Anniversary with Painted Blooms by Stampin' Up

With Valentine's Day on the horizon, my thoughts have been turning to valentines, anniversary and wedding cards. Today's unashamedly feminine number could work for any of these occasions - come and see:

Have you seen Stampin' Up's Irresistibly Yours designer papers that you can get for free as part of the Sale-a-bration promotion? They feature clear-embossed patterns which are beautiful as they are but look even more gorgeous when they're coloured and they're thick enough to use as a card base too! I used the striped design to make this card, sponging it with Pink Pirouette ink for a pretty effect.

The flowers are from my favourite stamp set of the moment, Painted Petals. I would definitely choose the photopolymer version of this as there are some two step stamping elements in the set and the clear stamps make this very quick and easy.

The sentiment is from Memorable Moments, which I love for its numbers and gorgeous shaped label stamp as well as its anniversary and birthday greetings in a beautiful flowing font.

I was inspired to make this clean and layered card by The Card Concept where there's a first anniversary celebration going on. Happy anniversary ladies! Here's the beautiful inspiration photo:

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

Painted Petals Photopolymer Stamp Set £21.95	Card Stock A4 Strawberry Slush £6.25	Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments £4.50	Memorable Moments Wood Stamp Set Wood-mount Stamp Set £26.95

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.

The thing about having an adorable puppy in the house is that it gives rise to confusion. For example:
Youngest son to dog: Come here you gorgeous little cutie!
Eldest son, outraged, thinking youngest son was addressing him: What?!!!
Youngest son, revolted: No, not you! I was talking to the puppy!
Endless entertainment!

See you tomorrow,

Mothers Day card using Something for Baby by Stampin' Up

While I was making yesterday's card I noticed that the duck in Embellished Events was a similar design to the one in Something for Baby, only smaller. Perfect for mum and babies I thought, and set to work on today's card! Come and see:

How adorable are these ducks?! I coloured them with markers before stamping them, so that they could have cute orange beaks, and cut them out with one of my oval framelits. The same framelit was used to cut a piece of card stock for the pond too, trimmed with the small scallop blade on my Rotary Addition.

I went a bit framelit-tastic on this card! The card base was embossed using the next size up of oval (I describe how to do that in this post) and the sentiment was stamped and cut out with one of the Bitty Banners framelits.

• Check out the rest of my Something for Baby creations here - what a very versatile set this is!
• You can see more Embellished Events inspiration here.

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

Stamps: Something for Baby wood or cling, Embellished Events wood or cling
Teeny Tiny Wishes wood or cling

Ink: Soft Sky, Tangelo Twist classic inks, plus markers

Card stock: Whisper White, Lost Lagoon

Other: Ovals and Bitty Banners framelits, Big Shot, Small Scallop rotary blade

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.

After making this card I sat down at the computer. As I settled down to work, I asked my son to tidy his room. He usually makes a spirited attempt to get out of this task but on this occasion he was surprisingly quiet. When I turned round he was gone but I found this on the table:

Have a great weekend. I'll be back here on Monday - hope to see you then!

Stamp an easy background

You know when you make a card and something's missing, it lacks pizzazz... well, that's what was going on with today's card. I'd stamped a tag and carefully coloured it in but frankly it just looked a bit boring so it went in the bin. But then I had an idea - come and see:

The tag was retrieved from the bin and updated with an ikat background and suddenly it seemed much more interesting! I used just one splodgy image from Stampin' Up's free Eyecatching Ikat set and, because it's a clear stamp set, it was so quick and easy to stamp it in a brick pattern.

My tag was mounted onto Pistachio Pudding core'dinations card stock, which I love for its subtle texture, and I trimmed it with a piece of card stock cut with the tiny scallop blade in my Rotary Addition. The sentiment and ribbon were added in the same bright Pumpkin Pie colour - I love the way everything matches!

• Eyecatching Ikat is one of three gorgeous photopolymer stamp sets you can choose as a free gift with every £60 you spend. Offer ends on Friday - click here for details.

I shall be linking this card up with Seize the Birthday where the optional topping is to use a tag on a card; and ATCAS where the cue word is Texture.

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

Stamps: Eyecatching Ikat photopolymer (free with a £60 order - until Friday!),

Peaceful Petals wood or cling, Express Yourself (for the sentiment, hostess set) wood or cling,

Ink: Pistachio Pudding, Coastal Cabana, Early Espresso classic inks, plus markers

Card stock: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie smooth, Pistachio Pudding core'dinations

Other: Pumpkin pie taffeta ribbon, Rotary Addition and Small Scallop blade, Scallop tag topper punch

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.

I did manage to get out into the garden yesterday, despite the rain, and you'll be glad to know that the Rambling Rector has been firmly put in his place. My children are off school for half term so my youngest son joined me and helped me plant some sweet pea seedlings. While we built the support for these, he told me about how much he'd enjoyed Gardening Club at primary school where they had grown all sorts of vegetables and flowers including sweet peas. "I remember that to make the flowers grow," he told me, "we had to snip the pods off with er... what are those pointy things?" I giggled. "Fingers?" He looked at me sternly. "Secateurs!" he said.

See you tomorrow,

So Very Grateful for the sunshine

I love the colour yellow - it's the colour of sunshine! To make today's cards I used Stampin' Up's So Very Grateful stamp set from the spring/summer catalogue to stamp a whole sheet of Naturals Ivory card stock with flowers and then coloured them in using yellow markers. This is a very therapeutic activity and you end up with pretty floral card stock!

I used mine to make this vintage-style card. The delicate scallop trim is one of the decorative blades you can use when you convert the Stampin' Trimmer into a rotary cutter with the rotary addition.

I loved the way the curvy banner from Itty Bitty Banners looked with the vintage-style flowers.

Here's a slightly different design made using the same goodies - the one sheet wonder technique is perfect for making a whole set of cards as a gift.

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

Stamps: So Very Grateful wood or cling, Itty Bitty Banners wood or cling

Ink: Basic Grey classic ink, plus markers

Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Very Vanilla

Other: Bitty Banners framelits, Big Shot, Stampin' Trimmer rotary addition, Small Scallop rotary blade

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 FREE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SETS WITH EVERY £60 YOU SPEND (excl. p&p)

We've been in beautiful Somerset over the weekend and enjoyed plenty of sunshine. On Sunday it was May 4th, or Star Wars day as my boys like to call it (as in may the fourth be with you!) How very apt then that we lunched in the ancient Ship Inn at Porlock and were seated in an area that had framed Star Wars posters on the wall!

I know, Star Wars posters and this beautiful building wouldn't appear to mix would they?! We had an excellent roast lunch there though and the staff were friendly and helpful, so we'll definitely go back.

See you tomorrow,

Morning Meadow with a deckle edge

With a very full day scheduled for today, I didn't think I'd be able to join in at Less is More today but you can't keep a crafter down and just look at me dashing in with a quick card! It's one layer week at the challenge site and the theme is Spring Flowers - and since the sun has brought out plenty of blossom and spring bulbs here, there was plenty of floral inspiration! Come and see what I made:

The edging on this card was made with the rotary add-on to my Stampin' Trimmer. It's so easy to use this: you just replace the cutting track with the rotary addition, turn the cutting mat and decide which blade to use. This one is my favourite, the small scallop. It's a doddle to slot the blade in and and the blade runs so smoothly in the track that I can see why those suffering from arthritis prefer this cutting system.

I used Morning Meadow, one of Stampin' Up's exclusive hostess stamp sets, to stamp this beautiful blossom image. Inking up with markers means you can stamp multi-coloured images quickly and easily. I added a little shading and dotting to the  flowers with a darker marker and added a couple of sentiments using my stamp-a-majig.

• Hostess sets are gorgeous, exclusive stamp sets that are usually only available with orders of £150 or more but my Stampers 6 club members are also able to order them as a perk of their membership. If you're interested in joining my club, click here for all the information. There'll be a new group starting in April and places will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. I'd love you to join me!

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

Stamps: Morning Meadow (hostess set) wood or cling, Chalk Talk wood or cling

Ink: Subtles markers, plus Basic Black marker

Card stock: Whisper White

Other: Rotary Addition, Small Scallop rotary blade, 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 (excl. p&p)

The big clear up after The Dreaded Sleepover has taken place (how can just a few boys make such a mess?!) Now I have a rather bleary boy on my hands so it's time to stop blogging, snuggle up with him and watch a film. He has requested 'something funny' and since he's the one who usually has everyone laughing, I think it's only fair that he should be allowed to sit back and let someone else to do the funny stuff for once!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll see you soon,