Birdhouse Gift Boxes

Joanne recently ran an SU! workshop for my card group ladies.  We made a card for our Make & Take but she demoed how to make this cute birdhouse using the Mini Milk Carton and Top Note dies.  Oh my goodness, everyone LOVED it!  Jan and I asked Joanne if we could make one at our monthly SU! Make & Take evening and Joanne said yes and let us loose with her dies!

We cut the milk carton out of Crumb Cake CS, folded all the crease lines (apart from the pouring spout bit at the top 'cos we didn't need that) and stamped the Sanded stamp all over it using Crumb Cake ink.  We assembled the carton bit together and then made the roof.  We die cut two Early Espresso Top Note shapes, scored them at the halfway point on the short sides and then we cut them at just over the half way point on the long sides.  We glued the two shapes together to form the roof - you can have a roof with a curly edge front and back or you can have a roof that's straight at the back.  We had a discussion about what was best and decided that if you were going to make a row of houses as a decoration and they were going to be lined up on a shelf the straight back would be a better option.

To decorate the birdhouse, we punched black 1" circles for the hole and stamped and punched the bird and wing.  We stamped the bird on Marina Mist CS using the same colour ink, punched it out, punched the wing from Pacific Point CS and added a tiny pearl for the eye.  The bird and wing were sponged around the edges.  We punched three Pear Pizzazz branches, one for the front of the house for the birdie to perch on and we trimmed two to decorate the roof.  The bird is popped up.  The tiny flowers were made with a punch from the Itty Bitty punch pack, we pressed them on a moulding mat with a ball end embossing tool to give them some shape and put a dot from a marker in the centre.

The birdhouse Joanne showed us wasn't a gift box, it was purely decorative but a few of us wanted to use the birdhouse as a gift box.  So when it came to fixing the roof onto the milk carton we used permanent adhesive on one side only.  On the side with the flowers on we applied a small strip of sellotape to the carton and then put a couple of glue dots underneath the roof and this holds the box closed but enables the recipient to open it easily.

This is the front view of the box.

This is a side view.

The ladies at card group want to make these next time and Jan very sweetly said she will lend me her milk carton and Top Note dies so that we can.  I borrowed the dies straight away so I could put another one together as a tiny gift for Debbie and Mike.  I discovered that three tealights fit inside perfectly! I had a box of herb scented tealights in three colours of green so I popped one of each inside the box.  This box was made more or less the same as the first one - the differences are I used a woodgrain stamp, made this box with the roof straight at the back, used a different flower punch and added some gems.

Another difference you can see in this photo is that I added a 'LIFT' tab so the recipient knows to lift the tab to get inside the box.  I used the Modern Label punch to make the tab - I cut the label in half and glued both pieces together before gluing the tab under the roof.  I wouldn't like someone to rip the birdhouse open after all that effort - so that's why I added the tab!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Sanded bg stamp, bird from SU! Punch Potpourri set, Hero Arts Designer Woodgrain bg stamp
CS: SU! Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo & Basic Black
Ink: SU! Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Peach Parfait marker
Tools: SU! Mini Milk Carton & Top Note dies, SU! Two Step bird punch, flower punch from Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, SU! Modern Label punch, 1" circle punch,  X Cut mini flower punch, sponge daubers
Embellishments & accessories: pearl, gems, SU! Dimensionals

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Two Cards Made With New Stash

What's better than new stamps?  New half price stamps!  I went to the Glitter Pot the other day and picked up a few things in the summer sale.  I used some of my bargains to make this first card for Alan to wish him well following his spell in hospital.  The leaves are from a clear set and the scallop circle is a cling stamp - both Hero Arts and both 50% off.  For the sentiment I used a die from the Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 3 set and I got that at 25% off. 

I started off with a Chocolate Chip side opening landscape A6 card.  I stamped the scalloped circle in Baja Breeze ink, cut it out with a plain circle die and matted it on a larger Old Olive circle.  I stamped the leaves and cut them out.  After stamping the Best Wishes on the tag die I threaded it onto a strip of Old Olive CS and glued the strip to the card.  I threaded thin Baja Breeze CS strips through the holes of a brown button and attached that to the card with a glue dot.  I then rounded the top right corner.

For the inside of the card I stamped a cluster of leaves at the bottom of a white panel.  I stamped the ginkgo leaf on the envelope flap to finish off.  I LOVE this leaf set, the images are so realistic and detailed!

