Turkey

No not another Christmas post - sorry I can't quite get into Christmas just yet as I am scheduling this post for while I am off on my travels.  Today I will be in Turkey, Istanbul to be precise... and sadly on the last couple of days of my trip!  I am sure it will have been wonderful, particularly as I haven't manage to get away properly since 2009 when I was in Nepal. 

I will be back on Saturday around mid-day... and no doubt ready to start crafting as soon as possible!

Here is my last scheduled post, assuming Blogger is still working, to share with you another gift idea... scented candles.

These are surprisingly easy to make, although this was my first attempt.  Using the butterfly and flower stamps from the Clearly for You stamp set, I have co-ordinated the candles with the box.

It would be great to hear from anyone who has any other little gift ideas that they want to share as I am always looking for new things to make.

See you in a couple of days x

Fab colours from Cate

My upline Cate always uses such great colour combinations on her cards and this swap she gave me is no exception.  I love the use of the circle punches - so simple yet for me (as I don't have the punch) it would be a lot of huffing and puffing with a protractor or something similar to do this.  I do recommend the Stampin' Up! punches as they make crafting so much more enjoyable as you don't have to fiddle about doing the not so fun stuff when using them.  Look up 'punch art' on the web... but prepare yourself to lose a couple of hours surfing all the endless ideas that you can create with punches :).

4 days until I am back so if you want to order something or book a class, check out the details on the relevant pages and email me.

Christmas :(

Finally I have succumbed to my NOT so favourite time of year! 

However, I absolutely love this stamp, which features on the swap that the lovely Pip gave me at our team social last month.

I love it so much it will be appearing on one of the first cards that I have planned for my Christmas Card Club.  Check out my classes page for more - there are only a couple of places left as this one was very popular as soon as I suggested it to people...


So email me to book now and avoid missing out.

Tissue box

I love making other things besides cards. With the cold weather on it's way now everyone needs one of these.... a handy pack of tissues.  And what better way than to box them up so you can keep them free from dust in your handbag or on your desk at work.

I cannot remember where I saw this idea but I know there are lots of tutorials on the web.  For my box I just adapted the basic card box idea to fit around the tissue pack.  I am sure I have the full instructions written down somewhere but amidst my flurry of scheduled posting I seem to have mislaid them.  If you want the full details drop me an email or post a comment and I will find them when I get back and ensure I send them on to you.

If you are starting to think that I only own 3 stamps sets then you are absolutely right!  I've used the Just Believe stamp set to decorate this box... just goes to show that 3 stamp sets is more than enough to keep me occupied!  But of course when the new catalogue is released on 1st October I will be ordering a few more...  

Book a party in October

If you want to check out the new catalogue after it's release on 1st October, why not host a workshop/party and get a FREE copy of the Idea Book and Catalogue.  In addition there are free products for you as a host if your guest orders are more than £150. 

More details can be found here, so email me if you want to get a date in the diary on my return.

10 days to go until I can craft again!

I will be back from my travels on 1st October, although sadly will miss Cate's catalogue kick off party.  I have a class scheduled for the 2nd however, where I will be showing you how to make 2 little gifts, a wine bottle tag and a card, all with the same stamp set.

When scheduling this post I still had a couple of places left for this class so it's worth emailing me if you are interesting in booking to come along.  Check out the full details here.

So with only 10 days left until I return here is an idea for a post it note holder... which will be one of the gifts ideas included in the class on the 2nd October - albeit using a different stamp set.

This version uses the crown from the Clearly for You set and has a cute girly pink them using Melon Mambo cardstock.  I even found a pink mini pen for it.

French Foliage

I received this card from Diane as a swap at our last team training day.  It uses the French Foliage stamp set which to me looked like 'just a load of leaves'... at least that was until Diane showed me all the different cards she had made with it, including Christmas ones. 

I love the idea of using a stamp set across different windows and this card uses this technique perfectly.  The colours are fabulous too, especially as we are fast approaching the midst of Autumn already! 

Check back in a couple of days when I will be (I think) making my way into Bulgaria somewhere, but of course will have a scheduled post for your here.

October class

Just a reminder that my next class will be on 2nd October at 2pm and we will be making 2 little gifts, a wine bottle tag and a card all with the same stamp set - Every Little Bit.

Check out my classes page for full details.

I only get back to the UK the day before the class so do email me to book your space if you would like to come along, as I will need to prepare the materials.

Hi there Stampers!

I've totally CASE'd this gift card idea from Dawn Griffiths as she has a video tutorial showing how to make this.  I've used a different stamp set - Every Little Bit and the sentiment is from the Clearly for You set.  It's just so cute don't you think ;)?!

