One for the Boys

 Today it is time for a challenge from The Paper Craft Crew! It is such a fun sketch this week and I love the designs the Team has made with it! Do come and check it out and maybe you will be inspired to have a go too :-)

I decided to make a male card using my "go to" stamp set lately for males, "Rev Up the Fun" and turned the sketch on its side.

This card has ended up with a semi collage feel about it….:-)The arrow and circles meant I had to try and make a tyre pile for the car to jump over!!

For the card base I used Basic black card stock and layered on top some Real Red that was embossed using the Chevron EF. The tyres are made using 1/2 and 3/4 circle punches and some black and the gorgeous Silver Foil card stock. And I used the Oval Framelits to cut out the frame and white insert panel.

The" &" and arrow are stamped from the Hello Lovely stamp set  and are both cut out by hand. And I used a black Sharpie markerI colour the basic rhinestone.

Card stock: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White, Silver Foil

Ink: Real Red, Smoky Slate, Black Stazon

Stamps: Rev Up the Fun, Gorgeous Grunge, Hello Lovely

Accessories: Big Shot, Chevron EF, Ovals Framelits, !/2 and 3/4" circle punches, Basic Rhinestones, Sharpie marker, dimensionals

Do come and see what the Team at The Paper Craft Crew have made to inspire you this week and I am so excited to see what you too will create!!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Card in a Box

Today's card is a special one for a special person who is not so well of late and hopefully this little surprise card will bring her some much needed joy!
It is based on a tutorial by Tanya Bell. You can watch her fabulous Card In a Box You Tube video here. This tutorial is based around a C6 sized envelope - which is the standard letter size here in Australia so is perfect for me :-)

When I went to my supply of stamps I realised my collection was low on current flower stamps…so I have used a lovely set that is also up for sale…check out my Stamps for Sale page to see it listed with about 45 others!!

Actually all the stamps here are retired except for the butterflies and the heart!

I will leave you to go to Tanya's video for detailed instructions on the mechanics and measurements as she does such a good job of detailing them and talking you through the process.

Here is what the card folds down to for posting:

So you can see when the envelope is opened and the card pops up into shape the recipient will get a lovely surprise! If you are wondering where to write your message? You can write on the back panel - the one that remains upright when open.

I have also used a retired DSP here from last year's Saleabration I think - and doesn't it remind you of a new stamp set in the Occasions Catalogue? I can see one of  the flowers from Simple Stems :-)

So I have used the two larger flowers from the Reason to Smile Stamp set. It is a Two -step stamp so one provides a back ground colouring and one the detail of the flowers.

The leaves are from French Foilage (but am holding onto that one sorry!) and  love the detail that they have in them! The butterflies are from Papillon Potpourri.

You can see there is plenty of cutting out by hand here and there is also a splattering of Basic Rhinestones as usual!

The greeting is also a retired stamp from last year's Saleabration, Vintage Verses and is cut out and layered using the Circle Framelits. A heart from Hearts a Flutter is the final accent.

And here you can see the mechanics of the card - two strips of card placed inside to adhere all the flowers etc to.

Card stock: Old Olive, Baja Breeze (retired) Whisper White

Designer Series Paper : retired SU

Ink: Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Old olive, Baja Breeze

Stamps: Reason to Smile ( Retired), French Foliage (retired), Papillon Potpourri, Hearts a Flutter, Vintage Verses (retired)

Access: Big Shot, Circle Framelits, Basic Rhinestones, Blender pen, 

I hope you enjoy your weekend, here it is a long weekend as tomorrow is Australia Day - time to get the BBQ out for sure :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Stamps for Sale

Hello everyone! I'm sorry its been a little while in between posts but I had a little health "event"(as the Dr put it) last week….I'm slowly getting better so hope to have some more cards for you soon. In the meantime, I have updated the Stamps For Sale page! I need to make room for all the new stamps I want to buy :-)  so the retired stamps are up for sale - first in best dressed as they say! Some of the stamps are quite ancient - from 2009 and even includes the first set I ever bought (Garden Whimsy)!! So enjoy the list and please let me know by comment on THIS  post or email if you are interested in any sets or punches.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #77

What a beautiful and sunny day it is here today in Melbourne, Australia!  No longer is it 40 degrees Celsius and it's like everyone and everything is recovering.

I have some big news today! I have been asked to join the wonderful team of Designers at the Paper Craft Crew! I am so honoured as I am still quite new to the world of challenges and have admired the work of the Team members for some time. I do love to challenge myself  and sometimes that means moving out of my comfort zone and that is certainly where I am now but I am sure it will be a good thing :-)  So I hope that you too will come and see what the other talented Designers have made and be inspired to have a go too!

