Papaya Collage in the frame

I love using tags on my cards and I'm intrigued by the current trend for layouts with an offset element too. Today's card combines both! Come and see:

Does this large tag remind you of Project Life by any chance? Not long to wait now - I am SO looking forward to using this quick and easy way to organise my photos with Stampin' Up colours and everything coordinating!

The big, punchy 'thank you' from Stampin' Up's Simply Celebrate was my starting point for this card. It was stamped and heat embossed with clear embossing powder so it would resist the ink when I stamped the frame from the retiring Papaya Collage over the top. I masked off the frame and stamped the foliage from the same set inside, finishing it with a bit of light sponging.

As well as the frame and the foliage, there are heaps of other elements in this gorgeous stamp set! This butterfly for example - he was stamped, sponged and stapled to the tag (but he felt nothing I promise!)

To finish the card, I stamped and heat embossed this decorative swirl, added a little banner (remember that gorgeous banner punch from Sale-a-bration?!) and embellished with a die cut button and some white bakers twine. Yes, the wonderful Sweet Buttons embosslits die is retiring - don't miss out on that for goodness sake!!!

I used the beautiful sketch at Freshly Made Sketches to make this card and the gorgeous colours at the Colour Throwdown.

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

Stamps: Simply Celebrate wood or cling, Papaya Collage (retiring) wood or cling

Ink: Strawberry Slush, Sahara Sand, Coastal Cabana

Card stock: Sahara Sand, Whisper White

Other: Banner punch (available soon), corner rounder, Sweet Buttons embosslits die (retiring), Clear embossing powder, heat tool, white bakers twine, 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 them here.

What a wonderful birthday weekend I've had! My family really do know how to spoil me and the sunshine was an added bonus. We spent yesterday exploring the beautiful city of Cambridge with its interesting mix of Georgian architecture, cows on the common, many bicycles, punting on the river Cam, a brilliant arts, crafts and food market and fascinating shops and cafes. I  might be another year older but perhaps I'll stop worrying about my 'senior moments' after overhearing a conversation between two young ladies in one cafe:
"When are you going on holiday?"
"August."
"When's August?"

Hope you had a lovely weekend. See you tomorrow,

A Peaceful Petals birthday

It's definitely birthday season around here! Come and see this card I made for a friend using a combination of favourite stamp sets:

I started with Stampin' Up's gorgeous Hardwood background, inking up just a little of the image, stamping off once on scrap paper and then finally stamping onto my panel. The leaves from Peaceful Petals came next. You may be wondering what's in the water around here to make the leaves Night of Navy, but I've often noticed that vintage fabric print sometimes features things in unexpected colours so I'm borrowing the idea! Why not have a go yourself? It's fun!

The flower is also from Peaceful Petals, stamped and coloured in Bermuda Bay ink and cut out with my trusty paper snips. I decorated it with a die cut button threaded with some thin chiffon ribbon.

I started with Stampin' Up's gorgeous Hardwood background, inking up just a little of the image, stamping off once on scrap paper and then finally stamping onto my panel. The sentiment is from the fabulous hostess set Express Yourself - available only until the end of June!

I used this week's colours at the Colour Thowdown to make this card, combining them with the sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches:

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

Stamps: Hardwood wood or cling, Peaceful Petals wood or cling
Express Yourself (hostess set) wood or cling

Ink: Night of Navy, Old Olive, Bermuda Bay

Card stock: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, scrap of Old Olive

Other: Sweet Buttons embosslits die, Big Shot, aquapainter, Lucky Limeade ribbon (retired), paper snips, 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)

When my children were tiny I used to make sure they had plenty to do on long car trips (I sincerely empathised as I hated extended car journeys myself!) We had toys and snacks as well as a selection of music cassettes (remember those?!) I'd collected from car boot sales and charity shops. They adored nursery rhyme selections but their number one favourite tape was called Silly Songs. I always remember one called Topsy Turvy Land which went:

Wouldn't it be funny if the sky was green and the grass such a lovely shade of blue?
If cats went woof, dogs meowed and birds in the trees went moo!
Oh what a lark, what a giggle, what a laugh - wearing shoes upon your hands!
You'd be walking around with gloves upon your feet in Topsy Turvy land!

The song is quite sweet but we all doubled the comedic value by putting on arch expressions while singing it!

See you tomorrow,

Hooray for Geometrical!

I was fascinated by the sketch at Retro Sketches this week and it's perfect for showcasing some gorgeous designer paper! Come and have a look:

This fabulous paper from the Stampin' Up's Sweet Sorbet Sale-a-bration range yells Celebration! to me, so I think the Hooray sentiment from the Geometrical stamp set works well with it.

It normally says 'for today' in a lovely cursive script under the 'Hooray' but that didn't work for my banner shape, so I masked it off before heat embossing in black. Can you see how the banner is scored on the edges? I often do this with my Simply Scored tool as I think it gives a nice, neat finish.

The banner is positioned slightly off the edge of my card and you can just see the yummy Crisp Cantaloupe core'dinations card base! The circle stamp underneath the sentiment is actually an off-cut from the centre of one of the stamps from the Chalk Talk set. I kept it in case it came in handy - as I'm sure all crafters would! The button is cut with my Sweet Buttons embosslits die and finished with some of the twine from the free Sale-a-bration Accessories Pack.

This is the fabulous sketch I was working from today:

I used off cuts and snippets to make my card so I'm also linking up at the Snippets Playground where an ark is sensibly being built (well perhaps 'sensibly' isn't the right word... how about rumbustiously?!!) The card also fits at CASual Fridays where the Over The Edge challenge continues.

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

Stamps: Geometrical wood or cling, Chalk Talk wood or cling

Ink: Basic Black, Smoky Slate

Card stock: Crisp Cantaloupe core'dinations, Whisper White smooth and scrap of Summer Starfruit

Other: Sweet Sorbet designer paper and Accessories Pack (free Sale-a-bration gifts), Sweet Buttons embosslits die, Big Shot, versamark, Black embossing powder, Heat tool, Simply Scored, 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 A FREE SALE-A-BRATION GIFT WITH EVERY £45 YOU SPEND

You hear so much about badly behaved teens in the media but I prefer to focus on the positive news as shared with me by my amused daughter. On an internet forum this week, fans were talking about Justin Bieber's drunk driving escapade. "He's only nineteen," said one (who was probably younger!) "We all make mistakes!" I'll pass over her definition of 'mistake' because someone else responded: "Harry Styles [from One Direction] is also nineteen and he was in the news this week for tripping over a dog and apologising!"

See you tomorrow,

Washi tape and buttons for a new baby

After a mixed weekend it gave me such a boost to see my Smile card from last week being featured on the front page of Stampin' Up US! It featured one of the gorgeous new Gingham Garden washi tapes from the brand new catalogue which will go live on the 2nd July (check the side bar to pre-order your copy!) Today I've used one of the other tapes from the set on a card inspired by the fabulous sketch at CASe this sketch this week. Come and see:

Isn't this floral tape gorgeous? It's so easy to just stick a strip onto my cards! I decided to emphasise it with a bit of scoring which you can see better here...

... in this photo! The sentiment is from the retiring Friendly Phrases and I stamped it either side of my washi tape so that I could feature a button as the 'o' in 'congratulations'. It was stamped in two stages, inking up with markers so that I could miss out the relevant letters each time, and I used my stamp-a-majig to line the letters up.

Here's the sketch I was working from today:

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Friendly Phrases (retiring)
Ink: Midnight Muse, Pink Pirouette markers
Card stock: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette
Other: Gingham Garden washi tape (available 2nd July), Simply Scored, Big Shot, Sweet Buttons embosslits die, 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.

Yesterday I took my eldest son to the shops to get some wellies for his upcoming geography field trip as he's completely grown out of his old ones. Can somebody please tell me -  how did we get from this...

... to this...

in such a short space of time? I mean okay, the Thomas the Tank Engine ones were not the pair before the size 10 Dunlops we bought yesterday but still, it does seem like only yesterday they were his pride and joy!

See you tomorrow for more crafting fun!

Clean and simple layering

After my senior moment yesterday I'm back to making Christmas cards. The colour challenge at 52CCT this week intrigued me - Cream, Brown and Pink, so here's my take on that using this gorgeous sketch at Case this Sketch:

This is about as layered as I can bring myself to do! I used ribbon, card stock and designer paper to create a background with punched circles for my scallops. A sentiment banner was laid over the top and finished with a fabulous snowflake embellishment.

Here's a close up of that snowflake. It came from the Snowflake Season scrapping kit in the autumn/winter seasonal catalogue which I bought for another project and found there are heaps of fun items left over to use for cards! The centre is decorated with button dies cuts - the Sweet Buttons embosslits die gets a lot of use in my Crafting Square Metre and I do like to stack the buttons and stitch them together with bakers twine.

The sentiment was stamped onto a card strip and embossed, and ribbon tails punched into the end with a square punch. I rather like the dotty Melon Mambo ribbon and Early Espresso combination and I think it does look quite jolly with a bit of extra glitz!

Here's the sketch I've been working from today:

My blogging friend Val has just mentioned that this card will work for Crafty Cardmakers where the challenge is to use more than one punch or die - thanks Val!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: For My Family
Ink: Early Espresso
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Melon Mambo, Primrose Petals
Other: Melon Mambo dotty grosgrain ribbon, scrap of Floral District designer paper, Snowflake Season scrapping kit, Sweet Buttons embosslits die, Big Shot, Early Espresso bakers twine, 3/4" circle punch
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and have them delivered straight to your address in the UK, France, Deutschland, Nederland or Osterreich. 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 +44 (0) 1280 820593. Check out current special offers here.

What a damp, dark, murky Monday it was yesterday - just the sort of day when your spirits need lifting. Luckily there is my daughter! When she came down to breakfast yesterday she said: "Getting out of bed - three out of ten. Not recommended!" which cheered me up no end. 

See you tomorrow,

What can you do with designer paper?

There are heaps of lovely things you can do with designer paper and I've decided that from now on, I'll use 'Designer Paper' as a category in my index rather than listing the name of the paper range. I do hope you'll find it helpful resource in the future.

My card today shows one of my favourite ways of using designer paper - working with it! There's a big trend at the moment for combining strips of different papers in horizontal stripes. It's quite tricky to come up with the right combination of papers and patterns but there's a paper in the Patio Party range that cuts out all the hard work! Come and have a look:

I love this paper - there's no going to all the trouble of selecting papers, sticking together and cutting accurately - you just need to cut! With all the time I'd saved, I was able to focus on some detailing...

... these banners for example, were part of the paper design - I just drew attention to them by snipping round them.

To finish, I added two pretty, die-cut buttons, layered together and embellished with bakers twine, and a hand cut sentiment. The catalogue lists the colours used in each of the paper ranges, right next to the price, so it's really easy to add matching die-cut elements to your projects.

These cards were made to welcome two lovely ladies to my team. They've chosen a brilliant time to join Stampin' Up because, during October and November, you not only get your fully customisable starter kit for only £99 (129 €) valued at £175 (235 €) but you also get a free pack of designer papers every month for six months! This is such amazing value that even if you're not interested in a business venture you might consider joining to get the discount on your own purchases - and don't forget that if you'd like to re-join, you're more than welcome! Click here to find out more or click here to contact me.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: A Word For You
Ink: Raspberry Ripple
Card stock: Whisper White, Midnight Muse
Other: Patio Party designer paper, Big Shot, Sweet Buttons embosslits die, white bakers twine, paper snips
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and have them delivered straight to your address in the UK, France, Deutschland, Nederland or Osterreich. 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 +44 (0) 1280 820593.

Has everyone seen episode 5 of Downton Abbey now? Oh my goodness, I think Julian Fellowes, the writer, must be in league with Kleenex - we're completely cleaned out of tissues in our house!

It's Three Minute Thursday here tomorrow and I shall be showing you a design that can be made quickly! See you then,

Three minute Button Buddies

If you have children of school age you'll know how manic it gets in the summer term with schools making the most of the 'good weather' (holds her sides laughing) for all their trips, sports days, fund raisers, community events and fairs. I don't know whether I'm coming or going this week but I managed to rustle up a couple of quick cards using Button Buddies. Come and see:

This one was inspired by Make My Monday where they're looking for cards in the summery colours of strawberries and cream  and also Addicted to Stamps where there's a fun bingo challenge this week (I've chosen Red, Free, Buttons)!

I stamped cherries on my main panel then added these die cut buttons over the top, using the embossed side of one and the debossed side of the other. It took no time at all as I keep die-cut buttons in loads of colours all ready made in a little jar!

Textured card stock makes adding detail a doddle when you're in a hurry and I love the contrast it makes with the smooth Very Vanilla card stock. People often worry that they won't be able to stamp on the textured card stock but it takes ink beautifully. This simple sentiment from Thank You Kindly is a real favourite of mine!

The CASual Fridays challenge this week is to use pink and since the little piggy in the Button Buddies set was trying to catch my eye, I thought I'd give him the same treatment.

He really is a cutie with his little button schnozzle!

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

Stamps: Button Buddies, Thank You Kindly

Ink: Basic Grey, Lucky Limeade (cherries), Pretty In Pink (pig)

Card stock (cherries): Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade textured

Card stock (pig): Very Vanilla, Pretty In Pink smooth and textured

Other: Sweet Buttons embosslits die, Basic Grey marker, 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.

If you were with me yesterday, you'll know it was my daughter's prom party last night and I just have to share a photo or two with you. She'd asked me to do her hair and make up and my goodness what a pleasure it was!

She giggled the whole way through the process (and let me tell you that applying mascara to someone in gales of laughter is not easy!) Isn't she just gorgeous?! And here she is in all her finery...

... acting the goat for the camera! Needless to say I was straight off to Mumland and hunting about for the tissues!

I'll be back tomorrow with something I haven't done for a long time - a scrapbook page! Hope to see you then,

Sweet Buttons flower card

After collecting my beautiful daughter and her friends from a party at midnight and then having a dodgy night's sleep, I allowed myself a lie-in this morning - and have been trying to catch up ever since! I've found time to squeeze in the Less is More challenge though (!) and this week Chrissie and Mandi want to see die-cuts and punches being used on a card. I confidently predict record numbers of entries for this as everyone loves punches and die-cuts - in fact the main difficulty is choosing which ones to use! I managed to get over that hurdle though and here's what I made:

I chose to use my Sweet Buttons embosslits die to make these fun flowers. They're beautifully detailed with their embossing but also quite flat, so layering doesn't add too much bulk at all.

They're attached to stems and leaves made with my Little Leaves die - one of the most frequently used dies in my collection! - and 'stitched' with my white gel pen.

The flowers are growing in a little planter made from scored card stock, trimmed with my Scallop border punch and decorated with layered ribbons.

The only stamping on this card is the sentiment. I've always liked curvaceous sentiments! This one is from my favourite birthday sentiment set of the moment, a hostess set called Happiest Birthday Wishes. (Hostess sets are exclusive sets available when you place a single or group order for £150 or more and also to my Stampers 6 club members. I have one place left for my group starting in March if you'd like to join - just email me to let me know.)

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes (hostess set)

Ink: Melon Mambo

Card stock: Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, Pear Pizzazz, Pink Pirouette

Other: Sweet Buttons embosslits die, Little Leaves die, Scallop border punch, white gel pen, Melon Mambo scallop dots ribbon, Certainly Celery 1/8" taffeta ribbon, stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these supplies for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. I am committed to providing excellent customer service and am always happy to help and advise. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593.

Click here to see all the free Sale-a-bration sets and don't forget to let me know which ones you'd like - remember, you get one free item for EVERY £45 spent!

I really struggled to get any kind of decent photos of my card today as it was pouring with rain and light levels were very low but, just as I finished this post, the rain stopped, the sun came out and light flooded the room! I can't re-do the photos though as I'm being called upon to take my eldest son shopping for some new walking boots as he's discovered his old ones are several sizes too small. His feet are growing like triffids!

I'll be back on Monday with some masculine cards using those gorgeous free Sale-a-bration papers. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll hope to see you then. 

Hugs,