Forgotten guava & ruby love note

I realised I forgot to show you another guava Love Note I made for my last class.I used the same layout as this one, except that I used the large & small oval punches for the window. The Love Note is whisper white, but I added colour by stamping the front with the 'Canvas' background stamp in groovy guava ink (after stampin' off first on scrap) & lightly sponging all over it to soften the look. I rock & rolled whisper white card with 'Simply Said' flowers in groovy guava & ruby red ink & mounted it on a groovy guava mat. Then, I punched a large oval window in the front of the card. I stamped be happy from 'So Many Sayings' in guava ink, punched it out with the small oval & mounted it on a large ruby red oval inside the card. Another quickie card made with limited supplies.
I only have one more Love Note to come (for now I promise!) but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Nightie night for now. (& good morning to those in the UK - Hi Ngai & Jean!)
Supplies: Stamps: Simply Said, So Many Sayings, Canvas Background
Card/Ink: Groovy guava, ruby red
Tools, Large & small oval punches

Re-inspired love note

If this one looks familiar, it's because it's based on this card I made a couple of weeks ago. I made extra flowers at the time & thought they were too cute to throw out, so, I used one here. It couldn't be easier or take & didn't take any longer than 5 minutes to make.

Just take a vanilla Love Note, stamp using polka dot background & so saffron ink. Stamp 'wish big' from Short & Sweet (as if you didn't know) in pomegranate ink on a scrap of so saffron card. Add a couple of olive brads to opposite corners of the saffron card & attach it to the front. Stamp a partial flower from 'In the Spotlight' in pomegranate ink inside the card. Done!
Supplies:Stamps: In the Spotlight, Short & Sweet
Card: so saffron, old olive, purely pomegranate, very vanilla love note
Ink: Purely pomegranate
Tools, 5 petal punch, spring bouquet punch, old olive brads (Earth Elements® pack)

Cupcake birthday love

This is another quickie Love Note I made, while having a play with the little cupcake image from the 'Short & Sweet' set.The 5 little cupcakes are stamped in basic brown ink on whisper white card & coloured with pixie pink, tempting turquoise & barely banana ink using my Aqua Painter™. I distressed the edges with the distressing tool in the Cutter Kit & mounted it on a square of pixie pink card, stamped with the star & spot stamp from 'Eat Cake'. Like these, I punched a window in the front using the ¾ inch circle punch.
To carry the fun through to the inside I stamped Eat Cake (strangely enough also from 'Eat Cake') in pixie pink ink on barely banana card & punched it out with the ¾ inch circle punch. Then, mounted it on punched tempting turquoise & pixie pink circles (1¼ inch, 1 inch). Finally, I stamped Happy Birthday inside. You can see the inside better in this pic.
Hints:Use a stamp-a-ma-jig to get the cupcakes straight, if you're not comfortable eyeballing them.
If I was making this card again, I'd move the cupcakes up a bit higher to leave a bit more room to punch a 1 inch circle window....but that's just me!
Supplies:Stamps: Short & Sweet, Eat Cake
Card: pixie pink, barely banana, tempting turquoise, whisper white, Whisper white Love Note
Ink: basic brown, pixie pink, barely banana, tempting turquoise
Tools: circle punches -1¼ inch, 1 inch, ¾ inch, Cutter kit, stamp-a-ma-jig

Circle of Friendship Love Notes

As promised, I'm back with some more love notes. I used the 'Circle of Friendship' set in the eScape bundle for both of these. I wasn't really sure whether to get this set, but I'm glad I did. It seems to work really well with softer images & I think they'll be good for male cards (always a problem for me!). Both cards are very simple, quick to make & use very limited supplies. I've gone mono-chromatic with the colours for both, using couple of the dynamic duos from the colour coach.
A rosy thank you
For this one, I used rose red & regal rose on a vanilla Love Note. I stamped the polka dot background, added a strip of rose red & regal rose, then I went mad with my punches (again!) to make the scalloped circle motif. 'Thank you' was stamped on vanilla with rose red ink, punched out & mounted on a dimensional.
I've also been wondering how to mail a Love Note card, since Australia Post will not take cards that small (go figure!). So, I came up with the idea to attach it to a card front sized piece of card & use a normal envelope to mail it. To attach the Love Note, I used my trusty slit punch to make a slit in the top, bottom & right side of the card front & slid the back of the card in place, so it still opens. You could also put the Note in its envelope & attach it. Here's what this one looked like attached. I just stamped the polka dot background in regal rose onto regal rose card.
Plum window
This was one of the projects we made at last Saturday's class. The design is very simple & it was super quick to make. First I attached a strip of pale plum & perfect plum card to a vanilla Love Note. Then, I used the rock & roll technique to repeat stamp the 'Carte Postale' flower with pale & perfect plum inks onto vanilla card. I lightly sponged all over the piece with pale plum ink & added more to the edges. Then I mounted it on the perfect plum piece.

I wanted to carry some interest to the inside of the card, so I punched out a circle window (1 ¼ inch punch) in the front. Then, I stamped the greeting in perfect plum ink, punched it out (1 inch circle) & layered it with dimensionals on pale plum (1 ¼ inch) perfect plum (1 3/8 inch) circles. Finally I attached the circles to the inside, so the greeting popped out of the front window. You can see it in this pic (sorry for the dreadful colour!).
More Love Notes to come...& the other projects from last class. So many posts, so little time!

Supplies:
Rosy thank you
Stamps: Circle of Friendship, Polka dot background
Card/Ink: Regal Rose, Rose Red, Vanilla Love Note
Tools: circle punches ( 1, 1 1/4, 1 3/8 inch), scallop circle punch

Plum Window
Stamps: Circle of Friendship, Carte Postale
Card/Ink: Pale Pum, Perfect Plum, Vanilla Love Note
Tools: circle punches ( 1, 1 1/4, 1 3/8 inch)

Colour Inspiration Challenge 13

Wow, Kristina's new challenge is here already. I didn't have time to try last week's so I was excited to see it. The colours are purely pomegranate, regal rose, river rock, wild wasabi & whisper white & here's the gorgeous inspiration picture...

I was inspired by the crisp green & white border & the lovely cushions, but before I waffle any more, here's my card:
The base is river rock. I attached a strip of wasabi card , a strip of whisper white card repeat stamped with the flourish from 'Carte Postale' in wild wasabi ink & then some wide regal rose grosgrain ribbon. For the motif, I stamped the 'Baroque Motifs square image in wasabi ink & large flower in pomegranate ink on white card, cut them out & mounted them with dimensionals on a square of regal rose card. For some extra luxury, I added a half pearl from the Pretties Kit to the centre of the flower. Finally, I stamped the wonderful friend greeting from 'Boho Backgrounds' in wild wasabi ink.

I really liked this combination. Hope you do too.

Supplies
Stamps: Carte Postale, Baroque Motifs, Boho Backgrounds
Card: river rock, wild wasabi, regal rose, purely pomegranate, whisper white
Ink: wild wasabi, purely pomegranate, regal rose
Accessories: Half pearl (Pretties Kit)

Guava & ruby love note & box

When you're onto a good thing (or colour combo in this case), use it I say. After making this card, I decided I really like groovy guava & ruby red together. So, I thought I'd use it for this box I made to hold a gift for my lovely workshop hostess, Melissa (Hi Mel!).I didn't have a box pattern in the right size (to fit a SU ink pad), so I made up my own. This finished box is approx 14 cm (h) x 12 cm (w) x 2.5cm. It's made with just an A4 sheet of ruby red cardstock. Thanks Kellie, for the inspiration to cut the flap as part of the box.

