So something different today - birthday invitations! I was going to share a birthday card with you today but changed my mind (bloggers prerogative!) As already mentioned this week, it was Rebecca's 8th birthday last Saturday. She is having a swimming pool party next Sunday to celebrate with her friends and so water-themed invitations were the order of the day. She decided that 'Oh, Whale' was to be the stamp set of choice for the task, I saw this lovely Valentine card here and loved the layout, so decided to use this as the basis for my party invitation design. Here are the finished invitations:

I switched out the hearts, went for a darker blue whale and couldn't miss the opportunity to use my Cloudy Day Embossing Folder to add texture to the circle behind the whale. I really like the mix of circle styles on this card and the way the DSP, punched circle and paper piercing bring the whole design together. I then used the 'Make a Wish' set to make light work of the details on the inside of the card (no photo of this though - oops!)

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Oh Whale, Make a Wish

Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Polka Dot Parade Designer Series Paper (Marina Mist)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Real Red

Tools: Circles #2 Originals Die, Cloudy Day Textured Embossing Folder, Small Heart Punch, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Stamp-a-ma-jig

The changeover in annual catalogues brings with it mixed feelings; excitement at the thought of lots of new stamp sets and accessories to play with, but it's also a time to say goodbye to some old ones. Today I'm sharing a 'Welcome to your new home' card that I made recently for my fellow crafty friend Issy recently when she moved house. The card uses the Hoop La La stamp set and the Comfort Café designer series papers:

This set appeals to me because it reminds me of my other hobby, cross stitch, and there are some lovely little images in this set, including a needle and embroidery hoop. I coloured the house image with markers in colours that coordinated with the Comfort Café paper, using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get them perfectly aligned, then created a focal point by making a feature of the final house placing on a raised circle and adding a cute little heart from my trusty owl punch for good measure. This time I even remembered to decorate the envelope too - something I often intend to do, but often forget when I'm busy focusing on the card itself.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Hoop La La

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Cajun Craze, Comfort Café DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Cajun Craze, Summer Starfruit

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, 1 3/4" circle punch, Circles #2 Originals Die, Owl Punch

A change from the masculine theme today, to something much more feminine: a birthday card using my much-loved Dress Up framelits and a couple of soon to be retired products. So here is my card:

The design of the card was inspired by a card kit that has recently been on sale to Stampin' Up's American customers, but not available here in the UK. So have you worked out the retiring products yet? The mannequin is made from the First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper, which has been partially overstamped with the floral stamp from the Elements of Style set. This has then been coloured with Stampin' Right Markers in Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant. This has been layered with a paper doily beneath the dark background oval to add to the vintage feel - well, this is about as vintage as I get! The card has been finished with a birthday sentiment banner that has been attached with a lovely vintage brad, to add to the overall effect.

I liked the finished result and made another card using the same design but in a blue colourway using Marina Mist and Night of Navy, which you can see below:

If you would like to own Elements of Style or get your hands on some First Edition paper, then act now as they will only be available until the end of the month (or until stocks last).

Back tomorrow with another project using more retiring goodies; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Elements of Style, Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Marina Mist, Night of Navy, First Edition Specialty DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi

Tools: Dress Up Framelits, Oval Framelits, Blender Pen

Finishing Touches: Paper Doily, Antique Brads

I have been such a busy bee and my date with the ironing basket didn't leave me time for a blog post yesterday, but I'm back on track today and have so much to share I'm almost spoilt for choice! I've been spending much of today preparing for next week's classes: we are doing a 'One Sheet Wonder' using the Secret Garden stamp set and framelits. If you would like to attend this or any of my other classes, or get together with some friends and host a private class of your own, do get in touch via joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk. 

But  for today, with Father's Day just around the corner I will be spending the next week or so sharing some masculine cards with you, interspersed with some lovely cards featuring products and accessories on the retiring lists and a few cards featuring this months 'Best of Flowers' anniversary set. Today's cards were inspired by a birthday card shown on page 14 of the Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue:

There were a number of things I liked about this card, in no particular order:

• the partial embossing using the hexagon embossing folder
• the use of patterned paper to build the design
• the simple sentiment

So taking these things as my starting point, I developed two similar but slightly different designs. The first one a Father's Day card:

I used the current in-colours and with a Summer Starfruit base, used a number of the patterned papers from the Print Poetry DSP for my patterned hexagons. Some of them I stuck flat, and some of them are adhered using dimensionals. This DSP has a nice variety of papers, with some lovely spots and stripes, which work well for masculine cards. I also spritzed the base card with Midnight Muse so that it didn't look too 'yellow'. I decided to partially emboss a diagonal section across the card and use the unembossed corner for the sentiment.

I then created a second version along the same lines, but this time adhered the Summer Starfruit embossed panel to a Midnight Muse card base and used a simple 'Dad' sentiment on a flag:

This card could be used for any masculine occasion by altering the sentiment inside the card to suit. The 'Dad' stamp I used here is part of the retiring 'For My Family' stamp set that is one of my 'go to' stamp sets for personalising a card - if this is a set you've had your eye on, it will only be available until the end of the month so get your order to me soon.

So what do you think of these cards? My husband said it reminded him of The Gold Run on the 80's quiz show 'Blockbusters' ("I'll have a 'P' please, Bob"!) which I think is rather cheeky of him - he won't be receiving either of these cards then!! Personally, I'm quite pleased with how they turned out - especially for someone who doesn't 'do' masculine cards for anyone other than the under 12s!

Back tomorrow with another card - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Delightful Dozen, For My Family

Cardstock: Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Print Poetry DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Midnight Muse

Tools: Textured Impressions Honeycomb Embossing Folder, Colour Spritzer Tool

This week is turning out to be busy, busy, busy! Yesterday the list of retiring stamp sets and accessories were announced: these featured in yesterday's post and the lists can be found in the box on the right hand side of my page. I will be sad to see some of these sets go; I'll be sharing cards featuring some of these retiring sets in my posts this month and first up I want to share a card made with the Aviary stamp set:

So, bird cages but no birds?! Bird cages are very 'on trend' in home décor right now, and after seeing an amazing display at a recent wedding fair with a table centre made with a bird cage filled with flowers, I was keen to try and achieve the same effect on a card. This design is actually not where I started out at all, but after several iterations this is the design I settled on and am post happy with. Three simple bird cages, then using the flower stamp from the Create a Cupcake stamp set I used my marker pens to colour and stamp flowers randomly through the cages. I left this card sentiment-free, as I sometimes do until I'm ready to send.

A post about the Aviary stamp set really wouldn't be complete without a card that shows some birds too - here's a wedding invitation I designed a while ago, that would also make a lovely Valentine's or anniversary card:

Remember the sets on the retiring list are only available until 1st July or whilst stocks last, so if you don't own the Aviary stamp set and it's on your wish list, contact me to place your order before it's too late.

Back soon with more exciting news from the world of Stampin' Up! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Aviary (card 1&2), Create a Cupcake (card 1)

Cardstock: Rose Red, Whisper White (card 1); Pool party, Island Indigo, Whisper White (card 2)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Rose Red, Baja Breeze, Bashful Blue, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi (card 1); Basic Grey, Pool Party, Night of Navy, Rose Red (card 2)

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig

An early post today with some very important information for you all - the retiring product and accessories lists have been announced!

Hundreds of stamps and accessories from the 2012-13 catalogue are retiring - this is you last chance to get them before they're gone! These items will only be available until 1st July or whilst stocks last - many items are discounted, some by as much as 50% and popular items are likely to sell out fast.

Each of the lists can be viewed here:

 Retiring Stamps

Retiring Accessories

If there is something on the lists that you need, contact me to place your order today!