My First Christmas Card Post for 2011!

Sorry, I know it is only July, but here it is, based on the design from this months card club. To see lots of other card club variations click on the Monthly Card Club button.  

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A Delightful Dozen!

Here are twelve top tips and heaps of great cards to give you ideas and inspiration - enjoy!

Top Tip 1. Mix different clear stamps from different manufactures for even more creativity and to get more looks:

(Dragon from Wild Rose Studio, Castles from Lindsay Mason collection from Personal Impressions - thank you to Julie Staves)

Top Tip 2. It is easiest to start with your patterned paper and colour your image afterwards to co-ordinate rather than the other way around:

(House Mouse image available in the craft room, patterned paper from Prima Fairy Flora collection, card blank Craftwork Cards - thank you to Jenny Williams)

( Penny Black Betsy Bluebell clear stamp set, My Minds Eye Lime Twist 6x6 patterned paper pack - thank you to Susanne)

Top Tip 3. White or black peel offs can make great focal images when mixed with subtle stamping and simple punched shapes:

(Woodware White peel offs Oriental Pots 60p - thank you to Anna Cox)

( Woodware black peel offs Blooms 60p -thank you to Anna Cox) 

Top Tip 4. Use pretty patterned paper for a background, and stamp solid stamp images in black ink for stylish results:

(Clear stamp Lindsay Mason Designs for Personal Impressions. Patterned paper Origins collection from Basic Grey - thank you to Jenny Williams)

(Clear stamp Lindsay Mason Designs for Personal Impressions. Patterned paper Stella Rose by My Minds Eye- thank you to Julie Staves)

Top Tip 5. Don't forget to use the sometimes forgotten smaller images from a clear stamp set on your cards. Both the following two cards use secondary images from the clear stamp sets:

(Little Musings Clear stamp set from Personal Impressions, Heart die cut Nellie Snellen Multi Frames - thank you to Anna Cox)

(Clear stamp set from Personal Impressions, card blank and candi from Craftwork Cards - thank you to Anna Cox)

(Clear stamp set Thank You Daisies by Stampendous - all the small images as well as the main image of daisies have been used. Card inspired by the Woodware blog - thank you to Jan Benskin)

Top Tip 6. 6x6 patterned paper packs are great value when mixing and matching papers on your cards:

( Patterned paper Crafts Too 6x6 pack, Cute dog from Dovecraft Cling Rubber stamp set £3.99, card blank and sentiment Craftwork Cards - thank you to Sue White)

Top Tip 7. Stamping images onto pretty die cut shapes gives even more interest to your cards:

(Stamped image Gorgus Girls, Fancy Pants Baby Mine 6x6 patterned paper pack, oval die cut Nellie Snellen Multi Frames - thank you to Anna Cox)

(Stamped image of elephant from Dovecraft clear stamp set, coloured with Promarkers, rectangle die cut: Nellie Snellen Multi Frames- thank you to Denise Hutchings)

(Stamped image of giraffes from Dovecraft, My Minds Eye Stella Rose 6x6 patterned paper pack, heart die cut: Nellie Snellen Multi Frames - thank you to Anna Cox)

Top Tip 8. Use your Promarkers to colour white candi so they match your project perfectly:

(Warren Rabbit image, candi, and sentiment all Craftwork cards, patterned paper Prima - thank you to Jenny Williams)

Top Tip 9. Cut your own unique shaped cards using your Cricut machine:

(Teacup shaped card found on A Child's Year Cricut cartridge which can be borrowed in the craft room or pre-ordered for £40, Butterflies made with Tonic Punch £9.99, Sentiment on first card from Woodware "Shaing a Cuppa" clear stamp set, large sentiment on third photo from old wooden stamp -  thank you to Anna Cox)

Top Tip 10. Use a sketch to give you inspiration and to get you started on your design. This sketch was from Junes' Scrap Club!

(Warren Rabbit image from Craftwork Cards - thank you to Carol Hiett)

(Flower images Hero Arts wooden stamp set - thank you to Julie Staves)

(Card inspired by May Scrap Club sketch Shabby Chic. Patterned paper Making Memories - thank you to Joan Baker)

Top Tip 11. Try paper piecing your stamped images for a completely new look:

(Penny Black Slapstick cling stamp - thank you to Anna Cox)

 (Stamped image of elephant from Dovecraft - thank you to Zoe Varney)

(Stamped image of shopping lady from Wild Rose Studio - thank you to Zoe Varney)

Top Tip 12. Don't throw away little pieces of left over patterned paper - use them to make extra cards instead!

(Patterned paper from Basic Grey collections "Sweet threads" and "Luscious" collections, candi and inspiration for the cards from Craftwork cards - thank you to Anna Cox)

Bonus Top Tip 13! Book a class or crop at A Maze of Memories for more top tips and ideas!

(Card shape cut with Grande Nestability scalloped circle die, flowers from assorted Hero Arts clear stamp sets, coloured with distress inks, sentiment Tim Holtz cling rubber stamp - card example from Flower Power class)

(Papers from My Minds Eye Stella Rose 6x6 packs, Sentiment stamps from Hero Arts - card  examples from Flower Power class)

Thank you so much to all our local crafters who have generously shared their work with us.

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Merry Mice

Susanne has been busy using the Woodware Micey Mice clear stamp set and created these cute cards. The first card was inspired by a card made by Francoise Read on her blog:

This sweet second card has been inspired by the twisted easel cards we made at last months card club. Susanne has stamped her image onto a pretty Nellie Snellen die cut heart:

This cute little mini card is quick and easy to make using the Woodware 3 1/2" scalloped circle punch, and the Woodware 3" circle punch. (The greeting and parcel are from an old Basic Grey mini stamp set)

Susanne has used cream linen card and distressed the edges with ink. All the images have been coloured with Promarkers.

And I thought I would share this lovely card made by Anna Cox using the same clear stamp set, that many have admired at the craft centre:

Here is the Woodware Micey Mice clear stamp set so you can see all the cute images and words on the set. I like the way Susanne stamped two mice together holding hands for her anniversary card.

We have a couple more cards using this set to share soon!

Perfect Paper Piecing!

I fell in love with this card made by Anna Cox as soon as I saw it! The paper piecing is just so beautifully done and the papers and colours work so well together.

Did you spot the little frog out in the rain too?

Here are the supplies Anna used (available in the shop)

And here is a close up of that beautiful paper piecing. Anna has coloured the image with Promarkers, and added Glossy Accents to add shine to the umbrella and wellies.

The Glossy Accents has also been added to the background patterned paper to make rain drops!

Summer Bunting

A quick idea to share from our Stash Busters session - Summer Bunting in the shape of hanging hearts.

We were inspired by ideas from Francoise Read and Stamping Caz ( who both contribute to the Woodware blog).

Here are some of our hearts waiting to be hung up in the craft room!

We have made our hearts with 1 1/2" strips of double sided patterned paper. Each heart needs two strips 12" long for the outer heart, and two strips 8" long for the inner heart plus a strip of card 1 1/2" x 8" for the centre hanging piece. Fold over 1" at the top to reinforce where you punch the hanging hole.

Decorate your hearts with flowers, butterflies, letters, or as we have done here - cupcakes - using the large Woodware cupcake punch!

Another Stash Busting Idea!

Here is a great idea from Anna Cox for using up little strips of left over patterned paper - and I love both her cards!

This first card features Mia going to school - a new stamp from the Wild Rose Studio summer release:

Notice the faux stitching and the cute little heart buttons? This would make a perfect "well done" or "congratulations" card.

This next card features the popular Woodware Patch an Owl Clear Stamp Set:

The paper pieced owl is just so cute, and the little button flowers are on the same clear stamp set. Thanks Anna for the inspiration, and a neat way of using up those little scraps!

A Stash Busters Idea!

Want to use up tiny scraps of left over paper - then how about making these simple cards using either squares or circles?

Twisted Easels!

Wow - last months card club seems to have inspired lots of our local crafters to create some great cards. Here are a selection I have spotted.

This first card has been made by Heidi who has used the Woodware "Cheers" clear stamp set, with resist embossing and lots of Perfect Pearl Mists to create this stunner!

Julie Staves has used one of the new Gorjus Girls clear stamps sets to make this sweet card. She has cleverly mixed some old DCWV patterned paper with some new Craftwork Cards Sweet Meadow flowery paper, and I like the way the easel is held in place with buttons:

Marilyn Allmans card also features an owl, but not such a cute and cuddly one as above! This scary owl is from a Personal Impressions clear stamp set designed by Lyndsay Mason. The greeting is from the Woodware Patch an Owl clear stamp set - love how Marilyn mixes up her supplies to get the most from them!

Yet another owl - this time a cute one from the Soft Scoop collection from Craftwork cards. Anna Cox has made this card and the one below as well

Anna has used  Prima 6x6 patterned paper for this card, and a die cut bird which works really well together:

Thank you all for all the inspiration - it's great seeing how one design has triggered so many brilliant ideas!

Wonderful Whales!

Just wanted to share one of the first entries in our new July card challenge (for more details click on Card Challenges).

This lovely twisted easel card has been made by Anna Cox. The patterned paper is from a My Minds Eye Stella Rose 6x6 pack. The sentiment has been added to a nestabiltiy Fancy Tag:

I love the way that Anna has made seaweed using a floral leaf punch, plus all the added little details like the fish and shells.

Anna has used the Woodware Sealife clear stamp set FRCL195 designed by Francoise Read. Here are the other fun images and words on the set:

Clear stamp sets like these with words, main focal images, and little additional images such as shells and star fish are so versatile and fun to play with. I especially love the "feeling crabby? get better soon" image and words!

Inspired by Francoise Reads' New Blog

Jan Benskin has been inspired by Francoise to make these lovely cards having seen similar ones on her blog. Jan has used a Woodware peel off (60p) to create all these cards.

Jan also used magitac to pick up the negative "waste" to get even more value from the set. I love the colours Jan has used. The first blue flower has been coloured with Promarkers, and the others below have been used with papers from the Sweet Meadow collection.

And here is another card also made by Jan using the black peel offs.

Birthday Thanks!

I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone for the best wishes, gifts and gorgeous hand crafted cards that I received at the weekend. I have been really touched at everyones's kindness.

I just had to share some of the cards from my friends at A Maze of Memories:

...and this last photo is just for fun. We all enjoyed lots of cake, especially the delicious Pear & Pistachio Cake from Kirstie at the Stables, and the iced cake from Jenny and Susanne!

Just one tiny candle as Susanne didn't want to set off the smoke detectors!

A Lovely Gift Idea

Anna Cox has been making some notecard sets as gifts for friends. Sets of hand made cards are such a great idea and useful for so many occasions such as teachers gifts, or as a special thank you.

This first set has been made using the new Sweet Meadow collection from Craft Work Cards:

Anna has used some beautiful 12x12 scrapbooking paper from Graphic 45 for this second set. Presenting the set in a matching gift box tied with ribbon makes the set even more special.

June Craft Work Card samples!

As promised here are this months samples. The collection Sweet Meadow is really pretty. I am sure there will be more creations to share soon!

Happy Birthday to Us!

We have been busy celebrating our fifth birthday and thank you to Jan Benskin and Angela Styles who sent us these first two cards to wish us well:

We made three cards at our Birthday Cards class on Saturday morning - all with a cake theme!

The first cupcake card was inspired by the design by Francoise Read on display in the shop. The cupcake has been made using the large Woodware cupcake punch!

Here is the card made by Ali Jones:

...and this card has been made by Anna Cox:

Here are the two other cards we made (these examples were both made by Anna in class). This first one is a clever pop up design:

and this third card that we made is great for using up all your little bits of patterned paper!

All the patterned papers that we used in class are from the new My Minds Eye Lime Twist collection.

And as it was our birthday we had to celebrate with a few real cakes (thank you Sarah!)

And finally a special Happy Birthday to Mandy who spent her 40th birthday crafting with us!

Lots of lovely cards spotted in the craft room again this week:

Julie Staves has fitted a baby elephant in her jar!

Anna Cox has pretty dragonflies:

And Zoe Varney has opened the lid of her jar with a card full of fluttering butterflies - clever!

...and Zoe has used her Woodware Mouse too:

Zoe has been busy and also made another couple of stacked cup cards:

Jan Benskin has used the same set and made this beautiful paper pieced card used My Minds Eye Stella Rose papers:

 Jeanette Thompson has made this cute card. I like the way she has used the 3mm nail heads on the cats collar and to decorate the card:

Jan Benskin has used the ideas from last months card club to make this striking set suitable for the men in our lives

(and we have managed to get some of these clear stamp sets for the shop again:

Anna Cox has made this super cute little owl easel card:

Anna used this punch to make all the owls:

Anna has made this lovely easel card using Craft Work Cards Fruit Scoop collection:

Anna has used a clear stamp from Little Musings (Personal Impressions) for this sweet card:

I love these two cards made by Denise Hutchings. Both are made using the new Dovecraft clear stamp sets from the Bazoo collection (and only £3.99 each but stamp perfectly!)

And now for something completely different. Vic Davies was inspired by her canvas class, and has been busing making some more using the same techniques, for her wall at home.

I think these are stunning pieces of art!

So What Would You Put In A Jar?

I fell in love with this clear stamp at the trade fair and looked foward to it arriving in the shop. It seems that everyone else loved it too - and we sold all the sets within 48 hours! However, we have now restocked so sharing what our clever crafters have been putting in their jars. Enjoy!

Here is the stamp set:

Julie Staves captured some bugs!

Love that paper pieced ant!

Julie was on a roll and made all these cards in one afternoon!

Here is a close up of Julies little jar of Love! Julie has covered her jar in UTEE and then used the freezer technique from last months card club:

Jeanette Thompson has used her goldfish from the Woodware Pets clear stamp set for these two fun cards.

 I think the goldfish is hoping to be fed!

The contents of Anna Cox's jar have got progressivley larger and increasingly imaginative! Anna started with lady birds:

And then moved on to Sea Horses:

Next comes a gingerbread man! Love this clever idea and it can be easily adapted to make some fun Christmas cards:

Moving up in scale we now have a cat with buzzing bees in the jar!

And Anna has even managed to squeeze in a cute fox!

Jan Benskin turned the jar on its side and filled it with a boat! A variation on the ship in a bottle idea. Change the colours slightly and I think this is a good idea for a mans card.

And finally I decided to fill my jar with cupcakes as a treat for Warren the Rabbit (of course!)

Here is a close up of the jar. I masked the cupcake images (Kars £1.30 for three small clear stamps) so I could stamp multiple images,  and  coloured them with Promarkers. I paper pieced the lid.

 I then covered the image in Versamark clear ink, and  heat embossed the jar with clear UTEE to give it a glass appearance. This was such fun to make!

Hopefully, I may have a few other Jar cards to share soon!

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Top Tags!

April Showers:

One clear stamp by Wild Rose Studio - and two beautiful cards to inspire you!

Anna Cox has made the first card which has been beautifully paper pieced. I love the flowerey umbrella, the way Anna has used matching paper on the umbrella and on the card, and the glossy accents to make the umbrella look wet and shiny!

Here is a close up of the clever paper piecing:

Sue White has used the same clear stamp and coloured her image with Promarkers. The shaped card is by Craftwork Cards.

Here is a close up of Sue's lovely super shiny brolly!

Inspired by Inchies!

Have a look at these supplies - Prima "Relections" 6x6 paper pad, and Scalloped Square Nestabilty frames....

....and now look at this beautiful card that uses them made by Anna Cox. Anna has stamped her Dandlion Clock image and cut it into four inchies!

A New Card Maker!

Introducing Denise Hutchings who has only recently started to make cards. Just wanted to share a few of her latest creations. As she says herself "I'm getting there"!

Denise has used the Woodware Pets clear stamp set for these first two cards. The lovely scalloped ovals on her budgie card have been cut using Nellie Snellen frames and a Cuttlebug:

Denise has used the Warren image from Craftwork Cards for these next two cards. I like the way she has layered flowers and feathers on this first card:

Denise has coloured this Fairy by Wild Rose Studio with her Promarkers  - and made a very pretty card:

Even more Inspiration!

Here are a few other cards spotted this week:

Anna Cox has used the nestie scalloped square to really show case her cute paper pieced owl:

Lots of crafters have purchased the Hero Arts clear stamp set with this flower, but this is the first time I have seen it paper pieced. Anna has created a simple, understated card suitable for many occasions.

Next we have three simple but lovely cards by Eileen Pestell, using stamps from Inkadinkadoo. I like the way that the sentiments take centre stage:

Linda Clare and Alyson have made more cards inspired by February's Card Club. Lovely colours and lovely paper piecing - both lady images are from Wild Rose Studio:

Easter Workshop for Younger Crafters!

All our young crafters made great projects this morning (with a little help from Mums, Grandma's and Aunties)

Everyone made an Easter decoration plus three Easter cards. Here are some photo's of their work:

Rachel (from Manchester) was really pleased with her cards:

Isabella was our youngest crafter today. I love the way she coloured her chicks:

Kia also did a great job with his project:

Frederica and Holly showing of their great work:

...and finally Jess and Thomas.

Great decorated eggs Jess, and I love what Thomas did with his chicks!

We will be repeating this workshop on Easter Saturday if you would like to book and join us!

Inchies!

Here are a selection of cards made at our recent Inchie classes. Thank you to everyone for letting me take photos. I hope all the examples will inspire you to have a go and make some Inchie cards yourself!

The first six blue cards are mine:

Here is a close-up of my photo Inchies. I found that using a Martha Steward punch around the page set, and starting with a 3 1/4" square gives a perfect shaped mat for four inchies!

Here are a few more that I have made. This first one was for April Fools day - it's a "fat" inchie 1 1/2" square!

Here is my other House Mouse version:

...and here is a general birthday greetings version:

.......and here is a card I made for Pats birthday using her favourite colour - purple!

Jane Towse made a beautiful red set, and I just love her photo inchie card! So cute!

Here is a "distressed" Inchie by Tina Williams:

Next we have a stylish purple and black inchie by Ali Jones. The tag is from a Fancy Tags nestability set:

Next we have a lovely set by Anna Cox. It was great how everyone took the initial inspiration and came up with lots of new ideas...

Here are some new ideas from Carol Avery:

....and here we have two other ideas from Diane Williams:

Jan Benskin has made a great set:

Here is a close-up of one of Jan's cards - so sweet:

Here is Jenny's version of my "fat" Inchie:

I like the way that Kayleigh Churchman has coloured this card and added decorative corners:

This yellow set by Caryn is very striking:

Here are a couple of close-ups. I love the way she has used candi on the cards:

Caryn and Dawn Watson used the same image from this Woodware set but came up with two very different takes:

Dawn made this lovely purple set of Inchie cards:

Sue Buckingham has made some stunning Inchie cards:

This photo Inchie card was made by Linda Clare and her daughter Megan. The photo was from a seed and plant cataloque - what a fantastic idea!

....and finally I snapped these being made by Lynn Hunt after her class, whilst cropping last week.

Warning - Inchie cards can be addictive!

Inspired by Francoise!

I have seen some beautiful cards at the craft centre this week with some lovely examples of paper piecing. Susanne has risen to the challenge and made this great stacked cups card, inspired by one of Francoises' samples from last Saturday:

Anna Cox has created a stack of patchwork owls and made not a bookmark, but a larger "Magazine Marker"! The owls have been coloured with Promarkers, and then the project has been laminated.

Jeanette Thompson has used paper piecing to create cute pastel owl cards using Craftwork Cards papers:

The Patch an Owl set has been very popular. Here Anna has used the torn strip idea from Stash Busters with the owl:

The large pram clear stamp is beautiful to paper piece. Here are a couple of lovely examples from Anna Cox:

Anna's house card is also lovely:

Francoises' large cupcake clear stamp is yummy paper pieced with these well named papers "Cherry Cupcake" by Wild Rose Studio.  These lovely cards have been made by Jan Benskin:

Not a paper pieced card this time, but some beautiful colouring on this Lily card by Sue Ward:

Warren the rabbit has been hugely popular. This is a very pretty easel card by Anna: 

Julie Staves designed this next card, and Megan has made a copy using Hero Arts clear stamps. The tape measure has been coloured with distress inks.

Gorgeous Gorjus Girls!

Anna Cox has made these two lovely cards using a Gorjus girl stamp. Both the white frames have been cut using Nelly Snellen frame sets, and papers are from 6x6 Wild Rose Studio patterned paper stacks. Really pretty cards that are well worth "card lifting"!

Stash Busters!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our spring stash busting sessions. Here are a few of the projects we covered:

First of all a quick and easy 12x12 scrapbook layout using assorted 2"x2" squares of patterned paper:

This was one of the mini books we did -  a carousel album. Here is the album closed. I used Echo Park "Spring Time" patterned papers:

Here the album is partially opened:

and here it is almost fully open:

The inside has been decorated with clear stamps from the Wild Rose Studio Cherry Cupcake collection. Remember to keep inside embellishments fairly flat so that the album closes easily.

We also made three different card designs. The  "rocket" card was inspired by Dianes' great rocket pet card on display in the shop. Here is my rocket card decorated with images from the Hero Arts Little Monster clear stamp set:  

Although the card looks difficult to make it is suprisingly easy!

Here is a floral version:

This next card design -  a triple easel, was inspired by this stunning card made by Anna Cox:

Here is one I made using a Martha Steward Punch Around the Page set for the corners and border:

Here is a pretty one made by Susanne:

This is the card I made for Carolyn's birthday using this design (which I borrowed back for stash busters!):

Jeanette Thompson used the idea for a lovely wedding card:

The other card idea for Stash Busters was a torn strip card. Everyone seemed to like this simple idea. Here are mine:

Here is a close up of one of them:

...and here are six lovely cards made by Ann Baker:

...with a close up of her favourite one!

We will be running more stash busting sessions in the summer!!

Everyone has been busy with the new ranges we have in store. Here are some lovely cards made by our crafters!

Susanne has made these two beautiful easel cards using a Tatty Button stamp. The image has been coloured with promarkers, and the pretty paper is from Wild Rose Studio:

Here is a close-up of her colouring. Susanne has added glossy accents to the flowers to make them shine.

Here is a blue version made by Susanne using the same stamp, design and paper range:

Zoe Varney has made a sweet little easel card with Tatty Button, but just used the girl image. She has used papers from the same paper pack (Cherry Cupcake) by Wild Rose Studio as well:

Anna Cox has paper pieced every part of this "Toadstool Retreat" card, including the tiny mouse!

Here is a close up of the little mouse!

Julie Staves has used the same image, and coloured it with Promarkers. I like the way she has created a subtle background by stamping the image with a light coloured distress ink:

Diane has ben very busy creating this card - lots of paper piecing, colouring and intricate cutting out to make this masterpiece!

Warren Rabbit from CraftWork Cards only arrived this week, but has been spotted already on a couple of creations.

This first one is a lovely gatefold design by Zoe Varney (with papers from Wild Rose Studio again)

...and here is Warren again on a cute card made by Julie Staves:

Jenny has made two more fun cards using Fluffy the Dragon (clear stamp set by Woodware).

Jenny has used the Woodware Mushroom clear stamp set, distress inks and resist technique to create the background on this card:

Susanne has used Mia from the Cherry Cupcake collection to make this sweet mini sized card:

A Rose by any other name..........

Jan Benskin, Anna Cox and Sue White have all used the same Woodware "Singles" clear rose stamp to make these lovely cards.

Jan has used Wild Rose Studio patterned papers to make this pretty card:

Anna has made a beautiful easel card, with unusual apricot colouring. Glossy accents on parts of the rose really makes the image "pop". 

Sue has used Promarkers to colour her rose, which is shown off beautifully by one of the  new Craftwork Cards shaped cards, plus some Candi:

Spotted this week!

Here are a few cards that our clever crafters have been making (and I happened to have my camera handy!):

Sue Ward has made this cute guinea pig card...loving the faux stitching, twine, Candi and the carrot !

The Cherry Cupcake collection by Wild Rose Studio is very popular. Susanne made this lovely card:

...and here are a couple more made by Anna Cox. Anna has used a Nelly Snellen frame to cut the pretty rectangle shape using her cuttlebug:

Here is another one made by Anna. I like the way Anna has put glossy accents on the flower to make it shine.

Because the Wild Rose Cherry Cupcake images are large it is simple to make a lovely card quickly as not too much embellishment is needed.

This cupcake image (Woodware "Singles" clear stamp) is HUGE and makes a striking image. Sue White used it for this lovely card (and used another shaped Craftwork Card too!)

Anna used a Craftwork Cards shaped card as well, and has turned it into a beautiful easel card. The doiley shaped circle is one of the new Nelly Snellen Frame dies, and the papers are from the Botanicals collection - a really pretty card this one!

Anna has been really busy and made this sweet Milton with a daisy card too:

....and finally a card for the older gentleman! Anna has used the Wild Rose Studio "Grandpa" clear stamp to make this fun card:

I wonder if it would be possible to mask off the head on this image, and stamp one of the younger male heads from another set from Wild Rose Studio? I haven't tried it, but if it works the image would be suitable for sending to a younger gardener!

Just a thought.....................

Tatty Button!

I have ordered more Tatty Button stamps as we have (almost) sold out. Here are some lovely cards made by our clever crafters!

This first easel card has been made by Diane, and is really pretty. Diane has used some paper left from her Scrap Club layout, and the heart has been cut with a Nellie Snellen frame die using the cuttlebug.

 Diane said that cutting out the image wasn't difficult inspite of those long limbs!

Here is a close up of Tatty with the beautiful roses (these are the ones we made when we did the grungboard plaque):

Anna Cox has made this beautiful card using the Tatty with Sunflowers stamp. This is also an easel card:

Anna has also made a clever slider card using Tatty's friend Pip:

Anna has turned the toadstool into a "magic mushroom" with this colourful card!

Sue White has made several lovely cards using the same stamp "Toadstool Retreat".

This first one has been beautifully coloured with water colour pencils. The shaped card is by Craftwork Cards that we are now stocking:

...and here is another card from Sue, this time coloured with Promarkers, and again using a shaped CraftWork Cards card:

Yet another look with the same stamp - this time the card has been made by Jan Benskin, and cleverly paper pieced!

This is another card made by Sue White which has been  beautifully coloured with Promarkers for a totally different look:

We are expecting a restock of this stamp any day soon!

Even more Ideas:

Jenny has made a fun card using "Fluffy" the dragon -  a new clear stamp set designed by Jane Gill for Woodware.

Jenny has used the design from last months Card Club for her card:

 Anna Cox has used the new Fisherman stamp from Wild Rose Studio to make this masculine card. Anna has made the fish shine using glossy accents...

This is probably my most favourite card recently - designed by Diane. The rabbit in the hutch is so clever (and easy to copy!)

Diane has also done her take on Francoises' Goldfish bowl. A really nice card and fun to make.

...and another fun pet card:

"Singles"

Here are some lovely cards made by Francoise Read for Woodware that I snapped at the trade fair. We now have the Singles clear stamps in stock:

We loved them all but this Wellie stamp was a clear favourite!!

Here are a selection of photos we took at the trade fair of cards on the Wild Rose Studio stand. They really are pretty. We hope the photos inspire you to start collecting the stamps and to make these lovely cards yourself!

Heaps of Ideas and Inspiration!

We love Francoise's Woodware new clear stamp Pet set. Here are a couple of cards made by Francoise:

To make the gold fish bowl just punch a circle from white card, and cut a bit off the top, and a little off the bottom to create the shape. Stamp with your goldfish, and colour!

Diane has used the set to make this interesting shaped card for the craft centre:

Anna Cox has made a slider card using the new Woodware Patchwork Owl set (also designed by Francoise) which we think will be very popular!

Diane has also made a couple of lovely cards using the Woodware "Ted Remembers" set. All the little stamped extras (like the ladybird) are on the set, including the words. The design is a lovely one to "card lift". I especially like the way Diane has stamped onto the frame:

Anna Cox has made some lovely cards with her new House Mouse stamps.

The daffodil has been glazed with glossy accents to make it really shine:

Here is a good idea from Marilyn Alman for a mans card using a cost effective clear stamp set from Personal Impressions:

Carolyn and Megan have been ispired by Tim to create these two tags:

...and here are the three canvases that I made at Tim's workshop last Saturday which are on display at the craft centre, with some of the new Ranger products coming soon....

A Quick & Easy Gift Idea!

The Hero Arts blog www.heroarts.com posts inspiration every week day and also has loads of cards ideas that are simple to print off. I saw this card and decided to make my own version using the supplies I already had.

So I turned these supplies (two pieces of 12x12 white card and one piece of 12x12 kraft coloured card plus a metre of black and white gingham ribbon at a total cost of £1.80) into ............

.....this set of six cards! I used a lovely Hero Arts cling stamp of wild flowers for my main image, plus a background text stamp and the Hero Arts Heart butterfly. You could use any similar stamps you own. I also used Personal Impressions clear sentiment stamps for the various greetings.

Here is a close -up. Each card started as a strip of card 4" x 12" which I folded in half, and then stamped a greeting on the bottom edge with black ink.

The Kraft card was cut at 4" x 5" and stamped on the left hand side only with a text stamp. I then used an anti static bag before stamping the flowers with Versamark clear ink, and then embossing with a black sparkly embossing powder.Then the bottom edge was torn for a bit of extra added interest.

The ribbon was glued to the back of the kraft card before gluing the whole piece to the card front.

The butterfly was stamped onto the left over pieces of kraft card, then heat embossed and cut out, before finally  adding it to the card front. Any butterfly image could be used.

Here is a second set I have made. This time I used one piece of 12x12 card in green, and one of pink, rather then white for my card bases. I also used a pale coloured distress ink for the text stamping (which is more subtle) and doesn't show up quite as well in the photo.

The cards are now packaged in a clear bag, with six standard C6 envelopes - ready as a gift for my mum!

What supplies do you have on hand to make a similar set of cards?

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Lesley Cook has finished her tags from last weeks class - love them! The more you look - the more you see............

What a Hoot!

Just wanted to share the three cards made by Francoise Read at our recent designer demo day.

The card bases of all three cards have been made with the Woodware cream linen finish A4 card, and the patterned papers used for paper piecing are from a 6x6 pad of My Minds Eye Stella Rose.

The cute owl is Francoise's Patch an Owl clear stamp set.

Francoise coloured this cute Teddy with distress inks during the morning demo - so I have mounted it onto one of the card bases to show how flexible the designs are.

Here are two other cards I have made since using one of the card designs and the same papers, but with a stamp I already had:

Spotted This Week!

Here are a few projects I snapped in the craft room this week as people cropped!

Caroline Males has made a brilliant and  patriotic exploding box to celebrate The Wedding. What a great idea.

Here the box is open in all it's glory. All the patterned papers are available in the shop!

These cupcake cards by Sue White look good enough to eat!

Jeanette Thompson has made this fab football themed card for her grandson, and matched the colours to his favourite team:

I like the way Denise Hutchings has used her Nelly's Square frames as a mat for her cute hamster diagonally to create a pretty diamond shape on her gatefold card:

Megan has cut a tag and sentiment for her card using the Story Book cartridge and Cricut, and then used Craftwork Tres Chic collection papers and a shaped card blank for this pretty card:

This beautifully paper pieced owl by Jan Benskin using Stella Rose patterned papers and a shaped Craftwork Card is just so cute:

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....and more owls again. This card by Julie Staves has been cleverly glittered and foiled using a dreamweaver stencil. Those owls look like they are wearing little masks and are up to mischief!

....and yet another bird - this time a penquin! Denise Hutching has used patterned paper to make this p p p perfect birthday card!

Tags "Tim" Style

Just thought I would share a couple of the tags from this Saturday's class. We concentrated on using five different techniques for each of the tags backgrounds - and then decorated them however we wanted.

We cut lots of shapes uing Tim Holtz alteration dies and the Vagabond machine. Umbrella man was very popular!

Tags are great for trying out new techniques - and can always be used as "toppers" for cards!

Gorgeous Card Lift!

Here is a beautiful card made by Francoise Read that she displayed at our recent demo day.  Have a look below to see the gorgeous cards that Jane Towse has made inspired by this design!

Here are Janes' versions in three different colourways:

Jane has used cream card for her base, and used some leafy swirl stamps that she already owned to stamp the background pattern. She has used the Woodware "Special Wishes" sentiment set designed by Francoise for her focal image.

Here is a close up. Jane has used the cute button flower from the Woodware Patch an Owl set plus added lots of little pearls and gems.

Can you imagine receiving such a gorgeous card?

 It would make me feel so special.