A little bit 'Decadent' :-)

Good Afternoon Everyone

Well, I've just spent a hectic 3 days at the NEC for our trade show, with the rest of the Creative Expressions team,.. launching all our brand new products (exciting times!), it's so nice to get to spend time with everyone as usually it's a phone call, text or an email!
And, of course, we are never at Create & Craft at the same time so no chance to catch up in the green room...

It's also been lovely meeting and chatting with all the craft shop owners who stock my products.

Here we all are :-)

So, with all the 'newness' in mind,.. I wanted to tell you about my next shows on Create & Craft, which are next Tuesday, 24th February at 10am and 3pm, where I will be launching my new range of Cosmic Shimmer products, in 6 brand new colours, which I have called 'Decadent', with more products added to the line up,.. one of which is our brand new blending ink, called colour cloud, and (as you'd expect from me), it will be available in my 6 new colours,.. I absolutely love this product and I can't wait to show you!!!

There will also be 9 brand new Decadent Damask sets of stamps, a brand new co-ordinating 8x8 paper pad and a brand new addition to the paper pad range (can't wait to show you this too!)

I don't want to say too much as it will spoil the excitement for showing you on TV next week, but I will tell you the new colours, which are:

Decadent Teal

Decadent Oak

Decadent Grape

Decadent Wine

Decadent Denim

Decadent Bamboo

These new colours are very different from the Graceful Collection and I love them!!

Anyhoo,.. I've rattle on long enough! So, here's a big card I made using some of the Decadent Teal products and one of the sentiment stamps from the Decadent Damask range :-)

Hope you like it..

See you on C & C next Tuesday,..

Time for a cuppa anyone?

Good Afternoon Everyone,..

Now I'm on a Blog Roll (so to speak), I thought I'd share one last sneaky peek of one of my card samples for my shows on Create & Craft tomorrow :-)

It's another biggy! 21cm x 15.5cm :-)

If you know me, you will know that this is the perfect card for me,.. there are tea bags, tea cups and more on here!

This is one of my brand new stamp sets, aptly named 'Time For A Cuppa' and it's a montage set,.. I adore the montage sets because there is so much you can do with them!
Of course, I 'had' to create a background stamp to go with this set too, so I could get my fave tea brand on it :-) lol

I think there is something that just about every tea or coffee lover will like about these stamps!

Anyhoo, here it was I used:-

White cardstock (lots of!)
Creative Expressions A4 Sea Garden Embossing Folder
Sue Wilson Californian Collection Dies (Hollywood and Frames Set A)
Gathered Twigs Distress Ink Pad
Sentimentally Yours Time For A Cuppa Montage Stamps
Sentimentally Yours Tea & Coffee Background Stamp
Sentimentally Yours Baroque Sentiments 2 Stamps
Cosmic Shimmer White Pearl PVA Glue
Cosmic Shimmer Choco Brown Pearl PVA Glue
Square Dazzler
Brown Seam Binding Ribbon
Couple of Pearl Hatpins

Remember, my show times are 8am and 3pm tomorrow.

You can pre order all of my new stamps sets and most of the goodies I have chosen to go with them on my show directly from my website here

Hope you like it, I love this card :-)

Happy Crafting!

I know,.. I know.... I'm a terrible Blogger!, But......

Good Afternoon Everyone

I know,... I've been a terrible Blogger of late,... rest assured, my mate, Julia Watts, reprimanded me severely at Ally Pally last weekend :-)

In my defense, I have been rather busy with designing new stamps,.. and more!

I also have been working hard with Creative Expressions to bring you my own range of co-ordinating Cosmic Shimmer products to go with my Vintage Christmas Paper Pad,..

In early October, you will be able to get Ink Misters, Pearl PVA Glues, Polished Silk Glitters, Gilding Wax, Mica Powders, Twinkles (sparkly glue!) all in perfectly co-ordinating colours,..

