What a lovely Easter weekend! We received about a foot of snow overnight Friday and into Saturday - big surprise for everybody! But today dawned sunny and beautiful (but very cold and white!) We had family over to join us for Easter dinner and had a lovely time dying eggs and eating chocolate.

I haven't got my scrapbook pages up yet, but it will happen in the next couple of days as I have a class on Thursday night. For now I'm loading a couple of cards for your 'viewing pleasure'.

This first card was inspired by another demo - I've changed it slightly and used different embellishments.

The background and largest oval cardstock is Always Artichoke. The pink is Cameo Coral (although it looks stronger in the photo). The Designer Paper is Ginger Blossom with butterflies stamped on it. The butterfly and fern is from the Touch of Nature stamp set and stamped on Whisper White. I coloured the cut out butterfly with pastels and a blender pen. The flowers are from my new Pretties Kit and I coloured the tips of the petals with Cameo Coral pastel and dry sponge. The centres are brads from the Soft Subtles kit.

These cards were made for a swap and while they look simple, the detailing doesn't show up too well. (Gotta get a decent scanner so I can do this properly)

The base cardstock is Old Olive with Pretty in Pink matting and Whisper White to stamp. The stamp set is Artfully Asian, stamped in Old Olive and coloured with blender pens. I've used a darker pink (Pink Passion) for the flowers and given each centre a dot of white from the Signo Gel Pen. Then I've used Crystal Effects on all the flowers to give them some depth and shine. The cards are finished off with a Pretty in Pink 1/4 inch ribbon.

That's all for today. Hope spring has sprung where you live

I've had fun this weekend with my new supplies. Unfortunately most of the cards I've sealed in their envelopes ready to send and forgot to take photos! Here are a few that managed to make it to film (well, computer...)

This one is made with Cardstock, Designer Paper, the five petal punch, coloured brads, and ribbon.

The cardstock is Old Olive and Pretty in Pink, the designer paper is from the Prints Pack Designer Series Paper (Hostess Level 1). Again I've left the greeting area blank until I use it.

I have to admit, I have a 'thing' for punches. They make designing and putting together so easy! You'll be seeing more punch projects in the near future. And they work great with scrapbooking.

This card is the same colour scheme but I've used the Perfectly Pretty wheel and Pretty in Pink classic ink to create the background.

The corners were created with the ticket punch, and the flower with the five petal punch.

I forced myself to use one of the pearls from the Pretties kit - I want to save as many as I can for workshops.

The last card for today is done with a special boy or man in mind.

The background is another sheet from the Prints Pack Designer Series Paper - Real Red. Whisper White is the centre column background with the three blocks cut from Brilliant Blue.

I dipped into the new Silver Hodgepodge Hardware to frame the sentiment "Hugs & Kisses" from the All Holidays stamp set.

Next time I plan to have a scrapbook page or two to show you. Which is a nice segue to letting you know that my first scrapbook night is March 27th, 7 - 9 pm. This class will meet one night each month until June. For more information visit my website: www.attherookery.stampinup.com

Are you a Big Brother or Big Sister? Look what you can do in April and May!


The Loonies for Littles Stampin' Kit includes the following:

Exclusive double-mounted Good Together stamp set
One 5" x 5" On Board Art Journal
Two sheets of double-sided Designer Series paper from Boho Blend Simply Scrappin'
Three sheets of self-adhesive die cuts from Boho Blend Simply Scrappin'
Four sheets of 12" x 12" textured card stock
Two Classic Stampin' Spots: 1 Old Olive, 1 Pumpkin Pie
Full-color insert with photos of projects, along with step-by-step instructions
One Craft Keeper
This kit, including the stamp set, was designed exclusively for this campaign and will not be offered again after May 31, 2008.
This offer is available only in Canada.

Purchase a Loonies for Littles Stampin' Kit for $32.50 and Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada (BBBSCA).
The Loonies for Littles campaign benefits the "Littles" (kids) and "Bigs" (adult volunteers) in the BBBSCA's In-School Mentoring program.

I just received an order from Stampin' Up! yesterday with some products I've been wanting to try. I ordered the "Tart & Tangy" stamp set from the new Occasions Mini and I'm going to make scratch and sniff cards with the cherries, orange, apple, and strawberry. I also splurged and got the Pretties kit on page 188 of the Spring & Summer Idea Book & Catalogue. I've been eyeing that for a while. Here are some of the cards I've made today:



This one uses the "Spring Song" stamp set found on page 103 of the S&S IB&C. I love to paint and watercolour and I used my pastels to do this one. I used Summer Sun cardstock for the card and framed the picture with Ruby Red and Basic Black. the two pieces of designer paper on the bottom half of the card are from the Ginger Blossom package. The colours used for the hummingbird are Green Galore, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, Whisper White and Basic Black. The trumpet flower was done with a comination of reds, the throat of the flowers is Summer Sun. I don't normally use a lot of 'hot' colours but I really liked this combination.

Now this card is more my typical style. The ink colours are Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Brocade Blue, Old Olive and Basic Black. Ribbon is 1/4 inch Pretty in Pink.

The Stamp set used here is the two step set Heartfelt Thanks.

Here I've used a monochromatic blue scheme using Bashful Blue and Brilliant Blue. I've left the space free to use whatever greeting is appropriate when needed. The brads are SU Bashful Blue. The Designer Paper is one of the Hostess Gifts in the Spring & Summer Idea Book & Catalogue.

The stars are cut using the star punches found on page 181 of the catalogue. You'll be seeing more punched cards, they're so much fun and so easy!