TWO-STEP PUNCHES ~ WHAT ARE THEY?

You’ll love our new flat punch style that features a larger cutting surface and a sleeker body, giving you greater cutting precision, better punching leverage, and space-saving storage. But even more exciting is that with this new punch style, we’re introducing a new type of punch—the Two –Step punch—which offers you more than one image in a single punch! Layer these images together in a creative collage or singly as a simple accent. It’s like getting multiple punches in one! Use our Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch to layer your own bird on a branch using a variety of card stock and paper. Let your creativity flow with punches!

Shimmer Paint ~ What is it?

SHIMMER PAINT

Add a bit of shimmer with our acid-free shimmer paint. Shimmer paint adds a vibrant dimension that enhances the look of anything without actually changing its basic appearance.

Plus, shimmer paint is pigment ink, so you can do almost anything with it that you can do with ink--you can stamp with it, cover an entire section of card stock or paper with it, or apply it over a stamped image or Rub-On. Apply it with a sponge or sponge dauber directly to a stamp or paper.

• Available in 3 colours: Champagne Mist, Frost White, and Platinum
• 0.5 oz. each
• Non toxic

To order your shimmer paint, contact me via e-mail or leave a comment on this post.

Sneak peep #4

Cute by the inch is one of the beautiful Level 2 hostess sets that you cannot buy & are only available to hostess's during the coming year.
What Occasion would you use this card for?

Wedding?
Anniversary?
Just to say I love you or I'm thinking about you?
Thank you
Just about any occasion that you can think of would suit this card
The base of the card is Basic Black with an embossed layer of Whisper White, Mounted on that is another layer of Basic Black card that has been edged with the New Scallop Trim Border punch. The stamped images are from the Cute By The Inch Level 2 Hostess set, this is just 2 of the 9 stamps in the set. These are stamped in Basic Black & Cherry Cobbler & cut using a 1" Square punch & matted onto squares cut with a 1 1/8" square punch from Cherry Cobbler card.
All of the products on this card will be available to purchase from Tomorrow 1st October. I think that Cherry Cobbler is going to be one of my favourite colours this winter.

Sneak peep #3

Well here is my favourite of the first batch of sneak peep cards I just love the freshness of this card.

The colours on this card are Old Olive, Whisper White & Garden Green ( despite the awful photo, I cant seem to get any good lighting today ).

The colours of the Ink are Old Olive, Wild Wasabi & daffodil delight. The stamps are the Level 2 hostess set is Cute By The Inch, Fresh Cuts & Pocket Silhouettes. The accessories on this card are the 1/2" circle punch and the lovely new Extra Large Petal punch 119273, Two step bird punch, also new is the bling on the centre of the flower.

Please contact me if you would like to see a new catalogue or place an order.

Sneak peep #2

Well if the first sample did't wet your appetite for this level 2 hostess set then maybe this will help you make up your mind to book a party with me or one of my fellow creative coaches.

I just love this card the base of the card is Kraft card, which I still cant get used to call it Crumb cake which will be it's new name from tomorrow, The other card stock colours are Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Old Olive & Whisper White. The stamp set is Cute By the Inch a Level 2 hostess set, the sentiment is from Bella's Bloom ( retiring 30/9/10 ). The accessories are 1" square punch, the new Large curly label punch & Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon.

This set is only available to a Stampin' Up hostess, please contact me if you would like to ost a party or event.

Sneak peep #1

Well it is nearly time to unveil the new Stampin' Up catalogue for 2010 ~ 2011. The set featured in the first of the sneak peeps is a Level 2 hostess set that has caught my eye. This is a hostess only set & is only available if you host a party with qualifying sales or join a Stampers 6 or Stampers 10 group that has the appropriate level of qualifying sales.

The stamp set is called cute by the inch and has some lovely stamps that are suitable for a variety of different occasions & is exceptionally versatile. The card base is Night of Navy with the addition of some lovely Bashful Blue cardstock. I have stamped with the Night of Navy ink on just 2 of the lovely stamps. Accessories used on this card are 1" square punch, Bella Bleu papers that are retiring at midnight tonight. The paper piercing tool & the pricking mat set are still in the new catalogue. The brads are from the current Earth elements set, from 1st October the brads will be in new colour families which you are going to love.

If you would like to book a party to be in with a chance of getting this fab set as your hostess gift then please contact me, or if you would like to join one of my stamping groups please contact me.

New Crop starting this weekend

Yes the rumours are true I am starting a new crafting group / Crop Called Creative Moments

The group is a social crafting group so everyone is welcome whether you are a card maker, Scrapbooker, Patchworker, Knitter etc.....Basically if your craft is portable then come & join us.

The first meeting is Saturday 2nd October
10.00 ~ 16.00
Where the United reform Church, Jessop road, NR2 3NG

In the large hall to the side of the church
Cost £5 including light  refreshments
( lunch is not included ) but there is a parade of shops very close which includes a Dominos pizza & Chinese.

Sharon a fellow Stampin' Up demo will be doing a make & take Stamping class ~ A small charge for this class, just bring your own scissors.

Karen from Craftbuddies will be bringing her papercrafting shop so you will be able to stock up on craft stash.

October 4th is also World Card Making day
Be amongst the first to see the newly released products at the  launch of the brand new Stampin' Up catalogue

Scrapbook Layout challenge ~ I will post a layout or colour challenge on my blog on the 15th September. To take part make a layout using the sketch at the crop or bring a layout with you. Layouts will be displayed & a winner chosen, I will provide a prize for the winner & photograph the layouts for my blog for inspiration for others. The prize this month is a lovely Stampin' Up Christmas papercrafting kit.

At each meeting I will have sale tables available so if you have an overstock of craft items that you wish to sell then feel free to use one of the tables.

Octobers meeting will have a scrapbook layout challenge so watch out for details on the creative moments blog.
http://creativemoments-crop.blogspot.com/

Please let me know if you would like to join us as places are limited.
you can contact me

E~mail
lovellsinnorfolk@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile
07722779399

Many Thanks

The excitement is building

Well it is finally hear the last day of the current Stampin' up catalogue & mini catalogue. There are still some bargains to be had, but I will need the order by 4pm today to get it processed before the deadline this evening. But the best news is the beautiful new catalogue will be available online & you can order from it from tomorrow 1st October.

The card uses two stamp sets that aren't being retired Garden Whimsy & Basic phrases, both are going to be in the new catalogue.

The cardstock colours are Old olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White & Real red. The inks are Old olive & Real red. The accessories that also feature on this card are Spiral punch, Scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 circle punch & Stamp a ma jig.

All of the items that I have used on this card are not being retired so you can loo forward to seeing them in the new catalogue tomorrow.

Technique Thursday

MASKING

1]   Stamp image on card stock.

2]   Stamp it again on a piece of scratch paper.
3]   Cut carefully around the scratch paper image, cutting just inside the lines; this will be your mask.
4]   Place the mask on top of the card stock image.
5]   Stamp another image over a portion of the mask to create layered, interacting images.
6]   Remove the mask to see the finished look. 
7]   To stamp a partial image, use tape to cover the part of the stamp you don't want to appear, ink the stamp, remove the tape, and stamp the image.
QUICK TIP 
To ensure that the mask stays in place, stamp image on a Post-It® note.

What a weekend

What an emotional rollercoaster this weekend is turning out to be, yesterday we took Dan t Nottingham to start his University journey for the next 4 years of his life. I have been fine all the way through his preparations for Uni, until Saturday morning when his stuff was being loaded into the car, I took one look in the mirror & suddenly it hit me like a tidal wave that I had a son going to Uni. I am so amazingly proud of Dan.

I did manage to pull myself together for the rest of the day & took him shopping in Tesco for his first food shop & kept reminding him to look for the BOGOF offers & make the most of his money. I am lucky as both my children can cook properly. After we went back to his accommodation we unpacked the food & as we came out of the kitchen another Mum was leaving her son & breaking her heart, that was it the tears started again.

Well I survived the emotional day & Dan ended up with a very soggy shoulder. But he is settling in well & I am sure that he will make the most of the amazing opportunity.

