Fabric Envelope

Our last class project was to create this lovely fabric envelope with the Scallop Envelope die.

See how the fabric matches the stamp?  Beoootiful!

And a close up - we glued the fabric to the cardstock, cut it out with the Scallop Envelope die, then ran it through again, inside an embossing folder.

Stamps:  Elements of Style
Card:  Cajun Craze, Whisper White
Ink:  Marina Mist
Tools:  Big Shot, Scallop Envelope Bigz Die, Vintage Wallpaper TEF
Accessories:  Beau Chateau Fabric

Big Shot and Fabric

My most recent class was using the Big Shot and Fabric. Demonstrators were shown some excellent ideas at Convention of how to combine fabric with all the beautiful dies and embossing folders.

Our first project was using felt with the Blossom Party die glued onto the Top Note die to make a beautiful gift tag.  The ladies came up with some stunning colour combinations.

Card:  Whisper White. Old Olive
Tools:  Big Shot, Blossom Party die
Accessories:  Felt (non SU!)

I dug out some Christmas material from my cupboard which we cut out with the Fun Flowers die to make a Christmas brooch and a fabric focussed card.

Card:  Garden Green, Real Red, Basic Black, Crumb Cake
Tools:  Big Shot, Fun Flowers Bigz L die
Accessories:  Christmas Material (non SU!)

Our other two projects used the beautiful SU! fabric which co-ordinates with the colours and stamps.  This butterfly card uses the Beau Chateau fabric.

Card:  Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede
Tools:  Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die, Polka Dot TEF, Elegant Lines TEF
Accessories:  Chantilly Crochet Trim, Filigree Designer Brads, Beau Chateau Fabric

I'll put the last project in a separate post to follow.

Thanks for stopping by!

Anna

Cards for troops working bee

This morning we held our Cards For Troops working bee.  Angela, Becky, Susan, Jessica, Sue and Ann all came to help make cards.  I had plenty prepared but ended up cutting more card pieces out as everyone worked so efficiently.   Here is our merry band of workers...not looking at the camera.

I was hoping we would reach maybe 100 but in the end we bagged them up and counted 190!!!

But the ladies wanted to finish with a nice round number and sat down to make another ten cards so that we had a total of 200!  Here they are, bagged and ready.

Thank you so much to the six ladies who came and helped out.  What a fantastic effort!

And to Pikelet who helped with the clean up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Anna

Emily's Birthday

Last year around this time I showed you some gifts I made for Emily, a lovely family friend.  I made her a gift bag, a notebook, and some choccies.  Recently I ran a craft activity for Emily's party.  Em loves crafting so this was a fun activity for her to do with her friends.  We made the party bags and the girls were able to choose their own colours (pink was the most popular...surprise, surprise!) and then their own butterfly combinations to put on the bags.  Rhinestones were a big hit too!  The bag is the Fancy Favor Bigz XL die and the handles were made using the Tasteful Trim die.

Here's me helping the birthday girl.

And here she is with her bag.

If you would like me to do a craft activity with your child and a group of friends, contact me by email.

Another Happy I Do Day

I love this stamp from the Word Play set.  I have posted one on my blog previously HERE.  I am making some cards for a school social club so they are actually twice the size of a normal card so that there is room for everyone to sign.

And you really cannot use this sentiment without adding a Basic Rhinestone to it.

Stamps:  Word Play
Card:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Neutrals DSP Stack
Ink:  Basic Black
Tools:  Big Shot, Perfect Pennants Bigz L die, Circles #2 Originals die, 4.4 cm Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch
Accessories:  Basic Black 6.4 mm Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones



Thanks for stopping by!

Anna

Baby Booties

The new Stocking Tag Punch is not just for Christmas stockings.  Here I have used it for some cute baby cards.  Sorry the photo is a bit dull - it was taken on a rainy day.

And I love the Baby Tees jumbo wheel which I have never actually used as a wheel - I tend to roll out the pattern and then cut out the individual suits.  Sooo cute.

The gorgeous scallop circle is from the new Perfect Pennants die.

Stamps:  Stitched Stockings, Baby Tees Jumbo Wheel, Tiny Tags
Card:  Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette DSP (these patterns now retired, but the Subtles DSP Paper Stack is a beautiful alternative
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo
Tools:  Stocking Tag Punch, Jewellery Tag Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Perfect Pennants Bigz die for the Big Shot
Accessories:  Subtles Brads

Double Digits

My boy turns 10 today.  Everybody was right - it does fly by!  Here is the card I made him.

He is anything but a monster but he loves this stamp set.

Well Worn = Masculine

I have so much DSP that I vowed I wouldn't order another pack till I had used some up, but (isn't there always a 'but'?) I was seeking some ideas for masculine cards.  I have made a sample book of all the DSPs and loved the look of Well Worn.  Teamed with the stamp set Extreme Elements, I made four cards based on a design by Carla Bazhenow which you can see here.
The DSP is so striking that it doesn't need much else.

For this one, I stamped one of the images from Extreme Elements.

This one is also has one of the Extreme Elements images stamped onto the DSP.  The sentiment is a perfect masculine one, from Happiest Birthday Wishes, one of the current hostess sets.

I made insides for all four cards but I'll just show you the inside for the card above.  A bit of sponging around the edges and one simple image in the corner.



And the last one I roughed up a bit more.  I wish I had put the brads a bit closer together.

That's topped up my supply of masculine cards for a little bit and hopefully given you some inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!

Anna

Stamps:  Happiest Birthday Wishes, Perfectly Penned
Card:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla, Well Worn DSP
Ink:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Tools:  Decorative Label Punch, Paper Piercer, Colour Spritzer Tool
Accessories: Silver Brads, Early Espresso 6.4mm Grosgrain Ribbon

Golden Anniversary

I made this card for some friends who are celebratiig their golden wedding anniversary.  I love the sophistication that the Big Shot dies and embossing folders bring to a project.  The sentiment is embossed with gold embossing powder and I left that bit till last!! Shame on me! My Stamp-a-ma-Jig saved the day and lined up the stamp perfectly. Phew!

A close up of the flower...

Stamps:  Word Play
Card:  Whisper White, Brushed Gold
Ink:  Versamark
Tools:  Big Shot, Blossom Party Originals Die, Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Little Leaves Sizzlits Die

Thanks for stopping by!

Short Crust Paper

I have been using a lot of dies in the Big Shot lately and I hate throwing away all the bits of cardboard left over.  Wouldn't it be great if you could squish them up and roll them out again with a rolling pin...just like pastry?

JAI Challenge

Over at Just Add Ink this week's challenge is Just Add a Die Cut.  I often have a look at the entries but thought I would try to enter my own this week. 

This is my first use of the gorgeous Petal Cone Die, from the new catalogue.  And Wisteria Wonder is my favourite colour at the moment.

Here's another photo to give you a better idea of its shape.  I wrapped some choccies in co-ordinating DSP to go inside.

And a close up of the flower - using the Fun Flowers die and an Antique Brad in the middle.

Card:  Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush, Whisper White
Tools:  Big Shot!!, Fun Flowers. Petal Cone Die
Accessories:   Antique Brad, Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon

Paper Tricks

Tuesday's class was all about paper tricks.  There are so many gorgeous ways of using our DSPs for cardmaking.  The first card used Bargello which I first encountered in Impressions, the monthly newsletter sent to all demonstrators.  It's actually an embroidery technique using long flat stitches, but the effect can be achieved with strips of paper.  Each strip is adhered slightly lower or higher than the one beside it.

I was so pleased with how everyone's cards worked out.  This DSP is one of the Hostess choices.  The stamp, Triple Treat Flower, is my favourite of the a la carte stamps.

Stamps:  Triple Treat Flower, Happiest Birthday Wishes

Card:  Concord Crush, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Cheerful Treat DSP

Ink:  Concord Crush, Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo

Tools:  Fancy Flower Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, 1.3 cm Circle Punch, Square Punch

Next up we tried some paper quilting.  Looks spectacular but it is surprisingly easy.

Card:  Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Orchid Opulence (retired), Cottage Garden DSP
Tools:  Paper Trimmer (perfect for cutting 1 cm strips of paper!), Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die

Thanks for stopping by!

Anna

October Promotion

We all love SU! punches and the way they co-ordinate with stamp sets.  This month we have a sneak peek of a co-ordinating punch and stamps set.

During October, you can purchase this pair of coordinating Christmas products early--before the debut of the 2011 Summer Mini Catalogue.

•Stitched Stocking Set  $53.95 (wood), $42.95 (clear)

•Stocking Tag Punch  $33.95

It gets even better. Get them both for FREE when you host a $450 workshop or place a $450 order.  A $450 workshop will give you $60 worth of Hostess products PLUS this stamp set and punch!  No time for a party?  Gather orders from your friends to earn the bundle.

Email me to place an order at wheatonanna@hotmail.com or phone 07 55 765 469.

Thanks for stopping by!

Anna

Welcome new recruit

Well, she isn't actually my recruit, but one of my downlines has recently signed up a recruit.

To welcome Jessica to my team, I sent her this little pack.

Oops...just tilt your head a little to the left for this photo! The circular container is some of our new mini brads.

These colour swatches are great to give customers or recruits as they showcase all the colours with a 1" circle of the cardstock. Blanks are available at Anne Beale-Yancey's blog.  Or if you want to order a set from me, just email me at wheatonanna@hotmail.com.

And... a close up of our yummy new seam binding in Cherry Cobbler.

Welcome Jessica to Stampin' Up! Have fun loving what you do and sharing what you love!

Thanks for stopping by!

Butterfly Wreath

As I said in my last post, I made a butterfly wreath while crafting with my sister.  This is based on a design by Ruth Clarke, another SU! demonstrator.  I copied her beautiful layout and used the same DSP so mine was very much the same as Ruth's.   My sister made the one below, using another DSP - Cottage Garden, which is now retired.

As with the Christmas wreath in my last post you can see that it works well to have a bigger central image then get slightly smaller as you move out.

 And some lovely sponging to soften the edges.  Our basic pearls and rhinestones add a sparkle to the butterflies' bodies.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please feel free to leave a comment.

It's beginning to look a lot like....

In the crafting world, you've got to start thinking about Christmas because if you leave it too late, you run out of time.  Another Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Ruth Clarke,  had used our online forum to post a picture of a beautiful butterfly wreath which I have been itching to try out.  I had some crafting time with my sister over the past couple of days so we did some experimenting.  We made a butterfly wreath which I'll show you next post, but my sister then experimented with a Christmas wreath...

Isn't it beautiful?  If you want to see it bigger, just left click on the picture again.  She played around with different components and their placements.  At first the ornament in the centre was just the ornament but then we both thought it needed to be bigger and she added the scallop circle behind.  The birds were further towards the centre but they migrated outwards as the design took shape.  The last thing she added was the sprigs of leaves which softened the symmetry of the design.

The pieces are stuck onto a wooden coat hanger with a hot glue gun and I used Cherry Cobbler reinker to colour the hanger in case any peeked through.

Here is a couple of close ups.

The colours are Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler.  The DSP is retired Jolly Holiday.  I could say I miss that DSP but I still have three yummy packs left!