Christmas Swaps....

This is a schduled post as today I'm meeting up with crafting friends I already know and making new friends who I sort of know through their blogs.

We were given a Christmas theme for the swaps. I only have limited SU Christmas stamps, namely Dasher and Tree Trimmings. As I used Dasher on the majority of last year's cards, I wanted to do something different.

I recently got the ornment punch, so decided to do a 3D decoration. There is a similar version in the IB&C, but when we used to make Christmas ornaments at primary school, it was always using 6 pieces.... and we had to use geometry and measuring to cut our pieces, no luxury of punches! I wonder if we still have the star dodecahedron lurking in the attic?

Here's what I made...

I added some non SU from my stash to make the tassel, cream ebroidery silk and pearl beads to give it that extra touch.

I thought there should be some stamping there too, so added the tiny tag with merry.

I made them in several different colours from the Soft Subltes DSP, who says Christmas has to be red and green?

All ready to go!

I can't wait to see what everyone else has made!

SU materials used
Stamps: Tiny Tags
Punches: Ornament, Jewelry Tag
Cardstock: Soft Subtles DSP, Very Vanilla,
Inks: Soft Subtles Markers
Ribbon: Very Vanilla narrow grosgrain

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Less is More ....

Reading that the recipe challenge over at Less is More was ribbon or button (or plurals of), gave me a giddy turn. Ribbon is my fav with buttons coming in a close second as top embellies.

I had been playing with the Vintage Vogue set making 3D flowers, so decided to use this set... well it was still on my desk! Here's my card...

The flower was inked using the rock and roll technique.

The flower centre is a recycled satin button with the shank removed. I've found that an old pair of nail clippers is the best tool to remove these.... it will blunt a new pair!

The ribbon was loosely knotted at intervals to give it some dimension without having any cut ends shown on the front of the card. I kind of like the way it makes it like a tube.

And the 3D flowers? They turned out OK but definately more than less, so they didn't make it onto the challenge card. So I threw the LiM idea out for this card....

The flower was made from 3 of the large flowers.

The ribbon knot was a late addition.... I must have had some ink on my fingers and a tiny speck transferred to the card. The ribbon covers this .... but if you ask me I'll say it was meant to be there all along!

SU materials used:

Stamps: Vintage Vogue

Inks: Rose Red, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake,

Cardstock: Rose Red, Whisper White

Ribbon: Basic Gray Taffeta (retired)

Other: Basic Pearls

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Another Queen for a Day

A take on a previous make. The recipient loves pink and bling, so this one was blinged to the max. Stampin Up's rhinestones are the sparkliest ever.

Check out those sparkles! The row is part of a rhinestone strip.

And just a little inside decoration.

SU Materials used
Stamps: Artistic Etchings
Inks: Rose Red
Cardstock: Early Expresso, Rose Red DSP
Other: Basic Rhinestones

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5 months 3 days to go....

Now we're in the second half the year I can mention Christmas, right? I love decorating the house, it's definately one of my favourite parts of Christmas. At the weekend, I made my Christmas themed swaps for the meet up at Linda's at the end of the month. Of course, I can't show these ones yet.... but.... feeling all Christmassy, I made these too.

The rheindeer was cut on the Big Shot using a Sizzix medium die and is cut in greyboard, then inked using Tim Holtz distress inks. The antlers and hooves were heat embossed using TH Distress powder to give them a rough texture so they stand out against the rheindeer. The nose was built up using about seven layers of clear embossing powder. They were finished with a sprig of holy and a gingham bow and hanger.

So Christmassed up, I made 5 of these which will go on a garland in my kitchen... pretty much every room gets a Christmas look.

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Something Borrowed...

Nope, not getting married!

I am trying to experiment with new sets as I build my collection of Stampin Up samples; I don't have the For Everything set (yet!) so borrowed Cal's at her last crop. The crop is a great way to try out the products.... which I usually end up ordering!

I've only recently started using more Rich Razzleberry, I don't know why I used to overlook it so much!

Stampin Up materials used

Stamps: For Everything
Inks: Rich Razzleberry, Rose Red, Daffodil Delight,
Cardstock: Certainly Celery smooth, Certainly Celery DSP, Whisper White
Punch: Scallop Trim Border

Birdcage Decoration

I cut the birdcage using the Tim Holtz Bigz die from greyboard to give the hanging more stability and strength, sandwiching the bird between two cages so it doesn't matter if it spins around. They were coloured using Airondack daubers, Metallic Silver and Pearl White. The bird then had Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls sprinkled on to it when the paint was still wet.

