Upcycling with Sale-a-bration accessories

I am SO excited that Sale-a-bration starts TOMORROW! This is such a brilliant promotion - I love telling my customers that they can choose a free item for every £45 order and I also love telling those who are joining my team that they can choose an extra £20 worth of products for their starter kits! Of course getting to use a whole load of wonderful new stash myself isn't to be sniffed at either! Come and see what I've been up to:

The Sweet Sorbet accessories kit has been exciting me just as much as the new stamp sets! There are some fantastic cork embellishments in the kit and I adore the cord which you get in all three of these wonderful spring colours. I made this little vase from an interestingly-shaped empty spice jar and it's the perfect size for three small spring blooms like these mini roses.

It was was a doddle to make: I cut a piece of multi-purpose adhesive sheet to fit the middle section of the jar, stuck it on and peeled the backing sheet away. It was easy then to wind the Sweet Sorbet cord around the jar to form the three textured stripes.

I made a card to coordinate with the vase, thinking it would make a sweet thank you gift set.

The Sweet Sorbet designer papers are just beautiful! There's a floral that I could just frame and look at all day but this stripe is also a big favourite of mine. I cut out a panel, pierced a frame round it using the Essentials piercing templates, then attached a simple tag stamped with a bold sentiment from Oh Hello.

For a little bit of detail, I unraveled some of the pink cord so I had a thin strand and used it to handsew a rough double border on the side of the sentiment tag. The card was finished with a stylised flower made with punches and a candy dot.

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

Stamps: Oh Hello

Ink: Stazon black

Card stock: Whisper White plus scraps of Summer Starfruit, Crisp Cantaloupe

Other: Sweet Sorbet Accessories kit/designer paper (Sale-a-bration freebies), Essentials piercing templates, mat and tool, 2 step bird punch and circle from the Itty Bitty punch pack, Candy dots

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.

There's a store cupboard meal that I prepare in an emergency which I call Easy Peasy Cheesey Rice. You basically cook a pot of basmati rice and, while that's cooking, heat up a can of chopped tomatoes seasoned with black pepper and chilli, and boil some frozen petit pois. You serve the tomato sauce on a bed of basmati rice mixed with the peas and sprinkle with grated cheese. The whole thing takes just 12 minutes and certainly keeps the wolf from the door! Yesterday evening, my daughter got home from work hungry and said she'd like to make herself some Easy Peasy Cheesey Rice. "How do you make it?" she asked. "Oh it's easy," I told her without thinking. She looked at me sternly. "And peasy I suppose," she said. "And cheesey as well!"

See you tomorrow for the seasonal catalogue launch and the start of Sale-a-bration - woohoo!!