In a pink mood tonight

I was wandering through the Splitcoast Stampers gallery recently, which is a wonderful pastime if you happen to have several hours to spare (seriously, don't look if you have an appointment to get to, you might never make it!), and was overcome with inspiration, so had to make these two cards quickly before it went away.

The first card I was inspired by was this one by auntynanny, which I pretty much copied as is, with the exception of the River Rock and Soft Sky. I had a "pink with pink" thing going on and had to use Pretty In Pink (anyway, I don't have any River Rock ribbon, but I do have some Pretty In Pink!).

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Garden Whimsy and Paisley Background stamp sets, Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Basic Black and Wild Wasabi cardstock, Purely Pomegranate ink, Pretty in Pink 5/8" grosgrain ribbon.

Then there was this card by JulieRamos, which caught my eye because of the use of the white gel pen and white ink on the lower panel. The set she has used, Priceless, is still on my wish list, so I improvised with Baroque Motifs (that swirl is getting quite a beating lately!), and used the single small flower from Office Accoutrements as the focal piece.

Do you like my scalloped circle? I marked the edges with a pin then punched holes out around the edge with my Crop-A-Dile - it is designed so you can look through a hole to see exactly where you're going to punch.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Baroque Motifs and Office Accoutrements stamp sets, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate and Close to Cocoa cardstock, Purely Pomegranate, Close to Cocoa and Whisper White inks, White Gel Pen, Scallop Punch, Crop-A-Dile, Stampin' Dimensionals.

Another Saturday night ...

... and I have some cards to post.

Okay, first of all I have to admit ... these were not made today. In fact, they were not made in the last week. But they were made (well, one of them) during May so they're sort of current.

The first card was made with a set called "Bundle of Joy", which I won at our Stampin' Up! convention held in Brisbane in mid-April. The convention was really informative (but exhausting), the social aspect was brilliant, and to top it off I actually won something! I am normally the one who can't even win a a chook raffle, so it was incredibly exciting for me.

This is not a set I would have bought. I don't have babies any more (although my nearly 10 year old can sure act like one at times *sigh*), and most of my friends are past that stage as well, while the grandkiddies phase is still waaaay off in the future. But it's fun to make baby cards sometimes, even if it's just to see what you come up with. And this is what I have come up so far with using "Bundle of Joy".

I don't know if it's clear in the scan, but the giraffe is popped up on dimensionals. I cheated and used a circle punch to make the scallops (just 7 little circles glued behind the brown panel). The brown layer is stamped with "Canvas", on of SU's brilliant background stamps. I used SU's Stampin' Write Markers for the colour on the giraffe, and because I had used watercolour paper I could blend the marker colour around with an Aqua Painter. SU's watercolour paper is good and thick and can take a heap of water, unlike some of the cheaper stuff (yup, I tested it out).

And lastly I used the edge distresser from the Cutter Kit to mess up the edges of the brown cardstock a bit (this is an invaluable technique to use when the blade on your cutter is a little blunt and the edges of the cut pieces aren't nice and smooth - instead of trying to fix it, just enhance the effect!).

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery and Bordering Blue cardstock, Bordering Blue, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip ink, Bundle of Joy, Canvas and Warm Words stamp sets, Watercolour Paper, 1/2" Circle Punch, Cutter Kit.

My second card is one I made a couple of weeks ago using the new "Garden Whimsy" set. This is such a pretty set, I find myself wanting to use it for everything. And the large butterfly looks pretty impressive stamped with Purely Pomegranate ink, don't you think?

The picture is pretty much self explanatory. The Pretty In Pink layer is stamped with SU's Paisley background stamp (just to add some dimension to it).

I made a cheat's bow on this one, using the double rectangle punch. Have you seen this trick? It's a cinch for those who are bow-challenged (who, me?). Punch the double rectangle out, then take your piece of ribbon. Thread both ends in from the front. Cross them over and thread them back out the opposite sides. Trim the edges and you're done! The double rectangle punch is the exact right size for SU's 1/4" grosgrain ribbon.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Pretty In Pink and Whisper White cardstock, Purely Pomegranate and Pretty In Pink ink, Garden Whimsy and Paisley stamp sets, Double Rectangle Punch, Pretty In Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon