Year End Clearance Sale

Hello, just wanted to let you know that Stampin' Up are having a year end clearance sale with discounts of up to 80%. Click the link here to view the products available for a limited time and while stocks last.

If you would like to place an order, please contact me via my mobile or email - details above.

Sending you all my Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

Julia

Twelve Cards of Christmas on Pinterest

Over the weekend I held a Christmas Card Making Workshop for 15 ladies at my local village hall in Netheravon, Wiltshire. We had a really good day and it was 4 hours of non-stop card making from the word go! My thanks to everyone who came along and helped make the day enjoyable for all.

To carry on the Christmas card making mood - over the next twelve days I am going to post one card each day on my new Pinterest board 'Twelve Cards of Christmas', so please use the link button on this blog to pop over and have a look. 

The first card features the lovely set of stamps Wondrous Wreath with matching framelits shown above.

Julia

New Seasonal Catalogue

The new Stampin' Up Seasonal Catalogue is now live, please click the image on the right to browse through all the great products - Christmas, Halloween and Autumn, it's all there.

Here is a card which using a bauble stamp from one of the new Christmas stamp sets, Cheerful Christmas.

Colours used on this card are Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizzazz and Smoky Slate with Silver.

I have been having fun playing with some of the new stamp sets making samples for a Christmas Cardmaking Workshop I will be holding on the 1st November in Netheravon, near Amesbury in Wiltshire. Please send me an email if you would like further information.

Have a good week.

Julia

Big Shot Offer

Hello, just wanted to give you the heads up of an amazing offer from Stampin' Up.

Full details of the offer can be found here. 

If you buy a Big Shot machine during August you get to choose one stamp set and framelit bundle free from a choice of five available.

If you already have a Big Shot, the bundles are also available to purchase during August at a saving of 15% on the full price of the individual items. Please note all the stamp sets (except one) and framelits are currently available in the Annual Catalogue individually but not as a bundle. The Bright and Beautiful stars stamp set will be appearing in the Autumn/Winter Catalogue. 

Have a good day.

Julia

What's Up - Congratulations

And finally I have used the What's Up punch to make two little houses on a card to celebrate a Wedding or New Home .....  

The base card has been created from Smoky Slate card stock and embossed with a new embossing folder - Lovely Lace. Other colours used here are Melon Mambo and Pool Party. 

If you would like to see more card making inspiration please use the link to my Pinterest boards above.

Julia

What's Up - Bird House

Following on from my previous post, here is another idea for the new What's Up punch from Stampin' Up, a little bird house .....

To make the bird house: 

Punch one shape from Pool Party card and trim the sides at an angle, then cut another shape from Melon Mambo card and trim the roof to stick over the base shape. Punch a small circle and line the house at the back with a different colour. 

The stamped swirl and bird are from Everything Eleanor and the speckles are from Gorgeous Grunge.

Back soon with my final card idea using the What's Up punch. 

Julia   

What's Up - ideas with this versatile new punch

Hello, as those of you that follow my blog will know my posts lately are fewer due to the fact that I mostly show images of cards I make on my Pinterest 'Made by Me' board, accessed via the link on the right of this blog.

However, I came up with a few different ideas for the new 'What's Up' punch and wanted to show them here with a little explanation.

As soon as I saw the image of this punch in the new catalogue I knew you could do more with it than just use the two shapes as directional arrows, and in fact it shouted little house to me.

I was really pleased with my beach hut design and this also uses the new Kinda Eclectic stamp set for the sun and the sand. For stripes on the beach huts I used the the striped image from the Six-Sided Sampler stamp set and this is just big enough to punch the shape from. Punch some more shapes in a different colour to trim the roofs from, and cut little doors. A bit of fun!

I have two more cards to show over the next few days.

Julia

New Stampin' Up 2014/2015 Annual Catalogue & Weekly Deals

At last! The new catalogue goes live today and the long wait for me to order some of the fantastic new products is over.

Also the weekly deals are continuing and this week there is a good deal on the Angled Tag Topper punch, check out the deals here.

The card I am showing in this blog post actually uses products from the 2013/2014 catalogue but they have all been carried over to the new one, which is great as Summer Silhouettes is still one of my favourites.

Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Summer Silhouettes, Wetlands and Sassy Salutations

Inks: Calypso Coral, Tangerine Tango and Soft Suede

Card: Calypso Coral and Very Vanilla

If you would like to place an order for anything from the new catalogue, which can be viewed at the side of my blog, my contact details are above.

Happy crafting.

Julia

10 Days and Counting ...

Hello,

Only 10 days and counting down to the launch of the new Annual Catalogue 2014/2015. New colours, new product lines, new stamp sets, new punches and plenty of exciting things to look forward to.

I now post most of my card designs onto my Pinterest boards (there is a link on the side bar to the right) so please have a look regularly. However, today I am sowing a card with a sneak peek of one of the new In Colours for 2014/2016.

