Stampin' Up products at a discount anyone?

You know that fabulous feeling when something you've wanted for ages turns up in a sale? Well you might want to check the Stampin' Up special offers this week because there are some Must Haves among them - including two of my favourite stamp sets! Come and see:

Here's a notebook I covered with Typeset designer series paper and stamped with the wonderful Choose Happiness stamp set. The paper was sponged with ink and the flowers and leaves coloured with markers.

And what about these little note cards?

The trendy brushstroke backgrounds and the sentiments all come from the indispensable Work of Art stamp set. I simply added punched shapes.

I can't go without singing the praises of the Fast Fuse adhesive. It's quick, convenient and strong enough for boxes and bags - and, once you have it, economical refills are available! To use, just run it along your card stock towards your body and flick to the right to remove from the card stock.

These are just some of my favourites on offer this week until Tuesday 30th June. Check out all the Weekly Deals below :)

GO SHOPPING IN THE WEEKLY DEAL SALE NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!

Choose Happiness Clear-Mount Stamp Set £16.00 £12.00	Flower Medallion Punch £16.00 £12.00	Fun Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folder £7.75 £5.81	Fuse Fast Adhesive £9.00 £6.75
Gift Card Envelope & Trims Thinlits Dies £30.00 £22.50	Six-Sided Sampler Clear Stamp Set £19.00 £14.25	Tangelo Twist A4 Cardstock £6.50 £4.88	Work Of Art Clear-Mount Stamp Set £20.00 £15.00

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.

My daughter came back from a toddler group sports day yesterday, full of cute stories about the little ones' antics. Her boyfriend's four year-old sister was taking part in the event and was thrilled to have won not only the Egg and Spoon race but also the Balance a Bean Bag on Your Head race! She became very hot and on the way home all the windows were wound down to get a rush of air through the car. It was too much for her though. "Let's turn the windows off now," she suggested.

Wishing you a lovely weekend full of sunshine! I'll be back on Monday with a fun gift idea for girls - don't miss it!

A bit of music and dancing with Timeless Talk by Stampin' Up

I've always been fascinated with everyday objects of a bygone age and love Stampin' Up's Timeless Talk set with its vintage phone, penny farthing and gramophone images, drawn in clean lines. When I saw Less is More's Face the Music and Dance challenge this week, that gramophone seemed just the thing! Come and see:

Now don't be thinking that I artistically swept in a few brush strokes to make a background - I simply used a couple of the paint splodge images from Work of Art! It gives a lot of movement to this simple, one layer card, as does that gorgeous sentiment from the same set.

Both the gramophone and sentiment were stamped in Night of Navy, making a nice contrast with the So Saffron backround, and I used my Stampin' Chalk marker to add a bit of detail.

While I was at it, I made another version with touches of gold this time, courtesy of my gold Stampin' Dazzle marker.

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

Work Of Art Wood Stamp Set £26.95	Timeless Talk Wood-mount Stamp Set £20.95	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock £7.50	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	White Stampin Chalk Marker £3.25	Gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker ...	Stamp-A-Ma-Jig £10.95

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.

It always amuses me to pretend to be decrepit when talking to my children about technology. They never quite know whether I'm joking when I tell them I'll give them a ring on the telephonic instrument or ask them to play something else on the gramophone!

See you tomorrow for more crafting fun,

Sneak peek! Introducing the new Stampin' Up in colours 2014-2015

I've got some sneak peeks from the upcoming new Stampin' Up catalogue today so, if you're even half as excited as I am, you'll need to hold onto your ears!  This year, as usual, Stampin' Up are releasing five new, on-trend colours - and they are fabulous! It's always useful to compare the colours with those we already have, so come and see:

First let me formally introduce the five new in-colours:

• Blackberry Bliss - a rich, dramatic purple; a darker version of Rich Razzleberry.
• Tangelo Twist - a hot, almost neon orange; lighter than Tangerine Tango, brighter than Pumpkin Pie.
• Mossy Meadow - a deep, warm green; darker than Old Olive, warmer than Always Artichoke.
• Hello Honey - a warm yellow with a hint of brown, but clearer than the retired Summer Starfruit.
• Lost Lagoon - a mid-green-blue, much more muted than Coastal Cabana or Bermuda Bay.

I've made cards using the new colours alongside other similar Stampin' Up colours so you can get a feel for them. These cards are all made with an incredible new stamp set from the upcoming Stampin' Up annual catalogue: it's called Work of Art and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it - check out those paint stroke backgrounds and gorgeous sentiments!

In this card, you'll find the Blackberry Bliss heart at the top, with (going clockwise) Rich Razzleberry and Elegant Eggplant. The sentiment on all five of today's cards has been stamped in Blackberry Bliss too. I love these colours with the Smoky Slate background. The little heart punch is also a sneaky peek! It comes from a new pack of three mini punches, Itty Bitty Accents, and features a new on-trend heart shape.

The little flower on this card comes from the same punch pack and I adore its detailed shape - I've spotted at least one stamp in the new Stampin' Up catalogue that coordinates with it too! The flower at the bottom is the neon-bright Tangelo Twist, with Pumpkin Pie looking much lighter next to it and the darker, redder Tangerine Tango at the top.

Green is one of my favourite colours so I was delighted to welcome the new Mossy Meadow. It teams beautifully with the yellow-based Old Olive, seen here at the bottom with Mossy Meadow above it. The greyer Always Artichoke is the leaf above that, with the bluer Garden Green to its left.

Sometimes you need a warm yellow that isn't bright or subtle and Hello Honey fits the bill perfectly.The star at the bottom is Hello Honey, with Daffodil Delight next to it and So Saffron at the top of the card. The star, by the way, is the third punch in Stampin' Up's new punch pack - such a useful set!

Lost Lagoon is a stunning, dreamy mid greenish blue that has bowled me over. It's a darker version of a popular retired colour Baja Breeze and it works beautifully with all Stampin' Up's wonderful green blues. I've used it for the central banner here with Bermuda Bay on the left of it and Coastal Cabana on the right.

I hope you've enjoyed this preview of some of the gorgeous new Stampin' Up products. They'll be available on the 1st July 2014 but meanwhile you might want to check the Retirement Lists (click on the banners below) to make sure you don't miss out on any of your favourite stamp sets and accessories. Click here to buy retiring Stampin' Up stamps and accessories from my online shop.

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.

My youngest son is having a room make-over and he and I have been clearing out the mountain of old toys, books, clothes, sports equipment, papers and other items that build up over a boy's childhood. It has been a mammoth task (particularly helping him understand that he doesn't have to keep absolutely everything!) but we have finally got there. There were some entertaining moments, when I found a lone football boot at the back of a shelf, for example, and asked where its partner was. My son didn't know. "What on earth is one football boot good for?" I demanded. He looked abashed. "Um... For a monoped?" he suggested.

See you tomorrow.