This & That

Hi there!

Hope you've all been well. This month Stampin' Up! have an amazing new product range which is coming out just in time for summer! It's a journal kit that you can take anywhere, include bits and bobs from your travels and remember fun/interesting/important details.

During May there is a special offer saving 15% by purchasing the Epic Day range:

• This & That journal - includes patterned pages plus two beautiful envelopes
• 4 sheets of stickers
• 3 rolls of washi tape
• Rotary date stamp, which includes so lovely words/phrases as well as the date
• Epic Day Designer Series paper, 12 sheets of 6 double-sided designs

All for just £29.24! It's great value and has been admired a lot by non-crafters and crafters alike. It'd make an awesome gift for someone going on holiday, travelling, or simply to capture summer 2013.

Click on the image below for further images and information and contact me if you'd like to place an order at: blueangelcrafts at gmail dot com

It's Finally Here!

 

The NEW main catalogue has arrived!

 

Over 200 pages of lushness!! There are some great additions to the catalogue this year:

• Wider variety of stamps, accessories and therefore even more coordination.
• Ink pads have been reformulated, keeping the same colour range, but now with even better quality stamping.
• Beautiful close up photos of the products so you can really see the product.
• Almost identical products to the USA - no more lusting after products that aren't available over here!

Come along to my BOGOF Event at Aldershot & Fleet Rugby Club (GU12 4BP) at 7.30pm tonight to get your paper copy of the catalogue.

 

If you'd like to place an order but cannot attend, you're welcome to send me an email. I will be putting through orders regularly throughout October.

Now is a fabulous time to join my team too! Join as a Demonstrator for just £99, choose £130 worth of goodies AND get a free pack of paper EVERY month for 6 months. That's an additional £58+ of products!!! Plus there is no commitment beyond the original fee. Contact me for more information blueangelcrafts at gmail dot com

Here are the lush new In Colors for this year! From the top left going clockwise: gumball green, Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Must, Primrose Petals, Summer Starfruit. All extremely lush and even better in real life!!!

It's so exciting!

**** THIS POST WILL REMAIN AT THE TOP UNTIL 30 SEPT****

September is a super-exciting month here at Stampin' Up!

There are TWO exciting happenings I need to share with you.

The first is the launch of Seasonal Catalogue for Autumn/Winter 2012/13.

Pages and pages of lush-ness, I promise. My favourite item so far is the cookie press stamps for making festive cookies, plus ready made packaging to give them in!

By the way, if you'd like to come and see some of the awesomeness in person I am hosting a Premier Night with my Downline Lauren where you can touch, see and play with some of the new products. An exciting thing about this catalogue is the number of ready-made present-type items that would be perfect stocking stuffers etc.! Come and join us on Wednesday 5th September 7.30-9.30pm at Aldershot & Fleet Rugby Club (GU12 4BP). If you let us know you're coming in advance we will ensure you have a goodie bag and make & takes, all for FREE!

If you cannot attend but would like a copy of the catalogue I can do that free of charge, just contact me via the email at the bottom of this post.

The SECOND exciting happening is the Retired list has been released. There are some fab bargains there, including designer fabric for just £2.60 and some stamps are reduced by 40%.

Don't be alarmed that all the ink pads are on sale. Stampin' Up! are reformulating them with solid foam instead of felt. If you like the currrent format and want to expand your colour collection, this is a great opportunity as many are discounted!

Here is the retired stamps list.

Here is the retired accessories list.

I will be placing orders each week so you can make the most of the bargains as they are only available while stocks last! Do contact me if there's anything in particular you are after or if you have questions. I'd be happy to help!!

blueangelcrafts at gmail dot com

BOGOF Event

Missed something from the Retired List? Why not come and grab a bargain at my annual Buy one Get One Free event.

It’s simple: All my stash that has retired will be priced up at full catalogue price. Then for every £1 you spend on my stash you get an equal amount to spend in the NEW Annual Catalogue! Lots of bargains for everyone!!!

Browsing will start with all the stash laid out so everyone gets a look at what is available. There will then be shopping time from 8pm where you can buy whatever items you’d like.

