A card for sis!

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, my crafting time has been taken up with preparing for the Stampin' Up! convention which took place last weekend. I haven't even had chance to download the photos I took from the camera yet! In the meantime, here's the card I made my sister for her birthday.


Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps: Ornate Flowers, Sincere Salutations
  
• Ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
  
• Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
• Other: Greenhouse Gala designer paper, 1 3/4"circle punch, 1/2" Pear Pizzazz stitched poly ribbon.
  

Well I must admit that my crafting time has been seriously compromised lately, even though I've got some gorgeous products from the new catalogue. The reason ? This.......

We started fostering a 14 week old deerhound/greyhound cross. Unfortunately, we've got a soft spot for the broken-coated lurchers, so we've been 'forced' to adopt her! We've managed to foster 20+ dogs without succumbing so I suppose we haven't done too bad :) We'd just forgotten in the 13 years since our 'old man' was a pup what little monsters they are. The delightful Betty thinks she's an Andrex puppy and charges round the garden with the loo roll flying whenever she gets an opportunity. Not to mention the apples she's stolen off the tree. Lego, shoes and washing up sponges are also fair game. She takes up a whole 3-seater sofa and she hasn't stopped growing yet. ARE WE MAD? Please don't answer that question on the grounds that I know the answer already. But she is gorgeous and we love her to bits. And yes, she IS on a trampoline in the photo :)

Here's a card I managed to make in 'Betty-down-time'! I recently took part in a ribbon swap with some other demos and needed some Thank You cards. I'm not really a fan of blue but I love the new colour Baja Breeze, used for the card base.



The flower image has been stamped in chocolate ink on white cardstock, trimmed and mounted onto the Baja base. White satin ribbon has been layered onto a piece of chocolate cardstock, the edge of which has been punched with the new Scallop Trim border punch. The chocolate sentiment has been punched with the Scallop Oval punch and mounted onto a Baja Breeze mat made with the new extra large oval punch.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps: Ornate Flowers, Perfect Punches
  
• Ink: Chocolate Chip
  
• Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
• Other: Scallop Trim border punch, Scallop Oval Extra Large punch, Oval Extra Large punch, white 5/8" satin ribbon.
  

It's here!

The day has come for drooling over new products in the 2010-2011 Stampin' Up! catalogue. Click on the catty cover on the right to get your shopping list started!

Goodbye to ute!

I'll miss this sweet little truck - so good for male cards. The image has been stamped in black ink on chocolate cardstock, then cut out. I used a white gel pen to add highlights to the wheels. It's hard to see on this photo but the sentiment has been stamped (in chocolate ink) on the same designer paper as the background mat. Final touch is chocolate ribbon, tied with linen thread, then cut into a V shape.


Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps: Loads of Love, True Friend
  
• Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Black
  
• Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron
• Other: Sweet Pea designer paper, Chocolate Chip 1" double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, Scalloped circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, linen thread, white gel pen.

A vintage Z-fold card

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Vintage Vogue
  
• Ink - Always Artichoke, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron
  
• Cardstock - Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Pretty in Pink
  
• Other - Tea and Crumpets Designer Paper, pink brad, Corner Rounder punch, Nestabilities (non-SU).
  

Some of the retirees!

I thought I'd update the blog with cards I've made using stamps or colours that will no longer be with us next month :( I'll certainly miss some of these products, but I'm also looking forward to finding new favourite stamps and colour combinations. A crafter can never get enough stash!


This card was produced for a (sketch?) challenge but I didn't get chance to take a photo until afterwards. If I can find the challenge again, I will post details. Please contact me if you know which one it was!

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - True Friend
  
• Ink - Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Mellow Moss
  
• Cardstock - Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Sahara Sand
  
• Other - Designer paper pack (Hostess level 1), Mellow Moss button, 1 1/4" Circle punch, Nestabilities (non-SU), brads (non-SU).

Last Chance list

It's that time of year again when we say goodbye to some products from the catalogue to make way for new and exciting essentials! Don't forget, these are only available during September WHILE STOCKS LAST. Click on the image below to enlarge.


Grab that set you've been meaning to buy for ages - some items are reduced by 25% and 50%, so you may just get a bargain!

Not much stamping on this one!

The large two step bird punch is fab for creating quick and easy cards like this one. Two different patterns from the To the Nines paper collection have been used to make the bird, with another paper used as an accent. The leaves have been punched from sage cardstock, and the sentiment stamped in chocolate chip ink.


Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps: Sincere Salutations
  
• Ink: Chocolate Chip
  
• Cardstock: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow
  
• Other: To the Nines designer paper, Two step Bird punch.
  

Taken with Trees

I've been good and cut into my Sweet Pea paper again! The papers in the pad co-ordinate with several stamp sets, so I chose several images from Trendy Trees to tie in with the paper. I used markers to ink the stamp for the middle tree in order to get leaves in 2 colours.