Next I made a BRAK card using a half price Penny Black cling background stamp.  Oh my goodness, this is a beautiful stamp and it cost under £4 - a fab bargain!  I stamped the background on Very Vanilla CS using Elegant Eggplant ink, trimmed the panel and sponged the edges.  I die cut another ribbon tag and threaded it onto a length of Old Olive grosgrain ribbon which I taped to the back of the vanilla panel which I glued to my Old Olive card base.  I put a charm brad in the centre of an Old Olive felt flower and attached that to the tag.  I stamped and punched the sentiment element, popped it up and then added the decorative corners.  This background is so gorgeous I didn't want to cover it up too much.



I used the background stamp again to make strips for inside the card and for the envelope.  I inked the sentiment stamp with Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant markers.

Supplies for Best Wishes card:
Stamps: Hero Arts Leaf Prints clear set, Hero Arts Striped Circle cling stamp, Best Wishes from Hobby Art
CS: SU! Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Baja Breeze & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Early Espresso & Crumb Cake
Tools:  Circle Nestabilities dies, die from Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 3 set, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper
Embellishments & accessories: button, 3d foam pads

Supplies for Birthday Wishes card:
Stamps:  Penny Black Majestic Composition cling background stamp, Birthday Wishes from Hero Arts Birthday Messages clear set, inside sentiment from Hero Arts
CS:  Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant & Very Vanilla
Ink: SU! Old Olive, SU! Old Olive & Elegant Eggplant markers
Tools:  die from Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 3 set, SU! Modern Label punch, Sizzix Decorative Corner Sizzlits die, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, SU! Felt Fusion felt flower, DoveCraft charm brad, 3d foam pads

CAS Red, Black & White Cards

Today's CAS125 challenge on Splitcoast Stampers was a colour challenge of red, black and white.  I love black and white with a pop of bold colour so this was right up my street!  I got to ink up some new SU! stamps - the lovely Always set plus the matching Always in Bloom wheel and a sentiment from the Watercolor Trio set.

The first card was made for my friend Jan.  Her hubby Alan is in hospital and I know what a worrying time that can be for the partner left alone at home so I made the card to let her know I'm thinking of her and there for her if she needs anything.  I used the lovely heart from the Always set, stamping once in black ink direct to the card and stamping again in red ink on a separate piece of white CS.  I cut the inside portion of the heart out and I've popped it up.  I stamped the wheel on the bottom and added black lines with a marker.  I punched the sentiment out with the Modern Label punch and added a red mat.  I stamped a tiny flower onto red CS and punched a small red heart to go on the sentiment label, added black brads and I popped the label up.  The last thing for the card front was to round the right hand corners and add some bling to the heart.

Inside I stamped two foliage images, stamped and cut out the flower, popped it up and added a gem.  I stamped the wheel down the short side of the envelope and added black lines with a marker.

I have been hankering after this Always set for absolute ages, I just LOVE the images in the set, especially the bird.  Can't say as I care for the sentiments though but I really do love the images.  I was so hoping the set would appear in our UK SU! catty but it never did.  I was so chuffed to discover there was a matching wheel too.  I got the set and wheel from eBay and my wonderful friends Debbie and Mike bought them back from the USA for me.  While the stamps were out I decided to make another card but this time using the gorgeous bird.   

I started off by stamping the wheel image and I added a strip of gingham ribbon underneath.  I stamped the bird direct to the card but also stamped one separately and cut it out.  I wrapped a length of the gingham ribbon above the wheel image and tied it in a knot.  I went round the bird image with a black marker so no white shows, popped it up and added a gem eye.  I stamped the three small flowers from the set, punched them out with a small circle punch which measures just a tad over 3/8" and glued them on.  I will use this as a BRAK card so I added the lovely Happy Birthday from the Curly Cute set to finish off the front.

Then inside the card I stamped the foliage image along the bottom in black ink - stamping twice before re-inking - and added a red CS strip.  I stamped and punched out five small solid flowers.  I inked the sentiment with markers so I could get two colours.  For the envelope I stamped the wheel along the long side of the envelope and again added black lines with a marker.  I'm so happy to have these beautiful stamps!



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Always set, 'fron the heart' from SU! Watercolor Trio set, SU! Always in Bloom wheel, SU! Curly Cute set, sentiment inside card 2 from Penny Black
CS: PaperMania A6 white card blanks, SU! Real Red
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Real Red, SU! Basic Black & Real Red markers
Tools: SU! Modern Label punch, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, X Cut small circle punch, small heart punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: black & white gingham ribbon, black brads, gems, 3d foam pads

Thanks Card & Ruth's Reminder

I quite liked the look of the SU! Live Your Dream set but wasn't sure how much I'd use it and I didn't love it enough to buy it while it was a current set.  It obviously takes me a while to fall in love with some sets and by the time that has happened the set has retired!  As I'm not a demo it's not important to me if the set is current or retired, in fact some of my faves are old, retired stamps.  I've discovered some really great sets that I didn't realise the potential of at the time they were available.  Our friends Debbie and Mike have just visited friends in the USA and I was able to get some SU! sets from eBay shipped to their friend's USA address so that they could bring them home with them - I have a few sets on the way to me, I can't wait!  Anyway, I now have the Live Your Dream set and I love it!

The first thing I made was a thanks card. I started off with an A6 Crumb Cake card with the fold at the top, punched the bottom with the Eyelet Border punch and added an Old Olive strip behind the punched border.  I stamped the French Script background in Crumb Cake ink and then added some Itty Bitty Background speckles, some in Crumb Cake and some in Early Espresso.  I sponged the edges with Early Espresso ink.  For the image panel, I stamped French Script again on vanilla CS, inked the flowers with markers and stamped those.  I then added speckles and sponged edges.  I rock 'n rolled two butterflies and a bird and cut them out.  A clear gem was added to the butterflies and I popped up the bird on the sentiment label.  The Early Espresso oval layer was embossed with the Square Lattice folder and that was matted onto a plain Old Olive oval.  Last on the card front was the Early Espresso taffeta ribbon.

For the inside of the card, I stamped the dotted lines in Crumb Cake on vanilla CS, aded the small flower spray after stamping off once first and then stamped the sentiment over the top in Early Espresso ink.  I used the Decorative Label punch, sponged the edges and punched an Early Espresso label and cut it apart for a mat.  I stamped the flower border a few times across the bottom to finish off inside.  For the envelope, I added a small flower spray circle which also had the French Script and sponging treatment.

While I had the stamps still out on my desk I used them to make myself a 'Ruth Reminder'.  A couple of weeks ago I had a very forgetful time, I locked myself out 'cos I forgot my key and a few days after that, after queueing in the Post Office for 15 minutes I realised I'd forgotten my purse!  I've lost count of the times I've forgotten my mobile phone too.  A Post It note was duly attached to the front door so I cannot leave the house without being reminded to take the essentials with me.  It's a bright orange Post It note and it keeps falling off so obviously a prettier, permanent reminder was needed!  I stamped away merrily to my heart's content, added die cut letters, an Old Olive mat and this is now adorning the inside of my front door - with the essential items written in with my Early Espresso marker.

I owed a friend some money and I decided to make a CS envelope to put the cash in.  I also used this stamp set to decorate the envelope. Guess what? I forgot to take a photo! * sigh *


Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Live Your Dream, Sincere Salutations & Itty Bitty Backgrounds sets, SU! French Script bg stamp
CS: SU! Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Old Olive & Very Vanilla
Ink: SU! Crumb Cake, Early Espresso & various colour SU! markers
Tools: Petite Oval Nestabilities dies, SU! Eyelet Border, Modern Label & Decorative Label punches, SU! Square Lattice embossing folder, Sixxix 'Naturally Serif' alphabet Decorative Strip die, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, sponge daubers
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Early Espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon, clear gems, 3d foam pads

Daisies Birthday Card - Sweet Sunday Sketch #122 Card

I really liked the look of this weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch and I decided to make a card using the layout.  A really nice layout, I can see myself using this again!

I've made a 5 3/4" square card rather than a rectangular card though.  I've not been using patterned paper all that much recently but I fell in love with these very happy My Mind's Eye Lime Twist papers.  Papers that go with Old Olive, Baja Breeze and Rich Razzleberry?  They just HAD to go in my basket!

I sponged the edges of the flowery paper before gluing it to the card front.  I also sponged the edges of the dotty banner and die cut leaves which are popped up.   I die cut 3 medium Rich Razzleberry daisies and 3 small Baja Breeze daisies and glued a small punched circle to the back - I find it so much easier to attach the daisy layers together if I have a circle at the back.  I then attached the flower to the large circle with a gem brad.  I stamped 3 buttons, punched them out with a 1/2" circle punch and mounted them onto more punched circles so they were dimensional.  I then applied Glossy Accents to each button.

I will use this as a birthday card so I stamped a birthday message on a circle element for inside the card.  I also covered the envelope flap with the gorgeous flowery paper.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Sending Smiles Messages & Sweet Treats clear sets, SU! Button Button set
CS: SU! Baja Breeze, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive & Whisper White
Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky 'Happy Blooms' & 'Hello Bubbles'
Ink: SU! Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive & Baja Breeze
Tools: Circle Nestabilities dies, SU! Daisies # 2 die, PTI Leaf Prints Collection die, 1/2" circle punch, sponge daubers
Embellishments & accessories: Ranger Glossy Accents, large gem brad, 3d foam tape

Butterfly Best Wishes BRAK Card

On my last visit to the Glitter Pot I picked up some Ranger Metal Foil Tape Sheets.  I thought they would emboss beautifully - and they do!  I was so impatient to try it out I didn't pay close attention when I put the sheet in the Vintage Wallpaper folder so I ended up with a debossed design but it looked fab anyway!   The tape is adhesive backed so after embossing I just peeled off the backing sheet and stuck it to the Baja Breeze card base - after adding a strip of narrow Early Espresso ribbon.   

I then die cut a Baja Breeze butterfly, stamped it with the Bella Toile stamp using Early Espresso ink and sponged the edges.  I  scored lines on both sides of the body, attached a pearl stamen as antennae and then added blue pearls.  To keep the wings popped up, I added dimensionals with the backing paper still on behind each wing.  I used the elegant frame stamp from the Four Frames set for the sentiment.  I punched two Early Espresso Designer Label shapes, cut them apart, layered them behind the white label and popped the sentiment up.  To finish off the front, I added punched photo corners with blue pearl accents.

Then I stamped the envelope flap and added die cut and embossed butterflies to the sentiment oval inside the card.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Bella Toile background stamp, SU! Sincere Salutations & Four Frames sets, Woodware Special Wishes clear set
CS: SU! Baja Breeze, Early Espresso & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Baja Breeze & Early Espresso
Tools: SU! Beautiful Butterflies Bigz L die, SU! Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, SU! Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, SU! Photo Corners punch, Petite Oval Nestabilities dies
Embellishments & accessories: Ranger Metal Foil Tape Sheet, SU! Early Espresso taffeta ribbon, blue pearls, 3d foam pads

Tree Trunk Thinking Of You Card For Jean

Jean, a friend from my card group, is going through a tough time right now.  I made this card to let her know I'm thinking of her and hoping for better times ahead.  I've used a card I saw on display at the Glitter Pot for inspiration.  I saw the card, really liked it and then, of course, I had to buy the Tree Trunk stamp!  I was there with Jan and Lesley from card group and all three of us bought this stamp, we were quite willing and happy to enable each other LOL!

I started off with a Chocolate Chip 5 3/4" square card.  I've been using Early Espresso as my go-to brown these days and neglecting my Chocolate Chip so I thought it was time to use it again.  I stamped the woodgrain on Crumb Cake CS using Chocolate Chip ink and added the ribbon.  I stamped the image on watercolour paper and coloured using markers and watercolor crayons.  The little birdies are cut out and popped up.  I added punched grass at the bottom and matted onto a Baja Breeze layer.  I punched the sentiment out with the Modern Label punch and added die cut leaves and punched flowers.  I finished off the front by adding gems to the flower centres and the woodgrain panel.

I added a white paper insert inside the card, stamped the leaves and added punched flowers.  I stamped the leaves across the front of the envelope with full strength and stamped off images.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Tree Trunk, Hero Arts Designer Woodgrain, sentiment from SU! Trendy Trees set
CS: SU! Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz & Rich Razzleberry, watercolour paper
Ink: VersaFine Vintage Sepia, SU! Chocolate Chip, various SU! Watercolor Wonder Crayons & markers
Tools: Martha Stewart Grass border punch, SU! Little Leaves Sizzlits die, SU! Boho Blossoms & Modern Label punches
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, gems, 3d foam pads

Owls, Owls & More Owls - For Kelly

Kelly at Kelly's Craftin' Corner has moved home recently.  I know she likes owls and Jan has very kindly lent me her SU! owl punch and Punch Bunch stamp set so I thought I'd use that to make a card and photo frame for Kelly.  For the card I was inspired by a fabulous photo I saw in a newspaper last weekend.  Tiggywinkles wildlife hospital are looking after 10 tawny owl chicks and here they all are perched together on a branch - isn't that a sweet picture?!  I tried to find the photo on the Daily Telegraph web site but couldn't and the one on the Tiggywinkles site is so small so I resorted to taking a photo of the newspaper!

