Stencilling fun

We have had a great deal of inky fun at a couple of my recent classes using the Stampin' Up stencils to create backgrounds for a beautiful variety of cards, for different occasions and over the next few blogs I will show you some in more detail. 

With Valentine's Day only a week away, perhaps we should have a look at the heart one first.

I sponged through the heart stencil from the "hearts and stars"set with real red onto a square of whisper white card. I then stamped the "you + me" sentiment form the seasonal "you plus me" stamp set, using black memento ink. I punched it out with the 1 3/4" circle punch before backing it onto a real red scalloped circle that I had punched out with the 2 3/8" scalloped circle punch. I fixed this to the card front with dimensionals. I made a pleated strip of the black washi tape from the "stacked with love" collection. I finished by punching a banner using the banner punch, from black card and a heart from real red card, using the heart from the itty bitty accents punch pack. Again I used dimensional to add the resulting banner to the card front. I matted the card front onto black card and then real red card. These haven't actually been mounted onto a card base and currently remain as card toppers. 

I haven't got too many Valentine cards to make, as I have been happy to stick by the one man for over 30 years and neither do I anticipate that I shall receive too many. But even after 30 years it is good to remind each other that you are special and not only for this one day.

If you would like to have a go at some stencilling techniques, I think these stencils are good quality and I was surprised by how large they were given the price. 

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Weekly Deals

There are some lovely goodies in this weeks weekly deals, so don't forget to check those out here

Lovely Ladies

If you would like to come along to the all day workshop on 21st February, entitled "Lovely Ladies" then there is still time to book. We will be using the "Forever florals" stamp set to create a variety of cards of different shapes, styles and techniques. All will be suitable for the special ladies in your life, including Mums for Mother's Day if that is appropriate for you and you get to take your very own stamp set home with you. Do get in touch via email, phone (07816996849) or my Facebook page here

 I have had a confused young man from the Middle East join the event on my Facebook page, but I am sure he would be disappointed by the fun I am offering on these lovely friendly and relaxing days.

I'll be back with some more stencils soon.

Masking on a Monday

On my last blog post, I shared a card using a masking technique featuring the gorgeous lemon stamp which is available as part of the sale-a-bration promotion. At the Monday afternoon love-a-duckie craft group a couple of weeks ago, we used that stamp and some others to create a variety of cards using the masking technique to build up layers of stamped images that appear to sit behind each other.
For the card above, it was the shell image that was masked to create the border of shells.These stamps are from the "By the Tide" set and I choose colours from the subtles collection (blushing bride and wild wasibi).

For this very different card, we used the familiar looking building brick stamp from the "Boys wil be boys" stamp set to create a pile of bricks. This time we coloured the bricks with stampin write markers from the brights collection and used co-ordinating card and designer series paper.

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Don't forget if you are tempted by any of these lovely stampin' up goodies, if your order totals £45, then you are entitled to choose one of the free items from the sale-a-bration catalogue. Do get in touch.

Lemon tree very pretty

I've had some fun this last week doing some masking to create a bunch of lemons from the "A Happy thing" stamp set, another of the sale-a-bration free gift options.
Having stamped up the images, I dug out my blendabilities markers,in old olive and daffodil yellow, to colour them in. I inked the edge of the stamped mat with old olive ink before attaching to a Whisper White notelet and then finised with some old olive ribbon and a sentiment from the stamp set, also in old olive.
This is a fabulous stamp set and the lemons are accompanied by a jolly kingfisher type bird, who can be coloured in a variety of ways.

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Lotus blossom

At last I have had a chance to play with some of my new stamp sets this evening. 

This beauty is one of the sale-a-bration collection and the only way you can get your hands on it, is as a free gift when you place an order of £45 or more. Between now and the end of March, every time you place a qualifying order, you can choose one of the lovely gifts from the sale-a-bration catalogue - and they are beautiful.

This stamp set is a three step stamp set. There are three stamps that you stamp on top of each other, either in different shades of ink, or with different intensity of ink. 

I have used rose red ink for this card. I inked up the smallest image and stamped that onto a piece of white card. I then took the second stamp, inked it up, but then stamped first onto scrap paper before stamping over the first image (this is called stamping off). For the third stamp, I stamped twice onto scrap paper before stamping over the image. Each of the stamps has a little tab on it to help you align your image. The stem is a 2 step process and I used garden green ink for mine and followed through by stamping the sentiment again in garden green ink.

You can have endless fun with this stamp trying different colour combinations. Facebook and Pinterest is already full of lovely examples of cards people have made and Stampin' Up have produced a video, so you can see the process in action. Check it out here.

I finished my card by inking the edges with rose red ink before matting onto garden green card. I then used my new happy heart embossing folder from the seasonal catalogue to emboss a mat of rose red card. I tied a length of linen thread around the side of the mat and tied a bow before attaching this to a crumb cake notecard. I finished with the lotus blossom topper. This image really doesn't need much more. That doesn't mean to say you couldn't stamp lots and create a bouquet - perhaps another day.

