Hello, thank you for all the messages about my last post and the extension we are having built. We now have concrete footings and the block work starts today, I will do a pictorial update every week so you can see how it’s getting on.  I haven’t yet even thought about my new room and organising all my things, I guess because it will be the last thing to be done.  I think it will be May time before I’m ready to move into my room, but do please send me links to pictures of great craft rooms I am looking forward to all the planning.

Today’s card is the last one from my vintage class, it was so big it needed a box!

I have used both Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler seam binding which has a lovely vintagy sheen and style.  Don’t the vintage tags look great, they are slightly rusty !

The card is a square easel, very straightforward to make but looks impressive.

We used Everything Eleanor and scrumpled, stamped, embossed, heat embossed and used Champagne Shimmer paint all over.  The flowers are make layering up the doily punch onto the scallop circle punch, scrumpling, stamping and topping off with a pearl.  The ribbon bow is attached using glue dots it keeps the swags looking lovely.

I am currently working on my class list for next year, do sign up for my email newsletter (link is on the right) and you will get to see the list as soon as it is finished.

Happy Stampin’

Look at these wonderful creations !

Happy Stampin’

Last Christmas card for this week, I’m not sure the camera has picked this up, but there is a definitely dazzle on the tree!  I have used a mixture of Dazzling Diamond and White embossing powder to make a frosty snow look on my tree.

New stamps tomorrow!!!!

Stamps : Lovely as a Tree, Seasonal Wishes
Inks: Old Olive, Versamark
Cardstock: Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Cutter kit, Red gingham ribbon and White embossing powder mixed with Dazzling Diamonds.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Last week I had a lovely Fast and Fabulous class of Christmas cards, all quick and simple we made 5 cards and a little box in 2 hours.  If you would like to find out more about my classes please click here.

Each card is easily duplicated at home to make your Christmas card making a fun and speedy crafting experience. The sentiment on the card is Seasonal Wishes, it is half price as it’s on the last chance list…….£7.98 for 6 wonderful sentiment stamps.

Stamps : Season of Joy, Seasonal Wishes
Inks: Old Olive, Versamark
Cardstock: Ski Slope designer paper, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Ribbon, 1 1/4″ and 1 3/8″ circle punch and White embossing powder

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

These are some of the lovely cards I have received this week, the first was from my Mum for my anniversary, she has used the So Swirly wheel with an un-inked cartridge that she filled with versamark ink and then clear embossed it. Fantastic!

More embossing on this card lovely vibrant card from Marilyn,

This card is from the lovely Michele, to remind me of the fun I had wallpapering over the summer!

I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

On Tuesday I went to Karen’s for a wonderful workshop with a group of ladies who invite me every couple of months.  They are all very experienced crafters, so it is a lovely challenge to come up with something for them.

Karen asked for a Christmas theme and this is the card we made., the tree is both water coloured  and highlighted with the gel pen, and the little white thread on the button is the white gel pen too!  A little tip I learnt from one of my lovely downlines, Amy.

The sentiment if from Seasonal wishes, another set on the last chance list, don’t delay!

Stamps : Scandinavian Season and Wheel, Seasonal Wishes
Inks: Bashful Blue Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Versamark, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: White embossing powder, button,white gel pen

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

As promised here are a couple of cards using the very versatile Big Bold Birthday set, i was so pleased that this set is not retiring.

I have stamped the images in Versamark onto the designer paper and heat embossed them clear, it gives the paper a glossy finish and makes it much easier to cut out.  The ribbons on the balloons are drawn on with a marker and the bows on the presents is one of the stamps in the set.

Stamps : Big Bold Birthday
Inks: Elegant Eggpant, versamark
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst, Tea Party Designer series papers
Accessories: Clear embossing powder, White grosgrain ribbon, Elegant Eggplant marker

I’ve had a busy day today, planning for my team meetings this autumn, I have found a lovely hall, in Soberton 5 miles north of Fareham which will be perfect, it’s light and airy with a wonderful kitchen and  lots of parking.  I will be moving my classes there too, more details soon. You can see the hall here.

Remember to get your orders to me for the last chance list, I can take paypal so I can place your order immediately so you don’t miss out on your favourite stamp set!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Two cards to share with you today, inspired by the children’s wallpaper….I do get my inspiration from lots of different places and since I was looking to make some single layer cards I decided to give them a go.

This is Kimberley’s wallpaper on 2 walls the other 2 are Lilac.

Stamps : Baroque Motif, Spring Solitude
Inks: Basic Black, Lovely Lilac
Cardstock: Whisper White
Accessories: Whisper White grosgrain ribbon, Silver embossing powder

And now you’ll need sunglasses……this was the paper for 2 of Connor’s walls the other 2 are bright red!

Stamps : Wonderful Words, Spring Solitude
Inks: Real Red, Basic Black
Cardstock: Whisper White
Accessories: Real Red grosgrain ribbon

So where do you get you inspiration from? Please leave me a message I’d love to know.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

It was one of my friends birthdays last week, she doesn’t like lots of fussy things so a very simple card was in order, blues and browns her favourite colours.

The butterfly is stamped on vellum cardstock using versamark ink and heat embossed in gold.

Stamps : Occasional Greetings, Touch of Nature
Inks: Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip Textured card, Bashful Blue, Simply Scrappin’ kit Love Stories paper, Vellum card stock
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Gold embossing powder, Chocolate Chip ribbon

I had a wonderful Christmas in July class on Saturday, thank you so much ladies for a great day, my new class list is going out to all my customers later today and will be on the website tomorrow.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

This was my hostess gift to Elaine to say thank you for hosting us on Saturday and my make and take.

I have a new favourite colour combination Sage Shadow and Chocolate Chip so have designed my project around that, a very simple notebook.  Of course I needed to take the hostess a little gift, so have made a label for the bottle of wine, to match!

The tag is a luggage label attached with both Double stitched and Grosgrain Chocolate Chip ribbon.

For both projects I have used just the main Rose image and stamped in Sage Shadow first then the outline in Chocolate Chip, to get the glossy finish I over stamped in Versamark the background image and then clear heat embossed. The rose is then cut out and matted onto Naturals Ivory card, then Chocolate Chip and Sage Shadow card.  The note pad is covered with Kraft cardstock and a scalloped layer of Sage Shadow over Chocolate chip gives the final embellishment at the bottom.

Stamps : A Rose is a Rose
Inks: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Cardstock: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Naturals Ivory, Kraft
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Paper Piercer

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

This is a card cased ( copy and share enthusiastically!) from the lovely Julie.  A fellow demonstrator from the North of England.  I was blog hopping and found a card here I have changed the colours and papers, and have a bit of Amanda embossing magic…….. but essentially it is the same card, thanks Julie for sharing!  Julie clearly loved one of my cards too because she cased one of my cards here from a swap we had earlier on this year.

Here is my version, I have used Spiced Cider designer papers, the colours of the card are Really Rust and Old Olive.  The beer mugs I have coloured in with Blender pens and Really Rust ink which gives lovely shading.  To make the card I have used a piece of card 5 3/4″ x 10 1/2″ scored at 3 1/2″ and 7″  you then cut in a diagonal line to give this lovely shaped card, the best bit is you get 2 out of an A4 sheet!

And here is a little bit of magic, in order to make the beer foam, well foamy……..I used the tombow glue and sprinkled it with White embossing powder, you then heat it gently until the embossing powder melts ( the whole thing will bubble up.) You then allow it to cool and you get this lovely effect.  Do be careful though  because the top is dry but depending on how much glue you use under the top crust can be sticky so leave it to dry overnight.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Later this week I promise to have some cards not using Fresh Cuts!!!  But here are 2 more for you.

I’ve gone for a tonal orange combination for this card.  This first one is the large image stamped in versamark onto Whisper White card and clear embossed.  I have then taken a sponge dauber and rubbed Apricot Appeal ink all over the top, this makes the white pop out.  It’s matted onto Pumpkin Pie  card and the leaves are stamped top and bottom also in Pumpkin pie, a little More Mustard ribbon finishes the card.

A favourite style of card and a favourite colour combination……..Mmmm I think I need to step out of my comfort zone……….So a Chocolate Chip ‘Z’  card with the leaves stamped in Chocolate Chip ink.  The Large image is stamped in Chcolate chip ink, the flowers and leaves are coloured in with marker pens in Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery.  The message section is Whisper White stamped with the leaves in Pretty in Pink on a Pretty in Pink mat.  The card is finished with Pretty in Pink ribbon.

I’m off to find some inspiration for strange colour combinations and new card folds!  If you would like to suggest some please do and I’ll see what I can rustle up!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

It’s my Nephew’s birthday today he is 6 !  

He is a real inventor and engineer so I’ve made him a card he can take it apart to see how it works!

This is a fold flat box card made from Textured Close to Cocoa card with a chipboard ’6′ coloured and heat embossed with a little glitter.  Wrapped around the card is taffeta ribbon in Bashful Blue and a Whisper white scallop punch is hanging from silver cord.  On the scallop circle I have used the arch stamps from Crazy for Cupcakes stamped in Close to Cocoa and Bashful Blue and I’ve used the matching marker pens to write Joshua.  The springs are made from 26 gauge wire wrapped around a pencil and the toppers are stamped and cut out images from In the Stars again stamped in both Close to Cocoa and Bashful Blue.

Happy Birthday Josh xxxx

Happy Stampin’

Aunty Amanda 

Well my lovely Mum is 60 today, a very special birthday and she is now officially retired, though she works harder than most people I know!

Here is her card, quite bright very simple on the front……..

But the inside is a little bit special!

I have made the pop up using a very simple technique which I will do a tutorial on later during May.  But for those who can’t wait here is a picture of the mechanics……..

The card is a Basic Black textured card, with a Pink Passion inner and a third layer of Pink Polka dots Designer paper from the Playful Petals Simply Scrappin’ kit.  I have stamped the cupcakes onto Whisper white, coloured them with my lovely new markers and then gone over the  frosting with versamark and heat embossed clear to give a lovely glaze.  The front ‘mum’ is chipboard letters coloured with markers and heat embossed with clear powder.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

This was one of the projects on my Stamping but not on cards class.  It is made from Vellum, the great thing about Stampin’ Up!’s Vellum cardstock is it’s really strong but flexible so I have lots more projects coming up using it.

