simply stampin' challenge 66

Back today with another Simply Stampin' Challenge. This week's challenge is a theme and the theme is 

Clean & Simple

Birthday Flower

Stamp Set: Apothecary Art

Ink: Night of Navy

Cardstock: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight

Punches: Blossom, 5 Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, Corner Rounder

Accessories: Daffodil Delight Brad

So I'm not sure that the photo really does this card justice. The flower is really curvy and poofy! The tab just balances out the rest of the card and adds a place for the sentiment. 

Hope you liked this fun CAS card! I look forward to seeing your CAS creations over on the Simply Stampin' blog.

Happy Stampin',

Amanda xo

simply stampin' challenge 58

Good morning! 

Simply Stampin' time again. This week's challenge is a a sketch, you ready to see it?!

And now on to my creation...

Boutique Thanks

Stamp Set: Tea Shoppe

Ink: Soft Suede

Cardstock: Crumb Cake

DSP: Attic Boutique

Big Shot: Fun Flowers, Adorning Accents Edgelit & Impressions

Punches: 5 Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms, Corner Rounder

Accessories: Pool Party Designer Printed Brad

Thread: Pool Party Baker's Twine

Extras: Simply Scored

So first off I kind of flipped the sketch around a bit. It wasn't that I couldn't make it work how it was but I wanted to use a piece of crumb cake that had a random score line in it and I thought I'd incorporate it into my design - especially that's what I'd intended to do for the vertical strip anyway! And if it meant I could use one of the MANY scraps I have then al the better! woohoo! Anyway, back to the card, I scored a couple more lines using the new Simply Scored scoring board by SU! (didn't realise how exciting this thing was til it came and I started playing with it - its freakin' wonderful!!!!) So I used the adorning accents to cut and emboss my horizontal strips for the bottom. I kept them in crumb cake because I wanted to make a real feature of the dsp! I'd decided I wanted to use some of the new Attic Boutique paper - love that pool party pattern at the back so I cut out and layered quite a few flowers and a pool party brad to match. I've kind of deviated from the sketch here as its not a boxy shape like on the sketch but it just didn't fit for me and hey a sketch is just a spring board really isn't it!?! So I finishd off this card with some pool party bakers twine at the bottom and the thanks from Tea Shoppe.

What do you think to this card? Aren't you just LOVING all the new stuff?!! Look forward to reading your comments.

Happy Stampin',

Amanda x

fancy flower birthday

As I might have already mentioned Rhoda has been visiting for the last couple weeks and she's let me borrow lots of gorgeous goodies! I've got tons to show you over the next few weeks/months! Rhoda's sister and Stu's cousin Lydia had her birthday on Monday and here is the cute card I made for her using some of the borrowed stamps and punches!

Fancy Flower Birthday

Stamp Set: Creative Elements, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Always Artichoke

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Pear Pizzazz, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Regal Rose

Punches: Fancy Flower, 5 Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms

Ribbon: Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Chantilly Crochet Trim

Accessories: Pearls, Pear Pizzazz Glimmer Brad

I stamped the flourish on the background and on some Pear Pizzazz cardstock. I layered the Pear on some Always Artichoke (I haven't really used this colour much but I just thought it goes so well with Pear Pizzazz for a very elegant card!) I tore the edges too for a different shape and texture - something else I haven't done for quite a while. On top of this I layered my flower (I used the bone folder to give the flower its shape) with some folded scraps of ribbon behind it. I also added a piece of Vanilla card with the sentiment on it - I made it look like another strip of ribbon. Obviously I had to add pearls and voila there's one cute and pretty card! I hope Lyd liked it!

Happy Stampin',

Amanda xo

easter chicks

Hi there! I hope you are all having a good week. Isn't the weather just glorious?! I hope you are all taking a little time out of your busy lives to kick back and enjoy it! 

Here's the 5th card in the spring card club collection. Similar layout to the penguin card it also uses the owl builder to make these sweet little chicks!

Easter Chicks

Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Borderlines

Ink: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Early Espresso

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Early Espresso

Punches: Owl Builder, 5 Petal Flower

Extras: Cocktail Stick, Sponge

Okay so this is the same layout really but the chicks have wings which are just the petals cut off the 5 petal flower punch. The chicks were sponged to give a little bit more shading and texture. The top little chick is holding a banner which has the sentiment on it - how sweet right?! 

Anyway I won't go into all of the ins and outs of how I made the card - you'll have to read my post on the penguin card for that! 

Hope you liked this little take on the owl punch - its such a versatile punch. If you haven't got it yet I'd totally recommend getting it - its totally worth it!!! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Amanda x

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

daffodils

Man, I am beat! I am so tired - its been a long couple of days (I am writing this on Thursday night and scheduling it for Friday morning - what I do with most of my posts!). On the plus side my craft room is looking amazing! I think its the tidiest its EVER been - and we've only lived here for a year and 8 months - whoops! Ive still got bits to do and tidy and organise my storage systems and stuff but its getting there!

Now onto a card to share with you! Today's is another of the March card club series. Definitely very springtime - 

Easter Daffodils

Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Peach Parfait

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizzazz

Punches: 5 Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms, Decorative Label

Extras: Sponge, Embossing Stylus, Mat Pack

First we sponged the flowers with a little bit of Peach Parfait ink and then laying the punched flowers down on the mat pack we used the embossing stylus in the centre of the flowers to give a bit of shape to the flowers. Three strips of cardstock were laid down for the stalks and then the flowers added to the top (we put dimensionals under the yellow flowers to help it keep its shape! For the grass its just a strip of Pear Pizzazz cardstock that I snipped in to every couple of millimetres - after the entire thing was snipped in to I cut in at an angle to give it some varying height and a little more texture. I guess its similar to what a hair dresser does when they cut layers in your hair? The final thing to do was to stamp the sentiment, punch it out wit the decorative label punch and sponge. I just slipped it in under the grass and there you have it, one quick and simple Easter card!  

I hope you liked today's quick post. Come back tomorrow for another Simply Stampin' Challenge! 

Have a great day! 

Amanda xx

simply stampin challenge week 51

Simply Stampin' Challenge time again folks - sorry I'm a few days late - such a busy weekend I didn't get the chance to photograph my project!! This week is a theme, and the theme is...

Totally Tags

I'm afraid due to a busy week and not feeling great I don't have anything massively spectacular for you today. Here are some sweet little tags that I made though. Hope you like them!

Stamp Set: n/a

Ink: n/a

Cardstock: Confetti Ivory, Confetti White

DSP: Everyday Elegance (SAB)

Punches: 5 Petal Flower, 3/4" Circle

Big Shot: Beautiful Wings, Two Tags

Accessories: Crystal Effects

I cut the tags out with the big shot and then decorated them with some flowers I punched with the 5 Petal Flower punch - great way to show off some of the gorgeous patterns! I further highlighted the pretty patterns by adding crystal effects to some of the detail areas! I also added a few little butterflies I had strewn around - great way to use up scraps is to turn them into tags! (Everything I used to make these tags were scraps from other projects!)

Hope you liked my really simple project today. Please check out the Simply Stampin' Challenge blog to see what other tagtastic creations the DT has come up with for you this week and then have a go at making and entering your own tags! I'd love to see what you create! 

Happy Stampin',

Amanda xx

gift bags with a difference

I was surfing the net one night a little while ago when I couldn't sleep and got into watching youtube videos, I find it quite theraputic watching others craft and often get some fab ideas. On this occasion and found this excellent tutorial for how to make a gift bag out of an envelope. Now, I'm stupid and didn't save a link to the video, I really wanted to share the link with you. This is such a fantastic idea - I'm always in need of gift bags for pressies and finding one that's the correct size is almost impossible and can end up being quite pricey!

Below are a few examples of Christmas themed gift bags in a variety of sizes (depending on envelope size) and also different closures! This was the make and take project we did at Sue's party last week.

Stamp Set: Season of Joy

Ink: Real Red, Old Olive

Cardstock: Whisper White Real Red

Accessories: Real Red Grosgrain

Extras: Crop-a-dile

Envelope: to fit A5 card

Stamp Set: Season of Joy

Ink: Crumb Cake, Rose Red

Cardsrtock: Crumb Cake, Rose Red

Accessories: Rose Red Seam Binding, Rhinestones, Linen Thread

Punch: 5 Petal, Boho Blossoms, Decorative Label

Extras: Crop-a-dile

Envelope: to fit A4 letter

Stamp Set: Season of Joy

Ink: Marina Mist, Night of Navy

Punch: Eyelet Border

Accessories: Rhinestone Brads, Linen Thread

Extras: Crop-a-dile, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack

Envelope: to fit square card

Stamp Set: Season of Joy

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso

Cardstock: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight

Punch: Decorative Label

Accessories: Rhinestone Brad

Extras: Crop-a-dile, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack

Envelope: to fit A6 size card

I hope you liked today's share! They're so easy to make, have a go today!! 

Hugs,

Amanda x

just add cake

Another of the new Designer Papers is called Just Add Cake. A collection of brightly coloured stripes, dots numbers, letters in really scrummy cake and icing like colours. It really is a very yummy pack! 

Just Add Top Note

Stamp Set: Something to Celebrate (Hostess - Retired)

Ink: Wild Wasabi

Cardstock: Whisper White, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi

Punches: Modern Label, 5 Petal, 1" Circle, Itty Bitty

Big Shot: Fun Flowers, Top Note

So I cut squares of the DSP and adhered it in a patchwork style to the cardstock then ran it though the Big Shot. I assembled a flower out of cardstock in the same colours contained in the DSP. I finally stamped and punched out the sentiment and then ran my Wild Wasabi marker around the top note to give a very little extra definition against the Whisper White background.

I hope you liked today's share using some more new products! I have more Just Add Cake projects coming up over the next few days so please do stay tuned! 

Let me know what you think and leave a comment. 

Happy Stampin',

Amanda x

a little bonus - happy birthday mum

A little bonus post for you today, just wanted to share the little card I made for my mum's birthday last month.

Birthday Flowers

Stamp Set: Something to Celebrate (Hostess - retired)

Cardstock: Rose Red, Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake

Ink: Rose Red, Garden Green

Punch: Bird, Boho Blossoms, Itty Bitty, 5 Petal Flower, Corner Rounder

Accessories: Rhinestones, Rhinestone Brads

Big Shot: Lots of Tags

Extras: Crimper, Sponge

Hope you enjoyed this quick little post today. Isn't the card gorgeous?! And so simple to make! 

Happy Stampin',

Amanda xx

awesome august

A few days ago was my August class. This month's class focused on punches! I love punches so to do a class on punches was just so much fun!! Here are the project we did...

Flutter Away Butterfly

A cute card using the stencilling technique. To finish it off we added a fe punched butterflies out, this made it look like the butterflies were flying off the page! 

Flower Box

This was the main project we focused on this time as it involved rock and roll, glittery, glossy butterflies, gorgeous rolled roses, and fluffy 3D flowers! 

If you would like to have a go at learning these techniques and doing these projects yourself please get in touch for a catch up class, I have several people who have expressed an interest so please don't hesitate, contact me now, at amanda_burditt@hotmail.co.uk

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I and six lovely ladies got up to on Saturday, and I would love to share it with you too. Please do leave a comment.

Hugs,

Amanda

xxx

for grandma

Last month was my Grandma's Birthday (just shows how hopelessly far behind I have gotten with blogging!!). She lives in America so I don't get to see her very much, but last year she braved the long flight and her breathing conditions to come over for Stuart's and my wedding! It was so lovely that she could make it, and she arrived on her 80th birthday! Well, a year has gone by and here is the card I made for her this year...

Grandma's Springtime Flowers

Stamp Set: Baby Blossoms

Ink: Not Quite Navy

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Baja Breeze

DSP: Springtime Vintage

Punch: 5 Petal Flower, Itty Bitty Pack, Boho Blossoms, Circle Punches

Extras: Dimensionals

I punched out a bunch of different flowers in the Spingtime Vintage DSP. I layered them all up including making some little rolled roses to add to the centres. I wrote a sweet quote I found on the internet on the label  from the Baby Blossoms and added it to the card with flowers around it. A pretty simple card really! 

I hope you liked today's simple share. There's more to come in the days ahead as I try to catch up on my blogging! Please do leave me a comment and let me know what you think, I love reading your comments. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Amanda xx

simply stampin' challenge, week 21

So sorry its so late, as my previous post said, a lot has been happening! This week's challenge is a themed challenge and the theme was

Punch it Up 

I love punches and use them on a daily basis so I was wondering how I could make a card a little differently than my normal excessive use of punches. Therefore I thought I'd show you a card using a technique I saw in the Stampin' Up magazine that all the demos get on a monthly basis, its also a technique we did at class this month! 

Hi There Stencilled Flowers

Stamp Set: Basic Phrases

Ink: Rose Red, Garden Green

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Wild Wasabi

Punch: Modern Label, 5 Petal Flower

Accessories: Basic Pearls

Extras: Sponge, Yellow Permanent Marker, Copy Paper, Dimensionals, Tombo

I punched out the flower shape from copy paper and then using the left over copy paper temporarily adhered it to the card with tombo. I then sponged over the top, peeled off the mask to reveal stencilled images! I free hand drew and cut the curve of the card as there was a lot of dead space, it adds a bit of a different quirky look to the card also! To define the edge of the card I sponged around the card, added a sentiment on the modern label punch. Lastly I coloured in some pearls with a permanent marker and added them to the centre of the flower! 

I hope you liked this week's challenge design, I feel like I have lost my mojo a bit with everything going on this month and desperately trying to regain it again! Please do head over to the Simply Stampin' Challenge blog to see the other design team entries. Don't forget to enter yourself for your chance to win the gorgeous Forest Friends stamp set which is currently being given away! I only wish I was able to win it as they are so cute, but alas, as I am on the design team I can't so one of you lovely ladies has the chance to win it instead! :D 

Thanks for stopping by,

Amanda xoxo

simply stampin' challenge, week 20

Just not with it yet! I've been super busy with rabbit sitting, 3 workshops and other life happening that I just haven't had time to focus on my blog lately...whoops! Anyway I managed to sort of do the Simply Stampin' Challenge this week. By this I mean that I got it made and submitted just in time but was lacking inspiration slightly!! So I did a really simple card, sorry its nothing to write home about. It wasn't 'til I looked at the other entries today that I realised I used the wrong colour. Some how I read Pink Pirouette not Pretty in Pink, so sorry about that. So, moving on, this week's colour challenge colours are...

Hello Flower 

Stamp Set: Tiny Tags

Ink: Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette, Pacific Point

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pacific Point, Early Espresso

DSP: Pink Pirouette

Punches: 5 Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms, Jewellery Tag 

Accessories: Early Espresso Satin Ribbon, Brad

Extras: Sponge, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals

So now you've seen my uber simple effort this week please visit the Simply Stampin' Challenge blog for more inspiration and to enter. Weeks 20-23, there is also a chance to win a stamp set! Its is the uber cute Forest Friends, so for your chance to win please do enter! 

Take care,

Amanda xx