Birdy roses

I couldn't resist sharing with you an idea using the 2 step bird punch.  This is my favourite punch of all time as you can do so much with it.  If you don't own any punches this is the one to get!

So how does this punch convert into this.....

The roses are made from the bird's wing and some of the leaves... There are plenty of examples on the web, I've created mine using Real Red cardstock with an apperture cut and then mounted onto a Whisper White card base.  The sentiment is from the Clearly for You stamp set which gets lots of use too.

I'll be back in the UK on 1st October and placing an order from the new catalogue so if you want to order this punch (£15.50) and save on postage just email me to place your order.

Mug

I should be in Romania by now... and looking forward to staying with some local families :).

So as promised another scheduled post with an altered project for you today.

This is a plain white coffee mug which I have stamped with the Every Little Bit stamp set using Staz On ink and then coloured with cermic/glass paints.  I forgot to put it in the oven to seal the colour before I left... but in theory it should be dishwasher safe once done.  I'm definitely going to be making lots more of these and other ceramic bits and pieces over the coming months when I get home... so keep checking back for more ideas.

Odd days

Assuming Blogger is still working, today here is a scheduled post as promised.  Whilst I am off on my travels through Eastern Europe I have set up posts on the 'Odd' days for the rest of this month, subject to Mr Blogger.  Oh and possibly a few in between so sign up to follow my blog or keep checking back :).

If you're interested why not check out my travel blog and see what I'm getting up to.

Today I have another swap from Amy to share with you.  Her ideas are just amazing and she provides me with so much inspiration.  Check out her blog for full details and instructions for this cute bookmark.  I can't wait to get back home and try out these for myself :)!

Male and female cards

I just love the Clearly for You stamp set that I used in Thursday post as it is very reasonably priced at £17.95 (for the clear stamp set).  You can make both male and female cards with the images and I am so glad that it will be remaining in the new catalogue which will be released on 1st October.

Today I have a card for you which features the berries image from the set.

I've stamped the image in Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive ink onto Whisper White card and then mounted this onto a panel of Rich Razzleberry.  The background is Basic Black card which I have run through the Big shot with an embossing folder (not a Stampin' Up folder I'm afraid).  I have then tied a piece of the Rich Razzleberry satin ribbon around this before mounting the image panel and then fixed the ends underneath the background before mounting to a Whisper White A6 size card base.

I've finished the card off with silver eyelets using my Crop-A-Dile, but you could use leave this out if you don't have eyelets or use basic rhinestones, or even circles cut from a hole punch...

I'm quite sad that the Rich Razzleberry ribbon and metallic eyelets are retiring this month from the Stampin' Up! catalogue but they are going to get some use during my Christmas Card Club in October and November...

Gift box

I will have left for Eastern Europe by the time you read this.  Check out my travel blog here for more.

However, I couldn't resist having a little play with my new toys before my holiday.  And here is the finished item - a long gift box made from the 2 pillow box die cuts, decorated with the daisy die. 

I've kept the box neutral by using Crumbcake and Chocolate Chip cardstock and have embossed the Crumbcake half with a flower embossing folder (not Stampin' Up!, but you can't see it in the pic anyway!). The daisy has been cut from Pumpkin Pie cardstock and the middle petals from Melon Mambo. I'm really starting to like these colours... but who wouldn't :).

I will have scheduled posts for you whilst I am gone, so do check back for more tomorrow.

Butterfly note cards

Last day of work today... so a scheduled post as I have had to plan myself before departure tomorrow. 

Here are some quick note cards using the butterfly stamp from the Clearly for You set.  There are so many things you can do with the stamp set, both male and female cards and for all occasions.  Fortunately although it is from the current mini catalogue it will be in the main catalogue from 1st October in both the wood and clear sets still.  I will be posting a few more ideas using this set whilst I am away to keep your creative juices flowing so keep checking back:).

Ornament punch idea for challenge

Something to share with you today... to get me into holiday mode as I fly out of the UK on Friday morning to Budapest (Hungary) and will then be travelling through 4 countries over 3 weeks :). 

These cards (I couldn't decide which base card I liked better so did both!) are made using the ornament punch upside down.  Three pieces stuck together to create a 3D balloon.  I managed to squeeze in a stamp from the Every Little Bit set (the sun) but the sentiment is not a Stampin' Up item.

I was asked to make a 60th birthday card for my friends mum which had a hot air balloon on it and was so pleased with my finished card using mostly non Stampin' Up products (see the card here), that I decided to make some from Stampin' Up products too... there is nothing like constant crafting (it's so good for the soul!).  I also thought that these card ideas would be suitable for the Crafty Boots Challenge - 'anything goes' that I promised I would enter if I had time before my holiday.

My first class and new challenge site

After team training on Saturday I had to prepare the samples for my Mini Pizza box and card set class on Sunday as I realised that my original box sample didn't quite fit the 4cm square card envelopes, only the cards!

The class was inspired by my upline Cate as it was the first Stampin' Up! class that I ever attended, so was ideal for beginners

I know there were a few people that wanted to come along to this class but couldn't make the date, so if you are interested let me know, if there is enough interest I will book another date in October or November.

Here is the box and co-ordinating cards, all using the Just Believe stamp set.

Yesterday saw the release of a new challenge site that a fellow demonstrator (Amy) is on the Design Team for - Crafty Boots Challenges.  I'm going to have to get my thinking cap on to find something suitable to enter the challenge before I depart on my travels later this week... but in the meantime do support Amy and the team at Crafty Boots and enter the challenge yourself.

Thank you swap

I have another swap to share with you today, made by another team member, Fiona.  The colour combination of Basic Black and Regal Rose on the Very Vanilla cardstock works so well.  Fiona has used the Greenhouse garden stampset (113824 - £25.95) which is a 2 step set, and *So Many Thanks (120173 - £7.95) which is a individual stamp.  The Scallop Trim border punch (118402 - £14.25) was used on the edge of the card before mounting it to Basic Black cardstock.

*Note that this stamp is retiring and will not be available after the end of September. 

To order please contact me before 8th September (normal shipping charges of £4.95 apply).

Amy's card

I love this idea as it's ideal for note cards.  One of the other demonstrators in Cate's team gave me this card as a swap.  Check out Amy's site for full details, but it is a simple square of Very Vanilla cardstock with DSP strips and some ribbon, mounted onto Crumbcake cardstock.  The idea/layout can be adapted with a variety of papers and sentiments for all sorts of note cards.

The gorgeous papers, Springtime Vintage (Mini catalogue page 17, 121782 - £8.75), used on this card are retiring at the end of September, so if you want to get your hands on these before they are gone, contact me to place your order before Thursday (8th September) as after that I will be on holiday until October.

Team training

I attended my first team training day today and met most of the other demonstrators in the team. 

There was lots to chat about including the new catalogue that will be released on 1st October, which includes some new products and 5 new colours.

Once again we shared our swaps so I now have lots of new ideas.  I made a bookmark for everyone based on the instructions posted here but using the Every Little Bit stamp set:

Materials: Every Little Bit stamp set, Marina Mist cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Eyelet border punch, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle punch, Marina Mist ink, DSP Patterns Stack - Brights, Just Believe stamp set (sentiment).

Here is a close up of the little birdy in it's cage...

I will be including a bookmark like this along with another little gift, a wine bottle tag and a card in my class on 2nd October.  There are still spaces so why not book to attend.  Further details can be found here.

Male card

Today I thought I would share with you a card using a different stamp set that I chose for my starter kit - Clearly for You, which comes from the current Mini Catalogue.   The great thing about this set is that there are a variety of stamps that can be used individually or amalgamated for both male and female cards. 

This card features the image with 3 birds which is probably my favourite stamp from the set. 

The base is Basic Black cut to create an A6 sized card.  I have then used a 5cm strip of Whisper White across the card and stamped with the bird image and sentiment in black ink (note that I stamped the image onto some scrap paper first so that the final result was a more subtle black effect).  The DSP is from the Brights stack and I have cut a 1cm strip for the top and then punched a strip with the scallop punch before cutting to 2cm.  Finally a black button to finish.

A very quick card and which can be adapted to the full colour range to suit the recipient :).

I have my first team training day tomorrow, so was up very late last night making all the swaps.  Check back tomorrow to see how it goes...

Retired list release

So here it is ... the list of items retiring from the current catalogue to make space in the new catalogue which will be launched on 1st October.

Click on the picture to go to the full list.

There are lots of items for you to browse, some of which have 25% and 40% discounts.  But remember these are likely to sell out fast so get your order in quick.

Please email me at jadedcrafter@gmail.com to place an order.  Please note that I will be on holiday after 8th September and I will arrange for your order to be shipped directly to you (normal recorded delivery charge of £4.95 applies).

I’m back on 1^st October, so if you would like to book a party/workshop for when I return you can find out more here.  Just email me with a date you have in mind and I will do my best to accommodate your request.

Happy shopping.