Catalogue of Errors......

................with a happy ending!

To say this card evolved is an understatement!  

I started with my flower.  I love gerberas and the Daisies Bigz Die makes super large flowers.   I used a piece of Cherry Cobbler and Real Red card and layered up the petals so you could see both colours.  The center is the punched out circle from the Cherry Cobbler middle layer, covered it with Crystal Effects with a pinch of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  

So far so good but I'm a bit impatient and this is where the errors started. 

1. Dropped the center face down onto the flower.  

2. Rescued center but splodge of glitter on petal.

3. Decided to cover up said petal with half a Top Note in Real Red found in my scrap folder.  

4. Decided to decorate Top Note with Play Date Designer Series Paper.

5. Being frugal only cut enough to cover half of Top Note Bigz Die.

6. Realised I'd covered wrong half and ended up with a piece too small! Doh

7. Repeated step 5 but made sure it was length ways this time, trimmed just inside stitched       design to fit mount.

8. Decided to make it a pocket and leave top open for flower. 

9. Tried sentiment out on Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, finally settled on Real Red. 

10. Used "Just For You" stamp from Afterthoughts for sentiment. 

11. Inked "Just " using Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker and stamped.  

12. Inked "for you" same way and used Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up.

13. Rounded corners on one end using 3/16" Corner Small punch.

14. Created tail effect by lining up tag in one corner of 1 3/8" Square Extra-Large punch.

15. Mounted tag with dimensionals.

16. Camera out of battery looked for old camera, took lots of photos showing flower in and out.

17.  Noticed paper is upside down on Top Note flower container!! Grrrrr

18.  Start over, repeated step 5 and step 7 and pieced on top.

19.  Added a scallop trim using Scallop Edge Border punch to finish off top edge.

20.  Finally finished re took photos, light not so good battery ran out.  

After all that glad to say I have a card to show. Here's photos showing the flower in and out of the holder and I thought you could put a gift card behind the flower perhaps even attach it to the gift card as decoration. 

I'm entering my card into Casual Fridays Challenge Blog which is to make a CAS card 4" by 9" size.  Also, Friday Mashup, this week is to make a card using the colours Turquoise, Red  and Black and/or to use a handmade flower.  My turquoise is in the designer paper. 

Thanks for bearing with me if you've reached the bottom of this post.  A big Hi goes out to Jewel thanks for deciding to follow me, hope you pop by often. x 

In the pink with Circle Circus

Today's card was inspired by some of the entries over at Less is More where the recipe this week is buttons and/or ribbon.  After seeing some of the black and white entries I fancied making a card in this style.  However I've added pink to the mix.

Firstly I started with a rectangle of Whisper White.  I stamped the flower circle from Circle Circus in a random pattern in Basic Black.  Before allowing the ink to dry I covered it with clear embossing powder and heat set.  I then cut the top at an angle and attached to a Blushing Bride mount.  I coloured some of the flowers with my Blushing Bride Stampin' Write Marker.  I then added some Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon following the angle.  Birthday Wishes from Occasional Quotes was stamped in Basic Black after firstly stamping off on some scrap.  I then punched this out with the Decorative Label Punch and attached it as a tab to the side of my panel. 

I like the way my card has evolved and I think I'll enter it as a second card to less is more although I'm not sure if it is CAS enough. 

We had a fun day today.  My son went swimming with his friend at the Beach Leisure Centre.  Another first leaving them to go in themselves, they had a great time.  My friend and I took our younger ones to the carnivals.  They had super fun running between the different rides.  Glad they are big enough to go on themselves, it was making me dizzy just watching them!! 

Thanks for visiting. x

Flight of the Butterflies

This is a card I made for one of my lovely ladies in my Stampers 6 club who's birthday it was at the weekend.

The card base is Bashful Blue.  I ran some Whisper White through the Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder and attached this to the card base. I stamped Best Wishes from Sincere Salutations in Bashful Blue.  I then added some butterflies in Pacific Point and Bashful Blue using the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die.  The large butterfly has three Basic Rhinestones added for some bling.

