IN LOVE with stamp set - help !

I had seen a few samples using Dyan Reaveley's new couture stamps, and I thought they looked ok, maybe I'd tack them onto the end of my (extensive) wish list ! But then ...... I happened to spot them in a craft store ...... So I bought them ...... and haven't stopped using them since ! lol It was a pleasant surprise actually, as this really isn't my style.

They are fantastic to work with, I was doubtful I would like silicone stamps - but I do, I do ! The best thing about them is how well you can paper piece them. I had so much fun selecting papers and then highlighting and shading with my gelatos. The hats are so much fun.

The background was gesso'd and then painted with acrylic paints and a baby wipe. I stamped randomly with a background stamp, using molding paste with a stencil and a edge stamp I picked up on sale - woo hooo :-)

The meaning behind the page is about being anonymous, unknown and unacknowledged. We all feel like this sometimes, but at the moment, thats me in the grey dress with her back to you. I just want to be left alone.

Someone said I always put so much significance and hidden meaning into my pages, I guess I do, but isn't that the point of crafting in a book that is meant for you, its a way to sort your feeling and emotions and represent them in a meaningful way to you. It very personal and captures a moment in time, same as a photo, or a smell.

Card swap .....

At the last crafters group of the current catalogue we had a big finale party. Pot luck, games, looking through the extensive Stampin' Up! retiring list. We also had a card swap, 12 people took part and here are the wonderful creations. Inspiration for these cards was from a number of places - Split Coast Stampers thank you for your assistance here x

Everyone who took part was really happy when they left with their 12 different and individual cards. Names of creators are underneath each card.

 Fiona's vintage card

 Nikki's bookmark card

 Erin's owl card

 Jen's simply sophisticated card

 Barbara's flower and bird card

 Liz's classically chic card

 Nathalie's vintage card

 Gisele's tortoise card

 Haidee's flower card

 Maria's 3d flower card

 Starla's pinwheel card 

Barb's big card with little stamps

New arrival card

Some friends of ours just adopted a little 2 year old boy. Its been a long wait for them and we are very happy to hear their news. We wish them a life time of happiness together xxx

I wanted to make a really special card, not too babyish, but something meaningful and significant. So here it is :

I used a Close to My Heart set for the little boy and dog, stamped in crumb cake. A nice spellbinders die coupled with a Waltzing Mouse Stamps for the sentiment - LOVE IT !!!

April Stampers Club

Focus this month was making shaped cards, an easel card and a gate fold card.

The first is an easel card. I loved doing the circular shapes for this. A tutorial can be found at : http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/easelcard/ There is a tutorial for a regular card as well as a circular one. Gotta love Beate's tutorials - thanks Beate :-)

I wanted to also demo the technique of embossing images into the background. If you can see in the sample, the clouds and grass on the circle are glued on first and then the circles was run through the big shot with the embossing folder. This technique works so much better using an embossing with small detail, like this square lattice one.

The kite was cut free hand, a couple of score lines in it for dimension and popped up. The white bakers twine is glue dotted in place.

I love to make 'just because' cards, and sending them for no other reason other than a hello, its such a nice surprise to receive one - better than occasions for really.

 Side view of the easel card, the mechanism to stand it up. I just love how dimensional it becomes and folds totally flat.

SU recipe :
Stamp set : Sale a bration set (sentiment)
Cardstock : Pool party, Lucky limeade, whisper white, calpyso coral
Embellishments : White bakers twine
Tools : Square lattice embossing folder, Glue dots, dimensionals, Big shot, Spellbinders nestabilities

For the second card, I found inspiration from Inkspiredtreasures.com.

As it is approaching the end of the school year, I thought this card would be good for a teachers card, or for a student who got a good school report. (Hopefully this will be the case here !)

I made a gate fold card, with the apple (for the teacher !!! lol) used to secure the card closed.

The books are made from the word window punch and the chalk board effect is made by using a white graphite pencil and a paper pencil to smudge the pencil. This technique was easier than white embossing and restamping with craft ink and is more effective for the school look of this card.

There was an assembly of dsp scraps available for the crafters, so everyones owl was dressed differently :)

SU recipe :

Stamp : Apple from Perfectly preserved

Cardstock : basic grey, summer starfruit, baja breeze, black, whisper white and dsp

Tools : Word window punch, Owl builder punch, Black pen, white graphite pencil, paper penxil

10 year olds Birthday

 My friends daughter just turned 10 and my new Close to My Heart fairy stamp set made its debut. I stamped the main fairy in momento black and colored with my copics. But for the small circle fairies and flowers around the main image, I stamped them in versamark and colored with chalk ink, fixing it with my own home made alcohol and glimmer spray. Hope you like it - thanks for visiting :-)

New puppy

A big shout out to my best friend Katrina's new puppy - Chloe. I loved the little punch art bone, the ratty chewed up ribbon and of course the stamped muddy footprints. Oh the joys of being a dog owner ! lol The sentiment is from a set by Scrappy Moms and it was perfect to welcome a new pup into a french speaking household

:)