Isn’t it funny the way ideas for cards start?  Most of the time I’m wanting to make a card for a particular person so I look for an image and colours to suit.  This time I was just making a card for no reason and the ideas started with the scallop circle die-cut that’s in the middle of the card.  I had an idea that I wanted something tactile/textured and scallopy in the middle of my card so I started by cutting out the large scallop circle with the Big Shot, then ran it through the Big Shot again in an embossing folder to give the pattern.  After that everything else seemed to just come together.

Whenever I make a card I place all my elements onto the card as if everything is stuck down before I start adhering things so that I can see if the card is going to look right to me.  In this case the scallop circle looked like it was ‘floating’ a bit so I used the Tasteful Trim die on the Big Shot to cut out the double scallop edge strip to visually anchor the scallop circle.   So after this was done and the bow was added, I adhered the scallop circle to the yellow patterned paper (which I sponged around the edge) and then added the stamped images from Stampin’ Up!’s Notably Ornate stamp set.  I used these images because I thought that they would go well with a number of occasions until I decided what sentiment to add.

Technique Tip: Next time you punch out a shape with your punches or you use your die-cutting machine, try also adding some texture to your shape/die-cut by dry embossing it.  You’ll find it adds extra interest to your card without bulk and gives you a very ‘ooh I need to run my fingers over this card!’ look.

Product Tip: The Tasteful Trim die is great to use for those times when you don’t have ribbon in a particular colour you want or if you want your card to be a bit ‘flatter’ for cheaper mailing.

Well, there’s a cheerful card on a dreary Sydney autumn day.  I hope you had a lovely Easter and that you are enjoying ANZAC day today.

So how do you start your cards? Do you start with a person in mind or just a particular stamp you want to use? or maybe some other idea?

Here’s a list of products I’ve used to make this card. Email me to order any of  these or other Stampin’ Up! products.

Rubber Stamps:
Notably Ornate
Fabulous Phrases

Cardstock & Paper:
Pear Pizazz textured cardstock
Designer Series Patterned Paper Stack (Subtles – So Saffron and Pear Pizazz)

Inkpad:
Pear Pizazz
So Saffron (for sponging around the oval, bird and ‘friend’)
Marina Mist
Perfect Plum

Tools:
Big Shot
Scallop Circle Die
Tasteful Trim Die
Finial Press Embossing Folder
Sponge Daubers

Accessories:
Basic Jewels
Daffodil Delight Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Designer Buttons
Linen Thread

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals (to glue down the buttons)

Yes I’m still here! An apology for the drought of 3 weeks without blogging, I haven’t been feeling very well and so I decided that it was best that I didn’t unleash my foggy brain on to the public during this time.  I have been creating though and so I do have some cards to share with you all.

Oh how I love this butterfly! I do have a ‘thing’ for butterfly stamps but the elegance of this image makes my heart sing.  To make the centrepiece I used a piece of shimmer cardstock which I cut out into an oval with the Big Shot then stamped the words image from Stampin’ Up!’s Strength & Hope stamp set onto the oval using Crumb Cake ink and sponged the edges of the card.  The butterfly was stamped directly on top then an other butterfly image was stamped onto a separate piece of cardstock, cut out, then adhered on top (just the centre, the wings are free) that way there’s still a shadow image of the butterfly underneath when you’re looking at the card in real life.

I really do love the look of stitching on cards but I have to admit I’m too lazy to pull out the sewing machine just to stitch some cardstock, so the pink patterned paper that goes across the whole card has tiny holes pierced around the edges then I used a white gel pen to ‘join the dots’ giving a stitched look.

Style Tip: For a shabby chic look go for soft colours and don’t be afraid to mix several patterns and colours together, you can tie them together with some vanilla/white accessories to soften the look a bit.  Anything to do with lace and flowers goes beautifully on a shabby chic card. Don’t be afraid to use lots of embellishments! I admit I’ve used a lot of accessories here but I decided they were much better used on a card than sitting in my craft room unused.

If you have any questions at all on this card (or comments!) please feel free to leave a comment on my blog.

