Mouthwatering happy summer!

There's no Masculine Monday here today, but if you're looking for a summer moment you've come to the right place! I've taken the aptly-named Mouthwatering stamp set and made a delicious looking notecard with the ice cream image. Come and have a look:

I've used ice cream colours for  this card to get a real seaside feel: The framelits label in the colour of the summer sky (!) the sand-like textured So Saffron card stock, the pink of the ice cream... YUM!

I wanted to show you a close up of the ice cream - can you see the texture and dimension it has? This is all done very simply using markers - the ice cream part of the rubber stamp has been coloured with a Pink Pirouette marker and has been shaded directly on the rubber with Pretty in Pink; the cone was coloured with a So Saffron marker, again shaded directly on the rubber with More Mustard. This is such an effective technique and is yet another reason why I'm a huge fan of the markers.

I made these cards for some lovely ladies in my Stampers 6 club to wish them a happy summer!

With the autumn/winter catalogue due out on the 1st September and more excitement coming in October, you may end up with a big wish list - so you may want to consider joining my Stampers 6 club and spreading the cost, as well as getting some freebies and enjoying all the other benefits of my club (click here to find out more). There's a new group starting in October and there are a couple of spaces left so do email me as soon as possible if you'd like to join in.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Mouthwatering, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Real Red - plus markers
Card stock: Pink Pirouette textured, So Saffron textured, Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Other: Framelits, Big Shot, Paper snips, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

And I'd like to wish you a happy rest of the summer too as I'll be taking another short blog break and will return with all the excitement of the catalogue launch on Monday 3rd September. Thank you so much for visiting my blog and I'll see you very soon.

Hugs,

Summer butterflies with Creative Elements

Once, when I was a young girl, long ago in ancient times (as my children would say!), I went on a romantic summer holiday on the Greek island of Paros and the colours of today's card remind of it... Come and have a look:

I started by stamping the background stamp from The Open Sea onto a Naturals Ivory card base and topping it with a panel which had been brayered with Island Indigo ink. I stamped over it with the stunning flourish from Creative Elements using versamark and heat embossed it using gold embossing powder.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this Beautiful Wings embosslits die as these pretty embossed butterflies are a favourite embellishment of mine. I came up with the combination of Night of Navy with Island Indigo and gold by accident and I love it!

This fabulous Curly Cute sentiment fits in well with the flourishes and draws the eye across the width of the card.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: The Open Sea, Creative Elements, Curly Cute
Ink: Island Indigo, Night of Navy
Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Night of Navy
Other: Brayer, Night of Navy marker, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, versamark,  gold embossing powder, heat tool, Stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

My youngest son flabbergasted us last week by informing us that in just two years time he'd be a teenager! Not just yet though - he still runs around making explosion noises when he thinks we're not watching!

There'll be no Masculine Monday next week but instead I'll have something tasty-looking for you! Have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you then.

Three minute cards for a teenage boy

'Cards for a teenage boy' are words calculated to strike terror into many a card maker but I refuse to be daunted! Actually I didn't stamp a birthday card for my fourteen year old son this year as I wanted to draw something that he'd fall in love with immediately... you can see it at the end of this post! But at the end of his birthday he needed cards to thank everyone for all the lovely things they'd sent him, and this is the design I came up with:

These are very similar to last Thursday's three minute cards but much more manly! The cards are post card style, a sheet of A4 cut into four, with a double line scored across it and designer paper added to fit the space.

I absolutely adore these papers and had forgotten all about them! They're from the Well Worn range and are quite male-oriented. This one has a brick feel...

... while this one reminds me of a lovely tweedy dressing gown! I sponged round the edges of the designer paper to give a neat edge before stamping the sentiment from Thank You Kindly.

There's an underwater feel about this one...

... while this seems to be all about chicken wire and marble! Yes, I'm confused too but I know that someone somewhere is thinking 'YES! That's my man to a tee!'

