Cate's Owl Swap!

Hi guys, What a busy few days! not only back at work but also the Stampin' Up! Sale has kept me on my toes!! Have you made your order yet?? If not... why not?! I'm offering an exclusive offer for Crafty ThINKer customers - an additional stampset free of charge - see the top post for extra details - this is on a first come, first serve basis - once they're gone, they're gone!! So email me your order: amyjtidd@gmail.com

So today, as promised i have a fab swap that my upline Cate made and gave to me at our Stampin' Up! meal on Tuesday. It's an owl made out of a 'Pillow Box':

This one is made with 'Pumpkin Pie' cardstock. She ran the card though the 'Big Shot' using the 'pillow Box Die' She created the 'feather' using a  '3/4" Circle Punch'which she glued to his stomach, the feet and beaks were created by punching 'Pumpkin Pie card' using the 'heart to Heart Punch' and she has used the 'Oval Punch' to create the wings and  finally '1-1/4" Circles' punched in 'Whisper White' plus '3/4" Circles' punched in 'Basic Black' for his eyes!! She has added a couple of 'Basic Rhinestones' to give his eyes a bit of extra sparkle! Isn't he cute!! Yet another use for the wonderful 'Pillow Box Die'! Love it!

Check back tomorrow for some more beautiful projects made by other members of the 'Blue Angel' Stampin' Up! team!

Swap Shop!

Hi all! On Tuesday i went out for a lovely meal with some of the ladies from the Stampin' Up! team i belong to - blue angels! We had some good food and talked crafts!! The main topic of the night was the retirement list and the sale!!

Whenever we meet up we all try to make some swaps! In other words we all design a project and make several of them to share with everyone else! It's great! I have lots of lovely things to share with you over the next coming weeks! (and we're meeting up again on Saturday so will have even more!!)

So today i have the project that i swapped:

Here's a close up:

The cardbase used is 'Crumb Cake', i have used some 'Very Vanilla' cardstock and stamped the sentiment (from the 'Because i Care' stampset) in 'Baja Breeze' the strips of 'DSP' are from the 'Springtime Vintage' collection and the ribbon used is 'Baja Breeze' 'Seaming ribbon', secured in place by some 'Red Sticky Strip'.

You will notice that it is a variation of the card that i made for Julie Halls - so not overly original - however it was a lovely quick make and with a quick change of sentiment could make some lovely thankyou cards!!

Keep checking back to see the swaps that all my clever Stampin' Up! friends have made!!

Because I Care: A card for Julie

The lovely thing about card making is that you can send a card to friends and family members that totally suit the purpose, rather than trawling around the shops or settling for something less than perfect.

It's lovely to send a card to someone for a happy purpose - a birthday, a celebration, a wedding or anniversary, but sometimes you need to send a card to someone who needs to be cheered up.

A Stampin' Up! friend of mine - Julie Halls is having a bit of a tough time at the mo, and i just wanted to let her know that i'm thinking of her and personally i feel there's no better way than a handmade card:

I have CASE'd this card, but cannot find the name of who originally made it so sadly can't give the artist credit - sorry. the cardbase is 'Crumb Cake'. I have layered some strips of  'Springtime Vintage DSP' onto a rectangle of 'Very Vanilla' cardstock. I wrapped around some 'Baja Breeze' 'Seaming Ribbon', stamped the 'because I CARE' sentiment (from the 'Because i Care' stampset) in 'Baja Breeze' (using my 'stamp-a-ma-jig' to ensure it's nice and straight!) and finally a coordinating 'Designer Button' with some 'Linen Thread' tied through!

I hope Julie likes this card and it makes her feel a little better about things, and when she's feeling up to it, it would be lovely to all meet up for a crafty crop!!

Welcome To The World Baby Green!!

There seems to be a baby boom at the moment and nearly all baby boys! Our friends Doug and Ally announced the birth of their little boy on the 27th August and he is just gorgous!! Here's the card i posted to them  to congratulate them on their new arrival (hopefuly they will receive it in the post either today or tomorrow):

I have seen so many cards like this online and there are several tutorials on how to create these 'onesie' cards and they're actually very quick and easy to make!!

The cardbase is 'Bashful Blue' (perfect for a little boy!) The head and leg holes have been made using the '1-3/8" Circle Punch' and the lace has been made by firstly punching out a '1-3/8" Circle' from 'Whisper White' and then punching a 'Scallop circle' around the remaining hole, to create a scalloped ring! Clever!! Finally three 'Basic Pearls' to embellish the front!!

A lovely little card and with a colour change could be suitable to celebrate the arrival of either a boy or girl!! Or why not make batches of them for baby shower invites, or arrival notices so you can inform friends and family of the safe arrival of your bundle of joy!! Don't have enough time to make them yourself? Drop me an e-mail for a quote: amyjtidd@gmail.com

Had a lovely meal out last night with some of the Stampin' Up! team i'm in! It was lovely to catch up and swap some ideas. I will be posting some of these over the next few days so watch this space!

My Nintendo DS Creation!

