Vintage hearts

It's day three of my projects using the new Spice Cake designer series papers, and I've still got plenty of inspiration left!  You can't help but be full of ideas with these gorgeous designs.

Today, I have a vintage style card, inspired by old fashioned Victorian valentines.

I've used two co-ordinating paper designs from the pack and covered the join with Victoria lace crochet trim.  This is an idea taken from vintage decor, where a floral and stripe wallpaper were often separated with a picture or dado rail.

 I've used a fabulous new Charming stamp set from the mini catalogue to stamp the frame around the sentiment and the script on the heart (you'll be seeing a lot more of this stamp set from me!)  I also used the crochet trim around the punched heart.  I've sponged with crumb cake ink to distress and age the card, and spritzed it with a marker and the spritzer tool.

I love the dimension of the gathered trim around the heart punch...very vintage looking.  Again, a very different style for me.  Hope you like it!

Back tomorrow with a Spice Cake 3d project!

Supplies Used: (All Stampin Up! Unless Otherwise Stated)

1. Card – Very vanilla, river rock

2. Papers – Spice Cake

3. Stamps – Charming, tiny tags, petite pairs

4. Embellishments – Victoria crochet lace trim

5. Tools – Full heart punch, decorative label punch, extra large oval punch, Eyelet border punch, spritzer

6. Mediums – Soft suede ink, crumb cake ink, soft suede marker

More cake :)

Welcome to day two of my Spice Cake DSP projects! Today's card again showcases the papers and matching big buttons, but with a totally different look.

The brown button backed with a more mustard scalloped circle reminded me of a sunflower, so that's what I've made!  I used a circle punch for the leaves and threaded the button with a thin sliver of cardstock.

The base of the card was inspired by the shape of the sentiment, a fab new hostess set.  I traced the shape I wanted freehand and then cut it with my paper snips in the green stripe paper, but it looked a bit bare, so I added layers in two more of the papers.

I finished the inside of the card with a piece of very vanilla cardstock, a strip of co-ordinating DSP and another stamp from the birthday set.

I hope you like today's card...it's a very different style for me.  Back tomorrow with something a bit romantic ;)

Allie

Supplies Used: (All Stampin Up! Unless Otherwise Stated)

1. Card – Soft suede, very vanilla, more mustard

2. Papers – Spice Cake

3. Stamps – Happiest Birthday Wishes

4. Embellishments – Spice Cake Designer Button

5. Tools – 1 3/4 Circle punch, scallop circle punch

6. Mediums – soft suede classic ink

Yummy new spice cake and BIG buttons

So here I am with the first of my projects using items from the new Spring Mini catalogue.  I'm so excited!  I shall be using the new Spice Cake designer series papers over the next few days.  They are absolutely GORGEOUS!  I wanted to show how versatile these papers are by making several different styles of card with the papers as the focus.

The papers feature the new in colour, Pool Party, which is one of my absolute favourite SU colours, teamed with very vanilla, soft suede, river rock, pear pizzazz and more mustard.  I've not been a fan of more mustard, but in this combination, I love it.  The designs feature medallions, geometrics, stripes and paisleys, which are everywhere in design and fashion right now, so they are bang on trend.

My first card is a valentine/love card, or it could be used as a thinking of you card, so it's quite versatile.

Apologies for the quality of the pictures, I kept waiting for the sun to come out, but the light here has been terrible all day!  I'm looking at light boxes so that I can get better ones in future.  I wish you could see the vibrancy of the colours better!

Notice that embellishment?  It's the new Spice Cake Designer Buttons, and they are HUGE!  I've threaded the button with pool party ruffled ribbon and tied a bow, and then tucked the sentiment panel behind.  Here's a close up.

I've decorated the inside simply with a panel of very vanilla, embellished with strips of pool party and soft suede cardstock,  punched with the new dotted scallop ribbon border punch.

And here, in honour of my Stampin' Up mummy, Jules, is the arty farty angle ;)  Look at the dimension that button gives the project!  Lovely!

If you're wondering about the rounded ends of the strips of DSP, I cut 3.5cm strips and then used the 1 3/8" circle punch, upside down, inserting the strip in through the punch hole itself and centering it in the circle before punching (I hope that made sense!)

Supplies Used: (All Stampin Up! Unless Otherwise Stated)

1. Card – More mustard, very vanilla, pool party, soft suede

2. Papers – Spice Cake (Spring Mini)

3. Stamps – Petite pairs (sentiment)

4. Embellishments –Spice Cake Designer Buttons (Spring mini), ruffled ribbon in pool party

5. Tools – 1 3/8" circle punch, large oval punch, scalloped oval punch, dotted scalloped ribbon border punch

6. Mediums – Soft suede classic ink

Hope you like it!  Back with another card tomorrow!

Allie x

Wooohooo! The new Spring Mini is here!!!!

I'm so excited!!! For the first time ever, the UK has a Spring Mini Catalogue, and Stampin' Up has done us proud. It is packed full of gorgeous new crafting goodness, including some long anticipated new punches!  Anyone who has used Stampin' Up punches will know they are the best, and one of the most exciting new additions is the cupcake builder punch with its co-ordinating stamp set.  Together with the new large scallop circle punch, which sits perfectly behind the 1 3/8" circle punch, they make for cute cards in an instant!

The other big news is the addition of the Simply Adorned jewellery range...a selection of glass locket-style charms, into which you can slip your little works of art.  There's also a matching necklace chain and bracelet and jewelled charms, which all together will make unique art jewellery.

On top of all that, there are some fabulous new product suites, including designer series papers, stamp sets and trims.

I'll be back later with some new projects made with items from the Spring Mini, and news of some exciting upcoming events and classes.

Allie xx

Merry Christmas everyone!

I just wanted to wish a very Merry Christmas to everyone...and may God bless you all in the coming year.

I thought I'd show you some little last minute Christmas gift boxes we made at my last class..I've used them for little gifts for my daughter and best friend, and embellished them with a bit of punch art.  Hope you like them!

Handbags and gladrags

I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged!  I've had a virus that just wouldn't go away, and I've been busy with various projects, so I'm sorry for the long absence.  I'll try to do better!

I'll begin with a project I did for my Church women's group Christmas party.  I wanted to make a little table favour for each of the women, and as it's a women's group, what better than handbags?  How about little handbags filled with hand made chocolate truffles!

I used the last of my stash of retired Jolly Holiday DSP (my favourite), and some of the new Holly Berry Bouquet speciality DSP (new favourite), along with Cherry Cobbler cardstock and silver brads.  I think they came out really cute.  I made 40 of these little beauties, each containing two truffles (one christmas pudding flavour and one coconut, hand made by me!)  I tucked one of my business cards in each little bag, just in case any of the ladies fancied hosting a Stampin' Up workshop!  I must say, the bags went down a storm...the ladies loved them, and I had loads of really kind compliments, and an enquiry about doing them for a wedding shower/batchelorette party.

Apologies in advance for the quality of the pics, I forgot to take them before I left, so I had to snap some last minute shots at the venue in candlelight!

Hope you like them!  I've got loads of new things I've been working on to show you, so I'll be back soon.

Until then....jolly stamping!

Allie xx

More Simply Soft

Still playing with the Simply Soft stamp set I won in the raffle at training.  I love the look it creates, and how easy it is to make amazing images!  Plus, because it's in the hostess only section of the catalogue, it's incredible value....why not book a workshop with me and get yours!

This is a simple card layout that I go back to again and again and which works particularly well with floral images.  I used rich razzleberry ink and cardstock, on a white base, with accents of black to make the colour pop, and tie in with the black outline ink.  The sentiment is from the Trendy Trees stamp set, punched with the word window punch, and layered onto the modern label punch.  The finishing touch is a couple of sparkly basic rhinestones.

And then I thought, I wonder what it would look like in blue, so I did one in Tempting Turquoise...

And Pumpkin Pie

And Old Olive...

And Melon Mambo...

And here's the gang all together....

Definitely a more modern take on Simply Soft, compared to the vintage feel of the previous design...I love how stamp sets can be so versatile and used to create so many looks.

Hope you like them...please do leave a comment, I love to read them...and until next time...jolly stamping!

Allie xx