Neutral tag

Another neutral sample inspired by page 49 of the new UK catty. I think this tag looks perfect in Crumb Cake and I love the simple flowers stamped in Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.

And I’ll tell you a secret: it took me longer to type this description than it took to make the tag!

Stamps: Growing Green, Basic Phrases

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Accessories: Word Window Punch, ¾” circle punch, Crop-A-Dile™, linen thread

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Neutral flowers

I made this Get Well card for one of my long-standing customers, Mary, who has been very ill recently. But then I looked at it and thought “she’ll hate it – it’s too neutral” so never sent it to her. In the end I made her another one, which I never even photographed – doh! Hopefully Mary is feeling a bit better by now... and remembering to take it easy!

This card may not be to Mary's taste but personally I LOVE the neutral shades. It was partly inspired by all the neutral samples on Page 49 of the new UK catalogue. But I’ll tell you something for nothing: I won’t be cutting THAT flower out again!

Stamps: Growing Green, Sincere Salutations

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Linen Thread

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Gorgeous Growing Green (but blue)

Here’s the Growing Green stamp set at last! I have high hopes for this set – it’s gorgeous but I have to say that I don’t think the catalogue samples do it full justice. Yes, it’s beautiful stamped like this – as clear striking outlines – but I imagine it would be absolutely stunning stamped and watercoloured. I just haven’t had time to have a go at it yet. But watch this space (probably for a very long time).

Stamps: Growing Green, Basic Phrases

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Ink: Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, Marina Mist

Accessories: Word Window Punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Mapping out another cool project

More of those fabulous Newsprint papers! Although you’ll notice that this particular sheet is a map and not newsprint at all. But how fab is that? I love maps.

It’s the Eiffel Tower again, of course and, once again, I’ve teamed it with En Francais, because it just goes so very, very well. What I did here was ink the stamp  and then apply the cardstock to it lightly, pressing down round the edges but not in the centre. This is how I got the background to appear around the edges of the cardstock but not in the middle, so that the tower really stands out.

I’ve just a tiny scrap of Riding Hood Red behind the map paper to create definition and add a splash of colour. But I’m still loving the combination of Basic Black and Very Vanilla!

Stamps: Artistic Etchings, Perfect Punches

Cardstock: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla

Paper: Newsprint

Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: 1/8” Taffeta ribbon – Basic Black, Oval Scallop Punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Catalogue launch make and take project

This was one of the Make & Takes at my recent catalogue launch. Very simple but aren’t those colours stunning? Daffodil Delight with Early Espresso and Very Vanilla.

Stamping the images at random is dead easy when you use the clear blocks with unmounted stamps. Can you tell I’m a convert? And I was definitely NOT going to jump on the unmounted bandwagon! Oops.

I was glad, though, that my Tiny Tags set is wood-mounted. I personally think this set is just a little too small for using unmounted. Not because it wouldn’t work – but because of the fear of losing one of the stamps.

Stamps: Ornate Flowers, Tiny Tags

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla

Ink: Early Espresso

Accessories: Medium Jewellery Tag Punch, 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon – Daffodil Delight

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Return of the old favourites

Oops, almost slipped back into a colour rut for this card. Old Olive and Real Red! But this gorgeous combination is from the Colour Coach, honest! It’s teamed with Marina Mist for a bright, fresh feel.

Stamps: Ornate Flowers

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Real Red, Old Olive (textured and smooth), Very Vanilla

Ink: Old Olive, Marina Mist

Accessories: 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon – Marina Mist, Scallop Edge Punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

New payment option for SU orders

Just to let you know that SU now accepts the following cards: 

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Visa Debit 

You have the option to let me use your card information for one purchase only, or to allow me to store it on the SU website for future orders. Rest assured that, once the information has been input into the SU system,  I will only be able to see the last four digits, and I will black out all but the last four digits on your order form. The yellow hostess copy and your own pink copy will also have the first 12 digits blacked out.

It's going to be great having this flexibility at workshops in particular and, at a workshop I did on Tuesday,  several customers paid using their cards. 

However, please note that I will not be able to accept credit card payments for catalogues, classes or product bundles as this money comes to me and I personally don't have the facility to accept these cards. But for straight SU orders, they're fine. 

Travel journal

Oooh, I know I shouldn’t say it myself, but I really do love this! It would make a perfect travel journal (if you were going to France) or just a really cool notebook.

