Happy mothers day with Nature's Perfection from Stampin' Up

The Stampin' Up yellows come into their own at this time of year as crafters think about spring and Easter. Crushed Curry, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron... they're all such a lovely, positive shades and with this surprisingly warm, spring weather we're having, I'm embracing it too! Come and see:

The large flower from Nature's Perfection looks great in yellow and I've made a whole bunch of them for Mothers' Day by stamping several on the card panel and then adding another fussy cut one, popped up with dimensionals.

• You can choose Nature's Perfection free as part of the Sale-a-bration promotion! Find out more here.

The flowers look pretty watercoloured in shades of yellow. I stamped the outline with Crushed Curry, painted in the shadows with Daffodil Delight and finished off with a wash of So Saffron. The leaves are punched out with the Bird Builder punch - such a useful addition to your punch collection!

I'll be linking this card up with Less is More where the challenge is to make a card using yellow and green.

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

Nature's Perfection Wood Stamp Set FREE with SAB	Crazy About You Photopolymer Stamp Set £22.95	Old Olive A4 Card Stock £6.25	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Aqua Painters £12.95	Paper Snips Scissors £8.95

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.

It's Mothers Day this Sunday in the UK but never mind mothers for the minute - today is all about sons! It's my youngest son's birthday today and although he's doing all the usual sleep overs and what not at the weekend, this day after school is reserved for family feasting and games - so I'd better get on with the preparations then! If you'd like a peek at how I wrapped his presents and made his card, do join me again tomorrow when it will be another fabulous Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop day! Hope to see you then,

A handmade wreath card with Endless Wishes from Stampin' Up

I'm often asked which Stampin' Up products I couldn't do without. My reply is usually something like "Stamps! I couldn't do without the stamps - or Stampin' Up ink. Or markers, I couldn't do without those either - and the card stock in matching colours, I have to have that too and..." By this time, the other person has edged away but I'll keep wittering on and somewhere near the top of the list will be Stampin' Up punches, including the Bird Builder punch. Come and see what I made with it today:

Wreaths are all the rage at the moment no matter what the occasion, but I especially love a Christmas wreath. I was inspired by ATCAS where the cue word is STENCIL this week to use the leaf from my Bird Builder punch as a stencil, sponging Old Olive ink into the negative with a sponge dauber. The snowflakes and the sentiment are from the Endless Wishes stamp set - now that's a set that I definitely can't live without! You can build your own sentiments out of a variety of words and two great contrasting fonts. Brilliant!

To make my wreath extra sparkly, I embellished with a bakers twine bow, sequins and gems (yes, I need all those items too!) some of which were coloured with my Coastal Cabana blendabilities. Ah yes, blendabilities, I'd forgotten about those - I really, really can't live without them...

• If you love Stampin' Up products as much as I do, why not consider joining Stampin' Up? You'll get 20% discount off everything you order and there are heaps of other benefits too - plus SIX free paper packs if you join in October! Click here to read all about it, or give me a call on 01280 820593 and ask away!

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

Bird Punch £15.50	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Whisper White A4 Card Stock £7.50	Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set ...
Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine £2.50	Frosted Sequins £4.50	Basic Rhinestones 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.

I've never watched the popular Strictly Come Dancing TV show despite having a passion for dancing myself. Now that my daughter has gone off to university though, leaving me the only female in the household, I feel it's time to add a few more sequins and glitter into my life so I've booked the Saturday evening slot. I asked my husband and the boys if they'd like to join me but I've never seen a room empty so quickly in my life!

Do come back tomorrow won't you? It's the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team day and I can't wait to show you what I've made this week!

Who framed Petal Parade?

So the Sale-a-bration promotion is drawing to a close now and I still can't decide which of the free stamp sets is my favourite! I've certainly used Petal Parade a lot, in pastel colours mainly but when I saw the new Fusion challenge (scroll down to see) I wondered how it would look in greens and yellows. Come and see:

I've always liked a simple square card with a square focal panel and this frame, cut out with my square framelits, is a twist on that.

The flowers have been stamped in Gumball Green and then given a sunny centre by pressing an inked up sponge dauber into the centre of it. I added some dots with a Basic Black marker to add a bit more detail and then cut them out. The leaves are the useful branch from the 2 step bird punch.

This fabulous banner is from a set that I'm going to be using a lot more - Hello Lovely. It has loads of tile-like elements - perfect for men's cards - as well as lots of graphic elements like this sentiment.

I really like the Fusion  challenge, which always has a sketch and an inspiration picture and you can choose whether you use one or the other or both. Here are this week's:

I'm a 'both' kind of a girl - can you tell?!

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

Stamps: Hello Lovely wood or cling, Petal Parade (free with Sale-a-bration) wood or cling

Ink: Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight classic ink, stazon black

Card stock: Whisper White smooth and core'dinations, Gumball Green

Other: Squares framelits, Big Shot, sponge daubers, 2 step bird punch, paper snips, Basic Black marker, 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)

When I say I'm a 'both' kind of girl, I'm practically Winnie the Pooh's twin... remember the bit where Rabbit asks if he'd like condensed milk or honey with his bread? Pooh's reply is: "Both - and never mind the bread!"

See you tomorrow,

Everybunny chick - you've been framed!

Sorry to have gone missing in action this weekend; it was a sleepover weekend here - need I say more?! - and I'm just catching up now. At Less is More this week, the theme is Frame it - perfect for show-casing the Easter chick I had lined up for Addicted to CAS's current Wings cue word! I've used up lots of scraps in my card today so I think I'll pop over for a romp in Di's Snippet Playground too! Come and see my card:

My favourite frame at the moment is made using the oval Designer Frames embossing folder and then cutting it out with one of the Labels framelits. I mounted the Crumb Cake frame on same-coloured card stock and accented with a little flower and leaf embellishment made with an Itty Bitty punch and the 2-step bird punch.

This adorable chick is from Stampin' Up's Everybunny set - which contains some gorgeous Easter images which can also be used all year round. I coloured my chick with markers and paper-pieced the shell using Naturals White card stock - I love the shell-like texture this has.

I wanted the sentiment to really pop so I stamped it in versamark and embossed it with white embossing powder. TIP: If you find you get specks of embossing where you don't want it, try wiping your card stock with the embossing buddy before stamping and embossing - it really does make a huge difference.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Everybunny, Delightful Dozen
Ink: Pool Party, Early Espresso, More Mustard + markers
Card stock: Crumb Cake, scraps of Whisper White, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Naturals White
Punches: Itty Bitty punch pack, 2-step bird punch
Other: Labels framelits, Designer Frames embossing folder, Big Shot, Basic Pearls, versamark, white embossing powder, heat tool.
I'D BE DELIGHTED TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT 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.
• Add a free Sale-a-bration item from this list for every £45 you spend!

When my oldest son heard that the house was going to be invaded by my youngest son's friends, he promptly organised sleeping over at one of his friends that night. It is extraordinary how someone who finds organising general day-to-day tidying and homework a bit of a challenge can be ragingly efficient when it comes to something he wants to do! I protested about his sleepover, asking how on earth he was going to get things done while feeling sleep-deprived. He looked at me with those huge blue eyes and gave me a hug. "Don't worry," he said. "When I get back I'll be your little napkin!" I melted and before I could remember to be a tough mum, he'd disappeared out of the door!

Thank you for popping in today. See you tomorrow!

Just Believe... spring is coming!

At CASology this week the cue word is Winter. Now, I can appreciate the beauty of a crisp, snowy winter day and icy berry-laden twigs but I have to admit that long-term cold and dark gets me down. That's why I love snowdrops; to me they're a symbol of hope that spring will eventually come. So I settled down to work out how to make a Stampin' Up snowdrop. Come and see:

I think it works quite well! I used the iris image from Just Believe for my snowdrop leaves, colouring just the stems on the rubber with a Gumball Green marker before stamping. The flower was made using the tip of the leaf on the 2-step bird punch (there are SO many uses for this amazing punch!)

I punched out three of the leaf tips and added shading on the back two with a grey watercolour pencil before glueing them together. All it needed then was a little green shading, which I did with a Gumball Green marker and a blender pen. Snowdrops have a little 'hood' behind the flower, so I doodled that in with the thin end of my marker.

The background was sponged in and I added a torn scrap of card stock to make snow, then punched the image out with my 2 1/2" circle punch. For a little bit of subtle texture I mounted it on a panel I'd subtle-embossed with my woodgrain folder so I think it can be a second entry into the re-styled  Make My Monday challenge where the theme is Dry Embossing this week.

This is one of my all time favourite sentiments and it's from A Word For You. I used a marker to colour just the word 'thanks' and used my stamp-a-majig to position it where I wanted it.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card
Stamps: Just Believe, A Word For You
Ink: Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Gumball Green, Tangerine Tango
Card stock: Whisper White, Naturals White
Punches: 2-step bird punch, 2 1/2" circle punch
Other: Markers, Woodgrain embossing folder, Big Shot, stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and have them delivered straight 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.

• I still have a few places available for my Stampers 6 club in February and you'd be welcome to join in. With the Sale-a-bration promotion coming up and a new mini catalogue coming out soon, it's a great way to buy your wish list gradually and get lots of freebies too! Email me here to reserve your place.

Yesterday morning I made fish finger sandwiches for breakfast (no honestly, try them - they're delicious!) I must have dropped a piece of fish on my way to the table because next minute we were entertained by the sight of Tuppence, our cat, batting it about and chasing it around the kitchen! After a few minutes she sat down, ate it and then swaggered out licking her lips and quite visibly thinking: "I am Hunter Killer Tuppence, great warrior and defeater of the mighty fish finger!"

Have a fantastic weekend and I'll see you very soon.

A Christmas farewell

It's always sad to say goodbye to my favourite stamps but I must put them away as my job is to show you all the lovely things in the current catalogues. I've used three different stamp sets today, all on the Retirement List and all available, as I'm typing this, until the end of this month or until stocks last.

I made the card for the 52{Christmas}Card Throwdown where there's a colour challenge this week: Red, Brown and Cream or White. Come and see:

This was a really fast card to make and there wasn't a sponge in sight for the background! I started off by smearing my Whisper White craft ink pad over a panel of Crumb Cake card stock, more thickly on the bottom two thirds to make snowy fields, and more sparingly over the top third for the sky. The winter grasses were stamped in Early Espresso over the snow - I used Autumn Days and Greenhouse Garden for this.

The robin is made with the Two Step Bird punch, using a simple technique I came up with ages ago - I made a video tutorial of it that you can see here.

Here's the sentiment from one of my all-time favourite Christmas sets, Season of Joy. And have you seen the snow? Another fabulous use for my white Watercolour Wonder crayon - I love how useful these are.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Greenhouse Garden, Autumn Days, Season of Joy (all retiring)
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso classic inks, Whisper White craft ink
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White (for the bird)
Other: Two Step Bird punch, Whisper White Watercolour Wonder crayon, stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and have them delivered straight 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. Click here to view my regularly updated lists of retiring stamps and accessories, some at up to 40% discount. 

I can't believe we've been back from holiday for only a week - it feels like forever! I loved the east coast of Kent and we'll definitely be going back there. It's steeped in history and there are lots of unspoilt medieval towns, such as the town of Sandwich (or Sandwiches, as my youngest son insisted on calling it - as in: "Let's go to Sandwiches today!") There are plenty of cobbled streets and narrow alleys and we were amused by this street name. We imagined there being some heated arguments when they were thinking up names for it, culminating in slammed doors and people saying "Fine then! If that's the way you want it, we won't call it anything at all!"

I've just realised I meant to post a card using Perfectly Preserved today! If you were looking for it and feeling a bit bewildered, I do apologise and it'll be here tomorrow instead...

Hugs,

Pocket Silhouettes and other wild flowers

I'm lucky enough to have been asked to be guest designer at Make My Monday this month and I've thoroughly enjoyed visiting all the entrants as well as enjoying the regular design team's samples. If you fancy joining in this week you'd be very welcome! The new challenge is 'Floral - featuring Wild Flowers and Grasses', so I thought it would be fun to rustle up one of my favourite sponged scenes. Come and see:

It is so quick and easy to make these kind of scenes and it looks as if you've spent ages over them! I sponged Pool Party ink over the top of damp watercolour paper and Wild Wasabi and Lucky Limeade inks over the bottom. The Pocket Silhouettes stamps were stamped over the top of this and then the edges of the card stock were sponged with darker inks.

This little cluster is a mixture of stamped and fussy-cut images, and a punched leaf, stapled to the sponged background and tied up with a piece of linen thread.

The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes  and is stamped into a frame in the Little Additions set. You can also see in this photo that I set the sponged scene inside a frame scored with my Simply Scored board which makes this kind of accuracy SO easy!

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

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Nature Walk, Autumn Days, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Little Additions

Ink: Basic Black, Pool Party, Wild Wasabi, Lucky Limeade, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede, Not Quite Navy

Card stock: Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory, Whisper White, Watercolour paper, Always Artichoke

Other: Markers, small oval punch, two step bird punch, stapler, linen thread, paper snips, stamp-a-majig, Simply Scored

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.

Today's card reminds me of the first time we went camping. We'd practised putting the tent up at home so were pretty confident, but found that when it came to it, the tent had no desire to sit nicely on the pitch but preferred to lurch drunkenly into the hedge where there was a fine crop of stinging nettles! We had a lovely time though and I remember the children spent all evening quietly collecting grass seeds in bowls!

Happy Monday!

Three minute 2 step bird card

This week, I had my 2 step bird punch out for some leaves - nothing rare in that! - and I found myself looking at the bird. I wondered whether it would make one of the thick, chipboard-style shapes I'm so fond of. I tried it out and found that not only did it work really well but, because of the shape of the bird, it was really fast too - and so, this card makes my three minute Thursday slot this week! Come and see:

The Beyond the Garden papers, which are my favourites from this month's special freebies, make a lovely backdrop for the bird with a quickly sponged plain square in the middle.

I punched out five birds from Whisper White card stock (discarding the wings) and one from Pacific Point card stock (including the wing). I cut an eye in the blue bird with my hand held punch and then stuck them all together with Tombow. It's so easy to do this - if you smooth the tail into place everything else seems to follow. To finish the bird the wing is popped up on a dimensional and I added colour to the eye with a journaler.

Here's a Melon Mambo version using another of the stunning papers...

... and a photo of them both together - wouldn't they make a nice gift set?!

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

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Pacific Point/Melon Mambo, Bashful Blue for sponging

Card stock: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Pacific Point/Melon Mambo

Other: 2 step bird punch, Beyond the Garden designer paper, journaler, stamp-a-majig

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. And don't forget to add a free pack of designer paper if your order is £45 or more (Offer limited to one pack per qualifying order - click here for details).

We like to spot birds in our family although we're pretty rubbish at it really. My youngest son once went out on a bird-spotting walk with his dad and when he came back he solemnly told me he'd seen a peregrine falcon!

Thanks for visiting me today. I'll be back tomorrow with something that is so far just an idea in my head... Hope to see you then,