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 sweet and happy birthday to Jan

Happy Birthday Jan!!!

Today is my fabulous downline, Jan's birthday. I'm not giving her age away but it certainly isn't what her hubby Ian was trying to make it this year! Doesn't he know you always subtract rather than add if you want to stay in our good books? I'm sure that must be in the hubby manual somewhere, lol.

I hope you've had a fantastic day Jan and that you enjoyed your pampering and got to see the lions.

This was the card that I made to celebrate her day. (I got a text from her so I know she's seen it and it's safe to post).

Recipe

Stamp sets: Something Sweet, Flight of the Butterfly, Vintage Labels (sentiment)

Cardstock: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White

Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Lovely Lilac

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

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Pumpkin Pie

Other: Metallic Eyelet, Sweet Treat Cup, Lime and Orange Tic Tacs

Something Sweet is on offer 1-31 August 2010, reduced from £23.95 to £19.16. Email me if you'd like to place an order.

For the flower I stamped the large circle from the Something Sweet set, up near the top of the Whisper White card. This circle gets punched out but it helps to have something to line the petals up to. Using the stamp-a-ma-jig, I then stamped the petals in Pumpkin Pie all around the circle, leaving about a 2mm gap from it. The leaves were stamped in Old Olive, varying the angle to create a "stem". Using the smallest butterfly from the Flight of the Butterfly set, I stamped in Lovely Lilac, one direct to the card front and one on a piece of scrap Whisper White which was then cut out. Again using the stamp-a-ma-jig, I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Vintage Labels set (one of the Sale-a-bration freebies at the beginning of the year), repeatedly in Pumpkin Pie. I then used a craft knife to cut around the tip of each petal and leaf and curled them slightly to create some dimension.

With everything stamped on the card front I then punched out the centre of the flower with the 1-3/4" Circle and used this as a positioning template for punching out the same circle from the Old Olive card blank. The Sweet Treat Cup was adhered in place with glue dots and the adhesive backing left in place (otherwise it will stick to the slider). Narrow strips of Pumpkin Pie card were punched with the Eyelet Border punch and adhered behind the Whisper White card. This provides decoration but also helps 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 closure was made using a wide strip of Pumpkin Pie card topped with a punched Round Tab of Old Olive, folded over and held in place with an eyelet and ribbon. Sweets were added to the cup and the slider slid into place between the stamped layer and the card front to hold them there. A strip of Old Olive card was snipped to make grass and adhered to the bottom of the card front. The additional butterfly and the Pumpkin Pie bow were added with glue dots.

For the insert the sentiment (also from the Something Sweet set) was stamped in Pumpkin Pie and a couple more Lovely Lilac butterflies added to the corners.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Sara xx

Take a stroll through our bloghop to get a look at the new products

Hello and welcome to our Stampin' Up! bloghop.

If you're already on your journey then you'll have joined me from Zoe. Didn't you just love what she's done, I know I did. (If you haven't been there yet, then don't worry the link at the end of the post will pass you you to the next person in the loop, and then the next and the next until you get round to Zoe and eventually back to me. Then you'll know you've been around the full bloghop - though we have another 2 loops if you've got the stamina!)

My first card uses the new sweet treat cups and can be packaged to send through the post in a specially designed padded envelope (that was the answer to Wednesday's pop quiz, lol, did you spot what they were?).

I took my inspiration from the very clever Becky over at Inking Idaho and adapted her design.

Recipe

Stamp set: Something Sweet, Happy Moments (sentiment inside)

Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

Ink: Almost Amethyst, Elegant Eggplant

Punches: 1-3/4" Circle, Round Tab, Scallop Oval, Large Oval, 1/2" Circle

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Elegant Eggplant

Other: White Eyelet, Silver Brad

Non-SU: Small chocolate beans

This is a narrow card (15cm x 7.5cm) so that you can pull the ribboned tab up and release the chocolate out of the back of the card without having to pull the card to pieces. I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure that all the parts of the gumball machine lined up properly.

Although ideal for sweets, these treat cups can be filled with all sorts of fun and sentimental items. I'll be showing you more ideas over the next few weeks or so.

This second card is really quick and easy.

Recipe

Stamp set: I {Heart} Hearts, Whimsical Words

Cardstock: Kraft, Real Red, Whisper White

Ink: Real Red

Punches: Heart to Heart, Small Heart

I punched the hearts trio in the bottom corner of the card. Using the new trio of hearts in the I {Heart} Hearts set I stamped it in Real Red, punched it and used the aperture to place the hearts against the back of the card. I stamped the dinky heart from the set and used the new Small Heart punch. I've always loved our SU punches as they're so great for cardstock but these new punches are even better as they now fold flat for easier storage - brilliant! The sentiment is from one of our recent Sale-a-bration sets.

If you're new to my blog and you like what you've seen, then please take a moment to become a follower (see lower down the right hand side column) or bookmark me so that you can find me again in the future.

Like what you've seen and want to place an order? As a special offer to celebrate the launch of the Mini Catalogue, I'm offering free postage on all orders over £45 placed with me by 10pm Easter Monday (5 April). Email me to place your order. If you're in the Sheffield/Barnsley area you can also drop into my Open Day on Saturday 3 April, any time 1pm-4pm for demos, make and takes, refreshments and more. Email me for directions.

Thanks for visiting and now I'll pass you on to Linda who has more amazing creations in store.

See you again soon I hope.

Sara xx