A Passion For Papertrey Challenge entry

Over on the ILWS forum there's a few of us who have confessed to loving the stamps, cardstock, inks and ribbons and now the new buttons from Papertrey Ink despite being SU demos. Kate and Steph have set up a fantastic new blog for all things PTI called A Passion For Papertrey. They are going to do fortnightly challenges and after the day I had today I needed to do a bit of card making to de-stress a bit.


My car, which is only 2 1/2 years old died today! Well not completely but I got a weird alert when I first started it up and then one that said my ABS was faulty. What?!! I panicked. I hadn't used my car for 3 days and it died on me. It took 3 different cab companies to find one that could get me to work before the kids arrived but it completely through me out for the whole day. Peugeot were pretty useless and their attitude was basically "it's your problem, you sort it out!" They wouldn't collect it as it was undrivable (I did try and it clonked and then just revved) and the RAC were not much better - I had to be at home to show my memebership card. I finally got it looked at and picked up and we got to the Peugeot garage at 5:32 - the service desk closes at 5:30 but I managed to grab someone before he left. I got a courtesy car but I'm dreading that phone call tomorrow that tells me what's wrong with it. Luckily it's still under warranty so they should fix it for nothing!


Anyway....here's my little entry for their first challenge...


I went for a simple, yet pretty card. Inside is stamped Happy Birthday from the same stamp set with the same colours and rounded corners. The aqua mist cardstock layer is meant to only have rounded corners at the bottom to follow the shape of the card base - just thought it was something a little different for me - usually I would round them all. The flower heads are popped up on foam pads and then the centres are popped up again, just to add a bit of dimension - I love the way that looks irl.

 (I've just looked back at the Passion for Papertrey blog and I must have been inspired but not directly cased the corners idea from Kate's card. Funny how you see something once and then copy that idea without even meaning to or realising that you did!)

Recipe
All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise stated.

Stamps: Polka Dot Basics, Women of Life

Paper: Lavender Moon and Aqua Mist cs, Non PTI/SU white cs

Ink: Lavender Moon and Aqua Mist

Accessories: Aqua Mist Swiss Dot Satin Ribbon, Glamour Dust

Virtual Stamp Night Weekend

Every couple of months or so Splitcoast Stampers hold a Virtual Stamp Night (VSN), which is a large number of card making/crafting challenges over a Friday evening and all day Saturday. You have until 10pm PST on Sunday night to complete and upload 19 challenges, so a lot of card making! You only get 45 minutes to complete each challenge as well, so it's busy, busy, busy!

I managed to do 17 challenges this time (normally it's only 12 or so) - I only missed out 2 of them! One was to use your iron to melt wax crayons to make a background - I have no idea where my iron is as I don't iron (I send my ironing off to get done!) and the last challenge was to make something heart shaped - an easy challenge but I was too crafted out by then and was shattered.

All the details are in my gallery over at SCS here - there's just too many to list here!

Here are the photos....

Challenge A - Sketch Challenge

Challenge B - Colour Combo Challenge

Challenge C - Use a stamp you don't like
Challenge D - Use new stash on your card

Challenge E - Monochromatic Card

Challenge F - Use the split negative technique

Challenge G - Use a quote from the film "The Princess Bride" for inspiration

Challenge H - Show your obsessions

Challenge J - Acetate Card

Challenge K - Use a long lost stamp

Challenge L - Use inchies

Challenge M - Celebrity Crush

Challenge N - Use as much stuff as you can that begins with L

Challenge O - Make a card using the Joy Fold Technique

Challenge P - Follow the card recipe

Challenge Q - Make a love card with NO pink, red, white or hearts!

Challenge R - Use feathers of some kind

This VSN really made me challenge myself. I tried a new card technique (challenge O), used colour combos I would not normally pick myself (challenges B, L and P), used new or never used before stamps (challenges A, B, C, D, E, H, J, L, N, P and R - wow lots I've never used before!) and SU colours I've never used before (Challenges B, P and R). I'm really happy with all my creations, although I do need to go back and add extra bits to a couple of them - like glitter glue, which I just didn't have the time to do. Hope you've enjoyed looking too - be sure to check out all the galleries over on SCS.

So as you can see a lot of card making but lots of fun to be had too! Make sure you join in the fun next time VSN is on!

Been a busy bee

Just thought I'd upload a few photos to show why I've not been updating my blog recently. Along with the usual school work I have to do I've been joining some swaps and getting those ready and making a birthday present for my mum. I've had no time to even take photos until today let alone blog anything :(


We had a snow day today YAY!!! so I made 5 cards and managed to take photos and upload them all to my SCS gallery and a bit on here! I need more of those but I doubt we'll get anymore :(


The first is a Papertrey Ink card swap - I had 2 entries so had to make 14 cards for this swap altogether (6 for each swap and one for me - I like to do one for myself so I can remember what I did!) Swap Card #1 is posted earlier in this post.


PTI Swap 2
I love the butterflies in this set - there's so many different ways you can stamp a butterfly! The aqua mist circles have been cut with the nestabilities, then without removing the card from the die I sponged the ink to leave a white edge round each one. I had to do 21 of these circles in total and my sponge dauber was all ripped to shreds by the end as the sharp edge of the nestabilities kept catching on it! The butterflies are also popped up on 3D foam pads to add a bit of depth to the card.


Recipe:
Stamps: Butterfly Kisses and Women of Life by Papertrey Ink


Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, White cardstock, Purely Pomegranate and Barely Banana from Stampin' Up


Ink: Aqua Mist by Papertrey Ink, Purely Pomegranate from Stampin' Up (Retired In colors 08)


Accessories: D'vine Swirls cuttlebug embossing folder, circle nestabilities, card candy from Craftworkcards.co.uk


Dotty Swap Card
The second card I did was for a dotty swap over on SCS (another 7 to make). I cased this card by stamping moments over on the In Love With Stamping forum. I love the dotty combination and made my own version. I changed a few things but essentially kept the card the same.



Recipe:


Stamps: Polka Dot Basics by Papertrey Ink, Polka Dot Punches from Stampin' Up, Just Rite 10 Designer Centers and Borders.


Paper: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and Very Vanilla all from Stampin' Up, Lilac pearlescent paper


Ink: Perfect Plum


Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch from SU, 5 Petal Flower punch from SU, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug EF, Purple brads and purple dew drops




Card Bag and Matching Cards


It's my mum's birthday on February 12th and I thought I'd make her a little gift for a change. I saw this bag on Julie Buhler's blog and knew it would be perfect for my mum.


This is the bag and complete set of 6 matching cards. each card uses a different sketch challenge from SCS (one of my new year's resolutions was to complete all of the old sketch challenges that I haven't done and I'm slowly catching up)



I'm really pleased with this set and hope that my mum likes it too. Everything generally uses the same stuff with some slight differences, but the colour scheme is the same throughout.
Recipe:
Stamps: Roses In Winter and One Of A Kind from Stampin' Up

Paper: Bazzill Bling, white card blanks from Craft Central, Mellow Moss, Pretty In Pink and Regal Rose from Stampin' Up, white cardstock, Hot Off The Press Cardmaker's Ultimate Floral Pack

Ink: Mellow Moss, Pretty In Pink and Regal Rose from Stampin' Up

Accessories: white satin and white organza ribbons, pearl brad from Papermania, self adhesive pearls from Lakeland, Pannacotta Zoomz from Stamp Galaxy, pink flower brads from Papermania, corner rounding punch, scallop edge punch from Stampin' Up

Sale-A-Bration Time

Stampin' Up has been in the USA for 20 years now, but only came to the UK last year. Every year in America SU has a Sale-A-Bration and it has come to the UK for the first time ever.

So what's the SAB?

SAB is a time when all customers who spend at least £45 in the Stampin' Up catalogue can choose a free stamp set from the 4 specially selected SAB sets.

So what are the stamp sets?

There are 4 to choose from:

Botanical Blooms - perfect for watercolouring

Yummy - perfect for homemade goodies and presents

Congrats - a sentiment set perfect for so many different occasions

And my favourite one - Polka Dot Punches. I love the flowers and heart in this set all made up of little tiny dots.

So how do I get these free stamp sets?


For every £45 you spend in the Stampin' Up Catalogue, you'll receive a free stamp set. Which one you choose is up to you. Hostesses also receive a free SAB stamp set when they host a workshop with a sales total of £300 or more in addition to the usual hostess benefits - an even better excuse to host a workshop with me.


So how many can I have?


There's no limit to the number of free stamp sets you can have, but you do have to spend £45 in the catalogue for each one. So if you spend £45 you will receive one set free. If you spend £90, you'll receive 2 sets. If you spend £135, you'll receive 3 sets and so on....


So when does this promotion finish?


Sale-A-Bration started on January 1st and continues until February 28th, so there's still plenty of time to place your order and get your free stamps.

So is there anything else I need to know about SAB?

Yes!! If you sign up as a demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration, Stampin' Up is offering you an additional set free from the current catalogue up to the value of £38.95. In addition to this I am also offering another free set for becoming part of my team up to the same value. This means for signing up to become a demonstrator with me you'll receive 2 (yes 2!!) extra free stamp sets with a grand total of up to £77.90!!! Now is definately the time to sign up as a demonstrator!

For further details and information, to place an order or to become a demonstrator, please email me at saffivort@yahoo.com

Keep checking back to see my uploads of cards made with these 4 sets.

Another swap card

I joined another card swap (I love them - can't get enough of them!) on SCS for Papertrey Ink stamps. The only requirement was to use PTI stamps, but anything else was allowed. I only have 5 of their sets and one of those is a polka dot background making stamp set. I used 2 different stamp sets on this card.






I wanted to go for a pastely-girly card and I think I managed that one. I love PTI's stamps, cardstock and matching inks and ribbons, but the postage is so much more expensive than other American companies and I don't really understand why. I wish they would lower it somewhat so I could order more, but generally the postage is about the same if not more than my actual goods cost. I only order about $25-30 worth at a time to try and avoid the import/customs charges the UK whack on you! I don't know if it would be worth just placing a big order to save on shipping and getting lumbered with the import charges.

Recipe:

Stamps - Women of Life and Butterfly Kisses both from Papertrey Ink

Paper - Lavender Moon and Sweet Blush cardstock both from Papertrey Ink, Non SU white cardstock

Ink - Lavender Moon from PTI, Blush Blossom from SU (my Sweet Blush ink had all dried up, yet my Lavender Moon was still nice and juicy and they are both stored together in the same way! Hmmmm!)

Accessories - Lavender Moon grosgrain ribbon, Lavender Lace Liquid Pears, SU scallop edge punch, Crystal Stcikers gems, Elaine's Doodle Template from Kars (for the butterflies' trails), paper piercer

How long???

OMG I can't believe how long it's been since I last updated my blog!


This has definately got to be one of my new year resolutions, along with the usual lose weight, get fitter kind of ones.


This first card is one I did for a UK based card swap over on Splitcoast Stampers. We had to make a card using the Boo Bear die cuts supplied by the hostess.


I chose to make a girly non-occasion specific card and here he is:



Isn't he the cutest? I generally don't use die cuts anymore on my cards (I have a ton of the sizzix original dies from when I first started card making, especially all the original doll and clothes ones but I never use them anymore). I might have to succumb to buying this one though as he can be made to hold anything in his hand and can be used for such a range of occasions, themes and people.

Recipe:
 Stamps - Best Yet Hostess Set from Stampin' Up (to find out how to receive this stamp set free email me at saffivort@yahoo.com)



Paper - Square card blank from Papermania, Basic Gray cardstock from Stampin' Up, Non SU white and pink cs, white mulberry paper, DP from Rob and Bob Studio


Ink - Basic Gray from Stampin' Up


Accessories - flowers from Craftime, white ribbon bows from Paper Cellar, square and rectangle nestabilities, Boo Bear die cut

Elzybells Challenge #5

Elzybells Chllenge #5 was to use black, white and another colour. I love this kind of challenge as black and pink tend to be my colours of choice for cards (and clothes), but I wanted to do a Christmas card using my new uninked Elzybells stamps. I came up with this cute little mouse fast asleep waiting for Santa to bring lots of micey goodies. I'm not sure mice are black (other than Mickey and Minnie of course), but he looks so cute against the red and white that I left him.


It's hard to see in the photo but the top half of the card is glitter card embossed with the cuttlebug snowflakes folder. I also layered the top part of the hat on dimensionals so as to give it a bit more of a 3D look and added some white flock for a furry feel to the hat's edge and bobble.

Recipe:

Stamps - Sleeping Mouse and sentiment from Elzybells

Paper - White card blank from Craft Central, Real Red cs from Stampin' Up, non SU black and white cs, white glitter card, DP from Dovecrafts Christmas pack (I think it's Ho Ho Ho)

Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Ciao Markers in 100 Black, R27 Cadmium Red and W-1 Warm Grey No 1

Accessories - Long rectangle nestabilities, black grosgrain ribbon, red circle gems and doodlebug white flock

Elzybells Challenge #4

Elzybells Challenge #4 here was to use inchies on a card. I really wanted to make a card with this cute little girl on the moon and the star swirls were ideal for the inchie part. I used a ton of glitter glue to add extra sparkle to it.



Recipe:

Stamps - Stardust and Moonbeams set from Elzybells

Paper - White card blank from Craft Central, Rose Red cs and DP from Stampin' Up, Non SU white cs

Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Ciao Markers in W-1 Warm Grey, Y08 Acid Yellow, E00 Skin White, R85 Rose Red, RV34 Dark Pink and E35 Chamois

Accessories - Clear Embossing Powder, star brad from ?, white organza ribbon, yellow and silver glitter glues, Scalloped and straight edge circle nestabilities

High Hopes challenge #3

High Hopes Stamps set challenges on their blog every Sunday and I try to do them when I get the chance. The only rules other than those set by the actual challenge is to use High Hopes Stamps, which gives me a great excuse to buy some more every month or so. Being in the UK limits how much we can import before we get charged with highly expensive customs charges, so I tend to order about $30 worth of stamps at a time. If you haven't seen them before you MUST check out their website http://www.highhopesstamps.com/ - they have the cutest little stamps!!


Anyway challenge #3 was to use stitching on your card. Now I can't sew at all and don't own a sewing machine, so I had to use faux stitching on this little notecard.



Recipe:


Stamps - Dunno Duck and sentiment both from High Hopes Stamps, faux stitching stamp from Hot Off The Press


Paper - SU love notes in Whisper White, Groovy Guava DP from SU, Barely Banana and non-SU white cardstock


Inks - Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Ciao Markers in E35 Chamois, E33 Sand, E31 Brick Beige, Y15 Cadmium Yellow, YR02 Light Orange and YR04 Chrome Orange


Accessories - Clear Embossing Powder

Look what I got today!!!

The nice man from DHL dropped off my Stampin' Up demonstrator starter kit with all my lovely new goodies, with which to play. I got loads of stuff for my £139. I made a few changes to the kit, especially the stamp sets, to ones I didn't already have or ones I really wanted.

The same nice DHL man also dropped this lot off today as well:

This was my first order which I placed on Monday evening and it arrived all the way from Germany today! I wanted a few of the retired sets and papers so ordered those first before they ran out. I also got some of the new Christmas stamps sets (Season of Joy and Snow Flurries) and the gorgeous new 1" double stitched ribbon in Chocolate Chip and Rose Red. I'm definately going to order the Bashful Blue one next time.

This is a photo of all my new SU goodies

I ended up with 12 new stamp sets, 1 punch, 14 ink pads (if you include the Versamark), 3 stampin spots (in the Three For You punch set), 5 ribbons, 5 packs of Designer Paper, 2 sets of buttons, 1 set of Ice brads, 4 sets of cardstock, linen thread, scissors, dimensionals, stampin scrub and mist, snail adhesive, sticky strip, pastels, blender pens and all the demo stuff!! I now I have to find space to store it all!!


I also got 15 new Copic Ciao markers but left them out of the photo! My bank balance is getting a bit poorly now!


If you want to place an order like this (or maybe a bit smaller!!) then feel free to email me.