'Christmas Present' Cards

My project share with you today is a 'Christmas Present' card.  These are so easy to make and a great way to use up scraps.

(Sorry about the dodgy lighting on these!)

I made a traditional green and red card and a slightly less traditional blue and red card.  For some reason I'm really loving blue on my Christmas cards this year.

These are so easy to make.  I made mine by attaching a piece of DSP to a piece of cardstock just a little bit taller than the DSP. I used Stampin' Up's  "Festival of Prints" paper stack, which, for only £6.25 for 48 sheets is great value. Then doing the same thing again but this time using a piece of cardstock that was a little bit taller but a little bit narrower.

 

The top section is just the DSP.  I use a thin piece of scrap cardstock and put my parcels on to that using snail adhesive which gives me a solid piece. I ran my glue pen on the exposed pieces of cardstock and covered them in "Dazzling Diamonds" glitter 

Ooo ~ sparkly!

I then wrap my ribbon around the parcels and tie off at the top. The additional piece of scrap cardstock helps with this also.  I put dimensional adhesive on the back and pop onto the card ~ done.  

Hope you like this project and get inspired to make some for yourself... enjoy!  xx

ABAC Sunday - Mini Bags

Hello there,

Hope you are having a lovely weekend, I am having a very lazy one as I know that next weekend is going to be crazy busy so I'm making the most of the peace and quiet whilst I can, and can you believe that next weekend is December, how scary is that.  Oh and before you ask, I am defiantly NOT ready for the big day yet, I've made about half my cards and I haven't bought a thing yet ~ thank god for internet shopping and direct delivery!

Anyway, for my project today I've made a couple of little bags to share with you and I've made them deliberately made them in non-Christmas themed DSP.

They measure 3 x 7cm, so small and cute.  I made them this size as I had bought little packets of fudge and I made them to be perfectly sized to house them.  (see last photo.)

I made one without a clasp and one with, just to see the difference.

I think I prefer the one with the clasp, and as they are so small, they would make perfect little Christmas tree ornaments, as long as the goodies inside weren't too heavy.

I originally made the one without the clasp as I wanted to fit lots of the little packets of fudge in and volume of goodies is defiantly of interest to the little person this was originally made for but even the one with the clasp had enough room for 2 packets, so if you had a small piece of jewellery wrapped in tissue, this bag would be the perfect size.

I'm going to try and get a tutorial done on this for next Sunday, work allowing.  Take care... xx

Little shiny Christmas Tree

Firstly, sorry about the poor quality of photo in this first image, the light in my craft room is shocking, add that to the fact that I took these photo's at night, there is not a lot of light.  I used an OttLite to craft by, so that's ok, I really want to buy another one, maybe Father Christmas will take pity on me next month!

Talking about Christmas, my project today is another Christmas card.  I used the "Musical Wheel" again, I'm in love with that image this year, the sentiment is from the "Petite Pairs" stamp set.

The tree is cut out using the "Holiday Collection" framelits and it sits on the small scalloped rectangle cut out using the "Scallop Rectangle Clearlit"

The tree was actually cut out of "Whisper White" cardstock and sprayed using the Gold Glow Smooch Spritz.  It doesn't show up that well in the photo, but it has a lovely shimmer that changes in intensity depending on which way you look at the tree.  I also used the "Cherry Cobbler" Dazzling Details to add little blobs to replicate little red baubles on the tree.

Now I have to be honest, this is one of those cards that was created out of bits that I had on my desk that I thought may work together, and I'm pleased I gave it a go.

If you want to know anything about Stampin' Up or their products or would like to book a workshop in the comfort of your own home, please get in contact.

Take care......xx

.. and another Christmas Card

Hello again,

Well I have another Christmas card for you today, I have so many to make it's difficult to find time for anything else, but I will hopefully show you something different in a day or two.

It's another one that's quite easy to produce lots of but still looks special due to the embossing, the die cut ornaments and the shimmer.

So far I've made this card in two colours, the gorgeous In Colour "Midnight Muse", I love blue for Christmas cards.,

and also in In Colour "Gumball Green"; you can never go wrong with green where Christmas cards are concerned.

This shot really highlights that great embossing folder and the shimmer and shine you get from the Smooch sprays.  I used "Vanilla Shimmer" again, as I think it makes a card look all frosty but these strays also come in "Gold Glow" and "Silver Foil" if you want to go for a slightly different feel.

Have a great day, until next time ... xx

SATURDAY INSPIRATION - Gift Tags everywhere!

When I've been visiting crafting blogs lately everyone seems to be making Christmas gift tags and to be honest, I don't usually use gift tags, don't know why but this year I am defiantly going to make some as they are so cute.
I think I was put off gift tags as the one's my mum used when I was little always looked a bit like an after thought.  Now, no disrespect to my parents, but they just wrapped things so they were wrapped, they didn't get how special and exciting a gift looks when it's wrapped beautifully, for them it was more of if it was wrapped and looked vaguely Christmas-like it was good enough.

but I have defiantly discovered the joy of a beautifully wrapped gift and what could be a more perfect start to a beautiful gift than a hand-made, personal tag.

My first tag is a big one, perfect for a larger gift.

It's a 'tucked' gift card, sorry I can't think of a better description but hopefully the picture explains it.  I used a piece of 8" x 8" "Whisper White" card stock that I scored at 2" on each side and cut off the corners to create the basic shape and just folded in one side after another and tucked the last side under the first.

For the sentiment on the outside is from the "Tags til Christmas stamp set and it opens to reveal a sentiment form the "Delightful Dozen" stamp set - wish I love, so many useful sentiments in that set.

On the outside I used images from the "Scentsational Season" stamp set

I also added a bit of 'shiny' to each image.  I used "Dazzling Details on the candy cane, "Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details" on the gingerbread man's shiny buttons.  I also cut out the gingerbread man using the "Holiday Collection" framelit dies just to give it a bit of additional dimension.

and for the mug I added a rhinestone jewel.

I'll be sharing more gift tags in the run up to Christmas, enjoy!  xx

Quick Christmas card

Hi there,

Quick post today of a really easy to make but very striking Christmas card

I made it using the "Northern Flurry" embossing folder for the Big Shot machine.  I just ran a piece of "Whisper White" cardstock through the Big Shot, used "midnight Muse ink to add the sentiment from the "Delightful Dozen" stamp in the un-embossed corner and adhered it to a piece of "Midnight Muse" cardstock that I used as my card blank.

I then sprayed it with the "Vanilla Shimmer" Smooch Spritz and I was done, other than to wait for the Smooch Spritz to dry and when it does, it leaves a gorgeous shimmer on the card.

See, easy peasy!  You could whip up a batch of these in no time.

If you require any Stampin' Up products or have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

Hope you have a good day.... xx

A couple of Ornamental Christmas cards

Hello there,

I hope your Bonfire night was full of fun and lovely hot things to eat and drink.

My share for you today is a Christmas card, well, now it's November it feels as though lots of Christmasy things are allowed.

For my base card I used "Naturals White" cardstock and I used the lovely new stamp set "Ornament Keepsakes" to stamp out the 2 ornament elements.

This is a lovely stamp set and comes with coordinating "Holiday Ornaments" framelits dies. What's even better about this coordinating products is that Stampin' Up as selling them either individually or as a "Ornament Keepsakes" bundle, which works out cheaper - yay!

I used just two ornament stamps and dies for these cards but there are 9 stamps in this set in total.

I used the "Music Notes" wheel for the background, which I love and is perfect for Christmas cards but also I think it would be great for male cards.

The sentiment is from "Curly Cute" - seriously, how great is this stamp set, defiantly one that every stamper should have in their inventory.  I heat embossed this in white onto a piece of "Midnight Muse" cardstock.

I only made these in "Midnight Muse" but I am defiantly going to be replicating these in a few more colours over the next few days.

Enjoy!    xx

"Holiday Ornament" framelit die

"Ornament Keepsakes" stamp set

Free card for November 2012

Hello there,

Now in the interests of full-disclosure, I'm writing this post on Sunday afternoon.  I figure that the best way for me to try and make sure I keep up to date with posting is whenever I got a bit of time to schedule a few post, as I love sharing what I do with you all and I've missed blogging.

My share today is actually my FREE card for November.  Anyone who places a Stampin' Up order through me in the month of November will receive one of these cards for free.  There are two versions, one in "Midnight Muse" and one in "Raspberry Ripple"   

I wanted to share this card today as who wouldn't want to be holding a lovely mug of hot chocolate tonight whilst watching the fireworks, with maybe a little dram of something grown-up in the mug for good measure!

If you place an order for less than £50, (before P&P), then you get one card, if you place an order for more than £50, then you get both!

I used the "Scentsational Season" stamp set, which is sooo cute and comes with coordinating dies for the Big Shot machine.  I just stamped the mug image directly onto the "Whisper White" card stock that I got form the "Note Cards & Envelopes" set.  You get 20 5 x 3-1/2" note cards and envelopes in the pack and they are the perfect size for whipping up a batch of cards really quickly.

The sentiment is from the "Polar Party" stamp set, which is one of my favourites. 

I used "Basic Grey" classic ink pad for the steam, which I stamped off once to give a light grey colour.  I then used "Dazzling Details" which is glitter glue and at only £2.25, is fabulous and will last you for ages.

You can't really see it on these cards, but I also added a "Rhinestone Jewel" to the centre of the snowflake on the mug.

Hope you like them, have a great day, and BE CAREFUL if you have fireworks tonight!! ... xx

ABAC Sunday - Christmas Box

Hello,

Sorry I've not been posting much recently, I started a new job a few weeks ago and it's taking up quite a big chunk of my time as I've had to travel up to our UK office in Newmarket and even thought I only got there for 1 overnight at a time it's amazing how much time it seems to take out of my week.

Anyway, on to today's post, it's actually something I made a few months ago but I've haven't managed to share it with you yet.

It's a little Christmas box, it measures 2-3/4" squared, so it's quite a good size for a little gift, it would also be perfect for a personalise Christmas tree bauble.

As I say, I made it a couple of months ago using a stamp set that's now retired, but the "Snowflake Soiree  stamp set that's in the current Autumn/Winter catalogue would be a perfect substitute.  I haven't got that stamp set myself yet, but it's at the top of my 'NEED' list.

I stamped the images with Versamark ink and used some clear embossing powder that I've mixed with "Dazzling Diamonds" glitter to heat emboss with.

The one thing that I really love about this box is the decoration on the top.

I smothered some strips of "Whisper White" card stock with some glitter glue, let it dry overnight then made the bow.  I used a silver brad to hold the whole thing together.

I don't think these pictures capture it, but the whole thing is sooo sparkly, perfect for catching the shine off a real fire whilst sitting under the Christmas tree.

Chat again soon... xx