Contemporary Merry Minis Christmas trees

Once again the challenge at ColourQ has spurred me into action! The colours gave me the perfect opportunity to whip up a quick contemporary Christmas card. Come and see:

This card relies on that gorgeous textured card stock which gives the punched Christmas trees the perfect subtle background somewhere between smooth and embossed. Core'dinations card stock comes in all the Stampin' Up colours and I love it to bits!

The sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes was stamped onto Whisper White card stock, cut out with the Decorative Label punch and glued under the textured panel.

I was inspired today by this fabulous colour palette (I used Old Olive instead of Kiwi Kiss which has never been available in the UK.)

Here's what you'll need to make this card

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Tangerine Tango

Card stock: Whisper White plus scraps of Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive and Tangerine Tango. Early Espresso core'dinations

Other: Envelope board (for rounding corners), Decorative Label punch, Merry Minis punch pack

You can order from my online shop 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 always fascinated by contemporary Christmas trees like these from Craft Project Central:

Or this fascinating wall tree I saw on Pinterest:

But I'm a traditional girl at heart so our own Christmas tree is always decorated with creams and reds and glowing Christmas lights:

Please don't worry for our sanity, this was last year's tree and although there have been some suggestions that we get one early this year, so far I've resisted!

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

A Calm Christmas and the chance to win some freebies!

While I was making yesterday's card for Less is More's current 'Make a Christmas card featuring a bird' challenge, I came across lots of other bird stamps I would've liked to use. I really couldn't resist this one, so here's my second entry:

This is the wonderful dove of peace from Stampin' Up's Calm Christmas stamp set. Isn't she beautiful?And she really does make me feel calm so I might need to bring her out more often as the festive season gets under way!

I've heat embossed her in white on Bermuda Bay card stock and cut her out with my sharp paper snips before layering her over the world image from The Open Sea - it's always fun to combine sets! The branch was punched out of Old Olive card stock using the 2 step bird punch.

This lovely sentiment comes from Calm Christmas too and works perfectly with the image. Are you wondering why I think the dove is female? Well she's trying to keep the peace isn't she? Of course she's female!

Now before you start feeling too calm, I've got some exciting news for you!

I would love to be able to give all my customers a gift at Christmas

but since that's not possible, I'm holding a

Christmas prize draw!

Customers placing an order with me between 25th November and 15th December
will have the chance to win one of three fabulous prizes:

The wonderful Gorgeous Grunge stamp set in cling mount (worth £17.95)
The cute Oh Goodie stamp set in cling mount (worth £9.95)
A fabulous Tag-a-Bag accessories kit (worth £7.25)

This is not a Stampin' Up promotion and the prizes are being donated by me personally
The winners will be randomly selected on 16th December
Prizes will be posted out next day in time for Christmas.

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

Stamps: Calm Christmas, The Open Sea

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Early Espresso

Card stock: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay

Other: Versamark, white embossing powder, heat tool, 2 step bird punch, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop 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 love birds and have carved wooden ones dotted about all over my house. The other morning I came downstairs to find that one of them was sporting some interesting new head gear...

Some people have just got too much time on their hands!

See you tomorrow,

A Simply Sketched Christmas

What with 18th birthdays and Stampin' Up conventions I've been a bit distracted lately but I woke up yesterday morning with a sudden realisation that it'll be Christmas very soon! I do have quite a pile of Christmas cards but not nearly enough... and anyway, the 'Make a Christmas card featuring a bird' challenge at Less is More was calling to me and I needed a card for Sarn's Rudolph Day challenge too. Here's what I've come up with:

There are loads of gorgeous birds in the Stampin' Up catalogue and I've chosen this one from the Simply Sketched hostess set.  I stamped him and coloured him in like a robin before cutting him out popping him up with a dimensional.

 I've sat him on this branch from the same set which can look very Christmassy or not depending on which colours you use. I used markers to colour everything on this card - including...

... the sentiment - a real favourite of mine from Delightful Dozen. Do you like the way I've made the robin look up at it?!

Here's what you'll need to make this project

Stamps: Simply Sketched, Delightful Dozen

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso, Baked Brown Sugar, Crumb Cake, Crisp Cantaloupe, Raspberry Ripple, Sahara Sand - all in markers

Card stock: Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White

Other: Essentials piercing template, mat and tool, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop 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.

Yesterday I mentioned a bit about my trip to Stampin' Up's annual convention - well here's some more if you're interested. And if you're not, do scroll down to the bottom for news of a give away - YAY!

