Fathers Day - lots of cards to make!

So I asked my brothers girlfriend if there was any birthdays etc coming up that she'd like me to make cards for, and I got a whole long list, which included Fathers Day cards.

I can pop a couple on my blog now as I know her dad and step-dad won't be looking at my blog, though a few others might just have to wait to be posted.

I wanted to go for something a bit different and had heard of the shirt fold card before, so I looked it up on the Internet and found a really simple tutorial by a lady called Cambria Turnbow.  

So I grabbed some DSP and set to work.  About 3 minutes later the shirts were done!

What do you think?

I just cut the ties out freehand and popped them on with glue dots.

The sentiment is from Something to Celebrate (Level 2 Hostess) and has been stamped in co-ordinating Poppy Parade and Peach Parfait ink and punched out with the Decorative Label Punch then mounted.

Quick, simple and pretty WOW too.............

The Details: 

Card / Paper -Marina Mist Textured / Chocolate Chip Textured / Whisper White / In Colour DSP (Level 1 Hostess) / Peach parfait Smooth / Poppy Parade Smooth

Stamps / Ink -Something to Celebrate (Level 2 Hostess) / Poppy Parade / Peach Parfait

Embellishments - None

Tools - Trimmer / Bone Folder / Decorative Label Punch

Printed Petals Birthday

Hello,

Monday again, but not so bad this week seeing as it's a day off work.

I managed to get some crafting done yesterday afternoon and started working my way through a list of cards my (almost) sister in law asked me to make.  Three down, another 10 or so to go!!!!  It will be keeping me busy today :o)  And a brilliant excuse not to be helping my lovely boyfriend re-felt the shed roof!

So, a birthday card today.  I used the Printed Petals stamp set and my trusty Colour Coach to find this lovely bright colour combo of Sahara Sand, Regal Rose and Tempting Turquoise.  In never ceases to amaze me how colours I would never have though to put together work so well.

I used all of the colours and various stamps to cover some Whisper White card, then I inked up the image that co-ordinates with the 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch in Regal Rose and stamped it onto a separate piece of white and punched it out.  I added a Tempting Turquoise Designer Button and popped this over the same design on the main sheet.  I mounted it on some textured and smooth card, and before putting this all onto the Sahara Sand card blank I added my sentiment.  I stamped Birthday Wishes (from So Happy For You SAB retired set) in Versamark ink, then added White Embossing Powder and used my heat gun to melt and set this.

I was worried that the white sentiment wouldn't show very well on the light card base, but it came out really well.

I am entering this card into The Paper Players challenge this week - Anything Goes!

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Sahara Sand / Temping Turquoise / Whisper White / Regal Rose textured

Stamps / Ink - Printed Petals / So Happy For You (retired SAB) / Regal Rose / Tempting Turquoise / Sahara Sand / Versamark

Embellishments - Designer Button

Tools - White Embossing Powder / 1 3/4" Scalloped Circle Punch / Colour Coach / Stamp-a-ma-jig / Snail / Glue Dots / Dimensionals / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist

Less is More - Baby........

The Less is More challenge this week is entitled "Pick a Square".  Take a look via the link and see the details, but basically the sketch this week is split up into lots of square sections, and the challenge is to pick on section for your focal image to appear.

I decided to go with a fairly small 4"x4" card base and focus on the central section, but actually split my design into four small squares and added the sentiment underneath.  I included some layering with co-ordinating colours to match the ink I used.  The stamps set is called Bundle of Love.  

At the moment it seems like half the people I know are expecting babies, so although I have made this for the challenge, I'm sure it will get put to good use.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Sahara Sand / So Saffron / Pear Pizzazz textured

Stamps / Ink - Bundle of Love / So Saffron / Pear Pizzazz

Embellishments - None

Tools - Stamp-a-ma-jig / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Snail

Mini Handbags............

Hello!

Sunday again, but at least this week we have a Bank Holiday Monday thrown in as well, so one more day off of work which is lovely.

It didn't rain yesterday which was great, though it was still a bit too breezy to sit and have the bbq outside, so the boys cooked it outside and then bought it in for a picnic indoors.  It was a lovely day.  My nephew, Ethan, was on top form as usual, all smiles and lots of gurgles going on.  He's so, so close to turning him self from his back onto his front, if only he could figure out moving his arm from under him, he'd be there!  

My brother's lovely girlfriend Alex gave me a little list of people and occasions she needed card for, so as soon as I got home I got to work!

I made a girlie card based on the Stamping 411 sketch challenge this week.

I went for bright and bold colours of Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise, thrown in with some Whisper White and Basic Black.

Now I do have to confess that I used a Stampin' Up! product that isn't available in the UK!  In Canada they have a set of stamps called Create a Cupcake, and a co-ordinating punch.  I was lucky enough to be able to get one of these, and have resisted using it on my blog so far, but for this card I do have an alternative.

The cute little handbags are made by punching out a cupcake base, or wrapper I guess, and turning it upside down, but if you have the Scallop Square Punch, you can use that and just trim the sides at an angle to create the main body of the handbag.

The top of the handbag is made using the 1" Circle Punch and folding it over the bottom section, then use the same punch to create the handle.  A Basic Rhinestone is added for a bit of girlie bling, and there you have a mini handbag!

A girl can never have too many handbag, right????

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Basic Black Textured / Temping Turquoise Smooth and DSP / Melon Mambo Smooth / Whisper White Smooth

Stamps / Ink - Something to Celebrate (Level 2 Hostess) / Melon Mambo

Embellishments - Basic Rhinestones / 5/8" Whisper White Satin Ribbon

Tools - Build a Cupcake Punch (alternative Scallop Square Punch) / 1" Circle Punch / Eyelet Border Punch / Trimmer / Dimensionals / Sticky Strip / 2-way Glue Pen / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Stamp-a-ma-jig

I got picked!

Oh My Goodness - words cannot describe the delight I felt this morning when I started browsing the Saturday challenge sites only to find that I got a Top 3 Pick for my entry into last weeks Simply Stampin Challenge

I now have a lovely banner to display on my blog, over on the left there!!! :o)

That has certainly cheered me up after a not so great week.  It's also spurred me on for some more crafting, so check back tomorrow to see what creations I have come up with.

I'm spending today with my lovely family having a bbq - even though it does look like rain!

Have a great Saturday everyone :o)
xxxx

Double Challenge Day - take two..........

I really liked the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge this week, but am a bit late getting started on it.  Having looked at some of the challenges throughout the rest of this week, I thought I'd link the Sweet Sunday sketch in with The Color Dare this week.  The colours are ones I would never have thought to put together - So Saffron, Concord Crush and a Neutral!

I grabbed my stack of In Colour DSP and my Trendy Trees stamp set for this one and thought I'd make a lovely Thinking of You card.

I used the trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig to get my trees trunks and the leafy tops all lined up, and decided the put the more standout Concord Crush colour in the middle, but to make it a bit more interesting I stamped it twice and cut one out with the 1" Circle Punch and popped it on top with a dimensional.  I thought it gave a nice bit of dimension to the card.  I used the Eyelet Border Punch along the bottom, and added in some Crumb Cake textured card for mounting.

I wasn't too sure these colours would really work together, but I think they look great!

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Concord Crush smooth and DSP / So Saffron DSP / Very Vanilla / Crumb Cake textured

Stamps / Ink - Trendy Trees / Crumb Cake / So Saffron / Concord Crush

Embellishments - None

Tools - Eyelet Border Punch / 1" Circle Punch / Stamp-a-ma-jig / Trimmer / Snail / Dimensionals / Stampin Scrub and Mist

Midweek Mojo - Just Believe

Hey,

Middle of the week already - I hope you are all having a good one?!?!?

Mojo Monday has come a little late this week - well the post is, I did actually make this card Monday night.

Well, based on the lovely Mojo sketch this week, here is the card I created using the gorgeous Just Believe stamp set.

