Scrapbook class preview

Hello blog readers! Yes, I'm back!!

I'm excited to announce that there is a new mini catalogue being released by Stampin Up! on 4th January 2012. If you'd like a copy please email me with your address to blueangelcrafts at gmail dot com.

So I have a preview for you... It's a copy of one of the gorgeous projects in the new mini:


Can't say much more right now but keep your eyes peeled for more previews! Oh, and if you're coming to scrapbook club on Tuesday 2nd January this is what we'll be creating!!!

Whatever you are doing for New Year have a great time. We are hosting a little family get together tonight and each couple is making one course of the dinner. Can't wait!

Ho ho ho

Merry Christmas!

Please accept this as my festive greeting. What with a dip in my depression, endless illness in the family and taking on too much I've not sent too many cards this year. This will have to be in place of a card but is sent with love:


Munchkin decorating our gingerbread house!!!

P.S. There's a mini catalogue coming out at the start of January 2012 - email me with your address and I'll pop a copy in the post to you. Think of it as a post- Christmas pick-me-up.

Inky hugs xxx

And now for something a little different

In all the excitement of Christmas I can forget the basics. Like remembering to wrap the gifts I took so long choosing. However this year I've been inspired to start a little earlier as I saw a great idea on Kirstie's Christmas show on C4.


You take Fimo modelling clay and use cookie cutters to make festive shapes then stamp messages on them.

The one above is for my Munchkin. I used the Broadsheet Alphabet set for the 'I', Just Perfect alphabet for the rest of her name and then the star image in Pennant Parade to decorate.

You then bake the clay according to the instructions on the packet. (Don't forget to pierce a hole at the top) When they cool I sponged over some Champagne paint for extra sparkle.

I'm going to add a bit of ribbon to attach it to a gift. The tag can then be used as a tree decoration so it's a double gift!

Here's another I made, this time for my Dad:


Speaking of gifts I was given a gift from a lovely friend, Lesley yesterday!


The bag itself is gorgeous, isn't it?

Inside was this:


Gingerbread cookie mix and a fab cutter! So thanks very much to Lesley. As soon as our house stops being full of sick people I'll be cooking them up!


Here's a little pic of Munchkin for my father-in-law. A momentary lapse of her illness. She's back to being a bit tired but hey, it's not like we've got much else to do, is it?! Poor lamb.

Super quick Christmas card

This design was originally from Kristina Werner but I have adapted it quite a lot! It's a super fast card to put together in a batch and just uses one stamp set, Contempo Christmas. The sentiment and bauble image were stamped in Versamark and then embossed in Gold.

Have a corner rounder punch and a bauble punch makes cutting out the elements very quick.

The patterned paper could be any patterned paper that co-ordinates. This one is not a Christmas-sy design at all, but from the Hostess section of the current catalogue.

Hope that this card gives you some inspiration if you are still hunting!

Meeting baby Eva

Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting our friend's new baby, Eva. She is one month old today! She was such a cutie but I didn't get any good photos unfortunately.

Anyway I made her this card. It's based on a design I saw on Kristina Werner's blog only changed quite a bit!

The base is Pirouette Pink cardstock that has been stamped with the small background stamp, Dot Dot Dot in Pretty in Pink ink. I then layered a strip of Rose Red DSP and a strip of Elegant Eggplant cardstock. The circles were made with a 1" circle punch and the hearts were stamped separately.

The hearts came from the set Tiny Tags and were stamped in Rose Red, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie and Elegant Eggplant. I then cut them out close to the stamped image and then raised them up on Dimensionals.

To make Eva's name letters I used my Big Shot. It's just great to have the Big Shot. Before that I used to use those sticky letters but found I always ran out of certain letters (E and A usually went first!) and also they were not necessarily the right colour. The Big Shot allows me to cut letters in the colour I want and I could then dip them in Dazzling Diamonds glitter. Love LOVE LOVE them!!

Scrap-lift

A break from Christmas! Today I've got a scrapbook page to share with you with that we made in my December scrapbook class:


I struggle to add more than one photo per page so I managed to get THREE on here and was ver proud. Where are the other two photos?


Hidden!

The page features papers from the hostess section of the catalogue. Just love these colours: Concord crush, Bashful blue, Melon Mambo, Pirouette Pink and Lucky Limeade.

The flowers were made using the large flower punch, 5-petal punch and boho blossoms all layered with Rhinestone centres.

The layout was lifted from a page I did natalie and Zoe's scrappers paradise class:


Featuring my cat! Isn't he handsome?


If you'd like to join us to do some scrapbooking the class is held on the first Tuesday evening each month.

