Mystery Pack – Garage Blues

May 28, 2020May 27, 2020 ~ Karen Young

Last week’s Mystery pack contained lots of blue items. Along with any of these items, the recipients were allowed to use scissors, adhesive, one inkpad and a sentiment to create a card.

The blues I used are Balmy Blue, Night of Navy, Pacific Point, Pool Party and Seaside Spray, along with Whisper White.

Here is the project I made with the contents of the pack, one inkpad, a sentiment, scissors and adhesive.

To see how I put it together, take a look at the video below.

The shapes made using the Classic Label Punch created a great road effect for my project. Other recipients used the shapes as a picket fence.

My sentiment is from the matching Geared Up Garage Stamp Set and is stamped in Pacific Point to match the die cut car shape.

This project didn’t take long to put together and is a fun Birthday card for a car fan.

Don’t forget that the current Annual Catalogue ends on 2nd June, so there are only a few days left to get your hands on items on the retiring list.

Why not sign up for a future Mystery Pack. Head to my Class Timetable for more details.

Happy crafting

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

Last Week’s Card & (Your) Cuppa – All About the Dinosaurs

May 25, 2020May 24, 2020 ~ Karen Young

At last week’s Card & (Your) Cuppa online session it was all about the dinosaurs with this cute dino. A perfect Birthday card for children of all ages.

My colour combination was taken from the retiring Dinoroar DSP, a strip of which is used at the bottom of the project. Mango Melody, Pretty Peacock, Old Olive and Lovely Lipstick, a retiring In Color make this card bright and fun.

After attaching the DSP strip, a length of the reversible Old Olive/Pretty Peacock ribbon, with the Pretty Peacock side facing up was added.

Next, shapes cut from the Stitched Shapes Dies are layered and attached over the ribbon using Dimensionals.

The scales were added to the back of the dinosaur. Finally, two eyes, cut using the circle in the top of the Delightful Tag Topper Punch were added with Glue Dots. By adding pupils using a pen, the character of the dinosaur came to life.

This is such a fun project to make and the attendees enjoyed making it too.

Why not join us for a future class? Find out more at my class timetable.

Don’t forget that items like the Dinoroar DSP retire on 2nd June, so there is a week to get your hands on them. Check out the retiring list.

Happy crafting

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

Mystery Pack – Pretty Petal Washi Tape

May 21, 2020May 18, 2020 ~ Karen Young

Last week’s Mystery Pack recipients received this bundle of items, including the retiring very pretty Petal Washi Tape. Along with these items, a sentiment could also be used to make a card.

I chose to use Merry Merlot, Mossy Meadow and Very Vanilla for my colour combination as they match the Washi Tape and Ribbon Combo Pack. I then added Crushed Curry.

Here is the project I made using the items from the pack.

Click on the video below to see how I put the project together, including the flower.

For the ribbon, I used one strip across the project and then added the twine at the top and bottom. I also cut the Merry Merlot Label Me Lovely Punch shape in half and put it behind the Crushed Curry piece to create a layered look.

The sentiment is from the Timeless Tulips Stamp Set using Merry Merlot ink. I think it just finshes the card beautifully and makes it a pretty project.

Don’t forget to get your hands on those retiring items, there are only a few weeks left. The flower centres have sold out and are no longer available.

If you want to join in with the next Mystery Pack, or get involved in any of my other classes, find out full details here.

Happy crafting

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

Last Week’s Card & (Your) Cuppa – Butterflies in shades of green

May 11, 2020May 9, 2020 ~ Karen Young

At my previous Card & (Your) Cuppa sessions, I asked the attendees to tell me what sorts of projects they would like to make. Someone said that they liked greens, so here we have butterflies in shades of green.

My colour combination is Soft Sea Foam, Pretty Peacock and Mint Macaron.

The Soft Sea Foam layer is embossed using the Brick & Mortar Embossing Folder. I definitely don’t use my embossing folders enough.

A length of Linen Thread is then wrapped around this piece to add even more depth. As I’m unable to send stamped images to my class attendees during this time, I am finding lots of different ways to add depth and texture.

Then we have a shape from the Wild Rose Dies, this is cut down at one end. A tip for this shape is to cut it wider, so it hangs slightly over the Soft Sea Foam piece and blends into the Pretty Peacock layer. Sprig Punch Shapes are then glued to the back of the shape before it is added with Dimensionals to raise it up.

The three butterflies in shades of green are then scrunched (to add more texture) and added to the project.

Finally, three Pearls just add a little bit of extra sophistication.

There was enough Linen Thread left over in the kits for the attendees to add a bow if they wanted. Some did and I was thrilled it was some of my more bow-phobic attendees that took the plunge and added one 🙂

If you’d like to join us at a class, then take a look at my Social Isolation Classes page for more details. Also, don’t forget that some products from the Annual and Mini Catalogues are leaving us on 2nd June. Check out the retiring list for full details.

Happy crafting

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

Pink and Sparkly Daisies

May 9, 2020May 8, 2020 ~ Karen Young

It’s that time of year when my friend who likes all things pink and sparkly celebrates her Birthday. This year, I made her some pink and sparkly daisies.

It’s no coincidence that the design is very much like this project I shared the other day. In fact, I made the cards at the same time.

I know I keep saying it, but there really is no need to keep trying to think up new design ideas every single time. If you find a design you like, create it again. By using a different stamp set or colours, it can change the whole look and feel of a design. It also saves you lots of time and effort, leaving you time to create even more projects.

I’ve used Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo and Pear Pizzazz as the main colours, with Smoky Slate for the sentiment. The Stamp Set is Daisy Lane, with the bundled Medium Daisy Punch, along with the Daisy Punch for the larger flowers.

Tone-on-tone stamping has created the daisy background, with the corners rounded by the Detailed Trio Punch. A layered focal daisy in Melon Mambo is stamped onto Whisper White. I used Wink of Stella, instead of a Blender Pen to pull the colour along the petals. This also added some sparkle at the same time. Even though you can’t see it in the pictures, there was quite a lot of sparkle on the project!

The Painted Poppies Stamp Set and Painted Labels Dies create the leaves. Itty Bitty Birthdays is the final Stamp Set I’ve used for the sentiment, with the Timeless Label Punch.

To complement the pink and sparkly daisies, I added a few rhinestones as a finishing touch.

Some of the items I’ve used are on the retiring list, so make sure you get your hands on them before they disappear. Visit my online store to see real-time stock availability.

If you would like to join one of my classes, then visit my Social Isolation Classes page for details of the classes I’m offering during this time.

Happy crafting

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

Mystery Pack – Three Little Birds

May 7, 2020May 6, 2020 ~ Karen Young

Last week’s Mystery Pack contained three little birds, along with lots of other items with which to make a card.

As well as these items, the recipients could use Wink of Stella and a sentiment, plus scissors and adhesives.

I chose to use three colours from the In Color Collection 2019-2021 with Soft Suede and Very Vanilla.

Here is the project I made from some of the items. I’ve put together a video of how I made this project.

I’ve used the Itty Bitty Birds Stamp Set and Rococo Rose ink to co-ordinate with the other In Colors in the project. My thinking behind the sentiment was ‘they say it’s your Birthday’ is similar to ‘a little bird told me’!

The centre bird is covered with Wink of Stella, as well as raised up on Dimensionals to make it the focal point.

Some of these items are on the retiring list. Make sure you get your hands on your favourites before they disappear for good.

Why not order a Mystery Pack for yourself? Head to my Social Isolation Classes page for full details of the classes and packs I’m offering at this time.

Happy crafting

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

Last Week’s Card & (Your) Cuppa – Smooth Sailing Dies

May 4, 2020May 2, 2020 ~ Karen Young

For last week’s Card & (Your) Cuppa, I designed a project using the Smooth Sailing Dies.

The colour combination for this scheme was inspired by the Night of Navy and Sahara Sand Baker’s Twine (sadly retiring). I then added Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake, from the Neutrals Collecation, along with Very Vanilla.

As the navy strip across the card is quite thin, I folded the overhanging ends around the back of the card and used these to attach the piece to the project, just as I would a piece of ribbon. This avoided having to be extremely careful with glue, and sped up the process too!

After attaching the strip, the twine was also added to the back of the Very Vanilla piece.

Next it was time to build the different layers, adding the seaweed to the background. The layered circles with shapes from the Smooth Sailing Dies (except the anchor), were assembled separately and attached with Dimensionals.

With the twine loosely looped through the anchor to make things easier for us at the end, it was time to create the abandoned rope. The key to this project is to allow the twine to go where it wants, you just guide it along. I really love the way it twine wraps around the seaweed and creates a loop. The crossover of the loop is held in place with a glue dot.

Finally, the anchor was attached and twine knotted to the top and frayed at the ends.

I know that one of the attendees had popped their card in the post later that day.

Why not join us for a future Card & (Your) Cuppa session, or order one of my packs. Check out my Social Isolation Classes for full details.

Happy crafting

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

Birthday Cards using To A Wild Rose

May 2, 2020May 1, 2020 ~ Karen Young

Two of my regular class attendees celebrated birthdays over the past few days. I reached for the To A Wild Rose Stamp Set and Die Bundle to create a card.

As they aren’t seeing each other, I made two identical cards using Page 141 of the Annual Catalogue for my inspiration.

To A Wild Rose. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

This was my first inking of this stamp set and I don’t think it will be my last. These are DISTINKTIVE stamps so the impressions are simply stunning. Plus, as it’s a two-step set, you can create lots of depth and detail.

I’ve used Soft Sea Foam for the base card and layer, with Smoky Slate, Pear Pizzazz and Calypso Coral stamping. A combination of first and second generation stamping creates the different shades for the rose and leaves.

To A Wild Rose. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

After using the Detailed Trio Punch to round the corners, I’ve stamped the flower and leaf outlines in Pear Pizzazz for a background.

The dies have a beautiful cut out piece that I’ve then put across the project.

Next, the flowers and leaves are stamped and die cut and added to card with Dimensionals. A sentiment from the Itty Bitty Birthdays Stamp Set, cut out using the Timeless Label Punch then sits across the top.

To A Wild Rose. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

Finally, Wink of Stella is added to the centre of the rose and some rhinestones add a touch of sparkle.

Make sure you take a look at the retiring list as this To A Wild Rose discounted bundle is on it.

My classes are still continuing during this ‘lockdown’, they are just being delivered in a different way. Check out my Social Isolation Classes for more details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

BYO Stamps – Positive Thoughts Project

April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 ~ Karen Young

At my recent BYO Stamps virtual class, the attendees made a card inspired by this Positive Thoughts project.

Positive Thoughts Project. Designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

BYO Stamps is for those who have stamp sets, but aren’t sure what to do with them. I provide the design, and the attendees then create a project using the items they have at home, using the design as inspiration.

As you can see from this design, it’s a favourite of mine and I’ve used this layout so many times. Just change the stamp set and colours and away you go.

Positive Thoughts Project. Designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

My version uses the Positive Thoughts Stamp Set with Purple Posy, Rococo Rose and Pear Pizzazz. I’m quite fond of this colour combination as it looks great with both Whisper White and Very Vanilla. Here it is with Whisper White for a crisp, clean look.

There are only two bits of stamping, the backgroud image and the image in the centre. A mixture of first and second generation stamping is used for the Pear Pizzazz leaves to create depth. Corners are rounded with the Detailed Trio Punch.

The centre image is stamped onto a shape cut out using the 2″ Circle Punch, and layered onto the now retiring (sob!) Starburst Punch. These are then added with Dimensionals over a strip of co-ordinating In Color Ribbon.

Finally, everything is mounted onto a Thick Whisper White basecard to continue the crisp, clean theme.

Positive Thoughts Project. Designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

If you’d like to join me for one of my Social Isolation Classes either at a live craft-along over ZOOM, or at your own leisure aftewards using a video, then make sure you order a class kit.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the retiring lists and make sure you get your hands on your favourites before they disappear.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

Last Week’s Card & (Your) Cuppa – Farewell to Seasonal Layers

April 27, 2020April 26, 2020 ~ Karen Young

Last week’s Card & (Your) Cuppa project was inspired by my neigbour’s beautiful cherry blossom I could see out of my craft room window.

Two sets of dies have been used here, with one set now appearing on the retiring list. So it’s a sort of farewell to Seasonal Layers.

Farewell to Seasonal Layers. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

As I was making cherry blossom, I had to use Blushing Bride with Whisper White, along with Soft Suede for my branch.

Painted Labels Dies are the other set of dies I used, and they create the pretty background. I gave the attendees a shape in both Blushing Bride and Whisper White so they could choose to use one, or both. I chose Blushing Bride for mine. The pretty lace effect is then attached to the back to make a lovely feature against the Whisper White background.

Farewell to Seasonal Layers. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

Next, the branch was attached ready for the flowers. A top tip for attaching the branch is to place glue in places where it will be covered with flowers, this means you don’t have to be extremely precise!

For the flowers, the various shapes were layered in different combinations and stuck together with glue dots before being glued to the branch.

Farewell to Seasonal Layers. Project designed by Karen at HIPPOFROG Designs

Finally, some pretty Metallic Pearls in silver were added to give a touch of bling.

This is a perfect card for any occasion and looks fabulous sentiment-free. However, there is enough space to add a greeting if needed.

Don’t forget to check out the retiring list to check if your favourite products are leaving us. Make sure you grab them while you can.

Why not join us for a future class? Head to my Class Timetable for full details of the classes and packs I am providing during this time.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store

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

HIPPOFROG Designs

Karen Young – Independent UK Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Retiring List

Birthday Cards using To A Wild Rose

BYO Stamps – Positive Thoughts Project

Last Week’s Card & (Your) Cuppa – Farewell to Seasonal Layers

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