Lovely as a Tree

Hi Everyone, hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, sorry for being awol, I had so much to do over the past few weeks I decided to give myself a blogging break.  Anyway I had a fantastic Christmas and I'm ready to get back to the crafting, even my 5 year old thinks its about time I got back to it as he told me this morning that we should make cards again lol. These are two cards I made for Christmas but just didn't get them uploaded, they are both using one of the stamps from the 'Lovely as a Tree' set. The first card has just been stamped with Chocolate Chip ink onto Close to Cocoa cardstock, the second was more time consuming as I made a wreath style background using one of the smaller stamps from the set and brayered some card and stamped over the top, love this effect.

I am definately starting my Christmas cards early next year, talk about getting caught out! I was still making them on the 23rd lol. Well I have a beautiful new set to show you that arrived this morning and I can't wait to get to play with it so watch this space!

Trendy Tree's

This is one of my new stamp sets from Stampin' Up called Trendy Tree's aren't they gorgeous? Have to say I love all the tree stamp sets that are in the catalogue at the moment, I also bought the very popular 'Lovely as a tree' set so I will be showing some of my projects using these later. I decided to use just two colours on these cards, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip, two of my favorite colours from my favorite colour family, earth elements. The designer paper used on the first card is from the Merry Moments set and I have used two punches on these cards, Word Window Punch on the first and Eyelet Border punch on the second. I am entering these cards into the Spoonful of Sugar Challenge the theme being Monochrome.

Season of Joy Candle Set

This post is very short but sweet.

I told you that my candles were going well, so here is another set I had an order for. For this set I've used the Season of Joy stamp set, real red ribbon, red gingham ribbon and

silver brads. I still have more candles to make so you'll be sick of looking at them by the end of December lol. I am entering this set into the 'Our Creative Corner' Challenge, the theme is 'The holidays are here!', the Charisma Cardz challenge the theme is Red , Green and White and the Cupcake Craft Challenge the theme is Sing a Christmas Carol. ( Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree....)

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Hi Peeps, Its been a while but its not that I haven't been crafting, just not computing, my computer is so slow at the minute, don't know why, maybe it just needs a little holiday lol. Anyway, here are a few projects I've been making the last few weeks using the cute little Sparkly and Bright stamp set. These were all orders for other people, I've had so many orders lately that I don't have one card made for myself! Can't complain though as the money is handy at this time of year. If you've never tried stamping onto candles you really have to give it a try, matching your candles to cards and tags is a wonderful gift for someone. (There are tutorials on how to do this on you tube) Oh have you noticed my new Eyelet Border Punch? I love how it creates a beautiful lacy edge to my cardstock. I'm just noticing how many punches I've used on these projects, Eyelet Border Punch on my card, Scallop Border Punch on my tag bag topper, the tag punch, small tag punch, Scallop Circle Punch and the 1 3/4 Circle Punch on my tags! lol. And don't forget you can get the tag punch or the small tag punch for free with a qualifying order from the Gift Giving Guide, check it out here. I am entering these projects into the following challenges:

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge ~ Matching Set

Crafty Calender ~ Winter Sparkle

By the Cute and Girly~ Lets go to the movies.

You can order your Stampin'Up products through me and get them delivered straight to your door.

Contact me at donnaferguson55@yahoo.co.uk

Christmas Boxes

Its been a while from my last post, I've just been so busy with one thing and another but I know I'm not on my own there as the town is just chocka block with people but hey!..isn't the internet great? I've managed to get the most important things online and the delivery has been so quick too. Anyway here are a few chocolate boxes I've been making, cute eh?  Filled with some Lindt chocolates, good thing I don't like these, thought it was safer buying chocolates that I don't like after what happened when I made my chocolate tree decorations lol. I've made the boxes using Real Red cardstock and Merry Moments Designer paper. The sentiment is from the Seasonal Wishes stamp set and finished by a lovely Real Red Ribbon. Thought these would be lovely for teachers helpers etc. Right off to make more Christmas cards my batch is getting very low now as they have been selling like hot cakes, only trouble is that I've none left for myself but can't complain as I've a nice little wad of money lol.

