ONE LAYER CARD

My card today is for two challenges - Less is More  - they are celebrating their 8th birthday so my card is for them to say thank you for all their hard work.

and CAS Colours and Sketches 

I used some SU Very Vanilla card stock for my base.  The sentiment in the middle is from SU Thankful Thoughts inked in Fresh Fig. I used Mint Macaron and Crumb Cake inks to add the flourishes at the top and the bottom with the Timeless Textures set.  A few sequins just finished off the card.  

I like trying to make one layers as over at my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets we have a RAK group and we send cards to our crafting friends all over the world - the one layer's mean less postage and less damage to the card.


           

MAKE IT MONDAY

Over on my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets - every Monday I set a Make It Monday challenge.  This Monday I have challenged everyone to make a project using a template or stencil.   

There is a sketch challenge over at Sunday Stamps#SSC198  this week called from the heart - very apt for the month of February.  I tried to think outside the box for my entry and was inspired by something I saw Kristina Werner doing and I also wanted to try and use a template.

I started off by cutting a template out of a heart shaped thinlet. I fixed this directly to my Very Vanilla cardstock and started to stamp the images on the border of the template.  As the stencil is revealed you can see the shape of the heart - sometimes there is a bit of touching up at the middle and the bottom just to make sure the shape is there but I loved how this turned out.  I added some SU Tutti Frutti washi tape to the side and stamped and cut out some roses and leaves and added a touch of sheer ribbon.  I used four SU inks for the heart - Berry Burst, Fresh Fig, Old Olive and Tranquil Tide.

I'm also adding this into the As You See It Challenge #194 who have challenged us to keep things simple - for me simple for crafting is paper and ink.




 

STAMPIN UP ONLY CHALLENGE SUOC214 WINTER - NEW DESIGN TEAM MEMBER

2019 is starting off with a bang for me - I'm delighted to have been asked to join the Stampin Up Only challenge blog.  Although I am no longer a Stampin Up Demonstrator I still feel the love for the stamps, especially the retired ones which was why I set up my very popular Joy of Sets Facebook Group where we enjoy still using retired product.

The theme for the first challenge of 2019 is Winter.

I used the wonderful Winter Woods for this card - I loved this set as I will be able to use it not just for Christmas cards - trees stamps are just so versatile.

I started off with a piece of retired DSP from the Naturally Eclectic set.  I then used the same colour of the Night of Navy to sponge my background for the trees.  I also used an old retired colour Bordering Blue and a touch of Crushed Curry just to give it a dimension of light and a wintery feel.    I added the birds from High Tide and the sentiment is from Thankful Thoughts.  I used a retired punch and inked it in the Night of Navy.  A touch of Crushed Curry twine for the bow and some Wink of Stella over the branches of the trees finishes off the card.






 

VERSATILE STAMPS

My card today is showing the versatility of stamps and taking one stamp and making it do something other than its original purpose. I've challenged my members on Joy of Sets  Facebook Group to give some more examples.  I can't wait to see what they all come up with.  If you love Stampin Up retired and current , and other stamp companies, why not come and join us.

My card was inspired by the imagery on Inspired By Challenge this week 




My card has used a stamp from the Stampin Up Build a Bouquet retired set - the stamp in question I believe is a wood grain stamp.  I've used it here to create the picnic blanket.  I used a total of 5 SU colours to create the blanket - Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler, Fresh Fig and Pacific Point.  I even frayed the edges to give them the effect of the blanket.

I used the retired Apple of My Eye set for the apple image and kept the colour theme going with the embellishments.  I wanted it to look really autumnal and hopefully that's what I've achieved.



I'm also including this card into The Paper Players #pp408







             

CHRISTMAS HAS COME EARLY!!!

Well it's Christmas in August - and that was really inspired by the challenge over at TGIF challenges who asked us to use punches.  I don't have a lot of interesting punches other than circles, but I do have the matching SU punch for the Christmas set Merry Little Labels.  Watercooler Wednesday are also asking for Holiday cards.

A youtube search led me to find a project originally suggested by Sandy Carlson and then a few other SU demos had played with the idea but it's a new one to me and I think a lovely idea for a Christmas gift.  A bit tricky to put in the mail though so maybe something for a teacher or co-worker.

I used some of last year's SU Christmas DSP as I love the reindeers and have a soft spot for reindeers - they normally always feature on my Christmas cards.  I've used Cherry Cobbler for the card base and lid of the box.

There is a bit of silver edged ribbon underneath the DSP and some non SU silver sparkles. I used the Envelope Punch Board to make the bow on top and the Santa was a RAK gift from a member of my Joy Of Sets Facebook Group.

This was a really simple card to make - you just cut a 2" piece out of your main card and make a 2" sized box and voila!    The base of the box though is made with paper not cardstock so your gift would not want to be too heavy.  A lovely homemade chocolate or biscuit would be ideal! 


 

CHRISTMAS HAS COME EARLY

Christmas has come early on my blog today with a scrapbook page I've done for a couple of challenges.   One is for my own challenge on my Joy of Sets Facebook Group which I run - each month we hold various challenges including a Sketch Scrapbook challenge to encourage members to get back into or start scrapbooking again.

The background page I used I've actually had for over 14 years - in my craft cupboard - I bought it when we lived in Texas and have never used it - I  think that's long enough for it to sit unused - It has the words of The Night Before Christmas on it.  The extra papers are retired Stampin Up DSP.

I'm also including this in Time Out challenges for their theme of Holidays.






