Flowerbug's Inkspot

Bravo Peek-a-Boo Slider Fun Fold card!!!

You're going to just love this fun fold card!!!  We made it at my April card clubs and it was a big hit.  It looks complicated but once you see the secret to it I bet you'll want to try it too.

I offered a few varieties in case they didn't need a graduation card so scroll down to see the other more generic celebration option.  I used a few stamp sets to complete the card: 

I will give dimensions at the end of this post but you will want to watch the video to see how the peek-a-boo slider works.

 

Measurements:

• Black card 5 ½” X 11, Score at 4” & 8”
• White inside layer 5 3/8” X 7”, Score at 3 ½”

 Click on the products below to see them in my store. 

New In Colors and New Catalog coming soon!

  

Are you getting excited for our new catalog?  It's coming out in May and goes live on June 2nd.  If you're a local customer you can pick up your catalog at my Open House; June 2nd from 4-7 pm.  If you've been to one before you know it's a big deal!  I'll have tons of samples; door prizes, food and lots of displays.  

If you're a long distance customer you can still get a catalog. I'm finalizing my mail out for new catalogs Thursday, April 28th.  If you're an active customer of mine that ordered at least $50 or more from me in the past 12-months you're eligible to get one mailed to you.  I sent an email to most of you last month to ask if you wanted one and most responded already.  If you haven't do so by tomorrow! 

Or if you haven't ordered yet place your order today here, so you can "get on my list"!!  Stampin' Up! will be mailing them out bulk service mid-May...yes, next month - only a few weeks away! 

Here's a sneak peak of our upcoming IN Colors!  Aren't they gorgeous!??  I think we're going to love them and find fantastic new combinations of colors; which is one of my favorite things about stamping!

 Don't forget to get everything you need from the current catalogs before they retire.  Here's the list again:   2015-16 Discontinued_List_English_US

Playful Pals and Pyramid Pals Creations

Check out these adorable pals Candace (one of my talented downline) made with the Playful Pals stamp set and Pyramid Pals Thinlits dies.  They're so cute!

She brought them to show me one day and I had to snap a photo.  I did not get all of the details on how she made them but you can get a good idea if you look closely.  Their all charming but I think the giraffe is my favorite!

The lighting in the giraffe photo looks like the side is a different color but I don't believe it is. She stamped the pattern on it with one of the stamps included.  This pig is just plain fun with is glimmer nose. 

You can see these products below; they're returning in the upcoming new catalog too!

WOW! It's My Party Birthday Sampler!

Check out this amazing birthday sampler my Flowerbug's Team made!

We each made one square and made enough to swap with each other.  The theme was to use the colors in the It's My Party Designer Paper stack. The bottom square was 2 1/4" and had to be black card stock.  Otherwise; the sky was the limit.  They are all amazing and the sampler is even more so when they're all put together.

Here are the details as best as I can share:

From top left:

• Candles square made by myself.  I took small pieces of the DSP (2" X 1 1/2") and used my bone folder on them to loosen the fibers.  Then I rolled them up and glued them together with multipurpose glue.  The flames are from the Bird Builder punch.  The White background is the Confetti embossing folder and Melon and Crushed Curry ink is sponged over it.
• It's Party Time square is also made by me.  All About Sugar stamp set, Balloon Framelits & Baker's Twine combo pack. I used Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper for the die-cut banner and sponged Mint Macaron ink onto it. 
• Mary made the Balloons square using our Balloon Bouquet punch, the It's My Party enamel dots and Confetti embossing folder 
• Jackie made the sweet layered punch art cake.  The base is made from the Word Window punch and a hand cut triangle. the White layers are make from White CS (2-way glue & Dazzling Diamonds glitter) and scalloped with the Squares Collection framelits.  She rounded the tops by hand and hand cut the cherry stem.
• Brenda made the cool pinwheel with the Baker's Twine and Enamel dots
• Karen made the cute cup using the Cups and Kettle Framelits (They're Retired and out of stock already!)

Now for the last row; from left to right:

• Marilyn made the scalloped circle 'make a wish' square using the Party Wishes stamp set, the 1 1/2" circle punch and the 1 3/4" scalloped circle punch.
• Candace made the punched cupcake using the Cupcake Builder punch (it's retiring too!!), and enamel dots.
• Brenda made the rosette square.  She used out Simply Scored to make the 2 1/2" circle.  I am not sure how long her piece of paper was to start out with but I believe it was a 1" strip of DSP.  

I mounted the 9 squares on an 8" square peece of Mint Macaron card stock and then to a 8 1/2" square of Black card stock.  The Black triangles are just that; two 3" squares that I cut in half and positioned on the angle. Then it's adhered to a 12" Whisper White square. 

Isn't this the best and most eye catching sampler we've made yet?!  My gals are the best! We all just love it and I hope you're inspired by it too.  

You can see some of the products we used below; click on them to see them in my store.  Use hostess code WJSEQJJR  

First Sight; Forever Friends

 I was playing with the First Sight stamp set and came up with this pretty card:  

The colors here are Lost Lagoon and Very Vanilla.  I am so going to miss Lost Lagoon!  We do not have anything like it coming out in the new catalog so if you like it too be sure to get more of it now before it's gone.  

So far all of the 2014-16 n Color inks and card stock are still available except the 12 X 12" In Color card stock and the In Color Designer Series Paper.  Check out the Retired List now to see what's gone and what's still left.  

My Lost Lagoon card is 5 1/2" X 8 1/2", the stamped Vanilla panel is 3" X 5 1/2" and the banner is 1 1/4" wide.  

 2015-16 Discontinued_List_English_US

 

Sunburst Sayings meets Grateful Bunch video

Last week I promised you a video on how to make this charming card I featured on the April Control Freaks blog hop.  I chose to use Elegant Eggplant with Wisteria Wonder here.  We added flowers in either yellow or pink tones. 

I used three bundles to make this card!  Grateful Bunch and Sunburst Sayings from the Occasions catalog and Crazy about You from the main catalog.  All of these will carryover into the next catalog but they will not be offered as bundles at the 15% off price. They will be separate.  So if you want a deal; get this in May!

We made it at my April card clubs. Did you know that even if you live far from Minot, ND you can still make over the top cards like this one?  Just join my Cyber Card Club!  It's super easy and just involves placing a monthly online order of $35 or more. Once each 6 months you'll receive FREE products as a monthly hostess.  Do nothing more than an order to get up to $50 plus in free items of your choice.  Contact me at lagreff@gmail.com if you're interested in hearing more. 

Watch this video to see my best tips to recreate this card.  You can see the measurements and products below.

  

Measurements:

• Main Eggplant card 4 ¼” X 11”, scored in half at 5 1/2”
• White X 2 – 4” X 5 ½”
• Wisteria Wonder 4” X 5 ¼”, strip is ½” X 3”

It's My Party Balloon Swaps

The It's My Party collection of products in the Occasions catalog is amazing!  The Designer Paper is so bright and fun and the many Birthday stamps and dies are incredible.

Look at the two cards that Lisa and Jane made using these products:

A sweet card using two stamp sets; Party Wishes and Balloon Celebration. The It's My Party DSP really makes the card.  This would be perfect for either a boy or girl.

Jane used her Balloon Bouquet punch to punch out tons of It's My Party balloons here.  The greeting is from Petite Pairs.  Plus the Confetti Textured Impressions folder and Baker's Twine Combo pack in the adorable Mint/Black colors. Now look at the  inside of this card:

She really made the inside special with the Party Pop-Up thinlits die.  I just love how she added card stock behind the open die-cuts to make them pop.  So smart!  

You can see the products they used below here. 

Hostess code for online orders is DDYPJEA7

Washi Tape Banner? Yeah!

For our March Team swap the theme was to use Washi Tape or Designer Paper and make it the star of your card.  I wanted to use Washi Tape as I don't tend to reach for it as often as I would like to.  So I browsed and searched for an idea I could use that hadn't been done before.  I found a card that used banner punches as the main focus and thought I could do the same thing with Washi Tape!  So here is my card:

Isn't it cool?  I used the Cherry on Top Designer Washi Tape and the Cherry on Top DSP stack for the largest layer too.  They're both on the retired list! See that here.  2015-16 retiring list

How I did this was to fold a strip of Washi Tape over my white Baker's twine and press the ends together lightly.  Then I used my paper snips to cut a banner end in the Washi Tape.  

**Tip: To get even ends when you are cutting a banner shape do this:  Snip up straight into the middle of the paper or Washi Tape first; about 1/4 - 1/3" for this small of a piece (longer if you're cutting a wide banner). Then starting from each corner of your piece you will cut to that center cut, doing this on both sides.  If that doesn't make sense to you watch some of my video's; I have shown this technique on a few of them and will try to do it again sometime soon. 

See the products used below.  Hostess code for online orders is DDYPJEA7

April Control Freaks Blog Hop!

Yes; it's that time again!  Another fabulous sharing of the Control Freaks talent.

You may have arrived from Wendy's blog or directly to mine.  Either way be sure to click on the links at the end of each post to see all 11 of the Freak's projects! 

My first project is one we made at my April card clubs using these bundles: Sunburst Sayings, Grateful Bunch and the Crazy About You bundle.  They all work together beautifully and are perfect for any lady in your life.

I wanted to create a versatile card using these awesome products.  We made Mother's Day, Birthday and Graduation cards. It's perfect for almost any happy occasion. 

We used assorted embossing folders on the Wisteria Wonder layer.  Elegant Eggplant is the main card and ink color. I offered them three colors of card stock to stamp their flowers from the Grateful Bunch bundle onto; So Saffron, Pink Pirouette or Crushed Curry.  It's hard to choose a favorite!

Did you notice that on the left most card I turned the sunburst so it shines up instead of down?  It works either way and really draws your eye to the center image. I've created a how-to video with lots of tips to create these pretty cards. Stop back in next week to see it.

 ~~~~~~~~

 Next is a project we made last month at my Team meeting.  I call it a pinwheel box and is a sweet treat for just about anyone who needs or deserves something to brighten their day.

I used the Pretty Petals Designer Paper stack for the pinwheel, Happy Patterns decorative masks and Old Olive card stock for the box itself.  Here's another view:

It has a little box inside perfect to hold a treat or bag of candy.  I've made a video for this project also and will post it soon!

The measurements for this box are:

• 3" X 11" for the outside, scoring at 4 3/4" & 6 1/4"
• 3 1/2" X 4 1/4" for the inside box; score 1" from all edges.  Cut up to the score line on each side to form your box and adhere it inside.

And now that you've seen my projects you are off to see what Mindy has to share with you.  I know you'll love seeing everyone's creativity this month so keep on clicking to the next stop!