OLW 60 Layering inks

The challenge over at One Layer Wednesday this week is to make a clean and simple, one-layer card using only ink - but no sponging or masking. Now I'm a CAS girl and I love making one-layer cards, but no sponging? That's like telling Zorro to go out without his mask! But I do like a challenge so I had a bash, and I can't tell you how much fun I had with this! It's a great opportunity to have a look at your stamps and try different ones together. Here's what I came up with:

There are stamps from five different stamp sets here! Can you work out where they're from? (If you get stuck the answer is in the supply list below!)  Come and have a closer look:

What do you think? With a different sentiment this card could work for lots of different occasions (graduation, teen cards etc) and, now that I've worked out where everything should go, it would take only a few minutes to stamp it using my trusty stamp-a-majig.

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Notably Ornate, Seeing Stars, Circle Circus, Season of Joy, Thank You Kindly

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point, Melon Mambo, 

Card stock: Whisper White

Other: Stamp-a-majig

You can buy any of these supplies from me and I can have them delivered to your address in the UK. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593.

Did you guess which sets the stamps came from? My particular favourite amongst this bunch is that wonderful swirl from Season of Joy and I love that it's an all-year-rounder. I have a blogging friend who laughs at me for saying that a set is my favourite. She says I say that about all the stamps and I suppose there is some truth in that... I suppose the real truth is that I really, really love stamping!

Thank you for visiting me here this week and for all your lovely comments and encouragement.  Have a wonderful weekend and I hope the sun shines on you.
See you very soon,

Clean and simple cards for a baby boy

I've had some exciting news! My cousin and his wife are now the proud parents of a gorgeous baby boy! And what a cutie! I'm not able to be on cuddling duty at the moment as they live in Scotland, but I'm sure I'll get a turn when we have our family get-together in the summer! While I'm waiting I thought I'd get straight onto designing a card to welcome the new arrival.

It is so much fun making baby cards! I've come up with three monochome designs - yes I am a true LiMette and the Less is More challenge is never far from my mind! The first card might not have enough white space for their royal LiMnesses...

...or for me now I come to think of it! But I like the stamped gingham mounted onto the embossed card base, which reminds me of one of those lovely soft baby blankets.

The gingham is easy to make with the Solid Stripes background stamp and a stamp-a-majig. I used Bashful Blue and Marina Mist markers on alternate stripes, then turned it round and stamped it again. The embossing folder is exclusive to Stampin' Up and is called Square Lattice.

The next card is my favourite of the batch. I love the dotty label from Baby Blossoms - and how cute is that little babygrow from the hostess set A Slice of Life?! I coloured it with markers and popped it up on the label using dimensionals. The sentiment is from Afterthoughts, another hostess set. Don't forget these sets are free with a £150 order and you get other freebies too! It's certainly worth clubbing together with friends or joining my Stampers 6 club.

The sentiment is a retired sale-a-bration stamp which curves neatly into the frame, and the card base has been half-embossed with the Polka Dots embossing folder.

The Night of Navy grosgrain ribbon grounds the label nicely and ties in with the colour of the sentiment and the accents on the babygrow.

For my final design I masked off a strip and sponged it with bashful Blue ink then stamped it with tiny Marina Mist stars - I used the smallest star from Seeing Stars. I wanted it to look sewn to the card stock so I stamped it with the zigzag stitch stamp I made from the In Stitches wheel (see how I did it here.)

The card topper is made with the giraffe from Fox and Friends. I've drawn a welcoming smile on his little face and given him a dark eye with markers and, because the birth of a baby is quite an occasion, I've given him a posh scarf to wear made from a scrap of Baja Breeze seam binding!

Now, I would normally give details on how to make my cards but I'm aware that you've all got lives to get on with and there are only so many hours in the day! But if you'd like more details, I'm always happy to help and of course I can supply you with everything you need to make the cards. Just send me an email or give me a ring on 01280 820593.

When I was making these cards, my thoughts turned to my own lovely babies. They are quite considerably bigger than they used to be but they're not above giving me a hug sometimes and are very good company indeed!

Thanks for dropping in on my baby card-fest today - I very much appreciate your visits and comments. Yesterday I was overwhelmed by all the birthday wishes you sent me - thank you so much my lovely blogging pals! Tomorrow I'll be back here with Three Minute Thursday, my weekly series of speedy card ideas, and you are more than welcome to join me!

Coordinated gift set using Seeing Stars and Gifted

When I give people gifts I do like to coordinate the card with the gift wrapping. I made this card for a friend before I knew what I'd be giving her - so today I rustled up this box to match. (I won't tell you what's inside just in case she reads this!)

