Did you know that 16-23rd September is National Cupcake Week here in the UK? Not that I need an excuse for a good cupcake, but this is surely reason enough! With this in mind, I have a cupcake card for you today, but alas of the paper rather than edible kind! Here's my card:

Starburst cards are very popular at the moment, so I thought I would take the opportunity to use up some of my retired Patio Party DSP which has a number of cake-themed papers to echo the punched cake that features in the foreground. This card would work equally well with any of the current papers though, if you wanted to create something similar. As you can see, the sentiment uses a combination of one of the ones in the Create a Cupcake stamp set and another personalisation from my retired 'For My Family' set. This was the card I made from the children for Granny's birthday last week, although I must confess the cakes on the card look somewhat more tasteful than the chocolate-covered rainbow sugar creations the children made the last time they baked with Granny - they definitely wouldn't taste as good though!

Back tomorrow with the first of my projects using some of my new Christmas goodies; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Having just heard the Royal baby news, I really should be blogging a baby boy card today, but since I don't have one of those prepared I'm sharing a leaving card instead!

This card was a commission for someone who needed a leaving card for a colleague. The person in question is known for her keen sense of style and for always having a bag, jewellery and accessories to co-ordinate with any outfit, even her flipflops match; she is also known for her love of animal prints. With this in mind, I set about creating a card that would reflect her personality and one of the things her colleagues love and would miss most about her. This is what I came up with:

A tic-tac-toe of shoes, handbags and jewellery, ready to mix and match. Here's a close up of the flipflops (I made a template by hand for these) - aren't they just the cutest?

The handbags were made using either a3/4" circle the vest from the owl punch, or in the case of the one below the cupcake builder punch and the petite curly label punch:

I used Basic Black and More Mustard as my base colours and created a custom sentiment. If you're looking at the sentiment panel and thinking it's the right shape but the wrong size for the Decorative Label Punch, you would be right; I created a custom label using My Digital Studio (MDS) and printed it out on my computer. You may have noticed the advert for MDS on the back cover of the new annual catalogue; as demonstrators we are getting early access to this new software and I'm really enjoying playing with it. I'll have more to share in the coming months, but for now it was the ideal solution to finding just the right words to finish off my card.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, More Mustard (retired), Animal Print Papers - from my craft box (non SU)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Basic Black

Tools: 1" Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch (retired), Owl Builder Punch, Petite Curly label Punch, Cupcake Builder Punch

Finishing Touches: Mini Brads, Basics Rhinestones

Another birthday card today - this time a quartet of bright and colourful cupcakes:

I made this card a while ago and the layout is a case of a Mary Fish card - I love her clean and simple style - and the Create a Cupcake stamp set and co-ordinating punch make this kind of card really easy. Its also great fun to see how many different cupcake combinations you can make using this set. The punch also makes birthday candles a doddle to create - handy as I have lots of friends (and family!) celebrating 'significant' birthdays this year where large numbers of candles are required. A co-ordinated envelope too makes this card a sweet treat!

Back tomorrow with another project - I've been very busy in my craft room today and have lots of great projects to share this coming week!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Create a Cupcake

Cardstock: Pacific Point, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise

Tools: Cupcake Builder Punch