A Gorgeous Grunge autumn birthday

Not all of my friends understand about crafting - can you relate to that?! One of the things I most love about being part of Stampin' Up is that I've made lots of really lovely friends who completely understand the excitement I feel about a new stamp set or the way a piece of designer paper coordinates with some ribbon! It's a great reason to join - and until 21st October joining only costs £25! Click here for more info.

One of my Stampin' Up friends celebrated her birthday last week and, since she invited me to her birthday meal, it would've been rude not to bring along a handmade little something! Come and see:

Note how the Gumball Green Christmas paper and washi tape works brilliantly with Pumpkin Pie and browns for a lovely autumnal look!

I don't know if I'll ever get tired of making cards with washi tape, Gorgeous Grunge and a topper of some sort, like these beautiful leaves from the Gently Falling set:

It's so easy to make them turn autumnal using markers directly on the rubber before stamping.  All the splatters are made with my Gorgeous Grunge stamp set - much easier than really splattering ink! Oh and have you spotted my favourite embellishment of the moment? Yes it's the candy dot! These come in all the fabulous Stampin' Up colours and I can reveal to you that I nearly had to be sedated when they came out!

This is the coordinating tag I made for the little gift box. I used the same stamp sets and washi tape and cut the pretty shape quickly and easily with the Curly Label punch.

I know what you're thinking... So what was in the box?

Well, my friend and I share an addiction to enthusiasm for good, dark chocolate, so that's what it had to be. In fact she got quite a stash of it so we need not worry for her sanity any time soon!

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

Stamps: Gently Falling, Gorgeous Grunge, Express Yourself

Ink: Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso

Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Very Vanilla

Other: Markers, Season of Style washi tape/designer paper, Pumpkin Pie 1/8" taffeta ribbon, linen thread, candy dots, Curly Label 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.

Customers placing orders of £250+

will get a whopping £65 worth of freebies during October!

If you'd prefer to spread the cost of your crafty stash, but still get

freebies as well as handmade gifts and cards and complementary catalogues,

why not consider joining my Stampers 6 club?

When I had my first baby, my lovely daughter, I knew absolutely nothing about practical parenting. I would have crossed crocodile-infested waters and protected her from The Hooded Claw but it took a long time for me to learn to carry at all times the armoury of wipes, changes of clothing, toys, snacks etc required to take a mum and tot smoothly through a day! My daughter's babyhood was punctuated with my mistakes.

Once, for example, on her second birthday, I invited all her little pals and their parents round to celebrate and proudly brought in the gorgeously rich, dark (adult!) chocolate cake I'd made for the occasion. For some reason, I assumed none of the tots would be eating cake but they all did and, well, let's just say that their parents reported that none of them were interested in sleeping for some considerable time afterwards!

Have a great weekend and I'll see you very soon.

Hugs,