Christmas Stamp-a-stack

On Saturday, I went to an all day Stamp-a-stack class run by Julie Kettlewell. Normally her Stamp-a-stack classes are on a Friday evening, and we make 12 cards, 2 each of 6 designs. Saturday, we made 24 cards, 4 each of 6 designs. It was great fun, and every card used the new products from the new Seasonal Catalogue, many of which I hadn't seen in the flesh or played with before. I went along with my Stampin' Up! downline Kylie, and friend Ama, who has had a few workshops and I'm slowly converting into a true addict! One of the nice things about being a Demonstrator is that it's not just about running classes or having workshops, it can simply be about having a crafty session with a few like minded friends. I go to these Stamp-a-stack classes so that I can see the products and make samples that I haven't been able to buy as I'd need another mortgage to get everything I want from the catalogues!

I was lucky enough to win one of the raffle prizes, and chose the Watercolor Winter stamp set from the Seasonal Catalogue. I've got some swaps to do for our next Team Training day, so this set will be perfect for that.

Watercolor Winter stamp set

 

Julie made these lovely bags for us, full of goodies for us to make our cards with, and take home anything we didn't use on the day. It worked well, having our initials on the bag until one point where there were four of us on the table with names starting with A!

I'll be writing my blog posts soon, hopefully my broadband will be fixed this week at long last, and I can start doing these posts properly instead of on my phone.

Shoe Box Swap - Tea Shoppe Dresser

This card from the Shoe Box Swap day was designed by Chris Chamberlain. I like this card, it's made to look like a dresser, using Crumb Cake cardstock and ink with the Woodgrain background stamp. The edges of each piece was inked with the Sponge Daubers, and the handles were punched with the small circle from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack. The tea cups and the label are from Tea Shoppe, and uses Not Quite Navy and Real Red ink. The plates were created with various sizes of the Circle Punches and the Regals Paper Stack.

This card could be adapted to look like a dresser or a wardrobe for a baby card, for example.

 

 

Shoe Box Swap - Distressed Creative Elements card

This is quite a different style of a card from what I usually make, and I'm pleased that this was brought to the Shoe Box Swap class by Caroline Lovett. The technique is known as distressing, and around the edges of the layers of the card were roughed using the edge of the Paper Snips scissors. The edges of the Very Vanilla layer were also curled for extra detail. I'll be using this style more often.

The background was made using the flower stamp from Creative Elements, in Daffodil Delight and Tangerine Tango. The Tangerine Tango was stamped into the ink pad, and then once on scrap paper, to give a less strong colour. The flourish stamp from the set was stamped in Soft Suede. A spritz spray was used with the Champagne Shimmer Paint to give the golden effect. The Music Notes wheel stamp was rolled across in Basic Black ink. The flower stamp was then stamped onto Tangerine Tango card stock and cut out, as was the sentiment from a new stamp set called Itty Bitty Banners.

I've got another project in the pipeline from this card. I said above that I stamped off some of the Tangerine Tango ink to make it more subtle for the background. My sister saw the sheet I'd stamped these on, and has asked me to make something for her bedroom for her walls. I've got my thinking cap on for this, and hopefully I'll design and share the project with you soon.

Shoe Box Swap - Bow Card

Today's card from the Shoe Box Swap class was designed by Ciara Jennings. It's a really simple, but effective card, and the bow looks so fancy. Ciara had provided a template that we used to cut around the Pool Party dotty paper from the In Colour paper stack. The Crumb Cake card blank was stamped in Crumb Cake ink with the Confetti background stamp, inside and on the outside of the card. The Rich Razzleberry card was punched with the Scallop Edge Border Punch, And a strip of So Saffron card stock was placed on top. The sentiment was from Teeny Tiny Wishes and cut out with the Word Window and the Modern Label punches. A flower was punched out using the Itty Bitty punch, with a Pearl in the middle. On the inside, a piece of So Saffron cut with the Top Note die using the Big Shot was added, for somewhere to write the greeting.

My very first (completed) scrapbook page

I'm very proud of this post! It's my first ever completed scrapbook style project I have ever made. It was one of the projects that I got to make at the Shoebox Swap event I attended, designed by the very talented Lesley Sharpe. She'd done so much hard work before the class for this project, with full instructions given, and lots of the stamping already done for us, to make sure we got it made in 30 minutes. We used the Artistic Etchings and Aviary stamp sets, with the First Edition Speciality DSP, and a colour combo of Crumb Cake and Real Red. I especially liked the distressed effect of this project, as it's something I don't do very often, but will be trying to incorporate the technique into more of my cards and projects. I also liked making the paper roses, and was shown a new way of making them using a quilling tool (not Stampin' Up!). They are just circles punched with the circle punches, and then cut into a spiral, and twisted round.

I decided to make this into a gift for my Mum and Step-Dad Ray, as it was their wedding anniversary a few weeks ago. I bought a 6" square box frame from The Range, so it could be displayed in their house. They were really pleased with it. I'm hoping to try a few more projects like this, they'd make a lovely present or gift for any occasion.

Next card class -Tuesday 25th September

This month we will be making another Wow card to impress your friends and family. As the nights are getting closer, and the temperature is dropping rapidly, we'll be making a Christmas card for your special friends and family.

Using the Apothocary Art stamp set and the Framelit dies I will show you how to make a diorama card. You'll be making two cards.

All equipment will be provided, and no experience is necessary. If you have your own craft kit, including scissors and glue, please feel free to bring them along.

The cost of this class will be £12, and as an extra special treat, you'll receive a pot of Stampin' Up! Shimmer Paint to take home with you (worth £4.95) so you'll be able to add a touch of glamour and sparkle to all your projects this Christmas. Early booking is essential if you'd like to take advantage of this offer

Shoe Box Swap - Goolish Googlies

This is the project that my Stampin' Up! mummy Julie Kettlewell made for the shoe box swap event a week or so back. The items are from the Goolish Goolies bundle, from the newly released Autumn/Winter Catalogue. This is a great value set, one of the new bundles, consisting of the Goolish Goolies Designer Kit, the Googlies (self adhesive-backed eyes) and the Googly Ghouls stamp set. You can save 15% by buying the bundle at just £18.50 for the wood set and £15.95 for the clear. Basic black card stock was scored with the Simply Scored board, and then the front cut with the Edgelit dies. Versamark ink was used to stamp the Boooo image, which was then covered with clear embossing powder, which was then heated with the heat tool. The orange and black paper is from Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP, which then had Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon tied around. A tag was used from the Goolies kit, which had two bats stamped and cut out placed on it, with the googly eyes. To finish it off, liquorice and mints were placed in a Cellophane bag, with ruffled ribbon tied at the top. Perfect for your halloween parties!