Eight projects using the Dainty Delight bundle from Stampin' Up!®

Saturday was my long-awaited Spring Craft Day – a day of creating beautiful projects using the Dainty Delight bundle and the now-retired Dainty Flowers Designer Series Paper.

All through Sale-a-Bration, I used my rewards for this gorgeous paper so I would have enough for everyone to receive half a pack in their kit. Anyone who upgraded to include the bundle received a full pack.

And I was really glad I’d been hoarding it because by the time I came to place my final order, the paper had all gone and I couldn’t order any for the late bookers. Luckily I had just enough for everyone.

Designer Series Paper projects using Sale-a-Bration papers

 

I love all the gorgeous Designer Series Papers from Stampin’ Up!® and love making them the focus of my projects because they do all the work for you. 

 

On Saturday I ran a class on Zoom which I called a Paper Caper as customers could choose from two packs of Stampin’ Up!® Designer Series Paper from the Sale-a-Bration brochure: Favored Flowers or Day At The Farm.

TWO Stampin’ Up!® Christmas projects - with free tutorials

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas... so it’s time to bring out some Christmassy crafts.

Every year I try to create a Christmas decoration from my Stampin’ Up!® supplies and this year is no exception, with this delicate white and gold heart ornament. 

Vintage-inspired Tea Boutique projects

Stampin’ Up!® products are not just for cardmaking and my customers had asked if they could decorate a notebook at our all-day Craft-Tea Day Out on Saturday.

I aim to please so came up with this lovely vintage-inspired design using the Cup of Tea Bundle and Tea Boutique Designer Series Paper. I wanted to show the versatility of the Tea Boutique paper by highlighting the more subtle designs on the reverse.

Free tutorials: Half-cracker gift box and triangle gift box

Well my brief “Christmas or not” series came and went; I’ve just not had time to make anything extra this week. I don’t know about you but I would rather have time off before Christmas than afterwards, so I can get all my preparations done. But never mind, it will all work out in the end, and then I get a good week and a half off to relax.

Friday was my last Crafty Friday of the year. I’m pleased to have kept this going all year, despite having to run sessions remotely. This month we made two boxes; a half cracker and a triangle box.

The half cracker uses a full sheet of A4 cardstock, and you need half a sheet of 12x12 or two 6x6 sheets, so it's pretty economical. It’s a pretty, reusable alternative to Christmas crackers, which you can refill every year and display on your festive table. Or you can simply use it as gift packaging for a small gift – my crafty Friday ladies seemed particularly keen on using it to gift a spirit miniature! That’s just how they roll...

 Download the tutorial and template for this project here 

I’ve used several different DSPs for these boxes, as I had leftovers to use up but I am particularly taken with the Most Wonderful Time papers from this amazing product medley. How I overlooked this I don’t know but I did manage to nab the refill pack before it went out of stock. 

The good news is that when I checked yesterday, the full product medley was still available and an absolute bargain at half price. Should be £65, now only £32.50 and you get stamps, dies, DSP, sticker sheets, tinsel and embellishments. A mega bargain, and a gorgeous one at that: you can order it here.

The triangle box starts with a sheet of A4 and uses less than a 6x6 piece of DSP. I have used Most Wonderful Time DSP for this project and decorated with a label cut with the Tasteful Labels dies and some trees from the Snow Globe Scenes dies. This ribbon gives it a hint of bling and goes with absolutely everything. 

This box uses Misty Moonlight cardstock (LOVE that colour) and the Trimming the Town Designer Series Paper which has now retired. My new Rectangular Postage Stamp Punch makes for a quick label, stamped with Yuletide Pasture, which is retiring soon and currently reduced. 

Download the tutorial and template for the triangle box here

When making this box, you may feel that it’s not an economical use of cardstock but all those off-cuts are a decent size which can be used to make Christmas tags... 

These tags are all made using the Most Wonderful Time products, with the addition of greeting stamps and a little deer from the Snow Globe Scenes dies. Tags are a great way to use up any leftover elements from your Christmas cards, so don’t throw anything away! (What am I saying? If you’re reading this, you’re a crafter so you won’t throw anything away anyway!)

