Very Merry

Here's a new design for you! Inspired from various different magazine sources - using border punches, strips of paper & pleating with paper.

Recently, I spent a few days away from home and when deciding what craft stuff to bring along, I turned to the paper stacks from Stampin' Up! This one is no longer available, but I barely even used it. Gasp! Anyway, I choose to take these along because they're perfect for card making, plus, it helped me to choose what solid card stock to take also. I was able to take along a lot of patterned paper (because I have several packs) and limited card stock. :)

I cut about 1" strips and then punched one side with my Scallop Border Punch. I mixed eight strips together and angled them randomly on my card base. The base of my card is only 3-3/4" wide because I wanted my pleated strip to hang over the edge to create extra interest. I finished off with a button (retired), some twine and a couple of Candy Dots.

Hope you like it!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Naturals White, Fresh Prints Paper Stack
Ink: Real Red
Stamps: And Many More
Tools: Scallop Border Punch 
Accessories: Button, Twine & Subtles Candy Dots

Spring Colours for Sunday Stamps

Well, the sun is shinning here, for the moment, but it certainly doesn't feel like Spring out there! I'm hosting the challenge this week at Sunday Stamps and chose some spring-like colours for this week's colour challenge.

Paper: Not Quite Navy, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
Ink: So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Not Quite Navy
Stamps: Best of Flowers, Bitty Banners
Tools: Big Shot, Honeycomb TIEF, Scallop Border & 1-1/4" Circle Punch
Accessories: So Saffron Ribbon (retired)

I was excited to ink up my Best of Flowers stamp set for the first time... I just love the images. The size of the images are smaller than the originals, but for a card maker, they're perfect. Plus, the new image coordinates with the 1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch! Who doesn't love a stamp & punch combo?!

If you need some more inspiration, check out what the rest of the design team has created for you and then post your project so that we too can get inspired!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Santa Tags

Today I have a super cute Christmas tag to share with you. They are Santa heads and the beard opens up for you to write your little message!

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Blush Blossom (retired)
Ink: Black Stampin' Write Marker
Tools: Punches: Scallop Border, 2" Circle (non SU!), 1-3/4" Circle, 3/4" Circle
Accessories: Dazzling Details, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine

How cute are these?! This is pretty much a total CASE from ones I found on Pinterest. The link led me to an Etsy page and the creator was Deanna Fioresi. The small changes I made to hers are adding the Baker's Twine for it to be a hanging tag, a larger scallop for the beard and the sparkles on the hat (that are really hard to see in the pictures).

To start off, I punched the following: 1 - 2" scallop circle (using a non SU! punch) in Whisper White, 1 - 1-3/4" circle in Blush Blossom, 1 - 3/4" circle in Whisper White. I punched a long strip using the Scallop Border Punch and just cut it as needed. The hat is a 1-3/4" x 3" rectangle, cut at a diagonal.

Next, I assembled the pieces together. I opted to trim the beard around the head because I thought it looked cleaner. I added some eyes and to add some sparkle, I used Dazzling Details on the pom pom and scallop parts of the hat. I squirted a small amount and moved it around with my finger to get the desired look.

Since I wanted these to be hanging tags, I added some Baker's Twine and the tag was complete! I will be selling these in sets of 4 at an upcoming Craft Show I'm doing in November. If you're interested in purchasing some, let me know!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

R is for Rest

Today is somewhat of a day of rest since here in Canada, most are taking today off in lieu of the Canada Day holiday yesterday. I found a small time-frame to stamp a little, but was having a creative block. So I turned to the Blogs out there...

One of my new favourite challenge blogs is Sunday Stamps. This week the ladies posted a sketch challenge and that's just what I needed to get inspired. Here's the sketch:

I've been using My Digital Studio (MDS) a lot lately for hybrid projects. This means that you create a portion of your project in MDS and then print it and finish creating with other stamps, paper, ribbon, etc. I have bought a lot of stamp brush sets in MDS that I don't have myself and especially ones that I might not use as often. It's an economical (and space-saving!) way to get all the images you desire. Plus, it's so easy to change the size or the colour and you can print right from your home computer!

Anyway, here is my hybrid card:

Although I've never been, sailing just seems like such a relaxing thing to do and since today is a day of relaxation, I thought this MDS stamp brush set was a perfect one to use. It's kind of funny that this is a Retirement card because this stamp set - Sail Away - is actually retired. Along with the Nautical Expeditions DSP, but the two are a perfect fit with one another. :)

I actually printed two sailboats and then cut the sail from one of them and popped it up. It gives a lot of dimension to an otherwise flat card. I also really distressed the edges of the DSP, sailboat and mat. I added some Bakers Twine and a Naturals Designer Button, both of which I thought looked a little nautical when paired with the DSP and sailboat. The sentiment on the front is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (my go-to sentiment set!) and the inside is from Occasions Alphabet. I must say that I don't use the latter set too often, but it really does pair well with many stamp sets and sentiments. Adds a little more oomph to a project.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph