Gardening with Flower Patch from Stampin' Up

Wooohooo! Starting today, there's a fantastic offer for anyone who joins Stampin' Up: you'll pay £99 for your starter kit but will receive a whopping £150 worth of products! And the best bit? You'll get to choose the products you want! Don't miss out - this offer ends next Friday, 29th August. Click here for more info.

AND NOW... SOME STAMPING!
Real gardening may be time consuming but I love the way you can rustle up a little flower garden in minutes using stamps and ink! Stampin' Up's new photopolymer stamp set Flower Patch is great for this. Come and see:

I stamped the flowers in a row, varying the heights of the flower heads, and added leaves and stems, using a marker to fill in gaps where necessary. Once my garden was ready, I sponged in a blue sky - it's always good weather in my stamped gardens! You can almost feel the sunshine on your shoulders and look! a little green butterfly has fluttered in to collect nectar!

I cut a square aperture out of a panel of Whisper White card stock and added a sentiment tab to it before placing it over the flowers. It's a great time to buy these fabulous square framelits - they're on special offer this week at only £17.21, down from £22.95!

The beautiful colour palette at the ColourQ was used to make this card and I'll also be linking up with Mrs A's Butterfly challenge where there's a summertime theme.

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

Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Squares Collection Framelits Dies	Flower Patch Photopolymer Stamp Set	Beautiful Wings Stampin' Up! Embosslits Die	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad*
Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad*	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Sky Classic Stampin’ Pad	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents	Project Life Corner Punch

You can 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.

The GCSE results came out yesterday and my lovely eldest son has definitely secured his place on a graphic design course at college. I am so pleased for him and he is delighted to have finished with school! Hmm, *becomes thoughtful*, since he's in such a good mood, perhaps I can get him to help in our garden... yes, I'm afraid the triffids have landed again!

Have a lovely weekend and I'll see you on Monday with more crafting ideas.

Beautiful birthday butterflies

I've been going birthday-tastic just lately so you'll be seeing a crop of birthday projects over the next few weeks! This card, using Stampin' Up's Serene Silhouettes set, was inspired by the displays of beautiful spring flowers around at the moment - come and see:

I've used Marina Mist for the card base. The more turquoisey blues are stealing the limelight at the moment but Marina Mist is such a pretty blue and looks wonderful with Old Olive. I've added a pop of Crushed Curry in the form of the die cut butterflies too - at least I thought it was Crushed Curry until something weird happened...

Aaaargh! I can only apologise for this photo! These butterflies are yellow in real life but after a lot of frustrating research I've discovered that Google has introduced an auto-enhance feature that wrecks some photos and you can only turn it off if you switch to Google+.  (Perhaps I should go ahead with that... Have you made the switch? I'd be interested to hear about your experience.)

Here's a close up of the embossed frame detail. Framelits are great for embossing with and this scalloped one from the Squares collection gives the card an extra large postage stamp look!

I shall be linking this card up with The Card Concept where the theme is Butterflies, Mrs A's Butterfly challenge where yellow is required this week (my butterflies ARE yellow I promise Mrs A!), and Seize the Birthday where they're all about birthdays!

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

Stamps: Serene Silhouettes wood or cling, Simply Sketched wood or cling (hostess set)

Ink: Midnight Muse, Old Olive classic inks plus Marina Mist and Old Olive markers

Card stock: Whisper White, Marina Mist

Other: Squares framelits, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, 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 don't think I'm a complete slouch on the technology front but there's always an element of sighing and eye rolling if I ask my children for help. In retaliation, I behave like a decrepit old lady, asking them to ring me on the telephonic instrument or asking them whether they've downloaded the latest gramophone record onto their ipods.

See you tomorrow,

Peaceful Petals and more Peaceful Petals!

I freely admit it took me hours and hours of tortured agonising to make my first card for Mrs A's new Butterflies challenge. The challenge requires a flower and a butterfly to appear on any handcrafted item and if you like flowers and butterflies (and I do!) nothing should have been easier! I couldn't get the darned thing to go right though so eventually I gave up, made a different card in about two seconds flat and then went back to my butterfly-ish one which just needed a fresh eye and a tweak or two! All this is just to explain why you get two cards today - come and see:

Okay, this is my entry for Mrs A's challenge: I used Stampin' Up's gorgeous Peaceful Petals stamp set to stamp a clump of flowers on Naturals Ivory card stock. The tallest flower was coloured in with markers and then I scored a nice frame round the edge of the card using my Simply Scored tool.

Those gorgeous flowers attracted a pair of pretty, yellow butterflies, cut with my Beautiful Wings embosslits die. They seemed quite happy in there together but the card lacked balance. What sorted it out in the end was the addition of the leaf from the same stamp set, stamped, fussy cut and left uncoloured, and a third butterfly.  I know three is supposed to be a crowd but the other two butterflies must have just been good friends!

