Christmas Craft Fair Makes

Wow, I really went a little overboard on making bits to sell at fairs this Christmas.  I had four stalls in the run up to Christmas, and by working all hours before the first one it certainly meant an easier ride along the way with the others as I had so much stock.  Of course I still thought of other things to make!!!  I had quite a bit left over, but it's made little stocking filler gifts easier, and the girls I work with also bought lots of bits and pieces too.

It's was all quite a labour of love and certainly not something you do to make lots of cash, but I enjoyed having my mum along to help me out, and it also meant I got to see lots of other crafty bits and get some Christmas presents for friends and family too.

So, here's lots of the things I made............

 Magnetic note pads / Stamped Candles / Pencil and Eraser sets / 

Magnetic Memo Board Pegs / Mini Post-it Keyrings

 Bottle Cap Magnet Packs

 Tree Chocolates - Elizabeth Shaw Mints (yummy.........)

 

Decorated Gift Boxes

 Reindeer Food - such a cute idea for kids - these were a really good seller.  Inside the test tube was muesli mixed with cake decorating glitter (safe for the birds)

 

 Some of the stash of Reindeer Food

 Snowman Poop bags and Reindeer Spare Red Noses

(otherwise known as white chocolate buttons, and strawberry fruit pieces)

 Magnetic Bookmarks

 Magnetic Notebooks

 Mini Post-it Note Key Rings

 This was the first stall we did.  I didn't take pictures of any of the others, though we found better ways to display everything as each one went along.............

 My dinky little helper - also know as Best Mum in the World!

 Variety of Owl Key Rings

 Post-it pad notebooks - I did 6 different designs of these

There were more bits that I made for the later fairs, but I simply didn't have time to photograph everything before packaging it up and putting it in boxes to take.

I will definitely be doing more fairs, but now I know that the prep time needs to be quadrupled if I want to get more than 5 hours sleep a night!!!!!!

Definitely too many products to mention, probably something for nearly every page in the catalogue!

I hope you liked seeing what I made :o)

Finally the last card from class!!!

Oh my, oh my.................  it's only 3 days left until Christmas and I have been such a bad blogger of late that I'm sure to be crossed off Santa's list!!!  I hope it doesn't work like that.........

I'm finally getting around to posting the final card from my Christmas Card Class at the end of November.  Since then there has also been a December class where we did thank-you cards, and I will try really hard to get those posted before the New year rolls around.

Unfortunately I'm working between Christmas and New Year, but I hope to have a play with loads of NEW Stampin' Up! goodies that have been arriving these past few weeks on my doorstep.  I;m sure it hasn't escaped anyone's attention that Stampin' Up! are for the first time ever releasing a SPRING MINI catalogue on 4th January!  There are lots of lovely things, and I hope to post a few sneak peeks for you over the next week.

However, on with today's card.................

A lovely Christmassy Santa Owl punch art card that was inspired by a card I saw on a sample board at Convention.  I'm not sure who's the card was, but I changed mine up a little.

The card base is Old Olive, with a night sky layer of Night of Navy.  I stamped some snowflakes in Whisper White from Serene Snowflakes stamp set.  The roofing is Basic Gray card, punched with the Scallop Border Punch and dauber with Whisper White ink.  The Chimney is a 1 1/4" Square of Textured Cajun Craze, lined up with another piece punched with the Word Window Punch.  Again these were daubed for a snowy effect.

My owl was punched from Chocolate Chip card.  I stamped the Santa Suit image from Tags til Christmas and punched it using the Owl Punch for the chest piece, and added eyes and a Santa hat.  The present is simply a piece of Daffodil Delight punched with the 1 1/4" Square and then tied with some Linen Thread.

I used this design for another card which I will show you before the year is out.  One of the girls at work asked me to make cards for her Grandsons.  One of them has never had anything with his name on as they can never find it.  I also had a very strange request for a Christmas card relating to peanuts!!!!  I worked with it and was really pleased with the results.............  Check back to see what on earth I am talking about!

Best Birthday Card Ever!!!!!

