Teachers Gifts

Heres a little project I made for my Daughters Teacher. Its a little wallet containing 6 cards (2 each of 3 different designs) and envelopes.



The wallet was made very simply by just cutting the cardstock to size and folding up the bottom edge to form the flap, then folding the whole thing in half to make the wallet. The flaps were glued along the outside edge only.



Here are the cards that went inside...



Recipe:
Petals and Paisleys DS papers.
Stamps: Polka Dots and Paisleys, Roses in Winter
Ink: Rose Red (Wallet only: Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Mellow Moss)
Ribbons: Pretty in Pink Taffeta, Tempting Turquoise and White 1/4" grosgrain.
Cardstock: Whisper white, Taken with Teal, Rose Red, So Saffron

I will attempt to make a tutorial with instructions on the wallet over the next few days... Fingers crossed!

Thanks for looking,
Enjoy
C xx

Pastels & Butterflies

Here is a new project I made for a friends birthday. Its called a 'swing' card. This refers to the cut-out section in the middle of the front. You can buy card blanks pre-scored and cut this way but I simply used a ruler and my preferred cutting system. Measure the 1/2 way point on the front of your card and make a faint pencil line vertically. This represents where the fold will be. Lay your cutting template over the line, make sure you are straight and cut only the Right side of your oval. (I used a coluzzle system which is really easy as the template is see through)



The stamp set I used was A Touch of Nature. I first stamped the Fern leaf from the set in VersaMark Ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I then used the stampin pastels over the embossed images to change the colour of the cardstock. Then I overstamped the butterfly image. I also used another oval cut-out as a mask to blend some pastels and add interest on the inside of the card. (Make sure you line this up also so it is covered by the front fold...)




The 3d effect is achieved by first stamping straight onto the card then stamping again on another piece. Again emboss with clear powder and then cut out. Use stampin dimensionals under the wings and a dab on tacky glue under the body. I also curved the wings slightly before sticking in place.



Of course I had to add some glitter too!

I love the softer look of this card and the limited supplies used...

Recipe:
Stamps: Touch of Nature
Card: Very Vanilla
Ink: Perfect Plum, VersaMark
Pastels: Elegant Eggplant

Off to make some more samples now!
Thanks for looking,
Enjoy.

C x

I've got an Award!

A HUGE thank you to Carole on http://needmoretimetocraft.blogspot.com for giving me this wonderful honor... Ive never got an award before... I feel a speech coming on...



Ok, dont beg... no speech!

The rules for this award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links to these blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you have nominated.

Goodness, this was SUCH a hard decision, but here are just a few of the blogs that I visit regularly. (I have chosen only UK blogs as I dont think it fair to tempt people with things we cant buy. Like going into the sweet shop with no money!)

Monica. monicas-passions.blogspot.com
Abi. http://cornwallcraftystamper.blogspot.com
Amanda. http://ajpapercraft.blogspot.com
Melanie. http://melaniescreations.blogspot.com
Ann. http://craftysquirrel.blogspot.com
Jackie. http://stampinupstudio.blogspot.com
Rachel. http://stampingurl.blogspot.com

Take a look at these fab ladies work and enjoy

C x

Gone AWOL!

Do not fear my friends I have not vanished from the face of the earth... The fates have simply conspired against me recently but I have prevailed and vanquished said demons into the firey pits below!... HA HA HA

No seriously, my camera was 'dropped' on a school trip (new one now arrived), my son spilt a glass of water over my keyboard and (despite blasting with the atomic hairdryer) some letters were sticking and/or not working... (try typing without using the 'n' or the 'a' keys, you'll understand!) But all is well in my world now and normal service will resume...

I WILL be posting a new project in the next few days, so dont loose faith... I SHALL RETURN!

Bye 4 now
C xx

Another Challenge

Here is another card from a challenge set over on www.inlovewithstamping.com/forum our fab new website for inspiration and all things Stampin' Up! The challenge was to make a card using set colours: Orchid Opulence, Elegant Eggplant and Certainly Celery.

I used Very Vanilla for a card base and VersaMarked the leaf image from the Touch of Nature stamp set randomly over this to make a watermark effect. The words were stamped in Basic Grey Ink and the large butterfly was overlaid using the 'stamping off' technique (ink up your stamp as usual but before placing on you final position stamp off some of the colour on a scrap piece of paper. this produces a faded image when stamped again)

The edges of the Eggplant and Orchid card were punched with the Spiral Punch and the Celery and Vanilla were ripped. Add a touch of Celery Grosgrain ribbon and you are done.

(Not strictly SU but the small butterflies were stamped onto Shrink Plastic - same stamp as before - and heated with my heat gun till they are shrunk! These were attached with glue dots...)

Thanks for looking,
Enjoy...

C xx

Don't Forget the Boys!

Are you ready for Fathers Day?

My first card is really simple... Using the Prints Designer Paper in Close to Cocoa I covered a C6 card blank (made from Creamy Caramel card). I then used my Crop-a-dile and set a metallic eyelet in each corner. I did the same on a smaller piece of Designer paper and glued horizontally across the card.