This set is just so lovely.  I inked the images using the marker pens so I could get a variety of colours and create a proper picture, rather thank just one solid image.  It looks so different to the card I made last week using the big image from this set that I embossed in white.  You could use so many different colours on the flowers to really change this card for a variety of occasions.

Let me know what you think as I love reading all of your comments? 

Have a lovely Wednesday

Julie x

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Daffodil Delight / Early Espresso / Very Vanilla / Old Olive DSP

Stamps / Ink - Just Believe / Markers - Daffodil Delight / Old Olive / Cherry Cobbler

Embellishments - 1/8" Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon

Tools - Eyelet Border Punch / Sticky Strip / Snail / Trimmer / Paper Snips / Dimensionals / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Colour Coach

Big Blossoms......

Time for a colour challenge me thinks!

I went on over to Simply Stampin Challenge Blog where this week the colours are Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie.  You are allowed to substitute colours to the nearest you have so I added in Crumb Cake as the neutral for my card.

I've seen lots of cards that people have CASE'd and thought I'd take a look through the Mini Catalogue and see if I could find something to make my own.  I decided to go with the Build a Blossom stamp set and the image on page 18.  The Build a Blossom set and the Blossom Petals Punch are so fabulous to work with, and are so versatile as well.  I used my paper piercing tool to do the stem, and instead of stitching I just used the writing end of the Old Olive marker pen to add a touch of colour.  The sentiment is from the Curly Cute stamp set.  So many sentiments in this set, all of them bold and loopy!  Brilliant for any occasion :o)

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Crumb Cake textured card / Very Vanilla / Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive DSP

Stamps / Ink - Build a Blossom / Curly Cute / Old Olive / Crumb Cake / Pumpkin Pie

Embellishments - Linen Thread / DS Button Daffodil Delight

Tools - Piercing Tool and Mat Pack / Blossom Petals Punch / Stamp-a-ma-jig / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Trimmer / Snail / Glue Dots

My Favourite Stamp Set - today anyway!

Hi there,

It seems at the moment that I keep on going back to the Clearly For You stamp set, and today is no exception!

I think it works really well with the Four Frames and co-ordinating Decorative Label Punch.

Of course, everything Stampin' Up! co-ordinates.............  

This is a card I've made for some friends for their anniversary, but I'm also linking it in for the Stamping 411 sketch challenge this week.

I picked out some of the colours in the Botanical Gazette DSP, so used So Saffron as the card base, and this lovely bird from the DSP seemed to work well with the birds in the Clearly For You stamp set.  I ran it through the Lattice Square Embossing Folder.  Textured Marina Mist card forms the top section, with some lovely Early Espresso ribbon, and then one of the Four Frames inked in So Saffron, with Early Espresso birds and sentiment.  I used a marker pen to ink the birds as I only wanted two of the three on the card.  Markers make this sort of selective stamping so easy.

The frame is popped onto the card using Dimensionals, and for some added embellishment I added some Basic Pearls.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - So Saffron / Marina Mist / Very Vanilla / Early Espresso / Botanical Gazette

Stamps / Ink -Clearly For You / Four Frames / So Saffron / Early Espresso

Embellishments - 1/4" Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon / Basic Pearls

Tools - Decorative Label Punch / Square Lattice Embossing Folder / Snail / Dimensionals / Trimmer / Stamp-a-ma-jig / Stampin Scrub and Mist

Butterflies, butterflies, everywhere!

It's Sunny Sunday - at least I hope it will be!

The Less Is More challenge this week was all about lovely Butterflies!

I thought I'd use the opportunity to try the Emboss Resist technique.  I used the All a Flutter a la carte stamp and inked it with Versamark and stamped randomly over a piece of Whisper White card.  I used clear embossing powder and used my heat gun to melt this.  I then grabbed my brayer, it's first outing, and inked it with Pink Pirouette and ran the brayer across the whisper white card.  Once I'd got the coverage I wanted I used some tissue to just rub over the embossed butterflies and take off any excess ink.

