Caturday: more kittens!

Well, just one kitten here, with its mummy. These cats are so timid that nobody has been able to touch them yet. They are currently living in the cat shelter owner’s cattery, as the shelter is so full. Last weekend I was tasked with feeding them and cleaning them out and, the whole time I was there, the mother cat was growling at me. This little kitten was the most confident, coming out to eat, but the other two hid themselves away. There’s another adult female, too, who has also recently given birth, so nobody really knows how the family ties up. It’s all very confusing.

Retiring product showcase: Oh My Goodies and Something To Say

Quite a few retiring products feature on this card. Off the top of my head, products which are retiring include Oh My Goodies stamp set (sold out in wood) and the Deco Labels framelits, Something to Say stamp set and the matching Itty Bitty Accents punches (sold out), the bird punch (sold out), Farmers’ Market DSP, the Decorative Dots embossing folder and Blackberry Bliss ink pad (sold out) and cardstock! Phew! That only leaves the Mint Macaron and Whisper White cardstock! 

I made this project before the retiring list came out but can’t claim any foresight; to be honest, the retiring list never even crossed my mind at the time. 

Don’t forget, before placing your online orders, do download the latest version of the retiring list to check which items are now out of stock. And don’t rely on information you get from people’s blogs as stock levels are different around the world.

Oh My Goodies Clear-Mount Bundle [140253] £32.25	Something To Say Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134180] £20.00	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack [133787] £15.50	Builder Bird Punch [117191] £16.00
Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [133520] £7.00	Farmers Market Designer Series Paper [138448] £10.00	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock [138344] £6.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25
Blackberry Bliss A4 Cardstock [133682] £6.50	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642] £6.00	Blender Pens [102845] £9.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mix It Up Monday: farewell to Tap, Tap, Tap

It’s Mix It Up Monday and time for another colour combination from my In Color charts.  

Aw, lovely Tap, Tap, Tap is retiring, which is a shame as it’s one of my favourite stamp sets. Don’t miss out, get it while you can! It’s already sold out in clear-mount (Europe) but the wood-mount version is still available as of this morning. 

While I’m on the subject of the retiring list, there are some things you should know:

Out of stock items

Before ordering, please download the retiring list afresh. Don’t rely on the one you downloaded a few days ago. Don’t panic, nothing new has been added, but each night the list is updated to show sold out items - these items are no longer available and have gone forever.

Look for the X in the right hand column to see what has sold out. That’s not to say it’s not worth inputting the item code on an online order on the off-chance – you never know, there’s a tiny chance somebody may have sent something back and you may get lucky. 

Stampin’ Trimmer

I’ve had a few people ask me about the Stampin’ Trimmer, because many of the accessories are retiring. Don’t worry, the trimmer will be in the new catalogue, along with the blades. 

However,  the rotary attachment is retiring, along with the cutting mat (the long track) – because you only really need to replace this if you use the rotary attachment. If you have the rotary attachment already, I suggest you buy in a couple of cutting mats (they are still in stock as of this morning). If in the future, you ever lose your cutting mat (it can fall out if you don’t remember to lock your trimmer closed), please get in touch with your demonstrator as you never know. If you don’t ask… etc

And now, back to today’s project. I threw it together in a hurry last night when I realised I didn’t have a Mix It Up Monday project for today. I love this colour combination so I don’t know why I’ve left it nearly to the end. After this card, I only have TWO colour combinations from my  In Color charts left to use. I honestly never thought I’d manage to create a project with all 45 combinations within the year. 

I’ve set the bar a little higher for next year, making it even more unlikely I’ll achieve it; for the 2016-18 In Colors, I’m creating 10 combinations for each – 50 in total – which only gives me two weeks of the year off! Watch this space as they will be coming soon…

PS: Forgot to add the blender pen to the list below. No time now, sorry!

Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[140517]

£18.00

Tap Tap Tap Wood-Mount Stamp Set

[134201]

£24.00

Old Olive A4 Card Stock

[106576]

£6.50

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

£7.25

Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad

[138323]

£6.00

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[126970]

£6.00

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad

[126953]

£6.00

Linen Thread

[104199]

£4.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Caturday: Kittens!!!!

There are SO many kittens at the cat shelter at the moment, it’s hard to keep count. These are three of Mitzy’s kittens; the fourth one is black and very adventurous. He (I think it’s a he) was off exploring when I took this one. They’re very, very cute as you can see.

