August Grand Draw

And the winner of my August Grand Draw is ... *drumroll* ...

Linda

from my June Tart and Tangy class. I'll get your winnings out to you at the weekend Linda.

A branch full of birds for the Mojo Monday challenge

Would you believe that this is the sixth card I've made today! What a fantastic bank holiday.

I got up early this morning and left DH in bed to sneak a little extra crafting in. After brunch we went out on our bikes. It's the first time I've been cycling in over two years so we took it pretty gentle today, just a short 4-1/2 mile round trip on the Trans Pennine Trail. Feeling OK at the moment, not sure yet though whether the legs will complain tomorrow, lol.

Then this afternoon I've done a bit more crafting and played along with the Mojo Monday challenge, which being the last Monday of the month, is a choice of round or square.

I opted for square this time:

Recipe

Stamp set: Queue Up

Cardstock: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White

Ink: Black Stazon, SU Markers

DSP: Tall Tales

Punches: Scallop Edge, Extra Large Two-Step Bird

The birds were stamped in Black Stazon and coloured with SU Markers. This layer was matted onto Chocolate Chip and then a scallop edged layer of So Saffron that I created using the Scallop Edge punch. A bit fiddly and I sort of wish I'd "cheated" and stuck a few Scallop Squares together instead. The branches were adhered with Tombow and the bird was popped up on a dimensional.

And where are the other cards I made today? Well they're my DT samples for the In Love With Stamping September challenges so you'll have to pop back for those ;-)

Sara xx

Thinking of becoming a demo? Come along to the Stampettes training on Thursday 9 September

Have you been thinking about becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator but keep putting it off because it seems a bit daunting?

Then why not come along to the next Stampette's training evening on Thursday 9 September at 7pm.

The training starts in a similar way to a regular SU workshop. I'll demo a technique and there'll be a make and take. Then we'll move on to discussing business techniques, ways of finding new customers, how to provide excellent service to our existing customers and of course how we can make the most of the new catalogue.

You'll get to take part in the crafting, see the sort of support I provide to my team and can ask any questions you like. You're welcome to stay for as long or as short a time as you like. Not interested in the business side, just want to be a hobby demo and get a discount on products? No problem, just stay for the crafting portion of the training.

At the moment my team is just the one very talented and accomplished downline, Jan. My goal for 2010-11 is to achieve our annual incentive trip (I can tell you more about that too at the training). To do that I need to grow my team and help them to achieve their own goals, whether that's as a hobby demo (just buying for themselves and a few friends) or as a business demo (running their own part time business with hours that fit around their family and other commitments).

This is a great time to join up as a demo. We have all the excitement of the Last Chance List in September, the new catalogue in October and Convention in London in November.

If you'd like to come along then please email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com and I'll send you directions. Too far to travel but still interested? Please get in touch and we can work out another way of going through things together, either telephone, by video over the internet, or if I'm travelling in your area, then a face to face meeting.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Sara xx

Loads of Love at Christmas time

Don't you just love long weekends? Time to sleep in and extra time to craft, what more could a girl ask for?

Well ... perhaps the same thing every week ;-) Greedy aren't I?

I enjoyed a fun pub quiz (virtual) last night over at In Love With Stamping. Thanks to Emma for organising it. I showed my ignorance completely but it was great fun, with fast and furious questions and hitting the refresh button on my computer every few seconds to try to get the next question as quickly as possible. Look out for the next one.

I'm posting now and then I'm off out to take Bess to her socialisation class. Hope the weather is better where you are, I think we're going to get a bit wet today. Should make for an interesting drive back from the class, lol.

For this card I decided to dust off my Loads of Love set while I've got time for a bit of colouring. This set is reduced from £18.95 to £15.16 but there's only a few more days to take advantage of the two-step stamping discount offer. Email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com to order now.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Loads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, Time for a Tree

Cardstock: Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, SU Markers, Versamark

DSP: Merry Moments

Other: White EP

An Old Olive side stair step card was backed with Merry Moments DSP for the base. The trees were coloured direct to stamp with markers, stamped out and then "washed over" with an aqua painter. These were cut out and adhered to the back step. Time for a Tree was wheeled onto Whisper White card with Basic Black ink and the truck, people and presents were stamped using the stamp-a-ma-jig for placement. These were all coloured using the markers and blender pens for shading. The truck was cut out and adhered to the middle step and the row of cars was cut out and adhered to the front step. Using Versamark, the sentiment was stamped onto Old Olive card and heat embossed with White EP. This was cut around and popped up on dimensionals on the side panel.

Here's the side view:

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sara xx

Bird on a Branch stamp is also for Christmas

As I only got my Bird on a Branch set recently, I decided to try a Christmas card with it to see how well it works year round. The sandy speckle stamp made me think of snow so I used that as my starting point.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Bird on a Branch, Season of Joy (sentiment)

Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Bordering Blue

Ink: Craft Whisper White, Basic Black, White Gel Pen

Punch: Eyelet Border

Satin Ribbon: Whisper White

Other: White EP

I stamped the bare branch and the bird in Basic Black on Bordering Blue card and then stamped around them with Craft Whisper White. I left the Craft ink to dry as I wanted a more subtle, less contrasty effect and then I drew snow onto the branch with the White Gel Pen. This was matted onto a layer of Whisper White punched with the Eyelet Border and popped up on dimensionals. The sentiment was stamped in Craft Whisper White but this time was heat embossed with White EP. White Satin Ribbon was tied around the card front.