And here is my take on the Sketch:

This card all started with the By the Tide set which was on my table thanks to a friend's visit and a conversation about the Circle framelits!! The fish bowl was created by using the lovely Silver Foil card stock with the Circle Framelit dies to make a circle frame. The top of the bowl was made by punching it with the Wide Oval punch. Then the water is sponged in using Pool Party and a touch of Coastal Cabana and Midnight Muse ink.

The happy little fish is stamped in Calypso Coral  and the eye coloured with a Coastal Cabana marker. And I used some Basic rhinestones as little bubbles. The striped banner is stamped from the Gorgeous Grunge set and cut out by hand and layered over the bottom of the bowl. And added to that is a Vintage Faceted designer button topped with some Twine.

Card Stock: Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Silver Foil
Designer Series Paper: Winter Frost Specialty
Ink: Midnight Muse, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Smoky Slate
Stamps: By the Tide, Sassy Salutations, Gorgeous Grunge
Accessories: Big Shot, Circle Framelits, Wide oval punch, Vintage Faceted Designer buttons, Whisper White Bakers Twine, Basic rhinestones

Thanks for looking and I can't wait to see what you create with this sketch at the Paper Craft Crew this week!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Love is in the Air

Well there is certainly something in the air alright today - HEAT!! Here in Melbourne we are in the middle of another heatwave. A sweltering 44 degrees Celsius today and one more day above 40 tomorrow(of 4) before the cool change arrives. It wouldn't be so bad except that the overnight lows have been high too so sleep has been patchy for everyone and the big concern is bush fires - especially tomorrow as the Change comes through so here's hoping the fires will be easily controlled. As it does bring back memories of the Black Saturday fires to all Victorians.

And Valentines day is coming soon and I know of two weddings to prepare for soon so LOVE it seems is also in the air ( yes, I can hear the song too!) !! The card today is inspired by the sketch from the team at The Paper Craft Crew. Do go and check out them out and maybe you might like to join in too :-)

I was hoping to make this a "stamp free" card :-) but there was a need for some background behind the hearts…so Gorgeous Grunge to the rescue :-)

There are a lot of framelits used here from the labels, to the hearts and even the banners which made the putting together of this card so fun, quick and easy! And two Embossing Folders. The Vanilla is embossed with the Decorative Dots Folder soon to be available during Saleabration and the red banner with the Polka Dots.

Card stock: Basic black, Very Vanilla, Silver Glimmer

Designer Series Paper: Modern Medley

Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge

Ink: Encore Silver

Accessories: Big Shot, Label Framelits, Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Bitty Banner Framelits, Expressions Thinlits, Decorative Dots EF, Polka Dots EF, Real REd 1/4' Grossgrain ribbon.

So while it is hot there is not much else to do but lie low and wait for the sun to go down.

It's a hard life being a dog! Sweet dreams!!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Pop - Up Castle Card

I know its been a few days between cards so sorry about that but hopefully today's card will make up for it - and yes it did take me 3 days to make!!
The Outside of the card is just a hint as to the contents of the Inside (more on that later!) and is inspired by two challenges. My first double challenge card of the year!
The lovely sketch is from the great team at Freshly Made Sketches.

And the theme of a Birthday card and to use some Twine is from another fabulous team: The Friday Mashup

Here I have used a medley of stamps and dies - some current, some Retired  and some are a sneak peek as to some of the free items going to be available during Saleabration later this month and we are ALL looking forward to that aren't we :-)

The crown is an old favourite from Artistic Etchings and here is Silver Embossed and filled with Rhinestones. The 3 is also a retired Die and have used some Crystal Effects to give it that extra shine. The hearts are all stamped from Hearts a Flutter and the large are cut with the co-ordinating framelits while the smaller is punched using a retired 3 heart punch. The sentiment is from Create a Cupcake. And yes,  I did have fun lining up all the chevrons :-)

Card stock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette (retired), Versamark
Stamps: Artistic Etchings, Positively Chevron, Hearts a Flutter, Create a Cupcake
Accessories: Big Shot, Decorative Dots EF,*  Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Timeless Type Alphabet Die, 3 Heart Punch, Crystal Effects, Basic Rhinestones, White Bakers Twine

Now, I hear you ask that isn't this a bit demure for a 3 year old's card? Where are all the banners and fun things?? Well, this time they are on the INSIDE :-)

I found a basic pop up Castle template at Robertsabudas.com and printed it out on different coloured card stock before embellishing to the Max.

