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:

This is a short post I'm afraid - I've already typed this once and lost it, so am furiously retyping (I'm blaming the computer rather than the operator though - bloggers prerogative!) Today I'm sharing another of the mosaic cards from last week's class, this time showcasing the Quatrefancy Speciality Designer Series Paper:

This is a CASe of a Janine Tinklenberg card that I saw on Pinterest. I love the bold colours of the designer paper and the stamped punched images really make it 'pop'. There really is so much you can do with this product suite; this card is simple in design, yet so effective.

Did you notice that all the cards in this month's class also featured the Banner Greetings stamp set? This is an exclusive hostess set that you can purchase with hostess credits earned on a qualifying party or individual order (£150 or more). There has never been a better time to host a party, with so many lovely new hostess sets in both the annual catalogue and Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue to choose from. So what are you waiting for? Treat yourself to an early Christmas present of free crafting goodies and book a party with me today - get in touch to discuss available slots, there are still times available before Christmas.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hope you've all enjoyed a lovely weekend; mine's been great, but I must confess to not enjoying the weather; it feels like autumn has arrived with a vengeance and I don't much care for it. I am missing the Florida sunshine! Anyway, today's card is one we made in last week's Mosaic Madness class:

I've seen a few versions of this card on Pinterest and this is my take - bold and bright in Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay. This was one of the more complicated cards we tackled, as it involves two-step stamping and accurate placement using the stamp-a-ma-jig to place the mosaic stamps accurately on the white flag. Some of my ladies chose to cheat a little and stamp their images onto scrap card and then punch them out and glue them to the flag, trimming to fit; that's fine too.

I really love this colour combination and the combination of the stamps with matching embossing folder is just right. This embossing folder is one of the most versatile and the pattern can be used either embossed or debossed, each giving a different effect. One last thing before I go - I hope you like the new-look supplies list at the end of this post. From now on, the idea is to show each of the products used with a direct line to my online store. This will make it really easy for you to purchase items and take advantage of any online hostess codes or offers or simply order your items any time, day or night. You may notice a few tweaks over the next few days as I make this happen, but if you have any questions about online ordering, please get in touch.

I'll share our other class cards with you this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies used:

Last week it was my mother-in-law's birthday and today I'm sharing the birthday card I made for her, using my Chalk Talk set for the first time:

I had some of the lovely pink wide ribbon left over from the Spring-Summer Seasonal Catalogue earlier in the year and I wanted this to be a real feature of this card, so the actual stamping is understated. I really love the sentiment on this Chalk Talk stamp and for someone who is such an integral part of our family, it was especially appropriate for this card. Also, did you notice the background paper - wondering where I got this from? Well, I made it myself using the 'Mum' stamp from the retired 'For My Family' stamp set. I'm really pleased with how it turned out - and I didn't even use a stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up! I love the colour combo too - I'm really into Bermuda Bay at the moment and I think it works really well with the pinks in this card.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Chalk Talk, For My Family (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay

Tools: Chalk Talk Framelits, Extra Large Oval Punch, Big Shot, Magnetic Platform

Finishing Touches: 1 1/4" Two Tone Ribbon (retired), Basics Rhinestones

A quick post from me today, as I'm still recovering from last night's 'Mosaic Madness' card class. Today's card is a punch art birthday card. When trying to decide what kind of card to make for this discerning young male teenager, I decided it had to have something to do with either bikes, skateboards or music. So a quick search for inspiration (gotta love Pinterest!) and I decided on a punch art iPod. Here's my finished card:

I must confess I don't actually own an iPod, so I hope it's sufficiently true to design to be recognisable! Either way, it's the thought that counts, right?! I hope so, as this was also belatedly delivered; but both I and the recipient were on holiday on the day itself, so mitigating circumstances I think!

Hope you like it; back tomorrow with another birthday card. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pacific Point, Basic Black, Basic Grey, Brights DSP (retired)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Pacific Point

Tools: Circle Punches (various), Corner Punch

Well, I can't believe it's actually been six days since I last posted a blog entry, but it has! It's not that I've not been 'making', far from it; just that I've had some urgent makes that I sent even before photographing (oops!) and it was my birthday at the weekend and whilst I didn't make myself a card, my parents celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary on the same day and I have two friends who also share my birthday so I was busy sorting cards for them. I have lots of friends and family with birthdays in September, so am still trying to finish these cards before I really get into the Christmas spirit! And this week I have two card classes too, so busy, busy!

Anyway, today's share is a quick 'make' and birthday card with the 'Great Outdoors' stamp set. I play an active role in the Parents' Association at James Juniors' school and last weekend was the now annual Dads, Lads and Lasses Camping Weekend. No Mums allowed, except to help with the planning, organising and shopping beforehand! The weekend was choc-full of great activities: a treasure hunt, mini beast hunt, stargazing and campfire breadmaking to name but a few. Another of the activities was to create a mini camp journal; everyone had a mini journal to stamp, colour and decorate and the 'Great Outdoors' stamp set was just perfect for this. Here's the simple one I created to give the children some inspiration:

The children created some fantastic journals and filled them with tales and memories of their weekend. The photo at the end of the post shows Rebecca's 'work in progress' (and this is just the outside of the book!) alongside mine.

I have one other photo to show you from the weekend; not a great picture I'm afraid, but it was a last-minute one taken with my phone - shock, horror!! One of the young campers was celebrating his birthday on the Sunday, so I made a themed card for the children to sign collectively as a special way to remember how he spent his 7th birthday. Here it is: 

I made a mask to enable me to stamp the tents in a row and fussy-cut the campfire and popped it up on dimensionals. Lastly, here's a picture of my happy campers eating their campfire-baked bread with jam:

I will be back tomorrow with another of my recent cards; hopefully blog normality is about to be restored! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: The Great Outdoors, ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet, Memorable Moments

Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Old olive, Soft Sky, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip

Tools: Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Punch

Today I'm sharing a birthday card commission that I made for my sister-in-law's very special Mum, who celebrates her 70th birthday today. I decided to use a combination of some of my favourite of this year's in-colours and the lovely Secret Garden framelits. Here's the finished card:

I love the pretty ruffle trim ribbon and added a tiny sliver of silver glimmer paper to add a little sparkle. I must confess to having had a few failed attempts before producing a card that I was really happy with - I needed this card to be 'just right' and am pleased to say I was happy with the finished result. Here's a quick picture of the card I made for Ann to wish her a special 70th birthday: 

Not the best of photographs, I'm afraid - when flat you can see the sentiment through the aperture cut with an oval framelit - but hopefully good enough to give you an idea. This one uses a similar colour scheme and the Flower Shop stamp set - check out the vellum flowers on the front, which I stamped then heat embossed with Iridescent Ice for a lovely sparkle.

One last thing on my original card: did you notice the little butterfly stamped on vellum that highlighted my label? Here's a close-up:

This is one of the butterflies in the Papillion Potpourri stamp set, punched out with the Bitty Butterfly punch - these are the items on offer at 15% off when you buy them together before 30th September - you can read more about this offer here.

Both James Juniors are back at school tomorrow; whilst I'll miss them not being at home, I can't deny that I'm looking forward to getting back into my craft room for a bit more creating - lots to do!

Do come back in the next day or so to see what I've been creating; I'm looking forward to sharing some of my Christmas ideas and September is a month of birthdays for me, so I'll have lots on this front too. Until next time, happy, stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Secret Garden, Delightful Dozen, Memorable Moments, Papillion Potpourri

Cardstock: Whisper White, Strawberry Slush, vellum

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding

Tools: Secret Garden Framelits, Oval Framelits, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Finishing Touches: Strawberry Slush Stretch Ribbon Trim, Silver Glimmer Paper, Basics Pearls

Today I'm sharing a card I made recently for a football-mad friend. The 'Great Sport' stamp set was an obvious choice for this card - here it is:

There's lots of layering on this card, both in the background and the central design: I stamped the images a few times, then fussy cut the wings and punched and layered the football and fussy cut and layered the stars along the top. The card was inspired by Brian King who often uses layering to great effect. In this instance, it gave me the opportunity to use some 'Chelsea blue' to echo the fan team colours of the recipient and avoid the card being too 'black and white'. Some stamping inside the card and on the envelope added the finishing touches.

I'm sure I'll use this card design again - it would work for any footie-mad fan.

Back tomorrow with another card and lots of news; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Great Sport

Cardstock: Pacific Point, Basic Black, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Pacific Point, Basic Black

Tools: 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch

Today it's time for another Angry Birds birthday card - well, it must be at least a few weeks since I shared the last one! This is another card I made a while ago for one of Ben's friends, who is officially Angry Birds number one fan! I took my inspiration from a tiered birthday cake I saw on Pinterest and decided on a bird tower with a pig on top. Here is the finished card:

I decided to make the features 3D to add interest and character to the faces. Just as I was punching the pieces for the final piece, the green pig, which I had absolutely intended to be a king pig, complete with crown, I had a visit to my craft room by young Master James who came to check on progress. He politely asked what I was doing, then announced, "Oh no, Mummy - it can't be a King Pig; it has to be a Grandpa Pig - they are Zak's absolute favourite!" A quick consult of my Angry Birds Visual Dictionary and some minor modifications, and Grandpa Pig was born. Check out the moustache: 

That has to be one of the best things about making your own cards - you can make exactly what you want and it can be completely personalised to the recipient, even if the requirement isn't always known until the last minute!

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Whisper White, Basic Black, Tangerine Tango, Cajun Craze

Tools: Itty Bitty Punch (circle), Owl Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch

Today I'm sharing a recent commission card I made for a friend of mine who wanted to welcome the latest addition to her extended family, another in a long line of little boys! The brief was 'simple classic' and we agreed a bib style card would be perfect. I made a 6" square card, using the new Circles Framelits to create the bib: 

 I scored the central section on the reverse at 1/2" intervals and finished with tiny pearls for added detail. I added took the opportunity to create a layered label using my new baby Label Love stamp and co-ordinating Artisan Label punch - here's a close up:

How cute is this? I love how easy it is to create the background layer which in this instance added just enough colour to pop this off the front of this largely white card. I used some of my retired Bashful Blue card stock - I will miss this colour for baby boy cards, it's such a perfect shade. 

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Label Love

Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue (retired)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Bashful Blue (retired)

Tools: Artisan Label Punch, Circles Framelits, Simply Scored

Finishing Touches: Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon, Basics Pearls