'So Many Thanks' is Retiring!!

WARNING, WARNING, WARNING!!

There is a new Stampin' Up! catalogue coming out on the 1st of October, which is very very exciting ... HOWEVER to make way for lovely brand new Stampin' Up! goodies, we are saying goodbye to some amazing stampsets and papers ... BUT we have had some warning - there is a retirement list - and some of the retired goods even have a discount on them! Check out the retirement and sale list at the top of my blog. You must have your order in by the 30th September - once they're gone, they're gone!

One of the stampsets that we will be saying goodbye to is the 'a la carte' stamp called 'So Many Thanks'.

This little stamp is so wonderfully versatile - you can very quickly make a batch of handmade thankyou cards - but it is going and will not be in the new catalogue - so if you want it you have to order it THIS MONTH!

You can make beautiful cards - just like this one:

This card was made by a lady called Fiona - who is a member of the Blue Angels team - she made this as her swap at our recent team training. The cardstock used in this design is 'Very Vanilla' and 'Basic Black. The flowers created here are from the fabulous 'Greenhouse Garden' stampset - if you like 2-step stamping you will LOVE this stampset!! (Tip: to layer these stamps up easily use a 'Stamp-a-ma-jig') She used 'Regal rose' and 'Basic Black' ink. She used the 'Scallop Trim Border' in this card. The central focal point of this card is the 'So Many Thanks' image, inked in 'Regal Rose' and mounted on 'Basic Black' cardstock. Fiona used some 'Dimensionals' to raise the 'So Many Thanks'. I think you'll agree it's a beautiful design!!

Would you like to learn how to two-step stamp? Why not book a workshop around your house - i will come around and teach you and your friends how to create beautiful cards like this!! Stampin' Up! have several two-step stampsets in the new catalogue (and Greenhouse Garden will be staying for another year!) So check them out!!

Double Trouble: You're Expecting Twins!

Wow! I keep mentioning this baby boom! It seems that everyone around me is expecting and one of my friends has just found out that she is expecting twins!! As soon as i found out i had to make a card to congratulate her and her hubby. Here it is:

A 'Bashful Blue' cardbase here, and i have used some 'Nursery Suite' paper - THIS PAPER IS RETIRING AT THE END OF THE MONTH so if you want it you will have to buy it by the end of September!! Get your skates on!

The babygrows are smaller versions of the onesie cards that i made a little while ago. I used a smaller piece of 'So Saffron' cardstock and the '1/2" Circle Punch' to create them, and used some 'Basic Pearls' to embellish them!

The congratulations sentiment is from the 'Fun and Fast Notes' stampset (also retiring can you believe it! This is a must buy, as it is such a versatile stampset) I have stamped it out using 'Bashful Blue' ink and have punched it out using the 'Decorative Label Punch'.

At this point she doesn't know whether she will be having boys, girls or one of both - so i have kept the colours neutral - you could of course make this design with just one babygrow, two or even three! Or alter the colours to suit the babies sex! So all in all, a very versatile project!

If you want to get your hands on any Stampin' Up! goodies that are retiring - your time is running out - they will not be available after the 30th September - so get your orders in NOW! The retirement and sale list can be found at the top of my blog - and i'm offering an additional incentive to order through the month of September for all Stampin' Up! customers!! Email your orders to amyjtidd@gmail.com

My First Crafty Boots Challenge: Anything Goes!

Hi everyone! Today is the day - the grand launch of 'Crafty Boots Challenge' blog! Stephanie-Emma the founder of Crafty Boots has worked very hard to get it up and running and i'd like to thank her for inviting me to be on the Design Team!! If you're visiting my blog from the Crafty boots Challenge then a big hello to you!!

Todays challenge is 'Anything Goes', a nice easy one to get you going - why not enter a masterpiece?! I can't wait to see and comment on all your work!

Here's my DT creation, a 'Springtime Vintage' CD case:

The CD case is made from 'Pretty in Pink' cardstock and i have layered some beautiful 'Springtime Vintage DSP' onto it. I have used my '1-1/4" Circle Punch' and '1-3/8" Circle Punch' to make easier access to the CD!

I have made a decorative belt around the CD Cover, out of a strip of 'Pretty in Pink' cardstock and a strip of 'Springtime Vintage'. The Flower has been made out of several 'Pretty in Pink' and 'Very Vanilla' 'Scallop Circles', which i have snipped and scrunched and then glued together to create this beautiful 3D effect. I have punched a '1/2" circle' out of the 'DSP' and glued this in the centre. Before gluing the flower in place i glued some 'Pear Pizzazz' 'Seaming Ribbon' underneath to create leaves! And there you go ... one very vintage looking CD cover.

I'm always popping pictures onto CD's for people as gifts, so this is a lovely way of making them a bit more special!

I'd love to know what you think, so please leave a comment and if you would like to order any Stampin' Up! products and have them delivered straight to your door then please drop me an email - i look after my customers well!! (There are online versions of the catalogues on the right-hand side of this blog - ALSO don't forget to check out the sale items!!)

PLEASE NOTE: this beautiful paper will be retiring from the catalogue at the end of this month - so if you want to get your hands on it - order it NOW!!

Mock Croc Technique (and tutorial!)

Hi everyone! Yesterday i went to a Stampin' Up! meeting with my team - the Blue Angels. There was 10 of us at the meeting at it was lovely to catch up with everyone and share ideas. Cate organised a couple of lovely make and take projects (which i will share with over the next week or so!) and we also did some swap projects. Basically we all made one project and produced it 10 times and swapped them with one another - which means i now have lots of lovely projects to share with all my CraftyThINKers!

