As promised, I'm back today with the last of the owl punch cards from this month's class. Our last card was another alternative use for this versatile punch; this time, to make a cute giraffe punch art card:

To make this card, the owl's body (minus his feet!) becomes the giraffe's head - clever, right?! We then used a variety of circle punches and the large oval punch to create the rest of him. The edges of the finished giraffe were sponged in So Saffron ink to add dimension and I placed him inside the card looking out, for added interest. The oval aperture was easy to make using an oval framelit and a few branches from the Bird Builder punch were added to give the giraffe something to munch on. I finished this card with embossed clouds and an 'Oh Hello' sentiment highlighted with a Cute Clip (love these!), but you could just as easily use a happy birthday greeting - I think this would make a lovely card for a little person.

I hope you like the finished card - there were a few interesting adaptations to this card by the ladies at my class: everything from hearts added to the sentiment banner to eyelashes on the giraffe. That's one of the things I love about teaching classes - whilst I scope out the original design, it can still be adapted or customised to make it individual to you. If you would like to attend my stamping classes, please do get in touch via [email protected] for more details. Next month's class is a One Sheet Wonder class using the Secret Garden stamp set and framelits. 

Back tomorrow with another project - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Oh Hello

Cardstock: Whisper White, Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Certainly Celery

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Early Espresso

Tools: Owl Punch, Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 1" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Oval Framelits, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (circle), Large Oval Punch

Finishing Touches: Cute Clip

Busy day revolving around my little ones today with music recitals, class assemblies, ballet lessons and visiting friends for tea - I swear my two have a better social life than me! Anyway, finally sitting down to share another card from this month's class with you - today, a cute baby card, complete with washing line:

I used the lovely Twitterpated designer paper for the dresses and dungarees, as the largely pastel colours suit a new baby card. I must confess to using some now retired ribbon that was lurking at the back of my drawer to edge the dresses because the pleated edge was perfect for the dress edge. The dresses and dungarees are all made from the 'waistcoat' section of the owl punch, with a few nips and tucks here and there. My most favourite thing about this card is the mini-brad dungaree buttons - I love them!

I've added a pink 'oh baby' sentiment circle to this card, but in class we made two: one pink and one blue, so that they could be added at a later stage when the recipient was known; now that's what you call organised! Back tomorrow with my last class card - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Ciao Baby!

Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive, Island Indigo, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, Twitterpated DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette

Tools: Owl Punch, Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Simply Scored Borders Scoring Plate, 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch

Finishing Touches: 1/8" Mini Brads, Island Indigo Baker's Twine, Ruffled Ribbon (retired)

As promised, here's the second card from last week's Owl Punch card class - this time Nurse Owl coming to wish the recipient 'Get Well Soon':

I've seen these little nurse owls lots of times and think they make a great focal point for a 'get well soon' card. The nurses hat is made from an upside-down 'waistcoat' piece of the owl, whilst the cross is punched with one of the punches from the the Itty Bitty Punches set. This is the only card from our class that we made that wasn't an original design of mine. Jo Dumbleton shared this card on her Facebook page recently and as I was planning my class, with my owl punch, cloudy day embossing folder and 'sick' stamp at the ready, I knew her card would be perfect to showcase all three - and I didn't feel I could improve upon it. I hope you like it too.

Back tomorrow with another of our class cards - and it will be an owl, but not as you know it; you'll have to pop back tomorrow to see what I mean ... until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Word Play

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Brights DSP, Polka Dot Parade DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Night of Navy

Tools: Owl Punch, Large Oval Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch, Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 3/16" Corner Punch

Finishing Touches: 1/4" Night of Navy Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

I've been busy card making today, but I thought it was about time I shared some of the cards that we made in this month's card class, featuring the owl punch. The class centred around the versatility of this punch and with the exception of the card I'm sharing today, the other cards we made were about using the punch to make things other than a straight forward owl. So on to today's card! This is the somewhat unassuming front of the card:

A nice woodgrained stamped tree trunk with a someone peeping out to say 'Oh Hello'. Open up the card and this is what you find:

A cute pair of owls keeping each other company, balancing on a branch. I chose to use bright colours for the owls so that they would stand out against the neutral Crumb Cake background. This would make a great card for a good friend, or even an anniversary card for your 's'owl' mate' (apologies - couldn't resist the pun!)

