Simply Stampin Challenge Theme

Good morning,

I am very excited because this week at Simply Stampin' is Guest designer week and we have the very talented Vicky Hayes joining us this week!! I have followed her blog for a long time, and I'm always amazed at how different every one of her cards are.

The theme for this weeks challenge just HAD to be Easter, so I'm hoping that you'll show off all the Easter cards and goodies you have been making, if you need some inspiration, the DT have really outdone themselves this week, so head on over to see what Vicky and the DT have to show you!!

I have actually taken the inspiration for the background of my card from one of Vicky's designs. You stamp your image using Versamark onto white glossy CS then sponge your colours over the top, the Versamark ink acts as a resist for the ink so you can see the white of the glossy CS showing through - genius!!

It gives a really soft effect but great for making your own background papers! I also have to thank one of my fellow DT Ruth, I was undecided about buying the Mini Milk Carton die so Ruth kindly offered to send me a few ready cut to see what they were like, and I have to say they are soooo cute!!! I got a little carried away and made up a whole bunch!

Don't they look cute all lined up together?!

I really hope this has got you in the mood to join in with this weeks challenge!
Hope to see you over there, xx

Happy Mother's Day!

Good evening,

On Friday, I shared some cards that my friend Nettie made (you can see the post here), and I really liked the layout of one of them especially so I decided to CASE it for my mum's mothers day card. I saw her this morning to give her the card so I know it's safe to show you now.

I went with the neutral Mocha Morning DSP, it's my mums favourite so I knew I was onto a winner with this one. I have used all the same elements as Nettie did in her original card expect I have stamped that in Chocolate Chip. I added Champagne shimmer paint to the little leaves die cuts, and another of the Antique tags.I also coloured some pearls with a gold pen and added them to the stamped image.

I was very glad when my mum opened her card and smiled, it's the best feeling when you're giving a card, and I'm happy to report that Julie my boyfriend's mum also loved her card (you can see it here).

Happy mother's day!! xx

A Freshly Made Card

Hello again,

My day is panning out quite well this is my second post for today, and I'm back with a card for a challenge that is new to me, it's called Freshly Made Sketches. Each Wednesday a new sketch is uploaded for us to play along with , this is a fairly new challenge, I'm joining in with week 4, so I'm sure they'd love you to stop by and join in.

The sketch features a tag, I don't put tags on my cards very often but I always like the effect when I do. Here's what I came up with.

A non-crafter may think that all the elements of a card like this are already printed and you just cut and stick, but I really enjoy starting with a plain white piece of paper and ending up with something pretty, which is just what I did with this tag. I decided to leave the image uncoloured, as there was quit a lot of detail in the background. I'm so sad that Bella Toile will be gone forever after Friday, boo hoo.

See you again soon, I hope. xx

Colour Q 100

Good afternoon,

Last week I was looking for colour challenges and found Colour Q, they are celebrating their 100th challenge, I was a little sad that I have only just found them but excited at the same time because the challenge is to combined a sketch with any of the past colour challenges I have written down some of my favourites and will try to get at least one more card done for this challenge because I had so much fun looking through the past colour combo's.

Here's the sketch they have posted to follow

and I finally decided on the colour combo #88

I knew exactly which stamp set I wanted to use, when the retiring list went live, I sat down to go through my catalogue and mark all the items that were retiring, I became more and more sad as I realised that 12 of the sets in my collection are leaving so I decided that I would have to use them. This set Sense Of Time is one of my favourites, its great for masculine cards and retirement cards I have even made a card just using the sentiment as the focal point because they are so beautiful.

If you click on the image you should be able to see the details more clearly, I have used a piece of the Newsprint DSP form the main section, it had lines printed on it like a note pad, I have turned the DSP so that the lines are vertical and stamped over them, in Soft Suede and Early Espresso, I then scrunched up the paper flattened it back out and swiped my ink pad over the top for the distressed look. This should qualify my card for the challenge over at Our Creative Corner, which is stamping onto patterned paper. I also got my spritzing tool out for the clock face and cogs, and added final dimension with some linen thread.

Don't forget if you want to get your hands on this set, it's only available until the end of the month or while stocks last!

Pop back later to see another card I'm working on, xx

Top Note Make and Takes

Hi,

It's dull, raining and miserable here this morning so I thought I'd share my Wednesday night workshop make and takes with you to brighten up a dark morning.

I got my hands on the top note die in May and I'm in love. The shape is just gorgeous, so this had to be the centre of my workshop, there were six fabulous ladies, one of which was completely new to the world of paper crafting, but still got stuck in and made the cards, I hope she loves them as much as I do!

So here is the first

A shaped card, all you have to do is make sure that the folded edge of your card blank doesn't go all the way to the end of your shape and you have yourself a great curvy shaped card. The top note also has a dotted line just inside the edge (which you can see at on the inner part of the card) which makes it easy to cut a perfect fit for layering. I got the ladies to do this with a black layer and then emboss with the vintage wallpaper embossing folder, isn't the pattern fab! I thought that the embossing was so pretty that it only needed a quick bit of ribbon (this ribbon is so great, you can colour tint it with your ink pads)
and a glittered butterfly, and viola!

The second card is a great way of using up those scraps of paper you just can't part with.

Just arrange your paper strips onto a scrap of paper and run it through your big shot with your top note, and you have a great backdrop for your card, I have spritzed the background (not sure if you can see it) with marina mist marker, stamped one of the four frames stamps, I love the bird, but the great thing about craft is that it's individual so some of the ladies went for the polka dots, and some for the roses too. Now onto the bit I don't think they thanked me for, the boho blossoms punched flowers. I made them scrunch them, a couple of faces didn't look happy, but I asked them to trust me, and hopefully they like the finished effect, just topped off with some rhinestones.

Hopefully these make up for my week long absence?

Father's Day

Good afternoon,

I know I'm a little early but I was asked to make a Father's Day card with the male cards earlier this month, so I wanted to show you that the Nursery Suite papers can also be used for masculine cards.

This gorgeous striped paper comes in the pack and you wouldn't know that it had come from a nursery themed pack by looking at it. I have teamed the patterned paper with Chocolate Chip CS for the base and Baja Breeze scalloped detailing at the top of the stripes. The jumbo eyelets and linen thread embellish without being girly. Simple but effective.

Who knew a nursery pack could be so versatile?!

Happy crafting   xx

Beautiful biker

Hi there,

Well yesterday I promised to pop back today and post a card, as here I am, and here's the card

This is one of the samples that I made up for my demo party last week. It uses a brand new a la carte stamp caller Motorcycle, I have teamed this with another brand new product, glass glitter! This chunky glitter ages slightly with time to give it an aged effect, so it's perfect for men's cards and vintage styles too.

I have spritzed the background to give a textured look to the Real red base, and teamed this with Chocolate chip, and basic black. Also as an added extra I have applied glossy accents to the red sections of the bike to make them really shiny.

Hope you like it
xx

less is more take 2

Yes that's right two posts in one day, this is becoming a bit of a weekend habit!

I've enjoyed the Less is More challenge so much this week, that I've decided to have another go at it. Stampin' up! has some really nice sentiment stamps so it was really hard to choose which to use yesterday, so I thought that I'd have another go at it with a different sentiment, this time from Occasional Greetings, this set is so useful, it has something for nearly every occasion, and this sentiment is my favourite from it.

Again like with yesterdays card I've stamped then masked off the sentiment, so that the leaves look like they are behind it. I also decided to stamp the leaves, from the Autumn Splendor set off the edge to tie it all in together. What do you think?

The recipe
Stamps, Occasional greetings, Autumn splendor
Paper, whisper white CS
Ink, More mustard, Wild wasabi, Cherry cobbler, chocolate chip
Accessories, post-it note, stamp-a-ma-jig

Enjoy the rest of your weekend
xx

First party night nerves

Good afternoon!!

Yesterday I held my first real Stampin' up! party, I was incredibly nervous, but luckily it was with my friends as guests, and they were very kind to me.

I planned two make and takes, a side stepper card, and a bookmark, both using (you guessed it) products from the mini.

The side stepper card used the Sew lovely set, I love this set even though I'm not a sewer, I think the dress makers form is fab, and I love the bright colours of the co-ordinating paper pack.

The bookmark uses the elegance wheel, and Beautiful wings embosslit, this little guy is definitely my favourite item in the whole of the catalogue!!

Here are some close ups



This card fits an A6 card sized envelope, you can find measurements for the A5 size here or if you would like the measurements for this size please email me via the 'contact me' tab at the top of my blog.

Here's a side view



There are highlights of dazzling diamonds glitter down the wheeled section, don't think they are visible in this picture, but trust me they are beautifully sparkly.

Now that I have done my first proper party, I'm sure I will not be as nervous in the future, fingers crossed, and I'm told that all the girlie's were happy with what they made and took home with them.

If you would like to make these projects you will need

Card -

Stamps Sew Lovely, Occasional greetings

Paper, Whisper white CS, Regal rose CS, brights designer series stack

Ink, Daffodil delight, Pumpkin pie, Melon mambo, Chocolate chip

Accessories, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Bitty buttons, corner punch

Bookmark

Stamps, elegance wheel,

Paper, Very vanilla CS, Marina mist CS, Chocolate chip CS

Ink, Marina Mist

Accessories, scallop circle punch, white gel pen, chocolate chip satin ribbon (retired but early espresso would look just as good), Beautiful wings embosslit, jumbo eyelets, 2-way glue pen, dazzling diamonds glitter.

If you would like to place an order or would like to host a party of your own please contact me.

Happy stampin'

xx

Simply Stampin' challenge 1

Good Morning!

Happy Mother's day!!

It's a bit grey here, so it's the perfect excuse to shut yourself away and lose yourself in a bit of crafting.
I never need an excuse to get a bit crafty, I like to think of Sunday's as my craft day. At the moment I seem to have more cards to make than Sunday's to make them in, but never fear, I've got next week off work, so I can get crafty then, I also have my first real workshop this Wednesday! Wish me luck, I'm a little bit nervous, but it's with friends so I'm sure they'll be gentle with me.

I was getting a bit bored of my blog background so I decided it was time for a change. What do you think?
It took a bit of jigging around but I'm quite happy with it.

Now onto a card, I was looking through my favourites (all other crafty blogs, hee hee) and stumbled across a link for a new challenge blog called Simply Stampin'. As I still needed to make my boyfriend's mum a Mothers day card I thought I'd give the sketch challenge a go.



This card uses a brand new product from the mini the gorgeous Beautiful Wings Embosslit, it's great value at just £10.50, this little beauty not only cuts out the cutest little butterflies but it embosses them at the same time!! I've teamed them with the Elegant soiree papers, love these, they are all my favourites colours in one pretty pack.

Here's the recipe
Stamps, Occasional greetings
Papers, Chocolate chip CS, Marina mist CS, Elegant soiree paper pack
Ink, Chocolate chip
Accessories, Beautiful wings Embosslits, rhinestones, Marina mist satin ribbon, scallop circle punch, scallop trim border punch, white gel pen.

Don't forget if you place an order with me before 7th April you'll get 10% off so you could get your hands on these gorgeous butterflies for just £9.45!

Happy stampin'

THE MINI IS HERE!! Plus 10% discount offer

 Well good morning!

It feels like I've been waiting for today to come forever, I'm so excited to share the new mini catalogue with you, that I'm offering a 10% discount on orders placed with me during the first week of the mini catalogue launch, so just email me a place an order before 7th April. This can be products from the main catalogue and mini catalogue.

Click on the link on the right hand side to view the mini, or if you would like your very own copy email me. and I'll send one out to you!

And guess what everyone, the BIG SHOT has landed. Stampin up has teamed up with Sizzix to bring us the big shot, and you know what that means, extra special Stampin' up exclusive dies!! I am beyond excited about this product.

I tried not to get carried away with the products I ordered straight away, a girl has to have things to look forward to so there are plenty of goodies that I will be wanting to get my hands on, but I really should show you a card that I have made with the goodies I've had a little while now.

This set is called Sew Lovely, it features a dress makers stand, cotton reels, pin cushion, tape measure, sewing machine, and a gorgeous frame. I also got the co-ordinating paper pack to go with it.

This card is for Pauline who I job share with at work, her birthday is today so happy birthday Pauline!! I hope that she likes this card, she makes her own home decor pieces, so I knew who I wanted to use this set for straight away. I've been playing along with the Less is More blog, and this card fits that same theme, don't you just love the little buttons?!

I will be using this set in my next party, so if you're coming you'll know what to expect!!

The recipe for today's card is
Stamps, Sew Lovely, Occasional greetings
Paper, Wild Wasabi CS, Rose Red CS, Crumb Cake CS
Ink, Chocolate chip
Accessories, Brights designer buttons, paper piercer, mat stack, stamp-a-ma-jig, Rich Razzleberry taffeta ribbon, Certainly Celery Taffeta ribbon, scallop trim border punch, basic rhinestones

Hope you enjoy browsing through the new catalogue!! xx

Marina Mothers day

Hi there,

As you may have read previously I have been asked to make some mothers day cards.
This card is using a retired set called Bloomin' with Beauty. It is gorgeous, I'm so sad that it was removed from the catalogue.

I stamped the image in Chocolate chip ink, cleaned off the stamp then using a sponge dauber dotted the flower part of the stamp with Marina mist, Rich razzleberry, and Wild wasabi inks before stamping again.

