Happy Birthday Grandad!

Today is my Grandad Roy's birthday! So today i would like to show you the card i made him! I always find it tough to make cards for men, but recently i have been picking up lots of great ideas!! I have seen several shirt and tie cards before and thought i'd give it a go - i couldn't believe how quick and easy this card was to make!! (There are tonnes of variations of this style online, and several tutorials, so why not give it a try?!)

The card base is 'Bashful Blue', i have used a square of 'Brights DSP' to create the tie with origami folds. The line drawn down the centre was with my 'Night of Navy' 'Stampin' Write Marker'. The 'Happy Birthday' sentiment is from the 'Plane and Simple' stampset (a new mini catalogue wonder!!) also inked in 'Night of Navy) Check back here soon for more cards made using the 'Plane and Simple' stampset!

One for the Men!

OK, it's official i think  i love ALL the Mini Catalogue products! One stamp that i've really enjoyed stamping with is the 'motorcycle' stamp!! I always find it difficult to make cards for men, but this single stamp makes creating a card very easy!! You can use it quite simply - stamping it and then colouring it in, but i decided to do something a bit different with it, and try to make it look like a moving image by stamping it several times:

The cardstock used for this card was 'Crumb Cake', the motorcycle was stamped using 'Early Espresso' ink on 'Whisper White' card, mounted on 'Early Espresso'. I have used a 'sponge dauber' to create a dust effect. I have also wrapped some 'linen thread' around to finish it off. The sentiment is also inked in 'Early Espresso' and is from the level 3 hostess set 'Occasional Quotes' - this is a stampset you can earn from hosting a craft workshop in your home. If this is something you think you would like to do then drop me an email with your details and i will give you a call to arrange one: amyjtidd@gmail.com

There are also some brand new hostess sets for you to earn in the Mini Catalogue, so now is a good time to consider hosting a party - you will also earn money to spend in the catalogue (the amount will vary depending on how much your friends spend) See the 'Parties' tab above for further details!!

Check back soon! Amyxx

Baroque Motifs

Hi all! I was on facebook earlier and noticed on the Stampin' Up! page that someone was looking for inspiration to create wedding stationary using the 'Baroque Motifs' stampset and 'Tempting Turquoise' ink. Someone of course directed them to Splitcoast Stampers, which is always good when having a creative block but i thought i'd have a go at making something myself, here's the result:

The small flowers have a shiny texture as i have stamped in versamark and then turquoise ink and then used clear embossing powder and my heatgun. The white flowers are created with versamark and clear embossing powder. I have raised these using 'Dimensionals' and then used 'Basic Pearls' for the centre of the flowers. The sentiment is from the Level 3 hostess set 'Occasional Quotes', which is becoming one of my most invaluable pieces of kit! It never lets me down!! Hope you like! I'll be back soon with another mini catalogue creation - and details of my mini catalogue launch party!!!!

Just for you!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Before i show you my latest crafty creation, i want to say a big hello to my latest follower Kirsty!

The card i want to share with you today is a card that i gave to my Nan yesterday for Mother's Day. The card base is 'Old Olive', i have used my 'Crimper' to add a bit more texture to the base.

This card features the (exclusive to Stampin' Up!) 'Top Note' Bigz Die in Rose Red, i have then used another 'Top Note' piece in 'Whisper White' and have trimmed around the perforated edge to make a slightly smaller version. I have used my 'Stampin' Write Markers' to colour in the stamp from the 'Just Believe' Stampset. The 'Just for You' is also from the 'Just Believe' set. I have used some 'Old Olive' ink to edge the 'Top Note' with a 'Sponge Dauber' and used some 'Basic Pearls'. I have finished this card by winding some 'linen thread' around the card! I hope you like! I have lots more crafty creations using products from the mini catalogue so please pop back soon!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hello everyone! and a special hello to any mummy's out there, who are celebrating Mother's Day! I hope you are being spoilt!! I'm just on my way out for lunch with my Mum!! Just before i do i want to show you the card that i made for her! I also made a similar one for my step-mum - i just used a different colour combo!

You may be thinking that you have seen this card before - you are right! This is the card that i used for my demonstration with the Cranleigh Girl Guides a couple of weeks ago! Feel free to re-visit that post to see all the creative variations of this card that they made!! If there are any girl guides following this blog (or mum's) i hope you loved the card's that were created!!!

Here's the lovely flowers that me and my sister brought for my mum! I hope she likes them!

Anyway, I hope everyone has  a lovely Mother's Day/ Sunday! Check back tomorrow for some more Mini Catalogue creations! xxx

Clearly for You!!

At last, it's the weekend!! I finally have some time to have a proper play with some of the new products in the mini catalogue! Have you had a chance to flick through it yet? There are some brilliant stampsets, especially if you like the vintage style or if you're looking to make cards for men! Today i want to share a card inspired from the new catalogue, but of course i have slightly adapted it:

I have used 'Baja Breeze' cardstock for the base, the background has been created with the rectangle stamp from the 'Clearly for You' stampset. The birds and the 'for you'  are also both from the 'Clearly for You' stampset, and have been inked in 'Baja Breeze' and 'Rose Red'. The card has been finished off with a very thin trim of 'Rose Red' card and some 'Old Olive' edged with the 'Eyelet Punch' and i have pierced two rows of holes, using my 'piercing tool' and 'mat pack'. Finally three 'Designer Buttons' finish off this card! I'm really happy with this card and think it could be used for many purposes!!

Before i go i want to thank everyone who has been visiting my blog - i have had a lot of traffic recently and from all over the world! So hello if you are viewing this from: America, Canada, Iran, Russia, Belarus, India, China, Germany, Croatia and of course the United Kingdom!!! and a special hello to my latest follower Sally! I hope you all enjoy my craftiness! I'll be back tomorrow to share with you my Mother Day card!! Have a good Saturday! xxx

The Mini Catalogue is Here ... and there's a new BIG SHOT in town!!

I'm so excited! Finally the Mini Catalogue is here and it includes lots and lots of AMAZING NEW PRODUCTS for us all to fall in love with!!

Probably the biggest and most exciting item in the catalogue is the 'Sizzix Big Shot' for Stampin' Up! The 'Big Shot' is a sturdy manual die cutting machine used to die cut materials for use on crafts on all your craft projects. You'll love what the 'Big Shot' machine can do for you!

The great thing about the 'Stampin Up!' 'Big Shot' is:
• You can use the 'Big Shot' to create projects quickly and easily. You can cut out intricate designs, plus  create multiple cut outs at the same time. (Great for example if you need to make lots of wedding favours!)
• The Stampin’ Up! 'Big Shot' line features exclusive designs that can’t be found anywhere else!

So today i want to share with you probably my most favourite 'Bigz Die' the pillow box:

The use of this die is endless!! But the most obvious use for this 'Die' is for wedding favours!! You can cut out five of these at a time! So all of a sudden a time consuming task becomes a very speedy process! The 'Big Shot' machine cuts out the shape, scores the box and creates perforated lines all in an instant! They are so quick to construct! Heres a close up of each of these boxes with a brief description of each:

This first pillow box uses 'Basic Black' cardstock. I have used the 'Bella Toile' background stamp and white embossing powder to create the design. This pillow box has been finished with some 'Whisper White Organza Ribbon'

This second pillow box uses 'Bashful Blue' cardstock. The flower has been constructed by gluing alternating 'Scallop punches' of 'Bashful Blue and 'Early Espresso' card, with a 'Basic Rhinestone' placed in the middle. This box has been finished with a small snip of 'Early Espresso' 'Satin Ribbon. I have also edged the box with a 'Sponge Dauber' and 'Early Espresso' ink!

This final pillow box is using 'Rose Red' card stock. The butterfly has been stamped on 'Whisper White' cardstock using the stamps from the 'Flight of the Butterfly' stampset, using 'Pink Pirouette' and 'Rose Red'. The butterfly has been embellished with some 'Basic Pearls' and i have used a '2-way glue pen' and some 'Dazzling Diamond' glitter to bling it up! The box has been finished off using some 'Whisper White' Satin Ribbon!

I hope that these projects have got you as excited about the mini catalogue as i am! All the products in there are beautiful - I WANT THEM ALL! I will be sharing with you lots of projects using some of these products over the coming weeks! So please keep visiting my blog!! Have a good weekend! xxx