All in the family and friends

It's a new month and that means a new challenge over at the St Lukes Charity Card Challenge blog - YAY! I love joining in there, not only because it's fun making the cards but also because I feel I'm doing something useful with my crafting. The idea behind the challenge is that you can send your cards in to the address on the blog; they are then sorted and sold to raise money for the St Lukes Hospice in Sheffield, an organisation set up to support terminally ill patients and their families - a very worthwhile cause I'm sure you will agree.

The challenge this week is Couples but it doesn't have to be romantic couples we're told, any pair of creatures are fine! Come and see what I made:

I've come up with a pair of sisters or friends doing what we do best - supporting one another. The ladies are from All In The Family, an amazing set which is on the Retiring Stamp List. It's basically a set of heads, legs, arms and clothes that you can put together in infinite ways to create different people - there's even a dog and a cat!

The sentiment is a lovely one from Petite Pairs, a set of sentiments in pairs which you can use inside and outside your cards. The other half of this one says 'no matter what'.

I've used the new in-colours for this card - they're available now, even though they don't appear in any of the current catalogues. I am in love with them! It's always so much fun to get new colours and experiment with how they look with other colours.

My favourite has to be the acidic yellow of Summer Starfruit and I particularly like the way it sings with the Midnight Muse. The ink pads have the new firm foam filling inside and I must say they really do give excellent coverage with just a tap of the stamp in the ink. The other new feature is that you can stick the name of the ink pad on the front of the pad with the sticker provided to make it easy to find the colour you want. I've always been a huge fan of the ink pads and now they are 10/10 in my opinion.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card

Stamps: All In The Family (retiring), Petite Pairs

Ink: Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz (retiring), Primrose Petals, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit (all new)

Card stock: Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit

Punches: Small Oval, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border, Itty Bitty punch pack

Other: Markers, Marina Mist brads, Stripes embossing folder, 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. 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 ordering from the Retiring Stamps list or the Retiring Accessories list, please be aware that items are only available while stocks last.

If you came here looking for the 'something furry' I promised you yesterday, I do apologise. I was making a card with Fox and Friends but gave up firstly, because it was all going horribly wrong and secondly, because it's now sold out so I felt that it would be teasing to show you things that are no longer available! Lets pretend that the ladies in today's card have forgotten to de-fuzz their legs - will that count as something furry?!

Three Minute Thursday is back here tomorrow so if you're looking for fast, this is the place to be! See you soon,

All in the Family wedding card

I had such fun making today's card! I had the idea when I was making this card and got thoroughly involved in the characters as I was colouring them. I had the adults in the card holding hands and that set me thinking about romance and weddings. Come and see what happened:

Just look at them! I think they met at his sister's wedding and had a wonderful time dancing together. He took her phone number promising to call her and she was devastated when the call never came. Little did she know that he had his suit dry-cleaned with the scrap of paper still in the pocket and so he lost it. He couldn't get his blonde beauty out of his mind though and spent ages trying to trace her with his sister's help. In the end his persistence paid off and when they met up again it was as if they'd never been apart. He finally proposed on valentines day a year later, presenting her with the most beautiful diamond solitaire on bended knee. She had no hesitation in accepting of course and here they are - radiantly happy on their wedding day!

I really enjoyed dressing the happy couple! I sketched in a jacket over the shirt, tie and trousers he came in and made her a pretty vellum frock, adding lacy looking detail with my white gel pen. I chose a red theme for the wedding - have you noticed how he's wearing Cherry Cobbler socks to match the stripe in his tie?!

It's the little details that make a card special and I enjoyed giving my bride a bouquet to carry (stamped with a tiny floral stamp in Tiny Tags and added to with markers) and adding a single, tiny pearl to embellish her lacy gown. 

This beautiful sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes nestles inside scored lines and I introduced more texture to the card by embossing half of the card front with my Square Lattice embossing folder. Finally, with a watercolour pencil, I shaded in some grass for them to scamper about on!

 Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: All in the Family, Tiny Tags, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Grey

Card stock: Very Vanilla, scrap of vellum 

Other: Markers, watercolour pencils, white gel pen, Square Lattice embossing folder, Basic Pearls, scoring blade, stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these supplies for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. I am committed to providing excellent customer service and am always happy to help and advise. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593.

Click here to see all the free Sale-a-bration sets and don't forget to let me know which ones you'd like - remember, you get one free item for EVERY £45 spent!

Last year my son was invited to sing in a small choir at the wedding of one of his teachers. When I asked him whether he'd enjoyed the wedding he said that he'd particularly enjoyed a story told by one of the couple's friends during the service: A pair due to wed asked their mothers' advice before the wedding. "My socks are so smelly - what shall I do?" asked the groom. His mother suggested he get up before his wife and wash them out. "My breath is so stinky in the morning - what will he think?" worried the bride. Her mother told her to brush her teeth before he got up in the morning. On the morning after their wedding night, the bride got up early to get her teeth brushed but woke her husband as she got out of bed. "Oh no - my breath!" she gasped covering her mouth. "Oh no!" he cried. "You've swallowed my socks!"


Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back here very soon.

Hugs,

Stripily all in the family!

I'm feeling a bit grumpy because everything's gone a bit on the pear-shaped side today... I got up with the lark this morning only to find no water again even though we'd lagged the pipe last week! My hubby works hard during the week and certainly doesn't want to be getting up first thing so off I trotted downstairs with my trusty hairdrier and a hot water bottle to try to get the pipes defrosted...

I didn't get started on the Less is More challenge until this afternoon - and kneeling on a freezing cold kitchen floor with your bottom poking out of the cupboard under the sink does nothing for your mojo let me tell you! This week, Mandi and Chrissie want to see one-layer cards with the theme of Stripes and I had this great (well I thought it was great!) idea of a group of people all dressed in stripy clothes. Come and have a look (you can click on the photo to make it bigger):

I sponged some grass for my people to stand on using a mask made of paper I'd trimmed with scallop border punch. And then out came my lovely All in the Family stamp set and I had great fun creating a whole bunch of cuties! There are so many different heads, arms, legs etc in the set that the possibilities are endless... come and meet the gang:

I think everyone's waiting for the birthday boy or girl to turn up so they can party! I reckon this little pair are twins and they look as if they certainly know how to get up to mischief!

The little girl in the middle feels very grown-up in her new party frock! She will be Dancing Queen of the afternoon while her two companions will be found underneath the buffet table polishing off the remainder of the puddings and looking slightly queasy! 

I thought this pair would do very well on an engagement or anniversary card or, if I dressed them up in something a bit posh, even a wedding card! Can you tell how carried away I got? Well it was then, just as I was attaching the banner onto the pole when I remembered - it's supposed to be a one-layer card! Aaaargh! So sorry, Chrissie and Mandi - I am sitting on the Naughty Step as I type!

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: All in the Family, sentiment is from a retired sale-a-bration set

Ink: Certainly Celery, Basic Grey

Card stock: Naturals Ivory

Other: Markers, Scallop border punch, stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these supplies for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. I am committed to providing excellent customer service and am always happy to help and advise. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593.

Click here to see all the free Sale-a-bration sets and don't forget to let me know which ones you'd like - remember, you get one free item for EVERY £45 spent!

Talking of parties reminds me of a conversation I overheard on the street between an elderly gent and a lady with her small daughter in tow. "How are you?" said the man and then, indicating the little girl who was dressed in a sparkly pink frock, "Are we going to a party today?"The woman looked slightly harassed. "We are going to a party - yes," she replied. "It's tomorrow. We're just practising today!"

Thanks for popping round today. I'm looking forward to seeing all the stripiness over at the Less is More site - see you soon!

Hugs,