Jems Monthly Blog Hop May

Yey! Welcome to a new monthly blog hop by our team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators. You might have hopped here from Sam's blog - in which case - Hello! I'm Kylie!

This month's theme is 'Retiring Products'. Earlier this month when the retirement list was published (the list of all the stamps and accessories that won't be in the next catalogue) I piled up all my stamps that will retire and I pulled out a few that I'm quite attached to - I want to get some more use out of them before deciding whether or not to sell them on!

Flowering Flourishes was one such stamp set. I love this set because it creates the perfect, simple but very effective backgrounds. Add a sentiment and you have a gorgeous card in minutes! It's a favourite of mine for wedding cards and invitations too. Today I want to show you three cards using Flowering Flourishes to create different backgrounds.

Please note this stamp set has already sold out in all formats - however I will be reluctantly parting with mine in my preloved stamp sale on 5th June - please see my events page for details!

The first card is simply stamped in basic grey and white craft ink on a basic grey card base. The sentiment is from another retiring stamp set 'Perfect Pennants' stamped in white craft ink. I've added some butterflies which I had punched from scraps of card that I had practised my stamping on! The addition of Rhinestones gives it an elegant finish!

For my second card I have heat embossed the background with clear embossing powder then sponged over the top with Lost Lagoon ink (One of the retiring 2014-16 in-colours) and more stamping over the top with Lost Lagoon and another Perfect Pennants sentiment.

Another heat embossed card for number three - this time gold embossing powder over Blackberry Bliss (this colour I'll miss a lot!) which I think looks quite classy and luxurious!

Hopefully someone I know will buy it off me so I can borrow it back occasionally! Haha.

Now it's time to click the NEXT BLOG button below to visit Julie's blog - the next one in the Jems Blog Hop, but I hope to see you back here soon!

List of demonstrators participating in the Jems Blog Hop this month:

Sharon Glynn
Sarah-Jane Rae
Julie Dix
Sarah Lavelle
Amanda Bates
Karyn Davies
Julie Kettlewell
Allie Jolliffe
Samantha Webster
Samantha Carlton
Kylie Henshaw - YOU ARE HERE
Julie Wade
Sarah Lindsay
Karen Watts
Gill Arnold
Yvonne Hunt
Kate Martin
Tracy Hill
Lucy Brown

Zoo babies is gone!

I came to write a little post about a couple of baby cards I made recently with the Zoo Babies stamp set and I've just checked and it's already sold out! Sorry. I still haven't decided if I can part with my set yet but it might be added to my stock of retired products in my preloved stamp sale on 5th June!

Anyway, hope you like these - they also feature a retired stamp set called Celebrate Baby which will be in my sale) and uses up some old papers.

I made two because I didn't know the sex of the baby and I wanted to get organised in advance (people who know me will know this really isn't normal for me!!)

I'll be back on Saturday morning with a special Blog Hop post - so if you've got a quiet half an hour over the weekend you'll need to grab a cup of tea and read all the linked posts from my team of demonstrators! See you then!

A Nice Cuppa

Yes there's nothing like a nice cup of tea. Tea is an essential part of my day - I can't do anything in the morning without at least one brew and it's integral to all my crafting events! That's why I got very excited about this stamp set and matching dies in the Spring/Summer catalogue.

They really are just my cup of tea, and I've used this bundle plus the coordinating papers a lot for various cards and 3D projects.

One of my Crafternoon Tea projects was a card and a matching gift box that contain teabags and biscuits. I think these would make great teacher gifts, or just to cheer someone up. Note the silver spoon die cut from foil card!

I made a few cards using the same colour scheme. This one below is CASEd (Copy And Share Everything) from another very talented demonstrator Kim Williams in the US (check out her use of crystal effects and pearls to embellish the card further and take it to the next level).

The following two cards were designed by my monthly card class ladies. I provided them with the same materials, plus my own examples and let them create their own version. How beautiful they are!

The A Nice Cuppa stamps and thinlet dies available to purchase from my online store as a bundle, saving you 15%. Please note that they will be retiring when the catalogue ends on 1st June and you won't be able to purchase them after this date. Click here to go to my online shop...

Card Class April 2016

Hi there. This week was my monthly card class and I just wanted to tell you all about them, and show you what we made!

