Sympathy cards aren't cards I generally enjoy making, unfortunately they always mean someone, somewhere has lost someone dear to them and are in unimaginable pain.

A close a family member on my husbands side, died a few days ago. It wasn't news we were expecting, as quite often it never is. We are deeply saddened and wanted to express our heartfelt condolences to the immediate family, and so here we have a sympathy card I've made and sent to the immediate family members.


I wasn't planning on using one of the new stamp sets from the Spring Summer catalogue but while creating this card I knew I wanted to stick to a monochrome theme, I didn't have any patterned paper that I felt would be appropriate so I used a stamp from the Timeless Textures stamp set and made my own background paper by stamping in Smoky Slate onto Whisper White cardstock.

I think it looks simple in an elegant way. Its exactly the look I was after. Clean, bright, sombre, special and beautiful.





The butterfly has been die cut using the Butterflies Thinlit Dies and has 2 layers. The underneath is cut from Basic Black Cardstock. The top layer is Vellum, from the new Botanical Gardens Designer Vellum Stack from the upcoming Spring Summer Catalogue. There is a subtle pattern on the vellum and I felt this added something to the card.

I finished the butterfly with a row of 9 rhinestones down the centre. Simply stunning.

I hope you and your family had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to 2016 and all that it brings.

Myself and my husband had a quiet Christmas at home this year. We started off with an amazing meal at Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill in Congresbury near Bristol on Christmas Eve. The food was amazing, for a special treat and a truly memorable meal, we decided to share a Chateaubriand, essentially a large fillet of beef, intended to be shared and never for just one. This dish came with the most amazing onion rings, a grilled tomato and a small copper pan of triple cooked chips. A little jug of Bearnaise Sauce was the perfect accompaniment.

We opted out of starters so we could make sure we finish this beautiful steak and still have room for dessert - but we couldn't resist the warm basket of beautifully baked sourdough bread. For dessert I had a very sticky toffee pudding and Phil had a raspberry knickerbocker glory. It was a lovely relaxing evening with stunning food. The service was excellent and the waitress very kindly offered to take a photo of us.

We visited Phil's dad and sister on Christmas Day morning then spent the rest of the day at home, just the two of us with our cats Charlie & Bayley. I missed having my mum and brother to stay so we decided to use Skype so we could open our presents together. It was really nice as we were still able to be part of each others day, 130 miles apart.

Whilst I did miss hostessing, it was also lovely to put my feet up and relax and cook Christmas dinner at my own leisure. I cooked roast turkey and all the trimmings - my all-time favourite roast is rib of beef but my husband always says "its not Christmas if you don't have turkey", so turkey it was and it will always be. I'm not the biggest fan of turkey so I always make Jamie Oliver's Get Ahead Chrismas Gravy to serve with the meat, trust me, it makes all the difference to the meal and is well worth the effort to make it.

As we were spending Christmas apart from family, I wanted to make something handmade to give as presents. I made 6 of these little hampers, containing little treats to eat and drink and I really hope everyone liked them and found a little something inside that they really enjoyed. Naturally I couldn't post pictures of these until after Christmas, so here is my version of a Handmade Christmas Hamper and the little treats included within it.

These biscuits are so yummy, they are Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate Shortbread Wreaths. I am glad I bought them when I did as they were sold out in no time. I packaged 2 biscuits in 4" x 6" cellophane bags to include in the hamper.

I made a label using the Lots of Labels Framelits and some kraft cardstock. I then stamped 'Chocolate Shortbread' using the Alphabet Rotary Stamp and underneath stamped the winter scene using the Cozy Christmas stamp set. I added a white star punched from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper and also coloured in the snow on the roof with a Wink of Stella glitter pen which will be available in the new Spring Summer catalogue. I stapled the label to the cellophane bag using the Handheld Stapler.


Here is another favourite of mine - Sainsbury's All Butter Fudge. It's very crumbly fudge and at £1.25 for 200g it's an absolute bargain. I put 4 little pieces of fudge into a 3" x 5" cellophane bag. The label is Kraft cardstock punched out with the Decorative Label Punch. Again, I used the Alphabet Rotary Stamp to stamp the word 'Fudge' and then added the sentiment 'Happy Winter' from the Happy Scenes stamp set. The little bird has been stamped using the Festival of Trees stamp set. I used the handheld stapler again to fix the label to the cellophane bag.



A hamper wouldn't be a hamper without some good old English tea so I ordered individually wrapped Twinings English Breakfast tea bags from eBay.

I made these cute tea bag holders using some 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper and added a sentiment using the Washi Label Punch and stamped 'Season's Greetings' using the Happy Scenes stamp set.

I used a video tutorial I found on YouTube by Joan Robertson to make the tea bag holder - click here to watch it, it's so easy and quick to make and each one holds two tea bags.

Now this is a real treat. I included in the hamper a little glass jar filled with Mr Miles hot chocolate (made in Somerset), enough for 2 mugs plus some pink and white mini marshmallows for some extra indulgence!

I got the clip lid glass jars from Sainsburys for £1.25 each - unfortunately I can't find them online but they are similar to the Kilner Spice Jars. They are perfect as once the hot chocolate has been used up, the glass jars can be reused in either the kitchen, or even in the craft room.

I used the Alphabet Rotary Stamp to stamp 'Hot Chocolate' onto some Kraft cardstock. I then punched out little tags using the Washi Label Punch. A star punched from Gold Glimmer Paper punched using one of the Itty Bitty Accents punches and fixed to the tag with a glue dot is I needed to finish off the jar. To fix the label to the jar, I punched a small hole using the 1/8" Circle Handheld Punch and threaded through some Linen Thread before tying the label onto the glass jar.

Oh my gosh, where have the last few weeks gone? To say we've been busy is an understatement. With less than 2 weeks until Christmas now the pressure is on to get the presents wrapped and cards made (yes, I'm still making my Christmas cards). I haven't even got any decorations up yet.

Normally by now, I would have everything well under control but this year hasn't quite gone to plan. With a late holiday in October, complete redecoration of our living room (floors, walls, furniture, lighting....) and some heartbreaking anxiety issues with one of my little cats, Christmas has not been my top priority, even though its one of my favourite times of the year. Thankfully, everything is coming together now and fingers crossed, our beautiful cat Bayley seems to be improving. My husband and I are certainly looking forward to a nice break at home together with the cats as we both have 5 days off work!


I made this card a few weeks ago. Its another version using the Hearth & Home framelits but with a totally different look to what you've seen already. I used some DSP from the Home for Christmas Designer Series Paper. To get an aged look, I spritzed the DSP with water and scrunched in into a ball to break the paper fibres down. I then stretched the paper back out and left it to dry. Once it was dry, I mounted the DSP onto a layer of Gold Foil and a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. I stamped the window scene onto some Very Vanilla cardstock and simply coloured in the birds with my Real Red Stampin' Write Marker to look like red robins. I cut the window from Kraft Corrugated Paper and added a wooden Snowflake Elements and the sentiment Peace in Gold Glimmer paper. Peace is certainly want this Christmas, peace at home and peace in the world.

Anyway, enough about me, on Saturday I promised to post my other version of the Winter Wonderland Christmas Shaker Card on Wednesday but unfortunately time completely slipped away from me - please accept my apologies! 

So without further ado, here is my second version of the Winter Wonderland Christmas Shaker Card.

I have used Gold Foil instead of Silver Foil and I also used the very cool, on trend antlers print from the Winter Wonderland Specialty DSP. Its so striking, I would love wrapping paper in this design!



If you didn't catch my other card  I made using the same sketch and window scene, please click here to take a look at the other version where I've used Blackberry Bliss cardstock instead of Basic Black.



Can you believe its a month until Christmas? If you've got an order to place, please let me know ASAP so we can get the order placed and delivered by Christmas for you. I hope you enjoyed this project today and I hope to hear from you soon.

I really like the Hearth and Home Thinlit Dies and wanted to make another Christmas Card using the window die. I was also thinking about making a shaker card for the first time. I couldn't decide which to make first so I thought I would have a go combining the two designs together. I love the result. What do you think? 



I attached a piece of Window Sheet to the back of the die cut window. I then had a look through my stash of adhesives and managed to find some old foam tape. I added two layers of the foam tape (to give it enough depth) around the edge of the window and then put some sequins inside. I then attached a piece of Whisper White cardstock which I had stamped with the trees background from the Happy Scenes stamp set to the back, before adhering it to my card base.


I love this effect so I recreated it with some different patterned DSP and cardstock. Come back on Wednesday to see the other version I've created.

Thanks for stopping by. I've got some Autumn/Winter catalogues left, if you would like me to post one to you please get in touch using the social media icons on the right hand side.

Today's card showcases the Home For Christmas DSP, cardstock pack and the Cozy Christmas stamp set. All 3 coordinate together perfectly. I just LOVE how easy Stampin' Up! make it for us to coordinate our handmade makes with matching stamps, DSP, cardstock, ribbon and embellishments.

The coordinating product range is one of the main reasons I signed up as a demonstrator, almost two years ago now. That as well as the amazing discount, access to exclusive sneek peeks of new products and pre-orders, and the opportunity to attend events. Little did I know that I would make some really good friends that also share a passion for all things handmade.

Lots of friends and fellow demonstrators are currently over in Belgium at a Stampin' Up! event.  Unfortunatley I wasn't able to go due to commitments at work and a severe lack of annual leave remaining. I can't tell you have envious I am but I cannot wait to hear all about it in the coming weeks.


To cut the centrepieces for these cards, I used the Ovals Collection Framelit Dies (for the card in the picture above) and the 2 1/2" and 2" Circle Punches (for the card in the picture below). Real Red and Mint Macaroon ink and cardstock matched perfectly with the DSP.


All of the stamps used are from the Cozy Christmas stamp set, as you can see in the image below, this set also includes a stamp of one of the little houses you can see in the DSP. I LOVE it! Some of these stamps are also going to be perfect for making tags for Christmas presents. I can't wait to get back into my craft room to give this a go. Unfortunatley that may not be until next week now as tomorrow is the first of two weekends where we will be working on decorating our living room and dining room. I can't say I am looking forward to it as its going to be hard work, but I can't wait to see the end results.

While writing this post, I've heard about the awful news in Paris. My thoughts are with the people of Paris and family and friends of all of those people affected.

All I've been thinking since I've got back off holiday is Christmas. Christmas shopping. Christmas food. Christmas cards. And simply not having enough time to prepare. So I decided I needed a break. No, not another holiday! I just needed an hour in my craft room making a handmade card that wasn't Christmassey (yes, that's a word).

Okay, so I don't know anyone getting married, this year or next, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy spending some time making a wedding card.


Sometimes, when I craft for fun, I just pull out some cardstock and DSP in colours that I love. I choose which colours to combine, or simply stick to a single colour theme. I then cut and score my card base and add a layer or two.... I then think about what stamp set I am going to use and what is going to be the main feature of the card. I've had the Bird Builder Punch for well over a year and I have never used it. Having prepared my base, I knew I wanted something white in the centre of the card, so I used the Shimmery White cardstock to punch out the birds and added a small sentiment using the For The New Two stamp set.

A few months ago I made some wedding invitations for my husbands colleague and friend from his work. Ana & James wanted something very simple and gave me a brief which consisted of a image and the colours blue & pink. I prepared 3 very different designs for them and they chose the design which you can see featured in this post today.

I made a flat, two sided design with the key details of the day printed on the front in Whisper White cardstock and a fun poem printed on the back. I mounted this onto a layer of Blushing Bride cardstock and Night of Navy cardstock.

To present the invitations, I tied some Whisper White Organza Ribbon around the envelopes and made a simple tag using the Scallop Tag Topper Punch using Whisper White cardstock. I stamped the most perfect sentiment from the For The New Two stamp set "Wishing you both a very special day" in Staz On Black ink. Finally, I added a jewelled embellishment that I had left over from the Spring Summer catalogue, to complete this classic look.

Naturally I didn't want to showcase this project until after Ana & James wedding. I hope they both had a magical day. Both myself and my husband Phil wish them all the very best for the future.

Happy Halloween everyone!

I've just come back from a lovely holiday where I enjoyed 10 days of winter sun, sea and sand. I planned before I went away to make 17 Halloween Gifts to give to my team at work (and my other colleagues within the office) as a little treat instead of bringing back something from Egypt.