It was such a rainy day here today, hope it was better with you. x

Supplies Required
All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated

Card:  Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Pacific Point
Ink: Bashful Blue
Stamps: Sincere Salutations
Tools: Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Basic Rhinestones

The above supplies can be purchased by from myself by contacting me on ails300@btinternet.com.

Heart Pendant Just for You

It's Saturday and that means a new challenge from Less is More and this week it's a recipe to use buttons and ribbons.  I decided to create a pendant effect.

I started by making my heart pendant first.  The hearts stamped in Marina Mist are from the I {heart} Hearts stamp set.  I embossed some Whisper White card stock with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder then used the Full Heart Extra-Large Punch to punch out one large heart.  The teeny tiny white heart was one I already had from the two step owl punch.   I attached a small red button with sticky strip from the Brights Collection with a little silver thread through it.  I then added some Marina Mist 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon.  I attached my pendant to a strip of Crumb Cake before attaching to my base card of Marina Mist.

The sentiment is from the Hostess set - Afterthoughts and is stamped in Marina Mist directly onto the card base using my Stamp-a-ma-jig.

A big welcome to Jenni - thanks for choosing to follow me, it's appreciated.  Hope you visit often and see some inspiration.

Woohoo to everyone at Simply Stampin' Challenge Blog for selecting my card All sorts of flowers for their top 3 in last weeks challenge.  I'm so pleased!

Looking forward to seeing all the brill entries over at Less is more. x

It's an Elegant Soiree sort of day!

I feel very indulgent today.  I decided to reach for my Designer Series Papers and Elegant Soiree caught my eye.  These are a lovely set of papers in soft colours.  

I started off with a Basic Grey textured card in 6" by 6".  I then cut two panels from one of the sheets of paper.  I mounted them on Baja Breeze card showing the opposite patterns.  Then I chose one of the other patterns so cut a 3" by 3" square and again mounted it on Baja Breeze and off set this over the patterned panels.  

The final element is the sentiment.  I used Sincere Salutations Best Wishes and stamped it in Baja Breeze on Whisper White.  I then punched it out with 1 3/4" Oval Large.  I used this punch to punch out a second oval in Crumb Cake.  This oval was cut in half and attached to the sentiment to give a border.  I then attached this to a frame from the Four Frames set.  The frame was stamped in Baja Breeze on Baja Breeze card then punched out with the Decorative Label Punch. 

So this is my indulgent card which I've enjoyed making today with very little stamping involved.  

You can make this card using the above supplies which can be ordered through myself by contacting me on ails300@btinternet.com.  I'd be happy to help with your crafting needs. 

Well the end of my day wasn't very elegant nor a soiree.  I was standing at the bottom of a ladder holding it whilst my hubby attempted to clean out our gutters raining dirt, moss etc over me!  Neither of us are very keen on heights so glad it's done and we are no longer growing bushes on the roof. 

So I'll sign off by wishing you a happy weekend and thanks for visiting. x 

All sorts of flowers

This card is following the sketch on Simply Stampin'.  It was dull and rainy when I made this card so I went for bright sunny and warm colours.  

I started off with Pumpkin Pie for my card base and teamed it with some designer paper from Greenhouse Gala.  This is a lovely set of papers with bold patterns on one side and more subtle on the other.  Great for adding a little interest to cards, scrapbooking pages and other projects. 

I've added a scalloped edge in Pear Pizzazz with the Scallop Trim Border Punch.  A Pear Pizzazz strip was embossed with the Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder.  I then die cut a couple of flowers with the Daisies Bigz Die in Real Red and Pumpkin Pie.  A flower button from the Brights Buttons finished off the centres.  Birthday Wishes from Occasional Quotes was stamped in Pumpkin Pie along the bottom.

I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out but I rather like the end result.  Thanks for looking. x 

Happy Bubbles

Hi Everyone, it's a rainy day here so I've snuck into my craft room.  Do you think they'll notice?

Anyway a quick post whilst I've got peace.

This card was one of my earlier ideas for Less is More themed week of circles.  I had a play originally using all blues which made it look like soapy bubbles.  When I showed it to my son he suggested using bright colours and here's the result.  With the bright colours I think the bubbles look happy hence my title for the post.

