Jingle Joy and Noel Tags

As promised on yesterday's blog here are some more of my workshop cards.  These 3 designs are based on a simple stamp stick with the Striped emboss folder giving a texture to the background of two of the designs.  The third as the Top Note die shapes layered in two colours for a contrast.

 

 

 

I used the emboss folder for vertical stripes on the Joy card and horizontally on the Noel card. For both I embossed twice leaving a plain flat band in the middle section of the card for effect. 



The lettering for both cards is the Broadsheet Alphabet, this is such a great lettering set.  It is fantastic for initials on stationery or project items or dressed up as I have done for Christmas cheer on cards.  The lettering has perfect places to add jewels or pearls for those extra special touches.                                    

Christmas trees made simple with the little Pennants Parade stamp set finishes off the Joy card with it's Christmas theme and is also used for the three trees again. The set even includes the mini star for the top of the tree and the tree pot, all that's missing is the fairy! All the pieces for the Joy card were easily cut using the Square punch and then mounted again on coloured card as borders. The three trees on the third card were punched with the co-ordinating Pennants Builder Punch - easy cutting - I love it!

For the Noel card too I needed to add to the punched Tags (X-Large Tag Punch) so I used the holly from the 'Make a Mitten' set from this Autumn/Winter's catalogue.  I purposely set the tags at a slight angle from one another as a contrast to the straight lines of the Joy card. 

 

If you like these cards, why not come along to my next workshops on either Thursday 8th November or Thursday 6th December to make some yourself!
Hope to see you soon

Suzanne
x

 To place an order or book a place on a workshop at any time you can email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Christmas Flurries

I am sure that is the distant sound of jingle bells I hear as I have another flurry of Christmas cards to show you.  Now I am sure you are all excited to see them all, but it would be such a long blog for them all so I will treat you to them over the next few days.  As just a teaser here is a picture of some of the cards I have to show you.  All Christmas, all a simple combination of stamping, punching and embossing with the big shot.

 

The first, a beautiful card and so simple to make.  I have CASE'd this from a post on a blog from 'Stamping Up North with Laurie'.  She had made the wreath with punched stars, but I used the Boho Blossoms punch. 

 

The co-ordinating button and scallop ribbon make this card along with the polka dot emboss. See the lovely heart embossing too - this is from the Adorning Accents folders - so cute!  The papers are the Festival of Prints which are in the Autumn/Winter catalogue (Pg 20).  I have already used these papers a number of times and they are such a good buy. They are a smaller format, ideal for cards or smaller projects and with lots more variety to choose from.

 

Remember to come back again to see some more cards......................

 

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

Sending Birthday Love

Well another lovely workshop on Thursday and a lovely set of cards to show you, but first I wanted to blog a card I made over the weekend.  It was my lovely hubby's birthday - the first birthday card I have had to make for my 'Husband'.  The 'For My Family' (pg  138) has a stamp for family members, husbands included so of course this was brought out for my crafting session.

I used the 'You Are Loved' stamp set for the main image. This is a lovely set which was originally in the Spring Mini and I am so glad SU decided to bring it into the annual catalogue too!!  The background print was using the 'Musical Notes' and 'Very Vintage' stamp wheels on Crumb cake card.

You cannot see the gold shimmer as much in the photo, but my other favourite at the moment which I used for this card was the emboss powder. I used the Gold powder for the heart design and additional wording on the front. I am just loving the 'magic' as they turn from their original colour to the lovely shiny metallics as you heat them with the heat tool! 

The new heat tool this catalogue (pg 159) has two heat settings too, one for drying ink and setting and a second setting for embossing.  I love my embossing buddy too - a clever little pillow fellow. Swipe over the page before working with the Versamark pad and emboss powder and it stops any powder sticking anywhere else on the page - so no stray emboss dots and a clearer image!

