Oyster catchers

One of my favourite places on this gorgeous planet is Anglesey (long before the Cambridges discovered it!), and one of my favourite places on the island is The Oystercatcher. Great restaurant with a great philosophy and also deliciously tasty local food. But enough about that, I also love the actual oystercatcher birds who visit Anglesey, with their busybody ways and constant chattering. So when I saw the Wetlands stamps (see below for link) they were ordered straight away...

I made my two sisters oystercatcher cards and one of them was even kind enough to frame it!  Here are some photos:

It was a simple watercoloured backgrounds using inks, and stamped in black ink but to be honest I kind of love it! Hope you like it too :-)

Helen x

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Stampin' Up! Retiring List

The 2014/2015 Stampin' Up! catalogue is about to come to an end so they have announced all the products that will not carry over into the 2015/2016 catalogue.  Lots of scrummy bargains to be had, and many at 50% off!  What's not to like?!

Retiring Stamps

Retiring Accessories (ribbons, papers, inks, dies, embellishments etc)

There were loads of technical difficulties with the website yesterday, but it is up and running today. And the products are definitely first-come-first-served so if you see something you like get it whilst you can.

I'll be sad to see some of the products go, especially some of the colours I love, but I guess it means we get lots of exciting new things to play with when the new catalogue comes out in June. Links to the two retiring lists are above.

Back soon with some new cards and boxes to show you.

Helen xx

Competition time!

Just spotted a great competition  on Papercraft Inspirations to win some Stampin' Up! goodies. Worth a shot :-)

http://www.papercraftinspirationsmagazine.co.uk/category/competition/competitions-issue-138.htm

Helen x

Easter goodies

I've recently been helping out with my church old people's group, and once in a while I get to teach them a crafty project. When designing a project I have to simplify it, have a think and simplify it again, and simplify it one more time! Here's the Easter project we worked on:

Inside are some little chocolate eggs and a chick :-)

Whilst I used a retired Stampin up die to make the boxes it would be easy enough to make a box yourself and make the top fancy with some decorative scissors. The fringe scissors make the grass super easy to make (and you can also use them for shredding confidential stuff)!

The best part about it was seeing the ladies and gentlemen clutching their little boxes on their way out as though they had made the Mona Lisa! So many were saying they'd not made anything since being a child, or they never thought they could make something so pretty. The satisfaction of seeing someone delight in their creation is fantastic!

I'm considering doing workshops in the future so watch this space!

A beautiful tree card is coming up next.

Helen x

P.S. Some fabulous deals in the weekly deals section of Stampin Up today, including the envelope punch board I've been hoping to get my hands on for some time :-). So expect a few projects using that coming up!

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A little kindness goes a long way

So a rotten weekend in bed with migraine, bit managed to get a little bit of playtime! One of the Stampin Up sets I've wanted to play with for sometime is "Kinda Eclectic" as it has so many useful elements, many which can be used for cards for men or women.

I used crumb cake and very vanilla card and soft suede and black ink. I was really pleased how it out came out in the end. I stamped the inside and envelope to match. The sentiment inside is from the sale-a-bration set Simply Wonderful. Links to all the products I've used below the post.

It's got my stamping mojo racing! This card is going to my lovely friends who rescued me from work when I got the migraine and drove me home. I count myself blessed to have such kind friends!

Helen x

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Sale-A-Bration

Just over a week left to get your free Sale-a-bration items! Make an order over £45 and get a free item from stamps, papers, twine, embossing folders, vellum etc. Don't miss out if you know there are things you want to order! Click the Stampin Up logo to go to my shop, or browse one of the catalogues on the sidebar.

Coming up later (when I've taken some pics!) a card using the Kinda Eclectic stamp set, and an Easter goodie box.

Bye for now!

Helen x

Lotus Blossom Thinking of You Card

Today I'm going to show the card I made for a very lovely friend who lost her mum last year and this was going to be the first Mother's Day without her.  I just wanted her to know she wasn't forgotten. I'd seen lots of pictures of the Stampin' Up! Lotus Blossom stamps which come free with orders over £45 this month as part of their Sale-A-Bration and knew I'd like the stamps but I now really, really like them. So here is the card:

It is a very simple white on white card to show off the simplicity and beauty of the image.  With this set you get three stamps that layer up to get the depth to the image and I really enjoyed using it. It's a really useful stamp set with some nice sentiment stamps too.  I'm sure I'm going to be using it lots.  It's worth thinking if you need any products from the current catalogues to get it free with orders over £45. I love a good bargain!

Hope you like the card too!

Helen x

Products used:

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