CardmakingwithAnne

I never got round to posting these....

2011-12-30T15:49:00.000+01:00

Well I know it's been ages and ages since I posted but I just don't have the time to make cards, never mind post them, these days! Anyway just thought I'd show you a few cards that I made in the Summer and never got round to posting and wish you all a Happy New Year at the same time.

The first few were made using LOTV squares.

The next ones are LOTV stamps coloured with Promarkers.

I've used various backing papers and Cuttlebug embossing folders. The ribbons are mainly Stampin Up, the flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts and lots of Craftwork cards Candi.

Thanks for looking,

9 squares

2011-09-01T19:39:00.000+02:00

While I have been looking for inspiration, I have come across several variations on the theme of using nine squares on a card. So when I found some squared backing paper in my stash I thought I'd have a go.

I then realised that this was a good way to use up some scraps of backing paper and card and set about cutting up lots of 4cms squared pieces of paper and these are what I came up with.

As you can see lots of different effects can be produced with this design and its uses can be quite versatile.

Hope you like them,

Silly me!

2011-08-29T17:10:00.002+02:00

How stupid am I? I didn't include any WOC products on my card that I entered for their tags challenge. I wouldn't mind but I have hundreds of their flowers!

Upside-down Candi

2011-08-28T14:54:00.000+02:00

Having just bought lots of new yummy candi from Craftwork cards, I thought I'd check out their blog for some inspiration and I came across this card by Lisa Baker. (Sorry Lisa I don't know your blog url)

Don't know about you but I'd never thought of turning the candi upset down, or glittering it, or adding pearls, but then, what do I know? Anyway, thanks Lisa cos you inspired me to make this......

Not bad for a first attempt and I'll definitely be trying out some more of these.

Thanks for looking,

Little Claire and Glittery Things

2011-08-24T18:28:00.000+02:00

Here's a couple of quick cards made using Little Claire peel offs and more cards made with those things that you glitter on the back.

Most of the card, backing paper and ribbon is SU.

Thanks for having a butcher's,

Two SU

2011-08-22T17:33:00.001+02:00

This morning I dug out a couple of Stampin Up sets I haven't used for ages and inspired by Monica's card here, I created this Get Well Soon card.

Stamp set - Bloomin With Beauty
SU card - Pacific Point, Soft Suede, Confetti White
Ribbon Baja Breeze
To make the background 'paper', I stamped all over the Confetti White card using the hydrangea stamp and Taken With Teal ink

Next I made this New Home card using the Good Neighbours stamp set.

Ink - Basic Grey
SU card - Really Rust , Soft Suede
Backing paper from Spiced Cider pack

Thanks for looking,

Cards for Mum

2011-08-21T07:51:00.000+02:00

Mum's been keeping me busy again and asked for 3 cards yesterday, so being the dutiful daughter that I am, I set to and made them immediately!

I found these acetates that you glitter at the back stashed away in a folder only half done of course, so I thought I'd finish them off and use them.

They're very blingy aren't they. Hope Mum (and the recipients) like them.

Thanks for looking,

Special Blessings

2011-08-20T11:48:00.002+02:00

And here's some more variations on a theme using the SU stamp set Special Blessings and cased from Monica's card here. The card, ribbon and most of the backiing papers are SU again.
Am not being morbid here, just building up my stock again. :)

Actually there's not much variation is there?

See you soon I hope.

Variations on a Theme

2011-08-20T11:39:00.000+02:00

Okay, I have been using up some of my long-forgotten my stash and building up my stock of men's cards. Be prepared for a photo-overload!. I based all these cards on this quick and easy card made by my friend Ailsa.

So here are my versions, made mostly with SU card and backing papers and lots of peel offs and candi.

Sorry about the overload but hope you enjoyed looking.

Sorry about the jumbled layout too. Couldn't seem to place the pics where I wanted them.

Weakest Link

2011-08-17T20:23:00.001+02:00

The challenge over on Shopping Our Stash is to use your weakest link. In other words use the item that can't you resist buying. Well, hellooooo! I'm a crafter! How do you limit that to just one thing? I'm afraid I've cheated a little and used the two things I can never resist the most and that's flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts or anywhere else for that matter and pearls of any description as long as they're sticky. So here's my card which also features yet another LOTV square.

I deliberately didn't add a sentiment so the card could be used for a birth, christening or anything else appropriate.

Thanks for having a look,

Another Post!!!!

2011-08-15T10:05:00.002+02:00

Yes, it's true, I'm back again.

I made these two men's cards this morning using these stamped and coloured images that seem to have been hanging around forever. They're not my stamps so don't know where they're from.

I think both of these might come in useful as I have relatives who are into rock music/playing in bands etc and the football one is in Hull City colours and I know quite a few fans!

Thanks for popping in and welcome to my even newer followers.

The first image is Sugar Nellie. Thanks, Helen, for that info.

Things with Wings

2011-08-14T18:15:00.001+02:00

Wow - 2 posts in one day! I did say I'd be back soon!

I'd just finished making this card when I spotted the Things with Wings Challenge over on Delightful Challenges, so I thought I might as well enter it.

The image is yet another LOTV square. The card, backing paper and ribbon are all Stampin Up. I've edged her wings and tiara and also the circle and lace edge of the outer circle in glitter but you can't really see them on the photo.

Thanks for looking,

PS Welcome and thanks to my two new followers.

LIM Christmas

2011-08-13T17:33:00.001+02:00

Hello All,
I know I haven't blogged for ages but the holiday finally arrived and off we went to sunny Tunisia again!. Well, I'm back now and decided to do a bit of crafting. First of all I made 60....yes 60... cards for my podiatrist which she uses to remind people about their appointments. This wasn't as big a job as might seem as they are super-simple cards.
Then I decided to use my imagination a bit but thought I'd stick with something fairly simple and decided to join in with the LIM challenge which is a One Layer Card this time. Now this is not as simple as it sounds and I'm still not sure about the result, so have a look and see what you think!

Before you say anything, I know the sentiment isn't straight and normally I would have stamped it on another piece of card and layered it over the original mess but as it's a OLC I couldn't do that.
Anyway, everything is SU.
Card - Kraft
Stamp sets - Lovely as a Tree, Silent Night & Season of Joy
Inks - Close to Cocoa, Basic Grey & Whisper White.
I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to re-stamp with the WW for the snow effect. (That's what it's supposed to be anyway!)

Thanks for looking and I'll be back soon...honest!

Two birthdays

2011-07-13T21:25:00.001+02:00

I know it's been ages since I last posted, but life has been work, work, work and more work!!!!! Nearly the holidays now and needless to say I'm counting the days.

Here are two cards that I've made for two of my offsprings' birthdays. The first was for my eldest son's which was actually last month and the second for my daughter whose birthday is on Sunday.

The car on this is decoupaged and his initials are on the registration plate.

And here's another LOTV 'square'. No guesses what daughter's name is!!!!!

Thanks for looking,

Squares!

2011-06-12T18:09:00.002+02:00

Three cards made with the lovely LOTV die cut squares. These are so easy to use. I made these cards in half the time I usually take, as there was no stamping or colouring to do and in my opinion the results are just as good.

All the card and backing papers on the baby boy cards are SU and the rest of the elements on all the cards came from my stash.

Thanks for looking,

Carrie's Wedding

2011-06-03T18:45:00.001+02:00

Here's the card for I made for my friend Carrie and her new husband Keith. They were married today after 15 years of being together!

And here she is, looking beautiful, as a bride should!

And, sorry Carrie, but I couldn't resist....here's the kiss!

And now I must go and make myself beautiful for the evening do.

Hope to blog again soon , but time is so short and work is so hectic! :)

I'm Back!

2011-05-01T13:22:00.000+02:00

Well, just in case you didn't even know I'd gone... I've just come back from 'not so sunny' Tunisia. I'm not posting any piccies cos they're only the same as last time and you can see them here if you haven't already seen them. :)

I haven't had time to make any new cards since I got back as I've been busy catching up with my school work. Yuk!

So here's a couple of LOTV cards I made a while back but haven't yet shared with you.

This one was made with SU card and SU backing paper.

The card is SU again but I have no idea where I got this lovely colourful backing paper from!

I can't wait for the new LOTV boys stamps which are due out later this month. You can have a sneak peak at some of them here.

