Thank you notes

Hello and what a glorious Saturday! Today I've some cute little thank you notes I made for a customer and her friends who put together an order.

The card bases are Crumb Cake and then I used a variety of colours as the card fronts. These were punched with the large flower punch. I then ran Tombow glue around the edge and stuck small strips of co-ordinating ribbon across the hole.


To finish I stuck a button on with a mini glue dot and a basic rhinestone in the centre. So quick with Stampin Up!'s range of co-ordinating products!!!

I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black and popped them into some teeny tiny envelopes I had already.


What are you doing to enjoy the sun? We've been pottering and preparing for our guests who are visiting this week.

See you soon.

Birthday boy

Hello all! Can you believe it's Friday? I swear time speeds up in the summer!!

Today I have a sunny card to share with you. It was for a young guy called Jack who was celebrating his fifth birthday with a bowling party.



I used Play Date DSP and cut out the number 5 from one sheet. I made a frame for the number by punching the 1" circle outbid Chocolate Chip card and then centering that hole and cutting with the 1.25" circle punch.

I added a Real Red star to make it a bit more interesting and a little button in the centre. I'm so obsessed with matching that I managed to find a wrapping paper that was almost Tempting turquoise and ribbon to match the star!

Munchkin enjoyed the bowling and was keen to pick up a bowling ball wherever possible!!

Thanks for reading my blog today. I love reading your comments - they make my day!

New Class Schedule

Check out new classes add to my schedule for the coming months here.

Swirly wedding card

Hello! As I mentioned last week I've been asked by my bro to make some wedding cards and here is the third one:


I LOVE this swirly stamp from Baroque Motifs and then I punched some hearts from Ridinghood Red DSP. A few pearls and voilà!


The inside was decorated too as the base card was black so it's easier to write the desired message.

As this card features a swirl I'm entering it into this weeks Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge, which asked to feature swirls.

It's a beautiful day here in Surrey ad we're off to see a few friends later - hopefully lots of photo opportunities for my Week in The Life project!! See you again soon.

Crafty Summer

One of my customers enjoyed using the Big Shot on Saturday and asked if to bring her young daughter over to learn how to use it too. Well, Anna (the daughter) was a complete natural! You can see her hard at work here:Here is a photo of Fiona and Anna with their finished handiwork!

You can see the cards are variations on the ones we made on Saturday but in really funky colour combinations - Anna was great at picking out unusual colour combos that really "pop!"

If you'd like to have a one-on-one craft class, why not contact me? blueangelcrafts@gmail.com

Sail away with me

Ok so I have to admit I've never actually been sailing.... But when the challenge on Daring Cardmakers this week was to make a card with the theme "wish you were here" this boat stamp came straight to mind:


The boat stamp fills the main part of the card and then I sponged the sea in Baja Breeze (to match the handwritten sentiment and mat) and used So Saffron to sponge a sun.

Gold brads bring the whole thing together. How did I do the cut-out corners? Using my 1/2" circle punch! The punch has a cross design on the inside and you line up the corner of the card with one quarter of the punch - simple!

Today I've got my lovely friend Ruth popping over for some crafty fun - with her doggy Jessie! Should be interesting to mix a dog with a toddler!!!

Thanks for reading my blog - I read and appreciate every comment.

Summer Fun

Hello and happy Monday! Today I'm beginning my Week in the Life journey 2011!! I'll show you my progress as I go.

Anyway today I have a card to share with you that I'm entering into the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge this week. The theme was summer fun and there's nothing more summery than a nice big ice-cream!!



The base was cut from Melon Mambo using the scallop circle die on the big Shot. I then cut a circle to fit inside out of Whisper White.

The ice-cream scoops were stamped using the Big Bold Birthday stamp set. The scoops are actually meant to be the top of a cupcake but I thought they looked good as ice-cream!

My trusty Color Coach came in useful when choosing colours so the scoops are in Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise. The cone is a scrap of Daffodil Delight that's been run through the Square lattice embossing folder on the Big Shot. To finish I hand wrote a sentiment in Daffodil Delight. Easy!

Today munchkin has put her foot down and insisted starting potty training. Lots of accidents to come, I expect, but exciting nonetheless!!

Button heart

Hello! Here is my entry to the Less Is More challenge:



The challenge was to use buttons and/or ribbons and I couldn't resist making this card. I used shimmer cardstock and stuck a variety of buttons on with glue dots. The sentiment is from the Level 2 stamp set in the Spring Mini and was stamped in Grey ink.

Hope you're having a good weekend, and if you're taking part in this challenge I can't wait to see your creations!

Big shot magic class

Today I ran my second Big Shot Magic class! It was good fun and I had some lovely ladies attend. The class was taken from this class by Monica Gale. I just LOVE her designs and couldn't improve them!

I made this version in Rose Red:



This one is just like Monica's in Baja Breeze:



They really are cute, aren't they? Also, they make the most of the Big Shot dies in the Spring Mini catalogue. Plus Springtime Vintage designer papers and seam binding ribbons.

After a busy morning it's time to chill this afternoon. We're going to enjoy some time as a family before DH goes to watch the new Harry Potter film while I babysit. Enjoy your weekend!

Blue wedding amour

Here is a second wedding card I've made for my brother to give this summer.



It's based on a lovely card I saw on Vicky Hayes blog.

It features the Eiffel tower and sentiment from Artistic Etchings, as well as background words from French Foliage stamp set (in the Mini). It was Vicky's amazing cards made with this stamp set that have inspired me to get it at all! Now I can't wait to try some more of her ideas!

I added a touch of Botanical Gazette DSP behind the main piece of card and used a piece of striped grosgrain ribbon across the front.

The flowers were stamped in Marina Mist to match the ribbon using the Hostess Set Punch Potpourri. These are quick to cut out as (as the name implies) the images fit the Boho Blossoms punch.

All materials are Stampin Up! and you can order them direct from me! Blueangelcrafts@gmail.com

Today we're having a quiet sort of day with my in-laws and my brother visiting so i'm making a huge fisherman's pie for dinner. Fingers crossed they'll all enjoy it.

Inspired by...

Having taken part in some of the Daring Cardmakers challenges I was checking out the blog this week to see what the challenge is. It was based on the site Pinterest which is a cool site where you can make your own virtual pinboards using pictures from all over the web. Well, it's taken me this long because I've been addicted to the site ever since!

Anyway here is my card for the challenge:



My brother seems to be attending a wedding every week this summer so he asked me to make him some cards. This one is based on a card designed by Monica Gale. Hers was purple and featured butterflies so you can tell I've made my own version.

I had trouble adding the picture from Pinterest but here is a link to her website itself. I promise it IS on Pinterest though!

Here are a couple of close-ups:



This shows the gold embossed crown; the crown is from Artistic Etchings. The Cherry Cobbler hearts are stamped with Bella Toile background stamp and the Very Vanilla heart has been stamped in Crumb Cake with the circle stamp also from Artistic Etchings.



The sentiment was from the set Wedding Sweet and I finished it off with Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon and plenty of pearls!

Messy Little Munchkin

As promised, here is the double-page spread I made on Monday. I've loved these photos for a while and just couldn't decide what to do with them. Do you ever have that problem? There's a whole box of beautiful photos in my craftroom just waiting to be scrapped. Anyway onto this page...

Bearing in mind my new found love of "Less is More" I decided I would try to strip back my scrapbook page and leave the photos totally centre stage. Hence, I started with a Whisper White 12x12" base and no fancy embellishments, glitter or trinkets. Instead I used a circle punch to create the Daffodil Delight border and combined this colour with Tempting Turquoise; this picks out the colours on her highchair as well as the little romper suit she's wearing.

As she is completely covered in chocolate I chose a chocolatey coloured title - Early Espresso. Again, my Big Shot came in useful to make the title.

This double-page has been put into Munchkin's scrapbook album so she can see how adorable she looked at this tender age.

Thank You!

Today I received a lovely email in my Inbox from HSS (Hand Stamped Sentiments). I was chosen as one of their Artist Pick of the Week for the Sunshine challenge last week! Here is my prize:

Thank you very much DT!!

Friends page

Morning! Today I have a scrapbook page to share with you:



The papers are from the Greenhouse Garden pack and I used colours from the paper when picking the buttons and lettering.

Oh my gosh I adore my Big Shot alphabet! It's fab and sooo easy to use. At the last minute I decided there was too much empty space in the bottom right corner so I doodled with the two-way glue pen and sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

The photo is of my friend Chloe and my lil sis. It's amazing how quick it is to scrapbook when the colours all co-ordinate. Tomorrow I'll share a double-page I made of Munchkin.

Holiday snaps

Here are a few pics from our short weekend away:

We had to get our feet ready!




Driving in the car is a tiring business:




Very weird being in the back with my parents navigating.




Charmouth beach had it's own Stonehenge.




Ilminster church was beautiful.




Cuuuuute!



The town was very quaint.



Time for a quick fish pedicure in Taunton. Felt weird but pleasant once I'd stopped being giggly. Great results too!



Axminster was soggy but we kept our strength up by visiting Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cafe/restaurant.



Snuggled up with this toasty fire put together by DH (once we'd found a lighter!!!!)

Cirlces Theme

Greetings LIM fans! Here is my entry for the Circles Theme this week on the Less is More challenge blog.

I used my 1/2" circle punch to punch out the rainbow. As soon as I heard the challenge I knew I wanted to use that punch. I forgot that the rainbow has only 7 colours so I had to do a bit of arranging but now I'm pleased with the end result.

For the sentiment: it was stamped in White Craft ink using a stamp from Flight of the Butterfly that says "thank you so very much". It's much more striking in real life but that's me taking photos I guess!

Such a great challenge this week - seeing everyone else's creations has been a real treat. Hope you like mine!!!

Box Contents (2)

Hello and Hooray for a new week! We had a long weekend away this weekend so my posts were a bit sporadic as I had to do them from my phone and there was A LOT of driving! Anywhoooo here are the last two cards from inside my masculine giftbox of cards: This one is a pull out card and I added the word "Travel" using rub-ons. Such a great way to personalise something like this. You could add the recipients name or a special message too. I thought that "travel" matched the theme of the set.

Finally we have one that used the aeroplane. I LOVE this image. Using it makes me feel like an artist!!

Hope these give you some inspiration for using this set. If you don't have this set and want it, drop me an email and I can order it for you! blueangelcrafts@gmail.com

Contents of the box (1)

Bonjourno! So today I have a couple of cards from the box. Unfortunately the second one is the wrong way but I haven't yet figured out how to turn photos around (do let me know if you know how to do this).

Edit: Thank Jade! I took your advice and now my pictures are the right way round!!

The first uses the aeroplane stamp and 'happy birthday' stamp from Plane & Simple stamp set. Love how effective this paper is with no effort on my part too!

This second card has the goggles punched out with the largest oval punch. To get the scalloped part behind I punched a scalloped circle and cut it in half so both parts could poke out (top and bottom)

The roll of paper makes quite a statement - a bit like a 3D flower might on a more feminine card. Even though there's a small Ridinghood Red flower punched from Boho Blossoms flower punch it doesn't take away from the masculine-feel.

How was your day? Although it rained a lot we did some good wandering and visited a fun antique shop, fabric shop and an amazing deli. Fabulous! Then my brother came and joined us for dinner which was yum. Good times!! Hope you are enjoying fun times too.

Card giftbox

Hello and Happy Friday blog friends! Today I have the start of a few linked posts showing you a set of cards I've made that would be useful for someone with lots of men in their life!



It's a CASE'd project that I saw on one of Kimberley Van Diepen's YouTube videos. I adapted it to make use of the set Plane & Simple from the Mini catalogue.



Here's a peek inside. Over the next couple of posts I'll show you the cards I've filled it with.

To make the box you make Basic Black base from a piece 7.25"x9.25" and you score at 1.5" on all 4 sides to create a basic box. The lid is Sahara Sand and was 9.25"x4.25" and scored at 1.5" across the shortest side at the top and bottom. You can use Velcro or mini magnets like I did to keep your box closed. Then on to decorate!!

Today we had a glorious cooked breakfast out on the patio in the warm sunshine - what a fabulous way to start the day!!! Sadly the weather has gone a little soggy now but I'm hopeful it will recover in time to enjoy an outdoor breakfast again tomorrow.

One layer challenge

Hello all! Finally here is my Less Is More challenge entry this week!



The challenge was to make a one layer card featuring "something with legs". So... I used a Very Vanilla base and stamped the monkey from Fox & Friends in Soft Suede. I coloured the bellies with a Crumb Cake marker.

The sentiment came from Trendy Trees and was stamped in Crumb Cake and was finished with a couple of pearls. Voilà!

You are my sunshine!

Hello and happy Tuesday! I have dragged myself out of my sick bed to share this card with you! It's my entry into the HSS sunshine theme challenge!

It was inspired by a stamp I saw in the new US SU catalogue which features a sunflower. This is as near as I can get! I covered the medallion background stamp with Daffodil Delight ink, then a layer of Pumpkin Pie around the edge and then ran a Tangerine Tango pad around the very outsides to give them further definition.

