Try it Tuesday - A Go Wild Work of Art

Crafter's block.  Don't you just love it?  Those times when you think, 'ooh, crafting opportunity' then get sat down to realise you have absolutely no idea what to make?  Well today's project is a result of that.

What with a part time day job and looking after my two beautiful (if exhausting) little ones, when a crafting opportunity becomes available, then I have to take the bull by the horns.  Sometimes though, those times never seem to be my most creative.  Too much pressure!

I'd made myself comfortable in my craft room, and just had no clue where to start!  After a few choice words with myself, as the time ebbed away and I still had diddly squat in front of me to show for it, I decided to just randomly pick a sentiment and few bits and bobs that I thought might coordinate to see what I came up with.  The result of which I have to say I'm fairly happy with.

It's a very simple card but you could swap and change the colours and sentiments to whatever you wish.  Plus, considering how much time I took trying to think of something to make, this took no time at all once I got started.

After this, I'm also going to have to use the Go Wild DSP a bit more I think.  Loving the animal print!

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Try it Tuesday - A Pretty Petals Thank You

So today's project is a customer thank you card I sent out recently with a few little treats included.

I love the Pretty Petals DSP.  It's so versatile and such great value for money.  Great on cards, but also great as they are 6x6 size meaning great for Big Shot dies and 3D projects too!

I made a co-ordinating envelope using the Envelope Punch Board and the In Colours Envelope paper and then die cut the little butterfly with the new Bold Butterflies Big Shot framelits.

A simple, quick and easy card that can be done in any colour or any DSP.

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A hint of sparkle with Watercolour Wings

I made this 5x5 card for the lovely Naomi to thank her for booking a hostess workshop with me recently.  It is a template for a card that you could quite easily replicate in a number of colours and perhaps give to someone as a gift with matching envelopes.

I decided to go full on with some of the new in-colours.  I asked my little boy, George which one he'd like me to start with.  It came as no surprise that he chose Cucumber Crush since he loves Cucumber or 'Cumber' as he's always called it!

I guess the Watercolour Wings stamp set might seem a little scary being a triple stamping technique.  However, if I can do it with my shaky hands then anyone can give it a go!

I finished it off with a dazzling diamonds butterfly die cut just for a hint of sparkle.

Kind of cute and very colourful!

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Pootlers Blog Hop - Planner Pretties

Well, how exciting is this?  My first ever blog hop! I feel honoured to be amongst such amazing fellow demonstrators (if a little nervous - mainly about potentially breaking the blog chain...or rambling too much!)  You have made it here from the lovely Karen's blog, so hello and welcome to the Little Paper Playground.

Today's project came about due to an unbelievably kind gesture an Australian demonstrator called Chloe Evans did for me recently.  I'd wanted a particular planner for some time and Chloe very kindly offered to carry one over for me in her hand luggage from Sydney airport and post on when landing here in Blighty!  It is an A5 thing of beauty which I adore and so I thought I could use it to show you the sheer versatility of Stampin' Up! products and how they can be used above and beyond cards and 3D projects.  The world really is your oyster when it comes to the planner decoration, so these could just be a little start to help get your creative juices flowing!  I've loosely based this around the Cherry on Top suite of as I just LOVE the bright and cheerful colours within it but there are so many different colour schemes available in the catalogue to choose from.

Paper Clips:

Both the Bow Builder and Owl Builder punches can be used for so many things.  My little boy, George, loves that I can make him colourful superheroes or Minions with the Owl Builder, as well as recreate sea creatures from Finding Nemo!  The butterfly clips were simply made by using the smallest die of the Bold Butterflies set and I cut them out using the Cherry on Top cardstock.   I just adhere what I create with glue dots to some large paper clips but you could, of course, choose whichever adhesive you wish.

The small clips were made using the fabulous new Project Life paper clips thinlits.  Some I have die cut from gold glimmer paper.  The others I used a brayer to ink over some vanilla coaster board and then cut them out with my Big Shot.  It makes them a bit more robust.

Washi Tape and Stamps:

Have I mentioned how much I adore the Cherry on Top suite of products?  I really wanted to show off the washi tape here.  I love using the doughnut stamps within the Sprinkles on Top set as bullet points too!  I punch them out to separate them and stick them on with glue dots so I can reposition if need be.  Be warned though, it does rather make you crave one when punching them out!


Dashboards and Dividers:

With all the beautiful stamp sets available, you could change your dashboards or pocket inserts daily with all sorts of pretty things.  You could even used the Project Life thinlits to die cut quotes to include in your planner pockets.  The dividers are really easy to make.  Simply cut your chosen paper or card to the correct size (this is actually envelope paper but I just love the new colours and pattern)  then either draw round your old ones so you have the shape.  Or, do what I do and use the Envelope Punch Board to punch out the tab parts, trim off the bits you don't need and then laminate and hole punch them.

The next thing I want to try is including 6x8 Project Life pockets into my planner so I can include photos and other lovely bits and pieces.  I will try and show this on a future blog post soon.

Well I hope you have found this helpful and thank you so much for stopping by.  Do click forward using the button below to continue the blog hop.  Next up is the fabulous Hannah who we all have to thank for working so hard to make this blog hop happen today.  Happy Hopping!

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Be the Star You Are Sweetie Wands

Within the new annual catalogue there are 30+ bundles to choose from.  These are where Stampin' Up! group two items together and price them with 15% off their total cost - yay, big savings!

One of these bundles is on page 42 and includes the Be the Star You Are stamp set and Star Framelits Dies which is what I used to make today's project.

My son, George is a big fan of the children's television programme, Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom.  Holly is a fairy with a magical wand and George decided he'd like one, so I decided to combine his wish and my favourite sweeties and, hey presto, wands for everyone!

They are so simple to make and you can quite easily make a good batch of them for a party once you get into the swing of it.  You don't have to use Skittles which I have used here.  You could use anything you wanted for the wand handle part.

The only thing George was disappointed with was it didn't make a jingle noise like Holly's so I am now in search of a little bell to add to his!

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Celebrate Today with the New Annual Catalogue!

Ooh, if only I was technical enough to be able to include a fan fare and champagne corks popping on this blog post!

Today is finally the day that the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue goes live with all its lovely pretties inside!

If you wish to view it in all its splendor you can do so here  Please be warned though, your wish list may end up rather large!

If you'd prefer a hard copy to highlight and add sticky notes to (or is that just me?) then please do not hesitate to let me know.  I have the celebratory gift tags ready!

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Artisan Love

So, another Saturday, another wedding anniversary card.  Today's was made for my husband's twin brother and his wife.

I've had the Artisan Embellishment Kit in my craft room for some time so thought this was the perfect opportunity to use it.  The kit is great as it has so many accessories you can mix and match with any project.  It's only available until 2 June too *sad face*

This isn't a typical anniversary, agreed, but I quite like it's understated elegance, which is quite suiting of the couple in question.

I hope they like it.  I enjoyed making it.

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Amazingly Amazing Gorgeous Grunge

The inspiration for this card came from a dress that Good Morning Britain presenter, Susanna Reid wore one day.  Splashes of daffodil yellow mixed with grey and black on a white backdrop, it immediately made me grab by Gorgeous Grunge stamp set!

The end result of the stamping reminds me of those paintings you'd do at school with straws and running paint.  A sort of messy, haphazard splattering all over the page.

For the sentiment, I had to use my beloved Painted Petals set as I love the font.  I then added the black elegant butterfly to silhouette against the coloured backdrop.

You can, of course, choose any colour combination, it doesn't have to be based on a television presenter's dress!

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Sneak Peek with a Cherry on Top

No Try it Tuesday today.  Instead, I am here to celebrate that, a week today, Stampin' Up!'s new annual catalogue will be launched *happy dance*.

As an Independent Demonstrator, I've been lucky enough to receive the catalogue early as well as purchase some items before they go live (oh, the perks of joining the fun!)

As soon as I got my hands on the Cherry on Top DSP I knew it would be perfect for my little ones' birthdays.  Ok, George will not be three till mid August and Emma won't be one until the end of September, but there's nothing like pre planning!

This lovely paper stack features three of the new in colours, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe and Cucumber Crush.  Being 6x6 size they are perfect for all sorts of projects and the patterns are just fabulous (sweeties, doughnuts, ice creams, cupcakes, what's not to love!)

Flicking through it, I knew the papers would be great for invites, table treats and thank you cards so decided to have a play and make a project incorporating the latter two.

The sweetie pot was CASE'd from a Christmas project my friend and up line, Sam (of Pootles fame) did here.  As the paper stack is the perfect size, there's no cutting involved which is a great time saver!

To match the table treat I made a 3x3 thank you card.  Doing them this size, you can get 4 DSP layers out of 1 sheet.  You could even design the invitations the same.  The added sequins were bits that were left over after trimming the tie on the sweetie bag (no wastage!).

