June 22, 2008

Whimsy in Sky

Hi everyone! Well, we're finally coming to the end of our motel stay - thank goodness! I just can't wait till Monday night, being able to sleep in your own bed is a simple luxury I've been missing! Of course, as soon as the bed is made - I'll be getting to work on my craft room! I was out scouting for new furniture today - it will be a work in progress for awhile, but will share pics when I'm done.

The above card is one I made way back in April, but hadn't shared until now. I won't do a step by step as it was so long ago, but the key points are:

  • The Butterfly was inked using the "Rock 'n Roll" technique.
  • A lot of the layers are popped up for dimension.
  • The small ladybird and the sentiment were inked with Markers so I could omit the portions of the images I didn't want to stamp.
  • The sentiment was split in two and positioned using the Stamp-a-ma-jig.

A pretty simple card, but I just loved that butterfly and wanted to make it the focal point. I'm pretty sure I gave this to one of my lovely hostesses, it's not in my box of finished cards anymore!

Quick note: For those of you who have emailed on my Xtra email addy, I haven't been able to reply yet. Xtra blocks sending emails through their system while on wireless hotspot connections, so I'll get those answered ASAP after Monday.

Until then, Happy Stampin!


Stampin' Supplies:

Garden Whimsy, Polka Dot Background, Short & Sweet stamp sets.

Basic Gray, Soft Sky and Whisper White card.

Basic Gray and Soft Sky ink.

Markers.

Scalloped Circle, 1 1/4" and 1" Circle punches.

Silver Brads.

Crafter's Tool Kit.

Stampin' Dimensionals.

SNAIL adhesive.

All supplies available from Stampin' Up!

June 19, 2008

Can't wait to get settled!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to say hi and thanks for all the emails. The move is going great so far, just sitting in the ferry terminal now - my time is about to run out so I'll be off, but can't wait to be back and sharing with you!

Happy Stampin'
Sarah

June 13, 2008

Blissful Dahlia

Hi everyone! Well, this is what I was doing this afternoon when I should have been packing! Procrastination is a fantastic excuse to stamp! Between moving and preparing for the SU! Regional Seminar (lots of swaps to make!) you probably won't hear from me much until after the 26th of this month. I'll try and get another post up over the weekend, and do have some cards in my files I haven't shown you yet though, so who knows, I might be online more than I think.

I wanted to have a go at making another Dahlia fold medallion - they are just so much fun. For instructions on this fold (I tried to explain it in a way that made sense to me - I'm so bad at following directions!) please see this post: Dahlia Fold Here's the step by step for this card:
  • Make a Dahlia out of Berry Bliss Designer Series Paper. I just love the colours in this paper pack!
  • Layer the Dahlia onto Purely Pomegranate card and cut out. Repeat this step using Chocolate Chip card.
  • Use a rub-on from the Urban West pack on a Clear Button. This is so much fun to do! It looks great on coloured buttons too. Because I chose a pretty solid design, it even covers the button holes. There are lots of designs in all of our rub-on packs that would work well for this step.
  • Attach the button to your medallion using a mini glue dot. Nice and invisible!
  • Stamp Tres Chic background on Pretty in Pink card with Close to Cocoa ink. Sponge the edges with Pretty in Pink ink. Layer onto Chocolate Chip.
  • Stamp the polka dot type image from Boho Backgrounds onto Purely Pomegranate card using Whisper White craft ink. I let this dry naturally while I did something else, but you could heat emboss it or use your heat tool to speed up the process.
  • Tie a length of Chocolate Chip ribbon around the Purely Pomegranate layer, then attach to the Chocolate Chip cardbase using plenty of Dimensionsals.
  • Attach the Tres Chic layer with SNAIL then the Dahlia with Dimensionals and you're done!

This was pretty simple to throw together, the Dahlia can take a few minutes to fold, but it's so worth it. This would be a great card for lots of different occasions - it all depends on the sentiment used on the inside of the card.

Hopefully I'll have time to post soon, until then - Happy Stampin'!

Stampin' Supplies:
Tres Chic and Boho Backgrounds stamp sets.
Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink Card.
Berry Bliss paper.
Close to Cocoa, Whisper White and Pretty in Pink ink.
Urban West rub-ons.
Clear Buttons.
1 3/8" and 1" Circle punches.
Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon.
Paper Snips.
Stampin' Dimensionals.
SNAIL adhesive.
All supplies available from Stampin' Up!

