Grapefruit Grove Gingham Gala & Piece of Cake...

A quick Gingham Gala share for you today...

Grapefruit Grove versions of these cards ... bright, fresh and very zesty! 

Created lovingly by Andrea... and admired by all the non-orangers!! Love it when we can share other colour options... and see a change of heart ripple around the room...

Thanks Andrea... love them...

And yes I know... my regular blog-followers all thought I would use the Balmy Blue and Lemon Lime Twist papers for my samples... but... from time to time... I like a surprise where colours are concerned!

Though I am rather annoyed with myself for not remembering to take photos of the Balmy Blue and Lemon Lime Twist versions that a lot of my other ladies made!! LOL...

And... the Piece of Cake bundle is still out of stock and unorderable... but it will be back soon... so please don't forget to click here and register your email address to be notified when it comes back into stock... I wouldn't want you to miss out... 

Amanda's Quick Links

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If you are ordering today... do remember to add the Host Code shown below to earn yourself a gift and help support The Craft Spa at the same time... 

Please note that this host code is relevant to today's blog post date... it does expire and change over time... but the current code is always shown at the top right hand side of my blog...

Just click on the relevant pictures below for catalogues and/or more information...

JOIN: £170 product for just £99. OR £170 product plus Tote Bag for £125

Sale A Bration Co-ordination products - available March 2019 only

Earn free Sale A Bration products for every £45 spent (note that some require £90 orders to redeem). Promotion ends 31st March 2019. 

See them all in the Online Store here... or here are the 3 leaflets to flick through...

SAB 1

SAB 2

SAB 3

Current Catalogues & Products

Piece of Cake & Gingham Gala

Quick post from me today...

Just to show you a couple more lovely ideas with the Piece of Cake bundle... which is still available in the UK... but now very limited stock...

So please go and buy online now if you really want it... otherwise be happy waiting until end March...

Oh and remember to top up your order to £45+ and get yourself a free Sale A Bration item whilst you are at it...

And a different Suite in the Mail Kit to yesterday... though most products the same...

Just replace the Butterfly Gala Bundle with the Piece of Cake bundle... and have the Kit for £55 collected, £59 posted. Again free Botanical Butterflies papers (or Butterfly Elements) as your free SAB - or choose another £45er if you prefer... Though again I think March for supply may be more realistic now...

Thanks again to Julie for today's inspiring makes... which also feature the Gingham Gala papers, the wonderful Rectangle Stitched dies... which come with or without the lovely Amazing Life greeting set...

Loving the Granny Apple Green & Highland Heather with a touch of Pool Party vibes... with the fabulous double sided Coastal Cabana/Granny Apple Green ribbon....

Amanda's Quick Links

Just click on the relevant pictures below for catalogues and/or more information... 

If you are ordering today... do remember to add the Host Code shown below to earn yourself a gift and help support The Craft Spa at the same time... 

Please note that this host code does expire and change over time... but the current code is always shown at the top right hand side of my blog...

Just click on the relevant pictures below for catalogues and/or more information...

By The Bay Team Training Swap - with Tips for Tuesday...

So this was my Team Training swap card... which was my favourite of my By The Bay makes... though I have to laugh as I thought I had already shared it here... but apparently not!

So ... it was Quarterly Training last Saturday... and as always - we had a "swap" ie make 12 of the same card for the 12 people present... all swap with each other and so come home with 12 beautiful inspirations for self or displays... many with stamp sets that you don't have -  so you then have samples of other products & ideas to show your customers and inspire oneself...

I realised as I shared my By The Bay makes over the previous weekend (as we did an online Team Sale A Bration Show & Tell kind of thing and I had been allocated/selected By The Bay to use) that not many of the Team had By The Bay... so it was an easy decision!

And some Tips for you if you would like to make this card too... ...

Bermuda Bay Card Blank is 10.5cm x 14cm high (ie A6 card blank chopped down from 14.8 to 14cm high so that the Rectangle shape is one and the same!) or 4 1/8" x 5 1/2" if you are using US Letter cardstock (so you need to chop down from 4 1/4" to 4 1/8" wide)

Shimmery White card panel is 10 x 13.5cm... (US 3 7/8" x 5 1/4")

Most of my ladies found it easier ( for lining things up) to die cut the frame first (with Rectangle Stitched dies) ... then stamp both parts with the stamp (using Staz On Black ink)

I used a mask over the house and little cottage parts...

