Golden Congratulations for SSC76

Welcome to another great challenge at Sunday Stamps! It's a sketch this round, my fav!

I switched the sketch slightly, but all the elements are still there. The biggest change I made is the main shape. I used the positive & negative images from the Lattice Bigz Die to create a larger square focal point. I LOVE this die and I'm so sad that it's retiring this year!! I added some flowers from some leftover trim and fancied them up a bit with some pearls. To keep with the gold tones, I heat embossed the sentiment. I left the inside blank so that this card could be used for either a wedding or anniversary.

Hope you'll join us this round. Check out the other DT designs for inspiration. You have until Friday, May 30th to add your link. We always love seeing what you come up with!


RECIPE:
Paper: Naturals Cardstock, Very Vanilla, Gold Foil, Gold Specialty
Ink: VersaMark
Stamps: Bitty Banners
Tools: Big Shot, Lattice Bigz Die, Heat Tool
Accessories: Flower Trim (retired), Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon (retired), Pearls
Challenge: Sunday Stamps

Still Time to Play!

You still have time to play with us at Sunday Stamps this week! The link will close Friday, April 18th at 6 p.m., hope you'll find some time to get inspired!

I thought I'd share another project with you for this week's colour challenge:

This was actually my original design for the challenge, but omitted it because of the scrap banners I used that consisted of a few other colours other than what the challenge calls for. While this would probably be okay since the majority of my project still uses primarily Pink Pirouette, Smokey Slate & Tempting Turquoise, I'm glad I challenged myself to try a project using just those colours. :)

This was a card I created for my SIL who is getting married in May. I attended a shower for her yesterday and this card certainly impressed! ;)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Pink Pirourette, Smokey Slate, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Silver
Stamps: Love & Laughter
Tools: Big Shot, Decorative Dots TIEF, Artisan Label Punch, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Banner Punch
Challenge: Sunday Stamps

The Unforgettable Wedding Card

You may have seen the "card in a box" photos, videos and tutorials floating around lately. Aren't they so much fun?! I got to make my first one a couple of weeks ago at our monthly team meeting, thanks to my awesome upline Leena! A couple of days ago I wanted to make more, so I followed Frenchie's Video Tutorial for a refresher and I have not stopped making them since!

The basic idea is obviously not mine, but the designs are all my original work. This one was especially fun to make because of all the bling with various gold accents - heat embossing, glimmer paper, sequins & foil paper. I just love how the large heart acts like a mirror. :)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Modern Medley DSP, Very Vanilla, Basic Gray
Ink: VersaMark
Stamps: Best of Brides & Babies
Tools: Heart to Heart Punch (retired), Large Heart Punch, Small Heart Punch, Big Shot, Chalk Talk Framelits
Accessories: Sequin Trim, Gold Foil Paper, Champagne Glimmer Paper

For the Bride-to-Be

Oh yes! Love the colour combo over at Colour Me...! this week - Pink Pirouette, Smokey Slate, So Saffron and a neutral. I immediately thought something "girly", so I created a CAS card for a Bride-to-Be. Check it out:

I stamped the dress from Love and Laughter in Pink Pirouette and then punched it out with my 1-3/4" Circle Punch and layered it with a 2" (non SU!) scallop circle in Smokey Slate. I haphazardly looped some ribbon on the back of the scallop and then popped it up. I finished things off by embossing my card layer and then stamping the sentiment from the same set in So Saffron.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper - Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Smokey Slate
Ink: Pink Pirouette, So Saffron
Stamps: Love and Laughter
Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, 2" Scallop Circle Punch, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots TIEF
Accessories: 1/8" Ribbon (non SU!)
Challenge: Colour Me...!

Seriously?!

Are we seriously already a week into 2014?! I can't believe a week has gone by already. I hope you're reading this from somewhere warm... it's been crazy cold here lately! I think it's about -16C (3F) right now. That's much better than the -40C with windchills the other day!

On top of the frigid temps, we've had it all over the last few weeks - an ice storm, snow squalls/blizzards and a huge dumping of snow. Have you ever got to experience "frost quakes"? Freaked me out the first time I heard one (before I knew what it was). It's when water gets down into the soil and then freezes. The pressure causes somewhat of an explosion in the earth and creates a big BOOM! If it's close, it shakes the house. After knowing what the noise was, it was pretty cool hearing it...


Anyway, with the crazy weather, holidays, sicknesses, etc., I have not been able to get down and inky in my craft space. So I have a couple of older projects to show you until I can create some new stuff.

This card was pretty quick to put together. I stamped the delicate doily design several times in Pool Party and then did the same, but heat embossed with Smokey Slate. I also heat embossed the sentiment in Silver. I added some velvet decorative tape (non SU!) for some added dimension. I thought it suited the design well.

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Pool Party, Smokey Slate, Whisper White
Ink: Pool Party
Stamps: Happy Day, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Tools: Heat Tool
Accessories: Jewels
Techniques: Heat Embossing

So Frilly, I Love It!

It's been a while, I know. That's the story of my life right now. ;) Today I'm going to show you a card that I just love. I saw many examples floating around on several online forums and this is a combo of many of them, I was particularly inspired by Dani Dziama's card here.

Isn't the skirt to die for?! So frilly and feminine! I still had some mini cupcake-like wrappers from a kit from the last spring catalogue. They were actually meant to be flowers, but I wasn't feeling that. I cut each in half and then layered until I was happy with the look. 

I cut the figure using the Dress Up Framelits, added some ribbon and a clay flower on top of some embossing and the card was complete. I chose a sentiment that would be perfect for a bridal shower, but could also be used for a birthday or other similar occasion. 

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE:

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Baja Breeze, Regal Rose

Ink: Baja Breeze

Stamps: Petite Pairs

Tools: Big Shot, Clay Molds, Simply Pressed Clay, 1" & 1-1/4" Circle Punches, Modern Mosaic TIEF

Gold Foil

I am so ridiculously busy prepping for my upcoming shows (first is this Monday), but I just had to show you this card I made last night:

I just about screamed when it was all put together. The Gold Foil in the Holiday Catalogue is TO DIE FOR! I've done a similar card to this a couple of years ago, but it doesn't even compare to this one. I hope you love it too... and feel the need to get some Gold Foil paper. Love all the gold (and usually I'm not a "gold" person). I even gold-embossed the inside message. ha.

I'll be stocking up on this stuff for sure!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Gold Specialty Paper, Gold Foil
Stamps: Love and Laughter
Tools: Big Shot, Manhattan Flower TIEF, Heat Gun

Gold Elegance

I'll give you a break from the Christmas cards for today. Here is an elegant gold embossed card, inspired from the SU! Convention:

Paper: Modern Medley DSP, Very Vanilla
Ink: Black StazOn, Versamark
Stamps: Happy Day
Tools: Big Shot, Fun Flowers Bigz Die, Perfect Polk Dots TIEF, Heat Tool
Accessories: Very Vanilla Button
Techniques: Heat Embossing

I randomly stamped and heat embossed directly on the DSP with gold and did the same on the Very Vanilla pieces for my flower. I embossed the middle flower to break up all the gold embossing and instead of using the two smallest pieces from the die, I used a button that is also heat embossed in gold. Did you know you could do that?!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

What's New and MM?

I'm still here... have you been wondering what's going on in my life? Well, my littlest one hit the 3-month mark over the weekend (can't believe that!) and life with kids is pretty busy, but on top of that, we have also decided to sell our house, so that makes life pretty crazy around here lately! Having to keep the house spotless for showings is near impossible with little ones! haha.

Being kicked out of the house for showings and raising two kids has left me little time for designing, but I also didn't want to craft much because my space becomes buried in mere seconds when I'm working. :) It's an organized chaos though... but I didn't think potential buyers would appreciate that.

Anyway, some of the projects I'll be showing you over the next few posts are ones I've done a while back, but haven't yet had the opportunity to showcase them here on my Blog. Here is one CASEd from one seen on Pinterest:

Paper: Basic Gray, Pool Party, Silver
Ink: Basic Gray
Stamps: One in a Million
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Punches: Heart, Owl,
Apothecary Framelits, Typeset Alphabet
Accessories: Pearls

I added a few more layers and dimension then the one I saw and I'm happy with how it turned out. Although, many ask me what "MM" stands for. I thought it was pretty clear that it stood for "Mr. and Mrs." but maybe I'm wrong... what are your thoughts?

Thanks for sticking with me during this time where I'm horribly neglecting my Blog. I appreciate your following and comments!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Sunday Stamps Sketch!

I don't know about you, but May has been a crazy month! It's been jam-packed for me and after today, I'm looking forward to a little bit of relaxation time... and hopefully more stamping! I did manage to find a brief moment the other day to work on my design for Sunday Stamps this week though. I'm hosting and have put together a simple sketch:

Paper: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Neutrals Paper Stack
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey
Stamps: Word Play, En Francais
Tools: Big Shot, Elegant Lines TIEF, Artisan Label Punch
Accessories: Jewels

This sketch is so versatile... and the beauty of sketches is that you can use them as a starting point for inspiration - flip them, move the elements around, change the shapes, etc. I decided to stick pretty close to the sketch, just changing out the sentiment shape.

I hope this sketch inspires you and that you can play along with us this week. We love seeing what designs you can create!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Fancy Wedding

Sometimes I create cards that are truly unique and "one of a kind" because for one reason or another, I wouldn't be able to create an exact replica. Today's card is an example of that (and you'll see why below)... Check it out:

Paper: Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Baja Breeze
Stamps: Sweet Essentials, One in a Million
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Decorative Label Punch
Accessories: Pleated Ribbon (retired), Antique Brad

The beauty of this card is that the flower is created from some tulle I saved from another wedding (that had mints in it). I reused the piece of tulle by punching out some scallops and folding them in fourths to create my flower. I then simply added some pleated ribbon and the sentiment and the card was complete.

This card will never be created again because I do not have the tulle anymore and although I managed to punch some scallops from the tulle, it was a real pain & wasted a lot of it trying to get good punches. I love how this card turned out, but it's not worth it to try and recreate it. :)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Best Wishes for Sunday Stamps

Well, better late than never... right?! This post is way late for Sunday Stamps this week, but if you saw my post the other day, you'll know why. :)

Holly had a great colour combo challenge for us this week and here is my design:

Paper: Baja Breeze, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Black
Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Sincere Salutations (retired)
Tools: Big Shot, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Lacy Brocade TIEF,
Decorative Label Punch

I used one of my all-time favourite sets - Fabulous Florets, along with another favourite, but retired set, Sincere Salutations. I just can't get rid of that one because I love the font and the greetings.

I don't know why, but the colour combo spoke "wedding" to me, so I created a card that could be used for a wedding or a shower. Heck, it could even be used for an anniversary. I didn't add much "bling" to the card, but instead, fussy-cut and popped up many of the flowers for dimension and embossed for some texture.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Hearts of Love

Whether for Valentine's Day, anniversary or perhaps a wedding, this card works. I didn't make it specific for any of the mentioned occasions, but the sentiment just speaks love...

Paper: Naturals White, Beau Chateau DSP (retired), More Amore
Ink: Soft Suede
Stamps: One in a Million
Tools: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Lacy Brocade TIEF
Accessories: Dazzling Details, 5/8" Flower Trim, tiny brad

I just love the new Flower Trim in the Spring Catty! It's so versatile... especially when you cut it up like I did to make single flowers. :) I created my paper flower from a scallop punch, if you can believe that! I punched 4 scallops, crumpled them and then folded in quarters. I punched tiny holes at the point and held the entire thing together with a tiny brad.

