Tuesday 30 January 2018

Stampin Up Brusho Techniques

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

How to UseBRUSHO  and make your own stencils.


  • For this technique you will need Water colour paper, Brusho Crystals and a spritzer bottle.
  • The LEAF PUNCH
  1. On a piece of scrap paper punch out a pattern using the Leaf Punch.  Do this on several pieces of scrap paper as once the scrap paper has been spritzed you will need to throw it away as it will not hold and will buckle.  Copy paper is ideal for this.
  2. Place the copy paper over the water colour paper and hold down with one leaf image with fingers and sprinkle some Moss Green Brush over the leaf cut out.  Just a few sprinkles Brusho goes a long way. Lightly spritz and then with an Aquapainter just outline the image.  With a piece of kitchen roll dab off excess water.  Do this with each of your stencil leaves.  
  3. BIGGEST TIP.  Do not use too much water as it will seep under the stencil and cause a splotchy image.
  4. Now take a fresh piece of copy paper with the Leaf Punch stencil and using the Gamboge which is a lovely orange colour repeat the process.
  5. By dabbing with kitchen roll you can control the amount of colour transferred to the water colour paper allowing for a more subtle muted look, which is perfect for this card.
The background speaks for itself so I just added a simple sentiment and mounted on black cardstock on a white card base.


BRUSHO is a great investment as these little pots will last forever as you only ever use a few crystals, whatever you are doing.

Here is a technique video from Stampin Up with some other fun ideas to try.



Sunday 28 January 2018

Stampin Up Brusho Techniques

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

How to Use BRUSHO with Embossing Folders


  • Take an embossing folder of choice. 
  • Using the Brusho sprinkle the powder on the opened embossing folder on one side.  You will get a different effect depending whether you use the emboss or deboss side.
  • Spray with spritzer filled with water.  Do not over spritz just a fine mist.
  • Place a piece of cardstock over the spritzed side.
  • Close embossing folder and rub over it with your hands. Pay attention to all the corners.
  • Open the embossing folder and carefully peel the cardstock off.
  • Colours I used, for the butterfly. Prussian Blue, Brilliant Red and Gamboge and on the other butterfly Brilliant Red, Yellow and Gamboge.  On the Tree I used just Moss Green and Yellow.
  • Allow to dry thoroughly.



  • BIGGEST TIP.  Do not over saturate with water as this will make the colours run to much and will bleed onto the embossing folder and the imprint will not be clear.

  • You can get several prints just by re spritzing the embossing folder and adding a second piece of cardstock.  If you need a little extra colour just sprinkle some more brusho onto the embossing folder.
Cardstock.  To be quite honest I have used just ordinary whisper white cardstock and as long as you are only spritzing lightly the effect is fine.  TIP. I used a whole piece of cardstock A4 and then trimmed it after it had dried so there is no warping.  You can always used watercolour paper or shimmery white.

Watercolour ink crystals—Sprinkle them directly on water-washed paper and watch the colours burst!

* Package includes 5 pots, 1 each of 5 colours: Brilliant Red, Gamboge (orange), Moss Green, Prussian Blue, Yellow
* 0.5 oz. (14 g) each pot


Here is video from Stampin Up showing you some of the other ways to use Brusho Crystals.  To buy yours  CLICK HERE.


Friday 26 January 2018

Stampin Up Waterfront using Brusho

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

Waterfront stamp set. is a great value stamp set at £15 and can be used to create many landscape backgrounds.

These beautiful cards have been created using Brusho crystal colours.
Brusho are little pots of crystal pigmented ink which you just shake and spritz to create a myriad of colour combinations.

  1. Place the stamp on an acrylic block and shake Prussian Blue and Mossy Green over the stamp.  Being photopolymer the crystals stick to the block easily.
  2. Spritz lightly with water and wipe excess away from the block leaving the water on the stamp.
  3. Stamp on cardstock.
  4. Spritz again lightly and using second piece of cardstock to stamp a second image.
  5. Warning. the photopolymer stamp will stain but does not effect the stamp.
  6. Repeat with the tree image and other image to create your scene.
  7. Stamp sentiment at bottom of card. I chose the birthday sentiment from Beautiful Day.
This idea was CASE'd from Lydia Fielder of Understand Blue a fellow American Stampin Up Demonstrator.  So thank you very much for this great idea.

Don't forget we are still in Sale-a-bration and for every £45 spent throughout the catalogue you can choose a FREE product,





Wednesday 24 January 2018

Stampin Up Hedgehugs

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

Hedgehugs. is an adorable stamp set featuring, hedgehogs, squirrels and birds with some lovely sentiments.

How to make an adorable Hedgehugs card

  1. Colours used, Berry Burst, Sweet Sugarplum and Fresh Fig.
  2. Stamp the background with the two flower stamps in the 3 colours randomly across the cardstock,
  3. Stamp the hedhog in Crumb Cake and then colour the body with the light crumb cake blends.
  4. Use the Sitched Shapes Framelits dies to mount the hedgehog and for the sentiment. The Stitched Shapes Framelit Dies have squares, circles and ovals.
  5. Use some Fresh Fig ribbon and some metallic sequins to finish the card.
stamp set is just £18 and can be used in so many ways.  I like to take just one or two of the elements to make lovely backgrounds, like the flowers in the above card and the toadstools in the below card.

The swirls in the above card are from Beautiful Peacock a FREE stamp set which you can get during SALE-A-BRATION.
for every £45 spent in any current catalogue you can get a FREE product.  Check it out NOW.





Monday 22 January 2018

Stampin Up Magical Day Dragon

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

Magical Day Bundle. is not just for children's cards.  If you are feeling a bit like a dragon and breathing fire about something then this card with Just Breathe would be perfect.

Magical Day Dragon Card

  1. Use Painted with Love dsp. and choose where the gold embossing goes so the dragon can be grounded.
  2. Colour the dragon with the aquapainter and colours from the dsp, melon mambo, rich razzleberry and calypso colour.
  3. The sentiment comes from the Colourful Seasons stamp set.
It is good to send cards for all occasions and sometimes when a girlfriend or guyfriend is having a tough time or has been feeling angry about something then this is the card I would send.  I would change up the colours and dsp for a guy.

Painted with Love dsp is probably the most luxurious dsp ever.  With Valentines just around the corner it would be lovely.  The gold embossing makes it very special.

Dragons, wizards, unicorns, mermaids and knights this set has something for everyone who like a little myths ad magic.


For every £45 spent get FREE products.  Check it out NOW.





Friday 19 January 2018

Stampin Up Magical Day Unicorn

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

Magical Day Bundle. is such a fun set with Unicorns, dragons, wizards, mermaids and a knight it is every child however big or small and all us adults myths and magic fantasy.


Painted With Love dsp. is the gorgeous background paper and the reverse side is behind.  If there is one pack of dsp to get I would recommend this one.  It has lots of gold on it and is just lovely

All the front sides have gold embossing and the reverse are great coloured patterns.

The Magical Day bundle. with the little unicorn is a perfect match for a unicorn loving little girl like me.


The great thing about Stampin Up is how everything coordinates perfectly, especially our colours.

The Melon Mambo cardstock behind the unicorn and the Stampin Write Marker to colour the unicorn match perfectly with the Painted With Love dsp.  That's what makes Stampin Up so good everything matches and coordinates perfectly.

Don't forget Sale-A-Bration. for every £45 spent you can get  FREE product.  Order the above bundle and dsp and get your FREE product today.




Thursday 18 January 2018

Stampin Up Sunshine and Rainbows

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting.  My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

Sunshine & Rainbows Bundle. is the perfect set for anyone who loves rainbows.  Rainbows have always been very special to me as my late mother collected rainbow bits.  She had some lovely cling window stickers and sun catchers with rainbows on so when I saw this set I just had to have it to carry on the tradition.

The framelits are a must as they allow you to cut out the beams of the rainbow easily, would hate to fussy cut this shape lol. There are several different types of cloud too, which allows you to make different skies.

The sentiment I used is perfect You can't have a rainbow without a little rain and there are raindrops in a stamp to add the rain.

I tucked the ends of the rainbow in between the clouds to make a more realistic look and popped the clouds up on dimensionals with the lightening bolts and sunshine.

Simply mounted on a whisper white base, the images really pop.  I normally mount the card first before putting onto my card base, but I felt this way worked well with the white clouds.

Sale-A-Bration. is on now so if you purchase this bundle and an ink pad or cardstock or  pack of dimensionals you can get a FREE product.


Wednesday 17 January 2018

Stampin Up Brusho and Magical Day

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

I'm so excited to share with you Brusho. 5 pots of crystalized powdered ink in Prussian Blue, Mossy Green, Brilliant Red, Gamboge and Yellow.  Pierce a little hole in the top of the pot and shake onto wet cardstock to create the most amazing colour bursts.

For this card I used the 
Magical Day Bundle. which is a coordinating stamp set and framelits with a wizard, a dragon, unicorn, mermaid and a little knight.

How to create Brusho stormy sky background.

  1. Take a piece of watercolour paper, whisper white cardstock, shimmery white cardstock or any cardstock you wish.  You will get a different effect on each.
  2. Using our spritzer totally wet the cardstock.
  3. Using the Prussian Blue shake the crystals onto the wet cardstock. A little goes a long way. Spritz again and see the colour burst and travel across the cardstock.
  4. In the centre of the card add some Mossy Green and wait a few moments for thecolour to burst again.
  5. Take a paper towel and blot excess water, then spritz again.
  6. Continue with both colours until you get the desired effect.  If you don't like it or it gets too blended just blot with paper towel and start again.
  7. Once desired effect achieve leave to dry naturally.
  8. This really is a unique technique as you will not achieve the colour bursts with any other medium.
During Sale-A-Bration. for every £45 spend you can get a FREE product from the Sale-A-Bration brochure.  So if you order the products to make the above card you can get something FREE too.


Friday 12 January 2018

Stampin Up Labeler Alphabet

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

The Labeler Alphabet. is probably one of the best tools in your crafty stash that you can have, as it allows you to personalise and individualise any card.

I had to make a card for a guy who is an old rocker and was around in the punk rock days.  Male cards can be difficult as we all look sparkles and flowers and bows and a male card needs to be simpler and to the point.

How to make a male rock and roll card

  1. Labeler Alphabet stamp set. for the words
  2. Bird Banter stamp set. for the cockatoo coloured with our Stampin Write Markers and Stampin Blends,
  3. Epic Celebrations FREE Sale-A-Bration stamp set. for the guitar coloured in Dapper Denim ink using our Aquapainters.
For every £45 you spend you can get a FREE products from Sale-A-Bration brochure, just click on the Sale-A-Bration link at the top of the page.

Bird Banter is a great stamp set which can be coloured in any way you wish and has some great sentiments.  For only £15 it is a great buy.

Definitely a set to put in your basket.



Thursday 11 January 2018

Stampin Up Backgrounds using Lots of Lavender

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

Backgrounds are great fun to create and Sale-a-bration Lots of Lavender. is one of those sets.

I used Dapper Denim, Berry Burst and Lemon/Lime Twist ink pads and the inside Lavender stamp to create a pattern in the three colours across the cardstock.

I then teamed up coordinating cardstock for the banner and sentiment and used some Fresh Fig ribbon to finish the card.

Sale-A-Bration

Is that amazing time of year where for every £45 you spend you can get a FREE level 1 product.  If you spend £90 then there are two level 2 products to choose.  

Click on the link above or the highlighted areas which will take to you the Stampin Up shop.



Monday 8 January 2018

Stampin Up Beautiful Peacock

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

Beautiful Peacock. is a FREE stamp set you can get for every £45 spent in any of our current catalogues.

I love trying to think outside the box and so made this lovely pattern using the Beautiful Peacock set.


How to make Beautiful Peacock card

  1. Using Tranquil Tide ink stamp the body of the peacock 6 times interlocking the head and tail diagonally across the cardstock.
  2. Using Dapper Denim ink stamp the tail flourish.
  3. Using Berry Burst stamp the flower stamps inside the natural spaces that have been formed inside the stamping.
  4. Using the Aquapainter and some Berry Burst ink colour inside the peacock body.
  5. Mount on a piece of Berry Burst cardstock.
Until the 31st March 2018 for every £45 spent you can earn a FREE product in the Level 1 category and if you spend £90 you can get a level 2 product which includes a die set.

