Friday challenge over at Keryn's Cards

It's not to late to join in Keryn's challenge for this week - here is my take on her challenge, to use Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White.

Using Pastel colours - a blast from the past

Over at 365 Cards the challenge today is to create using pastels only - my first reaction was "hmmmmm, I'll bypass this one I think!"

Then of course I remembered the easiest way to get over a tricky situation - in cardmaking at least - is to use punch art, so went to my little bag of pre-punched shapes.  [I'm that kind of crafter who only throws out the tiniest card scraps, everything else gets punched out starting with the larger punches, ending up with a 1/4" circle punch LOL!  After that, it goes in the bin....

The card I have here today is tiny, 2"x3", and the punches were 3/4" circle, 1/2" circle and 1/4" circle.  The strip at the bottom was a leftover from punching yesterday's piece for the tag - how thrifty is that!?

Colours used are:  Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Certainly Celrey, Pear Pizzaz, Crumb Cake, Pool Party.

Nature Walk Tag

I made this with Keryn's Friday challenge in mind : Ducks!

I know it's pushing the boundaries a bit, but seeing as I don't own any duck images I thought I'd use this delightful bird instead.

And I finally figured out how to make the banner bow out in the centre - use a Dimensional under the middle part and glue down the two ends!

What I used:

Card:  Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Soft Suede

Stamp Sets:  Nature Walk, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Tools and other fun stuff:  Vintage Wallpaper EF, Scallop Border punch, Stampin' sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals, Vanilla Taffeta ribbon, Bakers' Twine, Basic pearls.

Razzleberry Melon Contempo Christmas

I got a chance to use my new Contempo wheel the other day when I designed this card for a shoebox swap last week at Keryn's Krew monthly meeting and I really like how the card turned out.  I based it somewhat on a Clean and Simple Sketch I used some weeks ago for this card, and love the sparkle the silver glitter paper gives to the finished product.

I had been playing around with a few different versions of the ornament when I was designing this card, which I then used for the second easel card - waste not, want not I say!

This is the card for the shoebox swap.

And this is the card made from 'left over' ornaments!

"Poinsettia" Christmas tags - we all need to have some on hand!

I made these little flowers to add to the card I posted yesterday but then changed my mind and added the ribbon and brad instead - so what to do with pretty glittered flowers??

I punched the shapes out of patterned paper, the stamped some "To: From:" sentiments on plain white and punched those out and sandwiched them together to make them a bit firmer.

Then it was all a matter of arranging the flowers and various leaves, adding the gold cord and hey presto, they were finished.

Leaves punched with Bird punch

Leaves hand cut - freeform.

I made the green shape {looks a bit like a heart} from spare wings punched with bird punch.

What I used:

Card: Old Olive, Riding Hood Red

Ink: Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker

Tools and other fun stuff: 1 3/4" circle punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Ornament punch, Decorative Label punch, 1/16" punch, non SU cord and patterned paper, MS gold glitter.

Bird Punch Christmas tree

I went a bit mad with the bling today - I love lots of sparkle on my cards and Christmas is the one time of the year you can go really indulge these 'secret passions' without all the guilt - a bit like Christmas dinner really: the diet goes out the window and you go for it!

It's another card from the Australian Papercraft and Cardmaking mag, a companion to the bird card.

My interpretation of the card [click for a larger view]

Card in magazine

What I used:

Card:  Chocolate Chip, White, Old Olive, Play Date DSP [retired]

Ink:  Chocolate Chip

Stamp Set:  Sincere Salutations

Tools and other fun stuff:  Square Lattice EF, Bird punch, Small Star punch [retired], Lots of Tags Sizzlets die, Spellbinders Label 1 die, rhinestones and glitter paper, Stampin' Dimensionals.

Autumn Days Christmas Card

I've always loved this pinecone image from the Autumn Days stamp set, earlier in the year I used it to make another Christmas card.

What I used:

Card:  Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, Crumb Cake, Holly Jolly DSP [retired]

Ink:  Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Stamp Sets:  Autumn Days, Best yet [retired]

Tools and other fun stuff:  Top Note die, Spellbinders die, 1/8" Old Olive ribbon, Square Rhinestone Brad, Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Bird punch Christmas Card

As you may have guessed, I'm in full Christmas card making mode lately.