Creative Expressions and I have worked so hard to get the colours perfect!, you know I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to matching colours and I wanted the same for all of you too, so you don't have to 'make do' and spend hours searching for products to go with everything!

These new products will (hopefully!) be launching on my 11th October shows on Create & Craft and, yes, I'm a tad excited! lol

Anyhoo, because I've been a naughty Blogger, I'm going to give you a sneaky peek photo of one of my card samples for my shows on Create and Craft next Tuesday, 30th September 8am and 3pm

This is a big card! 21cm x 15.5cm

To make this card, I used.. quite a bit lol

Spellbinders Enchanted Labels 28
Spellbinders Labels 28
Couture Creation Dragonfly Die
Creative Expressions A4 Quilted Flower Embossing Folder
Creative Expressions Micro Glass Beads
Cosmic Shimmer Aurora Twinkles
Evergreen Bough and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink Pads
Cosmic Shimmer Teal Sky Pearl PVA Glue
Sentimentally Yours Dragonfly Montage Stamps (NEW)
Sentimentally Yours Dragonfly Retreat Background Stamp (NEW)
Sentimentally Yours Scribbled Sentiments (NEW)
Lots of white cardstock lol



Happy Crafting!
(Promise I'll be a better Blogger! lol)

Christmas Show Card Samples - One day at a time - Day 4!

Good Morning Everyone

What torrential rain we had here last night! I hope that's not the end of our lovely sunny weather!

We are on Day 4 of my Christmas Show Card Samples!

As promised, here's the fourth card, with a little list of what I used and a link to my www for you to go and get them, should you feel the crafty need!) :-)

This is an 8" x 6" Card, in lovely shades of lilac and purple  :-)

Here's what I used:

A4 Lattice Heart Embossing Folder

Spellbinders Majestic Labels 8 Dies

Lavender Dazzlers

Dusty Concord Distress Ink

Regency Snowflakes Stamps (not many left in stock!)

Frosty Snowflakes Stamps

Christmas Verse Stamps (not many left in stock)

Stardust Stickles

I love lilacs and purples on Christmas cards,.. they work so well with just plain ole white card and a bit of glitter!

The combination of the two styles of snowflake stamps work so well together,.. similar shape, with one being lacy and the other solid... lovely!

Hope you like it :-)

Happy Crafting!

Christmas Show Card Samples - One day at a time - Day 3!

Good Morning Everyone

As promised, here's the third sample card from my Christmas Shows, with a little list of what I used and a link to my www for you to go and get them, should you feel the crafty need!) :-)

This is an 8" x 8" Card, in lovely shades of blue  :-)

Festive Borders Stamps
Vintage Christmas 8x8 Paper Pad
Create a Flake 3 Dies
Christmas Sentiments Stamps (I have a limited stock of these left)
Snowflake Montage Stamps (I have a limited stock of these left)
A4 Lattice Heart Embossing Folder
Faded Jeans Distress Ink Pad
Marvelous Squares Dies

Hope you like it!

Happy Crafting!

Christmas Show Card Samples - One day at a time - Day 2!

Good Afternoon Everyone

As promised, here's the second sample card from my Christmas Shows, with a little list of what I used and a link to my www for you to go and get them, should you feel the crafty need!) :-)

This is an 8" x 7" Card, in lovely Green Tones :-)

Vintage Christmas 8x8 Paper Pad (sold out in 2 days! now back in stock) :-)
Christmas Sentiments Collection Stamps
Bundled Sage Distress Ink Pad
A4 Lattice Heart Embossing Folder
Acrylic Circle (the one I used on air)
Stardust Stickles
Spellbinders Marvellous Squares Dies

I'm not sure if you can see from the photograph, but i've used the Stardust Stickles on the hearts on the embossed border and randomly around the lovely swirly stars on the background paper,.. they just add that extra 'something'!

Hope you like this card, I love green!

Happy Crafting!

Christmas Show Card Samples - One day at a time!

Good Afternoon Everyone

What a wonderful day I had at Create & Craft yesterday!

I'm so pleased you all love my new Christmas Stamps and Vintage Christmas Paper Pad :-)

So, a big thank you from me! I can't wait to see what fabulous cards you all come up with using the stamps and papers :-)

Over the next 3 or 4 days, I'm going to pop one of my sample cards from my shows on here and let you know what I used, I'm more than happy to share my ideas with you and flattered if you copy!

So, here's card no.1,.. a lovely 8x8 in lilac and purple shades.

Here's what I used: (I've linked them all to the relevant section of my website, in case you need to purchase any of the items :-) 

Vintage Christmas Paper Pad

Snowflake Montage Stamps

Christmas Sentiments Collection Stamps

Create a Flake 3 dies

A4 Pinpoint Checkerboard Embossing Folder

Marvellous Squares Dies

Dusty Concord Distress Ink Pad

Acrylic Circle (you may have seen me using this on air)

Hope you like it!

Happy Crafting!

Sentimentally Yours Christmas 2014...

Good Afternoon (nearly evening!)

OK, I've begged and pleaded and bribed and, eventually, got my own way!!
Creative Expressions have (to shut me up I think lol) said it's OK for me to put all my Christmas 2014 products onto my website for you to start buying now.. whoo hoo!!!!

I will make it live at 6:15pm tonight so you can go look (and buy!) 

You can also pre-order my BRAND NEW Christmas product (shipping will start next Wednesday for that, it's so new, I've only just managed to get mine in time for samples!!)

Hope you like everything :-)

My Christmas shows on Create and Craft are next Tuesday, 29th July at 10am and 3pm 

I'll be getting as many demos as I can in!

PS - There are some card samples on
my Pinterest boards - here  
my Sentimentally Yours Facebook page - here

Here's a quick one for you now :-) I will keep adding them too :-)

Gilded Dragonfly Meadow

Good Afternoon Everyone

I know, I know,... it's been a while, but I have been really busy! 

Anyhoo, here's todays' post for you... this was a sample card I made for my last shows on Create & Craft, with one of my new stamps, Dragonfly Meadow..

I adore Dragonflies and, dare I say it, probably more than butterflies! (shocking!) lol

This is what I used:
Cream 8x8 Card Blank
Cream Card
Brown Card
Sentimentally Yours Dragonfly Meadow A5 Stamp Set
Cosmic Shimmer Gemstones Gilding Flakes
Cosmic Shimmer Flake & Glitter Glue
Brown Seam Binding Ribbon
Spellbinders Grand Ovals
Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Metal Button


This is what I did:
I won't rattle on about matting and layering as you can see what I did from the photo... 

The card blank was cut with the largest oval die through my Grand Calibur, making sure I overlapped the crease of the card and the bottom of the card to give me a fold and a flat bit so the card stood up! lol

I then did the second largest doe in brown card.

Then the third largest die is cream card and this is the one I used to gild onto.

I used the Cosmic Shimmer flake & Glitter Glue and applied it to my stamp using a piece of cut n dry foam,.. now, I have so many people ask me what the trick is with gilding flakes and it's simple really,... 

Don't use too much glue and don't apply loads of pressure when you stamp it (like you would do with inks)

I, literally, glue the stamp, then just put it onto the card, giving just a very light amount of pressure and remove it straight away.

Then, I just covered the glued impression with the gilding flakes and burnished them into the glue, rubbing off all the excess with my little scrubby sponge :-)

As you'd expect, there's a triple upside down bow made with the brown seam binding ribbon ;-)

The lovely sentiment is part of the Dragonfly Meadow set and I just stamped it onto some left over cream card and snipped the end with my scissors to give it the 'flag' look..I curled the sentiment with my bone folder and used wet glue to stick to the card.

TOP TIP - The cosmic shimmer flake and glitter glue is a little softer than most used for gilding, I would, however, clean the stamp straight away with warm soapy water (I just chucked mine in the sink lol and it washed up lovely)

You'll find most of the products I used on my show on my website here..

Hope you like it :-)

I love gilding flakes and love the overall simplicity and elegance of this card,.. the stamp is doing the hard work here (not me!) ha ha

Happy Crafting!

Create & Craft Shows...

Good Afternoon Everyone...

Just a quick post to remind you that I am back on Create & Craft tomorrow (Wednesday 28th) at 10am and 1pm with some brand new Sentimentally Yours Stamps!!

I'm so excited to be showing you these too, something a little different in one of the sets ;-)

Here's a few sneaky peeks of bits of sample cards I have made using the new stamps..

I will be making 2 cards per show on air so get the emails in for a chance to win one :-)

See you on your telly tomorrow!

White & Cream (with a hint of distress ink) :-)

Good Afternoon Everyone

Forgive me Bloggers,.. it's been 3 days since my last post :-)

I've been busy with ordering extras for the Great British Craft Festival North in Bolton... it's only a couple of weeks away!
I will be doing the VIP workshops on the Friday (30th May) and will be having a stand with my Sentimentally Yours Stamps (and other goodies) on the Saturday and Sunday (31st May and 1st June)

I'm really looking forward to this show,.. it will be the first one I've done with my own range of products so be sure to come and say hello if you're there :-) (and buy my stamps, of course ha ha)

My sister and Aunty Sue have been down to the shop today, to help me with getting everything ready, although it seems there's more to do than we thought!

Anyway, this is another one of my sample cards from my shows on Create & Craft....

This is what I used:
White 8x8 Card Blank
Cream Card
White Card
Sentimentally Yours Circle Frame & Flourish Collection A5 Stamp Set
Creative Expressions A4 Quilted Flower Embossing Folder
White Seam Binding Ribbon
Self Adhesive White Pearls
Spellbinders Gold Majesty Circle Dies
Antique Linen Distress Ink
Small Dazzlers
Flower Embellishments 


This is what I did:
I won't rattle on about matting and layering as you can see what I did from the photo...
The second layer is cream card, with just the corners and centres pierced using my pokey tool.
The third layer is white card, this has been embossed using the Quilted Flower embossing folder through my Grand Calibur.
I then, very lightly, applied the antique linen distress ink over the embossed areas, using a piece of cut n dry foam.
The centre topper was creating using the Gold Majesty Circles dies, the bottom layer is plain cream card, the second layer is white card and this has (surprisingly) been distressed around the edges using the same distress ink.
The  bottom circle has been die cut in cream card.
I stamped the smaller of the 2 circle stamps from my Sentimentally Yours Circle Frame & Flourish Collection stamp set in the same distress ink, cut this out and stamped the sentiment within the guidelines that are on the circle stamp,.. remember, there are lot's of sentiments in the set to choose from, but on this card, I chose the Happy Anniversary for a change.
The circle was given the edge inking treatment using the distress ink and then glittered :-)
I've used foam pads to create different levels of height within the topper.
I finished off with my signature upside down triple bow in white seam binding ribbon, with e small dazzler in the centre.
2 small dazzlers either side of the sentiment circle add a touch of sparkle :-)
The 3 flowers at the bottom are bought ones (I know, I cheated!) lol, but the colour was perfect to go with the card so I couldn't resist!
You'll notice that I haven't glittered the flowers, just left them plain,.. this was intentional as there is glitter on every point on the embossed background... no OTT here ;-)
I love this card, it's a clean (ish), elegant card and the colours are lovely,.. 
TOP TIP - Try this card in other colour ways, but keep them light, like lilac or sky blue... the products are doing all the work and I just put it all together... easy peasy :-)

You'll find most of the products I used on my show on my website here.. 

You'll find the full range of Polished Silk Glitters here..

Hope you like it :-)

Never give up....

