I've got the coral and blues

Hello crafting friends!

What an amazing thing colour is! We all see colours in different ways, they have different effects on us and I think we all have colours we're drawn to and are comfortable with. The colour combination I've used today took me WAY outside my comfort zone. Come and see:

I used coral ink to stamp a tag from a retired Stampin' Up set called Cheerful Tags and stamped over it with an AlteNew birthday greeting. I stamped this a second time on a snippet of white card stock, cutting the 'happy' off, colouring it with a blue Spectrum Noir marker and layering it over the original.

The tag was 'hung' from the top of the card with a line drawn with a coral marker and snipped out, and I added a tassel at the bottom, from Stampin' Up's Celebrate Today (retired.) These were decorated with circles, cut out of card stock with various punches, and some heart and circle enamel embellishments.

The stamped panel was mounted onto a coral card base to add a bit of extra interest.

CHALLENGES
Today's colour scheme comes courtesy of Less is More, where they're inspiring us with last year's Pantone colour of the year Living Coral and this year's True Blue. Hmmm, Coral has grown on me over the last few years but True Blue is a bit of a jolt after all the green blues I've become used to!

I'm also linking my card up with Seize The Birthday where the topping this fortnight is 'Layer It' and where there's also a gorgeous new look - check it out!

AND IN OTHER NEWS
I'm having SUCH a lovely day today! Eva and I went for a nice walk earlier on and she is curled up on the sofa sleeping peacefully. I have the house to myself, am ignoring the housework and have spread crafting things out everywhere instead! Postie has delivered some of the lovely things I spent my Christmas money on... and, well, I'm wondering if this day can get any better?!!!

Thanks for popping in today. See you soon!

Two quick Valentines Day cards for the guys

It's Valentine's Day on Saturday folks and just in case you're running out of time or need a bit of inspiration, here are a couple of quick and simple cards to let the chaps in your life know you care!

This one layer uses a mask made with the Full Heart punch. I sponged Soft Sky ink into it and then over-stamped with that wonderful starry image from Celebrate Today before taking the mask away. The sentiment is a lovely one from Something to Say.

The next card uses the one of the images from Hey Valentine. That sweetie-pie pirate would be great for a children's card, or for a man who loves cute, but for a more manly version (that wouldn't insult a teen!) why not use a Stampin' Write marker to stamp just the treasure chest from the stamp? I coloured mine in with blendabilities markers and cut it out with a circle punch. The sentiment, from the same image, was stamped separately and cut out with a smaller circle punch.

I hope these simple cards have inspired you to get going with some valentines for your loved ones, young and old. Don't miss out on the opportunity to tell them you love them!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!
Don't forget you'll get a free Sale-a-bration item for every £45 you spend

Sweetheart Punch £14.25	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Celebrate Today Photopolymer Stamp Set £23.95
Hey, Valentine Clear Stamp Set £15.95	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Crumb Cake Assortment ...	2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers £11.75

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 family know that I adore them but Valentine's Day is a great excuse to let them know in writing! This little treasure can't read...

... and a card would just get eaten! I was thinking of saying it with a heart-shaped burger instead - that'll get eaten too, and will take less time to eat, but at least it will be nourishing!

See you tomorrow,

Celebrate Today - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

Yay! It's Thursday again and time for another of our weekly Stampin' Up Artisan blog hops! There are 16 Artisan designers from around the world in the team so there's loads of amazing inspiration! Come on - let's hop!

HAPPY BABY GIFT SET!

The Celebrate Today stamp set from the Stampin' Up spring/summer catalogue was designed to mark a variety of occasions - new babies, birthdays, graduations, weddings! I've come up with a little baby birthday set - come and see:

Clean white with So Saffron, Cherry Cobbler and a zing of Tangelo Twist - don't you just love these fresh happy colours?!  And this colour scheme means that this little gift set could be made in advance where the gender of the new baby is to be a surprise!

I love the bold balloons in the Celebrate Today stamp set and there's a string included which you can stamp straight or, because this is a photopolymer set, curved - whichever way you want it! I cut out a balloon using the coordinating framelits and used it to masked my stamped balloon so that I could stamp the dotty border.

The new Berry Basket Bigz die makes a cute basket that's the perfect size for a onesie. Before assembling the basket, I stamped the sides with the dotty stamp. then after assembly I gave the top a deep trim with So Saffron card stock. It's easy to do this by cutting two pieces of card stock just like the trim on the die, but wider. My strips measured 20.5cm x 5cm (8" x 2") and were scored in half lengthwise at 2.5cm (1") and widthwise at 9.75cm and 19.5cm (3 3/4" and 7 5/8")

You can see from this photo that I folded the trim over the top of the basket, tucked the tabs in at two of the corners and secured it with sticky strip. That gave a nice, neat finish and then I decorated it with stitched satin ribbon in mouthwatering Tangelo Twist.

A present of money or a gift card is often given on a little one's birthday so that the parents can get exactly what the baby needs,  so I designed a little gift card/money holder to go with the set.

Isn't this a fun way to use these stamps?! The balloon makes deep scallops and the tassel and bow stamps are perfect for decorating it.

Inside, the dotty theme continues on the pocket where you can tuck your gift card or a bank note or two.

I hope you enjoyed my happy baby project today. Now it's time to gather up your skirts for a gigantic hop across the water to Canada where Allison Okamitsu is waiting to wow you! Just click the button below.

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE MY BABY GIFT SET NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!
Don't forget you'll get a free Sale-a-bration item for every £45 you spend

Celebrate Today Photopolymer Bundle £32.95	Berry Basket Bigz L Die £34.95	Tangelo Twist 3/8" Satin Stitched Ribbon £7.95
Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	So Saffron A4 Card Stock £6.25

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.

It was stormy here in the heart of England yesterday morning but my pup isn't concerned with weather so I wrapped up in warm waterproofs and took her out for a good old romp over the fields. The wind almost knocked me off my feet and freezing rain lashed in at us horizontally. When we returned (she with a big grin on her face, me like a miserable drowned rat!) there was a final squall and then, almost as soon as the front door closed, the sun came out and the sky became clear blue and cloudless. Ah the joys of dog walking!

See you tomorrow,