Christmas Curly Wreath

this one is the larger ring with Jolly Holiday papers

its a lovely christmassy red and green combo, off to make another couple today and hopefully feel inspired to start my christmas cards

Curly Christmas Wreath

this wreath is a smaller inner ring and made by curling strips of Stampin up designer paper - First Edition

it looks like book print/old newspaper type and really effective- curling book pages or reals newsprint wouldn't work as the paper isn't strong enough to curl

finished off with striped grosgrain ribbon

Timeless Portrait Paper Wreath

a paper wreath made with SU designer paper - timeless portrait- fab for christmas or brightening your home once your decorations have been taken down in January

i have class dates booked- please contact me for details if you fancy learning how to make your own

christmas decorations

 2 versions of gift box using the petal cone die, Old Olive and Cherry cobbler above and Black with Cheery cobbler and Very Vanilla below

 Good old Dazzling Diamonds glitter on a polystyrene ball, with real red ribbon

step card- tutorial

 Some of the ladies at Ellon craft group were asking the measurments for this card

so.... here goes, it looks complicated when you see the numbers but once you've made one its not so bad

there are 2 ways to do this score then cut or cut then score - i prefer to cut using my square quilting ruler and craft knife but if you score first then its easy enough just to use a steel ruler and knife-or your trimmer

 cut a piece of A4 in half lengthways (so you have a long piece 10.5cm wide, then trim it down to 28cm long. 

*cut 2.5cm in from each side from 11.5cm to 25.5cm (or wait til you have scored the lines then cut)


score at 11.5cm - but only the first and last 2.5cm (so you have a gap in the middle with no score line)
score at 14cm - but just the middle section (not the 2.5cm at either side)
score at 23cm - only the first and last 2.5cm (not the middle bit)
score at 25.5cm- again just the 2.5cm at each side

make mountian folds at 11.5 and 14cm score lines, valley folds at 23cm and mountian folds at 25.5cm - so you have a step at the bottom and a staggered fold at the top

 the front mats are 5.2cm x 11.2cm and 4.8cm x 10.8cm and the side panels 2.2x10.8cm (but on the christmas sample i used the new lace boarder punch so didn't cut side panels

once someone tries this let me know if it works for you- i took a couple of attempts to get this to work without fold lines at 1/8th of inches ect

Pink Christmas

Crumb Cake and Pretty in Pink

I used the Candy Wrapper Die for the little cracker and the Reindeer stamp is called Dasher

pennant parade

 my usual clean and simple style - i really don't think this card needs anything else.Colours are Wild Wasabi, Baja Breeze, Daffodil delight and Pretty in pink

and my new scarf - i've found these darker nights have made me dig out my wool again

more class projects

 gift box

 the bird and branch are glittered but its not showing up on the photo

middle step card- i had an idea for this card, and did the measuring for the steps but Fiona created it

Class Sneaky Peak

Heres a christmas card made with Pennant Parade - one of the fab new sets in the stampin up catalogue - this is one of the cards being taught in Huntly this weekend, and Alford on the 26th October (contact me for more details) i have other venues in the pipeline but no-ones ever in a hurry to call back!!  so if you fancy learning to make some christmas cards (or scrapbooks, or decorations then please get in contact and we can get your name down for a class somewhere in Aberdeenshire - or even at my kitchen table!)

new product blog hop

Hi, if your taking part in the blog hop you should have come from Valery here http://stampingwithval.wordpress.com/
if your just visiting me then please join in the hop by following the circle of SU demos all showcasing the newest products

I was honored to be asked to show the new fabric at Regional training in Edinburgh a few weeks ago (and sworn to secrecy so i wouldn't spoil the surprise for everyone) i was given Candy Cane Christmas fabric to create projects with

i made lots of things with just 1 pack of the fabric

 this is a small quilted gift bag- it is very cute- and i have to say i love it-its not being given away

 bunting- now adorning my kitchen shelf (this fabric is not overly christmassy

a simpler bag (without quilting) these can be made in 10-15 minutes if you have a sewing machine)

 twisted fabric flowers-no sewing involved!!

 gathered flowers with a seam binding centre

 i will add details of how to make the bags later in the week


now please hop over to Sarah at http://www.stampinsarahiow.blogspot.com

vintage cards

i had a little play last night, i like both these versions but i think i like the green butterfly better than the 3 wee ones - but i love the stamped swirl in the bottom card so i'll have to add that as this card will be part of class i'm teaching - i'm sure it will be tweeked again before i'm happy with it!!

