Mmm...marmalade

And now for something completely different! Although I can’t lay claim to much of this project at all; it was more of a committee effort.

My daughter made the marmalade, although she insists it was “cheating” as we used some pre-cut oranges in a can, from Lakeland.

I borrowed my downline Alison’s scallop circle die to make the fabric tops.

A fellow downline, oops, I mean demonstrator, Joanne, kindly provided the stamped and punched the pieces for me, when it looked like my SU parcel wouldn’t arrive in time for my Autumn/Winter catalogue launch. In the end it did arrive the day before the launch, but having the pieces stamped ready saved me from a last-minute rush, so thanks Joanne! She used the cute new scallop circle punch, which is only 1¼” in diameter. If you already have the original, or some circle punches, imagine the layering possibilities!

The jars? Cute, aren’t they? They’re only about four inches tall and are recycled yoghurt pots. We bought the yoghurts in France this summer – they were Nestlé La Laiterie. I haven’t seen them over here but, to be fair, I haven’t really looked.  

Stamps: Mixed Medley (hostess, Autumn/Winter catty)

Cardstock: Whisper White

Fabric: Orchard Harvest

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo

Accessories: Baker’s Twine – Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade; Scallop circle die, 1 ¼” scallop circle punch,  ¾” circle punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Cretan caturday

These are two of the Greek cats at the shelter – yes, they’ve travelled all the way from Crete because there’s a shelter there that is so overwhelmed. They’re called Tiger and Bandit and they’re absolutely gorgeous – so long and sleek, with fantastic speckled tummies!

Tiger got stuck on the roof the other day and had to be rescued – he couldn’t get down because Pebbles was there. Yes, Pebbles (the one with issues) is still there, not sure what’s happening about her new home. I suppose it doesn’t help that the cat carrier which has been put in her favourite spot in the hope of trapping her has become the favourite sleeping place of Teddy.

This takes the biscuit

This is my take on a fab card by Margaret Raburn. I love these little gingerbread men and the way Margaret combined them with the new Woodgrain embossing folder. In fact, this card was the inspiration for one of my launch party Make & Takes... you know, the one I still haven’t taken a photo of!

The Woodgrain folder goes perfectly with our new Core-dinations textured cardstock. Unlike our retiring textured cardstock and our smooth cardstock, this has a different coloured core so that you can sand it to reveal shade beneath. This is how you get such a great wood-effect – emboss with the folder, then sand the raised areas. Love it!

Red pearls and brads? Yes, very easy if you use a permanent marker (I used a Sharpie). I’ve also been told by the very knowledgeable Monica Gale that you can indeed use Stampin’ Up!® markers for this... just give them a blast of hairspray afterwards to seal.

I’ve also used the new Snow Festival DSP, which is just gorgeous. And the eyelet border punch, to show people how great it was before it retired... sadly it’s now out of stock so if you don’t have it by now,  you’ll have to manage with a different one!

Stamps: Scentsational Season, Pennant Parade

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Core-dinations – Early Espresso

Paper: Snow Festival

Ink: Soft Suede, Gumball Green

Accessories: Big Shot, Holiday Collection framelits, Woodgrain embossing folder, Word Window Punch, Basic Pearls, Basic Rhinestones

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Another steaming cup of cocoa

Back to Christmas now, with another CASEd sample using the Scentsational Season bundle. It’s another one cased from Jill Hilliard – looks like I’ll be visiting her blog a lot for ideas, LOL!

This would be a great card for a Make & Take – minus a button perhaps. Yes, yes I know you all think I’m tight but really, as a demonstrator, you do have to keep an eye on costs, both for you and for your customers.

The mug and steam are die-cut. The steam has a rounded base but I cut a slit in the mug and poked it through. Couldn’t find a craft knife so used my Stampin’ Snips. Ssssh, don’t tell anyone!

The little flags of paper are from the Festival of Prints stack. I took this along to my Autumn/Winter catty launch and it proved really popular. It’s so handy at 4½” x 6½” and you get loads of different patterns.

Stamps: Scentsational Season, Polar Party

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Paper: Festival of Prints

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso

Accessories: Big Shot, Holiday Collection framelits, Regals buttons, Neutrals buttons, scallop dotted ribbon – Old Olive

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Cherries in a jar (sorry, not very imaginative)

I held my Autumn/Winter catalogue launch yesterday and we had a lovely, relaxed afternoon. I don’t have a pic of the Make & Takes and demos just yet so here’s one of the samples I had on display. Thank to the help of my downline, Donna, we had enough samples for two display tables – one for Christmas projects and one for autumn.

We haven’t moved onto Halloween just yet but I kept hearing people say how much they love the Halloween products, following it up with... “and I don’t even do Halloween!”. So I think there will be a lot more people “doing” Halloween this year!

