Casing a card from SU catalogue

There is an adorable card in the Stampin' Up! catalogue. For a friends wedding recently I cased the card. Love the shiny hearts.

Thanks

A friend recently gave us a delicious box of Honey Crisp Apples fresh from her tree - yummy. They are our absolute favorite. I made a very appropriate apple thank you card.

The apple is made from punching multiple hearts, folding them in half, gluing them together and sponging. I snip off the bottom of the heart to give it that apple shape. Its better to use thinner paper for the apple unless it gets too bulky. Love 3d cards :-)

September Craft Group

I realise I havent posted anything for a little while, naughty of me ! Its so easy to get caught up in day-to-day life. I find suddenly though that I have a little time.

I am excited to start my monthly craft groups again, our first get together was last week and was really great. I enjoy it as much as everyone who comes - 100% job satisfaction :)

We did two projects this month :

The first using the new Etruscan Elegance Jumbo Stampin' Around wheel in the holiday mini catalogue. Its such a stunning image, particularly on a monochromatic card like this. I used midnight muse and white, and a sentiment from the My Friend stamp set - which co-ordinates beautifully.

 A touch of bling to this one too, just a little gem to sparkle and reinforce the friend sentiment :-)

Tips to rolling straight : I turn the cardstock so I am rolling forward/up. I stand over the image and roll forward/upwards keeping track of the right side of the cardstock to stay straight.

Tips for a complete image on your cardstock : Start off the cardtock and aim to finish a few inches above. Apply equal pressure all the way. Oh and best do some practicing on scrap paper first - its all about confidence :)

SU recipe :
Stamps : Etruscan Elegance wheel, My Friend stampset
Cardstock : Whisper white, Midnight Muse
Accessories : Midnight Muse 3/8" stitched satin ribbon, rhinestone basic jewel
Technique : Wheel and stamping

The second project, another blue card (very unusual for me), is using the new Blooming with Kindness stamp set. A flower image with a number of great sentiments. I love the swirly writing - its very sophisticated. The whole flower image was stamped in pool party ink, then we used the island indigo marker to color in a few petals of the flower. So simple and so effective. This technique is much better now that SU have changed the stamp pads. The new pads are much wetter and inkier.

Credit for this card goes to Darlene Donahue, we made this card at the downline meeting and I thought it would be a great one for my group, it was perfect for both the seasoned and new crafters.

SU recipe :
Stamps : Blooming with Kindness
Cardstock : Very vanilla, pool party, island indigo, comfort cafe dsp.
Accessories : Stampin dimensionals

Casing inspiration

How wonderful and priviledged I feel to be a member of this vast and international group of talented crafters. I love Kates blog. She recently cased a card I had done and gave me credit. Its great to take inspiration from someone elses work, and so thrilling for the crafter who did the work originally. Thanks Kate and take note everyone else to give credit where its due.

http://katescardcorner.blogspot.ca/2012/08/home-sweet-home.html

3d flowers

A special request was made for this card, I love the 3d flower and the sentiment used as a stem.

Its ATC time

My ATC group met today, the theme being "I ....., therefore I ....". I liked this because it can mean something different to everyone, there is no one obvious response, other than the original from Descartes, "I think, therefore I am". I hope the girls wont mind me posting their beautiful artwork, I wanted to show how varied the thinking and therefore the creations were. I love being part of this group and I thoroughly enjoy doing ATC's. Its a mini work of art and you dont have to put a sentiment on it ! lol

Captain America

Having all male children, its that challenge of boys birthday cards ! I cased this card from Alison Ohran, a talented SU demonstrator. I love the real red with the pacific point - so striking.

Teacher Thank you's

OK, so the last couple of teacher thank you's are done.

This one is for my school librarians, they are so supportive and encouraging to childhood literacy. They make each child feel special. The library is organised into 4 categories, the name of each I put onto each book - how perfect is that :-) I got the inspiration for this card from the Stampers Connection, the Stampin' Up! demonstrators website. So many GREAT ideas there.

The second card is for the school administrative staff, principal and vice principal. Its been a challenging year with the teachers action, so I felt they deserved a thank you. I love this 3d apple, which is the large heart punch, scored and glued together.

Open House

I hosted a couple of Open Houses to launch the new 2012-13 Stampin' Up! catalogue. The catalogue is crammed full of lovely items, stamp sets, embellishments, ribbon, dies, papers, punches etc, etc. I think the two most exciting things for me are : the new stamp pads and the new in-colours. So much inspiration, so many cards to make ..... lol

Here is the make or take card all the attendees made, simple and yet so effective :

SU recipe :
Stamp set : Word Play
Ink : Chocolate chip
Cardstock : white, floral district dsp
Accessories : Blossom punch, 3/4 inch circle punch, perfect polka dot embossing folder, big shot

June WMS blog hop - Inspire Me

Amidst the chaos of the day to day ... I found the time to take part in the WMS blog hop.

The instructions were simple, to take inspiration from this photo and to use Waltzing Mouse Stamps. I loved the idea of taking inspiration from a picture and the first thing that came to mind was : wainscoting. 

My wainscoting is all delicately scored and sponged so that it would show in the photo.

A close up of the newest addition to my stash : Stampendous aged ivory embossing enamel. Shown here, but more clearly on the hinge clip below. It is ivory with golden flecks - when heated they melt to give that aged look. I have to say it is absolutely fabulous and worked so well with my WMS stamps :-)

 Its great to play along in the blog hop - thanks for looking.

Supplies used : Marina Mist, Not quite navy and whisper white cardstock - Stampin' Up!, soft stone cardstock pti, Prima flowers, Lustre crystals, Stampendous aged ivory embossing enamel, Paris Nouveau Stamp set, Labels 25 die

Rock 'n' roll technique

Love this technique, its so effective on so may images, but especially nature ones, trees, flowers etc. This is my newest purchase from Waltzing Mouse Stamps. LOVE LOVE LOVE it ! I made this for a friend who has just moved house. My favourite colors appear again - orange and green - just cant get enough of them :-)

You may also notice the kissing technique on the tree trunk. I inked up the solid tree trunk in chocolate chip ink, inked my wood grain stamp in a lighter color and touched them together before stamping the trunk.

Thanks for looking x

S W I N G

Yet another swing card - I'm gonna be a pro at this, thats two I've done now ! lol I love the finished article but the cutting and scoring is torturous ! Next time I will try to use my big shot and a die to do it.

I used the SU set 'Lovely as a tree', very vanilla and night of navy card stock, crumb cake seam binding and chocolate chip ink. The sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse Stamps, and the patterned paper is Basic Grey Little Black Dress.

Thanks for looking and please come again :-)

Coloring with my SU markers

Coloring with my SU markers is not a thing I have done much of. I own the boxed set of markers (lucky me :-) but I havent really used them very much. I got the inspiration from watching a video on the Stampers Connection by Karen Barber.

SU recipe :
Stamp Set : Simply Soft, Itty Bitty Banners
Cardstock : Whisper white, pacific point
Makers : Bashful blue, marina mist, pacific point, wild wasabi, garden green, white gell pen
Accessories : ticket corner punch
Technique : Coloring, punching

Sympathy card

My first ever sympathy card !!!
Cards are for all occasions, not just the happy ones. Its touching to receive a hand made card at such a time.

The stamp set is from Just Rite Stamps, With Sympathy. The flowers are colored with copics, few dabs of white gel pen and cut out - yes it took quite a while, but I love how the roses sit on top of the frame and embossed cardstock.

Its Vivienne AGAIN !

Love this stamp from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps, she is a pleasure to colour with my copics and paperpiece :-) I came across this piece of reflective card amongst my craft supplies, and framed by the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Square it made quite the ornate mirror. I would imagine Vivienne takes frequent glances at herself. lol

The last craft class

Gosh, I can hardly believe that 9 months has passed - could have grown another human being in that time, and in fact two of the group did ! Welcome Sophie and Marcus :-) The rest of us just managed a bit of crafting !!! lol

For the last class we made a male orientated card, suitable for Birthday or Fathers Day and there were a selection of sentiments available to the crafters.

The vanilla craft ink has been retired from the SU catalogue now, which is a shame. I loved embossing with it onto dark cardstock.

SU recipe :
Stamp set : Sincere Salutations, Natures Nest
Cardstock : Night of Navy, Very Vanilla
Ink : Vanilla craft ink, concord crush, sahara sand
Accessories : Scallop ribbon punch, large oval punch, corner rounder, clear embossing powder
Techniques : Stamping, punching, heat embossing

At the last class we also did some 'thinking on your feet'. I wanted the crafters to use their own supplies and imaginations. We did an Artist Trading Card Challenge. Everybody made two identical-ish trading cards, the title being 'Beauty' and then traded one. I thought it was a huge success and I loved seeing all of the individual and personal works of art that were produced.

If you dont know what Artist Trading Cards's are, here is a brief summary :

Artist Trading Cards (ATC's)

Is a 2.5 x 3.5 pocket size canvas. Originally designed to be an artists calling card, created in 16^th century Europe. They were considered the first pocket sized photo's – rich men often commissioned artists to do nude ATC's of their mistresses ! Also used during match making. Later used for advertising and for artists to study each others style.

They have gained momentum since 1997, when baseball and other sports cards were standardised, and were traded. A Swiss artist, Stirnemann, created and show cased 1,200 similarly sized cards, he told people who wanted one of his cards to come back and bring one of their own to trade.

Stirnemanns work spread through Canada through Calgary artist Don Mabie (aka Chuck Stake) who participated in the 1997 trade. In 2000 the two collaborated on an exhibition in Calgary, with 80 artists from 10 different countries. The concept spread across the globe like wildfire.

What is fun about ATC's :

You dont sell them, you cant buy them, you can only trade them.

Design, make and trade these tiny treasurers, using your imagination and all your craft supplies.

Join or start an ATC group, choose a title for each exchange.

Paper piecing a sofa !

What a lovely way to spend a few hours than stamping and paper piecing images..... ahhhh. This and my beloved copics must be my favourite crafty past time. I find it so relaxing and therapeutic. I find myself totally absorbed and the time just flies by.
I spent so long on the sofas, then when I had them I didn't know what to do with them ! lol Cards turned out ok, but not quite as I had planned.

Love the Clear & Simple Stamps set House Notes II and the Basic Grey Picadilly paper pad had papers in just the right scale for a sofa.
Thanks for looking :-)

First attempt at a swing card

I wanted to do something a little different so I decided to attempt a swing card. There are so many videos and instructions out there, but I decided to follow Dar McCallums directions on her video. I have to say it was quite the challenge to score and cut. Think next time I will try cutting with a die in my big shot and scoring afterwards. I did think to myself that I would do this for the last stampers group and did start the scoring - but abandoned the idea as ridiculous on my first card - even though I ONLY had 16 more to do !!! LOL

I love this dragon fly stamp from Local Rubber King Stamps, and the sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse Stamp. All other supplies Stampin' Up!

Liebster Blog Award

I would like to thank my fellow crafter and long time Secret Stash Strokers Team mate Jane for nominating me for a Liebster Blog award! Apparently the award is for those smaller blogs just starting out on their quest to become world super-powers :-)

Hero Arts Gift Pack

What a great set to make quick and yet very effective cards. I made this pack of cards for a friend. 6 cards in a nice matching handmade gift box - I'm sure she will be delighted.

Field Flowers

I love this Stampin' Up! Field Flowers set, especially with the 'rock 'n' roll' technique as shown in the yellow flower card. My Spellbinders came in handy once again, cutting the shaped card in the first card and edging the second.

More Stained Glass Effect with velum

I really enjoy the stained glass effect with my velum cardstock. On this hydrangea card I also used the velum as a colour in itself. By stamping and embossing, then rubbing on the back of certain flowers with a stylus, the velum turns white and becomes textured. Its pretty hard to photograph, but in real life it looks great - trust me :-) This stamp is a retired Stampin' Up! set.

Local King Rubber King Stamps

My friend Katrina let me play with this adorable dragon fly stamp set, I love how this card came out. The dragon fly is stamped on scripted paper, sponged in a couple of colours, distressed and heat embossed. The embossing really brought out the colours in the dragon fly - love it. This set is on my 'need' to buy list :-)

Waltzing Mouse Stamps xxx

I LOVE Waltzing Mouse Stamps xxx The spellbinders compatible dies are just great, an example :

Card making extravaganza

Wonderful craft retreat with my good friend Katrina at the weekend. Day 1 we were a little slow to start, Day 2 decidedly more productive, Day 3 we were focussed and hard at work. Wish I could just spend every day in my craftroom - its a lovely place to be :-)

Retiring list of SU stamp sets 2012

To make room for new stamp sets and accessories, SU are saying goodbye to many of their stamp sets, Check out the size of this list :

To look a the list more closely or print it, follow the link :

Loving that cupcake punch

The cupcake punch is soooooo much more than a cupcake punch ! Its really versatile, I've made handbags, ice cream cones, gum ball machines, clouds and more.... Here is one examples made for a Birthday Party today.

Su recipe : Stamp set : Happiest Birthday Wishes

Cardstock : 2011-13 incolors, SAB 2012 dsp

Accessories : Cupcake punch, white gel pen, alphabet die cut, 1.75 circle and scallop circle punch

Stained Glass Effect

I love the stained glass window effect and made a card for a friend recently, which she loved :-) You do have to be careful when working with vellum, any crease or fold in the cardstock and it is there permanently. But you can use this to your advantage as I have in the grass below my butterflies - can you see it ? Its scored using a stylus. My butterflies are stamped in versamark and heat embossed with black powder n the front of the vellum. The butterflies are then coloured in from behind - you cant really see the effect in this pic, I was more concerned with showing the light through it. It is subtle and yet very effective, maybe more so with vellum paper - might try that next ! Thanks for dropping in :-)

Happy Easter

You gotta love punch art and SU punches, so many possibilities - like this little Easter Bunny. Main techniques here were embossing with the big shot, and using the spritzer tool. Wording printed on my printer. Such a cute bunny, I love him :-)

SU recipe :

Cardstock : Bliss blue, Whisper white, crumb cake, old olive, pretty in pink.

Ink : Pretty in pink, soft suede.

Accessories : 2.5" circle punch, scallop oval, boho blossom, jewelry tag, owl builder. SU embossing folder.

Brayering

Such a surprise to turn very vanilla card stock into this brightly colored card - thanks to my beloved brayer. We brayered the background in tempting turquoise and spritzed with water to give an almost textured look.

SU recipe :

Cardstock : Very vanilla

Stamp set : Triple treat flower, Style beautiful, 3 little words

Ink : Tempting turquoise, rose red, chocolate chip

Accessories : Antique brad, taffeta ribbon