Swing flip flop card

Apparently that's the correct name for this type of card.  This is the final one of these to share with you.  It also shows one of the latest trends, the Chalkboard Technique.  This is where you ink up your stamp on black cardstock with VersaMark and then emboss using white embossing powder.  After it's been heated and set, you then smudge with  sponge or whatever using a white ink pad to create the chalk like smudges on a blackboard.  Some areas are then sponged over with colour if you like.  Not sure I really like the effect, but you have to try it once. 

You may notice the background has been stamped with some of the images from French Foliage stamp set.  Even though this set will retire soon I have no intention of letting this one go.

Butterflies and Doilies

This one is my favourite from Saturday.  It's a very feminine and elegant card using one of the new doilies.  Took me a while to pull this one together, but I think it works.  

Most of the supplies are from the Seasonal Catalogue including embossing folder, doily and flower trim.  The butterflies and hearts are inked with Whisper White and white embossing powder and the tag coordinates with the Pool Party cardstock. 

 

 

A black and white trifold

This is another style of card I had to have a try of.  I wrote down all the measurements but forgot to save the link, so thank you whoever you are for the idea.  

The card is called a double trifold card or a hinged card and is a bit fiddly getting all the measurements cut out, but very easy after that.  Basically it is two separate cards that join into one.  

I wanted to use black and white cause I think they look elegant, but when finished it needed just a touch of colour, hence the green leaf.  I love the outside panel and the inside back panel, but I don't think the middle bit is "right".  Anyway, here it is, see what you think.  

I am going to have another go at the inside with something less cluttered, maybe even a different colour, and will let you see again. 

If you are interested in making your own version and want the measurements and instructions let me know by making a comment with your email address and I send them along. 

Clockworks

This is the stamp set we received at the SU Heartfelt Sydney Event.  All of the make and takes on the day used this set and we got to keep it.  I had this on my wish list, so was pleased to receive it as a "gift".  

Was just having a play around with it on the weekend and this is what I came up with.  All the little clocks, cogs and wheels have been cut out because I don't mind a bit of cutting.  Some have been popped up to add a little more dimension and all have been shaded around.  Have also stamped the water droplets and map from French Foliage to go along with the vintagey theme. 

 

Another idea for the men in your life. 

Falling leaves

While I had French Foliage out on the desk I had a go at this card.  It is a direct copy of a card I found on the internet somewhere.  Not sure who it belongs to now, but if it's yours, thank you - I liked it so much I copied you.  

 

Now I probably did it the hard way by making up a template with a square cut out of the middle, but I guess you could just mask off the outside areas with post it notes.  You could also just lay the ink pad down in the middle of the cardstock, but this won't give a very thorough coverage (maybe the new ink pads will work better), so I dragged the ink pad along a couple of times, dug it into the corners and then sponged over the lighter parts.  The leaves were stamped on with Black StazOn and the water droplets were inked with Lucky Limeade, the same as the centre colour.  Matted on black and and then onto Limeade cardstock.  I liked it so much I made a few more for the males in my family.

A triangle square

I saw something like this on the internet and it appealed to my sense of squares.  

 

I pulled out French Foliage for this card and randomly stamped (have I mentioned before there is no such thing as randomly stamped images - we always stamp where we think it will look best!) on a square of white cardstock.   As I am not good at cutting straight at the best of times I have used Nestabilities to cut out the squares, and then the white square was cut on the diagonal to make four triangles.  Add some string wrapped around and a sentiment and it's done. 

Happy birthday to my big sister in Queensland.  Hope it's a good day.  

A baby card

Another beautiful weekend.  Summer is certainly on its way!

This is another card from the archives.  Sorry, but everything lately is for the class next Saturday.  Have used the now retired Stitched Stocking set, but instead of a male orientated card this one is obviously for a newborn.  The sock has been cut down at the top slightly to make it more like a baby sock.  I have also used the French writing from French Foliage again on the edges.  Can you guess which is my favourite stamp?  The Congratulations was from the Baby Steps stamp with the little elephants. 

 

A little vintage

What a great weekend. We had a family BBQ lunch on Saturday, and a lazy day on Sunday.  Just what was needed.  Hope you enjoyed your weekend.  

