A polka dot bookmark made with a jumbo paperclip

I made myself this handy little bookmark for marking up what I want next from my Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue :-).

Using Real Red ink I stamped the largest flower from the Polka Dot Punches set onto Whisper White card twice. These were punched out with the scallop circle punch. I punched two circles of Real Red card with the 1-3/8" punch. Finally I stamped the smallest flower from the Polka Dot Punches set in Real Red ink onto Whisper White card twice. These were punched out with the 1-1/4" punch. The flowers were matted and then sandwiched together with the jumbo paperclip in the middle, held in place with dimensionals.

Happy stampin'

Sara xx

A yummy thank you gift in chocolate, orange and caramel

One of my colleagues at work (and a great friend) stood in for me at an important meeting when I was snowed in, so I made this little thank you for her.

The outer box was made with Chocolate Chip cardstock.  Using Chocolate Chip ink I stamped the Little Something from the free Yummy stamp set onto Only Orange card and matted it onto Creamy Caramel. The corner rounder punch was used on the matted layers. I then stamped the blossoms from the One of a Kind stamp set in Only Orange ink onto Whisper White card and punched with the Boho Blossoms punch. The inner case was made with Creamy Caramel card. 

I chose all the colours to reflect the contents of the box - Orange and Cappuccino flavour Kit Kats. 

Yummy!

Sara xx

A duo of free stamp sets to create a duo birthday card

Am I cheating? I've combined two of the free stamp sets on my card today. You can of course use the punched flowers without the Polka Dot Punches stamps or add your own embellishments in place of them if you decide to go just for the Congrats set.

I started with a Pretty in Pink card blank and added Rose Red and Sweet Always Designer Series Papers. 

Whisper White narrow grosgrain ribbon covers the join of the papers. I stamped the Congratulations sentiment using Pumpkin Pie ink on Whisper White card. The "little bit older" sentiment was stamped with Rose Red ink onto Whisper White card. (There are another 5 phrases that come with this Congrats set). A corner rounder punch was used on the ends of the sentiments that would remain visible. Using Old Olive ink on the same shade card I stamped and punched the 5 petal flower twice to create leaves. The flowers were created with Pumpkin Pie ink onto the same shade card and Rose Red ink onto the same shade card. The flower and leaf combos were secured onto the sentiments using Earth Elements brads. These tags were stuck to the card with dimensionals.

Keep stampin'

Sara xx

Quick craft tip - inking tip no. 2

Don't throw away your ink pads when they start to "run out". Buy a re-inker and top it up again - much cheaper than buying a whole new ink pad and greener for the environment too. There's a set of re-inkers available for each of the Stampin' Up! colour families and individual re-inkers for the Stazon and Versamark pads.

Bleaching technique using the free Botanical Blooms stamp set

I'm going to cram in as many examples as I can using the free stamp sets before they disappear at the end of the week. Today I've used the Botanical Blooms set. This has the most individual stamps in it (7 in total) and is a Two-Step Stampin' set. What this means is that you stamp with one stamp and then line up the corresponding stamp (easiest with a Stamp-a-ma-jig) and stamp over the top. In this case there are two different solid flower heads and matching outline stamps and a solid leaf with matching outline stamp and finally a sentiment stamp ("to thine own self be kind").

For this card I started with Old Olive for the card blank. I took a piece of Lavender Lace card and with the larger solid flower head stamped with bleach. Did she really say bleach? I can hear you 

asking. Yep! Ordinary household bleach dribbled onto folded paper towels (not swimming in the stuff) on an old plastic lid. I then tapped my stamp onto the bleached towel as though it were an ink pad and then onto the cardstock. I cleaned my stamp straight away, first with a paper towel dampened with water and then with my Stampin' Scrub and Mist. The effect is a little more subtle than I was aiming for so I'll try darker card next time.

Using Elegant Eggplant ink I stamped the outline flower over the top. I then added leaves with the solid part in Old Olive ink and the outline in Always Artichoke ink. Using the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Occasional Greetings set I stamped in Elegant Eggplant at the base of a some Very Vanilla card. The Lavender Lace was matted onto the Very Vanilla and then onto the Old Olive card. It was finished off with a piece of Certainly Celery narrow grosgrain ribbon.