The next one is Tuesday 2nd january 2012 at 7.30pm at my house (GU12). Let me know if you'd like to join us!

Snowflake card

Good morning! Today I have a card that features a technique I read about in the monthly magazine all UK demonstrators are sent, Impressions.


To make the snowflake you punch a piece of Whisper White using the lace border punch. I used the width of A4. That is then covered in Dazzling Diamonds and scored every 5mm. The card is folded along the score lines in a zigzag fashion and the short ends stuck together.

When this is pushed down you get a circle! This was layered on a scalloped circle with an antique brad and a piece of Candy Cane fabric cut into a flag.

The base is Baja breeze with a layer of Real Red cardstock. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and was punched with the Word Window punch.

Hope you like the card and if you'd like to know more about becoming a Demonstrator I'd love to hear from you!

Munchkin appears to be back on full form today. She's still taking advantage of the fizzy pop that was made available yesterday when she was sick and she even found a chocolate somewhere and guzzled that too! Fingers crossed she keeps on this way and we manage to avoid catching it ourselves!!

Penguin card

This is a card we made at my recent Christmas Stack class:


It features Candy Cane fabric made into a ruffle around the central penguin image from Polar Party.

I'm loving the Blushing Bride pink in this fabric as I've never used pink on Christmas cards before!

Check back tomorrow for another stamp a stack favourite.

P.S. Some of you may have heard munchkin has been in hospital with a stomach virus. She's out now but still very poorly. Sorry if I'm a bit slower to reply to emails etc! Fingers crossed she'll get better soon.

More Christmas candles

After my enthusiasm at decorating candles last week I decided to make a batch for friends and neighbours!


This time I stamped the snowflake from Winter Post in Cherry Cobbler ink. Very Scandi-style!

The tag was made using a stamp from Tags til Christmas. The bags were finished off with some scalloped dotted ribbon in Cherry Cobbler.


Here's a table of them all finished!!!

Tractor Card

Sunday was my Father-in-law's birthday and I wanted to make him a special card. I originally thought I would make one with a train but wasn't happy with the result - it looked a little like a child's card!

Instead I tried something totally new and sponged a background. I cut a scalloped circle in half and sponged around it to leave cloud shapes.

Then I punched out different shapes and layered them to create a tractor. The colours are Garden Green, Basic Black, Basic Grey and Whisper White puffs of smoke.

The sentiment came from Teeny Tiny Wishes and finished off the card nicely, I think.

Hope you had a good birthday FIL!

Welcome Harry

On Friday 2nd December my dear friend gave birth to her second son. This is the card I made her. It's a Bashful Blue base and I free-hand stamped Harry's name repeatedly in Bashful Blue ink using Just Perfect Alphabet stamps.

The central image is from Button Buddies and was stamped in Bashful Blue and Versamark ink. I then added Heat & Stick powder and finished it off (after heating the glue) with some Dazzling Diamonds. This panel was layered onto Night of Navy card to bring the eye straight to the centre of the card.

We were lucky enough to visit Harry when he was just 6 days old and he is a total cutie!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 12

So it's the final day of my 12 Days of Christmas festive posts. I hope you've found them useful bf inspirational. My final project is this mini handbag:


Just the right size for some slim choccies! It was based on this swap I received from a French Demonstrator (sadly I didn't catch her name):


You'll have to use your imagination to turn the bag round!

It's a very sweet project that needs Minimal supplies:


(I missed off the Window punch!)


Cut 2 envelopes out of Lucky Limeade card on the big shot and trim enough off the bottom flap so that the remaining is equal to the side flaps. Add red tape.


Punch the handles using the Window Punch and add a piece of patterned paper 5cm x 7cm. I used Real Red paper from the Brights Paper Stack.


Next make a sentiment. I used Tags Til Christmas with Lucky Limeade, Real Red & Early Espresso markers. It's stamped onto Very Vanilla card and then punched out with the Scalloped Square punch.


Next prepare your embellishments. Use the 5-petal flower punch and cut 1x Lucky Limeade and 3x Real Red.


Cut off a pair of green petals to make the leaves.

Layer the red flowers to make a poinsettia and finish with Rhinestones.


Voilà!

Fill with thin chocs/money and put on the table or in the tree!!

I'll be back tomorrow with some (not necessarily Christmas) projects.

Don't forget you get 10% off all products in bold during these last 13 posts. I'll be placing an order on Tuesday 13th December. Let me know if you'd like to add something!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 11

Can you believe we're nearly at the end of the 12 Days of Christmas series!

Today I have a fab tree decoration idea, although you could hang it around your home too:


It's a decorative Petal Cone die. The main part is in cherry Cobbler card and stamped with the snowflake from Winter Post.

