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

Keeping with the Father's Day theme, another quick Dad card from me today. This time I went with a rosette for a Number One Dad:

I went with a Cherry Cobbler base to match my designer paper. The striped paper actually comes from the Christmas Be of Good Cheer paper stack (retiring this month), but it is neutral enough to work well on a masculine card. I made a rosette in double-quick time using my Simply Scored score board, then layered my 'Number One' stamp with a couple of scalloped circles to balance the size. I quite like this card, although if I made it again I would substitute the green scalloped circle with a vanilla one; I don't know whether it's psychological or not, but adding the green into the colour combo makes it look more 'Christmassy', which isn't quite the effect I was after!

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Ciao Baby!, For My Family

Cardstock: Cheery Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Be of Good Cheer DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Cherry Cobbler

Tools: Simply Scored, 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch

Finishing Touches: Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine

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

As promised, today I have the second two designs for my post-friendly Help For Heroes cards that will shortly be winging their way to Afghanistan to our serving troops, for them to send their precious letters home. I decided to use my Summer Silhouettes stamp set to create cards 3 and 4 - I love this set and am getting better at 'random stamping' with it, I think! I decided to use a slightly more muted colour scheme for these cards, just to provide some variety and came up with two slightly different designs for each.

For the first card, I chose a brown/blue colour scheme:

For the final card, I was back with the pinks, but subtle compared to yesterday's bright pink card and I changed the orientation of the card to landscape as it suited this alternative design: 

This stamp set is great for creating a full card front without the need for a sentiment; in this case I deliberately left the cards without one, so that they can be used for pretty much any occasion - or even just to send a note on a nice card. These cards could easily be jazzed up with a few rhinestones or pearls and some ribbon, but I think they are equally fine without. So, to the service men and women who will be receiving these cards - stay safe and know that we are thinking of you and appreciate the sacrifices you make; I'm so glad I was able to help in this small way to show how much your efforts are appreciated.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Summer Silhouettes

Cardstock: Pool Party, Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Raspberry Ripple, Pink Pirouette, Gumball Green

What a lovely weekend! Today I spent the whole afternoon outside and enjoyed a lovely cycle ride with the rest of the family - I felt like we had to make the most of it; if it's like last weekend, it could be raining cats and dogs tomorrow! As promised yesterday, I have a couple of cards to share with you today featuring one of the stamps from this month's 25th anniversary 'Best of Flowers' stamp set.

In case you're wondering why I headed up this post 'Help the Heroes', these cards, along with two more that I will share tomorrow, were designed in answer to a request from a fellow crafter and member of my wider Stampin' Up! team, whose husband is serving in the RAF and will shortly be departing for another tour of duty to Afghanistan. Our brave serving forces have little or no access to nice cards to send whilst away and so she always sends a box or two so that they can have something a little different to plain paper to write their notes home and wondered if her fellow crafters would be prepared to help out too. All our forces do such a great job and events such as the recent killing of a soldier in Woolwich show just what a dangerous life they lead, both in battle and unfortunately sometimes at home too. I was happy to help, so set to work creating a selection of cards that I could make lots of, but also were post-friendly and didn't have glitter, gems or anything else that could transfer to the sender and potentially make them a target.

So, for the first design, I used the silhouetted daisy stamp from the 'Best of Flowers' set and created two identical cards in different colourways - one pink, one yellow. Here's the card in pink: 

I used the stamp to create a simple 'field of flowers' look by stamping in Melon Mambo and Pink Pirouette and stamping off to create degrees of colour and give the image a sense of depth of field. I then created a scored border and paper-pierced around the image for added interest. I then created a batch of the same card in yellow, using Daffodil Delight and So Saffron inks:

So which colour way do you prefer? I think I prefer the yellow one, just because it is so cheery and bright. I really love this little stamp and can think of lots more ways that I will be using it. I will be making other projects with the stamps in this set, so if the stamps in this set appeal to you, do pop back and see what else I make with them. If you would like to order this set, it costs £13.95 and you can check out the full set of stamps on the image in the side bar of my blog.

Tomorrow I will be sharing the other two cards I made for my Help For Heroes card bundle - two new designs, both using the Summer Silhouettes stamp set. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Best of Flowers

Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron

Tools: Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Piercing Tool, Simply Scored

This is a big news week for Stampin' Up! - I've two more announcements to share with you today about some new products that have been launched successfully in the USA and are now available to purchase in the UK:

Single stamps are now available! Following a US trial, Stampin' Up! has decided to offer five single image stamps to choose from:

 These stamps are available as clear-mount only (blocks available separately) and won't be sent in typical SU! cases or packaging; they'll be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four separately (these are available in the main catalogue).

These stamps are only available through 31 August 2013, so get them while you can!

And now for the second announcement of the day! For Stampin' Up!'s 25th anniversary, a new 'Best of' stamp set featuring 3-4 past favourites and one brand new design, will be issued each month from now until October. Each set costs £13.95 and will be available to purchase until 31 March 2014 (clear mount only). The box to the right of my blog page will show the current stamp set - the set for June is called 'Best of Flowers' and features the following delicate flower designs:

I have already made some cards with this stamp set - here's a 'sneak peek' of one I'll be sharing in tomorrow's blog post:

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a close look! Until then, happy stampin'!

