Christmas Craftstyle samples.

I've been a design team member for Craftstyle products for a while now and recently they sent me a selection of their Christmas products to make some samples and here they are.

Lets start with a simple easel card, this style has been in fashion for a while and I have to wonder how long it will stay popular. The card base I used had an embossed front with a snowflake pattern so I used some more embossed card to match it. A strip of tartan patterned backing card (I say card because it is a good thickness) is placed on the topper with matching piece on the base. The main topper which has a foil edge is placed on top of this and a set of banner strips are layered up on one side to create a backing for the sentiment. A stopper is also created with foam pads on the base section.

Next is a large gate-fold card the toppers used on this card have a religious theme depicting the first Christmas. I really like these toppers as its nice companies offer religious themed Christmas items as well as the traditional snow and Santa.  These are in neutral browns and creams which look abit like fabric with button details which when well with the cotton and button tie I made for the card.

The backing papers were from some paper pads craftstyle are doing the paper is thinner than they usually do but is still good and has a glossiness to it which gives a nice effect there are two pads one in the brown and cream colors and the other in reds and green. both compliment the range of toppers well.

Next is a side stepper card the base is created with holly embossed card, craftstyle do a great range of embossed card is so many different patterns. This is topped with another tartan patterned backing card which I was loving as when I was doing these I was close to going up to Scotland for a friends wedding. Post box toppers were added again with lovely foiling detail on the edge.

A side view showing the stepper element of the card which adds depth to the design.

This card showcases the patterned paper packs I mentioned earlier. A card base with foiled red dots on is used as a backing for this Christmas tree design which is created with overlapping strips of paper with a mixture of patterns on including snowflakes, stars and dots.

When creating my craftstyle samples I do try to push the boundaries beyond just standard shaped cards to do these products justice and show they are not just for card makers. Here is a lovely hanging Christmas decoration made with paper rosettes created with papers and backing card the top one is finished off with a button but the larger one is finished off with a star from the patterned paper which is punched out in a circle and at the bottom a round shaped card with green foil dots is topped with a cute west highland terrier topper and sentiment.

The last sample is a cute little pocket card which I found instructions for here. The main body of the pocket is created with a piece from the paper pad and a belly band of backing card with a decorative punched edge is added round and a sentiment attached to this.

The tag for the inside is created from the same backing card as the band and a topper is added to this I think the Santa with his finger to his lips really works for this style of card. a hole is punch through the top and a matching circle of the pocket paper and ribbon is added to finish this off.






I hope you like these samples and they show a range of styles and designs for Christmas hopefully these will be used when Craftstyle do a show on Create and craft to showcase these products.

Four seasons

The last set of cards I've made is done using the four seasons stamp set. On 5 x 7 inch cards in landscape I've layered up three lots of plain card and white which has been stamped in three colors. these cards took quite a lot of  card and time to do so this will be reflected in the price. I've made two for each season.

 So lets start with spring colors of pink, blue and turquoise and darker pink yellow and green are used here. The main topper is a colored circle and scalloped punched circle. the sentiment is stamped on to colored card and heat embossed in white as done in a previous set I like this look the ends are also finished off with the banner look, I do love it so.

Summer colors blue, peach and light green and purple pink and light green. again the main topper is shaped to be cut out with a scalloped circle. the sentiment and topper are put on foam pads to give it some depth.

Autumn I really like the colors I've used on this season pale peachy orange, warm brown and olive green for one and orange, purple and dark brown for the other the leaf shape stamp is such brill shape and really captures the season. The so grateful sentiment would be perfect for giving to an american friend or relative for thanksgiving.

 The winter ones have been done abit different with one color being heat embossed so we have two shades of blue and silver embossed and red, greed and gold embossed. I've also used the silver and gold to emboss the sentiment instead of the white.  The sentiments are Thoughts of you and Memories because sometimes you need a card at this season that doesn't say Merry Christmas or something similar.

So there we go all the cards sets made during my time out of the shop stay tuned for more Craftstyle products samples and felt Christmas decorations.

Feeling sentimental

Next set were made using the set feeling sentimental. the first three are larger size cards (5 x 7 inch) with a scrapbook feel overlapping layers of plain and patterned papers are added with accents. Most of the patterned papers have come out of stampin up dsp paper stacks these are brill little  4.5 x 6.5 inch books of patterned paper and are great for card making and easier to work with that 12 x12 inch sheets.

The first one features the ferris wheel stamp. bordered with blue card and placed on to some patterned paper and a plain colored card which has been run though an embossing folder to give it texture. the sentiment is placed on a couple of punched pieces a touch of ink has been added to the edges and raised up on foam pads.

The second on features the penny farthing stamp which is bordered with a light brown and placed on to two pieces of patterned paper and strip of red. the sentiment it stamped on to the card in one corner and two sparkles in an in-keeping color are added to the opposite corner.

The last of the larger size cards features the telephone box stamp. This is bordered in red. After adding a couple of sparkles to the last card this one goes abit further with a strip of glitter card in a warm rich gold is added down one side with strips of patterned paper tucked under and over lapped to make a backing for the sentiment. As you may be realizing I'm loving the banner look at the moment and have used it lots on cards I'm making. These ones were created by placing just the end of my paper in the shaped end of my banner blast punch.

Using this set I also made some cards in the A6 size. I've done two for each stamp starting with the phone box. I put a strip of patterned paper across the card and added stamps from the pretty petites set. these are really cute mini label shaped stamps with fun sentiments on. I thought one saying hello was cool since its a phone box and I like that it works well in non red too.

For the two ferris wheel ones it has the same layout as the phone box ones I like the colors on blue and red one and think the than-you banner on the green one really fits with the fairground look.

The penny farthing stamp comes out wider than the other two so I changed the strip of patterned paper to be a vertical one and stamps across the bottom. I found the newer style stampin up ink pads which I used for the brown card are juicer and the stamps need a slightly lighter touch to keep the defined detail to the stamp.






I like this set as they make nice cards which can be suitable for men which are sometimes abit more tricky to do and the colors used here are nice as we head in to the autumn and winter seasons.

Banner Blast

Next set is using the Banner Blast set and coordinating punch from this years Stampin up saleabration.
I've worked these cards in landscape. each one has a background of a colored card and then a white embossed card. the banners on foam pads are arranged in one corner with a banner sentiment in the opposite corner these were done using itty bitty banners and matching dies some are done with colored card and white heat embossing I like this effect and will use it again on another set.  Four of the cards are done using three colors which is lovely to do as stampin up inks compliment each other so well. The two baby ones are done in just two colors but have added sparkles.

Baby with star embossed card

Baby with flower embossed card 

Congratulations blue, orange and brown with zigzag embossed card 

Happy Birthday purple, blue and turquoise with dot embossed card  

For you green yellow and pink with diamond embossed card  

For you turquoise, pink and brown with dot embossed card 

I like this set and think I will be making more of this style in the future I wonder about making some Christmas ones like this as well.

Mini monochromatic cards

I've made a couple of this style cards in the past and thought they looked good I put a background of the chosen color on the card them stamp on it in a corresponding shade and add some cream accents often on foam pads to give it some depth. Many products used are from Stampin up

First a couple of purple ones using the aviary set with sentiments from loving thoughts and itty bitty banners. The little birds are so cute and Love the cages they work well paired with the birds or even on their own.

Some orange ones . On this set I've done a couple more with the aviary set and one with the leaf from lovely as a tree which has had the background color corners rounded with a punch. I've also created the Ivy with a tattered lace die for the owl cage to hang off.

  Pink set this one includes a couple of butterflies from the papillon potpourri set. when I've stuck these on I've just glued where the body is to let the wings be free.

Green set using more papillon potpourri, lovely as a tree and apothecary art. I think the loving thoughts set works well with these mini cards as it has lots of unusual sentiments like Create, Imagine, Memories and Inspire these are nice because people sent cards for all sorts of different reasons and sometimes these sentiments just fit what they want.

Last some blue ones, the little flourish on the bird cage one is from Merry little Christmas set showing how versatile stampin up sets can be.

 All together they do look like a good set and at just £1 each in the shop they are perfect for those little notes to friends or putting with a gift.

Deep breath and ready to craft.

As well as being a crafter I'm also a florist and have my own shop which I also sell my crafts (and Mums) in. In early August my shop got flooded so I had to be closed while the building was dried out and cleaned. I decided to use this time wisely and get some crafting done. I started with making cards. I've made them in sets based on style or particular stamp set. I found this worked well of me as I felt productive achieving a good number of cards made and think they will look good on display in the shop. Because of this I've split them in to several blog posts.
So just so this first post has some pictures here's three cards I made using a tilda card background pad I'd picked up at hobbycraft. I added some patterned luggage tags and die cut bunting pendants from my stash and stamped on them in a complimenting blue.

More posts to follow soon about the other cards I've been making.

Partney Summer Fair

On the 9th of August we attended Partney summer fair. This was a very pleasant fair with quite a few stalls, some vintage farm machinery, games, refreshments and dog show.
It was abit windy so we ended up tying the gazebo to the car but with this and a wind break we managed to not fly away.

I kept my stall looking abit like I did at the Langton fair with the gingham cloths and rustic crates and dried articles, as I think this works well.

New additions to this stall as well as the crochet bunting (which will have its own post soon) were felt owl decorations and Mums tatted bookmarks 

 We hope to attend this fair again next year as the organizers are keen to expand on the craft fair side of it.