Simples Sunday

Once again this week I have used the LIM challenge, a card using Diecuts, for my Simples Sunday post and this is a really simple one.
I started by paper piercing two hearts, using the Occasions Paper Piercing Pack, on a panel of white cardstock. I then added three Rich Razzleberry flowers cut with the Floral Fusions Sizzlits Die and a Basic Pearl added to the centres. A few Pistachio Pudding leaves, cut with the Little Leaves Sizzlits Die, were placed around the flowers and all that was left to do was add the sentiment from Field Flowers. Simples!!

I sincerely apologise for my distinct lack of comments on last week's entries for the LIM challenge - the week ran away with me again. I am on half term this week so (fingers crossed) I will find some time to look round all the lovely entries.

Have a good day

Margaret x

Celebrating 70!

 
This is a commissioned card that I was asked to make by a work colleague for her Aunt's 70th birthday. There was no brief, just 'a nice card' so I knew immediately what I wanted to do. A couple of weeks ago Paula Knall, a fellow SU team member, posted the most beautiful card on our groups Facebook page and I knew it was one that I would definitely CASE at some point and this was my chance! Paula's card can be seen on her blog here. It is a very similar style to lots of cards I have made before i.e. the design and layout but I loved the use of the subtle Crisp Cantaloupe and the small flowers from a new (soon available) set called Petite Petals. I added some leaves cut with the Little Leaves Sizzlits Die and a piece of Whisper White Taffeta ribbon which I had coloured with Crisp Cantaloupe and a sponge dauber. The sentiment is from Memorable Moments.

I will leave you with one last question - is it ever going to stop raining???

Bye for now

Margaret x

Shabby & Vintage?

If you have visited my blog recently you may have seen two cards which I entered for the House of Cards October Sketch Challenge (you can see the sketch below) - one being CAS and the other Classic & Elegant styles. Well this week the style is 'Shabby & Vintage' and I can honestly say I don't think I've ever made a card in this style (well not intentionally!!) Not to be beaten I had an idea in my head and set to - whether it can be described as shabby, vintage, a mixture of both or neither remains to be seen but at least I tried.
I started with a piece of Pink Pirouette DSP and sponged around the edges with Crumb Cake then added the 'crosses' with two strips of cardstock which had been cut with the Scallop Trim Border Punch, this was then matted onto a Crumb Cake card blank. The fancy circle in the centre is from the Perfect Pennants Bigz die with a circle of DSP, cut with a Circles Collection Framelit, matted onto it and stamped with the sentiment from Field Flowers.
For the larger flowers I took a piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock, distressed it with a bone folder and separated the two layers before cutting with the Floral Fusions Sizzlits die. These were sponged lightly with Crumb Cake before glueing the layers together and a Basic Pearl added to the centre. The leaves were cut from the Little Leaves Sizzlits die and the tiny flowers from one of the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch pack. The 'ribbon' loops are pieces of Crochet Trim coloured with Pink Pirouette ink. My apologies for the long explanation but there were a lot of different components to the card and this is one I definitely won't be adding to my 'Simples Sunday' collection :0)

This is the sketch!!

                             
              Margaret x

This is the first of two cards I have been asked to make for work colleagues who are leaving at the end of term. They are A4 size so there is plenty of room for everyone to sign. This one is made using Elegant Eggplant and Certainly Celery (now retired) and the large daisy was cut from the Daisy Die (now retired) with the smaller flowers punched with the Boho Blossoms and Itty Bitty Shapes punches. The leaves are made with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die and leaves punched from the Bird Builder punch and butterflies are a stamp from Papillon Potpourri, punched with the Bitty Butterfly punch. The sentiment is computer generated and the name is cut from the Timeless Type Alphabet Dies (also retired). The picture bottom right shows the bag I made to put the card in.
I will show you the second card when I've finished it!!!

No 'Thanks' to me!

Today I've got a beautiful box to show you which my sister made for my daughter - hence the 'no thanks to me' title as I can take absolutely no credit whatsoever! The box held some yummy chocolates which were probably eaten faster than it took to make the box :0)
The base (which you can't see) was made with Chocolate Chip cardstock and the lid with Chocolate Chip DSP from the Neutrals Paper Stack. A cameo of flowers and leaves were made with an Ovals Framelits, Little Leaves Sizzlits and the gorgeous Blossom Party dies in Chocolate Chip DSP, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla cardstock. The ribbon and sentiment are now both retired.
A lovely gift and one which, I have to say, I would appreciate the box more than the chocolates!!!
My sister has no idea that I'm posting this (in fact she doesn't even know I took the photos) and I'm sure she will be quite cross as, being a perfectionist Virgo, she is NEVER happy with anything she makes. However I cannot agree, in my opinion this is a gift that anyone would be thrilled to receive. If you would like to leave a comment they will be passed on!!!!

'Simples Sunday'

Well here is the first of my 'Simples Sunday' posts - and not a meerkat in sight!

The background is a panel of Whisper White, embossed with the Honeycomb Folder, and matted onto Old Olive cardstock. A piece of retired ribbon was placed across the card leaving a loop at one end and two branches, cut with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die, positioned onto the card. The Sassy Salutations sentiment was stamped onto Whisper White, the corners rounded, and matted onto Old Olive cardstock and then placed on top of the ribbon. Easy peasy!

Well it's half term this week so, hopefully, a bit more time for crafting :0) Back soon x

Today's card was inspired by a card made by Jen Nelson, a designer for LIM. My card is very different from Jen's but I liked the idea of 2 panels with the bottom one embossed and that's where the similarity stops!

I used Naturals White cardstock for both the card base and the two panels, with Cajun Craze and Certainly Celery for the colour scheme. The bottom panel is embossed with a new folder coming up in the Spring Mini and is called Honeycomb (available from 1st Feb) and the edges of both panels are sponged with Cajun Craze. The flowers were made with the Floral Fusion Sizzlits die and a punch from Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, and the leaves cut with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die. A sentiment from Sassy Salutations was stamped on the top panel and a couple of small butterflies from the Beautiful Wings die were added to finish the card off.

Family Tree

 

  

Today I thought I would share a project I have been working on, something different but still using SU products. This is a photo Family Tree that applies to my son & daughter and spans 6 generations on my side and 5 generations on their Dad's side. For the background I used two sheets of 12"x12" cardstock - one in Chocolate Chip and the other in textured Crumb Cake which was cut at an angle and laid over the Choc Chip and then I filled in the two corners with squares of Chocolate Chip. I mounted some of the photos and cut others with either the Circle die or the Large Oval punch. The lettering is from the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies and the leaves are Little Leaves Sizzlits die or from the Bird Punch. I didn't want it to be too fussy so I left the decoration at that. I apologise for the watermark across my grandchildren's faces but, with the internet safety how it is today, I did this deliberately! This is just another example of how SU products co-ordinate beautifully and do not have to be used just for cardmaking :0)

Just a very quick post as it's been over a week since my last one. My Dad is still in hospital so not much time for crafting and, what little time I have had, I've been frantically making 60 Mini Milk Carton Favors for a wedding next Saturday! Anyway today's card is one which I made a couple of weeks ago for a retirement using flowers made with the Blossom Party die which was available in the Spring Mini (let's hope it reappears in the main catalogue in October). The small flowers are punched with an Itty Bitty Punch and the leaves are made with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die. I used Rich Razzleberry for the main colour with a mat of Whisper White on top, the side of this was cut with one of the Adorning Accents Edgelits die and embossed with an Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, both available in the Summer Mini until the end of August. The card was finished off with a sentiment and a few Basic Pearls.

Thank you for still visiting and I will try to post again as soon as possible :0)

Another card for the 'thank you' orders but this time a 'for you'!! I cut a fancy circle from a design in the Holly Berry Speciality DSP with the Perfect Pennants die and glued it to a card blank. The leafy branch is Wild Wasabi cardstock cut with the Little Leaves die and the Very Vanilla flowers are punched with the flower punch in the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack. I used some non-SU coloured pearls as I wanted to pick out the tiny yellow flowers on the DSP and the sentiment is stamped in Riding Hood Red and punched out using the Word Window punch.
A busy day again yesterday as, on top of all the usual stuff, we had a little get together for my grandaughter's birthday in the afternoon but we did get a day off from hospital visiting as my daughter went instead - hence I found a little bit of spare time last night to blog so scheduled this post for today. Are you confused - I am!!!

Gift Bag

A while ago I showed you a card I made for a work colleagues 60th birthday and I have made this little matching gift bag to hold a small box of continental chocolates.

The bag is made with Whisper White cardstock as are the flowers, with a touch of Rose Red to add a little bit of colour (and to match the card!). The large flowers are made with the Blossom Party die, the smaller ones are punched from the Boho Blossoms punch and the leaves are cut with the Little Leaves die. I added a sentiment from Oval All, punched with the Oval Punch and matted onto a Rose Red Scallop Oval. The handles are made with Rose Red Seam Binding.

I hope you are making the most of this hot sunshine although, I have to say, I would have liked a bit of Spring in between Winter and Summer. Last week I was still wearing a winter coat and this week I'm too hot in a t-shirt!!

Celebrating 80

Here is another card which I was asked to make for a very special 80th birthday. I used the Blossom Party die which, unfortunately, was only available in the Spring Mini but let's hope it makes it's way into the new main catalogue in October. This is a lovely die and one which I probably use more than any other as you can make so many different flowers using different layer combinations. The DSP is from the brand new Twitterpated available in the Summer Mini, the leaves are cut with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die (in Old Olive & Certainly Celery) and the tiny flowers are punched with the Boho Blossoms punch. 'Mum' is from For my Family, 'Happy' is a retired stamp and the 'th and birthday' are part of a stamp from Perfect Punches inked with an Old Olive marker. I cut the 80 from the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies in Old Olive and some Basic Pearls were added to finish the card off. The A5 base card is Old Olive matted with Whisper White. I made a bag to put the card in, decorated with leaves, some tiny flowers and the sentiments with handles made from Old Olive satin ribbon.

ILWS Blog Hop

Welcome to the ILWS Summer Mini Blog Hop.

Scroll down to see my projects made with the brand new Framelits dies, Apothecary Art Stamps and Twitterpated DSP.

If you are on the Blog Hop you will have joined me from Emma and the next stop on the list is Kate

The purpose of the Blog Hop is to, hopefully, give you inspiration in ways to use the brand new products in the Stampin'Up! Summer Mini catalogue. Bearing in mind there is an awful lot of blogs for you to hop around I am not going to go into any great detail about my projects but if you have any questions please feel free to email me (details on the 'Contact Me' tab) and I will be pleased to help.

Enjoy!

Central border - Borderlines,
Flowers - Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack
Leaves - Bird Builder Punch

Left;
Square Lattice Embossing Folder,
Stamp - Fruit & Flowers
Jewelry Tag Punch,
Crochet Trim

Right;
Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder,
Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die,
Modern Label punch,
Lots of Tags Dies
Rich Razzleberry DSP

Flowers - Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack
Leaves - Little Leaves Die
Baja Breeze Seam Binding

Treat holders made with Framelits dies and Twitterpated DSP and a selection of co-ordinating ribbon. Flowers are made with the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack and leaves are from the Bird Builder punch

(below) Flip Card - Riding Hood Red cardstock and ribbon, Simply Soft stamp, Itty Bitty Punch Pack

To continue on the hop the next stop is Kate at http://stampinupwithkate.blogspot.co.uk/

'Scrappy' Bird on a Branch

My card today was born out of scraps that have been hanging around my desk for far too long! A while ago I cut out a spray to use on a card with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die and just threw the piece of card it had been cut from on my desk maybe to use another time and the little bird, made with the 2-Step Bird punch, has been hovering for a very long time - having been made for a card and then I had a change of mind and used something else. Put the two together and this is what transpired! I used the scrap from the leaves die as a stencil and inked with Certainly Celery, then moved it slightly and this time just inked part of the branch. Then, using a tip which has been shared by Vicky on many occasions, I drew a shadow around the leaves using a Crumb Cake marker. At this stage of the proceedings I had no idea what I was going to use with the leaves as I had only been experimenting but the little bird looked at me and when he hopped onto the branch I thought he looked good so that's where he stayed. (He was made from Whisper White and sponged with Crumb Cake - with beak & eye coloured with a marker). The corners were rounded before matting onto a piece of Certainly Celery DSP, which also had the corners rounded, a piece of Certainly Celery Taffeta ribbon tied across the top corner, sentiment stamped in Crumb Cake, layered onto a card blank and job done!

Bag of Blossoms

I was on a little journey blog hopping the hopping day when I came across a fabulous tutorial to make this bag, done by Sarah at Little Snippets. You can view the tutorial here and also some of Sarah's stunning bags but don't just stop there, have a look around at her lovely projects!

My bag is nowhere near as gorgeous as Sarah's but I hope I have done it justice, after all it is my first attempt and probably one of many!!

I made up the bag using 2 sheets of Very Vanilla and decorated it with 3D flowers made with the Blossom Party die and Boho Blossoms punch. The flowers were made in So Saffron and Very Vanilla with a Basic Pearl for the centres and the leaves were cut with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die using Very Vanilla and the ribbon handles are So Saffron Taffeta.

The possibilities for making and decorating these bags are endless and I am itching to make another completely different one so watch this space :0)

Thanks for sharing Sarah - you're a star x

Decorated Tin

This is a little covered tin with a matching gift card, made in Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant. I covered the top of the tin with DSP from the Paper Stack and made the 3D flower with the Blossom Party die in Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant. I put a River Rock leaf spray behind the flower, cut with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die.The card is simply made with a strip of matching DSP and a single fower from the Blossom Party die, with a sentiment stamped in Elegant Eggplant. I transformed my tin into a mini scrapbook with photos of my grandchildren but it would make a nice container if you were giving money as a gift and you could decorate the inside of the tin as well if you wanted to. 

The tin that I used was a new one bought specifically for the job but you can transform a used container (there are several tins around that contain sweets) with a bit of DSP and maybe some ribbon so, before you confine things to the bin, take a look at them and it's amazing what you can do!

Blossom Party

The card I have for you today is still 'simple' but just a little more time consuming. Pretty much all the work is done for you with a die cutting machine and it's just up to you to do the designing! I have been inspired by several crafters in the use of this die (particularly from America and Australia where they have had the die for longer than the UK) so cannot attribute credit to any one in particular but a quick Google search will also inspire you I am sure.

I have used the brand new Blossom Party die available in the Spring Mini and it is fast becoming my favourite! The die has 5 cuts on it and the variety of blossoms/flowers you can make with different combinations are endless.

I decided to use Pink Pirouette for the simple reason it happened to be on my desk, unopened waiting to be put away, and teamed it with Certainly Celery for the leaves which I cut out with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die. I used 4 different cuts on the die to make the flowers and, for this card, I layered and curled them to give some dimension but if you wanted a flatter card to post then you can simply miss out the curling. 

The Blossom Party die is available to buy for £16.50 and the Little Leaves die is £4.95 so if you have a die cutting machine then, for a little over £20, I would seriously recommend buying these. I'm sure you will get LOTS of use out of them - I know I will!

If you would like to order anything from the current Stampin'Up! catalogues then I would be happy to help - and don't forget if you spend £45 then you can choose an item from the SAB catalogue completely free (links to the current catalogues are on my side bar so you can browse at leisure)

to DIE for!

Housework done and craft room tidied so what better reason to mess it up again making this card for the Simply Stampin' challenge. This week it's ' to DIE for' which basically means a card made with dies and, as Stampin'Up! do a fabulous range, the challenge for me was deciding which ones to use!

I began by making a scalloped edged card blank by using the the Scallop Square die, sponged round the edges, and onto this I stamped the background with a stamp from Everything Eleanor in Crumb Cake. Next the leaves were cut in Certainly Celery from the Little Leaves die and pruned a little before arranging onto the card. The flower is two of the small daisies, from the Flower Daisies die, in Elegant Eggplant and one in Whisper White then layered with a large Rhinestone brad in the centre. To finish the card I added a sentiment from Petite Pairs and a tag using a Tiny Tags stamp and the Jewelry Punch.

I can't believe it's Sunday already - where has the weekend gone? I hope you had a good one x

The card I have for you today is using a stamp which has now retired but any flower image could be used in it's place. I began by embossing a double line box, using my score board, on a piece of Whisper White card and placed a rectangle of card on the inside box which had been stamped with the En Francais background stamp in Crumb Cake. The large flowers were stamped in More Mustard and cut out, with a circle of More Mustard added to the centre, and the small flower was punched with the Boho Blossoms punch. I cut out two branches in Crumb Cake from the Little Leaves Sizzlits die, positioned these onto the card and added the large flowers and the leaves for the small flower were a small piece cut from another Little Leaves diecut. I stamped the sentiment from Sincere Salutations before matting onto a piece of More Mustard cardstock and then onto a card blank and finished the whole thing off with a few Basic Pearls.

Have a good weekend and if you are involved with fireworks - stay safe. Hopefully back tomorrow for the Less is More challenge.