A birthday tree

I seem to be on a roll with masculine cards at the minute. Here is a birthday card, featuring one of my most-used sets in the catalogue, Lovely as a tree.

I embossed a piece of espresso cardstock using the square lattice embossing folder, then added eyelets using a crop-a-dile. Some twill has been threaded through the eyelets and tied in a knot. I made a little tag for the sentiment using the modern label punch and crumb cake cardstock, and attached to the twill knot with linen thread. The tree stamp has been inked using markers and stamped onto watercolour paper. I've then used an aquapainter to spread the ink a little to create a watercolour effect, then torn the paper on two sides.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps – Lovely as a Tree, Occasional Quotes (hostess L3)
• Ink – Old Olive, Early Espresso
• Cardstock – Old Olive, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
• Other – Modern Label punch, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Watercolour paper, Aquapainter, Jumbo Eyelets, 3/8” Twill, Linen thread, dimensionals.

For Beth

This was made originally for my god-daughter's 21st birthday - I thought the Eiffel Tower was quite appropriate as she was spending a few days in Paris with her fiance. I changed my mind at the last minute (as you do with cards for important people!) and made an alternative. Needless to say, I never got a photo of that one as the glue was still drying when she opened the envelope ;)

The red cardbase has been stamped using black ink and the En Francais background stamp, then a layer of designer paper (with distressed and charcoal-inked edges) added to the left hand side. The tower has been stamped in black on vanilla cardstock, which has then been crumpled and the edges distressed using the fabulous distressing kit. A layer of black cardstock provides a mat for the image. The sentiment has been stamped in black then punched and coloured using a red marker, then popped up on dimensionals.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps – Artistic Etchings, Oval All, En Francais BG
• Ink – Basic Black, Charcoal
• Cardstock – Red Riding Hood Red, Basic Black , Very Vanilla
• Other – Love Letter DSP, Marvellous Markers, 1¾ Oval punch, Distressing kit, sponge daubers, dimensionals.

Father's Day

I thought I'd show a masculine card, as it's Father's Day.

The front of the soft suede card base has been folded back on itself, then embossed using the square lattice embossing folder. The plane, stamped in suede ink on vanilla cardstock, has been attached to the card front using a chocolate cardstock mat cut in a geometric shape. The letters have been stamped in chocolate ink on vanilla, then cut using a circle punch and arranged above the plane using dimensionals.

The stopwatch and goggles, stamped in suede ink, have been cut/punched and raised on dimensionals too. The inside of the card has a layer of vanilla cardstock with a border stamped in chocolate ink. Here's the card partially open.

Hope you could spend some time with your Dad today!

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps – Plane and Simple, Just Perfect alphabet
• Ink – Early Espresso, Soft Suede
• Cardstock – Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
• Other – 3/4" Circle punch, Extra Large Oval punch, Square Lattice Embossing folder, dimensionals.

Short and Sweet

The photo doesn't do this card justice - it looks really elegant in real life and is really easy to make! I've used it for thank you cards and birthday cards so far.

A layer of white cardstock, partially embossed with the vintage wallpaper embossing folder, is added to an olive card base. Rose red seam binding, folded into rough pleats, covers where the embossing stops on the cardstock. The sentiment and frame have been stamped in black Stazon, then carefully coloured using a blender pen and rose and olive inks. A punched mat of olive cardstock has been cut along the length then stuck to the sentiment layer so it only shows on 2 sides.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps – Four Frames, Fresh Cuts
• Ink –Stazon Black, Old Olive, Rose Red
• Cardstock - Old Olive, Whisper White
• Other – Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder, Decorative Label punch, Blender pen, Rose Red Seam Binding ribbon, Sticky Strip, Mini Glue dots, dimensionals.

I'm back again

Sorry for the lack of posts but I've been on my jollidays! Had a fabulously lazy time during 2 weeks in Lanzarote, the kids loved playing in the pool every day and the ice-cream on demand! Only downside was the little biting things - the Spanish variety obviously loved my blue/white skin!

I'm just thankful I was wearing trousers the night they attacked, so most of the bites were on my ankles and feet. I'm blaming the bites for me not turning into a sun-bronzed goddess (snort!)

Hoping to post tomorrow with pictures I never got time to schedule before I went away.

Bright butterfly birthday

I saw my first butterfly of the year today, so I thought I'd show you a card with butterflies. I made this earlier in the year when there was snow on the ground - Mother Nature obviously ignored my hopes for some warm weather for quite a long time!

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Punch Potpourri (hostess L1), Occasional Quotes (hostess L3)
  
• Ink - Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise
  
• Cardstock - Whisper White, Melon Mambo
• Other - Scallop Edge Border punch, Butterfly punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, Corner rounder punch, Designer Series Paper Patterns stack (Brights), stamp-a-ma-jig, dimensionals.

Pretty daisies

Hope you're loving the new mini as much as I am! It's great that we've got the Big Shot and dies, many of which are exclusive to Stampin' Up! so you won't get them anywhere else. Get in touch with me or your local Stampin' Up! demonstrator to order yours. Don't you just love new stash?

For the card today, I've used the fabulous daisies die.

The die cuts several sizes of daisy in one go, excellent for those last-minute 'oops, I forgot' cards (which most of mine are, oops!)

Here I've used 2 larger daisies and 1 medium daisy cut from saffron cardstock, and a medium daisy in plum cardstock. These have been layered together with a plum button for the flower centre.

The card base is saffron, then a layer of white cardstock and plum designer paper. The white satin ribbon has been ruffled across the card - I can't stop doing this at the moment, I've gone ruffle-tastic! The sentiment, stamped in plum ink and punched with the scallop oval punch, has been layered onto a large oval of saffron cardstock.

Because I enjoyed playing with the dies (and I had the flowers already cut ;)), I decided to replicate the card but reverse the colours. So here it is!

Exactly the same as the first one, but exchange the plum and saffron colours (except the sentiment - the saffron ink didn't show up as well as the plum)

And both of them together:

The mini is here!

Have a look at the fab new products available in the new SU mini catalogue (link on right hand side). There's loads of great new stamps and accessories, and we've finally got the Big Shot and dies - hooray! Have a look now and start your new catalogue wishlist.

Believe in birthdays

I have used this Just Believe stamp set so many times that I can't believe (sorry, no pun intended!) I haven't posted a card featuring this set on the blog yet. I've used it in various colourways for birthdays, good luck and get well wishes, and it lends itself to many different stamping techniques.

Markers have been used to colour the main image (crumb cake, cherry cobbler, daffodil delight), which has then been mounted onto a scalloped mat of cherry cardstock. The circular flower image has been stamped in cherry and cut out using a 1 1/4" circle punch, then mounted on a 1 3/8" circle of crumb cake cardstock. This has then been layered onto a daffodil scalloped circle using dimensionals. The sandy speckles wheel, inked with crumb cake ink, has been rolled over the crumb cake card base to provide texture, and the sentiment stamped in cherry ink. Several basic rhinestones have been added to the flowers for a bit of bling.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Just Believe, Sincere Salutations, Sandy Speckles standard wheel
  
• Ink - Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler
  
• Cardstock - Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight
• Other - Markers, Scallop Edge Border punch, Scallop Circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Basic Rhinestones, dimensionals.

A soft wedding card

Pink isn't one of my favourite colours, perhaps because I wasn't really a girly-girl growing up (I swapped my Teeny Tiny Tears doll for some marbles - oh, did I get into trouble for that one!!)

So I'm quite surprised at how often I am drawn to this sort of colour scheme (see here too).

As usual, what you see is what you get. Crumb cake card base with layer of vanilla cardstock, trimmed with scallop trim border punch. Layer of blushing bride designer paper, and pear pizzazz stitched ribbon. The heart stamp is from the level 1 hostess stamp set, Punch Potpourri (contact me to learn how you can get this set FREE!) The flowers and leaves have been coloured using ink and an Aqua Painter, then the image punched out with the full heart punch. A few pearls have been added before the heart is attached to the card using dimensionals. The sentiment, stamped in rose red ink and punched with the word window punch, has then been added to a crumb cake mat, punched with the modern label punch. More pearls have been added before using dimensionals to attach the sentiment.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps - Punch Potpourri (hostess L1), Special Blessings
  
• Ink - Crumb Cake, Rose Red, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz
  
• Cardstock - Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
• Other - In-colour Designer Paper stack, Scallop Trim Border punch, Full Heart punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Pear Pizzazz 1/2" stitched poly ribbon, Aqua Painter, Pearls, dimensionals.

Wait long enough, and you'll get a Free card!

Oh dear, it appears I've been neglecting my blog! Sorry for the lack of posts, but not much has been done in the last few months craft-wise. It seems the cold weather totally sapped my inspiration :( The days are getting longer again so hopefully Miss Betty will let me craft in peace (I'm being extremely optimistic there, LOL)

Here's a card made using stamp sets that you can get for free! (costing nothing, gratuitous, without charge, freebie, complimentary, gratis, on the house, without compensation, FREE OF CHARGE!) Don't you just love those words! Please contact me for further details on how you can earn these sets too!

The main panel has been stamped with the scroll stamp from the Bliss stamp set in crumb cake ink, and the flower in 'stamped off' soft suede ink. The quote in the top left corner was stamped with soft suede ink. The edges have been distressed using one of the files from the distressing kit, then sponged with crumb cake and soft suede inks. A ruffle of vanilla grosgrain ribbon was added before the panel was adhered to a soft suede card base. An espresso oval and a soft suede scallop oval provide mats (and depth) to the sentiment, stamped in soft suede ink on a vanilla cardstock oval.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

• Stamps: Bliss (SAB), Occasional Quotes (hostess L3)
  
• Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
  
• Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Early Espresso
• Other: Distressing kit, Sponge Daubers, Extra Large Oval punch, Extra Large Scallop Oval punch, Large Oval punch, 5/8" Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon.

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.