8/3 Homemade & Heartfelt kit alternatives

Alison Culliver
Mar 8
9 min read

Using supplies from the kit to create alternative 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 have taken some of the leftovers from the Handmade & Heartfelt kit to create some alternative designs.

This is what I started with...

While the cards in the kit are lovely, I find it is great to stretch my creativity muscle & see what else I can do with the supplies from the kit. I hope you enjoy them.

I used only a few supplies from the kit to create these two cards but I also used the stamp set that comes with the kit.

For the first card I used a Secret Sea base & added a DSP matte from the Painted Illusions pack. This peaks through the window from the kit. Around the frame I added some flowers, stamped in Secret Sea, Pretty Peacock & Lost Lagoon on Very Vanilla, using the Lovely Arrangements stamp set then diecut them with the matching dies. The sentiment is tamped in Pretty Peacock on one of the tags from the kit.

The second card also has a Secret Sea base but this time I scored it a second time to create a simple funfold.

The card bases from the kit have some lovely designs so I cut up one of the bases & used it as a matte inside the card.

The colour of the base matches nicely with some of the Brushed With Beauty DSP so I cut two strips for the funfold panels.

Before adhering the matte & the panels, I added some Basic Beige Classic ribbon under the DSP on the left panel & the matte on the right.

Now for the sentiment & writing area.

For the front I diecut some Secret Sea using the Everyday Arches & heat embossed the sentiment in Copper. This was added to the front panel but only a small section so that it hung over the inside panel of the card.

Using some of the flowers from the kit I added them to the sentiment panel, raising them on dimensionals to allow the ribbon to thread through to the right of the card. This panel was finished with a few Antique Pearls.

The inside panel was diecut with the same die but this time in Basic White. To position it correctly I applied liquid glue to the back of it & loosely held it behind the front panel, pressing it down onto the base. This way it was perfectly aligned & is only seen when you open the card.

To close the card, simply tie the two ends of the ribbon into a bow.

That's it for my creations today. I hope you enjoyed learning how to use supplies from kits to make new creations.

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 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 the Handmade & Heartfelt kit as it was the focus of this post.

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

The Handmade & Heartfelt Kit proves that the art of writing a personal card is alive and well. So slow down and enjoy creating with peek-through cards, layering pieces, sentiment stamps, and a built-in organisation station to help you make, sort, and send cards with ease. Share handmade joy from one convenient box and turn every card into a heartfelt connection.

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 on Wednesday.

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.

Next week 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 in person as the last one I attended was online during COVID & 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.
I will be home for a few days then I head off to Echuca with my husband & some friends for a bowling tournament. A busy month is March!!
As I will be away so much, I will be scheduling some of my future posts & there may be a delay in my creations being available in my shop.

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 a new funfold with you.

In next Sunday's post I have a Mystery Stamping project.

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