Treat pouch and Liverpool Crop

Enormous apologies!- I suppose I’ve had a blogging holiday! Life has a habit of creeping up on you!! I have been doing lots of different things and have seen some friends for a change. Steve has noticed the house going to pot a little and when Will (2) after watching me hoover said ‘well done Mummy’- I thought that maybe I needed to stay home a little more!! Last Friday I was supposed to meet 4 different people in one day!! I’m not usually this popular but it was a nice change!

These treat pouches have been popular on ILWS, I do really like origami and paper piecing. Notice the lack of stamps- with paper this good- don’t think you need them!

Here’s a video link to a fab crafter demo’ing it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP494n6WPU8

I’m still trying to book a hall and it looks like I’ve secured one in Aigburth, Liverpool. Feb 27th it is (Sat ) and from 9:30-11:30. Sorry its a bit of an early start and on a Saturday morning too BUT- I had to book something and its a decent sized hall. There will be cake (homemade!)  and there will be tea and coffee. The initial charge will be £4 which will cover the hall, snack, drink and then any extra will go into a coffer and I may well purchase some basic craft/scrap supplies so if people want to have a go at something new, they can.

I would love to get an idea of who will be there, so if you want to come along- please let me know, as it would be helpful so I know how many tables to set out. I’ll be posting a map etc nearer the time. For the moment, it will be an adult only morning. I’m really looking forward to it and absolutely anyone is welcome- be you a scrapper, digi-scrapper, card maker, knitter etc. I reckon people will naturally veer towards people who are doing the same thing and my intention is for it to be a real community social event.

Better go and wake up Will! I need another tidy round. Have a friend coming round to scrapbook tonight- so that’ll be even more mess!! But really good mess!!

Have a go at this pouch. I’ve put a Ritter Sport inside (a mini one- its really really small). They’ll make great little gifts. Hope to back much sooner.

All supplies; Stampin Up. Paper is called Kaleidoscope and has 6 designs (2 of each) for £7.65. They’re double sided too which makes them ideal for projects like this.

Button-from the  playground pack.

Hearts everywhere!

I have a new heart! Its on my wrist- an interesting pale pink shade. No, I don’t have a tatoo!- but a heart burn! Somehow I caught my wrist over the kettle and after I’d held it under running water for a while, a lovely mark appeared that looks just like a heart. My friends at school say it must be a sign!- not sure what its a sign of..probably that I’ve burned myself!!

I was having a play with some new stamps that I got free from Stampin Up! because I’d done well as a demo! (See, there are real perks to this job!! ) I love letters, typography etc. and I am going to use these letters a LOT!  The card I’ve made is secured by the tab on the left and then it opens out like so…..

Hope you get the idea!! Thanks to you for visiting. I’ve had lots more visitors recently and it really makes my day to know that people have to come for a peek! Things are going to get a lot busier for me as I’m just finalising a date and location for a Liverpool scrapbooking crop/ card makers meet. Its hopefully going to be on Sat 27th Feb and I’ll confirm everything once I’ve booked the hall properly. Its quite exciting as I’ve always fancied going to one myself but as there is so little in this city going on for crafters, I decided to organise something myself.

I had a phone call from a lovely lady (Hi Denise!!) this week who’d got my details from the Stampin’Up! website and we got chatting about crafters meeting up and she told me about how BBC Radio Merseyside were appealing for crafty people to ring in and they could maybe get them together! I’ve spoken to great people from their ‘A Team’ and they said they’d promote it once I’ve finalised everything. So…if you’re anywhere near Liverpool (or in driving distance of) I’d love it if you let me know if this was something you’d be interested in coming too. More details to follow!….

Better go, after a day ‘lost’ , feeling the aftereffects of the swine flu jab this week, my house is looking unloved and distinctly ignored. The clothes are calling me and the dishwasher is inviting me to fill it (I own such courteous appliances!!). Off for a date with the kitchen then!! xx

 

Card recipe, Cardstock, Taken with Teal, Whisper White and Rose Red. Inks in the same colours. Stamp sets, ‘Occasions’ and ‘Schoolbook Serif’ and roller wheel ‘So Swirly’.  All supplies from Stampin’Up !

 

 

 

Chocolate Mini and Craft Classes

As soon as Christmas was over (in fact well before) I saw some extremely cute looking rabbit ears. I reckon the shops do it to make us panic that we’re not ready ever before we even need to think about it. Me, I’m thinking about Valentines Day. It has a habit of just creeeeping up on you and catching you completely off-guard. So, this year I will be ready (how many times have you heard people say that!!). I decided to tackle a token pressie for a man (ok, I meant Steve precisely) but it ended up looking so cute that I’m not sure I can give it to him! He bought me a sweet little bag with an extremely expensive chocolate in for Christmas. He’s getting to know me know after 16 years and knew I’d like the bag possibly more than the chocolate. As I carefully unpeeled the shape, I eyed it and announced that it would make a perfect template. ‘I knew you’d do that’ he said! So, this is what I made from the template. I’m sure this crafting malarky is a disease,- it changes the way you look at everyday objects. I do this so much now, I reckon I annoy myself!! Notice the small stamp? Its there to provide a bit of scale. The bag is so dinky that I think even a Ferraro Rocher might have to breathe in to fit inside!!!

Just like some people used to send all the ribbon off chocolate boxes my way, if you ever receive a nice looking box, you know how to recycle it;-my way!! I’ve escaped from the madness next door. My kids were creating a mural together but it all went a bit crazy and after the arguments as to how far over each others line they were drawing, they’ve now settled for individual paper and a flurry of pencil lines. They’re still off  school today; school said we could make a decision about sending them in ourselves. Well, I didn’t fancy an icy slip down our road and another mammothly slow drive to school. I feel much safer esconced in our little house, gobbling up the remains of the cinnamon rolls which have kept surprisingly well from Wednesday!

Did any of you notice the new look? No? Never mind. See the new tab at the top of the page? Stamping Classes ! Yay! I’ve finally sorted them out. The dates and details are all there and I want them to be fun evenings where you can do a little more than I’d do at a workshop and you’ll learn plenty to boot. Fancy it? Email  or phone me, at stampinupkeren@hotmail.co.uk or 0151 2289946 or even fill in a comment with your contact details and I’ll get back to you. We’ll do one card and one 3D project and you’re bound to learn something new. They’ll be at my house initially- but I’ve got plenty of room and I look  forward to seeing you!!

Ok, announcements over! If I could operate Photoshop I’d put a copy of the template up- if you’re interested, get in touch and I’ll see if I can send you a copy the snail mail way!

Happy creating xx

Box recipe, Bashful Blue and Whisper White cardstock, Certainly Celery ribbon. Certainly Celery, Night of Navy and Bordering Blue ink.  Occasionally and Darling Dots stamp sets. All supplies except gold jump rings from Stampin Up!

 

Snow Simple

Wow, what a to-do over some white stuff! I think we’ve been quite lucky in Liverpool. A bit of disruption but mostly we’ve been able to carry on and the bonus was that schools have been closed for the last 2.5 days! We had such a great snow day yesterday. I’ve put a few photo’s on so you can see. I love the fact that the kids had so much fun all together and there were so little disputes!!

The snow has also meant I’ve been extra busy and had little time to craft. This morning I got half an hour and decided to do something really really simple. All this white has inspired me to use more white space in my crafting. So here it is;

I know it might seem like one of my kids has made it, but I stand by it. You know, sometimes simple is better. These flowers are from another of the Sale-a-bration free sets. You only have until the end of February and then they’re gone and they’re not coming back!!

So, back to the snow and here are some of the kids having the best time…

 

 

The sledges are so cool and are so big that 2 of them could fit on at once. They were brand new 3 years ago and we’ve never had enough snow since. I was tempted to have a go but couldn’t get a look in. The pavement was a great sledding path and they all came in frozen, exhausted and incredibly happy. Maybe snow days should be part of the National Curriculum!

Here’s the snowballing episode. On the right you have a lover of them. To the left, you can see what happens when a two year old gets hit in the face by one. I can understand his upset, its not the greatest experience when you’ve never met snow before and your fingers and toes are a shade of Real Red !!

We finished off the day making Cinnamon Rolls;- not just any old ones, but Pioneer  Woman ones! (check out her link on the right). One of my great friends bought me her new cook book for my birthday and I had to try something out of it. The smell eminating out of the kitchen was awesome and whilst they took quite a while, the finished result was worth waiting for. I’m not sure I’ve converted the American measures completely accurately so maybe the recipe needs practising a bit more!!!

Here’s a pic of our attempt- imagine something less ‘bready’ than the supermarkets, full of soft and gooey cinnamon sugary scrumminess. Yep, don’t eat these if you’re counting the calories, but hey, an occasional treat never hurt anyone. Have a sniff and try to imagine!!

See you soon! xx

Card recipe, Whisper white card, ‘Happy Moments’ Sale-a-bration Stamp set, Basic Back Ink, SU chalks for colouring image, Button (designer buttons, playground) and rhinestone brad. Sentiment stamp from ‘Occasionally’ set.

 

 

New House Card & Sale-a-Bration !

Happy New Year!! Hope you all had a nice evening last night. We had a really chilled night watching a great film and having a mini party. To be honest, with 5 kids, you dont really need to invite anyone to feel like you are having a party!!! Last night, I got a little time to craft. I really haven’t had time the last week as we’ve had lots of people over for meals. This year should prove to be be exciting and challenging for us as we need to find a new house and its going to be interesting finding one in the right area for the right price. With this on my mind, I decided to make a new home card, kinda with me in mind!! I used the new stamp set ‘Good Neighbours’ which is now available free.. FREE?-

 

Da Dd DAAA! Ok, its Sale-a-Bration time- and this means what exactly?..

So- you want to see what the stamps look like? Well I’ve used the ‘Good Neighbours’ set already- here’s what the rest of the set looks like..

I LOVE this set, so this one is going to pop up in my blog a fair few times. If that doesn’t inspire you, then what about the other 3…. (oh, and I REFUSE to spell it any other way than ‘neighbours’. I love America, but NOT their spellings!!!)

So you fancy getting some? Some girls I know have put orders in that means they can earn all 4 sets!!!! Well, my diary is open and ready whether you fancy having a party in  your own home or just placing an order with that Christmas money you’ve got.

I’m looking forward to a few more days of no straightjacket routine. It all officially returns on Tuesday. So until then, I’m enjoying my relative freedom!! The children are loving the time away from school and I’m still trying to devise a way of avoiding taking them back! Maybe I should start my own school where we just craft all day? Fun for me- but I’m not sure it would do my kids any favours!!

Well, the kitchen is calling! I’ve done some hours in that place over the holiday! I feel like I’m permanently attached to the dishwasher! I’m supremely grateful for three non-people things in my house. No.1 The washing machine. No.2 The dishwasher and No.3 The Tumble Dryer ! I’d be well and truly challenged without them.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to seeing more of you!!

Card recipe.

Stamps- Good Neighbours

Cardstock; Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Tempting Turqoise

Ribbon; Certainly Celery. Glitter- Cosmo (Turqoise & Celery). Embroidery threads to match & staples from my own stash.