Celebrate!

Good afternoon all!

So I decided to have a little look at the Less Is More challenge today, seeing as I have been back in my craft room the last few days, and even blogged, and I was gobsmacked to see that it is their 300th challenge today! Wow! I remember joining in on one of their very first challenges way back when I first started crafting! So I really did have to make something for their challenge, which is 

Celebrations and Festivals

So here is what I came up with...

I used the really gorgeous All God's Grace stamp set, which I turn to so often for Baptism, Christening and Confirmation cards. I heat embossed the cross with Silver Stampin' Emboss before fussy cutting it out amd popping it up on Dimensionals.

I stamped the sentiment in Silver Encore, using the Stamp-a-Majig to position it perfectly. (yes I still use mine!) I finished with some paper piercing both under the sentiment and on two opposite corners, and a pearl.

I hope you'll pop over and see Chrissie and all the LIMettes and see what they made, and maybe even join in with their celebrations!

I also used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

Happy Saturday!!

You can order any of the items I used today by either contacting me, or clicking on my shop link over there on the right >>>

Something extremely Sweet 'n Sassy!

Good morning everyone!

I'm here to share a sweet little card I made using a new sneak peek stamp set! And what's more, it is one you can get for free! (more about that later...)

So here is the card...

This super cute stamp set is called Love You Lots and it will be available from 1st June....isn't this one adorable?? I stamped them in black, coloured them with Smoky Slate and Basic Gray, then fussy cut them out. I paper pierced the card blank using the retiring Updated Paper Piercing Essentials pack.

I also used some upcoming new framelits, Sweet Sassy Framelits, to die cut the heart out of Sweet Sugarplum, one of the brand new In Colors... I love this sweetheart shaped heart don't you?? There are lots of hearts Framelits in the set, in two different styles. I particularly like this one though as it matches the current Sweetheart Punch. 

The new products are all available from 1st June, but sadly, the Paper Piercing sets will no longer be available after then so grab yours now if you still want one. The Piercing Mat is also going so why not grab one of those at the same time? :)

Oh and how can you get this gorgeous stamp set for free I hear you ask? Lucky for you it is one of the hostess stamp sets, so you will be able to choose this free with any order or workshop over £150, so why not get a few friends together and see what they would like from the catalogue, then place your order and bingo! Freebies!

I'll leave you with that thought and wish you a fab day!

See you soon!

I've gone Fluttering Botanical!

Good evening!

So today I had a childless hour to kill before work so I decided to have a little craft time! I don't seem to get much in lately, sadly.

Anyway, here is what I came up with, totally inspired by the latest sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches...

So here's what I made...

I started out with a 6x6in card blank, then cut away 3in from the front right of the card. I embossed the part of the back of the card that shows beyond the front panel using the Fluttering Embossing Folder. Then I scored and paper pierced a 'ribbon' down the front panel. 

I then added 3 x 4in squares cut from Watercolor Wonder DSP...two attached to the front panel, the last to the back panel, all with Dimensionals. I finished with flowers and leaves cut from the fab Botanical Builder Framelits. Again, one of the leaves and flower were stuck to the back panel.

So here's how it looks when it's stood up...isn't it pretty and a little unusual?

I really enjoyed making this card...and I love how it turned out!

If you would like to use any of the products I used today, please do click on the link just over there on the right :) >>>>>>>

Thanks for popping by today...I hope to be back soon!

A male birthday card!

Good morning!

After yesterday's snow today is gorgeous and sunny! It is also back to school day...I'm going to miss my little man...we've had a lovely week off!

Anyway, here is one of the cars I made last week....a man birthday card!

As you will notice, I don;t tend to make a lot of man cards...I'm not very good at them, but I quite like this one! I first of all stamped my white panel with one of the stamps from Celebrate Today in Marina Mist. I then paper pierced around the edges of the Marina Mist panel using the Paper Piercing Essentials Pack and the Piercing Tool.

The letters were made using the Simply Pressed Clay, and once dried I used the same stamp to add some colour to them. I attached them using Tombow Multipurpose Glue. 

I really like how this came out and I think I will be playing with the clay letters a lot more in the near future!

I used a sketch challenge for my layout today...

Match The Sketch - #60

I', back at work today and Keiran is back to school...normal routine is restored! :)
Happy Monday!

Grandma or not??

Good morning! 
Wow I can't believe I'm late with my Sketch Saturday post again!
But, here it is!
This week's sketch has been designed by the lovely Carla...

So I used it to design a new baby card for Mike's son and his girlfriend...

I created the sentiment in MDS and then I embossed some hearts across the bottom using a retired embossing folder. 

The cutie little shoes are from Baby We've Grown and I coloured them with Rose Red ink and a Watercolour Pen.

So...if Mike is a Granddad now, and I am dating him, does that make me a Grandma??

On that note, I'm off to work! Have a lovely day!

Sketch Saturday

Good morning!
Today is my last full day here in Holland, staying with our wonderful friends Simon, Marco and their 3 lovely children. As always, we will be very sad to be leaving.

Today Simone is having a party for her 40th birthday, which is on Monday, so I have made her this card using our new sketch at Sketch Saturday this week.

Here is the sketch...

And here is my card...

A lot of this card has been created using elements from MDS...the sentiment and the Twitterpated Designer Paper are all printed from there.

I die cut the sentiment panel using my Labels Collection Framelits before paper piercing using the Paper Piercing Essentials pack. The embossed panel is created using the Beautiful Baroque EF. I finished with a little Soft Sky Seam Binding and some gems.

I hope you will join in our challenge this week!

Scalloped Tag Topper Birthday

Good morning!

It's Thursday which must mean a new challenge at CAS - Colours and Sketches, and this week it's a colour challenge.

I had to think a little for this one, as I couldn't figure out how to combine the 3 colours without going for my usual favoured stamp sets...Gorgeous Grunge, Petite Petals and Papillon Potpourri! In the end, this is what I came up with...

Ok, yes, I used Petite Petals! What can I say...I'm getting my money's worth out of that wonderful bundle! I also used the Label Love Bundle for the Basic Gray part. I paper pierced the Whisper White panel first, using Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Stamped the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Sentiments in Strawberry Slush, then mounted it onto my Crumb Cake panel using Dimensionals.

This wonderful card base is created by taking a piece of card 29.5cm x 10cm, scoring it at 13cm, then punching each end with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, cutting off the bit that's left after punching. Then on the longest side I folded the tab into the card and tied it together with the Crumb Cake Seam Binding. 

I really enjoyed making this card...once I had decided on the layering, the rest came together pretty quickly! And I do love the result!

We can't wait to see what you have made, and if you need more inspiration, do go check out the other DT!

A friend accepts us for who we are...

Good morning all and welcome to Bonnie, my newest follower! I am honoured that she has chosen to follow me as I am an admirer of her work! :)

I had a wonderful, if ridiculously hectic weekend, with a stall at a ladies lifestyle event, then helping Sarah out with her Stampin' Up! stall at The Great British Craft Fair in Bolton! Both were extremely enjoyable and I hope to repeat the experiences in the future!

So one of the items I made for my stall was another Stampin' Framed, and it sold on the evening to a lovely lady named Jane, who has also ordered one of my inspiration tins as a 'comment' tin for her Vintage Secret Tea Parties...don't they sound like fun?!

This one is again stamped and heat embossed with Pewter Stampin' Emboss (now reduced to just £2.96!). The quote is from Feels Goods and the flower is from Flowering Flourishes, stamped in Pacific Point. Isn't it a fab quote?

I die cut the panel with one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits and paper pierced the edges using the Paper Piercing Essentials pack, before mounting onto Pacific Point dotty DSP. I finished with butterflies from Papillon Pot pourri, which were punched using both matching punches and some Basic Rhinestone Jewels.

Here's what I used...

Feel Goods Clear-Mount Stamp Set

£17.95

Papillon Potpourri Clear-Mount Stamp Set

£13.95

Pewter Stampin' Emboss Powder

£3.95

Flowering Flourishes Clear-Mount Stamp Set

£17.95

Versamark Pad

£6.75

Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad

£4.95

Elegant Butterfly Punch

£14.25

Bitty Butterfly Punch

£14.25

Apothecary Accents Framelits Dies

£20.95

Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack

£7.25

Brights Designer Series Paper Stack

£19.50

Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents

£4.50

I'm back at work today after a week off, but at least we'll be back into some sort of a routine!

Have a fab Monday!

Nature's Hello

Hello everyone! 

I chuffed to say that I have 2 new followers...Jac and Tracy. I hope you both enjoy looking at my new blog as much as I enjoy creating the projects on it!

Speaking of which, I have a pretty card for you today that I have made to enter into the sketch challenge at Less Is More this week.

As soon as I saw the sketch I knew what I wanted to do. There is a bit of a theme going with the products I have used...see if you can figure out what it is! (answer at the bottom!)

I cut the circle out of the card using two Framelits to create the gap, then paper pierced the middle circle. The little bird is from Nature's Hello hostess stamp set and I stamped it in Midnight Muse.

The flower is Boho Blossoms punch and the leaves are Little Leaves Sizzlit, both of with I sponged with Summer Starfruit and Gumball Green respectively. The sentiment is another hostess set, Express Yourself, and is stamped in Raspberry Ripple. (I do love this set of sentiments...there is something for almost any occasion and they are a lovely font and perfect size!) The card blank is Primrose Petals.

 Did you figure out the product theme? Well each year Stampin' Up! bring out a brand new annual catalogue with a whole lot of gorgeous new products, but, sadly, to make room for the new, some of the old has to go. So this card has been made with items that look like they will be going. The colours definitely are as the are the 2012-2014 In Colours, and the Hostess items will too, but over in the States Little Leaves and Boho Blossoms are also going, so there is a good chance they will here too, booohooo!

My reasons for telling you? Well I hate people missing out so I thought I would give you the chance to get your hands on these products before they retire, or even worse, sell out! We will get our full retiring list very soon, and you will be among the first to see it, but this just gives you a chance for a little forward planning!

What would you hate to see retire? What would you miss most? 

Please click on the pictures below to find the items quickly in my online shop.

I am really looking forward to the new catalogue, but I am going to miss a lot of the retiring products! 

Hope you have a fab Sunday!