Something patriotic to celebrate

I get to meet a new member of our team on Sunday and so I wanted to make a card to welcome her. (If you'd like to join our team too then please click on the link at the top or here for more details).

Today's big event inspired my colour combo ;-)

I'm not sure whether Chrissi reads my blog so I hope I don't spoil any surprise for her. Then again, I'm making a little gift to match and I'll save blogging that until after we meet.

The little tag is actually a Welcome, Baby sentiment from the new Level 2 hostess set, Something to Celebrate (email me to find out how to get this set for free) but by justing inking the first word with a marker it became perfect for my card.

Recipe

Stamp set: Something to Celebrate

Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White, Pacific Point

Ink: Real Red, Pacific Point

DSP: Blueberry Crisp, Play Date

Punches: Eyelet Border, Modern Label

Satin Ribbon: Real Red

Bigz L Die: Fun Flowers

Embossing Folder: Perfect Polka Dots

Other: Designer Buttons, Basic Pearls

The card blank is an A6 landscape of Real Red. A mat of Whisper White was punched along the very bottom with the Eyelet Border, embossed on the top half with the Perfect Polka Dots and covered with a strip of Blueberry Crisp DSP. Sticky strip was laid all along the join at the middle and Real Red Satin Ribbon gathered and pleated along it for an easy ruffled ribbon. These layers were adhered direct to the card front. Using the Fun Flowers Die I cut the large and small flowers from Blueberry Crisp and the middle one from Play Date. The edges of the flowers were sponged with the matching ink. The sentiment was stamped in Pacific Point ink onto Whisper White card, punched out with the Modern Label and adhered directly behind the smallest flower. Dimensionals were used between all of the petals layers and to pop the flower on the front of the card. A sliver of Pacific Point card was threaded through a Real Red button and the ends curled around the point of a paper piercer. Glue dots were used to adhere it to the centre of the flower. Finally a little pearl was added to the end of the label.

It's a bit grey and threatening here. Hope the weather picks up soon.

Have a great long weekend.

Sara xx

Super quick SAB cards and perfect punched cards with our two step owl

I had a great afternoon crafting with my MIL when they visited at the weekend and we enjoyed using the new Two-step Owl (MILs ordered her own now!).

It prompted me to dig my Punch Bunch set out again. This stamp set was free with orders over £45 during Sale-a-bration. Although it's no longer available, I do have a set left to give as a hostess gift for the next person that books a workshop with me (please email me to book and be sure to mention the Punch Bunch offer so that I put it to one side for you).

The set is ideal to make very quick cards such as this one:

Recipe

Stamp set: Punch Bunch (retired)

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Whisper White

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise

DSP: Play Date

Punches: Square Scallop, Two-step Owl

The card base is a 10cm square of Chocolate Chip matted with a square of So Saffron popped up on dimensionals. Smaller squares of Play Date DSP were adhered direct to opposite corners. The sentiment was stamped onto Whisper White card with Tempting Turquoise ink, punched out with the Square Scallop and popped up on dimensionals on the card front. The owl was stamped onto Whisper White card with Chocolate Chip ink, punched out with the Two-step Owl (aligning it as shown below) and also popped up on dimensionals. Done!

If you didn't grab this set while Sale-a-bration was on and you're too far away for a workshop with me, then you can still create a similar card but it will take a little longer. You can still order the punch from me if you live at a distance and I can get it posted to you (please email me to order yours).

Recipe

Stamp set: Party This Way (sentiment)

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

Ink: Tempting Turquoise

DSP: Play Date

Punches: 1-1/4" Square, Square Scallop, Two-step Owl

The card base is the same again - a 10cm square of Chocolate Chip matted with a square of So Saffron popped up on dimensionals and smaller squares of Play Date DSP adhered direct to opposite corners. This time the sentiment was stamped a line at a time onto Whisper White card with Tempting Turquoise ink and punched out with the 1-1/4". This was matted onto a Scallop Square of tempting Turquoise and popped up on dimensionals on the card front. The owl body and the middle size eyes were punched from Chocolate Chip card, the vest was punched from Play Date DSP and the large and tiny eyes were punched from Whisper White card. The owl layers were assembled using Tombow and then popped up on dimensionals. Cutesy.

And this punch isn't just for owls! I'll be posting some alternative ideas over the coming weeks so please pop back soon.

Sara xx

A round scallop card for the Mojo Monday challenge

I hope that you've had a great Easter. We had some treasured family time with both sets of parents and really enjoyed the good weather for a change. Here's hoping that it's just as sunny and warm next weekend.

And being a bank holiday I've also found time to play along with the Mojo Monday challenge, which this week is a choice of Round or Square:

I opted for Round, using my new Scallop Circle die with my Big Shot and going for a sepia look:

Recipe

Stamp set: Sincere Salutations

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Ink: Versamark, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Crumb Cake

DSP: Elegant Soiree

Punches: Scallop Edge, 1-3/4" Circle, Boho Blossoms

Seam Binding Ribbon: Crumb Cake

Bigz Die: Scallop Circle

Other: Gold EP, Gold Brad, Basic Pearls

Non-SU: Circle dies

The base card is two of the Scallop Circles die cut from Crumb Cake card and adhered at the top. A circle mat of Chocolate Chip was spritzed with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint mixed with rubbing alcohol and once dry, adhered to the front of the card. A strip of Elegant Soiree DSP was wrapped with Crumb Cake ribbon and adhered to a strip of Crumb Cake card that had been punched with the Scallop Edge. A faux bow was secured over the ribbon with a Gold Brad and then a Pearl used to cover the brad. These layers were adhered to the card front. After stamping the sentiment onto Chocolate Chip card with Versamark it was heat embossed with Gold EP and punched out with the 1-3/4" Circle. This was then adhered direct to a circle mat of Very Vanilla and popped up on dimensionals on the card front. The flowers were punched with the Boho Blossoms from Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip card. They were shaped, layered and finished in the centres with Pearls and added using glue dots. Finally three small pearls were added to complete the sketch.

Ah well, back to work tomorrow but at least it's just for three days :-)

Sara xx

Easter card using Forest Friends

I had planned to use the Mini Milk Cartons for packaging the Dads' Easter gifts but the gifts are too big - I'd need way too many cartons and I think they'd get fed up of opening them, so I'm rethinking the packaging.

Meanwhile I figured that the last few projects I've posted have had no stamping and it's about time the rubber came out again, so I'm sharing a quick Easter card. Forest Friends is my go to set for Easter because I just love the cute little bunny.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Forest Friends, Something to Celebrate (sentiment)

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White

Ink: Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Signo White Gel Pen, Stampin' Pastels

DSP: Sweet and Sour Specialty

Punches: Decorative Label, Itty Bitty Shapes, Scallop Circle

Other: Dazzling Diamonds

The card base is a 4" square of Crumb Cake, matted and layered with Rose Red cardstock and Sweet and Sour Specialty DSP. For the main image I coloured the tree direct to stamp with markers and stamped onto Whisper White card. The background was added with Stampin' Pastels (in Garden Green and Bashful Blue) using a Scallop Circle template to create the clouds. This was matted onto Rose Red card. The sentiment (from the Level 2 hostess set in the Mini Catalogue) was stamped in Rose Red ink onto Pretty in Pink card and punched with the Decorative Label punch. this was adhered behind the main image and all the layers were added direct to the card front. Little flowers were punched from Pretty in Pink and Pink Pirouette card using the four petal flower from the Itty Bitty Shapes Pack (a pack of 3 punches ideal for using up scraps). Each flower was shaped by rubbing the point of the bone folder in the centre, adhered direct to the main image and then Dazzling Diamonds added to the flower centres. The rabbit was stamped in Early Espresso ink onto Crumb Cake card and cut out. The little bobtail was coloured with the White Signo Gel Pen and then the rabbit popped up on dimensionals on the card front.

MIL and FIL are coming for lunch today so I'd better get back to finishing the housework, lol.

Bye for now.

Sara xx

SUDSOL Blog Tour May 17

Hope you're having an eggstremely relaxing Easter break.

Just a quick post today to let you know about a Blog Tour that I'll be taking part in on Tuesday May 17. That seems like a long way off at the moment but I know that it will come around very quickly, especially as May is booking up to be a busy month for me already and we've still got over a week to go ;-)

The Blog Tour is being organised by SUDSOL (Simply Unique Demonstrators Sharing OnLine) an online community of Stampin' Up! demonstrators dedicated to providing creative and professional information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of location (ie. it covers demos from the US, Canada, Australia and NZ and now Europe too). SUDSOL provides me with access to hundreds of project ideas together with instructions, a gallery with more projects and inspiration, business ideas, forms and files and a regular email loop of ongoing inspiration.

