Awash with Flowers

Hi there, I think my mojo has been missing for a while as every time I went to sit down in my craft room nothing was coming together.

Well I finally got around to playing with the Awash with Flowers stamp set and at first the mojo was struggling, then finally something came together. Now these are fairly simple cards (but sometimes simple is best when things aren't quite working).

Did you know - the Awash with Flowers clear mount set actually comes in two DVD cases (cause there are so many pieces). But all these pieces means that you can use the two step stamping method to add just the right amount of colour (and you don't need a stamp-a-ma-jig with this set - its not meant to fit together perfectly).

For the cards I used Crumb Cake base, Old Olive and Whisper White mats and Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride and Peach Parfait textured mats with the square lattice embossing folder (love this one). Add some Old Olive ribbon and done.

On the inside I used the Old Olive and Whisper White mats and added the corresponding flower on the inside left corner and the Well Scripted 'Happy Birthday'.

On another note - I ran in a 5km 'fun' run today. Now I am by no means a runner, and the longest I have run before today was a 4km run (and that took me a month to recover!!). Unfortunately it was very wet this morning but thankfully not really cold, so by the time I finished I was saturated, but finished, I did and I only had to stop once at the halfway mark (for water).

I have a bit of a dodgy hip at the moment so walking will probably be interesting for the next few days. Oh the pain and the glory! lol

Presto Patterns

I bought the Presto Patterns Designer Series Specialty Paper from the new mini catalogue and have been dying to use it, but was a bit stumped on what to do with it. I wanted to create a set for a class, so I wanted a simple yet effective style that would highlight the great designs in the paper - and this is what I came up with.

I used sponging to bring out the designs in the paper and layered them onto Whisper White cardstock and a Crumb Cake base card. The flower is from the Friends Never Fade Stamp Set, the markers were perfect to colour in the stems and flowers.

I used some satin ribbon to thread through the label and used the happy birthday from the Well Scripted Stamp Set (from the current mini), again using the markers to colour the 'happy' and the 'birthday'.

Play Date Set

I'm back with another set that we will be doing in an upcoming class. This set uses the cute Play Date Designer Series Paper. I also created a Magazine Holder for store all the cards, now I haven't put a link here for the holder as there are so many on the internet (so please just search for Card Magazine holder and be inspired). I ended up creating my own as I wanted it to be a particular size (which I couldn't find).

The cards were inspired by some gorgeous ones created by Jayne Mercer (see here). I used the For You Flower single stamp and the Fancy Flower Punch, in bright colours to match the DSP. I have added the happy birthday from the Well Scripted Stamp Set available in the current mini catalogue.

My elbows are getting a little better - although I'm still losing the feeling in my fingers/hands when I'm asleep, hopefully a little bit longer and they will be back to 'normal' and I can get back to more card making.

A Vintage Set

I know it has been a LONG time.

I have had a bit of a break from blogging, but it doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Although I must say, at work we take OH&S pretty seriously, but I realised this Christmas break that I hadn't taken the time to ergonomically assess my craft desk, and after spending many a day on my holidays creating I ended up with severe elbow problems - I was sitting far too low. I have now taken the keyboard shelf from underneath my desk so I can sit higher and bought a new chair. I actually had to get a drafting chair as its the only type that I can get to go up high enough so that I am sitting properly, it also has a ring that you can put your feet on, which for someone of my limited height is extremely useful. The elbows are still a little sore but I think the new desk arrangement is starting to help.

Now unfortunately a lot of my creations I have been working on are for classes so I can't show you just yet. This set will be one of my February classes - it includes a treat bag, card and treat wallet.

I love the 'vintagey' look of this project, to achieve this I sponged all the edges in Soft Suede prior to putting them through the Square Lattice Embossing Folder (available in the current mini catalogue from Stampin' Up!).

I have made a number of these treat bags - they use a small kraft gussetted lolly bag and are so easy to make. I cut off the top portion of the bag and used this to create the treat wallet.

For the card I layered some of the beautiful lace ribbon to some Satin black ribbon and 'scrunched it' (it's a technical term - lol) along some sticky strip.

A Merry Christmas Matchbox

Another idea for a Christmas Table treat is a little Christmas Matchbox.

I used the Square Lattice Embossing Folder to give some texture to the Matchbox cover. The label comes from the Lots of Tags die with my favorite 'Merry Christmas' stamp (from the Contempo Christmas stamp set) and a little button.

The Hershey chocolates were covered in Jolly Holiday DSP. I went to Costco to get the Hershey Chocolates, the problem is that Costco is a bulk store, so they only sell them in 1.5 kg bag - I do still have a few left!!!

A Sparkly & Bright Make & Take

What do you do when you have 1 hour to come up with a make and take (nothing like leaving things to the last minute) - CASE a talented lady. I really liked these cards created by Marelle Taylor, so I changed it up a little by adding a Whisper White cardstock with a Scallop Trim Border. I also made a little Sunny Boy treat holder and voila, I had 2 quick and simple make and take projects all prepared and 1 hour, and I just made it before the girls all arrived - PHEW.

I had lots of different paper prepared, with a Cherry Cobbler or Old Olive card base, so the girls could choose what combination they liked.

I only recently bought the Sparkly & Bright Stamp Set and was so glad that I did.

The Sunny Boy containers are a great idea for Christmas table favours. They are great to put some little chocolate balls in for a sweet treat.

My Retro Christmas Tree Card

I think I was just in a bit of a funky, retro mood when I created this card. I had seen punched newspaper print used on some other cards to create a background and thought why not make a Christmas Tree.

I used Naturals Ivory Cardstock, the Newsprint DSP and the Ornament Punch - how simple is that. I sponged all the edges of the card and the ornaments in Soft Suede, then added a sparkly 'star' (which is from the Boho Blossom Punch) and Noel from the Many Merry Message Stamp Set.

On the inside I added another ornament and the Merry Christmas from the Contempo Christmas (love that stamp).

I took a whole stack of cards into work and this was the most popular one - go figure, I liked it too, but thought it may have been a bit to funky/retro for others.