Today is our blog hop retirement party

Hello and welcome to our blog hop retirement party! Hi to all of you who've joined me from Caroline's blog (if you haven't, then don't worry you'll end up there on your way back around the hop). I hope you loved what she created as much as I did. Her card sets are gorgeous but that bag is just to die for! Got to have a go at casing that.

Our aim today is to inspire you with a few ideas for using retiring stamp sets and colours. If you'd like to get hold of any of these, then just check out the Last Chance List and email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com.

My projects for you today are a quick and simple thank you card and a little Christmas set perfect to gift to a friend before the holidays.

Recipe

Stamp set: True Friend

Cardstock: Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Whisper White

Ink: Pink Passion, Pixie Pink

Punches: 1-1/4" Circle, 1-3/8" Circle

Other: Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool, Brads (Bold Brights)

This month True Friend has a 50% discount and costs just £10.98 (while stocks last). The base card is an A6 portrait card in Green Galore. Using Pink Passion ink I stamped the True Friend sentiment direct to the Pixie Pink card front and added a border all round with the Nat Pack and Paper Piercing Tool. Each of the other stamps in the set were inked direct to stamp with Pink Passion and Pixie Pink markers and stamped onto Whisper White card. These were punched out with the 1-1/4" Circle and matted onto Green Galore card punched out with the 1-3/8" Circle. The circles were popped up on dimensionals and the card was finished with brads.

Recipe

Stamp set: Spotlight on Christmas

Textured Cardstock: Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow

Plain Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow, Ruby Red

Punches: 5-Petal Flower

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Whisper White

Other: Brads (Soft Subtles)

Spotlight on Christmas currently has a 25% discount and is just £14.21 (again while stocks last). I've used it for all elements of the gift set, the box and each of the four cards. The card box was made following Joanne's tutorial over at In Love With Stamping, using Handsome Hunter textured card. Using Handsome Hunter ink, the oval sentiment was stamped onto Whisper White card and the number added with the journaling end of a matching marker. Swirls were added around the edges with Sage Shadow ink. This was matted direct to textured Sage Shadow card and popped up on dimensionals on the front of the box base. The poinsettia was stamped in Ruby Red and again in Handsome Hunter onto Whisper White card and punched out with the 5-Petal Flower punch. The two flowers were layered together and secured with Apricot Appeal brads from the Soft Subtle collection and popped up on dimensionals. The box closure is Whisper White ribbon.

Recipe

Stamp set: Spotlight on Christmas, Punches Three

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Whisper White

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel

Punch: Small Tag

Taffeta Ribbon: Whisper White

Each little card is made in the same way, just varying the colours and punch shapes (recipes for each are given below). The card base is a 3.5" square of Creamy Caramel. A 3" square Close to Cocoa mat was punched with the Small Tag and adhered centrally direct to the card base. The Small Tag was punched again through the existing aperture (the punches can manage one sheet of card at a time). The sentiment on the Christmas Punches Three stamp was inked direct to stamp with the Close to Cocoa marker, stamped onto Whisper White card and punched out with the Small Tag. The edges were sponged lightly with Creamy Caramel ink and the Tag popped up on a dimensional in the opposite corner to the aperture. A Whisper White insert was added and the December 25 image stamped in Close to Cocoa ink through the aperture and again onto the envelope. Whisper White taffeta ribbon was coloured with a Creamy Caramel marker, tied into a bow and added to the card front with a glue dot.

Recipe

Stamp set: Spotlight on Christmas, Punches Three

Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Ballet Blue, Whisper White

Ink: Brilliant Blue, Ballet Blue

Punch: Large Star

Taffeta Ribbon: Whisper White

Recipe

Stamp set: Spotlight on Christmas, Punches Three

Cardstock: Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow, Whisper White

Ink: Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow

Punch: 1-1/4" Circle

Taffeta Ribbon: Whisper White

Recipe

Stamp set: Spotlight on Christmas, Punches Three

Cardstock: Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Whisper White

Ink: Ruby Red, Cameo Coral

Punch: 5-Petal Flower

Taffeta Ribbon: Whisper White

Now I'll pass you on to next step of the blog hop which is the super talented Kim. She's got some gorgeous birds on a branch to show you.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sara xx

May technique challenge at In Love With Stamping take 2

I really enjoy brayering even though I do tend to get rather inky with this technique. For my second take on this challenge over at In Love With Stamping I decided to make my own multi-coloured inkpad and brayer a background for a Christmas card:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Dasher, Spotlight on Christmas

Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark, Reinkers (Mellow Moss, Certainly Celery, Ballet Blue, Not Quite Navy)

DSP: Bella Bleu

Punches: 1-1/4" Circle, Tag, Small Tag

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Certainly Celery

Other: Black EP, Black Eyelet (Basic), Certainly Celery Brads (Soft Subtles), Not Quite Navy Brads (Earth Elements)

Non-SU: Post-it Notes

I made the "ink pad" by layering 3 (alcohol free) babywipes onto some scrap acetate (to stop the ink soaking through to whatever's underneath). I then dripped rows of reinker along the baby wipes and rolled my brayer across the "inkpad" in one direction only. I punched a 1-1/4" Circle from a Post-It Note and stuck it to my Whisper White card before brayering across, building the layers slowly. After leaving this to dry and removing the Post-it, I stamped Dasher in Versamark and heat embossed with Black EP. (I positioned Dasher's head over the "moon" using the Stamp-a-ma-jig.)

The tag was also stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with Black EP. It was then punched out with the Small Tag, layered onto a Night of Navy punched Tag and secured with an eyelet, threaded with ribbon.

A Not Quite Navy card blank was matted with Certainly Celery and then a mat of Bella Bleu DSP was pleated at the corner and adhered to the card front just along the three straight edges leaving the corner open for the Tag to slide in and out.

Brads were added to the brayered image (reversing the colours for contrast) and it was popped up on dimensionals on the card front.

Here you can see how the Tag pulls out for a personal message or to use on a gift or as a topper:

My new products arrived yesterday yippee - I love the new colours, they're gorgeous. Hope to have something to show you using them soon but it may be a couple of days as I have my Vintage Vogue class tomorrow and then a new SWU challenge on Sunday to keep me busy.

Have a great weekend.

Sara xx

A black and white card for a black mood

No, your monitor hasn't gone wrong. I just decided to make a black and white card to match my mood. I sat my exam this morning, took one look at the questions and could see that half the syllabus was missing from the question paper - the half that I had revised and knew pretty well. So many of the questions (we only had to answer 5 after all) were from the same area. Not fair! OK - sulk over, rant over. Here's the quick card I made to calm myself down again. Good I think for a man's card?

Recipe

Stamp sets: Scandinavian Season, Spotlight on Christmas

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark

Punches: Tag, Small Tag

Striped Grosgrain Ribbon: Basic Black

Other: White EP, Hodgepodge brads

Now back to hit the books ready for Thursday.

Hope your week's turning out better than mine. :-)

Sara xx

A red easel card and matching gift bag and Bess in her high vis coat

I've been meaning to make one of these easel cards for ages and now that I've got around to it I'm loving them. They're so easy to do but they have that bit of a wow factor. I'm still stockpiling for the craft fair tomorrow and so I made a matching gift bag to go with the card again.

Can you see the little tag on the bag? Guess what I got free with my last order? I spent two lots of £45 from the gift giving guide and so I got both of the Tag punches free. Details are here or at the top of the right hand menu just under the blinkie and the offer is on right through to 29 December 2009. It certainly makes short work of little gift tags.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Season of Joy, Spotlight on Christmas, A Tree for all Seasons

Cardstock: Real Red, Very Vanilla

Ink: Real Red

DSP: I Wish Scrappin' Kit (retired)

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, 1-1/4" Circle, 1/2" Circle, Scallop Oval, Large Oval, Eyelet Border

I cut an A4 sheet of card in half lengthways to get a piece that measured 29.7cm x 10.5cm. I then scored the card at 14.9cm and 22.3cm. The card front is only stuck down to the bottom quarter panel and a raised sentiment has been placed approximately halfway down the inside of the card to act as a stopper to stand the front against.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Spotlight on Christmas

Cardstock: Real Red, Very Vanilla (plain), Very Vanilla (textured)

Ink: Real Red

DSP: I Wish Scrappin' Kit (retired)

Punches: Eyelet Border, 5-petal flower, Tag, Small Tag, Round Tab

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Real Red

Other: Gold Brads, Pewter Eyelets, Gold Elastic Cord

The instructions for the bag are from Splitcoaststampers here. I used textured Vanilla card for the trim around the base, the flowers and the Tab fastening, for the luxury feel it adds. I used plain Vanilla card for the front and back of the tag, so that the stamped image would show clearly and to make it easier to write on.

We're just about to go and pick up Bess from the vets so I just thought I'd leave you with a pic of her in her high visibility coat that I make her wear when we go for a walk on these dark mornings. Isn't she cute?

Have a great weekend.

Sara xx