The sentiment is from the Level 2 Hostess set - Something to Celebrate, and is again inked with Versamark and then embossed with white embossing powder.

Simple, yet really pretty.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Perfect Plum / Whisper White

Stamps / Ink - All a Flutter / Something to Celebrate / Pink Pirouette / Versamark

Embellishments - Clear and White Embossing Powder

Tools - Brayer / Heat Gun / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Trimmer

The Never Ending Card!

Hi,

Finally it's the weekend!  I have been waiting all week to try out this card, but wanted to wait until I had some time and wouldn't rush it!  I have to admit, it did take me a long time to do, but it is my first attempt :o)

It would make a good card for a special person or occasion.  I got the instructions from a video by Dawn Griffith.

The Never Ending Card is a card created of four pieces, they are scored and folded before being stuck together in such a way that you can fold the card back on itself over and over and over........  you get the idea!

My other half was not convinced it would work, so was suitable impressed when I made a mock up with paper.  This helped me get the dimensions for the bits I added to decorate the card and I could scribble and put measurements all over the mock up.

So here it is - four photos to show you each of the views when folding the card back on itself:

Seeing as I used the Botanical Gazette DSP for this card, it features lots of birds, plus the ones on the last fold from Clearly For You stamp set.  For that reason I decided to link my card for the Stampin' Royalty challenge this week, which is all about Birds!

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Early Espresso / Cherry Cobbler / Very Vanilla / Not Quite Navy / Botanical Gazette DSP

Stamps / Ink - Something to Celebrate (Level 2 hostess) / Clearly For You / Not Quite Navy / Cherry Cobbler / Old Olive

Embellishments - None

Tools - / Square Lattice Embossing Folder / 1 3/8" Circle Punch / 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch / 1" Circle Punch / Circle Punch from Itty Bitty Shapes

Beautiful Butterflies

Good Morning!

It's Friday, hoooorrrraayyyyyy............

It's been a rather long week, and I am really looking forward to an evening out with my other half tonight as we've been very busy lately and just not had much "us" time.  This weekend is clear of things to do and places to be so we can spend it together, though I do hope to get a little crafting in!!!  :o)

I made this lovely butterfly card last night after seeing the Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge.

I have to say I am really pleased with my effort on this one, I tried to think outside the box a little and I actually think it's one of my favourite cards so far.  

The colours are Whisper White and Concord Crush, which I just love.  I used the Butterfly Prints stamp set, and stamped two butterflies in Whisper White ink on the Concord Crush card, this was mounted on some flowery DSP, and then I inked the butterfly again and stamped it onto Whisper White in Concord Crush and punched him out with the Butterfly Punch.  I popped on a little Basic Pearl for a body and added it to the card with Dimensionals.  The sentiment is from the Just Believe stamp set and is punched out with the Word Window and popped on the card with two Basic Black Brads.

Let me know what you think, I hope you like it!

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Whisper White textured and smooth / Concord Crush / In Colour DSP (Level 1 Hostess)

Stamps / Ink - Butterfly Prints / Just Believe / Whisper White / Concord Crush

Embellishments - Basic Pearls / Brads

Tools - Word Window Punch / Butterfly Punch / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Snail / Dimensionals / Paper Piercing Tool / Mat Pack

Sweet Sunday - on a Thursday!

Hello.....

So I realise it's Thursday evening, later than I hoped to post, but I had a last minute trip to the hairdressers after work!  I've been trying all week to complete a card for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge blog, that as you might guess, publishes it's sketch on a Sunday!

If you go and look at the challenge sketch you will notice that I turned it upside down for my card.

I absolutely love the Fox and Friends stamp set, and stamped a couple of cheeky little monkeys in Chocolate Chip and cut them out. Only fiddly when I got to the tails!  I punched the branches from the Bird Punch in Pear Pizzazz.  I just thought it worked well to make them look like they were having a great time swinging from tree to tree!

I added in some Pear Pizzazz DSP (Level 1 Hostess) which has a leafy type pattern on it, and the back drop cloud design paper is from the Sweet Pea DSP Stack that is now sadly retired. The colour is Sahara Sand, so if you wanted to try making this you could always use the Sahara Sand DSP in the Neutrals stack.

The card base is textured Marina Mist card stock, and the sentiment is mounted on a Marina Mist Scallop Oval.  The Happy Birthday is from the Something to Celebrate stamp set (Level 2 Hostess), inked in Chocolate Chip.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Marina Mist textured & smooth / Chocolate Chip / Pear Pizzazz smoth and DSP / Sweet pea DSP (retired)

Stamps / Ink - Fox & Friends / Something to Celebrate / Chocolate Chip

Embellishments - None

Tools - Bird Punch / Large Oval Punch / Scallop Oval Punch / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Snail / Dimensionals

Congratulations Jenny and Richard!!!

Oh how wonderful - my friends Jenny and Richard are expecting a baby.

They are the couple who I made the penguin card for when it was their anniversary last week.  Well on the same day as their anniversary, they had their 12 week scan and were told everything is looking just fine.

Now I made this card at the weekend, but they know I blog, so I've waited a few days to put this post up so the card has time to reach them.

I used the Stamping 411 Sketch as a template for my design, and quite appropriately used the Nursery Suite DSP along with the prams image from the Queue Up stamp set.  This is now retired, boo hoo!!!

I hope they like it, and I wish Jenny and Richard a wonderful pregnancy!

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Nursery Suite DSP / Chocolate Chip Textured Card / Pear Pizzazz Card / Regal Rose Card

Stamps / Ink - Queue Up (retired level 3 hostess set) / So Happy For You (retired SAB set) / Basic Black / Baja Breeze / So Saffron / Regal Rose / Pear Pizzazz

Embellishments - Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon

Tools - Eyelet Border Punch / Stamp-a-ma-jig / Snail / Sticky Strip / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Trimmer

Less is most certainly more!

Just a quick post tonight, and a really quick card make too.

The Less Is More challenge this week was of the theme - One Layer Card - Embossing.

The embossing could be heat or dry embossing.  

I had a lovely Stampin' Up! delivery today, which included a couple of pots of embossing powder, so I thought I'd have a go at the heat embossing.

I used the Just Believe stamps set, which is really versatile for so many occasions.

I decided to use Pear Pizzazz card for the base as it reminds me of spring and I thought the white embossing powder would look good against this colour card.

The main image was inked in Versamark and stamped, then covered in the White Embossing Powder and heated with a heat gun to melt it.  I also added the sentiment the same way, though I think it's just slightly crooked!  It is my first attempt though, and I was really pleased with the result.

Let me know what you think by adding a comment below - and drop by the Less Is More blog site to check out everyone else's entries.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Pear Pizzazz

Stamps / Ink - Just Believe / Versamark

Embellishments -White Embossing Powder

Tools - Heat Gun

One Card - Two Challenges!!!

Hi there,

I've been perusing some other peoples blogs the last few days and a couple of people in the Stampin Stars team had made cards for the Daring Cardmakers Challenge this week called The Darling BUGS of May!.  This is a challenge site I've not come across before, but seeing their lovely creations inspired me to have a go and join in the fun.

It also turns out that today is the day for another SU Only Challenge called May Flowers Are Here!, so I thought I would combine the two challenges in the one card.

What do you think of my little Lady Bug???

This card was made using pretty much just punches, with the Build a Blossom stamp set thrown in for good measure!  The Lady Bug is various circles punched out of Basic Black card, with the wings punched out of the Scalloped Circle punch in Real Red.  I used the Owl Punch to get the tiny Daffodil Delight and Basic Black dots, and the Real Red hearts too.  The centre of the flower is a Scalloped Circle in Basic Black cut down a little, and the petals were punched using the Blossom Petal punch. 

Once I'd figured out the basic format for the lady bug, it was a pretty quick card make.  I think the hardest part was getting all of the little dots stuck to the flower and the wings :o)

Right, off to pop my card onto the challenge sites and look at everyone else's wonderful creations.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Real Red / Basic Black textured and smooth / Daffodil Delight / Pear Pizzazz DSP

Stamps / Ink - Build a Blossom stamp set / Daffodil Delight ink

Embellishments - Brad

Tools - Owl Punch / Blossom Petals Punch / 1" Circle Punch / 1 3/8" Circle Punch / 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch / Lattice Square Embossing Folder / Paper Piercing Tool / Snail / Sticky Strip / Dimensionals / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist

Strength and Hope - Scallop Envelope Box

Well this was a fun project as I'd not used the Scallop Envelope Die before, and I don't know that I would have thought to put four together to make this gorgeous box.

This would make a great table gift at weddings, or even Christmas if you changed to card and DSP to suit to occasion.

It is basically made from four scallop envelopes created using the Big Shot.  On each of the four envelopes once cut, trim off one of the side tabs (make sure it's the same side on all four), then sticky the other tab and work your way round connecting the envelopes together.  The flaps at the bottom don't quite meet up, so add a 3x3" panel of card to the bottom.  Once you've cut a strip of card and scalloped the edge with a border punch, you can decorate the rest however you like.  This one had panels of Springtime Vintage DSP added, plus some Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon and of course the Strength and Hope Butterfly with some basic pearls.  So pretty..........

I'm already looking forward to the next Stampin Stars Team Training session in July!

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Pear Pizzazz / Baja Breeze / Springtime Vintage DSP

Stamps / Ink - Strength and Hope / Pear Pizzazz

Embellishments - Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon / Basic Pearls

Tools - Scallop Envelope Die / Big Shot / Scallop Trim Border Punch / Trimmer / Sticky Strip / Dimensionals

My Weekly Mojo Monday Fix!

It's that time again, the start of the week and a new Mojo Monday Sketch 

I really wasn't sure where to go with this one.  I knew the stamp set I wanted to use, and the colours, but something just didn't seem right with what I was doing.  After sitting and pondering for quite some time, I decided to try turning the sketch sideways instead.  Suddenly it all became clear and I was done in 10 minutes!  Yes, cards can be that quick when you have products that co-ordinate perfectly together.  The beauty of Stampin' Up!

So here's my card :o)

I used the Butterfly Prints stamp set and co-ordinating Butterfly Punch, layered on some punched circles of DSP and card, then the scalloped circle.  The backing DSP is from the In Colour pack which you can get as a Level 1 Hostess Gift when you host a party and sales reach £150.  Lots of lovely papers in the fab In Colours.

I ran the paper through the Lattice Square Embossing Folder to give it some texture, and lastly added the sentiment, some Basic Pearls and some 1/2" Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon.

If you are thinking it might be fun to have a go at making your own cards, or if you already make cards and just want to see these lovely products, then please email craftybugjules@yahoo.co.uk for a catalogue or details on hosting a party or attending one at my house.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Pretty In Pink card / Early Espresso card / Pear Pizzazz card and DSP

Stamps / Ink - Butterfly Prints / Pear Pizzazz / Early Espresso

Embellishments - Basic Pearls / 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon Pear Pizzazz

Tools - Square Lattice Embossing Folder / Butterfly Punch / 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch / 1 3/8" Circle Punch / 1 1/4" Circle Punch / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Trimmer / Dimensionals / Snail / Sticky Strip

Strength and Hope

Here are some more cards made using the Strength & Hope stamp set at the weekend.

The top of the Stampin' Up! family tree I am part of is Natalie O'Shea and she got inspiration for the following cards from a lady called Heather Summers.

There were five cards in the set to make, though I only made two of them on Saturday and bought the bits home to do the rest.  We had a fun packed day with so many bits and pieces to make, it was a busy training session.

The set of cards Natalie put together all used Rose Red, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz and Very Vanilla which worked really well together.There were lots of butterflies to cut out and we used the Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon on all of the designs too. 

I have one final 3D item that we made at training to show you, but I will save that for tomorrow.

Thanks xx

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Crumb Cake card / Rose Red card / Very Vanilla card / Pizzazz card and DSP  

Stamps / Ink - Strength & Hope / Early Espresso / Rose Red / Pear Pizzazz / Crumb Cake

Embellishments - Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon / Basic Pearls

Tools - Scallop Trim Border Punch / Eyelet Border Punch / BoHo Blossoms Punch / Circles # 2 Die / Snail / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Dimensionals

Team Training Cards

Hello!

As promised I am popping up some pictures of the cards made at training yesterday.  All of the cards we made used the Strength and Hope stamp set which is on the back page of the mini catalogue.  This is a charity stamp set and for every stamp set sold, £1 is donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

The first is a great card for a make and take as it's really quick and simple to put together.

We used some colours that I've not used before, but I really liked them.  Cajun Craze , More Mustard and Pear Pizzazz.  The butterfly was stamped on Very Vanilla then cut out and mounted onto Pear Pizzazz cut out with the Decorative Label Punch.  This punch was also used to create the border in Very Vanilla.

The second card is what we made for the technique shown at training.  It would appear that an inked embossing folder can create a really lovely effect on the embossed pattern.

It was literally a case of rubbing an Early Espresso ink pad over the inside on the embossing folder, popping the Blushing Bride card inside and popping it through the Big Shot machine.  So simple and quick, but really gorgeous.

That's all for today as I have a mountain of things to do, but I'll post the other cards I made tomorrow, plus of course it will be Mojo Monday - I wonder what the challenge will be this week?

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Cajun Craze / More Mustard / Very Vanilla / Pear Pizzazz / Blushing Bride / Early Espresso

Stamps / Ink - Strength and Hope / Early Espresso / Cajun Craze / More Mustard / Pear Pizzazz

Embellishments - Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon / Basic Pearls

Tools - Decorative Label Punch / Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder

Stampin Stars Training - what a great day!

I've had such a wonderful day - the girls I met at team training were a lovely bunch, full of ideas and useful tips, I've learnt so much in just a few hours, not to mention the amount of lovely cards I made and techniques I learnt about.  All in all, a day well spent.

I just wanted to post a quick picture of the swaps I received in return for my Trendy Trees effort.

Such an array of ideas, and these will be great to showcase at workshops.  It's great seeing so many different styles and how stamps sets that I have got can be used in different ways with new layouts and varying colour combinations.  I'm loving the whole swaps thing!

Tomorrow I will post some pictures of the lovely cards I made today, oh, and a little basket made from envelope dies too..............  so cute!

Have a great evening  xxx

My First Swaps!!!!

Woooo Hooooo............

My first training session!  Very excited......

I spent yesterday evening (yes, a bit last minute), making my swaps for the session.  17 in all - took me 2 hours, not sure if that's good or bad for timing?

I love the Trendy Trees stamp set so used this and tried to keep things pretty simple seeing as I was making quite a few and it was my first go at mass production!

I was very pleased with the results - lets hope the other girls at training like them too.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what swaps everyone else brings and getting some inspiration from them.  I'll post the swaps I receive in return when I get home later on.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Whisper White / Daffodil Delight / Regal Rose / Early Espresso

Stamps / Ink - Trendy Trees / Regal Rose / Early Espresso

Embellishments - 1/8" Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon

Tools - Colour Coach / 1 3/8" Circle Punch / 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch / Polka Dot Embossing Folder / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub & Mist / Stamp-a-ma-jig / Dimensionals / Snail

Finally I can blog!

Finally I can blog! Hurray.........

I've been trying to get on and post a blog since yesterday evening, without any success, but whatever the problem was it appears to be sorted out now.

So Wednesday, my crafty day.  Well it didn't go quite as planned as unfortunately my lovely dad was taken ill.  He's in the hospital, but doing OK, and it's just a case of the consultants figuring out what's going on.  So with visiting and then trying to pick my car up, and being back at work, it's been a busy few days. 

I wanted to get a post in yesterday, but was lacking inspiration so checked to see what challenges were about.

Pals Paper Arts Challenge this week was to create anything for a wedding - a card, an invitation, a place card, or perhaps a favor.

I'd been looking on Split Coast Stampers website as I have been wanting to make a box to hold note cards, so I used one of the tutorials to come up with this box which is to hold 3" x 3" note cards but could be used for favours, though maybe made a bit smaller. 

Not the greatest photograph, sorry about that!

I used the In Colour DSP in Blushing Bride as it seemed appropriate for the challenge.  I also tried out my Daisy Die and layered the cut-outs in various colours, I had run the card through the polka dot embossing folder first which added a nice texture to the flowers.

Right, tomorrow I am off to my first team training session, so I hope to have lots of lovely things to show you when I get back.  I'm really looking forward to meeting some of the other Stampin Stars and getting some inspiration.  I haven't yet finished my swaps to take with me, so I'd best get on with that  xxx

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Chocolate Chip Textured Card / Very Vanilla Card / Blushing Bride Card and DSP

Stamps / Ink - None

Embellishments - DS Button

Tools - Trimmer / Eyelet Border Punch / Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder / Flower Daisies # 2 Die / Sticky Strip / Glue Dots

Colour Q Challenge for a Tuesday

Hello everyone!

Today I wanted to share with you a card I have made for the Colour Q Challenge

As the name suggests it is a colour challenge - this weeks colours are Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy and Whisper White.

I went with a simple design using the Printed Petals stamp set and a sentiment from the Tiny Tags set.

The card base is Crumb Cake textured card, layered with Not Quite Navy textured card which has the largest Printed Petal stamped on it twice in Whisper White ink.  

I added a nice bright Daffodil Delight Printed Petal punched out with the Scallop Circle Punch and topped it with an Old Olive Designer Button.

The Sentiment was stamped in Not Quite Navy and I used the Word Window Punch, then popped it in the card with a Dimensional.

Tomorrow is going to be a mixed bag or fun and not so fun!  I have the day off work so will be spending it being creative and making lots of lovely cards and maybe a few 3D items too, the downside is I'm off work as my car is going for a service!  Could be expensive :o(

I'll be back tomorrow with my days creations.........  xxx

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Crumb Cake / Not Quite Navy / Daffodil Delight / Whisper White

Stamps / Ink - Printed Petals / Tiny Tags / Whisper White / Daffodil Delight / Not Quite Navy

Embellishments - Designer Button

Tools - Trimmer / Stampin Scrub & Mist / Glue Dots / Dimensionals / Snail / 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch / Word Window Punch / Clear Blocks

It's Mojo Monday!

Hello......

The weekend just zipped on by, and it's Monday again.  Not such a bad day, the sun was out, work was busy and went pretty quick, and I came home to do a spot of card making.

This weeks Mojo Monday challenge was a fun sketch.

I decided to use the Colour Coach to select my colours as I have been sticking with Brights and the In Colours of late.  The Colour Coach is a fab tool, it makes creating cards with matching colours really simple.  You pick a colour swatch from the pack, and on the back it give you it's monotone colour, plus two colour combinations.  I went for Old Olive as my main colour and teamed it up with Pretty in Pink and Night of Navy.  These are not colours I would have thought to put together myself.

Here's the card I came up with.

I used the little background stamp in Clearly For You to make my own DSP.  I used the Whisper White ink on the Night of Navy card. The sentiment also comes from the Clearly For You stamp set and was cut out using the Word Window punch and popped on the card with a dimensional.  The Whisper White card on the top section was run through the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder to match the polka dot pattern on the Four Frames stamp that I inked in Pretty in Pink.  I finished the card off with a strip of Old Olive ribbon and a Pretty in Pink button.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Old Olive / Night of Navy / Whisper White

Stamps / Ink - Clearly For You / Four Frames / Whisper White / Pretty in Pink / Night of Navy

Embellishments - 1/4 inch Grosgrain Old Olive Ribbon / Pretty in Pink Designer Button

Tools - Word Window Punch / Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder / Decorative Label Punch / Colour Coach / Bone Folder / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub & Mist / Stamp-a-ma-jig / Dimensionals / Snail