All-you-can-stamp Christmas Card Buffet!

Hello Everybody!

The next class will take place on Saturday 19 October 2013 at 10.30am at Beauchief Baptist Church, Hutcliffe Wood Road, Sheffield.

This month I'm doing a different style of class - an all-you-can-stamp Christmas card buffet!

HOW IT WILL WORK

There will be a set fee to come along of £6. This is just to help me out with the hire of the hall etc. All the cards featured will be available as mini kits to make yourself and will cost £1 each (all cards will include envelopes too).

That way, you can make as many of each design you like and only pay for however many you make. 

If there's one particular design you're not keen on - no problem! You don't have to make it! 

If there's a design you really like - make 5, make 10 or 20! You only pay for however many cards you make. 

The great thing about this class is, depending on how long you've got and how many cards you want to make, you can stay for an hour or stay all day!

Below I've put up close up photos of all of the cards shown above, there may be more designs on the day!

All will be very simple to make.

You can personalise them in any way you like.

Use different stamps to make them your own.

Make as many as you like.

The price of £1 per card includes the envelope.

If there's any design you don't like, you don't have to make it!

I'm thinking of making these card buffets a regular thing, so, as this is the first, we'll see how it goes!

You can sign up for this class by emailing me on Joannefriend9920@aol.com, or click on the "Add to Cart" button at the top of the page to pay by Paypal.  

If you have any questions at all, please do email me and I'll help as much as I can.

Hope to see you there! Joanne x

Next Class - Now Booking!

Hello Everybody!

Today, for your delight and delectation, I can bring you my next class. The class will take place at Beauchief Baptist Church, Hutcliffe Wood Road, Sheffield on 31 August 2013 from 10.30am onwards.

As you can see from the picture above, we will be making a versatile stationery set.  I say it's versatile because you can either keep it for yourself, or be super organised and put it to one side as a Christmas present for some lucky recipient. They are so easy to make, you may want to make more for other lucky recipients! Here's a few photos of what is in the set.

In the set, there are four cards, four notelets and 8 gift tags which all match using wonderful washi tape. 

Here's a close up of the notelets.

And here's a close up of the notelets with the decorated envelopes that you will also do as part of the kit.

Likewise, here is a picture of the cards we will be making, which also come with decorated envelopes (see below).

 I've used a wonderful new set of stamps called Four You on this set, but as ever, I will bring along all my sentiment stamps so you can personalise them to your own ends.

 

Here is the whole lot together again. We will also be making the compartmented box which they all come in.

The price of this class is £15. For that you will receive everything you need to make the set and full instructions. If you would like to book a place, please let me know via email or book direct at my website HERE.

TFL! Joanne x

Baby Wipe Card

Hi Everybody!

Just a quick post today to showcase a gorgeous new set that I'm loving at the minute.  The two images used above are from the new Happy Day stamp set. The technique I've used on the medallion to get the lovely mottled effect is the Baby Wipe Technique, where basically you splodge different colours of ink onto a folded up baby wipe and use that as your ink pad. The colours I used on my baby wipe were Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Pacific Point and Coastal Cabana.  The card itself is made using Coastal Cabana - this is one of our new colours and is fast becoming a favourite of mine! 

I stamped the medallion onto Shimmery White cardstock and stamped the sentiment with black Stazon. It was then all finished off with a few rhinestones.

TFL! Joanne x

Stash Busting Gifts!

Hi Everybody!

Now the delicious new catalogue has come out, you're probably in the same boat as me - still have loads of old, retired product left from the last catalogue. Being a scrapbooker, my main addiction apart from stamps is paper. I have tons of the stuff, and I need to make way for the new! So here's a quick suggestion of what can be done with the old stuff.

Make gift sets of cards using the sheets of old paper as envelopes!

There is a fantastic list of various sizes you can make, plus a video showing you how over at Jackie Topa's blog. All you need is the scoreboard and the diagonal scoring plate and you're good to go! 

I made these cards our usual half A4 size and used the "Oversized A2 Card" measurements to create the envelopes. 

The cards I made to go with the envelopes are made using the lovely big flower from Betsy's Blossoms stamp set and a few strips of co-ordinating paper that I used to make the envelopes with. The "With Love" sentiment is from the Field Flowers stamp set.

Both of these sets I made for Harvey's teachers as end of term gifts. I packed them in ordinary brown lunch bags which I again stamped with the Betsy's Blossom large flower stamp. I finished them with a tag using a stamp from the From My Heart set cut out using the Labels Collection Framelits.

I think this is a great way to quickly and easily use up some of your old paper stash. They make super quick gifts, or would be great for craft stalls or to give away to charities.

TFL! Joanne x

Star Book Class Now Booking!

Hello Everybody!

This is just a quick post to let you know that my next class is now open for booking. This will take place on Saturday 6th July from 10.30am onwards at Beauchief Baptist Church, Hutcliffe Wood Road, Sheffield. 

In this class we will be making a Star Book. This is a lovely type of mini album.  I have used the More Amore Specialty Designer Series Papers and Artisan Embellishment Kit to make something really special. 

The book could be used for many different occasions and would make a lovely gift if you could bear to give it away!

If you would like to book a place, you can do so by contacting me, or doing it through my website HERE.

TFL! Joanne x

18th Birthday Card

A couple of weeks ago it was my beautiful niece, Jessica's 18th Birthday. I can't believe where the time's gone!  I wanted to make her a super special card for such a great birthday and this is what I came up with.

The card base is Pool Party and the papers I have used are the More Amore Speciality Designer Series Papers (#129309). I absolutely love these papers! Even though I'm not a girly girl, pinky type of person (I can't be with having a boy - I very rarely get to scrap in pink!) these papers are fantastic because they just work together so well.

I added her name and age with Silver Glimmer paper cut out using the Typeset Alphabet for the Big Shot. The die cut heart is cut from one of the papers in the More Amore DSP. If that wasn't enough bling, I finished it off with a few rhinestones too!

TFL! Joanne x

New Class - Brayering for the Terrified

Hello Everybody!

Here at last is my next class which will be taking place on 4th May at 10.30am at Beauchief Baptist Church, Hutcliffe Wood Road, Sheffield.

I am calling this class "Brayering for the Terrified".  Lots of people have said to me that they love the look of brayering, but just can't seem to do it themselves.  In this class, I have worked hard on the various brayering techniques and the designs of the cards so that they are completely fool proof - anyone will be able to achieve them and get beautiful results - trust me! 

Here's a rundown on all the cards we'll be making:

This card is made using the lovely stamp set called Gently Falling. Very easy to achieve with minimal skill involved. 

This card looks quite complicated, but is easy to do with a few cheats to help you! The stamp set used is By The Tide from the Summer Catalogue.

This lovely card has a wonderful tropical feel to it. It is made using Element of Style.

Last but not least a bit of masking and lots of tricks to help hide a multitude of sins! Made with the wonderfully versatile Summer Silhouettes. 

If you'd like to take part in this class, all details can be found on my website HERE.

Any questions please just get in touch! TFL! Joanne x

Very Quick Blackboard Card

 

 

I know, I really ought to do something. I've not done anything stampy for a while. Mojo has been seriously lacking. Sorry.

 

Anyway, here's a quick card to try and kick start me again. This is the latest craze that seems to be doing the rounds of making a blackboard effect on a card.  It's dead easy to do. 

 

Basically, I made a card base out of Crumb Cake cardstock, then attached a piece of black cardstock to the centre.  Then take an Embossing Buddy (or just a bit of talc) and dust it all over the black cardstock, leaving a residue of white powder to look like chalk dust.

 

Theblackboard frame was then made by stamping strips of Crumb Cake cardstock with the woodgrain background stamp and attaching with Dimensionals to the edges of the "blackboard".

 

The sentiment is from the Perfectly Penned stamp set and was stamped in Whisper White craft ink and embossed with white embossing powder.

 

I finished it off with a banner made using twine and our free Saleabration papers.  Don't forget - you only have until Thursday night to place a Saleabration order! Get in touch if you'd like to do this!

 

TFL! Joanne x

New Class - now booking!

Hello Everybody!

This is the next class I will be doing. It will take place at Beauchief Baptist Church, Hutcliffe Wood Road, Sheffield on 2 March from 10.30am onwards.  

The class is called Adventures in Origami.  We will be using the beautiful Fan Fair papers from Stampin' Up! which lend themselves to a travel theme. Here are the pieces we will be making in detail:

KIMONO CARD (CLOSED)

KIMONO CARD (OPEN)

This is a sweet kimono card. It is very easy to make and makes a wonderful card or can even be used to store a gift card.

BOX CARD (CLOSED)

BOX CARD (CLOSED)

This box card can be used just as a card, or to enclose a gift card or small, flat gift. It would also look great on a scrapbook page to enclose ephemera.

NAPKIN FOLD CARD (CLOSED)

NAPKIN FOLD CARD (OPEN)

This card is a little more labour intensive, but the results really are spectacular. There are endless possibilities with this project.

The price of this class is £12.  If you would like to book please get in touch with me or alternatively, book your place online at my website HERE.

TFL! Joanne x

Stippled Roses Birthday Card

Hello Everybody!

This is a card I made for a member of my team who had her birthday at the weekend. I CASE'd the idea from this beautiful card that I saw on Splitcoast Stampers.  As you can see, I'm still totally in love with the Ex Libris background stamp, and the Stippled Blossoms stamp set. I keep trying it out with different colour variations - this one being just Calypso Coral.  I stamped the first image by "stamping off" onto a scrap piece of paper to make the image lighter, then stamped the next image on top without stamping off first, so it was darker.

The sentiment is from the Apothecary Art set and finished off with Calypso Coral ribbon and a few pearls. The mat is Crumb Cake and the card base is Pool Party. I love this combination of colours!

I'll be back soon, I promise - though please remember it is half term - yikes!

TFL! Joanne x

Spring Catalogue Blog Hop!

Hello Everybody!

If you've just got here from Elaine's lovely blog then welcome, or if you're starting from here, welcome as well!

Today I want to showcase my favourite product in the Spring catty - the honeycomb embossing folder. It can be used for many things, not just a honeycomb effect that I have done here. There have been many beautiful cards made using the design to make a patchwork quilt style design and they look really effective.

I used a number of different stamps and products on this card.  The main base is made using Daffodil Delight. The first layer is First Edition Specialty DSP, with part of the honeycomb embossing folder placed on top of that in More Mustard.  The bee design on the oval die cut is from the Nature's Pace stamp set and the larger bee next to the sentiment is from Nature Walk stamp set.  The whole thing is finished off with a sentiment from the Friendly Phrases set, and then spattered liberally with Early Espresso ink using our Colour Spritzer Tool.

Thanks for looking at my design for this blog hop. You can now go on to the wonderful blog of Sandra to see her wonderful work and to carry on hopping!

TFL! Joanne x

Glimmer Paper - not just for Christmas!

Hi Everybody!

This is the technique I was going to do at our crop last Saturday, but unfortunately I was snowed in and the crop had to be cancelled.  

I promised everyone I would get it up on my blog, so here it is at last!

Basically, it's a wonderful technique that can open up all sorts of possibilites with our Glimmer Paper - you can colour it!

The butterfly above is made using the Sizzix Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die. I then took my Pretty in Pink ink pad and sponged it all over - the glimmer paper holds it!  Some people prefer to use an aqua painter to do this step, but I find it goes a bit splotchy. I found a piece of sponge worked much better. 

I then did the same thing with Early Espresso ink, but this time just inked around the edges.

Another good thing about our Glimmer Paper, if you spend £150 during Saleabration, you get a pack of Glimmer Paper free.  Why not get a few friends together, order £150 of product between you and then split the Glimmer Paper pack? You get two sheets of 12x12 paper, so plenty to go round just a few of you!  

The card was made using Crumb Cake cardstock, layered with a piece of DSP from our new Tea for Two collection (due in the new Spring/Summer catty), and the Ex Libris background stamp.  The ribbon is also new and in our new Spring/Summer catty, and the sentiment is from Friendly Phrases. the whole thing is finished off with a few rhinestones. 

TFL! Joanne x-

It's time for Saleabration!

Hi Everybody!

It's about time I updated my blog with details of Saleabration! This year it is running from 22 January to 22 March, and during that time there's lots of free goodies and offers to tempt you!

As usual during Saleabration, there are some wonderful stamp sets. You receive one of your choice for every £45 you spend. But that's not all! As well as stamp sets, there is also a punch, some Designer Series Paper, a ribbon and button set an embossing folder, a Simply Sent card kit AND this time around various things have been added from the current catty. So if none of the exclusive SAB items excite you, you could always choose from any of the six selected items from the catalogue as your free gift.

Now is also a wonderful time to join Stampin' Up! To celebrate 25 years of Stampin' up!, during SAB you will recieve 25% more in your Starter Kit! Taht's £162.50 worth of product for just £99!

For more details just click on the link in the side bar.

The card above has been made using a stamp from the SAB set called Feeling Sentimental. It co-ordinates perfectly with the World Spectacular Suite. The papers I have used are from the World Spectacular DSP, and the Happy Birthday sentiment is from the You're Amazing stamp set. Here's the recipe for what I used:

Island Indigo cardstock - 124390
World Spectacular DSP - 126897
Apothecary Accents Framelits - 127003
Linen thread - 104199
Naturals Ivory cardstock - 108630
Early Espresso ink pad - 126974
Island Indigo ink pad - 126986
Cherry Cobbler ink pad - 126966
Feeling Sentimental stamp set - Saleabration exclusive - not for sale, but free with £45 order

If you have any questions about SAB, or joining with such a great offer, please get in touch with me.

TFL! Joanne x

Serene Sillhouettes Stamp-a-Stack

Hello Everybody!

It's a long time since I've blogged so I do apologise. What with Christmas and not feeling too well I've not been feeling much like crafting.  I think I've got/had a frozen shoulder. It's been really painful but getting a bit better now. I will go to the doctors, but trouble is, with me I won't go unless I'm absolutely dying, but as it's bothering with my crafting I really should sort something out.

Anyway, without further ado, I'd like to announce the first class of 2013! This will take place at Beauchief Baptist Church on Saturday 2nd February from 10.30 onwards.

We will be doing a Stamp-a-Stack using the Serene Silhouettes stamp set. What this means is you will be making 12 cards in total - 3 each of each of the four designs below, thus having plenty of cards to see you through the year, or the start of the year at least! The price of this class will be £15. Here is a photo of all the cards together, and below each one in closeup.

 

The reason I have chosen this set is because there is so much you can do with it, as in different techniques.  I also like the fact that it's not necessarily a "floral, feminine" type stamp set, as can be seen from above, the images lend themselves to a more generic or even masculine feel as well. 

As I mentioned before, I've tried to make the cards as generic as possible so they can be used for any occasion.  This card in particular could be seen as having a more masculine appeal. 

Despite looking quite scary, they are all very simple to create - no brayering was used in the making of any of these cards, as I know that can put some people off!

On the day I will have all my sentiment stamps with me, so you can make your cards suitable for any occasion you wish.  If you'd like to book, please get in touch with me through my website at www.steelcitystamper.co.uk.

TFL! Joanne x