A fruity hello!

I'm sneaking in very quickly today with a quick card for this week's Less is More challenge where Chrissie and Mandi are asking for fruity cards. I have trips to pack for, birthdays to organise, workshops to prepare for... and the last thing I should be doing is making cards! Fellow LiMettes will understand I'm sure - I couldn't miss it could I?!!

When I think of fruit, the Tart and Tangy stamp set springs to mind and, since my frazzled brain couldn't decide which of the yummy fruit to choose, I've made a fruit salad! Come and see:

The sun is out here in Buckingham today so I thought I'd go bright and zingy with a Tempting Turquoise card base! I stamped the fruit, cut them out (punches make this quick and easy), chopped some of them up and arranged them in a border.

Here's a close-up which I've just realised is a bit blurry! (Sorry - I've lost my turbo glasses and am having to make do with some really weak ones that mean I keep bumping into things!) The 'hello' is from the Hello Again stamp set which happened to be out on my desk.

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Hello Again

Ink: Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry, Real Red

Card stock: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White

Other: Markers

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.

Okay, fun over. Just off to clear up, make a birthday cake, wrap some prezzies... my boy's turning into a teenager tomorrow. He shares a birthday with Harry Potter - how cool is that?! Once, at the beginning of Potter mania, he came to me and told me that he was having a lot of difficulty seeing things. Things seemed quite blurred he said, looking at me with his enormous blue eyes. I immediately whisked him off to the opticians where the first inkling I had that he wasn't being entirely truthful was when he headed straight for the Harry Potter display and gazed wistfully at the round spectacles. When the optician brought him out she seemed quite worried. "He tells me that his vision is quite blurred but I've done all the tests and can't find a thing wrong," she said. I'm sure I went right down in her esteem when I said airily that I expected he would grow out of it and beat a hasty retreat!

I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone's fruity creations this week, but that will have to wait until I've got my chores done!  I'll be back here on Monday with a masculine card - my son's birthday card of course! See you then,

Three Minute Thursday - Tart and Tangy teacher thank you!

The title sounds rather rude doesn't it - but I promise I'm not suggesting that my teacher appreciation card will be sent in a spirit of tartness or tanginess, only that the Tart and Tangy stamp set is perfect for this kind of card! It's Three Minute Thursday here at Crafting Clare's Paper Moments and I wanted to show you how fast it can be to produce one of these  - perhaps even first thing in the morning on the last day of term, just before you leave for the school run...! (Or is that just me?!)

I've been inspired by Susan Raihala, whose OLW challenge to make a card using only layers of ink had me absolutely fascinated! Here I scribbled in the centre of the frame image from the Notably Ornate set with a Basic Grey marker pen. When I stamped, it gave me something that looked like a piece of exercise book and I was very pleased with that! The sentiment is stamped in the scrumptious in-colour Poppy Parade, using a stamp-a-majig to keep the words within the lines. Then all I needed was my apple - inked up in Pear Pizzazz with a scribble of Chocolate Chip for the stalk. Come and have a closer look:

I designed this card for my youngest son's teacher who is male - all my sources tell me that males prefer one-layer cards with no fuss or frills! But if you wanted to add a little dimension, it wouldn't take long to stamp the apple again on a scrap of vanilla card stock and pop it up over the first apple.

Of course I had to try it! I used this lipsmackingly shiny apple I had lying about on my desk - it's just stamped and then covered with Crystal Effects. (I should make it clear that this is definitely not a three-minute technique as would take about an hour for the Crystal Effects to dry!)

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Notably ornate, Tart and Tangy, Thank You Kindly

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade 

Card stock: Very Vanilla

Other: Basic Grey and Chocolate Chip markers, Crystal Effects if you like

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.

The other day I was talking to my children about my first English teacher. She was a very old lady (yes, I told them, EVEN older than I am!) who walked very slowly with a stick, was terribly strict and never smiled. She was fond of telling us to always ask ourselves questions in our writing - what, where, when, why! Except that she always pronounced these words as if they began with an F. The children were amused by this and my youngest son tested it out: "Fwhat, fwhere, fwhen, fwhy," he said. And then, enthusiastically: "Fwoar!" Oh dear! That strict old lady would be turning in her grave!

I'm so pleased to see I have some new followers - a great big welcome to you! Thank you for coming to visit me and I hope you'll come back often. I love returning your visits too so, if you have time, do leave me a comment. I'll be back tomorrow with more craftiness so I'll hope to see you then.

Tart and Tangy teacher thank you

Well I was up bright and early this morning, eager to see what the Less is More challenge would be today,  and it was to make a card using this fabulous sketch.

With the end of term coming up in a few weeks, it's been on my mind to make cards for my youngest son's teachers, so that was the thinking behind my offering this week. Come and have a look:

I always like to use a traditional apple motif on my teacher appreciation cards and this one is from the Tart and Tangy set. Of course only the shiniest, yummiest looking apples will do for those hard-working teachers...

... and these apples were given a coat of Poppy Parade ink before giving them a super-shine with Crystal Effects. I love how they look against the soft masked, sponged and stamped background - and yes, that background was stamped with a leaf from French Foliage! If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I'm using this set on everything that moves at the moment! The sentiment is stamped inside the lines because I thought they looked a bit like handwriting guides.

Supplies needed for this project:

Stamps: Tart and Tangy, French Foliage, Just Believe (sentiment)

Ink: Old Olive, Early Espresso

Card stock: Confetti Cream

Other: Markers, Crystal Effects

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.

I had to leave my apples to dry before assembling this card  (don't attempt to speed up the process with a heat gun as you get a nasty bubbly mess instead of a nice smooth shine!) so I've been at my older son's tennis match and my younger son's school fair since making them. I'm happy to report that the sun shone on these events and great fun was had by all (although I admit to being very glad to get home and have a revivifying cup of tea!)

Hope you're all having a great weekend! I shall be popping round to see what everyone's been making a bit later. Thank you for coming to visit me and leaving a comment - I really appreciate it.

Three Minute Thursday -with Tart and Tangy

Good Morning! It's Three Minute Thursday here but, more importantly, it's Chinese New Year! This is an enormously important celebration for Chinese people all over the world and I'd like to send everyone my best wishes for this year of the rabbit.

So, today's three-minute card is a Chinese new year card. I cheated a little because I don't have a Happy Chinese New Year stamp, so I started timing the card after I'd printed the sentiment.

I chose the citrus image from Tart and Tangy because tangerines and oranges are often given as gifts at this time as the Cantonese words for them sound the same as the words for luck and wealth.

This card was made for my daughter's Chinese teacher - but then I realised that she teaches Mandarin, not Cantonese. I'm sure she'll know! And then I realised that I'd got so carried away with my design that the card didn't have any rabbits on it...

...So then I thought I'd add a rabbit inside the card and obviously that took the card way over three minutes! All in all, Three Minute Thursday has turned out to be a bit of a disaster time-wise today! But, on the other hand, the initial card design would be useful for summer invites and notecards so perhaps you'll overlook it this time...

Here's how to make this card:

• Cut an 8cm square piece of Whisper White card stock.
• Stamp a sentiment in the centre of the card stock using a stamp-a-majig for accurate positioning. TIP: Blocky sentiments look good with this design - I used the Fathers' Day sentiment from Occasional Greetings but Happy Birthday from Afterthoughts (hostess) or one of the sentiments from On a Pedestal would work really well too.
• Stamp the sentiment onto a post-it note and trim to size. Use this to mask the sentiment on the card stock.
• Stamp the citrus image all over the card stock using Pumpkin Pie ink. Now sponge More Mustard ink over the whole area using a sponge dauber, paying particular attention to the edges of the mask. Remove the mask.
• Cut a 9cm x 18cm piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock. Score and fold in half to make a card blank and attach the stamped image to the card front.

Supplies

Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Occasional Greetings

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard

Card stock: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White

Other: Cherry Cobbler marker

Since I've already blown the three minutes, and anyway I'm in a Chinese New Year mood, here's another celebratory card:

I've been told that chrysanthemums in various shades of red are also big at Chinese New Year so I thought I'd use these two-step stamping flowers from Greenhouse Garden on this card. Have you noticed how much I use these self-adhesive rhinestones at the moment? I love them!

Here's a close-up of the sentiment. I used my computer to print the numbers because I haven't got my set of numbers yet (I really need them but something pretty always tempts me first!) The 'be' is from a sentiment in Just Believe!

Well, now that I'm in a thoroughly Chinese mood I think I might plan a Chinese feast for later. Happy Chinese New Year! Have a great day!

FTL 94 challenge and teachers' appreciation gifts

The FTL challenge on the Clean and Simple Stamping site this week is a favourite style of mine and, since my head is currently full of apples, it took no time at all to work out what I was going to make.


It was very speedy to produce this card...

... and  whip up a matching notepad and pen to make a little teacher appreciation gift. This paper, from the Sweet Pea designer paper stack in the mini catalogue, has to be one of my all-time favourites. I think it looks great with that pop of black. Yes, that's the apple from the Tart and Tangy set - I know, I'm obsessed with it! But they're such graphic images, I love them! (And you get four fruits for £10.95 so it's pretty well rude not to!)

Supplies
Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Trendy Trees (sentiment)
Ink: Basic Black
Card stock: Basic Black, Whisper White
Other: Earth Elements and Basic Black markers, 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" punches, Sweet Pea DP stack

While I'm here I thought I'd show you some simple, one-layer notelets made with Tart and Tangy.

I used Real Red and Old Olive on Whisper White card stock for these. Doesn't the cherry look fabulous with the Sincere Salutations sentiments! I think the invitation would be perfect for summer barbecues and parties and it would be easy to produce lots of them in a short time.

I won't be going to any barbecues or parties this weekend because it's the weekend of the Desperate 2 Dance show. All three of my children belong to this brilliant street dance company which offers the annual opportunity to perform in a real theatre. The children each have their four costumes ready, they're practising their moves and they are so excited! Me too - I know they'll be sensational and I'll need loads of tissues to hand!

Thanks for popping in today. Sorry about all the apples. I promise I've got it out of my system now and the next post will be an apple-free zone!
Have a wonderful weekend!

More Tart and Tangy end-of-term thank you cards

Those background stamps from the mini catalogue are fabulous and have been well-used in my craft space.  Yesterday I showed you a card to show your appreciation to your children's teachers using Solid Stripes to make a gingham background. Today's cards use the A-Z background stamp which I thought would be appropriate too.

Can you see the coloured shadow behind the alphabet? It's made by cutting a piece of card stock the same size as the alphabet panel, adhering it to the card base, then popping the alphabet over the top with dimensionals.  Here's a closer look:

You can only see it when you turn your card a little - just the sort of subtle touch I love!

Supplies
Stamps: Tart and Tangy, A-Z, Trendy Trees (sentiment)
Ink: Night of Navy and Regal Rose for the first card, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive for the other two.
Card stock: Ballet Blue for the first card, Summer Sun for the second, Old Olive for the third and Whisper White for all.
Other: 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, Rich Regals markers for the first card, Earth Elements markers for the other two.

After making these, I got carried away and whipped up these fruity little numbers with the Dot, Dot, Dot background stamp.

They have a bit of a retro look to them and remind me of pony tails, bright pink lipstick and pedal pushers. I used Ruby Red and Garden Green ink and card stock for the strawberry card and Green Galore, Real Red and Pink Passion for the cherry card.

Oh yum, all this fruit is making me peckish! Time for tea!
Thank you for visiting my blog today.

Tart and Tangy teachers' thank you

The girls at our local schools wear pretty little gingham frocks in the summer and they were the inspiration for these end-of -term thank you cards. By the way, is it really true that children used to give their teacher an apple to show their appreciation?

The gingham was made by colouring the Solid Stripes background stamp with a dark and a light marker, stamping, then turning it 90 degrees and stamping again. I used my Stamp-a-majig to position the stamp. I cut the gingham out with my trimmer and positioned it on a Whisper White card base using dimensionals. The apple from the Tart and Tangy set was coloured using markers, stamped onto Whisper White card stock and cut out with the 1 3/8" circle punch. I mounted that onto a circle of coloured card stock with a dimensional and then adhered it to the gingham background. The sentiment is a favourite of mine from Trendy Trees.

Supplies
Stamps: Solid Stripes, Tart and Tangy, Trendy Trees
Ink: Garden Green
Card stock: Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy
Other: 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, Earth Elements and Rich Regals markers

Here are some other colourways:

And a close-up look at that gingham. Love it!

You know, I meant to post this yesterday but things went a bit pear-shaped! In fact, there's been a lot of pear-shaped-ness in my life just lately - mostly to do with forgetting things. I think I need to start carrying around a notebook containing written instructions to myself... but first I think I need to make a stash of 'I'm So Sorry' cards.

See you tomorrow with more end-of-term bits and pieces.
(And this time I mean it!)

FTL81 Challenge

The challenge sketch at Clean and Simple this weekend was all about circles. My initial thought was to use one of the lovely circular images from Seeing Spots but as I was about to reach for it the citrus fruit from Tart and Tangy caught my eye. This is the very simple result:

The card took pretty much seconds!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up)
Stamps: Tart and Tangy, One of a kind
Ink: Yoyo Yellow, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Cardstock: Whisper White
Other: 1 1/4" circle punch

Yum - making this card made my mouth water. It'll be grapefruit for breakfast tomorrow I think.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Vicky