MDS Monday - Today is your last chance to get these downloads for FREE!

Goodness the end of the month seems to have raced its way here - I'm sure that time has started to go faster and then with the clocks going forward we have got to the last day of Sale-a-Bration all too fast!

That means today is your last chance to get your hands on the wonderful Sale-a-Bration goodies for Free - the beautiful Banner Blast Stamps and Matching Banner Punch, the stunning Sweet Sorbet Papers, with the matching Accessories Pack and the coordinating Petal Parade Stamps, the kits, the delightful Decorative Dots Embossing Folder and of course the exclusive Hooray for Parties Download and the One Big Sale-a-Bration 2014 Download.

It is the One Big Sale-a-Bration 2014 Download which features on today's project

And this card is for everyone who has placed a Sale-a-Bration Order with me.  I really appreciate your custom.  Thank You.

And it is not too late to join them or to place another order - just visit the shop NOW!

It is also not too late to grab a bargain and join the ultimate Crafting Club - Join today and you will get £150 worth of products for just £99 including post and packing, then after that as well as making friends, being able to make money crafting and having a lot of fun, you will also get a discount on all your orders while you are a member - so grab your wish list and your credit card and click here to join.

Happy Stampin'

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Treat Basket - Ideal for Mother's Day or Easter!

Earlier this week I shared some Tulips I was colouring in on Facebook, at the time I was not sure what I was going to do with them, but then as I sat and thought about Mother's Day inspiration struck - I thought they would look nice on the side of a basket and this is what I came up with.

The basket is constructed from one sheet of 12x12 Double Sided Designer Series Paper and I have used a sheet from the wonderful Sweet Sorbet Papers from Stampin' Up!  Now if you like these papers they are available for free until 31 March - that is tomorrow - so don't delay go grab you wish list, go shopping and get them free when you spend £45 or more.  Details are all here.

This is what the basket looks like empty and from the top

And here are the flowers.  They have been coloured in Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Strawberry Slush and Pistachio Pudding using my ink pads and a blender pen.  They have then been edged with a little Soft Sky.  

The flowers were cut out with one of the Chalk Talk Framelits and mounted onto a Pistachio Pudding Oval cut with the Oval Framelits and then inked using the technique I shared with you here.

This basket would make a great table center piece too - just imagine it filled with Easter Eggs - it would hold lots!

Happy Stampin'

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Scrapbook Saturday - You've Been Framed! How to highlight just part of a photo

Sometimes when you Scrap a photo there is a particular area of that photo that you want to highlight without cutting away the rest of the photo.  Today I am going to share a page designed to do just that.

The base of the page has been stamped with the Gorgeous Grunge Stamp and some of the wonderful Watercolour Wonder Paper has been added along the bottom.  I have also added some of the delightful Natural Chevron Ribbon to give a little texture. 

Your photo would be added to the Crumb Cake Mat, I have used some Whisper White Card to show you where it would be.  The part of the photo you would like to highlight can then be framed with the Instamatic photo frame from the On Film Framelits.  The camera cut with the same dies and then Butterfly punched with the Elegant Butterfly Punch further draw your eye to the highlighted area of the photo.

This was one of the technique inspiration pages I shared at last month's Feeling Crafty Scrapbook Club.  Our next kit will feature the bold graphic Soho Subway Designer Series Papers and we will meet on April 20th.  You can find more details here.  If you can't join us in person you can have your kit posted to you at no extra cost and will receive photos of all the inspiration pages shared.  Email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk to reserve your place

Happy Stampin'

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Find Out About Friday - Colour Inspiration And Overcoming Creative Block

It happens to us all - sometimes you sit down to make a card and all that happens is nothing!  Before you sat down you had loads of ideas and you were sure you were in the mood but, well you find yourself sitting there just not knowing where to start.  The good news is that there are lots of things you can try to get yourself started and today I am going to share just one of them with you.  Using colour to inspire us.

We are surrounded by colour, look around you.  What catches your eye?  Is it the colours outside your window, the colours in a picture on your wall, the colours of something on your table, or maybe a picture you have seen on your computer.  A great way to overcome that creative block is to look for those colours, grab your inks and card in those colours, pick one stamp set and just stamp until you have filled a whole sheet of paper.

By the time you reach the end either your creative inspiration will have returned or you will have a pretty piece of paper to use on your cards.

Let me give you an example - I wanted to make a birthday card but just could not find where to start and then remembered a beautiful picture of an Iris that I had seen on line.  How gorgeous!  You can find the original here - along with some other stunning photos that I think I may well come back to for more colour inspiration.

For those of you who follow me on Pinterest you may have spotted this picture on my Its All About the Colours Board - Pinterest can be a great place to collect pictures where the colours speak to you, ready for when you need that creative boost!  If you are on Pinterest why not follow that board and if you start your own colour inspiration board I would love you to let me know where it is.

So I grabbed my Pool Party, Island Indigo and Melon Mambo Inks, a sheet of Whisper White Card and the lovely Petal Parade Stamps which are great for this kind of thing, and just stamped.  This is what I ended up with.  

The greeting is from the Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit and I have added a little butterfly punched with the Bitty Butterfly Punch from Silver Glimmer Paper and one of the Melon Mambo Papers from the Brights Paper Stack.  The corners were rounded using my Envelope Punch Board.

By the time I finished stampin that card inspiration was starting to strike and I made this one too!  Here the sentiment is from Perfectly Penned.

Don't forget this is the last weekend of Sale-a-Bration - it ends on Monday - so if you want the stamps I have used on today's project please get in touch now or visit www.bekka.stampinup.net and click on Shop Now.

So next time you find your self just stuck - look at the colours around you and off you go.

Happy Stampin' 

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Spring Card using the Vivid Vases Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!

This weekend is Mother's Day here in the UK and today I am going to share a card that would make a lovely Mother's Day card.  Mind you it would be great for lots of other occasions too!  It features the lovely Vivid Vases Stamp Set.

Here I have stamped it in Smoky Slate and then coloured it with mostly Crisp Cantaloupe using my ink pad and a blender pen.  I have also used some So Saffron and some Pistachio Pudding.  The coloured image was layered on some Crisp Cantaloupe that had been punched with the Scallop Trim Border Punch and which has some of the twine from the Sweet Sorbet Accessories Pack tied round it. This has then been mounted on a Smoky Slate layer which has been stamped with Gorgeous Grunge and then partially embossed using the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder.

Both the Sweet Sorbet Accessories Pack and the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder are things you can get for free - but you are going to need to hurry.  They are just two of the choices available as part of Sale-a-Bration which only runs until Monday - so grab your wish list and either go shopping here or get in touch bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk - but do it NOW!

Happy Stampin'

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Perfect Pennants Meets Sale-a-Bration

Today I am going to show you one of the cards we made at a recent Card Making Class, featuring the wonderful Perfect Pennants Stamp Set and some of the gorgeous Sweet Sorbet Papers which you can get for free when you spend £45 during Sale-a-Bration -so that is until Monday!

The card also features the wonderful Decorative Dots Embossing Folder which you can also get for Free during Sale-a-Bration and you can too - until Monday :-)  The Decorative Dots Embossing Folder was used on some of the loved Brushed Silver Card giving an an embossed metal effect which really catches the light well.  I have also used my Elegant Butterfly Punch, some Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon and some of the twine from the Sweet Sorbet Accessories Pack.  

If you were to purchase the Perfect Pennants Bundle and the Brushed Silver Card you could choose one of the Sale-a-Bration products for free - check them out here while you still have time!

You can find details of our next card making class here

Happy Stampin'

 

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Important Reminders and Why I am Thinking About Douglas Adams today!

One of my all time favourite quotes is, you may not be surprised to learn, a Douglas Adams quote, and it popped into my head as I sat down to write this blog post.  

'I love deadlines.  I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.'  

And why did that quote pop into my mind?  Well there are some deadlines approaching fast - Monday 31 March to be exact is deadline day!  It is the last day you can order the Best of Stamp Sets and the last day you can benefit from Sale-a-Bration.  To use another Douglas Adams Quote - 'Don't Panic' -  There is still time if you act now!

Don't let this be you.

Until Monday 31 March you will get one Sale-a-Bration choice for every £45 you spend before post and packing. There are 4 Stamp Sets, one with a matching punch, an embossing folder, an accessories pack, some lush paper, a card kit, a banner kit, a treat wrapping kit and some digital choices which you can select - so grab your wish list and go shopping!

While you are there you may also want to get the Best Of Stamp Sets - these 6 beautiful sets are only available until the end of the month and yes they would count towards your Sale-a-Bration total and help you earn free products.  You can see these six Commemorative Stamp Sets here.

The end of Sale-a-Bration is also your last chance to take advantage of the special offer of extra products in your starter kit when you join my team.  £150 worth of products for just £99 - no post and packing and everything you need to start making money sharing your love of crafting.  Join the best crafting club ever here.

So before that deadline whooshes by make sure you have taken full advantage of the wonderful deals available to you!

Happy Stampin'

 

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

MDS Monday - Competitive Photography

I am not the only person in my family who likes to take photos but who does not like being in them and as such photography becomes a bit of a competitive sport when we all get together!  My brother caught this fun photo of my nieces and I messing around with our camera phones.

I have used several of the elements from the One Big Sale-a-Bration Download which I got for free as part of Sale-a-Bration and I wanted to remind you that time is running out to take advantage of this amazing offer.  You only have until the end of the month to get the exclusive products and downloads, and you get one free for every £45 you spend.  You can see the details here, and remember this is the last week that they are available ...

Happy Stampin'

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Baby We've Grown Banner Card

Recently two very lovey friends of mine welcomed a new addition to their family, a sweet little girl who I know is going to be loved where ever she goes!  Today I am going to share the card I made for them.  I had been itching to make this card and could not wait to find out if it was a pink or a blue baby!

As well as the Baby We've Grown Stamp Set, this card also features some of my other current favourite products - the Hardwood Background Stamp, here stamped in Blushing Bride, the beautiful Natural Chevron Ribbon, the Gold Fancy Foil Vellum, the Gold Bakers Twine, the Elegant Butterfly Punch and of course the amazing Banner Blast Stamps and Banner Punch.

These Banner Blast Stamps and the Banner Punch are available free as part of Sale-a-Bration, but hurry - you only have a week left to take advantage - see all the details here.

Happy Stampin'

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Scrapbook Saturday - Is it possible to make a Scrapbook Page without Butterflies?

As I was getting ready for this month's Feeling Crafty Scrapbook Club I posted a photo on Facebook of some butterflies I was getting ready to go on one of the pages asking if it was possible to Scrapbook without Butterflies.  

They are an embellishment I find myself drawn to time and time again,and if like me you don't always scrap complete albums before going onto the next ones using a repeated embellishment can help pull your album together and give it some rhythm.  I guess butterfly embellishments suit my butterfly mind approach to my albums!

This page ended up with 14 punched and inked butterflies on it - that is a lot even by my standards, but I don't think the page is overwhelmed by them.  They were punched using my trusty Elegant Butterfly Punch from Crumb Cake Card and inked with Crumb Cake Ink before being stuck on the Crumb Cake Base.  Here is a close up of one of the clusters.

The papers I have used are from the Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper Pack and having opened them I was left with another question - why did I wait so long to use these papers - they are delicious!  If you think you may love them too add them to your wish list and then pop over to my shop, you only have just over a week to take advantage of Sale-a-Bration and to grab yourself some freebies - check it out here!

Happy Stampin'

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Find Out About Friday - How to make a Tea Bag Holder

Earlier this week I showed you some Tea Bag Holders inspired by a project a friend had seen and wanted an easy way of replicating.  Today I am going to share the tutorial on how to make them.  

There are two versions, the simple one and then a more complex gusseted one - you will find the instructions for the simple one in this post and if you would like the other instructions please email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk and I will email them to you.  The instructions you receive will also include the instruction for this simple version if you want something you can print out.  Both are designed to  take an individually wrapped tea bag.

To make this flat version, you will need a piece of double sided patterned paper measuring 9cm by 20cm.  Score 1 cm in from each long side of your paper.  Then turn through 90 degrees and score across the paper at 7.5 cm and 15.5 cm.  I have drawn lines on this photo to make the score lines clear.

Next fold in the largest end panel, folding where you scored at 7.5cm.  Cut out a small triangle from each side so you have a point where the score lines meet your fold.

Then on the smaller / other end panel mark the middle point 4.5cm in from the edge.  Cut from this mark, through the point where then score lines cross and on to the edge of the paper.  You can see the cutting line marked on the picture.  If you are using scissors I suggest drawing the line first.  If you are using a trimmer you should be able to line this up in your trimmer and just cut.

Repeat on the other side of this panel so you have a point.  If you are cutting by hand you can ensure your sides are level by using the first triangle you cut away as a guide.   You should now have a piece of paper shaped like this.

Fold in your side score lines then fold up the non pointed end.  It should come to just below the next score line.  Put some adhesive along the edge panels of the lower flap and stick them to the other edge panel, being careful to line them up.

Your Tea Bag Holder is now ready to decorate.  I created my fastening by adding a punched shape to the front raised up on a foam dimensional pad allowing the point of the flap to be tucked underneath.

 

Have fun making your Tea Bag Holders and don't forget if you would like the instructions for the gusseted version just email bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

Oh yes ... Don't forget today is the last day to enter the Find Out About Friday Prize Draw - all you need to know is here

Happy Stampin'

 

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.

Vivid Vases - One Card 3 ways!

One day last week I had 3 lovely friends celebrating their birthdays, so as I was making their cards I decided to take one design and make it 3 different ways!  

I have used the wonderful Vivid Vases Stamp Set and the Fresh Print's Paper Stack.  I am loving this paper stack and am impressed how well it is lasting - I have used it lots and lots, and there is still some left - what great value it is at just £6.25.

Each of the cards has a Real Red Base and has also been stamped with the Happy Birthday from the Banner Greetings Stamp Set. The Banner Greetings Stamp Set is only available when you host a party, so contact me to find out how you can get yours - bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

I enjoyed colouring the flowers and vases using Real Red, Coasal Cabana and Pear Pizzazz Inks and my Blender Pens.

To purchase any of the items used to make these cards visit www.bekka.stampinup.net and click shop now or just click on the hightlighted items above.

Happy Stampin'

To purchase the items used to make these project visit my on line store at www.bekka.stampinup.net or clicking on the highlighted item above.