1/3 -Something slightly different with the Stone & Vine embossing folder

Alison Culliver
5 days ago
8 min read

How to use blending with an embossing folder to give a unique finish to your cards.

Hello & welcome to my blog.

My name is Alison & I live in beautiful Melbourne, Australia & I am an independent Stampin' Up® demonstrator.

I love to create beautiful things to share with people that I love but I also sell me creations. I have been creating things in one way or another for most of my life - knitting, sewing, cooking, card making, gardening, scrap booking & hand made gifts & in 2020 after joining Stampin' Up® I decided to share my passion in a blog (craftedbyalison@blogspot.com).

In 2025 I retired & decided to spread my creative wings a little more by combining my blog, products that I had been selling on FaceBook & launching a newsletter. Some of these things I had already been doing but this time they are all in the one place. (All previous posts can be found at my blogspot address above if you would to read any of them.)

And here we are at my new site!

In today's post I am sharing a different technique using an embossing folder & sponge daubers to highlight areas of an embossed image.

During the week I learned that one of my former colleagues & friend's father had passed. With this sad news I knew I wanted to send her a message of support.

With the delicate pattern of the Stone & Vine embossing folder & a little soft green colouring I was able to make the card above. Here's how it came together.

The card base is Basic White & has a Granny Apple Green matte with the edges distressed by my scissors.

I embossed a Basic White matte with the embossing folder then inked up a Sponge Dauber with Soft Sea Foam ink & carefully coloured the raised area in a corner of the embossed piece.

Next, I wrapped a double length of the retired Soft Sea Foam seam binding ribbon towards the bottom of the card & adhered it well on the reverse.

The sentiment is from Forever Florals & is stamped in Granny Apple Green ink, fussy cut & adhered with mini Glue dots.

The last step for the front of the card was to add some Antique Pearls which are subtle & elegant.

This is quite a simple technique if you take your time & don't apply too much pressure when sponging.

As I like to finish off each of my projects with some special little touches. For this project I added a Granny Apple Green matte (with distressed edges) & a Basic White matte, with a small area on the edge embossed, to the inside of the card plus I embossed a section of the envelope flap.

That's it for my creations today. I hope you enjoyed learning how to use the same dies to achieve 3 different card designs.

Now for some news from Stampin' Up®.

Stampin' Up® have many ways of shopping with a physical catalogue, online shopping & in person events. When items are about to be retired or are running low they are put on the 'Last Chance' list which means that there is limited stock & when it runs out, it's gone.

Stampin' Up® 's Annual Catalogue is sectioned it to have beginners, which is a step by step collection of materials in kits, then there is quick & easy where you select base materials & packs of pre-printed or diecut materials plus some stamp sets then there is create your way where you choose all the materials, stamps etc yourself & Create Your Way! In the quick & easy section Stampin' Up® have also provided some inspiration with a colour wheel & information of various ways to use colour combinations. I explored this in a bit more detail in some of my previous blogs on Blogspot. The other cool feature is that they provide card sketch & scrapbook layout ideas for you. This is great for any times that you need a little inspiration.

If you'd like to browse the catalogue online then click here. If you'd like a copy to hold in your hands, leaf through & put little notes all over it of what's on your wish list then shoot me an email at craftedbyalison@gmail.com or message me on my facebook page at craftedbyalison.

The mini catalogue is now available online & in printed form. There are loads of gorgeous new products in there. There's scrapbooking ideas & products, Valentines & Easter themed products and some lovely outdoor themed suites. If you'd like me to send you a copy then send me an email at craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

Stampin' Up® also have loads of additional products available only online. These are called Online exclusives & have no end date, when the stock is sold out, that's the end of it.

Stampin' Up® have a great range of Kits including crafting, card making & gift giving. There are brand new kits added to the collection every month. Click here to check them all out in my online shop. As Stampin' Up® have so many beautiful kits available I usually feature a different kit in each

Sunday blog so that you can see the range.

This week the feature kit is called Brighten Your Day & is one of the easiest style of kits that Stampin' Up® sell as all of the hard work is done with card bases, stamped sentiments & precut overlays included in the kit.

Here's how Stampin' Up® describe it...