Now because pur classic ink is dye based it dries really quickly on cardstock but much slower on Vellum (as it’s non-porous) so you can use our classic coloured inks and heat emboss too! Make sure you only do about 10 stamped images though unless you are super speedy and then coat with clear embossing powder and heat. Because the Vellum cardstock is semi opaque I always use a slightly darker tone of ink when I am stamping, in this case I have used Really Rust.

Bag ‘n’ box

Card 5 ½ ” x 5 ½” scored at 1 ½ ” inch all the way around (Apricot Appeal)
Card stock 2” x 10 ¾ ” scalloped along one edge (Apricot Appeal card and stamped with Apricot Appeal ink)
Vellum cardstock 4” x 10 ¾ ”
Ribbon

1. Cut along the 1 ½” inch score lines at each corner of the card until you hit the 1 ½” inch score line in the opposite direction. Do this only on one line per side. This creates the tabs to hold the box section together.
2. Fold the box along all the score lines.
3. Fold all tabs in the same direction. Apply double sided tape to the four corners and fold the box to form the sides.
4. Decorate the vellum cardstock. Using Really Rust ink, stamp the images about 10 at a time then cover with clear embossing powder and continue until covered then heat.
5. Apply double sided tape to one of the long and one of the short edges of the vellum cardstock.
6. Begin by sticking the one corner of the vellum cardstock to the middle back of the box base. Wrap slowly and carefully around the base. Once you have stuck it all the way around join it to seal the bag section.
7. Scallop one edge of the strip of cardstock and stamp all over with co-ordinating ink. Wrap the scalloped edge around the box in the same way as before.
8. Gently crease the 4 corners of the bag and fold 2 sides in toward the centre to give the bag some shape.
9. Attach 2 x Round tab punches to make handles and tie with ribbon.

To all those wonderful mothers out there but especially to mine!!!!

Here is Mum’s card, I hope she likes it.  It’s made with 2 new stamp sets from the mini catalogue and some new Designer series paper called Tea party.

I’ve taken an A4 piece of card stock in Almost Amethyst and folded it in half to make an A5 card.  Cut off 1 1/2″ from the front and scalloped the edge and placed a 2″piece of the Tea Party paper on the inside to show through.  I’ve matted and layered Pretty in Pink, So Saffron and another piece of designer paper onto the front.  In white I have stamped and heat embossed 3 flowers on matching card stock and then re-stamped the middles and layered them with dimensionals using the Playful Petals stamp set.

I’ve used the fantastic Oval punch and Oval scallop punch for the sentiment which is from the Occasionally set.

I have stamped another sentiment on the inside from the Greetings Eight stamp set, this really made me smile………I’m not sure if it’s big enough for you to read but it says

” i just realised I’m turning into my mother… {lucky me!}   ”

So true…………

I hope you have a wonderful day

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

On the last few posts you may have noticed how wonky my photos are…..I try really hard to get them straight but don’t seem to manage it.  Now that’s usually because the light isn’t right so I move to try and get a better shot and it ends up in better light but wonky!  Well I hope you’ll be impressed with this card, it is actually straight!  You’ll have to go down to the end to find out what has changed………

So onto the actual card, I’ve had this card in my head for days, and you’ll see several variations of it this week as I get busy making swaps for my team meeting on Saturday and the Stampin’ Up! field training the following week.

I love the way the scrolls twist and turn, very simple, and with the little butterfly, I’m really pleased with the way it turned out.

I’ve used a Real Red base 8″ square scored at 4″ to give a tall thin card.  The I’ve stamped in Basic Black ink and used clear embossing powder and heat embossed.  Dye based ink is really quick drying and it’s not recommended that you heat emboss with it, but I was super quick and embossed each section as I went, giving the lovely glossy finish.  I went round the edges with the scroll for Baroque Motifs, then the little flower and finally the butterfly from Touch of Nature.

Now the reason my photo is straight is because I have a light box to take pictures of my cards in, my lovely hubby Brian bought it for me and I’ve been meaning to get it out but it’s a little larger than we expected………I asked for one that would fit on our dining room table, just big enough for a card or 2.

This is the size it starts out

And this is the size it pops into!

Lets hope it continues to help me with my photos, it’s certainly big enough!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Lots of votes for the Chocolate Lime card last week so here is another one just for you………

Using the same set Tart and Tangy as the previous card I’ve stamped the citrus image, to make a Lime in Green Galore, a Lemon in Summer Sun and an Orange in Pumpkin Pie.  I heat embossed them all with clear embossing powder to get a glossy look and matted them all onto a scallop circle of the same colour cardstock, each scallop was paper pierced.

The paper ribbons down the side are in the same 3 colours, the teeny tiny Ric-Rac in Pumpkin Pie was a bit of a mad moment!  I decided to see how small I could make it…..

I started with just a little bit less than 3/4″ of card stock and followed my Ric-Rac tutorial which you can find here.  I would suggest using 3/4″ or more it would make your life a little easier!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda