Happy Mother's Day to One in a Million!

I have a quick one layer clean and simple card to share with you, using the Simple Stems stamp set and the gorgeous sentiment set, Million and One.  My colours are real red, costal cabana and pear pizzazz.  I didn't have a suitable leaf stamp, so I made a stencil with the wing if the bird punch and sponged through.  I finished off with a trio of rhinestones and flower centres stamped with a pencil eraser to tie in the black from the sentiment.

Hope you like it!

Stampin Allie x

New catalogue goodies!

I can't believe it's February already!  In fact, I can't believe it's 2014...I don't know where the last year went.  It was a year of massive upheaval and change for me, but an exciting one, as I am now full-time guardian to my wonderful year-old grandson Zachary.  It's taken a bit of getting used to, but I'm getting there!  I had let my dreams of a Stampin' Up business go on the back burner, but the new year has seen the ambition to work toward my own business start to burn again, so I have re-signed with Stampin' Up this week!  I'm so excited for this fresh start and I hope that people will support me in this new phase of my life.

So, this week saw the launch of the gorgeous new Stampin' Up seasonal catalogue, packed full of fresh products and ideas for Spring.  It was also the launch of this year's Sale-a-Bration promotion, which is so exciting.....a choice of free products with every £45 spent...who doesn't love FREE???  And the goodies up for grabs this year are awesome.....I'll be showcasing them over the coming days and weeks.

So, on to today's card.  We often use a different sentiment to change up a card, but I thought it would be interesting to make two cards with the same layout and sentiment, but change the images to make the card suit different occaisions.  Here's my first one:

The lovely flower image is from the Simple Stems stamp set, new in the seasonal catalogue.  I love how the fresh colours (Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush and Costal Cabana) pop against the background of Baked Brown Sugar.and the crisp clean white of the tea lace doily, banner and baker's twine.  Did you wonder where the little scallop under the sentiment came from?  It's one of the sides of the pennant from the pennant builder punch!  Just the perfect little pop of colour.  With the flowers and sentiment, I think this card works well for any occasion for a best girlfriend, or even Mum.

In this second version, all I've changed is the image, swapping the flowers for the hearts from the Language of Love stamp set, also from the seasonal catalogue, stamped in Strawberry Slush and Raspberry Ripple classic inks (mmmm, sounds like an ice cream sundae!)  And now it's a valentine card!

I hope you enjoyed my makes for today.  Look out for daily posts and a blog redesign coming soon.  If you don't have a Stampin' Up demonstrator, and are interested in any of the items I've used, or would like me to send you copies of our catalogues, please contact me...details above!  My online shop should be up and running again soon!  And if you'd like to have a go at playing with some of the goodies and making projects like those above, I can show you how! Get in touch for a chat :)

Thanks for looking, and jolly crafting!

Allie x

Julie's Jems Sale-a-Bration Blog Hop!

It's almost time for Sale-a-bration (SAB), one of the most exciting times in the Stampin' Up calendar!  During Sale-a-bration, for every £45 you order, you can choose a product from an exclusive SAB range, ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!!  What a deal!

Sale-a-bration runs from January 28 to March 31, and there is no limit to the number of free items you can snag in that time.

To celebrate the start of this fantastic annual promotion, the ladies in our team, Julie's Jems, are running a blog hop today, showcasing projects made with SAB goodies.

If you've found your way to me from my fabulous Stampin' Up Mummy Julie Kettlewell's blog, welcome!  I know she will have wowed you with her creations.  Please follow the link the the next blog in the blog hop, which should be the fantastic Sharon Glynn.  I'll add a full list at the end in case you get lost!

So here are my two Sale-a-bration makes, using a SAB exclusive sentiment stamp set called See Ya Later. (Excuse the quality of the later photos, it was very late and I couldn't get the light right!)

This is a box card I made for my grandson Zachary's first birthday...the sentiment from the See Ya Later set really captures how I feel about my special little man...."Once in a lifetime you meet someone who changes everything"  The box card was made following a fab tutorial by Monica Gale, you can find it here.  The little animals are from the Zoo Babies stamp set and I've cut them out with my paper snips.  I added some highlights of red glimmer paper for sparkle.

My second project is a simple card using another of the sentiments..I love the little alligator!  You may have noticed another little sneak peek...the papers are from a gorgeous new pack called Fresh Prints, from the new seasonal catalogue which also launches on Tuesday.  Please get in touch if you would like a copy of any of our catalogues.

Karyn Davies  http://kdcrafts.blogspot.co.uk

Debbi Taylor http://beecraftyandstamp.blogspot.co.uk/

Rebekah Cornford http://craftingbecky.blogspot.co.uk

Julie McCartney - http://crafty-angelwings.blogspot.co.uk

Amanda Bates   http://thecraftspa.blogspot.co.uk

Julie Kettlewell - http://juliesjapes.blogspot.co.uk/

Allie Jolliffe - http://jollicrafts.blogspot.co.uk/

Sharon Glynn http://shari-anne-happycrafter.blogspot.co.uk/

Angie Hutton - http://feathertassel.blogspot.co.uk/

Kate Martin     http://kraftsbykatemartin.blogspot.co.uk/

Liz Youd http://stampinandcreatin.blogspot.co.uk

Fiona Cullen - http://www.the-create-escape.blogspot.co.uk/

Caroline Lovett http://carolinescraftsandmore.blogspot.co.uk

Kylie Henshaw - http://hellostamper.blogspot.co.uk

Paper bow tutorial

A few people have asked me how I made the little paper  bow on my last card, so I thought I'd make a video tutorial....it's my first one, so be gentle with me!  I hope you find it useful.

Wild about Washi

It's been such a long time since I blogged, I wonder if anyone will read this!  If you do, I thank you for bearing with me....adapting to being a full time carer to an unexpected new baby at the age of 48, whilst coping with ME and Fibromyalgia, has been tough, but I finally think I'm getting a handle on things!  I've set up a new craft space in a tiny quiet corner of my bedroom and I'm here to share the fruits of my first bit of "me time" in ages.

I've completely fallen in love with washi tape..I'm so glad that Stampin' Up has released some this year, to match a couple of the wonderful new paper collections.  Washi is so easy to use, and inexpensive, I think it's a must-have in your craft stash.  Here I'm trying to hang on to the last gasp of Summer by using the beautifully bright Gingham Garden DSP and matching washi tape.  I've paired them with simple white cardstock, a bit of bling, and clean and simple sentiments from the Happy Day stamp set.

I've used the large oval punch to make the little paper bows, they are so easy to do and so effective.  I found a tutorial on YouTube by US demo Dee Slater, and a similar one by the fabulous Sam at www.pootles.co.uk

The colours are Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight.  I made a simple mat of Whisper White cardstock and added lines of washi tape...stamped the greeting using my Stamp-a-Majig to get perfect placement, and added the paper bow and some basic rhinestones.  I added the panel onto a plain white card base using stamping dimensionals for a clean, white on white look.

I thought they would make a cute gift set, so I'm going to spend this evening making some gift packaging for them, and that will be my first Christmas present made lol!

I hope you like my washi tape makes, and I hope to be back again soon with another project.

If you'd like to order some washi tape, or any other Stampin' Up products, you can now visit my online store and order 24/7, and have your order delivered straight to your door...how cool is that?  You can access my store via the link on the "Order Stampin' Up"  tab at the top of the page.

Until next time....Jolly crafting!

The Retirement Lists are here!!!

It's that time of year again!  In getting ready for the new annual catalogue launch in July, Stampin' Up publishes the retirement lists....lists of products that will no longer be available after 1 July.  In fact, these products are only available while stocks last, and may sell out way before then, so if there's something you can't live without, please contact me ASAP to place your order, as I'd hate for you to  be disappointed!  Some of the huge variety of stamps, inks, papers, ribbons and tools are discounted by up to 50 per cent so get browsing.

The retiring stamp sets can be found here.

And the retiring accessories list is here.

There are some fabulous bargains to be had, including designer paper packs at up to 50 per cent off, and bakers' twine for £1.88 a pack!  I'll be back over the coming days to spotlight some of the fab products that will soon be disappearing forever!

New Arrival!

Yes, we have an exciting and beautiful new arrival in our house!  Am I talking about my gorgeous new grandson Zachary...or the new Stampin' Up Spring/Summer Mini Catalogue?  All I can say is that both are exquisite and set my heart fluttering :)

Here's the new catalogue...it's jam packed with on-trend craft stash for the Spring and Summer months....check out the gorgeously  trendy honeycomb embossing folder - a snip at just £7.50 - and the hearts a flutter stamp set with matching framelits, perfect for valentine's day and beyond.  I'm loving the new flower trim and the Artisan embellishment kit, full of wonderful vintage lace, buttons, doilies and other beautiful adornments.

If you'd like to have a browse of the catalogue, click the link in the sidebar, or contact me if you'd like me to send you a paper copy.  If you'd like to place an order, I'd love to help you out...check out the "Order Stampin' Up" tab above for details.

We've been incredibly busy taking care of Zac, who was born unexpectedly on 23 January, but I should be back soon with some samples using the beautiful things from the Spring/Summer catalogue, and of course, Sale-a-bration is still in full swing, so you can earn FREE items with every £45 spent in both the main and seasonal catalogues!

How about ordering £162.50 worth of products of your choice....for just £99?  Join my team during Sale-a-bration and you can do just that!  You can run your Stampin' Up business YOUR way, whether you just want to get discounted products for you, your family and friends, or if you want to take advantage of the exciting new business and earning possibilities with Stampin' Up!  Feel free to contact me for an informal chat if you'd like to check out what being an Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator is all about.

And now, I'll leave you with a picture of our other exciting new arrival...baby Zac...born by Caesarean on 23 January, weighing 5lb 14.

Until next time, 

Jolly stamping!

Allie x