Inspired by Shari Caroll ~ Grid Hydrangeas & Butterfly!

This is the last Card of the Box Cards 'Inspired by Sharri Carroll's' fab Tut! ..... It's been lying on my table for the last week waiting for me to photograph and upload.

Quite a simple Card this time ....

I used my HA Grid Pattern Stamp with Versamark and White Embossing Powder onto a medium turquiose Card blank ..... I then stamped the Sentiment in the same way.

I've used my new Martha Stewart Hydrangea Punches (Just love these soooo much) and have embossed them so that they stand out.

The Pearls are plain natural ones I have coloured with a turquoise Pantone Marker.

I coloured the grid with a white pen and the same turquoise Marker.

The Butterfly has been stamped with Adirondack Espresso Ink and I coloured in with my Tonal turquoise Pantone Markers ..... I then used my white pen for the highlights.

Recipe List:

Hero Arts ~ S5216 Grid Pattern

Inca ~ In415-D Swallowtail

SU ~ 'Sincere Salutations' Sentiment

White Embossing Powder & Versamark

Tonal Turquoise Pantone Markers

Martha Stewart Hydrangea Punches

White Pen

Pearls

Many thanks for looking and I hope these different Box Cards have inspired you.

Inspired By Shari Carroll ~ Another One ..... Butterfly & Buttons

Just had to ink up my new Hero Arts Silhouette Ivy (One of my BDay Presents from Hubby) and I'm using  the Shari Carroll Box Card Tutorial again .... Shari mentions that this is her favourite and I think it's becoming a firm Fav of mine too if you hadn't noticed.

I stamped the base card front and back first (Brushed Corduroy) along with the Ivy (only at the front) and used my blending tool with Brushed Corduroy at the edges .... cut out my circles with nesties and put the pieces to one side ... then I stitched my edges (circles and top and bottom only).

I stamped my flowers (SU Stamp & Punch) with Spiced Marigold Distress ink and embossed the edges so they curled and glued my handmade buttons in the centres ....

I slit the sides of the card and threaded my Ribbon and tied it to finish ....

The circle pieces were turned over and I stamped them with my HA Woodgrain Pattern and Soft Sand Shadow Ink .... the Sentiment was then stamped on the centre of each one with Espresso Ink .... I then positioned them so they would be in the centre of the cut circles and attached them with foam pads.

After joining the sides to form the box I attached the Flowers with foam pads .... the Butterfly was stamped with Espresso Ink and coloured using Tonal Orange % Pantone Markers and glued on. 

Recipe List:

Hero Arts ~ S5100 Woodgrain Pattern

Hero Arts ~ K5313 Silhouette Ivy

Stampin' Up! ~ 'Looks Like Spring' Flowers & Punch

Inca Stamp ~ In514-D Swallowtail

Distress Ink ~ Pine Needles, Brushed Corduroy, Spiced Marmalade

Adirondack ~ Espresso Ink

Tonal % Orange Pantone Markers

My Handmade Buttons, Ribbon and Embroidery Thread from my stash

Many thanks for looking

Further Inspired By Shari Carroll ~ Delicate Butterflies!

Sorry I'm going to bore you with the Cards I'm currently uploading as I just love this Box Card Shape inspired by Shari Carroll .... unfortunately I've gone a bit mad with them and you will see a few of them with the next couple of Cards I upload ...

This one is a case of the Card she created in her Tut using Stamps and Inks I have in my collection.

I've used another Distress Ink I've had in my collection for some time but haven't used (Weathered Wood) but I think it works quite well on this Turq Card I had in my stash.

The MS Butterfly is a Birthday present from me to me lol! ... I've coloured the Pearls with a Turq Pantone Marker.

Recipe List:

Hero Arts ~ F2621 A Real Violet ... Slap me this is another stamp I've had for ages and haven't used.

Hero Arts ~ S5213 Dots & Flowers

Hero Arts ~ F5243 Elegant Brocade

Stampin' Up! ~ Whimsical Words Sentiment

Distress Ink ~ Weathered Wood, Broken China

White Embossing Powder

Turq Pantone Marker

Martha Stewart ~ Monarch Butterfly

Pearls and Ribbon from my stash

Many thanks for looking

Just had to share ~ My little bear pinching my pillow!

