A splash of red for the Mojo Monday challenge

And I'm back crafting. Yay!

It was my first day back at work today following the exams and so I looked forward to getting back home tonight. And then DH wanted to watch the Brazil game - well that's all the motivation I needed to get back crafting lol (apologies to those of you as keen as my hubby - I've just never had any interest in football at all).

I broke myself in gently with this week's Mojo Monday sketch:

And decided to go with one of my favourite colour combos:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Seeing Spots, Garden Dream

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Real Red

DSP: Night & Day Specialty

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

Wide Grosgrain Ribbon: Real Red

Other: Real Red Brads (Bold Brights Collection)

I stamped the flowers from the Garden Dreams set by inking direct to stamp with markers and then shading using blender pens. Michelle Poston recently left me a super tip for using an acrylic block for the ink pool for the blender pen. We don't have the SU acrylic blocks here yet but I thought I'd use Michelle's idea and improvise, so I scribbled with the Real Red marker on the stamp-a-ma-jig plastic sheet and then picked up the ink with the blender pen for different intensities of red.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

February inspiration challenge at In Love With Stamping

Our inspiration challenge over at In Love With Stamping this month is this image of recycled silk cushions:

The top left cushion reminded me of the distressed button flowers I've seen on my many travels around blogland. I decided to push beyond my comfort zone and add them to the mix (I don't tend to do shabby or distressed).

Recipe

Stamp sets: Sincere Salutations (sentiment), Circle Circus, Seeing Spots, Circle of Friendship, Whimsy

Cardstock: Real Red, Only Orange, Yoyo Yellow, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

DSP: Pink Flamingo

Ink: Versamark, Only Orange, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise

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

Designer Buttons: Playground

Other: Cutter Kit

I used Versamark ink and various stamps (as listed in the recipe) to watermark the yellow, orange and red layers. The button flowers were made by punching varying sizes of circle from Tempting Turquoise card and Pink Flamingo DSP, then distressing the edges with the distressing tool on the Cutter Kit. These were layered up (off centre) and a button added on top using a glue dot. The sentiment was made by stamping Birthday Wishes, then masking it and stamping the largest Circle Circus over the top. This was punched out with the 1-3/4" Circle punch, the edges distressed and sponged gently with Real Red ink. The scallop layer behind it uses the Scallop Edge punch, snipped and curved.

I'm still not taken with distressing. Maybe bright colours and distressing just don't work together or maybe I'm missing an important step. If you know where I'm going wrong then please leave me a comment to point me in the right direction.

Hope to see your own entries to the challenge in the ILWS Gallery.

Sara xx

A thank you card for the Stamp With Us challenge

Our challenge this week over at Stamp With Us is on the theme of:

Thank You

I've used the glorious Greenhouse Garden set for my card. This stamp set is currently helping the people of Haiti. Stampin' Up! are donating £1 from every set sold from now until 28 February to the Red Cross International Response Fund. So you can treat yourself and help out at the same time and you'd be half way to earning a free Sale-a-bration stamp set into the bargain. Email me to place your order.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Greenhouse Garden, Seeing Spots

Cardstock: Barely Banana, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa

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

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Very Vanilla

Other: Pretties Kit

The medium flower is stamped in Summer Sun and then the Stamp-a-ma-jig used to position the detail stamp over the top using Chocolate Chip. The same combination is then used for the dinky flower. All flowers are cut out and mounted on punched circles using dimensionals. Half-back pearls from the pretties kit are used for the flower centres. The Cocoa background is stamped using just the detail stamp with Cocoa ink on Cocoa card. As the card already has quite a lot of height from the raised flowers and pearls, I've stuck the circles flat to the border.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sara xx

A ribbon weave centrepiece with a hidden message

The Stamp With Us challenge this week is a Recipe one. I could use 1 patterned paper, 1 flower, 2 ribbons and a button. I was so pleased when I read that it was 2 ribbons - I've been wanting to use some ribbon weaving in a card for a while. Here's my card and it has a little secret:

Recipe

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

DSP: Chocolate Chip Patterns

Taffeta Ribbon: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip

Button: Pretty in Pink

Other: Flower from Pretties Kit, Linen thread, Stampin' Pastels

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Punches: Scallop Edge

I matted and layered the card and DSP as shown in the photo. For the centrepiece I inked the linen thread with Chocolate Chip and tied it through the button. The flower from the Pretties Kit was coloured at the edges with Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip Pastels. When it came to weaving the square I actually got it wrong twice. I know, I know, how dense am I and yes it's that long since I last did any weaving, lol. Just so you don't have to make the same mistake(s), I can tell you that you need to line up one edge of the square with pink ribbon and another adjoining edge with chocolate ribbon. Then simply alternate which ribbon is on top. All ribbon ends were secured with sticky strip to keep in place. A mini card was cut from Pretty in Pink cardstock. The base was stuck to the main card front and the weaving was stuck to the top of the mini card, trapping a couple of ribbon tails to use to lift it open. The flower and button were stuck with glue dots. Here's how it opens to hold a hidden message:

To help balance the weight on the front of the card I added an insert:

Inside Recipe

Stamp Sets: Seeing Spots, Crazy for Cupcakes

Cardstock: Whisper White

DSP: Chocolate Chip Patterns

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Punches: Corner Rounder

Straightforward stamping, matting and punching on the insert but I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to place the sentiments where I wanted them.

Looking forward to seeing how you meet the challenge.

Sara xx