 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG CANDY JOY OF SETS GIVEAWAY

Happy 5th May - Cinco de Mayo - my Birthday.  No, I couldn't possibly say how many years?  

To thank all my lovely members of my Facebook Group - the Joy of Sets - all 3,012 of them I'm doing a little Birthday Blog Candy giveaway.  To be in with a chance of winning the Candy you just have to be a member of my Facebook Group and then come on here and answer the question and leave a comment.  The draw will be done at random on 12th May which gives us a week.

If you would like to join the group and join in with the Blog Candy just click on the image above and request to join.

To be in with a chance of winning two sets of stickers, a brand new SU Ribbon in Real Red, and a Papermania Chipboard Album saying LOVE, please leave a comment below saying which, of all the Albums we have showing on Joy of Sets, is your favourite. 

Good luck and thanks for stopping by! 


THE WINNER OF THE BLOG CANDY CHOSEN BY RANDOM IS SARAH CULLEN.

 

KINDA ECLECTIC

One of the things I quite like about no longer being a Stampin Up Demonstrator is the fact that I don't have to use current stock all the time.  That's why I set up the Joy of Sets Facebook Group - to enjoy all the wonderful images current and retired.  So I think its safe to say I'm a little late to the party where Kinda Electic is concerned.  I can see a host of ideas for this versatile set.  Luckily I still own the SU punches which actually co-ordinate with these two little butterflies from this set which offers an extra element.

My card today is for two challenges- Case This Sketch 



and Sunday Stamps



One of the things we do on our Facebook Group is have a RAK group where people from all over the world are very generously sending cards out to other crafters within the group.  It really has made the world a smaller place and I have 'met' some very lovely people.  You really can't put a price on receiving a handmade card through the post and, after all, we make these lovely cards they should be seen and shared.  The challenge over at TGIF this week is exactly that, RAK's - so I'm adding my card to their challenge also and one of my FB members will be receiving this card.




 

FRIDAY'S FACEBOOK MUSINGS

Two cards from me today for different Facebook Challenges. One is for a challenge on Joy of Sets - my own Facebook Group which celebrates all things SU - retired and current.  I've challenged everyone to Case the Catty before it goes.  I've chosen to do Bookcase Builder, especially as I see it is retiring - I don't think this little set got the love it deserved!  My card is from Page 105 of the outgoing catalogue 2017/2018.  I've had this set quite a while and only from looking at the image in the catalogue did I realise what the small dots were for - keeping the shelves together - Doh!

I'm also entering this one into Watercooler Wednesday's challenge this week which is All About Occasions.

My other card is for a new FB Group I have just joined called Colour Inkspiration  #C131- and their challenge was to use the following colours:

Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry Tempting Turquoise

I opted to go with Feather Together for this one - another set I believe is retiring.  I don't have the framelits to go with this set so had to just cut out the feather for the layering.  I used marker pens for the sentiment.  The ribbon is non SU but it goes so well.

 

Stampin Up A Nice Cuppa

I set a quick challenge yesterday on my Joy of Sets Facebook page - for everyone to grab their first stamp set nearest to them and make a card.  Mine happened to be the retired Stampin Up set A Nice Cuppa.  I used some of the DSP from Stampin Up and the background is a stencil from Tim Holtz - I thought it looked like tea stains.

 

Happy New Year

Oh my goodness - I'm still just about in January to wish you a Happy New Year - where did the time go?  I can tell you where - I started work in the real world at the end of November - after 27 years of being at home and with home based businesses I had to put myself out there and earn a proper wage.

Sadly - I am not in a crafting capacity and where I work I am not allowed to have inky fingers so you can imagine the trouble this has caused me for crafting!  I am also working five days a week and am so tired of an evening I have had no motivation to craft.  Now that I'm no longer with Stampin Up and with a crafting business to run I have had to re-evaluate my crafting and re-discover the love of it for crafting's sake and not for any other purpose.  Quite tricky really - especially where cards are concerned?  What do I do with them all once I've made them?

Well - for one thing I am still running the Joy of Sets group on Facebook and we have a RAK group - a RAK in case you don't know is a Random Act of Kindness - so we send out the cards to people we don't know - what we do know is that these people are fellow crafters, they 'get' the whole craft card thing - realise how much time, effort and love goes into making the cards.  Finding you are the recipient of such a card in the mail and that it has winged its way to you from  either within the UK, Europe or as far flung as the USA, New Zealand or Australia is such a fabulous feeling.  Let me share with you just such a card I received today from Judith McPherson in New Zealand - This looks like a new Stampin Up set to me but I'm not sure.  

What I have managed to do today is a Postcard for a postcard swap I am doing with Stamper's Forum FB group - this is also something I haven't done in a while.

I was very lucky before Christmas to win some Tim Holtz goodies from a blog I visit.  I've used two of the stencils sets I won to make this postcard - the rest is all Tim Holtz old stamps I had in my stash and the inks are all Stampin Up.  

Thanks for stopping by - I hope to be back on track again posting a lot more often.


         

JOY OF SETS FACEBOOK GROUP MONTHLY CHALLENGE - PRETTY KITTY

Over at my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets I run a monthly challenge which is Birthstones.  The birthstone for July is Ruby.  At the Joy of Sets we use current and retired Stampin' Up! products whether they are stamps, DSP, inks etc.

I've used an old SU ink here called Ruby Red for my ink.  I've used Painter's Palette and Pretty Kitty together which I think is a very cute combination.

I've used some of our new DSP Wood Textures as the background.

 If you are on Facebook and would like to join in with my group -click on the link below.  In just over three months we have 2,500 members!!!