MIA

Yep, still here! I went through a stage where I totally lacked creativity and was just casing other people's cards but I've found my mojo and I'm back to making up my own designs.

I probably won't post the cards in as much detail as before but these cards are not difficult to work out. Let's start with these two:

Same card, different colours.

Materials:
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Basic Grey, Brushed Silver, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Cajun Craze
Ink: Basic Grey, Not Quite Navy marker, Cajun Craze marker.
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Tool kit both from Stampin' Up, Chevron background by Hero Arts.
Accessories: Grey baker's twine from The Twinery, silver washi tape.
Tools: Big shot machine, top note die, dimensionals, Sakura clear glitter pen, Modern Label punch, Diamond plate embossing folder.

Happy Easter

I have something different to show today - not a card! I decorated a tag. I've never used tags for anything so this was new to me. I'm only moderately happy with it. The concept was better in my head, the execution of it isn't great. Oh well, I tried!

Here's a closer view of the tag:

Materials:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz (or Kiwi Kiss, not sure), Chocolate Chip and Pink Passion (I think it's retired).
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Versamark, markers - Tempting Turquoise, Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo, Elegant Eggplant, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron.
Stamps: Greetings Eight (Stampin' Up), Jessie's ABC's (Lawn Fawn).
Accessories: Chipboard glitter tag (don't know the brand - it's so old!), Orange organza ribbon (Kaiser Craft), antique gold embossing powder.
Tools: Heat tool, embossing static pillow, dimensionals, big shot machine, sponge, lattice embossing folder (Stampin' Up), paisley and swirly embossing folders (Sizzix), polka dot and bubble embossing folders (Cuttlebug), paper snips, oval punch, glue tape.

Tips and Tricks:
1. I heat embossed the Happy Easter sentiment and bunny first.
2. Then I sponged around the tag and let it dry.
3. I punched and embossed the coloured Easter eggs (yes, that's what they are meant to be!).
4. After positioning the Easter eggs with glue tape I trimmed off the excess and sponged around the edges.
5. The bunny was added on dimensionals. Dimensionals are also used to adhere the tag to the jar.

Stuff Ups:
1. The overall result - just not thrilled.
2. The 't' in Easter is upside down. *sigh*
3. Maybe the Easter eggs should have been smaller so they actually look like Easter eggs.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. The bunny is cute and I managed to cut it out nicely.
2. The sponging on the tag itself was nice (just the tag, not the eggs).
3. The heat embossing turned out nicely.

The last of the brown (for now)

So I made this card for my friend Tracey whose birthday is today (Happy birthday Trace!) and my husband said it's nice but I've been using too much brown lately (yeah, brown has been my neutral colour of choice, mainly because I bought a whole pack of it). I thought this sounded like a challenge (in a warped kinda way) so I'm making cards without brown for a little while! This is the last of the brown for now:

The design of this card is from an old Stampin' Up catalogue. I've tweaked it to suit my whims.

Materials:
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Elegant Soiree DSP.
Ink: Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black, Crumb Cake.
Stamps: Blissful Botanicals and Sophie's Sentiments by Lawn Fawn.
Other: Fiskars Eyelet border punch, Victoria crochet trim (I've called it lace in the past but it's not really called that), Perfect Pearls Mist in Heirloom Gold, American Craft ribbon, circle punch, Basic pearls, Big Shot machine, Beautiful Wings embosslit, mini glue dots, sponge, Fiskars corner rounder punch.

Tips and Tricks:
1. I lightly misted the Whisper White panel with the Perfect Pearls and let in dry before stamping on the sentiment.
2. I sponged around the butterflies with Crumb Cake ink.

Stuff Ups:
1. I messed up the alignment of the border punch so I had to do that again.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. I got the sentiment stamped correctly, first time! Gosh, I love Lawn Fawn stamps!!

A twist on an old favourite

I've made another male birthday card and again this is a twist on my favourite design. I've created several male cards with the patterned paper you see on this card. All are slightly different from each other but have the same basic design.

Here's the recipe -

Materials:
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Printed acetate by My Memories, Rough and Tough: Awesome by Kaiser.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Bashful Blue, Stazon Black.
Stamps: Trendy Trees by Stampin' Up, Sophie's Sentiments by Lawn Fawn, Roughin' It by Bo Bunny.
Other: Honeydew bakers twine by The Twinery, Martha Stewart circle cutter, sponge, mini glue dots, Fiskars corner punch, stamp-a-ma-jig.