Check out a similar card here and there's a tutorial here for something similar to this useful 'milk carton' box. I stamped mine with a star design in a variety of pinks and reds and used the library clips from the Clip Assortment to attach labels from the Gifted stamp set.

It's just a short post today as I must get back to my patients - my boys are suffering with a sickness bug. They are trying to keep their chins up but they're not happy. Poor loves - let's hope it goes away soon.

If you're looking for some quick and easy inspiration do join me tomorrow for Three Minute Thursday.
Until then - happy crafting!

Three Minute Thursday - using Lovely as a Tree

I am willing to bet that all those time-challenged crafters out there are even more time-challenged at the moment - there are so many extra demands on our time at this time of year. Well, why not put aside an hour and see how many of today's card you can make AND write messages in!

Here's the card:

This is such an easy card to make - you just stamp the trees randomly! Because you use lots of greens to stamp them, the eye is deceived into believing the design to be more complex than it is, so it only needs a touch of embellishment for extra interest - I used a star from Seeing Stars but an adhesive rhinestone would be quicker and just as effective.

Here's how to make this card:

• Cut a piece of Very Vanilla card stock 8cm square.
• Stamp a random design with the fir tree image, using several different greens.
• Stamp the sentiment using Cherry Cobbler ink - it is quickest to use a stamp-a-majig, I promise!
• Add a star using the stamp-a-majig for accuracy.
• Mount the panel onto a 9cm square Cherry Cobbler card base.

Supplies

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Seeing Stars, Season of Joy (sentiment)

Ink: Always Artichoke, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Cherry Cobbler

Card stock: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla

It is still so cold here that I cannot imagine why everyone isn't hibernating! Yesterday I came into the house and announced " It's registering -8 degrees in the car!" and my daughter looked up and said "Cool!" Can you even BELIEVE she said that?!!!

I have a special card to show you tomorrow. Hope you can join me!

Christmas card with Seeing Stars and Gifted

Good morning - and it's another very crisp Monday morning in Buckingham! Christmas preparations have started in earnest here - and, for those that are interested, those Christmas puddings made the whole house smell fabulously festive and are lucky to have been stored away intact! I'm not going to share the recipe until I've tested it on Christmas day but, have no fear, I'll be testing it REALLY thoroughly - possibly with cream AND brandy butter!

I'm a bit of a fiend for the traditional at Christmas but there are times when traditional isn't appropriate. Today's card belongs in that category!

Seeing Stars is a stamp set that's got me quite excited. I love it because it's a bread-and-butter set - one of those ones you can use for almost anyone or anything. It's a set that you can guarantee is not going to spend a great deal of time un-inked. And at £21.95 for a set of 8 - that's just £2.74 per stamp!!! - it seems to me to be an absolute bargain! Why not buy it with the fabulous Clip Assortment at £7.95 and be entered into my draw to win a fabulous Christmas gift? (Click here for details.)

Here's how to make this card:

• Colour the polka dot background and the sentiment on the Gifted stamp with a Cherry Cobbler marker and stamp on a scrap of Whisper White card stock. Use a stamp-a-majig to stamp stars above the sentiment using Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry. Trim around the image using a trimmer.
• Cut a piece of Bravo Burgundy card stock slightly larger than the image panel and take 'bites' out of the corners with a 1/4" circle punch. Attach the Gifted panel to this with dimensionals and add a library clip.
• Cut a 9cm square Whisper White card blank and stamp the front with a random star design.
• Attach the Gifted panel to the centre of the card front.

Supplies
Stamps: Gifted, Seeing Stars
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink
Card stock: Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy
Other: Cherry Cobbler marker, library clip from the Clip Assortment, 1/4" circle punch

This weekend we bought The Family Jigsaw. Every year we buy a Christmas jigsaw from a charity shop or goodwill store with a nostalgic image on it - it has to be something like a Christmas market, or a picture of Victorian skaters, or an Edwardian family welcoming family from a steam train in the snow. We start the puzzle from the beginning-ish of December and we all add pieces as we pass, with a view to completing it before Christmas. It's become a part of our Christmas celebrations and we do usually manage to complete it! It may seem mad to do something so time-consuming in the frenzy before the holidays but I consider it therapy amid the mayhem and it's one of those things that brings us together. You might like to try it!

Thank you for popping in today. There'll be more Christmas inspiration here tomorrow if you have a spare minute. Hope to see you then!

Inspiration from convention

Good morning! Yes - even Monday mornings are good when you're a Stampin' Up demonstrator!

If you are a regular reader of this blog you'll know that I've been away at the Stampin' Up European convention. This event brings demonstrators from the UK, France and Germany together and was held at the beautiful Addington Palace in Surrey.

My goodness did I learn a lot there! I can't wait to show you some of the tricks and techniques I've learned - so now is a great time to get your stamping parties booked!

When demonstrators get together, we like to swap the things we've been making - a wonderful idea as we then have a huge library of styles and ideas to inspire us and our customers. Here are some of the things I made.

This is a tag made from Notably Ornate with a touch of Vintage Vogue, and personalised using my Schoolbook Serif and Just Perfect alphabet sets. I used More Mustard to stamp that fabulous frame and I love the contrast with the Rich Razzleberry of the flowers and the touches of Old Olive. You can't see very well in the photo but I decorated the centres of the flowers with basic rhinestones for a touch of sparkle.

And here's my swap:

There's more than a touch of the US about this card isn't there? I must have been thinking of my American crafting friends when I came up with this design and wishing they could join us at Addington Palace! I used Seeing Stars and Solid Stripes for this card along with the incredibly useful Thank You Kindly sentiment set of four.

I have had the most wonderful few days, sharing what I love doing with so many other ladies who are as passionate about crafting as I am. It was lovely to meet up with friends from around the UK and Europe and I've made new friends too. When I joined Stampin' Up as a demonstrator earlier in the year I had no idea that it would become such a special and fulfilling part of my life - I really cannot recommend it highly enough.

If you've been wondering about joining Stampin' Up, whether to enjoy your hobby at a discount or to turn your hobby into a business, I would love you to join my team. I'm not interested in pressurising you but I can give lots of information, share my own experiences with you and give you the time and space you need to make an informed decision. It only costs £119 to buy the starter kit and you get an astonishing £230 worth of products! Click here to email me.

I'm closing this post with a picture of me (on the right) with my very special upline and friend Michelle Last who walked away from convention with the top prize - UK demonstrator of the year. I am so thrilled for her and she truly deserves her title - she is the loveliest person and it's a pleasure to work with her.

Thank you for dropping in today.

I'll be back tomorrow for a little Christmas gift inspiration.

Hope to see you then.

FTL Challenge 114 with Seeing Stars

You must have heard stories of people falling in love with the boy/girl next door. You know - he was there all along but she just didn't notice how attractive he was until... Well I've just had a stamping moment like that! I was looking for something to inspire me for this week's Clean and Simple FTL sketch (see right) and my new Seeing Stars set was sitting on my desk and we looked at each other and suddenly I realised it was The One! Seeing Stars and I are going to be spending a lot of time together from now on!

Here's my offering for this gorgeous sketch:

I am a huge fan of one-layer cards as they are easy to mail and can be very classy-looking. I'm also an enormous fan of this wonderful stamp set  - it's one of those amazing sets that is perfect for anybody on almost any occasion. In fact, it's quite hard to think of something it wouldn't work for!

Of course I couldn't make the card without making a matching gift bag...

Yay! It's the return of the bag-a-lope! Now, who couldn't you give this set to? Answers on a postcard please...!

Here's how to make the card:

• Cut a piece of Whisper White card stock 9cm x 18cm (3 1/2" x 7"), score and cold in half to make a card blank.
• Stamp a sentiment, then stamp a design above and to the sides of it. Fabulously fast!

Here's how to make the matching bag-a-lope:

• Cut the sticky top off a C5 envelope.
• Score 2cm (3/4") in from each edge except the open one and crease the score lines with a bone folder.
• Stamp a design on both sides
• Open out into a bag shape and fix the triangular flaps under the bag with the super-strong Sticky Strip (While doing this, don't forget to say in an advertising voice: 'Sticky Strip - for complete and utter confidence'!) 
• Cut an oval through both layers at the top of your bag with the large oval punch.
• Once you've filled your bag (mine contains a box of brads and a spool of ribbon) you can close it with ribbon if you like.

Supplies:
Stamps: Seeing Stars, Thank You Kindly
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Marina Mist
Card stock: Whisper White
Other (for bag-a-lope): White C5 envelope, Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Marina Mist 1/8" taffeta ribbon, large oval punch

We had the most wonderful, relaxing weekend away with my brother-in-law and his family. It was lovely to catch up with him and his lovely wife while the cousins romped about like puppies - and it was carnival weekend where they live so we also had an bonus outdoors evening of fun!

Hope you all had a great weekend too.
I'll be back tomorrow with a musical offering. Intrigued? See you then!