Strength & Hope in the Frame

Finally got a chance to try out another idea for less is more.  This time I've used the Strength & Hope set.  When you purchase this set Stampin' Up! donates a £1 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  

I started off with some Whisper White card.  I coloured the butterfly stamp using my Blender Pen with Melon Mambo and Blushing Bride which gave the graduated effect on the butterfly.   I masked the butterfly and then stamped the scroll frame in crumb cake.  I used my Sponge Daubers to sponge some Blushing Bride over the background.  

Now for the fun part - I completely covered the panel in Versamark and clear embossed it.  I repeated this three times to create a thick layer.  I then bent it back and forth to crackle it.  Here's a close up photo.

I then cut out a frame and off set the image inside it over lapping some of the corners.  This was then placed on a mount of chocolate chip.  I stamped the H in crumb cake and punched it out with the 1 1/4" punch.  This was mounted onto a Crumb Cake label punched out with the curly label extra- large punch.  Then attached below the frame.  The chocolate chip background is  mounted onto a crumb cake card base.

Motorcycle Father's Day

Hello Everyone,  How are you all today?  I've got the music on supposedly to help me speed through my housework but here I am blogging again!  Oh well whilst I'm here let me tell you about my latest card.

I have a craft fair coming up at the beginning of June so thought I'd make some Father's Day cards.  This one uses the Motorcycle stamp from the mini catalogue.  I stamped it in Night of Navy slightly off the edge of my Whisper White card.  I then coloured it with Bashful Blue using my Blender Pen.  This was then mounted onto Bashful Blue card.  A Night of Navy background was created using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder and attached to a larger Bashful Blue mount.  I stamped Happy Father's Day from Occasional Greetings in Night of Navy, firstly picking out Father's in Bashful Blue again with my blender pen.  Then placed to overlap the square lattice background.  This all sits on a Night of Navy card blank.

This is such a fun single stamp and I think it will be a big hit with the Dad's.   Thanks for looking, have a great day. x

Materials Used
All Stampin' Up!

Card - Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Stamp - Motorcycle, Occasional Greetings
Ink - Night of Navy, Bashful Blue
Embossing Folder - Square Lattice

Vintage Vogue

I thought I'd play along at Simply Stampin' again this week as it's a colour challenge.  Here are the colours.

I made two cards using Vintage Vogue as my stamp set.  Here's the first - 

I started with a card base of Old Olive.  I used the rock and roll technique on the large flowers, firstly stamped with Daffodil Delight and rolled it in Pumpkin Pie directly on to Very Vanilla.  I stamped the little leaf in Old Olive before attaching two cut out smaller flowers.  One stamped in Daffodil Delight and one in Pumpkin Pie.  The sentiment was stamped in Old Olive and placed using my Stamp-a-ma-jig. 

And here's my second card -

This time I stamped the leafy branch in Old Olive directly onto the card base.  The flowers were stamped again using the rock and roll technique on Very Vanilla and cut out.  Two flowers were directly stamped in Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie.  These were placed over the leafy branches.  The Friends sentiment was stamped in Old Olive on Very Vanilla and punched out using the Decorative Label Punch.  I added a couple of flashes to the label in Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie. 

Thanks for taking the time to visit me. x 

Cakes and Pearls

Today's card is On a Pedestal and I've gone very girly.  Let's face it, us girls like a bit of cake especially on a special occasion.

The card base is Concord Crush.  I've layered a piece of Blushing Bride patterned paper on top.  The patterned paper is from the In Colour 6" by 6" stack.  Each of the papers is double sided and there are 12 sheets of each colour.  The best part is you can earn this stack free as a hostess gift. 

I stamped the pedestal in Concord Crush and added six basic pearls.  Then using my Stampin' Write Markers I coloured the cake with Concord Crush and Blushing Bride for the icing. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to position it and added a cherry to the top to finish off.  I mounted the Whisper White panel onto a Concord Crush rectangle which had been edged with the Scallop Trim Border punch.

The sentiment is from So Happy For You and this was stamped in Concord Crush and punched out using the Decorative Label Punch.  To add a layer to the label I punched out a second label from Blushing Bride Card, cut it in half then attached this to the back of the Whisper White label.

I hope you've enjoyed looking.  I'm going enter this into The Friday Mashup which this week is ribbon, pearls and all things girly. 

Materials used are all Stampin' Up! 

Card - Whisper White, Concord Crush, Blushing Bride

Stamps - On a Pedestal, So Happy For You

Ink - Concord Crush, Blushing Bride

Punch - Decorative Label, Scallop Trim Border

Other - Stamp-a-ma-jig, Basic Pearls 

Bling up your Vintage Vogue

Hello Everyone,  hope you've had a good weekend.

Today I've made a card using the Top Note Bigz Die which is now available in the mini catalogue.  This die has a lot of uses not just for cards - topper labels for cello bags, scrapbooking labels for journaling to name a few.  It has a lovely stitching detail around the edge which you can leave as I have done or using a Stampin' Write Marker make some faux stitching.  Either way it's a fun detail. 

I chose to use the In Colours on my card today and started with Blushing Bride as my card base.  The trellis flowers from  Vintage Vogue were coloured directly onto the stamp using my markers - Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush and Blushing Bride.  Once I'd cut out my Whisper White Top Note, I lined up the trellis using my Stamp-a-ma-jig.   I then coloured the little flowers again using my markers.  A medium sized Basic Rhinestone finishes off the flowers.

The sentiment is also part of the Vintage Vogue set and this was stamped in Concord Crush.  

I'm going to enter this card into CAS-ual Fridays challenge which is to create a Clean and Simple card but with a bit of bling. 

I'd like to welcome Linny, thank you for choosing to follow me.  I hope you drop by often. 

Materials used all Stampin' Up!

Card - Blushing Bride, Whisper White
Stamps - Vintage Vogue
Markers - Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush, Blushing Bride
Die - Top Note Bigz
Other - Basic Rhinestones

Less is More - Butterflies

The challenge at Less is More this week is butterflies.  Found myself flitting between different ideas much like a butterfly today but settled on this one. 

I've gone monochrome using Concord Crush.  The little butterfly is from Sweet Summer.    

First of all I cut a rectangle of Whisper White so I could mount it on to Concord Crush card and then onto my Whisper White card base.  I stamped the sentiment from Butterfly Prints then inked the leaves from Just Believe once and stamped it three times.  The butterflies were then stamped in a heart shape using a template punched from the Full Heart Extra Large punch.  I cut out three butterflies to add a bit of dimension to the center of the heart.  The butterflies wings were coloured using the Concord Crush Stampin' Write Marker.  I then added some Crystal Effects to the tips of the wings to add a little sparkle.

A close up of the heart and single butterfly.

Thanks once again for taking the time to look.  Enjoy your weekend. x  

Just Believe Grasses

Can't stay away from the Just believe set at the moment.  Although I haven't touched the surface of the set, there are actually 9 stamps.  Must try out the others next time! 

However today I've used the large grasses stamp.  First of all I inked it with pear pizzazz then using my blender pen I coloured directly onto the stamp with ink from daffodil delight and marina mist ink pads.  Using the blender pens give a water colour look to your images.  Very soft and gentle which suits these colours. 

I tore the top corner and distressed round the edge of the whisper white using the blade of my scissors.  Very therapeutic, I can assure you.  I used a piece of designer series patterned paper from Sunny Garden to go behind the main image and attached this to a rectangle of marina mist card. 

Now, twine seems to be the in thing at the moment.  You can order linen thread in the catalogue at £3.75 so I think this will be added to my next shopping list.  For today I used normal string but split it in half and wrapped it round the bottom of the panel and tied with a knot.  

The sentiment is from Occasional Quotes.  I stamped it in marina mist and punched it out using the decorative label punch.  I then tucked it behind the panel before attached all of this to the pear pizzazz card base.  

If you would like any of the items that I've used today to make the above card then please e mail me on ails300@btinternet.com I'd be happy to help. 

I hope you enjoyed looking today.  Thanks for all your comments I really appreciate them.

Just Believe Circles

Still with the Just Believe stamp set,  I've had another play with the circle stamp.  

The colours I've used are daffodil delight, marina mist and pear pizzazz.  I punched the circles out using the 1 1/4" punch then mounted them onto their corresponding coloured card punched out with the 1 3/8" punch.  I set these onto a panel of whisper white which was in turn mounted onto basic black which helps the colour pop.  

My patterned papers often get neglected when I'm card making as I usually reach for my stamps but this time I added a strip of paper from the designer series set - Sunny Garden.  This is a lovely set of papers, very zesty in yellows and oranges with a gorgeous pattern of trailing flowers on one side and spots or stripes on the other.  

I attached the paper onto a marina mist card base and set the basic black panel on top.  The sentiment is from Occasional Quotes punched out with the word window punch and set on marina mist punched out using the modern label extra-large.  I then popped this onto the patterned paper using a couple of dimensionals.  

Hope you have a great day and thanks for visiting.

Materials Used -

Card - daffodil delight, marina mist, pear pizzazz, basic black, whisper white

ink - daffodil delight, marina mist, pear pizzazz, basic black
stamps - just believe, occasional quotes
punches - word window, modern label extra-large
extras - dimensionals

Springtime Vintage and Just Believe

Meet Springtime Vintage Designer Paper.  This is a lovely set of 12 sheets of double sided 12" x 12" paper.  It's a very sweet set, all mini flowers and rose buds, very 1930's.  If you are not into bold patterns the opposite side is calmer and more modern.

  For this card I followed the sketch on this weeks simply stampin challenge.  Instead of the square I've used the circle stamp from Just Believe and stamped it in crumb cake, baja breeze and not quite navy.  The sentiment is from Occasional Quotes and has been punched out using the word window punch and then mounted onto baja breeze punched out with the modern label extra large punch. 

The card base is not quite navy and this card size is 6" by 6".  I cut and attached a sheet of the patterned paper slightly smaller than the card front.  The strips are crumb cake with a narrow strip of baja breeze. 

I finished off the inside with a little decoration.  Take a look at the vintage papers in the mini catalogue at only £8.75.  There's lots of additions that co-ordinate with them - stamp set, seam binding ribbon, buttons. 

Thanks for looking and Happy Crafting. x

Materials used

Card - not quite navy, crumb cake, baja breeze, whisper white

stamps - Just Believe, Occasional Quotes

ink - not quite navy, crumb cake, baja breeze

paper - springtime vintage designer series paper
punch - word window, modern label extra large, 1 1/4" circle

Less is More one layer card - Embossing No. 2

Isn't it fab when you can find the time to craft?  I've been lucky enough this week to do just that and have another play at Less is More but this time it's for the men in our lives.  The challenge is to make a one layer card with embossing which can be dry and/or heat.

My first card is using the Motorcycle stamp which is great for blokes.  I started with a blank card base in concord crush.  I then scored 4 lines along the bottom to create a road/ground for my motorcycle.

I stamped the motorcycle in versamark ink then heat embossed with silver embossing powder.

The sentiment is from Just Believe which I also stamped with versamark then heat embossed with silver embossing powder.

My second card is a night of navy card base.  I used my cuttlebug to emboss some swirly waves onto the bottom of the card.  Then stamped Sail Away in Versamark and this time heat embossed with white embossing powder.  I think this image really suits being embossed this way.

Both these stamps are currently available in the mini catalogue.  The motorcycle is £7.95 and Sail Away is £8.95.  Great additions to your collection.  If you'd like to purchase them then you can e mail me here - ails300@btinternet.com.

Thank you to everyone for looking and hope you are having a great week. x

Just Believe - You can do it!

I titled my post today "Just Believe - You can do it!" for a reason.  I started out yesterday and today with some ideas for my entry into this weeks less is more challenge.  This week we are to use embossing on a one layer card. 

Well I'm not too proud to admit my first several attempts failed.  However I didn't want to give up and knew I could achieve what I wanted if I just kept trying.  

The above card was my second idea.  I used the large stamp in Just Believe and stamped it with versamark ink onto whisper white card stock.  I then heat embossed it using black embossing powder.  I had rubbed down the front of my card blank with my embossing buddy  first.  I then used my versamark pen to colour in the flowers and this time used gold embossing powder and again heated it.  The sentiment is from the same set and I positioned it with my stamp-a-ma-jig after stamping it in versamark.  Then heat embossed it using black embossing powder. 

I like the effect of using two colours of embossing powder.  The ladies, Chrissie and Mandi, did ask us to experiment after all.

Onto my rescue attempt.  Not one to just throw away any failed attempts, I cut them up to make another card which I'm very pleased with.  It also shows the effect that I was trying to achieve.  Obviously it can't be entered into this weeks challenge as it's now not one layer. 

So let me explain what went on here.  I used So Swirly jumbo wheel on whisper white inking it  with versamark.  I then scattered some black embossing powder over parts of the image then tapped off the extra.  I used gold embossing powder to cover the rest of the image and again tapped off the extra.  Then heat set it.  The effect is super and you can see the back and gold merging together.  However I wasn't happy with the quality of my one layer cards.  Something went wrong each time.  So instead I created the card above with the parts that I did like.

Once I'd decided which bits I wanted to keep I mounted them onto basic black card and in turn  arranged them on a whisper white panel.  This has been mounted onto a basic black card blank.  The "Just for you" is from Afterthoughts, a Hostess Level 1 set, and has been heat embossed with gold.

I like this more than my original idea which just goes to show that it's worth keeping your mistakes because you may be able to turn them into something else!

Have a look at all the wonderful entries that have already been posted.  I'm sure you'll be inspired.

Thanks for looking and remember you can order any of the above supplies from me, just drop me an e mail, I would be delighted to help you with your crafting. x

Strength & Hope Birthday Wishes

These are the cards that we made at card class today using the Strength & Hope stamp set.

I love this colour scheme of perfect plum, crumb cake and pear pizzazz.

We used the stamp-a-ma-jig a lot today.  Firstly the fancy flourish was positioned top and bottom in pear pizzazz.  Then the butterfly was stamped in perfect plum.  We then masked the butterfly and stamped the text in crumb cake over it.

A line of four basic rhinestones gives some sparkle.  The sentiment - Birthday Wishes is from Occasional Quotes.  It was punched out using  word window and mounted onto modern label punch.



The second card also uses a crumb cake base with a mount of perfect plum.  This time we made 3 tiles using the same technique with the butterfly and text stamp.  These were then mounted onto elegant eggplant and placed on the perfect plum mount.

 

Thanks for looking and to everyone that commented on my daughter's cards, a special thank you.  She really appreciated them and now wants her own blog! Lol 

Strength & Hope

This is my card for CAS-ual Fridays first challenge.  The first week is to include text in your card.  

I've used Strength & Hope from the mini catalogue.  This is not only a fab stamp set but it's also making a difference.  Stampin' Up! are donating £1 from each set sold to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  The wooden set is £15.95 and the clear set is £12.95.

The card base is crumb cake.  I stamped the butterfly in perfect plum and then cut it out.  I stamped the text in crumb cake and positioned it on a strip of elegant eggplant with pear pizzazz flashes.  The butterfly was then positioned to overlap.  A strip of basic rhinestones bling finishes off.  

Birthdays and Thank You's

Good evening to you all.  

Tonight I wanted to share with you some cards that I made with my daughter, Holly.  She was invited to a birthday party on Saturday so we made a card for her friend.  

She chose the colours - Melon mambo for the card base, Perfect Plum and Pear Pizzazz. The stamp sets she chose were - Fox and friends, Silhouette Sentiments and Punch Bunch.  Together we put together the layout.  I showed her how to make a sponged background and let her have a go.  She also had a shot of stamping the little flowers.  I explained how we could have put some colour on the flowers by using Mum's magic pens (blender pens).  She chose the tortoise because she said her friend likes turtles!  We stamped it in crumb cake.  I then showed her the Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die and she decided where the butterflies were to go.  I was surprised but pleased to see that she understood perspective as she explained "The smaller butterflies are further away."  I helped her to punch out the true friend stamp with the 1" punch.  It was mounted using the 1 1/4" punch.  We then punched out some perfect plum using the Modern Label Extra-Large to finish off our sentiment.  

We also decorated the middle but she had it written out before I could take a photo of the inside! 

Now after her play yesterday she was itching to have a go at her Thank You cards which we hadn't gotten around to.  Her birthday was in April when she turned 9.  This time I cut out whisper white squares and once she had chosen her ink colours and stamp sets, left her to it.  I didn't want to influence her, you know how it is, you always want to say don't stamp it there or use these colours etc. 

Well here's what she come up with.  Aren't they wonderful? 

Did you notice the owl card is a little shorter than the others?

 

 Well here's the story.  She was only supposed to make the panels but decided to make up the full card using my paper trimmer too I might add!  She tried hard but well super squint lines so a rescue was in order.  However she had put the colours together, mounted the panel onto bashful blue with a blue strip along the bottom and stamped the thank you.  She had also sat the owl on the branch without the use of a stamp-a-ma-jig!  However if she had known about it I'm sure she would have given that a go too.  Did you notice the little flowers?  Yep you guessed it she used my magic pen picking up ink from a palette of ink on the stamp pad.  Good grief she must have been soaking it all in!  

I've highlighted this one because after rescuing the owl card I reiterated that she should only do the panels, I would do the cutting out but she could continue to chose the colours etc.  After a bit of a thump and crash I went back in to see what was up and here she was trying to use the Beautiful Wings Embosslit on her own!!  Well it is part of the panel.  Her fox does look cute with it's black additions though.  

I can hear her little voice now from when she was 2 saying "I do it!" 

Sorry folks this has been a long post but i hope you don't mind my indulgence.  I told her that i would post her cards on here and that any comments would be hers so please if you would be so kind to let her know what you think.  

Thanks again. x

White on White at Less is More

Oh Boy what fun I had today.  The challenge over at Less is More this week is white on white so no colour at all.  I took this quite literally and even made my sentiment white!

 I did have trepidation when I started as I haven't made a card like this before.  However, thank goodness Stampin' Up! brought in the Big Shot in the mini catalogue this year.  I was able to have a good old play with some new goodies that arrived this week.  

I started off with a whisper white card base (note to self - always check work table before laying down a white card for wet ink!!)......... so, deep breath, onto card base number 2 and I rounded the bottom corners.  I stamped "congratulations on your wedding day" with versamark and then heat embossed using white embossing powder and in the middle I did the same with "Love begins in a moment grows over time and lasts an eternity".  

The sentiments are from Hostess Level 3 Occasional Quotes.  This is a super set to add to your collection as it has lots of quotes to suit all different occasions.  If you stay in the Aberdeen area you can book a workshop with myself and you may earn this set for free!  

The photos below are to try and show you the sentiments.    

I embossed a strip with the perfect polka dots embossing folder and corner rounded the edges.  I then used the swirls scribbles sizzlits die to make a couple of flourishes which I put top and bottom of my large daisy.  The daisy was created using flower, daisies bigz die.  I glittered the tips of each petal using dazzling diamonds then layered up the flower and attached one of the large basic pearls in the centre. 

And there it is, my first all white card which I'm really pleased with but can you tell me why I feel that I've done a lot more to this card than any of the others? Lol!  

Have a great weekend everyone. x