Wednesday, 18 May 2016

Just a note with Picture Perfect




Picture Perfect is a  beautiful stamp set which involves three-step – and even four-step – stamping. Some of the images take a little practice but the flower is fairly straightforward as there’s lots of margin for error in something as natural as petals.

The stamps are numbered, which helps, but can also hinder as it doesn’t always make sense to start at number 1! But it does for the petals, so I stamped in this order, with the following colours:

1. Blushing Bride
2. Calypso Coral
3. Watermelon Wonder.

For the leaves, however, I found that stamping in reverse order worked better. Also, to simplify things slightly for the Make & Take, I only stamped two of the steps, like so:

3. Mint Macaron
2. Garden Green

The background panel is created using Timeless Textures. I cannot stress enough how fantastic this stamp set is – if you love textured backgrounds or the shabby chic look, this set is an absolute must!


Monday, 16 May 2016

Mix It Up Monday: 50 colour combinations using 2016-18 In Colors



Sit yourself down with a cup of tea because it’s that time of year again. The time to wave a fond farewell to five beloved friends, welcome in some new chums and see how they rub along with the rest of the gang. 

The new folks may take a little time to get to know, but I’m sure they’ll soon become as well loved as our good pals Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss and the other two. Sorry, that was a bit harsh on Hello Honey (although I prefer the dirtier shade of Delightful Dijon) but I can’t say I’ll be sorry to see the back of Tangelo Twist, can you?

But while they’re busy packing their bags and getting ready for the off, we can start preparing the the guest rooms for our five new visitors. They’ll be sticking around for the next two years so we’d better get used to them!

So it is my great pleasure to introduce you to… 

Dapper Denim: a casual chap, who will rub along happily with just about everyone. I think we’re going to get on just fine and we’ll be enjoying lots of outings together.

Emerald Envy: a slightly snooty lady, who is a little fussy about the company she keeps (but not as difficult to get along with as Cucumber Crush). 

Flirty Flamingo: the clue is in the name, this lady ain’t fussy. She’s like the old Martini ad: “any time, any place, any where”. Yep, she’s a tart, but I’m sure you’ll love her!

Peekaboo Peach: Seriously, who saddled this poor girl with that name? Stampin’ Up!® didn’t think of us demonstrators at all, did they? It’s like calling your cat “Bumfluff” and then burning with shame as it’s called across a packed vets’ waiting room. Anyway, despite her unfortunate name, Peekaboo Peach is definitely not as coy as she sounds. She’s remarkably versatile and will turn her hand to anything.

Sweet Sugarplum: I’m not sure I’m going to get on with this little lady. She may be all pretty pretty,  nicey nicey, but I have a feeling there’s a sting in her tail. You know the sort; a bit too smiley to be sincere? Anyway, I’m reserving judgment until I’ve had more experience of her. 

So far, fairly positive. To save myself the effort of a U-turn, I didn’t even bother wasting any energy disliking the new colours this year. I just ordered them and will decide later if I like them. I had a hunch which ones would get used the most but, when creating my much-anticipated colour combinations, I began to see lots of possibilities. So watch this space for some interesting Mix It Up Mondays in the year ahead. 

And now, what you’ve been waiting for… this year’s In Color charts. This year, you get 50! Please pin, share, enjoy and, most of all, create!







Saturday, 14 May 2016

Around the World Blog Hop - Retiring Favourites



I’m back with my second post of the day because it’s time for another Around the World Blog Hop. Yes, you can travel the globe, visiting Stampin’ Up!® demonstrators along the way and seeing some beautiful projects made with retiring products. 

You may have travelled here from Julie Davison’s blog; if so, you’ll be wanting to head off to visit Martha Lucia Gomez after this. But it doesn’t really matter which order you take the tour – all the links can be found further down this post. 


It’s always fun to take part in a blog hop with these talented ladies and I was glad of an excuse to play with some of my favourite retiring goodies before they go. Demonstrator or customer, you don’t have to pack away your retiring products forever, but I choose to get rid so that I can concentrate on new products and keep my craft stash down!

One of my favourite retiring sets (as you probably guessed) is Summer Silhouettes (available in wood only in Europe), particularly this image, and I thought it was perfect for using with the resist technique, the topic for yesterday’s Crafty Friday. There are lots of ways to approach this technique but we concentrated sponging colour around clear-embossed images. And while I was busy demonstrating subtle pale shades, one of the ladies got to work on an amazing Daffodil Delight creation which I just had to CASE. So thanks to Kate C for the idea for this project. 

Other retiring products shown here include the Word Window punch (now sold out in Europe), the Hello Honey ink (pad and refill both sold out in Europe) I sponged around the bottom of main image panel, Something to Say for the greeting (still available in both clear-mount and wood in Europe), and the beautiful black satin ribbon (still available in Europe). 

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of the tour!  Then please come back on Monday as I will be releasing 50 new colour combinations using the brand new 2016-18 In Colors! 


Julie Davison (United States)

Helen Read (United Kingdom)

Martha Lucia Gomez (Estados Unidos)

Miriam van Eyden (Netherlands)

Barbara Meyer (Austria)

Marie-Josée Trudel (Canada-Québec)

Anke Hämsch (Germany) 

Alisa Tilsner (Australia)

Liz Goldhawk (Canada)




Caturday: A Kitten


Just a quick kitten for you this morning as I have to dash off and prepare another blog post for later on. Yes, I’ll be back at 8pm BST for another Around the World blog hop. Watch this space!

Wednesday, 11 May 2016

Picture Perfect with watercolour sea salt background



I really should start writing the recipes down for my projects as soon as I’ve made them, especially when it’s something with lots of different colours on, like this one. I confess I am guessing the ink colours but I’m confident they’ll be correct!

So… beginning with some watercolour paper and some reinkers, I painted broad swathes of ink (Old Olive and Calypso Coral) and, while it was still wet, I sprinkled the ink with coarse seasalt. This creates the unusual starburst/floral effect.

The flowers are stamped as follows:

1. Blushing Bride
2. Calypso Coral stamped off
3. Calypso Coral

The leaves are stamped as follows:

3.  (yes, I started with 3 - I find it easier) Old Olive stamped off
2.  Old Olive
1. Mossy Meadow


I think that’s all you need to know. 





The small print

This is my personal blog and my sole responsibility as an Independent Stampin' Up!® demonstrator. All images are © Stampin' Up!® All content including photographs, projects and text are © Helen Read, unless otherwise stated. Please feel free to copy my ideas for your personal use and inspiration - if you are a SU demonstrator you may use these ideas for your events but please give credit where it is due. Please do not use my ideas for monetary gain, competitions or publication. The images on this blog - including blog buttons - should not be copied and used elsewhere on the internet or on CDs.