Anyway i decided to do something a bit different for my swaps. I have seen the 'mock croc' technique online - it is basically a technique where you can 'alter' a simple piece of card creating it into a piece of faux leather (I'm therefore entering this into 'CupCake Craft Challenge', this weeks challenge is 'Alter It') that looks like this:

I have seen this technique used in several tutorials online and thought i'd give it a go to create some bookmarks for my swaps - the finished product looked like this:

Would you like to know how to create this effect? Well here you go - for the first time ever on my Crafty ThINKer blog i have created a step-by-step technique tutorial:

Step 1:

Start with a piece of cardstock and cut it to size - it can be any colour you like - in this tutorial i use 'Chocolate Chip'

Step 2:

Then dab your 'Versa Mark' (which can be found in the Stampin' Up catty) completely over your cardstock.

Step 3:

Next sprinkle 'Clear Embossing Powder' completely over your card!

Step 4:

Now use your 'Bone Folder' to squiggle lines through your clear embossed cardstock - don't think about it too much just do it nice and quickly!

Step 5:

Then use your 'Heat Tool', heat your 'Clear Embossing Powder' to create a shiny texture.

Final Product:

And you end up with a faux leather effect!!! Clever huh!

The bookmarks:

You can actually create 14 bookmarks from one piece of A4 card!! As i said before i used 'Chocolate Chip' cardstock. To create the toppers i stamped some tortoises from the 'Fox and Friends' stampset onto 'Very Vanilla' cardstock - using 'Soft Suede' and 'Wild Wasabi' 'Stampin' Write Markers'. I punched them out using a '1-3/8" Circle Punch' and mounted them on some 'Wild Wasabi' 'Scallop Circles'.

Here's a final close-up:

Sorry for the massively long post - hope you have found the tutorial useful - i would love to see any projects that you make using these techniques - please email me any pics of your crafty makes!!

Now... one final thing - tomorrow is the launch of the Crafty Boots Challenge Site - as you may know i'm a member of the design team! I'd love as many of you CraftyThINKers to get involved with the challenge! I'll be keeping an eye out for you all!!!

Cate's Owl Swap!

Hi guys, What a busy few days! not only back at work but also the Stampin' Up! Sale has kept me on my toes!! Have you made your order yet?? If not... why not?! I'm offering an exclusive offer for Crafty ThINKer customers - an additional stampset free of charge - see the top post for extra details - this is on a first come, first serve basis - once they're gone, they're gone!! So email me your order: amyjtidd@gmail.com

So today, as promised i have a fab swap that my upline Cate made and gave to me at our Stampin' Up! meal on Tuesday. It's an owl made out of a 'Pillow Box':

This one is made with 'Pumpkin Pie' cardstock. She ran the card though the 'Big Shot' using the 'pillow Box Die' She created the 'feather' using a  '3/4" Circle Punch'which she glued to his stomach, the feet and beaks were created by punching 'Pumpkin Pie card' using the 'heart to Heart Punch' and she has used the 'Oval Punch' to create the wings and  finally '1-1/4" Circles' punched in 'Whisper White' plus '3/4" Circles' punched in 'Basic Black' for his eyes!! She has added a couple of 'Basic Rhinestones' to give his eyes a bit of extra sparkle! Isn't he cute!! Yet another use for the wonderful 'Pillow Box Die'! Love it!

Check back tomorrow for some more beautiful projects made by other members of the 'Blue Angel' Stampin' Up! team!

Swap Shop!

Hi all! On Tuesday i went out for a lovely meal with some of the ladies from the Stampin' Up! team i belong to - blue angels! We had some good food and talked crafts!! The main topic of the night was the retirement list and the sale!!

Whenever we meet up we all try to make some swaps! In other words we all design a project and make several of them to share with everyone else! It's great! I have lots of lovely things to share with you over the next coming weeks! (and we're meeting up again on Saturday so will have even more!!)

So today i have the project that i swapped:

Here's a close up:

The cardbase used is 'Crumb Cake', i have used some 'Very Vanilla' cardstock and stamped the sentiment (from the 'Because i Care' stampset) in 'Baja Breeze' the strips of 'DSP' are from the 'Springtime Vintage' collection and the ribbon used is 'Baja Breeze' 'Seaming ribbon', secured in place by some 'Red Sticky Strip'.

You will notice that it is a variation of the card that i made for Julie Halls - so not overly original - however it was a lovely quick make and with a quick change of sentiment could make some lovely thankyou cards!!

Keep checking back to see the swaps that all my clever Stampin' Up! friends have made!!

Because I Care: A card for Julie

The lovely thing about card making is that you can send a card to friends and family members that totally suit the purpose, rather than trawling around the shops or settling for something less than perfect.

It's lovely to send a card to someone for a happy purpose - a birthday, a celebration, a wedding or anniversary, but sometimes you need to send a card to someone who needs to be cheered up.

A Stampin' Up! friend of mine - Julie Halls is having a bit of a tough time at the mo, and i just wanted to let her know that i'm thinking of her and personally i feel there's no better way than a handmade card:

I have CASE'd this card, but cannot find the name of who originally made it so sadly can't give the artist credit - sorry. the cardbase is 'Crumb Cake'. I have layered some strips of  'Springtime Vintage DSP' onto a rectangle of 'Very Vanilla' cardstock. I wrapped around some 'Baja Breeze' 'Seaming Ribbon', stamped the 'because I CARE' sentiment (from the 'Because i Care' stampset) in 'Baja Breeze' (using my 'stamp-a-ma-jig' to ensure it's nice and straight!) and finally a coordinating 'Designer Button' with some 'Linen Thread' tied through!

I hope Julie likes this card and it makes her feel a little better about things, and when she's feeling up to it, it would be lovely to all meet up for a crafty crop!!