Colour Me Happy

Sometimes I get carried away with fancy folds and adding a lot of embellishment, and I can forget what a joy a simple bit of colouring can be. The above were all examples for one of my children's classes over the summer - I wish I'd got some photos of their creations because they were, without exception, brilliant. A square, a mat, a greeting and some pens - what more do we need?

Sets above are Wiggle Worm, Boo To You, and We'll Walrus Be Friends. All have been coloured with Blends*.

* No, I did not let the kids use my Blends! 

Wise Old Olive

I'm not sure I can put into words just how much I love this owl! She's from the Check You Out set, and she's currently inseparable from two other stamp sets: Praiseworthy Prose, which has the wonderful little "dictionary definition" phrases, and Very Versailles, which has the gorgeous block of script that I've used as a background. Olive (the owl - sorry, I should have introduced you properly earlier) and the stack of books were stamped and then fussy cut out as one piece.

This was another colour challenge: Terracotta Tile, Soft Suede and Mossy Meadow.

Magnolia Waterloo

I think I'm ready to talk about this card. This card nearly broke me. I wanted to try a "very simple" card using a Memories and More card, and a greeting. That's all. Simple.

Could I get the placement to look right? I could not. All hail to the people who can stamp a greeting in a white space and leave it that way - it turns out I fail at simple 🤣 It took me three days of picking this up, rearranging it and putting it down again before I committed to using glue.

It might be a while before I try this again...!

All the Florals

In every catalogue there are hidden gems. Products that you might not notice the first time, or even the second time that you look through, but that suddenly grab your attention and become firm favourites. The Budding Borders stamp set is one of these items for me. Not only do they give you a really pretty border on their own, but they also line up to form a two-step, multi-coloured design that is subtle, but can make a project really pop. I think this looks like early 20th Century wallpaper - seaside cottage bedroom, maybe?

I've been doing my colour challenges again, although admittedly not keeping quite up to date! This is one of them - Rococo Rose, Merry Merlot and Mint Macaron.

Wouldn't Get That Long For Murder

                                         

Mama Badger and Papa Badger recently celebrated their 45th Wedding Anniversary (aw!), which I have learned is commonly (although not THAT commonly, clearly) known as the Sapphire Anniversary. Cue to break out the blues! I was thrilled to have an excuse to use the Noble Peacock Speciality DSP, because it's just so pretty, and although I was doing my usual trick and saving it for a special occasion... well, what occasion is going to be more special than celebrating 45 years of marriage? I haven't even managed 10 yet!

I kept the card simple, using just a bit of the Mercury Glass Acetate over the numbers (retired dies) and colouring it in with a Night of Navy Blends pen.

Their present also featured Stampin'Up! products - of course, because they're the best! These embellishment pictures are a favourite of mine, although they take aaaaages to do (this one was about 12 hours). Just to give you an idea, the smallest pearls and diamante on this picture (close up on the right hand side) are just 1mm across, so there are literally thousands and of individually placed embellishments in this heart. All worth it, though, for the best parents in the world 👰💙🤵

Not a Wedding

These stamps are retired, but I really wanted to share this because I was so pleased with how it turned out. This was a commission for a not-a-wedding-or-a-marriage-more-of-a-partnership-celebration-or-a-big-party - well, that's quite the brief! But I think I got the idea, and this went all the way to Holland, which made it my first international commission! I hope it was well received when it got there - I certainly enjoyed making it!

Tisn't Quite the Season...

I always do a Christmas All Day class in August. People look at me as if I'm crazy when I say that, but honestly, I do! And what's more, I think it's a really good time to do one. People are getting tired of entertaining the kids over the long holidays, the weather is either really hot or chucking it down, and we need a bit of a pick-me-up. And what better way to do that than with some brand new goodies from the brand new Autumn/Winter Catalogue pre-order?

I gave my ladies the choice of two Christmas stamp sets from the Annual Catalogue - Winter Woods, and Dashing Deer - but used new DSP (Feels Like Frost and Brightly Gleaming), embellishments and dies. Everyone made everything below! I love the sampler - I've never done one in class before - but I think my favourite thing is the little Curvy Keepsake box in the Mercury Glass Designer Acetate (far left, in front of the purple card with the fir trees). I think I'll be making a few of these in the run up to Christmas!

Cute As A Bug

One of the greetings stamps in the Wiggle Worm stamp set says "Cute as a Bug", and aren't they just?

It's actually relatively rare that I get coordinating dies with stamps (prefering to spend my pennies on... well, more stamps!), but I did get the dies as a bundle this time, and I have to say, they do make things easier with cutting out, especially with the very fine detail, like the legs on the bugs.

I'd also like to give a big shout out to this leaf die - so many uses, so little time! And is it just me that sees ice cream in those clouds...? 🍦