Winter Brrrrrr .....

Today is a team meetup and that means swaps!

The theme is winter and lip balm is a winter essential for me so this is what I came up with....

It is a wallet to hold a lip balm but it is ideal for up-packaging a lipstick or similar to give as a present.

I have used a lot of new products from the Autumn Winter catalogue and it also gives a sneak peak of two products from the new Annual Catalogue launching in October!

All ready to go ....

If you would like to join us at a future team event, contact me to chat about joining my team.

Materials used:

Stamps: Greetings of the Season, Mixed Medley Hostess Exclusive
DSP / Ribbon: Not spilling the beans just yet, come back on 1st October!


Thanks for stopping by ....

Punch what ????

That was my reaction to punch art a few weeks ago and now I love it! 

I was describing a fantastic advent calendar that Nicky had made for a Jems training session to my upline and hey presto, she had the instructions to make it! Unfortunately there was no name on the print out but if it was yours, it's fab and I would love to give you your well deserved credit!

It's a little known fact that Father Christmas has a holiday home in the Mersey Tunnel, and you can tell how busy he has been (ie how many presents he has made) by how many panel doors he has left open behind him. Well that's what my Dad used to tell us on journeys through the tunnel, so a Father Christmas was the obvious choice to top my calendar.

 

The numbers are computer generated. I decided to put them randomly so you have to work for the treat! The gold brads help to open the doors but you'll notice I haven't put one on the middle door, got to make it wait until Christmas!

Now I just need to add chocolate!

Thanks for stopping by ....

All that glitters ....

.... is not gold! It is Champagne!  The glitter paper is back!!

I have used it here with the new Snow Flurry Bigz die to create a triple layered snowflake.

The papers are also new and are part of the gorgeous Candlelight Christmas suite. Some Crumb Cake seam binding and a greeting finish it off. A close up on the snowflake shows how finely the glitter paper can be cut without loosing it's glitter. Fab hey?

Materials used:

Stamps: Greetings of the Season

DSP / Card: Candlelight Christmas DSP, Champagne Glitter Paper, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla

Tools: Snow Flurry Bigz die

Other:  Crumb Cake seam binding, Basic Pearls

Thanks for stopping by .....

More sellouts ....

Things are selling out fast on both the retiring stamps and accessories lists. These are now gone for good:

Stamps

Dasher [w]

Serene Snowflakes [w]

Winterpost [w]

Fox & Friends [c]

Fox & Friends [w]

All in the Family [w]

Nature's nest [w]

Dot, Dot, Dot [w]

French Filigree [w]

Medallion [w]

W = wood
C =clear


Accessories

Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad

Concord Crush A4 Card Stock

Concord Crush Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

Concord Crush Classic Stampin' Pad

Peach Parfait Classic Stampin' Pad

Pear Pizzazz A4 Card Stock

Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Pad

Brights Classic Stampin' Pads *

Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad *

Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad *

Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad *

Regal Rose Classic Stampin' Pad

Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad *

Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad *

Tempting Turquoise 12" x 12" Card Stock

Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad *

Baja Breeze 12" x 12" Card Stock

Perfect Plum Classic Stampin' Pad *

Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad *

Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad *

So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad *

Subtles Classic Stampin' Pads *

Subtles Classic Stampin' Spots *

Bravo Burgundy Classic Stampin' Pad *

Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad

Elegant Eggplant 12" x 12" Card Stock

Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad *

Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad *

More Mustard Classic Stampin' Pad *

Night of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

Not Quite Navy Classic Stampin' Pad *

Regals 12" x 12" Textured Card Stock

Regals Classic Stampin' Spots *

Riding Hood Red Classic Stampin' Pad *

Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad *

Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad *

Chocolate Chip 12" x 12" Card Stock

Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad *

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad *

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad *

Neutrals 12" x 12" Textured Card Stock

Neutrals Classic Stampin' Pads *

Neutrals Classic Stampin' Spots *

River Rock Classic Stampin' Pad *

Sahara Sand 12" x 12" Card Stock

Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad *

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad *

3" x 5" (7.6 x 12.7 cm) Cellophane Bags

Confetti Cream A4 Card Stock

Confetti White A4 Card Stock

2010-2012 In Color Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack

12" x 12" (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Post Album Page Protectors

Natural Linen 6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 cm) Post Album

Old Olive 1/4" (6.4 mm) Grosgrain Ribbon

2010-2012 In Color Stampin' Write Markers

Crimper

Crop-A-Dile

Paper-Piercing Tool *

Stampin' Scrub *

5-Petal Flower Punch

Eyelet Punch

Round Tab Punch

Heart to Heart Punch

Large Tag Punch

Replacement Cutting & Scoring Blades

Replacement Cutting Blades

Pillow Box Bigz Die

Timeless Types Junior Alphabet Medium Sizzlits Die

Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Storage

Décor Standard Stampin' Around Wheel

Thanks for stopping by ....

Mocha Morning Blues .....

..... Mocha Morning, my favourite papers, retire at the end of September. But you can save 40% on them until then!

I love, love, love the flocked sheets and with my very last sheet, I made this .....

The flocking is so luxurious and so stroke-able. Looks a pretty box? Open it up and it's even more. I followed Kirsteen's tutorial to make a stepper box and of course had to fill it with chocolate hearts.

If you would like to get your hands on the Mocha Morning papers, please contact me to order today, the retired list products are continuing to sell out.


Thanks for stopping by ......

Come hop with me ....

Some fellow demos and I are joining together to give a big shout out to the stamp sets that are retiring at the end of September. There's some favourites that I will be sad to say goodbye to, but they make way for some stunning sets .... trust me, I've seen the new catalogue!

So off we go! A big hello to everyone joining from Jayne ... there's a full list of blogs at the bottom .... just in case!

I have chosen Under the Big Top as my main set. This is a fab set of 6 stamps ideal for colouring, it also has six matching sentiments.

First up is a reverse gate fold with a rosette.

Next up is a row of dancing ballerina bears .... the sentiment is from Sincere Salutations which is also on the retiring list.

My last card made from this set is another shaped card, this one comes apart and folds flat for posting.

The next card is a case from the IB&C and uses the Paisley Petals stamp set. I love this set, it's so like antique crewel embroidery work.

All in the Family is a great set to stamp your own family! It even has a cat and a dog.

My final card is made with the Simply Soft hostess exclusive set. This is one of my favourite hostess sets of all time. There's still time to get your hands on this beauty, contact me to book your party.

Thank you for visiting me on this hop, next hop is over to Ruth

1. Alison  www.craftyalisoninlyon.blogspot.com
2. Charlie   http://craftylittlemoos.blogspot.com/
3. Leanie www.beautifulimpressions.co.uk
4. Jayne www.jaynescraftycorner.blogspot.com
5. Julie www.ribbonhoarder.blogspot.com
6. RuthE http://pearsonifiedcrafting.blogspot.co.uk
7. Emma http://cocktailofcard.blogspot.co.uk
8. Alison www.craftingalison.blogspot.com


Thanks for stopping by ....

Scentsational ....

I love cinnamon hot chocolate and I love this set!!! I got the idea to make a gingerbread version of snowman soup from the picture on page 12 of the AW catalogue. I made my cup from memory of a picture that my upline showed me a while ago.

It contains a sachet of hot chocolate, a bar of chocolate (to eat while the kettle is boiling....), a candy cane, some cinnamon sticks and a pack of mini marshmallows.

I used the cup stamp to make a seal for the marshmallow packet and the tree decorates my gift tag. I so wish that blogs had smell-e-vision and you could smell the Peppermint Sticks embossing powder too! It's very pepperminty!

The stamps and dies that I have used have also been put together as the Scentsational Season bundle which will save you 15% when bought together. I have also used the new cotton ribbon,  can't wait to get stamping on this.

Thanks for stopping by....

Stamps: Scensational Season
Tools: Holiday Collection framelits, Peppermint Sticks embossing powder
Inks: Real Red, Garden Green
Ribbons: Cotton Ribbon

Quilting progress .....

I was looking at some beautiful quilts on blogs yesterday and suddenly thought I hadn't shared any of my blocks for ages. These are the last two techniques that I learnt.

 

The first is English paper piecing. This one was a labour of love!!

 

The material was first tacked onto my templates and then formed into the star shape.

 

 

 The back view is shown here.

 

 

By the time I had appliqued this onto my ground, I felt like I had sewn it three times over!

 

 

My next two blocks are made with block piecing. First up is Wheel in Motion. This one took a bit of work to get it to lie flat but I got there in the end!

 

 

My final one is called Laced Star or often referred to as "that blasted star!" I really enjoyed making this one, it's made up of four triangles and I made it all by myself!! There is a mistake on this one that I have managed to repeat 4 times, all in the same places so it's difficult to spot so I'm claiming it as my artisitic slant on the block! Can you spot it? 

I am now 7 blocks into my quilt, just 13 more to go! Somehow I don't think it will be keeping me warm this winter though ........

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by ......

Sell outs update

There have already been many sell outs from the 2012 retiring list. If you want anything from the retiring stamps or accessories list, please order as soon as possible, once they sell out, that's it!

The following have already gone:
Round tab punch
Replacement cutting blades
Eyelet border punch
Textured Neutrals cardstock 12 x 12
Textured Regals cardstock 12 x 12
Jumbo Wheel storage
Poppy Parade ink pad
Heart to Heart punch
Medallion stamp
Fox & Friends - clear
Neutrals Stampin' Spots
Large tag punch
Riding Hood Red ink pad - this will be back in October in the new style
Crop a dile
Cajun Craze ink pad - this will be back in October in the new style


Items are selling out fast and it's only the 3rd, will there be anything left on the 30th?


Thanks for stopping by ......

Blue Christmas .....

My Christmas colours always tend towards traditional, so I thought I would challenge myself to make a more contemporary version of the ornament. The colours I used are Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy. I used the Early Espresso tulle and Crumb Cake seam binding. Both of these are so tactile and soft.

I used a different ornament stamp for the centre of this one and another big, sparkly button. Here comes the close up .....

So which colour way do you prefer?


Thanks for stopping by .....


Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes
Tools: Holiday Ornaments Framelits, 
Inks: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy
Ribbons: Early Espresso Tulle, Crumb Cake Seam Bindin