Friendship

A card made using the Stampin' Up range of Soft Subtles colours. The base card was made using half an A4 sheet of Perfect Plum cardstock. I've adhered a piece of Barely Banana cardstock to the lower portion, having stamped it with the Paisley background stamp using Pale Plum ink (and over-stamped with the "friendship" stamp from the Wonderful Words stamp set using Perfect Plum ink).

I've used the flower image from the Close as a Memory stamp set... the image was coloured using Watercolour Wonder crayons in Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery and Old Olive (the latter to give depth) direct to the stamp. I added water to the stamp using an aquapainter and stamped the image on a piece of Whisper White cardstock. Using this technique gives a nice subtle effect, particularly if you use quite pale crayons. Once the image had dried, I added Barely Banana flower centres using the aquapainter and a crayon. The tag mount card is Pale Plum cardstock and the tag cord is a piece of twill ribbon tied with a piece of Elegant Eggplant ribbon.

More Projects

A couple of photos of the remaining two projects made at Saturday's SU Stampin' Experience tour in Edinburgh...

The first one is a bag topper made using the Big Bold Birthday stamp set and colours from the Bold Brights range. We used glue dots dipped in Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add sparkle to the top of the cake.

The second one is a 6x6 inch scrapbook page using the Heartfelt Thanks stamp set and the Rich Regals range (Always Artichoke, So Saffron and Elegant Eggplant), with some Hodgepodge Hardware, linen thread and tafetta ribbon. The flower was coloured with Watercolour Wonder crayons (direct to the stamp) and we dabbed some water on the stamp using an aquapainter before stamping the image - it gives a nice watercoloured effect.

Stampin' Up! Samples

A few more samples on display at yesterday's SU Stampin' Experience tour in Edinburgh.

The first Scottish SU Stampin' Experience Tour

I spent two hours at the Stampin' Up! "Stampin' Experience" tour in Edinburgh yesterday... Shelli Gardiner, the CEO of Stampin' Up!, was there - it was lovely to see her in person. The scrapbook page shown above was a 6x6 sample on display at the event. No photos of Shelli, I'm afraid... I forgot! Shelli had just flown in from Munich and had been in the country merely half an hour before starting the project demonstrations; despite the fact that her flight was delayed, she was remarkably cheery in the circumstances and didn't seem flustered.

Great to see Shelli in Scotland!

Shelli demonstrated three projects. All three were really nice... I was quite impressed. I managed to complete all three at the event, with the exception of the second page of the two page scrapbook layout we did last. We didn't have time to do the second page, but we were given the packet to take home to complete.

Photos of one of the projects I made - a giraffe tag card - are below. I'll definitely use this layout again. It would be a good style of card to use for gift voucher cards (the credit card sized plastic cards which most stores seem to use nowadays). The tag slips in an out and you could easily stick the gift card to the rear of the tag and add a note on the front. The sample at the event was a baby announcement card.

Earth Elements

A card made this morning for a friend using lots of Stampin' Up! goodies... The base card was made using half a sheet of A4 "Naturals Ivory" cardstock, which I seem to be using a lot at the moment - I like the texture and colour.

- Cardstock: Creamy Caramel; Pumpkin Pie; Naturals Ivory

- Stamps: Wonderful Words stamp set

- Ink: Chocolate Chip

- Other: Close to Cocoa patterned paper; chipboard (coloured with Watercolour Wonder crayons); scallop punch; Pretties kit; glue dots; Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon

Scottish Summer

Our weather has been rubbish for most of the week, but last night was the worst - the rain was bouncing off the ground... we drove down to Largs last night and, aside from torrential rain, there was fog for part of the journey. It's almost July - an average summer in Scotland. Disappointing, though - the BBQ we were supposed to attend was rained off!

I picked up my new car yesterday morning, so that was quite exciting.

Inchie

Hello. Thanks for all the nice comments some of you have been leaving on my blog. Much appreciated!

Here's an "inchie" card made this evening for the Hero Arts inchie Blog challenge. It's a while since I've made an inchie card... you need to have at least one panel one inch square (the inchie)... that aside, anything goes.

I have no idea which part of my brain this layout came from - it's a bit odd, but I don't dislike it. The stamps are by Hero Arts.

A card and some more goodies...

This type of card is not really my preferred style... but I made it for a purpose! I think the stamp was manufactured by the people who make the Bella stamps, but it's possible that I've confused it with another brand. It's definitely an unmounted stamp (which I mounted with EZ-Mount) and it reminds me of some of the Penny Black "stick girl" images. I like these new Prima flowers... I bought them at Scrap-a-ganza.

