Happy Father's Day

This is the card my Dad will receive for Father's Day.  It is not a Stampin' Up image, and at the moment I can't actually remember which company it comes from.  A few of the sections have been stamped on different coloured cardstock and then stuck over the base design.  Some parts have also been highlighted with Glossy Accents to make them shine like the clock face, buckles on the bands of his hat and his bowtie.  

I still think the background is a little white even though there is sponging on the edges - should have done a little more. 

Wish I could be with my dad on Sunday but he is too far away to visit for a weekend.  Still, he knows I love him. 

Another interpretation

Think back to the cards designed for the class on Saturday a while ago.  I thought you may be interested to see the same design in different colours.  

Occasionally I just have the basics cardstock cut out and let people choose their own colour scheme for cards.  I find it interesting to see what colours other people put together and the way they think.  Now there was a bit of discussion about the colour scheme in these cards because they were my least favourite of the in colours; Pistacchio Pudding and Crisp Cantaloupe.  But I was proved wrong.  They do actually look good together.  Jean, a public apology - sorry for doubting you. 

 

And then the honeycomb card and its different versions. 

I have heard some people always make 2 versions of the same card, just in different colours.  Probably not a bad idea. 
 

Another bag with SU fabric

My sister has been busy again making bags with some SU fabric.  Thought you might be interested.  Her husband has told her she should make a few more and try to sell them on ebay, and she is trying to decide whether to or not.  

I was told that this bag has 6 different fabrics used on it - I only found 5 but obviously I wasn't looking hard enough.  Inside is a strip which has a key chain for keys and phone to be attached so you don't lose them.  Clever.

Welcome Baby Card

On Friday I became a great aunt again to my nephew's first child - a girl named Emily.  I have previously shown you the cards that I had made,  a blue and a pink one.  I still like these cards and will use them for someone in the future, but I wanted to make a more baby card for this latest addition.  

I pulled out Fox and Friends, an oldie but a good one and chose Pretty in Pink cardstock and ink with a touch of Sahara Sand.  The whole card was sprayed with shimmer so it sparkles.  

Welcome to the world Emily.  I look forward to meeting you one day. 

Triple Time Stamping

Now if you are like me and trawl the internet looking at other people's cards you will probably have seen lots of cards made using this technique, and possibly even a card that looks very similar to this.   Yes, I did copy her card pretty much the same, so much so that I had to order a stamp set especially for the leaf.  I tried to use leaves or grasses that I owned, but nothing looked as good as Sandi's card.  The original card was made by Sandi MacIver and here is a link to her website. 

Our version didn't use the extra colour flower of blue and we added a ribbon instead of a sentiment, but still it's very similar.  

Triple time stamping is where you cut out all the layers you need (and you do use a lot of cardstock with this one) and then you partly stick the white layers together and then stamp all three layers in one go.  Some of the images get a little blurred on the edges, especially the bottom layer, but most of this gets covered up with the, in this case, Crumb Cake matt layer.  After stamping is finished you just undo the white layers, add in the matt layers and then tizzy it up with sentiment, bling or ribbon.  Another clever technique to try.  

More Saturday cards

This week I will show you the final cards made last Saturday at our class.  I love our get togethers - they are such a great bunch of people, very generous, caring and clever.

Our first card was made using the Honeycomb Embossing Folder and then after chosing a colour scheme and embossing scrap cardstock, hexagons were cut out and glued randomly.  The hexagons were easy to cut out as you just cut inside the embossed edge.  I had to put some bees on for embellishments as it was honeycomb.

 

Now the colours don't look that great in these photos but it was better in real life.  But a bit pale.  So this is the more colourful version; Real Red and Night of Navy.  Much brighter, and a sentiment to match the hexagons.  I just photocopied the punch shape from our catalogue, enlarged it and then used that as a template for the sentiment.  

 

 

Morning Meadow

Morning Meadow is a hostess set from the latest Stampin' Up catalogue, and one I knew I had to get.  I really like all the images from the set, especially the flower and branch.  

I debated over using this card in the class for a long time as it looked a little plain, but there is a bit of work involved in it, especially cutting.  First the white panel had to be scored in both directions, then the two branches of blossom had to be cut out and then also some of the tiny flowers in pink needed to be cut.  I had already pre-cut a few for them to save some time. We used one of our new clay buttons in the centre of the flower and also the beautiful ruffle stretch trim in Strawberry Slush.  

I think it was well received.  I know I would like to receive a card like this. 

Weaving cardstock

Had a group of crafters over on the weekend to share a few ideas with and this is one of my favourites from the day. I remember doing this weaving technique at school with different coloured papers, but they usually ended up uneven and not very nice.  I saw this idea in a UK papercraft magazine and thought it deserved a stamping twist.  The original card was a lovely mauve and pink thing, but I wanted to go more male.  

First up I used a roller (Sassy Sparkes) in Versa Mark and then clear embossed it.  Next I used daubers and ink pads and sponged on the colour, using the lightest colour last and trying to blend it in a little.  Obviously you have to make 2 fronts so you have something to weave.  The trickiest bit is cutting the pieces into even strips.  My tip would be to glue the first 2 strips in place, and then weave away.  Try to keep it tight and pushed together, and glue as you go.  You may have to neaten up the final piece a bit which unfortunately made the pieces different sizes.  To prevent this the next one I made I left the last panel on each piece longer than the other 4 so I had a bit extra to play with and could then cut it all to the same size.  Lastly mount the panel on to a backing panel and then onto the card face.  

Now the 2 different blings - my family thought the first one was a bit feminine, so the second look is more male. 

I really liked this technique, so I made two more cards.  My nephew and his wife are expecting their first child soon so I did the pink and blue version.  At least it's almost ready to go when we hear the news. 

 

Stampin' Up pre-loved Craft sales

Just thought I would pop in to tell you about some up coming Stampin' Up craft sales.  There are 2 sales on Saturday 17th August where they will sell off retired Stampin' Up products such as pre-loved stamp sets, dies, papers, ink pads, cards and also handmade products if you are interested in some good bargains.    

One is on at Crestwood High School, 17 Chapel Lane in Baulkham Hills and will run from 9.00-2.00, and the other at Kings Langley Scount Hall, James Cook Drive, Kings Langley from 9.00-12.00.

We normally go the one at Kings Langley every year and have always come away pleased with our bargains.  The one at Crestwood is a first time one, so should also be worthwhile.  

And another date to mark in your diary is a Craft Sale including cards, Christmas decorations and gifts, knitted goods, blankets, jewellery, woodwork, covered notebooks, artwork, party invitations, handmade soaps as well as cakes and sweets.  This will be held on Saturday 14th September at Holy Cross Primary School, 49 Meurants Lane, Glenwood from 9.30-4.30.   
This sale is a fundraiser for one of our Stampin' Up demonstrators, Rachel Capps.  Rachel is a 41 year old mother with 3 young children who the day following her return from Stampin' Up Convention in Brisbane suffered a brain stem stroke  and has a condition called "Locked in Syndrome".  This sale has been organised to raise money for Rachel's ongoing rehabilitation. 

A facebook page (Rachel's Supporters) has been set up to keep people  updated on Rachel if you are interested.  Judging by her progress she sounds like she is trying to make it to her own fundraiser.  Hopefully she will. 

And a sneak peak of some cards made at our class on Saturday.  You will get a closer look in the posts to come.  

Mosaic Madness finale

I just had to try one more of these Mosaic Madness cards before I had to give the set back.  I have seen lots of cards around Pinterest using this set where they punch out a couple of the shapes and have another stamped image on the inside.  It's actually a bit tricky doing this as obviously the punch only goes in so far and you can't punch out anything from the sides, top and bottom only.  Then before all that you have to emboss the white card stock, but try to get it perfectly even on both the top and bottom and also the sides.  Didn't realise that until I had already embossed the cardstock and sent everything back. 

But after all that, I really like this card.  It's made with Island Indigo and Daffodil Delight and looks good together.  The shapes have all been punched out to save the hassle of using the stamp positioner to line them all up perfectly, but for some reason the Daffodil shapes seem to look higher up than the others, not that that's a bad thing.  And did you like the button?  I rolled a little of the clay over the top of an ink pad to colour it as I didn't have any re-inker to use.   

If you end up making any of the flowers or buttons with the clay moulds, the tip about popping the mold in the freezer for a while before taking the clay out really works well.