On Friday I am taking part in the ILWS blog hop, organised by a fellow demonstrator, to celebrate the launch of Sale-a-Bration and the new Spring Mini catalogue.
There are around 20 demonstrators taking part so there will be lots of inspiration, why not come and 'hop' along with us? On each person's blog there should be a link to the previous and the following blog so you can join in anywhere along the way.
Hope to see you all on Friday x

Today's card was inspired by a card made by Jen Nelson, a designer for LIM. My card is very different from Jen's but I liked the idea of 2 panels with the bottom one embossed and that's where the similarity stops!

I used Naturals White cardstock for both the card base and the two panels, with Cajun Craze and Certainly Celery for the colour scheme. The bottom panel is embossed with a new folder coming up in the Spring Mini and is called Honeycomb (available from 1st Feb) and the edges of both panels are sponged with Cajun Craze. The flowers were made with the Floral Fusion Sizzlits die and a punch from Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, and the leaves cut with the Little Leaves Sizzlits die. A sentiment from Sassy Salutations was stamped on the top panel and a couple of small butterflies from the Beautiful Wings die were added to finish the card off.

My card today is one that I CASE'd from Dawn Griffith (her card can be seen here). I loved the way she had shaped the cardstock and when I worked out how to do it I had to have a go at making one. For those of you who want to know, a strip of card is slotted a little way into the Elegant Butterfly punch so it just punches the top of the wings (the bottom piece is done in the same way but turned upside down) The cardstock is Rich Razzleberry, the large butterflies are punched with the Elegant Butterfly punch in a design from the Sycamore Street DSP and the small butterflies are Pool Party cardstock cut with the Beautiful Wings Embosslits. The sentiment is from a Sale-a-Bration set called Vintage Verses and is stamped with Rich Razzleberry.
I'm so glad to see the back of all that snow but, at the same time, really feel for all those that are now affected by the awful floods. I hope you're not one of them! Take care and I'll be back soon x

Less is More - one more time!

As promised here is the third card I made for the Less is More Sketch challenge. A really simple card using just two stamps and a sentiment. The trellis from Summer Silhouettes was stamped in Crumb Cake and then overstamped with the small flower, from the same set, in Primrose Petals. The sentiment is a sneak peek from a set which will be available in the Spring Mini from 1st February, called A Little Greeting. I added two rows of score lines above and below and fixed the panel to a card blank. If you wanted to 'bling it up' a bit you could add some tiny Basic pearls to the flower centres.
After writing this post ready for tomorrow I had a go at yet another card so I'm just going to sneak this in here!  Made using a stamp from the Bright Blossoms set along with the 5 new In-Colours for 2012-14, with a little bit of Midnight Muse Stitched Satin ribbon and a few Basic Rhinestones.

Less is More Revisited!

Wow two posts in one day - they're a bit like buses aren't they, nothing for ages then two at once! I knew when I saw the sketch challenge at LIM today that I would have to have more than one go, this simplicity is right up my street when it comes to card designs. If you would like to see my other entry scroll down to the previous post.
Here I have used some DSP for the horizontal band, it is one of the designs from the Sale-a-Bration pack called Sycamore Street. I cut one edge using a die from the Adorning Accents Edgelits set and then embossed it with the co-ordinating embossing folder (you can see this better in the small close-up photo). This was glued onto a white card blank and a sentiment from Curly Cute was stamped using Summer Starfruit. I added a very thin strip of Summer Starfruit cardstock along the top of the DSP and four Summer Starfruit flowers, punched with a stamp from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch pack, with a Basic Pearl in the centre.
I have made another card using this sketch but, as I thought 3 posts in one day was just a little OTT, I'll show you that tomorrow! Take care x

Less is More Sketch

The Less is More challenge this week is a sketch (bottom left) and, despite having lots of jobs to do, I had to have a go at this first!
I decided to do a Get Well card using the Fruit & Flowers stamp set and this is what I came up with. I started by masking a panel with post-it notes and inked the stamps using a Real Red & Old Olive markers. After removing the post-its I drew two lines across with the Old Olive marker and added part of a sentiment from Hopeful Thoughts underneath.
For this card I used the Naturals White cardstock which has quite a rustic feel to it - not too 'pretty' if you know what I mean. Stamping directly onto this cardstock doesn't give the clear, crisp image you usually get from SU stamps but, sometimes, I think this is a nice look for a change.
I love the sketch the ladies have given us this week, very simple and understated so I'm sure I will be back with more entries!
Well I don't know about you but we didn't get the snow that was promised last night (thankfully!). However it does feel very cold and icy out there at the moment so I think I will leave the jobs, that need me to go out, until later :0)
Have a good weekend and I'll be back soon x

Sale-a-Bration Goodies

Another card to show you using SAB goodies. This one is made using my acrylic blocks with Pool Party, Island Indigo and Tangerine Tango for background stamping. This is an easy technique - just press your acrylic block firmly down onto your ink pad and then onto your cardstock. Mary Fish (at Stampin' Pretty) has just posted a video on her blog showing you how to do this so, if you would like to see it, click here. I stamped the 2 sentiments from Vintage Verses in Staz-on and decorated the card with a button from Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button pack, threaded with Baker's Twine and some simple flowers punched, from a design in the Sycamore Street DSP pack, with the flower punch from Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (available from the main catalogue). The Whisper White panel is matted onto Pool Party cardstock and then onto a white card blank. 

This technique is one you need to play around with and I can guarantee you will never make 2 cards exactly the same!

Friends again

Faced with the snow, and my own company, for 2 days last weekend and then an unexpected extra day off work on Monday saw me doing an unusual amount of crafting. I have had the stamp set I used for this card since last October and this is the first time it's been out of the box - how bad is that? Anyway, it's called Language of Friendship which is particularly appropriate for this week's  

Less is More challenge of 'Friends'.

I think this is a set that is easily overlooked in this year's rather large catalogue however it is a lovely set which also co-ordinates with the Bird Builder and Boho Blossoms punches. I didn't use the punches for this card and settled for stamping directly onto Very Vanilla cardstock. As the bird, his wing and the branch are all on one stamp this meant I had to colour the individual elements with markers and use my Stamp-a-ma-Jig to position onto the card. I am no bird expert so this is just a 'made up' one using a blender pen, Early Espresso and Old Olive for the colouring. The sentiment is also from the set, which has the name of the author underneath the phrase but, as I wanted it to fit onto a Modern Label, I just coloured the bit I wanted with a marker. This was matted onto a Decorative Label which had been trimmed down (the curly bit at the top & bottom cut off!) and everything assembled on a 10cm square card blank made with Early Espresso.

Until next time keep warm and hopefully this weekend will see the last of the snow x

Sale-a-Bration & Sneak Peek Treat Box

Sale-a-Bration is here again and, very soon, the Spring Mini catalogue will be here as well. Last night I made this little treat box using some SAB products along with some 'sneak peak' products from the mini just to wet your appetite! For more details of the SAB products I used see below.
I used Calypso Coral cardstock cut with a brand new Framelit die (part of a set available in the mini) to make the outside of the box and added an oval piece of DSP from the SAB Sycamore Street pack. The flower is made with a brand new product which you will be able to purchase from the Spring Mini on 1st Feb and the button in the centre, along with the ribbon tying the box, is from the Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button pack, another SAB set. The sentiment is from a set called Pretty Petites and punched with the co-ordinating Petite Curly Label punch, both from the SAB promotion. A stamp set and a co-ordinating punch both for free with qualifying spend - how good is that?? Here are more details about those SAB freebies I used

Sale-a-Bration starts today and runs until 22nd March. If you are not familiar with this promotion then let me tell you more. During the SAB period, for every £45 spent on products you can choose a free gift from the SAB brochure (and this year, for the first time, there are also some products from the main catalogue to choose from), there is a bigger range of products to choose from this year than ever before. What are you waiting for? Get out your wish list and get even more for your money! Not only that but, if you hold a workshop and get qualifying sales you can also earn even more freebies on top of the usual Hostess Benefits (see below for details). To view the catalogue click on the link here

Sale-A-Bration +  Stampin’ Up!’s 25th anniversary = the best time to host a Stampin’ Up! party!

• Get FREE Silver Glimmer Paper when you host a 200 €/£150 workshop!*  
• Get a FREE hostess bundle when you host a 425 €/£300 workshop!* 

Hostess Bundle Details:
The Hostess Bundle includes

• Madison Avenue stamp set (wood- or clear-mount)
• Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper
• Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack

*Offers are not incremental (i.e., a hostess does not receive two packages of Glimmer Paper for a 400 €/£300 workshop or two bundles for a 850 €/£600 workshop).

NEWS-print

Back today with a card from my favourite stamp set at the moment, Summer Silhouettes. I was making a card and gift box for my daughter-in-laws birthday (can't show you yet as she hasn't seen them herself) and, as all the supplies were out, I had a go at making a card using the Newsprint Speciality DSP. The images were stamped using Old Olive and Raspberry Ripple and the card blank is made with Naturals White cardstock. The sentiment is from Made for You, a set of 3 sentiment stamps for just £10.95, available from the main catalogue. This was punched with the Oval punch and matted onto a Naturals White Scallop Oval.
Well a better day here weatherwise, only a dusting of snow early this morning and it now seems to be thawing (I know that because I can hear a constant dripping on my conservatory roof - think it's called Chinese water torture isn't it? (although apparently it has to be dripped onto my forehead to send me insane - well it's doing a pretty good job anyway!!) No work for me today as school was closed, so extra crafting time this week :0)
As I have used Summer Silhouettes for my post today, below are some New Year cards which I didn't find time to blog - bye for now x

Trial and Error?

This weekend has seen me doing more crafting than I have for a long time and, whilst making some pre-planned items, I ended up with lots of scraps. Usually these go in the bin but I thought I would have a little play and try out an idea. Maybe the colours together look a bit 'Christmassy' but, looking outside at the moment, I only need some fairy lights and it would actually be the perfect Christmas scene! The colours I used are Old Olive, Whisper White, Very Vanilla and Raspberry Ripple.
To make the card I gathered all the strips together and glued them diagonally onto a piece of Whisper White before running through a brand new embossing folder coming up in the Spring Mini (you'll be able to get your hands on this on 1st February!) and then glued this to a white card blank. The (retired) sentiment was stamped in Old Olive and punched out with the Extra large Oval punch. This was then matted onto a larger oval (another sneak peek at part of a set, which again will be available in the Spring Mini) which had a hole punched and some Bakers Twine threaded through and knotted.
The close up picture shows the new Embossing Folder in much better detail. I am really quite pleased with this effect and I will definitely be having another go but, despite it being a way to use up scraps, I probably won't wait that long!
I hope you are all keeping safe and warm. We have had another inch of snow here since 8.30 this morning - not bad considering they said the snow wouldn't arrive here until 12 o'clock and it would be heavy :(0 I am desperately hoping school will be closed tomorrow as I could win prizes for being the biggest wimp when it comes to driving in it!
Take care, be back soon x

Friends at LIM

Today the challenge at Less is More is on the theme of 'Friends' and this is my entry. Yesterday I was watching a video on YouTube called 'Quick & Easy Focal Points' so I thought I would give it a go. (If you would like to see how it's done the video can be found here). I started by stamping a retired stamp, in Elegant Eggplant, straight onto a 12cm square card blank, this was then masked off using a post-it note cut slightly bigger than the sentiment. The leaf stamp from Summer Silhouettes was inked with Certainly Celery, stamped off and then stamped onto the card with the flowers stamped in Perfect Plum (I don't think I could have cleaned my small stamp properly last time I used it because they look a little redder than the larger flowers!). The mask was then removed before drawing two straight lines part way across the card using a ruler and an Elegant Eggplant marker pen. The card was finished off with a strip of Elegant Eggplant cardstock, punched down one side with the Scallop Trim Border punch.
This morning saw me shovelling snow in an attempt to dig my car out and clear my drive and, guess what, it's snowing again with even more forecast for tomorrow. Was it worth it I ask myself???
Until next time I will leave you with a couple of snowy photos of my garden - very pretty but I wish it would go away :(0

Speedy Sorry!

One of my all-time favourite crafters is Vicky, over at Crafting Clare, and each week she posts a card under the heading 'Three Minute Thursday' (click on the link to see her lovely 3 minute card she posted today). Well Vicky I think I may just have beaten you by about 30 seconds today!!!
I sold something on ebay this week and, unintentionally, overcharged on the postage so I needed a very quick card to accompany the refund. A bit silly really when it cost me a 60p stamp to return £1 but at least I have a clear conscience now!!
I stamped 2 of the stems from Summer Silhouettes directly onto a 4" square card blank using Old Olive then, using my Old Olive marker, coloured the 'so sorry' part of a retired stamp and stamped this onto Whisper White. I punched the sentiment out using the small Scallop Circle punch, available in the Autumn/Winter mini, and matted this onto a larger Old Olive Scallop Circle before fixing on top of the stamped stems. I think it actually took me longer to write the address on the envelope than it did to make the card :0)
I hope you are all managing to keep warm in these sub-zero temperatures, it looks much prettier than it feels. Roll on Spring x

With Love

Hello on this very cold and frosty morning (no I'm not going to start singing about mulberry bushes!) and as we are fast approaching February I thought I would show you a little 'not too slushy' Valentine's card. I started with a 10cm square card blank along with a piece of Real Red and Whisper White cardstock. Before adhering the Whisper White to the Real Red it was embossed towards the bottom with the hearts folder from the Adorning Accents Edgelits set. A large heart was diecut using the Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits folder and glued in place before adding a Real Red heart, punched with one of the punches in the Itty Bitty Shapes set, and a Basic Rhinestone added to the centre. I don't have any current Valentine's sentiments but I thought this one from Perfect Pairs made the card say a lot without saying too much - if you get my drift!! Now onto the ribbon. At Christmas I was given a shop bought card from a friend and it had a ribbon fixed to it just like this and I loved it. Sometimes on a card (particularly one like this) it needs a little something extra but there's not really room to add a ribbon, well this solves the problem. Punch a little hole towards the top of the card, take a piece of ribbon and fold in half, poke the loop through the hole (from the back to the front) bring over the 2 tails and thread through the loop. It does take a bit of careful pulling to get it right but gives a lovely result I think. The panel was then positioned onto the card blank and job done :0) Thankfully, after what didn't turn out to be a very good year for our family, things seem a lot more settled and I am gradually getting back into the swing of crafting a bit more - to the detriment of the housework I have to say!! So hopefully in time I will get back to blogging on a more regular basis. A big thank you to all who have left such lovely comments and I am sorry I have not had time to return the favour but, one step at a tme as they say. Bye for now x

Sneek Peek

My card today is showing you a sneek peek of some brand new products coming very soon. A sentiment from a set that you will be able to get absolutely free and an embossing folder in the new Spring Catalogue, which runs from 1st Feb - 30th June. The Sale-a-Bration promotion is up first though, running from 22nd Jan through to 22nd March and for every £45 spent on products you can choose a free gift from the SAB catalogue (and this year there are also some selected products available from the main catalogue to choose from)
Now onto the card - there are a lot of very similar cards out there in blogland but this is my version. I started by embossing a section on a piece of Whisper White with the Honeycomb Embossing Folder (Spring Mini) and this was matted onto an Old Olive panel. I ran a couple of pieces of Old Olive DSP through the embossing folder and, because it is very deep embossing on this particular folder, it almost cuts through the DSP so the little hexagons are easily 'popped' out and then you just have to trim the edges with sharp paper snips. These were then glued in a pattern onto the embossed panel and a piece of Old Olive Taffeta ribbon tied around before fixing to a white card blank. The sentiment comes from a set of 4 called Vintage Verses which is an SAB set you can get for free, which I punched out with the Extra Large Oval punch and inked the edge before fixing to the card. To tell you the truth I did stamp it directly onto the card but it was wonky so I needed a quick fix!!
I hope you're all having a good weekend despite the arctic temperatures :0) Originally they forecast snow here for today, then tomorrow and now they're saying Monday teatime. I'm really not looking forward to that!!