So Kind Celebration

Hi! 

Friday - woohoo! Looking forward to a lie in tomorrow! Tonight Stuart and I are going to see one of our favourite comedians, Jon Richardson! I'm super excited, he's a very funny guy! 

But before we go, I have a card for the Paper Player's challenge. This week has been a sketch challenge. I've looked at it a few times and I've been desperately wanting to make something for it but what with a busy week and feeling shattered and still under the weather it didn't happen until last night. 

Stamp Set: Sweet Essentials

Ink: Always Artichoke

Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake

DSP: Celebrations Basic Kit, Coral Celebrations Add-On Kit

Punch: Fancy Flower, Boho Blossom

Embellishments: Gold Sequin Trim

Other: White Gel Pen

I've been wanting to use some of the celebrations add-on  pieces to make some cards, finally I got the chance. There's some super cute patterns in the set plus tags and lots more. I used the tag with the pretty white patterned border. I tied that in to the rest of the card with the white gel pen to do a border around the strip of DSP and also to decorate the leaves. I really love the patterns on the leaves - this really lifts the dark artichoke green and adds a fun pattern. 

The flowers are alternate cantaloupe and coral for that subtle difference in colour which you can really see when the petals are all fluffed up. 

The centre I added a gold blossom and for some added texture by piling up sequins. I also added scattered sequins to fill the gaps and draw the eye through the card. 

I love how this has turned out and look forward to making more pretties with this add-on kit. At £8.95 its a real bargain for all the awesome pieces you get in it! 

Happy Stampin',

Sanded Watercolor Wonder

Hello! 

Its Friday! I having another sick day. Still feeling pretty awful! I took some sleeping tablets last night and managed to sleep the whole night through, at least I don't feel quite so shattered and sleep deprived as I have been but still feeling pretty horrid. Anyway, I have a card I made on Monday to share with you today.

I'm loving the core'dinations paper that SU has in the current Annual Catalugue. I think it looks so fun embossed and sanded for a lighter shade beneath. Obviously you could emboss and sand any papers but the beauty of the core'dinations is the different colour under the surface. If you haven't played with core'dinations yet I'd totally recommend giving it a try! 

Now, the thought occurred to me that the watercolour notecards might look quite pretty embossed and sanded, yes its only white under the surface but I had a feeling it'd soften the intense colour and create a pretty effect! 

Stamp Set: Label Love, Pennant Parade

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar

Cardstock: Whisper White, Gumball Green, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz, Baked Brown Sugar, Vellum, Watercolor Wonder Notecards

Punch: Itty Bitty, Boho Blossoms, Bird Builder, Artisan Label, 1" Circle

Big Shot: Beautifully Baroque

Embellishments: Gold Sequin Trim

I'm super impressed how this has turned out, the card was very pretty but I did feel the colour was super intense so this just added a beautiful soft texture and finish to the notelet. 

I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to add to this background but I knew whatever I did add I didn't want anything that would take away from the beauty of the background. I finally opted for the artisan label which has a pretty shape but isn't too big either.

I decorated it with flowers and cracked out the gold sequin trim which I've been meaning to use for ages! I used the sequins in a scattered fashion as I would have with rhinestones or pearls. The beauty of the sequins is they're a lot more post friendly! 

Hope you enjoyed this today! 

Happy Stampin',

Floral Spray

Hey! 

So, I'm not at school today - just too unwell! Ugh! I was up half the night and just feel totally rough. I've managed to sleep most of the morning but now I've been up an hour or so I'm starting to feel pretty awful again. Gonna have another sleep after I've written this blog post for you!

Despite these last couple days being sick, I think I'm finally getting back into the groove of participating in challenge blogs! The last few weeks I've been a bit flakey and I've missed it. Today's share is the Colour Q challenge. It's a totally beautiful colour combo! 

Love, love, love purple and yellow together. ITs not a colour combo I use often but it just looks so bright, cheerful and fresh! It reminds me of crocuses! 

Stamp Set: Express Yourself, Hardwood

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Crumb Cake

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz

Big Shot: Little Leaves, Blossom Party, Floral Frames Framelits

Punch: Boho Blossoms, Itty Bitty

Embellishments: Candy Dots, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Whisper White Baker's Twine

I wanted the elegant eggplant and daffodil delight to have a real colour hit on this card so I thought it'd be nice to do a big blossom with some little white and yellow flowers scattered around. For this big blossom I used the blossom party die for the outer layers and floral frames for the yellow centre. I used the bone folder to split the card into 2 layers. I love the light fluffy texture it gives the paper. To give all the layers I scrunched the layers for that little variation in different sizes. For the centre two layers I actually cut the petals up into individual pieces and adhered as it kept the flower a little neater and flatter. 

I hadn't used the vintage faceted buttons in ages and thought it'd be the perfect touch here. It'd add that sparkle and wow to the card without taking away the punch of colour. 

I realise that I used a lot of candy dots here but they work so well for the centres of the little blossoms. Candy dots are certainly one of my favourite  embellishments of the moment! 

The hardwood background adds the needed texture and seems to fit so well with flowers - like a wood panel fence.

Okay, I need to get off for a sleep. Have a great day! 

Catch you again tomorrow! 

Happy Stampin',

Strawberry Petals

Hi! 

How did it get to the end of Tuesday already?! I spent the afternoon sewing (lots of lovely fabric to use that I bought at the Knitting & Stitching Show last week!!). Anyhow, I did get a little time to do some paper crafting too. 

Things are taking a little longer to get done as my foot is really causing me havoc which means less crafting time - going to try and get to the doctor this week. Its very painful and all that walking in London really didn't help matters, not to mention Stuart sat on it getting into bed last night. Ouch!!

I had a brilliant time yesterday with Kat and the boys. We tested out a new place just down the road for me and it was very lovely - huge slices of cake and lots of tea plus a fun play area for the kids. I got loads of cuddles! Yay!! Arthur is just the sweetest thing and very snuggly and even Euan seem full of hug yesterday! I'll never say no to a hug. 

Not the most pictuesque photo in the world - I look tired, Arthur is mid yawn and Euan has a mouthful of mini cheddars!! But I thought you might like to see a little photo of these cuties!

I was clearing out a bag I had taken to Vicky's a while ago for our last crafty play date and found some flowers I'd made in preparation for making into a car when I got home. I actually decided to scrap my original idea of putting the large pansy flower on the same card as the petite petals and ended up making two clean and simple cards!  

Stamp Set: Flower Shop, Petite Petals, Express Yourself

Ink: Strawberry Slush, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green

Cardstock: Strawberry Slush, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, Very Vanilla

Punch: Pansy, Petite Petals, Boho Blossoms, Bird Builder

Embellishments: Large Rhinestones

This is pretty straight forward really, There's two layers on the pansy flower and the petite petals for some extra dimension and body. I decided to add one of the punches from the boho blossoms punch because I thought it could use a little more of something in the centre. It was also stamped with the Petite Petals stamp so it blended in well with the other layers - its those little touches that really make a card look extra polished! Dontcha think? More "fluff" was added to the boho punch by snipping between each petal. 

I like the idea of having a few of these cards ready made up for emergencies - when you've got the stamps and punches out, they don't take long to put together. However, leave the sentiment off until you need a card then you can quickly add whatever sentiment you need! 

Stamp Set: Petite Petals, Express Yourself

Ink: Strawberry Slush, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green

Cardstock: Strawberry Slush, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, Very Vanilla

Punch: Petite Petals, Itty Bitty, Bird Builder

Embellishments: Rhinestones

Again, pretty much the same as the previous card but with smaller flowers all in a row. The itty bitty punch has the Petite Petals stamped on them so they have that extra texture. 

I'm really enjoying the vanilla on these cards. I began to reach for white and then thought hey, you use white on pretty much everything at the moment, so I tried out vanilla here and it worked a treat! 

Hope you enjoyed these little numbers today. Sorry my post got up so very late in the day! 

Happy Stampin',

A Must....For List Makers!! PP182

Hey there! 

Today's creation is using the gorgeous colour palette from the Paper Players.

I just LOVE the colour palette this week - any of you regular followers know that I'm on a bit of a Crisp Cantaloupe kick at the moment. I was actually admiring (and almost bought) a top in a store on Saturday which had Cantaloupe and Midnight Muse paired up - it was beautiful. 

So this colour combo would make a beautiful card but I had picked up a nice champagne gold frame that I wanted to make into a "To Do" board. It seemed only natural to do it up with the Crisp Cantaloupe and Midnight Muse and add some more gold in there too. Here's the finished article. (sorry for the less than amazing photos - its a dark and miserable day here and the light in my room is less than perfect for photos!)

Cardstock: Midnight Muse

DSP: Sweet Sorbet (SAB), Gold Fancy Foil Vellum

Big Shot: Bigz Alphabet Typeset

Punch: Boho Blossoms

Accessories: Metallic Mini Clothespins

Other: Frame

This frame was just a cheap frame I picked up for £5 - and its big! It'll hold a 12"x10" photo in there for you so it means there's plenty of space for writing that forever uberlong to do list!

I chose probably my favourite sheet of paper in SAB's Sweet Sorbet collection and just cut some letters with the big shot alphabet (its been a while since I cracked these out!) I decided I wanted a bit more of a gold touch to this so go tthe chance to add some of the gold foil vellum - isn't this just to die for!? What I especially love is that I managed to punch the heart vellum with the boho blossoms so there's just a single heart in the centre. 

At that point I was finished. Ish. I saw the metallic clothes pins laying there and thought oh what a brilliant idea - I could hot glue some to the bottom of the frame to clip important piece of paper etc to. 

I'm just over the moon at how well this turned out and really hope it'll keep me a little more organised!

Happy Stampin',

Inky Fingers Challenge 6

Hi!

Its the second week in February and that means it another sketch challenge over at the Inky Fingers blog.  Here's the sketch...

I thought I'd keep it pretty simple this week, and here's what I made...

Stamp Set: Chalk Talk, Lots of Thanks

Ink: Basic Grey, Strawberry Slush

Cardstock: Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Strawberry Slush, Vellum, Silver Glimmer Paper

Big Shot: Petals a Plenty TIEF, Chalk Talk Framelits

Punch: Boho Blossoms

Accessories: Pearls

Yep there's that frosted scattered embossing technique again. Don't the frosted panels look so pretty on the Strawberry Slush card!? 

Its finished off with a white gel pen line around the edge, a blossom flower and some pearls. 

The inside I just did the same wonky edge lines around the card in strawberry slush and stamped a thank you.

Did you enjoy that one? Why don't you head over to the Inky Fingers blog and check out what the other lovely talented design team members have created for you. And you could even enter your own creation too! I'd love to see it!!!

Happy Stampin',

When Skies Are Gray...

Hello!

Busy day today, house work, grocery shopping, finishing organising card club cards and materials for tonight. I've also got to go do Aunty Lil's housework and dinner too! 

The weather has been doing crazy things lately so I thought this little number was perfect...

Stamp Set: See Ya Later (SAB)

Ink: Whisper White, Basic Gray

Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Basic Gray, Pool Party

Punch: Cupcake Builder, 3/4" Circle, Boho Blossom, Owl Builder

Other: White Embossing Powder

Love this little sentiment! The stamp actually comes with a little cloud and smiley sun with it but I thought it'd be cute to make my own version with punches. I used the negative from the cupcake frosting as a mask to make some light and fluffy sponged clouds! 

I bet you're wondering how I made those raindrops?! Its the little heart from the owl builder punch cut in half. It makes perfectly shaped little rain drops! Neat trick, huh? 

Hope you enjoyed this happy little number. Stop by tomorrow for something else creative! 

Happy Stampin',

Fancy Flowers

Hi! 

How is your weekend going? Mine is lovely, we had a wonderfully relaxing day at home yesterday and today is my dad's birthday! I've made him an awesome card (I'll be showing you it sometime later this week!) I'm super impressed with it and I think he's going to love it too! 

So today is a busy day filled with church and lunch at my parents' but I've just got time to squeeze in a card for you!

