Mother's Day - Ex Libris

I am just loving that feeling that Spring is on it's way!

Today I have a post of cards made using the Ex Libris stamp.  I must admit I had overlooked this stamp so many times when browsing through the catalogue (hard to believe as 'browsing' makes it sound so much more casual than the memorising of every page that takes place each new catalogue!).  I tend to focus on the stamp sets of several stamps, but one day when I had some hostess pounds to spend this stamp caught my eye and it came to me, a single stamp for an almost instant card front, fantastic!  All it needed was a little dressing up in different ways and it was a perfect addition for cards, background stamping and even elements on a journal or scrapbook album.

I loved the initial design Stampin' Up! had in the catalogue with this stamp (page 128) so the first thing I did, to get the creative juices flowing, was to CASE their design - cheeky!  That is the great thing about the Catalogue as it really is an 'ideas' book too - just as it says on the tin (well, cover!).

Here it is - my colours were Lucky Limeade - what a fabulously vibrant spring green - and Marina Mist for the flower.  So, I really did have to go outside my comfort zone of Mrs Neat and Tidy for the flower with all that scrunching of the card.  It didn't turn out quite as scrunched, but it almost looks good enough to pick! 

My flower was made with the 'Fun Flowers' die for the Big Shot. I added a So Saffron brad to secure it together before the scrunching began and also created the middle stems with this colour.  A tip for the scrunching: mist your cardstock with water until damp and more pliable.

Now for a more vintage style with the same background stamp and a slightly different feel. 

Back to Crumb Cake - I think I should have given this up for lent, I am so addicted. I This card uses the 'Wishing you a day as perfect as you are' stamp again from the Sale-a-Bration set 'VintageVerse'.  I thought this was a great sentiment for Mother's Day.  I trimmed round the shape and then popped it on the card with dimensionals to make it stand out. 

I added lots of little springtime flowers with help from the  'Boho Blossoms' Punch and also the butterflies using the 'Beautiful Wings' embosslit for the Big Shot.

Not got a Big Shot (yet)?  Why not?  Don't worry, if you are not ready to commit to one yet there are plenty of punches to get these fabulous shapes too. Check out the punches on pages 184-185 in the main catalogue.  Want some baby butterflies too? Don't forget the new 'Bitty Butterfly' in the Sping Mini Catalogue - perfectly petite! 

To get the 'Vintage Verses' I have used here from the Sale-a-Bration sets, all you need to do is place an order for £45 or more. Don't forget too, if you are local, there is a card workshop next Thursday 7th March.  See the 'Workshops' page for more details and contact me now to save your place!

To place an order, book a party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Sweet Patterned Occasions

It's still Sale-a-Bration time!!  I am still Sale-a-Brating in my craft room with all the great stamp sets that are being offered as part of the promotion.  Remember a £45 purchase and you too could own one of the fabulous stamp sets or other products too!

Another set from the free products is Patterned Occasions and it is just great.  Lovely designs with instant sentiments for quick easy cards for birthdays, thanks, get well, friendship and other celebrations. The set is sized perfectly to fit in quite a few framelits for the Big Shot, but also fits into punched circles.  The sweet little cupcake is adorable as is the little elephant (who doesn't love a little elephant to stamp with?).
Here's the little cupcake for an easy birthday card. I layered circles using the Big Shot Originals Circles #2 die for my card.

The colours are a mix of Rose Red, Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry and Pretty in Pink. 

I matched the Polka Dot background emboss and patterned designer paper from the standard Designer Series Paper Stack.  Add a little scallop border with punched holes and some sparklies and you have a lovely sweet birthday cupcake card.

For the cute little ele friend I stamped in Basic Grey and stamped twice so that I could cut out his ear and stick it on a dimensional (sounds painful, but no animals were hurt in the making of this card!).

Pool Party is one of my favourite springtime colours right now so this card is all about this gorgeous blue.  The designer paper is from the Afternoon Daydream scrapbook kit - a beautiful complete kit of papers and accents.  I didn't use too much paper for the card as I have plans for the rest of the kit and I am having to resist using too much until then!!

