Butterfly bouquet

Hello, crafting friends!

I'm so happy  to have been invited to guest design today with the talented ladies at the Day Of The Month Card Club challenge where they're celebrating their second birthday with prizes!  This month, the theme is Learn About Butterflies Day and since spring seems to arrived early in my little corner of the world, it's easy for me to imagine a garden glowing with flowers and alive with fluttering butterflies!

To create a background for my butterflies, I stamped one of the bouquets from Stampin' Up's Wrapped Bouquet directly onto a card base then, turning the card round 180 degrees, stamped it again beneath the first. The flowers were coloured with coloured pencils.

To cover the join, I chose a banner style sentiment from an older SU set called Banners for you. It was stamped, shaded with yellow pencils and fussy cut. And then it was time to introduce the stars of the show, the butterflies!

My pair of pretty butterflies came from an even older SU set Painted Glass. They were stamped, coloured with alcohol markers and fussy cut. I attached them to the background with dimensional pads.

And now it's your turn! Are you already thinking about which butterflies you can use? Do pop over to the Day of the Month Card Club blog and enjoy the amazing samples the team have made for you, and you can link your card up there too when you're ready.

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday challenge where she'd like to see Spring Colours; Also Simon Says Stamp where Beautiful Blossoms are the theme; and also at Marsha's Occasions challenge at Watercooler Wednesday

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Because the title of the Day of The Month Card Club Challenge was Learn about Butterflies Day, I thought I'd look them up and learn something new. I found out some extraordinary things: their wings are actually transparent for example - they're made up of tiny scales and the amazing colours we see are just reflections we see through the scales. They don't live for very long - between two to four weeks on average. They taste with their feet! How mad is that?! They can't fly when they're cold... Oh butterflies, I am so with you on that one! When is the real spring coming?

Sending hugs,

Break for the Bountiful Border!

If you're anything like me, you'll find that when you browse the new Stampin' Up catalogue for the umpteenth time, you'll find a hidden gem! It was like that for me with Bountiful Border - I somehow missed it in all the excitement, but it is a treasure! Come and see:

Isn't the stencil-style artwork gorgeous?! It's a two step stamping set, which means you can stamp the leafy parts using one ink and add the flowers in another colour - AND it's photopolymer, so it's easy to see where to stamp on the second step!

There can even be a third step if you like because the stamp set also includes a fun dotty stamp to add a little interest! I gave my flowers a zing with Crushed Curry dots. Also, have you seen the wooden sentiment?! I love these intricate die-cut greetings (here's another example.)

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

Bountiful Border Photopolymer Stamp Set £15.00	Expressions Natural Elements £4.50	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad £6.00
Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad £6.00	Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Marker £3.25	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock £6.50

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.

I'm so happy to have all my family back under one roof. They all take it in turns to come dog walking with me but occasionally we all go together and Eva loves that. We had a group walk at the weekend and it quite reminded me of the old days to hear my eldest son calling from the back: "Hey! Did anyone bring any snacks?!"

See you tomorrow,

Lotus Blossom - free with Sale-a-bration

When you're a Stampin' Up demonstrator you get quite a lot of free products and it's lovely! I love giving freebies to my customers too and during Sale-a-bration I get lots of opportunities to do that! Click here to find out how you can earn free Stampin' Up products!

LAYER A LOTUS
One of the items that you can earn for free during Sale-a-bration is the beautiful Lotus Blossom stamp set. This set is made of clear photopolymer and consists of layers that make up a beautifully shaded flower. Come and see:

Isn't it pretty?! You can use just one colour ink to layer up your flower head by stamping off twice for the background, once for the next layer of shading and not stamping off at all for the final detail. For this flower I used three different inks though...

... So Saffron for the solid colour, Crisp Cantaloupe for the next layer of shading and Calypso Coral for the final detail.  I love this set! It's great fun and you don't have to be too accurate as you can see from this close-up :)

• Click here to see all the items you could earn for free during Sale-a-bration!
• Click any of the ink pads below to visit my online shop and get your freebies! 

So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95

Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95

Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95

Wild Wasabi 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.

I love all the beautiful floral stamps that are out there at the moment and I'm really enjoying crafting with clearer, brighter colours. Snow has been forecast across the British Isles though, so it's winter woollies at the ready and let me think now... yes! I'll be getting a few Christmas cards under my belt for later this year!

See you tomorrow for another fabulous Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team blog hop!

Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team Blog Hop (ish!)

Hello again stamping chums! Did you miss me? I missed you but oh, what a fantastic holiday we've had! Wall to wall sunshine, mountains of ice cream and so much laughter my sides ache! The best bit though was that instead of the usual wistful feeling at the end of the holiday, I felt really excited because I knew there was a very special something waiting for me at home:

A beautiful gift to welcome me to the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team 2014-2015! Would you like a peek inside?

I gasped when I lifted the lid - I didn't know what to look at first!

Aw, thanks SU - you really have made me feel very welcome! Inside this card I learned about a nice boost to my bank account AND a huge Stampin' Up shopping spree AND a boxful of products to be delivered to me each month! In fact, you know that feeling of wanting EVERYTHING in the catalogues? Well that isn't just a dream anymore!

Just look at these gorgeous flowers! So beautifully put together - I love them!

And what's this elegant-looking package?

From Tiffany's? Oh stop it now!

I will treasure this for ever! But wait - there's something else!

What's in this intriguing little sack?

It's a personalised stamp celebrating my place on the team!

DREAMS REALLY CAN COME TRUE
Are you wondering how all this happened? Well, it was like this:

When I first saw that Stampin' Up was inviting applications for its Artisan Design Team, I allowed myself a brief, fabulous vision of being awarded a place on the team before putting it firmly aside. Honestly, who did I think I was?!

But later, when discussing it with a Stampin' Up friend, I blurted out that I wanted a place on the team "so badly it hurts". I realised then that I had to at least try for it, so I sent in an application.

Fast forward three months... An email pings into my inbox from the lovely Paula Gorry, Stampin' Up's UK Business Development Manager asking if I'd be available for a phone call later that day as she has "something exciting to share." I'd forgotten all about the Artisan Design Team and spent the day coming up with increasingly unlikely reasons for her call.

I'm afraid Paula must have thought I was being very stupid on the phone! I didn't do any whooping or anything because I was too busy being utterly stunned! It was only when I'd put the phone down that it actually hit me: I had been chosen by Stampin' Up to showcase its products as part of an elite design team!

And that, I have to tell you, means the world to me!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU
Hang on a minute! You didn't think I'd go off without showing you a little stamping did you?

This simple one layer card was made from the heart - both to Stampin' Up for honouring me with the place on the team and to all the people who have left me messages of congratulations. I'm very touched.

I used Flower Patch, one of Stampin' Up's new photopolymer sets, which is the most brilliant two step stamping set ever - and no stamp positioner required! Of course you don't have to layer the stamps  - you can go totally simple as this card demonstrates.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD

Flower Patch Photopolymer Stamp Set

£22.95

Four You

£12.95

Four You

£9.95

Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad

£4.95

Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad

£4.95

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad

£4.95

2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment

£4.50

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

£7.50

Clear Block Bundle

£58.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

COME AND HOP WITH US EVERY WEEK!
The Artisan Design Team will be posting fabulous new projects for you in a blog hop each Thursday. I was away on holiday when the first blog hop happened but you can catch up with all my new friends in the team here:

Becky Cowley
Krista Frattin
Inge Groot
Lisa Harlow
Kerstin Kreis
Helene Legrand
Barbara Meyer
Allison Okamitsu
Keith Rueda
Sarah Sagert
Cindy Schuster
Mercedes Weber
Teneale Williams
Susan Wong
Kaitlyn Zumbach

What a marathon post this has been! You definitely deserve a nice cup of tea if you've made it this far (and I'm feeling a tad parched myself!) Enjoy your weekend and I'll be back on Monday with more inspiration.

My new favourite Stampin' Up set!

Okay. Let's introduce you to my new all-time favourite stamp set from Stampin' Up! We need a drum roll here... and perhaps some trumpets as well! Heck, let's get a whole brass band out!

Yes, it's Kinda Eclectic and oh my goodness, you really do need this set right now! This card was made by stamping the sun in So Saffron ink, adding Old Olive leaves and layering with Crushed Curry background dots. Collage style has never been so easy!

The sentiment from Four You was stamped in Island Indigo to add a bit of an accent colour and underlined with Old Olive bakers twine tied in a simple bow. TIP: I 'nibbled' the edges of my panel with the ornament punch in the Merry Minis pack to make a recess for my bakers twine to sit neatly in.

Look how dynamic that sunburst is! And those beautiful leaves - you know what a weakness I have for leaves!

I can tell you right now that there will be many, many more projects made with this amazing set and it goes straight to the top of my Highly Recommended list. Now, just imagine what you could make with it!

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

Stamps: Kinda Eclectic wood or cling, Four You wood or cling

Ink: Old Olive, Crushed Curry, So Saffron, Island Indigo

Card stock: Whisper White

Other: Old Olive bakers twine, 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.

I've probably told you before that brass bands make me cry - and bagpipes too. I don't know why. Maybe it's the sound of nostalgia? Perhaps it's the sight of grown men being cooperative with each other?! Whatever the reason, it's embarrassing at parade season when I always have to retire to the back and snivel into a hanky!

See you tomorrow.

Last chance for these great Stampin' Up offers!

Okay Stampin' Up fans, today is the last day to:

• Join the Stampin' Up family for just £50 - this is too good a deal to pass up!

• Shop from the Stampin' Up 2014 Retired List - don't miss out on a bargain!

Offers end at 10pm this evening!

A BIT OF STAMPIN' UP INSPIRATION

So Very Grateful is one of my favourite stamp sets in the Stampin' Up spring/summer catalogue (click here to see lots more ideas for using it) and it won't be available after today, so do get it while you still can! On today's card, I've combined it with one of my favourite new things. Come and see:

I just couldn't keep my hands off those exciting blendabilities! The pretty corner image from the set was stamped to make a sort of frame around my sentiment and then coloured in. I love this clean air-brushed look and it's so simple!

You can use blendabilities to create lots of different looks - click here and here to see my other creations so far (and there will be many, many more as well as a tutorial.) I just can't get enough of these fabulous streak-free alcohol markers - and starting tomorrow you'll be able to get some too!

YES - the brand spanking new Stampin' Up annual catalogue 2014-2015 goes live tomorrow!!! And hold on to your ears because there'll be a give away here, with one lucky reader getting a FREE PACK OF BLENDABILITIES!!!

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

Stamps: So Very Grateful wood or cling, Four You wood or cling 

Ink: Mossy Meadow (NEW in-colour, available 1st July), Basic Grey
Blendabilities: Coastal Cabana, Old Olive assortments  (NEW, available 1st July)

Card stock: Whisper White

Other: 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.

I'm currently sending out new catalogues and there is a large Stampin' Up box in the middle of our living room. Yesterday my youngest son announced: "Sometimes I like to moonwalk!" Off he went backwards in a very impressive display of moonwalking until... CRASH! "This box  is a hazard Mummy," he said with dignity, picking himself up.

See you here tomorrow for my catalogue launch!

Hugs,