Wildflower Meadow to celebrate a special promotion

I work with a small (but beautifully formed!) group of Stampin' Up demonstrators called the Inkredibles. I feel so proud when one of my team celebrates an achievement and was recently delighted for Jacqueline whose hard work paid off with another promotion. To mark the occasion, I made her a little gift set using some of the new items from the brand new catalogue. Come and see:

I used the gorgeous new Wildflower Meadow embossing folder and matching stamp, my favourite Gingham Garden washi tape, some fabulous chevron designer paper and some core'dinations card stock - both of which now come in all the Stampin' Up colours! And if you're dying to get your hands on these items, they'll be available TOMORROW when the new catalogue goes live!

The retro-style card has a split background and the flower was stamped onto cardstock embossed with the coordinating folder, cut out and embellished with a length of bakers twine.

This little pouch is really easy to make - I must do a tutorial at some stage. I used the divine new Soft Sky for the base and decorated it with the chevron design from the new Patterns designer paper stack. I love this little tag from the Creatively Yours stamp set.

Inside the pouch is a little tag stamped with the a tree from Lovely as a Tree and accented with more chevron paper and an adorable little arrow clip from the new Essentials Hardware Clip collection. Suspended from a strip of card stock is a tiny balloon charm, made with the retiring Up, Up and Away stamp set, which Jacqueline can clip onto her Inkredibles charm bracelet. All my team members get one of these bracelets when they achieve their first promotion and each time they promote again, I make a new charm for them to add to it.

This little box was made with the same products as the card and pouch and contains...

... chocolate of course!  After all, it's hard work promoting and a girl has to keep her strength up!

• There's room for new members of the Inkredibles and I'd love it if you joined us. The starter kit costs only £99 and I am here to give you as much help as you need. Hobby demonstrators and business demonstrators are equally welcome in my team! Click here to find out more.

Here's what you'll need to make this set
Stamps: Wildflower Meadow (available tomorrow), Delightful Dozen, Creatively Yours, Up, Up and Away (retiring)
Ink: Early Espresso, Raspberry Ripple
Card stock: Soft Sky, Whisper White, Core'dinations Early Espresso
Other: Markers, Wildflower Meadow embossing folder, big shot, Early Espresso bakers twine, Striped organdy ribbon (retiring), corner rounder, Colour Collection designer paper stack, Gingham Garden washi tape, Essential Hardware Clips, 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.

The weather was glorious at the weekend - perfect for the F1 Grand Prix held at Silverstone which isn't far from us. We're not huge motor racing fans in our family but we do love the Red Arrows display which kicks the event off each year. We go to a local vantage point to watch this and it's always incredible.

We were trying to work out what shapes the planes were making and at one point my youngest son thought they were making the Vodafone logo. "Yodaphone?" said my husband, mishearing much to our entertainment. Now how would that go? "Hello? Called you I have!" Yes - I think that could definitely catch on!

I'll be back tomorrow with a tour of my favourites from the new catalogue. Don't miss it!!!

A Happy Day at the beach

Crafting Clare Towers looked like a junk yard this morning and, since we're expecting visitors, it couldn't be ignored! I didn't mind as I'd had a peek at the Less is More challenge earlier and was stumped at the theme of Sand. But it's amazing how a little elbow grease and hoovering can focus the mind - perhaps I should try it more often! Come and see:

I used sandy-looking Naturals White card stock for my base and topped it with a Whisper White panel with an aperture cut into it with my favourite 2 1/2" circle punch.

Before adding the panel, I sponged a sea and sky-scape through a mask and added a sandcastle nestling in sand made of torn textured card stock. The flags are from Make a Cake, the gulls from the retiring Up, Up and Away set and I embellished with a Real Red button tied up with white bakers twine.

And what about the sentiment?  You only have to look at it to feel happy! It's from a new set called Happy Day which will be available when the brand new catalogue goes live on Tuesday - YAY!!

• If you catch up with my blog using Blogger Reader, don't forget it'll be closing at the end of this month. I've swapped over to Blog Lovin' and have been really pleased with it. When you register, all the blogs you currently follow can be swapped automatically, so it's really convenient.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Happy Day (available 2nd July), Make a Cake, Up, Up and Away (retiring)
Ink: Pool Party, Basic Grey, Real Red
Card stock: Naturals White, Whisper White
Other: Markers, 2 1/2" circle punch, Real Red button (retiring) white bakers twine, 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.

The Sand theme today reminded me of being on holiday in Devon two years ago. We'd spent one afternoon at a local sheepdog trials where a very talented shepherd named Bobby Watson walked off with pretty much all the prizes, impressing everyone with his calm and gentle style. It gave us a new catch phrase too. For the rest of the holiday, any question from "Shall we go for a walk after dinner?" to "Would you like chocolate or strawberry ice cream?" was answered with "What would Bobby Watson do?"

It was even inscribed in the sand at the beach!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I'll be back soon.

Inspired by colour

Whenever I see the colour palettes at the ColourQ, I want to drop everything and roll my sleeves up! Sadly, that's not always possible, but this week I'm afraid duties were a little neglected in my excitement over not only the colours but also the inspiration picture - just look at them! Come and see where it all led me:

A real mix of stamps were used to produce this scene, which I shall also link up to Make My Monday where the challenge is to 'Create a Summer Scene'.

I started by using a post-it note mask and sponging Pool Party into it to make a 'mountain'. The grass from Love and Sympathy was stamped over the bottom of the panel and the floral branch from Hopeful Thoughts at the top. I used markers to ink up my stamps, substituting Rich Razzleberry for Orchid Opulence since I don't have it.

The colours needed balancing so I cleaned my Hopeful Thoughts stamp, inked up a group of flowers from it to sprinkle in the grass, and added birds from the retiring Up, Up and Away set. The sentiment is from a hostess set long since retired but still a big favourite of mine.

To finish the card, I stapled a tab to the panel made with the new Mosaic punch (available 2nd July). Running a Summer starfruit marker round the edge of the stamped panel and a Rich Razzleberry one round the edge of its mat adds subtle dimension.

There! And I feel positively wicked having that much fun when I should've been tackling my 'to do' list!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Hopeful Thoughts, Love and Sympathy, Up, Up and Away (retiring), sentiment (retired)
Ink: Pool Party classic ink, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Grey, Summer Starfruit markers
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory
Other: Mosaic punch (available 2nd July), 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.
• To make way for new items some of our favourites are retiring. Click the links to see STAMPS and ACCESSORIES available, while stocks last, until SUNDAY!

My children have very kindly taken over washing up duties after my accident at the weekend (I sewed through my finger with the sewing machine - ouch!) so naturally they are eager to keep themselves up to date on the healing process! Yesterday at breakfast they asked how the finger was and I told them it was fine now. My youngest son sighed with relief. "That's good," he said. "Thank goodness you didn't sew through it with Big Belinda!" That transported me back to when he was tiny and used to 'tidy' my sewing box for a special treat - Big Belinda was the name he gave to my bodkin!

Have a lovely weekend and I'll be back very soon with more crafting fun!

Paris in springtime with Stampin' Up!

On my return from Tynemouth yesterday I checked out the Less is More challenge and got quite excited - it's all about the movies this week! The film I've chosen is a romcom called French Kiss - do you remember it? Like all the best romcoms it stars Meg Ryan and they've paired her with the fantastic Kevin Kline. If you need your memory jogging there's an amusing trailer at the bottom of this post but first, come and see my card which, I remembered just in time, has to be one layer this week:

I've used Naturals White card stock for this card, used a few images to make a simple collage and chosen colours that give it a slightly retro feel - So Saffron, Island Indigo and Calypso Coral. Stampin' Up has a bit of a love affair with the Eiffel Tower and it appears in several sets...

... I chose this beautifully detailed one from Artistic Etchings, which I stamped over the circular decorative image in the set. I added birds from Up, Up and Away and a lovely sentiment from Perfect Pairs. This sentiment set consists of sentiment pairs which can be used together or alone; this one, for example, has a partner that says 'to make it better' designed for a get well card, but by just using the first part, it's perfect for a romantic message!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Artistic Etchings, Up Up and Away, Perfect Pairs
Ink: So Saffron, Certainly Celery classic inks, Black stazon
Card stock: Naturals White
Other: Island Indigo and Calypso Coral markers, Basic Pearls, Owl punch (for the tiny heart), stamp-a-majig
I'D BE DELIGHTED TO 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 PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.

Do take a minute to watch the trailer. There's a sequence in a restaurant that reminds me of a moment in my dim and distant waitressing past... and I have sometimes FELT like behaving like that in various reception areas but am much too well-behaved to have done so. Yet. Just wait until I'm seventy...!)

Have a great Monday. I'm off to put the house back together after the holidays!
Hugs,

FRENCH KISS: Movie Trailer. Watch more top selected videos about: Movie Trailers, Timothy Hutton

Up, Up and Away in red

The challenge at Less is More today is Up in the Air - which gave me the perfect opportunity to use my gorgeous Up, Up and Away set. I also set myself a single colour challenge - I'd been inspired by the CASology cue word this week: Red.

I actually ended up using three different reds to give some depth to the little scene and spent ages trying to get the position of all the elements absolutely right. Less is more cards are definitely NOT always the simplest option!

I started by sponging Red Riding Hood ink very lightly into a rectangular mask made with a square punch. The sentiment from Up, Up and Away was stamped at the bottom of the inked rectangle and I drew a split frame around it with my Raspberry Ripple marker. A pierced frame was added outside this for a little bit more interest.

The balloon was stamped next, using a stamp-a-majig to position all the elements accurately, and I clear-embossed it to add more texture to the scene. I stamped some clouds too and cut them out with my paper snips along with the finished balloon. Once these were glued into place, I stamped the birds to form a rough triangle.

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

Stamps: Up, Up and Away

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Raspberry Ripple

Card stock: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler

Other: Essentials paper piercing kit (Sale-a-bration freebie), 1 1/4" square punch, markers, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

I'D BE DELIGHTED TO ORDER YOUR 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 PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.

• DON'T FORGET TO ADD ONE OF THESE FREE SALE-A-BRATION ITEMS FOR EVERY £45 YOU SPEND

Today my lovely daughter returned from her French exchange trip where they seem to have eaten nothing but cake! I suppose it makes a change from the horse burgers you get in this country...!

Thank you for dropping in today! See you soon,

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!

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!

Up, Up and Away male cards

My husband asked me for several male birthday cards last week which gave me the perfect opportunity to make a few scenes... No, not THOSE kind of scenes (although it WAS rather short notice!) - I mean scenes using the fabulous Up, Up and Away stamp set and my Watercolour Wonder crayons! Come and have a look:

The backgrounds are all scribbled in using the Watercolour Wonder crayons and then washed over with an aquapainter to blend. I've sponged round the edges with ink to add a bit of depth. The trees, from Lovely as a Tree, were all stamped in Soft Suede ink, given Watercolour Wonder leaves and blended with a blender pen for a more intense colour. I then added dots of colour with markers and blended again - the creaminess of the crayons makes it SO easy to blend the markers. Did I mention that I love these gorgeous crayons!

The balloons are from Up Up and Away which is the perfect set for male cards, female cards, children's cards, ANYBODYcards! I am obsessed with scoring frames around things at the moment - it's so easy with my Simply Scored. TIP: If you want an embossed frame around a picture, score an indent round it from the front first and then flip it over and go over it from the back - that way there's no measuring and you can see exactly where you're scoring.

The last card is for a very special American man called Charles, who lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is celebrating his 70th birthday this month. He has worked with my husband for many years and is a true gentleman. A few years ago, he came over to the UK to spend a week or so with us here in Buckingham and we told the children a little bit about him and where he comes from. My youngest son, who was then six, listened with great interest but obviously got the wrong end of the stick because when Charles greeted him in his rich Southern accent, my son congratulated him on his excellent English. "You would hardly know you were foreign!" he told him kindly.

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

Stamps: Up Up and Away, Lovely as a Tree, Happiest Birthday Wishes

Ink: Basic Grey, Soft Suede, Marina Mist, Garden Green or Old Olive, Riding Hood Red

Card stock: Very Vanilla, Whisper White

Other: Markers, Subtles water colour crayons, aquapainter, blender pen, 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. Your free brad and ribbon set will be added automatically to any order of £45 or more.

I shall be cheering my son on at sports day later on today... either that or I'll be thinking what a shame it is that it was rained off! Have a happy Monday, whatever you have planned, and I'll see you tomorrow.

Need for Speed male card

Hi folks - just popping in for Masculine Monday! It was my nephew's birthday recently and he is a big fan of cars, so the Need For Speed set was the obvious choice for his card. Come and have a look:

The first job was to swipe the edge of a Basic Grey ink pad over a piece of Whisper White card stock for 'speed stripes'. I topped it with a strip of textured card stock to represent asphalt and popped the car up on dimensionals - here's a close-up:

The car was stamped in Basic Grey ink, coloured with a Poppy Parade marker and cut out with my sharp paper snips.

I love this sentiment from Happiest Birthday Wishes and I couldn't resist adding those useful birds from Up, Up and Away!

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

Stamps: Need For Speed, Happiest Birthday Wishes, Up Up and Away

Ink: Basic Grey, Poppy Parade marker

Card stock: Whisper White, Basic Grey textured

Other: 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.

My hubby tells me he enjoyed Father's Day yesterday. He enjoyed a nice lie in before being presented with little edible gifts the children had organised and cards they'd made him. After a swim and a bike ride we took him out for dinner before returning home to watch a spot of football. Oh yes, European Cup fever has hit our house! My youngest son amused us when John Terry made a tackle during the England match on Friday. "Terry gets the ball," said the commentator and my son asked "Which Terry is that? Terry Wogan?" He's not previously been a football kind of guy!

See you tomorrow for something a bit more feminine!