It's time... to join Stampin' Up!

I was busy stroking my designer papers the other day when I spotted a clock in the Timeless Portrait range. I happened to have my paper snips out and before I knew it, this had happened:

I love seeing what happens when you snip elements out of a paper and give them a new home! I cut the clock face out with a circle punch, popped it up on a larger punched circle to give it a bit of dimension and added a black brad.

The sentiment is computer generated, trimmed and given ribbon tails with a square punch before being scored and folded into a 3D shape - it's mounted on dimensionals to keep it that way! I like the idea of an 'it's time...' sentiment as it could cover lots of occasions; I'm toying with the idea of writing 'to tidy your room' in this one and presenting it to my daughter!

The other day when my youngest son went off to senior school looking so small, I'm not ashamed to say I had to wipe away a tear. I'd always said I'd think about a part time job at this time and, if I hadn't already joined Stampin' Up, this would have been a great time to start! It has given me such a sense of achievement to build my business and I've thoroughly enjoyed making friends with like-minded people. I did worry that I wouldn't be able to fit it in around my family life but after a while I discovered what I could and couldn't do and have settled happily into a routine. The best bit of course is that I earn all the gorgeous Stampin' Up products for free - which makes my husband very happy!

If you've been toying with the idea of becoming a Stampin' Up demonstrator and would like to know more about what it entails, click here for more information or send me an email or give me a ring. I'm always happy to give you unbiased information so that you can have a think about it in your own time and decide whether it might be right for you.

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

Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Very Vanilla (textured and smooth), Basic Black (textured)

Punches: 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, square punch, corner rounder

Other: Black brad, Timeless Portrait designer paper

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.

And now it's time... to get my act together before the ravening hordes come home! Have a lovely weekend, and I'll see you soon.

Hugs,

Three Timeless Portrait vintage-style cards

Isn't it wonderful to get a new pack of designer paper, spread it out in front of you and think of things to do with it?! I recently bought a pack of Timeless Portrait papers and had great fun making cards with the cameo motif. Here are a few of them:

The first is a little notelet made from Very Vanilla card stock. I masked the top of the card front and stamped the gorgeous swirl from Baroque Motifs on the bottom half using Basic Black ink. A piece of Basic Black card stock neatens the edge. You will find so many gorgeous motifs to cut out of these papers to use to embellish your cards and projects - I am particularly taken with the cameos and the beautiful Gustavian-style swirls and frames. Stampin' Up's self-adhesive pearls come in a sheet of three different sizes and the tiny ones are perfect for decorating the cameo.

There's more than a touch of the vintage ladies' boudoir about the next card I made - I was thinking damask, satin, lace, pearls... 

The black satin ribbon works well with these papers and sponging the punched flowers with Crumb Cake ink and decorating them with pearls gives them a lovely vintage look.

The eyelet border punch adds a touch of lace at the bottom of the card that I think contrasts beautifully with the classic design on the paper.

I cut an aperture in the paper using the Decorative Label punch and used it to frame my cameo.

The final card is my favourite:

I embossed only part of the Very Vanilla card stock with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder before covering almost all of one half with this gloriously understated designer paper. The join is covered with black satin ribbon and then topped with this fabulous frame:

Isn't it beautiful?! I cut it out with my sharp paper snips and added a cameo and one of my vintage-style flowers.

These cards were made with just a fraction of these papers and there are loads of different styles in the pack - here are just some of them:

Supplies needed for these cards:

Stamps: Baroque Motifs

Ink: Crumb Cake (for sponging)

Card stock: Very Vanilla

Punches: Eyelet border, Decorative Label, Boho Blossoms, Itty Bitty punch pack

Other: Timeless Portrait designer paper, Basic Pearls, Basic Black satin ribbon, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder

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. 

Today my oldest son set off for boxing club then returned within minutes. "I suppose it would help if I had some kit!" he said as he came back in. "I'm so un-organised!" My daughter looked up. "You're not UNorganised - you're DISorganised!" she said. "So actually, what you are is illiterate!" One of the lovely things about having children is that they are so entertaining to listen to!

Thank you as always for your visit today and for your comments and emails which I thoroughly enjoy reading and replying to. I'll be back tomorrow with Three Minute Thursday when I'll have not just one fast card but two bonus ones as well! Hope you can join me,

Timeless Portrait chocolate box and card

Do you remember me showing you the Timeless Portrait designer paper on Saturday? I love this range with its vintage feel and I'm particularly fascinated by the cameo motif. Come and see a box I made using one of the papers.

This paper reminds me of an expensive silk scarf a friend of mine once had! I like to team a patterned box lid with a plain base and I love the way it looks with the satin ribbon in black. The coordinating tag is made with Basic Black card stock, a scrap of the designer paper and a die-cut tag that is fast becoming a favourite of mine. The box was made as a thank you gift and is full of Lindt truffles - yum!

Naturally I made a card to go with the  box of chocs! I loved the black swirls on this paper and cut it so that  it would work on my 9cm square card. It's worth taking a closer look at designer paper because papers that you think are intended for scrapbooking only can often turn out to be brilliant used in smaller pieces. Have you noticed that the sentiment from Thank You Kindly almost looks a part of the paper design!

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Thank You Kindly

Ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake (for sponging the edges of the paper)

Card stock: Crumb Cake, Basic Black 

Other: Lots of Tags sizzlits die pack, Basic Pearls, satin ribbon in Basic Black, paper snips, 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. SPECIAL OFFERS: If you order today your name will go into a draw to win a full-sized classic ink pad in Rich Razzleberry. If your order is over £25, you will also receive a free Christmas House tutorial. 

I'm a little bit car-lagged after our journey to Norfolk. We live in the very heart of England - you can't really get further from the coast! It took us just under two and a half hours to get to Brancaster because we set off at 6.30am, but it took three and half to get home with all the other traffic! On our way back we passed this surprising field:

I've never seen anything like this before but I found it a great inspiration for a card! Are you curious? Do come and see me tomorrow and all will be revealed!

Have a good day today,

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,