Jayne Mercer's Girls Night In Challenge #1

Hi!

Of the three challenges set by Jayne for her fundraiser I found this one the hardest.  The challenge was to make something pink.  Hmmmm.  I decided to sleep on it, and in desperation I even asked Rob for advice.  He suggested I cover the front of the card in stamped images and just leave one corner plain. Hmmmm.  Maybe not.  But on second thoughts his basic idea had some merit.  Here's what I came up with in the end.

I used the cute little mushroom stamp from Funky Four to create my own DSP.   I used my stamp positioner to line them up in rows, starting each row on a different mushroom to jumble it up a bit.

I also glued on tiny little star shaped rhinestones over the flowers in the magic tree.  They were the perfect shape and size.  I hope the card is pink enough for the challenge!

Stamps: Funky Four, Just Believe
Ink: Melon Mambo
Card Stock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Other: 1/8" Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Word Window L Punch, Dimensionals, Stamp Positioner, Rhinestones (non SU)

Catch you later,

Tina

Card Patterns #87 Guest Designer

Hi!

If you're after the technique blog hop, please scroll down to the next post - thanks!

This afternoon's post is the card I made as a Guest Designer for Card Patterns.  I was lucky enough to be selected their Super Six Winner which meant I got to be a Guest Designer for this challenge.  How exciting!  Here's the sketch I was given:

And here's the card I came up with:

I wanted a soft, gentle look to the card as it will be going to a friend who is going through a rough time at the moment.  I love the Very Vanilla satin ribbon and half pearls for a touch of luxury to the card.  I used my Peach Parfait marker to colour the sentiment stamp from Just Believe as I only wanted to use the word Believe, not the whole sentiment.

I hope you like my card, and thanks so much to the Card Patterns team for giving me the chance to be a Guest Designer for a challenge - I had a blast.

Stamps: Just Believe
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait
DSP/Card Stock: Hostess In Colour DSP, Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzazz
Other: Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Very Vanilla Half Pearls, Very Vanilla Button, Embroidery Floss, Circle Cutter, Sponge Dauber

Catch you later,

Tina

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