Christmas Card Club - Christmas Flowers

Stampin' Up! Botanical Builders Framelits have been my got to dies this week with my Totally Techniques post a couple of days ago with the Bokeh technique and now today for our fortnightly Christmas Card Club challenge set this time by Carol who has two super cards to share with you so please  do visit her and the other other lovely ladies by clicking on the link at the top of my blog.  

I've gone for white and silver and whilst I've made this a Christmas card by adding a simple 'Happy Christmas' you could turn it just as easily into a silver wedding card or card for a special birthday just by changing your sentiment.

As a base for your card you can use the stitched shape framelits to add the white circle and some organza ribbon and the silver thread ribbon is from the now sadly retired SAB freebie gifts.  I've used the dies to cut various flowers and leaves and a bone folder to add little touches of dimension to create veins on the two centre leaves.  You can also just see some of my lifetime supply of silver thread to just life the sentiment which I stamped with individual words from Designer Tin of Tags stamp set in Memento black ink.

It's a peaceful day here although I'm enjoying thinking of my wonderful  hubby who is on a spa, yes a spa, day with his colleagues.  I'm intrigued to hear how his day has gone when he gets home.  Olivia is out watching Beauty and the Beast with the Brownies and Charlie is, he tells me, doing his homework, but I'm sceptical as I don't think the teachers usually set computer games for home study!!! Me I'm typing for you and then making delicious gift wrap for my teamie presents as I'm off to Amsterdam for a big Stampin' Up! event later in the week.

Enjoy your Sunday and don't forget to visit the other ladies blogs for oodles of lovely inspiration.

Hugs Zx

Independent Stampin' Up! Demo at Sincerely Yours Newark

A huge Tantalizing Thank You to everyone who visited my stand at Sincerely Yours Newark on Sunday.  It was a family affair on the stand.  My gorgeous daughter Olivia is a regular helper, but this weekend my son Charlie also came along to help and did a fantastic job showing folk a little faux water colouring technique on the make and take table.  I'm so proud of both my kids.  Our next show is in the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth so do come and say hello on Sunday 12 June.

Displayed were some sneak peeks of the new in colours from Stampin' Up! and some new product makes.  Top of the post you can see a simple card made with some new papers called Playful Palette, Emerald Envy and Sweet Sugarplum card stock and one of my favourite dies and stamps the Botanical Blooms.  You can also see a sentiment from incoming Stampin Up set Confetti Celebration which I was lucky enough to win in prize patrol at our recent Stampin' Up! Demo event at Telford International Centre.  

Do you like the new colours so far?  

Back with more soon.

Zx

More Stampin' Up! Botanical Blooms - Do you love them too?

 Stampin' Up! UK Botanical Blooms was a big hit for me you've probably guessed and I used it for both the Mother's Day cards I made.  This one was for my MIL and featured a new technique to me shared the lovely Adeline, a member of my dutch team.  It uses ink and the large polka dot embossing folder for the matting layer and of course the leaves and flowers are from the Botanical Builder Framelits.  If you missed the card I made for my mum with the same dies you can see it here in my Stampin' Up! Botanical Blooms for Mother's Day post.

I love that you get lots of leaves and not just flowers in this set of dies and all you need to do is search pinterest and google to find lots of examples for inspiration and colour combinations.

Yesterday I visited my Dad and although physically well.  The anaesthetic and post op drugs are playing games with his mental health.  He needs drips etc to add the vital fluids his body needs, but he is wanting to pull them out and so the medicines to sedate him along with the slow exit of the operation anaesthetic are confusing him.  At least that is what we hope.  It is so hard to see him so vulnerable and frail.

Thank you for all your good wishes and messages. They really are appreciated.

Have a great week.

Zx

Mother's Day Blooms from Stampin' Up! Botanical Blooms

Stampin' Up! makes it easy for you to share beautiful cards for that very special lady in your life when they design amazing stamp sets like Botanical Blooms with matching framelits Botanical Builders.  For regular readers you know I demonstrated this bundle of products at the European Onstage Live event in Brussels last November so you already know I'm a fan of the bundle.  I have now seen it shared in so many colour ways and combinations of leaves and flowers, just emphasising how fabulous this bundle really is.   

For my lovely Mum I've gone for blushing bride, garden green and rose red for my colour combo and I've used card stock, sponging, minimal amount of spritzing with water and the gorgeous mini paper stack Love Blossoms, which are 6 x 6 papers in real life not 12 x12 as printed in the catalogue.  Hey we all make mistakes occasionally.  The papers were my starting point and it grew from there.  

 
 
I also like how you can add small details to the corner of papers and card with the Curvy Corner Trio punch. It's very subtle, but softened the straight edges of my largest piece of patterned paper.

If you are Mum reading this I hope have a very special day being appreciated for the love and care you give and if you should be  treating your Mum I hope you've remembered. Have a lovely weekend.

Zx


Remember this bundle is perfectly priced at £46.75 which if purchased before the end of March also gives you a free gift from the Sale-a-Bration collection of gifts.  You can order in my stampin up online shop today just click on the SHOP button now.

Stampin' Up! UK Spring Catalogue Sneak Peek

Stampin' Up! Botanical Gardens Suite is most definitely not just flowers.  It's also very easy to use other colours in addition to those included in the suite.  To make this card which I cased in part from the Stampin' Up! UK spring catalogue I used bermuda bay and lost lagoon as well as mint macaron from the suite of colours.

By adding some ink to a spritzer bottle you can create an original background along with some second generation stamping with Gorgeous Grunge.  You can add texture with  corrugated paper and the 'fern' leave works really well as a mask to develop even more depth to your card.

I like candy dots and am loving the white enamel dots for adding even more dimension and a little retired washi tape is great for attaching your topper.  You can stamp leaves onto watercolour paper in order that you can spritz very gently with water to blend the colour on the them.

This beautiful suite of products will be available from 5 January, but if you can't wait until then why not think about joining my team and then you can order this bundle in your starter kit from 3 December and be up and running for our big promotion in January.  Just contact me for more information if it's something you might be interested in doing either for the discount or for starting your own new business.  I have team across the UK and in The Netherlands so I'm sure we can find someone near to you for support, guidance and friendship.

More soon.

Zx

Stampin' Up! Spring Catalogue Sneak Peek - Botanical Blooms

Stampin' Up! recently changed its programme of events which meant that our traditional annual convention for Europe has now evolved to one european event every 18 months and then two 'local' events in each european nation in between.  Stampin' Up! Europe was the first to host the global Onstage Live event this past week in Brussels.  

Only the tragic events  in Paris which rocked us all and in particular our fellow demonstrators from Paris and the rest of France.  We joined together to show our unity by holding hands in silence on Saturday morning and I don't think there was a dry eye in the auditorium.  All our thoughts are with everyone affected.

I was honoured to have been asked to be a presenter for one of the new product spotlights which show cased different product suites from our upcoming Spring catalogue which launches in early January.  From today I am allowed to share some sneak peeks and this is a card I made with product I received for my presentation.  

Just look at how the new Botanical Builder Framelits Dies cut out gorgeous leaves, but also flowers that have dimension.  It cuts out the outline of the petals edges, but also cuts a further inner petal, but leaves them attached in the centre of the flower.  The basic black stamens are also part of this new set of dies which will come with designer series paper and a stamp set as a glorious bundle of Botanical Blooms. You are going to love it.

This is the entrance to the conference centre where we were treated to free stamp sets and other lovely logo'd products along with a copy of the spring catalogue and the Sale-a-bration catalogue.  Oh my are you in for a treat.  Watch this space.

More soon.
Zx