Everyone who purchases will get a FREE copy of the new Annual Catalogue, released on that day!
If you can’t make it and would like a paper copy of the new Annual catalogue, let me know and I will post you one.

MONDAY 1^st OCTOBER 7.30pm

If you would like to attend, please let me know so I can decide whether to host it at home or at the Rugby club.

Floating Flowers

This card originally began as a CASE of Jenni Pauli and then morphed into something I think I can safely say is mine. The Reason to Smile set came out again today along with some In Colors that we will be saying goodbye to at the end of September: Pear Pizzazz and Concorde Crush. Some Crumb Cake was added into the mix for variety and some flowers were raised up on Dimensionals.

The sentiment was a much trimmed down version of one in the Hostess set, Happiest Birthday Wishes. The central part can be cut with a 1" circle punch. The next layer was trimmed by hand and then layered onto a 1 3/8" circle of Concord Crush.

Half way through the week and we're enjoying the last week before Munchkin starts Pre-school! She is so excited but a little part of me is already missing my sidekick as we won't have nearly as much time together soon.

Watercolour effect

So it's back to 'normal' again now. No more Bank Holiday :(

To cheer you up, or give you a Reason to Smile if you will, I have this cheery little card for you. It uses a technique that makes the stamped image look as though you spent ages painting a lovely little watercolour artwork. I used Daffodil Delight, More Mustard and Garden Green to colour the solid image on the stamp. Then a few spritzes of water were sprayed onto the inked up stamp before stamping it onto the paper.

Really quick technique and makes me feel like an artist!! Haha. If you've not tried it you will have to give it a go.

As it was a subtle image the sentiment was stamped off before adding to the So Saffron card base.

Don't forget there's only 3 days left to get hold of the Reason to Smile set!!! Let me know your order and you can secure your set!

Beeline

Hello and happy birthday to my lovely cousin Katrina, who turns sweet 16 today. She's away adventuring in Africa at the moment so today's card is not really for her, but I didn't want to let the occasion go unnoticed.

This card was based on a punch art one seen on Pinterest (naturally!) and I used the set Reason to Smile to create a floral background on Whisper White with Daffodil Delight ink. Only 5 more days left to get your hands on this fabulous set!

The bee was made with the bauble punch. Sooooo much more than just a bauble, it punches the perfect shape for a bee's body. A 3/4" circle of Basic Black was added for a head. To make the wings vellum was cut with the large oval punch, and  they were then sponged with some Basic Black ink. The same oval punch was used to create the bee's stripes on the body and the anntenae.

Such a fun little card! Have a great Sunday. I'll be at work this morning and then hanging with my family in the afternoon enjoying the extra long weekend!

Sending sympathy and prayers

Greetings! Not to be too morbid but it's always good to have a sympathy card in your stash of ready-made cards. It's really lovely to be able to send something beautiful from the heart to the people/person who is suffering most of all at a sad time.

This card is another inspired by Pinterest and feautures the special stamp set this month: Reason To Smile. Quite a nice link to a sympathy card, actually. Remember there's only a week or so left to get your hands on this fabulous stamp set. If you scroll back through my posts this month you can see how varied and stylish this stamp set can be. (If I do say so myself!)

The framelits were layered up with a blender pen-ed image. The mat was run through the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder on the Big Shot to add interest to the rather monochrome colour scheme. Texture is really important if the colour scheme is not very broad.

A smaller flower image from Reason To Smile set was stamped on the base in Marina Mist to match the cardstock base. This gives yet more detail to the card without going over the top. The Marina Mist was matched with a little Lucky Limeade for the stem, sentiment (from Petite Pairs, naturally!) and the punched strip along the width of the card. The organza ribbon makes sure the Lucky Limeade doesn't get too overpowering.

Fingers crossed this card will sit in my stash for a long while, but it's comforting to know I have a card prepped and ready.

Background Resist technique

This card features the technique: Background Resist. The words were from French Foliage in Early Espresso. I then used the solid bloom stamp in Reason To Smile (special offer set this month only!) and used Versamark and Cherry scented embossing powder to create a solid flower image.

A sponge dauber was used to apply Wisteria Wonder ink in a soft layer. This made the flower image come to the foreground and allow the words underneath to be seen too. A quick sentiment from Petite Pairs was added along with a piece of ribbon tied in a bow.

NB. The card was altered from one on Rubber'n'Ink.

I'm here for you!

Hello and Happy Sunday! Another week in August has passed and the flowers from the set Reason To Smile are only available for another 12 days!!! This card was based on one by Kimberley Van Diepen but I changed it quite a lot. The flowers were two step stamped: the base solid section was stamped in Lucky Limeade and then the fine outline image was stamped in the same colour on top. Easy peasy! Some of these were cut out and had Dimensional foam pads and pearls added.

The yellow panel is from Everything Eleanor and was stamped in Daffodil Delight. The bird and branch images are also from the Everything Eleanor set, and the sentiment is from Petite Pairs.

Don't forget you can buy the Reason to Smile set or get it FREE with an order of £60!!! Contact me if you'd like to place and order and get some last minute bits from the Summer Mini catalogue as this also ends on 31 August.

Ruffly ruffles

What's been missing from my cards recently? Ruffles! I usually have ribbon strewn all over my table but have not been using nearly as much as usual, so I've cracked out some statement ribbon for this card!

The card is CASE'd from Kimberly Van Diepen but I have changed the sentiment and colour scheme. She used Rich Razzleberry, I think, but I thought black and Calypso Coral would look striking together. The Reason to Smile stamp set has another outing. This time the flower was stamped in Basic Grey onto First Edition newsprint DSP and then the image was coloured in using Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade inks.

There is also some spritzing and background stamping, plus some rhinestones and a mini brad! Lots of bits and pieces made this card a lot of fun to create. Hooray for ruffles, ribbon and sparkle.

You can find out more about the Reason To Smile promotion this month by clicking here.

Making me smile

This two-step stamp set is certainly making me smile this month! I can't seem to put it down!!

This card has a Pirouette Pink base and has been mixed with Crumb Cake, Pool Party and Very Vanilla to make a subtle card. A few pearls add some interest and I think this would make a nice Engagement card or some other happy occasion.

 The Reason to Smile set is ONLY AVAILABLE IN AUGUST.
You can earn it for FREE with a £60 order or you can order it at the regular retail price of £18.95 for wood mount or £16.95 in clear.

If you'd like to place an order simply drop me an email: blue angel crafts at gmail dot com

Cute box

Here is another project we made at training last month. It looks really cute cute with the Twitterpated papers and is deceptively easy to make. It uses a single piece of A4 cardstock, in this case Riding Hood Red, and patterned paper to decorate.

Here is a view of the inside and belly band that goes around the join to hide the raw edges.

The flower embellishment was made with the Reason to Smile stamp set (of course!)

This box would be perfect for a small gift such as cupcake, jewellery or cufflinks.

Neutrals

Here is another card made with the beautiful Reason to Smile stamp set:

The base is creamy and is paired with Whisper White, which is not a colour scheme I would usually go for. This was a card we made at Natalie's training event last month.

You can get the Reason To Smile stamp set FREE with an order of £60 during August so feel free to contact me to place your order. Here is a picture of the stamps contained in the set:

Need a reason to smile?

Need a reason to smile? The weather this summer hasn't been perfect so let me make you smile with the lovely offer this month (August 1-31st 2012):

Place an order for £60 and get this exclusive stamp set FREE!

Here is a card made with the stamp set using the Triple Stamp technique. I hope to create a video to show you this technique soon. It's really simple but gives a great effect.

 The card was made from Riding Hood Red and Newsprint DSP. The sentiment comes from Petite Pairs set. There's a strip of vintage lace and an antique brad plus a tiny heart from Tiny Tags to finish it off.

If you'd like to take advantage of this offer and get yourself this fabulous stamp set, I'd be happy to place an order for you: blueangelcrafts at gmail dot com

Enchanting Congratulations

Another bright card! This was CASE'd from the Demonstrator monthly Magazine, Impressions July 2012. I changed the colours and papers though. I'm loving the paper flowers and coloured them both using markers: Pool Party and Peach Parfait. A mini silver brad was used to secure the flowers together.