It’s one of our On Board journals, which come in plain chipboard, ripe for decoration. I covered the front and back with Newsprint Designer Series Paper, using the Spiral Punch. Can’t remember if I’ve told you how to do this, so here’s how:

1. Cut your Designer Series Paper (DSP) to size. You can either fold it round the edges or, more simply, cut it to the exact size of the journal.
2. Offer it up to the journal, holding it exactly in place.
3. With a pencil, mark the position of the centre hole for the ring-binding. It doesn’t have to be the centre hole but let’s say it does to make life easier.
4. Using scissors, cut a small slit where your pencil mark is.
5. Holding your spiral punch upside-down, you’ll notice a little notch. Push this notch into the slit you have cut and punch.
6. Using the notch to line up the punch, keep punching along the edge of your paper. Keep checking against the journal to make sure you don’t punch too many holes.
7. When you’ve reached the end, turn the paper over.
8. Now push the notch into the centre hole and start punching from the centre towards the opposite edge. Again, check that you don’t punch a hole too many.
9. With your holes punched, you can spread adhesive all over the journal cover. Tombow Multi is brilliant for this, although I use the Two-Way Glue pen to get in the little gaps between the metal ring-binding. Make sure you go up to all the edges.
10. Now you can sand the edges with sandpaper or an emery board to make them blend into the chipboard and give it a lovely distressed feel. 

Repeat the whole process if you want to cover the back and inside covers of the journal.

Stamps: Artistic Etchings

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Very Vanilla

Paper: Newsprint

Ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Boho Blossoms Punch, Clear Rhinestone Brads,  Spiral Punch. Ribbons: Wide Striped Grosgrain Ribbon - Basic Black, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Very Vanilla, 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon - Very Vanilla, 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon - Basic Black

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Out of my comfort zone

Whoa! What happened here? Did somebody else make this card for me? It’s very not “me”, I’ll agree – and that’s because I tried very hard to copy a card from the catalogue. Using different stamps and different colours, of course; no point in making it too easy!

I’d ask you to guess which card it was ... but then I’d suffer the humiliation of nobody responding, so I’ll put you out of your misery. It’s the centre card on page 56 of the UK catty. The catty sample is Crumb Cake and uses Growing Green. I didn’t have that set when I made this (I do now!) so used Ornate Flowers instead.

Stamps: Ornate Flowers, Tiny Tags

Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso, Whisper White

Paper: Greenhouse Gala

Ink: Baja Breeze, Early Espresso

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Jewellery Tag Punch, 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon – Early Espresso

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Mellow yellow

Another simply stunning colour combination, taken from the Colour Coach. I love this handy little tool – it’s fun to play with, too.

The clear blocks and unmounted stamps really come into their own when repeat stamping. No guesswork or Stamp-a-ma-jig® required – you just keep stamping, safe in the knowledge that you won’t overlap.

Here I’ve stamped in Daffodil Delight on cardstock of the same colour. This is a lovely colour – a soft, mellow yellow but still with a bit of oomph. I’ve just just a small strip of Greenhouse Gala paper across the centre – partly because I didn’t feel it needed any more and partly because, well, you know me... I want to make it last!

Stamps: Ornate Flowers

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla

Paper: Greenhouse Gala

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Brights Brads, 1/8” taffeta ribbon – Daffodil Delight

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Time for some more vintage

I was inspired to get this set after seeing some fabulous samples made with it by one of my team, Elizabeth. She demoed with it at our recent team-meeting and I was sold on it instantly! It’s very “on trend” at the moment as it’s perfect for creating the vintage look which is so popular.

So we used it for one of the Make & Takes at my recent Hostess Apprecation Event. We made two cards and everyone received a little goodie bag as a thank you from me for hosting a party in the past year.

Holding a party is a great way to get together with your friends, have fun, see new products and techniques and ... best of all perhaps... get free stamps! If you party reaches £150, you’ll get a free stamp set plus £15 of free merchandise of your choice.  The higher the party total, the more freebies you get. Don’t worry if you don’t have any cardmaking friends – sometimes people don’t know they are a stamper until they try! Several of my most, shall we say, “enthusiastic” customers were not cardmakers until they attended a Stampin’ Up!® workshop.

But back to the card... it’s another colour combo from the Colour Coach. You know, I don’t think I’m going to have to use my imagination ever again! Not until I’ve worked my way through them all anyway. I’m finding it really useful, especially because of the Colour Renovation. I’m just not as familiar with the new colours as I was with the old ones, and can’t think in an instant which ones will go together. I’m sure it will come soon though, and it will be fun learning!

Stamps: Sense of Time

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Cajun Craze, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla

Ink: Basic Gray, Cajun Craze, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Linen Thread

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Cakes with Pizzazz

There’s no need to neglect older stamp sets just because new ones are available, so I thought I’d dig out Crazy For Cupcakes before Alison realises I still have her set! I’ve coloured the image with Watercolour Wonder™ crayons and mounted it on a strip of Whisper White. The zig-zag effect is simply a piece of Greenhouse Gala paper. I cut a strip and then decided to cut out the zig-zags properly. Quite funky, I thought!

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes

Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White

Paper: Greenhouse Gala

Ink: Early Espresso, Basic Gray

Accessories: Watercolour Wonder™ crayons

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Three little dicky birds

Don’t these gorgeous punched birds show off the new colours and papers beautifully?

I made this when I was still short of new stamps from the new catalogue (funnily enough, that’s a problem I no longer have – hmm...), so I grabbed the Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper pack and found some gorgeous designs in there. The wings are punched out of scraps of cardstock in matching colours. I love being able to match my cardstock to my papers exactly!

Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip

Paper: Greenhouse Gala

Accessories: Two-Step Bird Punch, Scallop Edge Punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Another eyeful of Artistic Etchings

Here’s the Eiffel Tower  again. I hope you like this stamp because you’re going to be seeing a whole lot more of it in the next few months!

Here I’ve stamped it in Chocolate Chip on top of En Francais, which is stamped Crumb Cake. A bit of direct-to-paper around the edges again. It’s layered on Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla cardstock with a piece of Cherry Cobbler underneath, stamped in Cherry Cobbler. The base of the card is Baja Breeze, which I’ve stamped in the same colour.

The flower is made from scallop circles, wet, scrunched and joined with a rhinestone brad before allowing to dry.

Frayed ribbon again – I can’t stop fraying ribbon at the moment, it just seems to go so well with the vintage look of this stamp set. I confess this is a piece of retired Chocolate Chip ribbon – but now you can buy the same ribbon in Early Espresso, which is darker and even more rich, as if that’s possible!

Stamps: Artistic Etchings, En Francais

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 ¼” striped Grosgrain Ribbon - Chocolate Chip, rhinestone brad

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Greenhouse thanks

This is a really simple card which was one of the Make & Takes at my catalogue launch this morning. It’s a variation on so many cards I’ve made in the past, but why change a winning formula? It showcases the Greenhouse Gala paper, which is really lovely, with big, bold prints on one side of each sheet, and subtle monochromatic designs on the other.

When my downline Kelly brought her pack to show me (before mine arrived), you should have heard the “oohs” when I saw the bold patterns... and the “aaahs” when Kelly saw the subtle ones!

The ribbon is Marina Mist, which is a shade or two darker than Baja Breeze, but it goes pretty well.

The stamp is from a set called Perfect Punches which, as you have probably guessed, co-ordinates perfectly with our punches. And there are LOTS of new punches in this new catalogue. I didn’t have any of them at the time of making this card, so used the “Thanks” stamp with the Scallop Oval Punch.

I chose to buy this set unmounted. Yes, you read that right. Although all stamp sets are available as traditional wood-mounted sets, we can now buy selected stamps UNMOUNTED. You then buy a clear block – there are several sizes available – and the stamp clings to it, so you can see exactly where you’re stamping. Even better, they come with stickers which you adhere to the back so you can see the actual image through the block. They are really easy to assemble and come in a handy DVD-style case with actual-size images on the front, and tiny images down the spine, so you can find the right set easily.

I will hold my hands up now and say that I was deeply sceptical about this system. I’ve always been firmly committed to wood-mounted stamps. I only bought this set in the clear-mount option because I knew that customers would want to see how it worked. Guess what? U-turn time! It took less than five minutes to convince me – they’re quick, they’re easy, they take up less space... and they’re cheaper, too!

Stamps: Perfect Punches

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Paper: Greenhouse Gala

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: 1/8” taffeta ribbon – Marina Mist, Scallop Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Cherry Cobbler: best colour ever?

This card uses the gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous Cherry Cobbler. See what I mean about rich? I can’t stop using it with Crumb Cake and Basic Black because it just goes so very, very well.

This is a very simple card – just a medallion stamped on Crumb Cake (formerly Kraft!), a crown stamped on Very Vanilla and cut out. And, in between, a strip of Basic Black cardstock run through our new Crimper!

Stamps: Artistic Etchings

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black

Accessories: Crimper

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Papers with Pizzazz

Look at these beautiful papers! They are from the Greenhouse Gala collection and these are both from the more subtle sides. The other side of these have much bolder designs.

This is the first outing (for me) of Early Espresso. Yum! Darker and richer than Chocolate Chip, although both will have their place in my heart.  The ribbons is really lovely, too. It’s 1/8” taffeta in Daffodil Delight. Really easy to tie and offers a subtle hint of colour where needed. It’s available in all of our “Getting Started” colours – these are popular colours across the colour collections, which are perfect both for people who are just getting started and for the rest of us who are already firmly hooked, as handy “go to” colours for all occasions.

Thanks is stamped in Perfect Punches – my very first unmounted set – which features stamps which co-ordinate perfectly with our punches, old and new. Here I’ve punched it out with the Scallop Oval Punch, because I’m still waiting for my new punches to arrive!

Stamps: Perfect Punches

Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso, Whisper White

Paper: Greenhouse Gala

Ink: Early Espresso

Accessories: Eyelet border punch, Scallop Oval Punch, 1/8” taffeta ribbon – Daffodil Delight

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Enjoying the new colours

I thought I’d try something a bit, well, not so different really! I found an old card that I’d made using some retiring cardstock and made it again in new colours.

It’s a bit of a wild colour combination which I probably wouldn’t have considered had it not been for a really useful little tool called the Color Coach. As I said before, I found all the new colours a bit overwhelming and didn’t really know where to start. The old colours were so familiar to me that I could match them in my head... but no longer!

To my rescue came the invaluable Color Coach. It’s a swatch book consisting of double-sided cards – one for each of our current colours, including the In Color™ range. One side is a solid colour and the back shows you suggested colour combinations. Every one is different and there are bound to be loads you haven’t thought of. You can also use it to create your own combinations by holding the relevant cards next to each other. So you can decide on your colours before you head to your storage area to pull out the relevant cardstock and inks.

This was one of the combinations suggested for Wild Wasabi; to team it with So Saffron and Perfect Plum. I like it!

Stamps: Vintage Vogue

Cardstock: So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Perfect Plum, Whisper White

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Perfect Plum, So Saffron

Accessories: Rhinestone brad, 1/8” taffeta ribbon – Daffodil Delight

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

New stamps... ooh la la!

This is the very first card I made with my new goodies – but where are the new colours? I’m afraid to say, at that point, I was still reluctant to start cutting into my lovely new cardstock! But no matter because I think the set goes perfectly with Crumb Cake (formerly Kraft), Very Vanilla and Basic Black.

I stamped the Vanilla piece with En Francais using the new Sahara Sand ink pad. Why I didn’t use Crumb Cake, I don’t know, but that’s just the way it is.  I inked around the edges of the piece and then punched the left hand side using the very groovy spiral punch. Next I distressed it – you’re going to be seeing a lot of distressed cardstock this year!

The card uses five of the stamps from the Artistic Etchings stamp set – the sixth one says “AMOUR”. You can’t see them fully so, apart from the tower and the crown, there’s a circular medallion-style stamp, a key and a... erm.... not sure what to call the other one, in the bottom right-hand corner of the card. But it’s very pretty!

I love this card so much that it became the Make & Take for my recent team meeting and for my hostess appreciation event yesterday. Hope they all liked it as much as I do!

Stamps: Artistic Etchings, En Francais

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Very Vanilla

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray, Sahara Sand

Accessories: 1/8” taffeta ribbon - Basic Black, Clips Assortment, Spiral Punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

First new catalogue sample!

So... today is the big day, eh? The day when blogs across the land will start to go crazy with new catalogue projects! The link should be on the Stampin’ Up!® website by now but, just in case, here it is. Enjoy!

 

I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed by all the lovely newness in the new catalogue. New stamps, new ink pads, new cardstock... it was almost too much and I didn’t know where to start crafting. Thankfully, I soon got over it!

I was very lucky to have received 16 brand new ink pads and two sheets of each of the new colours FREE, as a reward from Stampin’ Up!® for meeting certain sales targets this summer. It’s great to get free stamping goodies – and there are plenty on offer when you join SU as a demonstrator. If you’d like to find out more about joining, please email me for more info. It really is the best job in the world! And now is the perfect time to sign up – to find out why, drop me an email!

Meanwhile, here is one of my first projects made with new catalogue goodies. I never thought I’d say it but I LOVE this colour combination: Not Quite Navy, Basic Black, Very Vanilla and possibly the best colour in the world... Cherry Cobbler. Crafters have been known to squeal when presented with this colour – it’s so rich and lush.  I love it but don’t want to “waste” it so have been using sparing amounts – if you know me, you won’t be surprised to discover that there is a gap between the top piece of torn Cherry Cobbler strip and the bottom one!

But enough about the colour... what about the stamp set? It’s called Artistic Etchings and it is guaranteed to give your projects that certain je ne sais quoi! As well as the Eiffel Tower, there are all sorts of vintage-y bits to go with it. Which you’ll see in the next few days.

The paper... oh, I LOVE the paper. It’s called Newsprint and features all kinds of text, including newsprint, advertising and music. All in Basic Black and Very Vanilla; fab, fab, fab!

The flower is made using a technique I’ve used before – I simply punched out a few flowers using the Boho Blossoms punch, made a hole in the centre, wet them and screwed them up. They are joined together with a silver brad.

Finally, the ribbon. We have fringed ribbon now? No, but you can easily make it! This is made from the 1 ¼” striped grosgrain ribbon. I simply cut down one of the centre stripes and then frayed it. Cool, eh? And guess what? It makes your ribbon go twice as far!

Stamps: Artistic Etchings

Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Newsprint

Ink: Basic Black

Accessories: Boho Blossoms punch, silver brad, 1 ¼” striped Grosgrain Ribbon - Basic Black

All products by Stampin’ Up!®