Punched Cross

Today I'm sharing with you an old project... you can tell it's old because of some of the products used. However, I still wanted to show it to you because I think it's really cool.

Paper: Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla, Beau Chateau DSP (retired)
Stamps: Crosses of Hope (inside)
Tools: Scallop Trim Border Punch & Corner Punch (retired), Little Leaves Sizzlit
Accessories: Pearls, Flower Trim

What happened is that (over a year ago!) I came across an awesome tutorial video from Frenchie on how to make a beautiful cross with punches. I was so excited that I made a few, but then never did anything with them. As you may have read, I had to do a major clean up of my craft loft as we're selling our house and during this clean up, I came across my crosses. :)

I hope you've enjoyed this share and if you've got these punches (or perhaps similar ones would work?), head on over to Frenchie's Blog linked above and show her some love!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

It's Sketch Time at Sunday Stamps!

Haley has a great sketch over at Sunday Stamps this week! She reminds us of something too - that our sketches are just a guideline to aid in your creativity! You don't need to necessarily add every element from our sketches, but as long as you stick to the general idea of them, we're happy. :)

Paper: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Elegant Soiree DSP (retired)
Ink: Marina Mist
Stamp: Just for You (exclusive with Pop Up Posies Kit)
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Punches: Scallop Trim Border,
Scallop Trim Corner, Scallop Circle
Accessories: Flower Trim, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Pop Up Posies Kit

This card came together fairly quickly thanks to the Pop Up Posies Kit in the Spring Catalogue! I didn't use any of the flower pieces, but I did use the embossed label and buttons. The flower I made using my Scallop Circle Punch (4 punches), folded them in quarters and then added a single flower from the new Flower Trim found in the Spring Catalogue also.

I hope you'll play along with us this week. Make sure you head on over to Sunday Stamps and check out what the rest of the Design Team has created for inspiration!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

DIY Wedding

I helped my upline Leena Girsa prepare some samples for her booth at the Rockton Fair this weekend. She wanted to have a wedding display for the DIY brides out there. The colour scheme Leena wanted was Basic Gray and Daffodil Delight. Here are some of the samples I prepared for her:

Paper: Neutrals DSP Paper Stack (Basic Gray), Black, Whisper White
Tools: Big Shot, Elegant Lines TIEF, Owl Punch
Accessories: Tulle, Clothes Pins

These adorable Bride & Groom owls were CASEd from Danielle Goff off our Demo website. These are "toppers" for cupcakes, presents, etc. I decorated some clothes pins and topped them with my owls.

Tools: Big Shot, Flower Folds Bigz XL Die, Elegant Lines TIEF
Accessories: Crumb Cake Tulle, Tea Light

These tealight holders are quite popular and easy to make. I used aluminum flashing and an embossing folder. To fancy it up (and haven't seen this done before), I added some Tulle in between the petals of the smaller flower. Of course, you can't use a real flame with this one!

Paper: Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight, Very Vanilla
Tools: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Elegant Lines TIEF
Accessories: VV 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon

I got this idea from a 3D swap my upline received at our Regional Event in August. I'm sorry that I don't know who to credit with the original design. I had the idea to turn it into a place card setting though by adding a banner. How awesome would these look all lined up on a seating table?!

Paper: Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight, Neutrals DSP Paper Stack
Tools: Big Shot, Fun Folds Bigz Die, MDS
Accessories: Basics Glimmer Brads

Why not decorate a cheap frame with some DSP & accessories?! I displayed mine as a table number, but you could easier put a menu, poem, picture, etc inside too! After everything was adhered, I used Crystal Effects to give it a nice shine and seal it all in.

Paper: Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Neutrals DSP Pattern Pack
Stamps: Mixed Bunch
Ink: Daffodil Delight
Tools: Blossom Punch, Scallop Trim Border & Corner Punch

Lastly, a wedding program, with a simply decorated front. Quick & easy. I learned how to do the cross from Frenchie Stamps. I might do a quickie tutorial in the coming days for those who are interested.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Colour Challenged?!

If you're colour challenged... or perhaps just need a little inspiration, online Challenge Blogs are the way to go (I have a list of ones I like to play along with in the left column)!

It's been a while since I've been able to play along with the ladies over at Sunday Stamps, and am happy to play along with Tara's Colour Challenge this week!

The great thing about Colour Challenges is that sometimes they get you using colours together you might never have thought of. Here's the card I came up with:

Paper: Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder
Ink: Sahara Sand, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Chocolate Chip
Stamps: Tiny Tags, Language of Friendship
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Scallop Trim Border Punch
Accessories: Baker's Twine, Jewels

I got the idea for this card from many different areas - Pinterest (you can follow me there too!), our Demonstrator-Only website and the Regional Event I went to in August. For instant colour, I just rubbed my ink pads directly on a piece of Whisper White. I then used my Boho Blossom Punch and punched the largest of the three flowers. Next, I wrapped Baker's Twine around them to get the desired pattern. I basically kept wrapping around the flower in a triangular pattern so that there was a small space in the middle for some bling!

I embossed my card base and then glued my coloured piece to it. After adding my flowers, I wrapped some Baker's Twine around the card and added my sentiment.

Inside, I stamped the coordinating flower for the punch from the Language of Friendship set. I punched two out and added jewels to them for some extra dimension.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Battle of the Demos

Ok, not really. But our Demo group, lead by our fabulous leader, Leena Girsa of A La Cards had a "back to basics" challenge that I just loved! Here's what we were given:

• Two pieces of DSP:  4x6 and 2x6
• Whisper White CS 3 7/8" x 5 1/8"
• Rich Razzleberry 4 1/4 x 5 1/2
• Tempting Turquoise 4 1/4 x 5 1/2
• Daffodil Delight 4 x 5 1/4 and 2 x 5 1/4
• Island Indigo 4 x 51/4
• Real Red 2 1/2 x 5 1/2
• Tangerine Tango 2 1/2 x 5 1/2
• Card Bases in Real Red, Lucky Limeade and Whisper White
• 12" of Daffodil Delight stitched grosgrain ribbon
• 16" of Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon
• 18" of Lucky Limeade baker's twine
• 5 brights buttons
• 2 glimmer brads

The goal was to create as many projects from the supplies - no BIG SHOT, but we could use any stamps and punches we had in our possession. I admit, I was stuck for a long while because I absolutely love using the Big Shot and just felt lost without it. I just didn't think I could create a "wow" factor without it. Finally, I told myself just to start cutting and it wasn't long before I got down to business.

Here's what I came up with:

What do you think? I'm sure you've noticed that humming bird again! :)

We had to make at least 2 full cards, and in addition to that, I made 2 bottle tags, 1 bookmark, 5 teeny tiny gift tags, 1 mini card, 2 mini tags and 1 "scrapling". That's 14 projects!

I urge you to give this a try. It's lots of fun and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish when you go "back to the basics".

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph