January Creation Station Blog Hop: Fuzzy & Furry

 

Welcome to the January, 2024, Creation Station Hop!  We are an international group of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators who hop every first Sunday of the month.  This month our theme is Fuzzy & Furry so get ready for some fun animal inspiration this month!

Be sure to click on the Next Button at the end of each post to hop around to each designer's blog.

My fuzzy (?) and furry critter is the bear from the Wildlife Wonder stamp set (#157923).  I have used this bear on a lot of cards--especially masculine birthday cards, so I tried something different this time.  Still masculine, still a straightforward design, simple but with the two Artistic Mix decorative Masks (#159178) that create a plaid design and some fun texture.  I used the same color palette on both cards: Lost Lagoon, Pretty Peacock and Copper.  (I was going to use Copper Clay for the layer on both, then switched to Copper Foil in the end, not realizing it is retired. Copper Clay card stock looks great with this, too.) 

For the plaid on both cards, I used a blending brush (#153183) and Pretty Peacock ink with the large square mask for the first layer and then the small square mask and VersaMark ink to create the second layer.  I used Copper Stampin' Emboss powder (#155555, Metallics collection) with the VersaMark ink to heat emboss the second layer.  The bear was stamped in Pretty Peacock on Lost Lagoon card stock.

To create the plaid bear, I stamped the bear image over the plaid in VersaMark ink, heat embossed it with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder (#155554, Basics collection), then fussy cut it out with my Paper Snips (#103579). The Lost Lagoon layer was embossed with the Timber 3D embossing folder (#156406).   I chose not to put a sentiment on either card.  I like the simplicity of just the image on the background. 

Next up is Dani Dziama, one of the talented 2024 Stampin' Up! Artisan Team members on the Creation Station Design Team.  I can't wait to see her fuzzy and furry design!  Head over to her blog, Dani's Thoughtful Corner, to be inspired.

To Dani's Blog . . .

Have a Very Happy 2024!

--Sara Nell

 

Creation Station April Blog Hop--Inspired by Favorites

 

Welcome to the Creation Station April Bog Hop!

So glad you have joined us today. Our theme this month is Inspired by Favorites.  We are creating projects inspired by our favorite books, movies, poems, artwork, songs, shows and other favorites.  This is going to be an interesting hop.  You are going to see some great projects and maybe get to know us each a little better!

Can you guess my inspiration?  I am a reader.  My childhood memories include many trips to the local library to check out books.  My favorites have always been series because I love to follow characters as they change and grow and to meet them again and again.  So as a kid I read all the Oz books, the Little House on the Prairie series and the Anne of Green Gables series.  Now I have new favorites that I still read again and again.  My favorites now are historical fiction like the Master and Commander twenty (plus the unfinished 21st) book series by Patrick O'Brian, which has inspired many stamping projects in the past, and the Outlander series (nine so far and not including the Lord John Grey books) by Diana Gabaldon which has inspired my projects today.   As any book reader will tell you, the books are always much better than any movies or television series inspired by them.

This first project was inspired by Claire.  

As with all the projects in the post today, I started by creating a page from a vintage book for my background. My idea was for this background to be a subtle reference to the books that inspired my projects.  Although the first Outlander book was published in 1991, the vintage look is a reference to Jamie Fraser.  He is not only a warrior and laird (a "Bloody Man, as Claire calls him) but also very well-read and classically educated.  I started with a piece of Linen Specialty Paper(#155681) and used a Blending Brush (#153611) to blend Crumb Cake ink onto the white paper. Next, I covered the inside top of the  the Timeworn Type 3D embossing folder (#156813, from the 2021 July to December Mini Catalog) with Soft Suede ink before adding the paper and putting it through the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine.  Then I roughed up the edges of the paper before layering it over a piece of card stock.

