French Foilage Frenzy!!

November is going to be a month of madness.....well more of a frenzy of activity, action & excitement!

Its 12 days until my good friend- Katies', charity ball, in aid of the 'North West Air Ambulance' and I have a table plan to make, and then it's only 16 days until I set off on my first ever trip to the 'Stampin' Up!' convention, this year it is being held in Paris. It will also be the first time I have flown or been abroad, so I am more than a little excited!!

Whilst waiting for some 'Crystal Effects' to dry on an altered Jewellery piece, I was making this morning, I decided to put to use, a sheet of card I had stamped the other week, after being inspired by a lovely swap by Jules Kirkham, check out her blog: www.ribbonkisses.blogspot.com

Well here is my card, and yes its another big one, it will fit a C5 envelope though!!

This leaves, splats, text & postal frank are all from the lovely 'French Foliage' stamp set, it's quite apt that this is the stamp set I am featuring while gushing about my excitement at the Paris Convention!!The sentiment came from the 'Petite Pairs' Stamp set, I stamped both parts together, and punched out and stamped and inked around the edges.The base layer of 'Sahara Sand' was stamped with matching ink to add depth and a strip of 'Whisper White' card stock, was embossed with the lovely Square lattice embossing folder, and the lovely New 'In Colour ink pad- Pool Party' was sponged along the edge, a few of the lovely SU pearls were added for interest too!Simply decoration was added to the inside of the card base, again stamping colour on colour, makes a nice surprise for the recipient and takes the hassle of sticking in an insert!I hope you like my make and thanks to Jules Kirkham, for the inspiration, this was a stamp set that I had so over looked, but beleive that it will now become one of my favourites! xXx

Face of thunder!!!

A quick post today as the next 24hrs are going to be filled with excitement and 'OOhhh's' and 'ahhh's' for us demo's, but more on that lower down this post!

Today's make is a layout, I was inspired to do by an ultra cute pic of Matt, usually he has the nickname of 'Sunshine boy', but when he saw me photographing it first thing yesterday morning for my blog, his cuddly cute-ness turned into a 'FACE OF THUNDER', So I post this as he angelic has one of last few lie-ins of the school hollies, and he doesn't see that he is wide on the web for all to see!The layout is cased from a previous SU catalogue, do you recognise it?? it has had a few product changes but the colours and actual placement are the same.

I did some computer generated journalling, and printed it onto our 'Whisper White' card and the title was cut in 'Pumpkin Pie' using the 'Timeless Type' dies & the 'Big Shot'. I think this is the big he dislikes the most, as while glaring at me he read it, and then stomped off, but it's from the heart!

The hearts were all stamped from the 'Simply Said' SU stamp set, this one I punched out with the 'Heart to heart punch' it was smaller than the image, but I liked the shape. A small flowery button and a bit of linen thread add texture too.

A little punching of 'Old Olive' card under the photo, using the 'Spiral Border' punch. You can just see another of the strips of the 'Brights- Designer series paper' as well.

The cloud was cut free hand and 'Tempting Turquoise' ink was sponged around the edge, and the hearts were stamped from the same set as earlier and added up the side of the photo.

I hope you like it more than Mr. Face of thunder does, speaking of which, I have heard movement upstairs, so I will move on to the ultra important SU news..................................

Well it is a very exciting time at the moment, not just for me but for you my SU customers!

The LAST CHANCE LIST goes out at Midnight tonight, which means there may be reductions on retiring stock, So don't forget about the 'Retirement Party' I am hosting on Friday night, check out Mondays post or email me: sally-johoughton@hotmail.co.uk

Also the other big thing is that Tonight I get to PRE-ORDER lots of lovely new things from the New Catalogue and also to see the new catalogue for the first time! ( I am sooo excited ust to see the new 'IN colours'!!)

If you would like a copy of your own sending direct to you, they are £4.95 delivered direct to your door (RRP £5.95). Please email me at the above address, to arrange payment. Catalogues should be with you mid-September.

Right that is all for now, I will be back in the early hours of the morning, as I will definately be unable to sleep!!xxx

A note of thanks.......

Well maybe you have guessed, but if the set is out on the desk, I do tend to play around with it for a few days and try to get a few different looks/ projects out of it.....I love it that stamps can be so versatile!!

Now on Tuesday this week, my children were lucky enough to be invited out by my Auntie & her friend, to have a private tour of the local Agricultural college's Pet & Equine departments.....Matty got to see loads of snakes and creepy crawlies, and Heather got hands on with the petting ponies, and then checked out the equine department....they had loads of fun, I thought a little set of note cards, would be a nice way to say thanks instead of the usual bottle of wine! So with the 'Pick a Petal' SU stamp set out on the desk, I had play around and came up with these.........I love cards that are just one layer and have noticed that in card shops they can be ultra expensive, so armed with my stamps I came up with these! The finished cards measure 10.5cm square. The outline images were stamped in Stampin' Up! 'Basic Black' and with a bit of playing on some scrap first, I was able to line the stamps up 'freehand'. Colour was added by using the water brush and ink from the lid of the Ink pads. The colours I choose were.....

