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.

Christmas gift tags

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?  With just over a month until Christmas (I can't believe it!), hopefully all your cards are now made.  If not there is still time to order some bits from the catalogue - contact me to place your order.

Next on your list after your cards should be the accessories such as Christmas gift tags.  So, today I have a great quick idea to share with you - a swap given to me by Julie, a fellow demonstrator. 

Julie punched a tag out of some Holly Berry Bouquet DSP with the Large Tag Punch and then layered this onto a Real Red cardstock punched with the Extra Large Tag. She has then glued this onto a larger piece of Pear Pizzazz and snipped it into an even larger tag. The sentiment is from the Penant Parade Stampset and has been inked in Pear Pizzazz at the bottom. 

The hole was punched with a Crop-a-dile  and then she threaded through some Real Red Taffeta Ribbon ready to attach to a gift.

Ideas with trees...

There are quite a few stamp sets in the Stampin' Up! catalogue which have trees depicted on them.  At this time of year, tree's are great for cards with an autumn feel, like this swap that a fellow demonstrator gave to me at our last training day.  It uses one of the trees from the Lovely as a Tree stampset, which I keep thinking I should invest in as these seems to feature on so many cards. 

The card base is Cajun Craze from the Regals colour range, stamped with the oak leaf image from the Lovely as a Tree set in both Soft Suede and Cajun Craze ink.  The main image has been inked with Soft Suede and stamped onto Very Vanilla and them mounted on matching card stock. 

The sentiment is from the Clearly for You stampset and has been inked to match the image and then punched with the Jewelry tag punch, as has the leaf image (also from the Lovely as a Tree stampset), and both tags have been tied with linen thread.

Another stampset with a tree image is the Easy Events set, which I just love for the numerous images included that can be used for all and any occasion.  Here is the tree, used on one of the note cards shown here.

I would love to see any ideas or projects that you have made which use other Stampin' Up! stampsets with tree's in them...

Christmas wish list and gifts

Have you got a Wish List from the Idea Book and Catalogue?

Have people started asking you what you want for Christmas?

To make sure you get the Stampin' Up! goodies you want for Christmas why not join my Wish List Scheme.

All you need to do is:

·         Email me your Wish List and then;

·         Give your family and friends my contact details and let them know you have a wish list with me.

If you would like cards with my contact details on to give them just let me know when you send the wish list.

Then, all they have to do is:

·         Contact me, let me know how much they want to spend and I will do the rest.

Would you like to give your family or friends something from the Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue?

If you want to give Stampin' Up! goodies to your family or friends you can either:

·         Order a gift voucher for the value of what you want to spend, which they can then spend with me; or
·         Order a collection of items.

Note that normal postage is £4.95 to any UK address but this can be combined with other orders and products can then be collected from me.

Please contact me to register you Wish List or place your order by Monday 10^th December to ensure plenty of time for delivery ahead of Christmas. 

Remember that if you place your order before 30^th November you will be able to get 10% off.

Another dasher idea

As promised, another Christmas themed card for you today.  A slight variation on one I shared with you last week (see here) but using the Dasher stamp instead.  The ink used for Dasher and the trees (from the Lovely as a Tree stampset) is Chocolate Chip.  I have used a Brayer with Marina Mist ink to create the background.  Another very quick card and great if you want to make a stack of 'em if you're behind on your Christmas cards :).



Quick robin card

I'm up to my eyes in Christmas card orders at the moment, unsurprisingly I suppose for this time of year!  So this week I have a few ideas to share with you with a Christmas theme this week.

To start, here is a nice quick and easy card which I think is absolutely adorable.  It uses a small panel of DSP from the Holly Berry paper mounted onto a panel of Old Olive card. 

I have cut the robin from Sahara Sand cardstock using the 2 step bird punch and sponge daubered it with Chocolate Chip ink.  I've then punch just the breast section of the bird out from a scrap of Real Red card stock and glued this onto the birds body.  The branch is cut from Old Olive.  The sentiment is from the Season of Joy stampset as is the poinsietta flower, inked in Old Olive and Real Red respectively.