The sentiment is from Curly Cute and stamped in Lucky Limeade. There are co-ordinating scraps of card, ribbon and Everyday Enchantment designer series Paper.

DON'T FORGET: The July offers end tomorrow! That's the Everyday Enchantment papers and the brads and ribbon freebie packs with every £45+ order! I'll be placing another order before the end of the month so let me know if you'd like anything by 5pm on the 31st July 2012!

Deje Vous

You might recognise this layout as I have posted a very similar one before: Peekaboo, I See You!

However I was asked to do a more masculine layout for a party I demonstrated at for a group of experienced scrapbookers. I thought this layout would be good as it uses the products that are on offer this month.

This layout is 8x8" in size and has a Pool Party base.  I stamped the base with the same colour ink using the swirl in Creative Elements. It's such a beautiful stamp set that at the party many other stamped the background using the other images in the set: flowers, butterflies etc. A small strip of Everyday Enchantment DSP added a seasonal touch!

I paired this with Lucky Limeade (to tie in with the ribbon we used), Soft Suede and Peach Parfait.

The insides are made with the 1 1/4" square punch.

If you'd like to take advantage of July's offer before it's too late, click the image below to find out more:

Fluttery mobile

Here is a mobile I made using the July Paper and freebies offer! I saw a different version and simply CASE'd this from the picture on Pinterest.

 It features the Everyday Enchantment papers that I have been enthusing about throughout this month. You can still purchase them until the end of July for only £9.95 for 12 sheets of 12"x12"  double-sided paper. A bargain!

To make the butterflies I used the Beautiful butterflies die on my Big Shot and cut out various butterflies using the Everyday Enchantment papers and also Newsprint Specialist DSP. The centre of the butterflies was made from the special brads that co-ordinate with the papers and are FREE this month, along with two reels of ribbon (you can see the Lucky Limeade ribbon on this mobile), with each £45+ order.

To make the top of the mobile I used the Petal Cone die and cut them out of strong scrap card and layered patterned paper on top. The Baja Breeze pleated Satin ribbon gave it a more 'finished' look.

To see more about this special offer than only runs for a futher 7 days click on the image below:

I'd be happy to place an order for you, just drop me a line! blue angel crafts at gmail dot com

Penguin birthday wishes

One of the best things about crafting is the social side. There is nothing more fun than crafting with a pal! Last week I managed to squeeze in a micro crafting session with my crafty hippy friend Lauren.

The is one of the cards I made while hanging out with her. It's a fun fold card with some Everyday Enchantment papers (naturally!). I also used one of my new tools: Adorning Accents Edgelits dies. There are two dies in the pack and they co-ordinate brilliantly with the Bordering on Romance stamp set in the Summer 2012 mini catalogue. I used the scallop edge which is like a double scallop as each large scallop has mini scallops along the edge! (you can zoom in on the picture to see what I mean). The rhinestones added a bit of sparkle to each scallop.

The main image was made using the Owl Punch. Such a fantastically versatile punch. To make the sparkly oval and edging for the sentiment I punched out the shapes and rubbed them onto the Big Shot multipurpose adhesive sheets to make them all sticky. Oddly I used these sticky sheets all the time but rarely with the Big Shot! Anyway, once they were all sticky it was simply a case of dipping the shapes into Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Sweetie dispenser

Today's project is a variation on yesterday's teabag dispenser. Having looked at the dispenser I thought maybe it would be possible to alter it so it could be a table sweetie/candy dispenser. Here is what I came up with:

Yes I used those lovely Everyday Enchantment papers! The base is Peach Parfait. The dimensions etc. are exactly the same but instead of cutting out the teabag dispenser hole I used it to make a sloped opening. I filled the dispenser with chocolate raisins - as these are HEALTHY sweets! hahah.

To decorate the top I used my Fun Flowers Bigz die and some more of the papers along with one of the FREE brads I got this month. It has a cute butterfly printed on it which is tricky to see but believe me it's super-cute.

Have you adapted any 3D items to make it your own? I am keen not to spend time reinventing the wheel but also come up with something unique so adaptations are always fun.