Jan Clothier - Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator

Do you fancy trying your hand at some vintage/shabby chic? Then there's still time to join in the latest challenge at As You See It. Entries close 11.59pm PST on Wednesday.

So, I've been playing around with some my pre-order items. The Regal Flora set and Winter Regal DSP were getting a workout as I was trying out some things for next month's classes. Do you have a favourite?

I thought I'd share this with you. It's my contribution to Stampin' Fancy Friday, a group of past and current Stampin' Up! Artisan Team members. I love how easy the Layers of Beauty Masks are to use and how easy it is to make lovely things with them.

From Jan - The Layers of Beauty bundle is perfect for any celebration where flowers are required - in other words, everything! For this birthday card, I've paired it up with the Spotlight on Nature dies, some touches of gold, the Painted Texture embossing folder and a sentiment from Country Birdhouse.

This week was a first for me - my first time of setting the challenge at The Paper Players. It's a colour challenge: Lemon Lolly, Flirty Flamingo, Soft Sea Foam plus a neutral of your choice. Black and White are free colours. If you're looking for something to do today, why not join in? The challenge closes at 7am tomorrow morning (NZT).

Stuck for inspiration? Try using the templates on page 22 of the 2024-5 Annual Catalogue. This month, my class people and I are playing with this template. Feel free to add your own efforts with it if you'd like. 😀

I've been playing around with book folds for next month's classes. Add a bow or not? What do you think?
(These are not the class cards - these are experiments.)

What are your three favourite SU colours?

That's the challenge at Colour INKspiration this time round. For me, it changes with my mood, the weather and what I'm thinking! But on the day I made my Crew card, it was these three!

Today's the day you can save yourself the cost of shipping! What a great chance to get a few things from your wishlist. You can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand.

What a fantastic chance to get some things from your wish list! You can order at my online store any time on 23 July.

Another place to look for inspiration when you're crafting is stuff that's around you: fashion, home decor, wrapping papers, packaging... The theme at Stampin' Fancy Friday this month is colour combinations. I came up with this colour combination: Copper Clay, Peach Pie, Pretty Peacock and Blackberry Bliss after a close inspection of a section of my new drapes!

When you're stuck for inspiration, do you ever try CASEing? To Copy And Selectively Edit something from the catalogue, or a friend can be good for getting your mojo up and running. The challenge at Around the World on Wednesday this month was to CASE a friend and I was paired up with Leonie Stuart, a friend and Demo in Australia. By looking at our cards, you can see what I've kept and what I've changed.

I'm delighted to share the news that I've joined the Design Team at The Paper Players, one of my favourite challenge sites. My first assignment is a theme challenge: Summer Fun. It's quite a good thing to be thinking about summer from the depths of winter! Why not look us up and join in?

Quite a few people I know have popped over to Fiji for some respite from the winter cold. But this sea turtle, swimming in the tropical waters is about as close as I'm going to get today!

One of the nice changes to the design of the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue is the inclusion of a number of templates for card layouts. What a bonus, when your mojo is low! To highlight that section of the catalogue, both cards for my classes this month use one of the templates as inspiration. Isn't is amazing how using different products - but the same design - can lead to such different results?

The Crafty Owl and I have another step-by-step class ready for you! Simply purchase the Thoughtful Wishes bundle and Thoughtful Wishes DSP from us and we'll send you this easy to follow class for four gorgeous projects. If you've already got those products, simply purchase products of equivalent value from us, let us know that's what you've done and we'll still send it to you. Message me if you'd like to know more. You can purchase from me from anywhere in New Zealand and from Joanne in the UK and Europe.

Sometimes the design choices we make are quite subtle. To bling, or not to bling? That is the question for this card!

Just a friendly reminder that if you've been havering about buying yourself a bundle - or a machine - time's almost up on the 10% off special. Just today and tomorrow left. You can order through my online store from anywhere in New Zealand.

What's your favourite kind of card challenge? Mine is a sketch challenge and this week, the new challenge at As You See It is this simple, open sketch. Why not give it a go?

I made this card in 5 minutes, 17 seconds (including inside decoration) for the Speed Challenge at As You See It. What's the fastest you've made a card - and been happy with the result?

Two colours and a neutral are sometimes all you need. This is my current favourite bundle from the annual catalogue. What’s yours?

In classes this week, we played around with the Spotlight on Nature bundle. Participants had some subtle choices to make aside from the colour. Which one to you prefer?

Isn't it funny how you can so easily overlook parts of die sets? I've been so focussed on the large magnolia image and the pretty die cut leaves that I completely overlooked how gorgeous this single magnolia die is!

Samples for one of the projects in last weekend's class. Which one do you prefer? Petal Pink, Pretty in Pink or Fresh Freesia?

Last Call!
Creativity Abounds Virtual International Stamp Camp, featuring the Country Birdhouse suite, is 15-16 June. If you're keen to join in, you'll need to order your products this weekend to make sure you have them before camp begins. Let me know if you're keen or if you need more information.

Here's my crew card for the latest challenge at Colour INKspiration. What do you reckon the palette is for this one?

PS Anyone else overlook this bundle?
New favourite on the horizon! 😂😂😂

What better way to while away a wet, rainy evening than doing your craft shopping? 😀😀😀

You can visit my online store here: https://www.stampinup.nz/?demoid=4013556

I'm such a ditherer sometimes. I'm playing around with ideas for next month's card class. What do you reckon? This or That?

What are your thoughts on the new In-Colours?

I'm starting to play around with them. The latest challenge at Colour INKspiration asked us to use Peach Pie and Shy Shamrock (along with Petal Pink). I didn't warm to Peach Pie immediately but after this card, maybe there's hope. 😀

When you're stuck for inspiration, why not try a card-making challenge? I made this card for the latest challenge at As You See It, which is a Recipe Challenge. Take the 5 given ingredients and see what you can cook up with them.
The five ingredients for the recipe this time were: Black, White, one other colour, an embossing folder and a die cut. It's amazing how many different things you can make with that combination!