Thanks for looking,

A Touch of Red

2011-04-05T11:46:00.001+02:00

The Less Is More Challenge Week 9 is 'A Touch of Red'. Think I'm getting better at this as I'm finding I don't have to think about it so much or maybe I just like this particular challenge! Anyway, here's my entry.

The image and sentiment are SU - Baroque Motifs & Wonderful Words respectively.

Card - white hammered from the Papermill, Real Red ,SU.

Gems from my stash.

Thanks for visiting,

Baptism

2011-04-03T11:07:00.001+02:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you mums out there who deserve their well-earned rest today!

Although I'm not doing much, I'm currently 'celebrating' on my own as OH has gone off to see his family, both sons are still in bed (far too early for them to be up!) and daughter has texted to say she won't be round till after tea.

So I thought I'd share a commissioned card for a baptism with you. Hope you like it.

The image is one of the new LOTV die cuts which I bought at Harrogate. These are lovely and great when you need to make a card and haven't got time for colouring. For anyone who hasn't seen these yet, you're in for a treat as there are some new images too.

The blue card and papers are SU, the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the rest is from my stash.

I printed the sentiments straight from my PC.

Have a great day,

More Challenges

2011-04-01T11:37:00.001+02:00

I am entering this card for the following challenges;
Crafter's Companion - Aqua and Brown
Totally Papercraft - One for the Boys

Image is LOTV

Sentiment, ribbon, card and papers are SU

Thanks for stopping by,

Couples and Bling

2011-03-31T17:47:00.003+02:00

Here's a card I'm entering for the Cute Card Thursday challenge - Couples and the Paper Romance challenge - Bling

The image is Lili of the Valley and the card, papers and ribbon are SU.

The brown gems and gold dots are from my stash.

Thanks for looking,

Stampin Up Stuff For Sale!

2011-03-31T11:25:00.000+02:00

I have decided to sell some of my Stampin Up Stamp Sets and other items as I am no longer a demonstrator. You will find them all listed here on the In Love With Stamping website. (You may have to register to look but it's all free and an excellent website for inspiration, tutorials and general chat.)

Thanks for looking,

Go Dotty!

2011-03-25T18:07:00.001+01:00

....and here's another challenge card.

This time it's for I Love Promarkers - Go Dotty!

The image is a Little Claire peel off coloured with Promarkers (of course).

The card, backing paper and ribbon are all SU.

Thanks for having a peep,

Green and Yellow

2011-03-25T17:44:00.002+01:00

I discovered this challenge at The Ribbon Girl blog through another crafter whose blog I follow. The challenge is to use green and yellow which seems very appropriate for this lovely spring weather we're having. So here's my entry.

The image is LOTV and the backing paper is Papermania. The card is SU and the bird was made using the SU two step bird punch.

I am also entering this card for the following challenges:

Creative Stamp Friends - #21 Spring

Stamp with Fun - Spring

I Did It Creations -Challenge Blog - Welcome Spring

Stampin with the Dragon - Bring on Spring

Wags 'n' Whiskers - Spring

Thanks for stopping by,

Grandson & 80th

2011-03-22T09:52:00.000+01:00

Here's 2 cards commissioned by my mum. The first is for my teenage nephew, her grandson and the second is for a very old friend who was her bridesmaid and is soon to be 80.

The cardstock and backing paper are both SU - Riding Hood Red and Bordering Blue card and Blueberry Crisp paper.

Card and paper SU again - Almost Amethyst card and Bride Speciality paper. The image is from SU Bloomin with Beauty set and the beads etc are from the Pretties Kit. I always seem to resort to this stamp and the Pretties Kit for ladies 'of a certain age'. They seem to work so well for that type of card.

Thanks for popping by,

Little Claire Peel Offs

2011-03-21T16:15:00.001+01:00

Now don't faint with surprise but I am well ahead of myself and have already made my mum's Mother's Day card. I used one of the Little Claire peel offs, coloured with Promarkers. I think these are great and just had to buy more of them at Harrogate yesterday.So here's my card.

The card, backing paper and ribbon and butterfly punch are all SU. The pearls are Wild Orchid Crafts.

As I was going through my pictures, I found some other cards I'd made using these peel offs which I hadn't shared with you so thought I post them altogether now.

I think the wheelbarrow is my favourite.

Thanks for looking,

Less is More Again

2011-03-12T12:07:00.001+01:00

Here's my entry for the Less is More Challenge this week. I missed last week's again!
This time it's a one layer card with an 'off the edge' image AND no score lines. Bloomin 'eck, they're getting more and more challenging!!! Well, I've gone for super simple this time and stopped quickly before I overdid it.

Everything's SU on this one. The images are from Back to Nature and the sentiment is from Whimsical Words (both retired)
The card is WW and the inks are Sage Shadow and Perfect Plum. Sage Shadow is also retired.

Thanks for taking the time to look,

Stepper Card

2011-03-11T12:34:00.001+01:00

Today I had a go at a stepper card, which I haven't done for a long time, in fact I think I've only ever made a couple of these before. This could explain why it took me 3 attempts to get the measurements right!!!! Well I was quite pleased with the end result which is a birthday card for OH's son-in-law.

The cardstock is SU - Chocolate Chip and Old Olive.

The inks are SU - Old Olive and Close to Cocoa.

The stamps are SU from Lovely as a Tree and Wonderful Words and the leaves have been made using the SU 2 Step Bird Punch.

The backing paper is from the SU Christmas Jingle Scrappin Kit (The kit is still available but this paper has been replaced by a different one)

Thanks for looking,

Curls and Swirls

2011-03-01T12:55:00.000+01:00

Here's a card I've entered for a new challenge blog I found at The Stamp Man. The challenge is curls and swirls.

The card is SU Confetti White and Close to Cocoa. The image and sentiment are Little Claire peel-offs. The flowers and pearls are Wild Orchid Crafts.

Thanks for looking,

Less is More #3

2011-03-01T12:38:00.003+01:00

My 3rd attempt at a Less is More challenge which this time is '3 squares'. ( I missed the last one out as my mojo has been doing a disappearing act lately).

My original intention was to make a man's card but I think I chose the wrong colour scheme in the end.

The card is SU - Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip.

The images are from an SU set, Studio Sketches ( no longer available) and the sentiment is SU too from Occasional Quotes. This is a Level 3 hostess set which you can get for FREE when you hostess a workshop with sales of £500 or more.

The faux brads are Candy from Craftworkcards.

Thanks for taking the time to pop by,

Happy Birthday Oliver!

2011-02-17T10:27:00.001+01:00

It's OH's youngest grandson's birthday this week so here's the card I made for him. No prizes for guessing how old he is!

The image is LOTV coloured with Promarkers. The card is SU Night of Navy and the backing paper is SU DS Paper Patterns Stack in Subtles (Baja Breeze). The ribbon is also SU - WW 1/4" grosgrain.

See you soon,

Get her free!

2011-02-15T20:57:00.001+01:00

Isn't she sweet? You can get her free over on Sylvia Zet's blog where she has released her first digi stamps at Wee Stamps. So pop over to find out how.

Valentine for him.

2011-02-15T14:24:00.001+01:00

Thought you might like to see the Valentine card I made for my OH. I've been making quite a few cards lately and wouldn't you know it, I was in the middle of making this when he decided to come over and watch and ask me what sort of a card I was making! I hurriedly covered up the main part and told him I was just making cards generally....it was only a little fib. :)

The sentiment is Stampin Up, the flowers and pearls are Wild Orchid Crafts and I finally got round to using my new Nellie Snellen heart dies.

Than ks for looking,

Woohoo an award for me!

2011-02-13T18:50:00.001+01:00

Many thanks to Mandi at Molecraft who sent me this award, the first I have ever received and I'm thrilled and excited to accept it!

I have to pass it on now and these are the conditions:

1) You have been tagged, do you want to accept? YES! then create a post on your blog and post the love blog photo.

2) Link back to the person who gave you the award and say if you accept.

3) Choose 3-5 of your favourite blogs to tag, link these in your post too and tell the lucky people they have been tagged. As the aim of this award is to bring unknown good blogs to light, please don't tag somebody with 3000 followers.

So I am passing these on to bloggers who have given me inspiration ad deserve to be visited by more people and more often (all have less than 50 followers) and they are:

1. Carrie at Carrie-Lee Designs
2. Margaret at Making Papercrafts
3. Carolynne at Carolynnes Crafty Business
4. Daizy-Mae's-Crafty Blog
5. Debs at Dots Dashes Doodles & Dreams

Hope you all accept the award because you all deserve it!

Another go

2011-02-13T13:49:00.000+01:00

Here's my second attempt at a 'less is more' card for the 2nd challenge at the Less Is More blog.
I'm a bit happier with this one but I couldn't get the colours right when I was taking pics. The actual card is a very pale lemon which I think contrasts well with the green and yellow.

The image is an SU stamp from the Bloomin with Beauty set (sadly no longer available), as is the sentiment (also no longer available). The ink is SU Mellow Moss and the flower is coloured with SU pastels.
The card was from my stash..... and I just couldn't resist adding the little green pearls from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Hope you'll call again soon.

Less is more

2011-02-10T11:56:00.000+01:00

I've made a card for the very first challenge over at Less Is More and boy was it a challenge! Although I love really simple cards, I find it really difficult to make them as I always want to add more and I can't say I'm really happy with my effort, but at least I've had a go.

Thanks for looking,

Romance

2011-02-04T05:18:00.002+01:00

Sorry....long time, no post, but I've had 'flu' and all sorts of of work- and home-related problems. Anyway enough of the sob sob story, I'm back with another card which I'm entering for the LOTV Thursday challenge which this week is 'Romance'.

As it's for the an LOTV Challenge, the image is, of course, from LOTV. The card and backing paper are Stampin' Up and the flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts.

Back soon .....honest!

I don't believe it!

2011-01-16T14:46:00.002+01:00

No, I can't believe it's been a whole year since I posted this (You will have to scroll down a bit to view my youngest son's 21st birthday card). So tomorrow he's another year older......let's see, that must make him....22! I'm good at Maths, being a Maths teacher. :)

So I've just made him this year's card and here it is.Last year he was impressed with the '3D effect' (He meant the decoupage). I wonder if he'll be impressed this year.

The stamps are LOTV.

2 of the papers are Stampin' Up and 1 is papermania which I've just bought cos it was reduced. Well, how could I resist?

Thanks for having a butcher's.

Two for You

2011-01-04T13:04:00.002+01:00

During a bit of a crafting session with some of my crafty friends I made these two cards, both using LOTV stamps coloured with Promarkers. I then decided to enter one of them into some challenges.

Here's the second one and this is the one I'm entering for the challenges.

The challenges are:

'White is White on Cupcake Craft

'New Beginnings' on Lili of the Valley

Use something new on Creative Inspirations The 'something new' is the bell charm. I bought loads of them a while ago and this is the first one I've used!

Last mention of the 'C' word

2011-01-04T12:52:00.001+01:00

Just wanted to share with you the clever Christmas card my daughter made for us, using 2 Stampin Up Sets - Circle Circus and Season of Joy.

What do you think?

I think she's very clever, but then she's my daugher and I'm always proud of her. :)

The wanderer returns

2010-12-31T19:22:00.001+01:00

Hello All

I'm back again from my 'second home' in Tunisia. We had a great time and the weather was fantastic....lots of lovely sunshine. I was very pleased to see that the snow (or most of it) had finally gone.

I've just been having a quick look at the posts I have made over the year and thought I'd share a few of my favourite creations with you. So here you are.

I was very pleased with myself when I produced this one which was cased from one made by Michelle Zindorf.

This was my first Christmas card, made in March!

Another cased card. This time from one of Monica's.

And another one cased from one of Monica's.... punch art this time.

Black and pink for the next one.

Lilac and the Pretties Kit for an 80th birthday.

My 'favouritest' Christmas card!

And to finish, 3 LOTV cards.

Hope you enjoyed the 'flashback'.

Happy New Year to you all and thanks for popping by.

Anne xxx

Happy Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-19T20:43:00.001+01:00

Hello All.

I would just like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best for a wonderful Christmas.

On Tuesday we are heading off for Manchester airport and providing the snow doesn't get any worse we'll be flying to Tunisia at 6.00 am on Wednesday morning to spend a relaxing week in the sun. (I hope!)

Anyway, thanks to all my followers and anyone else who's happened to drop by this year, for taking the time to pop in and see what I've been creating........or otherwise.

Happy Christmas Crafters! Hope Santa brings all you wish for!

Love, Anne. xxx

Found these

2010-12-05T09:48:00.002+01:00

Was just busy sorting out all my half-finished cards when I came across these which I realised I hadn't 'blogged', so I'm blogging again sooner than expected!

Both cards have been made with Lili of the Valley stamps and coloured with Promarkers.

The silver background on this one was made with a sunray embossing folder with some of the rays cut out.

Hope you like them,

Let It Snow1 Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

2010-12-05T08:08:00.000+01:00

Yey we've got tons of it!!!!.......and.......school has now been closed for 3 days!
So thought I'd post a few piccies to prove it.

Just in case any of you wildlife lovers are worried - we have now cleared the snow from the bird bath etc and put out lots of lovely grub for the birdies.

I meant to post this a couple of days ago, so since then, the snow has begun to melt a little, although last night it all froze over. We are supposed to be going to school today to clear the paths and car park ready for opening to tomorrow. :(

So despite all the bad publicity we teachers are getting, we do actually make supreme efforts to get in. I made it in on Wednesday only to find no-one else there except the caretaker and the school closed. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. :)

Will be back with some crafting....soon....promise!

And the winner is .....

2010-11-22T05:07:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the delay in the draw but following the nerve-racking experience of taking my dance medals, I have to admit doing the draw wasn't uppermost in my mind.
Well thank you to you 5 lovely ladies for commenting, following and linking. I tried to download a random generator but just couldn't figure it out so I had to do it the 'old-fashioned' way. So here are the names ready to go into the draw.

And here's the winner

.................................................

Congratulations Carrie!

The Pretties Kit is on its way to you. Hope you have lots of crafting fun with it.

Candy! Candy! Candy! Free! Free! Free!

2010-11-21T17:53:00.000+01:00

This post will stay at the top until the draw takes place. Please scroll down for newer posts.

Yes , it's true I'm giving away some free crafting candy! Why? Well, why not? I have just realised that my visit counter has clicked over the 4000 mark so to thank all my visitors, I thought I'd offer this.......

It's the lovely Pretties Kit which is sadly no longer available in the new catalogue.

The kit contains:

White flowers (50: 10 each in 5 sizes)

White halfback peaerls (30 small, 20 medium, 10 large)

White round pearls with holes (30 small, 15 large)

Cream round pearls with holes (30 small, 15 large)

Clear round beads with centre hole (10)

Clear round beads with side hole (10)

Clear teardrops (20)

Clear round rhinestone brads ( 20 small, 15 medium, 15 large)

Hat pins with clutches (10)

Spacer beads (30)

And it all comes in a lovely re-usable metal tin with hinged lid.

The flowers can be coloured with your Stampin' Up or Promarker pens. See how Dawn does it here

You can also colour the pearls and rhinestones using Promarkers or Stampin ' Up refill inks.

And here's a couple of my own cards made with the beads on hat pins. I think they had a touch of class.

If you'd like a chance to get your mitts on this gorgeous kit, just follow these simple rules:
1. Leave a comment
2. Become one of my followers (if you haven't already)
3. Add a link to my blog on your sidebar. (You can still enter even if you don't have a blog yourself)

I'll be drawing the lucky person's name on Sunday 21st November. Good luck!

LOTV Challenge

2010-11-15T09:33:00.002+01:00

Here's my entry for the Lili of the Valley 'Anything Goes' Challenge.
I have also entered it into the Cute Card Thursday Challenge

Hopefully this would cheer up anyone who is unwell!

The card, backing papers and ribbon are Stampin' Up.

I have used the SU scallop edge punch and nesties for the hexagons.

I can't remember where I picked the little ribbon flowers up from.

Thanks for looking and don't forget to enter my draw for the lovely Pretties Set.

Bundle Up

2010-11-03T20:37:00.000+01:00

Fantastic offers from Stampin' Up!

Throughout November and December SU are offering these super bundles (while stocks last) AND what's more, with every bundle bought you will receive a free spool of ribbon which you can choose from the ones shown on the picture below. These ribbons are not available to buy in the catalogue so this is you only way of getting your mitts on them.