I hope you like these projects and enjoy making some Christmas boxes of your own. If you’re in the UK, please shop online using the December host code SX4NGWRH (unless you’re spending over £150!). And as a thank you for using the code, I will send you a handmade card and a thank you gift.

 

Springtime Foils Week Part 2: Colouring with Stampin’ Blends

Here is a really fun way to use the striped sheet. I simply used my Stampin’ Blends to colour the stripes in candy shades. I used the light shade of each colour, and try not to go over the edges or the colours will blend into each other (don’t zoom in!).

The box is made with a 6"x6" sheet of DSP and the Envelope Punch Board. Simply punch and score at the 2" and 4" marks, then assemble into a cute little box. I punched holes in the flaps and threaded ribbon through to tie it closed. I finished it off with a piece of the leaf patterned DSP, coloured with Blends and fussy cut.

Inside are some tiny dog-shaped shortbread biscuits from Sainsbury s for my host, Mandy, who has a Scottie dog and is therefore obsessed with all things Scottie dog!

Lots of Lavender - three projects in a serene colour scheme

To showcase the Lots of Lavender stamp set at a party recently, I demonstrated these projects, beginning with this fun box which I created with the help of this fabulous tutorial from Crafty Caroline Creates. 

This pretty stamp set is FREE with a £45 order during Sale-a-Bration, which runs until the end of March. It’s a great choice as you have the option of stamping the colour, or colouring in using your favourite method. I demonstrated several colouring methods which I don’t have room to show here today and also showed the guests how to speed up stamping the leaves and stalks using my top tip, which you can find here. Fussy cutting the lavender is not for quick makes at parties, so we kept things simple for the Make & Take... 

 But here was a project I’d prepared earlier, to thank our lovely hostess, Kelly...

Window Box Thinlits - extra wide box with tutorial link

I promised you more projects using the Window Box Thinlits, so here’s another one. This was created by following a superb tutorial by the talented Kirsteen Gill, which you can find here. I have never been the type of person who can create “different” designs with our supplies, so am always very grateful when others find new ways to use our products, and this wider version of the Window Box is very clever indeed. Why not give it a try?

And in answer to your question – because I know you’re thinking it – no, the spotty belly band doesn’t cover a join... there is no join.

And in answer to your other question: why did I use peach when everyone knows I don’t like it? That’s because I tend to try new designs in my least favourite colours. Usually they go wrong but this one went right!

Best Birds seed boxes

This is another of the projects from my Best Birds workshop. It’s a really simple box with lid, with an aperture to allow you to see the contents: a cello bag full of black pumpkin seeds for the birds. We’re big bird-feeders in this house and my husband was really excited to see a nuthatch in the garden the other week. Sadly I was out and missed it as we’ve been waiting 23 years!

Anyway, back to the box: the base and the lid are each made from a sheet of 6x6; the base is Kraft, while the lid is Serene Scenery DSP (which I absolutely love). the Kraft is scored at 1in from each side, the DSP is scored at 2.5cm from each side. The very slight difference in the two measurements should allow the lid to fit snugly. 

The aperture is created using the old-style circle dies as I don’t yet have the new ones, but I’ve linked to the new ones below as those are they ones which are available. But any size circle will do; you just can’t do it with a punch though, as it won’t reach that far. 

To get the circle in the centre, we drew diagonal lines, corner to corner, with a pencil on the reverse side, so the cross in the middle allowed us to centre the die. 

I made two samples so I had one to show each table and so the ladies could choose which one to make, using whichever sheet of DSP they preferred, as they had one of each design to play with. It’s all held together with that old favourite, linen thread. 

Best Birds Photopolymer Bundle [142315] £38.50	Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack [141642] £9.00	Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] £32.00
Soft Suede A4 Card Stock [119982] £7.25	Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock [121685] £7.25	Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock [138345] £7.25
Kraft 12" X 12" Card Stock [133674] £6.50	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [126978] £6.00	Guesseted Cellophane Bags [141704] £4.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Around the World Blog Hop: Sale-a-Bration 2016

It’s time for another trip around the globe as I take you on a second Around the World Blog Hop – thanks so much for joining me! I was astounded to get so many visitors last time; it was wonderful to welcome to many crafters from around the world.

