Mr and Mrs Vellum Embossed

Well we certainly have a busy May to look forward to, but before we celebrate the coming of the Spring holidays I have a card to show you which I had been saving until I passed it on to the lucky couple.

I kept this one very simple and neutral white colours as there was no idea of their wedding colours until the actual event.  I have made the card using a pre-cut shimmery white card I already had, but SU has the shimmery white cardstock which I have used before which looks lovely for wedding and special occasion cards. 

The best part about the card, I think, is the vellum overlay. This is the silver version of the Fancy Foil Designer Vellum in the Spring/Summer catalogue.  A selection of pattern in rich silver emboss designs (or there is a gold version too).  It makes a luxury looking card in minutes.  All I did for my card was emboss the 'Mr & Mrs' using the single stamp (132575) and then use a Framelits Label Collection (125598) die to cut the vellum the correct size to frame it.  

The ribbons I added have just enhanced the silver of the vellum, using the silver 1/8" ribbon (from page 23 Spring/Summer catalogue, code 132137) also and my favourite Organza Ribbon (114319) from the main annual catalogue.  I always have a reel of this whisper white organza ribbon to hand.

Well in my view, all weddings need some sparkle, not only for the bride.  I added some basic rhinstones to the corners and round the frame to finish it off.  

With two more weddings to go to and lots of special celebrations this year I am sure the vellum will be out again.

Suzanne
x

Products I used for this card:

Mr & Mrs Stamp 132575
Express Yourself (Hostess set) 130336
Framelits Labels Collection 125598
Fancy Foil Designer Vellum 133364
Organza Ribbon 114319
Silver 1/8" Ribbon 132137
Basic Rhinestones 119246
Versamark Pad 102283
Emboss Powder - Silver 109131



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.

Mother's Day Sweet Sorbet Gifting

What a day!  Mother's Day has been lots of spoiling for me with a lovely roast dinner cooked for me and, even better, no cleaning up!  It was followed by a lovely walk round RHS Wisley in the sunshine which of course included a tea and cake stop too! So now, a quick post just before I finish enjoying my relaxing day and evening.

I could not resist showing you some more lovely gift projects I made for my gifting to the ladies in my life who needed recognition this Mother's Day.

First of all a gift card holder made with the Sweet Sorbet papers I have been using a lot since I earnt them free on the Sale-a-Bration period (ENDS tomorrow - eek!).  These colours are so addictive!  I am sure if you have been following my blog you will see they have been making lots of appearances.

This card is based on a gift card holder I made at my wonderful upline training with my fellow SU demonstrators.  I will try and post tomorrow again to show you the original so that you can see the inspiration.  This gift card was made using card cut 10.5cm wide and 27.5cm in length.

Now, foolishly, I did not write all the measurements as I made this.  As usual my crafting was a little rushed and I altered as I went along.  I will give the measurements as I think they were.  I made fold lines along the 27.5cm length at 8cm, 19cm and 25.5cm.

I then used the Framelits Label Collection Dies to cut the decorative edges at both ends.  For the top edge at the 8cm I fed the card through the middle of the die, under the top edge as I held it until the card edge matched up with the shaping of the die and the centre point of the label at the top was central to the card width. For the folded edge on the inside I followed the same method as above, but I only fed the card through a little to get a shaped edge again and I did snip after to finish the lines to the side edges.

I used the Basic Brad Bases with the Brights collection candy dots to make my closure with the Pool Party Baker's Twine. My flower on the outside was the Bigz Fun Flower Die and the medium size flower which I cut all my layers of DSP in one time through the Big Shot. This is a similiar shape to the Blossom punch in the catalogue too if you do not have the Big Shot.

The 'For You' sentiment was from the Chalk Talk Stamp set.  Both the flower and the 'For You' had a little sponge effect in the Crisp Cantaloupe ink. I then used one of the Boutique Details buttons in the matching Baked Brown Sugar for the flower centre - instant flower finish. 

Obviously the gift card holder had something special inside too!  I covered my gift card holder in DSP on the outside, but even prettied it up on the inside too!  Inside the important bit though was the lovely gift card for a shopping trip for a special treat. 

Now, this post is already longer than I intended so just quickly, the second quick gift idea I made was a gift bag makeover of a paper bag wrapping for a special mummy who needed some special love from her little one.

You can see the same flower that I used on the gift card holder and the same DSP paper cut with the Banners Framelits Die Collection and also the Scallop Tag Punches.  This makeover was achieved in minutes and it has made a plain paper bag into a really pretty gift.

I hope you like these and don't forget to come back tomorrow where I will reveal the inspiration for the gift card holder and the products used.

Suzanne

x


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.

Stampin' Up! Sale-a-Bration is nearly here....................

It is only a few days left to the start of the best time in the Stampin' Up! year, Sale-a-Bration!  It starts on 28th January and during the Sale-a-Bration you get to choose a free item from the Sale-a-bration leaflet with every £45 you spend.  There are 13 items on the leaflet so it is a great time to fill up your order form and earn yourself free products too!  Everybody loves something for free right?

Stampin' Up! do not just have this amazing leaflet for you to enjoy with free products, the new Spring/Summer seasonal catalogue is also coming out.  This springs into action on 28th Jan too!  It is also brimming with new products and tools you will want to get your hands on!  

Today's card is a sneek-peek of one of the products in the Spring catalogue, Petite Petals.  If you are loving the Flower Shop from the annual catalogue, then this is the 'petite' version.   It has a set of flowers just in a smaller version which work perfectly with your bigger blooms too.  Of course there is a matching punch and even better, it is a bundle offer to buy the stamps and punch, a saving of 15%.