Hi everyone,

Just a really quick post today, of a card that wasn't made by me..............

It's my birthday and my other half presented me with my Birthday Card very excitedly..........  he'd raided my craft room, gone through all my piles and drawers of stamps, and made a card for me all himself. 

I was so touched by this, that he'd put such effort in, and the card itself doesn't look like it's a first attempt by someone, it looks great, so I really wanted to share it.

He used the Clearly For You background stamp in Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Elegant Eggplant and Daffodil Delight, with matching coloured butterflies that I had in a scraps box.

Definitely the best card ever, thank you honey xxxx

Card Class - Christmas Time Card 4

We are almost at the end of show and tell from my Christmas Card Class, I do hope you enjoyed seeing the cards we made.

The card today I love because of it's subtle look, but there are quite a few elements to it.

The card base is Cherry Cobbler, with a layer of Crumb Cake on top.  The Crumb Cake layer was stamped 3/4 way down with Serene Snowflakes in Versamark ink and covered in Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder.  This was heated creating a lovely bright, textured background.

There was a further layer of Cherry Cobbler card and Crumb Cake card.  The Crumb Cake layer was put through the Big Shot with the Perfect polka Dots Embossing Folder.

To top if off we added a 3D decoration.  The image from Contempo Christmas was stamped onto Very Vanilla three times in Cherry Cobbler ink, then all three punched out with the Ornament Punch.  They were folded in half and glued to form the 3D shape.  I bow made from 1/8" Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon was added above with a glue dot.

At the bottom we added a length of Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon and the sentiment from Contempo Christmas inked in Cherry Cobbler as well.

My friends have asked me to make them some of these cards to send to family, but they want a blue theme.  I 

will post a picture when I've finished them off.

I have one last card from this class to show you - it's very much Punch Art gone crazy.  It will be on my blog before the week is out :o)

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Cherry Cobbler / Very Vanilla / Crumb Cake

Stamps / Ink - Contempo Christmas / Cherry Cobbler / Serene Snowflakes

Embellishments - 1/8" Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon / 1/2" Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon / Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder

Tools - Ornament Punch / Perfect Polka Dot Embossing Folder / Big Shot / Heat Gun / Trimmer / Glue Dots

Card Class - Christmas Time Card 3

Hi everyone,

Round three on my Christmas Card Class makes, and this one uses a technique that I had heard about before, but saw it put into practise at Convention and knew I had to try it as soon as I got home!

It's called partial embossing!!!!!  It's really gives a card the WOW factor and is a technique I will be using again and again.

You basically run a piece of chip board through the Big Shot in the embossing folder you want the pattern of, in this case it was the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.  Then I cut out the shape I wanted.  The chip board was quite tough, so cutting was a little bit of hard work, but so worth it!  The I used a little two-way glue dabbed on the chipboard to stick it to the outside of the embossing folder, lining the pattern up.  I know pictures would help make more sense of this, but I hope you know what I mean.  When you put a piece of card inside the embossing folder and run it through the Big Shot, the image only transfers through where the chipboard is.

By using the two way glue you can remove the chipboard when you want to use the embossing folder in the usual way, or if you want to adhere a different chip board piece.

Here's a close-up:

So, for the rest of the card - I did this technique on Garden Green card and then punched twice with the Ornament Punch.  I used Sticky Strip to adhere the beautiful and fun Candy Cane Designer Fabric to the Real Red card base (with a piece of Whisper White behind the fabric so the red didn't show through), and then mounted the Garden Green punched / embossed card over the top with Dimensionals.  The sentiment is from Contempo Christmas, inked in Real Red on Whisper White, and then punched with the Modern Label Punch.  I also used this punch with Real Red card, which I then chopped in half and used to back the sentiment at each end.

I hope you will be giving this technique a try.  If my instructions didn't make sense, please do email me and I will try and help make it clearer.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Real Red / Whisper White / Garden Green / Candy Cane Designer Fabric

Stamps / Ink -Real Red / Contempo Christmas

Embellishments - None

Tools - Big Shot / Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder / Modern Label Punch / Ornament Punch / Trimmer / Dimensionals / Sticky Strip

Card Class - Christmas Time Card 2

This Origami Tree card was a massive hit at my Christmas Card Class last weekend!

It is a really simply technique, with such a gorgeous finished effect............  When I delivered orders to two of the ladies at class, they both told me they'd been making more of these, and one of the ladies had made 50 of them and had samples ready to show me!!!!  Fabulous...................

We used the Holly Berry Bouquet DSP for the origami Christmas tree.  You can pick any two pattern papers, they all work together beautifully.  I picked out the colours in the DSP to use for the card base and Top Note layer.

I will try and do a tutorial on how to fold the paper to make these trees over the next few days, so pop back and check it out :o)

The trees were formed, and then layered onto a piece of card cut with the Top Note Die and Big Shot.  The main card base was stamped with the Serene Snowflakes images with Versamark to give that subtle watermark effect.  Tricky to pick up in the photos sadly, but it is there.

The sentiment on these cards is from Petite Pairs, as these are pictures of cards I made for craft fairs.  At class we used the Merry Christmas sentiment from Contempo Christmas.

The card was topped off with a Rhinestone brad to act as a star on the top of the tree.  Here you can see a different DSP tree variation and card base colour combination.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Real Red / Chocolate Chip / Wild Wasabi / Holly Berry Bouquet DSP

Stamps / Ink - Serene Snowflakes / Versamark / Chocolate Chip / Contempo Christmas / Petite Pairs

Embellishments - Rhinestone Brads

Tools - Big Shot / Top Note Die / Sticky Strip / Trimmer / Mat Pack and Paper Piercing Tool

Card Class - Christmas Time Card 1

Hello,

This is the first of five posts to show you the cards we made during my recent Christmas Card Class.  

The class was mainly focused around the stamp sets Serene Snowflakes and Contempo Christmas, but also included a punch art card, plus a bit of heat embossing and Big Shot use.

I really enjoyed prepping for this class and made some of these cards myself to send to friends.

 

This first card uses the gorgeous glitter polka dot paper from the Holly Berry Bouquet DSP pack.  It's so shimmery and pretty, the camera really doesn't do it justice.  I layered this paper onto a Lucky Limeade card base, and added a panel of Real Red card that had the edges punched with the Scallop Border Punch, and some Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon tied round.

The tree image from Contempo Christmas was stamped on Lucky Limeade ink onto Whisper White and mounted onto Lucky Limeade card.  It was added to the main card with Dimensionals.

I added some Christmas bling with lots of lovely Rhinestones.

Here's a closer look:

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Lucky Limeade / Real Red / Holly Berry Bouquet DSP

Stamps / Ink - Contempo Christmas / Lucky Limeade

Embellishments - Basic Rhinestones / Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon

Tools - Scallop Border Punch / Trimmer / Dimensionals

Where I'll Be....

I will have a stall at the following events in the run up to Christmas

If you live nearby, why not pop in to say hi, see my crafty creations and find out more about Stampin' Up!  You can even do some Christmas shopping while your there!!!

Tilehurst Xmas Arts, Crafts & Gifts Fair

Friday 2nd December

7 - 10pm

Westwood Farm Community Centre, Downs Way, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire, RG31 6SL

Tilehurst Xmas Arts Crafts & Gifts Fair in aid of Action Medical Research UK.

Alton Christmas Cracker

Sunday 4th December

10am - 4pm

Alton Community Centre, Amery Street, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 1HN 

Christmas Fair at Alton Community Centre, Hampshire. 10.00am-4.00pm. Come along for lots of stalls selling gifts and products for the festive season, preserves, cakes, jewellery and lots more.

Santa's Postbox, River Wey Cafe open, free mulled wine, mince pies and Christmas cheer.

Free Entrance.

FestiviTea & Christmas Family Event

Sunday 11th December

1 - 4 pm

Popley Field Community Centre, Carpenters Down, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG24 9AE

Basingstoke Branch of the National Autistic Society will be spreading bit of sparkle with a FestiviTea & Family Fun Day, and we're inviting local stallholders to come along!!! As well as a selection of local craft stalls there will be a silent auction for last minute Christmas goodies, a bouncy castle, face painting, gingerbread tree biscuit decorating, craft activities, and Santa’s Grotto for the children. We will also be serving hot and cold refreshments and snacks, including mulled wine. There is plenty of free parking at the centre and admission to the event is free. Every penny raised will go towards supporting local children with Autism and their families.

Quick Christmas Cards

Well, another day, another Christmas themed post!!!!

It is pretty much December, so Christmas is upon us in a big way.

I have three more craft fairs to attend, details will be on my blog later today, and then I will be busy making my own Christmas cards to send and wrapping presents, and preparing for having everyone over to my place for Christmas Day.  It's the first time ever, so I'm very excited!!!!

Back to the cards today though!

This first one is a 4 inch square card, stamped with the tree image from Contempo Christmas.  I love this set so much and have had great fun using it these past few weeks.

I used markers to ink the image so that I could get the different colours together.  Christmas classics, Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler, along with a little Daffodil Delight for the star.

The DSP I have used to layer it are retired Jolly Holiday papers from last years catalogue.  I'm trying to use up all of my old stash.

I do think this would also look fab with the Holly Berry Bouquet DSP, and just change the colours for Real Red and Wild Wasabi, two of my favourites together :o)

This second card is one for the kids, with the fun little images from Every Little Bit.  This is a brilliant stamp set with 28 different images covering all sorts of themes.

I've picked out the Christmasy ones to use here.  All of them were inked with markers, again this allowed me to mix my colours which was especially useful with the penguin.  I didn't want any of that Basic Black getting into my Pumpkin Pie beak and feet!!!

I punch the images out with the 1 1/4" Square Punch and Layered them onto Scallop Punch pieces of Poppy Parade and Island Indigo. 

The middle image was popped up on Dimensionals.

The backing DSP is from the 11/12 In Color Paper Stack in Pool Party, as is the Scallop Oval for the sentiment.  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs, again a stamp set that covers all occasions.

I hope you like my offerings today.  I really had fun making two such different cards, and hopefully a few of them will sell at the weekend :o)

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Poppy Parade / Old Olive / Jolly Holiday DSP (retired) / Pool Party DSP (In Color Stack) / Island Indigo / Pool Party / Whisper White / Very Vanilla

Stamps / Ink - Contempo Christmas / Old Olive / Cherry Cobbler / Daffodil Delight / Poppy Parade / Basic Black / Pumpkin Pie / Island Indigo / Every Little Bit / Petite Pairs

Embellishments - None

Tools - Scallop Border Punch / 1 1/4" Square Punch / Scallop Square Punch / Scallop Oval Punch / Large Oval Punch / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Dimensionals

Craft Fair - Punch Art Fun

I'm sure that is has not escaped any ones attention that Christmas is fast approaching.  I have already made mention in a few posts that I have been making lots of items to sell at some craft fairs I am attending.  Well, this is where the show and tell really begins.  Over the next few weeks I will be sharing with you lots of lovely Christmas gift items that I have spent many a late night putting together.  

At this point I have done one Christmas fair, but it was on a remarkably hot November day, and attendance at the fair was not what the organisers had hoped.  Needless to say, I don't have to rush around making loads for the next fair in just over a weeks time as I have lots of stuff left.  

My theory is that since the next two are actually in December, then people will be more in the Christmas frame of mind........  The other two fairs are also on a slightly bigger scale, so my fingers are crossed for good turnouts.

Today I wanted to show you some punch art lolly pop bookmarks that I have made for children.  Although not a Stampin' Up! product, I have added wiggly eyes which I think makes them super cute :o)

Here is my little troupe of penguins.

The body is made with Basic Black card and the Extra Large Oval Punch, then with Whisper White and the Large Oval Punch I added a chest area.  The wings are made with the large Oval as well, and a 1" Circle Punch for the head.  The beak is a Pumpkin Pie heart punched from the Owl Builder Punch and the feet come from that punch also.

Next up are my Santa's..........  Punches can be used for so many things, it's just a case of a little imagination!

Santa's hat is 1 1/4 Square Punch of Real Red cut in half and trimmed with a Whisper White piece of card punched with the Word Window Punch.  The Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack was used for the hat bobble and also the beard pieces.

The face is a 1 3/8" Circle of Pink Pirouette and the nose a smaller circle again using the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.

I have a few other punch art items to share with you, so check back over the coming days, or sign up to follow me or for email alerts.

Happy Crafting

Julie xxx

Christmas Card Class and Craft Fair Makes

Hello everyone - I want to share a couple of the cards from my recent Christmas class.

Everyone made 10 cards and 10 gift tags, but in my haste at preparing for convention I didn't take pictures of everything!  I seem to be doing this a lot lately............

However, a couple of the cards I made extras to sell at a craft fair I am doing, as well as making up 20 packs of gift tags, so these items I can share with you, though you will have to excuse the cello wrapper which doesn't make for the best picture ever!

All of the cards used the Welcome Christmas stamp set and the Tags til Christmas made the gift tags a really quick make.

This first card has the effect of looking into a house where the family are decorating a tree.  It is not an original idea by me, but I have seen lots of variation on the Internet and this is just my take on it.

The main image was stamped onto Very Vanilla card, then the wreath image was added along the top before the card was cut into four pieces.  These were mounted onto Early Espresso, and the other layer is Crumb Cake and then Always Artichoke for the card base.

The sentiment was stamped in Cherry Cobbler and then cut by hand, a little fiddly but not too time consuming.  It really makes you appreciate the ease of using punches when you have to cut something like this by hand though :o)

The bow at the top was made using Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon.

This second card is made with a Crumb Cake base and the sledging image from Welcome Christmas stamped in Crumb Cake ink at the bottom corner.  The Cherry Cobbler layer has been distressed using the Cutter Tool, and the Old Olive piece of card has been through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.  Again the sentiment was stamped and hand cut, then added to the card with Dimensionals.

The Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon was wrapped into a bow shape and then the prongs of the brad were opened out and the ribbon pushed inside.  Closing the prongs and popping it through the Old Olive card layer then secures the bow.  The brad I used comes from the pack of Antique Brads (20 brads, 4 each of 5 designs for £5.50) which are gorgeous and a real bargain price.

 

 These are the lovely tags we made in class, 2 of each.  We made full use of the punches for these, which is exactly how the stamp set, Tags til Christmas, is designed.  However, if you don't have any punches you can very easily use a trimmer and mount them on square and rectangle pieces of card just as easily with the same fabulous results.

 

The punches used include the Decorative Label Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Large and Extra Large Tag Punches, plus the Two tags Big Shot Die.

Here are all of the sets of five tags laid out for me to bag up for the craft fair.

And here they are all bagged up.  I used retired Jolly Holiday DSP and the Top Note Die with the Big Shot to create a bag topper.  Then I added a label using the Just Perfect Alphabet stamp set and Oval Punch.

I hope this has given you some inspiration for your Christmas wrapping, and I hope those attending the up-coming craft fairs I'm attending like my cards and tags too.

Happy Crafting

Julie xxx

Blue Angels Team Training

A few weeks ago a group of Blue Angels got together for a team training event hosted by the lovely Cate.  As usual at these events we all did swaps.

As I had been busily preparing for a craft fair and card class I was a bit limited on time to get swaps done, so I put these gift tags together in about 30 minutes!!!!  Christmas crafting doesn't have to take a long time!

These are the nine that I made all together.  I simply used the Large Tag Punch with the beautiful Holly Berry Bouquet DSP, then stuck this down onto Real Red card punched with the Extra Larger Tag Punch.  I stuck this to a piece of Wild Wasabi (my favourite colour of choice right now) and I trimmed around the edges to form an even larger tag.  I left a little more room at the bottom for the sentiment which comes from the ever so versatile Pennant Parade stamp set.  This was inked in Chocolate Chip.

I punched a hole using my Crop-o-dile and threaded through some 1/8" Real Red Taffeta ribbon to finish them off.

Here's a closer look:

I think I will be making some more of these to add to my Christmas gifts this year as I just think they are adorable.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Wild Wasabi / Real Red / Holly Berry Bouquet DSP

Stamps / Ink - Pennant Parade / Chocolate Chip

Embellishments - Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon

Tools - Crop-o-dile / Large Tag and Extra-Large Tag Punches / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist

CONVENTION - the best trip ever................

Oh my, oh my, oh my, how excited was I last week as I was packing and preparing my swaps to attend my first ever Stampin' Up! Convention - and it was in Disneyland Paris...................  Stampin' Up! and Disney - my two most favourite things!!!!!

Well it was a whirlwind trip, manic, fun, exciting, lots of learning, loads of new things coming from Stampin' Up! over the next few months - plus I spent time with my team members, saw other familiar faces and met lots of lovely demos I'd not met before........... 

For anyone who doesn't know much about Stampin' Up! or is new to my blog - basically Stampin' Up! hold a European Convention each November.  Last year it was in the UK, this year in France, and next year it is in Germany.  We were lucky enough to find out about the lovely stamp sets and DSP that are going to form the SALE-A-BRATION promotion from 24th January - 31 March 2012, and equally as exciting, we also found out that we will be getting a SPRING MINI CATALOGUE in the UK for the first time ever..................

Now it's forbidden for us to show the stamp sets, or any of the promotional literature prior to the launch of these two exciting things, but we are allowed to show completed projects made using all of the new goodies.  I was very lucky and was a winner on a prize patrol and got to come home with a brand new punch and a la carte stamp, so as soon as I have put these into action I will show you my creations........

For now though, here are a few of the projects that were on the display boards:

and also some of my favourite swaps that I was so lucky to receive:

Gold Embossed Christmas card by Liz Archer

Thank You card by Jo Dumbleton

Friend card by Julie Kettlewell

Birthday Wishes card by Kerry Timms

Bottlecap Magnets x 3 by Sarah-Jane Rae

Bottlecap Brooch by Val Moody

Christmas Bird card by Emily Thompson

Flower Notebook by Evelyn Calder

I will be getting back on the posting trail and updating you with more pictures over the coming weeks, plus I have loads of class projects to share with you.............  

Until tomorrow - xxxx

New Product Card Class - Pennant Parade Christmas

Hello everyone,

This is the final card from the card class I ran in October.

It uses the ever so fabulous Pennant Parade stamp set and co-ordinating Pennant Builder Punch!

This layout is based on a card I saw at a recent training session on an Inspiration Station by Hayley Gillie.  

I have used the Just Add Cake DSP as the backing layer on this card, and from that I got the colour combination of Wild Wasabi and Poppy Parade.

The card base is Wild Wasabi and I have also used this for the tree.  I stamped the Christmas Tree Pennant image in Wild Wasabi onto Wild Wasabi card and then punched them out with the Pennant Builder Punch.  I did three and then folded them all in half and glued then to one another to make a 3D tree.  This add something extra to the card but is still practical as it folds flat to put in the envelope to post.

The pot the tree sits in and the star on top, plus the Merry sentiment and sun burst stamped image all come from the same stamp set.  It has so many bit to it for so many different occasions.

The left side of the card is edged with Poppy Parade card punched with the Lace Ribbon Border Punch.  I'm loving this punch so much...........

Here's a side view so you can see the dimension of the card.

If you have enjoyed seeing the cards from my last class and would like to join in with an upcoming class, then check out the details HERE.  In November I am running two classes, both Christmas themed!

If you would like any further details then please contact me - 07786266722 or craftybugjules@yahoo.co.uk

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Wild Wasabi / Poppy Parade / Whisper White / Just Add Cake DSP

Stamps / Ink - Pennant Parade / Poppy Parade / Early Espresso / Wild Wasabi / So Saffron

Embellishments - None

Tools - Lace Ribbon Border Punch / 1" Circle Punch / 1 1/4" Circle Punch / Itty Bitty Punch Pack / Bone Folder / Pennant Builder Punch / Dimensionals / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist