Christmas 2012

Hi all,

This year has certainly gone by fast and it's only a few more sleeps till Father Christmas comes down the chimmey :)

This year I went with a simple Christmas card design in Pool Party with Whisper White using the lovely ornament stamp set and matching die.  Hope you like:

Ornament Keepsakes

Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes (A/W Catalogue, P.3). Season of Joy (retired).
Cardstock: Whisper White and Pool Party.
Inkpad: Pool Party.  Versamark Stamp Pad. 
Accessories: Textured Impressions Embossing Folder - Northern Flurry, Big Shot Machine, Framelits Dies - Holiday Ornaments, 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon - Whisper White, Stampin' Emboss - Whisper White, Embossing Buddy, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Heat Tool, Paper Snips, SU Bone Folder and Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great weekend!

Alex

Dasher Christmas Card

Hi all,

Here's another Christmas card I've made recently. I CASEd a card I made last year and changed a few things around, like the colour combo and sentiment stamp. Here is it below:

Dasher

Stamps: Dasher (P.16), Season Of Joy (P.25) and Contempo Christmas (P.25).
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla.
Inkpad: Chocolate Chip. Versamark Stamp Pad.
Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers - Chocolate Chip and Real Red, Corner Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Paper Snips and SU Bone Folder.
Card Size: A6.

Hope you like.

Bye for now,

Alex

Hi all,

Thought I'd upload another Christmas card that I recently made. I love Season of Joy stamp set and depending on the stamp, can make quick and effective cards. I decided to stamp and punch the "O" in Joy and adhered with a dimensional and used the Stampin' Writer Marker pens for the different colours for the sentiment.

Season of Joy


Stamps: Season of Joy (P.25) .
Cardstock: Real Red, Garden Green and Whisper White.
Inkpad: Real Red. Versamark Stamp Pad.
Accessories: 1/2" Circle Punch, Stampin' Write Marker - Real Red and Garden Green, 3/4" Real Red Polka Dot Ribbon (reversible - promotional ribbon - no longer available), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and 3D Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

See here for last years version.

Hope you like. Enjoy your weekend.

Alex

Season of Joy Christmas Card

Hi all,

Well, this must be a first, making Christmas cards in September. Fancied getting out the Christmas stamp sets recently and making a start whilst I have the time. Have started to make cards in bulk as before you know it, Christmas will be upon us.

Below I decided to use the much hoarded Jolly Holiday DSP that I have. I love this paper and was sad to see it all sold out on the Last Chance List. Here's the card I have made:

Season Of Joy

Stamps: Season Of Joy and Occasional Quotes (inside).
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla. Designer Series Paper - Jolly Holiday.
Inkpad: Cherry Cobbler.
Accessories: 3/8" Tatfeta Ribbon - Very Vanilla, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Dimensionals, Paper Snips and SU Bone Folder.
Card Size: A6.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your week.

Alex

Stampin' Up! Class - Today

Hi all,

The ladies enjoyed the Christmas themed class today making a Never Ending Christmas Card and matching Pillow Box Pouch.

Here are the photos of what the Never Ending Card reveals as you keep fliping the card over:

Front of Card


Flip 1 - pulling apart horizontally


Flip 2 - pulling apart vertically


Flip 3 - pulling apart horizontally


Stamps: Contempo Christmas, Delightful Decorations, Season of Joy and Occasional Greetings.
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla. Designer Series Paper - Jolly Holiday.
Inkpad: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive. Versamark Stamp Pad. Accessories: Rhinestones, Ornament Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Gold Cord, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Sticky Strip, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Dimensionals and SU Bone Folder.
Card Size: 6" x 6".
Reminds me of those things you used to make and play with friends in the playground. lol.

Anyway, as this was a time consuming project, the ladies finished off the class with a simple but effective Pillow Box Pouch using the Big Shot and Pillow Box Die from Stampin' Up! :) I'm sure they'll think of something nice to put in there for Christmas.

Projects Together


Okay, hope you enjoyed this post and have a good weekend.

