Gift Set

This is a gift set I made for a friend's birthday last week - a box to hold some M&S Bath Fizzers and a matching card. The inspiration for the design actually came from the gift itself as the bath fizzers had a honeycomb pattern on them and were in a black and cream hexagonal box. So no choice but to use the Hexagon Punch and Embossing Folder!!
The DSP is from Modern Medley, sentiment on the box is from Bring on the Cake and the sentiment on the card is one from Perfectly Penned. The ribbon is Basic Black Satin now retired.

Margaret x

Simples Sunday

 
For today's 'Simples Sunday' card I have again taken inspiration from the Less is More challenge which, this week, is a sketch - making this my third entry!! It may not look as simple as usual but it is very easy to make.
I started by cutting an aperture in a panel of Crumb Cake cardstock using one of the Circle Collection Framelits. The image behind the aperture is from Simply Sketched (a Hostess set), stamped on Very Vanilla and coloured with Crisp Cantaloupe and Pear Pizzazz. The sentiment is also from Simply Sketched, stamped in Early Espresso, cut in the shape of a tag with a Chalk Talk Framelit and a bow of Linen Thread added. The whole thing is matted onto a Crumb Cake card blank with a finishing touch of three Basic Pearls.

I hope you're having a good weekend and I'll see you soon.

Margaret x

Less is More Sketch - Take 2

Do you ever have an idea in your head for a card and, when you've actually made it, you think it would have been better to have stayed in your head? Well this is one of those cards :0) Nothing at all like the picture in my head and not a card I like a great deal but thought I would show you anyway!
It is of course for the Less is More Sketch challenge (top right) and my second post of the day.
I started by making a mask from a sheet of copy paper using a Circles Framelit, then sponged Soft Sky and Pear Pizzazz to give a circle of colour. The image is from the Hostess set, Simply Sketched, coloured with Chocolate Chip and Pear Pizzazz markers, and the little tufts are grass are from Dinoroar (now retired). I cut out the sentiment from the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies (also retired) in Pear Pizzazz.

Thanks for stopping by, back soon

Margaret x

Less is More Sketch

The Less is More challenge for this week is a Sketch (top right) and my entry was made using the Warmth & Wonder Hostess set in the Autumn/Winter catalogue.
I stamped both the image and sentiment on Naturals White cardstock with the new Gold Metallic Encore ink pad (also available in the Autumn/Winter catalogue). The tree was punched out with the Extra Large Circle punch and matted onto a 4" square card blank using dimensionals and the sentiment banner positioned on top.
Because most people have lots of cards to send at Christmas it's very tempting to buy them because you simply don't have the time to make your own, however, armed with a simple image, a punch and the new metallic ink pads (which is also available in silver) you could make several of these in a very short space of time. Obviously you don't get the same shine with the ink as you would with embossing but I think that's a small price to pay for the amount of time saved!!

I hope you all have a great weekend and, hopefully, I'll be back with something to show you for 'Simples Sunday' tomorrow

Margaret x

A New Baby

This is the card I made for a girl I used to work with who had her first baby yesterday. I could say she had a 'little' boy but I think that may be stretching the truth a bit as baby Eben weighed in at a whopping 11lb 10ozs!!!!
I used Soft Sky and white for the card with the letters cut from the, now retired, Timeless Type Alphabet dies. The balloons were made with the Small Oval punch in Soft Sky and coloured Silver Glimmer Paper tied with Bakers Twine.
Three little hearts were punched from the Owl Builder Punch and placed down the side of the card.


I am entering this card for the SUO Challenge - Welcome Baby

I still work with baby Eben's Grandad so I also made a congrats card for the 'first time' Grandparents (right) using Baja Breeze (retired)

Another birthday card for my sister but I made this one for my Mum to give her. A simple 3-panel card using Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake along with the leaves from Summer Silhouettes and a flower from the Flower Shop set. The sentiments are from 'For my Family' and the flower on the banner is a punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack and a Basic Pearl.

Thanks for stopping by

Margaret x

Birthday Card & Gift Box

This is the card and gift box I made for my sister's birthday which was on Saturday. I used the Fabulous Florets stamp set with the leafy image for the card and one of the flowers for the gift box. The colour combo was Smoky Slate and black (Staz-on), embellished with Basic Black Chevron ribbon. The sentiment is from the Hostess set, Simply Sketched, and the vellum butterflies were punched with the Bitty Butterfly punch with Basic Rhinestones for their bodies. The gift box is one I made with the Pop'n'Cuts die, finished off with Chevron ribbon and a tag from Chalk Talk cut with the co-ordinating Framelit.

If you would like to order any products or, maybe, even become a Stampin'Up! demonstrator yourself, then please don't hesitate to contact me and I will be very happy to help.

Margaret x

Simples Sunday & Card Swap Birthday

Today, for my Simples Sunday post, I am showing you the birthday card I made for Alison, a member of the Card Swap Group. I know that Alison is a fan of purple so I used Elegant Eggplant for her card, along with Whisper White.
I coloured the image, from Love & Sympathy, with Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive markers and stamped onto a panel of Whisper White, added a small loop of (retired) ribbon before layering onto Elegant Eggplant which had been embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots folder. The sentiment is from the Hostess set, Simply Sketched, and punched out with the Extra Large Oval punch and layered onto another oval punched from Elegant Eggplant cardstock. A couple of Basic Pearls were added to finish the card.
Thanks for stopping by and pop back tomorrow to see the card and gift box I made for my sister's birthday yesterday.

Margaret x

ILWS Autumn/Winter Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the ILWS Winter/Autumn Blog Hop. If you are on the hop you will have arrived here from the very talented Leanne (http://www.beautifulimpressions.co.uk/) and, when you've finished here, then do hop over to see what fabulous things Sarah has to show you at http://www.esellek.com/

As I'm sure you will be wanting to get around all the blogs I won't go into detail about how things are made but will simply give you a list under each project of the products used. (Products in italics are from the main catalogue)

Card and Treat Box

 

Supplies used: Magnificent Maple stamp, Tags 4 You, Label Bracket Punch, Naturals Ivory and Very Vanilla cardstock, Circle Punch, Linen Thread

Card and Gift Box

Supplies used: Tags 4 You, Label Bracket Punch, Season of Style DSP, Cherry Cobbler cardstock, Large Oval and 1/2" Circle punches (for bow), Basic Rhinestones

 Card and Gift Holder

Supplies used: Festive Flurry Stamps and Framelits, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Petite Pairs (sentiment), Pop'n'Cuts Card Base die, Extra Large Oval Punch.

Card and Tealight Gift Box

Supplies used:  Festive Flurry  Framelits, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Merry Little Christmas single stamp, Whisper White & Cherry Cobbler cardstock, Silver Glimmer Paper, Chalk Talk Framelit, Basic Rhinestones.

 Greetings Cards

Supplies used: Season of Style DSP, Cherry Cobbler 1" Stitched Edge Grosgrain Ribbon, Warmth & Wonder Hostess set, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Crumb Cake and Whisper White cardstock, Labels Collection Framelit, Ovals Framelits.

Thank you for joining me today and enjoy the rest of the hop (next stop here)

Margaret x

Table Gifts

Today I'm showing you the table gifts I have made for the ladies coming to my monthly class. I have made them with four of the 2012-14 In Colours - Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Raspberry Ripple and Summer Starfruit and matching Stitched Satin Ribbon.
I saw the idea for these a few weeks ago on YouTube but, when I came to look at it again last week, the video had been removed by the author so I am unable to give any credit for the idea (or a link to the tutorial!) I had only watched the video briefly so, although I still had the idea in my head, I had no idea of measurements etc so it was a case of 'playing' until I'd got a finished box that I was happy with. This particular size allows you to make 2 boxes from one 12"x12" sheet of DSP and is a good size for a few sweet treats!
The box was finished off with tags made with the Mosaic Madness stamp set and co-ordinating punch with a sentiment from the Hostess set, Sweetly Framed.

               

Flowery Wreath

This is a wreath I made during the summer holidays to hang in my porch and I've only just got round to showing you!
The flowers were made using the Fun Flowers and Blossom Party dies in different combinations and leaves punched from, the now retired, Blossom Petals Punch.
The colours are Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum and Certainly Celery and the wreath was finished off with a bow made from Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon.
No masterpiece but just an example of how you can use SU products for home decorating and not just cards!!

Margaret x

Second Challenge of the Day!

My posts today are a bit like buses - none for ages then two at once! (If you have come to see my regular 'Simples Sunday' post then you need to scroll down) There is a reason for this and it's because I have stumbled across a brand new challenge site, just using current Stampin'Up! products, and run by a design team of SU demos from around the world - hence the name 'Around the World Stampin'Up! Challenges'. Click here for the link AW-01. Those regular visitors to my blog will know that I love making boxes etc and so, because 3D items are allowed, I couldn't resist posting an entry!
And this is it

A little gift box which holds a large tealight candle (bought from a local store and it coordinates with SU colours no less!)
The candle in this particular box matched beautifully with the new colour, Soft Sky, which I brightened up with Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon. The top of the box has a panel of Whisper White which has been embossed with the Mosaic Embossing Folder and tags made with the Mosaic Madness stamp set and co-ordinating punch with a sentiment from the Hostess set, Sweetly Framed






Of course, as always when I make boxes, I had to make a matching card using the same supplies but this time with a sentiment from another Hostess set, Express Yourself.


There are a few close-up photos below

Simples Sunday meets LIM

For this week's Simple Sunday card I have used the challenge over at LIM, which is a One layer Get Well card.
I started by stamping the sentiment from Sassy Salutations using Pear Pizzazz and then placed a post-it note mask, punched with the Extra Large Oval Punch, over the top.  I stamped around the mask using one of the flower stamps from Stippled Blossoms with Crisp Cantaloupe, and a leaf stamp from the same set with Pear Pizzazz. To add a finishing touch I placed 5 of the tiny Basic Pearls in the centre of just one of the flowers (bottom left).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend

Margaret x