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.

Playing with a new stamp set

I broke out another unused stamp set today - Simply Soft. It features pretty detailed flowers and has 2 step stamps (I didn't 2 step them today though). This design belongs to Lana Harvey from Lana's Stampin' Cottage. I loved her card so much I didn't change anything except to suit my own supplies.

I made two colour variations:

We'll call this card 1.

And this is card 2.

Materials:
Cardstock: Card 1 - Very Vanilla, Lovely Lilac (retired Stampin' Up colour). Card 2 - Whisper White, Island Indigo.
Ink: Lovely Lilac, Island Indigo, Stazon black, Old Olive marker.
Stamps: Simply Soft.
Accessories: Victoria crochet trim, Basic Pearls, Blue organza ribbon (Kaiser Craft).
Tools: Big shot machine, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Top Note die, sponge, aquapainter, Beautiful Wings embosslit, mini glue dots.

Tips and Tricks:
1. I cut the top notes before stamping the images on.
2. I used an aquapainter to colour the flower heads and buds. I used an Old Olive marker for the stems and leaves.
3. The stamped top notes and Vintage Wallpaper layers are sponged with the feature colour (Lovely Lilac or Island Indigo).
4. I'm not good at tying bows so the ribbon is adhered in two parts. A length is cut and stretched across the front of the card. The ends are taped behind the card layer. Another length is used to tie a bow around the first part. Hey, it works for me!
5. Card 1 would look so much better with matching ribbon but I didn't have any.

Stuff Ups:
1. I would have used the 2 step stamps but forgot to use my stamp-a-ma-jig on the outline stamp. It was fun to aquapaint any way.
2. I would use Certainly Celery or another light green marker rather than Old Olive. I feel it is too dark for the look that I want.
3. The sponging is uneven but I can live with it.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. The overall look of the aquapainting is ok.
2. The way the organza ribbon matches the Island Indigo was a lucky surprise! It looks lighter than the cardstock in the photo but that's due to the nature of the ribbon versus the camera. In real life it matches perfectly.

Christmas, oh how I love you!

What a month I've had! I did get my preparation done in time for my interview and it certainly paid off as I got the job! I'll be teaching at a brand new school next year that is still being built! It's so exciting! Yay!

I also finished all my Christmas cards yesterday, thank goodness. It's taken me 3 months on and off to get them done. I tried paper piecing and I'm pleased with the results. The colours pop more in real life, I just couldn't get a decent snap of the card today, sigh.

I made 50 plus some spares. I used different patterned paper (as I've posted in a previous entry) so each card is different from the next one.

Materials:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, patterned paper is called December 25th by Kaisercraft.
Ink: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, Basic Black marker.
Stamps: Ornate Ornaments by Lawn Fawn.
Other: Basic Rhinestones, sponge.

Tips and Tricks:
1. Since I was making so many cards I did it all in stages like an assembly line:

1. Made a prototype.
2. Paper pieced the ornaments.
3. Cut the base cards and card layers.
4. Sponged the edges of the Very Vanilla with Crumb Cake ink.
5. Stamped images on the Very Vanilla.
6. Attached paper pieced ornaments.
7. Stamped sentiments on base cards.
8. Wrote messages in all the cards.
9. Attached layers to card fronts and added rhinestones.
10. Addressed envelopes and now they are ready to post!

2. Paper piecing took a long time! I stamped the baubles on patterned paper and cut them out. I stamped the baubles again on patterned paper and cut out the bands and topper pieces. Then I ran the edge of a Basic Black marker around the edge of each paper piece to hide the cut edge.
3.  I use my scissors to help me attach the sticky back rhinestones accurately. I find it easier than using tweezers.

Stuff Ups:
1. Lots. When making so many cards, mistakes are easy to make. The most mistakes were to do with stamping, the image smudging or not stamping fully, etc, etc.

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.

A Tropical Wedding

The wedding in Bali was wonderful! Couldn't ask for a better setting or weather, everything went smoothly for the bride and groom. I wanted to make a tropical themed card for them. This design was cased and modified. Thanks and credit to Kathleen Hopperstad at My Happy Stampin' Place for the inspiration.

