Happy Fathers Day using Papaya Collage from Stampin' Up

Did you enjoy yesterday's sneak peek at some of the exciting new products Stampin' Up will be releasing in the 2014 annual catalogue next month? There'll be more previews next week but first, I wanted to show you the CAS Fathers Day card I've sent off to my own father. Come and see:

The 'happy Father's Day' is one of twelve beautifully designed sentiments in Delightful Dozen, a set on the Stampin' Up Retirement list (the cling mount version is a bargain at only £14.37, 40% off !)

I've coloured in the 'Father' bit with my new Tangelo Twist marker (that's one of five gorgeous new colours coming soon!) and stamped this leafy image from Papaya Collage in Pear Pizzazz, stamping off first. Papaya Collage is also on Stampin' Up's Retirement List - available in cling mount only as the wood mount version has already sold out!

This card will be my second entry at the Male Room, where the theme is Father's Day, and Make My Monday where the challenge is Male-themed cards; I'll also be linking up with ATSAM where the lovely ladies have a Clean and Simple challenge going on.

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

Stamps: Delightful Dozen wood or cling, Papaya Collage (retiring) cling

Ink: Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz classic ink,
plus Tangelo Twist marker (available 1st July)

Card stock: Whisper White

Other: 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.

Some of the items in the annual Stampin' Up catalogue are retiring to make way for new products. Don't miss out on your favourites! Some of these items have been discounted too - check the lists by clicking on the banners below:

The leafy image on today's card reminds me of parsley and parsley reminds me of the huge vegetable garden my father used to work in after putting in a full day's work as a farmer. The garden was amazing - even as a child I recognised that! - with an astonishing variety of well-tended fruits and vegetables. I loved playing in the garden, but there was one job I hated: picking the gooseberries! Each gooseberry bush was festooned in spiders' webs with bloated, evil-looking spiders lurking amongst them...

Somehow I survived!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend won't you. I'll be back on Monday with something bright and cheerful so I'll hope to see you then.

Papaya Collage in the frame

I love using tags on my cards and I'm intrigued by the current trend for layouts with an offset element too. Today's card combines both! Come and see:

Does this large tag remind you of Project Life by any chance? Not long to wait now - I am SO looking forward to using this quick and easy way to organise my photos with Stampin' Up colours and everything coordinating!

The big, punchy 'thank you' from Stampin' Up's Simply Celebrate was my starting point for this card. It was stamped and heat embossed with clear embossing powder so it would resist the ink when I stamped the frame from the retiring Papaya Collage over the top. I masked off the frame and stamped the foliage from the same set inside, finishing it with a bit of light sponging.

As well as the frame and the foliage, there are heaps of other elements in this gorgeous stamp set! This butterfly for example - he was stamped, sponged and stapled to the tag (but he felt nothing I promise!)

To finish the card, I stamped and heat embossed this decorative swirl, added a little banner (remember that gorgeous banner punch from Sale-a-bration?!) and embellished with a die cut button and some white bakers twine. Yes, the wonderful Sweet Buttons embosslits die is retiring - don't miss out on that for goodness sake!!!

I used the beautiful sketch at Freshly Made Sketches to make this card and the gorgeous colours at the Colour Throwdown.

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

Stamps: Simply Celebrate wood or cling, Papaya Collage (retiring) wood or cling

Ink: Strawberry Slush, Sahara Sand, Coastal Cabana

Card stock: Sahara Sand, Whisper White

Other: Banner punch (available soon), corner rounder, Sweet Buttons embosslits die (retiring), Clear embossing powder, heat tool, white bakers twine, 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.

Some of the items in the annual catalogue are retiring to make way for new products. Don't miss out on your favourites! Some of these items have been discounted too - check them here.

What a wonderful birthday weekend I've had! My family really do know how to spoil me and the sunshine was an added bonus. We spent yesterday exploring the beautiful city of Cambridge with its interesting mix of Georgian architecture, cows on the common, many bicycles, punting on the river Cam, a brilliant arts, crafts and food market and fascinating shops and cafes. I  might be another year older but perhaps I'll stop worrying about my 'senior moments' after overhearing a conversation between two young ladies in one cafe:
"When are you going on holiday?"
"August."
"When's August?"

Hope you had a lovely weekend. See you tomorrow,

The latest special offers from Stampin' Up

Stampin' Up have announced some great new special offers for this week! Look:

Stampin' Write Markers (new colour kit) £23.95 NOW £17.96
(Includes Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Wisteria Wonder)

Christmas Ornament punch £14.25 NOW £10.69
In colour Boutique Details £8.25 NOW £6.19
Modern Medley designer series paper £9.95 NOW £7.46
I Am Me designer series paper £9.95 NOW £7.46
Fun Flowers Bigz L Die £28.95 NOW £21.71
Afternoon Daydream Kit (digital download) £6.95 NOW £4.17

Some great bargains there! You can buy these products at these special prices until Tuesday 29th April from my online shop - and there's lots more to see while you're there including online-only stamps!

Now, I think it's time for a bit of stamping! I love the Modern Medley range of designer papers and used one of them to form the background on this card:

Collage-style stamping works well on this kind of paper and what better set to do that with than the gorgeous Papaya Collage stamp set?!

You can see how I built up a background of leaves and speckles from Gorgeous Grunge. I stamped these in Crushed Curry which is the perfect colour for a subtle bit of zing. I stamped my bird over the top, quickly heat embossing him with clear embossing powder before the ink dried.

The sentiment is from the Hostess set Morning Meadow, stamped onto a strip of card stock trimmed into a banner and I mounted my panel on a card base made with the subtly textured core'dinations card stock.

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

Stamps: Papaya Collage wood or cling, Gorgeous Grunge wood or cling
Morning Meadow (hostess set) wood or cling

Ink: Gumball Green, Early Espresso, Crushed Curry

Card stock: Very Vanilla smooth, Crumb Cake core'dinations

Other: Modern Medley designer paper, versamark, clear embossing powder, heat tool, 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.

I'm still chuckling over our Easter treasure hunt. One of the clues was 'Highly strung' and was hidden on one of our roman blinds. As the children went off to find it I heard my oldest son say: "There must be a harp in the house somewhere..!"

See you tomorrow,

Pick up a Postcard!

I loved the look of the Postcard stamp in Stampin' Up's annual catalogue but, once it arrived, I didn't quite know what to do with it! So I left it out on my desk and looked at it and had a think and more of a think... and this week I'll be posting the results of my thought processes! Come and see the first idea:

Okay, so this one's the most obvious way to use the stamp - as an actual postcard. After all, who doesn't love receiving postcards?!

I stamped the postcard image and cut it out with my trimmer, whisked it over...

... and had a lovely inky time with a couple of my favourite stamp sets. This one has been sponged and stamped with the glubilicious (according to my daughter) By the Tide...

... while this one has been has been decorated with Papaya Collage - another wonderful set for layering images.

These make great little notecards or thank you cards. I stamped several Postcard blanks too - they're useful to keep in my stash and I can rustle up a scene for the front any time I like!

Here's what you'll need to make these postcards
Stamps: Postcard, Papaya Collage, By The Tide
Ink: Always Artichoke, So Saffron, Island Indigo, Smoky Slate, Gumball Green, Crisp Cantaloupe, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso
Card stock: Very Vanilla
Other: Markers, trimmer, 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.

And as a special thank you for shopping with me, you'll get a free gift and a handmade card when you place your first online order with me during September.


Today my children all returned to school looking very smart in their new clothes. Last night my youngest son sat me down and went through his timetable with me. He showed me how all his lessons were listed along with the initials of the teacher taking the class. "DHU," I mused, indicating one set of initials. "Now what does that stand for?" My naughty son gave me a wicked look."Don't have underpants!" he suggested rudely and guffawed loudly. I raised my eyebrows. "Now that's one garment that I would've thought would be indispensable!" I said.

Don't forget to join me tomorrow to see what else I've come up with using the Postcard stamp!

Three minute Good Luck card

It's always handy to have a stash of good luck cards to help your loved ones feel supported before an exam, a job interview, a driving test, a performance... well, you get the picture, there are all sorts of challenges to be faced in life! I've been using Horse Frontier a lot lately and there's a gorgeous horseshoe image in the set which is perfect for a good luck card. I made this one for my Three Minute Thursday slot today - come and have a look:

I coloured the rubber of my sentiment first, using markers, and stamped it using a stamp-a-majig to get it where I wanted it. Next came the horseshoe, which I coloured with a Sahara Sand marker, and finally the beautiful fern image, stamped off once before pressing onto the card stock.

A gem gives the horseshoe that finishing touch and that's it - a small 7.5cm square notelet that you could tuck into a lunch box, pocket or gadget case, and takes just a couple of minutes to make.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Horse Frontier, Sincere Salutations (retired), Papaya Collage
Ink: Lucky Limeade and Basic Grey
Card stock: Very Vanilla
Other: Markers, Basic Rhinestones, 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.

• All places on my Stampers 6 club have now been filled for February and March but if you'd like to put your name on my waiting list, please let me know.

We are in the grip of a cold spell here in Buckingham but look:

There's hope! These will turn into cheerful yellow daffodils in a month or two to brighten up the base of the hawthorn tree. We've hung a fat ball high up in the tree and it's proving to be quite a draw for local birds. Needless to say The Mighty Warrior (that's Tuppence, our cat) is outraged!

See you tomorrow,

Three minute Papaya Collage background

It's Three Minute Thursday here today, so let's talk about fast card-making! Stamping and punching has to be one of the fastest ways to make a card and I love how Stampin' Up have punches that coordinate with stamp sets. There are butterflies, birds and flowers to choose from, but the circle and square punches are also in constant use in the Crafting Square Metre. Today's card uses the 3/4" circle punch with two stamps from different sets - come and see:

When I first got my stamp-a-majig, I forced myself to use it for everything with the result that it has become a very natural part of my stamping and is now a very quick and efficient way of getting stamped images where I want them.  This background, using the lovely ornate frame image from Papaya Collage, took seconds to stamp.

The sentiment was stamped and cut out with the punch before attaching to the inside of the frame with a dimensional. Of course, I could have gone the other way and cut an aperture in the frame image... perhaps another time! I filled the other frames with the pretty snowflake/flower from Make a Mitten which I thought went rather well with the frame; I deliberately didn't decorate the centres because I wanted the sentiment to take centre stage.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Papaya Collage, Make a Mitten, Mixed Medley (hostess)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant
Card stock: Naturals Ivory
Other: 3/4" circle punch, 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.

My daughter and I have lots in common. One thing is that we both like zumba fitness classes (where we fondly imagine we're just dancing!) and the other is that we love mucking about with words. Here's an example of both: Yesterday, on the way to zumba, neither of us was feeling entirely up for it - she had a headache and my tummy hurt. "We're just a pair of old crocks," I said, and she immediately made snapping motions with her arms to indicate a crocodile. She always makes me laugh.

Good gracious, it's happened again - the week has galloped past! I shall be here tomorrow with more stamping fun. See you then,

Wings and things

Good morning from sunny Buckingham where I woke up early and thought I'd nip in a bit of crafting before my presence is required! It's one layer card week at Less is More and the theme is Wings - the perfect opportunity to give my new Papaya Collage butterfly a chance to shine I thought! I used a great sketch from a brand new clean and simple challenge called CAS(E) This Sketch too. Come and see:

It was fun to make the background: I stuck a post it note to a piece of scrap card stock and cut five circles in a row with a circle punch. When the punched post it note was peeled away from the card stock it made a mask for me to sponge ink into and over-stamp with some tiny flowers from my Confetti backgrounds set.

The butterfly and sentiment were stamped over the background using a stamp-a-majig for position and I added a couple of rows of pierced holes to link the circles using my fab new piercing template. I took this photo to show you what happens when you hold it up to the light - I love this effect!

Here's the sketch I used. It's lovely to see new CAS challenges turning up in Blogland and I'm sure you'll recognise lots of familiar names on the DT of this one!

While I had everything out, I thought I'd make another one layer card with an oval masked inked background...

... but I got not so much of an ink smudge on it but a whole bunch of ink smeared all over the back! So I cut this bit out and pierced the edges before mounting onto a separate card base - nothing gets wasted in the Crafting Square Metre!

Here's what you'll need for these cards
Stamps: Papaya Collage, Confetti, A Word for You
Ink: More Mustard, Tangerine Tango, Marina Mist, Midnight Muse, Cajun Craze
Card stock: Naturals White
Other: Punch - circle or oval, markers, essentials paper piercing pack and tool, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, 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.

We were in Somerset yesterday visiting my father and before we went I inspected the troops to make sure they were looking respectable. "Your hair looks nice," I said to my youngest son. "Thanks!" he said. "I styled it yesterday." When I looked surprised he added: "By accident!" We all burst out laughing. "Did you trip up and fall on the hairbrush?" suggested my daughter.

Thank you for visiting me today - I think this is going to be a popular LiM week and I can't wait to see the variety of things with wings in the gallery! See you soon,

Papaya Collage emboss/resist

So far I've been pretty restrained with my Papaya Collage stamp set because that's the kind of girl I am (although there are those that would tell you different!) But today I've gone all out in a frenzy of feminine gorgeousness! Come and have a look:

I chose a colour palette of Crumb Cake, Gumball Green and Primrose Petals and went for a dreamy, vintage feel. A lacy white mat, flowing script, a shimmery butterfly, a seam binding bow, pearls - what didn't I use?!

The swirly En Français background stamp is perfect for the emboss/resist technique and teams well with  the ornate frame in Papaya Collage. I can tell that fern is going to be very well-used in the Craft Square Metre too and I love it in the new Gumball Green! The Scallop Trim border punch was used to create the layered edging.

The sentiment is from the wonderful Curly Cute set and I've used the soft Crumb Cake seam binding to underline it. Finishing touches include pearls, the stunning butterfly from Papaya Collage, and a mist of Primrose Petals using the colour spritzer tool.

Here's a close up of that pretty butterfly, shimmering with a touch of dazzling diamonds glitter.

Well, it was great fun romping about with this card but you know, I really am a CAS girl at heart!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Papaya Collage, En Français, Curly Cute
Ink: Primrose Petals, Crumb Cake, Gunball Green, River Rock, Basic Grey
Card stock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Other: Basic Pearls, Crumb Cake seam binding, Scallop Trim border punch, versamark, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, markers, Colour Spritzer tool, 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.

When my daughter was very small, she liked to 'do' my hair. I was a very good mummy and kept very still while she tugged and brushed and combed and twisted my hair into a comedy hairstyle, but it took ALL my self control to sit and let her add slides and ribbons and scrunchies and the kitchen sink and the cat (well okay, perhaps not the last two things but you get my point!)

Thank you for visiting me today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you very soon.
Hugs,

Three Minute Papaya Collage

Are you enjoying the new Stampin' Up catalogue? I'm loving it and enjoying my gorgeous new goodies too! Papaya Collage is one of my favourite new stamp sets and I'm finding it to be one of those useful, versatile sets - great for male and female cards and pretty much any occasion, and it lends itself to different styles too, from CAS to ornate. Today I have a one layer card to show you that I rustled up in just a few minutes. Come and see:

The card base is made out of Naturals Ivory card stock, which is a lovely suede-feel card stock that is just the right weight for a one-layer card. I love it and am delighted to say that it's now available in Naturals White (p.160 annual catalogue.)

The card is stamped collage-style, with the elements showing through each other being part of the charm, and sponged for a little depth. The banner-style sentiment is from the lovely Itty Bitty Banners set of sentiments which have coordinating framelits for easy cutting out.

I'm busy sending out new catalogues at the moment and made lots of these cards to pop inside. The catalogue is such a treat to curl up with, with 205 full colour, glossy pages full of ideas; if you'd like a copy, click on the paypal button in my side bar or get it half price with any order.

• Don't forget that all catalogues are free if you're a member of my Stampers 6 club and you get £25 of freebies as well as other benefits - click here to find out more.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Papaya Collage, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink: Marina Mist, Gumball Green, Early Espresso
Card stock: Naturals Ivory
Other: Bitty Banners framelits
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.

As huge Downton Abbey fans my daughter and I were delighted that Dame Maggie Smith won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress but she is not the only diva scooping an award. Last night, as our cat Tuppence flounced out of the cat flap,  I heard my daughter say: "And Tuppence wins the award for best supporting catress!" Oh very clever!

I'll be back tomorrow with something unashamedly feminine. Do join me if you have a minute.

Inspired by... my blog banner!

The ladies over at CASual Fridays certainly do come up with some fun and original challenges - like the 'Toot Your Own Horn' one this week, which is to be inspired by your own blog banner! I've used my new Papaya Collage set again but with a very different look to yesterday's card. Come and have a look:

When I designed my blog banner I knew that I wanted to use a bird holding a flower in his beak as it's always been a motif that's delighted me. For this card I sponged in some clouds and added a ground so the bird wouldn't float about in nothingness! I would have like to have used my new Sassy Salutations stamp set but it hasn't arrived yet, so I doodled a red ribbon instead and added a sentiment above it in Gumball Green.

The bird was stamped first into versamark, then into Early Espresso ink and finally clear embossed before being cut out with my sharp paper snips. I doodled the flower stem, glued the bird over it and added the punched flower.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Papaya Collage, Just Believe (sentiment)
Ink: Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Gumball Green
Card stock: Whisper White, scraps of Naturals Ivory and Pumpkin Pie
Other: Markers, Itty Bitty punch pack, paper snips, 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.

I've been asked several times how my youngest son is settling into 'big school' and the answer is that after an anxious couple of weeks he has relaxed into it and started to enjoy himself. Yesterday we were discussing school over dinner. "Today my form tutor told us what we'll be doing on Enrichment day!" announced my son enthusiastically. "That's great!" I said. "And what will you be doing?" My son's face took on a faraway look. "Um..." he said. "I've forgotten!" Well, it's lovely to see that it made such an impact on him anyway!

It's Three Minute Thursday here tomorrow so if you're looking for a very fast design, this is the place to be! See you then,