Monday 23 November 2020

Merry Extravaganza!

Hello fabulous crafters,

Tomorrow is the big day. You can save 10% are nearly everything Stampin' Up! has to offer from the Annual Catalogue. Edit: Due to some technical issues, this sale has been extended until 10:50 PST Wed, Nov 25th. Message me with any questions.

If your order is around the 100 mark, consider JOINING and get the Starter Kit. You could choose up to 181.50 of sale product for only 135. And there is NO SHIPPING and NO TAX on the Starter Kit

Please note I won't be posting anything during the month of December. I'll still be around and you can absolutely call or message me. 

We'll see you next year when my blog will return every Saturday.

Cheers,

Adrienne


Saturday 21 November 2020

Thinking of Christmas - Embossing Technique

Hello all,

This is a card I'll be featuring at my upcoming Christmas Card SPA-Buffets. SPA is an acronym for Stamp, Punch & Assemble at home. This style of class is being offered to reduce the time you spend here. Like a restaurant buffet, you pick what you want and how much. Except instead of any over abundance of salads, it's all Christmas cards. The buffets are private classes (one family bubble at a time) held outside under our heated pop-up gazebo. There is a minimum of an hour between each class to allow for proper cleaning. 

No matter where you are, this is certainly a challenging time. I'm blessed to be in a position to still offer some classes, helping people find joy in creating. If you're unable to attend a class in person, kits are available for some projects and the completed cards are for sale. Both can be mailed anywhere in the world. :) 

This project is about the technique. It features the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set, Snow Globe Scenes Dies (for the deer) and Home Together Dies (for the snowdrift).

PHOTO is coming shortly

Trim a piece of Early Espresso Cardstock to 4 ¼” x11”, score at 5 ½”. You'll also need some Whisper White Cardstock 4 ¼” x 5 ½”; Just Jade Cardstock ⅞” x 5 ⅛”; and scraps of Early Espresso (for the deer) and white (for the greeting). 

Using the Just Jade Classic Stampin' Pad, stamp your greeting on the scrap of white. With your 1 ½” Circle Punch, punch out the greeting and set aside. 

Cut out your deer and snowdrift with the dies and set aside. 

Open your Evergreen Forest 3D Embossing Folder and your Just Jade ink pad and apply it directly to the inside of the folder that doesn’t have the Stampin’ Up! logo. A sponge will give you a much lighter look and a brayer will give you something in between. Carefully lay your white paper on top of the ink and close the folder. Run it through your Cut & Emboss Machine. Remove the paper and set it aside while you rinse the embossing folder with water.

Trim the embossed piece to 3 ¾” x 5”. Do it strategically if there are any bits you don’t like. Use liquid glue to attach it to the Just Jade. Attach this to the cardbase. Use liquid glue for the snow drift and the deer. Dimensionals were used under the greeting. And last but not least, attach a wee white dot from All The Trimmings Embellishments. 

Until Next Time,                                                                                                                               Adrienne


Friday 13 November 2020

How Many of Us Were Dressed for 2020

Hello Fabulous Creators!

Last weekend we had On Stage at home. For those of you not in the know, On Stage is when Stampin' Up! reveals some of the new delights in the upcoming catalogues to its demonstrators. Normally we travel all over the globe for this incredibly fun event. This year, like so much else, things were different. But we still got our wicked swag boxes, a stamp set, notebooks, a funky pen and of course, door prizes!

One of the benefits of attending On Stage, even virtually, is the Product Purchase Premiere. We get to order select items right away. This is how I now have a bunch of amazing new stuff from the January Mini and Sale-A-Bration Catalogues. In this blog post, I'm going to feature the Well Suited Suite, a set I didn't plan on buying. But when I saw the presentation, which was fabulous, this idea popped into my head and I was sold. Meet, Business on Top, Party on the Bottom!


Start with a standard Whisper White Cardstock base, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4". To create your suit front, trim a piece of the Designer Series Paper (DSP) to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". Used the deep V die in the centre top. From the same paper, using the lapel die, cut out the lapels. Tip: I worked in men's wear for years and put the DSP at an angle for the lapels to make them look more legit. With the little collar die, cut out a collar from a scrap of Whisper White. Use the Hammered Metal 3D Embossing Folder on a scrap of Real Red Cardstock. Use the tie die to cut it out. 

For the card assembly, use Multipurpose Liquid Glue. I first attached the suit to the card face. Tip: Be careful not to glue in the centre where the tie needs to fit. Next I lined up the tie under the collar to figure out where it was going to go. Use the liquid glue again. Mini Glue Dots were used (2 layers) on the collar. Once the collar is on, tweak the tie's alignment if you need. Mini Dimensionals are under the lapel. The greeting was created on the computer and was attached with our regular Stampin' Dimensionals.

And now for the fun! From a piece of less suit-like DSP, cut out two 2 1/4" x 3 1/2" pieces for the front and back of the shorts. At the 1 3/4" mark across and about 3/4" up, make a mark with an erasable pen or pencil. Use your Paper Snips to cut up to the point, creating a triangle. It's about 1/2" from the centre bottom, on each side, to create a 1" gap on the bottom. To ensure they matched, I cut through both at the same time. The legs were created from Petal Pink Cardstock measuring 3/4" x 2 3/4". We have lots of other colours that would work too. I trimmed off a piece at an angle, on one side at about 1/4" starting at the ankle up to nothing at the very top. The feet were made with the 1 1/2" Circle Punch - you'll need four. Use your paper trimmer to cut off the top and bottom 1/2" of your circle. 

With your Multipurpose Liquid Glue, attach the legs to the shorts, on the side that you're not using. Once you have them positioned, glue the 2nd short piece, onto the first. The chosen, matching sides, should be facing out on both the front and back. Score and burnish at about 1/2" from the waist (or the top of the shorts.) Attach the front and bottom of the feet to the end of the legs. I used Tear & Tape to attach the shorts to the card. Before you do this, make sure it lines up okay to fold inside the card. You can have the legs fold up around the back of the card instead. Once your good with the alignment, remove the backing from the Tear and Tape and attach the short's waist band at the centre bottom of the inside front of your card base. IMPORTANT: Move your legs in a little more than mine or make smaller feet to ensure they'll fold up into the card. Mine still fits, but barely.

I hope you have as much fun recreating this card as I did designing it. Feel free to message me with any questions.  

Cheers,                                                                                                                                              Adrienne