Wednesday, June 4, 2025

June Inspiration Station Blog Hop Challenge


Inspiration Station Blog

This month's inspiration photo was so fun! I immediately was inspired by the jewel tones of the carnival ride and all the gilded details.  I knew this would be a perfect inspiration to use the Breezy Quest mini delight set from Altenew. This project is made on an A2 size card base, and the artwork is on a panel trimmed just a bit smaller, from 80lb Classic Crest Nenah Solar White cardstock.


I started this project by softly blending Altenew Fresh Dye inks in Tide Blue and Pool to the lower left corner of the panel, and Golden Honeycomb with Peachy Glow to the upper right corner, just to give a slight indication of sky. 


Next, I used Altenew Brushed Gold cardstock for the base and basket of the hot air balloon.  The balloon panels are from my colored cardstock stash. I used the stamp from the Breezy Quest set to emboss the design on the balloon panels using Altenew Antique Gold embossing powder. 


I attached the panel to the card base with liquid glue and added a small trim of the gold cardstock to the top and bottom. The sentiment is also embossed with the same powder using a sentiment from the set.


I hope you enjoy this project and if it inspires you, be sure to tag me on Instagram @scrappystampthefunup, I'd love to see your take on this month's inspiration photo. And follow the link at the top to join the challenge!  The supplies I used can be purchased from Altenew by clicking the link below:

Altenew Shop

See you next month!



Monday, May 5, 2025

Inspiration Station May Blog Hop Challenge!


Above is this month's Inspiration Station Challenge photo and below are my two takes on it.

I was really inspired by the colors in this image. I feel like, when it comes to "Dad" cards, we tend to lean towards greys, blues or neutral colors. I liked that this image has the oranges and the greens and the yellows. I also was intrigued by the plaid on their shirts, so I auditioned some orage plaid papers which was fun because, it's not exactly a paper style I use a lot of. I also auditioned some greens and found a scrap of grass paper!


I created an A2 and a 5 x 7" top folding easel pop-up card base. I couldn't decide on the Paper Dolls I wanted to use for the cards, so that's how I ended up with two cards lol. After choosing the papers, I adhered them to the bases. For the skies on each card, I used Beautiful Bokeh cardstock from Stampin' Up! I absolutely love this pack; it's such a versatile cardstock set.

I adhered the cardstocks to the inside first, then added the sky cardstock, then cut to fit and "shredded" the scrap of grass cardstock.  I adhered that down, so the shredded parts stood up over the fold of the pop up. Then I adhered the front green cardstock over it:


The sentiment is stamped in Misty Moonlight ink using the Layers of Beauty stamp set, also from Stampin' Up! The pop-up stoppers on the inside of the card are cut from the same paper scraps used in the cards and concentric oval dies to cut the shapes. Pro tip, when creating pop-up stoppers for your pop-up cards, use two layers of double-sided adhesive foam tape. The final step was positioning and layering up the people, also using some strategically placed double sided adhesive foam tape for 3D effects:



 I used my craft knife on one set of the people to cut out the man's hand so I could place it over the child on his lap:

I absolutely loved making these projects and it was fun to showcase "Dad" cards that were in fun colors. If you were inspired by my projects and try these techniques for yourself, be sure to tag me on social media @scrappystampthefunup I would love to see how the inspiration photo inspired you! 

For the Stampin' Up! items used on these projects, head over to Stampinup.com to make a list, then email me with your order at: stampthefunup@yahoo.com

See you next month!











 

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Garden Party on the Moon - Final exam workshop project for my friend Traci's journey through the Altenew Educator Program :)


First of all, major props to Traci for coming up with some techniques and ideas I have never seen before! This was a super fun class! I had absolutely none of the supplies used for this class, so I improvised a lot. Let's start with the first card, the large metallic daisies.

I embossed a panel of brushed silver cardstock, placing it upside down in the Daisies embossing folder so that the silver was on the debossed side.


From that point, using various Fresh Dye inks in shades of dark and teal blues, I watered them down and dripped the dyed water into the debossed areas, adding more here and there to gets different shades and tones as it dried into the metallic cardstock. As the dyed water dried, I poured Crystal Clear Crisp Embossing powder into it and hit with my heat gun. Yes, you can use embossing powder with water! This process was repeated over and over until I had achieved a look I liked. 


When I was done I fussy cut the daisies out and set the piece aside. 


For the background I double embossed a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" panel of Jet Black cardstock using the Crossweaves and Organic linen embossing folder. I then used the metallic watercolors to splatter pinks, blues and golds all over the panel. I didn't splatter first because I didn't want the paint splattered areas to tear in the double embossing process. I used a fan brush held about 8" above the panel so the splatters would be super small, like stars. 


When this dried, I attached the panel to an A2 Jet Black cardstock card base. 

To finish this card, I added double sided foam tape to the back of the daisies and attached them to the card. I trimmed the overhanging petals. For the sentiment I used the Scripty Sentiments die set, cutting the base out of brushed silver cardstock and the words out of Brushed Gold cardstock. After attaching them together, I used metallic glitter Nuvo Drops to the entire sentiment.


For more details I cut leaves out of Brushed Silver cardstock using the leaves from the Fresh Flowers die set.


For the second card I started with a panel of 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Jet Black cardstock. To create a background of "planets" I used the blobby shapes from the Sun-Kissed Blooms stencil and the Daisies stencil. These were embossed on the panel with Crystal Clear Crisp Embossing powder. I also used the Milky Way stencil in the same process to add stars into my planets.



Next, I used the Milky Way Stencil and Antique Gold embossing powder to add the stars across the panel. I attached the panel to another A2 Jet Black cardstock card base-top folding. 


Using the same watered-down ink with the Crystal Clear embossing folder, I used the same blue colors as well as some yellows to add the color to die cuts from the Fresh Flowers die set. However, on these flowers and leaves I also scrubbed some ink straight into the embossed areas of the die-cuts with the Detail Blending Brushes.






The sentiment was created the same way as in the first card and using the same metallic cardstocks, but this time on the silver background I used blue inks with the Crystal Clear embossing powder and the yellow inks over the Brushed Gold cardstock with the Crystal Clear embossing powder.


Instead of raising it up on adhesive foam tape, I cut 4 sentiment backgrounds from the Jet Black cardstock to layer up the sentiment. 



Again, major props to Traci for teaching this old crafty dog new tricks!!  If you try any of these techniques, be sure to tag me @scrappystampthefunup and @Altenewllc on Instagram, we would love to see your work! Also, head over to the Altenew Fan Group page on Facebook for all the classes and workshops and contests and challenges and crafty shenanigans we get up to!!  Have fun crafting!!

Click here to shop the Altenew Store for all the items used in these projects!

 


Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Blog site update

 Hi crafty friends! I've had to do some logistical re-arranging with my old blog "Stamp the Fun Up." I had to resort back to my super old blog here at blogger.com. Of course, that means I lost the last two years of blog posts lol... so, please update your favorites menu to this blog address.  Thanks!!!

Altenew 11th Anniversary Blog Hop - Day 2! PLUS Giveaway (over $3,600 in Total Prizes)



Click here to see the Altenew Blog Hop Post! 


I am so honored and proud to be a part of Altenew's 11th year Anniversary Hop! For my project for this hop, I wanted to pay homage to the Altenew name by taking an old technique and making it new again. I chose to do a bright and colorful take on the good old' "Blackout" technique. The blackout technique is where you color in the image from the de-bossed side of an embossed cardstock panel then rub over it with black ink. If you have never tried this technique, GO DO IT NOW!!! It is so much fun!!

My project started with a panel of 80lb classic crest solar white cardstock cut to 4 1/2" x 6", just big enough to cover the image on the Sweet Peruvian Zinnias 3D embossing folder while leaving some space for the sentiment. And like I said, in this technique, you flip the embossed panel over and color in the image on the de-bossed side. I used Artist Markers. The super cool thing about this technique is, if you slip and go outside of the de-bossed area, the boo-boos will be covered up when you drag the ink pag over it in the end!! So, you don't have to be an Artist Marker Picasso for this! Wahoo!! (You guys know me, you know I am always finding the loopholes for ya lol.)

Below is the process! I hope you enjoy learning this technique and if you try it yourself, tag me on Instagram @scrappystampthefunup and tag @Altenewllc we would love to see your work!!! Have fun hopping along and good luck with the Giveaway!!

My ultimate pro-tip for you when using alcohol markers is to make a swatch of the colors you want to use for your particular project so you can see how they blend together and what order you'll want to use them in. This will save you precious brain cells, I promise!! Below is the swatch for this project:


Next, I embossed my panel of cardstock, and yes, I lightly spritzed it with water first. I do this EVERY time I emboss to get a crisper impression and of course to minimize and or prevent any possible cracking of the paper fibers. Then, flip it over and that is the de-bossed side I'll be using in the project.


The next photos show the order in which I colored the petals. I started with the petals and were in the background of the flowers, so I used my two darker purples on these. Then I moved to the next set of petals that were closer and used my medium purples on those, then I used my lighter purples on the leaves closest. I then went back with the medium and dark purples to add depth to the petals. I did this with the stems and green parts and the yellow centers as well.














Next, is the actual technique. Not only did I choose a bright fresh blue in Pool, but then I went over it with the darker Teal Tempest which added drama and depth. You take your ink pad and drag it flat over the panel, in one direction across the panel, then flip the panel around and repeat. This is the secret to this technique. Drag the ink pad, pick it up, start at the same side and drag again. Don't scrub the ink pad back and forth, dragging it is the key. 






Look at that glow!!

I took a 5"x7" classic crest solar white 80lb cardstock base in landscape and used Just Green ink to drag across that from left to right. When I do textural inking, I like to add it in different directions to create interest and texture. Another pro-tip: clean off your craft mat between ink dragging!


I attached the pretty panel directly to the base and added the sentiment on foam tape.


Check out the amazing and generous sponsors!!


Giveaway info: 

Anniversary Special Offers:
  • 04/14/2025 - 04/17/2025: Get a FREE brand-new Lace 3D Embossing Folder (worth $11.99) on orders over $89 from 04/14/2025 at 12:01 AM EDT until 04/17/2025 at 11:59 PM EDT. The free gift will be automatically added to eligible orders—while supplies last. Shop here: https://altenew.com/collections/all-altenew-products (promotional banners HERE)

  • 04/14/2025 - 04/18/2025: Get FREE U.S. Shipping on orders over $29 (no code needed) or $10 off International Shipping with code ALTENEW@11 at checkout from 04/14/2025 at 12:01 AM EDT until 04/18/2025 at 11:59 PM EDT. 


Supply list for my project:

Classic Crest Solar White 80lb cardstock
Brushed Gold metallic cardstock
Puffy Heart cardstock
Scripty Sentiments die set
Sweet Peruvian Zinnias 3D embossing folder
Fresh Dye Inks in Pool, Teal Tempest and Just Green
Artist Markers in Purple Wine R614, Lavender Fields R702, Puffy Heart R603, Rose Quartz R601, Honey Drizzle Y316, Citrus Burst C004, Shadow Creek G425, Grass Field G515, Forest Glades G715 and Firefly G503