Kreative Jewels

Bunches of Thanks

I finally had a chance to ink up the newest Flopsey from MFT, Flopsey Flowers. I used this weeks MFT sketch MFTSC78, as a starting point for my card. I love the sketches that Cindy and Frances come up with!

The most exciting thing for me about this card is the brand new Perfect Paper Panels that MFT recently came out with. This is quite simply the BEST paper that I have ever used for coloring with Copic Markers. The paper is beautiful and thick so your color doesn't bleed through to the back. The paper also has a fantastic ultra smooth surface. I like to cut out a lot of the images I stamp and sometimes I find the thicker paper looks a little rough around the edges when I cut it. I was so thrilled with how well the MFT paper cut, nice and smooth! If you love to color with Copics like I do, get yourself a pack of the MFT Perfect Paper Panels and try them out! You won't be disappointed!

So, I stamped on my Perfect Paper Panels with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I then colored the image with Copic markers. I put a tiny bit of Crystal Effects on the center of the flowers to make them pop. The patterned paper is all from MFT's Summer Collection Paper Pack. I also used Tempting Turquoise card stock from Stampin' Up! for the card base. The yummy ribbon is from MFT's My Favorite Ribbon Nest Summer Collection and the Skinny Ribbon Nest Summer Collection. The fun glitter embellishments are from the Glittered Dots and Flowers Summer Collection. Kim just recently started putting these color collections together and they are fantastic! I just love it when everything coordinates!

Sense of Time meets To the Nines

In this years Stampin' Up catalog we have some amazing new Specialty Designer Series Paper. This paper is a textured, cover weight card stock. It is to die for! To the Nines is the Specialty paper that I used on this card. This is a fantastic color collection for all your masculine cards.

For this card I used Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand, and Chocolate Chip card stock. I used the Sense of Time stamp set that is available in the Occasions Mini. The images were stamped in Close to Cocoa ink and the card stock was sponged using Creamy Caramel ink. I used the new Circle Scissor Plus tool to cut the circles. I finished off the card with a few Pewter brads and a Kraft corduroy button and a Chocolate Chip corduroy brad.

I do have a masculine card class coming up early in May, Let's Hear it for the Boys will take place on May 12th at 6:30pm. If you are in the Calgary area and would like to attend please register here. Don't forget that the Get Connected Campaign is only on for a few more days. Don't miss your chance to take part in this promotion. Call or email me with your order or order online on my website before April 30th.

Congratulations Brigitte

I am a little behind on my cards this month for my wonderful downline members! Back in March one of my newest team members Brigitte, promoted to a Senior Associate! Way to go Brigitte!

I made her this fun card using Stampin' Up's fantastic new Clearly Thanks Printed Window Sheets. This new product is available in the Occasions Mini Catalog. These are just too much fun!

I layered the window sheet on top of a piece of Kiwi Kiss card stock. I used the Summer Sun Corduroy Brads to adhere the window sheet to the Kiwi Kiss card stock. I didn't want to use regular adhesive as you would see it through the window sheets! The congratulations came from the A Perfect Day pack of Rub Ons.  The gorgeous ribbon is Stampin' Up's Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin ribbon. I am going to be seriously sad when this retires! The patterned paper is from the Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper pack. I also used a little Chocolate Chip Card stock and the base of the card is Kiwi Kiss.

Brigitte is well on her way to a fantastic Stampin' Up! career! I am so proud of her! If you have ever thought about becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator now is definitely the time to do it! We have a fantastic three easy payment plan available until the end of April! If you are in Canada and would like more information on this fantastic opportunity please see my information pages here. I would love to chat with you about all the fantastic opportunities that are available at Stampin' Up! Contact me today and I'll help get you started on your fabulous new career!

A Pop Up Cupcake Surprise!

As I have mentioned in my last two posts, I am having an absolute blast with this Pop Up Cake Die. Each time I play with it I come up with another list of ideas that I think would work with it. When I was playing with it yesterday I thought I might be able to make a cupcake with it and guess what? It worked!!!

Let's start with the front of the card. I used Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip textured and Whisper White card stock. The polka dot print is from the Sweet Always Designer Series Paper pack. I used the wonderful Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set, for this cupcake and all the sentiments on the card. The fun ribbon is from the Valet Ribbon Originals set and the cute little button is from the Button Latte Designer buttons. The image was stamped in Stazon and colored with Stampin' Write Markers. 

Are you ready for the inside? Here's my cute cupcake! I am so thrilled with how it turned out! I think this is my favorite of the three pop up cards that I have made so far.

 I decided to skip the smallest layer that would normally be the top of the cake. I used the Scallop #2 Circle die, the large Scallop Circle die and the Circle Scissor Plus to create a base for the cupcake. I scored this base down the middle so it would fold nicely with the card.  I adhered the piece with the locking flaps to the scallop circle and then assembled the cake using the mid and large sized pieces.

