Winter Wonderland

Happy Halloween!  Today I am posting my third response this week to a challenge at the Clean & Simple Stamping blog, I think we can safely say I'm hooked!  This card was inspired in equal parts by the challenge and the scraps on my desk from a project I will be sharing tomorrow as part of the Amuse Studio bloghop, be sure to check in and see what I was up to!

I love this colour scheme for the holidays - non traditional but to me it still screams Christmas.  The measurements are as follows:

Card Base (sugar) - 4 1/4 x 5 1/2
First Layer (bermuda) - 4 x 5 1/4
Second Layer (sugar) - 2 1/2 x 2 1/2
Third Layer (bermuda polka dot) - 2 3/8 x 2 3/8
Sentiment Strip (sugar) - 3/4 x 2 1/2

I stamped the stag on a scrap and cut him out leaving a border - I have to confess that this was pure laziness on my part - I thought I'd see what it looked like before I did the fussy cutting, and I was happy with the result so I stopped there!

Once I'd assembled the card, I decided it could use a little bling - I may have got a little carried away with the stickles - but hey, it's Christmas!

That's it for now, be sure to drop back tomorrow for the bloghop - I'll see you then!

All the supplies for this project with the exception of the stardust stickles are from Amuse Studio and are available here.

stamps: nordic noel, happy christmas
paper: sugar, bermuda, bermuda polka dot
ink: french roast, slate
misc: stardust stickles

Study in red!

Woo Hoo!, this week's OLW challenge is up, and it's a goodie!  Design a card using only white and red or cream and red.  Here's what I came up with:

Who would of thought that it would work? Well, Susan obviously, and now I'm a convert.

The card was slightly fiddly to make, with all the masking necessary to keep the red areas cleanly defined.  I stamped the dotted lines first, masked of the area outside the candy stripe and then randomly stamped the candy - a quick sentiment and I was done.

All the supplies for this card are from Amuse Studio

stamps: candy cane wishes, naughty or nice, tini time
paper: sugar
ink: cranberry

Thinking of You

While I was browsing the clean and simple stamping site yesterday, I came across this second challenge, while I didn't had time to make it yesterday - I knew immediately which stamp I wanted to use, in a riff on the card on the front cover of the main A|S catalog.

I think I'm going to become a regular viewer of this blog - so much inspiration and all in one place!

Since it was a sketch challenge, I started with the main panel and stamped the foliage, then, very, very carefully I inked up just one of the poppies (it comes with a bud attached), and stamped it twice.  I used my Copics to colour - my first attempt at shading using Copics - not too bad if I do say so myself (although if I'm totally honest, this is one of those rare occasions when it looks better in the photo!).

Since slate is my go to colour of the moment, it was an obvious choice for the mount, buttercup brought out the colour of the poppies. Vanilla card would have been too bright on the sentiment strip, so I found a more neutral latte.


That's it - I hope you liked it.  Come back and see me soon.

All the supplies I used to create this card came from Amuse Studio and are available here.


stamps: friend to friend, essential sentiments
paper: buttercup, vanilla, slate, latte
ink: memento black tuxedo, lemon whip
misc: Copics - Y13, Y15, Y17

Woot woot!!

I've got in a habit of setting aside some crafting time on a Wednesday to do the new OLW challenge, horror upon horror, it's going to be late this week, so I had to find something else to fill the time.  As I've said before, I enjoy doing the challenge because it pushes me, just a little outside my comfort zone, a little searching round my favorite sites and I found a substitute challenge to keep me out of mischief!  Clean and Simple Stamping sketch challenge 163. A scarey amount of white space - but here goes:

I loved these owls from the moment I first saw them, but they are very small and it's easy to loose them on a card.

I stamped them on a scrap of sugar card - the piece left over from yesterday's die cut was still lying on the desk! Coloured them with Copics and cut them out.  They look in proportion sitting atop the branch and sentiment.

All the supplies to make this card are available from Amuse Studio

stamps: owl's well
paper: sugar, vanilla
ink: memento black tuxedo, french roast
misc: Copics - E33, E41, Y38

Nordic Noel

Happy Wednesday - for some reason this week is going really slowly - and I'm still not getting things done.  I did however manage to get the juices flowing long enough to make this card.

Very under-stated, it came about because I HAD to play with my new Amuse Studio labels dies and coordinating stamps.  Each of the dies come with corresponding placement guides so it's really easy to get the stamped outline and cut edge to align - even for me.  The label is 'hung' with cherry baker's twine from a cranberry pearl - I did have to use an extra glue dot to attach it.

See you soon and Happy Stamping!

All the supplies for this card are from Amuse Studio

stamps: nordic noel, vintage labels
paper: wasabi, sugar, cherry woodgrain
ink: french roast, cranberry
misc: cherry baker's twine, cranberry pearl, label die

Nordic Tags

Well, hello again, thanks for visiting.  Today I have some super quick tags to show you, made with the nordic noel stamp set and my favorite card colour of the moment - slate.  The original plan was to try out my various options for embossing the images, pick one and make a set - but I can't decide so I'm showing you them all,  which one do you like best?

All the tags were cut in slate card stock using the Amuse Studio tags die set, the fact that they even cut the hole for the thread / ribbon suits my lazy personality perfectly!  All the stamps are from the Amuse Studio nordic noel set.

Left to right I used

1. Versamark and Funstamps Red Razzle Dazzle embossing powder (this has been lurking in my cupboard since before the move to America some 9 years ago - all the other powders from this era have gone off, but this one lives on)

2. Versamark and Amuse Studio Diamond embossing powder - this was really difficult to photograph - in real life it's almost a clear shiny watermark but with a twinkle

3. Versamark and Amuse Studio white embossing powder

4. Versamark and Judikins red embossing powder

5. Brilliance moonlight white and Amuse Studio diamond embossing powder- less shiny and less twinkle, more white - this could be the age of the ink, didn't get as much powder to stick as I would have liked.

So there you have it - which is your favourite?

 Bye for now,  I do hope you will drop in again soon.

Noel

Hello there, I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  Today's post will be brief.

I realised I had not show you any creations using the nordic noel set from amuse studio - clearly this has to be rectified, its stylised images lend themselves to my style of stamping.

This was one of those cards that evolved rather than planned.  With just the two stamps the card looked bare, a die cut felt heart improved things, a slate mount and the strip of cherry woodgrain card completed the card.  The central panel was mounted using puffy tape.

I'll be back tomorrow with some tags I created from this set - I hope to see you then.

All the supplies for this card are available from Amuse Studio

stamps: nordic noel
paper: sugar, slate, cranberry, cherry woodgrain
ink: french roast, cranberry
misc: cherry felt, heart die

Mr and Mrs Snow

Yay!  It's the weekend, my husband is back from Europe and I'm managing to visit my son and daughter at the same time - she is running in Santa Rosa, which is close enough to go watch and collect my son on the way.

I love this cute snowman family - there is a baby too, and I think the pale blue colour scheme makes a welcome change from all those reds and greens

I stamped the two snowmen onto a 3" sugar circle, a tiny amount of colouring with copics, punched a hole into the top of it, a backing circle and the card and strung them together with onyx baker's twine - no tape - so they swing a little as you move the card. I'm afraid I couldn't capture the movement in the photo!

Thanks for visiting - see you soon!

All supplies from Amuse Studio

stamps: chill of winter, happy christmas
paper: sky, sky gingham
ink: memento black tuxedo
misc: onyx baker's twine

Oh Christmas Tree

Well, with all the Halloween treats for my children prepared I can't put off the Christmas preparations any longer, with two craft fairs and cards for family and friends to prepare it's time to get busy.  I always start the season with good intentions of every card being different, it gets to the beginning of December and I pick one of my favorite, simple cards and make it in bulk for the remainder - we'll see how I get on this year.

The inspiration for this card came as I looked through some cards I had over from last year - my style has got cleaner and simpler since then, so here is the improved model.

I like the new mono chrome colour palette much better.  I stamped the three trees on three different scraps of green paper - I love how all the different patterns in the Amuse Studio line go together, makes cards like this so easy!  Cut them out  - ignoring the stars this time, mounted them and add some tiny stars to the tops of the trees.  The twine is tied behind the panel which is mounted on puffy tape.  Really quick, really easy and still very elegant - this one is sure to be a contender in the December panic!

Thanks for visiting, please do come back soon.

All the supplies for making this card are available here

stamps: Happy Christmas
paper: vanilla, fern, fern, grass polka dot, grass gingham
ink: memento black tuxedo
misc: clear twinkle stickers, french roast baker's twine

Double, double toil and trouble;

Oh boy, it's Thursday already - where did the week go?  As promised, today I have the last of my Halloween treats.

I did suggest to my daughter that it was too big and took too much candy corn - but apparently that's not possible!

