Mix It Up Monday: Bookcase Builder

Mix It Up Monday is back with an Emerald Envy colour combination from my In Color charts. I’ve used the fabulous Bookcase Builder stamp set to create a birthday card and matching wine label for a friend. 

The colour combination was a little tricky. It seems that Calypso Coral and Watermelon Wonder are a lot closer to each other than they first appear!

The bunting stamp is quite ingenious. I was wondering why there were two stamps, almost identical but of different sizes. Then it hit me: you use them together but in different colours. I’d already made the wine tag by the time I worked that out!

I introduced a few other sets to create these projects: Birthday Bright for some smaller bunting; Tasty Trucks and Barnyard Babies for some subtle ‘happy birthday’ greetings.  The In Color enamel shapes in Emerald Envy added the finishing touches.  

Mix It Up Monday: Tasty Trucks

I’m quite excited about this Mix It Up Monday project, which began its life in Friday morning’s discussion with my friend Kelly. I’m impressed that I managed to make it work all by myself without a tutorial (I struggle with anything other than basic folds!), although the slider is a little tight and doesn’t return as easily as I’d like. 

So here we have a cute little van with cakes and the fun sentiment, “Happy Birthday, now where’s the cake?”

Pull out the slider and the cakes are being stolen by a cheeky goat. Yes, I love goats, too, just as much as llamas!

In fact, it was the llama which started it all, as we were hoping to squeeze a llama into the van from the Sale-a-Bration set, Tasty Trucks. When we realised it was too big, I dug out my Barnyard Babies set and the rest is history. 

As for the colour combination, it is no secret that I have a hate-hate relationship with Pêche Fraiche (I can’t even bring myself to say the English name) but I have to confess that this colour combination isn’t too bad. And if you’re wondering why you’re seeing so many Peach combinations on Mix It Up Monday recently, it’s because I’m rapidly working my way through the Peach combinations  from my In Color charts so I can wash my hands of them!

Just a note with Picture Perfect

Picture Perfect is a  beautiful stamp set which involves three-step – and even four-step – stamping. Some of the images take a little practice but the flower is fairly straightforward as there’s lots of margin for error in something as natural as petals.

The stamps are numbered, which helps, but can also hinder as it doesn’t always make sense to start at number 1! But it does for the petals, so I stamped in this order, with the following colours:

1. Blushing Bride
2. Calypso Coral
3. Watermelon Wonder.

For the leaves, however, I found that stamping in reverse order worked better. Also, to simplify things slightly for the Make & Take, I only stamped two of the steps, like so:

3. Mint Macaron
2. Garden Green

The background panel is created using Timeless Textures. I cannot stress enough how fantastic this stamp set is – if you love textured backgrounds or the shabby chic look, this set is an absolute must!

Picture Perfect Photopolymer Stamp Set [140520] £24.00	Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock [138341] £6.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25	Gold Metallic Thread [138401] £2.75	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad [131172] £6.00
Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [126983] £6.00	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323] £6.00	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326] £6.00	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad [126973] £6.00	Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140517] £18.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mix It Up Monday Oh My Goodies and Something to Say

It’s Mix It Up Monday and time for another colour combination from my In Color charts.   It’s a holiday here in the UK so let’s hope the weather holds (it never does for bank holidays though!).

Another outing for Oh My Goodies and the matching Decor Labels Framelts, along with my most-used punches – the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack – before they are gone for good.  Plus there’s the Color Me Irresistible Designer Series Paper, too – this is a lovely mix of embossed papers, half in In Colors and half in white so you can colour them yourself. I’ve used Watermelon Wonder here, to fit in with my colour combination. 

I struggled a little with this as I don’t have a Mossy Meadow marker, so I compromised with a pool of ink from a refill bottle, and a blender pen. It’s a bit smudgy but it’ll do. 

Only one Mix It Up Monday project left to go from this set of charts – phew! 

Oh My Goodies Clear-Mount Bundle [140253] £32.25	Something To Say Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134180] £20.00	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack [133787] £15.50	White 1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Jute Ribbon [137904] £8.25
Pearl Basic Jewels Embellishments [119247] £4.50	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad [131179] £6.00	2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers [138333] £13.50	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50
Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz [131290] £6.50	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock [133683] £6.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25	Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate [131291] £6.50
Color Me Irresistible Specialty Designer Series Paper [138439] £11.75

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mix It Up Monday: Summer Silhouettes

It’s Mix It Up Monday and time for another colour combination from my In Color charts.  

Today I’ve stuck entirely within the 2015-17 In Color range, with Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe, all held together with some Very Vanilla. 

This stamp set, Summer Silhouettes, is a timeless classic, which I hardly dare hope will survive the new catalogue overhaul that’s coming our way in a few months. I began by stamping Hardwood in Tip Top Taupe onto Very Vanilla - I deliberately kept this “rough and ready”, allowing the stamp to miss the cardstock in places. The flowers and leaves are then stamped on top, and it’s all finished off with some strands of Burlap Ribbon and a tiny greeting. Hope you like it!

Summer Silhouettes Clear Stamp Set [126447] £18.00	Hardwood Clear-Mount Stamp Set [133035] £13.00	One Big Meaning Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139420] £17.00	Window Word Punch [119857] £14.50
Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323] £6.00	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326] £6.00	Tip Top Taupe Classic Stampin' Pad [138325] £6.00	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock [106550] £7.25
Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock [138341] £6.50	Tip Top Taupe A4 Cardstock [138343] £6.50	Tip Top Taupe 1" Dotted Lace Trim [138422] £5.50	1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon [132140] £7.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mix It Up Monday: Sketched Dots gift bags

If ordering online before 20th November, please use hostess code: JMUYWRZR to qualify for a free gift from me. This order will close at 9am on 20th November. Thank you! Not sure how to use a hostess code? Please drop me a line and I’ll send instructions. Thanks!

It’s Mix It Up Monday again and time for another colour combination from my In Color charts.

I’m really enjoying a vellum-y kind of a theme at the moment and, while this project doesn’t use vellum, it does continue the translucent motif in the form of the polka dot gift bags. These are really sweet and if you don’t have some already, I highly recommend you add them to your next order. They’re cheap, which is always a bonus. (Trans-Atlantic friends: “cheap” simply means “inexpensive” in the UK). They’re really versatile, they have polka dots on them and, best of all when you need to make 10 quick gifts for your Virtual Hostess Club members: you get 10 in a pack. Hurrah!

But you can trawl around Home Bargains as many times as you like and you still won’t find something that fits these bags perfectly. Luckily Aldi is just a few doors down and they sell the best chocolate ever (well, the best you can buy in Heanor). And did I mention that the bags are versatile? Well it’s worth repeating because you don’t have to stick to their original shape – you can of course trim them, fold them, scrunch them… well you don’t need me to tell you that, you’re crafters, too!

Because I wanted to keep an air of mystery about the contents, I decided to line them with a folded piece of Blushing Bride cardstock, then slide the chocolate inside. This does mean I don’t know who gets which flavour, although I did peek to make sure I wasn’t sending hazelnut chocolate to the lady with a nut allergy. I decorated them with my new Oh My Goodies! stamp set and matching Deco Labels Framelits Dies. I earned these free from Stampin’ Up!® recently. Apparently, despite not doing much this summer, it turns out I am still great and they rewarded me for my efforts. Which, I have to say, is jolly decent of them. 

Anyway, enough from me: I’ve just remembered there’s some of that chocolate left in the cupboard because, naturally, I bought spares.

Oh My Goodies Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134090] £16.00	Deco Labels Framelits Die [130102] £22.00	2-3/8" Circle Scallop Punch [118874] £16.00	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack [133787] £15.50	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride [131287] £6.50
So Saffron A4 Card Stock [108611] £6.50	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock [106550] £7.25	Gold Glimmer Paper [133719] £4.50	Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack [138442] £7.25	Gold Cording Trim [139618] £4.50
Sketched Dots Tag A Bag Gift Bags [138316] £3.75	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323] £6.00	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad [131172] £6.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com