Well that’s it for today, I do have more cards to share so I will be back soon.  In the meantime, Happy Easter!

Email me to order any of these Stampin’ Up! products.

Rubber Stamps:
Strength & Hope stamp set ($2 from the sale of this stamp set goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation)

Cardstock & Paper:
Bashful Blue textured cardstock
Greenhouse Gala patterned paper
Subtles Designer Series Patterned Paper Stack (in Pink Pirouette)
Shimmer cardstock

Inkpad:
Marina Mist
Crumb Cake

Tools:
Big Shot
Ovals die
Top Note Die
Sponge Daubers
Designer Label Punch
Paper Piercer and Mat Pack

Accessories:
Basic Pearls
Basic Jewels
Linen Thread
Victoria 5/8″ Crochet Trim
Fleurettes II (crochet flower)
Paper Daisies
Green Rhinestone Brads (Circle Ice)
Hodgepodge (metal label holder)
White Gel Pen
Subtles Designer Buttons

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Glue Dots

Not all vintage cards have to be heavy and brown!  This card is probably the most ‘clean’ looking vintage style card I’ve made and I’m pretty happy with the way it’s turned out.  The patterned paper I used here reminds me of old fashioned wallpaper and I wanted to keep the card simple to show off the clean lines.

There’s really no special techniques that I’ve used on this card but a few things that might not be immediately obvious from the photo: The little flowers on the corners of the card were made by punching out some patterned paper (that matches the background paper) with one of Stampin’ Up!‘s Itty Bitty Punches, it’s kind of a clover/cross shape and I punched two of these, glued them on top of each other to make a flower then placed them on a soft pad and used the rounded end of a paint brush to push down on the centre of the flower to make the petals stand up a bit. A tiny rhinestone was added to the middle of each flower to finish them off.

Style Tip: To emphasis the stamped crown image in the middle of the card I used a couple rows of tiny pearls from Stampin’ Up!’s Basic Pearls.  In the pack of pearls along with the little individual self-adhesive pearls there’s also three rows of little pearls – so all I had to do was peel off the rows (I used about two and a half rows) and then places them around the perimeter of the oval that I had die-cut.

I’m hoping this style of card will be appreciated by anyone I send it to who likes vintage or might not be really into vintage style. What do you think? Is ‘clean’ vintage a happy medium?

All products are by Stampin’ Up! and available for purchase through me.

Rubber Stamps:
Artistic Etchings
Tiny Tags

Cardstock & Paper:
Baja Breeze textured cardstock
Very Vanilla cardstock
Elegant Soirée designer series paper

Inkpad:
Early Espresso
So Saffron (for sponging around the oval and around the little tags)
Chocolate Chip (for sponging around the patterned paper)

Tools:
Big Shot
Ovals die
Sponge Daubers
Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (clover-ish shaped punch) – currently in the Stampin’ Up! Australia Summer Mini Catalogue
Jewellry Tag Punch
1/16″ Hole Punch

Accessories:
Basic Pearls
Antique Brads
Basic Jewels (a rhinestone on the centre of the crown and on the flowers)
Linen Thread
Marina Mist Satin Ribbon

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals

Several years ago just after I became a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, a new friend I had just met asked me what my job was, and as I was telling her about cardmaking she said to me that she didn’t think that you could make nice cards from rubber stamping.  I must admit in the first few seconds I felt a bit sad that someone would think that my hobby wouldn’t produce beautiful results but then I remembered she hadn’t seen any of my cards   Yesterday after I finished making this card for a friend, I remembered that conversation – well I have to admit that rubber stamping has never looked so good to me

Do you like how I did the scalloped square background?  The technique I used here was to die cut Stampin’ Up!‘s Presto Patterns specialty paper with a square scallop die then I sponged the paper with Pink Pirouette ink then went around the edges and sponged those with Rose Red ink going further into the middle lightly to give that soft look with defined edges.  Because the paper has a design already embossed into it in white gloss, the design of the paper just pops out when you sponge it.  After I did my sponging I lightly sprayed the whole square with Gold Smooch Spritz to give it a beautiful glow.  I must say I love the pink & gold colour combo!

Some other little touches I added were to very light sponge the oval part in the middle with some Champagne Shimmer Paint to give it a soft golden glow and also sponged around the edges of the oval very lightly with Rose Red ink and then some more shimmer paint was sponged around the edge.

Style tip: For a soft vintage look, try using only two colours in varying degrees of light/dark.  The pink and gold I think lends itself nicely to vintage style.  Also try layering your ribbon for real impact!

Here’s a close up for some detail:

So what do you think? How does rubber stamping measure up as far as cards go?

All products are by Stampin’ Up! and available for purchase through me.

Rubber Stamps:
Friends 24/7 (‘here for you’ sentiment)
All A Flutter (butterfly stamp)

Cardstock & Paper:
Presto Patterns Specialty Paper
Pink Pirouette Textured cardstock
Brushed Gold cardstock
Rose Red Textured cardstock
Very Vanilla cardstock

Inkpad:
Rose Red
Pink Pirouette

Tools:
Big Shot
Lots of Tags die
Clear Large Scallop Square Die
Sponge daubers
Blender Pen (to colour in the butterfly)

Accessories:
Champagne Shimmer Paint
Basic Jewels (rhinestone added on top of each brad)
Antique Brads
Pink satin ribbon
Chantilly 1/2″ Crochet Trim
Gold Glow Smooch Spritz

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals

So a little while back I posted a photo of the invitation I made for my daughter Jade’s 13th birthday.  Today I’m posting the birthday card for her. Although her birthday theme was ‘pink & green’, I decided to make her card Rose Red & Orange simply because I know she really likes the patterned paper I have in those colours. At the bottom of this post after all the card stuff I have some photos of the dessert table that I organised for Jade’s birthday party. You really have to scroll down and have a look.

This card measures 6″ x 6″ and the background is actually patterned paper, I haven’t done anything to it – the element in the bottom right hand side that looks like clear embossing is actually part of the paper.  The ‘happy birthday’ greeting was stamped onto a piece of vanilla cardstock that I die cut using the “Lots of Tags” die(s) by Stampin’ Up! Actually I cut three of these die-cuts, the other two were in Rose Red cardstock and I simply trimmed the right and left hand sides so that they layer nicely underneath the happy birthday greeting.

Style Tips: I’ve used 5 different patterned papers on this card! Use patterned paper from a single collection or paper pack if you’d like to be able to mix papers without the card (or scrapbooking layout!) looking too busy.  Another tip: To highlight a die-cut, use a marker to gently go around the edge of a die-cut image such as the circle I have used on this card. I didn’t want to use another circle slightly larger under it but it also seemed to not looks as strong under the greeting due to the paler colour – this is fixed by highlighting around the edge with the marker which matches the darker cardstock.

All products are by Stampin’ Up! and available for purchase through me.

Rubber Stamps:
Well Scripted

Cardstock & Paper:
Very Vanilla cardstock
Rose Red textured cardstock
Sweet & Sour Specialty Paper

Inkpad:
Rose Red inkpad and matching marker

Tools:
Big Shot
Lots of Tags dies
Beautiful Wings die
Circles #2 die

Accessories:
Basic Jewels
Vanilla Satin Ribbon

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals

And now some photos of the Dessert Table from Jade’s birthday..

Dessert Table was done by Mrs A In The Cove

Look at those gorgeous handbags!

A close-up of the little Louis Vuitton handbag.  These amazing cupcakes were made by Blissfully Sweet.

Stampin’ Up! Australia’s annual Sale-a-bration promotion is on right now!  Everyone loves free stamps right? Here’s how Sale-a-bration works:

Order $100 worth of Stampin’ Up! products and choose 1 Sale-a-Bration stamp set for free

Order $200 worth of Stampin’ Up! products and choose 2 Sale-a-Bration stamp sets for free

Order $300 worth of Stampin’ Up! products and choose 3 Sale-a-Bration stamp sets for free – PLUS regular Hostess Benefits as outlined on page 9 of the Idea Book & Catalogue

And on it goes!

Been thinking about joining Stampin’ Up?  Join during Stampin’ Up!’s Sale-A-Bration promotion and you can choose any stamp set-a value of up to $79.95-from our current Idea Book and Catalogue!

Host a workshop and you can also earn a free Sale-a-bration stamp set.  Email me for more information.

Click here to download your Sale-a-bration brochure

or email me to receive your copy in the mail.

And for some inspiration, here’s a card that I made with one of the Sale-a-bration stamp sets that you can earn free:

I’ve used two of the stamps in the “Bliss” stamp set for this card.  The background was done with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder put through the Big Shot.

If you’d like more information on Stampin’ Up!’s Sale-a-bration promotion or have any questions at all, just send me Email me.

Usually when I make cards I’m either “meh, could be better” or “ooh, I like this one”.  Well this time I’m really happy!  I know the card is very simple but I do love the look of Shabby Chic style and I’m excited that I managed it with an uncomplicated card.

The background is a stamp by Stampin’ Up! called “Bella Toile”.  I think this stamp is cool because you can stamp it plain in one colour or you can colour it in to make it quite rich looking.  The background was stamped with Pretty In Pink – a colour I very rarely reach for but now that I’ve seen how well it works for Shabby Chic, it’ll definitely get a workout.  The main embellishment on the card was made with a the “Lots of Tags” die on the Big Shot.  Actually I cut three tags out, one in the Vanilla and two in Pretty In Pink – I then simply snipped off the right and left hand bits that jut out from the pink die-cuts so that I could layer them under the Vanilla tag.

Style Tip: Want to try Shabby Chic?  Think dreamy soft floral images. Colours like Vanilla and Dusty Pink or Pale Blue and Vanilla work really well. If you’re not confident in mixing many colours together then stick to two main colours along with a neutral.  Soft edges like on the tag I used to stamp the sentiment on work well with Shabby Chic.  Also look at the words Shabby Chic and see how you can take inspiration there – the crochet trim I used is the Shabby, and the Satin ribbon underneath it is the Chic.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this style!

All products are by Stampin’ Up! and available for purchase through me.

Rubber Stamps:
Bella Toile (background)
Friends 24/7 (sentiment)

Cardstock & Paper:
Very Vanilla
Soft Suede
Chocolate Chip
Pretty In Pink textured cardstock

Inkpad:
Pretty In Pink (for the background and to sponge around all three tags)
Crumb Cake (to sponge lightly over the pink sponging on the vanilla tag and also sponge around the vanilla background)

Tools:
Sponge Dauber
Big Shot
Lots of Tags die

Accessories:
Pretty In Pink satin ribbon
Chantilly Crochet Trim
Basic Pearls

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals

A friend of mine celebrated her 25th Wedding Anniversary at the end of last year and this is the card I made for her and her husband.

I wanted to keep this card simple and elegant so I decided to let the embossed background be the actual card with the ’25′ being the main highlight along with the matching ribbon.  The ’25′ was from some retired Stampin’ Up! chipboard that I had and since the 25th Wedding Anniversary is the ‘Silver Anniversary’, I decided to make the 25 in silver. To do this I pressed the Versamark inkpad onto the chipboard then dipped the chipboard into Silver Embossing Powder then heated it with the heat gun.  I wanted a bit more dimension to the 25 so that it would really stand out so I also added a layer of Crystal Effects over the silver embossing.  Crystal Effects is a dimensional glue that comes in so handy – so you can use it as a glue or as in this case I used it to make the chipboard extra glossy.  After the 25 had dried completly, I used Crystal Effects under the chipboard to glue it to a punched out shape to make it stand out on the card.

Style tip: If you’re making an anniversary card, check to see which colour (if at all) matches the anniversary and use that to inspire your colour choices.  Dry embossing is always a great choice for anniversary or wedding cards as it gives you a nice subtle yet elegant background to work with.

Anyway, just a little idea for anyone looking to make a wedding anniversary card.  It’s an easy one to copy if you’d like to make one too

All products are by Stampin’ Up! and available for purchase through me.

Cardstock & Paper:
Whisper White
Brushed Silver
Marina Mist

Inkpad:
Versamark

Tools:
Big Shot
Elegant Lines embossing folder
Heat Gun
Curly Label Punch

Accessories:
Basic Jewels (self-adhesive rhinestones)
Marina Mist Satin Ribbon
Silver Embossing Powder
Chipboard (retired)

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Crystal Effects

It’s my daughter’s 13th birthday coming up very soon and while her friends are expecting an invite via Facebook or email, there’s no way we weren’t going to take the opportunity to make up a cute card as the invitation.  So here’s the finished product, designed by my daughter Jade with my help.

Jade’s birthday party is going to be a theme of pink and green so she chose Melon Mambo and Pear Pizzaz as her colours for the card.  She likes a nice clean looking and modern card so we decided to stick to a simple design of a cupcake within brackets.  The white background was done on the Big Shot using Stampin’ Up!’s Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  The cupcake is a die called Big Bold Birthday which comes in separate pieces so you can cut out the different elements in different papers.  My favourite part of the card is the cherry on top!  This was made using the Itty Bitty Buttons – I just punched out the scallop shape that matches the Itty Bitty Button and glued it to the bottom of the button then topped the button with a rhinestone.

So there’s the card.  After the birthday I’ll come back with photos of other elements of the party to show the pink & green theme in action.

All products are by Stampin’ Up!

Cardstock & Paper:
Whisper White
Melon Mambo
Pear Pizzazz
Designer Series Pattern Paper Stack – InColour (green dotty paper)
Raspberry Tart (retired paper for the top of the cupcake)

Tools:
Big Shot
Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder
Big Bold Birthday die
Hearts & Brackets die

Accessories:
Itty Bitty Buttons
Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack
Basic Jewels (self-adhesive rhinestone)

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals

If you have any questions about this card or would like to purchase Stampin’ Up! products please feel free to email me.

When I started cardmaking, children’s cards were pretty much the only cards I made – well kids and baby cards.  For some reason though I still struggle a bit with them, I guess the tricky part for me trying to make the layout ‘fun’.

This is a 10th birthday card I made for a friend of the family.  I was thankful for the elements that I had to make this card easier for me, having the adhesive die-cuts (the strips of card and dotty circle are sticky die cuts) made the ‘fun kids card’ theme easier for me.  In fact I bet if I went back and checked all my other kids cards I’d find that most of them use some adhesive die-cuts somewhere.

To make this card I started with the background, stamping the ‘nuts and bolts’ image repeatedly over the Pear Pizzazz cardstock using the matching inkpad.  The strips of card as I mentioned are adhesive die-cuts from the Celebration Quick Accents by Stampin’ Up!  The ’10′ was cut out with the Big Shot in Pacific Point cardstock and I then added a layer of Crystal Effects over the top to give it dimension.  The main image on the card is from the ‘Lots of Bots’ stamp set that I coloured in using a blender pend and inkpads.  It looked a bit bland stamped there on it’s own and I didn’t want to add another layer of card underneath so I just made some dots around the perimeter of the circle using the fine end of a marker – the dots then fit in with the rivets on the robot and the overall dots and circles theme.

So let me know… do you find a particular theme of card tricky to make? For most people it’s vintage or masculine – for me it’s kids cards.

Here’s a list of the products I’ve used to make this card.  All products are by Stampin’ Up! and are available for purchase through me.

Rubber Stamps:
Lots of Bots

Inkpads and Markers:
StazOn Jet Black
Pacific Point inkpad
Pacific Point Marker
Pear Pizzazz inkpad
Real Red

Cardstock & Paper:
Pacific Point
Pear Pizzazz
Whisper White

Accessories:
Celebrations, Quick Accents

Tools:
Big Shot
Circles Dies (the circle that the robot is stamped onto)
Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Dies (for the number ’10′)

Adhesives:
Crystal Effects (used for dimension instead of glue)
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals