A Baby Shower

Well, it would seem that as life moves on and my own babies are growing up, I'm not making many baby cards as I used to.

So when I get the opportunity to make a baby card, I ADORE it!!  I've also been invited to a few baby showers here and there, so I had a lot of fun making this card!

 

 I LOVE this card!  I used a long-retired stamp set: Rain or Shine which had gorgeous little umbrellas and shower sentiments.  In this case - Baby Shower!

 I used a combination of blue coloured inks - and coordinating cardstocks - to make this card.  The stamping of the little hearts was created to give a bokeh effect.  I love bokeh!!

The little hearts was also from another retired set: So Happy for you.  But I know Stampin' Up! has lots of stamp sets with hearts, that was just the set in easiest reach!!

I also pierced the edge of the Whisper White CS front to give the card a little something extra.

And yep, I knew this card was for a baby boy.  So I chose blues as my theme!

xx

Baby Tags

Well, long time no see!!  Yes, I'm still here.  Just don't get to the computer very often.  My back, shoulders and neck just ache from carrying my son around, lifting of the wheelchair, and all the work that goes with having a six year old with a broken leg.  Poor kid.  He's in a proper cast and we're counting the days/weeks till it can come off.  Full-time carers (and part-time carers too) that do this all the time, you have my total admiration xx

I have been able to make a few projects, usually ones involving crochet or hand-stitching so I can sink into the couch and rest my aching body!  With a hot cuppa near by.  But of course, all these little gifts I'm making require packaging and presentation..... So I've started making a few little tags for my baby crochet beanies!

I've used my favourite baby stamp set .... Baby We've Grown, using the gorgeous little bunny image and sweet baby as the sentiment.  It's SO CUTE!!

I've stamped the images in Black and used my watercolour pencils to colour, and then washed over with my Aqua Painters, very lightly.  I love watercolour pencils, just a little bit of water and no pencil lines!!

I have then used my Scallop Tag punch to make the little tags, also rounding off the edges to make it look sweet.  Looking at them again, they're so cute!!

So here's what I used:
Stamps: Baby, We've Grown
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Crumb Cake CS
Accessories: Scallop Tag Punch, Aqua Painters, Whisper White Bakers Twine & Project Life corner punch & Watercolour pencils.

Baby, We've Grown Clear Stamp Set

$33.95

Tag Topper Scalloped Punch

$39.95

Aqua Painters

$19.95

Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock

$11.95

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

$9.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Hello, Baby

So yesterday I shared a card for a new baby girl.  Today I share a card for a baby boy!  Still using the Baby, We've Grown stamp set.  I am so in love with that stamp set!!

 I love love LOVE the little bunny rabbit.  It's the cutest little bunny I've ever seen.  Well, I think so! I've stamped the bunny onto a piece of Watercolour CS and used my watercolour pencils for colouring in.  Oh so divine and so fun!

I've added a little 'hello baby' sentiment and started decorating the main card.  Can you see the cute little flowers I've punched from Coastal Cabana CS.  I love that colour and a great colour to use for baby boys!

 

I've embossed the bottom of the card with a Swiss Dots Embossing folder, added some Bakers Twine in Pool Party & Whisper White colours, and of course another little cute flower with pearls. LOVE!!  This card was inspired by this Pinterest share.  Love!

So here's what I used:

Stamps: Baby, we've grown & Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Inks: Memento Black ink & assorted Watercolour pencils
Papers: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana & Crumb Cake CS
Accessories: Bakers Twine, Itty Bitty punches and pearls
Big Shot: Oval Framelits & Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Sweet Girl

So while my baby has just turned four, turns out I've needed to make a few baby cards lately.  I don't get to make them as often, so I enjoy every moment and chance that I do.

Today's card uses the 'Baby, We've Grown' stamp set.  I truly love and adore this stamp set.  The images are so sweet.  And as I needed to make a baby girl card, the perfect set to use!

I have used Strawberry Slush and Crumb Cake as my feature colours.  The Strawberry Slush is so striking against the Whisper White background!

I've used my (now retired) little hearts embossing folder to emboss the background.  I love those sweet little hearts.  I cut my layered cardstock from Whisper White & Strawberry Slush CS using the Window Frames Collection dies.  I stamped my little shoes in black and then used my blender pens to colour the little shoes using Blushing Bride & Pretty in Pink inks.

I've added a little hearts border using an old punch and added some Petite Petals flowers stamped in Strawberry Slush and Blushing Bride, and then cut with the coordinating Petite Petals punch.  Add some pearls and they look so cute.