Here's what you'll need to make these cards
Stamps: Thank You Kindly
Ink: Basic Black
Card stock: Naturals Ivory
Other: Well Worn designer paper, stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

My daughter told me the other day that she'd noticed how manly her brother was getting. "I know," I said, immediately off to Mumland. "Isn't he gorgeous?!" She looked slightly revolted. "Yes but you're his mum!" she pointed out. "Oh I expect other people think so too," I said. "Well," said my daughter, having the last word. "They obviously haven't seen him eating cereal!" Hmm, she does have a point but at the moment girls are not the focus of my son's attention - this is:

And I'm proud to say that this card is now being displayed on my son's notice board in his room!

I shall be back tomorrow with something very summery! Hope to see you then,

Beyond the Garden notebooks

On my blog yesterday there was a card I'd made using the beautiful Beyond the Garden designer paper and today I have some coordinating notebooks to show you.

These notebooks are sold in supermarkets and are really useful for shopping lists and notes but frankly wouldn't win any beauty contests... but with a bit of a make-over they turn into something you'd be more than happy to keep on display on a hook in the kitchen or by the phone or, with a magnet glued to the back, on the fridge!

To make them, you just peel back the black tape at the top, remove the soft cover and replace with card stock topped with designer paper. I use Sticky Strip for this job so that I can be confident the notebook won't come apart. The little label on the front is from the Notably Ornate stamp set. I stamped it in Basic Black and embellished with a leaf from Bright Blossoms and my favourite little flower punch from the Itty Bitty punch pack centred with an adhesive pearl.

Since I've covered everything I used, I won't type out a supply list today as I do normally - time during the holidays is at a premium and apparently there are Poffins to be baked... watch this space!

It's Three Minute Thursday tomorrow - see you then for a fast project!

Beyond the Garden huge flower

One of my favourite paper ranges of this year has been the Beyond the Garden range with its gorgeous florals. Here I used just a strip of it to embellish my card along with matching plain card stock:

Yes, it's another of my layouts with large flowers - I love them! The Curly Cute sentiments all work beautifully with this scale - and I have to ask myself why on earth did I leave it so long to acquire this set?!

The flower is made with the faux suede technique (punch a flower with the blossom punch, run it through a crimper several times to break down the fibres in the card stock, peel the flower into two). The insides of the two layers look all soft and tactile like suede and, when crumpled up and fastened together with a brad, make lovely flowers. This beautiful brad is from the Circle Ice range of brads and I don't think it'll be available for much longer...

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Curly Cute
Ink: Basic Black and Pear Pizzazz marker for the stem
Card stock: Pacific Point
Other: Blossom punch, Circle Ice brad, Beyond the Garden designer paper, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

Last week I went to my zumba class and only realised when I got there that I was wearing flip flops! Do you think I might need a holiday?!

By the way, I made some matching notebooks to go with this card and I'll show you those tomorrow.

See you then,

I'm finding the gorgeous Up Up and Away stamp set so useful for male cards as well as pretty much any occasion you might care to mention! It's Masculine Monday as always at the start of the week and today I have a birthday card to show you - come and have a look:

I scored a frame on my Crumb Cake card base before attaching my framed balloon to the card front. Let's zoom in and have a closer look:

You get two frames in the Designer Frames embossing folder pack and this is one of them. I cut it out with my sharp paper snips and painted in a sky with Pool Party ink and my aquapainter, then sponged a little Crumb Cake ink round the frame. The sentiment and the birds were stamped into the frame and I popped the balloon up on dimensionals and added the streamer.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Up Up and Away
Ink: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Real Red, Crumb Cake
Card stock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Other: Markers, Designer Frames embossing folder, Simply Scored, paper snips, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

Balloons can be very male can't they - last week I was talking to my daughter about a piece of poetry, while surrounded by males making a racket. "I am trying to appreciate the beauty of the language," she said. " But unfortunately my brothers are making noises like a balloon going down!"

Thanks for popping in today - I'll be back tomorrow!

Easy Events with floral tiles

Never minds sixes and sevens, I'm all at tens and elevens at the moment trying to get things done! So I thought I'd show you a card I made a while ago with one of the most useful stamp sets ever, Easy Events. Come and have a look:

I love making cards with tiles on them and the square punches are so useful for this. Stamp an image several times and punch out what you want to appear in your tile with the smaller punch, then punch out a larger square to mat it onto - how quick and simple is that?!

I've kept my background neutral with Natural Ivory and textured Very Vanilla card stocks and added the splash of colour with gorgeous Peach Parfait. I love the way Stampin' Up provide card stock, ink and markers that match - it makes it so easy to coordinate coloured images with the rest of the card. I coloured the flowers in by squashing the lid of my Peach Parfait ink pad to make a pool of ink appear on the inside of the lid, then picking up the ink with a blender pen. The dots have been added with a Cajun Craze marker. Peach Parfait is only going to be available until the end of September along with the other 2010-2012 in-colours, so if you love it, you'll need to order it soon!

Easy Events contains eight images that cover many occasions with sentiments attached but I've separated my sentiments to make them even more versatile! I love the font they've been designed in.

Here's another version of the card, this time with Pool Party as the splash of colour.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card
Stamps: Easy Events
Ink: Peach Parfait and Cajun Craze or Pool Party and Island Indigo
Card stock: Natural Ivory, Very Vanilla textured plus Peach Parfait or Pool Party
Other: Square punches, markers, corner rounder, linen thread, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

No wittering today as I know how easily those tens and elevens could turn into sixteens and seventeens! Have a lovely weekend and I hope the sun shines all over you!

Hugs,

Three Minute thank you post cards

In the course of designing some thank you cards for my son to use, I came up with a very quick idea which I thought would be gorgeous for understated baby thank you cards. I'm using Reason to Smile - which, is only available for the month of August, so if you'd like to get your hands on this wonderfully versatile set do contact me soon! So, for Three Minute Thursday today, here they are:

Here's the recipe for this:

• Cut a piece of A4 Naturals Ivory card stock into four equal pieces
• Mask the bottom off each one and stamp the 'dot' from Reason to smile randomly over the top
• Add this sentiment from Thank You Kindly
• Finish with a scored line.

How simple is that?! It definitely took longer to type this than to make them but I think they're really effective. Heck, if you have a spare pico second, you could even round a corner! These would be a nice addition to a gift for someone who has just had a baby - thank you cards are always so useful. You could tie them up with a piece of seam binding or taffeta ribbon with a pretty tag.

Here's what you'll need to make this set.
Stamps: Reason to Smile (available August only), Thank You Kindly
Ink: Basic Black, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Card stock: Naturals Ivory
Other: Simply Scored, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

I mentioned to my daughter how much I've enjoyed 'going dotty' with this lovely stamp set. "Hmm," she said. "No change there then!" How rude!

See you tomorrow,

Tea Shoppe - cup of thanks

It is a great pleasure to me to make little gifts for the ladies in my Stampers 6 groups and it's always fun to think up new ideas. One thing I've been enjoying lately is making envelopes with my diagonal Simply Scored tool, and that gave me the idea for this little teabag favour:

The envelope is just 3 1/4" square and it's decorated with this pretty doily paper from the beautiful Attic Boutique range. I masked and sponged a background panel and topped it with the pretty label from the Tea Shoppe stamp set. The cups from the set were stamped, cut out with my sharp paper snips and stacked on top and I added one of the sentiments.

The back of the envelope fastens by tucking the flap into this label. Tea Shoppe is perfect for these kinds of projects because there are lots of labels and sentiments to choose from. When you open the envelope...

... you find a teabag tucked inside and you may also notice that I lined the envelope with the same paper as I used on the front.

Here they are ready to be tucked into my lovely ladies' parcels along with all their lovely goodies!