Last year I bought an Australian Cardmaking mag and it had this lovely trio of cards which I meant to make last year but never quite got around to it, so this year I will.

For 365 Cards challenge "making a list and checking it twice": paper, ribbon, pearls, embossing powder.

[This is my version]

[This is the card from the magazine]

What I used:

Card:  Chocolate Chip, White, Holly Jolly DSP (retired)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark Watermark ink.

Stamp sets:  Contempo Christmas

Tools and other fun stuff:  1/4" Chocolate Chip grossgrain ribbon (retired), 2-Step Bird punch, black embossing powder, heat tool, Spellbinders Label 1 die, sewing machine.

Contempo Christmas Top Note

Was playing around with some retired Jolly Holly DSP from last year and to start with was going to use some Delightly Decoration ornaments, but in the end decided that this cute Christmas tree was the way to go...

If you look very carefully you'll see I used a snippet [aka left-over] of Old Olive card on the centre join - it was from a previous Top Note shape, thought the curvy shape went quite well!

What I used:

Card:  Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Holly Jolly DSP (retired)

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive

Stamp Sets:  Contempo Christmas, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Tools and other fun stuff:  Top Note Die, Stamp-a-ma-jig, corner rounder punch.

Delightful Decorations

I was having a look over at Splitcoast Stampers yesterday and came across a couple of sketches that I thought would be great with the Delightful Decorations set - I'm always on the lookout for new ideas to use this set.

Afterwards I realised I sort of amalgamated two different sketches SC356 and SCS290 - but here is the result anyway.

I used the red 'sticky tape' to attach the glitter and it is just fabulous - nothing falls off it!  I also run the 2-way pen around the circle of DSP and added some more glitter to that - what I meant to do and forgot was to add some gold cord to 'anchor' the decorations the the Top Note diecut.....

What I used:

Card:  Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Old Olive

Stamp Set:  Delightful Decorations

Tools and other fun stuff:  Ornament punch, Top Note die, Vintage Wallpaper EF, 3/4" circle punch, sticky tape, MS Gold Glitter, 2 way pen.

Emboss Resist Birthday

I had this idea in my head about how this card would work out but it wasn't quite to be - I don't think the clear embossing was thick enough as I was visualizing quite a contrast between the black and white embossed images, but I still like the end result.

What I used:

Card:  White, Rose Red, Old Olive

Ink: Versamark Watermark ink, Rose Red, Old Olive, Basic Black

Stamp Sets: Easter Blossoms, Sincere Salutations

Tools and other fun stuff:  Top Note die, Vintage Wallpaper EF, Clear embossing powder, black embossing powder, 1/4" white grossgrain ribbon, square rhinestone brad, stampin' sponges.

Punch Art birthday card

A few days ago Dawn Olchefske published a video tutorial on 'viewmaster cards' and it looked quite simple and fun so thought I'd try it out.  Of course I soon realised I didn't have any number stamps for my age wheel so had to die cut some and glue them through the whole - not so much fun!

The night before I had made a little creature - I think he's a teddy bear - so slowly it all came together, though the teddy evolved from an Old Olive one (which explains the Old Olive 1/2" circle under the brad!) so then I had to add a strip of the same colour at the bottom just to balance things out.... and yes, I'm rambling on again!

My biggest fan is my 4 year old and he DEFINITELY approves of this one, I can assure you it has been  thoroughly child-tested and nothing has fallen off so far - that's a relief!

What I used:

Card:  Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, White, Pool Party

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip Marker

Stamp Sets:  Bold Birthday (retired)

Tools and other fun stuff: 1" circle punch, Ornament punch, Word Window punch, 1/2" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch

Clean and Simple Dasher

Saw a lovely sketch over at the Clean and Simple blog earlier today and felt inspired to ink Dasher up once again - some people may think it's a little early for Christmas cards but I like to make mine while I'm nice and relaxed and if I wait until December that's not going to be the case!

[Besides last year I posted cards off to Chile in the week of December and they got there mid February!! so all things considered I feel I'm pretty much on time this year....]

What I used:

Card:  Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Holly Jolly DSP (retired).

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Stamp sets:  Contempo Christmas, Dasher

Tools and other fun stuff:  Decorative label Punch, corner rounder, rhinestones.

Stitched Stockings bundle is this months' promotion.

The Summer Mini Catalogue is due out on the first of December but Stampin' Up! is giving you the chance to purchase/earn a couple of it's products early - how fantastic is that?!

You can purchase the stamp set (clear mount $51.95/wood mount $64.95) and the punch ($41.50) or you can earn it for free, as well as the usual hostess benefits, if you host a workshop or place an order of $500 or more.

At first glance you may think this set is only for Christmas, but I have seem some darling baby cards made with the stocking , and if the punched stocking is turned upside down you can turn it into a delightful 'hobby horse' by added facial features, ears, reins, etc - such a lot of fun to make.

And the notebook I'm showing you today, designed by Keryn for last months team meeting is certainly not restricted to Christmas, just change the 'red and green' for any other colour combo and you have a totally new feel.  [If you want to see more cards made with this set, head over to Keryn's blog!]

What we used:

Card:  Old Olive, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Brights DSP stack.

Ink:  Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Stamp Set:  Stitched Stockings, Woodgrain background stamp

Tools and other fun stuff: Stocking Tag punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, mini silver brads, Scallop Trim border punch.

Vintage Vogue for a friend

For once I've been organized and made this card for a friend who is having a birthday soon - I'm sure I'm pretty safe showing it to you now as she's not a blog visiter - at least I hope not :>

I've always liked that big F (nothing to do with the fact that my name begins with that letter of course!) but don't think I'd used it until now, and now I've used it I like it all the more.

It's a smallish card - not full A6 - so simple added some punched flowers, leaves, pearls and embossed the background for some texture - I've even written the message in it already - now to put it somewhere 'safe' so I don't lose it!

What I used:

Card:  Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Melon Mambo.

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

Stamp set:  Vintage Vogue

Tools and other fun stuff: Boho Blossoms punch, Bird punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Square Lattice embossing folder, Basic pearls.

Still on the subject of rockets...

Well, after all the amazing work the teachers at kindy put in to the Rocket Festival I thought I'd better make them a thank you card to accompany a little gift - and of course it had to feature rockets!

I did a quick search on Splitcoast Stampers and found the idea for the moon (with a whole lot of craters on it!) and sort of got an idea how to make a rocket and I was ready to make my card.

Punch art was the way to go today and with only three punches I made the rocket - if you have the "Pennants" punch you could use that one too for the tip, fins, etc.  (hmmm do rockets have 'fins'?  I know fish do, not so sure about rockets....)

I'll be making a few more of these to keep on hand for birthdays, that's for sure!

What I used:

Card:  Pacific Point, White, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Daffodil Delight.

Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Versamark Watermark ink.

Stamp Sets: Sincere Salutations, Starring You (retired)

Tools and other fun stuff:  Wide Oval punch, Large Oval punch, 1/2" circle punch. Stampin' Dimensionals, Small Star punch (retired), non SU embossing folder, embossing buddy, heat tool, gold embossing powder.

Fox and Friends to the rescue

Well, I'm feeling rather exhausted after spending the morning helping at my son's kindy.

Leo came up with the concept of a 'rocket festival' a month or so ago, and told everyone at kindy about it with such conviction that the teachers decided to take his idea and make it a reality - thanks Janine, Jacky, Tania and Lisa - you are simply awesome teachers!

He has been coming home covered in silver paint, glitter, stickers, playdough as they all make big rockets, small rockets, stars, paintings, drawings, etc..... today they had the official 'Rocket Festival' party - I think they will all breathe a sigh of relief that it's all over LOL!

Anyway, I managed to pick myself up from the couch an hour or so ago and decided to do something with a kindy photo that was given to my husband last week, so after using every single stamp in the Fox and Friends set and getting black and gold embossing powder all over my desk I can happily report that 'the project is now finished'...!

(PS - it would have been a good idea to photograph it before putting it in the frame as the glass is the reflective type.... we live and learn.)

What I used:

Card: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie

Ink: Versamark watermark ink.

Stamp Set:  Fox and friends.

Tools and other fun stuff:  Embossing buddy, heat gun, black embossing powder, gold embossing powder, 1 3/4" circle punch.

Just for fun - another Top Note card

If you've seen a few of my previous posts you probably know by now I can't craft without the Top Note die - matter of fact, I keep it alongside the family passports in case there is an emergency and we need to leave in a hurry - just kidding!

But I DO love those curvy sides, its shape is just so pretty, and that's all there is to it really...you can dress it up nice and feminine, you can pare it down for masculine cards,  make it cute for baby cards etc - they all benefit from a little Top Note.

Anyway, as usual I had cut out a patterned top note shape that just was not providing any inspiration, so I flipped it over, added the left-over 'brackets' from yesterday's card, rummaged through some bags of punched shapes and voila, a card emerged.

What I used:

Card:  Tangerine Tango, recycled white card, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, So Saffron, Greenhouse Gala DSP (retired).

Ink:  Versamark Watermark inkpad

Stamps: Heard from the Heart

Tools and other fun stuff:  Top Note die, Bird punch, Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, Floral Fusion Sizzlets die, Black embossing powder, heat tool, glitter, Stampin' Dimensionals.

It all started with playing with some glitter...

That's how this card started out - with me playing with some glitter!  First I made the Boho Blossoms flowers, punched them out of Whisper White, sponged them with Baja Breeze, added a wee Baja Breeze center and glittered that...  I had intended to make a monochromatic card but made the mistake of flipping over the retired Greenhouse Gala DSP and decided to go'lots-of-chromatics' instead!

What I used:

Card:  Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala DSP (retired)

Ink:  Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Stamp Set:  Sincere Salutations

Tools and other fun stuff:  Framed Tulips EF, Top Note Bigz die, 1 3/4" circle punch, Boho Blossoms punch, glitter glue, Peach Parfait polystitched ribbon, stampin' sponges.

"Blossom Party" Needle-book and "Circles" Bag.

As you all know, Stampin' Up! products are not just for papercrafts!

 A while ago I had cut some felt flowers out with the Blossom Party die with the intention of making some sewing accessories, and today finally got the chance to actually make a needle-book.

Another project I made a couple of months ago was this bag - same jeans fabric as the needle-book - and there is still a little more denim left for other crafty projects LOL!

To decorate it I used some leftover polar fleece circles we cut one evening at Keryn's Krew team meeting, most of the circles were used to make some lovely brooches, but there were a few spare ones and it seemed such a pity to have to put them in the bin - so this is what I used them for.

AND it's extremely useful to keep all my knitting in too!

What I used:

Fabric:  all recycled or from my stash..

Stampin' Up! products:  Blossom Party die, Circles #2 die, Old Olive 1/8" tafetta ribbon for the tie.

Any occasion Nature Walk

This is a set I fell in love with the moment I saw it but have not used it nearly enough so yesterday I sat down and had a play using different colours - the were quite straightforward to make except for the cutting out of the golden bees....  Finished size of each mini card is 3 1/4" x 3 1/4".

And it's also not very often I used Whisper White as a base card so that was another challenge for the day.

What I used:

Card:  White, Riding Hood Red, Soft Suede

Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Versamark Watermark ink.

Stamp Sets:  Nature Walk

Tools and other fun stuff:  Gold embossing powder, heat tool

Clean and Simple Owls

Have been playing around with background stencils a bit lately and thought of making one of clouds.... the original idea was to punch a bird and place it on the sky background but then I remembered these cute wee owls from Fox and Friends and here is the result.  Very easy to do, you just have to be good at guessing where your template goes though otherwise you'll end up with a crooked background!

[I'm usually quite pedantic about having birds feet firmly 'on the branch' - obviously these are the hovering kind LOL!)

No greeting yet, will add a suitable greeting when required...or may just leave it plain.

What I used:

Card:  White, Old Olive

Ink:  Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip

Stamp Sets:  Fox and Friends

Tools and other fun stuff:  Top Note, Stamping sponges, Bird punch, Scalloped Circle punch.