moving forward...

There are so many lovely new stamp sets in the catalogue, I have a wish list as long as my arm! One set however that I didn't pay much attention to was Moving Forward. It has cute kiddy images like a bike and boat as well as a frog and bird which could be used for a modern style card - not necessarily kiddy ones. So I hadn't really noticed it until I was reading Heather's blog and she did a little series of cards using this set and I was hooked! It went from not even being on the list to pretty much the top! 

Well, I got it! Its so cute and different - I love it! I thought it'd be perfect for a card I wanted to make to congratulate some friends of ours who are adopting! They have 2 kids - one girl and one boy! Seeing as they aren't babies I didn't want to make it too much like a new baby card so I thought these images would work perfect for a couple of toddlers! 

Stamp Set: Moving Forward, Curly Cute

Ink: Baja Breeze, Pretty in Pink, Crumb Cake

Cardstock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, So Saffron

DSP: Floral District

Punch: Itty Bitty, Scallop Trim

Ribbon: Pretty in Pink Satin (retired)

Accessories: Mini Brads

Aren't the mini brads just the cutest little accent?! They add a little fun to the card but not as glitzy as rhinestones or pearls would be! 

What do you think? Hope you liked it! 

Amanda xo

merry mini stars

I showed you a quick card using the Merry Minis tree earlier this week so I thought I would show you the star punch today! 

Doesn't it just look darling in different scraps of red and green with just one sparkly gold star!?

Stamp Set: Curly Cute

Cardstock: Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade, Champagne Glimmer, Whisper White

Ribbon: Real Red Stitched Grosgrain

Punch: Scallop Trim, Merry Minis

Embossing Powder: White 

Another great card to use up scraps of paper! and a great way to add a little glimmer with one gold star! 

Happy Stampin',

Amanda x

a little princess...

As any faithful blog readers will know I am on the Design Team for Simply Stampin' Challenge. So when time came for finding new DT members or renewing I decided to try out again, I'm having so much fun and learning lots! Below is the 'inspiration' photo that was issued for us to create around. 

Isn't it just adorable?! I had so many ideas - look at those medallions! And cupcakes? Pompoms! Fairy tale castle!? Everything is so cute! Well here is what I came up with and earned me another 6 months on the DT...

Princess Tower

Stamp Set: Borderlines, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink, Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand, Pear Pizzazz

Big Shot: Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Blossom Party

Punch: Curly Label, Scallop Trim Border, Itty Bitty

Accessories: Pearls

I stamped the vines all over the background of the carstock and punched a border along the top. I then added a smaller piece of cardstock with a curly label hole in it - cute window right?! and more vines. On top of that is a triangle as a tower top. The card has really been brought to life with lots of these cute little flowers, butterflies and a multitude of pearls! Below the scallop trim I added some little banners. 

What do you think to the card then? How does it measure up to the inspiration photo? I really enjoyed making this card - definitely got to go to a special little girlie now! 

Happy Stampin',

Amanda xx

paper players challenge

Any of my faithful blog readers will know that I am a design team member for Simply Stampin' Challenge blog. I love doing it, but what with having to produce an entry for that every week, my own personal projects, SU business stuff and general life I don't really find time to look at other challenge blogs and NEVER seem to be organised enough to actually enter any - I've had the best of intentions several times but not quite succeeded. Anyway, today I was surfing the net and came across The Paper Players. Their sketch for the week looked interesting and I thought I could do something with it! So here's the sketch I was working from along with my own take on it!

Spring Flowers & Frame

Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango

Punches: Scallop Circle, Boho Blossoms, 5 Petal Flower, Curly Label, Scallop Trim 

Big Shot: Little Leaves, Oval Frame

Ribbon: Very Vanilla Satin

Accessories: Brights Brad, Rhinestones

So this was actually my third attempt at this sketch - my first two attempts just developed into something else and they were so pretty I didn't want to mess around with them to fit the sketch so this is my third try and its using a few left overs! Oh I love cards that use leftovers! I had this Razzleberry flower which has been sitting in my craft room for probably about 9 months now - its the scallop circle, split cardstock to make it poofy and fastened with a brights brad. Underneath is the 5 petal flower for the leaves. I had the idea that it would look really nice in the oval embossed frame but it looked a little lonely so I used some little tangerine boho blossoms and little leaves to fill it out. I added my sentiment to the side and punched a border with the scallop trim for the bottom of the card. Finally I added some ribbon and rhinestones to just finish it off. 

I hope you like this little number - I'm quite pleased with how it worked out - its defo a hand delivery number though as the flower is POOFY!!! Let me know what you think and leave me a comment! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Amanda x

simply stampin' challenge week 46

Sketch challenge this week folks! So without further ado, here it is...

I have to admit I took one look at this and thought, woah, that's a bit full on! And in all honesty I struggled with this for ages. In the end I made it work for me but I had to jiggle things around a bit. Hope you like what I ended up with! 

Fresh Floral Birthday

Stamp Set: Fresh Vintage, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Lucky Limeade

Cardstock: Very Vanilla

DSP: Everyday Elegance

Punches: Bird, Scallop Trim Border

Accessories: Pearls

I used the colours in the Everyday Elegance DSP to colour in the Fresh Vintage flowers. I used some of the Poppy Parade DSP to do a the borders. I cut out the flowers and and placed them around the main floral image with some little sprigs of leaves cut from the Bird Builder punch to finish it off! I stamped the sentiment on a little banner and placed it just coming out of the bottom flowers. 

Please check out the other design team entries over at the Simply Stampin' Challenge blog! I look forward to seeing what you create. 

Happy Stampin',

Amanda xx

spring blossoms

Hi there folks! 

So, today is another card I made using the Easter Blossoms set when I went for a play session at Vicky's last week. 

Springtime Blossom

Stamp Set: Easter Blossoms

Ink: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Crumb Cake

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink

Punch: Scallop Trim

I stamped the blossom branch and then coloured it in with the markers, then stamped the sentiment in Regal Rose ink. To finish it off and add a dash more pink, I used the Scallop Trim border punch to give the strip some more detail and that was it. Very pretty. 

What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know!

Thanks for stopping by, catch you tomorrow!

Amanda xo

spring is just around the corner

Good morning all! Getting back into the groove here with another little number from the Spring Mini. 

Spring Girl 

Stamp Set: Easter Blossoms

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Wisteria Wonder

Punch: Scallop Trim Border, Decorative Label

Big Shot: Top Note

Extras: White Gel Pen

I began with a card front that was a third smaller than the back, so I then punched the scallop trim border,  next I used part of the negative scrap left from the top note die in wisteria wonder to create this edge trim. I added a thin strip of chocolate chip to finish off the edge. The card front is still smaller than the back but it adds a nice look when the card is closed and a strip of the very vanilla is showing. I stamped the girl silhouette in chocolate chip. Also in chocolate chip I stamped the sentiment on some wisteria wonder and punched it out with he decorative label punch. I had a small strip left which I used the decorative label punch to add a detail to the ends and adhered it over the top. Finally I used a white gel pen to add a couple stitching lines. 

I hope you liked this creation, I will be back later today with some more information about the Sale-A-Bration that has started today!

Happy Stamping,

Amanda x