Three Little Kittens

Ingredients:

Card/Paper: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa Whisper White
Ink: Black, Chocolate Chip & Pumpkin Pie markers
Other: Google Eyes, Stampin' Pastels

Method:

I made this card for my Nephew's fourth birthday today. He likes cats, and their cat had kittens a few weeks ago - two ginger and one dark brown - all stripy. My five year old spotted that they are those kittens, so hoping he will too!

The card base is Bashful Blue, and I cut a couple of Old Olive strips for the grass - trimming the top edges with deckle edge scissors. The tree trunks were freehand cut from Chocolate Chip, and stuck behind the grass layer. I punched Scalloped circles from Old Olive to make the tree tops, and 1/4" Ruby Red circles for the apples. The bird is made using a 3/4" circle and little strips created using the Round Tab Punch. Legs drawn with black marker.

The cats are made using 1 3/8", 1 1/4", 1", 1/2" circles, and the Five Petal Flower punch. The edges of the pieces were shaded a little using the chalks, and stripes and facial features drawn in with markers. Google Eyes to finish.

Pretty Pink Bloom

Ingredients:

Card/Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Tea and Crumpets designer paper, water colour paper for image
Ink: Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Always Artichoke
Stamps: Bloomin' With Beauty, Sincere Salutations
Other: 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon, pewter brads

Method:

This is the free project that my stamper's ten group made this month. For the people who were not near enough to come to the meeting, I sent all the elements of the project for them to assemble at home (including the stamped image for them to colour). It consists of a card, pouch box and matching envelope.

I love this flower from the Bloomin' With Beauty set - so easy to colour it in and make it look good! I 3d'd the image on the box and card - 'just because' - but really, it doesn't need it as the image is so beautifully drawn it looks quite 3 dimensional already.

Scallop Punch Flower Tutorial

Well, it's been so long since I promised this tutorial, you've probably given up hope! Sorry to keep you waiting so long. My original post with the cardboard cake is here to remind you.

So without further ado - here is how to make the flowers on the cake:



You will need the Scallop Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, scissors, pva, molding mat, large ball embossing tool, straight tweezers, pencil, double sided designer paper. I have used Stampin' Up! Designer Prints paper in Rose Red. Click on the tab above for tool substitutes for the embossing tool and molding mat.


Punch out three scalloped circles and two half inch circles to make one flower.


Cut each of the three scalloped circles in half, and then into quarters.

Take one of the quarters and place it in the tweezers as shown. Have the side of the paper uppermost that you want to show the most on the flower. Rest the tweezers on your index finger as in the picture, and steady the tweezers between your thumb and other fingers.


Click on this picture to see better. What you need to do is to roll the tweezers to the left so that the right side of the paper folds up and over to the left. Keep up the pressure with the tweezers against your index finger. Not too hard, but firm enough so that the tweezers take the paper with them.


Keep rolling in the same direction with the tweezers so that the paper continues to wrap around them . . . . .


. . . . . . and ends up completely curled around the tweezers like this.


This is how I actually hold the paper and tweezers whilst doing the wrapping in the previous two pictures - but I moved my thumb away for the photo so you could see more clearly what was happening. Don't squeeze too tightly, just enough pressure to smooth the paper closely round the tweezers, but not actually put definite creases in it. And don't try and put your thumb over the top until you have completed the part shown in the triple photo - otherwise it won't wrap properly to begin with. Once you have finished rolling, hold it like this for a few seconds for the warmth from your fingers to help the paper hold its shape.


Slip the finished roll off the end of the tweezers. Do all 12 quarter pieces like this.


Make a dot with your pencil in the middle of the 1/2" circles as a guide.



Take one of the rolled pieces and hold it so that the pointed end is towards the right, and the rounded top to the left.



Grasp the point with your thumb and finger and as you do so it will open itself up a little. At the same time unroll the top of the petal a bit with the other hand.



