Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Well I have to admit, I do not know where the last couple of months have gone!!  Working, moving house, getting ready for Christmas I guess is where!

I hope you and your families are enjoying a fabulous Christmas, and I hope to see more of you all next year!

Merry Christmas

Mandy x

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamps - Reason for the Season, Forever Evergreen
Ink pads - Real Red, Old Olive, So Saffron, Black Archival
Card - Real Red, Basic Black
Other - Snail adhesive   
 

Reason For The Season Photopolymer Stamp Set [139730]	Forever Evergreen Photopolymer Stamp Set [142184]	Real Red A4 Card Stock [106578]	Basic Black A4 Card Stock [121688]
Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549]	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [126949]	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953]	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931]
So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad [126957]	SNAIL Permanent Adhesive [104332]

Vintage Tea Cup Candles

I'd like to share my latest makes with you - some vintage tea cup candles!  I had wanted to give this a go for a while to make some Christmas presents, and recently I saw a new show on The Craft Channel with Chulo Naturals - they sell their own brand candles, soaps and bath bombs all made with natural products from a shop in Kent, and have now started making kits for us to make some of these things at home.

The tea cup candle kit comes with one bone china tea cup, a bag of soy wax chips, 2 wicks, wick holders and a colour/fragrance tablet - oh and full instructions!  The guidance is that you can make 2 tea cup candles, though I guess it depends on the size, but I was able to make 3 tea cup candles and 1 expresso cup candle from one kit (just needed a couple of extra wicks).

I used the vanilla scented kit, and as I type this blog post the candles are sitting on the desk next to me, and without them even being lit I can smell a gorgeous warm vanilla smell.  

Now all I need to do is make or find some boxes to put them in to give as gifts at Christmas or even birthdays! Though the little expresso cup candle is mine :-)

I hope I have inspired you to have a go at making your own candles - I am off to find some more old tea cups! :-)

Materials Used:
The Craft Channel - Chulo Naturals vintage cup and saucer candle making kit
Other tea cups, expresso cup and saucers

Happy 1st Birthday to The Craft Channel!

This week The Craft Channel celebrated its 1st Birthday, and I was lucky enough to be invited to a cocktail party in London to mark the occasion.  My other half Steve came with me and we had a great time, even though we did not know anyone there - of course I recognised all of the presenters but had never met or spoken to them before.  Julian Ballantyne was there to greet us and made us feel very welcome, and by the time I had checked our names in with the lovely Debbie Kershaw and Beccy Seddon they were already talking football!

The invitation said that there would be some special crafting guests, but we did not know who - all I kept thinking was "please let Anna Griffin be there" as I love her products and am so happy that she is back on our screens in the UK!  So... guess what?!  Yes, amongst all the other lovely craft guests and presenters Anna was there!

By the time I plucked up enough courage to speak to her she must have spoken to a ton of people (not that she is scary at all, the complete opposite - I was just in awe about being able to meet her!), but she was still kind enough to spend about 20 minutes with me, listening to me ramble on about all of her products that I have and how much I love them! So thank you Anna for making my day! Not too keen on having my photo taken, but here I am with the lovely Anna!

I think I managed to spend a few minutes with most of the presenters, as well as many of the behind the scenes staff - buyers, graphics, producers, even the CEO and founder James Doak - lovely man!  All such lovely people and more than happy to spend time with us chatting about craft (well that was me anyway, Steve just kept saying he was the "plus 1" when asked if he crafted! LOL!)

I don't want to miss anyone out in my thank you, though I am sure I will (sorry!)  I met Dawn Bibby, who I have been watching since her days on QVC which really got me back into crafting (picking things up from childhood when I was always making things at home with my Mum - sewing, baking, colouring...)  Rosella, Dawn Wheeler, Wendi Rhodes, Lesley Wharton, Debbie Kershaw, Beccy, Kevin and the lovely Jaqui Joseph - she was wearing the most amazing sparkly trousers and was so fun to chat to!  There were a few people missing, but maybe I will get to meet them one day.

I also met some lovely fellow crafters that I hope to meet up with again soon!

So thanks again to everyone at The Craft Channel for a year of crafty goodness and a lovely evening to celebrate!  Looking forward to many more years of shows!

Of course my Happy Birthday card had to be made with Anna Griffin goodies, and I am adding this card to the following:
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes 13/09/16 - 19/09/16 

Anna Griffin Materials Used:
Fantastic flips card making kit, fantastic flips sentiment stamps, pink & green ink, flourish die from the spring seasonal die set, metallic card layers & papers

Anna Griffin Pinecone Christmas Card and Gift

Hi!  Today I have a Christmas card and gift to share!  As I am sure you will have seen from recent posts I have been in a bit of an "Anna Griffin" crafty mode, so no surprise here is another project using her fabulous goodies!

I used my Cricut and an image from a gorgeous Anna Griffin cartridge, and had a go at something that I had wanted to try for ages - making a stencil on my Cricut for glass etching.  I would have to admit that the design I chose for the stencil was a bit fiddly because of all of the bits I needed to make sure stayed on the glass to create the full image.  Given this was my first attempt I am very happy with the results, and will definitely have another go.  My top tip here is if you have not done this before use a very simple outline design for your first go! :-)

Having decorated the glass candle votives I made a card to match, and then decorated the box the candles came in.  I also put some gold mirror card inbetween the candle and the glass so that you can see the design (the candles are white!) which would obviously need to be removed before lighting!

I am adding this to:
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes 13/09/16

Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - Anna's Christmas Cards & Embellishments Cricut cartridge, Holiday metallic cardstock layers, Holiday Trimming II card kit, Scattered Holly embossing folder, perfect bows, Christmas paper from stash
Armour Etch - glass etching cream
Cricut - Explore Air Gold machine, vinyl and vinyl transfer tape
Tiger - candles and votive holders 

Anna Griffin Pretty in Pink

Hi!  Here is another card using some gorgeous Anna Griffin goodies - I love these pinky/red flowers and wish you could buy these embellishments on their own instead of just in a kit (but you do get quite a few in the kit which is good!)
 
Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - So Smitten card kit, Fretwork dies set 2, All Occasion card making kit (this is an old kit), Metallic card layers and papers
Other - Stampin' Up! fine tip glue, Pinflair glue gel 

Anna Griffin in Blue

I have been having fun with some new Anna Griffin craft goodies, so this week I will be sharing a few of those cards with you - today it's a blue Happy Anniversary card.  I love this bowl/vase of blue flowers - just so pretty!
 
Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - So Smitten card kit, Holiday metallic cardstock layers, Lovey Layers, Fretwork dies set 2
Other - Stampin' Up! fine tip glue, Pinflair glue gel 

Anna Griffin Floral Birthday

I have been a lover of all things Anna Griffin for many years, and happily she is now back on our TV screens in the UK with new inspiration and craft goodies!

I try not to buy kits too often, as I generally feel a bit restricted by them, but I did buy the So Smitten kit and have teamed it up with some other materials to make this pretty birthday card.

Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - So Smitten kit, All Heart die collection, Metallic card layers & papers, Vintage Collage card toppers 2
Other - liquid glue, Pinflair glue gel, 5" x 7" card blank

Thoughtful Branches - Hydrangea

Wow - where have the last few weeks gone??!! - I have no idea!  But I did want to make sure that I popped in to post a card using the gorgeous Stampin' Up! limited edition Thoughtful Branches stamp and die set, which is available until 31st August.  

Growing up in the countryside in the UK, I remember some beautiful and enormous hydrangea plants in our front garden, and these stamp and die sets immediately reminded me of home and family so I just had to have them!

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - Thoughtful Branches
Dies - Beautiful Branches thinlets
Ink Pad - Soft Suede
Ink Refills - Soft Sky, Wisteria Wonder
Card - Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - Ink Spots, fine tip glue pen, Big Shot

Life's a Journey - Enjoy the Ride

I love the One Wild Ride stamp set - its a great set for men's cards, so I will definitely be looking to come up with more designs with this set!  I teamed it up with the Diagonal Stripe background stamp and a sentiment from another set - hope you like it!

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - One Wild Ride, Diagonal Stripe Background, Party With Cake
Ink Pads - Soft Suede, Marina Mist
Marker - Crumb Cake
Dies - Banners framelits
Card - Marina Mist, Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - Stampin' Trimmer, fine tip glue, Big Shot

Flirty Flamingo

I've been having a bit of a play with the Pop of Paradise stamp set, and thought I would share this card, which is my take on a card in the annual Stampin' Up! catalogue. 
After stamping the flamingo and sentiment I cut them out on my Brother Scan N Cut which made it nice and easy - making for happy crafting!

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp Sets - Pop of Paradise, Awesomely Artistic
Ink Pads - Flirty Flamingo, Black
Designer Series Paper - Pop of Pink
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card, gold foil sheets
Other - Stampin' Trimmer, fine tip glue 
Other Materials:
Brother Scan N Cut 

Blue Blue Roses

I know, I know...  I keep using the Picture Perfect roses, and keep stamping them in blue!  I can't help it, I love them!  However, I do promise that I will share some different floral cards over the next couple of weeks!

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - Picture Perfect, Flourishing Phrases, Diagonal Stripe
Ink Pads - Soft Suede, Soft Sky, Dapper Denim, Old Olive
Card - Dapper Denim, Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Dies - Banners Framelits (for the white sentiment layer, the blue is hand cut)
Other - Fine tip glue, foam adhesive strips, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin's trimmer, Brights sequin assortment

Llama Party!

Today's card uses two stamp sets - Fiesta and Better Together - and the Festive Birthday paper.  Its a fun colourful card, I got the inspiration from a card I saw on Facebook, but changed up the sentiment set and added the llama!  I hope you think it's as fun as I do!

