Hubby's 40th - Card & Cake

 My hubby turned 40 recently and asked for a guitar for his birthday as he had always wanted to learn one.  We found a lovely blue left-handed one so I knew I had to make a card to match!  I used the beautiful card here for my inspiration.  I used a needle and thread to make the strings, and the black patch next to the "hole" is the wing from the XL Bird Punch.

Stamps: Itty Bitty Banners, Patterned Party, Woodgrain
Cardstock: Basic Black, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Pacific Point, Gold Glimmer Paper
Ink: Basic Black, Soft Suede
Accessories: Big Shot, Ovals Collection Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, 1" Circle Punch, Slit Punch, XL Bird Punch, Sponge Dauber, Gold Brads, Needle & Thread

Just wanted to share too, here's the cake I made for him to match his guitar as well.

 

I got my inspiration from here for this project.  Of course the cake was a hit too!

A Rustic Monotone Layout

 

I've had the stamp set "Creative Elements" on my wish list for ages.  I finally got around to ordering it and it arrived last week.  I knew exactly what photos I needed it for!

I tested out a number of different base cardstocks; Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Sahara Sand before deciding on Soft Suede.  I think the effect of the white swirls on it looks so cool!

 I wanted a rather rustic monotone feel to this layout to go with the photos which didn't have alot of colour in them either and just love how it turned out.  I also sanded around each photo which gave them a aged look.

Stamps: Creative Elements. Calendar Alphabet, Hearts A Flutter, Lovely As A Tree, Woodgrain
Cardstock: Soft Suede,Sahara Sand, Early Espresso
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Whisper White Craft, Garden Green
Accessories: Big Shot, Hearts A Flutter Framelits, Chipboard, Simple Letters Alpha Dies, White Bakers Twine, Sponge Dauber, Spritzer Tool, Stampin' Spritzer, Sanding Block

My Christmas Cards!

These little babies have recently been sent out to my nearest and dearest so I hope that they enjoy them because they were a labour of love!

I have a "thing" for the Pool Party colour and knew I wanted to use the new tulle ribbon, champagne glimmer paper and Heart of Christmas stamp so the design just grew from there.

I'm still not sure if I like the Early Espresso or Crumb Cake tulle better ...

... or the background trees stamped in Crumb Cake spritzed with Pool Party or stamped in Pool Party spritzed with Crumb Cake - these are difficult choices!

I have to show you the difference that the new Stampin' Spritzer tool makes too.  It's definately different to the Color Spritzer Tool which attaches to a marker.  The new tool actually holds water and a few drops of whatever coloured ink you like (in this case Early Espresso) then sprays it on!  How cool is that?  Better yet, it's only $NZ5.95 for 2!

 

While I was playing with designs I had my first go at a step card which I thought I'd share too:

Stamps: Heart of Christmas, Lovely As A Tree, Woodgrain Background, God's Blessings
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Champagne Glimmer Paper
Ink: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Big Shot, Adorning Accents Embossing Folder, Labels Collection Framelits, Jewelry Tag Punch, Sponge Daubers, Color Spritzer Tool, Stampin' Spritzer, Pearl Basic Jewels, Linen Thread, Crumb Cake/Early Espresso 3 1/2" Scalloped Tulle Ribbon

Lovely As A Tree Christmas Cards

I was inspired by some Christmas cards on SCS and ended up having to buy the Lovely as a Tree stamp set just so I could make them.

Of course I added my own twist (as you do) and was really pleased how they turned out. They were actually very fast and simple to make and once you have made a positive/negative oval template, it's all go!

Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, God's Blessings, Woodgrain
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla
Ink: Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Big Shot, Designer Frames Embossing Folders Set, Sponge Dauber, Spritzer Tool, Dazzling Diamonds

StampAMemory Challenge

The challenge this month at StampAMemory was to create a layout using this photo for inspiration:
Cute eh? This is what I came up with:
I thought I'd also add a photo of the layout with the photo on it as I came across a blog the other and the Demonstrator had done this and I have to say, it was wonderful! A photo can change the look of a layout dramatically. So when possible, I plan to do this myself!
To create the "heart" I die cut 7 flowers from the Blossom Party die, texture-embossed them, sprayed some water on, crunched them up, then rubbed the same colour stamp pad over them. I was planning on just creating a big flower like in the inspiration photo but after a little play, decided a heart was much more appropriate. I sprayed the blue heart with water after stamping to blur the image. For the title, I die cut the letters, applied glue, dazzling diamonds then a coat of crystal effects, they look so pretty in real life!

Stamps: Every Moment, Punch Potpourri, Pony Party, Woodgrain
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Old Olive, Rose Red, Marina Mist
Ink: Basic Black, Old Olive, Rose Red, Marina Mist, Versamark
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die, Blossom Party Originals Dies, Simple Letters Alphabet Bigz Dies, Heat Gun, White Embossing Powder, Sponge Dauber, Dazzling Diamonds, Crystal Effects

Happy Birthday Heather!

A big happy birthday to my Aunt who turns 70 today! I made a card especially for her. I know that she likes the colour purple, sewing and playing music (she's even a DJ at a radio station part-time), so incorporated those into her card. The inspiration for this card came from Sharyn Corsi but my card isn't half as nice as her was!Stamps: Sew Suite, Birthday Bakery (Hostess), Woodgrain
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Newsprint DSP
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black (Ink & Markers)
Accessories: Big Shot, Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, Victoria 5/8" Crochet Trim, Sponge Dauber, Spritzer Tool

"Bliss" Double Layout

As soon as I saw the Sale-A-Bration stamp set "Bliss" I just knew I had to have it! It's a lovely set, perfect for cards and scrapbooking alike! It also has a vintage feel to it.
With this layout, I wanted to keep the colours very muted so went for a total neutrals palette: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake and Whisper White. Very Vanilla would have worked too but as we were all wearing a cool blue colour, white was a better choice.
I based the layout on this sketch from Page Maps:
Sale-A-Bration finishes at the end of March, so if you love "Bliss" or any of the other three stamp sets available free when you spend $120, contact me now to place your order.

Stamps: Bliss, Woodgrain (Background Stamp)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Versamark
Accessories: Spritzer Tool, Heat Gun, White Embossing Powder, Brayer, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Photo Corner Punch, Sponge Dauber, Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Rhinestone Jewels