I have used Blackberry Bliss ink to stamp the first step of the flower from Stippled Blossoms. On the second step I have used Basic Grey, Rich Razzleberry, Perfect Plum and Melon Mambo inks.

To colour in the background layer, I used a baby wipe that had been used to clean Rich Razzleberry ink from a stamp and dabbed this onto the Whisper White card.  Use light 'dabs' and you can quickly and easily add a background effect to some card. 

Happy crafting.

Julia 

Retired Lists

As promised here is the link to the retired lists. Please remember any products are only available while stocks last so if there is something you would like to order please act quickly and let me as soon as possible.

Have a great weekend.

Julia

Weekly Deals, Clearance Rack and Retired Lists

Today there is a card idea at the bottom of this blog post, but firstly a reminder that the link to check the latest Weekly Deals from Stampin' Up is here.

The Clearance Rack now has a large number of reduced products and the link is here.

The new Stampin' Up catalogue launches on the 1st July with many new and exciting goodies. To make way for the new products, some of the current items will be retired and I will post a link to the RETIRED LISTS on the 30th May. This is your chance to stock up on any favourite retiring products, some of which will be at reduced prices, while supplies last.

And finally for the card, which uses a set of Photopolymer stamps Eye-catching Ikat.

There are 4 sets of Photopolymer stamps available from Stampin' Up for a short period and you can choose one set free with every £60 spent. This offer is only available until the 31st May or while stocks last. The link to details of these stamp sets is here.

The colours I have used to create the above pattern are Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo and Coastal Cabana.

As always my contact details are above and I would be happy to place an order for you.

For more card ideas please click the link to my Pinterest boards.

Julia

Weekly Deals continuing and Flower Shop card

Hello,

Just a quick post to let you know that the weekly deals from Stampin' Up are continuing throughout may and will change every Wednesday until further notice. The link to take you to the Weekly Deals page is here. My contact details are above is you would like to place an order. 

A card for today.....

using stamps from Flower Shop and Stippled Blossoms (leaves). Colours are Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals and Smoky Slate.

Have a good Bank Holiday weekend, I am giving a workshop on Saturday so very much looking forward to a get together with friends.

Julia

Everything Eleanor with Very Vintage Wheel

One final blog post for April, but please also check out my Pinterest boards regularly (button link on the top right of my blog) as I do put some of my own cards on there together with ideas from other crafters that inspire me. 

Today's card uses the Very Vintage wheel and Smoky Slate ink to create a background .....

On to the background I have stamped the swirl from Everything Eleanor in Old Olive. This has been layered onto Old Olive card before fixing to a base card made from Melon Mambo.

On a separate piece of card I stamped the ornate shape (Everything Eleanor) using Smoky Slate ink and cut this out by hand before fixing directly on to the card. I then made a 'banner' shape from Melon Mambo card, and stamped the sentiment (Label Love) in Melon Mambo onto spare card cutting this out using the corresponding punch. 

To finish I fixed the elements on to my card using foam pads and secured a twist of white organza ribbon between the layers.

To check out this weeks deals from Stampin' Up please click the link here.

Happy crafting!

Julia

Reminder - Stampin' Up Weekly Deals

Just a quick reminder that you can check this week's deals from Stampin' Up here and these products will be available at the special offer prices until Tuesday 22nd April 2014.

I hope you are all having a good week in this beautiful spell of weather we are having in the south of the country - 4 days of sunshine in April!

I've uploaded a couple of my cards to Pinterest, so click on the link if you would like to have a look.

Julia

Weekly Deals from Stampin' Up

Stampin' Up is launching weekly deals throughout April 2014.

You can see this week's deals for yourself by clicking on the link here.  The products are available at these special prices for 7 days from Wednesday 9th April for one week until Tuesday 15th April. There will be a new deal next week starting on Wednesday 16th April and the last one starting on the 23rd April, so check back each week to see the new deals. If you would like to place an order for these or any other Stampin' Up products I would be pleased to order them for you, my contact details are above.

I am showing a card today using one of the items from this weeks deals, the Dress Up Framelits. You can also see some other ideas for these Framelits if you scroll down to my post of the 17th February 2014.

The colours used here are Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla, Saraha Sand and Bermuda Bay.

The paper used for the background is from the Venetian Romance pack and the black polka dot for the dress is from the Modern Medley pack.

The stamp used on the tag and the flower is from Flowering Flourishes.

Additional Items - Scallop Tag Topper Punch, Brights Buttons, Doily, Crochet Trim and Basic Pearls.

Please also have a look at my cards on Pinterest - just click the link at the top of my blog. I am just starting out with this but will be uploading more cards to Pinterest and continue with at least one post a month onto my blog with details of the products used. 

Julia

Petite Petals with Flower Shop

Hi, one quick last post for March continuing my theme with a hexagonal shaped card.

The colours of this card in real life look a little more subtle. I have used a Smoky Slate base card with Calypso Coral for the additional layer. The flowers have been stamped in Calypso Coral ink onto Calypso Coral card and Whisper White card. I have added some leaves punched with the Bird Builder punch from Gumball Green card. The flower centres are made from Candy Dots and Candy Dot Brad Bases. I used a stamp from Clockworks to stamp the swirls around the edge of the frame. 

Both stamp sets - Flower Shop (large flowers) and Petite Petals (small flowers), have corresponding punches and can be purchased individually or as a bundle.

The piece of spotty background paper is from the Watercolour Wonder designer papers.

As in the previous post the base card has been cut using a die from my own stash.

Have a good week.

Julia

Banner Blast Birthday Card

Hello and welcome. I thought I had better get at least one blog post in for March, so here is a card I made for my niece's birthday on Saturday. I am pretty certain that she doesn't read my blog so will not see this before she celebrates her birthday.

I have used the Banner Blast stamp and punch set to create the banner with Bermuda Bay ink and Very Vanilla card. I fixed the little flags with dimensional foam pads catching the bakers twine behind to form the banner. The sentiment is from Sassy Salutations and is stamped with black StazOn ink onto Bermuda Bay card.

The die used to cut the hexagon shaped card and the two layers of papers are from my own stash and not from Stampin' Up. 

There are still 4 days left to acquire the Banner Blast Stamp Set and Banner Punch as part of the Sale-a-Bration promotion. During the promotion you can choose one item from the Sale-a-bration leaflet for each £45 you spend and so to get both the stamps and punch I have used here you would need to place an order for £90. For details of all the other items available free with each £45 spent, please see the leaflet to the top right of my blog, and my contact details are as above. 

Julia

Flower Shop Wall Plaque

Thought you might like to see this wall plaque I have been working on. The shape has been cut using a specialist punch, which is not from Stampin' Up, and the small metal flowers and leaf head pins are from my own stash. Everything else used to complete the project is from Stampin' Up as listed below.

Inks: Calypso Coral, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Staz-on Black

Card: Calypso Coral, Melon Mambo and Old Olive

Stamps: Flower Shop, Summer Silhouettes, Clockworks and Gorgeous Grunge

Punches: Pansy, Bird Builder (leaves) and Small Heart

Ribbon: Ruffle Stretch Trim in Crisp Cantaloupe

The base background paper (which has been stamped over so may not be recognisable) is from the Watercolour Wonder designer papers available in the Spring/Summer Seasonal Catalogue.

Julia

Six-Sided Sampler

Just a quick post today showing a couple of cards where I have used one single image from the Six-Sided Sampler stamp set, and teamed this with papers from the Brights (pink) and the Neutrals (black and white) designer paper stacks.

The image has been stamped using black Staz-On ink, coloured with markers and cut out using the Hexagon punch. This will then layer nicely onto a punched Artisan Label.

Markers: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Old Olive

Additional card: Melon Mambo

Sentiment Stamp: Perfectly Penned

Hope the rest of you weekend goes well.

Julia

Dress Up Framelits with Fresh Prints Paper Stack

Hello Everyone, hope you had a good weekend.

Showing two more cards featuring the Fresh Prints paper stack. The little dresses have been cut with the Dress Up Framelits. The idea came from a swap that my fellow demonstrator received at the Stampin' Up Convention in Manchester last year from Claire, visit her blog at claireyfairycrafts.blogspot.co.uk. Claire's swap was designed as a Christmas card but I have changed the colours and used her idea to make some Birthday cards.

The background stamp used in both cards is from Delicate Doilies, and the dresses have been raised on foam pads. Colours used in the card above are Coastal Cabana, Real Red and Sahara Sand.  

My second card .....

with colours of Real Red, Sahara Sand and Whisper White.

Back soon.

Julia

Fresh Prints with Hexagon Punch and Six-Sided Sampler

Hello Everyone,

Sale-a-Bration and the Spring/Summer Catalogue are well under way, so I thought I would show you a couple of cards today - one of which uses the Fresh Prints paper stack from the Spring/Summer Catalogue. I know a few people have ordered these paper stacks from me and might like an idea for using them.

For this card I have simply punched out hexagon shapes from the paper stack and used the 'snail' tape runner to stick them onto a piece of white card.  I found it easier to stick the shapes to a larger piece of white card stock and then trim to the desired size. I raised one of the hexagons on foam pads and added a greeting to finish my card.

I love the colour scheme of these papers which is Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Real Red and Whisper White, and I think some people find the smaller size of the papers easier to use when card making.

And for my second card .....

I used the same colour scheme and stamped the shapes onto white card, again slightly larger than I needed and then trimmed the piece to fit my card front. I stamped one image onto spare card and punched this out fixing it to the card with foam pads, adding a flower and a gem. 

I hope you like these cards and thank you for following my blog even though the posts are a bit erratic these days!

Julia

Sale-a-Bration and Spring/Summer Catalogue

Exciting news in the Stampin' Up world as today:

1) The Spring/Summer Catalogue launched and this will run alongside the Annual Catalogue until the 30th June 2014.

2) The fantastic SALE-A-BRATION promotion starts. During Sale-a-Bration, which will run until 31st March 2014, you can choose one free item from the SAB brochure for every £45 spent.
For example £45 spent = 1 FREE SAB item, £90 spent = 2 FREE SAB items, and so on.

3) There is also a brand new product available from Stampin' Up which is not in any of the catalogues yet and the details are here. The new Texture Boutique Embossing Machine is available now at a price of £26.95. Please note this is purely an embossing machine and will not cut dies. If you were to order this machine plus other items to the value of at least £18.05 you would qualify for 1 FREE Sale-a-Bration item and the Decorative Dots Textured Impressions embossing folder would be the perfect choice.

To view the new additional catalogue and Sale-a-Bration brochure please see the side bar of my blog, and to whet your appetite here are a couple of cards made using some of the new products.

In this first card I have used a stamp set (Petal Parade) and a backing paper (Sweet Sorbet) both from the SAB brochure.

For my second card I have used the 'arrow' stamp from the same set above and stamped a sentiment on to a tag which has been made using the new Scalloped Tag Topper punch. To this I have added some Natural Chevron ribbon and a wooden arrow from the Essential Wooden Elements, both available in the Spring/Summer Catalogue.

If you would like me to explain how the Sale-a-Bration promotion works or if you would like to order any products please contact me direct or use the SHOP NOW button on the side bar.

Happy stamping!

Julia

Six-Sided Sampler and Hexagon Punch

Good morning, another wet day but hopefully a little bit of crafting will cheer us all up.

Here is the card mentioned in my last blog post .....

For the background on this card I stamped images from the Six-Sided Sampler set in colours of Smoky Slate and Soft Sky - I actually stamped onto a slightly larger piece of card and trimmed to my desired size. I mounted this onto some Calypso Coral card and then onto my Soft Sky base card.

I stamped the Calypso Coral images onto spare card, cut them out with the hexagon punch and layered them over the design - raising the second one from the top on foam pads. I then added the sentiment and sprinkled with a few gems.

Have a good weekend.

Julia

Venetian Romance Take 3

Good morning, showing my third card in this 'mini series' of cards using the Venetian Romance designer papers.

In addition to the papers, I have stamped the frame from Papaya Collage with island indigo ink, and the fern leaves from the same set using pistachio pudding ink. As with my previous card I have gone 'off the page' with the layers to add a bit of interest.

The flowers have been stamped onto pistachio pudding card with the same colour ink, but I dabbed island indigo ink onto the centre of the flowers before stamping. (You can buy the Flower Shop stamps and punch as a bundle with clear stamps for £27.25). Curl and ink the edges of the flowers before adding some tiny brads and fixing to the card.

Next time I will be showing a card using the six-sided sampler stamps and punch.

Julia

Venetian Romance Designer Papers

Hi,

As promised I am showing another card using the beautiful Venetian Romance Papers, with a stamped image from Best of Butterflies - one of the sets released for Stampin' Ups 25th Anniversary.

The colours that co-ordinate with these papers are Crisp Canteloupe, Island Indigo, Pistachio Pudding, Soft Suede, Tangerine Tango and Very Vanilla. Quite a mix of colours, but on this particular card the papers used are a mix of Crisp Canteloupe, Tangerine Tango, and soft suede.

I have chosen a cream base card 13.5cm square, but decided to go 'off the page' with the panels and therefore would need to use an envelope made for a 14.5cm square card.

The butterfly/moth has been stamped directly on to the diamond of paper using soft suede ink, and then stamped again on to some Very Vanilla card using Tangerine Tango ink with Soft Suede smudged around the edge. This has been cut out, wings curled and fixed to the card using foam pads.

One more card to show over the next few days using the same pack of papers, but with prints that co-ordinate with Island Indigo and Pistachio Pudding.

Julia

Birthday - Best of Butterflies

Hello and welcome to 2014. 

My card today features papers from the Venetian Romance DSP pack

The palest green printed on the papers is pistachio pudding and this has been mixed in some of the paper designs with island indigo. I have taken my colour scheme from the papers and used island indigo ink for stamping and island indigo card for matting. The decorative shape from the Chalk Talk stamp set, and the butterflies and sentiment have been stamped on to very vanilla card. The Best of Butterflies stamp set will be available until the 31st March or while stocks last, and you can see details of this set at the top right of this blog.

Back soon with another card using some more of these beautiful papers.

Julia