And here’s Mitzy herself. I don’t know why she was giving me evils, because she seemed perfectly happy to have me there, giving her some attention.

So, kitten-wise, I believe:

• Mitzy has four
• Rosie has four
• Portia has four
• Cinders has four
• There are two other cats which arrived together, both recently given birth, with three kittens between them. 

That’s a LOT of kittens!

That Thing You Did joy fold card

I wish the Grim Reaper would leave our National Treasures alone! With so many sad losses from the entertainment world this year already – Terry Wogan, Ronnie Corbett, David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Paul Daniels, Frank Kelly… and it’s still only April!, it feels like our childhoods are gradually being eroded. Yesterday’s loss of Victoria Wood was a huge shock and shook many people, including me, to the core. I found out yesterday, as soon as the news broke on the office TV, and actually gasped. What was also shocking was that several younger colleagues had never even heard of her. Let’s hope they seek out her back catalogue so that they, too, can enjoy the classic Ballad of Barry and Freda and so much more.

From my teens onwards, I watched Victoria Wood avidly and still think she’s the funniest comedian ever to have graced our screens. I appreciate that friends across the Pond will most likely not have heard of her but you will know her great friend and comedy partner, Julie Walters as Mrs Weasley from the Harry Potter films. They had a comedy show together in the early days and reunited for several projects across the decades, including one of my favourite sitcoms, Dinnerladies. Comedian, writer, singer, musician, actor; she did it all so well and my transatlantic friends need to check her out on Youtube. Stampers – largely being women ‘of a certain age’ will particularly appreciate her humour. 

As a taster, I’m sharing this gem about the menopause… 


hope these links work outside of the UK.

But if it’s a stamping project you’re after, here’s a birthday card I sent to a friend ‘of a certain age’ to celebrate her milestone birthday. Yes, it’s very similar to this project but, when you’re pushed for time, why reinvent the wheel? 

That Thing You Did Photopolymer Stamp Set [138730] £15.00	Farmers Market Designer Series Paper [138448] £10.00	Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140517] £18.00	Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set [138946] £15.00	Old Olive A4 Card Stock [106576] £6.50
Blackberry Bliss A4 Cardstock [133682] £6.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25	Linen Thread [104199] £4.25	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642] £6.00	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953] £6.00
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [126975] £6.00	Tip Top Taupe Classic Stampin' Pad [138325] £6.00	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] £7.25	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack [133787] £15.50	3/4" Circle Punch [119873] £11.50
1" Circle Punch [119868] £11.50	1-3/4" Circle Scallop Punch [119854] £16.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Oh My Goodies gift voucher card

For a couple of weeks now I’ve been rapidly trying to use products which I suspect will retire. As we now have the retiring list, I can see if my predictions were correct or not. 

I was right about Oh My Goodies – both stamps and dies are retiring. Fortunately I was wrong about Hardwood, as I find that such a useful background stamp. It never even crossed my mind that the Itty Bitty Accents punches would go, so I’m gutted about those, as I use them all the time. 

Other items on the list below which are retiring are the white jute ribbon (which I’ve stranded here on the front of the card) and the burlap ribbon (which I’ve stranded inside) but I wouldn’t worry too much about the latter... just sayin’.

This is a gift voucher card ordered by a customer for her friend, another customer, who was reaching a milestone birthday. Shall we call it 30, to be polite? 

It’s a total CASE of Sabine’s card, but adapted to suit my supplies.  The spatters are partly created with Timeless Textures, but also with a toothbrush dipped in the ink on the lid of my Tip Top Taupe ink pad, and flicked across the cardstock. Fun! I forgot to add the sponge to the supplies list but I also sponged around the front banner, to age it a little. 

Here’s a link to the retiring list, but please don’t rely on it if you’ve downloaded it, as items are selling out daily. Check the link before placing your order as it will be updated every evening. Look for the Xs in the right hand column – these are items which have sold out. And there are lots of them already!

Oh My Goodies Clear-Mount Bundle [140253] £32.25	Hardwood Clear-Mount Stamp Set [133035] £13.00	Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140517] £18.00	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack [133787] £15.50
Tip Top Taupe A4 Cardstock [138343] £6.50	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky [131292] £6.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25	White 1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Jute Ribbon [137904] £8.25
Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments [119246] £4.50	1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon [132140] £7.25	3/4" Circle Punch [119873] £11.50	Punch Corner Project Life [135346] £7.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com