Poppin' Pastels

This is the card I made for a swap group I'm in. A swap group is a group of people who swap cards with each other on a regular basis, with the same theme or technique. I swap every month with seven other people. So I make the same card seven times and send it out to everyone in the group and I received seven cards in the mail, one from each person in the group. So I end up with eight cards of the same theme or technique but all completely different. It's great receiving such lovely mail from all over Australia and seeing the great cards the others have made.

This months swap rules were to use the Poppin' Pastels technique and at least one eyelet. I hadn't done this technique for a while so it was great to do it again. For those that don't know, the Poppin' Pastels technique is stamping with Versa mark then using the sponge daubers with chalks (Stampin' Pastels) to colour the image. The chalk will stick to the Versa mark making the stamped image pop out from the card. It's very effective. I love it.





Recipe
Stamp Sets : Garden Whimsy
Ink : Versa mark
Card : Whisper White, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink
Accessories : Stampin' Pastels, sponge daubers, Crop a dile, metallic eyelets silver, Gingham ribbon light pink


For my card I've gone for the soft feminine look. What do you think?
I hope the other members of the group like it.


Leah

Salted Background

I entered a challenge. The other day I was looking at Mellisa's Stamping Blog (who is a lovely person I meet at convention) and she had set a challenge using the salted background technique. Now I had never seen or heard of this technique before so I decided to have a go. This was quite fun to do and involved salt (I used sea salt), gloss card, spritzing water and ink. There is a great tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers showing how it's done. My attempt isn't great but you can imagine the different looks you can get by using different colours. It works better if you use ink refills. You can't see it in the photo but the salt leaves an interesting texture on the card.



Recipe
Stamp Sets : Oh, so lovely, Circle of friendship
Ink : Old Olive, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Choc Chip
Card : Old Olive, Ruby Red, Gloss White, Whisper White
Punches : circles 1", 1 1/4", 1 3/8", scallop
Accessories : Grosgrain ribbon Always Artichoke, Dimensionals

Why not give it a try?

Leah

Seeing Spots

While I was surfing last night I came across a card on Debbie's blog, Hubbys Headache, ( I love the name of her blog) and I had to make it. Debbie's card is a pop up card that I didn't have the patience to try yet, maybe on the holidays I'll give it a go. But I kept the card front and the colours the same. I love the colour combination she used, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive and Very Vanilla. I've used a different stamp set, Seeing Spots. It was quite quick to make. I think making the pop up card will take a bit longer.






Recipe
Stamp Set : Seeing Spots
Card : Old Olive, Choc Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Choc Chip
Accessories: crop a dile, jumbo eyelet pewter, crafters tool kit, grosgrain ribbon 5/8" choc chip
Punches : scallop circle, 1 1/4", 1 3/8" circle

Thanks for the inspiration Debbie.

I'm off to sports day at school today, I hope it warms up a bit.
Have a great day.
Leah

Stamp A Stack

The Stamp A Stack I held on the weekend was a great success and lots of fun. I've had some really good feedback. So I'll definitely be holding more. I'm already thinking of and planning the next one. I'll let you know the theme soon.

For those who missed out, these are the other cards we made.


Sending you my love : This one is much the same as the So Swirly card in a previous post. Except I've used the Circle of Friendship Stamp Set. The colours are Kraft, Blush Blossom and Whisper White.

Time spent with Friends: We did a bit of water colouring on this card. We used the Stampin' Pastels and Aqua Painter with the Time spent with Friends Stamp Set. And used the Sanded background Stamp with Versamark on the base card. It's a bit hard to see in this photo but it looks really good. The words and butterfly are stamped in Certainly Celery on Certainly Celery card stock. With a bit of Gingham ribbon, light pink.

Always on my mind : This design I found on the demonstrator website and I only changed it a little bit. The stamp set is Pick a Petal and Stem Sayings. The colours are Blue Bayou, Confetti White, Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava and Kraft.

Tip : Stamp the Stem Saying first, then place the petals around it. That way you won't stamp the saying on the petal, like I did.

I really hope those that came had a great afternoon ( please leave a comment) and don't forget to send the cards to someone special.

Happy Stampin'

Leah

So Swirly

This card was made for a special friend, for her birthday. We had a great time at her party with lots of laughs. And it was really good to catch up with friends I hadn't seen for a while. For her card I used Kraft card stock. I love the natural colour and it combines well with almost any other colour. I've combined it here with Blush Blossom. I always use the wheel guide when I use a wheel, so I can get a straight line. The So Swirly wheel has some dots in the pattern, so on this card I punched them out with the 1/4" circle handheld punch for a lacy look. I used the corner rounder punch to make the scallop edge. The lovely bird is from the Spring Solitude stamp set and the words from the Happy Everything set.




Recipe
Stamp Sets : Spring Solitude (level 2 hostess set), Happy Everything, So Swirly wheel
Ink : Blush Blossom, Creamy Caramel
Card : Kraft, Blush Blossom, Whisper White
Punches : handheld 1/4" circle, 1" & 1 1/4" circle, scallop circle, corner rounder
Accessories : cutter kit, grosgrain ribbon white, wheel guide, stamp a ma jig, dimensionals, snail

If your celebrating a birthday this month, Happy Birthday to you.

My daughter received some great cards for her birthday. This one was made by her Nana, my Mum and I think it's really good. She has used the Iris folding technique. I have never tried this techqnique before, I think Mum has mastered it. Well done Mum.

Happy Birthday

It's my daughter's 11th birthday this week. This is the card i made for her. Her favorite colours tempting turquoise and pretty in pink. I stamped the hearts and flowers on designer series paper and cut them out. I covered the "u" in dazzling diamonds glitter to add a bit of bling. And on one of the flowers I've added a rhinestone brad. I had lot of fun making this card for her. I think she liked it, she was much more interested in checking out her presents.




Recipe
Stamp Sets : Time well spent (level 2 hostess), Jumbo outlines alphabet, Big deal alphabet, A little birthday cheer
Card : Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink : Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories : DSP Petals & Paisleys, Grosgrain ribbon Tempting Turquoise, Stamp A Ma Jig, Dazzling Diamonds, Rhinestone brad, 2 way glue pen, dimensionals, paper snips, snail

Leah

As Promised

Here is the 12x12 scrap page. It's much the same as the 6x6. Same stamp set and wheel. Same colour combination. Same couple in the photo. But I haven't coloured in the flowers. But I did use the Crop A Dile to set the jumbo eyelets (so easy to use). I have pierced two rows of holes down each side of the Close to Cocoa card,( It didn't show up in the photo). And if you look closely you can see I stamped and cut out a flower to dot the "i " in the name. I used the Jumbo Outline Alphabet stamp set for the name. Simple yet elegant. I won't type the recipe as it's much the same as the 6x6 page.





Have you scrapped your Wedding photo's yet?

Happy Scrappin'

Scrappin Together Forever

I liked the cards in my last post so much that I was inspired to make a scrap page. I started with a 6x6 page and it came together really well so I then made a 12x12 page. I love the combination of Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip. This is the 6x6 page. I've used the Forever Flowers Wheel to make a boarder top and bottom, and coloured with a blender pen. Just like the cards. I hadn't pulled out the Wedding photo's for a while so, as always, I've been reminiscing about those carefree days. When life was so simple.....




....anyway, here's the recipe.

Recipe

Stamp Sets : Together Forever, Forever Flowers Wheel

Ink : Chocolate Chip

Card : Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip

Accessories : Stampin' Around Wheel Guide, blender pen, Vintage brads, 1.6cm Grosgrain ribbon Choc Chip, Stamp A Ma Jig, dimensionals, snail

You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the 12x12 page.

Happy Stampin'

Leah

Together Forever

This stamp set "Together Forever" is so gorgeous and can be used for more than just weddings. I made this set of cards as a thank you gift. I didn't stamp any words on them so they could be used for any event. I have done a bit of paper piecing and distressed some edgers. I have also used the blender pen to colour parts of the flowers and leaves. I'm really happy how these turned out and i will be making more.

Recipe

Stamp Sets : Together Forever, Forever Flowers Wheel

Card : Very Vanilla, Choc Chip, Close to Cocoa

Ink : Choc Chip, Close to Cocoa

Accessories : 1.6cm grosgrain ribbon Choc Chip, vintage brads, Crafters' tool kit, Stampin' Around wheel guide, blender pen, cutter kit, dimensionals, snail adhesive

Happy Stampin'

Leah

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Extra! Extra! Stampin' Up! has announced that from 1st June to 15th July hostess can earn an extra $50.00 in free merchandise when they host a workshop totaling $700.00 or more.

Hostess benefits include :
a free Idea Book & Catalogue worth $12.95

a free Stamp Set exclusive to Hostess (see pages 17-24) Hostess's choice

and free Stampin' Up! products, Workshops totaling :
$700-$799.99 : $80 + extra $50 = $130.00
$800-$899.99 : $90 + extra $50 = $140.00
$900-$999.99 : $100 + extra $50 = $150.00

To take advantage of this special offer contact me to book your workshop.
stampin.with.leah@live.com.au

Stamp A Stack

To celebrate "eScape with Stampin' Up!" I am holding my first Stamp A Stack on Saturday the 21st June 08, at 1.00pm. We will make 8 cards, 2 each of 4 designs - Best Friends, Sending you my Love, Always on my Mind and Time Spent with Friends. For just $15.00 everything is provided. Including tea, coffee, and something yummy. But please bring sharp scissors and adhesive.

This is one of the cards we will be making. I got this from the Demonstrator website, but changed the colours. I'm liking the colour River Rock more and more. The words at the bottom of the card say "best friends listen to what you don't say"


Best Friends

I will also have retired stamp sets (pre loved, good condition) for sale on the day.
Leave a comment / email me to reserve your seat. stampin.with.leah@live.com.au

Join me to eScape in cardmaking and a great afternoon.

Leah

eScape with Stampin' Up!

Put down the phone, turn off the computer and break free from the 'e'! Stampin' Up! has designated the 25th of June 08 as eScape day. Make and send a card during June and rediscover the joy of making a personal connection that can't be found in a text message or e-mail.

Host an eScape workshop or attend an eScape event.

Save 25% when you purchase the eScape bundle.

More information here