I was staying in the beautiful Midland Hotel along with lots of other demonstrators so, after doing full justice to a full English breakfast, we were able to pop across the road to the convention centre where things were already buzzing. Everyone was carrying their convention bags...

... which were beautifully designed and very practical. They contained free stamp sets and other goodies and became very full as Prize Patrol kept handing out more and more freebies throughout the day!

There were the most stunning displays everywhere of cards and other projects - you really had to be there to get the full impact of these. There were also stations where you could play with some of the new products like the amazing new Undefined kit seen in this short video:



Do you think it looks hard to do? Well it's not I promise you and just think of all the special things you could make! The kit costs £17.95 and I think it would make a unusual Christmas present for almost anyone!

Anyway, back to convention! All through Friday and Saturday there were technique and product demonstrations, as well as business talks, and you could dip in and out and choose whether to go to these. There were some brilliant presentations, some funny, some quite emotional but all incredibly inspiring.

On Friday evening we dressed up in frocks and heels and gathered to cheer ourselves silly while those that had won awards went up on stage. The night ended with a 25th anniversary party with food, music and dancing!

Thank you for reading my ramblings! It's difficult to describe how much fun convention was and how spoilt I felt with all the freebies and wonderful gifts but I'd love to share a bit of that feeling with my customers: I have wrapped up three different gifts which three lucky winners will receive in the post in time for Christmas! I'll have all the details tomorrow so do check back to see!

See you tomorrow,

A fabulous time with Stampin' Up in Manchester

It all started with nearly missing the train but things went much better after that! A lively party of five of us Pinkies met up on the train, arrived at Manchester in what seemed like no time at all and set off to our hotels. I met up with some of my Inkredibles team at the beautiful Midland Hotel to exchange the swaps we'd made.

This is what I made for my lovely group - a hanging heart decoration made from our Stampin' Up clay, tied onto a label cut from the Natural Composition designer paper (it's more of a card stock in fact) and tucked into an embossed vellum envelope.

It's easy to make these textured hearts: I rolled out some clay, pressed a heart framelit into it as a guide before cutting the heart out with paper snips and stamping it with the swirl from the Creative Elements stamp set. While the clay was drying, I made the labels, cutting a decorative top using one of the Labels framelits. The heart was punched with a hole and threaded with linen thread and I tied it onto the label with beautiful Pool Party seam binding.

I was delighted to receive all these wonderful swaps back from Lizy, Jacqueline, Jan, Helen and Victoria. Do pop over to their blogs and leave them some love.

We had tea together in the beautiful surroundings of the Midland Hotel...

... before dashing off to various functions. Stampin' Up had laid on a fun Mix and Mingle event for convention goers but I had been invited to a special Silver 2 reception because I have promoted this year!

There I was greeted with magical floating drinks... (not really, but it looks as if they are because they're on a glass console!) and got to chat with the others. We were presented with our convention bags, stuffed full of freebies, memorabilia and my awards - I am so proud of these!

There were more gifts on the tables when we went through to the reception room, decorated with beautiful Stampin' Up ribbons, stamps and embellishments and while we dined, we were entertained by this handsome chap...

...who turned out to be the son of my lovely blogging friend Suzi B from The Making Room! What a talented man he was - move over Frank Sinatra!

After the reception we went back to the Midland hotel for a meet up with the Pinkies group with all the chatting and swapping and hugging and laughing that entails! For a lady whose usual evening's entertainment is nodding off on the sofa with a blanket over her knees, it's no wonder I was ready for my bed!

Here's what you'll need to make the heart decorations

Stamps: Creative Elements

Card stock: Natural Composition designer card stock, vellum

Other: Hearts and Labels framelits, Big Shot, Northern Flurry embossing folder, 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches, Pool Party seam binding, linen thread, Simply Pressed clay, paper snips

You can order from my online shop 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 sure you've heard enough of my wittering for one day but I'll hope to see you tomorrow for more convention stories and pictures. And if you're wishing you could have been there - we'll be doing it all over again next year in Brussels, 16th-18th October 2014! Why not join my Inkredibles team and we'll do it together!

A great big sassy thank you

When Stampin' Up demonstrators get together we certainly know how to have fun - I'm still buzzing from the best convention ever! Inspiration, motivation, freebies, announcements, new products and releases - all these were there in abundance but it's the people I love most about being a part of Stampin' Up. It was fantastic to be there with so many people who share my passion, meeting up with old friends and making new ones. I made a thank you card today because that's how I'm feeling! Come and see:

Does this remind you of a champagne cork popping? Well that's the look I was aiming for! I stamped the swirl from Everything Eleanor in the corner, added a little Gorgeous Grunge, topped it with a sentiment banner and added bling with a liberal hand!

I used Summer Starfruit and Smoky Slate as a modern version of gold and silver and it provides a nice clean background for the sparkly rhinestones and glimmer paper punched stars.

When I was making this card, I was especially thinking of my lovely customers who make it possible for me to make a business out of my passion for stamping; of my friend and upline Michelle who introduced me to Stampin' Up; of each of my team, the Inkredibles, (Lizy, Jan, Jacqueline, Victoria, Helen, Michelle, Sarn, Barbara, Hilary, Laura, Natalie and Ursula, for their fellowship whether in person or via phone or online and without whose hard work I couldn't have achieved my Silver 2 title; my friends in the 'mother group', the Pinkies, because they're great company and an unfailing support. And I'd also like to thank all of you who tell me you read and enjoy my blog - it means a great deal to me that you come and spend your time here.

And to think - once upon a time I didn't have any of this in my life!

Here's what you'll need to make this project

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Sassy Salutations

Ink: Summer Starfruit, Smoky Slate, Real Red

Card stock: Smoky Slate, Whisper White

Other: Basic Rhinestones, Merry Minis punch pack, silver glimmer paper, paper snips

You can order from my online shop 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 had a fantastic time at Convention but it was lovely to get home too. My youngest son gave me huge hugs and told me he'd missed me. "There was no-one to say mad things," he said in what I'm hoping was a complimentary way. My oldest son had obviously missed me too - I was permitted to sit next to him and watch for a bit while he was gaming on Grand Theft Auto (yes I know, I shuddered too!) "There's some nice scenery," I said. "I know - that's why I play it," said my son. "Why not just try going for a nice walk?" I suggested. He sighed patiently. "I could do," he said. "But it's not the same as going for a drive and seeing it from the comfort of the car you've just stolen!" Oh dear - he has been brought up nicely I promise!

See you tomorrow with some pictures from convention!

Welcome to my Stampin' Up group!

So I'm at the Stampin' Up convention at the moment, hearing all the latest news, seeing the new releases, playing with new toys, being inspired to the max and, best of all, getting together with my lovely colleagues from all over Europe! Wouldn't you just love to be there? Well of course you could be next year! I'd love to welcome you to my group, the Inkredibles, and at only £99 for a starter kit, it's a very real possibility. Read all about it here and do feel free to contact me to find out more.

These are the welcome packs I sent out to my latest Inkredibles. My pack includes a handbook I've written to familiarise you with Stampin' Up; a notebook decorated and personalised for you; a card stock swatch including the trendy in-colours as well as the core colours; a handmade card; and a prettily embellished sweet treat.

I adore this wonderful stamp from Apothecary Art and it coordinates perfectly with the Labels framelits. I made the name tags in MDS and cut them out with my sharp paper snips.

These look too good to eat don't they (although I can assure you I wouldn't let that stop me!) The paper is from the Gingham Garden range and they're tied up with the lush stitched satin ribbon in Midnight Muse. The labels are a favourite of mine - they're stamped with That's the Ticket and cut out with the coordinating Ticket punch - easy peasy!

This is the card I made for my new ladies. The background is stamped with Gorgeous Grunge and I added the beautiful vintage phone image from Timeless Talk. I stamped it three times...

... cutting the second image out to pop up over the first with dimensionals and cutting the dial out of the third with a circle punch and popping that up too. The card was decorated with my favourite embellishments: candy dots and washi tape!

Here's what you'll need to make the card

Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Timeless Talk

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie, Midnight Muse
Card stock: Rose Red, Whisper White
Other: Gingham Garden washi tape candy dots, 3/4" circle punch, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop 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.

My next post will be on Monday (assuming I've recovered from the excitement of Convention!) but in the meantime, you'll find updates and photos on my facebook page so do hop over there.

See you soon,

Three minutes with some designer paper

The Stampin' Up annual convention starts today and I'm trying to contain my excitement... a spot of crafting is required to calm me down I think! Less is More has a great challenge this week to use designer paper in a CAS way - so here's my quick take on that:

I seem to making a lot of stylised Christmas trees this year! This one was punched out of Epic Day designer paper with the Pennant punch, the trunk added with an Early Espresso marker using a ruler and a little pot punched out of Real Red core'dinations card stock using the Christmas Ornament punch.  I decorated the tree with a single gem.

The sentiment from Wishing You is quite possibly my favourite sentiment of the season.

I used markers to ink the rubber in order to get the multi-coloured image. I mounted the tree panel onto a background of the same designer paper as I used for the tree - the pattern is small so the design remains CAS. My envelope board was out on my desk so I used it to round the top corners of my card - and if you don't yet have one of these boards they're FAB so I highly recommend putting it at the top of your Christmas list!

• By the way, as well as Stampin' Up shopping vouchers, stylishly presented in a handmade wallet, I offer a Wish List service for Christmas. This is where you give me a list of the Stampin' Up goodies you'd like for Christmas and give your loved ones my contact details; then, when they get in touch with me, I can advise them of the perfect gift for you!

Here's what you'll need to make this card

Stamps: Wishing You

Ink: Early Espresso and Real Red markers

Card stock: Whisper White, scrap of Real Red core'dinations

Other: Epic Day designer paper, Basic Rhinestones, Pennant and Christmas Ornament punches, stamp-a-majig, Envelope board

You can order from my online shop 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.

By the time you're reading this I could be having coffee with my lovely Inkredibles team members, swapping cards and gifts with friends old and new, attending a special reception for demonstrators who have promoted to Silver 2 or more (oh yes, I'm that posh these days!), receiving free Stampin' Up goodies, being inspired by beautiful displays, raising a glass with members of the extended Pinkies team or relaxing in the luxurious surroundings of the Midland Hotel! Can you FEEL the excitement?!!!

I have a post scheduled for tomorrow though so don't forget to come back and join me and I'll be sending regular updates and photos to my facebook page so do pop over there too!

Jack in a box

Stampin' Up's annual convention is being held in Manchester this week and I'm really looking forward to being wowed by the events the company will have laid on and meeting up with my Stampin' Up friends. Whenever we get together, we exchange handmade gifts and cards of course, so I'm busy creating those, but a young member of our extended family celebrated his birthday this week so I snatched a few minutes to make a card for him. Come and see:

In my experience, young lads like their cards to be simple and to the point - and you can't really get much simpler and to the point than this!

Using a stamp-a-majig to produce an overlapping sentiment creates a bit of detail though and the single red candy dot embellishing the 'C' in the die cut name. I used a retired set of alphabet dies but the Typeset Alphabet Bigz die would work just as well.

Here's what you'll need to make this card

Stamps: Express Yourself

Ink: Real Red

Card stock: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Smoky Slate

Other: Real Red candy dot, Timeless Type alphabet dies, Big Shot, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop 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 don't listen to the radio a great deal but one show I never miss is Radio 4's Sorry I haven't a Clue, hosted by the hilarious Jack Dee and billed as the antidote to panel games. One of the rounds is called The Uxbridge Dictionary, where panellists must suggest alternative definitions for existing English words. Two that just came to mind while writing this post are 'crackerjack - a device for lifting biscuits' and (my personal favourite that had me howling with laughter) 'untidy - let Jack go' (referring to the host's name).

I'll be back tomorrow for Three Minute Thursday (and will be VERY excited as the Stampin' Up convention starts tomorrow and I'll be there!)

Elegant Mosaic boxes and more birthday pics

If you were reading my blog yesterday you'll know that we've been celebrating my daughter's 18th birthday. Despite making a funny card for her,  I did manage to stick to an elegant neutrals theme for her packaging! I love how elegant these black boxes looks with their embossed detail, made using the Mosaic embossing folder. Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon works beautifully with it.

Inside the box on the right was a simple silver necklace I'd had made for her, stamped with the word 'she'. I also printed the lyrics of the song She onto vellum, folded it up and closed it with one of the Essentials Hardware clips. Here she is modeling it rather beautifully!

She told me later that she was very moved by this gift but it wasn't this that nearly overset her - the other box contained a little photo book, with a photo of her, year on year.

I'd asked my husband and the boys to get her something she could keep as a momento of the day and they rose to the occasion magnificently with gorgeous pieces of jewellery they'd found in vintage shops and a handmade fair. Just when we thought a large box of tissues would be required, my daughter opened the card my youngest son had made for her. On the front he'd written in bold letters 'You are a big girl now' and inside there was a little envelope which contained...

... a pair of large 'big girl pants' made from some of my retired designer paper!

Here's what you'll need to make the boxes

Card stock: Basic Black smooth and core'dinations

Other: Mosaic embossing folder, Big Shot, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, corner rounder

You can order from my online shop 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.

And continuing with the underwear theme, my daughter told me that someone had texted this to her on her birthday: 'Have a great day. I hope that you get to dance in your pants by a water feature!' Not original apparently - it had been a tweet from Noel Fielding - but it made us laugh.

Thank you for accompanying me on my trip to Mumland! See you tomorrow,