Stampin' Up!'s Impressionist Art Gallery

Stampin' Up!'s Impressionist Art Gallery

I love that Stampin' Up! has produced almost a museum of floral paintings in their recent collections of Designer Series Paper. Last Winter/Spring during Sale-A-Bration many remarked on the likeness of Monet's waterlilies in paper designs, the DSP was titled Lily Impressions.  And in the year's Annual Catalog was a DSP pack titled Perennial Essence ~ more soft Monet and Renoir-like images. I, along with other demonstrators I suspect, framed individual sheets of 12 x 12 DSP and have them hanging in our craft spaces ~ instant art.

The Fine Art Floral Suite in the current January - June Mini Catalog this season was at the top of my shopping list because of the Designer Series Paper. It took me back to Amsterdam/Netherlands and my first visit to the magnificent Keukenhof Gardens tulip display. Can you imagine approximately 64 acres of 7 million flower bulbs?! 

Keurkenhof Gardens  Lisse, Netherlands

I am going to be hard pressed to cut into this DSP; I will need a pack to save, because you know that's what paper addicts do. Oooh, I even see a glimpse of Van Gogh - like dark blue and yellow. Oh, and  something like the American Impressionist Childe Hassam's paintings of Celia Thaxter's Garden on Appledore Island in Maine, east of Portsmouth, NH

The Fine Art Floral Suite graces the cover of the Mini Catalog.

 

How does SU create such artisitic papers? 

We had a Stampin' Up! artist hand-paint canvases with beautiful florals and textures in classic Stampin' Up! colors. We then took those canvases, photographed them, and made them into this unique designer series paper.

And now it is our turn to don a beret and smock and release our inner artist ~ seriously it is so easy when the paper does all the work. But along the way, let's play. The suite calls for 2 and 3 step stamping and even gold leafing.

Try various color combinations like Flirty Flamingo and Poppy Red, Poppy Red and Merry Merlot, Purple Posey and Highland Heather. Mix up reds, add yellows.  Try blues. Stamp the lighter color first, then the darker, then some gold!

Oh, but be careful with the Gilded Leafing! Don't sneeze ~ don't breath and DO NOT turn on the ceiling fan! The leafing is very light and is packed tightly in small, irregular pieces. It is truly easy to work with and produces quite the effect.

 

I did not use leafing on this card, but stamped twice and embossed ~ the embossing folder is appropriately named Painted Texture and is part of the Fine Art Floral Suite. 

For me, this suite is akin to wandering through an art gallery, any art gallery   ~ civilization at its best. I consider myself truly blessed to have spent countless Sundays in art museums with my mother and to have found kindred spirits to continue seeking out these special spaces and exhibits. 

Sister Wendy (Wendy Beckett, British nun and art historian 1930 -2018) offered:

    

     A country that has few museums is both materially poor and spiritually poor ... museums, like theatres and libraries, are a means to freedom.

Give yourself the excuse to pick up this stamp suite, or pieces of it, and play. The sentiments are simple, but cover a variety of occasions. And if all else fails, frame a sheet or two of the dsp for your own art gallery. 

Find the 'Gallery Map" on pages 32 - 34 in the Mini Catalog. You may order directly from this website, or contact me to help you place an order. 

I would love to see what you create!

Let's stamp!

 

Black and White and Red All Over

 

Breaking News

SS Newspaper Collides With 

SS Facebook Off Virginia Coast

Journalists Freezing In Lifeboats 

What's black and white and red all over?

Sadly, in my opinion, many folks would not get this joke today.

The answer is, of course, a newspaper - black and white and read all over. 

I have written for newspapers for years and this is a touchy subject, so I will stick to a couple of other black and white subjects and ideas. Like black and white photos ~ do you have any? I don't have many and most seem now to have been scanned and stored on discs. I like the deckle-like edge on older B&W photos. Partly because of their scarcity I find them sentimental.

“One is never over- or underdressed with a little black dress.” – Karl Lagerfeld   

"I have said that black has it all. White, too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.” – Coco Chanel

Hmm ... what else is black and white: dominoes, zebra, chess board, crossword puzzle, Dalmations, cookies ...  AND 

Stampin' Up! True Love Designer Series Paper!

You will find this series of black and white designed paper in the Mini January - June Catalog. Its versatility is its strong suit, so to speak.  In card designs, use the paper as is, all black and white. Or color part of it, or all of it. Fussy cut images to use alone. Cut shapes from black and white or colored segments. 

The yellow peony like flowers were cut from the black and white sheet of DSP and colored with Stampin' Blends.  They create the focal point on a panel of Very Vanilla cardstock embellished with Very Vanilla Scallop Lace Trim and a tag crafted from 2 Sweetly Stitched Shapes - the same size but layered.  The panel is layered onto Daffodil Delight and then onto a Basic Black card base. 

Want a little more color?

Gorgeous Grape pairs well with black, and not just for sympathy. Again, I colored with Stampin' Blends ~  my favorite coloring tool. I discovered that Dark Purple Posey and Light Rich Razzleberry makes a terrific combo. I cut the oval from the center of the black and white piece, mounted it on a larger black scallop oval (Layering Ovals) and popped the entire piece up on dimensionals. A little bee from Dandy Garden DSP is hovering just above the shadowed happy dies, cut from Purple Posey and Gorgeous Grape. 

Don't be afraid to mix and match florals and stripes, on cards, anyway.

On the reverse side of the floral imaged papers are geometric patterns.         

This was originally designed as a Valentine, but would not have to be used as such; it would suit any love-ly occasion. Here, three patterns were used and accented with Magenta Madness.  I even got bold enough to color in some of the white stripes. 

I have to say that Magenta is just not my favorite of the InColors, or any colors, but I like it here ~ don't be afraid to experiment. I did not purchase the Magenta ribbon, so I colored the White Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon with the Magenta Madness Stampin' Blend! And because all Stampin' Up! products match and coordinate, it was perfect.

You can find and order these and more perfect Stampin' Up! products easily using the catalog and/or Shop Now buttons. I am happy to help you with ideas and the materials needed to craft them. Please let me know how I can help.

Let's Stamp!

 

   

 

 

 

A Scrappy Happy Valentine's Day to You

I hope I never out grow the anticipation of Valentine's Day. Will there be red and pink envelopes in my mailbox? Will I receive a heart shaped box of chocolate candy, or the iconic Whitman's Sampler? Are roses too much to hope for? 

Just as I often do this time of year, I spent time last weekend making Valentine cards. And as a paper addict, yes I confess, I dug into my stash of scraps. I keep all sizes of scrap paper, plus other paper items like pretty cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, restaurant placemats ...

With so many options of scraps from Designer Series Papers, I experimented with a design I saw Demonstrator Lyssa Zwolanek feature on her blog during the holidays. The only measurement needed is 1 inch ~ cut a mess of one inch squares from coordinating papers and you're off.

For a standard size 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch card, cut a white panel of 4 x 5 1/4. Gauge the center of the panel and lay out a horizontal row of squares set on the diagonal. Glue it down, leaving a sliver of a white margin between the squares.  Add a second row on the top or bottom. Keep going. 

The squares will not evenly cover the base. That's ok - let them hang off the side. Just add rows of different patterns as you please until you have covered the entire panel.

When you turn over your panel, you will see the over hanging pieces ~ just slice them off all around the card and you will have a lovely paper quilted Valentine. The over hanging pieces may be sticky depending on the glue you use and how neat you are; you may want to use older, but sharp, scissors to trim.

And your piecing is complete. Honestly the hardest part of this design is choosing the papers, maybe if you did not have as many to choose from, but that will never be me.

Attach the panel to the front of your base card. The next hardest decision: does it need more on the front? Flowers, hearts, ribbon, pearls, a large sentiment?

Sometimes I hate to cover up pretty background papers, but these two hearts work nicely. 

And I think I will add a bow ...

Don't throw away even an inch of scrap paper!

If you try this yourself, show me! It doesn't need to be Valentines, any pretty paper for any reason at all. If you need more pretty papers, look at the variety of Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up! : click on Shop Now and search Designer Series Paper.

