Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and more celebrities design and sign cards for Coram with Stampin' Up!

Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and more celebrities design and sign cards for Coram with Stampin' Up!

And the charity auction Cards for Keeps is live! All money raised will be donated to Stampin' Up!'s chosen charity partner, Coram.

Stampin' Up! sent some of the UK’s leading stars of stage, screen, music, art, sport and more a selection of Stampin’ Up! goodies and asked them to let their imaginations run wild. The celebrities were given the freedom to create whatever they like and a wonderful variety of designs were received from some truly fabulous names:

Benedict Cumberbatch came up with a bird design and an inspirational quotes inside the card. Bidding is sure to be sky-high on this one.  Fans of Sherlock may cause a stampede!

Alison Steadman used only a suggestion of Stampin’ Up! materials. But the design reflects her individuality - and what a fantastic name to support the cause,

Tom Hiddleston of Thor fame produced a wonderful design featuring a heart - I am sure he has stolen plenty!

Axel Scheffler, the illustrator responsible for bringing the Gruffalo to life, no less, used Stampin' Up! paper and embellishments so cleverly, creating what will surely be one of the auction’s top sellers.

All money raised will be donated to Stampin' Up!'s chosen charity partner, Coram. Founded in 1739 Coram is the UK’s first-ever children’s charity. 2014 will mark the start of their 275th year of transforming children’s lives. Through services such as Adoption and Creative Therapies, Coram helps some of the UK’s most vulnerable children to feel safe and loved and have access to the education and opportunities in life all children need. 

Why not check out all the designs - you might even be tempted to buy a Cumberbatch or Brand masterpiece!

Stampin' Up! Project Life Goes Digital

Stampin' Up! Project Life Goes Digital

Stampin' Up! recently announced their hugely exciting partnership with Becky Higgins and Project Life - did you see the information here?  The first release of Stampin' Up! Project Life products are digital downloads. The Point & Click (137347) and Day to Day (137348) Project Life Stamp Brush Sets and Everyday Adventure Project Life Cards (137345) are available now!

These downloads (American English-only) correspond to traditional Project Life products and are compatible with Stampin' Up!'s MDS design software and other design and photo editing programs.  Are you new to digital design? Here are some of the perks:

• With just a few clicks on your computer, you can print your cards from home and add them to your projects.
• Digital downloads are a great companion to the traditional products because you'll never run out of cards.
• Add stamps to your photos to create stunning overlays before you get them printed.
• Create custom cards by recolouring and resizing the embellishments and stamps.

The possibilities really are endless!

Here are the links to the Digital Stampin' Up! Project Life products. 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.

Stampin' Up! Clockworks Stamp Set with Banners Framelits Dies

Stampin' Up! Clockworks Stamp Set with Banners Framelits Dies

Ok - so when I first saw the Stampin' Up! Banners Framelits Dies I must admit I thought "how hard is it to cut banners?". Well not particularly if we are honest, BUT these dies make it SUPER easy! And the added bonus is if you buy the Perfect Pennants stamp set in a bundle with the dies then you save 15% - and let's face it - we all love a bargain!

The colours used today are Wild Wasabi, Basic Grey, Smoky Slate & Soft Sky - I just love this combination. I embossed a piece of Soft Sky card using the Big Shot and Argyle Embossing Folder and sponged the edges with Smoky Slate. I created a piece of patterned paper using stamps from the fabulous Clockworks stamp set and then cut various sized banners from card using the dies.

The sentiment is from Perfect Pennants and is so true.  A piece of Wild Wasabi Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon finishes the card.  I was really pleased with how it turned out.

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.

Personalise your cards with Talking Tags by Stampin' Up!

Personalise your cards with Talking Tags by Stampin' Up!

Good grief - why haven't I used these before now? They are such fun! We all love a handmade card right? Well with the Stampin' Up! Talking Tags you can include a voice message as well! Talking Tags are sticky labels you can attach to cards, invitations, gifts - ANYTHING! 

Talking Tags come in a sheet of 10 for £7.25 and you can record up to a minutes worth of message on each tag.  They are really easy to use!  You need to download the FREE TalkingTag App, scan the code and record your message. The recipient also needs to download the App to listen to your message.

Here is a video from Stampin' Up! which shows the Talking Tags in action - and how to record a message:

So many possibilities! What will you use them for?

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.

Embossed Monochrome Card with Stampin' Up! Daydream Medallions

Embossed Monochrome Card with Stampin' Up! Daydream Medallions

Some of you will know I sing in Colchester Military Wives Choir - Gareth Malone had no idea what he would start when he made the original TV programme over 2 years ago.  Anyway I made today's card for our Musical Director's birthday - she is a super stylish lady so I needed a super-stylish card!

Continuing my quest to use all my Stampin' Up! Stamp Sets before the NEW Annual Catalogue comes out on 1 July 2014, I have moved on to Daydream Medallions as it is a nice large image.  I was playing with heat embossing and realised that as I have the Clear Mount version of this stamp I could layer the images I wanted to use on the Large Clear Block and so stamp and emboss in one go rather than having to line each layer up with the Stamp-a-ma-jig - easy peesy!

The image was stamped in VersaMark and heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder on Basic Black card. The sentiment is from a retired set called Curly Cute - I very rarely use retired stamps but the swirls on this one were perfect for what I wanted. A piece of Whisper White Organza Ribbon and Large Rhinestones Basic Jewels finish the card.

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.

Make a Stampin' Up! Burlap and Blooms Simply Created Wreath

Make a Stampin' Up! Burlap and Blooms Simply Created Wreath

So have you made the Burlap and Blooms Simply Created Wreath from the Stampin' Up! Spring Summer Catalogue yet? I bought the kit a while ago and it has been watching me from a corner of my craft room so I tackled it this last weekend - and you know what - it was great fun!

So when you open the kit this is what it contains: 

Everything is pre-cut so you just need to assemble the flowers. The frilly flowers have double-sided tape attached so you just fold and roll. The other flowers you just build up and glue - either with Tombow or a Glue Gun and the Silicon Craft Sheet .  The Burlap ribbon is then wrapped round the chipboard wreath frame and the flowers attached using a glue gun.  I added a bow using Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon to finish it off (not included in the kit).  It took me a couple of hours but I was combining it with Saturday Kitchen viewing!  All-in-all a bargain at £15.95 I think.

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.

Stampin' Up! UK Introduce Photopolymer Stamps & a FREEBIE

Stampin' Up! have searched long and hard for just the right material to be able to introduce completely clear stamping. And they have found it found it! I am so excited to announce that with the release of the upcoming 2014-2015 annual catalogue, Stampin' Up! will have wood-mount, clear-mount AND photopolymer stamps. 

The top-quality photopolymer stamps stick extremely well on the Acrylic blocks, are durable, and the transparent nature of these sets makes it easier to line up your images without the need of a guide. This is a feature that is particularly helpful with alphabets, borders, and backgrounds! Photopolymer is clearly a great choice!

And even more exciting! From today, 1 May, there is a limited offer on select Photopolymer Stamp Sets. With every purchase of at least 75 €/ £60 worth of products, you'll receive a free photopolymer stamp set as a gift! You can chose from any of the following sets!

Want to find out more? CLICK HERE to go to my online shop.