If you have a go at this then please take the proper precautions when working with bleach. Follow the guidance on the bottle eg. work in a well-ventilated room, keep the bleach away from children, clothes and skin etc.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

Last few days to get your free stamp sets and a free postage offer from me

Just a reminder to everyone that we're into the last few days of Sale-a-bration. Time's fast running out to get your free stamp set.

When you spend £45 on products from the Stampin' Up! catalogue(browse it here) you can choose a free Sale-a-bration stamp set. There's no limit, so spend £90 and get two sets free and so on. You can click on the image (above) to view the stamp sets or click on the links below to see how I've used the sets:

Polka Dot Punches

Botanical Blooms

Yummy

Congrats

And as if that wasn't enough, place your order with me by Friday 27th February and I'll pay for your postage on any orders over £45 (saving you £3.95). Email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com to order.

Keep stampin'

Sara xx

 

Catching up with some awards

Oh I feel so bad. Some very kind friends nominated me for awards - I'm only just catching up and finding that it was two weeks ago! Where did the time go?

I'd like to thank Hayley and  Carolynne who both nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award.

The rules are that you have to link back to the person who nominated you and pass the award on to 7 other blogs that give you inspiration, link to them too and notify them on their blogs.

I'm passing this award on to:

Amber

Zoe

Lynda

Linda

Bekka

Fiona

Andrea (this is a german website but you don't need to understand german to gain inspiration from the photos)

Not quite so long ago (just Friday in fact) my friend Heather nominated me for the Friends award.

Same rules apply but you get to pass the award on to 5 blogging friends and so I'm choosing some regular visitors to my blog because I'd like to think that we have become friends and I want to let them know that I appreciate them taking the time to comment on my creations. My friends are:

Alex

Kate

Margaret

Marilyn

Hayley

Thanks to all for nominations, inspiration and friendship.

Sara xx

What is your favourite colour combination?

Yes - it's another pink birthday card today, a combination of Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Rose Red. Pink's a favourite with me so I'm afraid that you'll just have to get used to it and if you don't like it then at least it's easy enough to substitute your own favourite colour combination.

What is your favourite colour combination? Please leave me a comment to let me know and over the coming weeks I'll incorporate your suggestions into my cardmaking.

Anyhow - onto the recipe. I started with Rose Red as my card blank and stamped the flower trio from the True Friend stamp set in Rose Red ink along the edges of the card as shown. Using markers direct to the stamp I inked up the stemmed flower from the same set and stamped onto Whisper White card. This was matted onto Regal Rose and the edges of the mat were swiped with Rose Red ink. The matted flower was stuck to the card with dimensionals. I next punched an aperture in the bottom right hand corner of the card using my 1-1/4" circle punch. Using the scallop circle punch I punched a flower of Regal Rose card and created the same aperture in the same way in the centre. I paper pierced the flower with my Crafters Toolkit and stuck it to the aperture on the card. Inside I added an insert of Pretty in Pink (light enough to write on easily) with the corners rounded with the corner rounder punch. Finally I stamped the Birthday Wishes sentiment from the Circle of Friendship stamp set in Rose Red ink onto Whisper White card, punched it out with the 1" circle punch and stuck it with a dimensional through the aperture onto the inside of the card.

Looking forward to hearing your favourite colour combos.

Sara xx

Bright and breezy get well card using free stamp set

I'm loving the Polka Dot Punches set and I'm going to be so sorry when February ends and my new customers won't be able to get them. 

For this bright and cheerful get well card (for my friend Heather who's suffering poor lamb - hope you're feeling better soon) I started with Only Orange as my card blank and cut an aperture in the centre. Using my Paper Cutter I scored borders around the outside of the card and around the aperture. I lined the inside back of the card with Whisper White (I think - but it could have been Very Vanilla) and placed a piece of paper from the Haiku Designer Series cut slightly larger than the aperture in the centre. Using Pumpkin Pie ink I stamped the Get Well Wishes sentiment from the Fun and Fast Notes set onto Whisper White/Very 

Vanilla and positioned this dead centre. The leaves are Garden Green ink stamped onto Green Galore card and the flowers are Pumpkin Pie ink stamped onto Yoyo Yellow card. All stamped with the 5 petal flower stamp from the Polka Dot Punches set and punched with the 5 petal punch. The flower centres are More Mustard brads from the Earth Elements collection. The technique for these flowers was covered here.

