Clean and Simple card using Flower Patch

Sometimes I struggle with clean and simple card ideas as I like to cram as much detail and technique into every card and project that I do. However it is good to take things back to basics and challenge oneself to create a clean and simple card which still looks pretty.

So today's card is using Flower Patch inked in the In Colours flirty flamingo, peekaboo peach and Sweet sugarplum and then die cut using the matching Flower Fair framelits. The sentiment and flower centres are stamped in Dapper Denim from the same In Colours collection.

With a few little rhinestones about for some bling and the flowers and background popped up on dimensionals it make a clean and simple yet effective card.

All products are available to buy through my shop button above.

Kissing Technique Using Stampin Up Lucky Elephant

This is a great technique to use with solid image stamps and the Lucky Elephant is just perfect for this. The video shows several cards using this technique
Sweet Sugarplum and rich razzleberry ink pads with little flower from Best Birds
Wild wasabi and emerald envy ink pads with butterfly stamp from Papillon Potpourri
Pool party and island Indigo ink pads with floral swirls from Timeless Textures

All products used can be purchased through my shop button above.

If you haven't already please subscribe to my utube channel as I will be posting regular video tutorials.

Thank you for stopping by 💜

Masculine Card for the builders in our lives

The Stampin Up Build It framelits dies and the Nailed It stamp set are a great combination for those masculine cards.

Products used
Nailed It stamp set 143074 wood mount £26 clear 143077 clear mount £19 set includes 16!rubber stamps
Build It framelits dies  9 dies for £24
Buy them as a bundle and save 10%

All products are available through the shop button above.

Thank you for shopping with amethystarcrafting

Masking technique using Fabulous Flora

Thank you to everyone who has subscribed to my utube channel. I'm delighted I have over 60 subscriber in the few weeks I have been posting my tutorials and I would like to thank each and every one of you who are encouraging me to post fun and interesting techniques and tutorials for you.

Today's video is using Fabulous Flora and a masking technique with two colours calypso coral and rich razzleberry making a great mask for a floral stamp.

All the products are available to buy through the shop button above.

Enjoy the video and look out for more regular videos to come.
Happy crafting 💜

Two colour blending stamping and inking

Sometimes with all this wet drizzly weather, thoughts turn to warm sunny days and today's card is done with two lovely warm tones, Crushed Curry and Cajun Craze.

I used a blending technique with the Best Birds by using the Aqua Painter to blend the stamped image to give tone.

The background was done using our Sponge Brayer and the masked area with So Saffron.

By using coordinating cardstock in Cajun craze and crushed curry it pulls everything together with a few pearls for interest.

All products are available through the shop button above.

Thanks for dropping by 💜

Kissing Technique Using Stampin' Up! Lucky Elephant

I have always had a love for elephants as they are just graceful majestic animals so when this stamp set came along I just had to get it.
Today's card is using several different techniques.
Kissing Technique - ink Up the stamp in one colour and then use another inked stamp to stamp on top of the other. Large solid stamps are best for this technique so this elephant is perfect.

Background -  tear or cut a mask to use for the landscape and sponge in Crushed Curry and pool party. Sponge the edges of the card with Sweet sugarplum ink.

The elephant was fussy cut and mounted on dimensionals for depth.

All products are available through my shop button above.
Lucky Elephant 142936 wood mount £15 or 142939 for clear mount £12

Hopping by with 6 different fun techniques for watercolouring and colouring

I've put together a fun video for a modern card using the frog stamp from Love You Lots set and six different ways to colour and watercolour using our various tools.

Products used-
Watercolour pencils, Aquapainter, blender pen, Stampin Write Markers,
Love You Lots stamp set for the frog image, ( a hostess set)
Sunshine Wishes dies for the hop, hop, hop, sentiment,
Wild wasabi, mossy meadow, pear pizzazz, old olive colours,
Whisper white and black cardstock,
All products can be bought through my shop button above.

Please subscribe to my utube channel so you don't miss any of the up and coming tutorials and techniques I will be showing over the coming weeks.

Thank you for stopping by and happy crafting 💜

Fun techniques using Lucky Elephant

I always get really excited when I get a new stamp set and try and think outside the box and not just stamp the image. Making a stamp set go further by using various different techniques to achieve totally different looks is part of the fun.

Lucky Elephant 142936 wood mount £15 or 142939 clear mount £12  (use shop button above to order) is a fabulous image at a great price.

Kissing Technique - ink the stamp in pool party then using dapper denim and Timeless Textures stamp set with the floral image stamp over the pool party several times in different directions. Huff on the stamp and then stamp onto whisper white cardstock. The result is a two  toned image.

Black Magic Technique -  stamp the image with white craft ink on black cardstock and allow to dry. Colour the image with our watercolour pencils in a patchwork design. Draw round the outside lines and patchwork with a white gel pen or chalk marker and create a water shower from the elephants trunk.

If you would like to try some of these techniques then please join me on one of my monthly technique classes. Just get in touch allmark.j@sky.com

Thanks for dropping by and happy crafting.

Stampin' Up! Brand and Retailer of the Year

One of the reasons that I like Stampin' Up! products so much is their quality, great ranges of stamps and dies and how everything coordinates, but don't take my word for it. Stampin' Up! has been awarded not only Brand of the year but also Retailer of the year at the British Craft Awards.

So to buy these fantastic award winning products just go to my shop button above which will take you to the store.

Want to see and try the products first then join me for one of my monthly classes in the Farnham GU9 area, or host a party. Please drop me a line or email allmark.j@sky.com

Want to become a demonstrator like myself then just get in touch.

I am honoured and proud to be part of a double awarded company and I would be delighted if you'd like to join my team.

Happy stamping 💜

Favourite tools Sponge Daubers

My favourite tools in my craft box have to be Sponge Daubers, a pack of five for £4.50 code 133773, order through my shop button above.

They fit on  your finger like a thimble and allow you to blend colour seamlessly onto our cardstock and are perfect for masking techniques, check out my video techniques for ideas and techniques.

Product list for this card -
Everyday Hero stamp set for buildings, stamped four  times twice in archival black and twice in smoky slate ink pads and fussy cut out.
High Tide stamp set for the birds stamped in archival black ink pad
Crushed Curry cardstock sponged in calypso coral, Cajun craze and cherry cobbler ink pads
Crushed Curry Stampin Write Marker to colour windows of buildings.
Sponge Daubers for the sponging techniques.

So treat yourself to a few packs of sponge daubers and keep a different dauber for each colour or colour group if being frugal and get great results like this.  All products used can be bought through the shop button above.

Happy Stampin and see you again soon. Thanks for dropping by 💜

Masking Technique Using Stampin' Up! High Tide stamp set

Todays video shows you how to use a circular mask to create a sponged circle in the centre of a card leaving white space round the side for the bird images and a sentiment.

Products used -
High Tide stamp set for the wading and flying birds, the sun and the sentiment
Whisper White cardstock cut at 4.75" x 4.75"
Soft Sky cardstock cut at 5 x 5"
Inkpads - pool party, marina mist, island Indigo and smoky slate,
Black inkpads for alternative card, archival black, stazon black, or memento black
Dazzling Details - sparkle glue for the water and sun rays,
Sponge Daubers - for the sponging technique.

All products are available to buy through the shop button above.

Please subscribe to my utube channel as I will be doing regular videos with lots of fun ideas and techniques.

Thanking you for stopping by and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Spring is in the air

Spring is in the air and the daffodils are out and the crocus are in full colour. The temperature is starting to warm and the sun is shining. So today's card is for my love of Spring. It really is a lovely time of the year.
Products needed
Leaflets Framelits for the leaf mask
Timeless Tags Thinlets Dies for the butterflies cut in wild wasabi and peekaboo peach cardstock sponged round edge with coordinating peekaboo peach and mossy meadow inkpads.
Endless Birthday Wishes stamp set for the Lovely wording stamped in mossy meadow
Dragonfly Dreams stamp set for the spots stamped in wild wasabi
Sunshine Wishes Dies for the Love sentiment cut in wild wasabi and half inked in mossy meadow
Hessian ribbon split to get three threads twisted and a knot out in.

I love using a variety of all our Stampin' Up! Products as they all mix and match perfectly to create so many different cards.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope that wherever you are in the world a little bi of Spring is with you.

Card Making Classes Farnham Surrey

I hold regular card making classes in Farnham Surrey for all ages and abilities and one of my favourite classes is for a group of seniors.  This class has been running for over three years now and I have a group of up to ten ladies, two of which are in their nineties which is held at our local day centre.

Each week we make a different project and this week we used the Inside The Lines Designer Series Paper which is free until the end of March for a purchase of £45. Click on the Shop button above and it will take you to my Stampin' Up! Shop where you can make your purchases.

I run a techniques class on the last Friday of the month at my home from 7pm - 9pm spaces are limited to 6 and you will learn two techniques and make a project with them. The cost is £10 paid at the time of booking to secure a place. Please contact me if you would like to be included on one of these classes.

This was the project we made at this weeks senior class using the bumble bee from the Dragonfly Dreams stamp set and here are a few pictures of a few of the ladies cards. I love how each card has been watercoloured differently using Stampin' Up! Watercolour Pencils.

Rainbow Butterfly Card

Well it has been a really wet and miserable day today so a perfect day to spend in the craft room crafting. Now I made a card the other day with a utube video using the Timeless Tags to create a rainbow of butterflies using scraps. So what if you are a beginner in the crafting world and havnt invested in a big shot die cutting machine? I know when I started crafting I couldn't afford a big shot for a good six months so I have created a card using the Bitty Butterfly punch.

Again it uses scraps of cardstock in cherry cobbler, peekaboo peach, daffodil delight, wild wasabi, marina mist, island Indigo and Sweet sugarplum.  I've used the speckles from Timeless Textures to tie the rainbow colour tones up the page and the Birthday Wishes stamp set for a fun happy, lovely, great, awesome birthday making it a fun modern teenage/young adults card.

The rhinestones have been coloured using crushed curry marker pens and left to dry to give the subtle yellow colour. You can colour either our pearls or rhinestones using our Stampin' Markers. One coat gives a subtle colour, several coats will give a darker and true to the ink pad colour. So have fun making your embellishments whatever colour you want.

All products are available through my store just click on the shop button above and until the end of March for every £45 spent in either the annual catalogue or the Spring/Summer catalogue you can get a free product from the Saleabration brochure. All the links are above and the products used above are from the annual catalogue.

Thanks for stopping by and have a crafty day 💜

How to use up all those scraps to make a lovely card

Morning everyone. It's a horrible wet and rainy day so a perfect time to do some crafting. Today's project uses up lots of scraps of cardstock, something as crafters we all have. My video shows you how.
These are the items used and you can purchase them through the shop button above.
Timeless Tags Thinlets Dies 142755 7 dies for £22 used tiny butterflies.
Beautiful You 143004 13 rubber stamps for £25 I used the sentiment.

Do subscribe to my utube channel as I will be posting more fun ideas and techniques for you over the coming weeks.
Thanks for stopping by and see you all soon for more crafting fun 💜

Timeless Tags Easter Card

Timeless Tags thinlet dies and coordinating stamp set is so much more than making Tags. Today's project uses the little flower stamp and die to make a lovely Easter card.

To add dimension to the card I first stamped the flowers and watercoloured using wisteria wonder and flirty flamingo by using the aquapainter you can pick up just a little colour and blend to give a soft look. I then die cut eight further flowers coloured and then mounted on dimensionals to give height. With an Easter sentiment from the teeny tiny  wishes sentiment set a real must have go to stamp set as it has a sentiment for most occasions
All items can be purchased through the shop button above.
I hold regular technique classes on the last Friday of the month 7pm - 9pm in the Farnham GU9 area. So please get in touch if you would like to attend one of these classes.

See you all soon for more crafty ideas and techniques using Stampin Up products

Dies that are essential to any. crafters stash

My go to die for any special age birthday, anniversary, new year, birth, christening or any other date that needs to be celebrated is the Large Numbers Framelit Dies 140622 for £28 . They also coordinate with two stamp sets so have a look in the annual catalogue link above and if you would like to buy this set just go to the shop button.

So I had an 80th birthday card to do for my friend for her mum and the large framelit dies are my go too's  so that was easy. I used the sunshine wishes framelits another favourite for the two hearts cut in the fabulous FREE glimmer paper, available while stocks last for a purchase of £45 across Stampin Up fab range.

Stampin Up products are so great and being able to coordinate everything. The Bermuda bay and Sweet sugarplum glimmer paper coordinates perfectly with the Blooms and Bliss dsp and cardstock making putting a card together easy.

Thanks for dropping by and catch you again soon for more tutorials and fun ideas using Stampin Up products.