Wedding Guest Book Part 1

Hi!

I mentioned earlier that I'd made the place cards for my niece's wedding.  If you missed it you can find that post here.  Today I have for you the start of the Guest Book I also made. Just a reminder that my niece and her husband are MAD Collingwood fans, so it had to be Black and White.  No other colours, just black and white.  It was soooo hard to do, I would have loved to have added splashes of colour here and there.  But by the time I was finished I really loved the black and white, it was so elegant and classy.

I think the front cover was my favourite page.  I scraped some black paint over the textured white cardstock to act as a matt for the photo. I LOVE this photo of my niece and nephew-in-law. I tried to keep the focus on the photo by keeping the rest of the page fairly simple.

The flower is made using some of our new filter paper and is very soft and pretty.

I made the book as a combination mini album/guest book, so every second page had photos of the happy couple together. The pages had to be pretty, but also stand up to around 140 people handling the book in a very short period of time.

I used some rhinestones as embellishments, but I was mindful that they might have gotten in the way of people trying to write on the opposing pages.

I converted all of the photos to black and white to stick with the theme.  I sanded around each of them to help them pop out from the background.

I heat embossed the flourishes on this page to give the book some lovely texture.

Most of the products I used to make the album are from Stampin' Up!, both current and retired.

Please come back in a couple of days to see the rest of the album.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #152: Just Add Hearts

Hi!

Aren't the weeks flying by?

And because they are it means that Valentine's Day is sneaking up on us too!  Kim has given us this week's challenge, which is to Just Add Hearts to your project.

I actually made this card for my niece and her new husband rather than as a Valentine's card.  They got married last weekend in a beautiful ceremony.

The card features some products from the new Seasonal Catalogue. Firstly the absolutely gorgeous Tea For Two DSP.  Both the background paper and the fussy cut flowers were from this pack. It's very retro vintage, cup of tea with your Nana inspired paper.  Lovely! Second is the Artisan Embellishments Kit, from which came the Love Ticket and the Scalloped Lace.  So very pretty!

And here's my heart - did you think I'd forgotten to add one to the card? I'm quite proud of this little heart as I crocheted it myself from some ultra soft bamboo fibre. You can just see one of the small Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons underneath the bow.  So very sweet, a lovely finishing touch for the front of the card.

So sweet that I added a second crochet heart to the inside of the card too!

I hope you can play along this week at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

Summer Mini Catalogue Blog Hop

Hi!

Welcome to another casual little blog hop.  A group of my fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators and I like to do a monthly blog hop to help our readers with some inspiration.  Di Dunk's blog was the stop before mine, but you can hop on and off wherever you'd like.  There are 7 blogs to look at - can you think of a better way to start a Saturday morning?
I have two cards for you today, both made with the Marry Me stamp set, which you can find on page 21 of the Summer Mini Catalogue.  I call the first one the 'City Wedding Card', as I think it has a very urban feel, especially compared to my second card.

I had to hold this one closed to photograph it due to the odd shape of the front.  The card is only a half card on the front, with the overlapping image.  The inside of the card shows through to the front when it is closed flat.  This was my first play with the Mocha Morning Specialty DSP.  I love all the neutrals in it and thought it would look quite classy on a wedding card.

I stamped off the En Francais stamp once before stamping on the cardstock.  The full strength Crumb Cake ink competed too much with the DSP on the front so it needed to be toned down a little.  It was a bit tricky lining up the inside parts so the 'right' bits showed at the front, but the effort was worth it.

My second card I call my 'Country Wedding Card'.  It's such a contrast to the other card!  I used the lovely Beau Chateau DSP on this one.  The Marina Mist blue with the Very Vanilla remind me of milk jugs and cream pots.

The main image was a little stark stamped on the Very Vanilla, so I spritzed over the top with my Colour Spritzer and Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker.  Looking at it now though, I probably should add a pearl to the little butterfly tucked in above the sentiment.

The inside was finished off to match the outside.  I used the gorgeous Very Vanilla Velvet Ribbon on both the inside and outside of the card.  It is so soft and smooth and adds a lovely texture to the card.  You can find the ribbon on page 11 of the Summer Mini Catalogue.

City Card
Stamps: Marry Me, En Francais
Ink: Crumb Cake, Basic Black
DSP/Cardstock: Mocha Morning Specialty DSP, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Other: Lace Ribbon Border Punch

Country Card
Stamps: Marry Me
Ink: Marina Mist, Crumb Cake
DSP/Cardstock: Beau Chateau DSP, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette
Other: Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Very Vanilla Velvet Ribbon, Basic Jewels Pearls, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Sponge Dauber, Colour Spritzer, Circle Cutter, Dimensionals

If you'd like to continue the Blog Hop and see some more amazing projects, then please hop on over to Nikki Sadler's blog.  Please take a minute to leave a comment before you go.  It's easy to do, and I'd love to know what you think of my cards.

Bye for now,

Tina

Blog Hop Participants:
Nikki Sadler
Kathryn Mangelsdorf
Sue Madex
Alisha Watson
Kathryn Ruddick
Di Dunk

A Simple Birthday Card

Hi!

The card I have for you today was made on commission for a female adult birthday.  I made it a little while ago, when I first discovered Joanne Leddy's flower tutorial.

Hmm, the pink is showing up quite dark in this photo, it is actually Blushing Bride!

Aren't those flowers gorgeous?  With a statement embellishment like it on a card you don't need too much else on the front.  A Glimmer Brad adds a little touch of bling.

A nice simple inside to finish off the card.

Stamps: Marry Me, Just Believe, Happiest Birthday Wishes (hostess)
Ink: Blushing Bride
DSP/Cardstock: Blushing Bride Patterns DSP, Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla
Other: Fancy Flower Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Blushing Bride Glimmer Brad, Dimensionals, Sponge Dauber, Mini Mister bottle (non-SU)

Bye for now,

Tina

Festive Friday Challenge #1

Hi!

I'm so excited to be a part of a brand new Design Team!  Nicole Derendorf has started a new Festive Friday Challenge on her blog and I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of the Design Team. The focus of the Challenges is going to be Festive cards, hence the title of the Challenges!  Most of the year we will concentrate on Christmas cards, but occasionally there will be a different theme.  We are starting off with Valentine's Day cards.

I'm not one for elaborate Valentine's Day celebrations, so I kept my card quite simple.  I love that I can make a simple card, but that the Shimmer Paper makes it something quite special.

To emphasise the heart and the sentiment I scored 2 lines above and below them at 1/8" apart.  It's a small touch, but it helps to keep the eye on the main elements of the card rather than wandering around in all that white space.

The inside is quite simple too.  Lots of space to write a heartfelt message of love!

Stamps: Clearly For You, Marry Me
Ink: Real Red
Cardstock: Silver Shimmer Paper, Red Shimmer Paper, Confetti White
Other: Heart to Heart Punch, Dimensionals, Scoring Tool

I can't wait to see what you come up with for the very first Festive Friday Challenge.  Are you a clean and simple cardmaker like me? Or do you go for the other end of the scale and go all out?  Either way, I'm sure it will be fabulous and I'm going to love checking out all the creations.  Head on over to Nicole's blog to see what the other Design Team members have made and to link up your card.

Bye for now,

Tina