There are two lovely sentiments in this set and I stamped one of them, nice and straight, using my stamp-a-majig (don't forget my tutorial is coming on Thursday if you'd like to know how this works!)

Are you wondering about the other card? Well here it is, all pale and interesting:

It looks quite different but in fact it started life in the same way as the other card - the large flower was stamped a couple of times, on Vanilla card stock this time, and the frame was scored. This time though, I decided to add a separate, fussy cut large flower. Oh yes, it's Fussy Cut City around here at the moment!

This works quite nicely with a paler sentiment - but adding a butterfly would have overdone it. So I went a little pearl-tastic instead!

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

Stamps: Peaceful Petals wood or cling

Ink: Pool Party, Soft Sky, Smoky Slate classic inks, stazon black

Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Very Vanilla

Other: Markers, Simply Scored, paper snips, Basic pearls, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, Big Shot, 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.

CHOOSE A FREE SALE-A-BRATION GIFT WITH EVERY £45 YOU SPEND

It's half term here which is always exciting as I never know what I'm going to be doing next! It's always a bit hectic but I don't mind because I get to spend more time with my lovely children. Here's a little gem from yesterday when I was talking to my youngest son about France. "Come on," I said. "Let's speak French!" He looked at me sternly. "Non," he said.

See you tomorrow,

Morning Meadow with a popped up banner

I've been having lots of fun with my favourite of Stampin' Up's gorgeous new hostess sets so there'll be a whole gallery of Morning Meadow cards this week! It's a great set for making all sorts of beautiful floral cards, but I'd like to show you something different today. Come and see:

The moment I saw this ornate image, I wanted to stamp it and add a popped up sentiment banner to the space in the centre. I found that a strip 8mm wide takes the sentiments that come with the set perfectly. Once my 'happy birthday' was stamped, I scored two lines close together either side and folded them to make my banner, trimming the ends into ribbon tails with a square punch. The centre of the banner needed support and the 'waste' from the edge of my sheet of dimensionals was just the right size for the job.

Out came the embellishments: a couple of tiny butterflies die-cut with my Beautiful Wings embosslits die and layered together, and a single candy dot. I can't tell you how happy it made me to see that pop of Pool Party against the Early Espresso and Crumb Cake! This would make a great male card if the butterfly were swapped for a more manly embellishment - perhaps a button or a punched circle with another candy dot on top.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Morning Meadow
Ink: Early Espresso
Card stock: Crumb Cake, scraps of vellum and Pool Party
Other:  Square punch, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, Subtles candy dots, 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.

I've been thinking about my father in law who has been in hospital for two weeks now. As well as Parkinsons and various other problems, he has an infected foot and once that heals, he's going to have to work really hard to get his mobility back. He behaves with great dignity through it all and a lovely dry wit. Apparently, when the doctor was making the rounds one morning he introduced himself to my father in law. "I'm John Smith and I'm the doctor," he said. "Well you can't help that," said my father in law gently.

See you tomorrow,

Finding the grass in Love and Sympathy

I have the loveliest people in my team, the Inkredibles. They come from various locations in the UK and, since I am readily contactable by email and phone, I've been able to help those that wanted to build businesses as well as keep in touch with those that enjoy Stampin' Up as a hobby. It works brilliantly for us but every now and again it's good to actually meet up - and what better place to meet than the Stampin' Up Regionals tomorrow! It's a fun demonstrator-only event and I'm so excited to be getting together with some of my downline as well as many other friends from Stampin' Up.

The next big event will be the Stampin' Up Convention in November and if you'd like to be there too, why not consider joining Stampin' Up yourself? There'll be an extra £25 worth of goodies in your starter kit if you join this month! You can read about joining my team here, or I'd be happy to chat about it with you over the phone (01280 820593) so that you can work out whether or not it would be right for you.

Now, onto some stamping: Yesterday, I suggested using markers to get grass only from the image in Love and Sympathy. Well, having mentioned it, I had to try it out didn't I?! Come and see:

Oh I do love a spot of sponging! This panel was roughly sponged with So Saffron ink first, then the bottom third with Wild Wasabi, and lastly a little Island Indigo very lightly in the sky region. The background was ready for its grass!

Here's a close-up of that. It's very quick and easy to ink up the rubber with the brush end of Stampin' Up's markers and by stamping several times without re-inking, you get quite a lot of depth to your stamped image. Once I'd done the longer fronds, I tapped the bottom of the grassy stems into an inkpad and added those to my panel in the same way. I like the hazy light effect you get with these backgrounds and you can emphasise that by sponging round the edges of your grass with darker ink - I chose Garden Green.

