As soon as I saw the Best Birds Bundle in the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue, I knew I would be adding it to my collection - and luckily I earned some free product in the last Stampin' Up! year, so I was able to get it straight away!

With our Christmas in July coming up, I decided to have a bit of a play with it - after all, do you remember all those zillions of snow filled Christmas cards with little Robin Redbreasts on the front?

First I decided to create layers on my card with the Lots of Layers Framelits and my first layer was to be sponging some of the gorgeous Irresistably Floral Specialty Designer Series Paper. I wanted to make 12 cards, so my object was to cut 12 pieces out of one sheet of 12" x 12" paper to reduce wastage.

Now, as you know, you can't fit a full sheet of 12" x 12" through the standard Big Shot machine to cut out the framelits, so here is what I did!

That's right!

I traced around the framelits to get 12 onto the sheet, then I carefully cut between each row so I would have three strips that would fit in the Big Shot.

I then sponged each one with Pear Pizzazz ink, dark at one end and lighter at the other, then stamped my birds and boughs on more Whisper White card using the Momento Black ink pad. This is not my favourite ink pad for watercolouring, but it is my favourite for using with the Photopolymer stamps - especially when I am stamping them 12 times each!

Each of these shapes has a co-ordinating framelit, so I just stamped then on the thick Whisper White card to make them a little sturdier - also because I planned on watercolouring them all too.

Now, given the length and thinness of the branch stamp, you might be wondering, how did I get it to stick on my block in exactly the right position so that it would line up with the Framelit?

I saw a little trick on Face Book a week or so back, and thought it was brilliant! You place the framelit cutting side down on the table first, then you press the photopolymer stamp into the back of it so you can easily get it lined up perfectly, then you press your "H" block onto the stamp. Lift up, peel off the framelit, ink up, stamp, then cut out with the Big Shot.

Next was colouring - and those of you who visit me regularly know that I use the aqua painters, and pour re-inker into the lid of my stamp pads and use them like a paint pallet. For these I used : Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Pear Pizzazz and Old Olive.

I wasn't all that excited by how the Real Red came out when it was dry, it was a little pale and insipid compared to what I pictured, so I added a pop of colour another way.

In fact, I did a super quick 1 minute video on YouTube to show you what I did! Watch it here.

Next a cut 12 more Lots of Labels pieces in the next size up, from Soft Suede card, stamped some of the cross hatch texture from the stamp set onto more Whisper White then assembled all the pieces.

I also added 2 greeting stamps - the "Merry" is from Snow Place stamp set and the "Christmas" is from Time of Year Hostess set.

What do you think?

You can see these cards in real life and a whole stack more at our Christmas in July event, next Saturday the 30th July at Wonga Park. We'd love to see you. Buy tickets on line here.

Step By Step

A little while ago one of my stamping team members asked if we could do the Northern Lights Technique at Team Night, so she could learn how to do it.

You can make some pretty effective cards with this lovely technique.

Here's what I did!

Use the Stampin' Up! Sponge Daubers to apply Wild Wasabi, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise Inks across your Whisper White card.

Mask off the lovely "sky" with a piece of torn scrap paper, then sponge the whole bottom section using Night of Navy Ink, and a little Early Espresso and a little Black if you feel the need to go darker.

Gently start sponging some of the darkness into the sky.

Stamp a gorgeous silhouette image over your background - I used the ever popular "Lovely As A Tree" stamp set.

Add some white dots to the sky for stars, and layer onto your base card. I've used a thin layer of Whisper White onto a base card of Wild Wasabi. The greeting is heat embossed with white embossing powder.

So effective, don't you think?

Don't forget July is Bonus Days month with Stampin' Up! If you place a product order for $90 (plus postage) you will receive a $9 coupon to redeem in August. Click on the Bonus Days picture belong to go to my online shop to find out more!

Finding images to go onto cards for males can be a challenge - and then even when you find a great image, putting it with the masculine colours and textures can take us outside our comfort zone.  It's SO easy to make cards to suit women when there are so many more choices of products!

When I was asked to create a 21st Birthday Card for a friends much loved grandson, I was pleased to hear he likes "old things", old leather bags, box Brownies, vintagey, antiquey things!

Out comes the trusty Stampin' Up! stamp set Traveler along with From Land to Sea (he likes lighthouses too!) and I decided on a collage style card in a slightly larger size than our standard A6.

First I stamped each of the images and added a swathe of colour using the paint brush swipe images from Work Of Art stamp set.

Then I added a bit of extra colour using Blender Pens and Ink pads and layered each piece onto Basic Black.

I then just played around with how they best fit onto the card front, rearranging them a couple of times until I was happy with it, added the number 21 in gold glimmer paper and some scraps of various Designer Series papers behind, and stuck them all down.

Something this special also needs to have the inside decorated, but I also had to aware of leaving enough room for Grandma to write a special birthday message.

By all accounts, she was very, very happy that she asked me to create this special card and the young man loved it. How nice is that to have been a part of his 21st birthday celebrations and helping to create special memories for them both.