Free Blendabilities during Sale-a-Bration

 

This would be a great card to make for someone celebrating exam success. It uses the large Project Life Framelits die as a base. The smaller die fits almost perfectly over the card front, leaving just a thin pop of colour round the border.

 

I coloured the images using Blendabilities pens. They are alcohol based markers and so the ink blends without leaving harsh lines, unlike felt tip type markers. You get 3 pens in a pack, each one a lighter or darker shade of the same tone, which allows you to get the effects of light and shade you can see in the picture. Why, with only a little practice you'd think I'd been drawing Manga for years!!! (Although my 10 year old dryly assures me that, actually, you would not. Actually.)

 

You can earn packs of Blendabilities FREE during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration promotion (til 31 March 2015). Spend £45 (excluding p&p) & choose a pack free.

 

You could make a very similar card to this one by buying the stamp set, 2 packs of Blendabilities, and some A4 whisper white card for £45.35, and choosing your 3rd pack of Blendabilities for free (consult the Sale-a-bration brochure for the product codes for the free blendies, as it's different to the one in the main catalogue)

 

(I'd also recommend buying the Memento ink pad if you don't already have it, as alcohol markers don't work well with all inks. And you'll need an acrylic stamping block to mount the stamps, as they are cling mount)

 

 

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Birthday card

A pop up birthday card for a special chap who turned 10 this week.

I spelt out the name with the little letters Thinlits. They don't include numbers, so I used the 'O' for a zero & the '1' from the file tabs Thinlits set, cut down slightly. That set contains numbers 1, 2, 3 which, conveniently, is the age bracket all my son's friends are just hitting, so I'll get good use out of them for a few years! 

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Pop up Valentine's card

 

Valentine's Day tomorrow.  I was going to give Mr B the card I made as a sample for my Valentine's card classes. To some, this will seem cheap. However, thrift is a quality my husband finds strangely arousing in a woman, so I was onto a winner! But I smudged ink on it & it couldn't be saved. So I made this one instead. Hearts, flying at your face from all angles! 

 

To get the fancy edge I took the large Framelit from the Apothecary Accents set, placed it against each edge of the card & just ran it partly through the Big Shot, so that it only cut half the die.

 















The I heart U stamp is from the Pictogram Punches set - I forgot to add that in the links below.

Have a fun & smoochy Valentines Day, whatever you get up to. And if it should turn into a washout - if he's sat there picking his feet & watching Match of the Day instead of gazing lovingly into your eyes - why not console yourself with a spot of craft shopping? Click on any of the pictures below to hop through into my shop. And remember, there's free product to be picked from the Sale-a-Bration catalogue if your order tops £45.

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Valentines class reloaded

 

I took my Valentines card class to a local craft group last night & we had a great (and very busy!) time.

 

If you'd like me to bring a class to your group (or even do a 1-2-1 with you) do get in touch bracegirdlesam@gmail.com

Wedding card

We're all romantic & spoony this week at Rubberdubber towers. It's Valentine's Day next week & yesterday was me & Mr B's 27th date-a-versary, an event we still celebrate, even though we've been married umpteen years. 

27 years ago last night we went to Aberystwyth Arts Centre to watch the sort of pretentious foreign film we'd hoot with laughter at these days, before earnestly deconstructing it in the union bar.

Mr B considers it a master stroke that he asked me out just before Valentine's Day, as each year he's able to pick up a modest bunch of flowers at a "sensible" price & they're still in bloom a week later, thus allowing him to avoid buying a Valentine's bouquet at "silly" prices. 

"Well, it's hardly worth it. These have got another few days left in them yet", he'll say, deadheading a carnation.

Anyway, pondering on the fairytale that is married life inspired me to make this card using the new For the New Two and Something Lacy stamp sets.

I got that white border effect totally by accident. First I stamped the pink background from the Everything Eleanor stamp set onto white cardstock. I stamped another onto card & cut it out to make a mask, which I placed back over the stamped image, so that I could over stamp the lace background. The card was quite thick, and so when I over stamped the lace stamp, it couldn't make contact properly with the card at the edge of the mask, & it left a wider border than I was expecting. I really like it though, & will try that effect with other stamps & masks. The trick is to use card to mask off & not paper. 

The Apothecary Accents Framelit matches the larger background stamp perfectly, & I cut a second one in glitter paper, cut it in 2 & popped it behind so it was just slightly peeping out. Too much would have looked cheap but just a hint of sparkle really lifts the card.

Here's what I used (all stamps listed below are cling mount - wood mount are also available)

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Welcome baby card

I love making little cards, & they seem so 'right' for baby cards. 

My current fave card size is 4"x3" & cutting it using the large Project Life Framelit saves a little time & measuring. You can mount the smaller framelit on the front & the base card gives it a delicate edge.

Being able to make a matching envelope quickly & easily using the envelope punch board really finishes it off. I rarely buy envelopes now, so it's paid for itself pretty much right away.

 

The stamp set featured here is Hello Love*. It's a cartoon style set, and is great for modern cards. It's a Hostess Reward set, which means you can only buy it if your order reaches £150. That might seem a lot, but if you book a party or get together with friends & place a group order it's easily reached.

Qualifying for Hostess Rewards means Stampin' Up! give you £25 back to spend in the catalogue and access to buy the exclusive Hostess Rewards stamp sets, if any take your fancy.

And during Sale-a-Bration your money goes much further. Your £150 spend would also earn you 3 FREE products from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. So now until the end of March is a great time to think about placing larger orders.

And if you're thinking of spending that much, how about joining my team as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator?

*Except for the "Hello Baby" text, which comes from the Teeny Tiny Sentiments set

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Beautiful boxes

 

I love the gift box punch board. It turns any reasonable size piece of thick paper or card into packaging in seconds. The big boxes could fit a Yankee style candle jar, while the smallest size is great for wedding or party favours.

 

And then the fun begins deciding how to decorate. For this one I made the paper lace using the Stampin' Up! Edgelit die. The bow on the left is the Bow Builder Punch & the flowers are the Spiral Flower Die.

I'll be running a class on boxes in a couple of months - check back here or my facebook page for more information.