Floral Displays with the Spiral Flower Die

If the weather holds off I hope to be outside planting my own spring displays in the garden, but for now I thought I would share my recent project which I have been working on.  A while back I saw these cute little pepper pots in the local budget store and I could not believe what a close match they were to the Stampin' Up! colours.  You can just see the shaped tops peeping out of the top of the display in the photo.  I had a thought straight away that I could make flowers with the Spiral Flower Die and then attach them to garden wire to stand them through the holes in the pot lids.

Before I started my project though, I found a picture from Erica Cerwin on Pinterest with something very similiar.  Great minds think alike!  Erica had made a crate using the Hardwood stamp and put flowers in hers in bunches of yellow with long grass/leaves.  So once I saw the crate idea I knew I could make a little flower trough of my own to sit my pots into.

I started with a basic rectangular open box which I added an extra layer of card to so that it had more stability.  I then added my layer of grass which was using the Gumball Green from the In Colours 2012-2014. The grass was cut using the Fringe Scissors from the Spring/Summer catalogue. Finally I stamped the hardwood stamp onto Baked Brown Sugar and cut this into strips 1.5cm wide.  I sponged colour round the edges of the strips and then wrapped them round the box in a wooden crate style.

My flowers were in the Crisp Cantaloupe, Wild Wasabi and Daffodil Delight colours.  I also used the Flower Punch to add a layer of Gumball Green for a leave base to the flowers.  Each of the flowers was made using one and a half of the Spiral Flower Die shapes.  I cut two die pieces and then cut the second piece in two.  I wrapped the complete piece and then added the second half piece into the flower before securing them together with a glue gun. I have yet to perfect my glue gun sticking so there was some extra glue strings which still need tidying a little - oops!  A little photo touch-up needed!

I finished my project with the image from the Chalk Talk stamp set embossed in white on the basic black card.  The label shape was cut with the co-ordinating dies.  I was so excited about this project and I got so carried away until it was finished, crafting late into the evening.  I was beaming with pride when I finished it and it is now sitting in pride of place in my craft room, bringing the Spring flowers inside.

Now the dies are great and the Spiral Flower is fantastic, but when you are finished cutting flowers with it there is a lovely decorative shaped piece of card left over which is just too lovely to throw away.  When I was cutting flowers using the Coastal Cabana and designer paper stack I just could not bring myself to throw the pieces away and as they were overlapping on the craft table I thought of a card layout to use them instead.

I added a flower and some Little Leaves and some further flowers using the Boho Blossom punch and the label on there is made using the Scallop Tag Topper Punch cut down to match the dimensions of the sentiment.  See the sentiment on the label there?  That is stamped using the mini stamp set in the Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit.  The kit is amazing value and the stamps can be re-used for other projects as I have done here.

Products I used for these projects were:

129379 Spiral Flower Die

133032 Hardwood

133325 Fringe Scissors

130631 Chalk Talk Stamps

129983 Chalk Talk Dies

and extras for the card:

119858 Boho Blossoms

114511 Little Leaves

133324 Scalloped Tag Topper Punch 

130136 Designer Paper Stack - In Colours 2014-2015

Stamps used for the card:

134998 Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit

All these items and more are available for order through my online store.  Just go to my blog page and click on the link to 'Shop Online With Me Now' in the top right corner or you can contact me directly. Don't forget to take a visit to see the Weekly deals continuing throughout May and also the Clearance rack deals!

Suzanne

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Remember, to book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com.  You can check my Stampin' Up! home page for details of planned events. 

Happy Easter Banner

Today's a celebration banner for Happy Easter wishes. I have been spying some banner kits in the supermarkets and thinking of getting one as I thought I was just not going to have the time to put one together, but I resisted and here is what I made in about 1 1/2 hours playtime. OK, OK so it was still a little time to make it, but once I started it I was enjoying every minute!

Essential for a quick and easy banner are the Banner Framelits.  I used the largest die for designer paper backgrounds.  This was some of the Subtles collection papers I had left over from the last annual catalogue (2012-1013) so I was so glad I had kept them.  I then just layered them onto cardstock and for quickness I just trimmed round to keep the banner shape.  You could of course make your banners slightly smaller to cut both the layers with the dies - even quicker!

