It's all go in the office of The Crafty Owl - I've been busy finishing my last Mother's Day cards today and I've recorded two video tutorials, along with all of the other things mothers do in a day. I won't bore you with that list, but I'm sure lots of you are reading this thinking "I know what you mean!" :-) Anyway, today I have a Mother's Day card to share with you, which I made using this week's sketch over at The Paper Players. This is Sandy's sketch:

I loved the layered circles on this sketch and it allowed me to get out on paper an idea I've had floating around in my head for a while (love it when that happens!) So here is my card:

I used Coastal Cabana for my base, then cut out a 'window' using my Word Bubble framelits through to the stamped sentiment "You're the best!" on the inside, used my largest circle for my bespoke 'Mum' sentiment where I used two circles cut with my Circles framelits to create an inset so that I have a border without an extra layer here. I then added an ‘xoxo’ cut out with my Circle Card thinlit set, attached with rolled glue dots, and lastly my final layer with the ‘love ya’ word bubble, stamped, cut and mounted with dimensionals for height. The cut-out on the front gives a glimpse of what’s inside – here’s the close-up:

Now I know this is not such a typical Mother's Day card: not traditional colours, no flowers in sight. It's quite clean and graphic in nature, but I really like it! I think it’s a great card for a Mum who likes something a little different; I for one would be thrilled to receive this card (hint, hint James Juniors!)

That’s me for today; come back tomorrow to see my entry for this week’s Less is More challenge. Until then, happy stampin’!

Stampin’ Up! Supplies Used:
 

Just Sayin' Clear-Mount Bundle	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform	Abc-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers	Perfect Pennants
My Mother	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Pacific Point A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock
Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

Another busy day today and my third night out in a row: today to a school concert, which was very entertaining with lots of singing and instrumentals. Now I'm back and today's card uses the colours over at Dynamic Duos this week, where it's actually 'Triple Threat' week and this week's sketch over at Retrosketches, which has an interesting decorative element:

And here is my card:

My card uses a single flower from the 'Simple Stems' stamp set and I printed the offset flower head on the base layer and the stem on a layer of Soft Sky, having cut out the area around the flower using the co-ordinating Secret Garden framelit. The Soft Sky layer was layered with dimensionals to give depth and allow a simple white baker's twine bow to be wrapped around the base.

As Pale Plum is a retired SU! colour, I substituted with Perfect Plum. I was a little concerned that it wouldn't have enough pink in it to work with the Rich Razzleberry, especially I had decided to experiment with stamping the Rich Razzleberry onto the contrasting Perfect Plum cardstock. I don't generally take two tones of the same colour and use them together in this way, but I quite like the effect - the Razzleberry 'warms' the Plum I think. I thought I would include a picture of my test card to show you how the effect differs depending on the colour ink you use:

The flowers are stamped clockwise from bottom left in Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum then Rich Razzleberry on Perfect Plum cardstock - it's interesting to see how different they each look, don't you think?

Anyway, back to my card! I finished it with a little 'get well' sentiment that I stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in white. This card will be sending get well wishes to one of my lovely customers who is having major surgery at the end of this week; if you're reading this Chris, I hope you're up and about again soon!

That's all from me today - I'm off to catch up on my beauty sleep! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Simple Stems	Secret Garden Framelits Dies	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform	Perfect Plum A4 Card Stock
Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	White Baker's Twine	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Versamark Pad
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig	Heat Tool - Uk Plug

Good evening lovely blog readers - a quick post from me today as I've been out and had a full-on day today. I finally found the time to make a card for this week's challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary. They have a great design team with inspiring sketches and designs; this week it's a sketch challenge:

I decided to make an Easter card using the egg stamp from the Eggstra Spectacular stamp and designed a card that is entirely faithful to the sketch layout - here it is:

I made a 5" x 5" square card and using a piece of the lovely Watercolour Wonder DSP as my focal background and layered with some simple card stock strips, picking out the colours in the paper. I finished with an oval featuring the 'Happy Easter' stamp which I inked up with my Stampin' Write Markers in the same 3 colours as my paper strips. I inset this oval inside a larger one in Tangerine Tango as opposed to mounting it onto a base layer, as I wanted the oval to sit flat across the strips underneath. Here's a close up:

