Another Masculine Card

Recently Hayden's class had a unit on Ball Room Dancing.  They had lessons over several weeks, culminating in a 'Red Hot Ballroom Dancing' competition, which they all loved.  They took it really seriously too, with all the kids dressing up for it - meaning, for the boys - shirt and tie (for the lessons and the competition). Hayden does have a tie of his own, but when one of his teachers produced a box of ties for the kids to borrow he decided he would do that instead.  Which was great for me - it gave me the perfect opportunity to make one of these men's tie cards :

I had seen a tutorial a while back, and had filed some notes away in a folder.  Unfortunately I failed to note where I saw it, so if you know please remind me so I can give credit where it is due.  

I had intended to have a more, well, 'sophisticated' tie on the front of this card, but then I saw the 'Good Morning Sunshine' papers and it reminded me that the ties in the borrow box did tend towards more of a 'retro' feel.  I teamed the tie up with some saffron, pacific point and chocolate chip card.  It is a little hard to see in the photo, but the tie and 'collar' really pop up off the card.  I think it will work really well as a thank you to Mr D from Hayden.

More Last minute Holiday Cards

What happens when you sit down with the 'Occasionally' stamp set, some kraft card, assorted coloured card scraps and matching inks and ribbons, and your trusty crimper, in order to make just a couple of last minute  holiday cards?  There is a chance you may get a little carried away, and end up with something like this:

Not just Christmas cards, but cards for all occasions (and this photo was taken after we had given away a couple of the cards already).

After stamping the images on white card, it was a quick job to punch them out with a square punch, mat them on a kraft square made using the bigger square punch, and then attach those to some crimped card, using stampin' dimensionals.  Most of the cards got some coordinating ribbon to finish them off, but a few were left more simple. 

For the holiday cards I made little sets of cards in a couple of different sizes, and some without the ribbon.  They all had the stamped image on the crimped coordinating card though.

 

The snowman, Christmas Tree, and Candy Cane images were especially good for these cards.  And when I had more than enough of those, I couldn't help myself.  I had to keep going with some other occasion cards like these birthday ones:

I like the fact that this quick and easy design could be used for boys or girls of all ages, just with a quick change of colour.  I especially like them with the wider ribbon, but if you didn't have coordinating ribbon you could use a strip of card and perhaps stamp on a greeting instead.  Use some softer colours and swap the images and you have baby and first birthday cards:

You probably get the idea by now.  Quite a productive morning on the card making front - not so much the bed making and laundry!  Never mind that though, making cards was much more fun, and best of all, if you want to make some for yourself, the 'Occasionally' Stamp Set that I used here is one of several that are currently part of an inventory clearance sale, and is discounted 50% for a limited time.

  To see the full list of discounted products, (with discounts from 25-50%) you can click here, or see the link on my sidebar over there on the right.

DIY backgrounds using little stamps

I have to start by saying that SU! have a fantastic range of stamps just perfect for baby projects - including the Nursery Necessities set I used to make this card.  With all those other options available, this pin stamp, cute as it is, wouldn't normally be my first choice.  Remembering though, that my challenge is to make use of those smaller stamps that are so often under utilized, and in particular the images from the Short and Sweet stamp set.  Nappy pin it is!

I am actually really pleased with how this card came out.  I have used the idea of repetition again, but this time in a random fashion to make my own patterned background.  Some of the pins are stamped twice before reinking, so you get a bit of variety in the depth of colour of that baja blue ink.   I used Night of Navy card to give the baja blue a little lift, and then finished it off with some sponging to soften the edges, and some matching baja ribbon.  When you have a ribbon that matches it is almost a crime not to use it!

I have also used this set to make backgrounds for scrapbook layouts, and not just on those mini projects.

The little heart outline was just perfect to stamp on the cocoa card strips for this 12 x 12 layout (although you may have to click on that photo and enlarge it to actually see it!)  The rose red strips had word stamps decorating them (including the 'love you' from short and sweet) and the rose red patterned paper pieces came from a single 6x6 piece - the photo and embellishments hide the joins so you would never know!

This is a layout that has been shown lots in real life, but pretty sure I haven't shown it here before.  It was full of experimentation and little challenges to myself - the first really girly, frilly, busy layout I had done, and still one of my favourites.  Makes me want to get the pretties kit out every time I see it.  It also reminds me, that after committing to sewing directly on the layout I discovered my sewing machine wasn't working like it should.  The repair man, after fixing it, told me he had never seen that particular problem before, and if it ever happened again I should bring it back IMMEDIATELY! Eek. I didn't tell him I had been using it to sew cardboard!  (and I haven't had the courage to use the machine again for anything, let alone scrapbooking!)

Maybe that should be my next challenge?!

A sweet vanilla sundae - or something like that!

OK - so actually it is a Sweet 'Sunday' challenge, and the flavour is vanilla and saffron - but man - this card has been making me think about French Vanilla ice cream all afternoon, and that was before I made the Sunday /Sundae connection (I have a headache - my brain is in slow mo!)

Before I head to bed to sleep it off, I had better forget the ice cream and get on to the card. First up the inspiration...

A great little sketch challenge that I have been meaning to give a try for a little while now. Bridie had an unplanned afternoon sleep today, and instead of joining her which would have been the sensible thing to do, I decided to do some creating - the other sensible thing. So here it is:

A saffron and vanilla creation - I think it is such a yummy colour combo. I also really like the way my fake lace doily (that would be an eyelet border punched and then crimped vanilla card strip) worked out.

Stamps from the nursery Necessities set, and background paper from the 'Tea Party' pack.

This was actually the second card I made. The first one ended up being a little too upside down and back to front compared to the original sketch. How many changes can you make before it nolonger qualifies for the challenge I wonder? I think I crossed the line with the first one, so I will have to share it another day!