Greenhouse Garden set and Waterfall card tutorials by email

Today's creation uses another of the two- step stamp sets currently on offer with 20% off the regular price. The Greenhouse Garden set is reduced from £22.95 to £18.36 (offer valid 1-31 August 2010). Please email me if you'd like to order it.

The card layout and the gift bag design are identical to those we used at the recent Summer Stamptacular event.

I've been asked by a few people who couldn't attend the Summer Stamptacular, whether the tutorials are available for purchase by email and so I've put the tutorial for this set and the waterfall card together as a mini tutorial bundle, available for purchase using the "Greenhouse Garden Mini Bundle" Buy Now button on the right hand side menu. Click here to see the cards.

If you'd like to make this version using the purchased instructions then you'll need to make the following substitutions:

Regal Rose cardstock/ink = Chocolate Chip cardstock/ink

Regal Rose ink (for stamping down back of card) = Tempting Turquoise ink

Pretty in Pink cardstock/ink = Bashful Blue cardstock/ink

Tea Party DSP = Sweet Pea DSP Stack (available while stocks last but no later than 30 September 2010)

Whisper White Satin Ribbon = Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon

Dazzling Diamonds = mix of Turquoise (Fine Cosmo glitter set) and Dazzling Diamonds

For each flower I inked the base flower with Bashful Blue and then used a sponge dauber to add Tempting Turquoise around the edges of the petals (this gives a softer look than the rock 'n' roll technique which is another option). This was stamped onto Whisper White card and then the detail stamped with Chocolate Chip ink.

Extra flowers were added to the opposite corner of the bag and a large flower stamped and an eyelet and elastic cord added as a gift tag. The handle tabs weren't stamped but Jumbo Brads were added instead.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

July inspiration challenge at In Love With Stamping

This is our inspirational challenge for July over at In Love With Stamping:

Certainly a challenge! The wallpaper reminded me a little of Bella Toile and so I took that for my starting point and created this:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Bella Toile, Oval All

Cardstock: Pink Passion, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla

Ink: Pink Passion, Close to Cocoa

Punches: Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Taffeta Ribbon: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Other: Hat Pin, Beads, Halfback Pearl (Pretties Kit)

With the lush hatpin and beads from the Pretties Kit and the taffeta ribbon as my focus, I decided to keep the layout of the card fairly simple. I stamped Bella Toile onto Very Vanilla card with Close to Cocoa and matted this flat onto Close to Cocoa card and then a Pink Passion card blank. The Best Wishes sentiment was stamped onto Very Vanilla card with Pink Passion ink and punched with the Large Oval. This was matted direct onto Pink Passion card punched with the Scallop Oval. The hatpin was made up with Pearl and Clear beads (and spacer beads in between) and tied with Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon. I rolled glue dots around the stem of the hatpin to keep the beads in place. The sentiment was popped up on a double layer of dimensionals and adhered over the hatpin to keep it in place. A halfback pearl was added to the sentiment to complete it and tie in with the hatpin.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sara xx

My colour combo challenge for you over at In Love With Stamping

Well it's a new month and so a new set of challenges over at In Love With Stamping. It was my turn to propose two of the challenges and this was the colour combo I set:

Almost Amethyst, Lovely Lilac, Chocolate Chip with optional Whisper White or Very Vanilla

And this is how I've used them:

Recipe

Stamp set: Oval All

Cardstock: Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst

Ink: Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, Chocolate Chip

Punches: Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Taffeta Ribbon: Chocolate Chip

Rub-ons: Hidden Garden Blossoms

Other: Pretties Kit, Rhinestone Brad (Circle Ice)

Non-SU: Scallop and Circle die cuts

Two large scallop circles were die cut from Lovely Lilac and the back layer was scored in a straight line with seven scallops on one side of the scoreline. This seven scallop portion was adhered to the front layer with sticky strip, creating a stand for the card. The large Chocolate Chip rub-on from the Hidden Garden Blossoms was applied to a large circle, die cut from Almost Amethyst. Using the Lilac and Amethyst markers I coloured a small flower from the Pretties Kit and secured it to the centre of the rub-on with a rhinestone brad. Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon was wrapped around the lower portion of the circle. This layer was popped up on dimensionals on the front of the card. Fabulous Friend was stamped in Chocolate Chip on Almost Amethyst and punched with the Large Oval. The flowers were coloured using the blender pen and Chocolate Chip ink. The sentiment was popped up on dimensionals on a Scallop Oval punched from Lovely Lilac. Both layers were then popped up on dimensionals on top of the ribbon.

Hope to see your creations with these colours in the gallery soon.

Sara xx

A chalked background for the Stamp With Us inspiration challenge

A Happy Father's Day to any Dads reading this (please, please, if there are any, will you leave me a comment, it would be great to know there are some fellas reading this blog).

We have a new challenge today over at Stamp With Us and it's this inspiration piece:

Now these are really strong colours so I thought I'd knock them back a little by using Stampin' Pastels for the colour rather than markers or ink.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Baroque Motifs, Oval All

Cardstock: Real Red, Only Orange, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark, Stampin' Pastels

DSP: Bride Specialty

Punches: Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Other: Gold EP, Red Rhinestone Brads (Circle Fire)

I sponged the Only Orange and Pink Passion Pastels onto the Bride DSP using daubers and blew off any excess chalk. You can use any of the colouring tools with this DSP and the embossed background will resist the colour and show the pattern. Using Versamark I stamped the scroll design onto the chalked paper and heat embossed with Gold powder. I also stamped and embossed the little flowers and the sentiment in the same way onto Whisper White card. The flowers were cut out and red rhinestone brads added to the centres. As the prongs of the brad extended beyond the flower I trimmed them down with my Craft and Rubber Scissors before popping the flowers up on dimensionals. The rest is matting and layering.

Please take a look at the wonderful samples prepared by the rest of our design team - I just love the inspiration they provide.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sara xx

Have a wander through our bloghop to see the new products

Hello and welcome to another Stampin' Up! bloghop. Today we're showcasing our latest products, including inks, cardstock, DSP, polka dot ribbons and printed window sheets.

If you're already on your way then you'll have joined me from Pat. Isn't her work lovely. Don't worry if you're starting with me and haven't seen it yet, the link at the end of the post will pass you on to the next person in the loop and so on until you get back to me, at which point you've completed this loop.

They're all gorgeous new products and colours (I also used some of them for the Stamp With Us challenge earlier today - scroll down or click here to see) but I thought I'd focus on the printed window sheets for this bloghop. I know these are one of those items that I've been guilty of buying in the past because they look good but then when I get them, I'm not sure how to use them. So here are a few "ways with window sheets" to hopefully inspire you.

Recipe

Stamp set: Oval All

Cardstock: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, Pale Plum, Whisper White

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Versamark

Punches: Scallop Circle, Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon: Rich Razzleberry

Other: Flower Fantasy Window Sheet, White EP, Crop-a-dile

I started with an Old Olive card blank and cut decreasing size mats in Rich Razzleberry and Certainly Celery. The Rich Razzleberry mat was adhered to the card blank with snail. Two Scallop Circles were punched from Pale Plum, scored and folded in half. A portion of Flower Fantasy sheet was cut to the same size as the Certainly Celery mat and adhered to it with a little snail hidden behind the folded Scallop Circles. Using the Crop-a-dile I punched two of the larger holes evenly in the half-scallops, threaded and tied a double knot with the polka dot ribbon and trimmed the ends to finish. These layers were popped up on dimensionals on the card front. With versamark I stamped the Just for You onto Rich Razzleberry and heat embossed with White EP. This was punched out with the Scallop Oval. With Rich Razzleberry ink I stamped the Fabulous Friend and punched out with the Large Oval. A blender pen was used to pick up ink and shade the flower. The ovals were layered with dimensionals and popped up with more dimensionals on the front of the Window Sheet.

Recipe

Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry

DSP: Cottage Wall

Punch: Scallop Circle

Other: Flower Fantasy Window Sheet

The box base is the origami box from over at Splitcoaststampers here and I started with a 28cm x 28cm square which creates a 10cm x 10cm box base. For the lid I cut a 14cm x 14cm square from the Flower Fantasy Window Sheet, scored at 2cm on every side (this was a little snug so I'd suggest scoring at 1.8cm for a more generous fit). I snipped along one of the short score lines at each corner to create a tab, folded in and adhered with sticky strip. Four Scallop Circles were punched from Rich Razzleberry card and scored into quarters.

Each Circle was snipped from the outside edge to the centre along just one of the score lines. Sticky strip was added to each quarter, one was folded on top of another to create a pyramid and then one was stuck onto each corner of the lid. These decorative corners provide additional reinforcement to the box lid and help hide the sticky strip visible through the acetate.

Here you can see the printed design a little more clearly:

This final card uses a tiny portion of the window sheet to create a simple shaker card.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Frames with A Flourish, Sincere Salutations (sentiment)

Cardstock: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Whisper White

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

DSP: Cottage Wall

Punches: Eyelet Border

Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon: Rich Razzleberry

Other: Flower Fantasy Window Sheet

I started again with an Old Olive card blank and matted and layered with Certainly Celery and two different pieces of Cottage Wall DSP. Using Rich Razzleberry I stamped the sentiment onto the DSP layer in the bottom right corner. The join in the DSP was covered over with strips of Rich Razzleberry and Pale Plum punched with the Eyelet Border (save the dots punched out) and wrapped with polka dot ribbon. A flat bow was added to the centre of the ribbon. The floral frame from the Frames with a Flourish stamp set was stamped with Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White, trimmed with a narrow margin and the centre cut out with a craft knife. A small piece of Flower Fantasy Window Sheet was adhered behind it with sticky strip and the narrow outside edge from a sheet of dimensionals added along each edge. The dots leftover from punching the eyelet border (and a few extra) were dropped behind the window and sealed in with a Whisper White backing square before adding a Pale Plum mat and popping up on dimensionals on the card front.

Tip - remaining unprinted areas of the window sheet can be stamped with black or white Stazon to create your own printed sheets (be careful not to skid when you stamp - stamp straight down and be ready for the suction when you lift up again).

Thanks for stopping by. Please become a follower if you like what you've seen.

I'll pass you on now to my friend and downline, Jan. I've seen a sneak peek and she's got some beautiful and bright creations all lined up for you.

Bye for now.

Sara xx

A bookmark card for the June ILWS inspiration challenge

It's a new month (how can we be halfway through the year already) and so we have a new set of challenges over at In Love With Stamping. This month we have:

• Inspiration Piece
• Colour Combo
• Sketch
• Technique

and you can play along at any time.

Over the next six days I'll take you through each of my DT samples.

Now I noticed from my Current Stamp Set listing in the right hand side menu that some of my stamps haven't been used very often and so I set myself an extra challenge this month to dust off those overlooked stamps and include them in my samples. And I'm so glad that I did. They're all great stamps but I've got into a rut recently of reaching for my favourites (did anyone say Vintage Vogue *blushes*). Do you have overlooked stamps too? Which ones are they? If they're SU and I have them, then I'll try to include them in my posts later this month.

So, first up - our inspiration piece:

Although it's a fancy tag from a pair of jeans it reminded me of bookmark and so it inspired me to make a bookmark card. I also tried to use a similar colour scheme and pattern and came up with this:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Bella Toile, Oval All, Tiny Tags

Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Lavender Lace

Ink: Basic Gray, Lavender Lace, Basic Black

Punches: Large Oval, Scallop Oval, Scallop Edge

Taffeta Ribbon: Whisper White

Other: Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelet, Cutter Kit

I started with an A6 Sahara Sand card blank and trimmed 3.5cm from the right hand side of the card front. Using a brayer to get even coverage, the Bella Toile background was inked with Basic Gray, stamped off once (onto coloured card which I put aside to use elsewhere) and then stamped onto the closed card so that it covers the card front and the exposed card back. With the perforating tool of the cutter kit I created a perforated line along the back of the card for the bookmark. A scallop edge strip of Lavender Lace was added up against the perforated line. The Just For You sentiment was stamped in Basic Gray on Sahara Sand card and punched with the large Oval. It was popped up on dimensionals onto a Scallop Oval of Lavender Lace. These ovals were also popped up on dimensionals and added to the front of the card. An Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelet was set at the top centre of the bookmark. Whisper White taffeta ribbon was coloured with a Lavender Lace marker and tied through the Jumbo Eyelet. The bookmark was finished by stamping the damask type image from the Tiny Tags in Basic Black at the bottom centre of the bookmark.

Once the recipient is finished with the card they just bend and tear off along the perforation and they have a bookmark.

Please don't forget to leave me a comment if you have any dusty SU stamps (or just want to comment generally of course - I appreciate them all).

Sara xx

Bright polka dot set using printed window sheets

Back again and catching up on sleep. I never seem to sleep well when I'm working away (and yet I sleep so well if I'm away on holiday - guess it's my frame of mind). Still my visit to Cardiff gave me chance to meet up again with a crafting friend from the ILWS forum and have a great evening chatting crafting - thanks Dawn!

Today I have a matching set of cards that make a great gift set when packaged up. They're ideal to keep in for a last minute gift or to sell at craft fairs or school fetes. I've put mine in a clear plastic box that I got through a recent share but you could easily make a gift bag or a sized up mini pizza box to package them in.

All the cards use the printed window sheet from the Night & Day Specialty Paper pack and I got four cards from 1 sheet with a spare strip left over. The other papers in the pack are great for monochrome cards and items or they can be transformed by brayering coloured ink over as I did here.

The set started with this card that I blogged last month. Click here for the full details.

Recipe

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Tiny Tags

Cardstock: Real Red

DSP: Night & Day Specialty

Ink: Basic Black, Versamark

Punches: Full Heart, Medium Jewelry Tag

Gingham Ribbon: Red

Other: Black EP, Linen Thread

The standard A6 card blank in Real Red was wrapped with the printed Window Sheet. Again, my wrap doesn't go all the way around, just about 1cm or so around the back, secured with Sticky Strip. Red gingham ribbon was tied around the card front and wrap and stamped sentiments from the Tiny Tags set (punched with the Medium Jewelry Tag) attached with twine. I stamped the Friend heart with Versamark on Real Red card, heat embossed with Black EP and punched it with the Full Heart before sticking to the front of the Window Sheet.

Recipe

Stamps: In the Stars, Tiny Tags

Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black

DSP: Night & Day Specialty

Ink: Basic Black, Versamark

Punches: Large Star, Medium Jewelry Tag

Other: Black EP, Black Brads (Vintage), Linen Thread

This time I stamped the Tiny Tags onto Tempting Turquoise card and again punched them out with the Medium Jewelry Tag. I matted Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise (cut slightly smaller on all edges) and the Window Sheet and secured with Black Brads in each corner (this secured the Window sheet without having any glue showing) also pinning my Tiny Tags into the top left hand corner. These layers were then adhered to the front of the Tempting Turquoise card blank. The Wish for You star was stamped with Versamark on Tempting Turquoise card, heat embossed with Black EP and punched with the Large Star before sticking to the front of the Window Sheet.

Recipe

Stamps: Oval All, Tiny Tags

Cardstock: Green Galore, Basic Black

DSP: Night & Day Specialty

Ink: Basic Black, Versamark

Punches: Large Oval, Medium Jewelry Tag

Other: Black EP, Black Brads (Vintage)

The Green card is made the same way was the Turquoise one but switching Tempting Turquoise for Green Galore in all cases and using the Just for You oval stamp with the Large Oval punch.

A simple, quick and effective way to use those window sheets I think.

I'm at St Saviour's at High Green again tomorrow so may see some of you there *waves*. Don't forget to bring your Silent Night stamp set if you want to join in making some Christmas cards.

Have a great weekend.

Sara xx

Sculpted Razzleberry Vogue roses for my SIL's birthday

Saturday was my SIL's birthday and so I was looking for something a little special to use in the design of her card.

Marlene over at Time to Craft recently posted a fantastic tutorial for making a rose using the large Vintage Vogue flower, that I thought would fit the bill perfectly. This set is great for so many different looks, from vintage distressed to elegant modern.

I teamed the lush new Rich Razzleberry with Very Vanilla and just a hint of Old Olive for a sophisticated looking colour combo:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Vintage Vogue, Oval All

Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, Old Olive

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

Polka Dot Ribbon: Rich Razzleberry

Punches: Two-step bird, Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Other: Pretties Kit (Half-back Pearl)

After making the three roses according to Marlene's instructions I used the two-step bird punch for the leaves. The polka dot ribbons were wrapped around the Vanilla layer and secured at the back. The sentiment was stamped in Rich Razzleberry ink, matted and layered and topped off with a vanilla half-back pearl.

Here's a close up of the roses:

These flowers are too deep to fit in an envelope and possibly a little fragile even for the padded envelopes designed to be used with the treat cups (unless you enclose the roses in a treat cup - now that's another idea) and so I made a simple card box to keep them safe. Please pop back tomorrow and I'll share the box and co-ordinating gift bag.

Sara xx

A quick second post for the Mojo Monday challenge

I just love bank holidays - even when it's raining. After all it's a great excuse to craft and so I've squeezed in a second post today as I've had a play along with the new Mojo Monday challenge.

The sketch this week is this one:

And I've gone for a few more patterns today for a change:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Garden Dream, Oval All

Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Pumpkin Pie, Taken With Teal, Whisper White

Ink: Taken With Team, Pumpkin Pie

DSP: Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Pea

Punches: Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Other: Turquoise Brads (Bold Brights)

For the flower, I used markers direct to stamp and then blender pens to add shading. The patterned paper helps keep the placement of all the elements straight. Everything else is simple matting and layering.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

Birthday theme challenge at Stamp With Us

Our challenge today over at Stamp With Us is to create something to meet a:

birthday theme

I decided to go with some bright and bold colours to show that you don't have to stick with vintage colours or the distressed look when using the Vintage Vogue set.

Recipe

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, Oval All, Very Vintage

Cardstock: Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

Ink: Summer Sun, Taken With Teal, Stampin' Pastels

Punches: Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Other: Circle Fire Rhinestone Brads

I rolled the Very Vintage wheel at a diagonal using my Wheel Guide to roll again and complete the top corner. The flowers were made using the rock and roll technique ie. inking the stamp with one colour and then rolling the edges of the stamp on another (contrasting or complementary) inkpad. The Tempting Turquoise turns green when mixed with the Summer Sun and I kept these flowers for the bottom petals so that they'd be more leaf-like. To have more of the Turquoise colour come through, I first inked with Summer Sun, rolled off some of the ink onto scrap paper then rolled onto Tempting Turquoise before finally stamping. The small flowers were just stamped with Tempting Turquoise ink. All were cut out and I shaped the petals before layering and securing with a Rhinestone Brad. The sentiment was stamped in Turqouise, coloured with a Summer Sun marker and then chalked around the edges with Summer Sun.

Please go take a look at the other wonderful creations made by the Design Team.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sara xx

News of Snooker Legends at the Crucible and here's the April chalks challenge at In Love With Stamping - take 2

Last night I went with my Mum to the Sheffield Crucible (home of the World Snooker Championship) to see "Snooker Legends". John Virgo hosted and playing we had:

• Alex (Hurricane) Higgins;
• Jimmy (Whirlwind) White;
• John (The Entertainer) Parrot; and
• Cliff (The Grinder) Thorburn

As someone who grew up watching Pot Black (showing my age) every Friday night with my Gran and Grandad it brought back a lot of happy memories and reminded me how much I enjoy watching the game. The snooker was spellbinding. Fast and furious frames between White and Parrot, slower with some tricky snookers between Higgins and Thorburn. It was rather sad to see Higgins looking so poorly. I understand that he's had pneumonia and from the looks of last night and his coughing, I don't think he's over it yet.

Some of the audience got a chance to try trick shots with John Virgo, a la Big Break. Another member of the audience was drawn from a paid raffle to play a game of doubles with the losers of the first match. The raffle winner didn't get much of a chance to play as his partner White cleaned up the table but Jimmy did kindly let him sink the last black.

The show is going on tour soon and if you're a fan of snooker then I can definitely recommend this.

On now to the crafting and here's my second card for the Chalks challenge over at In Love With Stamping:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Vintage Vogue, Oval All, Very Vintage

Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Very Vanilla

Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Versamark, Stampin' Pastels chalks

Punches: Eyelet Border, Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Other: Pretties Kit

The card base is Perfect Plum cut to a standard A6 landscape card. Using the Very Vintage wheel and Perfect Plum ink, the background was rolled top and bottom of the card. A strip of Pale Plum was punched along both long edges with the Scallop Edge punch. This was stamped randomly with the vine from the Vintage Vogue set in Pale Plum ink and the edges were chalked by rubbing Pale Plum chalk on a sponge dauber in a circular motion.

The large flowers and leaves from the Vintage Vogue set were stamped with Versamark on Very Vanilla card and then chalks pounced (tapped) on with sponge daubers (flowers in Pale Plum and Perfect Plum, leaves in Garden Green). The chalk "sticks" to the Versamark - be careful not to rub or you may smudge the image. Excess chalk was blown off and then the image brushed very lightly with a dry paintbrush. Flowers and leaves were cut out, shaped and stuck flat to the card except for the centre flower which was raised on two dimensionals stuck together for extra height. Medium cream halfback pearls were added to the centre of the flowers with glue dots.

For the sentiment the Best Wishes was stamped in Perfect Plum ink on Very Vanilla card and then punched with the Large Oval punch. The edges were chalked with Pale Plum. This was stuck flat to a punched Scallop Oval from Perfect Plum card and raised on dimensionals on the Pale Plum decorated strip. A small cream halfback pearl was added using a glue dot to finish.

All chalked images can be sprayed with a sealant (hairspray works) before adding to the card if needed.

Back again soon.

Sara xx

A cased card for my MILs birthday and her latest stamping results

Did you enjoy our bloghop on Sunday? From the hits to our sites, I'm guessing you did. (Just in case you missed it you can always scroll down to Sunday's post to catch up). There were some fantastic creations and I can't wait for a bit of free time to CASE some of them. I'm just glad that I managed to get mine finished on time and didn't let the others down. It was pretty touch and go at one point. I'd been away in Hastings all week and then on Friday night I was out presenting a workshop (I'll share more of that later in the week), then Saturday morning I was busy finishing my MIL's birthday card before she and my FIL arrived to spend the afternoon with us.

Thankfully I've got my MIL hooked on crafting too and after a delicious fish and chip lunch (we're lucky enough to have an award winning chippy just a short drive away), we spent the afternoon crafting while DH and FIL played on the Wii and watched the football. A happy bunch all round.

The card I made for my MIL is the one I was lucky enough to win as a project kit with instructions, from Elaine's Creative Musings on another recent bloghop.

Recipe

Stamp sets: On a Pedestal, Queue Up (Level 3 hostess set), Whimsical Words (SAB)

Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Markers

DSP: Tea Party

Taffeta Ribbon: Pretty in Pink

Gingham Ribbon: Light Pink

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant

Brads: Soft Subtles, Square Fire

Now my MIL mainly loves 3d items. She isn't so keen on stamping so far because she reckons her stamping never works out properly. I did talk her into giving it another go though on Saturday and she made this card:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Whimsical Wings (level 2 hostess set), Oval All

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red, Whisper White

Ink: Ruby Red, Markers

Punches: Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Taffeta Ribbon: Chocolate Chip

I'm not sure where she's coming from. I think her stamping is great. Don't you just love her robin? So cute.

Thanks for stopping by.

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 wedding anniversary in white satin and embossed gold

Phew, so glad the christmas rush is over. I hope that you all had a happy and peaceful time. Everyone here's well fed and family members have been and gone so I can look forward to a quiet day of crafting tomorrow, before it all starts all over again and I prepare the house for my New Year's Eve guest, lol. The pain in my jaw has virtually disappeared now and I've started eating (very gingerly) on that side of my mouth again. Thanks to everyone for their good wishes and comments.

I haven't had time for any crafting so far this holiday, so today I thought I'd share with you the card I made for my parents' wedding anniversary which was on the 18 December. I also submitted this card as part of my entry to the DT call over at In Love With Stamping. The successful entrants are to be announced at the Crafter's Cup Challenge taking place on 2 January - fingers and toes crossed :-)

Recipe

Stamp sets: Mr & Mrs, Cheers to You, Oval All

Cardstock: Blush Blossom, Creamy Caramel, Whisper White

DSP: Bride

Ink: Versamark, Blush Blossom

Ribbon: White Satin

Punches: Eyelet Border, Large Oval, Scallop Oval, 1-3/4" Circle

Other: Gold EP, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds

All the stamping was done with Versamark and heat embossed with gold EP. I then filled in the glasses with Crystal Effects and dipped a cocktail stick into Blush Blossom ink and Dazzling Diamonds and transferred it to the Crystal, to create the "fizz" in the glasses.

I love all the SU ribbons but this satin one is especially gorgeous and adds a real luxury feel to the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

A blue giraffe for the Stamp With Us challenge and prize reminder

It's Sunday so it must be Stamp With Us challenge day. A rest then from the sneak peek recipes and on with the challenge. This week it's a colour challenge and here's our inspiration:

I tried to use as many of the colours as I could without the card getting too busy. I think I'm almost there. The two flowers don't look quite right to me. I would have preferred to use three but couldn't fit another one on.

Recipe:

Stamp sets: Animal Stories, Oval All

Cardstock: Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue, Taken with Teal, Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery

Ink: Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue, Taken with Teal

Punches: 5-petal flower, 1/2" Circle, Scallop Edge, Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Chocolate Chip

Other: Brads

For the flowers, the leaves were laid flat and the two layers of petals were curled around the handle of my pricking tool (have you noticed that pricking mats and tool are now available separately in the new catty). The giraffe was coloured direct to stamp and then I coloured his spots in with Teal afterwards.

Hope that you're having a great weekend.

Don't forget that you can still win free entry to the Stamp With Us Winter online class by entering this week's challenge. Best of luck!

Sara xx