I also used the Circles framelits collection to make the circles round my 'Happy Easter' letttering. I had cut all the lettering with dies too (a retired die set I cannot part with).  That was all the pieces cut out for the main banner within 10 minutes or so.  I am so loving the die collections, it makes it all so easy!

The extra features on the banner are the Bunny tails I made previously (see previous post on the Carrot Chocolate Wraps).  These are made from the Scallop circles punches and the large oval.
Also a few springtime flowers using the Floral Fusion Sizzlit die and the Little Leaves Sizzlit.  I added a centre flower from the Boho Blossom punch and finished with a Daffodil Delight Candy Dot.

The ribbon is leftover from my wedding supply of taffeta Pink Pirouette so it was great to see this put to use again in this lovely Easter pastels project.

The papers are still available, but there have been some small changes to the colour collection in the current catalogue and the designs have varied slightly.  The lettering, as I say was a retired set, but there are alphabet dies in the current catalogue too.  You could even use chipboard or wooden letters if you already have them.

I am really glad I passed on the supermarket banner now and made my own - it is hanging in pride of place ready for some family visitors tomorrow.

Suzanne
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For the banner, I used:
132173 Banners Framelits Dies
130911 Circles Collection Framelits Dies
115969 Floral Fusion Sizzlit Die
114511 Little Leaves Sizzlit
130931 Candy Dots
130135 Designer Paper Stack - Subtles Collection

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Sweet Sorbet Wraps it up!

The Easter rabbit has been early in our house and look how pretty the Easter offering is!  

It's a lovely little wrap for a chocolate egg made from just a few scraps of card and the Sale-A-Bration papers.

This egg wrap was made with the Scallop Tag Punch.  I simply cut some cardstock I had left over from another project to 5cm (2") wide for the width for the punch and then used a 21cm length strip.

I folded at 8.5cm each end to leave a 4cm base for the wrap.  I used the Scallop Tag Punch for each end to make the decorative top.  I then just quickly made a tray box  4cm x 5cm to fit inside for the egg to sit in. 

Before constructing the wrap, I punch an extra Large Oval for the opening and ran it through the Big Shot with the Decorative dots folder (SAB FREE product).

I used left over Sweet Sorbert paper from the Sale-a-Bration FREE products I have earnt to decorate inside the tray and wrap sides.  The pretty little spring flowers are made with the Boho Blossoms punch and a little Ruffled Ribbon to tie the wrap together finishes it off. 

There are lots of little changes you can make to make this yourself with products you have if you do not have everything I have used.  You can create a wrap with a label if you do not have the oval, for example. 

Remember Sale-A-Bration ends on 31st March - Just 4 Days to Go to grab your FREE products! You can still order your products direct through me or from my Online store to qualify for the Sale-a-bration goodies.

If you love this project and want to replicate it, I have used:

Scallop Tag Punch

Boho Blossoms Punch

Extra Large Oval Punch

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Fabulous You

Good morning, I hope you are all enjoying the new catalogue as much as I am!  I have just had a UPS delivery and I am so excited, but I am trying to contain my excitement long enough for a quick blog update for you all. 

It is another birthday month this month with lots of birthdays and other occasions to celebrate for.  It's also my birthday month for a big special birthday, but let's not mention that just yet as I am trying to put it off for a bit longer!

Today's cards are all products from the yummy new catalogue.  The two cards here are the Fabulous You stamp set.  No matter how many times you look through the catalogue (and I do lots!) there is always stamps that you miss, but this is a stamp set a customer bought and after that it just kept popping out at me from the catalogue.  What a great girlie set for wedding/engagement congratulations, friendship or birthdays.  It is a small set of 3 stamps so a great little purchase without too much guilt!  I just love the shoe in the embossed silver as I have done for these two cards. 

 

The colour for the card is  Rose Red which has moved from the Subtles collection and is now in the Regals, I am so glad this colour did not retire as I do like it a lot.  The background is the Ex Libris background stamp, it provides an instant card front design in just one inking and stamping, such a time-saver!  The butterfly is so delicate too in this set and with the sentiment it is a really lovely set to have in your collection. 

 

I have dressed the shoe with a little Boho Blossom and a Vintage Button with some pearls and sparkles.  The large pearls we now have are perfect for the centre of the Boho Blossom small flower and they also fit perfectly in the centre of the larger vintage button (not used here). 

