Mother's Day - Ex Libris

I am just loving that feeling that Spring is on it's way!

Today I have a post of cards made using the Ex Libris stamp.  I must admit I had overlooked this stamp so many times when browsing through the catalogue (hard to believe as 'browsing' makes it sound so much more casual than the memorising of every page that takes place each new catalogue!).  I tend to focus on the stamp sets of several stamps, but one day when I had some hostess pounds to spend this stamp caught my eye and it came to me, a single stamp for an almost instant card front, fantastic!  All it needed was a little dressing up in different ways and it was a perfect addition for cards, background stamping and even elements on a journal or scrapbook album.

I loved the initial design Stampin' Up! had in the catalogue with this stamp (page 128) so the first thing I did, to get the creative juices flowing, was to CASE their design - cheeky!  That is the great thing about the Catalogue as it really is an 'ideas' book too - just as it says on the tin (well, cover!).

Here it is - my colours were Lucky Limeade - what a fabulously vibrant spring green - and Marina Mist for the flower.  So, I really did have to go outside my comfort zone of Mrs Neat and Tidy for the flower with all that scrunching of the card.  It didn't turn out quite as scrunched, but it almost looks good enough to pick! 

My flower was made with the 'Fun Flowers' die for the Big Shot. I added a So Saffron brad to secure it together before the scrunching began and also created the middle stems with this colour.  A tip for the scrunching: mist your cardstock with water until damp and more pliable.

Now for a more vintage style with the same background stamp and a slightly different feel. 

Back to Crumb Cake - I think I should have given this up for lent, I am so addicted. I This card uses the 'Wishing you a day as perfect as you are' stamp again from the Sale-a-Bration set 'VintageVerse'.  I thought this was a great sentiment for Mother's Day.  I trimmed round the shape and then popped it on the card with dimensionals to make it stand out. 

I added lots of little springtime flowers with help from the  'Boho Blossoms' Punch and also the butterflies using the 'Beautiful Wings' embosslit for the Big Shot.

Not got a Big Shot (yet)?  Why not?  Don't worry, if you are not ready to commit to one yet there are plenty of punches to get these fabulous shapes too. Check out the punches on pages 184-185 in the main catalogue.  Want some baby butterflies too? Don't forget the new 'Bitty Butterfly' in the Sping Mini Catalogue - perfectly petite! 

To get the 'Vintage Verses' I have used here from the Sale-a-Bration sets, all you need to do is place an order for £45 or more. Don't forget too, if you are local, there is a card workshop next Thursday 7th March.  See the 'Workshops' page for more details and contact me now to save your place!

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

Sweet Patterned Occasions

It's still Sale-a-Bration time!!  I am still Sale-a-Brating in my craft room with all the great stamp sets that are being offered as part of the promotion.  Remember a £45 purchase and you too could own one of the fabulous stamp sets or other products too!

Another set from the free products is Patterned Occasions and it is just great.  Lovely designs with instant sentiments for quick easy cards for birthdays, thanks, get well, friendship and other celebrations. The set is sized perfectly to fit in quite a few framelits for the Big Shot, but also fits into punched circles.  The sweet little cupcake is adorable as is the little elephant (who doesn't love a little elephant to stamp with?).
Here's the little cupcake for an easy birthday card. I layered circles using the Big Shot Originals Circles #2 die for my card.

The colours are a mix of Rose Red, Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry and Pretty in Pink. 

I matched the Polka Dot background emboss and patterned designer paper from the standard Designer Series Paper Stack.  Add a little scallop border with punched holes and some sparklies and you have a lovely sweet birthday cupcake card.

For the cute little ele friend I stamped in Basic Grey and stamped twice so that I could cut out his ear and stick it on a dimensional (sounds painful, but no animals were hurt in the making of this card!).

Pool Party is one of my favourite springtime colours right now so this card is all about this gorgeous blue.  The designer paper is from the Afternoon Daydream scrapbook kit - a beautiful complete kit of papers and accents.  I didn't use too much paper for the card as I have plans for the rest of the kit and I am having to resist using too much until then!!

The Vintage Wallpaper emboss folder super compliments the paper design and I daubed it with whisper white craft ink to accent.  I then, completely by chance, had the 'Wishing you a day as perfect as you are' sentiment from the Vintage Verses set (also Sale-a-bration) stamped out and cut out in a Labels Collection Framelit, so I trimmed this in half and added it as a frame around the circle.

Time for some latte lovin'?  We should all make time for those cups of coffee (or tea) with friends - what a great little stamp for calling on friends or neighbours. Here's a little stack of them in the In Colours 2012-2014.

Of course, buying the marker pens allows you to colour in individual parts of the stamp different colours and also is a great way to try colours to see which ones are favourite before progressing to ink pads.  The In Colours are a set of 5 pens at just £11.75 so a great way to get a quick collection of colours.  I recently discovered some tips for the SU markers - did you know?:

• They can be refilled using the Ink Refills
• As well as the tip picture to show you which end is which, the lines which wrap round the pen are different widths to show this too

Thanks to Michelle Last, another SU demonstrator, for these tips! To see how to refill you can visit Michelle's Blog http://www.michellelast.typepad.co.uk/

In case you are wondering which punch I used round the 'whole latte love', this is a Decorative Label punched twice to create the custom shape.

 

Sale-a-Bration continues until 22nd March - I still have availability for parties or can take orders for delivery before this date for your chance to earn FREE products.

 

To place an order, book a party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com or call me on 07876 247678.

Vintage Verses

A fabulous card for you today made with one of the stamps from the Vintage Verses free Sale-a-bration sets.  A great way to say thanks and really great in fresh colours to match the 'Floral District' designer paper.  I have stolen the flower hearts idea from a Pinterest post and I just love it - another way to use the small heart punch featured on my valentine posts too.  Each heart is folded down the middle and then stuck overlapping.  I stuck each heart on the right side each time.  Sorry for the gap on the first flower, when photographing the heart was a little misplaced.  I am loving the Floral District papers too, I have another project on the go with this so make sure you come back to see again.

New on my blog today, I have added the 'Follow on Email' button so be sure to add your details to receive an email and make sure you do not miss any updates from me.  There are a few easy steps to folllow to set it up, but you will receive an email everytime I add a post.

Don't forget my workshop on the 7th March at 7pm to see more examples and make brilliant cards like this.

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

Valentine - You Are Loved and so much more

Well what a very lovely surprise for my valentine's morning a lovely new iPad to play with!  I am going to be happily browsing from my sofa even more now...more Pinterest and Stampin' Up!inspiration...and maybe a little shopping too!

Just a quick note from me with some Valentine's sentiments before I continue my romantic celebrations for the evening. 

Here is the lovely card I made for my husband for today with my new favourite colour - Raspberry Ripple.  I must admit I did get a bit carried away with the silver glimmer paper (124005) and pearls (119247), but it was so much girly fun!! 

The gorgeous Valentine message is from the 'You Are Loved' stamp set.  I have stamped with the Staz On White (106960) onto Vellum cardstock (106584). You can stamp onto non-porous surfaces with this ink including the window sheets (114323) which I have used previously for the candle boxes I made. There were lots of little punched hearts too.  The small heart punch is a great little addition to your craft room (117193) and only £5.75 so easy to add to your next order.

I used my Essentials Paper-Piercing pack  (132204) which I got as a FREE choice with Sale-A-Brations to created the outline hearts surrounding it.  Decorative borders on the vellum and coloured card were then added with the Adorning Accents Folders (125601) and Edgelits (125595). The mini hearts look so sweet on the vellum and also on the band under the Decorative Label (120907).  Of Course it was all colour co-ordinated with the Stitched Satin Ribbon in Raspberry Ripple (126845)and before I got too carried away with a bow as well I decided on a folded pleated ribbon instead, secured with glue dots.

The sentiment inside the card - 'There's Only One You' is from the Sale-a-Bration set 'Vintage Verses' (129633).  This includes other sentiments of 'Thanks', 'Just Because', and 'Wishing you a day as perfect as you are'.

 My second card, no not two valentines from me, was a last minute commission for a friend.  Again the 'You are loved' stamps and pewter embossing with Raspberry Ripple stamping.  I used the Adorning Accents Folders (125601) and Edgelits (125595) again and the co-ordinated ribbon.  I folded the ribbon over, in my attempt at, a heart shape.  I secured the ribbon with an antique brad (117273).  The candle box is another chance to see the matching candle and box I made for the candle workshop with the same stamp set, this time in Cherry Cobbler.

To place an order, book a party with these great products or join in one of my card making evenings, email me, Suzanne at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Feeling Sentimental

Today's post is a card in early preparation - so unlike me I know, but I received one of the Sale-a-Bration stamp sets this week and it was just perfect for a Father's Day card.  It is often hard to find inspiration for a masculine card, so when I saw this stamp set in the free products I had to place my order to get it free.  A set of lovely nostalgic pictures, a telephone box, a penny farthing, a big wheel and the sentiment 'Celebrate', perfect for a number of occasions.

I decided to use some colour on the card so used a little Rose Red card stock with matching brads and designer paper to accent the colours.  There has been a little vintage makeover to the card though to keep it less girly.  I have distressed and curled the layered paper corners and even rubbed the brads with a file to distress them a little.  Of course the daubers were out to add the vintage colour to the edges and I also used the Very Vintage wheel to create a border by using a large circle of card as a mask.

In case you are wondering, the 'For You' is from my other new stamp set ' Elements of style'.  It fits perfectly into an 1" circle and I am loving adding this to my projects.   The 'Happy Father's Day' is from the Delightful Dozen - already used this set more than a dozen times - it has everything!

Also spot the trinket?  It is one of the Teatime Trinkets from the Spring/Summer catalogue. These come in a pack of 5 (£5.50) and add that extra special to projects don't you think?  They come with link rings and spring catches (I am not sure how to describe these) which you can attach and even add them to jewellery as charms too.

To place a £45 order to get the Feeling Sentimental stamp set or another free choice, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

New Spring Catalogue Launch

Spring has Sprung!  The new Spring/Summer catalogue is here. Even more products to celebrate and share for the 25th anniversary celebrations for Stampin' Up!  If you have not received a copy of the catalogue in the post fro me  and cannot wait you can go and see the catalogue right here.

Already a customer of mine and you cannot resist a lovely glossy catalogue for your coffee table viewing?  Contact me to have one sent in the post or reserve a copy for our next workshop meeting.

Planning on a Stampin' Up! party and wish to book a date in the calendar? Contact me now for available dates.  Now is just the best time for a get-together with friends as remember it is Sale-a-Bration time, free products for hostess and customers all-round.  On booking, as a thank you, you will receive your complimentary copy of the Spring catalogue and the full annual catalogue too!

I love the products in the new Spring catalogue - I found myself liking something every turn of the page.  There is something for everyone - card-makers, scrapbookers or those who love working with fabric too.  Lots of extra special embellishments to make those projects with a difference.  I cannot wait until my first order comes in the next few days!

I will be posting some projects using new products, including those from the Spring catalogue soon.

Good news this week leaves me with just the reason I needed to use one of my new stamps 'two-by-two' to welcome the arrival of a baby for friends.  This is a single stamp from the annual catalogue and it is just so cute.  Of course, this version was for a boy.  I used the Adorned Accents for the hearts emboss on the white which lifted the card with some added texture. 

I made a second copy of the stamped image and coloured it without so much blue and before you know it I had made a birthday card from it today.  I just overlaid the 'Congratulations' with a 'Happy Birthday' banner to change the sentiment.

Another card to show you today.  It's based on a design I had seen from another demonstrator, but as I did not have all the same products, some slight changes.  My card uses the 'Very Vintage' stamp wheel background in Crumb Cake.  It is the 'You are loved' for the sentiment again and the 'Perfect Postage' for the Heart design in the Scallop Square. Oh and I was playing with my new stamps 'Elements of Style' so added the 'For You' from this set too (just visible above the 'Happy Valentine's Day'.

Hope you like them and don't forget to come back soon to see the new products.

Suzanne


To place an order, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Fabric Fun - Candlelight Christmas and Beau Chateau

Well I have a couple of projects I have been holding onto and finishing in the last few weeks and I thought I would share these with you today.  These are all projects I made using fabric from Stampin' Up! The first fabric choice is from the Autumn/Winter catalogue which finishes on 31st January.  The fabric is the Candlelight Christmas, I think the red in this could work well for Valentines or Mother's Day gifting too.

 I have been wanting to make the Kilner pin cushion for a long time and finally at Christmas I was inspired by this fabric to make one.   The top of the pin cushion is cut with the Scallop circle Big Shot Die (113468) and the inside circle of fabric and card is cut from the Circles #2 Originals Die (114526).  There are quite a few videos out there showing the method for making this and with the two-part push together lid on the kilner it is so simple!
 
The best bit is I could make it without picking up a sewing needle! I stuck all the fabric using Sticky Strip (104294) which holds everything together firmly and I found there was no need to sew. For my pin cushion jar, I decorated the jar lid edges with the Crochet Trim (118481)  and then added a flower using the Fun Flowers (121812) die for the Big Shot.  The antique brad (117273) fits in perfectly with the vintage style of the trim and I used a sponge dauber just to ink the edges of the flower too.

All I needed to do to gift this was add some coloured pins, some Stampin' Up! buttons in co-ordinating colours and some ribbon and it was finished. A great gift idea and what better way to gift than to share Stampin' Up! product with friends and family too! 

The hearts were decorations kindly made for me by Catherine Evans, a great, super talented SU demonstrator.  She made a gorgeous garland of these hearts of her own which you can and go see here.  I loved her crochet flowers, as seen on the green heart, but unfortunately crochet is not listed as one of my talents so I made my own centre for the red heart from Crochet Trim and the Scalloped Tulle Ribbon in Crumb Cake from the Autumn/Winter Catalogue.  I finished the red centre with the gorgeous Designer Brushed Bronze buttons (127833) and some linen thread.

My next project, after my first pin cushion was the Beau Chateau Pin Cushion jar.  I love the Beau

Chateau fabric design, as devoted followers of my blog will know. 

 

 This time I decorated the jar using Paper Daisies (119243).  I dyed the daisies using the ink pad refills in Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette and Bashful Blue - they turned out even better than I thought! I could not believe how easy it is, just a couple of drops with some water, submerge the daisies and then dry them off.  I secured the layers of the flowers with a metallic brad and manipulated them before completely dry and then added a pearl over the brad centre.  These are gorgeous and I will definitely be using them on more projects now! 

The flower wreath in the picture was a copy from the catalogue design on page 71 of the annual catalogue.  Again using the Fun Flowers die for the Big Shot.  One of the reasons you have to have the Big Shot is all of the materials you can cut with it, fabric and felt, included.  I sourced some felt elsewhere to match the colours of the fabric and used the Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon (120999) from SU to decorate and create the hanging loop. 

Remember the following products from these projects are only available in the Autumn/Winter catalogue and can only be ordered until the end of THIS THURSDAY, 31st January:

Candlelight Christmas Designer Fabric 126905 £8.95
Scalloped Tulle Ribbon - Crumb Cake  127840 £6.25
Designer Buttons - Brushed Bronze       127833 £6.25

To place an order, booking or find out more about these techniques, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Sale-a-Bration - Let's Party and Shop!

 

 

Today is the start of the best time of the year for Stampin' Up! - it's Sale-a-Bration time!  Even better for this year Stampin' Up! is celebrating it's 25th anniversary too!  Sale-a-Bration (or SAB) is all about sharing with customers and rewarding demonstrators as there are FREE products for all on offer. 

 

There are 3 ways, yes 3 ways of earning the free products.

 

HOST a party  Like to party then host a party! - Invite some friends over and let's get crafting. For total party sales of £150 you will receive £25 hostess pounds to spend AND in addition you will also get a pack of Silver glimmer paper to celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 25th Anniversary.  Fancy more free products?  Invite a few more friends, neighbours, colleagues, your hairdresser, someone you talk to at playgroup? ....... and with total party sales of £300 you receive £50 hostess pounds to spend and a pack of silver glimmer paper, a free SAB product bundle consisting of designer papers, buttons and ribbons AND… 50% off any full-priced item.

 

SHOP Love to shop? How about shopping and getting rewarded? Customers may choose any one product from the Sale-A-Bration brochure for every £45 they spend. This year’s offering includes exclusive stamp sets and accessories, as well as a selection of catalogue stamp sets, ribbon, buttons, and even an embossing folder! Now, more than ever, there’s something for everyone!

You can view the Sale-A-Bration brochure here.

JOIN in the party It's Sale-A-Bration and Stampin’ Up!’s 25th anniversary which means 25% more Starter Kit products for FREE! when you sign up as a demonstrator. For the joining fee of £99, during Sale-a-Bration you will get 25% extra of products, a total of £162.50 plus £45 of business supplies making a total of £202.50 - all for the £99 starter kit fee you pay.  Once a demonstrator you will get 20% off all orders too along with an opportunity to start your own business and all whilst making new friends.


To discuss the benefits of signing up as a demonstrator, book a party or place your own order, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com or call me.

Stampin' on Candles

I have been preparing candles for a meeting with fellow crafters in February and have been busy Stampin' onto pillar candles.  I won't be revealing how to go about this until after the meet, but take a look at the designs my creativity came up with. 

I love the 'You Are Loved' stamp set which you have seen on my blog previously on some of my card creations.  Doesn't it just work fantastically on the Cherry Cobbler red candle?  I used the co-ordinating 'Love Blossoms' stamp wheel to create the decorative bands also.

The vintage butterfly candle is stamped with the 'Very Vintage' stamp wheel design.  More of a vintage style, but it really suits the traditional pillar style of the candle.  The candle image is Soft Suede ink. 

The smaller candle is again using the 'You Are Loved' stamp set.  The flower detail was coloured using the In colours 2012-2013 marker pens. 

I could not resist making some gorgeous gift boxes to accompany the candles too.  I used some 12x12 textured card stock I had left over which is now retired, but the colours, River Rock and Very Vanilla, are still available as smooth card in the Neutrals collection. 

 

For the 'Happy Birthday' on the vintage box I have used the new 'Beautiful Birthday' single stamp - a great addition to any stampers craft room for birthday wishes. 

 

The smaller blue box is made with A4 Pool Party card stock.  I used some designer paper to wrap around the box from the new 'Afternoon Daydream' Simply Scrappin' Kit. I absolutely loved the colours and the action-ready adhesive designs in this kit and can't wait to try making the Notes holder in the annual catalogue (Pg166).

 

That's today's creative update complete.  Now what's going on with Stampin' Up! news?

There are just two more days left for the My Little Valentine promotion.  Get the Sealed with Love Simply Sent Kit FREE—a 10,95 €/£8.25 value (Pg 35 Aut/Wint)—when you purchase the brand-new My Little Valentine Set.

This special promotion four-piece set (only available in clear-mount) will not be available again after 21 January . Clear here for full info

 

The seasonal Autumn/Winter Catalogue also finishes at the end of this month - Don't forget to order before then if there is something in it on your wish list.

To place an order or book a party for the new year, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Merry Christmas (so very nearly)

Christmas wrapping complete, house clean, and fridge stocked.  All the activities this last couple of weeks has centered around cards, wrapping and tagging and I just haven't had a chance to post all the wonderful projects I have completed.  I didn't want to miss one last opportunity to say Happy Christmas to all my customers and share with you so a quick flurry of photos for you here.

I love the Big Shot Northern Flurry emboss folder and I have used it for as many of my projects as I could so it features here for most of the cards.  The first is based around a design which was shared at our team training.  The DSP paper design fits perfectly in the bauble shape and a quick large pearl finishes it off beautifully.  A tip here is to make sure you cut the bauble first otherwise you will flatten your embossed snowflakes otherwise.

I have had a lot of fun with the emboss powders too this Christmas. I love the excuse at Christmas to use silver and sparkle so I embossed the sentiment and the middle bauble. I was playing around with colours this year, but kept the dark blue background to match the grosgrain ribbon.

I made this third card for a close friend.  I just love the Snow Flurry die for the Big shot.  I have used it for card toppers and for present dressing this year.  I could not resist dressing it with rhinestones and pearls for that extra special affect.

The ribbon bow was actually to cover a mistake as my paper cutter blade was a little old and damaged the edge of the card.  I came up with this ribbon design which can be flattened for posting - brilliant!

The next flurry of cards are all using the Snow Much Fun.  Regulars to my blog will know I have been playing with this set for a while.  Time to make those cards for the special people in my life so I used it again.  Out came the blender pen to colour the friendly little snowmen and all were dressed with ribbons and the Northern Flurry emboss folder again.

Extra sparkle for my son's card to his Daddy. I used crystal effects on the tree, but you cannot see this on the photo.

For the label I used the Decorative Label punch to cut twice and create my own custom label shape.

 

My favourite, this card is based on a card I had seen by another demonstrator (sorry I don't have the details to hand, but will add later).  I swapped it round slightly and made some design changes to use different papers and die shapes for the frame.  The DSP is the Howlstooth from Halloween and cut with the Top Note die.  The bow is made from small pieces of the tulle and with a piece of scallop ribbon to make it into a bow shape.

 

Lastly, my Christmas petal cones.  I made these for gifts for a Christmas fayre I had a stall at.  These are fantastic stocking fillers.

Merry Christmas to you all and I look forward to another year ahead crafting and sharing creations with you all.

If you are interested in joining in a crafting workshop in the New Year make sure to get in contact and register your interest.