Create easy to assemble, nature-inspired cards with the Brighten Your Day Card Kit. The delicate, organic overlays and soft pastel colours pair beautifully with friendship and encouragement sentiments.

If you feel that you need to add this to your list then click here to purchase one from my online store.

If you shop with me then there are some changes last year to the rewards program that you should know about. In the past we were able to create a host code & group together individual orders & pass on the 'hostess' benefits to customers with qualifying orders. This has now been replaced with a 'Rewards' program that gives all customers who place an order with a qualifying amount a credit of 10% of their order to use on future orders. This will be displayed during the checkout process or your order. Stampin' Up® feel that this is a fairer way of rewarding all customers.

There are some new ways to craft on offer at the moment which I will go through one at a time.

Ready?

1.Stampin' Up® held it's first ever Online Craft Class with the Traditions of Christmas craftalong & followed that up with a Brushed with Beauty Suite on November 21st and the most recent one is called Lovely Blossoms & is available right now! It co-ordinates with the Lovely Blossoms suite & you can order the class & suite by clicking on the links. It was held on the 20th February. I have purchased both of the previous classes & they are a great way for you to learn from the professionals & a load of fun.

Once you purchase any of the Craft Classes you will receive an email with a link to an exclusive Facebook group when the event is hosted. Can't wait to craft along again & see what designs the team come up with!

2. Stampin' Up® held their first ever Virtual Card Making Retreat over two days recently. It was designed for experienced or advanced crafters in mind but also had a heap of tips & ideas for those wanting to explore more detailed card designing. You can still be a part of this event! To participate you just need to purchase the Retreat kit ($288AU) & this provides you with all of the materials you need & access to an exclusive FaceBook group where the videos from the event are stored. It sounds like a bit of expense but from past experience, what you take away from these type of events is well worth it. You can also download & print the pre event cutting instructions as well as having a cutting video & recordings of all of the cards that were made.

Here's some more info on how to join this retreat.

To craft along with the Stampin' Up® presenters and make 15 beautiful, all-occasion cards, you’ll want to purchase the 2026 Virtual Card Making Retreat kit. Everyone who purchases a kit will receive a link to the exclusive Facebook group where the live event will stream. We only have a limited number of kits, so make sure to order yours ASAP!

3. Starting last December, Stampin' Up® have introduced a special 'Product of the Month' item that is only available with eligible purchases. There will be a new item every month with no clues as to what the item will be - until now! Starting from this month, Stampin' Up® will be giving us a sneak peak at the new item, approximately 1 week before it's release. It could be stamps, dies, papers - a complete surprise every month. You will be able to receive each month's product for just $9 when you spend $125 in one order. I have been able to order the first offering for December which is some lovely blue toned DSP & also have the January Product of the Month which is a very versatile stamp set. I will share some creations with you in future posts. The February product is now available & is a stunning DSP pack filled with Beautiful watercoloured patterns and whimsical designs that will make beautiful projects.

The March Product of the Month is a lovely, whimsical stamp set.

If you would like to add this stamp set to your collection, get your shopping list out & place a qualifying order & you will be prompted before checkout to add it to your shopping trolley.

Later this month I will be heading up to Sydney for Stampin' Up®'s annual On Stage event which is when they release their new Annual Catalogue to demonstrators. This will be my first time attending On Stage & I'm pretty excited to join hundreds of other demonstrators from all around Australia for 3 days of fun, friendship & new products. I won't be able to share any of the catalogue apart from the front cover until it is officially released to the public but I will be able to share any creations I make with products I receive at the event or in the pre-order period. More info when it's available.

Lastly, there have been lots of great items added to the clearance rack which is now called Last Chance items so make sure you check them out using this link to my online store as there are some great discounts.

If you would like to purchase any of my creations that I feature in my blogs they can be found in my shop along with lots of different designs including feminine, masculine, special occasions, everyday events, something for the juniors or you can order something unique.

I hope you've enjoyed today's post.

My next post will be on Wednesday & will share some creations made with the January & February Products of the Month.

In next Sunday's post I have some alternative designs made with the Handmade & Heartfelt kit.

I hope you can join me for both of them & come back for more.

Til next take, take care & keep creating.

XX Alison

Here are some links to the products that I used today & some craft room essentials.

Shop with me

Stamps, Dies, Embossing folders & punches