your purchased delivered direct to your door.

Happy Stampin'

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Reason to Smile Butterfly Birthday Card

Today I am going to share another birthday card made using the wonderful Reason to Smile Stamp Set which is only available from Stampin' Up! during August. 

The large daisy was stamped and coloured and then clear embossed over the top before Pool Party, Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade were swirled over the top.  

The butterfly is cut from Island Indigo and Twitterpated papers.  I used off cuts from the card I had stamped and embossed along with some more card to make the flowers.  The greeting is from Curly Cute.

You can find out how to get your Reason to Smile Stamp Set for FREE here - or you can email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

Happy Stampin'

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Joining Stampin' Up! A Big Reason to Smile!

Today I am going to share some more Reason to Smile Cards and these ones were made for 3 lovely ladies who recently joined Stampin' Up! as part of my team.  Joining Stampin' Up! is certainly a very big Reason to Smile and I still remember how excited I was to be starting my Stampin' Up! adventure.

There are lots and lots of benefits of joining Stampin' Up! and you can read about them here, and all of them from sharing my love of crafting, to the friends I have made, to the flexibility to make money around my other commitments to the discount I get on my products, make me smile!

These cards were made by stamping the large daisy image from the Reason to Smile Stamp Set and then colouring the centre with a dauber.  Next I used the solid image to clear emboss over the flowers, before swirling some Pool Party ink over the background with another dauber and finally stamping some of the other flower outlines in Pool Party.  The sentiment is from the lovely Curly Cute Stamp Set (probably my favourite sentiment stamp set).  I added some Victoria Crochet Trim and linen thread and punched a border using the Eyelet Border Punch.

When people join our team, as well as special gift to help them build their business I also give them a fun gift. I presented these three in a Pillow Box decorated to coordinate with the cards.

Want to know what is inside ... well join my team and you can fine out!  To find out more email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk and lets discuss if its the right decision for you.  Alternatively if you are ready to just sign up now follow this link.

Happy Stampin'

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Find Out About Friday - How to Create a Triple Time Stamped Card

Triple Time Stamping is a fun technique which gives a real WOW on your cards and is much easier to create than it looks.  Recently a few of you have asked me how it is done so for this week's Find Out About Friday I thought I would share with you how to make a Triple Time Stamped Card.

This Triple Time Stamped Card was made using the gorgeous Reason to Smile Stamp Set which is only available during August - you can find the details here.

Triple Time Stamping gives the effect of a complete image which has then been cut up and layered with just the center being cut out for each layer.  While it looks a complicated effect to achieve it is actually quite straight forward, just follow the steps below

1. Start with a piece of card the size of the largest layer you want to use - in my case this was 10cm x 14.5 cm as I was using a standard C6 Card.
2. Next cut a  piece of card the same colour 2cm smaller in each dimension - in my case this was 8cm x 12.5cm
3. Repeat step two so you have a third layer - so my smallest layer was 6cm x 10.5cm.
4. Next put a small amount of re-positional glue (you can use either the Stampin' Up! 2 way Glue Pen or the Tombow as re-positional glues) on one side of each of these layers and centering each layer, stack them with the largest at the back.
5. Stamp your design over this layered card.  Don't worry when you get some gaps or wobbly stamping on the joins - these will be covered over on the finished card.  I have used Concord Crush and Regal Rose on my card
6. Next cut your card base.  You will also need to cut two coordinating matting layers from the same coloured card.  Each of these needs to be 0.5cm bigger than the layer it is going to go under.  So for my card they were 8.5 x 13cm and 6.5x11cm
7. Taking each of your stamped layers stick them to the matting layer that is 0.5cm bigger than them, before sticking them to the card base.  Use a permanent adhesive for this step.
8. Decorate the rest of the card as you would like

I hope you decide to try the Triple Time Stamping Technique - it is a lot of fun.  If you have any questions please do drop me an email - bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

Happy Stampin'

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Reason to Smile - Tie Die Background Effect

Today I am going to show you some of the cards I made for some of the lovely ladies who recently joined our Stampin' Up! team.  I am loving the Reason to Smile Stamp Set from Stampin' Up! so that is the one I reached for.  It is a stamp set which is only available this month - you can either purchase it or get it for free when you spend £60 or more before post and packing.  All the details are here.

For these cards I stamped the large daisy image from the Reason to Smile Stamp Set in Concord Crush and then using the solid image embossed over the top of them with clear embossing powder.  I then used daubers to sponge Pool Party, Pretty in Pink and Lucky Limeade all over the background giving this wonderful Tie Die Effect.  The greeting is from the Curly Cute Stamp Set.

Each of the ladies who received one of these cards joined Stampin' Up! for their own reasons, but each of them has started a business that will fit around their other commitments and which gives them a way of making money from sharing their love of crafting.  As well as the income that they can generate joining Stampin' Up! offers many other benefits too.  

I can honestly say that I look forward to my working week in a way I never have before, if you would like to be able to say that too email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk and lets see if Stampin' Up! is right for you.  Alternatively if having read about the benefits of joining Stampin' Up! here you know you want to go for it follow this link and get started right away!

Happy Stampin

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More Reason to Smile

Goodness me the Olympics have been exciting and I am thrilled with how well Team GB are doing, to be third on the medal table is a wonderful achievement.  

In case that is not enought to make you smile Stampin' Up! have given us another one - a gorgeous stamp set called Reason to Smile.  It is only available in August and you can either purchase it or earn it for free - check this link for details.

Today I am going to show you a pair of water coloured birthday cards I have made with this beautiful set.

The image was coloured with my Stampin' Write Markers onto Watercolour Paper, then coloured using a water brush.  Next I stamped over the top of it with the matching solid image in versamark ink and used clear embossing powder so that I could then wash colour all over the background.

This technique allows you to decide how much colour you keep on your flower, I am not sure which I prefer, the darker one of the lighter one.

If you would like to order the Reason to Smile Stamp Set please email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

I hope you day is filled with Reasons to Smile!

Happy Stampin'

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August Special Stamp Set - Reason to Smile

August is always a month full of smile around here with lots of my friends celebrating their birthdays and this year Stampin' Up! have given us yet another Reason to Smile - and its a great one!  Reason to Smile is a wonderful and versatile floral stamp set that is available for August only.  

There are two ways you can get your hands on it - either you can purchase it or you can get it for free when you spend £60 (before post and packing)

Here is a card I made which uses every stamp in the set!  

Once I started stamping with this set I just could not stop!  I will show you some more samples over the next few days, and here is the stamp set itself 

There are so many possibilities with this delicious two step stamping set

To order your stamp set or to get it for free email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk and let make sure you have lots of Reasons to Smile this month too!

Happy Stampin'

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Christmas in July?

Today I am going to share one of the cards we made at this month's Christmas Card Club.  Each month the Christmas Card Club meets and makes 10 post friendly cards, so that come December we don't have a mad rush and we can enjoy the festivities.  You can find details of the club here and I do still have some spaces available.

While it may seem a little early to start to think about Christmas, I also wanted to remind you about this year's fun filled Get Ready For Christmas Day.  

Join us on Saturday 29 September and make Decorations, Gifts, Christmas Cards and more.  You will get a very generous goodie bag which will include a stamp set and everything you need to complete all the projects.  You can find the details here - and don't forget to book before September to take advantage of the great early bird discount!

To book a place on either the Christmas Card Club or at Get Ready For Christmas, or both, just email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

Happy Stampin'

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Everything Eleanor Thank You Cards

Today I am going to share a couple of Thank You Cards that I sent to two lovely ladies who are going to host Stampin' Up! Parties with me soon.  I am looking forward to meeting up with them and their friends, to helping them earn lots of free Stampin' Up! Products and to spoiling them a little too!

I have used one of my favourite stamp sets for these cards - Everything Eleanor.  

I have also used my Perfect Polkadots Embossing Folder and the sentiment if from the lovely Curly Cute Stamp Set.

If you would like to host a party with me all you have to go is get your friends together for 2-3 hours of crafting and shopping.  It does not matter if they have never crafted before - they will all make a small project to take home with them.  I will do the rest.  Don't worry if we don't live near each other - with the help of technology we can still party together!  

During August I have some openings during the daytime and a few openings in the evenings too.  September (when we will have a new Seasonal Catalogue) is booking up fast, as is October so to secure the date you would like please email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk and we can get your party scheduled.

Happy Stampin'

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Mouthwatering Monday

Today I am going to share a card featuring the lovely Ice Cream Image from the delicious Mouthwatering Stamp Set.  For lots of the kids round here today is the first day of the School Holidays and, without wanting to tempt fate it looks like its going to be a sunny day so hopefully the card sets the right mood!

The papers are from the wonderful Sweet Shop Specialty Collection and I have teamed them with Island Indigo Card and Ruffled Ribbon.

This was one of the cards we made at this month's card making class.  You can find all the details of this month's classes here.  To book your place just email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

Happy Stampin'

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Find Out About Friday - How to make a Diamond Patterned Background

Since I posted this card I have had several emails asking me how the Background Quilted Diamond Effect was made so for this Week's Find Out About Friday I thought I would share that with you.

To make the pattered panel you need to start with a square of card, mine was 10 cm / 4 inches square.  Using the Diagonal Plate on my Simply Scored! I scored a line at 0, then 1/8 inch, then 1 inch, then 11/8 inch etc all the way across.  The easy way to remember this is every inch and then every groove next to it!  

When you have done this once you will have score lines across half your card.  Turn it through 90 degrees and repeat, scoring as before.  You will then need to do this twice more.

If you want to start with a rectangle of card then you will need to use the measures along the side of the Simply Scored! as well as the ones along the top and score all the diagonals across the card before turning it.

For this card I then added a piece of matching card to the the quilted panel to make it the size of the layer I wanted on my finished card and stamped my greeting on it, and the bottom edge punched with the Scallop Trim Border Punch.  

The Crochet Trim and Baker's Twine were wrapped around to cover the join before this was mounted onto my card base.

The flower was created using the Rock and Roll Technique (inking in one colour and then rolling the edge of the stamp in another colour) and by layering different elements of the stamp.  The In Colour Brad holds the layers of the flower together and was opened out before the flower was attached using foam Dimensional Pads.

I then added the small Rhinestones to highlight the intersections of the diagonal lines to highlight the pattern

I hope you have fun creating backgrounds like this one and if you have any questions or would like to order your own Simply Scored! and Diagonal Plate please email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

Happy Stampin

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Mouthwatering Ice Lollies

Today I am going to share a card featuring two delicious looking Ice Lollies stamped from the aptly named Mouthwatering Stamp Set.

The card also features some of the gorgeous Lucky Limeade Organdy Ribbon that is part of the Enchanting Ribbons and Brads Bundle that you will get for FREE for every £45 you spend (before post and packing) until the end of the month. These ribbons are delicious and so pretty and the brads coordinate with the wonderful Everyday Enchantment Papers which are also available to purchase for this month only and while stocks last.

If you would like to place an order email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

Happy Stampin'

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