Tips and Tricks:
1. After cutting the circle, I used the scrap card with the circle hole in it as a mask to sponge the grass under the trees. I used a Pear Pizzazz marker to add texture to the grass. I trimmed off the bottom of the circle so it hides nicely behind the twine.
2. I sponged around the circle with Bashful Blue ink to show some sky. I sponged heavier at the top than the sides.
3. Getting a clear, precise image on the acetate took a few tries but luckily I remembered a trick. If you make a mistake on acetate with Stazon, just use Stazon cleaner to wipe off the ink and try again. It worked and didn't damage my acetate.
4. The acetate is secured with mini glue dots.
5. I used a stamp-a-ma-jig for the trees and got their placement right the first time. I stamped the leaves first rather than the trunks as the leaves are the bulkiest part of the tree, therefore they need the correct spacing.

Stuff Ups:
1. Stamping on the acetate took me about 8 tries to get right.
2. I still haven't mastered that circle cutter so the circle is a bit rough around the edge.
3. The Bo Bunny stamps just don't hold Stampin' Up ink nicely. It tends to pool on the surface. Lawn Fawn stamps do hold the ink nicely.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. I like the way the acetate looks on the card, particularly because it is patterned so in some parts you can see through it to the patterned paper underneath and in other parts you can't because it's opaque.

2. The honeydew bakers twine matched the patterned paper perfectly. You may not be able to see the pale green in the paper but it's an awesome, coincidental match.

Cricket Card

I've been needing ideas for manly cards and luckily I had this stamp set. This card was inspired by a card in an old Stampin Up catalogue and since cricket season is here again, I thought it would be the perfect time to make it.

The green cap features special Gel-a-tins Jelly scented embossing powder in 'Pine Fresh' so it smells like a pine forest. The fragrance is supposed to last for three weeks. You can check out Gel-a-tins here and their blog is here.

Materials:
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Versamark.
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Just Cricket.
Other: Modern label punch, Early Espresso striped grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, mat pack, paper piercer.
Non Stampin' Up: Gel-a-tin's Jelly Scented embossing powder in Pine Fresh, Bo Bunny Cambridge icandy brads.

Tips and Tricks:
1. This card is really straight forward. As I said, the cap is embossed with green pine scented embossing powder.
2. The grass is cut with my paper snips.
3. The cricket ball is on a dimensional as is the sentiment.

Stuff Ups:
1. The brad placement. I even used my paper piercing guide and still didn't get it right.
2. The ribbon looks a little bit loose and wonky on the right hand side but it seemed fine in real life.
3. Maybe I should have lightly coloured the cricket bat.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. My layering proportions are getting much more accurate.
2. I'm pleased with the way the grass turned out.

Get Well Soon

This card was inspired by a card from an old Stampin' Up catalogue. I changed the colour scheme, stamps and ribbon, did some heat embossing and ended up with a result with which I am pleased.
I also broke out my new Lawn Fawn stamps and I am in love with them! They have a very different stickiness to them that I've never come across before with clear stamps - fun to poke and play with! The ink doesn't pool like on normal clear plastic stamps - it goes on smooth and crisp! Very pleased! You will be seeing more Lawn Fawn stamps here soon.

I made two of these: one as a thank you for my line manager and this for my Mother-in-law.

I watched a few ribbon tying videos on Youtube and I think I am on my way to ribbony happiness.

Materials:
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Blushing Bride textured and plain, Kiwi Kiss textured and plain, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake.
Stamps: Cottage Garden.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Blushing Bride, Kiwi Kiss, Versamark.
Other: Basic pearls, Mat pack, Paper piercer, mini glue dots, dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig.
Non Stampin' Up: Sophie's Sentiments stamp set by Lawn Fawn, organza ribbon, Fiskars corner rounder punch, clear embossing powder, heat tool.

