Ideas for the new Tree builder punch - Stampin' Up artisan blog hop

What a fantastic blog hop the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team has for you today! We're hoping to inspire you with some of the new punches and the new Gift Bag punch board from the brand new catalogue!

THE PUNCH THAT CAN MAKE THE TEA!
My own project is made with the new Tree Builder punch which I coveted the instant I saw it. Perhaps it can't quite make the tea but, oh my goodness, it certainly is versatile! Come and see what I've made:

There are a few ideas for using the punch on this fun thank you card - the background clouds, the different shape of the tree and those temptingly rosy apples! With this brilliant punch, you can make a simple tree using just one of the foliage punchings but, if you use several of them, as I've done here, you can produce different styles of tree :)

The little apples are the cutest thing ever - and wouldn't a 'bowl' of these be perfect to thank a teacher?! To give my apples that delicious rosy look, I punched them out of Pear Pizzazz card stock, daubed them lightly with the new Watermelon Wonder ink and added a shadow to the stalk with a Tip Top Taupe marker. And if you're wondering about the bowl, it's made with the Note Tag punch and given a wooden texture with the Hardwood background stamp.

My apple tree is growing in a meadow of grass cut with the Fringe Scissors, and of course in Apple Tree Land, the sky is always blue with gorgeous, fluffy white clouds! I made those by inking through a stencil made with that fabulous Tree builder punch - would you like to see how I did it?

MAKE A CLOUD STENCIL WITH THE TREE BUILDER PUNCH

1. Punch everything out of some scrap card stock so that it looks like this:

2. Glue some paper to the back of the card, leaving the cloud bit uncovered:

3.Turn it back over and glue the little bits back in their places, onto the paper backing.

4. Trim off the excess paper and use a sponge dauber to apply Whisper White craft ink into the stencil to make a fluffy cloud background!

I have so many more ideas for this wonderful punch and I haven't quite given up on getting it to make the tea ;) And if you need any more reasons to buy it, there's also a brilliantly designed coordinating stamp set called Sprinkles of Life (see it on page 189 of the new catalogue) which has the added benefit of raising money for the wonderful Ronald McDonald House Charity so PLEASE don't forget to add it to your order!

Now it's time to carry on with the hop and enjoy all the fabulous ideas from the rest of the team! Next up is the fab Allison Okamitsu - just click on the button below :)

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!

Tree Builder Punch £16.00	Fringe Scissors £8.95	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky £6.50	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad £6.95
Always Artichoke A4 Card Stock £6.50	Tip Top Taupe A4 Cardstock £6.50	Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz £6.50	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad £6.00
2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers £13.50	Note Tag Punch £15.50	Hardwood Clear-Mount Stamp Set £12.95	Another Thank You Photopolymer Stamp Set £14.00

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 daughter has been home over the last week and has been sharing the dog walking with me. On one of our walks across a field one evening we were astonished to see a badger come snuffling out of the crops and cross the path in front of us. If we were surprised, Eva pup was rigid with excitement! She was about to give chase when another badger popped out and followed the first and Eva pulled up, confused. Her expression was quite comical but when a third badger appeared and went scuttling after the others she turned to us as if she suspected us of playing a trick on  her! We were just as amazed to see the badger train as my daughter described it.

See you next Tuesday when I'll have more inspiration from the new catalogue for you :)

Two quick Valentines Day cards for the guys

It's Valentine's Day on Saturday folks and just in case you're running out of time or need a bit of inspiration, here are a couple of quick and simple cards to let the chaps in your life know you care!

This one layer uses a mask made with the Full Heart punch. I sponged Soft Sky ink into it and then over-stamped with that wonderful starry image from Celebrate Today before taking the mask away. The sentiment is a lovely one from Something to Say.

The next card uses the one of the images from Hey Valentine. That sweetie-pie pirate would be great for a children's card, or for a man who loves cute, but for a more manly version (that wouldn't insult a teen!) why not use a Stampin' Write marker to stamp just the treasure chest from the stamp? I coloured mine in with blendabilities markers and cut it out with a circle punch. The sentiment, from the same image, was stamped separately and cut out with a smaller circle punch.

I hope these simple cards have inspired you to get going with some valentines for your loved ones, young and old. Don't miss out on the opportunity to tell them you love them!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!
Don't forget you'll get a free Sale-a-bration item for every £45 you spend

Sweetheart Punch £14.25	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Celebrate Today Photopolymer Stamp Set £23.95
Hey, Valentine Clear Stamp Set £15.95	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Crumb Cake Assortment ...	2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers £11.75

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 family know that I adore them but Valentine's Day is a great excuse to let them know in writing! This little treasure can't read...

... and a card would just get eaten! I was thinking of saying it with a heart-shaped burger instead - that'll get eaten too, and will take less time to eat, but at least it will be nourishing!

See you tomorrow,

Sending wishes with Butterfly Basics from Stampin' Up

My heart definitely beat faster when I inked up some stamps from Stampin' Up's Butterfly Basics for today's card! Oh my, this set is a beauty! Come and see what I've been up to:

I used the two tall botanicals in the set to create a strong vertical, cutting a mask for the flower so that the fern would appear to be behind it. I know what you're thinking - and you're right! It was a little fiddly, but worth it because I can now keep it in the stamp case and use it again and again.

I adore the greetings in this set and love the bold capitals with that gorgeous ribbon font. This one was stamped in black, cut out with the Extra Large Oval punch and mounted on a stack of glued-together Mossy Meadow ovals for a medallion effect.

I loved colouring the plants! They were stamped in Mossy Meadow ink and coloured with Daffodil Delight and Wild Wasabi blendabilities markers. I have no idea what the flower is - but it's bound to be something that would never turn up in yellow! Perhaps some kind soul could put me straight?!

I made this card when I saw the gorgeously CAS sketch at Less is More. I flipped it upside down for my card.

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!
Don't forget you'll get a free Sale-a-bration item for every £45 you spend

Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Stamp Set £21.95	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Extra-Large Oval Punch £15.50
Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock £6.25	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Daffodil Delight Assortment £10.95	Wild Wasabi Assortment Stampin' Blendabilities Markers £10.95

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.

Puppies and crafting do not mix well. That's all I'm saying today!

See you tomorrow,

One layer snow scene card using White Christmas from Stampin' Up

I have a secret to share with you today! More about that later but first... imagine waking up on Christmas morning, looking out of the window into a snowy scene and seeing a magical reindeer! That's the effect I was going for with White Christmas, one of my favourite Stampin' Up Christmas sets of all time! Come and see:

I love using my Stampin' Up inks to sponge scenes and find Naturals Ivory card stock perfect for this. It's thick enough to make a nice, sturdy one layer card too.

The area was masked off with sticky notes and the scene stamped using Smoky Slate ink. I sponged in a wintery sky and coloured the snowy ground with my Stampin' Chalk marker. That marker is brilliant for detail too - I added snow to the trees with it and the speckles on the deer too.

I thought you might find it handy to see a photo of the masked card before stamping. (Doesn't that sound exciting? The mysterious masked card!)

I'll be linking this card up with 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown which has Christmas Windows as its theme this week; and Less is More, where the challenge is to make a card with More Than One Tree.

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
(Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!) 

White Christmas Photopolymer Stamp Set £13.95	Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock £6.75	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	White Stampin Chalk Marker £3.25	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents £4.50

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.

Are you wondering what my secret might be? Well, regular readers of my blog might remember that we have an imaginary dog in our house - a Golden Retriever named Aramis. He has accompanied us on our family walks and entertained us with his antics but, as my oldest son has often reminded me, it's not the same as having a real dog. We've thought about getting a dog over the last few years. Perhaps a puppy...

... like this adorable little cutie?

Her name is Eva and, tomorrow morning, I'll be bringing her home. Please be gentle with me - I may be a little sleep deprived for a while...!

See you tomorrow,