Fancy Fold and Quiet Meadow

 The other day a friend joined me for a day of crafting. After such a long time of not being able to meet together for face to face "play days" it was a real joy to finally be able to get play with some of the new products in the Annual and Mini catalogues and to have someone to chat with while doing so.

My friend's husband has a special birthday this month and so she wanted to try something different from the usual card fold so we decided to follow Dawn Griffith's You Tube tutorial to make a tri -fold card. This is really quite easy to do (so long as you remember to keep the cutting blade of your trimmer out of the way when using the scorer 😁) 

I had just received my order and was desperate to try out my newly acquired purchases so whilst she experimented with more masculine stamps, I used the Quiet Meadow Bundle to create a card suitable for a wedding adding the Mr & Mrs from a retired stamp set from a few years ago called "For the New Two"

I liked it so much I made another for a friend's 50th birthday

The trifold certainly makes the card look special without being overly complicated. 

Most items used can be purchased from my online shop which can be accessed from the button on this page

Stitched Stars

 

My Granddaughter turned 11 years old the other day and I immediately knew that the Stitched Star dies would be just perfect for our little star's birthday card, especially as I had just purchased a pair of silver star earrings as part of her gift.......at least I ordered the earrings online but they didn't arrive in time despite being ordered several days before the date  and paying extra postage costs to ensure next day delivery.........but that's another story!!!

 I had only recently purchased these dies after watching another demonstrator use them. I don't know how I overlooked them in the catalogue as now that I have them, I can see so much potential for making quick and easy cards for many occasions.

Once I had decided the layout I found this a quick card to make. I decided to use stamps from After the Storm stamp set from the Annual Catalogue to create a background of Fresh Fresia and Gorgeous Grape. The Happy Birthday sentiment is from Pansy Patch and is inked on to a circle of white card. To a Wonderful Granddaughter is from Family Party which has just retired. I die cut her name and age from Playful Alphabet and used Fresh Fresia and Gorgeous Grape cardstock for the layers.

These items (apart from the retired Family Party) can be purchased from my shop by clicking  the link in the banner above 

New Annual Catalogue...

 It's now less than a week until the launch of the new annual catalogue on the 4th May and I already have a huge wish list. There are so many exciting new products and whether you are a beginner or an experienced crafter there is sure to be something here to entice you. I'm sure like me, many of you have more than enough crafting materials but we still "need" more...........it's an addiction ........at least it is in my case.

As a demonstrator I have been able to purchase some of the new items in advance and I have been playing with my current favourite set called Colored and Contour bundle. 

I have recently enjoyed making my own Designer Series Paper by stamping a full A4 piece of card stock and then cutting it into smaller sections to make thank you cards to send along with the new catalogue to customers who have previously purchased from me. I have used all of the new in colours to make this card and I have say they all work well together. 

 I love the funky flowers in this set and the fact that you don't have to be too precise with the placement of the colour splash suits me to a T as I like fairly simple stamping. The Thank You tab is the smallest of the 5 scalloped contour dies that is part of the bundle and I am sure this is one set of dies that I will certainly use on many occasions 

The Thank You sentiment is from another bundle, Pansy Patch. I really love the font of the sentiments included in the stamp set. This bundle has the potential to keep me busy making gorgeous pansies......one of my favourite flowers. Watch this space.

 

As the end of the current Annual Catalogue fast approaches, there are certain products which will not make their way in to the next year which, for Stampin' Up! begins on 4th May. So this means we sadly need to say goodbye to some of our favourites or some that have been on our wishlists but haven't yet purchased. 

From 24th March, those items that are retiring will be available to buy for as long as stocks last. So for example you may want to stock up on your favourite 2019-21 in colour inks and accessories or there is a stampset that you have been thinking of buying then now is the opportunity to buy it before it is no longer available. 

You may notice that the list includes some bundles. This does not mean the items in the bundle are retiring as some (not all) of them do appear in the new catalogue as individual items....it just means it would cost 10% more should you wait until after 4th May to buy the ones that are returning. Should you want to know more information regarding this, then I would be happy to help

https://www.stampinup.uk/categories//sales-specials/last-chance-products-sale?demoid=5019626

The above link takes you straight to the retired item pages

The good news is that although we are losing some of our favourite items and colours from 2020-21 AC, there are loads of exciting new products just waiting to replace them from May 4th. If you wish a copy of the new Annual Catalogue then please contact me and I'll send one when they become available. My contact details are available on my online shop.

Mothers Day

It was Mother's Day here in the UK yesterday and this was the card I made for my Mum. She's finding the current situation very difficult and doesn't fully understand the enormity of it all as I'm sure many elderly people do.

One of the advantages of more or less being restricted from all "normal" activities  is that I've enjoyed watching many other crafter's YouTube channels. I really admire these gifted people who share their talents and willingly teach techniques and tips to help others make beautiful cards and paper craft product and so I need to pay tribute to Ruth Trice Magness who gave me the inspiration for this card

I have used a few Stampin' Up! stamp sets to make it

The purple flowers and some of the background are from Tasteful Touches and the red poppies and green leaf are from Painted Poppies. The pale green leaf and the dotted spray are from Forever Fern.  The Happy Mothers Day was stamped from Itty Bitty Greetings on to one of the Painted Labels diecuts.

All of these are currently available from the Annual Catalogue should you wish to purchase. You can use the link on this blog to go directly to my shop.

 

It's not every day that you have the opportunity to make a card for a centenarian. I made this card a couple of months ago using the Quite Curvy bundle from the new mini catalogue. What a versatile little set this is. To be honest, when I first saw this, it wasn't my favourite bundle, however I purchased it to participate in a team event and it has quickly become one of my go to bundles

24 hour stamp set sale

Just a heads up for a fabulous offer but you need to be quick as only while stocks last

Offer only available for 24 hours from 0.01 Wed 23rd October and will end at midnight.

For further information please don't hesitate to contact me