Its In the Stars for the Stamp With Us challenge

Tomorrow is the start of a new Stampin' Up! offer.

Buy one of these qualifying stamp sets and get 20% off the co-ordinating punch!

• Simply Said - Full Heart punch*
• In the Stars - Large Star punch
• Flight of the Butterfly - Butterfly punch
• Say it With Scallops - Scallop Square punch
• Oval All - Scallop Oval punch

* The Full Heart punch is only available while stocks last and will not be available again until the release of the 2010-2011 catalogue. Pop over to my offers page for the more details.

Today we have a new sketch challenge for you over at Stamp With Us and this is it:

I've used the In the Stars set with the co-ordinating Large Star punch for my sample:

Recipe

Stamp set: In the Stars

Cardstock: Sage Shadow, Basic Gray

DSP: Nouveau Chic

Ink: Versamark

Punch: Large Star

Wide Striped Grosgrain Ribbon: Basic Black

Other: White EP

I stamped both the stars in Versamark on Basic Gray card and heat embossed with white EP for them to stand out. The smaller stamp uses the discounted Large Star punch. All the matted paper comes from the same Nouveau Chic set, the dark layers setting off the coloured layers. The striped ribbon is only a small scrap, it's so wide that you only need a small piece.

Please go check out all the other Design Team's wonderful creations.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sara xx

A wedding invitation by a clever crafter

A quick post today just cos I gotta share this with you!

Don't you think this is gorgeous?

No it's not mine, lol. One of my clever customers is designing her own wedding invitations and she was kind enough to send me a sample to show what she's done with her SU goodies. It's clear embossed with more clear embossing on the pocket and insert on the inside. Isn't it yummy?

Thanks for letting me share it Laetitia. Looking forward to seeing what you make with this order :-)

Have a great weekend everyone.

Sara xx

Sticky Cuts for a card with a bit of bling!

Each time I place an order I try to include a product I haven't used before. That way I can provide a better service for my customers as I know the product range in depth and it also pushes me beyond my normal crafting comfort zone. This time it was Sticky Cuts. These are great for anyone who likes a bit of bling (like me).

Now I'm a real Dazzling Diamonds fan, it's one of my absolute favourite products but the Sticky Cuts work better with the other glitters as they're opaque. Be warned - you do get rather glittery with this duo of products, great if you have a party planned, lol.

Recipe

Stamp set: Sincere Salutations

Cardstock: Orchid Opulence, Basic Black

DSP: Groom

Ink: Basic Black

Punches: 1-3/8" Circle, Large Oval

Other: Sticky Cuts Sweet, Circle Ice Rhinestone Brads, Fine Cosmo Glitter (Orchid)

I stuck the sticky flowers to the black cardstock and then rubbed the glitter into the adhesive. The flower centres were kept to use another day as I would be covering them over with the brads anyway. The flowers were punched and matted. To keep the bling going I added another rhinestone brad to the sentiment.

This card has only used a tiny portion of the two 12x12 Sticky Cuts sheets and a little goes a long way with the glitter too. I think these are a fun addition to my craft box and handy for quick cards with a wow factor.

Hope you like them.

Sara xx

Bunches of flowers for a girlie birthday card

A long day for me yesterday. I did make it to Birkenhead but we got stuck in traffic on the M62 so we had to reschedule meetings to the end of the afternoon. Tired already and there's still so much week to go :-( never mind, I'll have to craft to take my mind off it :-)

I'm rushing through another card using the free Sale-a-bration sets before they disappear at the weekend. There's still time to email me and order if you haven't got yours yet.

I've combined the Happy Moments with the Vintage Labels for this birthday card:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Happy Moments, Vintage Labels

Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Ink: Black Stazon, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, SU Markers (Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose)

Punch: Scallop Circle

Wide Grosgrain Ribbon: Regal Rose

I stamped the flowers in Black Stazon on the white card and coloured them with SU markers. The pink background was made by stamping with Pretty in Pink ink on Pretty in Pink card but you could get the same sort of watermark effect by using Versamark. The scallop circle frame was stamped with Regal Rose and then the sentiment popped in the centre using the stamp-a-ma-jig. The whole was stamped out with the Scallop Circle punch and matted onto a Regal Rose Scallop Circle. Some ribbon to finish and that's the front done.

If you don't have a stamp-a-ma-jig then (you're missing out, lol) you could always stamp the sentiment separately, punch it out with a smaller circle punch and mat it onto the scallop.

For the inside I stamped the bunch of flowers again lightly in Pretty in Pink and used the sentiment from the Crazy for Cupcakes set.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

Little and large using the Happy Moments present stack

We haven't managed to get to Bess's socialisation class today. (I'll post some more piccies of her soon Siobhan - have seen your request :-) ). We have snow again, about 4-5" so far and it's still falling (gulp). Hopefully we'll be able to dig the car out a little later. I'm supposed to be travelling to Birkenhead tomorrow for work and it's not looking too likely at the moment. Roll on summer!

A simple card for today using the present stack from Happy Moments as a model to build my own stack. I wanted to use bold, bright colours for the presents so I kept the card base neutral so that the colour scheme wouldn't get too busy.

Recipe

Stamp set: Happy Moments

Cardstock: Kraft, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise

DSP: Kaleidoscope

Ink: Black Stazon, Tempting Turquoise, SU markers

Punches: Tag, Word Window

Other: Silver Elastic Cord, Brads (Bold Brights)

I chose DSPs with spots and stripes and backed them with some scrap card so that I could raise them on dimensionals. For the plain parcel I used plain card (turquoise). The parcels are placed so that they're not quite straight (yes that's on purpose, lol), to match the stamped image.

Take care and keep warm wherever you are.

Sara xx

Some projects from last nights workshop

Last night's workshop was great fun as usual, though it was a bit hairy getting home afterwards. It had started snowing a little before the end and there was a light covering when we came out. The closer I got to home, the thicker the snow and there's a steep road to go down on the last mile. I'm not sure who was most worried, me or the car in front that was going even slower than I would have preferred to do. Anyhow, I got home safe and the workshop was well worth it, I just love getting together with other crafters.

If you've stopped by for a look ladies then - Hi, nice to see you here! *waves* Please leave me a comment so that I know you were here.

Here are a couple of the projects we covered.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Greenhouse Garden, Occasional Greetings

Cardstock: Regal Rose (plain and textured), Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip

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

Wide Grosgrain Ribbon: Regal Rose

Other: Pretties Kit

I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to line the flower detail up within the solid flower stamps. A piece of ribbon is wrapped around the chocolate border and then a shorter piece of ribbon tied around the first. The textured card and the halfback pearls (which I nearly forgot to add, lol) give the card a luxury feel.

This little Easter basket was the make and take that everyone had a go at. I had wondered if it was too early in the year to share it but I was assured that it was ideal timing.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Vintage Labels, Forest Friends, Occasional Greetings

Cardstock: So Saffron, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White

DSP: Tea Party

Ink: Perfect Plum

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1-1/4" Circle

Vintage labels was used to decorate the scallop background. The Easter bunny is on one side of the basket and on the other, is the sentiment Easter Wishes from the Occasional Greetings set.

The snow's melted here now, thank goodness.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Sara xx

A summery sunflower for a happy birthday

I've used a bit of summer sun today to try and counteract the miserable weather we're having at the moment. Hope it's better where you are. We've had a combination of sleet, light snow and freezing fog for the last couple of days.

Just hope that I can also spread a bit of sunshine at the workshop I'm giving tonight and that we don't get snowed in!

Recipe

Stamp sets: A Flower for all Seasons, Occasional Greetings

Cardstock: Summer Sun, Whisper White, Old Olive, Certainly Celery

DSP: Pink Flamingo

Ink: Black Stazon, Always Artichoke, Markers

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

Other: Mat Pack, Paper Piercer

The sunny circles were punched, matted and then arranged around my stamped image and the whole set raised on dimensionals. I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to position the sentiment around the corner.

