Celebrations Delivered part 1

After doing three Crop & Create Delivered virtual events with Scrapbook and Cards Today I'd decided for myself last year that 3 was enough. They are awesome fun and you get so much stuff I nicknamed them #SCTbigboxevent but with 15-17 classes in a box with stamps/stencils/dies sometimes embossing folders etc. etc. there truly was no more room in my small crafty space for so much stuff, and if I'm honest a lot of it wasn't something I would choose to buy normally. So when they announced last year they too were getting burnt out and would be doing a one day smaller event with 1 kit being taught by 3 instructors and significantly cheaper I thought I would give it a go. 

SCT's next big box event is in September (Fall event) , personally I preferred the Spring box, it's happy and colourful. I 'm not into making and sending Fall cards, so the stars were aligning for me to be more frugal in my spending for Virtual classes in 2024 without me having to have willpower.

Well yesterday was the day for the new style of event and the first one was aptly named Celebrations Delivered, the instructors were Cathy Zielske, Mindy Eggen, Meghann Andrew and special guest Jennifer McGuire who did a special wrap up at the end; in the past she did her magic with all 17 kit products, this time there was only the one kit. 

Well we mayn't have got a big box but we sure got a big bag of dies, a big stamp set (6" x 8"), wee bag of clear sequins and 3 stencils in a mesh bag plus enough white card (80 lb. and 100 lb. for our card bases and panels, plus some gold card, acetate and vellum). 

In reality there was actually 40 dies, so really great value for the cost ($60 early bird and $22 shipping - all USD). We have been provided instructions and videos for 3 cards with each instructor plus some extra card ideas. There's also the bonus 30-minute video of Jennifer creating with the kit too.

The first class was kicking off at my 4am - 6am I decided sleeping was much better for me and set my alarm for 620am for the 7am class with Mindy but eek that was still too early for me, so went straight back to sleep and made Meghann's class easily at  my10 am-noon and I managed to catch the first card of Jennifer's extras. So even with it just being a one day event I still have lots of catch up to do.....the story of my crafting life.

Back to the cards first card with Meghann Andrew; this was my favourite of  "the official cards she was teaching". The beautiful bouquet of flowers was placed in our stamp positioners and stamped in one corner of an A2 panel using Pebble ink (C9), then the paper moved 180 degrees and stamped in the other corner. 

We then used our largest postage die to cut out, now this is where I think it gets pretty cool (but the Pebble stamped image is amazing too). We then glued down the outer frame of the A2 panel so the stamped image is on the edge, the die-cut is popped up and placed perfectly in the middle, I'm out a tiny tad but it still looks amazing. As someone in our group watching the video commented this would make a fab sympathy card, but the whole design concept would work for lots of stamped images and lots of different colour inks.

Next card and the coolest thing re this card is we have added tiny pieces of Vellum behind each window, someone in the group also said she filled hers with Glossy Accents which would also be very cool. But what a fun die. As I now have a bit of Concord & 9th inks, some as part of my kits from the "big box" and some because I bought it, I have worked with the same colours as Meghann: Pebble, Honeycomb, Sea Glass, Juniper and Grapefruit.

Last card we did some dry debossing with the balloon dies we received on our die-cut white panel and then used the stencil to add some pops of colours using the stencils to match the card stock used with the happy die-cuts, same colour palate as above (Honeycomb, Grapefruit, Sea Glass and Juniper - ink only on Birthday sentiment). We received as part of our kit a bag of clear sequins which have been placed in an uneven number down the middle as a squiggle but they are very subtle.

Meghann even had time at the end of her class to fit in showing us how to make one of her extra card suggestions. She kindly provided instructions and pictures of 3 extra cards and we got to vote in a poll which one we would like her to demo, off course we all chose the hardest.

As Jennifer doesn't provide instructions and her cards are always so wow I decided this time I would create her first card straight away so I didn't forget how she did it this time. It is a fab spin on the emboss resist technique.

• This is a really clever idea and uses FOUR circle die cuts (4-1/4") which have been white embossed using the bouquet stamp in our kit, again the circle is placed into one corner of a stamp positioner, so the repeat stamping is "identical".
• I have used some of my new Pinkfresh Studio inks which I love; Sunkissed, Mango Sorbet and Fruit Punch to blend a gradient. 
• We only had to ink blend on one half of the circle as the other half is hidden underneath. The circles are then scored down the middle (2-1/8") and attached and folded to interlock around a square that is the same size as the circle (4-1/4"), then attached to a slightly bigger piece of white card stock (4-1/2" square) to hide the mess underneath.
• Belly band was made of a strip of Vellum (11" x 1-1/2") and a sentiment attached. I also stamped with the lightest ink on the larger white square as I was a bit confused and thought that was the inside but the inner square is the identical size as the circles, but it still looks pretty there ;)

Well I am really rapt I signed up for this event, it is awesome value and I love that ALL the instructors are working with the same kit and all the cards we are being taught are all so different. But you'll have to wait for my next blogging of the event to see that ;)

I can warn you know that the next event like this that SCT is running is called Jolly Holiday and scheduled for the last weekend in July, registrations start next week for the "public", cost is $65 USD and $25 USD shipping to NZ. As I was an attendee of this event I was able to sign up already for a $5 discount but truly such good value either way I would highly recommend doing one if you can afford it. It will be great to do a Christmas in July event too.

 

✿Karen✿