I added some dazzling diamonds glitter to the centre of each flower before cutting out and layering on top of the original image.

I used a blending pen and the choc chip ink to add highlights to the vase.
The background paper was made using the Elegance wheel and Marina Mist cartridge, with a piece of the Elegant soiree paper layered over the top.

My upline Amanda is showing a wonderful tutorial of ribbon brooches that would have finished this card off a treat, if you'd like to check it out please click here to go to her blog.

Here's today's recipe
Stamps, Bloomin' with Beauty (retired), Occasional greetings, Tiny tags
Paper, Elegant soiree DSP, Whisper white CS, Marina mist CS, Chocolate chip CS,
Ink, Marina mist, Chocolate chip, Rich Razzleberry, Wild wasabi,
Accessories, Elegance wheel and handle, dazzling diamonds glitter, blender pen, sponge dauber, Jewellery tag punch, Scallop trim border punch, chocolate chip satin ribbon, basic rhinestone.

Hope she likes it xx

Learn techniques and get freebies

Good evening!

How would you like to get some free Stampin' up products while learning new techniques to use on your cards and craft projects?

I would like to set up a monthly club where you can do exactly that.

What would it involve?

The club would need 6 members to work, each month for a total of 6 months I would send you everything that You would need for a new technique. Ink,  paper tools etc. This would cost £25, plus £1 p&p. In exchange for the £25 you would receive £25 worth of products, full instructions and colour photo of the cards/3d items that you will be able to make.
If you already some of the items needed for that technique, you could substitute that product(s) for another of the same value or more (if more expensive you be need to pay the extra), In addition one month out of the six, each member would be the 'hostess' and would get the usual hostess benefits of a £150 order - a level 1 hostess gift and an extra £15 of products of your choice.

If this sounds like something you or a friend would be interested in please e-mail me with 'tech club' as the subject.

Earlier I told you that I had a few mother's day cards to make, I have only managed one so far today, got side tracked with a couple birthday cards, but here it is.

It is quite simple, I really wanted the stamped image to be the main focus of the card, so I didn't want to add to many other details, although I had add a bit of ribbon, even if it is only a tiny bit.

Here's the recipe
Stamps, Happiness shared, Occasional greetings
Paper, Real Red CS, Early espresso CS, Whisper white CS, brights DSP, in-colour DSP (hostess level 1)
Ink, Staz on, Chocolate chip, Cherry cobbler,
Accessories, Early espresso satin ribbon, stampin' write marker, rhinestones, sponge dauber, dimensionals

Enjoy the rest of your weekend xx

Tearing paper......scary!

I've aways been a bit worried about tearing paper, what if it looks wrong? What if I ruin a perfectly good piece of paper?
But then I thought to myself really what is the worse that could happen?, if it looks terrible I won't used it on the card and I'll use it to punch pieces out of so it won't be wasted.
So I took a deep breath and just did it. I don't know what I was so worried about! It looks fine, however next time I think that I may ink the raw edge so that it isn't a stark white edge.

I thought that the rustic look of the torn paper went really well with the wood grain paper, so I gave that another outing, teamed it with some Early Espresso card stock and some of my favourite thing to put on cards - ribbon. I wonder if I've ever made a card without ribbon on it?! Again my trusty Cottage garden stamps gave the greeting a bit of interest, the sentiment is from a fab set called Occasional Greetings.

Here's today's recipe
Stamps, Cottage Garden, Occasional Greetings
Paper, Woodland Walk DSP, Cottage Wall DSP (retired), Early Espresso CS
Ink, Rich razzleberry, Chocolate chip
Accessories, Scallop trim border punch, Rich razzleberry taffeta ribbon, Dimensionals

There is still 3 days to enter my draw for a £10 sampin' up voucher if you haven't heard about this click here to find out more!

Have a great day xx

Copy and share everything

Hello!

Today's card is one that I've CASE'd from my upline, I made a card very similar to this one at a class, but I have changed the colours for one's that I have and added a little extra, with the acorns popped up on dimensionals.

That's the great thing about craft, you can take an idea, adapt it to use materials/colours that you have and add your own little touches.

So here it is

This card is very simple to do, makes a great men's card, or even a 'just because' card.

I love the detail on these leaf stamps, and they look great in these autumn colours but would look equally good in different shades of green, for a spring/summer look.

The recipe,
Stamps, Autumn Splendor, Occasional greetings,
Inks, Cherry cobbler, More mustard, Old olive and Early espresso
Paper, Old olive and Very vanilla.

Hope you like it.