Stealing a March on Christmas

We held our Christmas card class on Saturday – in glorious sunshine! I must admit it was hard to get in the mood for designing Christmas cards but, once I was there, it was great fun. I hope the ladies who came along enjoyed themselves, too.

Both the cards on my table used Season of Joy. By the end of the session some of us had used every stamp out of the set, which is quite a feat.

For this card, we stamped the top third of the card with Ruby Red ink on the Ruby Red cardstock. We scalloped a strip of Old Olive cardstock with the Scallop Edge punch, then pierced each scallop. The Bravo Burgundy strip is lightly distressed on one edge. I either lost or used up my Always Artichoke ribbon, so everyone else used Whisper White along the centre.

The main image is stamped in Bravo Burgundy, then stamped again in Old Olive on a scrap of Whisper White. We then used the ¾” punch to punch out the snowflake circle from the centre of JOY! and mounted it on top using a Stampin’ Dimensional.

Glitter was an option – I think there’s some on the flowers on mine but I’m not a big glitter user so I left that to the others.

Stamps: Season of Joy
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White
Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Old Olive, Ruby Red
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, ¾” circle punch, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Always Artichoke, Crafters’ Toolkit, Stampin’ Glitter – Dazzling Diamonds

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Swap cards

I took part in a card swap with some other UK demonstrators recently. The brief was to use the colours from the Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper, which are Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Real Red and Pumpkin Pie. We didn’t have to use the paper; we didn’t have to use all of the colours, but we couldn’t use any other colours.

Here are the cards that the others came up with and they are all fabulous - Stampin' Up!® demonstrators are a talented bunch! I was amazed at just how different they are, especially considering we all used the same colour palette.

You can see my swap card here.

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Spring blossoms

This is more like it! I like this card much better than the last one, although I never could work out where to put the ribbon (everything was stuck down or I could have tied some around the So Saffron strip).

To create the image from two two-step stamps, I first coloured the solid image with Watercolour Wonder™ crayons then sprayed the stamp lightly with a water mister. Once it had dried, I stamped over the top (using a Stamp-a-ma-jig® for accuracy) with the outline stamp in Basic Gray.

Stamps: Soft Summer, Basic Phrases
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Always Artichoke
Paper: Tea Party
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Large oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, Crafters’ Toolkit, Watercolour Wonder™ crayons, Stamp-a-ma-jig®

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the link on the right to view it online.

In the pink

Hmmm... I’m not so keen on this card. Something about it isn’t quite right but I can’t put my finger on it. The image is made up of two two-step stamps – the solid one stamped in Pretty in Pink, the top one stamped in Regal Rose. And that’s all I have to say about it.

Stamps: Soft Summer
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, textured Certainly Celery
Paper: Tea Party
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose
Accessories: 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon - Certainly Celery, Boho Blossoms punch, Rich Regals brads, Scallop Edge Punch

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the link on the right to view it online.

Blending blossoms

I love this blossom image from the Soft Summer stamp set. It’s a two-step stamp, with a solid image in the same shape in the set, too. But I just used the outline image for this card, stamping it in Basic Gray then colouring with Watercolour Wonder™ crayons and blending with blender pens. I used Regal Rose on the flowers and Always Artichoke on the leaves and stem. Then, to add some depth, I went around the whole of the image with a Bordering Blue crayon and blended.

Not sure if you can see but I Versamarked all over the background with the other image – sprig thingy - from this set.

Stamps: Soft Summer
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Basic Grey
Accessories: 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon - Certainly Celery, Watercolour Wonder™ crayons – Rich Regals, blender pens

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the link on the right to view it online.

So Saffron, spots and, er... sprigs?

I love the simple colour scheme on this card. The Designer Series Paper is, again, Tea Party, which is very versatile as it includes some fairly wild florals as well as more muted patterns like these So Saffron dots.

I don’t know how to refer to this image. Is it a sprig? Some sort of blossom? All suggestions welcomed. Anyway, I stamped it all over the background in Versamark®. For the main image, I coloured all over the rubber of the solid version with a So Saffron watercolour  crayon, then misted it lightly with water before stamping. Once it had dried, I stamped the outline version on top in Always Artichoke.

Stamps: Soft Summer, Basic Phrases
Cardstock: So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Paper: Tea Party
Ink: Always Artichoke, Versamark®
Accessories: Striped Grosgrain Ribbon – So Saffron, Crafters’ Toolkit, corner rounder, Watercolour Wonder crayons - Rich Regals

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the link on the right to view it online.

Hoppy about this card

This is kind of how I wanted the post-it holder to look. I’m really warming to this Tea Party paper and just can’t get enough of this rabbit!

This would make a cute little Easter card but I didn't want to limit it so left it blank. It's part of my Mum's gift set so, if she wants it to become an Easter card, I can always stamp for her later. 

Stamps: Forest Friends
Cardstock: Barely Banana, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Tea Party
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1 ¼” circle punch, 1 3/8” circle punch, Striped Grosgrain Ribbon – So Saffron

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Rabbiting on...

This is a little post-it note holder that I made to put inside the tin from yesterday. I love this little bunny but wish I’d stuck the Designer Series Paper and So Saffron layers higher up, so that I could have used another scallop oval or a scallop circle behind the rabbit. Oh well, still love that ribbon!

Stamps: Forest Friends
Cardstock: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Tea Party
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Corner rounder, Scallop Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Striped Grosgrain Ribbon – So Saffron

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Mother's Day tin

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers! I made this for my Mum and, now I’ve delivered it, it’s safe to post it here (despite her total lack of interest in crafts, she does visit my blog). It’s a Maya Road lunch tin which I’ve filled with cards for different occasions – I’ll show you these over the next few days.

The image is from a gorgeous new stamp set from the forthcoming Mini Catalogue. It’s called Soft Summer and features two sets of double-mounted Two-Step Stampin’® stamps plus two sentiment stamps.

But I’ve not used the two-step feature on this project, I’ve just stamped the apple blossom outline image with my new Basic Gray ink pad and then coloured it with Watercolour Wonder™ crayons and blender pens. I used the Regal Rose and Always Artichoke crayons from the Rich Regals set. Then I cut out the entire image and mounted it with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Tins are really easy to cover – and I only used one sheet of Designer Series Paper – it’s double-sided so I just flipped it over for the contrasting top half.

I covered the top of the tin with textured cardstock – this is available in colour family packs of 12x12 and I love it!

Stamps: Soft Summer
Cardstock: Basic Gray, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, textured Certainly Celery (for lid)
Paper: Tea Party
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Watercolour Wonder™ crayons – Rich Regals, Striped Grosgrain Ribbon – So Saffron, Crafters’ Toolkit

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Masculine card problems solved

Do you struggle to make masculine cards? This stamp set could be just what you’re looking for. It’s called For Father, although there are no references to fathers in it. This is one of the three images, which are lovely to colour in. I stamped it in Basic Gray, which is a permanent ink and looks a little softer than Basic Black, giving the image a pencil-drawn appearance.

To colour the image, I used Watercolour Wonder™ crayons and blender pens. I used the More Mustard crayon on the dog, with a combination of Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip on the boots. Then I cheated and opened my Rich Regals box, too, to add a shadow of Bordering Blue around the edge of the image to give it some depth.

The background is stamped with En Francais, a beautiful French script stamp – but you do have to take care not to stamp it upside-down.  The other stamp set I’ve used on this card is Circle of Friendship, which fits perfectly in the 1” circle punch; the centre fits perfectly in the ½” circle punch. 

Stamps: For Father, Circle of Friendship, En Francais
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Confetti White
Paper: Patterns Designer Series Paper - Chocolate Chip
Ink: Basic Gray, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Watercolour Wonder™ crayons – Rich Regals and Earth Elements, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - More Mustard, 1” circle punch, ½” circle punch, crafters’ toolkit

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Starry-eyed about free stamps

I have some new stamp sets as a gift from Stampin’ Up! for my sales during Sale-A-Bration - not bad considering I only managed to pull in one workshop and one class during the promotion. This is one of my favourite parts of being a demonstrator – getting freebies! I also love the thrill of opening a large cardboard box full of stamping supplies... for some reason, this is just as exciting even when there’s nothing in there for me!

Anyway, this is one of my free sets – it’s called In The Stars and I’d completely overlooked it for months as I thought it was all about babies. Then I looked properly and realised there was only one baby stamp in the set. I decided it would very useful to make cards for older children (particularly boys) and teenagers.

