Stampin' Up stamps at bargain prices! Don't miss this one!

I was checking the Stampin' Up 2015 Retiring List yesterday and one set jumped out at me - Apothecary Art! I cannot believe this amazing set hasn't sold out yet! Still, that means you can snap it up at a bargain price so it's all good! Come and see how versatile it is:

This card was made for my in-laws' golden wedding anniversary. I heat embossed one of the large label images in gold, coloured it with yellow markers and layed it over a scored gold banner. The same image was stamped again so that I could snip out a few of the flowers and pop them up over the sentiment. I loved this card!

That stamp can look quite different though...

Here it is again! This time I inked up just the frondy flowers, using a Basic Black marker, and stamped several of them on a masked and inked yellow background. A sprinkling of gems adds a touch of sparkle!

There's another large label in this fab set and I amused myself one day by stamping it several times and snipping out groups of roses to arrange in a vellum bouquet! Great fun I can tell you!

Another useful thing about this set is that you can use the scroll separately, like this:

Or if you prefer a smaller scroll, just snip away the centre section and add a sentiment over the top like this:

I expect you can see that I love this amazing stamp set to bits - and I assure you that these few ideas are just a fraction of what you can do with it!

CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO BUY APOTHECARY ART NOW!

Cling mount £24.95 NOW £21.21 or wood mount £30.95 NOW 23.21.

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

Eva-pup and I went for a walk with my husband yesterday - he wanted to show us something he told me. He led us through a heavily wooded path that I never even knew existed, and we walked right out to the outskirts of our town where he slowed down and put his finger to his lips. Peering through the leaves I could see a clearing in the trees and in the space there were about five or six rabbits hopping about! "It weelly is a wabbit wonderland!" said my husband, making me laugh. Actually the funniest part is that Eva didn't even notice the rabbits!

Are you around tomorrow for the official Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team blog hop?! I'm delighted with how my own project has turned out this week and I've used a gorgeous new set from the upcoming new annual catalogue so don't miss it!

DSP make-over - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

Thursday has come around again and I'm delighted to welcome you to another Stampin' Up Artisan design Team blog hop. Did you see the amazing ideas the team came up with last week? Wow! I know there's plenty more inspiration where those came from so let's get hopping to see this week's creations!

My own project came about when I opened the pack of Motley Monsters designer paper Stampin' Up had sent me and realised that it's full of gorgeous papers that are definitely NOT just for halloween! Come and see:

This paper for example, features bold trees with the odd pair of scary eyes peering out of the blackness between them! Cover up those eyes though, and you have a graphic paper design with a lovely autumn feel - perfect for making quick cards for the coming season's birthdays. I covered the eyes on my piece with this birthday banner from the Apothecary Art stamp set.

To up the birthday factor, I gave my leaves a little shine with Crystal Effects (I'm hoping you can see that in this photo!) and added a liberal sprinkling of gems.

And what about this paper?

There was a border of witches, cats and monsters on one end of this sheet but I trimmed that off and was left with this beautiful leaf design. Look at the way the leaves appear to be swirling round the card!

I used the Apothecary Art banner again and embellished the card with a bundle of leaves tied up with twine that I pulled off the new two-tone trim. The leaves have been stamped with a gorgeous new stamp set called Fall Fest and I tucked one of the fab new Autumn Wooden Elements embellishments in there too.

It was great fun taking these papers and jazzing them up a little! Are you ready for more ideas? Then you'll want to click the button below and see what the amazing Allison Okamitsu has made to inspire you!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THESE CARDS NOW!
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my online shop) 

Motlley Monsters Designer Series Paper £9.95	Apothecary Art - Wood-Mount Stamp £30.95	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad £5.50	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents £4.50
Crystal Effects £5.25	Fall Fest Photopolymer Stamp Set £13.95	Autumn Wooden Elements £4.50	Natural Old Olive Two-Tone Trim £4.50
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Whisper White A4 Card Stock £7.50	Early Espresso A4 Card Stock £6.25

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

When my youngest son saw today's cards he said he really liked the sentiment. I thought he meant the gorgeous banner but it turns out that he liked what it said. "Never mind any old happy birthday," he said. "Oh no! Only the happiest birthday will do!"

We might be heading into the autumn here in the British Isles, but we're not finished with summer yet! I'll have something summery and gorgeous to show you tomorrow so do come back and see!

A spray of turquoise ink

Turquoise is everywhere at the moment - have you noticed? I've been wearing it with a zing of coral so when I saw the challenge at Less is More was A Touch of Turquoise this week, I thought I'd try it on a card. Come and see:

I could have chosen any of the beautiful new florals from Stampin' Up's spring/summer catalogue to make this design but I was feeling wistful for an old friend so out came Summer Silhouettes.

The leaves and flowers were stamped in a triangular shape using two of the turquoise-ish colours: Coastal Cabana and Island Indigo. The banner is from one of the stamps in the Apothecary Art set. It was too long so I cut it down and hid the join with the fussy cut sentiment. No-one would ever know...!

The sketch I used comes from the ever-inspiring CAS(E) this Sketch.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my shop) 

Stamps: Summer Silhouettes wood or cling, Apothecary Art wood or cling,
Sassy Salutations wood or cling, 

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Island Indigo, Early Espresso, Calypso Coral

Card stock: Whisper White, Pool Party

Other: Paper snips, stamp-a-majig

Click above to place an order any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

The Easter holidays have begun so life has gone into overdrive again! My youngest son took pity on me and offered to go to the supermarket for me today. I rummaged around in the cupboards to see what we needed while he wrote the list. "We'll need sprouts," I said. "How many?" asked my son, writing it down. "Hmm, let's see - about 16," I said. "And we'll need a couple of parsnips." He looked up. "Two?" he asked. I nodded. "Yes, and could you get a pat of butter? Just one." He twinkled at me and launched into song: "And a partridge in a pear tree!"

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'll be back on Monday when I'll be turning my attention to birthdays! Hope to see you then,

Welcome to my Stampin' Up group!

So I'm at the Stampin' Up convention at the moment, hearing all the latest news, seeing the new releases, playing with new toys, being inspired to the max and, best of all, getting together with my lovely colleagues from all over Europe! Wouldn't you just love to be there? Well of course you could be next year! I'd love to welcome you to my group, the Inkredibles, and at only £99 for a starter kit, it's a very real possibility. Read all about it here and do feel free to contact me to find out more.

These are the welcome packs I sent out to my latest Inkredibles. My pack includes a handbook I've written to familiarise you with Stampin' Up; a notebook decorated and personalised for you; a card stock swatch including the trendy in-colours as well as the core colours; a handmade card; and a prettily embellished sweet treat.

I adore this wonderful stamp from Apothecary Art and it coordinates perfectly with the Labels framelits. I made the name tags in MDS and cut them out with my sharp paper snips.

These look too good to eat don't they (although I can assure you I wouldn't let that stop me!) The paper is from the Gingham Garden range and they're tied up with the lush stitched satin ribbon in Midnight Muse. The labels are a favourite of mine - they're stamped with That's the Ticket and cut out with the coordinating Ticket punch - easy peasy!

This is the card I made for my new ladies. The background is stamped with Gorgeous Grunge and I added the beautiful vintage phone image from Timeless Talk. I stamped it three times...

... cutting the second image out to pop up over the first with dimensionals and cutting the dial out of the third with a circle punch and popping that up too. The card was decorated with my favourite embellishments: candy dots and washi tape!

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

Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Timeless Talk

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie, Midnight Muse
Card stock: Rose Red, Whisper White
Other: Gingham Garden washi tape candy dots, 3/4" circle punch, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

My next post will be on Monday (assuming I've recovered from the excitement of Convention!) but in the meantime, you'll find updates and photos on my facebook page so do hop over there.

See you soon,

Inspired by harvest festival

Yesterday I had a bit of a creative moment! I was fiddling about with my Perfectly Preserved stamp set and came up with a pot of jam and then, not content with that, I made an apple using a punch and some sponge daubers! Seeing the two together made me think of harvest festival and all the times my children trotted off to school carefully carrying their decorated produce. When I'd finished being in Mumland I found that I'd made this:

All sorts of harvest goodies in a wooden crate made using my new Woodgrain embossing folder on Core'dinations card stock and sanding the surface - LOVE this textured look! The jam was made by stamping parts of a strawberry from my Fruit and Flowers set onto card stock and then sponging colour over the top. I stamped my beloved jar from Perfectly Preserved over the top and added crystal effects, allowing it to dry before cutting out with my sharp paper snips. It does look quite realistic in real life!

Can you see how shiny it is? Those ears of wheat next to the jam are from the retiring Autumn Days - such a favourite set of mine! I hooked some of the Perfectly Preserved cherries over the crate to look as if they were spilling out.

The apple was made with a circle punch, sponge daubers and ink and has a stalk made from the cherries stem. I might do a tutorial on this because I quite like how realistic it looks and it was really quick and easy! I finished the card with a bit of rustic linen thread and a sentiment cut out with the modern label punch and fastened to the crate with brads - I love that I can just reach for brads that match the wheat!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Perfectly Preserved, Autumn Days (retiring), Apothecary Art (sentiment)
Ink: Marina Mist, Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, More Mustard
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso Core'dinations
Other: Woodgrain embossing folder, sanding block, Big Shot, Modern Label punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, markers, Crystal Effects, brads, linen thread, paper snips

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. Click here to view my regularly updated lists of retiring stamps and accessories, some at up to 40% discount. 

What is it about my family and food? My oldest son can't get enough cereal and meat (although thankfully not at the same time!) My daughter calls him 'My brother, the Sarlac' (referring to a creature on Star Wars that eats anything and everything and which appears as a hole in the desert with teeth and tentacles!) This is a little hypocritical though... the other day she suggested we had chocolates for pudding and I had to remind her we'd just HAD pudding! 

It's Three Minute Thursday here tomorrow and I have a quick autumnal card to show you. Hope to see you then,

A great big Less is More thank you!

Well this is rather a late entry from me as it's been quite a day here... (more about that at the end of the post.) I was so excited to see that the challenge at Less is More today is to make a card inspired by the blog's lovely header and also that Kim S, whose work I've admired for ages, is guesting! My card is dedicated to the brilliant Chrissie and Mandi, who work tirelessly to make this challenge such a fun and friendly one - thank you ladies! Come and see it:

I've always admired the LIM header with its flourishes, flowers and musical score and the colour scheme is beautifully understated too. I knew just which stamps I'd use to recreate the feel - out came my Music Notes wheel, my Apothecary Art set and my Sincere Salutations sentiment set! Here's a reminder of the header:

... and here's a close-up of the detail on the card:

First, I heat embossed the sentiment and cut it out with the Decorative Label punch, then mounted it onto Brushed Gold card stock and cut just outside the shape to create a mat. This was attached to a textured black card stock strip and decorated with punched gold flowers and rhinestones. Next, I wheeled the Music Notes across a Whisper White panel. The beautiful frondy flowers on one of the Apothecary Art stamps were added by colouring the rubber with a Basic Black marker and using a stamp-a-majig to position it where it was needed. Finally, the sentiment was added to the front of the white panel and it was attached to the card front.

Here's what you'll need to make this card:

Stamps: Apothecary Art, Music Notes wheel, Sincere Salutations

Ink: Basic Black

Card stock: Whisper White, Brushed Gold, Basic Black textured

Other: Decorative label punch, Itty Bitty punch set, Basic Rhinestones, versamark, clear 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.

Would you believe I was halfway through making today's card when my husband came in from a bike ride with my youngest son, blood everywhere, babbling about an accident. My lovely son was still smiling but minus half of his two front teeth, and two minutes later we were on our way to the emergency dentist and I was hearing all about the magnificent dive over the handlebars! He really was so brave while being patched up but unfortunately one of his teeth was shattered vertically and will need quite a bit of treatment. So it looks as if I'll be continuing to live at the dentist for the forseeable future - but with some excellent company this time!

Hope you're having a great weekend. I shall be back tomorrow with an exciting announcement, so do come back then!

Hugs,

Golden anniversary card

A golden wedding anniversary is an important landmark and I loved making the card for my in-laws' special day. Come and see:

The banner is made from a strip of the gorgeous Brushed Gold card stock and I've embossed the edges using my Simply Scored. I stamped my favourite image from Apothecary Art twice using versamark and heat embossed both with gold embossing powder. Let's zoom in for a closer look:

I cut one of the images out with the coordinating Label framelit and cut elements out of the other which I popped up with dimensionals. The flowers were coloured with markers and the sentiment was computer generated.

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

Stamps: Apothecary Art

Ink: Daffodil Delight, So Saffron, River Rock, Early Espresso - all in marker form

Card stock: Very Vanilla, Brished Gold

Other: Labels framelits, Big Shot, versamark, gold embossing powder, heat tool, Simply Scored, dimensionals

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.

We had the most wonderful weekend celebrating my inlaws' golden wedding anniversary. They'd hired  this wonderful old house for the weekend in the heart of the Cotswolds.

I loved all the details on it like the mullioned windows and the little sculptures above the windows. The reason the windows look this colour is that they're reflecting a glorious, cloudless blue sky!

The house dates from the 13th century and has been added to throughout the centuries. This window belongs to one of the oldest parts.

We'd been told that the house had a 'wealth of beams' and this was found to be quite true...

...in fact, my poor brother in law who is over six foot tall had quite a headache by the time he left!

This was our lovely room and we spent a very comfortable couple of nights here...

... although when we woke up on our first morning, we were a little disconcerted to find this chap staring at us from the opposite wall! He's a 'green man', a carving of a pagan nature spirit, and he looks quite surprised to find us there doesn't he?!

It's okay, you can wake up now! I've finished showing you photos - unless you'd like to see... No? Well alright then, I'll stop wittering and will wish you a very happy weekend instead.

See you soon,