I couldn't leave Emma out so here is the one I designed with her in mind.  She doesn't understand sweets, or solid food much for that matter.  TV controls and plastic plates are far better to chew on in her opinion.

So, what do you think, simple, easy to make, cost effective...though it may make you crave whatever is on the paper you are using afterwards!

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A Sandy Sahara Anniversary

So as we head into peak wedding season, we inevitably head into a wave of back to back wedding anniversaries too.

Today's project was made for my husband's eldest sister and brother in law who celebrate theirs today.  There's something about the Something Borrowed DSP mixed with Sahara Sand that just looks screams understated elegance.

A hint of sparkle, lace trim, and look, I even managed to tie a bow with linen thread.  Ok, it took a few attempts with my shaky hands, but it looks sort of like a bow right?

I guess this could even be a lovely invite to a beach wedding *starts longing for warm sunny climes and crisp blue waters*

Love this paper and such a shame it's only available until 2 June so if you like it, grab it while you can!

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A Night of Navy Birthday Bash

I often steer clear of the colour navy.  It always makes me think of school jumpers, or court shoes, just uncomfortable uniforms in general!

However, when I saw this sheet of DSP within the Birthday Bash collection, the pattern just jumped out at me.  It was so different from the other brightly coloured and gold accented sheets in the set that I had to create something with it - it posed me a challenge!

I didn't want whatever I created to turn out 'manly' so I think the petite petal punch helps soften the statement paper up.  I chose the generic sentiment for the same reason.

I guess it is one of those 'just because' cards to let someone know you're thinking of them.

After finishing it, I think I actually like navy now.  Though I won't be buying a navy jumper any time soon!

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Try it Tuesday - Painted Petals Thank You Cards

Today's project is one of those cards that can be any colour and for any occasion.

I love the versatility of the Painted Petals stamp set and it's only available until the 2 June *sad face*.

Now I'm normally a brights girl at heart, but I haven't used Cherry Cobbler for a while and thought using a regals shade might give this a bit of richness.

You could use any of the petals variations you fancy and stamp till your heart's content until you're happy with your focal layer (it almost creates your own DSP!).  I chose the large double petal stamp as I wanted to create quite a bold yet simple look.

I finished it off with the Thank You sentiment (I love the font of the sentiments in this set!) and a bit of punch layering and twine looping to finish off.

Super quick, super simple, but quite effective don't you think?

So which colour would you choose?  I'd love to hear what combinations you'd come up with!

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A Blooming Rosy Adventure

My job share colleague from my day job sadly leaves today.  Her name is Rose so it only seemed fitting to use Rose Red on her leaving card!  It's a colour that I have not used much.  I'm not even sure why as it is lovely,

Another thing I haven't used nowhere near as often as I should have is the Painted Blooms DSP.  It has such a stunning selection of papers and it's only available until 2 June *sad face*

The stamp set I used is one that was only available with hostess credits until recently.  It is now on the retired list so grab it while you can!

The layering was done using my Project Life labels and cards framelits - so versatile and not just for scrapbooking.

I hope she likes it.  I think it's cute.

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Try it Tuesday - Bright and Sophisticated Bedroom Banners

As someone who has very shaky hands, until I found Stampin' Up! I always struggled cutting shapes and stamping images anywhere near straight.  My Big Shot and punches are my new best friends and now do all the fiddly work for me!

Today's project came about as I wanted to make something for my line manager's little boy to say well done for getting an award for behaviour and attendance during his first year at school.  My son's room has a circus theme adorned with polka dot bunting so that inspired this brightly coloured and dotty name banner.

It might look complicated but it's quite easy, even with my shaky hands!

I used the largest and second largest banner framelits for the base, adhering the brights DSP to the basic black card stock with dimensionals.  Then, using the matching ink for each banner section, I used the Sophisticated Serifs stamp set to stamp each of the name letters out.  A bit of scallop circle punching and adhering with dimensionals and you're almost set.  The fiddly bit for me was sewing the ribbon through each banner, but I've never been much of a sewing sort, our button box is evidence of that.

Why not have a go, I'd love to see what banner creations you come up with!

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Try it Tuesday - Scrapbooking Stampin' Up! Style

Some 8/9 years ago I used to attend a local craft group.  I was the youngest there by at least one, possibly two, decades and a complete rookie in comparison to the other ladies there.

I used to sit in awe marvelling over their intricate craft projects, particularly the scrapbooking crafters in the group.  It seemed such a brilliant idea to savour memories in such a lovely, crafty way.  I just saw it a bit of a faff and too time consuming to attempt it at the time as I was just starting out on my crafting adventure.

Having two small children, we try and capture moments as often as we can, on our phones, tablet or camera.  It just seems then that nothing is done with them.  They're downloaded onto the computer where they just stay.  They hardly get printed off.  Not like when I was younger and my mum would regularly go and get film and disposable cameras developed to then sit and put them in albums with little notes below them.  It must have taken her ages to do and I take great comfort in those albums now she's not here.

When I was searching for things to put in my Stampin' Up! Starter Kit I came across their Project Life products and had a light bulb moment.  Here was my opportunity to do scrapbooking without having to make the actual scrapbook.

It is sooooo easy to do.  You can basically make it as fancy or as basic as you like.  You just buy an album, the pockets you would like, the project cards and accessory packs you might like and away you go!

Researching online it would appear a lot of people do an album per year and do something week on week.  That is not really practical for us at the moment so we tend to do something when we have had a day out or for holidays.  Even our toddler George loves it as all the tickets and bits and bobs he has collected we can keep and document.  I have even bought the framelits for my Big Shot so once his nursery paintings have been on the wall for a bit, I can take them down and crop bits to put in the album to show him when he's older.

So simple, so much fun and really therapeutic!  Why not have a go?

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Try it Tuesday - Something to be Thankful for cards

As my mum in law has been so supportive since I lost my mum, I wanted to make her a card to give her on Mother's Day to thank her for everything she has done and continues to do for me.

The card is really easy to make.  I chose Calypso Coral as I wanted to steer away from the usual pink and purples tone of Mother's Day.  However, it can be made in any colour you fancy and ready to hand out whenever you need to.  You can get two cards from an A4 sheet of card stock.  Simply cut in half vertically and then score horizontally half way - a perfect A6 card.

The sentiment is taken from the You Brighten My Day stamp set which is currently free with every £45 spend during Sale-A-Bration which ends at the end of this month *sad face*.  It co-ordinates with the Note Tag punch, so I decided to offset it with a couple of backing layers of card stock and Dazzling Diamonds paper for a hint of sparkle!

Rather than using embellishments or traditional ribbon on the tag, I decided to use a piece of the Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper (also currently free during Sale-A-Bration) and make a bow instead with the fabulous Bow Builder Punch so it really stood out against the Whisper White card stock.

The love heart sentiment at the top is also from the same stamp set and co-ordinates with the heart in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack. (currently a gift from me if you join my team during Sale-A-Bration)  This was then topped with one of the cute Epoxy Stickers to give an added dimension.

So, what do you think? My mum in law loved it anyway and was very touched *happy face*

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You're a Fabulous Work of Art Giveaway

So today is my second Mother's Day without my mum.

My mum passed away suddenly on New Year's Eve 2013.  She passed away surrounded only by the medical staff trying to save her.  I never got to say goodbye.

Mum never wanted a fuss on Mother's Day.  A handmade card and a bunch of daffodils picked from the garden were all she used to ask for.  In her eyes, you shouldn't need a commercialised day to make you tell someone how special they are, you should tell them that all the year through, whenever you felt like it.

Remembering this has brought up today's project and a little giveaway.  It got me thinking, I know I cannot send mum a card any more, but I could brighten someone's day and make them feel special whenever I feel like it.

I've made a batch of cards and covered notebooks similar to these in a variety of colours.  I have people in mind who to send some too, but would like to send some random acts of kindness out too, hence today's little giveaway.

Anyone who shops with me between now and the end of Sale-A-Bration (so the end of this month) will receive one of these sets in addition to my usual thank you gift (please ensure you choose to be contacted when ordering so I can send you these!)  However, I would like to giveaway a set to three lovely people who either read this blog or follow me on Facebook.

If you'd like to be in with a chance of receiving one of these at some point soon, just leave me a comment saying why you think you're a fabulous work of art (because of course you are!) and your favourite colour.  I'll then put all the names into my son George's trilby hat and get him to pick three out.  Closing Date next Sunday 22 March.

Good luck!

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Big Shot Bonanza - Balloon Framelit Bookmarks

Bedtime stories with a toddler can be quite eventful.  You start the book, they want to make shadow puppets with their reading lamp.  You continue the book, apparently Postman Pat is stuck in the delivery train and it is imperative he is rescued before lights out.  After said toddler is back in bed, the book is now boring and Peppa Pig books are best as they have more pictures!

Endless books on the shelf and most not fully read.  So I decided to have a play and make some bookmarks so my husband and I know where we got up to in each story that sounded interesting but we've as yet not finished.  Hence we have today's project - bookmarks with a twist

I purchased my Big Shot with my first Stampin' Up! order as my half price product.  The first thing I put in my basket to go with it was the Balloon framelit dies.  From a very early age I have loved balloons.  Which is quite strange when I don't like loud noises and we all no they can make an almighty bang when they burst.  My little boy is a bit of a balloon fiend too so it made complete sense to make balloon bookmarks!  These can either be clipped to the page using the paper clip on the back of the balloon.  Or, alternatively, leave the balloon inside the page and then let the ribbons dangle outside of the book so you can see what page you are up too.

As I was using the Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper (currently free with a £45 spend during Sale-A-Bration) I needed a bit more depth to the balloon really so it didn't end up a squished mess.  With all Stampin' Up! DSP packages, you get a sheet of heavy card at the back to keep the paper straight.  Just right for the job I thought!  I merely stuck the DSP onto the backing card with Snail adhesive then ran it through the Big Shot with the relevant framelit on it.

The measurements for all the different pieces are as follows:

Balloon - a piece of DSP/Card measuring 7cm x 7cm
Bow - a piece of DSP/Card measuring 3cm x 3cm
Banner - a piece of DSP/Card measuring 7cm x 3cm

I adhered the bow and banner to the balloon with dimensionals.

The ribbons and buttons are from the Best Year Ever Accessory Pack (also currently free with every £45 spend during Sale-A-Bration)  Each length of ribbon is 30cm, looped in half and then stuck onto the back of the bottom of the balloon with Glue Dots.  The balloons are optional of course.  I just personally thought they'd help weigh the ribbon down and be easier to find while looking for the page with only a dim night light on!

Fun for young and old to make!

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Try it Tuesday - Stacked With Love Gift Tags

After having a great play around with the fabulous different stamps on offer within the Perpetual Birthday Calendar set on my thank you cards here, I decided they'd also be great to use on gift tags too.

I don't know about you, but in our house it always seems to be that we wrap the gift and then cannot seem to find the gift tag.  With this week's Try It Tuesday project this will no longer be a problems!

I had so Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper left over from projects I made for Valentine's Day and though the papers on it are so lovely and could easily be adapted for other occasions.

The tags are so easy to make.  You can easily make a large batch to store away and then just grab whenever you need one.

Measurements are just a piece of both the DSP and Whisper White card stock trimmed to 5cm x 10cm.

I stamped on and stamped off the white card stock with the chosen stamp and ink I wanted to coordinate with the DSP and put both through the Ornate Tag Topper Punch.

I used the 'Thank You' sentiment from the Lotus Blossom stamp set which is currently free with any £45 spend during Sale-A-Bration and punched it out using the 1' circle punch.  I punched a circle out of the corresponding DSP and stuck the sentiment onto the punched DSP with Snail adhesive at an angle so the DSP could be seen.  The sentiment was then layered onto the tag with dimensionals.

A couple of tags I have put mini pegs on as these could be pinned to a gift bag.  The other, I have attached some ribbon which could either be used to stick to a present or hung round the neck of a jar or bottle.

The great thing about the Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set is that there are so many different stamps you could use that you could basically match them to any scraps of DSP you have in whatever colour inks you have.  So many choices!

I just best put the batch I have made somewhere safe so I know where they are when I need them!

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New Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration Products!

NEW FREE STUFF!!!

Ok, did I perhaps shout that a bit too loudly?

Seriously though, it's a big whoop and a deep breath...(cue drum roll, or should that be fanfare?)

For the remainder of the Sale-A-Bration promotion (so for the next 4 weeks or 31 days) Stampin' Up! are introducing not just one, but FOUR new free products to choose from with every £45 spend.  I know! To quote Craig Revel Horwood, they are a-maz-ing and fab-u-lous.

Don't believe me?  Then allow me to introduce them to you via the promotional flyer here

See? Fabulous right?

So, that's for this month only with every £45 spend (or £90, £135 etc, whichever increment your order comes to) you could have one of these for FREE!  Plus, if you were to join my team this month, you could choose to get 2 of these products for free a longer with your starter kit.

Problem is, which to choose as I love them all!