Fast Friday 28 - Watercolor Wings

I needed to make some cards for customers recently to thank them for their order and I was dying to use the two-step stamp set (well actually three-step with this particular set!) Watercolor Wings.

Here's what I came up with:

I even had time to stamp inside the card and the back of the envelope flap (but forgot to take a photo!)

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Whisper White Notecards ♦ Stamps: Watercolor Wings ♦ Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay, Pool Party

Come back next week, when I will have a two stepped up versions using this stamp set. Remember you can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 25

I held a party for my top customer and her friends last Saturday and the order is due to arrive today, so I wanted to give each of my customers a thank you card to go with their order. So just sharing these quick cards I made last night. Each one has a slight variation, eg: different placing of the gems.

As I was making these in bulk, they had to be quick to do. Obviously overall they took more than 10 minutes (the parameters for a Fast Friday project), but you could easily produce one card in less than 5 minutes!

Which one do you prefer?

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Whisper White Notecards ♦ Stamps: A Happy Hooray ♦ Ink: Lost Lagoon, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake ♦ Tools/Accessories: 1⅜" Circle Punch, Linen Thread, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic pearls, Basic rhinestones

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

Have a good weekend!

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 24

Now you might think that the All Is Calm DSP from the Autumn/Winter Seasonal Catalogue is just for Christmas, but in fact most of the designs can be used at any time of the year. And to prove it here's a card I made for a friend's recent birthday. I put this together using some left over items from other projects that I had on my craft desk - the die cut leaf and stamped image.

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: All Is Calm DSP, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky, Old Olive ♦ Stamps: Hello There (Hostess 2014/15) ♦ Ink: Lost Lagoon ♦ Tools/Accessories: 1⅜" Circle Punch, 1¾" Scallop Circle Punch, Pistachio Pudding Thick Baker's Twine, Party Pennants Bigz L Sizzix die, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic rhinestones

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

I now have a Facebook page, so why not like this page to be updated on regular offers and details of any classes I am running.

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 23

This week's project is a case (but with my own spin on it!) of one of my favourite card ideas in the current Autumn/Winter seasonal 2014 catalogue. As soon as I saw the card featured on page 8 of the catalogue I knew that I just HAD to get the products to make it!

My version has a modern and (I hope) stylish spin with the black card base and gold embossing, complete with rhinestone accents.

Like last week's project, this card would be perfect for batch production - so necessary when making multiple Christmas cards! Of course as this is a dark card base, don't forget you will need to line the card inside with some white paper.

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Basic Black ♦ Stamps: Cheerful Christmas ♦ Ink: Versamark ♦ Tools/Accessories: Big Shot, Filigree Frame Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Heat gun, Gold Embossing Powder, Basic rhinestones

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

Don't forget I will be at Stamperama on Saturday 25 October - and you will be able to see this simple but stunning card in real life! Hope to meet old friends and make new ones!

Finally why not head over to the clearance rack in my online store as lots new items have been added - lots of retired products from last year's seasonal. When they're gone, they're gone ... so don't miss out!

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 22

Bonjour! I held a class last week to celebrate the new Autumn/Winter Seasonal 2014 catalogue and we made 5 projects - 2 3D items and 3 cards. Here's one of the cards we made.

This was quick and easy to do - just what is needed when making multiple cards to send out at Christmas! And it was super easy using the Endless Wishes photopolymer set. I started off stamping the greeting (love, love, love the mixture of fonts) and then stamped the snowflakes round it. The longest part of the project was probably spent on cleaning the stamps when changing ink colours!

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Whisper White ♦ Stamps: Endless Wishes ♦ Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Elegant Eggplant, Lost Lagoon, Island Indigo, Coastal Cabana, Smoky Slate ♦ Tools/Accessories: Basic rhinestones

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

It did seem a bit odd though making Christmas cards whilst we have an Indian summer! If you would like to see this set in action, why not come along to Stamperama's show at The Rufus Centre in Flitwick on Saturday 25 October where I will be having a stand. Stamperama is always a great show and this one is extra special as it will be in aid of the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 21

I needed some birthday cards earlier this week and had none in stock and didn't have much time to make them as they needed to go in the post asap. So what's a girl to do? Go to my recently purchased Stampin Up! goodies and the Hey There Buds stamp set seem to call out to me saying "use me, use me!"

