Painted Blooms family resolutions - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

The Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team is back and we're all keen to inspire you with a whole bunch of fabulous new products from the upcoming spring/summer catalogue! Are you ready for some sneaky peeks? Okay - let's get hopping!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015!
It's the time of year for making resolutions, for changing things in our lives so that we can become happier, healthier or fitter. For my project this week, I thought it would be fun to create some resolution cards for the family that we can fill in and keep. Come and see:

I used the Envelope punch board to make an envelope out of a lovely leafy design from the gorgeous new Painted Blooms paper pack and labelled it with a panel printed from my computer. I added the year using the Metro Type alphabet ( yes, you do get numbers in that set too!) and a sprinkling of punched stars.

Inside the envelope, there are some cards which I backed with another of the Painted Blooms papers. Aren't these papers just stunning?! Every single one of the papers in this pack is utterly beautiful and everyone that sees them is immediately bowled over by them so I can't imagine they'll be in stock for long! There are coordinating stamps and an embossing folder too.

The cards were stamped with lines using the Draw the Line stamp set from the annual catalogue so that we all had lines to write our resolutions on, and I decorated one corner with leaves from the Painted Blooms stamp set. Let's take a look at some of those resolutions...

Look out folks, my youngest son plans to get big muscles this year! And it would certainly be a good thing if my husband could stick to his resolution!

But what's this? Hmm, Let's see if these naughty animals can behave this year shall we?!

I love the idea of family resolutions and am looking forward to getting them out on New Years Eve next year to see how we got on! Maybe you'll be inspired to incorporate this project into your family rituals too.

Now it's time to hop over to the lovely Allison Okamitsu and see what she's been making to inspire you!

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.

We have all got quite good at putting food out of reach of an inquisitive puppy... except my husband! There was a particularly tense moment yesterday when he found her sitting on her rug with a packet of smoked salmon in front of her and a guilty look on her face! I suggested he rapped himself over the nose with a rolled up newspaper!

I'll be back on Monday with some more sneak peeks so I'll hope to see you back here then. Meanwhile have a lovely New Year's Day and a great weekend!

Hugs,

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,

Stampin' Up blendabilities and stamp set giveaway!

"Hmmm? What did you say?!" That's the sound of crafters all over Great Britain and Europe with their noses in the new Stampin' Up catalogue! Have you decided on what you're getting first? One of the first 'must haves' for me was a collection of Blendabilities, Stampin' Up's new alcohol markers, and I've been putting them to use on today's card! Come and see:

These markers are brilliant for colouring in line drawings and blend beautifully to produce a really wonderful smooth, intense colour finish. But you don't need line drawings! This lucky four-leafed clover on this card was made using the tiny heart punch from Stampin' Up's new Itty Bitty Accents punch pack. Here's a close-up:

I coloured each heart with the Old Olive assortment of Blendabilities, starting with the darkest shade on the outside, then colouring over it with the medium shade and finally, colouring the whole heart with the lightest shade. I love the effect! The centre of the clover leaf is decorated with a green gem - it's one of Stampin' Up's super-sparkly gems coloured with the darkest Blendie! (They say little things please little minds and I'm afraid I'm never going to get tired of colouring gems to match my projects - and it works with pearls and other embellishments too!)

If you'd like to win a pack of Stampin' Up's Coastal Cabana blendabilities and or one of Stampin' Up's beautiful photopolymer stamp sets, I've got one of each to give away!

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to leave a comment on yesterday's catalogue launch post (click here to get there.) I'll use a random selector to find the winner and will reveal all at 10 pm (BST) on Friday. Good luck!!!

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

Stamps: Metro Type Alphabet photopolymer 

Ink: Hello Honey, Pear Pizzazz marker from the subtles pack,
 Old Olive assortment blendabilities

Card stock: Whisper White, Mossy Meadow

Other: Basic rhinestones, Essentials piercing template, mat and tool.

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.

While the end of year tests were going on at school I asked my youngest son (imagining a small plastic animal or lucky pebble) whether he had a lucky object. "Yes," he said at once. "My lucky cross!" It turns out that this is a celtic cross he bought in Northern Ireland with money given to him by one of my kind aunts.

It's small but it weighs a ton and would definitely not be allowed into an exam in case my son clocked the invigilator over the head with it!

See you tomorrow.

Stampin' Up catalogue 2014 sneak peek!

If you love Stampin' Up products, I really do encourage you to join Stampin' Up this month: There's a special offer until the end of June where you pay just £50 for your starter kit and get to choose £55 worth of products, with stationery, catalogues and postage included free! It's a great, no-risk way of seeing what it's like to join the Stampin' Up family and you're welcome to join as a hobby demonstrator or as a business demonstrator. Interested? Click here to find out more.

There are many perks to enjoy when you become a Stampin' Up demonstrator and just one of them is that you get your hands on new products before they're released! I've been playing with lots of gorgeous goodies from the upcoming new catalogue. See if you can spot any on this Fathers Day card:

Did you get them all?

There's this fabulous wavy paper. It's from a new paper stack called Moonlight, which features the five new in-colours. These stacks are always such brilliant value for card makers and for Project Life fans too (click here for details!) I've teamed the new paper with a contrasting piece from the Retro Fresh range in the summer catalogue.

The word 'DAD' is spelled out with a gorgeous new photopolymer alphabet called Metro Type. I wanted this for Project Life but I can see it's going to be pretty handy for personalising cards as well. The star and the sentiment are in a bright, zingy new orange called Tangelo Twist. I'll be doing a whole post on the new colours soon so don't miss that!

The star itself has been cut using one of the new punches from the Itty Bitty Accents punch pack. There's a new style of heart in the pack as well as the prettiest little flower ever! You'll definitely be seeing a lot of these punches on my blog!

I'll be linking this card up with the Male Room where the theme is Father's Day and Make My Monday where the ladies are looking for male-themed cards.

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

Stamps: Metro Type Alphabet (available 1st July) photopolymer,
A Dozen Thoughts wood or cling

Ink: Island Indigo, Tangelo Twist (available 1st July)

Card stock: Whisper White, Tangelo Twist (available 1st July)

Other: Apothecary Accents framelits, Big Shot, Retro Fresh designer paper (retiring), Moonlight designer paper stack (available 1st July), Itty Bitty Accents punch pack (available 1st July), 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.

Some of the items in the annual catalogue are retiring to make way for new products. Don't miss out on your favourites! Some of these items have been discounted too - check the lists by clicking on the banners below:

So, the football World Cup has started and I joined my husband to watch a match yesterday evening:
Me: It's not so much fun this year - I don't know who they are any more.
DH: Well that's the Croatian manager. He's in a Roxy Music tribute band.
Me: REALLY?!
DH: No, I just made that up. I'm trying to make it more interesting for you.
Me: ?!
I continued to watch for a while but secretly I was thinking that it would be fun to make a card in the zingy colours of the Brazilian flag...

I have the quickest, simplest Father's Day card for you tomorrow - perfect for those (like me) that suddenly needs a card right now!

See you tomorrow,