There are three tiers that pop up. And I suggest that if you are wanting to attempt to this then do print out a practice template first to work it out. Once you see how it goes together it is easier to see where you can embellish.

Here you can see the workings of the card. The white base has been covered with some DSP with holes cut for the moveable parts ( a job in itself!!) The Flag banner was another little addition - from the Hostess Banner Greetings set and is added to a Tooth pick with glue dots. The little Flowers on the sides here are actually to hide where a cut was made in the DSP to slide under and through the glued workings! Similar cuts were made in bottom piece but were to the back of the card and fortunately not visible. And yes, next time will do this BEFORE glueing!!!

So all the panels were given the EF treatment and the above doorway arch is made using the Wide Oval and Word Window punches. The tower tops all were given some border punched turrets and heaps of Rhinestones. To make the flowers I first stamped using one of the hearts in the Hearts a flutter stamp set and punched out with the Bitty punch pack. The hearts are punched and Die Cut the same way as those on the front. The DSP is retired and am pleased to be using up some of my old stock to make room for some new ones soon!! The base of the Pop Up is adhered to the Card base using Sticky Strip. The Castle pieces are adhered using Tombow Glue.

As my Niece lives overseas I have decided to use a Talking Tag so she can hear the message  - and no great need for lots of room to write inside! Yes, its a bit over the top but you're only 3 once after all :-)

Card stock: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo.

Ink: Melon mambo, Pink Pirouette, 

Stamps: Hearts a Flutter, Banner Greetings (Hostess)

Accessories: Big Shot, Lattice EF, Decorative Dots EF*, Itty Bitty Shapes pack, Scallop Trim Border punch, Wide oval and Word Window Punches, Basic Rhinestones, Tombow Multipurpose Glue, Snail, Sticky Strip.

*Upcoming Saleabration item

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Summer birthdays

Summer temperatures are expected to return tomorrow so in anticipation here is today's card - inspired by the Challenge at The Paper Players this week. 

This theme seemed perfect for the intended recipient as she is an Ex- teacher - in the days when they still used Chalk and Black boards :-) And being such a young and active person at heart, bright and  fresh colours- including her favourite Pink - were called for too!

And the Dictionary background stamp also seemed entirely appropriate for the Teacher !! Which brought to mind the cards in the front of the current Idea Book and Catalogue which I have CASED here with several changes -so I won't be entering this card in the Paper Players challenge.

The frame is made using the wonderful Square Framelits and is added with dimensionals. Both the butterflies are first punched and then the white Polka dots are drawn on using the White Gel pen. The little pink button is made using the versatile Simply Pressed Clay and later coloured with a Marker. I find the easiest way to get these out of the moulds is to first apply glitter into the empty moulds before inserting  the clay and then to put in the freezer for about 15 minutes. This hardens and dries the Clay sufficiently to be able to be popped out without damaging the shape of the button but it still pays to be gentle. Then a little of the same gentleness while colouring will give a great result.  And the numbers are die cut and then had Crystal Effects applied  for a little extra depth and shine.

Card Stock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Basic Black, Coastal Cabana

Ink: Melon Mambo and marker, Versamark, White Craft ink (sponged), White Gel pen

Stamps: Dictionary, Sassy Salutations, Hello Lovely (the arrow)

Accessories: Big Shot, Square Framelits, Timeless Type Alphabet Dies (retired) Elegant and Bitty butterfly punches, Simply Pressed Clay, White Bakers Twine, Crystal Effects, Basic Rhinestones

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Clean and simple Dr Who

It is a cooler day here in Melbourne (for Summer ) and  a little damp so a great excuse to stay inside and make a card while we wait for Summer weather to return! Today's card is inspired by the team at the Friday Mashup.

This is the first time I have entered one of their challenges but when I saw the Theme was "Time" I knew it was time for a Tardis and some Time Travel so had to have a go especially as I need such a card for a friend's birthday coming up. I hope he likes it too!

The base of the card is Smoky Slate and is embossed with the lovely Delicate Dots EF which is one of the FREE products available during Saleabration later this month. The Pacific Point layer is embossed with a Clock themed EF (Sizix but not SU!)  Unfortunately it's bit hard to see in the photo. 

The Phone box or Tardis, is first inked with Pacific Point Ink then I used a Midnight Muse marker to go over the outline before stamping. It is from last year's Saleabration set, Feeling Sentimental and is one set I just couldn't let go of! Here it is layered onto some Silver Foil card with dimensionals. The Grunge dots are supposed to give the idea of flying space matter or flying through Space :-)

The little greeting is from Itty Bitty Banners and is cut with the co-ordinating framelits as were the black banners layered underneath.

