Better Get Better CTD#352 FMS #196

I have a friend who has been feeling poorly for several weeks. I had actually thought that she had recovered until I rang her last Sunday, and she told me she was still under the weather. It's not good to feel off-colour for so long, so a cheer-up card is required I think.

The lime green, soft gray, darker gray and aqua colour scheme at Color Throwdown is very pleasing to my eye, and I've pulled Summer Silhouette from the shelf. The sentiment, 'better get better' is from A Dozen Thoughts. Work of Art was on my table too, so a swish of colour was popped over the sentiment. A few sequins have been pulled from a roll of Bermuda Bay and scattered around. I had another sketch in mind, but when I saw Freshly Made Sketches , I've run with that one.

Lastly, it seemed like a good idea to decorate the envelope so that Sharon knows she's getting 'happy mail' - the best mail ever!

Hope you're feeling well,
cheers
Rachel

One-of-a-Kind

I am in the middle of a FUN weekend with my family - and the winter sunshine is quite pleasant too.
For those who do not know, I'm the proud mum of five grown boys, three of those are married with children of their own. Six grandchildren, who are all absolutely delightful, of course. Spending time with these people adds such a lot to my life. Friday afternoon and evening was spent with my youngest grandson, Oliver aged 13 months. We went to the park, made a card for his mum & dad, read picture books and he ate and slept when he was meant to, so we were all very happy with that.
This afternoon, one of my sons and I caught a train into the city to see The Rocky Horror Show. This is at least the third production I've seen, but it was every bit as enjoyable as if I were seeing it for the first time ever. It was also fun to share an afternoon out with Will.

This evening I've continued to think about my boys, and getting birthday cards made for them. Only one was born in the first half of the year, so the other four will be scattered through June, July, September and October. I bought Guy Greetings purely for the cluster of tools because one son is a plumber, another is a carpenter. Apart from that, my husband is pretty handy with tools too, so I knew this stamp set would be VERY useful.





I started making this card entirely differently, but wasn't very happy with the way it looked, so I checked out some challenges and settled on this one at Fusion Card Challenge. They've called it 'Blue Skies and Smooth Sailing', but I saw the sketch, colours I like and woodgrain.



I used Hardwood, because this card is for the carpenter. Lost Lagoon, a touch of Night of Navy, and some Hello Honey are the chosen colours. There will be plenty of room inside for birthday greetings because I used 'one-of-a-kind card for a one-of-a-kind person' instead. A Dozen Thoughts has been a much-used stamp set since it was released, but I have never, ever inked this particular sentiment. It occurred to me today that it was perfect for my son, because each and every one of them is one-of-a-kind. I love these little differences, as much as the similarities. Hoping you (and Jacob) like the card.

Cheers,
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

In My Thoughts RS#136

Adding a tag to a card is a very popular technique currently, and I thought I'd give it a try using this sketch at RetroSketches this week.


I particularly liked the two banners with flagged ends on the sketch and decided that the top one would carry the message and the lower one would be in gold foil. They do a great job of 'grounding' the tag. I had a stamped rectangular piece already floating about my work table, which was easy enough to cut into a tag with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch. The bottom corners were rounded on the Envelope Punch Board.

Blackberry Bliss is such a strong shade it is possible to stamp it three times without inking in between, and still get a good, strong shade. That is evident in the small flowers next to the sentiment and on the lower left of the tag. One ink pad- three shades of purple, now that's good value!!!

I have used this colour combination a number of times over the last few days, but not all of them will make it onto the blog. I've loved using the Blackberry Bliss/Pear Pizzaz combination.
The only problem is, Blackberry Bliss is very difficult to photograph. To the eye, it looks very dark, but that then looks black in a photograph and when you lift the lighting level, it becomes rather bright looking. However, you can see that the base card has been stamped with the Summer Silhouette flowers as well, it was too plain without that.

I'm happy to have another card for my RAK stash, there have been a few needed lately with people in hospital, and living through difficult times, so it is nice to have a few on hand to write a quick message and pop into the post box.

Have fun getting inky!
Rachel

A Dozen Thoughts Wood Stamp Set

$46.95

A Dozen Thoughts Clear Stamp Set

$36.95

Summer Silhouettes Wood Stamp Set

$42.95

Summer Silhouettes Clear Stamp Set

$33.95

Clear Block Starter Bundle

$33.95

Banners Framelits Die

$45.95

Tag Topper Scalloped Punch

$39.95

Blackberry Bliss 3/8" Satin Stitched Ribbon

$15.95

Gold Baker's Twine

$5.95

Envelope Punch Board

$31.95

Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Pear Pizzaz Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Pear Pizzazz A4 Card Stock

$11.95

Blackberry Bliss A4 Card Stock

$11.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

It's A Girl RS118

I have been having a bit of a craft room clean-up today, and in between, running out to the shopping centre to the bank, Medibank and all the places that aren't open outside office hours. I do get very easily distracted from the job at hand though, which is why the craft room is never totally organised or tidy!!!

