A Summer Silhouettes gift set

Summer Silhouettes caught my eye the minute I saw it in the new catalogue, but I didn't realise quite how much I'd fall in love with it. It's what's stopping me from making all the Christmas cards I should be making right now! Last Friday, one of my girlfriends was celebrating her birthday and Summer Silhouettes felt like just the right set to use for her gift packaging. Come and have a look:

I love the way you can layer these stamps...

... can you see the way the images glow through each other like a watercolour painting?

I stamped the plant and trellis images directly onto my card base and layered a frame on top, cut with one of my Labels framelits. I adore the sentiment from A Word For You with its flourishing start and finish!

I decorated a length of cream paper to match the card and used it as gift wrap. (The roll of paper Ikea sell for their child's easel is a good shade of cream and a good weight for this.) Stamping gift wrap is great fun and is a great way to get a coordinated look. I tied the gift up with Old Olive grosgrain ribbon - this has retired now, but there's a new and rather gorgeous version in the new catalogue that comes with a line of stitching down the centre for extra texture.

As a finishing touch, I made a matching tag for the gift using one of the Labels framelits and repeating the stamping.

Here's what you'll need to make this project
Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, A Word for You
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Old Olive, River Rock
Card stock: Very Vanilla
Other: Labels framelits, Big Shot, Itty Bitty punch pack, Old Olive grosgrain ribbon (retired), Lucky Limeade bakers twine, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and have them delivered straight to your address in the UK, France, Deutschland, Nederland or Osterreich. I'm committed to providing excellent customer service and am always happy to offer help and advice. To place your order, just send me an email or give me a call on +44 (0) 1280 820593.


While I was getting ready to go out with my girlfriends on Friday, my daughter had disappeared out on a date and the boys were having dinner under the tender care of their father. I was just gathering together my purse and keys when I heard my youngest son say: "I've finished now - I'm just going upstairs." I was very proud to hear that my teachings had not fallen on deaf ears however, because my eldest son was having none of it. "Oh no you don't!" he said. "If you've finished you're supposed to entertain me with interesting anecdotes!"

Enjoy your Monday and I'll see you tomorrow!