Just Believe in Neutrals

Good morning.  Sunny and bright today.  Lovely! 

The card I have for you today is for Margaret one of the ladies in my card swap group who has a birthday.  She should have received it by now so safe to post.  I know she likes neutrals so I've gone with that and a little pop of Pink Pirouette.  The stamp set is Just Believe and the butterfly is punched out using Elegant Butterfly Punch.  Some Linen Thread helps the rustic feel and the Basic Rhinestones add a little bling. 

Hope you had a lovely day Margaret. 

I'm going to pop this into -

Addicted to Stamps and More which has an anything goes week.

Thanks for visiting.  My ironing beckons and I can't ignore it any longer!  Ta Ta For Now.  x 

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - Early Espresso, River Rock, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette

Ink - Crumb Cake

Stamp - Just Believe

Punch - Elegant Butterfly

Other - Linen Thread, Basic Rhinestones

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Only 1 space left in my Stampers 6 (Virtual Hostess) club.  Please get in touch by e mail - ails300@btinternet.com if you would like to take part. x

Just Believe in Autumn Colours

Hi there a quick post this morning.  We are off visiting today.

This card has a real autumnal feel to it by using graduating colours and the large stamp from Just Believe.  The colours are Elegant Eggplant, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Tangerine Tango and Pumpkin Pie.  Any graduating colours in your stash would have the same effect autumnal or not. 

I trimmed off a strip along the bottom then re attached it to a panel of Crumb cake to make an accent for my sentiment from the same set.  I wrapped some linen thread round it and added one of those freebie brads we got a while back.  A couple of butterlies from the Beautiful Wings embosslit finishes it off.

Sorry to be so brief but must dash.  Still got some things to gather up before we head out the door. 

Supplies Used

All Stampin Up

Card - Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White

Ink - Elegant Eggplant, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie

Stamp - Just Believe

Punch - Modern label

Other - Linen Thread, Brad

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Fancy becoming a demonstrator and receiving your goodies at a discount, get in touch for more info and you could also receive a free pack of papers every month for 6 months! 

Zentangled Little Leaves

Two cards to show this morning, both for Less is more.  It is Saturday after all! 

This week is a one layer challenge and we have to include doodling.  I've tried my hand at Zentangle. 

I had a stencil from the Little Leaves Sizzlits on my desk from a card I'm going to show tomorrow so thought I would use this.  Normally it's just thrown away.  

On my first card I stuck with greens.  Outlining the stencil in Old Olive and using Pear Pizzazz and Certainly Celery Stampin' Write Markers.  I added the sentiment from Just Believe and coloured it with Wild Wasabi. 

Then thought as they are not "real" leaves what would it be like in bright colours so got to work with my set of In Colours Markers.  Then coloured up my sentiment with the markers too.  I like this version better but I'm interested to see what you think.

Thanks for coming past and Hello to my new followers Bonnie, Berni and Paayra.  I'm very flattered you've chosen to follow me. x 

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - Whisper White

Sizzlits - Little Leaves

Stamp - Just Believe

Markers - Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Concord Crush, Blushing Bride

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  Oh and don't forget to let me know which one of the free paper sets from Aprils Gift with Purchase Event that you would like if your order reaches £45!

Just Believe in Joy......

A joy fold card that is!  Hee Hee.  This is my first try at this type of card and I love it.  So you may see more!!

And this is how it opens - 

Now what was my reason for trying a different fold?  Well it's to join in with The Friday Mashup and not just join in but I'm delighted to say I've been asked to be a Guest Designer for April.  I was so surprised and pleased to receive an email from Holly.  I've played along with this challenge many times and I love the twist of mashing it up or not.  

Here's this weeks challenge -

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using " a Special Fold".
2. Or Make a project using the " Tic Tac Toe Board".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Special Fold card using Tic Tac Toe".

I've gone with Neutrals, Ribbons and Flowers and as I already said a Joy Fold.  

My card base is Crumb Cake.  I made my own designer paper using Very Vanilla and the Just Believe stamp set. I used River Rock to stamp the background flowers and Soft Suede for the sentiments and frame. The edges of the base panels were sponged with River Rock and Crumb Cake.  The mat for the middle fold is Chocolate Chip and the panels were lightly sponged all over with River Rock and Crumb cake.  I added a trim of Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon.

I used the circle stamp in Soft Suede and punched out with the 1 1/4" punch.  Then added a ribbon tag of Very Vanilla and attached to the front of the card. 

I've only got 1 place left on my Stampers 6!  If you would like to receive a parcel of goodies each month then check out the Virtual Hostess Page on my top bar and get in touch - ails300@btinternet.com. It would be lovely to hear from you! 

Thanks for dropping in past, I appreciate your visit.  Have a look at the challenge and the gorgeous inspiration from the other designers.  x 

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up! 

Card - Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip

Ink - River Rock, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Stamp - Just Believe

Other - Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  Oh and don't forget to let me know which one of the free paper sets from Aprils Gift with Purchase Event that you would like if your order reaches £45!

Happy Birthday LIM!!

Can't believe it's been a year since I entered into my first challenge blog - LESS IS MORE.  This past year I've learned so many new techniques and improved on my card making mainly due to this challenge blog.  So I'm sending a big thank you to Mandi and Chrissie for their encouragement and comments.  And is it's their 1yr Birthday, my first card is a birthday card. 

This weeks challenge is to use the colour AQUA.  I've used Baja Breeze on both my cards today.  As it's been such crisp weather recently and we were expecting snow (didn't come though just some sleet) I used the Baja Breeze to create a crisp sky.  

Then thinking about my own big birthday which is not for a few years yet but is unfortunately on the horizon, I decided on some balloons floating away in the sky.  As these have numbers on them, the numbers are also floating away.  After all birthdays are only a number.  Must keep reminding myself of this as it creeps closer! 

My next card is for all the lovely friends I've made. 

One of my favourite past times is to meet up with friends and go for a coffee.  Doesn't do anything for my waist line but is great for the soul! 

I've seen such wonderful cards recently and wanted to try my hand at creating a window.  The row of coffee/tea cups are attached to the card base behind.  I stamped friends and clear embossed it.  I was also thinking of Mandi and Chrissie whilst making this as they do such a wonderful job commenting on all our entries I'm sure they need a cup of tea or perhaps something stronger! 

Thanks for popping in past and do have a look round the other entries, they are a very creative bunch. Take care and stay warm. x 

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Ink - Baja Breeze

Stamps - Party This Way, Happiest Birthday Wishes, Just Believe

Wheel - Take a Sip

Other - Dimensionals

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  Oh and don't forget to let me know which one of the free sets you would like if your order reaches £45. x

Inky Blocks!

Quick post this morning and a very early entry for me to this weeks Less is More challenge which is a one layer getting inky.

Thanks go to Chrissie and Mandi for this week providing me an excuse to try out a technique new to me.  After seeing lots of beautiful cards using this idea it was always in the back of my mind to give it a go.

I used my Clear Mount Block size B and pressed it into my Crumb Cake ink pad then pressed it onto my Whisper White card blank.  Each time I varied the pressure that I used.  I then stamped Just Believe in Soft Suede.  I lined up my sentiment from the same set using my Stamp-a-ma-jig.  It was also stamped in Soft Suede.

I really enjoyed my first time experimenting with this technique and will definitely be trying it out again to see what other effects I can achieve.

Can I just say how much I enjoyed visiting other challenge entries last week, it was so interesting to find out about other people's flags and countries.

If you would like to try out the technique above then here's the supply list which you can order from myself at ails300@btinternet.com.  I'd be happy to hear from you.

Supplies Required
All Stampin' Up!

Card: Whisper White
Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Stamps: Just Believe
Other: Clear Mount Block Size B, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Giving it a Go!

I've had a brayer for quite a while and I'm ashamed to say that it's stayed in it's box.  However not any more because one of the fun things about crafting is having a go at different techniques and just experimenting.  With loads of tutorials on the internet it's easy to try out these techniques for yourself.  You can also use the brayer to ink up large stamps to give an even coverage.

I went with a simple sunset scene.  I punched out a circle from scrap to make a mask.  Then rollered with So Saffron, over this with Real Red stopping short of the bottom and finally with Rich Razzleberry again stopping a little further up.  I stamped the large ferns from Just Believe in Basic Black and mounted it onto a rectangle of Basic Black.  I added a strip of Rich Razzleberry ribbon onto the same colour card then attached this to a Basic Black card base.  The main picture was then added to the front.

Now that I've broken the ice with the brayer so to speak I'll have to practice some more.

Thanks for coming over to visit and a big welcome to Kim.  Thanks for following I hope you come by often. x

Materials Used
All stampin' Up! supplies unless otherwise stated

Card - Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink - So Saffron, Real Red, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black
Stamps - Just Believe
Ribbon - Rich Razzleberry
Other - Brayer

In the Frame

I had a fun afternoon crafting with one of my friends.  This is one of the cards that I made.  

I started off by masking two sides of the Whisper White card base.  Then using the Funky Forest Wheel I stamped the trees in Old Olive.  I added the Thank You sentiment from Just Believe.  The image was covered with a post it note square and the edge sponged with Old Olive and Real Red to create a frame.  

Many of you will have guessed by now that I had this weeks challenge over at less is more on my mind.  The theme is to create a one layer card with a frame.  

We would like to see a frame of some sort or something in a frame... we'd like you to be as inventive as you like.

You could doodle, draw, emboss, ink, paint, colour, print, stamp, emboss resist,  mask or any other method you can come up with to get a frame of sorts into your design.

I ended up making a few cards which I'll show at another time.  In the mean time I hope you enjoy and have a good week. x

Materials Used

All Stampin' Up! supplies

Card - Whisper White

Ink - Old Olive, Real Red

Stamp - Funky Forest Wheel, Just Believe

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