Here's how I made it -

The card base is Real Red.  I stamped "Happy Everything to You" from On a Pedestal, in Night of Navy onto Whisper White card.  I masked the sentiment  and stamped the bubbles, one of the many stamps in the Circle Circus stamp set,  in Real Red and Old Olive.

You can order any of the supplies required to make this card from myself by contacting me on ails300@btinternet.com.  I'd be happy to help.


I've posted a couple of photos from yesterday.  We took my Aunt's dog, Teddy (She's on holiday and we are doggy sitting) up Dunnydeer which is an old hill fort.  It's an easy walk but a bit of a puff climbing the hill. However not for Teddy - he climbed 3 hills to our 1 as he raced ahead and then ran back as if to say "Come on, What's keeping you?"  Of course the children faired better and hubby and I put our tardiness down to stopping frequently to admire the view!!

A little Circle Circus

For Less is More this week it's a theme of circles.  I immediately thought of Circle Circus and in particular this stamp which reminds me of bubbles.  Now what to do with it!!

After a lot of deliberation and trial and error I've settled on champagne bubbles.  The sentiment was created on the computer using fonts, Scriptina and Calibri, and printed directly onto Whisper White.  I masked the sentiment and with Soft Suede stamped the "bubble" stamp at the edges after first stamping off on some scrap paper.

You wouldn't believe how long it's taken to put together this simple card.  I'm looking forward to having a look at all the entries as I always find loads of inspiration. x

Sweet Cake

For CAS-ual Fridays this week, it's a sweet treat.  So I've gone with cake and all pink and girly.

This was a fun card to make and came together very easily.  Initially I was going to add a scallop trim or strip but decided it didn't need it.

The card base is Pink Pirouette, a new colour for me and I love it.  It's such a soft colour.  I stamped my cake from On a Pedestal in Chocolate Chip.  Well what else but chocolate!  The icing is Pink Pirouette paper pieced on top.  This yummy cake is on a pedestal stamped in Melon Mambo.  I added 3 little cherries at the bottom in Rich Razzleberry and a button on top of the icing.  This was mounted onto Rich Razzleberry and attached to the card base.  The sentiment is from Afterthoughts and stamped directly onto the card base in Rich Razzleberry.

Too much thinking about cake I'm off to raid the goody cupboard!  Hello and welcome to Kathy thanks for deciding to follow me, I hope you drop by often.  Have a great weekend everyone.  x

A little thanks

Just a little card today.  This is a Thank You I made for my lovely customers which I forgot to post.  Isn't it sweet? 

It's a 3" by 3" Whisper White card.  I masked off an area and added some sponging using Old Olive and a little Real Red.  I then used my markers, Old Olive and Real Red, to colour the little flower from Silhouette Sentiments.  The Thank You was stamped in Old Olive and positioned it with my Stamp-a-ma-jig.  Some Old Olive ribbon finishes off the top.  

If you like this ribbon then I currently have a ribbon share where you can have 1 meter of each of the colours - a total of 13 meters.  Click here to see earlier post and details.  Also there is still time to get a little Extra Extra from you workshop or order - See side bar! 

Must dash we are off to Glasgow today, hope it's not raining there! x 

Owly Birthday Greetings

This little owl from Fox and Friends has flown in to say Happy Birthday!  He's perched himself on a branch from the 2 step Owl punch.

Firstly I masked a rectangle to make the cloudy background with a scallop circle mask.  I've used Bashful Blue mainly with a little Marina Mist and Baja Breeze added in.  The branch is sponged using a cut out mask of the branch with Early Espresso ink.  I positioned the owl using my Stamp-a-ma-jig again in Early Espresso.  Happy Birthday was stamped from Occasional Greetings also in Early Espresso.  The card base is Whisper White.

I'm entering this into Less is More as my second card for one layer - something with legs.  Also One Layer Wednesday which has clouds as it's theme.

Thanks for taking a look, hope you've had a great weekend. x

Less is more - Something with legs

It's Saturday!  That means a new challenge from Less is More which is a one layer week and the theme is something with legs.

My first thought was a spider!!  However when I told my husband the theme of the challenge his first thought was a giraffe.  So I went with the giraffe from Fox and Friends.  Much nicer than a spider!  Having thought of a giraffe I asked him what sentiment he would put with it and bless him he came up with a few.  This is one of them.  Once I had that I came up with this idea.

The card base is 6" by 6" in Whisper White card stock.  I printed the sentiment in blue using Curlz font.  I then masked the sentiment with a circle and sponged the edges with Pear Pizzazz.  I stamped the giraffe repeatedly around the circle in So Saffron and then using a scallop mask sponged Bashful Blue around their heads to create clouds. 

I'm a bit mmmm about this one.  I like the idea and kinda like the result and it is growing on me but it's so far out of my comfort zone! 

Hope you've had a great Saturday, We had some sun but some really heavy showers too.  Thanks for joining me. x 

Materials used

All Stampin' Up! supplies

Card - Whisper White

Ink - Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Bashful Blue

Stamp - Fox and Friends

Sentiment - Computer generated - Curlz 16 Font - In blue

Baroque Motifs meets Vintage Vogue

I've had fun tonight playing with two fab stamp sets - Baroque Motifs and Vintage Vogue.  For this card I've taken my inspiration from The Friday Mashup where the challenge is Vintage or Flowers or a mash up of both. 

I've gone with rich reds.  The card base is Cherry Cobbler.  I cut out rectangles of Riding Hood Red and Very Vanilla.  I then stamped Baroque Motifs in the same colour ink onto the two Riding Hood Red panels adding the leaf spray from Vintage Vogue.  The Very Vanilla panels were stamped with the leaf and flowers from Vintage Vogue.  The panels were mounted onto their opposite colours after all edges were rounded.  I sponged the edges using my Sponge Dauber with again the Riding Hood Red ink.  To finish I stamped some of the flowers and cut them out and along with some leaves, arranged them in the corner.  Finally I added a small pearl to the middle of the flowers. 

Today we took a run up to Cullen near Banff to go on a walk which my Husband and I had previously completed the year before.  Unlike last time there were no wrong turnings and we completed the walk in 3 hours instead of the 5 it took us last time! (Least said the better as it was my error.)  Anyway I thought I'd show you a photo or two.  

As you can see the sun was shining when we set off.  The walk takes you along the coast to Findlater Castle and then you double back part of the way (Yep that's where I went wrong last time.) before climbing a ravine to walk back to Cullen along the cliff top.  It's an interesting walk  as there's lots of variety, clambering over rocks, walking along the beach, going through 6ft high ferns!  The children both enjoyed it and did amazingly considering the length of the walk however right at the furthest point it chucked it down.  It wasn't long before we were totally drenched.  Our trousers were soaked through hip to foot, our socks were wet,  even through our jackets, but there was nothing we could but to keep on. 

 Here we are at the top of the ravine with the sun finally back out again.  The other photo shows the ravine that we climbed which is no more than a rabbit path.  Big breath of relief when we reached the top!

Thankfully we had brought a change of clothes with us in the car.  Have you ever tried to take off soaking wet jeans in a car and change into dry ones?  I'll leave you with that thought and thank you if you've reached the bottom of this rather long post!

Good night, leave a comment and I'll be sure to come visit. x

LIM - Shades of Blue

A couple of cards for this weeks challenge at Less is more where this week it's all about shades of blue.

My first card is a wedding card.  The base is Tempting Turquoise.  The butterfly is cut out using the embosslits die.  I've used Pacific Point and Bashful Blue as my combination with a string of pearls in the centre.  Wedding is from Occasional Quotes with only the word wedding coloured in Tempting Turquoise stamped on the Whisper White.

The next card sticks with the love theme.  This time using the little heart from Tiny Tags.  Again on a Tempting Turquoise card base, I attached Whisper White card.  The hearts were stamped in Bashful Blue, Tempting Turquoise and Pacific Point.  The love sentiment is from the same set in Tempting Turquoise.

Well I'm quite late in joining in this week as we are just back from a fab trip down to London visiting the sites.  The main highlights were Lion King, Ripleys, the Zoo, Foo Fighters for the boys, for the girls getting our nails done.  But especially for me, roller blading in Hyde Park.  For some reason I thought I could do this, oh boy what a wobbly sight,  whilst daughter zipped along perfectly.  Glad I did it though, it's all about the experience. 

Happy crafting. x