Busy, busy, busy

No time for a card sample today, I'm afraid, as it's all systems go for the Mother & Daughter class! But rest assured I'll show you some of the stuff we make later in the week.

Got to run now, bye!

Little Pieces

Little Pieces is the stamp set we’ll be using at the Mother and Daughter event on Sunday, so I’ve been playing around with it quite a lot lately, as you can imagine. Here’s something I made with some leftover make and take elements and scraps. As you can probably tell, I didn’t use the Stamp-a-ma-jig® to line up the flowers: I would have done but my downline Alison borrowed it for her workshop and I think she’s taken a shine too it! I expect it will be going on her next order! Although she could just be getting revenge for that Lavender Lace inkpad of hers that she’s not seen for weeks…

Stamps: Little Pieces (p53)
Cardstock: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: ½” circle punch (p80), corner rounder (p80), brads – Rich Regals® (p85)

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Trees again?

Hmmm…. trees again? Well I do love these trees! I’m very fond of greens, too, as you’ve probably noticed.

I realised the other day that I’ve barely used my En Francais background, which is a crime as it’s so beautiful. So here it is – stamped on the top section of the base layer of this card and again on the image layer.

If you click on the picture to enlarge it you’ll see that the En Francais background appears just around the edges of the layer. Here’s how I did this:

1. First I stamped the tree image on the cardstock and trimmed to size.
2. Then I stamped the image on some scrap paper (I didn’t bother to re-ink the stamp) and cut the image out roughly to make a mask.
3. I attached the mask to the “real” image using temporary adhesive (alternatively, you could make your mask from sticky notes).
4. Next I inked up my background stamp and laid it, rubber side up, on one side of a sheet of A4 scrap paper.
5. I laid the tree image layer face down on the stamp, then folded over the other side of the scrap paper.
6. If I'd been inking the whole piece of cardstock I would have rubbed gently all over the scrap paper but, as I just wanted the French words around the edges, I only rubbed where I wanted them to appear. The mask was just a precaution to stop me getting unwanted ink on the tree.
7. To make the tree stand out more, I then chalked around the edges of the cardstock which had the side effect of making the French words more pronounced.

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree (p45), En Francais (p58)
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla
Ink: Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, Certainly Celery
Accessories: ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon – Always Artichoke, 3/8” Grosgrain Ribbon – Certainly Celery, Stampin’ Pastels® (p82), sponge daubers (p81), household staples

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Finding inspiration

I found this card design in an old Canadian Stampin’ Up! catalogue that my cousin gave me. Stampin’ Up!’s catalogues are called Idea Books because they are packed with fabulous card, scrapbook and gift ideas… far more than any crafting magazine.

Sometimes when I’m stuck for an idea, I flick through the catalogue and let it stop at a random page, then take an idea from that page. You don’t need to have the same stamp set or even the same colours – I just use it for inspiration. I think the original of this card was in different shades of blue with a leaf stamp! It's a really simple design and very quick to reproduce - why not try it with your own stamps and cardstock?

Stamps: Cheers to You (p35)
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Elegant Eggplant (p86), Hodgepodge Hardware® - Pewter (p84), Crafters’ Tool Kit (p85), Watercolour Wonder™ Crayons – Rich Regals® (p82)

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Such extravagance!

Ooh, look at me being all extravagant with the brads! I honestly don’t know what came over me, I’m usually really tight with my embellishments.

This little card is 9cm square and the big flaw in the plan is that when you stand it up, you can’t even see those oh so decadent brads.

Stamps: Cheers to You (p35)
Cardstock: Ballet Blue, Bravo Burgundy, So Saffron, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Watercolour Wonder™ Crayons – Rich Regals® (p82), Brads – Rich Regals® (p85)

Edited to add: To line up the brads I used the handy little plastic template which comes with the Crafters' Tool Kit (p85). It has perfectly lined-up holes in it which you can use for piercing or for positioning brads. There are larger holes for perfectly positioned eyelets, too. I can't recommend it highly enough!

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Do you want to join me?

Have you ever considered becoming a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator?

If you enjoy sharing your love of rubber stamping, it could be the perfect way to earn some extra money, subsidise your hobby and have fun!

When I signed up I wasn’t sure if I would be comfortable standing up to talk to a group of people and leading workshops. But I decided that it was worth a try, even if just for the starter kit. You get £240 worth of stamps, accessories and business supplies for just £139, including postage.