I kept the beads at the bottom neutral as I didn't have a spot in mind to hang the birdcage when finished.

There was no way I could thread the ribbon through the the big crystal bead (big bead, small hole) by sight and it was way too thick to use a needle, so to get the ribbon to go through it, I made a loop with wire, threaded both ends through the bead then put the ribbon in the wire loop and pulled it through - a little like one of those little tools for threading needles.

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ILWS Swaps Group Two

I recently entered the second swap group on the In Love With Stamping forum, run by Linda. I chose to use the Make a Monster set, one that I really like but don't use very often. I knew that once I chose it, I would have to ink it up.

I wanted to make it using bright colours and this was the chosen design out of those I made. The images were stamped with Old Olive and then coloured with the markers. The bunting was cut using the star punch borrowed from Cal.

The Happy Birthday is a non-SU stamp - those I have are more suited to adult cards than kids.

Stampin Up materials used:
Stamps: Make a Monster
Inks: Real Red, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Summer Sun (retired)
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise
Tools: Crimper
Punch: Star Extra Large

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Short and Sweet.....

This has got to be one of my all time favourite Stampin Up sets. It was a Level 2 Hostess set from the 2009/10 catalogue called Whimsical Wings.

I coloured direct to the stamp with several of the soft subtles markers. The markers really come into their own for this type of project, they are fab for putting different colours onto the same stamp. If you haven't yet used these, colour the stamp, then reactivate the inks by breathing on them ... just not too heavy! A little scallop trim, ribbon (yeay!) and a foil sentiment complete the card.

SU Materials:
Stamps: Whimsical Wings (retired)
Inks: Soft Subtles Makers - Baja Breeze, Marina Mist,Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red
Punch: Oval
Ribbon: Whisper White Satin
Paper: Rose Red, Crumb Cake, Whisper White

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Less is More Challenge - Take 2

This is the second card I made with circles for the Less is More challenge. I must admit that this one is more my kind of card, I think because it's simpler, more ordered, uses limited colour and plainer.... definately less is more.

The circles were cut down from the square stamp from Carte Postale, a couple of pearls finish it off.

Stampin Up Materials Used
Stamps: Carte Postale (retired), Flight of the Butterfly,
Inks: Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze
Other: Basic Pearls


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Less is More Challenge

I've been reading the Less is More blog over the last few weeks, but this is my very first entry. Sorry for the dark photo, the weather is so dull today that I can't get a decent photo with the lights on.

Lots of circles, white space and using up the scraps of DSP left over from another make.

SU Materials used:
Stamps: Tiny Tags
Inks: Wild Wasabi marker, Rose Red
Cardstock: Whisper White, Soft Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack 
Punch: 1/2 inch circle

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A Baby Girl....

My neighbours recently welcomed a baby girl, so I had to make a card to say hello to the little princess. It's a pink version of the last baby card I made with a couple of very slight changes. It also uses Fox and Friends, no longer a shelf set contender!

The arty angle!

A little inside decoration too....

SU Materials:
Stamps: Fox and Friends, Whimsical Words (retired)
Inks: Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana (retired)
Punch: Oval, Scalloped Oval
Ribbon: Whisper White Satin
Paper: Pretty in Pink DSP, Pretty in Pink smooth, Whisper White

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Nothing fancy smanchy today....

One of those cards when you just play with stuff, not needing a card for anything in particular....

This is one for the grab box when you just need to send a note. Quick and easy .... but I did decorate the inside keeping it plain and simple too.

SU Materials:
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Inks: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink
Punch: Butterfly
Other: Basic Rhinestones
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White

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Vintage Journal....

This is one of the sample journals I made for the Here Come The Girls workshop.

It's made from greyboard, inked with Tim Holtz Distress inks and spritzed with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls. The stamps are a mix of Artimo (the swirls) and Tim Holtz (from a QVC TSV).

The J in the brass frame was covered in Ranger crackle accents.

And my deliberate (yeah right!) mistake.... to use a brass frame with silver rings. Hence so many ribbons tied around to hide the rings.