More goodies! I've treated myself to a couple of the new Cuttlebug embossing folders (and one of the folders which comes with a co-ordinating die), although I've yet to try them out.

Melodee Langworthy's "Family" book... a work in progress

Here's the Family Favo[u]rites book I made at start on at Scrap-a-ganza. I loved both of Melodee Langworthy's classes.

My book is a Family Favorites book without the "Favorites"! I don't like American spellings in my scrapbooks (and definitely not on the front cover... mainly because there's always the risk that some of my less clued up friends and family will secretly wonder whether I lack the ability to spell because they don't understand that lots of scrapbooking embellishments are American!), so I left off the "Favorites"... and my book simply says "Family" on the cover.

I've inserted two 6x4" photos between each of the black foam-board pages... I've adhered them back-to-back (which was suggested in Melodee's instructions, I think), with a view to cramming in more photos. The foam-board (it's like chipboard, albeit thicker and a bit more like sponge!) pages were too wide for the Round-it-All to cut through... I've rounded the corners manually using a Making Memories sanding block. (Note: extra points if you are able to see the book in amongst the junk on my desk in the photo above... I was feeling lazy and couldn't be bothered to relocate the book for the photo!).

I didn't follow Melodee's suggestions for the inside pages of the book... I just made it up as I went along and added lots of extra bits and pieces.

I'm almost finished the book, give or take a few embellishments and other bits and pieces. The most obvious missing part is the flower centre on the front cover! There's supposed to be a circular "our family" stamp in the centre of the flower, but I've lost the stamped image I was given in the class. I'm trying to find something suitable to use as a substitute. I also need to do a bit more work to do on the rear cover (shown above).

Goodies

Some goodies I ordered from America a while ago came today... some of the new Making Memories "Passport" papers and ribbons (plus a matching embellishment "suitcase" containing flowers and buttons etc), which will be excellent for travel scrapping some holiday photos... also, a couple of sets of Bind-it-All wires and some MM Noteworthy brads...

... and some Scenic Route Providence papers (a product kit including some chipboard and labels), some Pink Paislee "Spring Fling" papers and a few Heidi Swapp travel papers.

Is it the weekend yet?

Hero Arts "2ways" Challenge

A couple of cards made today for the Hero Arts Blog "2ways" challenge. The instructions were to use at least one Hero Arts stamp in two different ways. I've used two stamps and in each case I've used one as the focal point and one as part of the collage background.

The card on the right (macro above) has part of the Scotsman newspaper as background, with Tim Holtz distress inks (Worn Lipstick (red) and a couple of brown shades), as well as a piece of Bazzill cream pre-cut trim and a Prima flower (distressed and with some glitter added). The card on the left (macro below) is patchwork-style; the stamped image was inked with red and orange markers.

Celebrate

A busy week last week...

This is a quick card I made this morning for my youngest cousin - she has a new job. The stamp on the left-hand side is part of a Bella stamp I picked up at Scrap-a-ganza in Holland. I punched out the top part using a circle punch (I forget which size - probably 1 1/4") and mounted it on a scallop of SU Only Orange card punched using the SU scallop punch. The card/envelope are by Creative Cafe; I picked them up in America, but the card is disappointly flimsy and I had to back it with a piece of rigid card (I used DCWV pink glitter card from the new Blossoms & Butterflies stack). I used the same DCWV card on the front.

My first Bella stamp... I've never bothered to buy any before now as I'm too lazy to be bothered with unmounted stamps and I don't often use the unmounted stamps I've gathered up over the years. I know there are loads of "fans" out there, though, and I can't believe how many stamps there are on the web-site. I liked this image of the lady holding the cocktail and I thought I'd get some use out of it (and I was right!). I think I bought two others, one of which was a bloke standing beside a BBQ (a male Bella? I don't know the official name). I mounted them using EZ Mount self-adhesive foam.

The "Celebrate" stamp is by SU (from the Wonderful Words set) and the stamp on the envelope is by Penny Black. I used SU Only Orange ink. I coloured the Bella with SU Watercolour Wonder crayons in Earth Elements and I used Spica glitter pens to highlight her hair and cocktail... That was my entertainment for the morning, amidst laundry, paying bills (what has happened to electricity and gas prices???) and other boring household rubbish that I'm sure everyone else has been doing this morning.

My (more exciting) entertainment for yesterday (I think Helen would call this an "oops" of the biggest possible variety) was that I ordered a new car and traded-in my existing one... I'm doing the swap at some point next week (I hope; date to be confirmed).

ETA: apparently the Bella stamp is called "cosmobella"... I like that ;o)

Lida's "On the Road Again" minibook... more photos!

I've completed Lida's little suitcase. All done! I painted the inside with Ranger Butterscotch acrylic paint (taken from a paint dabber and mixed with water to create a "wash" effect). I'm really pleased with the result.

In addition, here's a photo of the rear of the minibook, which I forgot to post previously. I've used the section of green paper with the image of palm trees and a car.

Happy Birthday

A card for my friend, Janet... who turned 60 (well, 21 again) yesterday. I hope you had a great day!

A few more cards...

A Father's Day card for Ian's dad (using Beate's weekend sketch challenge number 52; above) and a card for a friend (below). The stamps are by Stampin' Up; papers - a random assortment, including SU So Saffron and Chocolate Chip cardstock.

Father's Day

In memory of my dad, who died last year. This Father's Day, I'm celebrating him, his sense of humour and sharp wit (second to none!) and all the brilliant things he did for me and numerous other people during his life.

Love Notes

Three little cards made using Stampin' Up! "Love Note" cards and a couple of the items which are on special offer during June...

For the card above, I've used the Polka Dot background stamp with Real Red ink on Only Orange cardstock for the background, the All Natural stamp set (the flower stamp), a button and some linen thread, the corner rounder punch, Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon and Black Stazon. I've used Earth Elements Watercolour Wonder crayons to colour the flower.

For the two cards shown below, I've used the punchbox set which is on special offer. The colourscheme follows the three inks which come with the box, namely More Mustard, Chocolate Chip and Bordering Blue. I've used the special offer circle punch from the eScape bundle too. Simple and quick - handy for gift tags.

Two Little (Guinea) Pigs

... a photo taken this evening. They were quite cosy and posed nicely for the camera :o)

Lida's "On the Road Again" minibook...

Here's my almost complete project! I've been working diligently on it for most of the week. I finished binding the book in my (newly acquired) Bind-it-All last night. The only thing I've still got to to do is to paint and "fancy up" the inside of the suitcase and also to add the two ribbon straps and velcro around the outside of the suitcase. Apart from that, I'm done! I was keen to finish it as soon as possible after I got back whilst it was still fresh in my mind, failing which there was always the usual risk that I'd never finish it...

The papers are from the Crate "Static" range. I love Crate papers - they're brilliant.

A few photos of the inside of my album... I've scrapped some New England photos from our last holiday. I've even punched two of the room keycards and sneaked them in the back of the album!

Scrap-a-ganza - Holland

I've been tired all week... I was at Scrap-a-ganza in Holland from Friday to Sunday last weekend. It was a very long weekend, though, packed with classes. I got home about 11pm on Sunday night as the flight was slightly delayed. I had very little sleep all weekend (and not much the week before I went for a variety of reasons), so I've been trying to catch up on sleep all week!

We stayed in the NH Conference Centre Hotel in Leeuwenhorst, about half an hour from the airport (in the middle of nowhere!). The not-so-interesting view from the window of my room is shown above! It was a nice enough modern hotel, although the food was poor.

Talking of hotel food, I liked the menu in the lifts... "Happy Shrimp" and "poached sea devil" sound interesting.

A photo of my room:-

I loved most of my classes, but my two favourite classes were those involving Lida de Witte and Melodee Langworthy. Here's a photo of Lida's "On the Road Again" class (her mini album sample (below) came with a wee matching suitcase, which was made completely from scratch from Crate paper and chipboard).

... and here's a photo of Melodee's "Pieces of Me" mini book:-

Someone put a "reserved for Scottish Quines" sign on one of the tables, which I thought was funny. It was really nice to meet up with lots of new people, including around sixteen fellow Scottish ladies! They made my stay much more fun than it would have been if I'd been sitting around like Norma Nae Mates!

Lastly, here's a photo of Suzanne winning her raffle prize... a huge Making Memories storage cupboard! We were laughing about it beforehand and wondering how the winner would manage to take it on the flight as hand luggage...

We "pimped" Helen's Scenic Route apron (a freebie from the SR class) with some really horrible American country-style leaf stickers (another - less welcome - freebie!) and two coasters, but I won't post the photos of her obligingly posing wearing the offending (offensive!) item... it's fair to say she was a brilliant sport, though. She's definitely started a Doodlebug flock trend.