For Someone Special

Hi there

If you haven't already noticed, I've been going through a Marina Mist phase in the past couple of weeks, all brought on by the lovely blue brocade pattern in the 'Beau Chateau' DSP.  I promise this will be the last Marina Mist project for a while!

I made this Top Note easel card for a lovely friend who has had an unexpected health crisis recently.  Having gone through something similiar myself this year, I know how isolated you can feel when you aren't sure how things are going to turn out.  Anyway, I wanted it to be something special and have had a Top Note easel in mind to try for a while.  The base case is made by placing a folded piece of cardstock slightly underneath  the top edge of the die so it doesn't cut right through.  The top layer is 'mountain' folded to make the easel and a separately cut Top Note is then adhered onto the bottom half of the folded card and voila, an easel. I find it easier to decorate the separate Top Note first, then adhere it to the base card.

The handmade flower using the Joanne Leddy  technique makes a bold statement on the card.  It is such a great embellishment and so easy to make. Every one you make is slightly different and this one is very textured as I haven't smoothed out the petals too much.   It is a little difficult to see, but I have used a large flat back pearl brad in the centre. The little border on the base of the easel is from the 'Creative Elements' stamp set and works well with the Beau Chateau brocade design.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Creative Elements
Card stock & Papers	Marina Mist (Smooth & Textured), Very Vanilla (Smooth & Textured), Crumb Cake, Beau Chateau DSP
Ink	Marina Mist
Accessories	Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon, Basic Pearls, Pearl brad (not SU)
Tools	Top Note die, Little Leaves Sizzlit die, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Big Shot, Modern Label punch, Heart to Heart punch, Word Window punch, Flower punch from Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Fancy Flower punch, 5-Petal Flower punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Sponge dauber, Tombow glue, Dimensionals, Champage Shimmer mist

See you soon.

Clean & Simple 163

Hello

Just popping by with a quick mid-week post.  I needed a thank you card for our dinner hosts on the weekend  so I used this week's Clean & Simple 163 sketch. I couldn't get it down to something quite as simple as this, but even so, I think my take is pretty minimalist (for me, at least).

Daisies poppped into my head when I saw this, probably because I have been playing with my flower dies recently.  However, this time I have used a small flower punch to create the white daisies with Tangerine Tango centres offset by the Marina Mist embossed strip.  This is a clean and bright colour combo.

I hope it is more elegant than boring, but will leave you to judge that! 

Project Details
Stamps	Just Believe
Card stock & Papers	Marina Mist, Bazzill White, Tangerine Tango (Textured), Whisper White
Ink	Basic Black
Accessories	Basic Pearls
Tools	Square Lattice Embossing folder, Big Shot, EK Success 5-petal flower punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Circle punch from Itty Bitty Shapes Punch pack

Thanks for stopping by.

October Blog Hop - Big Shot

Hi there

Welcome to our casual monthly Blog Hop for October. This month we are showcasing  the wonderful Big Shot die cutting machine.  This is one of my favourite and most used tools now and I can't imagine creating without it.   If you don't have one yet, it is a great time to purchase as they are now $30 cheaper in the 2011-12 Idea Book & Catalogue. I have used some old favourites as well as some of the newer dies in my project this month.

You may have come from the blog of  the lovely Kathryn Ruddick,  but if not, you can join the Blog Hop from here using the link to the next blog at the end of the post.  This month we have 6 Stampin' Up! demonstrators sharing their inspiration and the full list of contributors is at the end of the post.

 This month I have used the Top Note die to create a 'handbag' that fits at least 6 small gift cards and matching cute square envelopes. The number it holds depends on how much embellishment you place on the gift cards. I created a simple gusseted box in Marina Mist and then attached the decorated Top Note sides to the box with sticky strip. I have used the Designer Label and the now (sadly) retired small oval punch to create the double-sided handles.  Of course, you could also use the 'handbag' to hold treats or small gifts as it is a good size. I have matched Marina Mist and Very Vanilla card stock with the lovely brocade print from the 'Beau Chateau' Designer Series Paper for an elegant monochrome look. 

 

The gift cards were made by placing a folded square of cardstock just underneath the top row of scallops on the  largest scallop square from the Big Scallop Squares Duo die. I had a lot of fun creating the flower embellishments with the Blossom Party and Fun Flowers dies using the same colours. I added texture on some layers with the Square Lattice embossing folder and sprayed some with shimmer spray for sparkle (made from Champagne Shimmer paint). Here are the gift cards.

This is the second set.

The great thing is that the gift cards fit into the new mini square envelopes, like so.

Project Details
Stamps	None
Card stock & Papers	Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Beau Chateau DSP, Brights Patterns DSP
Ink	Marina Mist
Accessories	Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon, Blue Rhinestone brads, , Basic Pearl
Tools	Top Note die, Blossom Party die, Fun Flowers die, Big Scallop Squares Duo die, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Big Shot, Designer Label punch, Small oval punch (retired), Corner rounder punch, Sponge dauber

I hope you have seen something that takes your interest. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like more informsation.

The next stop is Ros Davidson.  Below is a list of the contributors for this month's Blog Hop.

Ros Davidson

Tina Gillespie

Nikki Sadler

Sue Madex

Kathryn Ruddick

Thanks for visiting!

 

Sketchbook Saturday #31

Hi there

Just popping by with a quick middle-of-the week post to show you the card I made using Chupa's great Sketchbook Saturday #31 sketch. 

I pulled out some of the new 'Berry Blossoms' DSP and matching In Colours which is the first time I've used them.  The brightness of the  Lucky Limeade green certainly hits you between the eyes, but I said that initially when Kiwi Kiss came out and I was won over in the end!

I have done some cross stitch with embroidery thread on the strip of Calyspso Coral created with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch.   It brought back memories of my cross stitching days and I have plenty of embroidery thread left over. There are more opportunities with this punch for stitching patterns as well.   The rest is pretty self evident.

Project Details
Stamps	Perfect Punches
Card stock & Papers	Wisteria Wonder, Textured White, Elegant Eggplant, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral,  Whisper White, Berry Blossoms DSP
Ink	Elegant Eggplant
Accessories	In Colour brad, Basic Rhinestones
Tools	Blossom Party Die, Lots of Tags Die, Big Shot, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, Dimensionals

See you later in the week.

 

Elegant Wishes

Hello

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  It has been very spring-like here in Melbourne with sunshine interspersed with showers.

During the week, a colleague asked me to make an engagement card for her.  Given there were no specifications as such, I decided on something simple and elegant with a touch of bling.  My colour scheme is Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black with the off-white of Shimmer cardstock and the gorgeous black flocked paper from the Mocha Morning DSP. The top embossed panel was sprayed with champagne shimmer mist for extra sparkle, although it doesn't show on the photo.

I made the flower using petals from the new Blossom Petals punch, which have been sponged with Cherry Cobbler ink and shaped with the bone folder and attached to a base.   The centre is a rolled rose - you can create one yourself by cutting a spiral and rolling it up, but I have used the MFT rolled rose die because the scalloped petals look more realistic. The sentiment was done on the computer and I have printed it on Shimmer card and then die cut it with an MFT Greetings die. Some butterflies and bling finish it off. 

  

I have decorated the inside very simply with some DSP and a strip of the tiny scallops from the Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch.  Given it is so dimensional, I will make a box for it as well. I hope she likes it.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Well Scripted
Card stock & Papers	Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Shimmer, Mocha Morning DSP, Neutrals Patterns DSP
Ink	Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black
Accessories	Adhesive rhinestones, Cherry Cobbler Quilted ribbon
Tools	MFT Greetings, Flourish, Rolled Rose Dies, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Swiss Dots embossing folder, Big Shot, Blossom Petal Punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch, Shimmer Mist (using Champagne Shimmer paint), Dimensionals, Xyron, Tombow glue, sponge dauber

Thanks for visiting.

ETA: Here is a photo of the card in the matching box.