Masculine card with French Foliage

Father’s Day is coming up soon, so here’s a little masculine card inspiration for you, using that gorgeous stamp set, French Foliage, and the lovely Comfort Café Designer Series Paper.

We’re using a different stamp set (By The Tide) but these are the colours and the papers for my forthcoming Father’s Day class on 18^th May. The closing date for registration is 11^th May (who knows why I made it so close to the actual date – ridiculous!) but please note that there is now strictly only ONE PLACE LEFT – there really aren’t enough tables in the room for any more people after that.

Hope to see you there!

Stamps: French Foliage, For My Family

Cardstock: Midnight Muse, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Paper: Comfort Café

Ink: Midnight Muse, Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit

Accessories: Naturals Buttons, Linen Thread

All products by Stampin' Up!® 

Bird punch thank you card

Yet another “use it before we lose it” project (that’s colours, not other products, so don’t panic just yet. We’ll get our retiring list on 1^st June).  

Keeping this brief as exhausted after a fabulous weekend, crafting with some of my stamping friends with Monica Gale on her retreat!

Stamps: Oh, Hello

Cardstock: River Rock, Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red

Ink: River Rock, Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Bird Punch

All products by Stampin' Up!® 

Caturday - Raturday!

Squeamish readers look away now... because Pooboo has caught a prize bigger than we could ever have imagined. Yes, this appears to be a fully-grown rat. 

I think it must have been pretty heavy as he was walking VERY slowly up the garden. Unless it was more of a victory march, so that everyone could admire his prowess. And I have to admit it's a pretty impressive achievement. 

The old adage "you're never more than six feet away from a rat" certainly seems to be true when you live in the countryside, surrounded by neighbours who keep chickens. In fact, it's one of the reasons we got rid of our own chickens. 

This was definitely too close for comfort, even though - as you can probably tell - we observed the predator from behind glass! *Shudder* Needless to say, we are now treating Pooboo with respect and suspicion... and being extra vigilant with hygiene after handling ALL the cats. Blech.

Oh Hello thank you card with retiring colours

Another product of my “use it before we lose it” craft session, using River Rock, Not Quite Navy and Riding Hood Red cardstock. It’s a great colour combo, so grab it while you can (IF you can, some items are out of stock).

Stamps: Oh, Hello

Cardstock: River Rock, Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red

Ink: River Rock, Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Neutrals brads

All products by Stampin' Up!® 

Summer Silhouettes and International Bazaar DSP

It’s a gloriously sunny day so this card feels appropriate. It’s part of a set I made for a friend’s birthday, all packed up in a decorated box which I’ll show you eventually.  It uses International Bazaar paper which is packed with brightly-coloured patterns and funky designs – right up my friend’s street. And the stamp set is one of my favourites – Summer Silhouettes – which we all received free at Convention last year.

Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Itty Bitty Banners

Cardstock: Pacific Point, Whisper White

Paper: International Bazaar

Ink: Old Olive, Pacific Point

Accessories: Apothecary Accents framelits, Bitty Banners framelits, Basic Rhinestones, Scallop Dotted Ribbon – Old Olive

All products by Stampin' Up!® 

By The Tide thank you cards with Oh, Hello

Here are this month’s thank you cards to place with orders. I love these little half-size cards, they’re very cute (and quick to make, too!). I’ve used some retiring River Rock cardstock, as well as some of the products we’ll be using at my Father’s Day class on 18^th May. There’s only one place left, by the way, so hurry if you want to grab it. (Might be able to squeeze two of you in if you prefer to travel in pairs.)

I’m really enjoying using this By The Tide stamp set, hope it makes it into the Big Catty!

Stamps: Oh Hello, By The Tide

Cardstock: River Rock, Very Vanilla

Paper: Comfort Café

Ink: Soft Sude, Midnight Muse, River Rock

All products by Stampin' Up!® 

Caturday - feline foursome

Quantity not quality today - four for the price of one, although they are very out of focus.

You know when a footpath takes you through a farmyard, it feels a bit awkward? Well it feels even more awkward when there's a dog barking at you, even if it's chained up. But I couldn't resist grabbing a quick snap of these four, staring down at us as we stomped (rather quickly) through their back yard.

Coming back was worse, though, because there was NO dog on the end of the chain... which meant it could have been snapping at our heels. Fortunately there was no sign of it and we made it back to the car safely.

Daughter told me off for not recognising Caturday's first anniversary! How remiss of me. But can you believe Caturday has been going for more than a year?

By the Tide masculine card and Father's Day class reminder

Here’s another card I made on the way to finalising the Father’s Day class projects. I liked this set a lot when I started using it, but now I REALLY love it and I think you will too. I am quite chuffed with the projects we’ll be making, as well, so be sure to secure your place on this class before it’s all booked up. We’ll be making a fancy fold card, a standard fold card (not this one) and a box with tag. There are only a few places left before we run out of tables in the room, so click here if you’d like to join us.

