Creative Elements Party

As I mentioned before, September & October are very busy months for me each year. September also coincides with the release of the new Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue every year. Hence, I think that I'll always be late having my annual SU IB & C party as I only managed to hold my party on 22 October. Be that as it may, better late than never.

For this year's IB & C party, the lovely people who came got to play with the Creative Elements stamp set. Many of them groaned about having to cut flowers and a butterfly out but I was gleefully unapologetic. We had a lovely afternoon and at times, the silence was deafening as they concentrated on their Make & Take task. Here it is.

 project recipe
stamps: Creative Elements (WM 124956, CM120647), Teeny Tiny Sentiments (WM 119185, CM 120024)
ink: Classic Stampin' Pad - Poppy Parade (119782), Pool Party (122938), Island Indigo (122937), Stampin' Write Marker - Poppy Parade (119801)
card stock: Poppy Parade (121694), Pool Party (124398), Whisper White (106549)

tools: Scallop Trim Border Punch (118402), Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder (119976), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049),
the added pizzaz: Blender Pen (102845), Dazzling Diamonds (102023), Sponge Daubers (102892), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), 2-way Glue Pen (100425)

cardessence tips

• stamp the flower 3 times on WW card stock and cut out in 3 layers to get the 3 different flower sizes;
• for the 2 toned butterfly, I first inked it with Pool Party (always the lighter colour first) and then "rocked n rolled" it in Poppy Parade before stamping;
• don't forget to leave a thin white border when you cut out the flowers and butterfly as this technique will preserve the edges of your stamped images;
• stamp and colour your background piece before running it through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder;
• depending on which look you like, you can daub the edges either before or after dry embossing (before embossing = soft edges, after embossing = worn look);
• I like my images precise and centred properly so I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig (SAMJ) to stamp the frame and sentiment.

Well, that's your lot for today, TTFN

An Angry Bird-day

Is there anyone out there who doesn't love Angry Birds? My second son is crazy about them and I used this as inspiration for his birthday card this year. This is a fun and easy card to construct but you do need lots of circle punches.

project recipe
stamps: retired stamp sets -  Wonderful Favourites, Happy Moments (SAB 2010), Tropical Party (2010-2011 Summer Mini Catalogue)
ink: Classic Stampin' Pad - Pool Party (122938), Real Red (103133), Old Olive (102277), Stampin' Write Marker - Basic Black (100082)
card stock: Pool Party (124398), Real Red (106578), Tempting Turquoise (108598), Daffodil Delight (121680), More Mustard (106569), Basic Black (121688), Basic Grey (121689), Whisper White (106549)

tools: 1/2" (1.3mm) Circle Punch (119869), 1" (2.5mm) Circle Punch (119868), 1-1/4" (3.2mm) Circle Punch (119861), Owl Builder Punch (118074), Cupcake Builder Punch (121807) Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Large Oval Punch (119855), non SU flower punch (for tail)

the added pizzaz: Aqua Painters (103954), Sponge Daubers (102892), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755), 2-way Glue Pen (100425)

cardessence tips

• along with the circle punches, I used the Owl Builder, Itty Bitty Shapes and Cupcake Builder punches to obtain the circle punch outs for the bird shapes and to build their eyes;
• use the L Oval Punch for the white bird and trim to shape - sand the trimmed edges to round off;
• cut out an equilateral triangle for the yellow bird - trim the corners and sand to round off the corners;
• the best way to achieve the non circular eyes, first punch a cresent shape on WW card stock before punching out; stick this WW piece on to BB card stock and repeat the process; this process is easier than trying to adhere and match the pieces after punching out every piece;
• I used the top of the Cupcake Builder punch piece to sponge cloud shapes with Pool Party ink on the large WW base;
• I stamped "son" and "happy birthday" on to WW, punched it out with the Cupcake builder punch and sponged the edges;
• cut out all the pieces by hand including the tails if you don't have a small flower punch in that shape;
• to make it all "POP", adhere the completed birds with dimensionals.

Have a punching good time

Grunge Rocker Son

It's been a while since I posted. September and October are always busy months in my household. There's Father's Day, both my sons had birthdays as well as the school holidays. Anyway, here's the birthday card I made for my eldest son who celebrated his 10th birthday in early September. My son loves playing the guitar and I used it as the theme for his card with the Grunge Rock stamp set. This beautiful set is ideal for both feminine and masculine cards, scrapbook pages and 3D paper projects.

project recipe
stamps: Grunge Rock (WM 122055, CM120555), Wonderful Favourites (retired)
ink: Classic Stampin' Pad - Pool Party (122938), Island Indigo (122937)

card stock: Pool Party (124398), Island Indigo (124390), Whisper White (106549)

tools: 1/2" (1.3mm) Circle Punch (119869), 1-1/4" (3.2mm) Circle Punch (119861), 1-3/8" (3.5mm) Circle Punch (119860), Owl Builder Punch (118074), Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (117335)

the added pizzaz: Rhinestones (119246), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

cardessence tips

There are no tricky techniques to this card hence, I only have two tips to share with you.

• to achieve a very light background on the WW base, ink up the stamp with PP and lightly stamp off on scrap paper before stamping on the WW base.
• cut out the guitars before mounting them, the punched out and matted crown and son images with dimensionals.

Thanks for looking but do come back again to see the birthday card I made my youngest son.