Click on the picture to see a larger version or you can find more details here on the SU website.

Contact me at amwilliams@amwilliams.karoo.co.uk to place an order.

Back soon,

Is it Halloween or Christmas????

2010-10-31T19:28:00.001+01:00

I know it's Hallowe'en today but as we don't do sending Hallowe'en cards here (Well I don't anyway, don't know about you!). as I'm gradually getting all my colouring made up into cards, I thought I'd share a Christmas card or two with you.

You have probably already realised that all the stamps are Lili of the Valley. I love these stamps. I believe in sending religious cards at Christmas so these get my vote for that and their cuteness.

The papers are Stampin Up and the vellums are Papermania.

The pretty snowflake ribbons came from a local garden centre and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I think the last one is my favourite of the three. Wonder which you prefer!

Thanks for stopping by,

Old Faithful and Red Robin

2010-10-27T22:05:00.001+02:00

Now if you're not a local, you probably haven't got a clue what my title is all about, so I'd better tell you that these are the nicknames of our two local rugby league teams. I've made two cards using a Lili of the Valley stamp to display both team's colours. I am a supporter of one of them but only in spirit these days. I used to go to all the matches (including away ones) in my dim and distant youth.
So these are for all you Hull Kngston Rovers and Hull FC fans out there!

All cardstock, papers and ribbons are Stampin'Up.

Thanks for the visit,

For Freya

2010-10-26T19:19:00.001+02:00

Having just spent the best part of the weekend at the caravan stamping and colouring lots of Lili of the Valley images, I thought I'd better start to convert some of them to cards. So here's the first which was commissioned by a lady from church for her great niece, Freya's 1st birthday.

The card colours are WW and Pretty in Pink, the papers are from Sweet Pea DSP and the Love Stories Scrappin kit and I have used the eyelet border punch down the edge.

Hopefully, I'll be posting more later in the week.

Thanks for looking,

LOTV Challenge

2010-10-16T20:18:00.000+02:00

Here's this week's challenge over at Lili of the Valley which I've managed to find time to have a go at this week.

So here's my humble effort, although I was quite pleased with how it turned out, even if I do say so myself!

The stamp is LOTV of course - cute ain't it? And there's a selection of new and old Stampin' Up stock.
Old cardstock - Taken With Teal ( How sad am I that this one's been discontinued?)
Old DS paper - Sweet pea
NEW - gorgeous Scallop trim border punch
NEW - scrumptious Marina Mist satin ribbon
Ever faithful - word window punch and Basic Phrases sentiment stamp
The flowers are Wild Orchid and the leaves were punched using the Two-Step Bird punch

Thanks for popping by today,

Made from leftovers

2010-10-14T21:06:00.001+02:00

I was looking through my box of leftover bits and pieces the other day and came across a bag full of stamped and punched flowers. So this is what I quickly made with them. The punch was Martha Stewart and the cardstock is all Stampin' Up, although most of the colours have now retired.

And yesterday my clever daughter designed these lovely Christmas cards. The phgotos don't do them justice as they are really quite elegant and sophisticated and the gems on the antlers are stunning.

Thanks for taking the time to look,

Christmas again!

2010-09-29T05:00:00.001+02:00

Two Lili of the Valley Christmas cards, both designed by my friend, Ailsa.

I love them both and will definitely be making more of them.

Both cards are coloured with Promarkers.

The angel card has an acetate window which isn't visible in the photo.

Thanks for looking,

Happy Birthday!

2010-09-25T10:22:00.000+02:00

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday dear me
Happy birthday to me!!!!!

Well no-one else would be putting it on my blog would they?
And no... I haven't sent myself a birthday card. Even I wouldn't go that far!

Gotta go...OH taking me to town to buy my present soon and I'm not even dressed yet.

Oh and thanks to everyone for all the lovely cards. I was really excited to see all the hand crafted ones. They're all gorgeous. I've got such talented friends! x

Variations on a Theme

2010-09-21T21:32:00.001+02:00

Two birthday cards for friends. Similar, but not the same!
The first is for one of my crafting friends whose birthday is today. She hasn't actually received this card yet as I had a senior moment and thought her birthday was next week. I'll be giving her it tomorrow at our weekly crafting session. Happy birthday Dawn anyway.

The second card is for a friend at work who shares the same birthday as me....lucky her. Lol. So Happy birthday to Jane too.

So as you can see the cards are similar. Both are made using the Bloomin' with Beauty stamp set ( which is retiring ...boo hoo). The ribbon is Pretty in Pink taffeta and the cardstock is WW, Pretty in Pink and the new Pink Pirouette. Pink Pirouette is a very pale pink so very useful for baby cards, weddings and of course birthday cards.

Dawn's card also has the En Francais big background stamp and beads and pin from the gorgeous Pretties Kit (also retiring and currently half price at £11.63!)

Jane's card has flowers from the Vintage Vogue set which have pearl centres also from the Pretties Kit.

The pink dots on both are actually pearlescent so a little prettier than they look in the photos.

Thanks for taking the time to visit.

Birthday and Christmas

2010-09-18T18:50:00.002+02:00

Here's two cards I've made this week. The first is a Christmas card. The photograph does not really do it justice as it is very pretty and sparkly. I'm hoping the close-up photo will show you better.

The church is from the Silent Night set which unfortunately is no longer available but you could get the same effect with any similar stamp. I also thought the sentiment matched it perfectly. This is from a new Level 3 hostess set called Occasional Quotes available from 1st October. It is not available to buy but you can get it FREE if you hold a workshop so contact me if you're interested. There are 12 sentiments in the set and they cover every occasion.

The church has been made glittery using the Heat and Stick and Beautiful Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

The 'book' is made with nestabilities and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

This one is for my OH's grandaughter, whose birthday is tomorrow. It's made with a Lili of the Valley stamp coloured with Promarkers.

The cardstock is Pretty in Pink and So Saffron, as are the ribbons. The edge has been punched with the eyelet border punch and the paper is from the Bella Bleu DSP.

A couple of commissions

2010-09-11T22:10:00.000+02:00

Here's a couple of cards commissioned by my mum (she likes to keep me busy, bless her).
The first is for my auntie (her sister-in-law) and the second for my sister-in-law (her daughter-in-law).

The cardstock on this one is Barely Banana and some pearly card I've had for ages and the paper is from Bella Bleu DSP. I used my nesties and X Cut butterfly and border punches.

Real Red, Regal Rose and WW cardstock and Pink Flamingo DSP. The stamp is Personal Impressions (coloured with Promarkers). The cherries are Papermania Dew Drops and although you can't see it there's SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the icing.

Thanks for stopping by,

LOTV Challenge

2010-09-10T20:45:00.000+02:00

Back to achool this week means very little time to blog or make cards....but I've made a determined effort this week before the pile of books to mark becomes mountainous and the paperwork becomes impossible to complete because the teaching gets in the way!
So I decided to take part in this week's LOTV challenge which you will find here. It's called 'One for the boys, so here's my humble offering.

Sorry if the 'C' word has appeared too early for you but I was quite chuffed with how the colouring on this one turned out.

The cardstock is Stampin Up Basic Grey and Real Red with matching Stampin Up ribbon. The backing paper is from the Level 1 hostess gift pack (not available to buy....you've gotta have a workshop, so get in touch fast if you want one as everything changes with the release of the new catty on 1st October).

And here's another LOTV one for you. This rabbit is so cute!

The card is one of the new Stampin Up colours Rich Razzleberry (although it has been available to buy for a while) and the backing paper to match is the Cottage Wall DSP.

Thanks for looking,

2010-09-01T17:36:00.000+02:00

All places for the April Virtual workshop have now been taken. If you would like to join the next one, please contact me on amwilliams@amwilliams.karoo.co.uk You can find out more about virtual workshops here.

More cards at last

2010-09-01T08:31:00.000+02:00

Have just returned from a last minute visit to my sister's in Banbury. On Sunday at 5pm, my mum suddenly decided to tell me there was a family gathering in Oxford as my auntie and cousin were over from New Zealand. So my other half and I hastily packed a bag and headed for Banbury. I'm glad we went, as it was lovely to see them and some of my other family too.

Anyway we're back now and here's the cards I made before I went but didn't get chance to post.

The first two were made using my Little Claire's elephant die which I bought in Doncaster but have only just got round to using.

These two are a couple of simple cards made with more lovely flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The leaves were made with the Stampin Up 2 step bird punch.

Next is a pretty wedding card made with a cute Lili of the Valley stamp, 2 different embossing folders and more flowers from WOC.

Finally - a butterfly card!

The colours are Apricot Appeal, Close to Cocoa and Cameo Coral (all retiring this month so get your order in quick if you want ink or cardstock in these colours). The paper is from the Spiced Cider set (also retiring).

The ribbon is satin Chocolate Chip (also retiring).

The butterfly was made by punching out 2 large hearts and usine the eyelet punch along the top edges. Then I punched a normal butterfly, followed by 2 small hearts.

Sorry all this seems to be retiring stock - I didn't do that intentionally!!!!

E mail at amwilliams@amwilliams.karoo.co.uk to order any Stampin Up products. Lots retiring this month and many are at reduced prices, so don't miss out. You can see them all here.

Thanks for looking.

I'm back!!!!!

2010-08-26T07:12:00.002+02:00

Hi All
I'm back from my relaxing two weeks in sunny Tunisia. Just thought I'd post a few piccies of views from our hotel room balcony to maybe get you turning an envious shade of green. (We did have a particularly well-positioned room this time thanks to the OH e-mailing before we went - he does have his uses!)

I'll hopefully be posting some craftier items soon....when all my unpacking and washing etc's done!

Thanks for looking.

A Quickie!

2010-08-10T16:17:00.001+02:00

Just a quick blog before I travel to far away sunny Tunisia for my hols.

After stamping and colouring in many of my new Lili of the Valley stamps, I finally got round to using some of them on cards, so I just thought I'd share them with you before I jet off.

I have used some Stampin Up products on them too - mostly cardstock, papers and ribbons and the lovely flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts again.

Thanks for dropping by and see you in 2 weeks.

Commission x2

2010-08-08T20:15:00.000+02:00

Here's two cards which I made this weekend. Both of them were commissions.

The first was one my mum asked me to make for my auntie's 80th birthday and the second was a birth congratulations, commissioned by a lady from church for her new niece.

I think I may have posted one like this before but I was really pleased with this design so I have made it again several times since.

The stamp set is Bloomin with Beauty, CS is WW and pale plum and the pin and beads are from the lovely Pretties Kit.

This one's made using a decoupage from a CD and I really can't remember where I got it from! I have used some of the lovely flowers I recently bought from Wild Orchid Crafts and the pearls in the wheel centres are from the Pretties Kit again and the patterned edge was made using the eyelet border punch

The cardstock is WW and Regal Rose. The pale pink is a lovely patterened pearlised card from my own stock.

Thanks for looking,

Quick and Easy - allegedly!

2010-08-06T11:51:00.002+02:00

The Wednesday night crafting group I go to decided that this week we would make some quick and easy cards. The spec was that we would all make one card with everything prepared and ready to make.

So Dawn went first with these sweet baby cards.

This one gave me some grief as I ended up stuck up with glue trying to get those tiny pink flowers fixed on!

Next was my turn.

Obviously Stampin'Up had to come into mine somewhere so I used the Garden Whimsy stamp set, WW, Brocade Blue and Night of Navy cardstock and Night of Navy ink. The eyelet punch made the fancy edge and the scalloped oval punch cut down made the hinge....and yes I did resort to peel-offs. Well I don 't care what anyone says, they always come in handy and can often give a card the finishing touch it needs

Then Pam made this lovely sheep card. It was amazing how many different sheep were produced between the 6 of us!

Ailsa made 2 cards as her mum, Judith hadn't had time due to visiting relatives.

Both of Ailsa's used Stampin' Up stamp sets. The first was Pocket Silhouettes and the second was Tree Trimmings. Yes I'm afraid we did make a Christmas card. Actually we make them quite regularly and have quite a stockpile of them now.

Ailsa made her own card in yellow which I much preferred but she did her usual trick of making her card, then checking to see what stock she had and discovered she didn't have enough for us all to make yellow ones. Not to worry, I really liked the card and I'm going to have a go at a yellow one myself.

We finished these cards so quickly, we had time on our hands, so Dawn produced yet another Christmas card for us all to make. This one was using one of the lovely Lili of the Valley stamps which we are all mad about at the moment.

Well that's the end of our quick and easy designs. Some were quicker and easier than others but hopefully something's inspired you!

Thanks for looking,

Big Bold Birthday

2010-08-02T10:01:00.004+02:00

I had a great time at Monica's on Saturday, where I joined in with one of her classes. As there were only a few of us, we crafted in her garden which was lovely despite the threatening black clouds which fortunately blew over and didn't cause us to grab everything and run inside.

Here's what we made using the Big Bold Birthday stamp set in Close to Cocoa, Apricot Appeal and Regal Rose.

I was so inspired by the altered sandwich bag that I had to stop and buy some (very cheap) on the way home and then I made this, using All in the Stars stamp set and Brocade Blue, Lovely Lilac and Orchid Opulence CS and inks.
For details of where to buy the bags please e mail me on amwilliams@amwilliams@karoo.co.uk

After a quick search for some more inspirational ideas in the ILWS gallery, I made this which I cased from Jo's blog here. I didn't add a sentiment as I thought it would be a useful card for lots of different occasions.

Recipe:
Stamp Sets: baroque Motifs, Flight of the Butterfly, En Francais BG
CS & inks: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
Ribbon: Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain

Thanks for looking, Anne x

Long time no blog....

2010-07-12T21:43:00.001+02:00

I know it's been ages since I blogged and I would apologise but at this time of the year a teacher has much to do!!!! Anyway following feelings of guilt after my firend, Carrie, asked me to check out he brand new blog, I thought I'd make time for a quick blog.
So my first card is my daughter, Carrie's birthday card. (not the other one...I know it's confusing but try to keep up!) She's not likely to read this as she has no internet connection which would pose a problem if she were trying to read it!!!!! Well here it is. I cased it from the ILWS gallery here.

I hope she likes it cos I'm still a bit unsure about it myself.

Here's the recipe:

CS - WW, melon mambo and ballet blue

Ink - melon mambo, ballet blue and rich razzleberry

The flowers are from the Pretties Kit, coloured with melon mambo ( used a blender pen and the ink pad) and ballet blue and the ribbon is melon mambo.

The butterfly is from Flight of the Butterfly and the background stamping is done with Pocket Silhouette stamps which I've had for ages and finally got round to using.

The next two cards have been made using the hostess Level 1 set from the mini catalogue - Studio Sketches. I made them a while ago and have a feeling I may have cased them too, but goodness knows where from. So if you recognise them as yours, let me know and I'll add a link.

Can't seem to make this align left so recipe may look a bit odd.

CS - VV, basic grey and rose red

Ink - basic grey and rose red

Backing paper from Bella Bleu DSP

CS - VV, certainly celery and close to cocoa

Ink - certainly celery and close to cocoa

Ribbons - certainly celery and chocolate chip

Backing paper and sentiment from Love Stories scrappin kit.

That's all for today folks but there'll be more soon ....I promise.

Thanks for looking. x

New Colours in Action!

2010-05-18T20:58:00.003+02:00

I know...it's been a while since I've blogged but what can I say...I seem to spend all my time these days planning lessons , marking books etc etc. So tonight I finally found time to make a card AND post - woohoo!

I have three cards for you, showing off the gorgeous new colours.

The first one is yet another version of Monica's design...sorry...I just really like it and I think you'll like this one too.

The colours on this photo are pretty rubbish as you'll realise when I tell you that the green is olive green, so apologies for that.

Here's the recipe:

Rich razzleberry and olive green cardstock

Olive green satin ribbon

Cottage Wall designer series paper

Punches and stamps as below

This one is based on Dawn's design here where you can see a video showing you how to make the little paper frame. The products on this one are pretty similar to the first one:

Rich razzleberry cardstock, Garden Wall DSP, old olive satin ribbon

Butterfly, Boho Blossoms, eyelet border and word window punches

silver brads.

The sentiment is from Pocket Silhouettes

And here's the third one....

Melon mambo, rich razzleberry, basic grey and whisper white cardstock
Melon mambo polka dot ribbon
Bloomin with beauty and whimsical words stamp set
Rich razzleberry, melon mambo and old olive inks

Thanks for looking, Anne

11 New Products

2010-05-04T06:39:00.000+02:00

Yes, Stampin up have, today, released news of 11 new products which are available to buy from today.
There are three gorgeous new colours. Ink pads, cardstock and ribbons are all available in each of them - not just any old ribbon, but the pretty polka dot ribbon that we've been waiting to be able to buy over here for a very long time.There is also the delectable Designer Series Paper, Cottage Wall and matching Flower Fantasy window sheets.They are all gorgeous and my order is in already!
Click on the link on the right of the page for a better view.
Please note that some of the products will only be available while stocks last, so don't delay with your order. Contact me at amwilliams@amwilliams.karoo.co.uk

I'll be creating with these gorgeous products the minute they arrive, so keep watching this page for ideas.

Thanks for looking, Anne

The 2 Step Bird Punch

2010-05-01T07:16:00.002+02:00

Here's a card I made in 2 colourways cased from one of Monica's and no I haven't lost my arbles, it really has been made using the 2 step bird punch!

Obviously I used the leaf from the bird punch and the flower petals are the wing.

The card on the left is made using old olive and pink p[assion cardstock and inks. The ribbon is the new old olive satin ribbon and the paper is the new Night and Day.

The card on the right is bordering blue and Summer sun card and ink. The paper is from the Bella Bleu set.

The sentiment is from Oval All.

Another card by Carrie

2010-04-25T20:26:00.000+02:00

Couldn't resist sharing this one of my daughter, Carrie's with you. She's obviously inherited her mother's talent. Lol.
For those of you who don't know me so well and may be a little confused, there are two Carries - one's my daughter and the other is a friend who I work with.
Anyway back to the card. Carrie's used various punches to create this cute lion (mine of course), but the one I thought the cleverest was the tail where she's used the leaf from the new bird punch. What do you think?

Woohoo!

2010-04-15T22:32:00.000+02:00

Two followers now! Welcome too to my lovely manager, Monica.

Helloooooo!

2010-04-13T21:28:00.000+02:00

Just wanted to say hello to my first and one and only follower - drum roll......Carrie!
If anyone else would care to keep her company (and double the number of my followers), you would be very welcome. Just click on the link on the right.........simples! (Sorry, I love those adverts)

Cup Challenge

2010-04-12T22:02:00.004+02:00

Been a while since I posted, so sorry for that but have been very busy over the Easter hols catching up on all the work I missed while I was off sick. So now it's back to school and the uphill struggle to the end of the school year and those well-earned Summer hols.

Anyway I participated in the Cup Challenge over on the In Love With Stamping website on 3rd April. It was great fun but very stressful. At 5pm we all registered and were randomly put into teams - I was in the Owls. Starting at 7pm, a challenge was issued every hour until 11pm. The teams had to design and upload as many cards as they could within the hour. The team with the most uploaded cards won. You can see them all in the ILWS gallery here and now here are my efforts!

The first challenge was to use the babywipe technique. Now if you've never heard of that, you get a dried babywipe and dot colours from your re-inkers onto it, making your own multi-coloured inkpad. Here's my results.

I used re inkers from Earth Elements. The butterfly card was made with ruby red, certainly celery and very vanilla cardstock. I used the Leaves a la Carte jumbo wheel with Mellow Moss ink for the background and Flight of the Butterfly stamps.
The snails came from the new Fox & friends stamp set, the card stock is cameo coral, very vanilla and old olive. The greeting is from Cheer & Wishes.

Challenge 2 was 'Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue'. The borrowed could be anything crafty borrowed or something 'borrowed from around the house. Luckily I'd borrowed the Garden Whimsy stamp set so didn't have to do anything bizarre!

So the stamp set is Garden Whimsy (borrowed), the old is the backing paper (non SU), the new is the brad from the Pretties kit and the blue.......
The card stock is night of navy and the Hello is from Basic Phrases, stamped and punched out with the word window punch.

The second one for this challenge is night of navy card stock again and night of navy and real red ink. The old is my corner rounder punch, the borrowed is the ladybird from the Garden Whimsy set again, the new is the Vintage Vogue stamp set and also the red satin ribbon (both can be found in the new mini catalogue).

The 9 o'clock challenge was to incorporate punchart. I nearly died when I saw this one as I've only ever copied other people's punchart before! However, I gave it my best shot and came up with these which I was really quite pleased with in the end.

So what do you think??????

The bird card is taken with teal and more mustard card stock and the backing paper is from the new Autumn Meadows designer series paper. The punches I used were circles, oval, word window and star punch for his beak.

Another demonstrator commented that my little men reminded her of the 118 men, so I'm calling this my 118 card now. The card stock is very vanilla, real red, blush blossom, close to cocoa, pumkin pie, bashful blue, garden green and pretty in pink. The punches were circles and scalloped circle and the moustaches are the butterfly punch cut in half.

I was out my comfort zone a bit with the next challenge too. They were supposed to get easier, but I , for one, certainly didn't think they were, unless I was just getting tired. Back to the challenge which was to doodle on the card. I don't like doodling as I like everything to look neat and tidy and tend to spoil my cards if I do anything freehand. So here they are again.

I was quite pleased with the tree with the doodled flowers but not so happy with the doodled scallops which close up don't look very good.

The cardstock for the tree one is pumpkin pie, basic black and whisper white. The inks are garden green, chocolate chip, sunshine yellow, only orange and glorious green. The stamp sets are Lovely as a Tree and Touch of Nature.

The second card was made using whisper white and pink passion cardstock and pink passion ink. The ribbon is whisper white 1/4 ins grosgrain and the stamp is from the Simply Said set.

And finally, the last challenge which was issued at 10.30 and not 11.00 as everyone was struggling to stay awake by this time was inspired by a picture which you can see here. As I wasn't feeling very inspired by this time I grabbed the nearest stamp set, went for the colour them and produiced this.....

The colouring in is appalling as my eyes were doing their own thing by that time of night.

The cardstock is whisper white, only orange, pink passion and green galore. The inks are the same plus summer sun and the stamp set is Bloomin with Beauty.

Well hope you enjoyed seeing my Cup Challenge efforts. Despite the stress and fatigue, I can thoroughly recommend participation. the challenges are open to everyone, not just demonstrators so watch out for next month's which I will post using a blinkie on the left of my blog.

New Home.

2010-04-01T19:13:00.002+02:00

Thought I'd share the New Home card I've just made for my daughter and BF. It's another one a la Michelle Zindorf. so I've got the proud beam on my face again. As I'm not too hot on brayering, I sponged instead and some of my colours are different due to not having all the ink pads she used. Still, I'm pleased with the outcome so hope you like it too.

Today's the Day!

2010-04-01T17:20:00.002+02:00

The mini catalogue is now officially open. You can now order any of the gorgeous new products from it.
So have a browse (click on the image on the right) and contact me (amwilliams@amwilliams.karoo.co.uk) to place an order.....don't delay as some of the items are only available while stocks last and I would hate you to be disappointed!

Announcing the arrival of the new Mini catalogue!

2010-03-30T11:43:00.007+02:00

I have been very busy the past few days using some of the gorgeous products from the new Mini Catalogue. I am about to share my designs with you but before I do, i must thanks all the demonstrators who participated in the 3 Mini Catalogue Hops on Sunday as they were so inspiring. I will add a link to the hops at the end of my post so you can go and see for yourself if you haven't already. That said, I have cased several of the cards I saw and cannot for the life of me remember whose some of them were, so, demonstrators, if you spot one similar to one of your own, let me know and I'll add the link to your blog.

I'm not going to give full detaiuls of all the products I've used or I'll be here all day!. I'll just liost the new products from the Mini. These are all available to buy and cna be ordered from 1st April. Contact me to place an order.

Product - Night and Day Designer Series Papers. These include the black spotted acetate as used on the one on the left.

The one on the left is cased from Lorraine's card.

Products: Fox & Friends stamp set, Two-step bird punch

The one on the right is cased from one of Peg's cards.

Products: Fox & Friends stamp set, Sweet pea Designer Series Paper
The one on the right is cased from Elaine's card.

Products: Fox & Friends stamp set, Autumn Meadows Designer Series paper, Chocolate Chip satin ribbon

Products: Bird punch, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper

This cases from Jo's card

Products: Bird punch, Vintage Vogue stamp set

This is cased from Monica's card.

Products: Night and Day Designer Series Paper, Vintage Vogue Stamp Set, Small heart punch, Real Red satin ribbon

Hope you enjoyed them. Here's the link to the blog hops.

Tart and Tangy

2010-03-17T13:57:00.002+01:00

I have finally got round to using one of my new stamp sets - Tart and Tangy. I think this is a really cute and versatile set. So I had a lovely couple of crafting hours with my daughter and these are what we came up with. They are all loosely based on the same theme. Carrie designed the strawberry and cherry ones cos I I hate strawberries, although I love cherries and I designed the orange and apple ones.

Here's the products:

Strawberry - real red and close to cocoa card, close to cocoa paper from the Love Stories Scrappin pack, real red and handsome hunter ink stamp from Circle Circus for the background

Cherry - Elegant eggplant and always artichoke card and ink and mellow moss card, Circle Circus stamp set.

And here's mine.

Orange - pumpkin pie and close to cocoa card, close to cocoa paper from Love Stories Scrappin pack, pumpkin pie ink and Circle Circus stamp for the background

Apple - Green galore, certainly celery and real red card, real red, green galore and mellow moss ink. The background stamp is from Seeing Spots and the leaf stamp is from Lovely as a Tree. To get the two tone apples I have used the rocking and rolling method which you will find in your techniques booklet or on the Stampin' Up website.

The sentiment used on all cards is from Cheer & Wishes.

Signs of Spring

2010-03-13T12:55:00.001+01:00

Well I hope so anyway!
I have 2 butterfly cards for you today, both made using the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set and the butterfly punch which are in this month's Perfect Pairs promotion.
Buy the stamp set for £23.95 and you will get a whopping 20% reduction on the matching butterfly punch.
(For other stamp sets and punches in this promotion please click on the Perfect Pairs image on the right)

Both my cards are cased from Monica's lovely creation which you can see here.

The first one is more or less an exact copy using regal rose, old olive and whisper white card stock, regal rose, old olive, certainly celery and basic black inks and old olive ribbon.
As well as the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set, I have also used Pocket Silhouettes.

The second card card stock is only orange and green galore. The paper is from the Sunny day scrapping kit. The inks are green galore and pink passion and I've coloured some white ribbon using my pink passion marker pen. The sentiment is from Basic Phrases and I've used the word window punch for it.

Haitian Relief Results

2010-03-13T11:23:00.000+01:00

This fantastic news has been posted on the Stampin Up! website

Once again, Stampin' Up! demonstrators have shown what Stampin' Up! is all about by making a difference in the lives of others. Worldwide, demonstrators sold 13,587 of the stamp sets that were set aside for Haitian relief. We are pleased to announce that Stampin' Up! will donate over £18,000 to the Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund, providing support to those who desperately need your help. Congratulations!

Thank you all for your efforts!

And special thanks from me personally to all my customers who bought this beautiful stamp set and gave their support in this way. Hope you continue to have many happy hours playing with the stamps and producing beautiful cards and othe paper craft items.

Lacy Fan

2010-03-02T13:22:00.004+01:00

Today I used my large tag punch to make this lacy fan design and I am going to attempt my first tutorial so you can have a go too if you wish to.

What you will need:
Large tag punch
Two shades of card ( I used apricot appeal and blush blossom)
Clear Versamark ink pad
Gold embossing powder
Heat gun
Simply Said stamp set

First cut your card into 3cm wide strips. Then thread them through the tag punch, punching one end.

These need to be trimmed to 5cm long. Then mark the centre of the 3cm side and cut diagonally from the mark to the corner at the other end of the strip.

After that using the multi-flower stamp from the Simply Said set, randomly stamp each piece using the Versamark and emboss with gold embossing powder.

Place a dimensional or sticky pad on each piece as shown.

Stick the first piece in postion using only the sticky pad. Line the second piece up to it.

Then holding down the centre points, slide the second piece so that it just overlaps the first, sticking down with the sticky pad only again.

Repeat until all the pieces are in place.

I then stamped and embossed the 2 step flower from the Simply Said set, using apricot appeal for the first step and glued it in place over the points of the fan. The glue also serves to hold the fan points in place. Finish by adding a flat back pearl to the centre of the flower.

Then mount and complete the card as desired. I used the sentiment from the Simply Said set too.

Hope this all makes sense. Please let me know if it doesn't!

Christmas already??????

2010-03-01T16:09:00.001+01:00

At the request of a hostess, I recently demonstrated the heat and stick and dazzling diamonds to make these two cards. The result....Christmas already!

I was pleased with the two different looks. This was achieved by stamping the trees in Kraft white first and then shadowing them in dazzling diamonds. It gave the effect of more trees. The second one was done in reverse - dazzling diamonds first, then Kraft white on top and this gave the shadow effect.

The stamp sets are Lovely as a Tree and Wondrous Gift

Two more cards.

2010-03-01T16:00:00.002+01:00

Here's two more cards for you.

The first one is using the Simply Said stamp set featured in this month's Perfect Pairs promotion - buy this one and get 20% off the limited edition full heart stamp. The card is garden green and very vanilla. I have embosssed the flowers in gold and coloured them in garden green. The sentiment is from Basic Phrases.

This one is the buttefly from Back to Nature and sentiment from Cheer & Wishes and is in one of my favourite colour combinations perfect plum and pale plum. The paper is from the perfect plum Patterns Design Paper Series.

March Promotion - Perfect Pairs

2010-03-01T15:50:00.005+01:00

Here's a couple of Forest Friends cards for you.

This was made using really rust and very vanilla card, close to cocoa ink and Spiced Cider Designer Series Paper. The sentiment is from the basic Phrases stamp set.

The next one is ruby red, creamy caramel, and garden green card, chocolate chip and garden green ink and the eyelet border, round tab and word window punches. The sentiment is from Basic Phrases again.

And now for something a little more 'grown up'

2010-02-26T13:46:00.002+01:00

Here's a card I made for a workshop at the hostess' request to use A Rose Is A Rose stamp set. A bit more complicated than I would usually do at a workshop but one of my favourite sets so I didn't really mind.

The card colours are: rose red, pretty in pink and whisper white with paper from the Love Stories Scrappin kit.

Inks are rose red, pretty in pink, mellow moss and certainly celery and the ribbon is always artichoke. The border is punched with the pretty eyelet border punch and the sentiment is from the Sale-a-bration Whimsical Words set

( Last couple of days for ordering your £45 worth of products to get any of the

Sale-a-bration sets FREE)

Something simple

2010-02-26T13:38:00.001+01:00

Seems ages since I blogged, probably because it is! Obviously we are back from sunny Tunisia after a 4 hour delayed return flight. Still, at least we had relaxing break.
Today I have a couple of cards which I intend to make with the children at school. I'm not going to list the products as they're not all SU, but I think you c an easily see how they are made.

So here's the first one.

And the second one is a little more interesting and definitely cute. :)

Where does the time go...?

2010-02-07T17:31:00.005+01:00

I can't believe how long it is since I last blogged! Life is so hectic and busy busy busy at work. What have I done since then? Let me see.... I've posted 200 leaflets through people's doors (in the snow) and had only one reply from them but it was from a lovely lady who came to my class on Saturday and really enjoyed herself. I had a fantastic workshop hosted by one of my crafting friends and we've booked a holiday for half term. Yippee!!!!!. We're off to sunny Tunisia as always, to our favourite 'no kids allowed' hotel. Can't wait to see a bit of glorious sunshine yellow.

Here's a couple of cards for you. The first one was cased. It was a mixture of Carol's colour scheme and Louise's design.

The colours are basic black and real red using the Sale-A-Bration stamp set - Good Neighbours.

This one is using the Bloomin Beautiful stamp set and the Sale-A-Bration stamp set, Whimsical Words. The colours are one of my favourite combinations - perfect plum and pale plum with pretty in pink and pixie pink flowers. The ribbon is 5/8" white satin and the pretty edge was made using the eyelet border punch.

Just a reminder that Sale-A-Bration finishes on 28th February, so not long to go now. Don't miss out on qualifying for one of these beautiful free sets. I'll certainly be sorry to see them go as I've had a lot of fun with them.

And finally. Here's one I'm really proud of. It's my take on one of Michelle Zindorf's tutorials. She's amazing. Go and have a look!

I couldn't begin to tell you how to do this one, so best to check it out on Michelle's tutorial. The stamp set is , of course, Good Neighbours.

Greenhouse Garden

2010-01-23T15:26:00.004+01:00

Here are the samples made using this lovely set as promised.

This made is with lavender lace, perfect plum and very vanilla cardstock, inks and ribbon. The sentiment is from Oval All. I have added a touch of Dazzling Diamonds to the flower centres and along some of the darker lines.

The cardstock used here is cameo coral, close to cocoa and whisper white. The stamping has been done using the method demonstrated by Jo at the Peterborough training. You make your own ink pad on a small piece of felt or a dried baby wipe by adding drops of various coloured re-inkers. For this one, I used summer sun, cameo coral, ruby red and pumpkin pie.

Feeling sorry for myself!

2010-01-21T20:42:00.001+01:00

Yes, definitely feeling sorry for myself as I'm not feeling too good at the moment. I started last Friday with a sore throat and have gone rapidly downhill since then, resulting in a horrible chesty cough which has kept both Dave and I awake for the last 3 nights.Today I decided enough was enough and stayed off work.

On to more interesting things.... card making of course....what could be more interesting than that? I wasn't going to post a picture of Rich's birthday card as I didn't use SU products but I've changed my mind now so here it is.

2010-01-21T20:39:00.005+01:00

Actually I lied cos I used SU card. I wanted to make a big A4 card for a big A4 lad and as he likes Minis and has one in the garage (albeit in pieces), I found this decoupage I had. He was quite impressed with the fact that it was 3D.

And here's 2 more cards for you. Another SAB sample using the Good Neighbours set. The card stock is ruby red, garden green and creamy caramel. The trees are stamped in garden green, chocolate chip and always artichoke.

And finally one made using the Simply Said stamp set in my favourite colours: taken with teal, night of navy and whisper white. I used the Watercolor vine jumbo wheel for the white layer.

I made this card using Carol's sketch fun pattern.

2010-01-17T15:39:00.001+01:00

What is a Virtual Workshop?

A Virtual Workshop is a group of 10 people who commit to spending a set amount on items from the current Stampin Up catalogue and receive hostess benefits for their commitment.

What is involved?

You agree to spend a minimum £15 /month plus postage on items from the current catalogue, paying the monies to the demonstrator with the order. This can be paid by Paypal, cheque or cash.

What are the benefits?

You steadily increase your Stampin Up products by spreading the cost and without having to attend a workshop.
Once in the 10 months, you are the virtual hostess and as such will receive a Level 1 hostess gift of your choice (These sets cannot be bought) and also and additional £15 to spend in the catalogue.
You will receive a free current catalogue and any mini catalogues published during the 10 months.
You will occasionally receive a free samples/gifts/projects with your order (supplied by me personally)
You will be informed of and can participate in any promotions or offers available during the 10 months.
You will find a package of high quality crafting goodies on your doorstep every month.

You can choose to take up more than one place in the club if you would prefer to spend more each month. Your turn as a hostess would obviously then increase by the number of places you take. For example; if you take up two places and spend £30/month plus p&p, then get to be the hostess and have all the benefits twice.
If you would like to participate, please contact me at: amwilliams@amwilliams.karoo.co.uk

2010-01-17T14:39:00.002+01:00

The big day has arrived for the birthday boy but as yet he hasn't emerged from his cave, so I thought I'd just do a quick post to show you the money wallet I made to put his birthday 'millions' in. Actually I made this for him at Christmas but he gave me it back and said "You can use that again, Mum". Obviously a non-too-subtle hint. In fact I made 3 of these wallets, one for each of the three of them. Carrie's was Bashful Blue and Pretty in Pink (Well what did you expect? - she is my only daughter!) and Matt's was Olive Green and So Saffron, but as Rich's favourite colour of the moment is purple, here's his in Perfect Plum and Night of Navy

And have now managed to find pictures of the other two as well. Forgot I'd photo'ed them before I used them! Lol

2010-01-12T18:54:00.002+01:00

It's going at last...

Well the snow is melting which means things are very wet and slushy here but it also means that the journey to SU training should be ok on Saturday. I was beginning to get a bit worried about it as I am really looking forward to it and have made 42 swaps. I didn't make the last training meeting and have a bag of Christmas swaps sitting in my cupboard. Well, you never know, they may come in handy next year if the Winter Post stamp set is still in the catalogue next year!

Also I have been working really hard to stay on top of my school work as obviously there'll be no time for that at the weekend, especially as it is my 'baby's' 21st birthday on Sunday too. I can't believe he's as old as that. it seems like only 5 minutes since he was a little blond curly-haired toddler.....ahhhhhh! I was tempted to post a photo of him as a toddler but he'd probably kill me and I really can't be bothered to go and search in the loft. We didn't have digital cameras in those days you know!

Anyway, here's a card I made for a crafting friend's birthday.

I used bashful blue textured card and ink, bashful blue patterned paper fromthe Designer Series Paper and the Garden Whimsy stamp set. The circles were made with my circle punches and my circle nesties. (This card was cased from kraftykate's posted on ILWS gallery)

And here's another little cutie one for you.......

...made with very vanilla and bravo burgundy and the Garden Whimsy set again. A cuttlebug embossing folder was used for the pattern.

2010-01-09T18:59:00.002+01:00

2010-01-09T18:58:00.002+01:00

2010-01-09T18:57:00.002+01:00

Happy New Year!

2010-01-09T18:41:00.001+01:00

Yes I know I'm a bit late but am just a beginner at this and really don't know what I'm doing!

Anyway, welcome to my blog and the fantastic Sale-A-Bration where you can get yourself some fantastic free stamp sets when you stock up on your crafting goodies.

So what do you have to do?
Well firstly you can get any one of the free sets shown on the Sale-a-Bration brochure when you sepnd £45 on goods from the current catalogue. Not only that you can choose a free set for every £45 you spend. So if you spend £90 you get 2 sets etc.
Secondly if you host a workshop and your sales exceed £300, you can choose one of the same four sets.
Thirdly if you become a demonstrator during the Sale-A-Bration period (1st January - 28th February 2010), you can choose any stamp set from the current brochure up to the value of £38.95 and this is in addition to all the lovely sets you choose for your demonstrator's starter pack.
I really don't know how you can resist these fantastic offers. I know I couldn't and here are some of the cards I've already made with the Happy Moments set.

CardmakingwithAnne

I never got round to posting these....

9 squares

Silly me!

Tags

Upside-down Candi

Little Claire and Glittery Things

Two SU

Cards for Mum

Special Blessings

Variations on a Theme

Weakest Link

Another Post!!!!

Things with Wings

LIM Christmas

Two birthdays

Squares!

Carrie's Wedding

I'm Back!

A Touch of Red

Baptism

More Challenges

Couples and Bling

Stampin Up Stuff For Sale!

Go Dotty!

Green and Yellow

Grandson & 80th

Little Claire Peel Offs

Less is More Again

Stepper Card

Curls and Swirls

Less is More #3

Happy Birthday Oliver!

Get her free!

Valentine for him.

Woohoo an award for me!

Another go

Less is more

Romance

I don't believe it!

Two for You

Last mention of the 'C' word

The wanderer returns

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Found these

Let It Snow1 Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

And the winner is .....

Candy! Candy! Candy! Free! Free! Free!

LOTV Challenge

Bundle Up

Is it Halloween or Christmas????

Old Faithful and Red Robin

For Freya

LOTV Challenge

Made from leftovers

Christmas again!

Happy Birthday!

Variations on a Theme

Birthday and Christmas

A couple of commissions

LOTV Challenge

More cards at last

I'm back!!!!!

A Quickie!

Commission x2

Quick and Easy - allegedly!

Big Bold Birthday

Long time no blog....

New Colours in Action!

11 New Products

The 2 Step Bird Punch

Another card by Carrie

Woohoo!

Helloooooo!

Cup Challenge

New Home.

Today's the Day!

Announcing the arrival of the new Mini catalogue!

Tart and Tangy

Signs of Spring