Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Catherine Carroll

Congratulations with Hearts a Flutter

I was so excited to hear that a couple of my best friends have finally got engaged. I say finally as they were together before my now husband and I even went on our first date, and we have been married for two and a half years! Special congratulations were definitely in order, so I reached for the lovely Hearts a Flutter stamp set and matching framelits...

The combination of Basic Gray and Pool Party is fast becoming a favourite of mine. In fact, the combination of shades of grey with any colour may become a bit of a theme. Let's just say I can't wait until I can start using the new Stampin' Up! colour Smoky Slate when we finally get my hands on it. Primrose Petals was also a perfect accent colour for the heart image. After all, what is an engagement card without a heart? I really hope they liked it.

 

 

 

 

Twist Fold Congratulations

I had been invited to the wedding of a work colleague this summer, but unfortunately we're going to be on holiday. I hadn't sent an engagement card, so thought that my reply was a good opportunity to congratulate them more formally! The twist fold card is particularly useful in that the pockets created by the folding mean that you can slot extras into the card. I think I might be making a lot of these at Christmas for the many gift cards I end up sending.

The sentiments in the Curly Cute set are my favourite at the moment, as they really make the sentiment the focus of the design. I can't believe that this is the first time I have used the Natural Composition Specialty DSP - I can't even use the excuse of not wanting to cut up 12"x12" sheets as I got some already cut down to 6"x6" as part of a paper share! Let's just say that what I have left will be used very quickly...

 

 

 

 

Shadow Stamping with Just Believe

I'm not sure if this is going to work, but I would really like to share a series of technqiues with you all. Yes, I admit it, I am a technique girl! I love seeing new ideas and adapting them to work with my (extensive) Stampin' Up! stash. Let's see if I can make this a regular series of posts. I have a 'technqiue keyring' which I originally started during trainings with my lovely upline, Michelle Last. We had a team training weekend in Birmingham recently, and I ran a class to make a new version of our now rather old keyrings. Hopefully these regular posts will share these ideas with you! I must admit that very few of the techniques (if indeed any at this stage) are unique and I am sure you have seen them before. Hopefully I can remind you of them and inspire you to give them a go.

The first technique I have chosen to share is shadow stamping. The beautiful Just Believe stamp set is perfect to showcase this. You need two shades of the same colour ink.  All you do is stamp the image first in the darker shade, and then stamp in the lighter shade using your trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig to offset the image slightly.

Yes, it's more Crumb Cake! But I have branched out to use Soft Suede as well. Both colours are part of the Comfort Cafe DSP, so that was a very easy choice. The seam binding ribbon seemed to be a bit too much for this card, so I tried rolling it up to create a narrower ribbon. What do you think of the effect? Paper piercing also adds some texture to the DSP layers.

 

 

 

 

Sale-a-Bration Last Chance!

This card is for you, to say thank you for still checking my blog despite the lack of posts!

Sale-a-Bration inspiration from me has been a bit lacking (well, completely lacking really!). I have got projects to show, and also love the free products that have been available so might allow myself to keep crafting with them. I will continue to add these to my gallery over the next few weeks, hopefully still providing inspiration to those of you who have benefitted from SAB freebies this year.

It is the last day of Sale-a-Bration today. Whoever your demonstrator is, don't miss out on that last stamp set or pack of DSP that you want! It's also the last chance to benefit from the special 25% extra in the starter kit (£162.50 worth of product of your choice for only £99). If you are even only just thinking about signing up as a demo, don't hesitate. I joined during Sale-a-Bration and I haven't looked back. Whether you are joining a local demonstrator's team, or one of the many large teams in the UK as I did, you will have an amazing experience.

 

 

 

 

Spring-Summer Catalogue Pinkies Blog Hop

Welcome back and thank you for stopping by today for Part 2 of the Pinkies Spring/Summer Blog Hop. We are showcasing lots of new gorgeous projects today, using products from the new Stampin’ Up!® Spring/Summer Catalogue. Simply use the buttons at the end of each post to keep on hopping. We love comments, so please tell us what you think!

I should also welcome you to my brand new blog. I had got a bit fed up with the mistakes I had made so decided to make a clean start. It has taken a while - I'm too much of a perfectionist! I have kept previous blog hop posts, and photos of old projects will make their way into my gallery page. It's not perfect yet, but I'm working on it. What do you think?

Anyway... if you are working through part 2 of our blog hop weekend, you should have joined me from Christa's blog. I have to admit, I wasn't sure about the Rain or Shine stamp set in the cataloge (too much fussy cutting needed!), but I think she now has me convinced.

I decided to use the More Amore designer papers and the Artisan Embellishment kit from our lovely new Spring Summer Seasonal catalogue. Now, with such beautiful papers and accessories, I really had to try hard to actually *cut* them, rather than just admire them. I hope that what I have created does them justice.

Combining the Primrose Petals Core'dinations with Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder allows you to add a subtle extra texture to any project. I panicked first of all when I saw that I'd have to cut a circle of paper for the Designer Builder brad - I should have known that Stampin' Up! would have thought of that and matched it to a punch! Luckily the Itty Bitty punch pack had made it in to one of my orders long ago.

I also wanted to try a treat pouch of some sort. 

The Two Tags die has been indispensible lately. Now I just need to work out what to put inside this little treat pocket...

The next stop on our blog hop is Michelle Last. If you've finished part 2 of our hop today, do have a look at yesterday's posts if you haven't already. There are so many beautiful projects that I know will inspire you. Part 1 of the blog hop starts here.