Three ways with Party Alphabet Dies - plus TWO ways to get them for less

 

Have you looked at the Party Alphabet Dies from Stamping’ Up!® and wished you could justify ordering them? Read on for some great inspiration – plus TWO ways you could get these fabulous dies for less. 

I love mixing the old with the new when it comes to Stampin’ Up!® products, as I have done with this personalised birthday card using the newly released Jolly Delivery stamps (165838) and a summer Online Exclusive, Florals in Bloom Designer Series Paper (165175).

The main Stampin’ Up!® product here, of course, is the Party Alphabet Dies set (165263) which is a BIG ticket item but well worth adding to your craft stash.

I appreciate that these dies are £93 but I can think of two ways you can get them for less, which I explain lower down. 

 

First, let’s look at Robin’s birthday card. I spotted that the little dog from the brand new Jolly Delivery stamp set in the North Pole Delivery Suite is carrying a plain envelope in his mouth, making him suitable for birthday cards as well as Christmas. He was perfect to finish off this card for Robin, a dog-lover who also makes incredible dog puppets, even working on the puppets for the 101 Dalmatians musical in London this summer. 

I wanted the letters to stand out so I die-cut them several times from Secret Sea cardstock and even from the backing sheet from the Designer Series Paper. I layered these up using glue to give the letters real depth, which I now regret not showing more clearly in the photos.

The letters are spaced out evenly on a slimline card, with a strip of Florals in Bloom Designer Series Paper to ground them and give the little dog something to walk across.

The words are stamped in Berry Burst using a new(ish) Online Exclusive stamp set called Not 29 Anymore (166182). I loved this so much that I even overlooked the fact that "anymore" is two words in British English.

The finishing touch is that little dog from Jolly Delivery, coloured using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers.

This fun stamp set will be the theme of my November Craft Day here in Derbyshire and, yes, we will be using the Party Alphabet Dies too!  

Details and booking are here 

 

My Party Alphabet Dies may only have cost me £30 (yes, really!) but I am determined to get my money’s worth out of them so I used the same concept for this birthday card for my one-year-old great-nephew, Archie. 

Even with a slimline card, a six-letter name is difficult to squeeze on so I overlapped the letters this time, and replaced the letter i with a llama.

 

These letters don’t have the same depth as the ones on Robin’s card but I still cut them out twice. Once using Floral Impressions Designer Series Paper, another Online Exclusive, and once using Poppy Parade cardstock. The two layers are offset slightly to give the impression of a drop shadow.

 

The llama, from Long Time No See (166189) is coloured in using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers and the card is finished off with a greeting and a small punched heart made with the Bee Builder punch (162553) which I purchased purely for the heart and the speech bubble!

 

My third Party Alphabet Dies card is a CASE (Copy And Share Everything) of one by a fellow UK Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator, Kim Fee.

I spotted this beautiful subtle card she’d made using Party Alphabet Dies and the Peace on Earth bundle and she kindly said I could CASE it for my Craft Day later this month. 

You’ll notice that this time the letters are cut out of the white cardstock, to reveal the Peaceful Garden Designer Series Paper below. It’s worth reminding you that every time you cut out these letters, you have the potential to get a “twofer” – you can use the piece left behind if you position the dies carefully. In the case of this card, I have a handy NOEL to use on another project should I wish to. Well, I have ONE, as I dropped the L and ran over it with my chair.

Naturally I added my own spin to Kim’s card as I am not actually very good at copying exactly. 

I changed the main word from LOVE to NOEL which meant I couldn’t fit in two doves easily. No matter though, because this will make the card slightly quicker for my class ladies.

I also used a darker sheet of Peaceful Garden Designer Series Paper (165917) for my background, and a different greeting as we are using Traditional Labels in my class instead of Peace on Earth.

I don’t have any Cloud Cover Glimmer Paper (yet) so used some old White Glimmer Paper, spritzed with some alcohol and Cloud Cover ink. This helped the dove to stand out while still sparkling.

I hope you like my Party Alphabet Dies cards and appreciate the huge potential of this set. I promised to give you two great tips for getting these dies for less so here they are:

Stampin’ Rewards

This is how I purchased the Party Alphabet Dies for around £30. All online customers (who opt in! Don't miss this vital step!) earn 10% in Stampin’ Rewards on every order of £20 or more, so these rewards can soon add up if you save them instead of spending them.

The good news is that earned rewards last for 12 months so you can spend nearly a year earning them, then redeem them just before they expire. Just make sure you do this before the end of the current Annual Catalogue as there is no guarantee that the Party Alphabet Dies will carry over into the next one. 

Starter Kit

Signing up as a Stampin’ Up!® Demonstrator is a great idea if you are a frequent shopper and/or have crafty friends who like to buy, too. It costs just £99 for the fully customisable Starter Kit and you can choose up to £130 of products.

This means you could get:

• Party Alphabet Dies (£93)
• Jolly Delivery stamp set (£20)
• A pack of Designer Series Paper (£11.75)
• Some must-have Linen Thread (£4.75)
• AND free shipping. 

You can start building your Starter Kit here

or get in touch via my website with any questions or for tips. 

 

If you are in the UK and don’t already have a demonstrator, please consider shopping at my store.

 

Please message me via my website