The Vintage Wallpaper emboss folder super compliments the paper design and I daubed it with whisper white craft ink to accent.  I then, completely by chance, had the 'Wishing you a day as perfect as you are' sentiment from the Vintage Verses set (also Sale-a-bration) stamped out and cut out in a Labels Collection Framelit, so I trimmed this in half and added it as a frame around the circle.

Time for some latte lovin'?  We should all make time for those cups of coffee (or tea) with friends - what a great little stamp for calling on friends or neighbours. Here's a little stack of them in the In Colours 2012-2014.

Of course, buying the marker pens allows you to colour in individual parts of the stamp different colours and also is a great way to try colours to see which ones are favourite before progressing to ink pads.  The In Colours are a set of 5 pens at just £11.75 so a great way to get a quick collection of colours.  I recently discovered some tips for the SU markers - did you know?:

• They can be refilled using the Ink Refills
• As well as the tip picture to show you which end is which, the lines which wrap round the pen are different widths to show this too

Thanks to Michelle Last, another SU demonstrator, for these tips! To see how to refill you can visit Michelle's Blog http://www.michellelast.typepad.co.uk/

In case you are wondering which punch I used round the 'whole latte love', this is a Decorative Label punched twice to create the custom shape.

 

Sale-a-Bration continues until 22nd March - I still have availability for parties or can take orders for delivery before this date for your chance to earn FREE products.

 

To place an order, book a party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com or call me on 07876 247678.

Vintage Verses

A fabulous card for you today made with one of the stamps from the Vintage Verses free Sale-a-bration sets.  A great way to say thanks and really great in fresh colours to match the 'Floral District' designer paper.  I have stolen the flower hearts idea from a Pinterest post and I just love it - another way to use the small heart punch featured on my valentine posts too.  Each heart is folded down the middle and then stuck overlapping.  I stuck each heart on the right side each time.  Sorry for the gap on the first flower, when photographing the heart was a little misplaced.  I am loving the Floral District papers too, I have another project on the go with this so make sure you come back to see again.

New on my blog today, I have added the 'Follow on Email' button so be sure to add your details to receive an email and make sure you do not miss any updates from me.  There are a few easy steps to folllow to set it up, but you will receive an email everytime I add a post.

Don't forget my workshop on the 7th March at 7pm to see more examples and make brilliant cards like this.

To place an order, book a party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Valentine - You Are Loved and so much more

Well what a very lovely surprise for my valentine's morning a lovely new iPad to play with!  I am going to be happily browsing from my sofa even more now...more Pinterest and Stampin' Up!inspiration...and maybe a little shopping too!

Just a quick note from me with some Valentine's sentiments before I continue my romantic celebrations for the evening. 

Here is the lovely card I made for my husband for today with my new favourite colour - Raspberry Ripple.  I must admit I did get a bit carried away with the silver glimmer paper (124005) and pearls (119247), but it was so much girly fun!! 

The gorgeous Valentine message is from the 'You Are Loved' stamp set.  I have stamped with the Staz On White (106960) onto Vellum cardstock (106584). You can stamp onto non-porous surfaces with this ink including the window sheets (114323) which I have used previously for the candle boxes I made. There were lots of little punched hearts too.  The small heart punch is a great little addition to your craft room (117193) and only £5.75 so easy to add to your next order.

I used my Essentials Paper-Piercing pack  (132204) which I got as a FREE choice with Sale-A-Brations to created the outline hearts surrounding it.  Decorative borders on the vellum and coloured card were then added with the Adorning Accents Folders (125601) and Edgelits (125595). The mini hearts look so sweet on the vellum and also on the band under the Decorative Label (120907).  Of Course it was all colour co-ordinated with the Stitched Satin Ribbon in Raspberry Ripple (126845)and before I got too carried away with a bow as well I decided on a folded pleated ribbon instead, secured with glue dots.

The sentiment inside the card - 'There's Only One You' is from the Sale-a-Bration set 'Vintage Verses' (129633).  This includes other sentiments of 'Thanks', 'Just Because', and 'Wishing you a day as perfect as you are'.