I don't know about everyone else, but we have all been suffering with winter sniffles in this house and it seems all the family at various times in the last few weeks have been the same so today's inspiration was some get well wishes for all.

I have used Elegant Eggplant and Perfect Plum for the card and mat colours and then I have just worked with a simplistic design of a white polka dot emboss with a Framelit Label cutout. I attached my top layer with Dimensionals to raise the frame and give the shadow contrast.  The 'feel better soon' is from the hostess set Express Yourself.

Now, me being me, having created a simple card, I could not leave it alone at that and started to play some more.  A theme in the Spring Catalogue, without giving away too much, is water colouring so I decided to add a little bit more colour to my flowers with a Blender pen and some more of the Elegant Eggplant.  I also added some small pearls to the centre of the flowers.

I didn't stop there though, I then tried to add a colour wash over the sentiment just using some graduation with the blender pen again.  I am not sure if this works or just looks messy, what do you think?  I'd love to know your thoughts or suggestions on it.

Suzanne
x

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.

Wishing You Birthday Parcels

A new year, new good intentions, time to have a tidy up and change around in your craft room? I am sure, like me, you probably have had a shuffle round already and promised yourself you are going to keep it tidy at all times this year!  Well it might be tempting to pack away your seasonal stamps to the back of the cupboard or bottom of the pile and think that they are to hibernate for the next 11 months, but wait, there may be some to use all year with a little re-designing and colours!

This is exactly true of the Wishing You stamp set from the Seasonal Catalogue 2013.  If you remember the lovely stack of presents stamp in the set, well here it is in it's new guise as a colourful stack of birthday gifts.

I have used the Brights collection of markers to colour the parcels individually and then have stacked them within a Framelits Label.  I needed a birthday saying to match so with the markers again I have coloured just the saying "Happy Birthday to you!" from the Label Love stamp set.  

Now, what party would be complete without a birthday banner?  I have used the Pennant Parade and matching builder puncher to make mine.  The pennants were a little large for the card so I snipped them to a custom size for a perfect party show.

I had challenged a new team member to use this stamp set for a birthday card project.  It was her first stamp set purchase with her starter kit before Christmas, but could not resist having a try at a card myself.  I cannot wait to see what she designed when we meet next and share our creations.  I am loving the bright colours on my card and the frame round the present stack!  

Have you found any alternative uses for your seasonal stamps?

Items I used were:

Wishing You 

Pennant Parade (128697)

Petite Pennants Builder Punch (122361)

Label Love (130619)

Framelits Label Collection (125598)

Suzanne 

    x

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.

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

Vintage Feeling

Here to share today is the make from a hostess party recently.  All the lovely ladies had fun making this card to take home with them.  I included the Very Vintage wheel as my hostess was interested in trying the stamp wheels on offer.  Everyone's card looked super at the end of the evening. Job well done!

I used the Framelits Labels Collection for my version, however for the make in the evening we used the Decorative Label punch which looked just as effective on the cards.  The flower is from the You Are Loved Stamps and is standing proud on some Dimensionals.

The ladies had the opportunity to use the piercing pack to outline their labels for their cards too as there is a template for this as well as the Framelit Labels in the piercing packs.

Spot the doily?  Just a small piece of a doily as a feature on the card.  The Doiles are a very popular item in the Spring catalogue.  Remember to order yours before the end of the catalogue in June!

Another card with the Very Vintage wheel - can you see it peeping through?  It is on the background behind the Vellum overlay!  This card is very similar to one by Marian M Garcia I had seen displayed on the internet.  For mine, I have used the flourishes from the Elements of Style Set with Gold embossing. 

I love that I could colour the Glimmer Paper with a dauber and some crumb cake ink to give it a Champagne makeover!  The 'Mr & Mrs' and the design round it are from the Tiny Tags stamp set.

Come back tomorrow for an Easter Chick Treat.........

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

Mother's Day Stampin' with Love

Well it is a little early to post these as it is before Mother's Day, but I have been having so much fun with my Elements of Style stamp set I just wanted to show you all what I had been making.

The triple-layer stamping is one I had seen around and been wanting to try ever since I saw an example with this same stamp set. It looks beautiful and so effective with this set.I love creating shadow of the bigger stamp on the background by stamping with the Crumb Cake then again with soft suede.

 





 Another Mother's Day card with the same set, but this time pretty in pink. I stamped and coloured with blender pens and then cut out the flowers to overlay a framelit. I used some sponge daubing on this card to give it a vintage feel.

The Embosslit butterflies feature here with one of the Vintage Faceted Buttons. These buttons look just fab with a pearl in the middle as I used here. I am already well on my way through my second pot of buttons.

The background for this card is with the larger stamp as a watermark effect. You cannot see the back of the card, but I stamped all over the back too and a little on the inside corners which finished the the card off.

 

As the rain seems to be back again this is a reminder of the few days of sunshine we have had this week.  It almost felt like summer - well a British summer anyway! 

My last card for today's post, a challenge to myself to create something with less stamping!  My creative inspiration, the Floral District designer papers and some of the standard designer papers in Daffodil Delight.

This card is all punching, cutting and scoring, except for the sentiment of course (from the 'Deligthful Dozen' set).  The background border has been created with the Simply Scored scorepad and the new Scored Borders plate found in the spring catalogue (p26). This creates beautiful embossed borders matching your framelits shapes or can just be used alone for embossing.  There are full size continuous designs for using on scrapbook pages or just on the edge of a card design as I have. The plate has it's own template to help you line up and keep on track too - no slip-ups!    

If you'd like to see more of these products why not book a party or come to a workshops? Or if you'd like to order them to use yourself, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com.