 

After my Rose Red card, I thought I would use a different colour scheme for another card.  This time I have used Daffodil Delight.  The image is still embossed silver here, but I have made little daisy flowers with the smallest Boho Blossom flower and just a standard hole punch for the centre.  The 'Happy Birthday' for this one is from the Create a cupcake stamp set.  This one was a postal friendly card so I used a rolled ribbon instead of a tied bow and secured the ends inside the middle loop with a brad.

 

I used some vellum cardstock overlay on the card which was embossed with the Polka Dot emboss folder.  Just a little warning if you do this, you might want to be a bit careful with your glue as I found after when mine was a little visible on the top edge.  You could create a little decorative strip to cover it here.

 



Look at these new colours on the last card I have made, these are the new In Colours 2013-2015 again.  This is also the Mosaic Madness stamp set and co-ordinating punch from the new catalogue.  I have added some embossed pieces too and layered it over a background made up of white punched pieces.  The 'Happy Birthday' you will recognise is again from the Create a cupcake set.  I am loving the Strawberry Slush colour.

 

I even added a little extra saying inside the card from the same stamp set.

 

If you are excited about all the new products or you just need something topping up, to place an order, book a party or come to a workshop held by me email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Somethings Have To Be Believed To Be Seen - Last Retiring and Sneek Peek

I think possibly today's flurry of crafting is going to be some of the last of the retiring products you will see from me.  One of the first stamp sets I bought from Stampin' Up! was the Just Believe set.  It has simple 'Thank You', 'Friends' and 'Just for You' sentiments, but also has the great saying 'Somethings have to be believed to be seen'.  I have been inspired for the cards here by so many designs I have seen with the  larger stamp and how this can be framed on the front of the cards.

This first card is a combination of the In Colours 2013-2014 Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Petals. There is also some Regal Rose for the Boho Blossoms flowers which is a retiring colour with the new colour refresh.  The green on the card is Always Artichoke which has a darker shade which I think works really well in contrast with the other colours.

I just love the frame shape for this card.  This was cut using the Framelits Label Collection for the Big Shot.  I just imagined this card layout in my head and built it up from cutting and framing the stamped image.  The Boho Blossoms and Embosslits Beautiful Wings on the card are just the right size to go with the background image to dress it. 

The stamp set also contains two stamps which can be used to create instant label.  There is the decorative label I have added to this card and another larger label which can be used.  These are great for layering on cards or tags and are sized for the sentiments to fit with ease. 

You cannot see it too well on the photo, but there are embossing designs on the middle section and also on the edges of the white insert piece.  I used a product I have not mentioned too much up until now, the Simply Borders plate for the Simply Scored Tool, which is in the Spring/Summer mini.  This is fabulous for a subtle embossed design to your cards and co-ordinates with other products such as the Framelits dies. 

Tip:  The Simply Borders plate comes with a top template for easy alignment with your project when embossing.  To keep everything in place when embossing use some low tack masking tape to keep placement and to stop any slips.

The second card in neutral tones of Crumb Cake and Soft Suede is another use of the framelits die.  This card is created by first stamping in Crumb Cake and then using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up and create a shadow image, stamping with Versamark and then embossing with white.  The embossing was then sponged over with Crumb Cake.

This first photo is the initial version with the Flower Trim from the Spring/Summer catalogue and the Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon.  I then decided to step-up the card a little and added a few pearls.  I think the pearls lift it and make for a much better looking card.   Just a simple change can make such a difference!

The Flower Trim, as it is in the Spring/Summer catalogue will no longer be available after June 30th.  The other retiring products on the cards are, the Just Believe stamps and also the First Edition designer papers.  The papers are such a staple for any craft room; they work so well for a background, for vintage looks, or for masculine cards.

Lastly, all these retiring products posts have meant I have had to keep my twitching hands off my new catalogue products, but as we are now in the last few days of the current catalogues I thought it only right to give you a little tease of what is coming.  We have been talking about all the colour changes and retiring colours, well here are the yummy new In Colours 2013-2014 for the new catalogue (well 4 of them anyway!). 

 

Still with a retiring products, this card has monochrome Just Believe flower circles and I have then decorated them with the Floral Fusion Sizzlits in the new colours.  The photo does not show it, but I have also used the 'Friends' saying from the stamps down the right hand side strip.  The white card is also embossed with the Simply Borders plate as once I had played with it once I got carried away and wanted to play some more - as often the way with all the products!

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

It's a Countdown....5....4.....3.....2....1 !

Only 5 more days to order from the retired products and the Spring/Summer catalogue!  Here are some cards I have been making for all the little one's birthdays lately.  My little one turned 3 last month and we had a blast with the Blast Off stamp set.  I knew as soon as I saw it in the catalogue I would need to buy it for birthday celebrations for him.  I even made a rocket shaped cake based on the design, but that is a whole other story!

 

This card layout was hard to photograph for you to see all of the design and the card layout.  The middle section folds separately from the top and the bottom of the card.  The idea I had for this card was to use the Outter Space Jumbo Wheel with shimmer paint to create a planetary background with some galactic glitter. It was a bit tricky at first and I think I could have taken a bit longer to get a more even coating on the wheel probably using the brayer. 

 

The thing I love about this stamp set is the spaceship which looks great in the embossed silver.  My little alien friends are in Lucky Limeade which was a great choice of green for them to stand out - this is a colour also retiring.  I added some left over googly eyes from the Aut/Wint catalogue and there are some Brights Brads on the spaceship too. 

 

Now of course, as every mum does, I think my Son is the greatest so the top sentiment here is the single stamp from the current catalogue World's Greatest which is retiring also.  I combined it with a stamp from the For My Family set, also retiring - how will you make family cards without this set?  It's a must from the retiring sets surely!

 

Here's another layout for the card I made for one of the friends with the same set of stamps.  For the Outter Space background for this one I stamped using Versamark for the watermark look.

For all the 'Thank-You's that follow a birthday celebration, here were the little thank you cards we sent to thank everyone for the great presents received and for coming to our party.  The coloured dots on the spaceships are postal friendly for these cards - just simple punched coloured card this time.

For the cards for the girls I used the Create a Cupcake stamp set and the co-ordinating Cupcake Builder punch. I just love the stamp set where there is a matching punch it is so easy to make a card!  Of course the colour Pink features on the cards and the cakes just look good enough to eat!

Another retiring stamp set is the little trio of stamps used for the 'Happy Birthday' sentiments on the cards.  This set is called Made For You and I thought it was a fantastic value set as it has 'Thank You' and 'Especially for You' as the other sentiments in it. They are in a really lovely clear font for all occasions.  Don't forget too, the scalloped dots ribbon shown on the card is also retiring.  This ribbon comes in some lovely shades, especially those ready for Christmas (yipes! A mention so early in the year) as there is Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler versions!







The next card is possibly one of my favourites.  You will have to excuse the photography of the last few pictures as, in my haste, I used my camera phone to take quick snaps before sending them off in the post so the quality is not so good and this one is particularly blurred.

This is a CASE of a design I saw online by a US demonstrator Lisa Young   I loved the idea of cutting the castle template for a fairy princess themed birthday to celebrate.  I altered a few bits by making my turrets from the Pennants Builder Punch and I also added the Boho Blossoms to the tops of these (well a girl needs some flowers on her birthday) and some sparkles too with rhinestones.  The designer papers here are the Standard Subtles papers and the Floral District (for the turrets and scallop borders).

 

The sentiment is the Curly Cute stamp set, yes another one leaving the catalogue so get it whilst you can. There is still time to order!  The little designer brad on this card is also retiring.  It is one of the pool party dotty Designer Brads we have in the In Colours 2012-2014.

 

Did you spot those Cupcakes hiding again on this card?  There they are, the cupcake tops are white clouds on this card.

 

Last one for today is this Two By Two card for my Nephew who is turning one.  I cannot believe a year has passed already!  This stamp is gorgeous for birth congratulations (it has the sentiment 'congratulations' as part of the stamp), or as I have used it here, for a younger card theme.  Lots of lovely blues for the card with Marina Mist and Tempting Turquouise and I have teamed it up with some Real Red for the scallop circle and stitched ribbon bow.  The sentiment again here is the Made For You happy birtday.

The stamp is an outline stamp so I stamped in Staz On Black ink and then have used a blender pen with my colours to colour in the animals and the ark.  You can add as little (to make your picture more watercolour) or more if you want it a little brighter.  I love being able to create the shading on the picture with the blender pen. 

 

Tip: If you have the ink pads in the colours, just give the ink pads a little squeeze before opening to get a little ink on the underside of the lid to pick up the colour with your blender pen.  If you don't have an ink pad in the colour, don't worry, just use the inside of a lid of another colour ink pad, a paint palette or even just some plastic or perspex and colour a patch with your marker pen to get some ink to pick up with your belnder pen.

Retiring items from this post:

Curly Cute stamps
Made for You stamps
World's Greatest stamp
Two-By-Two stamp
For My Family stamps

Designer Brads
Shimmer Paint
Floral District DSP
Lucky Limeade products
Regal Rose/Pretty in Pink products
Scallop Dots ribbons

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

Floral District Celebrations

Today's post is of a lovely gift idea to show off the beautiful designer papers from Stampin' Up!  It is the last week of the retirment list items being available and in my next few posts I am going to be showing you as many as I can of the great products which are only available now until the end of the catalogue to make sure you don't miss anything!

 

This project is a notebook I picked up in a supermarket which was reduced as a clearance line. It had a sturdy hardback cover and spiral binding, but a not very inspiring cover design, so perfect candidate for some DSP love.  I loved covered pencils idea too ever since I saw it online - just purchase some round wooden pencils and wrap your DSP round them - easy, and they look something special all dressed up!

The papers I have used for my gifts are from the Floral District pack.  Lovely bright designs (not that my photography shows it too well with the poor lighting conditions today!) which are bolder than my usual choices, but I was drawn to the colours used in these papers and the flower blooms on them.

One of the colours in the palette for these papers is Baja Breeze which is a colour leaving us in the refresh.  It's sad, but there are some lovely new colours coming, including some new blues to keep us all happy.  Now, I have used the Pool Party ruffled ribbon on my notepad, not a true colour co-ordination, but I just love this ribbon (this too is retiring) with the end of the catalogue.

A lovely layered Big Shot Fun Flower on the notepad shows off the rest of the designs in the pack as do the Boho Blossom smaller flowers. I finished off the flower with a button from the artisan kit and a large pearl.  For the 'Notes' heading I have used the Broadsheet Alphabet stamp set which is retiring.  This a fantastic alphabet set and each letter is a beautiful unique design. It has been great for initials on cards and projects whilst it has been in my collection as the letters work so well just on their own as stamps. 

The label and sentiment for the pencil box were from the Just Believe stamp set, yes yet another one on the retirement list. 

The second project to show you today, using the same papers, but with an alternative palette is this lovely birthday card I made recently.  I love the colours on this.  The green is the Lucky Limeade which is also leaving us in the refresh.  I really wasn't sure about this one in the In Colours 2012-2013 set, but it really did grow on me and I think I will miss it's vibrance.  Here I have teamed it up with Rose Red for my birthday card.  This card was made on a not-too-sunny day I remember feeling lifted by the colour combination.

The stamps for the 'tweeties' are from the Aviary stamp set,  also retiring at the end of the catalogue period next week.  I think there will be some tweet love still in my house as I don't think I am ready to part with this set just yet.  The banner is made from simple Pennants from the Pennants Builder Punch and the flowers are from the Big Shot Floral Fusion sizzlits.  This card was a really quick win for a birthday celebration and I was really pleased with the results and how easy it was to put together.

That's quite a list of items which I have used for these projects which are retiring, but to list them all in one place, they are:

Notebook
Floral District DSP Papers
Baja Breeze Colour items
Ruffled Ribbon - Pool Party
Broadsheet Alphabet stamp set
Just Believe stamp set

Aviary Card
Aviary stamp set
Lucky Limeade colour items
Floral District DSP
Made for You stamp set


Remember, the retiring items are only available whilst stocks last and until 30th June.  Don't miss out if there is something here you have loved and have not realised is going.

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

How To: Petal Cone Basket

Well I promised a pictorial instruction on how I made my Easter Basket for my chick and here it is (albeit a little later than anticipated).  This little basket can be used all year round for all kinds of occasions to hold sweet treats, paper flowers, gift toiletries or small gift items so it's a great all rounder and the petal cone is not just for cones!

First of all the base colour card was Crumb Cake which I used for two cuts of the Petal Cone Die with the Big Shot.  I then folded all the die made score lines to give me the pieces ready to make the basket. 

To make the fold lines to create the bottom of the box, I used the top score line of the petal cone (at the base of the semi-circular piece as it is when folded down) to line up on the Simply Scored tool (or you could use the paper trimmer) and scored at 6cm and 9cm to create fold lines parallel to those created by the die.  I then cut off the very tip of the cone at the 9cm line to give the pieces as shown above.

I then used Sticky Strip to stick the box together as this is the perfect strong hold to make sure it can hold any heavier contents without coming apart.  At this stage I stuck the two pieces together along one of the vertical tabs.  I then stamped across both pieces on the side which was going to be the outside of the box with the Woodgrain background stamp in Soft Suede to make my wood-effect on the basket. In the picture above, you can see I have already flipped the box over and attached the crumb cake scalloped semi-circles too to two of the flaps (alternate flaps).

 

On the reverse side of the petal cone pieces (with the pieces all laid flat as above), I have stamped the woodgrain background again to decorate the semi-circle pieces which will fold back down over the front edges of the box.  I have then added DSP paper scalloped semi-circles again over the top in the Birds of a Feather DSP.

I added sticky strip as shown in the above picture, ready to complete the box.  Before sticking, if you are adding a basket handle like I have, remember to punch your holes on the top semi-circles first.  Fold the semi-circle down and punch through this and the side panel, making sure you distance the same on each side. 

Next, fold the box up and stick the two side panels together first using the long tab.  Once that is secured you can stand the box upside down and fold over the bottom pieces and stick them together.  Fold one flap with the sticky strip over, remove the backing tape and then fold the opposite tab over (with no sticky strip on) and then repeat.  Make sure you are holding the box square when securing the bottom flaps so the basket is not wonky when complete.

All that's left to do is create a strip for your handle and punch holes at the ends to attach with brads through the holes you made in the side of the basket.  I decorated my handle with DSP matching the basket sides and also created a shaped end to the handle using the scallop border punch.  I wrapped one of the pre-cut banner pieces round a cocktail stick and used the 'Happy Easter' sentiment from the Delightful Dozen stamp set for the sentiment.  I finished off with some Boho Blossom flowers.

The Delightful Dozen stamp set is a fantastic reliable addition to any craft room, with 12 stamps in it for occasions throughout the year - Birthdays, Easter, Mother's Day, Get Well wishes, Congratulations, Valentine's, Thank You's, Halloween and Christmas.  You are bound to use this over and over through the year and even if you used each stamp just once a year, which I very much doubt, that's only £2.50 per stamp for each stamp in the wood-mount set!

 Images © Stampin' Up!

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

Easter Chick Basket

It's Easter time and here is my little Easter crafting to brighten your Easter celebrations.  My little chick here is nesting in a snug and cosy little basket made from the Sizzix Petal Cone die.  The paper used for this is the Birds of a Feather papers from the annual catalogue.  The papers have a selection of designs with this egg design being perfect for Easter and perfect colours for the basket. 

There are a few little mini eggs nesting under the chick in here.  I say a few as the rest of the supply did not make it past the crafting desk - oops!

I will post a photo tutorial (my first!) on how I made this basket on my next blog.

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

Mother's Day - It's a Hoot!

A lovely Mother's Day start with a special card made with love by my litte one (with a little help from the Daddy Design Team!).  Owls are favourite in our house, with a life-long supporter of Sheffield Wednesday they are bound to be. Our little one is being brought into the Owls Supporters fold starting with the SU Owl Punch!  A card, all the more special when you know it's been made by that special someone.

Inspired by my card, I had a commission for my nephew for a card for my sister.  He is only 8 months old so too young to be crafting with me just yet (!), but I am sure this is just what he would have designed though.  So easy to put a design together with a few punches. 

Some designs actually come from making a bloop and that is what happened for the top border on this card.  I accidently used the cut blade and not the score blade on my trimmer when creating the card base so I quickly created a strip with a fold to cover it and make the folded card again.  I used the scallop border for the edges before sticking and it worked a treat!

For these cards we used:

Punches: Owl Punch, Boho Blossoms, Small Heart, Scallop Border, Pennant Builder
Big Shot: Little Leaves, Alphabet dies (retired)

We are off for a Mother's Day lunch now, hope you are all having a lovely special day too!

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

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