 My second card, no not two valentines from me, was a last minute commission for a friend.  Again the 'You are loved' stamps and pewter embossing with Raspberry Ripple stamping.  I used the Adorning Accents Folders (125601) and Edgelits (125595) again and the co-ordinated ribbon.  I folded the ribbon over, in my attempt at, a heart shape.  I secured the ribbon with an antique brad (117273).  The candle box is another chance to see the matching candle and box I made for the candle workshop with the same stamp set, this time in Cherry Cobbler.

To place an order, book a party with these great products or join in one of my card making evenings, email me, Suzanne at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Feeling Sentimental

Today's post is a card in early preparation - so unlike me I know, but I received one of the Sale-a-Bration stamp sets this week and it was just perfect for a Father's Day card.  It is often hard to find inspiration for a masculine card, so when I saw this stamp set in the free products I had to place my order to get it free.  A set of lovely nostalgic pictures, a telephone box, a penny farthing, a big wheel and the sentiment 'Celebrate', perfect for a number of occasions.

I decided to use some colour on the card so used a little Rose Red card stock with matching brads and designer paper to accent the colours.  There has been a little vintage makeover to the card though to keep it less girly.  I have distressed and curled the layered paper corners and even rubbed the brads with a file to distress them a little.  Of course the daubers were out to add the vintage colour to the edges and I also used the Very Vintage wheel to create a border by using a large circle of card as a mask.

In case you are wondering, the 'For You' is from my other new stamp set ' Elements of style'.  It fits perfectly into an 1" circle and I am loving adding this to my projects.   The 'Happy Father's Day' is from the Delightful Dozen - already used this set more than a dozen times - it has everything!

Also spot the trinket?  It is one of the Teatime Trinkets from the Spring/Summer catalogue. These come in a pack of 5 (£5.50) and add that extra special to projects don't you think?  They come with link rings and spring catches (I am not sure how to describe these) which you can attach and even add them to jewellery as charms too.

To place a £45 order to get the Feeling Sentimental stamp set or another free choice, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

New Spring Catalogue Launch

Spring has Sprung!  The new Spring/Summer catalogue is here. Even more products to celebrate and share for the 25th anniversary celebrations for Stampin' Up!  If you have not received a copy of the catalogue in the post fro me  and cannot wait you can go and see the catalogue right here.

Already a customer of mine and you cannot resist a lovely glossy catalogue for your coffee table viewing?  Contact me to have one sent in the post or reserve a copy for our next workshop meeting.

Planning on a Stampin' Up! party and wish to book a date in the calendar? Contact me now for available dates.  Now is just the best time for a get-together with friends as remember it is Sale-a-Bration time, free products for hostess and customers all-round.  On booking, as a thank you, you will receive your complimentary copy of the Spring catalogue and the full annual catalogue too!

I love the products in the new Spring catalogue - I found myself liking something every turn of the page.  There is something for everyone - card-makers, scrapbookers or those who love working with fabric too.  Lots of extra special embellishments to make those projects with a difference.  I cannot wait until my first order comes in the next few days!

I will be posting some projects using new products, including those from the Spring catalogue soon.

Good news this week leaves me with just the reason I needed to use one of my new stamps 'two-by-two' to welcome the arrival of a baby for friends.  This is a single stamp from the annual catalogue and it is just so cute.  Of course, this version was for a boy.  I used the Adorned Accents for the hearts emboss on the white which lifted the card with some added texture. 

I made a second copy of the stamped image and coloured it without so much blue and before you know it I had made a birthday card from it today.  I just overlaid the 'Congratulations' with a 'Happy Birthday' banner to change the sentiment.

Another card to show you today.  It's based on a design I had seen from another demonstrator, but as I did not have all the same products, some slight changes.  My card uses the 'Very Vintage' stamp wheel background in Crumb Cake.  It is the 'You are loved' for the sentiment again and the 'Perfect Postage' for the Heart design in the Scallop Square. Oh and I was playing with my new stamps 'Elements of Style' so added the 'For You' from this set too (just visible above the 'Happy Valentine's Day'.

Hope you like them and don't forget to come back soon to see the new products.

Suzanne


To place an order, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com