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've been really busy in my craft room today, creating swaps for a training event next weekend; not yet finished, so will share later in the week. Meanwhile, with another simple Spring Sampler card - this time a trio of stamps on a one layer card:

In order to achieve a 'false' layering effect, the three stamped images are on the 'inside' of the card and pop through the windows at the front which are outlined to give definition. The front of the card is then stamped with the sentiment 'Bloomin' Marvelous' - retired Sale-A-Bration I know, but seemed to fit so well with my gardening pictoral story/theme. Lastly, I added a rhinestone to the tulip in the bottom frame to add interest.

As much as I love simple cards, I do find one layer cards such a challenge! Tomorrow I'll show you another one I made with a similar layout to this one, but with more layers; you can compare and see the difference. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Spring Sampler, Bloomin' Marvelous (Sale-A-Bration 2013 - retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Crumb Cake

Tools: 1 1/4" Square Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Finishing Touches: Basic Rhinestones

The sun is shining at last today and after a fun afternoon running around our local park with my two children and feeling like maybe, just maybe there is some blue sky behind the clouds, I thought it would be a good day to share this bright card with you:

I'm still playing with my Spring Sampler set - that's where the cute bee comes from today - and have also got out my hexagon embossing folder again. It made the perfect honeycomb for today's little fellow, who I stamped directly onto the embossed cardstock after embossing (just his body using a black marker). I then stamped him again on Whisper White cardstock and cut out his wings and stuck them on separately, to add interest. Lastly, the sentiment is a partial image of the retired Sale-A-Bration Bloomin' Marvelous greeting 'oh happy day' - the perfect play on words to sum up a perfectly happy day.

Until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Spring Sampler, Bloomin' Marvelous (Sale-A-Bration - retired)

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Basic Black

Tools: Hexagon embossing folder

Whilst my blog title today reminds me of a pop song of my childhood ('Five Star' were the band I believe - showing my age now!!), it also sums up perfectly today's card. With weather possibly the top conversation for Britons this week - we've had more snow, sub zero temperatures and icy winds with no signs of things letting up any time soon. It's the official start of British Summertime this Sunday - hard to believe I know!! - so I thought I would make a simple weather card with more colour than we seem to find in reality at the moment, but there we are:

I've been experimenting with one layer cards and my Spring Sampler set this week. I find one layer cards a real challenge and having made a version of this card as a one layer card originally, I preferred this version with the cloud and sun punched and raised with a couple of dimensionals - so not one layer after all, although some of my other experiments were more successful - I'll share them another time.

Anyone wondering how I created my rainbow? I actually used the guide sheet for my Simply Scored Borders Plate and used one of the curved lines as a stencil, rather than as a scoring guide - this enabled me to get perfectly aligned curves every time. That said, my rainbow is technically incomplete - I stopped short of including violet as it looked a little grey on my concept card but isn't that the joy of making your own cards - you can make them just as you like!

This card could be used for all kinds of occasions, so great to have on standby in the 'stash box'. That's all from me today - hopefully back tomorrow with another Spring card for you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Spring Sampler, Bloomin' Marvelous (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Tempting Turquoise, Elegant Eggplant

Tools: Simply Scored Borders Plate

Well, not doing so well with the blogging this week - I've no shortage of things to share as I've been a very busy bee - just short on time!

Yesterday I held a class attended by a lovely group of ladies to make this waterfall album designed by Becca Prideaux:

The album opens up to reveal a waterfall of pockets that can be used for all kinds of things: photos, recipes, journalling, a birthday calendar ... the possibilities are endless! It also makes a nice Mother's Day gift and there will certainly be some lucky recipients following yesterday's class.

There was lots of cutting, punching, stamping and gluing, and enough of that lovely silver glimmer paper to add some real sparkle. Thank you to everyone who attended - it was a very fun evening. If anyone following my blog would be interested in attending any of my classes, do drop me a line for more information. There will eventually be a full schedule available on my website which is still currently under construction, but if you'd like to know more in the meantime, do give me a call or drop me a line and I can share with you my schedule of both card and project classes.

Back tomorrow with a Mother's Day card for you; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Bloomin' Marvelous

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Sycamore Street DSP

Ink: Crumb Cake

Tools: Bitty Butterfly Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch,  1 3/4"scallop circle punch, 2 3/8" scallop circle punch, scallop edge border punch, Stampin' Trimmer

Finishing Touches: Silver Glimmer Paper

I've been out a wedding fair all day today but as I haven't blogged for a few days, thought I'd do a quick post to share with you some thank you cards I made for the lovely ladies who placed orders at the last party I ran. I wanted something simple as I had several to make and decided to use the Sale-A-Bration Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set as many of them had chosen it as their free gift with a £45 order and I wanted to give them a little inspiration. So this is what I came up with:

I love the effect you can get by using a frame within your picture to add focus, and by stamping the third butterfly and punching out it looks like the butterflies are almost flying off the page. A little sparkle adds a finishing touch. I also used the precut notelet and envelope sets to make these (card measures 12.7 x 8.9cm), so I didn't even need to cut and score the basic cardstock - super quick. If you would like this stamp set, Sale-A-Bration is running for another 19 days so drop me a line if you would like to place an order. That's it for today - I'm off to soak my aching feet!

Until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Bloomin' Marvelous

Cardstock: Pool Party, Whisper White

Ink: Pool Party, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Island Indigo

Tools: Bitty Butterfly Punch

Finishing Touches: Dazzling Details, Whisper White Notelets and Envelopes

Today I thought I'd share with you the 'make and take' card that I made with all the lovely ladies who attended my first party recently (Hello ladies, if you're reading this!). It's similar to something I saw whilst browsing on Pinterest, but with my own twist and designed to make the most of some of the lovely goodies that are available free during Sale-A-Bration. It uses four of the possible 17 items on offer - see if you SU! fans can spot them all!

We stamped a greeting from Bloomin' Marvelous and a simple flower from the Madison Avenue stamp set onto Whisper White card stock, then layered this piece of card using dimensionals onto a Crumb Cake card base, having first adhered a couple of coordinating strips of Sycamore Street DSP along each of the vertical outer edges. The flower was finished with a button threaded with a piece of contrasting ribbon from the matching accessory pack. I sized the card to fit the new Crumb Cake medium envelopes and we stamped a flower onto the front of the envelope for a finishing touch.

A great night was had by all: thank you ladies for being kind to me on my first outing. If you love to craft, need a reason to get together with some like-minded friends and would like to host an evening to make this card or something similar, do get in touch - there are great additional hostess benefits during Sale-A-Bration too, the perfect way to grow your own craft stash!

Until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Madison Avenue, Bloomin' Marvelous

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Sycamore Street (DSP)

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango

Finishing Touches: Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack, Medium Crumb Cake Envelopes

Having spent most of the day outdoors today buidling snowmen and sledging with my children and generally making the most of the snow and an unexpected day off school, it's nice to sit all cosy and warm and share another card set with you.

So here is the second trio of cards I made with the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set, this time introducing the butterfly too:

A slightly more feminine colour palette I think, with the latest in-colour inks of Primrose Petals and Raspberry Ripple for the randomly stamped flowers and butterflies and some Gumball Green for the stems which I think just adds a bit of 'zing'.

I also hand cut one of the butterflies on the central card and popped it on a dimensional for added interest:

It was easy enough with my Paper Snips, but if you're not great with fiddly cutting out it can be punched in seconds with the Bitty Butterfly Punch, a new product in this year's Spring-Summer Seasonal Catalogue and available from the first of February. I have also used a mat of Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals or Gumball Green cardstock respectively and a little ribbon accent just to finish off. I really love this stamp set - and the sentiments are generic enough that they suit lots of occasions.

If you would like to recreate these cards yourself, the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set is one of 17 items that you can obtain for free for every £45 spent during the promotional period, starting tomorrow! Please drop me a line or give me a call if you would like more information.

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: *Bloomin' Marvelous (Wood 129651, clear 129654)

Paper: Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Gumball Green

Ink: Gumball Green, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals

Punches: *Bitty Butterfly Punch

Finishing Touches: Stitched Satin Ribbon Raspberry Ripple, Stitched Satin Ribbon Gumball Green

*Available to purchase from 22nd January.

Today I wanted to give you a 'sneak peek' of some of the amazing goodies available as part of this year's Sale-a-bration promotion. Sale-a-bration begins on 22nd January to coincide with the launch of the new Spring-Summer catalogue and and runs until 22nd March. I've made a trio of cards using the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set, which is a great set with lots of uses and I think will become a firm favourite of mine.

Using a Whisper White card base, I stamped the flower image freehand on all of the cards in a combination of crumb cake, midnight muse and raspberry ripple. On the centre card, I randomly stamped each of the red and blue flower images a few times without re-inking to add depth. A sentiment and a touch of raspberry ripple stitched satin ribbon on each to add extra interest and done! The perfect card if you're running short on time.

I'll be back soon with another set of cards using this stamp set so pop by and have a look.

If you would like to recreate these cards yourself, the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set is one of 17 items that you can obtain for free for every £45 spent during the promotional period. Please contact me if you would like more information.

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps:*Bloomin' Marvelous (Wood 129651, clear 129654)

Paper: Whisper White (106550), Midnight Muse (127546)

Ink: Midnight Muse(126860), Raspberry Ripple (126859), Crumb Cake (126975)

Finishing Touches: Stitched Satin Ribbon Raspberry Ripple (126845)

*Available to purchase from 22nd January.