The retirement list is here!

The retirement list is here at last! Get your hands on items from the 2012-13 Catalogue that will no longer be available after the 1st July.  Many items are only available while stocks last too, so don't hesitate in placing your order with me so you don't miss out.  Some items are discounted too, so you can get some bargains too.  The items with the red dots have 40% off, and the items with the orange dots have 25% off.

Please click here to view the retiring stamp sets.

Please click here to view the retiring accessories, including papers, card stock, inks, ribbons, embellishments, tools, punches, Big Shot dies and fabric.

This is a perfect time to place an order, or hold a workshop or private class.  On top of the hostess benefits, and a guaranteed evening of fun, you could get some bargains too! Contact me now to book your event.

Spring card class 4 - For The Birds

This is the fourth card from the spring card class. The colour combo of this card is Old Olive and Melon Mambo.

You can see the Naturals Whites card stock in this image, it has a flecked appearance. I like how this gives an alternate option to just using Whisper White all the time.

The image from the For The Birds stamp set was coloured in using the blender pen with the ink pads. Kylie showed us three different techniques to colour in the images, one with just the markers, one with the blender pen and inks and one using the paintbrush and inks.

In this picture you can see the button and the Scallop Dots ribbon.

I do like cards that involve a bit of colouring in! I hope I can borrow this set sometime and have a play with it and make some cards for my stash!

Spring card class 3 - Flowering Flourishes

Hello,

As with quite a few of my posts on here, this is a scheduled post that I wrote on Monday evening.  I love catching up on writing my blog posts and sharing all my makes, and tend to write a few all in one go.  I've got  about 15 posts in drafts at the moment waiting to be written!  I think I wrote a few posts ago that I'd finished my box set of Ashes to Ashes and Life on Mars, and I've just found that all the old episodes of Waterloo Road are on Lovefilm Instant, so guess what I'll be watching for a couple of weeks when I get the chance!

Today's share is another card that I made a couple of weeks ago at the Spring card class.  I enjoyed making this card, as I got to try a stamp set that I'd never really paid much attention to in the catalogue, or had a play with.  There's so much choice these days, it's nearly impossible to use them all, let alone own them all (in my dreams!)  The stamp set is called Flowering Flourishes, and can be found on page 121 of the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.

We stamped the Flowering Flourishes stamp onto Very Vanilla using Crumb Cake ink, and then sponged the edges too.  The Happy Birthday Wishes sentiment is from Petite Pairs, and was stamped in Early Espresso and punched out with the Extra Large Oval Punch.  Two circles were punched out using the circle punches (I'm afraid I don't know what sizes we used, I was too busy making them into flowers!), which were cut with the paper snips into a spiral and then twisted to form a flower.

Spring card class 2 - Bees

Hi,

Here's the second card that I made at the Spring card class a few weeks ago. For the background, we used Whisper White and Basic Black card stock, and embossed Daffodil Delight using the Honeycomb embossing folder with the Big Shot. The sentiment is from Friendly Phrases, and was stamped onto Whisper White with Stazon ink, as we were advised at the class that its less likely to bleed in the way that the Basic Black inkpad can sometimes do on the white card. The bees are from the Spring Sampler stamp set, these were also stamped with Stazon ink, and were coloured with the markers. Dazzling Diamonds was placed on the wings to give a little sparkle. They were punched out using the 1" Circle punch, and one was mounted onto a background punched with the Scallop Circle punch.

Papillion Potpourri Card 5

This is the last Papillion Potpourri card that I'm sharing from the quarterly training event.  The colours used in this card are a lovely combination of Pool Party, Midnight Muse and Summer Starfruit.  As with so many of the cards that I make and share with you, it's such a simple card, there's just a couple of colours of card stock, and inks involved.    A couple of Rhinestone Jewels were added to the centre of the butterflies for a bit of extra sparkle, and apart from that, it is a really simple card.

The stamp set is called Blooming With Kindness, and has five sentiments and the lovely flower image.  At just £16.95 for the clear mount set, it's such a versatile set, and could be used for so many different occasions.  

Wow wedding card

Morning,

This is a blog post that I nearly forgot to write! I thought I'd written it then realised I'd just shared the pictures on my Facebook business page (click here to "Like" if you don't follow me already!).

I made this fancy card a few weeks ago, for a colleague of mine, Richard, who had got married abroad to his partner Maz, and had a big party back here for their family, friends and colleagues.  I knew the theme was bright and colourful, so I decided to use the Patio Party papers to make the card.  I hadn't done any crafting for a while, so decided to make a fancy card that would have a "wow" factor!  Richard came to find me at work a few days ago to ask where I got the card from, and I said that I had made it myself.  He said that it had pride of place in the centre of their cards (maybe I'll ask him to take a photo for me so I can add it to this post) and I was really chuffed.  I love making cards and gifts for people, and am so pleased when they appreciate them too.

The picture below shows the card folded up, with the band around the middle tied with the Stitched Satin Ribbon.

The card is made from a 12" x 12" sheet of card stock.  Using the Simply Scored Board, a series of vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines are scored, and then the card is folded up.  The Patio Party papers were cut into triangles and arranged so that they looked nice when the card was flat as well as folded up. 

Here you can see the card folded slightly.  Papers have been placed on the inside and the outside of the card.

Here's a photo showing the inside of the card.  The bunting has been punched out with the Petite Pennants Builder Punch, and the pinwheel has been made with the Big Shot and the Pinwheel die.  The sentiments have been stamped in Baja Breeze and Primrose Petals, and are from the Sweet Essentials stamp set. 

Here's a close up of the pinwheel.  A Mini Brad has been placed though the middle, and attached to the card with Dimensionals.

A strip of the 12" white card stock was cut with a strip of the Patio Party papers, and is known as a "belly band".  The ribbon was attached underneath and when tied, holds the card flat.  A ruffled flower was punched out using the Blossom Punch, the card was wetted and scrunched.  Once it dried, the flowers were unfolded and an Antique Brad was placed through the middle.

You can see the detail on the Stitched Satin Ribbon here. 

I've made a few more of these cards recently, they're only half finished though! I've been trying to use up my papers and especially the retired papers from previous catalogues.  I'll be sharing them soon once I finish them!

Spring card class 1 - Swallowtail

A couple of Saturdays ago, I went to a spring themed card class at my downline Kylie's house. We made four cards, and ate two lots of cake. Perfect! I'll be sharing the four cards over the next few posts so keep an eye out if you like the card I'm sharing today.

The main product used in this card is the Swallowtail stamp. This is the same size as the large background stamps, and the detail on it is amazing. We stamped the image onto Daffodil Delight card stock using Versamark ink, and then put on Pool Party embossing powder which was then heated using the Heat Tool. This gives a lovely raised effect. We then painted on Shimmer Paint to give the butterfly a shiny sparkle. This was then mounted onto Very Vanilla cardstock and then onto Pool Party card stock.

Here's a close up shot of the Swallowtail stamped image. Isn't the detail great?

Here's a close up of the sentiment, which is from Perfectly Penned. This was also stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with Pool Party embossing powder.