So here’s my first effort, using my new colour scheme: Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red and Taken with Teal. I used some scraps of Designer Series Paper, cut out the three stars (the “a wish for you” star fits the Star Punch perfectly) and stamped the tiny star on Whisper White before punching them out with the ½” circle punch.

Stamps: In The Stars
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, Whisper White
Paper: Summer Picnic
Ink: Rose Red, Taken with Teal
Accessories: Crafters’ Toolkit, Star Punch, ½” circle punch

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Little Owl

My son and I had a great time on Saturday at the Science Day at the University of Derby. The highlights were the meerkats (so cute but a bit smelly) and the owls. My son was thrilled to hold a Little Owl so, in honour of the occasion, here’s an owl card made using the new stamp set, Forest Friends, from the Mini Catalogue which is active from 1st April.

On a crafting note, owls are really popular at the moment, so I'm delighted to see this set in the new Mini Catalogue! 

I’ve mixed the old with the new here, using the Fall Flowers Designer Series Paper and the On Board Lots of Letters chipboard pack. But don’t forget that these retiring products are still available and, what’s more, all the chipboard products are currently 25% off! Click here for details.

And, oh look – there’s a felt flower! I like those a lot... but you knew that, didn’t you?

Stamps: Forest Friends
Cardstock: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Paper: Fall Flowers
Ink: Really Rust
Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, On Board Chipboard Lots of Letters, Flower Fusion Felt Flowers, Earth Elements buttons, Glue Dots®, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Very Vanilla

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Little Grey Rabbit

There’s some very exciting Stampin’ Up!® news on the horizon... even more fabulous stamps and accessories!

There’s a brand new Mini Catalogue being launched on 1st April and demonstrators have the privilege of ordering early. Naturally, I couldn’t resist and this card showcases some of the exciting new products.

I love, love, LOVE this new stamp set. It’s called Forest Friends and there are four stamps; this cute little rabbit, an owl (hurrah!), a deer (think Bambi) and a funky tree.

The paper is new, too. It’s called Tea Party and features lots of lovely soft colours and florals; it will certainly please those who have been asking for Designer Series Papers in shades of lilac (not that you can tell from this card but there are papers featuring Almost Amethyst, too).

Have you spotted anything else that’s new? Next up is the striped Grosgrain Ribbon. This comes in three colours; Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink and, shown here, So Saffron. It’s beautiful and ever so easy to tie.

The last new product featured on this card is the Scallop Oval Punch. Like the oh-so-popular Scallop Circle Punch, it also has a sister punch – the Large Oval (not shown). My Scallop Circle Punch had gone walkabout when I was making this card so I improvised with two scalloped ovals... and I quite like the result. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention.

So there you have it; four brand new products to whet your appetite. The Mini is a 24-page, A5 catalogue featuring lots more stamp sets, Designer Series Papers (there are two other sets) and accessories. You’ll be able to view it online from 1st April.

Stamps: Forest Friends, Seasonal Wishes
Cardstock: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Basic Gray
Paper: Tea Party
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Striped Grosgrain Ribbon – So Saffron, Scallop Oval Punch, 1 ¼” circle punch, 1 3/8” circle punch, ½” circle punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Rich Regals brads, Crafters’ Toolkit

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Gift rucksack

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned but I really love these felt flowers. Here I’ve used them on this rucksack box which I made for a little girl’s birthday. I can’t remember where I saw the idea initially I’m afraid (can’t claim it as my own) but it’s quite simple really – just a tall box with a flap, and a very thin box with a flap stuck on the front.

The back has holes punched in it with ribbon threaded through to create straps. It grieved me to use so much of my new stitched grosgrain but the colour was perfect so I bit the bullet and just did it.

I made this one evening and, next day, realised that this Summer Picnic paper uses Real Red, not Rose Red, which is what I used for the body of the box. But I think I got away with it because the Real Red cherries are small.

My daughter had the idea to put the present in the body of the rucksack and make a small card to put in the front pocket - a great idea but it did mean the card was very, very tiny. Quite cute though.

Stamps: Tart and Tangy
Cardstock: Rose Red, Bashful Blue, Old Olive textured
Paper: Summer Picnic
Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive markers
Accessories: Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon - Rose Red, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon – Whisper White, Crafters’ Toolkit, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8” circle punch, rhinestone brads, Flower Fusion felt flowers

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

I'm taken with Taken With Teal

What’s this? Taken with Teal? Now there’s a colour I don’t use very often. And do you know what? I actually like it! I will try to use it more often.

I never thought I’d team Taken with Teal with Pumpkin Pie and Rose Red but it could be my new favourite colour combination.

I really like these felt flowers, too (have I mentioned that?) – I think they look fab layered up with a punched flower and a brad.

Stamps: Best Wishes & More, Basic Phrases
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, Whisper White
Paper: Cutie Pie
Ink: Taken with Teal
Accessories: Flower Fusion felt flowers, Rich Regals brads, Boho Blossoms punch, Stitched grosgrain ribbon – Rose Red

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Fun with felt

I really love these felt flowers – have I mentioned that already? And I’m enjoying this colour combination, too; I never thought I’d like Pumpkin Pie quite as much as I do. The stems of these flowers are created with the wavy stamps from Best Wishes & More. The buttons are attached to the felt flowers, and the flowers attached to the cardstock, using Glue Dots. And that’s it really – it’s a really quick and easy card.

Stamps: Best Wishes & More
Cardstock: Whisper White, Rose Red, Old Olive
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Flower Fusion felt flowers, Earth Elements buttons, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Pumpkin Pie

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Two little dickie birds...

Something a bit different for spring... Soft Subtles. I’m attending a craft club in Derby this month to show them the beauties of Stampin’ Up!® They’ll all be making three cards so I thought I’d do one from each of three of the colour families.

The cards need to be really simple as there could be up to 25 people and we only have two hours!

So this simple card is what we’ll be making with Soft Subtles, if I can scrounge some Whisper White ribbon from someone (and to think I placed four orders at the weekend – doh!). I love this little bird and haven’t used it half as much as I should. The flower detail is made using the Boho Blossoms punch, which punches out three different flowers at once. You can use them separately or layer them, as I’ve done here.

Stamps: Best Wishes & More, Seasonal Greetings
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Paper: Cutie Pie
Ink: Bashful Blue
Accessories: Boho Blossoms punch, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Whisper White

And, while I was making the above card, I had the idea to make a second card with the little bird actually saying something. I think it’s quite cute but need a branch or something for the bird to sit on.

I made the fancy corners using the ½” circle punch – just push the corner of the cardstock in halfway; there’s even a little cross on the punch to make it easier. I wanted to keep this card really stark and white but couldn’t resist doodling around the edges a little.

Stamps: Best Wishes & More
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Stitched ribbon - Bashful Blue, Rich Regals brads, Bashful Blue Stampin’ Write marker

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Mother's Day gifts - and an inverted scalloped edge!

So sorry for the lack of posts – I don’t know where the time’s gone! Well, most of Saturday was spent preparing for and holding a Mother’s Day class, attended by 17 eager stampers who each made four projects.

There was the joy fold card, very similar to this one but we used True Friend instead of Pocket Silhouettes – I can’t show you the real one as it’s gone awol. There was a little gift pouch; again, I don’t have a completed one but I’ll make up another (one day!). And then there were these two gift items; a chocolate box and a post-it note holder.

The box was made using this grid paper technique, although I didn’t make the class go to such lengths – all their templates were cut out for them. The box holds two Ferrero Rocher chocolates, which are slippery customers so someone had the great idea of putting a glue dot under each one to hold it still.

The post-it note holder is a simpler version of this one, made in cardstock as it’s sturdier. I love these colours together – the combination was inspired by the Felt Flowers, which we used on the card.

Do you like the inverted scallop edge along the top? I thought of that all by myself, which is a rare occurrence! Here’s how to make it with your Scallop Square Punch:

1. Insert your paper or cardstock into the punch, as shown, and punch. I always work with punches upside-down so that I can see where I’m punching.

2. This is what you will have punched.

3. Re-insert the piece of paper into the punch, lining it up against the last rounded piece that you punched.

4. Punch again and you will get this. Mine is very wonky but bear in mind I had a camera in the other hand!

Stamps: Best Wishes & More, Basic Phrases, Doodle That
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Rose Red, Whisper White
Paper: Summer Picnic
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Old Olive
Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon – Old Olive, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Pumpkin Pie, corner rounder

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

£240 of craft supplies for just £125!

Would you like...

• ... never to have to pay full price for craft supplies again?
  
• ... to get paid for doing something you love?
  
• ... to meet new people who share your love of stamping?
  
• ... to run a business where and when you want to – with no set hours and few obligations?
  
• ... the opportunity to attend Stampin’ Up!® events, including a crafting convention in Frankfurt?
  
• ... to see the latest Stampin’ Up!® products before they’re released to the general public?
  

and, best of all...

• ... more than £240 of craft supplies for just £125?*
  

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, then being a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator could be just what you’re looking for.

Whether you want to build up a full-time business or simply buy a Starter Kit for the fabulous discount – or, like most of us, somewhere in between – there’s no better time to sign up than this month as you can get 10% off the Starter Kit from March 12th to 25th.

Being a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator is great fun – and I would be delighted to welcome you into my downline. If you’d like to find out more, please email me - there are also more details here.

*Normally £139, reduced to £125 during the period March 12th to 25th.

Sticky notes

It's World Book Day today, which I've only just realised - I was asked recently to name my favourite book, which is SUCH a hard question. Is it a book  you've enjoyed and remember fondly, or one that you return to again and again? The publication I return to most of all is, of course, my Stampin' Up!® Idea Book and Catalogue but I didn't think that would go down very well so held back! I really should have a handmade to show you but this will have to do.

This is so easy to make that it’s almost rude not to – especially when you can buy 12 pads of sticky notes for £1.47 in PC World at the moment.

Yes, it’s a Post-It note holder made from a strip of cardstock or paper, scored to create a narrow spine. This one is made from Designer Series Paper, so you get a nice inside, too – although I do think the paper isn’t quite heavy enough for the purpose, so I have since made one (but not photographed it yet) using cardstock which was much better.

The paper is from the Haiku collection, which I absolutely love... which is why you don’t see me use it very often (too nice to cut up!). The pad is embellished with a felt flower from the gorgeous Flower Fusion Accents & Elements pack (LOVE these!). On top of that is a Pumpkin Pie punched flower made with my new Boho Blossoms punch and, finally, a rhinestone brad. The larger rhinestone brads, like this one, have quite a wide “neck” so I find they work best if you punch a large-ish hole for them to go through, so that the brad sits flatter. I used the Crop-A-Dile™, which meant I could cut through the felt flower, too. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite manage to get all these floral elements centred but I decided I didn’t care – I quite like it quirkily wonky.

One more tip: don’t stick the spine to the pad, as I’ve done here – it works much better when you leave it free.

Cardstock: Old Olive
Paper: Haiku
Accessories: ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Pumpkin Pie, Flower Fusion felt flowers, rhinestone brads, Boho Blossoms punch

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Tutorial: Using grid paper to make box templates

Grid paper is so much more than a work surface. Among other things, you can use it to help you line things up, to measure and... to make box templates.

Now I know some of you panic when it comes to boxes (*cough* Mary *cough*) but they really can be quite simple. This rather lengthy double tutorial will show you how to make a simple box template to fit your contents and, secondly, how to make a box template to accommodate a stamped image.

To see the pictures in more detail, just click on them and they should enlarge. If they don't, just email me for a PDF of this tutorial.

First, making a box to fit a gift. I couldn’t find anything fun to put in a box so settled on these three mini highlighters. I forgot about the stash of Mini Ritter Sport under the stairs, but they'll wait for another day.

1. First lay your gift on the grid paper, making sure it’s straight and roughly centred within the lines. Then draw around it, along the lines, to create a template for the base of a box.

2. Next “measure” the sides of the box by checking the height of your gift against the paper.















3. Draw the sides on your box. Make these ever so slightly wider than the height of your gift.













4. Now you can build up your template by adding a lid (same size as the base) and a flap (make it narrower than the sides).

5. You need to add flaps, as shown in the photo, to hold the box together. Now you have your template. If you like, you can cut this out of the grid paper and work from there.

6. Alternatively, mark the measurements on your template. You can either measure them with a ruler or simply count the boxes - the paper is marked in centimetres.

7. Now cut out a piece of cardstock of the correct size and score to match the template. I’ve shaded the areas that need to be cut away.











8. You can see where I’ve folded the cardstock – I’ve marked the cut lines in black.

9. This is the template folded and cut in the appropriate places.

10. Here I’ve turned the template over (this is the outside of the box) and marked the areas that need adhesive.

11. Assemble the box and there you have it. If you make this much larger, it would be helpful to have flaps on the sides of the lid, too, but you will get away without them on a small box.

12. And look! The pens fit perfectly.

Now to make a box to accommodate a stamped image. I usually make boxes and then search around for an image but if you want to use a particular stamp, it’s handy to be able to work the other way round.

1. For this project, I wanted to make an upright box with an elephant stamped on the front, so I started by stamping the elephant on to the grid paper and marking a rectangle around it to represent the white cardstock I would be stamping on.

2. Next I built up the front of the box – I added a rectangle to represent a layer ½” cm larger all the way around, then drew a larger rectangle to represent the front of the box.

3. I added the sides and base of the box – they need to be the same width. Next I added the back of the box (same size as the front) and a flap (narrower than the sides). I’ve shaded the area that needs to be cut away from the template.

4. This is the template cut out of cardstock, scored and folded (all folds go in the same direction).

5. I forgot to take a photo of the assembly – you need to apply tape down the side flap and join the box to make a rectangular tube. Turn the box upside down so all the flaps are sticking up, then fold the small sides flaps in with the long flaps on top. You only need adhesive on the last one.




6. Now you have a box which you can decorate with your stamped image which should fit perfectly.

Hope this makes sense! Making boxes can seem complicated but I’ve found this method makes it really simple.

Oh and by the way, I made the border on this box using the corner rounder, then punched holes using the Crop A Dile.

Stamps: Wild About You
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Rose Red, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Paper: Sweet Always
Ink: Basic Gray, Rose Red
Accessories: Square Scallop Punch, Stitched Ribbon - Rose Red, Corner Rounder, Crop-A-Dile, Rich Regals Brads, grid paper

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the link on the right to view it online.

Get On Board with chipboard!

Well it's a new month and we have a new special offer for you! This month it's all about chipboard. In my opinion, you either LOVE chipboard... or you've just not tried it! There are so many uses for this grey board which can, at first glance, appear quite uninspiring. You can ink it up, you can cover it with funky papers, you can leave it naked (!), you can stamp on it. But whatever you do with it, it adds a satisfying depth to your projects.

It's been much-loved by scrapbookers for a long time, and now card-makers are discovering the benefits of chipboard shapes, too. The great news is that, during March, you can buy Stampin' Up!®'s great chipboard assortments at 25% off!

Stampin' Up!’®s On Board chipboard is designed to coordinate with many of our stamps and accessories and is perfect for adding dimension and colour to cards, scrapbook pages, or any other project you can think of.

There are four assortments to choose from. Two are in the main catalogue, while the other two are at the back of the catalogue, with the retiring products.

Check out the table (click it to enlarge) for the details of the chipboard assortments on offer, with prices. Please get in touch if you'd like to order any - remember you don't have to live near to me as products can be delivered to your door.

And, if you still need convincing that chipboard is fabulous, please click here for some projects made using On Board chipboard products.

More joy... and punch drunk!

This is another Joy Fold card, in the pretty patterns of the Sweet Always Designer Series Paper.

It’s pretty much the same idea as the previous Joy Fold card but I was playing around and trying to come up with a project for my next class. I stamped directly on to the paper to create the busy floral effect for the centre panel.

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Circle of Friendship, Daily Flexible Phrases
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Paper: Sweet Always
Ink: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Round Tab Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8” circle punch, 1 ¼” circle punch, 1” circle punch, Crafters’ Toolkit, Flower Fusion felt flowers, Rich Regals brads

And I just had to show you this! I received a rather large Stampin’ Up!® order a few days ago and couldn't resist taking a photo. These are just the punches! There were also piles of stamp sets, stacks of inkpads and loads of cardstock and Designer Series Papers.

And most of the customers at the workshop managed to earn a free stamp set through Sale-A-Bration, too! Sale-A-Bration has finished now - but there will be plenty more special offers throughout the year. Keep checking back for details. 

Accessories: Punches – and loads of them!

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.