Last Week’s Card & Cuppa – A Trio of Purples

March 16, 2020March 12, 2020 ~ Karen Young

At last week’s Card & Cuppa class, I based the project on this one, but used a trio of purples instead.

Trio of purples. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

I used Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape, plus Purple Posy in place of Whisper White/Vanilla.

For the background stamping, an image from the Gallery Grunge Stamp Set provided the detail. As with the other project, a Sponge Dauber was used to gently highlight the stamping.

On a separate sheet, pools of Highland Heather ink were created using a Sponge Dauber, with centres added using the SAB Thoughtful Blooms Stamp Set. Once punched out with the Small Bloom Punch, these create the pretty ombre effect flowers.

For this project, I’ve used two different ribbons, the fabulous co-ordinating In Color Scallop Ribbon, and the Whisper White Seam Binding. Once again I’ve coloured the white ribbon with a Stampin’ Blend – I can’t seem to stop myself!

The card is shaped in a ‘D’ using the Detailed Trio Punch to round two corners on each layer, including the base card.

A sentiment from the Botanical Bliss Stamp Set makes this a card suitable for any occasion. Rhinestones in the centre of the flowers add a finishing touch of bling.

Don’t forget that there are only a few weeks left to get your hands on the SAB items. SAB finishes on 31st March.

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.

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Thoughtful Blooms Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

Purple Posy 1/2" (1.3 cm) Scalloped Linen Ribbon

Whisper White 1/4" (6.4 mm) Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon

Highland Heather Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

Mixed Media with Painted Poppies for a Big Birthday

February 27, 2020February 24, 2020 ~ Karen Young

One of my Card & Cuppa attendees recently celebrated a big birthday, so naturally I had to make them a card.

A Big Birthday. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

They are a fan of mixed media and love poppies too, so I decided to combine these loves, it was a big birthday after all!

My main colour palette was Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla, with Pear Pizzazz for the leaves.

First, I stamped the background with an image from Gallery Grunge using Versamark ink and heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder. This created resist areas for when I used a Sponge Dauber over the top to add colour.

A combination of shapes and images and stamped and cut out using the Painted Poppies Stamp Set and the matching Painted Labels Dies. I can’t believe quite how much I’m using this fabulous Bundle from the Mini Catalogue.

For the sentiments, I used the Well Said Stamp Set and Well Written Dies. This is another one of those stamp and die combinations that I use quite regularly as they are really versatile.

The Classic Label Punch cut out the smaller part of the sentiment.

The length of ribbon is the Woven Threads Trim, again in Sahara Sand. I cut the bottom edge off to create the fringe.

Before I stuck everything together, I covered the ‘happy’ and the centre of the poppies with Wink of Stella. I love how Sahara Sand goes an almost gold colour under it.

If you’d like to join this and other attendees at Card & Cuppa classes, then head to my Class Timetable for more details and to book your place.

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.

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Sahara Sand 5/8" (1.6 cm) Woven Threads Trim

Gallery Grunge & Classic Label Punch for a teenage Birthday

January 9, 2020January 9, 2020 ~ Karen Young

The brand new Mini and Sale-A-Bration catalogues may have arrived, but today I’m taking you back to a project I made for a December teenage Birthday.

Teenage Birthday. Project designed and made by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

This bright project uses the Gallery Grunge Stamp Set for the background and stripes, and a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Birthdays Stamp Set.

I’ve teamed Granny Apple Green, Pacific Point and Daffodil Delight from the Brights Collection with Whisper White.

Extra strips, cut using the Classic Label Punch, mirror the diagonal stripes I’d stamped on the strip across the project.

As the colours are very bright, I used a Thick Whisper White card base to avoid one colour being more prominent.

This is a really quick and easy card to make and could be replicated in lots of different colours. Maybe one for each Stampin’ Up! Colour Collection.

Don’t forget to check out the new Mini Catalogue and SAB Brochure where there are lots of new items. Plus, the opportunity to earn FREE Stampin’ Up! goodies. These will work alongside the fabulous products in the current Annual Catalogue.

If you’d like to see and use products, then why not book a place on one of my Classes. Head to my timetable for full details and booking links.

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.

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

November 25, 2019November 24, 2019 ~ Karen Young

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.

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Mint Macaron Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

Welcome to my Stampin’ Up! Team

November 16, 2019November 15, 2019 ~ Karen Young

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.

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A pair of pink and purple Birthday Cards

November 9, 2019November 9, 2019 ~ Karen Young

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.

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More Delightful Tag Topper Punch

September 12, 2019September 11, 2019 ~ Karen Young

At a recent Card & Cuppa Class, we made this project. Here’s a Birthday Card I made for a regular class attendee based on the design.

More Delightful Tag Topper Punch. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

The shades of blue I’ve used are Seaside Spray, Balmy Blue, Pacific Point and Blueberry Bushel. These are teamed with Very Vanilla.

Gallery Grunge is again used on the Delightful Tag Topper Punch shape, and the background.

Using various size Circle Punches to punch the various colours, these shapes are then added to the background.

A length of the fabulous In Color Ribbon with a bow from Linen Thread are put through the tag shape.

A sentiment using the Well Said Stamp Set and the co-ordinating Well Written Dies are then added.

I love being able to take a design I’ve already used and change the colours or sentiments.

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.

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Seaside Spray 1/2" (1.3 cm) Scalloped Linen Ribbon

Another Gallery Grunge project

August 31, 2019August 30, 2019 ~ Karen Young

Today I’m sharing another Gallery Grunge project with you. This design from my recent Stamp-a-Stack Class was in fact the inspiration for the Card & Cuppa project I showed you the other day.

Another Gallery Grunge Project. Stamp-a-Stack project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

It’s a really simple project using Night of Navy, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.

Gallery Grunge Stamp Set and Artisan Textures Stamp Set images are stamped onto the Very Vanilla layer in Crumb Cake.

Then, circles from the Swirly Frames Stamp Set are stamped in Night of Navy.

Linen Thread is wrapped around the project three times to add some texture.

The sentiment from Itty Bitty Birthdays is stamped and then punched using the Everyday Label Punch. More images from Gallery Grunge are then added to the sentiment.

A second shape is punched, cut in half and added to the back of the sentiment to create a border. This is a really easy way to add extra layers.

Finally, Pearls are coloured using a Dark Night of Navy Stampin’ Blend marker, before being added to the projects.

As you can see, this design can be made in different colours and for different occasions.

Want to join us at a future Class? Head to my Class Timetable for full details.

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.

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Night Of Navy Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

Last Week’s Card & Cuppa – Gallery Grunge in Shades of Purple

August 26, 2019August 23, 2019 ~ Karen Young

At last week’s Card & Cuppa session we had fun with Gallery Grunge.

Gallery Grunge Card & Cuppa project. Designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

This card is a version of another recent class project with a few changes. I’ll be showing you that project another day.

The colour combination is Blackberry Bliss, Highland Heather and Pool Party. I think you’ll agree that they look fabulous together.

Images from the Gallery Grunge Stamp Set are stamped onto the background, along with circles from the Swirly Frames Stamp Set.

A Birthday sentiment from the Itty Bitty Birthdays Stamp Set is also stamped and punched out with the Timeless Label Punch. Another shape is then cut out and cut in half to extend it and make a layer for the sentiment.

Stampin’ Blends in Dark Highland Heather and Dark Pool Party were then used to colour lengths of Whisper White Metallic Edge Ribbon and Baker’s Twine. It’s so easy to make white ribbon and twine any colour you like with Stampin’ Blends.

Once everything was assembled, three discs from the 1/2″ Circle Punch were then attached to finish the project.

Join us for a future class. Head to my Class Timetable for more details.

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.

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Last Week’s Card & Cuppa – a dotty time with the Delightful Tag Topper Punch

August 5, 2019August 4, 2019 ~ Karen Young

At last week’s Card & Cuppa session, I created a project that centred on a brand new product from the Annual Catalogue – Delightful Tag Topper Punch.

Delightful Tag Topper Punch. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

The main colour is one of the new In Color 2019-2021 Collection, Pretty Peacock. It’s teamed with various shades of green, Mint Macaron, Pear Pizzazz and Soft Sea Foam.

Using the Delightful Tag Topper Punch, a 2″ strip of cardstock was neatly shaped. Corners were then rounded using the Detailed Trio Punch.

Dots from the Gallery Grunge Stamp Set and tone-on-tone stamping give the project more depth.

1/2″, 1″ and 1 1/2″ Circle Punches were used and the circles were placed on the card.

It was then time to layer various shapes on top of the tag. As the shape from the Timeless Label Punch wasn’t quite wide enough, it was chopped in half and hidden by the sentiment!

Co-ordinating Scalloped Linen Ribbon is added and tied together using a length of Baker’s Twine.

The tag is added to the project using Dimensionals to lift if off the page.

Finally, the sentiment from Vibrant Vases Stamp Set is added. You’ll see that even though the tag is at an angle, the sentiment is straight to the card. I think this adds to the overall design of the project.

This project attracted lots of comments on how else it could be used, different colours, for a Christmas Card, etc. It’s lovely that it inspired additional ideas.

Why not join us for a future Card & Cuppa session or one of my evening Papercrafting Classes. All abilities welcome.

Click here for more details and to book your place.

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