Stamps. Creating with the gorgeous Mixed Florals stamp set.

Alison Culliver
Jan 25
8 min read

I'm Alison, and I live in the beautiful city of Melbourne, Australia.

In the past, I blogged on Blogger, but after completing a web design course, I've learnt to integrate my blog with a shop to sell the projects I create and showcase in my posts.

If you previously followed me at craftedbyalison@blogspot.com, thank you for joining me on this new journey. If this is your first time reading my work, welcome!

Let me share a bit about myself.

I enjoy making cards and gifts for my friends and family, and this blog is dedicated to helping you create something special for your loved ones too.

I post twice a week—on Sundays, where I typically feature a stamp set, dies, embossing folders, projects, and occasionally special Designer Series Paper (DSP), and on Wednesday evenings, where I offer techniques, colour related topics & techniques, fun folds or tools and tips.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or suggestions. You can email me at craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

I have had a wonderful few days recently.

First of all, I've been babysitting two Grandpuppies, Oscar & Daisy.

Oscar is a 10 month old Aussie Shepherd & is packed full of cuteness, energy & a fair smattering of naughtiness! We love having him here as he keeps us on his toes but it's like having a toddler in the house again. WOW. His dad is away on a business weekend & yesterday was a scorching 40degrees C so we said we'd look after him, rather than have him stay at home in the heat.

We also had our first grandpuppy, Daisy yesterday as Mum & Dad have gone camping with friends. The cousins played pretty well together with the occasional 'disagreement' but overall their playfighting tired them out for an afternoon nap. Score!

While this was going on I was also attending a Stampin' Up® online Virtual Card Retreat. We got shown how to create 15 beautiful cards over 2 days & luckily it is also recorded so I am able to go back & rewatch the videos & catch up. More about that in my newsletter.

Now onto this week's project.

This week I am showcasing a lovely stamp set called Mixed Florals which used to have matching dies that are sadly now retired. This stamp set is on the Last Chance list (like the dies were) so if you like it then head over to my shop & grab it before it goes too!

Here is a picture of the finished card...

This gorgeous card starts off with a Basic White card base & has a Timid Tiger matte, on the cover & inside, that is embossed with the Beautiful Pattern embossing folder.

Before attaching the matte to the card front, I wrapped 2 pieces of Basic Beige Classic ribbon around it & another piece of Secret Sea Bordered Open Weave ribbon over the top of the two Beige pieces. This forms a base for the sentiment to sit on later.

The floral design is stamped in Memento Black ink in two parts. The background has 3 stamped images of leaves (they actually remind me of corn plants LOL) that are then coloured in with Light Old Olive & Light Lemon Lime Twist Stampin' Blends® & diecut. One is trimmed a little to fit behind par of the image better.

One & a half pieces are glued directly to the card front & the others reserve for the main image. I used Lemon Lolly, Darling Duckling, Timid Tiger, Pecan Pie, Azure Afternoon & Blueberry Bushel blends to colour the image.

A dimensional sheet was added to the back of the image which was then diecut, giving me a uniform 3D backing. I slipped one whole & the other half of the leaves behind the flowers to create depth to the overall image.

With dimensionals added to the leaf areas I then added it to the front just above the ribbon line.

Next, I stamped 2 flying lady birds from the Beautiful Butterflies stamp set, coloured them with a Cajun Craze Stampin' Write® marker & diecut them before adding with a mini dimensional.

The last step was to stamp a sentiment in Secret Sea from Beautiful Butterflies from a scrap strip along with a small ladybug which I coloured with the Timid Tiger blend this time. The ends were trimmed & the sentiment was added with dimensionals & a little bit of liquid glue to make sure they adhered to the ribbon.

Now you can't have a beautiful card with a naked inside or envelope so I stamped the leaf on a Basic White matte & on the envelope but this time I used Versamark & clear embossing powder to that it was more discreet but still there.

That's it for my creation today. I hope you enjoyed it. 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, great tag dies & lots of Christmas themed products ranging from cute to elegant & traditional to modern. 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 Butterfly Garden. This kit creates 9 gorgeous cards & has beautiful images but is not a birthday kit, it is designed to send to support your friends & family.

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

Create uplifting cards filled with messages of hope and support using the Butterfly Garden Kit. Featuring hand-illustrated butterflies and heartfelt sentiments, it’s perfect for sending encouragement to friends and loved ones. The kit includes everything you need to craft meaningful cards that truly brighten someone’s day.

This is a stamping kit with all the supplies you need to create 9 beautiful cards including a stamp set & block, ink spot & matching envelopes.

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 will be holding more events like this in the new year. I have started to create the projects from the Brushed with Beauty session & will share them with you in coming posts. Keep your eye out for more news of future dates.

2. Stampin' Up® held their first ever Virtual Card Making Retreat over the last two days. 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 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 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® will be featuring 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. 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.

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 with today's card available tomorrow 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 & I will be exploring the use of colours in your creations.

In next Sunday's post I will be CASEing one of the cards from a Stampin' Up® catalogue.

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