As it happens, it turns out that I love being a demonstrator! There’s something very satisfying about helping someone who has never made a card before to produce something beautiful. And stamping with friends old and new is so much more fun than stamping alone.

To sign up as a demonstrator, you have to do so through another demonstrator. If you signed up with me you would  become part of my downline. I have a special password-protected blog - Great Stamping Minds - for my downline where we can share tips, advice and project ideas. I am also available to answer questions and offer advice when required. For example, you may want me to sit on the other end of the phone talking you through placing your first order! But if you prefer to go it alone, that's fine, too - and I would never push you into doing more than you want to. 

Being a demonstrator means you are in charge of your own business - how much work you do is entirely up to you. Some people buy the Starter Kit and leave it at that - it's worth it for the great deal and the free postage. Others become "Hobby Demonstrators", meeting their targets on their own or with friends - this is a great way to ensure you never pay full price for crafting supplies again. Some do the occasional workshop to bring in a bit of pin money... for others it's a handy sideline... and yet others build it up into a successful career. You could say that there are as many ways of being a demonstrator as there are demonstrators! And one of the great benefits is that, because YOU are in charge, you can step up your business or ease off to suit you. As long as you sell £250 of products each quarter, you will remain active. And that's usually achieved in one workshop! 

I've been with Stampin' Up!® right from its launch in the UK, and have been a fan of its products for many years... just itching to get my hands on them. I adore Stampin' Up!® and am totally committed to its products - I firmly believe that there are none finer! 

This is why I’d love to have you in my downline – please email me today to find out more. There is no better job than being a Stampin' Up!® demonstrator - why not give it a try? 

Happy Easter

Woke up to a reasonable layer of snow this morning! It's nearly all gone now though, unfortunately. It's only 9.30am and already I feel sick from too many mini Easter eggs. Blech.

Happy Easter!

Dusty summer flowers

It’s beautifully sunny outside and a bumble bee has just flown past the window… albeit rather fast due to the howling gale. There was snow earlier, too but it didn’t settle. A pot pourri of weather conditions then, which means that spring is here at last!

Never one to be bound by convention, I made some cards last night which I think are quite summery. The flowers could be agapanthus (“Bag of panthers?” – said my daughter) and I think using chalks on them makes them look soft and dusty. Details of this technique can be found here.

The stamp set is Heartfelt, which is absolutely gorgeous. It’s a hostess set and it’s well worth gathering all your friends and relations – and your friends’ and relations’ friends and relations – together for a Stampin’ Up! workshop so that you can earn this set for free!

The greeting on the landscape card is from Little Hellos, partially inked with a marker. I stamped it first and then made the little cloud shape using the Scallop Circle Punch – I punched it once, then attached the scallop temporarily to a piece of scrap paper then fed it through the punch again. You can make a larger “cloud” this way, too.

Stamps: Heartfelt (p9), Little Hellos (p18)
Cardstock: Sage Shadow, Ballet Blue, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Ink: Versamark®
Accessories: Stampin’ Pastels (p82), twill tape (p87), Scallop Circle Punch (p80)



All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Little tree (bonsai?) cards

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE this stamp set? Thought so. 

These are all 9cm square and made using colours from the Earth Elements® family. I embellished each one with a piece of Hodgepodge Hardware®, some piercing and distressing. They’re still very simple but those trees are just so fabulous that they’ll make any card look good! Have I ever mentioned that I love those trees?

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree (p45)
Cardstock: More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Ruby Red, Garden Green, Whisper White, Very Vanilla
Ink: Always Artichoke, Old Olive
Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware® - Pewter, Crafters’ Toolkit

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Using ribbon - part 5: Tying around handles

It sounds really obvious but you can really liven up a basket, box or any container handle with ribbon. This is one of those cases when more is more and it looks really effective with loads and loads of ribbon in co-ordinating shades and patterns. I've just used three pieces around this handle as it's quite a small box. Sorry it isn't a new creation - I haven't had time to make anything new lately.

You do need more than you'd think, so practise with a few before cutting lengths... and make sure you've mastered The Knot first!

This use of ribbon also looks fantastic on books and journals - you can tie ribbon around book rings or spiral binding.

You can see more ribbon around handles here and here (although you can't see the ribbons too well on the second one).

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.