Materials:
Cardstock: So Saffron, Old Olive, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Island Oasis DSP.
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Versamark, Rose Red marker, Tempting Turquoise marker, Pumpkin Pie marker.
Stamps: Tropical Party, Teeny Tiny Sentiments.
Other: Pumpkin Pie Taffeta ribbon, dimensionals, Modern label punch, Pearl accents, dimensionals.
Non Stampin' Up: Clear embossing powder, Martha Stewart Circle cutter.

Tips and Tricks:
1. The grass skirting is cut with plain old scissors.
2. The coconut, palm frond, sentiment and flowers were stamped in Versamark then colour. After that they were heat embossed with clear embossing powder.
3. The circle were layered and sponged around with Pumpkin Pie ink as well as the sentiment.
4. Pearls adorn the flower centres and sentiment.
5. The markers were used to colour the coconut's umbrella and straw.

Stuff Ups:
1. Even though I searched my Teeny Tiny sentiments, I still managed to miss the stamp that says 'For the Newly Weds'. I am still kicking myself about that. It would have been sooo much better than just 'congratulations'.

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.

Christmas Part Two

The green card is almost identical to the one in my last post but I just wanted to show how rearranging the layout can make for a more (or less) interesting card. Yes, there is horrible staining on the ribbon of the other card. A lesson was learned there!

Rating: Dodgy ('cause of the staining)

Rating: Decent



These cards are made in the same way and use the same materials as I have listed in my previous post. The only differences are that I have added a thin strip of Jolly Holiday DSP to the right of the green card (I adhered it with 2 way glue) and the base of the other card is Crumb Cake cardstock, I've used Old Olive grosgrain ribbon on it and have coloured the stocking stamp with markers (Old Olive and Real Red).

The staining. The ribbon was popping up a little bit so I used a bit of 2 way glue to stick it down, which it did do but, as you can clearly see, it has stained the ribbon. So you can learn something at my expense - DON'T use a 2 way glue pen for sticking ribbons!!

Christmas is Upon Us!

Here are some of the Christmas cards I have made this year. I say some because I made about 8 different sorts but have sent most of them to friends and family. The design was cased from a google search but modified and morphed into what they are now.

Rating: Decent



Materials:
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Jolly Holiday DSP.
Inks: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip marker, Real Red marker (for Rudolph's nose), Versamark Champagne Frost.
Stamps: A mix of 'Season of Joy' and 'Sparkly and Bright'.
Other: Stampin' Up- Crystal Effects glue, oval punch, scallop oval punch, paper piercer and mat, dimensionals and stick on Rhinestones.
Non Stampin' Up - Embossing powders - Antique Gold and Silver Dollar, embossing buddy, Silver Christmas Tree brads, Heat tool, Fiskars decorative border punch, deep red ribbon (from Stampit Australia)

Tips and Hints:
1. To make lots of cards I broke it down into stages over a few nights- I made all the card bases first, then all the decorative border strips layered with DSP and ribbon, then the scallopped ovals with their sentiments, etc.
2. Use Versamark Champagne Frost to stamp a background on the card bases. It's amazing how much it lifts a card.
3. Also use Versamark over the Christmas tree for a bit of shine and to apply embossing powder to the star at the top.
4. The words 'Merry Christmas' and the star at the top of the Christmas tree are embossed in either gold or silver.
5. I used markers for Rudolph so I could have his body brown and his nose red. Cherry Cobbler wasn't bright enough so I used Real Red. I put a dot of Crystal Effects on his nose to make it shine, however on 90% of the Rudolph cards, the Crystal Effects is dull and almost opaque when dry. Maybe I received a duff batch.
6. Handle the ribbon as little as possible because it frays easily.
7. The rhinestones are used inside the card on the sentiment that says 'May your season be sparkly and bright'. The rhinestone sticks on top of the 'i' in 'bright'.

Stuff Ups:
The Crystal Effects - as I said above plus sometimes I put on too much and it spread.
Embossing - I forgot a few times to use an embossing buddy pillow so some of the embossing was a bit skewiff.
Stampamajig - I should have used this inside the card to get the sentiment straight and non-wobbly.