Clearly For You cards

I fell in love with everthing in the new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue straightaway, but Clearly For You was a particular favourite.

I'm totally into the vintage look at the moment, and Stampin' Up! has brought out some wonderful goodies that are ideal for this trend.

Today's two cards are pretty similar, but you can see that by changing colours and embellishments you can create all sorts of different looks.



I'm still on a Night of Navy ride here! I stamped the rectangle pattern all over the cardstock in Versamark to create a subtle background. The strip of DSP is from the Springtime Vintage range.



To add a splash of colour I used some Daffodil Delight cardstock behind the frame, and stamped the birdies in yellow too. And check out the mega Night of Navy Big Button! Of course, there is some ruffled Seam Binding too!



The second card also uses a Night of Navy base. This time I have added colour using Rose Red ink for the birds, some DSP from the Subtles DSP Patterns Stack and Seam Binding (ruffled, obviously!)



I also used some Crumb Cake Seam Binding and a piece of cardstock in the same colour, scrumpled up and inked for the vintage feel.

Tomorrow we're off to the Baby Blossoms stamp set.

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Stampin' Up! regional training

Today I am off for a whole day of crafting fun with my good friends at the Stampin' Up! regional training tour.

We will be seeing and playing with some new products. And talking and laughing lots too! I am so excited, we always have such a great time together.

Of course, we always do swaps. We each make a stack of one design of card and swap with each other. This gives us lots of inspiration - they are a really talented bunch of ladies.

So here is mine ...



I have used the Always Elegant set, which is very pretty and particularly good for weddings.





There are slight variations as I tried out different combos of colours, DSP and ribbon. Some of the DSP is the coordinating Elegant Soiree. And my fave ribbon is the Striped Grosgrain.

As soon as I've recovered from all the excitement I'll be back to tell you all about it!

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Experiments in ribbon ruffling

At training yesterday my lovely SU mummy Jules showed me how to ruffle ribbon. I've seen this loads but never managed to get to grips with it.

The trick is to use the wider Taffeta Ribbon and pull out one of the strands. It is a little bit fiddly - you cut into the ribbon and fray it up then use your nails (or tweezers) to eek one of the threads out.



Here are the cards I made featuring this technique. I used the Color Coach to determine the combo - Crumb Cake, Real Red and Bashful Blue. I love the Color Coach because I would never have thought of utting these colours together, but they look amazing. The stamp set is the now retired SAB Bliss, but I've not yet been able to put it down!



On this one I pulled out a thread in the middle, so it went crinkly on both sides. You can loosen it up a bit as you go along or pull it really tight.



Here I pulled out a strand at the very edge, so it created a valance effect.

Now I just need some of this ribbon in different colours ...

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Last SAB project - Bliss

Well, today is the final day of the amazing Sale-A-Bration promotion. I hope you have enjoyed the free stamp sets. I will certainly miss them, especially Bliss.

So today I had a final play and made a card for my friend Hayley as a wedding RSVP.



I used the scrolly stamp to create the background tone on tone in Crumb Cake. I added some Organza Ribbon, which is very classy and great for weddings.



The squares are Rose Red and I used the Rock and Roll technique on the flowers using Rose Red and Regal Rose. I finished them off with some pearls.

Stay tuned for some more exciting Stampin' Up! news tomorrow.

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Last Christmas cards

Well I have made my final Christmas cards of the year! These are two commissions I had from my friends.
Fay wanted something classy and elegant for her parents, so I used the lovely Contempo Christmas and added some glamour with the amazing Jewels and Pearls. The colour combo is Marina Mist and Crumb Cake, which is a bit of a different Christmas look - cool and snowy I think!
The tree card is for the niece of my friend Jo from WI. She wanted something very tactile, so I cut a felt tree and stuck on loads of bits! The star at the top is covered in glitter and the baubles are Designer Buttons and DSP stacks, punched out and given a coating of Crystal Effects. This gives a clear laquer tomake them shiny, just like baubles! And the trunk is a piece of card wrapped in Linen Thread and the tinsel is some random fluffy ribbon from my sewing stash.
Phew! I have just two presents to finish making and then I'm all done!

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More from the card tin

Here is the first peek at what is inside the tins I decorated yesterday.
The calendar journal was really quick and easy to make - just 12 pieces of card with the month stamped using the Just Perfect Alphabet and all sorts of stamps used to decorate at the bottom. I also wheeled with the Sanded Jumbo Wheel in Crumb Cake to give some texture. With a ring to hold them together and a bit of ribbon it's done! Just need to write all the special dates on each card now.
And the first little card I put inside the tin uses the gorgeous Just Believe set. Again, I stamped tone-on-tone with Crumb Cake and added some colour with the sentiment, which is Marina Mist card and Night of Navy Ink with one of the Neutrals Buttons.
This afternoon I'm off for another of the Free Festive Workshops in Armley with the I Love West Leeds peeps, then we have Buns & Roses choir practice tonight.

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A new colour combo

I bought the yummy Woodland Walk DSP a while back but haven't done much with it, so decided to get stuck in. I used the colours in the sheet as the inspiration for the card and ink colours used, so we have Garden Green, Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip, which I think work wonderfully together. The stamp is one from the Cute By The Inch hostess set and I added some Linen Thread and Regals Buttons for extra interest.
It was a little bit fiddly to make, as I had to wrap the thread around the two separate pieces of DSP/card then stick it all down straight, but it was worth it.

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Christmas robins

Christmas will soon be here! I've not got a single present sorted yet! My mum's is nearly finished, but I don't even have ideas, let alone the time to make them, for anyomne else!
But at least I have cards! I love these robins, made with the Two-Step Bird Punch. They're so simple but very effective and the colour combo of Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler is yummy.
So, best get cracking on the present making!

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Another bookmark

Last night I had some of the lovely WI ladies round for my monthly card class. We drank tea, chatted lots and made several projects.
This was my favourite - a bookmark. It uses the beautiful Love Letter DSP and I punched out a little heart and added some sparkle with the amazing Rhinestone Jewels. I love little touches like that, it really sets the whole thing off. The monogram is from Broadsheet Alphabet, of course, and once again I wheeled the Music Notes Wheel on to Twill Tape.
Now I need another book and some extra hours in the day to read it!

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Bird Convention swaps

These cards were some of the ones I made for Convention swaps. I love this combination of Crumb Cake with Night Of Navy and Not Quite Navy. I used the Punch Potpourri hostess stamps with the Two-Step Bird and Boho Blossoms punches. The sentiment is from Tiny Tags, which must be one of the most versatile sets, and the DSP is Blueberry Crisp.
In other news, still pretty busy round here. Yesterday I was at Nation of Shopkeepers with the WI for a craft event and this evening I have six lovely friends over for a class. Am all prepped, just need to stock up on tea bags and biccies!

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Dashing towards Christmas

It's not really that long until Christmas now so I have made a start on some cards and gifts. This reindeer stamp is called Dasher and I think he's fantastic! I stamped him using the Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad. I am also loving the colours used - Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake - and of course, the cutesy Tiny Tags as well.
I have a box of SU goodies due to be delivered today so should have more exciting things to show you over the weekend!

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