Rich razzle berry

Tempting turquoise

Regal Rose

Pumpkin Pie

Then after making not just this set but two more....I realised I had no envelopes to fit!!! ARRRGHHH.....at this point I was nearly ready to stamp my feet and chuck the whole lot in the bin....but then I had a root in my stash and found a box of DL envelopes that were the right width, and so set about cutting and scoring them to size....and being really honest it wasn't as much trouble, as I thought and far, far easier than making an envelope from scratch! I had no envelope glue, so made a seal to fasten the little envelopes, out of a sticky bit I had cut off! I just stamped and the centre of the flower and it fits in the 1" circle punch, and I then coloured them to match.Don't you just love it...the way it all works out in the end...... ooo I just need to think of a way to fasten them together/ present them.................. suggestions please... my mojo's zapped!!

Did you get it right??

Well the stamp set used to make the background was.....'Vintage Vogue' and here it is on the project, I had originally make the sheet for!

It's a 'CASE' of a Lay out, that was shown in the SU demo's monthly newsletter, I loved the bright colours, and the design. There are so many different elements to this!........

'Top Note Die'

'Fun Flowers Die' & 'Perfect Polk a dots Embossing folder'

Card ribbon labels & 'Brights Designer Series Buttons'
The Flourish from the 'Strength & Hope' stamp set. The quote from the 'Sense of Time' stamp set &
an engraved heart from 'I [heart] Hearts' Stamp set.

Ink Splatters made with 'Pumpkin Pie Ink'

A decorative edge made with the 'Fancy Frames punch'

I really enjoyed 'CASE'-ing this layout & hope you will do your take on it too. If you would like to purchase any of the 'Stampin' Up!' products that I used for this, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange delivery to your door. XX

Friends xx

Over the last 24 hours I have had the pleasure of catching up with friends- last night I had a lovely surprise phone call from a friend across the Irish sea, It was great to catch up, and hear that she is settling into her new home so well xx, Today I assistted 'a school' mum friend in shopping for a new kitchen- the choice of door knobs is unbelievable!!, finishing for a girly chat and lunch xx And also my thoughts are with a very good friend, as she copes with the hassels of work, she deserves her well earned breakxxx

It has been great to know I have such good friends, and so when my Heather put in a request for a card late last night, I can understand the heartfelt love, friends can bring....one of her classmates, is moving schools and she requested a card, they could all sign, and then they wouldn't be forgotten.....weepy mummy moment xx

So here it is, using the lovely

'I [heart] hearts' stamp set from SU.

I made a little montage of hearts cut with the co-ordinating SU punches,to decorate the front of the card.

The colour scheme is 'Tempting Turquoise',

'Melon Mambo' & 'Pumpkin Pie'

The back panel, that held the ribbon tie in place, was decorated with random stamping of the hearts from the set, in the choosen colour way.

The fold out leaves were made by simply cutting three strips of 10cm x 30cn white card, scoring at 10cm intervals and then sticking together.

These were also stamped along the corners and the edges, to add decoration, with the 'I [Heart] Hearts' stamp set.

Heather was really pleased when she saw it this morning, and I was lucky enough to be in school and see, that many friends had wrote messages.

So cheers to friends and friendships, may we all be blessed with good ones xx

Fantastic Hostess Benefits & Trendy Trees too!!

We are half way through the year already- gosh hasn't it flown so far!! And for the months of June & July, 'Stampin' Up!' have launched extra hostess benefits..........

If you were thinking of hosting a workshop/party, now is a fabulous time & you would be able to make the most of the extras on offer!!

Please call or email me to discuss available dates.

Everyday I have been setting myself the challenge of sitting down, at my desk, and producing a group of cards or a project with my lovely 'Stampin' Up!' goodies, over the past week this has been trying as the children are on half-term break, and want to do holiday things!!!

But today i grabbed an hour and had a 'wheelie' good time!! Yes you've guessed it!! the fantastic 'Stampin' Up! wheels and in particular one of my favourites- 'Funky Forest', used with the '2 step stampin- Trendy trees'. I have made a selection of cards that would not only be quite manly but also suitable for many occasions, such as thank yous or note cards etc.

Also i have found another fantastic use for the designer series paper pack......as a background for photographing my cards & projects....much better than my dusty window sill or boring wallpaper...and yes you can co-ordinate it to your projects!!!!!

Hope you like my projects, if you would like to purchase the craft goodies, to make your own, please get in touch xx