Retired List 2013-2014

It is Good-Bye to some of our favourites from the 2013-2014 catalogues, but don't despair there is still time to order those items that you have loved and have not yet purchased or indeed, replenish those crafting stocks of favourite colours or papers!  Some items are being offered at a whopping 50% discount so be sure to take a look at the lists published to see what is up for grabs!

To order you can call or email me with your order if you wish, but as items are available for a limited time only and for as long as stock lasts, the best way to ensure you get what you want is to place the order online.  You can do this by clicking on the link on the top right of my Blog page to 'Shop with Suzanne'.  

Some items are being reconfigured, such as the Sponge Daubers, so they will not be going completely, but will be back in the catalogue in a different package.  For the bundles listed as retired both the stamps and the punch will be in the new catalogue, but available separately with no bundle pricing.  

Also, remember not everything will make it into the main catalogue,  so if you have something on your wish list, do make sure you order it before end of catalogue.

Suzanne

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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.

Floral Displays with the Spiral Flower Die

If the weather holds off I hope to be outside planting my own spring displays in the garden, but for now I thought I would share my recent project which I have been working on.  A while back I saw these cute little pepper pots in the local budget store and I could not believe what a close match they were to the Stampin' Up! colours.  You can just see the shaped tops peeping out of the top of the display in the photo.  I had a thought straight away that I could make flowers with the Spiral Flower Die and then attach them to garden wire to stand them through the holes in the pot lids.

Before I started my project though, I found a picture from Erica Cerwin on Pinterest with something very similiar.  Great minds think alike!  Erica had made a crate using the Hardwood stamp and put flowers in hers in bunches of yellow with long grass/leaves.  So once I saw the crate idea I knew I could make a little flower trough of my own to sit my pots into.

I started with a basic rectangular open box which I added an extra layer of card to so that it had more stability.  I then added my layer of grass which was using the Gumball Green from the In Colours 2012-2014. The grass was cut using the Fringe Scissors from the Spring/Summer catalogue. Finally I stamped the hardwood stamp onto Baked Brown Sugar and cut this into strips 1.5cm wide.  I sponged colour round the edges of the strips and then wrapped them round the box in a wooden crate style.

My flowers were in the Crisp Cantaloupe, Wild Wasabi and Daffodil Delight colours.  I also used the Flower Punch to add a layer of Gumball Green for a leave base to the flowers.  Each of the flowers was made using one and a half of the Spiral Flower Die shapes.  I cut two die pieces and then cut the second piece in two.  I wrapped the complete piece and then added the second half piece into the flower before securing them together with a glue gun. I have yet to perfect my glue gun sticking so there was some extra glue strings which still need tidying a little - oops!  A little photo touch-up needed!

I finished my project with the image from the Chalk Talk stamp set embossed in white on the basic black card.  The label shape was cut with the co-ordinating dies.  I was so excited about this project and I got so carried away until it was finished, crafting late into the evening.  I was beaming with pride when I finished it and it is now sitting in pride of place in my craft room, bringing the Spring flowers inside.

Now the dies are great and the Spiral Flower is fantastic, but when you are finished cutting flowers with it there is a lovely decorative shaped piece of card left over which is just too lovely to throw away.  When I was cutting flowers using the Coastal Cabana and designer paper stack I just could not bring myself to throw the pieces away and as they were overlapping on the craft table I thought of a card layout to use them instead.

I added a flower and some Little Leaves and some further flowers using the Boho Blossom punch and the label on there is made using the Scallop Tag Topper Punch cut down to match the dimensions of the sentiment.  See the sentiment on the label there?  That is stamped using the mini stamp set in the Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit.  The kit is amazing value and the stamps can be re-used for other projects as I have done here.

Products I used for these projects were:

129379 Spiral Flower Die

133032 Hardwood

133325 Fringe Scissors

130631 Chalk Talk Stamps

129983 Chalk Talk Dies

and extras for the card:

119858 Boho Blossoms

114511 Little Leaves

133324 Scalloped Tag Topper Punch 

130136 Designer Paper Stack - In Colours 2014-2015

Stamps used for the card:

134998 Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit

All these items and more are available for order through my online store.  Just go to my blog page and click on the link to 'Shop Online With Me Now' in the top right corner or you can contact me directly. Don't forget to take a visit to see the Weekly deals continuing throughout May and also the Clearance rack deals!

Suzanne

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Remember, to book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com.  You can check my Stampin' Up! home page for details of planned events. 

Weekly Deals Continue in May - Yeay!

It's a continuation of the April Weekly Deals as Stampin' Up! are now running this promotional offer through May also. They will be available for one week only, before a new collection of deals is announced.This week's Tuesday Weekly Deals are already available - 

If you have not tried embossing yet or always get in a mess with glitter then the heat tool is for you. You can work with the gorgeous emboss powder colours to co-ordinate your emboss images on your projetcs or work the Heat and Stick powder to create neat adhesive areas for your glitter to stick to.

As always, if you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can use the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online With Me Now' or by contacting me in person. 

Suzanne

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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.

Mr and Mrs Vellum Embossed

Well we certainly have a busy May to look forward to, but before we celebrate the coming of the Spring holidays I have a card to show you which I had been saving until I passed it on to the lucky couple.

I kept this one very simple and neutral white colours as there was no idea of their wedding colours until the actual event.  I have made the card using a pre-cut shimmery white card I already had, but SU has the shimmery white cardstock which I have used before which looks lovely for wedding and special occasion cards. 

The best part about the card, I think, is the vellum overlay. This is the silver version of the Fancy Foil Designer Vellum in the Spring/Summer catalogue.  A selection of pattern in rich silver emboss designs (or there is a gold version too).  It makes a luxury looking card in minutes.  All I did for my card was emboss the 'Mr & Mrs' using the single stamp (132575) and then use a Framelits Label Collection (125598) die to cut the vellum the correct size to frame it.  

The ribbons I added have just enhanced the silver of the vellum, using the silver 1/8" ribbon (from page 23 Spring/Summer catalogue, code 132137) also and my favourite Organza Ribbon (114319) from the main annual catalogue.  I always have a reel of this whisper white organza ribbon to hand.

Well in my view, all weddings need some sparkle, not only for the bride.  I added some basic rhinstones to the corners and round the frame to finish it off.  

With two more weddings to go to and lots of special celebrations this year I am sure the vellum will be out again.

Suzanne
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Products I used for this card:

Mr & Mrs Stamp 132575
Express Yourself (Hostess set) 130336
Framelits Labels Collection 125598
Fancy Foil Designer Vellum 133364
Organza Ribbon 114319
Silver 1/8" Ribbon 132137
Basic Rhinestones 119246
Versamark Pad 102283
Emboss Powder - Silver 109131



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.

Owl Love Nest

A super cute punch art card from me for today with a love theme.  This would make a great card for various occasions or for a loved one just because.  I didn't make mine for any particular occasion, but I had seen various projects using the Hardwood stamp to make a fence and another project with the Owls on and it just inspired me to get my Owl Builder Punch out.

Now, we do have a little googly-eye going on! I am sure it is not beer goggles Mr Owl is wearing, but I like to think he is just all gooey-eyed for Mrs Owl instead!

I forgot how cute the owl builder punch is and with all the pieces there to make these owls, including their waistcoats, their eyes and the hearts - it was super easy to put this card together! 

Another great builder punch used for the card is the Cupcake Builder Punch - I used it on my card for the clouds. All I needed to do was punch the cupcake top in whisper white and then sponge the edges lightly to make them stand out when over-lapped in a cloud formation.

My well used, and well loved, Little Leaves sizzlit die then made the perfect bedding for the Owl couple as they nest on top of the Baked Brown Sugar fencing.  The fencing was created by the Hardwood stamp image just stamped and then cut into 1.5cm strips.

Let's not forget another great addition, the fringe grass cuttings, which I made using the Fringe Scissors. They give an extra dimension to the card and finish the bottom edge off for my woodland scene to be complete.  

The great thing about this card is I used a number of scrap pieces of designer paper and card stock to make it!  The owl pieces are all small pieces which I just punched from small scrappy bits and even the grass was cut from strips I had kept - see, it is reasonable to keep all your scraps in case they may be of use one day. Just make sure you have a builder punch to make use of them!

Now my eyes are starting to feel a little droopy like Mr Owl's so time to post and go find my own nest for the night.

Suzanne

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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.

Happy Easter Banner

Today's a celebration banner for Happy Easter wishes. I have been spying some banner kits in the supermarkets and thinking of getting one as I thought I was just not going to have the time to put one together, but I resisted and here is what I made in about 1 1/2 hours playtime. OK, OK so it was still a little time to make it, but once I started it I was enjoying every minute!

Essential for a quick and easy banner are the Banner Framelits.  I used the largest die for designer paper backgrounds.  This was some of the Subtles collection papers I had left over from the last annual catalogue (2012-1013) so I was so glad I had kept them.  I then just layered them onto cardstock and for quickness I just trimmed round to keep the banner shape.  You could of course make your banners slightly smaller to cut both the layers with the dies - even quicker!

I also used the Circles framelits collection to make the circles round my 'Happy Easter' letttering. I had cut all the lettering with dies too (a retired die set I cannot part with).  That was all the pieces cut out for the main banner within 10 minutes or so.  I am so loving the die collections, it makes it all so easy!

The extra features on the banner are the Bunny tails I made previously (see previous post on the Carrot Chocolate Wraps).  These are made from the Scallop circles punches and the large oval.
Also a few springtime flowers using the Floral Fusion Sizzlit die and the Little Leaves Sizzlit.  I added a centre flower from the Boho Blossom punch and finished with a Daffodil Delight Candy Dot.

The ribbon is leftover from my wedding supply of taffeta Pink Pirouette so it was great to see this put to use again in this lovely Easter pastels project.

The papers are still available, but there have been some small changes to the colour collection in the current catalogue and the designs have varied slightly.  The lettering, as I say was a retired set, but there are alphabet dies in the current catalogue too.  You could even use chipboard or wooden letters if you already have them.

I am really glad I passed on the supermarket banner now and made my own - it is hanging in pride of place ready for some family visitors tomorrow.

Suzanne
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For the banner, I used:
132173 Banners Framelits Dies
130911 Circles Collection Framelits Dies
115969 Floral Fusion Sizzlit Die
114511 Little Leaves Sizzlit
130931 Candy Dots
130135 Designer Paper Stack - Subtles Collection

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.

Gifting with Spiral Flowers

What wonderful weather we are having!! I have been out and about taking advantage of the weather with my little one so not much time for crafting.  Today, we just about had time to plan in a little trip over to a team member with a lovely wrapped gift for her birthday.

As my card was using the Afternoon picnic papers, I have used these on the gift box too.  Even better, these papers are included in the new Weekly Deals for this week.  There's never a better time to invest in some of these gorgeous quality designer papers.

The label and wraparound are all using the Scallop Tag Punch.  The flowers are of course, the Spiral Flowers Originals Die from the Spring Summer Catalogue. As this is an originals die you can cut mutiple layers of cardstock at once, after all you are going to want more than one of these flowers!

My first efforts at the flowers were not the best and these were a little rushed today too.  I have found the best method for rolling the flowers though is to use a bone folder to help curve the flower piece first.  I then roll it tightly round something like a thin paintbrush (the artist type, not the DIY kind!). This rolls quite a tight roll, but as you then release the flower you can let it spring back out as far or as little as you would like it.  If you add your glue to the last circle first before releasing it you can then secure the flower as it unravels to the desired flower size.

I have added some glimmer to the edges of my flowers with the Dazzling Details and some large pearls in the centres.  The Coastal Cabana ruffled ribbon ties the tag and the wraparound together using the scallop tag punch finish.

What a lovely wrapped gift and I know the recipient will love the contents too.  Tucked inside, a Stampin' Up! die of her very own!

Don't forget to check out this week's weekly deals on my online page here.  Order online for direct delivery to you or you can contact me and I will collate orders for customers local to me.

I must get back to some bunnies and springtime projects for the weekend's planned activities now.......

Suzanne
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Products I used:

131390 Afternoon Picnic Designer Papers
129379 Spiral Flower Originals Die
133324 ScallopedTag Topper 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.

Easter Bunny Tails

Well it is getting closer to the Easter Bunny paying us a visit, but it seems he may have got stuck in a hole trying to get to these carrots!  A different kind of Easter chocolate shape for this year which is being offered by one of the leading chocolatiers.  I saw them and just had to buy them to try and make something with them.  

I have used the Scallop Tag Topper Punch for the wrap around and a second piece inside to make a base for the carrot 'umbrellas' to sit in.

If you would like to make you own, I took a picture of the measurements and templates for you.

