A happy doggy birthday with Stampin' Up daubers

I love surprises, don't you? It was a friend's birthday on Wednesday and her lovely husband took her to beautiful Stowe Gardens for a walk with the dogs, then to lunch afterwards where he'd arranged for us to turn up unexpectedly! Naturally I brought along a little something for her - come and see:

Do you think this is the sort of card your dog might make you if he was allowed to rummage through your crafting stash? Er, no, I'm not about to find out if this is true either!

The paw print was made with Baked Brown Sugar ink and a sponge dauber - three daubs joined together for the pad and four single daubs for the toes. So easy to do! I pierced a frame around the panel and added a decorative strip of designer paper with some rhinestones for a touch of birthday sparkle!

I used the same paper to make a paper bow for my friend's present using Stampin' Up's Gift Bow Bigz die. My daughter made me get this die, so that she could decorate all her girlfriends' presents with paper bows, and I'm so glad she did - I love it! Change the colour to festive red and you have a perfect Christmas gift wrapping idea!

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

Brights Backgrounds Designer Series Paper Stack £19.50	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments £4.50	Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack £7.25	Gift Bow Bigz L Die £28.95
Festive Designer Kraft Paper Rolls £8.95	Sponge Daubers £4.50	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Baked Brown Sugar 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.

Of course there is an alternative way of making today's card...

Take one small puppy, a muddy garden and some card stock. Mix well.

Have a wonderful weekend won't you. Unfortunately all the humans in our house have gone down with a tummy bug, so Eva and Tuppence will be looking after us I think! Hopefully I'll be back on Monday - see you then,

Christmas gift wrap ideas - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

It's my favourite day of the week - Artisan blog hop day! This is when the whole team gets together to show projects we've made with products we've been sent by Stampin' Up. I'm always so inspired by my talented teamies and I know you will be too, so grab a cup of coffee, hold on to your ears and let's hop all over the world together!

IT'S A CHRISTMAS WRAP!
I was so excited to see that Stampin'  Up had introduced wrapping paper into the autumn/winter catalogue - and love that it coordinates with DSP and stamps. With a new puppy in our busy household, I've had to be a bit organised with my Christmas planning so I've already wrapped some gifts. When I'd finished, I picked up the off cuts of wrapping paper and before you know it, this had happened:

Cards made with scraps? Well why not?! This one uses the leafy design - and you can see there is a slight crumply look. You could screw the paper up more to intensify that crumpliness if you like!

Here's one made with the striped design, using the same layout but a different orientation. The white, kraft and red colour combination always reminds me of spicy, warming gingerbread! Mmmmn!

The paper is so beautiful it needs little embellishment. I topped mine with ribbon and glimmer paper banners and a little snowflake embellishment made with the Trendy Trims stamp set, a snowflake sequin, a punched heart and some circle punches.

I based my cards on this fab sketch...

 ... which I found on the new-to-me SU-per challenge site, based in the wonderful Netherlands.

These cards coordinate perfectly with the presents I wrapped.

That gorgeous Cherry Cobbler linen ribbon is so easy to fold into elegant gift toppers - and can I also just say that Fast Fuse adhesive is the best thing to happen to gift wrapping EVER!

Gifts under the tree always look inviting but a present topped with a large sparkly bow really ups the excitement factor! This Gift Bow Bigz die will cut several bows at once and you can use it on a variety of materials including fabric, vinyl, or even leather!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my gift wrap projects today. Are you ready to see what fabulousness Allison Okamitsu has made to inspire you? Just click the button below:

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

Festive Designer Kraft Paper Rolls £8.95	Trendy Trims Photopolymer Stamp Set £8.95	Cherry Cobbler 1" Sheer Linen Ribbon £7.25	Frosted Sequins £4.50
Red Glimmer Paper £4.50	Gift Bow Bigz L Die £28.95	1-1/4" Circle Punch £14.25	1" Circle Punch £11.50

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.

I would love to stay and chat but I've reminded myself about gingerbread now and can feel a spot of baking coming on...

There'll be more crafting fun here tomorrow, and you're welcome to join me then!