Christmas wreath idea

Hi all, apologies for the rather late post today. I've been away in the Lake District for the last few days and have only just got back... and sadly have had absolutely no time to craft! 

Thankfully my demonstrator friend Amy has saved the day once again with this great swap that she gave us all our the last training day.  It uses the Autumn Days stampset - but with a Christmas theme!   Even better than that she has a great tutorial for this card - check it out here.



I'm hoping that normal blogging activities can resume once again tomorrow :).

Variations on a Christmas card

I love coming up with ideas for stampsets that think outside the box.  The Season of Joy stampset is one of my favourites at this time of year because you can create numerous Christmas themed cards with it, but also because you can use the beautiful poinsettia stamp with different inks to create non Christmas cards.

This card is exactly the same as one I made with a Christmas theme sometime ago (see here) but the colour has been changed to More Mustard and it looks completely different!

There is still time to order the Christmas stampsets to make your cards for the festive season, but the Season of Joy set (only in wood mount) may not be around after this year as it has been in the catalogue for sometime. Please Contact me to place your order now.

Thank you notes

I'm away for a few days in the Lake District again...

I thought I would share with you a couple of note cards that I made as part of this pizza box set last time I went up to the Lakes.  They are both made using the 'thank you' flower image stamp from the Easy Events stampset inked in Chocolate Chip and coloured with blender pens using Stampin' Up! markers.  I love the water colour effect that you can get with blender pens and it's so simple to achieve...



Both these cards use scraps from the brights DSP pack, the first uses small squares of paper behind the image panel in 2 different tones and the second uses just one design on the front of the card and behind the eyelet punched border on the inside too.

A Chocolate Chip decorative strip created with the eyelet punch and a couple of basic pearls finishes of the first card, but I have left the second card with just the DSP.

Team training

As a demonstrator I have access to allsorts of team events and get togethers.  I really enjoy catching up with everyone and sharing ideas and this month was no different.

Here is the card that we made using the Delicate Doilies stampset which works really well with the Perfect Pennant's circular die and the Flirtatious speciality papers.  The colours used are Wisteria Wonder and Melon Mambo, both of which I have become very attached to lately.  Lovely bright colours that work well with the Blushing Bride 'pink' shade used for the Modern Label tag which sits behind the Word Window punched from Whisper White.

You can just see that we have used a button in the centre of the card and some basic rhinestones on the tag. 

I also attempted to make a gift bag from an envelope or 'Bagalope' which I have stamped to match... this needs finishing though.  There are lots of tutorials on the web using all sorts of envelopes in different sizes - endless ideas for gift bags or to wrap that little something, and so cheap/easy to make :).

Reflection

Today I have a Christmas card to share with you that uses a brayer... a great tool that I have now acquired for myself after borrowing a couple of times from a fellow demonstrator.

For this card I have used the brayer for the sky in Marina Mist; the snow is created by tearing a sheet of paper and masking off the base of the Whisper White card and rolling the brayer over the top.

The trees from the Lovely as a Tree stampset have been inked in Chocolate Chip, as have the children on the sled from the Welcome Christmas stampset.  To create the reflection I have stamped the image onto the perspex piece of my Stamp-a-ma-jig and placed this below the stamped image... make sure the bottom of the reflection touches the original image otherwise it won't look realistic.

There are some great effects which can be produced using a brayer, my favourites are definitely the sunset... at just £9.95 this tool is a definite must have for any stamper.  Contact me to place your order today and also take advantage of the 10% discount that I am offering until the end of the month.

Polar party

It's not too late to put in an order for some Christmas themed products and get your cards/gift made in time for Christmas!  Why not take advantage of my 10% discount (available until 30th November) and stock up now.

There are some great new stamp sets in this years catalogue which was release in October... and this one is so cute!

There are so many combinations that you can create with the stamps in this set.  

Here is one that was made by a fellow demonstrator (Amy).

Amy stamped the lovely polar bear and the lovely sentiment onto some Whisper White using Basic Black ink and then coloured them using Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Bashful Blue Stampin' Write Markers. The card base is soft Suede.  Check out the other little details: Basic Pearl on the hats, tearing Whisper White card to create the snow.

Welcome Christmas Joy

I love purple... it's as simple as that!  So although I am not planning on celebrating Christmas this year I have made a handful of cards to send to friends that I don't see very much of... and instead of the traditional Christmas colours I have used a combination of Elegant Eggplant, Marina Mist and Certainly Celery.



The card base is A6 Whisper White, I have then cut a piece of Elegant Eggplant just smaller than this as the main panel.  I cut a strip of Marina Mist 5cm wide and tore this down the middle before running through a snowflake embossing folder (not Stampin' Up!) and then fixing to the top of the card base.  I have rippled a piece of Certainly Celery seam binding ribbon over the join using sticky strip and then punched a Scalloped Circle to mount the image on.

The image is from the Welcome Christmas stampset inked with Marina Mist and then I have punched out the part of the stamp with the boy decorating the tree with what appears to be his mother, as this depicts the 'Joy' of Christmas and the sentiment; which I have then inked with Versamark ink and embossed with clear embossing powder so that it stands out at the base of the card.

Treat cups

The Stampin' Up! catalogue has some interesting bits and pieces to help you create something a little different.  I've had a pack of treat cups for sometime but haven't quite got round to creating anything with these yet.  At just £2.95 for a pack of 12 they are a bargain and great for kids cards as you can include sweets/treats inside the little cups.

Here is a fabulous card created by a fellow demonstrator (Amy) which uses a treat cup with the Something Sweet stampset that is designed to fit perfectly with these.   



Amy has created sweets to go inside the dispenser using the stamp set, and this could easily be adaped to include real sweets as well. 

Baubles

I had my last Christmas Card club this week and all the ladies came along with some of the cards they had made in the previous weeks to personalise them.  With 10 different designs to choose from this was the most popular for adding names to due to the space in the top left corner which had been embossed with the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder to create the effect of tree branches to hang the baubles from.

The card base is A5 in size cut from Sahara Sand cardstock.  The main panel is cut from Very Vanilla which has been run through the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder creating the image on the left hand corner.  At the top I have added a 2.5cm strip of Rich Razzleberry punched on one edge with the Scallop Trim Border punch. 

The baubles are from the Tree Trimming stampset and have been inked with Old Olive and them stamped onto scraps of Very Vanilla card and then cut out.  Note that some have been embellished with gold brads before being stuck on with dimensional sticky pads.  The sentiment panel is from the Season of Joy stampset and has been inked in Old Olive to match.

Gift set

Today I have a little gift set to share with you.  It's made using the Clearly for You stampset and I have used the image with the berries inked up with Perfect Plum and Wild Wasabi.

To make the post it note holder (see  instructions here).  I have used a piece of Elegant Eggplant for the base and coupled this with Perfect Plum. The other tools used include the Scalloped Circle punch, Eyelet punch and 1 3/8 Circle punch, however you could easily make the project using some other punches or tools. 

Christmas wreath

As promised yesterday, here is one of the Christmas cards that we made last night.  I used a sample made by a fellow demonstrator (Fiona) that she gave me at last months training as the bsis for the idea, as I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for this weeks club session.

The image and Joy sentiment are from the Welcome Christmas stampset and have been inked with Old Olive and Real Red and stamped onto a 7.5 x 7.5cm square of Whisper White matted onto a 8 x 8cm piece of Old Olive.  You can't see very clearly from the photo, but we have used Crystal Effects on the red berries to make them stand out from the wreath.

The card base is Real Red run through the big shot Elegant Bouquet embossing folder.  I really love this folder as it works on female cards and Christmas cards and creates a lovely effect across one corner.  

If you don't have a big shot and want to try out some of these techniques, why not book your own party/workshop and I will come along and show you how to use this great tool.  Check out my home parties page for more.

Completely random

From time to time I get very random requests for cards from friends/family which give me a chance to stretch my creativity.  Here is one of those cards, which features a 'road bike'.  I have mounted the image onto a panel and set this up on a Crumbcake square card base which I have folded into an easle style card. To give the card a masculine feel I have used the striped papers from the brights DSP pack and continued the Marina Mist colour theme for the strip that holds back the easle.



I have added a strip of Whisper White with the recipients name and also a sentiment (Petit Pairs stampset) cut with the Curly Label punch.  I couldn't find any brads big enough to finish off the card so went with Candi (not Stampin' Up!).

I'm in Cambridge again today... but home tonight for my very last Christmas Card club session... check back tomorrow for one of the cards we will be making.

Punched thanks

Here is a very quick card that I made to thank some customers for their recent orders.  The card base is Whisper White 20 x 10cm, folded.  I have then cut a square of Elegant Eggplant 9.5 x 9.5cm and cut into the corners with a circle punch... just to show more of the Whisper White in the background once mounted.

The flower is created from a selection of punches (Stampin' Up!: Fancy Flower punch, 2 Step Bird punch) and the sentiment (Petitie Pairs stampset) has been stamped onto a scrap of Whisper White punched with the eyelet border punch.

Demonstrator overload

Last week was extremely manic, with a Christmas card club session on Wednesday, a workshop on Friday, a class on Saturday and then team training on Saturday!  So to avoid me overloading completely I cheated and used the card above for the Club, workshop, and also my swaps for the other demonstrators.  However it seemed to be well received by all so thankfully I didn't over stretch myself and try and do 3 different projects instead!

The card base is A6 in Real Red. 

To start I used the Poinsettia stamp (inked with Real Red) from the Season of Joy stampset in the bottom left corner of a 9 x 13.5cm Very Vanilla piece of cardstock.  I then stamped the same image twice onto a scrap of Very Vanilla card and cut these out. 

After inking the decorative stamp from the set in Old Olive, I stamped this twice across the card and then stuck the 2 Poinsettia images, craeted above, with dimensionals either side of the first stamped image and then added basic rhinestones to the centre of each flower.

I've used the tiny Poinsettia stamp in Real Red 3 times across the decorative pattern and finally added the sentiment using Old Olive.

This card was really quick, other than the cutting out of flowers and the fact I had to make quite a few for my swaps... and the finished card is really nice.  I think you could do the same thing for a non Christmas card too.

Easy thank you

Here is one of the 4 cards we made at my Cards for all Occasion's class yesterday.  I have used the cuckoo clock image with the thank you sentiment (from the flower image stamp) of the Easy Events stampset, by inking up the separate parts of each of the stamps.

 The card base is Sahara Sand cut into A5 and folded in half to A6 in size.  I have used the Scallop Trim Border punch on the right open edge and then used this on a piece of DSP from the subtles pack which I have then stuck inside the edge of the card back so that it decorates both the inside and outside of the card.

The image was inked in Chocolate Chip ink and stamped onto Very Vanilla card and then cut out and mounted on a piece of the DSP from the subtles pack (Wild Wasabi) before being mounted on a piece of Marina Mist cardstock, also edged with the Scallop Trim Border punch.

I've used markers and a blender pen to colour the image and decorated the corner with a few flowers cut with the Boho Blossoms punch. 

This is a nice layout which can be adapted for most cards for any occasion so hopefully the ladies who attended my class will be able to come up with some other ideas of their own for the Easy Events stampset.

Another Contempo Christmas card idea

As it's the weekend, I will be busy with classes and team training... so will be sharing some more ideas with you from these in the upcoming week.  For today, another idea for a card which uses the Christmas Kit that you can still order from me (see here). 

This Christmas card is quick and easy and uses the Contempo Christmas stampset.  I have stamped the image in Old Olive and Real Red onto a piece of Whisper White card measuring 5 x 7cm and then mounted this onto a piece of Real Red card 5.5 x 7.5cm.  I have then used a 1cm strip of Real Read card to create the ribbon effect and then stamped the sentiment with Old Olive ink.  Like I say... a lovely easy card when you know how.

Bottle of something

I thought I would share a wine bottle tag idea with you today ... this can be adapted for a male/female/couple/etc as appropriate.  I have used the Clearly for You stamp set ladybird stamped in Chocolate Chip ink in the background (Crumbcake base card), then coloured with Rich Razzleberry ink using a blender pen.  The birds image has been stamped in Chocolate Chip with the 'for you' sentiment, all from the same stamp set and then punched with a circle punch before being mounted on a scalloped circle.

This stamp set is great for both male and female cards and gifts as it includes a variety of images:

Check out page 66 of the catalogue for more.

To order this stamp set or anything else from the catalogue contact me.

Season of Joy

Here is the other of last weeks Christmas card club offerings... this weeks will follow in due course (I'm trying to minimise the number of Christmas themed projects in case it gets too much too early!).  This card uses the tree image from the Season of Joy stampset which has been inked with silver ink onto Garden Green card and then coated with silver embossing powder melted with a heat gun.  The ladies at my Christmas card club last week really liked this technique, as the end effect is a beautiful shimmery image.  The sentiment and decorative pattern (also from the same set) was also embossed using the same technique.  The tree panel was mounted onto silver mirror card (not Stampin' Up!) to continue the shiny decor and then I've used a small tree punch (also not Stampin' Up!) on the corner and then backed this with a piece of the silver mirror card.

Any dark coloured card works well with the silver ... purple (of course!) was my favourite, so I may well be making a batch of my own cards using this technique and stampset as I really like the overall effect.

Glass fusing results

Another Wednesday 'miscellaneous post' and as promised yesterday...  Here they are, the lovely glass works that I made last weekend (see previous post for the before shots)...

Hostess offer - until 15th December!

This offer was announced this morning on the Stampin' Up website...

 

 

 

When you host a workshop with sales of £300 or more (before post and packing) between now and 15th December, Stampin’ Up! will give you a Paisley Petals Bundle Free. This great bundle comprises the lovely Paisley Petals Stamp Set (in your choice of either wood or clear mount) and the scrummy coordinating Paisley Petals Patterned Papers! The bundle is worth up to £33.90 and is in addition to the regular hostess benefits!

So to clarify, when you host a Stampin’ Up! Party between now and 15 December, when your sales reach £300 or more you will get the following

• A Paisley Petals Stamp Set in either wood or clear mount – FREE
• A pack of Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper – FREE
• £50 Hostess Pounds to spend either on the exclusive hostess stamp sets or on the products of your choice - FREE
• 1 item of your choice from the Idea Book and Catalogue at half price

It's worth considering even if you don't think you can reach the target sales level as with the run up to Christmas people will be looking for gift ideas for their creative family and friends... plus perhaps thinking about making their own cards and gifts for the festive season :).

 

You can keep the workshop order period open for a couple of days after your party to allow time to obtain orders from those who can't make it along, and before you know it you will have reached your goal and get free products!

 

And even if you don't, it's a lovely reason to get friends/family together for a couple of hours.  Full details can be found on my Home Parties page, or just contact me today to book your workshop/party!

Swinging on a tree

I'm still catching up from my weekend away to the Lake District...  the weather wasn't great but we still made the most of it, check out my blog here if you are interested.

So with little of my own projects to share with you here is an idea created by my upline, Cate.  She shared this make and take project at her last workshop.  The idea originated from an idea created by Natalie O'Shea which was CASE'd from Kimberley Van Diepen in the US.

The tree image is from a set called Forever Young, and I have seen so many samples made using this stamp set since it was released in the new catalogue.

I picked up the glass works that I made last weekend (see earlier post here) yesterday so check back tomorrow if you want to see how the finished items look... I'm really pleased :).