If you'd like to get your hands on this stamp set before it's too late (free with any £45 catalogue spend plus postage) then email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

If you're giving a home created CD or DVD then why not make a quick and easy case for it

Last year my hubby and I went with my in-laws on a trip of a lifetime to Peru (and no we didn't spot Paddington). We were celebrating landmark birthdays for both hubby and his Dad (sure they won't mind me saying - 40 and 70). It was an incredible trip and we took loads of photos (a few of which, I may scrapbook on here sometime) and also shot some video. We did sort the photos quickly after getting back but have only just finished preparing the video. This is the royal we, meaning hubby did it all - and so I thought I ought to at least contribute a case for the DVD.

I wanted something that would stand out on the shelf (and it does) so I started with a piece of Tempting Turquoise cardstock measuring 14cm x 26cm. Using the Whimsy wheel with Versamark ink I stamped all one side of the card. The Stampin' Around Wheel Guide helped me keep things straight and lined up.

Once stamped I scored across the centre at 13cm and about 0.7cm in from either edge (the width of Sticky Strip). I cut along the score lines on one half of case and then just snipped at an angle to make the edges neater when folding and sticking. I then folded the case over and punched a semi-circle using the 1-1/4" circle punch halfway across the card. It's easier to punch one layer of card at a time using the first as a template for the second. This diagram of the unfolded case isn't to scale but gives an idea of what it should look like. Folding over the narrow edges on top left and right, I applied Sticky Strip and folded shut.

To finish decorating I punched 3 x 1" circles and 5 x 1-1/4" circles from Pixie Pink card. I die cut the letters and numbers from Taken with Teal card and arranged and stuck them to the cover.

A quick and easy case for a very personal gift.

Sara xx

P.S. Regular visitors to my blog may have noticed that I usually post a quick craft tip on a Tuesday ... and today's Tuesday. I haven't had many comments on the tips so I'm not sure whether you're reading them, find them useful or don't really care less whether they stay or go. If you do want them back then please leave a comment to let me know.

A birthday card for a man using a combination of blues and browns

Male birthday cards are often the most difficult for cardmakers to design. I usually start with an appropriate colour combination (often blues and greens, steering away from pinks and peaches), add one of the more masculine stamps and look for hard edged designs for background papers rather than swirls and curves.

This one is for my friend Paul, whose birthday is tomorrow (I'm taking a bit of a risk blogging this one before the day but I somehow doubt that he'll spot it *giggles*). Here I've started with a card blank of Chocolate Chip.  The embossed panels on the background are made from Bashful Blue and Creamy Caramel card put through the Argyle Cuttlebug folder. I stamped the Loads of Love truck onto Whisper White, Night of Navy and Basic Grey card with Basic Grey ink. The presents and the lady driver (from the Loads of Love Accessories set) were positioned with the Stamp-a-ma-jig and coloured with markers. I also used markers to colour the tyres. The truck was cut from the stamped image in Night of Navy and the tyre hubs were cut from the image done on Basic Gray. 

These were then paper pieced onto the image (I always used to call it decoupage even though it was only one layer but I've noticed that most crafters call it paper piecing, so who am I to buck the trend). A white Signo gel pen was used to give a bit of highlighting to the truck. The whole was then matted onto more Night of Navy card. Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon was attached to the inside edge of the card and another tiny piece of the same ribbon knotted over it (I almost always use knots rather than bows if I use ribbon on a man's card).

I'd love to know what you think. Do you find it difficult to make cards for men? Let me know.

Sara xx

 

Double delight with flowery birthday cards using Polka Dot Punches

Today's card design takes inspiration from a few different cards by the hugely talented Joanne, which I've combined and added my own little touches to.

I also decided to make the same card in two different colour ways. If you come across a design you like then it's worth completing a few  different colour combinations. I find that I get on a roll in creating the elements of the card and it seems to go much quicker than producing two totally unique cards.

I'll explain how I put the Coral version together and then provide a list of colour substitutions. 

I started with Apricot Appeal for the card blank. Using Cameo Coral ink I stamped the 5 petal flower from the Polka Dot Punches set onto Cameo Coral card three times. (Don't forget - there's only two weeks left to get these stamps).

 I did the same with Old Olive ink onto Certainly Celery card and punched all six flowers/leaves out with the 5 petal punch (so much quicker than cutting them all out). To create dimension I scored from the centre of the flower down the 

centre of each petal and then in between each petal and folded (valley fold in the petal centre and mountain fold for in between). Using Certainly Celery ink I stamped the flourish from the Season of Joy set (not just for Christmas see) onto a wide strip of Whisper White card and then added the dinky flower in Cameo Coral ink. Cameo Coral ink was also used to stamp the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Occasional Greetings set onto this same mat. The flowers were positioned at the side of the stamping and attached with small Circle Fire rhinestone brads in yellow. I cut a piece of Certainly Celery card to mat onto but paper pierced it with the Cra

fters Toolkit and added faux stiching with the white Signo gel pen before sticking the two layers together. To save a little card (thrifty/tight - take your pick) I cut two narrower strips of Cameo Coral card, rather than one extra wide one, and punched with the Scallop Edge punch. This trim was added to the existing mat and stuck to the card front.

For the Plum card I made the following substitutions:

Apricot Appeal card blank = Pale Plum

Cameo Coral card flower = Pale Plum

Certainly Celery card leaves and paper pierced mat = Sage Shadow

Cameo Coral scallop trim = Perfect Plum

Cameo Coral ink on large/small flowers and sentiment = Perfect Plum

Old Olive ink on leaves = Sage Shadow

Yellow rhinestone brads = small clear rhinestone brads from Pretties Kit (also ideal would be lilac from Circle Ice set)

Hope you like them.

Sara xx

Did you make a resolution to make money from your crafting? Here's one way.

Today is a good landmark day to review those new year resolutions you made back in January and see how much progress you've made. I'm sure that there will be some of you out there that made a new year's resolution to try and make some money from your crafting - or at least to make it pay for itself this year. Have you made a start yet? If you have, then ... Congratulations. It's never easy to take the first steps and you're ahead of the game. If you haven't, then ... don't beat yourself up but if you still think that it's worth doing, then recommit yourself to achieving your goal.

I'll do my best to help you by posting some tips and ideas that I use or that I see other's using successfully. This isn't the main focus of this blog but I'll be adding to this series of Business Tips and Ideas every so often so if this is something that you're interested in then please bookmark my blog, join as a follower or add a feed so that you can come back and pick up the information (hopefully you'll also stop by for a little crafting inspiration too).

The obvious way of making money from craft is to sell your creations and I will cover this in future posts. Another way is to become a UK Stampin' Up! demonstrator yourself and show people how to craft. This is a great way to do it because you get to introduce others to the fun of crafting.

Benefits of becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator:

• Huge discount on the customisable starter kit (£240 of tools and products for just £139)
  
• Significant discount on all Stampin' Up! products 
  
• Sneak peeks of upcoming products and chance to pre-order
  
• Free newsletter every month with tips and techniques
  
• No need to hold a workshop or "sell" if you prefer to remain a "hobby demo"
  
• Bonuses and incentives available to those who want follow the career plan
  
• Access to on-line resources and business support
  
• Ability to drop out at any time, no tie-ins (but you cannot then rejoin for set period)
• Opportunity to attend field training events and annual convention (charges apply)
  
• Ability to earn free stamp sets in your first 6 months

Additional benefits exclusive to joining through me:

• Support and training in how to deliver a workshop (face to face if I can travel to you or telephone and on-line if outside travelling distance)
  
• Ongoing support by phone and email
• Product sample kits
• Sample cards
• Marketing ideas and tips to grow your business
  
• Project worksheets to use at your workshops
  
• Exclusive access to a blog just for my downline team
  
• Sign up by the end of May 2009 and choose any stamp set* from the current catalogue (any value)

Whether you're ready to sign up now or have more questions you'd like answered, then email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com

* Excludes hostess stamp sets

Yummy valentine sweets dressed up in a pretty little package

Ssssshh. Don't tell my hubby about this post. I've prepared a little valentine treat that I'm hoping he won't find out about before tomorrow. He's a big kid and loves these little sweets.

I made the sweetie bag to go with the faux metal Valentine card I made back here.

