Petite Pennant Christmas tree

Life has been a little bit on the hectic side lately but I've come up for air! And that means that I can join in with another of my favourite challenges - One layer Wednesday. The brief is to create a one-layer card incorporating something triangular - it could be a triangular stamp or elements on the card arranged in a triangle... This immediately reminded me of this speedy card I made last week when I sponged Christmas trees through a template made with the Petite Pennants punch. I had another idea for the template...

This kind of card really attracts me - an image stamped in a corner and acres of white space to draw the eye to it. Come and have a closer look:

Pear Pizzazz ink was sponged through the template, then the pine tree from Lovely as a Tree stamped over the top in Old Olive. I really like how textured it makes the tree!  After adding the tree trunk from Trendy Trees, I held some torn paper over the tip of the trunk and sponged Bashful Blue ink over it, creating the suggestion of a snowy slope. The Merry Christmas sentiment from Petite Pairs was just the right size for my scene and I liked the way the point of the tree fitted into the space created by the two words. The rhinestone on top of the tree emphasises the triangular shape of the stamped elements.

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Trendy Trees, Petite Pairs

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Bashful Blue

Card stock: Naturals Ivory

Other: Pennant punch, Basic rhinestones, stamp-a-majig

You can buy any of these supplies from me and I can have them delivered to your address in the UK. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593. 

It's the weekend again and I've just remembered - I didn't tell you about the handmade and vintage fair at Olney I visited with my lovely friend Caroline last weekend. Olney is such a beautiful town with interesting architecture and gorgeous little boutiques and one-of-a-kind shops. We browsed those - along with this interesting-looking lady on the right... it must be so difficult getting matching footwear when you have feet like hers!

The fair was small but busy and full of wonderful nostalgic finds as well as handmade items with a vintage feel. I bought this lovely knitted handbag - just right for the autumn; and Caroline bought some fabulous vintage fabric which she plans to use to make some handmade items of her own. She creates the most wonderful pieces made from fabric - do check out her Etsy and Folksy stores for beautiful gift ideas and prepare to be wowed!

There's a different kind of fair coming to Buckingham this weekend - one with big dippers and dodgems! Oh dear...

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

Three Minute Thursday - Pennant Punch Christmas trees

Good morning! Welcome to Three Minute Thursday where this week I have another quick Christmas card to inspire you. Let's go and have a look:

The Christmas trees were created by sponging through a template I made by punching out a pennant shape with my new Petite Pennants punch. I love how you can use these supplies in all sorts of different ways! I think the Naturals Ivory card stock makes the perfect base for a card with this kind of homespun feel.

If I zoom in a bit you can see how I added the tree trunks. They're from Trendy Trees and are stamped quite softly in Soft Suede to give this distressed look. I added a greeting over the top in Early Espresso - can you guess which set it's from? It's from Welcome Christmas - a set that I'm loving more and more. What I really need to do is sit down with it for a few hours and let it show me what it can really do!

Here's another version of the card, this time stamped on a 9cm square card base. I love the different greens together - I used Certainly Celery, Pear Pizzazz and Wild Wasabi - and I like the effect where they overlap.

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Welcome Christmas (sentiment)

Ink: Soft Suede, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Pear Pizzazz

Card stock: Naturals Ivory

Other: Petite Pennants punch, Sponge Daubers, Early Espresso marker, stamp-a-majig

You can buy any of these supplies from me and I can have them delivered to your address in the UK. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593. I'M RUNNING PRIZE DRAWS EVERY DAY THIS WEEK: If you order today your name will go into a draw to win a Punch Potpourri stamp set. If your order is over £25, you'll also receive one of my Christmas House tutorials. 

Our heatwave is finally over and the winds of autumn have started to blow. Windy weather always reminds me of a time when I was a small child. I remember my sister and me being doubled up, helpless with laughter in the back in the car, watching an unfortunate lady chasing her hat down the street. Every time she bent over to grab it, the wind would whisk it away again and she would set off in hot pursuit while my sister and I screamed with laughter! Weren't we wicked?!!

Goodness - is it nearly the end of the week already? Tomorrow will be the last of my prize draws and the winners will be announced on Monday. Will one of them be you?!!!

I shall be back tomorrow with some leafy fun so do come back and see!

Hugs,

Stampin' Up freebies anyone?!!