I also had a little clean up of my stuff on Friday afternoon.  You know all those little bits and pieces you seem to collect on the way.  Like when you go to someone's house and use their stamp sets and stamp random images with the idea in your head to make something with later.  And then you never remember what you were going to use them for!  Well I went through all that and packaged the bits in a cute little box for my neice Lily to use.  Took them up on Saturday and she wanted to start creating right away.  

This is the card I made for my mother in law's birthday.  The lady is not a Stampin' Up image, but I think she is just so elegant and needed a simple old world type card. The card is a gate fold card and I have used Crumb Cake and and Early Expresso inks.  

And the inside ...

 

Indigo Birthday

At last something I really liked and enjoyed working on.  In an earlier post where I was saying I had so much stuff on my desk and so many ideas of what I wanted to do and needed to have it looking just right, this was one of the cards I was working on.  This was for one of my friends who makes the most amazing things, cards, scrapbooking and off the page stuff, so I needed this one to be good.  

I bought some of the 12 x 12 textured cardstock (see the grainy lines through it) and Island Indigo is one of my favourites at the moment.  Teamed with Lucky Limeade and the look is very crisp (in my opinion - you may think otherwise).  All edges have been sponged and inked up with the french script and water droplets from French Foliage and the butterfly is on vellum with white embossing powder.  Add one of the stamps from Apothecary Art, coloured with a blender pen and then cut with Framelits.  

As you can see, I even did an inside for it. 
 

Two more extra special ones coming up soon.

A Father's Day card

I realised yesterday afternoon that I had better make and SEND a card to my Dad for Father's Day, so had to whip something up in less than an hour.  Takes me that long to figure out what colours to use normally.  Anyway, this is the second attempt, and managed to get it in to the mail before 5.00 pm.  The colours in this photo make the yellow seem very bright but it was actually a mustard yellow and looked better in real life.  I think it needs a little more work, but I was in a hurry.  Wonder if it will arrive today.  

You have to resist

This is a great technique to try out.  It's called the Emboss Resist technique and it's easy to do and very effective.  The main panel here has been stamped with the leaves from French Foliage in VersaMark and then embossed with clear embossing powder.  The En Francais background stamp has then been stamped with black StazOn over the top, and then when dry I used a sponge dauber with More Mustard to shade around the embossed leaves, darker around the image.  Just added another leaf as an embellishment, and it's done.  Very easy.

Family stuff - My poor daughter had her four wisdom teeth removed on Monday in hospital.  She hasn't been eating for the last two days, and is only now just starting to swallow (can't chew) food.  Her face is swollen and slightly bruised, but she is gradually getting better. 

The males in this house are hoping for good weather today with no rain so they can head out with their go-karts tonight.  Too cold out there for me - I'll support them from home. 

An unintentional watermark

Catching up on all my favourite websites I found this card by Sandi MacIver that I thought I would try to copy.  I don't have all the bright papers that she has, so decided to use some of the ruffled ribbon instead.  This is my first version.

Then I thought it looked a little plain and realised I had forgotten the butterfly she had in the top right hand corner, so stamped a dragonfly but it looked flat, so stamped another, cut it out and mounted it on top.  Also put a greeting on the bottom and used a circle behind to make it stand out better.  Then had to photograph again and decided to put the card on the water feature instead of the ground to save bending down.  Of course the wind would have to come up just then and the card dropped into the water, fully submerged.  So now I have my own watermark on my card, only it's not quite the watermark I wanted.  

Apart from the ribbon sagging slightly, I think it the second version looks better.

Stamps are from Simply Soft, one of my favourite hostess sets, French script and postmark from Foilage Foilage and dragonfly from Asian Artistry, a retired hostess set. 

More variations on a theme

This is another card we made on Saturday.  Once again, the original was Regal Rose and then because I know that some people don't like pink, I given them a choice of colour.  

 

My favourite is the middle one - Wisteria Wonder.  

The card below was the one I enjoyed making the most.  Have used the "rock and roll" technique to ink up the leaves from the French Foliage set.  No idea what I'm talking about?  You stamp the image in the lightest colour, and then roll your stamp around a darker colour ink pad to give it the two colours.  Just make sure you use the lightest one first or else your ink pad will change to a colour not of your choosing.  You also need to clean off the stamp every time you stamp - a bit annoying, but well worth the effort. 

Oops, it's a bit dark.