Thursday 31 December 2015

Something old...something new...

Not only are we saying goodbye to the old year...and saying hello to the New Year, 2016
But this card also uses a mixture of "old" - soon to be retiring for ever - stamps...and new soon to be released stamps...

The old being the hostess Six Sayings set... for the New Year greeting...

The new being the Numbers of Years stamps & dies...which I have used for everything else...
And so with this simple little very glittery card...

I wish you all a Very Happy New Year...

And may 2016 be your best year ever!

Cheers!
And a HUGE Thank you...

Thank you for visiting my blog...

Thank you for being in my Team...

Thank you for supporting my classes...

Thank you for your Stampin' Up! orders...
Thank you for your support... especially those of you that comment/message/email and make my day!

And those of you that use my tutorials... and tell me so...and share your makes with me...especially when you then let me share with everyone else! That is what the creative circle is really about...
And for my fellow Jems... thank you for being such a great bunch of girls! I appreciate each and every one of you... with the support we offer each other... we could rule the world! And have a bit of fun along the way too... Just saying...

Wednesday 30 December 2015

Number of Years - 70th Birthday Card

A special card for a special Auntie of mine...
70 this year...and trying to keep quiet about the fact!
So I thought some big numbers were in order... shouting it out!!!
Now before some of you ask me if I am alright...
Pinks and purples are her favourite colours ...
So I just had to!
So a simple enough make... especially as I found my numbers & banner dies today!
All dressed up in a Large Square Box Frame Card... and with Wink of Stella highlights...


Tuesday 29 December 2015

A Round Up... Painted Blooms papers

I have just spotted that the End of Year Sale was updated again just before Christmas... and amongst other things... our favourite 2015 papers, Painted Blooms is now on there... at just £3.98 for the 12 sheet pack... which is a fantastic reduction for a £10.00 RRP pack...


So I thought it high time for a quick round up of some Painted Blooms projects... just press on the photo to go to the original post...

Also don't miss some of my other un-missables in the Sale... just read on to the end!!

First up... the the project that was the start of my Box Frame addiction!
Painted Blooms Box Frame Feb 2015 by Amanda Bates at The Craft Spa  (6)
Four Cards in a Painted Blooms wrapped Box from Quarterly Training...
Painted Petals. Made by Amanda Bates at The Craft Spa (18)
Our Easter Treats - the pull bars...
Pull Chocolate Bar Treat Holder, Amanda Bates at The Craft Spa 016
Easter Treats Amanda Bates at The Craft Spa 003
And our Baskets...
Amanda Bates at The Craft Spa 573
And finishing off with Sam's stunning Large Square Double Display Card make
Painted Blooms Large Square Double Display card by Sam Wilson
Snapshot of the papers...
Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper  by Stampin' Up!
And whilst I am looking at these Year End Bargains... a few more worth highlighting... either as un-missable (in my humble opinion!) - or just because they are such a bargain!

Festive Designer Kraft Paper...now only £3.58 for 2x 5yard rolls (RRP £8.95) Really good quality wrapping paper for all year round use... I stocked up! So I do use it all year round!
Festive Designer Kraft Paper Rolls
Chalkboard Paper... 10 sheets of 6"x 12" thick black card... now only £2.90... (RRP £7.25). Perfect for blackboard cards! And great for mini albums too!! I have a cunning plan for these...so I stocked up with these too!
Chalkboard Paper  by Stampin' Up!
Soft Sky Seam Binding... what a bargain!? And it was always my favourite... Now £2.50 RRP £6.25. Only 25p a yard...

Soft Sky 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon
Watercolor Winter Simply Created Kit Now only £9.18 for 20 cards (RRP £22.95). Been on a while so easy to miss! But - at this price- these are fabulous cards for Christmas 2016! And so easy... This kit has been my favourite of all of the cards kit so far!
Stampin Up Watercolor Winter Kit
Watercolor Winter Card kit
And last but not least.... The Angled Tag Topper Punch Now just £12.57 (RRP £20.95)...having just made tags in record time for this Christmas - these punches are my must haves - and keepers!!
Angled Tag Topper Punch
Full list of items in the Year End Sale here... numerous papers, stamps, ribbon & embellishments - particularly good for those of you stocking up for next Christmas!

Right... off to unpack my pre-order box fully... I can feel a spot of crafting with new goodies coming on... yay!!! That is something that still makes me very happy.....

Monday 28 December 2015

Number of Years Sneak Peek - 50 already!?

I thought it was high time I opened up my pre-order box...

And shared a make using my favourite stamp set in the Spring Summer catalogue - Number of Years -  coming your way soon...only about 8 sleeps to go!
But I like to start off really simple after Christmas...

Which is mainly due to the fact that I pack everything away from my dining room/classroom! Which means that I can't actually find anything without spending hours searching and unpacking!!
So this was a simple tag & wrap in a rush for my brother before he packed his suitcase to go back to the States... He was blown away... talk about a man in denial about reaching the great 50... LOL!

Now as most things I used are not yet available (unless you are a demonstrator!) - a few notes!
The numbers in this Number of Years set are amazing... I think the largest I have ever possessed... standing about 2" high...with dies to match!!! Yippee! And you have lots of other words and TH's, NDs etc - a gorgeous flower/leaves stamps combi - and the cool banner too. Trust me these are must haves and keepers in your crafting arsenal!!

Probably too subtle to see in the photos... but... I also used the clear Wink of Stella brush to add some sparkle... coming your way very soon... Also a must have and a keeper in your stash!!
The tag is die cut using the Project Life Cards & Labels die set... a set that is definitely not just for Project Life and scrapbooking...

And the stitching around the numbers and the tag is faux stitching - care of my hand and my Project Life pen


Sunday 27 December 2015

Special 12 Days of Christmas gift Part 2

Now this will be very familiar to the ladies who came here and created my 12 Days of Christmas House last year...
But you may have noticed that it has been extended!
Yes I created a co-ordinating His & Hers 12 Days of Christmas gift... 

12 Days of Ports for the guys... 
12 Days of Gins for the the ladies!
And don't they fit together well!!
Hence the need for the retired papers...
Never heard so many WOWs at my creative endeavours from the family before... but maybe the full little jars had something to do with that!!



Saturday 26 December 2015

A special 12 Days of Christmas gift...

My regular blog readers may remember that I didn't plan for an Advent Calendar... but a Gin-vent calendar for myself instead.. well I did that... using small jam jars that suited the job perfectly... and I LOVED the experience during the whole of December...
So I decided that I needed to share the experience... so I came up with the idea of a 12 Days of Christmas gift box along the same theme...
So this one is a 12 Ports of Christmas box... which went down incredibly well with my family and friends... unfortunately I couldn't go with 12 different ports... but they each got 4 port trios... so all were happy...
I also had to keep the box simple and flat in design... well my brother will have to carry it back to the States in his suitcase... so I couldn't go too mad!!
Now some of you will have noticed that this box is decorated with retired papers... there is a GOOD reason for that.... come back tomorrow and I will spill the beans...
And of course the 12 Days of Christmas stamps are also retired... so so glad I kept those!