If you'd like to get hold of the Bird on a Branch set at a discount, reduced from £14.95 to £11.96, then email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com soon. This offer ends on 31 August 2010.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

Autumnal trendy trees using the baby wipe technique for the MojoMonday challenge

Even though I'm back studying again this week, I've managed to squeeze in some time for the MojoMonday challenge. Here's this week's sketch:

For this one, I decided to get my reinkers out for a play and combined them with the Trendy Trees (check out the discount offer here).

Recipe

Stamp set: Trendy Trees

Cardstock: So Saffron, Soft Suede, Ruby Red, Whisper White

Ink: Soft Suede

Reinkers: Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron

Punch: Word Window

Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon: Soft Suede

Other: Brads (Earth Elements), Designer Button (Playground), Linen Thread

The tree trunks were stamped onto Whisper White card with Soft Suede. I dripped 2-3 drops of each reinker onto a couple of folded baby wipes to create my own mini ink pad and stamped the tree tops using my stamp-a-ma-jig to get the alignment right. The same mini ink pad was used to stamp the sentiment which was then punched out with the Word Window. I used the button and linen thread tied around folded ribbon to create a "bow". The brads were added using the mat pack to get even spacing. All the rest is matting and layering.

I made good use of the multi-coloured "ink pad", so you might see a few more variations on this card over the next few days. Right now though, I'm planning a Christmas card for the next post.

Please stop by again soon.

Sara xx

Vintage Vogue roses for my Mums Birthday

Yesterday was my Mum's birthday and so DH and I went out and had a lovely family lunch with my Mum, Dad, brother and SIL - and no arguments, lol. Not bad for a family get together.

Anyway, now I get to show you the card I made for Mum. I went with a tri-shutter card (instructions here on Splitcoaststampers) and I've got lots of pix so that I can show you the different angles. Here it is folded flat.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Vintage Vogue, Baroque Motifs

Textured Cardstock: Very Vanilla

Plain Cardstock: Kraft, Very Vanilla

Ink: Brocade Blue, Soft Suede

DSP: Bella Bleu

Other: Circle Ice Rhinestone Brads, Dazzling Diamonds

Non-SU: Nestabilities

My Mum likes cards to say who they're for and so I made my own computer generated sentiment (I used the Zapfino font) for the front and printed it onto Very Vanilla card - best of both worlds. Unfortunately I got a smudge of blue ink on there (need to make sure computer ink is fully dry), hence the rhinestone (this, and the smaller one inside were centres pushed out from the rhinestone brads and attached with glue dots). For the background leaves, I inked with Soft Suede and stamped off to get the paler fronds to tone with the Kraft frame.

Mum also likes verses and so back to the computer again for the centre panel (Comic Sans font here, Zapfino is a bit fancy for a block of text). Most of the panels are Bella Bleu DSP matted onto the Textured Very Vanilla card blank. The floral panels centre top and bottom are Vintage Vogue stamped in Brocade Blue onto plain Very Vanilla card and matted and layered onto Kraft. For the back panel I used one of the Baroque Motifs, stamped three times in Brocade Blue onto Kraft card, cut out and finished with a small Circle Ice Rhinestone Brad in the centre and popped up on dimensionals.

The flowers were created using Marlene's tutorial here. To bling them up a little I used a two-way glue pen on the edges of the petals and dipped them in Dazzling Diamonds. I used Tombow to adhere them to each other and to the card front.

I created a box for the card (sorry forgot to photograph that) as it wouldn't survive in an envelope.

She loved it. And SIL commented that I'm getting good at this crafting lark, lol.

Hope you like it too.

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

A bright coloured bird on a branch

Feeling a lot better today, the cold's finally clearing and so it's back to work for me.

Thanks very much for the congratulations I've received. I'm sure that the good news yesterday helped me shake off the lurgy.

My other good news yesterday was the arrival of another SU order. In with it was the Bird on a Branch set that I'd bought myself while it's on offer this month (reduced from £14.95 to £11.96, please email me if you'd like to order). This set didn't jump out at me when I saw it in the Mini catalogue but I've spotted such gorgeous samples on other blogs, that the offer was more than enough to tempt me.

I kept it clean and simple for today's card.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Bird on a Branch, Occasional Greetings (sentiment)

Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Melon Mambo, Basic Black

Punch: Eyelet Border

Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon: Melon Mambo

All very simple: stamping, matting and layering, with the bird cut out and popped up on a dimensional.

More two step stamping coming soon.

Sara xx

Yippee!! Had to share the good news!

Hi folks

Just a very quick post to share some good news. I've passed both of my June audit exams! That's four down now and just another one to go to get my diploma, followed by another four for the advanced diploma ...

Sara xx