Lovely Lace Class Wednesday 20th August

Hi everyone, this is very last minute but here is a photo of the projects we're making in card class this week. I've had trouble taking the photos as my camera battery is nearly dead and I can't find the charger anywhere. Then there was added interference from the cat - you can see what I mean as I've added those photos too. So this is what we'll be making:

There is a gift bag with a matching card, 2 other cards and even the envelopes were embossed. All of the embossing was done using the Big Shot and the Lovely Lace embossing folder. The class is £12 as usual so please contact me if you want to join us on 07970 708348. It's not too late.

For those of you who haven't seen the fantastic Big Shot offer for the month of August click HERE to check it out. if you buy a Big Shot in August, you get a free Framelits and matching stamp set. This makes the Big Shot less than £50 and therefore an absolute bargain. If you're interested then don't delay. You can order through my on-line STORE

And, as promised, here is Felix the cat, interfering with me taking my photos. He doesn't usually jump on my desk but today was obviously an exception.

I'll be back soon with more detailed photos of these projects. Hope you like them. x

Vintage Vogue - three flowers and a tag

Hi everyone, this is my favourite of the 3 cards we made in card class. It involved a fair bit of cutting out but I was really pleased with the end result:

 

I must apologise for the quality of these photos. I used my new i-pad but haven't quite got the hang of it and for some reason when I blog the photos, they don't look anything like as good as they do on the i-pad or computer. There are probably some settings I need to adjust - I just haven't found them yet.

 

I used Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant, Crumb Cake and Whisper White cardstock, inks and ribbon on these cards. Here's a close up of the flowers (you'll have to ignore my thumb):

 

 

The last card was made using Vintage Vogue, the Big Shot and the Two Tags die. The base card was crumb cake and again I used Elegant Eggplant and Wisteria Wonder. For some reason I did not take a photo of the card itself but hopefully you can see it in this picture of all 3 of the cards. I used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder to emboss the Elegant Eggplant background:

 

 

I did take this close up:

 

 

Between the lack of photos, the poor quality photos and my thumb, I was clearly having some issues this day.

 

The 'Just for You sentiment is from the Tea Shoppe stamp set. I'll showcase this stamp set at a later date. If you like the Vintage Vogue stamp set then don't delay ordering as sadly it's being discontinued.

 

I'll be back with an anniversary card soon. see you then. x 

 

P.S. I made the 3 flower card again using Pool Party and Indigo Island for a colleague who is off sick. I love these colours. See what you think:

 

 

 

Owl Gift boxes

Hi everyone, today I am showing you these owl gift boxes which I saw on Jenny Moors website. Jenny designs some great projects and you can buy the tutorial from Jenny. I saw these and just had to make a couple:

 

This one was made using Jenny's colour scheme of Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo and Wild Wasbi:

 

Here is a side view. I should have taken a photo of the box open, but I forgot so you'll have to take my word for it that the front 'face' is held down by a velcro dot and you lift it back to open it: 

Here's a different colour scheme: Bravo Burgundy, More Mustard and Wild Wasbi although in the photo it doesn't look much different from the Chocolate Chip:

 

 I hope you like these. Think I might make them in some really bright colours too. Have a great day.x

Elegant Mixed Bunch

Hi everyone, this is the last card from the Mixed Bunch class and my favourite. The photo doesn't really do it justice but some of the close ups are better:



For this card we used some of the lovely Twitterpated designer papers to create a background layer. I embossed a piece of Whisper White using the Stripes embossing folder and the Big Shot. The Blossom punch was used to punch the flower shape and the layer was stuck onto the base card, using 3D pads. The colours we used are Blushing Bride and Cherry Cobbler.

Additional flower shapes were cut using the Blossom Party die and the Big Shot, the Boho Blossom punch and the Itty Bitty punches. Flower centres were stamped and added:




A strip of Pleated Satin ribbon in Blushing Bride was added. This ribbon is truly gorgeous and comes ready pleated - all you need to do is stick it on your projects. We'll be using more of it soon: 

There is plenty of room to add a greeting although I quite like it left with 'white' space. I'll be back soon with more projects. x

Training name badge

And now for something completely different.... I attended a Stampin' Up! regional training event a couple of weeks ago and, for the event, we were all asked to make our own name badge. Wow, there was so much creativity on show that day and here is my effort:

 

I love the colour combination of Island Indigo, Pool Party. Concord Crush and Lucky Limeade although the colours haven't shown up very well in the photos. I used the Top Note die and the Big Shot to make the base of my name badge and cut the letters for my name using the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies. The flowers were cut using the Flower Daisies die and the butterflies were cut using the Beautiful Wings embosslits die. The leaves were punched using the Bird Builder punch (the only thing not a die, I think) Here's a close up:

It's hard to see but I covered the centres of the flowers with glitter. Do you know, I hadn't realised how much of a 'Big Shot' project this was until I typed this post and listed all the various dies I'd used.

Stampin' Up! events are grreat fun. We get to do Make & Takes, swap samples with other demos, learn from head office and other experienced demos and we often get to see new products. On top of this we get a free stampset - this year we got 'Mixed Bunch' which is the set we used in card class this week.

You have to be a demo to be able to attend these events but remember you can join by buying the starter kit for only £99. If you want a chat about joining, then please contact me. I will definitely not put any pressure on you but it may be the best thing you ever did. Check back soon for a closer look at the projects we made in card class this week.x

Mixed bunch class

Hi everyone, I hope you're all enjoying your bank holiday weekend even though the weather isn't great. I want to give you plenty of notice of the next class. We'll be using the Mixed Bunch stamp set which is a lovely versatile set. It has a matching punch so cutting out is a dawdle. Here's a sneak preview:

Have you spotted top left, where the flower has become a butterfly?

The class will be held on Wednesday 13th June, 7.00-9.30pm, at my house in West Bridgford.

Cost is £12 as usual which includes everything needed to make the projects except for adhesives.

We'll be using different techniques in this class including the 'emboss resists' technique used for the butterfly and the 'rock and roll' technique which has been used on the gift box:

The gift box has been cut using the Pillow Box die and the Big Shot, using Calypso Coral cardstock. The flower has been inked with Daffodil Delight ink and the edges of the stamp were 'rolled' on the Calypso Coral ink pad giving the edges a separate, blended edge of more intense colour.

I've cut a strip of Daffodil Delight paper using the Lace Ribbon punch to go round the box and the leaves were punched using the Bird Builder punch.

I hope you'll decide to join us. Just give me a ring or email me. x

Fair Owls

Hi everyone, I recently had a stall at a Spring fair and I was asked to do an activity for the children. Having seen several versions of this owl on the internet, I decided to do these.

These owls have made with Poppy Parade, Island Indigo and Daffodil Delight cardstock. Their bodies are cut using the Pillow Box die and the Big Shot. The 'feathers' are made from strips of designer papers from the Designer Paper stacks in matching or complimentary colours.

I used punchs for the detail - the feet are punched using the 5 Petal Flower, the wings are punched with the Large Oval and the beak is one of the hearts from the Heart to Heart punch. I prepared most things before the fair but the owl was so popular I had to cut lots more. One girl ended up making 5 of them!

Here's a close up of the red one:

The kids loved this, especially as it gave them a little gift box aswell as a cute owl. Why not have a go yourself. x

Mother's Day Flip Album

Hi everyone, I know you've already had a little look at the Mother's Day Flip album but I thought I would share this in more detail. Now I certainly didn't design this myself - there are lots of examples of Flip albums on the internet but this is the tutorial I used. Here is what the from cover looked like:

I'm using past tense for this as I wasn't very happy with this cover. The flowers seemed too small and out of propotion with the rest of the album. After much thought, I eventually changed it to this:



I know the changes are quite subtle - I used the Blossom Party die and the Big Shot to cut the flowers instead of the Boho Flower punch, and I stuck to using just Calypso Coral cardstock, instead of multi coloured flowers. I also changed the sentiment plaque and used the Oval Designer Frames embossing folder in the same way as I did on the card. I think this works much better - let me know what you think. So, now some photos of the inside:

I've not decorated or stamped the inside too much as it depends on my photos and I'll probably add flowers etc over the photos. I did want to show you the final version, complete with photos but had a bit of printer trouble. I was going to use pictures of my mum with me and my children, and I wanted them in black and white, so the colours wouldn't clash. For some reason my genuine HP ink, when printing black and white, just smudges... I couldn't work out why my cutter and my fingers were covered in black mess! Anyway, luckily I have some extra time as I don't need this till May,so I can sort it and show you a photo at a later date. 

Here are a couple of photos of everyone who did the class. Do you think we need a bigger table? Everyone was really working against the clock but all produced lovely projects by the end of the evening. They didn't all make the album and card for Mother's Day - they're very versatile and can be used for any occasion. If you would like to join us for future classes, please get in touch. x

Happy Mother's Day

I know it is more like Happy Mother's Day evening, but thought I would share this card anyway. This is the card I made for my mum, to match the flip album which you've had a glimpse of. My mum lives on the continent and they actually don't do Mother's Day till May but I think I'm safe to share this as she doesn't look at my blog - at least I don't think so....

Here's the card:

I used Lucky Limeade for the base colour and punched 16 squares using the 1 1/4" square punch from the Everyday Enchantment FREE SAB papers. Remember you only have to spend £45 to get these gorgeous papers for free.

I then embossed the oval designer embossing frame using Very Vanilla, and tore it into a rough oval shape. I stamped 'To my Mum' using the All in the Family stamp set. The flowers were cut using the Blossom Party die and the Big Shot. I wet the flowers using a misting spray and then scrunched them to give them a more vintage look. The leaves were punched using the Bird Builder punch.

Here's a close up of the sentiment:

I'll show you details of the flip album later and this card in a different colour scheme. I hope you all had a lovely day today. See you soon. x 

You can never have too many bags

Hi everyone, I wanted to share this little bag with you all. If you've been surfing blog land you'll have come across lots of these as quite a few demos have been making them recently. This is certainly not my original idea and you can find a tutorial and video on how to make these here.



I used the SAB Everyday Enchantment papers (again) and matched the papers with Peach Parfait and Pool Party cardstock. Here's a side view:

The bag only uses a 6" x 6" square of designer paper so you can make 4 out of 1 sheet. I also used the matching designer brads to hold the gorgeous Pool Party ruffled ribbon handles in place. When you open it up, there is just enough space for a small gift or a credit card gift card:

The bag is held shut with a velcro self adhesive dot and the flower was cut using the Big Shot and my new favourite die, Blossom Party. This die is in the Spring mini catalogue and only available till 30th April, so if you like it, don't delay.

Now, I'm doing a couple of Spring Fairs soon, so I thought these little bags are an ideal way to use up some retired designer papers. Here's my collection. Unfortunately you can't get these papers anymore but imagine how gorgeous these bags would be in the current papers especially the flocked Mocha Morning papers. I may make one soon to show you. In the meantime, I hope you like these.



These red ones are my personal favourites:



Why not have a go. They are really easy. x

SAB to see you go

Hi everyone, today I'm showing you a card I made for work, as a colleague was leaving our team. I've used Calypso Coral for the base card again (seems to be becoming a favourite). I also couldn't wait to play with the Sale-A-Bration FREE papers - Everyday Enchantment, so have used them for this card:



I cut the flag 'freehand' using my trimmer and die cut the letters using the Big Shot and the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet. I was trying to think what word I could use on the flags. Thought of saying 'Goodbye' but it was a bit long, thought of 'Leaving' but it's the same number of letters so ended up with 'Miss U', which I quite like. The sentiment at the bottom has been printed on the computer.

The flower on the flag was created using the Boho Blossom punch and the little flowers in between the flags are punched using one the punches from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack. I used some of the other In Colours that match the papers to create these - Pool Party, Lucky Limeade and ofcourse, Calypso Coral.

Finally, I stamped the inside using the matching FREE Sale-A-Bration set Fresh Vintage, to create a border in Calypso Coral ink. By the way, the paper the card is lying on is one of the sheets from the FREE  Everyday Enchantment designer paper set.

 

I hope she likes this. Check back soon for more. x

Santa gift box

Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay in posting the things we made at our last card class. I've not been well, but now feel a bit better so can go on my computer again. This is the santa gift box we made. I love this. Such a clever idea (not mine, I saw various versions on the internet). I'm sure we'll make it again though, using different colours and papers. Here you go:

Believe it or not the box is made from the Mini Milk Carton die, using the Big Shot to cut it. If you google 'mini milk carton box' and click on 'video' then you'll get several youtube videos showing you how to put it together. That will be much easier than me trying to explain it. I used Real Red cardstock for the box and a 1" strip of Basic Black for santa's belt. I cut 1" from the end of the belt to place in the middle of the silver square. The silver square was punched using the 1 1/4" square punch. A couple of pearls act as buttons.

I punched holes in the top 'pleats' using my Crop-a-dile, and threaded 1/8 Real Red Taffeta Ribbon through the holes. Hopefully you can see how I did it here:

As you can see the white ruffle was made using Whisper White card and the new Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch. Everybody in the class did a great job of making the box. If you fancy having a go and need any of the products, just let me know.

The Christmas cards will be posted soon, promise. keep checking. x

Merry Christmas, Pennant Card

Well, it was card class yesterday and we had a lot of fun. There is so much talking, hardly anyone ever finishes all the projects, despite us always running over. This is the Christmas card we made:

We used Real Red and Very Vanilla cardstock and a strip of the absolutely gorgeous Holly Berry Bouquet designer papers with the matching Real Red satin ribbon. We punched 2 'fluffy' triangles (as people were calling it yesterday), from designer stack dotty paper, using the Petite Pennant Builder punch. The dotty paper on this card was Garden Green. We then glittered all the dots using a glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds. The top triangle was folded in half and stuck to the other using Multi Purpose Liquid Glue. As this glue is latex (rubber) based it stays very flexible, allowing some movement in the layer without coming off.

We cut a circle of Very Vanilla and embossed it using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and the Big Shot. I then used some Crumb Cake ink round the edges. It was all stuck together and the 'Merry Christmas' sentiment was added in Soft Suede ink. This gives a softer look than using black ink. The sentiment is from the Contempto Christmas stamp set.

I have tried to show you the lovely glitter effect on the Holly Berry Bouquet paper, in this photo but it is difficult to tell. Hopefully you can get some idea. These papers are really fabulous and suitable for other occasions too, not just Christmas. If you would like a 6x6 piece of every speciality designer paper in the catalogue, then keep an eye on my blog as I will be announcing a paper share at the launch party on Saturday 15th Oct, and will then put it on the blog. If you would like to come to the launch party, it is not too late to book your place, so please contact me ASAP. 

I'm having a whole day off work tomorrow to craft and get ready for various events so I should have lots to show you soon. So, keep checking back for more information and more pictures of projects.x