3D flowers

Hello all! Hope you have been having a good week so far.

Today's card (based on one I saw on Pinterest) features a stamp set that used to be in a Spring Mini catalogue and was so popular it's been in the main catalogues ever since: Vintage Vogue. Such a beautiful set. There are two flower images that have been layered on top of each other and have a matching polka dot brad. The colours are: Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral and Wisteria Wonder. The bakers twine is matching in Lucky Limeade and white stripes.

To give interest to the Basic Grey base, there is a heart embossed strip on the base along with a white embossed sentiment from Petite Pairs. I couldn't resist a little bling with a rhinestone too.

Vintage Vogue Tutorial

Here is my first card tutorial! I hope you like it. It's featuring the set Vintage Vogue. I kind of set the camera a bit high but hopefully you can see what's going on!

Do let me know if you have questions, suggestions or ideas for future videos!

For the Munchkin Fans.... She took a ride on a Death slide!!!!

Good afternoon! I've been working hard on samples for my retreat day in March so I don't have much to show you... then I found this on my camera memory card. It's a card I made early last week based on one I saw on Shelli Gardner's blog. I used Vintage Vogue stamp set and Elegant Soiree DSP. The sentiment comes from one of the Level 1 hostess sets - it could be yours if you host a party/submit an order of £150+.

The card base is Sahara Sand with Early Espresso taffetta ribbon and a Marina Mist flower brad. I'm just loving those brads at the moment. They are like a focal point all on their own.

Here is the Munchkin this morning. She's taken to her dolly's pushchair but I think she might be a bit confused about what to do with it!!!

Have a good afternoon and see you again soon.

Variations on a theme

After the card I showed you yesterday I got a real bug to make more in the same style but with different patterned papers and stamp sets! This one features Basic Black & Riding Hood Red with Very Vanilla. The papers are Newsprint & Love Letter and the stamps are Artistic Etchings (which is designed to co-ordinate with Love Letters DSP). I think this is a really classic combo and would be good for a valentine card.

This combo is using Nursery Suite papers with Forest Friends stamp set. Cute!

This one features Woodland Walk DSP and Growing Green stamp set - the greeting is from Vintage Vogue.

This last one is a bit boho even for me! It's Greenhouse Garden DSP with Ornate Flowers stamps. I took the greeting from Something Sweet. There's a little bit of Crystal Effects added for texture and the cute flower brad is so sweet!!

Lastly, since we're snowed in again today I made a start on my Christmas baking. We've added more decorations to the tree, made 2 dozen mince pies and lots of gingerbread cookies ready for icing and then hanging on the tree. Yipee!

Friends (Football Friends?!)

Oh dear! Not sure what's happened to my blog but the layout's gone mad. DH and I have both had a go at fixing it but to no avail. Any ideas would be gratefully recieved. Anyway onto crafting...

I love Brocade Blue so that formed the base for this card, combined with More Mustard, Certainly Celery (a tiny bit) and Chocolate Chip with Close to Cocoa stamping. I thought this would be quite a masculine card but I guess all the flowers make it rather feminine! Not great for football friends then.

Hope you have had a good Monday. We've had pretty severe weather today, going from brilliant sunshine to torrential downpours and back again! Still, we had a nice little trip into town to run some errands, so not a bad start to the week. Hope your week has started equally positively.

Krafty Vintage Vogue

This card was lifted from the SU Demonstrator magazine but I altered the colours to Tempting Turquiose, Rose Red and Certainly Celery on Kraft CS with Chocolate Chip writing. The brown centre of the larger flower is made by punching a 1/2"circle out of Chocolate Chip CS, wetting it with a water spray bottle and then scrunching it up. When the circle is unfolded this gives the card a really nice vintage look, which remains after it dries.

I have actually trimmed under the flowery border of the card, following the pattern of the stamp but I seem to have lost the photo I have taken of that! It looks pretty nice like this, but trimming it means that any wonkiness is disguised.

Yes, yes I have slipped back into Vintage Vogue mode... I cannot help but use this stamp set. I will do my best to add some variety tomorrow!!!

Fun Day In

Hello! Apolgies, I meant to post yesterday but time ran away with me. I was priviledged to have a "day off" from being a Mummy yesterday. My Mum kindly took Munchkin out after her morning nap and we fetched her at bed time! Not wanting to waste the opportunity I invited some of my favourite stamping buddies over to join me in a crafting day of leisure. We had a great laugh.

It appears to be "wedding season" amongst my friends, as both of the girls pictured got married this summer and I was making wedding cards for my sister to give to her friends.

The card at the top of the page is a clear copy of one I saw on Monica Gale's blog. However, I did change the colour scheme, sentiment and lose the ribbon. The pretties kit has some gorgeous flat backed pearls which really makes the flowers look extra special. The colours featured are Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla and Cameo Coral. The DSP is Bride which is perfect for weddings or any luxury style cards/scrapbook pages. Of course I used my absolute favourite stamp set: Vintage Vogue! However, I made a lot of projects throughout the day with various stamp sets, which I will be sharing with you over the coming days/weeks.

Having spent a day away from Munchkin, it's always extra lovely the next day as I missed her! I found this photo from back in April and couldn't resist sharing.

Have a great weekend and see you soon!

Punch Class take 2

The card at the top is a variation on the pansy card that the ladies made at the class. As I'd made that card a number of times before I started playing about with my boho blossoms punch and created these flowers. I added detail to them with a white marker.

As it's August there were just two lovely ladies: a mother and daughter team! It was really fun to make the cards and they each added their own unique touches to the designs. Watching what other people do is my favourite part of teaching classes. It amazes me what wonderful ideas people think of using the same materials, so everyone learns something at the session!

Keep an eye out for details of future calsses I am currently putting together. I know a number of you have requested a magical folding mini book so I am busy scheduling dates for this before Christmas. There is also the new catalogue launch in October so I am also planning a catalogue launch party... keep your eyes peeled for more information.

Wedding samples

There's another Wedding Fair in the pipeline! After the success of the one in February it was too good an opportunity to miss. It will be held at the Guildford Holiday Inn on Sunday 5th September 2010. It would be lovely to see you there if you are looking to make your own wedding stationary. Above is a selection of 3x3" cards I have made to give brides to see what a fantastic job Stampin' Up! products do when making wedding stationary.
If this Vintage Vogue set had been available when I made my own wedding stationary I would definately have used it. I LURVE this set so much. To be honest when I look back at my posts my biased nature is evident. No matter, because these samples are so sweet. The above one is made with Very Vanilla base, Regal Rose flowers and Old Olive leaves and sentiment. The below one simply has Bashful Blue instead of Regal Rose. The centre of the flower has a small clear brad and the sentiment comes from the Tiny Tags set.

The technique used is called masking. You simply stamp the flower where you want it. On a separate piece of paper (a post-it note works well) you stamp the same flower image and cut it out carefully. The post-it note flower is then stuck over the original stamped flower providing a mask for when the leaves are stamped overlapping the image. When the post-it note image is removed you get the flower with the impression that the leaves are sprawling out from behind. Hope this explanation makes sense!

Punch Art flowers

This card was also part of my recent Punch Art class a couple of weeks ago. The class is being repeated on Sunday 8th August if you'd like to come along! There are still a few places available.

The idea of the class is to think of creative ways to use punches. This one shows an alternative use for the butterfly punch. As you can see the butterfly punches were layered on each other to create pansy-shaped flowers. The idea was adapted from a box on Split Coast Stampers by Kiwiinaus.

It's tricky to see but the edges of the butterfly punches were dabbed with Champagne Mist shimmer paint using a sponge dauber to give them a subtle sparkle. The centre of the pansies are simply a clear brad. Simple but effective! Obviously since I love stamping I had to add some somewhere on the card and this took the form of Vintage Vogue. The little leaf print is just gorgeous and sooo versatile. It's stamped in Old Olive to match the grass at the bottom of the card. The darker grass was Garden Green (I think). The leaves were punched with the large bird punch, which I must admit is my most used punch!!

Hope you are looking forward to a fun weekend. Lovely husband has been painting our hall and bathroom this week so we are going to go buy some finishing touches: light fittings, mirrors, cupboards etc. Plus all the pretty pretty things. Can't wait!

No such thing as a mistake!

My sister made this card for my Open House back in April. She's not a card maker usually, but fancied playing around with the supplies that littered my dining table.
I really liked the design, especially the vintage look. I guess the stamps helped (all those vintage ones!), but also the way that the sentiment has little black lines where the ink has rubbed off other parts of the rubber matting. I'm told that this was a mistake so she decided to continue the sentiment to make it look like she meant it to be that way, and I am super impressed! What a clever sister I have!!

Card: Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue
Ink: Basic Black
Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Very Vintage jumbo roller, Tiny Tags
Other: Jewellery punch, White satin ribbon, Linen thread, Random paper scraps

Vintage flowers

Isn't it great when things match?
Personally, I'm a sucker for anything that matches. I just love it! This is why I have slowly but surely worked my way through my Sweet Pea DP stack and this card is another sample made with it. The brads make the flowers "pop" even more and the sentiment stamp seems to work with the flowers on the paper. Oval All is an under-rated gem in the current catalogue.
Today I had a lovely Mother & Daughter pair over to figure the design for the daughter's wedding invitations and it was really good fun. Tomorrow is my April One Sheet Wonder class and I can't wait. Even more Vintage Vogue!!

Yes, yes I have been a bad blogger recently. I have so many cards to show you but it feels like no time in which to post them currently!
The above card is Bashful Blue and was used to display some of the gorgeous Sweet Pea stack of papers. Various circles from different patterned papers and then they were layered up with Dimensionals (foam pads). The sentiment is from Something Sweet and is embossed using white embossing powder. Simple but quite sweet, I think.
This card is using the lovely Vintage Vogue set. The large flowers were stamped using Versamark ink and then clear embossing powder. The Chocolate Chip ribbon is pinched with a decorative brad. I rarely use this green colour (I can't remember the name, it might be Garden Green?!) but I think it makes it quite striking.

April Class - One Sheet Wonder

Here is the class I am holding on Sunday 25th April at 1pm in my home classroom. It would be lovely see you if you can make it. The class is using the gorgeous Vintage Vogue stamp set (from the Spring Mini, of course!) and you will make 6 cards and this sourcream gift box all from ONE basic sheet of A4 Very Vanilla cardstock!
The class costs £10 per person and places are going fast so email me to book yours!!
Other news is that we have a guest this weekend which is fun. We're going to lots of family lunches with the little one and I am doing a party on Monday morning. It's great being so busy!! Below are some Easter nests I made from plain chocolate and shredded wheat, topped with Smarties eggs. Yum! Isn't Easter tasty?

Shabby chic Mother's Day

This is the card I made for my Mum for Mothers' Day. It was inspired by a card I saw on Monica Gale's blog that she made for one of her Passionettes. The background of the card was stamped in Versmark with En Francais (it's really hard to see in the picture), then I used my new vintage jumbo roller in Gable Green over the corners. I couldn't resist playing with my Vintage Vogue set to make the flowers. The other thing I was playing about with was my Pretties kit. This is a beautiful kit, so beautiful in fact that I've had it over a year and never used it! I just couldn't bear to stick them down, instead I just stroke the flowers and beads and then put them away again.
Anyway, now I am back to a more sane state of mind I have realised how useful the Pretties Kit is. Hope my Mum likes her card!