Friday 15 February 2013

Hearts a Flutter sweet treats

Morning!  Quick post today just to show you these cute little valentine treats I made last week.  I found mini rolos and they fit perfectly inside the skinny cello bags. I decided to take these into work and let my colleagues fight over them!!  As predicted they weren't around for long!






Now I need chocolate!!

Kylie x


Thursday 14 February 2013

Love is in the air!

Hello again!  Today I wanted to share some valentines creations.  I gathered so many great ideas for love cards this year, and had planned to make a big boxful to take to work to sell to my colleagues.  But as usual I spent so much time looking at pictures of other people's cards on the internet and pinterest, that I ran out of time to actually make any for myself!!  Does anyone else do that?  Please don't say I'm the only one!!

But I did manage to make a card for my husband Paul.  Actually I made three!

The first one I rejected straight away - I don't like it.  I'm no perfectionist but this is too wonky even for my standards!  And I feel I ruined the simple but effective design by stamping the heart over the sentiment - I thought it looked better without that extra detail.


For the second card I went for a 'clean and simple' design.  The stamp is from the set You Are Loved and I heat embossed it with black embossing powder giving it a raised glossy effect.  I think the red butterfly adds just enough colour, but does it make it too feminine?



My third card I have called Heart-tastic! It uses mainly products from the Spring/Summer catalogue, including More Amore papers, Hearts a Flutter stamp set and framelits, and the Honeycomb embossing folder. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Banners.




So, now to decide which one I'll give to Paul!

Happy Valentine's day to you!

Kylie x





Wednesday 13 February 2013

February training swaps

Last Saturday was our quarterly all-day training organised by Julie Kettlewell, and it was a really fantastic day of crafting and inspiration. There were more than 40 demonstrators, including Alex Spence - my upline, and Clare - my brand new downline!

As always, we did swaps - here are mine! I made 45 of these and managed to swap with most people.

Supplies used:
Stamps: Collage Curios, From My Heart
Inks: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Card: Crumb Cake, So Saffron
Papers: Tea for Two
Early Espresso Bakers Twine
Honeycomb Embossing Folder

I got some absolutely amazing projects back - there are so many talented ladies in our team! Thanks for a great day Julie - I'm already looking forward to the next one in April.

Kylie x

Friday 8 February 2013

Celebrating Daffodil Delight!

Happy Friday - the weekend is nearly here! (Thank goodness!).

Here is a quick, sunny project for you - it's another one of the cards we made at my class I ran at work (I promise I'll share that in more detail in a separate post).


The card is CASEd (Copy And Share Eveything) from several I saw online. The colours are Daffodil Delight and Basic Grey and the stamp set is Mixed Bunch with the coordinating Blossom Punch. The sentiment is from the Perfectly Penned set.


I received a beautiful big bunch of daffodils from my wonderful friend Louise last week and I managed to photograph them with the card before they started to wither. What a perfect combination!! 


Now I feel even more cheery!

I have another weekend of crafting ahead of me, beginning with our quarterly team training on Saturday which had to be rescheduled from two weeks ago due to the inclement weather!  I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone - it seems like ages since the last one...

Thursday 7 February 2013

Male card - chalkboard effect

So I've seen lots of cards online using this chalkboard technique and decided to have a go myself.  After a few attempts I managed to create one I am pleased with.

I have created this card is for my Stepdad Rob's birthday which was this week!  Happy Birthday Rob!


I really love the stamp which is from the set From My Heart. The stamps have some lovely quotes and phrases and have beautiful vintage details.  They lend themselves really well to masculine cards which is great because I struggle with getting ideas for these. 


The technique involves stamping with versamark ink (a sticky clear ink) onto black card and then heat embossing with white embossing powder. I smudged a little white ink over to add to the chalky effect.

The background is embossed with the new Honeycombe embossing folder and the Big Shot, and the Baja Breeze ribbon give it just a little dash of colour.


Supplies used:
Stamps: From my Heart
Ink: Versamark, Whisper White for sponging
Card: Basic Black, Basic Grey, Whisper White
Ribbon: Baja Breeze Seam Binding
Punches: Modern Label Punch
Other equipment: Honeycombe Embossing Folder, Oval Framelit Dies


Wednesday 6 February 2013

A spring baby card!

Another baby card needed!  And I knew exactly which stamp set I wanted to use...

Spring Sampler from the new Spring/Summer catalogue is a really fun set of 24 small stamps - all cute images of springtime!



I actually got this set for free at the Stampin' Up! European Convention in Germany last year (one of the many perks of being a Demonstrator!!) and this is the first time I have used it...

So this is the card I came up with...



I used the duck stamp to create the background and cut the letters  with the Typeset Alphabet dies and my Big Shot.


The label stamp and matching punch are both Sale-a-Bration items - Pretty Petites and the Petite Curly Label punch. 

 Some extra stamping inside the card...


And on the envelope...

... and some ribbon and a button finishes off the card!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Spring Sampler, Pretty Petites (SAB)
Inks: Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Marina Mist
Card: Pool Party, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Embellishments: Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon, Brights Collection Buttons
Punches: Circle Punch, Petite Curly Label Punch





Tuesday 5 February 2013

Patterned Occasions Note Cards

Hello again!  Another post - and so soon after the last one! Are you surprised?  Fingers crossed my good habit will last!!

Anyway - this morning I wanted to show you a set of cards I made using the new Sale-a-Bration stamp set Patterned Occasions. It's a set of 5 stamps for different occasions and they are really sweet. You can choose this set for free if you place a £45 order with me before 22 March!


I made five coordinating note cards (3" by 3") and also used the Sycamore Street designer papers - another Sale-a-Bration items.








It's a perfect stamp set for any occasion because you can stamp with or without the sentiment - either mask off the sentiment or colour the stamp with markers.

These stamps and papers are only two of the products you can choose for free during Sale-a-Bration, which include 11 brand new exclusive products, and 6 choices from the Annual Catalogue.  View all 17 choices below!


I still can't decide which one is my favourite, which is yours?

Kylie x

Monday 4 February 2013

Oh Hello!

Good morning!  I'm quite exhausted after all the blog hopping I did yesterday but filled with crafting inspiration from all my talented team mates! Be sure to check out the fabulous projects if you missed it yesterday (grab a cuppa, click the Blog Hop icon on the right to go to my post and start hopping!).

I just wanted to share a card I made at our team training last month which showcases loads of new products from the Spring/Summer catalogue, including the Oh Hello stamp set - another one of my favourites!



Julie's simple design also incorporates the new paper doilies and two-tone ribbon, and butterflies punched with the Elegant Butterfly punch and the new Bitty Butterfly punch which look great layered up like this!  The papers are More Amore.


The patterned background is stamped and then cut with the new oval framelits on the Big Shot.

This is the first of many cards I'll be showing off with this stamp set - you'll see how versatile it is.

Thanks for reading, Kylie x.


Supplies used:
Stamps: Oh Hello
Ink: Pool Party, Basic Grey
Card: Primrose Petals
Papers: More Amore Designer Series Paper
Punches: Elegant Butterfly, Bitty Butterfly
Embellishments: Rhinestones, Paper Doilies, Two Tone Ribbon in Basic Grey
Other: Oval Framelits


Sunday 3 February 2013

Julie's Jems Blog Hop

Today is Blog Hop day!

Me and 15 other demonstrators in Julie Kettlewell's team (Julie's Jems) are taking part.  We have each created special and unique projects using new Stampin' Up! products and will be sharing them today on our blogs.

All you have to do is hop from one blog to the next using the buttons at the bottom of this post and enjoy the crafty loveliness!  (If you've hopped here from Jane's page, you'll have seen some fabulous creations already!)

I really love the More Amore product suite in the new Spring/Summer catalogue so I was inspired to create something with a love theme - especially as it's coming up to Valentine's Day.  I decided to make a 'Love' wall hanging.


I started with some old coasters and I covered these in the More Amore designer series papers.


I cut out the letters with the typeset alphabet dies and my Big Shot and then just went crazy embellishing each coaster with hearts, flowers, butterflies, pearls and and rhinestones! I think you can get away with going a teeny bit over the top for Valentine's!!





I made holes in the coasters using my crop-a-dile and I threaded Primrose Petals stitched satin ribbon through the holes to tie the coasters together.


The bunting behind the 'L' was made with a stamp from the Hearts a Flutter set and matching framelit die.  The hearts are punched from the More Amore papers with the small heart punch.


I punched out two flowers with the Blossom Punch and added an Itty Bitty punched flower in the centre with a large pearl on top (you can find these in the annual catalogue!).


The butterflies - a stamp from the Sale-a-Bration stamp set Bloomin' Marvellous - were punched out with the brand new Bitty Butterfly punch.


I couldn't resist making a couple of spiral flowers too, and some small flowers punched with the Itty Bitty Punches.  The red heart is cut from a sheet of the More Amore papers and the newsprint heart is the First Edition designer papers punched out with the Full Heart punch.


The colours are Primrose Petals, Pool Party, Real Red and Very Vanilla.

I hope you like my project - please leave a comment before you hop onto to the next blog, which is Sharon's!




Go back to Jane's Blog

Carry on to Sharon's Blog


Other Jems taking part in the Blog Hop:

Debbi Taylor - Bee Crafty and Stamp
Karyn Davies - KD Crafts
Elizabeth Youd - Stampin' and Creatin'
Rebekah Cornford - Stamping Becky
Angela Dawes - Sparkly Cards and Papercrafts
Nicola Worrillow - Crafting Out Loud
Alex Spence - My Cards and Crafts
Yvonne Hunt - Vonnies World 
Amanda Bates - The Craft Spa
Mel Hughes -  Mels Papercrafting World
Kate Martin - Krafts by Kate
Jane Bisby - Stamps and Paw Prints 
Sharon Glynn - Shari-Anne Happy Crafter
Angie Hutton - Feather Tassel
Emma Williams - Ditsy Daisy Stamper
Julie Kettlewell - Julie's Japes

Friday 1 February 2013

Spring has sprung!!

It's time to banish the winter blues and bring on a new season of crafting! The new Spring/Summer Seasonal Catalogue has arrived and I LOVE it! It is stuffed full of pretty stamps, cheery colours, beautiful embellishments and lots and lots of ideas and inspiration for all your spring projects.

Click on the image to view the catalogue online:



Or Click here to download a PDF version (6MB).

Over the coming weeks I will be posting pictures of cards and other projects that I have been making with my new products. If you want to get some for yourself, just get in touch and I'll be pleased to order for you.