And to finish - what better than my favourite sentiment and a rainbow of die-cut butterflies! No I didn't fussy-cut them this time as it was raining in the garden and anyway, I need to prepare for tomorrow!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Love and Sympathy, A Word For You
Ink: So Saffron, Island Indigo, Wild Wasabi, Gumball Green, Garden Green
Card stock: Whisper White, Very Vanilla
Other: Markers, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, 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.
• Get more for your money - place an order for £250 and choose £65 worth of products free! Or join SU and get £155 worth of products for just £99! Offers end 30th May 2013

I was issuing instructions to the children last night about what needed doing while I was away. "Wait," said my eldest son. "Where are you going?" I sighed. I have been talking about the Stampin' Up event in Telford all week and only now does it register on my son's radar! It transpires that he'd thought I was talking about one of the maths teachers at his school who shares a name with the town. "Yes, that's right," said my daughter sarcastically. "She's spending the day in Mrs Telford's maths cupboard!"

Well, I'd better go and get myself packed - mustn't forget my camera! I'll be back very soon, hopefully with some fab pictures! See you then,

Fun with Stampin' Up designer paper

It was a weekend of gardening and spring cleaning here but, for a bit of a break, I made a couple of cards using Stampin' Up's gorgeous Patio Party designer paper. Come and have a look:

I do love working with designer paper, looking for patterns within the design which might work well for a card.  I cut out the banners on this design with my frequently-used 2 1/2" circle punch, sponged the edges, added a scored sentiment strip and embellished with some pretty embossed die cut butterflies.

This card is made from paper in the same range and looks as if I've used washi tape or gone to a lot of trouble finding coordinating papers!  In fact it's just one square of a brilliant design which features strips of patterns running across it. Again, I added a scored sentiment strip and another of those gorgeous butterflies.

It was great fun making these two quick cards from my designer paper snippets...

... and will be taking them along to Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground where there's normally some excellent skipping to be had!

Here's what you'll need to make these cards
Stamps: Just Believe
Ink: Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple, Baja Breeze for sponging
Card stock: Whisper White, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple
Other: Simply Scored, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, 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.
• Get more for your money - place an order for £250 and choose £65 worth of products free! Or join SU and get £155 worth of products for just £99! Offers end 30th May 2013

While we were visiting my in-laws last weekend, my husband offered to change a spotlight that had blown in their kitchen. The radio was on in the kitchen where I was finishing breakfast and just as he mounted the step ladders, some keystone cops-style music started playing. I dissolved into giggles, imagining him dropping things and picking up the stepladders and inadvertently walloping someone over the head with them as he turned round. He managed to ignore me of course and maintained his dignity!

I'll be back tomorrow so do join me again!

Bright Blossoms beadiness

Well, those ladies at Less is More certainly know how to set a challenge! Use Beads they say this week, and that's all very well if you have beads but what do you do if you haven't? Make some of course! Come and have a look:

It might be snowing out there but I've had quite enough of winter and there's a definite suspicion of spring or even summer going on in this card! I've used a favourite colour combination and some sweet stylised blooms from Stampin' Up's Bright Blossoms stamp set along with a little scoring with my Borders plate.

I grounded my flowers with a strip of dotty designer paper and centred them with hand-made beads. It's easy to make beads by rolling the wide end of triangles of designer paper round your paper piercing tool, adding glue to the rest and rolling them up fully. (TIP: these can be made more robust by coating them in Crystal Effects and they're easily threadable.) The card was finished with a sentiment in Sahara Sand and an embossed butterfly.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Bright Blossoms, Just Believe (for the sentiment)
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple, Sahara Sand
Card stock: Whisper White, Pool Party
Other: Simply Scored, Borders score plate, Sunshine and Sprinkles designer paper, Pool Party bakers twine, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, 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.

I've been having a massive clear out of my wardrobe today. There's a charity shop pile, an 'oh my goodness it's a rag' pile, a pile which needs mending/altering and a pile which is no good for now but which might come in useful later. I ended up with a very small pile of clothes that fit and look vaguely reasonable which I put back into my suddenly very spacious wardrobe! There you are - it can snow all it likes but I'm having a clear out so it must be spring!

I'll be back on Monday. Hope to see you then,

Stampin' Up - you'll never walk alone!

Yesterday I had an email from someone who'd read my post about joining Stampin' Up saying that she would never dare to set up a business on her own. The truth is though that we're not alone at all. When you join my team, you'll get as much help as you choose from me - I'm always available on the phone or online, and my goal is to help you to get what you want out of being a demonstrator whether that's to pursue your hobby, or build a business, or anything in between. As well as me, you'll have the whole extended team behind you as well as the dedicated official Stampin' Up support team. You'll be amazed at what you could achieve while doing something you love! Click here for more info - and think about  it... this could be the start of something very exciting!

