elizabeth's craft room

Everyday Enchantment

2012-01-27T18:49:00.002Z

Hello Everyone

Another post featuring a Sale-a-Bration option. You can recieve 12 sheets of this beautiful Designer Series Paper free with a £45 order during this promotion. It is called Everyday Enchantment and has a vintage/distressed look that is very attractive.

This is a little box of mini cards or tags. The box itself is made using the Scallop Square die and we were taught how to make it at Convention by Shelli, (the CEO of Stampin' Up!)

I added on of the antique brads and some ribbon - you can see in the photo how diddy and sweet this little box is...

Inside are lots of little cards which I made using the same Everyday Enchantment DSP and a stamp set called You're a Gem - which I just love.

I think this stamp set would be wonderful with some of the Simply Adorned charms - can you imagine the Queen for a Day stamp with one of the little crowns from the mini catalogue?

Hope you like today's project. What do you think of the Everyday Enchantment DSP?

Love Elizabeth X

It's Time to SALE-A-BRATE!

2012-01-24T00:01:00.005Z

Hello Everyone

Yay! Sale-a-bration starts today! If you are wondering what I am talking about, Sale-a-bration is a fabulous Stampin' Up! promotion that allows us all to recieve FREE stamps - what could be better?

For those of you who know all about the wonders of Sale-a-Bration, you may notice that we are starting a couple of weeks later this year - but that is great because the promotion runs from today all the way until the end of March! WOO HOO!

Also, for the first time, we have FIVE choices of freebies - 4 stamp sets and 1 set of beautiful Designer Series Paper. Want to see?

The online pictures really don't do these stamp sets or especially the papers justice - so if you haven't already, why not book a workshop and see how fabby they are...three more stamp sets coming up...

I've been playing with Sprinkled Expressions and the DSP so far - here are the cards I made using Spinkled Expressions featuring the stunning red Glimmer Paper which is in the Mini Catalogue.

Back soon with more Sale-a-bration 2012 projects - hope to see you at a workshop soon!

Love Elizabeth X

Cupcake Bag

2012-01-22T18:05:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

Well you know from my last post I just love the new Create a Cupcake stamp set with the matching Cupcake punch.

This project is a sample I made to show my lovely ladies so of the cupcake designs you could create.

I love cake stands, (I own a couple), so thought it would be a great design. I used the Lace Ribbon Border punch with a strip of matching cardstock over the top half to create the stand. Instead of punching the elements and leaving the white border that the punch creates, for this project, I daubed with the matching colour of ink so I had no border, and created shading on both the frosting and the cupcake cases.

I created a tag using the new large Scallop Circle punch and one of the circles from the Circle #2 die.

But this stamp set and punch is NOT only for cupcakes...on the reverse of the bag I showed another way of using a couple of the elements...

How cute is that?? The clouds are the cupcake frosting and the baskets are the cupcake cases. Two of the baskets I popped through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Embossing folder - the other is one of the Create a Cupcake stamps. The balloons are made from the Large Oval and the 1 3/4" Circle punches - and if you are loving that designer paper - more about that soon....

I hope like my decorated bag - it was my DH's favourite project of all those I made over Christmas. :)

Love Elizabeth X

Cupcakes Class Project

2012-01-17T16:52:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

I am so excited about this fabulous stamp set and matching punch that we used in January classes this month.
The thing in the mini catalogue that made me whoop the loudest when I saw it was the Create a Cupcake stamp set and matching punch and I couldn't wait to start using it in my classes.

Don't you love those little cupcakes? The mini pizza-box opens to reveal more cupcakes inside...

As well as the little tag we are making three little cards with matching envelopes...

What I love about the punch and stamps is that you can decorate your cupcake with sprinkles, chocolate chips, cherries, bows and flowers. Aren't they fabby?

Love Elizabeth X

Charming Boxes

2012-01-13T17:12:00.002Z

Hello Everyone

I promised some boxes to match the card on my previous post and here they are...

These little boxes are made using the oh-so-versatile Petal Cone die. There are two different closure options I have used, but both are decorated using the Charming stamp set.

You can see two sizes of scallop circle there - the largest comes as part of the Petal Cone die and the smaller one used to layer is our fabulous NEW 2 3/8" (6cm) Scallop Circle punch. You are going to see quite a lot of this on my upcoming projects and I am delighted it is in our new catalogue.

I finished the box on the left with the stunning Wisteria Wonder ruffled ribbon, and stamped some tissue paper to go on the inside of the box. Wouldn't that make great packaging for a piece of Simply Adorned Jewellery or a Simply Adorned charm - did you see the crowns and keys in the mini catalogue? If you haven't click on the Our Catalogues link at the top to have a peek.

Back soon with more new goodies to tempt you with... :)

Love Elizabeth X

More from the Mini....

2012-01-09T16:32:00.001Z

Hello Everyone

More projects from the mini catalogue today....

I mentioned on my last post a stamp set called Charming, which is especially designed to go with the Simply Adorned lockets - but it is not just for jewellery!

I have really enjoyed using these delicate stamps on all sorts of projects. Do you see a new punch used too? The Postage Stamp Punch layers beautifully over our Large Square punch and I love how it works with these stamps.

The Wisteria Wonder card is made using the Scallop Square die and I am really pleased with the colour combination of Wisteria with Pink Pirouette and Sahara Sand.

Back soon with some boxes to co-ordinate with this card.....
Love Elizabeth X

Spring Mini Catalogue!

2012-01-04T00:01:00.001Z

Hello Everyone

I am so delighted to be able to share our new Mini Catalogue which launches today. The new Stampin' Up! goodies inside are just stunning - I have been playing with lots of them over Christmas and can't wait to share some of my projects.

I know lots of you have workshops booked, but if you haven't got one - now is the time to get a date in your diary and mine!

One new and exciting offering is our Simply Adorned Jewellery and charms. You can stamp images and use fabric, ribbon and charms to create your own unique and ever-changing braclets and necklaces. And for special cards and projects, the charms are going to help you make stunning creations.

I have been playing with a bracelet design...

Here are some closer peeks...

I have used Spice Cake fabric, Victoria Crochet Trim, and ribbon to decorate the bracelet.

There are four options for double sided lockets available, here I have used the smallest square one. I have stamped the flower image from the stamp set called Charmed, which is especially designed to work with our jewellery lockets.

On the other side I used a sentiment from the stamp set called You're a Gem, the background once again comes from Charmed.

What I love the best is that when I want different colours or designs, I can simply stamp some different images and add different ribbons and fabric, or just use charms if I prefer. It is a new piece of jewellery every day - and each piece is unique.

If you want to see more, click on the Our Catalogues tab at the top of the screen and you can look online to see the new mini catalogue, or contact me to get hold of your own paper copy.

Back soon with lots more from our mini catalogue.

Love Elizabeth X

So Many Thanks....card parade!

2012-01-02T16:00:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

Happy New Year to each and every one of you!

We have loads of very exciting news coming from Stampin' Up! over the next few days and weeks, but today I am going to close the holiday season by sharing all the BEAUTIFUL hand made cards I have recieved from my lovely ladies, fellow demos and family.

You are all SO talented, I had to share them all.....

Aren't they all beautiful? Thank you again - I love them all!

Love Elizabeth X

Emboss Resist

2011-12-30T17:03:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

During some recent workshops, I had some requests to re-visit the 'Emboss Resist' technique. This is the card I came up with...

To create this effect, I first stamped the flower image , (hostess set - simply soft), on to Very Vanilla card using Versamark ink - sprinkled on clear embossing powder and heat set using a heat gun.

Next I took a dauber and daubed Island Indigo ink over the top of the image, finishing by wiping off with a tissue. Now the flower that has been embossed resists the Indigo ink and you get the effect above.

This card also uses the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch - love this delicate effect - and three Mini Brads.

Hope you are inspired to have a go with the Emboss Resist technique. :)
Love Elizabeth X

Birthday Owl

2011-12-28T19:28:00.003Z

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a cute birthday card that we made during our December classes. We used a top note background and the Owl punch to make the sweet birthday owl.

The stamps come from Party this Way and Funky Four - the wings of the owl are made using the Boho Blossoms punch and the leaves made using the Little Leaves die.

I did the eyes in advance because I wanted to use Crystal Effects and it takes a little while to dry when you use a blob to make the 3D eyes. Now we have the Multipurpose adhesive sheets, I could make them all up on the adhesive sheet, so they could easily be stuck on during the class.

This card was inspired by the one I made for my niece Phoebe on her second birthday, so I though I would show you her card too....

Hope you like my cute little owl cards :)

Love Elizabeth X

Happy Christmas Everyone

2011-12-24T19:13:00.001Z

Hello Everyone and Happy Christmas to each and every one of you

Today I am sharing some luxury Christmas tags that we made during our December classes. Mine are currently attached to gifts under my Christmas tree.

They have so many elements I am not sure where to start telling you about them. I will start with the die used to create the tag shapes - this is the new Two Tags die, which is another Big Shot favourite for me.

We used some lovely Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon and the beautiful Victoria Crochet Trim. Amongst the stamps are Tags Till Christmas, Perfect Punches, Four Frames, Everything Eleanor, Elizabeth and Petite Pennants.

I chose Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla and Naturals Ivory cardstock along with some matching Designer Paper from the Regals and Neutrals stacks to create these vintage looking tags.

Have a wonderful Christmas holiday and I will be back soon.

Love Elizabeth X

Christmas Tree Gift Box

2011-12-21T19:03:00.001Z

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a project that we made during our December classes.

It is made using the very versatile Petal Cone die and is decorated with cardstock buttons embossed using the Sweet Buttons Embosslits die.

We created the triangular box by trimming one section off one of the die before assembling.

Now as it is Christmans there has to be chocolate, so I designed a little opening so chocolates could be popped inside.

I just love all the things you can do with this die. I hope you like this project too.

Love Elizabeth X

Concord Crush Christmas

2011-12-19T18:55:00.002Z

Hello Everyone

Today is another purple Christmas card - I promise to share some traditional colours in my upcoming posts!

This one is in the rich Concord Crush and uses stamps from Tags Till Christmas and Serene Snowflakes. I used a layer of white card run through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder and added some dazzling diamonds for some sparkle.

Back soon with more Christmas ideas.

Love Elizabeth X

Layering in Wisteria

2011-12-15T18:44:00.001Z

Hello Everyone

Today's card features one of our In Colours, Wisteria Wonder. I started by stamping the super large Medallion background stamp in the Wisteria Wonder ink on the matching cardstock. Love that tone-on-tone effect.

Next I created some layers for my greeting. I put some Concord Crush cardstock through the Big Shot using the ever popular Top Note die. I then turned the die cut 90 degrees, and cut again to create the shape above. I layered with a couple of squares then a die cut circle made using the Perfect Pennants die and finished with the sentiment stamp from the Perfect Punches stamp set.

Hope you like this one. :)

Love Elizabeth X

Penguin Candles

2011-12-12T18:34:00.002Z

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a quick and easy gift to make for Christmas. I demonstrated this at some recent workshops and have loved seeing what my lovely crafting friends and customers have created with this technique.

If you have never stamped on candles before it is very easy. First stamp your image on tissue paper, (the wrapping tissue sort), colour as required, place on to your candle and cover tightly with wax paper or baking parchment. Next heat the image until the tissue melts into the wax - keep checking and heating until you can't see the tissue. Be careful with the heat gun near your fingers!

I did a little matching gift card, also using Polar Party stamps, Stazon ink and Island Indigo, Pool Party and Daffodil Delight markers. Happy candle stamping!

Love Elizabeth X

Pennant Christmas Trees

2011-12-08T18:27:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

Another non-traditional Christmas card coming up today. I went for Melon Mambo for this one along with one of the lovely papers from Cheerful Treat, which is the designer paper choice for our hostesses.

