Medallion & Flower Birthday Wishes Card - RRCB 115 Challenge

One of my cards was a top pick over at the Retro Rubber Challenge Blog a while ago which meant I was invited to join them as a Guest Designer for a future challenge, woohoo!  Well, challenge #rrcb115 has arrived and it's a fabulous colour challenge - to use purple, yellow and green on your card.

So here's the card I've made featuring one of my all time favourite stamps ever - the gorgeous SU! 'Medallion' background stamp.  I've had the stamp in my stash since 2009 so that's ten years, wow!  When SU! started selling in the UK our catalogues were much smaller and our choice of products was limited.  I can still remember going to my SU demo's house for a make and take evening when she shared the new 2009 UK catalogue with us.  I'd seen the 'Medallion' background stamp online and was SO hoping that it would be available for purchase in our UK catalogue.  When I saw it on the page I leapt up out of my chair and did a happy dance around the room!  I loved the stamp then and I still love it now! I've used more oldie but goodie SU! sets for this card also - the 'Petal Potpourri' stamp set (from 2015) and the sentiment is from the 'Simply Sketched' set (from 2013).  

The card measures 5 3/4" square and my colour combo is Gorgeous Grape, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green and Whisper White.  The button in the centre of the flower is an Old Olive button that has been in my stash for many years - it's a good enough match to the Granny Apple Green though!  The sentiment bookplate, the circle and the flower are all popped up on Dimensionals.

 

Here's the inside of the card and the envelope.  For the envelope flap I stamped the 'Medallion' and used a circle die to cut out just the centre portion.  I added a Granny Apple Green punched circle and a Daffodil Delight flower from the 'Petite Petals' retired set

 

I love that the Retro Rubber Challenge Blog encourages us to show some love for our older stamps in our stash and it was a complete delight to ink up my chosen stamps to create this card, I had a blast! I hope you'll rummage in your own stash to find some older rubber treasures and join in and create a card for the #rrcb115 challenge!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Medallion' background stamp, SU! 'Petal Potpourri', 'Simply Sketched' & 'Petite Petals' sets, Hero Arts 'Everything Wonderful' stamp
CS: SU! Daffodil Delight, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Daffodil Delight, Gorgeous Grape & Granny Apple Green
Tools: SU! 'Flower Medallion' punch, circle punches & dies, Sizzix Originals 'Bookplates' die, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Granny Apple Green textured weave ribbon, Old Olive button, Dimensionals
Ruth

July 2019 Card Group Projects

We had such a lovely afternoon at our last card group get together, I'm so lucky to have a fabulous group of ladies!  You really can't beat an afternoon of crafting, fun and laughter!

Back in May I discovered the magic envelope card - blog post with link to tutorial here - and I thought it would make a great card group project.  I opted to use the SU! 'Lift Me Up' hot air balloon set and the matching 'Carried Away' patterned paper.  On my first attempt I found out that if the paper you're using has a definite direction you need to position it a certain way on the diagonal plate if you want your pattern to be the right way up on the front!  So, for the paper I used I made sure the side with the balloons was turned upside down and placed face down on the scoring plate.  The second attempt was a success!

 

Here's the card opened out.

 

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

 

I took various patterned papers from the 'Carried Away' DSP pack and it didn't take long to discover that if the double sided paper has a directional pattern on BOTH sides, well, one pattern (either the front or the one on the inside) is going to end up upside down!  It's true to say certain papers work better than others for this type of card but I was able to substitute a couple of the papers so all was well.  A lesson learned for sure though!

The next card is a CASE of a lovely fun fold window card made by Jackie Bolhuis from Klompenstampers. I stayed pretty faithful to Jackie's original card but I changed the colour combo and didn't use baker's twine.  My colour combo is Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody, Basic Black and Whisper White.  I stamped and fussy cut the flower and leaves and glued them in place behind the aperture.  I used a journalling pen to add black ink to the centre of the flower - I love the pop!  Here's the card closed.

 

Here you can see the square window aperture. 

 

Here's another view of the card.  A card within a card is a good way to describe it I think! 

 

Here's the inside of the card.  I stamped the sentiment and then added a stamped circle image from the SU! 'Swirly Frames' set - such a useful set!

