Today I spent a lovely morning with my friend Debbie who also happens to be a Stampin Up demonstrator. I took all my lovely preorder goodies with me and we had a lovely time experimenting. As soon as I saw the Pansy set in the upcoming catalogue I knew it would be a set I would use again and again. The pansies can be any colour combination the only limit is your imagination.

This is a close up of the card. The leaves have been die cut from shimmery vellum which is just gorgeous. The card was all made from the new in colours with a touch of Blackberry Bliss (which is still one of my favourite colours right now). I was so happy when there were two green in the new in colours as green is my absolute favourite colour.

The ribbon is new too. This code up shows you the detail of the 4 step stamping of the pansies, which is a doddle to do using the stamparatus.

I now have a limited supply of the new catalogue and if you would like a copy please drop me an email to ruthwareing@aol.com and I will send one to you. You can start ordering on May 4th. I did show this suite in more detail on my recent video so check that out if you missed it. It showed me unboxing all my lovely preorder goodies.

As it’s such a gorgeous day I am off to walk the doggies and then I think I will be straight back in the craft room.

Until next time

As promised, a quick video showing some of the gorgeous new products form the upcoming Stampin Up catalogue. If you would like a copy of the new catalogue I have some and I would be happy to send you one if you leave me a comment or send me a message.

I will be back soon with some cards I’ve made using the lovely new products.

Until then

Sadly this beautiful bundle is not carrying over from the Mini catalogue into the new annual catalogue but the good news is that it’s on the clearance rack.

I decided to stick with the same colour all the way through the cards as it’s such a rich colour.

I used the dies to cut out the flowers and then stuck them together. I used the large die to create this window effect but I wanted it to look like wood so I ran it through the wood embossing folder.

For this card I used the paint splatter technique to soften the white piece in the centre

I really like the use of the same colours. Before I would cut out the 3 flowers in varying degrees of darkness but I think the same colour adds just as much depth.

I used the inserts from the frame on the first card to create a kind of border on this card and used another of the Ornate Layers dies to give the centrepiece some interest.

This time I stamped the roses and layered them. I did the stamp off technique to create different depths of colour. I white heat embossed the sentiment and put some white card behind the die cut flowers to the right to make it stand out more.

Wow! Lots of photos today but I had so much fun creating the cards I wanted to show you lots of close ups. I think my craft room is finally finished and I’m all moved in and settled. Most things have a place now and it really does make crafting soooooo much easier.

Most things I have used today are retiring and can be found in the clearance rack in my shop.

Thalia is now back up at uni and Summer has almost finished her brush up week for her exams. As the sun is shining I am going to take the dogs and meet my friends for a socially distanced walk in a local park. I hope you have a lovely day

Until next time

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The Bouquet of Hope Paper Pumpkin Kit provides a way to offer comfort, care, and condolences to those enduring life’s challenges. With beautiful blooms and supportive sentiments, this kind-hearted kit will allow you to soothe others’ sorrow and share your sympathy in a heartfelt, handmade way! While you can create nine comforting cards—three each of three designs, plus coordinating envelopes—with the kit’s components, the versatile stamp set included in the kit can be used to uplift loved ones during trying times, any time.

BOUQUET OF HOPE

Details

• Kit contains enough supplies to create 9 cards—3 each of 3 designs—and coordinating envelopes. 
• Card size: 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ (10.8 x 14 cm)
• Envelope size: 4-1/2″ x 5-3/4″ (11.4 x 14.6 cm)
• Coordinating colours: Basic Black, Bumblebee, Just Jade, Merry Merlot, Mossy Meadow, Rococo Rose
• Coordinates with the Flower & Field Designer Series Paper, a Sale-A- Bration item.

KIT CONTENTS:

• The Bouquet of Hope Stamp Set: an exclusive stamp set not available anywhere else!
• A Stampin’ Spot
• Enough materials to create nine cards, including patterned card bases, decorative die-cut pieces, embellishments, and more!
• Nine coordinating envelopes
• Adhesive

This beautiful kit is only available whilst stocks last and it’s only £20.00. It makes a perfect gift for someone and a perfect addition to your own supplies.

To order the kit you need to be fast, click on my shop now button and get yours today.

Until next time

Ok, so you need to click on the link below the picture as I really am not technically minded enough to work out how to put the link on the actual SHOP NOW button! There are some really good bargains to be had though so why not click on the link and have a look 🙂

So I have been using up some of my retired products to make this cute picnic basket. I wanted to have a go at making something that’s a fair size to put goodies in. I found this pattern on The Scrap Chick website. I think I paid about $3 for it but it’s totally worth it.

I carried on the daisy theme on the tag and used one of the stamps from one of my favourite retiring sets (quick heads up, there will be a clearance rack on Tuesday of this week so keep checking my shop for more deals on retiring products)I also used an embossing folder to carry the wicker basket theme through.

I added a touch of yellow to the edges of the daisies and put another retired product in the middle. It was quite lucky as I had 8 inner bits left and 6 flowers fitted perfectly on each lid!

Both sides open like a typical picnic basket and I can fit a substantial amount of goodies inside, Summer makes excellent cupcakes so I may pop a couple of those in with some sandwiches and take them over to my mother in laws for afternoon tea next week.

I’m really pleased with how it turned out and it was super quick and easy to put together. I wanted to keep the decoration simple on the outside and I thought the daisies were quite springlike. Sometimes I feel I can over decorate things as there are so many lovely products to use it’s always tempting to use them all so today I was quite restrained!

What do you think? I would be happy to make a video showing how I put it together if there are enough requests.

