Dexterous Designs: 2014

Sunday, 15 June 2014

Happy Father's Day with Stampin' Up!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there - my card will be late as my calendar showed next weekend as Father's Day - grrrrrrr! The picture is a bit dark as well as I was in a rush to post it - sorry.

So I have used the design from one of my previous cards as it is quick to make! The colours are Pool Party, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Tangerine Tango which tie in with the Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper (retiring) I used. Can you spy any new products on there? Yes the cute little ties are from the NEW Baby's First Framelit Dies - available in the 2014/2015 Annual Catalogue out on 1 July.

The background on the largest banner was stamped using images from Clockworks (retiring) and a stamp from a retired set (Affection Collection). I ran a piece of Very Vanilla card through the Big Shot using the Argyle Embossing Folder and sponged the edges. The banners were all cut using the Banners Collection Framelits and the card fished with a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Sentiments and Candy Dots.

Hopefully Dad will like it when is arrives - I know Mum will anyway! I am also thinking of everyone who is missing their Dads today - they will always be with you.

Here are the main Stampin' Up! supplies used today. Remember you can now order online if you prefer - if you click on the image you will be directed to my online store where you can pop them into your shopping basket. If you would prefer not to order online please either email me or give me a call on07530 368466 and I will be happy to help.

Don't forget to check out the RETIRING LISTS - lots of items have already sold out so if you want something make sure you order it NOW!

Thursday, 12 June 2014

Project Life by Stampin' Up! Available to Buy Now!

It is here! I am very excited to introduce Project Life by Stampin! Up! For those of you who haven't used Project Life before it is a fabulous method of Scrapbooking which makes it QUICK and EASY to capture your memories - which let's face it means we are more likely to DO it!

For those of you who are familiar with Project Life - well you all ready know how great it is! And now you can get Project Life in Stampin' Up! gorgeous colours so you can add other papers and embellishments KNOWING it will all co-ordinate - fabulous!

There are currently 8 products you can buy from my ONLINE store or you can click on any of the pictures below:

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals 11 June - 17 June 2014

Great news! The Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals have been extended indefinitely! Each Wednesday, I will be bringing you a new set of deals on a selection of fantastic products. Make sure you check my Online Store each week to see what’s on sale and take advantage of these great deals before they’re gone!

These are the products on offer this week (w/c 11 June): -

Remember you can now order online - if you would like to order any of the products in this week's deals please click on the button on the right hand side and you will be whisked to my online shop where you can pop them into your basket! If you would prefer not to shop online please either email me or give me a call on07530 368466 and I will be happy to help.

Don't forget to check out the RETIRING LISTS - lots of items have already sold out so if you want something make sure you order it NOW!

Sunday, 8 June 2014

Stampin' Up! Washi Tape Storage using Tag a Bag Gift Boxes

A storage solution for you today! I was having a play and discovered that the Tag a Bag Gift Boxes are the perfect size for storing Stampin' Up!'s Designer Washi Tape. Obviously I needed to decorate it as well.

The boxes come flat packed but are super-easy to assemble, but before I did I stamped it using a stamp from Gorgeous Grunge and added some Retro Fresh Washi Tape. I then cut "Washi" from Tangerine Tango card using the Typeset Alphabet Bigz die (retiring).

So my Washi Tape is now organised rather than hidden under the chaos on my desk! How do you store yours?

Don't forget to check out the RETIRING LISTS - lots of items have already sold out so if you want something make sure you order it NOW!

Saturday, 7 June 2014

An Epic Box with Stampin' Up! Chalk Talk

A box for you today. I made it a while ago but hadn't got round to sharing it with you. The starting point was a tutorial from my fabulously talented friend and fellow demonstrator Sam Donald - aka Pootles. I had to alter the size of the box to fit the contents - posh hand cream - but that was simple enough!

The colours I used are Early Espresso, Pool Party and Crumb Cake. The Designer Series Paper is from the Epic Day This and That pack.

Every box needs a tag! I stamped the image from Chalk Talk in Crumb Cake and Pool Party Ink, and snipped out the word "Something" so I could use it to highlight the word on the tag. The tag was cut out using the Chalk Talk Framelits and matted onto the other card colours. It was finished off with ribbons (Victoria Crochet Trim, Very Vanilla Seam Binding & Linen Thread) and an Early Espresso Designer Button.

It was the perfect size for the hand cream - I love being able to make custom boxes as it makes the simplest of gifts all the more special! And the funny thing was we gave each other identical gifts!

Don't forget to check out the RETIRING LISTS - lots of items have already sold out so if you want something make sure you order it NOW!

Friday, 6 June 2014

We Will Remember Them - D-Day 70 Years On

What a poignant day - 70 years since D-Day. I am looking forward to listening to the coverage on Radio 2 - especially the concert at 8pm. So this card is for everyone who gave us so much all those years ago - we must never forget them - and those who continue to do so.

The stamp set used is Stampin' Up!'s Words of Courage - perfect for today. Colours used are Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso & Whisper White.

The words were all lined up and stamped using the Stamp-a-ma-jig. The topper was cut out using the Deco Labels Collection & Circles Collection Framelits. Linen Thread and Cherry Cobbler Candy Dots finished the card. It ended up a random size as I wanted to repeat the words three times. Luckily I could use the Envelope Punch Board to make a custom-sized envelope!

Lots of the boys from Colchester have been parachuting in as part of the ceremonies and today I am proud to live in the home of the Parachute Regiment and to remember those who fought on the beaches for us.

Thursday, 5 June 2014

Circles with Stampin' Up! Daydream Medallions

When I saw this Around the World Stampin' Up! Challenge to use circles I knew I had just the card to enter. I made this one as part of my effort to use all my stamp sets using one of the stamps from Daydream Medallions. The colours I used are Soft Sky, Wisteria Wonder, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla.

I stamped the image to create a background paper and then layered up ribbons and a bow using Burlap, Soft Sky Seam Binding and Linen Thread. The sentiment is from the Perfect Pennants stamp set cut out using the Banners Framelits dies - don't forget you can save 15% if you buy them together as a bundle! I attached the greeting with a pin from the Vintage Trinkets (retiring)

I love the way the colours all work together so well - as you would expect with Stampin' Up!

Don't forget to check out the RETIRING LISTS - lots of items have already sold out so if you want something make sure you order it NOW!

Wednesday, 4 June 2014

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals 4 June - 10 June 2014

These are the products on offer this week (w/c 4 June): -

Some bargains on Big Shot dies so make sure you stock up!

Don't forget to check out the RETIRING LISTS - lots of items have already sold out so if you want something make sure you order it NOW!

Tuesday, 3 June 2014

An Extra Special Birthday Card with Stampin' Up!

I had a super special card to make a couple of weeks ago - a birthday card for my lovely Mum who was 70 - she was obviously an older Mum when she had me as I can't possible be 40 something now ;-)

I wasn't really sure where I was going with this but like the way it came together in the end. The colours I used are Real Red, Pool Party, Crumb Cake & Whisper White.

I actually stamped the number 70 using the Morning Post Numbers stamp set which is now only available on My Digital Studio. Today is from the Geometrical stamp set inked using a Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker - I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line it all up. It was then popped onto a tag cut with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch.

The background is a piece of Whisper White Core'dinations (retiring) embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and sponged with Crumb Cake ink. I then layered up lots of elements - a Tea Lace Paper Doily, a floral piece of paper from the Fresh Prints DSP Stack and a slide cut using On Film Framelits. The sentiment is from Morning Meadow - an exclusive hostess stamp set.

I finished the card with Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon (retiring), Real Red Stitched Grosgrain (retiring), Linen Thread and Pearl Basic Jewels.