Tuesday 28 April 2009

Real Tarty Triple...

I made this card for today's colour challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers: Real Red, Old Olive and Basic Black.

I thought I was going to have a problem making a card with red and green that wasn't Christmassy until I saw someone else use the Tart and Tangy set - which I just got the other day: perfect excuse to get it inky!

There's a bit of a triple theme going on here: 3 strawberries, 3 background panels and 3 buttons! I stamped the strawberries twice - once with Real Red and the other with Old Olive. I cut out the berry and the leaves then layered up. I used my scallop square punch for the black layers. The DSP is from a hostess pack - I thought it was perfect for the dotty strawberries!

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Basic Black
Paper: Real Red DSP, Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: black buttons, scallop edge square punch, scallop egde punch, real red grosgrain ribbon, white signo gel pen

TFL!

Friday 17 April 2009

Oh so swirly Butterfly

This card fits three purposes:

1) The Verve new release sketches over at the Verve forum.

2) The limited supply challenge over at SCS: use 1 wheel (Stampin Up's So Swirly), one image stamp (this GORGEOUS butterfly from Verve's Beautiful Kindness), one sentiment (this one is from The Angel Company) and one embellishment (I used flat-backed pearls).

3) My sister requested a boxed set of cards (she specified the sentiments and said she wanted butterflies on them!) which I have been picking away at for AGES. This is the last one... YAY!

The wheel was rolled onto the green paper using Versamark and embossed with clear sparkle embossing powder. The butterfly was stamped with Versafine and shaded with coloured pencil. I embossed it with clear EP several times.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Verve, TAC, SU So swirly wheel
Ink: Versafine, Versamark
Paper: K&Co Addison, White, Blue
Accessories: flat-back pearls, clear EP, sparkle EP, coloured pencils

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday 16 April 2009

Verve blooms...!

Hello!


I'm so excited! My new Verve goodies arrived yesterday - I was so keen to play but had to go to work today and have only just managed to get them inky...


I stamped the leaves and flowers from Miracles Blossom onto Whisper White cardstock and coloured with Copic markers. I added some sparkle using a Sakura clear sparkle pen. The greeting is from the Floral Symphony set and I added a little flower from Miracles Blossom to the flourish for an extra little touch. The sentiment was cut out with nestabilities.


The gorgeous papers are from the Magnolia pack from My Mind's Eye. I added two little strips at the side using the word window punch. This card was created for the Verve new release challenge over at SCS.

Thanks for stopping by!

Amy

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Sun-shiny Verve!


Hello!

I made this card for the Viva la Verve challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers. There was a sketch to follow with a {twist} of a colour challenge: Summer Sun, More Mustard and Baja Breeze. Now, Baja Breeze is an In Colour in the US, but we don't have In Colours in the UK. However, the new mini catalogue has a new paper pack called Ski Slope and it has some Baja Breeze patterened paper in it: yay!
I used the Baja Breeze DSP for the background and added some paper piercing. The flowers are from Verve's Abundant Blessings set - I LOVE this set! I stamped them on Summer Sun using More Mustard then added depth using a Summer Sun marker. I layered them up using dimensionals and added highlights with a white gel pen. Little gems finished them off!
The Summer Sun panel behind the main image panel was created by stamping the long background stamp from Artful Elegance and embossed it with white embossing powder. I then added depth by sponging around the edges with Summer Sun and adding accents with the Summer Sun marker.
The greeting is from a Hero Arts set and I stamped it on Whisper White using More Mustard ink and punched it out with the SU oval punch. I layered it onto a More Mustard scallop oval that I punched out - these oval punches are both available in the new mini catalogue!
Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Verve's Abundant Blessings and Artful Elegance, Hero Arts
Ink: More Mustard, Summer Sun, Versamark
Paper: Ski Slope DSP, More Mustard, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Accessories: SU oval punches, white EP, SU markers, mini gems, SU toolkit, white signo gel pen
Thanks for stopping by!

Monday 13 April 2009

Washington Sketch


I made this for the sketch challenge this week over at SCS. I based my card around the Washington Apple DSP - I really love the bright flowery paper on this card! The greeting is framed by the square from Frames with a Flourish. It was coloured in using So Saffron and Bashful Blue markers. The flower was stamped three times, coloured in with markers and layered up using dimensionals. I added piercing, ribbon and brads for extra details. The brads were layered on top of 1/4" circles punched from Pumpkin Pie. This adds a nice extra touch that's really easy to do.
Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Best Yet, Playful Petals, Frames with a Flourish
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, Choc Chip, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Paper: Washington Apple DSP, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa, WW
Accessories: Neutrals buttons, Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon, SU toolkit, Bashful Blue brads, 1/4" circle punch

Sunday 12 April 2009

Regal Blooms


I made this card for the limited supply challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers. We were to use three colours (I used Regal Rose, Certainly Celery and Close to Cocoa), no more that three layers (the green around the flower image is sponged... hence only three layers!) and we were to have three elements, or focal points (mine has three panels for the background layer).The main image was stamped on Whisper White using Basic Grey ink and coloured with markers and an aqua painter. The greeting is from Fresh Cuts and was punched out with the large oval punch and scalloped oval punch (from the new mini catty!). I added loads of paper piercing and joined the dots in the background for a faux stitched effect. Some Certainly Celery brads in the corners were a finishing touch.


Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Bloomin' with Beauty, Fresh Cuts
Ink: Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Basic Grey
Paper: Sweet Always DSP, Close to Cocoa, WW
Accessories: Certainly Celery brads, SU oval punches, nestabilities, SU toolkit

Friday 10 April 2009

My Favourite Rose...

Hello!
I made this card for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge. The challenge was to use your favourite stamp set - now I don't have any Flourishes sets (yet...! But my birthday's coming up soon... hee hee!) so I decided to use my favourite SU set: A Rose is a Rose. This was the set that jumped out at me from the latest SU catalogue and every time I use it I am thrilled with how gorgeous it looks...
For this card, I stamped the rose image using Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose ink. The leaves were stamped using Old Olive (the first impression was stamped off, hence the two tones). I cut all the images out and clear embossed by applying Versamark ink over the whole image and dipping in clear embossing powder and heating.
The sentiment was stamped on Whisper White using Regal Rose ink then I applied Versamark ink over the top and added Heat and Stick powder, which I heated, then dipped in Dazzling Diamonds glitter, which I heated again to set. The ovals were made using the new oval punches from the mini catalogue - oh so fabulous!
The papers are a combination of Sweet Always (that's the pink piece underneath the Rose) and Ski Slope (the Old Olive squares in the background).
Here's the recipe:
Stamps: A Rose is a Rose, Best Yet
Ink: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive
Paper: Sweet Always, Ski Slope, Choc Chip, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Accessories: clear EP, Heat and stick powder, glitter, oval punches
TFL and have a great day!

Wednesday 1 April 2009

New mini catalogue!

Oh my! I am so excited... Stampin Up have released their first mini catalogue in the UK! I have been lucky enough to be able to play with some of the goodies in it for the last few weeks and I thought I would share some cards with you to show you how great the new stuff is. So without further ado, here's my first card:

Rosey Soft Summer

Here's the recipe:

Stamps: Soft Summer
Ink: Always Artichoke, Rose Red, Basic Black, Basic Grey
Paper: Rose Red, Always Artichoke DSP (hostess pack), Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Rose Red and Always Artichoke brads, Rose Red 1" stitched grosgrain ribbon, aqua painter, dazzling diamonds glitter, SU toolkit (for piercing).

I stamped the flowers using Basic Black on Whisper White and watercoloured using inkpads and an aqua painter. I added glitter to the centre of the flowers. I then cut them out (yikes! I like cutting...!). I stamped the solid image (this set is a 2-step set) using Basic Grey on Whisper White card and layered the flowers over the top (slightly offset) with dimensionals. The Rose Red card in the background has been stamped with the other outline image from the set with Rose Red for a subtle background image. I added paper piercing using my SU toolkit.


Orange Split Summer


Recipe:

Stamps: Soft Summer
Ink: Basic Black, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, SU reinkers (Only Orange, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa)
Paper: Haiku DSP, Basic Black, Basic Grey, Whisper White
Accessories: Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, ice brads, scallop circle punch, circle punch, oval punch, SU toolkit, blender pens, white gel pen.

I coloured the main image of this card using reinkers and a blender pen (my favourite way to colour in... the results are spectacular!). I split the image into three and layered on Basic Grey and Basic Black.

The sentiment was created by using the scallop edge punch, the 1 3/8" circle punch and the NEW oval punch. I added some dots to the black scallop circle using the Signo white gel pen.

I LOVE this set... can't wait to make more cards with it!

Forest Friends... OH so cute!

Recipe:
Stamps: Forest Friends, Lovely as a Tree, Oval All
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Old Olive
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Ski Slope DSP
Accessories: Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, sponge daubers

This set is so adorable! To create the main image, I stamped the tree image using Choc Chip on Whisper White cardstock then I used sponge daubers and ink to create the background. To create the clouds I sponged Bashful Blue around a scallop edge circle I had punched out. I stamped the deer using Choc Chip and cut it out, sticking it onto the scene using dimensionals.

The sentiment is from the new Oval All set and punched out with the new punches (these are sooo great!). The background triangles are from a new paper pack called Ski Slope. It is actually a Christmas pack but you can use so many of the papers for other occasions... it's actually my favourite of all the new paper packs in the mini catalogue.

Bunny for You...
Recipe:
Stamps: Forest Friends, Oval All, Mr & Mrs
Ink: Basic Grey, Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst
Paper: Tea Party DSP, Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop edge punch, oval punch, So Saffron striped ribbon, nestabilities
This card is a bit of a different colour feel for me. I normally like Earth Elements but this is very Soft and Subtle! The bunny was stamped with Basic Grey and highlighted with Pretty in Pink and a blender pen. The layers underneath the bunny were done using the circle from Mr & Mrs. The patterned paper is the new Tea Party DSP set from the mini catalogue. The ribbon is the new So Saffron striped ribbon. The corners of the white panel were punched using the scallop edge punch. The greeting is from the new Oval All set.

Petal Tea Party...

Recipe:
Stamps: Playful Petals, Oval All
Ink: Basic Grey, Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery, So Saffron
Paper: Tea Party DSP, Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Pretty in Pink brads, Oval punch and Scallop oval punch, So Saffron striped ribbon, nestabilities

Oh how I love these flowers! Two of my favourite things to do are to colour and cut out... so this set is right up my street! I stamped the large flower once and the smaller one three times then coloured with a blender pen and ink pads (and SU markers). I then cut out the various layers and layered up using dimensionals. I coloured the leaves in the same way.

The sentiment is from a NEW set called Oval All. It perfectly coordinates with the new oval punches and is completely fabulous for so many occasions. I inked up the stamp using markers (almost amethyst and certainly celery). The background papers are from a new set of DSP called Tea Party. These papers are designed to coordinate with this stamp set. I added some So Saffron striped ribbon - also NEW in the mini catalogue!

My favourite quote...

Recipe:
Stamps: Sense of Time, Mr & Mrs
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Washington Apple DSP, Whisper White, Basic Black, Kraft
Accessories: White taffeta ribbon, nestabilities, SU markers, neutrals buttons, Signo white gel pen

This quote is from the new Sense of Time set - I really love this quote... If only we could live by this! I stamped the quote on Kraft using Basic Black and cut out with my nesties an cuttlebug. I added some dots with my white gel pen. The stripy paper in the background is from some NEW paper from the mini catalogue called Washington Apple - it is gorgeous! I made my own patterned paper using the flower from Mr & Mrs which I stamped repeatedly on Whisper White and coloured with markers. I added some black buttons and white ribbon for extra detail.

Pretty Fresh Cuts

Recipe:
Stamps: Fresh Cuts
Ink: Always Artichoke, Ruby Red, Apricot Appeal
Paper: Rainbow Sherbet DSP, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Oval punch, scallop oval punch, Pretties kit, Always Artichoke ribbon, cutter kit, sponge daubers

For this card, I stamped the main image from Fresh Cuts using Always Artichoke onto Whisper White cardstock. I coloured the image in with SU markers (the fine tip end really came in handy for those flower petals!). I distressed the edges of the image panel using my distressing tool in the SU cutter kit. The sentiment is from Fresh Cuts and punched out with the NEW oval punches in the mini catalogue - these punches are FABULOUS! I added some ribbon and a hat pin with pearls and beads from the Pretties Kit.