First, I rolled the whole sheet with the 'Kindness' Stampin' Around® wheel & ruby red ink. This is such a quick & easy way to decorate a box. Then I scored the card with my bone folder & paper trimmer & folded the box into shape. To hold the flap closed, I knotted some groovy guava double stitched ribbon around the box & attached a tag. To make the tag, I used the rock & roll technique to stamp the 'Simply Said' flower image in groovy guava & ruby red & then the outline in ruby red. I punched it out with the 1 ¼ inch circle punch, added a ruby red brad & mounted it on a ruby red circle (1 3/8 inch punch) & guava & ruby red scallop circles (which I pierced) with dimensionals. I also added a whisper white circle to the back for a greeting.
Then, when I was making projects for my eScape class last weekend, I thought about the box & made this Love Note card using the same colour combination & theme.To make the card, I stamped a whisper white Love Note in groovy guava with a 'Simply Said' flower outline, added a strip of guava card, stamped with a greeting (again from 'Simply Said') & some groovy guava double stitched ribbon. Then I added a similar scalloped flower to the one on the box. On the inside of the card, I added a square of guava card, which I also stamped with the 'Simply Said' flower.
If you haven't seen Love Notes yet, they are 3 inch square front cards & come in packs of 20 cards (10 vanilla & 10 white) with matching envelopes. They are super cute, really quick & easy to complete and use very little supplies. They are also available this month for 25% off when you purchase them in the eScape bundle (see this post).
I think it makes such a nice gift when you coordinate your card & wrapping, so the next time you need to wrap a gift, think about what you can do to coordinate them. If you'd like more information on these projects, techniques or products, just contact me.
I'll be back over the coming days with more love notes ideas & cards from recent workshops.
Supplies:
Stamps: Simply Said, Kindness wheelCard: ruby red, groovy guava, whisper whiteInk: ruby red, groovy guavaAccessories: ruby red brad (Earth Elements® pack), groovy guava double stitched ribbon, dimensionalsTools: scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, 1 ¼ inch circle punch, bone folder

More berry bliss folder goodness

One of the things I love most about making these patterned paper gift folders are that they can look so different with just a change in paper. Here's another one I made with Berry Bliss designer paper.For this one, I used a sheet with a smart stripe & circle print on one side and monochromatic pink 'boho' flowers on the other. Even though the colours & layout are the same as this one, I think has a different feel...but that could just be me.The main colours in this paper are close to cocoa, pretty in pink & white. I used the 'Think Happy Thoughts' set for the front & inside motifs, as I like the way it reflected the circles in the paper...& I can't resist a cute flower that I can punch out! To close the folder & I used chocolate grosgrain ribbon & pretty in pink brads.This pic shows more detail of the front motif. On whisper white card, I stamped the greeting in close to cocoa ink & punched it out with the 1 ¼ inch circle punch, stamped the flower in pretty in pink ink & punched it out with the 3/4 inch circle. Then, I added a pink rhinestone brad (from 'Fire' pack) & raised the images on a base of pretty in pink & close to cocoa squares & a 1 3/8 inch pink circle.

Tip: If you're using striped paper & want the stripe to be vertical on the front of the folder (like this one), you must make sure the stripe is vertical when you make the first scores on the sheet.

EDIT Sept 2021: See & download my No Cut Patterned Paper Tutorial in this post

Hope you've enjoyed seeing all the different folders. I know I really had fun making them. I probably won't be able to post any more projects until next week now, as I have some busy days ahead, but I will be back. In the meantime, have fun & laugh lots!

Supplies:
Stamps: Think happy thoughts
Paper: Berry Bliss Designer Series Paper
Card: close to cocoa, pretty in pink & whisper white
Ink: close to cocoa, pretty in pink
Accessories: Fire rhinestone brads (pink) , Soft Subtles® brads (pink), chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon.
Punches: 1 3/8 inch square, 1 ¼ inch circle, ¾ inch circle, slit
Other Tools: paper piercer, dimensionals

First folder of berry goodness

I promised to post some more gift card folders today using some scrumptious 'Berry Bliss' paper, so without any further waffle, here's the first one. The basic folder is made exactly the same as this one. The main colours in this paper are close to cocoa, purely pomegranate & pretty in pink. The stamped motif on the front & inserts is from 'Boho Backgrounds'. You'll see this image in most of the designs in the 'Berry Bliss' paper pack... I sooo love when Stampin' Up! does that!This pic shows more detail of the front. I stamped 2 images with purely pomegranate ink on very vanilla card & punched out parts of them with the 1 inch & 1 3/8 inch circle punches. Then, I added a pink rhinestone brad (from 'Fire' pack) & raised the images on a base of pomegranate, pretty in pink & close to cocoa squares & a 1 3/8 inch circle. I used another pink rhinestone brad to hold the purely pomegranate double stitched ribbon in place. I used pink brads (Soft Subtles® pack) on the inside & back of the folder.

EDIT Sept 2021: See & download my No Cut Patterned Paper Tutorial in this post

Supplies: Stamps: Boho Backgrounds
Paper: Berry Bliss Designer Series Paper Card: close to cocoa, purely pomegranate, pretty in pink & very vanilla Ink: Purely pomegranate Accessories: Fire rhinestone brads (pink) , Soft Subtles® brads (pink), pomegranate double stitched ribbon Punches: 1 3/8 inch square, 1 3/8 inch circle, 1 inch circle, slit Other Tools: paper piercer, dimensionals

Patterned paper gift card folder

I've been dying to show you another gift card folder I've been a bit obsessed with making at the moment (obsessed – me?? J).

I saw one on Andrea Hayes' blog while I was having a bit of a blog hop & had to try making one. I was amazed that the basic folder is just a scored & folded piece of double sided patterned paper. So, I made one using Andrea's excellent tutorial and an 8 x 8 inch sheet of paper.

I wanted to make a larger and more 'card like' one, so I tried using a full 12 x 12 inch sheet of double sided patterned paper. I was really happy with how it turned out. What do you think?

I used a sheet of the lovely (but sadly retired) 'Enchante' patterned paper for the base & stamps from 'Carte Postale' for the motif on the front & the greeting/gift cards inside. To close the folder, I used some celery grosgrain ribbon, rhinestone brads from the 'Ice' pack & silver brads to close it.
Here's a pic of the inside:

I included two cards - one for a greeting & one for a store or gift card. The gift card is held in place on the card with slits made with the slit punch (so handy). Here's another pic showing more of the card inserts.
You can follow Andrea's tutorial instructions to make one too, but you'll just need to change the score lines to suit a 12 x 12 inch sheet, as follows: Score sheet at, 2 ¼ inches, 6 inches & 9 ¾ inches. Turn paper (a quarter turn) & score at 4 ½ inches and 9 ¾ inches.
If you'd like to make one with a similar look to this paper, the designs from the Enchante pack are used with a blue & yellow colour scheme in the 'Le Jardin' patterned paper pack.
More Tips
- The secret to a good folder is accurate but not too hard scoring.
- The finished front is slightly smaller than a normal card, but it still fits nicely in a standard C6 envelope.
Thanks so much Andrea for sharing this great idea .... and for those of you who haven't found Andrea yet, you should check out her blog, as her creations are really great.

EDIT Sept 2021: See & download my No Cut Patterned Paper Tutorial in this post

 
Tomorrow, I'll show you some more folders I've made using the scrumptious berry bliss paper pack.
Supplies:
Stamps: Carte Postale
Paper: One 12 x 12 inch sheet of double sided patterned paper from 'Enchante' pack
Card: very vanilla, pale plum, perfect plum & certainly celery card
Ink: perfect plum, pale plum
Accessories: rhinestone brads ('Ice' pack), silver brads
Tools: bone folder, 1 3/8 inch square punch, paper piercer

Colour challenge 11 – in the nick of time

I've been really looking forward to another of Kristina's challenges & when I saw the colours for this week, I was pretty excited. Anyhow, I've no time to waffle this morning. Here's the inspiration pic: And here's my card:
It's very simple, but I like it. The colours of course are rose red, so saffron, old olive, going gray & whisper white. The sets I used are 'In the Spotlight' (hostess lvl 2), 'Polka Dot' background & 'Polka Dots & Paisley' (greeting).

The base is rose red. I stamped the polka dot background in so saffron & added pierced strips of saffron & olive on more rose red. The stamped flower is from 'In the Spotlight' & all the large flowers are punched out with the 5 petal flower punch (I LOVE matching punches!). The small saffron flower was punched with the spring bouquet punch. The flower pieces are all raised on dimensionals & I added an olive brad (Earth Elements® pack) in the centre. The greeting is stamped with going gray.

