Yet another wedding card

My friend Hayley seems to have gone to dozens of weddings this year. It's keeping me on my toes coming up with new cards for her to give to the happy couples!

Here's the latest one ...



I kept the colour scheme neutral with Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake and added some bling using the Gold Embossing Powder. I also used my Big Shot and the Square Lattice Embossing Folder to give texture.



The gold birdie is holding a tag featuring a sentiment from Tiny Tags and punched out with the matching Jewellery Tag Punch.



Swirls are from the Scribbles Swirls Die and the flowers are stamped in Versamark with the now retired Punch Potpourri hostess set, and embossed. The gold powder works brilliantly even on the fine details. The flowers are punched with the matching Boho Blossoms Punch.

I am reliably informed that the proceedings went off without a hitch and Hayley promises no more weddings until January!

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A very special day

Yesterday my dad got married at Runcorn Town Hall.

I managed to make them a card before I came back down, using some of the retiring DSP - Play Date, punches and my Big Shot.



I love the Cherry Cobbler red so that was my card blank and the big hearts, with the little ones also in the heart printed paper. I ran the Very Vanilla matting through the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and finished off with some Pearls on the little hearts.



We had a wonderful day. Jacki looked beautiful and they were so happy.

I had to do two readings at the ceremony, which I think went well (the registrar offered me a job so I could have a new career in public speaking!).


We had drinks at the pub then went for a curry. Then more drinks. I bought us some nice bubbly (Moet 1998 I think it was!) and there were plenty of stories and sillyness.





This is the beautiful rose bracelet the florist made for me.



And here's dad and Jacki cutting the cake.

Now the fun is over and I'm heading back to Leeds for a week of WI and work.

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Another wedding card (sorry!)

Yet another wedding card I'm afraid, this time an anniversary one for my brother and his missus. I made this for my mum to give to them.

Shamefully, I have no idea when their anniversary is, so I doubt they'll be getting a card from me! I might even have missed it!

Ah well, they get one of my creations via my mum anyway!



I used the Always Elegant here and created the background by repeatedly stamping the big swirly pattern on to Whisper White cardstock in Crum Cake ink. A subtle, beautiful pattern. It was mounted on to a square Crumb Cake card blank.



For the focal element, I used the sentiment from that set in Cherry Cobbler ink. I used te Word Window and Scallop Oval punches for the frame. Then, lots of flowers using the flower stamps from the Punch Potpourri hostess set, punched out with the matching Boho Blossoms Punch.

I made some tiny rose buds from Whisper White 3mm Taffeta Ribbon
and decorated with lots of Pearls.

A very pretty card, and the Cherry Cobbler just gives it that wow factor and brings it to life.

Today I'm off to our Buns & Roses WI 1940s/50s day and I have a very pretty dress to wear and dance around in! I will be back with tales and pics soon.

In the meantime, why not head over to our B&R blog to read all about the national AGM this week.

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Wedding cards with lots of embossing

What did I do before the Big Shot came along?! I'm not sure how I managed to cope without quick and easy die cutting and yummy embossing options!

Back to the wedding theme (is everyone getting hitched at the moment?!), here are two cards for newlyweds. Hayley asked me to make one for her sister, who tied the knot at the weekend, so I made another one to go in my craft fair box to sell.



The navy one is for Hayley's sister - that was their colour scheme. I think these Mr and Mrs hearts are so cute. For the pink one I used some of the Springtime Vintage DSP. Both have some ruffled Seam Binding Ribbon and Pearls.



Here you can see some of the embossing a bit better. It would still be cute without it, but the Big Shot and embossing folders just add that extra something - a bit of texture can work wonders, especially when you don't want to go overboard with colours.

On the Mrs I used the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder to give her dress a pattern. The Mr's jacket and the background were run through the Big Shot in the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

Thank heavens for the Big Shot!

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Clearly For You and more business

It's still busy, busy, busy in the life of Gemma!

I was a very good girl yesterday and got a lot of work done (while also managing to watch the MotoGP, The Spy Who Loved Me and have a soak in a bubbly bath with my book for Buns & Roses WI Book Club). Productive or what?!

I needed to do this as today it was the Home Economics & Handicrafts Committee meeting at the West Yorkshire Federation of WIs. As always, we nattered and drank tea and got a lot planned. We have lots of great things to organise, including my own card making workshop next year and our slot at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate this November.

So I still could do with a few more hours in each day!

Unfortunately I've not had a lot of time to do much papercrafting recently. But I must get back on track as I have craft fairs and a market stall to prepare for!

PLEASE can I have more time?!

I do have a few photos stored up still though, so here's a card using the Clearly For You set.

This was one of my very first must-haves from the 2011 Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue as I love vintage things and the way you can mix up the different stamps within the set.



For this one, I cut out the squares and rolled half with the Sanded Wheel in Basic Grey ink to give texture and the other half I used the rectangle pattern image from Clearly For You.

I used the decorative elements in Melon Mambo and Old Olive on some of the squares, then scrunched them all up and distressed them by randomly inking in Basic Grey. Simply rubbing the ink pad gently over the card stock does the job.

This one has already come and gone as one of my fellow WI members bought it for a wedding card! I hope the happy couple liked it!

Time for another early night now so I have enough energy for all the things I have planned for tomorrow! The to do list includes work, stitching, card making ...

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Love is in the air!

Wowser, I can't believe it's Thursday again already, and coming up to the end of April too! Where does the time go?!

Last night was our weekly get-together at Hayley's. She, me and Helen generally just sit around and gossip and do something crafty. Last night they made LOTS of cakes (and I mean lots - more than 50 cupcakes and a BIG one!) while I did a bit of work and also finished off my short story for The WI's Lady Denman Cup Competition. I am pleased with it, especially as I haven't done any non-fiction writing for many years. Really enjoyed doing it too, so I must do more!

Anyway, on to today's card.

This was another made for Georgie's wedding earlier this month.



I was still in the Bashful Blue and Real Red phase, which I think is a stunning combo! I stamped the Eiffel Tower from the Artistic Etchings set in Basic Grey, and also the circle motif, which was stamped off on to my paper first so it was lighter.



The little envelope was made using the Petal Card Double Punch, which cuts and scores! I then made the hearts using the Heart to Heart Punch and the butterflies from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit. A quick tag was added with Linen Thread et voila!

This evening is the Buns & Roses WI second birthday party (hence all the cakes!). There will be lots of exciting news and I'm looking forward to catching up with all my girls.

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Another wedding card and the WI

The fun never stops around here at the moment! I am still mega busy with all sorts of things going on in the next few weeks. Can I go back to Denman College for a break please?!

Today's card is another that went to my friend Georgie on her wedding day. I made it on behalf of my friend Sam with one of the new Stampin' Up! sets Clearly For You.

I went for a vintage look (surprisingly!) and used lots of my favourite things.



The background is a piece of the Newsprint DSP, which I scrunched up and inked a bit using the Distressing Essentials kit. I then stamped randomly with some of the smaller images from Clearly For You - a crown, butterfly, cherub and ladybug.



The focal piece uses the rectangle background stamp and the birds on a branch. Again, I just coloured in two of them using a Stampin' Write marker pen. I wrapped some Linen Thread around and included a tag made using the Jewellery Tag Punch and phrase from the Tiny Tags stamp set. The ribbon is the amazing Crumb Cake Seam Binding.

I hope George and Brendan liked it!

Today I am out at the West Yorkshire Federation of Women's Institutes AGM. As well as running a craft stall, singing Jerusalem and eating cake with the ladies, I am giving a presentation on my visit to Denman College! I have made a slideshow of some of my pics and will have my embroidery on display.

And the rest of this week is just as crazy - lots of work to do, my Stampin' Up! Mini Launch Workshop on Thursday evening, a craft fair on Saturday! I really need more hours in the day!

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A wedding card

Remember the wedding I went to last weekend? Well here is the card I made for the happy couple!

Georgie is president of Buns & Roses WI so I hope she approved!



I used the new Manhattan Flowers Embossing Folder with the Four Frames stamp set and matching Decorative Label Punch. I tried not to be girly but still get it bright. I think the pinks and greens work well together.



I coloured in the flowers on the frame using the Watercolour Pens, which give a beautiful effect, and added the initials from Broadsheet Alphabet.

I hope they liked it and have enjoyed their first week of marriage!

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In Love With Stamping forum Mini Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to my little section of the ILWS Mini Blog Hop!

There are more than 50 demos taking part, so loads of yummy projects for you to admire!

You may have come to me from the lovely Alison. If so, I hope you enjoyed her work and are ready for more! If not, be sure to use the links at the bottom to complete all the rounds!

I am sharing a really sweet card I made for my friend Hayley's sister's wedding.

She asked for a navy colour scheme, so I teamed Night of Navy with Rose Red and Crumb Cake. I think this is a really lovely combo.



I have used a few new Stampin' Up! products here. The main stamp sets are Clearly For You (the birds) and Baby Blossoms (the frame and roses).

There are actually three birds on the stamp, but I just coloured the two in with my markers. I threaded some Linen Thread over the top for their wire and hooked on to that a little tag from the Tiny Tags stamp set, made with the Jewellery Tag Punch.

The little roses are so sweet and not as fiddly as they look! The set is one of the Two-Step Stampin' range, which is so clever and great for adding depth. You just stamp the background in a lighter colour and the detail in a darker one over the top, using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig for placement.

The background image is the beautiful (and big) Bella Toile, inked with Versamark for a watermarked effect on the cardstock.

And at the top, the gorgeous new Seam Binding in Crumb Cake, ruffled up by gently pulling out one of the strands from the middle.



Phew! I hope you got all that!

The next stop on the ILWS Mini Blog Hop is Emma so get over there and see what she has come up with!

There are four rounds to the hop so it is a bit easier to get round them all in batches!

Here are the starting points of each:

Round 1 Erika
Round 2 Angela
Round 3 Rita
Round 4 Karen

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