Cupcake Class

Back in January when the Spring Mini Catalogue first launched, I couldn’t wait to get started with the simply yummy Create a Cupcake stamp set and co-ordinating Cupcake Builder Punch………  So that’s what my first class of the year was based around – 5 cards showcasing all of the things you could do with that stamp set and punch…….  and there’s a lot!

I can’t believe I haven’t posted about these long before now, especially as all Spring Mini products are only around until 30th April……….  after this time you cannot order them, unless of course they make a re-appearance in the main Ideas Book and Catalogue 12/13 when it launches in October.  That’s a long time to wait, so don’t delay in getting your hands on this lovely duo :o)

As I’ve been such a bad blogger of late I am going to try and make up for it by posting all five cards we made in one hit! 

So first we have a cute little basket of flowers.  This is a 4” x 4” card base with a layer of DSP.  One of the cupcake wrapper images has been stamped in Marina Mist, then punched out for our basket.  The flowers were stamped and hand cut, and I used a Mini Glue Dot to adhere each button over the top.  Notice the little leaves still poke out from behind.  I used the sprinkles image to stamp around the edge of the Rose Red layer, which has been double punched with the 2 3/8” Scallop Circle Punch.  The simple sentiment has been inked in Rose Red and punch out with the Word Window Punch.

Next up we have three lovely handbags!  Each of the handbags is made from an upturned cupcake wrapper.  I stamped the wrapper image in Melon Mambo and Elegant Eggplant onto the same coloured card stock before punching.  The handbag flap is made from the Small Oval Punch and the handles from the Medium Oval Punch, with a Mini Brad for the fastening.  The handbags have been mounted onto a piece of card punched with the Scallop Square.  I finished the card of with a strip of Elegant Eggplant Dotted Scalloped Ribbon and the sentiment stamped in Melon Mambo ink directly onto the Crumb Cake card base.

The ballon card is one of my favourites and would make a great boys card!  I used a scrap piece of card and punched a cupcake topping, then used this as a mask for the clouds which I daubed into the Whisper White Top Note piece with Pool Party ink.  The basket of the balloon is a cupcake wrapper punched out of Soft Suede card and then run through the Big Shot in the Lattice Square Embossing Folder.  The balloon is 3-dimensional and made from 5 punched 1 3/8” Circles – 2 x Daffodil Delight / 3 x Real Red.  I linked the two up with Linen Thread and stamped the Happy Birthday in Real Red ink. 

I love the colour combination for the ice-cream card :o)  Pool Party / Island Indigo and Pretty In Pink, with a splash of Chocolate Chip thrown in.  The cone was punched using the Pennant Punch, though you could easily cut a triangle for the cone.  This was embossed like the balloon basket, then I sponge daubed over the edge to give it a more life like quality.  The ice-cream scoops are actually cupcake toppings!  The two 2 3/8” Scallop Circles help the highlight the ice-cream, and I’ve mounted it all onto a piece of Pretty in Pink that’s been embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.  Add some Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon, tie a bow, and pop in an In Colour Printed Designer Brad and your done!

Finally we have my favourite card – Cupcakes as Cupcakes, looking very yummy and ready to be eaten!  The base is Crumb Cake, with some scrumptious So Saffron Designer Paper layered on top.  The windows were made from a piece of Soft Suede card topped with 4 Blue Bashful squares punched with the 1 1/4” Square Punch.  A little lazy as they’d be easy to cut, but if you have the tools you may as well use them!  The awning was made with a strip of Regal Rose card, scored twice and folded, then I used the Scallop Border Punch along one edge.  I did the same with the table piece, which was a Regal Rose piece punched with 2 3/8” Scallop Circle Punch.  Then I had fun with the cupcakes, using different wrapper stamps and colours, adding multi coloured sprinkles, a cherry and some of the tiny Basic Pearls.

I really love how versatile this stamp set and punch are.  The sentiments are cute and I love the actual font, it’s delicate and refined.

I you have been pondering on getting these items, then I hope seeing these cards might have helped you realise you NEED them!  I sincerely hope they make it into the Main Catalogue in October.

Have a fabulous Saturday

Julie x

Baby Shower with Button Buddies

Oh my, oh my - has it really been nearly three weeks since my last post????  I'm not quite sure where the days have gone to..............

I have had card classes, workshops, and even done a craft session for a local youth centre, so my time has been taken up with prep work along with doing the Mon to Fri 9-5...............

I intend to remedy the situation now as I am posting all of recent creations for you to peruse over the coming days.  I hope you enjoy them xxxx

This is a card I made for my friends Jenny and Richard.  They are expecting their first baby, a little girl, in November, and this past Saturday was the baby shower.  Now I have been to a few baby showers before, but this one really was the best fun.  Jenny's friend Kelly had arranged it all, providing afternoon tea with scones, clotted cream and jam, plus biscuits, cakes and drinks..........  Plus she's arranged for lots of games, a pass the parcel, nursery rhyme quiz and one where you had to feel all these items in a bag and try and guess what they all were.  It was fab!!!!

Anyhow, I made a card for Jenny using the new Button Buddies stamp set, and jumped at the chance to use the "For Your Shower" stamp from Teeny Tiny Wishes!!!!

The base is Rose Red, with a layer of Whisper White that had been run through the Big Shot with the Lattice Square Embossing Folder. 
The circle layers were cut from the Circles # 2 Die and also the 1 3/4" Circle Punch.  The rattle images was inked in Rose Red and topped off with a Pretty in Pink Designer Button to add some contrast.
The sentiment was punched with the Word Window punch and the layer of Rose Red with the Modern Label punch.  I added some of the gorgeous Mini Brads to either end and popped it onto the card with Dimensionals.

I love the Button Buddies set, it really is fab for some quick card makes.  I have used it for some cards in my recent class, so watch out for those on my blog in the next few days.

The Details:
Card / Paper - Rose Red / Whisper White
Stamps / Ink - Button Buddies / Teeny Tiny Wishes / Rose Red Ink
Embellishments - Mini Brads / Designer Button
Tools - Big Shot / Circles # 2 Die / Square Lattice Embossing Folder / Word Window Punch / Modern Label Punch / Dimensionals

Launch Party Make and Take 1

My goodness the weekend went by so fast!

Gorgeous sunshine, my other half returned home from a business trip and I'd missed him loads, lots of lovely ladies came for my open house catty launch event, I spent time with my mum, plus a pub lunch with my best mate...........  A brilliant weekend!

I had organised two make and take projects for my catty launch event.  Today I'm showing you the first one.

I went with a Christmas theme, which seemed silly on the day given the 28 degree heat outside!

I used one of the gorgeous new In Colours - Lucky Limeade, along with Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cobbler.  A perfect combo for Christmas cards.

The Cherry Cobbler layer was embossed using the Lattice Square Embossing Folder and Big Shot.  It gives a lovely quilted effect.  The ribbon on the side is the wonderful new 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon in Chocolate Chip.  I used the new Pennant Parade stamp set and Petite Pennants Builder Punch.  This is a fabulous stamp set with lots of sentiments that fit inside the pennant shapes, there's one that looks like a waffle cone for ice-cream, this little tree and then a plain and scallop pennant for bunting.........  So many ideas going round in my head!

I stamped the tree in Lucky Limeade and the pot image in Cherry Cobbler and Chocolate Chip.  I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line them up nicely and then punched them out with the Large Oval Punch.  I added a second tree image on top with Dimensionals.

The sentiment is from Curly Cute stamp set inked in Lucky Limeade again.

This card is nice and simple, and would be great to make in batches for Christmas time.

I will show you the other make and take project later in the week, so check back for that, or sign up for email alerts or follow me for updates :o)

Have a good Monday!

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Lucky Limeade / Chocolate Chip / Cherry Cobbler / Whisper White

Stamps / Ink - Pennant Parade / Curly Cute / Cherry Cobbler Marker / Chocolate Chip Marker / Lucky Limeade

Embellishments - 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon

Tools - Big Shot / Square Lattice Embossing Folder / Dimensionals / Sticky Strip / Tombow / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Stamp-a-ma-jig / Petite Pennants Builder Punch / Extra Large Oval Punch / Paper Snips

August Card Class - Beautiful Butterflies

This is the third card from my August class and it uses the Big Shot for a lot of the elements.

The base is Garden Green, with a layer of Pear Pizzazz which was daubed around the edges and stamped with the script from French Foliage.

The next layer started out as Whisper White, but has been torn and distessed with daubing and stamping in Pear Pizzazz ink.  Again the French Foliage stamp set was used.  The script and water spotches look really good together with the odd postmark image stamped as well.

The butterflies were cut using the Beautiful Butterflies Die and the Big Shot.  The largest in Pear Pizzazz was then embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, and the smaller Vellum butterfly was embossed with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

Just add some Basic Rhinestones and a length of Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon and your done!

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Garden Green / Pear Pizzazz / Whisper White / Vellum

Stamps / Ink - French Foliage / Pear Pizzazz

Embellishments - Basic Rhinestones / Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon

Tools - Big Shot / Beautiful Butterflies Die / Square Lattice and Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folders / Sponge Dauber / Dimensionals / Sticky Strip / Tombow / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist

It's been a while!

Hello Everyone - so sorry for the lack of posts of late, but life has been a little hectic.

A mixture of being snowed under at work, helping with my dad's hospital appointments and spending time with my parents, prepping for workshops and just general stuff, I've simple had no time to sit and craft and have creations to post on my blog.

I am very, very excited as I have a workshop tomorrow evening.  And the ladies are all in for a treat as I have two make and take projects for them :o)  I really hope they enjoy it.  I will post the projects we make later this week.

For now I have a quick card I rustled up earlier on.

I have seen lots of people showcasing the embedded embossing technique so thought I'd give it a go myself.  It's really simple.  I punched some pieces of Greenhouse Gala DSP with the 1" Circle Punch and mounted them onto Daffodil Delight and Baja Breeze 1 1/4" punched circles.  I glued them onto my Pear Pizzazz card base and then ran this through my Big Shot - oh yes, I now have a Big Shot - whooo hoooo - thank you my lovely mum :o) with the Lattice Square Embossing Folder.  It really creates a lovely effect and looks like the circles are part of the card base.  I stamped an image from Ornate Flowers in Baja Breeze onto Whisper White card and mounted this with Dimensionals onto a Pumpkin Pie Scalloped Circle which was then glued centrally onto the card front.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Pear Pizzazz / Daffodil Delight / Pumpkin Pie / Whisper White / Baja Breeze / Greenhouse Gala DSP

Stamps / Ink -  Ornate Flowers / Baja Breeze

Embellishments - None

Tools - Lattice Square Embossing Folder / 1" and 1 1/4" Circle Punches / Scallop Circle Punch / Dimensionals / 2-Way Glue / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Trimmer

Stamping 411 - Sketch

When I saw this weeks Stamping 411 Sketch I couldn't wait to get started.

Straight away I knew I wanted to work with my Embossing Folders and I included three different ones on the card I made.

The first section (top left) was a piece of Lap of Luxury DSP that I ran through the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.  The second section (top right) was Very Vanilla card that I ran through the Lattice Square Embossing Folder.  I used my brayer first to ink the raised cross pattern on the embossing folder in Concord Crush ink.  I love this effect, though I did end up with inky fingers!

The bottom section was Very Vanilla card run through the Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder and then I used a sponge dauber with Concord Crush ink the highlight the raised image.

I finally finished it all off my stamping the friends image from Cute by the Inch (Level 2 Hostess) in Concord Crush, punching it out with 1 1/4" Square Punch and mounting it on a piece of Pretty in Pink punched with the 1 1/2" Scallop Square.Everything was mounted onto a Pretty in Pink card base, the sentiment was added with Dimensionals.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Pretty in Pink / Very Vanilla

Stamps / Ink - Cute by the Inch (Level 2 Hostess) / Concord Crush

Embellishments - None

Tools - Lattice Square, Perfect Polka Dot, Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folders / 1 1/4" Square Punch / 1 1/2" Scallop Square Punch / Sponge Dauber / 2-Way Glue / Dimensionals / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist

Happy Fathers Day!

I have been waiting to post these cards on my blog for three weeks.

Now it's Father's Day I can put them up as the originals have all been received!

The first card I made for my brother, his girlfriend and my gorgeous nephew to give to my lovely dad.

He's got a big fish pond in the garden and loves his fish, so having seen the Build a Blossom stamp set used to make various fishy cards on the Internet, I thought I'd have a go too.

I used the Just Believe stamp set to get the foliage, and the sentiment is from Something to Celebrate (Level 2 Hostess) - much used by me!!!!

The second card is for my brother (his first Fathers Day!) from my lovely 5 month old nephew Ethan.

I wanted to go with something simple and quite child like, so CASE'd a design I'd seen on the Internet some times ago - really sorry, but can't remember who's design it was........

I used various punches to put together a little sailing boat, added in some little hearts cut from DSP and the sentiment is again from Something to Celebrate.

I really hope everyone likes the Fathers Day cards I made.  I certainly enjoyed making them all.  It was quite a challenge making so many and trying to make them all different, especially as boys cards are something I find pretty tough.  

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Sahara Sand / Pear Pizzazz Smooth and DSP / Peach Parfait / Whisper White / So Saffron Smooth and DSP / Bashful Blue

Stamps / Ink - Build a Blossom / Something to Celebrate (Level 2 Hostess) / Just Believe / Pear Pizzazz / Peach Parfait / So Saffron / Certainly Celery

Embellishments -  Bitty Button / Basic Rhinestones / 1/2" Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon

Tools - Lattice Square Embossing Folder / 1 1/2" Scallop Square Punch / 1 3/8" Circle Punch / Small Heart Punch / 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval Punch / Scallop Oval Punch / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Snail / Sticky Strip / Dimensionals

ILWS - Swaps Galore!

I did my first swaps a few weeks ago when I went to Team Training, and I think it is a fabulous way to get new ideas and inspiration, and also to see how stamp sets I may not own can be used.

In Love With Stamping (ILWS) is a forum site for card crafts, mostly Stampin' Up! related, but not always.

Well a lovely lady started a thread to see if anyone was interested in doing a swap of cards from your favourite stamp set, so I grabbed the opportunity and signed up.  I went with Fox and Friends, it a one of my favourites and I always think it works brilliantly with the Brights colour family.

We had to make 10 full cards not just the card fronts, send them to the lovely Linda, who grabs one of each and posts 10 different ones back to everyone.  Simple!

Here's the cards I made - all lined up!

I picked out five of the animals in the set and five of the Brights colour family.
The base card for all of them is Textured Crumb Cake and I also added some 1/4" Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon to each of them.


Here's one close up.

I love the look you get with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

I'll post a picture of the swaps I get back, hopefully in the next week or so :o)

Please let me know what you think by popping a comment at the bottom of this post.  It's lovely to read everyones comments.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Brights DSP / Crumb Cake Textured / Whisper White / Tempting Turquoise / Rich Razzleberry / Daffodil Delight / Old Olive / Pumpkin Pie

Stamps / Ink - Fox and Friends / Something to Celebrate (Level 2 Hostess) / Tempting Turquoise / Rich Razzleberry / Daffodil Delight / Old Olive / Pumpkin Pie

Embellishments - 1/4" Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon

Tools - 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval Punch / Scallop Oval Punch / Sticky Strip / Dimensionals / Snail / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Trimmer / Square Lattice Embossing Folder

My Favourite Stamp Set - today anyway!

Hi there,

It seems at the moment that I keep on going back to the Clearly For You stamp set, and today is no exception!

I think it works really well with the Four Frames and co-ordinating Decorative Label Punch.

Of course, everything Stampin' Up! co-ordinates.............  

This is a card I've made for some friends for their anniversary, but I'm also linking it in for the Stamping 411 sketch challenge this week.

I picked out some of the colours in the Botanical Gazette DSP, so used So Saffron as the card base, and this lovely bird from the DSP seemed to work well with the birds in the Clearly For You stamp set.  I ran it through the Lattice Square Embossing Folder.  Textured Marina Mist card forms the top section, with some lovely Early Espresso ribbon, and then one of the Four Frames inked in So Saffron, with Early Espresso birds and sentiment.  I used a marker pen to ink the birds as I only wanted two of the three on the card.  Markers make this sort of selective stamping so easy.

The frame is popped onto the card using Dimensionals, and for some added embellishment I added some Basic Pearls.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - So Saffron / Marina Mist / Very Vanilla / Early Espresso / Botanical Gazette

Stamps / Ink -Clearly For You / Four Frames / So Saffron / Early Espresso

Embellishments - 1/4" Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon / Basic Pearls

Tools - Decorative Label Punch / Square Lattice Embossing Folder / Snail / Dimensionals / Trimmer / Stamp-a-ma-jig / Stampin Scrub and Mist

The Never Ending Card!

Hi,

Finally it's the weekend!  I have been waiting all week to try out this card, but wanted to wait until I had some time and wouldn't rush it!  I have to admit, it did take me a long time to do, but it is my first attempt :o)

It would make a good card for a special person or occasion.  I got the instructions from a video by Dawn Griffith.

The Never Ending Card is a card created of four pieces, they are scored and folded before being stuck together in such a way that you can fold the card back on itself over and over and over........  you get the idea!

My other half was not convinced it would work, so was suitable impressed when I made a mock up with paper.  This helped me get the dimensions for the bits I added to decorate the card and I could scribble and put measurements all over the mock up.

So here it is - four photos to show you each of the views when folding the card back on itself:

Seeing as I used the Botanical Gazette DSP for this card, it features lots of birds, plus the ones on the last fold from Clearly For You stamp set.  For that reason I decided to link my card for the Stampin' Royalty challenge this week, which is all about Birds!

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Early Espresso / Cherry Cobbler / Very Vanilla / Not Quite Navy / Botanical Gazette DSP

Stamps / Ink - Something to Celebrate (Level 2 hostess) / Clearly For You / Not Quite Navy / Cherry Cobbler / Old Olive

Embellishments - None

Tools - / Square Lattice Embossing Folder / 1 3/8" Circle Punch / 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch / 1" Circle Punch / Circle Punch from Itty Bitty Shapes

One Card - Two Challenges!!!

Hi there,

I've been perusing some other peoples blogs the last few days and a couple of people in the Stampin Stars team had made cards for the Daring Cardmakers Challenge this week called The Darling BUGS of May!.  This is a challenge site I've not come across before, but seeing their lovely creations inspired me to have a go and join in the fun.

It also turns out that today is the day for another SU Only Challenge called May Flowers Are Here!, so I thought I would combine the two challenges in the one card.

What do you think of my little Lady Bug???

This card was made using pretty much just punches, with the Build a Blossom stamp set thrown in for good measure!  The Lady Bug is various circles punched out of Basic Black card, with the wings punched out of the Scalloped Circle punch in Real Red.  I used the Owl Punch to get the tiny Daffodil Delight and Basic Black dots, and the Real Red hearts too.  The centre of the flower is a Scalloped Circle in Basic Black cut down a little, and the petals were punched using the Blossom Petal punch. 

Once I'd figured out the basic format for the lady bug, it was a pretty quick card make.  I think the hardest part was getting all of the little dots stuck to the flower and the wings :o)

Right, off to pop my card onto the challenge sites and look at everyone else's wonderful creations.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Real Red / Basic Black textured and smooth / Daffodil Delight / Pear Pizzazz DSP

Stamps / Ink - Build a Blossom stamp set / Daffodil Delight ink

Embellishments - Brad

Tools - Owl Punch / Blossom Petals Punch / 1" Circle Punch / 1 3/8" Circle Punch / 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch / Lattice Square Embossing Folder / Paper Piercing Tool / Snail / Sticky Strip / Dimensionals / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist

My Weekly Mojo Monday Fix!

It's that time again, the start of the week and a new Mojo Monday Sketch 

I really wasn't sure where to go with this one.  I knew the stamp set I wanted to use, and the colours, but something just didn't seem right with what I was doing.  After sitting and pondering for quite some time, I decided to try turning the sketch sideways instead.  Suddenly it all became clear and I was done in 10 minutes!  Yes, cards can be that quick when you have products that co-ordinate perfectly together.  The beauty of Stampin' Up!

So here's my card :o)

I used the Butterfly Prints stamp set and co-ordinating Butterfly Punch, layered on some punched circles of DSP and card, then the scalloped circle.  The backing DSP is from the In Colour pack which you can get as a Level 1 Hostess Gift when you host a party and sales reach £150.  Lots of lovely papers in the fab In Colours.

I ran the paper through the Lattice Square Embossing Folder to give it some texture, and lastly added the sentiment, some Basic Pearls and some 1/2" Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon.

If you are thinking it might be fun to have a go at making your own cards, or if you already make cards and just want to see these lovely products, then please email craftybugjules@yahoo.co.uk for a catalogue or details on hosting a party or attending one at my house.

The Details: 

Card / Paper - Pretty In Pink card / Early Espresso card / Pear Pizzazz card and DSP

Stamps / Ink - Butterfly Prints / Pear Pizzazz / Early Espresso

Embellishments - Basic Pearls / 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon Pear Pizzazz

Tools - Square Lattice Embossing Folder / Butterfly Punch / 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch / 1 3/8" Circle Punch / 1 1/4" Circle Punch / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Trimmer / Dimensionals / Snail / Sticky Strip

Sail Away.......

Hello.......

How nice has the weather been?  Maybe not everywhere, but my back garden has been so sunny.  I'm sure the water is still chilly, but being at the beach these past few days would have been lovely I'm sure.

With that thought in mind, late this afternoon I decided to pick up my new Sail Away stamp.  This is in the mini catalogue right now and is an "a la carte" stamp, great value, and really good for male cards.  Always something I struggle with a bit.

So I was in the bathroom earlier on, stay with me as this is leading somewhere, and I happened to notice the box of tissues and it made me wonder if I could stamp on tissue.  I'd been thinking of using this stamp with vellum, but I don't have any, so thought I'd give the tissue a go.

Let me know what you think.......  personally I think it turned out pretty good.

I used two way glue pen to adhere it to the marina mist card which I had embossed with the lattice squares embossing folder.  It really helps to just add something a little extra to the card.

I do feel something is lacking in the top right corner though, so will be adding a couple of perfect plum brads, but they won't be here until my order arrives on Wednesday.

Hope you like it xxx

The Details:

Card / Paper - Tissue (any brand will do!) / Marina Mist / Perfect Plum

Stamps / Ink - Sail Away / Concord Crush (In Colour)

Embellishments - Perfect Plum Brads (to be added)

Tools - Trimmer / Lattice Square Embossing Folder / / Snail / 2-Way Glue Pen / Stampin Scrub & Mist