Love these flowers

I have loved using Bud Basics over the past 16 months - this set is now on the retiring list and it will be hard to say goodbye to it *sniff*.

You might remember the One Sheet Wonder project I did using these stamps (have a look here and here) - I had tried this previously but only got as far as two cards (the remainder of the One Sheet is still tucked safely in an envelope waiting for me to get back to them). I love the combination of Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise and Certainly Celery.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bud Basics, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Warm Words
Ink: Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Certainly Celery
Cardstock: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise
Other: Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig

I wanted to post the other card, however Blogger is up to its old tricks today and refuses to post my landscape picture correctly. I will add it when Blogger is playing nicely again *grrr*.

Something to brighten things up

And when I say bright, I really, really mean it!

We made this card at a recent workshop, and it went down a treat. Seems everyone loved the super bright colour scheme.

And how easy is it to make? Well, using the Basics Outline Wheel and the Rough Texture Wheel (plus a word from Short & Sweet) you can put it together in no time at all. And because Basics Outline matches the Bud Basics set, you can use the solid stamps to quickly fill in the outlines and add loads of colour.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bud Basics, Short & Sweet
Ink: Pixie Pink, So Saffron, Mellow Moss, Basic Black
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Whisper White
Other: Basics Outline Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel, Rough Texture Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel, Jumbo Stampin' Around Handl, Stamp A Ma Jig

Back to Basics

... Bud Basics, that is.

I keep forgetting about this stamp set, but it's just so darn nice! It's a perfect example of the "Two Step" stamping system that Stampin' Up! have been known for, where you get some outline stamps and some other stamps which fill in the middle with colour.

Anyway, I was making a thank you card for a customer (hi Melanie!) and came up with this. I hadn't made a buckle card for the longest time (click the link to see a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers), and had forgotten how fun they are!

And this card uses one of the most under-appreciated punches out there - the Word Window punch. It doesn't look like much - just a large-ish rounded slot - but comes in handy for punching out words to add to a card, holes for buckle cards, handles on little bags, slots for spinner cards ... there is a list out there somewhere that has about twenty ways to use this nifty punch. Of course, you could just buy one from me and and find them out for yourself ... *g*.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bud Basics
Ink: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Gift Cards

It's that time of year again, when I run out of ideas for what to get for my brother's three kids. So as usual it comes down to gift cards so they can get what they *really* want.

This year we are going to see my brother's family before Christmas so today has been a bit of a rush to get stuff done before tomorrow. Yeah, I've known about it for a few weeks, but the last minute rush is traditional this time of year. If it wasn't for the last minute I'd never get anything done!

The problem with giving gift cards is making them look interesting. After all, they're nothing more than a little piece of plastic, no matter how pretty the pictures are. The solution - make cute little folders to put them in! I used instructions which are found on many websites to create these. Simply cut a strip of cardstock 4-1/2 by 11 inches (I was following US instructions), then score at 3, 5-1/2 and 8 inches. Fold into a W shape and stick the middle bits together at the sides and bottom. Use the Word Window punch to cut a slot out of the centre piece (and punch an extra bit out with a circle punch if you like) and there you have it.

And would you believe I forgot to take a photo of the inside ... if I remember I will sort that out tomorrow and put it up. Duh.

Stamp sets: Season of Joy (no longer available, sorry!)
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Soft Sky, Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Old Olive
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Soft Sky, Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch Stampin' Dimensionals

Just for comparison, here's two of the holders I made last year, using a nifty little pattern found here ... how clever and cute is that?

Stamp sets: Bud Basics, Looks Like Spring
Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Basic Black
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Other: Corner Rounder, Horizontal Slot Punch

Specially for Pauline

Because Pauline knows about all sorts of stuff, and is kind of a stamping mentor (*waves to Pauline*) and said I was getting too mired down in pink lately, here are a couple of cards in alternate colours.

First up - inspired by this card but swapping blue for the pink (*sigh* pink would have been so much nicer *g*). I was working from memory so it's not nearly as nice as the sample, but it is a simple enough design to pump up and take it from okay to gorgeous. I will be doing this layout again with more oomph next time. And maybe some pink.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bud Basics
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Ballet Blue, Wild Wasabi
Cardstock: Whisper White, Ballet Blue, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron
Other: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Next is a card (inspired by this) which uses red ... does that count as pink? My kids said no, and they're always right (so they keep telling me).

You can't see that the central flower is popped up on a dimensional - trust me, it looks good.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bud Basics, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Ink: Soft Sky, Old Olive, Real Red, Basic Black
Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive, Soft Sky
Other: Real Red 1/4" ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

By the way, I took these photos by the light of my new toy ... I got an Ott-Lite! I was letting my subscription to a papercrafting magazine lapse, and was happy with my decision, but they sent one last pleading letter offering me a free Ott-Lite if I resubscribed. How could I resist? It's pretty cool, and so far has come in handy for photographing these cards and finding a splinter in my daughter's finger. Multi-tasking craft tools - what more could you want?

Oh, and guess what colour it is?

One Sheet Wonder - finally!

A while back (a loooong while back *g*) I wrote a post about the mess I made trying out the One Sheet Wonder pattern. At last I have the cards back (after their debut at the Craft & Quilt show last weekend) and have scanned them for your viewing pleasure.

The first scan is of the entire sheet before it is cut up ... as you can see it's not a difficult thing to make at all. The hard part comes later when you're trying to get ten cards using the same colours and stamps to look individual. Which is why I chose to use stamps from other sets to accentuate each card so they are all very different from each other.

Please excuse the colours in the following scans ... despite the visual evidence, they do all use the same colours as noted below.

So, in no particular order, here are the final results:









































Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bud Basics, Always, Much Appreciated, One of a Kind, Warm Words, Heartfelt Thanks, Baroque Motifs, Seeing Spots, Be Happy, Canvas, Happiness and Paisley
Stampin' Around Wheels: Basic Outline (Jumbo), Rough Texture (Jumbo), Baroque Border
Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Old Olive and Basic Black ink
Cardstock: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Old Olive and Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Punches: Small Oval, Large Oval, 1-1/4" Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, Scallop Circle, Tag, 1-1/4" Square
Other: Certainly Celery ribbon

One Sheet Wonder

A while back I wrote a post about creating a set of cards using a "One Sheet Wonder" ... you can have a squizz at the mess I made in the process here ... anyway, it has taken a while but I finally finished the cards!

Unfortunately I didn't think to scan them individually before I sent them off to adorn the walls of our stand at the Craft & Quilt Show, but here is a preview. I took this photo last week when I was still working out how best to display them, and this isn't the layout I ended up using.

I used a single stamp set (Bud Basics) and complimentary colours (Rose Red, Regal Rose, Old Olive and Certainly Celery) to create the original stamped sheet, then used other sets (including the Basics Outline wheel, which coordinates with Bud Basics) to help make each card individual. If you were sending cards made with a One Sheet Wonder out to different people, you probably wouldn't need to use extra stamp sets, but these are designed to be seen as a group so I wanted each to stand out in its own way.

I will scan and post larger copies of the cards at a later date, just wanted to share the overall effect with you today!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Bud Basics stamp set, Basic Outline Stampin' Around wheel, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Old Olive and Whisper White cardstock, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Old Olive and Basic Black ink, assorted Stampin' Up! punches and other stamp sets ... hmmm, should have noted down what I used before I sent the cards off ... I will amend this once I get them back *G*.