Fun Flowers Die Bookmark - Big Shot

So, now the mini catalogue has been launched, it's time to show you what you can make with it! At my recent Stampin' Up! training we all shared our swaps so I'll be starting with those - as most of them were made using items from the new mini! This one was a lovely bookmark made by Natalie O'Shea - isn't it pretty? And so simple but effective! It is made by using the Fun Flowers shape die, running that through the Big Shot machine with some Perfect Plum card. The edges have then been inked with an inkpad. The final touches are the strip of ribbon which makes it into a bookmark, and the lovely pink button and twine to centre it off. I can imagine making these in a rainbow of colours - lovely little gift ideas! I'll be back soon with more ideas. Don't forget my 10% off all Stampin' Up! products offer lasts until midnight 7th April.

Home decor

I love canvases! Whether they are photo printed canvases, or decorated yourself, I think the boxed frames look great on the wall. As I've no time for crafting at the moment, here is one I decorated some time back. I **think**, from the deepest corners of my memory, it might have been one I made a class at ScrapCanvas (but they are no more).

Two small square canvases are held together using a hook and eye type curtain material (very useful description, I know!). I painted the base brown with cream swiped over it and then I have painted various chipboard and wood embellishements with pink paint and smeared some of the edges brown. There's a tag, bottle top, wooden number and metal word embellishment on there with some stamping and rub-ons. Even though this was quite a few years back now when I was editing a craft magazine that I made this, I still love it! It all hangs with some wide ribbon glued around the outside of the frames and tied into a knot at the top. Perfect for hanging on the wall!

Quick and easy mini canvas

A cute mini canvas (when I say mini, I mean 4" square!) was just perfect for making a quick dedication gift and I'm pleased to say it was very gratefully received! Handmade gifts are just the strangest things sometimes aren't they, some people love them, some people just don't "get" them - but thankfully, the people who received these loved them, so brownie points to us.

The mini canvas hangs on wide pale blue Stampin' Up ribbon and the canvas itself has been painted cream, with a brown spotty background stamped with another SU stamp, and then a blue decorative edge cut and then all inked in brown. I love a bit of inking! The phrase is also a SU stamp. How come the designing of things takes forever, but once made, you could easily create a second one of the same in about 30 minutes?!?

I made this dedication card to match the other gifts, and they all looked very cute together. Unfortunately the last photograph of the candle doesn't look that great - note to self, I must stop taking photographs indoors and at night! But its the only time I get.

Does anyone have any good tips for me on photographing in bad lighting inside? I'm not bad as far as photography goes, I've picked up alot of hints and have taken some really good photographs, but only outside. I haven't learnt the master tips for inside photography yet.

Another year on...

Well I haven't made it back to my craft table yet, I had too busy a weekend, but I do have other cards to share. I am looking forward to getting back to my desk as I thought I'd try making the cards that Suzanne and Lousette made during the Stampin' Up! blog event too - trying other people's styles is a great way of stretching your own.


These are some cards that I made for a 'Crafting for Christmas' publication last year or the year before, using the Blonde Moments stamps. My colour scheme was black paired with bright pink, orange and lime green, sounds horrid, doesn't it?


And although this calendar is clearly now out of date, I thought it might be good to share for an idea of what you could make someone as a handmade gift this Christmas. If you want to personalise it and add photos to make it more like a scrapbook calendar, you can of course do that. I created the date pages in a word document and printed it onto card.


I've added lots of stitching, just because I love it! And have used book rings to hold it all together, with the base folded into a triangle. I actually made the base have four sides, so that two can overlap and be stuck together.

Happy crafting!

Time to craft

Are you a traditional crafter or one for the modern collections? I like both but ultimately I am for the modern styles. The last few years I've just loved bright fuscia pink for Christmas, and through my magazine work I've been asked to use a few weird and wonderful colour combinations!

This pink card is pretty simple, a stamped image (stamped twice so that the second tree can be cut out and raised, decoupage-style), with a scalloped edge, stitching inside and pink eyelets.

This second card was part of one of those colour combinations - black, green and orange! I love this card. It's black Bazzill card torn for effect, orange thread used to create simple tree shapes and black ink around the outside with a black stamped message. Just a couple of green mini brads in the corners too.

I don't like the fact that now I'm working full time on a regular job again, I don't have time to blog anymore! And more importantly, because of that, I don't have the enthusiasm either. I like to blog and miss it, but now I don't have my days to think about crafts and taking photos as I go along of things, I just seem to forget. Since moving house a couple of years ago, I started the bases of some canvases to put on my bedroom wall. Two years later I got so fed up of looking at blank walls and not having finished them, that i finally brought myself a headboard so brought some canvases to match. Well, you can't wait forever to have the time to create, can you? I'm sure everyone has lots of half-finished projects.