Wednesday again

kids are back to school so normality will shortly follow. i've been to Simply Creates back to school sale twice this week so far, i bought some paper, lots of wooden frames to jazz up and fabric

 i think this first batch of fabric will be bags and part of a quilt

but this is todays project (as soon as i do some dreaded housework!!) this is a cheap fleese blanket from ikea for cushion covers and the fabric was from the sale today- so i'm going to make a start on these later- but i'm making myself do the ironing and wash/hoover my floors before i get to play

check out what everyones work desk looks like today here - http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/

whats on your workdesk - wednesday 10th

http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/
its work desk wednesday again!!

i've got quite a few scrapbooking projects on the go- i take them out, do a bit then they get put away again- so i'm trying to finish them off today, i have a mini-book and a couple of lay-outs to do. i also have a canvas that needs a topcoat of pva, i'm thinking about adding a few beads to it aswell but i'm not sure - here it is

what do you think? i love it so far but i'm worried i'll spoil it if i start adding more to it, ideas welcome!!

Fancy Wool

i went to the wool stall at Keith Show as i wanted can can wool for making cosy cushion covers (i knitted scarves last Christmas with it and it was so soft the kids loved it but its too girly looking for them to wear- so i figured cushion covers would do) but i came home with this instead - so I've started another scarf

I've a pile of projects to try and finish over the summer- and i really must make a start!!! its almost gone (and yes its debatable whether it ever started)

make and take thankyou card

Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla - so simple but elegant
everyone made such a good job of their cards last night and we had some non-stampers there and they did fab aswell

demos for tonight

 i had a good old play yesterday with the mess that was on my desk. i used heat and stick and dazzling diamonds on the most forward heart- although you don't notice the sparkle in the photo

and this is a nice simple card with a stamp i normally colour in- but i wanted to try and use it a different way - so many possibilities!!

WOYWW

i love looking at everyones desks, i think its a fab way of seeing what everyone is thinking about (and i've noticed a few christmas projects lurking about)
http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/

this is my first woyw wednesday so here goes

i've got a workshop and a class this week so my job today is to prep for them-but i got sidetracked with embossing powders(as you do) i have a few wooden things and canvas's painted and waiting to be stamped- good thing about this weather is paint drys quickly as its warm but its too wet to do outdoor jobs so i get to stay inside and play!!
and its not really a desk- its half my dining table- the other half isn't nearly as neat!!!



heres a couple of my practice runs of the Jacobs Coat technique, i experimented with a ink dauber, brayer and inking straight from the pad to see what effects i got

August freebies

Class in Alford

quilted bag

i've had this really quirky cute fabric for ages and it's been earmarked for a bag- but i could never get the perfect pattern. so since i had my machine out for other jobs i decided to bite the bullet and make my own design- i've seen very small bags online but nothing the size i wanted(i like a big bag i can get all my junk into)

i'm pleased with how it's turned out- it will be better once it's washed as the quilting will show up

ribbon rose

Wedding card commision i made- loved the subtle colours

cheap canvas from poundland, bit of stamping and sponging. i used just believe and vintage vogue (2 of my all time favorite sets) and i made a ribbon rose using the heating tecnique- i love watching it curl up in the heat

close up of ribbon rose- i wrapped ruffled up seam binding round the edge to fluff it up a bit

button canvas

i spotted a button canvas on etsy and decided to make my own, the lady used a plain white canvas but it was too white against my cream walls so i have stamped using the en francais stamp in Baja Breeze and i daubed shimmer paint around before adding the buttons(subtles). i have a pile of canvases in the cupboard so i'll be ordering more buttons

Class photos

Here are 2 of the projects from todays class, we added a greeting of choice into the frame using the basic phrases set, its such a good size for fitting into samll areas such as the frames

There was 16 ladies, i had 2 cancel at the last minute. we raised £50 for a local Cancer charity. thankyou to Fiona Cooper and Julie Archibald for donating prizes to add to the 4 prizes of stamps i put in.

class sold out!

Saturdays class id full now- it should be a busy but fun day. i had to share this photo- its my boys with a giant bird eating spider skin- it was huge!!!! we had a steady stream of kids knocking on the door when word got out we had a big creapy crawley - and i just had to scare the pants off them all with it

heres a sneaky look at our teachers presents- its a post-it note holder. very quick to make with a piece of a5 card - score in 9.5cm from each side to make a lid that flaps open. the post-its are 40p from tesco. cheap and cheerful!!