Tips and Tricks:
1. I wasn't planning on using the stamp-a-ma-jig but I accidentally stamped the 2 step flower perfectly (lol) and liked it so much I dragged out the stamp-a-ma-jig and did the rest of the flowers properly. The first step I stamped in the coloured ink and the second step (the outlined flower stamp) I stamped in Versamark, coated with clear embossing powder and heat embossed.
2. A mini glue dot secures the ribbon under the bow.
3. Basic pearls finish off the flower centres including the tiniest pearls for the flowers near the sentiment.
4. The mat pack hole guide was used for the paper piercing.

Stuff Ups:
1. I admit I took ages trying to line up the 2 step flower stamps before giving up and using the stamp-a-ma-jig. I got the green and brown ones fine but the pink just wouldn't match up.
2. The ribbon looks a bit kinked so maybe I should have ironed it.
3. I should have used some tombow or a glue pen rather than my tape runner for the green strip because the strip was too narrow. A teeny bit of glue can be seen from the front. Probably is not noticeable but enough to annoy me.

A Venture in Layering

I've been wanted to try a few new techniques lately and I'm always looking for the opportunity to use them. For this card I wanted to try a bit of layering. Not sure what the official term is, but I'm using layering to describe the building of ink, stamps and/or embossing on cardstock. This first attempt turned out to be a bit light handed but I'm happy with what I have done none the less.

I did break out my brand new and desperate to try product - scented embossing powder! I bought it (and many others) from gel-a-tins. It smells just like a vanilla latte. Apparently the scent will last for 3 weeks. The colour is white with brown specks. You can't really see it in the photo, I probably should have used a darker embossing powder (such as Chocolate Bliss or Can't Catch Me Gingerbread).

Grandad's birthday - hope he enjoyed it and liked my card. Here's the recipe:

Materials:
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Newsprint DSP.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark.
Stamps: Bliss, Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Wonderful Favourite.
Other: Early Espresso striped grosgrain ribbon, oval punch, scallop oval punch, dimensionals.
Non Stampin' Up: Perfect Pearls mist in Heirloom Gold, Gelly powder - Extra Foam Vanilla Latte scented embossing powder from gel-a-tins. (The website is a little bit buggy at the moment but I'm sure it will be fixed soon.)

Tips and Tricks:
1. The layering - I've seen a lot of cards out there with a lot going on with the DSP - inking, embossing, distressing, etc, so I had a go at it myself:

• First I misted my DSP with water and then crinkled and screwed it up.
• Next I sprayed it with Perfect Pearls mist in Heirloom Gold and let it dry.
• Then I stamped an image from the Bliss stamp set in Versamark and applied the scented embossing powder. I heat embossed it.
• After that I stamped the bird from Bliss in Chocolate Chip ink randomly over the DSP.

2.  I stamped another bird in Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla cardstock, cut it out and popped it up on dimensionals in the bottom right hand corner.

Stuff Ups:
1. As I've said already, I should have chosen a darker embossing powder - I was too cautious.
2. Same with the Perfect Pearls mist - I should have used more.
3. The sentiments aren't aligned properly. They are three separate stamps and you can tell. The happy birthday one is also too high and nearly cut off by the punch.

Father's Day 2 Ways: Part 2

For this card I knew I wanted to play with two of my new Stampin' Up items - Elegant Soiree DSP and the 'To a Classic' stamp set. They may be retired now (since the new catalogue came out) but I still only just bought them. This card is a Kate original and here is the result:

There's a lot of colours mixed up here so I hope I've gotten away with it. I really wish I had the correct coloured cardstock but I didn't so I had to substitute for some retired cardstock.

Materials:
Cardstock: Elegant Soiree DSP, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Bashful Blue or Brocade Blue (sorry don't know which!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip ink pad, Chocolate Chip marker, Marina Mist marker.
Stamps: To a Classic, Teeny Tiny Sentiments.
Other: Early Espresso striped grosgrain ribbon (think it's retired now), scallop oval punch, oval punch, dimensionals, paper piercer, mat pack.
Non Stampin' Up: Brown/bronze brads, aqua painter.

Tips and Tricks:
1. The car and checkered pattern are the same stamp and in between them (on the stamp) is the sentiment 'happy birthday to a classic' (I think) which, of course, I didn't want on a Father's day card. I used markers to ink up the stamp.
2. I used Marina Mist ink and an aqua painter to lightly shade in the car.
3. I tried to make a 'dashboard dial' effect with the sentiment layers.
4. The car layer is popped up on dimensionals to accomodate the brads and ribbon underneath.