I'm so excited to be sharing this card with you! It's for my little cousin Callum, it was his birthday yesterday and i knew in advance that he was getting a Nintendo DS for his birthday so decided to challenge myself and make a Nintendo card. I started off by looking online for inspiration - but there were NO Nintendo DS birthday cards, that i could find, so i was on my own to create my masterpiece!! So using my own DS for measurements, this is what i came up with:

To start with, the cardbase is 'Marina Mist' with some 'DSP' from the 'Nursery Suite Speciality' collection.
The Nintendo DS was created from two rectangles of 'Whisper White' cardstock, the first one (which is used to create the bottom of the DS) i have rounded all four corners with the 'Corner Rounder', the top one i have rounded off the top two corners, scored the bottom of the rectangle and hand cut the two bottom corners out, to create a hinge. I stuck both of them together (using 'Red Sticky Tape' to create the console)

The screens were created from two 'Whisper White' rectangles and then two slightly smaller 'Baja Breeze' rectangles. I attempted to make Mario style screenshots, using scraps of 'Pumpkin Pie', 'Peach Parfait' and 'Marina Mist' to create the blocks, 'Pear Pizzazz' to make the pipe, 'Garden Green' and the 'Scallop Circle Punch' to make the bush and some 'Whisper White' to make some little clouds! I have used my 'Basic Black' 'Stampin' Write Marker' to add some extra detail, as well as write the Happy Birthday Sentiment.

The X, A, B and Y buttons have been made from scraps of 'Whisper White' punched out using the 'Owl Punch', the start and select buttons have been made using my 'Crop-a-dile', the button on the lefthand side is hand cut from 'Whisper White'. Finally all the detail was hand-drawn on with a 'Basic Gray' 'Stampin' Write Marker'.

The DS console has been glued onto the cardbase, in it's open form, the top of the DS has been raised using some Stampin' Up! 'Dimensionals' and the card fits snuggly into a 6x6 envelope!

I'd love to know what you think of my gaming make!!

Happy Birthday Seb and Callum!

Today is both my brother and my cousins birthdays! So happy birthday to Seb and Callum! I always find it difficult to make cards for teenage boys and so i've made some gadget related cards for them. I will share one with you today and keep one for tomorrow - oh the suspense!!!

So today, here is the card that i made for my brother Seb:

I was drawn towards the 'Pacific Point' cardstock for the base of the card (which is what i also used for his welcome home card, i then realised that it's probably because it's the colour of his bedroom!) and then ran a strip of 'Pacific Point' 'Brights DSP' along the side.

The i-pod has been created by cutting out a rectangle of 'Basic Black' card stock and then rounding off the corners with my 'Corner Rounder'. The i-pod screen has been made with a square of 'Sahara Sands' card, also with the corners rounded off. The sentiment is actually from the 'Fun and Fast Notes' stampset, inked in 'Basic Black' (tip: use your 'Stamp-a-ma-jig' to ensure it's nice and straight!) The i-pod dial has been constructed from a '1-3/8" Circle' punched from 'Sahara Sands' card and '1/2" Circle' punched from a scrap of 'Basic Gray' card. The earphones have been created from two 'Basic Black' circles (which are not punched - but actually the centres of the daisies made with the 'Flower Daisies Die' - if you don't have that then draw around a button and handsnip it) and i have layered two '1/2" Circles' punched from 'Basic Gray' card. I have raised these using some Stampin' Up! 'Dimensionals' and used some 'Silver Elastic Cord' to create the headphone cord.

This is not my original idea, there are lots and lots of variations of this card online, so i'm unable to give credit to the genius who originally designed this!! A perfect card for a teenager, which can obviously be made in any colour combo, with any sentiment to suit the recipient!!

Check back tomorrow as i have a Nintendo inspired birthday card to share with you - which is completely my own design! Can't wait to share it with you!!!

Parcel Gift Card Holder!

It's a weekend worth celebrating!! Not only is it a bank holiday weekend, which means everyone has more time off to chill and relax, there are also two birthdays to celebrate tomorrow - my brother Seb's, as well as my little cousin Callum's! So i have been very busy crafting in preperation and today i have a Parcel Gift Card envelope, inspired by Sue Bayliss (There's even a tutorial on there!!)

The card used for this is 'Real Red' and i have used 'DSP' from the 'Celebrations' collection. I have used a scrap of 'Pacific Point' to punch out a '1-3/8" Circle', placed a 'Real Red' 'Designer Button', with some 'Silver Cord' threaded through and tied a lovely big 'Real Red' 'Satin Bow' to place of the top!! You write your message on the back and place your gift card inside:

Notice i have punched half a circle out of the top, for easier access to the gift card and placed a small piece of velcro to open and close it!!

I'm entering this into the 'Cupcake Craft Challenge' (a great challenge site, which i have neglected for a while, as i have been away for most of the summer!) But now i'm back and ready to get involved!!

Check back over the next couple of days - i have some gadget related cards i have made for teenage boys birthdays to share with you!!

Have a great bank holiday weekend - i'm off to see Lee Evans tonight!! Woo hoo! Can't wait!!