One of the cards was for my cousin and she loves red. So I decided the flowers would be in a mix of reds, but I would colour the stem and leaves in black for a more modern take.

The stamp does come with its own greeting "built in" - Hey There - but as this was a birthday card, I wanted something more suitable so used two of the stamps from the Memorable Moments set.

As you can see I did get a bit of a mottled effect from using the markers to colour in the image (probably because it was the first time I had used the stamp), but I really like the finished effect.

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Whisper White ♦ Stamps: Hey There Buds, Memorable Moments ♦ Ink: Basic Black marker, Real Red marker, Cherry Cobbler marker, Black Stazon ♦ Tools/Accessories: Rhinestones

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

Why not come back next week when I will have some more inspiration for you with another quick project?

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 20

Last week I announced the launch of Stampin' Up's new Autumn/Winter Seasonal catalogue and whilst the main emphasis is on Christmas or Halloween I mentioned that many of the products are very versatile and can either be easily adapted or used year round. Here is one such project which is an adorable little box (comme c'est chouette!).

The longest (and most fiddly bit was putting the washi tape on the front panel)! The framelit set even comes with coordinating mini label dies. I used one of the greetings from the exclusive stamp set "Good Greetings" which features in the current hostess promotion.

To finish the project off I used some leftover items from previous projects that were on my desk - namely some punched flowers and a rhinestone which I had already coloured with one of the Blendabilities.

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White ♦ Stamps: Good Greetings ♦ Ink: Blackberry Bliss (marker) ♦ Tools/Accessories: Big Shot, Curvy Keepsake Box Framelit, Colour Me Autumn Washi Tape, Petite Petals Punch, Itty Bitty Punches, Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Rhinestone (coloured in with Rich Razzleberry Blendability (dark)

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

Why not come back tomorrow when I will have some more inspiration for you from the new Autumn/Winter seasonal catalogue as myself and a group of fellow SU demonstrators will be holding a blog hop to showcase more gorgeous products from the new seasonal catalogue.

A demain! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 19

For this week's Fast Friday I thought I would show you some quick cards I made recently to thank my customers who attended my catalogue launch party last month. My card base was 6 inches by 3 inches scored at 3 inches to create 3 inch mini-cards which go perfectly with SU's square envelopes. The floral images are all from the new gorgeous set Garden Party.

In the first card the leaves were stamped several times in Mossy Meadow ink without reinking the stamp.

For this card I actually stamped the multi-flower image twice - I rotated the second image so they "interlocked".  I then coloured the flower centres in with my Blackberry Bliss marker.

The flowers in the final card were coloured in using the Blackberry Bliss and Lost Lagoon markers to get a wonderful mottled effect. And of course the best thing about all of these cards is that they were super quick!

To make these cards you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Very Vanilla ♦ Stamps: Garden Party, Petite Pairs ♦ Ink: Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Basic Grey ♦ Tools/Accessories: Square Envelopes

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

Why not come back next time when I will have another quick project to share with you.

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 18

For this week's Fast Friday post I have once again turned to the current challenge at Less Is More, where the recipe is to use the colours of your bedroom. Mine is cream, white and deep pink with accents of purple and gold (just the door/furniture handles & mirror frames in case you are wondering!).

I have used one of the images from the retiring Creative Elements stamp set as the main feature on a card base of Raspberry Ripple (one of the retiring in-colours) - I can't believe what a perfect match the colour is to my duvet cover! I have heat embossed the image with white embossing powder and then used the Rich Razzleberry marker (LOVE that name [and the colour itself]!) to colour in parts of the image.

Once again I am using one of the stamps from the current hostess set Banner Greetings for the sentiment - can you tell I REALLY, REALLY like this set and am going to miss it dreadfully when the new cattie comes out next month? This set can only be purchased if either a) you host a party with sales of £150+ or b) you personally place an order of £150+. Why not have a retiring list party - contact me for more details or place an order via my online store.

The gold glitter glue I have used to accent the image is non-SU but I am pleased to let you know that when the new cattie comes out on 1 July this colour will be added to SU's Dazzling Details range - hooray!

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Raspberry Ripple, Very Vanilla ♦ Stamps: Creative Elements, Banner Greetings (Hostess 2013/14) ♦ Ink: Rich Razzleberry marker, Versamark ♦ Tools/Accessories: Heat gun, White Embossing Powder, Gold Embossing Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Gold glitter glue (non-SU)

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

Well that's another card done for an upcoming birthday! Have a fabulous weekend enjoying the gorgeous UK weather - apparently it will be hotter in some parts of England today than in Brasil!

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 17

Have you heard Stampin' Up! will have a new annual catalogue coming out on 1 July and guess what that means? Mais oui bien sûr - a retiring list! So grab those products while you can - either click on the link in the side bar to see the list or go direct to my online shop!

I have a lot of friends and family who have birthdays in June, and still have some I need to make for upcoming events so thought I would make a quick start with this card which I rustled up in 10 minutes using 4 retiring products - Beautifully Baroque, Bring on the Cake (love the sentiments in this set), En Français (so sad this is going!) and the in-colour ruffle stretch ribbon.

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Pistachio Pudding, Basic Black ♦ Stamps: En Français, Beautifully Baroque, Bring on the Cake ♦ Ink: Pistachio Pudding, Black Stazon ♦ Tools/Accessories: Pistachio Pudding Ruffle Stretch trim, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic pearls

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

Edited to add - I am not surprised but En Français has now sold out!

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 16

After last week's super quick card from the fabulous Hip Hip Hooray card kit, I am back with a "proper" card.

This was inspired by an idea from Connie Stewart and one of her flash cards. I have stepped it up and changed the colours, but you can still see Connie's basic layout and idea. My version was still within my 10 minute time limit though...

You are probably tired of seeing this colour combo - but I do love it so! I also love the current hostess set Banner Greetings and will really miss this when it retires at the end of June.

The challenge this week over at Less is More is a recipe to use a die cut - and as I have used one of my favourite dies - Little Leaves - this should fit the challenge perfectly!

Edited to add - just discovered the Little Leaves Sizzlets die is on the SU retiring list (sob, sob!!) - and it currently has an 25% discount so grab it while you can!

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Coastal Cabana, Basic Black, Whisper White, Vellum ♦ Stamps: Flower Shop, (Hostess 2013/14) ♦ Ink: Black Stazon, Versamark ♦ Tools/Accessories: Big Shot, Mosaic Embossing Folder, Little Leaves Sizzlets die, Pansy punch, Heat Gun, White embossing powder, Basic pearls, Stampin' Dimensionals

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 15

Apologies for being MIA last week, but I have been so busy at the day job I have not had time to craft.... In fact I have had no time to design anything so when I needed a card the other day I got the Hip Hip Hooray Designer Card Kit out and choose one of the suggested card layouts and made it in 2 minutes!

Everything you need is included except for scissors and you only need those if you are using the baker's thread as everything else is pre-cut! How great is that? Perfect when you are in a real rush!

To make this project you will need:

Tools/Accessories: Hip Hip Hooray Designer Card Kit

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

I'll be back with a "proper" card next Friday....

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 14

This week I once again needed to make the project very quickly as I have been working very late in the day job most of the week so I looked to Pinterest again for inspiration (whatever did we do before  Pinterest?) and also looked at some part-finished projects on my craft table. Et voilà!

Firstly I found a card blank that I had already made with Crumb Cake cardstock with a white circle background. This had been made by using a sponge dauber and "stamping" Craft Whisper White ink in a pattern over the card base - super quick to do. I also had the banner stamped and cut out ready to use. So all I needed was to quickly use my Big Shot to cut out the black leaf using my favourite go-to Sizzlits die and stick this on the card base. The finishing touches were some sequins cut from the Gold Sequin trim ribbon which is in the Spring/Summer catalogue and then I added a swirl of linen tread. And here's the close-up (aka arty photo)!

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Whisper White ♦ Stamps: Banner Greetings (Hostess 2013/14) ♦ Ink: Black Stazon, Craft Whisper White ♦ Tools/Accessories: Little Leaves Sizzlits die, Gold Sequin trim, Linen thread, Sponge daubers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue dots

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

Today it is bright and sunny (although very windy) here in my part of the UK which is a big improvement from yesterday when it rained all day! I felt very sorry for the Women's Bike Tour which came through our town centre as part of the 2nd stage (appropriately an Italian won the stage as we have a large Italian population in the town). Despite the horrendous rain it was an amazing sight to see as I peered out of the office conference room window! Hope you have a good weekend!

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 13

Gosh - week 13 (lucky for some?!) for my Fast Friday feature. This week is something a bit different for me in terms of style - but don't worry you can still produce this in a few minutes.

You might recall that in my post 2 days ago I said I had no idea what I was going to be making - well I still didn't up until 11.30pm last night. I had had a really long day at work (the day job) and needed to make a card quickly before going to bed. So I turned to Pinterest for inspiration and saw a card layout that I thought was a bit different and this is what I ended up with:

Most of the materials for the project comes from the fab Hip Hip Hooray Designer Card Kit (the exceptions being scraps of DSP and Real Red cardstock). This kit makes 20 cards and everything is provided including instructions, ink and a clear block (bargain at £17.95 for the kit). The only item missing is a pair of scissors - and even then you only need those to cut the twine! You can just follow the instructions in the kit to make the featured projects (without adding anything else), or you can do as I did, use the basic ingredients with a few extras to do something a bit different. Et voila!

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Real Red, Fresh Prints DSP ♦ Tools/Accessories: Hip Hip Hooray Card Designer Card Kit

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly.

Monday is a bank holiday here in the UK, so this will probably mean we have awful weather this weekend, but I hope I am proved wrong!

Come back and visit over the weekend when I will feature a project I made for my Stampin' Up "Mummy" Michelle Last.

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 12

Sorry there was no Fast Friday last week but I am back this week with a quick card that I made to accompany an order for a customer who had ordered the two heart punches. I thought I would show her a way of using the punches - don't worry I used my own punches not hers!

I used some retired DSP called First Edition. But don't worry if you don't have this as it is now available as a Digital Download for MDS - so you can print it out onto your own paper, resize it and even change the colours! How great is that? I punched out 3 hearts from the DSP and then folded them and stuck them back to back to create this fan effect.

To make this project you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Crumb Cake, Silver Foil, Naturals White, First Edition DSP (retired - alternative First Edition DSP MDS Digital Download) ♦ Stamps: Positively Chevron, Express Yourself (hostess 2013/14) ♦ Ink: Craft Whisper White, Basic Grey ♦ Tools/Accessories: Full Heart punch, Small Heart punch, Modern Label punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic pearls

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly. Don't forget the Weekly Deals will finish on Tuesday at 10.59pm (BST)!

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

Fast Friday - Week 11

As you will know from my recent posts I was on a crafty retreat in Birmingham last weekend with some fellow demonstrators. As always when getting together at such event we make swaps so I thought you might like to see my swap. This was the intended swap for everyone:

The idea for the card came from one I cased by Hannelie which I had seen on Pinterest.

Because of the patterned paper inside the card, I stamped one of the images from Four Frames onto a label and then cut this out with the matching Decorative label punch - now there is the perfect space to write a greeting!

As I had not quite finished the swaps before I left for the weekend (yes I know I am so last minute dot com - LOL!), I decided I would finish them off the night before (I was staying with my cousin and her husband). Unfortunately, when I went to finish the swaps I discovered I had left the stamp I needed for the greeting behind! Eek! So what's a girl to do? Improvise! So I used one of the greetings from the Too Kind set instead. These were the resulting swaps:

They came out ok, but I still think I prefer the original - what do you think?

To make these projects you will need:

Cardstock/Paper: Whisper White, Polka Dot Parade DSP ♦ Stamps: Banner Greetings (Hostess 2013/14), Four Frames Too Kind ♦ Ink: Black Stazon, Rich Razzleberry, Marina Mist, Real Red, Old Olive ♦ Tools/Accessories: Bitty Butterfly punch, Circle 2½" punch, Circle 1⅜" punch, Decorative Label punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Window Sheet, Rhinestones

You can order from my online shop 24/7 or if you prefer contact me directly. Don't forget to check out the weekly deals in April!

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole