Quick Christmas card

A quick card this evening and a quick post ;-) I was inspired by a card I saw on Shelli Gardner's blog, this Christmas card doesn't take too long to make a few for the special people in your life this Christmas but is still very effective and pretty.

Thanks for stopping by.

The beautiful swaps I received

I received lots of beautiful swaps both from UK demonstrators and some from Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands! When we swap it's not just about what we receive (although I love that part) but it's an ice breaker, you start up a conversation about how it was made, where the person is from etc. it's just lovely to be with other people who love Stampin' Up as much as you do!  

Aren't they all lovely! Thanks for stopping by my blog today, hope you got some inspiration to create something of your own, I'll be back soon with some more ideas.

A Good time was had by all!

I got back from Stampin' Up convention in Manchester on Saturday night after a fun packed few days.  We swapped ideas, saw fantastic projects on the inspiration boards, listened to wonderful talks from Stampin' Up, watched fellow demonstrators show how to make things both on stage and at the booths but the best part for me was catching up with demonstrators I know but don't see very often and also making new friends.  When crafters get together we have such a lot of fun, we love the same things so have loads in common!  Here's a photo of my swaps, I made cards and little boxes, around 50 in total and I still ran out!

I will photograph all the swaps I received in return and show them 

to you very soon.

November Thank You

Just a quick post today and a break away from Christmas, a photo of my thank you card and little gift I made for the members of my hostess club. I used the Best of Flowers stamp set, I stamped the hydrangea flower all over whisper white card to make the cracker and matched the card with it. So quick to make your own crackers with the envelope punch board. I'm busy getting organised to go to Manchester for the Stampin' Up convention, packing and making swaps are taking up lots my my time, I'm very excited about going as it's my first time and I can't wait to meet up with lots of other demonstrators, some I already know but I'm looking forward to making new friends too!

I'll be back after convention to share what I made to swap and also show you some of the swaps I received back.

Remember Last Christmas

                 Remember last year we were all making these?

This was my blue version, lots of people made traditional red and green ones. The ornament stamps and framelits dies are not in the current catalogues but were carried over, so you can still purchase them! Ornament Keepsake stamps in wood mount 128048 £30.95 and in clear 128051 £24.95 and matching framelits dies 127816 priced at £20.95.

                 

If you purchased them last year, here's something new to try with them, I stamped all over an A4 sheet of whisper white in different ink colours, then cut and folded the card into a lovely little bag and added a handle to hang on the tree, perfect for a little gift of jewellery, sweets or any other small item.

We are expecting a very cold spell here in the UK so cosy up at home and enjoy lots of craft time

Wheel Away

When it comes to Stampin' Up's wheel stamps I like to remove them from the wheel, attach them to some foam backed mount and use them like standard stamps. (If you look closely, there is a join/seam, cut this carefully with a craft knife and peel away from the wheel) I find them easier to use but one problem I had was that all my clear mount blocks weren't long enough, I tried different things including using a new big shot plate but the large size of this made it a bit difficult.  One day I had a lightbulb moment (doesn't happen very often, unfortunately!) I had a clear ruler lying on my desk and I thought I would try that, sure enough, it worked! So if you don't normally look at the wheel stamps, take a fresh look now and get out those rulers!

Here's a bright, sunny card I made using the lovely gingham wheel to remind you of warmer days.  I love these colours together, pistachio pudding, calypso coral and crisp cantaloupe, so clean and fresh.

Hope you decide to try this out, let me know if it works for you too.

Getting organised for Christmas

Good morning everyone, I made a decision to get better organised this year, I say it every year then end up ruining around trying to find that important list I had! Well this year everything is going to be in one place, right inside my beautiful journal. I decorated the front at the weekend, it's a lot more shimmery than the photo shows, it's hard to get a good photo at this time of year. I sponged round the edges with the gold ink pad and then sprayed with the smooch spritz. Lots of different sections inside, already decorated, there are parts for gift lists, food shopping, Christmas cards & more.  I'm going to put temporary lists inside the little pockets and write anything that's permanent like addresses in the proper sections, I'm ticking off things completed in pencil, that way I can rub out and reuse next year, making this a journal to use again and again.  There are a couple of little envelopes tucked inside and these would be very useful to store all your receipts.

Hope this has inspired you to get more organised this year.

Christmas Sweetie Bag

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend, the weather here on the coast has been beautiful, cold but sunny and bright, the sort of weather I love to walk in.

Thought I would share with you this lovely Christmas bag I made, it's a sort of a handbag shape.  I was inspired by a gift of toffee I received in a similar bag. Off course I had to take it apart to see how it was made (after eating the toffees first!) and I came up with my own version. It's a crafters thing, isn't it, we have to see how it's done, we all do it!

Short and sweet today!

I used the gorgeous stamp set Joyful Christmas. I stamped the poinsettia on vellum in versamark and heat embossed it in white, cut out a couple of layers and coloured them on the back with cherry cobbler to give a lovely watercolour effect.  I did the same for the leaves using pear pizzazz. I added a  frosted finished embellishment to the centre of the poinsettia to add a bit of sparkle and finished off with a taffeta bow in pear pizzazz.

Happy Monday Friends

Hello, it has been a while since I posted so I thought I would share a card and gift box I made for a dear friend's birthday recently.  She loved the matching card and box. Hopefully she liked the contents of the box too! I used the stamps that say 'over a million people share your birthday' then on the other side of the 'flip' its says 'that makes you one in a million!' I thought this two set sentiment was perfect for a flip card. The sentiments are from the One in a Million stamp set, check it out as there are lots of nice twin sentiments in this set.

Hope to back with you soon as I have lots more to share, I might even show you some Christmas ideas, if nobody thinks it's too soon!
Have a great day.