Wednesday 24 April 2019

Sending Hedgehugs Your Way!



This is a card I made a few weeks ago, but didn't get around to including it in my blog! It does use paper which is no longer available, but some of you may have got it as a Saleabration reward in March, and have some left, so I thought I'd show it to you anyway!

The stamps all came from the 'Hedgehugs' stamp set. It's a lovely stamp set!

I stamped the hedgehog & the greeting in Soft Suede, then used Brights Stampin' write markers (Poppy Parade & Granny Apple Green) to colour the toadstools stamp, before stamping it on to my card.

I then cut it with the largest oval from the stitched shapes dies, and mounted it on to a piece of Poppy Parade cardstock which I had cut with the largest scalloped oval from the layering ovals dies.

My card base is Poppy Parade, cut at 5 3/4" x 8 1/4" (14.5cm x 21cm)  (just under half a sheet of A4) scored at 4 1/4" (10.5cm ).

On to this base I attached a piece of the Painted Seasons DSP, measuring 4" x 5 1/2" (10cm x 14cm), then attached my centre panel using dimensionals.

Hope you like it

Thanks for popping by

Jane

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Tuesday 23 April 2019

Everything is Rosy



A couple of weeks ago, I told you there was a new limited edition bundle coming. It goes on sale on May 1st, for 1 month only. I can’t wait to get mine! It’s only available while stocks last, so I’ll be ordering mine as soon as it goes on sale! If you love it as much as I do, then don’t wait to order, use the link above to go to my shop and order it when it goes on sale!

 It’s a beautiful collection of coordinating products, which are not available individually. The only way to get your hands on these products is to buy the whole product medley, but you get all of these for just £74!
           
THE EVERYTHING IS ROSY PRODUCT MEDLEY INCLUDES THESE EXCLUSIVE PRODUCTS:
• Everything Is Rosy Photopolymer Stamp Set— 18 stamps; suggested blocks: a, b, c



• Everything Is Rosy Dies—10 dies; largest die 2-7/8" x 1" (7.3 x 2.5 cm)
• 6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 CM) Designer Series Paper Stack— 48 sheets; 8 each of 6 double-sided designs
• 6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 CM) rose gold foil paper—8 sheets
• Printed die cuts—2 sheets
• Rose gold die cuts—4 sheets; 2 each of 2 designs
• Rose gold adhesive backed mirror embellishments— 60 embellishments; 1/4" (6.4 mm)
• Melon Mambo 1/4" (6.4 mm) Ruched Ribbon— 10 yards (9.1 m)
• Night of Navy/Rose Gold 3/8" (1 cm) Metallic –Edge Ribbon— 10 yards (9.1 m)
• Rose Gold Shimmer Paint—1/2 oz. (15 ml)



Have a look at this Stampin’ Up video to see what’s included in the product medley

https://youtu.be/F2-mKMTEa58

I’ve also added below, the images of the projects in the video - I haven’t made any of my own yet as I can’t get the products until May, but I’m looking forward to using them soon!

Thanks for popping by

Jane
















Monday 22 April 2019

Retiring in-colours Challenge


For a few months now, Stampin’ Up! have been challenging demonstrators to come up with ideas for simple cards, using stamps, ink & paper. Each month they give us a theme, or something extra we can use.

This month, the #simplestamping challenge is to use the retiring in-colours. Every year, we get a new set of 5 ‘In Colours’ which are available for 2 years and then retire. The colours I’ve used in this card have been around for nearly 2 years now and will retire at the beginning of June .... unless they sell out earlier! So if you want any cardstock, ink or pens in these colours then don’t wait, get them now, before they sell out!

We found out what the new In-Colours will be, along with the rest of the fabulous new catalogue, which will all be available from 4th June, when we went to our On-Stage convention recently. Look out for some sneak peeks over the next few weeks!!

The stamp set I used for this card is Beauty Abounds, a fabulous stamp set! It has a wonderful mix of greetings, background texture stamps, and statement stamps. The dies that go with the set are equally fabulous, so well worth splashing out on the bundle & saving yourself 10%!

I stamped the greeting & the main flourish in Tranquil Tide, on Whisper White, and coloured the flowers & leaves in Berry Burst & Lemon Lime Twist using our Stampin’ Write Markers. These markers use the same ink as is in our ink pads, so the colours match perfectly!

I stamped the background texture stamps in Powder Pink & Lemon Lime Twist, & the butterflies in Fresh Fig.

I used a piece of Fresh Fig cardstock as a mat behind the Whisper White piece, and mounted this onto a Powder Pink card base.

So easy to make a pretty card with this set!

Thanks for popping by!

Jane

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Friday 19 April 2019

Fold Flat Handbag Favours



These little bags were my table gifts for On Stage. As they were a little bit more special than my regular swaps, I just gave them to the lovely ladies I shared a table with for the day.

This is an example of a great technique which allows you to store the bags flat until you need them. By changing the paper used, and the greeting, they'd make great table favours, for almost any occasion.

Mine held 6 mini Easter eggs, as On Stage was 1 week before Easter, but I'm sure you could think of all sorts of things that they could be used for. I used 6" square paper, I'd recommend using imperial measurements as they are easier, but I've included the metric equivalent for completeness.

They are very easy to make & very easy to adapt to almost any size .... provided your paper is big enough!!

Hope you like them

Thanks for popping by

Jane

Instructions:

All you need is a 6" (15.2 cm) square of designer series paper,
                     and 2 lengths of ribbon approximately 6" (15cm) in length.


On one side of your DSP, score at 1 1/2" & 4 1/2"  (3.8cm, 11.4cm)

Turn your DSP through 90 degrees & score at 2 1/2", 3 1/2" (6.3cm, 8.9cm)

Fold & burnish your score lines. Be careful when folding to make sure your folds are straight, and don't over burnish as DSP isn't as strong as cardstock.

Fold your 1 1/2" (3.8cm) sides in to meet in the middle. Your project should now measure 3" x 6" (7.6cm x 15.2cm)

Hold the project in the top left corner, with one hand. With your other hand, put your finger under the flap in the centre. Pull it back, until the score line immediately to the left of your finger lines up with the vertical score line to your left. This should form a diagonal crease which goes from the middle of one side of your bag to the bottom corner. Burnish your new crease.

Repeat this technique for all 4 corners of your bag.

Your project should now look something like this.




Unfold your project, and attach your ribbons to the centre panels, one ribbon for each end, and positioned about 1/4" in from your score lines (I used Tear & Tape for mine). If you look carefully at the photo above you can see my ribbons!

Now glue down your panels (I used wet glue) making sure to not get any glue between the diagonal folds. In the photo above I have glued my panels down, so hopefully you can see the section you don't want glue on!

To finish the bags, I used a Velcro dot positioned near the top as a fastening, and added a sentiment from the Sweetest Thing stamp set, stamped on Whisper White, cut with the smallest layering oval die, and mounted on a piece of cardstock cut using the corresponding scalloped oval from the same set.

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Wednesday 17 April 2019

Mini Rabbit Hutch chocolate treat holder



I found these little chocolate bunnies in a supermarket, and just had to get them for an easter project. Each little 'hutch' holds 2 of the rabbits, back to back, and I think the net of bunnies had about 15, so these are great for a little treat for your little ones, or could be used as party favours for a kids party.

The hutch is basically a mini version of Monday's project. although, the box in the bottom is probably a little simpler to make.

Hope you like them!

Thanks for popping by

Jane

Instructions:

Cardstock 3 1/4" x 2" (8cm x 4.5cm)

Score on the long side at 1", 1 1/2", 2 1/2", 3" (2.5cm, 3.5cm, 6cm, 7cm)

Score on the short side at 1/2", 1 1/2" (1cm, 3.5cm)

On the long side, cut straight up each score line. to the first score line. Slightly wedge into each of the squares. Completely remove the narrow rectangle at the end, up to the first score line. Repeat for the opposite side.

Punch a hole in the centre 1" square section using the 3/4" punch.

Fold & burnish all score lines.

Now form your box, by adhering the tab on the end to the other end of the box, then fold in & glue the flaps on the side.

For the 'roof' of the 'hutch' use a strip of DSP (I used Gingham Gala) 1 1/8" x 6" (3cm x 15.2cm)
Score, on the long side 5/8" (1.5cm) from one end, and 3/4" (2cm) from the other end.
Apply tear tape to the 3/4" (2cm) end on the side of the DSP that you want showing.

Apply wet glue to the base & sides of the box (NOT the front or back) Attach the strip of DSP to the box, starting with the 3/4" end on the bottom, the score line lined up on the corner, then wrap it round so that the other score line lines up with the opposite side of the box and the 5/8" (1.5cm) flap attaches to the tear tape.

I finished mine by stamping onto a scrap of whisper white card, using the 'Treats' stamp from the Sweetest Thing bundle, cut with the matching die, and attached to the front with a dimensional.


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Monday 15 April 2019

Mini Smarties Farmyard Friends Peekaboo Holder




I think these little holders are super cute, and so easy to do! I love the way the little animals peek out of the window!

I've used a variety of our punches to make this project. Our punches are really good quality, I've got quite a few, and use them loads!  Much as I love my big shot die cutter, punches are so much quicker to use!

Hope you like them!

Thanks for popping by

Jane

Instructions:

For this project, you'll need 2 pieces of Cardstock

The first one should be 10" x 1 15/16" (25cm x 5cm), scored on the long side at 4" & 6" (10cm & 15cm)

Punch a hole using the 1" circle punch so that the top of the hole is about 2" (5cm) from one of the score lines. Tip: to make sure the hole is central, punch a 1" circle from a post it note, then position the post it note circle where you want the hole in the cardstock strip. This will give you a guide to make sure you punch the hole in the right place.

Now punch both ends of the Cardstock strip using the Scalloped Tag Topper punch.


The second should be 3 3/4" (9.5cm) square. Score this on all 4 sides at 1/2" & 1" ( 1.2 & 2.5 cm)

Fold your card on one side at the first score line and use the 1 1/4" circle punch to punch a hole in the centre. Use the post it note technique, as above, to ensure the hole is central. Keep the circle of card for decorating your project later.

In each corner, you should now have 4 little squares. Use a ruler to draw a line that goes from edge to edge of the cardstock & from corner to corner on the square that is closest to the centre of your card. The line should go into the rectangles that are at the edge of your card. Do this for each corner.

Working on the bottom right hand corner, cut straight down the 2 vertical lines just to the second horizontal score line. Cut away the whole of the right hand section with the adjacent triangle formed by your pencil line and the 2nd horizontal score line. That should leave you with a tab, wedge slightly into that tab, for neat finish. Now cut away the triangle to the left of the tab.

Rotate your card through 90 degrees and repeat for each of the other corners.

Your card should now look like this



Fold & burnish all your score lines, then apply adhesive to each of the tabs.Folding the box at the second score lines, attach the tabs to the adjacent rectangles to form a box. Now fold in all the sides at the first score line, and leave loose. Your box will look like this from the bottom.





Now apply glue (I used wet glue) to the base of your box, and attach to the centre of your cardstock strip.

I decorated mine with a frame cut from Gingham Gala DSP (item no. 148554 p.35 spring/summer catalogue), using the 1" circle punch and the 1 3/8" scalloped circle punch (use the post it note technique to ensure perfect lining up!)

I stamped a greeting from the Fable Friends stamp set onto a 1 1/8" scalloped circle, using the 1 1/8" scalloped circle punch (item no. 146138 p.210 Annual Catalogue). Mounted this onto the 1 1/4" circle I punched out of the centre of the box earlier, and added a few of the Gingham Gala Adhesive backed sequins (item no. 148561  p.35 spring/summer catalogue)

To finish the project I added a few flowers, punched using the Bitty Blooms punch pack, and some ribbon.


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Sunday 14 April 2019

On Stage Telford April 2019


Yesterday was our twice yearly gathering ‘On Stage’. A fantastic day of fun, news & crafting. Stampin’ Up really do spoil us, and we all came away with loads of goodies, easily worth more than the fee we pay to go! As you can probably see in the photo above, we get samples of new & old products, a bag, some make & takes, and some exclusive Stampin’ Up goodies! I even got a stamp set that isn’t going to be available for a while  - it’s not even in the new catalogue, but it is coming soon, along with a few other surprises!!

We got to play with some of the new stamp sets, when we made our make & takes. There’s some lovely stuff coming in the new catalogue. I can’t wait to get some of it!

The new catalogue goes live on June 4th, but we also have some exciting things coming in May, including a new limited time bundle (it’s absolutely gorgeous!!) which will NOT be available in the new catalogue, and a one off special edition Paper Pumpkin!

If you’ve never heard of Paper Pumpkin, I’m not surprised! It’s only, usually, available (for now!) in the USA. It’s a subscription, once a month pack, which includes everything you need to make a set of projects. The Paper Pumpkin kits often coordinate & enhance other sets, but the stamps may not be available anywhere else. The kit which will be released in May, is a special one, designed in part, by Stampin’ Up! co-founder, Shelli, and will be released world wide, for this edition only!

Of course, one of the best things about On Stage, is all the wonderful people who are my fellow demonstrators! New demonstrators  often go along to these events knowing very few people, but by the end of the day have made lifelong friends! Most of us take along a few handmade items, to swap with our fellow demonstrators. It’s a great way to meet lots of people, and to get lots of ideas we can use for our own projects. This is a photo of the fabulous swaps I received, Stampin’ Up Demonstrator’s are a talented bunch!


Don’t forget, though, that to make way for all the wonderful new stuff in the catalogue, there will be lots of things retiring. If you want to make sure you can get your favourites, then buy now! Retiring items will now be on a ‘while stocks last’ basis. So get them before they go. Anything that includes the retiring in colours will definitely be going, as will all the current bundles. Some of those bundles will still be available as separate items, but without the 10% discount for buying them together.

And if you fancy coming along to our next event, then why not join my team! It’s the only way to get your hands on so much free stuff! I’d love to see you at our next event!

Thanks for popping by

Jane

Friday 12 April 2019

My Swaps for On Stage



Twice a year, Stampin' Up! runs a conference for it's demonstrators, called On Stage. It's always a fabulous event, with training, new catalogues, lots of free goodies & loads of fun. Our next one is tomorrow! I can't wait!

If you'd like to come along to one of our events, then why not join my team. It costs £99 to join, and for this you get a starter kit containing £130 worth of products of your choice, along with a business starter kit. Whether you choose to make your hobby into a business, or just stay as a hobby demonstrator, you will then get discount on all future purchases, early access to new products, and the option to attend our On Stage events.

We have a wonderful tradition at our on stage events, called Swapping!  You make multiples of one project, and swap them with other demonstrators for one of their project. The idea being to come away with lots of wonderful ideas for future projects.

The only real rule is that it must be current (not retired) product. So you can make as many or as few as you want, and if you have time to swap them all, you'll come away with that many different projects to get ideas from.

This time, I've made cards designed around the Garden Impressions DSP. A pack of this 6" x 6" DSP has 48 sheets, 4 each of 12 double sided designs (so 24 designs in total) and these cards use less than a quarter of a sheet each, so you could get nearly 200 of these cards from one pack!

I've picked 12 of the designs for my cards, and made 5 of each as swaps, but I've also made an extra set of 12 for my own use & made a pretty box to keep them in.

They were very easy to make. They only took me a couple of days to make them all!


Hope you like them

Thanks for popping by

Jane

Instructions:

Card Base Whisper White or Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock. 7 3/4" x 3 7/8" (9.9cm x 19.8cm) you can get 3 of these from each sheet of A4 Cardstock.

Score on the long side at 3 7/8" (9.9cm)

Turn the card over and score on the long side at 1/4", 1/2", 3 3/8", 3 5/8"  (0.6cm, 1.2cm, 8.5cm. 9.1cm)

Turn to the short side, with your scoring all in the top half. Score at  1/4", 1/2", 3 3/8", 3 5/8"  (0.6cm, 1.2cm, 8.5cm. 9.1cm) again.

Fold and burnish on the first score line you did. This should give you a 3 7/8" square card base with an embossed detail on the front.

For the Frames I used the largest, and second largest squares from the Stitched Shapes Framelits, nested inside one another. This also had the advantage of leaving me with a stitched square piece ready to use on another project.

I adhered the frame onto a 2 1/2"  (6.3cm) square of the DSP, and then adhered that onto the centre of the front of my card.

I stamped the butterflies, using Memento tuxedo black ink, onto coloured Cardstock, then punched them out using the matching butterfly punch from the same bundle. I shaped the wings slightly with my bone folder, then applied a darker shade of ink to the edges of the wings using a sponge dauber.


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