The designer paper for the heart was the Speciality News DSP (pg 162), I cut the image into strips and shaped them - I wanted varied lengths at the bottom for a less tidy effect.  I added a 'Happy Birthday' from the useful little set 'Made For You' (pg 44) for the birthday wishes on the front and created a tag for the embossed 'Love' element (I cut down an X-Large Tag punch).

An envelope then made to size using the Simply Scored tool and decorated with DSP - I loved the results!

Why not come to one of my workshops to see for yourself how easy it is to make beautiful cards! be!

Contact me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Ornament Keepsakes

 Wow another team training session yesterday and I feel a flurry of inspired crafting coming along.  Here are the cards I made before the training, the first card was my swap for the day.I love training - I get to come home with a bag full of lovely cards made  by everyone else and see some amazing creations by the lovely talented ladies there.

The two cards are made using the Ornaments Keepsakes bundle from the catalogue.  Stampin' Up! are now offering their customers bundles of co-ordinating stamps and dies with a discount which is great value!   I can't wait to try making the decoration from the front of the Autumn/Winter Catalogue with this set.  Watch this space!

The second card I made I was playing with a 3-D bauble and love this, but then I put my practical head on and thought about how it would go through the postal service.  My idea,  I designed a foldable bauble that you open out and secure behind a half-circle cut (see the last photo). 

I added circles to the left hand side of the bauble in the co-ordinating Elegant Eggplant card so that the bauble when folded in could be tucked behind the circle to the right of the three.

I was quite pleased with myself for this design.  I am sure someone has come up with something similar elsewhere or even better, but I had this idea during a wakeful inspirational moment so I am patting myself on the back for actually remembering it and putting it together in my own way!

Well off to craft for the evening with all my new ideas from training.

To contact me to place an order, book a class or just chat email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Snow Festival - So Much Fun

A new flurry of cards from me today using some of the products again from the Autumn/Winter Catalogue. I know you will have seen some of them on previous posts, but I am just loving playing and seeing what else I can do with them.

Here is another card using the very Christmassy Snow Festival papers and some of the new In Colours 2012-2014.  I made the bauble top using the Decorative Label punch and the Mitten Builder punch - sometimes you don't always have the right shape to hand, but with a little imagination...... 

The bauble decoration is the lovely prints from the Make a Mitten set too - I love the tiny little reindeer - so cute.  I am thinking I could have clear embossed the bauble too to give it a lovely glossy finish - ah well, for next time.

The colours are a mix of ones we know already, Cherry Cobbler for the background and Real Red for the bauble top and the new Stitched Grosgrain ribbon.  The inks for the bauble and the green background are the new In Colours 2012-2014.  I am loving the Raspberry Ripple - trust me to love the colours which are food thought provoking!

Another card with the 'Heart of Christmas' stamp for the second card today.  Again framed in the Framelits dies.  A different colour combination and that gorgeous bronze button (Autumn/Winter Catalogue) to finish this card to give it a different look to the last version.

I have been busy making other cards, but you will have to wait to see them as they are for the next workshop on Thursday 18th October.

To place an order or book a place on my next workshop, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

THE NEW CATALOGUE IS HERE

The new catalogue is here!  A full 200 pages of the new 2012-2013 catalogue to browse through spoiling us for crafting goodies and ideas. 

Stampin' Up! have really spoilt us with all the extras now on offer.  There's not just card and papercraft, we have fabric, new tools to add to your kit and also somethings for the kitchen to dress up your homemade offerings over the festive season and in the year ahead.

To see the catalogue online or download a PDF  copy just Click here
- remember to be patient - 200 pages means a little longer to download than previous catalogues!

There are a few differences in the catalogue as Stampin' Up! move into new European markets. One change is that prices in the catalogue are now in both Euros and Pounds. 

If you would like  your own copy of the brand new Stampin’ Up! UK catalogue - just book a party with me and it is absolutely FREE or come to one of my workshops and take away your copy for just £3.00 - To find out more about the classes and dates, click here.  If you would like me to send you a copy in the post, I can do this too for just £4.50. Email me at: craftyinkbuds@sky.com to get your copy sent.

A new catalogue and new offers too - join up with me in October or November as a Demonstrator and you will receive a free Designer Series Paper Pack of your choice each month for the first six months as part of the Free Paper Promotion. Click here to find out more. There’s no better time to join a team of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators, you have a fully customisable starter kit with £130 of products and it include a business supplies pack of over £45 - all for £99 and also the free 6 packs of papers over the first 6 months! I would love to talk to you more about it, please Email me at: craftyinkbuds@sky.com for a callback to chat.

Enough talk of catalogues and offers! Here are a couple of cards I have made with the lovely 'Make a Mitten' set from the Autumn/Winter Catalogue with the matching Mitten Builder Punch.  I have used the 'Snow Festival' Papers and the Label Collection Framelits dies to cut the lovely shaped overlays for the sentiments.  The first card uses the 'Heart of Christmas' stamp too which I love - a single stamp which says it all about Christmas! I used the stamp wheel 'nicely knit' with the whispher white craft pad for the design across the bottom.

Want to see the cards close up and have a go at making these (or similar)?  Just book onto one of my classes - the next class on 18th October still has spaces so don't delay!  To find out more, click here.

Suzanne

Cards-a-bundle

What a fabulous evening of crafting for our first Crafty Ink Buds Card Workshop on Thursday!  The lovely ladies who joined me loved the products and were happily chatting away whilst making their stack of cards to take away at the end of the session.  Just for all of you that could not make it, here is the selection of cards we had.

The Something for Christmas stamp is great and it is retiring at the end of the catalogue which is only a few days away!  It has 3 sentiments on one stamp, 'Merry Christmas', 'Season's Greetings' and 'Peace on Earth' along with the gorgeous string of baubles.  So you can just ink all of the stamp and all the sayings or just pick one and ink it (with markers).

A Simple clean card which we also scored with the Scorepal for an additional emboss style.  Of course, not forgetting a little sparkle on the middle bauble and the ribbons which were a single band of satin ribbon and then we tied small lengths of the other ribbons and the satin again around the centre in a knot. The satin and grosgrain ribbons are retiring so grab your favourite colours now!

For the next card we were using the 'Just Believe' stamp set and the neutrals colour collection.  A layering of card, colour and designer paper.  We used the small 1/2" circle to punch the corners to make it appear like photos corners and daubers with Crumb Cake ink to give it an aged look.  The second version here was to show how an alternative card layout could change the appearance.  The pearls and ribbon give a more feminine touch whereas the first card could be used for a male recipient I think.

Our beautiful colourful bird of a feather is the new 'Tweet Leaves' stamp from the Autumn/Winter catalogue.  To get the beautiful mix of colours we used marks from the colour collections. A lovely autumnal stamp and suitable for a variety of occasions.  The various leaves could even be coloured to be stamped on their own.

I am loving the In Colours 2011-2012 card with stamped images from the Tiny Tags set.  The decorative strips were the scallop and eyelet border punches. The eyelet punch is retiring so order now before end of September, as this is a must!

 The second picture has the stamped images in circle punched windows instead and the jewellery tags added with rhinestones for an extra special touch or two.

It was the Season of Joy set for the next card - another retiring product.  This set has been a fantastic set for Christmas, with the Christmas tree taking centre stage.  We teamed it up with another retiring punch, the lace ribbon border - snap this one up fast!  The paper on this is one of the lovely Christmas designs from the smaller format Festival of Prints stack - perfect for card fronts or smaller projects.

 

Now, here's another Googly Ghouls card for our last card of the night.  Our little 'Boo's are mounted on a rosette easily made with the Scorepal.

I hope you like all our cards.  Don't forget to get in touch for the next workshop date - 18th October where we will be making even more lovely cards for a variety of occasions.

I'm Googly Ghouled

I am just loving the Googly eyes that Stampin' Up! are selling in the new Autumn Winter Catalogue.  You can buy them as a pack separately (£2.25 for 50)  or as part of the Ghostly Ghouls Designer Kit. This kit is great value with 10 pre-cut bags, 20 design labels, 50 googly eyes and baker's twine included for £7.95 - great to just pop your treats in and decorate for Halloween to have the best treat giveaways on your street!