And last but not least, I added a little baby sentiment 'hello baby'.

So here's what I used:

Stamps: Baby, we've grown & Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Inks: Memento Black, Blushing Bride, Strawberry Slush & Pretty in Pink (retired) inks
Papers: Whisper White, Strawberry Slush & Crumb Cake CS
Accessories: Blender pen, punches and pearls
Big Shot: Window Frames Collection

My card was inspired by the Stampin' Pretty version of a little baby girl card.

Baby, We've Grown Clear Stamp Set

$17.95

Window Frames Collection Framelits Die

$26.95

Convention Swap 3

Today's share is my final Convention Swap.  I simply ran out of time and just stayed with my three designs.  I know there would have been so many to swap with, but I was pretty pleased with the number of swaps I made and therefore received!

So today's Convention Swap is based on the Baby Shower card I made the other week.  I loved that card so much I decided to make it a swap!

 And of course I made baby cards for little boys and little girls this time.  Babies are so sweet, how could you not!  This first version was for little baby boy themed cards.  I used pretty much the same products as I did for the Baby Shower card, just swapped out the pinks for Marina Mist.  Marina Mist is such a pretty blue!

 

I love the little line/banner line.  The little banner stamps and punch outs made for such a cute banner, and the little blue shoes are adorable.  Of course I've added a loopy bow made of Linen Thread.

I also made a bunch of cards in pinks.  The only real difference being I was able to use some of my Blushing Bride chevron ribbon to add to the banner.  So cute!

 I've also stamped the baby sentiment on both cards, using Soft Suede ink and adding some little shiny gold sequins.  Love the sequins, they add a wonderful touch!

The finer details: I have used Crumb Cake CS as the card base.  I have then stamped the Hardwood stamp onto a piece of Very Vanilla CS. I used my scissors to distress the edge of the card, and then sponged Crumb Cake over the edges.  It blended the woodgrain card front to the base perfectly.

They looked so pretty in a stack.  Love love love!  I also noticed (oopsy) the convention recipe that I put on the back of each card was wrong.  Can't believe I got that wrong.  Teaches me to leave everything to the last minute!!

So here's what I used:
Stamps: Woodgrain, Baby We've Grown & Banner Blast
Inks: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Marina Mist & Blushing Bride
Papers: Very Vanilla & Crumb Cake CS
Accessories: Gold Sequin trim, linen thread, Blushing Bride chevron ribbon, banner punch & sponge daubers.

Enjoy. I  hope you liked the swaps I made.  I'll try and take photos of the swaps I received.  There are a few.....

Oh Baby!

I couldn't wait to share this card with you all.  This card was for a Baby Shower that I attended last week and it gave me the chance to use two of my stamp sets that I love but hadn't really used!  Baby We've Grown and Hardwood.  Two fantastic sets in the Occasions Catalogue!

So without any further delay, lets see!

Lots to talk about for this card.  I've stamped the Hardwood stamp over a piece of Very Vanilla CS.  I distressed the edges with a pair of scissors and then sponged the edges with Crumb Cake ink!

 I've then made my little banner, using ribbon, banners cut with the Banner punch and gorgeous little shoes!  I've used some packing twine that I had in my stash to make the banner and added a multiple-looped bow on one corner.

 I've stamped the shoes with Soft Suede ink and coloured with Blushing Bride ink.  So cute.  I've added Blushing Bride ribbon next to the shoes, highlighted with a little pearl. 

I stamped my little greeting - Oh Baby, and then added a few gold sequins.  So cute and I'm really happy how it turned out.  The card front was then adhered to a card base of Crumb Cake CS, the perfectly matched card base!!

So here's what I used:

Stamps: Hardwood & Baby We've Grown
Inks: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede & Blushing Bride
Papers: Very Vanilla & Crumb Cake CS
Accessories: twine, pink button, gold sequin trim, Blushing Bride chevron ribbon, pearls
Punches: Banner

I can't wait till I get to make the baby card!!  Congrats V xx

Guest Designer - Card in a box

Earlier this month, I shared my version of the very popular Card in a Box.  It's a great card to make and I love that it folds flat to put in an envelope.  Love love love.  You can see my earlier version here.

So anyway, today I would like to share the Card in a Box version made by my very lovely friend Sandy.  It's just gorgeous and I love how hers came together.

Sandy has used the Oh Baby stamp set and the Secret Garden stamp set.  Don't you just love it?  I love the colours too.

If you would like the instructions to make this box, do let me know.  I used the instructions from the Stampin' T blog as her instructions are based on Australian sizes.

Thanks Sandy for sharing.  Your card in a box is beautiful!

Baby Cards

I love baby things!  My youngest is now three years old and we've well and truly moved past baby things (insert a very sad face here), so it's wonderful when you get to make baby cards and things for others instead!  So when a friend recently had a baby girl, I decided to make a card that I had been wanting to make for ages!!

 

I love this card, and I've seen it done in pinks, blues, whites and even chocolates.  Just gorgeous!  I decided to use pinks of course for a little girl.

 This card uses lots of punches, well a few anyway.  I've used the Curly Label punch to make the bottom of the drawers, punching two pieces out close together.

I've also used the Modern Label Punch to make the decorative edges of the top shelf of the card.  I've sponged the edges of the drawers with matching Pretty in Pink ink as well as using dimensionals on the top drawer, so as to appear like the drawer is pulled out a little bit!

I've used the Baby Bundle set to make the little baby pieces inside the top drawer.  These were stamped with black StazOn and coloured in with glitter pens! 

This card is so cute, there's so many out there in the world of stamping, so this is now my version.  If only I could get the lighting for this card right!!

Iris Folding!

Well my thumb is almost back in action, which means I'm trying my hardest to catch up on some crafting!! I never realised how important my left-hand thumb is to me, especially being right handed. Buttons, zips, changing nappies were a mighty challenge let alone anything creative. So imagine my relief when my thumb went from swollen and stiff to slightly swollen and gaining some movement!! So when we had Friday night Craft night I was so happy to be able to play!! And guess what! I learned something new. My lovely friend Lesley patiently taught us the technique of Iris Folding. Other than making sure I didn't cut myself with the craft knife, the rest of it went really well. So let's see what I made!! I had to make a baby boy card, so I found this cute little template and with Lesley's expert guidance, I made this:

I never realised how thick the SU Designer Series Papers were until I started making lots of folds.  Lots of them!!

But the best part of the Stampin' Up! Designer Series Papers, they perfectly coordinate with each other!!  I used the very cute Nursery Nest range for this card.

And of course, I had to embellish my little rocking horse.  I added a black pearl for the eye and decorated the rocker with faux stitching and some cute little pearl buttons I found in my stash.

To make this card, I used:

Papers: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Marina Mist CS, Nursery Nest and Subtles Patterned DSP
Inks: White Signo gel ink pen & Early Espresso Ink
Stamps: Baby Bundle
Other: Word Window punch, black pearl & buttons

Want to try this style of card-making?  Head on over to this website for further info and LOTS of templates and ideas: http://www.circleofcrafters.com/irisfolding/ 


Thanks so much Lesley for patiently teaching me :) I'll be back in the next day or so - just to show off the first card we made.  A Christmas Tree!  I just have to dig out my Christmas stamps to finish!!

A Baby Bundle

A friend of mine (who I happen to work with too which is cool) had a baby girl a couple of weeks ago.  We've often been on maternity leave at the same time, as we both have 8 year old boys and we both have 3 1/2 year olds.  But this time I returned to work from maternity leave just as she was on maternity leave.  I should also say she has four versus my three, but we both love kids so that's ok!

Anyway, while surfing blogland I saw a card made with the cute Baby Bundle stamp set that I've only used once or twice (shock horror).  So here's my version in pink!

I stamped the pram on a a piece of Subtles (Pink Pirouette) DSP and then used my Blender pen for lots of colouring in!!

And if you're wondering, I also made a little crochet hat for baby Ellie.  Using Bamboo cotton yarn, it's oh so soft!

To make my card, I used:

Stamps: Baby Bundle
Inks: Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride, Pixie Pink & Pear Pizzazz, Jet Black StazOn
Papers: Whisper White & Regal Rose CS, Subtles DSP
Other: Circle & Scallop Eyelet Border Punches, blender pen & a little pearl for bling!

So go on over and visit the Stamping with Paula website.  Lots of great ideas, especially cards for kids!

A New Little Someone - JAI59

I have to admit, I do love babies and adore making things for babies.  They're so cute, who wouldn't!!  So it was with much delight and pleasure that I made a baby card for a friend who had a sweet little boy last month.  Yes, I know, I still haven't sent the card, but I do have it ready to go for tomorrow when it's payday and I have money for postage!!

So, I pulled out an old favourite (and now retired set) - A New Little Someone and used the Just Add Ink - Sketch Challenge 59 for inspiration.  I then used the absolutely gorgeous new Stampin' Up! colours of Marina Mist and Daffodil Delight, combined with a touch of Bashful Blue.  I love blue and yellow together.  One of my all time favourite colour combinations!

I used my water colour pencils for this one.  I LOVE colouring-in so therapeutic and of course did a bit of sponging on the edges here and there!  The sketch layout was great and I'll be using this one again!

So here's what I used:

Stamps: A New Little Someone (retired) and Little Angel
Inks: Bashful Blue, Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist & Soft Suede
Papers: Whisper White & Marina Mist CS, Marina Mist DSP
Other: Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon, punches, water colour pencils & sponge daubers

Christening Invites

Well, I think I can safely reveal the invites I made for Jessica's Christening for later this month.  I'm so proud of these little invites as they're cute and I even managed to stay away from pink!!  So now that everyone SHOULD have their invites, I can now show you what they looked like:

Yep, I made cute little dress cards.  I used Vellum cardstock for the overlay, which had been embossed through the Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots die.  I used my Scallop Circle nestabilities to cut the front collar, added some pearls and some 'stitching' detail and the cards were done!! 

 I used So Saffron and Apricot Appeal which were perfect contrast to the white!  With matching DSP collars, I had to make one just to keep for myself!

So, the church & minister is booked, invites finished and sent.  Now I just have to collect my RSVPs and order catering for a light lunch afterwards.  Easy, I hope!!

Here's what I used:

Papers: Whisper White CS, Vellum CS, Apricot and So Saffron DSP

Other: Big Shot, Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 3/4" Circle Punch, Signo White Gel Ink pen, pearls, Nestabilities (Scallop Circle) and adhesives.

A Baby Shower

Today I went to a friend's baby shower she was hosting for her daughter.  And a yummy baby shower at that, it was a high tea!  I'm trying hard not to think about the fact that my young bridesmaid (not so long ago....) is now expecting her first baby!  And there I was attending a baby shower with my third baby in tow!

Anyway, after a crazily hectic week, I left the making of a Baby Shower card to the very last minute.  Literally!  I worked on it till 10.30pm last night and finished it this morning when I stamped the sentiment.

This card uses a couple of techniques but quick ones (LOL!!).  I have to love distressing and using the Stampin' Wheels.  Makes a card into something special real quick.

Here's what I used:

Stamps: Baby Tees (Stampin' Wheel) and Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Inks: Basic Black &  Night of Navy
Papers: Whisper White, Pale Plum (retired) and Certainly Celery
Other: Watercolour pencils, Stampin' Dimensionals, White Satin Ribbon, Big Shot & Polka Dots Embossing Folder

I have to admit, I had a lot of fun shopping for baby things this morning :0)

Fox & Friends

Fox & Friends is such a cute stamp set and I'm so glad that it's in the new SU Idea Book & Catalogue.  It's perfect for babies, birthdays, scrapbooking and more!  This time I've used this cute as stamp set for a Baby/Christening card.  Using the Idea Book & Catalogue as a guide, I chose Soft Sky & Creamy Caramel as my colour combination and stamped away to my heart's content!!

Although I giggle at the little monkey hanging off the letter "L", I also giggle at the memory of our Friday Craft & Chat night where I made this.  Somtimes we chat more than craft, but boy we have a heap of fun!!

Here's what I used:

Stamps: Fox & Friends
Inks: Creamy Caramel & Soft Sky
Papers: Whisper White, Soft Sky & Creamy Caramel CS
Other: Stampin' Dimensionals, Scallop Border Punch & Big Shot

Baby Baby Baby!

Don't you just love baby cards?  I do, and I have been the recipient of so many lately with the arrival of little Jessica!!  She's sure brought out the pink in me!  Babies are the in-thing at the moment with my extended family with three of my cousins also welcomed little ones into their family over the last couple of weeks.

Speaking of Jessica, I just had to show a photo of Jessica with the hat I crocheted for her.  Jessica is now 2 months old and boy has that time gone fast!!

Today I cased a baby card (you know .... CASE: Copy and share everything).  So I borrowed a few ideas from the card and created this (and I think it's super cute!!):

I told you it was cute!!  I have used Pink Pirouette as the card base with Whisper White and a hint of Pretty in Pink.  Here's what I used:

Stamps: Nursery Necessities
Inks: Pink Pirouette
Papers: Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White CS
Other: Circle Scissors, Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, Large Star Punch & Small Star Punch, Scallop Oval Punch and Word Window Punch, Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon & white brad.
Big Shot: Polka Dot embossing folder

And before I forget, I case'd this card from Brenda Fry, a fellow SU Demonstrator.