Bye for now,

Alex

Army Kidlets Christmas Card Commission

Morning all,

This time last year, I was asked to make a couple of Christmas cards for the following Christmas, i.e. for now, so a couple of months back I completed four Christmas cards for a lady that wanted special personalised cards for her grandchildren.

Just found out recently that they have all received and opened them, so it's safe to post away :) I shall upload a new one every other day...

For the card below I was told that the grandson loves soldiers/army etc, so I had to make a Christmas card that fitted this theme! Argh. I sourced a digi stamp, camouflage ribbon whilst I was on holiday back in May and hey presto, I'm pleased with the outcome so that it's both a little Christmassy, but soldier/army related and appropriate for a boy.

Kidlets - Army Christmas Card


Stamps: Season of Joy (P.22). Digi Stamp: Kidlets - Army by Bugaboo.
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White.
Inkpad: Always Artichoke.
Accessories: Shimmer Paint - Champagne Mist, Sponge Dauber, Small Corner Punch, Bone Folder, Paper Snips, 3D Dimensionals and Offray Ribbon - Camoflage GG Olive. Sentiment - computer generated - Cherry Cobbler RGB: 154, 48, 51.
Card Size: A5.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you like, enjoy your Sunday.

Alex

Season of Joy Card - Commission.

Afternoon all,

Recently been asked to make 25 simple Christmas cards, so I've been busy with these. Using Season of Joy stamp set (which is one of the stamp sets on promotion this month) along with Contempo Christmas and the FREE promotional ribbon (the reverse of the 3/4" Real Red Polka Dot) , I made the following:

Season of Joy


Stamps: Season of Joy (P.22) and Contempo Christmas (P.25).
Cardstock: Real Red, Always Artichoke and Whisper White.
Inkpad: Real Red and Always Artichoke. Versamark Stamp Pad.
Accessories: Stampin' Write Marker - Real Red, Small Corner Punch, 3/4" Real Red Polka Dot Ribbon (reversible), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and 3D Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!

Bye for now,

Alex

Season of Joy Card

Evening everyone,

Hope your Friday has been a good one and you're planning some crafting over the weekend :)

Just wanted to pop by with a quick upload of the second card the ladies made at my recent Evening Session. Below is a card that has been inspired and tweaked from a card I saw online:

Season of Joy


Stamps: Season of Joy and Polka Dot Background stamp (retired).
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Night of Navy and Whisper White.
Inkpad: Night of Navy and Whisper White.
Accessories: 1" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, 5/8" Satin Ribbon - Whisper White, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and 3D Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Have a great weekend!

Bye for now,

Alex

Season of Joy Card

Morning all,

Hope your week is going well and you're looking forward to the remaining few days before the weekend :) I don't know about you, but November seems to be flying by too quickly and before I know it, I'll blink and it'll be December already!

Last night I had my monthly Wednesday Evening Session. The ladies came and crafted, making two Christmas cards based on the Season of Joy stamp set. As promised, below is one of the cards made last night. Sorry for the poor picture, but with the early dark nights, it's hard to take photos in natural daylight until the weekends. The card below was inspired by a card I saw online, with a few changes here and there. I used my new Scallop Trim Border Punch and the lovely new ribbon which is free as part of the Christmas Gift-Giving Bundle promotion this month.

Season of Joy


Stamps: Season of Joy.
Cardstock: Real Red, Old Olive and Whisper White. Pattterns Designer Series Paper - Old Olive (retired).
Inkpad: Old Olive and Real Red.
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Stampin' Write Markers - Daffodil Delight and Chocolate Chip, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Mistletoe Ribbons Original, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and 3D Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a good day and pop back tomorrow for the second card that the ladies made from the Wednesday Evening Session.

Bye for now,

Alex

Contempo Christmas Card - Blues Part 2

Morning all,

Yipee, it's Friday, and as some of you know, Stampin' Up! European Convention held here in the UK today and tomorrow! Unfortunately, I am unable to attend, but I'll be sure to find out all what's going on from my fellow demonstrators via their iPhones minute by minute :) lol.

As promised, here's the negative of yesterday's card in Night of Navy with Marina Mist. Enjoy!

Contempo Christmas


* Sorry for the photo quality, will take a better one late afternoon.

Stamps: Contempo Christmas and Season of Joy.
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Marina Mist and Whisper White.
Inkpad: Night of Navy.
Accessories: 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon - Night of Navy, Linen Thread, Ornament Extra-Large Punch, Stampin' Write Marker - Marina Mist, Shimmer Paint - Champagne Mist, Sponge Dauber, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and 3D Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow with the sneak peeks revealed from my Stampin' Up! Card Class held this weekend.

Until then,

Bye for now.

Alex

Contempo Christmas Card - Blues.

Morning all,

Can't get enough of Contempo Christmas and I'm in the swing of making Christmas cards at the moment, so here's one I made recently in non-traditional Christmas colours: Marina Mist with Night of Navy. Enjoy!

Contempo Christmas


Stamps: Contempo Christmas and Season of Joy.
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Night of Navy and Whisper White.
Inkpad: Marina Mist and Night of Navy.
Accessories: 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon - Marina Mist, Linen Thread, Ornament Extra-Large Punch, Stampin' Write Marker - Marina Mist, Shimmer Paint - Champagne Mist, Sponge Dauber, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and 3D Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow with the negative of this card above.

Bye for now,

Alex

November Promotion - Bundling Up For Christmas

This post will stay at the top till 29 December

Please scroll down for new posts

Good morning, and wow, welcome to the 1st of November and an exciting offer from Stampin' Up! to get you in the festive spirit.

From today until 29 December, you can purchase any of the following Christmas Gift-Giving Bundles and get a spool of exclusive ribbon for FREE!


Here are the details below:

Gifted Bundle
Gifted Stamp Set (P.23) and Jolly Holiday Designer Series Papers (P.90).
Wood-Mount: 124051 (£35.70) or Clear-Mount: 124052 (£30.70)

Welcome Christmas Bundle
Welcome Christmas Stamp Set (P.27) and Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper.
Wood-Mount: 124063 (£36.90) or Clear-Mount: 124064 (£31.90).

Season of Joy Bundle
Season of Joy Stamp Set (P22) and So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel (P.22).
Wood-Mount: 124055 (£36.45).

Delightful Decorations Bundle
Delightful Decorations Stamp Set (P.26) and Sparkle & Shine Jumbo Wheel (P.26).
Wood-Mount: 124058 (£30.45).
Please Note: This bundle has changed from the promotion at the beginning of November. The Extra-Large Ornament Punch (P.105) has been replaced by the Sparkle & Shine jumbo wheel.

Choose from these ribbons for FREE:

Mistletoe Ribbon Originals

Item: 116792. Retail Value £11.50.

Sleigh Bells Ribbon

Item: 116795. Retail Value £8.50.

Riding Hood Red: 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

Item: 113099. Retail Value £10.25.

Real Red 3/4" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon

Item: 115608. Retail Value £10.25.


How's that for an offer? Aren't these ribbons just gorgeous!!! Click here if you'd like to see the original pdf file of the samples of the Christmas Cocoa Speciality Papers and spools of ribbons.

Please drop me an email if you'd like to take me up on any of these Christmas Gift-Giving Bundles or if you'd like to place an order with me. You have till 29 December for this offer, so perhaps you'll want to add this to your Wish List? Remember, this promotion is only available until supplies last - so be quick!

Bye for now,

Alex

Contempo Christmas Card - 3D Baubles

Happy Friday!!!

Just a quick message to upload the Make & Take card from the weekend which was also made by my ladies on Wednesday night using Contempo Christmas stamp set with the addition of Season of Joy. There are three baubles stamped and punched and adhered together to create a 3D effect. As there's only three baubles, it's flat enough to send via Royal Mail without the extra postage, but once received, the recipient can pinch out the baubles together to look 3D as intended :) Below are two pictures, one from the front and one from the side angle. Hope you like:

Contempo Christmas - Front View


Contempo Christmas - Side View


Stamps: Contempo Christmas and Season of Joy.
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla.
Inkpad: Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler.
Accessories: Shimmer Paint - Champagne Mist, Sponge Dauber, Ornament Extra-Large Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon - Real Red, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and 3D Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

Pop back later for a special card made for someone's birthday today...

Bye for now,

Alex

Contempo Christmas Card - Demo Card.

Morning all,

Hope you're enjoying your week so far :) Last night I had my Evening Session and the ladies came over for a little chat a lot of crafting! They made two cards that I had prepared earlier as I had planned previously to give them the two cards from my workshop at the weekend just gone. They made a slightly altered version of my Demo card and the Make & Take card from Saturday :) I think the ladies enjoyed their time crafting.... I'm sure anyone would rather craft than be at home juggling family life/chores etc. :)

So, below is the card I demoed at the weekend using Contempo Christmas which comes in both clear mount and wood mount.

Note: Clear-mount are not clear stamps. The new stamps to the Idea Book & Catalogue are repositionable clear-mount stamps which are still the red deeply etched rubber with foam that Stampin' Up! are well known for. They are placed onto clear blocks instead of the maple wood blocks. This way, depending on the stamp and block size, you can limit your stamping time by adding a couple of stamps to the same block and stamp away as normal. Another favourite with clear-mount stamps is the space saving storage as all clear-mount stamps come in a box the same size us a regular dvd case which is great news for crafter that accumulate a lot of crafting goodies over time!

A peek of Clear-Mount stamps on P.7 in the Idea Book & Catalogue:


Okay, got a bit side tracked there, so here is the Contempo Christmas card below which was actually CASEd from my previous card here.

Contempo Christmas


Stamps: Contempo Christmas and Season of Joy.
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Real Red and Whisper White.
Inkpad: Always Artichoke and Real Red.
Accessories: 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon - Real Red, Linen Thread, Ornament Extra-Large Punch, Stampin' Write Marker - Real Red, Shimmer Paint - Champagne Mist, Sponge Dauber, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and 3D Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Thanks for stopping by and pop back tomorrow for the Make & Take card from Saturday's workshop that the ladies also made in my Evening Session.

Have a good day.

Bye for now,

Alex

Contempo Christmas Card

Hi all,

Okay, so can you believe the nice weather we've had today?!? I hear it's going to pick up and be even warmer by the weekend!

So, thought I'd show you a recent Christmas card I've made for my Open House Afternoon using Contempo Christmas stamp set that is gorgeous, has a matching wheel called Contempo and Ornament Extra-Large Punch. Here it is below:

Contempo Christmas


Stamps: Contempo Christmas (set of 4 stamps, P25) and Season of Joy (set of 8 stamps, P22).
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White. Patterns Designer Series Paper - Old Olive (now retired).
Inkpad: Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive.
Accessories: Ornament Extra-Large Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Linen Thread, 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon - Old Olive (now retired), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and 3D Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Here's the Season of Joy stamp set of 8 stamps as seen on P.22 in the new Idea Book & Catalogue:


Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your evening... I think Apprentice is starting back tonight :)

Bye for now,

Alex

Butterfly Punch Card

Morning all,

Hope you're having a good week so far :) Last weekend I played with my new Butterfly punch and was inspired by the cards in SCS and decided to CASE a card by kstamper. Really liked her use of the punch using designer series papers and the swirly stamp from "Season of Joy" to create a card for any occasion.

If you haven't already got "Flight of The Butterfly" stamp set, now is a great time to purchase it and get 20% off the Butterfly punch at the same time with March's Perfect Pair Promotion.

Butterfly Punch Card


Stamps: Season of Joy.
Cardstock: Confetti White (base) and Basic Black. Designer Series Paper - Tea Party and Sweet Always.
Inkpad: White Craft Ink.
Accessories: Butterfly Punch, 3/16" Gingham Ribbon - Black and SU Bone Folder.
Card Size: A6.

Have a good day, be back tomorrow with another card...

Alex

December Workshop...

Hi all,

Hope your weekend is going well. Well, I had my last workshop for this year, and I think the ladies enjoyed making a card with a difference :) We made a stair step card which I cased by Ellen (KEA2004) from SCS, which was originally cased by Julie. Note: I changed the dimensions from the original template, so that it would fit in our UK standard sized envelope. I enjoyed creating this card using most of the stamps from Season of Joy and I look forward to making more of these in the near future.

Stair Step Card - Front View


Stair Step Card - Side View


Stamps: Season of Joy.
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Real Red and Whisper White.
Ink Pad: Old Olive, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Whisper White Craft Ink.
Accessories: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Stampin' Write Markers - Night of Navy, Old Olive, Real Red, Yoyo Yellow, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue and 1-1/4" Circle Punch,
Card Size: A6.


Next, the ladies made a Peek A Boo Box using the Love You Much stamp set that I received as Blog Candy in October to celebrate the release of the new Idea Book & Catalogue. We used a wheel to run over five of the six faces of the cube, and used a number of punches to create the peep hole and the topper.

Love You Much Peek A Boo Box


Stamps: Love You Much, Standard Wheel: Hearts O' Plenty.
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pixie Pink, Bashful Blue and Pretty in Pink.
Ink Pad: Pixie Pink and Standard Wheel Cartridge - Pixie Pink.
Accessories: Stampin' Around Handle - Standard, Stampin' Around Wheel Guide, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon - Pretty in Pink.
Box Size: 2" x 2" x 2".

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Alex

December Already...

Can you believe we're in December already? Well, Christmas is not too far away now, so remember you still have time to take me up on either my Christmas Wish List Service, Gift Vouchers or even the Stampin' Up! promotion of Christmas Extravaganza to earn yourself a free Tag Punch.

It's also the weekend of my next Stampin' Up! Workshop this Saturday, and I've been busy making the samples.

Below are a couple of sneak peeks of what the ladies will be making this week.

Season of Joy Card



Love You Much Box


Be sure to come back on Saturday to see the projects in full :)

Bye for now,

Alex

Polka Dot Punches

Hope you're all well and wrapped up nice and warm what with the awful weather we've been having at the moment!

Anyway, wanted to do a bit of blogging before another day passes by too quickly to say that I had another Evening Session on Wednesday, and the ladies had the chance to make a couple of cards using either Polka Dot Punches or Tree Trimmings.

Here are pictures of the sample cards they could choose from:


Kit One - Polka Dot Punches
Inspired and CASEd from the SAB promotion that we had at the beginning of this year.


Stamps: Polka Dot Punches.
Cardstock: So Saffron, Bashful Blue and Whisper White.
Ink Pad: Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and So Saffron. Versamark Stamp Pad.
Accessories: 1/2" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon - So Saffron (August Promotion - Ribbon Bundle), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.


Card using one of the stamps from Polka Dot Punches with the matching 5 Petal Punch:


Stamps: Polka Dot Punches and Season of Joy (sentiment).
Cardstock: Old Olive, Real Red, Garden Green and So Saffron. Patterns Designer Series Paper - Old Olive.
Ink Pad: Real Red and So Saffron. Whisper White Craft Ink.
Accessories: 5-Petal Flower Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon - Real Red, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Dimensionals.
Card Size: A6.

Hope you like and has given you ideas that a stamp is not just for one occasion :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Alex

Tree Trimmings

Kit Two - Tree Trimmings
The other kit of Christmas cards the ladies had the choice to make on Wednesday night were the card I posted the other day and a 3D card which was inspired by Crafty Squirrel

Here they are:


Stamps: Tree Trimmings, Season of Joy (sentiment).
Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White.
Ink Pad: Old Olive, Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Basic Grey.
Accessories: 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon - Real Red, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.
Card Size: A6.



Stamps: Tree Trimmings and Season of Joy (sentiment).
Cardstock: Old Olive, Real Red and Whisper White.
Ink Pad: Real Red and Chocolate Chip. Versamark Stamp Pad.
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Eyelet Border Punch, Striped Grosgrain Ribbon - Old Olive and Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.
Card Size: A6.

Hope you've enjoyed looking at the cards that were available to make on Wednesday night. If you would like to come to my Wednesday Evening sessions, please contact me for more details as space is limited on a first come first served basis.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Alex