If you love Stampin' Up products and would like to build up your collection, you might consider joining my Stampers 6 club. There are all sorts of benefits, including free catalogues, at least £25 of free goods of your choice, the opportunity to get exclusive hostess stamp sets and papers, personal coaching from me, handcrafted gifts and cards in your parcels... Click here for further details or email me here. With a new seasonal catalogue coming out next month and the main catalogue in October, there couldn't be a better time to join!

Here's what you'll need to make today's project
Stamps: Tea Shoppe
Ink: Melon Mambo, Island Indigo, Pool Party
Card stock: Island Indigo, Whisper White
Other: Markers, Attic Boutique designer paper, scallop oval and modern label punches, Simply Scored and diagonal plate, paper snips, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

My teenaged son came downstairs late yesterday morning and announced that his mate would be round in a minute. "Is Daddy having a lie in?" he asked. "Because I don't want to disturb him."  - his room is on the same floor as our room and his father's office. I stared at him. "It's nearly 11 o'clock," I said. "Your father has been at work for over two hours!" I didn't know whether to be proud at having such a thoughtful son or horrified that he has such little knowledge of a working day!

It's Three Minute Thursday here tomorrow and I have a set of fast cards to show you. Hope to see you then.

Need for Speed - and mud!

You may be wondering why there would ever be the need for speed and mud but of course where males are concerned, they are two of the essentials in life! Today's card was made for a small male person who loves construction sites. Come and have a look:

The background is made by masking with scrap paper and sponging with a variety of inks using a scratchy textured sponge. I stamped the birds from Up Up and Away in the sky to add to the illusion of movement.

The quad bike was the nearest thing I had to a construction vehicle and it went down very well! I coloured it with markers, cut it out with my paper snips and attached it to the background with dimensionals. The sentiment is from the ever-useful Happiest Birthday Wishes hostess set.

When the Simply Scored tool came out, I wondered if I'd be particularly fussed about it but I have to say I use it all the time. I love it, not just for the accuracy of its measurements for bags and boxes but also for subtle little frames, grids and other embossed touches to my cards - like this scored edging which reminds me of tyre treads.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card
Stamps: Need for Speed, Up up and Away, Happiest Birthday Wishes
Ink: Basic Grey, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist, Tangerine Tango
Card stock: Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Other: Markers, Simply Scored, paper snips, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

I'm getting plenty of opportunities to study mud at first hand as my older son doesn't seem to understand that shoes are the interface between his socks and the muddy ground!

I have a little gift to show you tomorrow. See you then!

Need for Speed in the water

So the olympic games are over for another four years but I don't suppose I'm the only lady who will cherish the memory of David Beckham whizzing up the Thames in a speed boat to get to the opening ceremony! Today's card is my tribute to dear old Becks and I made it for One Layer Wednesday which celebrates its 100th birthday this week. This week's challenge is hosted by Cheryl and the theme is 'Transportation'.

I've not previously inked up the speed boat from Need for Speed but I'm really glad I did - it was great fun to make this scene! I masked and sponged a sea onto my card base before stamping the boat. It's coloured with ink and a blender pen and highlighted with markers -  and I found the white Watercolour Wonder crayon that comes in the neutrals tin was perfect for creating a bit of spray! Then came the exciting part...

... I used the Colour Spritzer tool to add a bit more spray-style colour. I've not used this tool before and it was brilliant fun! It's really easy too - you just put a marker into the holder so the brush end is over the hole, tighten the screw that holds it in place and squeeze the bulb.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card:
Stamps: Need for Speed, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Baja Breeze, Marina Mist, Pool Party, Poppy Parade
Card stock: Naturals Ivory
Other: Markers, Watercolour Wonder crayons, Simply Scored, Colour Spritzer tool, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

What a fabulous olympic closing ceremony last night - and what a wonderful games! I only managed to catch highlights of each day's action but one of the best bits was watching Charlotte Dujardin win a gold medal in the dressage. She used to live in a village just outside Buckingham, although she now lives in Gloucestershire so we won't be getting a local post box painted gold just yet - although I have high hopes they might bring in olympic Talking in which my youngest son would sweep the board!

I'll have more Need for Speed to show you tomorrow, so do pop back to see!

Young Vermillion in disguise again

It's one layer week at Less is More this week and Chrissie and Mandi want to see Fur or Feathers. If you're a regular reader of my blog you'll know that I do love a bird stamp and a one layer card too, so this challenge was right up my street! Here's what I made:

This Young Vermillion single stamp is a favourite of mine and if you click on Young Vermillion in my side bar you'll see that I've used him for all sorts of different events and seasons!

To make the card, I scribbled a background with my Watercolour Wonder crayons and washed over it with my aquapainter. The bird was inked with an Early Espresso marker before stamping, so I could leave out the marking round the eye that distinguishes him as a vermillion, so now he is a thrush! I extended the branch to fit the card and coloured the bird with my Watercolour Wonder crayons and an aquapainter. The leaves are from the Confetti set of fabulous backgrounds and I finished the card with a Cajun Craze sentiment. Oh, and I added a bit of scoring - my favourite thing!

Here's what you'll need to make today's card:
Stamps: Young Vermillion, Confetti, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Cajun Craze
Card stock: Naturals Ivory
Other: Watercolour Wonder crayons, Early Espresso marker, Simply Scored, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

We were supposed to be travelling to Somerset to visit relatives today but it's been cancelled, so I've had some unexpected crafting time! The sun is shining into my living room, the French doors are open and there's a very relaxed holiday atmosphere in here. Outside though, there's obviously a full-scale water fight going on - my youngest son has just come into the garden to fill up his water pistol at the tap and I've just sent him off into giggles by flinging my hands in the air and shrieking "Aaargh! Don't shoot!"

Hope you're having a lovely day!

Stampin' Up - your way

It was two and a bit years ago that I joined Stampin' Up and I can quite honestly say that I enjoy it more than ever. Sharing a passion for stamping is a dream job especially when you add this to the equation:

• A starter kit for just £99 - and you get to choose what's in it!
• The pleasure of using top quality products
• Working from home at whatever times suit you
• Holidays when you choose to take them
• 20% instant income from all orders, including your own, plus other earning opportunities
• A brilliant support network plus a dedicated demonstrator support line
• A comprehensive, easy-to use website for orders, news, training etc
• The option to attend demonstrator-only events
• The opportunity to earn free products
• The chance to earn all expenses paid holidays for two

... and that's just off the top of my head! If you think being a Stampin' Up demonstrator might fit into your life, why not give me a call on 01280 820593 or send me an email? I won't pressurise you to join but I can give you all the information you need to make up your mind, in your own time, about whether it's right for you.

One of the stamp sets I chose in my starter kit was Sincere Salutations and I'm still reaching for it regularly! Come and see my most recent creation using it:

The card happened when I made a scored card base for something else, then didn't use it. It was lying on my desk when I took my Mocha Morning papers out and I liked the way this one looked inside the frame.

I love the way you can add interest to these sentiments using markers before stamping - and all eight of them fit beautifully into the labels from the Four Frames stamp set.

This card incorporates some of my favourite design features: a scored frame, a ribbon tailed banner, these gorgeous flowers made with one of the Itty Bitty punches and the incredibly useful Little Leaves die.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card
Stamps: Sincere Salutations, Four Frames
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake (for sponging edges of DP and card stock)
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Early Espresso
Other: Markers, Early Espresso brads, Itty Bitty punch pack, square punch, Little Leaves Sizzlits die, Simply Scored, Mocha Morning designer paper, stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. 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 01280 820593. If you are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

I've not had any time to watch the olympics but, if I can stay awake, I do like to catch up on the day's action with Gabby Logan in the evenings. I was so delighted to see that Beth Tweddle won a medal as she retires from gymnastics and much amused that when reporters asked her father what he'd been going through this past week he replied that he'd been laying a patio! What a lovely down-to-earth man!

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you next week.

Hugs,