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Tuesday 30 April 2013

Fruit and Flowers for a birthday

Look at me go today: first of all, I've managed to get my Facebook page up and running - and about time too I hear you say! I'd love it if you'd pop over and 'like' it. And second, I've come over all girlie and pink! It's all down to Dynamics Duos who have dug me out of my comfort zone with their latest colour challenge, Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride, with a little help from the ladies at Less is More who provided the fabulous sketch. Come and see:

Card stamped with Fruit and Flowers from Stampin' Up

The curved-cornered panel as been stamped with a design using Stampin' Up's Fruit and Flowers stamp set. When thinking about the sentiment banner I noticed that this beautiful hand-writing-style sentiment overlapped the panel and would work on its own for the sketch, so I stamped it first on the white layer and then, lining it up with my stamp-a-majig, on the floral panel.

Happy birthday sentiment from A Word For You by Stampin' Up

It was quite hard to take a photo of that but this one gives you the general idea! When stamping a background like this, I like to add definition with the matching markers. I don't know if you can see but I added a shadow to the coral flowers using my Blushing Bride marker and darkened the side of the centres with the Calypso Coral pen before adding the pearls. It really does help the flowers to pop!

Here are the challenges I've been working from today:


Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Fruit and Flowers, A Word For You
Ink: Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride, Basic Grey
Card stock: Whisper White, Calypso Coral
Other: Markers, Basic Pearls, corner rounder, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
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My daughter is deep into exams and driving lessons but is gamely trying to keep up with her chores. "That reminds me," she said guiltily at the weekend. "I must tidy up my habitación!" (She came over all Spanish at the end - something she often does as she seems to think language is best in 'pic 'n' mix' form!) "I know what that means!" said my youngest son smugly. "Know what what means?" said my daughter. "Tidy?!" For the record, I am the only member of this household that knows what 'tidy' means!

I have got something REALLY exciting to show you tomorrow and I can barely contain myself, so do come back and see!

Monday 29 April 2013

Fabulous Florets for a fabulous gift idea!

I often get asked whether I do gift vouchers and I'm always happy to oblige, but I particularly enjoy making the vouchers for someone I know as I get to hear about their excitement as they open their gift! Today's project was made for a lovely lady in my Stampers 6 club who was fortunate enough to have not just one but TWO vouchers ordered for her by different people - and yes, she was thrilled to bits! Here's one of the voucher holders I designed for her:


It's a wallet-style holder made from Bashful Blue striped paper from Stampin' Up's Patterns designer stack. It's held closed by a belly band featuring scored edges and a punched circle embellished with fussy-cut flowers and leaves from the Fabulous Florets set. Slide the band off...


... and inside is a voucher decorated with the same motif. Now I don't know about you, but a Stampin' Up shopping spree is my idea of one top prezzie!

Here's what you'll need to make this voucher holder
Stamps: Fabulous Florets
Ink: Pacific Point, Gumball Green
Card stock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Punches: 2 1/2" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, corner rounder
Other: Patterns designer paper stack in Subtles, Simply Scored, paper snips
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
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Life seems to be getting busier and busier! My lovely brother, who recently moved to the West Country has come to stay with us for a week and it's great to catch up with him. I had to abandon him yesterday though as I'd taken a table at the Tingewick Patchwork and Quilting exhibition. What an amazing show it was with beautifully designed and stitched quilts of every description, each and every one quite unique. Not being much of a needlewoman myself, I shared creativity of a different kind - here I am wielding the stamps and ink:


I'd love to take credit for that amazing quilt hanging behind me, but that was made by Rosemary, one of the talented Tingewick patchers! If you were one of the lovely ladies I met yesterday at the hall, welcome to my blog and I hope you drop in here often!

I'll be back tomorrow with a birthday card. See you then,

Friday 26 April 2013

A jar of Pleasant Poppies

Every now and again it's fun to go tall and thin... No, I've not been squished and stretched - I'm talking about card bases! I wanted to showcase Stampin' Up's Pleasant Poppies stamp for the current Addicted to CAS challenge, where the cue word is Flower, and thought this shape might emphasise those elegant stems. Come and see:

Tall thin card made with Pleasant Poppies from Stampin' Up

Pleasant Poppies is a huge stamp but the flowers have been separated into bunches so you don't have to use them all at once if you choose not to. I isolated some of the flowers by inking up with markers before stamping onto my panel and colouring in, again with markers.

Close up of Pleasant Poppies from Stampin' Up coloured with markers

I adore the wild red poppies you get around the English countryside in the summer but I've turned these into Californian poppies which I also love for their fabulous yellows and oranges. The shading on this stamp is absolutely brilliant - I have literally scribbled over these flowers with a couple of markers (and I do hope you're not all thinking that it shows!)

Pleasant Poppies stamped into jar from Perfectly Preserved by Stampin' Up

This jar from Perfectly Preserved is such a useful stamp to have in your stash. There are endless possibilities for things to put in it! (I saw a card where someone had put the ship from The Open Sea in it the other day - must try that.)

I've just seen that there's a 'Make Your Mark' challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More so I think I'll link this card over there too!

Here's what you'll need to make these cards
Stamps: Pleasant Poppies, Perfectly Preserved, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink: Cajun Craze, Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, Marina Mist plus markers in Gumball Green, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Starfruit, Basic Black
Card stock: Whisper White
Other: Linen thread, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
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 I have a fondness for orange flowers. When I was a child, my father used to grow nasturtiums in tubs for our veranda and they always seemed so bright and cheerful to me. I wanted nasturtiums in my wedding bouquet but they weren't in season so I gave up that idea. Instead, I suggested to my florist that I'd like my bouquet to look as if I'd just picked a bunch of leaves and flowers from the hedges on my way to the church - and I still giggle now when I think of her horrified face!

I'll be at an exhibition and sale of the most gorgeous patchwork and quilting in Tingewick village hall this Sunday, 28th April and would love to see you there. We'll be raising funds for Arthritis Research UK and Medical Detection Dogs, and proceeds from my card sales will go into the fund. I'll also have retired stamp sets and accessories on sale at bargain prices! Hope to see you there!

Thursday 25 April 2013

My punch art santa

I'll be honest, I admire punch art but it's not really my thing. Every now and again, though, it is fun to try to come up with something using only punches and, since the 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown wants to see festive cards featuring Father Christmas and I don't seem to have a Santa stamp in my stash, AND it's Rudolph day at Stamping for Pleasure so a Christmas card is required there too - well, what is a girl to do?! (Apart from type the longest sentence known to man that is!) Here's what I did - I had a think and devised my very own punch art Santa:


I think he's rather a cutie! Now I know it's supposed to be Three Minute Thursday on my blog today but I'm cheating today - and anyway, once you've cut the elements out for this card, it'll only take three minutes to stick together! Do you want to see how I made him?


These are the punches I used (from left to right): the Blossom Petals Builder, my beloved 2 1/2" circle (I use this amazing punch for everything and I swear it would make the tea while tap dancing if I suggested it!), the 1 1/4" circle, my new 1 1/4" scallop circle and the little 3/4" circle.


I used Real Red, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White card stock and cut out:
• Three quarters of a large red circle using the 2 1/2" circle punch for a body
• One red scallop petal using the Blossom Petals punch for a hat
• Two white scallop petals with the ends cut off - one for a beard and one for the fur trim on the hat
• One pink circle using the 1 1/4" circle punch for a face
• One small white pom-pom for the hat and one small pink nose using the 3/4" circle punch
• A moustache using the edge of the scallop circle punch
You can see how I laid these out in the picture above.

Oh, and one more bit: Santa needs hair...


... so I cut another edge bit using the scallop punch like this...


... and placed it on his head like so. Groovy hairstyle Santa! What do you mean you can't see it? Oh, hang on...


... there we are - 20:20 vision with the touch of a marker!


And here he is with his hat on. Oops, he seems to have lost his pom pom!


To make the card I cut out a square of dotty designer paper in Baja Breeze from the Patterns designer paper stack, inked the edges and glued it to my card base. The gorgeous festive sentiment from Delightful Dozen was stamped next using Black Stazon ink. And finally, Santa himself was assembled in the bottom left-hand corner. All ready for Christmas 2013 (er... you might want to take a snooze Santa!)

I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
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Just reading the 'long sentence'  bit at the beginning of this post reminded me of something my daughter said to me the other day. We were having a rousing debate about something or other and I must have spoken over her. "Oh sorry," she said. "Did the middle of my sentence interrupt your next point?!"

I'll be back with something a little more seasonal tomorrow. See you then!

