Crafty Boots Challenge: BINGO!

Hey all! Another Crafty Boots Challenge! This one is quite exciting!!

It has been set by Denise and the idea is to use the 'elements' that are in a line: either vertical (ie Green, Pearls and Yellow) horizontal (ie Yellow, Dots and Lace) or diagonal (ie Ribbons, Stripes and Yellow) For a bit of extra fun you can also choose to use the 4 corners or go for the 'full house' which would mean using all the 'elements' on the project. I wasn't that brave and decided to go for 'Green', 'Pearls' and 'Yellow' and here's my creation:

This card has been created on an 'Old Olive' square cardbase. On a smaller square of 'Certainly Celery cardstock i stamped the rose image and the beautiful sentiment 'Happiness held is the seed, happiness shared is the flower' (from the 'Happiness shared' stampset) both inked in 'Old Olive'. I glued this to the centre of the cardbase and then created a border using the fabby 'Ribbon Lace Border Punch', which i punched from bright 'Daffodil Delight' card. I snipped these and glued them into a square formation (I have to thank my friend Jade for showing me this technique!!) and then glued it around the rose image to frame it. Finally i placed some 'Basic Pearls' (half-back pearls which already have adhesive - just peel them off and stick!) in the corners of the 'Ribbon Lace' frame!

I loved this challenge and the great thing is everyones creations will be so different!! I wonder if anyone will be courageous enough to attempt a full house! Can't wait to see all your entries!!

A Baby Card and 3D pic of Baby Tiddlywink! x

Babies, Babies everywhere!! At the moment i seem to (unsuprisingly) be making lots of baby related projects! Today i have a card to share with you that i made to pop some pics of baby Tiddlywinks 3D scan to send to my in-laws in Spain (and if you scroll down underneath the card i have posted a scan pic for those of you who are interested!!)

On a piece of 'Whisper White' card i stamped the cute little baby image using the fun stampset: 'All In The Family' which is a 2 step stampset where you can create lots of characters:

A little tip for you - you may benefit from using a 'Stamp-a-ma-jig' tool to line up the different stamp componants!!

I coloured in the baby image using 'Stampin' Write Markers' and then cute him out using the 'Big Shot' and the 'Labels Collection Framelits Dies'. I then mounted it onto a larger label cut from 'Island Indigo' card which i embossed using the 'Perfect Polkadot Embossing Folder' to add some texture and then glued this onto the 'Baja Breeze' cardbase. I then punched out some 'Island Indigo' card using the 'Ribbon Lace Punch' and ran this along the bottom of the card, placing some 'Basic Pearls' to add some bling! Finally i 'Heat Embossed' to sentiment (from the 'Just Believe' stampset) using 'White Embossing Powder'.

Add here's a little peek of Baby Tiddlywink's 3D scan:

He is due on the 31st July and i really can't wait for him to arrive!!

I Heart 'Perfect Postage'!!

A little while ago i saw a card on my upline Cates blog and straight away i loved it and knew that i would have to incorporate the idea on a creation of my own:

I made these cards from some 'Melon Mambo' card. I randomly stamped the heart image from the 'Perfect Postage' stampset over the cardbase. Next i layered a piece of 'Concord Crush' card edged on both sides using the 'Eyelet Border Punch'. On a seperate piece of 'Melon Mambo' card i punched out a heart using the 'Heart Punch'. Behind which i layered some pink strips of card punched out using the 'Ribbon Lace Border Punch'. To finish off the card i drew on some faux stitching using a 'Concord Crush' 'Stampin' Write Marker'.

I loved this card so much i couldn't resist making a whole bunch of them to give out as thankyou cards:

I just love this design - i will most definately be making lots more of these!!! Now don't forget the 'Perfect Postage' stampset is only available until the end of the month - as all the items from the 'Spring Mini Catalogue' will be retiring to make way for the new 'Summer Mini Catalogue'. Why not take a browse through the Spring mini and place an order before it's too late. Email over your order today: amyjtidd@gmail.com

Christmas Cards From My Crafty Friends!!! Part 1!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... i'd actually scheduled this for last night, but for some reason the post didn't materialise?! So you'll get two posts today to compensate!!

I'm so lucky to have so many crafty friends and some them have put some time aside to craft some beautiful christmas cards to send to me!! I love recieving Christmas cards - and they're one of my most favourite christmas decorations! They instantly makes a room look beautifully christmassy!!

So i thought over the next couple of blog posts i'd share these with you!!! So here you go:

Card from Sally:

Sally is a fellow Stampin' up! demo and very good friend of mine and she sent me this beautiful card. I just love Sal's style!! She has started with a 'Cherry Cobbler' cardbase, she has made a beautiful bow from some Stampin' Up! 'Crochet Trim Ribbon' along the bottom. The N,O,E,L have been stamped using the 'Broadsheet Alphabet' stampset using 'Cherry Cobbler' ink onto 'Whisper White' card. She punched them out using the '1-3/8" Circle Punch' and then layered them onto some 'Scallop Circles' punched out of 'Holly Berry Bouquet DSP'. I just love this design! Thankyou so much Sally!!

Card from Ruth:

Ruthie is a really good friend of mine (and Stampin' Up! customer) and she made me this beautiful card! She used a 'Whisper White' cardbase. She stamped the bauble from the 'Contempo Christmas' in 'Cherry Cobbler' ink, she punched it out using the 'Ornament Punch'. She layered it on a piece of 'Very Vanilla' and then on a piece of 'Tempting Turquoise' card. She stamped the christmas sentiment (also from the 'Contempo Christmas' set in 'Tempting Turquoise' ink. She finished off the card by punching a strip of 'Tempting Turquoise' using the 'Ribbon Lace Punch'.

I think you'll agree that these cards are amazing!! It's lovely to have such talented crafty friends that give me inspiration!!

Keep a look out for my other post of today, where i will share with you even more the handcrafted cards i have recieved!!

Jolly Santa Punch-art!!

Hi all, hope you're having a great weekend. It's been a pretty chilled one for me and it has been kinda nice. Today i have a fabby Santa punchart card to share with you!

This jolly Santa was made from a '1-3/8" Circle' of 'Blushing Bride' cardstock for his face and a 'Whisper White' 'Scallop Circle' for his beard! This hat was made from some 'Real Red' cardstock trimmed to size (as was the 'Whisper White' trim) The little pompom on his hat and his nose was made using the 'Owl Punch' (what would be the owls eyes!) I drew on his eyes with a 'Basic Black' 'Stampin' Write Marker' and made his rosy cheeks from some 'Regal Rose' ink and 'Blender Pen'. I layered Santa onto a piece of 'Old Olive' and then a piece of 'Holly Berry Bouquet DSP'

The cardbase used is 'Real Red'. I ran a piece of 'Old Olive' through the 'Ribbon Lace Punch' and then layered that onto the cardbase and then popped Santa ontop! Finally i stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment from the 'Contempo Christmas' set onto some'Old Olive' card using 'Whisper White' ink and then punched it out using the 'Decorative Label Punch' and then layered it on another 'Decorative Label' punched from some more 'DSP'.

There you go a lovely jolly Santa! This is such a fun card and so easy to make batches of! It is also the perfect card to make this children as there is very little stamping involved!!

It's not too late to get an order in. Drop me an email to make an order: amyjtidd@gmail.com

Happiest Birthday Wishes!

One of my most favourite stampsets at the moment is a new hostess stampset in the Stampin' Up Catalogue called 'Happiest Birthday Wishes':

You can get this stampset FREE with a qualifying workshop and it is such a fab set to own! So here is a card made with it:

This cardbase is 'Lucky Limeade' (One of the fab new 'In Colours'. Next i layered up a piece of beautiful 'Cheerful Treat DSP' (Also a hostess goodie you can earn for FREE!) Ontop of that i layered up a strip of 'Melon Mambo' card than i ran through the 'Lace Ribbon Border Punch'. I then ran some 'Lucky Limeade' and 'Melon Mambo' card through the 'Big Shot' using the 'Perfect Pennants Die' and layered them ontop of one another. Ontop of that i layered a 'Lucky Limeade' 'Scallop Circle' and finally i stamped the beautiful vintagey looking birthday scallop shape using 'Melon Mambo' ink and again punched this out using the 'Scallop Circle Punch'.

I just love this card! It's so bright and cheerful and just showcases some of the new hostess goodies perfectly!! Want to get your hands on these great products?? Then why not host a Stampin' Up! workshop. A workshop is free to host and it is a great opportunity to get a group of people together to have some fun! Email me for details: amyjtidd@gmail.com

Snowman Punch-art!!

So today i have a really fun card to share with you designed by my talented friend Ruth! A punch-art snowman and was made when we was in the Isle of Wight after half-term:

The snowman was created from two 'Whisper White' circles created using the '1-3/4" Circle Punch' and the '1-3/8" Circle Punch', his buttons and eyes were created from some 'Basic Black' card punched using the 'Crop-a-dile' tool. His nose was hand-snipped from a little piece of 'Pumpkin Pie' cardstock and his mouth drawn on with a 'Basic Black' 'Stampin' Write Marker'. His hat was made from a piece of 'Basic Black' punched out using the 'Round Tab Punch' which was cut in half and finally his arms was created using the 'Two-Step Bird Punch' (The branch bit with the leaves snipped off!) There you go thats how you make Frosty!

We layered Frosty onto a piece of 'Pacific Point' cardstock and then layered it onto some (retired) 'DSP' and glued that onto a 'Whisper White' cardbase. The 'Merry Christmas' sentiment is from the fab Christmas set 'Contempo Christmas' (we used the 'Stamp-a-ma-jig' to ensure it was lined up perfectly!)

Finally we ran a strip of 'Pacific Point' card through the 'Lace Ribbon Border Punch' and threaded some thin 'Whisper White' ribbon through it!

Don't you just love this card! Ruth was so clever to come up with this original punch-art design - and i'm sure she wouldn't mind you CASEing it as long as you give her some credit!!

Want to get make some handmade cards of your own for Christmas... why not come along to my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack class!! This will be held on Saturday 26th November - keep checking back for more details, or email me if you're interested in coming along: amyjtidd@gmail.com

Happy Engagement Dan and Jade!!! (Envelope Scrapbook - Journey to marriage journal)

Hi all. A while back you may remember me telling you how happy i was for my cousin Dan , who met the girl of his dreams and popped the question. They had their engagement party this weekend, sadly we couldn't go, but i wanted them to know that i was thinking of them and wanted to make them something special. I already made them an engagement card - so decided to make them an envelope scrapbook to journal their journey from first love, proposal, engagement party, wedding and then the future!

I used a fab tutorial from the website: http://www.making-mini-scrapbooks.com/ and heres my creation:

To create this envelope scrapbook i used 'Very Vanilla', 'Bashful Blue' and 'Early Espresso' cardstock, as well as the lovely 'Bashful Blue' 'DSP' from the 'Cheerful Treat DSP' (a fab new hostess product) I also used five cream envelopes.

The front of the envelope scrapbook:

Notice that i used the beautiful 'Monogram Sweet Alphabet' stampset to add their intials to the product (which i lined up using my trusty 'Stamp-a-ma-jig') . I embellished their initials with some teeny tiny 'Basic Pearls'. I also used the pearls to decorate the 'Lace Ribbon Border' punch. I also added some 'Very Vanilla' and 'Early Espresso' hearts created using the 'Large Heart' punch.

Here's a close up of their initials:

The spine of the book:

Notice how i used some lovely 'Satin Ribbon' to tie the book up.

Now, using the tutorial i created a card zig-zag spine and glued five enevelope into it. the idea is that each envelope had a suitable love quote on it and an instruction for the happy couple, with a decorated card inside to write on or mount a photo:

Envelope 1.

Envelope 2.

Envelope 3.

Envelope 4.

Envelope 5.

I decorated each envelope with strips of 'Very Vanilla', 'Bashful Blue' and 'Early Espresso card. and pieces of 'DSP', as well as a 'Scalloped Circle', '1-3/8" Circle' and a snippet of the 'Lace Ribbon Border' with a blingy 'Basic Pearl.

Each envelope had a decorated card that Jade and Dan could complete their tasks on:

The happy couple will not be getting wed for a while yet although they will have lots of wedding planning to do!!  This gift will give them the opportunity to journal the exciting journey they are on. I wish them both the very best of luck!!!

Craft Open House - 22nd October!

Open House Craft Workshop!

Today was my craft open house! An opportunity to share all the lovely new products from the new catalogue with friends, neighbours and family!

Lots of people popped by to create a lovely christmas card!

Here's my version:

A 'Whisper White' cardbase. The stampset i used for this card is 'Beautiful Season', i stamped the bird onto some 'Whisper White' using 'Early Espresso' ink. I coloured the berries in using a 'Cherry Cobbler' 'Stampin' Write Marker' and then coloured the rest of the image in using 'Blender Pens' and 'Old Olive', 'Real Red' and 'Soft Suede' ink. I placed a couple of 'Basic Pearls in the corner and then used a 'Sponge Dauber' and some 'Early Espresso' ink around the edges and then mounted it onto some 'Cherry Cobbler' card. Next i stamped the sentiment onto some 'Whisper White' and punched it out using the 'Decorative Label Punch'. Finally i used the beautiful 'Lace Ribbon Border' to create the 'Cherry Cobbler' strip! (The stampset has a fab inner verse for the centre of christmas cards too!)

What was lovely is that everyone put their own take on it to illustrate this here's Lucy's card:

A slightly different layout here! She did a fab job using the 'Sponge Dauber' around all the edges and ran some 'Real Red' 'Taffetta Ribbon' through the 'Lace Ribbon Border'! But what impressed me most was how she used the 'Lace Ribbon Border' inside her card:

She used it as a templace to create this design, using a 'Cherry Cobler' 'Stampin' Write Marker' - i just love this idea!!

Not only did we make christmas cards but we also had lots of tea, coffee, cakes, chocolate and sweets!

There was a free prize draw that i invited all 15 attendees to enter. The prize a handmade 'Milk Carton' filled with a selection of 'Brights Designer Buttons' and some Stampin' Up! ribbon. The lucky winner was:

Jane Willis  

I also organised a crafty raffle -with all proceeds going to the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in Farnham. The lucky winners were:

Pat Voller

Lucy Allan

Ruth Jones

Jamie Voller

Hannah Roberts

Congratulations ladies! I will deliver your prizes with your order!!

I hope everyone had a lovely time. It's not too late to make an order. If you do i will send you the materials to create 'make and take' project, just so you don't feel left out! One or two attendees needed a day or two to consider their purchases so there is still time to get involved. I will be making the workshop order on Wednesday when i return home from the Isle of Wight - email me your order: amyjtidd@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who helped to make today a success!!!