Birthday pop up!

 

Fiddling around with the new Celebrate Today stamp set & Balloon Framelits & I made this. It's going to form the basis for February's card class (link in the side bar).

 

You can buy the stamp set and Framelits separately, but if you buy them together as a bundle you save 15%. Coordinating dies and punches make your stamp sets go sooo much further & I really recommend you buy them together if your budget allows.

 

I seem to have been making Christmas stuff for ages (since last August in fact) so it's a relief to finally play with softer, pastel colours!

 

 

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early Easter card

 

Knickers!!

 

I was supposed to hold my first class of the year tonight and I've had to postpone it because we've had heavy (for Heald Green, lol ) snow. How annoying! Never mind, we'll re-schedule, hopefully for next week.

 

It's cold and so my thoughts have turned to slightly warmer weather. Hopefully just around the corner (I spotted frogspawn in the pond earlier, when my doting son was pelting me with snowballs).

 

Ms Rabbit is from the new Cheerful Critters stamp set - the banner section is plain (although some sentiments are included in the set, including "I like your face"!!?)  so I stamped a sentiment from the Tiny Sentiments stamp set.  I've used various other bits & bobs of new stuff  (see below) & coloured in with Blendabilities. The floral strip of paper is from the Best Day Ever stack which is FREE during Sale-a-bration when you spend £45 (plus P&P). Click go shopping on the right side bar to get started.

 

And that is that. The snow has just started falling again, all the schools are closed  - I suppose I really should go & do some panic buying. Does Amazon count?

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Butterfly Basics pop-up

I made this pretty and delicate card using Stampin' Up!'s new Butterfly Basics stamp set and coordinating Thinlit dies. (You can buy them together as a bundle and save 15%). Shabby chic is my favourite crafty style so I loved making it. 

 

And yes it does fold completely flat! The gorgeous floral trim is from the Artisan Embellishment Kit, which is full of bits and bobs to perk up a shabby chic card. You can order it or anything else from Stampin' Up! by clicking "Shop now" in the right hand side bar (p&p charges apply).

 

 

 

Pop up cards are so easy. The only cut I made for this was about 2cm, in the centre, then mounted the butterflies on it. I might do a class on pop-up cards in a couple of months.

 

Speaking of classes, this Thursday's card class is now fully booked. My next one is Thursday 26 February. Email me if you want to be notified of future classes. We're only a small group, but it's good fun, and you should leave with finished projects. Also, if you can gather a few friends together I'm always happy to hold extra classes at a time to suit :)

Here's what I used to make this card -

 

Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Bundle

£36.25

Artisan Embellishment Kit

£8.95

Sahara Sand 7/8" (2.2 Cm) Lace Trim

£6.25

Venetian Crochet Trim

£6.25

Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad

£4.95

Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe

£6.25

2013-2015 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack

£19.50

Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock

£6.25

Finishing Touches Edgelits Dies

£8.95

Linen Thread

£3.95

Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Baker's Twine

£3.25

2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment

£4.50

Tea Lace Paper Doilies

£2.75

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Hearty thanks!

 

 

This week I received a mahoosive package of new goodies from the new Spring/Summer (Yes, yes I know. It's snowing here as I type this) catalogue. It's full of lovely new stamps, papers and embellishments so go take a look.

 

This card came together quickly and easily. The Stacked With Love paper stack is great for Valentines day projects, but it's not so wet & soppy that you can't use it for other cards too. It's double sided and at £6.25 it's a great way to inject some fresh colours into your stash, without breaking the bank. The Happy Heart embossing folder is great too. It gives a really deep, crisp impression.  

 

I made the frame for the sentiment by die cutting another in black, cutting it in half & mounting the sentiment on it so that the black just peeps out top and bottom. Same with the glitter card, which was the artisan label punch cut in half. You can use whatever punches and dies you have to hand to get the same effect.

 

The black paper lace is made with an Edgelits die. You must layer a sheet of wax paper between the die and the cardstock or it will embed itself mercilessly into your card! And run it through your die cutting machine narrowest part first - this puts much less pressure on your machine. Follow these two rules & you get a crisp and delicate die cut, every time.

 

The Thanks stamp is from the Simply Wonderful stamp set, which is free during Sale-a-bration (that is, until the end of March) with every spend of £45 (excluding p&p) from the Stampin' Up! catalogues.

 

Click on "Shop Now" on the right hand side bar to go shopping now!

 

And if you live in or around Stockport, I hold a regular card class on the last Thursday of the month. Details here.

 

 

Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack

£6.25

Happy Heart Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

£7.50

Apothecary Accents Framelits Dies

£20.95

Finishing Touches Edgelits Dies

£8.95

Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents

£4.50

Silver Glimmer Paper

£4.50

Artisan Label Punch

£14.25

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January class

 

 

My next card making class is Thursday 29 January 2015 7-9pm, in Heald Green.
We're making this card, which is my take on a lovely card I saw on Pinterest, by Margaret Raburn. 

 

As well as this Valentines card,  we're making a dinky wee gift box to go with it, plus one other general greetings card to build up your stock. Techniques used will include stamping, embossing and die cutting. All materials and tuition supplied.

 

Cost: £10 (£5 deposit payable on booking, via Paypal). Email me to book a place.

 

The class will use stamps from the new Simply Wonderful stamp set and you can get a set for FREE with every purchase of £45 from Stampin' Up! until 31 March 2015.

 

So Happy card

A bright pop of colour to chase away the January blues. I used the 2013-2015 colour palette. I'll be so sad to see this go in June, I love these colours.

The "Yay" is from the free Sale-a-bration You Brighten My Day stamp set (the one featured here) and the banner punch pops it out. "So happy for you" is from yesterday's featured set, Simply Wonderful & the sunburst is from Kinda Eclectic, which, as you probably know, is THE BEST STAMP SET EVAH!

If you've ever wrestled with the gold sequin trim, I find the best way to attach it to a card is to cut a new piece of card that is the width of your card & glue a length of the trim to that. Then trim the edges once it's dried. You can then stick the panel to you card without stray sequins pinging off.

Sale-a-bration stamps can be earned free with every purchase of £45 or more, until the end of March. Click on any of the items below to start shopping.

Kinda Eclectic Clear-Mount Stamp Set

£17.95

Gold Sequin Trim

£4.50

Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine

£3.25

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack

£6.25

2013-2015 In Color A4 Cardstock

£6.25

Venetian Crochet Trim

£6.25

1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch

£14.25

Banner Punch

£11.50

Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad

£4.95

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Simply Wonderful (Sale-a-bration)

This is a thank you card for a Christmas present (I know, shockingly late!).

I used the free Simply Wonderful stamp set from the Sale-a-bration brochure (page 16, 139125). It's free with a spend of £45 or more & contains six really useful sentiment stamps.

 

 

All too often when buying crafting stuff we buy bits here & there. And, having got it home & sniffed & stroked & mooned over it, we find we don't quite know what to use it with. And so we never use it (trust me, I have a PhD in this). So a great way to shop during Sale-a-Bration is with a particular project in mind. Include coordinating papers, inks, cardstock etc in your main order and get your stamps from the Sale-a-Bration brochure. That way you can be sure of making a whole project.

 

For example, for this card you could buy the paper stack, one of the cardstock packs, the lace stamp, one of the ink pads and the decorative label punch for just under £46, and choose the Simply Wonderful stamp set from the Sale-a-Bration brochure.  A co-ordinated approach really will make your stash go much further!

 

 

 

Something Lacy Clear Stamp

£12.95

Banners Framelits Dies

£22.95

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack

£6.25

Card Stock A4 Pistachio Pudding

£6.25

Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock

£6.25

Lost Lagoon 3/8" Satin Stitched Ribbon

£7.95

Linen Thread

£3.95

Decorative Label Punch

£15.50

Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad

£4.95

Pistachio Pudding Classic Stampin' Pad

£4.95

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