Claire is a healer in the 18th Century and a surgeon from the 20th Century.  She uses both her medical education and her knowledge of medicinal uses of plants as she cares for people.  She spends a lot of time foraging for plants to create her medicines and to provide for the nutritional needs of her family. The bouquet and greeting on this card represent this part of her life.  It was created using the Honeybee Home Bundle (#157952) and the Flowers of Home dies (#157938) from the Heart & Home Suite in the 2022 January to June Mini Catalog.    The script backdrop for the bouquet (representing her medical journal)  and the greeting are both from the Very Versailles stamp set (#149275).  They were stamped in Early Espresso ink.  A splatter of Early Espresso ink and a double bow of Linen Thread (#104199) complete the card.

This card was inspired by the Native American name given to Jamie by members of the Tuscarora Tribe.  Jamie and Claire met a hunting party of Tuscarora right after Jamie killed a bear with only a knife (while Claire beat it over the head with a fish--you didn't see that on the TV series!).  The Tuscarora named Jamie "Bear Killer" and they and the Frasers became friends, trading partners and hunting and foraging companions until the tribe was wiped out by a measles epidemic.  The bear and the greeting images are from the Wildlife Wonder stamp set (#157923).  The trees and plants were die cut using the Inspiring Canopy dies (#155963) and the Horizon dies (#157778).

My last project is for the bees!  They play a big role on Fraser's Ridge for food, medicines, and trade.  Plus, they have a role in some important events and are part of the title in the latest book of the series, Go Tell the Bees that I Am Gone. 

I used a retiring 3-1/8" x 3-1/8" Acetate Box (#150428) for the perfect chocolate treat gift.  The linen page piece is layered over a piece of Cinnamon Cider card stock which was embossed with the Hive 3D embossing folder (3157955), with Early Espresso ink sponged on the inside of the folder.  The stamped, colored and die cut images as well as the greeting were created with the Honeybee Home Bundle.  Bumblebee 1/4" Gingham Ribbon (#153658) acts as the closure for the box.

Hopefully, you've been inspired by my projects and techniques and know me just a bit more.   Are you a fan of Outlander?  How are you inspired by the books?

Let's go see what Julie has been inspired by for her projects today!  Hop on over to Just Julie B Stampin' here.  

To Julie's Blog . . .

Have a wonderful April!

--Sara Nell

Simple Note Card Gift Set--#tgifc160

Our challenge this week from the TGIF Challenges team is Simply Stamping.  That means just stamps, ink, paper and one embellishment.  I love to make simple note cards using one image and a greeting.  So I looked through my stamp sets to find the perfect little image (that I haven't used before!) to create a boxed set of cards for a gift.  I pulled out the little wildflower image from the Wildlife Wonder stamp set (#157923); three colors of ink and card stock:  Pale Papaya, Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen; Basic White note cards and envelopes (#159232); Linen Thread (#104199); Pale Papaya & White 1/2" ribbon (#155816); a Pale Papaya patterned piece of Expressions in Ink designer series paper (#1555464) and a Mini Paper Pumpkin Box (#153069) to create my set:

There are two different note card designs, 2 of each design, in the set.  The wildflower was stamped in Soft Succulent and colored with the Pale Papaya Dark Stampin' Blends marker.  The greetings were stamped in Evening Evergreen.  The stamped pieces were layered on either Soft Succulent or Pale Papaya card stock, wrapped in a bow of Linen Thread and then adhered to the note card base with Stampin' Dimensionals.  The envelopes were stamped with the Wildflower image.

The Mini Paper Pumpkin Box was covered with the designer series paper, a 5-1/2" X 3-3/4"piece for the top and two 5-1/2" X 3/4" pieces and two 3-1/2" x 3/4"  pieces for the sides.  It was closed with a belly band of Evening Evergreen card stock, decorated with a coordinating stamped piece and Soft Succulent Stitched Rectangles (#151820) layers, one Pale Papaya layer and the Pale Papaya & White ribbon tied in a bow. 

Don't be afraid to stamp simply!  You can still create impactful and elegant cards!  Be inspired by the Simply Stamped cards over at the TGIF Challenges Blog here.

Have a great weekend!

--Sara Nell