I used a thin black double sided card, which is barely more than thick paper, initially I intended it to be the prototype, but it turned out so well, why change it to more expensive card.

For the cauldron you will need:
2 3" circles
8 8 1/2" x 1" strips scored at 1/2", 2 3/4" and 5 3/4"
1 9" x 1/2" strip
1 8 1/2" strip
2 brads

Gently fold the 8 strips at the score marks and apply tape between the two central folds.

Attach to one of the circles in a star pattern.

Turn over and stick the other circle on top - as well as making the whole thing tidier, it also increases the rigidity of the finished item

Apply tape to one side of the 9" x 1/2" and attach neatly to one of the spokes, work round the wheel, taking car to butt each one up against the previous one.  When you run out of spokes you should have just enough card left to attach the first.

Attach the last strip as a handle using the two brads - I like to make sure that one end goes through the join for extra strength.

Now you should have a perfect cauldron that just needs a tag and filling with candy.

For the label, I punched a 1 3/4" circle in A|S orange card, added a spiders web in A|S pumpkin, and the witch and sentiment in black.  A scrap of lime green ribbon completes the package.

Well that's the last of the Halloween treats for this year, I hope you enjoyed them.  Tomorrow, we switch holidays to Christmas.

All supplies from Amuse Studio unless otherwise noted.

Supplies:
stamps: haunted, if you dare
paper: thin black double sided card (Michael's?), orange
ink: pumpkin, memento black tuxedo
misc: black brads, lime organdy ribbon

Warm Thoughts

It's Wednesday which means it's time an extra post for the OLW challenge over at Styles Ink.  This weeks theme is stripes and I have so many ideas, I may just have to have more than one go.  I just had to put this one to paper though - mainly because the stamps set was, as yet un-inked, and we can't have that, can we?

I have to say, if you are having difficulty with a style that you like, find a challenge blog that fits that style and really force yourself to put something together each week, practice really does make perfect - or at least acceptable, and after five or so challenges I actually find myself making one layer cards without being prompted - I call that success.

I first stamped the zig-zag stripe twice to form the road, added the scooter and then made a mask of the front of the scooter so that the Eiffel tower would appear to be in the background.  Obviously, the scooter HAD to be red - do they come in other colours?  The sentiment balances the card.

So there you have it, a one layer card featuring stripes, I hope you like it.  All the supplies necessary to make this card are available from Amuse Studio.

Supplies:
Stamps: ooh la la!, mad for plaids
Paper: sugar
Ink: memento black tuxedo
Misc: koh-i-noor colored pencils

Quick Halloween Treat

Hi there, I was down at the local Dollar store and I saw these great pirate skull lollipops (Monster pops 6 for $1), I just HAD to package some up for the neighbourhood children - and one for my son.

If you have a couple of punches you can turn these out so quick.  The black holder is cut 6 1/2" x 3" and scored at the 3" and 3 1/2" marks.  Punch a hole in the front to fit your lollipop (I used 1 3/4"), two more circles for the label (1 3/4" and 1 1/2"), and two small holes for the ribbon.  Stamp the top label (I used the witch from A|S haunted and a sentiment from Amuse). Thread it all up and done!

Told you it was quick!  I am hoping to be back later today with this weeks OLW challenge (stripes), my problem this week is going to be focusing in on one idea - I am hoping that doing the vacuuming will sift out a winner!  If not I will be back tomorrow with one last Halloween treat.

PS I am told that I have to be patient with the you may also like links below - apparently it takes time for the tool to start picking the posts I would pick for new posts - I'm going to give it another week and then reinstall, unless anyone has any better ideas.

Ghoulish Greetings

Hi there, welcome to my second post, in a series of four, of Halloween treats - a wonderful Halloween basket, just asking to be filled with chocolate-y treats.  My thanks again go to Stephanie at The Paper Garden for her inspiration, I totally took the witch from one project and the basket from another.

Such a cute witch! Not much stamping (just the sentiment - an old woodblock from Amuse), but lots for cutting, punching and sticking.  Just to give you an idea, these are the sizes and materials I used - play with what you've got, every witch is different

basket: A|S grass polka dot card - box is 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" x 1"
handle: purple card stock from Michael's mixed pack, Martha Stewart Skull and cross bone trim punch, attached with A|S onyx mini brads
label: A|S vanilla, stamped and edged with A|S blackberry, stamp Amuse woodblock
face: A|S lime shimmer, 1 1/4" x 2" oval punch (EK)
nose: A|S lime shimmer, standard office hole punch
hair: A|S pebble, 2" fluted circle punch (blue marvy), sponged with A|S onyx and sponge dauber
hat: black cardstock from Michael's mixed pack, cut free hand - 1 3/8" x 3/8" rectangle and triangle 1 3/4" high, 1" base

All Amuse Studio products are available from my online store

That's it for today, come back tomorrow for another, really simple treat idea

Halloween Pillow Treats

My eldest daughter is at U.C. San Diego, regular care packages are a must, and every so often I send treats for her and her friends - room mates, team mates etc.  I am probably a little late with the Halloween parcel - so last week I got a phone call to ask if I was planning on sending Halloween treats this year - because the team were asking about them and she wanted to let them down gently if not!  Motivation duly applied, I sat down this weekend to make nearly 100 treats, 75 are San Diego bound, a few for my son, also at college (really he just wants the candy, I just put in a couple of the cute packages as well because otherwise I feel bad about treating them differently!) and the rest for my youngest's school friends - she did help, after all.

I can't make that many of the same treat, so we made 4 different kinds - I will show one a day this week, starting with the only one I had enough supplies to completely finish (hurry up Mr Postman and bring me my Amuse Studio order so that I can finish the rest!).  A huge thank you is due to Stephanie at The Paper Garden in Sacramento for the inspiration.

Isn't it sweet?  It contains four See's foil wrapped pumpkins, which fit perfectly (so they won't get squished on the way to San Diego)  And look how great they look en masse in my metal fruit bowl.  If I have time I'm going to make some more in Christmas colours, extra treats for guests over the holidays.

The pillows are made from two 3 1/2" circles, scored (I have put the template at the bottom of this post) and glued. Now there is a story to the trim for the belly bands -  I had seen this really sweet owl trim at The Paper Garden, which I knew would be perfect for this pillows, when I asked Steph where she kept it, she didn't know what I was talking about, I showed her the project where I had seen it and it turns out it is a Martha Stewart skull and cross bone trim punch - but if you look at it the wrong way up, it's owls- now that's what I call multi-function!!!

Anyway, to return to the pillows, the belly bands were punched in contrasting card, labels stamped and the whole thing assembled using doubled sided tape.  A tiny piece of onyx baker's twine attaches the label to the pillow.

Phew, that turned out to be a very long post for such a simple project - I hope you are still with me!  Come back tomorrow for some more spooky goodness

The supplies for the project are from Amuse Studio unless otherwise noted.

Supplies

Stamps: haunted, legacy woodblock stamp sentiment from Amuse

Paper: A|S orange, onyx, cobalt, vanilla polka dots in orange, onyx, grass, and sage,

           Amuse polka dot purple 

Ink: memento black tuxedo

Misc: double sided sticky tape, onyx baker's twine

Cut, punch or use a die to get two 3 1/2" circles in your heaviest card stock.  Use on circle to mark out four equal segments, as show.  Cut along arcs to get your scoring template.

A Bunch of Flowers

What a wonderful crafty weekend!  What with Halloween treats for my daughter and the UCSD cross country team and goods for the craft fair at the beginning of November, I only stopped for meals.  Luckily, my youngest was ready, willing and able to help - with my eldest two flown the nest, I treasure all these together moments with her.

I only have time to show you the simplest project tonight, the toppers made with the scraps from other projects, which I'll share through the coming week.

Aren't they pretty?  The flowers were cut from the scraps using the pink and yellow marvy punches, the green tube topper with a small fluted circle.  The autumn m&m's were stuffed into 1"x8" cellophane bags. Everything is tied together with a little baker's twine.  Here is a close up of one them.

Tomorrow I have some wonderful Halloween treats for you.  See you then.

Unless otherwise noted, all supplies are Amuse Studio and are available here

Supplies
Stamps: make a scene, hello (old amuse woodblock stamp)
Paper: orange, buttercup, fern and grass polka dot papers 
Ink: memento black tuxedo, orange
Misc: Cadmium yellow Copic, 1x8" cellophane bags, french roast bakers twine

Red Mittens

Hi there, so glad you could drop by.  I am in the process of revamping the blog a little - nothing major, just now that I've been going a while I have more ideas of what I want things to look like.  I'm really excited about the 'you may also like' section at the bottom of each post, this SHOULD provide you with other cards I have made using the same stamp set, I don't know about you, but sometimes I like to see lots of ideas for a set before I take the plunge and buy it.  (Saturday update - Note: It relies on the quality of my labeling, I am in the process of going back and updating all posts - It will get better!)

As I promised yesterday, this will be the last post - for a while- using the holiday tags set.  This card reminds me of when I was a small girl and my mum used to sew ribbons onto my gloves and thread them through the arms of my coat, I HATED it.  I don't whether people still do it - you will be glad to hear I did not inflict it on my children.

I stamped the mittens with versamark and then used white embossing powder to get that brilliant white finish, out came the detail scissors again, and the I mounted them with puffy tape.  If I was to make this card again, I would also of mounted the whole central panel on puffy tape, oh well, can't get it right every time!

All supplies are again from Amuse Studio

stamps: holiday tags
paper: fern, wasabi, sugar, cranberry, onyx, sage gingham
ink: memento black tuxedo, versamark
misc: cherry bakers twine

Warm Wishes

Hello, regular readers will know that once I get a stamp set out, I tend to use it on several projects until the inspiration runs dry and then it goes away for a while.  Well, there is no sign me running out of ideas for the holiday tags set from Amuse Studio - but I promise to give it a break after tomorrow's post.

Today's card is a riff on yesterday's tags, I liked the combination of papers and colours so much, I've turned them into a card.

I usually mount cards by eye, this candy cane paper is a nightmare to get straight - I've measured it (after failing three times to get it right) and it still looks wonky to me, must be all those diagonal lines.

This time I used a sponge dauber to apply a little french roast ink to the edge of the 'twas the night before Christmas paper.

Come back tomorrow for my last project for the moment using this stamp set.

All supplies are available here

Stamps: holiday tags
Paper: sky, candy cane, 'twasthe night before Christmas, vanilla
Ink: memento black tuxedo, french roast
Misc: sponger dauber, copics - BG10, E33, YG67, R27

OLW - Get Triangular!

This week's OLW challenge is to Get Triangular.  Late night when I looked at the challenge I was completely stumped and thought I might even have to sit this one out - but I work up at 3 a.m, thought 'I know what to do' and went straight back to sleep.  When I did the sketches the idea still looked promising, and there were only a few teething problems in getting the mask to work for the starlight.

So here it is, a card with a triangular design

I love using the grunged sunrays from Amuse Studio as star light, so appropriate for this image. I couldn't resist adding just a touch of stickles to make the star really twinkle.

All the supplies needed for this card are from Amuse Studio unless otherwise noted and are available from my online store.

Supplies
Stamps: holy night, grunged sunrays
Paper: vanilla
Ink: french roast, lemon whip, papaya
misc: stardust stickles

More Holiday Tags

Hi there, Happy Wednesday!  My youngest is taking her PSAT this morning, so I don't have long before I am summoned to collect her.  It's funny how some things hit you - I wasn't the least bit phased by her second Home Coming dance and yet I suddenly felt very old as I drove her to school this morning. 

Anyway, cards, that's why you came isn't it?  Today's inspiration came from some Halloween gift tags I saw in the Amuse Studio Inspiration Catalog (p.4) - I don't really do Halloween, so I changed it up and made some Christmas tags - don't tell the Stamping Police at Amuse Studio, but I think I l;ike mine better!! 

Aren't they the cutest things ever - and although the detail cutting was a little fiddly, they really didn't take that long.  I'm going to stamp and colour a large batch today and then cut them out in front of the television tonight - you really don't have to pay THAT much attention to the X Factor.

All the supplies necessary are to make these tags are available from Amuse Studio.

That's all for this post - I'm hoping to get a card done for this week's OLW challenge (triangles) later today, it works in the sketch, time will tell whether I'm happy with the finished article - come back tonight to see how I did.  Tomorrow I have another project using the holiday tags set.

Supplies:
Stamps: holiday tags
Paper: 'twas the night before Christmas, candy cane, vanilla, fern
Ink: memento black tuxedo
Misc: tree die, tags dies, Copics

Holiday Tags

Hi there, welcome to My Paper Paradise.  This week I'm going to be featuring several projects using the holiday tags set from Amuse Studio, if you already have it, check back for lots of inspiration for this wonderful set.  If you don't have it, these posts should probably come with a warning - read at your peril, you are definitely going to end up with this one on your wish list!

I'm going to whet your appetite with a card that features nine of the images from this set - unfortunately I just couldn't find a way to get the last image in.  The set also has 11 sentiments - you'll see some of those as the week progresses.

The card measures 5 1/2" x 5 1/2", with smaller white circles are 1 1/2", the central white circle is 1 3/4".  The red circles are 1 3/4" and 2".

I first punched out all the circles, then stamped the images - the cling stamps make it easy to line up the images.  Lots of fun colouring, and then it was onto the fun part - laying them out on the base.  I got the images where I wanted and went to straighten them up within the circles - turns out they look better a little haphazard!

Because the card is already a little busy (understatement of the year there!), I chose to mount them flat and resisted the urge to add glitter, crystal clear glaze, le pouf - but who knows, in a future reincarnation, it make get the full works.

Come back tomorrow to see the really cute gift tags I made with this set, and in the mean time, why not have a look back at this card that I  posted earlier using this set,

All the supplies to make this card are available from my Amuse Studio store - be sure to contact me direct if your order exceeds $150, and I'll make sure you get you extra benefits.

Supplies:
stamps: holiday tags
paper: sugar, cranberry, candy cane
ink: memento black tuxedo
misc: Copics - BG10, Y38, B02, R29,110, RV10, YG23, E33

Studio Stampers October Blog Hop

Welcome to My Paper Paradise and the start of this month's Studio Stampers Blog Hop, why not grab yourself a coffee and hop along with us.

Just look at the head on that beer and the shiny ketchup!

Good enough to drink!

It looks simpler enough, but there are a couple of tricks-

Firstly, top get the hot dog sitting in front of the glass of beer, first stamp the hot dog on to the card, then stamp again onto the sticky part of a post-it note, cut out the hotdog on the post-it note and stick it over the one on the card, then stamp the beer.

To get the bubbles in the beer, first colour with the base colour in Copic - I used buttercup yellow (Y21), then dot the colourless blender (0) over, and you get perfect rising bubbles.

For the froth, I used Le Pouf, apply fairly generously, then heat set immediately.  Be aware, that although it is dry on the outside, it will take a while to dry completely inside - wouldn't that make a wonderful beard for Santa?

And for the ketchup, a dash of crystal clear glaze.
That's all from me today, next on the hop is the wonderful Angela, in case you get lost, or there is a problem with a link, here is the complete list.

Karen Crisp <====== you are here
Angela Schellenberg
Kathy Hatzke
Lisa Chapman
Kristen Watson
Veronica Zalis

All the supplies needed to make this card are available here


supplies:
stamps: hey, man!
paper: sugar, french roast, cranberry, buttercup gingham
ink: memento black tuxedo
misc: le pouf, crystal clear glaze, onyx pearls, Copics - 0, R27, E33, E59, W2, Y21

...all is glistening

I love being an Amuse Studio consultant - now when I take a stamping class, I can call it training!  On Friday I took a couple of classes with Cindi, one of the owners and creative designed at Savvy stamps, as always, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could reinterpret the cards and skills using the stamps and supplies I had at home.

The card measures 5 1/2" x 3 1/2", which fits the small gingerbread house perfectly.  I had to get creative with the sentiment, it is from the essential sentiments set - yes I know all the sentiments are straight in that set, but if you get a squeaky clean acrylic block, you can gently bend a long thin sentiment and it will hold (and yes, it bends back when you are done!).  Try doing that with a wood mounted stamp!!

So, the first step was to stamp the houses and sentiment in slate, then the snowflakes in pebble and then you are ready for the messy part.  My preferred option (and definitely the least messy) would have been to run it through the Xyron face down, take the backing off and sprinkle with glitter, it gives a wonderfully even coating of glitter - unfortunately, my Xyron is too small.

The option I took was to take it outside and spray it with some 3M glue that was lurking in the back of a cupboard from a project I did with my son's fifth grade class (he is now in college).  This still gave an even coating.

Another. option is to spread it thinly and evenly with a coat of liquid cement, but I try to only use the method on smaller areas that are too big for my glue pen.  Whatever method you use, be sure to check it won't make the ink run before you commit to the whole card.

I think that the finished product is beautiful - definitely worth the lingering glitter particles - just how did it get on my tummy?

I hope you are having a splendid weekend, be sure to come back tomorrow when I will be joining my talented Amuse Studio up-line in a blog hop, it goes live at 8 am PST

All the supplies with the exception of the adhesive for the glitter are available from my Amuse Studio store

Supplies:
Stamps: jolly gingerbread, happy christmas, essential sentiments
paper: sugar
ink: slate, pebble
misc: diamond glitter, 3M spray adhesive

What a wonderful day!

Hi there, what a wonderful day, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the air smells fresh after all the rain.  It reminds me of sunny days in England as a child when my mother would hang out all the washing and it would come in smelling so fresh.

This isn't the card I planned on posting, but you have to go where the the Muse takes you!

I stamped the briefs on three scraps of card, cut the out and mounted them using puffy tape.  Some props and a clothes line and I was done.

Would you believe I still have at least three images and six sentiments left in this set?

Just a short post today, see you soon.

All supplies are from Amuse Studio and can be purchased here

Supplies:

Stamps: Hey, man!

Paper: sugar, lichen, winter sky

Ink: cranberry, blackberry, orange

A Brief Note

I know, I'm sorry, it's a terrible pun .... but admit it, it made you smile didn't it?

This must be the quickest card I've ever made, the hardest thing was decided what colour to make the briefs!  In fact it was so quick, I made a set,

Look how pretty they look, all packaged up

I used a recycled clear plastic box and finished it of with some beautiful ribbon.  Don't you just love how all the inks, papers and ribbons from Amuse Studio coordinate with each other.  I'm going to make several sets of these for the craft fair - if they don't sell, they will make excellent teachers gifts, stocking fillers etc.

I do apologise for the quality of the photographs in today's post, the light is terrible.  I have one more card to show you using this set tomorrow and then its onto something new.  Thanks for visiting, see you soon.

All supplies from AMuse Studio with the exception of the box

Supplies:
Stamps: hey, man!
Paper: sugar
Ink: ocean, orange, grass, blackberry, cranberry, memento black tuxedo
misc: ocean stitched ribbon

Thinking of you

It's One Layer Wednesday challenge time again.  This week, the challenge is to make a one layer card for someone going through a battle with cancer.

I approach these challenges by reading the 'assignment', then I look through my stamps looking for inspiration.  So while I'm looking through the stamps I'm thinking of the people in my life that have fought cancer, and in my head I'm looking for a card for one of them.  I was actually looking to see if I had an appropriate sentiment for a flowery card when I saw this monkey stamp and the 'hang in there' sentiment.  I immediately thought of the daughter of a dear friend of mine who was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 6, she went through some really tough times and this card would have been perfect.  She was one of the lucky ones and has been clear for 15 years now.

I coloured the monkey with water colour pencils, and then brushed over with a slightly wet brush to get a nice depth of colour. Guaranteed to get a giggle

Supplies:
Stamps: the mighty jungle
Paper: sugar
Ink: french roast, lichen
misc: watercolour pencils

Then I went back and read the instructions again, 'make a card for someone going through tough times AND sent it' and I always tell my children to read the question properly!  So, here we have take two - for a good neighbour and friend who is determined not to go down without a fight.

This was one of those 'I NEED that' stamps, so pretty, like an exotic daffodil.  This one definitely fits the challenge, and while it make not induce giggles, it is sure to bring a smile to her face.

Supplies:
Stamps: Jacobean (prickleypear.com)
Paper: sugar

Ink: cranberry, slate, shell

All the supplies for these cards, with the exception of the flower stamp, are from Amuse Studio and can be bought here

I hope you liked this extra post, I'll see you again tomorrow

Hot Dogs

Hi there!  So glad you could drop by.  When I get a new stamp set, I like to make several different cards so that I can justify the purchase to myself.  So for the next few days (and yesterday!) I will be sharing cards made with the Hey, Man! set from Amuse Studio. This set has so many images I promise you won't get bored.

I think I may have actually achieved the impossible with this one - a truly masculine card.  The hardest thing was getting the colour of the buns right, a bit of this and a bit for that ... I'm not sure I could reproduce it, although I do know the colours I was layering.  If you look closely at the close-up, you can see I put crystal clear glaze on the ketchup.  I'm honestly not sure if anyone else would notice it unprompted - but it makes me happy!

I'm hoping to get back later today with a card for this week's OLW challenge, and I'll definitely be back today with another card using the Hey, Man! set.  See you then.

All supplies needed to make this card are available here.

Supplies:
Stamps: hey, man!
Paper: sugar, french roast, french roast gingham
ink: memento black tuxedo
misc: crystal clear glaze, Copics - R27, E33, Y21, E59, E41

Muchas Grass-ias

I know - it's a terrible pun - I think that's why I like it!  I was of two minds whether to show you this card, I had thoughts of slipping it into the box for the craft fair and seeing what reaction it got there first (sometimes my least favorite cards are the biggest sellers), but my daughter walked in and LOVED it, so here goes:

I'm on an ongoing mission to increase my stocks of more masculine cards, so when I saw this set from
Amuse Studio, I thought I'd give it a go.  Boy is it hard work, but I'm getting there.

I first stamped the lawn mower onto a scrap of sugar card, I coloured it with Copics and cut it out leaving a small border.  I was checking the scrap pile for a piece of green card and found this gingham - perfect (and I didn't even have to cut into a new sheet!).  Using the Martha Stewart grass edge punch I cut the grass and then trimmed the left portion for the 'mowed' part.  The grass was mounted onto sugar card, the mower attached with puffy tape, the corny sentiment stamped - and it still needed something - a papaya sun and some crystal clear glaze on the wheels and I was happy.

Come back tomorrow for more gingham and another card using this set .

Supplies for this project are available here with the exception of the Martha Stewart grass edger, a similar effect could be achieved using the grass die from Amuse Studio.

Supplies
Stamps: hey man!, make a scene
Paper: lichen, french roast, sugar, grass gingham
Ink: memento black tuxedo, papaya
Misc: crystal clear glaze, Copics - 0, W2, 110, R29, YG23, W4

Happy Fall! - Again!

Can you tell I love the fresh foliage set from Amuse Studio?  I keep saying to myself that I'll get out one of my, as yet, uninked sets, but ideas for this set just keep on coming!  Which is good, right?  Anyway,I promise that this will be the last for a little while.  I've still got lots of goodies to share that use other stamps, backed up from when I was computerless last month.

See what I mean, the set is so versatile.  This time I used a Copic (pearl white) to outline the images to give them more depth.  Pumpkin buttons provided the finishing touch.

That's all for today - I'll be back tomorrow, I hope to see you then.

All the supplies necessary to complete this card are available here

Supplies:
Stamps: fresh foliage
Paper: vanilla, french roast, lattewood grain
Ink: french roast, pumpkin, cranberry
Misc: pumpkin buttons, Copic - E41

OLW- What an inspiration!

This week's OLW challenge is to make a card inspired by something on the blog of a very wonderful lady, Janelle.  I have to thank Susan and the OLW challenges for introducing me to this wonderful source of inspiration.

Here is my card:

Looking through Janelle's blog looking for ONE card or photo for inspiration was like being a kid in a candy store, I know I will be going back time and time again over the coming weeks looking for ideas.  My card was inspired by this butterfly card.

This must be the quickest card I have ever made AND it came out exactly as it was in my head - I know, amazing!  My mind is working overtime on all of the variations I could make from the stamps in my hoard.

No directions are necessary, all supplies from Amuse Studio

Supplies:
Stamps: fresh foliage
Paper: sugar
Ink: pumpkin, french roast

Happy Fall!

It has been a really busy weekend, two blog hops (check out the two posts below if you missed them), homecoming game and dance for my daughter and a visit to my son in college - which obviously necessitated a large batch of cookies!  Today's post will therefore be a short on as I catch up on all my chores.


It is October, so it should be feeling Autumnal, and this card is helping me get into the mood even though the weather is not cooperating!

This card is one of several that I will be sharing with you from this set over the next few days - I love how each of the leaves comes with its own background stamp.  This card was so quick to make I'm thinking of cranking out a few sets with a 'thank you' sentiment to sell at a craft fair in November.

That's it for today, short and sweet as I promised, why not come back tomorrow and see what else I created with this set?

Supplies:

Stamps: fresh foliage

Paper: lichen, slate, sugar

Ink: french roast, pumpkin, cranberry

Amuse Studio October Blog Hop

Hello, so good to see you.  Today I am delighted to be joining some fellow Amuse Studio consultants in a Blog Hop, if you are participating in the Blog Hop, you should have come from Lori's blog, if not, why not join us and start at the beginning at Tami's blog then hop along until you get back to my blog.

Today's theme today is Scrapbooking, - and after a moments hesitation - I don't scrapbook!  I knew what I was going to do:

What do you think?  I think it would make a wonderful page in a calender to give to someone special at Christmas - Grandma?  I love how the white embossing powder really pops off the slate card stock.

All the supplies I used to make this page came from Amuse Studio

Stamps: chill of winter, happy christmas
Paper: slate, candy cane, cranberry
Ink: versamark
misc: white embossing powder

I hope you enjoyed your visit, please do come back and see me again soon, I have challenged myself to post a new project everyday for the month of October.  Now you are on to your next stop, Chelsea Corner