Hope you like today's card; back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Eggstra Spectacular	Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock	Tangerine Tango A4 Card Stock
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform	Ovals Collection Framelits Dies	Subtles Stampin' Write Markers
Brights Stampin' Write Markers

Good morning blog readers! It's Monday and the start of another busy week. Today I'm sharing my card for this week's Pals Paper Art challenge. I was thrilled to be a Top 3 winner over at PPA last week with my flowerpot card (if you missed it, you can see it here). This week the Pals have a great sketch by the talented Margaret Moody:

I was initially tempted to use a feature piece of DSP for panel 2, however I had some punched butterflies left over from preparing my weekend Spring banner class and decided instead to use them to create my card. Here it is:

I used a Soft Sky base, then layered a Whisper White panel on Daffodil Delight and carefully aligned my punched butterflies. I finished by stamping the 'Smile' sentiment in Versamark and heat embossing with clear embossing powder onto a panel of So Saffron, which I raised on dimensionals. A simple layout that worked for me and saved my excess butterflies from the scrap box; who else hoards bits and pieces then never goes back to use them on a card, instead punching the shape from a fresh piece of cardstock? Go on, admit it - we've all done it ;-). I loved the mix of brights and subtles on this card and the feeling of spring that it conjures up. 

I'm off to do some work before meeting some friends I haven't seen in a while for lunch. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

So Saffron A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Tangerine Tango A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Bitty Butterfly Punch	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents	Happy Day	Embossing Buddy	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder
Versamark Pad	Heat Tool - Uk Plug

This morning I held one of my weekend project classes. They generally last longer than my monthly card classes and are a great opportunity to do something different and a little more involved. Following a successful class last December to make festive Christmas banners (you can read more about that and see our wonderful creations here), at the request of a few of the ladies who attended I decided to hold one to make a Spring/Easter banner with the other half of our banner kits. I chose a colour scheme that would compliment that of the Burlaps and Blooms wreaths that several of us made at my last weekend project class - you can see my finished wreath here. So here is my completed banner:

I chose to feature the word 'Spring' on my banner, as I am intending to leave it up to decorate for a while, but some of the ladies in my class made one that featured the word 'Easter'. We stencilled our backgrounds and letters using the now retired Build a Banner stencil kit in Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango and Pool Party with lettering in Smoky Slate.

The banner is decorated with flowers made with the Spiral Flower Originals Die and punched and die-cut butterflies. Here are some close ups of the individual banner pieces - this is the first piece, with a layered butterfly with a lightly embossed layer and some tiny ones punched out with the Itty Bitty Butterfly punch: 

Here's a close-up of one of the letters, along with a couple of the spiral flowers; a single yellow flower and a two-tone blue flower, finished with some Smoky Slate leaves cut out with the Secret Garden framelits:

This one has a So Saffron single flower and a two-tone one in Tangerine Tango and Crisp Cantaloupe, finished with an extra-large pearl, along with a bitty blue butterfly:

My banner simply served as inspiration and as is often the way with this kind of class, everyone makes theirs slightly differently and adds their own unique touch. If you hop on over to my Facebook page, you will be able to see the finished banner that Julie, one of the lovely ladies who attended the class made - different to mine, yet equally gorgeous!

If you live in Northampton and would like to join any of my card or project classes, check out my schedule of forthcoming classes here or contact me for more information.

Back tomorrow with a card to share; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Spiral Flower Originals Die	Beautiful Butterflies Stampin' Up! Bigz Die	Secret Garden Framelits Dies	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Pool Party A4 Card Stock
So Saffron A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Tangerine Tango A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky
Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin Ink Refill	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Ink Refill	Pool Party Classic Stampin Ink Refill	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die	Bitty Butterfly Punch	Sponge Daubers	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents	Large Pearl Basic Jewels

I've had a busy day today preparing for tomorrow's Spring Banner class - photos to follow - and working on some other projects, so just time for a quick post today. I'm sharing a thank you card designed by Monica Gale that we made at our January team training session:

This is a lovely pastel card featuring the orchid stamp from the 'Happy Watercolour' set'. It is stamped onto a scallop topped tag and coloured with Stampin' Write markers and a blender pen and layered on a few layers of Sale-A-Bration Sweet Sorbet DSP in co-ordinating colours. along with an offcut from one of the laser-cut cards from the 'Simply Fabulous Simply Sent' kit sets. Some background stamping and a banner are stamped with two of the other stamps in the 'Happy Watercolour' set and the tag is finished with some ribbon and rhinestones to complete the look.

Come back tomorrow to see the outputs from tomorrow's Spring Banner class; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Happy Watercolor	Scalloped Tag Topper Punch	Simply Fabulous Simply Sent	Card Stock A4 Pistachio Pudding	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Pool Party A4 Card Stock	Pistachio Pudding Classic Stampin' Pad	Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Jet Black Stazon Pad
Blender Pens	Crisp Cantaloupe 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim	Scallop Edge Border Punch

There are 10 days left until the end of Sale-A-Bration. Lots of you have taken advantage of the extra hostess benefits on offer to host a party or received one or more of the great free gifts on offer with every £45 spend. Today I thought I would take the opportunity to remind you of the benefits of joining Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration:

• The starter kit will be £99 and includes products of your choice up to the value of £150 - this is a whopping £51 of extra product!
• You will also receive a business supplies pack including annual and seasonal catalogues, order forms, etc.
• You will receive a 20% discount on every order you place
• You will also receive a 30% discount on the first order you place over £150 within the first 30 days of sign up
• You will receive 2 free months of Demonstrator Web Services
• If you reach £225 sales within the first quarter (ending 30th June 2014), you will maintain your demonstrator status until 30th September. If you don't, your demonstrator status will lapse, but without penalty; you have no obligation to purchase anything other than your starter kit if you don't want to.
• If you join my growing team, you will get to benefit from my knowledge, help and support in addition to that of one of the UK's most successful teams of demonstrators and the considerable resources provided by Stampin' Up itself. You will receive your own team welcome pack from me, along with your own complimentary copy of my demonstrator software Product Table Builder worth £35 

Here's part of the welcome pack I sent to one of the lovely ladies who joined my team recently, designed to co-ordinate with a card I made for the Mojo Monday challenge recently (you can read more about how I made the card here):

In addition she also received a handbook and other items that will be useful as she grows her Stampin' Up! business. Whether you want to feed your own crafting habit by having access to discounted craft supplies, or would like to earn a little (or a lot!) extra income and run your own business, I am here to support you in any way I can.

You have just 10 days to take advantage of the enhanced Sale-A-Bration sign up offer: contact me on 07773 421446 or joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk if you would like to know more or alternatively sign up here today!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies used:

Simply Celebrate	Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Stamp-A-Ma-Jig	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Magnetic Platform	Perfect Pennants	Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay	Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry	Card Stock A4 Strawberry Slush
Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Squares Collection Framelits Dies
Versamark Pad	Black Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug

Good evening blog readers! Today I have a simple Spring flower card to share with you; simple in execution, yet I have been pondering its execution for almost a week. Why? Well, the challenge over at Less is More this week is to use masking or stencilling on your card. As I don't own much in the way of stencils and generally make my own templates if I want to mask or stencil something, I've been deliberating what to do. Then I saw the photo inspiration over at Fusion this week -

and I had a sudden flash of inspiration. Here is my card:

I kept with the yellows and greens of the inspiration photo and used Daffodil Delight and Wild Wasabi as I wanted my card to have a light, bright spring feel. I was tempted to stencil a repeating pattern, but decided instead to go with a single graphic flower instead for greater impact. I created the flowerhead by making my own stencil from a piece of card with a punched out circle and once in place on my white card, I positioned a flower cut with my Blossom Party Originals Die in the centre with some low-tack adhesive and sponged yellow ink onto the space in between - here's a photo of my makeshift mask/stencil which might make more sense:

For the stem I used a retired stamp from a set called 'Sweetheart'; this was the first ever stamp set I purchased so I feel I can't part with it for sentimental reasons and it was just perfect for this card. I finished with a simple sentiment and a bright pink candy dot layered on a small punched circle.

I'm also linking this card up with the lovely peeps over at The Paper Players this week, where Jaydee's challenge this week is to create something clean and simple with the theme of 'Spring'; I'm pretty sure today's card fits the bill.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Punch Pack	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad
Blossom Party Stampin' Up! Originals Die	Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad	Wild Wasabi A4 Card Stock	Brights Candy Dots	Express Yourself

Today I want to share with you another use for one of my new favourite punches - the scalloped tag top punch. This really is such a versatile punch that can be used in so many ways. There are lots of variations on how it can be used to make an unusual card closure - today's card is a fun, concertina style Mother's Day card, where the scalloped tag top punch is used to add detail to the closure. I saw a similar card to this on Julie Kettlewell's blog here and liked it so much I decided to create one. This is what the card looks like 'closed':

Ribbon is threaded through the punch out hole and around the card and tied in a bow to keep it shut, then when you undo the ribbon and open the card out, you see the message inside:

These cards are such fun to make and so easy. All you need is one sheet of 12" x 12" for the basic card. I used a sheet of the Gingham Garden DSP for my card, and layered the inside panels with Whisper White matted on Daffodil Delight. I cut the letters for 'Mothers' with my Typeset Alphabet die, but you could easily use an alphabet stamp set such as Morning Post or Notable Alphabet if you have one instead. I took the word 'Happy' from one of the 'See Ya Later' Sale-A-Bration stamp sets and the letters for 'Day' from my Sketched Alphabet individual stamps before punching out and layering on a mini banner. I then decorated with flowers stamped and punched from the Petite Petals bundle and the Itty Bitty Punches set in colours that co-ordinated with my chosen DSP. The last panel is left blank for you to write your personalised Mother's Day message.

I had intended to shoot a video tutorial on how to make one of these cards to accompany my series of Scalloped Tag Top Punch video tutorials, but time has not been on my side so I haven't managed it yet; I will look to complete one in the next week or so and when I do will update my blog with the link. Updated 8/5/14 - here is my video tutorial on how to make this card:

The best bits about this card: it's one of those projects where you don't have to deliberate over which side of your DSP to use, as you see both sides (dilemma avoided, for once) and also because of the closure, you don't need an envelope - this is a card and envelope in one! This style of card would work for lots of other occasions too - why not have a go and see what you come up with.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Scalloped Tag Topper Punch	Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper	Melon Mambo A4 Card Stock	Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Petite Petals Clear-Mount Bundle	Punch Pack	Island Indigo A4 Card Stock
Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad

Today I want to share with you another use for one of my new favourite punches - the scalloped tag top punch. This really is such a versatile punch that can be used in so many ways. There are lots of variations on how it can be used to make an unusual card closure - today's card is a fun, concertina style Mother's Day card, where the scalloped tag top punch is used to add detail to the closure. This is what the card looks like 'closed':

Ribbon is threaded through the punch out hole and around the card and tied in a bow to keep it shut, then when you undo the ribbon and open the card out, you see the message inside:

These cards are such fun to make and so easy. All you need is one sheet of 12" x 12" for the basic card. I used a sheet of the Gingham Garden DSP for my card, and layered the inside panels with Whisper White matted on Daffodil Delight. I cut the letters for 'Mothers' with my Typeset Alphabet die, but you could easily use an alphabet stamp set such as Morning Post or Notable Alphabet if you have one instead. I took the word 'Happy' from one of the 'See Ya Later' Sale-A-Bration stamp sets and the letters for 'Day' from my Sketched Alphabet individual stamps before punching out and layering on a mini banner. I then decorated with flowers stamped and punched from the Petite Petals bundle and the Itty Bitty Punches set in colours that co-ordinated with my chosen DSP. The last panel is left blank for you to write your personalised Mother's Day message.

I had intended to shoot a video tutorial on how to make one of these cards to accompany my series of Scalloped Tag Top Punch video tutorials, but time has not been on my side so I haven't managed it yet; I will look to complete one in the next week or so and when I do will update my blog with the link.

The best bits about this card: it's one of those projects where you don't have to deliberate over which side of your DSP to use, as you see both sides (dilemma avoided, for once) and also because of the closure, you don't need an envelope - this is a card and envelope in one! This style of card would work for lots of other occasions too - why not have a go and see what you come up with.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Scalloped Tag Topper Punch	Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper	Melon Mambo A4 Card Stock	Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Petite Petals Clear-Mount Bundle	Punch Pack	Island Indigo A4 Card Stock
Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad