New season New catalogue

Well I thougt it was about time I shared some samples with you of the new stamps thate in the 2009-2010 catalalogue.

First there is Whimsical Wings. A 4 stamp set which is a level 2 Hostess set free with orders over £300. Get a few friends together and place a group order or invite me round for a workshop to get this beautiful set. Then there is Tree trimmings, a set of 3 tree ornements with a stampo for the string too. This is a set of 4 stamps for £10.95 great for Christmas cards, scrapbook layouts and Christmas gifts.

The final set I'm sharing is Animal Stories, a set of 4 stamps for £12.95. With 4 cute animals these are perfect for and baby or child projects.

For futher information on these and other new items availible from Stampin! Up just email me and I will send you a free copy of the 2009-2010 catalogue & idea book worth £4.95.

Also starting thie month is my latest Stampers 6 group, there are just 2 places left. For more info read this

Scrap Sunday

I haven't scrapbooked in ages, not since the 'Sweet Baby' lay out I have earlier on this blog. Today I got the urge.

I went blog hopping for some inspiration and happened upon Twisted Sketches who have some fab sketches and very challenging challenges. This weeks challenge is to use some kind of tape on your LO! Well I went for the old faithful masking tape which was used to mask off the edges of the Kraft card so I could stamp using my SU! background stamp 'En Francais'. I left one side of the mask on as a border.

I also found My Favourite Things blog, where Dawn sets a colour challenge. Number 16 is Orange-Gold, Kraft,Chocolate & Cream. Which sounds a really easy combination until you set to finding and orange which is more gold! At first I though Summer Sun, but it was too yellow then I settled on More Mustard.

The LO above is of my niece as a bridesmaid and all the papers/card are Stampin' Up! I used Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Kraft & Very Vanilla. The flourish is a Quickutz set and the paper is from the SU! set Sweet Always.

Getting Funky with Sketch Saturday!

Earlier in the year I'd downloaded some digi stamps from InStyle Stamps for Easter then forgot all about the place. That was until receiving an email yesterday with a discount code to use! So off I went for a browse around the shop and downloaded 4 fab digi stamps.

Their stamps & digi stamps are mainly in 3 themes, Fairy, Retro and Anime. The stamp used here is Nathan from their Anime range and is perfect for boy cards.

Now this brings me nicely on to the challenges.

Get Funky this month is challenging us to make boy cards using , as always, either their papers or 'extras'. I've made this card using Sketch Saturday #66 with both paper and extras from the Funky Hand 'Minty madness' set. Nathan is coloured with ProMarkers

3 in 1

Now anyone who reads my blog will know I recently started collection ProMarkers and am completely hooked. I currently have a very modest stash of 23 markers so I can't always join in with the Passion For ProMarkers challenge however this week's is any colours with a theme. The theme being 'Girly & Glittery' so I've used a Heidi from June's All That Scraps new releases and used Star Dust Stickles for her wings, which haven't shown up very well at all! ProMarkers used are Ivory, Blush, Amethyst, Sky Blue, Canary, Grass.

Now I said 3 in one for the title, Passion for Promarkers being the first challenge this card is for, the second challenge being for Dare U 2 Digi Stamp, I found this via someone esles blog, I think it was Jan's. There challenge always involves using a digi 'stamp' and this week you have to follow their recipe of 1 ribbon, 2 pattern papers & 3 flowers, which I think I've covered. As I've mentioned before I'm to impatient to wait for stamps to arrive and where available I buy the digi download version, which I did with Heidi.

As for the 3rd challenge, well that's the sketch from Stamp With Us where you have to use SU! products which isn't very hard at all considering I am drowning in a see of Stampin' Up! loveliness! The card, paper, ribbon and punches used to create this card is from SU! and the layout of the card is from this weeks sketch challenge. Colours used are Temping Turquiose, Green Galore and Lovely Lilac, the papers are from the Rainbow Sherbet DSP pack.

Mojo Monday 102

I found this weeks Mojo Monday sketch a little challenging... which I suppose is the purpose after all! It wasn't the main element, I knew Gretel from All that Scraps would get her first outing the moment I saw the sketch, it was the two elements at the side that threw me!

I spent Sunday sorting my craft room out and have a huge pile of stuff to list on Ebay and a whole load of stuff that has found a new home on my craft desk. The reason I have gone off on a tangent to tell you this is to mention where I found the element I ended up using for the sentiment. I was sorting out my tool bag and in the depths of it I found a pack of clear acrylic tags and buttons which had emptied out and I'd forgotten I had, they now live in a tiny RUB on my craft desk handy and not easily forgotten again!

So, I have used Circle of Friends SU! set cut with 1" SU circle punch and used Glossy Accents to adhere to the underside of the acrylic tag. The colours used for colouring, card, ribbon and paper are So Saffron, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and More Mustard. Gretel is coloured with SU! markers, but the skin tones are ProMarkers and cut with my Nesties. Brads, as usual from my stash.

September Card Maps

Yet again this month I've been asked by the very talented and very lovely Becky Fleck to contribute to the PageMaps site/newsletter. I'm still waiting for my number to come up for the PageMaps but am very happy to be asked a second time to work with a CardMap.

When I first saw the sketch I though 'Uh oh' and wasn't sure about the embellishment/ribbon near the top and main image below centre but as I started working on my card and working out what I wanted to use it just came together.

I think this card is what actually finished my Zip e' Mate off! It never really liked having Cuttlebug embossing folders through it and seemed to protest that little bit more at this one.

I've used Very Vanilla for the DL card base and stamped onto a piece with Soft Summer from Stampin' Up!. The black background piece down the centre is Basic Black embossed with Textile Cuttlebug embossing folder, I sanded the embossing and sweeped over it with White Brilliance ink. I added a bit of ribbon and a giant brad from my stash.

Cute Kiki a bit late!

I know this is almost 2 weeks late but I just loved this sketch on the All That Scraps blog from the 19th August.

All That Scraps is a fab online shop from the US which sells gorgeous stamps not just from other company's but their own range including the new Kiki La Rue set. I am far to impatient to wait for stamps from the USA and always, when I can buy digital image 'stamps', which thankfully All That Scraps offers with their range.

So here she is, Shy Kiki coloured with Promarkers, which isn't easy with printer ink! The card and paper are all Stampin' Up! Real Red & Tempting Turquoise with Whisper White & Sahara Sand using a bit of glitter for the centre of the flowers punched using the 5 petal punch from SU!