It's hip to be square

Those of you who know me and who come to classes, know that I don’t often make square cards. My friend Sheila who is also one of my team will usually change my class designs (not always possible) to suit a square card because she much prefers that format.

So, because it was Sheila’s birthday the other week a group of us decided that we had to make sure that all the birthday cards we made and sent to her were square! She did comment on Saturday that she loved all of her square cards and thought it funny that we had all made them like that.

This is the one that I made and sent her.

I made the card base out of Pool Party cardstock and then matted a piece of Night of Navy on top along with a piece of DSP from the Delightful Daisy pack. 

The numbers from the Number of Years stamp set, were stamped in Night of Navy and then die cut using the Large Numbers Framelits Dies. I simply offset these over some Pool Party numbers cut using the same dies to make them stand out a little more.

The Happy Birthday sentiment comes from the same stamp set (made up from two separate stamps) and this too was stamped in Night of Navy and cut into a banner.

I added some Old Olive leaves (made using the Leaf Punch) and also a little Calypso Coral flower that I found in one of my stashes. As I recall, it was punched using the Blossom Builder Punch. I simply folded the leaves in half to add some texture to them.

Of course the inside of the card was finished off too. I simply used a strip of the same DSP as the front.

Hope you like today’s share, and details of the supplies I used can be found below.

Fiona xx

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It's hip to be square

Those of you who know me and who come to classes, know that I don't often make square cards. My friend Sheila who is also one of my team will usually change my class designs (not always possible) to suit a square card because she much prefers that format.

So, because it was Sheila's birthday the other week a group of us decided that we had to make sure that all the birthday cards we made and sent to her were square! She did comment on Saturday that she loved all of her square cards and thought it funny that we had all made them like that.

This is the one that I made and sent her.

CAS Colours & Sketches - Challenge # 250

Happy Tuesday. It’s the third one of the month which means that it’s time for a colour challenge. This is what Samantha has come up with for us this week.

I love these bright colours and designed my husband’s birthday card (his birthday was the 7th of this month) around them. I was going to share it but then realised that it actually meets next week’s challenge too and rather than spoiling it for everyone I decided to make a different card. This is what I came up with.

I used the Super Duper stamp set along with ink in all three colours and cardstock in just Daffodil Delight and Cherry Cobbler.

The picture below shows the inside of the card which I also stamped using an image from the Super Duper stamp set.

The “PARTY!” sentiments on the front were stamped and then punched out before adding them to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals. The long sentiment from the stamp set has a couple of Daffodil Delight Enamel Shapes (one each end) to highlight it.

Oh, did I tell you that the CC&S Challenge Blog is celebrating it’s 5th Birthday this week as well as this being the 250th Challenge? To celebrate there are a couple of special things going on.

• Visit the CC&S blog and enter the challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set. 
• Leave a comment on the design team blogs with a chance to winning one of the other giveaways. 

You can see the challenge and all the design team cards (with links to their blogs) by clicking HERE.

Have fun.

Fiona xx

CAS Colours & Sketches - Challenge # 250

Happy Tuesday. It's the third one of the month which means that it's time for a colour challenge. This is what Samantha has come up with for us this week.

I love these bright colours and designed my husband's birthday card (his birthday was the 7th of this month) around them. I was going to share it but then realised that it actually meets next week's challenge too and rather than spoiling it for everyone I decided to make a different card. This is what I came up with.

Some more handmade Birthday Cards

I just realised last night that I hadn't shared the last of the handmade cards that I received for my birthday in July, so without further ado here they are.

This fabulous easel card featuring the Fruit Stand Designer Series Paper was from Fiona Stanton.

This lovely card featuring the Grateful Bunch stamp set came all the way from the USA and was from Shannon West. Shannon is the lovely lady who started this whole #imbringingbirthdaysback campaign. According to the back of the card I am the lucky 1102nd person to be sent a card. I can't imagine sending that many cards and well done Shannon for sticking with it.

This cute diagonal card featuring the Affectionaly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper was from Paula Gorry. Paula very kindly gave me this when she came to our recent training event and I managed to resist the temptation to rip it to open then and waited for the actual day.

Last but not least is this lovely card from my Stampin' Up! partner in crime, Pip Todman. Pip used the Fruit Stand Designer Series Paper along with the co-ordinating Fresh Fruit stamp set.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the cards I received this year. I've certainly enjoyed seeing them standing on the shelf.

Fiona xx

Happy Birthday to me...

It was my birthday this past Thursday so I thought I'd share the amazing handmade cards that I received from people.

These are all the cards and I'll share photos of some of them today and save the others for another time.

This was the fabulous card that I received from some of my team.  It made me laugh when I opened it because I had lent my Acorny Thank You stamp set and co-ordinating punch to Carol and Maggie not knowing that they were going to use them to make this. Either way I love it and it looks fab in real life.

Just in case you haven't figured out the connection - our team name is the Stampin' Acorns.

I showed my husband George the card. He thought it was great but commented that it just goes to show that we are all nuts.  He has to put up with all the laughter that goes on at team training and classes together with the constant trail of people through the kitchen making tea and coffee.

This lovely card is from Tricia. She has embossed the vellum with the flower and the sentiment. Inside is a smaller card that she has stamped on to match the embossed design.

I have to own up on this one because in the first photo I had the card around the wrong way. I only realised this when I went to check who it was from. Anyway, this Timeless Textures card was made by Jayne and I love it.

Last but not least for today is the Botanical Blooms card from Angie. I love the fact that it is mono tone - Sweet Sugarplum (but looks a bit too purple in this photo).

All of them are totally fabulous and are now sitting on the shelf in the lounge. I'll share the others soon.

Fiona xx

Jar of Love - Birthday Card

I've had quite a few birthday cards to make and send this month (but not as many as next). Most have now been mailed but I have a couple more still to send later this month.

I made a couple of the cards using the Jar of Love stamp set, and this is one of them.

I used the same colours that are in the current CAS Colours & Sketches blog challenge, simply because I love the colour combination. The colours being Pool Party, Calypso Coral and Pear Pizzazz.

The card base is Pear Pizzazz, and I used a 1/2" Circle Punch to snip off the bottom corners on it and the Whisper White mat on top. A quick tip for you. Line up both layers together, one corner at the time. Punch through both layers together, and then do the same with the other corner.

Once I stamped all the images I used a craft knife and steel ruler to cut slots down the side of the stamped image of the jar. The slots are just large enough to run some retired 5/8" White Stain Ribbon through and tie in a bow in the front. Oops, only realised as I was writing this that the ribbon has retired. I would swap it for some 5/8" Organza Ribbon, but the card has already been given.

The Whisper White stamped layer was adhered to the card front using Dimensionals to give it a little more interest.

Information about the products used are as follows:

I hope you like the card. And, if you are planning on putting in an order online, don't forget to use this month's Hostess Code (only for orders under £150 excluding P&P), and receive a little something extra for free from me. You will also have the opportunity to choose some of my BOGOF items, and I'll email you the latest list to choose from.

Fiona x

Over 879 cards in less than 2 minutes - #imbringingbirthdaysback

You may recall that awhile back I told you about the #imbringingbirthdaysback campaign that was started by Shannon West in the Stampin' Up! home office.

It was Shannon's birthday earlier this month and she received over 900 cards. The staff at the home office helped Shannon take a photo of 879 of the cards received, and then they made the photos into this video. The card that I sent is in there somewhere!

If you are interested in taking part in the campaign to encourage people to send birthday cards again let me know your birthday and I'll add yours to my calendar. 

There is also a #imbringingbirthdaysback stamp that is available. It's not in any catalogue but it's wood mount (costs £11.00) and the item no is 143573.

#imbringingbirthdaysback

At long last my #imbringingbirthdaysback stamp has arrived. For those of you who haven't read my blog of 28 January - you can check it out here and see what all the fuss is about.

Anyway, the stamp is now available to everyone, for the foreseeable future. If you would like one, the catalogue number is 143573. The stamp comes in wood mount only and costs £11.00.

My first idea was to use it to make a card, so I decided to use the 2014-2016 In Colors which will be retiring at the end of May.

I'm going to miss these colours but can't wait to see what's in store for the 2016-2018 In Colors.  Anyway, here's a closer look at the card.

As you can see, the stamp almost fills the entire width of a standard A6 card front.

I used all five In Colors. In order of descent they are Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist, Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon and Mossy Meadow.

The card was very simple to make with the help of my Stamp-a-ma-jig, so I decided to do something a little different on the inside.  I used one of the Party Pop-Up Thinlits Dies and some of the 2014-2016 In Color Washi Tape.

My birthday card list is growing but certainly not to the extent of the lovely Shannon West's. If you would like me to send you a birthday card please email me with details of when your birthday is and also where to send it.

If you would like to know what Stampin' Up! products I used, the details are as follows:

The stamp as mentioned above, is catalogue number 143573.

Fiona x

January's birthday cards - #imbringingbirthdaysback

Some of you may have already seen my facebook post from the other evening. I've decided to take part in the #imbringingbirthdaysback movement started by Shannon West. Shannon is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and is also one of the fabulous team at the Home Office.

In case you hadn't guessed, I love making and sharing my cards with people, be-it online, in a class or at a show. One of the things I have been guilty of (and I think a large number of us are) is the quick happy birthday greeting on facebook. All that is changing and cards are/will be sent again. I've already made the cards for people whose birthday's were/are this month and they went in the post today. There's one off to New Zealand, another to the USA and quite a few to here in the UK.

These are the cards made for January.

Here's a closer look at a couple of them.

I used the Grateful Bunch stamp set and the co-ordinating punch to make the flowers. The greeting comes from the Cottage Greetings stamp set.

There will be different cards for February, in fact, there will be different cards each month.  

If you would like to receive a birthday card from me, then please let me know the date (either in the comments or by email) and also send me an email with your address. My birthday calendar is looking a little empty for February so I'm hoping to fill in some of those dates!