SU! Workshop Sage & Cocoa Birthday Wishes Card

Yesterday afternoon my lovely SU! demo Joanne held an SU! workshop for my card group ladies and I was the hostess. We all made this very pretty card using the luscious Vintage Vogue stamp set, I love this set!

We stamped the flowers using the rock and roll technique where you ink the stamp in the paler colour first and then roll the edges of the stamp in the darker ink - in this case Sage Shadow and Close to Cocoa. When you are stamping more than one image using this technique you have to remember to clean your stamps between inkings so as to not contaminate your paler ink pad! The branches were made using the new Two Step Bird punch. Both flowers are popped up with Dimensionals.



Joanne also demonstrated a few things for us, one of which was this gorgeous gift box. After Joanne had made it she presented it to me as my hostess gift, I was happily surprised! The box is made the same as a 2-4-6-8 box but as we used A4 CS the measurements are 7-14-21-28 in metric centimetres which doesn't trip off the tongue so easily! Joanne rolled the Very Vintage jumbo wheel all over the CS before assembling the box. Then she decorated the box with elements from the Vintage Vogue set. Olive, Eggplant and Banana - I wouldn't want to eat 'em together but what a fab crafty colour combo!



This next photo shows the box with the goodies that were inside - a sweet butterfly hostess stamp, flowers, pretties, hardware and some new satin ribbons. I was delighted! Aah, a crafty afternoon with friends, gifts and then I earned SU! hostess goodies on top - a happy day indeed! Huge thanks to Joanne and my card group ladies!



Supplies for the card:
Stamps: SU! Vintage Vogue and Sincere Salutations sets
CS: SU! Sage Shadow, Close to Cocoa & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Sage Shadow & Close to Cocoa
Tools: SU! Two Step Bird punch, SU! Paper-Piercing Tool
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Clear Rhinestone Brads, SU! Stampin' Dimensionals

Supplies for the gift box:
Stamps: SU! Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel & Vintage Vogue set
CS: SU! Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, Barely Banana & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Old Olive, Barely Banana & Elegant Eggplant
Tools: SU! Paper-Piercing Tool to add shaping to the flower, Crop-A-Dile
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Sticky Strip, SU! Elegant Eggplant grosgrain ribbon, SU! Clear Rhinestone Brad, SU! Stampin' Dimensionals

Butterfly Thanks Card for Gill

This is the card I shall give to my friend Gill to say thanks for my fabulous birthday gift. When I think of Gill I think of her favourite colours which are turquoise and pink so I combined them here with Chocolate Chip. I used two crafty birthday gifts from friends on this card - the decorative corner punch came from Dawn in the USA and the gorgeous Prima flower came from a pack sent to me by Michelle at the Card Grotto. I am so lucky to have such great friends, I was thoroughly spoiled on my birthday!

The card measures 5 3/4" square. I stamped the Dandelion Frame stamp on Confetti White CS in Chocolate Chip ink, sponged around the panel with Tempting Turquoise ink and punched the decorative corners. After stamping the sentiment I punched the butterflies out of Bazzill pink CS, ran an embossing stylus down each body to pop the wings up a bit and added crystals to the bodies.

I then ran a strip of Tempting Turquoise ribbon around the card and affixed a flat bow over the top with a glue dot. I then added the beautiful Prima flower and put a turquoise gem in the centre. I've had the Dandelion Frame stamp for a while, it was one of those 'got to have it' purchases but whenever I've tried to use it the cards just haven't worked. I'm so relieved I've finally managed to make a card with it!



Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Dandelion Frame cling stamp, SU! Thank You Kindly set
CS: SU! Chocolate Chip & Confetti White CS, Bazzill Petunia CS
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip & Tempting Turquoise
Tools: Fiskars Heritage three-in-one decorative corner punch, Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly punches
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, Prima e-line flower, Kaiser turquoise gem, glue dots

CAS Orange Birthday Card

Today's CAS challenge on Splitcoast Stampers was to make a birthday card with orange. This was a good challenge for me, orange is not a fave and I don't use it very often. I decided just to use orange and white for this card and I think it looks quite crisp.