 

Here's the envelope.  The flourish from the 'Flourishing Phrases' set is just so gorgeous!

 

The third card features the SU! 'Artisan Textures' stamp set, the 'Floral Essence' stamp set and the 'Perennial Flower' punch - plus the large rectangle frame from the 'Swirly Frames' set. I made an A6 sized Crumb Cake card base and stamped the splatter image on opposite corners using Crumb Cake ink.  The Flirty Flamingo gingham paper is from the Brights 6" x 6" DSP pack and I matted that on a strip of Early Espresso CS.  I stamped the leaves in Granny Apple Green and cut them out with the 'Leaf' punch - I snipped one leaf off when I came to arrange the images on the card.  To make the flowers I stamped the largest image in the 'Artisan Textures' set a few times in Flirty Flamingo ink, stamped the outline petals image over the top in Early Espresso ink and cut them out using the 'Perennial Flower' punch - a fab way to get coloured flowers!  I popped the flowers up on Dimensionals and added a clip embellishment with a knot of Early Espresso ribbon.

 

Here's the inside and the envelope.

Supplies for magic envelope card:
Stamps: SU! 'Lift Me Up' set
CS: SU! Mint Macaron, Night of Navy & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Carried Away' DSP
Ink: SU! Mint Macaron, Night of Navy & Watermelon Wonder
Tools: SU! Simply Scored & Diagonal Scoring Plate, 'Up & Away' & 'Layering Squares' die sets
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals

Supplies for flower window card:
Stamps: SU! 'Flourishing Phrases', 'Swirly Frames' & 'Best Yet' sets
CS: SU! Bermuda Bay, Basic Black & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Bermuda Bay & Mango Melody, SU! Black Journalling Pen
Tools: SU! 'Layering Squares' & 'Layering Circles' die sets

Supplies for floral friendly thoughts card:
Stamps: SU! 'Artisan Textures', 'Floral Essence' & 'Swirly Frames' sets
CS: SU! Crumb Cake, Early Espresso & Whisper White
Patterned paper: Flirty Flamingo gingham from 'Brights' 6" x 6" DSP pack
Ink: SU! Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Flirty Flamingo & Granny Apple Green
Tools: SU! 'Perennial Flower' & 'Leaf' punches
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Early Espresso stitched ribbon, clip embellishment & Dimensionals
Ruth

Floral Friendly Thoughts Card

This is a card I made for a friend a while back but hadn't got round to sharing on the blog.  My crafting time has been limited sadly!  I used some marvellous new SU! goodies - the 'Birch' background stamp, the 'Floral Essence' stamp set and the 'Perennial Flower' punch.

I stamped the 'Birch' on Whisper White CS using Crumb Cake ink and I layered that panel onto a mat of Night of Navy CS which I adhered to the front of an A6 sized Crumb Cake card base.  I stamped the flowers in Night of Navy ink on Balmy Blue CS, stamped the leaves in Granny Apple Green ink on Granny Apple Green CS and stamped the flower centres in Night of Navy ink on Daffodil Delight CS.    I flagged the end of the sentiment banner and popped the flowers up on Dimensionals.

 

I used different flower stamps from the 'Floral Essence' set to decorate the inside and the envelope.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Floral Essence' set, 'Birch' background stamp
CS: SU! Balmy Blue, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Night of Navy & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Balmy Blue, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green & Night of Navy
Tools: SU! 'Perennial Flower' & 'Leaf' punches, circle punch
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals
Ruth

Floral 69 And 3/4 Birthday Card

A lady will be turning 80 but she is telling everyone she'll be celebrating  reaching 69 and 3/4!  Her friend is a friend of mine at Wilko and she asked me to make a card with 69 and 3/4 on - how could I possibly have refused a fun challenge like that?!

First of all I played around with the numbers and settled on a large stamped and die cut 69 with stamped numbers 3 and 4 with a scrap of CS for the forward slash.  I die cut several 6 and 9 numbers and stacked them together to get some dimension.  Once I'd created the stitched rectangle numbers panel I turned to designing the rest of the card.

The card base measures 5 3/4" square and my colour combo is Highland Heather, Basic Black and Whisper White - with a bit of Granny Apple Green thrown in for the leaves. I layered a square of Highland Heather gingham paper onto a larger square black CS mat.  I stamped the solid flowers and leaves in stamped off once Highland Heather and Granny Apple Green inks and then stamped the detailed images over the top in full strength inks in the same colours.  I die cut the flowers and leaves and played around with a layout.  I chose to use the same size die cut rectangle that I'd used for the numbers and I just offset the two on the card front, after layering both rectangles on black CS mats.

I stamped the sentiment, arranged the leaves and flowers and popped the flowers up on Dimensionals.  To complete the card front I added some iridescent faceted gems for a touch of sparkle.

 

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

 

Happily, my friend loved the card, I just hope the recipient enjoys receiving this one of a kind card for her milestone birthday!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Oh So Eclectic', 'Number of Years' & 'Memorable Moments' sets
CS: SU! Highland Heather, Basic Black & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Gingham Gala' 6" x 6" DSP pack
Ink: SU! Highland Heather & Granny Apple Green, Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: SU! 'Eclectic Layers', 'Large Numbers' & 'Layering Squares die sets, M&C Boutique stitched rectangles die set
Embellishments & accessories: the Works iridescent faceted gems, SU! Dimensionals
Ruth

Floral Happy Birthday Gap Card

I've recently purchased a few Stampin' Up! Stampin' Blends alcohol markers and I was keen to have a go.  I only bought a few colours as I thought I'd try them out first to see how I got on with them before deciding if I want to start a collection.

Last year I made this gap card and I chose to CASE the card.  I thought the floral image from the SU! 'Southern Serenade' set would be perfect to colour using the Stampin' Blends!  The gap card measures 5 3/4" square and my colour combo is Granny Apple Green, Flirty Flamingo, Basic Black and Whisper White.  I stamped the scrap of lace image from the 'Southern Serenade' set as a background onto a piece of Whisper White thick CS using stamped off once Daffodil Delight ink - it's very subtle!  I stamped the floral image using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I added colour to the flowers and leaves using Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo and Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends markers.  After stamping the sentiment I added a punched butterfly with a few rhinestone jewels.

 

Here's a side view of the card.  The stamped panel bridges the gap I cut from the card base.

 

Here's the inside of the card and the envelope flap.  I stamped the lace image in stamped off once Flirty Flamingo ink on opposite corners.  I added the Granny Apple Green Textured Weave ribbon,  popped up the Flirty Flamingo die cut oval and added a punched butterfly at the bottom.  I used circle punches for the decorative element on the envelope flap.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Southern Serenade' set, Hero Arts 'Yummy Treats' set
CS: SU! Basic Black, Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green & Whisper White (thick & regular)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, SU! Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo & Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends alcohol markers
Tools: SU! 'Stitched Shapes' die set, SU! 'Butterfly Duet & circle punches
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Granny Apple Green Textured Weave ribbon, rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Birds 80th Birthday Card

The 'Bird Ballad' suite of products in the new SU! annual catalogue really appealed to me as soon as I saw them and I just had to purchase the stamp set, dies and DSP!  I wanted to make an 80th birthday card for my friend Jan and I thought these beautiful products would be ideal to use.  I love mixing my brand new goodies with older, retired goodies and I was pleased with the ensemble of a card, envelope and a matching treat bag that I created!  Here they are.

Here's just the card and envelope.

I took the colour combo of Petal Pink, Pool Party and Soft Suede from the colours in the 'Bird Ballad' DSP and created a 5 3/4" square easel card.  I stamped and die cut the 80 numbers, stacking a few numbers together to get some nice dimension.  I embossed the strip of Pool Party CS using a 'Feathers' embossing folder - perfect to go with the birdie theme!  I had to use the 'Warmest Wishes on your birthday' stamp as I know it's Jan's favourite birthday sentiment stamp!

 

I used a mixture of SU! Stampin' Blends and Promarker alcohol markers to colour the birds, branch and flowers.  I stamped the images in Memento Rich Cocoa ink.  I stamped, coloured and fussy cut three flowers and added those to the branch. Here's a closer look at the image panel.  I popped up the layered panel on Dimensionals.

 

Here's the bottom of the card with a sentiment panel.  I've used lovely sentiments from the retired SU! 'Birthday Blooms' set.

 

Here's the envelope I made using the Envelope Punch Board and the gorgeous feathers paper from the 'Bird Ballad' DSP pack. 