Level 2 products.

There has never been a better time of buy Stampin Up products as who doesn't like getting freebies. So click on any of the highlighted links or go to the top side of this blog to go directly to the store and fill up with all your crafty stash and get a FREE product.


Thursday 4 January 2018

Stampin Up Beautiful Peacock and Hedgehugs

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator.

Sale-A-Bration and Spring/Summer catalogue


Hedgehugs. and Beautiful Peacock. are the two stamp sets used in this card.

Stampin Write Markers. are a great tool to colour stamps as I have demonstrated in the mushrooms.  I used Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler with Chocolate Chip to give the mushrooms colour.

If you buy a set of the Stampin Write Markers in several colour combinations. with the Hedgehugs stamp set from the new Spring Summer catalogue and spend £45 you can get the Beautiful Peacock set for FREE

This set has two beautiful flourishes and 5 different flowers stamps to embellish any project.

Here's a selection to qualify for this FREE stamp set and make the project card demonstrated

  1. Hedgehugs Clear Moun £18.
  2. Stampin Write Markers - Brights. £27.50
Totals £45.50 and get the Beautiful Peacock from Sale-A-Bration FREE

The lovely Hedgehugs stamp set has the hedgehogs, squirrel and bird but use the toadstools/mushrooms and the flowers coloured with the Stampin Write Markers and you have a totally different look which is perfect for simple backgrounds and stand alone cards.

So take advantage of these FREE sets and place a qualifying order of £45 to get yours.





Wednesday 3 January 2018

Stampin Up Sale-A-Bration Beautiful Peacock

Today Is All About YOU

Yes today and for the next 3 months Stampin Up is all about you. Sale-A-Bration has started an for every £45 spent in any of our current catalogues you can earn a FREE product.

Beautiful Peacock. is one of the stamp sets which is FREE for a £45 spend.

The flourishes and swirls in this set are great for pretty backgrounds with flowers and the sentiment Today is all about you fits for many occasions.  Here I used Old Olive and Lemon/Lime Twist for the flourishes and Crushed Curry for the flowers.

This FREE set is going to be  very popular as who doesn't love a stamp set with so many possibilities.


Sale-A-Bration is a great time to stock up on lots of lovely products and for every £45 spent you can choose a FREE item from the Sale-A-Bration brochure.  This year for even more excitement if you spent £90 there are some  special items.


There is a set of thinlets dies and a 16 piece red rubber stamp set all FREE with a £90 order.


So if you are like me and love getting anything for FREE then just place an order now (click on any of the highlighted links or go to the SHOP NOW button and start getting some fabulous FREE products.

Over the coming weeks I will be showcasing some of these FREE products with lots of ideas and tutorials of how to get the most out of these sets so if you haven't already subscribed to my blog, please do so, as all my ideas and tutorials are free to use and share.








Tuesday 2 January 2018

Stampin Up Sale-A-Bration Epic Celebrations Teenage Cards

Hello and welcome to Amethystarcrafting. My name is Jane Allmark and I'm a UK Independent Stampin Up Demonstrator

I hope you all had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.  I had a lovely break and now with the start of the New Year am back with exciting tutorials and projects for you during 2018.

The 3rd January (tomorrow) is a big day as it is the start of Sale-A-Bration and the launch of the new Spring/Summer catalogue.

Sale-A-Bration Epic Celebrations

Teenage cards are always difficult to get the balance right and this FREE stamp set is perfect.
Aqua Painters. and some Dapper Denim ink . give this lovely water colour wash and with the random splotches in Dapper Denim it adds to that on trend teenage card feel.

Trainers and headphones can be inked in any colour and You're Awesome is a great sentiment for a teenager.

This set is only available as a FREE product which you can earn for a spend of £45 from any current catalogue with Stampin Up. Tomorrow when we go live with the launch I will have the Spring/Summer online catalogue and the Sale-A-Bration online brochure ready for you to buy this awesome set.


If you would like a hard copy of the Spring/Summer catalogue and the Sale-A=Bration brochure then just drop me a line and I will post them out to you.

See you all tomorrow for the big launch.