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Here Come The Girls .....

Recently, I was asked to lead a design and make workshop for a high school craft club as part of their extra curricular activities focussing on journals and memory books.

We made the journals from scratch so each girls' journal was unique. They made some stunning books, some to give as gifts, some to fill in with family, some as diaries and others simply as a notebook.

Here are the girls with their favourite makes .... some girls made more than one or a mini book or a birdcage hanger. They're not really shy.... I just can't show their faces due to safe guarding policy.

Here are a couple of the inside pages from one of the journals... we all loved how the cover paper had been incorporated into the pages.

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Baby Blossoms .... again

I can't put into words how much I love this set, it's got to be one of my most used sets of all time.

I was making a batch of gift tags when a friend saw it and loved it (almost) as much as me. So I had to use it to make her birthday card in a colour combo both she and I love with this set.

I added some seam binding to give a gentle texture, so far I've managed to cut into 2 out of the 4 seam bindings I have..... definite progress.... just baja breeze and pear pizazz to go....

SU Materials:
Stamps: Baby Blossoms, Sincere Saluations
Inks: Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Certainly Celery
Ribbon: Crumb Cake Seam Binding
Paper: Bashful Blue DSP, Whisper White

Thanks for stopping by....

A little bit of swap CASEing ....

One of the swaps I received from the ILWS forum favourite set swap used the Fox and Friends set. I loved this set and just had to have it when it first appeared in the 2010 mini. Since then it has almost become a shelf set, you know, loved so I can't part with it but left to lie there unused.

Julie's card made me reach for it again. I love the bright colourway Julie used, great for kids' birthdays or party invites but not needing to make any kids stuff at the moment I used it to make a new baby card which I will be needing very soon. Luckily, I already know it's a little boy, unless of course, there is a BIG surprise in the delivery suite. Here's my version.

And the arty angle!

SU Materials:
Stamps: Fox and Friends, Whimsical Words (retired)
Inks: Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue, Barely Banana (retired)
Punch: Oval
Ribbon: Bashful Blue taffeta (retired)
Paper: Bashful Blue DSP, Bashful Blue smooth, Whisper White

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Whoops ..... MIA ....

It's been a while since I last blogged .... I picked up a nasty bug that hit me for six, lost my crafting mojo, then my blogging mojo but now back with a vengence! And something a little different.

Most people who know me are usually somewhat surprised if they see me sewing. They expect to see Sis and Mum sewing but not definately not yours truely. The truth, which I normally manage to hide, is that I can sew, I can do embroidery work .... I just don't get a kick out of it!

My Sis had an Open Day at Castle Court Quilters for the courses that she'll teach there over the next 6 months and roped me in to making samples aimed at the "beginner sewer", the "not-much-sewing sewer", the "hand sewer", really don't know what she was trying to tell me!

Quilters make postcards with various applique, embroidery and other such malarky, kind of like their version of ATC but I'm not sure how much swapping goes on. The class will have a Christmas theme, so here's what I came up with.

The holy leaves were cut from a small green Sizzix die that I bought at a nearly new craft sale for a bargain £1.50! The Sussex Puff berries were also cut from a 1 inch circle Sizzix die,  got to get my sort of crafting tools in there somehow. The Merry Christmas is from the retired Seasonal Wishes set from Stampin' Up. A few beads on the berries and dotted throughout finishes it with a subtle sparkle.

The second postcard also used a Sizzix die - so fab how you can cut paper, card and fabric yet the die stays sharp, wish I could do the same with my scissors. Bondaweb was ironed to the back of the material before the shapes were cut and then ironed onto the backing material, a sort of iron on double sided tape, especially good with the fiddly little antlers. And of course, the biggest, reddest bead I could find for his nose!

Here's a couple of examples made by a real sewer, ie My Sis, to show what you really can do with these postcards.

She used stamps for the houses and railings on this one with Staz-On ink.

If you fancy having a go at making one of these, give Diana a call at Castle Quilters for more details, ps, you don't have to be a great sewer or have your own fancy machine to have a go. Sis will also be teaching courses showing how to make traditional mohair bears (think Steiff), Rag and Folk Dolls, Landscapes with mixed media etc over the next few months, drop me an email and I will pass it on to her if you would like more details.

Thanks for stopping by....