Nothing Beats A Bit Of Kindness

I am very fortunate to have great friends.  And last year one of my besties showed me an incredibly generous act of kindness.  So I wanted to say thank you - and there was no better way than a handmade card and it's own little box!!

The card is no bigger than the size of an atc and the box big enough to hold it (though there was plenty of room if I wanted to embellish the card more).

I decorated the card and box with pretty papers, doilies, trim and a resin heart.  The image was stamped, embossed and coloured (as in my previous post).

This is the back of the box

I really enjoyed creating this and, hopefully, the recipient enjoyed receiving it!!

I have a bit of a theme going as a couple of months prior to this I wanted to send a 'hello' to 2 of my besties.  So, I made them a card in it's own little gift wallet!

The card design was case'd but altered from a design I saw on Pinterest.

I think it is lovely to receive a handmade note in the post - especially in the day when we have this amazing technology!

Thanks for looking!!

Bad,Bad Blogger

Happy New Year!!

I am soooo sorry for my lack of posts over the last year.  I really don't know where 2015 went.  Work was incredibly busy and in the blink of an eye Jools Holland was on and we were seeing in 2016!

I hope you all had a great Christmas.

So, I thought I would start by sharing some note cards that I made as Christmas gifts.  The technique was the same but in different designs.

I started off by trimming the background paper to size and punching 2 edges using a corner punch.

I used ribbon and trim as a border.

The images were stamped using Versamark then embossed using white embossing powder.  These were then coloured in using ink pads and a water brush.

Once completed I fussy cut around the image and adhered them to the note cards using foam pads to give them some lift.

Easy, eh?!  Thankfully the recipients loved them!

Here are the other designs that I made....

So, a quick post to start me off.... but I promise to try better this year!

Thanks for looking.....

Exam Success

A friend of mine recently passed her exams and now has new initials after her name!

I made her a card to say congratulations.

The background is from the backgrounds that I created at the Kate Crane workshop that I went to in May.

The image was stamped, coloured and cut out then mounted onto the background.

The flowers were stamped and cut out. After adding them to the card I added gems to their centres.

I finished with some dotted ribbon which I tied into a bow to the side of the card.

Quite a short post - but thanks for looking!

Thank you!

When Stampin' Up released their latest catalogue the 1 stamp that I knew I 'NEEEDED' was the Awesomely Artistic set - which is totally up my street!!

Anyway, I ordered it as soon as I could and it took longer than normal to arrive due to increased orders and excitement at the new catalogue.  As soon as my order arrived I opened it as quickly as I could.... to find that the wrong stamp set was sent.  I was soooo disappointed!!

I mentioned this on Facebook and one of my Stampin' Up friends contacted me to say that she had a new set that she was not going to use until after her holiday and so would send it to me and then I could send her my copy when it arrived!  How kind is that!!  It made me so happy and I received it the next day.

To say thank you I bought her some chocolates and made her a card and envelope.

I used the new in-colours and made a card using the You've Got This stamp set which I coloured in using ink and a water brush.

I then created an envelope using the Treat Bag framelits and banner punch.

I hope Kerry liked them!

I gave this to Kerry on one of our team training days.  As part of team training we all create 'something' to swap - and swapping is so much fun.

Here is the swap that I made for the training using the wonderful Awesomely Artistic set....

I stamped the Taupe background using the same colour ink.

I embossed then tore a mint macron panel and added a strip on dsp which had string wrapped around it and tied in a bow.

I stamped the label and cut it out.

The dragonflies were stamped then cut out then added to the card front.

The greeting was die cut.

I added silver string and sequins to finish.

I really do totally love this stamp set!!  In fact, here is another version made...

I know that I will get so much use out of these stamp sets - don't think I will ever get bored of them!!
Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Baby!

A colleague's baby has just turned 1 - I have absolutely no idea where the last year has gone!

Here is the card that I made for him....

I covered a card blank using retired Stampin' Up paper.

I then die cut starburst frames using co-ordinating colours. 

The image is from the Stampin' Up Zoo Babies set - soooo cute!!  This was stamped onto a white starburst frame.

I created a bow using the bow builder punch and added a die cut '1' to finish.

Simple - yet pretty!! LOL!!
Thanks for looking.

Many Happy Returns Part 2!

I'm back again to share cards made for male friends and family.

This first card was for my brother, Ed.

The card blank was already patterned and so I did not change this.

I stamped the Stampotique image onto a journalling card and then coloured it using alcohol markers.

I edged this with walnut stain ink.

I finished with a greeting.

This next card was for my dear dad.

The background was a gelli print background that I made sometime ago in a batch.

The Unity image was stamped and coloured before being mounted onto the card.

I added Taupe ribbon and a bow.

I love the sentiment stamp - I found it at he Stamp Attic and knew I had to buy it.  The sentiment was stamped and then mounted to the card to finish.

Lastly is the card that I made for our nephew, James, who has just turned 15!  When did that happen??!!
I covered a card blank using cogs paper.

I embossed metal and covered the embossed image in black paint which I then rubbed off to distress it.

I die cut deco labels in black and brown cards.

The image was stamped onto a journalling card.  It was coloured using alcohol markers then mounted.

The cogs were die cut and mounted to finish.

All very different and I loved creating each of them!

Thanks for looking....

Many Happy Returns

It's time to share more birthday cards with you.... this time of year is certainly busy for birthdays!!

In this post I am showing cards that I have made for female friends and family.

This first card is for my friend Sophie. 

I started by covering a card blank using patterned paper from Stampin' Up.  These pads are now 6x6" which I am delighted with - I am so pleased that they have made this change.

I then die cut a window frame and embossed it.

The cup cake was created using the Sprinkles of Life stamp set and co-ordinating tree punch.... This is where I need to digress.... The stamp set is amazing!! It can be used for cupcakes, clouds, trees and whatever your imagination allows!!  What makes it even better is that Stampin' Up donate £2 to charity for every set sold!!  Then there is the punch - what is not to love about this punch?!

Anyway!!  I stamped, coloured then punched the image before mounting it to the window frame.

I added Mint Macaron ribbon and created a knotted bow and stamped sentiment to finish.

 

 

This card was for my sister, Laura. 

 

I used the same papers as I used in Sophie's card.  This time I used the Build A Birthday stamp set, which is really fun to use!

 

I tied a lovely bow using Cucumber Crush lace ribbon.  I love this ribbon - it's so soft and beautiful.

This final card was for one of my colleagues, Sam. 

I am sure you are sick of seeing this stamp but I just can't stop using it!

The papers this time are from the in-colour DSP stack.  Now, since I joined Stampin' Up in 2012 I have not bought these stacks.  I received a set in my starter kit in the beginning. I was never really a fan of the DSP - the patterns were ok - but never really my 'thing'.  They have changed this year though....and I LOVE them!!

Back to my blog post!!! 

All recipients liked their cards and I certainly enjoyed making them.

Thanks for looking.