Mail Friendly Monday - Easel card with Punch Bunch

Good morning - and happy Valentine's day! Now, I know that you'll have already created all your Valentine's projects, so this morning I'm looking at birthday cards. Most of you will know that the Stampin' Up Sale-a-bration promotion is currently on, with free stamp sets available for every £45 you spend. I've really enjoyed show-casing the free stamp sets and this week it's the turn of Punch Bunch.

Just look at these beauties - all of which can be cut out with a coordinating punch (the owl punch will be available in April with the launch of the summer mini catalogue). When I first saw this set, the poppies on the scalloped circle really leapt out at me and I couldn't wait to use them. Here's a card I made with them:

When you want a card for easy posting with a standard letter postage stamp, an easel card is a great choice. It lays flat when you mail it but pops up into an attention-grabber when opened! And it's quick and easy to make too - and you know how I love quick and easy!

The poppy image in Punch Bunch looks beautiful on its scalloped circle but is easy to give a completely different look by using the flowers on their own. Here I used them to stamp a field of poppies. One flower has been stamped separately, cut out and popped it up on a dimensional - it acts as a kind of doorstop to keep the card open.

Here's how to make this card:

• Cut a 9cm x 18cm piece of Rose Red card stock. Score and fold it at 9cm and 13.5cm so that it looks like this:

• Cut a 7cm square piece of Whisper White card stock. Stamp the bottom with a design of poppies - use markers to colour the flower heads on the stamp in various shades of pink and the stems in Certainly Celery. Use a sponge dauber to sponge Certainly Celery ink between the flowers. Roughly sponge Bashful Blue ink on the top half of the panel.
• Use a stamp-a-majig to add a sentiment.
• Use a black marker to define the flower centres.
• Mount the poppy panel onto a 7.5cm square of Certainly Celery card stock.
• Turn the card stock round as shown in the picture below. 

• Fix a piece of Pretty In Pink taffeta ribbon around the card with Snail and attach the bottom of the poppy panel over it. 

• Add a piece of Whisper White card stock to the card base - you can write a greeting on this. Stamp a poppy onto a scrap piece of Whisper White card stock and cut it out with sharp paper snips. Fix it onto the card base with a dimensional - it will keep the card open.

Supplies

Stamps: Punch Bunch, So Happy For You (Both FREE Sale-a-bration stamps - click here for details)
Ink: Always Artichoke (sentiment), Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Card stock: Whisper White, Rose Red, Certainly Celery
Other: Markers, Pretty In Pink taffeta ribbon

These poppies remind me of a game I played when I was a little girl. I used to pick flowers to use as fairies; turned upside down, the petals of the flowers became the skirts of the fairies' ball gowns. (These Shirley poppies in today's card would have been perfect, looking like wisps of chiffon in shades of pink!) I used to put the 'fairies' on leaf boats that would sail down the stream outside our gate and I imagined they were on their way to the fairy queen's ball. When my own children were small, I shared this game with them. My daughter loved it and my sons were keen to play it too - although in their game the fairies tended to white-water raft to the fairy queen's ball and frankly not many of them made it!

Hope you're enjoying the Sale-a-bration inspiration. There are only two weeks of this promotion left, so if you haven't got your free stamps yet, please get in touch as soon as possible! Also remember, if you are wanting to sign up with Stampin' Up, you get to choose an extra stamp set while the promotion is on! I have forms ready for you to read through and am here to answer any questions you may have. To contact me please email me or phone me on 01280 820593.

Thanks for dropping in today. Hope to see you again tomorrow for more Punch Bunch fun!

Mail-friendly Monday - using Sweet Summer again

Good morning! Welcome to Mail-friendly Monday where you'll find cards that pop in the post with a standard postage stamp. The most important thing to remember about these cards is that anything knobbly (brads, adhesive gems, ribbon in knots and bows etc) will tip it over into the next postage bracket. But that doesn't mean it has to be plain and unembellished!

Today I want to show you a birthday card I made using the Sweet Summer Sale-a-bration stamp set.  This is a set of nine incredible stamps which costs... NOTHING!!! Click here to find out how to get your hands on these gorgeous sets!

Are you wondering what designer paper I've used here? It's not a DP of course, it's just Certainly Celery card stock that's been stamped all over with the mop-head flower stamp from Sweet Summer, using Old Olive ink. I added flower centres with the fine end of a Not Quite Navy marker, which might seem like a very time-consuming and mad thing to do but which actually turned out to be pretty quick. Sometimes I think of things and just can't rest until I know what it looks like!

These unusual flower heads fascinate me! I made stalks for them with my sewing machine, threaded up with an Always Artichoke-coloured cotton. Sewing is a great way of adding non-bulky detail to your cards.

The sentiment is from another free Sale-a-bration set called So Happy For You. You get ten stamps in the set, five of which are really useful sentiment stamps - and we all need more of those! I love the little butterfly too, lovely for adding a bit of extra detail. I shall be taking a look at how to get the most out of this set this week, so look out for that.

Here's how to make this card:

• Cut a piece of Certainly Celery card stock 8cm x 12.75cm and curve the top, left-hand corner with a corner rounder.
• Stamp the mophead flower image repeatedly over the card stock using Old Olive ink. Add centres to the flowers with the fine end of a Not Quite Navy marker. 
• Sponge the edges of the card stock using Old Olive ink and a sponge dauber.
• Stamp the sentiment in Rose Red ink, using a stamp-a-majig for accuracy.
• Sew three stalks using a sewing machine threaded with green cotton. Pull the ends of the cotton through to the back of the card stock and secure with double sided tape.
• Stamp the butterfly above the sentiment and over the top of the sewn stalks.
• Stamp the other flower head three times using Old Olive ink on Very Vanilla card stock. Colour the petals with a Rose Red marker and the seeds and base of the flower head with an Always Artichoke marker. Cut the flowers heads out with sharp paper snips and attach to the tops of the stalks with dimensionals.
• Mount the panel onto a piece of Rose Red card stock cut to 8.5cm x 13.25cm and with the corner rounded.
• Attach this to the front of a Very Vanilla A5 card base.

Supplies
Stamps: Sweet Summer, So Happy For You (FREE Sale-a-bration sets)
Ink: Old Olive £4.95
Card stock: Very Vanilla (A4 pack £7.50), Certainly Celery, Rose Red (A4 Subtles £6.25)
Other: Regals markers £23.95, Corner rounder £6.25

All these supplies come to a total of £48.90 which means that you get to choose your free stamp set! It's easy to order from me - just click here to email me, or phone me on 01280 820593. I pride myself on my customer service and am always happy to help.

I hope you all had a great weekend. I've had a wonderful (and rare!) restful weekend with my family, with plenty of fun and crafting and even time to curl up with a book! Lovely!
See you tomorrow for something gorgeous and feminine,

Mail-Friendly Monday - using Lovely as a Tree

Good morning! Welcome to Mail-friendly Monday - the series I've set up to give you an easy reference for easy-to-post cards.

I want to show you a sympathy card today. At some stage, we all need cards to express our support to those that are grieving and my feeling about this is that the card shouldn't take over. This is definitely an occasion when clean and simple comes into its own.

I think a simple sponged background with the striking trees from Lovely as a Tree strikes the right note. To prevent the card from looking too stark I added a double row of pierced holes using the template from my Mat Pack.

When you hold the card up to the light it creates this interesting effect.

How to make this card:

(I made it to fit an 11cm square envelope.)

• Cut a 10.5cm square of Whisper White card stock. Score and fold it in half to make a card base.
• Stamp the trees onto the card front using Early Espresso ink.
• Stamp the same image on a piece of scrap paper or a post-it note and cut it in half along the horizon to make a ground and a sky mask. Hold the ground mask in place and roughly sponge the sky using Marina Mist ink. Then hold the sky mask in place while you sponge the ground using Soft Suede ink, and add dabs of Old Olive ink to add interest. Sponge round the edges of the sky using Not Quite Navy to give the light-on-the-horizon effect.
• Stamp a sentiment in Always Artichoke ink using a stamp-a-majig for accurate placement.
• Add a double row of piercing using the Mat Pack template.

Supplies

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Hopeful Thoughts (sentiment)

Ink: Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Not Quite Navy

Card stock: Whisper White

Other: Always Artichoke marker

If you don't already own Lovely as a Tree, I cannot recommend it highly enough. It was one of the first sets I bought back in 2008 and I've used it again and again for many different occasions and all throughout the year (click on Lovely as a Tree in the index on the sidebar of my blog to see some of the cards I've made with it). It costs £25.95 for a set of six and you'll certainly get your money's worth! Do send me an email if you'd like to make an order - and remember, with orders of £45 you get one of the exclusive Sale-a-bration stamp sets FREE! There are four stunning sets to choose from - click here for details.

I had a lovely day yesterday with some of my crafting friends and we made a gorgeous project (which I didn't finish though because I was talking too much! I'll show you when I've finished!)

I hope you all had good weekends too.

See you tomorrow for more paper fun!

Mail-friendly Monday - using Bliss

Good morning - and welcome to Mail-friendly Monday! Every Monday morning I'll be making a card that can pop in the post with a standard postage stamp  and I hope the series proves a useful inspiration for you.  Brads, buttons, adhesive stones, buckles and bows tend to be a little bulky for mail-friendly cards, but that doesn't limit you to unembellished, one-layer cards. Mail-friendly cards can be quite dimensional - like today's card.

You may have noticed that the Stampin' Up Sale-a-bration promotion is currently on and since the beginning of the year, I have been enjoying using the sets that you can choose as a free gift (click here for all the details). The set I'm using this week is Bliss, one of my favourites!

The dimension comes from these cut-out flowers, one of which has been raised on a dimensional pad (that doesn't add too much bulk). The beautiful ornamental stamp used as a background behind them gives depth.  Usually I'd think about adding brads or adhesive jewels to the centres of these flowers but just using a dark marker to emphasise the seeds is enough to add interest here. The flower is also stamped randomly, tone on-tone on the Marina Mist card stock.

Ribbons tied in bows may be too chunky but used flat it adds texture and adds to the utterly gorgeous scallop trim border. This vintage-looking bird tucked into the ribbon is an extra detail and draws attention to the sentiment which, by the way, is from one of last year's Sale-a-bration sets - sentiments are SO useful to add to your collection!

Here's how to make this card:

• Cut a piece of Crumb Cake card stock 9cm x 16.5cm. Score and fold at 9cm and scallop the narrower piece with the scallop trim border punch.
• Ink up the ornamental stamp with Crumb Cake ink and stamp on the card above the scallop to the right.
• Stamp a sentiment in Early Espresso ink and adhere a piece of Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon below it using Snail and folding it over the back of the card stock.
• Cut a 9cm square of Marina Mist card stock. Use the flower stamp to stamp a random pattern on the card stock using Marina Mist ink. Glue this behind the scalloped Crumb Cake.
• Use Marina Mist ink to stamp two flowers onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock. Colour the seed centres with the fine end of an Early Espresso marker. Cut the the flowers out and glue one to the card front and the other overlapping it using a dimensional.
• Stamp a bird on a scrap of Whisper White card stock with Early Espresso ink. Cut it out and tuck it into the ribbon, securing with a touch of Tombow.

Supplies
Stamps: Bliss (free Sale-a-bration set), Happy Moments (sentiment from Sale-a-bration 2010)
Ink: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake
Card stock: Whisper White, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake
Other: Scallop trim border punch, Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Early Espresso marker

Well I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend. We've had a lovely restful family time with a little shopping, lots of curling up reading with a nice cup of tea, a glorious country walk in the winter sunshine and, of course, plenty of crafting! Do come back tomorrow for more inspiration using the Bliss Sale-a-bration set.

Hope to see you then,

Mail-friendly Monday - using Sweet Summer

Hello! Welcome to Mail-friendly Monday, my brand new series showcasing cards that pop straight in the post with a standard postage stamp. Of course, it's lovely to make cards full of dimension and embellishments, but I hope to show you that a flatter card doesn't have to be boring!

I have to tell you that I have fallen in love again... No! Mrs Clooney can relax! This time it's my aqua painter! Whenever I've needed to colour an image I've tended to reach for my blender pens, but the aqua painter is quicker and you don't need to be as accurate - all excellent news for me! Come and see what I've done with it:

I've taken the mop-head flower image from the gorgeous Sale-a-bration set Sweet Summer and used one of my favourite colour combinations - Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy and Elegant Eggplant - to create this design. (By the way if you're also a fan of these colours together, check out page 59 of the Idea Book and Catalogue for more inspiration.)

Have you seen the sentiment? This is one of the sentiments from one of last year's Sale-a-bration sets and I've used it again and again over the year - that's a very hard-working freebie! Sale-a-bration is a great time to build up your stamp collection as you get a gorgeous new set absolutely free with each £45 you spend! There are other ways to earn free sets too - click here for more information.

Here's how to make this card:

• Cut a piece of Whisper White card stock 7.5cm square.
• Stamp a design with the mop-head flower image from Sweet Summer using Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy and Elegant Eggplant inks. Fill in the gaps between the flowers with the leaf stamp from the set.
• Using your aqua painter, pick up ink from the very edges of the ink pads to colour the flowers. Use a paler wash to colour in between the petals. Colour the leaves, making some dark and some pale, then colour in the gaps between leaves and flowers with a paler wash. Leave to dry.
• When dry, colour the centres of the flowers with the thin end of an Elegant Eggplant marker.
• Use a stamp-a-majig to stamp a sentiment.
• Mount the floral panel onto a 8cm square piece of Rich Razzleberry card stock.
• Mount this onto a 9cm square Night of Navy card base. 

Supplies
Stamps: Sweet Summer (free Sale-a-bration set), sentiment from retired Sale-a-bration set
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy and Elegant Eggplant, Garden Green
Card stock: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy
Other: Elegant Eggplant marker

We have been partying away this weekend and have had a lovely time with our friends. But now, I feel, it's time to stop eating rich food and start spring cleaning! Hope you've all had lovely new year celebrations and that 2011 is good to you.

Thank you for joining me for Mail-friendly Monday today. I'll be back tomorrow with more inspiration for using your Sale-a-bration sets. As always, I am here to help or give advice with orders - just click here to email me, or phone me on 01280 820593.