Masculine workshop projects with Nailed It

As a last hurrah for the Nailed It stamp set and co-ordinating dies, we used them to create this fun set of projects at my Masculine Workshop at the weekend. Take a look, feast your eyes, and if you want to order the stamp set, you need to hurry, as it’s only available until the end of today.

As for the matching dies, unfortunately they’re already history. But there’s always the option of fussy cutting...

Looking to the future though, we have this fabulous new Wood Crate die and some simply gorgeous woodgrain papers to look forward to; you can start ordering these from tomorrow!

Mix It Up Monday: Pieces & Patterns with Lemon Lime Twist and Tranquil Tide

An exciting new challenge awaits as I begin a new year of Mix It Up Monday projects, using a new colour combination each week from my fresh batch of In Color charts. 

And this year you can join in, too! When you’ve created a Stampin’ Up!® project using a featured colour combination, there are several ways you can share it:

1. Upload an image of your creation to your own blog, Pinterest board, Facebook page, Instagram or Twitter, then post a link to your project in the comments section of the relevant post on this blog.
2.  Upload an image to the comments in the relevant post on my Facebook page. 

Whichever method you choose, please use the hashtag #mixitupmonday

There is no deadline, but to make things a bit less confused, please only link projects to the blog/Facebook post featuring that particular colour combination.

I have no idea if anyone will play along but it would be great if you did!

For this project, I just had to kick things off by using my favourite new colour, Lemon Lime Twist and possibly my favourite new stamp set, Pieces & Patterns. 

I took inspiration for this project from one of my own cards, and gave it a dinosaur twist. As for the little flowers, they are punched using the Tree Builder punch from the Eastern Palace Designer Series Paper. I’m ashamed to say that’s all I’ve used from that pack so far, but I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of it soon.

Caturday: A friendly black and white cat

It’s been a while since I saw a cat on my lunchtime walks so it was nice to bump into this little fellow again. I’m sure we’ve met before; he (assume a he) was pretty friendly, anyway. When you work from home, even a chat with a cat can break up the day.

PS: I looked back and, as I thought, we have met before. He’s grown a little since then.

Sneak peek: Pieces & Patterns

Yes it’s Pieces & Patterns again, and why not? I love this cute little set (plus I haven’t had chance to stamp with anything else yet, been too busy!)

This was very much a limited supplies challenge, made with a few bits of leftover cardstock at the end of our craft weekend earlier this month. I love this little bear, but I do think he looks quite sad, don’t you?

Tomorrow is my Masculine Workshop, the final event of this catalogue period, and we’ll be using Nailed It to create a set of manly projects. Please visit again soon to see what we make!

Sneak peek: Pieces & Patterns

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: How cute is this little dinosaur? For this card, I made a mask from a post-it note so I could enable the T Rex to write with his tiny hands - I just hope he doesn’t drop the pencil as he’ll never be able to pick it up again. 

I enjoyed making this card so much, that I had another go, with a pencil-themed variation and the perfect greeting from Crafting Forever. This Designer Series Paper goes perfectly with this sentiment, doesn’t it?

50 new In Color™ combinations!

It’s time! I have 50 brand new colour combinations to share with you… 10 for each of the fabulous new In Colors! Keep visiting on Mondays as I work my way through them all for my own personal Mix It Up Monday challenge... so called because I like to mix up the colours with our existing shades. 

Those who know how slow I am to adapt to change may have spotted an unlikely adjective in my opening sentence. “Fabulous?” That’s the one. I described the new In Colors as “fabulous”? Yes! I actually like them this time. 

For the record, I hardly ever like the new In Colors™ when they are first launched. Two years ago, I was dead against them, while last year I was merely indifferent. This year, I’m straight to loving them! It helps that I’ve been hoping for a zesty lime for YEARS, so Lemon Lime Twist goes straight in a number one for me. 

Tranquil Tide and Fresh Fig are both gorgeous and rich and, it pains me to say it, go absolutely fantastically with the outgoing Delightful Dijon. Fingers tightly crossed for a colour refresh next year which brings Dijon back!

Berry Burst is just what we need to go with the brights – it’s not as harsh as Melon Mambo, which is very fine by me. And Powder Pink looks set to knock Pink Pirouette into oblivion, as it’s warmer and, in my opinion, easier to use. 

Anyway, here are some combos for your delectation. For the first time, I’ve included some metallics, as several times in the past year I’ve wanted to use them but they’ve not featured in the combinations of the past.

Please Pin and share… but most of all, please create your own projects using these combinations!

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Caturday: Denny and Jack

This formidable-looking duo are Denny (above) and Jack. They live in Virginia, USA, with Liz... who is the cousin of Patsy, one of my friends and downlines. I’m guessing from their expressions that they’re not too keen on having their photo taken!

Patsy, incidentally, is the nickname of Alison, who was this year’s Heart of Stampin’ Up!® Award Winner. This award is given to just one demonstrator globally at each OnStage event, and recognises a demonstrator who “embodies the spirit of Stampin’ Up!’s Statement of the Heart”. Alison was given the award for “her kindness, her cheerful and generous personality, and above all for thinking of others before herself”. We are so proud of her!

Here she is, receiving her Heart of Stampin’ Up!® necklace from SU CEO Sara Douglas.

 

Sneak Peek: Pieces & Patterns with new In Colors

Here are some more of the really cute images from the brand new Pieces & Patterns stamp set, heading to a catalogue near you on 1st June. I really love this set - it’s fresh and fun and different, and the simple line drawings are really on trend.

New colours featured above are Fresh Fig, Tranquil Tide and Lemon Lime Twist (my favourite!). Which brings me to...

Sneak peek: Pieces & Patterns

I LOVE this new stamp set. It has a dinosaur! Not that I’m particularly enamoured with dinosaurs, but this one is just SO cute! There are other cute images within the set, too, but I didn’t want to over-excite you so today, you just get the dinosaur, stamped in Tranquil Tide which, apparently, I’m “obsessed with”, according to my friend Kelly.

We were having a relaxing stamping afternoon while on a fantastic crafty weekend away. We spent four days in the stunning Peak District making fabulous projects, some Stampin’ Up!®, some not. This, and some other cards using the fabulous new Pieces & Patterns stamp set, were the result of a Monday afternoon chill-out session. Everyone was a little tired by then (to say the least), so we spread out and did our own thing for a while.

The view from our upstairs window. So lucky to have views like this within an hour of home.

A walk along the riverside

Since I got home, I have learned that these caves were formed naturally, during the Ice Age and were used by hunters as shelter in 13,000BC, which is simply mind-blowing. 

The lady next door's adorable puppy

Mix It Up Monday - 2015-17 finale and new catty sneak peek

It’s the last project of this round of Mix It Up Monday today, as I come to the end of the 2016-18 set of In Color charts. And, at the risk of putting my neck out, I’m patting myself on the back for making a project with all 50 colour colour combinations… even the horrible ones!

For this project, I finally have my pre-order so am introducing a stamp set I know you’re going to love because it will speak to us all. It’s called Crafting Forever and features these paintbrushes, some scissors (they even look like our paper snips!), a rubber stamp of course, some pens and fun sayings. As the mother of an artist and friend of many writers, as well as crafters of course, I can see this set getting a lot of use in this house!

The brick wall was an afterthought, as you can probably tell. So I made myself a smaller “plate” from thick chipboard, so I could emboss just part of the image. I impress myself sometimes. 

Colour-wise, I’m not a big fan of this combo – it seems a little dated to me. But I’m not going to let it get to me because now I can move on to the next set of In Color charts, which I will be publishing on my blog next Monday. Exciting times, eh?