I wanted a card for a baby girl, and decided this sketch at RetroSketches was just perfect. I have lots of little pieces of white card to stamp some little images, to cut one inch squares etc, so away I went. I've had to redo the pink duck this afternoon, as I wasn't a bit happy with the way the first one came out - all motley. The bootees side-by-side didn't fit into a one inch square, but leaving one stamped in the square and hand cutting the other to lay on top worked.
Today was the first time I'd used the banner framelit from the Label Card Framelit (133479) and I love it! It looks so much like a folded banner, but its just inking. Delicate Designs Embossing Folders (127023) added the touch of lace I was after, I'm so glad it made it into the new catalogue.

The new stamp set, Something For Baby, supplied the main images and the sweet saying comes from A Dozen Thoughts.

Something For Baby has framelits for most of its images, and I used a One Inch Square Punch and layered those white squares onto Blushing Bride squares punched with Postage Stamp Punch.

Now I'm looking forward to the weekend and an invasion tomorrow of children and grandchildren.... Hope yours is a happy one too!
Rachel

Pretty Pink Pram CTD 295

At the end of the post is a lovely inspiration picture. When I look at the quilt in this picture, I think of soft, sweet, snuggly baby girls. I have one of those in my life now, and as her dad (my son) says, "that little girl rules the house". Never mind that she has two fine, big brothers, I completely understand why she is boss. By the way, she is only 15 months old!!!
Color Throwdown provided this combination of pinks this week,its been fun playing along with this challenge.

I was thrilled to receive my pre-order today (we are a month behind the US) and in it was the new stamp set Something For Baby. What's extra-nice about this set, it comes with matching framelits, Baby's First Framelits dies. I haven't really properly unpacked the order yet, so many other things to get done on a Friday, so tonight I finally sat down to have a little play, and this is what I came up with.

Congratulations is from the retiring Cuddles & Kisses stamp set, It's a Girl is from A Dozen Thoughts. They go very nicely together, don't you think? Melon Mambo is the only current colour out of the three, so luckily I haven't sold the retired markers yet, and I was able to colour the wheels in Bravo Burgundy. I still have a little bit of Pretty In Pink card left too, so I was able to use that for the card base and a layer.

Now what else will I play with from my order...?

Rachel

It's A Boy! PP193 & DD100

Today started with lovely Autumn sunshine, but has become drearier as the day progressed so I do not feel guilty in the least, escaping to indulge in some card making.
This time I've gone for a baby boy card. My daughter-in-law, due to have a little boy in June, has had to stop work this week, to allow her little man to gain some weight. A work colleague, due to deliver in the same hospital as my D-I-L, same week too, is expected to finish work at the end of next week. There are others coming this year too, so you can never have too many of these cards in your stash.

I've stuck with the final colour challenge from the wonderful team at Dynamic Duos, Pool Party, So Saffron and Smokey Slate.
(Dynamic Duos design team -Please reconsider!)



I've used three Stampin' Up! stamp sets for this card and the sketch from Anne Marie The Paper Players. You must check out the design teams cards, I want to CASE everyone of them! I have to say I was glad I'd ordered the Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack (130135) because I have a enormous supply of perfectly colour-matched patterned paper now. I embossed with the Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder (129984) and layered my strip and square of subtles paper onto Whisper White. It gave a 'cleaner' look than when I had it on the matching colour.

I used only one footprint from Baby Prints (125472 C) because two needed a larger circle or some toes were amputated! I then used Smokey Slate to stamp 'it's a boy'  from A Dozen Thoughts(131056W) , over the top and under that 'congratulations' from Cuddles & Kisses (131913). I will use a verse from Cuddles & Kisses inside too. I believe this stamp set and Baby Prints are retiring in the US, so chances are they will here too. Check them out on page 56 of the catalogue to see if you might need them.

There is an underline on the greeting, in pearls, and three to the right, as well as a loop of the retired ruffled ribbon in Pool Party.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, leave a comment if you like,
Rachel

Exciting news! 

LeAnne picked my card as a 'Cut Above' at the Paper Players! You made my day LeAnne!

Patchwork 'Just Because' retrosketches #110

In another lifetime I was a patchworker and I still have enough fabric stockpiled to open a Pop Up Shop. This retro sketch  challenge kind of reminds me of patchwork, so as well as cutting triangles, I paper pierced (stitching) and adhered some pretty buttons with mini glue dots. The Coastal Cabana and Bermuda Bay were close to hand because of my last card, and the lovely DSP Afternoon Picnic is a perfect fit for those colours too. A Dozen Thoughts is the stamp set 'just because' belongs to, and I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig for perfect placement.

It was an quick and easy card to make, my main difficulty is getting enough light to take the photo.

 Happy stamping
Rachel

Postscript: 4th May 2014, Just found out, my card got a shout out at Retro Sketches, what a happy feeling that gives me!

Sympathetic Birds

I did a lot of chores yesterday, so today I've happily pottered around home. One of the things I had to do today, was replace the ink in my printer and that leads me into my craft space, which in turn leads me to sitting and checking out the challenges! Oh! Is that where the afternoon went?

