Retiring products list is now available

Going, going, and soon to be gone forever! Don’t miss the retiring products list – it’s a whopper but trust me, it will be worth it! Click the picture to see the list!

The time has come to say goodbye to some of our favourite stamps, punches and accessories. Yes, the retiring list has been released by Stampin’ Up!® – and it’s earlier than ever before, to give you more time to get your hands on your must-haves before they go. However, retiring items are only available while supplies last, so don’t delay!

Some items from the Annual Catalogue will be discounted – look out for a bargain, but bear in mind these will be the first to go! For the first time, items from the Spring/Summer catalogue will also be listed on the retiring list – these, however, will NOT be discounted.

Your best way to order is through my online store – shipping is £4.95, regardless of order size, and you can have it delivered to any UK address. Please be patient with the website, as traffic will be VERY heavy. It’s took me ages to get the link last night to send out in my newsletter. 

Alternatively, if you want to risk waiting until Friday, I will be placing an order, but cannot guarantee availability of products. If you can collect your order from me, all I ask is a £1 contribution towards shipping costs. Email me if you’d like to take up this offer. The deadline is 9am Friday!

Mix It Up Monday: Sprinkles of Life

It’s Mix It Up Monday and time for another colour combination from my In Color charts.  

I cannot tell you how much I dislike this card. I dislike it so much that I was going to mount it on a white card base but decided it would be a waste of cardstock. For the cupcake base and candles, I used a Project Life card, thinking the stripes would show up but they don’t. I particularly don’t like the colour combo because I don’t think So Saffron goes with Daffodil Delight… I’m not a fan of the Daffodil Delight background either.  Still, it’s not as bad as the first version! And at least it ticks off my final Cucumber Crush combination, which takes me another step closer to completing my self-imposed challenge. 

I’m also getting a bit restless because the retiring list is due to be released later on today, plus demonstrators will soon get to see the new catalogue – and I for one, can’t wait to see it! 

Sprinkles Of Life Photopolymer Stamp Set [139971] £19.00	Tree Builder Punch [138295] £16.00	This Is The Life Project Life Accessory Pack [138461] £9.00	Party Pop-Up Thinlits Dies [140620] £27.00
Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock [121680] £6.50	So Saffron A4 Card Stock [108611] £6.50	Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock [138342] £6.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25
Kraft And White Corrugated Paper [138317] £6.50	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write Marker [119677] £2.95	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Caturday: Pasca's back

It always saddens me when a cat is returned to Woodland Nook for whatever reason. Now Pasca is back, and she’s really not happy about it. She’s never been a big fan of other cats so it’s quite urgent that she finds a new home. The shelter is currently overrun with kittens and nursing/pregnant mums, who are all kept in various isolation areas, giving Pasca fewer places to hide. Let me know if you live in Derbyshire and are keen to adopt a loving but currently traumatised kitty.

Picture Perfect with watercolour salt technique

Here’s the reason I purchased Picture Perfect (try saying THAT in a hurry!) - I cannot resist a nice seaside image. This is one of the watercoloured backgrounds I made at Crafty Friday last week. We made lots of background and then chose one to make a card. After we’d finished, one of the ladies mentioned that a starfish would be good on one to use on one of her blue/yellow backgrounds and was silently kicking myself that I hadn’t done any beach-like scenes.

But the next day, after experimenting with my new Picture Perfect stamp set, stamping the starfish in Calypso Coral, I realised it blended perfectly with this Calypso Coral and Elegant Eggplant background. It’s one of the wilder backgrounds I created, and the salt has formed some amazing effects. 

I find a plain white card suits these watercolour effects well but I couldn’t resist adding some gentle distressing with a combination of Hardwood (PLEASE don’t retire this stamp!) and Timeless Textures. I finished off with some gold thread and just one White Perfect Accent. 

Picture Perfect Photopolymer Stamp Set [140520] £24.00	Hardwood Clear-Mount Stamp Set [133035] £13.00	Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140517] £18.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50	Elegant Eggplant A4 Card Stock [108614] £6.50	Watercolor Paper [122959] £4.50	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [126983] £6.00
Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad [131179] £6.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [122934] £3.00	Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [105222] £3.00
Gold Metallic Thread [138401] £2.75	White Perfect Accents [138416] £4.50

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

May Masculine Workshop - registration open now

Below you should see the registration form for my upcoming Masculine Workshop, to be held in May. Please complete the form if you’d like to attend; it’s in the DE5 area of Derbyshire and directions will be sent on request.


Create your own user feedback survey

Mix It Up Monday: Picture Perfect with Timeless Textures

It’s Mix It Up Monday and time for another colour combination from my In Color charts.  

Introducing the five-minute card… because I was packing away my craft supplies when I remembered that I didn’t have a Mix It Up Monday project for today.

I’m running out of colour combinations as I tick them off my charts and this is the last Mint Macaron combo; I’ve also completed Tip Top Taupe. Just one left to complete on Cucumber Crush and Delightful Dijon; and two Watermelon Wonder combos to take on then I’m done! And in the nick of time, too, as we’ll be getting a new set of colours at the beginning of June.

Anyway, back to this project. I wasn’t too excited about the colour combination but now I really like it; it looks soft and vintage-y to me, and I think it goes well with the rose in Picture Perfect, my latest stamp set.  The flower is created in three steps, as are the leaves. I stamped the leaves simply with Mint Macaron, stamping off* twice for the background, once for the middle layer and not at all for the detailed stamp. 

For the petals, I stamped with So Saffron, then Watermelon Wonder (stamped off) and finally Watermelon Wonder without stamping off. 

The background of the Very Vanilla layer was fun to create with Timeless Texture. I stamped all round the edge in So Saffron, repeat stamping in the bottom left corner to intensify the distressed effect. I added some grid lines with Mint Macaron (stamped off) and the splatters are Watermelon Wonder, also stamped off. In an ideal world I’d have made the card base from So Saffron cardstock but I don’t have ANY; I don’t know why, as it used to be one of my favourite colours!

*Stamping off means to stamp on scrap paper to remove some of the ink and create a paler image. 

Picture Perfect Photopolymer Stamp Set [140520] £24.00	Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140517] £18.00	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock [138344] £6.50	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock [106550] £7.25
So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad [126957] £6.00	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323] £6.00	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326] £6.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Caturday: ?

Spotted this cat while out walking locally and managed to snap a quick pic through the hedge. It was a real beauty, a strikingly marked tabby, but you’ll just have to take my word for it because as soon as I took the photo, it legged it.

Crafty Friday project: watercolouring with salt

This morning’s Crafty Friday class was lovely and relaxing, and we played around with the watercolour salt technique. This is very easy to do but can produce the most stunning results that will make you look like a real artist! This is what we did:

1. Take a piece of watercolour paper
2. Paint all over it with clear water
3. Using ink refills, paint across it roughly with two or more colours
4. While it’s still wet, sprinkle with salt crystals (the sort you put in a salt grinder)
5. Allow to dry thoroughly (you can speed it up with the heat tool)
6. Use as backgrounds for stamping

The effects are interesting and unpredictable; mine has resulted in flower-like images with dark centres; I don’t know where the dark centres came from! 

I stamped on top of mine, then white embossed the flower heads so they stand out. I wanted a very small greeting, so dug out Sprinkles of Life , which was perfect for the job!

And while I’m at it, I’ve already predicted that Sprinkles of Life will retire, but I’d like to add to that prediction and  divine that Summer Silhouettes will also end up on the retiring list. I have no inside info, I promise you, this is a psychic hunch!  We’ll know for sure on 18th April, then you can judge for yourself just how psychic I actually am! 

Summer Silhouettes Clear Stamp Set [126447] £18.00	Sprinkles Of Life Photopolymer Stamp Set [139971] £19.00	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50	Basic Black A4 Card Stock [121688] £6.50
Watercolor Paper [122959] £4.50	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [100531] £3.00	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [119672] £3.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50
Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad [101731] £7.25	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132] £4.50	Heat Tool - Uk Plug [129054] £27.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com