Stamps: By the Tide

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Midnight Muse

Paper: Comfort Café

Ink: Midnight Muse, Cajun Craze, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit

All products by Stampin' Up!®

More free products for you

Want more money to spend on Stampin’ Up!® stuff? Consider it done.

There are two ways you can get more with this fab new offer, which runs from today until 30^th May.

Hostess offer

Hold a party which reaches £250 or more during the offer period and get an extra £25 of free products. Normally, a £250 party would earn you £40 of hostess benefits, so during the offer you would get £65 of freebies! No time for a party? Hold a catalogue party – simply collect the orders and you will get the hostess rewards. If you’d like to book a party – catalogue or real – please get in touch asap, as my diary is already pretty full for April and May.

Recruiting offer

Kicking yourself because you didn’t sign up during Sale-a-Bration when the offer was on? Well there’s no time for regrets as if you sign up during this offer period you will get an extra £25 of craft products in your Starter Kit. The cost is £99 and you’ll get to choose £155 of craft products – plus you’ll get a business pack (catalogues, order forms etc) worth £45 to help you get your business up and running. If you’d like more information, please contact me – or simply click this link to join my team immediately!

By the Tide masculine tag - Father's Day class reminder

Great colours and a fab stamp set. Put ’em together and what have you got? Some of the ingredients for a set of gorgeous masculine projects perfect for Father’s Day, or for any other man in your life.

This is not one of the projects we’ll be making at my Father’s Day class; it’s one I made and rejected along the way. Nothing wrong with it other than the tag is too big for the box we are making... but I’m sure it will come in handy for something else.

I love the By the Tide stamp set – I’m a sucker for anything seaside-y – and the colours in the Comfort Café DSP (not used in this project) lend themselves perfectly both to this set and to masculine projects. Yes I know the designs are flowery, but the colours are masculine and there are geometric designs on the back.

Anyway, just wanted to show you this tag but mainly remind you that registration is open for my Father’s Day Class and that it’s about half full now, so you’d better hurry if you want to come along. Please click here to register.

Stamps: By the Tide, Itty Bitty Banners

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit

Ink: Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze

Accessories: Two Tags die, Linen Thread, Bitty Banners framelits, Naturals Buttons, Scallop Edge Punch

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Caturday - Lily

Apparently Lily has never featured on Caturday, which I found hard to believe as she is one of the longer-term residents at the cat shelter. But daughter informs me that Lily may have a home, which is great news for this gentle old lady. She's not the sort of cat who would get homed easily as she is very old, deaf, possibly has arthritis and her fur isn't in the best condition. Not to mention the lump on her head from when she fell off the shed roof. But she's very friendly and even has the occasional moments of frivolity, chasing a toy mouse. So my fingers are very tightly crossed that Lily's new home does come to pass and she can spend her last days in a loving home.

Oh Hello card to say goodbye to retiring colours

Another mix of old and new – these colours are ALL going and are only available while stocks last, so don’t delay with your order!

The “new” is the Oh, Hello stamp set, from the current  Spring/Summer catalogue. I feel I’ve neglected this catty a little with all the excitement of Sale-a-Bration, but plan to put that right from now on.

The medallion was something I found in the scraps box and was a leftover from a project I made with the Perfect Pennants die.

Stamps: Oh Hello

Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Perfect Pennants die, Scallop Edge Pounch, Crochet Trim, 1 ¾” circle punch, 2 3/8” scallop circle punch (behind medallion), Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Oh Hello sympathy card with paper doilies

Another colour combination that will be no more with the Colour Refresh, so get ordering now if you want to stock up! Please note, that some items are sold out already, and will NOT be restocked – check the list on the left, which I will try to keep updated as much as possible.

This combo is Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze and Certainly Celery. I have to confess I won’t miss Certainly Celery as it’s being replaced with Pear Pizzazz, which I really love. You’ve probably noticed that I prefer stronger colours to subtle shades, so the switch is perfect for me.

This is a sympathy card for a friend, although I’ve only just found out about the bereavement so it’s a little late. I used a combination of old and new products again – old colours, and a new stamp set and doilies from the Spring/Summer catalogue. I stuck the Celery stip to the Not Quite Navy layer before running it through the embossing folder, which is why the pattern fits so perfectly! Here’s the list...

Stamps: Hopeful Thoughts, Oh Hello

Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery

Accessories: Two Tags die, Honeycomb Embossing Folder, Scallop Edge Punch, Island Indigo Baker’s Twine, Paper Doilies

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Summer Silhouettes and farewell to retiring colours

These are three colours that I’m going to miss when they fall victim to the Colour Refresh (click banner for details): Riding Hood Red, Not Quite Navy and River Rock. So I dug them out to have one last play before they go, mixing the old with the new; retiring colours with Spring/Summer catalogue products. Don't forget, if you want products in any of the retiring colours, they're only available while stocks last, so please don't delay.

In fact, on that topic, remember I told you the Watercolour Wonder crayons and Watercolour Pencils are going for good, due to a supplier issue? These, too, are only available while stocks last and unfortunately the pencils have all gone, as have the crayons in Neutrals and Regals. Doh!

Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Oh Hello

Cardstock: River Rock, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red, River Rock

Accessories: Corner Rounder, Basic Rhinestones, Paper Doilies

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Collage Curios with Comfort Café

Oooh, I do love Summer Starfruit – especially paired with Midnight Muse. Here’s a card I made the other day using Collage Curios, plus some bits and bobs I found in the scraps box.

Stamps: Collage Curios

Cardstock: Summer Starfruit, Sahara Sand, Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze

Paper: Comfort Café

Ink: Midnight Muse, Sahara Sand, Summer Starfruit

Accessories: Itty Bitty Punches, Basic Pearls, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, crochet trim

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Storytime Friends - cat get well card

This is the last card from my Storytime Friends session. Naturally, this is my favourite stamp from the set!

I sent this to my friend and downline, Donna, who has been really poorly recently – but not so poorly that she couldn’t keep nagging me for a card! Donna’s a cat-lover, too, so this stamp set is perfect for her.

Yes, there’s Crumb Cake AND Sahara Sand on there, which is shocking, I know... but I was using up scraps. The image is coloured with Watercolor Wonder crayons - which are being discontinued. If you love colouring, you really should get these before they go. My personal recommendations would be the Brights because they show up really well and the Neutrals because they're great for skin tones and animal shades. Get them while you can!

Stamps: Storytime Friends

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla

Paper: Comfort Café

Ink: Black StazOn®

Accessories: Neutrals Buttons, Naturals Buttons, Linen Thread, Crochet Trim, Watercolour Wonder™ crayons, blender pen, ¾” circle punch, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Caturday - Pippa

Brace yourselves... this is Pippa, not the prettiest cat in the world but she's very affectionate. Want to adopt her?  I think she's still looking for a home!

Colour refresh - new colours and the return of some old favourites

Three years ago, Stampin’ Up!® totally overhauled our colour collections in a Colour Renovation. The changes were big and there were some tears as we waved goodbye to old friends, but ultimately it was exciting and we loved the new colour collections.

But time goes on and trends change. As promised three years ago, there would be further changes in 3-5 years’ time but they wouldn’t be as drastic.

If you’ve not worked out what I’m going to say next, you probably need another cup of coffee! Yes, we have another change to our colour offering... this time in a smaller but equally exciting Colour Refresh!

Yes, we will have to say goodbye to some old favourites – Baja Breeze for one – but we will get to keep some of our much-loved In Colors and welcome back some more!

So say cheerio to Certainly Celery but a warm hello to Pear Pizzazz. I’m delighted about this change as Pear trumps Celery for me every time and I know I’m not alone. It’s goodbye to Not Quite Navy but we get to keep Island Indigo. I love them both so don't really mind. 

Tell you what, you take a look at the chart while I blow my nose (yep, I have another cold).

I'm back... and now here’s the really important bit: If you wish to purchase anything in any of the discontinuing colours, please act fast as they are only available while stocks last. There is no guarantee that they will be available all the way to the end of the catalogue period (30^th June), so please don’t delay as I really don’t like to disappoint anybody. 

Already out of stock

Watercolour Pencils
Watercolour Wonder Crayons - Regals
Watercolour Wonder Crayons - Neutrals

More Mustard ink refill
Not Quite Navy ink refill

Bashful Blue cardstock
Baja Breeze cardstock
Bravo Burgundy cardstock
Pretty in Pink cardstock
Not Quite Navy cardstock

Storytime Friends with Comfort Café DSP

There have been some more additions to the team recently, after Stampin’ Up!® extended the Sale-a-Bration recruiting offer to the end of March. This brings our team SAB recruiting total to an amazing 20! We’ve never had such a huge influx of new members to our little team, and I couldn't be more pleased.

To welcome our new members, I sent off a hand-stamped card, but you know me, I get bored making the same thing twice, so just had to vary them a little.

I used Storytime Friends, as it’s sooooo cute and has a stamp for many occasions. “Hooray!” definitely sums things up when you join Stampin’ Up! as it’s a very exciting time.

Stamps: Storytime Friends

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla

Paper: Comfort Café

Ink: Black StazOn®

Accessories: Neutrals Buttons, Naturals Buttons, Linen Thread, Crochet Trim, Watercolour Wonder™ crayons, blender pen, ¾” circle punch

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Storytime Friends baby card

Well it’s April Fool's Day today but it’s no joke that it’s actually snowing. Yes, again. Very fine snow that’s not settling but snow nonetheless.

As going outside is simply out of the question, I spent yesterday afternoon stamping. I had quite a list of people who needed cards that I didn’t have in my stash, starting with this one, to welcome baby Harvey into the world. It’s a “reimagining” (really don’t like that word) of my Convention swaps from last year, changed to feature subtle colours for a baby. I really do love this stamp set, as will become clear over the next few days!

Stamps: Storytime Friends

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla

Ink: Black StazOn®

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Corner Rounder, Itty Bitty Punches, Large Scallop Circle Punch, Watercolour Wonder™ crayons, blender pen, Basic Pearls, Crochet Trim

All products by Stampin' Up!®