A Tiny Treat Box and a whole Bundle of other super Stampin' Up! deals to be had!

Hello!

Today I have a quick to make, little gift box to show you. It uses the Stampin' Up! Tiny Treat Boxes which I think are just adorable! The boxes come in a pack of 25 for just £6.50/8,50€ so are great value at only 26p/€0,34 each. They are food safe and acid free. Once assembled they are 5.1x5.1x5.1cm in size (i.e. 2" x 2" x2"). They are perfect for small gifts such as jewellery, sweets or chocolates. 

I have decorated mine with one of  the gorgeous Go Wild patterned paper stack papers - I love that the little polka dots on this are actually little hexagons, not circles:

I wanted to reflect the hexagon 'dots' on the paper in my decoration/label on the top of the box - and so the Hexagon Punch and the Six-Sided Sampler stamp set were the obvious choice! I have found this stamp set and punch combo so useful and have used it on so many different projects. You can get the Stamp Set and Hexagon punch together in a bundle and save 15% too! Click here to see this and the other bundles that are available with the 15% saving.

I stamped the bar-pattern hexagon on a scrap of Whisper White cardstock with Tip Top Taupe ink, then using my Stampa-ma-jig,  I stamped the 'hello sweet friend' stamp in black Memento ink in the centre bar of it;  then punched it out with the Hexagon Punch. The black banner behind the hexagon is actually two separate pieces, punched using the Banner Punch! I do love that little punch!

The sides and lid of the box each have a 4.5x4.5cm  (1 3/4"x 1 3/4") square of the paper glued onto them with Tombow liquid multi-purpose glue. I punched a half-circle out of one of the squares using my 1.9cm/3/4" circle punch, so that it did not cover the thumb hole on the front of the box:

Here is a picture of how the hexagon label on the lid is constructed, the hexagon is on a dimensional and the two banner punched shapes are glued onto the lid's dsp square underneath the hexagon and lined-up to give the illusion of one, longer banner:

And here is how it looks like from the top:

I love how Stampin' Up! products coordinate so beautifully - in fact it was this coordination that drew me to Stampin' Up! in the first place! Not only are the colours available in ink, card, papers, accessories and ribbon etc, but a lot of their stamps have a matching punch that coordinates beautifully with them. I also love how Stampin' Up! make it even easier by providing us with bundles of products at a discount too!

Talking of discounts - this week's Weekly Deals are out today and there are some corkers in it this week... looks like I'll be putting another order in this week to get myself some of these items whilst they are available at the discounted price. Again this week's deals have a limited level of stock allocated for the discounted price in the deal - and once this allocation is all sold, then the price will revert to the regular catalogue price, so if you want to grab these bargains, don't delay, put an order in TODAY!!

Click here to see these items in more detail and to purchase them now! 

I must confess, I hadn't even noticed that there was a Smoky Slate Natural Chevron Ribbon  - how did I miss that?! It's gorgeous! I have been meaning to get some of the White Perfect Accents for a while now, as I've seen other people use them in their projects and they look amazing and my stock of ribbons is quite low at the moment, so I will definitely be adding the Calypso Coral Seam-binding ribbon to my next order too, as it will go beautifully with the Pretty Petals DSP stack papers which I recently bought. I also want to try out the metallic foil doilies too... 

Remember that if you place an order online with me before the end of July 2015 and you use the Hostess Code FQZ4JER4, then I shall send you a thank you gift in the post in August.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post today. I hope you like today's project? Do leave me a comment, as I love to hear from you. The comments are moderated by me before they are published to avoid spammers leaving links to their dodgy websites - you'd be amazed by their hilarious attempts and what they say! Hehe! So, do not worry if you don't see your comment appear straight away, I shall get to it eventually and I appreciate every one of your genuine comments, thank you!

Until next time folks, happy crafting!

Lucy x

Stamping, sparkly stars and strawberries - a perfect recipe for a card class!

Hello, today I want to share with you some photographs taken at my class on Thursday. It was such a lovely morning, we all had such fun - shame that a couple of my lovely regulars couldn't make this one - you were missed, ladies! 

I had already planned for us to make a Christmas card using some of the English Garden papers, however, when I saw the Weekly Deals announced on Wednesday morning, I decided to challenge myself to make a Christmas card using several of the items that are on offer this week and was so pleased with what I came up with that I went with the new card design. The English Garden Christmas card will wait until the next class!

Normally, I bake cakes for my card class, but I had a double epic fail on Wednesday evening - firstly I was so busy doing other things that I only realised at about 10.30pm that I had forgotten to bake the cakes, "no problem", I thought, "I'll just bake the cupcakes now; won't take long..." Hmm... went to the cupboard to get out the ingredients and realised to my horror that I had run out of flour! Nooo! I use gluten-free flour, but I thought, "no problem, I'll just go and buy some normal flour from the corner shop and just not eat any myself..." Nope! Too late - the corner shop shuts at 10.30pm... So, what's a girl to do? Raid the fridge and take some beautiful English strawberries instead! Yum! Can't beat British strawberries at this time of year!

They were SO good - and as they had been out of the 'fridge for a while before we ate them, mid-class, they seemed extra delicious and packed with flavour! Yum! Just what we needed, with our cuppas after making the first card!

Here are the cards that my ladies made. I have wanted to do this type of fold for a while now and decided to use the Stars Framelits to cut the window out instead of the more traditional square or circle. I love how each person's card is different - the one on the bottom right is going to be a birthday card for a male, so it shows how versatile the card can be!

This next two photographs show what the card looks like from above, so you can see how it stands up and how the mechanism works! 

I love how the stars all look so different. That Everyday Chic Designer Washi Tape is just gorgeous - and, like the Stars Framelits, it is in this week's Weekly deals too! As are the gorgeous Metal-rimmed Pearls that can be seen in the centre most of the stars above.

Here is another shot of those yummy strawberries, along with the card I made!

The black stars and the sentiment are from the Festival Of Trees stamp set and the silver sparkle is courtesy of the Silver Glimmer Paper. Love that stuff!

Anyway that is it for today - I am running a bit late today, so, sorry that this is a bit rushed and shorter than my normal posts.

You can look at the Weekly Deals here. Don't forget if you place an order online with me before the end of July 2015 and you use the hostess code of FQZ4JER4 (and don't choose the "no contact" option!) then I will send you a little thank you gift in the post in August!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and read through my post today.

Until next time, happy crafting everyone!

Lucy x

Some Pretty Petals projects CASED from the Stampin' Up! Catalogue and some pretty good deals to be had too!

Today I have another couple of versions of the Six-sided Sampler card that is on page 105 of the Stampin' Up! 2015-16 Annual Catalogue, similar to my recent CASE that I based my team training swaps on.

Here is the original card that is in the Catalogue. I think it is so pretty:

And here are the CASED versions I showed you recently, that I made for my Inspiration Station based on the Go Wild Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack. (The second of these photographs shows my 3x3" swaps.):

I so love the layout of the Stampin' Up! card and I really wanted to try it in other colourways. I recently bought a stack of the 6x6" (15.2x15.2cm) Pretty Petals DSP, which, like the Go Wild stack has a matching cardstock pack to go with it. The DSP Stack has 48 sheets of gorgeously patterned papers (4 sheets each of 12 double-sided designs) for a bargain £7.25/9,75€. The Pretty Petals A4 Cardstock Pack has 8 sheets each of Calypso Coral, Old Olive and Mint Macaron (so 24 A4 sheets in total, for £6.50/8,50€) - perfect for making multiples of your projects and for getting the most out of your paper stacks too!

I have been itching to use the Pretty Petals papers ever since I got it, but haven't had a chance until now - here is what I made yesterday:

Aren't those patterns just gorgeous - and I've only used a few of them in these two cards. I decided to just use three punched hexagons of the paper on the Mint Macaron card - mainly because I couldn't decide which of the remaining gorgeous patterns to use for the two extra hexagons - there are so many fabulous combinations and they all look good!

I used the Silver Metallic Thread, Silver Glimmer Paper and Silver Glitter Adhesive on these ones, instead of the gold, as per the black and white cards above. I also used Very Vanilla as the mat layer on the card, as the Pretty Petals DSP is vanilla-based instead of white-based. I love how muted and vintage these look with the use of the Very Vanilla and I wonder why I don't seem to use Very Vanilla more often in my projects? Silly really, as it gives such a nice, soft look, don't you think?

I am going to use these as one of my next class projects. I will make an Old Olive version when I demonstrate to my class attendees how to make them, so that they can choose which of the three base colours they prefer. I might even offer them the option of making the Go Wild black/white/taupe version too!  I love how just one example shown in the catalogue, has inspired so many versions of effectively the same card, but with such different outcomes. Just goes to show how versatile Stampin' Up! Products are and how beautifully they coordinate with each other!

Which one is your favourite? I'm not sure I can decide!

Here are a couple of close-up shots to show you the butterflies in more detail - I have used the Bold Butterfly Framelits SO much since I got them, they are so pretty and so useful:

I love how the Silver Glimmer Paper, Glitter Adhesive and Metallic Thread shine so prettily in these photographs. They really are that shiny in real life - sometimes it can be hard to capture just how shiny they are in photographs. It was such a dull and gloomy day yesterday; I had to resort to using my daylight lamp when taking these pictures, rather than my usual preference of diffused, natural daylight. A happy "accident" perhaps? - They do say that things happen for a reason! Hehe!

Talking of happy things - today we have a new set of Weekly Deals out! Again, there is only a limited stock of each item, so once that item's allocation has sold out, the deal price will no longer be available and the item will revert to its normal, full catalogue price.  So hurry up and place that order if you don't want to miss out on the discounted prices! I think that there are some fantastic products this week. Come and take a look:

I have the Stars Framelits and have used them so much - and not just for Christmas projects. Having seen what is in this week's deals, I have had an idea for a card that uses the Stars Framelits and the Every Day Chic Designer Washi Tape, plus the Metal Rimmed Pearls... so come back soon and see what I come up with!

To buy any of these Weekly Deals items click here and you will go to my online shop. Remember to add the host code of FQZ4JER4 (for this and any other online purchases from me before 31 July 2015) and I will send you a thank you gift in the post in August. To get your gift, you will have to make sure that you un-check the "no contact" option, otherwise I will not be given your contact details and will not know to whom or to where to send your gift! If you have any questions, please do contact me to ask and I shall be happy to help!

Thank you for taking the time to visit and read my blog post today. I do hope you have been inspired to go and do some crafting yourself. Do leave me a comment, as I would love to hear what you think of today's projects.

So, until next time, happy stamping everybody!

Lucy x

Let yourself 'Go Wild' with Stampin' Up!'s Gift Box Punch Board!

Hello again! Today I want to show you a couple of gift boxes that I made using the Gift Box Punch Board and the fabulous Go Wild Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack from Stampin' Up! as promised in my last blog post!

The Gift Box Punch Board is such a fantastic tool. With it you can create a variety of sizes of gift boxes, up to 4" (approx.10cm) on each side. It is really easy to use and all you have to do to create gift boxes  is to punch and score your piece of cardstock/DSP - you don't even need to glue it together if you don't want to, as it has a clever, integral punch that cuts a little curved notch out of the box flaps to allow you to close them securely. It comes with clear instructions and measurements are printed onto it too.

Stampin' Up! Gift Box Punch Board 135863 £18.00 now £13.50 for a limited time 

What is even better about the Gift Box Punch Board is that it is normally only £18, better still is that there are a limited number of them in the WEEKLY DEALS this week (until Tuesday 14th July 2015) at a bargain price of only £13.50 - wow! That is a good deal! There is only a limited stock of these at this price though, so if you want to grab yourself a bargain, you will have to be quick!

Here is one of the boxes I made recently for my Go Wild Inspiration Station at our team training day. It is the largest, 4x4" (10x10cm) sized square box, made from Basic Black cardstock (12x12"). And I have decorated it with the Go Wild DSP stack (the stripey Tip Top Taupe and Whisper White Pattern) and a Tip Top Taupe Bow made using the Gift Bow Bigz Die (129977) and the Amazing Birthday Stamp Set: 

As I wanted the bow to go on the top of the box, I decided to make the opening slightly different from how I would normally do it. The front side of the box is actually what would conventionally be the top opening of the box, but, I glued down three of the triangular "lid" flaps (as you would when making an envelope) and covered them with a strip of the Go Wild DSP:

I then cut a semi-circular  thumb-grip hole with my 1" Circle Punch and glued another similar strip of the DSP to the triangular flap of what is now the lid of the box:

The above photographs show how the strip of DSP is cut and glued onto the front side and the lid's triangular flap to enable a "hidden"opening. The half-circle thumb hole shows how you open the box and allows you to easily open it too. The box is self-closing, there is no need for additional glue to keep the lid closed.

This final image shows the box fully open. You will see the concertina folds which attach the lid to the rest of the box. You could cut these triangles away, but, I think it makes a stronger box if you don't. On the other sides of the box, the equivalent concertina triangles have been glued shut and then glued onto the corresponding inside side of the box. It really is quite sturdy and would easily hold a fairly heavy gift inside it. 

It is more complicated and takes longer to explain how to make a box with the Gift Box Punch Board than it actually takes to make one! It really is a simple process though!

Stampin' Up! have made a fantastic video showing how to use the Gift Box Punch Board - click here to see it!

Here are another couple of boxes that I made using the punch board and the Go Wild DSP. I have left the lid openings in their "normal" position for these two boxes and used the integral clasp-making punch to create the curved notches which allow the box lids to stay closed:

This one is 2x2" (approx. 5x5cm) square and made with the lovely black and white animal print DSP from the Go Wild Paper Stack. The "Surprise" stamp comes from the Amazing Birthday Stamp Set and is punched out using the 1 1/4" (3.2cm) Circle Punch; the gold circle is a 1 3/8" (3.5cm) circle punched out of the Gold Foil Sheets.

As you can see above, I made a matching 3x3" card and decorated the envelope with an extra piece of the lovely graphic chevron design of Go Wild DSP to go with this last box.

Well, that is it for today. I hope that I have inspired you to go try out the Gift Box Punch Board AND the Go Wild DSP Stack. Click here to go and order them from me today, whilst the board is still on special offer! Remember to use the hostess code of FQZ4JER4 for every online purchase you make with me between now and the end of July to receive a thank you gift in the post  from me during August. (You will need to un-check the "no Contact" option for me to do this!)

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read my post. Until next time, happy crafting everyone!

Lucy x

How to make some Stampin' Savings: Weekly Deals and more...

Weekly Deals for 10th to 16th June 2015:

Every Wednesday Stampin' Up! offer a selection of their current products at a discount for one week only. There have been some fantastic bargains to be had in previous Weekly Deals and this week is no exception! Come and have a look at this week's bargains:

These items are only available at these discounted prices until Tuesday 16th June 2015, so grab them while you can! Click here to view them in more detail. I really love the gold and silver ribbons and use the square framelits a lot and the diagonal plate for the Simply Scored tool is SO useful!

Remember that you can add other items to your Weekly Deal order too, to make the most of the £4.95 shipping fee - which is a flat fee, regardless of how many things you treat yourself to!

If you are after even more bargains, then the Clearance Rack is a great place to start and of course there are many new Bundles in the new Annual Catalogue which will save you 15% too. 

Don't forget to add your essentials too - mine are notecards and envelopes, Tombow Multipurpose Glue, Whisper White and Very Vanilla Cardstock, Fast Fuse/refill, Dimensionals and baker's twine! Stampin' Up! Paper snips are an absolute must for any crafter too!

While we are talking about bargains - for this month only, (June 2015) you can get TWO FREE STAMP SETS if you join my team! That is on top of the £130's worth of products and £40's worth of business items that are already included in the £99 Starter Kit cost. A great idea if your wish list is big! I welcome hobby stampers as well as business-minded stampers into my team and I am part of a much larger team network too, with lots of help and advice available via our facebook groups, team training events and of course from me directly.

Click here to get more information and to join:

Hope you get yourself some bargains!

Until next time, happy crafting everyone...

Lucy x