Thursday, 29 August 2013

Booking for Christmas class

(Updated so that it makes sense and doesn't read like the English policeman who thinks he can speak French from 'Allo, 'Allo!)

I still have no phone line and therefore no internet and am very conscious of time slipping away from me. Most notably with booking for my Christmas class! I can't open booking in the usual manner so please email me at allthingsstampy@gmail.com to book ASAP so that I can order by 7th Sept.

Details:

Christmas is Coming Stamp-a-Stack

Saturday, 21st September, afternoon, 1.30pm-4.30pm
Usual venue in Horsley Woodhouse

We will be making 10 cards - two each of five designs 
Your kit will include products to the value of £10 including festive washi tape

The price is £15 - just £10 for club members!

This event replaces my traditional catalogue launch so attendees will get a new Autumn/winter seasonal catalogue.

Typing that on my phone was exhausting!

Hope to hear from you soon! Places limited!

Sunday, 25 August 2013

Out of action

I have no internet at the moment, please bear with me while we wait for an engineer.

Saturday, 24 August 2013

Caturday: Rusty



Tiny little Rusty was found wandering the streets at a VERY tender age – far too young to be out on his own. But now he’s safe at the shelter and apparently very vocal. I haven’t met him yet but daughter has –and is already smitten.

Friday, 23 August 2013

Happy Day box and two announcements


A couple of updates before I show you today's project:

World Map 
This fabulous background stamp is now available. Unfortunate wording removed and now safe to use!
Clear-mount: £12.95, code 130345
Wood-mount: £15.95, code 130342

Wood-mount cases
While there's still a delay on the half-sized cases, the full-sized wood-mount cases are now available to order. Use these to transfer your old wood-mount stamps into lovely, matching cases which stack perfectly against your clear-mount cases. Or simply use to store other craft items, such as markers, punches etc. You get four cases for just £6.25. Code 127551

And now for today's project...



Remember this box? Here it is again, revamped with brand new papers and stamps. Crisp Canteloupe is a surprising colour for me – I really didn’t think I’d like it but I really do, especially with Early Espresso as it is here, with the oh so gorgeous Soho Subway Designer Series Paper.

Stamps: Happy Day
Cardstock: Crisp Canteloupe, Whisper White
Paper: Soho Subway
Ink: Early Espresso, Crisp Canteloupe
Accessories: Cute Clips

Wednesday, 21 August 2013

Wetlands with "painterly" background



Last night was my fur and feathers fundraiser and it was a lovely relaxing evening. I and the cats at Woodland Nook Cat Rescue are very grateful for the donations of food and cat litter, which were the "tickets" for the prize draw. And £5 from every registration fee will be donated to the shelter, too. Thank you!

We made two cards, each using a different background technique, plus a box of notecards. I was a bit unsure that everyone would get finished but they all did – with time to spare!

This was one of the cards we made, shamelessly CASEd from demonstrator Nicky Dexter. The technique is a little daunting but I urge you to have a go.

All you do is take a piece of Whisper White cardstock and “swipe” your ink pad across it. It’s actually easier with the old-style pads but you get some lovely effects with the new firm foam pads, too. Here I’ve used Soft Sky (what else?) for the sky, a swipe of Smoky Slate across the centre and some Crumb Cake or Sahara Sand (sorry, can’t remember) across the lower section of the card.

It looked HORRIBLE but I persevered and stamped on the sandpipers… and then all of a sudden it had a painterly quality and looked exactly like a beach with clouds in the sky. Great for a masculine card, I think – or if you want to send one to me, as I absolutely love beach scenes.

Stamps: Wetlands
Cardstock: Baked Brown Sugar, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Sky, Smoky Slate, Crumb Cake (probably), Black Stazon
Accessories: Linen Thread

Tuesday, 20 August 2013

Wildflower Meadow pouch





This little pouch was inspired by a swap I received at last year’s Convention. I am sorry I can’t remember who made the original, but I know she was German, which doesn’t really narrow it down much as most of the demonstrators there were German, as it was in Frankfurt!

This is my take, using Crisp Canteloupe cardstock (good colour!) and the Wildflower Meadow stamp, inked in the same colour.

Happy Day provides a suitable sentiment, stamped in Early Espresso. Should have used Early Espresso Baker’s Twine, too, but I don’t have any – eek! 

Please don’t ask for measurements as it would mean I’d have to take the whole thing apart!

Stamps: Happy Day, Wildflower Meadow
Cardstock: Crisp Canteloupe, Whisper White
Ink: Crisp Canteloupe, Early Espresso
Accessories: Very Vintage Designer Buttons, Crisp Canteloupe Baker’s Twine, Corner Rounder, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Basic Pearls

Sunday, 18 August 2013

Baby celebration with Wildflower Meadow



I made this Wildflower Meadow creation in girlie pinks to celebrate the birth of a new baby girl. It's not a traditional baby card as I was sending to the proud grandparents. I stamped the main image in Pink Pirouette onto cardstock of the same colour and then ran it through the Wildflower Meadow embossing folder to highlight the design.

I stamped the image again in Melon Mambo onto Whisper White cardstock and carefully cut out the flowers and bird, which I curled and stuck down, finishing off with some pearls.

Stamps: Wildflower Meadow, Happy Day
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Melon Mambo
Ink: Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Wildflower Meadow embossing folder, Whisper White Baker’s Twine, Basic Pearls

Saturday, 17 August 2013

Caturday: Dennis




Lovely, lovely Dennis.

Woodland Nook resident Dennis is so shy that he hides – sometimes on a shed roof, sometimes in the rafters. But we have discovered that, at about lunchtime, he has started coming down for a nap in the wendy house, curling up in one of the cat beds.

Best of all, while he’s in bed, he’s very happy to be stroked and fussed – he even rolls over for a tummy rub! If you’d like a lovely black cat who is sure to get over his shyness when he’s in a loving home, you know what to do. All the Woodland Nook cats currently up for adoption are now listed on CatChat.

Friday, 16 August 2013

New Colour Bundles available



As you know, our mini Colour Refresh has seen the addition of 10 newcomers to our core colour collections. Now you can buy some special bundles of products to boost your collections and your creativity.



Here are the details:

New Colour Cardstock Bundle – 134937 - £11.50
Cardstock bundle contains 2 packs of A4 cardstock; each pack contains two sheets of each new colour; 40 sheets in total

New Colour Pad Bundle – 134938 - £42.95
Bundle contains one Classic Stampin’ Pad in each of the new colours

New Colour Cardstock & Pad Kit II – 134936 - £49.95
Get both bundles and save!
Contains 40 sheets of A4 cardstock and 10 ink pads

If you’d like to order any of these products – or anything else! – please get in touch!

Thursday, 15 August 2013

Got the blues? Colour comparison card



We have lots of new colours, as you know – and there seem to be a lot of new (or returning) blues which at first glance appear quite similar, so I thought I’d show them off in this very simple card, so that you can compare them and see the differences. 

From the top we have…

Soft Sky
Pool Party
Coastal Cabana
Bermuda Bay

Cardstock: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Bitty Butterfly punch, Basic Pearls, Simply Scored            

The small print

This is my personal blog and my sole responsibility as an independent creator and craft coach. 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. 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 electronic files for sale or otherwise.