Let's stamp!

 

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Remember When ...

 

We counted ourselves lucky growing up in our neighborhood, an established neighborhood with houses that had front yards and back yards and side yards. Most houses had porches, some had basements. The house next door had a sleeping porch plus a covered side porch with a fireplace. 

There were also green spaces and empty lots scattered throughout that were safe and game for play. We had bicycles, pedal cars and skates and most importantly, friends and imagination. 

A convenient green space that was well kept was at the end of my street. After the Spring thaw it began blooming with a colorful mix of wild flowers: violets, clover, buttercups, dandelions. All grew at just the height for little hands to pluck and carry home to Mama. Even little ones knew, from early training, flowers in neighbors' gardens were not for picking! 

For most of us I dare say that the real attraction to the dandelion was not the yellow flower head, but the gray feathery seeds that we wished upon and blew away into the sky. Whether wishes came true or not, it was an exhilarating experience for a youngster. 

These memories and more (Dandelion Salad, Fried Dandelions and Dandelion Wine) drew me to some of the new Stampin'  Up! offerings in the January - June Mini Catalog.  The Dandy Garden Suite consists of two bundles of stamp sets, punch and die cuts of dandelions, cone flowers, wild flowers, bees, dragonflies and ladybugs. Take a look back to pages 24 - 26 for all of the items available. Choose it all, or just a few items, but if ladybugs are indeed lucky, please do not forget the Ladybug Trinkets.

I have to say, I have bought and have played with most of it and am designing the class 

Dandelions & Dragonflies for February 20. And I am also using the stamp set Dandelion Wishes on page 73 of the Annual 2019- 2020 Catalog, lots of fuzzy seeds blowing in the wind. 

Watch your inbox for details for the in person and to-go class. Are you on my mailing list?

Just one last thing ~ do you know the origin of the word dandelion?

From the French dent de lion, lion's tooth. I wonder why Mama never told me that, probably just as well as what child needs that image?

Contact me to reserve your spot in Dandelions & Dragonflies. The class-to-go includes materials needed to make 4 cards, plus instructions. No stamped images are included in the kit, but I will include an add-on list of supplies you might consider if you want to make the cards as I show. Otherwise, please choose images and sentiments from your own collection. 

Sneak peek:

Let's stamp!

A Host of Golden Daffodils

   I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 

When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host, of golden daffodils; 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

    Daffodils have to be the happiest flower in creation ~ and don't they make you happy, too? I can't help but smile when I see them, lined up in a less than precise chorus line along a fence or in a random patch sprouting up in the woodside. 

Continuous as the stars that shine 

And twinkle on the milky way, 

They stretched in never-ending line 

Along the margin of a bay: 

Ten thousand saw I at a glance, 

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

Daffodils, jonquils, narcissus ~ are they all the same? In one sense it doesn't really matter (to me, they are all simply beautiful springtime flowers), but when your mother attempts to define the difference, you take note. So, daffodil is the common name for many of the species of the genus Narcissus. 

The waves beside them danced; but they 

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: 

A poet could not but be gay, 

In such a jocund company: 

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought 

What wealth the show to me had brought: 

    It is likely that you refer to this flower in the context in which you were introduced - from William Wordsworth's poem I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud, or the sweet childhood classic Daffodowndilly, or mythology class and the legend of Narcissus.

    I was lucky enough to roam through England's Lake Country where Wordsworth spent so much time, where he and his sister Dorothy hiked and became inspired to journal and compose ... as an English major, that trip was major to me!

Did you memorize his poem in school?

For oft, when on my couch I lie 

In vacant or in pensive mood, 

They flash upon that inward eye 

Which is the bliss of solitude; 

And then my heart with pleasure fills, 

And dances with the daffodils. 

~ William Wordsworth

 

     Daffodils, like few other flowers, seem to have continually popped up here    and there through my years, so when I discovered the stamp set You're Inspiring featuring these trumpeting blooms, I knew it would be on my wish list. I have just started playing with it; stamping and coloring the images is almost as joyful as the flowers themselves.

  

 
    The delicate lined images are perfect for coloring with our Blends, the Watercolor Pencils, Stampin' Write Markers, plus added interest using Blender Pens and Aqua Painters. 

   

There truly are dozens of varieties of this happy bloom, but generally the blooms are yellow or white, often with a touch of orange - not that I am the expert, just what I have observed and found from google - so reach for Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Tangelo Twist, Garden Green.

  When I bought my very first home in October 100 years ago, I was immediately struck by the towering oak trees and maple trees in the front yard; what beauty! I honestly believe I bought that house on Sunny Lane for the trees. After that first gorgeous autumn and then a Midwest blizzard-heavy winter, the backyard fence burst into hundreds, HUNDREDS of daffodils! I had no idea they were there ~ such a delightful surprise! 

    Several years ago when I sold my mother's home, which was my childhood home and the home in which I raised my girls, it was March and her jonquils were up and in bloom. The last item packed after I locked the door was a handful of her flowers to take to our new home. 

Are you familiar with the Greek myth of Narcissus?

Echo and Narcissus

John William Waterhouse

1903

The stamp set is incredibly easy to work with, let's stamp!

Don't Hide Your Eyes From This Eclipse

I became fascinated last summer when 'eclipse' cards became the rage, or the revival of the eclipse card. I was immediately going to create a card for my youngest grandson, his name has just four letters.

Opps, I did not have the large letter framelits.

Debate with SU Self:
SU Self: You need the framelits to make the eclipse cards.
Self: They seem a little pricey.
SU Self: Is anything too expensive for your sweet grandchildren?
Self: Of course not, ridiculous question. Hmmm, COLE. ABBY. COLIN. BRADLEY - oh, way too long.
SU Self: what about words: LOVE. KISS. YOU. HELLO.
Self: Good ideas, but will I really make them; I have stamp sets I haven't used yet (don't tell anyone!).
SU Self: Well you surely won't make them if you don't have the framelits.
Self: Yeah, I do need the framelits.

Well, I did not buy them.

Then came Cole's birthday. No Large Letter Framelits. I did, however, make a cute Special Delivery Happy Birthday card using that nostalgic DSP,  happy fox  framelits and fun foam.

Well, I have done it! Ordered. Shipped. In use. For Valentine's Day.

Here are a few tips for when you break down and order the Large Letter Framelits:

* stamp the top art layer of your card, I would not cut it any smaller than 5 1/8 x 3 7/8
* leave some white area, and or lightly stamped areas
* use grid paper and a rule to line up letters, you may place the letters tightly side by side as the cutting edges are a wee bit more narrow than the top edges
* you can also use washi tape to gently secure the framelits on your card before running through the Big Shot ~consider practicing with your line up before cutting into your stamped layer
* cut several sets of the letters from card stock to stack and provide the height

* I used liquid tombow to glue letters into thick stacks of the same letter, glue stamped art letters on the top of the coordinating stacks - don't forget the middle of letters, like with the O, like I did

* gently insert stacked letters into corresponding space

So, don't you need the Large Letter Framelits?

Let's stamp!

Color Inspiration from the Caribbean

How do you choose which colors to use on a card, or for the card base? There are so many different color combinations.

Having stamped for many years now, I often look for color and design inspiration in nature's landscapes as I travel and take photos. Hmm, does that mean I can write off my vacations as work expense...

Recently in the Caribbean I visited several botanical gardens, including an orchid garden ~ wow, some of those colors were intense.

Row after room of hanging beauties. Of course I was holding up those behind me walking through this greenhouse, but I was intent on studying the shading, thinking of our Stampin' Up! Blends. 

I love to create using white on white, but look at what just a pop of color does for this velvety white orchid. 

More color combinations from looking out of a window... 

And texture. This is a Fish Tails Palm. It resembles our new Petal Pair Textured Impressions Embossing Folders.

Finding color inspiration is the easy part, choosing exactly which of our colors to put together seems to take me a little longer ~ another reason why I am up all night!

Let's stamp!