Summer By The Sea

When we have nice weather our thoughts naturally turn to Summer and relaxing days. I'm blessed to live near the sea, so that's where I head to unwind.
There's a saying, 'One Swallow doesn't make a Summer', but I saw four last week, so does that mean Summer is here already?

Here's a card using the stamp set Summer By The Sea, which I just love.

I inked the Sanded background stamp with Bashful Blue ink and stamped it on the Confetti White card base.
I used the same stamp and VersaMark ink to stamp on Sahara Sand card and added White Embossing Powder which I then heated with the Heat Tool.

I used Stampin’ Pastels and Sponge Daubers to soften the edges of all the pieces and then cut two 1” wide strips from the embossed card and added them to the card base.

StazOn ink is best to use when using wet colouring media to ensure the image doesn’t run.

Using Watercolour Wonder Crayons and Aqua Painters colour it loosely and don’t worry about going over the edges a bit.

I cut out a tag shape to mount the coloured image onto and it is attached to the card with dimensionals for some lift.

You can see that I’ve used some Linen Thread to finish the card off so that it has a ‘rustic’ feel to it.

Stamps: Summer By The Sea & Sanded
Paper: Confetti White, Sahara Sand & Not Quite Navy
Ink: Bashful Blue, VersaMark & Black StazOn
Accessories: Snail Adhesive, Dimensionals, White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Stampin’ Pastels, Sponge Daubers, Watercolour Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painters, Linen Thread & ¼” Square Punch

Thanks for looking!

~Debbie~

Your Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator

Spring Has Sprung!

Today is a wonderfully sunny day and I'm full of the joys of Spring!
Spring brings to mind new beginnings and Stampin' Up! is no exception.


The first Mini Catalogue has just been released and it's full of lovely new things. You can take a peep here, or check out the link on the side bar to the right.

I have to say my favourite stamp set can be seen on page 19. It's called Playful Petals (113728) and is priced at £25.95 for a set of 7 stamps.
There's a matching Designer Series Paper(DSP) called Tea Party (115158) to use with them priced at £7.75 for 12 double sided, 12"x12" sheets of heavy weight paper. That works out at 65p per sheet.
For those who have used it you'll know what good quality it is - heavier than normal paper and ideal for making mini albums and gift boxes, as some of you have done with me in class.

My next must-have is the set of 4 stamps called Oval All (113790) on page 16. Priced at £14.95 they have greetings and flourishes which can be used alone, or interchanged by inking with a marker pen and using a Stamp-a-ma-jig.
There are 2 new punches to use with them - the Large Oval (115156) and the Scallop Oval (115429), which is slightly bigger and ideal for matting onto. These are both £12.50.

What else?
Check out the Fresh Cut Notes - cards with a flower cut-out on the front. You'll find them on page 4.
Page 6 has new Rub-Ons with floral designs called Planter Box.
Fresh Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (that looks good enough to eat!) can be found on page 12.
Designer Buttons can be found on page 16 in lush, Latte colours.

For those of you already working on your Christmas cards, or last year's Christmas layouts (who me?) there are some lovely new stamp sets and DSP.

Don't just take my word for it - have a look for yourself and see what you think. My wish list is getting bigger by the minute!

Next month there will be a special offer for the Scrapbookers amongst you.

If you'd like to host a party, get together an order with some friends (if it adds up to £150 or more, you'll get free stamp sets and goodies), or just order for yourself, then please let me know.
Don't forget my own offer of a free Idea Book And Catalogue if you spend over £35 on your first order.

Thanks for looking!

~Debbie~
Your Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator