embellishmentless card

every now and then it's fun to set yourself some challenges when crafting. A few weeks ago on www.just-add-ink.blogspot.com they had a challenge to produce a project that only is made from paper or card - NO EMBELLISHMENTS AT ALL. So since I didn't get a chance to enter that particular challenge I decided I would make a card using that idea.

SO here is my card - I used the lovely DSP called 'Love Letter' which is only Riding Hood Red, Basic Black and Very Vanilla. I just cut strips of the DSP and layered them on some Basic Black which I embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Big Shot embossing folder. The mannequin is from the lovely new set - Sew Sweet and the sentiment is from Perfect Punches. I only wanted the words not the oval frame so I used my Stampin' Up! marker pens and just inked up the words.

This will be sent to one of my customers 21st birthday next week - Happy Birthday Stef!

New Zealand Woman's Weekly

I am SOOOOO pleased to announce that I have two cards featuring in the New Zealand Woman's Weekly dated 25 April but on sale now! So go and grab yourself a copy and flick to page 49 you will see my two Easter cards. I am so excited about it as it's the first time I have been published - pity it doesn't actually have my name in the magazine but - trust me - they are mine! lol

Have a great Monday!!

a fat free cup cake!

just to have a break from the altering of dies I have been showing you over the last few days I have a FAT FREE cupcake to show you. I made this on Monday night at the Crafter's Anonymous on-line class that Dee Sturgen took.

It is a box with a lid that opens with the ribbon ruffles on to stuck to the lid. It could hold chocolates (of cause!) or jewelery or anything small. The box is the same size as a normal cup cake.

I used Pretty in Pink card stock and satin ribbon, with Marina Mist ink and striped ribbon and finally a bit of Real Red ink for the cherries (from the new Cupcake stamp set). I used my crimper to do the detail on the case.

Will have some more alternations tomorrow - I will be show casing the Milk Carton die!

SEE YOU THEN

xx

pillow box easter egg stand tutorial

Isn't this just the sweetest way to present a YUMMY Easter egg??

Again it's made with the Stampin' Up! Pillow Box Big Shot die. I have taken photos of how to do it - but again I have used my faux die to make it easier to see the blades on the die.

Start off with a piece card - you don't need to waste card so cut it wide enough to just cover the blades on the left and only up to the lines on the right.

It should come out like this.

Now this is where you need to be careful. You can move the piece of card along the die to get a small box or one a bit longer BUT you must ensure that you keep the card straight on the die as you will be going over the die so ensure your lines all match up, not like how it is placed on the above picture! lol

Now to get the hole in the middle of the box rule lines from corner to corner as per pic.

Now using the 1" circle punch line up the cross inside the punch and punch out.

It should end up like this.

Now put it all together and it will look like this. you could use it for place names for a special Easter meal or just a cute way to present a yummy egg. And it goes SOOOOO well with the awesome new stamp set "EAT CHOCOLATE" which I used on the top picture! This set is from the new Autumn/Winter mini catalogue.

Happy crafting!!!

an extra long pillow box

On Saturday I attended the Stampin' Up! Regional Seminar in Hamilton (New Zealand) which was an awesome day! I was priviaged to be asked to do a presentation and this was one of the items that I showed how to do. It's done with one cut thru the Big Shot. The key is to fold a piece of card stock in half and place it on the die with the fold as close to the score lines on the die.

Start with a piece of card or DSP like I have used here measuring 19cm x 13.5cm and fold it in half like this. You just want to take the fold up to but never touching the score lines - do you like my faux die! hehe I thought it would be easier to see where the score lines are on it.

Once it's thru the Big Shot it will look like this.

Unfolded it looks like this

and then once you adhere the long edge it will end up like this. Although it's a bit hard to see you will of cause have a fold line in it about where my horrible finger is! lol

The best idea is to cover the fold with a ribbon, a belly band or whatever you like.

Tomorrow I will have another version of the pillow box die!

whoops we mucked up!!

yesterday we had an AWESOME day at Hamilton at the Stampin' Up! regionals. I will post photos and instruction of my projects I demonstrated this coming week but I wanted to apologise to anyone who were (rightfully) upset with the weird way the 'swaps' went down!!

All of the 'Creative Inkers' team who had made up a list within their team are DEEPLY sorry if our actions upset and annoyed anyone. I would of been annoyed if it was the other way around. It was a situation that no one had thought thru well enough and you can guarantee that NOBODY will ever repeat it!!

SO if you went the event I would LOVE to make some more swaps to send you. No return swap is expected, I just want to give some goodwill back and to do what Stampin' Up! really stands for - Inspire, Create and SHARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

email me directly julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz if you were one of the demos that were effected by this.

chocolate tilled acetate treat boxes

Tomorrow I am spending the day in Hamilton at a Stampin' Up! Regional Training Seminar. Last month I went to the Seminar in Auckland but I have some team members in Hamilton and Tauranga so have decided to go with them to it. Actually I am now doing a presentation there now too! lol

So for the ladies on my team (and my car mates for the trip down) I have made these long pillow boxes. They are made out of acetate and most of them are embossed with our Big Shot Embossing folders - I used EVERY embossing folder that we have and they all gave different results. You can stamp on acetate too with Stazon ink - Stampin' Up! sell black and white. With the white you can make coloured Stazon but that will be another post another time! lol

Back to the boxes - I filled these with pineapple lumps - so yummy!! I believe chocolate pineapple lumps are a very New Zealand lollie (candy) so if you aren't in New Zealand and have never tried them you don't know what you are missing!!!!!!! I tied some of the wide stripped ribbon around them with a bit of twine and added the stamped image. To get the stamped image I used a marker pen to ink up just the outline of the stamp from 'Eat Chocolate' as I didn't want the words that were inside the actual stamp. Once I stamped the out line then I inked up the 'so much CHOCOLATE so little time' stamp and placed it within the frame (using my Stampin'-ma-gig) and then punched it out with the new label punch. These items are all new in the Autumn/Winter mini catalogue so if you would like to have some these beautiful products email me julia.leece@slingshot.co.nz to find out how. If you host a workshop you might be able to get some for FREE!!