I've used it most recently for inspiration for my last minute Easter gifts (I spotted the projects in emails from other SUDSOL members) but I also refer to it weekly for templates and techniques. There is a monthly membership fee, which is very reasonable (the exchange rate isn't too bad at the moment, it cost me £19.74 for six months membership when I signed up in January) but you can also earn membership free (I earned an additional free week for winning a Design challenge). In fact if you're a Stampin' Up! demonstrator you can get two weeks free membership straight away by clicking on the blinky SUDSOL box in the right hand column of this blog or click here to Join me on SUDSOL - Your 24/7 Upline!.

Not an SU demonstrator? Not a problem, the blog tour will have tons of ideas and inspiration to share with you for free but ...

... why not join my team as a demo? You can sign up just to get a great discount on the starter kit (more than £230 of products for just £119), for ongoing discount for yourself and maybe a few friends or, you can start to build your own business (with coaching from me) with hours to suit you and your family. Click here for more details or email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com to learn more.

Either way, please make a note of May 17 in your diary and join me and the other SUDSOL members for some crafty ideas.

Back tomorrow with another project. Bye for now.

Sara xx

Bunny baskets boys and girls

OK so I've not got the Dad's Easter gifts covered yet - but I have got extras for the Mums and one for DH. I found these gorgeous bunny baskets and they were just so cute that I had to have a go.

Thanks to Wendy over at Got Rubber, Will Stamp, for her inspiration and instructions. She got the original design from Terri Ransom but I've not had any luck in tracking down Terri's version (please let me know if you spot it and I'll add a link).

My own changes/additions are the box base (because we don't have the Fancy Favor Die yet) and the teeth!

Recipe

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink/Bashful Blue, Basic Black

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink/Bashful Blue, Soft Suede, White Signo Gel Pen

Punches: 2" x 1-3/8" Oval, 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval, 1-3/8" Circle, 1" Circle, 3/4" Circle, Heart to Heart, Two-step Owl, Boho Blossoms

Taffeta Ribbon: Pretty in Pink (I didn't add one for the boy bunny)

Bigz Die: Top Note

Other: Subtles Brads (Bashful Blue brads retired)

The box base is a 25cm x 8cm piece of Whisper White card. This is scored 1cm inwards from each long edge and 9cm inwards from each short edge. "V"s are cut from each short score line to reduce the bulk when folding and then Sticky Strip applied to the narrow margins:

The middle edge is adhered to the reverse of one Top Note in line with the bottom of the shape and then each long edge is folded in and adhered:

Repeat with the other Top Note die cut to form the basket. All the punched shapes are then sponged, highlighted and adhered to the basket front either directly or with dimensionals.

The teeth were hand cut and adhered behind the cheeks. A strip of Whisper White was secured to either side of the basket with brads and a little sponged tail popped up on a dimensional on the back:

And here are my girls and boy ready to be filled with little packets of treats.

Looking forward to a great weekend ... and I must get on with the Dad's gifts tomorrow.

Hope you all have an eggstra special Easter.

Sara xx

Easter bonnet with dinky easter eggs

I've been blog hopping a little recently, gathering ideas for using my wonderful new Big Shot and accessories (see here for my Big Shot offers) and one of the great ideas I came across was a bonnet treat box.

I owe a big thanks to Tami for her inspiration, you can find her instructions and video for the bonnet here. Although I followed them fairly closely I still made a few extra changes to make the project my own.

Recipe

Cardstock: So Saffron

Ink: Crumb Cake

5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon: Real Red

Bigz Die: Scallop Circle

Embossing Folder: Square Lattice

Other: Empty button/brad container

Non-SU: Mini easter eggs

For the base of the bonnet I die-cut the Scallop Circle from So Saffron card and for the top of the bonnet I drew around the lid of my empty button container onto more So Saffron card with a pencil and cut it out. Both pieces were put through the Square Lattice embossing folder (one by one) and then swiped across with the Crumb Cake ink pad to highlight the texture. The empty container was attached with Sticky Strip. Real Red ribbon was adhered to the outside of the container and a long piece of ribbon was folded over and adhered to the join with a couple of glue dots. Tails were cut into the ends of the ribbon and a faux bow was added to finish.

And inside are the mini eggs.

That's the Mums taken care of this Sunday. Now to work on something for the Dads.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

April batch of thank yous for my customers

Hope you're enjoying the roasting weather this weekend. It's certainly glorious here in Sheffield. Poor Bess can't decide whether to sun herself or cool herself off, she keeps mooching from the sunny to the shady spots and I'm starting to follow her, lol.

I've got a bunch of orders to deliver over the next few days and so of course I've made a batch of thank yous to go out with them:

The Baby Blossoms set is a great two step stampin' set but I kept it very simple for this card as I have a lot to make.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Baby Blossoms, Sincere Salutations (sentiment)

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery

Punch: 2" x 1-3/8" Oval

The card blank is a 4" square of Pretty in Pink. A square of Whisper White was stamped with the sentiment in the centre using Rich Razzleberry ink. The largest rose was stamped with Pretty in Pink ink along the top and bottom three times each. The duo of roses was stamped with the same ink on each side, rotating the stamp 180 degrees. This layer was adhered direct to the card front. Using Rich Razzleberry ink the main frame was stamped onto Pretty in Pink card. The centre was punched out with the 2" x 1-3/8" Oval and then the rest of the frame cut by hand before popping the frame up onto the card front on slivers of dimensionals.

Off now to make the most of the sun.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sara xx

Quick and easy invites using the Manhattan Flower embossing folder

Edited: Sorry not sure why this didn't post last night, serves me right for not double checking.

When I went to regional training last month I saw a card very similar to this and was bowled over by how quick and easy it would be to make a batch of elegant wedding invites (or anniversary, than yous etc). The embossing folder does all the work for you.

Recipe

Stamp set: Sincere Salutations

Cardstock: Shimmery White

Ink: Peach Parfait

Organza Ribbon: Whisper White

Embossing Folder: Manhattan Flower

Other: Basic Pearls

The card blank is an A6 portrait of Shimmery White card. The card blank was inserted as far as the fold line into the Manhattan Flower embossing folder and run through the Big Shot. Using a craft knife (or one blade of opened scissors) a slit the same width as the ribbon was cut close to the fold and Organza Ribbon threaded through and tied in a bow. The sentiment was stamped with Peach Parfait ink and a row of the Basic Pearls adhered below (if making a batch you could just attach various combinations of the different size pearls to make the sheet go further). Done! Told you it was quick and easy.

Have a great weekend.

Sara xx

Glossy paintwork for a red motorcycle

I'm making the most of our fantastic new masculine images for my card today. If you're like me then masculine cards can be a bit of a challenge but I just love the new stamps we've got in the Mini Catalogue - they make it so easy.

The motorcycle works pretty well on it's own but I figured on another use for the border stamp in another great masculine set, the Plane and Simple:

Can you spot it at the bottom of my card? Details below:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Motorcycle, Plane and Simple

Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Black Stazon, Basic Black, Real Red

Punches: 1-1/4" Square, 1-3/8" Square

Other: Crystal Effects

The card blank is an A6 landscape of Real Red. Selectively inking the square dots border from the Plane and Simple set with Basic Black ink the image was repeat stamped across the lower portion of the card. Using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get it just right I then turned the stamp the other way up and repeat stamped again to create the "tyre tread". The main image was stamped using Black Stazon onto Whisper White card. A Real Red marker was used to colour the paintwork and then Crystal Effects applied over the top to give the glossy effect (easier to see in the top photo). This was matted onto Basic Black card and popped up on dimensionals on the card front, overlapping the tyre tread. The sentiment from the Plane and Simple set was selectively inked with Basic Black and stamped onto Whisper White card, spreading it across two lines instead of a single one. This was then punched out with the 1-1/4" Square and matted onto a 1-3/8" Square of Basic Black before popping up on dimensionals overlapping the main image as shown.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

Anniversary roses for a wonderful couple

I couldn't believe the mistake I made last week. It was Jan's wedding anniversary. A biggie - she and Ian have been married for 25 years! And they're such a lovely couple - so good together and so supportive of one another. I hadn't forgotten their anniversary, in fact I especially made a card for them when I was creating samples using the new goodies ...

... and then I forgot to post it! Doh!

But she should finally have got it by now and so I'll share it with you.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Tiny Tags, Baby Blossoms

Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Rich Razzleberry, Shimmery White

Ink: Blushing Bride, Rich Razzleberry

Punches: 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval, 1-3/8" x 5/8" Oval

Embossing Folder: Manhattan Flower

Other: Basic Pearls

Blushing Bride card was run through the Manhattan Flower embossing folder and then the roses cut out close (about 1mm margin) to the outside embossed line and cut square. These were matted onto Shimmery White card (bought while on offer last month - snap up those bargains when you can), then Rich Razzleberry card and finally the card blank of Blushing Bride. The Mr & Mrs sentiment from the Tiny Tags set was stamped with Rich Razzleberry ink onto a scrap of Shimmery White card. Using Blushing Bride ink the largest rose (still very dinky) from the Baby Blossoms set was stamped alongside the sentiment before punching with the 1-3/8" x 5/8" Oval. This was matted onto a 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval of Blushing Bride card and adhered to the top right of the card front. Finally two teeny Basic Pearls were used to finish the sentiment.

I'm so sorry I was late with your card Jan. I know that you and Ian had a very moving renewal of vows as part of a very special and wonderful anniversary and I wish you continued happiness together.

Sara xx

The Scallop Envelope die - not just for envelopes

I've been travelling a lot this last week for work - the day job that is, not the fun one :-(

It meant long days, not getting back until late and feeling shattered so apologies for not blogging more regularly. OK, excuses over and on with the crafting.

Now I have to say that the Scallop Envelope wasn't my first choice of the new dies when I saw them all originally, but then I started to see the potential. And I'm converted. This is a real little workhorse of a die. I used it for the make and take at my recent hostess evening (I'll share that project soon) and I used it to make the little Mother's Day gift shown here.

The reason I'm sharing it now is that it will work so well as an Easter basket too.

Recipe

Cardstock: Rose Red

DSP: Sweet and Sour Specialty

Bigz Die: Scallop Envelope

Other: Flower Brads (Brights)

Four Scallop Envelopes were cut from Rose Red card. The main panel of each envelope was decorated with a piece of the Sweet and Sour Specialty DSP (this is easier to do before assembling. One side flap was cut away from each and discarded (to reduce the bulk when you assemble), then the side flap was adhered to the side of the next envelope and so on to adhere them all together into a square box. The bases all fold together to leave a small hole in the base less than 1cm square. A square of matching Rose Red card was adhered to the inside of the base to cover the hole. The perforated top edges were all folded forward over the DSP. A 1" strip of Rose Red card was cut from the length of an A4 sheet. A slightly narrower strip of the DSP was adhered to the centre of it and it was attached to the open box with Flower Brads to turn it into a basket. Each of the remaining folded over flaps were secured down over the DSP with a dimensional.

And here it is filled with large choccies:

Hope you like it and have a great weekend.

Sara xx

Matching glitzy gift packaging for jewellery

For Mother's Day I bought my Mum another charm for her bracelet. Here's the gift packaging that I made to match the Mother's Day card I shared with you yesterday.

I used the new pillow box die:
And followed my previous colour scheme and theme:

Recipe

Stamp sets: Cottage Garden, Occasional Greetings (sentiment)

Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla Tangerine Tango

Ink: Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango

DSP: Sunny Garden

3mm Taffeta Ribbon: Pumpkin Pie

Punches: Eyelet Border, Curly Label, Crop-a-dile

Bigz Dies: Pillow Box, Flower Daisies 2

Other: Champagne Glass Glitter

Non-SU: Charm

I cut the Pillow Box from Pumpkin Pie cardstock and assembled it using Sticky Strip. A strip of Sunny Garden DSP was punched along both long edges with the Eyelet Border and then those edges were sponged with Pumpkin Pie ink before adhering to the box. The sentiment was stamped in Cajun Craze ink onto Very Vanilla card and then punched with the Curly Label. Using Pumpkin Pie ink the little trio of flowers from the Cottage Garden set was stamped off the label around the sentiment. The label was popped up on dimensionals on the front of the box. Three of the smallest Daisies were die cut from Tangerine Tango, adhered together and sponged at the edges of the petals with matching ink. A large Daisy centre was adhered to the middle of the flower and covered with Champagne Glass Glitter. Once dry the flower was added to the label. A card of Pumpkin Pie was cut to fit inside the Pillow Box and punched each end with the Crop-a-dile. Pumpkin Pie ribbon was threaded through the holes and charm and tied at the back.

