A Different Card Using Tim Holtz Sizzix Bracket Die

I was inspired by a card on Paula Pascual’s blog, I wanted to give it a go as it looked really different and hers was stunning, it was an excuse to try out my new Tim Holtz Bracket die I bought the other month that I hadn’t had the chance to use!

The card took me probably about 4-5 hours from start to finish which I know sounds a lot but half way through I really took a disliking to the papers I had chosen but I was trying to be good and use some of my scrap papers that I’ve used for other projects that need using up… I just find it hard cutting into those nice new papers when I have loads of papers that need using plus not sure his mum would fully appreciate how hard it is to cut into the new Bo Bunny or My Minds Eye papers LOL!... I still don’t like the colours… I think it’s the pink and red that I don’t like as I wouldn’t normally put the two colours together!

The flower on the front of the card was made using a Martha Stewart scalloped punch, I love this effect! So simple to do but a bit fiddly, you could really do with an extra pair of hands when it comes down to gluing ends together!

To make the flower first punch a strip of cardstock using a border punch, then fold the border like you did when you were a kid making a fan, make sure you use your bone folder on the creases to get a crisp fold.

Then glue the two ends together, here's the tricky part where an extra pair of hands comes in very handy!! Next cut a small circle with a 1/2 inch punch and glue it to the back of the flower so that you can attach it easily to a card, leave it to dry.

Once dry add a brad, bit of bling, button or whatever you choose for the middle of the flower. I think this looks really effective and it’s what drew me to her card in the first place! Hope you can understand my instructions!

I also love the new Quickutz alphabet that I had recently bought, it's a limited Heidi Swapp alphabet and I just love her style and was so excited when I spotted that she had an alphabet set out, first time I used it on this card and I just love the style of it, think it's going to be one of my favourite alphas!

Supplies

Papers/Cardstock: My Minds Eye, Pink Pirouette cardstock – Stampin’ Up

Dies: Heidi Swapp handwriting Alphabet - Quickutz, Label One – Nestabilities, Tim Holtz Brackets – Sizzix

Stamps: Everyday – Penny Black

Ribbon: Certainly Celery Grosgrain - Stampin' Up

Other: Scallop Border Punch – Martha Stewart, Glamour Dust

Aunt's Birthday Card

This card was made for my lovely crafty Aunt for her birthday last weekend, I used a sketch to inspire me, I saw the sketch and had to try it, I just seem to be into circles at the moment!

I've not used pink and green before on a card together but I really like it!

Cardstock: Bazzill Swiss Dots, Stampin Up Old Olive & Stampin Up Pink Pirouette
Paper: Heidi Grace
Stamp: Penny Black - Merci - I just LOVE this stamp!

Circle: Creative Memories Circle Cutter

Nestabilities, Fiskars Apron Punch, Sizzix Alphabet

Friendship Card

Just a quick post, here's a card I sent a friend this week who I felt deserved alittle cheering up, it was based on a card sketch but I can't remember which one LOL.

Papers are Basic Grey Urban Prairie, I've had this stack for a while but didn't want to use them but I am being good and trying to use papers that I have... it's hard!!! Bird stamp is again Basic Grey Grow A Garden and the punch is that Martha Stewart punch again! Greeting is a fab little set by Lizzie Annie Designs.

Scrapbook - Done! Yippeee!!!!

Well after 6 months in the making... mission complete... the 40th scrapbook was completed for Paul's sister with about an hour to spare!!

I took Thursday and Friday off to complete the book and I wet through all the emotions... I was so stressed that firstly she wouldn't like it and secondly about having the rest of Paul's family seeing my work... Not the most confident of people at the best of times and I'm the kinda person who is happy to being un-noticed in the corner rather than being in the spotlight! At one point when it was all going horribly wrong I wasn't going to give it to her!

Anyway after all the stress and worry for months and 40 pages later....Sharron opened the album and she was totally blown away... there was tears and a lot of laughter and she told Paul that it was the best present she has ever seen... so I think she liked it... phew!

So anyway here's another pages of the album, I'll eventually get round to showing every page!!

Papers are fancy pants, the frame was made using my nestabilities and the alphabet is Doodlebug stickers using glitter.

I've had a wonderful day today with some new crafty friends, I went to an all day crop and had really great day.... It was nice to actually chat with people who share the love of Stampin Up, papers and stamps!! I have so many crafty friends but not many are local to me so it's great to find local people who craft! Looking forward to the next one!

OMG I was in crafty heaven... gorgeous stamps.... beautiful strokable cardstock and loads of alphabet dies.... ooooh I could have quite happily moved into the craft room and lived in there with all the stash! :)

I only managed one layout today, but I think I found it hard work going back to 12x12 after spending so long on 8x8 album... Next time I need to be more organised with photos and papers to take as I took my wheelie tote full of stash but still managed to forget basic things like glue and basic cardstock!!!

Sharron & Rob's Wedding Day

This page was a hard page for me to do, I wasn't aware of it at the time of starting the album but since starting it they have decided to go their seperate ways.

I’ve spent ages trying to decide whether to do this lay out or not but I came to the decision to do it because no matter what has happened this was Sharrons special day and one that should be added to the scrapbook I've just tried to keep it quite plain and simple so not to upset anyone. It’s not what I had in mind to do when I started out but I just felt I had to keep it very very simple.

Paper is by Imaginisce, wedding stickers are old K&Co stash, nestabilities labels one, alphabet is Sizzix Sizzlit die.

Wedding Card For Claire & Tim

Well just for a change I thought I would pop up a card that I made for a friends wedding. I kinda flapped around a lot when I realised I needed to make a wedding card as I don't have much in my stash that is suitable for weddings... I know I need to start buying things for every occassion and not just owls, birds, cupcakes and flowers LOL!

Anyway this stamp is from the Stampin' Up set Fast & Friendly Notes, I actually bought it because I loved the bird in it LOL but thank goodness I did!! I coloured the image in using my trusty brushables (yes another pen accition but they are FAB!) and mounted the stamped image onto the nestie Label One die.

The edging down the side of the card is from using my new-but-very-hard-to-get-hold-of Fiskars punch! YAY but I have one!!!!

Vikki at CTM will be getting them in the shop but I've been going on and on about this punch for months, everytime I go into work in the shop I'm asking have they arrived yet... She took pitty on my whining or maybe fed up with me asking LOL either way she let me buy the one that she had bought for herself! The punch is called Apron Lace Border and I LOVE it!

Heart paper is from the new Basic Grey range, I really struggled to cut into this sheet as I just love it, it's soooo pretty!

Thanks So Much

I made this card after being inspired by a card I saw at The Glitter Pot when I was down there a few months back, what caught my eye was the stamp they had used and I just had to have it… along with all the other girls LOL. The swirl stamp is what caught my eye, I am a sucker for a swirl, loved how it looks with a bit of glitter on it also. I'll have to come back and tell you who makes the stamp as I don't have a clue, I just know I had to have it!

I cut some acetate using the large Nestability scalloped die and then stamped the swirl with pink stazon on (yes you can imagine my excitement when I saw they did a baby pink colour!)

Then cut a window using the Stampin Up window punch and the little greeting is from a Stampin Up set but right at this moment I can’t remember which one, but I like it! LOL

The large bling in the flower is once again my bargain gem stones from Paperchase!

Happy Birthday Sarn!

Well yet again... months fly by without me blogging! Sorry... it's been a busy few months with meeting up with fab crafty friends and then just recently working at Ally Pally.

This card was made for the very lovely Sarn who's birthday it is today, hope you have a fantastic time hun!!

The bird is a stamp by Hero Arts, yes I am still into birds LOL, papers are basic grey, along with the papers used to colour the bird in. The scalloped border is a Martha Stewart punch which I had borrowed. The greeting is a A Muse stamp, I love A Muse stamps... just wish you could get them in the UK!

I've also been really busy scrapbooking, Paul's sister is 40 in June and at the time we came up with the idea of making an album for her... I have just realised that this will be the first complete scrapbook I have made as I have about 5 on the go at the moment.

It's hard making an album for someone else, time is ticking and the pressure is on now as I have so many more pages to do and more photos to get from the family. I need to start taking the piccies so I can pop them up onto this blog.

Nestabilities Storage Tip!

I thought I'd share this with you... I love my nestabilities and used to store them in blank CD cases with magnetic paper inside. But I found that some of them weren't staying put in the cd case and would fall out which I found annoying!

Anyway whilst searching the internet I came across this idea and thought I'd give it a go... The folder is acutally for Quickuz Cookie Cutters, it's called a magnetic storage book... it will hold 8 sets of nestabilities perfectly in this little folder and the magnets are quite strong so no falling out!!! It's about A4 size and really slim so won't take up too much valuable craft space.

I bought mine from Crafts You Love, they have free P&P until midnight on Monday too... Am I tempting you LOL?! Here's the link just encase... it's right at the bottom you can get white or black http://www.craftsulove.co.uk/revolution_cookie.htm

Pink Competition Cards!

Here's 3 cards that I entered into a forum competition , the theme was pink (I of course found it really hard to make pink cards lol!) but the twist was that you had to use brads, peel offs (eek!) or vellum! It was an extra point for each extra item used!

I had to dust down the vellum and peel off's as I don't really use them!

My favourite is the top card using my lovely new cupcake stamp from Stamp addicts... I'm really into cupcakes at the moment, it's a special card made for my friend who I travel to work on the trains with every day she's going back to shift work next week, it's going to be strange not seeing her on the train :(

I Love Flower Stamps!!

I see a flower stamp and I'm drawn to it, I can't help myself lol!

Here's two cards I made the other week for a card making competition, the cards had to be female birthday but with no pink... As you can imagine I found the no pink a bit hard! :)

I've had this brown patterned paper for some time and haven't wanted to cut it as it's so pretty but I decided to be brave and take the scissors to it!!

Both cards I've used the Nestabilities scalloped circles.. and I'm into lace too now although I don't have much of it at the moment so using it is only for special cards at the moment!!

Nestabilities - Helpful Tips

Thought I would quickly share you some info on the Nestabilities that I found helpful before I was hooked!!!

Firstly this site is great guide to what they are, the sizing and how you can use them on the die cutting machine you have, not just the cuttlebug.

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_th..._faq/index.html

This video show's you how you use them in your cuttlebug... I found this really helpful, it's much easier to watch someone doing it rather than reading it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4...earch&plindex=0

OK so now you are tempted and want them?! The cheapest place in UK I found was Joanna Sheens website for £16.99 a set, plus you get free P&P, click on the link below and go to the bottom of the page!

http://www.joannasheen.co.uk/craft-supplies/wizard-embossing-cutting-system-dies/

Hope that's helped you out, Happy shopping lol!

Hmmm Cupcakes

Look no pink!!! I love these little cupcake stamps by Hero Arts, they are currently one of my favourite new stamps. You can't see it on the photo but I have glittered up a little of the icing on the cake.... You will also notice that I'm back into spots again!!!

Scalloped circle cut with another of my new toys Nestabilities scalloped circles, used on my faithful cuttlebug! I love them... I could talk about them for hours!!!

What I love about them the most is that you can cut a whole range of sizes using just one set, I think there is 6 scalloped circles in one set and thr largest is 4 inches, they take up hardly any room, unlike the punches. I store mine in clear CD boxes.