Gift wrapping with my Stampin' Up stash

Some of my Christmas presents needed to be wrapped and sent off last week and I thought you might like to see them.

Don't they look exciting?! I didn't have long to prepare them but my Stampin' Up stash is perfect for prettying up parcels - come and take a closer look:

This is my favourite! I wrapped the gift in Season of Style designer paper which instantly gives a luxurious look, adding a tag (which is actually a Season of Style journaling tag) and finishing with Cherry Cobbler stitched edge grosgrain ribbon tied in a neat flat knot.

This large parcel is wrapped in recycled wrapping paper but is given a special touch with Burlap ribbon tied up in a great big bow.  The tag is made with Crumb Cake card stock and stamped with Festive Flurry snowflakes in Real Red ink.

I showed you this tag the other day - I'd made lots of them! It's stamped with an image from the Tag It stamp set and cut out with the coordinating framelit. I re-used some striped gift wrap and tied it up with white stitched grosgrain ribbon. By the way, the Tag it set is not only a great purchase for your creativity but also to help others: for every set sold, SU donates £2 to RMHC, a charity which provides accommodation to enable families to stay together when a sick child has to travel to get medical treatment.

This is a great tag for children's parcels and is very quick to make using your circle punches. I stamped the fabulous hat image from Embellished Events in Real Red ink on Whisper White card stock, cut it out with the 1 3/4" circle punch and mounted it on a larger red circle cut out with the 2 1/2" circle punch. The pom pom is a 1/2" circle.

This paper had been around for a very long time but it's come into it's own with a Wild Wasabi tag stamped with an image from the Four Frames set and cut out with the coordinating Decorative Label punch. I added some lush stitched satin ribbon in Gumball Green to finish.

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.

A beautifully dressed parcel really can make a impact and the same is true of clothes it seems! My husband came back from a weekend away and noticed my outfit immediately. "You look nice!" he said. And then spoilt the effect a bit by adding "You look like a Caramel bar!"

See you tomorrow,

Stampin' Up - your way

It was two and a bit years ago that I joined Stampin' Up and I can quite honestly say that I enjoy it more than ever. Sharing a passion for stamping is a dream job especially when you add this to the equation:

• A starter kit for just £99 - and you get to choose what's in it!
• The pleasure of using top quality products
• Working from home at whatever times suit you
• Holidays when you choose to take them
• 20% instant income from all orders, including your own, plus other earning opportunities
• A brilliant support network plus a dedicated demonstrator support line
• A comprehensive, easy-to use website for orders, news, training etc
• The option to attend demonstrator-only events
• The opportunity to earn free products
• The chance to earn all expenses paid holidays for two

... and that's just off the top of my head! If you think being a Stampin' Up demonstrator might fit into your life, why not give me a call on 01280 820593 or send me an email? I won't pressurise you to join but I can give you all the information you need to make up your mind, in your own time, about whether it's right for you.

One of the stamp sets I chose in my starter kit was Sincere Salutations and I'm still reaching for it regularly! Come and see my most recent creation using it:

The card happened when I made a scored card base for something else, then didn't use it. It was lying on my desk when I took my Mocha Morning papers out and I liked the way this one looked inside the frame.

I love the way you can add interest to these sentiments using markers before stamping - and all eight of them fit beautifully into the labels from the Four Frames stamp set.

This card incorporates some of my favourite design features: a scored frame, a ribbon tailed banner, these gorgeous flowers made with one of the Itty Bitty punches and the incredibly useful Little Leaves die.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card
Stamps: Sincere Salutations, Four Frames
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake (for sponging edges of DP and card stock)
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Early Espresso
Other: Markers, Early Espresso brads, Itty Bitty punch pack, square punch, Little Leaves Sizzlits die, Simply Scored, Mocha Morning designer paper, 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.

I've not had any time to watch the olympics but, if I can stay awake, I do like to catch up on the day's action with Gabby Logan in the evenings. I was so delighted to see that Beth Tweddle won a medal as she retires from gymnastics and much amused that when reporters asked her father what he'd been going through this past week he replied that he'd been laying a patio! What a lovely down-to-earth man!

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you next week.

Hugs,

My Christmas house mini album

I am so excited about showing you today's project - another of my little house albums. It has been a real labour of love preparing these little houses and today I have my Christmas version to show you:

It's full of little details - from the wreath on the door, to the glittery, snowy roof!

When you unfasten the bow, the house opens out into an album...

...with room for your festive photos.

The roof comes off and turns into a card, so this little album is perfect for sending to someone special at Christmas.

In fact the whole thing folds flat and fits neatly in a standard C5 envelope all ready to post. Can you imagine how delighted your friends and relatives would be to receive one of these lovingly made house albums at Christmas? I should think it would take pride of place in their festive displays!

I am in the middle of producing a step-by-step tutorial for these little albums. It contains full instructions, with clear full-colour photographs, along with hints and tips for decorating them. It will be available for purchase at £2.50 and should be ready by the end of next week - look out for it then!

Now I can't finish the week without adding just one more entry into Chrissie and Mandi's Less is More challenge since they're aiming for 1000 entries this week.

I have loved using the Baby Blossoms set and will be sad to see it retire at the end of this month - that's just one week away!  It's the perfect set for stamping shabby chic florals - as I've done on this little set of retro note cards.

The 'ribbon' is a strip of card stock and I've topped it with the gorgeous polka dot label from Four Frames which is easy to punch out with the Decorative Label punch. The 'for you' sentiment is from the retiring sentiment set Occasional Greetings.

Supplies needed for this card:
Stamps: Baby Blossoms, Four Frames, Occasional Greetings
Ink: Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz, Pretty In Pink, Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke
Card stock: Whisper White, Rose Red
Other: Decorative Label punch, Stamp-a-majig
You can buy any of these supplies from me and I can have them delivered to your address in the UK. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593. Click here to view the Last Chance List - full of stamps and accessories, some at up to 40% off! These items are available only while stocks last - and some have sold out already!

What a long post today! If you're still with me thank you so much for your company. I won't witter on any more - except to wish you a very happy weekend.

See you very soon,

Some gifts

Today is the last day of term and of course there are all sorts of people that I want to thank. I'm always bowled over by the fact that there are lots of lovely people who really go the extra mile in this day and age. Of course they deserve the moon on a stick - and more! - but since I'm not up to that, I just give small gifts like this:

The smell of this unusual lavender was intoxicating as I was wrapping it! I cut some Bravo Burgundy Patterns designer paper to fit the plant pot, wrapped it round and secured it with Sticky Strip (now, repeat after me: Sticky Strip - For Total Confidence! It's true - you never need worry that your wrappings will spring apart with this amazing tape!)

I used my cropadile to punch a hole through the plant pot as well as the paper and tied some Very Vanilla taffeta and some 1/8" Rich Razzleberry ribbon through the hole. This makes it all really secure. The beautiful images from the Four Frames stamp set make fabulous labels when cut out with the coordinating decorative label punch.

Here's another little gift for a lovely lady who really makes a difference - not just to us but to the lives of many other people too.

I wanted her gift to be handmade so I baked these ginger biscuits specially for her. My son assured me she likes ginger! They're packaged in one of my little boxes made from Crumb Cake card stock and lined with Patterns designer paper.

I wrapped the box neatly in cellophane and tied some of the Old Olive wide striped grosgrain ribbon around it in this extravagant bow. Hmmm. It's supposed to be an extravagant bow anyway!

That lovely bird has popped up again to make a tag which is tied into the knot of the ribbon with gold elastic cord. I love wrapping up gifts with my Stampin' Up supplies - you really can make them look special.

Supplies needed for these wrappings:

Stamps: Four Frames

Ink: Markers

Card stock: Crumb Cake for the box

Other: Patterns designer paper, decorative label punch, cropadile, ribbon, gold elastic cord

You can buy any of these supplies from me and I can have them delivered to your address in the UK. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593.

So, today school finishes for six or seven weeks and our house will be full of children! I'll start getting up very early to craft, doing a lot of cooking and having a lot of fun with my favourite people but also having an on-going battle with messiness! I love the holidays.

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you very soon,

Easter basket using the scalloped envelope die

Good morning! I wanted to celebrate Good Friday by showing you a couple of projects using the scalloped envelope die.

First of all - this little basket is so easy to make and is perfect for an Easter egg hunt. And because it's a die, you can make several in minutes!

You simply die-cut four envelopes per basket, cut one of the side flaps off each of them and stick them together with Sticky Strip. I decorated the sides of mine with panels of striped designer paper which I'd stamped with an image from the Just Believe stamp set. To make a handle, I ran my Snail adhesive down another strip of card stock, stuck 1/4" grosgrain ribbon to it and attached it to the basket with brads.

The minute I saw the Four Frames stamp set in the mini catalogue, I knew it would be so useful. And when I saw that there was a punch to cut the frames out in a second, both items positively jumped into my shopping basket! This little tag was made with textured So Saffron card stock... oh - hang on! you can't see it in this picture... how about this one:

Ah! That's better! I punched the little flowers out of Pacific Point card stock with the Boho Blossoms punch, and decorated them with another favourite - the self-adhesive pearls. I use loads of these little flowers!

I couldn't leave you without a close-up of the gorgeous seam binding ribbon in Pear Pizzazz. It makes a perfect bow every time - I love it!

SUPPLIES FOR THE EASTER BASKET
Stamps: Just Believe, Four Frames, Occasional Greetings
Ink: Pacific Point, Always Artichoke
Card stock: Daffodil Delight, So Saffron, Pacific Point
Other: Scallop envelope die, Patterns designer paper stack in Brights, Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Pear Pizzazz seam binding, Decorative label punch, gold brads

And now for something different. Sometimes a chocolate egg isn't the right thing to give at Easter. Very small children, for example, may appreciate a gift voucher so they can choose something longer lasting - and their parents certainly would!

The scallop envelope die makes a sweet and tiny little envelope perfect for a card front or for hidden journalling on a scrapbook page, but did you know you can make it larger to hold a gift voucher?

I came across the idea here, on the blog of a very talented American demonstrator called Patty Bennett.

Now, your tots may not appreciate a voucher like this, but I know lots of teenaged crafters and their mums who would adore one! My Stampin' Up vouchers come in any denomination you like and are presented in a hand-crafted holder, which can be personalised if you like. It's easy to redeem them by emailing or phoning me and I'm always happy to spend time helping my customers find exactly what they're looking for. Start dropping hints now ladies!

SUPPLIES FOR THE GIFT VOUCHER
Stamps: Perfect Punches
Ink: Marina Mist, Always Artichoke markers
Card stock: Whisper White
Other: Scallop envelope die, Nursery Suite designer paper, Marina Mist button, Marina Mist taffeta ribbon, linen thread, extra large oval punch

Thank you so much for joining me today - I hope you've enjoyed these last-minute Easter projects. I'll be showing you loads more ways to use the scallop envelope die in the coming weeks - you really do need one you know!

There'll be no Masculine Monday next week as I shall be celebrating with my lovely family, but I'll be back on Tuesday. Hope to see you then but in the meantime, have a wonderful Easter weekend.

St Lukes Charity Card Challenge - with Baby Blossoms

One of the things I love about the crafting community is our willingness to share and to help one another. The other day I came across a new challenge site with a difference: The St Lukes Charity Cards Challenge is set monthly and crafters are invited to submit cards online and then physically send them in using the Freepost address provided. The cards are sold to raise money for the St Lukes Hospice in Sheffield which offers care and support for the terminally ill and their families. This is such a worthwhile project - I do hope you'll join in.

This month the challenge is to 'say it with flowers' - and what better flowers to say it with than Baby Blossoms! This is a stamp set that has just been released in the new mini catalogue - and I am head over heels in love with it! Here's my entry:

Unashamedly feminine! It's easy to stamp all sorts of floral designs with this set and it's got a lovely vintage feel that reminds me of beautiful chintz fabrics. I've used the Top Note die as a background and I love the curvaceousness of it! 

If you love ribbons and bows you must try the new seam binding! It's soft and silky and drapes so beautifully that I can't stop creating bows on everything with it! It comes in Rose Red (which I used here), Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake and Pear Pizzazz. Yum!

And look! This is the polka dot frame from Four Frames - my favourite of the four in the set! It is the perfect way to add a sentiment to your cards and other projects and the best thing is it has a coordinating punch so you don't even need to get your scissors out!

