Monday 27 July 2015

Mix It Up Monday: Barnyard Babies


It’s Mix It Up Monday again already! Which means it’s time to use a new combination from my In Color charts. But first I must apologise for the picture quality; I was struggling to find somewhere to photograph this project as it rained all day yesterday and the room I usually use for photos when it rains has been demolished!



I’m not sure if I even like the card, to be honest. It was my first play with my new Barnyard Babies stamp set and Brick Wall embossing folder, which should have inspired me but, with all the building work, dashing around and compromised stamping space, I’m afraid my Mojo has taken a holiday. 

When my Mojo goes AWOL I turn, as so many of us do, to Pinterest for inspiration. I found these gorgeous cards from a lovely German blog and set about CASEing the idea, albeit using different stamps, paper and embossing folder. Needless to say, I like the German version loads better. Ah well. Perhaps it’s because I’m a bit fed up of looking at bricks at the moment!


Saturday 25 July 2015

Caturday: Pinkerton (Warning - cuteness overload)


Seriously, how cut is that? Answer: very cute indeed. Pinkerton (Pink for short) is from a litter of five gorgeous little kittens who were rescued from a farm, where they were going to be drowned. I know. And this is the 21st century.

Thankfully Pinkerton and his litter-mates Lena, Lily, Leonard and Luca are now safe and well at Woodland Nook and looking for homes where they will be cherished and, dare I say, worshipped as cats expect to be.

And, just in case that wasn’t cute enough for you... here’s another picture of little Pinkerton... (I do like a picture of a kitten with its tongue out)



Friday 24 July 2015

A Little Thanks with Sprinkles of Life


It’s been an extremely hectic week and I’m exhausted. I won’t bore you with details but part of the dashing around has been in preparation for Peak 2015… and I’m not even going! What’s Peak 2015? This is a huge Scout/Guide camp which takes place at Chatsworth (US readers may recognise this as a location for various period film dramas, such as Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre and The Duchess). There are thousands of Scouts, Guides, Explorers, Brownies, Cubs and Beavers attending, and it’s a massive undertaking. We visited the site last night so our son could help put up tents and it’s very impressive, almost a mile long with all the amenities of a small town. It’s an international camp, too; some friends of ours are hosting US Scouts in the run-up to the event, and we saw a minibus of German Scouts arrive last night. 

A lot of my customers are going as leaders - even two of my younger stamping friends will be working, like my son, for half the week as Explorers - and I hope you all have a fantastic time. But also please know that your efforts are appreciated! Thank you!

More thanks along the way, with this little batch of cards, which I made for my new Virtual Hostess Club members, on arrival of their first order. Credit must go to my Mum, who did some of the colouring for me! (If you knew her, you’d know how remarkable it is that she was actually crafting!)



Wednesday 22 July 2015

Little thanks, little box with Envelope Punch Board


I don’t have much to show you but I do have this little box, which I CASEd from a German demonstrator called Christina, who also has a handy tutorial on her blog. Yes it’s in German but I’m sure you can work it out from the pictures and the figures: I did! It uses one sheet of 6” x 6” DSP, which makes it perfect for our new paper stacks, which now come in this size. 

I haven’t decided what to put in it just yet, will have to have a wander round the shops. Do you ever do that? Make a little box then take it shopping with you so that you can see which treats fit inside? It does sound a little deranged but I have resorted to this method after learning the hard way. So many times I have bought sweets or chocolates for a certain container (I’m thinking now of the test tube craze and those long thin cello bags) and they’re too big to fit. So then I have to eat them of course…




Monday 20 July 2015

Mix It Up Monday: One Big Meaning



It’s Mix It Up Monday again and I managed to get something made in time, which is a miracle as we’re sooooooo busy right now with the building work. I know we’re not actually building it ourselves but there always seems to be something to do, such as visit the kitchen showroom for yet more discussions, measure up for windows, discuss things with the builder etc etc. Plus I’m going to bed at 9.30pm every night so that I can be awake at the crack of dawn (not literally - dawn is about 4.30am right now isn’t it?) so that I’m dressed before the builders arrive. 


But enough of that, here’s today’s project, which is created from one of the colour combinations I put together for these In Color charts. Having been sceptical about Delightful Dijon and deciding I’d probably warm to it more in the autumn, I used it for this project and decided I really like this combo. It’s Delightful Dijon (card base and THANKS), Blackberry Bliss (DSP), Rich Razzleberry (top row of words and speckles) and Soft Sky (punched stars and speckles). 

To stamp the greeting in different colours I masked the top row of words using tape and inked up the THANKS using my Dijon ink pad. Then I inked up the top row using a Rich Razzleberry marker. But as I sit and type this I realise the folly of my ways: I didn’t need to go to such lengths as I have just remembered I also have a Delightful Dijon marker. Doh!


119702s
Stampin Write Markers - Brights Collection
[119702]
115658s
Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad*
[115658]

The small print

This is my personal blog and my sole responsibility as an Independent Stampin' Up!® demonstrator. All images are © Stampin' Up!® All content including photographs, projects and text are © Helen Read, unless otherwise stated. Please feel free to copy my ideas for your personal use and inspiration - if you are a SU demonstrator you may use these ideas for your events but please give credit where it is due. Please do not use my ideas for monetary gain, competitions or publication. The images on this blog - including blog buttons - should not be copied and used elsewhere on the internet or on CDs.