Green-fingered Badger... and Hedgehog

Do you get that little rush when you use a product in a slightly different way?  I know I do, and I'm a little bit smitten with this messy fern.  I've been making quite a lot of cards with the Tropical Chic set, but haven't been terribly adventurous with it, sticking mostly to nice traditional floral arrangements like in the card on the left.

But with a bit of unfettered stamping, some twine, some faceted gems and a cut down Pretty Label Punch cutout, I'm quite pleased to have something a bit different.  This is exactly the kind of plant I would own: slightly out of control, best left to its own devices, and covered in fairy lights.  I think I'll call it the Badger Fern.

And something else I discovered when playing with the Tropical Thinlets was this little guy... I think he might be quite happy living in that fern...

Challenging Colours

I've been doing some colour challenges based on the Colour Coach recently (thank you Uma for giving us all a prod when needed!).  I love these challenges because they really take me out of my comfort zone and make me think about different ways of doing things.

Like (I suspect) most people, I tend to choose the stamp set first and then colours which "go", but having to do it the other way around has made me look at things in a different way.  Sometimes I choose the set before I look at what the colours are going to be for that week and force myself to use that combination - this is what I did for the Beautiful You card and the Lift Me Up one.

For others I have combined sets - the big flower on the Tropical Chic card is actually the poinsettia from Stylish Christmas, but I think it goes really well!  Other colour combos have kind of taken care of themselves: for the Waterfront card with the mountains, the colours really made me think of a sunset, so that's what I went with.

In short, I love the colour challenges, and I'm just off to do another one!  I'll let you know what I come up with.

Crafters in Training

I do love my kiddie classes, although I often find that I have to think harder to come up with ideas for them.  I tend to use retired products for these classes so I can keep the costs down and keep the classes affordable for parents with multiple children, but this also means that I don't have to compromise on the quality of the products I use in these classes. 

I always make sure parents have a catalogue, because they can often be inspired by how easy it is to get good results, and want to have some materials at home so they can craft with their kids (or on their own!) in their own time.  This is particularly the case with Christmas on the horizon, so I'm making sure to have Autumn/Winter catalogues on hand!

These little lanterns were a big hit, so much so that I repeated the class!  They are made with vellum and fit nicely over an electric tea light, having been formed around... a humble toilet roll tube.  Simple is best 😃

Merry Christmas (well, nearly!)

I love Christmas!  I'm aware that it's 18 weeks away yet (but it's only eighteen weeks away! Eek!), but as a crafter who not only makes her own cards, but demonstrates and teaches others to do so too, I like to have designs around early on so people have plenty of time to order materials, play with their own designs, and make their cards in plenty of time to get them sent out.

With this in mind, it has become traditional for me to offer an all-day Christmas class with a nice fat kit in August, and this is what I was up to yesterday: a 20-card, One Sheet Wonder using the Twinkle Twinkle papers and Star of Light stamp set.  I love these colours all together, and that they are not "traditional" Christmas colours, so can be quite versatile too.

These classes prove popular, so I'm also offering a "Christmas Club" over the upcoming months: get in touch if you fancy getting ahead on your Christmas stash!

Stampin' Gone Wild

Is there such a thing as too much whimsy...?  Nah, and certainly not when it comes to cards for curious, imaginative young minds.  I love putting different stamp sets together to get something unique, and doesn't the girl on the bike look happy with the results?!

I'll be honest, this wasn't really what I set out to make, but sometimes things go off on a tangent for a reason, and although it's wrong on so many levels I actually really like this card.  Serendipity 😉

PS  If you want the list and hadn't guessed already, the girl on the bike is from One for All, the balloon is from Lift Me Up, and the greetings are from Treehouse Adventure.

Rainbows and Unicorns

Just one more for now, I promise!  Lest we forget, the Lined Alphabet stamps coordinate with the Layering Alphabet dies, and how stunning do they look together with the new colours?!  Gotta love a rainbow 😁🌈

 I like to show how things can be used in different ways, and so I thought I'd share these badges which I made from some retired DSP.  These have gone all the way to Australia as a present for a very special girl - I hope she likes them!