I’ve had such a lovely weekend with Thalia being home. It’s been great to catch up and have a good old chinwag whilst walking the dogs. She goes back home tomorrow and has only 4 shifts left on this placement then she needs to write her dissertation and has one more placement to go and then she will be a qualified nurse!

Summer has been locked in her room all weekend doing her brush up course for her upcoming exams. She has been doing meteorology and keeps coming downstairs and explaining the cloud formats to us.

I’m now off to make fajitas as that’s the dinner request.

Until next time

After the very sad announcement from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime I thought I would make a card for Her Majesty. It’s not every day you make a card for the Queen so I wanted it to be something special. I wanted to incorporate a poppy in recognition of the Duke of Edinburghs service.

I added some black ink splatter to soften the brightness of the poppy. Having a husband in the Diplomatic Service I am a strong supporter of our Royal Family and the girls and I were lucky enough to meet Prince William when he came out to Beijing in 2014. He actually spoke to us and stood next to me for the Embassy photo. He was so lovely and down to earth.

It’s never easy making and sending sympathy cards but Stampin Up products are so well coordinated that it actually makes it quite easy.

I have also been making a picnic box and I am in the process of decorating it. I might have it ready tomorrow but I am enjoying spending time with Thalia before she goes back up to York on Sunday. It’s so lovely having her home and the dogs went crazy.

Until next time

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Alongside my love of card making I have an equal love of scrapbooking. I have made scrapbooks in various shapes and sizes for over 20 years, telling the story of our lives together as a family. It was my eldest daughters 21st birthday last year and I gave her her scrapbooks and it was quite an emotional time looking back over her childhood and remembering things we had forgotten and bits she never really knew. Scrapbooking is an excellent medium for this and something that doesn’t need to take ages to complete.

The first page above is part of a two pag layout using Stampin Up products to tell a story. We lived in Beijing for 4 years and whilst we were there we were very lucky to go on some amazing holidays. Our final holiday before we moved back to the UK was in Sipadan in Malaysia. It is a small island that is only accessible with a permit to dive. We dived with sharks, turtles and massive shoals of fish with a rainbow of colours. On this page I have written the memories onto vellum so that you can still see the paper below.

The second page is really just photos added, I wrote on the top photo as every time we went on the dive boat we had a specific saying which is what scrapbooking is all about, those little snippets of time. Looking at these pages instantly transports me back to what was a wonderful holiday and an amazing experience.

I will be back in with some different kinds of scrapbooking soon, designed especially for people who struggle with a large 12×12 piece of plain cardstock. I will also be running some scrapbooking classes on line if anyone is interested.

Until next time

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Hello my lovely people. Well, I’ve frozen, done my rowing workout in our home gym with the dogs joining me covered in snow then today it’s bright sunshine but very chilly. I was going to go flying with Summer this afternoon but the wind is not playing fair!

To keep busy I’ve been back out in the craft room and I wanted to use some more of the the flowers I cut out the other day. I decided to create an acetate window in my card and the surround it with some flowers and butterflies. This card is very easy to make but looks like you spent a lot of time on it.

It gives the appearance that the butterfly is hovering in mid air along with the sentiment. I stamped some flowers as a background onto the card base and then went to town. Sometimes it’s hard knowing when enough is enough, I must have spent 20 minutes deciding which flowers and where to put them.

All in all I am quite happy with the placement and I will be making some more cards using acetate over the coming days as I had forgotten how effective it is. I also try and use the acetate from packaging on my cards so I like to think I’m helping the environment just a bit.

RIght, I have to go and change the sheets in Thalias bedroom as she is returning home for a few days. It will be the first time I have seen her since Christmas as she was working on a Covid ward. I am so very proud of her so I fear she may be a bit spoilt over the days she is home.

Why not have a go at making an acetate card? Just find some old plastic packaging and glue away to your hearts content.

Until next time

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So unfortunately today is not as warm as yesterday but that means I can spend time in the craft room instead of sunbathing! I have three doggie helpers today. Our other dog is outside scaring the birds off my newly sown grass seed (hopefully).

Anyway, back to the cards. I have the butterfly brilliance stamp and die set, I also have the patterned paper but that proved to be very successful and is now sold out. I love butterflies and over the years Stampin up have produced lots of different butterfly sets but this is my favourite! You can stamp the details of the butterfly and then you can cut out the outline and the detail. I’ve created three cards today using this set but they are all very different. The top one used the die from the simply succulents bundle as I had a spare one from the other day. I used two of the butterflies and then cut out the detailed part in vellum. I also sprayed the vellum with some frost white shimmer paint. This paint is now being retired so if you want some you need to grab it quick.

On the card above I used a piece of the patterned paper and punched two of the corners with the detailed trio punch – I love this punch as it’s really useful. I then cut out the butterfly and the detailed part with vellum and added some wink of stellar to the vellum this time. A very quick card to make but still lovely.

For my final card I stamped the butterflies onto vellum and embossed them with bronze embossing powder. I then stick this on top of the patterned paper and added a birthday sentiment.

So, as you can see, three very different cards using the same set and I’ve only really touched the surface. I am sure I will enjoy playing with this set until all my preordered goodies arrive from the new catalogue. I will try and remember to do an unboxing video so you can see what beautiful delights will be available in the new catalogue.

I now need to go and rescue my youngest from her ATPL (airline transport pilots licence) studying. She has her next lot of exams at the end of the month and she’s now entering the panic phase of her studies. I like to take her a nice lunch and have a chat to check she’s ok. She took me flying in a PA28 the other day and we did a low approach over Birmingham airport

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She’s only 19 and loves flying. It was quite surreal flying over the airport and seeing all the planes on the ground. We then flew over our house and waved at Mark and the dogs.

I hope you’re having a great day and until next time

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