Christmas Bauble Cards

Hi, hope your all having a lovely weekend, its very cold and foggy here, nice when your in the house looking out at it though. I made these little bauble cards the other day so I thought I'd share them with you. I have used the 1 3/8 circle punch for these projects. The first card I made was a simple circle embossed, some elastic cord attached to the back with a dimentional and a little piece of ribbon tied into a bow. The second card is a little 3d bauble, I have used 5 circles, fold them in half and stick each these together with some tombow glue, then attach some elastic cord to the back as before and a little bow, they fold easily to put in an envelope and then pop up again. The papers I have used are from the Merry Moments designer paper range.  I am entering these cards into this weeks Papertake Weekly Challenge.

Products used:

Stamp Set~ Sentiment/Seasonal Wishes. Snowflake/ Seasons of Joy

Designer Paper~ Merry Moments

Ink~ Basic Black and Real Red

Ribbon~ Real Red and Chocolate Chip

Cardstock~ Real Red and Chocolate Chip

You can order all your Stampin'Up products through me and get them delivered straight to your door. Contact me @ donnaferguson55@yahoo.co.uk

Merry Moments

Hi all, I'm still busy with my Christmas cards as you can see and I'm loving the Merry Moments designer papers. There is nothing too exciting about these cards, very basic but when you have so many to make its best to just keep them simple. I've used the Season of Joy stamp set again but I've just received my new Sparkly and Bright stamp set through the post and can't wait to play with it, I've so many idea's for this one but it will have to wait until tomorrow as I'm sitting here with hair dye on my head and if I don't wash it off soon it'll be Only Orange instead of Auburn lol. I will be back with some more of my Christmas makes shortly, I've been so busy making things I haven't left myself time to upload them too my blog. Hope your having as much fun with your Christmas crafting as I am.

Products Used:

Stamp Set~ Seasons of Joy

Designer Paper~ Merry Moments

Cardstock~ Real Red, Chocolate Chip

Ribbon~ Real Red, Old Olive

Ink~ Chocolate Chip, Real Red

Stamp With Us Challenge Card

Oops I didn't put that watermark in a very good place did I? lol. Wow two posts in one day, not bad for me. I have made this card for the Stamp With Us Challenge, they had a recipe this week of

3 Brads

2 Designer Papers

1 Stamp

So out came the little snowflake stamp again. (actually it was still sitting on the table from my last project) The designer paper is from the Merry Moments set, infact its one piece of designer paper showing both sides but think that counts. 

Products used on this card:

Stamp Set~ Seasons of Joy

Cardstock~ Real Red and Chocolate Chip

Designer Paper~ Merry Moments

Ribbon~ Chocolate Chip

Punches~ Scallop Circle, 1 1/4 Circle, 1 3/8 Circle

Christmas Goodies

Hi Crafters, Sorry its been a while from I posted but I've been making projects in bulk for Christmas and for a craft fair I have coming up, here are just a few of the things I have been working on. This set is using my favorite SU colours for Christmas, Real Red and Old Olive and the little snowflake stamp from the 'Seasons of Joy' stamp set.

Inside the little altered box I have put some Christmas Chocolate Decorations, aren't they cute? The chocolates are Elizabeth Shaw and out of one pack you should be able to make about 40 decorations, I'm getting about 10 lol, I can't even blame it on the kids! But they are so yummy!

Like I said the little snowflake stamp is from the 'Seasons of Joy' stamp set and the sentiment I have used is from the 'Seasonal Wishes' set. The gorgeous designer paper is from the 'Merry Moments' pack which I have matted onto Real Red cardstock and tied a lovely Real Red Ribbon around.

These little decorations are so simple to make, all you need to do is stamp your image onto some Old Olive cardstock, punch out with 1 1/4 inch punch, layer onto Real Red cardstock using the 1 3/8 punch, then layer onto Old Olive punched with the Scallop Punch. Make two of these, add glue dots to the inside of both, place your Gold Elastic Cord on top, then stick to both sides of your chocolate, if you haven't already ate it!

And this is the top of my altered box, again using the 'Merry Moments' designer paper, Real red Ribbon and Card stock, sentiment from 'Seasonal Wishes'.

I am entering these projects into the following challenge

Colour Create Challenge~ Green, Red and White.

You can place your Stampin'Up order through me and get it delivered straight to your door. E mail me for more information donnaferguson55@yahoo.co.uk

Chocolate Milk

Hi Peeps, Sorry about this terrible photo its so dark here its difficult to get a decent one, I think I might have to invest in a light box. I've made this little milk carton using my Season's of Joy stamp set, I'm getting so much out of this set, so far I've made cards, boxes, candles and gift voucher holders and I'm still not bored with it. I thought I'd try out a colour combo I've not used before but I really like it, its Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel and Not Quite Navy, I will be filling these little cartons with some Chocolate Caramel Sweets so they go with the theme lol. I'm entering this project into the Crafty Calender Challenge, the theme is Weather and I think the snowflakes and swirls on this carton fits perfectly.

Products Used On This Project:

Stamp Set~ Seasons Of Joy

Cardstock~ Creamy Caramel and Not Quite Navy

Ink~ Chocolate Chip

Ribbon~ Chocolate Chip

Punches~ Scalloped Oval and Large Oval

You can order all your Stampin' Up products through me and get them delivered straight to your door.

donnaferguson55@yahoo.co.uk

Candles In A Bag

Hi there, Just a quick post as I'm absolutely exhausted, I can hardly keep my eyes focussed on the screen at the moment, usually I get a bit of a lie in at the weekends but one of my daughter has a winter event on at horse's which means early starts on Saturday and Sunday for 5 weeks, its catching up with me now. Anyway, I made these little candles yesterday, I thought they would make lovely teachers gifts for Christmas and they are so easy to make. There are many you tube video and tutorials on how to make them but basically you stamp your image on some tissues/ tissue paper, cut around the image, place it on the candle, wrap some greaseproof/ wax paper around the candle tightly, heat the image with a heat gun and repeat the process if your using more than one image. You can also embellish your candle like I have by pushing brads into the centre of the flowers. I then popped the candle into a cellophane bag, added a little tag and tied with ribbon. Now you can make candles to match your cards!
I am entering these candles into the Cute and Girly Challenge which is 'Winter Wonderland'

All Products Used are Stampin'Up:

 Stamp Set~ Seasons of Joy

Ink~ Real Red and Old Olive

Ribbon~ Real Red and Old Olive

Cardstock~ Real Red and Old Olive

Punches~ Tag Punch and Small Tag Punch

Medium Cellophane bags

Silver and Real Red Brads

E Mail me if you would like to place an order or would like more Information on Stampin'Up

donnaferguson55@yahoo.co.uk

Handmade Christmas Tree Decorations

Hi there, I thought I'd share some pictures of little decorations I have been making recently. I just love handmade decorations and these are easy enough so the kids/grandchildren can join in too. I remember when I was young...younger lol I would sit and make snowflake and chain decorations, this is just one of the lovely childhood memories I have of Christmas and one I pass onto my children. Every Christmas when we unpack the decorations and come across our handmade ones we remember who made it, what age they were and how proud they were when they handed us their decoration, well thats what Christmas is about isn't it? That doesn't happen when you pop on the one's you bought at Tesco lol.  Picture the scene....sitting around the table with the children...Christmas music in the background...table covered with crafty bits and the smell of cinammon in the air (always have our Christmas candles burning) These are the things money just can't buy eh? Ok, back to the decorations, I've seen these on loads of peoples blogs but I was lucky enough to win a place on the 'Stamp With Us' winter online class  and these were just part of one of the projects that Monica Gale shared with us, I think Monica might have the tutorial on her blog you should really check it out, Monica's blog is fantastic! As you can see these have been made using some of the Stampin' Up punches and Stampin' Up designer paper in Always Artichoke but I can't wait to try out the new speciality paper which is foiled, I plan on making my Christmas Crackers with these too.

Black, White and Red

Hi everybody, here is a little card I made last night using the 'Season of Joy' stamp set. I have just stamped the little tree using basic black ink onto Whisper White card which has been layered onto Whisper White card again. I've then added 4 red brads from the Bold Bright Brad Set (try saying that 3 times lol) and mounted this onto some Basic Black cardstock which I randomly stamped with a little snowflake (also Season of Joy set) using the new Whisper White Ink (Love this!) I finished by tying some Real Red Ribbon and a sentiment stamped on Real Red cardstock. These cards are simple enough to make in bulk but will still stand out from all the other cards on the mantlepiece. I am entering this card into the Stamp With Us Challenge the theme this week is Christmas.

10% off Starter Kit

In conjunction with Stampin' Ups participation at the HobbyCraft Show, they are offering new demonstrators 10% off their Starter Kit, thats over £240 worth of stamping and business supplies for £125. This offer only lasts until the 13th November, so if you have been thinking of becoming a demonstrator or would like information on joining Stampin Up then don't hesitate to contact me. I am a Stampin Up demonstrator in N.Ireland and would love to expand my team and why wouldn't you want to join? Just look at all the benefits of becoming a demonstrator here whether you wish to make a career of stampin up or to simply get discount on your Stampin Supplies now is the time to join. Remember, you can also personalise your kit and choose the stamp sets you love. Check out the Starter Kit here.

You can contact me at donnaferguson55@yahoo.co.uk

Earn A Free Punch!

From 1st November - 29 December 2009 you can earn yourself a Free tag or small tag valued at £12.50 with a purchase of £45 from the gift giving guide and the good news is that you are not limited to one punch, for every £45 you spend from the guide you will recieve a new punch! Just think of the lovely personalised tags you could be making for all your gifts.

You can place an order with me and get it delivered straight to your door, just e mail me at donnaferguson55@yahoo.co.uk

Season of Joy

Can you tell that I love this little 'Season of Joy' stamp set? lol. I have been meaning to get these cards posted all week but for some reason or other the week just  went Monday, Thursday, Saturday, strange eh? Anyway, I really enjoyed making these cards as I managed them all in one night lol, thats good for me! I have used Just two colours, Real Red and Old Olive and all I did was change the design around a little each time. Its nice to sit with one stamp set, two colours and cardstock, no getting up to hunt for other items to use and hardly any mojo used up at all, so relaxing. Think I'll do this again sometime soon.

Products used on these cards:

Stamp Set~ Season Of Joy

Cardstock~ Old Olive, Real Red and Whisper White

Ink~ Real Red and Old Olive

Ribbon~ Old Olive and Real Red

Punches~ Scallop Oval and Large Scallop Oval

Uni Ball Signo Gel Pen

Would you like to see the new catalogue?

I don't know about you but I was itching to see the new Idea's Book and Catalogue and I wasn't disapointed when I eventually did. I was just hoping that they would introduce the window punch....................AND THEY DID! Yay!

The catalogue is packed with gorgeous goodies, beautiful new stamps, punches and some fabulous new tools, you just have to check it out!

You can do this by making yourself a cuppa, pulling up a chair and clicking on the catalogue on my sidebar or you can hold a workshop and get your own catalogue for free and in return you will also get your new hostess gift, free goodies with your commision and a fun night of crafting or you can request a catalogue from me, click on the paypal sign at the top of my blog and your catalogue will be posted out to you.

Autumn Inspiration

Hi there, this is a card I made for my other blog as part of the One Stop Craft Challenge design team but as it is using all SU products it has a place on this blog too. I have used a hostess stamp set from the old catalogue called ' A little bit of happiness' and I have stamped it with Old Olive ink. The card is pretty simple but aren't the colours just gorgeous!

If you have any questions or requests about Stampin'Up and the products please don't hesitate to e mail me. x

Items Used On This Card:

Stamp Set~ A little bit of happiness

Cardstock~ Old Olive, Ruby Red and More Mustard

Ribbon~ Old Olive

Ink~ Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Real Red.

Embellishments~ Vintage Brads

Punches~ Round Tab

Milk Made

Hi Crafters, I just wanted to show you my little cartons, aren't they so cute? I can see me making a load of these for little gifts. I'm planning on filling these with some sweets but they can be filled with anything really, candles, craft goodies, etc I've even made a smaller one for little trick or treat sweets. The templates for these, and many more, can be bought here, My Timeless Templates. The cardstock I've used for the main carton is 'Close to Cocoa' and 'Whisper White', I've used my stampin' wheel on the whisper white using 'Tempting Turquoise' ink. As you can see I've 'sponged' around the edges to give a distressed look. These are so simple to make, you really should give them a go.

Products used on the Milkmade Cartons;

Cardstock~ Close to Cocoa, Whisper White and Tempting Turquoise.

Ink~ Chocolate Chip and Tempting Turquoise.

Stamps~ Pocket Silhouettes

Ribbon~ Tempting Turquoise

Punches~ Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Scallop Border Punch

Stampin' Wheel~ Its Beautiful

Remember, you can order all your stampin'up products through me. x

Spring Card and Box

If you fancy a change from the regular fold cards why not try a Spring card, they are so simple to make and fun to decorate, I didn't take a picture of the back of this card but there is room to put a verse on the reverse which makes it even pretty from behind. These cards can easily go into an envelope as they just squash down and pop up when taken out but as this was a special birthday card I decided on a box.
For a little change I put the ribbon on the bottom half of the box and I used the large oval punch on the top so that the bow would show through.
The flowers are made using little punches then I have embossed them from behind causing the leaves to curl, they were finished off by placing a little pearl bead in the centre.

Stampin Up Products Used On These Projects

Stamp Set~ Pocket Silhouettes
Ink~ Chocolate Chip
Background~ Stampin Pastels
Ribbon~ Certainly Celery
Cardstock~ Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Punches~ Scallop Oval and Large Oval

Tag It.

Ok, you've got your card made, you've made your little gift box and now all you need to do is tag it! A little tag like this adds that finishing touch to your creations and with Christmas just around the corner we'll be needing plenty of these. I love the background on this image, this is done just using an ink pad and the Stampin'Up daubers, by wiping the dauber, which fits onto your finger, over the ink pad and then in circle movements over your cardstock you can create fabulous backgrounds. To finish off all you do is stamp your image ontop. These little daubers are invaluable to us crafters, for a pack of 12 they cost only £7.75 and can be used on ink or the poppin pastels.

Stampin'Up products used on this tag

Stamp Set~ Pocket Silhouette

Cardstock~ Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Ribbon~ Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive

Ink~ Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive

Punches~ Handheld and Scallop Square

What can you do with 1 stamp?

You can NEVER have too many stamps can you? Of course not!
BUT what can you do with one tiny little stamp? I set myself the challenge, as you can tell I had my Real Red cardstock already sitting at the table lol. With this little flower from the Simply Said stamp set, I made my own designer paper by stamping, then stamping and blotting to fade the image using Real Red ink, then I stamped the little flower again and added a brad to the centre, simple. Ok, I may have cheated a bit by adding the sentiment! Actually, I should have used the heart stamp instead of the flower that comes in the same set as it would have made a lovely valentine card. Oh well, plenty of time for that one.
Stampin'Up Items used on this card
Stamp set~ Simply Said (Heart) Fresh Cuts (Sentiment)
Ink~ Real Red
Cardstock~ Real Red and Whisper White
Ribbon~ Real Red
Punches~ Scallop Circle, Circle, Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Box In a Bag

Make personalised gift bags to go with your cards, how great is that! For these two boxes I have only used 1 piece of Stampin'Up designer paper but I've reversed it on the second box, I love double sided designer paper. I also made these in two sizes, the first box I made taller so as to fit a bottle of perfume in it. They are sooo easy to make and take only minutes, click here for your instructions. Just think of the lovely gifts you can put into these, from sweets to Jewelry they really make a gift extra special.

Stampin'Up Items used on these projects

Stamp Sets~ Tart and Tangy (Cherry) Simply Said (Flower)

Ink~Bold Brights Stampin' Write Pens

Cardstock~ Whisper White, Real Red

Designer Paper~ Summer Picnic

Ribbon~ Whisper White, Real Red

Punches~ Scallop Border, Scallop Circle, Circles 3.5, 3.18, Round Tab, Handheld Punch.

All Spruced Up

I made this card about a month ago when I was asked to be a guest designer on Creative Card Crew Challenge, it was posted on my other blog but I totally forgot to put it on here. (I was too busy thinking of my upcoming holiday lol) I have coloured the image using Stampin' pastels, great for adding quick colour to an image and so easy to use. The star embossing on the background was using my cuttlebug and star folder, fabulous for Christmas cards. Well thats the Christmas cards started hopefully this year I will be more organised than last, some people were getting their cards from me on the 24th December, talk about a close one!

Stampin'Up Products used on this card

Stamp Set~Fun & Fast Notes

Cardstock~ Real Red and Certainly Celery

Ribbon~ Real Red and Certainly Celery

Embellishments~ Real Red Brads

Colouring Medium~ Stampin' Pastels

September~ Last Chance

Hi, Just keeping you updated with the latest Stampin'Up news. Due to the launch of the new Stampin'Up Idea book and catalogue next month, this is your last chance to get some of your favourite stamps from the current catalogue BUT the good news is some of these goodies are up to 50% off! You'll have to hurry though because once there gone, there gone.

You can check out the Last Chance List Here

Remember you can order all your Stampin'Up products through me and get them delivered straight to your door.

donnaferguson55@yahoo.co.uk

Little Purple Notelet

Hi Peeps, I have a super 'quickie' card to show you today. Sometimes the simplest cards are my favourite, don't get me wrong I love spending time on my cards but sometimes a quickie is needed, right? Just to say 'hi, how's things with you? Do you remember that fiver I lent you?' Kidding! Hope your having a lovely day and finding some time to craft, if you live in the uk you probably are, lets face it, it doens't look like we'll be taking many day trips to the beach does it? lol. x

Items Used On This Project:

Cardstock~Orchid Opulence, Lavender Lace, Whisper White

Stamp Set~ Pocket Silhouette

Ink~ Orchid Opulence Stampin Write Marker

Punches~ Large Oval Punch, Scallop Punch

Purple Organza Ribbon (Not SU)

Oh So Fruity!

Hi Crafters, Just a couple of little cards I've made using one of my favourite stamp set's 'Tart and Tangy' cute eh? They just go perfect with the 'Summer Picnic' designer papers too. These cards are so quick and easy to make that I've made 1 of each fruit in an hour, hey, thats good for me lol, I have spent many hours on 1 card only to be disappointed with it in the end. Don't forget our August offer, its too good to miss out on, details are on the post below. Happy Crafting. x

Items Used On This Project:
Stamp Set~ Tart and Tangy
Designer Papers~ Summer Picnic
Cardstock~ Green Galore, Old Olive, Real Red, Whisper White
Ribbon~ Real Red Grosgrain
Ink~Real Red, Green Galore Stampin Write Markers
Punches~ Large Oval, Scallop Oval, Scallop Circle, Circle (3.18cm and 3.5cm)
Other Tools~ Paper Piercing Tool

August Special~ Free Ribbon

Hi Crafters
Stampin'Up have a fabulous August offer for on for its lovely customers, Its an exclusive Ribbon bundle FREE with a qualifying purchase or workshop!

From the 1st-31st of August get a Free bundle of ribbon when you either

a) Spend £45 on Stampin'Up products

or

b) Host a £300 workshop

Orders can be made through me by e mail and delivered straight to your door or you can arrange to hold a workshop with me.

donnaferguson55@yahoo.co.uk

Challenge 36 ~ Stars and Stripes

It's time for a new theme at the One Stop Craft Challenge and It was my turn to choose it, well, being the 4th of July I just had to pick 'Stars and Stripes' didn't I? As I have used all Stampin Up products on my card I am able to post it on this blog too (incase you don't know I have another blog for non stampin up creations) Anyhoo, the beautiful 'Summer Picnic' designer papers were perfect for my stripes, I have used the 'Fun and Fast Notes' stamp set for my Stars and last but not least the sentiment is from the 'Cheers to You' Stamp set. I would love you to join in our challenge this week, there is a fabulous stamp set up for grabs for the lucky winner, pop over to the challenge blog for a nosey. Enjoy your weekend. x

And a few more gifts.

Well, I'm really getting some use out of these gorgeous papers aren't I? lol. These are just a few more bits I made for teacher's and helpers. A little box of chocolates means so much more with the personal touch so I just added a strip of Pumpkin Pie card, designer paper, ribbon and Thank You tag to decorate. I came up with the little purse one evening when I was playing about with my papers, a happy accident, I filled this with little chocolate coins. Last but not least is a simple Thank You card using 'Fresh Cut Notes' and 'Fresh Cuts' Stamp Set.