Starting with a medium cellophane bag I stamped the 

dinky With Love sentiment from the Yummy stamp set (see here for how to get this set free) all over in White Staz-on. To make the topper for the bag I started with Elegant Eggplant cardstock cut to the width of the cellophane bag. I paper pierced a strip of Basic Gray card using the template in the Crafter's Toolkit and matted this onto the Eggplant. Using the A Little Yummy sentiment from the same set I stamped in Elegant Eggplant ink onto Lavender Lace card and cut around the scrolled design. Fancy brads from the Hodgepodge kit secured the topper onto the bag.

Keep Stampin'

Sara xx

A positive negative polka dot heart combination

Today's card is another one for Kristina Werner's colour challenge. Colours this week are these:

Please excuse the quality of the photography. I didn't get home early enough to make the card and photograph it in natural light which I prefer to do. I may reshoot it tomorrow and update the photo. 

We don't have Riding Hood Red in the UK and so I went with Rose Red as a close match. Using the heart from the Polka Dot Punches set, I stamped with Versamark twice onto Whisper White card and twice onto Basic Black. I added white embossing powder to the black card and black embossing powder to the white card and applied the heat tool. The four hearts were matted onto Rose Red card. This was paper pierced and faux stitching added. These layers were then stuck onto a card blank made from Basic Gray cardstock. Using the dinky With Love sentiment from the Yummy set, I stamped again with Versamark onto Whisper White card and embossed with black powder. I trimmed this to a tag shape and attached it to the front of the card with a fancy brad from the Hodgepodge kit.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

Single sheet paper tote bag with jewelled handles

This tote bag is large enough to carry standard size cards (A6 UK size). I got the design for the bag from the fantastic Chic n' Scratch blog by Angie. 

I used Spiced Cider Designer Series Paper for the main bag. The handles are two strips of Rose Red card with thinner strips of matching Spiced Cider paper matted onto them. The Boho Blossoms flowers from the One of a Kind set were stamped in Rose Red ink onto Whisper White card and then punched out with the Boho Blossoms punch. I used the larger flowers on the outside and the small ones on the inside to reinforce the handles. Circle Fire rhinestone brads go through all layers to attach the handles to the bag.

The birthday sentiment from the Circle of Friendship stamp set was stamped in Rose Red ink onto Whisper White card and was punched out with the 1" circle punch. This was layered onto Regal Rose card punched with the 1-1/4" circle punch and then Rose Red card punched with the Scallop Circle punch. The embellishment was stuck onto the bag with a few dimensionals for depth.

Hope you like it.

Sara xx

Quick craft tip - using punches tip no. 3

To punch out a stamped design, first stamp the design onto your cardstock with a little spare space around it. Holding your punch upside down, position the design within the shaped window and punch. This method can also be used to create a punched out shape within a punch by using different sizes of punch. 

Petal power in chocolate chip and pumpkin pie

Here's another card made without any stamping. For this one I started with Chocolate Chip textured cardstock for the base. I added a narrow strip of Pumpkin Pie textured card and one of the Sweet Always collection of Designer Series Paper. All the flowers were attached using glue dots. The fabric ones and the large halfback pearl are from the Pretties Kit. I punched large and small Boho Blossoms from Pumpkin Pie card to use as centres for the fabric flowers. All smaller flowers were cut in half and arranged chad-like along the top of paper strips. The centres of the smaller flowers were drawn on with the white Signo gel pen. The sentiment (a general purpose one for any occasion) is a rub-on from the Cherished Memories set. These rub-ons work well on the textured card. The corner rounder punch was used on all edges (I love this punch).

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home

This card is one that I made for a sketch challenge over on Splitcoaststampers here. I'm not quite happy with it as the balance seems off somehow but sometimes you just have to have a go and see what you end up with.

One part of the challenge was the little "spot" near the bottom of the card. This could be filled or left empty (but that's chickening out right?). Now I virtually always use some sort of flower for filling such a spot so I wanted to challenge myself to do something different and felt that the ladybird from the Garden Whimsy stamp set was about the right size for this. I coloured direct to stamp with markers and stamped on Whisper White card. The base card was Certainly Celery and I layered and matted this with Old Olive Card and Patterns Designer Series Papers. The large flower from True Friend was stamped in both Only Orange and Summer Sun inks onto Whisper White card. The orange flower was corner punched and matted onto Only Orange Card, also corner punched. The yellow flower was trimmed to the centre and raised on a dimensional on top of the orange. The ladybird was also added on a dimensional.

