I love punches

However, I think I might have enough.

*snort*

Naaaaaaah...

(but I am running out of room).

Soft Vintage

Last Saturday was another fun afternoon hanging out at SERS. I usually grab a handful of stuff with no real plans and as a result, rarely come away with a completed project (although I am working on changing this). This time, however, I had an Idea.

Here we have the result of that Idea. To be honest, I didn't finish on Saturday afternoon, because I forgot to bring any punches, but I did come home and finish it that evening.

And for a wonder, it came out pretty much as I had envisaged it beforehand. This is almost unheard of. Usually a project starts off as one thing, then takes several unexpected turns before turning out to be something completely different.

I have used a resist technique here using Versamark ink. First I stamped the En Francais background stamp in Baja Breeze onto glossy cardstock. Then after it had dried, I inked up the Medallion stamp with a Versamark pad and stamped over the top. Once this had set for a little I sponged Baja Breeze and Blushing Bride randomly over the top - voila! The clear Versamark ink "resists" the dye ink and the Medallion image shows through. You can use a tissue to gently polish the gloss cardstock and remove any excess dye ink from the top of the Versamarked image.

I created a "faux lace" effect by running a strip of Whisper White cardstock edged with my Eyelet Border punch through the Crimper tool. The edges of the "lace" have been sponged ever so lightly with Blushing Bride ink.

And as a finishing touch, the flowers from Vintage Vogue are layered on some punched shapes. I took to the Scallop Circle with my Cropadile to create the big holes around the edge. And lastly, a little pearl in the centre.

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): En Francais, Medallion, Vintage Vogue
Ink: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Versamark
Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Glossy White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Crimper, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Basic Pearls

Concord Flowers

I loved this card the minute I saw it. I can't decide if it's the colour scheme (how well does River Rock go with Melon Mambo and Elegant Eggplant?) or the layout. In an attempt to find out, I made my own version - and yes, I know, it's pretty much a straight copy. I was low on mojo the other night when I did this, and couldn't find my own creativity :-(

Anyway, aside from using Concord Crush instead of Elegant Eggplant (just a personal preference), changing out the stamp on the panel and using my embossing folder to dress up the Melon Mambo layer, it's pretty much the same card.

I might have to try this colour combo for other projects - it's certainly eye catching!

And here's a close up of the little butterfly - spritzed with a shimmer mist made from Frost White Shimmer Paint ... so cute.

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): Inspired by Nature
Ink: Concord Crush
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, River Rock, Concord Crush
Other: Finial Press Embossing Folder, Top Note Sizzix Die, Beautiful Wings Embosslit

Vintage Style

It's been quite a while since I tried my hand at a "vintage" style card, and I was surprised just how hard it was to capture the vision I had in my head of how this was supposed to work out.

To be honest, I never did work that out. This card really didn't come out the way I wanted it to :-(

I started with a random page out of an old dictionary, scrunched, sponged, inked and spritzed with water then dried with my heat tool. I've used More Mustard, to try and capture that old book colour.

The flower is made using a couple more dictionary pages (it's okay, it was old and falling apart anyway), the Scallop Circle punches (now available in two different sizes), with more scrunching and sponging, then spritzed with a Shimmer Paint spray (which I've used a few times before) using Champagne Mist.

I've also spritzed the Very Vanilla layer with Champagne Mist, just because I thought it looked pretty :-) You might be able to see it in this closeup.

The whole thing needs a greeting or something, but I might leave that until I decide who to give it to :-)

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): French Filigree, Vintage Vogue
Ink: More Mustard, Versamark
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
Other: 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Border, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint

Another Butterfly

I know, I really need to get off this butterfly kick, but this is just so much fun! Here we have yet another butterfly easel card, this time in Crumb Cake and Rich Razzleberry (how awesome is this combination of colours?).

This time I've blinged these up a little with rhinestones - love these things *g*.

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): Baroque Motifs
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry
Other: Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Basic Rhinestones

Yet More Butterflies

I am still having fun with my Beautiful Wings Embosslit - it is just so handy for adding that finishing touch to a floral card!

Here is something I made recently when some friends came around to stamp. I was inspired by a card I saw ... somewhere ... I think it might have been on the Stampin' Up demonstrators' forum.

I have stamped the grass from Inspired by Nature (note to self - must use that set more often) on the base card. Then I sponged a piece of Whisper White first with Pink Pirouette and then with Concord Crush and overstamped the weeds from Pocket Silhouettes in Basic Black. The butterflies from the embosslit completed the picture. And, oops, I believe I forgot to add rhinestones! Better fix that up at some stage!

So there you have it - quick and simple, and quite pretty as well!

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): Inspired by Nature, Pocket Silhouettes
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Concord Crush, Basic Black
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Concord Crush, Whisper White
Other: Beautiful Wings Embosslit

Cute Cupcake

When I made my first order from the current Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue, I somehow managed to overlook this adorable punch. It was on my list, and yet I still managed to leave it off my order.

Luckily I managed to correct that omission, and it arrived earlier this week.

Now, this is a particulary nifty punch, containing all the elements you need to create a whole cake shop of tasty cupcakes. Along with the basic cupcake and candle elements shown here, the punch also includes some little sprinkles and a cherry. And it also has a matching stamp set (which I haven't got ... yet).

It is a little fiddly to put together, I will admit, but I think the results are well worth it! I used my Tombow Multi glue for the little candle and flame - the bottle has applicators at each end, one for covering large areas and the other for very (very!) fine work.

And because I was going a little punch mad, I also used my two different scallop circle punches and the ever-so-swish Scallop Trim Border punch to finish it off.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Pacific Point, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie
Other: Build A Cupcake Punch, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 2-3/8 Scallop Circle Punch (still available as a carry over item, Scallop Trim Border Punch

Sneak Peek

A few weeks ago, I attended the annual Stampin' Up! Australia/New Zealand convention, held in sunny Melbourne (yes, I am being completely facetious when I use that word - it was actually held during our first real cold snap of 2011, much to the dismay of the visiting American SU staff).

Attending the convention is always fun - not just because I get to catch up with fellow demonstrators from all over this big country (and across the Tasman) but because we get a sneak peek at new products to be released with our next catalogue (to be released September 1) and are lucky enough to be given a few to take home and play with :-)

We were told that we were not allowed reveal any of our sneak peeks prior to June 1, and I have managed to keep to that - I didn't even show my closest friends! But now it's time to show you a couple of images from a new set called "Creative Elements" (a Shelli favourite!).

One of the SU Australia staff showed us a nifty little hidden message card, with a pull out slip of cardstock hidden by a small panel. Unfortunately I either wasn't paying attention or otherwise missed something because there was no way I could work out how she did it LOL. I even took a photograph of the instruction sheet, and followed it slavishly, and still couldn't get it to work.

So instead I just left the sliding panel out of the equation altogether, and to be honest I'm quite happy with the final design. Simple and effective.

If you have a look at the vine, you can see that I have watercoloured the leaves in using my Old Olive inkpad and an Aqua Painter, just for something a little different.

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): Creative Elements (sneak peek from 2011-12 Idea Book & Catalogue)
Ink: Old Olive, Early Espresso
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Confetti White, Old Olive
Other: Aqua Painter, Decorative Label Punch