Hope you don't mind, this isn't Craft related but I just had to share these pics with you!

Shona didn't look very comfortable the other day .... she was lying next to my squishy pillow so I managed to move her so that the pillow was under her head .... Bad move! ..... she wouldn't move off it .... everytime she shifted she made sure her head was firmly placed on that pillow.   Don't know if you can see properly but she has her legs propped against the back of the sofa.

Haven't used it since so I don't know if she'll reclaim it when I do lol!

Hope the Pics made you smile .... thanks for looking

Inspired by Shari Carroll ~ Hydrangea Box Card

When I saw Shari Carroll's Tutorial over at the Hero Arts Blog for a Box Card I just had to have a go.

I had fun with this one and actually used some stamps (Hydrangea & HA Art Stamp) I've had for a while but never used ... and it's also the first time I'm using my Milled Lavender Distress Ink which has also just been sitting in the box.

Once I had followed the instructions for scoring the Card, I stamped the Hydrangea first with Vintage Sepia Versafine and then made a mask so I could print over the top .... I then used the HA Dots & Flowers with Milled Lavender and on the other side used my HA Art, LIfe & Beauty Stamp using Shabby Shutters .... I blended the edges of my Card with my blending tool and Brushed Corduroy.

Using my Fiskars Circle Cutter I then worked out how far I wanted to cut my circle and cut only as far as the edge of the Hydrangea .... I then cut the remaining section around the Hydrangea with a scalpel.

I next stamped the Butterflies with Vintage Sepia Versafine, coloured them with Milled Lavender, Lilac Watercolour Pencil and a 155 Pantone Marker ... then cut them out.

I cut the edge of the leaves of the Hydrangea so that they would go over the edge of the Spellbinders Label ... the Hydrangea Flowers were punched with the Martha Stewart Punches, coloured with the Milled Lavender, spritzed left to dry and then recoloured with Milled Lavender, Lilac Pencil and embossed so that the petals popped.

The inside has been stamped with my HA Woodgrain Pattern and HA Soft Sand Shadow Ink and then the Sentiment has been stamped so you can see it through the hole.

Recipe List:

Hero Arts ~ S5213 Dots & Flowers

Hero Arts ~ G2678 Art, Life & Beauty

Hero Arts ~ S5100 Woodgrain Pattern

Hero Arts ~ LL807 Messages

All Night Media (Anna Griffin) ~ 580H03 Hydrangea

Personal Impressions ~ P547 E Butterfly

Stampin' Up! ~ 'Fresh Cuts' For You Sentiment

Hero Arts ~ Soft Sand Shadow Ink

Versafine ~ Vintage Sepia

Distress Ink ~ Milled Lavender, Shabby Shutters & Brushed Corduroy

Martha Stewart ~ Hydrangea Flower Punches

Spellbinder Wizard Labels

155 Pantone Marker, Pearls coloured with Lilac Pantone Marker, Lilac Watercolour Pencil, SU Linen Thread and Embroidery Thread from my stash.

And the best bit is, you can't see any stitching on the inside of the Card .... yaaay!

Thanks for looking

Using Up Scraps ~ Lattice Rosette!

When I first used my Botanical Fern Background Stamp with Metallic Silver Ink I had quite a lot of ink left on the rubber, so rather than waste it I stamped another Card ..... It gave a lovely softer paler version.

The back of the Rosette is the cut out from the 'Burgundy Brocade' Nestie Cut out ... the Lattice Rosette is using up a border I'd punched out but didn't use ... I used this Tut to create my Rosette.

Gems and Ribbon are from my stash and the centre of the Rosette is from Carol as part of my Stampin' Up! Advent Win.

Many thanks for looking

Stampin' Up! ~ March Make & Take ~ New Home Birdhouse!

Well you can probably tell but I had great fun with this one ... It's a case (Joanne - Mainly Flowers) of a case (Monika - Sorry no further link).

I've changed it slightly again and made my version of it adding the 'New Home' embellishment, Hero Arts Stamping and  Martha Stewart Punching.

I made the 'New Home' Sign using a Quickutz Doublekutz Fence Die .... I stamped the Card first with my Hero Arts Woodgrain Pattern Stamp and Adirondack Esresso Ink, then cut the pieces and glued them together ... the letters are a Quickutz Alphabet which I coloured with Espresso Ink .... a little bit of knotted linen thread and a brad ..... one 'New Home' Sign.

The main house has also been stamped with the HA Woodgrain Pattern and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink ... I Versamarked the Bird sections (Vintage Label) and the circle entrance so the Birdhouse looked dark inside.

The Challenge over at Hero Arts this month is 'Home' so I might just have to enter this one.

Recipe List:

Hero Arts ~ S5100 Woodgrain Pattern

Stampin' Up! ~ Vintage Labels

Quickutz ~ Doublekutz Fence Die

Quickutz Alphabet

Martha Stewart ~ Embossed Scallop Border Punch

Adirondack Espresso Ink

Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink

Paper & Card, Bird & Flowers ~ Stampin' Up Make & Take Pack

Linen Thread and Brad from my stash

Many thanks for looking

'Our Two Little Polar Bears' - Just Had To Share!

Aren't they just a pair of sweeties!

We had to Dogsit at the weekend (looking after Lilly for Mum & Dad)

Shona is the front Westie and Lilly is the Westie resting her head.

There is 5 years difference between them and Mum & Dad adopted Lilly when she was just turning 4 but you wouldn't know they hadn't grown up together from birth looking at this Pic of the two of them.

I had to be quick though as Shona hates having her picture taken and moves just as you are about to take the shot.

All together now ..... ahhhhhhh!

Many thanks for looking

Stampin' Up! ~ March 'Make & Take' using 'Fresh Cuts'

This Card is using the 1st Pack of 'Make & Take' bits and pieces from Joanne .... Unfortunately I don't have the New Mini Cat 'Vintage Vogue' Set so I substituted the 'Fresh Cuts' Set instead ... I've changed the stamping positions and the Stamps are different but you still get the same feel.

I've also used the 'Birthday Wishes' Sentiment from the 'Sincere Salutations' Set.

I've stamped the Pink Card with Versamark .... the green is Versamagic Niagra Mist ... the light Pink is Versamagic Pixie Dust and the pinky-red is Adirondack Cranberry.

A little paper pricking to simulate stitch holes and to finish the pearls sent in the pack.

Many thanks for looking

'Mainly Flowers' ~ Stampin' Up! Challenge Card!

This is the Card I created using the Stampin' Up! Challenge bits and pieces from Joanne (Mainly Flowers) for this month.

I'm afraid I don't know the names of the papers but I've used the 'Flight of the Butterfly' Stamp Set and Punch with Adirondack Espresso Ink, Really Rust Stampin' Up! Marker and a Turq Ink Pad.

Here's the close-up

I've used another favourite of the moment ... my Martha Stewart Garden Trellis Punch and my Japanese hole punch for the large stitch holes.

And no Burgundy to be seen lol! .... not on this one anyway!

Many thanks for looking

All Stampin' Up! Stamping ~ Aged Mahogany French Filigree!

Sorry I seem to be stuck on this colourway at the moment ..... I've got two more Cards to show and then hopefully I'll be using a different colour ..... I do so love Burgundy though.

This is another quick Birthday Card to go in the Box for emergencies .... I'm trying to build up my collection so I can just grab one when I need one so I'm only including my trademark stitching now and then.

If you are a follower you will probably know by now that I love Background Stamps and I just had to have this 'French Filigree' Stamp from Stampin' Up! when I laid eyes on it.

It seemed to go very nicely with the Stampin' Up! 'Vintage Labels Set' and I added in the Punched Flower from the 'Looks Like Spring Set' ... I've embossed the Flowers so they stand out and have put a dot of Opal Liquid Pearls in each centre.

I've used just the Aged Mahogany Distress Ink  on this one again and of course it's becoming a habit as I keep going for the Martha Stewart Lattice Border/Corner Punch Set.

The Sentiment and Scroll Frame has been layered on Oval Nesties ... I've inked the base scallop so that it sits with the rest of the Card and also inked behind the Corners and Border to make them POP!

Ribbon is from my stash.

Hope I've managed to inspire you and many thanks for looking

Happy Easter Everyone! ~ 'Easter Goodies!'

Happy Easter Everyone!

I don't usually make Hubby a Card but I did this year to match the fabulous little Gift idea from Joanne (Mainly Flowers) .... I've made one the same size as the 'Make and Take' that she sent in the post to me and a larger version (Hubby Loves Chocolate).

The Background All Over Print is my own design and I printed both the white and green option on the same piece of card so you could see the reverse option when I folded the container.

As the lovely Ladies over at Hero Arts were making Egg shaped Cards I just had to have a go too.

I've used my Lattice Border Punch for the centre section ... My Silhouette Cut of the Hero Arts Butterfly Shape and a Wooden Bunny Die Cutter shaded with Distress Inks.

Ribbon and Gems are from my Stash.

Many thanks for looking and I hope you have a lovely day.

'Burgundy Baroque' ~ Aged Mahogany All The Way!

Simple Card trying to be dramatic and create quick simple Birthday Cards (A just in case Card) .... only one colour this time and it's all Aged Mahogany Distress ink .... Love, Love, Love this colour.

I've used the Botanical Fern again ... doesn't it look Fab!

I wanted to try something different on this one so instead of cutting out separate Nesties and layering them on top of the Stamped Background I've cut an aperture into the Card and attached the Nestie Sentiment on the inside of the Card with Foam Pads.

The edge Border is just plain with a punched Martha Stewart Garden Trellis edge and I've pricked the area beside the Ribbon (No Stitching on this one).

Recipe List:

B Line Designs ~ FF311K Botanical Fern

Stampin' Up! ~ Vintage Labels

Hero Arts ~ LL807 Messages

Aged Mahogany Distress Ink

Martha Stewart ~ Garden Trellis Border Punch

Spellbinder Wizard Circle Nesties

Ribbon from my Stash

Many thanks for looking

Easter Bouncing Bunny Border!

I really enjoyed making this cute quick Easter Card .... tried to keep it simple...ish and I'm quite pleased how it turned out.

I've used a little Hero Arts Stamp I've had for a very long time but never inked up .... (slap my wrist lol! must stop hoarding and use).

I've Embossed the base of the Card with my Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers Embossing Folder .... The Bunny Border has been inked with Stampin' Up! Markers Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel and I punched the edge with my Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace Border Punch ... a little stitching around the edge to finish it off.

Once I had attached the Ribbon and Bunny Border to the base I touched the edges lightly with my Blending Tool and Brushed Corduroy Disress Ink but only on the punched border and the embossed area.

Sentiment is from a stamp from an old QVC Stamp Set and I only used the Happy Easter section ... Again inked with the same Stampin' Up! Markers .... label is one of the Fancy Tags from Wizard.

What do you think of  my little display? .... I got the pot rabbit a couple of years ago from a shop in Ashby .... the Tulip is from Panduro which I never painted and the Eggs are a set I created to hang on Forsythia in a vase for Easter (Unforturnately as Easter is too early this year it's not flowering)

Quick, quick Recipe List:

Hero Arts ~ A3007 Bouncy Bunny

Happy Easter ~ Section from a QVC Stamp Set

Cuttlebug Stylized Flower Embossing Folder

Martha Stewart ~ Eyelet Lace Border Punch

Spellbinder Wizard ~ Fancy Tags

Stampin' Up! ~ Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel Markers

Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink

Many thanks for looking

Silver Baroque Meets Bella's Border!

I just love this Background Stamp I managed to Win on ebay a couple of weeks ago ... I've inked up with Encore Ultimate Metallic Silver and it gives such a lovely background.

I've also invested in a couple of Stampin' Up! Roller Stamps and I just love the elegant Bella's Border .... Inked with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink which is a lovely contrast to the Silver ... I punched the edges with Martha Stewarts Lattice Border Punch.

I cut some Nesties and coloured one in Aged Mahogany so it matched the rest of the Card ... the other one has been stamped with Silver and a Stampin' Up! Vintage Label (part of the Sale-a-bration offer but I managed to get this on ebay) ... The sentiment is one of Hero Arts Messages.

Quick Recipe List:

B L Designs ~ FF311K Botanical Fern

Stampin' Up! ~ Bella's Border, Vintage Labels

Hero Arts ~ Happy Birthday LL807 Messages

Wizard Circle Nesties

Martha Stewart ~ Lattice Border Punch

Aged Mahogany Distress Ink & Encore Ulitimate Mettalic Silver

Chiffon Ribbon from my Stash

Corner Punch

Many thanks for looking