Keep Stampin'

Sara xx

Pink on pink on pink flowered birthday card

Another girlie pink card again today (my favourite in case you haven't noticed). This uses the Botanical Blooms stamp set (one of the free sets available with a £45 purchase just for the rest of this month - see here for more details).

The corner rounder punch was used on every corner on this card - may seem too much, but I like it. I used Rose Red cardstock for the base and added a mat of the pale pink spotted paper from the Sweet Always collection of Designer Series Paper (this is the one with a bird in one corner). The outline flower was stamped in Rose Red ink onto Whisper White card and using the Stamp-a-ma-jig I stamped the centres of the flowers with Regal Rose ink. The outline flower (without a centre) was also stamped in Versamark onto the darker pink paper from the same Sweet Always collection and it was embossed with white embossing powder. I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Occasional Greetings stamp set with Rose Red ink onto Whisper White card. Ruby red brads from the Earth Elements collection were pushed through the sentiment before attaching it with dimensionals to the card.

Have a great weekend.

Sara xx

I have been given a Lemonade Award

My lovely friend Heather gave me this - the Lemonade award. I guess that the idea is that when life hands you lemons then you have to turn it around and make lemonade.

This award is given by the previous winner to 5 people who have shown great attitude or gratitude this week. All you need to do is:

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Nominate at least 5 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

3. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award. I would like to pass this award to the following people in appreciation of their great attitude and my gratitude (not all of them are crafting sites).

Kate - I know I nominated her for another award recently but this lovely lady is organising a collection of cards from forum members of ILWS for the Marie Curie Appeal which I think shows great attitude

Clare - she's only just started blogging, she's about to have a baby and she's campaigning to Save Our Bees - more great attitude

Julie - in gratitude from me for her great ideas and tutorials and for her attitude to crafting whilst battling against carpal tunnel problems

Michelle - for still finding time to post some great tips on using Blogger (even though she actually uses Typepad) whilst dealing with personal sadness

Julie - for her cheerful approach to life and the smiles she's given me with tales of her new hens

Sorry ladies if any of you already have this award.

Sara xx

Gable gift box with space to write a message on the front

Yippee! Play day today. I got so fed up of all this snow even though I was working from home and so I booked today as holiday. I had a lie-in this morning (bliss), then got a large mug of tea and spent a few hours blog-hopping loads of other great sites. A sweet friend sent me an award last week that I haven't done anything about yet but I promise I will do later as I've got some ideas now for passing it on. Finally, after lunch I got into some crafting *smiles*.

I figured that as the deadline isn't until tomorrow I'd have another go at Kristina Werner's Colour Challenge. Here are the colours again.

Given the chance to play twice, I decided to go in a different direction (same colours though of course) and opted to create a gable gift box. 

I started this time with the Taken with Teal as the base cardstock and cut the box from this. I trimmed a piece of Whisper White card to fit the front, matting it onto 

More Mustard card for contrast. Using the fern from the Organic Grace stamp set (a Level 1 Hostess gift) and Old Olive ink I stamped it three times direct to the card. I then stamped the flower from the same set 3 times onto scraps of Whisper White card, inking the stamp with So Saffron ink and then using my More Mustard marker direct to the stamp in the centre. 

The flowers were cut out and added with dimensionals (two dimensionals layered up on the centre flower give it extra height/depth).  I purposely left the top right hand corner of the image blank so that a handwritten message can be added when the gift is given. The top of the gift box is secured with a tab punched from More Mustard card, folded over and secured with a Hodgepodge brad.

Thanks for all your comments on yesterday's card.

Keep Stampin'

Sara xx

A flowery thank you card to fulfil a colour challenge

I'm home working again due to the snow and so I've been able to use my lunch hour to play at Kristina Werner's Colour Challenge - well at least some good has come of the bad weather, heehee. Kristina's colours this week are these.I decided to start with the More Mustard as my base cardstock. Using the 5 petal flower stamp from the Polka Dot Punches stamp set (click here to found out how to get it for free) I stamped in Old Olive ink onto Old Olive card 5 times. I stamped 3 times in Taken with Teal ink onto Whisper White card and twice with Versamark and white embossing powder onto Taken with Teal card. All flowers and leaves were punched out with the 5 petal punch. The flowers were attached to the leaves with a More Mustard brad through the centre. 