Back tomorrow with another owl card - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Oh Hello, Bloomin' Marvelous (Sale-A-Bration - retired), Woodgrain

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Island Indigo, Raspberry Ripple, More Mustard, Old Olive

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Island Indigo, Raspberry Ripple

Tools: Owl Punch, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Bird Builder Punch

I thought today I would share a card I made at my last training session which showcases a very cool technique using ink, alcohol and filter paper. Here is the finished card: 

The real focal point of this card, designed by the lovely Monica Gale, is the central rainbow panel, which is so easy to achieve. All you need to do is colour an acetate window sheet using Stampin' Write markers in sections - for this card we used Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Midnight Muse and Rich Razzleberry - then spray this liberally with water, or isopropyl alcohol if you want it to dry more quickly, until the ink blends. Once this happens, you simply lay your filter paper (rough side down) onto the ink until it's absorbed, then peel away from the acetate and leave to dry. Once dry, the filter paper can be glued to a piece of white card and cut to size to fit your project.

The result varies depending on the colours used and the shapes drawn onto the acetate, but that's the great thing with a technique like this - a unique output every time. I will be using this on other cards for sure and may even record a short video to demostrate just how easy it is to achieve - watch this space!

Back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Rain or Shine, En Francais, Tiny Tags

Cardstock: Basic Grey, Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Midnight Muse and Rich Razzleberry

Tools: Jewellery Tag Punch, Creped Filter Paper

Finishing Touches: Basics Rhinestones, 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Basic Grey, Alcohol Shimmer Mist

A busy week this week! I was partying last night - will share the card later this week - with an old and dear friend of mine who was celebrating a milestone birthday, so no blog post, I'm afraid. I've so much ready to share though - so keep checking back for lots of card and crafting inspiration as I should be back to daily posts now. Today I thought I would share a card inspired by a Wendy Weixler card (you can see her original card here) but I changed a few things, including the colourway to reflect the tulips in my garden, which finally bloomed a couple of weeks ago:

Tulips are one of my favourite flowers and there's nothing like a bunch of spring blooms to brighten your day. I love the dimension and depth of this card; the tulips are made using a heart punched with the Small Heart Punch, then the hearts are cut in half down the centre and three halves layered to achieve the petal effect. The leaves were made using the smallest of the oval framelits, just cutting away the edges. Here's a couple of photos of the tulips on my garden, which inspired my choice of pink and purple colours:

 These are really blousy and frilly and open out into huge blooms, whereas the ones below are much more traditional in their shape and style:

I'll leave you with one last picture that shows a close up of the tulip punch art on my card today; back tomorrow with another project, until then happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Itty Bitty Banners

Cardstock: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Gumball Green, Polka Dot Parade DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Rich Razzleberry

Tools: Small Heart Punch, Ovals Framelits, Windows Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder

No blog post yesterday as I was holding my second card class of the week. Lots of laughs as always, with pictures and stories to follow, but today I thought I'd share with you a commission I had last week for a christening card. I needed to make an A5 card and decided a christening gown was the order of the day:

I decided to use the large scallop Edgelits die and one of the Delicate Designs embossing folders to create the layers on the dress and sprayed these with Vanilla Smooch Spritz to give the layers a lovely pearlised sheen, to add interest to an otherwise all-white card. Hopefully you can see the effect on this close-up, although white-on-white is incredibly difficult to photograph:

In reality it looked beautiful! Given the size of the card, and the fact that it was intended as a keepsake, I also made a box for it ad finished off with a handmade angel charm - here's a close up:

I even ended up getting out my calligraphy pen to write the dedication on the inside - haven't used that in a while! Whilst I was on something of a christening 'role', I made another couple of smaller cards - lots of photos today, so I'll save those for another post! Hope you like today's card. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Whisper White

Tools: Large Scallop Edgelit, Delicate Designs Embossing Folder

Finishing Touches: Vanilla Smooch Spritz, 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon

Today I thought I'd share a couple of projects that I made for my good neighbour and friend and fill you in on the story that goes with them. My neighbour is MAD about dogs! Not just a dog-lover - I mean, head-over-heels, mad about her canine friends (and other animals too, but that's a whole other story!) Anyway, anyone reading this who knows me, knows that I am SO not like this; it's not that I don't like animals, it's just that I've never really had a pet and I don't really understand the pet-owner bond; combined with my OCD cleaning obsession this means that I can't imagine having a four legged friend running round the house, as much as my children plague me to get one. As a consequence, I have been known to say the wrong thing on occasion as far as pets are concerned; I would like to think I've learned from some of my previous faux-pas though, so when my neighbour's beloved great dane, Chelsea, passed away recently I decided to do something special to remember her. I decorated a box frame to house a favourite picture of her and this is the finished result: 

