Wednesday 30 April 2014

Weekly Deals - and Project Life

Good morning! It’s Wednesday and time for some more Weekly Deals, which you can see below, as well of some other exciting news – scroll down for more…

Weekly Deals - extended
(In case you visit my SU site and notice that I’ve missed one of the deals, this was deliberate. I haven’t listed the Downtown Grunge digital download as it’s already included in my version of My Digital Studio, so I’ve emailed Demo Support to check this out.)

The great news is that Weekly Deals have been extended to run throughout May, too! So keep checking here or on my SU website for details – you may just find that item you’ve been wanting for months but haven’t yet got round to purchasing.

Project Life 

There was another exciting announcement recently, which I haven’t yet managed to share with you.  Stampin’ Up!® has teamed up with the very talented Becky Higgins to offer Project Life!

If that means nothing to you, let me explain that Becky Higgins is a successful scrapbooker who has made a business from her love of crafting. After realising that many of us are too busy to scrapbook, she developed a concept called Project Life. This consists of scrapbook sleeves with pockets, into which you simply slide your photos, journalling or decorated cardstock.

Stampin’ Up!® will be selling everything you need for Project Life, with all the benefits of SU co-ordination and colours!

Project Life is perfect for scrappers of all abilities. For complete beginners you can buy kits which mean you only have to add words and photos. If you fancy more of a challenge you can either decorate the pieces in the kits further, or create your own panels to slide into the pockets. This means it really is just like making a few cards… far less daunting than a 12x12 page!

Project Life is coming in the new catalogue, out 1st July, but we are all getting the chance to purchase selected items early. Watch this space for details. Meanwhile, check out the video giving more information – just ignore the dates mentioned as they are for the US/Canadian market only.


Monday 28 April 2014

Retro Fresh flower frame


At a (fairly recent) get-together with some of my stamping friends, we all made one of these frames. The interesting thing was seeing just how different everybody’s was. I chose to use Retro Fresh Designer Series Papers and various other elements. The great thing about getting together with other crafters (apart from the actual getting together, of course!) is they way everybody is happy to share their supplies, so you get to play with tools and embellishments you don’t have. Naturally, afterwards we just have to have them… so go home and order them for ourselves!

This could just as easily have been a scrapbook page, but we used Ikea box frames. A tip for scrapbooking if you have papers you really want to use but don’t have a photo to “match” is to print your image out in black and white. It goes with everything!


Product List
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Saturday 26 April 2014

Caturday: Mr Winky goes camping


Bit late in the day for Caturday but I forgot to schedule today’s post and we’ve just returned from a week in the Lake District. It’s always reassuring to count all our cats when we get home (our neighbours feed them for us while we’re away) but Mr Winky is invariably a late returner. Eventually he came back several hours after us, looking very pleased to see us. He’s spent quite a lot of time “camping” lately – that is, hiding under the sheets that hubby has been using to protect the more delicate plants from the cold weather. But, after the last week, I’d like to hope that spring is here to stay. The weather forecast may tell us otherwise though.

Friday 25 April 2014

Decorated muslin bag


Next month I and some of my team will be taking part in a very exciting event called Art in the Round. This is a new arts event for Derby and will be held in the Roundhouse, Pride Park, on 3rd and 4th May. 

There are more than 70 artists taking part and some of us will be offering workshops, which is especially exciting. I and my team have been allocated a workshop space above the library and will be offering workshops throughout both days, to spread the word about Stampin’ Up!® to as many people as possible. 

One of the projects visitors can make will be this cute little muslin bag. We are offering this as a free workshop on a first-come, first-served basis. I had fun creating this project as I haven’t played with these little bags enough. Now my head is brimming with possibilities!


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Wednesday 23 April 2014

Weekly Deals

It’s Weekly Deals day again, so be sure to check out my website to find out which products will be discounted for this week only!

Tuesday 22 April 2014

Spiral Flower tags



A bit late to the party, as usual, but I have finally fallen in love with the Spiral Flower Die! Armed with my new hot glue gun, I made almost 20 of these little beauties the other evening. Most of them were Summer Starfruit, to adorn these little tags I made for members of my Virtual Hostess Club. All 10 members of the club will be getting three flower die-cuts to play with this month; I found it took me a few attempts to get used to using this die, so thought they’d better have a few to try before they decide whether they “need” it or not. 

The tags showcase the 2012-14 In Colors which, of course, will be retiring at the end of June. I’ll be very sad to see them go as they have been my favourite set of In Colors so far! I will be especially sad to see Summer Starfruit retire as, to me, it’s the perfect shade of “dirty yellow”. 

The stamp comes from the Hello, Lovely stamp set, which we all received at last year’s Convention. I’m ashamed to say that I’d forgotten I had it and haven’t really made the most of it, but this greeting (it’s one half of a larger image) is just right for these tages. 

If you haven’t played with it already, you’ll love the Scallop Tag Topper Punch. Just feed any strip of cardstock into it (5cm wide or less) and create tags as long as you like. I haven’t had chance to explore all its uses yet but have a great long list of things I want to make with this, so watch this space over the next few weeks!

Finally, my current Virtual Hostess Club is coming to an end soon. This is a fun way of spreading the cost of your purchases over 10 months, and enjoy being the hostess for one of those months. Places are limited, so please get in touch for more information or to reserve your spot! 

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Sunday 20 April 2014

Fluttering butterflies


This is one of the projects we made at April’s Crafty Friday. It’s a blatant CASE of a card by UK demonstrator Sam Donald but I had borrowed the stamp set from a friend and wanted to make the most of it while it was in my possession. I love the Fringe Scissors –they are perfect for creating a grass effect, as well as many other uses. This is a lovely springlike card which could be made for many occasions. 

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The small print

This is my personal blog and my sole responsibility as an Independent Stampin' Up!® demonstrator. All images are © Stampin' Up!® All content including photographs, projects and text are © Helen Read, unless otherwise stated. Please feel free to copy my ideas for your personal use and inspiration - if you are a SU demonstrator you may use these ideas for your events but please give credit where it is due. Please do not use my ideas for monetary gain, competitions or publication. The images on this blog - including blog buttons - should not be copied and used elsewhere on the internet or on CDs.