Grateful for you

Hello, crafting friends!

 

No cards today, but I just wanted to pop in and say that I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I have been reading the messages people have left for me and want you to know that I am very grateful for our lovely crafting community.

I haven't been around for a while as the festive season crept up rather quickly on me I'm afraid. I was later than I've ever been starting preparations, and then went under with The Lurgy so became later than ever! With extra events lined up, such as my youngest son's graduation, plus more visits than usual and anxieties over elderly relatives, things became rather chaotic. But we adapted and sorted things out in the end.

I thought I'd leave you with a little display on my hall shelves.

 

It's in a rather dark area but that pop of red cheers me up every time I pass it!

Back soon with some cards!

Sending hugs,

Watercolor Wings home decor artwork - Stampin' Up artisan blog hop

Hello and welcome to another blog hop brought to you by the official Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team. It's my last outing with the team but many of my team-mates will be continuing to inspire you each week so make sure you bookmark their blogs won't you!

BUTTERFLIES ON THE WALL
This week the whole team will be featuring the fabulous Watercolour Wings photopolymer stamp set so you really are in for a treat! My own project was inspired by those wonderful home decor pieces in the shops at the moment - no need to buy those when they're so simple to make at home! Come and see:

I used the smaller butterfly from Watercolor Wings to create this artwork. Forget two step stamping, you can layer these babies up in five steps, which makes them very detailed indeed :) You can even add extra detail with markers as I did here to truly customise your butterflies.

You'll need a frame with a recess, sometimes called a shadow frame. Mine was from Marks and Spencer, but I know Ikea do inexpensive similar frames. Colourwise, it's best to stick to a theme - for example, my butterflies all started with a Crushed Curry base and I've built them up with blues, greens and oranges.

In this close-up you can see how each butterfly is resting on a die-cut. I used the small, lacy butterfly from the Bold Butterfly framelits to cut these out of Typeset speciality designer paper.

SPECIAL OFFER

Buy the Watercolor Wings stamp set with the Bold Butterfly framelits and save 15%!

Watercolor Wings Photopolymer Bundle £32.50

So what do you think?! I hope I've inspired you to make your own piece of butterfly artwork for your home or to give as a gift. Now it's time to see what the rest of the team has been up to. Click the button below to carry on the blog hop with the fab Allison Okamitsu!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS HOME DECOR ARTWORK!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!

Watercolor Wings Photopolymer Stamp Set £23.00	Bold Butterfly Framelits Dies £15.50	Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper £11.75	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad £6.00
Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad £6.00	Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad £6.00	Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad £6.00	2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers £13.50

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

BUTTERFLIES ON THE NOSE!
Before I go today, I just have to share this stunning photo by Candice Sedighan whose work has been inspired by her wonderful Golden Retriever, Champ.

How adorable is that?! No matter how many sit-stays we practise, I can't imagine Eva sitting still, gazing soulfully into the distance while I take a photo of her with a cheeky butterfly on her nose! See more of Candice's amazing photos and find out more about her here.

I'll be back tomorrow for the very last time so do pop in to say goodbye won't you.

Hugs,

Make a punched Christmas Banner - Artisan blog hop

Hello and a great big welcome to another Stampin' Up blog hop brought to you by our lovely group of Artisan designers from around the world!

BUILD A BANNER WITH THE NOTE TAG PUNCH
It has turned quite cold here in the heart of England so my thoughts have turned to Christmas for my own project. I'm already getting quite a pile of Christmas cards together now so how about something to decorate the house? Come and see:

This banner is perfect for hanging on a mantlepiece, a shelf or along the top of a large mirror. It's quick and easy to make using the Cheerful Tags photopolymer stamp set and coordinating Note Tag punch plus an alphabet set and a few embellishments.

The tag image was stamped fourteen times and cut out, then over-stamped with the Christmas tree border stamp before adding the letters from Stampin' Up's gorgeous Metro Type alphabet. I used a handheld punch to make holes in the tags and strung them onto some twine (borrowed from the Under the Tree Tag a Bag accessory kit - LOVE this stuff!)

You can add whatever embellishments take your fancy! My own fancy was taken with gold sequins, the beautiful Cherry Cobbler linen ribbon and greenery cut with the Bird Builder punch and tied up with Cherry Cobbler bakers twine!

It's great fun making Christmas decorations so do have a go at this banner - and let me know how you get on won't you!

READY TO HOP?
I know the rest of the team are waiting to show you their ideas too, so click the button below and hop over to see what Allison Okamitsu's has come up with this week!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE MY BANNER NOW!
(Click on each item to be instantly transported to my online shop!) 

Metro Type Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set £22.95	Cheerful Tags Photopolymer Stamp Set £12.95	Cherry Cobbler 1" Sheer Linen Ribbon £7.25	Note Tag Punch £15.50
Gold Sequin Trim £4.50	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

My son came home from school yesterday full of enthusiasm for French. They had been learning how to say that they were ill, he told me. I asked him to explain and he frowned as he tried to remember. "So, suppose you've hurt your leg," he said. "You'd say j'ai mal a la jambon." I raised my eyebrows. "Really?" I said. "You'd say that your ham hurts would you?!"

See you tomorrow,

Four Feathers framed artwork - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

Hello and welcome to another fabulous blog hop from the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team! Are you ready to see what the team have made to inspire you today?

A DIFFERENT WAY TO STAMP
Have you noticed how feathers are a huge trend at the moment, not just in the crafting world but also in fashion and homewares? For my project this week, I decided to use the beautiful Four Feathers stamp set to make a pretty piece of wall art. Come and see:

I love the simplicity of this and it fits in beautifully with the style of my home, although it would also make a great gift. The best bit though is that it's SO easy that absolutely anyone can make it!

The background is a piece of watercolour paper cut to fit a frame I bought in a sale for a couple of pounds. I inked up an acrylic block with Soft Sky ink, spritzed it with plenty of water and dragged it across the paper until I had the shape I wanted. While it was drying, I rolled out some of Stampin' Up's Simply Pressed Clay, stamped my feathers into it and left it overnight. In the morning I cut the feathers out with my sharp paper snips, tied them together with Linen Thread and mounted them onto the inky background with glue dots.

Before putting my artwork into the frame I attached thin strips of dimensionals to the edges to keep the feathers from squashing up against the glass - that wouldn't be the elegant look I was going for at all!

Are you ready to hop around the world to see what my fellow Artisan Design teamies have been up to? Click on the button below where you'll find Allison Okamitsu waiting to inspire you in Canada!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE MY WALL ART NOW!
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my online shop) 

Four Feathers Wood-Mount Stamp Set £12.95	Four Feathers Clear-Mount Stamp Set £9.95	6 X 9 Watercolor Paper £4.50	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Clear Block I £10.95	Simply Pressed Clay £6.25	Paper Snips £8.95	Linen Thread £3.95

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy your Stampin' Up products any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

When he was at primary school, my eldest son enjoyed a school trip to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. My eldest son has never used several words where one will do (unlike my youngest son whose tongue runs on wheels!) so when asked whether he'd enjoyed his day he gave me a terse "Yes." It turns out that he is also master of the understatement because when pressed about what he'd particularly enjoyed, he replied: "I liked the drawings on the walls." Here is an example of the 'drawings' he was referring to:

See you tomorrow for more crafting fun!

Hugs,