Technique Blog Hop

Hi!

Welcome to our little blog hop.  Today a group of fellow Stampin ' Up! demonstrators are showcasing some stamping and papercrafting techniques for your inspiration.  We'd love to know what you think, so please leave us all a comment!  The stop before me was Amy Buchanan, and there are 5 stops in total on the hop - short and sweet!

I chose to demonstrate stitching on my projects today.  I hadn't attempted it before, but I'm pretty pleased with the final result.  Here's the card I made.

Each of the square panels has been stitched around using my sewing machine.  The hardest part of doing the stitching was getting the tension right on my machine.  I think if I do it again I would use a longer stitch length too.  Here's a close up of the stitching.

I tore around each of the DSP squares to give a bit of a shabby look.  In hindsight I should have torn first and stitched second. The stitching acted like perforations and made the paper want to tear along the stitching rather than just along side.

Here's a view of the centre circle, showing how I layered the different sections.  I used Dimensionals on some of the layers.

I also decided to make a coordinating gift card holder.  I based it on the boxes I've seen around for chocolate or DVD's.  Here it is in a closed position.

Here's a closer look at the front. I based it on the card, just making some minor changes.

And finally, an open view.  The recipient just pulls on the ribbon to reveal the gift card inside.

The gift card holder was pretty simple to make, but if you would like instructions or measurements please let me know in your comment.

So that's it for me. You're now off to see what the very clever Judy May has to show you.

Stamps: Punch Potpourri
Ink: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz
DSP/Card Stock: Hostess DSP, Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride
Other: 1/2" Pear Pizzazz Stitched Poly Ribbon, Clear Rhinestone Brad, Rhinestones, Dimensionals, Sewing Machine, Two-Step Bird XL Punch, Full Heart XL Punch, 1 3/4" Circle XL Punch, Circle Cutter, Slot Punch (retired), Paper Snips

Here's all the stops:

Judy May

Nikki Sadler

Christine Blain

Amy Buchanan

Catch you later,

Tina

Pun Fun You're A Blast

Hi!

I'm back with another male card.  This time I went with the sketch at Unscripted Sketches.  They are doing a Breast Cancer Awareness Blog Hop this week as well as their challenge, so why not pop on over and have a look?  Here's their sketch this week:

Here's the card I came up with, once again using the bright and cheerful Celebrations DSP.

I love the combination of spots and stripes in the DSP!

Stamps: Pun Fun, Classic Stars Jumbo Wheel
Ink: Real Red
DSP/Card Stock: Celebrations DSP, Real Red, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Other: Paper Snips, Real Red Brad

Catch you later - hopefully on our mini blog hop tomorrow!

Tina

Curly Cute Birthday

Hi!

I sat down to craft last night determined to make some male cards.  My creations lately have been very girly so I need to build up my male stock to balance it out a bit.  I used the latest sketch at Card Patterns for inspiration.

Here's my card.  I used the new Celebrations DSP, which is bright and bold - perfect for a male card.

I didn't have enough brads to use as embellishments on the card, so I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch out some small circles and covered them with Crystal Effects.  They look fantastic as faux brads.

Stamps: Curly Cute
Ink: Real Red
DSP/Card Stock: Celebrations DSP, Real Red, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Other: 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Crop-a-Dile, Crystal Effects

Catch you later,

Tina

Some Exciting News

Hi!

I've got three exciting things to share today.

Firstly, a blog hop.  A group of fellow demonstrators and I are running a small, but inspirational hop this Saturday.  We're showcasing a variety of stamping and papercrafting techniques on the hop, so please stop by.  I'm sure you'll find something new.

Secondly, I was given a blog award by Melissa at Bee Divine Designs.

Thanks Mel!

Now I'm meant to pass this award on to say thanks to people who pop by and comment regularly on my blog.  I'm passing it on to Sue M, Gardenia, Christine, Nikki, Sue B, Joy , Kathryn and also sending a big thanks back to Mel.  I wish I could share it with everyone to say thanks for commenting on my blog.

Finally, I was very excited to find that my card was selected as the Card Patterns Super Six Winner!  This means that I get to be a guest designer on the blog for Sketch 87.  This also happens on Saturday, but it will be later in the day.  So please pop by twice on Saturday to share my creations.

Catch you later,

Tina

Scraplifting

Hi!

Today I have a layout I've completed for the latest Stamp A Memory Challenge, which was to scraplift a layout from their blog.  Scraplifting is where you create a page that copies ideas and designs from someone else's layout, either in full or part.  The layout I based mine on is one done by my upline, Sue Madex.  You can view it here.  I chose this layout because I loved the way the photo told the story, so there was no need for extensive journaling.  The simplicity of the page is really appealing and I hope I have done her justice in my scraplift.

My photo was quite dark, so I wanted to use some bright cheerful papers to lift the page.  I chose the now retired Washington Apple DSP.  The photo was quite a special occasion - it was the first time that these three generations of my husband's family had been all together in the one place for a very long time.  We set the camera up on a timer and hoped for the best!

I think the title I chose tells the story - We Are Family.  However I couldn't resist adding some journaling.  To preserve the simplicity I loved in Sue's layout I hid the journaling on a tag that slides out of the right side of the photo.

Stamps: Perfect Punches
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White Craft, Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker
DSP/Card Stock: Washington Apple DSP (retired), So Saffron Textured, Whisper White
Other: 1/4" Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Round Tab XL Punch, Sponge Daubers, Chipboard Alphas (non SU)

Catch you later,

Tina

Kindy Boy

Hi!

I managed to get a couple of layouts finished over the weekend.  Do you ever get into moods for creating?  I tend to go through periods where I just want to make cards and others when I just want to scrap.  Lately I've been in a real scrapping mood and have managed to get some pages completed.  I've also been trying to try new things with my layouts.  This one has lots of layered paper and lots of tilted bits - things I don't do very often! 

It also has lots of blue, so I thought I'd enter it in Just Add Ink's latest challenge, which is to Just Add Blue.  JAI are raising awareness of the effects of depression and mental illness in the community, which is a fantastic cause to get behind.  I know a few people who battle with these issues every day - and it often is a battle for them.

This layout celebrates Hudson's first day at Kindy (preschool).  He's only 3 but he was eligible for early entry, and the Kindy insisted they wanted him to start.  He loves going there and the Kindy have made everything so easy for him and for me.

I included his bag in these photos of his first day as it is a bit special to me.  It is the same bag that Alex used when he went to Kindy.  It's a cute little Bob the Builder suitcase and it's unique - I've never seen another like it so it never gets mixed up with the other bags.

Ink: Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaler
DSP/Card Stock: Celebrations DSP, Hostess DSP, Real Red, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Other: Big Shot, Timeless Type Alphabet Dies, Real Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Bashful Blue 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), Corner Rounder Punch

Catch you later,

Tina

Blushing Bride Baby Card

Hi!

In a previous post I'd mentioned that I had to make a couple of baby cards, and that I had an idea that I was going to use for both of them.  The first card used graduating shades of pink for the sentiment.  I was going to do a similar thing on this card, but changed my mind at the last moment.

I changed my mind because my new stamp set, Punch Potpourri, arrived in the mail.  It had been on backorder as it was proving to be quite popular as a Hostess choice.  I decided to go for a more elegant look for this card so I used the butterfly stamp punched out and layered on a plain Blushing Bride butterfly punchie.  Here's a closer look at the butterfly.

So much softer and more elegant than the other, funkier card.

Stamps: Punch Potpourri
Ink: Blushing Bride
DSP/Card Stock: Blushing Bride Hostess DSP, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White
Other: Rhinestone Brad, Big Shot, Lots Of Tags Sizzlits, 2" x 1 3/8" Oval XL punch, Butterfly XL punch, 3/8" Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals, Sponge Dauber, Chit Chat Rub On (retired)

Catch you later,

Tina