Good Morning Everyone

It's a rainy, windy day (so far!) here in Nottingham,.. there'll be no sitting in the garden looking at my lovely new garden centre purchases today! lol

Anyway, this is another one of my sample cards from my shows on Create & Craft....

This is what I used:
Cream 8x8 Card Blank
Cream Card
Teal Card 
Sentimentally Yours Quotes of Inspiration Collection A5 Stamp Set
Creative Expressions A4 Cascading Hearts Embossing Folder
Teal Ribbon
Pearl Embellishment
Self Adhesive Pearls
Spellbinders Blooms Four Dies
Spellbinders Grand Decorative Ovals Dies
Spellbinders Les Papillions Two Dies
Broken China Distress Ink


This is what I did:
I won't rattle on about matting and layering as you can see what I did from the photo...
The second layer is teal card.
The third layer is cream card. I used the Grand Decorative Oval dies to create the centre aperture.
This layer was them embossed using the Cascading Hearts Embossing Folder through my Grand Calibur.
(this layer is on the card with 3d foam pads to give height and dimension) :-)
The centre topper was creating using a smaller die from the grand decorative labels, this meant I would be able to see more of the teal card behind,
I stamped one of the sentiments from my Sentimentally Yours Quotes of Inspiration set, using the broken china distress ink (The flourish in the centre is part of the sentiment,.. snazzy eh :-)
I then die cut lots of the flowers from the blooms four dies and then two butterflies in cream card.
The flowers are stunning aren't they, I love them, it's so easy to shape them like this, I just twisted the petals into themselves using my tweezers.
I've used full round pretend pearls in the centre of my flowers, but normal self adhesive ones would be ok :-)
I finished off with my signature upside down triple bow in teal ribbon.
Popped a pearl embellishment in the centre and job done.. easy peasy :-) 
TOP TIP - I've used cream linen card on my project, if you want to stamp onto linen card with distress inks, use the reverse side, it's smoother, but still has a little texture showing through and you'll get better stamping results

You'll find most of the products I used on my show on my website here.. 

You'll find the full range of Polished Silk Glitters here..

Hope you like it :-)

Just a note....

Good Morning Everyone

It's now stopped raining and the sun is shining! :-)

This is another one of my sample cards from my shows on Create & Craft....

This is what I used:
Kraft 8x8 Card Blank
Cream Card
Kraft Card 
Sentimentally Yours Circle Frame & Flourish Collection A5 Stamp Set
Sentimentally Yours Damask Background and Damask Borders & Icons A6 Stamp Sets
Cosmic Shimmer Ivory Pearl PVA
Medium Dazzlers
Sue Wilson A4 Quilted Flower Embossing Folder
Spellbinders Gold Labels Dies
Brown Ribbon


This is what I did:
I won't rattle on about matting and layering as you can see what I did from the photo...
The second layer is cream card and I have stamped a random (ish) pattern using the largest and smallest of the Damask Icon stamps,.. the smaller has been stamped as a second generation (lighter tone of the same ink)
The third layer is kraft card and I have used the Ivory Pearl pva to create faux pearls all the way around.
The fourth layer cream card and I have stamped the damask background stamp in the centres, just enough to show through the aperture :-).
The fifth layer is kraft card, embossed using the quilted flower embossing folder. I have also cut an aperture in this using the gold labels dies. (Aperture was cut first)
I then die cut a layer in kraft card and a layer in cream card, stamped the sentiment onto the cream card.
I also used autumn bronze gilding wax around the edges (gives a beautiful pearlescent sheen!)
All edges were distressed, apart from the actual card and the kraft and cream layer :-)
The layers are difficult to see on the photo, but I have created dimension using foam pads.
I finished off with my signature upside down triple bow in brown ribbon.
Popped a medium dazzler in the centre and job done.. easy peasy :-) 
TOP TIP - Save time and do the faux pearls with the pva beforehand, to give them time to set properly.

You'll find most of the products I used on my show on my website here.. 

You'll find the full range of Polished Silk Glitters here..

Hope you like it!