Sketch #15 at Seize the Sketch seems to follow the lines of the card that everyone is making with the Tag Topper Punches. I thought I could work with it anyway. Then I saw the colours in the challenge at PPA Color Challenge and thought they were perfect for this sympathy card. The birds in a tree are from Serene Silhouettes and 'You're In My Thoughts' is from A Dozen Thoughts.

Inside is a verse from a 2011 stamp set, Thanks For Caring, which sadly, never made it into an annual catalogue. I prefer this verse over all others for a sympathy card. "May you find peace and comfort in this difficult time and know that you are loved."

No doubt you've realised that the colours are Smokey Slate, Night of Navy and Wisteria Wonder. I had Night of Navy card but not ink so I substituted Midnight Muse, and used a piece of the ribbon too. There was a silver foil Starburst circle left over from another card, so I added that too. A tiny Wisteria Wonder Candy Dot is placed on the greeting.

I'm heading out of town tomorrow for my grand daughters first birthday and Monday is a work holiday in my state - Labour Day,  celebrating the 8 hour working day.

Hope you have something nice planned too...
Rachel

Envelope Punch Board Boxed Cards

Now that life is beginning to settle back to normal routine, I've had a chance to have a big play with my Envelope Punch Board. I tried out various sizes of envelopes, a bow for a card, a bonbon (mine is more a Valentine's Day version) and some gift boxes. All good fun, but I wanted to try out some small boxes or large envelopes to hold a set of cards. There are lots more samples at Just Add Ink's blog, they're setting the Envelope Punch Board or Thinlet card as their challenge.

I wasn't sure where to go until a fellow demonstrator pointed me here, to Stamp & Scrap with Frenchie. Frenchie has sorted out the formula for making boxes of any size, its well worth taking a look.
 So, for some reason I decided to make a set of cards 5½ inches square. That's WAY big really, and it meant I had to search out a piece of 12" by !2" card for the box. Never mind, I had some So Saffron that size and even though it isn't listed as a co-ordinating colour on Watercolor Wonder DSP, like most of the Stampin' Up! colours, it fits in beautifully. These papers are gorgeous, you'll find them in the NEW Occasions mini Catalogue, so I mounted a 4½ inch square of DSP onto another shade of card and kept stamping to a minimum. Did you notice the rounded corners? The Envelope Punch Board has a corner rounder incorporated, so now I don't have to go searching everywhere for my long lost corner punch. Some of the cards are stamped with an image or two from Happy Watercolor, also in the new Mini catalogue. Others have a greeting from A Dozen Thoughts. Between those two stamp sets you have things covered. The envelope is quite easy to construct, fits 4 cards and 4 envelopes very comfortably (could possibly fit more) and then you get to decorate.

Envelope, Bonbon & Bow

I decided to go crazy with my flower punches and the leaf die from Secret Garden. I crumpled the flowers and worked them with my bone folder to soften the paper fibres and you get a softer looking flower. That is attached with dimensionals, and then you can slip the tip of the envelope under neath to hold it all closed. I added a belly band, only for decoration in this case. I love the gelati colours, what do you think?



I have a lot more crafting and blogging to do before I head back to my "other" job next week. Would you like to leave a comment so I know you visited?

Catch you soon
Rachel

You Made My Day

I'm having such a lot of fun with the new catalogue goodies, but my most favourite item has to be the new Big Shot Magnetic Platform. In the past, I was a little bit reluctant to use the Adorning Accents Edgelits because they always ended up crooked and it took so many pieces of card to get the result I was after. There are magnets inside the platform to hold your edgelits and framelits in place and it REALLY works!
I've been making good use of it this weekend, you'll see I used it twice to cut the Crumb Cake and Bermuda Bay card with the Adorning Accents Edgelit and I also used it to cut the Apothecary Accent Label.
The stamp set is an older one, still current though and a VERY useful one, for the tree image and this graceful floral bough. Its called Thoughts and Prayers, so it also includes some lovely greetings for bereavement and ill health. I've punched the flower pot using the Cupcake Builder Punch out of Venetian Romance DSP (so is the label at the top of the card). The colours in these papers are Crisp Canteloupe, Island Indigo, Pistachio Pudding, Soft Suede, Tangerine Tango and Very Vanilla.
I added some Itty Bitty flowers in Strawberry Slush and Crisp Canteloupe punched with one of the Itty Bitty Shapes Punches with pearl centres. There is a piece of the Bermuda Bay 1/8" taffeta Ribbon and a small button from the new Brights Button range, with a pearl on top too.

The sweet greeting is from a fantastic Hostess set Express Yourself. It contains 12 greetings in this script and you can earn this and other benefits if you hold a party in your home with sales over $300. Or you can party on your own and by submit an online order totalling $300, before shipping costs are added and you will receive an additional $50 worth of products of your choice, which might include Express Yourself.

Last Sunday I had some much appreciated help from my friend, Alison Douglas, (check out Alisons blog here) to learn a bit more about the Stampin' Up! MDS (My Digital Studio) and I thought I'd send here a card to say thanks. Inside I've used the greeting, you made my day, which comes from a new stamp set A Dozen Thoughts.

Catch you soon
Rachel

Thoughts and Prayers- $35.95(clear)

Express Yourself - Hostess

Page 184 $69.95 (Australia)