Daisy Friend Card

The SU! 'Flower & Field' patterned paper which is free with a £45 purchase as part of Sale-A-Bration is so striking because of the bold florals against the black background, I really like it!  I took the daisies paper as my starting point and went from there.  I'd come across a pouch envelope in my craft room that I'd saved as inspiration and I decided I'd make the envelope a pouch - something a bit different and it's certainly fine for a card that will be hand delivered!  Here's the card and pouch together.

Here's the card in the pouch.  

I glued the patterned paper to the Pool Party card base and then punched my large daisies.  Using an ink blending brush I added Pool Party ink to the centre of the white daisies - to mimic the flowers on the patterned paper.  I punched a So Saffron circle and added So Saffron ink around the edge with a sponge dauber.  I die cut a Stitched Rectangle shape and stamped the sentiment.  I decided some Granny Apple Green leaves would add a pop of colour and I die cut 3 leaves from the 'Perennial Petals' die set and tucked them under the popped up daisy.  I finished off the front with some Artistry Blooms sequins.

I simply added a strip of the patterned paper to the white panel inside.

Here's the pouch envelope.  I used the same patterned paper but made the reverse side the focus.  I added some Granny Apple Green ribbon tied around in a knot and popped up a Pool Party 'Stitched So Sweetly' die cut name label.  To finish off I popped up a small daisy like the large one on the card front.

For a pouch to fit an A6 size card cut a piece of paper 9 3/4" x 6 3/4" and score on the long side at 4 1/2" and 9".  On the short side score at 3/4", cut and form tabs (as shown in the example below) and adhere together.  I used a 3/4" circle punch to cut out half a circle as an aid to getting the card out of the pouch.

Supplies:

Stamps: SU! 'Daisy Lane' set

CS: SU! Granny Apple Green, Pool Party & Basic White 

Patterned paper: SU! 'Flower & Field' DSP pack

Ink: SU! Pool Party & So Saffron, Memento Tuxedo Black

Tools: SU! 'Stitched Rectangles', 'Perennial Petals' & 'Stitched So Sweetly' die sets, paper trimmer, 'Daisy', 'Medium Daisy' & 3/4" circle punches, ink blending brush, sponge dauber

Embellishments & Accessories: SU! Granny Apple Green woven ribbon, Artistry Blooms sequins, Dimensionals

Ruth

Flamingo Thanks Card - Plus Fun With Shrink Plastic

I recently came across a tri panel card made by Julie Davison - featured in her YouTube video here.  I decided to make my own version using the SU! 'Friendly Flamingo' stamp set which I couldn't resist! I've made a tri fold patterned paper card before but it was a very long time ago - this blog post is all about blasts from the past!

Here's the card and envelope together.

Here's the card.  Using 'Stitched Rectangle' dies I cut out a rectangular aperture and a frame of Flirty Flamingo CS and glued the frame in place. My sweet friend Lesley had let me use her SU! 'Messages' die and I used that to cut the pieces for my sentiment element.  I stamped 'thanks' in Shaded Spruce ink, popped the label up and added a couple of 'From my Heart' faceted gems.

Here's the second panel.  I just HAD to use this SU! 'Tropical Oasis' patterned paper - it's perfect with the flamingos on the reverse!  I applied Balmy Blue ink to the white panel with an ink blending brush, stamped the flamingo, water and weed and glued the panel to a Flirty Flamingo mat layer.

Here's the third panel with more stamping, a "you're outstanding" sentiment and more faceted gems.  

Here's the card fully open.

Here's the envelope with a simple stamped circle element.

A few days after making this card I went into a long neglected drawer in my craft room and found some shrink plastic.  I wondered if I'd be able to use it to make some fun flamingo earrings and I reckoned there was only one way to find out!  It has been years since I've used shrink plastic and I'd forgotten how nerve wracking it is when you're heating your piece and it quickly curls up and sticks to itself!  So, it took a couple of attempts but I have flamingo earrings which will go nicely with my flamingo themed face mask!

Here are the earrings with the stamped flamingo for a size comparison, the shrink plastic certainly reduces the size!  The Flirty Flamingo ink colour certainly intensified too!

Supplies:

Stamps: SU! 'Friendly Flamingo' & 'Simply Succulents' sets

CS: SU! Flirty Flamingo, Shaded Spruce & Basic White 

Patterned paper: SU! 'Tropical Oasis' DSP pack

Ink: SU! Balmy Blue, Flirty Flamingo, Old Olive, Pool Party & Shaded Spruce

Tools: SU! 'Stitched Rectangles' & 'Flamingo' die sets, 'Messages' die, circle punches

Embellishments & Accessories: SU! 'From my Heart' faceted gems, Dimensionals, shrink plastic, earring findings 

Ruth

Succulents Friend Card

I recently got the SU! 'Simply Succulents' stamp set with the matching dies.  I got the supplies out to have a play and decided I'd do some watercolouring as it's been ages since I did any.  Here's the card and envelope together.

