Christmas Mistletoe Love

Today's card is a special one.  As it gets close to Christmas it is time to start spending time with those you hold most dear to you and to show them how much they mean to you.  This card is for my husband so I had to reel in the glitter and glam to make a card he would appreciate without it being too girly.  Of course, there is still some glitter on there.......well it is Christmas after all!  I think he is getting used to the glitter and sparkle by now.

I cannot seem to find a place in the house to take a photo with enough light at the moment so I am not sure you can see the best of this card.  It uses a background of Cherry Cobbler and then a mat of that glitter Glimmer Paper.  There is also some added subtle glistening from the top layer of Shimmery White.  This last layer also gives the card a subtle off-white colouring which I like.

I have had this card layout in mind for some time.  After my last couple of projects with the Expressions Thinlits I knew I would be using them again soon for this card.  I have simply used the 'Love' saying from the set and cut it out from the Shimmery White layer.  I have then cut it again in the Cherry Cobbler cardstock and then used both of these, one either side of the cutout in the shimmery white layer for my stack of 'Love'.

I had wanted to add the mistletoe for the symbol of love at Christmas and also for some Christmas kisses.  I have a lovely set of mistletoe lights as a garland on my mantle piece and I had these as my inspiration.  The Little Leaves sizzlit die gave me my bunch of leaves. I cut from some Always Artichoke scraps I had as the nearest colour to the mistletoe green leaves.  I went for the Large pearls for the berries as these stood out the most on the card.    

I have added some Cherry Cobbler Chevron Ribbon in a couple of accents round the bunch of mistletoe and as a tab on the right hand side.  Just enough to keep the card simple.  There is also an Antique Brad to secure the ribbon wrap on the mistletoe.  I trimmed the ribbon in half along the length to use it for my wrap. 

I am just loving my Envelope Punch Board too.  Making custom cards means I can just cut the card to any size I want and then just quickly make a custom envelope afterwards.  No more trying to make the designs work in a standard card size and I can make larger cards for those dearest and then make a beautiful envelope out of designer paper to make it even more special.

I think my Christmas crafting is nearing it's final stages, not least as I need to tidy up the craft room (aka the guest bedroom) for our visitors on the big day!  Just a few more tags to make now as the elves have been busy wrapping here (finally).  I hope you are all feeling organised too and enjoying some time of rest.

Here is the list of what I used again:

Glimmer Paper (124005)

Shimmery White (121717)

Expressions Thinlits (132171)

Little Leaves Sizzlit (114511)

Antique Brads (117273)

Large Pearls (125577)

Chevron Ribbon (130012)

Don't forget too the Envelope Board, only £17.95 to make all your envelopes and much more! (133774)

Suzanne

x

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Washi Tape Pegs and Tags

The weather outside is certainly frightful, I hope you are all safe and warm inside.............as I write this my hubby is currently outside shoring up our fence which is about to take it's very own Christmas flight. I am here, inside, keeping dry with the kettle on for a nice warm drink when the rescue crew return. So, my second post in a day - Wow! I must be on a crafting roll for Christmas!

As promised here is a picture of some little extra tags and Washi Tape Pegs I have made to decorate and label my parcels.  Earlier I mentioned the Very Merry Tags (130393) stamp set in my post, well here they are again.  The tags are cut again with the Chalk Talk dies .  I cut a bunch in one craft session so I had some ready cut and then have just decorated as I found time.  I made these tags for gifting so I have made them into a little gift package with the Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine (123125) wound ready for cutting to the required length.

There are several designs which match punches that you may or may not already have in your collection so some easy stamp and punching and you have beautiful homemade tags to use!  I loved the cheeky 'Naughty Nice' checkbox tag design which matches the Decorative Label Punch (120907) .  I have also used the little 'Very Merry' and 'I ~heart~ Santa' stamps from the set with the matching 7/8" (2.2cm) scallop circle (129404) and Petite Curly Label (129405) punches.  I did also sneek in that small snowflake again from the Snow Day (131892) set too.

The Pegs are just plain wooden washing pegs which I picked up at a local discount store and all I have done to smarten these up is  use the Season of Style Designer Washi Tape (132155) to cover them. Just perfect for adding to a parcel, gift bag or gift tag.  To sit them on the card background for my gift package I have punched with the Word Window Punch (119857)  to create and opening and then pegged them through.

I hope you like them and have some ideas for making your own tags for that extra personal wrapping.

I'll be back soon with some more Christmas crafting so make sure you keep dropping by.

Before you go, here's that list of items used:

Very Merry Tags (130393)

Decorative Label Punch (120907)

7/8" (2.2cm) scallop circle (129404)

Petite Curly Label (129405)

Snow Day (131892) 

Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine (123125) 

Season of Style Designer Washi Tape (132155) 

Word Window Punch (119857)  

Suzanne

x

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

'Tis the Season of Style - Merry Christmas Banner

How many times do you see a beautiful decoration or card in a retail outlet and you think "I can make that"?  Well here is my take on a banner my Sister placed an order for after seeing one in a Christmas catalogue and asked me to make her something simliar.

It was supposed to be a simple design based around the Crumb Cake cardstock, but I wanted to use the Season of Style papers (132340) too.  These papers are in the Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive colours, a change from all the Festive Flurry and blue hues I have been using a lot of lately.

It took me a while to work out how I was going to fit 'Merry' and 'Christmas' on the banner, given that it was going to be on a fireplace mantle and could not been too long.  I settled on using the 'Merry' from the thinlits again and adding it on the first pennant.

I cut all my pennants just using a template I made, but I was really pleased I had my new Circles Collection dies (130911) for the circle layers.  It made cutting circles of all sizes so much easier.  To save paper too I was able to cut the patterned paper pennant and then cut the circle I needed for the top layers from the middle of the pennant.

To keep it a little rustic I have threaded the pennants on some of the twine I had from my Simply Created Banners kit.  If you look closely you can see a little of the Natural Trim (129287) from the annual catalogue tied at points along the banner too.

My banner does have some retired products included.  The large eyelets are no longer available and the lettering I have used is the retired Alphabet Soup chipboard letters from last year.

Come back later I will have some more Christmas tags and projects to show you ............

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

It's a Wrap!

At least there is something being wrapped in our house right now and it's in this lovely gift wrapped box.  In it is a Festive Flurry banner I made which I have gifted to my Mum. I wanted to make a box to protect it and, in a recycle and make-do-and-mend moment, I found a perfect size box.  Of course I needed to make sure it was empty of all the lovely chocolates that it contained first, but needs must!! 

You can just see a little of the banner peeking through the windows of the box.  I re-shaped the windows to match the design of the Winter Frost papers, but cutting the paper with the Festive Flurry dies first.  Remember the Stamps and dies come in a bundle deal (133284) saving you money when you buy them together.

I then added a lovely finished Festive Flurry decoration.  You may recognise this from the pages of the Autumn/Winter catalogue.  The centre of the decoration, under the Frosted Finish (132150) embellishment, is a Silver embossed snowflake, embossed onto a window sheet. The box look fabulously expensive when finished and almost another present in itself!

Wrapping the gifts is one of the tasks I just have not started yet despite best intentions.  It has been traditionally a marathon Christmas Eve event, but I have promised myself this year I will have it all done before then so I can sit back and enter the Christmas Day festivities relaxed and ready for some family fun!

When I do finally start the wrapping, I have some extra decorations to add to my beautifully wrapped gifts as toppers.  I am hoping they can be attached so they can be removed carefully to be used as decorations by the recipients and enjoyed throughout the Christmas period.  That is, if they make it through the frenzied unwrapping!

Here too in the picture, are some simple tags which I have made stock of ready for the wrapping to begin!  The tags were cut with the Chalk Talk die set (129983) for the Big shot.  This set has several labels of a really useful size and I love the little cutouts included in the set to make your decorative holes for the baker's twine or ribbon that you choose.  On the back, I have used the 'To: From:' stamp which is in the Very Merry Tags stamp set (130393) to create my instant tags.  The mini snowflakes are from the Snow Day stamp set (131826) which I have used previously for my Snowman projects.

I have also photos of the banner I have made for my sister so pop back tomorrow when I will be able to show that and some more tags ideas too!

Winter Frost Sepciality (132341)
Festive Flurry Bundle(133284)
Frosted Finishes (132150)
Chalk Talk die set (129983)
Snow Day (131826)
Very Merry Tags  (130393

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Waste Not - Using Your Leftovers!

Well we all know that using the leftover turkey on Boxing Day for some kitchen creations is just part of the Christmas traditions we all follow, but as crafters it is also very wise to make the most of your products wherever you can too!  I don't know about you, but I have a scraps box and it is full to the brim of off-cuts of cardstock which I dip into from time to time to add small punched shapes and stamp sentiments onto cards.

Did you realise that it is always good to keep the remainder of card when cutting with dies also? Often the outline cut-out left in the card can be incorporated into a design too.  Today's card does just that!

You will have seen the Merry banners I created for the Craft Stalls I ran recently which each featured the 'Merry' sentiment from the Expressions Thinlits ( 132171).  Well when cutting the sentiment I spaced the die so that I had a enough card surrounding it to be able to cut out the leftover and re-use it.

Here is one of the pieces which I have also run through the Perfect Polka Dots emboss folder (117335).  Now for the thinlits sentiments like the one I have used you do need to make sure you catch the small pieces that are cut that sit in the middle of the letter 'e' and the tail of the 'y' so that you can stick them in place to form the letter after.  I must admit I did not try and put these little pieces through the emboss folder as this was a little too fiddly to place.

Tip: If you are not going to use your 'leftovers' straight away, just pop them in a little cello bag and keep them.  I find it is so easy to make a follow-on card when you have ready cut pieces waiting to be used.  I especially do this when using a lettering/numbering set of dies I have which have mutiple of letters or numbers on one die.  I cut all of the die contents then pop the other pieces in a cello to use another time.  As long as I am needing the same colours, I already have some pieces to play with!

There is a lovely mat of Glimmer Paper (124005 Silver) behind the 'Merry' for the Christmas sparkle, but remember, sparkle isn't just for Christmas, this one is available all year round!  The papers on the card are the Winter Frost Speciality Papers (132341) which I have used the Smoky Slate coloured piece from and, you can just see it on the little banners, there is the fantastic silver foil design from the papers too.

OK, I am on a mission to make a Christmas banner for my big sister so off to craft I go.......

Don't forget TODAY is the last day to order in time for Christmas so if you have something on your list for Santa from Stampin' Up! get in touch I am here ready to take an order.

Suzanne
x

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Festive preparations are away

Christmas preparations are progressing, but there has definitely been a lot of shopping trips backwards and forwards, and that was just to sort out the tree!  Still, at least we have finally got a tree up and have made a first attempt at decorating it with my special 'little helper'.  I think there may be a little re-arranging to do now, but he enjoyed helping adding the baubles and thankfully we suffered no breakages despite a few tree wobbles in the process!

I can also say that the first flurry of cards has made it out the house too - yey!  Hopefully I am not spoiling the surprise for anyone, but just to say we had an interesting family photo shoot with the self-timer on the camera - there were quite a few takes!

Our cards for close family were the Holly Jolly Greetings Simply Sent (132159 £13.50) which I was amazed at when I saw them as they were so beautifully made.  I should not have been so surprised for Stampin' Up!, after all one of the things I loved most when first introduced was the quality.

Now for another card for today to show a technique which uses my favourite tool - daubers of course!

I guess you are familiar with the Festive Flurry set by now as it has featured on most of my Christmas cards, but here is the largest of the stamps on a card.  The colour is applied to the stamp with daubers with a shaded affect. I have used the beautiful Smoky Slate on the outside edges, then the Coastal Cabana, through to the Bemuda Bay in the centre.  This also works really well with contrast of brighter colours.

I could not resist a little dimension to the card so the snowflake was cut with the matching dies and then added with dimensional pads.  It was so tempting to add a Frosted Finishes Embellishment (132150) to the centre, but I wanted to keep it simple and show the most of the colour so I add a single large Rhinestone.

Just peeping behind the card there is an envelope in the Winter Frost Specialty Designer Series Papers (132341 £11.50).  This card was larger so needed a custom size envelope.  Luckily I had my new toy...I mean tool........the Envelope Punch Board (133774 £17.95).

It really is so easy to make an envelope as the tool has a wealth of sizes already worked out (inches and metric).  The corner punch is a dream as well, with a precise professional finish to form lovely curved corners.

There is still time for festive orders and don't forget your seasonal scrapbook pages or thank yous for post Christmas and the Clearance Rack items to check out!.  The last date to order for Christmas now is 16th December.

Hopefully Christmas is all so well organised I will be able to come back with some more to show you in the next few days.

Suzanne
x

Clearance Rack Pre-Christmas Blitz!

It's the lead up to Christmas and Sales are all around, it's time to be out shopping, but wait, there are crafting bargains to be found!!!!

Stampin' Up! are giving us an early Christmas present.  They have released even more retired products into the clearance rack with up to a whopping 80% off! There are packs of card stock and also designer paper stacks at amazing prices! These items will be in limited supply and only available while supplies last.

Go take a look...................pop over to my online store, just click here to start shopping now.

Merry Christmas Festive Banners

Hey there!  I have had another weekend of craft stall at my little one's nursery which was a lovely small fayre of stalls and activities for the children.  Elliot came home with his very own creation, a fluffy cotton wool snowman, and I enjoyed chatting to everyone about Stampin' Up! and showing my crafted items on display so that everyone could see what can be made with them.

Now both Christmas Fayres are done though I am glad to be able to start some other Christmas tasks, including my own cards (eek!), but I thought I would show you some more from the stalls today.

This is a fantastic banner made using the Build a Banner Simply Created Kit (133507) and some of the Christmas Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit (132697).

The Christmas Banner Accessory Kit is just full of pieces to make a full banner like the 'Noel' and 'Joy' banners on the front of my stall (see my previous post) or, as I have done here, you can split the contents and make lots of lovely projects to gift for your friends and family (or just keep for yourself!).

The accessory kit contains over 27 pieces of glitz and glamour to add to your creations (if my maths is right!). The best of which are the 3 glittered snowflake accent pieces and the gorgeous Bermuda Bay/Pool party two tone ribbon (used here to hang the banner).

The background for the first banner you might recognise as this is one of the stamps from the Gorgeous Grunge set (130514), but hey, I don't think there is anything 'grunge' about this lovely decorative hanging!  I am definitely hanging one in pride of place in my house!

Now, the first banner has two of the rosette pieces from the kit to make a really full rosette, but the second one here only has a single piece for each of the rosettes.  Once I made one banner I just wanted to have a play around so I made some more. After all there was so much in the kit I could make lots!

For those of you who do not know, the Build a Banner Simply Created Kit (133507) comes with two Stampin' Spritzers to work with the background and lettering stencils that come in the pack.  I had a play with using the spritzers to spray the background through the stencils and I also tried just using sponges.  I had equal success after a little play around with the spritzers and the sponges although there was a little more kitchen paper towel to hand to assist with the spritzer method!

My third design here was trialing using the other banner shapes from the pack and playing with the Festive Flurry stamps (131778)  to overlay the background.  I really liked the spot background so I used it again for this one, but I also did a version of this one with the stripes that looked good too.

There was no gluing or stitching on the banner ribbon, just the silver ribbon included in the accessory kit pack tied round the ends which were folded back through the eyelets.  Clever!  I finished all the banners with the 'Merry' expressions thinlit (132171), perfect sizing to fit across the banner.

Well that's probably quite enough banners for one day, but the options are endless.  These are just for Christmas, but you can create your own banners for Birthdays, Anniversaries, Baby Showers or lots more.  The alphabet stencils mean that the lettering and wording can be anything you would like it to be.


If you fancy having a go, I thought I would share some tips for working with the banners from my experiences:

• Make sure you protect your work area and surroundings so that you do not spray other areas.  
• Do not hold the spritzer too close to the project when spraying and move evenly across the project trying not to pause or hesitate in one spot for too long.  
• Trial on a piece of paper or card to get the method right first before trying one of your banners.
• Try a mix of 15 drops of coloured ink and then fill with water to approx the top of the stampin' up! logo on the spritzer bottle.
• I had kitchen paper towel to hand.  I found this helpful to be on hand for spills, but also placed a piece over my sprayed project and (keeping everything in place) I gently patted off any excess on the top of the stencil and project to stop any uneven colour or pooling of ink before removing the stencil.
• I laid the finished banner to dry with something weighty and flat on top to help stop any curling.
• Don't forget to order your ink refills with your kit and sponges if you need them too!

I you do want to have a go.......here's the main list of what you need, just add ink and sponges if you need them too:

Build a Banner Simply Created Kit (133507) 

Christmas Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit (132697)

Expressions Thinlits Dies (132171)

Gorgeous Grunge set (130514 Wood) - Optional 

Festive Flurry stamps (131778 Wood) - Optional

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Craft Stall Delights

On Saturday I had a little stall at my local community centre Christmas Fayre and thought I would just share with you today a quick few snaps I took of the stall whilst I was there.  It was pretty full of goodies as you can see!  

I have been been busy in the last few weeks making for the stall so that's explains my little blog post silence occurrence.  Now though you can see the wonderful gift ideas I was busy crafting.  (Apologies for the photo quality, my mobile phone camera was all I had with me and I am waiting to see if Santa brings me an upgrade.....and possibly a course in photography!)

There was lots to see, Cards, tags, sweet treats, candles and gift bags and boxes.  I will try and show a few more things in detail in the next few posts.  I love the 'Noel' and 'Joy' banners which just about managed to stay pinned long enough to the front of the stall!  Everyone loved to come and browse and there were lots of complimentary comments so thank you all if you were one of those who were able to stop by.

Here's a few more shots of the table...............

There were some familiar decorations from the front of the catalogue last year made with the Delightful Decorations stamp set and matching dies.  Remember this set of beautiful baubles is still available nowas part of the Christmas carryover.  

There was definitely a colour theme of the blue Coastal Cabana, Pool Party combination going on too.  Possibly as all my Christmas baubles are blue/silver, but also as my Snow Day snowman (see previous posts) was featured on some of the items and the Festive Flurry just looks so lovely in the icy cool shades of blue too.

After a successful Christmas shopping trip yesterday too where we managed to tick a few more gifts off the list,  I am feeling a little more in control of Christmas planning than usual at this time.  I am sure it all just a smoke screen over all the things I haven't organised yet, like my own Christmas Cards - eek!

Right, off to review the goodies for the next stall this Saturday at my little one's nursery and then back to Christmas organising.  I hope yours is all going extremely well!  Come back soon to see what easy projects you can try for yourself for Christmas gifting.

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Snow Day - Winter Wonderland

Well there have been no flurries of winter snow just yet, but I thought I would share a cute card with you today made with the snowman dress up set Snow Day. I have to admit as much as I love the idea of making a snowman in the snow with my little one, my poor car does not like the snow and we are usually left housebound until the snow clears so the prospect of a wintery shower comes with mixed feelings for me.

This snowman though requires no cold outings and just some fun with some sparkle and ribbon.  He is stamped and embossed with the Iridescent Ice emboss powder (101930) to give him a lovely glistening snow effect.  You can almost imagine he is outside taking in the winter sunshine!  The layers of snow mounds are cut (free-hand with scissors, you can probably tell) out of the Shimmery White Cardstock (121717) for the added sparkly snow effect.

The Snow Day stamp set (131892) comes with all the little accessories of the hat, scarf and other little additions to make your winter scenes with.  I bought the set in wood as I wanted to use it with my little one and the wood blocks are easy to hold and robust for little hands.  The set does have a scarf stamp in it, but I wanted to add some embellishment so I tied a length of the stitched grosgrain round my snowman for a 3-D element to the card.

Tip: To line everything up with a wood set each time I have cut some window sheets into squares and then used the Stamp-a-ma-jig and staz on ink to stamp the images in each corner of the window sheet squares to use as templates each time. I just pop them inside the case and they are there ready to use each time.

I made my winter sky on this card with a mixture of Pool Party, Pistachio Pudding and Crumb Cake colours using a sponging effect and then stamped the little snowflakes in the co-ordinated colours.  I also added little daubing round the edges of the background  and on the edges of the snow mounds.

Like my little snowman in my ice emboss, but want a quick stamped version?  Here he is again on my sweetie cones (mine were made with the retired Petal Cone die).

A lovely frosty Pool Party snowman with accessories.  I have even given him a little sash with the wavy 'warm wishes' wording from the stamp set.  The photo does not show it so well, but the snowflake from the set is stamped in the Craft White Ink for a snowy background.  I have filled my cone with big fluffy marshmallows and made a hanging with the Organza Ribbon from the annual catalogue so he can be hung in pride of place on the Christmas Tree.

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too by just clicking on the link from my main blog page.

Festive Flurry Merry Expressions

It's all a flurry of festiveness at our house! I am busy preparing for a couple of local Christmas Fayre's I am going to be going along to and I am crafting at every possible spare moment.  I just thought I would take some time out from creativity to share with you over the next few posts some of the beautiful things I have managed to make.

This card is fully inspired by a fellow demonstrator, Donna at our fantastic Inspirin' Inkin' team training.  Donna was fabulous at showing us all how to put together the Festive Flurry decorations as they are seen on in the Autumn/Winter catalogue on pages 12 and 13 (I will post the decorations on another post later on).  Donna also made some great cards and projects to inspire us all with and this card design was one.

I have started off with a square Island Indigo textured card base measuring 13.5 x 13.5cm (available in the Autumn/Winter catalogue for a limited time).  I have then added a layer of Pool Party which measured 13cm x 27cm.  I scored the Pool Party card at 13cm and 19cm.  I then ran the edge of the 7cm section through the Big Shot with the Adorning Accents Edgelits and then again with the matching emboss folder to give the decorative edge.  This was then layered on top of the base layer and folded back on itself to give the folded effect.  A final layer of Whisper White was stamped and layered on top again.

The Festive Flurry snowflake was stamped with the largest image in Pool Party, then the next size of layers was inked in Bermuda Bay (stamped twice).  The fabulous sparkle layers were added with the Glimmer paper cut with the Festive Flurry dies (the largest and the smallest sizes).  For an addition to top the final glimmer layer I cut the centre of the second of the Bermuda Bay images (by hand) to add a centre detail.

Then finally, the 'Merry' sentiment is made from the Expressions thinlits for the Big Shot.  I love this, it really finishes off the snowflake with a festive sentiment.  I think I am going to be 'Merry' all year through......and 'Thankful' and giving lots of .....'Love' (these are the other words in the set). 

Here is a side view of the card so you can see the folds and also I have stamped a 'Merry Christmas' on the back (Greetings of the Season) as I thought it would look a bit too busy to add another sentiment to the white layer and wanted the contrast of the white with the snowflake to stand out.

The Festive Flurry comes as a Wood/Clear stamp set or you can save yourself 15% buying the bundle of the stamps and the matching dies for the Big Shot!

Festive Flurry Bundle 133284 Wood /133285 Clear (pg 30 Aut/Wint)
Greetings of the Season (Aut/Wint Carry Over)
Expressions Thinlits Dies 132171
Adorning Accents Edgelits 125595
Adorning Accents Folders 125601
Glimmer Paper 124005
Island Indigo 12x12" Textured Card 132132

I have made so many Festive Flurry projects so far so be warned there are lots more to come!

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online anytime too by selecting to 'Shop Now'.

Halloween with My Digital Studio

Today another great promotion to tell you about.  I mentioned My Digital Studio in my last blog post, well Stampin' Up! are making it even easier for you to get organised and gifting during the festive season with better value by offering a 30% discount on (selected) seasonal downloads from now until 29 November 2013.  

I have been hovering my mouse over those on offer and there are photobook templates, frameables, stamps and much more to choose from to help with Christmas planning, greeting cards, seasonal home decoration and creating ever lasting memories of the season.  There is plenty to share with family and friends as the photobooks and calendars make perfect gifts. Not just photobooks and calendars, there are many printing services out there offering a wide range of printed products that you can use your digital designs created with MDS on .

All the My Digital Studio software and downloads are available 24-7 on my online store.  Just click on the shortcuts to 'Shop With Me Now' on my Crafty Ink Buds Blog or the 'Shop' link if you are reading this on my Stampin' Up! home page.

Now for a little My Digital Studio project of my own.  It's time for Halloween celebrations today and just a few more treats to add to the cauldron for our spooky visitors and Halloween party this afternoon. The Sweetie Halloween treats here are made with retired Candy Wrapper die for the Big Shot and decorated with the same label and sentiment as I made for my witches broomsticks on my earlier post.

The twisted favours are a fantastically easy way of wrapping treats, not just for Halloween, but easily used for Seasonal table placements at Christmas, Wedding favours or just dinner parties.  Fill them with chocolates, sweets, fortune cookie style sentiments.......just add your own unique touches.

My favours here are made using the Howlstooth & Scaringbone Designer Series Paper (129827 on MDS).  The labels are really cute aren't they?  They are from MDS also, the Tricky Treats Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download (131232).  I wanted some quick tags to add to my favours so I downloaded the designs, edited them to the size and colours I wanted and then snipped them out.  As you would expect, all the MDS content is compatible with the other Stampin' Up! products and you can probably instantly recognise the punch shapes for the Curly Label Punch and X-Large Tag Punch in this set.  What could be better, if you have these punches, no snipping required, just punch away!

For my sized favours which are holding 6 mini chocolate foil balls. You will need:

1 piece of 14cm x 10.5cm Designer Paper or cardstock

Sticky Strip or Double Sided tape

Crimper or Stampin' Up! Striped Emboss Folder (optional)

Stamps or other embellishments as you desire

How to make a twisted favour:

1. Take the DSP or cardstock on the longest edge (14cm)
2. Crimp or emboss your design along the edges if you wish to have a finished edge (optional). I used the Striped Emboss folder on approx 1-1.5cm (just past the Stampin' Up! logo).  As you are using the shorter edge of the emboss folder you will need to emboss again the last 3.5cm. 
3. Stamp your images if you are using a stamp set to decorate cardstock. If not, skip to the next step.
4. Attach sticky strip to one of the shorter (10.5cm) edges and stick to the opposite shorter edge.  Make sure you do this with out pressing or folding the paper or card too much so that you have a cylinder shape with your decorative edges either end.
5. Carefully take one end of the cyclinder and press the edges together.  It's good at this point to create this with the join of the paper in the middle of the end if you can.
6. Sticky strip to seal the end together.  
7. Fill with your contents (try not to eat too many first!)
8. Now for the twisted part.....just turn and stick the other end perpendicular (a quarter turn) to the end you have already sealed.
9. Add a decorated strip wrapped round the favour to dress it or just a tag and some ribbon as I have done.

How easy was that?

The great thing about the digital download content is once downloaded you can use these for multiple projects.  Today it is the treats, but I will be sure to be using the content to record our Halloween Party moments on a scrapbook page or photobook too.

Some more Halloween crafting took place yesterday too.  Here is my little helper assisting in the kitchen to make some Pumpkin Cookies using the Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps.  Great for little hands to hold onto.  They may not have been perfectly formed and I am not sure my baking skills were up to top marks, but we had some fun!  The Holidays set we have has the lovely festive snowflake as well as the Halloween pumpkin, but the handle you buy can be inter-changed with the Special Events set too (available separately).  It makes a lovely gift for Christmas for the British Bake Off fans amongst your friends and family or just for baking fun with your own little helpers if you have them.  

Now for some dressing up fun later.

Suzanne

x

If you would like to know more or see MDS in action, just drop me an email or give me a call and we can talk some more.

Spooky Wishes with Halloween Banner Kit

It's getting spooky in our house ready for next week. Today I have the Halloween Banner Kit to show you from the Autumn/Winter Catalogue.  The pennants themselves come in the Build a Banner Simply Created Kit which appeared for the first time in the Autumn/Winter catalogue.  My little one picked out the Halloween banner in the catalogue when we were looking through it so I decided we would definitely need to have one hanging in our house during the hours of spooky celebrations.

The kit is all you need to start making your own banners; There are 18 canvas pennants in 3 different designs, jute twine and most importantly there are the image stencils for 3 designs of backgrounds and the alphabet lettering.  It is all you need to make your own Birthday, Christmas, occasion banners.  The canvas pennants with the eyelets already set in them make putting your own messages so quick and easy and durable for multiple use year after year. You can also buy more pennants when you need them making the number of banners you can make endless.

For my Spooky banner, I have added the Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit (available separately) to instantly transform my Spooky banner with glitz, glamour and a little spookiness too of course!  Now, I wanted to show some close ups to see the detail, but as my photography skills are pretty lacking, they still do not show the banner in it's full glory.  

The Skull, bat and spider pieces are made of durable plastic (of some sorts) and sparkly black glitter.  There are buttons and ribbons all included in the accessory kit and all the designer papers already scored ready to fold and stick into rosettes.

Not in time to order and make your own Spooky banner? Don't despair, there is also a fantastic winter wonder Christmas Banner Accessory Kit available too for your extra sparkle christmas messages. Remember though you can create your own totally unique worded banners from your own products and papers using the stencils in the kit and the spritzer sprays included, just add your colour using ink (ink refills available separartely).  Alternatively you can sponge the colours of your choice with the stencils as I have done.

Inspired by my Spooky banner hanging in my craft room I have been busy with treats for the visitors who are going to come knocking on our door.  I had seen an idea for a stationery trunk on Elizabeth's Craft Room and I started to think of a treasure chest of coins on a smaller scale.  Having a boy, there is a lot of talk of pirates in our house! I had seen some Halloween chocolate coins in John Lewis so I knew exactly what to fill the chest with - and I was going to have a willing recipient to eat the contents too!

Elizabeth's site is a wonder of ideas, videos and templates, but I am afraid I winged it and made up my own measurements and method as I went along - I think I could have saved myself some pain by purchasing some instructions!

The picture is of the finished chest along with some witches broomsticks made with blackcurrant liquorice pieces.  The wood-effect on the chest is stamped with the Woodgrain background stamp and the Happy Halloween is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set - my favourite all-year round set which has seen many outings. My batty and ghostly ghoul friends on the broomsticks are from the ever-adaptable Owl Builder punch.

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Birthday Celebration from Stampin' Up!

Another offer from Stampin' Up! Today to continue their celebration of 25 years, this time it's 25% off a selection of stamp sets including Christmas sets and single stamps. There are also some favorites such as Gorgeous Grunge, Christmas Star, Zoo Babies in there and some great sentiments sets.

Don't just take my word for it, go take a look for yourself. You viewing the huge list in my online store by just Click Here and select 'SHOP'.  Then look for '25% off 25 stamp sets' heading on the left.

Alternatively, to Download a PDF list of the stamp click on Download PDF Here.

I hope you like them too!  If you do and want to order.....to place an order online from my online shop, just click to setup an account and then add the items to your bag and checkout as you would normally when online shopping. Or if you would prefer, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com to order or give me a call.

Epic Day This and That Birthday Wishes

Today is my hubby's birthday and I have not been able to wait to show you the birthday card I crafted for him to celebrate and mark the occasion.  Now my hubby is a techie-geek so his birthday wish list was for the latest gadget of course.  These things are not the cheapest presents to buy so that really didn't leave much else for me to go purchase.  I love usually just going and buying little inexpensive bits which I can put some thought into for presents (probably as this is what I like most to receive too) so I wanted to put something into his card instead.

When searching around for male card ideas I came across a gifting card idea on Splitcoaststampers, but I cannot trace back to find the name, sorry.  The card was a concertina of ideas and pockets in which to put little extra gifts such as gift cards, vouchers etc... As soon as I saw it I started to think of which DSP and ideas I could use.  First of all though, here is the finished card so you can see it in all it's glory too!

Wow!  I am beaming with pride!  There is a huge list of what I used on this card; in fact it would probably be easier just to list what I haven't used on it!!  To make your own though the greatest thing is that you can just use whatever you have and come up with your own design.  I have also used some retired items on my card as I had them to hand and I wanted to put them to use.

I used the layout design from the card I saw and then decided I would use the Epic Day This and That designer papers as these were perfect for a masculine card. The colour theme throughout was Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Pool party with some Calypso Coral and Early Expresso too.  Keep reading though for the complete list of items used later.

There are three pockets on the card made to individual sizes.  The pockets have slide out tabs made with the Decorative Label punch cut in half and secured on either end of a folded piece of card then tied with linen thread.


The 'I' of the card was themed "I feel lucky". I put a lottery ticket in this one for my Hubby, but it just as easily could contain a gift card.
I made my photo frame a little 'homemade' in styling, but you could use a square punch to get a more finished look. Did you see the gorgeous little button brads from the Vintage Trinkets on each of the frame corners?

The 'T' was for tickets for the cinema.  As you don't generally get a ticket stub for the cinema in these times, I put a little promise note in there.


There was wording promising a cinema visit with hubby's choice of film.  I had to promise no romantic chick-flick and so I am sure to be seeing a sci-fi or adrenalin-fuelled man-film in the near future!

'H' was for 'Husband'.  A tab of lovely words for thanks for being my hubby.  We don't often say these things as every day life catches up on us so it is great to be able to offer them on occasions with meaning.

 'D' was for the day and dates which had special meaning for us.  The This and That range of products are all there to help capture your happiest and most memorable moments.

I used the Rotary Stamp to put reminders of special dates for us on this section of the card.  "Don't forget", "Best Wishes", "Best Day Ever" and "Pencil Me In" for  - our wedding anniversary, the big day, the day our son was born and a meal date.
(Note: I amended the year for the best day ever stamp from to say 2010 using the 2016 as the stamp dates on the rotary stamp are all for the current and future years).

The 'Y' is for 'Yummy', what would a birthday be without a cake?


Now, for the long list of the items used on the card..........








Stamps:
130435  Alphabetized -  for the 'happy'; I used the stamp-a-ma-jig and individual inked letters.
130535  Four You - "Birthday" on letter 'B'
130889  Simply Stars
128697  Pennant Parade - "Wish Big" on 'R', pennants on 'T', "Love" on 'H'
126941  Take a Ticket - on 'T'
130631  Chalk Talk - on 'H' tab and 'D'
128520  Create a Cupcake - "Happy Birthday" on 'D'
130336  Express Yourself - "amazing", "Happy Birthday" and "Celebrate" on 'A'
130390  Birthday Cake - on 'Y'
128547  Delightful Dozen - "Blow out your candles" on 'Y'

Accessories:
130814  Epic This and That Designer Papers
104199  Linen Thread
130029  Regal Buttons - on 'I'
118764  Vintage Trinkets - on 'I', 'T' and 'H'
131272  Simply Pressed Clay Moulds Buttons and Blossoms - button in Pool Party on 'R'

Punches/Dies:
119850  1-3/4" (4.4cm) Circle
125598  Labels Collection Framelits Dies
120907  Decorative Label - all tabs and "Love" label on 'H'
119871  Corner
122361  Petite Pennant Builder
129404  Scallop 7/8" (2.2cm)
119855  Large Oval
119859  Extra-large oval
119868  1" (2.5 cm) Circle
119860  1-3/8" (3.5cm) Circle
129983  Chalk Talk Dies

Alphabet Soup Chipboard letter (Retired)
For My Family Stamps (Retired)
Special Edition Designer Papers (Retired)

Phew! I think that is everything!  I hope you enjoy the card too and remember you can use products and punches you already have and just mix and match things up like I have.  I really enjoyed getting creative with this one.  I often get a little bit of time at once to craft so it was great to be able to keep going back and adding little bits to this one.  I feel inspired now to start my Epic This and That journal which I have been meaning to start.  A new year fast approaching and I want to capture those pre-school memories now whilst I still can!

Suzanne
x

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Best of 25 Years - October

Oops......a little late...it seems I started this post and forgot to complete it.  So if you have not seen it yet and have been waiting to here, there is an October Best of 25 years set!  And here it is.....

To see a larger view of these Click here

These stamps are the best of the Sale-a-Bration stamp sets which we have had of past.  Even more lovely flower designs returning to brighten up our days.

Well I have been busy playing with the Banner kit from the Autumn/Winter catalogue these last few days and I hope to post some more soon with photos for you too see it in all it's glory. Make sure you come back and see what fabulous looking banners and other decorative items you can make with this fantastic kit and the accessorizing kits too.

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too by clicking the link to SHOP with me.

Join Stampin' Up! for just £25

More fantastic news to share with you today from Stampin' Up!  From the 7th to the 21st October 2013, for just 2 weeks only, you can join Stampin’ Up! for just £25!  This is a fantastic economical way of joining as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and taking advantage of all the great opportunities this will give you. 

For £25 you will get to sample discounts, great resources to help you on your SU journey and extra income if you want.  Purchase the kit through me, and you’ll instantly become a member of an established team structure full of friendly,inspirational demonstrators.  

There are lots of benefits from Stampin’ Up! when you become a demonstrator :

§ 20% off Stampin’ Up! discount on products

§ Pre-order new products one month before the customers sales period.

§ inspired by video tutorials and project ideas on the Stampin’ Up! demonstrator web site and regular newsletters full of inspirational ideas.

§ Earn free stamps with Stampin’ Start, Sale-A-Bration and other promotions.

§ Qualify for cash bonuses, product bonuses, incentive trips and other awards.

§ Earn additional income (called volume rebate) based on your monthly product sales.

§ Enjoy 2 free months of a personalized Stampin’ Up! on-line store and blog.

§ There’s NO pressure to reach quarterly minimum of sales, or if you wish to end your time as a demonstrator at any time.

This offer is a specially priced £25 starter kit including :

• £25.95 worth of Stampin’ Up! product that you can pick from the Annual or Autumn/Winter Catalogue
• A Business pack of : a box of annual catalogues, a pack of current seasonal Autumn/Winter catalogues, Getting Started DVD, Order forms and Customer postcards
• An 10% extra discount on your first order of £150 or more when you place your order in the first 45 days of joining.  This will mean a total of 30% off!!
• If you join and you are ready to party within your first 30 days.  If sales for the party reach £150 or more you can also chose ANY stamp from the annual catalogue FREE!  

There is also no postage to pay on the starter kit, but remember this offer kit is available only between 7th-21st October 2013.  During the offer period, the regular £99 starter kit will not be available.

You can choose to purchase the starter kit to for your own hobby, just to share with friends with catalogue orders or take that first step to start it as a business.  I will support you as a team member and share ideas and business knowledge along with the great supportive structure and training offered within my upline.

If this is the chance you have been waiting for to sign up or you are considering it for the first time, you are sure to have some questions before you commit so please feel you can call on 07876 247678 or email me and we can talk through it some more.

This is a great opportunity to join right now so grab your chance!