The die cut scalloped circle comes from the Perfect Pennants die, the trees use Pennant Parade and the Petite Pennants punch. The greeting is from Curly Cute. Hope you like it :)

Love Elizabeth X

Island Indigo Christmas

2011-12-06T18:16:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

Today's card was made using one of our A La Carte stamps called Something for Christmas. I love the little baubles and I used the marker-to-stamp technique to get the variation in colours. I also added some Basic Rhinestones for a bit of Christmas bling.

I used a half a Scallop Circle die cut shape on top of the Island Indigo cardstock. I then used some matching designer paper, (Timeless Portrait DSP), and punched a beautiful Lace Ribbon Border punch.

Hope you like today's project.

Love Elizabeth X

Sparkly in December

2011-12-03T17:52:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

Here we are in December - where did the year go? I turned around and it had gone! LOL

Now if you are in the UK and anyone asks you what you want for Christmas - why not have a Stampin' Up! gift voucher so you can buy crafting goodies from your wish list? I am offering vouchers which can be ordered by email or phone. Do contact me if you would like further details.

Today I have a sparkly Christmas card to share. It uses one of my favourite new stamp sets - Polar Party! Now I don't usually do cutesy - but I LOVE these little penguins and Polar Bears! Sweeeet!

We did all the circles of Whisper White with the Circles #2 die, plus one punched with the 1 3/4" Circle punch. The images were stamped in Stazon and then coloured using markers.

The greeting is from Petite Pairs stamped in Pacific Point to match the cardstock.

We finished by putting Versamark ink over the Polar Bear circle, we covered it in Heat and Stick powder and heated, then sprinkled on Dazzling Diamonds, (the best glitter ever IMO), to get a fabby sparkly look.

Hope you like it :)

Love Elizabeth X

Top Note Gift Card Holder

2011-11-30T17:14:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing another of the projects we made during our November classes. This idea originally came from my lovely upline Amanda, and I changed the stamps and papers to come up with this idea.

The nice thing about this design, is that it is a card and gift card holder in one.

We made it using the new zingy Lucky Limeade cardstock and co-ordinating Designer Paper and the stamps are from Tags till Christmas and Oval All.

I managed to take some scissors to my reel of fabby Cherry Cobbler Scallop Dots ribbon - isn't it pretty?

Love Elizabeth X

Petal Cone Tree Hanger

2011-11-27T17:14:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

When the Petal Cone die appeared in our latest Stampin' Up! catalogue I was SO delighted because there are so many things you can create with it.

During November we made some boxes to hang from the Christmas tree.

We made them in Riding Hood Red, and used co-ordinating DSP plus Garden Green DSP from the Regals Paper Stack to decorate.

The sentimest are from Tags Till Christmas and the Tree and Pennant are from Pennant Parade - we used the Petite Pennant Builder Punch to punch them out too.

I can't wait to share some of the other ideas for this die - hope you like the first one.

Love Elizabeth X

Roomie Gifts

2011-11-24T20:55:00.002Z

Hello Everyone

I thought today I would show you the AMAZING roomie gifts that Hayley made for me. Hayley and I shared a beautiful room at the Sequoia Lodge at Disneyland Paris for the recent Stampin' Up! European Convention.

I brought back lots of goodies which you can see I laid out on my sideboard to show my team when they came over for a training evening. You can see some of the make and takes we did, my fabulous convention bag and some of the stamps I got to bring home.

So here are my roomie gifts...Hayley used the beautiful Mocha Morning Speciality Designer Series Paper. She SO knows my taste - this is my favourite DSP in the catalogue. She also included lots of Antique Brads, Victoria Crochet Trim and ribbon embellishments - aren't I a lucky girl?

So let me take you through - from left to right you can see my decorated water bottle, (very useful as the French heat their rooms to a very high temperature - it was boiling in there!). In front of the bottle is a mini scrap book - she made one for everyone in the team and it is beautiful - then the three matching packages held Cadbury's chocolate stars. Once again - a spot on gift for me! I LOVE Cadbury's chocolate and I found another star on the bedside table each night!

The gift box behind got a little battered in my hand luggage on the way home, but it did it's job and protected my main gift and a simply stunning creation. Let me show you my ornament in close up...

Now when you are sharing with such a talented friend, it is very challenging to come up with a nice roomie gift for her - but I did my best. This is a look at what I made for lovely Hayley....you can see we have very similar tastes - more Antique Brads and Victoria ribbon! I chose the Beau Chateau paper.

I also want to tell you that Hayley was a fantastic roomie - not only that but she did an AMAZING job presenting at convention. As well as being very interesting and giving us some fabby tips about workshops, she made us laugh and I know I would love to go to one of her events. Her customers are lucky to have such a great demo.

Thank you Hayley!

I hope you liked seeing our little makes - back soon with more projects.

Love Elizabeth X

On stage at European Convention!!!

2011-11-21T17:00:00.003Z

Hello Everyone

Well I am back from Disneyland Paris, the venue for the 2011 European Stampin' Up! Convention. Can you imagine? My two favourite things - Stamping and Disney all together! And with some of my favourite people too - my fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators!

The theme for this year's convention is grow and above you can see the main stage - I took this picture during my rehearsal time. I had been asked to present a Wow! project on the main stage. Oh my goodness - I was so honoured and excited to be asked - but nervous to be presenting to such a talented audience! And then I found out I was being introduced by Shelli Gardner (Stampin' Up! co-founder and CEO) - so no pressure then! LOL

Here I am waiting to go on stage (wearing Island Indigo you notice!) ...

...and here is the hall filling up with demonstrators that I am going to be speaking to soon.....

I apologise for the dark photos - my camera wasn't quite up to the distances...but thank you to my lovely roomie Hayley for taking these for me...

There was a camera man at my side so I was also being filmed up on that big screen - and remember the camera is adding 10 pounds - mostly to my chin it seems! LOL

So, I hear you asking, what did you make? Well I made a pretty Scallop Square Origami Christmas ornament - that those of you who have been to my recent workshops have seen - and those who have their workshops booked will see shortly.

So enough about me - here are some more pictures from convention: I will start with a couple of the many boards of inspiring projects on display...

Next - here are some 3D projects - and see that little strawberry basket & gift card? I made that! (And no I didn't just put in on there before I took the photo! LOL)

Here are some of my lovely team -

Half of El, (sorry about that El!), Hayley, Elaine, Amanda, Rhoda and me...

Now we learned about all sorts of exciting things that are coming up and I will be sharing the news over then upcoming weeks and months. I CAN tell you that you will certainly be wanting to host a workshop during the first quarter of 2013 - apart from that, my lips are sealed! LOL

We also had our awards dinner - which is like Stampin' Up! Oscars - we all dressed up in our finery - but with a little twist here and there - after all we were at Disney... here is Hayley, (best convention Roomie EVER), our lovely upline Amanda and me. I got to walk across the stage and recieve an award - Hayley was ranked 8th in the UK and Amanda was 2nd! So you can see I am in very talented company here!

And when the convention was over - there was still excitement to be had - we headed off to the Disneyland Paris parks to play...

Here are Michele and Elaine - two Disney newbies who are now Disney converts...

...and Amanda and me - both fully paid-up members of the 'how-many-times-can-I-ride-Thunder-Mountain' club!

The whole event was absolutely wonderful and I am still bubbling with excitement at all that I have to share with you ...but I will finish with my convention swap card.

It uses the Simply Soft hostess Stamp set and Victoria Crochet trim.

I hope you enjoyed this VERY long post - back soon with more projects and updates.

Love Elizabeth X

Pool Party Christmas & my Secret

2011-11-20T18:22:00.001Z

Hello Everyone

Now I have gone to convention, I can tell you something I have been keeping a secret since June..... I am demonstrating on main stage at European convention!!! I was SO honoured to be asked. I will share pictures and the project that I demoed when I get back - but I had to tell you! Woo hoo!!!

Well I am still at Convention today, but by the magic of scheduling I can still share a card with you. :) This is a card we made during our October classes and features the fabulous new colours - Pool Party and Island Indigo.

We stamped the ornaments, (which come from Tags for Christmas and Contempo Christmas), and punched out with the ornament punch. I actually did a re-design after taking this photo - we made a 3D version of the Island Indigo bauble.

The strip of vanilla cardstock is stamped using the Serene Snowflakes stamp set and the greeting is from Curly Cute.

I taught the girls how to make this perfect bow using the 'fork' technique - we used Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon.

Hope you like - back in a couple of days with all the pics and projects from European Convention. See you then!

Love Elizabeth X

Everything Eleanor in Razzleberry

2011-11-17T18:06:00.001Z

Hello Everyone

Well today you can wish me Bon Voyage as I am off to Stampin' Up! European Convention at Disneyland Paris. I am so excited as I am both a HUGE Disney fan and of course a HUGE Stampin' Up! fan - so to have my two favourite things together is just wonderful!

I am leaving DH behind to look after the house - which is fair enough as he often has to work away - although not in Disney! LOL

Today I am sharing a project using the beautiful Everything Eleanor stamp set, (currently a Stampin' Up! UK exclusive).

This stamp set features my favourite swirl of all time! I really like the flowers too. The not-stamped-straight greeting is from Petite Pairs, (whoops - oh well, I hear that straight is over-rated! LOL)

I finished the card with a strip of Rich Razzleberry done with the Lace Ribbon Border punch, with three little Basic Pearls on the top. Love this border punch.

Love Elizabeth X

Fabric Display

2011-11-15T17:35:00.001Z

Hello Everyone

I posted a fabric project the other day - but had a few more on display at my launch party. I thought you might like to see how I showed my new fabric samples. I will give you a close up of the various projects in future posts - but here is my fabric tray.

Here is another view...look closely and you can see the fabric has matching pegs to hold it on...love Stampin' Up! co-ordination! By the way, those pieces of hanging fabric are just a sample size - you actually recieve three pieces each of 68 X 45 cm (27 X 18").

OK - so just one project in close up today - and it's the tea cosy! I cut the fabric using the smallest pennant from the Perfect Pennants die, the top flower was made using the Flower Burst embosslit and the bottom one using the Fancy Flower die. The letters are cut again with the Big Shot and the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies. I used a mixture of fabrics (and it is the model's own teacosy! LOL)

Very appropriate for a tea-loving English girl! Hope you like it!

Love Elizabeth X

Scallop Circle Christmas Card

2011-11-12T17:25:00.004Z

Hello Everyone

I love making cards with the Scallop Circle die and the Big Shot. This is a quick one I made featuring the Pennant Parade stamp set and the Petite Pennant punch.

The greeting comes from Contempo Christmas. Hope you like this quick and easy card.

Love Elizabeth X

Christmas Mini Book

2011-11-09T17:01:00.003Z

Hello Everyone

Today's mini book was originally made by a fellow demo Michele, (thank you Michele), at a training event. I decided to decorate it using the fabulous new Tags Till Christmas stamps.

The colour combination I used was Pretty in Pink, Concorde Crush, Perfect Plum and Wisteria Wonder. Below you can see the scalloped circle created using the Perfect Pennant die. The Lace Ribbon Border makes a great embellishment as you can see.

Do you like the stamped twill tape? I stamped it using Concord Crush ink and a flower from Itty Bitty Bits.

The greeting in the middle is a single A la Carte stamp called Something for Christmas. Isn't it pretty?

Many thanks to Michele for the design - it was so much fun to decorate.

Although Tags til Christmas is designed to make fabulous festive tags, you can see it makes so much more. Hope you like it!

Love Elizabeth X

Fabulous Fabric

2011-11-06T16:38:00.001Z

Hello Everyone

When I saw the new Stampin' Up! catalogue for the first time, I was excited, but a little nervous so see we were getting the beautiful co-ordinating fabric choices. "Oh no - am I going to have to sew?" LOL

Well for those of you talented ladies who know one end of a sewing machine from the other - you will love this fabby fabric - but for those like me - you can STILL play with fabric and be happy with what you have made.

Now as I said, the best thing that Stampin' Up! offer is co-ordination between projects. So I started by using the beautiful Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper to embellish a box...

Inside the box, is a matching brooch, made with the matching Timeless Portrait fabric. I cut it using the Fun Flowers die and the Big Shot - love it!

I think this would make a sweet gift - in fact I did make one for one of my lovely customers and good friend Tracey. Now if you look at page 7 of the UK Stampin' Up! catalogue - you can see a picture of Tracey, being quoted about how much fun it is to host a workshop. We were both so excited to see her in there!

Back soon with more lovely new catty projects.

Love Elizabeth X

Flower Tower

2011-11-03T17:17:00.000Z

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing yet another flower project from my launch party display. This one features flowers made using the Flower Daisy #2 and Fun Flowers Big Shot dies as well as with a whole pile of punches.

Here are a few close ups...in this one the flower on the right is made with layered circle punches popped up with dimensionals. Then I used the Itty Bitty flower punch and made all the little flowers and attached them - fiddly to make, but pretty!

I was pleased with the scrunched yellow dasies...

The wild rose is made with the Fancy Flower punch, daubed around the edge with Pink Pirouette and Rose Red ink.

Hope you like my flower tower :)

Love Elizabeth X

Pennant Parade Christmas Trees

2011-10-30T17:41:00.012Z

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a Christmas card made with Pennant Parade stamps and the matching Petite Pennants Punch. I stamped the image using Versamark ink and heat embossed using white embossing powder from Stampin' Up!

The greeting is from Curly Cute and all together I think if makes a bright and funky Christmas card.

Love Elizabeth X

Time for more Flowers

2011-10-28T21:01:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

More flowers from my launch party today...

I made these to match three little vases that used to hold little Christmas table decorations. I love the Flower Daisies #2 die - it makes such pretty flowers.

These are Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla and the leaves and stems are in Old Olive.

The little flowers on the vases are made with one layer from the Boho Blossoms Punch and one from the Itty Bitty Shapes.

As you can see in the close up, I daubed Cherry Cobbler ink around the edge of the petals, which gives a lovely depth to the colour.

These flowers match my Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler living room - so I think they will find a home there for a while to come.

Love Elizabeth

Baby Card with the Ribbon Border Punch

2011-10-25T20:56:00.003+01:00

Hello Everyone

This is yet another use of this versatile Ribbon Border Punch - here I used it to add a pretty top to each pennant shape by snipping out individual sections.

I used the Cheerful Treat DSP - love those fun springtime colours, especially when it is dark and rainy outside. :)

Love Elizabeth X

More with the Ribbon Lace Border Punch

2011-10-22T20:50:00.003+01:00

Hello Everyone

As promised, I am back with some more ideas for using the Ribbon Lace Border Punch. In today's card I have created flowers by punching out a short strip with the punch, and then using a 3/4" circle punch, I have removed the flower from the centre of each portion. For this card, I used them as embellishments.
BTW I love the combination of Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush - they look made for each other!

Using the same technique, this time I have used the 'gutted' ribbon border which then makes a very different looking strip. Below I used it to frame the letters - but you could use it to thread wide ribbon.

Back soon with another idea for this punch.

Love Elizabeth X

Ribbon Lace Punch Ideas.

2011-10-19T20:34:00.002+01:00

Hello Everyone

Now I have already said that I LOVE the Ribbon Lace Punch - there is so much you can do with it. Over the next couple of posts, I will give you just a few of those ideas

With this first card, done in Calypso Coral, we start with the standard use - it punches this great lace effect in cardstock and designer paper. Here I used Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla & Sahara Sand to create a background. The stamp set is French Foliage - SO glad this set made it in to the new catalogue - I LOVE it! The 'thank U' sentiment comes from Pennant Parade - one of new stamp sets.

So that is the basic idea... now for more that you can do with this punch...

You can run either ribbon or contrasting cardstock behind the border, as I have done in the card below. It gives a completely different look. You can use a strip as I have, or punch circles in different colours and so get a different colour behind each flower.

I finished this card with the fabby Something For Christmas stamp and some rhinestones in the centres of each flower.

Love Elizabeth X

In Color Fun Flowers

2011-10-15T20:22:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

Something I made LOTS of for my launch party were flowers. I had so much fun making them using the Big Shot dies and punches

These flower pots of In Color flowers were made exclusively using the Fun Flowers die. This die makes large, stunning flowers which you can layer up. The leaves were cut with the Leaves #2 die.

You can see in the close up below, some layers were stamped using the Dot,Dot,Dot and Fine Flourish stamps. Some were embossed using the Big Shot Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I then daubed around the flowers using the matching inks - Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Pool Party & Wisteria Wonder - the leaves are done in the final In Color - Lucky Limeade.

Love Elizabeth X

Forever Young in Island Indigo

2011-10-12T20:11:00.003+01:00

Hello Everyone

As promised, I am back with a project made using the beautiful Forever Young stamp set. I chose to use the Island Indigo ink and cardstock, one of our new In Colors for this year.

Within the stamp set you get the clock image, the frame, the two silhouettes and a beautiful tree with a girl on a swing.

I used a punched portion of the tree and swing stamp for this next card in the same colour way - you can see I also used the matching designer paper called Timeless Portrait - I love the way you can match everything with Stampin' Up! goodies. :)

If you look closely you will see that I used the punched out piece of this card in the one at the top - crafters never waste anything!

The greeting in this one is from Curvy Verses and the top one from Oval All.

Hope you like them.

Love Elizabeth X

Designer Series Papers

2011-10-09T20:01:00.004+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing some boxes made with two of our new DSPs or Designer Series Papers. Our paper packs are second to none in quality and have fabulous double sided patterns.

The pillow boxes at the top of this stand are all made using the Timeless Portrait DSP, which co-ordinates with the Forever Young stamp set - which you will be seeing featured in upcoming posts.

The pretty no-adhesive boxes at the bottom are made with a pack called Cheerful Treat, which is a choice offered exclusively to our hostesses. Contact me if you would like to hold a workshop or place a workshop qualifying order and recieve this beautiful paper pack.

Back soon with more new catalogue projects. X

Love Elizabeth X

Fancy Flower Roses

2011-10-06T19:56:00.018+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am starting to show you some close-ups of the projects I had on my display at my New Catalogue Launch Party.

And I am starting with the thing that inspired me...

My lovely friend, and fellow demo, Catherine, had a Stampin' Up! designer wedding this year. She made so many beautiful things including some stunning table centre decorations. To my delight, she presented me with one of these table centres - and it is devine! I started at once planning to display it in pride of place at my launch party...

Catherine's is the large one on the far right- I made the smaller four on the left.

Here is a close up on those roses...

Back soon with more!

Love Elizabeth X

Launch Party & Blog Hop

2011-10-02T09:46:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

And welcome to those of you who are joining me for the New Catalogue Blog Hop - you have probably just clicked here from the lovely Julie. I promised to share pictures of my New Catalogue Launch Party displays today - but first a project made with goodies from the New Stampin' Up! catalogue.

I made this card using the new Perfect Pennants die. As well as three pennant shapes, it cuts two beautiful scalloped circles, which layer beautifully with other punches.

Here I layered the two scalloped circles, then punched with a circle punch in the middle to create my wreath shape.

I made the berries with the smallest circle on the Owl Punch and topped them with Crystal Effects to make them pop. I added a ribbon, tied through the bottom two scallops and my wreath was done.

I wanted to hang it on a 'door' - and my front door is shiny and white with Georgian panelling - so I thought my card should be the same!

I used glossy white cardstock and the large square punch to punch the panelling - all popped up on dimensionals and hung the wreath on the front.

Now if you would like to pause here a while and have a look at my lauch party pics - there are all below. If you are off to continue on the blog hop, click here to visit the lovely Michelle.

So for those of you lingering a while - I have some pictures to show you... (link to Michelle at the bottom too!)

I am SO blessed to have such wonderful customers, who have become such wonderful friends and it is always great when we get together to share our love of crafting - and I had so many new things to share....this is my maid display area - some close ups coming up below....

I was set up half an hour early, (first time ever) - so time to pose for a photo with my events file - I have everything organised in here!

And I couldn't do these events without my lovely husband Michael - he is a star with the drinks and biscuits!

OK - so off we go - my lovely ladies starting to arrive....

OK - some close ups of my main display...I have had SO much fun playing with the new In Colors - they are just FABULOUS...

Here is the central part of my main display.... GROW was my theme, (as is the Stampin' Up! convention this year), as I said today, our friendships, my business, our creativity and our crafting abilities are all growing together!

We have some beautiful new stamp sets and wonderful new Big Shot dies - I have loved creating with those I have so far - my wish list is a mile long!

Now I made all my lovely ladies wait until we started before peeking in their catalogues - so at last I allowed them to open their bags....

...and there was a good reason - on page 7 is my lovely customer and friend Tracey! I am SO VERY proud that she has been chosen to feature in the UK catalogue as a hostess. (Oh and she booked her next workshop today!)

I only found one photo of her today - taking pictures of the display stand...

NEW in this year's Stampin' Up! catalogue is FABRIC. Now I don't sew - so I am delighted it works with the Big Shot and we have some great fabric adhesive - but for the display I did use my great grandmother's sewing machine to produce a couple of items...

Now we had lots more - like make & takes and the raffle and my demos - but I think you have had enough pictures for today. I will just say for my American visitors - I asked them yesterday what the difference is between our catalogue and theirs....

....well I only realised this year that we spell it catalogUE and over the water it is is spelt catalog! Our spelling is so different isn't it - with our colors and colours and our favorites and favourites?!

Anyway - click on the picture above to look inside or CONTACT ME, if you want your very own copy.

Thank you for getting to the end of this mammoth post - I will be back in a couple of days with some lovely new catalogue projects.

For those of you blog-hopping - off you go to Michelle - she has lovely things to show you :)

Love Elizabeth X

It's Here!!!

2011-10-01T00:01:00.009+01:00

Hello Everyone

The most exciting time of the Stampin' Up! year is here! The new catalogue has arrived. I am so excited. Today I am hosting a New Catalogue Launch Party for my lovely ladies. I will be back tomorrow with some photographs of my displays - so I hope everyone will like what I made!

If you would like a catalogue, contact me. Alternatively - if you just can't wait to see it - click the Catalogue tab at the top of the page or the picture below and follow the link to an online version.

(Oh - and for my American visitors - can you spot the difference to the front of your catalogue? I will tell you tomorrow!)

As a demonstrator, can get a few select items in advance - and I have had SO much fun playing with my new stamps, tools and accessories. One of the things I am LOVING is the new In Colors.

I am so happy to have a coral and lilac colour to use - but my favourite so far is Island Indigo - such a fabby rich colour - love it!

So - I had better give you a peek at a project then...

As you can see, these monotone cards show off the fabby new in-colors. There is loads of texture, which looks better close to....

In this close up you can better see the wonderful Lace Ribbon Border Punch. Oh my goodness - this really is a fabby punch! It is so versatile and I can't wait to show you all the ways to use it...

I hope you will come and visit tomorrow to see my Launch Party photos and displays. :)

Love Elizabeth

Daisy, Daisy

2011-09-29T20:37:00.004+01:00

Hello Everyone

This was a class project I taught during August, which uses lots of Big Shot dies to create it. We started with White Glossy cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot using the Polka Dot embossing folder. The light really catches the dots with that glossy finish.

Daffodil Yellow works really well with the Square Lattice embossing folder to create the bright strip of colour.

We used the Daisies #2 die to create the double layered daisy and finished with a home-made dot of card candy for the centre.

We finished the card with a border punched in black and Black Satin ribbon.

Hope you like it.

Love Elizabeth

Baby Buggy

2011-09-26T20:22:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

I have had the opportunity to make a couple of these cards recently to welcome two special little girls in to the world.

I've seen a few versions of these pram cards made using the scallop circle die - I chose to use the ruffled ribbon technique to embelish the pram hood.

On this version, I used the soon-to-be-retired Elegant Soiree Designer Series Paper - how I will miss it! The wheels are made with layered punched shapes from the Scallop Circle, 1 5/8" Circle and Boho Blossoms punches.

Here is a view of the card closed.

Hope you like it!

Love Elizabeth X

Stationery Box Class Close Ups

2011-09-23T19:32:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Last month I ran a fun evening class where we made a stationery box and some luxury cards and tags. I though I would show some close up pictures of what we created today. You may notice the Big Shot came in very handy with making these projects. We used the Just Believe stamp set and the fabulous Cherry Cobbler ink throughout.

The first group features the Top Note die and Beautiful Wings Embosslits die...

The next set used the Scallop Circle die and the Ornament Punch to create the vase...

The third set features the Scallop Envelope die and the Large Heart and Heart to Heart punch...

The stationery box itself was co-ordinated with a stamp envelope and matching pen...

We had a great time making these goodies - I hope you like them too!

Pop up Gift Card Holder

2011-09-20T19:20:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Here is a project I taught at our classes last month. It is a pop up gift card holder box. I had designed it a while ago, but was never really happy with it until I did a Big Shot re-design.

Here is the original...closed and open

Well it was OK - but I wanted something a bit prettier, so I came up with...

I used the Growing Green stamp set and the Scallop Circle and Circles #2 dies to create this topper...the underneath pop up bit is just the same...

I am much happier with the second version and it was a fun project to teach.

Hope you like it too.

Pirates on Parade

2011-09-17T19:10:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

A quick post featuring the Beware Pirates stamp set - perfect for boys, girls and those of us who love Capt. Jack Sparrow. :)

We made this card at a recent workshop. First we stamped the Not Quite Navy card using the Sanded background stamp and daubed around the edge.

Next we tore a strip of Newsprint DSP, and daubed the edges with Crumb Cake ink to give an aged effect.

We stamped the pirate images on Very Vanilla cardstock and straight on to the designer paper. Next we punched and set the Jumbo eyelets using the crop a dile, and fed Black wide striped ribbon through, securing with a piece of black 1/8" taffeta ribbon.

I hope you like :)

Weathered Wood

2011-09-14T20:08:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

A while ago, we did a clas using the Weathered Wood technique. This card was so much fun to design.
.

To achieve this technique, you simply make score marks in the base card. In this case I used Very Vanilla cardstock and scored every half inch. You then swipe inks direct from the ink pad across the paper to build up the wood effect. I used Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Chocolate Chip.

The greenery growing at the bottom is made with the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set, stamped in Garden Green and the bough at the top is from Hopeful Thoughts.

I stamped the flowers in Pacific Point using the Itty Bitty Buds stamp and punched out with the matching punch.

Let me know if you have a go at this technique - I would love to see what you create!

Glass Glitter Butterfly

2011-09-11T20:05:00.003+01:00

Hello Everyone

When I saw the new Glass Glitter in the mini catalogue, I was intrigued to try it. I had a few experiments with a range of adhesives to see what worked best and found the easiest was sticky strip.

To make this card, I first stamped the background using two butterfly images. One is the single stamp called All a Flutter and the one with closed wings is from Nature Walk. I wanted to focus to be on the 'bling butterfly', so I used black stazon ink for a monochrome background.

Next I covered a small rectangle of of cardstock with sticky strip, (note: we don't have the adhesive sheets in the UK, or I would have used them!) I then cut the butterfly with the Beautiful Butterflies die, before removing the sticky strip backing.

I always keep my glitter in tupperware type boxes, so I was able to press the butterfly firmly down into the glitter and then shake off the excess.

I made his body with a piece of 1/4" black taffeta ribbon, snipped at the top to create antenae, which I topped with rhinestones. How blingy is that butterfly? LOL

Now in the catalogue it says that these glitters, (they come in 3 colour choices), are designed to tarnish over time to give an a vintage look. Well I made my first projects with it about 3 months ago - and no tarnishing has taken place yet! :) So if any of you U.S./Canadian or Aussie demos can tell me how long we wait for tarnishing to occur - I would be delighted to know! LOL

Owls About It!

2011-09-08T19:34:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a little Owl card. I love the Owl punch - it makes such great projects.

The card base is Chocolate Chip with a Scallop Circle die cut piece of Woodland Walk designer series paper.

The circles were cut with the Circles #2 die and the sentiment comes from Curvy Verses. The flowers were stamped using Itty Bitty Bits and Punch Potpourri.

Hope you like it!

3D Springtime Vintage

2011-09-05T19:20:00.003+01:00

Hello Everyone

Well if you visited a couple of days ago, you will know the retirement list is out, (see it by clicking on the 'last chance list' tab at the top), and it is your last chance to get some of our much-loved stamps, accessories and designer papers. The designer papers I am most sorry to wave goodbye to are Springtime Vintage - I have loved using these this year.

So today I am sharing two 3D projects that I made using this beautiful paper during the year.

First is a little gift bag made with the Scallop Circle die and the Big Shot. I used the Large Oval and Scallop Oval punches to make the handles and the Four Frames stamp set and Decorative Label punch for the sentiment.

It was finished with the lovely Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon.

I used two of those same products to make this little gift box. The Scallop Circle die this time makes the lid and the Decorative Label punch makes the DSP panels around the edge. I closed the ribbon with a fancy silver brad from the Hodgepodge Hardware - which is also being retired this year.

The sentiment comes from Oval All and was coloured using blender pens and inks.

So if you neeeeed those Springtime Vintage papers - grab them while you can!

Saying Goodbye.....

2011-09-02T14:31:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Well the saddest time of the Stampin' Up! year is upon us - some of our catalogue goodies are retiring - never to be seen again! Boo hoo!

But of course it is all in a good cause we need to make room in our warehouse because - in just one month we will be oohing and aahing over the new catalogue.

But before those stamps and designer papers and ribbons leave us for good - you have a last chance to get your hands on them. NOTE this is while stocks last - so let me know if there is anything you need to have and I will get an order in for you.

Click here to see the full list of retiring products.

Back in a couple of days with some projects.

Something for the boys

2011-08-29T18:58:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a project I taught in classes a while away. The idea came from two Stampin' Up! training events. At one we learned how to make a wallet from the Top Note die, at the other we learned the Mock Croc technique - so I put them together to make this cool project for the man in your life.

If you have never done 'Mock Croc' - get your local SU! demo to show you how. It is great for little purses and handbags and shoes on cards.

We made this with Early Espresso cardstock.

When you open up you can create a little pocket for money or a gift card - couldn't find a gift card for the photo - so you have my gym membership card instead! LOL

I hope you like it! :)

Wonderful Weddings

2011-08-26T18:35:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Earlier this year I shared a picture of lots of wedding projects which I made to give some ideas for one of my lovely customers - hi Laura!

Today I am going to show each project - a bit picture heavy, but I hope you like what I did. I chose my own wedding colours Very Vanilla & Cherry Cobbler. (I wish had SU! to help me when I made my own wedding stationery!)

I will start by inviting you to my wedding! LOL This is a pull out invitation. I did several styles but this was my favourite. It is so luxurious the way it pulls out.

This is how it looks when opened... the inside flips up to show the wedding details.

My next project is a CASE from Sara - she made one at Valentines day and I love it. It is just the right size for a Lindt chocolate heart. Mmmmm.

Now for a table name place. So easy - I chose textured Cherry Cobbler card stock, XL Oval punch, Modern Label punch and two pearls! I should mention the stamp set I am using here is Always Elegant - a really delicate stamp set.

Next I did stamped candles - so pretty for a wedding. I added bride and groom initials to the candle sides.

I thought I would use my 'cheese box' template to create a little favour box. I finished it with my tag punches and a little ribbon. So simple and pretty.

Another Large Heart punch project - you need six of these and a little loop of narrow taffeta ribbon to form a 3D hanging heart.

And finally...it has to be the Thank You card - perfect to thank your guests for joining you on their special day.

I hope you have enjoyed these wedding projects. Back soon with something completely different!

Scrapbooking - a little late

2011-08-23T22:21:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

So those of you who are scrapbookers - hands up who is behind with your projects? I know I am - it takes me for ever to get to my scrapping - even though I love doing it.

I am so behind times that today I am sharing my niece Pheobe's first birthday layout after her second birthday!

I love the pictures of Phoebe with her balloons - she had so much fun with them - even trying to eat them!

I copied the balloon colours and used the Party This Way stamp set, which is perfect with those bright colours.

So happy SECOND birthday to Phoebe and I promise to get your birthday page made a bit quicker this year!

Two Ways with the Scallop Envelope Die

2011-08-20T22:09:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

Have you used the Scallop Envelope Die yet? It makes really cute envelopes which are ideal for tags or for using as embellishments on your cards. But that is just the start. Here are a couple of little boxes I have made using this die.

Firstly, we made these cute Gift Card Holders at a class.

We finished them with Springtime Vintage designer series paper and the scrummy Seam Binding ribbon. The tags were done with Tiny Tags stamps.

My second use of this die is the little basket which I fell in love with when I saw it done at regional training. You need four envelopes to make it...

Isn't it cute? I did the handle with cardstock cut with the Scallop Trim Border and trimmed with the yummy Rich Razzleberry satin ribbon.

Scallop Circle Card

2011-08-16T22:01:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

This is a card I have been doing at some of my recent events and also shared with my fellow demos in Amanda's team at July team training.

It uses the Big Shot as you can probably see. I cut the card base using the Scallop Circle die, the the flower was done with the Manhattan Rose embossing folder. I cut the flower out, which is easy as you can follow the embossed edge, and then gently coloured it with Rich Razzleberry ink using a dauber.

The leaves are from French Foliage, which I still love SO much. I attached the flower using dimensionals so it popped up above the leaves.

The sentiment is stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock and punched out using the Modern Label punch. The layer beneath is created using another die - one of those from the Lots of Tags pack which are great for layering with your punches.

Hope you like it!

July Team Swaps

2011-08-13T21:50:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

We had a great day at training last month with my lovely upline Amanda. I always love to do the swaps and share ideas with my fellow demonstrators.

These are the ones I made for team training.

These little handbags were made with the Scallop Envelope Die, trimmed and corner rounded to get the shape right. I used the Large Oval and Small Oval punches to create the handles and the 1/2" circle punch to make the faux brad closures. I stamped on the bags with Artistic Etchings.

The sentiment comes from Notably Ornate and the beautiful background is made with the Manhattan Flower embossing folder.

I loved how they looked in all the different colours. :) Hope you like them too.

Laquered Lanterns

2011-08-10T21:43:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

I mentioned the other day that I usually do my favourite stamp set Kimono Kids in reds and blacks and thought today I would share one of those cards with you.

For this card I started by stamping the base card with little flowers from the Confetti background stamp set. They really echo the flowers on the Kimono Kids outfits don't they?

Next I stamped my little Japanese girls in stazon and then coloured them using markers. I used the In Colors of Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz and Poppy Parade. The laterns were done in the same way. They are fairly easy to cut out - and fairly easy to cut off the tassles by mistake too! I speak from experience! LOL

I used Crystal Effects to give a laquered effect to the lanterns and fans.

Hope you like!

