Thursday 22 December 2016

Final Class of the Year!

Well here we are at the end of 2016 and I am still not keeping up with this blog! I have had a very busy December with lots of craft fairs, commissions and classes.  My New Years Resolution should be to be more organsied!
So for the last class we made a final Christmas card that uses the 'Peek-a-boo' technique. This is where on opening the card, the back sort of slides to reveal a hidden message. It would be better to show on a video but that is not something I have yet managed to master on here! We used projects from the Autumn/Winter catalogue which also reitred at the end of the year. The stamp set used was Stitched with Cheer with its coordinating DSP Warmth and Cheer.  The colours used were Garden Green, Cheery Cobbler, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso.

Photo showing card in 'closed' position.

 Photo showing card in 'open' position.


For our second card, I returned to using the stamp set, Sprinkles of Life and its coordinating punch set, produced two years ago by Stampin Up to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Charites whereby £2 from the sale of the stamp set goes to the charity.  We also used the current 2016-2018 In-Colors.  The greeting was taken from the Flourishing Phrases stamp set from the main catalogue. (Sorry for the slight marking on the front of the card, I forgot to take the photo before the class and it seemed to have had a close encounter with some ink at the class!)

 For our 3D project, we made a desk calendar/Post-it Note holder and a decorated pen. For this project I used up retired DSP and let my customers chose which one they wanted to use.  The numbers were taken from the Number of Years stamp set.

November Class Projects

With Christmas that much nearer in November, all three of our projects had a Christmas theme.
The first was an idea I had in my head for a while and was very pleased with the final effect. This design is an easel style of card and by using the Hearth and Home thinlets to create a fireplace and then the Hang Up Your Stocking and matching thinlets to create stockings above the fireplace. Although you can't see it on the photo, I used the score board to create brickwork on the Very Vanilla backing piece in the fireplace.  The colours used were Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake.






I had designed a project using the Pillow Box design but had been asked if we could make 3 cards at this class so adapted the design so that my customers could chose to make either a box or card.  This project used the Candy Cane Lane DSP, Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set and coordinating punch.  The colours used were Crumb Cake, Real Red, Whisper White Craft ink and Early Espresso.



Our third card also used the Candy Cane Lane DSP by cutting out a 'gingerbread house' from one of the sheets and using another as the background.  I had CASEd this from one I had seen on Pinterest but used a different embossing folder.  The circles were created by using the layering circles dies.  The greeting was taken from Wonderous Wreath stamp set and heat embossed using white embossing powder.  The Candy Cane Lane Bakers Twine was used as accents to the design.  The main colours used were Real Red, Crumb Cake, Whisper White and Early Espresso.


Octobers Christmas Card Workshop


Our annual Christmas Card making workshop was held at Frampton Village Hall on Sunday 16th October and attended by 13 crafters of all ages, some of whom had never been to a class before so it was great to have some new faces.  Below are photos of the cards we made.  By using the Crumb Cake Notecard set, we were able to make 4 cards of each of the the 5 designs.  We also made small gift box containing 4 tea lights.
Everyone received a 'goodie bag' containing 1/4 pack Warmth & Cheer DSP, a reel of gold 1/8" ribbon and all the card stock required to make the cards.
The colours used were:- Real Red, Garden Green, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso.
The stamp sets used were:- Hang Your Stocking, Stitched With Cheer, Foxy Friends, Wonderous Wreath and Holly Jolly Greetings.
Tools used were :- Wonderful Wreath Framelits, Peaceful Pines Framelits, Christmas Stocking Thinlets, Layering Circles Framelits, Layering Ovals Framelits and Stars Framelits.







Here are some photos of some busy crafters!!












Thursday 15 December 2016

The Festive Season Is Approaching!! (Octobers Class)

For this months class, we made use of the Design Series Paper Pop Of Pink which is a great, bright paper using Melon Mambo that contrasts well with Whisper White and Basic Black.  We matched it with Sliver Glimmer Paper too.

The first card we made used the shaker card technique.  For this we used some window sheet and the new foam adhesive strips.  The mini stars were punched out of Melon Mambo and Sliver Foil sheet using the Confetti Stars Border punch.  The greeting was taken form the Best Birds stamp set and the banner from Number of Years.  Everyone enjoyed making this card!


The second card used the same colour combination and DSP and was used to create a birthday card with balloons made with the Balloon Bouquet.  The greeting was taken from Endless Birthday Wishes.


As the festive season will be soon upon us

Thursday 8 September 2016

Septembers Projects - Back on Track!!

