"HELLO, YOU" BUTTERFLY CARD

I have a couple of classes coming up, in which we'll be making cards with butterflies on them.  Stampin' Up! has a number of stamp sets, and Sizzix dies, with a butterfly theme ..... it wasn't easy to design only 4 cards to showcase the products, I can tell you!

When I came across this gorgeous card by Lucy Abrams, I knew I wanted to incorporate the colours and layout in one of my class cards.  Here is the simple, but I think rather sweet, result of my efforts:

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly; Music Notes wheel; Hello,You

Card: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink

DSP: Very Vanilla Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Crumb Cake stampin' pad and marker, Pretty in Pink stampin' pad, Versamark inkpad

Other: Butterfly punch, Rhinestone brad, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Paper Piercer and Mat Pack, Very Vanilla satin ribbon, mini glue dot, sponge dauber

Please ignore the fact that I have stamped the Music Notes wheel upside down (apparently) ... not being of a musical bent, I decided I'd use artistic licence!

If you live in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, I'd love to have you join in one of my classes ..... see the CLASSES tab up the top of my blog for details!

BABY WIPES .... not just for babies!

Even though I'm way past the days of needing baby wipes for, well, the obvious, I always have some on hand in my craft room.  I must admit that I've been guilty of cleaning my stamps with them (not recommended .. the rubber turns white after a while), but now that I have my fab-o Stampin' Scrub, those days are over.  I still use them to wipe up stray glitter, and to attempt to clean my inky fingers, among other things!

I'd heard of the 'Baby Wipe technique' in stamping, but really didn't know what it was, until I came across Beate Johns' great video.  Check it out - it's great fun.  Now that I actually own some re-inkers, I was able to give this technique a try.

Here are my first two humble attempts at using this technique, that I'll be sure to play around with some more.

First up is a card that uses one of many panels I'd embossed with Stampin' Up!'s Manhattan Flowers embossing folder.  I went a little crazy when I first got it, and now have dozens of embossed panels that need to be made into cards - I'm sure plenty of you can relate to this affliction!  It's an inherent danger of having a new die-cutting and/or embossing machine -  anything that doesn't move, gets put through it!

The colours of my cards were determined by the re-inker colours used.  Firstly, I used Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, and So Saffron.





Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Organic Outlines (sentiment)

Card: So Saffron, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark inkpad, So Saffron stampin' pad, Ruby Red marker, Re-inkers: Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron

Other: Manhattan Flowers embossing folder, Butterfly Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Ruby Red brads, Wide Oval Punch, Haiku Designer Series Paper, dimensionals



For my second card, I used re-inkers in Rich Razzleberry, Regal Rose and Pink Pirouette.  Not so keen on the finished card (I think it's a bit 'heavy' looking) .... plus, hubby likes it, so that in itself concerns me!  I'll show you anyway, since I spent a bit of time putting it together!




Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Best Yet

Card: Rich Razzleberry, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White

Ink: Rich Razzleberry stampin' pad, Versamark inkpad, Re-inkers: Rich Razzleberry, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette

Other: XL Two-step Bird Punch (leaves), Rich Razzleberry grosgrain ribbon, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, dimensionals

YAY FOR THE BUTTERFLY PUNCH (and JUMBO BRADS)!

With the 'expiry' of the recent Summer Mini catalogue, from Stampin' Up!, I was most concerned that the Butterfly punch would be no longer available.  This long-awaited, versatile, punch has been available in Australia for only a few short months, and has proven very popular - it co-ordinates not only with the Butterfly Prints stamp set from the Summer Mini, but with the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set from the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalogue (which is current through until the end of August).  I LOVE it.

Great news, people!  Stampin' Up! has several products, from both the Summer Mini catalogue, and the earlier Spring Mini catalogue, that will carry over into our new catalogue coming out in September.  Even though these products don't appear in a current catalogue, they are still available to purchase.  So, if you haven't yet bought the Scallop Oval punch (that mats beautifully behind the Large Oval punch), or the Butterfly Punch, or Jumbo brads, to name a few, don't despair!

I thought I'd share with you today a few cards on which I've used these products, so you can see what a nice touch they add to a card.  Settle in for a little trip down Memory Lane!


First up, the BUTTERFLY PUNCH:












On this next card I've used both the Butterfly Punch and the SCALLOP OVAL PUNCH:



... and another card (using a retired stamp set), showing how well the Large Oval Punch fits inside the Scallop Oval Punch:




Stampin' Up!'s punches co-ordinate so beautifully with the stamp sets, and make it very easy to achieve a beautiful result with your card-making and scrapbooking.

Being a huge fan of brads (split pins) as an embellishment, I've made a number of cards with both the 'giant' 5/8" size, and the smaller 5/16" brads, both of which come in a Neutrals Assortment (Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip and Silver).  Unfortunately, I seem to have given away most of the cards, without photographing them first.  Here are a few photos of cards that have the 5/8" JUMBO BRADS on them:










I love how flat these brads are. The smaller size (5/16") is great to add to flower centres.


So, as well as feeling the excitement of all the gorgeous new products just released in Australia, I'm really happy to be able to share this news about some 'not so new' favourites.

If I can help you with a Stampin' Up! order (no need to hold a workshop, if you'd just like to order direct), please email me.  I am happy to answer any questions I can!

BUTTERFLY PRINTS, IN RED AND BLACK

Now, you may find this hard to believe, from my cryptic post title, but I've been having a play with my Butterfly Prints stamp set (one of the beautiful new sets in Stampin' Up!'s Summer Mini catalogue).  Guess what colours I've used?

I am a great fan of the colour red (so, sorry if it's a bit overdone!), and it always looks striking with black.  With that in mind, and with wanting to use the yummy Polka Dot grosgrain ribbon, also from the Summer Mini, this is the first card I came up with:



I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but I have stamped in Versamark (clear) ink on the red card.  First I stamped the En Francais background stamp, then I stamped over the top of that with the same butterfly stamp that's used in red and black.  Here's a closer shot of the top portion of the card, just because I like what I did with it:



Bit blurry, sorry - quickly grabbed a photo in between heavy rainfalls this afternoon! I used Basic Black ink to stamp the flowery butterfly directly onto the red card.  I've then secured (with a thin strip of double-sided tape) a punched-out red butterfly over the top, and lifted the wings.

The 'ingredients' used in this card are as follows:

Stamps: Butterfly Prints, En Francais

Card: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark ink pad, Basic Black and Real Red stampin' pads, Jet Black Staz-On inkpad (sentiment)

Other: Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, Butterfly Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig



While I had out the stamps, card and ink (and about 2" square of space on my desk, with all the other supplies I have spread around), I made another card using the same colours, with a little injection of my old favourite, kraft.  Here's the second card (son number 1 likes this one better; hubby likes the first one better):



Stamps: Butterfly Prints, Occasional Greetings, Flight of the Butterfly

Card: Real Red, Kraft, Whisper White, Basic Black

Ink: Real Red and Basic Black stampin' pads, Whisper White craft stampin' pad

Other: Real Red brads, Butterfly Punch, dimensionals, mat pack and paper piercer, edge distresser, corner rounder punch.

Which one do you like best?  I have a distinct favourite, that came together easily, but I'm curious to read what you think - leave me a comment!!  :)

CIRCLE CIRCUS ......"In the Pink"!

Last night I whiled away a few (alright, several) hours in my lovely craft room, and made a few decidedly pink cards.  I do love pink, but I will warn you that the following pictures could constitute a sensory overload....

I started off with a piece of Regal Rose card (must admit I've not used this colour before - now, I have very little left!), and repeatedly stamped what I like to call the 'bubble' image from the Circle Circus stamp set.  I stamped all over the card in Regal Rose ink, then overstamped in Whisper White.  This is a small sample of what I ended up with:



I then cut panels of the 'patterned paper' I had created, and used them on some cards.  This is the first one I made.  I really like the intensity of the pattern on the square panel.



Stamps: Circle Circus, Flight of the Butterfly (how cute is that tiny butterfly?!), On Your Birthday

Card: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose

Ink: Whisper White craft, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose stampin' pads

Other: White embossing powder (and heat tool), Stamp-a-ma-jig, corner rounder punch, Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, 1/4" Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon, circle punches - 1", 1 1/4", 1 3/8", scallop circle, sponge daubers, edge distresser



Before I assembled this next card, I added a few Chocolate Chip stamped images, from Circle Circus, to the 'bubbly' background.  This stamp co-ordinates with the new Filigree Brads from Stampin' Up!, so I found a place to add one of those (although rather than using the silver brad centre, I popped in a pink brad from my stash - thought there wasn't quite enough pink on the card, you see).  The main panel has images stamped in the colours to match the background.  Although I've angled it so it looks like the little bird is going to slide right down the branch, I like the simple stamping!  Some rather blobby dots with a white gel pen, and a knotted piece of divine taffeta ribbon, finishes off this card.



Stamps: Circle Circus, Cheep Talk

Card: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose

Ink:  Whisper White craft, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink stampin' pads, Chocolate Chip stampin' write marker (see the tiny dot?)

Other: Filigree brad (with non-SU pink centre), white gel pen, corner rounder punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponge dauber, Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon



Okay, on we go to more luscious pinkness.  This next one is my personal favourite, but I would love to hear which one you like the best.  I have used a larger panel of the bubble-patterned card, matted on some Chocolate Chip card.  The owl has been stamped on watercolour paper with Staz-On ink, then watercoloured using my stampin' pads and an aquapainter (love this little invention - no more pots of water to tip all over my desk!).  I masked the owl and branch, and stamped little pink hearts in the background.  These cute hearts, along with sentiment, also come from the Owl Together Now set.  I sponged the edges of the owl panel in Pretty in Pink, and Regal Rose.  I used my Cuttlebug to create the tiny tag, and again stamped the hearts in Pretty in Pink. My wonderful Stamp-a-ma-jig allowed me to stamp the image exactly where I wanted it - yep, yet another of my favourite crafting tools. 



Stamps: Circle Circus, Owl Together Now

Card: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink

Ink: Whisper White craft, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink stampin' pads, Jet Black Staz-On, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write markers

Other: watercolour paper, aquapainter, white eyelet (from my stash), Cuttlebug mini tag, Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, sponge daubers, foam dots


Now for the last card in this pink series.  Having already said that the owl card is my personal favourite, I must say this one comes a close second.  I'm a big fan of the Flight of the Butterfly set.  I broke out and used Basic Gray instead of Chocolate Chip with this one.  Lots of scallops (thanks to my Nestabilities, through the Cuttlebug, and my scalloped square punch from Stampin' Up!), and simple stamping with gray/blingy highlights.



Stamps: Circle Circus, Flight of the Butterfly, Best Yet

Card: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink

Ink: Whisper White craft, Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink stampin' pads

Other: Nestabilites, scallop square punch, sponge dauber, Stamp-a-ma-jig, rhinestones (Kaiser), Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, foam dots, Sakura Gelly Roll glitter pen (dotted in the flower centres on the butterfly's wings)



Right, I think that's about enough pink for one day!  I hope to try out a few more things with Circle Circus before I (reluctantly) return the set to Claire, so please come back to visit over the next few days.  Happy Monday, everyone!

FLIGHT OF THE BUTTERFLY

Last week, as I was eagerly awaiting delivery of my new Flight of the Butterfly stamp set, I found a card on Splitcoaststampers (an online stampers' community) that took my breath away.  I had been imagining only soft, 'girly', colours when I envisaged using this set, but saw a black & kraft card made by Renee Van Stralen. 

I have used Renee's layout, but changed the colours around.  Even though it was the dark colours that initially drew me to her card, I ended up using Bella Bleu papers, and yummy vanilla and kraft colours.  Brocade Blue is a surprise favourite of mine at the moment; I am not normally a big user of blue, but I am really happy with the way this card has turned out.  Thanks for the inspiration, Renee!



Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Pocket Silhouettes, Best Yet

Card: Kraft, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla

DSP: Bella Bleu

Ink: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy and Brocade Blue stampin' pads

Other: Kraft and Vanilla taffeta ribbon, mini glue dots, Build-A-Brad, stamp-a-ma-jig, dimensionals.



I hope to fit in much more creative time this week (some of the load has been lifted from me at work), so will be back with more cards soon!