Love and Sympathy

Well, the Stampin' Up Retirement List 2015 has certainly been seeing some action - but if you'd like to snag a bargain, you're not too late!

This card features the wonderful Love and Sympathy stamp set which not only contains wonderful sentiments for those tricky-to-make sympathy cards but also a gorgeous, grassy floral which lends itself brilliantly to sponged scenes like this one.

• If you'd like to read more about how I made this card, click here.

DON'T MISS OUT ON YOUR FAVOURITES!
The clear version of Love and Sympathy has already sold out but you can still get the wood mount version for only £11.86. And if you're a bargain hunter extraordinaire, don't forget the Clearance Rack! The Framed Tulips embossing folder used in this card has turned up in there and is now just £5.69!

EDITED TO ADD: Since I wrote this post, Love and Sympathy sold out in wood mount too - those stamp sets are flying off the shelves! A really good substitute would be another set on the retirement list - Too Kind. Again, it's already sold out in clear mount but the wood mount version is still available at £13.95. But HURRY...!

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

Too Kind Wood Stamp Set £17.95 now only £13.95	Hardwood Clear-Mount Stamp Set £12.95	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Framed Tulips Embossing Folder  £7.50 now only £5.69

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.

There's a bank holiday across the British Isles this weekend so you can almost guarantee there'll be plenty of good crafting weather *winks*. I'll be back on Tuesday so do come back and visit me then!

With Sympathy, with designer paper by Stampin' Up

I use my Stampin' Up stash pretty much every day to celebrate birthdays, new arrivals, weddings, anniveraries, to say thank you or congratulations or good luck... well I think you get the idea with that! But as well as making cards for high days and holidays, it's important to offer support during sad times and that's what today's card is all about. Come and see:

I had a left-over snippet of the wonderful leafy design from the Motley Monsters designer paper pack and I thought those swirling leaves would work well with the trees from White Christmas. I added a touch of colour to the ground with a sponge dauber and filled in the trees with a Crumb Cake marker.

The sentiment is from the Love and Sympathy stamp set and I think it's beautiful both in what it says and in the way it looks.

I'll be linking this card up with the Snippet Playground where it's high time I joined in again - it's conker season for goodness sake!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my online shop) 

White Christmas Photopolymer Stamp Set £13.95	Motlley Monsters Designer Series Paper £9.95	Early Espresso A4 Card Stock £6.25	Love & Sympathy - Clear-Mount Stamp £10.95
Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad ...	Whisper White Note Cards Envelopes £5.50	Crumb Cake Stampin Write Marker £2.95	Sponge Daubers £4.50

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 had this impassioned text from my daughter yesterday: "Maman? How does one Launderette?!" The thing is, I actually don't know as it's been, ahem, several years since I used one! I'm so impressed that she's making the effort actually; I thought all students just brought their washing home!

See you tomorrow with something bright and cheerful!

The bird in the Strawberry Slush

It will soon be time to say goodbye to the exclusive hostess stamp sets in the Stampin' Up annual catalogue 2013-2014 and there are some real beauties. These are specially priced sets that are only available to those placing orders of £150 or more - so it's well worth saving up your orders or clubbing together with friends. Simply Sketched is one of my favourite hostess sets and lends itself perfectly to interesting inky backgrounds. Come and see:

I stamped the Hardwood stamp onto Crumb Cake card stock and attached strips of it to a card base to form a background for my sponged panel.

Strawberry Slush and Crumb Cake inks were sponged all over my square panel and the bird image and some extra grasses stamped over the top in Early Espresso. I stamped the bird again on scrap card stock so I could colour him in and pop him up over the original. Since I was already quite inky, I smeared the Strawberry Slush ink pad all over a piece of scrap card stock and punched flowers out of it with my favourite little flower from the Itty Bitty punch set.

It was this fabulous inspiration photo over at Addicted to Stamps and More that sent me scuttling for my sponges and inks:

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my shop) 

Stamps: Simply Sketched (hostess set) wood or cling, Love and Sympathy wood or cling,
Hardwood wood or cling, Peaceful Petals (sentiment) wood or cling

Ink: Crumb Cake, Strawberry Slush, Early Espresso

Card stock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Other: Itty Bitty punch pack, Basic pearls, Stampin' sponges, stamp-a-majig

Click above to place an order 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.

CHOOSE ONE OF THESE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SETS WITH EVERY £60 YOU SPEND (excl. p&p)

Strawberry Slush is a gorgeous colour pink - and it also sounds like the perfect pudding for the tropical weather we're having in Buckingham! Just off to check... (and I may be some time!)

See you tomorrow,

Framed Tulips - or any other flowers!

I noticed the Framed Tulips embossing folder featuring in the Weekly Deals Stampin' Up announced for this week. Now that is a folder that is indispensable in my Craft Square Metre! I like to make little sponged scenes and frame them - like this:

I find a 7.5 x 10.5cm panel fits nicely in the embossed frame. Here, I inked up part of the Hardwood background stamp and pressed my panel down onto it, before adding the flowers and sponging colour around them.

Aren't these flowers beautiful? They're from Love and Sympathy, a set that was designed for sympathy cards but which is very versatile. I inked the flowers up with markers to get the multi-coloured image.

I used one of the sentiments from Peaceful Petals to turn my card into a thank you and you can see the embossed frame in this close-up too. The tulips are very stylised so you could use this frame for any occasion - even Christmas!

I'll be linking this card up with the Paper Players where LeAnne's Three Spree challenge is to use three of something on your card.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my shop) 

Stamps: Love and Sympathy wood or cling, Hardwood wood or cling,
Peaceful Petals wood or cling (for the sentiment)

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Gumball Green, Soft Sky classic inks, plus markers

Card stock: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake

Other: Framed Tulips embossing folder, Big Shot, stampin' sponges, stamp-a-majig

Click above to place an order 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.

One week into the Easter holidays my youngest son has confided that his tech teacher is leaving school.This teacher made a huge impression on my son during his first lesson with him. Apparently one of the classroom lights was flickering and the teacher suggested that everyone held their hands up.When one of the class asked why, the teacher's answer was "because many hands make light work". He is going to be very much missed.

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

Simply Sketched in browns

Just lately I seem to be completely incapable of noticing when a challenge ends! Do you get that? This time I had a great time making a card for CASology's Brown cue card, only to discover that I'd arrived at the party and everyone else had gone home! The new cue word is Triangle and my card definitely isn't cutting it! Oh well, come and see it anyway:

I really had to have another go at the 'swipe the card stock with an ink pad' technique - it's fun and really fast. This time I swiped Baked Brown Sugar and Crumb Cake ink over Whisper White card stock before stamping the little bird, adding some grasses and cutting the whole thing out with my 2 1/2" circle punch.

The sentiment is from Express Yourself and you can see the inky effect behind it. It is so easy to get this arty effect!

The little bird is from a hostess set called Simply Sketched. I've coloured him with an aquapainter and some Early Espresso ink and then added some extra grasses from my Love and Sympathy set.

Here's what you'll need to make this card

Stamps: Simply Sketched, Love and Sympathy, Express Yourself

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Card stock: Crumb Cake Whisper White

Other: 2 1/2" circle punch, aquapainter, stamp-a-majig

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.

Today is the 18th birthday of my favourite woman in the world: my lovely daughter.

She's the best combination of clever, caring, strong and wise and she knows exactly how to make me laugh (like a plastic bag!) So I'm off to hang the flags out and put the champagne on ice (and put all the discarded wrapping paper into the plastic bag that I was laughing like just a moment ago!)

Have a great weekend and I'll see you very soon.

A Simply Sketched bit of twine

When I saw the challenge at Less is More to use twine, I went for an unusual idea (here) for my first entry but you know, sometimes a simple idea works too! Here's my second entry:

Oh I do enjoy making a sponged scene! This one was made in autumnal coloured inks with the bird from the wonderful Simply Sketched hostess set teamed with the grasses from Love and Sympathy and Wetlands.

Stampin' Up's linen thread works beautifully with these country-style scenes and one of my favourite ways to use it is to nibble an indent either side of the card with a punch and use it to anchor the twine. I used the ornament punch from the Merry Minis punch pack to make my indents.

I made a little box to go with this card. It housed a gift for a lovely customer of mine to thank her for using my online shop for the first time when it launched. The fabulous leaf and berry image is another of the stunning stamps in the Simply Sketched set.

This would make a pretty Christmas presentation box if you swapped the colours for traditional greens and reds and perhaps added a little glitter! I love making these boxes and am currently working on a video tutorial to show you how easy they are!

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

Stamps: Simply Sketched, Love and Sympathy, Wetlands, Petite Pairs

Ink: Always Artichoke, Summer Starfruit, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake

Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze

Other: Markers, Merry Minis punch pack, 3/4" circle punch, linen thread, Simply Scored, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

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.

We had such a wonderful time yesterday evening! We always celebrate halloween by going out for a family meal and this time we chose to go to Las Iguanas for an evening of fabulous South American flavour! Half way through the evening one of us wondered why the large table next to us remained empty... until we decided it was probably already occupied - by a family of ghosts!

Hope you have a lovely weekend,

Inspired by colour

Whenever I see the colour palettes at the ColourQ, I want to drop everything and roll my sleeves up! Sadly, that's not always possible, but this week I'm afraid duties were a little neglected in my excitement over not only the colours but also the inspiration picture - just look at them! Come and see where it all led me:

A real mix of stamps were used to produce this scene, which I shall also link up to Make My Monday where the challenge is to 'Create a Summer Scene'.

I started by using a post-it note mask and sponging Pool Party into it to make a 'mountain'. The grass from Love and Sympathy was stamped over the bottom of the panel and the floral branch from Hopeful Thoughts at the top. I used markers to ink up my stamps, substituting Rich Razzleberry for Orchid Opulence since I don't have it.

The colours needed balancing so I cleaned my Hopeful Thoughts stamp, inked up a group of flowers from it to sprinkle in the grass, and added birds from the retiring Up, Up and Away set. The sentiment is from a hostess set long since retired but still a big favourite of mine.

To finish the card, I stapled a tab to the panel made with the new Mosaic punch (available 2nd July). Running a Summer starfruit marker round the edge of the stamped panel and a Rich Razzleberry one round the edge of its mat adds subtle dimension.

There! And I feel positively wicked having that much fun when I should've been tackling my 'to do' list!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Hopeful Thoughts, Love and Sympathy, Up, Up and Away (retiring), sentiment (retired)
Ink: Pool Party classic ink, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Grey, Summer Starfruit markers
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory
Other: Mosaic punch (available 2nd July), stamp-a-majig
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.
• To make way for new items some of our favourites are retiring. Click the links to see STAMPS and ACCESSORIES available, while stocks last, until SUNDAY!

My children have very kindly taken over washing up duties after my accident at the weekend (I sewed through my finger with the sewing machine - ouch!) so naturally they are eager to keep themselves up to date on the healing process! Yesterday at breakfast they asked how the finger was and I told them it was fine now. My youngest son sighed with relief. "That's good," he said. "Thank goodness you didn't sew through it with Big Belinda!" That transported me back to when he was tiny and used to 'tidy' my sewing box for a special treat - Big Belinda was the name he gave to my bodkin!

Have a lovely weekend and I'll be back very soon with more crafting fun!

Sending sympathy with the Best of Flowers

Stampin' Up's new Best of Flowers is such a versatile set with images suitable for practically every occasion. The daisy image for example can be bright and cheery but is also perfect when used in a more subtle way for a card intended to give comfort. Come and see:

I started by masking off a rectangle with sticky notes and sponging in a soft background. The daisies were stamped over the top in black and the sentiment added. When the mask was removed I scored in a handkerchief-style border using the Simply Scored tool.

The panel is attached to one corner of the card base and the card finished with a sprinkling of gems.

I shall link this card up to the fabulous Paper Players challenge where they're looking for CAS with bling.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Best of Flowers, Love and Sympathy
Ink: Old Olive, Wisteria Wonder, Pink Pirouette classic inks, black stazon
Card stock: Whisper White
Other: Simply Scored, Basic rhinestones, stamp-a-majig
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.
• To make way for new items some of our favourites are retiring. Click the links to see STAMPS and ACCESSORIES available, while stocks last, until 30th June.

I've had lots of questions about 'handkerchief-style' cards. Er... it isn't a real thing, it's just something I made up - I call them that because they look like a folded hanky. Of course I could also include my blooper cards under this heading but they'd be more like a used hanky! Oh dear, I think this post should definitely end here!

See you tomorrow when I'll be showcasing a fast card for Three Minute Thursday (and not being quite so vulgar hopefully!)