Christmas Card Workshop

This years Christmas Card workshop at Frampton on Severn Village Hall proved very popular with 13 attendees - two of whom had never been to a card class before and I think they enjoyed the experience. For this workshop we made 6 Christmas cards with a matching gift tag and a seasonal gift box.  Everyone was given their own set of Rhinestone Basic Jewels and a reel of Silver 1/8" Ribbon to add to their designs.  The Scalloped Tag Topper was used for all of the gift tags.
The projects were as follows:-

 Who can resist these fun snowmen??  These images are taken from the Snow Place stamp set and use the coordinating framelit set Snow Friends Framelits Dies. The main colours consist of Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Garden Green and Momento Black.  The snowflakes were heat embossed using White Embossing powder and small Rhinestone Basic Jewels were stuck to the centre of some of them to add a bit of sparkle.

This card design was also made using the Snow Place stamp set and the coordinating framelit set Snow Friends Framelits Dies.  There are several other stamps within this set to add 'accessories' to either the penguin or snowmen eg scarf, tie, bobble hat so its a very versatile set to have in your collection of Christmas stamp sets! The main colours used were again Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green and Momento Black.  The background was embossed using the Decorative Dots embossing folder.

This card was created using what I think is one of the must-have stamp sets from the Annual Catalogue (pg 69), Lots of Joy. It contains a good couple of images and greetings suitable to make a variety of different cards and gift tags.  The two colours used were only Whisper White and Island Indigo which made for a simple but effective card.  The background was embossed using the Stylish Stripes embossing folder and the Silver Glimmer Paper added the extra sparkle. (The design for this card was taken from Just Judy Designs posted on Pinterest).

This is another card that only used two colours, Old Olive and Whisper White with some Silver Glimmer Paper for the sparkle.  Again another simple but effective card using another of my favourite stamp sets, Festival of Trees along with the coordinating Tree punch.  We also used Merry Everything stamp set and coordinating Note Tag punch. (The idea of this design was based on one from Barbaras Kreativ-Studio on Pinterest).

I wanted to create a card using the Confetti Stars Borderpunch but with a 'background' effect.  Therefore the Night of Navy card was punched with the Confetti Stars Border punch and layered on to Smokey Slate card to give the impression of the night sky.  I used the snowman, reindeer and polar bear from the White Christmas stamp set in Night of Navy ink and punched them out using 1 1/2" and 1 3/4" circle punches.

When I saw the example of how to use the Berry Merry stamp set and coordinating Boughs & Berries embossing folder in the A/W catalogue, I decided I just had to use it too!  I love the mix of Christmas colours; Cucumber Crush, Real Red, Crushed Curry and Pool Party along with some Gold Glimmer paper.  The greeting was heat embossed with Gold embossing powder.  The greeting on the gift tag was taken from the Sassy Salutaions stamp set.

Of course we had to make this adorable little penguin using the Curvy Keepsake die and Big Shot! The rest of the tools were Extra Large Oval, Large Oval, 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches, Washi Label punch and the beak was made using the heart from the Owl Builder punch.

I hope I have inspired you to make some cards for yourself. Its never too early to start making Christmas cards!!

Septembers Classes

September heralded the start of my classes at Frampton on Severn village Hall. As the classes at Frampton are at the beginning of the month and the ones at Selsley are at the end of the month, I will be repeating the designs at the two classes. Therefore I will only be updating this page at the end of the month.

Our first card was suitable for a wedding or could be adapted for an anniversary or engagment. It used the stamp set For The New Two and just two colours of Whisper White and Tip Top Taupe.  It also used the technique of heat emossing onto velum with Whisper White Embossing Powder which looked quite effective. A piece of Tip Top Taupe 1" Dotted Lace Trim set off the design.

The second card was suitable to all ages and genders to celebrate a birthday.  It used the stamp sets Gorgeous Grunge and Build a Birthday with just two colours, So Saffron and Lost Lagoon.  I really like this set as it is quite versatile and the Little Numbers Thinlets are perfect for adding the 'age' if required.

Our 3D project this month was a gable-end bag. This was one of the first 3D projects I made at a class (thanks Kerry Timms) and think it is such a quick and easy bag to make - and so did the ladies at my classes.  Again this design only uses two complimentary colours, Wisteria Wonder and Perfect Plum with Very Vanilla as the card base.  The two stamp sets used were Merry Everything ( for the tag) and Flowering Flourishes with the butterflies punched out using the Elegant Butterfly and Bitty Butterfly punches.  The Venetian Crochet Trim finshes off the design.