Stuff Ups:
1. The car image - I should have either clear embossed the image first or used watercolour paper because the ink started to bleed when I added the water via the aqua painter. After it dried I touched up the image with the marker which hid a multitude of sins!
2. I've run out of Baja Breeze cardstock - I had to substitute with old retired stuff instead.
3. I've run out of Early Espresso cardstock - I had to substitute it with Chocolate Chip instead.
3. Probably should have used four brads to balance out that top layer.
4. The ribbon should have been a bit tighter but wrapping it around paper was difficult due to its flimsiness.

Pleasant Surprises - Ooh, a new heading!
1. I managed to align the 'Happy Father's day' and 'dad' stamped images the first time I stamped them!

Double But Different Part 2

So the first twin card is in my previous post. This card I made for Emma. I hope both of them like their cards!

Here's the card recipe (I know I should say procedure but recipe sounds so much cuter):

Materials:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip.
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Chocolate Chip, Versamark.
Stamps: Bliss, Itty Bitty.
Other: Top note die, big shot machine, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Hemp twine, Itty Bitty buttons, Victoria lace, modern label punch, basic pearls, mini glue dots.
Non Stampin' Up: sentiment stamp from CheeseCake Party by Penny Black, Zing gold glitter embossing powder by American Crafts.

Tips and Tricks:
1. There are small pearls on the vintage wallpaper embossing but the photo doesn't highlight them.
2. The butterflies were stamped by using the 'Rock and roll' technique. I'd recommend that you search youtube for a video demonstrating the technique. I inked up the stamp in Rich Razzleberry then rolled the edges around on a Chocolate Chip ink pad. Voila! Two toned stamping.
3. The Victoria lace is just some scrap ends I had left over that are tucked and glued under the top note die cut with mini glue dots.
4. I used a mini glue dot to anchor the middle itty bitty button to keep them faced up.

Stuff Ups:
1. The clear mount block I used for the 'rock and roll' technique was too big which inhibited my control over the amount of 'roll' I could do. I would use the smallest block I possibly could if I were to do this technique again.
2. I probably should have glued all three itty bitty buttons or none at all because it looks a little lopsided with just one glued.
3. The gold glitter embossing powder - while I like the gold colour it produced, the glitter in the powder caused the end result to be a bit lumpy. I would have liked a smoother end result. Ideally, a gold powder without glitter in it would be a better choice.

Another blokey birthday

It's been a month since I've updated this - I've only made one other card apart from this one. That's due to life and work issues, blah, blah, blah!

This card was for my husband's good friend. I was running out of card ideas for guys and looked for some inspiration. I found it through a card at Art with Heart by Claire Daly. If you scroll down, it's the second card - the shapes and style are simple but lovely. I changed it up a lot to make a not-as-lovely card (unfortunately, not deliberately!)

Materials:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White.
Ink: Stazon black, So Saffron (marker), Always Artichoke (marker), Crumb Cake (marker), Chocolate Chip (marker and ink pad), Versamark.
Stamps: So Happy For You.
Other: Hemp twine, sponge, dimensionals.
Non-Stampin' Up: Green jewel brads, paper from American Crafts: Merrymint - Peanut Brittle, Fudge, Birthday clear stamps - brand unknown, black embossing powder, heat gun, Fiskars corner punch.

Tips and Tricks:
1.  The 'birthday wishes' sentiment is stamped on a strip of Whisper White cardstock and adhered to the patterned paper.
2. The edges of the base card and the sentiment layer are roughly sponged with Chocolate Chip ink.

Stuff Ups:
1. The twine is a bit too loose for my liking.
2. The cross hatch layer is not centred.
3. My black embossing powder started to clump due to moisture and was difficult to work with. It was good quality stuff but both my black and white have become clumpy. None of the other brands do this. I wish I could remember the brand but I put my embossing powders in plastic containers and throw out the little jars.
4. My Stampin' Up corner puncher is crap I'm sorry to say. Apart from the cover popping off and it being difficult to unlock, it kept biting into my corners too far. My new Fiskars punch only cost me $8 and is a breeze to use. That's 3 strikes so far Stampin' Up - my Crystal Effects, Corner Punch and SNAIL dispenser.

Anya, Flowers and Butterflies

This card was made for my niece and I wanted it to be a little bit girly without being over the top with pink and purple. I turned again to my beloved top note die but changed from my normal landscape style to a portrait style of card. The camera doesn't do justice to the glitter and rhinestones though:

Materials:
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Whisper white (just a little bit), watercolour paper.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Marina Mist, Versamark, Rose Red, Sahara Sand marker.
Stamps: Curly Cute, Butterfly Prints.
Other: Top Note die, Big Shot machine, Rhinestone accents, Corner punch, dimensionals.
Non Stampin' Up: Fleur Anya stamp, clear embossing powder, black embossing powder, Sizzix Spring Flowers textured impressions embossing folder, silver glitter letter stickers by Papercraft, aquapainter.

Tips and Tricks:
1. The Fleur Anya is stamped on watercolour paper in Versamark and then heat embossed with black embossing powder.
2. Anya is coloured with water and ink using an aquapainter. The colours are added at different intensities to get the shading. Basically her skin is Pink Pirouette ink with a hint of rose red on her cheeks. Anya's dress and flowers are Marina Mist. The flower centres are Rose Red with a rhinestone in the middle of each. Anya's hair is Chocolate Chip ink.
3. It's difficult to see clearly but the Chocolate Chip layer has butterflies stamped on it in Versamark and they have been heat embossed with clear embossing powder.
4. The 'Happy Birthday' sentiment has been stamped in Versamark then Marina Mist ink and finally heat embossed with clear embossing powder.
5. Rhinestones of various sizes are placed on the Happy Birthday sentiment, Anya's flowers and the pink top note die cut.
6. Tiani's name and the flower next to her name are silver glitter stickers which are really sparkly. The camera doesn't show it in this picture, but if you click on the image to make it larger you can see the sparkles!

Stuff Ups:
1. When aquapainting Anya, some of the ink leaked past the black embossed border so I use a Sahara Sand marker to trace around Anya, making the ink less noticeable.

Hubby's Birthday

Well it's two male birthday cards in a row! It's my husband's birthday in two days time and we will be in Bali celebrating it! This is hot off the press, just finished. I'm giving Jason his presents tomorrow so I don't have to take them on the plane. This is a pure Kate creation:

I'm thrilled with the result because it was looking decidedly dodgy for a while. It all came together in the end.

Materials:
Cardstock: Basic Black, Basic Grey, Going Grey, Whisper White.
Stamps: So Happy For You, Cheers to You.
Ink: Versamark, Chocolate Chip ink pad, More Mustard marker.
Other: Circle punch, big shot machine, dimensionals.
Non Stampin' Up: Paper by Kaiser craft, Glitter and white embossing powder, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Ranger Perfect Medium Pens, Cuttlebug diamond plate embossing folder, Coke Zero can.

Tips and Tricks:
1. To get the metal how you want it:

• Do be very careful! Jagged or not, this metal can cut you easily.
• Wash out your aluminium can. With sharp scissors, cut off the top and bottom of the can, then cut the cylinder up one side so you end up with a long rectangular piece.
• Dry off any water with a tea towel and cut a piece to fit inside your diamond plate embossing folder. Run it through the big shot machine.
• Trim the metal to the size and shape you want. I couldn't cut it straight with my scissors so I ended up using a circle punch to make the round discs. The punch cut the metal quickly and efficiently.
• I used double sided tape to secure the discs.

2. To heat emboss the beer mugs I first inked the stamp with Versamark then inked the stamp with Chocolate Chip ink before stamping on Whisper White card. Next I used clear embossing powder and the heat tool. After that I used a Perfect Pearls Medium pen (a Versamarker would be great too) to colour the beer foam and then used the white/glitter embossing powder to make the foam pop and shine. I used a More Mustard marker to colour in the beer mug.
3. The same beer mug is stamped in Versamark on the grey card to give interest to the background.

Stuff Ups:
1. I originally used a cactus stamp and green ink for the background but it looked terrible. The beer mug image works so much better.
2. As I said before, I couldn't cut the metal straight so I used the circle punch in desperation and it worked.