I started off with a Baja Breeze DL size card.  I stamped my Hero Arts Tree Trunk stamp twice, watercoloured and cut out just the trunk part of both images and glued them to the card to make my branch for the owls to perch on.  I stamped and punched 9 owls, I couldn't fit 10 on the card LOL!  3 were inked with Crumb Cake, 3 with Close to Cocoa and 3 with Early Espresso ink.  I added coloured gems as eyes to each owl and they're all popped up.  I then punched tiny leaves and added them to the branch.

The sentiment was computer generated using theWill&Grace font and I used the SU! Modern Label punch to punch it out.  I punched another label from Early Espresso CS, cut it into 2 pieces and tucked them behind the vanilla label to form a mat.  The last thing for the card front was to add some cute embossed butterflies and gems.

Then I punched an Early Espresso border with the Eyelet Border punch, added a Baja Breeze strip and popped up another stamped and punched owl  for inside the card.

Then for the envelope, I stamped a leafy border and added yet another owl.

I couldn't resist decorating another mirrored photo frame.  I stamped one owl, punched it out and also punched out a few more owl shapes and glued them all together.  I used Memento ink to stamp so I could varnish the shape and when I tried with SU! classic ink the ink ran when I applied the varnish.  I also punched a few Old Olive branch shapes and glued those together.  I then applied 2 coats of gloss varnish to each piece and allowed them to dry.  I added gems as the owl eyes again.  I then threaded linen thread through a flower shaped button and glued this to the branch.

I think these frames make sweet little gifts, I've stashed a few frames so I can make more!  This was huge fun to make,  I loved putting this together!  Even taking the photo of the mirrored frame wasn't as bad this time, I just got hubby to stand to my right and hold up a white sheet LOL!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Punch Bunch set, Hero Arts Tree Trunk, Penny Black Leaf Edge
CS: SU! Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Early Espresso & Very Vanilla, watercolour paper
Ink: SU! Crumb Cake, Close to Cocoa, Early Espresso & Old Olive, Memento Rich Cocoa
Tools: SU! Owl, Eyelet Border, Modern Label & Two Step Bird punches, SU! Beautiful Wings Embosslits dies, Woodware leaf punch, SU! Watercolor Wonder Crayons, waterbrush
Embellishments & accessories: clear & coloured gems, 3d foam pads, mirrored photo frame, SU! Latte designer button, SU! linen thread

Just Believe Happy Birthday - SU! Workshop Card

Our card group had a Stampin' Up! workshop on Thursday afternoon and this is the card Joanne designed as our Make and Take.  It was made with one of my favourite sets, Just Believe, I adore this set.  It was so nice to use red and green without making a Christmas card!  What a fun afternoon, stamping with a bunch of lovely people!

We stamped a border down the side of the Pear Pizzazz card using VersaMark ink.  The rectangular background behind the image was made by applying Pear Pizzazz ink to an acrylic block and we 'stamped off' once first before pressing the block to the CS.  We inked the image with Old Olive and Riding Hood Red markers.  The white panel was given a decorative edge with the Scallop Trim Border punch and then glued to a Cherry Cobbler panel.  We wrapped  linen thread around the panel before gluing it to the card.  The sentiment was stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink.

 

Then we stamped inside the card and added decorative corners to the white panel and we also  stamped the envelope.  On the envelope, the foliage image was stamped once in Pear Pizzazz ink and then stamped again without re-inking.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Just Believe set, Happy Birthday from Party This Way set
CS: SU! Pear Pizzazz, Cherry Cobbler & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Pear Pizzazz, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive & Cherry Cobbler, VersaMark
Tools: SU! Scallop Trim Border & Corner punches, acrylic block, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: SU! linen thread

Butterflies Notepad & Pen For Jan

This is the notepad and pen I decorated as a gift for Jan.  I know she loves butterflies and as soon as I saw this gorgeous patterned paper at the Glitter Pot I knew it would be perfect to use for a pad and pen combo.  I glued the patterned paper to the Early Espresso CS mat and added the charm brad to the butterfly body.  I then covered the notepad with Broken China Core'dinations CS and glued the Espresso mat to the front.  I loved how the butterfly at the top looked like lined notepaper and I thought it would be ideal to stamp 'notes' there.  Because I matted the paper onto a CS mat, the front of the notepad was heavier and so didn't need to be held closed - for Michelle's notepad I only used paper without a mat layer and I added elastic cord to keep the pad closed.

Then it was on to the pen.  I cut a piece of the patterned paper to size, rolled it and inserted it into the photopen barrel. I blinged up the clip by gluing on pearls.

Then I stamped each page of the notepad - yep, EVERY page - with the gorgeous butterfly from the SU! Strength and Hope set using Broken China ink. In fact I did the same for Michelle's notepad, I stamped each page with a Pale Plum butterfly.  It's time consuming but really worth the effort I think!  This butterfly must now be my most used stamp LOL!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Cute Uppercase Letters clear set, SU! Strength & Hope set
CS: SU! Early Espresso, Core'dinations Broken China CS
Patterned paper: Prima 'Skyward' from the Madeline Collection
Ink: SU! early Espresso & Tim Holtz Broken China distress ink
Embellishments & accessories: DoveCraft charm brad, A6 notepad, Shot2Go photopen, pearls

CAS Velvet Bloom Happy Birthday BRAK Card

Alex, who I see at Joanne's monthly SU! Make and Takes, totally enabled me to buy some PaperTrey Ink leaf and flower dies.  I fell in love with them after Alex gave me some crackled shapes she'd made using the dies and she very kindly ordered me some when she next placed a PTI order.  I received the dies yesterday and couldn't wait to try them out.  I've also used a new border punch but I've partnered my new goodies with some old velvet paper I've had in my stash forever.  I'd forgotten how lovely the velvet paper feels, very tactile and it die cuts beautifully!  I kept to a CAS design to really show off the die cut shapes.

The leaf shapes were cut out of green patterned paper, I stamped the SU! French Script stamp over the top and sponged the edges.  I die cut the flowers out of velvet paper and attached the three layers together by sewing a button in the centre.  After gluing the punched border and velvet strips I stamped the sentiment.  Then I arranged the leaves and bloom - I've put some 3d foam pads with the backing paper still on behind the shapes so they stay popped up.  I then added green gems to the purple velvet strip and rounded the corners.

For the inside of the card I stamped a sentiment and a flower stamp - which I also stamped on the envelope flap.  I'm so happy with my new dies - not so much with my border punch, it took a few attempts to get it lined up properly!  This will be sent as a birthday RAK card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hobby Art 'Happy Birthday', SU! French Script bg stamp, inside sentiment from Hero Arts Sending Smiles Messages clear set, flower from SU! Best Blossoms set
CS: PaperMania A6 white card blank, deep pink and purple velvet paper
Patterned paper: Magenta Robin's Nest
Ink: SU! Elegant Eggplant, Tim Holtz Peeled Paint distress ink
Tools: PTI Leaf Prints Collection dies, PTI Beautiful Blooms II #1 Die Collection dies, EK Success Arches border punch, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper
Embellishments & accessories: American Crafts button, white thread, green gems, 3d foam pads

Roses Twisted Easel Birthday Card

This is the birthday card I made for Alan for him to give to Jan.  When we were at the Glitter Pot a couple of weeks ago I picked up a sheet of this gorgeous double sided Prima patterned paper, Jan said "that IS lovely, is that for my birthday card?"  Well, I can take a hint!  I chose the colour scheme based on colours in the paper, using SU! Regal Rose and Old Olive with Core'dinations Broken China. 

The card is a square twisted easel and it fits in a 6" square box/envelope.  I stamped the solid roses in Regal Rose ink and the outline roses in Cherry Cobbler - both stamped off once first.  For the solid leaves I used Old Olive stamped off once and then stamped full strength with olive for the outlines.  I overstamped with the Linen background stamp using Antique Linen ink and also sponged the edges of the Very Vanilla circle.  The vanilla circle is popped up as is the large rose and that also has Dazzling Diamonds sprinkled on.  I layered the Broken China circle onto an Old Olive beaded circle Nestie die cut shape which I decorated with large pearls.  I used nearly a whole package LOL!  I added a row of small pearls underneath the sentiment.  The oval is popped up and I gave it the same treatment as the image panel - Linen overstamping and sponged edges.  The patterned paper is double sided, I used the music score pattern for the front part of the easel card and added a Broken China punched eyelet border.

I decorated the bottom of the card for Alan to write his message on.  I stamped the 'happy' from the sentiment in Broken China ink on a separate piece of CS and cut it out and glued it over the top of the pink word.  I stamped the Linen background stamp on the vanilla oval and sponged the edges.  The roses and leaves were stamped, cut out and glued to the patterned paper strip.

The card was fairly bulky by the time I'd finished - those pearls are rather large and the card wouldn't have fitted comfortably in an envelope.  So I decorated a box/envelope to match the card.  I used a stamp from the Four Frames set and added 'Jan' using die cut letters.  I punched the vanilla label with the Decorative Label punch and then punched two more labels from Broken China CS, cut them apart and layered the pieces behind the vanilla label. The label is popped up over the strip of Old Olive ribbon.  I LOVE this paper, it is SO pretty!  I'm happy to say both Alan and Jan loved the card!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! A Rose is a Rose & Four Frames sets, SU! Linen background stamp, 'Happy Birthday' from Hobby Art, sentiment on back of card from Hero Arts Sending Smiles Messages clear set
CS: SU! Regal Rose, Old Olive & Very Vanilla, Core'dinations Broken China CS
Patterned paper: Prima 'Spring Tide' from the Madeline collection
Ink: SU! Regal Rose, Old Olive & Cherry Cobbler, Tim Holtz Antique Linen & Broken China distress inks
Tools: Circle, beaded circle & petite oval Nestabilities dies, SU! Decorative Label punch, SU! Eyelet Border punch, Sizzix Naturally Serif alphabet Decorative Strip die, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, SU! Dazzling Diamonds, large & small pearls, 3d foam pads

Big Bloom Birthday Card For Jan

Today is Jan's birthday and this is the card from me and Owen that I made for her.  She very kindly lent me her SU! Fun Flowers die a while back and I thought I'd use it for her card.  I started out with an Old Olive 5 3/4" square card and added Early Espresso and Rose Red layers.  On the Whisper White Panel I stamped the Weathered background in Crumb Cake ink and the leafy stem in Old Olive ink.

To make the bloom, I die cut three large white flowers, stamped the Weathered stamp in Crumb Cake ink and followed with the French Script stamp in Early Espresso ink.  I sponged each flower with Pretty in Pink and Rose Red inks and then crumpled them.  I attached the three flowers together with a PaperMania build a brad - I punched a circle of Rose Red patterned paper, glued that to the brad centre and then covered it with a clear domed sticker.  

I layered 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta ribbon over 5/8" Old Olive grosgrain ribbon.  I used the Decorative Label punch for the sentiment element and I stamped the Weathered background and did more sponging here too.     I die cut the Little Leaves die a couple of times in Early Espresso CS and tucked those behind the bloom.  To finish off the front I added Pretty in Pink punched photo corners with olive gems.

This is the inside of the card.

There was no way this card was going to fit in an envelope and I'd picked up a pack of 6" square box/envelopes from the Glitter Pot on my last visit so I used one of those.  They're fab - they're boxes that close like an envelope - no assembly required, just embellishing!  I glued on a square of Old Olive patterned paper, added some die cut leaves and made another bloom but this time with a button in the centre.  The ribbon is striped Pretty in Pink grosgrain.  More photo corners with gems to finish.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Weathered & French Script background stamps, leafy stem from SU! Best Blossoms set, Birthday Wishes from SU! Sincere Salutations set, inside sentiment from Hero Arts Yummy Treats clear set
CS: SU! Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Rose Red, Early Espresso & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! Old Olive & Rose Red Prints Designer Series Paper packs
Ink: SU! Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Old Olive, Crumb Cake & Early Espresso
Tools: SU! Fun Flowers Bigz L die, SU! Little Leaves Sizzlits die, Sizzix Branch w/Leaves die, Petite Oval Nestabilities dies, SU! Photo Corners, Decorative Label & Boho Blossoms punches, sponge daubers
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon, Early Espresso Taffeta ribbon,  PaperMania build a brad, gems, button, glue dots