Much more personal don't you think?

Sara xx

Glitzy gerberas for my Mum

I just loved being able to play with my new Big Shot and dies when I was creating this card for my Mum. Now I know that it's a bit late for you to use this for your own Mother's Day cards (at least for this year) but this would be just as suitable for a birthday card or get well card etc if you just change out the sentiment.

It was inspired by a great video for creating gerbera daisies by Noel.

Recipe

Stamp set: Cottage Garden, Occasional Greetings (sentiment)

Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Peach Parfait, Very Vanilla

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Peach Parfait, Cajun Craze

DSP: Sunny Garden

Punch: Decorative Label

Bigz Die: Flower Daisies 2

Originals Die: Leaves 2

Other: Champagne Glass Glitter

This is a larger card for me than normal, it's an A5 portrait of Pear Pizzazz. This was matted with a layer of Pumpkin Pie card and a layer of Sunny Garden, sponged with Pumpkin Pie ink. The gerberas were made with Peach Parfait, Pumpkin Pie and Tangerine Tango card using the Daisies 2 die. Each flower has three layers of the largest petals and three layers of the smallest petals. All the petals were sponged with the corresponding ink before assembling. Champagne Glass Glitter was sprinkled into Tombow glue for the flower centres. The leaves were cut from Pear Pizzazz card with the Leaves 2 die and the veins were scored into the leaves before sponging the edges with Pear Pizzazz ink. Flowers were popped up on dimensionals and the leaves were adhered direct to the card front. For the sentiment, a Cajun Craze marker was used to selectively ink the words without the swirls, stamped onto Very Vanilla card and punched with the Decorative Label. This was overstamped with the trio of flowers from Cottage Garden in Peach Parfait ink. Two more Decorative Labels were punched from Tangerine Tango, cut in half and adhered behind the Vanilla label before popping up on dimensionals.

I'll definitely be making more of these pretty flowers in the future. Here's a close up:

To order these dies just email me or you can get the Daisies die in one of my bundle offers here (and if you need the leaves too you can tailor make a bundle by substituting).

Tomorrow I'll share the gift packaging I made to match.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

News from my hostess evening and Mini Launch Party

Happy Mother's Day to all you mums out there. Just thought I'd post a quick share from this weekend's events. It's been really busy in the best possible way. Friday night I had a hostess party. This is a special event for everyone who has been a hostess for me, either holding a workshop in their home or a virtual hostess through my Stampers 6 club. All of my previous hostesses from the last few months got an invite package like the one above, containing an advance copy of the Mini catty, their invite (posted previously here) and a little wrapped choccie biccie.

When they arrived they found the table all set with little treats. Everyone got to ooh and aah over the lush new products, we all made a couple of projects (a card and a 3d item) and we had a good old chinwag (I found out I went to school with the husband of one of the ladies, small world isn't it?). So we went a bit over time ... again, heehee.

Some of my hostesses couldn't make it, due to sickness, other commitments or because they live too far away. I get their treats to them after the event to make sure that they don't miss out.

Would you like to come along to my next hostess party? Then email me to book your workshop date in my diary or join my Stampers 6 group (details here) and you too could be getting treats like these soon.

Yesterday was my Mini Launch Party and it was great to get together with existing friends and meet some new faces. Everyone got a flower lollipop and a goodie bag - a little like the invite bag above but containing the Mini catty, some card blanks, DSP samples, ribbon and a free stamp.

I had a brilliant time (still can't believe I get paid for doing this, lol), the ladies told me they'd loved it and we raised £27 for Cavendish Cancer Care. Thanks ladies!

I got DH to draw the door prize when I got home last night. If I'd thought on I could have asked little Katie to do it while we were still altogether but never mind. So drum roll please ....

... and the winners are ...

1st prize ...

Heather

2nd prize ...

Mavis

I'll put your prizes in with your orders ladies.

Today we've been visiting our Mums to let them know how much they mean to us both. I shared DH's card to his Mum here but please pop back tomorrow and I'll share the card I made for my Mum.

Sara xx

Three projects for our blog hop marathon

Hi everyone. If you've joined me from Emily then welcome, didn't you just love what she did? Gorgeous! If you're starting here then don't worry, we'll pass you around the hop until you get back to Emily and then back to me. At that point you'll have the chance to hop over to another 3 groups! Truly a blog hop marathon today and so much inspiration that I'm sure we'll have your head spinning by the end of it ... and your wish list will be mighty long - we can help with that, lol.

Please email me when you're ready to place your order

;-)

My first project is a super quick and easy party treat. Great for kids parties and not sniffed at by the adults either. I gave one each to my hostesses last night and there'll be one for each guest at my Mini Launch Party today.

Recipe

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight

DSP: Greenhouse Gala

Bigz L Die: Fun Flowers

Non-SU: Lollipop

I used the Fun Flowers die in the Big Shot to crank out all the flowers. The largest and smallest were cut from Daffodil Delight card and the middle one was cut from Greenhouse Gala DSP. I found I could cut three layers of card and four of DSP in one go with no problem. They were layered up with a tiny spot of SNAIL between each to hold them in place, a hole punched through the middle and the lollipop pushed through.

Have a look at my Big Shot Bundles to see what I'm offering when you order the Big Shot and/or Accessories.

Next up I've used the new Windowpanes which come as a pack of 12; four each of three sizes.

I saw this project created originally by the very talented Jackie Topa using hearts. For mine, I've used the new Strength and Hope set. Stampin' Up! are donating £1 from each sale of this set to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

I created mine to use at my Launch party today as I'm offering it as a free event but asking people for a donation to the Cavendish Cancer Care, our local charity helping breast cancer patients. It seemed appropriate.

Although this uses all four of your large Windowpanes you can easily change the ribbon and the backing sheets to fit any occasion or even dismantle and reuse the Windowpanes at any point (so not really as excessive as it first seems). Please use a battery operated tea light for safety.

Recipe

Stamp set: Strength & Hope

Cardstock: Vellum Card, Medium Window Sheet

Ink: Regal Rose

Taffeta Ribbon: Pretty in Pink

Bigz L Die: Mini Milk Carton

Other: Beveled Windowpanes

Non-SU: Battery operated tea light

I followed Jackie's instructions fully, using Window Sheet to create just the base of the Mini Milk Carton to wrap the panes around for stability. The Windowpanes were tied at each corner with Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon. Pieces of Vellum card were stamped with the Hope sentiment and inserted between the Mini Milk Carton and the Windowpane.

And finally from me - a masculine card. Yes, Stampin' Up! have listened to us and included some great masculine stamps in this Mini.

Recipe

Stamp set: Sail Away, Plane & Simple (sentiment)

Cardstock: Cajun Craze, Sahara Sand, Night of Navy, Whisper White

Ink: Night of Navy

Other: Pewter Jumbo Eyelet, Linen Thread

The card blank is an A6 portrait of Cajun Craze. A short panel of Sahara Sand was put through the Crimper leaving an uncrimped section top and bottom to make it easier to adhere to the card front. The sailboat was stamped in Night of Navy ink onto Whisper White card and matted onto Night of Navy card leaving more mat exposed at the bottom. A Pewter Jumbo Eyelet was added to this exposed piece using the Crop-a-dile and Linen Thread wrapped through a few times and tied in a knot. This was popped up on dimensionals on the card front. Using the sentiment from the Plane and Simple set I stamped with Night of Navy ink onto a narrow strip of Whisper White card and cut a horizontal "V" into the end to create the flag. This was matted onto Night of Navy card cut to match and popped on dimensionals.

I hope you've enjoyed my projects and I invite you to "follow me" so you don't miss any of the exciting ideas that I've got coming up.

For now I'll pass you on to the next person in our blog hop loop - Rita, who's got more creative ideas in store for you.

When you're ready to check out the other loops you can find the start of each of them here:

Loop 1 (and our blog hop organiser Erika)

Loop 2

Loop 4

Off now to my Launch Party!

See you soon.

Sara xx