New cattie countdown!

A quick reminder that the weekly deals have been posted. Click on the link on the left of the page to discover some bargains! This week they are all items from the Spring/Summer Cattie - which ends on 2nd June. Make sure you get your favourites before they are gone - and don't forget the retirement list too! The good news is that means we are just a week away from the new annual cattie. SO I guess I should show you some of the sneak peeks I have been promising you!

I received this swap from Monica Gale - isn't it lovely! It features some of the new in-colours and envelope paper. The colours are Mint Macaron and Watermelon Wonder - two of my favourites. She has also used some of the new 12 x 12 envelope papers that match to create the stripy background. It is fantastic value and definitely one to look out for.

An Open Heart

So here is the next of my swaps for you to enjoy. Today I have chosen to show you a card that is possibly my favourite swap. Again this is a stamp set that I am missing. I was first tempted by it when Stampin Up made a Christmas sample in their impressions magazine (for their demonstrators). However I resisted. Then I received this beautiful swap...

The stamp set is called an open heart. I love the combination of colours that have been used for this card - soft sky, crumb cake and early espresso. Combined with the Hardwood stamp set it create a card that is not only lovely but is also easily adapted for men. Often one of our most challenging customers!

Telford swaps

So I did promise that I would show you some of the swaps that I received at Telford (an event for stampin up demonstrators). I was very lucky and received some beautiful pieces of work - so thank you to everyone who swapped with me. I've put the items together in batches - and yes - there are some sneek peeks that i will put up at soon! So here are the first few...

So these two beautiful swaps have been made using a stamp set called Kinda Eclectic. It's one of those sets that you look at and are not quite sure what to do with it. Well I hope these two gorgeous samples will show you just how fabulous it can be. they are very different in their colours - but they work so well. Sadly I don't think my photo shows the dimensional effect of the card - where the leaves have been fussy cut shaped and mounted on dimensionals to really make them pop. I've been trying very hard to resist this one - but it's getting harder and harder!

Don't miss out

Have you checked out the retired list yet? There's just over a week left before we lose these items for good. Lots have already sold out but there are still some fabulous bargains to be had. And don't forget to check out the weekly deals at the same time - new items are launched every Wednesday. Click on the links to check them out! Of course we are very sorry to see them go - but the good news is that it means a new catalogue will be launching soon! It's packed full of yummy new stamp sets , colours, dies and fabulous kits - making crafting easier than ever! Email me if you would like a copy of the new catalogue and keep your eyes out in the coming days for some sneek peeks of he new items!

So... fancy sharing some fun?

Perpetual Birthday Calendar

Ok - I'll admit it - when I first saw this project kit and stamp set I thought it was really cute and a fantastic gift to make for someone - but I didn't really think much about how else the stamps could be used. Then I was inspired by a card posted by sara (one of my downline) and I decided to take another look. I'm sooo glad I did as I had so much fun playing with them creating backgrounds that I knew they had to be the base of my swaps and gifts for Telford. In the end I made 7 different tags - but I could have carried on... Hope you like them x

Then I made a little envelope book to hold them and gave them to my "grandchildren" as gifts!

Team Gifts

So... as I was saying - I wanted to make some little thanks yous for my downline who who were going to be at Telford. I came up with the idea of a stationery set when I was on holiday and spent some time at a craft day trying to work out the dimensions. When I finally made them they came together quite quickly - I just hadn't made the pocket deep enough to hold the chocolate that I had planned to include. So instead I included a set of the tags that I had made for my "grandchildren"! I was quite pleased with how they turned out and Pip and Christine seemed to like them. At some point I will write up some instructions for them - so email me if you would like a copy.

I promised to give you instructions for the post it note easel so here goes. These will fit a standard 3 x 3 post it note. First cut your card base 8cm x 18cm. Then score the card at 8.5cm, 9.5cm and 13.5 cm. Attach your post-it notes to the base of the cover with a strong adhesive and position it towards the front of the cover base. You need a bit of space behind the notes for the "easel" to sit. Next cut a piece of card 7.5cm x 8.5cm - and attach this with a secure glue to the bottom segment of the post-it note cover (below the score line). Then cut a third piece of card 7cm x 8cm, decorate as desired and attach to the cover - and that's it - a very simple post-it note cover. Enjoy x

Telford Swaps

So the last few months have been challenging - moving house and settling in have taken far more of my time than I had anticipated. Crafting has had to take a back seat and to be honest - I lost my mojo and felt a bit intimidated when faced with a piece of card, ink and stamps! Yep I have been procrastinating! However, Telford was looming and I knew I had to make gifts for my downline (not to mention swaps) - so I had to get started. I had seen one my downline make a card using Perpetual Birthday Calander stamps as a background - so I decided to have a play. I'll say more about that another day - but eventually I came up with these little lovelies to swap. The idea was simple - but I think they turned out OK. Hope you like them! The little pocket holding the chocolate heart is really easy to make and looks good in multiple sizes. These started out as a 3 inch square of DSP. Fold the square diagonally and then with the folded edge on the bottom, fold the two sides of the triangle in to form the cup. Fold and stick the top flap down to hold the pocket together. I'll show you what it looks like on a finished card.

I wanted to say a special thank you to the guys at Demo support - they are fab and nothing is too much trouble. Hope you like it guys! I'll give you the details for the easel fold post it note holder next time.