I think this stamp is going to prove very popular and there are so many beautiful things in the new spring summer catalogue, that finding £45 of goodies for a wishlist isn't hard - and if your wishlist reaches £90 then you can have 2 things!

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

I hope to get to play with some more goodies soon, so I'll check back and show you how I got on.

Helen

Spring has sprung

Only a very short time to wait now until you can order from the beautiful new seasonal catalogue and can start collecting sale-a-bration goodies.
There are already lots of videos posted on the Stampin' Up Europe You tube channel to get you excited. Check them out here. If something there inspires you and you want to get together with a group of friends to make, just let me know.

January Newsletter

Happy New Year Welcome to this newsletter. Let me first wish you all a very Happy New Year. I look forward to sharing some of your crafting journey over the next twelve months. We are into the last few days of the Autumn/Winter seasonal catalogue and of the Year End Closeout Sale. If you want to order anything from either of these, ensure you do so by Monday. That does, of course mean, there is a New catalogue on its way. There are some really lovely things in this catalogue, so whether you are looking to create things for your Valentine; your Mum; your Dad or the Easter Bunny, then you are going to need to browse this selection… and who isn’t going to want the punch that creates mini bows. There are new Project Life kits and some fantastic male papers. You will be able to access the catalogue online from Tuesday. There will be links on my Stampin’ Up page and on my blog. If you would like a physical copy then do get in touch with me. Any of you who are familiar with Stampin’ Up will know about the annual Sale-a-Bration promotion. During the promotion period, for every £45 you spend on Stampin’ Up goodies in one transaction, from either of the current catalogues, you can choose one of the exclusive items from the special sale-a-bration catalogue. There is a selection of stamps, papers, embellishments and even a mini project life kit. Also this year there is the opportunity to choose a set of featured blendability pens as your free gift. This is also a good time to have a Stampin’ up party, because if your party generates £200 or more in sales, you will receive an extra £20 in hostess credits above the normal rewards – that could be a whole extra stamp set.
Workshops and Classes. I have really enjoyed the opportunities to gather with groups of you for classes and workshops and I have put together a programme of opportunities for the New Year. The Love-a-Duckie Craft group will continue to meet on Monday afternoons in the Wellingborough Tesco Community Room, 1-3pm. We are always happy to welcome new people. The Create with Cake group will continue on the third Wednesday of the month in All Hallows’ Church Hall, Wellingborough, 7.30-9.30pm. Again newcomers are always welcome. The all day workshops I introduced in the autumn were very successful. I have booked All Hallows’ Hall to run a programme of different days over the coming months. The cost of these days are £30 per person. All supplies are provided, as well as tea and coffee. You will need to provide your lunch. Each day will run from 10.30 am- 3.30pm. Contact me to book your place on any of these workshops. I need payment up front, in order to purchase all the lovely supplies you need for your day. Saturdays - All Hallows’ Church Hall, Market Square, Wellingborough. 24th January Those we love – creating a decorative box frame. Option to include a photograph. Booking required by 12th January 21st  February Lovely ladies – a selection of cards for the special ladies in our lives. Includes a stamp set to take home. Booking required by 7th February 14th March Easter Workshop. Cards, treat packaging and decorations for Easter. Includes a stamp set to take home. Booking required by 28th February 18th April Build a Bouquet workshop, using the kit from the seasonal catalogue Booking required by 4th April 2nd May Dads and Guys – a selection of cards for the special men in our lives. Includes a stamp set to take home. Booking required by 18th April. Tuesdays – Eye2eye Workshop, Wollaston Courtyard,  High Street, Wollaston March 24th Tag Book – using beautiful papers, stamps ink and embellishments to create a tag book. April 21st Build a Bouquet workshop. Using a kit to create a beautiful array of paper flowers May 19th Dads and Guys – a selection of cards for the special men in our lives. Includes a stamp set to take home. June 23rd Mini-bunting –create a string of decorated paper bunting in fresh spring colours to  decorate your home -------------------------------------------------- On 13th June there will be a special day to celebrate the launch of the new Annual catalogue. There will be opportunities to see some of the new items and to use some to create projects.   I hope you will be able to join me on some of these days.
Is there anything else I can do for you? If you are in need of a card for any occasion, I always have a selection available and I am always happy to take on the challenge of special commissions. Do you need stationery for a special occasion? Weddings, Baby showers, birthdays, anniverseries…. I am happy to help create bespoke stationery in consultation with you. And what about a celebration with a difference, or even just a girls’ night in: Get in touch to discuss your requirements.

Bargain time

Who is looking for a bargain?

The madness of Black Friday, followed by cyber Monday may be behind us, but fear not. There are a couple of ways of finding lovely Stampin' Up goodies with some savings.

As always you can check out the weekly deals. Lots of lovely embossing folders this week.
But there are even more bargains to be found in the Year End closeouts. Just click here to browse.

I hope you are all more prepared for Christmas than I am. My personal Christmas Card production is underway and I have at least brought a couple of presents in the last week, but still lots to do.

Helen
xx