Here's how I made this card:

• Cut a 7.5cm x 7cm piece of Whisper White card stock. Stamp a random floral design on it using the Baby Blossoms stamp set and Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, Pretty In Pink and Rose Red inks. Sponge the edges of the card stock with Pretty In Pink ink.
• Cut an 8.5cm x 7.25cm piece of Certainly Celery card stock. Decorate one of the short sides with the scallop trim border punch. Glue the floral panel onto this.
• Use the Top Note die in your Big Shot to cut out a Pretty In Pink panel. Trim the point from one of the short sides with paper snips - this will enable ribbon to fit snugly round the shape. Now, using a craft knife, make a slit 2cm in from the point on the other short side. Thread Rose Red seam binding through this.
• Glue the floral panel onto the Top Note, making sure the slit you made in the Top Note is hidden by it.  Tie the ribbon around it and finish with a pretty bow. 
• Cut an A4 piece of Whisper White card stock in half vertically. Score and fold in half to make a card base. Glue the Top Note to the card front.
• Stamp a polka dot frame in Rose Red ink on a scrap of Whisper White card stock. Add a sentiment using a stamp-a-majig for position. Now cut the frame out with the decorative label punch.
• Attach the sentiment to the card front using four dimensionals.

Supplies

Stamps: Baby Blossoms, Four Frames, Occasional Greetings (sentiment)

Ink: Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, Pretty In Pink, Rose Red, Always Artichoke

Card stock: Whisper White, Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery

Other: Top Note die, Rose Red seam binding, decorative label punch, scallop trim border punch

Making this card made me think of long summer days, sitting on a lawn in wicker chairs, leaning back into vintage chintz cushions, sipping tea from antique bone china cups... It's wishful thinking of course, firstly because our own lawn is the size of a pocket handkerchief and we certainly don't own any bone china, and secondly because the winter seems to have set back in here! A girl can dream can't she?!!  

Hope the sun is shining on you today, wherever you are! I'll be back tomorrow with Three Minute Thursday - hope to see you then!

New Stampin' Up Mini Catalogue unveiled for 2011!

What a fabulous day I had yesterday at my Open House event to celebrate the launch of Stampin' Up's new mini catalogue! It was great to see everyone who came to see the wonderful new goodies on display. If you weren't able to make it, I'll have all the pictures next week but first...

...here I am with the star of the show! I am absolutely in love with my fabulous Big Shot and the stunning dies and folders available in the mini. Of course you can use all your other dies and folders in the Big Shot too but there are some fabulous ones exclusive to Stampin' Up - you'll find them outlined in yellow in the mini catalogue. (There's one on my side bar you can look at or, if you live in the UK and want a copy to curl up with, do email me and I'll send one out to you free of charge.)

My ladies were entered into the free prize draw as they arrived. Would you like to see the prize? Well here it is:

Three stamps, a full-sized ink pad in Melon Mambo, a Stampin' Write marker, card stock, assorted ribbon and some pretty felt embellishments - all arranged in a box and tied up in a cellophane wrapper! Who would be lucky enough to win it? Well, I was exhausted after a busy day but not so exhausted that I didn't want to know! And so, at 11pm the tickets were shaken up in the tin and my daughter asked to pick one out... and... (drum roll here...)

THE WINNER IS:

Jane Cliff

Congratulations Jane!  I know you'll enjoy adding these goodies to your collection!

Now, I can't possibly go without showing you a project, so how about these cute, Cath Kidston-esque chocolate wrappers? 

This was the make and take at my open house yesterday - very simple but so very pretty! This gorgeous new Springtime Vintage designer paper was a real hit with my guests and made perfect little wrappers along with the Four Frames stamp set and coordinating punch. 

Here's how to make them:

• Cut a piece of designer paper 10.5cm x 11.5cm
• Apply Sticky strip to one short side and both long sides. Remove the tape backing.
• Put a Ritter Sport chocolate in the centre of the paper and wrap the non-sticky edge over it. Bow pull the opposite edge tightly over the chocolate and stick down firmly.
• Pinch the ends of the wrapper together, making sure the paper doesn't overlap.
• Put the ends of the parcel through the crimper and make two or three crimped lines each side.
• Stamp a label onto Very Vanilla card stock. Use the stamp-a-majig to add a sentiment.
• Use the decorative label punch to cut the label out and attach it to the chocolate wrapper using dimensionals.

Supplies:

Stamps: Four Frames, various sentiment stamps

Ink: Rose Red/Always Artichoke/Not Quite Navy

Card stock: Very Vanilla

Other: Springtime Vintage designer paper, decorative label punch, markers

Thank you so much to all the lovely ladies that came to my open house yesterday and to my blog readers for visiting today too  - I've really enjoyed your company! Do take a look at the mini catalogue and send me an email when you're ready to order your new goodies. 

Have a great weekend!