When I cut the strips of paper this time I actually cut them both at 12" I found it was easy to trim them down once I had stuck them together on the cake. I also made the top strip wider than 7/8" as it says in the directions. My piece is actually 1 1/2". I used my crimper and the Eyelet Border Punch on the strips of Chocolate Chip textured card stock to make it look like a muffin wrapper. I then wrapped a piece of the yummy Valet Ribbon  Originals around the cupcake to finish it off.

 

I wanted to make the frosting part of the cupcake look fluffy. Not an easy thing to do when you need to be able to close the card flat. As this was the first cupcake I made I did a lot of things in the wrong order! I am one of those stampers that makes things up as I go along so it is really hard to go back and explain how I did it. I will try to get a tutorial done for you some time next week. 

I can tell you that I used the Simple Birthday Thanks set to stamp the frosting. I stamped it on Pretty in Pink card stock. The Cherry was stamped on Whisper White, colored with markers and then finished off with Crystal Effects.

I hope you have enjoyed my Pop Up Cupcake today. Wouldn't you just love to open up a card and find that inside?

Nothing But Net!

So I have a looong list of things to get done for some upcoming classes and what did I do yesterday? I spent more time playing with the fabulous new Pop Up Cake Die of course! lol I am so mad at myself for letting it sit on the shelf for weeks before I used it! What was I thinking!!!!! It is just too much fun!

For some strange reason I had the idea that this pop up cake die would make a fantastic Basketball net. Why I thought of Basketball is completely beyond me but I am thrilled with how it turned out! I think this would make a great card for any Basketball fan, it would even work for those teenage boy cards that are so hard to make!

The front of my card is pretty simple. I used the Just Basketball, Sporting and It's a Sign stamp sets. Yes, I bought the sporting sets when they were on special and yes this is the first time that I have used them! lol I knew I would need them someday and I finally did! For card stock I used Kraft, Brilliant Blue and Real Red. Inks include Stazon Black, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, and Real Red. I used the small Polka Dot Texturz plate on the Real Red card stock to give it a little dimension.

Now for the exciting part, the inside of the card! I stamped the netting using the stamp that comes with the Just Basketball set. I had to do some masking and I also drew in some of the bare areas, especially on the top layer of the net. I adhered what would normally be the top of the cake to the center fold of my card. I used the die to cut an extra piece of the shape that has the locking flaps. I used this piece as an extender for the main locking flap piece. I added an extra, slightly larger circle to the top of the net. This circle was scored down the middle and I made a small slit in the center of the score line for the locking flap piece to go through. I cut two pieces of Pumpkin Pie card stock for the ball. I ran them through the Big Shot using the Texturz Plate that looks like wood. I did this in two directions to give the ball that bumpy look. I then drew the lines on the ball and adhered it to the top of the net. I then drew what I thought were really accurate court lines on the card stock. Once I finished I realized that those lines would normally be in front of the net! Oh well, I am definitely a stamper, not a Basketball fan!

A couple of quick tips for those of you getting ready to try your first Pop Up Cake. Be sure to bend the card stock on all the score lines before you assemble it. It makes closing the card far less painful. On yesterday's card I used Designer Series paper to wrap around the cake die. I found this way easier to do than using the card stock today. I think I need to cut the strips a little longer when I am using card stock as it was harder to keep the ends stuck down. The extra length should make it easier to stick together.

 If you have this die sitting on the shelf get it out! If you don't have it yet, order it! I have a few more creations in the works with this die, I'll be sharing them over the next few weeks.

Just Buzzin' By Pop Up Beehive!

 I had so much fun yesterday! I finally broke out my Three Tier 3D Cake Pop Up die!!!! I have had this die for a few weeks now and I finally spent some time with it today. I must admit that I was a little intimidated by it at first, but once I started putting it together I was thrilled at just how easy it was!

Instead of starting off with a simple cake I figured I would go fo something a bit different. I thought I was being completely original and brilliant coming up with a beehive. A few hours after I finished my card I come to find this post on Heather's Blog, apparently her daughter Emma, beat me to it! lol Oh well, great minds think alike Emma! While you are on Heather's Blog take a look at that amazing Arc! WOW! Oh, and there is a really cool flower pot there too!

So back to my Beehive! I assembled the cake as they show in the step by step instructions that come with the die. Yes, Liz I actually read the directions before I started! Shocking I know!

Once I had the cake assembled it just didn't look as close to the shape of a beehive as I was hoping for. I decided to add a few extra layers of the So Saffron Patterns DSP. On each of these layers I used the Scallop Edge punch. The scallops helped to make it look a little more beehivish. The top of the beehive was made using 3/4 of a scallop circle. I used two of them so that both sides of the card looked the same. The door was created with half an oval. I sponged around the door with a little Chocolate Chip ink to give it a little more dimension.

All the images on this card came from the very cute set, Just Buzzin' By. The adorable little bees were stamped on Naturals Ivory with Stazon and then colored with Stampin' Write Markers. I used a little bit of

Dazzling Diamonds on their wings. For card stock I used Brocade Blue, Close to Cocoa, and Naturals Ivory. I used So Saffron and More Mustard Classic ink for sponging.

My beehive didn't turn out exactly as I was hoping for but I am thrilled with it anyway! I see so many incredible opportunities with this die! I can't wait to play work with it some more! So, what do you think? Isn't the Pop Up Cake Die just the coolest! If you are in the Calgary area I am having a class on May 23 featuring this die and a few of the new boxes. If you are interested please sign up here.

Kreative Jewels Team Members Top Sales for March

Yes, I realize that it is almost the end of April! i just haven't had a chance until now to stamp the cards for my Kreative Jewels Team members who were the top three sellers on my team during March. Congratulations to Brigitte, Jan and Becki! You all had a great month!

Now, on to their cards! This color combination is very unusual for me! I chose the colors based on the Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper. For card stock I used Baja Breeze,Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun and Whisper White. The fun little set I used is called Trendy Trees! This is one of those sets that is an incredible deal for the money! This set has eight great stamps for only $20.95! There is also a fun Funky Forest wheel that matches the set. If you are in the Calgary area I am hosting a great class using this set on May 20th. All the details can be found here.

I stamped the trees on Whisper White card stock using Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip Classic Ink. I did use my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig to line everything up. Oh, how I love that tool! The fun buttons are the new Corduroy Buttons in Baja Breeze, Summer Sun and Kiwi Kiss.

The Celebrate stamp is from a great new set in the Occasions Mini called Matchbox Messages. This set coordinates perfectly with the new Matchbox Bigz KL die!!! How exciting is that! Even more exciting is the special going on right now until the end of April! Buy $50.00 in product from the Occasions Mini you will receive your choice of one of the under $12.00 items from page 208 in the Catalog & Idea Book! There are some fantastic stamps and mini note kits available.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this great promotion please visit my website to place your order online or call or email me and I will place the order for you.

It's Celebrate MFT Day!

It's the 20th of the month and you know what that means, It's celebrate MFT day! This month we are celebrating our love for MFT stamps by inking up our favorite Flopsey stamp.

Tea with Flopsey is one of the newer Flopsey sets and it is one of my favorites. Not only do I have an addiction to stamps, I also have a terrible addiction to tea! I drive my friends and family nuts with my tea addiction! I have to have it all the time! Seriously, its bad! Iol

I went for an unusual color combination for this card, at least unusual for this time of year. It seems more like a Christmas color combination. I used Creamy Caramel, Old Olive and Bravo Burgundy ( Am I the only one who still wants to call the Burgundy Baroque? I don't know why it is I can never remember the new name for this!) card stock, all from Stampin' Up! The polka dot paper is from Making Memories.

I stamped Flopsey on the Bravo Burgundy and again on a piece of Papertrey White. I Colored Flopsey with my Copics and then used some dimensionals to give him a little depth. Doesn't he just look so cute sipping his tea in the sunshine! I did a little paper piercing around the square and on the scalloped oval. The gorgeous ribbon is from BoBunny and the ribbon slide is from Maya Road.

If you have a little time today pull out your favorite Flopsey stamp and create your own special MFT card!

Sneek Peak at Fifth Avenue Floral Class

Here is a quick peak at the card holder that we will be making at my Fifth Avenue Floral class next Saturday April 25th. This fantastic card purse can hold from four to ten cards and envelopes depending on the thickness of the cards. It would make a great gift for Mother's Day or for your girlfriends, sisters and aunts.

Fifth Avenue Floral Class on Saturday April 25th at 10:00am.

At the Fifth Avenue Floral class we will be making this card purse with four matching cards and envelopes. I still have a few spots left for the class.  If you are in the Calgary area and would like to attend please sign up here.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Thoughts & Prayers Sympathy Cards

Early in March I held a Sympathy card class. For me sympathy cards are the hardest cards to design. Not only do you want to find the appropriate stamp, but you also need to be careful of the colors you use. You want to find just the right saying and you really don't want to be using any bling!

This year Stampin' Up! came out with an amazing stamp set Thoughts and Prayers. This set is just fantastic! It has two large images and six sentiments that are perfect for sympathy, thinking of you and get well cards. If you haven't added this set to your collection yet, I highly recommend you do!

These two cards are essentially the same, I just used a different piece of Parisian Breeze Specialty Designer Series Paper. I think this paper is my absolute favorite paper that Stampin' Up! has had in the last five and a half years that I have been a demo! I just can't get enough of it! I will definitely be hoarding some of it at the end of this years catalog!

I stamped the tree using Chocolate Chip Classic ink on Kraft card stock. I then took some Whisper White Craft Ink and I sponged it around the edges of the Kraft card stock. This was then matted on some Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip card stock. The main card base is Chocolate Chip and the rest of the card stock is from the Parisian Breeze collection. The Baja Breeze ribbon is from the Valet Ribbon Originals Pack. The other ribbon is Kraft Taffeta.

I have made up a few extra of these cards to keep on hand as it is always so hard to make a sympathy card when you really need one. If you are interested in ordering Thoughts & Prayers, Parisian Breeze Specialty paper or any other Stampin' Up! products please visit my website. Don't forget that all orders of $50.00 or more placed on my website will receive a fantastic online ordering gift. This months gift is a class to go file featuring a fabulous Fifth Avenue Floral card holder and four cards!