Marbled Background & Floral Sprig Happy Birthday Card - #mixitupmonday

Helen has chosen a fab colour combo for this week's Mix It Up Monday challenge.  I do love brights and black together!

When I went to my craft room to create a card I knew I'd have to use my new SU! 'Marbled' background stamp as I've been wanting to ink it up for a while.  So this card started with the Tempting Turquoise tone on tone panel and the design progressed from there.  I made a 5 3/4" square card base using Whisper White thick CS.  I've used the SU! 'Number of Years' set for the main image panel - I love the pretty floral images!  I popped up the stamped and die cut 'Birthday' banner.  I used the smallest 'Layering Squares' die to cut two squares, one from Berry Burst CS and one from Lemon Lime Twist CS, I cut the two squares in half and adhered the triangle shapes to the image panel.  To finish the front I sprinkled on a few rhinestone jewels.

More pretty floral stamping decorates the inside of the card and the envelope flap.  Creating this card allowed me some lovely, much needed, crafty 'me time' which I enjoyed immensely!  

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Marbled' background stamp, SU! 'Number of Years' & 'Birthday Blossoms' sets
CS: SU! Tempting Turquoise, Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist, Basic Black & Whisper White (regular & thick)
Ink: SU! Tempting Turquoise, Berry Burst & Lemon Lime Twist, VersaFine Onyx Black
Tools: SU! 'Large Number' & 'Layering Squares'  Framelits die sets
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Berry Burst Finely Woven Ribbon, Rhinestone Jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Floral Congrats Card

Here is a card I made for someone who has just been promoted - and the someone loves pink so I took the opportunity to use the new 'Powder Pink' In Color!  I paired the Powder Pink with Night of Navy for a strong contrast.  I was very happy to get to use the gorgeous 'Congrats' sentiment from the SU! 'Double Take' set, I love the shadow effect!  I shaped the flowers and popped them up.  I added three teeny tiny Night of Navy punched butterflies and sprinkled on some rhinestone jewels to complete the card front.

Here's the inside of the card.

I made an envelope with some Powder Pink paper from the 'Fresh Florals' DSP stack and popped up a die cut name label.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Flower Shop', 'Petite Petals' & 'Double Take' sets, magazine freebie 'Sincere Sentiments' set
CS: SU! Powder Pink, Night of Navy & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Fresh Florals' DSP stack
Ink: SU! Powder Pink & Night of Navy
Tools: SU! 'Pansy' & 'Petite Petals' punches, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Envelope Punch Board, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Memory Box 'Bistro Label' & 'Chadwick Label' dies
Embellishments & accessories: SU! rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Upsy Daisy For You Card

The new SU! daisy products I got recently reminded me that I had an old, long retired SU! stamp set called 'Upsy Daisy' in my stash.  I got it ages ago from ebay, hadn't used it and I'd made a mental note to get inky with it soon.  I was in desperate need of some crafty therapy after a particularly trying day so I retreated to my craft room and made a nice, easy card using my long neglected daisy stamp.  I used a simple layout, a simple colour combo of Old Olive and Daffodil Delight and just enjoyed creating.

I stamped the row of daisies twice in Old Olive ink - once full strength and then again without re-inking.  I trimmed my white panel to size, added the panel and the patterned paper to a mat layer of Daffodil Delight CS, added the ribbon and glued the whole panel to the front of an A6 sized Old Olive card base.  I stamped the sentiment and added three Daffodil Delight Candy Dots to finish the front.

I really love the yellow and green large daisy paper in the 'Delightful Daisy' DSP pack but thought the pattern was too large and overpowering to be used on the card front.  Instead, I opted to use it to decorate the envelope flap and after trimming off the excess triangular pieces of paper I wondered if I could use one of the pieces to decorate the inside of the card.  I had a bit of a play and decided to go for it!  Here's the inside and envelope.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Upsy Daisy' & 'Blooms & Wishes' sets
CS: SU! Old Olive, Daffodil Delight & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Delightful Daisy' DSP
Ink: SU! Old Olive
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Daffodil Delight ribbon, Daffodil Delight Candy Dots
Ruth

Eclectic Happy Birthday Card - #mixitupmonday

I left work at lunchtime today which meant I had some time to craft.  I managed to play with this week's Mix It Up Monday colour combo from Helen's All Things Stampy blog again this week so I'm popping in to share my card.  I did find this one a bit of a challenge but I got there in the end!

I used Fresh Fig ink (stamped off once) to create the Burlap background and I stamped the sentiment in full strength Fresh Fig ink.  I stamped and die cut the flower and leaves and added a bit more So Saffron ink to the flower using a sponge dauber.  I added Fresh Fig patterned paper and a Tranquil Tide strip and I cut a Tranquil Tide mat layer.  I adhered the panels on the wonk and popped up the flower.  I used the 'Beautiful Wings' Embosslits die to cut two Fresh Fig butterflies - I know this die is long retired but it's not leaving my stash any time soon!  I rounded two corners of the card and added rhinestone jewels to the butterflies to finish the front.

Here's the inside and the envelope with more of the Fresh Fig patterned paper plus a favourite oldie but goodie retired sentiment stamp.  

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Oh So Eclectic' & 'Blooming With Kindness' sets, 'Burlap' & 'Stylized Birthday'
CS: SU! So Saffron, Fresh Fig, Tranquil Tide & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Fresh Florals' DSP stack
Ink: SU! So Saffron, Fresh Fig & Tranquil Tide
Tools: SU! 'Eclectic Layers' Thinlits dies, 'Beautiful Wings' Embosslits die, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: SU! rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Garden In Bloom Joy Fold Birthday Card & Gift Card Envelope

My good friend Jan celebrated her birthday last Tuesday and this is the card and gift card envelope I made for her.  I tried a new fun fold called a Joy Fold - well, it's new to me anyway, the idea has been around for years and I've always wanted to make one, I honestly don't know why it's taken me so long!

I chose to work with the pretty SU! 'Garden in Bloom' stamp set and papers from the 'English Garden' pack of DSP.  Here is the card together with the envelope.

The card base was made with Early Espresso and Old Olive CS.  I used Blushing Bride, Rose Red, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight and Early Espresso inks.  I stamped the leaves onto the white panel but stamped the flowers separately, fussy cut them and popped them up.  I used a clear Wink of Stella pen to add a touch of shimmer to the bee's wings and I popped up the bee circle element.  Here's the card on its own - the corner of the Old Olive panel tucks behind the popped up bee circle to keep the card closed.

Here's the card open.  

Here's a closer look at the sentiment panel inside.

Here's the envelope - I couldn't resist putting a cute bee on the flap!  

One of the birthday gifts I gave to Jan was a gift card and I decided to make an envelope for it.  When you use the Envelope Punch Board with a diagonal striped paper you get an envelope with straight stripes!  I added die cut grosgrain ribbon strips and popped up a die cut name label.

I popped up a pretty flower on the back of the envelope to finish.  A very happy project to make!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Garden in Bloom' set
CS: SU! Early Espresso, Old Olive, Blushing Bride, Rose Red & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'English Garden' DSP
Ink: SU! Early Espresso, Old Olive, Blushing Bride & Rose Red
Tools: SU! Envelope Punch Board, 'Lots of Labels' & 'Stitched Shapes' Framelits die sets, Memory Box 'Grosgrain Ribbons' die set, circle punches
Embellishments & accessories: SU! rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Lift Me Up Set Of Birthday Cards & Pen - CRUK Tombola Prize

Wilko are keen to do their bit to support various charities which I think is brilliant.  Each Wilko store supports a different charity each year and the Burgess Hill store where I work is now supporting Cancer Research U.K.  I'm always very happy to get involved with charity fundraising, but I'm especially happy if it's for Cancer Research U.K. as that's a cause very close to my heart.   I'm sure everyone has a family member or friend that has been affected by this dreadful disease.  My hubby Owen had a cancerous brain tumour many years ago which was successfully operated on and treated and we are both so, so grateful for that and we have supported this charity ever since.

Our fundraising weekend at Wilko Burgess Hill consisted of a cake sale, tombola, static bike ride and a guess the number of sweeties in a jar competition.  My friend Eileen and I were outside the store selling the cakes, tombola tickets and competition entries.  We also took our turns on the static bike and cheered everyone else on while they were having a turn.  It was great fun and we raised a lot more than our target so we were absolutely delighted!

Owen and I baked a few goodies to sell and I also donated a few prizes for the tombola.  For one of the tombola prizes I decided to make a set of six birthday cards - based on this set of cards I made earlier in the year.  As I was rather pushed for time I simplified the design for this set of cards and I opted for a portrait orientation rather than landscape this time, just to make a bit of a change.  Here are all 6 of the cards.

Here is a closer look at the front of just one of the birthday cards.

This pic shows how I decorated each card inside and each envelope.  I used the same colour on the insides and envelopes to match whichever colour hot air balloon was on the card front. 

 After finishing the cards I thought it would be fun to gussy up a pen to go with the cards.  It was a bit of a faff getting the rolled up paper into the barrel but I got there in the end!

Here are the cards and pen in the cellophane bag all ready to go.

Here's a closer look at the tag I tied to the top of the bag.

A very satisfying project, I enjoyed making this immensely!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Lift Me Up' set
CS: SU! Night of Navy, Peekaboo Peach, Watermelon Wonder & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Mint Macaron, Night of Navy, Peekaboo Peach & Watermelon Wonder
Patterned paper: SU! 'Carried Away' DSP
Tools: SU! 'Up & Away' Thinlits die set, 'Stitched Shapes' & 'Layering Squares' Framelits die sets, Sizzix ' Rounded Tags' Framelits die set
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Mint Macaron sheer linen ribbon, Dimensionals
Ruth

Water Drops & Dragonfly Friend Card

This lovely card made by Cathy Roffey that I saw on Pinterest recently sparked my interest.  It also reminded me that I had bought the Inkylicious 'Water Rain Drops' stamp set ages ago and it was sitting in my stash, neglected and unused.  This going to work malarkey interferes terribly with my crafting opportunities!

I was determined to CASE Cathy's card so the first chance I got to spend time in my craft room I dug out the stamp set and enjoyed playing.  I created the background by applying Broken China and Peeled Paint Distress Inks to a panel of white CS using ink duster brushes.  I then stamped the water drops image twice using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I added white highlights to the drops with Picket Fence Distress Paint applied with a small paintbrush.  I die cut the dragonfly twice - once from SU! Basic Black CS and again using vellum CS, layered the two shapes together, glued the dragonfly in place and added some pale green gems to the body.  I stamped and die cut the sentiment label, popped it up and added a couple more pale green gems.

Here's a closer look.

Some simple stamping inside and on the envelope flap completed my card.  I'm very happy I finally inked up a stamp from the beautiful Inkylicious 'Water Rain Drops' set! 

Supplies:
Stamps: Inkylicious 'Water Rain Drops' set, SU! 'Awesomely Artistic' & 'Flourishing Phrases' sets
CS: SU! Basic Black & Whisper White (regular & thick), vellum
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Tim Holtz Broken China & Peeled Paint Distress Inks
Tools: SU! 'Detailed Dragonfly' Thinlits & 'Project Life Cards & Labels' Framelits die sets
Embellishments & accessories: PaperMania gems 
Ruth