Playing with neutrals

July 7th, 2010

I have been asked to make 30 assorted cards for a customer and so have been trying out some ideas. I love the flourish from Elements of Style and decided to try it for a wedding card. The sentiment in the set is one of my all time favorites – I even have the “full” version decor element on my craft room wall (Life isn’t a matter of milestones but of moments). I thought the flourishes would look good in neutrals but wanted to add a little bit of color so added the Cherry Cobbler flowers.

Stamp Sets – Elements of Style.  Cardstock & DP – Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very vanilla, Cherry Cobbler.  Inks - Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Versamark.  Accessories – Scallop Trim corner punch, Scallop Oval punch, Large Oval punch, Clear embossing powder, gold brads, Bitty flower punch, Dimensionals, sponge.

I got my lovely big box of  goodies from the new IB&C  this afternoon and had fun petting them unpacking them. The new DP patterns are gorgeous and I had to have a quick play with the Tooth Fairy stamp – super cute!  (sorry about the horrible lighting – I was too lazy to turn all the lamps on)

The rest of the goodies will have to wait for another day. I may have to put the Baby Tees wheel to the test next so stay tuned!

Watercolor and some sunny stuff

July 4th, 2010

It’s a real shame that Watercolor Trio didn’t make it into the new catalog but it is still available in the summer mini catalog until August 31st. It is definitely one of my all time faves. I think I got just a touch carried away with the texture on this card but I love the colors together. I had to find a new friend for Perfect Plum now that Mellow Moss has gone (sniff, sniff…)

Stamp Sets – Watercolor Trio, All A Flutter, Because I care. Cardstock & DP – Sahara Sand, Early Espresso, Perfect Plum, Blushing Bride, Whisper white. Inks – Early Espresso and Brown Stazon. Blushing Bride, Perfect Plum, Always Arichoke and Pretty in Pink markers. Accessories – Scallop Edge Border punch,Circle punch, Extra Large Scallop circle punch (love this new punch!!), Small Oval punch, self-adhesive pearls, Big Shot Finial Press embossing folder, Dimensionals, Sponge

Another fave – yet more cards made with Friends Never Fade!

Stamp sets – Friends never Fade. Cardstock & DP – Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala DP. Inks – Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango. Accessories – Square punches, Dazzling Diamonds , Dimensionals.

Another variation on the same theme

Stamp sets – Friends never Fade. Cardstock & DP – Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Peach Parfait Textured. Inks – Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango. Accessories – Square punches, Gold Glitter, Daffodil Delight Taffeta ribbon.

More friends

July 3rd, 2010

I really love this set and there are so many great samples out there that people have made for insipration. The first card here is a CASE of Sandimac’s card over on SCS (one of these days I’ll figure out how to post a link…) with just a couple of minor changes. Doesn’t Cherry Cobbler look yummy with early Espresso?

Stamp Sets – Friends never fade

Cardstock & DP – Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz. Greenhouse Gala DP

Inks – Pear Pizzazz, Cherry Cobbler.

Accessories – Scallop Edge punch, Big Shot Texturz plate

The next card uses one of my favorite patterns from the Greenhouse Gala DP. It is just so sunny and cheery. I don’t think you can tell in the photo but the popped up flower is actually clear embossed to make it stand out a little more.

Stamp Sets – Friends never fade, On your birthday

Cardstock & DP  – Peach Parfait, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight. Greenhouse Gala DP

Inks – Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait, Chocolate Chip, Versamark

Accessories – Big Shot Top Note die, Clear embossing powder, Bitty Buttons, Itty Bitty shapes, Linen thread, Scallop Oval punch, Large oval punch, Chocolate Chip ribbon (retired), Daffodil Delight taffeta ribbon, Dimensionals.

Father’s day photo book

June 29th, 2010

As promised, I wanted to share the book I made with the girls using the Cog board book from the summer mini catalog. It was a huge hit with Daddy and the girls loved helping with it.  We decorated the front and back and then added 6 photos and 6 die cut circles with messages/pictures from the girls. We gave it to Daddy instead of a card.

Rather than bore everyone with every single page, here are a few. I used the now retired Manchester DP to cover the pages and then Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake for the die cut circles. I also used some of the cogs that cmae with the board book and punched cogs out of metallic cardstock using the cog punch (summer mini).

It was a little fiddly covering the front cog with DP, especially when my craft knife snapped in half during the process!! I would definitely make more of these though as they make a nice card alternative. I think that my Mum would love to get one for her birthday – a less masculine version of course ;-)

New catty CASE

June 28th, 2010

I always forget what a great resource for ideas the Stampin’ Up! catalog is – that would be why they call it the Idea Book & Catalog – duh!

Anyway, I really loved the sample on p56 and decided to CASE it. I switched the colors a little and, as you can see, I oopsed up completely on the placement of the “G” but decided it would still work.

Stamp Sets – Crazy for Cupcakes, Birthday Bliss, Sprinkles (retired)

Cardstock & DP – Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze textured, Whisper White

Inks – Certainly Celery, Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron (sponged), Melon Mambo

Accessories – Scallop Edge Border punch, Dimensionals, Pretty in Pink Taffeta ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, Gold Glitter, circle punch

Playing with the newbies

June 26th, 2010

I finally got some time to sit down and make something other than birthday invitations. The new color coach is a fabulous tool and I tried a few of the combinations, using the new colors, from that.

Poppy Parade

This is probably my second favorite of the new In Colors, behind Pear Pizzazz. The suggested color combination was Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy and Sahara Sand.

Stamp Set – Watercolor Trio (current summer mini)

Cardstock & DP – Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Very Vanilla

Inks – Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Poppy Parade (marker), Sahara Sand (sponged onto main panel)

Accessories – Scallop Oval punch, Large Oval punch, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Big Shot Texturz plate

Pear Pizzazz and Concord Crush

Love this combination! Concord Crush is a gorgeous dark purple and I think it goes beautifully with this warm green. Also love this sneak peel set from the new IB&C, Friends Never Fade.

Stamp Sets – Friends Never Fade, Sincere Salutations, Itty Bitty Bits

Cardstock & DP – Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush, Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala DP.

Inks - Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz and Peach Parfait (markers)

Accessories – Corner rounder punch, Scallop oval punch, Wide oval punch, Linen thread, Bitty Buttons

Cherry Cobbler and Daffodil Delight

These are two of the new core collection colors. Cherry Cobbler is probably my favorite red as it is just so rich. I like the combination of this with the new sunny yellow, Daffodil Delight.

Stamp sets – Fresh Cuts

Cardstock & DP – Fresh Cut Notes, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Inks – Cherry Cobbler

Accessories – Daffodil Delight taffeta ribbon, Sponge

 

Totally Tropical

June 11th, 2010

Sometimes stamp sets just jump out at you screaming”buy me!”. Well, they do to me anyway…..

The Tropical Party set in the current summer mini is one of those. I just love it and the moment I saw it I knew it would be perfect for my daughter’s birthday party invitations (Aloha Hello Kitty!). The images are bold and very easy to work with. Of course, grabbing the Island Oasis DP was a must too! Fabulous bright colors and patterns.

The first card was made for a swap over on SCS. The card had to have a bird theme and I thought that the bird from Elements of Style (also in the Summer mini) would work really well with the flowers from Tropical Party. I had originally planned to brayer the sunset but after many messy attempts I admitted defeat and decided to sponge instead. What doesn’t show up in the photo is the shimmer on the bird created using the Gold Glow Smooch Spritz – looks pretty up close.

Stamp sets – Elements of Style, Tropical Party

Cardstock & DP – So Saffron, Rose Red, Whisper White, To the Nines DSP

Inks – So Saffron, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Not Quite Navy, Wild Wasabi, Rose Red

Accessories – Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Gold Glow Smooch Spritz, Dimensionals

The second card is a waterfall card and uses some of the Island Oasis DP.

Stamp Sets – Tropical Party, On Your Birthday

Cardstock & DP – Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White, Island Oasis DP

Inks – Rose Red, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories – Bold Brights Brads, Dazzling Diamonds, Old Olive ribbon, Horizontal slot punch, Fine Supernova glitter

I’m working on a little project for Father’s day that I hope to share next week. Instead of making cards, the girls are helping me make a little photo book using the Cog On Board book from the summer mini. It will have a mixture of photos from the last year and little messages from the girls. They are very excited about giving this to daddy and it’s looking very cute so far.

Pear Pizzazz

June 9th, 2010

My only complaint about the color is the name – I am always adding in one too many Zs!

This card was created for a swap I am in on SCS for cards using Tree images. I have lots of trees but keep gravitating towards the Trendy Trees set.

The card base and mat around the little tree card are both Pear Pizzazz. The embossed piece is Certainly Celery. As you can see, they are pretty close but Pear Pizzazz is just a little darker and feels warmer.

Stamp Sets – Trendy Trees, Short & Sweet, Itty Bitty Bits (summer mini)

Cardstock & DP – Pear Pizzazz, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip,Very Vanilla, Greenhouse gala DP

Inks – Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip

Accessories – Big Shot Scallop Envelop die and Stampin’ Up! backgrounds 1 Texturz plate. Chocolate Chip ribbon, Itty Bitty Shapes punch, Bitty Buttons

New Stuff!

June 7th, 2010

Finding time to play over the weekend was a little challenging so I don’t have as much to share as I had hoped. Also, with all the new goodies, I feel like a kid in a candy store and have no clue where to start playing :-)

First up is a card using the new level 2 hostess set, Fast and Fabulous. This is a set of 6 stamps with 3 2-step floral images. I think this is my favorite of the three. I also decided to use a color combination suggested using the new color coach (a wonderful new tool) as I wanted to use one of the returning in colors, Wild Wasabi. The suggested combination was Wlid Wasabi, Early Espresso (new core color in the neutral collection) and Marina Mist (new core color in the subtles collection). This last color is a very pretty shade of blue and may be a new fave.

Stamp Sets – Fast & Fabulous (IB&C 2010-2011 level 2 hostess), Watercolor trio

Cardstock & DP – Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso, Whisper White

Inks – Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist

Accessories – Marina Mist 1/8″ taffeta ribbon, Scalloped Oval punch, Large Oval Punch, Paper piercer and Mat pack.

I have a few other cards that I need to photograph so I’ll share those over the next few days. One uses Pear Pizazz. I thought I wouldn’t be overly bothered by this color as it is close to Certainly Celery but I really love it. So much so that my initial sample pack is gone and I need to order more ;-)

Just Fabulous!!

June 4th, 2010

I got my new catalog pre-order and copy of the 2010/2011 IB&C on Wednesday and can’t wait to share some projects made with the new goodies. There are all the fabulous new colors, lots of wonderful new stamp sets and, my personal obsession – new designer paper to die for!!

The new catalog goes live July 1st and I will be getting copies to my customers as soon as they arrive. In the meantime, I hope to share some new stuff over the weekend and hold a new catalog party soon with some fun make & takes.

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