22/3 - Spotlight on the Lovely Arrangements stamps & dies

Alison Culliver
Mar 22
8 min read

See a unique way to use the Lovely Arrangements dies in this pretty card.

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!

Last week I was lucky enough to attend OnStage in Sydney, Stampin' Up®'s annual event where they share their new catalogue & let us play around with some of the new products. This is my first in person event, I previously attended on online version during COVID, & WOW, what an action & product packed 3 days it was!! We got to play with some of the new items that are being introduced, received lots of free product & giveaways & saw some great presentations to inspire us to create with the new products.

We also learned of some changes that are being initiated.

Currently there is one big annual catalogue & 2 mini catalogues but moving forward there will be 3 catalogues space out throughout the year & they will all be around the same number of pages. A few items will be continueing on for the entire year but most of the products are for a limited time. I will share more with you when the new catalogue goes live in May.

Today I have a lovely card to share with you that I created with the Lovely Arrangements stamps & dies. The stamp & die bundle are part of the Lovely Blossoms suite which has a lot of gorgeous product in it. I have created a few times with products from this suite but today I am focussing just on the stamps & dies.

When you look at the card you might think, what's so different about this design. The difference is that the Lost Lagoon circle frame around the flowers is actually a die that cuts out a four by six block of circles. I have cut the block up so that I can spread them around a piece of DSP. This was then added to a piece of Night of Navy cardstock before adding them both to a Granny Apple Green card base.

To decorate the card I stamped some flowers & leaves with the stamp set using Night of Navy, Granny Apple Green & Lost Lagoon. The centres of the flowers have the same colour blended with a blending brush. All pieces are then diecut & arranged in varying layers with glue dots & dimensionals so that they pop up a little for a 3D effect.

A simple, heat embossed sentiment & the card is complete.

This was such an easy card to make but I love that I was able to create something a little different just by trimming the circles.

There will be more creations & projects with this bundle & the suite but for now, that's all I have.

Now for some more 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 new catalogue will launch on the 5th May.

The mini catalogue is now available online & in printed form. There are loads of gorgeous new products in there. There's scrapbooking ideas & products, love & Easter themed products and some lovely outdoor themed suites. If you'd like me to send you a copy before it finishes at the end of April 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 Every Little Thing. It is another of the home decor kits suitable for framing & displaying around your home but could easily be adapted to make some stunning cards.

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

Create three DIY floral and nature-inspired paper artworks with the Every Little Thing Kit. Featuring magnolias, tulips, mountains, and a bird, each piece includes uplifting sentiment stamps to brighten your home. Display them on the clipboards from the Standing Clipboard Trio Kit (sold separately) for a personalised decor touch.

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® has now held 3 Online Craft Classes with the Traditions of Christmas craftalong, 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® introduced a special 'Product of the Month' item that is only available with eligible purchases. There is a new item every month with details released just before the new item will be released. Each month it's a surprise what 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 all of the products so far. December was some lovely blue toned DSP & January was a very versatile stamp set. I will share some creations with you in future posts. February was a stunning DSP pack filled with Beautiful watercoloured patterns and whimsical designs that make beautiful projects. I featured some creations in my midweek post a few weeks ago.

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.

The new catalogue is only a few weeks away & is full of lots of gorgeous new product along with some carry over items. I can't share any of the new catalogue with you yet, apart from the front cover until it is officially released to the public but I will be able to share some of the creations I made with products I received at OnStage and in the pre-order period. More info shortly.

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.

As this post goes to air, I am driving to Echuca with my husband & some friends for a bowls tournament so the next post has been prepared ahead of time & is scheduled for Wednesday. I will be back for next Sunday's post though.

My next post will be on Wednesday & will be sharing a different way to use scoring in your creations.

In next Sunday's post I have a gorgeous set of cards made with the Cute As A Bug designer series paper. They are adorable!

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