June 11, 2008

Love Notes

This month's promotion consists of some really cute products for a great price, so today I wanted to use one of them, Love Notes. Love Notes are these cute little square cards and envelopes - they are so much fun to create with! I used a colour challenge combo for this one - Regal Rose, Real Red and So Saffron. Stay tuned for more info on the promo at the bottom of this post. For now, here's how this came together!
  • Stamp the hugs and kisses image from the Sealed with a Kiss stamp set onto Whisper White using Basic Gray ink.
  • Cut out using the 1 3/8" Circle Punch. Colour with Real Red, So Saffron and Regal Rose markers.
  • Layer onto a Real Red scalloped circle (I love this punch!) and dot the scallops with the White Gel pen.
  • Colour "Love you" using markers and stamp on Whisper White. Punch out with the Word Window punch.
  • Punch two Regal Rose Word Windows. Layer behind the Whisper White sentiment.
  • I used a scrap of So Saffron prints paper from last month's promotion as my background. The Polka Dot background stamp would look really cool too.
  • Tie scraps of ribbon around the background layer before attaching to the Whisper White love note. I had both these pieces in my scrap bag, the knot was even tied for me already!
  • Punch two 1/16" holes with the handheld punch on Whisper White. Punch around these with the 1/4" circle punch and add two So Saffron brads through the holes. I love the way this helps the brads "pop" from the background!
  • Layer everything together and adhere using Dimensionals for height and added interest.
  • Stamp "Sending Love" on the envelope front, colouring each element with markers.
  • For the inside of the card, I added a layer of background paper, then coloured the "Love" image with markers, cut it out and attached with a dimensional.
  • Roughly trace around the envelope flap onto the patterned paper, then cut out with scissors within that line. I just eyeball this, it usually turns out pretty good. Adhere with SNAIL. You’re done!

It’s so much fun making these note cards, you can use up all those scraps of card stock you’ll have laying around if you’re anything like me!

eScape with Stampin’ Up! During June, you can eScape with Stampin’ Up by purchasing the special bundle of products. The bundle consists of the Circle of Friendship stamp set, the 1 ¼” Circle Punch and a pack of Love Notes and Envelopes – 10 each in Whisper White and Very Vanilla. Separately these products would cost a total of $92.15 – but this month only, the bundle has 25% off – get all three products for just $69.11! (plus postage) If you’re in New Zealand and would like to purchase the bundle and make some adorable cards for yourself, please email me at sarah.eternal@yahoo.com Please see the link at the right hand side of this post for more information!

Happy Stampin’
Sarah

Stampin Supplies:
Sealed with a Kiss stamp set.
Love Note – Whisper White.
Regal Rose, Whisper White & Real Red Card. So Saffron Prints paper.
Basic Gray ink.
Stampin’ Write Markers.
Word Window, 1 3/8” Circle, 1/16” Handheld, ¼” Circle & Scalloped Circle punches.
So Saffron brads.
Real Red and Regal Rose Grosgrain ribbon.
Stampin’ Dimensionals.
SNAIL adhesive.
All supplies available from Stampin’ Up!

June 5, 2008

Bluebird Thanks

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last week, I've been very busy organising our move. I might only be posting sporadically over the next couple of weeks, but once we're all settled again I'll be back with updates as often as possible!

This card was made with one of this years hostess sets - Spring Solitude. It's a really fun set with great images that can be combined to make lots of different images. Here's the step by step:

  • Ink the branch stamp with Wild Wasabi, and go over the branches with a Chocolate Chip marker. Stamp overlapping images on Very Vanilla card.
  • Stamp the bottom image, inking with Purely Pomegranate and the Chocolate Chip marker. Stamp the bird using Blue Bayou.
  • Layer onto Purely Pomegranate card, and attach a scalloped accent punched from Chocolate Chip and Wild Wasabi card, using the slit punch.
  • Stamp the sentiment on a Very Vanilla rectangle, then round the corners using the Corner Rounder punch. I used last years now retired punch on this element.
  • Offset a circle of Fall Flowers designer paper on a layer of Wild Wasabi.
  • Pierce the edges of the circle, the sentiment layer and the scallops. Fill in the pierced holes with the white gel pen.
  • Stamp the polka dot background in Soft Sky on Soft Sky card and adhere to a Chocolate Chip card base.
  • Attach three Pewter Jumbo Eyelets to the circle layer using the Crop-a-dile. Adhere Purely Pomegranate card behind them and fill with Crystal Effects. Tie a length of Purely Pomegranate ribbon around the circle, then adhere to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.
  • Attach the bird layer, and add two pewter brads to the sentiment layer before adhering with Stampin' Dimensionals. This is the inside of this card. I repeated images from the front, an easy way to tie the whole card together.

There are a few separate pieces to this card, but they go together really easily. I had a lot of fun making this one, that little bird is really cute!

Happy Stampin’
Sarah

Stampin’ Supplies:
Spring Solitude stamp set.
Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi and Soft Sky card.
Fall Flowers designer paper.
Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate and Blue Bayou ink.
Chocolate Chip marker.
Jumbo Eyelets – Pewter.
Pewter Brads.
Crop-a-dile.
Purely Pomegranate double stitched ribbon.
Crystal Effects.
White Gel Pen.
Stampin’ Dimensionals.
SNAIL adhesive.
All supplies available from Stampin’ Up!