A happy bunny and a bear for the February sketch challenge at In Love With Stamping - take 2

Hi all. I'm a happy bunny today I can tell you. I got my exam results today and I passed both the papers that I sat in November. Woohoo! Two down! I'm already studying for the next two that I'll sit in June but at least there's no retakes to worry about so far. Phew! On now to the crafting.

And it's back again to the sketch challenge today. Here's another little handy tissue pack, this one designed more for a child (or inner child cos I think I might keep this one, lol).

Recipe

Stamp set: Leaves a la Carte

Cardstock: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark, Basic Black

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1" Circle, 3/4" Circle, 1/2" Circle, 1/4" Circle

Other: Gold EP

Non-SU: Handy Tissue Pack

The instructions are here. The main variation with this one is that I haven't used any DSP. I used my Leaves a la Carte wheel with Versamark ink and gold EP along the bottom and back of the pack. Instead of DSP I just used my cutting mat and bone folder to score some decorative lines around the top front of the pack (they don't show too clearly in the pic). The bear is made with the punches and eyes and mouth drawn on.

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 colour challenge based on bright gerbera's

Today's challenge on Stamp With Us is a colour theme using this image:

How gorgeous and vibrant are these flowers - just the perfect excuse to use some of my Bold Brights colour range. As is often the case with these colour challenges, I also found the elements of my card suggested by the photo as well and decided to stick with the flower theme.

Here's my DT sample:

Recipe:

Stamp sets: Leaves a la Carte, Sincere Salutations

Cardstock: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Real Red, Ruby Red, Only Orange, Pumpkin Pie, Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Whisper White

Ink: Old Olive, Real Red

Brads: Apricot Appeal

Punches: Scallop Circle, Boho Blossoms, Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Other: Crafters Toolkit

For each flower, I punched the main colour using the Scallop Circle and the centre, muted colour flower using the smallest of the Boho Blossoms. The large flower was shaped by snipping every two petals and then in between. (I find that if you go straight to snip each petal then they don't come out so even). The petals were creased along the centre of each (using the blunt end of my needle from the toolkit) and folded slightly. The centre flowers were also snipped slightly for shaping. All snips need to stop clear of the centre or the flower will fall apart when you add the brad. The flowers were added to a layer of Certainly Celery stamped with Leaves a la Carte so that the brads wouldn't show on the inside of the card. Some paper piercing was added to the top left corner to provide a little balance with the sentiment over on the right.

As it's such a bright and cheery card I though it would be ideal as a Get Well but of course it also works well for birthdays.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and don't forget to check out the rest of the DT creations.

Sara xx

Avoiding swine flu with a handbag sized tissue wrap

I've been at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival today, listening to and mixing with some of my favourite authors including Mark Billingham, Val McDermid and Zoe Sharp and discovering new ones such as Dan Waddell. A great day out to be followed by more of the same tomorrow. It's a pretty big gathering, with hundreds of people packed into the same conference room and so I made sure that I had my handy pack of tissues in my handbag ready to fend off coughs and sneezes.

A fellow SU Demo called Amanda gave me a tissue wrap like this when we were at field training earlier this year and I decided to use the basic idea to make a fun version of my own:

Recipe

Stamp set: Leaves a la Carte

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive

Ink: Old Olive, Basic Black

Punches: Scallop Circle, Large Oval, Scallop Oval, 1/2" Circle, 1/8" Circle, Corner Rounder

Non-SU: Computer printed sentiment

I stamped the front and top of the wrap in Old Olive with Leaves a la Carte, Stampin' Around Wheel. For the "ewe" on the front I punched two Scallop Circles from Whisper White card. One full one was used for the body and one was reinserted into the punch and a segment of it punched out to use as the head. A Basic Black Oval was cut in half for the face and 1/8" circles added as eyes with the pupils coloured with Basic Black. Two strips of 1/2" wide Basic Black card were inserted into (one side of) the back of the 1/2" Circle punch to create the rounded legs. I needed very specific text and so printed the sentiment on my computer (using KENDRIC font) and then punched it out. If this doesn't make sense then let me know and I'll see if I can do a tutorial on it.

Keep well (and flu free) and have a great weekend.

Sara xx

Beginners card class - a night of crafting creativity

On Thursday night I held a beginners papercrafting class around at my house and I'd just like to say thank you to the lovely ladies who attended. We had a great evening with lots of fun and gossip and I was told that it was just the way to unwind after a stressful week at work. Cards and papers were pre-cut and scored so that folks could focus on stamping and punching and after a few practice stamps everyone dived right in.

This is the set of cards and a gift box that we made on the night although there was room for a little variation on the themes. For example Julie made her valentine card into an engagement card and Jo-anne opted to make a new baby card instead of the olive birthday card - just shows how versatile the stamp sets are. We also found time (OK so we overran but we were having fun!) to stamp inserts and envelopes and personalise the backs of the cards.

I've already posted the valentine's card here and the true friend card here if you want to take a look back at how I did them. 

The gift box is the same as the one here but using a different colour scheme. I used Old Olive cardstock and Old Olive Designer Series Paper. The large polka dot flower was stamped in Really Rust ink and the ribbon is Certainly Celery.

The card made to go with the gift box is also in Old 

Olive and this was stamped with the Leaves a la Carte Stampin' Around Wheel with Versamark ink applied to an uninked cartridge to give a watermark effect at the side. I used Happy Birthday Wishes from the Fun and Fast Notes stamp set and coloured with markers. The corner rounder punch was used on this and on the mat behind it which was Always Artichoke.

I don't just run classes for beginners, there are also classes covering different techniques, boxes and bags, scrapbooking and stamp camps for special occasions. If you'd like to join in a class or host a workshop then please email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com for available dates.

Thanks for dropping by.

Sara xx

A Quick Christmas Card

As I've just got back from holiday and need to play catch up with my Christmas card making I've gone for a simple and quick design.

I used old olive cardstock and ink (don't you just love how all Stampin' Up!'s colours match properly). The background is the Leaves a la Carte, Stampin' Around wheel and the Christmas tree is from the Fun and Fast Notes (this set is so useful all year round).

The card is finished off with Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon.

 Although green works well for the leaves and the tree you can easily change the colour scheme to suit either the materials you have to hand or the favourite colour of the person you're sending to. This card works fairly well as a man's Christmas card because it's not too fussy but my friend loves all things pink so I'll change the colour scheme to Regal Rose when I make hers.

Bye for now.

Sara