Dog on a log... mog on a log

With all the promotion of Simple Stamping projects, I somehow failed miserably and went completely the other way with this one! It uses not one but FIVE different stamp sets! I can only plead guilty and say I was trying to get some use out of stamp sets before the excitement of the new catalogue kicks in.

It’s a simple masked project, using a mask across the tree stump (Foxy Friends) to enable the tree trunks (Winter Woods) to be stamped and the ground to be created using Waterfront.

The cat and dog are stamped on separate cardstock and punched out. And as for the words, they are created using the Labeler Alphabet stamp set... but I didn’t ask the ladies at my Cats & Dogs class to replicate this, they could simply choose their own greeting.

Out of this world X-Files card

A fun project for you today. My illustrator daughter, a big X Files fan, put me up to this X-Files card and we had fun brayering over some die-cut clouds from the Up & Away Thinlits set. The trees were easy – they come from the must-have Waterfront stamp set – and the words are stamped using the Labeler Alphabet. 

But how to make a UFO? That happened purely by chance, using the Pretty Label punch. Take a look...

Snowflake Sentiments eclipse card

No Mix It Up Monday today, sorry - computer woes coupled with a busy weekend have made it a project too far. But I can show you this fun Eclipse card which we made at my Crafty Friday event last week.

This card style seems to be de rigueur at the moment so I thought I may as well hop on the bandwagon and join in the fun. It's really easy to do - you just stamp your background (or use DSP), then die-cut your chosen letters.Stick the background to a darker piece of cardstock and then pop up the letters so you get this cool 'drop shadow' effect. Done!

And here's one I made earlier, with lighter ribbon...

Cat punch - gift-wrapped!

I’ve wanted to share this card on here for ages but have had to wait for my friend and able helper Kelly’s birthday to come and go!

But now I can reveal all... along with the link to the brand new Autumn/Winter catalogue, which is where you will find this fabulous cat punch and the DSP which fits it perfectly.

I’ve placed the cat in a box by cutting off the end from a wooden crate die-cut from Kraft cardstock (yes it’s back! Page 12). The background is watercoloured in two of Kelly’s favourite colours: Soft Sky and Smoky Slate and the words are stamped with the Labeler Alphabet, which is really coming into its own now that I have cat cards to make!

Find the new Autumn/Winter catalogue here!

Sneak peek: Spooky Cat owl birthday card

It’s birthday season – from last week until the middle of September it’s just birthday, birthday, birthday. There’s even a run of four or five on consecutive days. And, in most cases, I can’t just root around for a card in the samples box. For instance, I don’t have an 18th birthday card lying around, so made this one specially, using a number of stamp sets:

• Spooky Cat – as part of my mission to prove that it’s good for more than just Halloween
• Number of Years – perfect for those age cards
• Best Birds – so the owl doesn’t fall off his perch
• Labeler Alphabet – for the inside greeting. 

Mix It Up Monday: sneak peek Cat Punch

As you may have gathered, the product I am most excited about in the upcoming Autumn/Winter catalogue is the cat punch. And, as I have no reason to celebrate Halloween, I’ve been looking for ways to use it for other occasions. 

Not sure what occasion would warrant this particular Mix It Up Monday project but it kept me amused for half an hour. And I’m proud to say that I stamped the words in one go. 

Here’s my three-step method for stamping with the Labeler Alphabet stamp set (or any alphabet set):

1. Draw a fine pencil line along a ruler and mark the centre point.
2. Have the word or phrase written on scrap paper so you can copy it (it’s so easy to stamp the wrong letter otherwise), then count the characters – including spaces and any punctuation – to work out the centre point.
3. Stamp from the centre point outwards; this is when having the phrase written down will help as you will be stamping half of it in reverse. 

I scoured my In Color charts for a combo with a cat shade in it (I’m not quite ready for fantasy cats in crazy colours but I’ll get there) and found this one… and a mistake which slipped through not one, not two but THREE proofreaders! Yes, the chart says Tangelo Twist, which is a retired In Color, when actually I meant to say Tangerine Tango. I always get those two mixed up. 

Cat punch sneak peek - Catzilla!

My mind is racing with ideas for this fabulous new cat punch, which is coming to an Autumn/Winter catalogue near you in September.

I don’t know why, but I wanted to place it with the fun buildings from the hostess stamp set, In The City, so I stamped a row of properties, cut them out and overlaid them onto some Soft Sky cardstock, with a Basic Grey cat sitting there, sinisterly peering over the top. Catzilla!

Sneak Peek: Spooky Cat bundle

I don’t normally post new catalogue sneak peeks so early in the month but I am SO excited about one particular new product and I think you will know why!

Yesssssss! A cat punch! I know more than a few people who will be purchasing this in their first order!

In another first, I bought a Halloween stamp set and its co-ordinating DSP. Why? Well take a look at the black cat on the front of this card – it’s punched from the Spooky Night DSP, which fits exactly. This one was on the edge of the paper and I didn’t want to waste it, so positioned it on the edge of the layer. Not sure what I’m going to do with the bottoms from the other side of the sheet, though!

Yes, it’s Halloween DSP and no, I don’t make Halloween projects but each sheet has a patterned side which can be used for any occasion, so I thought it was worth the investment.

As for the Spooky Cat stamp set, so far I’ve only used the cat’s face stamp but there are others I can use for non-Halloween projects and some which will need some creative thinking, so watch this space!

Ok, brace yourself for the inside of this card...

How cute is that? I repurposed a design from my Crafternoon Cream Tea event to make this fun pop-up card. Cats and boxes go together so, to me, using the Wood Crate Die was so obvious! I made a “blanket” by die-cutting a scalloped oval from DSP.

So who’s joining me in Team Spooky Cat this autumn?

Happy Birthday to a Fun Guy

I crack myself up, I really do. I’ve been waiting for inspiration to strike with this mushroom-themed DSP for some time. I really love it so didn’t want to cut into it for the sake of it (I know, I know, I should practise what I preach). Then I had this idea and chuckled to myself all the time I was making it. Well, somebody has to laugh at my jokes!

Mix It Up Monday: Emerald Envy with Jolly Friends

It’s Mix It Up Monday again and time for another project made with a colour combination from my latest set of In Color charts. For this project, I used the brand new set, Jolly Friends, with the co-ordinating Jolly Hat punch. I have to  confess I wasn’t that keen on this elf but I am warming to him - I love the colours and the fact that there’s even a tiny stamp to create his rosy cheeks. 

I CASEd the design from this project by Diana Gibbs. Diana has used the moose from the set, which is actually the reason I ordered it, so I thought I’d mix things up a bit. I love the way she’s rounded the corners and added some doodling - inspired!

Jolly Friends Photopolymer Bundle [143511] £26.50	Labeler Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set [141936] £15.00	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [126970] £6.00	Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry [131288] £7.25	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock [106577] £7.25
Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock [141420] £7.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	Emerald Envy 3/8" (1 Cm) Ruched Ribbon [141425] £7.25	Punch Corner Project Life [135346] £7.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mix It Up Monday: Birthday Fiesta stand-out cacti

It’s Mix It Up Monday again and time for another project made with a colour combination from my latest set of In Color charts.

And, while to you this combo may look like a bit of a cop-out, to me it represents a real challenge. Why? Because I confess that I’m not a particular fan of Tangerine Tango… and I can’t stand grey. 

But I had the idea for this card so needed a strong green and this was the most suitable combo in the Emerald Envy chart. Fortunately I had just enough Smoky Slate to complete the project; I’d actually have preferred to use Basic Black but that’s just me, I don’t like grey!

I haven’t decided who will be the lucky recipient of this card yet, I have several friends who fit the bill perfectly, so will hang onto it until I need it. 

Top tip: When stamping the words, I started from the right and worked backwards. Not only did this make it easier for me, as a left-hander, it meant I didn’t run out of space.  And, although the Labeler Alphabet stamp set comes with multiples of common letters so you can stamp whole words at once, I prefer to stamp individual letters so that I can get them closer together. 

Birthday Fiesta Photopolymer Bundle [142268] £38.50	Labeler Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set [141936] £15.00	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50
Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate [131291] £7.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50
Emerald Envy Classic Stampin' Pad [141396] £6.00	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad [126946] £6.00	2016-2018 In Color Enamel Shapes [141410] £8.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Birthday Fiesta - the first of many llama projects

Is Birthday Fiesta the most fun you can have with stamps and ink? Very possibly. Not since the ugly Santas of 2014 (Visions of Santa) have I chuckled to myself while stamping. I LOVE this set. I know it’s not to everybody’s taste but come on, some of you must get fed up of flowers sometimes, surely?And anyway, there ARE flowers on this card, albeit scattered at the feet of the mighty llama. 

The llama is stamped in Chocolate Chip and coloured by painting using a brush and water on the ink pad lid. Same for the rug. It isn’t easy on Kraft as it’s hard to tell if it’s just darker because it’s wet, but I took it slowly so that I didn’t end up going too dark too soon. 

The last time Stampin’ Up!® released a llama stamp (From the Herd) it was great… but a bit limiting as the llama was part of a crowd of other animals, which dominated any project. This llama is much more versatile as it stands alone, you can cut it out with the co-ordinating dies, add accessories and generally have llots of llama llaughs. 

Inside the card

In case you haven’t guessed, I love llamas (and alpacas). For my son’s 13th birthday we went on a mini llama experience, where we groomed them, fed them and walked them. Last year for my birthday I asked for a llama trek… and only a llama trek. Working on the theory that, because it was quite pricey, if I asked for absolutely nothing else, I’d stand more chance of getting one. And I did – and we all went as a family, walking around the Chatsworth Estate for a couple of hours with two gorgeous beasts, Django and Jelly-Roll. It was their owners who introduced us to the phrase “calmer with a llama” and it really was a very calming walk. Although we did have to stop and talk to absolutely everyone we saw. Bizarrely, one of those was one of my Stampin’ Up! customers, which startled us both and, being so completely out of context, we nearly didn’t recognise each other.

Anyway, enough about llamas. Although I can’t promise because as I may have mentioned, I do really love llamas. So expect to see a lot more of this little fellow. 

Birthday Fiesta Photopolymer Bundle [142268] £38.50	Labeler Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set [141936] £15.00	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock [141419] £7.25	Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock [121681] £7.25	Kraft 12" X 12" Card Stock [133674] £6.50
Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock [106550] £8.25	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad [141394] £6.00	Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad [126979] £6.00	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad [126966] £6.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com