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.