Wednesday already? This week is zipping by! Today I'm sharing my card for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! where we have a monochromatic colour palette to work with:

Daffodil Delight yellow - a favourite of mine! - and white. I used this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch for my layout and this is what I came up with:

A simple card where the feature is this lovely piece of Daffodil Yellow DSP from the All Abloom DSP paper stack (the little white spots remind me of bubbles!). I overlaid this with my angled panel of Whisper White, having used my Big Shot and Baby's First framelits to cut out the duck shape to allow the DSP to peek through. I finished the duck with a simple white baker's twine bow before adding my Bitty Banner 'Sweet Baby' sentiment on dimensionals for added height.

A great 'welcome baby' card that is the perfect store cupboard standby as it would be suitable for a boy or a girl - I'm also linking up with SUO Challenges as it fits nicely with their 'clean and simple' theme. Why not visit the other Colour Me...! designers and check out their takes on this week's colour combination:

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock
Baby's First Framelits Die	White Baker's Twine	Bitty Banners Framelits Die	Itty Bitty Banners Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Today's card is for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge, where Team 2 have chosen a rather patriotic colour palette this week, with one last opportunity to use Midnight Muse before it retires at the end of the month:

I decided these colours would make a perfect masculine card and so have another sneak peek using the Traveler stamp set, coming in the new 2014 annual catalogue. Here is my card:

I stamped three of the stamps in the set - the ocean liner, the globe and the steam train - in Midnight Muse, then cropped these images and mounted them on individual mats in the same colour, followed by a larger Real Red and Midnight Muse panel. This is then overlaid on a crossways panel finished with some Real Red candy dots and lastly a sentiment stamped in Midnight Muse with one of the Itty Bitty Banners stamps and cut out with the co-ordinating framelit. I even gave the inside some star treatment with a steam train - I don't do this often enough, and even when I do I often forget to share with you: 

I really like this set, having used it so much already. Despite its 'vintage' look, it lends itself to a more modern finish too. I'm also linking my card up to Addicted to CAS where the theme this week is 'transport'. Back tomorrow with the Wednesday Deals and another card. Until then, I'm off to prepare for a private class tomorrow, get on with some admin and then hopefully squeeze in a make or two as well - happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

*Traveler Stamp Set - available 1st July 2014.

Itty Bitty Banners Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Bitty Banners Framelits Die	1" Square Punch	Midnight Muse Classic Stampin' Pad	Midnight Muse A4 Card Stock
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform
Brights Candy Dots

That's it for another year - school is officially out! Where does the time go? Today I'm sharing some of my teacher thank you gifts with you. I love to create handmade gifts and as some of my readers know, one of my other hobbies is biscuit making. So for my end of year teacher gifts, I decided to make apple-shaped chocolate iced biscuits, presented in the fab new Tag a Bag Gift Boxes and finished with a decorated tag from the co-ordinating accessory kit:

I often make mini-cookies and present in glass jars, but on this occasion these gift boxes were the perfect size and shape to hold ten of my apple biscuits. These boxes are great value at £6.25 for eight boxes and as they're food safe they are perfect for biscuits, cupcakes or other edible as well as non-edible gifts. I also made use of my accessory kit to seal and label the boxes. Here's a close up of one of the tags:

Wondering how I made the apples? I used the heart from my Hearts a Flutter framelits and then removed the bottom point with my Petite Curly Label Punch, added a leaf and stalk and done. A quick stamped and cut Bitty Banner 'thank you' and some Gumball Green ribbon added the finishing touch. One more photo for you with one of the biscuits out of the box so that you can see exactly what they look like:

Hoping to be back tomorrow with another project; have a busy day making tomorrow, as I have swaps to prepare for quarterly team training on Sunday and I haven't even started yet - oops! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Bitty Banners

Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Gumball Green, Chocolate Chip

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Real Red

Tools: Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, 3/4" Circle Punch

Finishing Touches: Tag a Bag Gift Boxes, Tag a Bag Accessory Kit, White Baker's Twine

I've had a very busy day baking today and making last minute preparations for a school summer fete tomorrow, so am rewarding myself with a trip to the cinema later to see 'Man of Steel' (well, Henry as a superhero - what could be better?!) As a result, an early blog post from me - well, it's either early or not at all, so I'm giving the illusion of being more organised at least!

