Trees, birds and butterflies....

are some of my favourite elements on cards at the moment.  Thank you Stampin' Up! for all the beautiful stamps that feed my desire for such things!!  First up I have a couple of cards made using the great little Trendy Trees set.  This first card, I think, would make a suitable sympathy card.  It is simple, with classic colours.  Check out the cute little bird brad that I have had in my stash for a while; along with the button (non-SU, but how well do the colours match?!), it helps finish off the card nicely.  I have stamped on the Night of Navy card with Very Vanilla craft ink (not available in the current catalogue, but I couldn't resist - it complements the vanilla card so well).  The beautiful paper is from my brand new Urban Garden pack, just arrived today.

By the way, there is a GREAT promotion running through the month of May, with Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper (12" x 12" - perfect for scrapbooking,cardmaking, and other papercrafts).  If you buy three packs of the DSP, at $16.95 per pack (plus postage), you can choose another pack FOR FREE!  This is such a great offer - the range of papers is beautiful, and I would be happy to show you some 'real life' samples if you live near me in the outer east of Melbourne (I am in Mt Evelyn).  If you would like to take advantage of this limited-time offer, or if you would like to buy any products from the current Stampin' Up Idea Book & Catalogue, please contact me by email: c.blain@yarravalleysnackfoods.com

Now, on to the aforementioned card ....



Stamps: Trendy Trees

Card: Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Kiwi Kiss

DSP: Urban Garden

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Night of Navy, Very Vanilla

Other: Kiwi Kiss 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, eyelet border punch, sponge dauber, Nestabilities, velvet bird brad (7Gypsies), dimensionals, cardboard button



Next up is a bold-coloured card, using Trendy Trees, to show what a different result you can achieve just by using different inks and cardstock.  I got the idea for this card from a Splitcoast gallery - sorry, but I didn't note whose.  I love the crispness of the foliage stamped in four of this year's "in colours".  It's not obvious in the photo, but I stamped just the spiral tree-top all over the Pacific Point card, to create a simple background.  Inside the card I inserted some white card (couldn't resist sponging those edges), stamped with one little tree for a cute touch.





Stamps: Trendy Trees

Card: Pacific Point, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango

Other: Kiwi Kiss 5/8" grosgrain, word window punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig


Warning - the next card is BRIGHT!  It's not my usual pick of colours, but gets the 'thumbs up' from my boys, so I decided to put it on here.  I used the Cheep Talk stamp set, using markers to colour the bird and the orange flower.  I used a Versamark ink pad, to ink up the flower and stamp all over the larger panel of Tempting Turquoise card.  Lots of co-ordinating card and ribbon on this one.



Stamps: Cheep Talk

Card: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange Stampin' Write Markers, Versamark

Other: 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 1/2" circle punch, scallop circle punch, corner rounder punch, eyelet border punch, dimensionals, 1/2" grosgrain ribbon - elegant eggplant, tempting turquoise, only orange, glitter brad (Doodlebug)


My fourth, and final, card for today's spot of sharing is using kraft - my "go-to" card and colour.  I just love it.  As soon as I saw the Bella Bleu DSP that has just become available, I knew I had to have it - it co-ordinates beautifully with Kraft and Very Vanilla, and introduces Not Quite Navy to the mix.  Stunning.  I think this card would definitely be suitable as a sympathy card; not the sort of card any of us like to have to make, but necessary.  I love the muted colours in this card, and have kept it very simple; I like the 'wallpaper' effect of the DSP.



Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Best Yet, Friends 24-7

Card: Kraft, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla

DSP: Very Vanilla

Ink: Very Vanilla Craft (not in current catalogue), Not Quite Navy

Other: Oval Nestabilities, kraft taffeta ribbon, scallop edge punch, large half pearls (from Pretties Kit), 3/4" circle punch, sponge daubers, butterfly punch (non-SU)


I hope you've enjoyed the variety of cards I've posted today.  I am a long-time customer of Stampin' Up! and have only recently signed up as a demonstrator; I can vouch for the fantastic qualities of these products, and would love to share my enthusiasm with you!  Please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions, or if there are any products you NEED! 

Christine :)

It's a "Fifth Avenue Floral" day today!

