Make it Monday meets A Passion for Papertrey

Whilst I was in background stamping mode I had a go at the challenge over at A Passion for Papertrey this fortnight - to create with the colours below....

I used melon berry, spring moss and chocolate with Turning a New Leaf and Flower Fusion number 9 - the focal is from the 2011 Holiday Tags set and it's mounted on some melon berry felt - I know I'm in the minority but I love melon berry!

I needed a few tags so knocked up a few with the same colour scheme using the tag die and the flower fusion no. 9 die.

Here is a close up of the new formula ink in spring moss - it stamps beautifully - much better than the last spongy formula but I now have 3 spring moss ink pads!

Many thanks for stopping by this weekend - hopefully yours has been as relaxing as mine!

Make it Monday

Or in my case it's Make it Sunday!

I haven't done a Make it Monday before but I love to make a big sheet of background paper and cut it up and for this card I used my new Christmas Poinsettia stamp set.

Although the red poinsettias are the traditional kind I like the pink and white versions that are in the shops for the last few years - so I stamped mine in raspberry fizz with metallic gold centres.  The leaves are from Turning a New Leaf stamped in the new formula spring moss ink - I really love it but is anyone else having a real problem getting the lids off??

Right - it's the last episode of Downton Abbey tonight - I'm going to miss my Sunday night fix!

Simple Silhouette

At A Passion for Papertrey this week the challenge is to include sillhoutettes and as I have hardly used my Iconic Images I pulled it out for this card as a last minute entry.

I used veracolour inks to stamp the background and tried to match the Autumn Rose cardstock.  I just love this colour and the ribbon is so pretty!

I hope you had a great weekend - I went off into town today to the Degas exhibition at the Royal Academy - it was just fantastic and a real treat to see so many fabulous paintings and now I "need" to have a bronze ballerina!

October PTI Blog Hop

Such a great inspiration photo for this month's blog hop that I fished out some supplies and had a crack - it's been ages since I joined in.

In my recipe for this card - Daydreamer stamps on stampers select white card in Persimmon versacolour ink, Autumn Abundance dp and terracotta tile ribbon.  Simply Chartrause card base and some orange card to match those lovely pumpkins from my stash.

Now I look at it I wished I had stamped some flourishes on the card base to match the orange and white pumpkin but it's done now!

Thanks for popping by - enjoy the hop!

Daisies and Doilies

I managed to drag myself out of the crafting doldrums this weekend and get my crafting goodies out onto the table for a play.

Seeking inspiration to kick start me I went over to Melissa Bickford's blog to look at her flower fusion samples - I love this one where she has stamped a sheet of daisies.  I don't have the same # 9 as it's on its way over so I used the flower from Floral Frenzy stamped in plum pudding, hibiscus burst, spring moss and summer sunrise.

There is a feast of die cutting on this card - nestabilities, Parisian lace doilies, sending you leaves, photo finishers and bloom builders # 3 - no wonder I needed new plates for my little cuttlebug!  I am saving my pennies for a Grand Calibre machine - or maybe Santa might take an early hint!

DT Inspiration Challenge at APFP

"Our new challenge for the next fortnight is to find a card or project created by one of the amazing Papertrey Ink DT members and let it inspire you to create something from it".

I love to go straight to the Papertrey DT's blogs when I get new stamps and usually have a go at one or two as my jumping off point - I'm sure I am not alone!

I didn't have to look far for my inspiration for the first card below as I am a lucky girl and I have the original on my inspiration cork board which Dawn gave to me when I met her and Bartley in London earlier this year.

and here is Dawn's card....

Second off is a case of Maile Bells' lovely Simple Sunflower card.  I was attemping to do a rock and roll technique with the inking of the flowers with versacolour chalk ink but it's not too obvious from the photo.  When I first got the vine boarder I cut loads of strips with odd bits os card so they came in handy for this card.  This is off to Hawaii to a dear and generous friend!

and here is Maile's infinitly better card.......

Right - cards blogged, family fed, ironing for our holiday finished - it's time to settle down for Downton Abbey - so pleased it is back tonight! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely week ahead. I'll be back when we get back from our jollies!

Morning Glories and Asters

My friend Sharon who is on the DT of Daring Cardmakers said they were having a dare over there to use September's flowers - Morning Glory and Asters and she was sure I had some of those!  How right she was.........

Morning Glory stamp by Flourishes, sentiment by There She Goes and Papertrey card and ribbon.  The layout is from Clean and Simple blog - FTL 156.

I thought that the pink flowers on the card below looked a bit like asters - spiky petals - but after I had spent ages choosing buttons for the centres and sticking them down I googled asters and found they had yellow centres so along with the black leaves I used some artistic licence!

When our Papertrey parcel arrived Sharon and I had a big die cutting session with each others dies - the lovely large one here is one of Sharon's that I love - I think it's by Tim Holtz - all other supplies from Papertrey.

Thanks as always for stopping by.

All Bagged Up

There's a lot of Papertrey goodness going on tonight especially the new bloom builder die that I have been itching to play with and have been on a bit of a die cutting frenzy all week.  I used four dies here - apart from the bloom builders there is the favour box, leaf and mat stack die.  My poor cuttlebug has suffered though and I have snapped two B plates and curled an impression plate in a perfect arc - I don't think it's meant to do that!

I used hibiscus burst dotty paper for the bloom - just one layer of each size - but having experimented later with two layers of each size it does make a fuller flower.  The script is from Half and Half and the leaves from Turning a New Leaf.

It looks like we are set for a good weekend here at last - have a good one whatever you are up to - I am off to slip this into the latest challenge over at APFP!

Plum Mums

My lovely friend Betty is such an enabler!  She told me that Copic were having a price rise and would I like some before they went up? Never one to say no I ordered some of the new Copic marker colours and she posted them over to me.  So I had to make a thank you card using those same new colours - it is such a pretty set!

The plum pudding cardstock is stamped with Damask Designs in Versamark and the flower in Memento Tuxedo black ink. A slip of ribbon and a sentiment from the same stamp set (love that font!) finished it off.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little Sweetie

I think the cherries from Papertrey's Fruit Fusion stamps are just about my favourite in the collection - small and fiddly to stamp on the die cut but cute.

I tried to get a better impression with the impression plate by buying a new rubber mat - no more shims - but even with Paul pressing down the sandwhich and me cranking the handle of the cuttlebug we couldn't get it to go through - so frustrating - so it was back to thin mats and cardstock.

The poppy cardstock is stamped with the gingham background but it's a bit hard to see in this photo.
Over at A Passion for Papertrey there is an Anything Goes challenge - so if you have some Papertrey supplies it is well worth having a go  and being in with a chance to win some Papertrey Goodies.

Stamps-a-faire Challenge #3, 4 and 6

For my last hurrah tonight I thought I would combine three challenges in one.  Challenge number 4 was to use " Ripe Avocado, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores & Enchanted Evening".  Now I have always thought blue and green should never be seen or I think that's how the saying goes, but if Lisa Johnson can have blue and turquoise flowers then I'm game!

For number 6 "Your challenge this afternoon is to use the little notch technique to hold twine or ribbon in place across the cover of your project. You can use a circle punch of any diameter to create a round notch or a square punch for a square notch".

Here I used a small circle punch to notch out the ends and wound around some twine and popped on a ripe advocado button.

And finally challenge 3 -  "Punch a window from you card cover and tie ribbon or twine from the window to the side of your card"

I used the die from Sending You and popped it all up on foam squares.  The stamp set is Botanical Silhouettes.

That's it from me tonight - have a lovely evening if you are still crafting away!

Stamps-a-faire Challenge #2

 " We would love to see your take on pairing up a hot pink, like Raspberry Fizz, with a charcoal grey (like Smokey Shadow)."

My next card up for the Stamps-a-faire challenge is my take on a Clean and Simple blog sketch.  I made some flowers from Raspberry Fizz felt and buttons and as the only bit of grey that I possess is Smokey Shadow ink, I used that to make the diagonal lines from Distressed Stripes.

It's getting dark here so I think I will have to call it a night - I'm looking forward to seeing the other challenges - maybe I'll have a go tomorrow but I know there will be lots of inspiration to be had!

Stamps-a-faire Challenge #1

Today over at Papertrey Ink there is a Stamps-a-faire going on - it's times like this when I do wish money was no object and I was able to just hop on a plane and join in - but that's not possible right now (but it may not be a dream anymore - Fliss has just got her dream job with Virgin Atlanic and I plan on being front of the check-in queue when she qualifies for her free flights in 6 months time!!) so instead I thought it would be fun to join in the challenges today!

Enough rabbitting and onto the challenge -

"Create a project featuring patterned strips that are created with some of your favorite decorative elements"

I had this old Mojo Monday sketch printed out on my desk so went with that for my card - the carnation image is from Year of Flowers collection with Melon Berry ribbon and buttons - my favourite design elements!

I coloured the carnation in Melon Berry colours with Copics. The base card is white stampers select and the decorative strips of paper are from an old pack of SU papers that I discovered whilst having a sort out!

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your weekend!

The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop

I'm popping in tonight to let you know about a wonderful online ribbon shop that my friend Sarah has opened today -

The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop   

please do go have a look at the lovely ribbon that Sarah has stocked - I am in love with the pretty seambinding colours, the great twine and divine silk wrinkle ribbon especially!

Good luck Sarah!

Anniversay Pair

We've had a pretty awful week in the Blanshard household - on Monday in the early hours we were burgled whilst we were asleep. After they had cruised downstairs and picked up handbags, laptops and camera equipment they drove off in my lovely new VW Tiguan.

It's taking us a while to get straight and replacing lost bank cards, filling out insurance forms is taking time and energy none of us have - I keep remembering things that were in my handbag - like driving licence and super sunglasses, favoutite lippy and nail varnish - but we are all safe which is the most important thing!

It's mine and Paul's 24th wedding anniversary tomorrow so we thought we would have a bit of a treat to cheer ourselves up.  I was given a gift last year before Christmas for a tour of Kennsington Palace and champange afternoon tea at The Orangery so off we drove into town - the gardens were packed with families sunning themselves and it was a lovely walk through the park. 

Here is Paul standing in line - I don't think I've ever queued for a cup of tea before!

We were lucky to get a table outside - it was a beautiful day and the champagne slipped down a treat.  We had finger sandwiches, orange scented scones with clotted cream and pretty pastries!

When we got home there was time for me to get out some new stamps and have a play at making an anniversary card - I've kept it simple as Paul doesn't do fussy and I haven't felt much like crafting this week.  Fruit Fusion - Pears, stamped in white snow ink onto craft cardstock and then the die cut pears were stamped in summer sunrise and new leaf ink.

Some better news to finish the post - my car was found down in Kent with new number plates on and the police say it is in immaculate condition - phew!  I love that baby - it was my pride and joy and I am so looking forward to getting it back when the forensic people have had a dusting on it!  When I can get the name of the Officer who spotted that the plates didn't match the tax disc I am going to make him the best thank you card I can!

A Few Quickies

Here are a few cards that I made last week - I just got some new stamps and my Papertrey anniversary sets were in there too - result!  Many thanks again to the lovely Betty for bringing them over for me.

The first two flowers are from the Year Of Flowersset and coloured with Copic markers - I am loving the blues I got recently!  Both sentiments are from Botanical Silhouettes - great script!

This last one is after a recent Mojo Monday sketch and the flowers from Botanical Silhouettes stamped onto Sweet Blush cardstock - it's a pretty effect.

A Recipe Card

The challenge over at A Passion for Papertrey this week is a recipe -

A dollop of colour (3 colours - plus neutrals if required, e.g black/white)

A sprinkling of buttons (2 buttons)

A pinch of ribbon (1 Ribbon)

and here is my take on the recipe - summer sunrise, harvest gold and spring moss with a couple of sunrise buttons and  the same in ribbon!  Just what I need on this wet and chilly weekend.

I die cut the doily from bitty dots paper - I wasn't too sure at first but it's grown on me.  Thanks  for stopping by this weekend!

Round and Round

Here are two variations on the same theme - little round cards made from large scallop nesties.  I was on a cuttlebugging fest with these two!  Impression plate, turning a new leaf die and  blossoms dies - all from Papertrey as is the felt  and stamps.

A Song Challenge

This weeks challenge over at A Passion for Papertrey is to make a card inspired by music or a song.  I was thinking of what I could make with two new stamp sets that I was given last week by a very special lady I met in London ;) when the word celebrate on the Hello, Friend stamp made me think of this song by Kool & The Gang!  An oldie but goodie.

I stamped some antique cream cardtock with the background basics: sheet music in Chai ink, the leaves are stamped in versamark and the celebrate flower in berry sorbet.  The felt and the cardstock are melon berry!

There is still time to join in the challenge so do go have a peek at what everyone has done too!

