I've another Spring Sampler card today, this time using the cute little duck stamp to create my own background for a new baby card. I saw something similar to this on Pinterest, but now can't find the original; if it was yours, then do let me know so I can update my post and give you due credit. So here's what I came up with:

I think the cute little duck stamped randomly makes a great background for the bold typeset 'BABY'. Finished off with a button and ome of the lovelynew Melon Mambo organza ribbon from the Spring catalogue - what a lovely welcome to the world for a new baby. This design would look equally great in blue and yellow for a baby boy.

Back tomorrow with more Spring Sampler ideas; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Spring Sampler

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink

Tools: Typeset Alphabet die

Finishing Touches: 3/8" Striped Organdy Ribbon - Melon Mambo, Designer Buttons - Brights

The sun is shining at last today and after a fun afternoon running around our local park with my two children and feeling like maybe, just maybe there is some blue sky behind the clouds, I thought it would be a good day to share this bright card with you:

I'm still playing with my Spring Sampler set - that's where the cute bee comes from today - and have also got out my hexagon embossing folder again. It made the perfect honeycomb for today's little fellow, who I stamped directly onto the embossed cardstock after embossing (just his body using a black marker). I then stamped him again on Whisper White cardstock and cut out his wings and stuck them on separately, to add interest. Lastly, the sentiment is a partial image of the retired Sale-A-Bration Bloomin' Marvelous greeting 'oh happy day' - the perfect play on words to sum up a perfectly happy day.

Until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Spring Sampler, Bloomin' Marvelous (Sale-A-Bration - retired)

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Basic Black

Tools: Hexagon embossing folder

Another quick post to share a last-minute Easter card I made today. This is a case of a Connie Babbert card seen here that was so quick to make with the aid of a couple of square punches, I just had to give it a go: 

My version uses a different sentiment stamp and Easter images, but is otherwise the same. I love the Sunshine and Sprinkles paper against the Lucky Limeade background. That's me done for today - back tomorrow with a bunny rabbit Easter card and matching gift box. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Spring Sampler, Wacky Wishes (hostess)

Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Basic Grey

Tools: 1 1/4" punch, 13/8" punch, hexagon embossing folder

Finishing Touches: Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon

I haven't blogged for a couple of days, so two posts today to make up for it! The first one is a really quick last-minute Easter make by Sarah Willis that I saw on Pinterest; these cute butterflies are so quick and easy to do you could easily make a whole pile of them in ten minutes:

And we did! My 7 year old made all the butterflies in today's post - they were left over from a huge pile that she made as little end of term Easter gifts for the other children in her class at school. She simply stamped one of the flowers from the Mixed Bunch stamp set in four different colours, punched out with the co-ordinating punch, snipped out the top and bottom petals then used some sticky strip to attach some antenna and a mini egg to the centre of the wings and voila - one Easter egg butterfly, done. She managed to make a whole pile of these in no time at all: 

Another great way to use this stamp set, which is one of my personal favourites. I am running a card class featuring this stamp set and the co-ordinating punch on the 16th and 17th of April. There will be more details to follow shortly; if you live local to me and would like to know more, please contact me for further details.

That's all for now - another quick post from me shortly to share an Easter card I made today. Happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Mixed Bunch

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Gumball Green, Perfect Plum

Tools: Blossom Punch

Whilst my blog title today reminds me of a pop song of my childhood ('Five Star' were the band I believe - showing my age now!!), it also sums up perfectly today's card. With weather possibly the top conversation for Britons this week - we've had more snow, sub zero temperatures and icy winds with no signs of things letting up any time soon. It's the official start of British Summertime this Sunday - hard to believe I know!! - so I thought I would make a simple weather card with more colour than we seem to find in reality at the moment, but there we are:

I've been experimenting with one layer cards and my Spring Sampler set this week. I find one layer cards a real challenge and having made a version of this card as a one layer card originally, I preferred this version with the cloud and sun punched and raised with a couple of dimensionals - so not one layer after all, although some of my other experiments were more successful - I'll share them another time.

Anyone wondering how I created my rainbow? I actually used the guide sheet for my Simply Scored Borders Plate and used one of the curved lines as a stencil, rather than as a scoring guide - this enabled me to get perfectly aligned curves every time. That said, my rainbow is technically incomplete - I stopped short of including violet as it looked a little grey on my concept card but isn't that the joy of making your own cards - you can make them just as you like!

This card could be used for all kinds of occasions, so great to have on standby in the 'stash box'. That's all from me today - hopefully back tomorrow with another Spring card for you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Spring Sampler, Bloomin' Marvelous (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Tempting Turquoise, Elegant Eggplant

Tools: Simply Scored Borders Plate

Today I have a lovely treat holder for you, the perfect size for a Creme Egg or something similar as a great way to 'dress up' your egg into something a little bit special. I made something similar when experimenting with wedding favour boxes a few weeks ago (I will photograph these and share another time!) and modified my original design slightly to accommodate a small Easter egg:

They were so easy: an open box base, sandwiched between two of the bookmark-style tags from the Two Tags Die set. A small hole punched for a handle, tied with some co-ordinating ribbon and a little tag made with one of the Hearts A Flutter framelits and decorated with the basket of Easter eggs stamp from the Spring Sampler set. The photo below just shows the eggs inside so you can see in more detail:

I'd like to say the eggs were still around, but ... well it is nearly Easter, right??! Might need to buy a couple more before I gift these to anyone!

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Spring Sampler, Bitty Banners

Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Pool Party

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party

Tools: Hearts A Flutter Framelits, Bitty Banners

Finishing Touches: Pool Party and Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, Bakers Twine

It's snowing outside - again! - so I've spent the day hibernating, with a combination of crafting and 'daring Monopoly' to quote my son (I'm not sure how this differs to regular monopoly, but it was fun all the same!) Lots of new things to share with you this week, but for now back on the Easter theme today, albeit with a great use of a recent Sale-A-Bration stamp set.

I saw this card by Amanda at the Craft Spa here and thought it was a really neat idea so just had to have a go at recreating it. Armed with my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig, here's my card: 

No sentiment, as I didn't have one that fitted neatly, but still a great additional use for the Madison Avenue border stamp. Easy to decorate, as the Itty Bitty Punch shapes fit perfectly inside. Quite effective, don't you think?

Back tomorrow with more Easter treats! Until then, happy stampin!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Madison Avenue

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Island Indigo, Pool Party

Ink: Island Indigo

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

Finishing Touches: Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Sale-A-Bration is over for another year, so today I'm sharing a thank you card designed by Bekka Prideaux at our last team training session using one of the free Sale-A-Bration sets, Patterned Occasions: 

I SO love this elephant and the colour combination of the Daffodil Delight with the Rich Razzleberry is really zingy I think. So to all of my Sale-A-Bration customers, thanks a ton - this one's for you!

Until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP

Stamps: Patterned Occasions

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green

Finishing Touches: 1/4" Rich Razzleberry Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Scallop Border Punch

I'm behind with my Easter photography, so a break from Easter cards today and another of the Tea Shoppe cards that I've been making to share with you. This is a case of a card by Michelle Last (you can see her version here), albeit in a completely different colourway: 

This card involves a lot of cutting out by hand of the cups, but it's worth it I think for the overall effect. I used some of my 'Tea for Two' DSP to provide the background paper and I love the flower trim - it really makes this card, don't you think? I coloured the edges of my flowers by dipping in some Pretty in Pink reinker; I think it ties them into the overall colour scheme really well. You can do this with any ink colour to co-ordinate with your project, so it makes them really versatile. Here's a close up of the flowers so that you can see the effect in detail: 

So pretty! I love the vintage feel of this card, even though I'm generally a clean lines, modern design kind of girl. This would be a lovely birthday card or even special invitation to an afternoon tea party - I can almost hear the china tea cups and saucers chinking together ...

Back tomorrow with more Easter fun; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Tea Shoppe

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Tea for Two DSP

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red

Tools: Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Two-Step Bird Punch (for the leaves), Stampin' Dimensionals, Trimmer

Finishing Touches: 5/8" Flower Trim

Well, the weather outside has been raining on and off all day - so much for the first day of Spring! I have another Easter card for you today, a 4" square card that literally took only a couple of minutes to make: 

I wanted something plain and simple, but with some bold colour to remind me of brighter days. The images are from the Spring Sampler set in the Spring-Summer catalogue. I love the versatility of this set and have lots more to share with you over the coming days, so stay tuned. The sentiment is a partial stamp from the Wacky Wishes set again - this is the only Easter sentiment I own, so I warn you now you'll definitely be seeing more of this!

I have had a busy couple of days, with a day in London at the Biscuiteers Icing Cafe icing Easter biscuits yesterday and a 'Sounds of Spring' music concert at school this evening - I am willing the weather to get warmer and hoping it will soon oblidge! A class assembly tomorrow based on the musical 'Matilda', which should be fun and another Easter concert next week - don't you just love the end of term?

Also, whilst I remember - there was a video link about the new borders scoring plate missing from my last post; this has now been fixed, so if you'd like to see it, it's there now. One last reminder - Sale-a-bration finishes this Friday, so if you would like to place a £45 order and receive one of the 17 free gifts, or if you would like to sign up as a demonstrator and take advantage of the 25% extra free offer where you receive £162.50 worth of product on your starter kit for £99, you only have 2 days left to do so. Hopefully back tomorrow with some more Easter treats; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Spring Sampler, Wacky Wishes

Cardstock: Whisper White, Tempting Turqouise, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight

Ink: Tempting Turqouise, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight

Tools: 1 1/4" circle punch, circle die