My card measures 4" square. I added a strip of SU! Sweet Always patterned paper. I stamped the 'It's your birthday' and punched it out with a 1 1/4" circle punch and I stamped the second sentiment direct to the card. I pierced a row of dots above the paper - let me tell you piercing and a cold don't go well together! I'm really sneezing today and a heavy bout meant my piercing went a bit wonky!

Then I dug out my tin of SU! felt flowers - surprise, surprise, I had more orange ones in there than the other two colours! I added copper brads to the centres and attached them to the card with glue dots. Considering I'm not a fan of orange I actually quite like how this card turned out!



Supplies:
Stamps: Both sentiments from Hero Arts
CS: Anita's 4" textured square card blank
Patterned paper: SU! Sweet Always Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: SU! Pumpkin Pie
Tools: SU! 1 1/4" circle punch, Tim Holtz ruler, X Cut Pokey Tool
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Flower Fusion felt flowers, copper brads, glue dots

Masculine Thank You Card for Jack

This is the card I'm sending to Jack to say thank you for my lovely birthday gift. I always find making masculine cards a challenge and I didn't know where to start. On this card I chose the patterned paper I wanted to use first and then it all came together.

I embossed the green paper with the Diamond Plate Cuttlebug folder to add some texture and then I scuffed the embossing - as the paper had a white back the scuffing revealed the white core. I separated the two patterned papers with a Chocolate Chip strip.

For the thank you element, I first stamped the wood grain stamp on Kraft CS with Creamy Caramel ink and then I stamped the frame. The frame stamp I used has a small 'thank you' in the bottom right corner but I wanted to add a larger thank you sentiment instead so I inked the frame with a Chocolate Chip marker so I could omit the sentiment. Then I used the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to place the thank you sentiment where I wanted it and punched it out with the Curly Label punch. I coloured three silver nail heads with a dark brown Copic marker and added these to the Kraft panel. I matted that onto a Chocolate Chip Nestie Label Four die cut shape and popped it up. To finish off the card, I added photo corners.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Cute & Curly and Fresh Cuts sets, Hero Arts Designer Woodgrain background stamp
CS: SU! Old Olive, Chocolate Chip & Kraft
Patterned paper: Basic Grey Sultry 6" x 6" pad
Ink: SU! Creamy Caramel & Chocolate Chip, SU! Chocolate Chip marker
Tools: SU! Curly Label punch, Nestability Labels Four die, Sizzix Sizzlits Photo Corners #2 die, Copic marker
Embellishments & accessories: Silver nail heads, 3d foam tape

April SU! Stamper's 10 Make & Take Cards

These are the two very pretty cards Joanne designed for us to make at her April SU! Stamper's Ten Make & Take meeting on Tuesday evening. I never get both my projects completed on the evening and I finished these two off at home.

The first card uses the Level 1 Hostess set In My Garden and Old Olive and Brocade Blue CS. We stamped onto Confetti White CS in Basic Gray ink and coloured in with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aqua Painter. Although we used Brocade Blue CS, we coloured the flowers with the Ballet Blue crayon as it was a better match. We sponged the edges of the Confetti White pieces with Olive ink. Linen thread was tied around the wide striped grosgrain ribbon. The large white panel is popped up with dimensionals. Joanne used the thank you stamp from the Wonderful Words set for her card but I stamped my Kind Thanks sentiment from the Thank You Kindly set instead.



For the second card we used the new 2 Step Bird Punch to make a bunch of flowers using just the wing and branch shapes - so clever! Joanne's base card was made with Whisper White CS but I used Mellow Moss for mine. Joanne also stamped the Banana panel with a background stamp in Banana ink but I left mine plain. We punched nine wings in Barely Banana CS and edged them all with Regal Rose ink. Then we glued them together in groups of three to make three flower bud shapes. We punched five branch shapes from Mellow Moss CS, keeping two intact but trimming some leaves from three branches to make a cup made of two leaves for the flower buds to sit in.

Two tiny tags were added using the Tiny Tags stamp set and matching punch. The tags were edged with Regal Rose ink as was the Banana panel. The white panel was edged with Mellow Moss ink. The Thanks so Much tag is popped up. The stamping at the bottom of the Rose panel was done with a stamp from the Tiny Tags set stamped repeatedly with the aid of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig - and in my case the aid of Joanne who very sweetly stamped it for me after I'd messed it up twice! Bless her, she's very good to us! The ribbon strip and bow were made with the SU! Moss gingham ribbon - many thanks to Alex who made my bow using her Bow Easy tool! I have given the second card to our lovely neighbour Kath to say thank you for looking after our cats while we were away in the Cotswolds.



Supplies for blue flowers card:
Stamps: SU! In My Garden & Thank You Kindly sets
CS: SU! Old Olive, Brocade Blue & Confetti White
Ink: SU! Basic Gray, Old Olive & Brocade Blue
Tools: SU! Watercolor Wonder Crayons in Old Olive & Ballet Blue, Aqua Painter, sponge daubers, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: SU! 1 1/4" Old Olive striped grosgrain ribbon, SU! Linen thread, SU! Dimensionals

Supplies for pink & yellow punched flowers card:
Stamps: SU! Tiny Tags set
CS: SU! Mellow Moss, Regal Rose, Barely Banana & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Regal Rose & Mellow Moss
Tools: SU! 2 Step Bird punch, SU! Medium Jewelry Tag punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, sponge daubers
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Moss gingham ribbon, SU! Dimensionals

Thanks So Much Stamper's 10 Challenge Card

For the Stamper's Ten challenge card this month Joanne gave us some Really Rust, Taken with Teal and Very Vanilla CS, a piece of Autumn Meadows patterned paper and some Chocolate Chip ribbon. She also gave us a scalloped square stamped thank you element but I've just bought the Curly Label punch and the Cute and Curly stamp set from eBay so I wanted to use my new goodies instead!

When I saw the colours of the supplies Joanne had given us I immediately thought they would be great for a masculine card. I love both Really Rust and Taken with Teal and am quite sad that SU! will be retiring these colours later this year. I'm excited that we'll be getting new colours though! This thank you card will go to Kevin and Peter to say huge thanks for our wonderful stay in the Cotswolds.

My 5 3/4" square card was made with Really Rust CS. I stamped the Fresh Cuts image onto Vanilla CS with Teal ink and then I sponged on Creamy Caramel, Really Rust and Chocolate Chip inks and I added four Chocolate brads to the image corners. For the sentiment, I stamped the curly square in Rust ink, added the sentiment in Chocolate ink, punched it out with the Curly Label punch and sponged Chocolate ink around the edges. The teal panel is popped up on the card. To finish off, I tied Chocolate Chip ribbon around the card tied in a knot.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Fresh Cuts & Cute & Curly sets, sentiment from Pocket Silhouettes set
CS: SU! Really Rust, Taken with Teal & Very Vanilla
Patterned paper: SU! Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: SU! Really Rust, Taken with Teal, Creamy Caramel & Chocolate Chip
Tools: SU! Curly Label punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Pink Hedgehog Crafts Chocolate brads, 3d foam tape

Yummy Pizza Box with Foofy Flower

Every month when we go to Joanne's Stamper's Ten Make & Take evening she provides scrummy biscuits. As I'm trying to lose weight with the low GI diet I always take my own packet of two oaty biscuits. Last time I took the Nairn's Dark Choc Chip variety and when Joanne saw the packet she wondered what they were like - but I'd already eaten them! So I decided to give her a couple of packets of the biccies in a box so she could try them.

I made the pizza box with my Scor-Pal following the tutorial found here - the page will open in a new window. I used SU! Kraft and Not Quite Navy CS and SU! Bella Bleu patterned paper. I used a ticket corner punch on the patterned paper piece. I stamped the sentiment and cut it out with a Nestie die. Then I made a foofy flower following a tutorial from someone's blog - but I can't remember where I saw it now and I didn't bookmark it! I used the SU! 5 Petal Flower punch to make the flower, I punched 2 out of Kraft CS and then scrunched them up really well which softens the CS up. Then because the CS has softened, you can peel the layers apart so you end up with 4 layers which you attach together with a brad. I stamped my flowers with a background stamp before assembling.