OK, hope you like my attempt. Have to run now. Happy Sunday to you all!

Di

Back to colour challenge 10

I didn't have time to make a card for Kristina's colour challenge 10, but I liked the colour combination she set. Here's the inspiration pic:

So, this week, when I wanted to try this tutorial that Kristina also did, I decided to use these colours. They are: so saffron, bashful blue, not quite navy, old olive & whisper white ... & this is my card:

The sets I've used are 'Seeing Spots' (flower centre), 'Polka Dot' background (saffron on white) & 'Eat Cake' (birthday greeting).

It's hard to see in the pic, but the flower motif has lots of raised layers. (I'll try to take some better pics). The navy outer petals (punched with the 1 3/8 inch circle & scallop circle punches) are raised above the bashful blue piece. The old olive & bashful blue circles & the flower centre are mounted below the bashful blue piece (clear as mud?). I wrapped some new bashful blue striped grosgrain ribbon for the knot – I think it just finishes it off nicely!

I really liked using this colour combination. If you would like any more info on this card, just let me know ... or leave a comment – I like hearing what you think!

In the meantime, have a great weekend.
Di J

Supplies:
Stamps: Seeing Spots, Polka Dot, Eat Cake
Card: so saffron, bashful blue, not quite navy, old olive, whisper white
Ink: so saffron, not quite navy
Accessories: Not quite navy brad (Earth Elements® pack), dimensionals, glue dots
Tools: scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 in circle punch, 1 ¼ in circle punch, I in circle punch.

Unsure about this one

Ever had times when a card appears that you didn't expect. This is certainly the case with this one, as it looks nothing like the idea I started off with. I like it but don't love it & can't put my finger on exactly why. I debated with myself (a regular pastime) on whether to post it or not, but in the end, I'll let you decide! What do you think?

The colours I used are groovy guava, blush blossom & ruby red. The stamp images are from 'Boho Backgrounds' & 'Wonderful Words'. I'm sure you've also noticed the flower & rhinestone brad from my new 'Pretties Kit' too (yum!)

Little details ...

- I thought the stamped boho flowers needed a bit more texture, so I lightly sponged all over the piece & added more to the edges. I also sponged the edges of the torn vellum.

- In case you haven't seen the Pretties Kit yet (& you must!), a little bit of background on it. One of the 'pretties' included are lots of different shapes & sizes of white flowers, which you can colour to match the card you're making. No more searching for the perfect colour flower – yay! I picked a 6 petal flower to co-ordinate with the stamped boho ones. I coloured it by smooshing it with a sponge dauber & ink from the lid of a regular groovy guava ink pad. You can also use an Aqua Painter™, watercolour wonder crayons or markers to colour them.

- The ruby red flowers under the flower are made with the 5 petal punch. I wrapped each petal around the nib end of a pen to add some more dimension.

If you want to know more, just contact me.

PS: the sun has just come out in Sydney.....so let the laundry commence (sigh!)

Supplies:

Sets: Boho Backgrounds, Wonderful Words
Card: groovy guava, blush blossom & ruby red card, vellum paper
Ink: groovy guava, ruby red
Accessories: Pretties Kit – flower & rhinestone brad, ruby red brads, pop-up glue dots
Tools: 5 petal flower punch

Little box of baroque

This is a little set of cards I made recently with the Baroque Motifs set. I love love love this set & think it has to be one of the easiest set ever for making simply elegant cards.The back-story of this project is that I wanted to make some really simple cards with just card & ink. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE ribbons & brads etc but I also like to show that you can make really nice cards without them too. Anyway, I made a little card with scrap pieces & decided it looked a bit lonely, so I made 5 others in the same size to keep it company & a box to put them in!

The colours are blue bayou, soft sky, groovy guava, certainly celery & whisper white. As well as Baroque Motifs, eagle eyed viewers will probably notice some 'Short & Sweet' greetings making yet another appearance.

The cards are so simple to make. They all have approx 8 x 8.5cm fronts. I just stamped a Baroque swirl & some small flowers onto whisper white card, adhered the stamped piece with dimensionals onto a mat & then onto the base. Eagle eyes will also notice the bottom right card is upside down. I only realised when I was editing the pic & am too lazy to fix it!

For the box base, I resized the lid of this explosion box. The sliding lid is stamped whisper white card, topped with some more card strips & some Baroque flowers mounted with dimensionals onto punched scallop circles.I still have to make some envelopes to fit the cards, as they're not a standard size...or I may use them as gift cards without envelopes. Either way, I like the way the set turned out. Especially for a project that wouldn't have taken 2 hours from design to completion. Hope you like it too.

Hope you're all having a lovely long weekend. It's gone all cloudy in Sydney again today, but we're having afternoon tea at Cavallaro's, my favourite patiserrie, so it's all good!

June Promotions

Here are the details of two great Stampin' Up!® promotions that started this month.
The first is....

eScape

Much as I love sending cards, I admit that I generally send event type cards like birthdays etc, rather than sending one 'just because'. I'm not normally organised enough to have cards ready to go when I think about it (blush), so I usually e-mail or text instead.

This month though, I'd like to encourage you to join me to eScape the e world, unwind & reconnect with your friends & loved ones by making & sending handmade cards. I realise the irony of telling you about this via my blog, but hey, life's a bit like that!

To celebrate eScaping, Stampin' Up!® have bundled 3 great products together for June only, to help you get your message out. You'll save 25% on the individual price of these items when you purchase the eScape bundle.

In the eScape bundle, you'll receive these 3 great products for $58.80. That's a saving of $19.60 (excl s&h).

Circle of Friendship Set (catalogue p112)
Love Notes Assortment (p132)
1 1/4 inch circle punch (p142)

If you have any questions about eScaping or you'd like to order this bundle, just contact me by 20 June to be included in my next regular order, or by 28 June at the latest.
The second promotion is...
Extra Extra!
From 1 June to 15 July, it's an even better time than usual to host your own Stampin' Up!® workshop, as you can earn an extra $50 of free goodies.
When you host a workshop totalling $700 or more, you'll earn a free level 1 or 2 hostess stamp set and $130 of free products of your choice, instead of the usual (& still fantastic) $80. Of course, you & your guests will also make a fun project & you get keep all the goodies I make at your workshop too. You can find out more about the Extra Extra offer here.
My available dates are filling fast, so contact me ASAP if you'd like to book a workshop date, or if you'd like to find out how you can earn the same hostess benefits by hosting a catalogue workshop.
I'll be back with some quick cards to help you make someone's day.

Sharon’s fab gift card purse

So did you think I have forgotten to post the pics of the second project from my last class? I was so busy last week finalising preparations for Kellie & I's stall & a workshop that I didn't have time, but here it finally is. It's a gift card purse that very clever demo, Sharon Turnbull created as a SU convention swap in April. I thought the idea was absolutely brilliant, so I just had to make my own using her design.

I want to send a huge thank you to Sharon for sharing your design & allowing me to post the project on my blog.

The purse opens like a handbag & has 2 divided sections inside to hold card inserts – one to hold a greeting & one for a store gift card. I think this is a great way to make giving a gift card still feel very special. This is one of my most favourite recent projects... & not just because I used more yummy 'in colours' & Fall Flowers paper. The girls at the class loved them too, so I hope you do as well.

We made 2 colour variations, one with a blue bayou base,

Here's a close up of the flower motif, so you can see how it's raised...

... & one with certainly celery. This celery one was a prototype – the class version was has the same paper & flower layout as the blue bayou one!

I think this project also breaks my record of most punches used on a single project – 7 in total. Check out the supply list if you can't pick them all.

If you'd like more info on how to make this purse, or if you'd like me to run a class to show you how to make one, just contact me.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Priceless, Short & Sweet (again!)
Card/Paper: blue bayou/certainly celery, whisper white, Fall Flowers designer paper
Ink: blue bayou or certainly celery, groovy guava
Accessories: celery brad, dimensionals
Punches: scallop circle, 1 3/8 in circle, 1 ¼ in circle, corner rounder, word window, tab, slit