Happy Birthday Nathan!

Today it is my brother, Nathan's Birthday. He is 22. Unfortunatley I won't get to spend the special day with him this year as he is staying in London until Christmas. At the weekend I had a girly craft session with my mum and introduced her to the thrill of Stampin' Up! (She is also in London a lot so hadn't had time to fully explore with me...until now!) We had great fun making him a birthday card each - as you can see below, we went for two completely different looks!

This is the card my Mum made. She mounted some "Big Top Birthday" DSP onto Real Red card stock. This was then finished with a stamp from the "Tagtastic" hostess stamp range. I love the bear; he is sooo cute! (and a bargain too if you're a hostess - only £12 hostess pounds!)

This is my card. As you can see, completely different!! I mounted some "Perfect Polka Dots"

embossed, Early Expresso Card stock onto Soft Suade and covered the join with some Chocolate Chip scallop dots ribbon. I die cut a fancy circle, from the "Perfect Pennants" die, out of the "Well Worn" DSP. I then used a stamp from the "Happiest Birthday Wishes" hostess stamp set and stamped thios onto the DSP in Early Expresso ink. I finished the card off with a small label, made from the "Decorative Label" punch, in So Saffron DSP. I stamped the "Wish Big" sentiment from the "Pennant Parade" stamp set and finally set a clear rhinestone brad on the edge, to bling it up a bit!

Hope you like the cards!

Delightful Decorations Class

Good Afternoon!

I want to share with you the projects we made in my Delightful Decorations Class today. This class focused on the "Delightful Decorations" stamp set and was a great opportunity to show how versitile these stamps are. We made three cards with three completely different looks.

The first card used the more traditional Christmassy colours of Red and Green. I used the "Eylet Border" punch on the left edge of the "Real Red" patterned DSP. I also used the "Ornament" punch on the ornament shaped stamp to add more depth to the card. I finished the card off with a rhinestone jewel to bling it up a bit.

The second card we made in the class was a lot more contemporary than the first. I used "Bashful Blue" and "Marina Mist" card stock as the base and used hints of "Melon Mambo" to add dimension. The "Perfect Polka Dots" embossing folder was used to add texture and the card was finished with embellishments of rhinestone jewels and "Whisper White" grosgrain ribbon.

Last but not least, this card is probably my favourite. It uses the "Pool Party" and "Island Indigo" colour scheme, which are two of the five "in colours" for 2011. I used the "Vintage Wallpaper" embossing folder to add texture and finished the card off with a rhinestone jewel. I really like the depth that is achieved from the ornament punched shape.

If you are interested in attending one of my classes, please visit the "Class" tab at the top of the screen. Eash class will be very similar to this as we make three projects (not to mention the tea and cake!) and it is only £10 for a whole mornings entertainment - supplies included!

All About Aviary

Today I went to Sarah-Jane's house to make some cards with the lovely "Aviary" stamp set. The colour scheme was based on the "Flirtatious" speciality papers as we used these in the card designs too.

The first card uses the "Lace Border" punch. I love this (you will see it used a lot in my projects) as it is so easy to use the punch and add a delicate touch to any project.

This card uses a laser-cut doily which comes from a whole sheet of doilies in the Flirtatious paper set. I think this adds depth to the doily designs on the paper beneath. I have also inked the edges of this card to  make the layers look more subtle and delicate.

 Last but not least, this card just uses the Owl stamp from the Aviary collection. I really like the totem pole effect of the owls stamped vertically. The Wisteria wonder card stock has been embossed with the "Vintage Wallpaper" embossing folder.

Talk soon,

Happy Birthday Mandi!

Today it is my Stampin' Up! sister, Mandi's Birthday.

I have surprised her with a birthday card which uses the "Everything Eleanor" stamp set and the new "In Color" collection of cards and inks.

 

This card is fairly simple but very effective as the colours melt beautifully into one another. I have used the "Perfect Pennants" Die to cut the circles out and have inked the edges of the card to add depth. I have used a piece of card, punched out with the "Lace Ribbon Border", as a stencil and have inked a piece of "Calypso Coral" card with the matching ink, to add pattern. The sentiment is from the "Happiest Birthday Wishes" hostess stamp set.

Have a lovely Birthday Mandi,