Take care and keep warm.

Sara xx

The Happy Moments are ticking away

Bess did a little better in class on Sunday. Her training (or is it ours lol?) now involves walking her backwards every time she tries to pull forwards too much. I think we're going to see a lot of places we've already been in the foreseeable future!

And talking of foreseeable future - there's just over a week left to get your free Sale-a-bration sets. Please email me if you'd like to order.

Today's card is back to Happy Moments - my favourite set I have to admit. And then I used Whimsical Words for the sentiment inside - my other favourite, heehee.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Happy Moments, Whimsical Words (inside)

Cardstock: Creamy Caramel, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa, Summer Sun, Whisper White

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Markers

Punches: Boho Blossoms, Word Window, Eyelet Border

Wide Grosgrain Ribbon: So Saffron (from previous SU offer)

Other: Circle Fire Rhinestones

I decided to use the flowers on the cake as a motif for my card. My flowers are made using the Boho Blossom punch with each flower snipped between the petals and shaped.

Here's the inside:

Which is your favourite Sale-a-bration set?

Sara xx

A happy blog award

The super talented Hayley has kindly passed this blog award on to me - you're a gem, thanks hun.

The deal is that I tell you 10 things that make me happy, then pass it on to 5 more blogging buddies who do the same (all of us linking back to the person who sent it to us and forward to those we're passing it to).

So, 10 things that make me happy, in no order at all (I'll leave you to guess or to make it up, lol):

1. Chocolate
2. My hubby
3. My dog, Bess (when she's behaving well, hmm guess that goes for hubby too, lol)
4. Opening a parcel of craft goodies
5. A glass of sparkling wine cocktail (then a second ...)
6. Travel (particularly with DH, my no. 1 travel buddy)
7. A good thriller to read
8. A good sci-fi film to watch
9. A craft project coming together
10. Kind comments on my work (whether from the recipient or from other crafters)

And I'm passing this on now to:

Jan

Victoria

Debbi

Ali

Linby

Have fun with it ladies and I look forward to discovering what makes you happy.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

Calorie free cupcakes for the Stamp With Us challenge

A Happy Valentine's Day to all. I hope that your loved one is pampering and spoiling you and if you don't have a loved one at the moment then all the more reason to pamper and spoil yourself.

I'm getting a bit of a lie-in today and letting DH take my other loved one (Bess the dog) to socialisation class on his own. We've been to class three times now and we think we see a glimmer of hope though Bess still pulls like crazy and wears herself out most times. We've had cut paws from her pulling too hard over the gravel and she usually can't move on a Monday morning because she's tired herself out so much the previous day. Today hubby'll be trying a different technique and swapping dogs with the class organiser. She thinks that Bess may be trying too hard to protect us and may calm down a bit if she walks with someone else and sees that we're still safe. Fingers crossed.

And onto the crafting ...

Today's challenge over at Stamp With Us is a colour one and this is our inspiration:

How sweet are these cupcakes? Great for anyone still on a diet ;-)

I know it's predictable but I just had to use the Crazy for Cupcakes set, on the other hand I don't think I've ever kept it so pastel before. I also figured I'd resisted an easel card for long enough to make another, lol.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Crazy for Cupcakes, Happy Moments (sentiment)

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Creamy Caramel, Sage Shadow, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Grey, Regal Rose, Markers

DSP: To the Nines

Punches: Word Window

Gingham Ribbon: Light Pink

Other: Square Fire Rhinestone Brads

Non-SU: Die-cut ovals

I'd already matted my caramel and DSP layers when I realised that the ribbon would show around the back of the top half of the card. To get round that I matted again onto some Sage Shadow . The sentiment was made by stamping and punching with the Word Window and then reinserting the sentiment into the punch again to shorten it. It's then matted onto a full size Word Window punch in Pretty in Pink, to echo the frame around the main image.

Here you can see the easel stand a little better:

Please stop by and take a look at the inspiration provided by the rest of the Design Team.

Can't wait to see your creations for this one.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sara xx