Using the 1 1/4" circle punch, I created 3 'windows' in the card front and stuck the trees to the inside of the card. The stamp-a-ma-jig enabled me to line up the sentiment in between the windows - what a fab tool that is!

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Trendy Trees, Wow Flowers
  
• Ink - Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink
  
• Cardstock - Whisper White, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip
• Other - Sweet Pea designer paper, 1 1/4" Circle punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig.
  

New colours!

Stampin' up! have announced that we can buy 11 new products starting this month, featuring 3 of the fab new colours that will be in the new catalogue in October. Cardstock, inkpads and GORGEOUS polka dot grosgrain ribbon are available in Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Soft Suede:





Then there's Cottage Wall designer paper and some beautiful window sheets:
Please get in touch if you're as impatient to try some of these new products as I am!

A late bird

I've had this stamp for ages but for some reason it's never seen ink (oops!) I thought I'd pair it with one of the fabulous Sweet Pea papers - I did have a struggle cutting into this pad as the designs are lush! Why oh why am I such a hoarder?


I've pleated the chocolate chip ribbon then stapled it down, and stamped at the bottom of the card with the swirly stamp in pumpkin. I haven't put a sentiment on, but when I decide to use the card I think a sentiment punched out with the word window punch will look just right!

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps: Whimsical Wings
  
• Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal
  
• Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie
• Other: Sweet Pea designer paper, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Scalloped border punch, staples (non-SU).
  

I thought I'd make a card using some of the Bold Bright colours as the last few posts seem to be a bit kraft-obsessed! I must admit that the Earth Elements family is probably my favourite and the Brights my least favourite - I don't do bright in real life either :)


The card is pretty self-explanatory - several of the circle circus stamps done in turquoise, 2 shades of green and gray (sing New Model Army song here!) Green galore card base, gray mat and turquoise ribbon, then glorious green scalloped circle with gray mat and sentiment in turquoise on white CS, popped up on dimensionals (ooh, what a surprise!)

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Circle Circus, Circle of Friendship
  
• Ink - Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Glorious Green, Basic Gray
  
• Cardstock - Whisper White, Green Galore, Glorious Green, Basic Gray
• Other - 1 1/4" Circle punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Scalloped Circle punch, Stampin' Write Markers, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals.
  

A colour renovation!

You've probably read the news as it's all over blogland, but Stampin' Up! are having a colour renovation! In the past 2 years, Stampin' Up! have been researching colour trends and conducting surveys amongst SU demonstrators and customers in order to update the SU colour palette.

The new colours will be arranged into four collections: Subtles, Brights, Regals, and Neutrals. You will see 25 of our current colours remaining, and fifteen new colours will be added to the core colour lines. So when the new catalogue comes out in October, some of the current colours will retire and new ones will take their place. 5 new 'in-colours' will also be available this year, and 5 colours next year. These 'in-colours' will be available for 2 years before retiring for more up-to-date colours. Here are the NEW collections:

And as Stampin' Up! products co-ordinate so well, we can look forward to a whole new range of fabulous ribbons, buttons, papers and accessories in some of the 'core' and 'in' colours! Here are the colours that we will be saying a fond farewell to in October:


But don't panic if your favourite colour is retiring - you have 6 months to get your craft area full to bursting point with cardstock, and inks, and ribbons, and everything else. We all know that crafters NEED so many things (wink, wink!) Please feel free to get in touch if there's anything you would like to start stockpiling :)

Another vintage card

Here's another card made with the new set, Vintage Vogue. I've made a Z-fold card of brocade blue cardstock, layered with vanilla cardstock and Bella Bleu designer paper. The vanilla CS inside the card has been stamped in brocade blue ink with the border stamp available in this set. I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the borders lined up correctly!

The muted colour of the small flowers and swirly vines has been achieved by stamping off once before stamping onto the vanilla and brocade blue panel. The sentiment is from Wonderful Words, stamped in black to make it stand out more. The larger flowers have been inked with bordering and brocade blue onto vanilla cardstock, cut out and attached to the centre panel. Large pearls from the pretties kit accent the flowers, and some vanilla taffeta ribbon adds extra interest to the left hand panel.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Vintage Vogue, Wonderful Words
  
• Ink - Bordering Blue, Brocade Blue, Basic Black
  
• Cardstock - Brocade Blue, Very Vanilla
• Other - Bella Bleu designer paper, vanilla taffeta ribbon, pearls fron Pretties kit, corner rounder punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, dimensionals.
  

Challenges!

As promised, here's a card made using one of the sets from the new mini catalogue. It's called Vintage Vogue and I think it may become one of my most used sets, the images are so gorgeous! I decided to participate in a few challenges with this one. The Creative Card Crew challenge is a vintage/aged theme, and over at Just Add Ink the challenge is to use the following colours.


I didn't manage to upload the card by the deadline for Just Add Ink, but that's the great thing about challenges - you can use them for inspiration at any time!


A blush blossom panel has been stamped with the Very Vintage wheel using close to cocoa ink, and coloured using a blender pen with coral and cocoa ink and a white gel pen. This has been layered with a cocoa scalloped mat and kraft ribbon onto a kraft cardbase. The friend stamp has been inked using coral and cocoa markers and stamped onto blush blossom cardstock with a cocoa mat. The edges of the layers have been distressed to give a more vintage feel to the card.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Vintage Vogue, Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel
  
• Ink - Close to Cocoa, Cameo Coral
  
• Cardstock - Kraft, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa
• Other - Scallop Edge punch, kraft taffeta ribbon, white gel pen, dimensionals.
  

It's Mini time!

Today's the first day to order from the new Stampin' Up! mini catalogue! There are loads of fab new products - take a look using the link to the right, and feel free to get in touch with me if there's anything you would like to order. My list gets longer every time I look :)

I'll be back soon with a card using one of the new sets!

A Sale-a-Bration card

Oops, didn't do a good job with this photo - looks a bit Tower of Pisa! But you get the gist. Fab little birdcage from one of the SAB sets this year (you can get them for free! Contact me for more information)


I've used chocolate chip and bordering blue marker pens to colour the cage and bird respectively, and stamped onto Confetti white cardstock. The sentiment has also been stamped in chocolate chip ink and a bordering blue mat attached to this layer of cardstock. A little bow of kraft ribbon has been attached using a rhinestone brad (thanks Monica for the inspiration!) A piece of the gorgeous Bella Bleu designer paper has been added to a bordering blue layer, punched with the eyelet border punch. 3 little 1/4" circles of blue cardstock, covered with crystal effects, help balance the layout. Card base is Confetti white.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Happy Moments
• Ink - Chocolate Chip, Bordering Blue
  
• Cardstock - Confetti White, Bordering Blue
  
• Other - Bella Bleu designer paper, Eyelet Border punch, rhinestone brad, kraft taffeta ribbon, 1/4" circle punch, Crystal Effects, dimensionals.
  

His Lordship's Valentine

I think I've taken the 'Clean and Simple' to heart LOL!! The simplest card ever - kraft cardstock with a scalloped edge, 2-coloured sentiment and a stamped cardstock heart on dimensionals, with paper piercing around it. Oh, and don't forget that twine!!

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Loads of Love, Paisley BG
  
• Ink - Chocolate Chip, Real Red
  
• Cardstock - Kraft, Real Red
  
• Other - Scallop Border punch, Heart to Heart punch, Linen thread, Paper-Piercing tool, dimensionals.

A valentine!

I made a card using the sketch featured on the Clean and Simple stamping blog this week. It's very similar to the example card, I've just changed the colours/sentiment and rotated the layout so that I could fit the sentiment on. I think I'll be using this sketch again as it's very adaptable, and the 'simple' layout would probably appeal to the male of the species.


It's hard to see in this photo (rubbish weather here in the North East, just for a change!) but the coloured squares have been stamped using various background stamps with Versamark and popped up on dimensionals. After I took this photo, I decided the card needed a little something extra so I stamped the red heart again, cut it out and added crystal effects to produce a shiny finish. When dry, I layered it over the stamped heart using dimensionals. Weather permitting, I'll take a photo tomorrow of the updated version!

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Whimsical Words (SAB set), Darling Dots (L1 Hostess set), Paisley BG, Medallion BG, En Francais BG
  
• Ink - Basic Black, Versamark, Real Red
  
• Cardstock - Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Real Red
  
• Other - Whisper White satin ribbon, Crystal Effects, dimensionals.
  

The weather is so horrible that I'm having trouble getting a decent picture of my recent creations, so in true Blue Peter style, here's one I made earlier! This was a card for my Stampers 6 group to thank them for participating. If you would like to know more about a Stampers 6 club, please get in touch.


The tree trunks have been stamped using chocolate ink and the leaves, which is a seperate stamp, using several different coloured inks. I used the brilliant Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the trunks and leaves perfectly. A chocolate mat has been added, and these layers raised up on dimensionals to create depth. The pumpkin layer is designer paper on another chocolate mat with a scalloped edge. The word window punch was used to cut out the ruby red sentiment. A little knot of striped ribbon finishes the card nicely.

Products used (all Stampin' Up! unless stated):

• Stamps: Trendy Trees
  
• Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Ruby Red
  
• Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
• Other: Summer Picnic designer paper (retired), Old Olive striped grosgrain ribbon, Scalloped border punch, Word Window punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, dimensionals.