As you can see the strip used for the Scallop Tag Topper punch is one piece and folded.  I have then punched with a Large Oval (119855) over the hole of the tag top.  The second piece is a simple open box shape which I have cut the tabs at angles to keep them tidy when it is glued together.  The small 1/2" hole (119869) is then punch whilst one side of the box is folded under so that it can be lined up in the centre.  It doesn't matter about the hole on the box side as this is hidden from view when it comes together.

I used the Hardwood (133032) background stamp for both pieces.  I love this background and can already think of future projects for it, especially masculine themed cards!

Now for my little Thumper's bunny tails.  These are several punched pieces put together.  There are a few variations online as to which punches can be used.  I have used other punches to make a complete bunny previously, but this one is made up of my trusty 1-3/4" Scallop Circle (119854), 7/8" Scallop Circle and the smallest flower from the Boho Blossom Builder Punch (119858).  Thumper's feet are made just using the Large Oval again.  I trimmed the pink one (Pink Pirouette) down to layer these up.

Now the 'Happy Easter' on this one is from the Delightful Dozen set, but as I wanted to make a banner shape and this sentiment has a bit of a flourish to it, I used a marker pen and just inked the outline of the letters.  Oh, and the ribbon bow is a little Pumpkin pie left over from Halloween, how perfect!

I am going to hop along now until next time......

Suzanne
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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.

Ordering online: If you are on my blog web page then to Shop Online the link is just at the top (click on the image under 'Shop with me now').  If you are reading this from an email sent to you from the Blog page, you will need to first go to the blog web address. Just click on the link to 'CraftyInkBuds' from the text at the bottom of the email 'You are subscribed to email updates from Crafty Ink Buds' and then follow as above.

Springtime Sunshine, Petals and Butterflies

A bit later than promised as I just had to tell you about the Weekly Deals being offered by Stampin' Up! throughout April first, but here is the card layout that I was playing with previously.  Now the sunshine is with us it is the perfect time to be out enjoying the sunshine.  Pack a picnic, take a rug and find your spot to sit and enjoy nature in all it's glory!

This card is one I made with a group of lovely ladies this week and they loved the colour combinations of the Elegant Eggplant, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, and Pear Pizzaz. 

The designer papers used for the card were the Afternoon Picnic from the main catalogue.  These papers have a selection of patterns to play with; five-sided hex's, chevrons and circles.  All of these shapes are featured with the other co-ordinated products, punches and Big Shot framlits.

I started our card with a base of cardstock measuring 13.5cm x 27cm to make a finished card 13.5cm square.  The card base is then easily made by creating a diagonal fold on the top of the card and it is the decorative label mounted on the dimensional foam pads which then holds the card in position when opened.  The fold line was started from the top left down to the bottom right for the diagonal.  Once we had figured out the fold the right way, the ladies were off to a great start!

For our card, I layered up the designer paper with Petite Petals and Papillion Potpourri punched images for a beautiful celebration of spring.  See also the Label Love sentiment and Artisan Label also on there for the greeting.

I loved the colours, patterns and the Springtime theme of this one, I hope you do too.

Suzanne

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Products I used:

Punches/Dies -

130920 Artisan Label

120907 Decorative Label

133322 Petite Petals

*** Bundle Offer *** Buy the Petite Petals Stamps and punch for a saving of 15% 134821 Petite Petals Bundle

127526 Elegant Butterfly

129406 Bitty Butterfly

Stamps -

132058 Papillon Potpourri

Petite Petals 

Paper/Card - 

131390 Afternoon Picnic Designer Paper 

108614 Elegant Eggplant

106550 Very Vanilla

Colours -

Elegant Eggplant

Coastal Cabana

Daffodil Delight

Pear Pizzaz

NB: The Afernoon Picnic colours vary slightly from the selection I have used.

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.

Weekly Deals

New for April ....Weekly Deals!!!!

Stampin’ Up! have announced that for April we will be getting weekly deals, great news! These are time limited deals, of a small number of products each week at reduced prices.  To order these, you can place an order direct on my online store by just clicking on the button on the top right of this website (click on 'Shop with me Now'), or you alternatively you can email me or call me to place an order.

The deals for this week until Tuesday 15th April are

The offers finish at 10.50pm on each Tuesday.   From 11pm onwards there will be a new weekly deal.