Dad's Birthday

Tomorrow is Dad's birthday, happy birthday Dad! I wanted to make a card about golf since Dad loves golf. While I was looking for inspiration, I found a card design that I loved! It wasn't a golf card but I used what I had to make it kate-ified. The original design is from Create With Christy.

Materials:
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla.
Stamps: Curly Cute (on the inside as the sentiment).
Inks: Cherry Cobbler classic ink pad.
Other: Big shot machine, Lattice embossing folder, dimensionals, mat pack, paper piercing tool, 2 way glue pen.
Non Stampin' Up: The follow products were bought from Crafty Cards on Garling - golf ball brads (the big, round, white things - the camera doesn't do them justice!), brown grosgrain ribbon, 3D golf stickers by Wishmade. I also used Thickers Fabric chipboard letter stickers in Doll. The bronze brads were from Stampin Stuff. Clear stamps 'Golfer' from http://www.sullivans.net/ though I bought mine from Starfish Lane in Mt Lawley.

Tips and Tricks:
1. On the big tag, I used 2 way glue to adhere the blue cardstock to the red before running it through the big shot machine.
2. The big tag was cut with a paper trimmer. I tried to cut the corners off at right angles to get them even.
3. I used Very Vanilla cardstock to make the white golf balls stand out more. You could substitute that for Whisper White depending on your project.

Stuff Ups:
1. I used the guides that came with the mat pack to align my brads but I still managed to make them look wonky.
2. The tag is too long - if it were shorter, the word 'Dad' would fit better but I made the tag first and forgot to check the height of my letters.

Hardworking Birthday

This card was designed for my brother for his birthday. This is a purely me card - no casing at all! I am pleased that I got to use a new blokey stamp set that I bought a while ago. I also made an extra one of these for my nephew as it's his birthday next week. These guys are in their twenties and thirties so I tried to make the card age appropriate.

You can also see how the summer sun and water restrictions have affected our poor grass - it was lovely and lush in the Valentine's photo, now it's almost dead. Thankfully it should grow back soon since the weather is getting cooler.

Materials:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue (which is retired, you could use Baja Breeze instead), Very Vanilla and some Blueberry Crisp DSP.
Inks: Chocolate Chip ink pad and Versamark.
Other: Oval punch, Scallop oval punch, silver embossing powder, sponge, big shot machine, dimensionals, piercing tool, piercing guide and mat pack.
Non Stampin' Up: Sizzix textured embossing folder (probably 'burlap'), heat tool, screw top brads, Clear stamps 'Tools' (http://www.sullivans.net/ though I bought mine from Starfish Lane in Mt Lawley), 'Birthday wishes' sentiment from Wendy Irving Collections: Expressions Clear Cling Stamps -  'Occasions', distressing tool.

Tips and Tricks
1. I used a distressing tool to scuff the edges of the base card, chocolate chip and brocade blue layers.
2. I used chocolate chip ink to roughly sponge around the edges of the card base, the scalloped oval and the oval.
3. I put the chocolate chip layer up on dimensionals to compensate for the screw top brads in the top right corner. If you don't, you end up with an obvious bump where the brads are.
4. On the inside of the card I use another birthday stamp as the sentiment and another Tools stamp - a man pushing a trolley full of tools like he's in a hardware store. I used chocolate chip to continue the theme.

Stuff Ups:
1. I tried to stamp the inside of the card after I had attached the details to the front. The result was a messy. incomplete impression so I had to redo the base. Always stamp the base first!
2. There was a problem with the trolley stamp - one small portion was cut too thin so it didn't imprint on the card properly. I used a chocolate chip marker to fill in the mssing details.

Cupcake Birthday

Had a busy day cardwise! I went to my Mum and Dad's place to show Mum some of my card making gear and to make a few cards. I had fun and I hope Mum did too - hi Mum!!

I made another tropical birthday card for my sister-in-law. Her birthday is on Friday. I also made a Valentine's day card for my husband. I'll post that one tomorrow as the Glossy Accents I put on it is still drying.

Here's a card I made a few months ago for the 'Stamping For Lara' forums challenge. The challenge was simply 'Cupcakes'. I only own one stamp with a cupcake on it from a gorgeous Penny Black set. I made my first attempt at watercolouring with that card. I wish I'd kept it but I gave it to a friend for her birthday. Oh well, hope she liked it. Here it is:

Rating: Decent

I really enjoyed the watercolouring and think I did well for a first attempt. The colour graduation (is that the right word?) on the cupcake case is my favourite bit. So is the glittery icing but the photo doesn't pick it up.

