Happy Birthday Gail!

A few days ago, my friend and upline Gail celebrated her birthday. As is traditional, this card was made on her actual birthday and posted the next day - nothing unusual there *g*.

I CASEd the design from the talented Ilina Crouse (although I see my CASE is a CASE of a CASE she CASEd ... did you follow that? Anyway, the design is awesome so I borrowed it).

I remembered that I bought some of the Fine Supernova glitter a while back, so added the pink glitter to the butterfly to act as a body.

Love this butterfly stamp set and punch ... and if you do too, remember that it's in the Summer Mini Catalogue, so there is only a couple more weeks to grab it!

Contact me for more details!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Inspired by Nature, Butterfly Prints, Short & Sweet
Ink: Old Olive, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink
Cardstock: Old Olive, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Butterfly Punch, Fine Supernova Glitter

CASEing cards

I wanted to make a card. I had no inspiration. What to do?

CASE someone, that's what.

The lovely and talented Simone recently posted a cute card on her blog, and I just had to make something similar (as it turns out, very similar *g*). I changed out the colours and added an extra layer or two, but how easy is it to make?!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: I {Heart} Hearts, Best Yet (Hostess Level 1)
Ink: Real Red, Going Gray, Basic Gray, Basic Black
Cardstock: Kraft, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Heart to Heart Punch

Using up scraps

Sometimes when I'm stamping, I put something together and it doesn't quite work with what I'm doing. When that happens, I usually put the stamped piece aside (most often in the Stampin' Up! box with the matching stamps) to see if inspiration will come to me at a later date.

This evening I dug out "I {heart} Hearts" and found this stamped strip which was originally going to be part of this card.

Rather than have it go to waste I threw together this card. Not sure if it works, but hey, that's one less scrap in my stash *g*.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: I {Heart} Hearts, Pocket Silhouettes, Tres Chic
Ink: Mellow Moss, Rose Red, So Saffrom
Cardstock: Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Rose Red, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Cutter Kit

More Hearts

So Valentine's day is over for another year, but hearts are always nice. Here's another card using "I {Heart} Hearts" (don't forget that $2 from your purchase of this set goes to the Haitian Relief Fund, until the end of February). It was inspired by a card I saw on Splitcoast Stampers (what a resource that place is!) but as always came out completely different to both the original card and the vision in my head.

To create the inside layer, I masked the left side of an A6 sheet of cardstock with a sheet of torn paper, and stamped "Tres Chic" in Pretty in Pink down the right, then sponged the edges in matching ink.

In the closeup on the right, you can see a little bit of the Pretty in Pink cardstock I stuck along the spine of the card to provide some contrast to the scalloped edge.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: I {Heart} Hearts, Tres Chic, Baroque Motifs
Ink: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink
Cardstock: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Punch

I {Heart} Hearts

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a fundraising move by Stampin' Up! to aid the victims of the earthquake in Haiti ... for every purchase of the set "I {Heart} Hearts" worldwide (in Australia, available in the Summer Mini Catalogue) until February 28, Stampin' Up will donate $2 to the American Red Cross' Haiti Relief and Development Fund.

Recently, Stampin' Up! posted an update on their demonstrator website, to annouce that as at February 5, they had sold 7,524 sets!

If you were thinking of buying this set, now is the best time - you get your stamps, and the relief fund gets more money. Email me to place your order before the end of February!

I took delivery of my set this week, and finally had a chance to sit down with it last night. Here's one of my first cards ... I love that baroque swirly heart! The heart is stamped in Rose Red on Whisper White cardstock, then trimmed closely and mounted on Pretty in Pink cardstock and trimmed again, and attached to the base using Stampin' Dimensionals.

I also used the trio of hearts stamp (which has a matching punch, by the way *g*) plus the littlest heart from the same set, stamped diagonally across the front of the Basic Gray base card in Going Gray ink. I could have used ink to match the cardstock, but wanted something really subtle.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: I {Heart} Hearts, Big Deal Alphabet
Ink: Rose Red, Going Gray
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Butterfly Prints

When I sat down to make a card last night, this is not what I had in mind. In my head it was mostly white with butterflies flying across, perhaps punched out with the Butterfly Punch (from the current Summer Mini Catalogue) and glued on.

Very stark and simple.

What I came up with was this ... and I can't even tell you how it happened. The butterflies were originally in the centre of a larger sheet, which would have filled most of the front of an A6 card, but somehow I trimmed it a little here, a little there and ended up with what you see here.

Anyway, I like it.

A word of warning ... if you are planning on buying this set, or already own it, you will find that a Stamp A Ma Jig comes in handy when you're adding the body of the butterfly (a separate, tiny stamp). Nothing worse than having everything stamped just so and messing up at the very last minute when you add the final details!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Butterfly Prints (Summer Mini Catalogue), Baroque Motifs
Ink: Ruby Red, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Ruby Red, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Stamp A Ma Jig

Gailforce Stampers Mojo Challenge

What an odd title for a post.

Well, if you know the backstory, perhaps not.

Over the summer months, sometimes it can be hard to find creative juices (or "mojo" - thanks Austin Powers!) with the warmer weather beckoning us outside, school holidays in full force and other distractions.

It's very easy to lose your way creatively during these times, and so I was delighted when Anne-Marie, a member of the Gailforce Stampers team (headed by my upline, the lovely Gail) , recently challenged the rest of us to create a card conforming to very strict parameters.

The card could ONLY use the colours in the Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper (available in the current Summer Mini Catalogue), plus Whisper White for a neutral. In other words, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Only Orange, Pink Passion and Pixie Pink. And if you know your Stampin' Up! colours, you know that whatever we made was going to be BRIGHT!

These are not colours I would normally reach for, let alone put together, so it was tricky. But a challenge is a challenge and needs to be met, and I managed it! Not once, but twice!

The first card can be seen above, and here is the second ... I should have put a sunglasses warning in this post, huh.

Anyway, thanks for the challenge Anne-Marie!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Card 1:
Stamp/s: Eastern Blooms, Short & Sweet
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Only Orange, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Pink Passion, Green Galore, Whisper White
Other: Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Card 2:
Stamp/s: Hello Again
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Other: Spiral Punch, Retro Remix Standard Stampin' Around Wheel

Birthday Butterflies

It was my friend (and downline) Pauline's birthday the other day (she has blogs - many of them - check one out here and another here). As always, I left my cardmaking to the last minute - it's not that I forget, it's more that I just don't remember.

Working quickly with materials I had on hand, I came up with this card for her. See, I stamped the butterflies from Butterfly Prints - now available from the new Summer Mini Catalogue) onto vellum this time, as I meant to do last time. It didn't work out quite like I had expected, but it's still nice.

The word "Create" down the side of the card was a happy accident. I had stamped the Tres Chic background onto a quarter sheet (A6 size) of Baja Breeze, then trimmed a centimetre off the bottom so it could be layered onto the Baja Breeze base - and voila, this word was trimmed to exactly the right height!

You can see I've sponged around the stamped Baja Breeze layer, just to bring it away from the base card a little.

And the butterflies are glued down the middle with the thinnest line of Tombow Multi Glue I could coax out of the little bottle, with the wings popped out to give the impression of a real butterfly landing on the card (if butterflies were made of vellum. And didn't have bodies or legs. Okay, so it's a lousy illusion).

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with this Tombow Multi stuff - the bottle is double ended, with one end being a super-fine nozzle, and the other being a broad tip for applying glue to a large area quickly; and it sticks brilliantly!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Butterfly Prints, Tres Chic
Ink: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Vellum Card
Other: Butterfly Punch

Hot News! Summer is here!

Not only has summer started (although looking out the window here, you probably wouldn't know. In fact, in Melbourne, you might be forgiven for thinking that we've already used up our entire quota of summer in November *g*), but the new Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalogue has arrived!

Inside this tempting little booklet you will find such fun things as Butterfly Prints and matching punch (used in a project here), the Sweet Treats cups and matching stamp set Something Sweet (for creating interactive cards and projects incorporating sweets, treats or knick-knacks), Hello Again and the matching wheel Retro Remix (shown here) (note to self, must really finish some projects with the Hello Again set *g*), some cute little crocheted flowers, some new buttons, some gorgeous new ribbons and papers, and the Circle Scissor Plus for all those who love circles in their projects (like me! This item is on my wish list ... now if only there was a gift-giving season coming up ... LOL).

The items in this catalogue are only available until the end of March 2010.

Have a look at the Mini Catalogue online, download a PDF copy from this page, or contact me for your copy.

Oh, and don't forget the Christmas Extravaganza promotion on at the moment, whereby an order totalling $85 from a list of selected products will net you a FREE Square Scallop Punch (or, apparently, a FREE Boho Blossoms Punch, if you prefer).

Sneak Peek - Summer Mini

Isn't this just so cute? The upcoming Summer Mini catalogue (contact me if you'd like a copy) has some gorgeous stuff, not the least of which is this cool butterfly punch and matching stamp set. The punch will also co-ordinate with a stamp set in the main catalogue (Flight of the Butterfly).

In retrospect, when making this card I should have stamped the vellum overlay as well as the pink layer, as you can't actually see what the butterfly stamps look like (doh!). That's my next project *g*.

The bodies of the butterflies are made by wrapping a strand of gold embroidery thread around the middle and knotting it at the top to create antennae.

Do you like the patterned paper down the side? This is from the Patterns Pack, only available as a hostess benefit (ie. with a workshop or order over $300). The pack contains 60 6' square sheets of double-sided patterned paper - 2 sheets of six designs in five different colours (including Regal Rose shown here) not available as regular DSP.

The biggest problem with the gorgeous double-sided patterned paper? Trying to decide which side to use!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Butterfly Prints
Ink: Pretty in Pink
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Vellum Card
Other: Patterns Pack II Designer Series Paper, Butterfly Punch

Another little box

Subsequent to my post the other day, I was having such fun with the little boxes I had to show you another I made, using new product *g*

Here you can see a glimpse of the Standard Wheel "Retro Remix", which we received as part of our make & take packet at the recent Melbourne Regional seminar.

The wheel coordinates with the set "Hello Again", and you can be sure that I will be making some matching gift cards to keep in this box using that set.

Do you like the flower? This was presented at Regionals by one of our local demonstrators (and if I could remember her name, I would tell you *g*). It's so simple, yet effective - simply punch the scallop circle, snip every second scallop and fold up the petals. When layered with another similar scallop it makes a very pretty flower!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Ink: Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Gable Green, YoYo Yellow
Other: Retro Remix Standard Stampin' Around Wheel, Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 3'4" Circle Punch

Keep checking back as I will be posting more sneak peeks of items from the upcoming Summer Mini Catalogue - available from December 1!