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I am currently without internet access and have a very dodgy phone line at home, so am currently unable to update my blog or read my emails. Hopefully normal service will be resumed shortly. If you have any urgent queries, please give me a call.

CASEd from the catty

This is one of my favourite cards of the moment – and I completely copied it from the current Idea Book and Catalogue. That’s why it’s called an Idea Book! My inspiration came from page 58, which uses the Nature’s Nest stamp set. I don’t have that, but the idea was perfect for Bliss.

I guessed the colours in the catalogue sample but got it wrong. I should have checked here, where you can see recipes for all the samples in the catalogue. It seems they are the surprising combo of Concord Crush, More Mustard, Old Olive and Soft Suede. I used similar colours: Elegant Eggplant, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi and Pumpkin Pie. A bit freaky but I like it!

I stamped the big flourish from Bliss in Crumb Cake on the large Very Vanilla tag. I inked up the edges using the flat stamp from the Distressing Essentials kit on my Crumb Cake ink pad. The Crumb Cake piece is actually two torn pieces – I just couldn’t get the shape right in one go but, as the late, great Eric Morecambe would have said,  you can’t see the join.

The final touch is of course my much-loved Colour Spritzer, this time with an Elegant Eggplant marker. This is such a fun too to have!

Stamps: Bliss (SAB)

Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Newsprint

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Regals buttons, linen thread, paper piercing tool, mat pack

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Blissful butterfly

For this project, I was playing around with my new Distressing Essentials kit and my new Sale-A-Bration set, Bliss. Both were free! The first as my hostess benefits on a £150 order (yes, demonstrators get hostess benefits, too!) and the second because my part of the order came to more than £45 (yes, demonstrators get Sale-A-Bration freebies, too!)

So I set to work, ageing my paper and playing around, although I didn’t want to go too far for this card.

First let me tell you what’s in the Distressing Essentials Kit. It’s on page 103 of the catalogue (I’m telling you this because it’s just taken me ages to find it!) and it contains:

- four ink spots in Tea Stained, Charcoal, Mahogany and Night of Navy

- one small flat stamp for blending inks, reverse stamping etc

- one sanding block for distressing paper and cardstock

- one emery board for distressing and sanding small areas

- three precision files for distressing cardstock and for sanding around chipboard etc

First I aged the piece of Very Vanilla cardstock by applying Tea Stained ink using the flat stamp. I used it in a circular motion and was surprised that it created a very different look to both sponging and to the Direct to Paper technique (where you use the ink pad directly on the paper). It’s a much softer look. I did the same on the piece of Newsprint DSP.

Next I stamped the large flourish from Bliss in Tea Stained. Because the stamp is large and the ink pad small, I lay the stamp on its back and inked it by applying the pad to the stamp, rather than the other way round. And because I had chosen the unmounted option, I could stamp in the centre of the cardstock very easily.

I inked the butterfly stamp with a Real Red marker, then applied some Mahogany ink. I did this by inking the flat stamp with Mahogany and applying it on top of the red. This way, the ink pad didn’t get contaminated. And I got to use the flat stamp again in a different way.

I cut the butterfly out (badly, as you can see) and popped it up with Dimensionals, distressed around the Very Vanilla cardstock with the files and mounted it on a piece of Early Espresso. Added twine.

Next I stamped “Bliss” in the bottom right hand corner using Mahogany Ink.

Finally, I spritzed the whole card using the Color Spritzer Tool and the Real Red marker.

Now then, this should really have a piece of another colour cardstock on the card, because there was supposed to be a magic formula. I’ll tell you anyway. Here’s your shopping list:

Distressing Essentials            £14.95

Colour Spritzing Tool            £9.95

Newsprint Designer Series Paper            £8.75

Pack assorted A4 cardstock (which I forgot to use!)            £6.25

Stampin’ Write Marker (Getting Started colours)            £2.95

Linen Thread            £3.75

This little lot comes to a total of £46.60 and, if you order before the end of February, you can have Bliss, which is a Sale-A-Bration set, completely FREE.

Bliss stamp set            SAB            FREE

• All products by Stampin' Up!®

Ladybird treat holders

This was another of the punch projects we made at my recent Punch Pals class. By the way, there are still lots of places on my forthcoming classes - I picked a duff date and lots of my regulars can't make it, so why not come along and try it? We're in the Amber Valley area, about 20 mins from Derby

I totally CASEd this from this project I found on the internet.

It’s a little favour box which you can fill with anything red – perfect for Valentine’s Day! As you can see, I haven’t got round to filling it yet. You pull the head out to reveal a circular hole at the back, so you can fill it and, of course, empty it again.

The body is made from two circles of about 2”. I used a die-cutting machine to make these but you could draw around a small cup or similar. In the centre of one of the circles, punch a 1 ¾” circle. To find the centre, I punched first from scrap paper and use this to stick on the larger circle as a template. This shows you exactly where to punch to create an even border.

In the other 2” circle, we punched a 1” circle from the centre. Again, we punched a 1” circle from scrap paper first and laid it on the large circle as a guide.

The head is a 1 ¼” circle of black cardstock. Next take the black cardstock you’ve left behind and punch a narrow crescent shape from it with the same circle punch. You can cut this in half to create two antennae.

The head is attached to a large tag punched in red. This is the loose part which pulls out.

The important thing to remember for this project is this: when you peel off the backing from the treat cup, you must leave some of the backing behind. The cup does not need to be stuck all the way round – there must be a gap for the head/tag piece to slide in and out.

Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White

Punches: 1 ¾” circle, 1 ¼” circle, ¼” circle (retired)

Accessories: Sweet Treat Cup, Black journaling pen

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Still using Kelly's stamps...

“So what other stamp sets have you brought with you then?” I asked Kelly at our stamping session recently. Great news: she had For Everything with her! Another set I’ve been hanging my nose over but resisted... so far.

So I made this card, with beautiful Marina Mist and Early Espresso – gorgeous colour combo! The main images are stamped in Early Espresso and coloured with blender pens, picking up ink from ink pad lids. 

Stamps: For Everything

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Whisper White

Ink: Early Espresso, Marina Mist

Accessories: Scallop Trim Border punch, blender pens

All products by Stampin' Up!

Phone fixed!

Phone line fixed, hurrah! Actually the BT man had fixed it by 8.30am yesterday but I had a really busy day and then discovered that my internet connection was so slow and erratic that I gave up trying to use it. I did manage to pull in a little bit of crafting with my lovely downline Kelly, but neither of our mojos were flowing yesterday for some reason! Still, the biccies were nice...

Onto today’s project... I know this set is called Sweet Summer but it makes me think of spring, so I dug out springy Bashful Blue cardstock and lovely Certainly Celery ribbon from the Subtles Collection. But I do like a dark colour so I couldn’t help teaming them with Early Espresso, just to give the card a bit of “weight”.

Want this lovely set for free? You know what to do...

Stamps: Sweet Summer (SAB), Sincere Salutations

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Early Espresso

Ink: Early Espresso, Certainly Celery

Accessories: ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon  - Certainly Celery, blender pens, Scallop edge punch

All products by Stampin' Up!®            

No email shocker!

I am typing this from my Mum's but I just wanted to let everyone know that our phone line is dead at home so I cannot read or reply to my emails. However, if you phone me, your call will be diverted to my mobile at no extra charge to you.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Spotlight on... Punch Bunch

Look at this gorgeous stamp set - isn't it cute? Each one of these stamps fits inside one of our punches, hence the name: Punch Bunch.

You can't buy this set, as I'm sure you're aware by now. But you can earn it for FREE if you place a £45 order.

Don't know what to buy? Or, at least, open to suggestion? Good news! I have put together a list of co-ordinating products for each of the Sale-A-Bration stamp sets. Each shopping list comes to £45 or just over, so you can add the stamp set for free.

Please click here to view the document - it should open as a PDF in Google Docs.

PS: If you're a UK demonstrator, please feel free to print off and use this flyer in your own classes and workshops. Please also feel free to direct people to my blog!!!

A hint of In Color

I had a lovely Bank Holiday Monday at the beginning of the month, stamping with some of my crafty friends. And one of the best things about crafting with friends is seeing what they are making and borrowing their supplies!

I couldn’t help noticing that Kelly was using all In Color cardstock... which is something I haven’t used yet. Of course, when Kelly uses something, everybody wants it  because she makes such lovely projects, so I scrounged a piece of Peach Parfait to team with Old Olive and Pretty in Pink. She had the markers with her, too, so I could colour the toadstools (from Kelly’s Funky Four set) individually. Oh, and I borrowed her punch, too!

Stamps: Funky Four

Cardstock: Old Olive, Peach Parfait, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Ink: Old Olive

Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch, In Color Markers, Old Olive marker, ¼” taffeta ribbon – Old Olive

All products by Stampin' Up! 

Roaring success?

Another of my internet finds when searching for inspiration for my Punch Pals class. I got the idea for this clever card from an American demonstrator called Tami White. Here’s her version. Honestly, I’d never have thought of using an upside-down heart to create a lion’s body all on my own! (I did, however, adapt the lion’s face to make him a bit more “fuzzy”)

The biggest trouble I had with this card was finding something small and yellow to fit inside. I could have sorted through a bag of M&Ms, Skittles or similar to find the yellow ones, but I was trying to cater for 12 people at my class and even I’m not that dedicated! I scoured the aisles of several supermarkets, as well as my beloved Home Bargains, and eventually settled on lemon bonbons.

I opened them at the class to discover, horror of horrors, that they were too big! I couldn’t even fit one in! So everyone took their card home to fill later. I gave up looking and used white chocolate chips in the end.

To get to said chips, you open the card to reveal a perforated section which you can poke your finger through to make a hole.  This will leave the front of the card unspoiled. We used the cutter kit, which has a perforation tool, but you could easily use your paper piercer to create dotted lines.

So, to the lion at last: his head is created with the Scallop Circle Punch. You attach the scallop circle to a piece of scrap paper and put it back into the punch, twisted slightly so you get this lovely rosette or, in this case, lion’s mane.

The ears are the wings from the bird punch. The face is the largest flower from Boho Blossoms, with one petal cut off. The middle flower from the same punch is punched in Pretty in Pink – you cut two petals off; one for the nose and one for the tongue.  The bird punch is used again to create the tail – it’s the branch with all but the end leaf cut off! Punch it again in brown to create the tail tip.  I do love this lion!

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink

Paper: Woodland Walk

Punches: Scallop Circle Punch, ½” circle, ¼” circle, Boho Blossoms, Bird, Scallop Trim Border, Large Heart

Accessories: Heart Treat Cup

All products by Stampin' Up!