This time our theme is Sale-a-Bration and I was delighted to take part once again, and be part of an amazing team of talented demonstrators. You may have joined me from Julie Davison’s US blog where I’m sure you’ll have feasted your eyes on a fabulous creation. After this, you can head off to France to see the super-talented Cécile Ortiz. But don’t worry too much if you get lost along the way, it’s a circular trip and all the destinations are listed below.

For the hop, I wanted to show you the gorgeous Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper from the Sale-a-Bration collection. I’m surprised this hasn’t been more popular with my customers but, as most of them have chosen the co-ordinating Flowering Fields stamp set so far, I suspect this will be next on their lists!

I’ve used it to adorn these fun self-closing boxes. I received one of these at Christmas from one of my team and was very impressed, but I’ve only just got round to having a go. Turns out they’re quite easy but I couldn’t find a written tutorial anywhere, only videos...

Ok it’s confession time: I don’t really like video tutorials. I’m a visual learner, yes, but I’m also extremely impatient and I just want to be able to skim to the bits I need and review them easily, without trying to scroll back, scrolling too far and ending up watching it all again. Also, it’s not always easy to listen to a video in a busy household. Anyway, I’ll stop before it turns into a full-blown rant! Suffice to say, if you can’t find what you need, you have to make it yourself, so you’ll also find a link to download a tutorial and template below.

The tutorial is in imperial, I’m afraid. I’d like to say I’ll make another in metric at some point but it would be a false promise, as I’m ridiculously busy at the moment. So imperial it is!

Here’s another box, using a different sheet of paper from the pack.  And please come back during the week to see some more projects made with this beautiful paper! Meanwhile, head off to see Cécile... and bon voyage!

Miriam van Eyden (Netherlands)

http://miriam-cardsandscrapping.blogspot.com

Marie-Josée Trudel (Canada - French)
http://alapause.blogspot.com

Liz Goldhawk (Canada)
http://lgoldhawk.blogspot.com

Kristine McNickle (New Zealand)

http://creativestamping.co.nz

Julie Davison (USA)

http://juliedavison.com

 Helen Read (UK)

http://allthingsstampy.blogspot.com

Cécile Ortiz (France)
https://lezardsdecilou.wordpress.com

Barbara Meyer (Austria)

http://barbaras-kreativ-studio.blogspot.com

Alisa Tilsner (Australia)

http://www.alisatilsner.com

Anke Hämsch (Germany)

http://leipzig-stempelt.blogspot.com

Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper [141022] £0.00	Simply Scored [122334] £27.00	Farmers Market A4 Cardstock Assortment Pack [139016] £6.50	White 1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Jute Ribbon [137904] £8.25
1-3/8" Circle Punch [119860] £14.50	1-3/4" Circle Scallop Punch [119854] £16.00	Party Pop-Up Thinlits Dies [140620] £27.00	Hearts Border Punch [133784] £14.50
Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25	Flowering Fields Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141303] £0.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mix It Up Monday: Gift boxes with Vintage Leaves

I decided I should make a little more effort with this month’s gifts for my Virtual Hostess Club members so put together these little boxes. I used the box board which makes things really easy and then die-cut the leaves with my new Vintage Leaves bundle. 

This project is, of course, for Mix It Up Monday and I have to say that this is the first combo I haven’t been keen on so far. I’m not convinced that the Cucumber Crush goes with the tones of the other three, but the boxes are made now and there’s no going back. 

What’s inside? Just a little treat for the VHC ladies to enjoy while they browse their Autumn/Winter catalogues, which will be heading their way with their orders!

Gift Box Punch Board [135863]	Vintage Leaves Photopolymer Bundle [140235]	Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set [138946]	2-1/2" Circle Punch [120906]	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [126974]
Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad [138327]	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad [126986]	Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad [138324]	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock [106550]	Early Espresso A4 Card Stock [121686]
Island Indigo A4 Card Stock [124390]	Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock [138345]	Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock [138342]	Gold Baker's Twine [132975]

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com