A Special Birthday Card

Last week it was my lovely Stampin' Up! "mum's" birthday, so a special card was needed!!  I know Jules had a lovely day, and celebrated with some of the local girls form "Julies Jem's" Stampin' Up! team.

I used the Bordering on Romance stamp set, stamping on to water colour paper and coloured with Stampin' Up! marker pens & a "blender" pen. The colours are Melon Mambo, Baja Breeze and Lucky Limeade, I used the framelits dies to layer up the image, running the larger one through the polka dots embossing folder. I added some gorgeous polka dot ribbon and some pearls for the flower centres. I gave the card a spritz with some Champagne shimmer paint to add a bit of sparkle but it hasn't shown up in the photo.

Angela x

Easter Treats

I have made a few boxes for some Easter treats using the exclusive Stampin' Up! petal cone die, I have seen various uses for this die but I thought the carrot was a fun idea, these boxes are a good size when put together like this.

I used some Tangerine tango and Lucky Limeade card to make a "carrot", although it doesn't show up well in my photo I have embossed the card with the Polka Dots embossing folder.  I filled the box with some mini cream eggs and threaded Old Olive grosgrain ribbon through the top of the box to close it, I made the "leaves" with the Fun Flowers die.

I will hopefully finish making the last few Easter gifts tomorrow and I will share them as soon as I get the photographed - if only the "ironing fairy" had been!!

Angela x

Easter Blossoms Class

I know 2 posts in 2 days......

I did schedule this one as I really wanted to share the lovely Easter cards I made for another class with a different group of ladies.  This is a contrast to the more Autumnal colours of yesterdays post as the colours are really pretty and spring like, perfect for some Easter cards.

The colours for the cards are Wisteria wonder, So Saffron and Pretty in Pink, Flirtatious designer papers.

I used Wisteria Wonder for the card base with Flirtatious paper,  the Whisper White panel was embossed with the Polka Dots folder, the eggs were stamped and cut out by hand, a gorgeous Whisper White satin bow and a sentiment makes this a quick card to complete.

The card base is So Saffron with some more of the Flirtatious papers, the doily is the reverse side of one one of the sheets of paper from this same pack - I thought it looked nice peeping out from under the silhouette of the girl. I added some satin ribbon with the sentiment layered with the oval punches and a small flower with a peal centre. 

This is the card that "wowed" everyone - it was the quickest and simplest of them all but the pretty blossom stamp was definitely their favourite.  It was stamped on to Whisper White with Basic Grey ink and the blossoms were lightly coloured with a Pretty in Pink marker, a few tiny flowers were punched out with tiny pearls for the centre. The sentiment was layered up as before, the card base is Pretty in Pink.

I decided to order the Easter Blossoms stamp set to use in this class, I had held off buying it, as I have so many stamp sets waiting for ink I didn't think I needed it?!  How wrong was I. Everyone loved the cards we made and although it was not a stamp set they had planned to buy three of the ladies decided to buy it, so you never know, sometimes you need to look again!!

If you would like to order this stamp set, it is currently available in the Spring Mini Catalogue until 30th March, contact me to place your order before it's too late!!

Angela x

Creative Elements

I have really enjoyed making some new samples for the displays at my workshop.

This is a really pretty card using Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey and Whisper White.  The background is stamped in both shades of pink to add depth , with some ruffled taffeta ribbon across the bottom.

The butterflies are coloured with Stampin' Up! marker pens - starting with the lightest shade in the centre working out to the edge of the wings, with some sparkly gems trailing down the card.  I stamped an extra butterfly on the inside of the card - I like decorating the insides of my cards, it adds a finishing touch

Creative Elements is a stamp set that was given free to all demonstrators attending convention at Disneyland Paris - if you would like to join me at convention this year in Germany contact me to find out how you can become an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator - there has never been a better time to join as in addition to the already fabulous starter kit (£119 for products valued at £240) you can choose any stamp set in the catalogue completely free!!

Angela x

More Spice Cake

I really do love the colours of the Spice Cake papers and fabric and I know I will be stocking up on them while they are available in the mini catalogue.

When I started cutting up those "precious" papers I had so many ideas for them that I made many different cards. So grab a cuppa before you sit down, its a long one!!

This card is Soft Suede, Pool Party and Very Vanilla.  I made the medallion with some Spice Cake paper and a Vintage Brad for the centre, I used Tombow glue to fix it to the Very Vanilla and layered it on to another piece of Spice Cake paper. The sentiment is from the Little Princess stamp set, using the same Pool Party for the layers.

This card is inspired by the colours of the Spice Cake papers. I stamped a background piece with several of the stamps from the French Foliage stamp set, then stamped some extra leaves to cut out, layering over the stamped piece as a focal point.

The base card is Pool Party with leaves stamped in Pool Party ink.

A close up of the detail and the lovely bow made with Soft Suede Taffeta ribbon and a Vintage brad.

This card is a perfect way to use scraps of paper, card and ribbon.

The card base is More Mustard, a colour I wouldn't usually use but maybe you might just see it again soon!

The squares are decorated with different punches - love the Owl punch!! The Very Vanilla layer is embossed and a narrow scalloped edge was made with the lovely Ribbon Boarder punch.

I used the Spiced Paisley stamp set for this card, stamping all the layers with the matching inks to create a shadow effect.

I used the Stampin' Up! markers to colour the stamps and then cut them out, using dimensionals to fix them to the stamped panel.  The border was made with the Scallop Trim punch and I tied some Pear Pizzaz ribbon around this layer.

That's all for now, I will show you the rest of the cards tomorrow from this set.

Angela x

Convention Swap 1

This is one of my general swap's for convention, I decided to make a card front using the NEW cute Polar Party stamp set.

 I really love these colours together - Pool Party, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White.

I stamped the little penguin and coloured it with the marker pens in Peach Parfait, Pool Party and Pretty in Pink, I added a little Dazzling Diamonds for the snow too.

I punched out the image using the extra large oval, layering it with the decorative label punch. I used Shimmery White card and embossed it with the polka dots embossing folder, the gorgeous snowflake is punched in Shimmery White card using the Doily Triple Layer punch, with a gem for a bit of sparkle.

I decided to make the layers look like a wrapped parcel with some of the gorgeous scallop dots ribbon in Pretty in Pink.  The sentiment is from the NEW Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set, punched with the Word Window punch and layered with the Modern Label punch.

Back soon with more convention makes!!

Angela x

Gift Bag Tutorial

If you have time go and put the kettle on for a cuppa before you start to read this post as its quite long and there are a lot of pictures too. 

Take a 12" x12" sheet of paper and cut to 9" x 12"

score at 5" and 7" then turn and score at 2"

I used Pacific Point DSP

Crease the score lines and cut the score lines as shown.

Cut the 3" x 12" strip to 3" x 9"

score at 1/2" and 21/2" turn and score at 2"

trim away the outer 1/2" pieces as shown

Place sticky strip along the score lines as shown.

Fix the side panel to main the piece one side at a time.

Fold the flaps at the base and use tombow adhesive to close them

your basic bag is almost complete.

Lightly pinch the top creasing the sides into shape.

Using the crop-o-dile punch holes ready for the ribbon handles.

I used Jumbo Eyelaets for interest and to make the handle support stronger.

Take 30cm of ribbon for each handle and thread through the eyelets

tie in a knot inside the bag.

This is my completed bag with a decorative panel layered with Real Red, basic Grey and Very Vanilla. I have used the Polka Dots embossing folder on half of the Very Vanilla card so I could stamp on the plain side.  I used the All in the Family stamp set, coloured with the marker pens, the sentiment is from Just Believe stamp set, punched and layered with the Word Window and Decorative Label punch.

I would love to see what you make, please link back to my blog to say where you found my tutorial, thank you, have fun and enjoy creating.

Angela x

Big Shot Class

I have been really enjoying using the new Big Shot with the exclusive dies and embossing folders from Stampin' Up! so I thought I would share some of the projects from my Big Shot classes last week.

This little pillow box is perfect for a small gift along with a matching card. The colours of this set are Very vanilla, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette and Concorde Crush. The flowers are cut with the Fun Flowers die in a variety of card and Lap of Luxury designer paper, some have been embossed.

This card was a last minute addition to the class, the paper was embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper folder and lightly sanded so that the white core showed through, then lightly spritzed with shimmer paint. The flowers were cut and embossed with the Flower Burst embosslit.

If you are thinking of buying a Big Shot I will arrange to come to your home and show you how to create some amazing projects using the exclusive Stampin' Up! dies and folders. This range will no doubt expand later in the year so why not get yours now.

A special offer from me - anyone buying a Big Shot from me during May can choose an embossing folder of  their choice FREE.

Angela x