The letters are stamped in Bordering Blue using the Headline Alphabet on Very Vanilla Cardstock and cut out. The tab on the top right of the card is simply a piece of Twill Tape trimmed to an angle on either end and stapled to the card... Voila!

Using the Metallic Eyelets and 'boy' colours makes this a very 'male' card... Using different colours and using ribbon and/or buttons would make a great 'female' card...



This one was made using the Le Jardin Double sided papers on a card blank made from Certainly Celery cardstock. I made a 'gatefold' card for some interest, and stamped 'U R' with the Headline Alphabet in Mellow Moss (Using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up!) I then punched out a circle using the 1 3/8" circle punch and also punched out the word 'wonderful' (Welcoming Words - hostess gift) which had been stamped onto Very Vanilla Cardstock. This was glued on the inside of the card so it shows through the hole when the card is closed...

Let me know what you think?...
Thanks for looking,

Enjoy...
C xx

Roses In Winter

Here is a set of cards I made to demonstrate how each stamp set is able to give to several different looks.



These three cards are made with the same stamp set (Roses in Winter) and the same layout design. By varying the colours and the assembly slightly you can achieve some amazing cards...



The method used for this card is called masking...

You simply Mask the area in the middle that you wish to remain the base colour and randomly stamp your images. When done stamping you remove your 'mask'... I use a post-it-note as it is just sicky enough that the mask doesnt move and doesnt leave a residue.

I also used the masking method to decorate the inside of this card...

Recipe:

Stamps: Roses In Winter, Cheer & Wishes

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Pale Plum, Mellow Moss, Bordering Blue

Card: Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, Glorious Green, Pale Plum.

Seasoning: White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Tafetta Ribbon.

Please leave your comments... Let me know what you want me to feature and i will do my best... Coming Soon... Bag-a-lope and Jubblies Container tutorials!

Thanks for visiting!

Enjoy...

C xx

I Love a Challenge!

This card is the result of 2 Challenges over on inlovewithstamping.com The first challenge was for the colours, Rose Red, Taken with Teal, So Saffron and Whisper White. The second was the layout.

I used Rose Red Prints Designer Paper across the middle of a standard C6 card (1/2 an A4 card folded in half) made from So Saffron. I used the corner rounder without the guard to make the scalloped edge on the paper. I next cut a square of Taken with Teal and mounted this in the middle of the card.

Whisper White grosgrain ribbon across the front of this and then I stamped Congratulations from the Cheer & Wishes stamp set in the bottom right hand corner.

The heart on the top of the cake was done using a method called paper piecing... Simply Stamp your image onto the required colour card stock and cut out the piece you want. Layer and glue this onto the original image...

The Cake itself is from the Year after Year set and I stamped this 3 times with Rose Red ink onto White cardstock.

The bottom layer was trimmed into a square shape and mounted onto the Teal square on the card. The next layer I trimmed the image to just the bottom 2 layers of cake. Then I curved this slightly and put some Stampin Dimensionals just in the middle of the image ( I layered 2 on top of each other for more depth). This was stuck onto the first layer, carefully lining up. The last layer is trimmed to just the bottom cake, again curved slightly and mounted with 2 layers of Dimensionals. Line up carefully and stick...

This technique is called decoupage and I love it because it really gives the image some depth and makes it more interesting. Glitter the edges if you want...

Be sure to take a look at this site as it gives lots of ideas and inspiration for when you 'loose your Mojo' as I did recently...

Thanks for looking,

Enjoy...

C xxx

Inspiration at your fingertips...

I just wanted to let you all know of a new website featuring lots of inspiration and chat created for all us Stampin' Up! addicts...
www.inlovewithstamping.com/forum

Check out the gallery for fabulous projects by many of your new Demonstrators...
Enjoy,
C xx

Baby Card!

LOOK WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH A SCALLOP PUNCH!!!

This was a fun project for me... I thought of this idea a while ago and remembered it while talking to a lady at a workshop... In theory, I thought it would work... And LOOK... It WORKED!!!

Yes this was for my friend again... Its a BOY! YEAH!!

Im sure she wont mind...
Recipe:
Stamps: Little Pieces (Pram wheels), Cheer & Wishes.
Card: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Barely Banana, Creamy Caramel, Designer Paper in Certainly Celery.
Ink: Ballet Blue, Close to Cocoa
Seasonings: Very small piece of White Grosgrain Ribbon..

The Pram body was made by punching a piece of Bashful Blue with the Scallop Punch. This was cut in half. The "Lace" was made by first punching into some Whisper White Card with the 1 3/8" circle punch. I then used the Scallop punch to cut around the "hole". This leaves you with a very thin scalloped border which you can bend and straighten. The centre of each scallop was pricked with my 'pokey tool'!

I stamped the pram wheels onto Creamy Caramel card with Close to Cocoa ink and punched with the 1/2" circle punch. (If you dont have this stamp set you could always draw this by hand too!)The handle was punched with a normal hole punch.
White details on the pram were drawn with the Signo Gel Pen, and the Brown details drawn with my brown marker.

Any ideas or suggestions for my next scallop project? Someone has already suggested a sheep or a baby's bib!
Im willing to give anything a try!!

Thanks for looking,
Enjoy.

C x