Elaine's Creative Musings

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:27:00 +0000

A big thank you to Elizabeth Shannon, my fellow team mate who was one of four presenters at Amanda's last quarterly meeting and she demonstrated a heart pouch which you can see here. As I was presenting also, I missed her demonstration, just as I'd missed everyone-else's too, so she kindly gave me one she'd demoed with for inspiration.

I've been trying to make one eversince, but simply haven't had time to make one and when I did start, I was so frustrated because I couldn't find the time to finish it!

Well here is my version, at long last just in time for Valentine's Day! Materials used - Basic Black, lined with Everyday Enchantment papers, FREE from the current Sale-a-bration with a £45 spend, hearts punched out from Real Red Glimmer paper, two strips of 1" x 12" strips of Basic Black cardstock scored at 1/2" intervals to make the lolly, a button secured with linen thread, lush white velvet ribbon (new in the spring mini) and white embossed sentiment from Sprinkled Expressions (also FREE for every £45 spend), and lastly, some heart shaped chocs in a cello bag! Yummm.......

Here's the card I made for my beloved. The glimmer paper is so precious, I couldn't just let it go to waste. I used it as a decorative panel in this card, having pre-stamped underneath with French Foliage words and the splatter pattern before adhering the glimmer paper. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

For the inside of the card, more punched out glimmer paper hearts and a stamp set from my personal collection. It's understated enough to look masculine - I added the dotted scallop ribbon at the last minute because it looked "undressed" if you know what I mean.

Hope you like it - Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S. scroll down to see the next post!

Old Meets New! I {Heart} Hearts, You are Loved, Creative Elements

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:19:00 +0000

Heavens to murgatroid not another post and on the same day! lol - I had a request from one of my regular customers to do more by way of fancy folds, so I've been indulging myself today and had a play just for the sake of playing! As it is Valentine's Day today, I dug out some old stamps and gave them an airing and here is the result!

I stamped and punched loads of little hearts with the heart to heart punch. I punched out glimmer paper ones too. The larger hearts were stamped and handcut in pairs so I could sandwich them between the cascade folds for a neater finish. The finished size of the card is 5" x 3 3/4", smaller than the norm, but the largest heart at the back from the new "You are Loved" stamp set in the Spring Mini overhangs quite a bit. It will still fit into our Stampin' Up! envelops easily.

At the back of the cascading mechanism, I've attached a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock measuring 7 1/2" x 5" folded in half as the card base. I cut a piece of Riding Hood Red 4 3/4" x 3 1/2" to add a bit of stiffness to the card and white embossed a sentiment on it.

I clear embossed the front panels only of the cascading mechanism, and the rest of the cardstock was just stamped in Riding Hood Red with the large swirly motif from Creative Elements. To complete the card, I used the Beautiful Wings embosslits dies and adhered them with glue dots on the front panels and added faux pearls.

Must go and do some work now. Got a monthly meeting to prep for tomorrow. I only just found out that it is half term in our part of England - so have a great week everyone - wish I had that luxury!

You Are Loved, Simply Adorned

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:10:00 +0000

This is a hybrid box I created from other boxes I have made recently for my Mini Event a while ago. It has been elongated to incorporate several compartments to hold a pendant as well as accessories for the Simply Adorned range for my Simply Adorned class. The Simply Adorned range is being discontinued in the USA, but it is in our Spring Mini now. There is no way of predicting whether or not this range will be carried through to our next new catalogue or not. It is at the very least still available through to April 30th when our current spring mini expires, so if this is on your wish list, get it before our Spring Mini ends!

This is what it looks like inside. I will be teaching this class again at some later date in my calendar - back by popular demand as some people couldn't make the date yesterday.

Create a Cupcake, Striped Embossing Folder, Cupcake Builder Punch

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:10:00 +0000

This is a pop-up card using the new Create a Cupcake stamp set in the Spring Mini (page 22) which also has a cup-cake builder punch which co-ordinates with it. I've also used the 2011-13 new In Colors, Pool Party and Calypso Coral which co-ordinates so well with the Everyday Enchantment DSP - free with every £45 purchase for a limited period. Offer ends on 31 March 2012.

When you pull the front of the card toward you where the punched crescent shape is, it pops up to reveal this. This was one of the many items I made for the Inspiration Station I did featuring Elementary Elegance at our Quarterly Meeting.

A Day to Remember

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:43:00 +0000

A proud moment today as I was invited to witness Hubby's presentation of his ICE Fellowship Certificate, the most senior membership grade bestowed by the Institution of Civil Engineers. I have never been on this hallowed turf for the profession before and I was awestruck by its history and architecture. The photos are taken with my phone, so I apologise for the picture quality.

Looking at the Board of Presidents from the past right up to today starting with the illustrious and famous Thomas Telford in 1820! Another name of recognition - can you spot it?

What with the snow overnight, we caught the early train up to London and consequently arrived early with time to kill so we made a reckie to get our bearings pre-registration.

The certificate recipients were to be seated separately from their guests in the Thomas Telford Theatre and we found where his seat was.

The presentation took place in the Great Hall......

which was still being prepared for the Ceremony at the time I took this picture.

The ceiling was amazing - so were the chandeliers, but these pictures don't do it any justice at all.

Then we snuck into the library................

After registration, we were served a standing light Buffet Breakfast in the Brunel and Smeaton Rooms on the ground floor.

His moment of glory - shaking hands with the President and receiving his Fellowship Certificate.

A photo op with the President of the ICE (middle) and BamNuttall's Professional Development Manager on the right.

A group photo with some of the other recipients from his firm.

....followed by a very pleasant lunch to mark the occasion to finish the day. Yes, definitely a day to remember!

Sprinkled Expressions, Fresh Vintage

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:10:00 +0000

Happy Sunday everyone! I had a brilliant workshop last Friday, meeting with a group of lovely ladies (most of them are my regulars - so I felt quite at home) and my Hostess earned a shopping spree of H£65 plus two full priced items at 50% discount! If you haven't hosted a workshop before, Sale-a-bration is the ideal time to do so because with every £45 spend, you get a FREE stamp set or a pack of 12" x 12" Designer Papers exclusively designed for Sale-a-bration. If you would like to book a workshop between now and before 31 March, when the promotion ends, email me elaine.harding@googlemail.com .

Okay, on to one of the cards I demonstrated.

I got the inspiration for this card from the boxes Stampin' Up! sends their goodies in. There's usually a smaller box of goodies packed inside the big carton which comes with each order, and they always seal the box by tucking each flap into one another, so I thought why not make a "faux box" and duplicate it. Here is the one I demonstrated, featuring the Bigz Clear Square Scallop die and Stripes embossing folder.

For the Make & Take, this is the one we made, designed by my upline, Amanda Fowler who shared it with us during our last Quarterly Meeting. So you can see how the design process evolved from Amanda's card, I stuck to the same materials, but just changed it a little by adding more layers.

The beauty of the Bigz Clear die is that the housing for the die is clear, and there is a finger hole in the centre so you can pop out your cardstock or designer paper easily. It also means that you can position it over a photo you want to crop, or a pattern in your designer paper which you want to feature.

By folding your paper in half and placing it just shy of the scallop cutting edge, you can create a card using Designer Papers. The Designer Paper on its own is a little flimsy, so I strengthened it by adding a matted layer, a stamping layer and topped it off with a butterfly die cut from the Bigz Beautiful Butterflies (code no. 11450) die on page 123 of the main catalogue.

This is the inside of the card. I've used another Sale-a-bration stamp set called Fresh Vintage. I didn't take a photo of the one I gave my Hostess. As I'd prepared it earlier, it was much better version of the one I demonstrated.

Here's another way you can use the square scallop die. The plain layer was cut from the die, but the smaller scalloped Designer Paper layer had a punched border all round. By pinching the opposite corners together and securing it with ribbon, you can use it to pop some candy in it. The tag is from Elementary Elegance, another Sale-a-bration set.

That's not all! You can see this teeny weeny box I made with it for little mini cards here in my previous post.

Finally on to something not craft related - last Wednesday hubby took me to see Matthew Bourne's "Nutcracker" which is celebrating its 20th anniversary - I was bowled over by Bourne's imagination as a choreographer and his ballet still looks fresh 20 years on. He's taken dance to a different level!

These are the marshmallow girls from Sweetieland! Say no more?*! I won't spoil it for you in case you ever go to one of his shows. Well that's all from me folks.

Enjoy your Sunday! Hugs, and thanks for stopping by.

You're a Gem

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:10:00 +0000

I centred these itty bitty cards measuring 2 1/2" square around the "You're a Gem" stamp set on page 8 of the 2012 Spring Mini. It is on the same page as the Trinket Crowns and Trinket keys which appear directly below. The word set can be so easily missed, because one's eyes are drawn immediately to the embellies and you forget to look at the stamp set above as it is a word set with no images.

These little cards also feature the 12" x 12" Everyday Enchantment Designer Papers which can be yours free with a £45 shopping spree in any of our current catalogues i.e., the main catalogue as well as the new Spring Mini.

I used a variety of punches, leftover scraps of DSP to create these. They were so much fun in miniature and were really quick and easy to do - I even made a little box to contain the cards from Bigz clear scallop square die.

Pocketful of Posies DSP, My Friend, Elementary Elegance SAB 2012, Exploding Purse

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:10:00 +0000

I just realised that the last few posts have been very blue! You can tell I'm drawn to those blues as Pool Party is my current favourite! So my blog's been a bit Island Indigo and Pool Party heavy, so I think it's time for a change.

This is one of the exploding purses I made featuring the Elementary Elegance stamp set for the Inspiration Station at our Quarterly Meeting last Saturday. I also used the Pocketful of Posies Designer Series Paper in the Spring mini which coordinates with "My Friend" stamp set. When you open it out and lay it flat, you can drop in your photos and do a spot of journaling on some of the triangular pieces.

Did you know that coloured Stampin' Emboss Powders are now available in the main catalogue on page 111? There are five colours available, Cherry Cobbler, Tempting Turquoise, Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi and Melon Mambo, 14g in each pot @ £3.75 per pot. I used this alot in my various projects to feature it, as it is so often missed in the accessories section.

The flower detail is cut from Blossom Party originals die, another new die in the Spring Mini catalogue on page 15 and don't you just love those Designer Printed In Color polka dot brads?

Spring Mini and Sale-a-bration Event

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:40:00 +0000

This photo might appear a little fuzzy as I've cropped it. I held my Spring Mini Event yesterday centred around Sale-a-bration with an Open House and it was a blast. They loved the samples and were excited to touch and feel the new products from the Spring Mini for real!

It features the items made with Elementary Elegance Sale-a-bration stamp sets in the main, and stamp sets from the mini and some 3D items.

A HUGE Thank You to the lovely Val who made 3 trays of cupcakes, I would've taken a picture, but it all disappeared before I got round to it, some landed in my tummy! Not good for my waistline, but it was scrummy even though I'm going to rue the day for being so greedy!

Elementary Elegance, You're a Gem, Borderlines

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:39:00 +0000

At our team quarterly meeting last Saturday, my brief was to showcase this set. I have to admit I had a mental block about this one, because it only comprised the frame and the accompanying images are really small. I will share the projects I did once my event is over on Sunday.

The upshot is that these same images are small enough to use for the inserts to Stampin' Up!'s new Simply Adorned range pendants! The inserts are 1" x 1 1/4", and you can see the bird in the top left corner so it will give you an idea how tiny it is.

Funny story about this card, I made this as a special "thank you" for a special person in my life, but when I finished it, I liked it so much I couldn't bear to part with it! I embossed the frame in Silver and against the Pool Party it looks stunning in real life. The centre has been cut out on the front panel.

Inside, I positioned the punched out curly label in the "window" and raised it on dimensionals. As I'd used the sentiment "you're a Gem" from the You're a Gem stamp set in the spring mini, I applied a string of rhinestones all round the edge to frame it.

The silver embossed image at the bottom is from Borderlines, and I sponged a faux torn edge effect over it for some colour. To finish, I used the embosslits Beautiful Butterflies and adhered randomly on the front of the card as well as on the curly label.

SALE-A-BRATION BEGINS TODAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:10:00 +0000

Why have I been so quiet? Well I've been busy preparing for our team's Inspiration Station which took place on Saturday last and also my Spring Mini Event which takes place this Sunday 29th January. It just so happens that it has been scheduled alongside the Sale-a-bration period which kicks off today!

Sale-a-bration has come a little later this year, but you will have the chance to take advantage of it right up to Saturday March 31st. Look at these exclusive limited edition of products which could be yours!

So what is Sale-a-bration? It is Stampin' Up!'s biggest promotion of the year! Those of you who are SU addicts will know that for every £45 spend, you get a FREE stamp set! There is a selection of five items in the brochure - four stamp sets to choose from or a pack of 12" x 12" designer papers. If you spend £90 you get to choose another stamp set (or paper) absolutely FREE - if you've had a windfall and have £135 to spend, you'll get to choose yet another stamp set and so on - there is no limit!

This is the best time EVER to host a party! If you host a party with net sales of £300 or more, you will not only receive a stamp set with your qualifying order of £45 or more, you will also get to select another stamp set from the SAB brochure and that's not all - you'll earn Hostess£50 on top of that as well as a full priced item of your choice in the current catalogues at 50% discount! I think it's fantastic how Stampin' Up! rewards its customers and hostesses for buying their products. So if you haven't already booked a party with me, email me and we'll set a date!

New for this year, Stampin' Up! has included a pack of 12" x 12" Designer papers called Everyday Enchantment - and the papers are really enchanting! Here is a sneak peek at one of the projects for my display at my forthcoming event using this paper. The papers cannot be purchased and is only available as a freebie with a £45 purchase. Don't you just love it? Can you work out what is the other new product I've used on my project? Leave me a message to see if you've guessed right!

By the way, during the Sale-a-bration period, if you purchase the Starter Kit, you will receive an additional stamp set at any price from Stampin' Up!'s current catalogues, (which includes the mini) bringing the total worth of the products you receive up to £300 and you only pay £119! Want to know more? Email me and leave your contact details and I will get in touch to explain!

Need for Speed, For my Family

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:40:00 +0000

This is the card I made my son who will be celebrating his birthday later this week - hard to believe he is approaching his mid-thirties! Makes me feel old! The cardstock and inks I used were Whisper White, Marina Mist, Early Espresso. I always forget that we now have square envelops in our catty, so this card has been cut at 10" x 5" to accommodate them. I've used some SU stamp sets in my personal collection too which aren't available in our current catty for the background and for the sentiment.

In keeping with my grunge look - I've torn the centre pieces, dry embossed with the Square Lattice embossing folder for texture, then matted onto a square of Early Espresso.

I used the spritzer tool with an Early Espresso maker pen to create the spatter patterns on the front and inside panel and steered clear of ribbon to give it a more rugged feel.

It's unlikely he'll log onto my blog, so I think I can safely say that this is his card which will be winging its way to him soon.

Patterned Pets, Pocket Silhouettes, Petite Pairs

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:21:00 +0000

Hidden message card re-visited. As a fledgling demonstrator, I taught this to my Technique Club ladies many years ago and have resurrected it for my SWE Card club ladies this month. We did a fossil stone background on glossy cardstock and the effect lent itself to an aquatic theme. So I paired it with the fish from the Patterned Pets stamp set in the main catalogue, Page 44 available both in clear mount (124395 @ £11.95) and wood mount (124393 @ £14.95) and of course an old favourite - Pocket Silhouettes. The sentiment is from Petite Pairs also new for 2011-2012 which can be found on Page 88. We used Crystal Effects to make some bubbles and sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds over it while it was still wet to make the bubbles pop. Click on the picture to enlarge it for a closer look.

This is the card when opened. The message starts with "so many smiles..........."

To reveal the hidden message, you simply squash the sides together as illustrated above, grab the centre panels and pull apart again to reveal......

the hidden message..."begin with you". Don't you just love that cat silhouette at the top looking down at the fish longingly! I love that the stamp set also includes a paw print, which I've stamped across the panels too!

Then holding the outer panels, if you pull again, it goes back to the beginning. This card employed other techniques too, which was a bit of masking.

Hope you like it. Thanks for looking!

My Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:10:00 +0000

I know I've been absent from blogging for quite some time and the dust hasn't quite settled yet. As soon as it does, I promise to be back on track and try and keep the blog updated more regularly when time permits. In the meantime, here's something to whet your apetite.

My apologies for the shadow in the photo, I took this photo in a hurry and didn't set up my light box hence the shadow of my head in the bottom!

I made this for my friend whose birthday it was yesterday and used the "My Friend" stamp set, Page 19 in the new Spring Mini available both in wood mount and clear mount and the sentiment is from the Delightful Dozen, Page 85 of the main Idea Book & Catalogue. I used Island Indigo and Pool Party to co-ordinate with the gift wrap paper I wrapped her present in - it was just the right shade! I used a two-way glue pen on the hanging dew drops and sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds on it to give it that extra bling! What girl can resist bling!

This is the top of the inside of the card. As I'd already written a message on the bottom half, I've cropped the photo. I used tone on tone, so stamped with Island Indigo ink onto Island Indigo cardstock. The butterflies are cut from one of the Embosslits Dies called Beautiful Butterflies. These dies emboss and cut at the same time.

I just love that ruffle ribbon on the front of the card and how it coordinates so beautifully with the cardstock.

My friend loved it! I hope you do too.

Happy Sunday!

NEW CLASS LIST PUBLISHED

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:12:00 +0000

Hi everyone! I have just posted a new class list. Click on Classes on the navigation bar at the top of my blog. New for 2012, I am running a variety of classes on the same day so that you can pick and choose whichever one takes your fancy. You can just do the one class or more, it's just a way of managing time more efficiently - it saves you time, so no complaints from spouses how little they see you, petrol costs, but more importantly, you're doing something you love just for you! If you're doing more than one class then don't forget to bring a packed lunch! Spaces are limited, so reserve yours now.

NEW 2012 SPRING MINI IS HERE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:10:00 +0000

Surprise, surprise! The Spring mini is here and you will be able to view its delights online!   If you're as excited as I am about all the new goodies, it just wouldn't be fair to make you wait until the end of January when I hold my event for you to view it for the first time! Click here for the pdf version or on the picture of the Mini in the sidebar to view it online in flash format. For my regular customers this gives you plenty of time to make those wish lists!

Those of you who have been customers in the last 12 months and who are club attendees or who have booked workshops with me will receive their very own personal copy.

I have an open house scheduled for Sunday 29 January and invitations will be winging its way to you soon so keep the date free!   You'll be able to pick up your own personal copy of the mini at my event and see the products in real life and also get to "try" before you buy on some selected products used in the Make & Take sessions. Best of all, you'll be able to get close up and personal with the samples I've made. I'm loving the jewellery range - Simply Adorned which you can customise to your outfit for the day!

If you can't wait that long, email me if you wish to make a purchase, contact me if you'd like to host your very own workshop or if you'd like to take part in a product share.  I need a minimum of 4 people to do a product share with the Simply Adorned range - more details will follow if I have sufficient people interested.

IT'S 2012 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:01:00 +0000

Happy New Year Everyone! I can't believe that we have bid farewell to 2011 already as it seems to have passed us by in the twinkling of an eye.

Together with my good wishes for you this New Year's Day, I bring you a sneak peek of this new stamp set which I've adapted to fit a New Year greeting. I'm not allowed to reveal any details yet, but you won't have long to wait. The colours I've used are Island Indigo and Pool Party stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock.

Here is the inside of the card. I cut a strip of the coordinating Designer Papers with this stamp set in the top right panel. I used the Number It stamp set to "spell" out 2012. In the top left corner of the numbers 1 and 2, there is a small notation "No" which I blocked out by adhering a little Itty Bitty flower over it and used rhinestones for the flower centres.

Thank you to my followers, friends, customers and anyone else who visits my blog - I find it quite humbling that anyone would even take the time to stop by! - so this card was made especially for you to wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012. May all your hopes and dreams be fulfilled and I hope you will continue to pop back and visit me as often as you can!

Happy New Year and Happy Stamping!

Merry Christmas !!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:01:00 +0000

Oh my goodness, I have been such a bad blogger recently - it's always busy this time of year, but a touch of the guilts has made me sit down to create something especially for the blog for christmas day just so I could wish you all a very Merry Christmas & a joyous and Happy New Year!

The snowman card was quick and easy to do - two strips of Whisper White card stock the width of the card were torn and the edges had a two-way glue pen run over the rough edges so that I could sprinkle Dazzling Diamonds over it for a snowy effect and layered on top of a Pool Party card base. The rest was just a series of circles punched out in Whisper White for the snowman's head and body, and even tinier circles for the top hat in Basic Gray sponged with Basic Black.