 

One of the gifts I bought for Jan was a gift card which came on a carrier card.  I didn't want to just present that as it was so I used the retired SU! 'Mini Treat Bag' die set to make a gift card holder.  I punched a slot in the card carrier and added some Pool Party ruffled ribbon so Jan could pull the gift card from the bag.

 

What a happy time I had in my craft room creating these for my friend's milestone birthday!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Free as a Bird', 'Number of Years', 'Blooming with Kindness' & 'Birthday Blooms' sets, ??? 'Happy Birthday' stamp
CS: SU! Petal Pink, Pool Party, Soft Suede & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Bird Ballad' DSP
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, selection of SU! Stampin' Blends alcohol markers, selection of Promarker alcohol markers
Tools: SU! 'Stitched Nested Labels', 'Large Numbers' & 'Mini Treat Bag' die sets, Envelope Punch Board, Crafts Too 'Feathers' embossing folder
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Pool Party ruffled ribbon, rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

June 2019 Card Group Cards

We got together for our June card group meeting last Thursday and it was a smaller gathering than usual as a few ladies couldn't make it but we had a fun afternoon nevertheless!  As usual I designed three cards for the ladies to make.

The first card is a CASEd version of a card from page 137 of the SU! 2018 - 2019 annual catalogue, I really liked the card design as soon as I saw it.  It's taken me a while to get round to making the card though as I've only just recently got the SU! 'Swirly Frames' stamp set.  To me CASE means 'Copy And Selectively Edit' and with this card I've made a couple of edits - I've embossed the Pear Pizzazz panel with the 'Subtle' embossing folder and I've glued die cut stamped frame squares to the embossed panel.  I've cut the 'With much love and thanks' sentiment stamp apart and just used part of the sentiment for my card.  The white leaf squares are popped up on Dimensionals.

 

 I love the texture the 'Subtle' embossing folder is - it really is subtle but still effective!

Here's the inside and the envelope.

 

A little while ago I made a dragonfly closure card for a close friend.  I so enjoyed making the card and I thought my card group ladies would enjoy it too.  It's something a little different without being too tricky - that's always a winner with me!  For my dragonfly card I followed Rachel Tessman's instructions but for this butterfly version I've followed Jan B's instructions as it uses less patterned paper.  I used 12" x 12" sized patterned paper and to maximise the use of the paper I cut the card bases to 4" tall rather than 4 1/8" so I could get what I needed from just one sheet of the paper.

Here's the card open so you can see the aperture. 

 

Here's the inside and the envelope flap.

 

Card three also uses the SU! 'Swirly Frames' stamp set, this time a circle image.  I stamped the circle in Gray Granite ink on the front of the A6 sized card base and then cut out a circle aperture.  I stamped the sentiment, stamped and die cut the tree and leaves and then arranged the shapes around the aperture.  I think this is a lovely gender neutral design, a very useful card to have on hand.

 

Here's another view where you can see the cut out window aperture.

 

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

Supplies for leafy with much love card:
Stamps: SU! 'Tropical Chic' & 'Swirly Frames' sets
CS: SU! Mossy Meadow, Pear Pizzazz & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Mossy Meadow, Old Olive & Pear Pizzazz
Tools: SU! 'Tropical' & 'Layering Squares' die sets SU! 'Subtle' 3D embossing folder
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals

Supplies for butterfly closure card:
Stamps: SU! 'Butterfly Gala' set, AlteNew 'Birthday Builder' set, Hero Arts 'Yummy Treats' set
CS: SU! Balmy Blue, Mint Macaron, Tranquil Tide & Whisper White 
Patterned paper: SU! 'Tranquil Textures' DSP
Ink: SU! Tranquil Tide
Tools: SU! 'Butterflies', 'Bold Butterfly' & 'Petals & More' die sets, MFT 'Fishtail Flags' Stax die set, SU! 'Butterfly Duet' punch
Embellishments & accessories: silver sequins

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Rooted in Nature', 'Swirly Frames' & 'Flourishing Phrases' sets
CS: SU! Whisper White thick
Ink: SU! Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Gray Granite & Rich Razzleberry
Tools: SU! 'Nature's Roots' & 'Layering Circles' die sets
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals
Ruth