Mixed Bunch Butterfly Card

This is my favourite card from this month's card class. It uses a new technique I have taught myself, emboss resist. This card was inspired by a card I found on Pinterest made by a US Demonstrator.

This uses the stamp sets Just Believe and Mixed Bunch. The butterfly was made using the ornate flower from Mixed Bunch. I stamped it in versamark and clear heat embossed it. I then sponged Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo over the clear embossing and wiped away the excess ink. I punched it using the matching punch and cut away two of the petals to create the butterfly shape.

I also used the lovely new Framelits from the Summer Mini to create the matching frames. The striped background paper is from a retired set from the Spring Mini Catalogue.

And here is a little Summer update. With the beautiful sunshine we have been getting on the Isle this past couple of weeks I have finally been able to dress her in her beautiful summer wear. Here is a cute little piglet outfit a friend bought her. She looked so lovely in it.

Happy Crafting ;0)
-X-



A belated Mothers Day card

Thats not to say I belatedly gave the Mothers Day card, I'm just late in posting a picture of it. Again, I have to thank the fabulous Vicky for the inspiration. Her blog is just lovely so I thoroughly recommend a visit. I spotted her crocus card a couple of weeks ago and loved the use of markers and vellum to create this delicate flower card. I knew it would be perfect for my Mum for the big day yesterday. So I set about recreating it with my Stampin' Up! stash.

This uses the large heart from the Heart to Heart punch punched from vellum and coloured with Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush. The grass background is stamped using Just Believe. The basket is made with Early Espresso and embossed with the Square Lattice embossing folder for the Big Shot. I embellished with Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon and the smallest designer buttons from the Subtles collection.

We all had a lovely Mothers Day here on the IOW yesterday. My day started with a surprise card and box of choccies from my soon to be born daughter (she is already writing from the womb would you believe? Although suspiciously the writing looked remarkably like her Dads!). Then bump and I drove over to Mums for a Mothers Day feast with my whole family. My Dad has a smoker and cooked the most gorgeous smoked salmon to accompany out buffet lunch. I just cannot get enough of smoked salmon during this pregnancy (I think she has expensive tastes). I then promptly snoozed the afternoon away on Mums sofa. It is a tough life being 7 months pregnant ;0)

Hope your week has started well. Thanks for stopping by today.

Happy Crafting ;0)

-XXX-

My workshop makes from the weekend

Here are the two projects we made at Saturdays workshop. I loosely themed the workshop around Valentines Day but wanted to keep the colour scheme less obviously romance themed so the items could be used for various occasions.

The card was inspired by one I saw on In Love With Stamping. It was perfect for showing off the fab new Postage Stamp punch and matching Perfect Postage stamp set. The colour scheme is Rose Red and Elegant Eggplant.

The box is an upside down Petal Cone which I thought would be perfect for table settings with the addition of a name and a little gift inside.

Projects use:

Punches: 1-1/4" Square, Postage Stamp, Heart to Heart, Modern Label, Scallop Trim and Corner, Full Heart

Cardstock: Whisper White, Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant

Big Shot Dies: Petal Cone, Scalloped Heart of Hearts

Stamps: Perfect Postage, Creative Elements, Just Believe

Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Crafting ;0)

-x-

A quick thank you

My apologies for the long blogging absence. I've had new beginnings and big changes here which has meant no time for crafting or blogging. Hopefully things will settle down and I'll get some crafting time over the weekend.

I have however got one quick project to share with you. I had a few customer orders to deliver this week so I put together this quick and simple Thank You note using my Just Believe stamp set (and Curly Cute sentiment). I inked the flower stamp with Pear Pizzazz then coloured over bits randomly with Old Olive to give a bit of dimension. To create the flowers I punched Rose Red cardstock and Blushing Bride Designer Series Papers with my Boho Blossoms punch. I layered the two smaller flowers with a Basic Pearl. The sentiment is stamped with Rich Razzleberry.

Please note that this was my first attempt card and I stamped the sentiment a bit wobbly. But I'd sent the other cards out before i took pictures of the non wonky efforts ;0)

I hope you are all having a lovely summer (summer? A loose term considering the weather). Happy summer crafting to you all ;0)
-XX-

Cottage Garden Summer Birthday

Here is a birthday card I made for my partner's Mum. I love the summer feel to this card. This colour combo works so well for this time of year and a summer birthday. I used: Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait, Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi.

This card uses:

C/S: Whisper White, Tangerine Tango

DSP: Sunny Garden

Stamp sets: Curly Cute, Cottage Garden, Just Believe

Embellishments: Basic Pearls



Happy Friday to you all. Here is to a lovely weekend ;0)

-XX-

Build a Blossom Fish Tank

I hadn't even thought of creating a fish using the Build a Blossom stamp set until I saw Peg's recent blog post over on Pegcraftalot. What a fantastic idea!!!  So here is my attempt.  I used several of the Blossom stamps to make this combination of little fishes which I then cut out and stuck onto my tempting turquoise base with dimensionals.

This card is my Father's Day card for Dad. I attempted to make it look like a postcard (using non SU stamps from my stash) as he will be away on an exciting road trip through Canada with Mum and my littlest sister on the actual date of Fathers Day (Happy Fathers Day Dad if you are reading this!). I made this well in advance so Mum could tuck it away in her luggage and give it to him today.

I've been looking at a few challenge blogs recently and came across Simply Stampin' yesterday. Their theme for the week is 'You've Got Male' and I thought this card would be perfect. Although not classically masculine in colour or design, it is perfect for any fish loving Dads or partners out there. I chose this design for Fathers Day as my Dad has just built himself a gorgeous little pond in the garden and he loves all things fishy ;0)

For this card I used:

Cardstock: Glossy White, Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron
Stamps: Build a Blossom, Plane and Simple (Greeting) and Just Believe (for the seaweed)
Ink: Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Night of Navy
Other: Dimensionals

Any questions about Stampin' Up! or their products, please get in touch: poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249.

Happy crafting ;0)
-x-

Stampin' Up! Wedding Invites

I am currently in the midst of making wedding invites for my lovely friend Natalie. While I obviously cannot share with you their finished invite design I did come across photos of some of the invites I made as samples for them. They have picked an Autumnal theme for their September wedding so I picked similar colours for each design.

This first wedding invite uses Just Believe with More Mustard & Cajun Craze. I've coloured the stamp set with the matching Stampin' Write markers. The small 'Love' sentiment comes from the Tiny Tags set. Inside the invitation i created an RSVP pocket and the RSVP was stamped with the smaller flower stamp from Just Believe.

 This second sample was a lot simpler but striking all the same. I themed this around So Saffron and Early Espresso and stamped the leaf image from Paisley Prints. The 'You're Invited' is from the Cheer and Wishes stamp set.

Just a couple of the samples I made. Happy to share to show whats been keeping me so busy recently.

Happy Crafting ;0)

-X-

Mini Notecard Wallet

This project was the make and take at my Stampin' Up! upline Michelle's recent training event. I couldn't attend but loved her original project so much that I decided to have a go at making one myself. I didnt have the Elegant Soiree papers so created this Notecard Wallet using 12x12 Basic Black with the Love Letter DSP. Having completely fallen in love with the finished product I have decided to design another one to teach at this months card classes (Sat February 12th and Weds February 16th). So if you'd like to come along and learn to make this wallet along with 8 mini cards, then please get in touch on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249 to book your place.

The above shows the outside cover of the wallet. The colour combo is: Basic Black, Very Vanilla & Riding Hood Red (although the ribbon is Poppy Parade Poly). I used Artistic Etchings for the front cover.

Here is how the wallet looks untied. 8 separate card pockets each decorated with a piece of DSP from the Love Letter series.

Each card base is made from Very Vanilla and embellished with DSP. The card on the left is stamped with a flourish from the Just Believe set and the red card on the right is stamped with the Bliss Sale-A-Bration set.

I embellished both of these cards with hearts punched from the small heart punch. I love creating little heart flowers using this punch. It also makes lovely four leaf clovers too ;0)

More punch embellishing here with the scallop edge punch. And a bit of stamping with Artistic Etchings (Left) and Bliss (Right).

Again, the left hand card is decorated with Just Believe and Bliss on the right.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out. I'm going to tuck this away into my handcrafted box and keep it as a pressie for later in the year.

If you'd like any further information on Stampin' Up! or would like to order any of the products featured, please get in touch on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249.

Happy crafting ;0)

-X-

Convention Make & Takes

I thought I would do a quick post for the day to share the Make and Takes we completed at Convention with the stampsets we received in our registration bag (I'll have to take a pic of that and share it another day!).

First pic of the day: Rose & Peg working on their Make & Takes. As you can see Peg is working hard at looking busy ;0)

 This is my favourite of the projects we made. This is a watercolour effect card using the new Stampin' Up! watercolour paper and the Just Believe set. Colours: Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive & Pear Pizzazz. It is made using the new Colour Spritz tool (wasnt convinced by this till I actually used it! I am now a convert to spritzing!!!). I am definitely going to be recreating this effect. Very simple yet beautiful.

 This second project was made using the Party This Way set. Colours: Bashful Blue, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz and So Saffron. You stamp out two of the arrows and cut them by hand. You then pierce a hole through one through to the card underneath. You attach with a brad. Then stick the other arrow on top to make a spinner.

 We also made this lovely little gift pouch. This was again made with the Just Believe stamp set. Colours: Pear Pizzazz with Chocolate Chip Striped Grosgrain Ribbon. This pouch is then filled with the little mini notecards below.

Colour combos: Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron & Melon Mambo.

We had so much fun making these. I was so inspired by all the projects I saw this weekend and by trying new techniques and ideas. If you'd like to find out more about Stampin' Up! or how you could join me next year in attending convention at Disneyland Paris, then please just drop me a line at: poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249.