Monday 31 January 2011

Elegant Soiree & Hopeful Thoughts Sympathy & Get Well Cards

Here are 2 of the cards we have made in January classes.

Both use the Hopeful Thoughts stamp set which proved to be VERY popular - as well as the Elegant Soiree DSPs again. 

I purposely kept these really simple - apart from making everyone use the thin end of the markers on the very tips of the branches of the trees!! Not so easy but well worth it..... but do remember to switch back to the thick end asap... or you will be there all day!!!


Elegant Soiree Tri Shutter Album

So here is the Tri Shutter Album we made in classes during January.

I used the Elegant Soiree DSP along with the smallest and largest of the Paper Daisies ( 4 sizes x 10 each in a pack - scrummy!!) and the wonderful flourish and butterfly stamps from the SAB Bliss set - along with the SAB So Happy For You stamp set for the wording and the SAB Punch Bunch set for the rivet on the large daisy.   I really have found these 4 SAB sets so wonderful to mix and match - I already know I can't do without them!! 

The main album is in Baja Breeze cardstock with mats of Early Espresso on the front and Soft Suede or Very Vanilla on the inside  - all tied off with the GORGEOUS Early Espresso  1 1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon. ( By the way - I still have some shares left of the 11 colours in this ribbon - £11 for 11colours x 1yd - including P&P)


Here are some pictures of the inside - though I have to say that these do not do the album justice ( as anyone knows that has tried to photo a Tri Shutter Album.....) Again I have used the SAB Bliss stamp set to add a feature to the area that was blank for photos. Though then everyone admitted that it was going to stop them putting a photo over the top!!!

Sunday 30 January 2011

Elegant Soiree DSP & SAB Punch Bunch Ferrero Rocher Treat Holder

Edited to Add 30 March 2011:    I just had to do an Easter version too.... see here...Easter Bunny Treat Holder.......  perfect for Mini eggs, Ferrero Rocher or indeed anything chocolate.... yum!!!

During January I have been busy designing projects for classes using the Elegant Soiree Designer Series Paper ( or DSP for short!!) So I have lots of projects to show you using Elegant Soiree DSP and the 2011 Sale A Bration (SAB for short!!) stamp sets....

Remember that these stamp sets are exclusively available only until 28 Feb and are free when you spend £45 on SU! products. And they are just wonderful..... they work with each other so well and give you great flexibility in images, styles and wording......


So the first project I have to show you is the Ferrero Rocher Treat Holder. This uses 2 stamps from the SAB Punch Bunch stamp set - inked up in Soft Suede and Baja Breeze on Very Vanilla cardstock. The rivet is punched out using a 1" Circle Punch and the For You scallop using the Scallop Circle Punch.

This project holds 3 Ferrero Rochers and stands beautifully as a table setting decoration. I used the Treat Box Card tutorial on Split Coast Stampers ( Link here........  Treat Box Card Tutorial on SCS ) - though I altered the sizes to fit the Ferrero Rochers and I didn't create any front flap to the right - just leaving that portion to fold over/doubled so as to give the holder rigidity to stand up above the box instead of to the right as per the original tutorial.

A small piece of striped 1 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Marina Mist finished off the holder.

Next post will be my Elegant Soiree Tri Shutter Album - this album was a very popular project in my classes last year - and as soon as I saw these papers - I knew I had to do another one using the Elegant Soiree papers ...... but the SAB Bliss set just took it to another level - with lots of oohs and aahs as a result!!!!  You will see........

Saturday 29 January 2011

SU! Petal Card Punch - Little Treat Bags - Tutorial

We had our first Craft Therapists team meeting of the year last week and I challenged myself to come up with a new use for a SU! punch;  a new technique and to use a stamp from at least 3 of the 4 free Sale A Bration stamp sets...... So no mean treat there.....

And this little treat bag is what I came up with!!! - suitably sized for the smallest of chocolate "bars".....  I absolutely love it....but hey I am biased..... though everyone else was WOWed by it too!!!

So here is the low down on how this was made....!!
  • I punched 4 pieces from Baja Breeze cardstock using the Petal Card Punch to make the bag sides & the box in between.
  • I folded over a tab on 2 of the pieces ( to make the little bag shape) I then stamped the SAB Sweet Summer floral spray at random in Chocolate Chip ink
  • Then a New Technique......that I will call the White Magic Technique.... 
    I coloured in the flowers, leaves & berries using the Uniball Signo white gel pen ( my most used pen in the world!!). I then allowed it to dry and went over the leaves with an Old Olive marker pen and the berries with a Pretty in Pink marker - so so pretty!!! And I think very chinoiserie ( is that a  proper word???)
  • I then inked up & stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock....
    The rivet greeting from the SAB Punch Bunch set in Chocolate Chip. ( then punched out as 1" circle)
    The flower from the SAB Punch Bunch set For You scallop tag stamp in Baja Breeze & Chocolate Chip
  • The Twill Tape for the bag handle was also stamped using Chocolate Chip ink with a greeting from the SAB Happy For You stamp set and the Sweet Summer floral spray stamp.
    The leaves and berries were also coloured in using the Old Olive & Pretty in Pink marker pens.
    TOP TIP: use a bit of Snail adhesive to temporarily adhere the ribbon to a flat surface before you attempt stamping the greeting - easier to get the word straight when fabric is held straight in the first place!!! 
  • Then a little box to hold the mini treat...
    I snipped off a flap off each of the other 2 Petal Card Punch pieces and glued the other 3 flaps together as 2 sides and a bottom - to make a little 3 sided box.
    TOP TIP: make yourself a simple little box guide to really help this glue/assembly bit - cut a 2" x 3 1/4" piece of cadstock ; with panel landscape - score at 2"; 1 1/2"; 2 1/2" and 3". Adhere using small tab side.
  • I then glued the 2 bag sides onto the box front & back ( with the unstamped tab to the base)
  • I finished the bag off with the twill tape adhered using Sticky Strip from the bottom, up one side, looped over to form the handle and then back down the other side & onto the bottom. 
  • I then covered the twill tape ends on the bottom with one of the tabs I had snipped off before