Calypso Flower

Just a quick post from me today and it's back to the flowers! This image was coloured with marker pens so that I could get more than one colour on the image. Then the flower was stamped again and 3d mounted to give some dimension.

Gift bag with cards

This was a project that we made at Make. Do and Send card club recently.  The original idea came from Amanda Fowler, you can see her blog here. 
The little gift bag is made from just one piece of card which is scored using the fabulous Simply Scored board and then folded, it is held closed by ribbon. The bag is the perfect size to hold four 3x3 inch cards with their envelopes. I kept the decoration of my cards to a simple colour combination of Pool Party, Island Indigo and Calypso Coral, I shall be sorry to see these colours retire at the end of the current catalogue in June, do you think we can persuade stampin Up to keep them? 

Here's a closer image of the gift bag, you can see that I used the Mixed Bunch stamp set to decorate it.

Snowy Friends

I have another Christmas card to share today.  The snowmen were stamped and coloured with marker pens and mounted onto early espresso card.  The edge of the card has a scallop edge echoed on the base card.  A pretty bow completes the look.

Boo!!!!

How cute is this?! These gorgeous little trick or treat bags form part of one of Stampin up's new bundles available in the Autumn and Winter seasonal catalogue.  
The stamp set, Googly Ghouls, is available separately but is best value when purchased as part of a bundle complete with googly eyes, treat bags, bakers twine and tags.
I used a staz-on inkpad to stamp onto the bag and marker pens to colour my witch image. Just pop a treat inside and you're ready for all those ghouls and goblins.

More Winter Memories

An image from Christmas of yesteryear, wouldn't you have loved a sledge like this one?  Or maybe just enough snow to have used it :/  
I stamped and coloured, with marker pens, this image twice so that I could 3d mount it and then added some dazzling details glitter.  A double mat of early espresso and cherry cobbler sets it off nicely. 

Winter Memories

I don't know about you but I think it's time that I began making a serious start on Christmas! I have already made a few cards but now it's time to knuckle down I think.
Night of Navy seems to be my colour of choice this year and this card is no exception.  The stamp set is Winter Memories from the Autumn and Winter seasonal catalogue, I coloured it using marker pens and a blender pen to soften it a little.  The background snowflakes from Snowflake Soiree are stamped in white craft ink and of course no Christmas card would be complete without a little bling, in this case added using Dazzling details glitter glue.

Zigzag butterflies

Once more this card was designed by Hayley Gillie, I am never sure where to start with a card structured like this so I am very glad of the template.
The stamp set is Bordering on Romance, coloured with marker pens and blender pens. The flowers have been enhanced with pearls and embossed butterflies complete the card.

Bordering on Romance gift box

Another gift box courtesy of Hayley, don't forget you can visit her blog here. 
The image taking pride of place is from Bordering on Romance and is enhanced using marker pens, blender pens and pearls. The various layers of the box have been die cut using the framelits, one has been embossed with a coordinating folder and another is cut from Twitterpated designer paper.

Apothecary Art Easel card

This card would be the perfect accompaniment to yesterdays gift box don't you think?
Using the Apothecary art stamps and coordinating framelit dies, it is upscaled somewhat by the use of antique brads and lace ribbon. I coloured the image using marker pens and a blender pen. 

Album for your handbag

This is just perfect to pop in your handbag once you've added your photos. Made from card which was cut using the framelits and decorated with Attic Boutique designer paper and images from Apothecary art.  There's lots of room for your favourite photos, maybe of your children or grandchildren, then pop it in your bag ready to show whoever you might meet when you're out and about. simples!! 

Completing the set.

This is the last one! It completes the set of pool party, apothecary art cards.  This one uses the elegant bouquet embossing folder on the base card.  The stamped image is 3d mounted and again coloured with marker pens

More Apothecary Art

Here we go, card number 3! Again, much more straightforward to make than it looks.  We used the Vintage wallpaper embossing folder on the pool party base card and then added a 3d mounted Apothecary art stamp which we coloured with the Stampin Up marker pens.

Anthology of Apothecary Art

I'm going to share this class with you over a few days so that we can look at the projects in closer detail. We made 4 square cards and a coordinating container.  It would make a great gift I think.

Let's start with the box, it is made from Pool Party card stock and the handle is  from the complementary Attic Boutique designer papers.

The image is from the Apothecary Art stamp set and is cut using the framelits in the Big shot.  The roses are coloured using marker pens in Pool party and Old Olive.

Mouthwatering

Another from the Handbag portfolio. The main image is from the Mouthwatering stamp set and has been coloured with marker pens. The designer paper is again from Sweet shop; other embellishments are the new Bakers twine in calypso coral, ruffled ribbon also in coral and a jelly bean brad.The sentiment is from Sweet cake.

Simply Happy Birthday

Simple designs are often the most striking I think.  This stamp is available exclusively to hostesses and is part of a larger set of 11 stamps called Happiest Birthday Wishes.
The base card is Peach parfait and I coloured the stamp with marker pens in various colours that would coordinate with the peach.  I didn't have any peach ribbon so I added another strip of card along the bottom of the card and echoed that on the insert.  Then I thought I was done so I took my photograph but looking at it later I decided that it was missing a little something. 3 Rhinestones on my peach strip was what it needed :)

Bright Blossoms

I think this is becoming one of my favourite colours to work with, I'm so glad we will have Island Indigo as one of the Stampin Up In-colours for another year yet.
This card showcases one of the new stamp sets from the summer mini catalogue and to make best use of it's components it's a good idea to use the stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure they line up perfectly. The Bright Blossoms stamps were coloured using marker pens and stamped onto whisper white card. The designer paper is from the new Twitterpated suite, another new favourite, the coordinating ruffled ribbon sets it off just right, not a bow this time but a neat knot.

Spotlight technique

I really like his one, I'm sure I will use this technique a lot. Amanda showed us at her class a few weeks back and it's really very simple.  The stamp set is Simply Soft and is exclusive to hostesses, the greeting is from Petite Pairs. to begin with the design is stamped in one colour on a base card then on another piece of card stamp again.  This extra piece needs to be punched or cut, coloured (for this sample we used markers and a blender pen) and then mounted onto a piece of card colour coordinating with the main card base, in this case we used rose red. You could mount it flat or 3d mount it to add some dimension.

Stained glass techinique

Lot's of Luck Alice! Today is my daughter's first A level exam this year.  Fortunately they don't last long and it will all be over by the 20th, then we will have the long wait until results day. I shall have to think up lots of things to do so that we can pass those days pleasantly. Like some crafting perhaps?

Does this look familiar?  The design and colour scheme is the same as this card that I blogged at the end of last month but we highlighted a different image.
The technique is different too, this image was stamped onto vellum and then coloured on the reverse with marker pens, the resulting effect is reminiscent of a stained glass window.

Postage stamp tags

Sadly this stamp set is no longer available as it was part of the spring mini catalogue but I thought I would share the design as another stamp set could easily be substituted.  The card makes good use of the postage stamp punch and the tag punch, they enable us to make cards so quick and easily :)

More Happiness Shared

Same stamp set as yesterday but a very different look. This time I coloured the stamp with marker pens before stamping onto whisper white card. The scallop corner punch adds some lovely delicate definition and the En Francais background stamp just lifts the base card.