Whoopee doop! It's a red letter day today - because not only is it World Card-making day, but today is the day the bright shiny new Stampin' Up Catalogue goes live - YAY!!! And to celebrate, I've got some very special offers! But more about that later... I'm very happy because it's my job as a Stampin' Up demonstrator to draw your attention to some of the gorgeous new items! Well it's a tough old job but someone's got to do it... (and actually that someone could be you too! Do give me a call if you're curious about becoming a demo. When you join in October you pay only £119 for your starter kit worth over £250 - PLUS you get a free in-colour kit - five full sized ink pads and a card stock assortment!)

Improved hostess benefits
One of the biggest changes in the catalogue this year is the way the hostess benefits work. Previously when orders reached £150 or more, you received a free exclusive hostess stamp set and at least £15 to spend in the catalogue. From now on, you'll receive at least £25 and be able to spend it wherever you like in the catalogue. There are still exclusive hostess stamp sets, but you can choose whether you want to spend your hostess pounds on them or not. When orders reach £300, customers not only get £50 of free merchandise but also get to choose any item from the catalogue for half price - now that's what I call a great deal! Big Shot for £43.98 anyone?!

New products
Now, where shall I start? How about with this:

A suitably celebratory card I think! I love a banner - especially when all the work is done for me by one of this year's new punches, which not only punches the flag shape but also the scalloped mat to layer it over!

The punch coordinates with two stamp sets too - the fabulous new Pennant Parade (p.37) and Party This Way (p.34), which I used here. The background was made with the Solid Stripes background stamp inked up using markers in the wonderful new colours Calypso Coral and Pool Party. To spell out 'party' I used the Just Perfect Alphabet which punches out beautifully with the 3/4" circle punch and fits the flags brilliantly.

There are some fabulous new punches - two new lacy border punches (p.116) and an amazing three-in-one layering punch that creates three coordinating shapes in one punch that you can use alone or layer together (P.117).

Another thing Stampin' Up does really, really well is come up with beautifully designed product suites with coordinated stamps, papers and accessories. In this catalogue, for example, there's a circus theme, another featuring the cutest birds, a gorgeous floral suite... there are lots but my favourites are the gorgeous Holly Berry Bouquet Christmas range (I'll be getting that just as soon as I can!) and the Timeless Portrait Suite. I've made a range of cards using this range including this one:

Look out for more of my cards using this range as I absolutely adore it!

Here are some of the papers in the pack - oh my goodness they are just gorgeous!

And now fabric has been introduced too! These are the three designs in the Timeless Portrait range - but check out all the new fabrics on p.105!

I showed you some of the new in-colours yesterday - I am in love with them already! You can see Calypso Coral and Pool Party in the banner card above but Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder and Lucky Limeade are absolutely fantastic too and you'll be seeing  lot of them here!


You may have noticed I haven't said much about new stamp sets but there are loads - including plenty for those who love to colour. There's an extended single stamp section starting on p.14, some absolutely wonderfully Christmas offerings, some really cute sets, a fabulous woodgrain background set (that I'm itching to get my hands on!) and some absolutely cracking sentiment sets. And that's just off the top of my head!

There's lots to be seen in the new accessories section too with loads more colours of my favourite seam binding as well as some gorgeous new styles of ribbon in loads of colours. Oh and there's sumptuous  lace too and denim ribbon - I can't wait to try that! The amazing new antique brads will definitely be on my shopping list as well as the new mini tags...

There are new exclusive dies and embossing folders for your Big Shot too including the long-awaited Candy Wrapper and Petal Cone dies. I can hardly bear the wait for my Designer Frames embossing folder set - and only £7.95 for the two, an unbelievable bargain!

Of course, I've only touched the surface of all the new goodies in the catalogue but I urge you to have a good old look for yourself! Click on the catalogue in my sidebar to view online or if you'd prefer to curl up on a sofa with one, do click the paypal button and I'll send one straight off to you by first class post.

Special offers!
You can buy your Stampin' Up supplies from me and I can have them delivered to your address in the UK. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593. All this week, to celebrate the launch of the new catalogue I'll have some great special offers!

• Everyone that places an order of £25 or more will receive a free copy of my Christmas House mini album tutorial


• Each day there'll be a different prize up for grabs: when you place an order your name will be entered into the draw for that day. Check the top bar for daily prizes. Winners will be announced on Monday 10th October.

Thank you so much for coming along to share all my excitement today and thank you too for all the support and encouragement you've given me over the last year and a half. 

I might just have a lie in tomorrow but I'll pop in quickly to let you know what tomorrow's prize will be! And I shall be back on Monday to start the week with a masculine card. 

Hope to see you then,