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 earlier than usual post from me today, but busy day and evening planned so didn't want to miss the opportunity to share a quick card with you today. Or you could just assume I'm getting more organised - you choose! Today's card is a 'Fabulous You' shoe card that I made for a friend of mine who celebrated her birthday this week. She is someone who has a great collection of fabulous shoes, so this seemed like an appropriate choice. Also, the only woman in a house of men so I deliberately went with a very pink and girly colour scheme. Here it is:

This card needed to be post-friendly, so again light on the embellishments, but by using lots of shades of pink on the shoe itself and a variety of pink papers, it has plenty of detail. I also used the fine tip of my Melon Mambo marker pen to highlight the detail of the sentiment lettering.

Before I go today, I just wanted to remind you of a number of important promotion deadlines:

• Today is your last chance to take advantage of the bigger starter kit offer if you sign up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator - £155 worth of products of your choice for just £99. You have until 10pm this evening to sign up - just click on the link in my side bar to sign up and join my growing team!
• Tomorrow is your last chance to buy the This and That Journal bundle at the discounted price of £29.24 -that's a 15% discount on the price of the items when purchased individually. These items will be available after tomorrow, but the bundle will revert to its full price.
• Tomorrow also sees the launch of the Retiring Products List - all those items that will be retiring on 1st July to make way for lots of new and exciting products in the 2013-14 annual catalogue, which launches on 2nd July. I will post a copy on my blog as soon as it is available.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Fabulous You

Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Brights Designer Series Papers

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Basic Grey, Melon Mambo, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Wild Wasabi

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Blender Pen

As promised, I'm back with the last of the current run of my patio Party birthday cards today, but first I thought I would share with you another somewhat unexpected challenge that found it's way into my craft room this week - half term homework! Both James juniors have had holiday homework this week - the youngest was tasked with making a sculpture (this is still 'work in progress' - I'll share a picture when complete!) whilst the eldest has this week to complete this term's geography project - an analysis of an African country of her choice.

With the bulk of the content complete, the important task of 'making it look pretty' came to the fore. Whilst working out the best way to draw/write 'South Africa' in big letters for the cover, I (possibly with too much haste!) suggested we could make light work of this by using Mummy's Alphabet typeset die and the Big Shot to knock these out in a jiffy. A few turns of the handle later and the cover was complete: 

I wish I could take the credit for the photograph here, but this is all Daddy's work, captured the last time we went on safari to Sabi Sands in South Africa. Thinking we were now done, Rebecca promptly announced that she wanted me to teach her how to make a giraffe like the ones I'd made in my last card class; oh and by the way, as she had written a piece about going on safari and the hunt for 'the big 5', if I could come up with an elephant, lion, rhino and buffalo too that would be great! I wasn't phased by the lion or elephant, having seen lots of examples of these on Pinterest, but a rhino ... and a buffalo?! Never one to shy away from a challenge, I set to it and by the time Rebecca had made her giraffe the other animals were complete. Here is my version of a punch art 'big 5': 

What do you think? Easy enough to work out which is which, but I'm not sure if you saw the buffalo out of context you would immediately recognise him as one!! Main thing is Rebecca loves them - and her project is finally complete. Who would have thought that Stampin' Up! punches would be so versatile?! I should just point out that I know technically these are not the safari 'big 5' rather Rebecca's personal interpretation - she substituted the leopard with the giraffe, because this was the animal she really wanted to make (that's 7 year olds for you!)

Lastly, for those of you who did check in today wanting to see the last Patio Party birthday card, here it is:

Same layout as yesterday's post-friendly card, but in the opposite orientation and picking up the butterflies in the paper pattern with a trio of co-ordinating ones flying around the sentiment.

Back tomorrow with another (non Patio Party!) project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies (for the card):

Stamps: Sassy Salutations

Cardstock: Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple, Baja Breeze, Summer Starfruit

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Midnight Muse

Tools: Large Scallop Edgelit, Beautiful Wings Embosslits

Finishing Touches: Basics Pearls

This evening I'm sat wrapped up against the elements, having taken my little ones to buy summer sandals today on another thoroughly wet day - I must be mad! Never mind, time to party on - as promised yesterday, I'm back today to share the second of my big 40 birthday cards this week, this time a post-friendly version:

I stayed with the same Patio Party background, but as I needed a design without buttons, I decided to make more of a feature of the number forty and cut it out of silver glimmer paper. I layered this with a circle and scallop circle and an alternative 'Happy Birthday' sentiment. So another take on the '40' theme.

Back tomorrow with another patio party card, but no numbers this time - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Sassy Salutations

Cardstock: Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muse

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Midnight Muse

Tools: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Large Scallop Edgelit, Typeset Alphabet Die

Finishing Touches: Silver Glimmer Paper