Here's the card.  I embossed a piece of Crumb Cake CS with the 'Brick & Mortar' 3D embossing folder and added some Crumb Cake and Soft Suede inks using ink blending brushes - just a hint of colour to add a touch of definition.  I used Mint Macaron, Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz and Soft Suede inks to colour the plants and Cajun Craze and Soft Suede inks to colour the pot - all applied with a Water Painter onto SU! Fluid 100 watercolour paper.  I applied some Soft Suede ink to the bottom of the panel to ground the pot, popped up the succulents and added the ribbon and popped up the sentiment label.  I applied the Crumb Cake layer to a Rich Razzleberry mat layer and adhered that to the front of a Mint Macaron card base. 

I stamped succulents in Mint Macaron ink on the inside of the card.

I stamped more Mint Macaron succulents on the front of the envelope to finish.

Supplies:

Stamps: SU! 'Simply Succulents' & 'Daisy Lane' sets

CS: SU! Crumb Cake, Mint Macaron, Rich Razzleberry & Basic White, Fluid 100 watercolour paper

Ink: SU! Crumb Cake, Mint Macaron, Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry & Soft Suede, VersaFine Onyx Black

Tools: SU! 'Potted Succulents' dies, 'Messages' die, SU! 'Brick & Mortar' 3D embossing folder, SU! Water Painter, ink blending brushes

Embellishments & Accessories: SU! Mint Macaron ribbon, Dimensionals

Ruth

Leafy Hello Pop Up Pocket Cards - Set Of 10

Recently I came across this fabulous pop up pocket card project made by Julie Davison and I was really taken by it.  I loved how it was a fun fold but easy to make and had a surprise factor!  I decided I was going to make one for each of my card group ladies.  I am really missing getting together with them and I thought this was a nice way to stay in touch.

The measurement and scoring details are: cut an A4 piece of CS in half length ways and score at 2" and 7 7/8" to create the card base.  To create the insert pop up piece, cut a piece of CS 3 3/8" x 7 1/2" and score at 2" and 7".

Here's one of the cards and a matching envelope.

I've used Soft Seafoam CS and patterned papers from the SU! 'Forever Greenery' paper pack.  The Shaded Spruce leaf shape was cut using a die from the 'Forever Flourishing' die set and I punched the gold shapes using the 'Sprig' punch.  I adhered the leaves and sentiment label to a circle shape cut with a 'Stitched Shapes' die.  I used my old, retired 'Word Window' punch to cut out the sentiment label and I snipped off the excess when I'd adhered it in place.

Here's what the inside of the card looks like as you're starting to open it.  I stamped a leafy image just above the pocket area.

Here's the card fully opened.  I couldn't resist stamping 'Surprise!' on the pocket flap.  It tickles me that it appears as the card is fully opened and I hope the ladies get a kick out of it!  The 'Surprise!' stamp is from an old, retired SU! set called 'Tin of Tags'.

Ta-da, I tucked a lottery scratch card into the pocket of each card.  This design would be fabulous for gift cards and cash too.  

I stamped an image on each envelope and added a stamped and die cut name label too.

Here are all 10 cards and envelopes ready for me to write out and pop in the post.

What a very satisfying project, I thoroughly enjoyed making those!

Supplies:

Stamps: SU! 'Forever Fern' & 'Tin of Tags' sets

CS: SU! Shaded Spruce, Soft Seafoam & Whisper White, Gold Foil Sheet

Patterned paper: 'Forever Greenery' DSP pack

Ink: SU! Pretty Peacock & Shaded Spruce

Tools: SU! 'Forever Flourishing', 'Stitched Shapes' & 'Stitched Shapes' die sets, 'Sprig' & 'Word Window' punches

Embellishments & Accessories: SU! Dimensionals

Ruth

Butterflies Hello Friend Card

Stampin' Up! have released the 'Butterfly Brilliance' collection of products early and I fell in love as soon as I laid eyes on them!  Butterflies are a favourite motif of mine and these are beautiful.  There is one large stamp that stamps six butterflies and there is a set of dies.  These products will be for sale in the brand new annual catalogue that will be released later this year.  Then there are some papers that are only available during the early ordering period - the most gorgeous 6" x 6" patterned papers and some 12" x 12" pale woodgrain textured specialty paper.  I took advantage of the demonstrator preorder and bought the whole collection.  I was like a kid when my package arrived, the products are just so beautiful and they made my heart happy for sure!

I wanted to create a card for my friend Lesley because she very kindly let me run off a few die cuts of the SU! 'Messages' die that she'd bought, she's a sweetheart like that!  Lesley was coming round to collect her stuff later so I wanted to create immediately and I saw that one of the dies in the set could be used with a sheet of the patterned paper to cut out six different butterflies - different sizes, shapes and colours.  Fabulous - one pass through my die cutting machine resulted in six beautiful butterflies ready to go on a card!

Here's the card and envelope together.

Here's the card.  I embossed a panel of Crumb Cake CS with the 'Brick & Mortar' 3D embossing folder, added some Crumb Cake and Soft Suede inks using a blending brush and adhered the panel to the front of an A6 sized white card base.  I folded up the wings of three butterflies and glued them in place just by applying glue along the bodies and with Dimensionals placed under the wings.  I took one of the die cuts from the 'Messages' die, stamped the 'Hello friend' sentiment from the 'A Touch of Ink' stamp set on it in black ink and popped that up.  I sprinkled on a few pretty 'Artistry Blooms' sequins to finish the front.

Two butterflies went on the inside.

The sixth butterfly went on the front of the envelope.  I also die cut another shape from the 'Messages' die using the reverse of the butterfly paper to use as a name label which I popped up.

A very speedy card to put together and it was so enjoyable!

Supplies:

Stamps: SU! 'A Touch of Ink' set

CS: SU! Crumb Cake & Basic White Thick CS 

Patterned paper: SU! 'Butterfly Bijou' 6" x 6" DSP pack

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Crumb Cake & Soft Suede

Tools: SU! 'Brilliant Wings' & 'Messages' dies, ink blending brush

Embellishments & Accessories: SU! 'Artistry Blooms' sequins, Dimensionals

Ruth

Portfolio Holding Six Best Wishes Cards

A little while ago I saw this YouTube video by Kelly Acheson where she made a card portfolio/wallet that held eight cards.  Kelly also shows  photos of the project on her blog post here.  It seemed easy to put together so I thought I'd have a go at making one myself.  As Kelly uses US sized CS I had to adapt some measurements for UK sized CS but I made it work, yay!  

I followed Kelly's instructions for putting the portfolio together but I did change the cutting and scoring measurements.  I trimmed an A4 piece of CS to 11", scored the long side at 5" and 6" and scored  the short side at 6 3/4" and 7 1/4".  I cut slits to make the fold up tabs and as they only measured 1" and I wanted them to be deeper I cut two 4 1/2" x 2" pieces of CS, rounded the top corners and glued them to the smaller tabs.

One of the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration offerings (free with a qualifying £45 purchase) is a pack of 12" x 12" 'Paper Blooms' DSP.  It's really pretty paper and I chose to use that for my project.  Here's the portfolio all finished, filled up with cards and tied closed.  

Here's a side back view.  Kelly said the portfolio could hold eight cards.  I used Dimensionals on my six A6 sized cards and they fitted really nicely.  If no 3D foam tape was used you could definitely fit eight cards inside.

Here's a view from the front where you can see the angled flaps.  

Here's the portfolio open with the cards and envelopes inside.

Here's the empty portfolio, it's like a folder basically, a couple of score lines and some flaps turned up at the bottom to keep the contents in place.  You can see I added hole reinforcers to the ribbon holes.  Pretty but practical too!

On this photo I've pulled the flap down to show what small sized flaps I had originally. With the size of our UK card blanks and CS you do end up with flaps just 1" deep and I was concerned they weren't deep enough.  So I cut two separate pieces of 4 1/2" x 2" Night of Navy CS, rounded the top corners and glued them to the front of both  flaps - issue sorted!  

Here are all six cards and envelopes.  I've used a very simple layout which is easy to replicate when making multiples.  I used a 'Stitched Rectangles' die to cut the patterned paper strips, glued them to a Seaside Spray CS panel, added some Seaside Spray metallic ribbon and the sentiment label was popped up over the top. Stamped and punched small flowers were added to the label to finish.

Here are the three Rococo Rose cards.

Here are the three Night of Navy cards.

Here's a closer look at just one of the Rococo Rose cards.  I used the beautiful 'Best Wishes' stamp from the 'A Touch of Ink' set and each sentiment label is popped up on Dimensionals.  I used flower stamps from the 'Sweet Strawberry' set and cut them out with the 'Strawberry' builder punch.  On the Rococo Rose cards I stamped the sentiment in Rococo Rose ink and added two blue flowers to the label.

Here's a closer look at just one of the Night of Navy cards.  On the Night of Navy cards I stamped the sentiments in Night of Navy ink and added two Rococo Rose flowers to the label.

Strips of pretty patterned paper were used to decorate each card on the inside and to decorate each envelope.  After gluing the paper strips in place I drew a line with a navy blue Sharpie marker to add some defining detail.

Supplies:

Stamps: SU! 'A Touch of Ink' & 'Sweet Strawberry' sets

CS: SU! Night of Navy, Rococo Rose, Seaside Spray & Whisper White

Ink: SU! Night of Navy, Rococo Rose & Seaside Spray, navy blue Sharpie marker

Tools: SU! 'Stitched Rectangles' die set, SU! 'Strawberry' builder punch, SU! trimmer with scoring blade, MFT 'Tag Builder Blueprints 2' die set, Crop-A-Dile

Embellishments & Accessories: SU! Seaside Spray metallic ribbon, Dimensionals

Ruth

Two Hydrangea Thank You Cards

I wanted to make thank you cards for two friends and I kept to the same layout but changed the colour scheme and the orientation of the flower.  The SU! 'Hydrangea Hill' suite of products is absolutely beautiful, I adored it as soon as I saw it.  The patterned paper is especially gorgeous and I wanted to feature a large part of paper in the card design.

Here are the two cards together.

Here is the Rococo Rose card and matching envelope.

I stamped the outline images in black ink and stamped the flower head background in Rococo Rose ink and the leaves in Old Olive ink.  After die cutting the pieces I popped the hydrangea up onto the 'Stitched So Sweetly' die cut rectangle. I added a stamped and die cut tag plus some pastel pink pearls. 

Here's the inside of the card and the envelope.

Here's the Highland Heather card and matching envelope.

Again I stamped the outline images in black ink but I didn't use the solid background stamp to add colour to the flower head this time.  Instead I applied Seaside Spray, Highland Heather and Misty Moonlight inks using ink blending brushes.  I loved how I got a pretty multi toned effect which is often how hydrangeas are in real life.  I stamped the leaves in Old Olive ink and again added a tag and pastel pearls.

Here's the inside of the card and the envelope.

The 'Hydrangea' dies set includes a sweet little label die so I decided to add a corresponding colour name label to the front of each envelope - a nice touch I thought!

Supplies:

Stamps: SU! 'Hydrangea Haven' set

CS: SU! Highland Heather, Rococo Rose & Whisper White

Patterned paper: SU! 'Hydrangea Hill' DSP Pack

Ink: SU! Highland Heather, Misty Moonlight, Old Olive, Rococo Rose & Seaside Spray, Memento Tuxedo Black

Tools: SU! 'Hydrangea' & 'Stitched So Sweetly' die sets, ink blending brushes

Embellishments & Accessories: SU! black baker's twine, Pastel Pearls & Dimensionals 

Ruth

Floating Circle Friend Card

Recently I watched this video made by Natasha Foote showing how to make a floating element card and I just had to make one for myself.  I loved Natasha's bright strips and I tried to replicate that look using strips of CS but my circle die just would NOT cut through the acetate and CS layers.  So on my second attempt I used strips of paper and ended up with a more subtle look.

Here's the card and envelope together.

Here's the card.  The papers are from the very pretty SU! 'Hydrangea Hill' DSP pack.  I used a leaf die from the SU! 'Perennial Petals' die set as my inset piece.  The 'friend' word was cut from a die in the SU! 'Well Written' die set.  I was going to add a die cut flower to the circle but I remembered my friend had sent me a card with two gorgeous flower embellishments on and so I repurposed one of those as the colour was such a good match to Rococo Rose!  I added three pastel pearls to finish the front.

Here's a closer look at the beautiful flower embellishment.  I'm not sure if it really is the done thing to rip off an embellishment and re-use it - I feel once I've sent a card to someone then it belongs to them now to do with as they wish and so it doesn't do to feel too precious about it!  On the other hand, if I'd made a special card specifically for someone that had taken time and effort and I discovered bits had been removed from it or it had been put in the bin I'm sure that would cause me a pang at the very least!

I used some of the pretty blue hydrangea paper to decorate the inside of the card and to cover the envelope flap.

Supplies:

Stamps: none

CS: SU! Whisper White thick, Basic Black, SU! Window Sheet

Patterned paper: SU! 'Hydrangea Hill' DSP pack

Ink: black Sharpie pen

Tools: SU! 'Perennial Petals', 'All Dressed Up' & 'Well Written' die sets, M&C Boutique stitched circle die set

Embellishments & Accessories: flower embellishment, SU! pastel pearls, Dimensionals

Ruth