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards I made with another of the sets from this month's 25th anniversary 'Best of Flowers' stamp set. I shared a couple here previously using the miniature daisy stamp; this time it's the turn of the hydrangea. I made a couple of cards, one in pink and one in blue, and whilst the stamp is a new version of an old favourite, the colours I chose are really the 'something old' I'm referring to here; here's the first card I made:

I chose a simple design and having inked my stamp with markers, I then used a blender pen to achieve a graduated colour on the blossom and leaves. I inset the flower in a square that I masked off and sponged around the edges for definition, in the same colour. Here's a close-up of the flower itself: 

I then decided to add an Itty Bitty 'Happy Birthday' banner by way of sentiment, and cut this out and popped it up on a couple of dimensionals so that I was not completely a one layer card. Here's the blue version in the same design:

Very simple - like me! - and monochromatic. Did you guess the colours? Yes, it's Regal Rose and Bashful Blue, both colours that are leaving us at the end of this month to make way for some new additions to our colour families. They both reminded me of hydrangea colours though and seemed to justify one last use.

So that's all for today; I won't promise a post tomorrow, as our school fete has a reputation for going on long into the night with clearing up and counting of money. If I'm home at a reasonable hour, I'll be sure to share another card and the day's events with you; if not, I'll see you Sunday. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Best of Flowers, Itty Bitty Banners

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Regal Rose, Bashful Blue, Old Olive

Tools: Itty Bitty Banners Framelits, Sponge

Good evening, blog followers! Apologies for the lack of blog post yesterday; things have been very busy in the world of the Crafty Owl this past few days and yesterday just ran away with me. Anyway, back today with a card I wanted to share in advance of next week's card class featuring my favourite punch of all time - the owl punch. This punch really is so versatile; there are many examples of alternative uses for this punch.  Today I'm sharing an alien pop-up card, inspired by the many examples found on Pinterest - this is the outside: 

Recognise the alien in the spaceship? An upside-down owl with one eye, along with some punch art planets and stars. When you open it up, the inside looks like this: 

A trio of aliens pop up to wish you a happy birthday! This kind of card is such fun - you can customise your aliens and make them different every time. perfect for a birthday that's 'out of this world'! The owl punch is the feature punch for this month's card class - if you live in Northampton and the surrounding areas and would be interested in attending one of my classes, do get in touch for more details. Right - I'm done with the alien puns; I'm off to try and schedule tomorrow's blog post as I'll be on a Stampin' Up! regional training day in Telford all day - should be fun! Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Concord Crush (retired), Poppy Parade (retired) 

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Concord Crush (retired)

Tools: Owl Punch, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Oval Framelits, Bitty Banners

What a lovely day for a Bank Holiday! I'm writing this post sat in the afternoon sunshine in my garden, that I have been lovely trying to whip into shape all day after a winter that has lasted far too long for my liking - a blissful weather day. Today's card is another showcasing the versatility of the Dress Up framelits (well, I haven't blogged one for a few days now, so it must be time for another!). Here it is: 

I love to design my own cards, but sometimes it's nice to recreate something I've seen designed by someone else too. Crafters are generous folks and don't mind you casing so long as you give them due credit; sometimes I just case because I really love the design and it needs no further explanation, however I decided to reproduce today's card because there were some specific things I liked about it that I thought would be good to share with you:

• This makes great use of the Tea for Two designer series paper; I had this out on my desk as I'd been using it for another project, but what better way to remove the indecision associated with which side of the DSP to use - simply cut out the mannequin and flip it over - you get to see both sides of the paper and there's no waste!
• This card is so quick and easy to make - you could turn one of these out in under 5 minutes. Sometimes time is of the essence!
• I love the little trick with the Bitty Banners: instead of printing and punching flat, you print and cut two banners, then cut the ends off one and adhere underneath the ends of the complete one using glue dots. This gives them just enough height to look like a ribbon floating across the mannequin. Another great way to get extra mileage from this set and create a different look.

This card was so quick to make, I made another one with a different banner at the same time - here they are both together: 

Well, that's all for today - I'm off to enjoy my first proper BBQ of the year. I can smell the sausages cooking - typing this for the last 5 minutes has been close to torture! Back tomorrow with another project - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral, Bashful Blue, Tea for Two DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Tools: Dress Up Framelits, Big Shot, Bitty Banners Framelits