Hello & goodbye Blossoms

I'm back again to show you another class project from last Saturday using the cute & very flexible single stamp, Hello Blossoms. I made 2 similar cards & couldn't decide which one to make with the girls, so I let them choose . Here's the first version (which is my fave)...

They're both very clean & simple, but I wanted to focus more on the techniques we used, namely omitting with markers, paper sueding & ruffling ribbon. The first includes more of these techniques than this simpler version.

There are a couple of differences - some more obvious than others:
DSP - the first is a fun print from the Nursery Specialty pack & the second is from the Sunny Garden pack. It's amazing how it changes the look.
Ribbon - The first has taffeta ribbon, which we ruffled - I showed the girls how to do this by fraying an end & pulling a centre thread to gather. The second is poppy parade poly ribbon, tied in a simple knot - quick & easy
Flowers - The flowers on the first card have a soft distressed look thanks to the paper sueding technique. On the second, the flowers are simply punched & the petals flicked up. the yellow flowers are textured card, which I really like.
You can see the detail better here. As an aside, I didn't realise when I took the pic in a hurry that the flowers had been a little flattened, but I haven't had a chance to take another pic...trust me, they look even cuter with a bit of flicking on the edge.

Here's the inside. Simple, but I think sweet. The flowers are sueded too.

Before I forget, I really wanted to show you my inspiration for the sueded flowers, which came from none other than the fabulous Shelli Gardner at Convention. The card below is a complete copy of Shelli's card except for the friend sentiment. Shelli used the hello letters from the flower centres to say...hello, but I wasn't that patient (lol). I really love love love this card, which is weird as it includes two things I very rarely do - tear paper & tilt panels, but go figure!

Unfortunately, I won't get to show you any more from Hello Blossoms, so I'll just leave you with a few more ideas to try yourself...
1. Use markers to ink up the ink up the stamp with different colours. Quick & very effective.
2. Omit part of the images to build a different look. As on these cards - ink the stem & scallop with an old olive marker & omit the flower heads. Add punched flowers, buttons or any other stamped flowers.
3. Omit some of the flowers to make a smaller pic - as I did for the inside of the card.
4. For the flower centres, use a simple punched circle, brad, rhinestone or pearl.
I'm sure there's lots more, but I'm out of time for now.

Just a final reminder that Hello Blossoms is only available until Sunday (for just $13.95 - bargain!) & I don't think it will carry over into our new Idea Book. I'd be very happy if it does though. Contact me for more info & leave a comment to say hi.
Until next time...
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Class Cards
Stamps: Hello Blossoms, Perfect Punches (birthday & friend sentiments), On Your Birthday (inside card)
Card/Paper: certainly celery, poppy parade, peach parfait, whisper white card, Nursery Suite Specialty DSP, Sunny Garden DSP
Ink: old olive marker
Accessories: basic pearls, celery taffeta ribbon, poppy parade poly ribbon
Tools: boho blossoms punch

Shelli's Card
Stamps: Hello Blossoms
Card/Paper: rich razzleberry, old olive card, Patterns DSP - Brights (olive & razzleberry), Newsprint DSP
Ink: old olive
Accessories: basic pearls, antique brad
Tools: designer label punch, boho blossoms punch

Strength & Hope... just in time

It doesn't seem long since we welcomed the Autumn/Winter Mini & now there's only a few days & it will be gone. So, I thought I'd better get to showing you some more projects using the goodies I got...other than cupcakes of course.  I feel like I haven't had time to have a good play with my sets & none more so than the beautiful Strength & Hope. I decided I HAD to use it for one of my class projects from last Saturday. Here it is!

I went with a perfect plum & pink pirouette colour scheme - girly, but not too girly. I stamped a butterfly & flourish in pink pirouette ink on the same card, stamped & cut out a plum butterfly, added some pearls (what did I do before these?) The butterfly is attached with a glue dot in the centre & dimensionals on the wings.

For the scallops, I layered pink & plum Patterns DSP scallops on the bottom of the panel, flicked them up for some added texture, then added a final touch of pretty in pink taffeta ribbon. Here's a closer shot:

On the inside, I added a pink panel & cut another butterfly, but forgot to take a pic.

