Inspired by... a sparkly birthday card

I tend to hoard my birthday cards for years.. especially those ones which have a design I love (thinking 'I'll make something like that one day..'). Well, last night I actually did!

Here's the card I was inspired by...

And here's my interpretation...

Supplies:
Stamps - Baroque Motifs, Fun & Fast Notes (for the sentiment), Bird On A Branch (for the flowers on the butterfly)
Punches - SU! Butterfly (trimmed to change its shape slightly) and a tiny non-SU! butterfly
Cardstock - Whisper White, Rose Red
Ink - Versamark
Embossing Powder - Stampin' Emboss Black
Glitter - Pink (non-SU magazine freebie)
Sequins and black adhesive pearls - from stash

Techniques:
The swirl was stamped on Whisper White cardstock with Versamark and embossed with black embossing powder. I used my new (and fantastic!) Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the swirl exactly where I wanted it.


The panel was layered on to Rose Red cardstock and again on to an A6 folded card of Whisper White.


I punched the butterfly from Rose Red card, folded and trimmed it a little, before adding the stamped flowers and a little glitter.

I added some iridescent flower sequins and some glitter glue for a bit of sparkle. :o)

One thing I learned... I need an Embossing Buddy! This is an anti-static thingie that you rub across your paper before embossing to stop the powder sticking where you don't want it to. Add it to my list...

Thanks for reading!

Sarah x

Happy Father's Day!

It's been a busy week but I just about managed to get a couple of Father's Day cards completed in time (well almost... sorry Dad, yours will arrive tomorrow). I used more of the gorgeous papers from the Sweet Pea paper stack, along with the Butterfly and Two-Step Bird punches. The letters were cut using the Cuttlebug and Red Tag Sale alphabet dies, then embossed using Cuttlebug embossing folders.

I'm loving these papers - such a great combination of colours and patterns!

Thanks for visiting..

Sarah x

My first workshop...

I have to admit I was pretty nervous in the run-up to my first home workshop.. but I really needn't have worried! Teresa was the perfect hostess and I knew several of the guests already from the Hailsham crop. Unexpectedly, though, the ladies were so absorbed by the Idea Book & Catalogue and my card samples that we just didn't get around to making anything! It was a fun evening nonetheless, and I can't wait to see what my first customers create with their new Stampin' Up! purchases.

Here's a layout I made recently using the versatile 'Sweet Pea' double-sided paper stack. It features my first son as a nine-month-old (aah, he was so cute!).

Supplies:

Cardstock - Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Papers - Sweet Pea paper stack
Stamps - My Sweet Pea
Punch - Butterfly; Eyelet Border
Ink - Versamark
Other - White Embossing Powder, Button, Thickers letter stickers, sheer white ribbon, Liquid Pearls

Techniques:
I misted the butterfly with water and scrunched it up, unfolded it and allowed it to dry.
The flowers were stamped with Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.

I'll be back tomorrow with a Father's Day card..

Thanks for looking!

Sarah x

Using the Stampin' Around Wheel

Here's my first creation using the Stampin' Around handle with the 'Neighbourhood' Jumbo Wheel. Ideal for New Home cards.. and perhaps scrapbook layouts all about your home (now there's an idea - watch this space!).

After stamping the image on to Very Vanilla cardstock, I coloured it using Stampin' Pastels both with the little foam applicators and using the Blender Pens - I found these very good for colouring the roofs and front doors - tiny areas where you need a bit more control and a bolder resulting colour.

The border punch I used was non-Stampin' Up! I'm afraid (Fiskars Threading Water) - this card was made before I got my SU Scallop Edge punch! The greeting came from the 'Fun & Fast Notes' stamp set - I just stamped it on to spare cardstock, cut it out and inked around the edges for definition.

Simple cards with Fun & Fast Notes

I just thought I'd share a few really simple cards I made with the 'Fun & Fast Notes' stamp set and cardstock from the Earth Elements colour family.

First, here's a couple of New Baby cards:

And here's a little card to show your appreciation of someone special..!

On all these cards, I used Spellbinders Nestabilities (Labels 1) dies to cut the label shapes. I stamped the images twice onto Very Vanilla cardstock, coloured using Stampin' Pastels, cut out part of the image and added it with Stampin' Dimensionals (foam pads) to the main image.

I have my very first home workshop on Thursday.. so I'll be back soon to share the projects we make.

Thanks for looking!

Sarah x

My first card-making class!

Well, after lots of nervous anticipation and frantic last-minute advertising, I held my first card-making class on Friday. Although it was not a sell-out, my ladies spent a very pleasant couple of hours making some beautiful cards and trying out a variety of stamps, punches and techniques. They were delighted with what they'd made!

I didn't think to take my camera with me to photograph their creations, but here are the cards I demonstrated for the ladies to make themselves:

Supplies:

Stamps - 'Fun & Fast Notes' set
Cardstock - Earth Elements colour family, Very Vanilla
Ribbon - Very Vanilla grosgrain
Ink - Black Staz-on
Colouring - Stampin' Pastels
Punch - Scallop Edge

The image was coloured by dabbing gently with Stampin' Pastels, which coordinate perfectly with the Earth Elements cardstock colours.

Here's the second card we made:

A close-up of the details...

Supplies:

Stamps - 'Bird On A Branch' set
Cardstock - Earth Elements colour family, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink - Basic Black, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral
Ribbon - Black & White Gingham
Punch - Butterfly
Other tools - Paper Piercer



The class included full tuition on all the techniques used, along with all materials needed to make each of these cards, including envelopes and protective cellophane card bags.

The next class is on Friday 9th July and we'll be playing with the Sweet Pea collection of papers and stamps (click on the Mini-Catalogue button on the right to see the Sweet Pea collection - it's gorgeous!).

If you'd like to join in next month, please get in touch - leave a comment here or email me on slpiggott73@gmail.com.

Hope to see you then!

Sarah x

Scrapbooking with Sweet Pea

So today I attended an all-day crop run by two lovely ladies, Becky and Teresa, in Hailsham. What a friendly bunch they were - it was such fun! I took along my new Stampin' Up! goodies, along with a few photos of the boys, and got to work on a layout.

Here's what I made:

Cardstock: Whisper White; Old Olive; So Saffron, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Designer Series Paper Stack - Sweet Pea
Embellishments: Stitched Felt - Sweet Pea
Punch: Scallop Edge
Non-SU!: American Crafts Thickers

The ladies were really interested in the products I was using, had a thorough browse through the catalogues and were particularly impressed with the Butterfly punch... in fact we arranged a home workshop in a couple of weeks - I'm so excited!

I have another layout in progress which I'll be back to share soon.

Sarah x

Welcome to my new obsession.. Stampin' Up!

Welcome to my new blog! As you'll see, it's all about my new venture into the world of Stampin' Up!

I was introduced to Stampin' Up! (or SU as I'll be calling it) by my scrapbooking and cardmaking friend, Pat, some months ago when I was still in Croydon. She became a SU demonstrator back in January and has been enjoying wonderful success with her cardmaking classes. I've been thinking about becoming a demonstrator myself for quite some time - and now we've achieved our dream relocation to Eastbourne, the time feels right.

So here I am.. a new Stampin' Up! demonstrator, living by the seaside and doing what I love.. playing with paper, stamps and ink.. what could be better?!!

I took delivery of a thrilling box of goodies yesterday.. and here are a couple of cards I made this afternoon.

Stamp set: Basic Phrases
Punch: Extra Large Two-step Bird
Cardstock: Very Vanilla; Summer Sun; Pumpkin Pie

Stamp sets: Basic Phrases; Bird On A Branch
Punches: Butterfly; Scallop Edge
Cardstock: Very Vanilla; Chocolate Chip
Ribbon: 1/4" Grosgrain - Very Vanilla

I'm off to a crop in Hailsham tomorrow so I'll be back soon to share what I make there.

Thanks for looking!

Sarah x