Simply soft....simply stunning!

I was at our Jems team quarterly training session at the weekend, and was lucky enough to win a prize in the raffle (Jules, our SU Mummy, always does the best raffle prizes).  I won one of the new hostess stamp sets, Simply Soft.  It's a two-step stamp set with three floral images, made up of a solid outline stamp and a filler stamp, and one is stamped on top of the other.  You can line them up perfectly with a Stamp-a-ma-Jig, or you can stamp them just off centre to create a lovely effect.

We also received a goody bag of products at training (Jules does the best goody bags too!) which included the new First Edition speciality DSP and the gorgeous new vintage brads...and if you think these products look good in the catalogue, wait 'til you see them in the flesh! Oh my!  I was so inspired, I came home and created this set of thank you cards.

I've used Very Vanilla cardstock for the bases of all three cards, and rather than cover the base entirely with DSP and then add a very vanilla top note as a mat, I've been frugal and used the waste from cutting a top note from the DSP to create a frame for the image.  Before I cut the top note on the Big Shot, I trimmed my paper to the right size for the card front, and made sure it was centred on the die before I cut it, so the waste would fit perfectly on the card.  I've saved the top note die cuts for another project!

I've used accents of Rose Red on this card, and some Wild Wasabi and a blender pen to colour the stems and leaves.  Check out the sentiment with my cute new punch...nah, not really...it's a trick with the decorative label punch (thanks again, Jules).

On this shot, you can see I've decorated the inside with a simple strip of matching DSP, and a little stamping....I've "stamped off" the images (stamped first onto scrap paper and then stamped again without re-inking) to create a softer version of the image on the inside.

Here's the Baja Breeze version, this time on a landscape card.

Again, I've decorated the inside in the same way.

Check out my shabby chic bow, made from the gorgeous silky seam binding and beautiful new brads.  I'm hopeless at tying bows, but this is an easy way - Just loop the ribbon around your fingers as many times as you want, pinch it in the centre, and gather up and secure with a brad.  I'm not sure where I picked this tip up from, but I think it might be from my very talented fellow demonstrator Sarah-Jane here as I am always haunting her blog, and she does amazing things with ribbon :)

Here's the final version, with accents in Wild Wasabi.

And here's the set all together....I might make a little wallet for them, so that I can give them as a Christmas present :)  I've just thought, I might stamp a matching stationery set, with writing paper and envelopes too..I know just the person who'd love them!  I'm really pleased with how they came out, hope you like them.

The Simply Soft stamp set is only available to people who host a Stampin' Up workshop, and costs just £12 in clear mount, and £15 in wood mount.  What a bargain!  Hosting is easy...just invite some friends along to craft with you, and I'll bring everything you need to make a super free project.  If you and your friends spend over £150, you get £25 in hostess pounds to spend in the catalogue absolutely FREE!  The more sales you get, the more free stuff you get!  And if your sales reach £300, you get £50 to spend, plus one item from the catalogue at HALF PRICE!  That means you could get a Big Shot for just £43.95!

If you live too far away from me, you could hold a parcel party....I'll send you some goodies to play with, and a copy of the catalogue, and you can collect orders from your friends, and still get hostess rewards!  And if you aren't able to host a party in your own home, you could come to mine!

If you'd like to get some beautiful free stuff, drop me an email at alliejolliffe@hotmail.com.

Until next time...Jolly Stamping!

Allie xx