It should look a little like this. Where I am grasping it with my thumb and finger I have bent the tip so that it is at a 45' - ish angle from the rest of the petal.



Place a little spot of glue on the back of the tip as shown.



Glue the petal onto the circle so that the tip is roughly half way between the dot and the edge of the circle. Glue the second petal opposite.



Stick two more petals on one side evenly spaced between the first two. Then the same on the second side. Six petals make up one layer of the flower.



Make the second layer in the same way as the first. Make sure that the glue is dry before proceeding to the next step. The paper won't shape successfully if it's wet.



Using your large ball embossing tool and molding mat, and a little pressure, emboss in a circle around the base of the petals - move inwards in a spiral to the centre. This will make the petals pop up.



On one of the layers, when you get in to the middle after your spiral, hold the embossing tool vertically and press down fairly firmly to make the petals cup up around the tool.




Here you can see one layer is more cupped than the other. Put a spot of glue in the more open (bottom) layer.



Pick up the top layer and gently squeeze it to close up the petals more. Whilst holding them closed like this, place this top layer inside the bottom layer. Make sure that it is reasonably well centred.

I find that using the embossing tool to apply pressure in the middle to firmly stick the two layers together works better than trying to get my finger in there - less likely to disturb the petals. Remove the tool, and adjust the petals until you are happy with the effect.

On the cake, I then stuck each flower on another scalloped circle punched from green card. In the middle of the cake I stuck three flowers together on a larger green card circle cut using a Nestability scalloped circle.

Pottery Garden

This is another card we made at the craft class with Jane last Friday. It uses half of a 12" x 12" pink scalloped circle. They have them at the Glitter Pot, but I can't find where they've stashed them on the website - although I do know exactly where they are in the shop!

The edges of the front, and inside were rubbed with Tim Holtz distress ink, and then stamped with the leaf stamp from the Pottery Garden Rubber Tapestry Stamp set. This set comes with a block stamp of a row of pots which was inked up with a brown marker, and then stamped directly on the card base. A second set of pots were stamped onto a scrap of card and the individual pots cut out, then shaped using an embossing ball tool on a molding mat. I marked the positions of these 3d'd pots on the card before stamping the plants using the other stamps from the set. The pots were stuck in place with silicone glue. Finished with a dragonfly from another Rubber Stamp Tapestry set - this one has just dragonflies in it - and an unknown greeting stamp (please pretend not to notice that I didn't stamp it straight - was a clear stamp as well, so not sure what my excuse is - too busy nattering probably!) Oh yes, before gluing the 3d pots on, I washed on a little bit of brown and green to make some ground.

We decorated the inside of the card to match the front - this time I paid attention when stamping the greeting!

Moonlit Vase Tapestry

Ingredients:

Card/Paper: Dark Blue Bazzill, Smooth Cream card
Ink: Flannel Kaleidacolor Pad, Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Stamps: Rubber Stamp Tapestry - Moonlit Vase, Greeting Unknown
Other: Silicone Glue

Method:

Another lovely Jane Gill class at the Glitter Pot last Friday. This time it was rubber stamp tapestry. I've never done this before, and have been wanting to try it. I came away with so many lovely ideas from all Jane's samples and the projects we did throughout the day.

This is one from the afternoon. It uses the Moonlit Vase set, which has this gorgeous little vase in it. We stamped the vase in a dark blue and then shaped it with an embossing tool on a molding mat before sticking it to the card with silicone glue. Before adding the vase of course, we used the leaf and flower stamps from the set to create the arrangements in the vases, and also the decorations around the edge of the background piece. Everything is matted onto a dark blue Bazzill Criss Cross card. The edges of all the cream card were rubbed with Tim Holtz distress ink, but I can't remember the colour as there were several floating around the table - one of the lighter brownish ones!