Card Stock: Smoky Slate, Pacific Point, Silver Foil, Whisper White

Ink: Pacific Point, Smoky Slate

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental, Itty Bitty Banners, Gorgeous Grunge

Accessories: Big Shot, Delicate Dots EF, Clocks EF, Bitty Banner Framelits, Nickel Buttons, Navy Bakers Twine

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Faves of 2013 for JAI

This week at Just Add Ink we are asked to share our favourite creation for 2013.

It is only over the last few months that I have taken part in Challenges of any sort after being nudged along to do so and it has been a wonderful time!! It has been good to "challenge" myself to move out of my own creative "box" and at the same time so encouraging because of such generous feedback from crafters that I hold in great respect.

So here is a new version of my favourite card for 2013. 

It was my first and only Double Challenge Entry - for Just Add Ink and The Paper Players. You can see the original post and version here. The Sketch was from JAI and the "clean and simple Male card" was from the Paper Players.

This card has become a staple Teenage boy card - reproduced again and again and always going down well - so far :-) and its due to pass through the Post Office again later today!

The original version used "For You" from the Itty Bitty Banners set as a bridge between the two roads…in this updated version I have made a Road Sign from the greeting in the Rev Up the Fun set - same as where the motorbike comes from. But it is the Silver Foil that gives it the edge (IMHO anyway!!) I love the Foil and if I was to choose a favourite accessory for 2013 ( besides the Big Shot of course) then this would be it!!

Card stock: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Silver Foil

Ink: Real Red ( incl Marker on Bike), Black Stazon

Stamps: Rev Up the Fun, Gorgeous Grunge

Accessories: Big Shot, Houndstooth EF

A big thank you to the Team at Just Add Ink and others who have been so encouraging throughout 2013. I look forward to seeing what you create in the coming year and playing along!

In the meantime, its a gorgeous summers day and my dog Sally (black) loves to have a play with -  and tease of as he's begging her to jump on him  -  her good friend Monty too :-) 

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

More birthday Sneek peeks

What a lovely day it has been here in Melbourne - mostly sunny and a comfortable 23 degrees! Though we are thinking of those in South Australia and Queensland today where  some areas are sweltering through a  48-50 degree (Celsius!!) day. I doubt the Air con will cope with that sort of heat….hang in there guys!

In the meantime here is a card inspired by the sketch this week at the Paper Craft Crew.

Again I was keen to use some of the new Saleabration items so that did limit me to ONE stamp set for now LOL!!

It was great that I actually had the label framelits from the Sketch too so had to use them!! The card base is Raspberry Ripple followed by Whisper White embossed with the Dcorativel Dots EF both the EF and the greeting are some of the items available for FREE during Saleabration which I seem to be getting quite a bit of use out of already:-) The Chevrons are punched from Pool Party card stock and raised on Dimensionals and the butterflies replace the circles from the sketch.

Card stock: Raspberry Riple, Whisper White, Pool Party

Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Calypso coral, 

Stamps: See Ya Later *, Papillon Potpourri, Hello Lovely

Accessories: Big Shot, Label Framelits, Raspberry ripple Ribbon, Elegant and Bitty Butterfly punches, Chevron Border punch, Basic Rhinestones, Decorative Dots EF*

*Saleabration item.

Happy stamping until next time.

Jan

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I trust that you are inspired this year to continue doing your best in all things and have made the odd Resolution? Me too!!

So here is the first card for 2014 - inspired by the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.

I have several cards I need to make, a special birthday, a thinking of you and this one:

Which is the first of the Valentines Day cards for the year :-) And for a complete change, involves no stamping - just lots of cutting and punching instead!

The little banners are all hand cut and are from the beautiful Modern Medley DSP pack except for the Silver Glimmer paper. The "love" is one of the Expressions thinlits dies and the large heart is from the  Hearts a Flutter Framelits. 

The small hearts are punched using the Owl builder punch - so handy!! And the Vanilla layer (yes, Vanilla, not white - to go with the DSP) is embossed with the lovely Decorative Dots EF which will be available as part of Saleabration later this month. Its such a fun folder I hope it comes back again in the next catalogue!

Card stock: Real Red, Very Vanilla, Silver Glimmer Paper

Designer Series Paper: Modern Medley

Accessories: Big Shot, Expression thinlits, Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Owl Builder Punch, 1/8' Red ribbon (retired), Decorative Dots  EF

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan