Sending more love around the world

When I was making this little card I showed you yesterday, I started thinking about different images to use that wonderful sentiment with. I came up with this:

Doesn't the sentiment fit in well with this fabulous map image from Stampin' Up's The Open Sea stamp set?! And it would work brilliantly with World Map too! I used the lush in-colour Coastal Cabana for the card base and inked the map up in the same colour (don't you just love matching ink and card stock?!) Once the map stamp was inked up I tapped a Garden Green marker over it to vary the colour a little.

Here's a close up showing the image which was pasted it onto the card base. To frame it in a dimensional way, I cut an aperture into the top panel with one of the circle framelits, and used dimensionals to pop it up. The sentiment was stamped into one of the Itty Bitty Banners frames, which you can cut out using the coordinating framelits, and I added a tiny textured heart, cut out using the Owl punch.

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

Stamps: The Open Sea, Love You More (sentiment), Bitty Banners

Ink: Midnight Muse, Coastal Cabana classic ink plus Garden Green marker

Card stock: Coastal Cabana, Whisper White plus scrap of Real Red core'dinations

Other: Circle and Itty Bitty Banner framelits, Owl builder punch (for the heart), 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.

All these maps and globes are making me dream of hot summer holidays... think I might have to go and turn the heating up!

See you tomorrow,

A Calm Christmas and the chance to win some freebies!

While I was making yesterday's card for Less is More's current 'Make a Christmas card featuring a bird' challenge, I came across lots of other bird stamps I would've liked to use. I really couldn't resist this one, so here's my second entry:

This is the wonderful dove of peace from Stampin' Up's Calm Christmas stamp set. Isn't she beautiful?And she really does make me feel calm so I might need to bring her out more often as the festive season gets under way!

I've heat embossed her in white on Bermuda Bay card stock and cut her out with my sharp paper snips before layering her over the world image from The Open Sea - it's always fun to combine sets! The branch was punched out of Old Olive card stock using the 2 step bird punch.

This lovely sentiment comes from Calm Christmas too and works perfectly with the image. Are you wondering why I think the dove is female? Well she's trying to keep the peace isn't she? Of course she's female!

Now before you start feeling too calm, I've got some exciting news for you!

I would love to be able to give all my customers a gift at Christmas

but since that's not possible, I'm holding a

Christmas prize draw!

Customers placing an order with me between 25th November and 15th December
will have the chance to win one of three fabulous prizes:

The wonderful Gorgeous Grunge stamp set in cling mount (worth £17.95)
The cute Oh Goodie stamp set in cling mount (worth £9.95)
A fabulous Tag-a-Bag accessories kit (worth £7.25)

This is not a Stampin' Up promotion and the prizes are being donated by me personally
The winners will be randomly selected on 16th December
Prizes will be posted out next day in time for Christmas.

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

Stamps: Calm Christmas, The Open Sea

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Early Espresso

Card stock: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay

Other: Versamark, white embossing powder, heat tool, 2 step bird punch, 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.

I love birds and have carved wooden ones dotted about all over my house. The other morning I came downstairs to find that one of them was sporting some interesting new head gear...

Some people have just got too much time on their hands!

See you tomorrow,

Summer butterflies with Creative Elements

Once, when I was a young girl, long ago in ancient times (as my children would say!), I went on a romantic summer holiday on the Greek island of Paros and the colours of today's card remind of it... Come and have a look:

I started by stamping the background stamp from The Open Sea onto a Naturals Ivory card base and topping it with a panel which had been brayered with Island Indigo ink. I stamped over it with the stunning flourish from Creative Elements using versamark and heat embossed it using gold embossing powder.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this Beautiful Wings embosslits die as these pretty embossed butterflies are a favourite embellishment of mine. I came up with the combination of Night of Navy with Island Indigo and gold by accident and I love it!

This fabulous Curly Cute sentiment fits in well with the flourishes and draws the eye across the width of the card.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: The Open Sea, Creative Elements, Curly Cute
Ink: Island Indigo, Night of Navy
Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Night of Navy
Other: Brayer, Night of Navy marker, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, versamark,  gold embossing powder, heat tool, 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 are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

My youngest son flabbergasted us last week by informing us that in just two years time he'd be a teenager! Not just yet though - he still runs around making explosion noises when he thinks we're not watching!

There'll be no Masculine Monday next week but instead I'll have something tasty-looking for you! Have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you then.

Green and blue on The Open Sea!

I'm sneaking in with a quick card for Less is More today - there's a colour challenge over there this week and it's blue and green. I love these colours together and think that whoever thought they 'shouldn't be seen without a colour in between' must have had windmills in his head! My card uses an idea I've had before (here) but this is a pared back version. Come and have a look:

The woodgrain background stamp was stamped in Island Indigo ink and then sponged with more of that colour and Garden Green.

I cut the panel to fit a frame I scored with my Simply Scored board onto the card base. I made sure that this swirly part of the woodgrain was in the bottom right hand corner and emphasised it with a hole cut with my cropadile and this curvy sentiment from Happiest Birthday Wishes.

I inked up just the top of the ship with a Basic Black marker so that it would look as if  it was sailing in heavy seas.

What you'll need to make this card:
Stamps: The Open Sea, Woodgrain, Happiest Birthday Wishes
Ink: Garden Green, Island Indigo
Card stock: Whisper White
Other: Basic Black marker, Simply Scored, cropadile, 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 are placing an order of £60 or more, you will receive a free Reason to Smile stamp set in your choice of wood or clear mount. The set is also available to buy for £18.95 wood mount or £14.95 clear mount.

Yesterday I heard my daughter giggle as she brought in the post. "Look Mummy!" she said. "Someone has sent us some good advice!" I looked at the parcel. "Excellent advice," I said and added: "but not for bees," just for the pleasure of hearing her laugh. For some reason the word bees really tickles her funny bone. Once my youngest son made us an Easter card in French at school and wrote 'grosses bises' (pronounced 'gross bees') inside; when she saw it she was helpless with laughter!

I'll be back tomorrow for Three Minute Thursday to show you a superfast card. See you then,

Bordering on Romance meets The Open Sea

I had a parcel of new goodies delivered yesterday and one of the things inside was a tin of Subtles watercolour crayons. I can't believe I've been using Stampin' Up products for nearly five years and I've only just discovered these! I used them to make a card for two challenges - CASual Fridays, which is looking for cards using text, and Make My Monday, where the challenge is to use purple, green and orange. Come and see:

I love making scored frames at the moment: I work out the size I want, mark it on the back of my card stock and then just score it on my Simply Scored (in fact, for this card, I just put the stamp on the card stock and marked the corners with a pencil!) I stamped this gorgeous text stamp from the Open Sea in versamark and clear embossed it before masking the edges with post it notes and stamping the flowers. Then came the colouring:

I enjoy colouring as long as it's quick and easy and these crayons certainly fit the bill! They come in  the four colour families and are creamy and blendable as well as water soluble - here I coloured the large flowers and leaves with them and blended with an aquapainter, then added shading with markers and blended again. The embossed text resisted the colour and shows through - I will never tire of this effect!

I'm hoping to be test-driving my crayons quite a lot over the next week or so and will let you know how I get on!

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

Stamps: Bordering on Romance, The Open Sea

Ink: Peach Parfait, Basic Grey

Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Very Vanilla

Other: Markers, Subtles water colour crayons, versamark, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Simply Scored, 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.

Life really is hectic here at the moment so I really apologise if you're waiting for a comment from me. Yesterday I had another trip to the dentist and my daughter asked if I could drop her at a friend's house on the way. As usual I thought of a hundred and one things that needed doing on the way out. "No rush!" she said as I hurried out to the car where she was waiting patiently. "I hadn't realised you needed to read War and Peace before we went!"

It's Three Minute Thursday here tomorrow and I'll be using this month's free brad and ribbon set - it's gorgeous! Hope to see you then.

Hugs,

Everyday Enchantment for a man!

Did you see the announcement yesterday? Yes! There are gorgeous freebies on offer during July when you spend £45 or more and also the Everyday Enchantment designer paper range is back and is now available to buy at £9.95 a pack. I'm certainly not the only person that is delighted with this news! I wanted to get creating with the range straight away and, since I always start the week with Masculine Monday, set myself the challenge of making a male card using the papers. Here's what happened:

I cut one of these gorgeous floral medallions out of one of the papers, mounted it onto some Early Espresso card stock and cut round it. It was decorated with some mini brads before being attached to a ribbon tailed card stock strip. Florals can be okay for males in small doses and there's a touch of the William Morris about this I thought.

Before attaching the strip to the Crumb Cake card base, I stamped the gorgeous ships inventory background stamp from The Open Sea and stamped a sentiment...

... and made this little tab with a piece of card stock and the label stamp from Tea Shoppe to balance out the design.

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

Stamps: The Open Sea, Tea Shoppe, sentiment (retired)

Ink: Early Espresso, Poppy Parade

Card stock: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Other: Square punch (to make ribbon tail), Simply Scored, mini brads, 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.

One of the many events I attended last week was a fund-raising fashion show at which my youngest son was modelling (there is no end to his talents!) He threw himself into it with his usual enthusiasm and came out buzzing. After congratulating him on a great job, I suggested that he consider joining the drama club when he moves to senior school in September as he loves performing in public. I warned him that he might have to take minor parts at first and work his way up. He nodded. "Like a bush," he said. "I'd be quite happy being a bush but I'd want to be the best bush ever! I'd want people to come out saying 'that was a great play but did you see the amazing bush in the third scene? Man that bush rustled!'" If you ever see an oscar nominated bush, that'll be my son!

I'm continuing to receive lovely messages to wish him well after his cycling accident at the weekend. Thank you so much - he and I really do appreciate it. I shall be taking him to the dentist today and we'll see if anything can be done to save that tooth.

Have a happy Monday!

The Open Sea - three minute male card

Good morning! It's Thursday already and time for a quick card here. I've come up with a quick fathers day card (just in case anyone might have forgotten that it's this Sunday!) but the design would be suitable for lots of other occasions too. Come and see:

It's a sort of stained glass window look! I made a mask by punching a 1 3/4" circle out of a post it note, placing it over Whisper White card stock and daubing Marina Mist and Lucky Limeade ink inside. This is supposed to be pretty random but the green should be vaguely over land and the blue over sea. When the mask was removed, the globe image from The Open Sea was inked up in Basic Black and stamped over the top of the sponging using a stamp-a-majig for accurate positioning.

I added this sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes, which I love for its simplicity, and attached the panel to a card base using dimensionals.
Here's what you'll need to make today's card:

Stamps: The Open Sea, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Marina Mist, Basic Black

Card stock: Whisper White

Other: 1 3/4" circle punch, sponge daubers, 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.

My daughter's revision continues... "Did you know," she said to me yesterday, looking up from her chemistry book, "that acids can be strong or weak depending on whether they ionise or not?" I shook my head. "No, but that reminds me, " I said. "I need to ionise some shirts!" We shrieked with laughter over this but I don't think I'd better give up the day job just yet!

I've been using my Simply Scored diagonal plate today and I'll have the results here tomorrow if you'd like to see.

Hugs,