Today's card is one I made for a dear friend of mine to celebrate a recent achievement. It was also my first attempt at rolled paper flowers! Here is the card I made:

I used the lovely new Afternoon Picnic papers as the basis for my colour scheme, as I seem to have lots of the Wisteria Wonder lilac card in my box which I never use (much more of a Brights girl!). I love how it tones in with the Coastal Cabana blue and the ruffle trim and paper flowers make for a very feminine card. This stamp from the 'Feel Goods' stamp set is one of my favourites and is perfect for someone celebrating a milestone or achievement, or even motivating along the way.

The funny thing is, my friend surprised herself with her achievement, yet it didn't surprise me one bit - I knew she could do it. Isn't it funny how sometimes others have more faith in us than we have in ourselves? So whilst she didn't 'believe she could' beforehand, as I wrote inside her card I don't have a stamp that says 'She believed she couldn't ...' - it just wouldn't be right! I made the front oval section of the card detachable though and attached a magnet to the back, so that when she's done looking at the card she can attach the oval section to her fridge door and use the magnet to remind her that she can do great things - sometimes we just need to believe in ourselves.

That's my motivational talk over for today - back tomorrow with some butterflies! until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Today I've a quick post to share the second of the cards I made for my Dad's birthday. This one was from the grandchildren - a classic punch art card, which is fitting as he's a keen golfer:

This card took no time at all to make - the most complicated thing was creating the dimples on the golf ball with my Simply Scored stylus, hardly time-consuming!

In between playing golf, my Dad is also a keen gardener and has kept an allotment for many years. For some time now, he and his fellow allotmenteers have been plagued by a once tame pet rabbit gone wild, which is eating large quantities of their carefully tended crops. Ben thinks the whole thing is fascinating and spends much of his time hatching plans to catch the rabbit and discussing their merits with Grampa. Ben is utterly convinced that he is going to be the one to catch the rabbit; if he ever succeeds, I'll let you know!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Small Oval Punch, Simply Scored, Stamp-ma-jig, For my Family (retired), Brights DSP (retired)

If you're local to Northampton, you will probably have heard about the Northampton Clown - he has been big news here in the last week or so, even reaching the dizzy heights of the national press. He's been trending on Twitter, has his own hashtag and social media page - and he is the inspiration for this birthday card that I made for my Dad, who celebrates his birthday today:

I've had the idea of an abstract face with a moustache ever since I bought my Petite Curly Label Punch and decided to create a clown face, complete with red nose, specs and candy-dot topped party hat. This little trio bear absolutely no resemblance to the Northampton Clown, but were fun to create nonetheless!

Here's a close-up of one of them, showing the piercing I used to give the face shape:

Back tomorrow with the card I made for Grampa from James Juniors; until then many happy returns of the day Dad and to everyone else, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Finally, my first post using some of the lovely items from this year's Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue! This week sees us into double figures (yes, 96 days to go until the big day!!) so it's most definitely time to get organised! The Season of Style This and That Journal is just the thing to see you organised from now through to the new year: it has a 4 month day to day planner, space for jotting down ideas and plans, Christmas card lists and gift ideas, along with handy pockets to store your receipts and Christmas stamps as you go along.

The journal itself comes with a lovely embossed Crumb Cake front which would make a great cover as is, but I chose to decorate mine in colours that co-ordinated with the co-ordinating Season of Style This and That Designer Stickers and Washi Tape that I will be using on the inside just to give it a festive feel. Here's my finished cover:

I went with a fairly simple and 'flat' cover, as I wanted my journal to be practical and not have bits falling off as I put it through its paces. I covered it in Cherry Cobbler textured cardstock, with a strip of spotted Season of Style DSP. Some wide ribbon, chevron punched pieces and a decorated layered snowflake finished it off. Here's a close up of my feature embellishment:

The detail in the centre is one of the stickers from my Designer Sticker set and I included a Silver Glimmer snowflake cut with the Festive Flurry Framelits for just a hint of glitter - only because I know it won't shed sparkles over everything :-) Gotta love Glimmer Paper! I also tied some Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon to the spine to hang inside as a handy bookmark.

I have already started scribbling on the inside - I'll share my pages as they get busier! - and think this is a must-have item if you like to be organised for the festive season. Here's a short video from Stampin' Up! that takes you on a mini-tour inside the journal itself:

Back tomorrow with a fun birthday card; until then, Happy Stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Did you know that 16-23rd September is National Cupcake Week here in the UK? Not that I need an excuse for a good cupcake, but this is surely reason enough! With this in mind, I have a cupcake card for you today, but alas of the paper rather than edible kind! Here's my card:

Starburst cards are very popular at the moment, so I thought I would take the opportunity to use up some of my retired Patio Party DSP which has a number of cake-themed papers to echo the punched cake that features in the foreground. This card would work equally well with any of the current papers though, if you wanted to create something similar. As you can see, the sentiment uses a combination of one of the ones in the Create a Cupcake stamp set and another personalisation from my retired 'For My Family' set. This was the card I made from the children for Granny's birthday last week, although I must confess the cakes on the card look somewhat more tasteful than the chocolate-covered rainbow sugar creations the children made the last time they baked with Granny - they definitely wouldn't taste as good though!

Back tomorrow with the first of my projects using some of my new Christmas goodies; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

This is the first of two posts today, as there's lots of news to share! Firstly, I'm excited to announce that there is a new series of never-before seen single stamps available from today, all with a Christmas theme:

These stamps are available as clear-mount only (blocks available separately) and won't be sent in typical SU! cases or packaging; they'll be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four separately (these are available in the main catalogue).

There are 8 different stamps to choose from, starting from £4.50. These stamps are only available through 31 January 2014 and will be great for cards and tags during the festive season, so get them while you can! Choose one or collect all eight - the choice is yours.

Secondly, as today is Tuesday it's the day for this week's My Digital Studio (MDS) downloads - click on the date buttons below to link to my online store to view them in more detail and to purchase. I've also included the links to the downloads for the last two weeks in case you're new to all this and want to catch up!

This week's downloads include the new in-colour ribbons, the Thankful brush and tablescape kit and some of the Christmas stamps from the current seasonal catalogue. 

If you haven't already looked at MDS, you should really consider downloading the free trial version from my store: you get a really comprehensive trial version for 30 days absolutely free, to help you decide whether you would like to go ahead and purchase the full version for £13.95. I would urge you to download it and take a look: whatever your area of interest - scrapbook pages, photo albums, cards, home décor and more - you will be amazed at the things you can create.

I'll be sharing some of my own MDS projects here on my blog in coming weeks - if you've already downloaded and started creating, do share your creations with me - I would love to see them.

Back shortly with today's creative post; until then, happy stampin!

This is a short post I'm afraid - I've already typed this once and lost it, so am furiously retyping (I'm blaming the computer rather than the operator though - bloggers prerogative!) Today I'm sharing another of the mosaic cards from last week's class, this time showcasing the Quatrefancy Speciality Designer Series Paper:

This is a CASe of a Janine Tinklenberg card that I saw on Pinterest. I love the bold colours of the designer paper and the stamped punched images really make it 'pop'. There really is so much you can do with this product suite; this card is simple in design, yet so effective.

Did you notice that all the cards in this month's class also featured the Banner Greetings stamp set? This is an exclusive hostess set that you can purchase with hostess credits earned on a qualifying party or individual order (£150 or more). There has never been a better time to host a party, with so many lovely new hostess sets in both the annual catalogue and Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue to choose from. So what are you waiting for? Treat yourself to an early Christmas present of free crafting goodies and book a party with me today - get in touch to discuss available slots, there are still times available before Christmas.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hope you've all enjoyed a lovely weekend; mine's been great, but I must confess to not enjoying the weather; it feels like autumn has arrived with a vengeance and I don't much care for it. I am missing the Florida sunshine! Anyway, today's card is one we made in last week's Mosaic Madness class:

I've seen a few versions of this card on Pinterest and this is my take - bold and bright in Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay. This was one of the more complicated cards we tackled, as it involves two-step stamping and accurate placement using the stamp-a-ma-jig to place the mosaic stamps accurately on the white flag. Some of my ladies chose to cheat a little and stamp their images onto scrap card and then punch them out and glue them to the flag, trimming to fit; that's fine too.

I really love this colour combination and the combination of the stamps with matching embossing folder is just right. This embossing folder is one of the most versatile and the pattern can be used either embossed or debossed, each giving a different effect. One last thing before I go - I hope you like the new-look supplies list at the end of this post. From now on, the idea is to show each of the products used with a direct line to my online store. This will make it really easy for you to purchase items and take advantage of any online hostess codes or offers or simply order your items any time, day or night. You may notice a few tweaks over the next few days as I make this happen, but if you have any questions about online ordering, please get in touch.

I'll share our other class cards with you this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies used:

Last week it was my mother-in-law's birthday and today I'm sharing the birthday card I made for her, using my Chalk Talk set for the first time:

I had some of the lovely pink wide ribbon left over from the Spring-Summer Seasonal Catalogue earlier in the year and I wanted this to be a real feature of this card, so the actual stamping is understated. I really love the sentiment on this Chalk Talk stamp and for someone who is such an integral part of our family, it was especially appropriate for this card. Also, did you notice the background paper - wondering where I got this from? Well, I made it myself using the 'Mum' stamp from the retired 'For My Family' stamp set. I'm really pleased with how it turned out - and I didn't even use a stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up! I love the colour combo too - I'm really into Bermuda Bay at the moment and I think it works really well with the pinks in this card.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Chalk Talk, For My Family (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay

Tools: Chalk Talk Framelits, Extra Large Oval Punch, Big Shot, Magnetic Platform

Finishing Touches: 1 1/4" Two Tone Ribbon (retired), Basics Rhinestones

No post yesterday, but two today to make up for it! Here's the first one. Great news - the Big Shot Magnetic Platform is back and now available to order again!

This is one of the 'unsung heroes' of this year's annual catalogue, although clearly I am not the only one to think so - some 13 weeks worth of stock sold out in about 3 weeks! I'm happy to report that supplies have now been restored, so if you've been eagerly awaiting yours, now's the time to order!

The magnetic platform makes light work of cutting cardstock with framelits; no longer do you need to rely on post-it notes and hope that they hold everything in place. If you would like to see the magnetic platform in action, here's a great video from Stampin' Up that shows you how it works:

If you would like to order a magnetic platform, either contact me or pop over to my online store now to purchase.

Back shortly with another post; until then, happy stampin'!