The green flaps were cut from Always Artichoke and embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper folder.


It's hung with satin ribbon. This was secures with gold brads that were concealed by the green flaps. The front is decorated with 'merry Christmas' from contempo Christmas. This was punched out with the scalloped oval punch and then sponged and layered onto a decorative label punch. A quick vintage brad and some Victoriana lace and voilà!


These petal cones are surprisingly big and can hold a lot of sweets or other gifts.

I'd be happy to order some Stampin Up! Goodies from the UK Catalogue and they can even be delivered to your door. I'm even offering 10% off any of the items in this 12 Days of Christmas series until 13th December!

Come back tomorrow for my festive finale!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 10

Hello and welcome to Day 10. Aren't the days leading up to Christmas always on fastforward?!

Today I have a banner to share with you. It's base is Candy Cane fabric which has been cut into triangles on the Perfect Pennants Big Shot die. This makes cutting them out really quick and easy. I then ran them through my sewing machine and attched them to satin ribbon using zigzag stitch.Each letter was embossed in white using the Broadsheet alphabet stamp set on Real Red textured cardstock. These were cut out with the 1 3/8" circle punch and layered onto the 1 3/4" circle punch circles in Whisper White card.

You can just about see the Daffodil Delight yellow star here. That was made by punching out the 5-petal flower punch and then cutting off the curves. Makes creating stars very easy if you don't have a star punch! The scalloped circles in Garden Green card were cut on the Pennant die. Here is a close-up:

The original idea was on one of the inspiration boards at Convention in Paris. I'm therefore not sure who made them so I can't give full credit, but here is a photo:

There is a 10% discount being offered by me if you'd like to order any of the products used during the 12 Days of Christmas (these are in bold) or any other products from the UK catalogue. Just let me know and I can even have it sent to your home!

This morning by DH and I slept in. Munchkin did not.

This is some of the chaos we woke up to: My basket of crafting goodies all over the place. All the glue dots and ribbons had been totally unravelled.

Unfortunately there was worse to come when I discovered my embossing powder stash:

So now I have no clear or black embossing powders. She also decided to put ALL the margarine onto one piece of bread, put my credit card into the CD player and take all the sauces out of the fridge.

Are you thinking we must have the devil's child? Well look how sweet and innocent she looked 10 minutes later:

Onwards to more adventures! See you tomorrow for Day 11!!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 9

Whoops a bit late today! Today's project shows a cute alternative way of using the Milk carton die on the big Shot. It's an idea Zoe Tant taught us at one of the UK sessions of Convention in Paris:


You simply cut the box part and not the milk carton top. This gives you a box that needs a lid. To make a lid simply cut a square 8.2cm x 8.2cm, scorn each side at 2cm and then fold and decorate.


As you can see you can fit a Ferraro Roche or alternatively (if you are a demonstrator) you could put an ink spot and small stamp in as a hostess gift. Book a party with me and you could get your own!

The papers I've used a ones you can earn as a hostess but the colour combinations are endless and you could use very creative choices! These are ideal as table favours or for very small gifts like jewellery.

I finished mine with some flowers cut on the big Shot using Bashful blue card and a centre of a vintage brad. The edges were inked for extra depth.

I'd love to order any of the items in bold at 10% discount or anything else from the UK Stampin Up! Catalogue. It can be delivered to your UK address in time for Christmas so long as you order before 16th December!

Stop by tomorrow for Day 10 tomorrow!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 8

One of the fun things about the Festive Season is BAKING! I love making edible treats for friends & family but it's important to make them look irresistible too.

So I like to decorate jars and fill them with treats:


This jar was filled with mincemeat a few days ago! Now it has Butterballs made from the Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook. Yum!

To make the lid I cut some Candy Cane fabric with the Scalloped circle big shot die and used red tape to fix it around the edge. I then tied a length of satin ribbon around the neck of the jar in a big bow and it was almost done.

The label was made with a stamp from Four Frames stamped in Real Red ink and punched out with the decorative label Punch. The words were handwritten with a marker and a couple of Rhinestones finished it off!


How is the label stuck on so well? It's those fantastic Big Shot Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets (pg122). They are like giant 12x12" sheets of Snail adhesive. I am addicted to these great value sheets. They are just £13.50 for 12 sheets and don't have to be used exclusively with the big shot. You can open the sheet and rub punched shapes on there to make them super sticky. As the sheets are permanent the pieces then stick very well!

Don't forget that I'm offering a 10% discount on all items in my posts marked in bold during this series of Festive posts.

See you tomorrow for Day 9.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 7

Morning all! Thanks to those who responded to my One Day Contest. I got lots of bookings and am eagerly waiting to see if we hit our worldwide target! If you wanted to book a private class but didn't make the deadline I still have some dates free, particularly in March.

Onto today's festive idea: Reindeer Food. A fantastic gift for younger children as they can get excited about that on Christmas Eve.

This is similar to the Snowman poo but the bag contains oats & glitter. Obviously it's probably best not to sprinkle regular glitter outdoors, but you could always sprinkle the mixture on a fireplace instead.


The reindeer image is from Winter Post and is finished with a rhinestone, which is tricky to see in the photo.

The Top Note was cut from Real Red card and stamped on White craft ink with snowflakes from serene snowflakes.


Don't they look sweet all lined up? On the back I added a note saying the contents are not edible and a little poem:

"Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkle bright
As Santa's reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home."

You can find the poem all over the Internet so I don't know who came up with it but it's really cute.

All products in bold are 10% off until 13th December if you order through me.

Also, check out my new class schedule here.

See you tomorrow for Day 8.

One Day Contest!

****PLEASE NOTE THIS IS MY SECOND POST TODAY. FOR 12 Days of Christmas - Day 6 SCROLL DOWN****

It's that time of year when Christmas is looming and, even more excitingly, Sale-a-bration is just around the corner!

For those of you who haven't experienced Sale-a-bration before it's a fantastic time when Stampin' Up! offer one of four exclusive stamp sets (this year there is also a patterned paper pack too) and you can choose ONE FREE with EVERY £45 ordered. So if you ordered £90 you get TWO choices!

As a hostess you get an extra FREE set/paper if your host a party that reaches £300 in sales. So it's a great time to host a party/private class.

Back to the main reason for this email....

Stampin' Up! have challenged us demonstrators worldwide to a contest today (Tuesday 6th December) where we have to get 8635 bookings! I hope you'll help me meet our goal!!

I'm offering private card classes for a fun night in during January and February. Each person makes 4 cards using the Sale-a-bration sets for £10 but they get the class free if they place an order of £25.

If you have experienced crafty friends you can double it up and make 8 cards each for just £15 or free with a £35 order.

Contact me before 10pm today (6th December) to tell me when you'd like your private card class and I'll give you a FREE £5 voucher to spend in the catalogue at your card class!

Blueangelcrafts at gmail dot com

12 Days of Christmas - Day 6

Today I have another calendar-based idea. This time it's one to hang on the wall:


I saw a version of this on Pinterest and decided to make my own using Mocha Morning speciality papers. They are lush!

It's very simple to make. Just cute three Top Notes and decorate with patterned paper etc. These can then be stuck using Red Tape to some lovely satin ribbon. To finish simply glue a mini calendar (from a stationary shop) and half a pack of Post-It notes - a whole pack is a bit heavy. Voilà!

Remember all items in bold are 10% off until the 13th December!

Yesterday we got festive and iced some biscuits for our Christmas tree! Munchkin really enjoyed herself!!


But it took a lot of concentration!!!


The result was worth it...

12 Days of Christmas - Day 5

Happy Monday! Today I'm excited to share not just a super quick and simple gift idea but also a preview!

Did you hear the exciting news that we're getting a spring mini catalogue that launches in January?! Its very exciting as there are lots of new co-ordinating stamps, papers, punches and embellishments.

With that in mind I'll show you today's gift idea: a decorated candle. All you need on addriin to basics such as stamps ad ink are a candle and some tissue paper.

I used white tissue paper and stamped with Lucky Limeade ink using the swirl from Baroque Motifs. I then used the Rock'n'Roll technique to make the large flower image two-toned. For this I used a set from the forthcoming mini catalogue called Fruit & Flowers. Are they cute?

I used Pool party for the lighter blue and then Island indigo for contrast. The smaller flowers are also the Fruit & Flowers set.



You then need to trim the tissue paper to a size that will fit around the candle.

Now for the fun part! Get your heat gun and gently heat the surface of the candle with the tissue paper laying on top. You can see how the tissue paper just sticks here:



Once your worked your way around the whole candle it should look like this:



If you heat the candle too much the wax runs and the surface loses it's smoothness so be cautious!

Once it was cooled I popped it Ito a large cello bag, tied a piece of ruffled ribbon (in Pool party) to close it and made a tag using the set, Perfect punches.



If you're short on time but want to make handmade gifts this is ideal. You could easily produce a whole batch in less than an hour.

Don't forget I'm offering a 10% discount off all products used in the 12 Days of Christmas series until the 13th December. I'm sending an order on the 14th so you have some thinking time.

See you tomorrow for more festive inspiration.