Weekly Deals....are leaving

There are just two weeks left of weekly deals so take advantage and grab one of these bumper deals today, these deal will run until Wednesday 13th April 2016 when they will be replaced with another set of deals.

It's no joke....I've signed back up!

So after a four year break I've decided to join back up as a demonstrator. The lure of the Sale-A-Bration offer was finally just too much to resist. So welcome back to my blog and I hope you'll pop back again as I rediscover all the wonderful products Stampin' Up! has to offer. My new demonstrator kit it on its way to me, yay! So next week I'll share with you what was in my first order and my first projects.

Jo x

Mini Catalogue has Arrived!!!

This card was made using some of the new products in the Mini Catalogue for this year, can you spot them? The first is the stamp set called Strength & Hope, this stamp set is beautiful, I love the butterfly. This is a special set as for every set purchased Stampin' Up! will donate £1 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, so join this campaign and order yours today! Have you spotted the other lovely new products? The decorative label punch in the corner is one of six new punches available. The ribbon is the new Seam Binding line in the lovely Crumb Cake, this is gorgeous to touch, so silky, it is also available in Baja Breeze, Rose Red and Pear Pizzazz. The final new product this card shows is the Glass Glitter, this is lovely and chunky and will tarnish with age to give a lovely vintage feel.

These are some of the new products which are my favourites, however for many of you the launch of the Big Shot machine and exclusive Big Shot products will be the highlight of this mini as its arrival has been long awaited. I have some samples using some of these lovely products so check back later in the week to have a look.

Cottage Garden Colour Throwdown

Today's card was inspired by this weeks Colour Throwdown challenge to use So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Tangerine Tango and Chocolate Chip. I chose to use Cottage Garden as I've been having a good play with it this week. I created the background by stamping the flower head in So Saffron. The outline was done in Tangerine Tango, I didn't use the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line the outline up as I wasn't to bothered if they didn't line up.....so of course most of then did as I was using a clear mount set. The background was finished off by using the flower trio in Pretty in Pink. The vine at the side was created using Certainly Celery and flowers made from Pretty in Pink and Tangerine Tango. The greeting on the tag comes from the Cheer and Wishes set and it was embellished with a brass jumbo eyelet and some Pretty in Pink taffeta and Certainly Celery grosgrain.

Red, White and Blue....Butterflies

Today's card came together fairly easily, I knew I wanted to used Real Red as I have lots of scraps to use up. The combination of Real Red, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake and Whisper White seems to be a popular one at the moment so I gave it ago. The base layer is Marina Mist with a layer of Crumb Cake dsp. The grid was created next using Real Red 1/4" grosgrain and sticky strip. The butterflies were then stamped and punched with Real Red, Marina Mist and Whisper White (craft) ink. I knew I wanted some dimension on the card so I chose to only glue down the centres of the butterflies to stick them down. The card was finished with a sentiment panel made from the So Happy For You Sale-A-Bration stamp set. Remember there are only three days left to place a £45.00 order and gain your free stamp set, so get yours placed soon.

Bright and Ornate

Today's card was made for Stacey's Curtain Call Challenge, which was to use the colours Tempting Turquoise, Tangerine Tango, Pear Pizazz and Whisper White. If you read my blog often you will notice I hardly ever use orange, so this was a difficult challenge for me. The inspiration came from the Greenhouse Gala paper that has been used here, if you have this sheet turn it over and you will see similar flowers to those I stamped from the Ornate Flowers set. The base was made with Tempting Turquoise with a Tangerine Tango matt layer. The Greenhouse Gala paper contains the Pear Pizazz. The flowers were stamped using a mixture of Tango and Pear. I used the Tango ink pad as I don't have the new markers yet. As this left some Tango on the leaves I used a cotton bud to wipe it off before using the Pear marker. The card was finished off with a greeting from Trendy Trees.

Vintage Etchings

I've finally managed to make a Vintage style card which I am happy with, thanks to Stampin' Up! Tea Stain distress ink, I love it! I used the Artistic Etchings stamp set which images which are not my usual style. The base image was created by using the distressing set from Stampin' Up!, this contains the lovely distress ink and a little square of rubber, which you think is a bit pointless till you use it. I used this little square with the tea stain ink to create the background, just rub the ink over the card and it blends in. I then stamped the circle design with the tea stain ink. The Eiffel tower was stamped with Early Espresso ink along with the corners. The button and espresso ribbon were added for interest and texture. The Red Riding Hood cardstock was also distressed using tea stain ink to tone the colour down a little. I just love how this turned out.