Today I have been making a very special card for a very special person. My father in law, Basil will be 95 in early Nov, though you would never think it to look at him. He still lives independently and manages really well with a little help from my sister in law Kate and nephew Chris. He loves his Jazz music, reads a lot, walks his dog and is looking forward to his party.

I wanted to do a special card for him and was trawling through Pinterest looking for ideas when I came across a card designed by Amanda Bates of The Crafty Spa – http://thecraftspa.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/number-of-years-double-z-joy-fold-card.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheCraftSpa+(The+Craft+Spa)

I loved the elegant look of the card and thought it looked great in masculine colours, so I got out my Number of Years stamp set and the co-ordinating Large Number Framelit dies and started to look through my dsp. I really liked the Dapper Denim papers in the By The Shore dsp pack and chose the thick stripes and the ombre blue paper pattern for my panels.

I made the card base using Soft Sky cardstock. The stamped panels are Very Vanilla and the main stamped panel is layered onto Dapper Denim.

The numbers 9 and 5 are stamped in Dapper Denim ink onto Very Vanilla and die cut using the Large Number dies. I stamped the ‘look whose turning’ sentiment, from the same stamp set, using the same ink colour. I though this looked a little plain so added the star banner from Tin of Tags stamp set in Soft Sky and Dapper Denim ink. I used the same banner image on the 2 smaller panels of Very Vanilla and added the ‘Happy Birthday’ from the Confetti Celebration stamp set to finish the card off. I made an envelope for the card using the same pack of dsp and the Envelope Punch Board.

I really like the way the card came together, it looks fantastic and thank you Amanda for the idea. Hope my father in law likes it.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. Hope you like the project I shared and that you will drop by again soon

Mo x

Our team challenge this month asked us to create a project using only a currently available bundle, either a stamp/die combo or a stamp/punch combo. I chose the Thoughtful Branches bundle which is only available until the 31^st August. It is an incredibly versatile stamp and die combo and can be used for multiple occasions, including Christmas and comes with some lovely sentiments. We were not allowed to use any dies or punches that were not included in the bundle.

I opted to make a ‘screen style card’ to show off some of the many things you can do with this set.

Having made this card I decided to step it up by decorating the screen base. I used the Envelope Punch Board to create the breaks in the top of the card and the Decorative Label Punch to create the legs.

Supplies

Thoughtful Branches Bundle
Acrylic Blocks A, B, C, D, E and H
Crumb Cake Cardstock
Early Espresso Cardstock
Whisper White Cardstock
Early Espresso Inkpad
Pear Pizzazz Inkpad
Cucumber Crush Inkpad
Crushed Curry Inkpad
Bermuda Bay Inkpad
Rose Red Inkpad
Cajun Craze re-inker
Crushed Curry Re-inker
Cherry Cobbler re-inker
Cucumber Crush re-inker
Stampin Trimmer
Bigshot + Multipurpose Platform
Precision Plate
Simply Scored Scoring Tool
Bone Folder
Stampin Scrub and Stampin Mist

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today, see you again soon

Mo x

I’m still playing with the Confetti Celebration stamp set and have CASE’d another card inspired by a card made by a German demo called Christina, check out her website at  https://finepaperarts.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/mein-erstes-werk-mit-den-neuen-farben

I love the large ‘hoorah’ stamp from this set and like Christina I chose one of the new 2014 – 2016 in-colors for my card base, in my case Dapper Denim and in hers Sweet Sugarplum. I stamped the ‘hooray’ on a piece of Whisper White cardstock in Emerald Envy, Crushed Curry, Dapper Denim, Rich Razzleberry, Real Red, Night of Navy, Watermelon Wonder and Smoky Slate inks.

I added a piece of dsp from the retired Cherry on Top stack to the bottom, cutting it at a slant and topped it with a small strip of Dapper Denim cardstock to cover the join. Adding this piece to a layer of Dapper Denim cardstock pulls the whole topper together. I then stamped the ‘hooray’ again in Dapper Denim ink and punched it out using the 2” circle punch and backed it onto a piece of Dapper Denim which I die cut using a circle from the Layering Circle Framelits and adding to the card front using dimensionals.

This makes a really cute, quick and easy card.

Having made this card using a lot of ink colours I thought I would strip it back and make a card using just one inkpad and a couple of pieces of cardstock.

I chose Night of Navy ink and stamped the ‘Yay’ sentiment on Whisper White cardstock punching it out using the Medium Star punch. If you don’t have the punch this is a really easy image to fussy cut……got to love a straight edge. Using the little star from the Confetti Celebration stamp set I stamped stars diagonally from the right bottom corner to the left top corner and added a scattering of punched Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer cardstock circles from my stash using Tombow. I had punched a pile of these for another project using the ½” and ¼” Handheld Punches; they were perfect for this card. The punched star was added using a dimensional.

Whilst looking for a big enough piece of Night of Navy cardstock on which to mat the stamped piece I came across the slightly shorter, wider piece I ended up using. I really liked the quirky look it gave to the card. I had planned to use a Thick Whisper White card base but I just didn’t like the way it looked and went with Crumb Cake cardstock instead. A really lovely masculine card and again quick and easy to make, great for a beginner.

To purchase any of the products go to http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes/ –   click on the Shop Now tab. If you would like to join my team go to – http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes/ – click on the Join the Fun tab.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

I am back today with a really quick card made using the gorgeous Botanical Blooms stamp set, with the addition of some vellum. This card was inspired by a card shared by Dena Rekow of the creatativity cave – https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/563724078338793359/

crafty-rootes.co.uk – Stampin Up Botanical Blooms and vellum

I used Watermelon Wonder, Wild Wasabi and 2 of the retiring 2014 – 2016 in colours, Hello Honey and Lost Lagoon ink pads. I will be really sad to see these 2 colours go, especially Lost Lagoon, which has been one of my favourites.

crafty-rootes.co.uk – Stampin Up Botanical Blooms and vellum

I mounted a selection of the stamps from the Botanical Blooms stamp set onto acrylic blocks and set about, randomly, stamping the images all over a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I then stamped the large Just for You sentiment from the co-ordinating Botanicals for You stamp set, using Archival Black Ink, onto a piece of the lovely, patterned, Botanical Gardens Vellum. Both of these items were in this years’ Sale-A-Bration brochure. When stamping on vellum remember to leave it for a few minutes to dry or it will smear. Ask me how I know……..

crafty-rootes.co.uk – Stampin Up Botanical Blooms and vellum

I adhered the Vellum piece to the stamped panel of Whisper White using the 2 way glue pen. I only applied the glue behind the lettering so that it would be hidden. I then mounted the feature panel to a Thick Whisper White card base using dimentionals.

I think it is a really pretty card. Hope you like and will stop bye in the future

Mo x

Mum asked me if I would make a card to celebrate her sister in law’s 70th birthday in May……I know it is only mid-March but Mum does like to be ahead of the game.

I decided to use a card I made at my upline Mikaela Titheridges’ recent stamp-a-stack  (thecraftyoinkpen.blogspot.co.uk) as my base card. The card uses the Number of Years stamp set with the Large Numbers co-ordinating dies and pretty paper from the Birthday Bouquet dsp stack.

I stamped the leafy stamp from the Number of Years stamp set twice in Old Olive ink onto a panel of Whisper White cardstock and used Blushing Bride, Watermelon Wonder and Daffodil Delight ink to fill in the sweet little flowers. I then stamped the ‘Happy’ sentiment in Watermelon Wonder ink. I stamped the ‘Birthday’ in Watermelon Wonder and stamped the banner shape around it in Basic Grey ink and die cut the piece using the co-ordinating die.  I stamped the 70 in a couple of different colours before settling on Pool Party and I die cut them using the co-ordinating dies. To give it a bit of sparkle I added the numbers, using dimensionals to a punched circle of the gorgeous Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper, love that stuff, sparkly but not messy. I added a little piece of the shiny Pool Party Glitter ribbon and attached it with the sweet little Bow Paperclips. I added dimensionals to the back of the panel and added it between the 2 pieces of dsp.

Mum loved the card and thinks my Aunt will love it as well. Hope she does.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. Hope to see you again soon.

Mo x

So, last Sunday was Mothering Sunday in the UK and I used the Botanical Builder Framelits to make a card for my lovely Mum. She has a very plain and simple style and with this in mind I designed a fairly unfussy card for her.

I went for a 5 ½” by 5 ½” card base made using Naturals White cardstock which is sadly now retired. I just love the slightly flecked appearance of this cardstock which goes particularly well with flower and leaf stamps and dies. When the cardstock retired last year I bought a couple of packets which have sadly nearly all gone. The card would however, look just as lovely on Whisper White or Very Vanilla cardstock.

I chose to die cut a variety of flowers and foliage using the Botanical Builders dies using Island Indigo, Rose Red, Blushing Bride, Soft Sky and Tip Top Taupe cardstock and inked the edges with the co-ordinating inks and sponge daubers. This gives them a lot of dimension and character

I arranged the flowers and foliage at the bottom right hand side of a panel of Naturals White cardstock and stamped ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ from the Teeny Tiny Sentiments stamp set in Rose Red.

I mounted this piece onto a piece of Rose red cardstock and backed this with a piece of Tip Top Taupe cardstock. I then mounted the whole topper onto the card base using dimensionals.I added some of the gorgeous metal rimmed pearls to the larger flowers and scattered some basic pearls around the other flowers. I then made an envelope for the card from some retired Rose Red dsp.

I really liked the card and luckily, so did Mum. I hope you like it too.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and I hope to see you again

Mo x

Introducing the Spring/Summer catalogue and the Sale-A-Bration brochure from Stampin Up!

Oh Happy Day… the Stampin Up! Spring/Summer Occasions Catalogue goes live today…Whoop Whoop. And, as if that isn’t exciting enough, the Sale-A-Bration brochure also launches today. What a great start to the New Year.

For those new to Stampin Up, Sale-A-Bration is an annual 3 month event during which you can earn free goodies with qualifying orders. This year Sale-A-Bration runs from January 5^th – 31^st March and for every £45 you spend (minus P+P) you can choose 1 free item from the gorgeous Sale-A-Bration catalogue. How fab is that, who doesn’t love free stuff!

There are an incredible 7 stamp sets, 2 designer series paper (dsp) packs, 1 vellum stack and 1 Project life card pack in the Sale-A-Bration brochure to choose from and 51 …yes, 51 pages of fabulous goodies in the Spring / Summer Catalogue.

If you would like a copy of either or both catalogue/brochures please let me know and I will post one out to you. Alternatively go to http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/crafty-rootes/   click on shop now and the catalogues will reveal themselves in all their glory.

As a demonstrator I was able to pre-order from both catalogues a month ago and have been having a wonderful time playing with some of the lovely things, so check back here over the next few days to see what I have come up with.

You could also become a demonstrator by joining my team and during Sale-A-Bration Stampin Up! have an amazing offer, for £99 you can choose £130 worth of product – anything you like and you will also qualify for free Sale-A-Bration items.

A perk of being a demonstrator is access to new product a month before release to the public and a minimum 20% discount on all purchases. There is no obligation to run classes or host parties, you can join just to get the discount or you can turn it into a flexible business….it is entirely your choice. Contact me if you would like more information.

Mo x