I chose the pink, brown and white colours because they most remind me of cake. Yummy, oozy chocolate cake with delicious strawberry or vanilla icing. Yummo!

Materials:

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White and Pink Passion (a retired colour).

Inks: Chocolate Chip, Pink Passion, Perfectly Plum, Daffodil Delight, Certainly Celery, Marina Mist, Cajun Craze.

Other: Whisper White satin ribbon, stick on pearls, corner punch, oval punch, aqua painter, sponge, 2way glue pen.

Non Stampin' Up: Watercolour paper, black Stazon ink, Cuttlebug embossing folder: D'Vine Swirls, Penny Black 'Cheesecake Party' stamp set, Wendy Irving Collections: Expressions Clear Cling Stamps -  'Occasions', white superfine glitter.

Tips and Tricks:

1. Watercolouring can be a time consuming process so a lot of patience is required, especially if you are new to it.

2. Don't squeeze your aqua painter and use too much water because all it will do is run and blend with other colours.

3. Start with your lightest colour first and build up to the darkest colour. There are plenty of tutorials if you search google or youtube.

Stuff Ups:

The corner punch - sometimes it bites in too far and I get a funny little recess (rebate?) that does not look good. I tried to even it out with scissors but the effect is not too good. Anyone know how to prevent my corner punch from biting in too far?

The ribbon - I didn't have scissors that would cut ribbon properly so it doesn't look straight. Get a pair of scissors or snips that are dedicated for cutting your ribbon and nothing else. Also satin ribbon frays as soon as you look at it so handle it as little as possible.

The layers - too wide. It's amazing how layers can take up so much of your card. I would make these thinner next time so I could put the sentiment elsewhere. It looks stuck on and out of place.

Attempt at Blokiness.

I've made and given away a few of these cards which are rather simple to make. When I made these I didn't have any stamp sets that were particularly masculine so trees were the closest I had. I love the woodgrain texture and think this makes the card.

Rating: Decent

Materials

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss and Very Vanilla.

Inks: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip.

Stamps: Trendy Trees.

Other: Dimensionals, Big Shot machine, oval punch.

Non Stampin' Up: Wendy Irving Collections: Expressions Clear Cling Stamps -  'Occasions', gold brads, organza ribbon from Stamp It Australia, universal embossing folder in 'woodgrain' by Craft Concepts.

Tips and Tricks:

1. I didn't use a stampa-ma-jig to align the tree trunk and leaves but I would in future to save time and wasted cardstock.

2. The 'bow-less' ribbon breaks up the brown and adds a nice dimension without being girly.

Stuff Ups:

The brown cardstock under the tree is too small. I would like more clearance above the punched oval.

The main brown cardstock is also too small as the proportions are wrong (too short).

Actually, the more I look at it, most of the cardstock is out of proportion. I sent the good cards out so this must be made of the dodgy left overs.

Tropical Birthday

Here's a card I made for my nephew's girlfriend. I wish I could lay claim to the design but I can't. I cased this from Stampin Funn with Cheryl. I love it so much I barely changed a thing. I embossed the background palm fronds and I coloured in the straw and umbrella, that's it.

Rating: Delightful



Materials:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Island Oasis DSP and what I thought was So Saffron but it's not. It must be some old cardstock from my subtles collection.

Inks: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise marker, Pumpkin Pie marker, So Saffron marker, Versamark.

Stamps: Tropical Party.

Other: Sponge, scallop oval punch, oval punch, dimensionals, whisper white satin ribbon, clear embossing powder, heat tool.

Non SU: Wendy Irving Collections: Expressions Clear Cling Stamps -  'Occasions'.

Tips and Tricks:

1. I used markers for the flowers so I could use multiple colours at once.

2. I coloured in the straw and umbrella after stamping with chocolate chip ink.

3. The whisper white is sponged around the edges with old olive ink.

4. The orange polka dot paper is from the Island Oasis DSP pack.

Stuff Ups:

Surprisingly none! The only thing that bugs me is that the happy birthday isn't capitalised.