Balloon Duo Congratulations...

Hi there,

I've had a pretty hectic couple of weeks so haven't had a lot of time to 'play' but I did manage to get something made this afternoon for the Dynamic Duo and Paper Players challenges.

I haven't done vintage/shabby chic in a while so I went in that direction, adding Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla as my neutrals...

I used the fabulous Up, Up & Away set from the Summer mini catty, stamped first in Bashful Blue then with the pattern over the top in Marina Mist. I cut them out, sponged Crumb Cake ink around the edges and covered with Heat & Stick powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The papers are from the Beau Chateau pack. I added my favourite accessories (well apart from buttons lol!) - lace, pearls and seam binding ribbon.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Up, Up & Away, Curly Cute
Ink: Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Paper: Beau Chateau dsp, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Tools: Circles #2 die, Perfect Pennants die, Distressing tool, heat & stick powder
Accessories: Lace trim, pearls, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, dazzling diamonds glitter

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Fresh coloured bicycle...

Hiya,

Just popping in quickly to share a card I made using this week's Freshly Made sketch and Colour Q combo...

  

I broke out a new hostess set (from our Summer mini) that features a sweet bicycle with a bunch of little images than can be put in the basket (or on the seat... depending where your creativity leads!). Here's what I created:

Sweet right? When I saw the colour combo I knew I wanted a red bicycle then decided on a basket of Pool Party flowers and a little birdie perched on the seat. The image was coloured with markers and blender pens & inkpads... I added a bunch a paper piercing for a bit of added interest.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Pedal Presents, Trendy Trees
Ink: Early Espresso, SU markers
Paper: Tickets & Tags Simply Scrappin kit, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Accessories: More Mustard buttons, Baker's Twine, square punches

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Exciting News!

Hiya!

I have some exciting news to share today that I've been sitting on for a few weeks...

Yep that's right - I'm one of the new Friday Mashup design team! Starting from June I'll be playing along as a DT member and even creating a few challenges myself - woohoo! Thank you so much to Holly for choosing me - I'm really looking forward to it. And how better to celebrate than to post my card for the latest challenge...

I used the new Open Sea set from our Summer mini catty along with some Well Worn dsp to make a Father's Day card:

When I started this card I had in mind the class I am running next Friday evening using this stamp set so I thought I would design a project for that... only I got a bit carried away and ended up cutting out the sails of the boat (VERY fiddly!) and shaping them with a scoring tool and foam mat so they look like they're blowing in the wind (not that you can see it very well on the photo). When I finished I thought perhaps this wouldn't be the best idea for a class, particularly not for those that aren't too keen on fussy cutting (Heather!) lol!! Oh well... maybe a modified version!

I'm gonna skip the recipe this time cos it's late and I have an early morning tomorrow so I'll leave it there... Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Polka dot tea cup...

Hi there,

I combined a few challenges to make a {fairly} simple card last night: the Paper Players challenge (a CAS card with polka dots), the Dynamic Duos colour challenge, and this week's Deconstructed Sketch.

Now I don't really do CAS very well... When I try it just looks half-finished (when others do it, it looks amazing!), so this one was a little out of my comfort zone... I'm not even sure this qualifies as CAS but I did make it in around 1/2 an hour which is about as CAS as it gets for me!!

I chose a polka dot tea cup for my focal image, stamped in Daffodil Delight and glazed with Crystal Effects. I also used the polka dot embossing folder for the white strip across the card. The background paper is from the Flirtatious dsp pack (which kinda looks like big fancy polka dots to me!).

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Tea Shoppe
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Stazon
Paper: Flirtatious dsp, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Basic Grey
Tools: Perfect Pennants die, word window punch, modern label punch, circles #2 die
Accessories: Daffodil Delight brads, crystal effects

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Fresh Colour Mashup...

Hiya,

I managed to combine three challenges for today's creation (it's sometimes the only way I can fit them in... and there are still some on my list I don't get to!). I combined the Friday Mashup (decorative edge + ribbon/bows) with the Freshly Made sketch and Colour Q challenge...

And here's what I came up with:

I used the new Bordering on Romance set, stamping with Stazon and colouring with markers. I cut the image into strips and layered on Basic Grey cardstock then added some faux stitching with a grey marker. The scalloped strip was stamped with a border stamp from Bordering on Romance and embossed with white EP.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Bordering on Romance, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Stazon, Wisteria Wonder, markers
Paper: Flirtatious dsp, Basic Grey, Whisper White, Lucky limeade
Tools: Word Window punch, Modern label punch, edgelits dies
Accessories: Lucky Limeade ribbon, rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Mixed Bunch Birthday...

Hi there,

Just popping in quickly to share a card I made last night for the Paper Players colour challenge as well as the Retro sketch challenge this week...

And here's what I ended up with:

I used the new Mixed Bunch set and coordinating punch - first embossing the image with white on vellum then layering over Daffodil Delight. The sentiment was stamped on a strip of Attic Boutique dsp, adding a Daffodil Delight brad either side. The dsp in the background is from the Tickets & Tags Simply Scrappin kit. I added some Poppy Parade ribbon to finish off.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Grateful Poppies...

Hi there,

I wanted to play along with this week's Friday Mashup challenge, but in the UK we're not really that big on the whole 'patriotic' theme and our remembrance event happens in November, which is symbolised by the poppy so I thought I would go in that direction, with a theme of gratitude (although I don't know anyone who has served in the armed forces, I do know that they deserve our thanks a thousand times over). I used the Card Patterns sketch to get me going...

