As you will have guessed if you read yesterday's post and saw my 'sneak peek', today's post features butterflies - quite a few, in fact! Ever since I saw this piece of wall art by Fiona Duthie on Pinterest I've wanted to have a go at creating a version of my own. Butterflies have a special meaning to one of my best and most dear friends and she is also someone who loves home décor, so I decided to create this piece as a Christmas gift for her. Here's my finished piece:

The finished piece measures 50cm x 50cm (approx. 20") so is a definite statement piece. I used a variety of colours across each of the Stampin' Up! colour families, including in-colours, along with one or two retired colours too. I wanted to give a full rainbow spectrum of colours, particularly given the size of the piece.

For the butterflies, I used the Beautiful Wings Embosslits to make the butterflies as opposed to a punch, as I wanted the texture that the embosslit provides - here's a closer look:

You could quite easily create a similar piece using one of the butterfly punches and it would be equally effective. I'm so pleased with the finished piece - it was quite tricky to photograph, but I hope you can get a sense of the movement it gives - it is so colourful and dramatic. 

This is a nice early post from me today as I'm out with friends this evening on a cookery course, in an attempt to master the art of Indian cookery; it's the second one that hubby and I have attended (I'd like to say it's because we want to expand our repertoire, but it might just be that we need the practice - I'll have to get back to you on that!)

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Standard Cutting Pads	Beautiful Wings Stampin' Up! Embosslits Die	Regals A4 Card Stock	Subtles A4 Card Stock
Brights A4 Card Stock	2013-2015 In Color A4 Cardstock	2012-2014 In Color A4 Card Stock	Whisper White 12 X 12 Smooth Card Stock	Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive

So today is the start of the last week of school for the James' juniors, so there are lots of daily activities with Christmas in mind. I've just returned from watching my youngest in his Christmas school production, having given a stellar performance as the 'Bethlehem Census Man' (imagine town crier!) and delivered his one line with true dramatic style: "Hear ye, hear ye - census in Bethlehem! Your country needs you !" There's nothing like a Christmas production to make you feel like the festive season is upon us.

And so to today's creation with the Gift Bow Bigz Die: hot on the heels of yesterday's gift bow angel, a Christmas pudding tree ornament! Now, for my non-UK readers, you may not know that Christmas or plum puddings are a peculiarly British fayre, traditionally eaten after Christmas lunch on Christmas Day. They are eaten with either white sauce or brandy butter and are something of an acquired taste, or so my American friends told me after I sent them one for Christmas one year! So without further ado, here's a picture of the finished pudding: 

I made a few of these a while ago (tomorrow's post will explain all!) and I think they make another cute ornament for Christmas time. You could just follow the instructions to make a plain sphere out of patterned paper, but I decided mine needed dressing up, hence the Christmas pudding. I made a video showing you how easy they are to create using the Gift Bow Bigz Die from Stampin' Up!; the video also shares a handy technique for colouring your glimmer paper to match your product - did you know you can colour Stampin' Up!'s Glimmer Paper using your Stampin' Write markers? If not, watch the video to find out how:

I hope you like today's project - back tomorrow with something a little different, but still bow-related!

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Simply Scored	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Standard Cutting Pads	Chocolate Chip A4 Card Stock	Gift Bow Bigz L Die
Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die	Sticky Strip	Pansy Punch	Mini Glue Dots	Gumball Green A4 Card Stock
Gumball Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Sponge Daubers	Real Red Stampin' Write Marker	Silver Glimmer Paper	Real Red 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Another weekend of James family busy, busy. Yesterday: hairdressers, mad science parties and swimming gala on top of the usual homework and household chores. Today: swimming lessons, family lunch and decorating the house ready for Christmas. Finally I'm able to share today's post with a cute project: this adorable angel Christmas tree ornament made using the Stampin' Up! Gift Bow Bigz Die:

I've seen a few different examples of these angels on the internet; the first one I saw was on Tanya Bell's blog here which also included a great tip for getting even eyes. I'm not sure where the original idea came from, but as they are all a little different I thought I would share with you my version; I've been making lots of these to decorate the house this year and love that I can use my Gift Bow Die for so many more things than making bows. I made a video tutorial for you to show how I put these together; here it is:

The supplies and equipment you need to make an angel are listed below and the key measurements for the cardstock to make the main part which is the angel dress body are:

2 pieces cardstock: 10.5cm x 5cm

1 piece cardstock: 1.5cm x 8cm

These card sizes enable you to get three angels out of one sheet of A4 cardstock. Come back tomorrow for another project using the Gift Bow Bigz Die; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Standard Cutting Pads	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Gift Bow Bigz L Die	Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die
Sticky Strip	Mini Glue Dots	Silver Glimmer Paper	Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive	7/8" Scallop Circle Punch
1-1/4 Inch Circle Punch	1-3/4 Inch Circle Punch	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride	Punch Pack	Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker
Frosted Finishes Embellishments	Word Window Punch

Good morning lovely readers - no blog post yesterday as I had some very important last-minute work to finish, but do not fear - today there will be (at least) two blog posts to make up for it!

So today we're having a short break from Christmas projects as it's the first of December and the launch of Stampin' Up's 'Whole Lot of Love' promotion - stamps and products designed with Valentine's Day in mind, but can be used for lots more besides. You may have noticed that Valentine's-themed projects didn't feature in the current seasonal catalogue, hence this special promotion to enable you to be prepared in good time for the big day. There are some great products in this set, ranging from cute (Monster Hugs - adorable! - available from 9th December) to practical (pre-cut card and envelope sets) and romantic (check out that Eiffel Tower!) to beautiful (the Flowerfull Heart - a keeper that would look just as beautiful on a birthday card for someone special). Here are the images for each set:

Aren't they great? I'll have some samples to share using a selection of these products in the not-too-distant future, but meanwhile in keeping with the theme I thought I would share this card with you that I made using the 'love' Thinlits die: 

If you're a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator and you attended our recent European Convention in Manchester, you may well have seen this card already. It was one of the projects I entered for the Convention Design Competition and whilst it didn't win, it was on the display boards for everyone to enjoy. My other project was 3D, but I chose this card as my second project as it's very clean and simple and typical of my papercrafting style. I am in love with these thinlits and also like how they can be used not only with the word itself, but you can use the relief too - no need to throw away this piece, a real two for one! I created an ombre background in the relief - I love this technique and think it looks great when done in inks with a brayer or sponged, but also like the clean look it gives with this kind of project. A few extra pieces and a small diamante just finish it off.

One of the funniest things that happened at Convention was that I attended an early Friday evening workshop and left my two downline team members who were attending Convention with me to browse the display boards. When I met up with them later, they both said to me 'You should come and see this card on the board - we love it and think you will too.' And the card? Without them knowing it was mine, they led me to this card! What can I say? Great minds clearly think alike! It did give me a lovely warm feeling inside though - love you, my little Crafty Owls!

Check out the product links below if you would like to have a go at either recreating my card or purchase any of the lovely new Valentine's products.

Back tomorrow with another creative project; check out today's other post though if you're a Stampin' Up! demonstrator - your life is just about to get a whole lot easier ....

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (for love card):

Stampin' Up! Whole Lot of Love Products (Monster Hugs available from 9th December):

Love You More Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Love You More Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Follow My Heart Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Follow My Heart Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Flowerfull Heart Wood-Mount Stamp
Sweetheart Treat Bags	Sweet Sayings Cards And Envelopes

Another lovely day today, despite the miserable grey weather. I spent the morning at the swimming pool watching Rebecca train, followed by piano practice for both James Juniors, then lunch, more swaps for convention, a trip to the garden centre and then an hour or so in the garden planting some late winter baskets and pots and refilling our bird feeders - we are even more keen to look after our feathered friends this winter, as we have a new blue tit who seems to have made his home in our bird box and uses it every night to sleep in.

So, on to today's card! Yesterday was my nephew's birthday. He is now 11 years old (where did that time go?!) and another football-mad boy. Having just recently acquired a hexagon punch, I was keen to have a go at making a football as I've seen lots of cards like this on Pinterest. I was so pleased with the result I decided to make it into a shaped card using the largest of the circle framelits:

I simply punched the black and white hexagons and stuck them in a pattern onto Gumball Green card, then cut this out with a circle framelit and mounted it on the largest circle framelit, having cut this one by folding the card and cutting out just above the edge of the circle to create a hinge. A simply sentiment from the hostess set 'Express Yourself', some linen thread and done. Another simple yet effective card, with a definite masculine feel.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A quick post from me today, to share a card I made earlier in the week. The sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches last week really appealed to me, however whilst I had a few rather obvious ideas as to how I could use it (an ornament, a snowflake) I wanted something really unusual. So here is the sketch:

So here's what I did with the sketch:

I figured it really looked like it could be part of a santa suit, but for a santa who's eaten one too many mince pies, as his belt doesn't quite do up around his middle! The sparkly glimmer paper buckle adds some lovely 'bling' and a simple white embossed 'Merry Christmas' sentiment for the finishing touch.

I was too late to link this card up to the challenge, but I'm really happy with my final output.

Come back tomorrow for another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Evening folks! I'm back following a couple of blog-free days. It's been a busy weekend, starting Friday evening with Billy Joel in concert (hands down one of the best gigs I've ever attended!) and followed by the annual bonfire and fireworks display on Saturday night (also good, so I'm told, but as I was busy working serving hot dogs I didn't get to see much of it myself). Yesterday was more of a day of catching up, rather than a day of rest, and today we're back to it!

Today's card has a story behind it; I haven't done one of these for a while, but this is one I want to share. So firstly, here is the card:

Classically simple; I made the card to say thank you to the salesman who sold us our new car - any guesses as to which brand? So here is the story! We were looking to trade in our Land Rover, having owned two and deciding that even a change in ownership of Hartwell, our local dealer, hadn't improved the shocking after sales service provided there so buying a third one was definitely not an option. Buying a car should be a pleasurable experience, right? I have to say, after trudging round our local showrooms one Saturday recently, I was seriously beginning to wonder. I was genuinely amazed at the number of car salesmen, and women, who either ignore the potential customers walking into their store or were frankly just not interested in assisting with specific requests for brochures or more information. We visited Volkswagen, Mercedes and Ford dealerships amongst others and we were utterly underwhelmed in each. There were two garages who offered exceptional assistance and service: one was Nissan. Whilst they didn't have a car that met our main car requirements, they were very helpful, so much so that when our second car reaches its anniversary we are now seriously considering trading it in for the new Nissan Leaf all-electric vehicle - and I never thought I'd hear myself say that!

The second one was Audi. We almost didn't visit, given the reception received elsewhere that day, as we had no real designs on owing an Audi and we rather fed up with the whole thing. yet the minute we walked through the door and were greeted by Seb, all that changed. We were introduced to Douglas, one of the sales managers and from there on in the experience was just how I imagined it should be. He worked with us to identify the vehicle most suited to our requirements and arranged a variety of test drives. We eventually purchased a car feeling as if we had done something special and very much that we had been helped to buy the right car for us rather than being sold a car - a subtle, but important, difference. I'm told that sales at the Audi Northampton dealership are outperforming those of rival dealers in the area; based on the service we experienced, it's not difficult to see why. As a thank you to Douglas, I designed the above card, completely with interlocking Audi rings on a brushed silver and Pacific Point blue background, to echo the colours of our new purchase.

We are quick to share the stories of poor service and sales experiences (go back to the start of this post for some of mine!) yet we do not always go to the same lengths to share the good news stories. Well, this card is as a result of one of mine, so if you're reading this and in the market for a new car, now or in the future, what can I say - you could do a lot worse than visit Northampton Audi - in case you couldn't already tell, I'm their newest fan!

Back tomorrow with a Christmas card for this week's Paper Craft Crew sketch challenge; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Today's blog post is a late one as I've been out this evening and had a reasonably hectic day and didn't get a chance to do it beforehand. I used sketch #64 over at Paper Craft Crew Challenges as the basis for this card and I'm just in time to sneak in a link up, so thought I'd better get typing! I had a commission card request for a female birthday card that featured netball. Whilst I knew the basketball stamp in 'Great Sport' would make the perfect netball, I was wondering how I was going to pull it all together. I decided to use the PPCC sketch this week as the basis for my design layout. Here's the sketch inspiration:

So, sunglasses at the ready - here is my interpretation:

The card is very orange, but having played around with various other colour combinations this really did seem to work best (and luckily, the recipient loves the colour orange!) Any of the colours I would ordinarily have paired with Tangerine Tango made the card look too masculine and really didn't work. I did use some Real Red as an accent colour and a little Basic Grey. Wondering how I created the netball hoop and net? I simply used my large oval punch to cut some thin strips of cardstock and adhered them to each other in a weave pattern.

And the moral of the story? Orange is for all cards, not just Halloween ones! Pop over to the Paper Craft Crew Challenge page and see how the designers and other participants have interpreted this week's sketch.

Back tomorrow with news of more great offers from Stampin' Up; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

A quick post from me today as I'm keen to finish watching the rest of tonight's Great British Bake Off semi-final. Here's a birthday card I made last week, very similar to this one by Mary Fish, which is so easy yet so effective:

I thought this would be the perfect card for my teenage niece - girly, but not too childish with clean geometric lines. The in-colour designer paper does most of the work here without the need for lots of stamping. It was also a good excuse to get my bird punch out of the drawer, as he hasn't been used in a while. If you're quite new to stamping and reading this and thinking I've finally lost the plot as there isn't a bird to be seen on this card, you'd be right - but the wing shape from the punch in question makes the perfect flame for the birthday candles (so I'm not completely mad, just a little!)

Just before I go, it's Tuesday which means MDS Digital Download Day. Here's a quick look at some of today's new downloads:

Just click on the date button to go straight to my online store to download them.

Back tomorrow with another project - right now I'm off to watch the end of the Bake Off! Until tomorrow, happy stampin!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Today I'm sharing another birthday card that I made last week, this time for my daughter to give to one of her school friends who celebrated his birthday yesterday. After much consultation, we decided that we would go with something fun. They've both seen the Dispicable Me movies, so I decided to have a go at creating my very own punch art minion. Here is the end result:

He was actually quite easy to make with the aid of a selection of circle punches and I'm very pleased with the result. I particularly like the striped embossing on his dungarees and the white stitching to add definition. The hair was made following a tip by Tanya Bell of StampingT.com.au by stripping some standard black ribbon into strands and threading through some holes. I've never been one for sewing, but as far as cards are concerned I think this is about as far as it gets! The only stamping on this card was on the inside - I don't have a photo, but I used my ABC 123 Sketch Alphabet to stamp 'You're One In A Minion!' A perfect sentiment to finish off this fun card.

Before I go, a quick reminder that we are 7 days in to the 14 day 'Join Stampin' Up! for £25'. This is a once in a lifetime offer to celebrate Stampin' Up's 25th anniversary and is unlikely to be repeated. You can find more information in my previous post here - if you're thinking of signing up, do give me a call to talk about the benefits that being a part of Stampin' Up and my team has to offer.

Back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used: