Bittersweet Verve Sketch...

This card is for the sketch challenge over at the Verve Blog to celebrate the upcoming March release... so excited!

I used my new Bittersweet papers from Basic Grey that I got the other day (I really don't need any more designer paper!!).

The flower is from Verve's Abundant Blessings set. I stamped the medium sized flower on the pale pink paper and the small flower on the darker pink both using Chocolate Chip ink . I cut both out and embossed with clear.

The frame is from Nestabilities Label 1 set and I added some paper piercing. The sentiment is from Fluttering By and I punched it out with a word window punch. I added a shadow layer with a darker red. The butterflies are from Petals and Stems and stamped with Choc Chip ink on pink and brown paper from the Bittersweet pack.

I added a pearl to the centre of the flower and glitter to the centre of the butterflies. I also added liquid pearls to the scallops along the bottom edge of the paper (I used a Stampin Up scallop edge punch for this edge). The ribbon is pink organza.

Thanks for stopping by!

Amy

Mojo76 - Paths of Possibility

I made this card for the Verve Mojo Sketch 76 that you can find over at the Mojo Monday blog. I coloured this image from the Path of Life set from Our Daily Bread Designs when I first got these stamps - they are absolutely stunning and the detail is AMAZING! For a gal who loves to colour, they are bliss! So this coloured image has been sitting on my coffee table for a couple of weeks now... needing to be put on a card - and when I saw Julee's sketch this week I knew it would be perfect!

The image is stamped with Versafine on watercolour paper and coloured with Stampin Up markers and an aqua painter. I used Fall Flowers DSP from SU for the layers and layered everything on Chocolate Chip cardstock. The ribbon is Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain - so yummy! The sentiment is from Verve's Here for You set - I embossed it with Chocolate embossing powder.

Here's a photo to show the layers a bit more:

Thanks for stopping by!

Amy

Viva la Verve!

Hello!

This is my card for the Verve Friday Challenge: Viva la Verve! I had the honour this week of being chosen to be the Guest Design Diva by Amber - wow!

So this week's sketch has a limited twist: NO DESIGNER PAPER!!! Oh my... I was getting really excited about using some of my latest stash of lovely K&Co paper when I saw the twist - eek! So... I decided to make my own. I used my favourite way of creating my own background paper... here are the steps:

You will need two pieces of glossy card, 3 colours of reinker (I used Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie and So Saffron), a Brilliance reinker (I used gold), a plastic file pocket, a brayer, stamps & ink.

1) Squirt a few drops of each reinker (including Brilliance) inside the plastic pocket.
2) Close the pocket and roll the brayer over in multiple directions to spread out and mix the inks a little (but not too much).
3) Open pocket up and slide two pieces of glossy card back to back into the pocket and close.
4) Roll brayer over outside of pocket on both sides, scrunching the plastic a little to distribute the ink and create texture.
5) Take cards out of the pocket and leave to dry.
6) When dry, stamp pattern or background over the card with ink suitable for glossy card (I used Memento cocoa)

So for this card, I followed the above and did step 6 on only one of the pieces. I used Verve's Artful Elegance set for the background then distressed it by swiping the cocoa inkpad around the edges. The un-stamped piece was used for the centre rectangle.

The main image was created by layering vellum cardstock embossed with a gold greeting (from Fancy Florals Remixed) over the top of a stamped image (from Birthday Surprise) that I coloured with markers. I added piercing and faux stitching using markers.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: All Verve: Birthday Surprise, Fancy Florals Remixed, Artful Elegance
Paper: Glossy White, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Vellum Cardstock
Ink: Memento Cocoa, Versamark
Accessories: SU Markers, Gold EP, SU reinkers, brads, choc chip ribbon, brilliance reinker, brayer, paper piercer, nestabilities

Thanks for looking!

Manly cupcake...?

Hello!

This card was made for the colour challenge over at Splitcoaststampers - Not Quite Navy, Sage Shadow and Kraft. It was suggested on the challenge that this was a good 'manly' colour scheme, so I thought I'd have a bash at a guy's card... I'm generally not very good at them and have to force myself to make them!

I used the cupcake from Stampin Up's Crazy for Cupcakes set. I stamped it on whisper white, and two colours of designer paper - Not Quite Navy and Kraft. I cut the whole cupcake from the NQN and then just the icing from the Kraft then paper pieced them together on the white and coloured in the candle.

I added paper pricking using my SU tool kit around the two main panels and dragged a NQN inkpad around the edges of the Kraft layers. The Sage shadow background has been run through the cuttlebug using Argyle embossing folder.

The greeting is from Circle of Friendship and I used SU's perfectly sized punches to create the layers. I added jumbo eyelets using my crop-a-dile and some blue taffeta ribbon for some texture.

Thanks for looking - any questions about Stampin Up products... just get in touch!

Playing with sponges...

Hi!
This card was made using sponging for the main panel with two layers of stamping - French Script and Beautiful Blooms. I sponged with So Saffron, More Mustard and Really Rust (a fab combo!!) then added faux stitching using a pricking tool and marker. The butterfly was stamped in Choc Chip and coloured with Always Artichoke. Image is using Hodgepodge Hardware with a Verve greeting. Background panels are Always Artichoke designer paper and Really Rust.
Thanks for looking!

Happy New Year... almost!

Well it's almost 2009 and one of my 'New Year's Resolutions' is to be MUCH more active on my blog (so that I can start telling people it exists!!). So I thought I'd start before the new year begins to kick start my resolution...

This card is one of 19 I have made so far as New Year's cards (I hardly ever make more than one card of the same design so I am astonished that I have made 19!!). I wanted to use some of the Sale-a-Bration stamps that Stampin Up! has produced for the fantastic Jan/Feb promotion. For every £45 you spend, you will receive one of these sets for FREE!! And, there's free sets to be had for hostesses too - so well worth getting in contact with me to place an order!

Here's my card recipe:
Stamps: Seasonal Wishes, Polka Dot Punches, Botanical Blooms, Yummy, Baroque Wheel
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Always Artichoke
Ink: Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Always Artichoke, Versamark
Accessories: White and Gold embossing powders, glitter, heat gun, stamp-a-ma-jig, scallop punch, five-petal flower punch, blender pen, corner rounder punch

Have a happy new year... see you in 2009!

Happy Thursday! I am in full swing making Christmas cards - so many to make... so little time!

This one used the sketch challenge over at SCS - I always love the sketch challenges cos they make me think outside the box when it comes to putting a card together - otherwise I'd just use the same layout over and over!

I used a Stamp Addicts cube called Winter Botanicals for the 3 images. I coloured using blender pens and reinkers from Stampin Up! The sentiment is from a Crafter's Companion Christmas set. I used Versafine ink to stamp both the images and the sentiment (I LOVE these inkpads as you get super fine detail and it dries quite quickly so you can watercolour over the top without smudging). The ribbon is a double treatment (love my ribbon lol!) of grosgrain and organza. Couldn't resist adding some branches using my Martha Stewart branch punch. The background paper is from Hot off the Press.

Thanks for looking - have an awesome day!