Cards for fun and a bowl ...

... Hi - it's a beautiful day today; doesn't that always make you feel good?  Well, it does me!  I've had a fun morning at a Stampin' Up! class run by my up-line, Karin.  We made some gorgeous cards and had a really good time.  We had a go at a the chalkboard and triple stamping techniques.  Here's the card we made using the triple stamping technique - it's entirely Karin's design and is just so pretty;

 

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Betsy's Blossoms, Petite Pairs
Inks: SU - Elegant Eggplant, Melon Mambo, Old Olive
Accessories:  SU Card - Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

This is such a bright, cheerful card - and it's lovely to be able to play with stamps that I don't have.  Our next card is quite clean and simple (and very easy to make).  Actually it's a good card for men.

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Make a Wish
Inks: SU - Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip
Accessories:  SU Card - Whisper White; Linen Ribbon and brad

The distressed areas of colour are simply the acrylic blocks inked and then stamped (second impression) directly on to the card.  We added the linen ribbon and brad for texture.  The panel was attached to the card base with dimensional pads.   

Next we made a really fun card and had a go at the chalkboard technique.  We CASEd a card originally made by Angie - it's such a fun card and I can see it working for children's birthday cards.

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Woodgrain, Vintage Verses
Inks: Versamark; Whisper White
Accessories:  SU Card - Shara Sand; SU Design Paper - Sycamore Street; SU - Petite Curly Label Punch; SU - Ribbon & Buttons Sycamore Street

And the final card I made this morning is this:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Swallowtail, Petite Pairs
Inks: Versamark; Staz-on - Jet Black
Accessories:  SU Card - Pool Party, Basic Black, Whisper White;  Diamond Dazzles Glitter

The example card had the butterfly - which is enormous - stamped and embossed with white powder - all the fine details are just lovely.  But we decided to see what it looked like stamped in Versamark and then embossed with Heat 'n' Stick mixed with Diamond Dazzles glitter.  It looks wonderful and in real-life the butterfly shimmers with a rainbow of colour.  However, the image does lack some of the detail and (as I discovered) if you don't heat set it properly the glitter comes off!  As a consequence, I attached the image towards the right of the card and added a sentiment to cover the oops!!  I've taken a another photo of the butterfly - showing the colours and a shot of the inside.

A couple of weeks ago Kathryn attended a birthday party at a local ceramic workshop.  As I had to wait for her, I decided to make a bowl for my kitchen.  I picked a simple bowl and opted for deep jade, pale yellow and a pattern in a mixture of light jade and greeny blue.  This is result and I'm thrilled to bits with it.

I hope you like the cards - I had such fun making them. It's always nice crafting with friends :)