I've been taking advantage of the cooler temperatures today and spending some time in my craft room working on some punch art cards. I'll share these with you in due course, but today wanted to share a punch art card I made to accompany a lingerie gift voucher I gifted a good friend of mine on her birthday a little while ago. So here is my card:

There are lots of examples of how to create this kind of card on the internet and this is my take on it. The colour combo was inspired by the gift voucher itself, which you can just see inside the card: Rich Razzleberry on Pool Party. I then used my scoreboard to add the patterned edges to my layer with some pearls to finish off.

I love the fun nature of this card, which was shared by its recipient. Above all, so much nicer than the plain card I received from the shop when I purchased the gift voucher!

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

Stamps: Tea Shoppe (retired)

Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Blushing Bride, Brights DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party

Tools: Heart Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Simply Scored Borders Plate

Finishing Touches: Basics Pearls

It's rained pretty much all day today, so I thought I'd share a blue card for a 'blue' mood, at least as far as the weather is concerned! This is a card I designed and made for a recent team 'Rainbow Swap'. Across my wider team, we all chose one of the colours of the rainbow, then made five cards with that colour as the basis for the colour scheme and sent them to the others in the same colour group. In return, we received a 'swap' of a different design but with the same colour scheme. I was in the Blue colour group; here is the card I made: 

I used one of the flower stamps from the Mixed Bunch stamp set and the co-ordinating Blossom Punch for my bold all-blue card. I used Pool Party as my base card, then layered flowers across the front in Island Indigo, Pool Party, Island Indigo and Midnight Muse. A simple greeting for any occasion and some ruffled ribbon and rhinestone detail on the uppermost flower added just enough sparkle to turn this card into something special. I got a lovely set of cards in return (but unfortunately haven't had the chance to photograph them - I will share them another time).

The Mixed Bunch stamp set and Blossom punch used to make this card is the stamp set that will feature in my card and technique class next week. The class will be held on Wednesday 17th April, 7.30-9.30pm. The class costs £10: we will be making four cards using the various stamps in this set and learning a number of new techniques along the way. All stamps, punches, cardstock and embellishments will be provided; all you need to bring is a basic toolkit (wet/dry adhesives, pencil, ruler, rubber, scissors, bone folder and cutter if you have one). If you would like to attend this class or any of the others currently planned, please contact me at [email protected] for more details.

I'll be back tomorrow with a 3D project made using the Blossom Punch. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Tea Shoppe

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pool Party

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Midnight Muse

Tools: Blossom Punch

Finishing Touches: Ruffled Ribbon, basics Rhinestones

I'm behind with my Easter photography, so a break from Easter cards today and another of the Tea Shoppe cards that I've been making to share with you. This is a case of a card by Michelle Last (you can see her version here), albeit in a completely different colourway: 

This card involves a lot of cutting out by hand of the cups, but it's worth it I think for the overall effect. I used some of my 'Tea for Two' DSP to provide the background paper and I love the flower trim - it really makes this card, don't you think? I coloured the edges of my flowers by dipping in some Pretty in Pink reinker; I think it ties them into the overall colour scheme really well. You can do this with any ink colour to co-ordinate with your project, so it makes them really versatile. Here's a close up of the flowers so that you can see the effect in detail: 

So pretty! I love the vintage feel of this card, even though I'm generally a clean lines, modern design kind of girl. This would be a lovely birthday card or even special invitation to an afternoon tea party - I can almost hear the china tea cups and saucers chinking together ...

Back tomorrow with more Easter fun; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Tea Shoppe

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Tea for Two DSP

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red

Tools: Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Two-Step Bird Punch (for the leaves), Stampin' Dimensionals, Trimmer

Finishing Touches: 5/8" Flower Trim

Today we are back to tea cups! This time another modern card in some bright colours to get me in the mood for spring, rather than the freezing sub-zero temperatures outside - I'm trying to think myself warm! This is my finished card:

I used Very Vanilla and Gumball Green as my main colours, with some So Saffron and Melon Mambo on the other two cups. I used my square scallop-edged punch for the first time today and I think it gives a really nice mount for the tea cups - what do you think? Another Itty Bitty flower and pearl and some co-ordinating ribbon for a finishing touch and done - this card could be used for so many occasions; I'm not a huge fan of green, but I took this suggested colour combination from my colour coach and I love it! One more tea cup card for tomorrow I think - a fancy fold card, then it's time to move on to Spring proper.

So until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Tea Shoppe

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Gumball Green, Melon Mambo, So Saffron

Ink: Gumball Green, Melon Mambo, So Saffron

Tools: Itty Bitty Punches, Scallop Square Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Simply Scored, Trimmer

Finishing Touches: Pearl Basic Jewels, 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon

More cups of tea today - now I've started with this stamp set, I can't put it down! Today an altogether more modern take on afternoon tea compared to the last couple of blog posts. This is a case of a card designed by Mary Fish - you can see her original card here. I've stamped mine in a slightly different colourway as I had some retired DSP that I wanted to use for the envelope and changed the card colours to coordinate. My finished card looks like this:

This card measures 4 1/4" square and I think the colours bring a really fresh look to this stamp set. The small tea cups are on a single stamp, but it's easy to colour them individually using marker pens, stamp them and trim them to fit on a card of this size. The pearls, heart and flower just add a few interesting details to finish the card.

The co-ordinating envelope was a breeze to make with my Simply Scored scoreboard - sometimes it's easier to make an envelope for an unusally sized card and a patterned paper can really finish things off. I'm thinking of making a short video on how to make envelopes with your scoreboard - let me know if this is something you would find useful and I will get on to it!

Lastly today, I promised an update on the Mother's Day activities in the James household: well, I awoke to my very own cup of tea in bed, but didn't have time to drink it today as it was accompanied by a hand-drawn treasure map and a trail of carefully cut out footprints the size of my offspring leading me downstairs to my lovely pile of cards. The handmade ones from school were very glittery (must remember to introduce Rebecca's teacher to our no-shed Glimmer Paper before this academic year is out!!) but all cards thoughtful and sent with love and written with the very best handwriting! A lovely roast dinner and afternoon of crafting, with the best still to come: my gift is a course at the Biscuiteers School of Icing learning to ice Easter biscuits in a couple of weeks time - I'm so excited! So all in all, I end today feeling loved and appreciated - makes being a Mum so worthwhile! So to mothers everywhere - I hope you too enjoyed your day.

Until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Tea Shoppe

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Pear Pizzazz (retired), Poppy Parade (retired), Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper (retired)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Pear Pizzazz (retired), Poppy Parade (retired)

Tools: Itty Bitty Punches, Small Heart Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Simply Scored, Trimmer

Finishing Touches: Pearl Basic Jewels

I've another Tea Shoppe card to share with you in today's quick post. I made a shaped hinged card with the large teacup:

I stamped in Pink Pirouette and coloured the edges using Primrose Petals and the rock 'n' roll technique. I stamped the flowers separately and cut them out individually to add interest and sponged a 'Just for You' tag and added it to the front of the card.

A few of these cards would make a lovely set of notelets; I made this one to use as a gift tag.

That's all from me today; I will be back tomorrow with another card and news of the Mother's Day exploits of the James household; my 5 year old son has been planning (or should I say scheming!) for 2 days now and is so excited you'd think it was Christmas! Whatever does tomorrow have in store ... until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Tea Shoppe

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Primrose Petals

Tools: Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers

I've been making lots of cards with my Tea Shoppe set this week, so I thought that today I would share the card I made for my Mother for Mother's Day on Sunday. I'm safe in sharing, as I know she won't see my blog. As for my Mother-in-law, don't worry if you're reading this - yours will look quite different! 

I made a larger card than usual (A5), so that I could fit a nice stack of the large tea cup stamp. Using a Very Vanilla base, I thought this card would look nice in shades of blue. I stamped the cups in Marina Mist, Pool Party and Bashful Blue and I masked the top two, so that they looked like they were balancing in a stack. I raised the central panel and used a piece of the More Amore Designer Series Paper on the base as it co-ordinated perfectly. The card was finished with some Marina Mist ribbon and a sentiment from the 'For My Family' stamp set; this is a great stamp set, allowing you to build a sentiment for any occasion. A few pearls on the flowers to add detail were added to the cups and there you have it. This card could just as easily be used for a birthday card or other femal occasion card, not only Mother's Day.

If you like this card, be sure to come back to see what else I've been making with this set. I'm off to the land of nod now (it's been a long week!) Until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Tea Shoppe, For My Family

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Bashful Blue, More Amore DSP

Ink: Bashful Blue, Pool Party, Marina Mist, Basic Grey

Tools: Large Oval Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers

Finishing Touches: Marina Mist 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon,  Pearl Basic Jewels