Reminder - Crop and class starts tomorrow Saturday 15 January

Both the crop and the classes will take place at St. Saviours Church Hall (next to the Council Meeting Rooms, not the Church itself), Mortomly Lane, High Green, tomorrow, (it will be the 2nd Saturday of each month in future).

Come along to one, the other, or both.

Crop

Would you like to get together with other crafters for an informal crafting session? Just bring along whatever project you're working on and enjoy the company.

Drop in any time from 11am until 4pm and stay for as long as you can.

Please bring along your own lunch. Cost is £4 towards room hire and refreshments. Any profit will be donated to Cavendish Cancer Care.

Class

Classes are 1.30pm - 3.30pm.

Tomorrow, we'll be making a choice of a card or a 6" x 6" scrapbooking page using both:

• the kissing technique (stamps only, no lips involved); and
• the emerging colour technique

(Please note that a different technique is pictured above, for illustration only)

Cost is £12 to include full class kit (materials plus a stamp), room hire and refreshments.

Email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com or give me a call on 0775 1133886 to book your place and guarantee your class kit. (You can also just turn up on the day but you take the chance that I may not have enough class kits to go round)

Crop and class

Want the best of both worlds? Come along to both the crop and class for a full day's crafting for just £15.

Special Offer

Introduce a new member to the crop, class or both and you will both receive a mini goodie pack of cardstock, Designer Series Paper and ribbon (offer valid while stocks last).

An elegant card of pure Bliss

Carrying on with a little inspiration for using the fabulous, free, Sale-a-bration sets, today I'm using just two of the five Bliss stamps.

This is a really simple but elegant card, suitable for a wedding or anniversary.

Recipe

Stamp set: Bliss (get this set of 5 stamps with a £45 order - details here)

Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla

Ink: Perfect Plum

DSP: Lap of Luxury

Punches: Scallop Trim Corner, Scallop Trim, Scallop Oval, Large Oval

3mm Taffeta Ribbon: Very Vanilla

Other: Basic Pearls

The card blank is a 5" square of Perfect Plum, matted with Lap of Luxury DSP. The large damask motif was stamped with Perfect Plum ink onto Very Vanilla card and the top corners punched with the Scallop Trim Corner. This was adhered direct to the DSP layer. A narrow strip of Perfect Plum card was punched with the Scallop Trim and wrapped with 3mm Very Vanilla card before adhering over the join between DSP and card. The Bliss sentiment was stamped with Perfect Plum ink onto Very Vanilla card and punched with the Large Oval then popped up on dimensionals onto a Scallop Circle of Perfect Plum card. This was then popped up again on dimensionals on the bottom centre of the card. It was finished by adding a few Basic Pearls and a Very Vanilla taffeta bow.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

Soft pastels for a new baby gift box using SAB sets

I had a wonderful afternoon yesterday crafting with DH! Yes, hubby joined me for a crafting session. My MIL spotted his handmade christmas card to me, when they visited and insisted that he make her a card for her birthday later this month.

He chose the colour combo and designed the layout and I just provided a little tutoring (he learned heat embossing and how to use a stamp-a-ma-jig) and I was also on stamp cleaning duty, lol. I'm really proud of his results but you'll have to pop back after the 23rd to see - can't risk MIL spotting her card.

The light had gone by the time I got round to my own crafting so I had to wait until today to take pix of the little "new baby" gift box I made using two of the SAB sets:

Recipe

Stamp sets: So Happy For You, Punch Bunch (choose one set free with every £45 order - details here)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink

Punches: Eyelet Border, Extra-Large Tag, Large Tag, Word Window

3mm Taffeta Ribbon: Daffodil Delight

The base box is the 2-5-7-10 box from the Splitcoaststampers site here. On a base box of Whisper White card and using the dinky background stamps from the So Happy For You set, I randomly stamped the flower with Daffodil Delight ink, the 4-leaf clover with Certainly Celery, the heart with Pretty in Pink and the butterfly with Bashful Blue. The box flap was punched with the Eyelet Border and a narrow strip of Daffodil Delight, also punched with the Eyelet Border was adhered below it. The Welcome Baby sentiment from the Punch Bunch set was stamped in Daffodil Delight onto Whisper White card and punched with the Large Tag. This was matted direct to an Extra-Large Tag punched from Daffodil Delight and then popped up on dimensionals on the front of the box. The So Happy For You sentiment was stamped in

Certainly Celery on Whisper White card and trimmed by inserting the ends of the sentiment into the back of the Word Window punch to trim them to shape. Another Word Window was punched from Daffodil Delight card, cut in half and adhered behind the sentiment. 3mm Daffodil Delight ribbon was threaded through and used to tie the box closed.

I love how these Sale-a-bration sets are going to work year round. They're all so gorgeous that I had to get them all but which is your favourite?

Sara xx

Three ways with ribbon for the Mojomonday challenge

I've been busy for the last few days, preparing for next Saturday's Crop and Class (click here for details of how to join us for the Crop, Class or both) but I made a bit of time this morning to play along with the latest MojoMonday challenge.

The sketch this week is this one:

I decided to have a dig through my stash and use up some of my retired bits and bobs, combining them with some new, including one of the new SAB stamps. I wanted to feature ribbons and looked for different ways of using them to create this:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Punch Bunch (get the set of 5 stamps free with a £45 order - details here)

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Peach Parfait, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cajun Craze

Punches: 1-3/4" Circle, 1" Circle, Eyelet Border

1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon: Pumpkin Pie

Double-stitched Grosgrain Ribbon: Chocolate Chip (retired)

Taffeta Ribbon: Chocolate Chip (retired)

Other: Earth Elements Buttons (retired), Linen Thread

Tools: Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool, Crimper

The card blank is an A6 portrait of Chocolate Chip. This was matted direct with a layer of Peach Parfait that had faux stitching added round the edges with Chocolate Chip marker followed by sponging with Cajun Craze ink. A piece of Double Stitched Ribbon was trimmed at each end and adhered to the card front with Sticky Strip. A square of Cajun Craze card was matted onto a layer of Chocolate Chip and more faux stitching in Chocolate Chip ink added before popping ip on dimensionals on the card front. The main motif was made by punching a 1-3/4" Circle of Chocolate Chip card, covering it with Sticky Strip and adding the twisted taffeta ribbon, round and round from the central area. Leave a small space in the centre, this way you don't waste ribbon that won't be seen and have a better surface for the dimensional supporting the sentiment. (Tip - work on the backing to a sheet of dimensionals so that your sticky circle doesn't stick where it shouldn't). The True Friend sentiment from the Punch Bunch set was stamped in Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla card and punched out with the 1" Circle before popping up on a dimensional in the centre of the twisted ribbon flower. A strip of Peach Parfait was punched with the Eyelet Border, edges sponged with Cajun Craze ink and then put through the Crimper before adhering to the back of the twisted ribbon flower. The whole flower was popped up on dimensionals. A large square Vanilla button was tied with Linen Thread around a trimmed piece of Striped Pumpkin Pie ribbon and attached with glue dots. Three small Vanilla buttons were tied with Linen Thread and also attached with glue dots.

Have a great weekend.

Sara xx

A scrapbook page with hidden journalling

Here is my second bite at the cherry for making a scrapbook page for the In Love With Stamping challenge.

Recipe

Stamp set: Circle Circus

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Real Red

Ink: Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Versamark

Punches: Corner Rounder, 1-3/4" Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, 1-1/4" Circle, Scallop Edge, 1/4" Circle (retired)

3mm Taffeta Ribbon: Marina Mist

Other: Silver EP, Silver Brads

The base page is a 6" x 6" of Marina Mist card. Using Marina Mist ink the outline Circle from Circle Circus was stamped randomly on the left side of the page. The main photo was matted onto Real Red and then Crumb Cake card, with the corners of all layers punched with the Corner Rounder. A thin strip of Crumb Cake card was punched with the Scallop Edge Border, then wrapped with Marina Mist taffeta ribbon. The bubble circle was stamped with Versamark, heat embossed with Silver EP, then punched with the 1-1/4" Circle. This was matted onto a 1-3/8" Circle of Marina Mist and adhered direct to the centre of the right side of the page. Photos of DH and I were punched with the 1-3/4" Circle and secured to the page with Silver brads. I used Marina Mist 1/4" Circles (retired) between brad and photo and between photo and page as a protector to help with the swivel action. The outline Circle was stamped again with Marina Mist ink this time onto Crumb Cake card and punched out with the 1-3/8" Circle and adhered underneath the photos for journalling. Circle punches were used to punch segments of Crumb Cake card and adhered below the main photo for journalling the place and year.

Admission - the journalling was originally done direct to the page but had to be redone on the Crumb Cake layers because I added the wrong year - doh!

The photos of DH and I swivel aside to reveal the journalling:

DH and I both love photography but hate having our photo taken. We did take a handful of photos of us more than usual in 2010 but I think I need to up the number even more in 2011, after all it makes the scrapbook pages that much more personal (and it may be the incentive I need to lose weight, lol).

Sara xx

Waxing lyrical over this month's challenge

As you may have seen earlier in the week, one of our challenges this month over at In Love With Stamping, is to use wax. This time I used the wax as a candle to be decorated (and waxed paper in applying the image).

Recipe

Stamp sets: Just Believe, Flight of the Butterfly

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

6mm Grosgrain Ribbon: Rich Razzleberry

Other: Tissue Paper (backing from Medium Window Sheet)

Non-SU: Candle, Waxed Paper

I stamped the long grasses image (Just Believe) and the small spotted butterfly (Flight of the Butterfly) onto the tissue paper with Rich Razzleberry ink and cut them out close to the design. Working on just a couple of images at a time, I wrapped them in position on the candle with waxed paper and holding the paper taut, heated gently with my heat tool until the image darkened and the tissue paper could no longer be seen. This was repeated around the candle using fresh waxed paper each time (otherwise the tissue paper can stick). Rich Razzleberry ribbon was wrapped around the base of the candle and secured with a glue dot and a bow added, also with a glue dot.

This technique seems a bit scary at first, but as long as you use fresh waxed paper each time and keep the heat tool moving, it works really well and the results are worth it.

Sara xx

A tricky sketch challenge

Back to the daily grindstone today for me :-(

It's so good to get back home in the evening and create :-)

Our sketch challenge over at In Love With Stamping this month is this:

I stayed as close to the design elements as I could and used the colour scheme from the DSP I chose, to create this:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Circle Circus, Cottage Garden, Sincere Salutations (sentiment)

Cardstock: Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White

Ink: Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Versamark

DSP: Sunny Garden

Punches: Scallop Circle, Two-step Bird

Other: White EP, Crimper

The card blank is an A6 landscape in Peach Parfait, matted with a layer of Pear Pizzazz. Using two patterns from the Sunny Garden pack of paper, that create almost a positive and negative, I adhered them direct to the Pear Pizzazz layer. The sentiment was stamped in the lower right corner with Versamark and then heat embossed with White EP. A strip of Pear Pizzazz was put through the Crimper and then adhered over the join in the papers. The large scallop circle from Circle Circus was stamped in Peach Parfait ink on Whisper White card and punched with the Scallop Circle. Another Scallop Circle was punched from Peach Parfait card and they were adhered together, offsetting the petals centrally. Using the Two-step Bird, the leaves were punched from Pear Pizzazz card and adhered behind the Circles. These were then popped up on dimensionals in the middle of the card. The solid flower from the Cottage Garden set was stamped in Poppy Parade on Whisper White card, then cut out and shaped before popping up on another dimensional.

Just need another couple of thank yous and I think I'll be done.

Sara xx

A bright and bold thank you card

Our colour challenge this month at In Love With Stamping is:

Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie

Zingy!

With such a mix of colours I'd usually tone them down a little but as I need a thank you card for my MIL and FIL and MIL loves bright colours I decided to go full on.

Recipe

Stamp set: Pocket Silhouettes

Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip

Punches: 1-3/8" Square, 1-1/4" Square, Word Window, Scallop Edge Border

Other: Filigree Brad

The card blank is an A6 landscape of Melon Mambo. A panel of Chocolate Chip was cut to the same depth as the 1-3/8" Square, turned as a diamond, and was then matted with narrow strips of Pumpkin Pie card top and bottom. A Scallop Edge Border was punched from Daffodil Delight and adhered behind the bottom mat of Pumpkin Pie. These layers were adhered direct to the card front and the waste trim from the Scallop Edge Border was adhered above the top layer of Pumpkin Pie. The flowers were stamped separately in Melon, Daffodil and Pumpkin on Whisper White card and punched with the 1-1/4" Square, positioning the image as a diamond rather than a square. Each was matted onto corresponding card punched with the 1-3/8" Square. They were then popped up on dimensionals on the Chocolate Chip layer. The sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip ink on Whisper White card, punched out with the Word Window and adhered direct to the card front. A filigree brad was added to the edge of the sentiment.

Hope to see your own concoctions made with this colour combo in the ILWS gallery.

Sara xx

Scrapbooking in the new year with pix from the last

Another of our challenges this month over at In Love With Stamping is:

a scrapbook page!

and I'm so glad that this was set as a challenge as I finally got around to downloading my photos from my holidays earlier in the year. Better still, I've actually printed off some pix and scrapped them.

Recipe

Stamp set: Just Believe

Cardstock: Cajun Craze, Peach Parfait, Early Espresso

Ink: Cajun Craze

DSP: In-Color Paper Pack (hostess level 1)

Punches: Curly Label, Boho Blossoms

Other: Neutrals Brads (Early Espresso)

The base page is a 6" x 6" of Cajun Craze card. For the borders, top and bottom, I trimmed the same pattern of Peach Parfait paper from the In Color hostess pack, matted them on a thin strip of Early Espresso card and adhered them direct to the page. Each of the photos was matted with Peach Parfait card and also matted direct. For the top label I used my computer to printed the place and year onto Very Vanilla card and then stamped over the top of it with the square type label from the Just Believe set in Cajun Craze ink. This was cut out leaving a small margin all around. For the bottom label I used my stamp-a-ma-jig and Cajun Craze marker to rearrange the sentiment, colouring the needed lines of the sentiment direct to stamp, positioning, stamping, repeating (and cleaning well between each stamping). This sentiment was punched out with the Curly Label. The smallest Boho Blossom was punched twice from Peach Parfait card, snipped between each petal and shaped, then secured with a brad to each sentiment label. The labels were then popped up on dimensionals.

Now is a great time to do your scrapbooking, whether it's the seasonal photos you've taken over the holiday period, or a reminder of the warmer and sunnier times from last summer. If you're in the South Yorkshire area, then come along and join my crop on Saturday 15 January (details here) or why not book a workshop with me (just email to book a date) and earn your free hostess sets at the same time.

Sara xx

Happy New Year - let's start it with a challenge

A very Happy New Year to you!

(And sorry for shouting if you're feeling a little fragile this morning, lol.)

It's not only a new year but a new month and of course that means a fresh set of stamping challenges. One of our new challenges this month over at In Love With Stamping is:

to use wax - this could be a candle, waxed crayon or even embossing powder

I decided to use a waxed crayon for a technique that we saw demonstrated at convention with this exact same stamp set. We were lucky enough to get a sneak preview of all the Sale-a-bration sets and were given this particular one free, to take away with us!

Don't forget that you can also get your own set, also free, with any order of £45 or more from the latest Idea Book and Catalogue. Just email me to place your order.

Recipe

Stamp Set: Sweet Summer

Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Whisper White

Ink: Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Stazon Black

Punch: Eyelet Border

3mm Taffeta Ribbon: Whisper White

Non-SU: White wax crayon

The card blank is a 5" square of Wild Wasabi, matted with another square of Garden Green. I randomly stamped the leafy stems onto a square of Whisper White card with Black Stazon. The flower and butterfly were also stamped with the Black Stazon on scraps of Whisper White card. Using a white wax crayon, I then roughly traced the stems and coloured the leaves, flowers and butterfly with it. The large square was then brayered with Wild Wasabi ink. The ink is resisted wherever the wax crayon was applied. So Saffron Ink was brayered over the flowers and Perfect Plum over the butterfly, then all were cut out, leaving a small margin around each image. A narrow strip of Garden Green card was punched with the Eyelet Border and matted onto the lower portion of the main image. This was then wrapped with Whisper White narrow taffeta ribbon and adhered direct to the card front. A bow of matching taffeta ribbon was adhered with a glue dot. The cut out flowers and butterfly were popped up on dimensionals.

Have a great start to 2011!

Sara xx