You might think it a bit pink, but for all her size and stature, she was a real girly dog if there is such a thing, with a bright pink collar and always to be seen wearing a bright pink necktie. The sentiment, 'You're in my thoughts, you're in my heart" seemed so appropriate in the circumstances. Whilst Chelsea will never be forgotten, her passing has been followed by the arrival of a new neighbour; a beautiful grey baby great dane puppy called Storm. To welcome her, I made a card, similar to one I'd seen designed by Mary Fish. You can see her card here; and this is my version:

I did add some grey stitched grosgrain ribbon across the front too, but I can't find the photo with ribbon so you'll just have to use your imagination! I stayed with the pink theme toned in with grey - I love the punch art paw print, don't you? Lastly, for all you other many dog lovers reading this, I thought you might like to see a picture of the new puppy - so here she is, Storm in all her glory:

Isn't she just the cutest?! That's all for today - back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Word Play, Sassy Salutations

Cardstock: Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, Basic Grey, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Melon Mambo, Basic Grey

Tools: Full Heart Punch, Owl Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Large Scallop Edgelits

Finishing Touches: Basics Rhinestones

As promised, today I'm going to share the swaps I made to take to Telford for the Stampin' Up! regional training day on Saturday; lots of excited crafty ladies (and a few gents!) spent the day crafting, swapping and getting up to speed with all the latest news from Stampin' Up!. As is customary at these events, we all created 'swaps' to share and showcase each other's work. I often find swaps a tricky concept - the desire to create something special, but at the same time simple enough that to create a large volume of them won't take hours or break the bank.

In my wisdom, I decided I would break the seal on a stamp set I bought at the start of the year, but haven't yet used: Summer Silhouettes. I loved the look of this stamp set and have seen many beautiful examples of cards 'random stamped' with the flowers in this set. This was however, my first challenge; as my dear husband so often says to me, "(you) don't do random" - and it would seem this follows me into my stamping. I lost count of the amount of card I cut, stamped and binned before getting to a design I was finally happy with! So I ended up with this as my 'first final design' (I know, bear with me!):

I loved the stamping and fussy cut edge, along with the sentiment and pierced border to ground it. However I didn't like the position of the butterfly, but couldn't move it without removing the ribbon, so here is my final (yes, really!) design:

It took hours to finish them and I still could have made twice as many - there were so many people with great swaps! I will photograph some of my favourites and share those with you later in the week. If you would like to be one of the first to know what's going on in the world of Stampin' Up!, get free products (yes, all still to come!), great training and business advice and a permanent product discount to feed your own crafting habit, then this is a great time to join my team - until May 30th, you can get £155 of products for £99; add in a business supplies pack and you get a whopping £200 of kit for £99 - bargain! Check out the Special Offers box on the right hand side of my page or Contact me to talk about how you can sign up and start benefiting straight away; if you sign up in May, you will be one of the first to preview and order from the new annual catalogue due out on July 1st and you will have the opportunity to attend Stampin' Up's! European Convention in November, which is being held in Manchester in the UK this year.

Pop back tomorrow for another project; I have so much to share this week, including some great cards that we are making at this week's card class. Until then, happy stampin!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Wacky Wishes

Cardstock: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Pool Party

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Wild Wasabi

Tools: Beautiful Wings Embosslits, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Piercing Tool

Finishing Touches: Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon

Well, it's been a busy weekend: Stampin' Up! regional training in Telford yesterday, preparing for this week's classes today, so am rather behind with my posts. Yesterday was a great day, with lots to share in the coming weeks, however I returned home with the most dreadful headache, so couldn't focus long enough to finish yesterday's post. I will share my swaps tomorrow instead, as today's post is a timely one as it's International Mother's Day; we in the UK had our Mother's Day a while ago now, but for my American and Canadian friends celebrating today, I thought I would share the Mother's Day card I made for my Mother-In-Law, which I couldn't share at the time as she reads my blog and so I couldn't spoil the surprise! This was her card:

Very pink just about sums it up! Can you see the lovely shimmer on the butterflies? This is courtesy of the liberal spray of Vanilla Smooch Spritz - they really sparkle when they catch the light. This card would of course also make a lovely birthday card for a Mum.

One of my favourite books is 'Good Mother, Bad Mother' by Gina Ford (a modern day heroine in my view) and there is a line at the beginning that says "the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world" - I so love that line, so to Mothers everywhere, this one's for you - hope you've had a lovely day.

Back tomorrow with my Telford swaps; until them, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: En Francais

Cardstock: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Pretty in Pink

Tools: Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Typeset Alphabet

Finishing Touches: Vanilla Smooch Spritz, Basics Rhinestones