Papertrey May Blog Hop

This is a last minute entry for May's blog hop - we have just got back from a concert at the Royal Albert Hall seeing Roger Hodgeson - do you remember him as the lead singer and songwriter of the band Supertramp?  Well he was just fantastic and Paul and I were so glad we got to see him and we had excellent seats too. The last time I saw the band was in about 1979 - how time flies!

So here is my In Bloom card using my rather neglected dies and touched up a bit with copic markers on the flowers to give a bit of depth.

Thanks for stopping by as always!

Pretty Petals

I was looking at Dawn McVey's blog yesterday where she is showcasing her new stamps for the Papertrey release and thought that her wedding wishes  card that she made reminded me a bit of SU's Pretty Petals set.  I have taken out Pretty Petals a few times to add to my selling pile and today I am glad that I never let it go!

So here is card number one where I used Dawn's layout and changed up the stamps.  I think my lack of photo editing skills has made this more pinky than it is in real life!

All the supplies apart from the flower stamps are from Papertrey.  

I went square for my second card and added a bit of embossing on the bottom portion like Dawn's. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Spring Daffodils

The challenge over at a Passion for Papertrey this fortnight is a sketch challenge and I love a sketch to kick start the old mojo.  I stamped on the Pretty Pastels paper which I used a copic or two as a highlight and loaded it up onto a Parisian lace doily.

The card base is Harvest Gold with stripes of bitty dots paper and a tag from the new tiny tags dies.

Do go over and see what the other girls have done and if you enter you could win a great Papertrey prize!

Mother's Day Cards

I am a bit late in posting my Mother's day cards mainly as we have just got back from a lovely break up in the  North Yorkshire Moors.  I had two cards to make - for my dear Mum and my Mother in Law - so to save any problems I made the same design in both lilac and pink colourways!

The stamp set is the CHA set called Four of a Kind and the little sentiment is from the Siberian Iris stamps by Flourishes.

Make It Monday

Its been so good to have a nice long break this Easter - with the Easter weekend followed by our Royal Wedding today (did you watch?  wasn't it spectacular?  what did you think of The Dress?) there is no work until after the Bank Holiday.  Plenty of time to try my first Make it Monday - you can see Nicole Heady's video of how to do a line frame here.

I used some flowers made from the Beautiful Bloom dies, stamped with the Beautiful Blooms II and Sending You stamp sets in hibiscus burst, berry sorbet and sweet blush inks.  The leaf stamp and die are from Turning a New Leaf and the sentiment is from Think Big Favourites number 1.

Thanks for stopping by today - I hope you are having a lovely long weekend! 

Ribbon Shopping

I have to share this great shop with you!  V V Rouleaux is in a little road just off the bottom of Marylebone High Street in London and I have been planning a visit for ages but not got around to it - and as shopping is always more fun with a friend it made part of a good day out last Saturday.

I took along a bag of Papertrey card stock so I could match up colours that I was running low on and I wasn't disappointed!  There was so much to choose from I was like a kid in a sweetie shop. Just look at all that satin ribbon in every size and colour.......

They don't just sell ribbons - there's everything you need to make beautiful fascinators, wedding headdresses and cushions are there - you can check out their website here as they also do mail order :)

VV Rouleaux

Catch Up!

It's been a while I know, but with all the lovely weather I have been spending as much time in the garden as I can.  All the borders are now clear and the lawn mown - all ready for planting over the May bank holiday weekend - my best time for planting out.

My friend Pam came over for a few days of crafting and shopping and whilst she was here she said how the papers I have used here were "just her colours" so I put this card together for her birthday!    I saw this great card by Teresa Kline and had a chance to use some Verve stamps to case it.  I'm not sure who makes the papers as Pam was given them by another friend but they sure are pretty.

I had a little time today to play and as the same papers were still on the table I made this card using some new Papertrey goodness - the mat stack 4 die which a new Papertrey buddy Sharon gave me stamped in lemon tart with the woodgrain backgound, some flowers cut with new dies (been waiting ages for them to come back in stock) and harvest gold and pinefeather felt - the pinefeather felt looks black in this photo but in reality is a very dark green.

Also in my parcel was the Sending You stamp set and die which I've used here with some dotty biscotti paper and more flowers - just a quickie but I like the colours together.

Finally some Modern Basics - I am having so much fun playing with this set and I'm so glad I got it - stamped in navy and pale blue versacolour inks onto white card and made for Pam's husband Terry who is recovering from surgery this week.

So there you go!  Hope you are having a great weekend too.