Well the nest is a little emptier today, but we have a very busy day as I am taking a coach load of crafters from Norwich down to Alexandra palace in London for the big Stamping & scrapbooking show.

Well the picnic is packed and with my chipboard in hand I am off to meet the coach and the crafty ladies eager for some stash shopping.

It's finished

 Well as promised the first of the 'can can' scarves is finished & Abi is modelling it beautifully. This knits up so quickly & I did over a metre in a couple of hours whilst watching the soaps. If anyone is looking for this yarn it is stocked in Jarrolds in Norwich & they can post it out to you.

I am currently working on two more of these scarves in Autumnal colours and another in beautiful greens, I will be back to show you those when there finished.

Still time to bag a bargain.

Despite lots of sell outs there is still time to bag a bargain.

All of the following are now sold out & sadly gone for ever.

Seaside Stamp Set
Rich Regals Ink Refills
Choc Chip Standard Wheel Cartridge
Close to Cocoa Standard Wheel Cartridge
Round Tab Punch
3/4" Circle Punch

spiral punch

Large Oval punch

Earth elements reinkers

117366 Merry Moments DSP

very vanilla 12 x12 cardstock

Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

a tree for all seasons

kraft 12" x 12"

Blush Blossom cardstock A4
Playground buttons

Out of the Box hostess set

117992 Speciality Paper Bridesmaid

Close to Cocoa A4 Card

Sage Shadow A4 cardstock

Darling Dots (English Version)

Autumn Meadows DSP

Creamy Caramel A4 Card

Bold Brights textured 12 x 12

Old Fashioned Christmas

Studio Sketches

117991 Speciality Paper Bride
110037 Very Vanilla 12" x 12" Card

There is still plenty of bargains to be had, let me know if you would like to order anything.

Good friend Day 2

This masculine looking card would look great in a variety of colour combinations, I have chosen Kraft card to make the card base. The Whisper white layer was stamped with three images from the same stamp. I used More Mustard, Ruby red & Night of Navy a colour combination that looks better than it sounds.

That was matted onto chocolate Chip card, but not centrally matted but aligning the bottom left corners. The Ruby Red band was embossed using a dotty embossing folder to add texture to this simple card.

The greeting is stamped directly onto the card in Night of Navy Ink, the greeting is from Basic Phrases a set that I always have on hand now. To finish the card off I used the Star punch & chocolate chip cardstock to make the star embellishment The button in the middle comes from the Earth elements collection & is tied with Linen thread.

Check back tomorrow to see which retired set I will dust off for an inking.

Good friend is following in the footsteps of True friend

As promised I have now chosen another retiring set to feature, today it's the turn of Good Friend.

I love this card as it looks like one of the painstakingly stitched cards.

The colours for this card are Glorious Green. Real Red & Whisper white.

The firework stamp was stamped at 2 o'clock, 4 o'clock, then 5 o'clock, 7 o'clock, then 8o'clock, 10 o'clock and 11 o'clock, 1 o'clock. Then using a 2nd generation stamping I stamped between the gaps.

2nd generation stamp is where you ink the stamp pad & stamp off onto scrap paper & you then use the 2nd impression on your project.

The greeting is from A Jolly Holly Christmas set & stamped with Real Red ink.

The corner decoration was made using the pricking mat & piercing tool.

The holly like dots were made using the Stampin' Write pen in Real red & coated with Crystal lacquer.

The top of the wreath has two holes made with the crop o dile & threaded through with real Red Grosgrain ribbon, before matting onto a layer of Real Red cardstock.

The last true friend card this week

This card was made with the left overs from yesterdays card The only addition is the use of the Stamp a ma jig to make the single stem flower into a double flower. the flowers are raised up using Stampin' dimensionals. I know that many of my ladies hated the Stamp a ma jig when they first used it, and to be truthful so did I but now I love it & try & use it in all my classes & I get a great amount of pleasure when one of my Ladies decides that it is a great aid to getting your images straight. If you haven't tried a stamp a ma jig then you don't know what your missing.

More True friends

This is an A5 which is made using a base of Elegant Eggplant, I then used Elegant eggplant ink with the circle flower stamp all over as a background.

The whisper white layer was matted onto a layer of Taken with Teal. The images were stamped using Stampin' Write markers in Old Olive & Taken with teal, I have found that Stamping in a random organised pattern does take some thought so the images don't overlap, my solution is too stamp the first image in the middle & work outwards.

The small gaps between the stamped images have groups of three dots all drawn by hand.

The border is taken with teal & using the mat pack & paper piercing tool a pricked pattern on one end, the greeting is stamped in Taken with Teal onto Old Olive card & cut out with the word window punch. The circle motif is coloured using the Stampin' Write pens in Old Olive & Elegant Eggplant & punched out using 1 1/4" circle punch & matted onto a circle of Old olive cut with the 1 3/8" circle punch, the brad in the middle is from the Earth elements pack.

Chocolate Brownies

This is the easiest and cheapest Brownie recipe I have ever come accross! 

Melt together:

3 1/2 oz butter

4 heaped desert spoons cocoa



Remove from heat and stir in:

8 oz granulated sugar

2 eggs


then add:

3 oz self raising flour



Line tin approx 8" square with greaseproof.

Pour in & bake @ 180 c for 25 minutes



(usually doesn't need 2 cook quite as long and usually better to use a slightly smaller tin because then it's not so thin!)

A True friend is retiring & look at the extra discounts now available on last chance list

Today's card is made with the retiring set True friend. The base of this card is Perfect plum with layers in Pale plum & Elegant eggplant, the top layer is Whisper white card stock. The flower image was stamped three times once in each of the above colours, each flower was trimmed & popped up on stampin' Dimensionals. In the centre of each flower I put a small glue dot & coated it in Dazzling diamonds. The greeting was from the same stamp set & was stamped in Elegant Eggplant directly onto the whisper white layer.

If anyone would like to order this set or any other Stampin' Up products then please contact me.

Check out the extra bargains in the updated Last chance list.

The above prices are valid on any orders placed from Today.

Stampers 10 cards

This weeks stampers 10 cards are made using a set that is staying with us into the new catalogue, I still have a few sets left to demo, but this is one of the versatile sets that you can adapt to any occasion.

The first card has a Whisper white base, the scalloped border at the bottom is made from Bashful blue designer papers & cut with the scallop border punch.

The nine square are cut from Bashful blue, Ballet Blue & Night of Navy they were cut using  a 1 1/8" square punch I stuck them to the card in a "random organised pattern" I know your thinking how can you have random organisation! ! ! ! Well it's a phrase coined by my lovely ladies. Next I used the three ink colours to stamp the seed head from the Pocket Silhouette stamp set 7 times. 6 were cut out using the 1 1/4" square punch & the 7th was cut using the 1" square punch.

I used the Random organisation method to lay them out on the card with the middle image on the "Huh" another Norfolk word meaning not straight or at an angle. One of my ladies put all hers on the Huh so she didn't have to try & get them all lined up.

The greeting is from the same set & was stamped in Ballet blue on the Whisper white card stock & punched using the Word window punch.

Again the base of this card was Whisper White, I actually managed to cut both card blanks from 1 single sheet of A4 card.

The Regal Rose Grosgrain ribbon was tied around the Bashful blue panel before we stuck it onto the card.

We stamped three images of the grass stamp from the Pocket Silhouettes set one in each colour Rich Razzleberry, melon mambo & pretty in Pink. Each image was then trimmed to the same size and matted onto cardstock of the matching colour. The matted images were adhered using Stampin' Dimensional's to give the card some depth.

The greeting was from the Pocket Silhouette set  & stamped onto Whisper white card with Rich Razzleberry ink and cut out using the Word window punch.. Then mounted on a scallop oval of Rich Razzleberry card, the decorations are Vintage brads.

So glad that this set isn't retiring, it's a little bit like your old comfy slippers, safe & comfortable. Talking of slippers isn't it cold & have mine on already & the heating.................Even all the cats are coming home every night now.

Slider cards with garden Whimsey

Don't panic garden Whimsey isn't retiring but I thought I would use it with the retiring papers from the Sweet Pea paper stack.

The card stock used is Melon mambo, Rich razzleberry & Whisper White

The greeting on the card is from basic phrases.

More retirements ~ Don't miss out

Two cards featuring two retiring sets, these sets will only be available whilst stocks last until 30th September. True friend & One of a kind.

The first card features the retiring sweet pea papers, Rose red card stock, whisper white & Old olive card stock. The lovely flowers are coloured using the Stampin' Write markers In rose red & Old olive.

The circle punches are 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Both are on the retirement list, but they are only retiring in the current format, Stampin' Up are re-releasing the punches in a lovely slim design.

The small card is 4" square & made from Rose red card stock, the flowers & greeting are also stamped in Rose red Ink. The flower is stamped onto Whisper White Card stock using Old Olive & Elegant eggplant Stampin' Write pens. The backing papers are Rich Razzlebery card stock & papers from the the retiring sweet pea paper stack. The Polka dot ribbon is Rich razzleberry & tied with Hemp thread.

You have just 15 days left before these are gone for ever, if you would like to order any of these products please contact me.

It's that time of year again, Yet more retirements

This card was made using True friend set that retires at the end of September, The main part the card is pretty in pink, on the front the large flower is stamped in Melon mambo & Rich Razzleberry, the small flower is stamped in whisper white ink. The care was scored at 3.5" from each end, with 3" being trimmed from the long side which will form the belly band.

The flower is punched using the 5 petal punch in 2 colours and the flowers from the Boho blossom punch makes up the two smaller layers of the flower.

The polka dot Grosgrain ribbon is also on the retired list.

The curves of the main card are made by drawing around a large pasta bowl & trimmed round with sharp scissors.

The flowers are coloured with the Stampin' Write markers in Rose red, Elegant eggplant & Handsome Hunter.

If true friend is on your wish list, better be quick as it is retiring at the end of September 

From Pukka pad to beautiful designer notebook

When I finished work yesterday I had to go with Abi  buy yet more stationery for school & being a paper crafter I am a sucker for stationery, I think I always have been as a little girl I loved being surrounded by paper & pencils & glue & scissors. I remember opening my Christmas stocking one year & finding a glue pen, but Father Christmas forgot to put any paper in my stocking, so I used the glue pen on all the pages of a comic magazine, my Mum was so cross.

From this

Well back to the story I came home in such a bad mood I decided to go straight up too my craft room until I calmed down, & decided to give my Pukka pad a makeover. If you are careful you can take the covers off the pad.

Using Bashful blue cardstock, Creamy caramel ink pad on the en francais background stamp all over the from cover. Then using Chocolate chip ink I stamped the Baroque Motifs swirl in two corners. Then with Pink Pixie I stamped the single flowers randomly around the swirl. On a spare piece of card I stamped the flowers again & punched them out with the Boho blossoms punch & popped them up with glue dots.

The A5 covers were held against the original covers & carefully lined up the holes on the Crop o dile, carefully I reconstructed the pad with its new covers & using the Bind it all I clamped the spiral spin back together, this can however be done by hand.

The ribbons tied around the spine Are bashful blue Striped Grosgrain & Taffeta ribbon on Bashful blue.

Sadly both of the ribbons are retiring, but one the happy side they are making way for lovely new stash.

New project & work in progress

My new project a beautiful frilly scarf for Abi

The yarn is Can Can & is set to be this years fashion yarn. One ball makes 170cm frilly scrarf.

So far I have done about 6" which is quite an achievement as A~ I'm not a knitter & B~ I have 4 cats who think I bought them home a new toy.

I will post the finished scarf later during the weeks with my lovely Abi as a model.

Amazing new yarn from Rico which knits into a fabulous curly, waterfall scarf. One ball makes one scarf which makes this a fantastic yarn for gifts - and for yourself!

Needle size

8 mm

( 0 UK )

( 11 US )

Tension square

6

8

weight & length per ball

60 metres

66 yards

200 grams

care instructions