Stampin' Up rewards demonstrators for their achievements and when members of my team get promoted I like to send them a little something too. Here's a little gift I sent to one of my team members recently:

This was made at the same time as yesterday's card and uses a similar design but a different colour scheme. Check out that scored border which, I've realised, was partly scored by my friend Jenny from Crafting in the Country who was round here and playing with the score plate! I think you'll agree it adds a whole extra je ne sais quoi to the project! The flowers are coloured with a So Saffron marker but because they were stamped on Naturals Ivory card stock which is more porous than the smooth Very Vanilla, the colour comes out darker. I love it and the way it contrasts with the Pool Party.

Are you wondering what's inside that little pouch?

It's my exclusive INKredibles team bracelet, complete with a handmade charm! A new charm is sent for each promotion so the bracelets can end up looking very pretty indeed!

I wrapped the bracelet in tissue and secured it with a coordinating label...

... before popping it into a pouch made with the Scallop Envelope bigz die. I folded the die cut as a pocket rather than an envelope - just another way to use this fabulous die!

Here's what you'll need to make the card and pouch
Stamps: Easy Events, Delightful Dozen, Tiny Tags
Ink: Black stazon, subtles markers
Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Pool Party
Punches: Decorative Label, 7/8" scallop and 3/4" circle punches
Other: Simply Scored, Borders scoring plate, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslits, Pool Party bakers twine,  Neutrals Watercolour Wonder crayons, 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.
• Add a free Sale-a-bration item from this list for every £45 you spend!

My poor son is still poorly but hasn't lost his sense of humour. I was snacking from a bag of almonds yesterday when he suddenly creased up laughing and pointed at the side of the packet. There was an allergy warning printed there which said: "Warning - may contain nuts!" I looked at him rolling around on the sofa. "Hmm," I said. "It's a bit like this house isn't it!"

It's Three Minute Thursday here tomorrow - hope you'll join me then for a fast card!

Loads of Perfectly Preserved jars

I've decided not to carry on with my regular Masculine Monday slot as I found it was my least popular post of the week. I'll continue to make masculine cards of course and, if you're here looking for male inspiration, just take a look under 'male cards' in the index on my side bar and you'll find plenty of ideas!

Today I want to show you another card I've made with the wonderful Perfectly Preserved set in the new autumn/winter catalogue. This set, with its fabulous jar image, has already provided me with a great deal of fun and I'm certainly not finished with it yet! Come and have a look:

I love the look of recycled glass and found that stamping that gorgeous jar in Gumball Green several times on the card stock gave the effect of a group of them. I added the stalk and the allium style flower head to one of the jars before sponging in a background.

The panel was mounted onto a Basic Grey card base with a ribbed feature made with my Simply Scored board. I finished with this useful thank you tag from the set, stamped in the wonderfully acidic new in-colour Summer Starfruit and popped up on dimensionals...

... and added matching die cut butterflies - oh the beauty of ink and card stock in the same colours!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Perfectly Preserved
Ink: Gumball Green, Garden Green, Baja Breeze, Summer Starfruit
Card stock: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Summer Starfruit
Other: Gumball Green marker, Simply Scored, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, small oval 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. 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. Click here to view my regularly updated lists of retiring stamps and accessories, some at up to 40% discount. 

It's been a glorious weekend in Buckingham and we found ourselves wishing we'd planned a trip to the coast. Instead, my husband and I did DIY jobs around the house and garden while the children enjoyed time with their friends. The boys in particular like to hang out with bunches of other boys - in fact I worried slightly that they might get bored with us on holiday and mentioned it to my oldest son before we went. "Oh I'll never be bored," he said cheerfully. "If the worst comes to the worst I can always eat!"

I'll be back tomorrow with another idea for that gorgeous jar (do tell me if you're getting bored with it won't you!)

Hugs,

Summer butterflies with Creative Elements

Once, when I was a young girl, long ago in ancient times (as my children would say!), I went on a romantic summer holiday on the Greek island of Paros and the colours of today's card remind of it... Come and have a look:

I started by stamping the background stamp from The Open Sea onto a Naturals Ivory card base and topping it with a panel which had been brayered with Island Indigo ink. I stamped over it with the stunning flourish from Creative Elements using versamark and heat embossed it using gold embossing powder.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this Beautiful Wings embosslits die as these pretty embossed butterflies are a favourite embellishment of mine. I came up with the combination of Night of Navy with Island Indigo and gold by accident and I love it!

This fabulous Curly Cute sentiment fits in well with the flourishes and draws the eye across the width of the card.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: The Open Sea, Creative Elements, Curly Cute
Ink: Island Indigo, Night of Navy
Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Night of Navy
Other: Brayer, Night of Navy marker, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, versamark,  gold embossing powder, heat tool, 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.

My youngest son flabbergasted us last week by informing us that in just two years time he'd be a teenager! Not just yet though - he still runs around making explosion noises when he thinks we're not watching!

There'll be no Masculine Monday next week but instead I'll have something tasty-looking for you! Have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you then.