Birdy birthday

Just a quick card for you today.  

The base is Crumbcake and I have combined Tempting turquoise card stock (punched along the edge with the Scallop Trim border punch) and some of the Brights DSP (Old Olive patterned piece). 

The image is from the Easy Events set coloured with blender pens using markers.  This particular image would suit any card really, but here I've teamed it up with a Happy Birthday sentiment (retired) inked in Old Olive.  Finally 3 brads.

I'm back tomorrow night so if you want to make an order contact me and I will respond on my return.

Anniversary

Yesterday I shared with you the card I made for my parents Wedding Anniversary.  Today I have a card using non Stampin' Up! products (peel offs) which my mum asked me to make for... yes you guess it, my dad!

I've tried to keep the colours fairly masculine, using Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black and Crumbcake.  The Polka Dots and Square Lattice embossing folders (the latter is fast becoming my favourite) feature here and I have used a blender pen with the Rich Razzleberry marker pen to colour the image panel. 

Happy anniversary Mum & Dad

It's my Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary today... so Happy Anniversary to you both!  They have been married for almost 40 years, which I personally think is amazing, I only hope I end up like my parents one day; minus my dad's snoring ;)!

Here is the card that I made them using Wisteria Wonder for the base.  I have folded this to create a aperture front card and then cut a heart shape out of the middle panel before folding the end panels inside.  I ran a piece of Whisper White through an embossing folder (Not Stampin' Up!) and  placed this inside the heart shape and then added the birds from the Easy Events stampset, cut out and mounted on a branch punched with the 2 step bird punch.

 

I've used the flower image from the same stampset in the right hand corner above a strips of Whisper White punched with the Eyelet Border punch.  The seam binding ribbon is Pear Pizzaz and the sentiment is retired, but this colour combination and different use for the stampset works quite well.

I love seeing alternative ideas for using stampsets other than 'just as they come'.  Please do contact me with your ideas for this stampset that involves a little more than just inking and stamping :)?

Craft stash (including sneak preview)

As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I tend to focus on using these products in my projects, but sometimes when there just isn't the right sort of stamp for a particular occasion I tend to resort to peel offs or images from the web which are not Stampin' Up! items.

I think every crafter has a stash of goodies that they just can't be without and mine is peel offs and diamantes!  So here is a rugby themed card which demonstrates just how well Stampin' Up! products work with other items :).

The colours used are Marina Mist, Basic Black and Whisper White.  I have used teh Stripes embossing folder with my Big Shot machine to create the Marina Mist panel and you will note that the Basic Black strip has also been embossed with the Square Lattice embossing folder.

And now for the sneak preview.... The sentiment has been mounted on a stack of the 3 colours, punched with the new Postage Stamp punch which will feature in the new Spring Mini catalogue which is released on 4th January.  This punch co-ordinates with one of the new stampsets and is ideal for tags and sentiments... watch this space for more ideas using products from the new catalogue.

Yummy cupcakes

Today I have another couple of cards to share with you that were created using the Crazy for cupcakes stampset.  Both use the same colour theme, Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise which I am really liking.  The card bases are Whisper White and the images have been stamped in Chocolate Chip and then coloured with blender pens using Stampin' Write marker pens from the subtles colour collection.

For the cupcake tower I have added some red diamantes (not Stampin' Up!) and for the large cupcake I have added some beads where the sprinkles should be...

Both cards incorporate embossed backgrounds created by running a piece of Melon Mambo through the Perfect Polka Dots and Square Lattice embossing folders.

For the final touches the first card has the sentiment split between 2 Word Window punched shapes and the second has the candle inked separately onto Melon Mambo.

I absolutely adore this stampset as you can see.  I can't wait for the new mini catalogue to be released on 4th January which includes another Cupcake themed stampset 'Create a Cupcake' and matching punch. 

If you want to come along and check out the new mini on release day I'm having a launch party between 7.30 - 9.30pm so why not book to come along and have a look at the catalogue and some of the new products.  It's a FREE event and you will get 10% off any orders placed on the night... check out my events page for more or contact me to book.

Launch dates and events

With Christmas now over and the sales starting, Stampin' Up! have their own great events coming soon!

There is a Spring Mini catalogue being launched on 4th January which has some lovely new products in it including new papers, fabrics and charms.

On 24th January Stampin' Up! will be running their Sale-A-Bration event.  For those of you who haven't experienced Sale-A-Bration before it's a fantastic time when four exclusive stamp sets will be available (this year there is also a patterned paper pack too) and you can choose ONE with EVERY £45 order.

As a hostess you get an extra FREE set/paper if your host a party that reaches £300 in sales on top of the the normal hostess benefits. So it's a great time to book one... check out my home parties page for more details or contact me to book.

So, with a new mini catalogue on the 4th January and Sale-a-Bration starting on 24th January there is lots to look forward to.  Check out my events page for the launch parties that I will be having on 4th January and 4th February.  Why not book to attend these FREE events and come along and look at some of the new products and find out what it's all about.

Contact me to book your place.

Happy Christmas

Well, a very Happy Christmas to you all!

No, I'm not in the UK (currently in Sri Lanka somewhere - check out my travel blog under 'blog lists') and no I am not celebrating Christmas this year... however I couldn't really post a non Christmas card today.  So here it is a Christmas card that can be easily adapted for another occasion... it uses the 2 step bird punch (bird builder) and once punched has been inked with Chocolate Chip ink using a sponge dauber.

I love this technique as it is quick, easy and fairly unmessy.  It's possible to create allsorts of birds using the punch, just by making them different colours and adding a few bits.

The background on this card is created from squares of the Holly Berry DSP mounted onto a large square of Garden Green and a Crumbcake card base.  The leaves are from the 2 step bird punch as well, laid out in a wreath shape but you could easily just have a single branch.

So, I promise, no more Christmas cards.  In fact I have classes arranged for the New Year so why not check out my events page and book yourself to attend one.

A little thanks

Being a demonstrator means you have the advantage of being part of a team and can share ideas.  Most of all for me it's about the extension to my social life ans some of the great friends I have made along the way.

Today I have a card to share with you that has been sitting on my mantlepiece for quite some time, mainly because it matches so well with the decor and I didn't have the heart to take it down, and more so because it is handmade but my demonstrator friend Amy, thanking me for helping out at a workshop sometime ago.

Amy always tells me that she gets a lot of her inspiration by copying ideas... and this is certainly one of her ideas that I will be copying soon too.  The base is Soft Suede and Amy has co-ordinated this with Bashful Blue and Very Vanilla, all of which are a great combination.  The Very Vanilla background has been run through the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, whilst the decorative pieces are cut using the Perfect Pennants die, a Scalloped Circle punch and a 1' 3/8" Circle punch.

To finish Amy has used a couple of Basic Pearls and some Seam binding ribbon to match.

Engagement card

Today I have another commission that I was asked to make for an engagement party.  I used the same idea as yesterday's wedding card as time was short...

For the central panel I have cut a 6cm strip of Shimmery White card and run this through the Elegant bouquet embossing folder and then mounted it on a 6.5cm strip of mirror card (not Stampin' Up!).  I then created a focal point for the large butterfly from the Beautiful Wings die with mirror card using the scalloped circle punch and  a 3.5cm circle (also punched from the Shimmery White card and embossed with the same folder).

The butterflies are cut/embossed from Pink Pirouette cardstock and I have added some basic rhinestones to the large one, as well as the centres of the flowers on the central panel.

The sentiment was printed from my computer and mounted on mirror card before being finished off with the tiniest of the butterflies.

Wedding butterflies

When I have time I like to come up with new ideas of my own.  However when I don't I usually spend just as long on the web looking for ideas using a particular stampset, die or embossing folder or for a particular theme.  Here is a card that came from an idea for a engagement card which uses the Beautiful Bouquet embossing folder coupled with the Beautiful Wings butterflies die.  I haven't completely CASE'd it and I can't remember where the original idea came from but I think if you google the Beautiful Bouquet folder you will get some similar ideas.

Stamping' Up! now do silver and shimmery cardstock.  Ideal for weddings I thought, so went with the Shimmer White card embossed with the Beuatiful Bouquet design on a Whisper White base.  I'm still trying to get rid of some of my non Stampin' Up! items before the new year and the new mini catalogue is released, so thought I'd use some silver mirror card (Not Stampin' Up!) here too but this would work with another complimentary colour or shade of blue/green to match the Pool Party cardstock that I have cut the butterflies from.

To embellish I've used a few basic rhinestones on the flower centres and the large butterfly.  The sentiment is form the Petitie Pairs stampset... which has some lovely messages on that are ideal for both outside and inside the card too.

Baby Emily

My cousin had a baby a couple of weeks ago... baby Emily.  I thought for a change rather than pink, I would go with Wisteria Wonder colour theme...



The photo isn't very good, but I only realised that once I had posted it so couldn't photograph it again.

You will see that I have coloured the image from the Easy Events stampset with blender pens using markers.  The background panel has been created from a square of Wisteria Wonder with a piece of the Perfect Plum DSP paper on it (cut slightly smaller).  Both squares have had the corners punched off using the Boho Blossoms punch (one of the petals).  The base has been finished off with a couple of So Saffron brads.

Happy birthday Mum

I'm not very good and being in the country for my Mum's birthday, and this year is no different!  So happy birthday Mum :)... all the way from Sri Lanka.

I went with something a bit different on her card this year... something a bit more modern I guess, or at least that was the intention!

Cupcakes are everywhere, and the Crazy for Cupcakes card is great for creating stunning cards that would suit just about anyone and everyone...

For this card I have teamed up Melon Mambo with Tempting Turquoise.  The DSP 'Cheerful Treat' includes papers with Melon Mambo which I have used here against the Tempting Turquoise before mounting the Whisper White panel with the image on.

I have coloured the image with blender pens using markers and then added the sentiment - stamped onto Melon Mambo and using dimensional sticky pads.  The Mum wording is from the For my Family stampset.

I cheated with the 65 and used peel offs (Not Stampin' Up! again, sorry!).



Shilpa Childrens Centre, Sri Lanka

Rather than celebrating Christmas this year I have escaped to Sri Lanka until after the New Year - these posts have been scheduled so hopefully if Blogger is working you are still getting your daily card making fix.

I'm equally passionate about travelling as I am about crafting... so hope to see and experience as much as possible whilst I am there.

Today, I have arranged to visit a childrens centre in Colombo (the capital) and share my creativity with them. I have stuffed my backpack full of crafty goodies and other items that they need but I also prepared a small crafty project for the girls there to make...

I had to improvise a bit with some of the items for this card (including quite a few non Stampin' Up! items) as I didn't want to carry too much so tried to keep it simple.  The materials include:  Real Red card (base), Old Olive card (tree), Chocolate Chip card (pot), gold mirror card (not Stampin' Up!), glitter glue (not Stampin' Up!), peel offs (not Stampin' Up!).

I have cut a triangle from the Old Olive and run it through the Square Lattice embossing folder and then stuck this to the base with a dimensional sticky pad.  I have curved the pot slightly with a pair of scissors and also stuck this with a dimensional pad.

The tree has been decorated with a punched out star and glitter glue and the sentiment is a peel off.  All of these things were pre cut and I have packed them safely into a small box so that they don't get crushed in my bag. 

Hopefully I'll get some pictures of the girls making these and post them on my travel blog, so check out the link to it (see left hand side of this site) if you want to see how it went.

Same stamp, different card

This card uses the same cake image as yesterdays card, the difference here is that I have inked the image only and then the sentiment separately and used this to prop up the easle style card.  The card base is Melon Mambo cut to A5 and folded in half and then half again to create the easle.

I have used the Top Note die to cut a piece of Whisper White and a piece of Daffodil Delight and then cut the white piece to create a border in the yellow once mounted.  Note that I have embossed the Whisper White with a flowery embossing folder (not Stampin' Up!) before fixing to the base.

Changing the shape or style of the card base can make such a difference...

Birthday cake

I should be landing in Colombo, Sri Lanka this morning although it will be the afternoon when I get there.  If all has gone to plan and blogger is working then here is the first non Christmas card, as promised.

The card base is Sahara Sand cut to A5 and folded in half, I've then cut a strip of the Rose Red DSP and punched the edge with the Scallop Trim Border punch and also the same on a strip of Elegant Eggplant cardstock.

The image is from the Easy Events stampset which is so versatile and geat for mixing and matching sentiments for numerous occasions.  I've gone with the traditional cake and birthday sentiment for this card inked with Chocolate Chip and coloured with blender pens using markers.  I layered up the cake part with dimensionals and added a circle for the cherry on top and some basic pearls round the plate to give it a luxurious feel.

Dashing off...

I fly to Sri Lanka tonight, so I hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year whatever you are doing.

I have scheduled some posts for you whilst I am away, and you may be glad to hear there won't be any Christmas themed ones; other than a project which I have planned for a visit to a Children's centre in Colombo (the capital of Sri Lanka).  More to follow on that on Monday.

So, despite having not made many Christmas cards this year, here is one that I received.  Another great card designed by Amy, and a nice quick one if you still need to rustle up a few more before the celebrations start!

Sorry, must dash[er] (that's bad, sorry again!) so full details can be found here.  Have a good one and keep an eye on my travel blog (link should be down on the left hand side of my site under 'blog list') if you are interested in hearing about what I will be getting up to...

Quick Christmas gift boxes

If you need some quick gift boxes for jewellery, sweets or anything small then the Pillow Box die is perfect for these.  Cut from Old Olive and Real Red card, and decorated with a piece of ribbon, and a gift tag, and these are totally ready for filling with goodies.

I've used Real Red grosgrain ribbon and Pear Pizzaz seam binding ribbon here.  The tag comes from the Beautiful Season stampset which I have stamped with Chocolate Chip ink and coloured with blender pens using markers.  This tag fits inside the Curly Label punch so it's quick to make up a whole batch... why not create a load of tags for your larger gifts this way too.

Like I say, it's easy to make a load :)

More Rudolfs

Today's post will hopefully help all of you who need some last minute Christmas cards... if you have the owl punch and the birde punch?

I've adapted yesterday's card slightly to a square base and with only one red nosed Rudolf... as short on time and need to get these sent :).

The DSP is Holly Berry Bouquet again, punched with the eyelet border punch and then layered onto Chocolate Chip (also punched with the same border).

The sentiment is from the Petite Pairs, coupled with For My Family which includes members of most of the family (other than Cousin, which is shown here in peel offs - not Stampin' Up!).

I've entered this card into this weeks Moving with the Times challenge - 'last minute Christmas' which I thought was appropriate...

Christmas couple

I have made a few different animals using my owl punch... but still no owl!  Here is that cute reindeer that I showed you sometime ago (here), with his 'other half' and using a slightly different layout and the Holly Berry Bouquet DSP... I still have half a pack of this and have made lots of cards with it, I highly recommend you buy this one for non Christmas cards too as the colours are great.

I fly out to Sri Lanka on Friday so if you want to order anything let me know by tomorrow please and I will get your order arranged before I go (normal postage of £4.95 applies).

Otherwise, start thinking about how you are going to spend your Christmas money in the New Year when I am back... because the new Spring Mini catalogue is released on 4th Jan and Sale-a-bration starts on 24th Jan... I will be having a couple of launch events so check out my events page and get these in your diary and contact me to book your place.

Christmas watercolour

I promise... no more Christmas cards after this week - I'm off on holiday on Friday so will schedule some other ideas for you whilst I am gone!

Today I have a watercolour effect Christmas card to share with you.  The image is from the Beautiful Season stampset and has been inked and stamped with Chocolate Chip ink onto Whisper White cardstock which I have cut with the Top Note die using the Big Shot.  I have then coloured the image with blender pens using marker pens (Old Olive, Real Red and Chocolate Chip).

I have run a piece of Old Olive cardstock through the Top Note die and then mounted the image panel onto this before placing on the card base.

The base is Whisper White and I have used the 'red striped' paper from the Holly Berry Bouquet DSP pack at the bottom and then cut a strip of Old Olive card and punched it with the eyelet punch.  The part that takes time is the colouring of the image, so when making a batch of these I coloured them all first and then went about compiling all the card bases and then put everything together at the end.

Crafting session

I've had a manic week this week and a manic weekend... it's that time of year of course!  Late nights working and partying are beginning to take it's toll, but thankfully only 5 days left before departure :).

Also thankfully I have just finished my last batch of Christmas card orders, so have been working through the non Christmas ones in a mad rush before I fly off on holiday on Friday this week!

Still time for some quality crafting and catching up with my lovely crafty friend (and fellow demonstrator) Amy, for a couple of hours today... I had to make two 60th and one 65th birthday card, so went with the same design for all 3 with a slight variation on each.

Here is one of them:

This card took me the best part of an hour to make... not sure if it was the chatting or just the fact that I went a bit far trying to be intricate!

I've used an A4 piece of Very Vanilla card and folded it in half for the base.  I have then punched out a load of flowers using the Boho Blossoms punch in Rich Razzleberry, and a load of leaves using the 2 step bird punch (bird builder punch) from Old Olive.

After playing around with the layout until I was happy I've then cut 'Mum' and '60' using my alphabet dies and big shot (also in Rich Razzleberry) and glued the wording down before sticking all those flowers and leaves on!  Fortunately the other 2 cards were much quicker once I got the momentum going :).

I've added basic rhinestones to the centre of the flowers and then used the Beautiful Wings embosslits die to create the butterflies, and cut them from mirror card (not Stampin' Up!). 

The happy birthday sentiment comes from the Birthday Wishes hostess set, and I've carefully inked the 'th' to add to the 60... a bit fiddly and scary going straight onto the completed card, but with my stamp-a-ma-jig it worked just fine.  It's my most treasured Stampin' Up! product and rescues me all the time...

More in colours

I've had so much going on the last few weeks I completely forgot to share this card with you.... was just reminded this week when my certificate and pin arrived :).

I was sent this by Natalie when I got my Stampin' Up! promotion - how lovely!  She has used the new 'In Colours' for 2011/12, Island Indigo, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder (my favourite!). 

There is a strip of each colour at the base of a Whisper White card base and the sentiment has then been stamped above these with Island Indigo ink.  She has then cut 2 butterflies with the Beautiful Butterflies die in Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder and then stamped these with Island Indigo using the swirly image from the Everything Eleanor stampset before running these through the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.

In colours at Christmas

Every year Stampin' Up! bring out a range of 'In Colours'.  For 2011/12 there are 5.

My favourite has to be Wisteria Wonder but the others are lovely too and they all co-ordinate.

I was surprised to see these colours on a Christmas sample but they work really well together so it doesn't surprise me.  This sample uses the Something For Christmas individual stamp inked with markers so that the image can be stamped with lots of different colours.  The background was created with the top note die from Whisper White and Pool Party and I think would make a great gift card holder or front to a card... and it's quick to make too :).

 I don't know who designed this, a fellow demonstrator, but cannot give them credit unfortunately.

Calendar magnet

Whilst I was creating the card I showed you yesterday, I stumbled across a roll of magnetic strip... and couldn't resist making a calendar magnet to match...

Like I said, everything matches yesterday's card, other than I've rotated the layout of the Top Note.  These are so quick to make and would be a great gift at this time of year, why not create a batch as last minute gifts if you need ideas for Christmas presents.

The Top Note die is great for decorating the front of a card, making boxes and there are some great gift ideas that you can use it for too.  If you have Big Shot machine this die is a must have too!

I miss you

As some of you already know, I'm not planning to celebrate Christmas this year... for me, it brings too many memories and I would prefer just to make the most of the time off work and get away instead!

However, despite that I decided that I would put up the tree (and did so on Sunday evening)...

My late partner, Nick, was a huge fan of Christmas and for that reason this time of year will never be the same again; and today most of all!

This time of year is always difficult for anyone who has lost a loved one, or who is unable to be with those that they love.  It's a time to remind those close to you that you are thinking of them. 

I have created today's card with that in mind.

The base is Basic Black which has been folded into an easle card.  I have then run some Real Red cardstock through my big shot using the Top Note die and done the same with some Basic Black and some of the Holly Berry Bouquest 'dotty' paper.  This DSP pack has some great designs which can be used for other occasions other than Christmas and is ideal for a project like this.

To keep the design simple I have combined the Top Note die pieces, using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder on the Basic Black section and then added some simple hearts, cut from Real Red and the DSP.

The sentiment is from the Beautiful Season stampset, inked in Real Red and stamped onto Very Vanilla to co-ordinate with the paper.  Finally a small bow tied from the grosgrain Real Red ribbon... simple yet hopefully creating the desired effect.  This card would suit an anniversary, valentines or even a birthday of a loved one.

I couldn't resist making a co-ordinating fridge magnet too... check back tomorrow for more on this.

Quick robin card

Don't forget that you have until the end of today to get a £5 voucher to spend in the catalogue from 24th January - see previous post for full details.

Here is a very quick Christmas card that uses up lots of scraps.  So if you still haven't made yours this will help!

I've cut a small panel of DSP from the Holly Berry papers and mounted this onto Old Olive cardstock.  The bird has been punched from Sahara Sand and inked with Chocolate Chip ink using a sponge dauber.  I've then punched the breast from Real Red (just punching the part that is required rather than the whole bird again) and the leaves from Old Olive. 

Finished with a sentiment - I've used the one from the Season of Joy stamp set here with the tiny poinsietta stamp ...

Book a party or private class - £5 voucher, offer ends tomorrow

I just want to let you know that I'm offering private card classes for a fun night in during February and March. So why not get some friends together and get creative.  Each person will get to make 4 different cards for £8 but they get the class free if they place an order of £25 on the night.

Contact me via email or on 07968 951957/01252 834132 before the end of tomorrow (6th December) to book your private card class and I'll give you £5 to spend in the catalogue too!

The Sale-a-bration offer (exclusive stamp set with every £45 order) will be released on 24th January and the new Spring mini catalogue will be out (4th January), so there is lots of reasons to take advantage of this offer.

Of course I am still running home parties for FREE if you would prefer to book a date for one of those instead - full details can be found here.

Get well

A break from Christmas ideas today...

One of my friends has just had an operation, so I made him a little card to wish him well.

It's made from a Whisper White base cut to A6 and then I've added a section of brights DSP in the 'striped' design to the left had side.  I've then punched a border using the Scallop Trim border punch in Basic Black and adhered this over the join.

The image is the cute little bird from the Every Little Bit stampset inked with Marina Mist onto Whisper White cardstock and then the bird has been coloured with a So Saffron marker pen.  I've then punched this out with the Curly punch and punched 2 pieces of Marina Mist card with the same punch and mounted these onto the card and then raised up the bird image with dimensional sticky pads.

Another box

I expect you have bought some presents for Christmas that are just crying out for a little gift box?  Here is another box idea that I have adapted from a tissue box project that I shared with you sometime ago.

Someone said to me the other day when they picked one up and opened it that it was a little disappointing to find a packet of tissues inside such a lovely box!  There is a compliment in there somewhere I am sure - but it lead me to make some for other things instead :).

These boxes seem to be ideal for jewellery, sweets/chocolates and pretty much anything else that you want to put in them.  And they can be personalised too...

I've used the Just Believe stampset and inked the 'leafy' image in Marina Mist before stamping the sleeve (cut from Crumbcake cardstock).  The box inside is made with Marina Mist cardstock to match and I have kept this plain.  The label stamp works perfectly on the front, stamped on Whisper White in Marina Mist with the flowers inked in Rich Rassleberry, leaving just enough space to personalise.

Punched santa card

The ribbon lace border punch in the New catalogue is great for embellishing cards for any occasion.  Here is an idea created by Amy which uses this perfectly in the background of a punch art card.  You can also use this punch as a border as the patterns line up on the corners ... check back for more on this soon.

Post it gifts

Today I have post it note holder to share with you.  These make great gifts and you can make 3 from an A4 sheet of cardstock.  I made a whole pile of these the other evening in a variety of colours... got a little production line going, which I generally hate to do...but varied the designs a little to make it more enjoyable.

Full details of dimensions can be found here.

For this version I have used Basic Black cardstock for the base, to match the wine bottle tag from yesterday's post.

The 'leafy' image from the Just Believe stampset has been inked in Marina Mist and stamped 3 times along the base of a Whisper White square and then mounted on a square of DSP.  The sentiment is also from the Just Believe set, but I've only inked the 'for you' part.

Here are a few more ideas using different stampsets:

Stampset: Every Little Bit

Bottle tags

Tick tock... Christmas is nearly here! I'm planning to put my tree up for just a few days before I depart for my holiday... although I'm not celebrating this year. I have to see it in all it's glory in my house as it will be the first year that I have been here, now that the building works are all complete and it only seems right :).

Anyway, now for some gift related ideas...

I've posted a couple of ideas for bottle tags before, but these are so easy to make and there are so many ways to decorate them using Stampin' Up! products. 

As the festive period is fast approaching there will be plenty of occasions when one of these lovely tags can be used to decorate a bottle of vino for a friend or relative...

The dimensions are as follows:

Cardstock measuring 7.5 x 21cm

Score at 7.5cm's

I have used Basic Black cardstock for this tag and then cut a piece of brights DSP and mounted a panel of Whisper White stamped with the 'large flower' image from the Just Believe stampset in Old Olive.  Note that I have stamped the flowers on a scrap of Whisper White in Tempting Turquoise and then cut these out and raised them with a dimensional sticky pad.

Before fixing the panel to the tag I have punched out the corners of the DSP with the Boho Blossoms punch (middle sized flower) with one of the petals, I love this technique and use it all the time.  To finish a few Basic Rhinestones in the gaps created by the punch and a sentiment (also from the Just Believe stampset) inked in Old Olive.

Another tealight idea

Here is another idea for tealights.  Much quicker than yesterday's idea, these use circles of DSP instead...

Full details of how to make these can be found on Amy's site.  For this set Amy has used Holly Berry DSP.  The top of the bag is the Top Note die cut using the Big Shot machine and the tag stamp comes from the Beautiful Season stampset.

These tealights would fit into my boxes too :).

10% off - until 30th November

This post will remain at the top until 30th November - scroll down for my daily updates.

Jaded Crafter Special Offer!!

10% OFF on all orders! This is a Jaded Crafter exclusive offer only until 30th November and excludes postage (£4.95).  Have a look through the digital catalogue at the side of this blog and contact me to place your order now.

I also have some other offers for those who are just getting started with making their own cards or if you want to make your own Christmas cards (there is still time!).  Check out my Offers page for further details of these.

Perhaps there is someone you know that loves to craft, or someone who is creative and looking for a new hobby - why not order some items for them for Christmas now?

Last minute cards

There is still time to get your Christmas cards made if you haven't done these already - and if you need a few craft supplies to finish these, order from me by tomorrow and get 10% off your entire order, refer to details above.

Want to make some quick cards as have little time.  Then why not check out some of my previous ideas with these stamp sets:

Contempo Christmas

Season of Joy

Welcome Christmas:

Decorated tealights

A couple of days ago I shared with you a box idea that I had designed to fit 3 tealights into to give as gifts. 

Rather than just putting the tealights in there (albeit they are fragranced ones) I have decorated them to match the boxes.

Using the same ink combinations for each box: Old Olive/Perfect Plum; Rich Razzleberry/More Mustard; Old Olive/Marina Mist; with the 'flower' image from the Clearly for You Stamp set I stamped some white tissue paper and then punched out circles using the 1 3/8 inch circle punch.

To fit the tissue paper circles over the candle wick I used my Crop-a-dile to make holes in the centre and then placed these on top of the candles and then carefully heated each with my heat gun to set into the wax. 

If you look closely you can see the tissue paper on the surface but it almost merges into the was and looks like part of the candle.  This technique works really well on pillar candles so why not give it a try ... I would love to see what you come up with :).

Wine glass charms

I've totally neglected my other crafting stash since I signed up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, but have started to use some of the items from there with Stampin' Up! products. 

One of my favourite gifts are wine glass charms - which are great for parties (see here).  With Christmas and New Year fast approaching now is the time to get these out again :).

And of course these are ideal to fit into those lovely little boxes that I showed you yesterday...

Here are the charms laid out so you can take a better look:

These are made from hoops that are usually made into 'earrings' and I have threaded on beads and charms. 

If you have never seen these before, the idea is that you give one to each guest at a dinner party and they open and attach the charm to the bottom of their wine glass.  They will then be able to locate their glass for the rest of the evening.  It's great as it saves on glasses (!) and it adds that little touch to your dinner party.  I've had lots of people ask me to make a set for them after they have been over to dinner at mine... I'm now working on a few Christmas themed ones, which I will share with you soon :).

Boxes for little gifts

I've been away all week, house/cat sitting again, so have been trying to catch up on a bit of crafting in the evenings!

Rather than cards I've been working on some little gift boxes and a variety of gifts to go inside them... 

These boxes are so easy to make.  I designed them to fit 3 tea lights initially, but have been using them for other things too.  Each of the boxes in the photo has been decorated using the Clearly for You stampset 'flower' image in 2 different colours, simply stamped all over the sleeve before assembling it round the drawer.

The drawer dimensions are 3 x 6 1/16 inches for the insert.  Scored at 3/4 inch on all 4 sides.  You then need to snip to create the tabs on 2 opposite sides and fix with red tape.  I find that normal double sided tape or glue just isn't strong enough so make sure you use the red tape.

For the sleeve the dimensions are 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 scored at 3/4, 2 3/8, 3 1/8 and 4 3/4.  Make sure you stamp the sleeve before assembling this and place it around the drawer to ensure it fits before sticking with red tape.

Here is one with a gift inside, although the stamping on the sleeve hasn't come out very well in the photo... but you can see how it works :).

Check back over the next few days as I will be sharing with you some of the ideas for gifts to make to go inside.

Cate's swap

Woohoo - I've finally booked my holiday over Christmas (and now also New Year!).  I wanted to go to Cuba and had been planning it for sometime, but unfortunately wasn't able to book the tour I liked and haven't been able to find an alternative.  I think it's just bad luck... so I have now booked a flight to... Sri Lanka!

Enough holiday excitement...  Today I have another swap to share with you.  This one was created by my Upline, Cate.  I just love the colours on this card, although the photo doesn't do it justice.  Cate has used Pool Party (base card), Island Indigo (butterfly die using big shot) and Pumpkin Pie DSP from the flirtatious pack. 

The base card has been stamped with one of the Delicate Doilies stamps in Pool Party and the butterfly with the same in Island Indigo, to co-ordinate.