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Monday 22 April 2013

More for you - Stampin' Up! Style



A great offer from Stampin' Up! is here to share.  More for hostesses and more for new team members too!  Do you ever wish you had more money to spend on Stampin' Up! products? Well, Consider it done. 

If you host a party with sales of £250, you will get an additional £25 in FREE products!  This is in addition to the £40 of FREE, Yes, FREE! product you already receive for sales of £250 as a hostess.  So, here's the easy maths, if you host a party and sales are £250 or more you will receive £65 (wow-ee!) of FREE products. 

Not enough?  Considering the £99 Starter Kit to join as a demonstrator and get discounted products all the time?  There's more for you with this offer.  Join my team now and you will get an extra £25 added to your starter kit.  That means you can choose £155 of product all for £99 and on top of that you will also get a Business pack of catalogues, invite cards, order forms etc...worth £45!!  Fantastic! Extra products and you will get your discount for all products you purchase whilst a demonstrator. 

By joining my team you will be welcomed in to a supportive Stampin' Up! family with team training events held on a regular basis to guide you in your Stampin' Up! journey and business objectives. Also, if you join now the quarterly minimum targets do not need to be met until the end of September 2013 and we have a whole new catalogue being launched on July 1st which you will get to see before everyone else.  What are you waiting for? 

I'd love to have you join my team or if you just feel like a party, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com and I will be in touch.

Monday 15 April 2013

Once Upon a Time....

Good Morning to you all.  We have been having some fun over Easter and over the weekend we visited a local farm which hands hands-on experience for children.  My little one loved it!  He got to feed the lambs, baby goats and hold a little baby goat too.  I have to say I was enjoying the close up experience too, although it was a little too close when one of the bigger sheep decided to hop over the fence and jump the queue for the feeding!

Well in a springtime animal theme I thought I would share a card I made for my Niece recently using the Storytime designer papers. This pack is absolutely fantastic for children's projects and I love the Alphabet and Numeric papers which are great even hung or framed as they are for teaching little ones.  You could even cut and mount them for your very own set of flashcards or create a game of snap!

It was my Niece's third birthday so I used the pictorial numeric sheet to represent her birthday, you can also see some of the other designs of the paper on the background strips.  I had to play around a while to get all three of the numbers on the card as I just loved the pictures and did not want to cut them down any smaller.  The colours are so gender neutral which is great, but I wanted to add a little 'girlie' to the card so I punched some Boho Blossoms to add to it.  To soften the corners I used the corner punch on the card and the layered pieces.


 
This pack of papers is multi-talented as it's not just for children.  Here too is a card I have made for a male birthday using the same papers. Little banners are great for using up scraps or little leftovers, I have picked the reverse designs from some of the papers and added the ruler paper for a DIY reference for this one.  The First Edition Papers have also found a little place on this card too.    

 
 
Happy Birthday for the card is from the Delightful Dozen set again - yep AGAIN!  Another one to add to the useful stamp set count!  I have used markers to select colours from the papers and stamp elements of the Happy Birthday stamp in the set.  The stamp is loaded with Birthday sayings and you can stamp which ever bits you want this way.  I also used the 'Wish Big' from the Pennant Parade set.
 
The flags hide it a little bit, but I have criss-crossed some baker's twine behind them and finished off with a big button with a knot of the twine.  I used one of the bronze buttons from the Aut/Wint catalogue for my card, but a big designer button would work just as well.

To place an order, book a party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com.  I would love to hear from you.

Friday 12 April 2013

Colour Refresh from Stampin' Up!

Stampin' Up! this week have announced their Colour Refresh. The new refresh is to stay up-to-date with colour trends and although it is hard sometimes to let go of colours we love from SU, I am pleased to announce they are keeping some of our faourite In Colours and even bring back some we have loved previously.   Here to see what is coming, what is leaving us and what is returning:
I can breath a sigh of relief some of my favourites are still in here and the new colours look exciting too.  Some have swapped around into different collections so are still with us, but co-ordinating with colours we may not have thought of before, bringing a new wealth of new inspiration.

Now, products in the colours leaving will be available only while supplies last. If you have favourites that are no longer going to be available, make sure you stock up whilst you can.  You may have ribbon already or designer papers in a particular colour and you want to be able to continue to create beautiful  colour co-ordinated projects with them so make sure you have all you need.

To place an order of any products, or book a party or come to a workshop, please email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Wednesday 10 April 2013

How To: Petal Cone Basket


Well I promised a pictorial instruction on how I made my Easter Basket for my chick and here it is (albeit a little later than anticipated).  This little basket can be used all year round for all kinds of occasions to hold sweet treats, paper flowers, gift toiletries or small gift items so it's a great all rounder and the petal cone is not just for cones!




First of all the base colour card was Crumb Cake which I used for two cuts of the Petal Cone Die with the Big Shot.  I then folded all the die made score lines to give me the pieces ready to make the basket. 

To make the fold lines to create the bottom of the box, I used the top score line of the petal cone (at the base of the semi-circular piece as it is when folded down) to line up on the Simply Scored tool (or you could use the paper trimmer) and scored at 6cm and 9cm to create fold lines parallel to those created by the die.  I then cut off the very tip of the cone at the 9cm line to give the pieces as shown above.


I then used Sticky Strip to stick the box together as this is the perfect strong hold to make sure it can hold any heavier contents without coming apart.  At this stage I stuck the two pieces together along one of the vertical tabs.  I then stamped across both pieces on the side which was going to be the outside of the box with the Woodgrain background stamp in Soft Suede to make my wood-effect on the basket. In the picture above, you can see I have already flipped the box over and attached the crumb cake scalloped semi-circles too to two of the flaps (alternate flaps).

 
On the reverse side of the petal cone pieces (with the pieces all laid flat as above), I have stamped the woodgrain background again to decorate the semi-circle pieces which will fold back down over the front edges of the box.  I have then added DSP paper scalloped semi-circles again over the top in the Birds of a Feather DSP.


I added sticky strip as shown in the above picture, ready to complete the box.  Before sticking, if you are adding a basket handle like I have, remember to punch your holes on the top semi-circles first.  Fold the semi-circle down and punch through this and the side panel, making sure you distance the same on each side. 

Next, fold the box up and stick the two side panels together first using the long tab.  Once that is secured you can stand the box upside down and fold over the bottom pieces and stick them together.  Fold one flap with the sticky strip over, remove the backing tape and then fold the opposite tab over (with no sticky strip on) and then repeat.  Make sure you are holding the box square when securing the bottom flaps so the basket is not wonky when complete.

All that's left to do is create a strip for your handle and punch holes at the ends to attach with brads through the holes you made in the side of the basket.  I decorated my handle with DSP matching the basket sides and also created a shaped end to the handle using the scallop border punch.  I wrapped one of the pre-cut banner pieces round a cocktail stick and used the 'Happy Easter' sentiment from the Delightful Dozen stamp set for the sentiment.  I finished off with some Boho Blossom flowers.

The Delightful Dozen stamp set is a fantastic reliable addition to any craft room, with 12 stamps in it for occasions throughout the year - Birthdays, Easter, Mother's Day, Get Well wishes, Congratulations, Valentine's, Thank You's, Halloween and Christmas.  You are bound to use this over and over through the year and even if you used each stamp just once a year, which I very much doubt, that's only £2.50 per stamp for each stamp in the wood-mount set!
 Images © Stampin' Up!

 To place an order, book a party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Easter Chicks

Well Easter crafting continues in our house with bunny and chicks making appearances.  Here are a couple more little Easter projects I made to celebrate in our house.


 
This one is made with that Owl Punch again.  This time in disguise as Easter Chicks.  Even with a little false lashes too!
 
I made the awning top using the scallop border punch. I punched the blue card first, then punched a scallop border of white and cut this into strips to overlay the blue. You cannot see it in the photo, but the awning fixes to the back of the card and folds over the top of the card and then folds again to hang over the front of the card in a 3D effect.
 
My other little Chick surprise is using the Every Egg stamp wheel for decoration in this little box of wonder. I coloured using the Subtles collection markers and a blender pen, a little crafting whilst watching some TV. 
 
 
 
Now the best bit, when the band is slipped off and the taffeta ribbon is undone..........
 

 
This box was so easy to make with the Simply Scored Tool.  A few simple fold lines made with stanadard and diagonal plates and it was easily put together. I did not even look up any measurements, I just tried out a few fold lines and it worked!
The designer paper used is the Birds of a Feather paper which I used for the chic basket for my previous blog too.
 
I know I said I was going to post instructions for the Chick Basket from the Petal Cone die, but on review my photographs need a little cosmetic surgery before I can post them and this post has already got longer than I anticipated.  Sit tight and I will post the instructions next blog post, I promise.
 
 To place an order, book a party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com