A quick post from me today to share a wedding card and gift box I made for my friends and neighbours, Annette and Jason, who got married at the weekend. The theme of the wedding was bright pink and the gerbera was a feature flower, both in the bridal and bridesmaids bouquets and on the invitations and wedding favours. Having made the wedding invitations (I will share these in a future post - I have 'mislaid' the photographs I took on completion!), I decided to make a wedding card that was pink but not flower-themed, but I did design a gift box that complemented the overall décor to house their gift.

Here is the card, using the lovely 'From This Day Forward' stamp, inspired by a similar card by Monica Gale here:

I also created a gift box with a belly band with a gerbera design, that echoed the design of the wedding stationery and favours. My box was inspired by this mini version by Sam MacDonald of Pootles Paparcraft here, and although whilst the shape is the same, the overall dimensions are considerably larger! here is my full size version:

Very large, with a 9cm x 9cm square base, and very pink, but more sturdy than a gift bag and much more personal. I finished it off with some retired Melon Mambo organza ribbon (currently available to purchase on the Clearance Rack!) and a die-cut flower with co-ordinating Chalk Talk gift label. here's a close up of the detail:

The sun shone and the wedding day was perfect - what more can you ask for? Congratulations to the new Mr & Mrs Harrison - wishing you a happy future together.

Back tomorrow with another project and the detail behind the 2 week £25 sign up offer that begins on October 7th; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used (for the card only):

I promised a creative post today (technically this is a bonus, as I already shared some MDS creativity with you earlier, but I'm not one to split hairs :-)), so here it is. I was inspired by the fabulous autumnal cards I'm seeing on the internet at the moment and when I saw the colour challenge at Create with Connie and Mary this week I thought I'd join in. So here's the colour palette for this week's challenge:

I don't own any of the lovely leafy stamp sets in the current annual and seasonal catalogues (shock, horror!), but I am still the proud owner of a retired 'French Foliage' stamp set, so I combined this set with one of the fabulous new thinlits to create my card:

I stamped off the leaves on some scrap paper first to give a less intense colour, then used the 'thankful' thinlit, layered on some burlap and chevron ribbon to create the true focal point for my card. I love these thinlits and think the 'thankful' just pops on this card in the Bermuda Bay colour cardstock! My top tip to release the cut card easily from the thinlit is to line it with waxed paper first, which enables it to press out easily.

I am also linking this card up to CAS(E) This Sketch #47 this week, where the layout sketch is as follows:

If you would like to purchase any of the supplies used to make this card (except for the stamp set, although there are lots of similar current sets available) please click on the item links to my online store below. My children have a harvest festival at school today and this reminds us all it is a good time to give thanks. I'm sure you, like me, have lots to be thankful for so readers, crafters and customers alike - this card is for you! Back tomorrow with more creative loveliness! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

So not only is it the first of the month, but it's Tuesday, which is also Digital Download Day for the latest My Digital Studio (MDS) Releases. Here is the linky button to the new downloads in my online store:

I've also included the pictures below of this week's downloads just to whet your appetite for what's available - lots of Christmas-themed items to choose from:

These pictures are not clickable - for full details, click on the date icon above which will take you directly to the online store.

For those of you who have taken advantage of the 30 day free trial of the MDS software, I hope you are enjoying exploring the opportunities that MDS has to offer. For those of you that haven't, what are you waiting for?! I have a few projects on the go which I will share with you in future posts, but today I thought I would share a simple postcard I made in MDS just to show you how easy it is. At the recent Stampin' Up! creative tour event I attended in Loughborough, we were challenged to create a postcard in MDS and complete the sentence "I love Stampin' Up! because..."

I used the basic stamps, punches and papers that come with the full £13.95 version of MDS - there are lots and lots to choose from! - and took my inspiration from my answer to the sentence. So here's the front of my postcard: 

I incorporated a number of tricks and techniques that I have picked up following the many learning video tutorials that are available online and just generally having a play. This was the reverse of my postcard:

So what do you think? I don't profess to be an expert, but honestly I really don't think you have to be to create great things. I have been using it to create scrapbook and photo book pages and this appeals to me much more than traditional scrapbooking. It's also a good way to display the many thousands of family photographs I have that just sit on my hard drive and never get seen by anyone but me!

If you would like to explore MDS, go to my online store and download either the 30 day free trial or the full version for just £13.95. For everyone that purchases MDS through my online store, I am happy to provide an 'Introduction to MDS' either in person, by phone or online, to enable you to get started. I will be sharing more of my creations as I complete them and would love to see your makes as you explore MDS too.

Back shortly with yet another post; until then, happy stampin'!

Apologies for the lack of blog posts for the last couple of days - I've had a streaming cold (back to school sniffles passed on by James Juniors - gotta love 'em!) and I also spent all day yesterday at the wedding of my friend and neighbour Annette. I'll share the wedding card and makes another time, but today I've been feeling much better so have managed some crafting and I'm going to sneak in a last minute entry to this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge (and not a stamp in sight!). This is this week's sketch:

When I first saw this sketch, I immediately knew what I was going to do with it - I thought it would make a great Christmas present, topped off with a lovely bow; so, here's my interpretation:

I know this card will need a box rather than an envelope due to the size of the bow on the front, but I just couldn't resist - the new die cut bow provides a great focal point. I angled the ribbon 'ends' downwards rather than out to the sides, because I still wanted the four boxes and the connecting lines to be visible. These bows are so easy to make - they will be decorating lots of my festive packages this season.

I'm also going to link up with Just Add Ink where the challenge this week is 'bows' (JAI #184).

I think I've got the bug for challenges now; I was delighted that my Dasher card from last week was chosen by LeAnne Pugliese as one of the 'A Cut Above' runners up with the Paper Players - if you missed it, you can check it out here.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Another Christmas card and another challenge today! I'm loving the Season of Style paper stack, which is just perfect for making lots of Christmas cards and here's one of the designs in all its glory:

I'm entering this card for the Retrosketches #82 Challenge which has this great layout sketch as inspiration:

I stayed with the square shape and orientation and made a feature of the fun 'All I want for Christmas' stamp in the Christmas Messages stamp set. It comes with a co-ordinating stamp, which I've used here on the inside of my card:

The links to the products I used for this card are included below. Back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

I'm finally catching up with my festive card making this week and today I'm very excited to be sharing a Christmas card that I've decided to enter into my first ever challenge! I often take my creative inspiration from challenge sketches or colour schemes, but have never before actually entered one of my card creations. So, here goes - this is today's card:

I'm entering my card into The Paper Players Challenge #164: Sandy's Sketch Challenge, which has the following sketch as the inspiration:

I was quite brave as whilst I kept the layout, I swapped out my scalloped circle and edging for chevrons and a more angular look, but since the sketch is for inspiration and doesn't have to be followed literally I'm hoping that's ok. I've been waiting to use Dasher's little brother on a Christmas card, as I was quite upset at the thought of not blogging about his big brother since his retirement at the end of last year, so this card gave me the perfect opportunity. The Early Espresso base is also quite a departure for me, but it seemed right given my reindeer starting point and I like the masculine feel of this card.

Welcome to any new Paper Players who are reading this! I hope you like the card; back tomorrow with another Christmas card to share. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

My second post of the day today, so a quick creative one this time! I just wanted to share some thank you cards I made recently for some customers to pop into the bags with their orders. I made quite a few, so needed something that was quick to execute. I decided to use a selection of the butterflies in the Papillion Potpourri stamp set to create this simple one layer card:

I used the lovely pre-cut and scored Stampin' Up! notelets and the colour scheme was inspired by the Birthday Basics DSP that I also had out on my desk to make the card I'm going to share with you tomorrow. A simple sentiment and a co-ordinating stamped envelope and voila - a pretty card set in no time at all!

Don't forget, the Papillion Potpourri stamp set and co-ordinating Bitty Butterfly punch bundle is available to order at a 15% discount during the month of September, so you have just under a week to take advantage of this offer. If you live local to me, I will be placing an order later this week so if you would like to save on p&p contact me to add you order to it. Otherwise just go to my online store to place your order by clicking on the supplies links below or for the bundle on the right hand side of my blog page.

Also, if you haven't yet checked out the Clearance Rack in my online store, go take a look! There are some great bargains to be had, with some items as much as 80% off.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Today's card is one I made for a dear friend of mine to celebrate a recent achievement. It was also my first attempt at rolled paper flowers! Here is the card I made:

I used the lovely new Afternoon Picnic papers as the basis for my colour scheme, as I seem to have lots of the Wisteria Wonder lilac card in my box which I never use (much more of a Brights girl!). I love how it tones in with the Coastal Cabana blue and the ruffle trim and paper flowers make for a very feminine card. This stamp from the 'Feel Goods' stamp set is one of my favourites and is perfect for someone celebrating a milestone or achievement, or even motivating along the way.

The funny thing is, my friend surprised herself with her achievement, yet it didn't surprise me one bit - I knew she could do it. Isn't it funny how sometimes others have more faith in us than we have in ourselves? So whilst she didn't 'believe she could' beforehand, as I wrote inside her card I don't have a stamp that says 'She believed she couldn't ...' - it just wouldn't be right! I made the front oval section of the card detachable though and attached a magnet to the back, so that when she's done looking at the card she can attach the oval section to her fridge door and use the magnet to remind her that she can do great things - sometimes we just need to believe in ourselves.

That's my motivational talk over for today - back tomorrow with some butterflies! until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Today I've a quick post to share the second of the cards I made for my Dad's birthday. This one was from the grandchildren - a classic punch art card, which is fitting as he's a keen golfer:

This card took no time at all to make - the most complicated thing was creating the dimples on the golf ball with my Simply Scored stylus, hardly time-consuming!

In between playing golf, my Dad is also a keen gardener and has kept an allotment for many years. For some time now, he and his fellow allotmenteers have been plagued by a once tame pet rabbit gone wild, which is eating large quantities of their carefully tended crops. Ben thinks the whole thing is fascinating and spends much of his time hatching plans to catch the rabbit and discussing their merits with Grampa. Ben is utterly convinced that he is going to be the one to catch the rabbit; if he ever succeeds, I'll let you know!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Small Oval Punch, Simply Scored, Stamp-ma-jig, For my Family (retired), Brights DSP (retired)

If you're local to Northampton, you will probably have heard about the Northampton Clown - he has been big news here in the last week or so, even reaching the dizzy heights of the national press. He's been trending on Twitter, has his own hashtag and social media page - and he is the inspiration for this birthday card that I made for my Dad, who celebrates his birthday today:

I've had the idea of an abstract face with a moustache ever since I bought my Petite Curly Label Punch and decided to create a clown face, complete with red nose, specs and candy-dot topped party hat. This little trio bear absolutely no resemblance to the Northampton Clown, but were fun to create nonetheless!

Here's a close-up of one of them, showing the piercing I used to give the face shape:

Back tomorrow with the card I made for Grampa from James Juniors; until then many happy returns of the day Dad and to everyone else, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: