New Mini Catalogue Blog Hop...

Well if you have started this blog hop here, work your way around all 16 of us otherwise you would have come here from Sara's Blog. We have all published projects using stash from the new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue. If you would like to get your hands on a copy, just drop me an email.

I made this project for the Demonstrator Choice at Reading last week, which I attended for Stampin' Up! Training... much to my surprise I actually won the Demonstrator Choice Competition.... there were so many stunning entries and many that I thought were much better than mine.

For this project I used Tempting Turquoise and Rose Red Cardstock and the new Sweet Pea Paper Stack.

And can you believe the lushness of these felt flowers and leaves.... how absolutely wonderful are they, you will find these in the Mini Catalogue too...

And here is what was contained inside.... 4 cards, all very different with envelopes to match....

Here are the cards on their own, again using Patterned Paper from the Sweet Pea Stack, all the colours match and co-ordinate and make them so easy to use together.

Here are 2 of the cards and matching envelopes.....

And true to form, I also decorated the insides of the cards. This is the inside of the cards shown in the photograph above this one...

And the other 2 cards with matching envelopes, I am just loving these easel cards at the moment and they are so easy to make...

And again, the insides of the cards.... the colours are just so bright and vibrant...

For this card I used Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red and Old Olive Cardstock. I used the Patterned Paper from the new Sweet Pea Paper Stack and cut some extra flowers out to decoupage on the ones on the front of the card, you can probably see this if you look closely. The ribbon is the Rose Red Stitched Grosgrain and the Tempting Turquoise Grosgrain, and the Old Olive Cardstock has been punched using the Scallop Border Punch....

For this card I used Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip Cardstock, the papers from the Sweet Pea Paper Stack, the birds were punched out of a sheet of the Patterned Paper. The Tempting Turquoise Cardstock was punched using the Scallop Border Punch and the Old Olive Cardstock and Patterned Paper were stuck on top, I then punched three 1 3/8" holes down this stack.... this whole stack was then mounted onto dimensionals to hold if off the card blank. The Scallop Circles were punched and then punched again using the 1 3/8" punch to leave just a scallop frame. These were stuck around the holes punched into the stack and the birds were stuck through the holes and onto the Rose Red Card Blank so that they were lower than the rest of the card to add some dimension... I'm not sure if you can see that looking at this picture.

For this card I used Pretty In Pink, Tempting Turquoise and Rose Red Cardstock, again Patterned Paper from the Sweet Pea Paper Stack, Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon.. The bird was again punched out from the Patterned Paper and I punched 7 Tempting Turquoise circles to place underneath the bird punch out to make a flower shape. I pierced the corners to add a bit of interest.

This project used Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip Cardstock. Again Sweet Pea Paper Stack for the Patterned Paper, punched out bird and I also cut out a bird for the top image. The ribbon is Chocolate Chip Grosgrain... I also used the Scallop Border Punch and the Scallop Circle Punch.

And that is my project completed. I hope you enjoyed looking, now move on to Debbi's Blog where you will find another great project.

I am also selling off a huge amount of my stamps (not Stampin' Up!) if you are interested, check out my blog post here...

Take care all xx

More Sneak Peeks.....

I attended a Stampin' Up! Training Day at Reading last Saturday and my wonderful downline Teri had made me this little box using new stash from the mini catalogue.....

and inside was two bottles of Sanctuary lushiousness which I have had my eye on for a while now and despite hinting didn't get any for Mother's Day or Valentines Day, so was doubly gorgeousness for me..

I just want to say thank you so much to Teri, it was a lovely surprise and it was absolutely brilliant to finally meet you at last...

 For this set Teri used the new Vintage Vogue Stamp Set and the new Very Vintage Wheel which I haven't actually bought yet.... I wasn't sure I wanted it until I saw this gorgeous box, now it is definitely on my wish list. But I do have the Vintage Vogue Stamp Set..... watch this space...

We all took swaps along too, and here is the swap I made...

I used the new Sweet Pea Paper Stack for the Patterned Paper and the little owl is from the Fox and Friends Stamp Set, all from the new catalogue. I used Whisper White, Taken With Teal and Rose Red Cardstock and grosgrain ribbon in More Mustard and Chocolate Chip... the sentiment is from the Trendy Trees stamp set....

Am sorting out some storage in my craft area this weekend, yet again, I really need to organise my stamps better and my nestabilities.... I also have a load of stamps to sell so keep your eye on here if you love Magnolia, KatzelKraft, Sugar Nellie, Autumn Leaves and a few other stamps.... I am also selling a hardly used Scor Pal which I bought but wasn't sure I liked.

Have a great weekend all xx

Sneak Peak

Stampin' Up! have a new mini catalogue coming out on 1st April and I thought I would show you a sneak peak of what is in there.....

The Patterned Paper I have used is the new Sweet Pea Paper Stack, you get 48 double sided sheets of thick paper, and they will all co-ordinate.... but most of all I love the Bird Punch.... don't you think this is just wonderful.... you get to punch out the branch, the bird and the wing... here I have made a card...

and here is the inside... I have used Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron and Pale Plum Cardstock...

and I made some little co-ordinating bags which I am giving away to my customers who have recently placed an order with me... they are filled with lengths of ribbon....

And here is the whole set, so each customer gets a little thank you card and thank you gift..... If you would like to get your hands on a new Mini Catalogue just ask, and if you place an order who knows what lush little gift you may get enclosed with your order..... there will be another Mini Catalogue Sneak Peak tomorrow and on Sunday there will be a Mini Catalogue Blog Hop for you to go browse all the lush new stash.

Have a great afternoon all xxx and thanks to you all who left such kind comments yesterday or who emailed me, they are really appreciated.

Why?

Why are people so cruel in guise of being a kind a helpful person..... this is our Great Dane on the day we got her, she became a valued member of our family, fitting in with our other dogs and cats.....

Unfortunately due to a freak accident when at a year old, she managed to damage our pugs eye and the pug had to have it removed, we had to keep them seperated whilst it healed. Unfortunately I then became worried that it might happen again and they became permanently seperated, and the Great Dane and Cocker Spaniel spent a lot of time in the garden or in the kitchen, but the children played outside and played with the dogs and had great fun together, the boys loved her. Although I must admit it did put paid to them having their big pool our last summer as we were worried she would put her claws through it, and we never had any big family bbqs, as we didn't want other members of the family being worried about the big dog hanging around them, but they were sacrifices worth making.

Unfortunately Faith didn't thrive too well during the winter last year and got skinny, we changed her food several times, wormed her kept her warm and eventually she gained the weight again. As you can see from this pictures she was a picture of health and looked so good last summer she could have won competitions with the way she stood, the size she was and her coat was so healthy.

This winter the same thing happened, again we wormed her, changed her diet, bought more blankets (they had a shed for warmth and dryness and came indoors when there was snow etc and at night time) but she was skinny. Our neighbours have a big problem with our pets, they complain about the sheer amount of cats we have and that they go in their garden (we have 5, only 4 go out of the house), he said that they bought a cat noise scarer and it worked and the cats stopped going in their garden but now the batteries have run out and so it doesn't work anymore.... they didn't like the fact that the dog sometimes jumped up at the fence in the summer when they were sitting out (bear in mind our garden was much quieter last year with no children screaming and jumping in the pool and no family and church bbqs) and so he complained to the RSPCA about the dog.... why could he not have come to us and we could have explained about this problem she had and that we were doing everything we could to sort it, but the children and I were so worried the RSPCA would come in and seize all the animals (although all the others look really healthy etc, it was just a paranoid fear as you hear all these stories)..... we spoke to the Great Dane Adoption Society and they said please, please do not let the RSPCA get hold of the Great Dane, and so for her safety, and to ensure the other animals were safe we had to say goodbye to her and take her to Lincolnshire to the Great Dane Adoption Society. They were really kind, they said she wasn't the skinniest dog they had every had, that is was quite common in Danes and they showed us some of the others that had gone in skinny.... but it was just so hard. Each day it just gets harder having left her there.... I used to sit with her in the garden sometimes and talk to her, she used to put her feet on my shoulders when I crouched down and kind of hugged me when I was sad.... I cried many tears watching her get thin and I looked forward to the day when she gained weight and we could go for our walks again....

Again, why are people so cruel, all it would have taken was a chat to us, I have never been rude when they have complained about the animals, I offered to buy them new batteries for their cat scarer, its not like we brought our animals into the area, I have lived here for 24 years, they have lived here for about 5, we had animals when they moved in....

And here is our final photograph, the boys with her just before they went to school and we had to take her on the long journey to her new home.....

I miss you Faith..... so much!!

Busy Busy Making Swaps....

Well I have been really busy, but cannot show you what I have been making, I have made 30 swaps for my Stampin' Up! Training at Reading on Saturday, and I am also taking part in a swap on the forum ILWS, so have been busy making 15 swaps for that, but cannot show you what I have made until after the swapping is over, so I am fast running out of cards to show you.... lol

For this card I have used Barely Banana Cardstock and Chocolate Chip Cardstock from Stampin' Up!, the patterned paper is from the Green Stack, the sentiment is computer generated and the flowers and brad are from my stash.... I have also used the Martha Stewart Punch to punch out the leaves.

I haven't forgotten to announce the winners of the Colour Challenge, have just run out of time yesterday and today, today I spent all morning and then some having my hair done and this afternoon was making swaps... this evening I am out on a course, so fingers crossed I will be able to do it tomorrow. I will also be making something else I cannot show you tomorrow, but hopefully normal service will resume next week.... rofl. I have so many ideas buzzing around in my head, but I need to stick to specific things at the moment, so I hope they keep buzzing until next week at least.

Have a great evening everyone, take care xx

A Lovely Day..... thank you to my children...

I just wanted to thank all my children who came to my house (or still live here) who made yesterday a great Mother's Day for me.... I got some gorgeous prezzies and my son and daughter in law made me a very large cake, it tastes absolutely gorgeous. Another son bought me a Mini Albums book that I wanted and a photo frame, and 2 of my other daughters bought me a Mad Hatter purse and notebook which I so desperately wanted, my son also bought a nice roast dinner that we cooked at home and another son supplied the dessert as I did not know about the big cake, we then visited my mum and delivered her card and a bottle of wine. It was my daughter's wedding anniversary also, and she also bought me a massive big bunch of flowers, really gorgeous, and we bought them a Slow Cooker for their present. It is also her birthday today and I have been there for lunch and then we popped to my sons place to see his new tattoo that he had done this morning, and guess what? I forgot to take photos of any of this.

So you are stuck with a card totally unrelated to any of the above..... lol

I used Rose Red and Taken With Teal Cardstock from Stampin' Up!, the patterned Paper is from the Green Stack and the flowers and bling are from my stash... nice and quick recipe today, just as well as I need to get on and make 30 swaps for Saturday when I am off for some Stampin' Up! Training... have a great evening all xx

Card Class.....

I thought I would show you what we did at my Card Class this month... the ladies all decided last month that they would like to make a masculine card set this month after seeing my card...

But I thought that maybe the flowers were a bit feminine, so I designed a whole new set to make, and I think they all went down really well, everyone seemed pleased and no one found them too difficult.... Here is a photo of the whole set together....

We even made a little Treat Box, I learnt to do this at a day Monica held in Peterborough, I changed the colour etc, but it was not my template.

The colours I used for this was Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard and Always Artichoke... and a small circle of Really Rust.... the Feather image is from the Nature's Nest Stamp Set and the little leaf is from the Autumn Days Stamp Set... the patterned paper is To The Nine's Speciality Paper... the chocolate bar is now all mine.... he he he

This card used Spiced Cider Patterned Paper, Elegant Eggplant and More Mustard Cardstock and the ribbon is Always Artichoke 1/4" Grosgrain. Stamp Set as above... I used the pricking mat and template to make the holes in the cardstock...

Again for this card I used More Mustard and Elegant Eggplant, the patterned paper is To The Nines and the ribbon is 1/4" Elegant Eggplant Grosgrain.

This last card is an easel card, the patterned paper is from the Perfect Plum Patterned Paper set and everything else is as above....

My little grandson who is 23 weeks old was admitted to hospital again last night, this time the doctor seemed positive that he wouldn't be going home until they found out what was wrong, this included having a gastric team on standby at the Royal London Hospital... they observed him last night, did even more blood tests and today decided that maybe he is allergic to dairy products.... er hello, we said this to them 3 months ago.... anyway this meant that I got to have my 22 month old grandson yesterday evening.... what a shame!! ha ha So small grandson is now home, he has kept his last 3 bottles down apart from the normal baby sick and we have our fingers crossed that this is the problem and finally he will start to put on weight.... the doctors have said he will never be able to have dairy products and the baby milk they have given him is only available on prescription, but hopefully for now everything will be fine... thank you everyone who has asked about him.

Hope you all have a great weekend, and Mums that you have a really great Mother's Day.... (ooops still need to make my mum a card...) Take care all xx

Anniversary Card......

This morning I had a Card Class and I think everyone enjoyed themselves, at least they said they did and they all managed to complete some wonderful cards... thank you very much ladies for coming... next months class is going to be made using the Greenhouse Garden Stamp Set, so cannot wait to get experimenting with that set. In the meantime it is my daughters 2nd Wedding Anniversary on Sunday (and it is also Mother's Day, I really need to do something about that too...). So have finally managed to make her and her hubby an Anniversary Card.

I used Perfect Plum, Rose Red and Pale Plum Cardstock with Whisper White for stamping on. The Heart and the Love image is from Love You Much Stamp Set. The heart was punched out using the new Big Heart Punch, it was smaller than the image so gave a really nice pattern on the heart. The Happy Anniversary sentiment is from the Cheers and Wishes Stamp Set, the ribbon is Elegant Eggplant Grosgrain. Oh yeah, the patterned paper is the To The Nines Speciality Patterned Paper. Think that is all....

I decorated the inside to match the front but this time used the Heart to Heart Punch to get the smaller heart shapes..... I hope they like it.

I will be back tomorrow, hopefully with a Mother's Day Card, and I am also going to put some more packs together to give away, but haven't yet managed to do that....

Have a great evening all, take care xx

A Male Card....

Well after a truly awful day yesterday and a day of running around after other people today, I did finally manage to make a birthday card for my Son in Law..... my daughter has been warned not to go on my blog until after her birthday next Monday..... lol

Not good at making male cards at the best of times and definitely not when under stress, but I was quite pleased how this one came out, the colours look much better in real life. I used the Groom Speciality Patterned Paper and the Jackpot Patterned Paper from Stampin' Up! The cardstock is Basic Black, Real Red and So Saffron and the Stamp Set is Cheers to You and is awesome for making mens cards..... they always love a pint of beer.... lol The ribbon is More Mustard and the images were coloured in using my Copic Markers.

This is the inside of the card, all nicely matching and with the added benefit of a Martha Stewart Punch.

Have a great evening all, hopefully will be back tomorrow after my card class some time... take care all xx

Cards, Cards, Cards...

Yep, another card, I dont make much else nowadays.....

Sentiment is from Verve Stamps, Patterned Paper is The Green Stack, cardstock is Tempting Turquoise and So Saffron from Stampin Up!... the "laughter" is a rub on from Stampin Up! Er... nothing much else to say, having a rather stressful day, even my new Stampin' Up! Stash hasn't lightened my mood unfortunately..... maybe a bar of chocolate.... lol

Have a great evening all xx