I cut apart some of the hearts from the laser cut sheets in the More Amore Specialty DSP. I stamped the sentiment on one of them and adhered them to my embossed & sponged layer. I thought it needed a little more "bling" when it was all put together, so I used some dazzling details along parts of the embossing. I think this card has a vintage feel to it...

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

A Party Dress

Gotta love the tulle Stampin' Up! has in the current Holiday Catalogue. So many great uses for it. That's what I used to create a dress for this card:

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Early Espresso
Stamps: Established Elegance
Tools: Big Shot, Lacy Brocade TIEF, Corner Rounder
Accessories: Crumb Cake Tulle, Pearls, 1/8" VV Ribbon, Gold Glow Smooch Spritz

I'm in love with my creation. :) I can say that, right?! I used the dress form stamp as my base and then gathered the tulle over top of it and tied it together with a ribbon to form a "belt". To add more elegance to this card, I added some texture with the Lacy Brocade TIEF, Smooch Spritz and a pearl. I also added some sponging for a bit of a vintage feel.

I left a sentiment off this card because I think it could work for any number of special occasions - birthday or bridal shower, to name a couple.

What do you think?

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

Cozy Country Wedding

Today's card is inspired by the picture inspiration over at Stampin' Royalty:

The challenge was to use the colours from the picture, but I was also inspired by the banners and wooden headboard. Here's what I came up with:

Paper: Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride
Ink: Sahara Sand
Stamps: Bitty Banners
Tools: Big Shot, Stripes TIEF, Little Labels Punch, Heart Punch, Elegant Lines TIEF, Owl Punch
Accessories: Baker's Twine, Pearls

To mimic the wooden headboard, I used my Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and then added some dimension to it be inking up the edges. With all the hearts in the picture, I naturally thought of love and made a congratulatory card that can be used for a wedding, engagement or anniversary.

Instead of the traditional flag banners, I opted to use my Little Labels Punch Pack and added some tiny hearts to them using the Owl Builder Punch. To "hang" my banners, I dyed some Baker's Twine - did you know you can do that?! I used white and ran it over my Blushing Bride ink pad to so that it matched my colour scheme. Cool, eh? Why not give it a try on your next project...

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Swapping

As promised, here are the swaps I created for the Hamilton Regionals on the weekend:

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Bashful Blue
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray
Stamps: Love & Laughter
Tools: Big Shot, Polka Dots TIEF, Heat Tool, Clear Blocks, 1" Square Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch
Accessories: Basic Gray Stitched Ribbon, Jewels, Pewter EP
Techniques: Clear Block Stamping, Heat Embossing

Paper: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe DSP
Ink: Pool Party, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Soft Suede
Stamps: French Foliage, Occasions Alphabet
Tools: Big Shot, Large Scallop Edgelit, Clear Blocks, Scalllop Circle Punch, Decorative Label Punch
Accessories: Very Vanilla Ribbon, Pearls
Techniques: Clear Block Stamping

For each of my Swaps, I used the Clear Block Stamping Technique. This is where you take your Clear Blocks (I used SU! Blocks C & D), ink 'em up as you would a stamp and then stamp them on your paper. It adds so much interest to a project and you get a "wow" factor without having to use extra tools or anything. The best part is that you get a different look every time you stamp again with them so no two projects will be exactly the same. The only trick is to make sure you don't move the block once it touches the paper or else you smear - same as stamps, but the blocks are more slippery. Hope I've inspired you to give it a try too!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

For the Girls!

Woah, it's been a while! As you may or may not be aware, I'm taking part in a craft fair on Sunday (check out the sidebar for more information). I'm buried up to my head in cards & other handcrafted items - that's almost 6' of crafts! :)

Anyway, thought I'd share a quick picture of one of my favourite cards I've made... okay, one of several favourites. I thought I was quite clever using the tools I did. I created this card for the girls who are getting married. This would make a great bridal shower card.

Take a look and tell me what you think.

I used the scallop edgelit to create the ruffles on the dress and the large heart punch, trimmed, for the top. I added some ribbon, pearls, more embossing to the background and viola!

Hope to see you Sunday...

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph