A Perfectly Preserved marriage!

It's all about weddings at the fabulous Less is More challenge today - and we all love a wedding don't we?! I hope you won't groan when you see my card today... there might just be a jar on it!

I promise I DO have other stamps it's just that I haven't got over my Perfectly Preserved stamp set yet! Moving swiftly on - I started by getting some texture going on the background with a mixture of dry and heat embossing before adding a jar of hearts.

I love this jar to bits as you may have noticed! I stamped it on acetate with white stazon before cutting it out (there are coordinating framelit dies to make this easy.) The hearts are cut out of scraps of watercolour paper using my Owl punch (yes really!), and the jar is secured with glue dots behind the label and a little glue behind the outline of the jar.

It's hard to see in the photo but this sentiment and the little label on the jar are embossed in gold,  and I added a few pearls for that luxurious feel.

I was so pleased to see that my card for last week made it to the showcase - thank you for choosing it Chrissie and Mandi!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Perfectly Preserved, En Français, For My Family and Tiny Tags (sentiments)
Ink: White stazon 
Card stock: Very Vanilla, scraps of watercolour paper
Punches: Owl builder punch, Jewellery Tag punch
Other: Versamark, gold and clear embossing powders, heat tool, Big Shot, Stripes embossing folder, white bakers twine, Basic Pearls, stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these 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 place your order, just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593. Click here to view the Retirement Lists - my last order from these will go in at 8pm tomorrow, please don't leave it too late! 

I meant to get my card posted much earlier but my daughter wanted me to go to a local car boot sale with her. It was a glorious day in Buckingham today and there were heaps of stalls to browse. We were looking at a stationery stall when our eyes landed on a herd of small plastic cows arranged amongst the envelopes and packing tape! "And suddenly," said my daughter. "There were cows!" She does make me laugh.

I shall be back on Monday and there'll be lots of excitement here because there'll be a brand new catalogue going live! Whoopee! There'll be heaps to show you so do come and join me for that.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Happiest Birthday Wishes for a teen

What kind of a card would you make a teen? Well, unless they have a specific interest (music, xBox, gadgets, sport, clothes, shopping...!) my advice is keep it simple. Actually all my cards tend to be pretty clean and simple, so no change there!

Making a card for a teen is the new month's challenge at the St Lukes Charity Challenge where cards are sold to raise money for the charity. Why not join in? You could win a prize and would be contributing to a very worthwhile cause. Here's what I came up with:

A text image works well for teens - this one is from from the hostess set Happiest Birthday Wishes. I paper pieced the 'i' with a scrap of Patterns designer paper and a tiny punched heart and popped up the word 'happy' with dimensionals.

You can see how dimensional it is in this photo. I've added more interest by attaching the panel to a textured card base and by scoring a frame with my lovely Simply Scored board. Red Yellow and Blue aren't necessarily colours I would choose but they're the challenge at Make My Monday this week, so I picked up the gauntlet - and I quite like the way it turned out actually!

Stampin' Up's exclusive hostess sets are only available to those making orders (group or individual) of £150 or more but if you'd rather not spend that all at once and don't have crafting friends, why not join my Stampers 6 club? You'll be automatically eligible for freebies in your hostess month and will get free up-to date catalogues as they're released - as well as lots of other perks! Find out more here.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card:

Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes (hostess set)

Ink: Real Red, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight (all in marker form)

Card stock: Very Vanilla, smooth and textured

Other: Owl punch (for the heart), Simply Scored, scrap of Patterns designer paper, paper snips, 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. Your free brad and ribbon set will be added automatically to any order of £45 or more.

Yesterday, we spent most of the day at the dentist and my son was given some temporary caps for his teeth. All is well for the time being but we have to be vigilant in case the nerve dies and causes infection. I'd fed him a large brunch before we left but the moment the dentist told him he wouldn't be able to eat for a few hours, he turned into a ravenous beastie! Today, he's gone to senior school for his induction day and I can't wait to hear his entertaining views on that, but meanwhile the house has gone to wrack and ruin and there's a pile of laundry waiting to be done...

See you tomorrow,

I'm here for you little Owl!

I've been thinking about punches and die cuts ever since I saw the CAS-ual Fridays challenge on Friday, and I think I've finally come up with something I like. Come and see:

I know I'm not alone in thinking this owl punch is a cutie and a half and there are so many characters you can make with it too. I've seen it dressed up as Santa, doctors and nurses, brides and grooms, pirates, graduates... and it also transforms beautifully into reindeer, penguins, cats, bats, chicks, monsters, devils, bats, mummies... well I think you get the idea with that!

My little owl is looking very nervous - he's flown a bit too high and is way out of his comfort zone up there! He's resting on a cloud I made using the new Labels framelits but it's a long way down... I think  this a great sentiment for someone who has found themselves in a spot of bother too.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card:

Stamps: Petite Pairs

Ink: Poppy Parade

Card stock: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Whisper White smooth and textured

Other: Crumb Cake marker, Labels framelits, Big Shot, Owl punch, 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.

The sky in Buckingham is the same colour as the sky in my card but there's not a cloud to be seen! Yes, that's right, the sun is out and I'm happy! And I'm not the only one enjoying the warmth...

Yesterday I heard my husband telling the cat that it would be great if they could swap lives!

I'll be back tomorrow when cycling will be the theme for Three Minute Thursday. Do come and join me then,

Little Additions baby

My husband told me that he was taking our youngest son shopping this morning. He said it with such a ridiculously casual air that even if I didn't know that he loathes shopping, I would instantly have known he was off to search for my birthday present! Since the rest of the family disappeared with various friends I was left home alone and there are no prizes for guessing what I got up to! Come and have a look:

This is my card for today's Less is More challenge to make baby/children cards. The thing that really takes my breath away when I see babies is their purity - that astonishing skin! - and this card is all about that. I stamped the cot in versamark on Naturals Ivory card stock and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder before cutting it out with my sharp paper snips. I love the curvy shape of this cot from Little Additions.

The sentiment was stamped in Basic Grey on Very Vanilla card stock and trimmed into a banner. I added the pretty in pink heart, punched out with my Owl punch, just below the little heart on the cot.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card:

Stamps: Little Additions

Ink: Basic Grey

Card stock: Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory

Other: Owl punch and 1 1/4" punch, versamark, clear embossing powder, heat tool, paper snips, 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.

Making baby cards always makes me feel wistful for my own lovely babies. I once spent about an hour wafting a sheet up and down on the bed because it made my baby daughter giggle. It was her first real laugh and it was the most wonderful sound I'd ever heard in my life. 

I can't wait to see the baby fest that will be the Less is More gallery today! See you soon,