In The Meadow: Retiring!

Don’t miss out! In The Meadow is a beautiful set, featuring natural images, which is on the retiring list. I love this set and have used it a lot so it would be a valuable addition to your stash. Please don't put off ordering, as items are selling out daily. 

The safest way is to order through my online store (link below), rather than trying to get hold of me as I am back at work this week so may not see your email straight away. Thanks!

In The Meadow and Mixed Drinks: just what the doctor ordered!

Last Friday I held my first Stamp Doctor night, where guests were invited to bring along their ‘stamping maladies’ (products they’d purchased but struggled to use).  As this was my first time holding the clinic, I’d asked for advance warning of the stamp sets they were planning to bring. 

Only two people wanted to bring sets, and their problems turn out to be In The Meadow (one of my favourites!) and Mixed Drinks (which, fortunately, Kelly has). Between us we created the following projects for the ladies to make on the night. 

My projects incorporated watercolouring, as it’s one of my favourite techniques; also it’s very soothing, and therefore must be good for the health! 

The first project (above) I CASEd from Jennifer Frost; I love the way the mountains provide the perfect backdrop to the deer. 

The second was inspired by Connie Babbert. The masking really makes this card, in my opinion. But I also thought that some people love watercolouring as much as I do, so may prefer to spend more time on this technique. For those ladies, I created this project, CASEd from Michelle Zindorf, and which can be created from the same kit as the card above. 

Meanwhile, over at the Mixed Drinks table, Kelly had used clean and simple repeat stamping to make these fab samples. 

The kits were provided in bags with these fun labels, which I created in Canva and, even if nobody else appreciated the joke, they cracked me up so it was worth it. And no, I didn’t wear a lab coat… although I now have one on order for the next clinic! 

After a few hours of stamping and laughing, everyone went away happy, which just proves that crafting is the best medicine!

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Mix It Up Monday: Sweet Sugarplum with In The Meadow

This Friday is my first Stamp Doctor event, where guests are invited to bring a stamp set or other product they’ve purchased but not used. So I have have kits on hand ready, I asked for advance notice and one lady says she is bringing In The Meadow. 

As this is one of my favourite stamp sets, I couldn’t be more pleased to have an excuse to bring it out and use it again. I have two gorgeous projects waiting for Friday, but this is the one that go away, which I’ve created for Mix It Up Monday using a Sweet Sugarplum combination from my In Color charts.

This is a fun technique with clear blocks, which I’ve played with many times before. You apply ink to the block with either markers or ink pads – I used Sahara Sand and Sweet Sugarplum ink pads – and then spray it with a little water. 

Press the wet block firmly onto Whisper White cardstock and wait for the liquid to be absorbed; you can see this happening. When it’s all soaked in, lift the block and you’ll have a pleasing backdrop to your main image. Do, however, wait for it to dry fully before stamping on top. 

In The Meadow CAS card

This card combines my current love of white backgrounds with my ongoing love of watercolouring. I made it for my Mum’s birthday as I know she isn’t too keen on over-fussy styles. She’s definitely a fan of the “Clean and Simple” (CAS) approach.

I love this stamp set, the dies and, perhaps most of all, the mini pinecones, which I have been hoarding since the arrived, unable to bring myself to use them because they fall into the “too nice” category. Yes, I can preach it, but am not so good at practising it myself!

In The Meadow Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140754] £18.00	Wetlands Clear Stamp Set [126697] £16.00	Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] £32.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50
Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock [141419] £7.25	Watercolor Paper [122959] £4.50	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad [141394] £6.00	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [126975] £6.00	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad [126965] £6.00
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953] £6.00	5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon [141487] £6.50	Linen Thread [104199] £4.25	Mini Pinecones [141990] £6.75	Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad [101406] £8.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mix It Up Monday: Best Birds

It’s Mix It Up Monday again and time for another project made with a colour combination from my latest set of In Color charts. 

This wasn’t a particularly easy challenge… purely because, as I discovered, I have no Chocolate Chip cardstock whatsoever. Since Early Espresso was introduced into the range, I’m afraid I lost my love for Chocolate Chip and it rarely sees the light of day. 

So this card, which I intended to have a Chocolate Chip layer to break up the two pinks, has now taken a slightly different turn. Three stamp sets are used here, but it’s not a limited supply challenge, it’s a colour challenge!

Best Birds Photopolymer Bundle [142315] £38.50	In The Meadow Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140754] £18.00	Birthday Fiesta Photopolymer Stamp Set [141500] £19.00
Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride [131287] £7.25	Sweet Sugarplum A4 Cardstock [141423] £7.25	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock [106550] £8.25
Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad [126979] £6.00	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad [131172] £6.00	Sweet Sugarplum Classic Stampin' Pad [141395] £6.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mix It Up Monday: Barnyard Babies with Hardwood

Happy Monday everyone! I’m back from a glorious week in the Lake District. And I’m not just saying that because the folks back in Derby were shivering under grey skies. It really was stunning (sorry!) – the best we’ve ever known it, and we’ve been going for 20+ years!

But I won’t keep rubbing it in (unlike all that suncream I needed to use!), because right now there are more pressing matters to hand… namely Mix It Up Monday and a new set of In Color charts to wade through. There are 50 of them this year so there’s no time to waste.

Today I’m playing with Peekaboo Peach… actually, I’m going to stop right there and say that despite my best efforts, I cannot keep saying “Peekaboo Peach” out loud. It’s a ridiculous name, possibly the worst since the old days of “Yoyo Yellow”. 

But I have the perfect solution, which came to me as I was labelling up my new ink pad. I always take one of the translated labels from the bottom of the ink pad and stick that on the other end, so that no matter which way I store my pads, there’s still a strip of colour showing. I choose the translation that’s closest to the English, or the one that amuses me most. For P. Peach, I chose the French: “Pêche Fraîche”. Now isn’t that a much nicer name? No unnecessary alliteration, just a pleasing rhyme. 

So from now on, in my workshops, that In Color known as Peekaboo Peach will be known as Pêche Fraîche…  

I hope you like my Pêche Fraîche card. I haven’t used a new stamp set because my big order hasn’t arrived yet, but I thought the contented cow looked quite happy on her Pêche Fraîche background, surrounded by that must-have background stamp: Hardwood. 

I have a little confession to make: I didn’t really use the new Layering Circles Dies on this card as I don’t have them (yet). But I figured that it’s better to show you a product that’s available than one that’s not, and really the size of the circle isn’t that crucial, so just use whatever circle die or punch you have that fits the bill. 

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Barnyard Babies Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139328] £17.00	Hardwood Clear-Mount Stamp Set [133035] £13.00	Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140517] £18.00	Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set [138946] £15.00	In The Meadow Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140754] £18.00
Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] £32.00	Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin' Pad [141398] £6.00	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [126978] £6.00	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [126974] £6.00	Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock [141422] £7.25
Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock [106550] £7.25	Early Espresso A4 Card Stock [121686] £6.50	Blender Pens [102845] £9.00	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] £7.25	Peekabo Peach 3/8" (1 Cm) Ruched Ribbon [141427] £7.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com