Several said they hadn’t been sure about it until they saw all the lovely samples and actually had a play with the products. And I saw wish lists being started, scribbled out and started all over again!

Everyone also had a chance to play with the new In Colors and, of course the new-style ink pads. They give you fabulous coverage but definitely require a different technique so I kept these on a separate table away from the old-style ink pads to avoid confusion. The feedback was positive – even though one lady ended up covered in ink!

This sample is made with the Perfectly Preserved bundle – and since photographing it I have covered the cherries with Crystal Effects®, as it just seemed the right thing to do. Not sure if you can tell from the photo but the jar is stamped on a lower layer and then overlaid with another layer of Shimmery White cardstock, popped up. I am really enjoying this jar – and notice that jars are a key stamping trend this autumn. Who knew?

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved

Cardstock: Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Shimmery White

Ink: Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit

Accessories: Big Shot, Cannery framelits, Crystal Effects® (not shown)

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Abuse of feline trust?

Got a sleepy cat? Got a pen? Here's NOT what to do! The daughter just can't resist drawing teddy faces on cats' paws - the smaller pads serve as teddy paws. Cobweb escapes the humiliation because she never relaxes long enough but daughter isn't deterred by Mr Winky's jet black paws - she just uses a Stampin' Up! white gel pen. Luckily it rains enough to wash off in the grass pretty quickly.

Cute, yes...  but I think it's an abuse of trust. How would she like to wake up and discover someone had drawn a moustache on her face?

Today is my Autumn/Winter catalogue launch - thankfully it's this afternoon, as it's been a hectic week and the weekend isn't letting up either. But I'm really looking forward to showing people the fab new products we have.

If you'd like to come to a catalogue launch, there's another one at the end of the month for our new Annual Catalogue - please click here to register.

Fresh out of the pan...

This cute little card is my version of one created by super-talented US demonstrator Mary Fish. I love Mary’s fresh, clean style so am a regular visitor to her blog, even if I don’t always get time to comment.

Playing by my own rules, I changed at least one thing, although – to be fair – this card is so simple that there’s not a lot to change. So I went for a Soft Suede gingerbread man (not quite so “high-bake”, perhaps?) and switched to a different patterned paper.

Stamps: Scentsational Season

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Paper: Snow Festival

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Big Shot, Holiday Collection framelits, regals buttons, basic pearls

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Christmas CASE-fest

Playing with the new Scentsational Season bundle, I went on a shameless CASE-fest. I find it easier to “borrow” ideas from other people when I have lots of new supplies to play with – otherwise I can easily get overwhelmed.

I loved this gorgeous card by US demonstrator Jill Hilliard, who made this for her Convention swap – I’d have been thrilled to receive this as a swap!

When CASEing, I try to change at least one thing from the inspiration card, so I used different strips of paper, added some ribbon, left off the greeting and finished it off with a button and pearl. Small changes but it kept my conscience clear, LOL.

Loving these stamps and framelits by the way – and in this catty, you can buy them as a bundle at a discount.

Stamps: Scentsational Season

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Paper: Snow Festival

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Big Shot, Holiday Collection framelits, regals buttons, basic pearls, scallop dotted ribbon – Cherry Cobbler

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Pears on a branch

Take a look at the list on the left – retiring items are selling out FAST. I have never known then go so fast, so please do order early if there’s something you absolutely must have!

My favourite In Color™ colour combination – Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse – is perfect for this little pear card. The idea for the card came from my son. I was musing what to do with the pears when he suggested hanging them from a branch, and even pointed out that the bird punch had a branch with it! I think I’ve probably brainwashed him...

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved, Pennant Parade (greeting)

Cardstock: Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Whisper White

Ink: Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse 

Accessories: Big Shot, Cannery Set Framelits Dies, Bird punch

All products by Stampin’ Up!®

Corny card - and an In Color announcement

I love corn on the cob – just wish the season was longer and it was cheaper! Here’s a card made using the new Perfectly Preserved bundle from the Autumn/Winter Catalogue. I really like these fresh colours – Gumball Green and Summer Starfruit – which are from our new In Color™ collection. And here’s some great news for you – even though the In Color™ items don’t appear in any catalogues until 1st October, you can get your hands on them now so that you can co-ordinate with products in the Autumn/Winter catty. See below for the items available, with codes and prices – you may need to click on it to make it bigger.

To make this card I coloured the corn with new In Color™ markers ad stamped on Whisper White. Next I die-cut them with the new Cannery Set Framelits Dies – these are outline dies so you can see where you are putting them. The background is embossed using that old favourite; the Polka Dot embossing folder, and there’s a bit of linen thread to give it a slightly rustic look.  

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved, Pennant Parade (greeting)

Cardstock: Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White

Ink: Gumball Green 

Accessories: Big Shot, Cannery Set Framelits Dies, Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Modern Label Punch, Linen thread

All products by Stampin’ Up!®