Sitting and thinking...

 Sometimes, it is incredibly hard to find inspiration with a stamp set. This was the case for me with Beetles & Bugs from the current Occasions catalogue... When I saw it, I immediately thought I NEED THAT!!! (along with nearly everything else in that catalogue, but I digress...)

I have a five  year old boy, who is more than slightly obsessed with all things creepy crawly with which he can torture his sister. However, when I actually got the set, it sat on my desk for a very long while before I even knew what I wanted to do with it. Several attempts went into the recycling bin. There wasn't much inspiration with it online, either. But, one morning last week, I woke up determined to make something with that set- and an upcoming birthday party was the perfect reason to get it inky.


This first card was created for my launch party- the ladybugs coloured in Real Red, paired with Mint Macaron and the flower from Avant Garden (free Saleabration set) stamped in Versamark. After I created this card, the set remained untouched for weeks.

Then, I remembered the biggest bug in the set, and when I was cleaning up my craft room after the holidays, I came across a bottle of Glossy Accents... it was beside my new Stampin' Up watercolour pencils. The 3D bugs were born! I stamped the bugs in Versamark and then used clear embossing powder for dimension. I used both the blues and greens from the watercolour pencil box to colour the bugs, then used the blender pen to mix the colour. Then, I carefully dabbed the Glossy Accents on to create the dimension. Make sure it's fully dry before you touch them, or your fingerprint will be on the bugs (ask me how I know!)

This next card was created by taking the three biggest bugs and stamping them in Tuxedo Black Memento ink. First, I created the background by making random circles from Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie ink on some plastic, spritzed it with water then smooshed the paper around. I cut it to the size I wanted, dried it, then stamped on the bugs. Then I used the watercolour pencils to colour them (can you tell I LOVE the pencils??) and blended them. I layered it on a bit of Basic Black then onto the card front made from Crushed Curry. It needed a little something, so I ran the bugs up the side, and finished the card off with the sentiment from Cool Treats using Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie ink.

After working on the more masculine looking bug cards, I decided I needed to try to do something more feminine, so I decided that the moth would be used to make some background paper. I have to say, colouring the moth, all I could see is an ice cream cone in its head/body shape.

I used the flower shape from Avant Garden stamped in Cherry Cobbler. To get the different tones, I stamped it multiple times before inking the stamp back up. The moth was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Bermuda Bay watercolour pencil.

And the final, and my favourite, card featuring Beetles & Bugs is this little ladybug card I made for my daughter. I stamped many of the bugs onto the card, watercoloured them using the Real Red Stampin' Write Marker and an aquapainter. The sentiment is from Crazy About You. The ladybug beside the sentiment was turned the opposite way from the rest, and I used my Wink of Stella gold glitter pen to colour her. Best advice I can give to anyone, is just to be you and not care what others think or do.


 There are so many possibilities with this stamp set, and it can easily be mixed with other stamp sets to create something absolutely perfect for just about anyone.

I hope you've gotten a little bit of inspiration from this set- if you'd like to order Beetles & Bugs, or any other Stampin' Up items, please contact me! I'd love to help you earn free items during Saleabration!

Happy crafting!