I also made a hanging ornament with the ornament punch with some retired DSP - loving the new Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon which co-ordinates with it beautifully.

Seasons Greetings to one and all - I hope you'll all enjoy Christmas day with your loved ones wherever you are.

Thanks for stopping by. Pop back in the New Year - I have some exciting projects to show you and some new stuff which I know you'll fall in love with. I hope Santa will bring you everything you wish for!

Lots of love xxxx Ho! Ho! Ho!

End of Term!

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:35:00 +0000

At last I can share this month's projects with you as all my classes have finished and we've "broken up" and I can turn my attention to getting ready for christmas - presents to buy and cards to finish! The crimper is such an under utilised tool and my mission this month was to demonstrate its use. We've crimped a diamond shape here. Cardstock used is Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade and Very Vanilla. I used this technique way back in November 2009 which you can see here using the Autumn Days stamp set.

The stamp set we used was Pines & Pointsettias , new for this year and becoming a firm favourite! The advantage of this set is that a sentiment is included simply said "christmas" on a banner. Check it out - you can find it on page 23 in the main idea book & catalogue. Email me if you wish to make a purchase.

Countdown to Christmas #3

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:10:00 +0000

This was the final class in my Countdown to Christmas series. The ladies made a christmas curled paper wreath with Stampin' Up!'s Holly Berry specialty papers. The ladies worked like Trojans and managed to finish the wreath in time with minutes to spare, so they made the christmas bauble too. The baubles are dead easy to make - great to keep your kids occupied making them and took no time at all.

Here's how. The bauble uses the larger scallop circle die cut from the Perfect Pennants Bigz die which is sandwiched between two 2 1/2" circle bases. So to assemble one bauble you will need the following:

1 x larger scallop Perfect Pennants Bigz die

2 x 2 1/2" circles coordinating plain cardstock circles

8 x 2 1/2" circles in double sided DSP folded in quarters

2 x 2 1/2" sticky sheet circles

9" of ribbon - it depends on how long you want your loop

double sided tape and/or wet adhesive.

The sticky sheets are on page 122 in the main catalogue. I used one of the 2 1/2" circles to trace 2 1/2" circles on the back of the sticky sheets and cut it out with scissors rather than using a punch or die. (The sticky gets your punches/dies sticky too, and these are much more difficult to clean than a pair of scissors. Sticky sheets works the same as Stampin' Up!'s sticky strip. The Sticky Sheets allows you to customise its use to your project.)

To assemble you need to do it in two halves. For first half, remove all of the red protective layer on your sticky sheet circle, and adhere it to the 2 1/2" plain cardstock circle. You will be left with a white layer, underneath which it is also sticky. Peel the second protective white layer back half way, adhere two of your folded DSP quarters. Remove the rest of the white protective layer, adhere the next two folded DSP quarters. (You need 4 folded DSP quarters to make up each half.) Once you've adhered the four folded quarters, flip it over and apply wet adhesive or double sided tape and glue it to the scallop circle. Please note that before adhering to scallop circle, attach one end of ribbon to scallop circle. Take care that the ribbon placement is directly in line with centre line of your folded quarters otherwise it won't hang right when suspended. Repeat for other side, loop the ribbon and attach to other side of scallop circle before adhering second half of ornament and you're done! Just fluff up the papers and voila!

You can step it up too - add dazzling diamonds round scallop edge, or glass glitter with crystal effects. Step it up even further by adding rhinestones or pearls.

Tip: If you find you've stuck your quarters on the wrong way round and it's facing the wrong way, just refold them to face the right way - easily done as only one quarter of the circle is stuck down.

New Dates Added for Stamp with Elaine Card Club

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:10:00 +0000

I have added new dates for my card club which meets on the 3rd Tuesday evening of each month. When I started the club, registration and a club contract was renewable every 6 months as I was testing the water so to speak. In the collage above, these are some of the projects we did this year. Each month we learn a new technique which you practice and file on a 6 x 6 reference guide with detailed notes stored in a 6x6 page protector which you get to keep. You make a card incorporating the technique and also do a 3D project.

If you wish to join, this has been changed to an annual membership to reduce administration costs and time. You can join at any time, and your annual membership will commence a year from the date you join. There is no joining fee. Club nights are fun and friendly. You can find out more information here or click on "Monthly Clubs" in the navigation bar at the top of my blog. Spaces are limited. I currently have vacancies for two more people so if you would like to join me and live within striking distance of Fleet, Hampshire, email me for more details - elaine.harding@googlemail.com

Advent Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:10:00 +0000

December already! I haven't been in my craft room all week, but managed to make this just in time for December 1st. This set is from my personal collection which I had on my birthday wish list, so imagine how pleased I was to receive it! I've been itching to make something with it. I used the petal card double punch to make all the "box" fronts and for the handles I used the mini brads (page 109 - 122941) such good value as there are 200 pieces in a box @ £2.95! The image on day 19 are all bells, so I found a mini bell and tied it with linen thread over one of the bell images. Love it!

I used a partial embossing technique for the Advent Calendar topper. The topper was cut longer than I needed it so I partially dry embossed then folded in half to give it added strength. To decorate, I punched 6 pennants in Old Olive with the Petite Pennants Builder punch, folded them in half, added texture with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and made a 3D tree to decorate the top.

To achieve more than one colour on some of the stamped images, I used a variety of marker pens in More Mustard, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Bashful Blue, Basic Gray and Tempting Turquoise.

All I have to do next is fill it with sweets!

Countdown to Christmas #2 Class

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:10:00 +0000

No, you haven't come to the wrong blog! I've changed my blog background to get into the spirit of Christmas - so it's still l'il ole me! I'm feeling a little sorry for myself as Mum flew back to Australia via Singapore late Sunday just past, so I needed something festive to cheer me up! Two posts today, so scroll down when you've finished reading this one.

These were the tags I designed for the second of the Countdown to Christmas series of classes. I used the Delightful Decorations set, Welcome Christmas, Beautiful Season (new), and Pines and Pointsettias (new) and Serene Snowflakes stamp sets for variety. The tags were cut from the ornament punch, and two tags bigz die.

Here are the details of the inside of the larger tags. We also made a folder to put the tags in, but unfortunately I haven't got a photo of it.

I also taught them how to make these embellishments to put on christmas gifts. It's a great way of using up scraps of Designer Papers. The papers used here are from the Holly Berry specialty papers.

Everything Eleanor, Petite Pairs

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:05:00 +0000

This is one of my favourite stamp sets - Everything Eleanor. I taught the embossed crayon technique for my monthly clubs this month. The above was the one that the Technique club ladies made.

....and this is the one that the card club ladies made. Can you spot the difference? The first one was a standard card size 5 3/4" x 4" and they'd stamped the flourish on first before dry embossing. The second is slightly different in size and construction and has no flourish.

When you open it there is a little pop-up bit as you pull the card in opposite directions. This type of card is called a "wiper card".

SUNDAY - DAY 4 IN PARIS POST CONVENTION 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Elaine Harding) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:10:00 +0000

Us die hards who wanted to make the most of our last day - our flight was 2120 at night, so we bought an all day ticket for the larger Disneyland park. Poor Elizabeth had caught a cold, and feeling a little delicate. We had an early breakfast, bid farewell to Hayley who had an early train to catch, and took advantage of entering the park a good two hours before it opened to the general public (one of the perks of staying in the Disney hotels).

Our first glimpse of the iconic fairy castle! We'd been well and truly sprinkled with Disney's magic pixie dust!

Michelle was in her element having got her wish to go on the teacup rides! Only one brave enough to go on it straight after breakfast!

We opted for the gentler Dumbo ride!

Adventureland....pirates!

It's a Small World - an even more gentle boat ride! El lost her bottle of water and we played spot the bottle in the Small World lake!

Our two intrepid Fast Track pros and experienced Disney fanatics!

I'm afraid I plain forgot to take pictures in the end until we stopped for lunch and were treated to a "concert" from Mickey and the Genie of the Lamp. We'd stopped for lunch and from where we sat, we could see the stage, so I took these with the telephoto lens.

We left the park at 4.00 pm to walk back to the hotel, collect our bags and catch the coach to Orly Ouest for our homeward bound journey. Visiting the park was my guilty pleasure - and I'm hopeful that now I've had a taster, hubby will join me for another visit next year.

Next year's Convention is in Mainz, Germany - anyone care to join me? Ask me how! Email me at elaine.harding@googlemail.com