I've been running a monthly card classes for 3 years from my home near Pudsey, West Yorkshire. I also do a repeat of the class at my shop Fox & the Magpie in Shipley.

We usually make 4 different cards (or sometimes 3D projects) that showcase different Stampin' Up! products, stamp sets, punches and dies. We also try out lots of different techniques and styles.

Complete beginners are always welcome and many are surprised at how professional their finished cards look. Some of my regulars are keen crafters and go home with lots of ideas for new things to try. Some don't craft at home but love to take home four handmade cards that they can give away for upcoming occasions. And some just put their cards in a box to take out and admire occasionally and would never dream of giving their beautiful creations away!

Here are some examples of cards made at past classes...

The cards we made this month had a bit of a spring/early summer feel to them - well the sun has been shining this week!

We started with a simple stamped card with a masked centre. The stamp set was Bloomin Love (which isn't just for valentines!). The sentiment in the centre was from the Perfect Banners stamp set and was heat embossed in gold. Please excuse the massive smudge at the top - you know when you ruin a card right at the end and can't be bothered to start again??

Next we used the Awesomely Artistic stamp set which involved layering up different stamps. I showed the ladies how to 'Stamp off' (stamping onto scrap paper first) for a more subtle ink colour and to build up the design on the white background. The dragonflies were coloured using the marker pens to get the multi-coloured effect.

For the third card we played around with the baby wipe technique (which I'll explain more in another post), the Watercolour Wings stamp set and an embossed background! The butterfly thinlits are gorgeous!

Lastly we did a card that had no stamping but lots of die cutting! The coloured flowers (Botanical Blooms Thinlits) really pop against the black and white background. Thanks to Julie Kettlewell for the card design!

If you're interested in coming along to the next card class in May please get in touch - our theme is going to be 'family' so we'll be covering male, female and children's cards. Click here to go to my classes and events page for details...

A mother's day gift for a crafty mum

Hi there. It's Mother's Day this Sunday so I wanted to remind you about my gift vouchers which could save the day if you're wondering how you can treat your crafty mum this weekend. You choose the value and she can choose her favourite Stampin' Up! products!

Email me if you'd like a voucher. I can either email it to you, or post you a printed voucher in a gorgeous handmade wallet.

Alternatively, how about a voucher for my next Crafternoon Tea event in Shipley on Sunday 13th March where we'll spend the whole afternoon crafting and you'll get treated to tea, cake, scones and sandwiches.

Click here for Crafternoon Tea details and booking 

I'm back

It's been a while. Sorry. I kept promising myself I would get my blog up to date. Then the longer I left it, the harder it seemed. Then I built it up into a gigantic scary task that I couldn't possibly face without a free week dedicated entirely to blogging. That obviously never happened. I eventually realised all I needed to do was sit down for twenty minutes to take off some really out of date content. Then I just needed half an hour to write a quick blog post. And yippee I'm half way there!! Thanks for staying with me, I'll try to get some more posts on this week!

For now - here's something colourful to brighten a rather dull day! The following is an old project but I came across the photos while trying to decide what we'll make in our card classes this month. I'm really feeling in a rainbow sort of mood!

I used watercolour card, an aqua painter and several ink colours. The sentiments are from the 'Bravo' stamp set and are stamped in stazon ink over the top once the ink had dried completely.

It's a great technique to try - even using 2 or 3 colours. It's so much fun sweeping the ink over wet paper and watching the colours spread and merge. You get a different result every time.

The new annual catalogue is here!

Yes it's that time of year when we demonstrators and Stampin' Up! fans get a little bit excitable! It's the same feeling as walking into a craft shop full of gorgeous things, not knowing where to look first, and fearing for our bank balances!!

Yes it's new catalogue time!

I haven't had a lot of time to peruse it's fabulous pages so far, but I can't wait for a spare couple of hours to make my massive wish list!

Please check it out and if you want to order anything, go to my online shop or drop me a message. Better still, come along to my Catalogue Launch Tea Party on Saturday, at Fox and the Magpie in Shipley (2-4pm) and get your own copy and goody bag with make & take kit. Tickets are £5 but please book in advance.

Some quick peeks from the catalogue....

New colours...

Beautiful kits.....

on-trend stamps...

Loads of bundles (saving you 15%)....

and so much more! Happy shopping!