Agapanthus Cards

I fell in love with the Stampendous Agapanthus Cluster stamp when I saw it and when I hit the web to buy it I was chuffed to find it in a cling version - yay!  What I didn't know at the time is that Stampendous also make a clear Agapanthus Thank You set - but of course, once I knew about it I just had to buy that too!

The first card I made is a Birthday RAK card using the Agapanthus Cluster stamp.  The card is a side opening A6 size made with SU! Baja Breeze CS.  I love Early Espresso with Baja Breeze and I used Whisper White as my neutral.  Before gluing the Espresso panel to the card I attached some narrow taffeta ribbon.  The sentiment was cut out with a Spellbinders Labels Trio die.  I rounded just the top right corners of the card.  The finishing touch to the card front was to add bling to the photo corner and the sentiment label.

Then I stamped the envelope flap and the inside of the card.

I've just sold some craft items on eBay and I always like to pop a thank you card in the package.  I used the Stampendous Agapanthus Thank You clear set to make these quick and simple cards.  I used the large flower plus the sentiment from the set for the cards and the double flower stem image for the front of the envelopes.  I made several of these, a few in each colour.

Supplies for birthday card:
Stamps: Stampendous Agapanthus Cluster, Hero Arts Sending Smiles Messages clear set
CS: SU! Baja Breeze, Early Espresso & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Baja Breeze & Early Espresso
Tools: SU! Photo Corners punch, Spellbinders Labels Trio dies, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Early Espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon, clear gems

Supplies for thank you cards:
Stamps: Stampendous Agapanthus Thank You clear set
CS: PaperMania small scalloped square white card blanks
Ink: Memento Summer Sky, Danube Blue, Lulu Lavender, Grape Jelly,  Angel Pink & Rose Bud

My Friend Scrapling Birthday Card - Color Throwdown #143

I visited Kelly's blog earlier today to find a lovely birthday card she'd made following a sketch challenge plus a colour challenge.  I really liked the look of the Color Throwdown #143 challenge and decided to get inky and make a card.  The Echo Park Springtime collection the colour combo was inspired by is so very pretty.  I chose to add a bright pink (Melon Mambo) with white as my neutral.

What a happy combo,  it has made a very bright, cheery birthday card!  I found a strip of Pink Pirouette CS which wasn't wide enough to make an A6 sized card.  However, instead of cutting into a new A4 sheet of CS I used the strip to make a 3" wide scrapling card and I hung my circle element over the edge.  I stamped the Bella Toile background stamp on the Pink Pirouette card base and the So Saffron circle using the same colour ink as the CS.  I stamped the leafy medallion from the Day of Gratitude set, cut it out and it's popped up.  For the medallion centre, I punched two Boho Blossoms flowers, did some shaping and attached them together with an olive brad.  I stamped the sentiment, added the olive ribbon and attached a butterfly to the ribbon knot with glue dots.  I finished off the front with an olive photo corner, a tiny melon butterfly and another brad.

I then decorated the envelope flap and stamped a panel for the inside of the card.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Day of Gratitude set, SU! Bella Toile background stamp, 'my friend' from SU! Blossoms Abound set, inside sentiment from Hero Arts Yummy Treats clear set
CS: SU! Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Melon Mambo & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Melon Mambo & Old Olive
Tools: Circle Nestabilities dies, SU! Boho Blossoms & Photo Corners punches, SU! Beautiful Wings Embosslits die
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, SU! Old Olive brads, SU! dimensionals

Owl Pin One Of A Kind Card For Jan

My friend Jan is coming over to make a card tomorrow afternoon and I'll have this card with owl brooch pin  waiting for her.  Jan has lent me her owl punch and Punch Bunch stamp set and I love that owl, it's adorable!   Jan challenged me a few days ago to use the stamp and punch with the crackle distress technique to make an owl pin but the crackle paint would cover up the stamped detail so there would be no point.  I decided to try making a pin without the crackle technique.

The card is an A6 size made with Crumb Cake CS and I added a Baja Breeze panel.  I stamped the owl with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto Crumb Cake CS, punched it out and then punched two more owl shapes and glued them all together.  I wanted to varnish the owl but I wasn't sure if the SU! ink would run when I applied the varnish so that's why I used Memento ink for stamping.  That's something I'll try out on another day.   I applied one coat of clear gloss varnish to the back and two coats to the front and then glued a brooch pin fitting to the back. I punched a 1" circle, pierced two holes and attached the pin to the circle.  Then I've used repositionable glue dots to attach the circle to the Pear Pizzazz mat. 

The other three owls were stamped in Pear Pizzazz ink on Whisper White CS and they're popped up.  They all have yellow gem eyes, Crumb Cake branches, Pear Pizzazz flowers and Chocolate Chip mats.  The 'one of a kind' owl has green gem eyes, a Chocolate Chip branch, a blue gem flower and a Pear Pizzazz mat.  After stamping the sentiment, I applied three chocolate candy dots to finish the card front.

 

Then I added a punched flower with gem centre to the envelope flap and added a sentiment element inside the card.  I stamped the 'So glad we're friends' and punched it out with the Curly Label punch and then matted that on a Decorative Label punched shape.  I then added two punched flowers with gem centres.  This card was enormous fun to make, I just hope Jan likes it!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Punch Bunch & One of a Kind sets
CS: SU! Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze & Whisper White
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, SU! Pear Pizzazz & Chocolate Chip
Tools: SU! Owl, Bird, Curly Label & Decorative Label punches, 1" circle punch, rectangle Nestabilities die, X Cut mini flower punch
Embellishments & accessories: Pebbles Inc. Chocolate Brown Candy Dots, coloured gems, flower shaped gem, brooch pin fitting, clear gloss varnish, 3d foam pads, repositionable glue dots

Flower Sparkle Craft Tote

After making the crackled brooch a few days ago I couldn't wait to make something else.  I used the Fun Flowers die that I've got on loan from Jan.  I die cut two of the largest shapes, glued them together and applied a coat of glossy accents.  Once that was dry, I painted on a coat of the crackle paint.  After that was dry I sponged on some pink inks - Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose and Melon Mambo.  I also sponged on some Platinum Shimmer Paint.  It wasn't all that shimmery when it had dried, it looked more grey so then I decided to add some glitter.  I applied a coat of clear gloss varnish, sprinkled on the glitter and waited for it to dry.  Then I pierced a hole in the flower centre and fixed a Prima hydrangea bloom with a glazed brad.  The last thing was to glue a brooch pin fastening to the back.  I decided this would be the perfect accent to gussy up the craft tote I take with me to Make and Takes and Messy Days.  The front of the craft tote has a mobile phone pocket with a flap and that's where I've pinned my flower.

Here's a close up of my sparkly flower.  I can see I could easily get addicted to this, it's such fun! 

Supplies:
Stamps: None
CS: SU! Whisper White
Ink: SU! Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose & Melon Mambo
Tools: SU! Fun Flowers Bigz L die
Embellishments & accessories: Glossy accents, Tim Holtz Picket Fence Crackle Distress Paint, SU! Platinum Shimmer Paint, clear gloss varnish, crystal glitter, Prima hydrangea blooms, Wild Rose Studio glazed brad, brooch pin fitting

Two Masculine Birthday Cards

Masculine cards are my least favourite cards to make and during May I have three male birthdays to make cards for.  Normally, I end up making masculine cards right at the last moment but I was prepared this time.  For our friend Mike I made a twisted easel card - that card can be seen here.  For Owen's brother I made a leafy card using the SU! Autumn Splendor set.   I borrowed this set from Jan a while ago.and actually had the foresight to make Brian's card then -  a rare event! 

I stamped leaves in Old Olive ink over the front of the card as a background.  I stamped the Marina Mist oval with the Weathered background stamp using Marina Mist ink.  The leaves and acorns were coloured with inks and a blender pen, cut out and they're popped up.

Here's the inside and the envelope.  I used Crumb Cake ink to stamp the Very Vanilla panel with the Weathered stamp and to sponge the edges.

A very different style of card for our friend Brett.  I found making this card easier - I find that new stamps can ease the pain when it comes to making a masculine card LOL!  I really liked the look of this Inkadinkado Music Inchie stamp set and Brett is really into his music so I thought it would be perfect.  It's going to be perfect for hubby's birthday card in July too!  There are some really fun images in the set, I particularly love the Spinal Tap volume button that goes up to 11! 

I chose a nice easy colour combo of black and white with bright blue.  I used Nestie dies to cut  out the squares, stamped five different images from the set and mounted them to the white strip.  The two blue images are popped up.  I added a sentiment and a mirrored silver strip.  The 'Rock Star' words are on one inchie stamp but I cut my stamped image in half, offset the two rectangles and added a silver star brad.  I stamped the front of the envelope with a larger square image from the set.

Then I stamped the vinyl record image on the envelope flap and stamped inside the card.  The sentiment is from a clear Hero Arts set and I couldn't resist stamping the volume button from the Inkadinkado set!  You can click the picture if you'd like to get a closer view.

Supplies for leafy card:
Stamps: SU! Autumn Splendor & Sincere Salutations sets, SU! Weathered background stamp, inside sentiment from Hero Arts
CS: SU! Old Olive, Marina Mist, Early Espresso & Very Vanilla
Ink: SU! Old Olive, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake & Early Espresso
Tools:Petite oval Nestabilities dies
Embellishments & accessories: 3d foam pads

Supplies for rock star card:
Stamps: Inkadinkado Music Inchie set, front sentiment from SU! Wow Flowers set, inside sentiment from Hero Arts Yummy Treats clear set
CS: SU! Basic Black & Whisper White, silver mirror card
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Bahama Blue
Tools: Square Nestabilities dies
Embellishments & accessories: SU! silver star brad, 3d foam pads

Butterfly Window Birthday Wishes Card - Less Is More Challenge

This weeks LIM challenge theme is butterflies - yay, I love butterflies! I've bought new butterfly goodies from SU! recently which means the older butterfly stuff in my stash gets neglected which is a shame.  So I chose to use my Cuttlebug butterfly die as I haven't used it in ages.  But I also used my new Marianne flower frame circle die, I love mixing old and new items!

My card measures 12 cms square.  I used Marina Mist CS for the base and die cut the embossed flower frame using Rich Razzleberry CS.  I then cut a circle window out of the card front and glued the circle frame over the window.  I cut a square panel of Whisper White CS to go inside the card and stamped the Bella Toile background stamp with Marina Mist ink, stamping off twice first.  I stamped the Bella Toile stamp on Marina Mist CS with Razzleberry ink, die cut the butterfly and sponged the edges with Razzleberry ink.  I scored lines either side of the body to pop the wings up and attached the butterfly to the inside of the card with a line of mini glue dots fixed just along the body.  I've put half dimensionals with the backing paper still on under each wing so they'll stay popped up.  I stamped the sentiment and the finishing touch was to add the pearls.

I then stamped the Bella Toile stamp in Marina Mist ink on the envelope flap.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Bella Toile background stamp, sentiment from Hero Arts Birthday Wishes clear set
CS: SU! Marina Mist, Rich Razzleberry & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Marina Mist & Rich Razzleberry
Tools: Cuttlebug butterfly die, flower frame die from LR0152 Marianne Creatables circles dies set
Embellishments & accessories: self adhesive pearls, SU! Dimensionals

Flower & Leaf Brooch

On Tuesday at our SU! Make and Take evening Alex very kindly gave out some crackled die cut shapes she'd made using PaperTrey ink dies.  To make them, you coat die cut CS shapes with a glossy medium (like Glossy Accents or Crystal Effects) and let that dry completely.  Alex die cut 2 or 3 shapes and layered them together to get a thicker base.  Then you paint on a coat of Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint - Alex used Picket Fence which is white - and wait for that to dry and the cracks to appear.  Then you can sponge ink over the top and using the white paint means you can make your shapes any colour.  One of the shapes Alex offered was a butterfly and I snaffled that straight away!  I also took a leaf and 3 nesting flower shapes and that's what I've used here to make a brooch.

I sponged Pretty in Pink, Perfect Plum and Rose Red inks on my flower shapes and Old Olive ink on the leaf.  I then added one coat of gloss varnish to the front of each shape.  Once that was dry, I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch holes in the flower centres and fixed the flowers together with one of my treasured SU! Antique brads.  I then glued the flower to the leaf using a generous amount of PVA glue.  I attached a couple of clothes pegs to the shapes to keep them close together while the glue was drying.  Then I glued a brooch fitting to the back, again using a generous amount of PVA glue.  My finishing touch was to add a clear Swarovski crystal to the brad centre.

Wow, I LOVE this technique and I'm so happy with my flower brooch - considering it's my first attempt!  I think these accents make great brooches and they'll also be fab on cards and boxes.  I hotfooted it to the Glitter Pot to get some crackle paint and I have used it this morning on flowers die cut using the SU! Fun Flowers die.  I'm waiting for them to dry so I'll be creating something with them soon.  I'm torn between a fridge magnet and a handbag decoration.

I must say I love the shape and size of the PTI blooms and leaves die shapes so, of course, I just had to order them!  The shapes turn out very sturdy yet they're also still a bit pliable so you can do some moulding and shaping to get some dimension.  I wore my brooch yesterday on a plain black top so it really stood out, my friend Jan loved it.  I had to get some crackle paint for her too!  She has just lent me an SU! punch and a stamp set and she's challenged me to do the crackle technique using the owl punch and owl stamp from the Punch Bunch set.  I do like a challenge but I'm not sure how the crackling will look over the stamped owl, I guess I'll find out!

Many thanks to Alex for sharing this fabulous technique, for the shapes and also for the enabling LOL! 

Supplies:
Stamps: None
CS: white CS
Ink: SU! Pretty in Pink, Perfect Plum, Rose Red & Old Olive
Tools: PaperTrey Ink Beautiful Blooms II #1 die collection, Leaf Prints die collection, Crop-A-Dile
Embellishments & accessories: Ranger Glossy Accents, Tim Holtz 'Picket Fence' Distress Crackle Paint, PVA glue, clear gloss varnish, SU! Antique brad, clear Swarovski crystal, brooch fitting

Punny Get Well Card For Alan

Our friend Alan isn't well at the moment and so I decided to make him a get well card.  My usual flowers or butterflies not being suitable for a man card I chose the oak leaves stamp from the SU! Lovely As A Tree set.  My masculine colour combo is Bravo Burgundy, More Mustard, Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke and Early Espresso.  I stamped the image repeatedly on the card front using Espresso ink to make a background.  Whilst doing that I hit on the idea of using OAKay as a punny sentiment.  It gets worse  - I wrote inside that I hoped his TREEtment would work quickly so he'd feel better soon.  I added that I knew it was ACORNy card but I couldn't resist.  Hopefully, it raised a chuckle but more likely a groan!

I used a woodgrain embossing folder on the Mustard oval and then brayered Mustard ink over the embossing.  I stamped the image all over the Artichoke oval and mounted that on an Espresso Labels 4 Nestie shape.  Then I stamped the oak image on Crumb Cake CS, cut it out and I popped it up.  I computer generated the sentiment using the Bookman Old Style font and I cut it out with a Labels Trio die.  The finishing touch was to add gold nailheads.

Then I cut a Crumb Cake panel for inside the card and stamped the oak leaf cluster a couple of times and I also stamped on the envelope front.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Lovely As A Tree set
CS: SU! Bravo Burgundy, More Mustard, Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke & Early Espresso
Ink: SU! Early Espresso & More Mustard
Tools: Craft Concepts woodgrain embossing folder, brayer, Petite Oval & Labels Four Nestabilities dies, Labels Trio die
Embellishments & accessories: self adhesive gold nailheads, 3d foam pads

Two SU! Make & Take Cards

We had our SU! Make and Take evening on Tuesday and these were the cards we made.  First off there's an elegant thank you card made using the Wedding Sweet set and matching Sweet Swirls wheel.  It's hard to tell from the photo but the Elegant Eggplant border has the swirly wheel stamped on it.  Bless her heart, Joanne knows how very wheel challenged I am and she had already very kindly wheeled my border for me!  Actually, she also punched the Scallop Trim border for me as well as I find those punches challenging as well, what a sweetheart!  We used the Crop-A-Dile to add holes to the thank you label so we could thread the satin ribbon through.  After stamping the swirl, we added glue to the dots and sprinkled on purple glitter.  Click on the photo if you'd like a larger view.

The next card uses the gorgeous flower stem from the Hopeful Thoughts set and a lovely colour combo of Marina Mist, Crumb Cake and white.  For the card front, we added three embossed lines and and then used the spritzing tool with a Marina Mist marker to spritz the whole card front.  Crumb Cake and Marina Mist markers were used to ink the stamp and Champagne glitter was added to each flower centre.  The Scallop Trim Corner punch was used on one corner of the white panel and then we sponged the panel with Marina Mist ink.  We added a piece of ruffled Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon and added a Marina Mist bow over the top.  Joanne had used the get well sentiment from the Hopeful Thoughts set, stamping the 'Get Well Soon' on the card front and the 'wishing you a quick and complete recovery' inside.  I wanted to keep the card as a general purpose card so I've used the 'for you' sentiment from the Fresh Cuts set.

Supplies for 'thank you' card:
Stamps: SU! Wedding Sweet set, SU! Sweet Swirls wheel
CS: SU! Elegant Eggplant & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Elegant Eggplant
Tools: SU! Scallop Trim border punch, SU! Decorative Label punch, Crop-A-Dile
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Whisper White satin ribbon, Orchid Fine Cosmo glitter


Supplies for 'for you' card:
Stamps: SU! Hopeful Thoughts & Fresh Cuts sets
CS: SU! Marina Mist, Crumb Cake & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Marina Mist & Crumb Cake
Tools: SU! Scallop Trim Corner punch, SU! paper cutter to score the lines, SU! Color Spritzer Tool
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, Marina Mist grosgrain ribbon, SU! Champagne Fine Galaxy glitter, glue dots

Black White & Pink To You From Me Card

I just got a set of Marianne Creatables circle dies, the large flowery circle frame is so pretty!  I found it a bit tricky to cut out, I had to run it through the machine once, give the die a quarter turn and run it through again and then it cut out all the way through.  You need a pin handy too to release the shape out of the die and to poke out the excess bits from the die. 

One of my all time fave colour combos is black and white with bright pink so I chose that for this card.   The card measures 4 3/4" square.   I seem to love the look of dry embossing on white CS at the moment so I cut and embossed the shape using Whisper White CS.  I then glued it onto a 4" black circle.    I embossed the Melon Mambo panel with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.

I stamped the silhouette flowers and sentiment and then cut that out with a circle Nestie die and also cut a larger Melon Mambo circle and arranged these inside the flowery frame.  The centre of the frame die is not a perfect circle so it looked so much better to arrange my circles off centre, it looked odd when I placed them centrally.  I then attached 3 silver mirror candy dots to the side of the frame with pop dots.  I got these as a gift from Michelle, the bag has black, pink and silver candy dots - a perfect colour choice for me!  I then added clear gems in various sizes to the centres of the embossed flowers around the frame.

