Tuesday 23 November 2010

Link to Catalogue!

Woo hoo! I have managed to work out how to link to the Stampin Up catalogue. Just click on the image on the left hand side and it will take you direct to the catalogue - clever! It takes a few minutes to load as it's a large file.

That's me done for today - more soon, Daisy is beginning to get a routine during the day now so I will get the odd 30 mins to add some fun stuff on here.

Before I go a couple of little pics of my lovely bundle of scrumminess!!!! Huge thanks to my gorgeous friend Debbie who took them - her website is here



Sunday 7 November 2010

Very Quick update

Hi all!

Exciting news - Daisy Coral Wragg arrived in the world at 9.35am on wednesday 1st September. so I am very sorry for being a little quiet - I had managed to schedule some posts before having her but have not had time since to get back to blogging. I'll post some pictures later too! Need to dig out the link cable for camera!

I've just got back from an amazing time at my very first Stampin' Up! convention - yes I took Daisy with me too! I have so much to share and will be starting craft classes in the not too distant future too!

By for now - baby calling.

V xxx

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Simple Line images

This is another of my very early workshop projects. A little pizza style box with some notecards to fit. The images are from Fun & Fast Notes. This time instead of using ink to create the image I coloured directly onto the rubber using our Stampin Write markers. These are such a versatile bit of kit! They are double ended pens, one end has a brush tip whilst the other is a fine liner. To colour a rubber stamp you use the edge of the brush to add whatever colour/s you like direct to the stamp then 'huff' on the stamp to remoisten the ink before stamping your image. If you look closely you can see that I have used many colours on each image - not possible with ink alone!


The markers are so versatile and can be used for colouring in stamped images, journalling etc. They can also be used to create a lovely water colour finish, more on that another time though. This is the little box that the cards fit into, they can be made to any dimension and I will share more of these over the coming months - I have some gorgeous projects planned. It's so exciting!


Bye for now!

Vicky x

Saturday 11 September 2010

Water Colour Wonder Crayons

Hi! Just a quick one today. I wanted to share with you the fantastic results that you can get when you water colour with our fabulous Water Colour Wonder Crayons.


The image is from Bloomin' with Beauty and would look beautiful in any colour way. I'm not an artist by any means but I love how simple it is to get beautiful water coloured effects using these crayons and an Aqua Painter. The crayons come in each of our colour families and of course co-ordinate perfectly with all the inks, ribbons, papers and cardstocks. Want your own? Drop me a line if you'd like more details on how to get hold of them.

Bye for now.

Vicky x

Thursday 9 September 2010

Envelope Gift Card Holder

Hello! Today is another of my older samples from a workshop that I attended. It uses the lovely Vintage Vogue set. Colours are Regal Rose, Whisper White and Night of Navy. This is the finished pocket.

The pocket holds a little card but also has room for a little extra...

The inside of the pocket is made using an envelope folded in half to give you 2 sections add some money or a gift card - a good way to post a gift!


Now I know that I haven't explained this well at all - I will add it to my list of 'tutorials to publish'

Bye for now!

Vicky x

Monday 6 September 2010

Christmas Cards.....

While sorting through my 'craft room' now baby's room, I found samples of some cards that I have made at various workshops with my lovely upline Tricia. Today I wanted to share a few christmas cards - more will definitely follow in later posts. This first card uses Whisper White and Real Red with a touch of Dazzling Diamonds glitter for a little festive bling! The stamps are from Season of Joy with the sentiment from Old Fashioned Christmas. I've cut out 3 of the flowers from SOJ added the bling and used stampin dimensionals to pop them up.

You'll also notice from this close up shot that I've used the Paper Piercing Tool and mat pack to add a little extra detail.

I love this next card, it is so quick to put together and really made me look at my punches a bit differently. Colours are Whisper White, Old Olive and Real Red. Again the flourish is from Season of Joy - I can't remember where the sentiment came from! The flowers are made using the 5-Petal Flower punch, 2 in Real Red and 1 in Old Olive. Layer them up with the green at the bottom so that none of the petals match - tombow adhesive is great to use as you get a little bit of slip-a-bility to play with.

This close up shows the detail of the 'Poinsettia' flowers. I used my bone folder to 'score' in some vein detail. The tiny circles were punched using the crop-a-dile and of course the obligatory bit of festive bling in the form of dazzling diamonds.

Nice and simple for number 3! Old Olive and Whisper White with the tree and tiny flower again from SOJ. I've used versamark ink on the Old Olive c/s which gives a lovely watermark effect. A length of Old Olive grosgrain ribbon and some stampin dimensionals to pop the tree up and all finished.

Finally a little one with a 'peek-a-boo' window. I used the scallop circle punch, the 1 and 3/8 inch and the 1 and 1/4 inch circle punches. First stamp the snowflake from SOJ onto your card front, punch this out using the smaller of the 2 circle punches. Next using the larger circle punch cut a red circle - make sure to leave room around the outside for the scallops. Use the red circle to mat with the snowflake and adhere inside the card so that it sits though the 'window. Line your scallop circle punch over the hole that you have in your red card stock, punch and voila you get a scalloped 'ring'

To attach the ribbon to the card cut a slit into the spine and then tie it through the window.

Hope this all made sense! Bye for now.

Vicky x

Friday 3 September 2010

More Flight of the Butterfly

Hello again! Today I have a stack of Butterfly cards to show you. The colour scheme in the first 3 pictures is inspired by some sunflowers that a friends little boy had been growing. I've used Summer Sun, Pumkin Pie, Chocolate Chip and some Whisper White too. Stamp sets are Flight of the Butterly and Sincere Salutaions. I've also used the butterly punch to give some dimension. I've used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to align the butterfly stamps - love this bit of kit!


Clean and simple for this one, a basic tent fold. Whisper White card blank with Summer Sun matting.

These two cuties I did after playing with the 'baby wipe' technique. You can see i've swiped the background on the left hand card. Perhaps I'll post a technique demo for using baby wipes in the future - it can be messy but lots of fun too!

My next card uses a colour scheme that is way out of my normal range but I am really pleased with the outcome. Colours and inks are Bashful Blue, Creamy Caramel and Whisper White. Again Flight of the Butterfly along with Oval All stamp sets. I've used the co-ordinating Butterfly, Large Oval and Scallop Oval punches. I added colour to the oval using my Stampin Write Markers.

More butterflies this time in pink, well Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Rose Red to be exact! I love this type of 'chocolate box' bow as it is so easy!


That's all for today. Bye for now.

Vicky x

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Very first cards....

This is the first of some scheduled posts - will update asap on news re new arrival I promise!

Obviously over the past few weeks or so we have had to clear out my 'craft room' to make way for the new baby. In the process of doing this I found 3 of the very first cards I made right after my starter kit arrived! I can't believe how different they look from the work I do now - mind you it's even scarier looking back at cards I made 12 years ago! Maybe I'll try and find some piccies of those one day :)

The stamp set is Fun & Fast Notes. I'm not sure what this type of fold is called but I do really like it. I've used the scallop border punch down the edges. I kept my first card very simple - just matting and layering with Whisper White and Brilliant Blue.

This one uses Whisper White and Pink Passion card stock, I used water colour pencils from my stash to colour the image - apologies for the smudged candle.

Finally Whisper White with Real Red and Glorious Green c/s again coloured with water colour pencils. I think that over the next few months I'll have to dig this set out as I've not used it in ages, seeing these very early attempts has got me thinking .......

Bye for now!

Vicky x

Monday 30 August 2010

Flight of the Butterfly

Happy Bank Holiday!

You know when you fall in love with a stamp set but it takes you ages to get it mounted let alone get it inky and produce something! Well this was one of those sets for me! I'd had the stamps months when my lovely upline Tricia finally inspired me!

I then did a little bit of surfing and got some more inspiration - it was before the summer hols tho so can't do any proper thank you's sorry. I wanted to share a couple more of these cards today too. This first one is very simple and uses Orchid Oppulence c/s and ink on a Whisper White base with a length of Whisper White Ribbon.

The second one is a little bit more detailed. This time I have used a Whisper White base with Gable Green and Green Galore cardstock and inks. I punched the circle and have backed it with acetate before 'floating' the butterfly on top. Keren if you see this before the post arrives next week - sorry your 'Thank You' is not freshly made - I've been so busy sorting baby things and making cards for training swap!


The training that I am going to is Stampin' Up training - as you will know 'baby' is due any day now and I have decided that by the New Year I would like to have my SU business up and running. The company offer support and training throughout the year and so I am going to this next one to help me pick things up a level. That way I can stay at home with 'baby' and make money through my crafting - how fantastic is that?!?!? If you'd like to find out more about Stampin' Up and the opportunities on offer please get in touch and I'll be happy to help.

Finally the next chunk of posts will be 'scheduled' as I don't want to be a 'bad blogger' and miss loads with the new arrival on the way - I promise I will pop in as soon as I can and let you know what 'flavour' we've had! Enjoy the projects!

Bye for now.

Vicky x

Saturday 28 August 2010

Wedding Invites

Well as promised today I wanted to show you the invitation that I made for my sister's wedding earlier this year. She came up with the design after much surfing so I am sure that there are people to thank for her inspiration I'm just not sure who :)

And a slightly 'artier' angle! The card base is elegant eggplant c/s folded to give a 6x6 'gate' opening card. I have also used perfect plum, and whisper white along with co-ordination inks and water colour crayons. The stamp set is Mr & Mrs.


Now normally this would be way over the top for my usual wedding designs but as she's my sister I let her have free reign and the design (although it was a pig to put together!) turned out really well and Lorraine and Chris both LOVED it!

Bye for now

Vicky x

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Stamping on Candles


I just wanted to share with you a little something I did earlier in the summer. I had been reading on stamping on candles and after doing a workshop decided to give it a go! The picture above is my first solo attempt and uses the Pocket Sillouhettes stamp set.


I then had a flash of inspiration and deecided to make a set as a wedding gift for my Sister and her new Husband who got married earlier in the summer.


I co-ordinated the candles, gift boxes and cards with the invites which I'd also made. I'll try and remember to share those with you at some point too.

Bye for Now

Vicky x


Monday 23 August 2010

Stationery Boxes

This is the first of the Stationery boxes which I made a while back as Thank You gifts for Thomas' Teachers. The template is from the tutorial section at Splitcoast Stampers The box is made using Designer Series Paper. For this one I've used the retired set - Rainbow Sherbet along with Whisper White and Tempting Turquoise cardstock, inks in Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green and Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" ribbon and the flower stamp is from the set One of a Kind.

I adapted it a little and instead of the address book on the inside I put a little stack of sticky notes with a pretty cover. The pen inside the box is just a normal pen but i've put a strip of designer paper into the clear barrel so that it co-ordinates.


Here you can see the tags and notelets in more detail. I managed to use the scraps of paper that I ended up with from making the basic box. Add some stamps, a little extra card stock, a bit of ribbon and all done!


The picture above is the second box closed. I've used another retired DSP, this time it's the Summer Picnic Set along with extras in Real Red, Old Olive, and Bashful Blue.


The flower stamp used on the Small cards and the tags is from the set Seeing Spots.


I can see me making many more of these sets - I showed some friends who LOVE them. Perhaps I have christmas in the bag!

Bye for now

Vicky x

Quick and Simple Thank You!

This zesty card was CASED from a design I found on Victoria's Blog I had finished the gifts for Thomas' teachers for the end of term and wanted a really quick thank you card to go with them. Now really I should have co-ordinated the card to match the gift but I've had this stamp set for ages and hardly used it so after a bit of surfing I found my inspiration - I am definitely going to use this layout again with other stamps too as it's so clean and simple.

The products are all Stampin Up.
Stamp sets: Tart and Tangy and Wonderful Words
Ink: Real Red, Only Orange, Pink Passion
Card Stock: Whisper White, Only Orange, Pink Passion

I will post pictures of the Thank You gifts soon too.

Bye for Now

Vicky x

Sunday 22 August 2010

Baby Cards


Well of course with my own little one due any day now I have been playing with designs for new baby cards. This is a card that I made recently for a friend of a friend. I then had to do it in pink too - we don't know what 'colour' we are having and I don't want to jinx it either way! I have to credit Valentine over on In Love With Stamping for the design - LOVE this card! I especially LOVE how all of Stampin Up's Papers, Inks, Card Stock, Ribbons etc all co-ordinate - no need for hunting around any more!


This design uses the fabby Something Sweet stamp set - it co-ordinates brilliantly with the Sweet Treat Cups and our 1 and 3/4 inch punch. I will post some more inspiration for this set including use of the Treat Cups soon.

Bye for Now

Vicky x

Friday 20 August 2010

I'm Back!!!!

Well, round one of giving this blogging lark a go unfortunately fell by the wayside. I lost access to my computer for nearly 6 months! Eeeek! When I did get it back up and running the pregnancy was really taking it's toll and I was next to useless by the time I got in from work.

Anyhow I'm now 37 weeks pregnant - can't wait for my new arrival and I have decided to get this blog properly up and running thanks to some prompting from friends and customers. I have built up a stash of things to share with you over the coming weeks and can't wait to see what you think.

I hope that the projects I post inspire you and as classes become available please let me know if you are interested. Feel free to CASE anything you like - I very often do myself :-) If you do please mention me on your blog if you have one and comment on here too.

Here is todays offering - a stamp set that I adore is Flight of the Butterfly and whilst blog hopping I found this project on Amanda's Blog I love how the colours look together! I've used Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry and Summer Sun.


The ten cards are based on a 'One Sheet Wonder' design that I found over at
Splitcoast Stampers I'm sorry it was a long time ago though and I can't remember whose design it was originally but it is so easy to do! The OSW for the 10 cards is based on an American 8.5" x 11" sheet of plain cardstock. for this version I adapted it to A4 but am in the process of re doing it for a class to be offered so it will use a 12 x 12 OSW.

For those of you that don't know what a One Sheet Wonder is I'll try and explain. You take a piece of card stock say 12 x 12 and then cut it up in such a way that you can use the pieces along with a few extras to make a set of co-ordinating cards in this case I've made 10 but it can be more or less depending on how you cut up your patterned paper. Alternatively you can design your own patterned paper like I have here. This is a picture of the base OSW, all you need to add is then card stock for bases and embellishmnets. This time I have left sentiments off but once I have decided on a use for the set I can add them.

I also made a box to store the 10 cards in - what a great present idea!

Bye for now! I'll be back with more soon.

Vicky x