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Clockworks in black and grey

Over at Dynamic Duos this week the colour palette is a minimal Basic Black and Basic Grey and there's the optional additional challenge of making a male card. As if that weren't enough, I notice this week's Paper Players challenge is to make a one-layer, CAS card. So, never one to shrink from a tricky moment, here I am picking up the gauntlet... Come and see what I've come up with:




I chose Stampin' Up's wonderful Clockworks stamp set to make my card. This is one of those sets that is so easy to layer you could almost do it with your eyes closed! (But you'll be glad to know that I didn't!)


I started by making a card base with Naturals White - it has lots of speckles which I thought would work well for a masculine, collage-style design. Using sticky notes to mask off strips, I alternated sponging and stamping to form a background and then built up the elements of the pocket watch using my trusty stamp-a-majig to get everything where I wanted it. The watch was coloured by sponging Basic Grey ink through a mask made with a circle punch.


A few cogs were added to the design and the sentiment was stamped in versamark and heat embossed with black embossing powder. Finally, the centre of the watch face was decorated with a pearl coloured with a black permanent marker.
Edited to add: Thanks to Jane for pointing out that my pocket watch is obviously from Topsy Turvy land as there's an 8 where the 12 should be... I can't tell you how carefully I stamped it there using my stamp-a-majig!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Clockworks, Made for You
Ink: Basic Grey, Black stazon
Card stock: Naturals White
Other: Versamark, Black embossing powder, heat tool, 1 3/4" circle punch, Basic Pearls, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
• Get more for your money - place an order for £250 and choose £65 worth of products free! Or join SU and get £155 worth of products for just £99! Offers end 30th May 2013

Yesterday, my daughter found my youngest son at the hall mirror making adjustments to his hair and felt he needed some encouragement. "I think your hair looks nice today," she said kindly. She needn't have bothered. "I know," said my son complacently. "It's looking better than it's ever looked before, ever!" Hmm. I think he may have been in the loo when the modesty gene was being handed out!

Do join me again tomorrow for a little punch art!

Tuesday 23 April 2013

When you go down to the woods tonight...

I always love the sketches at CASE this Sketch and there's another gorgeous one this week. As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what I wanted to do but naturally I had to wait for the time to do it...

 Those strong verticals in the sketch reminded me of tree trunks in the woods, and the woods reminded me of the midsummer balls held in all the fairy stories of my childhood, so off I went to set the scene! Come and see:

Card made with Take Care by Stampin' Up

The branch image in Stampin' Up's Take Care set took care of the tree trunks. I embossed them with clear embossing powder and then sponged in the mysterious-looking background, carefully wiping any excess ink off the trunks with a tissue afterwards.

Close up of the tree trunks stamped with Take Care by Stampin' Up

I snipped some bunting out some snippets of More Amore designer paper using the tip of my Pennants punch and doodled in the string with a Crumb Cake marker. Any minute now, the guests will start arriving in their gilt chariots, drawn by silvery moths...

I used a gorgeous colour scheme I'd seen at CAS colours and sketches - Rich Razzleberry Pool Party and Primrose Petals (although I can't link it up as I've also used Soft Suede for the trees!) and since this is a birthday card, I'll link it up to CASual Fridays where they're having a birthday bash - happy birthday Michelle!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Take Care, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Primrose Petals
Card stock: Whisper White
Other: Crumb Cake marker, corner rounder, More Amore designer paper, versamark, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Petite Pennant punch, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
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I grew up in the wilds of Exmoor where the nearest neighbours were three miles away and an older brother and sister didn't necessarily relish the company of small fry, so I relied very much on my imagination for entertainment. I devoured the books of Enid Blyton, immersing myself in her world of pixies and fairies and although I knew such creatures didn't really exist, I wished they did. My favourite story was of a little girl who had a toy stove and was asked to lend it to a fairy living in her garden as she was giving a party for other magic folk and hers had broken. I remember to this day how fervently I wished a fairy would contact me. Bless the small me's cotton socks!

I shall be in masculine mode tomorrow with a card I'm very exited about. See you then,

Monday 22 April 2013

Fun with Stampin' Up designer paper

It was a weekend of gardening and spring cleaning here but, for a bit of a break, I made a couple of cards using Stampin' Up's gorgeous Patio Party designer paper. Come and have a look:


I do love working with designer paper, looking for patterns within the design which might work well for a card.  I cut out the banners on this design with my frequently-used 2 1/2" circle punch, sponged the edges, added a scored sentiment strip and embellished with some pretty embossed die cut butterflies.


This card is made from paper in the same range and looks as if I've used washi tape or gone to a lot of trouble finding coordinating papers!  In fact it's just one square of a brilliant design which features strips of patterns running across it. Again, I added a scored sentiment strip and another of those gorgeous butterflies.

It was great fun making these two quick cards from my designer paper snippets...


... and will be taking them along to Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground where there's normally some excellent skipping to be had!

Here's what you'll need to make these cards
Stamps: Just Believe
Ink: Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple, Baja Breeze for sponging
Card stock: Whisper White, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple
Other: Simply Scored, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
• Get more for your money - place an order for £250 and choose £65 worth of products free! Or join SU and get £155 worth of products for just £99! Offers end 30th May 2013

While we were visiting my in-laws last weekend, my husband offered to change a spotlight that had blown in their kitchen. The radio was on in the kitchen where I was finishing breakfast and just as he mounted the step ladders, some keystone cops-style music started playing. I dissolved into giggles, imagining him dropping things and picking up the stepladders and inadvertently walloping someone over the head with them as he turned round. He managed to ignore me of course and maintained his dignity!

I'll be back tomorrow so do join me again!

Sunday 21 April 2013

Lucky Day on a lovely day

Wow! What an absolute stunner of a day today - which explains why I'm slipping this one in so late! Less is More threw in an unexpected CASE challenge today and what gorgeous cards they've inspired us with! I decided to take elements from both samples and came up with this:

Card made with Lucky Day from Stampin' Up

This technique where you stamp an image on two pieces of card, die cut letters from one and superimpose them over the other has been on my list of things to try for a while so I was delighted to give it a shot with Stampin' Up's Lucky Day stamp.  I loved Jen's pierced-edge frame popped up over a coloured mat too so I added one of those for extra interest.

Here are Jen and Chrissie's cards for our CASEing enjoyment:


Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Lucky Day, Hopeful thoughts 
Ink: Gumball Green, Always Artichoke
Card stock: Whisper White, Always Artichoke
Other: Essentials paper-piercing pack and tool, Big Shot, Timeless Type sizzlits alphabet (retired), stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
• Get more for your money - place an order for £250 and choose £65 worth of products free! Or join SU and get £155 worth of products for just £99! Offers end 30th May 2013

So, how did you spend the first proper day of spring? (or was that summer?!) My daughter and I were supposed to go geo-cacheing today but she sensibly decided she'd be better off spending the day revising for an exam instead and I felt it was a good moment to get things cleared up in the garden. I wasn't the only one in the garden...



 ... but some of us were more active than others!

See you on Monday for more crafting fun,

Friday 19 April 2013

Happy Day Storytime Friends pup!

The cue word at Addicted to CAS is 'Friend' and I've been mulling it over all week without any success. But yesterday, I had a lightbulb moment when my oldest son came in wagging his tail (not literally of course!) and thought of man's (and woman's) best friend - the dog. Come and have a look:

Card made with Storytime Friends from Stampin' Up

How cute is this little chap?! He's from Stampin' Up's Storybook Friends, a stamp set full of sweet animals. He's been stamped onto watercolour paper using black stazon ink and then coloured in Soft Suede ink. I scored a line under him and washed in a sky above it and grass below before stamping the sentiment from Friendly Phrases.  The little scene was cut out with a circle punch and I added a bit of linen thread for a bit of manly interest!

Close up of dog stamped with Storytime Friends from Stampin' Up

I've fallen in love with this little pup and I think he deserves a bit of a close up! I was imagining him careering around and so naturally I gave him a ball to play with! Let's hope he has a happy day - we're having sausages for tea so you never know, someone might smuggle a spare sausage under the table for him!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Storybook Friends, Friendly Phrases
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Black stazon
Card stock: Crumb Cake, watercolour paper
Punches: 2 1/2" and 3/8" circle punches
Other: Linen thread, Simply Scored, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
• Get more for your money - place an order for £250 and choose £65 worth of products free! Or join SU and get £155 worth of products for just £99! Offers end 30th May 2013

It's a good thing Tuppence can't read otherwise she would be outraged at me wasting blog space on a mere dog and give me one of her Resentful Looks. And we wouldn't want that! Here's a photo of her giving one of her RLs to my husband, who had the temerity to sit in a chair she'd had her eye on. Do you see what I mean? Really, we are a sad disappointment to her!


Hope you have a lovely weekend - oh and if you're in the Buckingham area on the FOLLOWING Sunday, 28th April, why not take a trip to Tingewick village hall where there's going to be an exhibition of patchwork and quilting? There'll be some amazing work on display and for sale, and I'll be there selling some of my cards to raise funds for Arthritis Research UK and Medical Detection Dogs. It would be lovely to see you!

Hugs,

Thursday 18 April 2013

Three minute card with punches

One of the fun things about getting older is that colours combinations familiar from when you were growing up make a come-back in a completely fresh way. Summer Starfruit has a real 70s vibe and I can just imagine it being teamed with browns and oranges then... but today's three-minute card goes a little psychedelic with the zingy Gumball Green! Come and see:

Card made with designer paper and Secret Garden from Stampin' Up

I'm loving the little designer paper stacks Stampin' Up have been coming out with. They only cost £6.25 and contain loads of different designs and colours of double-sided papers in a size perfect for card-makers. I chose this fabulous design  and cut it into a square to fit my card base, marked the centre and punched a 1 3/4" circle out of it - just the right size to stamp my Secret Garden flower through onto the card base below.

Close up of sentiment stamped with Just Believe from Stampin' Up

The designer paper panel was stamped with a sentiment in black stazon before attaching to the card base on dimensionals. You need quite a few to keep it solid - I found the 'waste' strips on the sides of the dimensionals pack were ideal for the edges. The central flower was finished with a Basic Black marker and the card was embellished with a punched leaf and flower.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Secret Garden, Just Believe (sentiment)
Ink: Summer Starfruit, Black stazon
Card stock: Whisper White
Punches: Boho Blossoms, 2 step bird punch, 1 3/4 circle punch
Other: Print Poetry designer paper stack, Basic Black marker, Basic Pearls, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
• Get more for your money - place an order for £250 and choose £65 worth of products free! Or join SU and get £155 worth of products for just £99! Offers end 30th May 2013

It's so windy here! My oldest son helpfully took the waste paper out to the recycle yesterday evening and provided a brilliant comedy show from my window: the wind snatched a piece of paper, my son gave chase, the paper came to rest on the ground, my son tried to pin it down with his foot, it flew off again...! He came back inside to find me helpless with laughter and, despite the fact that he is VERY cool, he was able to have a laugh at himself too. Bless!

I'll have more designer paper ideas here tomorrow. Hope to see you then,

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Sharing Stampin' Up

I love Stampin' Up products! That's not exactly ground-breaking news but it's why I became a Stampin' Up demonstrator. Since then, I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing my passion with others, some of whom have joined me. If you love these amazing products too, there's a you-shaped space in my group - and now is a great time to join because, until May 30th, you'll get to choose an extra £25 worth of products when you buy your starter kit. It costs just £99 and you'll get £155 worth of goodies - and the best bit is that you can choose exactly what you'd like so there's no need to worry that you'll be duplicating products you already own. Interested? Click here to find out more or if you'd like to have a no-obligation chat about joining, give me a call on 01280 820593.

One of my favourite things to do with my Stampin' Up products hasn't changed since I first discovered them - pulling out a variety of stamp sets and getting inky! Today's card is a good example of that - come and have a look:

Card made with French Foliage and Secret Garden from Stampin' Up

This is the result of wondering what would happen if I paired some of the tropical blooms from Secret Garden with images from French Foliage. To make the background,  I sponged ink over some Whisper White card stock and added the script and some French Foliage leaves. The focal flowers were stamped over the top, coloured using an aquapainter and given detail with markers. To finish, I stamped the Secret Garden leaves and outlined flowers around the edge of the panel and sponged more ink over them to add depth. Oh boy, that was fun!

Close up of sentiment from Life Shared by Stampin' Up

And the sentiment? Well, I've already gone into that!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Secret Garden, French Foliage, Life Shared
Ink: Summer Starfruit, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Cajun Craze, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Card stock: Whisper White, Naturals Ivory
Other: Markers, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
• Get more for your money - place an order for £250 and choose £65 worth of products free! OR join SU and get £155 worth of products for just £99! Offers end 30th May 2013

My daughter is a fervent believer in sharing - especially when it comes to my clothes and jewellery. She's not so much of a fan of replacing the items she borrows, but perhaps that's because she feels that dressing isn't enough of a challenge for me and that I may be invigorated by the thrill of the hunt for a jumper! 

It's Three Minute Thursday here tomorrow so do join me for a quick card!