I wanted to keep this card as a general purpose, any occasion card so I decided not to add a sentiment inside.  I just stamped the silhouette flowers in the corner and added Melon Mambo photo corners.  I embossed the flap of the envelope with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  This size folder is perfect for embossing a 5" square envelope flap.  I think embossing on an envelope is such a classy and elegant touch.  It's simple but adds a real wow factor.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Silhouette Corner, sentiment from SU! Best Yet set
CS: SU! Basic Black, Whisper White & Melon Mambo
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Melon Mambo
Tools: LR0152 Marianne Creatables circles dies, SU! Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Sizzix Circle #1 die, Nestabilities circle dies, SU! Photo Corners punch
Embellishments & accessories: Craftwork Cards Candy Dots, clear gems, 3d foam pads

CAS Gift Card/Money Holder Card

Today's CAS119 challenge on Splitcoast Stampers is a word inspiration challenge, the word being GIFT.  I sometimes give gift cards or money as birthday gifts but I never have a card on hand and I end up scrambling to make something to put the cash or card in at the last minute.  Inspired by the word gift I decided to make a bright and cheery gift card/money holder.

I started off with a piece of Whisper White CS measuring 24 x 15 cms.  I used my metric Scor-Pal to make my score lines, scoring at the * groove (10.5 cms) and scoring again at 21 cms.  I die cut my gift shape in Old Olive and Melon Mambo CS and striped patterned paper, cut the pieces and assembled them.  I finished off the gift with a Pumpkin Pie felt flower with a pink gem brad in the centre.  The gift was then popped up on the card.   I punched a Melon Mambo piece of CS with the Eyelet Border punch and then added my sentiment.  I used a Hero Arts clear alphabet set to stamp 'a gift for you' with Early Espresso ink and then I just cut out each word.  A narrow strip of Old Olive CS finished off the card front.

Then on the inside, I covered the 3cm flap with patterned paper and rounded the corners.  I applied tape just at the sides and stuck it down.  I now have somewhere to tuck a banknote or gift card.  I stamped the 'Wishing you a very Happy Birthday' sentiment on a piece of Melon Mambo CS, cut it out, rounded the corners and added a felt flower with a brad centre.  I then put a strip of the striped paper on the envelope front.  It feels good to know I have a cash/gift card holder ready in my stash! 

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Cute Uppercase Letters clear alphabet set, Woodware Special Wishes clear stamp set
CS: SU! Whisper White, Old Olive & Melon Mambo
Patterned paper:  Echo Park Jody's Stripe
Ink: SU! Early Espresso
Tools: Sizzix Gift # 2 Bigz die, SU! Eyelet Border punch, metric Scor-Pal, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Felt Fusion felt flowers, Dovecraft gem brad, SU! Old Olive brad, 3d foam pads

Butterflies Best Wishes One Layer card - Less Is More Week 15 Challenge

I checked the Less Is More challenge this morning to see it was to make a one layer card with embossing - dry or heat embossing.  One layer cards can be tricky little blighters 'cos there's nowhere to hide any imperfections, everything has to be spot on.  I'd like to say I got this card right first time but that would be telling a fib.  The first time I used a different sentiment which was too large and it didn't look balanced, on the second attempt I overheated the embossing powder.  So it was a case of third time lucky!

I started off by dry embossing the frame onto the card front and then I stamped the butterflies image with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with detail silver embossing powder.  I wanted a dark ink for the sentiment but I decided against black but dark brown didn't seem a good choice either so I settled on SU! Night of Navy ink.  I then cut round part of the dry embossed design on the card front so my card is shaped.  I also punched the back inside of the card with a decorative corner punch.  The finishing touch to the card was to add some bling here and there.

Then I dry embossed a piece of white CS with a butterfly embossing folder, punched out a circle, mounted that on a larger Night of Navy circle and glued it to the envelope flap. I'm looking forward to checking out the other entries but it'll have to wait until tomorrow as we have friends coming round this evening for dinner. We'll be enjoying (if that's the right word!?) the complete and utter cheesiness that is the Eurovision Song Contest!

Supplies:
Stamps: Inkadinkado Utopiary clear set, sentiment from SU! Vintage Frames set
CS: Anita's white A6 card blank, white CS, SU! Night of Navy
Ink: VersaMark & SU! Night of Navy
Tools: Cuttlebug Flourished Frame & Jules Jewells embossing folders, Woodware decorative corner punch, circle punches
Embellishments & accessories: Detail Silver embossing powder, rhinestones

Happy Mail!

