A Nice Cuppa

Yes there's nothing like a nice cup of tea. Tea is an essential part of my day - I can't do anything in the morning without at least one brew and it's integral to all my crafting events! That's why I got very excited about this stamp set and matching dies in the Spring/Summer catalogue.

They really are just my cup of tea, and I've used this bundle plus the coordinating papers a lot for various cards and 3D projects.

One of my Crafternoon Tea projects was a card and a matching gift box that contain teabags and biscuits. I think these would make great teacher gifts, or just to cheer someone up. Note the silver spoon die cut from foil card!

I made a few cards using the same colour scheme. This one below is CASEd (Copy And Share Everything) from another very talented demonstrator Kim Williams in the US (check out her use of crystal effects and pearls to embellish the card further and take it to the next level).

The following two cards were designed by my monthly card class ladies. I provided them with the same materials, plus my own examples and let them create their own version. How beautiful they are!

The A Nice Cuppa stamps and thinlet dies available to purchase from my online store as a bundle, saving you 15%. Please note that they will be retiring when the catalogue ends on 1st June and you won't be able to purchase them after this date. Click here to go to my online shop...

Card Class April 2016

Hi there. This week was my monthly card class and I just wanted to tell you all about them, and show you what we made!

I've been running a monthly card classes for 3 years from my home near Pudsey, West Yorkshire. I also do a repeat of the class at my shop Fox & the Magpie in Shipley.

We usually make 4 different cards (or sometimes 3D projects) that showcase different Stampin' Up! products, stamp sets, punches and dies. We also try out lots of different techniques and styles.

Complete beginners are always welcome and many are surprised at how professional their finished cards look. Some of my regulars are keen crafters and go home with lots of ideas for new things to try. Some don't craft at home but love to take home four handmade cards that they can give away for upcoming occasions. And some just put their cards in a box to take out and admire occasionally and would never dream of giving their beautiful creations away!

Here are some examples of cards made at past classes...

The cards we made this month had a bit of a spring/early summer feel to them - well the sun has been shining this week!

We started with a simple stamped card with a masked centre. The stamp set was Bloomin Love (which isn't just for valentines!). The sentiment in the centre was from the Perfect Banners stamp set and was heat embossed in gold. Please excuse the massive smudge at the top - you know when you ruin a card right at the end and can't be bothered to start again??

Next we used the Awesomely Artistic stamp set which involved layering up different stamps. I showed the ladies how to 'Stamp off' (stamping onto scrap paper first) for a more subtle ink colour and to build up the design on the white background. The dragonflies were coloured using the marker pens to get the multi-coloured effect.

For the third card we played around with the baby wipe technique (which I'll explain more in another post), the Watercolour Wings stamp set and an embossed background! The butterfly thinlits are gorgeous!

Lastly we did a card that had no stamping but lots of die cutting! The coloured flowers (Botanical Blooms Thinlits) really pop against the black and white background. Thanks to Julie Kettlewell for the card design!

If you're interested in coming along to the next card class in May please get in touch - our theme is going to be 'family' so we'll be covering male, female and children's cards. Click here to go to my classes and events page for details...