Card Class in the Post

Have you ever wanted to go to a card class but can't find the right venue or right time for you? 

I might have just the thing for you.

Starting in August 2019, I will be offering a monthly card class in the post. The materials you receive in the post will be accompanied by video tutorials so that I can guide you through the process of creating your cards.

So how will this work?

You will be able to purchase the August kit from 1st July Through to 31st July. I will then purchase the required materials and post kits out to reach you by 14th August.

The basic cost of the Class in the Post will be £15 (including packaging and UK postage). The kit you receive will contain the consumable items that you need to create the 3 projects (mainly cards, but there will be occasional 3D items) that have been designed by me, and access to video tutorials for each of the cards via an emailed link.

There will be the option to purchase the stamps / dies / punches that I use along with your class, but as you may already own the items, you can just purchase the class and tutorials if that is all you need.

The tutorials and kits assume that you already own basic craft supplies such as scissors, glue, ink pads and blocks for your stamps. But you can also purchase those along with your kit too if necessary.

For anyone who attends my in-person classes, you will also be given access to the video tutorials as the projects will be what you have completed in class with me. And the tutorials will act as a useful resource for you.

I'm really excited to be able to offer you this opportunity, and look forward to popping your kits in the post to you. To sign up for the August class, please see below.

The August class uses the Tropical Chic stamp set and the Tropical dies.

If you wish to purchase the class, which includes  consumable materials and access to the video tutorials, the cost is £15

Add on option A
If you wish to purchase the class + stamp set, the cost is £28

Add on Option B
If you wish to purchase the class + stamp set + dies, the cost is £48

You also have the option to add on any other additional items from the current Stampin' Up! catalogues to your class order, for no additional postage costs.

To order your kit, simply  e mail me at-

karen_spreckley@hotmail.com

with the option you would like, and add on any additional products you would like.

Payment is to be made via PayPal or bank transfer. Please state your preferred method.

Ink Blending with Glycerin

Hi Everyone.

Apologies that I've been absent for so long, but I plan to give my blog a bit more love again. 

There has been a lot going on at Stampin with Karen Spreckley and I've been up to some new things like Facebook Live videos!

This was spurred on after I was asked to present at the UK Stampin' Up! Demo event called OnStage back in April. I was scared, but accepted the offer. It was just a few minutes of my life after all, I'm so glad I did. It boosted my confidence in ways I couldn't predict and has really helped in my personal battle with that naughty condition, anxiety.

So since then, I've done a few Facebook Live videos, have created a YouTube channel and as of August, I'll be offering a Class to Go in the post. More on that later.

So here is the first video I would like to share on my blog. It's a replay of a Facebook Live that I've done. It's been popular on there because it shows a really simple technique for getting super smooth, seamless ink blended backgrounds. I urge you to give it a go and I'd love to hear how you get on with it.

Blueberry Bushel En Route card

 

How to make this card –

 

·       Create an A6 card base in Blueberry Bushel cardstock

·       Cut a Blueberry Bushel mat to 13.9cm x 9.5cm, emboss with the Maps Etc. embossing folder then adhere that to the card base

·       Cut a piece of the Best Route Designer Series paper to 14.9cm x 10cm and adhere that centrally on the card

·       On a Whisper White mat that measures 6cm x 11.9cm, stamp the sentiment in Grey Granite ink centrally on the panel.  Then stamp some of the smaller images from the stamp set in Mango Melody and Blueberry Bushel inks

·       Adhere this to the center of the card with Stampin’ DImensionals

 

 

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

 

“If you can be anything, be kind”

 

Grey Granite En Route card

 

How to make this card –

 

·       Create an A6 card base in Grey Granite cardstock

·       Cut a Grey Granite mat to 13.9cm x 9.5cm, emboss with the Maps Etc. embossing folder then adhere that to the card base

·       Cut a piece of the Best Route Designer Series paper to 12.9cm x 6.5cm and adhere that centrally to the embossed card stock

·       Cut a coordinating piece of the Best Route Designer Series paper to 12.9cm x 1.5cm and adhere that a third of the way up the first piece of Designer Series Paper

·       Stamp ‘Adventure Awaits’ from the En Route stamp set in Blueberry Bushel ink on Grey Granite cardstock, and punch out with the classic label punch

·       Adhere this to the front of the card using Stampin’ Dimensionals and embellish with some Best Route enamel shapes

 

 

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

 

“If you can be anything, be kind”

 

Bonus Day Coupons!

Hello blog readers and welcome to August! I don’t know about you, but I think I must have slept for half of this year because it has zoomed by at the speed of light!

My card tutorial posts will continue as usual soon but I have some other lovely news to share with you today.

Stampin’ Up! Bonus Day coupons are back for the month of August. For every £45 you spend directly with me or in my online shop, Stampin’ Up! will give you a voucher that entitles you to £4.50 off any purchase made in September. Nice little deal don’t you think.

Perhaps you could purchase the limited time bundle Colour Your Season that is also being released today and will only be available while stocks last.

Or perhaps the new watercolour pencil colours that have also been released today?

 Click here to view Colour Your Season

For those of you that made the most of the amazing joining offer last month, maybe a few more ink pads to add to your collection?

As always, you can purchase anything at all that you like.

That's all for today.

"If you can be anything, be kind"

Mint Rooted in Nature

 

How to make this card –

 

·       Create an A6 card base in Mint Macaron cardstock

·       Cut a mat of designer series paper (I used some from Share what you love) that measures 12.9cm x 8.5cm and adhere that centrally to the card base

·       Cut a mat of Whisper White that measures 12.4cm x 8cm and stamp a row of the smaller skeleton leaves from the Rooted in Nature stamp set using Mint Macaron and Soft Seafoam inks

·       Using black Memento ink, stamp the sentiment directly over the leaves.

·       Adhere this panel centrally over the designer series paper.

·       On a scrap pf Whisper White card stock, stamp a large Skelton leaf in Tranquil Tide ink and either die cut or fussy cut that out

·       Adhere over the stamped row of leaves with Stampin Dimensionals

 

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

 

“If you can be anything, be kind”

Awesome Highland Heather Card

 

How to make this card –

 

·       Create an A6 card base in Highland Heather cardstock and heat emboss the street view stamp all over it with clear embossing powder

·       Cut a 2” strip of Granny Apple Green Designer Series paper (spots or stripes to choose from) and adhere to the card base

·       Stamp the big sentiment from the En Route stamp set in Granny Apple Green ink on Whisper White card stock and cut out using the largest oval from the Stitched Shape framelet dies

·       Adhere to the designer series paper with Stampin’ Dimensionals

·       Create a bow from some ribbon (I used the Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon) and adhere to the card front with a Mini Glue Dot

 

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

 

“If you can be anything, be kind”

Mango Melody En Route card

How to make this card –

·       Create an A6 card base in Mango melody cardstock

·       Cut a Mango Melody mat to 13.9cm x 9.5cm, emboss with the Sparkle embossing folder then adhere that to the card base

·       Cut a piece of the Best Route Designer Series paper to 9.5cm x 9.5cm and adhere that centrally to the embossed card stock

·       On a Whisper White mat that measures 8.5cm x 12.5cm, stamp the sign post over to the left hand side in Blueberry Bushel ink then adhere that over the designer series paper

·       On a scrap of Whisper White card stock, stamp 4 of the smaller images from the En Route stamp set in Blueberry Bushel and Grey Granite ink. Use a ¾” circle punch to punch these out and then use a 1” circle punch to cut out some matting circles from coordinating cardstock or designer series paper

·       Layer up the stamped circles with the card/paper circles using Stampin Dimensionals and adhere them to the white mat

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

“If you can be anything, be kind”

“Be Strong, Be Happy, Be You”

How to make this card –

·       Create an A6 card base in Crumb Cake cardstock

·       Cut a mat of designer series paper that measures 10.9cm x 7cm and adhere that centrally to the card base

·       Cut a mat of Crumb Cake that measures 10.4cm x 6.5cm adhere that centrally to the designer series paper

·       Cut a mat of Whisper White that measures 9.9cm x 6cm and stamp onto this. Using the most solid image from the Artisan Textures stamp set and Tranquil Tide ink, cover the Whisper White piece with stamping. I stamped off a couple of times to ensure the ink wasn’t too dark

·       Add some other stamping from the Artisan Textures set in full strength ink

·       Stamp the tree over the top in black Memento ink

·       Stamp the words in black Memento ink on a scrap of Whisper White card, and fussy cut them out. Adhere the tree stamped piece with Stampin’ dimensionals

·       Adhere the stamped panel to the crumb cake

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

“If you can be anything, be kind”

En Route Signpost card

How to make this card –

·       Create an A6 card base in Poppy Parade cardstock

·       Cut a Poppy Parade mat to 14.4cm x 10cm, emboss with the Sparkle embossing folder then adhere that to the card base

·       Cut the largest square from the Stitched Shape Framelets from Whisper White card stock and stamp some of the smaller images from the En Route stamp set using Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Mango Melody and Blueberry Bushel inks

·       On a scrap of Whisper White card, stamp the sign post in Poppy Parade ink, then stamp it again in Mango Melody and Granny Apply Green inks

·       Fussy cut out the Poppy Parade signpost, and 2 of the words in the other colours. Adhere these to the Poppy Parade signpost the adhere the whole thing to the stitched square with mini Stampin’ dimensionals

·       Attach the stitched square to the card base with your adhesive of choice

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

“If you can be anything, be kind”

Petal Promenade Designer Series Paper Card

How to make this card –

·       Create an A6 card base in Blackberry Bliss cardstock

·       Cut a mat of Soft Seafoam card stock that measures 12.9cm x 8.5cm and adhere that to the card base with an equal border all the way around

·       Cut a piece of Petal Promenade designer series paper to 12.4cm x 8cm and adhere that to the Soft Seafoam.

·       Die cut the solid frame from the Foliage Frame Framelets from Soft Seafoam card stock

·       Using Blackberry Bliss ink (stamped off once), stamp the sentiment onto the frame. I chose one from the Rooted in Nature set

·       Adhere this to your card front

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

“If you can be anything, be kind”

Tree Silhouette Card

How to make this card –

·       Create an A6 card base in Basic Black cardstock

·       Cut a 12.9cm x 8.5cm piece of Pineapple Punch Cardstock

·       Add Mango Melody ink with a sponge through an aperture (I used a leftover piece from die cutting a Foliage Frame. You could also use punch out leftovers)

·       Stamp a tree from Rooted in nature in Black Memento ink over the sponged area

·       Add the sentiment with black Memento ink

·       Adhere to the card base

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

“If you can be anything, be kind”

Let’s Fly Away

How to make this card –

·       Create an A6 card base in Crumb Cake cardstock

·       Using a stamp from Artisan Textures and some Crumb Cake ink, add some splats to the base card

·       Stamp the sentiment in Blueberry Bushel ink in the bottom right hand corner

·       Emboss a piece of Blueberry Bushel cardstock with the Maps Etc. embossing folder and trim it down to 3 x 6cm

·       Stamp the street view style stamp in Pineapple Punch ink on Whisper White cardstock and cut out using a circle from the Stitched Shape Framelet dies

·       Stamp the plane image in Blueberry Bushel ink on Whisper White cardstock and punch out using the ¾” circle punch

·       Adhere the plane to the stitched circle and adhere that to the embossed Blueberry Bushel. Adhere this to the card base just above the sentiment

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

“If you can be anything, be kind”

Petal Palette Birmingham Weekend Swap Card

In June, I spent a weekend in Birmingham with about 40 other Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators. When we get together in groups, we often arrange to swap designs with each other because that gives us loads of inspiration. This is my swap card for that weekend. I made 40 of them and got 40 other projects back to take home with me. My Stamperatus was invaluable to make so many multiples of the same card, and was also vital for this technique of set-back stamping.

 

How to make this card –

 

·       Create an A6 card base from Pool Party cardstock

·       Cut a Whisper White layer that is 12.9cm x 8.5 cm

·       Cut a Pool party layer that is 12.4cm x 8cm and use the Detailed Trio punch to add the decorative detail and the rounder corner to the bottom right hand corner of this layer

·       Line up the Whisper White layer in the corner of the Stamperatus and place the large rose image from the Petal palette stamp set where you would like it to stamp. Ink up with Stazon and stamp. (I did this 40 times). DO NOT REMOVE THE STAMP, and add the Thank You sentiment to the Stamperatus plate

·       Line up the Pool Party layer in the Stamperatus where you would like the aperture to be, then stamp the rose image again, with the Thank you This time

·       Using the coordinating Petals and More dies, die cut the rose image out from the Pool Party layer

·       Colour in the rose image with Pool Party and Soft Sea Foam Stampin’ Write markers

·       Adhere the Pool Party layer to the Whisper White layer on Stampin’ dimensionals

·       Adhere this to the Pool Party base card

 

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

 

“If you can be anything, be kind”

Share What you Love Designer Series Paper Card

 

 

Stampin’ Up Designer Series Paper is often a heavyweight paper, more of a cardstock. This makes it possible to make a card with the paper as the card base.

 

How to make this card –

 

·       Create an A6 card base from the designer series paper (DSP)

·       Add a very vanilla matt to the inside that you can write your message on that measure 13.9 cm x 9.5 cm

·       Cut a contrasting piece of DSP to 10.9 cm x 6.5 cm. Distress the edges with the blade of your scissors and use a sponge and some soft suede ink to distress the edges further

·       Stamp your chosen sentiment onto Very Vanilla cardstock and punch out using the Everyday Label punch. Sponge some Soft Suede ink around the edges

·       Adhere the label to the distressed DSP and then adhere that to the card front

·       From a scrap of DSP, cut out one of the pearlised flowers and add dimension to the petals using your bone folder to curl them

·       Die cut or punch out some leaves from Old Olive card stock and adhere them, along with the fussy cut flower to the sentiment panel

 

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

 

“If you can be anything, be kind”

Animal Outing Kangaroo Card

How to make this card –

·       Create an A6 card base in Early Espresso cardstock

·       Cut a 9.5 cm x 13.9 cm piece of Crumb Cake cardstock and crumple it up and un-fold it several times to give it lots of texture. Swipe a crumb cake ink pad over it so that ink catches on the raised areas.

·       Cut a 9.5 cm x 13.9 cm piece of Whisper White cardstock, lay it over the inked Crumb Cake piece and run through the BigShot as if you were cutting a die. This process will both flatten the card and transfer some ink from the Crumb Cake card to the white card

·       Adhere the white piece to the card base

·       Trim the Crumb Cake piece to 7.5 cm wide and adhere to the Whisper White piece

·       Stamp the Kangaroo in black ink onto Whisper White cardstock (I chose Memento Ink as I wanted to colour in with my Stampin’ Blends) and colour in

·       Cut this out using the largest circle from the Stitched Shape Framelets and then stamp on your sentiment

·       Cut out the largest scalloped circle from the Layering Circles Framelet dies and matt the Kangaroo to that

·       Adhere this to the background using Stampin’ Dimensionals

All the products I’ve used are available in my online shop.

“If you can be anything, be kind”