So I thought it was about time I started with some Easter cards, otherwise it will be here before we know it and I won't have shared any ideas with you. I took the opportunity to play with my Simply Scored Borders scoring plate today and used it to decorate some Easter eggs for my newly hatched chicks:

It's taken me a while to get used to the new scoring plate, but now that I have I'm finding it useful for all kinds of things. Stampin' Up! have made a great video tutorial showing how to use the new plate, which does work differently to the other plates as it has an overlay guide too - click on the video link here if you'd like to know more.

In case you're wondering where the chicks came from - they are the bird from the two-step bird punch, sponged around the edges to add definition. I love punches like this that have multiple uses!

The children had a Spring Fayre at school yesterday and won a runner-up prize in the Easter Egg Hunt of a chocolate egg and a chocolate rabbit - they were delighted and as they devoured the egg this afternoon, decided Easter has officially begun! I'll be back tomorrow with another Easter card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Wacky Wishes

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Wisteria Wonder, Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo

Tools: Simply Scored Borders Scoring Plate, Ovals Framelits, Two-Step Bird Punch

Finishing Touches: Linen Thread

So the saying goes that 'Elephants never forget'; if only the same could be said for me! I'm usually pretty good at remembering birthdays, but with such a busy start to this year I must confess to having forgotten not one, but two birthdays! Well actually only one was truly forgotten (apologies Belinda - the card is now in the post!); the other was my good friend Barbara who actually kept her birthday date very much to herself - then wondered why she didn't receive lots of cards and birthday wishes!

Anyway, this led me to thinking about belated birthday wishes, and I just knew that elephant from the Sale-A-Bration Patterned Occasions set would have to make an appearance. I made two slightly different cards, each using the same colourway of Pool Party, Island Indigo and Rose Red. The first one was a herd of elephants marching, with one raised on dimensionals and carrying a punched flower. On both cards, the stamps were coloured with markers to allow the sentiment and flowers to be omitted.

Whilst I liked this card when finished, it felt a little busy. So, take two still on the elephant theme but something much simpler:

This card is much more me and I love the finish of the ruched Raspberry Ripple ribbon that adds a touch of luxury. So which one do you prefer? Leave me a comment below and let me know.

Let's hope these are the last belated wishes I send this year (although somehow I doubt it!). On the up side, at least I kept to my resolution to send only handmade cards this year.

Until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Cardstock: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Whisper White

Stamps: Patterned Occasions, Itty Bitty Shapes. Sentiment - Birthday Wishes (hostess - now retired)

Ink: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Rose Red

Finishing Touches: Raspberry Ripple 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Itty Bitty Punches

We are back to the LOVE theme today, with a cute set of four notelets with a coordinating box. I have designed them with Valentine's Day in mind, but these little 3" notelets are perfect for tucking into a lunchbox or loved one's pocket for a surprise love note.

I've used a selection of stamp sets to create this set:

From the left, do you recognise the stamp used on the first card? I created the patchwork heart design by using my marker pens to colour the central section of the 'recover rapidly' Band-Aid stamp from the Sale-A-Bration Patterned Occasions stamp set, aligning each one with my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig to align them into a neat patchwork pattern. The second stamp is from a now retired set called 'Sprinkled Expressions' and the third uses the cross stitch heart from the Hoop La La set in the main catalogue. Lastly, the heart/flower stamp is one of 24 available in the set 'Spring Sampler' available in the new Spring Summer seasonal catalogue that goes live TODAY! There are lots and lots of lovely new items, some of which I've already featured and many of which you will see on my blog during the coming weeks and months. There is a link to the catalogue on the right hand side of my page; if you would like your own copy of the catalogue or would like to place an order, do get in touch with me at joanne@thecraftyowl and I will be happy to help.

I also whipped up a lovely two-tone box to keep them all in out of melon mambo cardstock with a co-ordinating regal rose flap shaped using one of the small Labels Collection framelits. To finish off, I stamped and cut a pair of hearts using the Hearts a Flutter set to tuck the box flap into and hold it in place.

My little girl has had her eye on these ever since she saw me putting them together, so I'm thinking I might slip the first one of mine into her school bag for a little surprise. The second might go into my husband's lunch box - assuming I stop crafting for long enough to make him a sandwich of course! I hope you are inspired to have a go and make something similar - do leave me a comment and let me know who you are sending yours to. Off to create now - until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Patterned Occasions, Sprinkled Expressions (retired), Hearts A Flutter, Hoop La La, Spring Sampler, Tiny Tags, Hearts a Flutter

Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose

Stampin' Write Markers: Real Red, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Labels Collection Framelits, Simply Scored

So this is it - a new year, a new venture for me. I have finally taken the plunge and decided to devote some time to sharing some of my crafty thoughts and ideas with the world at large and one of the ways I'm going to do this is through my love of all things Stampin' Up. I will be using my blog to share my progress as I build my crafting business and hopefully in turn will inspire you to create some amazing things.

I'm not generally one for new year's resolutions, but this year I did set myself the goal of making every card I send, whatever the occasion. So here's the first one: a New Year Thank You card. New Year's Day saw the first James family get-together of the New Year and the first opportunity for my offspring to meet the newest member, a cute spaniel-poodle-cross puppy named Ollie, so I made this card as a thank you for my mother-in-law for hosting.

This card uses two of my favourite things: my owl punch (you will be seeing a lot more of him over the coming months - he was my first investment and is so versatile - I LOVE him and he inspired my logo!) and my new typeset alphabet. The sentiment is from the hostess set 'Wacky Wishes'; I simply inked up 'happy new year' with my Rich Razzleberry marker, omitting the 'merry christmas &' then added in the 'wishing you a' afterwards, using my stamp-a-ma-jig to ensure alignment.

I hope you like it. I'll be back tomorrow with some sneak peaks of what this year's sale-a-bration has to offer.

Stampin' Up Supplies

Stamps: Wacky Wishes (126410)

Paper: Crumb Cake (121685), Brights (121698) Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose

Ink: Rich Razzleberry (126950)

Tools: Owl Builder Punch (118074), Typeset Alphabet Bigz (127553), 3/16" Corner (119871), Big Shot (113439), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049)