Hi. Hopefully I am now back into the swing of things after a busy summer with a lovely 2 week holiday in Canada, being involved with Frampton Country Fair and my daughter starting secondary school so a new routine had to ensue.
For this month I tried to used just one stamp set - Badges and Banners with co-ordinating Duet Banner punch and one family of colours, subtles.  Also we used the Stampin Up Whisper White Note Cards and Envelopes and made a box to keep them in.


August Projects ( sorry its a bit late!)

Our August class was small due to the holidays.
This month I decided to concentrate on the new stamp set Swirly Bird and co-ordinating Swirly Scribbles Thinlets set (pg 152 of the new Summer catalogue). Each stamp and die has a mutliple of uses and here are a few of them.

 For this nautical card, the main colours used were Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight and Real Red.
 For this floral card, I tried to concentrate on the In-Colors - Tip Top Taupe, Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach and Sweet Sugarplum along with Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz.  The greeting is taken from the Endless Birthday Wishes stamp set.
For our 3D project, we made this little gift box using the Gift Bag Punch Board.  The colours used were Dapper Denim, Emeral Envy and Sweet Sugarplum 3/8" Ruched ribbon.  The greeting is taken from Badges and Banners, and punched out using the Duet Banner punch.

Sunday 24 July 2016

Julys Class Projects - A Foxy Theme!!

Ooops! where has the time gone this month! I am a bit late in posting this months class creations, I'm putting it down to a busy few weeks for the end of my children's school term (and my daughters time at junior school) with so much going on.

So here are July's class creations:-

We made a lovely card using the Foxy Friends stamp set and coordinating A Little Foxy DSP along with a matching chocolate bar wrapper, also using the coordinating colours of Smokey Slate, Calypso Coral and Pool Party with Pear Pizzazz.  The greeting was taken from Endless Birthday Wishes stamp set. This set (Foxy Friends) has so many other cute creatures that can be made so watch out for more in the future on this blog (especially near Christmas)!



Our other card was based on the idea of a get well card suitable for a male but it could be modified by adding flowers for a female, as well as being suitable for other occasions.  The stamp set used was Hopeful Thoughts, and the colours were Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz and Chocolate Chip.

Tuesday 14 June 2016

Junes Class

Well what a lovely start to June! At our Frampton class we had the doors open as it was so warm and it was lovely to hear the sounds of the birds whilst we crafted.  It was also nice to go home in the tail-end of the sunlight.
For this months projects we tried out a new technique of layered stamping with the Watercolor Wings stamp set, created a neutral birthday card suitable for a male of all ages and a lovely box suitable for a small bottle of perfume etc.  I did find inspiration for these cards on Pinterest so can't take the credit for their design!


So here is the beautiful butterfly card made with the Watercolor Wings stamp set. I have been looking forward to using this set as it is so effective.  The colours used were Wisteria Wonder, Soft Sky and Crumb Cake.  The technique of stamping off was also used to tone down the colours too.  The background was stamped using Gorgeous Grunge and the little butterfly was taken from the Garden In Bloom set and the greeting from Cottage Greetings.  There are in fact two smaller butterflies cut from Velum cardstock on top of the main butterfly but this is now easy to see in the photograph.  The coordinating Bold Butterfly framelits were used to cut out the butterflies.

The general birthday card was made using just another three colours - Calypso Coral, Pool Party and Basic Grey.  The 2 stamp sets used were Gorgeous Grunge and Crazy About You.  The littles stars were punched out from sliver Glimmer paper using the Confetti Stars Border punch.  The blank space at the top of the card is suitable to put the age of the recipient, perhaps using the Large Numbers framelits.

Finally our 3D project was a small box suitable for a small bottle.  The tricky part of the design was trying to score and fold the angles to make the box taper towards the top but everyone was pleased with their finished result. The three main colours used were Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo and Basic Black.  The greeting was taken from Circle of Spring stamp set and the flowers were punched out using the Blosson punch.

Monday 6 June 2016

Christmas Card Making Workshop

I know it is only just the start of the summer but it is time to get thinking in advance about all those lovely Christmas cards you can make to send to your friends and family before the rush of Christmas really starts!  So I have provisionally organised a card making day on:-

SUNDAY 16TH OCTOBER
at
FRAMPTON VILLAGE HALL,
10.00am to 2.00pm

Costs and full list of projects that we will be making will be available nearer the date along with booking details.


Please contact me for more details:- Hazel Benn on 01452 740258 or email at trulymadlystampin@hotmail.co.uk
(Please note that the minimum age for attending this workshop will be 12yrs)

Wednesday 18 May 2016

May's Class

Hello!  As Fathers Days isn't far off, we made cards and gifts suitable for any male in our lives!
First we made a card suitable for a gardener using the Gift From the Garden stamp set and 'earthy' colours of Garden Green, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze (for the flower pots) and Hello Honey.
The greeting was taken from  Endless Birthday Wishes and the balloon 'bows' taken from the stamp set Celebrate Today.  The 'water' was made using the 'raindrop' image on the Tree Builder punch and Silver Foil sheet.  The balloons were punched using the Balloon Bouquet punch and the 'birthday' greeting using the Washi Label punch.  The balloon strings were made from Old Olive and Crushed Curry bakers twine.

 Our second male card Used a 'folded back' technique so the card stands out a bit more.  The colours used were Very Vanilla and Marina Mist.  The Two embossing folders used were Boho chic and Stylish Stripes.  The pattern on the insert card was made using the Bohemian Borders.  The bow tie was made using the Bow Builder punch and a piece of Crumb Cake coloured DSP from the Neutrals Colour collection DSP.  The greeting is from a retired set. The buttons were made using Pearl Basic Jewels and colured in with a black Sharpie pen.


 For our 3D project we made a mini photo album using Cherry Cobbler and Chocolate Chip card stock and Gold Foil.  The patterned paper was taken from the Merry Moments DSP.  The inserts/pages were 6 Clear Envelopes and all tied together with some Gold 1/8" ribbon.



Friday 15 April 2016

April's Class

How nice the light evenings are now that the clocks have changed; especially for my classes at Selsley Scout Hut where we can see the Severn Vale whilst we work, well for the first part of the evening at least!
This month we made a card for an anniversary, a general card for a child and a box to cover a cube box of tissues.
The anniversary card just used two colours, Whisper White and Mint Macaroon. The hearts were from the stamp set Pictogram Punches and the greeting taken from Number of Years stamp set. The birds made using the Bird Builder punch. Simple but effective!

The general birthday card for a child was made using the now retired Sale-a-bration set Hello.  The colours used were Real Red, Pacific Point and Daffodil Delight.
Finally this weeks 3d project showed a good way of how to use up old DSP paper by creating a box and covering the sides.  Everyone had a choice of paper designs to use and I had cut the coordinating cardstock to suit.

Monday 14 March 2016

March Class Projects


As I write this I am hoping that the weather is going to continue being spring like and not the artic conditions that we have been forecast!


To celebrate Spring/Mothers Day and Easter, I couldn't resist using the stamp set Circle of Spring for this months card class. It is my new favourite set with a selection of greetings - thank you, happy mothers day, happy easter, happy spring and happy birthday to you - perfect for this time of year.  I chose just a few colours to showcase this set, using Crumb Cake ink and card stock for the background stamp Hardwood and then either So Saffron or Pool Party for the flowers and bows with Pear Pizzazz for the greenery.  The best thing about this set is that it coordinates with the Wonderful Wreath framelits so you don't have all the fiddly cutting out to do!  I used a few Pearl Basic Jewels to the centres of the flowers and bows to enhance the design.




The second card we made was a bit tricky but everyone was pleased with the result as it is such an unusual design - you won't find these in the shops!  This tri-fold card was again made using Crumb Cake card stock with English Garden DSP and Number of Years stamp set with a selection of colours for the flower arrangement. This is another great set perfect for celebrating just about any occasion.







Finally our 3D project was a little Cadbury's Creme Egg holder with a little rabbit on the front. I gave everyone the choice of either doing a forward facing or rear facing rabbit.  The main colours used were Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and Whisper White cardstock and the greeting taken from the
Circle of Spring stamp set.  The 'grass' was creating by using the Fringe scissors and the box design is taken from the birdhouse design made using the Simply Scored Scoring Tool.





Thursday 11 February 2016

February's Class

Hello, hopefully I am now back on track with posting our projects, I hope you are inspired by them and please feel free to post any comments!
As we had covered Valentines Day in Januarys' projects, this month we concentrated on Mothers Day with a mini pot of felt flowers and two cards, either of which could be used for a birthday or Mothers Day.
The mini pot of flowers was created by cutting out 3 felt flowers using the Big Shot Spiral Flower Originals die. Unlike the framelits and thinlits, this die can be used with various materials including felt, leather, fabric and card. Ideal for adorning all sorts of projects.  The leaves were made using a flower from the retired Fun Flowers Bigz Die.  The label was created using the Note Tag and Washi Label punches, the butterfly using the two-step stamp set Garden In Bloom and the greeting from Watercolor Wings.  The colours used were Marina Mist and Soft Sky.  As I had a large amount of retired Stampin up ribbon, I let my ladies chose their own to suit their creations.
The two cards were made using more of the free Sale-a-Bration products.

The first one used the Botanical Gardens Designer Vellum Stack along with the 2014-2016 in-colors.  I cut three different strips and then coloured them using Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey and Lost Lagoon inks, glued these onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock and then layered this onto a piece of Blackberry Bliss cardstock and onto Sahara Sand main card.  The butterflies were punched out using the Elegant Butterfly Punch in Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss and Hello Honey cardstock and the small butterfly using the Itty Bitty Butterfly and another piece of the Botanical Gardens Designer Vellum Stack.  The greeting was stamped using the Crazy About You stamp set in Early Espresson ink.
The second card used the Botanicals For You Sale-a-Bration stamp set. I love all the little flowers and leaves that come with this set which can be used to create a lovely border as shown in this card. The colours used were Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay and Old Olive.  The cardstock colours used were Whisper White, Bermuda Bay and Daffodil Delight.  The greeting was taken from Endless Birthday Wishes, stamped onto vellum and then heat embossed using clear embossing powder.  The litle flowers were punch out using the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack and pinned in place with a mini silver brad.

Sunday 7 February 2016

Januarys Classes

Oh dear, where has the time gone! Yet again I am late in posting our projects for January, and I will be posting Februarys soon too - I think I shall prepare them today and hopefully remember to post them after my nexct class which is tomorrow.  I have changed my Selsley Monday classes to now occur on the 2nd Monday of the month to avoid bank holidays. See my classes page for full details of when my classes will be.
So, back to January's class - due to it being Sale-a-bration, we used one of the many products that you can get for free when you spend £45 or more from either or both of the annual catalogue and Spring/Summer catalogues.
This set is called Sky Is The Limit and is a great card for a male and also has a lovely 'Happy Birthday' and 'Congratulations' stamps.  Unfortunatley though this stamp set is only available for a limited time, until 15th February so if you wold like to own a set, please contact me ASAP with an order of £45 to be able to earn it! The colours were used were Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Cherry Cobbler.  The backing paper was taken from the Neutrals Colour collection DSP pack.

The second card was made using a new set from the Spring/Summer catalogue - Bloomin' Love along with strips of paper taken from the matching Love Blossoms DSP Stack.  The main colours used were Rose Red, Basic Black and Whisper White which also coordinate with the paper.  Although I demonstrated a Valentine card, my class members used different greetings from different stamp sets to turn it into an Anniversary card, Birthday card and Wedding card so this stamp set design is very versatile!
And finally the 3D project was a mini cracker, just about the right size to contain a Ferroer Rocher chocolate.  It was made using the Simply Scored Scoring Tool to create the folds and the Envelope Punch Board to create the 'neck' of the cracker.  The paper was again taken from the Love Blossoms DSP Stack and the other colours used were Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo and Whisper White. I gave the class a choice of which paper to use from the Love Blossoms DSP Stack and then a choice of either Pink Pirouette or Whisper White Seam Binding ribbon to tie the cracker.

Tuesday 5 January 2016

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to you all!  I hope you managed to have a lovely Christmas and find some time for some crafting?  Perhaps you even had some crafting goodies for your presents? If so, please share your ideas by emailing me on trulymadlystampin@hotmail.co.uk and perhaps bring them along to my classes in Frampton on Severn on Thursday 14th January or in Selsley on Monday 25th January.

So with a new year, so we also get a new seasonal catalogue, the Spring/Summer packed with lots of lovely sets to celebrate those special occasions with banners, balloons and more.  Just click on the icon on the side of this page to go to the catalogue. 

And if that isn't enough to whet your appetite for crafting, don't forget that its Sale-a-bration time where for every £45 you spend from either the annual or seasonal catalogues, you can chose any of the stamp sets, accessories or paper sets in the Sale-a-bration catalogue for FREE!!  This offer runs out on 31st of March so you have plently of time to decide what to get. Just email me with any questions or orders.

A date for your diaries, I will be holding a Spring card making day on Sunday 20th March at Frampton on Severn Village Hall. Watch this space for more information or email me.