This afternoon I've had a chance to play in my craft room, and have been busy inking up my beautiful new "Fifth Avenue Floral" stamps from the new Stampin' Up! catalogue.  It's such a versatile set, and the possibilities are seemingly endless - it is so easy to create different looks.  First up is my favourite of all the cards I made today.  Very simple stamping (that's my problem - too often I go into "embellishment overload"!), using two of the new "in colours",  and the old faithful Chocolate Chip.  I think the new Tangerine Tango is a bit polarizing, but I just love it, and hope you like what I've done with it on this card.

 

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Best Yet (hostess set)

Card: Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss

DSP: Chocolate Chip

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip

Other: 1 1/2 " circle punch, scallop circle punch, Tangerine Tango 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, corner rounder punch, sponge daubers



This next card incorporates the colours of the "Bella Rose" designer series paper, that I seem to be using on just about everything at the moment!    I have stamped the rose on watercolour paper, in Pink Pirouette ink, then watercoloured the petals in the same colour. It is a beautiful, soft, pink; the co-ordinating ribbon is almost good enough to eat - I LOVE it!  I wouldn't normally think to pair pink with red, but the new Riding Hood Red has beautiful undertones that complement the pink and brown (Chocolate Chip) so well.  Stampin' Up always think 'outside the square' with colour combinations, and several times a year they come up with gorgeous new papers.



Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, On Your Birthday, Best Yet

Card: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette

DSP: Bella Rose

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red

Other: Watercolour paper, aquapainter, Pink Pirouette 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Chocolate Chip 1/2" grosgrain ribbon, sponge daubers, Cuttlebug Tiny Tags, Pebbles Inc white candy dots



Okay, ready for another one?  Trust you're not yet sick of this stamp set, because I have more!!  I stamped the rose on watercolour paper, using Riding Hood Red ink, and watercoloured the petals in the same colour, which gave an intense result.  I think it's striking (I'm a bit of a 'red' girl).  I cut out the flower, and mounted it on Chocolate Chip card that had been embossed using my trusty Cuttlebug, then sponged around the perimeter with white craft ink.  The circle, and scalloped circle, were cut using Nestabilites dies.  More Bella Rose paper makes up much of the front of the card, including the little 'word window' panel on which I have white-embossed the sentiment.  I finished off the card with a couple of (non-SU) buttons.



Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Short & Sweet

Card: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip

DSP: Bella Rose

Ink: Riding Hood Red, White craft, Chocolate Chip

Other: Watercolour paper, aquapainter, Nestabilities, Word Window Punch, white embossing powder, buttons, embroidery thread



Okay, now for the final card for the day.  This time I stamped the rose from "the" set in So Saffron, on watercolour paper, then watercoloured the petals also in So Saffron.  I cut out the flower using circle Nestabilities, then mounted the image on a Chocolate Chip scalloped circle (Nestabilities again - gotta love 'em!).  White dots on the scallops help to break up the darkness of this panel.  I am loving the Tiny Tags dies I just bought, to use in my Cuttlebug - here I have stamped part of a sentiment from Pocket Silhouettes, in Baja Breeze on a white tag, then backed it onto a Baja Breeze tiny tag, and a Chocolate Chip tiny tag.  The tags are held together by a yellow rhinestone brad (how gorgeous are these rhinestone brads?).  A bit of ribbon finishes it all off.  This colour scheme is not one I've used before, but I really like it - very 'on trend', apparently!  And on that note, I present my final card for the day.  Thanks for looking! 



Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral (no kidding), Pocket Silhouettes

Card: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze

DSP: So Saffron Patterns DSP

Ink: So Saffron, Baja Breeze

Other: Watercolour paper, aquapainter, Nestabilities, Souffle white gel pen, Baja Breeze 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Chocolate Chip 1/2" grosgrain ribbon, yellow rhinestone brad, Cuttlebug Tiny Tags die, sponge daubers (probably don't need to mention this, because I use them on every card!)

A couple of cards to share ....

 

My photo quality (particularly of the Raspberry Tart card posted yesterday) is pretty bad; apologies to my 3 loyal followers!  I hope to get a lot better at this as time goes on.

Here is a card made with that oft-mentioned "Friends 24-7" stamp set.  I have LOTS of ideas in my head for this one, so expect to see it often!  I am a huge fan of kraft-coloured card, so was quick to get my hands on kraft taffeta ribbon from the new catalogue.  It is beautiful, and oh-so-easy to tie in bows or knots.  It co-ordinates beautifully with the cardstock.

I inked up the sweet bird in Riding Hood Red, the branch in Chocolate Chip, and the leaves with my Old Olive marker.  Added some sponging around most of the edges - I am IN LOVE with sponge daubers, and have one for every colour of stampin' pad ('cos I'm a bit fussy about things like that!).  They are a great little tool, allowing you to give your cards a really nice finish with minimal effort.

Stamps: Friends 24-7

Card: Whisper White, Kraft, Chocolate Chip

DSP: Bella Rose

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, white

Other: Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, kraft taffeta ribbon, circle punches (1 1/4", 1 1/2", scallop circle), sponge daubers, paper piercer








On this card, I have done very little stamping, because I wanted to showcase the beautiful "Urban Oasis" designer series paper.  I have stamped, in white ink on basic gray card, a small image from Botanical Blooms (a sale-a-bration set, not in the current catalogue), and punched it out with the scallop square punch.  I matted that small panel on whisper white card that had been punched out twice with the same punch, and aligned to make a little border.  The sentiment is from the cute little Trendy Trees set, and has been punched out with the oh-so-versatile word window punch.  I have owned many punches over the years, and have to say that Stampin' Up! punches are brilliant - great quality, give a nice,clean cut every time, and are very easy to operate.  Some of the new Kiwi Kiss ribbon finishes off the card.

Stamps: Trendy Trees, Botanical Blooms

Card: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Kiwi Kiss

DSP: Urban Oasis

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, white craft ink

Other: Kiwi Kiss 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, word window punch, scallop square punch

More new paper & stamps

The new Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue is full of THE most beautiful stamps, papers and accessories.  Here is a card made with the new Raspberry Tart papers, which at first I was unsure of, but now love.  Don't the grosgrain ribbon colours match beautifully??  That's one of my favourite things about SU products - they're just so "matchy-matchy"!  Takes all the hard work out of trying to perfectly match your papers, stamps and accessories.

On this card, I have used my Stampin' Write markers to stamp the damask design (stamped off once, in Cameo Coral) from the Friends 24-7 stamp set.  I have stamped straight over the top of that with the sentiment from Friends 24-7, inked up with my Rose Red marker.  So easy, and just beautiful; this stamp set will have to rate as one of my very favourites this year - you'll be seeing many cards made with it, I promise!  I love the font in the sentiment, and the accompanying images are stunning.



Stamps: Friends 24-7

Card: Whisper White, Rose Red

DSP: Raspberry Tart

Ink: Cameo Coral, Rose Red Stampin' Write Markers

Other: 1/4" grosgrain ribbon - whisper white, old olive, pretty in pink; white half-pearls from SU Pretties kit

Hello world!

After lurking in the shadows of 'blogland' for many months, I have decided to launch my own blog!  I am an avid stamper and card-maker, and have recently signed up as an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  Please bear with me as I navigate my way around this whole blog 'thing'; I'll slowly work it out, I'm sure (LOL).  I'll have some photos up soon, I promise (once my kids show me how to do it!).

I will be using this blog to share some of my creations.  I would love to share my passion for Stampin' Up! too, so please contact me if you'd like to buy any products.  The beautiful new Stampin' Up! Ideas Book and Catalogue is available now, at only $12.95. If you'd like a copy, please email me at c.blain@yarravalleysnackfoods.com.

Please come back and visit; I look forward to sharing my cards with you.  Next to my family, making cards is the thing in life that makes my heart the happiest.

Christine :)

"Cheep Talk" card

Okay, so it worked!  Forgive my excitement, but I'm very new at this.  Here is a (less than great) photo of a simple little card I made with my new "Cheep Talk" set - such a cute, fun set that I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of from me. 


Stamps:  Cheep Talk

Card: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip

DSP: Bella Rose

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, white

Other: Horizontal Slot Punch, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, white flower (Bella brand), decorative brad (K & Co.)