Flowering Desert week: A colourful start

Okay, let’s have a Flowering Desert week with a post every weekday to celebrate this much-neglected stamp set from the Spring/Summer catalogue.

When I first saw this set, I loved it... but I knew it wouldn’t be a big seller as I do tend to favour the slightly off-the-wall stamp sets. So if you’ve rejected this set out of hand, this week I am going to attempt to change your mind by sharing the cactus love.

I found the idea of sponging a sun from US demonstrator Mary Fish, and this colourful combo uses some of my favourite bright colours and In Colors... what could be cheerier?

Sneak peek: Amazing Life

Christmas is over, crafting-wise... and it’s all about looking forward from now on because, as a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator, I am now able to order from the upcoming Spring/Summer catalogue!

But those of us who attended OnStage have had a head start, with the items we were allowed to order early and with all the gifts we were given on the day. This was one of them – a lovely stamp set called Amazing Life.

I made this fun card using the new set, the Stamparatus (for perfect positioning of the cakes) and my Stampin’ Blends. What do you think? Will this set be on your wish list?

Flying Home - which do you prefer?

Crafty Friday – a class I run on the first Friday of the month – is a relaxed affair, sometimes with me making it up as we go along. 

This month for one of our projects I gave the ladies a choice of making the card above or the card below... which has a couple of subtle differences. 

Leaf background or Pinewood Planks background? Bermuda Bay birds? Or Rich Razzleberry birds? Which do you prefer? 

The stamp set is called Flying Home and is from the new Spring/Summer catalogue. I was lucky to receive a copy of this set at the Centre Stage event at OnStage in Solihull last autumn, and it's just perfect if you enjoy the relaxation of colouring. 

Petal Palette thank you card

A straight CASE of a project from Stampin’ Success, the quarterly newsletter we receive as demonstrators, this project uses the new Petal Palette stamp set from the Spring/Summer catalogue.

Sale-a-Bration 2018 and Spring/Summer catalogue go live!

Sale-a-Bration has begun! 

Here’s the brochure link

And here’s how it works...

SPEND £45 and choose a free item from the brochure - marked with this symbol:

SPEND £90 and choose TWO free items with the above logo, or one marked with this symbol:

HOST a party and if your total reaches £200, you get an extra £20 in Stampin’ Rewards!

JOIN as a demonstrator, and choose TWO STAMP SETS from the Annual Catalogue or Spring/Summer catalogue to add to your Starter Kit

(There are even rewards for being a demonstrator, too... as well as the opportunity to earn free SAB items along the way)

Here’s the link to the brand new Spring/Summer catalogue

Mix It Up Monday: Lift Me Up

If you want to know what my kind of colours are, they are not these. These couldn’t be further from my taste if they tried. But, in the spirit of Mix It Up Monday and my bid to use every single colour combination from my In Color charts, I thought I’d better give it a go. 

I’ve seen some nice cards made with this set in subtle shades so they were my inspiration, but I can’t say I’m thrilled with my output. Great stamp set though, lovely dies… and nice colours if you like that sort of thing. 

Exciting times... Sale-a-Bration begins and a new catalogue, too!

The Stampin’ Up!® website is now back up and running! Thank you for your patience!

What could be more exciting than a whole new set of Stampin’ Up!® products? The fact that you can earn some of them FREE, of course!

I’ll keep it brief as I know you want to get browsing...

Sale-a-Bration

This is the most exciting and wonderful time of the Stampin’ Up!® year, because there are free products for everyone!

There are THREE ways to earn free products…

Customers: Get a FREE Sale-a-Bration product with every £45 you spend!

Hostesses: Get £20 EXTRA in Stampin’ Rewards when you party total reaches £200!

New demonstrators: Get an EXTRA TWO FREE stamp sets* in your Starter Kit!

*Stamp sets can be any value, and chosen from the Annual and Spring/Summer catalogues.

Check out the Sale-a-Bration brochure here! 

Spring/Summer Catalogue

As if Sale-a-Bration wasn’t exciting enough… we have a whole new catalogue to explore! 

Take a look at the Spring/Summer catalogue here!

Sneak Peek: Window Shopping

You are going to LOVE this bundle, I promise. This die and greeting stamp are just a very small part of a set which will prove to be incredibly versatile.

For now, take a look at this CASE of a catalogue project. I painted some colourful splodges on some watercolour paper. Honestly, they looked AWFUL and I considered not using them.

But when I taped them into position with some hidden washi tape and placed the die-cut piece on top (using the Window Box Thinlits dies), that’s when the magic happened. I finished both cards off with a greeting from the Window Shopping stamp set and some randomly scattered sequins. Job done.

Love You Lots birthday card with Birthday Bright sneak peek

For all those of you who have birthdays at the “wrong” time of year... you know, the time of year when birthday cards are shoved to one corner in the shop, when everyone “forgets” it’s your birthday because they’re too busy with Christmas or, worse, gives you a “joint Christmas and birthday present”.

This is for my big brother who, inexplicably, really likes ladybirds. It’s a bit of a mish-mash of past, present and future... with some retired washi tape I bought from the Clearance Rack, a current hostess set and a future greeting set which we were all given at OnStage and which I know you’re going to love.

Love You Lots Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141801] £8.00	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock [141419] £7.25	Watercolor Paper [122959] £4.50	Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad [101406] £8.25
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [126949] £6.00	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad [141394] £6.00	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad [131181] £6.00	Season Of Cheer Designer Washi Tape [139611] £7.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mix It Up Monday: Sneak peek with Lift Me Up

I have a sneak peek for you on this Mix It Up Monday… a project made with a brand new stamp set which will be available from 4th January. It’s perfect for this cheery colour combination from my latest set of In Color charts. 

The stamp set – from which I’ve only used the greeting on this project – is called Lift Me Up and featured hot air balloons and clouds. The co-ordinating Up & Away Thinlits allow you to die-cut the stamped balloons, as well as create different coloured balloons by layering different shades behind the main image. 

I’ve kept it simple here, by hand-cutting the background piece in Flirty Flamingo and layering it behind the Rich Razzleberry balloon. 

The background was painted initially using Soft Sky, then, while the ink was still wet, brushed gently with some Bermuda Bay ink to create the cloudy effect. 

There’s lots of fun to be had from hot air balloons – which I’m sure is why the set features on the cover of the catalogue, and they were a key theme of the recent OnStage events for demonstrators. 

Finally, don’t forget it’s the last day of the Online Extravaganza! Click the image below to order through my website and, if you use the code BBB4XSCA when spending over £25, I’ll send you a thank you gift!

Painted Petals thank you card

IMPORTANT: Very many retiring items are already sold out. Please check here for the latest information, but bear in mind that items may have sold out since this was updated yesterday.

At last I have a project to show you. I’ve learned two things over the past couple of weeks and they are:

1. I should take pictures of my projects as I make them.
2. I should not be trusted with a fancy phone. At the very least, I should (and now do) keep it in a very sturdy case.

I’ll let you fill in the gaps. Suffice to say, I am now once again with camera/phone and can take pictures to my heart’s content. 

Friday night was the final party for my Virtual Hostess Club… well, for this round at least. I’m now taking names for a new club to start when the new catalogue comes out, so please shout up if you’d like some information. You don’t need to live near me as, thanks to the hostess code system, we can have it shipped to separate addresses (£4.95 shipping).

I showed the ladies the Painted Petals stamp set, which proved very popular. I kept the Make & Take really simple, using Whisper White Note Cards and Envelopes as the base, and just a splash of Blackberry Bliss cardstock as a mat. The panel looks like DSP but it’s stamped. 

137146	131527	106549	133682
133643	133642	126959	119246

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Sheltering Tree sympathy card

This project is at the other end of the stamping spectrum, using minimal products and keeping things very, very simple. Despite this, and despite CASEing the project (from Eva Bussom) it was the hardest card I have ever had to make. It’s a sympathy card for a friend across The Pond who has suffered the most unbearable loss.  My card is a measly offering in the circumstances but at least she will know I am thinking of her and her family.

137163	131287	106549	131180
126957	131172	134558

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Spring/Summer catty and SAB quiz!

Just for a bit of Friday fun, I thought I’d bring you a little quiz! Leave a comment to tell me how you did! I hope it works...

Sheltering Tree desk calendar

Saturday was my Launch Party, to welcome the new Spring/Summer catalogue and the start of Sale-a-Bration. We had a great turnout and the room was buzzing with enthusiastic crafters! This desk calendar was one of the Make & Takes and I think it’s safe to say that everybody loved this Sheltering Tree stamp set from the new Spring/Summer catalogue. 

We were also honoured to have a professional photographer in our midst, so there were a few of us wishing it hadn’t been quite such a windy day! I can’t wait to see the photos and will be sharing some of them here. 

Meanwhile, here’s the rather extensive recipe for the calendar. Of course, you can change the colours to suit your supplies but I do recommend embossing the blossom on the tree for the best effect as it looks more natural with the branches partly obscured. 

137163	131292	119982	106549	126978
102283	126959	131175	126983	126981
133754	137898	122941

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com