Hydrangea

Another request today - I was asked for a Mothers Day card and when I asked about any preferences on subject I was asked if it was possible to include flowers and her favourite colour which is green.

Didn't seem an entirely straightforward option but this hydrangea has worked out a treat!

This is an SU stamp from the 'Because I care' set.

I've stamped it in certainly celery ink, then individually stamped the little flowers and punched them out & added some stickles to their centres.

The leaves were stamped in wild wasabi and also cut out a second time to add dimension.

This image was then layered on some lovely sage green card in my stash, the bottom layer with a punched border.

Sentiment is an inca stamp and all mounted on some paper from the pile which I've also added some sparkle too.

Building up to a very crafty March with lots of workshops to report on - first off a trip to Farnborough's Make It show on Friday though - with all the stuff I already have I shouldn't be as excited as I am!!

Camper Van crazy

A crazy card today but one I will share so I don't get accused of not crafting!

This is for my badminton friend Kim who is bonkers, loves bright colours and camper vans.

I've used a great kanban camper van stamp and done some paper piecing with flowery paper.  I've 3D'd the lights and added an extra circle with a '30' (special birthday) and some teeny peel off letters to the number plate.  I've also cut out the windows and added acetate and stuck some pictures behind which I won't explain but are very suitable.

Sentiment is SU again and I've layered everything on some very colourful paper I've had in the stash for years and added a few bright card candi to finish.
A very unique card indeed.

Thanks a ton!

This card is a bit snazzier than I would usually try but it is rather fun.

The Stampin' Up followers amongst you will know how I came by this set called Patterned Occasions.

The card is based on a design from Jenny over at Stamping Moments but with a few supplies swapped around to suit what I had.

Embossing folder is SU, as is the border punch on the pink card and the label punch which is folded in half on the side of the top layer.  Button from my stash with some SU twine through it.  Some tiny brads are used in the flower centre (made of two teeny punched flowers) and for the elephant eye.

Funnily enough the large scallop punch the elephant is on is also SU!  They have a lot to answer for.

Oh Deer!

As I am in between cards for a few days I thought I would add a pic or two from my days in very cold Dorset last week.

We were able to get really close to a large amount of deer at Arne, the RSPB reserve near Wareham.

This is one of them having a leisurely graze!

Spiral Bracelet No.2

A quick post today with the second spiral bracelet I made.

This uses clear beads as its core and some size 11's either side of the lovely blue bugle beads for the spiral.

This was a really nice effect so I wanted to try it whilst everything was still fresh in my mind.

It's very addictive - had a play with a necklace whilst catching up on some tele tonight so watch this space!

Jill

Valentine's Day

And for a Valentine card - even though I have loads of stamps I saw this image recently on Bugaboo stamps and had to use it!

I've coloured the sheep in copics and double stamped the head and the hearts on the sentiment twice so I could cut them out   & layer them for a 3D effect.

I did add some copic spica to the 'wings' although not sure the picture shows that up.

Mounted the images on red card and layered on to some lovely heart paper from my stash.  This was also mounted on red card and stuck on a 5x7" card.

I have actually tried some really serious craft sorting today - I accidentally (ahem) bought some lovely drawers at the weekend to make myself get more of a grip on everything!

Cycling 40th

Sorry this pic seems a little off straight but it won't play!

Anyway, Happy 'special' Birthday to my husband today who is away on a cycle training camp this week in Majorca.

I opted to stay away from cyclists and have had a nice few days in Dorset with Mum, albeit we have had heavy snow, freezing winds and rain!

I somehow picked up on this digi image recently and immediately had to use it for this card.  It is from justinklined.com.  This is an 8x8" card so the image is a fair size.

I've coloured in copics, some colours to blend in, some to suit specific cycling items Graeme has - eg. the shoe colour (yes, really!).

The image came with numbers on the back of the bike and the cyclists jersey so I have doctored these to suit the birthday and added a cut out on the shorts for his team name.

Some glossy accent added to the tyres and another use of my SU sentiment which I heat embossed in white.

This also gave me the opportunity to add a Talking Tag inside the card.  You need a smartphone app and I got a little tag sticker from the lovely Jenny which I recorded a message on to.  I secretly downloaded the app to my husbands phone so that he could scan the message and get a verbal greeting whilst away - a rather fun high tec addition to the card.  This link goes to Jenny's page with a video of how they work.

Spiral bracelet

For a change - a bit of beading!

I first tried spiral rope some time ago but ran out of thread and got in a pickle I think.
So, when I saw an opportunity for a local class I thought I would go along and get sorted out.

I have some written instructions but you really can't beat seeing things sometimes and I wanted some assistance with adding clasps etc.

So, this was the result of attempt 1 which I am pretty pleased with.
Each rope can look so different by adding different sizes or types of beads - many an exciting opportunity ahead (I've been making another already).
Jill

Poppy highlight

And a smaller poppy card than the one I featured last week.

This time I have simply stamped the top part of the image in black and layered on black card.
I have then stamped the image again and punched out a spotlight which I have coloured with copics.

I have layered this on a punched circle and attached with 3D pads.

Ribbon tied round the main image and an SU sentiment punched out to finish.

Cascade of Butterflies

Not a brilliant photo today but you get the idea!

This card wasn't as fancy as my plan before I embarked on it but was my entry for Jo Dumbleton's  facebook challenge this week which was a folded card.

I chose a cascade card - helped along by measurements from Jenny's instructions from a cupcake card we did for one of our fab extravaganza days.

After a bit of scoring, folding and cutting the two pieces of card form this lovely card.

I've used a selection of SU stamp sets including the butterfly and punched them out and used antennae which I think are meant for cake decorating.

Sentiment stamped from one of the sets, punched out and layered on to some matching card, the bottom layer of which was edged with the lovely dotty scallop border.

A Dogs Life

Finally caught up (for a moment) on requests.

For this card I showed some pictures of cards I've made in the past to my 'client' and this is how this card came about.

The dog with the sign is an image from Digistamp Boutique which I've coloured with copics and cut the sign and present out of a second image for a 3D effect.

The other dogs are from a Woodware stamp set called 'A Dogs Life'  These were also coloured with copics.  All mounted and layered on to some card which I was asked to punch with paw prints (an EK punch).

I've punched a couple of paw prints and then punched out using circle punches and added a requested sentiment in peel offs.  Much more fun that a shop bought card!

Giant cupcake

And another request.

Sometimes specific requests are hard to come up with a design for but luckily this was one of the easier requests recently.

I was asked to make a giant cupcake with the sentiment that you can see on this A5 card.

I had a pack of Anita's cake-shaped cards in my stash so used the top part as a template and cut the shape out in white pearl card.
I've decorated this with card candi and a punched circle that I covered with glossy accents.

The case is made from a strip of card that I have scored, folded and tied a piece of ribbon round.

Sentiment is a fab font called chalkboard.

Poppies

Many happy returns to Margaret from Crafty Bunch today who has a special birthday.

We have an ever-growing box of Stampin' Up goodies to borrow from at the group and I currently have the very large poppies stamp to play with.

I stamped the top part of the image twice so I could colour the flowers in copics, cut them out separately and 3D them on for added effect.

Layered on red & white card with a little ribbon added.
Computer generated sentiment, also layered with some card candi to finish.

You light up my life!

A teeny card today.  Another request for a little jokey valentine card.

I didn't want to use hearts or be too lovey-dovey so this stamp from the SU 'Furnished with Love' set was ideal.

I've just stamped the light & double stamped the shade for a bit of dimension, oval punched and mounted.

The sentiment punched & mounted on another SU punch.
It proved ideal for the requirement and gave us all a chuckle.

How many punches?

The challenge over at Jo Dumbleton's Stampin' Up Facebook page this weekend is to use punches.

This card turned out to be a bit of a punch extravaganza.  
I used Bravo Burgundy ink on white card for all the stamping.  The stamp set is in the current catalogue and is called 'Language of Friendship'  The bird, leaves and flower stamps are all in the set and have corresponding punches.

Sentiment is from another set, which I've punched out and layered & corners from a retired SU punch added.  The bird is layered on circles and I've added a couple of layers of the burgundy & white card to the base card to finish it off!

Hydrangea

Sticking with some simple but effective cards I have made this card for my Grandma who is 97 this week!

I've used Marina Mist & Wild Wasabi ink and stamped out the image from the SU set Because I care.

I double stamped the leaves and cut those out & layered them and used the separate individual flower stamp and punched out mini flower heads using an SU mini punch.  I added a touch of icicle stickles to the middle of these.

I've then layered up in matching card, finishing the bottom layer with a punched bordered.

Sentiment from SU perfect punches layered to match.
On to the next one tomorrow after a night at the theatre.

Happy Birthday

A simple but effective card today.

This card is based on some I've 'cased' from various Stampin' Up galleries.

I've used the Bright Blossoms stamp set in old olive & pumpkin pie and cut out using a circle punch.

The flowers are finished with a little gem.

I've mounted this on a scalloped piece of matching card (not SU unfortunately!), added to white card and layered on more of the orange which is mounted on a base white card.

Sentiment stamped to match using the curly cute Happy Birthday.
Lots of cards required this week so should have more items to post.