Another Telescoping Circles Card

Here is a smaller telescoping circles card made using our 1 3/4" and 2 3/8" scallop circles punches.

He's a cutie.

Who wouldn't love getting him in the mail??

Telescoping Circles Card

This new style of card is Blogland.  It's a really different style of card and such a fun idea.  I made one with my ladies in a recent workshop and it was a big hit.

To the untrained eye it appears to be a circular card...but when opened up...

There are three parts to it!  Surprise!!

The bottom circle is a BigZ Scallop Circle die.  The other circles are cut using the Circle Scissors.

If you are interested in making your own, there is a fantastic video tutorial here.

Keep checking in for a few more examples.

Stamps:  Fifth Avenue Floral, Bring On the Cake
Card:  Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Ink:  Perfect Plum, Old Olive
Tools:  Big Shot, Scallop Circle Bigz Die, Circle Scissors, 2mm Circle Punch
Accessories:  Gold Brads, Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Stamping Sponges

Why not be a demonstrator

One of the fantastic things about being a demonstrator is receiving a 20% discount on every product.  But wait....there's more!  A new perk announced at convention is that every demonstrator receives an extra 15% off one item during their birthday month.  That's a 35% discount!  Imagine receiving that discount on an item such as the Big Shot!

Here's is the card Stampin' Up! sends in the mail.

Very cute cupcakes!

And the inside.

Remember that if you love Stampin' Up! you can sign up as a Hobby Demonstrator i.e. you make purchases to receive the discount.  Email me or give me a call if you would like to know more about receiving a continual discount.

Happy 40th

A dear friend of mine recently turned 40 so to make the card, I turned to the Big Shot.  The Simple Numbers set was just the thing.

Baja Breeze and Cherry Cobbler combine to form a striking combo.  I put these two colours together with the help of my Color Coach.

Some details added using the Itty Bitty Shapes punches and some Basic Pearls.  Itty Bitty Punches are one of our carryover items from the last mini catalogue.  I love the packs of co-ordinating DSP in each colour family.

The numbers were sponges in Cherry Cobbler.

Stamps:  none
Card:  Baja Breeze and Cherry Cobbler A4, Regals and Subtles Designer Series Paper Patterns Stack
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze
Tools:  Big Shot!, Simple Numbers Bigz die, Itty Bitty Shaoes Punch Pack
Accessories:  Basic Pearls, Victoria Lace Crochet Trim, Mini Glue Dots

Crystal Effects

One of the swaps I received at Convention was this beautiful brooch, made entirely with Stampin' Up! products (except the brooch pin!)  So many people comment when I wear it.

The most important part of the brooch design is the use of Crystal Effects to give it that beautiful shine.  Crystal Effects is only $11.95 a bottle and can be used on cards to make an image pop and shine.

I think anyone who received these brooches wanted to go home and try it for themselves.  Ebay probably had a rush on brooch pins! 

Here is one of my attempts.  The Two-Step Owl punch looks beautiful too.

Masculine CASE

In the blogging/stamping community, CASE means "copy and share everything".  When I saw this card on Dawn Olchefske's blog I wanted to case it from head to toe.  I loved the simplicity and the colour combinations.  I used this one in a recent Stamp-a-Stack and the ladies loved it.

The stamp is from the now retired Punch Bunch but there are heaps of others that could be substituted.  Like the scallops?  They are done using the Tasteful Trim Bigs XL die in the current mini.  If you don't have co-ordinating brads, some circles punched out in matching colours will do the trick.

Stamps:  Punch Bunch

Card:  Soft Suede, Very Vanilla,  More Mustard, Crumb Cake

Ink:  Soft Suede

Tools:  Big Shot, Tasteful Trims die, Scallop Square punch

Cancer Council Thankyou

Thanks again to those who turned up to my Australia's Biggest Afternoon Tea.

As mentioned before, we raised $253.  A grand effort.

Here is the receipt from the Cancer Council.

Customer Thankyous

I made a bunch of these to pop in with each customer order.  The Set is Thanks For Caring from the current mini, which is a sympathy set, but I love the butterfly and flower images.

The cards are 7.5 cm squared and for our mini envelopes.

I inked up the stamps using the brush tip end of the Stampin' Write markers so that I could achieve a range of colours on the one stamp.  Our teeny Basic Pearls add a little touch of class.

Stamps:  Thanks For Caring
Card:  Whisper White, Old Olive, Regal Rose Brights DSP Patterns Stack
Ink: Regal Rose, Melon Mambo and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers
Tools:  Scallop Circle Punch, Stamping Sponges
Accessories:  Basic Pearls

Bright and Cheery

I created this box and card as a birthday gift for a six year old girl.  The colours are from the now retired Bold Brights family, but I bought up on some of the lovely bright colours for just this kind of thing.

The flower was done using the Big Shot.  The box is the Fancy Favor die.  The card and box were so quick and easy to put together..what did we do before the Big Shot?

Inside the box...

Colour co-ordinating jelly beans.

A note book that any little girl would love.  So easy to make using the Beautiful Butterflies die.  The Crop-a-Dile punched through the layers like butter.

And a magnet.

Stamps:  Easter Blossoms
Card:  Retired colours
Ink:  Retired colours
Tools:  Big Shot, Fancy favor bigz xl die, Blossom Party die, Beautiful Butterflies die, Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, Little Leaves die, Crop-a-Dile, Scallop Circle Punch
Accessories:  Basic Rhinestones, Assorted ribbons

Mini Lunch Sack Tops

I set to work to come up with an idea of how to use the Mini Lunch Sack Tops that I had left over.  This is what I came up with.

This is a little tag/gift card wallet, using the French Foliage set again.  The Autumn Spice DSP adds a nice detail on the front, along with an Antique Brad.

Inside you can see the Mini Lunch Sack tops - four in all which I have layered and snailed together to form pockets.  I sponged them a little with Soft Suede ink.  The scalloped tops co-ordinate perfectly with our Scallop Edge punch which I have used on the DSP down the bottom.

Inside the four pockets are four different types of note cards/tags.  In the end, the wallet ended up being quite fat with all the goodies inside.

Scallop Circle Flower

My last post featured a paper flower which we have done in a class last year, but it's worth doing again here.

When a Stampin' Up! order is delivered (always exciting, even when it's not for me!) it is packed with layers of brown paper.  This is what I have used to make my flower.

Punch out 8 flowers using the Scallop Circle Punch.  If you are using DSP, six will do as it is thicker paper.

Screw up each flower to break down the fibres then smooth them out a little.

Layer the flowers on top of one another (not too neatly) and punch a hole in the centre with the 1/16" punch.

Insert a brad in through the centre.  I like the rhinestone brads as they give a little sparkle to peek through.

Scrunch up the first flower layer around the brad.

Continue scrunching layer by layer until all the layers are scrunched around the brad.  Notice that I have sponged the edges with some Cherrry Cobbler ink.

Cup the flower in your fingers, face up, and using your thumbs, gently work the flower open, layer by layer, until the brad is revealed.

I then dragged my flower upside down through the Cherry Cobbler ink pad to add colour to the edges of the petals. (Sounds very brutal!)

Check my next post for an idea of what to do with the Mini Lunch Sack tops.

Mini Lunch Sacks and Top Note Die

I taught this Top Note Bag idea in a recent class but have also had a number of people ask how it's done. So here are some basic instructions.

You need a Mini Lunch Sack and two Top Note die cutouts.

Cut three inches (7.5 cm) off the bottom of the bag.  In my class I made the mistake of telling everyone to cut three inches off the top...it makes a difference.

Carefully remove the cardboard base from inside the bag and set it aside.  Snail one side of the bag.

Adhere this to a Top Note, cut out using the Big Shot.  (Mine is cut out in Crumb cake)

Fold the base of the bag down so that the other side of the bag is flattened and exposed.  Snail this side of the bag.

Adhere the other Top Note on top, lining it up with the first.

Carefull move the sides of the bag so that they stick out, allowing you to move your oval punch into place to punch out a handle.  Bring the two sides together and punch through the first handle hole to make the second one.

Reform the shape of the Mini Lunch Sack and decorate as desired.  If using straight away, snail the insert that you removed earlier back into place.  Otherwise, the bag can be folded and stored flat and the insert replaced later.

In my next post I'll show you how to make the flower.

Mini Lunch Sacks

How cute would it be to take your lunch to school in one of these?   Just like the Brady Bunch!  Not big enough for my son's appetite, however.  Our Mini Lunch Sacks are a new item in the Autumn-Winter Mini and I have enjoyed having a play with them.  These are a couple of thankyous for people who helped look after my boy while I was at Convention.  The design of the sack is a CASE of a demonstration we saw at Convention.  Again, I have used French Foliage.  I love this set and the colours that co-ordinated with the Autumn Spice DSP.

Stay tuned for more Mini-Lunch Sack ideas.

Stamp Sets: French Foliage
Card: Autumn Spice DSP, More Mustard
Ink: Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Whisper White Craft Ink
Tools:  Scallop Edge Border Punch
Accessories:  Antique Brads, Mini Lunch Sacks