I have made some cute items to show you today with the Googly Ghouls stamp set and of course the googly eyes!

 I love my little 3-D bat on this card and I used Crystal effects on the faces of Frankie and the Witch for super effect.

Don't forget to contact me to book your place on one of the card workshops planned in the diary (see the Monthly Card Club tab for details).

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

Retired List - Going, Going and some have Gone!

Wow, what a whirlwind of Stampin' Up! we are in - the New Autumn Winter seasonal catalogue launched this week and the Retired List being released which is going quick!  Before you start on those wish lists from the new catalogue, don't forget to check out what is going from the Retired list.  I have an update here for you on what has already been snapped up and is no longer available. 

Ink Pads
Cajun craze,   Poppy parade,  Red riding hood,  Perfect plum,  Pink pirouette,  Tangerine tango,  Garden Green,  Peach Parfait,  Daffodil delight,  Crumb Cake,  More Mustard,  Elegant Eggplant,
Neutral ink pad set and ink spots set

Remember the 2010-2012 In Colours are retiring for good, but the other colours are due to the reconfiguration of the ink pads (with the new firm foam pads).

Punches:
Eyelet Border punch
Heart to Heart Punch
5 petal flower punch
Round tab punch
Large Tag punch

Card and Paper Stock
12 x 12 Baja Breeze card
12 x 12 Tempting Turquoise Card
12 x 12 Chocolate Chip card
12 x 12 Subtles card
12 x 12 So Saffron card
A4 concord Crush card
In color 2010 – 2012 designer series paper stack

Fabric
Deck the Halls
Candy Cane

Tools and Accessories
Crop-o-dile
Crimper
Timeless alphabet sizzix die
Pillow box die
Spare blades for the Paper Cutter

Stamp Sets
Fox and Friends stamp set clear and wood
A to Z stamp
Medallion stamp
Wheel standard decor

Now off to carry on playing with my Googly Ghouls which I will come back and show you later.........

To Place an order, remember to email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Paper Dash!

Today's post is all about the paper.  I have lots of cards which I have made and just have not had time to show, but as there is the countdown to the new catalogue and the retired list contains some of my favourite papers which will be going I just had to post pictures of those paper creations!  You'll have to excuse my photography though - I have yet to find the perfect spot to perch my creations for the best light.

This cheerful collection is from a hostess party where I demonstrated the lovely little curved top bag and, of course, the Simply Scored Tool.  The papers are the 'Cheerful Treat' from the Hostess products.                                      I love the colours on these papers and the also the great selection of patterns - they work so well too with my first attempts at Pinwheels with the Simply Scored tool.  Just add some Rhinestone brads (which are not photographed so well) to give them that extra special finish.

As hostess products this is definitely your last chance to get these papers - there's still time to book a party in September though to earn your hostess pounds to purchase them!

My lovely summer-feel card with paper daisies was inspired by the sunshine which is staying with us!  I have highlighted the daisies with a Daffodil Delight marker pen and then the centres are made from the Blossoms punch and a small circle which I have folded in on the edges.  I have used the Little Leaves die for the Big Shot, but you can also use the branch from the Bird punch.

I just love this colour combination of Daffodil Delight and Certainly Celery.  The paper at the top is from the Domestic Goddess papers and the bottom paper is from the standard pattern DSP pack (Brights collection).

Last, just a little something I made from the Nursery Nest papers.  It is a perfect small gift idea - just a post-it note pad and some Stampin' Up! product and it is all ready to say a little 'thanks' to someone special.

 

Make sure you check out the retired list for these papers and other items you need to buy now before they are no longer available.  Some items have already gone out of stock, so don't delay if you have some favourites on your wish lists.

 

Remember, you can place an order or get a catalogue by emailing me at Craftyinkbuds@sky.com