Goodbye Post #7

It's nearly crunch time ... if you want to buy any of the stamp sets I've featured over the past few weeks, your time is running out!  As of August 31 these will no longer be available ... and if they're sold out beforehand, that means you've missed out, so contact me to place your order before it's too late.

Today I am revisiting another particular favourite of mine over the past few years.  I have been kind of neglecting it of late, mostly because I have a short attention span and am easily distracted by new thi.... oh look, something shiny!

Vintage Vogue reflects the old world style of collage stamping, which I have always enjoyed.  You can dress up a stamp set like this with muted colours or make a bold statement with something bright and sassy.  I have loved using this set, and know you would too.

If you click on the pictures you will be taken to the original post which should outline the materials used on each card.  Keep in mind that some of these are several years old and as such, quite a bit of the Stampin' Up! product used has long since retired.

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

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

Top Note Box

I stumbled across this project recently, and finally got a chance to try it out the other night ... wow, it was so easy, and very effective as well.

I also finally got around to trying out the scallop punch flower properly (as opposed to the practice ones I have made). There are lots of tutorials for these flowers all over the net so I won't even attempt to write one - I used the version where you punch the scallops out, scrunch them well to soften the cardstock fibres and peel the cardstock in half to expose the soft, suede-like insides. I really love how it came out, and it seems to suit the vintage-y look of the box just right.

Here you can see a closeup of the detail on the top of the box - I tore a hole in a piece of scrap paper and used that as a reverse mask to stamp En Francais through (the same technique was used here).

Next time, I might run the top part of the box through an embossing folder in the Big Shot, for the texture (looooove texture *g*).

And here's the box open. I didn't put the little dividers in this one - perhaps next time.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Vintage Vogue, En Francais
Ink: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Other: Scallop Circle Punch, Top Note Die

Vintage Vogue

This stamp set, Vintage Vogue, really is gorgeous. It has a soft, old-world sort of feel which goes so well with muted, vintage colours. Or something a little more out there like I've used here.

You may recognise my new favourite colour combination which I also used here.

This time I took a piece of Whisper White cardstock and randomly stamped it using Vintage Vogue in So Saffron, Pretty in Pink and Rich Razzleberry. I had to be careful not to overdo the Razzleberry - it is a very powerful colour *g*. Then I cut the cardstock up into strips and used them to make three different cards as shown here.

This is a great idea for those times when you want to make the maximum number of cards in the minimum amount of time - this strip style is super quick and oh-so-easy.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Vintage Vogue, Warm Words
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron
Cardstock: So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Very Vintage Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel

Pocket Easel Card

A week or so ago, I saw this card and, because I'm a sucker for the tricky-looking cards, immediately had to sit down with the instructions and make one of my own.

Okay, the first one was a pretty poor effort, but I excused that, because it was my "practice" copy (the one where I work though the instructions step by step and make my mistakes) and I hadn't even used my beautiful Stampin' Up! cardstock to make it.

This is Version 2.0, and I have to say I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

I've been having a little bit of a Kraft cardstock kick at the moment, and am looking forward to September when it is to be renamed to Cake Crumb AND we will be getting a matching ink (!!!). The subtle colour you see in the background of the Very Vanilla panel is actually Sahara Sand - not a bad match, but not perfect.

Here's what's inside - a slip out piece of card perfect for writing your message (also lightly sponged and stamped with Sahara Sand).

And this is the back, so you can see how it all fits together.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Vintage Vogue
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Cardstock: Kraft, Very Vanilla
Other: 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Very Vintage Stampin' Around Wheel

Interactive Cards

Sometimes it's fun to make (and receive) interactive cards ... ones that you push, pull, fold or otherwise manipulate.

As soon as I saw this particular stamp (part of the oh-so-sweet "Fox & Friends" from the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue), I thought "spinner card".

After all, what monkey can resist twirling around ... and he's just so darned cute!

I used the same layout as this card from a while back, and whipped this up in almost no time at all!

The only stumbling block was that the only circle punch that fit the monkey stamp was my largest 1-3/4" circle, so I had to drag out my new Circle Scissor Plus to make the So Saffron circle to layer it onto. I can see I need a little more practice with that gadget *g*.

The best thing about making spinner cards is they are a snap to make and then you get to play with them for half an hour afterwards!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Fox & Friends, Circle Circus
Ink: So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Circle Scissor Plus

And because I liked the monkey so much, I made this card a couple of days later. This little guy fits neatly into the 1-1/4" circle punch.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Fox & Friends, Vintage Vogue
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Cardstock: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch

Then, I must have been on an owl-frenzy, because I found a pattern for this little guy yesterday and quickly put him together last night. Shame I couldn't find any cute socks, and had to use a pair of mens' business socks *sigh*. But they were clean!

No Stampin' Up! products used, but isn't he so cute!

A Vintage Feel ...

When I first saw this stamp set, I just knew I had to have it - isn't it just gorgeous?

And when I saw this card on the talented Andrea Lowcock's blog, I knew I had to CASE it.  The design is just so simple and yet so darned pretty.

I changed it a little, opting to make the white card a layer on coloured cardstock (looooove this new Rich Razzleberry colour!) and adding a strip of Old Olive to lift the edges out a little.  And you can't really tell from the photo, but I have also used the Very Vintage wheel along the very bottom of the Razzleberry layer.

Now if you happen to be Gina reading this, and you find an envelope in your mail, pretend to be surprised, okay?  Big hugs and a belated happy birthday to you, my dear friend.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Vintage Vogue, Wonderful Favourites
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive 
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel

Sneak Peek - New Stuff (part 1)!

My next few posts will be dedicated to providing you all with a little taste of what is coming up in the Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue next month.

Because Stampin' Up! have decided to change the "catalogue year" to September-August (rather than April-March as it has been since they started out in Australia in 2006), they have decided to bring out a kind of "super-mini" catalogue to get us through the next few months.

And as a demonstrator I am lucky enough to be allowed to pre-order some of the goodies contained therein!

So what do we have coming up? Can't say too much, but perhaps this card will give you a clue ...

See that gorgeous vanilla layer? Wanna know how that was done?

Email me for a copy of the new Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue and find out!

(or I could just tell you it's an exclusive die made for Stampin' Up! by the lovely people at Sizzix) (but email me for a copy of the Mini Catalogue anyway *g*).

And did you see the colours I used? I have to say, I didn't realise just how good Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Perfect Plum looked together until now. They really suit the vintage look of the stamps, too.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Vintage Vogue
Ink: Perfect Plum, Old Olive
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Other: Top Note Die