A spinner card for a kid's birthday party invitation

Ok so I'm one for one so far, on guessing the retiring stamp sets. My next prediction was Garden Whimsy which I used to create a kid's birthday party invitation for the challenge over at In Love With Stamping.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Garden Whimsy, Sincere Salutations (sentiment), Pocket Silhouettes (sentiment)

Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Whisper White

Ink: Pink Passion, Glorious Green, Almost Amethyst, Lovely Lilac, Stampin' Pastels

Punches: Word Window, Scallop Oval, Large Oval, Scallop Circle

Other: Dazzling Diamonds, Fine Cosmo (Orchid)

The tulips were inked direct to stamp with markers and stamped twice for each inking to get the stronger and paler colours. Using scrap paper punched with the Scallop Circle as a template I chalked around with Bashful Blue to create some clouds. The base of the tulips was chalked with Glorious Green. I created a channel for the spinner by punching along a pencilled line with the Word Window. This window was then pencilled onto a strip of Whisper White and a stamp-a-ma-jig used to place the text before erasing the pencilled lines. This sentiment strip was adhered in place direct to the A6 Pixie Pink card blank. The butterfly was inked with Almost Amethyst, "thumped" with Lovely Lilac, stamped onto Whisper White card and cut out leaving a reasonable margin. Dazzling Diamonds and Orchid glitters were added to the butterfly with Tombow and left to dry. All corners of a dimensional were snipped off to round it and ensure that it fit easily in the spinner channel. This was then sandwiched between two pennies, one on each side of the card front aperture. The card front was popped up on the base card with dimensionals stacked in twos (this allows sufficient clearance for the spinner). The butterfly was popped onto the front penny on a dimensional. The sentiment was stamped in Pink Passion on Whisper White card, punched out with the Large Oval and matted onto a Scallop Oval of Pixie Pink. This was popped up on dimensionals on the card front.

... and Garden Whimsy ... will be carried forward to the new catalogue, so I got that one wrong, lol. 50% success rate though so far.

How were your own predictions? Are you beating me?

Sara xx

I spy with my little magnifying glass ...

I had a great day out with my Mum yesterday. Her birthday's actually tomorrow but it's an annual tradition that I take a day off work sometime close to it and we go out for the day together. Yesterday we went out to Matlock Bath and the Heights of Abraham. Mum's always wanted to up in the cable car but Dad's not keen on the idea, so it made it the perfect choice for a mother/daughter day out. We didn't go down the caverns, as they warned that you needed to be of average fitness and mobility and Mum thought it might be a bit much for her. Instead we had a pleasant lunch up at the top looking out over the valley. There are some fantastic views from up there. I took a few pix but unfortunately it was a rather grey day so they don't really do the views justice. I'm still going to see whether I've got enough to do a bit of scrapbooking though.

I can't share Mum's card with you until after her birthday but here's another one that I'm preparing ahead, ready for the birthday of my friend's son. It uses a combination of stamp sets to create a small garden scene that's viewed through the "magnifying glass".

One of the stamp sets used is Something Sweet, currently on offer and reduced from £23.95 to £19.16. Please email me to order.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Something Sweet, Touch of Nature, Garden Whimsy, Happy Moments (sentiment)

Cardstock: Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla

Ink: Mellow Moss, Close to Cocoa, Soft Suede, SU Markers

Punches: Round Tab, 1-3/4" Circle, Scallop Oval, Word Window

Taffeta Ribbon: Mellow Moss

Other: Brass Jumbo Eyelet, Sweet Treat Cup

Non-SU: Jelly spider

First I trimmed a little off the front edge of a standard landscape A6 card so that my bookmark closure wouldn't extend beyond the card. A card front layer and a bookmark strip of Very Vanilla card was stamped randomly with the fern leaf from the Touch of Nature set using Mellow Moss. The 1-3/4" Circle was punched from the card front and this was used as a template for where to punch the stamped layer. The Sweet Treat Cup was adhered in place behind the stamped layer with glue dots and the adhesive backing left in place (otherwise it will stick to the slider). Narrow strips of card were adhered to the long edges of the stamped layer to create the ever so slight gap for the slider to move up and down more easily to get at the sweets. Sticky Strip was added to the sides and bottom of the back of this stamped and bordered layer (none in the centre or the top) and it was adhered to the card front, lining up the punched circle and the Sweet Treat Cup.

The slider bookmark closure was finished with a punched Round Tab of Mellow Moss, folded over and held in place with an eyelet and ribbon. The jelly spider was added to the cup and the slider slid into place between the stamped layer and the card front to hold it there.
The snail was stamped in Soft Suede and the magnifying glass handle in Close to Cocoa on Very Vanilla card. The ladybird and the butterfly were inked direct to stamp using markers and stamped onto Very Vanilla card. All were cut out and popped up on dimensionals.

A Scallop Oval of Mellow Moss was punch and the top and bottom trimmed off, leaving 3 scallops at each side. The sentiment was stamped in Close To Cocoa onto Very Vanilla and punch out with the Word Window. This was adhered direct to the trimmed Scallop Oval and the whole was popped up on dimensionals.

Recipe (Inside)

Stamp sets: Something Sweet, Garden Whimsy

Cardstock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Garden Green, Close to Cocoa

Little bugs were stamped onto the exposed edge of the card back and the insert.

A bit fiddly but worth the effort I think.

Of course I had to eat the spider on the card in the photo. I won't be sending the card for a few weeks so I'll need to buy a fresh sweet nearer the time, I can't send him a stale one now can I? ;-)

Sara xx

Join us on a bloghop featuring the Sale-a-bration stamp sets

Hi and welcome to our Sale-a-bration bloghop.

If you're starting here then grab a cuppa and make yourself comfy cos we've got lots to share with you ;-) There are 15 blogs to visit in this loop and 15 to visit in loop 2. You'll know when you've completed a loop when you end up back where you started.

If you've joined me from Debbi's Taylor-made Cards (aren't her bloghop creations marvelous), then welcome and thanks for stopping by on your way through our bloghop wonderland.

Don't forget that you get one of four exclusive, free, Sale-a-bration stamp sets with every £45 purchase. With no limit on how many you can get, this is the best possible time to treat yourself to that new stamp set you've had your eye on, or simply stock up on the essentials; cardstock, adhesive, inks etc. Just email me to place an order.

You may wish to consider supporting the Haitian Disaster Relief by adding the Greenhouse Garden set to your Sale-a-bration order. From now until 28 February, 2010, £1 from every Greenhouse Garden stamp set will be donated to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. The Red Cross is already well established on Haiti and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to those in need.

Now, on to the crafting ...

Recipe

Stamp sets: Happy Moments, Oval All

Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard, Whisper White

Ink: Black Stazon, Taken with Teal, Markers

DSP: Tea Party

Punches: Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Other: Gold Elastic Cord

For this card I stamped the stack of presents and then folded the card at the base before cutting them out. The elastic cord was wrapped around and then tied shut. This allows the present stack to be opened up for a tiny hidden message.

Next I put together a simple set of cards to showcase the Vintage Labels and show just how easy it is to make quick cards with them. Each frame is matched with a sentiment from the same free Sale-a-bration set and a different jumbo wheel used to create the background.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Vintage Labels, Whimsy, It's Beautiful, Leaves a la Carte

Cardstock: Whisper White, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Certainly Celery

Ink: Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Certainly Celery

Punches: Scallop Circle, Eyelet Border, Scallop Edge

Striped Grosgrain Ribbon: Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive

And finally from me, here's a card using the Good Neighbors set:

Recipe

Stamp set: Good Neighbors

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke, Old Olive

Ink: Old Olive, Versamark, Markers

Wide Grosgrain Ribbon: Old Olive

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Certainly Celery

Punch: Scallop Edge

Other: White EP, Small Circle Metal Edge Tag

I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to position all the separate elements, houses, roofs, trees and clouds. The background is all stamped in Old Olive on Certainly Celery card. I then used markers (Close to Cocoa, Really Rust and Ruby Red) to stamp onto the Metal Edge Tag (a little fiddly but works as long as you don't nudge the Tag). The sentiment was borrowed from the Vintage Labels set, stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with White embossing powder.

Thanks for visiting and now I'll pass you on to ...

... Victoria over at Blue Jelly Stampin' where you're in for a real treat.

See you again soon I hope.

Sara xx

A sympathy card and sneak peek 2 from the new catalogue

No jaunty angle shot from me today because this is a sympathy card that I had to make to send to a close friend who lost her husband recently. I almost didn't post it on here at all but I know how difficult these cards can be to make and thought it worth sharing for that reason.

Recipe

Stamp set: Garden Whimsy

Cardstock: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant

Ink: Versamark

Other: White EP

Punch: Corner Rounder

Narrow grosgrain ribbon: Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

To finish on a lighter note - here is sneak peek 2. A children's birthday card using the fun Animal Stories stamp set. Can't wait to share all the new goodies with you on 1 October.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

A photo wallet of my little staffie Bess

I'm hoping to make some blank Christmas photo wallets for the craft market at Barnsley on the 16th September. As I haven't made one before I thought I'd have a trial run by making one to show my little puppy dog Bess.

It was a great way to use up some colours that are sometimes a little bright for cardmaking. They suit her personality and pick up the bright green of Dad's lawn and the turquoise of the toy she destroyed LOL (see photos further down).

Recipe

Stamp sets: Frames with a Flourish, Garden Whimsy, Fresh Cuts, One of a Kind

Textured Cardstock: Green Galore, Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise

Plain Cardstock: Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

DSP: Rainbow Sherbet

Ink: Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise

Punches: Scallop Circle, Scallop Edge, 1-3/8" Circle, Corner Rounder

The design is from Splitcoaststampers here. I've added my photos of Bess and now just need to add a little journaling to complete the Wallet.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out and it's so less daunting than a full scrapbook so hope to make a few more of these.

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

A floating butterfly card and a very Happy Birthday to my mum-in-law

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. Happy Birthday Marianne. I hope you have a great day.

I always like to do something a bit special for family and close friends and so I decided to add a bit of movement to this card by "floating" the butterfly over the top of the flower.

I used Lavender Lace as my base cardstock . Using the two little bugs from the Garden Whimsy stamp set I inked them using markers (Pixie Pink and Pink Passion) and stamped them three times onto Whisper White card. I trimmed this to a narrow border and stuck it to the back of the card. I then trimmed the same amount from the front of the card so that the border is fully visible when the card is closed. Again using markers direct onto my stamp I inked the flower from Garden Whimsy with Pixie Pink, a little Pink Passion (for the halo) and a blend of Sage Shadow and Old Olive for the leaves and stem. This image was punched with the corner rounder and matted onto Pink Passion card, also corner rounded.

For the little flower embellishment I used the Scallop Circle punch on Pink Passion card and just snipped in between each petal and shaped them a bit. I used the Birthday Wishes sentiment from the Circle of Friendship stamp set and stamped that using Pixie Pink ink on Whisper White cardstock. This was punched out with the 1" punch and matted onto Pixie Pink card punched out with the 1-1/4" punch. The combined circles were mounted onto the flower using a dimensional and the whole embellishment added to the corner of the flower image.

 The butterfly is also from the Garden Whimsy stamp set and was stamped onto Whisper White cardstock with Lavender Lace. The normally white spots were coloured in with Elegant Eggplant. After cutting out the butterfly it was stuck to a narrow strip of acetate and the rest of the acetate strip was fixed to the inside of the card with sticky strip, positioning it so that the butterfly hovers over the flower. 

Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think of it.

Keep Stampin'!

Sara xx

Plain and simple sympathy card

This is one type of card that I don't enjoy making - I don't suppose that any of us do. If we need to send a sympathy card then it's a sad occasion. On the other hand I do want to show bereaved friends and family that we care and that we are thinking about them. One of my husband's friends just lost his father at the beginning of the week and I was quite touched when my husband asked me to make a sympathy card to give.

This did present a small problem as I don't actually have any sympathy stamps at the moment. Stampin' Up! have a several appropriate stamp sets including Always in My Thoughts and Close as a Memory, but they're still a little way down my stamp shopping list. So I had to improvise. I used the single flower from the Garden Whimsy set and coloured the stamp directly with my markers and then stamped onto Whisper White card. I inked just the Thinking of You text from Circle of Friendship (again using markers - the only way to ink something so small and detailed) and stamped that below, using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to position it correctly. I used Pale Plum for the base cardstock and matted the image onto Sage Shadow.

I just hope that I don't have need to make another one for quite a while and I hope that you don't too.

Thanks for dropping by.

Sara xx

Wow - what a week!

Hope all your preparations for Christmas are going well. I've been super busy this week. I got back from holiday on Sunday night, went to the theatre with my Mum on Wednesday to see the Witches of Eastwick (very good, though rather raunchy) and then with my hubby to the see the Kings of Leon on Friday. 

Saturday was my Open House and I demonstrated a few cards as well as boxes and treat holders - thank goodness I'm catching up on my cardmaking because I'll soon have to post them off.

My mum needed a 60th birthday card to send, so here it is.

The card is for a vibrant lady and so I used Pixie Pink textured cardstock from the Bold Brights range. The birthday cake is from the Fun and Fast Notes stamp set, coloured with markers and matted on Night of Navy. The sentiment is from Garden Whimsy and is a personal favourite (it works for all sorts of occasions). The dinky flower is from One of a Kind. I die cut the numbers from Night of Navy using a Cuttlebug.

You can't see from the outside but I also added a white insert and stamped that with the birthday wishes stamp from the Circle of Friendship set. I also used that on the envelope in place of a postage stamp as I knew the card would be hand delivered.

Keep Stampin'.

Sara xx