Sizzix Bigz die - Christmas Stocking and Embossing folder

A simple Christmas card using this older Sizzix die and embossing folder.  I used a white Stampin Up  ink pad  to highlight the embossing on the stocking.

Christmas Ornament - Butterfly

Whilst looking through my craft drawers I found my stash of silicone moulds and this butterfly one amongst them.  I used Stampin Up Clay which is white in colour and left the butterfly in the mould to air dry.

As there are 2 butterflies in this mould I used the smaller one to experiment on as it was the first time I had used Stampin Up Clay.  I found that Distress inks and markers worked well and I used a combination of these on the butterfly.  Once dry I topped the body in the centre off with Distress Stickles and the tips of the wings off with Stickles as well.

The butterfly was glued onto 2 Spellbinder heart shapes cut from felt.  I lightly stuffed the white heart shape to give the ornament a bit of dimension.  Again I used the Felt Glue which worked well.

Stamping Bella - Big Guy Golfing by Mo Manning

 DH commissioned this card for a golfing buddy who has not been well.  I have a few golfing images but thought this one would be better suited to a senior golfer.

The background paper is an old Creative Memories one.  The sentiment is taken from an old Cuttlebug alphabet die using Stampin Up Certainly Celery card stock and the image is a stamp from Stamping Bella - Big Guy Golfing by Mo Manning.  To colour the image I used a variety of Distress Stains and markers sometimes mixing a couple of the colours.  For the skin I used a combination of Letraset Aquamarkers Mocha and Eggshell with an aqua brush.  I normally struggle with skintones but this time I managed to get it right.

Sizzix Big Shot Pro Die - Popcorn Box and Treat Cup

I was searching through my Big Shot Pro dies for a large box and could not find anything suitable to hold the biscuits I planned on baking for a donkey charity fair.  This was, of course, a good excuse to look for a new die and I am very happy I did.  I think this is a die which will be well used now and in the future.

The card stock is from an old Stampin Up pack and is thick (around 300g or so) which is necessary for this large box.  The punch art donkey is my own design made with punches and dies which appear to be no longer in production.  The ears are a Stampin Up punch (some sort of petals), the oval used for the face is a tag from an Ellison die, the muzzle is a Spellbinders rose die, the tuft of hair is a Creative Memories punch and the nose and eyes are Fiskars punches.

Whimsy Dies - Anchor

As I do not have much in the way of masculine cards I thought this one might work.

The die, Anchor, is  from Whimsy and all the papers used are part of an extensive old Creative Memories stash that I have.  The background stamps are from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Air Travel and Stampin Up The Open Sea.

Impression Obsession - Colonial Spring

Think I need to make a few more of these cards as another move is probably going to happen in 3 months time.

The stamp is from Impression Obsession Colonial Spring (K1006) and the sentiment is from an old Stampin Up set.  I think I used Archival Potting Soil ink for the image.  That does seem to be my ink of choice these day.

Penny Black - Victorian Homes

With having no broadband for nearly a month since our move I have resorted to snail mail to advise family and friends our change of address.

This Penny Black cling stamp, Victorian Homes, was in the top box of my stamps which made it easy for me as otherwise it would have turned into a "hunt the stamp" exercise !  I coloured it in using a combination of Distress Ink, Marvy Le Plume and Stampin Up markers - those were easy to find.  The sentiment is from an old Stampin Up set, the name of which eludes me.

Penny Black - Flower Festival

It is not too often I reach for a flower stamp even though I do have quite a few.  When I was looking through the The Penny Black blog I noticed a great card from guest designer, Therese Calvird, on 29 December 2014.  Her instructions on video were good so I thought I would case her card using a stamp from the Penny Black Flower Festival set.

The image was stamped multiple times with Momento Tuxedo Black ink onto a gloss card stock.  I then used Copics YR000 / YR00 / YR01 for the petals, T3 and T1 for the flower centres and G94 / G82 / G21 for the stems and leaves.  The sentiment is from the Kaszazz stamp called Greetings and it was also stamped using Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  The oval die cuts are from Spellbinders and the topper was matted onto a light green card stock and then onto the card using Stampin Up Stampin' Dimensionals.

Marianne D - Skates

The background paper on this card is Bo BunnyFather Christmas Stripe.  The sentiment is die cut using a Stampin Up oval punch but I cannot remember where the sentiment came from.  I did it a long time ago and popped it into my stash without writing on the back which stamp I used.

The die cut is from a Marianne D die called Skates

Art Impressions - Up, Up and Away

This is a stamp I have had for a long time and never used.  I do love Art Impressions stamps as they are so different.

The background to this card is from a Stampin Up Designer Series pad called Welcome Neighbour.  I stamped the Art Impressions Up, Up and Away stamp onto watercolour paper and coloured it in using an aqua painter and Distress inks.  The sentiment is a Lili of the Valley one from the set called Sentiment tags.

Gift box using One Sheet Box technique

For the one sheet box technique I went onto Splitcoast Stampers to have a look at the tutorial and get the scoring measurements.  I did adapt the measurements as my sheet of card stock was a slightly  different size.  I would recommend you use a sheet of normal printer paper first to practice on.

All the paper used was from my stash.  On the pink background I used a Martha Stewart border punch Doily Lace Edge.  The apron is a die from Marianne D called Apron and the ribbon used is a Stampin Up one.  On the reverse side of the box I used MFT Gift Card Pocket Vertical, inserted a Hero Arts Long & Cute tag and embellished the outside with a sentiment from Lili of the Valley die cut with a Spellbinders Circle.

When using the box as a gift I intend popping in 2 small glass jars with either homemade spice mixes or jams.

Card Box - Cottage Cutz Baby Cradle

Recently I had the opportunity to make up a few thank you cards for a friend who is pregnant.  After making the cards (see separate post) I needed a box or container to pop them into.  I purpose made this box measuring the envelopes and amount of space required for the cards and, using the Scor-it, just did a simple box (closed on 3 sides) out of a sheet of 12 x 12 card stock from My Mind's Eye.

The decoration is from dies by Cottage Cutz - Baby Cradle and Stork Banner, sponged with Distress inks Tea Dye, Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo. The tab at the top was made using a 1" Stampin up Circle punch.

Thank you card

I made 5 of these cards to go into a gift box for a friend who is having a baby.  When looking for a design I went for a simple card with a touch of softness.

The sentiment is a Cuttlebug one and was die cut using Stampin Up Apricot Appeal card stock.  The ribbon is also Apricot Appeal and it was threaded through a Marianne D Ribbon 1 die.  The die cut behind that is from MFT and is called Bookmark Duo.

Stampin Up - Petal Cone die

You may be wondering just who will be the recipient of this Easter treat.  Well, Misty is a horse I have befriended and, on Easter morning, I thought I would pop some chopped up carrots into a bag, insert into the cone and hang it on his stable door waiting for his carer to give to him.  Misty loves carrots and I know his carer will be delighted.

The Stampin Up Petal Cone die was cut from orange card stock with 2 of the scalloped half circles (in the same die) being cut in green.  The stamp is a Peachy Keen one called Easter Patch and I used markers to colour it in.  The handle is an orange pipe cleaner with the label being from the Go Kreate set Concentric Tags #1.  I distress inked the pointy tip of the cone using Black Soot to make out as if the "carrot" had just been pulled from the ground.

Crafty Secrets - Feeling Yucky

Another small card (65 x 75mm) using an image and sentiment from Crafty Secrets Feeling Yucky set. The image was coloured in using Stampin Up Barely Banana marker and Tombow 992, 912 and 977 markers.

I forgot just how much fun doing the small cards can be.  It also gives me the opportunity to go through my stamps and dies and to use the smaller ones.

Joy Crafts - Butterfly Border

Prior to moving to the UK I had not heard of Joy Crafts dies.  I first saw this beautiful Butterfly Border at a craft show and knew it would be ideal for a quick card.  Think I will be getting a lot of use out of this one.

The sentiment is from a Gina K Designs set called Lovely Labels 2 stamped in Berry Purple Archival ink and punched with a Stampin Up oval.  The paper used is from my stash - I cut up a lot of 12 x 12 sheets into card toppers before we moved and did not note down where I took them from.  The upside is it is really easy to get my hands on a large variety of papers all cut to size in one packet.  Should have thought of that years ago !

Card Holder Box - Stampin Up

The design of this project is not one I can take credit for as I went to a Stampin Up class the other week and this card holder box was one of the projects we did.  As we ran out of time I just took the pieces home and assembled it slightly deviating from the original sample.

This project uses the Stampin Up envelope punch board and 3 pieces of card stock measuring 5¼" x 5¼", 2 of the same  colour and one of a contrasting colour.  The flower decoration on the front is a Marianne D die called Ovals coloured with Weathered Wood and Victorian Velvet Distress ink.  The sentiment is from the Flourishes sets Taglines and Medallion Motif stamped in Cobalt Archival ink.  On the original box a pipe cleaner was used for the handle but I chose to twist a couple of pieces of pink raffia I had left over from another project.  The small envelopes in the inside measure 82 x 72 mm.

Memory Box - Meadow Bird

I also have a lot of cardstock which now needs to be used before I go out and buy more (just simply do not have the space for anymore !).  This card was made using Hero Arts cardstock with a Memory Box die called Meadow Bird and a Stampin Up Cogs Extra Large punch for the gear shape decoration.

A simple card using dies and punches which I tend to forget about sometimes.

Cottage Cutz - Carousel Silhouette

In the midst of creating my Xmas cards I realised I needed a birthday card and that I had given all the cards I have made away.  With moving overseas next month I donated all my cards and projects to the local children's hospital charity store (along with half the stuff in the kitchen cupboards - everyone needs an overseas move once in a lifetime to make you realise just how much junk one collects).

This card is another quick and easy one (all I seem to have time for these days) using the Cottage Cutz Carousel Silhouette die.  I have said many times before just how easy most of their dies are to assemble and I am planning to take some across with me in my suitcase, pieces already cut out, so I can still get some crafting done whilst waiting for the container to arrive.  I suspect I will need to de-stress with all that has to be done once we arrive.

The sentiment was one I had made in bulk a while back (planning ahead for the move) but forgot to write down which stamp set it is from.  Looks like it could be a Flourishes one.

Penny Black - A Bright Tomorrow

The wreath is from a Penny Black set A Bright Tomorrow and it is framed using Spellbinders Circles.  To colour in the wreath I used Momento markers, New Sprout and Bamboo Leaves and Distress markers Fired Bricks and Barn Door for the bow.

Background striped paper is a Bo Bunny one called Rejoice Strip.  Cannot recall which set the sentiment comes from, apologies.