Not Just for Tags....

Another tag using the Two Tags Die, this time a bit more decorative and it would make the perfect partner to a co-ordinated gift wrapped present.  Isn't it nice to gift wrap those special presents with hand made tags and wrapping.  Again,  more of the previous post using "Tags till Christmas" for the Bauble image and "Polar Party" for the greeting.

So here you see the Two Tags Die is not just for Tags!  A cute little gift bag that perfectly fits two Ferrero Rocher chocolates.   This gift bag is so easy to put together, it simply uses two die cut tags which are then stuck together and folded in towards each other along the pre-scored lines to create the bag.  These would also make great name place settings too.

Gift Tag

Using the Two Tags Big Shot Die I created a cute Gift Tag and then made a pocket to encase it!  More Holly Berry Boutique Patterned Papers along with Glimmer Brads and Spotted Scallop Cherry Cobbler Ribbon.  The slim "Merry Christmas" tag was die cut using one of the Sizzlits (slim) dies from the "Lots of Tags" set.

 The "just for you" image is from the Hostess stamp set "Tagtastic" which has a very vintage feel and I love how you can cut out the centre piece and raise it using a dimensional.  Here I stamped the image in Cherry Cobbler and punched it out using the XL Oval Punch then daubed in Early Espresso ink around the edge to give a more vintage feel.

"Tagtastic" isn't available to purchase unless you are a Hostess, so why not book yourself a party, invite some friends around and earn yourself some lovely exclusive Stampin' Up! products for free or just simply host a virtual party if you don't have the room to entertain, alternatively join one of my virtual stampers/marker clubs to get your hands on exclusive hostess goodies.

Here is a close up view:

Tags Till Christmas

Sorry for the lack of posts, we have been away for Christmas and just returned this morning.  I still have a few Christmas products to share with you so thought I should do this before it is too late!!!  Of course you could always make an early start ready for next year and get crafting now!!

Another project created at the Bags, Boxes and Tags Class.  That gorgeous Ornament (Bauble) image is from the "Tags Till Christmas" stamp set which contains images that can all be punched out and used as tags.

Again we used the Holly Berry Boutique papers with co-ordinating colours of Cherry Cobbler and Wild Wasabi.

We used the Big Shot Dies Perfect Penants and Petal Cone to create the Crumb Cake Scallop Circle and Flag Banner to which we stamped a greeting using "Polar Party" Stamps.  We spritzed this with a Cherry Cobbler Marker Pen and Spritzer Tool.

We used a glimmer brad attached to a Boho Blossom flower and some of the Spotty Scallop Ribbon to create a closure for our box.

More Cherry Cobbler Boho Blossom flowers with Mini Silver Brad centres are attached to the centre of the Bauble to finish.

Bags, Boxes and Tags Class

Last week I held a selection of Christmas classes, the "Bags, Boxes and Tags" was one of them.  The class was based on the Holly Berry Bouquet Designer Paper so our colour combo was Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler and Wild Wasabi.

Here is what we created during the class, I had several samples on display with instructions and everyone chose what they wanted to make.

The first is a little gift bag that could contain anything from a couple of sweet treats, to make-up or jewellery.

The greeting is from "Polar Party" that cute little Christmas set and the ribbon tail flag was die cut with the Big Shot using the Petal Cone Die.  We stamped the greeting in Chocolate Chip ink then using the Cherry Cobbler Marker Pen spritzer over the top.

Of course some co-ordinating Spotted Scallop Ribbon is making an appearance and attaching it a Glimmer Brad, you can't appreciate just how gorgeous these are until you see one in the flesh!!

Back with some more projects soon.

Embossing with Stripes

Don't you just love the Textured Embossing Folders that Stampin' Up! have, they give such a deep embossed texture and transform a simple piece of cardstock into something great!  This card features the new "Stripes" folder, perfect for those manly cards but still add a touch of class to any occasion.

My colour combo here is Pool Party, Island Indigo and Certainly Celery.

This cute little hippo is from the stamp set Kidoodles, the images are cute and great for colouring/watercolouring.  This card wasn't my idea, I saw it whilst blog hopping and loved how simple it was, just perfect to case for one of my 6 cards.

I used Blender Pens with the ink in the lids of the Ink Pads to colour in the hippo image.  Although these images all have a greeting attached to each stamp you can of course use a marker pen to use either the image or the greeting separately.

The lovely scallop trim circle was die cut using the Big Shot with the "Perfect Penants" die, this die also for creating Bunting!!

That lovely decorative border at the top is from the stamp set "Creative Elements" which I received at Convention, it is such a beautiful set consisting of 8 stamps.

6 Cards Class projects

Our first card at November's 6 Cards Class was this, the idea came from Jane, we made a similar version at our Pyjama Shoe Box Swap in our rooms at Disneyland Paris.  I didn't steal the whole idea, just took the colours and sketch then added my own stamps.  Thank you Jane for the inspiration.

So I chose the stamp set "Nature Walk", a really versatile set that even works for man cards too as you can create some lovely collages with it.  We used Marker Pens to colour in the image to give a multi-coloured effect.

I have a new Marker Pen starting soon, still have a couple of spaces left so if you are interested in spreading the cost of the whole set then just get in touch.

The greeting is from "Perfect Punches" and as it's title tells, each of the greetings co-ordinate with Punches.

Season of Joy!

"Season of Joy" is one of my all time favourite Christmas stamp sets, I love it even more as it can be used for non-Christmas cards as the Poinsettias can easily pass for flowers if using subtle colours and that swirl just has so many uses.

My colour combo here is Real Red, Old Olive and Whisper White.  That spotty scallop ribbon is making an appearance again, can you tell that I love it, the Cherry Cobbler version is even more delicious!!  Such a sweet and simple design here.

The Poinsettia's have been hand cut and layered using Dimensionals to make them stand out and on one I have added some of those cute little mini silver brads, they are just £2.95 for 200 of the little beauties and I have been using them on everything!!

Back soon with some piccies of my birthday trip to New York and Canada!

Watercolouring....

I just love to watercolour and we have some lovely outlined image stamps in the new Catalogue which are perfect for this.  "Easy Events" is one of those sets, lots of lovely images just waiting to be coloured in.

On this occasion I stamped the tree image with black StazOn ink onto Watercolour paper, this is to stop the bleeding when colouring in.  I used marker pens to scribble splashes of colour to the stamped image then the Aqua painters to move the colour around my image as required.  The finished effect is just as if you have painted with a brush, really soft and washy!

Ooops, there's that scallop ribbon again, this time in Chocolate Chip!!  Can you see the new "Stripes" Embossing Folder, loving that, such a useful one for all occasions.  The Designer Frame is also an embossing folder, it comes as a pair, the other is an oval with lots of dots around the edge and you are sure to see that here soon , at £7.95 for both a great bargain too!

I have a pretty busy week preparing for classes but will be back shortly to show you more!

Sweet Snowglobe

Here is another card from my November class, this time using one of the "A La Carte" (single) Stamps "Sweet Snowglobe".  This stamp co-ordinates with the 1 3/4" Circle Punch and Sweet Treat Cups but here we simply just punched it out and gave it a bit of 3D!

We used "Serene Snowflakes" stamps to create the background on the Riding Hood Red layer, the snowflakes are just so delicate and the Kraft White Ink works perfectly on the Riding Hood Red, we also daubed around the edge.

For the Snowglobe we stamped it twice, once in Early Espresso ink then we inked it up again but this time using 4 marker pens, baja breeze (snowflakes), Riding Hood Red (house) and Old Olive and Early Espresso (trees) then punched it out using the 1 3/4" Circle Punch.  Using tombow we added adhesive to the snowflakes then poured on Dazzling Diamonds and set it to dry before layering over the Espresso image using Dimensionals.  We added some mini silver brads to the base of the Snowglobe which are hard to see from the picture.

We used the Big Shot to emboss those lovely dots onto Crumb Cake cardstock and stamped our greeting which we punched out with the Decorative Label Punch.  Don't you just love that spotty scallop ribbon, I know I do!!

Would you like to re-create this card, this stamp is only £8.95 and can still be delivered in time for you to make your Christmas cards, call or text for further information!

Convention 2011

At Convention we have a formal Dinner and Awards evening to recognise those who have achieved throughout the year.  There were some beautiful frocks to be seen and some heels to die for!  I had planned on buying "sensible shoes" as I knew I was going to be walking the stage a few times but couldn't resist those patent Ted Baker skyscrapers and my roomies were sure that they were going to bag themselves a cheque from "Youv'e Been Framed", but fortunately for me they were unlucky this time!!!  I won some lovely gifts over the weekend for my achievements and also won the Prize Patrol too along with some sneak peak stamps that I can't share with you yet!

Here I am with the lovely Shannon West, she is such a beautiful person, so warm and natural and if you have met her I am sure you would agree.  She is wearing an apron she made with the new Timeless Portrait Fabric, we had a couple of Main Stage demonstrations from Shannon and she is a true inspiration. I am really keen to learn how to use that Sewing Machine that is sat in the corner of my Craft Room but will definitely need a bit of help to get me kick started!

There are large screens at either side of the stage so that we can see the Demonstrations in close detail, we had lots of wow's over the weekend and lots of inspiration too.  There are several large display boards full of samples and I took many many photographs to bring home with me.

Here I am with Caroline, we are sat in the Bar Area at our Hotel, looking like weve' had a couple of Martini's too many!!!

I can't wait for Convention 2012, Germany here we come!!