Before I go, I'll just share a final reminder about Strength & Hope. As you might remember, this set helps raise funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation & will only be available until the end of this month. It's not in the new US Idea Book, & I think likely it won't be in ours either when it arrives in September. So if you love it & would like to support this truly worthy cause, order it this month.

If you'd like to know more about the Stampin' Up! Strength & Hope campaign, check out this video from the amazing Shelli Gardner, Stampin' Up! Co-founder & CEO.

If you'd like any more info or would like to order Strength & Hope, just contact me by Sunday afternoon. I'll be back next time with another Autumn/Winter Mini project from my last class. Until then...
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Stamps: Strength & Hope, Great Friend
Card/Paper: perfect plum, pink pirouette, whisper white card, Patterns DSP (subtles - plum & pink pirouette)
Ink: perfect plum, pink pirouette ink pad, perfect plum marker
Accessories: pretty in pink taffeta ribbon, basic pearls
Tools: Big Shot, Elegant Lines embossing folder

Cupcake triangle box

Hi again. Today I have the last of my cupcake workshop projects to show you - a triangle box with cupcake tag to co-ordinate with the melon cupcake card in this post. 
Triangle boxes are one of my favourite quick box projects - they're so simple to make -  you don't even need any adhesive - but look much more complicated. I showed 2 versions at the workshop, first, a quick limited supply version using only Create a Cupcake & matching punch...

Then, I demonstrated this stepped up but still very simple version. It's wheeled with the So Swirly jumbo wheel & choc chip ink & the cute scallop tag is made with a few more punches.

The So Swirly wheel is my all-time favourite wheel. it's perfect for so many occasions - birthdays, Christmas, engagements, weddings, babies - & it's so forgiving if you make a rolling boo-boo.

These boxes were made with half an A4 sheet & are perfect for holding some chocolates (isn't everything?), or as wedding favours. Smaller boxes, using a quarter A4 sheet are great for jewellery or other little goodies.

The picture below shows the basic scoring template for making a triangle box. You can easily change the card dimensions, so long as you follow the basic principles.

You can see some more of my triangle boxes (including some Christmas ones) from a long long time ago here.

So, which one do you like, the simple or stepped up version?  Mine is the stepped up version - love rolling the wheel & of course playing with my punches!

If you haven't tried making one of these boxes, have a go & I'm sure you won't stop at one. Leave a comment to say hi or if you have any questions.
That's the last of my cupcake projects for a little while at least. Back with something different next time.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Both boxes
Stamps: Create a Cupcake
Card/Paper: choc chip, melon mambo, whisper white
Ink: choc chip, melon mambo
Accessories: white taffeta ribbon
Tools: Build a Cupcake punch

Extra supplies - stepped up version
Accessories: basic rhinestone
Tools: itty bitty punch pack (flower), 2 3/8 inch scallop circle punch, 13/4 inch circle punch, paper piercing tool & mat

A Cupcake workshop or two

Continuing the cupcake theme, I have some cards to show you from some cupcake themed workshops I ran for some lovely ladies in June (waving at you Alison & Corinne). Most guests were completely new stampers with kids, so I wanted the cards to be quick, easy & fun. This was the make & take everyone made:

Both colour combinations are from the Brights collection - melon mambo, rich razzleberry & regal rose for the girl version, pacific point, tempting turquoise & pumpkin pie for the boys, with some Brights Patterns DSP. To add a bit of interest & help take the detail to the inside, I trimmed a little off the right edge & punched with either the scallop edge or pinking hearts edge punches. On the inside, I added another cupcake - because clearly one is not enough! Here's the inside of the girly version:

I made a gift box for each hostess with more cards inside to show some more cupcake ideas in a range of colours, Here's one of the sets. The box can be used on a desk once the cards are used. 

...and here are some of the other cards inside - these mainly use colours again from the brights collection again:

For this one, I put the cupcake on a plate made with 2 oval punches.

This one has a more neutral colour palette...& much better colour IRL - late night photo!

Another pink version - love that colour combination.

For this one, I placed the cupcake on a 1 3/4 inch circle & a 2 3/8 inch scallop circle (punched twice to form the spiky edge). Then I added a couple of brads instead of punching the edge & a flag end.
I hope these give you some more ideas for using Create a Cupcake or colour combinations to try....or something. Just drop me a line if you have need any more info. I still have my workshop demo project to show you, but I'll have to do that next time. Until then, bye for now.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Make & Take - Both
Stamps: Create & Cupcake,
Tools: Build a Cupcake & word window punch
Make & Take - Pink
Card/Paper: Pink version - melon mambo, regal rose, pretty in pink, whisper white card, Brights Patterns DSP - rich razzleberry, regal rose.
Ink: rich razzleberry, regal rose, chocolate chip
Accessories: basic rhinestones
Tools: scallop edge punch
Make & Take - Blue
Stamps: Party This Way
Card/Paper: Blue version - pacific point, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie
Ink: pacific point, choctempting turquoise, chocolate chip
Tools: pinking hearts punch
Hostess Box
Card/Paper: Ricj razzleberry, melon mambo, whisper white card, Brights Patterns DSP - rich razzleberry

Tools: Big Shot, Timeless Type Alphabet, XL scallop edge punch, paper piercing tool

love letter handbag

Hi there. Today I'm sharing the final card from my Cupcakes & More class. For this one, I wanted to show a more elegant look, so we made this handbag card.

It shares the similar layout, cupcake set & punch to the other three cards, but the classy Love Letter DSP, black satin ribbon & Elements of Style flourish stamp help give it a very different look. I thought the sentiment went really well with the handbags too - love this sentiment!
I added another handbag inside, with the happy birthday greeting, but forgot to take a pic - doh! In any case, here's a close-up of the handbags.

Tips for making handbags

There are lots of different ways you can make handbags, but here's how I made these ones.

1. Base - Punch a cupcake base from DSP. I so loved how the spotty dsp I used here works so well with the scallop edge of the base - small things!)

2. Handle - Punch a 3/4 inch circle from scrap card, then centre & punch a 1 inch circle over the 3/4 inch hole, to make a ring. Attach the ring to the back of the DSP, so it lines up with the cupcake top. I used 2 way glue to attach mine.

3. Flap - Punch a scallop oval, cut off 5 scallops from either end (see pic below - makes 2 flaps) then attach to top of  base. Add a basic rhinestone, pearl or brad to finish.

There are lots of other handbag variations you can try too:

- use the 2 oval punches to make a longer handle

- use the base right way up
- use different flap shapes - a circle, oval, modern label

- stamp a base instead of using DSP
- add a punched itty bitty flower for fun

 My inspiration for the handbags came from a lovely baja & chocolate card with 3 handbags on the display board at Convention. I don't know who made it, but if it's your or you know who made it, just leave a comment & link if you have one & I'll add it here.

So, that's all the class cards. Here's a final pic of all the cards together.

(click for a bigger pic)

Which was your favourite? I was really pleased with how the handbag one turned out & is probably an equal fave with the ice cream card. I hope they've given you some more ideas to try. I do have a couple more cupcake projects from my June workshops, as well as some other projects, so I'll be back with more soon I hope.

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:

Stamps: Create a Cupcake, Elements of Style

Card/Paper: riding hood red, naturals ivory, basic black, very vanilla, Love Letter DSP

Ink: cherry cobbler, crumb cake

Accessories: black satin ribbon, basic rhinestones

Tools: Big Shot, Scallop square duo die

A cupcake & a hot air balloon too

Hi there! I'm back again to show you two more cards from my Cupcakes & More class. Both cards are made with the Create a Cupcake set & matching punch, plus the scallop square duo die.
First up, a bright & fun card with a little party scene complete with cupcake & mini pennant banner.

This is a very quick & easy card  thanks to the cupcake set & punch, plus the cute itty bitty punch flower. The only fiddly bit is cutting & attaching the pennants, but here's a suggestion to make this easier if you need lots.

Tip - Making lots of pennants

Use a template to cut your triangles, like this 1.5cm wide one below I made in ms word. Cut a strip of dsp, attach a strip of sizzix adhesive sheet to the back, then hold triangle template on top of dsp & cut out individual triangles.

As an aside, I used a bigger version of this template for the ice cream cones in this card.

Hot air balloon birthday

Next up, I showed the girls how to quickly turn a cupcake into a hot air balloon.  This is a really simple but effective card that could work for many occasions & people, just by changing the colours or sentiment.
I really liked the colour scheme (although the colours don't look quite right here. Sorry, I've taken so many pics & the camera just won't give me the true colours!)

Balloon Tips

- The basket is stamped with a one of the cupcake bases in the set,

- The balloon is a 1 3/8 inch (35mm) circle.

- The basket strings are just very thin strips of chocolate card.

- The clouds are the cupcake top.

My inspiration for the balloon & cloud layout was from a lovely card with a background stamped with a clear acrylic block, that I saw on a Convention display board. I don't know if it was a swap or a SU sample, but I really liked it. If you know who made it, or it's yours, please leave me a comment & I'll happily credit it to you.

Anyway, hope you like these ideas. Leave me a comment if you have need any other info or just want to say hi. I'll be back next time with the last card from the class.

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies

Both Cards

Stamps: Create a Cupcake

Tools: Build a cupcake punch, Big Shot, Scallop Square duo die, itty bitty punch pack

Cupcake Card

Card/Paper: old olive, rich razzleberry, so saffron, whisper white card, Brights patterns DSP (old olive, rich razzleberry & melon mambo), Sunny Garden DSP

Ink: rich razzleberry, melon mambo

Accessories: basic rhinestone

Hot air balloon birthday

Card/Paper: marina mist, peach parfait, pear pizzazz, whisper white, baja breeze, choc chip card, Sweet & Sour DSP

Ink: marina mist, chocolate chip ink pads

Accessories: basic pearl

Tools: 1 3/8 inch (35mm) circle punch

Neapolitan Ice Cream Birthday

I've been trying to write a post about my convention adventures before I post anything else, but as it's still a work in progress, I thought I'd quickly start sharing the projects from my June Cupcakes & More class. This was my first class after our extended renovation fun, so I was really looking forward to getting together with the girls & had a great catch-up.

We made 4 cards - each using the Create a Cupcake stamp set and/or the co-ordinating Build a Cupcake punch in different ways & with similar layout elements assisted by the new scallop square duo die. Today, I'll show you the first card, which was also the class favourite - an ice cream birthday card inspired by the classic neapolitan flavours of choc, vanilla & strawberry.

Here's a close- up of the panel - The ice cream cone is really sparkly IRL as it's sprayed with a shimmer mist made from champagne mist shimmer paint. The cone is backed with dimensionals to really pop it off the card.

I carried the theme to the inside too, with more scoops of ice-cream.

Tips & Techniques
- Punch 3 cupcake tops for the ice cream scoops. Add more scoops to decorate the inside.
- Cut a triangle for the cone & emboss with the square lattice embossing folder. No Big Shot? - score diagonal lines to make a diamond pattern.
- The flower is a fun addition.  For the centre of the inside flower, us a 'sprinkle' from the cupcake punch. Perfect fit!
- Put the whole ice cream together then spray with shimmer paint spray.
- The sweet treats greeting tag made with the jewellery tag punch. To make the tag longer, cut a 9mm wide strip of card, then only feed one end into the punch to punch a tag end.  Stamp the greeting then cut off the excess.
- Basic rhinestones add a fab sparkly touch for a bargain price. You get 213 single rhinestones in a pack (when you count the ones on strings) for only $9.50.

Hope you like this little project as much as the class girls did. If there's anything else you'd like to know, just drop me a line or leave a comment, as I love hearing from you.  I'll be back with more from this class next time.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Curly Cute (happy birthday), Teeny Tiny Sentiments (sweet treats)
Card/Paper: choc chip, very vanilla, pink pirouette, pretty in pink, rose red card, Subtles Patterns DSP - pretty in pink
Accessories: early espresso 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon, basic rhinestones, champagne mist shimmer paint,
Tools: Big Shot, polka dots & square lattice embossing folder, scallop square duo die, jewellery tag punch, itty bitty punch pack - 4 petal flower.