To make my brad, I used the PaperMania Brad Making Refill kit. The kit comes with brads, adhesive circles and clear dome stickers. I punched out a circle of the patterned paper, adhered that to the brad and popped on the clear dome sticker. Then I foofed up the flower to give it some dimension.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Yummy set, Hero Arts Stars & Swirls stamp
CS: SU! Kraft & Not Quite Navy
Patterned paper: SU! Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: SU! Not Quite Navy
Tools: Metric Scor-Pal, Labels Four Nestabilities die, SU! 5 Petal Flower punch, Woodware Ticket Corner punch, small circle punch
Embellishments & accessories: PaperMania Brad Making Refill kit, glue dots

PJ's Inspired Poppies Card

I loved the Hero Arts poppies stamp as soon as I saw it and just had to have it! I've recently bought some new bright pink and white PJ's and I was inspired to make a card using just those two colours. It's great taking inspiration from things around you and I feel I should do it more often. Wow, this card is bright but it's also crisp and I like how it turned out.

The card measures 5 3/4" square and I used SU! Pink Passion CS and ink. I kept to a very simple layout, I wanted the poppies image to take centre stage. The sentiment is heat embossed with white embossing powder and the circle is popped up. To finish the card, I added white candy dots.



Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Poppy Background cling stamp, SU! Best Yet set
CS: SU! Pink Passion & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Pink Passion Classic ink & Whisper White Craft ink
Tools: Circle punches
Embellishments & accessories: White embossing powder, Pebbles Inc. White Candy Dots, 3d foam pads

All White Butterflies Card

I've always been intrigued by all white cards and I've been meaning to make one for ages. I was inspired by this lovely card on Splitcoast Stampers made by jaydekay - if you click the link the page will open in a new window.

The card measures 5 3/4" square. I used three different Cuttlebug folders for the texture on the card. The topmost layer is popped up. The butterflies were made using the Craft Tonic Multi Detail butterfly punch. I placed both butterflies on a moulding mat and ran an embossing stylus down both sides of each body so the wings would pop up a bit and then added clear crystals to the bodies. To finish off the card I tied white satin ribbon round the card in a knot.

I really like how the embossing adds dimension and texture and I may just try another variation in a different colour at some point.



Supplies:
Stamps: None
CS: Glitter Pot white CS
Ink: None
Tools: Swiss Dots, D'vine Swirls and Victoria Cuttlebug embossing folders, Craft Tonic Multi Detail Butterfly punch
Embellishments & accessories: White satin ribbon, clear crystals, 3d foam tape

Gift Set of Note Cards for Kevin & Peter

We're travelling to the Cotswolds today to spend a few days with our fab friends Kevin and Peter to celebrate my birthday, hooray! I've been allowed to make a few special requests and so I've asked to be taken to a local craft shop, Paper Arts. I went last time I was in the Cotswolds and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and I'm looking forward to going again. I thought I'd make Kevin and Peter a little crafty gift for acceding to my demand! I hope they like it.

I went to a Messy Day a few weeks ago and I made this gift set of six A6 note cards, envelopes and box then. I used the SU! Circle Circus stamp set and Kraft, Not Quite Navy and Very Vanilla CS and SU! Bella Bleu patterned paper for the gift set. I think they work really well together for my masculine gift card set.

I used my M&F board to make the box 'cos I didn't have my Scor-Pal at the time. I made three Kraft cards and three Not Quite Navy cards, used two different patterned papers but I kept the layout exactly the same for each card. I stamped all the images and printed the Just a Note sentiment from the PC using the Formal436 BT font and then got busy with my circle punches. The Just a Note circle is popped up on each card.

This photo shows the six cards.



This photo shows the box and pile of decorated envelopes.



Just recently I had the idea to include some stamps and a pen with the gift set too. I had a template for a small envelope that I'd kept from a magazine and after I'd adjusted the sizing on the copier it was the perfect size to hold a book of six stamps. I traced the template onto a piece of the patterned paper and cut it out and assembled the envelope. I printed 'Stamps' from the PC using the same font I used on the cards and got busy with the circle punches again.

This photo shows the open box with the cards and envelopes tied up with Vanilla ribbon, the stamps envelope and a blue gel pen.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Circle Circus and Vintage Frames sets
CS: SU! Kraft, Not Quite Navy & Very Vanilla CS, printer paper for card inserts
Patterned paper: SU! Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: SU! Not Quite Navy
Tools: M&F Board, various circle punches, SU! Scalloped Circle punch, circle Nestie dies, Sizzix Sizzlits Photo Corners #2 die, Sizzix Scallops Decorative Strip die
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon, envelope template, 3d foam pads

You Shine Card for Owen - Plus a Card Hubby Made!

My hubby Owen has been a complete star, he has made sure that I had such a special birthday. He cleaned and tidied the house, made me a chocolate and pecan cake, bought me some lovely gifts plus he gave me some money towards a new camera. Not only that, the card he put the money in - he made it himself! How lucky am I?! I was so surprised and impressed, I had no idea he'd been in my craft room! He bought a packet of patterned cards, a packet of embellishments and then he stamped a happy birthday sentiment. The good thing is, I got the leftover cards and embellishments LOL! Here's a photo of the card:



So I whipped up a quick and simple card for my star of a hubby today - the star image and "you shine" from the fabulous Waltzingmouse Stamps Sewing Box Hugs set were perfect to thank him for everything! I made an A6 sized Z fold card using the Scor-Pal with SU! Confetti White CS. The patterned paper I used is from the SU! Bella Bleu pack. The star is popped up and I die cut the sentiment with a Labels Trio die and added a black candy dot. To finish, I tied some black grosgrain ribbon around the card and tied it in a a knot.



Supplies:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps Sewing Box Hugs set
CS: SU! Confetti White and So Saffron CS, black CS
Patterned paper: SU! Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: VersaMagic Midnight Black chalk ink
Tools: Square Nestabilities dies, Spellbinders Labels Trio die, Scor-Pal
Embellishments & accessories: Black grosgrain ribbon, Pebbles Inc. Black Candy Dots, 3d foam pads

Thank You Sew Much Card for Carol

You can't beat getting new stamps in the post - but it's even more thrilling when you've won a set of stamps and you don't know what is going to be in the packet! Last week I was so lucky - I won a draw for a set of stamps from Waltzingmouse Stamps. I found out on the Monday and on the Wednesday my WMS packet arrived, I couldn't believe how fast they came! My hairdresser was here when they arrived and she was most amused by my excitement! Well, I was chuffed to bits to find the wonderful Sewing Box Hugs set inside.

I've had some lovely gifts for my birthday so I need a lot of thank you cards. I thought this set would be just perfect to use on a card for Carol as she makes quilts and patchwork projects. Carol comes to my monthly card group and I think she might request we use this set one day!

I used an Anita's 4" textured white square card blank. Then I got busy stamping and cutting out. The flower is popped up. This set is such fun to use and I love how the images look when they're assembled together - this card was a pure joy to make!



Supplies:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps Sewing Box Hugs set
CS: Anita's 4" square textured white card, SU! Creamy Caramel, Tempting Turquoise, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink & Barely Banana CS
Ink: VersaMagic Jumbo Java chalk ink
Embellishments & accessories: 3d foam pads

Fleur-de-lis Baroque Notecard

It's my birthday today and I've received some lovely gifts and have been quite spoiled I have to say! I am truly blessed with the wonderful friends I have. Sweet Dawn in the USA sent me a beautiful card and some fabulous goodies including the Spellbinders fleur-de-lis Shapeabilities Pendants dies. Oh my goodness, just so gorgeous I had to run upstairs and make a quick card right away!

I used a 4" x 4" square white textured card blank, die cut the fleur-de-lis square in Elegant Eggplant CS and matted it onto Old Olive CS. As soon as I saw the die cut I thought of the elegant square stamp from the SU! Baroque Motifs set. I've stamped it in Eggplant ink, cut it out with a square Nestie die and rounded the corners. I added a crystal brad and popped it up in the centre. It is just so perfect with that fleur-de-lis die cut shape! I'm very happy with this simple, yet elegant notecard!



Barbara Diane has very kindly given me a blog award, thank you SO very much, that's so sweet of you!



You can visit her fab blog here

I'm off to soak in a bath and get ready to go out to dinner, lovely!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Baroque Motifs set
CS: Anita's square white textured card blank, SU! Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Elegant Eggplant
Tools: Spellbinders Fleur-de-lis Shapeabilities Pendants die, square Nestabilities die, X Cut Corner Rounder punch
Embellishments & accessories: Clear crystal brad, 3d foam pads

CAS Spring Fling Thanks Card

Monday's CAS challenge at Splitcoast Stampers was to make a card where the only stamping you could do was the sentiment. I've just got a new SU! thank you sentiment set so I used my new thanks stamp, I just love that gorgeous font!

The card measures 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" and folds at the top. I punched circles from SU! Spring Fling patterned paper and layered them onto CS circles. The top left, top right and centre bottom circles are all popped up.

I added striped grosgrain ribbon and a flat bow. I threaded a strip of Celery CS through a pink button and added that to the bow. To finish off the card I rounded the bottom corners of the card.

I love these colours together, so soft and springy! I saw two butterflies fluttering around together in our front garden today, a sure sign spring is well and truly on the way!



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Thank You Kindly set
CS: White CS, SU! Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery & Sage Shadow CS
Patterned paper: SU! Spring Fling Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: SU! Certainly Celery
Tools: 1" & 1 1/4" circle punches, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon, PaperMania pink button, 3d foam pads

Easter Wishes Card for Dawn

This is the Easter card I sent to Dawn in the USA. The card is a textured square card blank from Craft Creations. I used the cute Doodle Dragon Studio 'Bunny Down' digital image again which I coloured with Copic markers. I also used a Copic marker to colour the 3 pearls. Rectangle Nesties were used to mat and layer the image. The patterned paper is from a K&Co pad and the ribbon is from my stash and just happened to be a great match for the Bazzill green CS I used.



After finishing the card front, I decorated the inside of the card with patterned paper, a scalloped border and a daisy that I cut out from the patterned paper that I also decorated the front of the envelope with.

Wishing everyone a happy Easter! Hope you saw some spring sunshine - not that likely here in Sussex I'm afraid, it's been grey and chilly!



Supplies:
Stamps: 'Bunny Down' digital image from Doodle Dragon Studio, sentiment from SU! Seasonal Wishes set
CS: Craft Creations square textured white card blank, Bazzill green CS
Patterned paper: K&Co Daisy 6" x 6" pad
Ink: VersaMagic Spanish Olive chalk ink
Tools: Rectangle Nestabilities dies, Copic markers, Fiskars Threading Water punch
Embellishments & accessories: Ribbon, self adhesive half pearls

April 2010 Card Group Projects

These are the two cards we made at my card group yesterday. My love affair with birdhouse cards continues - and all the ladies at the group absolutely loved them too! The second card is a flower pot pocket card.

For the birdhouse card, we used SU! Really Rust CS cut to 6 1/4" x 3 5/8" and scored at 3 1/8". We then trimmed 1/2" off both sides at an angle to get the birdhouse shape. The roof was made with a 4" square of Chocolate Chip CS and a 3" square of patterned paper cut in half diagonally and glued together. We then used a border punch to scallop the roof trim. After cutting off any excess scallop bits, we glued the roof to the front of the card. We then stamped the wood grain stamp on the card front with Really Rust ink. The Chocolate Chip circle was punched out with the SU! 1 3/8" circle punch. The leafy stems were made using a Sizzix Sizzlits die and we snipped the shape into 3 and arranged the pieces around the circle. The flower was punched, then shaped using a DEET and moulding mat and a crystal added to the centre.

The bird is a Spellbinders die cut out in Creamy Caramel CS and we stamped that with the woven fabric stamp in Caramel. Jan came up with the brilliant idea of using a leaf die cut shape for the bird wing - it was perfect! We added a dot for the eye and popped the bird up with 3d foam pads. This card fits into a 5" square envelope.



For the flower pot pocket card, we cut Bazzill Sienna CS to 8 1/2" x 4 1/4", scored at 3 1/2" and 7" and cut 5/8" off both sides at an angle to form the pot shape. We made a scalloped rim using a border punch and embossed the pot with a Cuttlebug folder. Thin tape was added to the inside of the pot at the sides only to form the pocket. The foliage stamp was stamped in Pretty in Pink having been stamped off once and then the sentiment was stamped over the top in Rose Red ink. SU! oval punches were used to punch out the sentiment elements.

The white message insert piece was cut to 5 1/2" x 2 1/2" and the bottom corners were rounded. The foliage stamp was stamped a couple of times along the bottom in Pretty in Pink ink. The SU! Petal Pizzazz stamp set was used to make the flowers and leaves. All the shapes were stamped and cut out. The flowers were all popped up and the leaves were glued behind the flowers. One flower was attached to the pot rim, the rest were added to the white message piece. Crystals were added to the flower centres and we put a stand on the back of the pot so the recipient can display the card.

This photo shows the card front:



This photo shows the pot and insert pieces separately:



Supplies for birdhouse card:
Stamps: Hero Arts Designer Woodgrain & Large Delicate Woven Fabric wood mounted stamps, sentiment from A Little Birdie Sparkle Clear clear stamp set
CS: SU! Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Creamy Caramel & So Saffron
Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye Bloom & Grow 6" x 6" paper pack
Ink: SU! Really Rust & Creamy Caramel, VersaMagic Jumbo Java chalk ink
Tools: Spellbinders Nested Birds die, Sizzix Branch w/Leaves Medium Sizzlits die, Sizzix Sizzlits Flower, Center & Leaf die (to make wing), SU! 1 3/8" circle punch, Woodware small flower punch, DEET & moulding mat, Fiskars Threading Water border punch, Spellbinders Labels Trio die
Embellishments & accessories: Crystal & 3d foam pads
Supplies for flower pot card:
Stamps: SU! Petal Pizzazz set, SU! Fresh Cuts set (foliage) and sentiment from SU! Trendy Trees set
CS: Bazzill Sienna CS, SU! Whisper White & Certainly Celery CS
Ink: SU! Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Rose Red & Certainly Celery
Tools: Diamond Plate Cuttlebug folder, Fiskars Threading Water punch, X Cut Corner Rounder punch, SU! plain and scalloped oval punches, SU! Scalloped Circle punch
Embellishments & accessories: Crystals & 3d foam pads

Upright Z Fold Easter Card for Jan & Alan

Since buying my metric Scor-Pal I've been looking at the projects on the Scor-Pal web site and the upright Z fold card caught my eye. I decided to make one as an Easter card for our friends Jan and Alan. I love how the front panel tucks under the punched circle to enable the card to stand up. Click here to see the Scor-Pal project - the page will open in a new window.

I used SU! Certainly Celery and Really Rust CS as those colours go beautifully with the Magenta Robin's Nest patterned paper I glued to the back panel. I used my Bun Bun stamp 'cos I know Jan loves it! I coloured the bunny with Copic markers and I fringed some Celery CS to resemble grass. I added a few punched butterflies to the bunny panel.

To finish off I added the bow to the punched circle. I don't know if there is a name for this type of bow but I really like them as they're flat as you don't tie a knot. I laid my length of ribbon in an S shape, then pinched it together in the middle and tied some linen thread around to keep it together. Then I attached the bow to the circle with a glue dot and attached the button to the bow with another glue dot.



I decorated the front of the envelope with a strip of the patterned paper and a scalloped border.



There are birds nests with eggs inside on the patterned paper and I wanted to punch a circle out and mat on CS circles to put on the envelope flap. When I turned the envelope over there was a big dirty mark on the flap. Having already decorated the front, I didn't want to start again with a new envelope. So I traced the flap onto the patterned paper and cut it out to cover the mark and then I added my circle element. I really like how the flap looks with the patterned paper, I may have to do it again!



Supplies:
Stamps: Penny Black Bun Bun, sentiment from SU! Seasonal Wishes set
CS: SU! Certainly Celery & Really Rust, Craftwork Cards Digital extra smooth white CS
Patterned paper: Magenta Robin's Nest double sided paper
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, SU! Chocolate Chip
Tools: Metric Scor-Pal, SU! 1 3/8" circle punch, SU! Scallop Border punch, Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly punch, Copic markers
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, rust brads, SU! Latte Designer button, crystals, 3d foam pads, glue dots