My card is using the Flower Shop stamp set which I've been plaing with this week as I've borrowed it off my downline, Debbie. I was inspired by a card I made during last year's Sale-A-Bration using the Bloomin' Marvelous set. 

 I kept the same colour palette of Summer Starfruit, Sahara Sand & Grey but just stepped it up a bit.

Stamp Set: Flower Shop, Lots of Thanks

Ink: Sahara Sand, Summer Starfruit, Smoky Slate

Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Summer Starfruit, Smoky Slate, Whisper White

Punch: Pansy, Boho Blossoms, Itty Bitty

Embellishments: Rhinestones

I stamped the flowers along the edge. I used the masking technique with some printer paper so I could have the flowers overlapping. Then came the fiddly task of cutting the edge. Actually it wasn't TOO hard, just took it nice and slow and went to my happy place. I must be nuts, I LOVE cutting intricate things out!! The cut edge really makes the WOW factor on this card!

I really debated adding the punched flowers, it looked so pretty and fresh without the flowers but you know what I'm like when I get hold of punches....I go nuts! For a simpler version I think this would look so cute without the punched flowers and maybe just add a little glitter to the flowers for some sparkle and shine!? The rhinestones make it even more flashy and special! 

Hope you have a nice Sunday whatever you're doing,

Happy Stampin',

flurries of snow are coming!

Just a quick and fun Christmas card for you today! This is another one that would be great for mass producing and relatively inexpensive too! 

Christmas Snowflake

Stamp Set: For My Family

Ink: Gumball Green, Crumb Cake

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Gunball Green, Very Vanilla

DSP: Be of Good Cheer

Big Shot: Snow Flurry

Punch: Boho Blossoms 

Accessories: Linen Thread

 The snowflake was cut with the gorgeous new big shot die and then sponged a little with crumb cake ink to soften it a little. I added a couple of the flowers from the boho blossoms to the centre of the snowflake to fill it out a little more - without using a button or anything bulky! I added some DSP to the card, wrapped some linen thread around it and a sentiment too. 

What I love most about this card is that its super flat so is excellent for posting!! If you did want to jazz it up a bit more you could definately add a button or brad to the card. Or for a post frindly version with a little more sparkle try spritzing with some shimmer mist or adding dazzling details!

Hope you enjoyed this snowy card - did you know we might be getting a little snow this weekend?! I like snow but I'm not ready!! Its far far too early to be donning chunky winter coats, hats, scarves, gloves etc. Ugh, I am so not a winter person! 

Happy Stampin',

Amanda xx

stitched owl

A couple weeks ago Simply Stampin' Challenge was a stitched challenge - it could be faux or proper sewing. Well, you know I love my faux stitching! I wasn't very organised in taking a photo and therefore just missed that week completely with is gutting because I'd created this sweet little card for the challenge.

Birthday Stitched Owl

Stamp Set: Curly Cute, Betsy's Blossoms

Ink: Early Espresso, Gumball Green

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Primrose Petals, Very Vanilla, More Mustard

DSP: Patio Party

Punch: Owl Builder, Boho Blossoms, Itty Bitty Punch Pack

Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Rhinestones

This is a pretty simple card actually, the owl was punched and assembled it. I stamped the leaves and branch stamp in white cardstock for the owl to sit on and embellished with some little blossoms. I stamped and embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder. Everything got faux stitched with a espresso marker. 

I hope you enjoyed this slightly delayed creation!

Happy Stampin',

Amanda x

drawn to... magnets!!

First of all appologies for being away for so long! I had a few scheduled posts for Simply Stampin' Challenge while I was away and ever since I've been back its just been go go go! I've spent the last couple of days creating a bunch of NEW samples with stamps and accessories from the new Autumn/Winter catalogue and also a few sneaky peek items that I've got from the new Annual catalogue which launches October 1st!

Anyway, I've been wanting to show you this little creation for a while now...

I think I might have a bit of a thing about magnets - my fridge is full of them sticking up recipes, random notes, cheques and so much junk that I just feel the need to stick up. So I know that magnetic sheets are on the list of things that the Big Shot will cut and I've been wanting to try it for ages but I just never got around to trying it! 

Now I got an email about a week before going on holiday from a magnet company called First 4 Magnets asking if I'd like to have a few magnet samples to play with and show you what I created! Of course I was super excited about this and so a few days later a package arrive in the mail full of magnets! I'm still working on ideas for some of the magnets I received but I knew exactly what I wanted to do with one item I got...adhesive sheet magnet.

Fun Flowers Magnets

Stamp Set: n/a

DSP: Twitterpated

Punch: Boho Blossoms

Big Shot: Fun Flowers

Other: Magnet Sheet

So this magnetic sheet is a few millimeters thick, its got a good level of strength so its great for holding things up but its still thin enough to be flexible and whiz through the big shot! So how did I do this? It was SO simple! 

I cut a piece of DSP large enough for the flower I wanted to die cut and then peeling back the adhesive backing sheet on the magnet adhered the DSP to the magnet. I then cut the magnet piece out with a pair of scissors (yes normal scissors work for cutting this magnet - how awesome is that!?!) So you want to lay your magnet with the DSP face down against the die for best results and roll through the big shot as usual! And voila! 

So I made a couple magnets using the different sizes of flowers from the Fun Flowers die and layered them on top of each other - it makes for a cool layered magnet but they can be separated for holding more sheets of paper! You HAVE to try this! 

I can totally see myself making LOADS of these! They'd make super cute easy and inexpensive gifts or just for decorating your own fridge! I'm making one for all throughout the year and then I can switch them up with the seasons! You could personalise them with stamping names or pictures on them too or even use a photo in place of cardstock or DSP! 

The self adhesive sheet is sold by the meter and I assure you one meter will make a ton of magnets!!! Give it a go!

I've got other things to show you too that I've been making with magnets etc so check back real soon! 

Happy Craftin',

Amanda xo

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

wedding...

So I've been doing wedding stationary for a couple of ladies recently and this was one of the samples I knocked up of a invite I could make - seeing as Ive only just started I didn't have many samples to show! 

Wedding Invite with Belly Band

Stamp Set: n/a

Ink: n/a

Cardstock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, So Saffron

DSP: First Edition

Punch: Boho Blossoms

Big Shot: Fun Flowers, Elegant Bouquet Emboss 

Accessories: Antique Brads

So inside in the middle would be the invitation wording and embossed pattern on the two sides enclosing it. Holding the whole thing together is a belly band with embossed pattern again and then a pretty flower in the centre! Its gorgeous! If I was getting married again I would totally go for something glamorous like this!! 

Hope you liked today's quick little share! 

Happy Stampin',

Amanda xo

vintage style medallion

Another of the stamps I've been eyeing up in the catalogue for ages is the Medallion background stamp, so when Rhoda came down I asked to borrow it. I thought I'd show you one of the creations that I came up with using it...

Medallion Congratulations

Stamp Set: Medallion, Curly Cute, French Foliage

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Vellum Paper

Punch: Boho Blossoms

Accessories: Pearls

Extras: Champagne Shimmer

I stamped the medallion in the background and then using a combination of soft suede ink (stamping off for a lighter shade) and champagne shimmer paint  to stamp some water drop marks over the background to add a subtle glittery texture. I stamped the sentiment on vellum and wrapped it around the card. Finally I added some punched flowers and pearls for a bit of a colour punch and voila! 

Hope you enjoyed this vintagy type card. 

Happ Stampin',

Amanda x

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

50th anniversary - card 5

I thought it was about time I showed you another of the 50th anniversary cards I was working on a month or so ago. Here's the one I made for myself to give the happy couple!

50th anniversary flower flurry

Stamp Set: Everything Eleanor

Ink: Soft Suede, Versa Mark

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake

Punch: Boho Blossoms, Itty Bitty

Big Shot: Timeless Type Junior Alphabet

Accessories: Pearls

Extras: Gold Emboss Powder, Champagne Shimmer Mist

Nothing massively ground breaking here, gold embossed and cut numbers in the frame from Everything Eleanor. I then added loads of little flowers and pearls. And finally some shimmer mist to to give it that shimmer sparkle! 

Hope you enjoyed it, why not leave me a comment?!

Happy Stampin',

Amanda x