I LOVE getting happy mail through the letterbox!  Wow, look at this fabulous easel card I received from Kelly the other day.  Can you believe it's her first attempt at an easel card?!

Easel cards are definitely a fave of mine and I love the layout, the paper piecing, the sponging, the use of different patterned papers and the Decorative Label punch shape just peeking out is a wonderful touch.   In fact, there are lots of little touches that add interest to this fabby card.  I'm delighted to have received this card and I couldn't wait to CASE it and make my own version.  What a treat to receive a beautiful handmade card - plus inspiration as well!  Thank you so much Kelly, you're a sweetheart!  Please go and check out Kelly's blog - Kelly's Craftin' Corner to see more of her great cards.

So here is my version.  The SU! supplies I used are totally different to what Kelly chose but I changed very, very little in terms of layout and design.  I used the Just Believe stamp set, Blueberry Crisp  papers and Pacific Point, Marina Mist, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla CS.  I  really like the placement of  the brads on Kelly's card but because I chose a fairly busy paper I thought brads wouldn't show up well.  I chose to add two brads to the image panel and one to the Decorative Label piece instead.  I also matted and layered my image panel and popped it up, again due to the busy papers.  I placed my image panel to the left rather than centrally.  I couldn't help it - I just had to add a pretty Marina Mist embossed butterfly with bling on the body!

I have three birthday cards to give out at my June card group meeting and this will be one of them.  So I put a birthday message panel on the card and finished off by stamping the envelope.  Usually, my cards mix and match products from various companies but I think this might just be a Ruth M rarity - an all SU! card! 

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Just Believe & Sincere Salutations sets
CS: SU! Pacific Point, Marina Mist, Sahara Sand & Very Vanilla
Patterned paper: SU! Blueberry Crisp Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: SU! Marina Mist, Pacific Point & Night of Navy
Tools: SU! Decorative Label punch, SU! Eyelet border punch, SU! Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, SU! Mat Pack
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon, SU! Vintage brads, SU! Basic Rhinestone, SU! Dimensionals

Petal Pizzazz Happy Birthday Card

I saw a colour challenge a while ago that put together yellow, aqua and brown.  I didn't get around to taking part but I mentally filed the combo away for future use.  This is the card I came up with when I got round to trying it out.  I made the card base with SU! Baja Breeze CS and added an Early Espresso layer.  I brayered the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder with Barely Banana ink and embossed a piece of Whisper White CS.  I added Early Espresso narrow taffeta ribbon .  I used Baja Breeze, Barely Banana and Pear Pizzazz inks to stamp the flowers and leaves.  I stamped a button onto Baja Breeze CS, cut it out and punched the buttonholes so I could add some Early Espresso taffeta ribbon.  I then glued the button to a few punched 3/4" circles so the button has some dimension and popped it in the centre of the flower.

I embossed the envelope flap and a panel for inside the card and then to finish, I punched labels for the sentiment.  I don't think I would have come up with this colour combo myself but I really like it actually!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Petal Pizzazz, Button Button & Cute & Curly sets, inside sentiment from Hero Arts
CS: SU! Baja Breeze, Barely Banana, Early Espresso & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Baja Breeze, Barely Banana, Pear Pizzazz & Early Espresso
Tools: SU! Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, SU! Scallop Circle punch, SU! Decorative Label punch,  SU! 3/4" circle punch, brayer
Embellishments & accessories: SU! 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta ribbon,  3d foam pads

Fun Flower Happy Birthday Card

My friend Jan and I have swapped dies for a few days.  I have her Fun Flowers die and she has my Beautiful Butterflies die.  I really like the card on page 6 of the UK mini catalogue so I CASEd that design.  I love how the flower and sentiment banner hang off the edges of the card.  My card was made with textured Mellow Moss CS.  I'm ashamed to say how long I've had my pack of 12" x 12" textured Soft Subtles CS - and how little of it I've used!  I made it A6 size but trimmed the width of the card to 3 7/8".   Because the two elements hang off the card edges I needed to use a 6" square envelope for this card.

I used a new Hero Arts clear set for the sentiments.  It's called 'Yummy Treats' and has some really nice sentiments which are perfect for birthday cards.  I also like the fact that the font matches another Hero Arts clear set I have!  After adding the torn patterned paper panel I stamped the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment and rounded the corners.  I die cut two large and two smaller flowers from some old - but very pretty - double sided patterned paper.  I added a bit of shaping to each flower and the layers are separated by 3d glue dots so my big bloom has quite a bit of dimension.  I added a button centre with 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta ribbon threaded through the buttonholes.  I then made the sentiment banner and highlighted the word 'fabulous'.  I stamped once in Espresso ink, again in Mellow Moss ink and I cut the Moss 'fabulous' out and I've popped it up.  I tucked die cut Early Espresso leaf sprays behind the big bloom to finish the front.

I love the Little Leaves Sizzlits die, it has such a nice shape.  I've actually had my die for a couple of years as I bought one from the USA.  I recently found out that there is an old SU! stamp set called Best Blossoms that has a stamp with that exact same leaf spray shape.  Of course, I then just had to track down a set on eBay and the set arrived today - yay!  The set is from 2006 and is on pale blue rubber so it must have been a hostess set.  I look forward to getting inky with it very soon!

As I have two sentiments on the front of the card I haven't used one inside.  I've just decorated with a strip of the patterned paper and oval die cut shapes.  I also put a strip of paper on the envelope and then added Mellow Moss stripes to both edges of the paper using a Mellow Moss marker pen.  This card will definitely be one that is hand delivered!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts 'Yummy Treats' clear set
CS: SU! textured Mellow Moss CS, SU! Early Espresso & Whisper White CS
Patterned paper: Chatterbox 'Cottage Lilacs' double sided paper
Ink: SU! Early Espresso & Mellow Moss
Tools: SU! Fun Flowers Bigz L Die, SU!Little Leaves Sizzlits die, Nellie Multiframe Oval dies, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper
Embellishments & accessories: SU! 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta ribbon, American Crafts green button, 3d glue dots

Vase of Tulips For You Card For Kelly

Kelly from Kelly's Craftin' Corner left me a comment on a card I'd made with the Terrific Tulips set to say they were a favourite flower of hers.  Kelly is a sweetheart, she often leaves comments so I thought I'd send her a 'just because' tulips card. 

I used the bisque pottery technique again, this time with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  Oh my word, what a beautiful embossing folder, just gorgeous!  I brayered Crumb Cake ink on the folder and then embossed a piece of Very Vanilla CS.  I think it's a wonderful look, I'm so glad I found out about this technique.  Another great thing I've learned from the web is to use the SU! ornament punch as a vase.  It is so simple, punch out a shape and snip off the bottom so your vase has a flat bottom.  I'm sure I'd have never thought of that in a million years! 

After I'd punched the vase I stamped it with the flourish stamp from the Bliss set, sponged the edges and rolled the vase around a bottle of glue to give it some shape.  When I popped the vase up on the card,  I put a single layer of Dimensionals round the edges but put a double layer in the centre so it would keep its rounded shape.  I cut strips of CS for stems, popped up the tulips and added some glitter.  I used the Eyelet border punch on the Crumb Cake strip and added some Early Espresso narrow taffeta ribbon.  The sentiment (from the One of a Kind set) was stamped in Early Espresso ink on the Pink Pirouette strip.  The finishing touch was to stamp a tulip on the front of the envelope.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Terrific Tulips, Bliss & One of a Kind sets
CS: SU! Pink Pirouette, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi & Very Vanilla
Ink: SU! Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi & Early Espresso
Tools: SU! Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, SU! Ornament & Eyelet border punches
Embellishments & accessories: SU! 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta ribbon, Star Dust Stickles, SU! Dimensionals