Watercolouring all done using ink pads and Aquapainter... Sky in Pool Party & Coastal Cabana... Sea in Bermuda Bay... Everything else given a Sahara Sand wash... then details picked out using Gray Granite... paths highlighted with Smoky Slate... and Garden Green used for the foliage... and finished off with a White Signo gel pen (retired by readily available) to re-define the windows

And I nearly gave the game away yesterday... as I was about to share this photo of the "normal sized" card with yesterday's mini make...

If you are ordering today... do remember this Host Code to earn yourself a gift... and help support The Craft Spa at the same time...

Amanda's Quick Links

Just click on the relevant pictures below for catalogues and/or more information...

Mini Monday Work of Art...

And this is very small!! But I just couldn't resist...

So ... only using part of the By The Bay image this time... call it Simple Spotlighting Technique... as it is a variant of the Spotlight Technique... just not using the background part too... so even simpler!!

And yes I am sure that this technique has a(nother) proper name... please let me know if you know!

So... in order not to use a lot of Shimmery White Card... I stamped the part I wanted on a small piece (of scrap)... and then die cut the small "one of its shape only" small rectangle using our lovely Rectangle Stitched dies...

Hopefully you can see which part of the image I used...

Then coloured my mini scene using ink pads and AquaPainter...  

And then perfectly set it on a Narrow Notecard...

With a simple straightforward small greeting - also from By The Bay - below... And remember By The Bay can only be yours for free with (every) £45 order...

Small but lovely! A definite mini masterpiece! I might even take this to Art Class...

And on a final note... this card definitely reminds me of many a wall in many an Art Gallery in many a seaside village/town...

My Top 10 Products in the New Spring Summer Catalogue...

OK it is the biggy post that so many of you ask for everytime a new catalogue launches... And one that usually takes me absolutely ages to decide upon!  And then somewhat longer to write up the blog post with all the pretty pictures!!

But the decisions were somewhat quicker this time and most of my list was done in a flash!! Not because I like less... in fact I really like more than usual... And not because I have the first 3 as my 3 stand outs for a change either .... Though I do have to admit that deciding on a 10th was very hard...

Click on the product pictures to go straight to the Online Shop for more information

1. Rectangle Stitched dies & Amazing Life stamps

I have been waiting for stitched rectangle dies for a VERY long time... and these do not disappoint... stitching "in and out" too... ie on the frame (out) and on the label (in)

2. Well Written & Well Said

The stamps and the dies that say everything you may want to say!! I don't think these will be put away very often!

3. Beautifully Detailed papers

Just simply beautiful... especially when you need to make a card in a flash! I thought that Stampin' Up had treated us with the Delightfully Detailed papers... but I like these even more!

4. Crackle Paint stamp

Oh the endless possibilities for simple "antiquing" with this one!!

5. Piece of Cake

Simply stamp and punch for many an occasion... Product Based class coming your way soon...

6. Bloom by Bloom punches 

So happy to see some little flower punches back in play... and the rest of the suite is great too!

7. Gingham Gala suite 

Love the freshness of the gingham papers and the beautiful butterfly stamps and co-ordinating punch... and 3 amazing Sale a Bration free products to co-ordinate too!! Papers, Elements & Ribbon...

8. All My Love suite

Now some of you will be surprised to see this on my list... and indeed so was I! But it completely caught my eye at On Stage in November... and I have fallen more and more in love with it ever since...

9. How Sweet It So suite

Only the chocolate missing... can't wait to create with this bright and cheerful suite... and I reckon those Sweet Cups are going to be huge!! Though I still don't know how I missed them off the Display Board at first site!!

And coming in at number 10... Family & Friends

With these you can create anyone!!!

Though I have to point out that this was not the 10th added to the list...as the list was formed as I went through the catalogue pages... so this was the 9th... and the final one in the first cut... And then I had to go back and decide upon a 10th!! Which is when it got REALLY hard for me! As it was amongst another list of 10-12 if I am honest!!! So I may feel a need for another list at some point!!!

And what about you... which would be in your Top 10??? I would love to know...