I used the Ornate Flowers set to create some poppies and came up with this:

I stamped the flowers twice each in Poppy Parade then again in Night of Navy, cutting out the centres and layering on the full flowers. I added some swirls cut with the Swirls Scribbles die. The dsp is from the new Attic Boutique range in the Summer Mini catty.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Ornate Flowers, Apothecary Art
Ink: Poppy Parade, Night of Navy
Paper: Attic Boutique dsp, Night of Navy, Confetti White
Tools: Swirls Scribbles die, corner rounder punch, edgelits die & embossing folder
Accessories: Daffodil Delight striped ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Fresh Throwdown Bouquet...

Hiya,

Just popping in to share a card I made for this week's Freshly Made Sketch and the colours from the Colour Throwdown challenge (I love these colours together!!).

I stamped out a bunch of flowers from one of SU's hostess sets (Array of Sunshine) and had fun cutting them all out last night... I came up with this:

The layers were created using different designs from the Patterns DSP collections and the sentiment is from Apothecary Art.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Array of Sunshine, Apothecary Art
Ink: Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Pool Party, Certainly Celery, Elegant Eggplant
Paper: Pool Party, Certainly Celery & Elegant Eggplant dsp, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Tools: Circles #2 die, scallop trim border punch
Accessories: Rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Romantic Duo...

Just popping in very quickly to post a card I made for two challenges: the new Dynamic Duos colour challenge and the Simply Stampin' challenge (a sketch)...

And here's what I came up with:

I used the Bordering on Romance stamp set plus some elements from the Tea Time simply scrappin kit... paper piecing plus a poofy double bow and that's about it!

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Retro Tea Shoppe...

Hi there,

I pulled together this week's Retro sketch with the Pals Paper Arts colour challenge and found some 'inky' time last night...

 

I used the new Tea Shoppe set as I could see a stack of teacups in these pretty colours!

I've only just realised that I used Pool Party rather than Baja Breeze for the blue on this card... Duh! Clearly I wasn't completely awake when I put this one together lol! I stamped the small tea cups in the three different colours and cut them out and created the label by stamping the image once with Pool Party and punching out with the oval punch, then another time with Calypso Coral and trimming the little banner. I layered it onto a scalloped oval punched from Calypso Coral card. The So Saffron background panel was stamped with the Very Vintage wheel for a bit of extra interest.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Tea Shoppe, Very Vintage wheel
Ink: So Saffron, Cakypso Coral, Pool Party
Paper: Tea Time Simply Scrappin dsp, Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Whisper White
Tools: oval and scalloped oval punches
Accessories: Pool Party seam binding ribbon, Calypso Coral brad, rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Twitterpated Play Date...

Hi there,

When I saw this week's Play Date colour scheme I thought of the new Twitterpated dsp in our summer mini catty - perfect for this challenge. I combined it with Chupa's Sketchbook Saturday layout..

I need some anniversary cards for my stash so that's the direction I went in with this...

The layers are all from the dsp pack, together with Basic Grey and Whisper White card. The hearts were punched then embossed with one of the new Adorning Accents embossing folders then sponged corresponding ink on the edges and over the embossed hearts. I used some Basic Grey satin ribbon to create the bow and added a cute little Twitterpated button in the centre.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride
Paper: Twitterpated dsp, Whisper White, Basic Grey, Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze
Tools: Heart punch, Adorning Accents embossing folder & die
Accessories: Basic Grey satin ribbon, Twitterpated buttons

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Fresh wall art for Mum...

Hi there,

Mother's Day is coming up in Australia (where my Mummy lives!) so I wanted to make something I could send her along with her card. I decided to make a little wall hanging that she can put in her kitchen or study or even bring to work with her. I used the inspiration and theme from the Friday Mashup challenge (not the pop-up bit though) as well as the layout from Freshly Made Sketches.

I used the new Tea Shoppe set from the Summer mini catty (my Mum loves all things 'tea and teapots') to create this:

These are really simple to make using a piece of bare chipboard as the base, then the rest is just like putting a card together. I used some Attic Boutique paper from the Summer mini and took the colour scheme from that. The cup was stamped on Very Vanilla using Regal Rose ink rock 'n' rolled in Rose Red, then I covered with Versamark and clear embossed. The panel it is 'sitting' on is Crumb Cake stamped with the Woodgrain background stamp - I glued a doily half from the Flirtatious dsp pack to make a 'tablecloth' of sorts. The heart and U was die-cut with the Timeless Type set of Alphabet dies (I just got these and I'm loving them!). I added a few pearls, and some lace to hang it with.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Tea Shoppe, Woodgrain, For My Family
Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Paper: Attic Boutique dsp, Flirtatious doily, Pool Party textured card, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Tools: Swirls Scribbles sizzlit die, Timeless Type sizzlits dies
Accessories: pearls, lace trim, clear EP, jumbo eyelets (retired)

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Colour Q Balloon Journal...

Hi there,

I've been busy making some journals and notebooks for my church bookshop this week and I decided to use the Colour Q combo to make a man's journal.

I used a new set from the Summer Mini catty called Up, Up and Away to create this:

I found a pack of 10 plain notebooks at a bargain store recently and have been having fun covering them - this is my first attempt at a guy's one! I used a bit of Spice Cake dsp which was in the Spring mini catty (all gone now though...) to cover the spine, then I covered the front and back with Early Espresso card with some punched circles randomly adhered for a bit of interest.The image panel was stamped with the balloon images and the clouds then I drew a frame around the edge with an Early Espresso marker. The 'take note' oval is from Notably Ornate and I added a brad/punched circle and some baker's twine for a closure.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps:Up, Up and Away, Notably Ornate
Ink: Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Early Espresso, Pool Party
Paper: Spice Cake dsp, So Saffron, Early Espresso, Pool Party, Whisper White, EE textured
Tools: Circle punches, oval punch, corner punch
Accessories: Pool Party brad, white baker's twine, Early Espresso marker

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x