Subtle and Bright

2011-08-07T21:23:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

A quick post today with some of my summer thank you cards. I make a little thank you card to give to my lovely customers with each of their orders.

These first ones were totally inspired and CASED from my lovely online friend Anne Marie over in Texas who used her Subtle colour pallet with my favourite stamp set Kimono Kids. Until then I had used bright reds and blacks for these stamps.

Those little Kimono Kids look so sweet in Pirouette Pink and Bashful Blue. I coloured them using blender pens and inks to get a soft look.

Now for something brighter for my next crop of thank you cards...

For these I started with square cards in Tempting Turquoise, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie & Concord Crush. Now officially the Concord Crush is an In Color - not from the Brights collection - but I thought the four colours worked well together.

I started by embossing the base cards with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I used the 1 1/4" square punch to quickly punch the scraps into squares to make the layer.

The images on the cards and envelopes are from the lovely Cute by the Inch hostess set.

I hope you like my subtle and bright cards.

Springtime Vintage in Summertime

2011-08-04T21:09:00.002+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I thougth I would share two little projects made with the beautiful Springtime Vintage designer series paper from Stampin' Up!

The first is a little bag I made at team training and then finished later with a few little embellishments.

I created a closure using the fabby Pear Pizzazz seam binding ribbon. I then stamped up a little 'hand crafted' tag using Tiny Tags stamps and finished with three faux brads in Wild Wasabi & Marina Mist.

My second project is a cute little box made using the scallop circle die to create the embellishment. You need two scallop circles, snipped from one scallop valley into the centre and then folded accordian style. You glue the two sides together and top with a punched scallop circle, layered up with a circle of designer paper and a pretty brad.

For the back of the bag I used the Little Leaves die and Flower Dasies #2 die.

I just love those Springtime Vintage papers - I want Spring to last all year!

Summer Splash 3 Ways

2011-08-01T20:47:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Recently I got the chance to have a play with the Summer Splash stamp set - I don't own it yet - but love it! I am working on buying the whole catalogue, but it takes a while! LOL

I made three different types of card to share with you - I love them so much I have them on display in my craft room right now.

The first one is my Surfer Beach card. I just LOVE those surf boards. I stamped them in Certainly Celery and then added more colour with Wild Wasabi & Tempting Turquoise markers

I cut out the surfboard images and coated them with a layer of Crytal Effects to get a shiney finish. The sand was made with Crumb Cake cardstock, daubed with Crumb Cake ink and the spritzed with Soft Suede and Chocolate Chip ink.

I hand cut the coconut tree - the sun is done with So Saffron cardstock and daubed with different yellow and orange shades. You can feel the warmth can't you? :)

OK - card number 2 is my Summer Splash / Pirates combination. I wanted an 'above and beneath the waves' effect. I inked the ship with markers and stamped that image first.

I next did the sea bottom with daubers and dots from the Confetti stamp set. The cute sea creature images I stamped using the rock n roll technique. I used the little shell image at the top to cover the pirate skull image - which didn't really match my theme! DH Mike calls it my Octapusses Garden card.

The final card used a background technique - more of this soon as we are doing it in a class.

I had lots of fun using Summer Splash - I think the images would be great for scrapbooking too. I like them all - but I do have my favourite...I love that Surfer Beach!

Which one do you like best?

In Stitches

2011-07-29T17:36:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a card featuring a very cute Jumbo Wheel from the Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue. I didn't really notice this wheel until I got to try it at team training - and then I knew I had to have it!

For this card I used Riding Hood Red cardstock and ink. I first rolled the lines of stitches vertically on the base card, the horizontally on the Very Vanilla top layer.

Now this is one of my more-is-more cards - sometimes I don't know when to stop with the embellishing! I took some layers in Crumb Cake and used the Mat Pack and Pricking Tool to create some faux stitches around the edge.

I finished the card with the Sweet Buttons Embosslits die - cutting buttons in matching cardstock and using the white gel pen to make faux stitches.

Hope you like my no-stitching stitched card!

Owl Thinking!

2011-07-26T17:19:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

This was such a fun card to make! It was the first card I made with my Owl Punch when it arrived. The sentiment is part of one from Hopeful Thoughts, (called Thoughts and Prayers in the US). I love that you don't have to use all of a stamp - just ink up the part you want with a marker and stamp!

I hand-drew the think-bubble and punched a range of circles with my circle punches and those that make part of the owl punch.

The background uses the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder in Sahara Sand, brayered over with Early Espresso ink.

Hope you like him - I do!

Quick Daisy Card

2011-07-23T17:11:00.002+01:00

Hello Everyone

Just a quick post and a quick card today, made with the Daisies #2 die and some buttons. The background is a piece of the beautiful Elegant Soiree paper. I layered up the middle of the flowers with punched circles and buttons - that big one is from one of the sets in the mini catalogue - they are SO big you can thread 1/4" ribbon through them as I have here.

I finished with the greeting stamped with Curly Cute and the little cake from Itty Bitty Bits.

Back soon with more projects.

Welcome Wreath

2011-07-20T16:41:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a Welcome wreath that I made using the Fun Flowers die and my Big Shot. I have shown this before, but I have had a couple of questions about how it was made - so today I will share!

I purchased an inexpensive flat wire frame and with the Big Shot the wreath was very quick to put together.

First I cut 6 sets of flowers in Rose Red, then 6 in Pretty in Pink cardstock. This is so easy - the Big Shot will cut up to 8 sheets of cardstock at once! Then I used a dauber and daubed ink around the edge of each flower to add dimension.

I curled the petals lightly with a bone folder and layered them up, attaching them with a brad. I made a 12" backing for the frame by drawing around some scrap card and attached the flowers with dimensionals.

I felt the wreath needed some greenery, so I cut leaves with the Little Leaves die. Next I pulled out my French Foliage stamp set and stamped some of the leaves onto Wild Wasabi paper in Garden Green ink. I cut them out and then glued them and the Little Leaves in around the flowers. Here is a close up...

I finished the wreath by stamping my 'Welcome' sentiment using the Broadsheet Alphabet and added some Basic Rhinestones on this and on a few of the flowers.

Now - pretty in a different way - I am going to show you such a cheap decoration - almost free! As a demonstrator, all my goodies from Stampin' Up! arrive carefully packed in brown packing paper. I have reams of the stuff and am always looking for interesting ways to recyle it. This is what I did with the paper from my last order...

I made over 60 paper flowers - with this paper my Big Shot easily cut 12 layers at a time, so I had them done in a trice! I attached them with little eyelets using my crop a dile and now they are all ready to decorate my table at my next event. What a bargain!

Embedded Foliage

2011-07-17T20:27:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

As promised, I am back with another embedded embossed card. (For more on this technique, scroll down to my previous post).

Here I am using my favourite stamp set from the Stampin' Up! mini catalogue - French Foliage.

I stamped the text and 'blobs' on first, then stamped the leaves on a separate sheet before embossing them into the background.

The cardstock is Riding Hood Red, which really sets off the Autumnal colours.

Hope you like :)

Embedded Embossed

2011-07-14T20:18:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

I love this technique! It is such an effective way to make your own background - or even foreground - design.

We did this one in class and used the Itty Bitty Bits stamp set, along with the matching punches. We stamped six images at a time, (so easy when you attach the clear mount ones all to one little block). Then we punched them out and stuck them onto In Colour DSP. We also punched shapes in the Concord Crush DSP.

Next we ran them through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice embossing folder. It presses the little pieces in embedding them and creating an easy and very effective background.

The card is Concord Crush - love that colour! We finished with the 'wonderful friend' stamp from Occasional Greeting stamped onto a large circle, created with the Circles #2 die.

Back in a couple of days with another example of this techinque.

Want to come to a class?

2011-07-11T08:01:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

By special customer request I have come up with a Just Believe Stationery Box class, which I will be teaching in a local hall on Thursday 18th August.

This project comprises six luxury square cards, six matching envelopes, six tags, a stamps envelope, a matching pen and the stationery box itself. Wouldn't this set make a great gift?

The cost for this class is £25.00 and includes a pot of Tombow glue or £22 if you are one of my regular class ladies.

Now this class is filling up FAST - so let me know ASAP if you would like to join us for this 3 hour evening class.

Hope you can make it! :)

Beach Huts

2011-07-08T19:58:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Well after giving you lots of Christmas projects in the last two posts - I thought I would get back to the season in hand with this cute little 3D project.

My Mum & Dad live in Milford on Sea, near Lymington on the south coast, and the beach they overlook has a long row of beach huts.

I wondered whether I could turn the milk carton die into beach huts - and this is what I came up with...

Aren't they sweet?

I cut the milk cartons with the Big Shot, then scored at half inch intervals to create the planks of wood. I then used the woodgrain technique to create the weathered effect. Before I assembed the boxes, I drew in doors and added brads for door knobs.

The roofs are made with a strip of Basic Gray cardstock, with a bit of texture added with the Sandy Speckles wheel. I made the life belt with two circle punches and the flag with 5/8" Grossgrain Ribbon.

Hope you like them!

Jolly Holiday #2

2011-07-06T19:40:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

As promised on the last post, these are the other projects we made at the Jolly in July Christmas class I ran recently.

Here is the first card we did a punch project card - making candles with the 2 step bird punch.

Next we did a bauble card featuring the fabby glass glitter. I love the sparkle!

The last card uses the bird punch in it's original form!

We also made some gift tags using the fabby Gifted stamp set...

And because my ladies had lots of beautiful DSP and card stock left, I suprised them with instructions for making these beautiful bows...

Hope you like our projects. Back soon with something less festive! :D

Feeling Jolly?

2011-07-04T20:42:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

Overy my next couple of posts, I am sharing the projects we made at my Jolly in July class. We decided to start our Christmas projects a little early and made a lovely selection of goodies! This is them all together...

As you can see, we made them with Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive cardstock, Old Olive satin ribbon and the beautiful Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper.

Today I am sharing the 3D projects. First what I call the Box of Boxes. Here it is closed up....

But that is just the start, by lifting off the lid and unlatching it from the closure you open it up....

...and then see it in all it's glory!

Next we made a large size gift box....

This is made using 12X12 cardstock to create a nice big box for the bigger gift! :)

Back in a couple of days with the rest of the projects.

Owl Punch Ideas

2011-07-01T20:30:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Do you love that little Owl punch? I have been making all sorts of critters and other things with the Owl punch - it is so much fun to use. I did all my lovely ladies a handout recently showing lots of owl ideas. Not many of these are my original ideas - there have been many talented people out there thinking up owl projects before me...but I take credit for the robin! :)

Here is one of the owl cards I have made...

I did the eyes with Crystal Effects. My non-crafty friends all shook this card because they thought they were goggle eyes! LOL

Perfect Plum Envelope

2011-06-29T20:19:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Just a quick post today with a project using the Envelope die. This very cute little envelope looks great on the front of a card and is the right size to pop a little money or voucher in for a gift.

I made it in Perfect Plum cardstock, and topped with paper from the Lap of Luxury DSP. The tiny butterflies are made with the Beautiful Wings die and the hand crafted tag is from Tiny Tags.

To create the inner layer, I ran a small piece of the DSP through the Big Shot using just the top of the die. I will have some more projects to share using this die - as it is actually very versatile, but I wanted to show you a simple envelope to start.

Hope you like it.

Elizabeth's Craft Room Tour

2011-06-25T18:08:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

I have had a couple of requests to give an updated tour of Elizabeth's Craft Room. There is nothing I like better than having a nosy at other peoples' craft rooms and I have been inspired by many beautiful stamping spaces. My room is always evolving so here is my latest set up - picture heavy - you have been warned! :)

First this wreath hangs on my door - welcome one and all to Elizabeth's Craft Room!

My room is dual purpose - I have a full time job which I do at home, so my craft room has to work for that function. It is also the darkest room in the house so I have used white extensively and my craft desk is right under the window to make the best of the available light. (BTW, you can click on any of these pictures to make them bigger and have a closer look). I am a standing stamper - so I chose a desk from Ikea with adjustable legs which I have fully extended so I don't crook my back bending over!

I have things that I use all the time around my desk. My paper trimmer and Stampin' Scrub cleaner live on either side of the desk with my working area on grid paper in between. Along the back I have my Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Hodgepodge Hardware, Pastels and Pricking mats in the right holder, my daubers, two holders containing Stampin' Mist and Stazon cleaner, liquid adhesives, aqua painter and pencils. The mini green craft caddy contains my Stamp a Ma Jig, Craft Scissors and Paper Snips, bone folder, pricking tool, and water mister. Finally a box of tissues and hanging my heat gun.

On the window sill the paper file contains plastic folders of A4 Whisper White & Very Vanilla cardstock, plus small folders of scraps in those colours. The big peg holds pictures of inspiring projects and there is also Glossy White cardstock and laminating pouches. The right of the two 3-tier Ikea bathroom stands hold pots of Stampin' Up! brads, buttons, eyelets and so on. The left one holds sticky tape, all my mini punches, and dry adhesive in the bottom tray. Finally, you can see my ink pad holders.

Now a couple of close ups. First my dauber storage - I have showed this before, but as an admittedly OCD control freak, I love my daubers - all labelled with the ink names. I made the storage out of boxes the my eyeglasses came in.

I made my ink pad storage units with fibre board a few years ago. It was a bit of a faff, but stores the ink pads and their matching markers perfectly. Markers and ink pads should both be stored flat!

Moving around the room to the left, you can see my Big Shot. I store this out where I can reach for it any time. It is sitting on a folding table my lovely sister gave me. It is so useful - I use it at my classes. She also gave my the cute heart storage on the wall, which I often use to store swaps that I want to CASE. The cupboard behind holds my 'real' work files, home paper work and completed scrapbooks.

Next is my work desk - 9-5 this is where I sit and tap that computer. I like the display shelf above - another Ikea purchase. During weekends and evenings, I push the keyboard back and my craft area spreads onto this desk. My black diary is decorated with Stampin' Up! rub ons.

Moving around again, I have a bookshelf on the left of my desk. Here I do my Stampin' Up! computer and paperwork on my laptop. I display recent and upcoming class and workshop projects. I also have my music and speaking books here. To the left are my stamp drawers with my printer on top. There is a display board for my scrapback pages and Ikea rail storage for my old-style SU! punches.

Here is a picture showing the stamp drawers. They are also from Ikea and called Alex. They do different sizes and the shallow drawers are perfect if you store your stamps flat. The sets are organised roughly in line with the sections in the Stampin' Up! catalogue, with labels on the top of the drawer handles so they can be seen easily from above. As you can see - I am mostly a wood mount girl! :)

You might notice I am SUO, (that is Stampin' Up! only). I primarily keep only goodies available in the current Stampin' Up! catalogue. This does keep things simple as I don't have to stop and think when making projects for classes and workshops - if it is in the room, I can use it! :)

Next around is the door, then a triple wardrobe - another Ikea purchase. The narrow one is fitted with shelves and is great for all sorts of paper and other storage. In case you want to know, I did a picture showing what I store on each shelf.

I have recently changed the way I store my A4 cardstock. I used to be on colour family shelves with the folders laying flat. I got some Ikea Billy book ends that fit perfectly on the shelves to divide the families - now I can stand the folders vertically, which is a lot easier to see and use.

The double cupboard comes next and stands to the right of my craft desk. It means I can easily reach everything from where I stand to create.

Right at the top I have bulk cardstock and chipboard. There are also large white boxes across the top of all the cupboards that hold all my event and display materials.

Here are a close up of the other shelves...

The second shelf is where I store class aand workshop planning samples and projects under development. The small scrapbook contains my technique samples - we do a different one at each class.

The grey boxes contain my upcoming class and workshop projects - all cut and prepared.

The black box stores my Big Shot dies and folders... I will give you a peek inside....

Inside the Big Shot box...

By storing upright you can see the labels and easily select what you need. It is a nice strong box as the dies are quite heavy. I can easily lift the whole box out when I am using my Big Shot or packing for an event.

The next shelf is the one I reach to most often. The files on the left are my scraps - sorted by colour family and stored in plastic file folders. I always get these out before going for a new piece of cardstock from the narrow cupboard. If I can punch it or stamp on it, it gets saved! Next are my new-style Stampin' Up! punches - which fit well into the Really Useful boxes. Behind the punches is a box holding my glittering and embossing stuff e.g. heat pad / tidy tray. The caddy on the right holds my bulky tools

The next is a shallow divided drawer. These contain at the front my class daubers, behind are embossing powders and glitters with spoons to sprinkle. :)

Below that I have a deep drawer for bulky tools, envelopes and cello bags. It also holds wipes, clear blocks in a bucket and my precious labelling machine - you can see I like to label can't you?

The next drawer contains retired stamps that I still use for my own projects. Honestly, they don't get used much, but there are a few there that I will keep forever! :) This drawer also holds my re-inkers and my only non-SU! punch - a Mickey Mouse one! :) The jars at the back contain buttons and things like book rings.

The bottom two shelves contain my class adhesives and a few supplies like trimmer blades and so on. Below are my class bags and a big box containing envelopes and SU! carrier bags.

On the door of this cupboard, I store all my ribbon. I used to have my ribbon on rails, but because I need to take whole reels out for classes, this basket system works much better for me now. The baskets are another Ikea purchase and I linked three together using hooks. My ribbon scissors, punch templates, pearls and rhinestones live on hooks here too.

So there you go, you have come all the way around and back to my desk. Can you see my giant pink rubbish bin? I do create a lot of recycling fodder!

And in case you think it always looks this tidy - this is what the desk looked like after I finished planning a class project yesterday....

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Elizabeth's Craft Room. I don't think my stamping space will ever be 'finished' - it will continue to evolve - but I am pretty happy with how it works for me right now.

I want to see your craft space now - so do let me know if you have a craft room post!

Remember the ice cream?

2011-06-23T19:28:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

If you remember the ice cream projects I posted earlier this month, I promised to show you some more in the same colour scheme that went with the set.

I will start with the little umberellas made with the Scallop Circle die. Cute aren't they? If you want to know how I did the ice creams - scroll down to my Ice Cream Cards post.

In a similar colour scheme I did two more cards - this one uses Cheers for You, coloured using blender pens and ink pads - so much more easier than watercolouring for me! :)

The frames are Four Frames, punched with the Decorative labels punch and Perfect Punches, punched with the Scallop Circle punch.

Do you like the bow? No bow tying required here. I just folded a scrap of Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding ribbon into two loops and fixed it with a brad.

More use of the Top Note die on the inside - fabby when you use a dark base card.

Now one final project for the day...

All the other versions of this card I have done have been in blues and greens - more manly - but I thought why not in ice-cream colours. OK I know they are not traditional sail colours - but I like them! Hope you do too!

Gebera Card

2011-06-19T19:00:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

The idea for this card is CASE'd from the lovely Sara - not the first time she has inspired me! I added a vellum cardstock vase and chose a Pirouette Pink and Pretty in Pink colour scheme.

To make this card you need the Big Shot, (have you noticed I have an addiction LOL), and the Flower Daisies #2 die. You need three of the large daisies and three small ones. I daubed the edges before fixing to a hidden circle punch.

I used the Mat Pack to do a spot of paper pricking as you can see.

I love using the Top Note die to make inserts for the inside- they make your cards very luxurious!

In this close up you can see the the punched vase and the tiny tag.

Hope you like!

Concord Crush Trio

2011-06-16T18:42:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Another three sample cards from me today - this time all based on the yummy Concord Crush cardstock and ink...

All these cards feature stamp sets from the Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue - which you can see in full by clicking the link at the top of this blog.

The first one is the stamp set I fell in love with as soon as I saw it. It is called Nature Walk and has a feel of botanical drawings...

I started by cutting a Whisper White top note shape with my trusty Big Shot stamped all over using the script stamp from French Foliage, (more of that set coming up). I stamped the eggs, bird and butterfly images in Basic Grey ink and used the marker to stamp technique to stamp the flower.

This card started with the frame from the Notably Ornate stamp set. The topper is done with the frame from Four Frames, which matches the Decorative Label punch. The three little images are from Itty Bitty Bits, which also go with a trio of matching punches.

Now for my favourite stamp set from the Mini Catalogue - French Foliage. You know I almost didn't buy this set - it was springtime and it seemed such an autumn set - but I am SO glad I ended up getting it. It is the most forgiving set I have ever stamped with - you just stamp and everything looks fabby! And it works in every colour too - which you wouldn't imagine.

I used a little Newprint DSP and cut it with the Top Note die. I also cut several circles with the Circle #2 die.
I then used the back of the smaller circle in each case to create a mask and daubed to make a frame. Then I stamped to my hearts content with those lovely French Foliage images.

Hope you like my trio of cards - which is your favourite?

Scallop Circle Card

2011-06-13T18:30:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

OK - back to the pretty after my last grundgy post. More Springtime Vintage projects from my sample displays. Now I learned how to make this card from Teri Pocock, a very talented crafter who I have mentioned before.

Using the scallop circle die, you half cut the front of the card and fold back to create the fancy fold. Then time for lots of layers of DSP and cardstock...

The flower is made with the Fun Flowers die - which I just love - cut and embossed using the Big Shot. I used Whisper White cardstock and daubed with Certainly Celery ink.

This card gives such a great 3D effect - I loved learning how to make it.

Now I am off to enjoy myself - it is my birthday today!

A Pirates Life for Me!

2011-06-09T18:06:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

Well after my last two cute and girly posts, I though I would do something a bit more grundgy. Now my teacher for distressing and grundgyness of all kinds is my lovely upline Amanda. It is so far from my comfort zone, but she has helped me to improving my grungability.

Amanda celebrated two events in May, firstly her birthday and secondly her promotion to Gold 1 with Stampin' Up! So as a little gift I took one of my very neat scrapbooks and grundged it to blazes!

Here is how it looked non-grundged...

Now Amanda has another love - not just Stampin' Up! - she also loves Pirates - especially in the form of Captain Jack Sparrow. I can relate to her there and took lots of photos when I went to Disneyland Paris last year - they had an excellent Jack in the parade! So here is the scrapbook all done for Amanda...

See that dirtied up scrapbook? I did that! LOL. I used the Distressing Essentials Kit from SU! and went for it. OK - here is the next page...

As you can see I used the stamp set Beware Pirates, which was perfect for this project. I used the round file to curl the paper on the notice there...ok next page...

Now I left these pages blank as we are off to Disneyland Paris for Stampin' Up! convention later this year and I am sure Amanda will find time for a meet and greet with a pirate or two! The map comes from the Newsprint DSP.

Here he is - the man himself!

I had to include some pieces of eight and pirates gold! The coins are embossed using the Vintage Wallpaper die and double heat embossed using gold embossing powder. I also added a pile of glass glitter for even more sparkle from the hoard!

Hope you enjoyed my brush with grundginess...so you know the words - it's time to sing - Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirates Life for Me!

Anyone for Ice Cream?

2011-06-05T17:37:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Another cute selection from my party display today. I had SO much fun making these cards using the Big Shot to create embossed textures. First one that I pretty much CASE'd from many locations - my addition was using the owl punch to make the very top of the ice cream.

I also made a cherry and a chocolate flake! The cone is made with the Square Lattice embossing folder and the background is Blushing Bride Designer Series Paper.

Now this one I dreamed up myself. I always remember my Gran serving deserts in little cut glass bowls and I thought it would be fun to try to make one using Window Sheet from Stampin' Up! and the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.

Now this is hard to photograph - but see what you think!

Good idea eh? Gran would be proud of me!

The chocolate sprinkles are stamped using the Confetti circles stamp, the strawberry is from Tart & Tangy, and the sentiment is from Crazy for Cupcakes.

Now I didn't want to stop there - with ice cream in mind, I decided to create an Ice Cream Parlour - no I don't do anything by halves! LOL

I started by googling images of Ice Cream parlours from the 1950s to get some inspiration. I love the deco feel and it went well with my In-Colour theme. OK - here it is...

I know! Isn't this the cutest thing I every made? :D I actually found a box in my stash that had those rounded ends, which was just the shape I wanted for my counter. I covered it in DSP and used the lid to create the counter top.

I did the edge with the scallop border punch and added a length of 1/4" taffeta ribbon to give a neat edge. The tiny ice creams were fun to make. I stamped the top of the cupcake images from Crazy for Cupcakes to create the ice cream, then cut mini versions of my big cone. The ice cream cone stands are scraps of Window sheet, punched with the scallop circle punch and scored across the bottom. I was really pleased to think this up! The menu is the Curly Label punch and the bowls of sprinkles are a one inch circle punch, snipped around the edge. I filled them with Crystal Effects and sprinkled on glitter and 'owl eye' punches in red for the cherries.

Here is a close up of the counter at Elizabeth's Ice Cream Parlour...

Now there are a few more projects that went with this set, which I will show later - including a closer look at those cute umbrellas - but I hope you like my Ice Cream display.

So - who is for a chocolate chip cone?

Springtime Butterflies

2011-06-01T17:17:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing some more samples that I made for my Customer Thank You Party last month. I just LOVE the Springtime Vintage paper. It is so pretty.

This Top Note quilt card really shows it off doesn't it? I Used the Beautiful Butterflies die too to create that little butterfly.

And talking of butterflies - one of my favourite displays was my box of butterflies - what do you think?

All made again with the Beautiful Butterflies die and a mixture of the Springtime Vintage DSP and co-ordinating cardstock stamped with the swirly leaf image from Vintage Vogue.

The ones on the left are on pegs and were displayed on a topiary frame at my party. Like to see a close up?

As you can see I have used 3 layers from the die, daubed the edges with ink and added 1/4" taffeta ribbon to the centres with a bit of rhinestone bling to finish.

They are attached chopsticks and I have tied various ribbons under them. Do tell me what you think!

(Oh and by the way - click on the June & July Offer tab at the top for a great deal this summer!)

More Mini Milk Cartons

2011-05-29T21:27:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Just a quick post today to share a couple of cute Mini Milk cartons made using the Big Shot die. I found lots of little images to decorate them. I started with the new Itty Bitty Bits from the mini catalogue and then added the mushrooms from Funky Four and cup cakes from Crazy for Cupcakes.

Hope you like these little boxes. Back in a couple of days with more!

Embossed Embedded Bird

2011-05-26T21:15:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

I have another demo that I did at my recent party today. This time it is the Embossed Embedded technique that has been very popular recently. As you know, the Big Shot is our new Big Toy - sorry I mean vital tool, for any husbands that might be reading! LOL

I started with cutting a Top Note shape in Very Vanilla and punching the Bird with the Two Step Bird punch in Rich Razzleberry. I adhered the bird to the top note using Tombow glue and then popped the panel in the Square Lattice embossing folder and ran it through the Big Shot.

When it comes out it appears the bird is embedded within the Top Note - it is super effective with this particular folder isn't it?

I finished the card with a one of the 5 labels you get in the Lots of Tags die pack, the large oval punch and some layered Seam Binding and 1/4" Grossgrain ribbon.

Hope you like...

Emerging Colour

2011-05-23T21:07:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a technique I demonstrated at my Customer Thank You Party. It is something that works really will with the glossy cardstock although the sample below was made with Whisper White card.

I started by stamping images from Artistic Etchings onto the white card. Next I inked up the Medallion background stamp with Versamark ink and stamped over the top of the coloured imanges.

I covered the card in Clear Embossing Powder and heat set the Medallion image.

Next I applied Chocolate Chip ink with a brayer over the whole white card, wiping the excess off the embossed area with a tissue - and hey presto! - the Artistic Etchings images show through where the clear Medallion.

I enjoyed showing this technique - is it something you have tried?

Jolly in July.....in May!

2011-05-19T20:51:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

I know, I know - what AM I talking about Christmas for in May?!

Well, last year I ran a special Christmas class in September, which was very popular, but this year we are starting even earlier, with a Jolly in July Christmas Class.

I showed my ladies samples at my recent party, so I thought I would show you today!

We will be making a large box, a stacking box-of-boxes, three luxury cards and five tags. Each class pack will contain £15 worth of Stampin' Up goodies and there will be paper and ribbon to take home to make more festive creations. We are using Jolly Holiday DSP - hence the Jolly in July! LOL

You can see in the picture below the contents of the pack you will be getting, (on the right), and that box of boxes when it is closed up. It got a big WOW! at the party when I showed how it worked. (You can also see that one of the tags had fallen down behind the envelopes - see if you can spot which one :) )

The cost of the class is £30 and will run for 5 hours on Saturday 2nd July. If you are local and would like to come along, contact me. Final payments must be made by 1st June.

I will show the projects in more detail in July.

Party Time!

2011-05-16T20:41:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Well we had a wonderful time at my annual Customer Thank You Party on Saturday. 28 lovely ladies came along for a few hours of crafting and cake. So as promised here are some photos of my displays and the party itself.

This year I hired a local church hall - my lovely husband Mike and I spent 2 hours turning it from it's regular incarnation as a nursery into a crafters paradise - well almost! LOL

Here is the main display area...

...and here is my demo table...

....I had a sign-up station for my upcoming 'Jolly in July' Christmas class - let me know if you want to come along...

...and I did a one-day-only product share and a raffle too - as well as Stampin' Up! prizes, two of my lovely class ladies, Jan & Rachel donated vouchers for their beauty salon businesses...

... this is my lovely sister Maria ready to give out goody packs and butterfly name pins - she was one of my three helpers for the day. She is a scientist not a crafter and did a much better job than I could have done organising the raffle money and pre-loved sale money. Thank you Maria...

...talking of helpers, I should also mention my lovely downline Nina, who helped everyone with their Big Shot make and takes and importantly took all these photos - without her I would have nothing to show you! And as I said DH Mike also worked hard - helping me with the set up - devising a complicated system for keeping paper table cloths on the little tables, which involved pegs and string LOL - and doing all the teas and coffees and LOTS of washing up. Bless him!...

....now I didn't take photos of the cakes, so unless Maria sends me some I will just have to tell you that I made Mini Carrot Cakes, delicious Granola Squares, Key Lime Cheesecake and Nina made melt-in-the-mouth brownies.

So here I am welcoming everyone - I did several demos during the party...

...here I am showing how to make clouds with a scallop circle mask...

...at exactly 11.30 Maria & I unveiled the pre-loved sales table, it was just as popular as last year - Mike looked out of the kitchen to see the excitement in progress...

... here I am demonstrating my beloved Big Shot LOL.....

...and here is one of the two make and take tables...

...there was viewing of the display boards - and yes I know I make too much, but that Big Shot has made me so creative - also many thanks to Teri Pocock for being such an inspiration at team training - and there are a few swaps there too...

... and there was glass glitter...

For those of my customers who didn't make it, I will be posting lots of the projects over upcoming weeks, (and months - I did make a lot LOL!). I will leave you with a final look at those projects....

I hope you have enjoyed your visit - thank you again to all the lovely ladies who came along and see you all soon.

Today is the day...

2011-05-14T20:39:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

Well today I am holding my Customer Thank You party - but with the magic of scheduling I am here with you too!

This was the second project we made during our May classes - using the Big Shot and the fabby Pillow Box die to create a little box in moments.

We used the wonderful Cath Kidston-like designer paper called Springtime Vintage. Like many papers it didn't look too inspiring in the catalouge image, but is simply fabulous in real life. I used an off-cut strip of the reverse of the DSP to create an accent.

I used the Four Frames swirly label stamp and punched it with the Modern Label punch to get a different effect.

We also did the ravelled ribbon effect using Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon. This ribbon is not what we in the UK would call seam binding. I was expecting something heavy and industrial - instead it is light, easy to tie and shines. Love it! A final rhinestone finished a really cute little project.

Hopefully, if I remember to take photos, I will be back with pics of my Customer Thank You party in a couple of days. X

May Class Watercolouring

2011-05-13T19:11:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

With just a few days until my Customer Thank You Party, I am rushed off my feet making samples and planning the goodies I am going to bake for my lovely ladies.

I am just pausing to show you one of our May class projects.

Sometimes you see a stamp set and just KNOW you have to own it. As some of you know, as a demo you can earn free stamp sets, (ask me how if you don't know). I had earned a couple and was allowed to order them from the middle of March- but I just couldn't wait - I had to have this one straight away!

It is called Nature Walk and can be found in the Mini Catalogue.

The bontanical images work well in so many colours, but I chose a spring pallet of Pretty in Pink, Garden Green, River Rock on Sahara Sand cardstock.

As I have said before, watercolouring is not my strong suit, but with a blender pen and aqua painter in hand I had a play! The image on the right is actually done with the marker direct to stamp technqiue.

The tag is cut with the new Decorative Label punch - which I am loving - such a great shape and a good size. It goes with the Four Frames stamp set too, (see below).

As you can see they have four different designs, each very different. Can't you see the bird one done as a robin come December?

OK - back to the party planning. Back in a couple of days with another project.

Butterfly Gift Card Holder

2011-05-10T20:05:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a project I have been making at some of my recent workshops. I often CASE, (copy and share everything), other peoples' great designs - but this was one that I came up with myself. (Blushes proudly!)

As you can see, it features my Big Shot and I got a few ooh and aahs from my lovely hostesses and their guests as they watched how easily this project came together.

Outside I cut the Designer Paper, (one of the Lap of Luxury papers), with the Top Note die. I scored it and adhered it to the Perfect Plum cardstock.

Next I got out the Beautiful Butterflies die. What is so lovely is that this die makes such big butterflies. I used the Bella Toile background stamp on the Very Vanilla butterflies and then used a blender pen and some Marina Mist ink to add some more colour.

Inside I used the biggest of the butterflies and attached it to a strip of cardstock, stuck with sticky strip around three edges to create a gift card holder.

...and I know a Tescos mobile top-up card is not very exciting! It was the only one I could find for the photo! LOL

I finished the project using the Beautiful Wings Embosslits die to create the little butterflies. I love the way these little dies cut and emboss at the same time.

I added some narrow taffeta ribbon and rhinestones to the butterfly on the front. Daubed around the edges and layered the large butterfly on a second layer cut in Marina Mist.

I hope you like this project - it is one my personal favourites!

Mini Scrap Handbag

2011-05-06T19:52:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I am sharing a project that I made a while ago for my little sister Maria. It is a mini scrapbook inside a handbag, (or purse for my US visitors).

The outside of the bag is stamped with the love sentiment from the hostess set, 'Cute by the Inch'. I used a little clip from Stampin' Up! on the closure with a magnet underneath to hold it closed. The faux brads are made with a 1/4" punch covered in Crystal Effects.

The flower is made with the Fancy Flower punch, done in Whisper White with inked edges. Inside the little scrapbook are pictures of Maria's little girls Mia and Phoebe. It was a quick and simple gift to make and Maria was delighted with it.

The final photo shows Phoebe and her Daddy Mike, giving reading a bit of a try. She doesn't look convinced does she? LOL

Hope you like todays project - back soon with more.

Why I love the Top Note!

2011-05-03T19:38:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

How much am I loving my Big Shot? Sooooo much! I don't know how I crafted without it. I was told recently that the most popular Stampin' Up! die worldwide is the Top Note and this is one of the reasons why. When you fold it width-ways it makes a topper for a small cellophane bag - and length ways it is perfect for the larger size.

This one contains my bird punch earings - aren't they cute? The wings are inked with versamark and then double embossed with silver embossing powder. I made these a while ago - if I was doing them now those birdies would have pearls for their eyes.

I love that narrow taffeta ribbon - it is my most-used ribbon so far this year. It will be featuring on one of the make and take projects we are doing at my Customer Thank You Party soon.

Back soon with more projects.

Coming Soon....

2011-05-01T18:17:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

For my regular customers, I like to do a special Customer Thank You event once a year. This year we are getting together on Saturday 14th May from 11am to 2pm. If you are a regular customer or class lady you will be getting your invitation soon. There will be cake, demonstrations, cake, make and takes, cake, tea and coffee, cake and more cake!

You will also be able to have a try with the fabby Big Shot and some of our lovely new stamps from the Mini Catalogue.

One of the lovely things about buying from Stampin' Up! is that you do get to play before your buy and have someone on hand to provide inspiration and lots of project ideas..

...this is me doing a spot of demonstrating, (actually this was in front on lots of other demonstrators at a regional training event this spring!)

On the 14th, I and my lovely downline Nina, will be sharing lots of fabby projects and ideas with you - in between eating cake of course!

Today I am going to share a distressed card made using the Notably Ornate stamp set along with one of my long-time favourites Vintage Vogue.

The background is done with the Very Vintage wheel, in Crumb Cake over a Baja Breeze card. I used the Distressing Essentials Kit to add a vintage look which I really like.

Hope you do too!

Love is in the Air

2011-04-26T17:56:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

I have had the opportunity to make some wedding and engagement cards recently. Catherine recently celebrated her Stampin' Up! themed wedding day - her colours were Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Sahara Sand - Catherine has beautiful long curly red hair and I think those would be the perfect wedding colours for her.

Also my lovely friend Laura got engaged on holiday and then my niece Sophie was engaged to Alex last month.

Here are the cards I designed...

This large double-fold card has vellum cardstock in the 'windows', showing monograms behind. I used the Broadsheet Alphabet for the initials and the flowers are stamped using Vintage Vogue, which makes a beautiful wedding card. The designer paper is from the Lap of Luxury set.

Now that is one of my more-is-more cards - my class ladies will be laughing reading this as I struggle with clean and simple designs.

But just to prove I CAN do simple, here is another design, this time done with a Big Shot embossing folder called Elegant Boquet.

I ran both the vellum cardstock and the card underneath through the Big Shot to get the embossed flower image. Inside I gently daubed the flowers to allow a little of the colour to show through.

The text is from Curly Cute - my favourite greeting set - also I have it in clear mount so it is always straight! LOL This is what is under the vellum.

I have been embossing and debossing envelopes too! There is no stopping me now I have my Big Shot!

Hope you like my wedding cards - back with more projects soon.

Mini Book Class

2011-04-22T17:32:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

I have had a few requests for a Scrapbook Mini-book Class, so ran one for 6 special ladies earlier this month. We made three little mini books, suitable for different occasions. In fact this class was so popular, I have to run it again for those that couldn't get a spot!

This is the room set up ready for everyone to arrive...

Inside the packs, which featured the fabby Elegant Soiree Designer Paper, were enough goodies to make all three mini books, with plenty of goodies to take home to do more craft projects. This is what was in each pack...

So do you want to see what we made....? We did three little mini albums for a range of occasions.

With the Royal wedding in mind, I though I would teach a wedding mini album. I designed this many, many years ago and updated it with some fabby Stampin' Up! stamps and pearls.

After unlacing the ribbon at the front the mini book unfolds....I love the paper lace and vellum layers...

Inside the mini book folds out to a 12" X 12" page with plenty of room for pictures and journalling. We used lots of stamps from Notably Ornate, Always Elegant and Baroque Motifs to create the panels.

Next we made a funky Top Note mini book. You will notice a colour theme here. The class included half a pack of Elegant Soiree designer paper, matching cardstock and pearls.

My lovely ladies could bring photos, or make up the mini books ready to add pictures and journalling later. We all had a go with the Big Shot and Top Note die, to make our chipboard, cardstock and designer paper pages - I love the way the Big Shot cuts through so many materials.

Inside we decorated those pages using punches and layers. You can see the Ornate Bloom stamp used as a background here.

So after a break for refreshments, we were back to make our final mini book - this time a pull out book, (similar to those we used to be taught to make with toilet rolls - so much nicer to do with card stock! LOL)

The front panel here is made with a mixture of punches and one of the Lots of Tags dies, made with the Big Shot. Inside is stamped with images from the Nature Walk stamp set - this would make a lovely summery album.

As you can see, Diana, Jan O, Jan S, Sophie, Rita and Sara had a great day - I hope you like our mini books.

We have more 'special' classes coming up shortly- let me know if you would like to come along.

French Foliage Mosaic

2011-04-18T17:14:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Well I had a card planned for my technique class this month which featured a very pretty hostess set called Because I Care. I did have these cards on display during my class and will put them at the end of this post - but having received French Foliage, I couldn't resist a re-design!

I just ADORE this stamp set - you can't go wrong with it! First we stamped some random images on a rectangle of whisper white cardstock, then used the 11/4" square punch to punch out six squares. We then created a mosaic with the images, (some did them in the order they were stamped in as above, some were laid out at random, as below).

The background is Crumb Cake card stock stamped with the Very Vintage wheel to create a subtle effect.

We finished with the oh-so-cute buttons, created with the Big Shot machine and Sweet Buttons Embosslits die. That machine makes such great embellishments - we simply cut and daubed them with Crumb Cake ink and drew in the thread with an Early Espresso marker.

OK here are the original designs... Baja Breeze and River Rock

And a monochrome option...

I do like the Because I Care ones - but my favourite has got to be French Foliage - so what do you think?

Another April Wedding Project

2011-04-15T17:06:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

As promised back with another wedding-flavoured project from our April class. This one was matching the little Baja Breeze favour box we made and features the first class outing for my Big Shot machine. (By the way, DH is calling it the Big Boy - he has heard about nothing else for weeks LOL)!

We used a simple fold by scoring down the front of the card half way across and then decorating the front facing portions using the hearts from Confetti - very wedding or anniversary apporpriate!

We cut a Top Note shape in Very Vanilla with the Big Shot, then stamped using Always Elegant, which makes a lovely wedding set. We added a couple of pearls, and finished with a couple of punches - the fabby Decorative Lable punch, which layers well with the Designer Lable.

Back with the final April class project soon...

Royal Wedding Class

2011-04-12T16:52:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

You may have noticed we have a bit of a big wedding going on in the UK this month - so with this in mind I planned a slightly wedding themed class for my lovely ladies this month.

We started with a cute all in one box with a pop up lid. I learned how to make this from lovely Catherine, whose wedding is also this month. (Different Catherine - I don't think Kate Middleton made her own invitations and decorations!)

Now we actually made a Baja Breeze one in class, but this is a similar style, (I don't think I have a photo of the Baja one). It is hard to see quite how it pops up - but you may be able to see from the photo below...

I did lots of wedding samples recently to inspire some special people. Laura who just got engaged, Diana whose daughter's wedding is this week and Jan S who makes and sells wedding favours.

I will share some more of these in more detail over the next couple of months, but in the meantime I will be back with more projects from our April class soon.

Family Creations

2011-04-09T16:30:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today I sharing two little projects I made for my family members recently.

First my sister had her birthday a couple of weeks ago. Maria and I are buying each other a sisters' day out later in the year for our birthdays, (we are going to a show, cream tea and a fabby dinner), but I wanted to give her a little something to open on her special day.

I bought her a little pot of eyeshadow and made a pretty little gift box for it using the Big Shot machine and a Mini Milk Carton die.

It is closed with a paperclip with a little narrow taffeta ribbon in Marina Mist to match the ink I used. Did you notice the French Foliage stamps in evidence again? I am loving that set so much.

I finished the box with the M from Broadsheet Alphabet and a rhinestone for a bit of birthday bling!

My next card features another stamp set I really love - Just Believe. I made this as a Mothers' Day card, (for my US visitors, Mother's day is earlier in the UK).

I had a play with my Colour Spritzer Tool to get the speckled effect on the Sahara Sand card. The flower is stamped in White Craft Ink and I finished the card with a button threaded with Linen Thread.

Inside I used a top note insert, the butterfly comes from Nature Walk, (another lovely stamp set from the new Mini Catalogue) and the sentiment is from Occasional Greetings - a very useful set to own.

Back with some more projects soon.

Red Sails in the Sunset

2011-04-06T16:21:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

Today's project would make a GREAT man card - something I know many of us struggle with. This sweet boat stamp is a single stamp from Stampin' Up! called Sail Away.

I stamped it on to watercolour paper in Stazon ink and used aqua painters and blender pens to colour it in.

Do you know the song, 'Red Sails in the Sunset'? I thought I would colour them in a mixture of Real Red and Riding Hood Red.

I know my watercolouring is not the best - must practice more - I bet you could do better, but I do love this stamp.

The frame is an off cut left over after cutting out a Top Note shape with the Big Shot - even the leftovers are fabby aren't they?

Colour combination is Real Red, Riding Hood Red, Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze.

Back soon with some family projects.

Mini Pillow Boxes

2011-04-03T16:08:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone

So did you miss my last post? Well scroll down if you did and find out all about my new favourite toy, (or tool as I am calling it at home), the Big Shot!

It appeared in our new Mini Catalogue and I have been having a great time creating lots of different projects to share with you.

Now if you came to my Blue & Sparkley Christmas class last year, you will remember painstakingly cutting and scoring our card to create a pillow gift box - now we can make them in a flash with Pillow Box die.

The one above was a distressed effect using Newsprint designer paper and the Music Note wheel. Below I have used my favourite stamp set from the new Mini Catalogue - French Foliage. I love everything I have made with this stamp set - it is so easy to create a lovely collage effect and works in lots of different colour combinations.

Back soon with some more cute projects for you.

BIG Announcement!!!

2011-04-01T08:01:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone

IT'S HERE! The brand new UK Mini Catalogue from Stampin' Up! is here - and it contains something BIG!

The new big thing from Stampin' Up! in Europe is the Big Shot die cutting machine. Yay!

The Big Shot is a sturdy manual die cutting machine which can be used to die cut materials for use on crafts, home décor projects, and even clothing. We at Stampin’ Up! are very excited about it and you’ll love what the Big Shot machine can do for you!

Die cuts are an easy way to create elaborate-looking shapes and projects with minimal effort, and they look amazing on whatever project you're working on.

You will also appreciate the exclusive dies you can get in Stampin' Up!'s range - so you can always find coordinating products.

There are so many wonderful things you can create using the Big Shot, I hardly know where to start! I have been having SO much fun creating with it and will be sharing lots of projects over the weeks to come.

Today's project uses two of the 24 available dies, (18 of these, including the two below are exclusive to Stampin' Up!)

This card features the beautiful Top Note die that creates that fabby Real Red background - the Big Shot cuts and creates the stitching effect around the edge. I also used the wonderful Fun Flowers die - how beautiful is that flower? And SO easy to cut with just one turn of the Big Shot handle! The stamps are both from Notably Ornate, stamped in Soft Suede ink.

So if you are reading this and want to know more - why not book a workshop or come to one of my classes? The Big Shot will be featuring at them all.

Now there are also lots of other exciting goodies in the mini catalogue - you can see it now online here or contact me for your own copy to flip through!