Tuesday 28 February 2017

Dragonfly Dreams - the Stained Glass one...

Following on from Sunday's post... another super CAS (clean & simple) little partial die cut card...

But this time I added colours using the Stained Glass Technique for the dragonfly wings...

Die cut a detailed cardstock and a solid Vellum dragonfly... scribble your marker pens on the vellum one as you desire...
 And then cover with the detailed one... 
Simple but stunning effect... especially when you hold up to a light source.... 

And the dragonfly is finished off with a stamped body part...
And here is a photo of the simple little dragonfly partial die cut duo....

Monday 27 February 2017

Home Sweet Home Beautiful Banner

Here is a Falling in Love  Home Sweet Home banner that has proven to be very popular in my classes this month...

Original idea being a Happy Mother's Day banner ... but quickly becoming one to adorn our own homes!!! LOL...   Followed by craft space decoration... gifts for new baby girls... Congratulations, Happy Birthday and oh... even one for Mother's Day after all!!!!
Want to make your own? I have a Beautiful Banners Kit in the Mail option with full instructions for you... Please contact me here...

I used the somewhat overlooked gem of a stamp set in the Annual Catalogue...called Beautiful Banners (available in Wood and Clear Mount)
Beautiful Banners Clear-Mount Stamp Set
With co-ordinating dies, Banners Framelits...
Banners Framelits Dies
Along with the perfect alphabet to simply make banners for any occasion... Layered Letters
And finished off simply with Lace Doilies, Falling in Love embellishments , 1/4" Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon and a tassle from the Cupcakes & Carousels embellishment pack
 Lace Doilies
Falling in Love Embellishments
Very Vanilla 1/4" (6.4 mm) Satin Ribbon
Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishment Kit
Simply sweet! 

Though 2 things I will change when I make another one... and I told everyone to change as they made theirs...
(1) Leave a wider gap between the words when I assemble the banner!
(2) Stamp the letters central in the banner area as intended... I had left room for the half doilies at the top...
PS Yes my supersized clock is over 2 foot in diameter.... so it is a decent sized banner!


Sunday 26 February 2017

Dragonfly Dreams the Simple Partial Die Cut One...

Very simple card for your Dragonfly Dreams dragonflies today... but this one was very popular amongst my ladies!  

Dragonfly partially die cut through the top left of the top white mat for extra interest... though you may have to look closely to spot it! 
Detailed fancy dragonfly die cut separately and layered on top so that the Sweet Sugarplum mat shines through...

And a few gemstones to finish... and a Quick Tip for you! I have used 3 of the large (body) and 3 of the small (sprinkled randomly!) gemstones here... that way I don't end up with 3 packets open as I just use the same size all the time!! Nowadays I actually design most of my cards so that I use 2-3 of the gems (or pearls) sizes on a card... just better for my stock that way!
Simples!
It is a 10.5cm (4 1/8") square card with a 8cm (3 1/8") white mat and 8.5cm (3 3/8") coloured mat. Cuts 2 white cards & mats nicely from a sheet of A4 Thick Whisper White cardstock

Friday 24 February 2017

Double Tri Display Card Tutorial for Fancy Fold Friday

Here is another Double Tri Display Card dressed up using the Falling In Love and Dragonfly Dreams papers for Mother's Day - set off on Blushing Bride cardstock this time...

Click here for more details on the decoration of this and on the original Sahara Sand version shared last week
And a bit of class feedback on this card... my poor little apostrophe was moved every time someone came to stamp the 'S at the end... So click here for background information on the Mother's Day and the apostrophe S debate (Mother's Day, Mothers Day, Mothers' Day) for those of you that are interested in things like that! 

And so here is the card fold Tutorial for you...

I would love to see what you make with this card fold... so please do feel free to share your makes with me and/or the world!... just remember to link back here to further share the method to the creative world...

Double Tri Display Card Tutorial © Amanda Bates at The Craft Spa

You will need:
Main Card: 12x12 Cardstock 12” x 5 ¼
Front Card Panels:  2” x 5 ¼” (x2)
Back Card Panel: 2 ¾” x 2 ½” (ie for writing on!)

And papers to decorate:-
Front Panels: 1 ⅞”W x 5⅛”H (x2)
Central 6 Panels: 1⅜”W x 2⅝”H (x 6)
Top & Bottom Panels: 1⅜” x 1⅛”

1)      Line up 5¼” x 12” piece of cardstock PORTRAIT at 1¼” on Top Bar
2)      CUT from ¾” to 5¼” (1.9-13.3cm)
3)      LIFT the cut bar!
4)      CUT from 6¾” to 11¼” (17.1-28.6cm)
5)      Line up PORTRAIT at 4” on Top Bar
6)      CUT from ¾” to 5¼” (1.9-13.3cm); LIFT!; CUT from 6¾” to 11¼” (17.1-28.6cm)
7)      LANDSCAPE. SCORE whole of card at 10½”, 9”, 7½”, 6”, 4 ½”, 3” and 1½”
8)      LANDSCAPE. SCORE outer sections at 6¾” & 5¼” (ie top and bottom sections)
9)      LANDSCAPE. SCORE inner sections at ¾” & 11 ¼” (ie central section)
10)   Peak/Mountain Bone Fold the central 6” score line
11)   Holding your card PORTRAIT and starting from the front edge… lightly fold the central section score-lines as Peak, Valley, Peak, Valley
12)   And the outer section score-lines as Peak, Valley, Peak, Valley

13)   Fold over towards the centre (ie 6" peak folded score-line) until it all just neatly folds on itself…
14)   Bone Fold
15)   Repeat 11-14 from the other side
16)   Apply glue to outer/front C-section(s) (I have used Tear & Tape so you can see where in the photo - but personally I use Tombow so I have a bit of slide! And I apply glue & assemble one side at a time)
17)   Adhere Front Panel (2” x 5 ¼”) with edge lined up with first peak fold (ie not the outer edge of the card!)
18)   Repeat for other side
Just a note... This version is sized to best incorporate the Large Letter alphabet die sizes... based on using one width of 12" card... The finished card size is 4”W x 5 ¼” H which fits perfectly into a Stampin’ Up! Medium CrumbCake envelope for posting… 

And a pictorial of the cut & score lines on the main card for you... 
And then it is just about the decoration... 
Folded up... 
And the back... I might even decorate this side too another day! Note that I scored that Very Vanilla 2 ¾” x 2 ½” greeting panel in half at 1 3/8" so that the fold line was slightly neater...



Thursday 23 February 2017

Falling In Love & Dragonfly Dreams - The Blues one!

Quick share of today's card...

This is a card made "kind of" from scraps!!! - as the paper panel is the gutted centre from my Heart Wreath card shared here... (gutted at 1 1/4" from all sides fyi) ... and the greeting banner is the scrap from cutting out the two Very Vanilla panels used here... kind of neat!
Falling in Love papers meets Dragonfly Dreams stamps & dies and introducing the other BIG word in Happy Celebrations.... how much do I love this "celebrate" greeting!!

And I have to admit that these papers have really proven to be versatile... and are not just in the pinks!!
Oh and here is the inside... thought it worthy of decorating too...
Love the softer look of the just the dragonfly wings and body...

And a little tip... I have used clear embossing powder on the Very Vanilla cardstock so that the cream card colour can shine through... and the colouring is done using Pool Party and Mint Macaron markers over the embossed and die-cut dragonfly (ie Emboss Resist... remembering to wipe off the excess ink with tissue paper afterwards)

Tuesday 21 February 2017

Exciting News! British Craft Awards 2017

I am absolutely thrilled to share the news that Stampin’ Up! has won Papercraft Brand of the year 2017 and Papercraft Retailer of the year 2017 at the British Craft Awards 2017! The awards ceremony was held at the NEC on Sunday 19th February.
So happy to be a small part of this journey! And I look forward to the next part of the voyage... I have to love that I have so much Papercraft Brand of the Year stash to work with!
Want to start your own creative journey with Stampin' Up!... click here for more details... as this month is a very good time to start!
Back soon with a creative share .. but I had to share!
And don't forget to check out the new Sale A Bration promotional items you can earn for free! Click here.

Monday 20 February 2017

Second release of Sale A Bration items... now live!

Three more products added to the Sale a Bration promotion today. 


Click here to see these second release items. And/or click here to see the first release items which are all still available too... 

Here is a sneak peek of some projects...
And here are some quick pics of the 3 items...

First up the absolutely gorgeous Glimmer Paper Multipack... 4 6" square sheets each of Mint Macaron, Sweet Sugarplum & Bermuda Bay... what's not to love!
Second up ...Make A Medallion...

 And last but not least... Reverse Words....

And here are a couple of creative shares from our last Monthly Training using the Reverse Words stamp set...

And click here for more details on this previously shared project showing off the 3 gorgeous colours of the Glimmer Paper! 

Oh and for those of you new to Stampin' Up! and/or Sale A Bration... this is how the Sale A Bration promotion works...  
Earn Free Product in any (or all) of 3 ways... until 31st March 2017...

SHOP: For every £45 you spend (before shipping), you get a FREE Sale-A-Bration product. Spend £90 get 2 free SAB products... and so on... with no limits...  Choose now from a total of 15 items.

JOIN:- Get an extra TWO STAMP SETS for FREE. Choose the standard £130 product plus 2 more free current stamp sets (could be an extra £93 for free!! Yes...up to £223 product). Pay just £99. Ships for FREE too...

HOST:- Order over £200 or... host a qualifying party with at least £200 in sales... and you'll earn £20 more Host/Stampin' Rewards. You can even use the Host/Stampin Rewards towards a Demonstrator Starter Kit.
Example: For a £200 order... earn £40 total Host/Stampin Rewards during Sale A Bration