Pop of Paradise - a dapper flamingo

Is it possible to make a masculine card using the fabulously frivolous Pop of Paradise? And is it possible to make a masculine card using a colour called Flirty Flamingo? Well I’ll let you decide, but I am toying with the idea of sending this card to a man.

I don’t know why but flamingoes and top hats and monocles seem to go together. Am I missing something? But when I saw the flamingo, I instantly wanted to dress him up like a dapper gent.  Once I’d done that, with one of the hats from Guy Greetings and swirl of a Project Life pen, it seemed there was little else to be done, so I framed the image in black, mounted it on a card and left it at that. What do you think? 

Pop Of Paradise Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141581] £17.00	Guy Greetings Photopolymer Stamp Set [137178] £24.00	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50
Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	Basic Black A4 Card Stock [121688] £7.25	Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad [141397] £6.00
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad [126948] £6.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50	Project Life Journaling Pens [135304] £4.50

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Mix It Up Monday: Swirly Bird boats

I loved playing with Swirly Bird at our team meeting last weekend; this boat card keeps popping up on Pinterest so I apologise if I haven’t credited the original creator – please do let me know who it was! It was really fun to make (thanks, Jane, for the project!) and, while I kept closely to Jane’s card, I changed the colours so that I could use it for Mix It Up Monday using a combo from my latest set of In Color charts. So I switched up Jane’s red boats for cheery Pumpkin Pie and compromised with an orange sun, stamped off. Hope you like it! 

I love the nautical look of this colour combination, and think it makes a change from red. I’m not normally a fan of oranges but really like it in this context, with the three different shades of blue.

As for the intruder on the photo above, I was rushing to take the picture as it was just beginning to rain. As you can see I was just quick enough before this happened...

Swirly Bird Photopolymer Bundle [142353] £42.25	Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set [138946] £15.00	Marina Mist A4 Card Stock [121682] £7.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25
Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad [141394] £6.00	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad [126962] £6.00	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad [131181] £6.00	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad [126945] £6.00

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Caturday: cat in a jumper!

I have never seen a cat in a pink jumper before, but it’s a pretty cool idea. This is, I think, Letty – she came from Crete and last time I was at the shelter (admittedly a few weeks ago) she was wearing this pink jumper, tied at the back, to protect her stitches after being spayed. That has to be better than the Cone of Shame, doesn’t it?

Birthday Fiesta - the first of many llama projects

Is Birthday Fiesta the most fun you can have with stamps and ink? Very possibly. Not since the ugly Santas of 2014 (Visions of Santa) have I chuckled to myself while stamping. I LOVE this set. I know it’s not to everybody’s taste but come on, some of you must get fed up of flowers sometimes, surely?And anyway, there ARE flowers on this card, albeit scattered at the feet of the mighty llama. 

The llama is stamped in Chocolate Chip and coloured by painting using a brush and water on the ink pad lid. Same for the rug. It isn’t easy on Kraft as it’s hard to tell if it’s just darker because it’s wet, but I took it slowly so that I didn’t end up going too dark too soon. 

The last time Stampin’ Up!® released a llama stamp (From the Herd) it was great… but a bit limiting as the llama was part of a crowd of other animals, which dominated any project. This llama is much more versatile as it stands alone, you can cut it out with the co-ordinating dies, add accessories and generally have llots of llama llaughs. 

Inside the card

In case you haven’t guessed, I love llamas (and alpacas). For my son’s 13th birthday we went on a mini llama experience, where we groomed them, fed them and walked them. Last year for my birthday I asked for a llama trek… and only a llama trek. Working on the theory that, because it was quite pricey, if I asked for absolutely nothing else, I’d stand more chance of getting one. And I did – and we all went as a family, walking around the Chatsworth Estate for a couple of hours with two gorgeous beasts, Django and Jelly-Roll. It was their owners who introduced us to the phrase “calmer with a llama” and it really was a very calming walk. Although we did have to stop and talk to absolutely everyone we saw. Bizarrely, one of those was one of my Stampin’ Up! customers, which startled us both and, being so completely out of context, we nearly didn’t recognise each other.

Anyway, enough about llamas. Although I can’t promise because as I may have mentioned, I do really love llamas. So expect to see a lot more of this little fellow. 

Birthday Fiesta Photopolymer Bundle [142268] £38.50	Labeler Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set [141936] £15.00	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock [141419] £7.25	Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock [121681] £7.25	Kraft 12" X 12" Card Stock [133674] £6.50
Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock [106550] £8.25	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad [141394] £6.00	Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad [126979] £6.00	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad [126966] £6.00

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Pop of Paradise note cards

I have just launched a new Virtual Hostess Club – where 10 members commit to spending £15 per month for 10 months, taking it in turns to be the host and claim the Stampin’ Rewards. I appreciate that this is a big commitment from my customers so, to thank them, this year I decided to hold a Welcome Party. It helps that I now have a kitchen/dining room big enough to do this for 10 people, although in the end only five of them could make it. 

I wanted to set a task that was simple enough not to take too long and would use all of the new In Colors. I decided on a set of note cards and, after going through the catalogue over and over again, eventually settled on the glorious new set, Pop of Paradise. This was on the pre-order for demonstrators but I didn’t buy it at the time. Yes, I confessed already that the pre-order selection didn’t float my boat, but what can I say? U-turns are what I do, so I ordered this at the beginning of June and now it’s one of my favourite sets! The pineapple looks fab - and so on trend - when embossed in copper and I can’t wait to get chance to play with that flamingo stamp. 

I’ve been on a bit of a mini flamingo spending spree lately – I now have a fine set of flamingo drinking glasses, a small metal suitcase to carry my spare clear blocks, and some flamingo napkins for my next Pop of Paradise event... all from the hugely addictive Tiger in Derby. Trust me, I was holding back!

Back to the Welcome Party. Fortunately, despite the very limited time between the order arriving and the event, my friend Kelly was on hand to create some extra bits for the Welcome Party; some samples (not shown), some little gift boxes (above) for the ladies who couldn’t make it... and Kelly’s daughter created some fab cake toppers, too (below). The cakes were a real collaborative effort: I baked the cakes, my daughter iced them and Kelly’s daughter made the toppers. Hope it wasn’t a case of too many cooks!

Anyway, it turns out my new club members are really speedy - and organised - stampers and they had made their five note cards in next to no time at all. But that was ok because we spent the rest of the afternoon eating cake and chatting about stamping. Result!

Pop Of Paradise Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141581] £17.00	Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes [131527] £5.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25
2016-2018 In Color A4 Cardstock [141434] £7.25	Versamark Pad [102283] £7.75	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder [141636] £4.50

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Mix It Up Monday: Swirly Bird twisted easel

I’ve had a super busy crafty weekend. Friday morning was Crafty Friday, but more about that later in the week.  Saturday afternoon was my Welcome Party for my new club members – a fun afternoon of crafting and chatting. 

But in between, Saturday morning, was my team meeting. We were a very small group so we just played with new products and chatted, which was lovely. Turns out we’d all ordered the same stamp set – Blooms and Wishes – but that was just about the only common ground, apart from Swirly Bird, which most of us had already ordered, or planned to in the next few weeks. This is a really popular set, partly because it was in the pre-order for demonstrators and partly because it’s so versatile. I must admit I’d completely overlooked it until I got to have to play with it on Saturday morning and made this project. It’s a twisted easel (thanks, Janet, for the tutorial). I’ve never made one before but it s really simple, just a square card with a diagonal score line on the top flap. 

I hope you love the colour combination as much as I do. It’s for  Mix It Up Monday and is taken from my latest set of In Color charts. One of the ladies wasn’t happy about the addition of Mint Macaron, but I explained that rules are rules and if it’s in the combo, I have to use it. I think she was convinced when she saw the finished project; either that or she was too polite to say otherwise. 

Swirly Bird Photopolymer Stamp Set [141749] £23.00	Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set [138946] £15.00	Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] £32.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25
Sweet Sugarplum A4 Cardstock [141423] £7.25	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock [138344] £7.25	Sweet Sugarplum Classic Stampin' Pad [141395] £6.00	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [126982] £6.00
Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326] £6.00	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad [126986] £6.00	Gold Metallic Thread [138401] £2.75

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