HIPPOFROG Designs - Karen Young - Independent UK Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Christmas Stamp-a-Stack: Christmas Gleaming

by Karen Young | Posted on December 7, 2019 | Leave a comment

As my Christmas Card Classes have now all finished, I can share the projects with you.

The first is from my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack and is this really quick and simple card made using the Christmas Gleaming Bundle.

Christmas Gleaming Bundle. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

I squealed when I first saw this bundle in the Autumn/Winter Catalogue as there are TWO Punches.

This project uses Cherry Cobbler and Shaded Spruce to match the fabulous Ribbon. But you could use less traditional Christmas colours.

A punched circle creates a layer for the baubles to sit on.

Rather than fussy cutting the sentiment, I’ve used the Classic Label Punch and trimmed off the ends.

The basecard is Thick Whisper White cardstock, but you could use a Notecard instead, which would make the project even quicker to make.

Pop back soon for the next project from the class.

Don’t forget to check out the Year-End Closeout Sale where some items from the Autumn/Winter Catalgoue are available at a discounted price. Also, some items from this Catalogue will be retiring in the next few weeks, so make sure you don’t miss out on purchasing your favourites.

I’ve just published my 2020 Class Timetable dates, so make sure you pop them in your diaries. Full details of what each Class is to follow soon.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

Shaded Spruce/Gold 3/8" (1 cm) Striped Ribbon

Last Week’s Card & Cuppa – Geared Up Garage

by Karen Young | Posted on December 2, 2019 | Leave a comment

Every 6 weeks or so, I design a project for Card & Cuppa that is more suited to men. For this one, I reached for the Geared Up Garage Stamp Set.

Geared Up Garage. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

Normally for male cards, there is a lot of blues, greens and Crumb Cake used. I opted for a slightly brighter palette. This combination of Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze and Early Espresso make a nice change.

Oil splats from the Geared Up Garage Stamp Set are randomly stamped across the page which. The nuts are then stamped in Early Espresso.

Cogs from the co-ordinating Garage Gears Dies are cut out from a piece of Sahara Sand Cardstock and are coloured using Sponge Daubers. A mix of Sahara Sand, Soft Suede and Cajun Craze make a nice rusty look.

There is a touch of Wink of Stella randomly applied across the cogs too.

Sponge Daubers have also been used to colour the edges of the project.

A dark Soft Suede Stampin’ Blend Marker is used to colour some Whisper White Baker’s Twine that wraps around the project.

Finally, a sentiment cut using the Timeless Label Punch is added.

There are only a few weeks of Card & Cuppa left for this year. Book your place by 18:00 the day before if you’d like to join us.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

Last Week’s Card & Cuppa – A generic Birthday card

by Karen Young | Posted on November 25, 2019 | Leave a comment

I’ll often ask the attendees to suggest cards they would like to make at Card & Cuppa sessions. A recent suggestion was a generic Birthday card, something suitable for both male and female.

A generic Birthday Card. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

This project is a combination of this card and this one. It’s a great idea to combine elements of projects you have already made.

For this generic project, I chose Mint Macaron, Soft Sea Foam and Whisper White as my colour combination.

The Gallery Grunge Stamp Set lends itself to projects like these, especially for some random background stamping.

Next it was the turn of the Well Written Dies to make the ‘Birthday’ greeting. ‘Happy’ comes from the co-ordinating Well Said Stamp Set. It is cut out using the Classic Label Punch and then the ends are trimmed to size. These are both attached to the layered circles.

A strip of Burlap Ribbon with the ends angled is then added.

Finally, three Pearls, coloured using the Dark Mint Macaron Stampin’ Blend completes the project.

Not only is this a great design that can be used over and over again, just changing the sentiment or colours to suit the occasion. It’s also a very quick and easy project to create.

Why not join us at a future Card & Cuppa session? Book your place by 18:00 the day before.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

Mint Macaron Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

Last Week’s Card & Cuppa – Perennial Birthday

by Karen Young | Posted on November 18, 2019 | Comments Off

Last week’s Card & Cuppa project was this pretty Birthday card, made using the Perennial Birthday Stamp Set.

Perennial Birthday. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

I used a combination of Rococo Rose, Merry Merlot and Old Olive for this project, along with Very Vanilla.

We used the fabulous ‘Pearlized Doilies’ as a background. These are white on one side with a silver pearlised finish on the other.

The white side was coloured using a Sponge Brayer.

Painted Harvest Stamp Set is used for the leaves and then cut out using the co-ordinating Leaf Punch.

Two separate pieces of cardstock were also coloured using the Sponge Brayer. One of these with a more ombre effect to create different depths of colour.

On the ombre piece, the flowers were stamped and then punched out using a Circle Punch. The other brayered piece was used behind the sentiment.

With some corner rounding using the Detailed Trio Punch, everything was then stuck together. The sentiment, one leaf and the three flowers were stuck together as one piece and then attached using Dimensionals to create more depth.

There’s also a delicate touch of Wink of Stella in the centre of the flowers too.

There are only 5 weeks of Card & Cuppa sessions left this year. Why not join us? Book your place here.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

Perennial Birthday Cling-Mount Stamp Set

Welcome to my Stampin’ Up! Team

by Karen Young | Posted on November 16, 2019 | Comments Off

I’ve recently welcomed a new team member to my Stampin’ Up! Team – The Lilypad Crafters. Obviously being a crafting team, my new team member needed a handmade card.

Welcome to my Stampin' Up! Team. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

As I was creating several cards for different occasions, I used the same design as this project, with a few tweaks.

Don’t be afraid to use the same design over and over again. It saves you a lot of time thinking about what you want to do. More time saved = more time creating :-).

Using a combination of Highland Heather and Blushing Bride, I changed the orientation to landscape, added some ribbon and used a different die-cut sentiment. I also used a different punch for the background layers for the sentiment to sit on.

There’s still Wink of Stella and Rhinestones for a dose of bling!

I’d love to welcome you to my Stampin’ Up! team. If you’d like to find out more then head to my FAQ or contact me for a no obligation chat.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

Thinking of you for a friend

by Karen Young | Posted on November 14, 2019 | Comments Off

A friend is going through a tough time, so I wanted them to know that I was thinking of them.

Thinking of you for a friend. Card designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

They are a fan of pink and sparkly things, so I designed this card using the more muted Petal Pink, along with Soft Suede and Very Vanilla.

This soft combination still uses the things they like, just in a less dramatic way.

I used the Perennial Essence Stamp Set to stamp the flowers and coloured them using Petal Pink and Soft Suede Stampin’ Blends Combos. They have a very light touch of Wink of Stella in the centres to give a bit of sparkle.

These were then fussy cut and attached to a background stamped using an image from the Perennial Birthday Stamp Set.

Colorful Seasons provided the sentiment that is punched out using the Timeless Label Punch.

A few lengths of Scalloped Lace Trim behind the sentiment provide an extra layer of pretty texture.

Thinking of you cards are always difficult to make, but I think it is useful to have a few cards already made to hand. They can be pre-made with the sentiment, or blank cards you can quickly add a sentiment to as needed. These cards are much easier to create when you don’t need to sit down and concentrate on making one.

I’m hoping this card provided the hug in an envelope I’d sent.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

Petal Pink Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

Soft Suede Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

Very Vanilla 3/8" (1 cm) Scalloped Lace Trim

Last Week’s Card & Cuppa – Dandelion Wishes

by Karen Young | Posted on November 11, 2019 | Comments Off

At last week’s Card & Cuppa sessions, I designed one of the most difficult cards to make, a sympathy card.

Dandelion Wishes Stamp Set. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

I used the Dandelion Wishes Stamp Set and some masking to create this pretty project.

Using Sponge Brayers, Pool Party and Balmy Blue Ink, the ombre section was created. Second generation stamping then adds a subtle background to the lighter side of the section.

Then, after removing the masking, a dandelion in Pacific Point is stamped. Hearts from the Dog Builder Punch are added with Glue Dots.

‘Thinking of you’ from Colorful Seasons Stamp Set and a layer are cut using the Stitched Rectangle Dies. To create the border, we cut around the stitching of the sentiment. It’s a great way to create borders with the various stitched dies.

Although my card was a Sympathy Card, it’s a really versatile design. I took a range sentiments along with me to the sessions and the attendees used a variety from Birthday Wishes to You’ve been on my mind’.

Why not join us for a future Card & Cuppa session. Book your place online.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

A pair of pink and purple Birthday Cards

by Karen Young | Posted on November 9, 2019 | Comments Off

I made this pair of pink and purple Birthday cards for two lovely ladies.

Pink and purple Birthday Cards. Designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs.

One lady likes pink, the other purple, so I made the same design in different colours. It also helps that the ladies won’t see each other!

The purple design uses Highland Heather and Purple Posy, the pink one uses Blushing Bride and Flirty Flamingo.

Each has a background from the Gallery Grunge Stamp Set, with the ‘happy’ from the Well Said Stamp Sets.

The ‘birthday, flowers and butterfly are cut using the co-ordinating Well Written Dies. Circle Punches create the layers for the pieces to sit on.

Before assembling, I used a generous coat of Wink of Stella on all the pieces to give a very sparkly look. One of the ladies loves a lot of sparkle, so I couldn’t disappoint!

Finally, I added even more sparkle with Rhinestones in the centre of the flowers.

Which is your favourite of these pink and purple Birthday cards? I think I’ll certainly be making a few more of these in different colours.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

A Dino Days Birthday Card

by Karen Young | Posted on November 7, 2019 | Comments Off

Yesterday, one of my ‘honorary’ nephews turned 5. I just knew I had to make him a Dino Days Birthday Card.

Dino Days Birthday Card. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

This Bundle is perfect for children (of all ages!) and I love using the Brights colour family with it.

For this project, it’s a combination of Poppy Parade, Mango Melody and Granny Apple Green. One day, I’ll stop calling it Granny Apple Smith! I teamed it with Whisper White for a bright look.

The Pterodactyls (I think that’s what they are!) are second generation stamping. Another is then stamped directly onto a separate piece of card. Using the co-ordinating dies that go with the Dino Days Stamp Set, I cut out both dinosaurs and the scales.

I love how the shapes for the scales have a larger area to fix them in place behind the dinosaurs.

Footprints are stamped across the project and a Blender Pen then fills them in with some colour.

Next it was the turn of the sentiment from the Wiggle Worm Stamp Set. This is cut out with the Scallop Circle Punch and layered onto a Poppy Parade Circle.

I also used the Detailed Trio Punch to round the corners. This then mirrors the curves of the circles.

Finally, I added some fabulous Googly Eyes from the Autumn/Winter Catalogue to give the dinosaur a bit more of a fun look, before adding the dinosaurs with some Dimensionals.

Check out how cute these eyes are.

I can confirm that the now five year old loved his Dino Days Birthday card.

If you fancy making cards like this one, then make sure you take a look at my 2020 Class Timetable that will be going live in the next few weeks. My Stamp-a-Stack Classes always include a card suitable for children.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

Last Week’s Card & Cuppa – Christmas Gleaming Bundle

by Karen Young | Posted on November 4, 2019 | Comments Off

Last week was the start of my evening Christmas Card Classes, so I decided that the Card & Cuppa attendees shouldn’t miss out.

Also, as it was Half-Term, I held a Card & Cuppa for Children Class. Rather than designing a separate project for them, I chose to use the same project for all of my Card & Cuppa sessions during the week.

The fabulous Christmas Gleaming Bundle from the Autumn/Winter Catalogue provided a fantastic starting point. This Bundle has a Stamp Set and a pack of TWO amazing punches.

Garden Green and Real Red are used as the main colours for the baubles and sentiment. These are then punched out. I’ve used the Classic Label Punch for the sentiment and then snipped off the excess on each end.

Using the snowflake image from the Christmas Countdown Stamp Set, I created a gentle flurry in Seaside Spray Ink.

Corners are rounded using the Detailed Trio Punch to mirror the punched Circle layers behind the baubles.

A length of Garden Green Double-Stitched Ribbon, also from the Autumn/Winter Catalogue is added behind.

All of the attendees, both children and adults did a fabulous job with their projects.

Stampin’ Up! products are great to use with children as the stamps give you a crisp impression and everything is great quality. Don’t be tempted to let the younger ones just use your non-Stampin’ Up! stash. Get them using quality products straight away to enhance their stamping experience.

Why not join us for a future Card & Cuppa Class, or my final evening Classes of the year. Visit my Class Timetable for full details and booking information.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies used, click on the product images below to go to my online store.

This Month’s Hostess Code Join my team Current Products Special Offers Book a Class

Garden Green 3/8" (1 cm) Double-Stitched Ribbon

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