On Stage 3D Swaps - the Final Batch... the Neutrals...

Saving the best for last!! LOL!!!

Seriously though... I do LOVE my Black & Whites... and these are made by my fellow friends and Jems teamies... so I have to say that!!

A beautiful Botanical Butterflies no glue belly banded box by Susannah Jepson...

The perfect size for a Tombow...

Although the original Drumsticks lolly is a bit tastier!

And a fabulous Foliage Frame die cut on half-a-PillowBox from Anna Pickering... greeting from Lots of Happy card kit (gosh... took me a while to find this one!!)

Full of lucky golden eggs... yum! 

Though I have to admit to having now turning the sentiment round... as this way it sits up nicely in front of you... 

Amazing what you can do with half a box!! Sealed with a brad...

Bit like my Selfie Stick holder idea for my Centrestage swaps... but without both halves and the acetate... and yes I forgot to confess... the gift was a selfie stick (with remote control!! Hence why the selfie stick is off to the side...)

More 3D Swaps

Another beautiful set of inspiring On Stage Telford swaps today... featuring the green and yellows in our life... perfect hues for the Easter holiday.....

So in no particular order... and thank you so much to all these ladies for swapping with me...

Nic Baker's lovely Flowering Desert gift package ... although this is a lovely and special gift rather than a swap!!

And I have to admit that the Champney's hand cream was such a perfect gift Nic... as... you know when you always forget one thing!!!! Or is that just me!

Karen Kilner's Fable Friends gift card holder for Easter... too cute!

And I have to say that Fable Friends definitely had a major place in my swaps and treats received this year... anyone would think it is REALLY popular!!! No wonder it sold out a bit back!

Helen Peck's Reese's Cup Holder & Magnet 

 Featuring Swirly Bird, Eastern Medallions & Butterfly Gala...

AN Other's Happiness Blooms shortbread treat holder (yum!!) And I have to admit to loving these papers more and more as I see more of them... who knew that would happen...

And last but not least... AN Other's Hello Cupcake bookmark... 

3D Swaps & Backorder update...

Just quickly popping onto share some of my 3D swaps from the Stampin' Up! On Stage event at the weekend... Some beautiful shares to be seen here today... 

But before I start with those... We have good news! 

Customs have begun to release some of the  products that have been held, which represent the majority of the delayed product shipments. So inventory and shipment issues will now start to resolve over the coming week... as we receive these items into our systems and they become available again///.

However... products with the out-of-compliance labels (mostly liquids and powders) will remain in customs for now as we work to resolve their concerns, and this process could take several more weeks. Thank you for your patience with this long backorder situation...

And so back to today's creative shares!! 6 light bluey ones for you today! 

Firstly a big shout out to everyone that swapped with me at Telford... and to those that gave me gifts too.... I am such a lucky girl! 

Secondly... these are just a few of the new 3D gift and packaging projects I now possess... as time has somewhat disappeared this week with one thing and another (including having my lovely son home from uni!!)... so I will take a while to catch up...

And there is so much to catch up on and share here... with both swap and gift shares... information from Head Office... 

Lots more information etc on the Last Chancers... and some new products too... 

So keep watching this space for lots of creativity ... and information... over the next few weeks!

Thank you Lucy Brown (Fable Friends keyring), Sally (Happy Tails Mini Tic Tac holder), Sarah Lavelle (Incredible Like You Butterkist wrap) Sue Wright ( Fable Friends Treat Holder, Tina Phipps (Daisy Delight magnet)... and the Piece of Cake tag (sadly with no name) 

And ... these are all carrying over apart from Incredible Like You... though do remember that bundles with 10% off now give you a saving now compared to buying the 2 individual parts after 4th June...

Happy Valentines Day - an ape chocolate twist!

I had this idea as soon as I saw the Hey Love ape... and even stamped a couple of apes to experiment... but time rolled on (as it does) and it wasn't until this week when I was packing my son's Valentine box that I finally remembered...

And I reckon it worked... 3D card with a cheeky monkey holding a chocolate heart... though I guess that this ape has been trashed by now... and the chocolate well and truly scoffed!

And a few photos that hopefully say it all... for anyone needing a quick fix to having forgotten so far today!! Just stamp, colour, cut & stick a couple of apes like so.....

 More details on the colouring and the card for you here...

Hope you have all had a lovely Valentines Day... and that you have all been spoilt!

Amanda's Quick Links

Just click on the relevant pictures below for catalogues and/or more information... 

If you are ordering today... do remember to add the Host Code shown below to earn yourself a gift and help support The Craft Spa at the same time... 

Please note that this host code does expire and change over time... but the current code is always shown at the top right hand side of my blog...

Just click on the relevant pictures below for catalogues and/or more information...

2nd release of Sale A Bration below...from 15th Feb...

1st Release Sale A Bration below... note ribbons are out of stock...

Chocolate Treat Holder Cube Tutorial for 3D Thursday

A re-make of this very popular Ferrero Rocher or Lindor ball treat holder (in Foil Frenzy papers)... as requested by my lovely ladies! Re-made in the Share What You Love papers this time round...

And... as a result ... I realised that I didn't share the Tutorial at the time... so now there is a Tutorial for you all.... a simple little cube box with lid... be it for chocolate treats... or rings... or even earrings...

Recipe
Base - A4 card- 10.5cm (4 1/8") Square ( I used Berry Burst here)
Lid - Paper (or Card!) 3" (7.6cm) Square

Tutorial
1. Base cardstock panel. Score at 3.5cm (1 3/8") on all 4 sides 
2. Lid paper panel. Score at 2 cm (3/4") on all 4 sides (Note that I used 2 cm which is actually a generous 3/4" for those of you in the US that have no choice with your equipment...)

3. Dart 2 score lines on 2 opposing sides.
Tip - for neatness - I cut straight up the inside of the score lines on either side of the central section... but then with a slight diagonal dart on the narrow/outside sections...

4. Assemble and stick Base
5. Assemble and stick Lid (using your Base to stick it on... so you know your lid fits!!!)
6. Decorate as necessary.
I used a Stitched Shapes die cut small square, with Cake Soiree greeting and a few fussy cut flowers from the same Share What You Love paper

Oh and if you are using stripes or a paper with a particular pattern orientation... click here to check out how to get the pattern the same all the way round the lid! Simple but effective!

3D Thursday - Celebratory Chocolate Treat Holder

Well there is a time and a place that a mother has to create something "in a flash" to celebrate a big event in their child's life...

Something that you just can't make in advance (as that would be tempting fate and all that stuff!)

So yesterday was the First Year of Uni Results day for my son... so I had bought him his favourite chocolate treat (Cadburys Caramel as always!) in readiness... but I couldn't bring myself to make and decorate a holder...

So this is what I made... using my Tutorial shared here... although this bar is fat enough that only one bar fits in the box!! Sorry Joe....

This version uses the lovely Tropical Escape papers (also on the 4 for 3 Paper Sale offer - click here for the details of all those papers)

And  is simply decorated using Tropical Chic images and Itty Bitty Greetings greetings... the latter never having being put away since it arrived!!

 

Spot the "congratulations" to top right.... "celebrate" randomly all over...

And...

Well done Joe... proud of you... you are the greatest... 

Even though I can't believe that the first year of university is over already! Where does the time go...