Quick Wondrous Wreath makes - Stampin' Up artisan blog hop

Hello! And a great big welcome to another thrilling Thursday when the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team members reveal what we've been making in our weekly round-the-world blog hop! Are you ready to be inspired?!

MORE TIME TO PARTY!
The Wondrous Wreath stamp set in the Stampin' Up autumn/winter catalogue is already a firm favourite with many stampers. It has a coordinating set of framelits so that you can cut out the elements and layer them up, which looks fantastic but this set also looks great when it's simply stamped in layers. And an added benefit of using it this way is that it's so fast it'll give you time to fit in a few more Christmas parties!

My wreath was stamped onto an off cut of designer paper from the Motley Monsters pack. I seem to be using every single snippet of this paper pack and the good news is that it's also available as a digital download! The only thing I cut out here was the bow, which I used as an embellishment to finish this simple card.

Of course this isn't the only way to stamp with this gorgeous wreath. Stamping off the edge of the card stock creates a great garland effect as you can see in this gift card holder. The front was trimmed with more of that woodgrain paper and another die-cut bow, and...

... the inside has a woodgrain pocket to hold the gift card or money.

It's always nice to give an additional, more personal something when giving a gift card or a present of money and a little box of handmade chocolates or home-baked treats is always well-received. I made my box with the must-have Gift Box punch board and tied it up with the wonderfully festive Satin Woven ribbon.

To make the tag, I stamped another snippet of that woodgrain paper, cut it out using the Note Tag punch and attached it to a second tag punched out of plain card stock.

I'm loving using my Stampin' Up stash to wrap presents for my loved ones and I hope you've been inspired by this project. There's plenty more crafting happening over in Canada where my fab teamie Allison Okamitsu is waiting to welcome you! Click the button below:

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

Wondrous Wreath Photopolymer Stamp Set £22.95	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Gift Box Punch Board £17.95	Motley Monsters Designer Series Paper - Digital Download £3.50	Real Red 3/8" Satin Woven Ribbon £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.

I'm finding it hard to maintain my dignity now that I have a puppy. When you speak sternly to your son about tidying his room and then step on a squeaky toy, it does ruin the effect!

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,

Ideas for using the Gift Card thinlits die - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

Hooray! it's Thursday and the whole Stampin' Up Artisan design team is back together for another fabulous blog hop!! So sit back with a nice cuppa and enjoy a whopping dose of inspiration with us!

GIFT WRAPPING FOR A SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
I can't tell you how excited I get when my free box of Stampin' Up goodies turns up at my door each month - it's amazing! November's box contained the Gift Card Thinlits die and when the lovely  Yvonne, a member of my team, promoted I thought I'd use it in two different ways to make a celebratory card and gift wrap for her. Come and see:

First the card: I used the Gift Card die with one of the gorgeous papers from the Color Me Autumn pack and cut one side off to make a pocket for the front. It was lined with card stock and the front decorated with gold accents. The sentiments were cut out with one of the extra dies that come with the Gift Card.

I made a tag to pop in the pocket using the gorgeous vintage telephone from Timeless Talk. Yvonne doesn't live locally to me but we chat often on the phone and on Facebook and I am very definitely here for her!

Would you like to see her present?

Members of my team get a special charm bracelet when they promote and a little hand-made charm each time they reach a milestone. I wrapped Yvonne's bracelet in tissue paper and used the Gift Card die to make a wrap to fold around it.

The gift was finished with a little tag and some gold ribbon wound several times round the package and tied up with a flourish!

Here's the gift and the card posing together! And there we go - two ways to use the Gift Card thinlits die which I know will become a often-used friend in the Craft Square Metre!

I hope you enjoyed this project. Now, are you ready for more inspiration? Then click the button below to hop over to visit the fabulous Allison Okamitsu:

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

Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper £9.95	Gold 1/8" Ribbon £4.50	Timeless Talk Wood-mount Stamp Set £20.95	Scalloped Tag Topper Punch £20.95
Gift Card Envelope Trims Thinlits Dies £29.95	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder £3.95	Gold Foil Sheets £3.75	Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock £6.75

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.

We're enjoying half term here but just because my youngest son is off school doesn't mean he's not continuing his education. Yesterday, for example, he learned to haggle in fractions!
Me: Eat up your salad sweetheart
Him: Hmmm, I'll have half of it...
Me: Three quarters!
Him (beginning to laugh): Two thirds!
Me (giving him a stern look)
Him: Oh all right then! (and then eating half of it!)

See you tomorrow for more crafting fun!

Christmas gift packet tutorial

One of my favourite things to do with designer paper at the moment is using it to make packet-style envelopes for gift cards, money or small gifts using just my Stampin' Trimmer.  I've put together a quick tutorial to show you how I do it - come and see:

First cut a 12 cm square of paper. Check out the gorgeous checked design I'm using from the Season of Style pack - gorgeous! Now score at 5.5 cm and 11 cm. Turn the paper 90 degrees anti-clockwise and score at 3 cm and 11 cm...

... and you should end up with something that looks like this! Now you need to cut some parts of the paper away and rather than tie myself up in knots trying to explain in words, I've shaded the bits that need to go:

Paper snips do the job very efficiently! (I've just realised that I inadvertently turned the paper 180 degrees in this photo!)

Decide which side of the paper you want to show (it's that beautiful check for me although there is a fabulous pattern on the other side too!) and fold all the creases crisply with a bone folder (you might notice that mine has seen a lot of action!) Hopefully you can now see how this is going to turn into a packet now.

I like to angle the flaps at the top and bottom with my paper snips but you might prefer to curve the corners with a corner rounder instead...

... or as well!  And yes, that IS the new envelope board (not so new actually - it's already had plenty of use in the Crafting Square Metre!) and I am in love... sigh!

Put some sticky strip on the 1cm flaps (you can see I added some on the top one here and I'm just about to add some to the flap on the left). Then remove the red backing tape and stick together...

... like this, adding a layered 'button' on a dimensional so that the flap tucks behind it neatly to fasten. I made my buttons with coordinating card stock, the 1" and 3/4" circle punches and the Merry Minis punch pack.

Here's everything you'll need to make this project

Card stock: Gold foil sheet, Cherry Cobbler textured, Old Olive smooth

Other: Season of Style designer paper, Stampin' trimmer, 1" and 3/4" circle punches, Merry Minis punch pack, paper snips, bone folder, corner rounder, Sticky Strip, dimensionals

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.

I must dash now as I have a Christmas day dress rehearsal to prepare for tomorrow! No it's okay, I haven't lost the plot - we're having a bit of a get-together with family that can't make it on the actual Christmas day!

See you tomorrow,

Fabulous Florets for a fabulous gift idea!

I often get asked whether I do gift vouchers and I'm always happy to oblige, but I particularly enjoy making the vouchers for someone I know as I get to hear about their excitement as they open their gift! Today's project was made for a lovely lady in my Stampers 6 club who was fortunate enough to have not just one but TWO vouchers ordered for her by different people - and yes, she was thrilled to bits! Here's one of the voucher holders I designed for her:

It's a wallet-style holder made from Bashful Blue striped paper from Stampin' Up's Patterns designer stack. It's held closed by a belly band featuring scored edges and a punched circle embellished with fussy-cut flowers and leaves from the Fabulous Florets set. Slide the band off...

... and inside is a voucher decorated with the same motif. Now I don't know about you, but a Stampin' Up shopping spree is my idea of one top prezzie!

Here's what you'll need to make this voucher holder
Stamps: Fabulous Florets
Ink: Pacific Point, Gumball Green
Card stock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Punches: 2 1/2" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, corner rounder
Other: Patterns designer paper stack in Subtles, Simply Scored, paper snips
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

Life seems to be getting busier and busier! My lovely brother, who recently moved to the West Country has come to stay with us for a week and it's great to catch up with him. I had to abandon him yesterday though as I'd taken a table at the Tingewick Patchwork and Quilting exhibition. What an amazing show it was with beautifully designed and stitched quilts of every description, each and every one quite unique. Not being much of a needlewoman myself, I shared creativity of a different kind - here I am wielding the stamps and ink:

I'd love to take credit for that amazing quilt hanging behind me, but that was made by Rosemary, one of the talented Tingewick patchers! If you were one of the lovely ladies I met yesterday at the hall, welcome to my blog and I hope you drop in here often!

I'll be back tomorrow with a birthday card. See you then,