Saturday 30 March 2019

How to align your sentiments easily with the Stamparatus & some window sheet.

This is the easiest tip ever.  Ever struggled getting sentiments aligned and find that they are crooked or just not where you expected them to be? Use the STAMPARATUS and some window sheet or the sheet from the retired Stamp-a-Majig for an easy way to ensure your stamps are straight.

This cute little card uses the THIS LITTLE PIGGY stamp set and there are several different techniques for you to try.

Hinge step stamping - Masking - Window sheet sentiment placement.

Here is a step by step video tutorial for you to see exactly how to do these techniques. So do give them a try and let me know how you get on.



Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day.

Friday 29 March 2019

Make a tiny basket of flowers 3" x 3" ideal for a Mother's Day Gift

Mother's Day is this Sunday and it is also the end of Sale-a-bration, so only 3 days left to take advantage of FREE products.

So here are two FREE items you can get for the next 3 days to make this sweet little basket full of flowers which will make a great Mother's Day gift to put a little something inside for any woman in your family who is a special "Mum"

PETAL PROMENADE DSP and TEA TIME FRAMELITS DIES are the FREE products used to make this sweet little basket.

This basket is probably the easiest basket to make with just one piece of 3" x 3" dsp scored at 1" and 2" on both sides.Simply cut up the score lines on two sides and fold into a basket shape.

Here is a step by step video tutorial to show you exactly how to make this basket and decorate it with the flowers.



Hope you will have a go and make a few baskets for Mother's Day or a birthday or Easter gift. Wrap your gift, a small piece of jewellery or other treat in tissue paper and just pop it inside and make someone smile.



Get FREE stamping products and discounts - 3 days left

There are only 3 days left to get FREE products and £70 of free stamping goods ends 31st March 2019

Sale-a-bration ends in just 3 days so don't miss out on FREE stuff.


For every £45 you spend you can choose a free item.

There are some great things to choose from stamp sets, embossing folders, designer series paper and much more, but it all ends in 3 days.

Want a discount of 20% on everything you buy? and £70 of free products of your choice? There is no catch. choose what you want and keep it as its yours. Buy any other products and get 20% discount.

The current offer for the next 3 days is £170 of product for just £99.

It really is too good to miss.

READ MORE HERE or click on the Join tab at the top of this blog.

I'd hate for you to miss out so if you have been waiting to order you have just 3 days to take advantage of these offers.

Happy crafting.

Tuesday 19 March 2019

Stamparatus Grid Paper Wreath Template - Step by Step video tutorial .

How to make Grid Paper Wreath Template for Stamparatus - Step by Step video tutorial.


Well I have been absolutely overwhelmed at how my grid paper wreath template has been received. Thank you to my subscribers for requesting the tutorial and to all the new subscribers that this tutorial has inspired. Welcome.

When the Stamparatus was launched I made an acetate wreath template which I used for making lovely circular patterns. When the SMALL GRID PAPER came out to perfectly fit the Stamparatus it made a perfect base, with all of the grid measurements to make a wreath template.

This wreath template is for a 4" square and a 5" square, but by using the grid lines you can make any size you wish. You can see Ive started a 3" square one in the middle.



This is how I did it - a step by step video tutorial

I hope you find this useful and will give it a try.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification button so you don't miss any of the upcoming videos as I will be giving you some ideas using current Stampin Up stamp sets to create some lovely cards using the grid wreath template and the Stamparatus.


Saturday 16 March 2019

The Joy Of Sets March 2019 Easter Blog Hop - Jane Allmark AMETHYSTARCRAFTING

Hello and welcome to the Joy of Sets March 2019 Easter Blog Hop.

The theme for this hop is Easter and a 3D project. This has to have been one of the most difficult challenges for me.  I don't really celebrate Easter and now that the children have grown and flown the nest don't really do Easter eggs either. I'm not a one for 3D projects as am more of a card maker. I make the odd box to put things in but 3D help! So after a lot of procrastinating and 'umming and 'erring I came up with a 3D framed card with free hanging butterflies. Well the butterflies are secretly added to some acetate to make them look as if they free hanging.

THE RECTANGLE STITCHED FRAMELITS DIES
are the perfect frame for this techniques and I cut out three, using dimensionals between each layer for height and to add the butterflies in between.

BEAUTY ABOUNDS is a lovely stamp set and the pretty swirl stamped round the frame and coloured with our blends was perfect.

I took a couple of butterflies from the Beauty Abounds and Butterfly Gala added onto acetetate strip to add the floating butterfly element.

Teeny Tiny Sentiments is perfect for those little sentiments and I chose the Happy Easter. Although this is retired it is my go to for sentiments that I don't have elsewhere. The Happy Easter fitted perfectly at the bottom of the frame.

So a 3D Easter card for a friend, was finished and as Joy of Sets is all about making friendships with crafters around the world, it all came together perfectly.

So now it's time to hop around and see some of the other creativity from our fellow hoppers.

Go back to Andrea Parr HERE



Go forward to Karen Pearman HERE

Enjoy the hop and have fun.



Monday 11 March 2019

Stamparatus Hinge Step Technique using Sale-a-bration Part of My Story rainbow effect.

THE STAMPARATUS POSITIONING TOOL is in my opinion the best positioning tool on the market and one of it's unique features is the ability to do "hinge step" stamping.

Here's a step by step video tutorial to show you what I mean

This card I made in a pretty rainbow colour by using different inks in each step and then added the butterflies from the Butterfly Gala bundle

The sentiments are from a Sale-a-bration stamp set, only available (while stocks last) until 31st March 2019, so you only have a couple of weeks left.  This set is totally FREE with an order of £45 so don't miss out . SHOP HEREto take advantage of FREE items.


Friday 8 March 2019

Timeless Textures Geometric brick pattern for Clean & Simple card using Stampin Up products.

I try and think of different ideas and ways to use stamp sets to create interest and challenge myself to come up with as many different ways to use a stamp set in different creative ways.

TIMELESS TEXTURES is one of those stamp sets. So I decided to create a modern clean and simple card by using the grid stamp to make a geometric brick pattern.

I coloured using the Stampin Blends in the light and dark to create the brick effect and used a ruler and the black Stampin Write marker to fill in the edge.

Here is a step by step video tutorial to show you what I did.

Do have a go as it is a really easy technique and could be used with many different stamp sets.

Remember 31st March is the last time you can get FREE products so don't delay and have a browse at what you can get HERE

Sunday 3 March 2019

Stampin Up - 6" x 6" One Sheet Wonder Series of 4 free video tutorials and gift box

One Sheet Wonder 6"x6" series of 4 video tutorials with bonus gift box.



This is a series of 4 video tutorials for a 6" x 6" One Sheet Wonder for 6 cards and reinforced gift box.

Video 1 - Measurements and cutting of One Sheet Wonder


Video 2 - Making the first card

Video 3 - card 3 & 4


Video 4 - Final card and decorating reinforced gift box


Bonus Video - How to make reinforced gift box


Click the highlighted links to buy some of the products used
BUTTERFLY GALA stamp set




This die set contains 24 different dies so is a great addition to your crafty stash.

Saturday 2 March 2019

Tips for colouring butterflies using Stampin Up Butterfly Gala.


I just love butterflies as they work for embellishments and focal points on so many different crafting projects. BUTTERFLY GALA is  just one of those lovely stamp sets, with lots of different butterfly images and some great sentiments.

Colouring butterflies can be a bit challenging, so I have done a step by step video tutorial to show you how to colour these butterflies using
STAMPIN BLENDS -alcohol markers

INK - using our ink pads

WATERCOLOUR PENCILS

Have a go at colouring these butterflies using combinations you may not have thought of.

Watch the video and try it out for yourself.




Want some FREE stamps, patterned paper, embossing folders and more?
Spend £45 during Sale-a-bration (ends 31 March 2019 so get in quick) and claim your FREE item.


The Joy of Sets #JOSTTT003 Designed by Jane Allmark

Well how exciting it is my month in the Joy of Sets Tic Tac Toe challenge. It is our 3rd month and is March 2019

The layout I chose was all the things I love most. Nature has to be the middle as everything to do with nature, from trees to mountains, flowers to animals, the nature that surrounds us all is a wonder that can be easily transferred to our crafts.

Green, is one of my favourite colours to use in my card making as there are so many shades and hues too chose from and can be toned with almost any other colour.

Water colouring, with our AQUA PAINTER with inks, pencils or markers, is easy to achieve and creates some lovely washes and effects.

Rectangles - RECTANGLE STITCHED FRAMELITS DIES are my new go to. With 13 different stitched rectangles they can be used for so much.

Layers, pearls and embellishments finish off any card and dsp or patterned paper well who doesn't like some pretty papers on a card.

So what did I choose you ask?  Everything, except the patterned paper, but I did create my own for the background.

Green - Old Olive and Mint Macaron for the trees.
Water Colouring - in Old Olive under the trees.
Sparkle - Copper embossing for the trees and splashed Wink of Stella across the whole image
Embellishments - little flowers and die cut love from Well Written Framelits dies
Nature - the trees and mountains from Let It Ride and Waterfront stamp sets
Layers - framed picture on tree background, matted on white card base.
Patterned Paper - created by own with the trees from Let It Ride
Pearls - the centre of the flowers are with the Gold Metallic pearls.

As it was my month I thought I could indulge myself and work with everything on the grid.

So why not have a go with the challenge and show me what you can come up with. Join in HERE

If you are chosen as the winner you get to be a guest designer on the following month. So if you enjoy challenges then have a go.

For  a simpler way to use this layout on a one layer card have a look at this step by step video tutorial in some lovely purples