Lousy weather lately for photography - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Big Cake, Little Guy

Ingredients:

Card/Paper: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White for stamping cup cake, Water colour paper for image
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Not Quite Navy, Barely Banana, Blush Blossom
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday, All in the Family
Other: 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain, pewter brads, happy birthday Cuttlebug folder

Method:

I stamped the cake and candle images onto a scrap of Whisper White and cut them out. The icing stamp I inked up using a sponge dauber to transfer the ink from the pad to the stamp. Put a little speckle of it over the centre, but mainly just colour around the edges. The candle flames were coloured in with Barely Banana.

Used the stampamajig to stamp the boy - I had to extend his arms by drawing to fill in the gap between them and his shoulders in order for them to reach above his head to the cake. Used a black marker for this. Watercoloured his clothes using ink squeezed onto the lid of the Chocolate Chip and Not Quite Navy pads. Used Blush Blossom for his face. Used a piece of cut and dry foam to apply Not Quite Navy ink around the image. Glued the cake pieces in place, and matted the picture onto Chocolate Chip card.

Cuttlebugged the happy birthday design onto Not Quite Navy card, and matted onto Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip. Finished with ribbon and brads.

Saffron Cone Flowers

Ingredients:

Card/Paper: So Saffron, Mellow Moss, Chocolate Chip, Confetti White
Ink: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip
Stamps: Sanded & Canvas Background Stamps
Other: Twill Tape, Hodgepodge Hardware

Method:

Each flower was made by punching one scalloped circle from So Saffron card, then snipping between each scallop towards the centre - stopping about 1/3" away. Then applied a little So Saffron ink to the edges of the petals on both sides of the shape using a piece of cut and dry pad. Folded the scallop in half, and in the process slightly twisted it so that the scallops from behind show between those in front. Then punched using a 3/4" circle punch from the edge of a piece of Chocolate Chip card so that it makes just over half a circle. Stippled these pieces with Chocolate Chip ink and a sponge dauber. Cut curved strips of Mellow Moss for stems and glued between the two layers of petals.

The Confetti White card behind the flowers was stamped with the Sanded background stamp in So Saffron ink. (Shows up better if you click to enlarge.) Pricked around the edge and slightly distressed with my scissor blade. Matted onto Mellow Moss card which has had the corners punched using a 1/2" circle punch. Threaded twill tape through a piece from the Hodgepodge Pewter Hardware Kit, and frayed the ends before sticking to the card.

The card base is Chocolate Chip stamped with the Canvas background stamp in Chocolate Chip ink. Card is 15cm by 10.5cm (A6) - roughly 6" by 4".

Ruby Red Blooms

Ingredients:

Card/Paper: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Watercolour paper for image
Ink: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Black Stazon
Stamps: Bloomin' With Beauty, Sincere Salutations, Canvas Background Stamp
Other:5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain, Flat Backed Pearls from Pretties Kit

Method:

The ovals were cut with Nestabilities in my Cuttlebug. I used the Stampamajig to position the blooms and greeting. Coloured in the flowers using an aquabrush and markers. The background was stamped with Ruby Red ink on Ruby Red card using the canvas background stamp. The three little green flowers were punched using the punch from the Three for You punch box set. Topped with flat backed pearls from the Pretties Kit.

Totally Tabs Handbags

Ingredients:

Card/Paper: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Chocolate Chip
Stamps: Totally Tabs, Sincere Salutations, Season of Joy
Other: Soft Subtles Brads, Certainly Celery 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon

Method:

The idea for the handbags is one that I saw on someone's blog, but sadly I have lost the link. They are made from the Stampin' Up Round Tab punch, and stamped with three of the stamps from the Totally Tabs stamp set. The handles were made using two circle punches - 3/4" and 1" in diameter to create a narrow curved strip. The pointed flap is made from a 1" heart punch - folded over the top of the bag so that the point is on the front. A 1" circle for the flap on the middle bag, and a freehand cut strip with a rounded end for the flap on the right hand bag. I used my new Scallop edge punch from Stampin' Up to do the edge of the Chocolate Chip card. You can't see very well, but the vanilla card squares behind the handbags have been stamped with the swirl stamp from Season of Joy with Versamark and embossed with clear powder. They were cut and dry embossed with a Nestability square die. The flowers at the bottom of the card are stamped with the same stamp as the green bag. Finished with a greeting from Sincere Salutations.

Christmas Bling and Shrunken Snowmen

I went to another Jane Gill class at the Glitter Pot last Friday. Shouldn't have really, as there were lots of other things I was supposed to be doing, but it was a lovely peaceful break for the day. Lots of fun, and great company as usual. We were 'working' with some of the new stamp sets from Woodware that Jane has designed.

These first two cards are from her snowman set called Melting Snowmen. The top one uses an image that has two snowmen in it, stamped repeatedly across the page, coloured and then cut out before sticking to the silver backing card, with the addition of punched circles for snow. The greeting is also from the sst. The card below has another image of five snowmen, stamped onto white shrink plastic, coloured and then shrunk with great hilarity - lots of inexperienced shrinkers in the class, including me! We got there in the end. Unfortunately one of my snowmen lost an eye in the process, and his hat brim will never be the same again! So don't look too close. (Of course, you all will now!)



This third card was made using another of Jane's designs - a set called Christmas Bubble Tree. Jane gave us each a pot with a variety of shiny things to stick on all the circles on the tree to give it some bling. Kept a group of a dozen women quiet for a little while! Finished off with some micro beads on the trunk. The backing paper was created using a snowflake set from the stamp, and stickles in the centre of the flakes. Time consuming, but very easy!

Simply Sent - Sending Happy Thoughts

Finally made some cards and spent some time on my blogs today!

This is the kit I was using today. It is one of the kits included in the World Card Making Day Offer from Stampin' Up! You can see everything that is included - generous supplies to make five each of two different designs. Click for a closer look. It contains the gorgeous Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and a 2-way glue pen. Much more of it than you need to complete the cards in the box - so great to have extra for Christmas sparkle! Lots of extra twill zig-zag tape too. And of course there are the ink spots and stamps as well as brads, glue dots, and foam pads.

The card above is one of the designs from the kit. Full instructions are included, which are very easy to follow. The card below is the other design from the kit.

Of course, you don't have to stick to making only the two designs in the kit. You can stretch the kit to more cards by adding a few sheets of Very Vanilla card.

For the card above, I used a Very Vanilla card base. I cut a piece off of one of the Old Olive card bases from the kit, and ran it through my Cuttlebug in the Bloom Dots folder - a good match for the flowers from the stamp set I thought. Stuck that at the bottom, and cut a piece of red twill to go across the top. The glue dots are very good for fixing on the ribbon - only three of them hold this nice and firmly on the card. I then stamped one of the flowers in the three different ink colours in the kit on a scrap of vanilla, and cut them out. They are fixed on with Stampin' Dimensionals, and have some of the Dazzling Diamonds glitter in the centre. Finished off with the greeting stamped in Old Olive. Really quick and easy!

Here's another design you could make. I love the dotted square stamp - it makes great backgrounds. For the one above, I used my Stampamajig to place the squares accurately so that the dots from one square sit exactly on top of the other. I used pieces of Pumpkin Pie and Very Vanilla exactly as they are from the kit. Stamped the greeting onto the Pumpkin Pie with Pumpkin Pie ink, and the dotted squares onto the Vanilla with Old Olive. Stamped the three flowers in Real Red and Pumpkin Pie on a scrap of Vanilla. Added the glitter and a brad in each of the centres after cutting them out. Fixed on with Stampin' Dimensionals.

And here is the last card I did today from this kit. Again using a pre-folded card base from the kit, and the Vanilla and Pumkin Pie pre-cut pieces. Used the Stampamajig for placement of the dotted squares and flower stem. The flower was done in the same way as the previous card. The ribbon has the ends frayed for added decoration. Another quick and easy one.

See here for the offers on this, and the other kits, starting on 4th October.