I was not happy with my original stamping as I thought that the centre wasn't yellow enough so I stamped the centre again and punched it out using the 1 3/4" circle punch. The sentiment came from the set, Something Sweet, and was stamped in Tangerine Tango also. I cut it out freehand to keep the swirly-ness as it reminds me of rays of sunshine.

Tangerine Tango is soooo overlooked in my projects. I love the colour so I aim to use it more!

It's a Smash Up

For those who enjoy keeping momentos, receipts, clippings etc a Smash Up journal is perfect!



You can learn how to make own Stampin' Up! version of the smash book craze at my class on Saturday 6th August. My front cover is plain but I'm hoping to jazz mine up at the class. I've called mine a Smash Up and is the perfect project to keep holiday journalling/memories or as an everyday place to jot inspiration, the everyday and ideas. Great as a gift or you may want to treat yourself!

If you click here you'll find links to explain the smash book trend even more.

Today I've been a bit poorly - I'm currently still in bed blogging from my phone. Sore throat, aches and pains. Fortunately DH has been a star and he's even been checking on my greenhouse! Hope you're having a relaxing weekend.

Lil Bro

Awww my little brother... He doesn't get many posts about him so I thought I'd share this scrapbook page of him:



It's made using Happy Moments scrapbook kit. This kit is great as you get 12x12 cardstock, two designs of double-sided paper and three sheets of self-adhesive die cuts (stickers!). They all co-ordinate and make creating pages a cinch.

Hope you like my page. We've had an odd kind of day as we waited for the boiler service man most of the morning, quick dash around town, lunch and then a ridiculously long nap time and it was basically gameover!!!

Cute as a button

Hello and happy Wednesday. Here is my entry to the HSSBC #74 where the theme is buttons.



I love the Sew Suite stamp set to make a faux packet of buttons and used the co-ordinating paper. Then I used my alphabet stamps to stamp my own sentiment. Aren't alphabet stamps great? It's so nice to have the flexibility to choose ANY sentiment.

The Blues

Hello all! Another beautiful summers day and a card entered into the Less Is More colour challenge (week 22).



You had to use more than one shade of blue, so I used Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze.

Yes yes I have been naughty and added a rhinestone but I think it really sets it off! Hope you like.

So far today we've been to the pool and set up the paddling pool in the garden for later. Yay!

Mini book

Happy Monday! Can't believe how fast today went but it's the evening again so time to reflect. Today I decided to leave my comfort zone and try some new things. I've had the scrapbook kit, Happy Moments, since last year and never opened it! Today I opened it and made this:



It's a mini book filled with little pull out pockets! Just love the bright colours!!!

In between crafting I went out to visit the new greenhouse, oooo about 5 times! Whilst out there I also spotted this:



Isn't it gorgeous?! The stripes are so funky.

Another crafty project I've been working on is my display by the front door. I got the idea from a home magazine and here is my version:



The pots are food tins that I've painted with enamel paint. Took a while to collect the tins as it turns out we don't eat much from tins! However it's made now and it's even still summer!!

Hope you've had a good day and start to the week!

Back to nature

Happy Sunday! Today I have a card to show you that used Nature Walk at the retreat day I ran yesterday. It was a fun day in a great venue (thanks Diane!). The ladies were all lovely and came up some original twists on my original designs!



The birdcage was embossed in gold and added a sentiment using Tiny Tags stamp set.

Today was for relaxing. Well, it was for me once the roast dinner had been made. Anyway DH and my father-in-law made this all day:



Cool huh? I'm so excited that we'll be able to grow salad all winter long. All we need to do now is add the glass to the frame!

Next to the greenhouse we have a couple of raised beds with a few edible plants:



Love having it all in rows as it makes me feel like a professional (hahaha)

Whilst the men were working Immy and I ran off to Starbucks:



Just LOVE that cute little face. Hope you've had a great weekend too!

Sew lovely gift

Hi all, have survived yesterday and feel much more peaceful. Sadly I'm still not sleeping but the silver-lining to that is more time to craft!

Relatives have been visited and one of my Aunts admired the sewing themed papers in the Mini catalogue so I made her this:



It's based loosely on a tutorial by Michelle Last although I altered the basic construction pieces to make it from A4 rather than 12x12 and changed the way the fastening works.

Here is a picture of the insides:



So as you can see there are cute notecards. I didn't add sentiments as this aunt lives in France and I haven't ant French sentiments (yet!)

I'm giving it to her shortly as a 'bon voyage' gift.

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