Crafting with Friends

The countdown is on to this weekend when I will join nearly 400 Stampin' Up! UK demonstrators at our new twice yearly training events.  We get to share ideas, inspiration and lots more and most importantly we get to come home with the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue for 2016 - 2017.  Guess what I'm doing on Sunday............

This is my take on a saying I saw on a bag a few weeks ago. What more could a girl want than crafting and drinking tea with friends for a little bit of luxurious therapy!  It takes a little patience, but the alphabet rotary stamp is perfect for adding your own messages on cards.

I'm so excited about the weekend mainly because I get to spend time with my lovely teamies, but also to catch up with friends I've made since I joined Stampin' Up! over 8 years ago.  It will be a crazy day and on Friday I've been invited to the Manager's Reception which is a complimentary meal, with information and the invitation says a gift also. Can't wait.  Just 4 more sleeps.

In the meantime I'm making lots of lovely projects to share over the coming weeks with you including using the fabulous A Nice Cuppa.  I love these toppling tea cups and I'm a great tea drinker too so they really appeal.  Are you a tea drinker? Are you good old Tetley/Typhoo or green tea or fruit teas?

Leave a comment and tell me what you prefer.

Zx

If you'd like to join the fun and be able to get your hands on new catalogues and product before anyone else please do contact me for more information or find out more on my Join now page.

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Please send hugs!

You go through life thinking that parents are invincible.  Believing they are your strength and support. Well if you're lucky like me you do.  However that has changed in recent months since my Dad started on a medical journey that led to today when as I type he is in surgery having a Gastrectomy.  His life and that of my Mum has now changed and how they take the days, months, years ahead will be a challenge.  Dad will only be able to eat small amounts and will have to become certainly in the beginning a bit of 'picnicker' taking tiny snacks throughout the day.  Hence my card that I sent to him to make him smile and wish him well.  I doubt wine or even bread will be high on his diet list, but I knew it would make him smile.

Whether you pray or send hugs and good wishes please send them my Dad's way today and for the challenging weeks ahead that he and my Mum will face.

Thank you for your support.

Zx

Stampin' Up! Christmas Cuties for Christmas Card Club

Santa Claus is coming to town is the title of our Christmas Card Club fortnightly challenge set by Carol.  I've used one of the new stamp sets from the upcoming Stampin' Up! UK Autumn/Winter catalogue.  This very cute, LOTV style, character is one of three from a set called Christmas Cuties.  Isn't he adorable and his two friends are an angel and sweet snow-suited little fellow.  They are perfect for all your Christmas cards and great for children too as they are outline images just asking to be coloured in with any type of markers you have.  I used my Stampin' Up! blender pens and ink from the lids of the relevant colour ink pads.  I stamped him first in the new Basic Black Archival ink onto watercolour paper and then it's easy to colour him in picking up as much or as little ink as you want with the blender pens allowing for a little light and shade and if you get too much ink you just flick your blender across a piece of scrap paper to loose some of the boldness of the colour.

He's framed with a gold foil doily and as you know I like my bling so a string of gold sequins unites the top designer series paper with the bottom border. Both are from the Merry Moments DSP pack in the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue.

The 'Ho Ho Ho' is another sneak peek from another new set coming in and you can use the alphabet rotary stamp to make any sentence you want on any card.  Each word is punched out with the word window punch and then reinserted from the bottom of the punch to shorten the window with the smaller words.  Sneaky peek buttons and it's all displayed on a simple stepper card as I've not only made this card in mind for our Christmas Card club challenge, but a couple of others one asking for different folds on your card and another asking for dots and/or stripes.

Be sure to visit the other ladies in our club for varied and beautiful inspiration.

Enjoy your Sunday and the week to come.
Zx

You can purchase many of the products used for this card now in my Stampin' Up! UK Online Shop right now and remember if you add the stampin' rewards code in the top right of my sidebar and spend £25 or more up to £150 you will be sent a gift in early September by me after I have closed the code and ordered some rewards for everyone who has a qualifying shop on this code.

Challenges
CSAYL - Folded card
Sweet Stampin' Challenges - spots and/or stripes
Christmas Card Challenges - Anything Goes

Christmas Card Club - Let it Snow on a Sheltering Tree

You know it's a bad day for taking pictures when it's raining, cloudy and the battery is flat in your camera!  However I've managed to get a picture of my card for Christine's challenge in our fortnightly Christmas card club.  'Let it snow' was the challenge and I've used a part of the Sheltering Tree Stampin' Up! set  and to create the sound along the ground one stamp from Work of Art.

I used a brayer to add different shades of blue to some whisper white card stock and then stamped the tree silhouette twice allowing some shadowing with the craft white.  I've cut an aperture in my card base and added a layer of vellum before adding my picture behind.  On the vellum I heat embossed with white craft ink some of the snow using another stamp from Sheltering Tree.

My sentiment is from the Alphabet Rotary stamp which is versatile obviously because you make it say what you want.  Some Everyday Chic Designer washi tape adds a touch of silver with silver foil card to add a banner and a frame for my scene using two oval frame lit dies together to create the frame.

Don't forget to pop by the other members of our Christmas Card Club and let's hope the sunshine is back soon.

Zx

Eureka Challenge - Christmas in July
Christmas card challenges - Anything goes

Alphabet Rotary Stamp let's you create your own message

Shake off the Monday blues with a fun shaker card!

Many of products on this card have now retired from the Stampin' Up! UK catalogue, but I wanted to share it as it shows another sentiment you can create with the Alphabet Rotary Stamp.  It's fun and easy to use and you can  see my previous post using it on a Christmas card with Stampin' Up! set Lovely as a Tree.

Have a great week!
Zx

Shop Online in my Stampin' Up! Online Shop for the Alphabet Rotary stamp and more, but remember to add the Stampin' Rewards code BDFKZ2TH when you've nominated me as your demonstrator.  Spend £20 or more and I'll send  you a thank you gift the month following your order.

Christmas Card Club - Lovely as a Tree from Stampin' Up!

Our Christmas card club challenge was set by Margaret all the way down under in Sydney for this fortnight. She asked us to use the theme of Christmas trees.  Often being Mrs last minute.com I didn't read this challenge before I read the last so you can see Christmas trees also on my last club challenge using Festival of Trees , but this time I've used an old Stampin' Up! favourite Lovely as a Tree which has been in the Stampin' Up! catalogue for over a decade.

I embossed the lone fir tree top in silver and punched it out with the 2"circle punch and then 'smudged' the edge gently with smoky slate ink.  I matted it onto a scallop circle of silver foil card which I texture embossed with the decorative dots folder.  Everyday Chic washi tape made a simple background and I also added some of my lifetime supply (I ordered 5 rolls thinking it only had 4.5m per roll which in fact it has 45m per roll!) of silver thread on which I threaded sequins from the metallic assortment.

You can create all sorts of sentiments with the Alphabet rotary stamp just by rolling the letter bands to create the words you require.

A great new addition to the Stampin' Up! card stock range is the new Whisper White Thick A4 card stock in 270gsm so you can now make white card bases that stand up!

Do please pop by the other ladies in our challenge group and see their challenge offerings for this week.  You can find them all in my sidebar.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend.
Zx
Challenges
Sweet Stampin' Challenges - Christmas in July

Shop Stampin' Up! now in my Stampin' Up! UK online shop 

Stampin' Up! Happy Hearts for my sweetheart!

Now we're in the month of love with Valentine's Day looming on the horizon.  My hubby and I always say to each other something along the lines of ' Let's not worry about swapping Valentine's stuff' .  You might say sad, but usually we're trying to avoid chocolates and I really am very lucky and have all I need and with my new kitchen coming soon I don't think the expense is necessary.  That said he always surprises me with something like a fabulous bouquet and so I'm making cards this year.  This is very simple but says what it needs to.......  Again you can use the Stampin' Up! Happy Heart Textured Impressions embossing folder to create a backdrop and then add a simple, but heartfelt message using the heart punch from the Itty Bitty Accents punch pack and the Alphabet rotary stamp.

I think I will succumb and treat him too!

Zx

Happy Christmas to one and all

Thank you to all my blog readers, customers, team and family for all your support over the past 12 months.  I couldn't achieve what I do without you all and it leads me to wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful, healthy New Year and look forward to sharing more crafting and creating with you in 2015.

Happy Days!
Zx