Using the Thank U sentiment from the True Friend stamp set I stamped once onto Taken with Teal card with Versamark and white embossing powder and once with More Mustard ink onto So Saffron card, using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to centre the image. The corners and the area under the Thank U were paper pierced and the So Saffron card was matted onto the card blank. The white flowers were stuck flat to the card and the teal flowers were raised on dimensionals . I cut the U from the teal card and attached half a dimensional to each stem before positioning it over the mustard Thank U. 

Well we had another 3-4" of snow this morning and here's the view out of the back window. Pretty ain't it? This is about as tidy as my garden is going to look all year *grinning*.

Keep warm and safe.

Sara xx

A pink gift bag to match the 60th birthday card

Today I thought I'd show you the gift bag that I made to go with the 60th birthday card. I love to make cards and gift bags or boxes that match and as Stampin' Up! groups its products by colour families that's just so easy to do. 

I used the box in a bag template again from over on Splitcoaststampers. Click here to see their tutorial.

I used the Rose Red cardstock for the box, the trim and the handles. The main paper is the same one from the Sweet Always collection that I used for matting and paper ribboning on the card. The White Signo gel pen provided the faux stitching on the trim and handles.

I punched three of the largest Boho Blossoms from Rose Red card and three of the smallest from Regal Rose.  The Ruby Red brads from the Earth Elements collection were used on the centre of each 

flower and they were attached to the bag with dimensionals. The tag was stamped with the flower from True Friend in the same way as for the front of the card and I hand trimmed it to a tag shape and coloured all the edges lightly with Rose Red ink. I filled the bag with choccies (not SU! - wish they did make 'em) and tied it shut with Whisper White ribbon. 

Here's a pic of the full set including the envelope that I also stamped in Regal Rose ink using the round flower from the True Friend stamp set. You see how well the colours fit together?

By the way we still have plenty of snow around here. If it's still the same tomorrow I'll show you the pretty view out of the back window...

Keep warm.

Sara xx

Quick craft tip - heat embossing tip no. 2

You find a few extra speckles of embossing powder in the wrong places after you have tapped off the excess powder despite following heat embossing tip no. 1 . Use a fine, dry paintbrush to brush them away before heating the remaining powder. Be careful not to brush any of the image that you still want but if you accidentally do, then add powder again, tip off the excess and brush the specks away more carefully.

Its snow joke and a 60th birthday card

Hope you're keeping warm and cosy today and staying safe from the bad weather. I'm working from home as we're snowed in here and so I thought I'd take a little break for lunch and update you all.

Here's how things looked this morning out

 of my window when it first got light. It's snowed a fair bit more since then and it's still coming. And we've got it easy. Friends around the country are reporting 10" of snow! I just hope that the forecasters have got it wrong that tomorrow will be even worse.

On the other hand at least it's waited until today to really get bad. Yesterday we went to an aunt's 60th birthday party and apart from making the return trip a little hairy it didn't spoil the fun.

Here's the card I made for her. I used Rose Red 

cardstock for the base. I made a narrow paper ribbon with Sweet Always Designer Series Paper and added Ruby Red brads from the Earth Elements collection. These were just pushed through the paper and not the card, so that they didn't spoil the look of the card inside. I stamped Happy Birthday from the Occasional Greetings stamp set onto Regal Rose card with Versamark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder. The leafy flower from the True Friend stamp set was inked first with Versamark then Regal Rose and stamped onto Whisper White card. This allowed me to add clear embossing powder and heat to give a glossy finished image. A large pink Circle Fire rhinestone brad was added to the centre of the flower before it was matted onto more Sweet Always paper. I hand trimmed a tag from Regal Rose card and used my white Signo gel pen to apply faux stitching around the edge. The numbers were die cut from Rose Red card and the tag was finished with more paper ribbon and a brad to match those along the bottom.

For the inside of the card I stamped the Loads of Love sentiment from the Loads of Love stamp set with Rose Red ink onto Whisper White card. I added another paper ribbon and brad before sticking the insert to the inside of the card.

Keep safe and warm.

Sara xx