Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Catherine Carroll

Patched background with some Best Year Ever DSP

I have a confession to make.... my craft room is a mess! I don't think I should even call it a craft room as it's just become our dumping ground for anything that doesn't have a home. Anyway, the result of this is that I only have my most recent order to craft with, which is why I have more cards made with the Best Year Ever DSP and Best Day Ever stamp set to share with you!

I made an offset patched background with scraps of the DSP, and then double layered the sentiment on Whisper White cardstock circles. Luckily I have the Itty Bitty Accents punch pack on my dining room table, so the little flowers with pearl centres were the perfect finishing touch.

Now to find some other uses for all the scraps of DSP I have lying around. I sometimes just think I should throw them all away, but I just can't bring myself to do that. I think all crafters are hardwired to keep every little bit of anything that just might come in useful, don't you?

 

 

Bright and Cheerful Lotus Blossom

The Lotus Blossom set was the first one we got to play with at the Stampin' Up! Sale-a-Bration tour event before Christmas. We all knew it was going to be popular. I think that's why I've left it so long to get my set good and inky!

I've paired it with the Best Year Ever DSP and added Crushed Curry and Calypso Coral to the Coastal Cabana pattern (I wonder if alliteration is part of the Stampin' Up! colour scheme team's brief?). I'm subconsciously doing it myself as well - I even used Crisp Canteloupe for the lighter layer of the Lotus flower!

 

 

 

 

Best Day Ever with the Scallop Tag Topper Punch

As soon as I saw the Best Day Ever Sale-a-Bration set in this year's offering from Stampin' Up! I knew it needed to be paired with the Scallop Tag Topper punch. And that wasn't just because of the sample on p3 of the SAB brochure - that uses the Angled Tag Topper punch and so is completely different.... right? Oh well, CASE and CASE alike!

I have to admit that Crushed Curry and Calypso Coral would have been at the bottom of my list of go-to Stampin' Up! colours (in fact, make that at the bottom of my list of Stampin' Up! colours full stop), but the Best Year Ever DSP is really pushing me out of my comfort zone and I might even start using these colours even without the DSP soon...

 

 

 

 

Simple Square Matchbox Gift Box

I needed a hostess gift that was suitable for the dreary days of January. Chocolate being definitely off the cards, I hoped that some scented candles would be better received. They also fitted a square box much more easily than my usual matchbox pattern, so a new pattern was called for.

The DSP is again the Best Year Ever pack that you can earn free during Sale-a-Bration with an order of £45. I partnered it with a lovely flower from the new Petal Potpourri set. Show me a set with a matching punch and they are in my next order within a blink of an eye! You can even save 15% when you buy them together as a bundle. Great coordination and great value - what more can we ask for?

 

 

 

 

Showcasing the New Spring Summer Catalogue from Stampin' Up!

Thank you for joining us on another Pinkies Blog Hop! We're showcasing lots of gorgeous projects using products from the new Stampin' Up!® Spring/Summer Catalogue. Simply use the buttons at the end of each post to keep hopping!

The current cold weather is perfect for staying in and crafting, don't you think? So what better to inspire us all that a fun blog hop to celebrate the launch of the new Spring Summer catalogue. Even though we might not feel very spring-like...

I am really looking forward to finishing off my Perpetual Birthday Calendar kit, but it has taken me a while to get through all the months. So with the stamp set on my crafting table I wanted to see what else I could make with it, and here's one of the cards I created:

All of the small patterns are so useful in creating textures and patterns. I'm now looking at it as a kind of "tidy" Gorgeous Grunge set - just perfect for making the background a little bit more interesting, or adding a bit of extra decoration to an envelope. 

Do you want to know the best thing about embossing on vellum? You can stick it on to your project much more easily because you can hide the glue behind the embossing!

I have to admit that the Hello You Thinlits are driving me a little bit crazy, but that's only because I want to use them on everything and I've managed to lose my roll of wax paper to help pop the words out once they've been through the bigshot... It's taken a lot of prodding with my stylus and very careful poking with my paper-piercing tool to get them out! But I think it's worth it.

Next stop on our blog hop today is Lizy, but I hope you find time to see all of the lovely projects my fellow demonstrators have put together for you today.