Gifts for your party hosts - Stampin' Up Artisan design blog hop

Are you looking for more inspiration to help you get ready for Christmas? You're in luck then because the fab Stampin' Up Artisan design team are here for another blog hop to help you get into the festive mood! Grab your mittens and hat and let's woooosh around the world!

ARE YOU READY TO PARTY?!
It's definitely party season and while I like to think my natural wit and charm make me an acceptable guest *wink* I do like to bring a few gifts for the hosts, just to make sure! Come and see:

A bottle is always welcome, and a little All is Calm designer paper, a ribbon flourish and a stylish label transforms it into something special.

The label has been embossed with the Filagree Frame embossing folder, decorated with stamps from the stunning Letterpress Winter photopolymer stamp set and sprinkled with gems for a touch of festive sparkle.

Letterpress Winter contains loads of beautiful images - like this 'for you' tag. I stamped it cut it out with a circle punch and glued it to the top of the bottle for a neat finish.

Nothing says thank you like a  bouquet of pretty flowers. I wrapped mine in a sheet of that beautiful All is Calm designer paper, securing it with Fast Fuse.

This time I stamped the label and trimmed around it with my sharp paper snips (and if you're looking for a decent pair of scissors, I can never recommend these brilliant snips highly enough!) A gorgeous bow of Lost Lagoon satin ribbon and some gems finishes the bouquet.

No gift would be complete without a card and this simple thank you card was made with more of the gorgeous images in the Letterpress stamp set. With a different sentiment, it would also make a great batch card for those last minute extra Christmas cards we always seem to need!

I'll be linking this card up with Less is More, where the challenge is to make a CAS card based on these fabulous icy colours!

Now, if you want to feel properly Christmassy, head on over to see the lovely Allison Okamitsu in Canada where there's SNOW as well fabulous crafting projects!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE MY PROJECT NOW!
(Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!) 

Filigree Frame Textured Impressions Embossing Folders £7.50	Letterpress Winter Photopolymer Stamp Set £22.95	All Is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper £11.50	Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Lost Lagoon 3/8" Silky Taffeta Ribbon £5.50	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments £4.50	Pool Party 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.

We'll be partying here tomorrow as my lovely daughter comes home from uni for the holidays! It'll be fun to see her get acquainted with my other little girl - I tell her that the pup might be my golden girl but my daughter is my Titian Treasure!

See you tomorrow,

Christmas gift card/money envelopes - Stampin Up Artisan blog hop

It's Thursday and it's time for another round of inspiration from the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team. Every week I look forward to seeing what my friends from around the world have been up to - and they always amaze me with their talent. Are you ready to hop with me?

DRESSING UP MONEY OR A GIFT CARD
My own project this week came to me as I was stroking the Trim The Tree designer paper stack! It's so handy to have a quick way to dress up those last minute gift cards but, if you don't yet have the fabulous Stampin' Up Gift Card framelits die, what is a girl to do?! Well, how about these cute little envelopes:

You can rustle up a few of these fun little envelopes quite quickly and it takes seconds to dress them up with decorative twine, pegs and tags from the Under The Tree Tag a Bag accessory kit.

Each envelope is made from a sheet of the Trim the Tree designer paper stack from the autumn/winter catalogue. There are some stunning papers to choose from!

This one has a Boots gift card in it but wouldn't it be great to open one of these and find a voucher for a Stampin' Up shopping spree with me?! (Start dropping hints now ladies!)

Fancy making some of these little envelopes yourself? Here's a video to show you how:



I hope you've enjoyed my project today. Now the rest of the Artisan Design Team are waiting to inspire you and next up, it's the fabulous Allison Okamitsu! Click the button below to visit her:

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE MY GIFT CARD HOLDERS NOW!
(Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!) 

Trim The Tree Designer Series Paper Stack £6.25	Fuse Fast Adhesive £8.95
Under The Tree Tag A Bag Accessory Kit £7.25	Paper Snips £8.95

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.

The dust is still settling here from the arrival of our gorgeous new Golden Retriever puppy Eva. For those of you that are curious to know how our lovely puss Tuppence is dealing with the new arrival, I think this just about sums it up:

She is just speechless but please don't be worried for her - we are giving her lots of extra cuddles and treats!

See  you tomorrow,

Make a punched Christmas Banner - Artisan blog hop

Hello and a great big welcome to another Stampin' Up blog hop brought to you by our lovely group of Artisan designers from around the world!

BUILD A BANNER WITH THE NOTE TAG PUNCH
It has turned quite cold here in the heart of England so my thoughts have turned to Christmas for my own project. I'm already getting quite a pile of Christmas cards together now so how about something to decorate the house? Come and see:

This banner is perfect for hanging on a mantlepiece, a shelf or along the top of a large mirror. It's quick and easy to make using the Cheerful Tags photopolymer stamp set and coordinating Note Tag punch plus an alphabet set and a few embellishments.

The tag image was stamped fourteen times and cut out, then over-stamped with the Christmas tree border stamp before adding the letters from Stampin' Up's gorgeous Metro Type alphabet. I used a handheld punch to make holes in the tags and strung them onto some twine (borrowed from the Under the Tree Tag a Bag accessory kit - LOVE this stuff!)

You can add whatever embellishments take your fancy! My own fancy was taken with gold sequins, the beautiful Cherry Cobbler linen ribbon and greenery cut with the Bird Builder punch and tied up with Cherry Cobbler bakers twine!

It's great fun making Christmas decorations so do have a go at this banner - and let me know how you get on won't you!

READY TO HOP?
I know the rest of the team are waiting to show you their ideas too, so click the button below and hop over to see what Allison Okamitsu's has come up with this week!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE MY BANNER NOW!
(Click on each item to be instantly transported to my online shop!) 

Metro Type Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set £22.95	Cheerful Tags Photopolymer Stamp Set £12.95	Cherry Cobbler 1" Sheer Linen Ribbon £7.25	Note Tag Punch £15.50
Gold Sequin Trim £4.50	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95

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 son came home from school yesterday full of enthusiasm for French. They had been learning how to say that they were ill, he told me. I asked him to explain and he frowned as he tried to remember. "So, suppose you've hurt your leg," he said. "You'd say j'ai mal a la jambon." I raised my eyebrows. "Really?" I said. "You'd say that your ham hurts would you?!"

See you tomorrow,

A gift box of Christmas tags - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

Welcome to another Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop! Every Thursday this talented global team of designers brings you a whole lot of inspiration - and today is no exception!

TAG IT WITH PROJECT LIFE!
My own project this week is a box of Christmas tags - and before you all say that it's too early, just think how brilliant it would be to have these made, ready to decorate your parcels when it all starts getting REALLY busy! They make great gifts too and would sell well at all those upcoming Christmas fairs and fetes.

When making the tags, I stuck strips of washi tape across the card stock before punching. This gives nice clean lines to the top of the tags and is really quick and easy too.

The images and sentiments in Holiday Cheer are perfect for stamping on photos or on Project Life cards but they're also just the right scale for making tags. I love how versatile all the Project Life products are - they're definitely not just for scrapbooking!

The tags tuck neatly into one of the Tiny Treat boxes which I decorated in seconds with Santa & co washi tape. Don't you just love the colours of this tape?! If you're time-challenged like me, I highly recommend getting washi tape in ALL the Stampin' Up designs!

Stampin' Up's Two Tone trim is a joy! Use it as it is or separate it out to get different sizes and colours. I used the Vanilla part of mine for the tags and decorated the box with the Old Olive part.

I hope you enjoyed my box of Christmas tags today. There's loads to see from the rest of the Artisan Design Team too. Click the button below to hop over and see what the lovely Allison Okamitsu has been up to this week:

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE MY BOX OF TAGS NOW!
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my online shop) 

Santa Co. Designer Washi Tape £4.50	Tiny Treat Boxes £6.25	Note Tag Punch £15.50	Project Life Holiday Cheer Photopolymer Stamp Set £13.95
Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Natural Old Olive Two-Tone Trim £4.50	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95

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.

You may think I'm very smug doing these tags so early but the truth is, someone in my family has to be a bit organised! "So, how was Manchester?" said my scatty youngest son when I returned home on Sunday. I looked at him. "Er... I don't know," I said. "Because I've been in Cambridge!"

I'll have something fun to show you tomorrow using Stampin' Up's amazing blendabilities alcohol markers so do come back and visit me then!