Stampin' Up! fabric boxes

Another idea for your new Stampin' Up! fabric today.

These little boxes are super easy to make and are great gifts (so if you're expecting a present off me this Christmas look away now!).

Basically, you cut two hexagons of fabric, sandwich a hexagon of pelmet Vilene in the middle, fold up the corners, et voila!





Heres a Timeless Portrait one. It works great as a little sewing basket on my desk.





And this is the Candy Cane Christmas fabric. A few of these on the coffee table filled with choccies will be just right!

I may sort out a tutorial for these soon!

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Diamond wedding anniversary card

Yes, you read that right, my nanna and grandad have been married for 60 years! Amazing!

They had a big party with all their friends and family last night, so I'm back in Cheshire for a few days to join in the fun.

Here is the card I made them ...



I just had to use the retired Springtime Vintage DSP as the rose is so pretty. I also made the most of my new Scallop Square Die and the Big Shot, with the Timeless Type Alphabet Dies for the numbers.

I'm pleased with the postage stamp look.



Who would have thought a bit of decoupage could look so classy?! (I've become obsessed with Create and Craft TV recently, so usually see some hideous layering effects!).



And a little decoration inside too.

It's great to be back with my family - curry with my dad today and shopping with mum tomorrow!

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Beau Chateau accessories

The Beau Chateau Stampin' Up! fabric is my favourite. Ok, ok; one of my favourites.

It's all vintage and shabby and chic and cute and I've made several things with it already. For our team training I went all out with the accessories.

Firstly - I glammed up a pinny!



I made the basic pinny at the Knitting & Stitching Show last year, but never got round to finishing it off. Eleven months on, it is now all stitched and being worn with pride!



On the pocket I did some Big Shot flowers and a scrunched up strip to make a flower.





And some more Big Shot Fun Flowers. I edged it with the Victoria Crochet Trim and some netting.



Mummy Julie took this pic of me.



I also rustled up this bow which I stitched on to a hair clip. I made my own fabric button with cover buttons.



Here it is in situ (thanks again to Julie for taking the pic).



And finally, a brooch using the Fun Flowers die on the Big Shot.



I made two flowers of each size and added in some Seam Binding Ribbon, Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon and Victoria Crochet Trim.



Next on my to-do list with this fabric is a necklace.

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Japanese folded fabric Christmas tree tutorial

If you would like to make your very own Japanese folded fabric Christmas tree decoration I have put together a tutorial with all the instructions.

You can find it here ... Japanese folded fabric Christmas tree tutorial and there is also a permanent link in the menu bar over there >>>

Please come back and let me know how you get on! And if you have any problems just get in touch.

Happy crafting!

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Sail away

Ahoy! Avast! Land ho! etc etc

Today I have a sail boat card that I made at our team training.



I just love this - such a cute scene. It makes me want to float out to sea, although those waves do look a bit choppy!



We had a bit of punch art here - the best bit is the half scallop circles used as masks for the clouds, then daub on blue ink around to colour in the sky.

This is a great way to use the Petite Pennants Punch and Pennant Parade stamp set - they are so versatile.

So, who's going to singing that Enya song all day now?!

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Stampin' Up! training with Julie's Jems - Fabric Christmas tree

Yesterday it was my SU mummy's all-day training session, so I spent a fantastic few hours getting my craft on with some great friends.

Julie had asked me to do a section using the new Stampin' Up! fabric so I got to share my love of sewing and show some projects that I have been making recently.

The one that got the most "oooohs" and "ahhhs" was this fabric Christmas tree made using a Japanese folded patchwork technique.



I was shown how to make this by some of my good friends at the WI, and I knew the Deck The Halls fabric would be just perfect.



It's nowhere near as complex to make as it looks - it boils down to ten fabric triangles folded like origami then stitched together.



Finish with some buttons, a pot and a loop of ribbon and it's ready to hang on the wall!



By popular demand, I will be putting together a tutorial on how to make this in the next few days, so watch this space!

Finally, here is the yummy cupcake I had after our lunch!

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100 quilted hexagons

I have now made 100 of the quilted hexagons Japanese folded patchwork style.



It doesn't look that many, but they are piled up a bit as I just threw them out of the bag!

The latest calculation suggests I will need 250 to 300 altogether, so about a third of the way through now! I've not properly figured out how wide and long it needs to be, so the total may keep changing!

Here are some of my favourites so far ...



These use some of the new Stampin' Up! fabric.



Some bright colours.



I particularly like this birdie.



And some with flowers.

I think it's time to start sewing them together. I might have the quilt finished by next Christmas!

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Cuptown Girl

That was the name of our October workshop at Buns & Roses WI as we were painting teacups and saucers!

We had the lovely Suzanne from Potterdoodle come along to show us how it's done, and she had all sorts of goodies for us to play with.

I stuck with the simple paints and paintbrush, as my artistic talents are non-existant, but there were also stamps and stencils to inspire.

Here's my cup ...



I went with patchwork hexagons on the saucer.

The colours look rather pale, but once it is glazed and fired they will be all bright and shiny.

I'll have a photo of the finished thing next week when we get them back.

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Cake please!

Nom nom nom. Cake is gooood. Although being a member of the WI hasn't improved my baking skills, I do get more chances to practice my eating skills!

On Saturday, Buns & Roses WI were at the Morley Literature Festival. We were asked to provide cakes and serve tea and bring some of our wares to sell.

Being the master baker, Hayley was charged with creating 70 cupcakes, but she had to use my kitchen as hers is non-existant at the moment!

I also helped by choosing the sprinkles. And licking the bowls.

There were four creations - a chocolate brownie and vanilla cakes with different icings - chocolate, orange and vanilla.

I did the dipping into sprinkles as well. Then I ate the leftovers.

Actually, I did my fair share overall! I made the labels too.









I knew this stamp set would be perfect for something, which is why I've kept it despite the fact it retired at the beginning of this month. It is called On A Pedestal.

I'm still mostly busy with fabric at the moment, but I also have a cold so feeling a bit sorry for myself.

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Changes to Stampin' Up! hostess benefits

With the launch of the 2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue, there have been some changes to the benefits that workshop hostesses can earn.

Now, depending on the total value of the products ordered at your workshop, you will earn a certain amount of hostess pounds to spend.



These can be spent anywhere in the catalogue, including the new hostess-only section.

This area has many new stamp sets and a pack of DSP that can only be bought by hostesses. Best of all, they are available at below retail value. So you get more for your money!

Take a look at the 2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue for full details, then get in touch to book your workshop.

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Become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in October and get FREE goodies

Becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is a great way to explore your creativity, make new friends and earn some extra cash.

If you join my team, Gem's Gems, in October, SU will give you a FREE In Colour kit on top of the amazing value of the Starter Kit.

When you sign up this month, you will not only get more than £250 worth of products for just £119, you also get the card stock and classic ink pads in the 2011-2013 In Colours.

This means five extra ink pads and a pack of assorted A4 card in the beautiful new colours - Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder and Island Indigo.

It's worth £27.95, so sign up now to take advantage!

If you want to find out more about being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator just get in touch, or go here:
In Colour promotion.

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New Stampin' Up! catalogue out now

Hurrah! It's October 1st and that means the brand new Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue is released.



There are so many exciting new products that it's difficult to know where to start. You can see everything in its full glory on the website Stampin' Up catalogue.

You already know that one of my favourite new things is the beautiful fabric, so you can expect many more projects using that, but first, a card.



This is the gorgeous Everything Eleanor stamp set which is so versatile with lots of different elements. Definitely a must-have.



The flower is cut out, which is not too fiddly, and decorated with pearls. I also used the new Crumb Cake Taffeta Ribbon, another of my favourite new items.

Once you have decided what to order first, give me a shout and I'll get your new Stampin' Up! products to you ASAP.

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