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - Fiesta, Better Together
Ink pads - Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie
Markers - Melon Mambo
Designer Series Paper - Festive Birthday
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Dies - Fiesta Time framelits
Other - Fine tip glue pen, Snail adhesive, Stampin' Trimmer, Big Shot and magnetic platform

Orange Florals

A nice simple one layer card this week.  I have used one of the hostess stamp sets - Gift of Love - which you can get this with the rewards you can start to earn when you spend over £150 in one order in my online store.

It is a layering stamp set, so you can either stamp the outline and colour in with markers/inks or as I have done here, stamp the outline and then the coloured layers.  I did then add a bit of depth of the flowers using a marker to add some shadows, and a very pale outline of blue around parts of the image.   I then stamped a sentiment from the same set - and there you are, all done!

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp set - Gift of Love (hostess set)
Ink Pads - Soft Suede, Old Olive, Peekaboo Peach
Markers - Peekaboo Peach, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Sky
Card - Whisper White thick card
Other - Stampin' Trimmer   

Blue Rose Note

For this week's Stampin Saturday Card I have used one of my favourite sets, Picture Perfect.  A few days ago I stamped and cut out several of these blue roses along with some leaves, but struggled to decide what to make with them as what I originally had in mind didn't really seem to work.

So I set about making a layered card with the roses glued flat on the card, then the white layer raised up with foam tape.

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - Picture Perfect, Better Together
Ink pads - Soft Sky, Dapper Denim, Soft Suede, Old Olive
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - fine tip glue, foam adhesive strips, Stampin' trimmer

Swirly Bird Kites

Well Monday again, and the beginning of  a new working week for many of us - me included - and what a dreary rainy old day it is here in London, and it's meant to be the first official day of summer!

For my card today, I decided to use the popular Swirly Bird stamp set, this time using the kite stamps to create a nice fresh and clean card suitable for the younger boys in the family - or just anyone that likes kites!

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - Swirly Bird, Love and Affection
Ink pads - Pool Party, Real Red, Dapper Denim
Card - Dapper Denim, Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - Tear and Tape adhesive, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin' Trimmer

Pop of Pink

I decided to make a girly version of the card I shared on Monday using a fab combination of pink, white and black.  I cut a few strips of patterned paper, added a couple of die cuts and then blinged it up a little with some sequins! Very quick and simple!

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Designer Series Paper - Pop of Pink
Dies - Hello You thinlits
Card - Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White, Whisper White thick
Sequins - Brights, Metallic
Other - Snail adhesive, fine tip glue, Stampin' trimmer 

Blue Roses

I love the rose in the Stampin' Up! Picture Perfect set, and decided I would try it out with the new Dapper Denim In Color.

The rose has three layers - the first I stamped in Soft Soft, the second layer is Dapper Denim stamped off first, then the third layer is Dapper Denim at full strength.  I also created a mask for the flower to be able to make the leaves look like they are behind the rose. The leaves are also made using just one ink pad - Old Olive - again using the stamping off technique.

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp Sets - Picture Perfect, Cottage Greetings
Ink pads - Soft Sky, Dapper Denim, Old Olive
Card - Dapper Denim, Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - Snail adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals

Swirly Floral Thank You

Happy Friday!  I have seen many cards like this one on blogs and Pinterest and decided that I would give it a go.  I decided that my long swirly die would be inlaid in the white card rather than stuck on top.  It doesn't too long and isn't as fiddly as you might first think - you just have to make sure that you have all the pieces!

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - Swirly Bird, Ton of Cards
Dies - Swirly Scribbles
Ink pads - Soft Suede, Old Olive, Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach
Card - Soft Suede, Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - Fine tip glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, Snail adhesive, Big Shot and magnetic platform

Hello!

I had a new box of Stampin' Up! goodies arrive at the weekend, and I couldn't wait to have a play!  I'd also seen a sketch on the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge blog which I did not have chance to play along with, but wanted to use this idea for a couple of cards.  So I used the Moroccan Designer Series Paper, along with the new Dapper Denim card to create my version of sketch #175.

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Designer Series Paper - Moroccan DSP
Card - Dapper Denim, Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Dies - Hello You thinlits
Other - Snail adhesive, fine tip glue, tear and tape adhesive, silicone craft sheet, Big Shot, Big Shot magnetic plate, Stampin' trimmer

Garden in Bloom

Happy Friday! Today's card was made using Garden in Bloom which is a lovely floral stamp set.  I wanted to create a one layer card, so I masked off an area on the card that I would be stamping onto.  It was very quick and easy - stamp the outline images, then the filler stamps, remove the mask and stamp the sentiment.  I also decided to use a marker to outline the images and "border", and then picked up some ink from the ink pads with a wet paintbrush (always using the lid, not the actual pad) and flicked some onto the card - I may have got a little carried away here.... 
 
Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - Garden in Bloom, Cottage Greetings
Ink Pads - Flirty Flamingo, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Soft Sky
Marker - Soft Sky
Card - Whisper White thick
Other - post it tape