Beautiful You

Monday morning again, and now that half term is over I've got some serious housework to do ! It's so much easier to get it done when there's no one in isn't it ?

I'm going to do a good tidy up this morning and then this afternoon I need to play, I mean work, in my craft room. I have 4 classes this week and I'm taking part in the Jems Monthly Blog Hop on Saturday so lots to make.

The card I'm going to show you today uses the Beautiful You set. The lady images are just stunning and it comes with some gorgeous sentiments too, I've yet to find anyone who doesn't like it .

Colours are Soft Sky, Night of Navy, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.

Sorry, no more time to chat , the dusting is calling. The quicker I get it done, the sooner I can craft !

Julie x

Lovely as a tree...

Happy Friday, 

Oops I'm really late posting today but I need to check in to keep my New Years Resolution going. I've nearly got to March so I'm very pleased with myself !

I do have a good excuse though as today was the first of my new Friday morning classes and this afternoon I had a meeting with one of my new team members - and in about an hour I'm meeting some friends for a meal so I quickly need to scrub the Delightful Dijon ink off my fingers lol !!

Hope you all kept safe during Storm Doris yesterday. It was terrible wasn't it ? Tragically, there was a fatal incident on a local town centre shopping street and it makes you realise just how precious life is. I was so glad when everyone was home last night - even though it took Hubby nearly 5 hours to get back because of all the problems with the trains etc.

During this weeks classes I have been showing my ladies how effective a bit of simple sponging can be and this little scene was CASED from a gorgeous card I saw by Michelle Last. I've demonstrated it a few times ...and then enjoyed it so much I made a couple more ,so now I've got a few little toppers I can turn into cards

A simple but stunning effect - and now I really must go and scrub my fingers.

Have an enjoyable and safe weekend

Julie x

Another Lighthouse....

Morning all,

Told you I was loving the High Tide set, so I'm back with another lighthouse......

The small Dijon strip on the front is Washi tape ( I'm on a mission to use it , not just keep it ! ) but the larger patterned piece on the inside is made using the Gorgeous Grunge stamps. These stamps are so useful, definitely a set to get if you haven't already and ideal for making your own patterned paper.

My class ladies will be making this this week so I hope they like it too.

I'm sure 'normal service'will be returned soon and I'll be back to gorgeous flowers and 'pretty colours ' but it's good to make something outside your comfort zone once in a while, what do you think ?

Julie x 

High Tide

Morning all,

Just a very quick post from me today as we're in the ( very long ) process of clearing out our loft and I've got a busy day planned, hopefully throwing a lot of things out. But then I do tend to get distracted, find baby clothes, start reminiscing etc ...must try and be ruthless !

Today's card is another lighthouse. Colours are Elegant Eggplant, Mint Macaron, Bermuda Bay and Sahara Sand, a different feel to the other one but I like it.

Better go get tidying, 

Julie x

Custom Tee

Happy Friday to you !

On Saturday one of my lovely class ladies celebrated her birthday, so of course I made her a card !

I used the t shirt from the Custom Tee set and added a few of the accessory stamps from the Sale -a-bration set Tasty Trucks.......

I think I need a t shirt like that, perhaps I should suggest it to Stampin' Up !

And even the inside got a little decoration too ..

Aren't those little ice creams and cupcakes cute ? In fact I've used the small stamps in the Tasty Truck set more than the main truck image !

Have a good weekend, my eldest is back from Uni for the weekend so I'm looking forward to that.

Julie x

Just because.....

Morning all,

I mentioned last week I had a potential new favourite stamp set - and very unusually for me , it's a male themed one ! I must confess I rarely get excited over the more masculine products and am always drawn to all things pretty but I am really loving the High Tide stamp set.

Today's project is another 'just because' and it's a home decor piece for a change.....

I'm loving the Urban Underground papers too and just ripped them - very effective and therapeutic !

Then just mounted in a simple frame, difficult to get a picture because of the reflections but you get the idea.

By the way I got a message yesterday asking if I was sending 3 valentines lol ? Err, no ,one was more than enough - and even then he spent the evening going to football !

Back soon

Julie x

All you need is love ....

Morning all,

Did you get any snow at the weekend ? We got just enough for it to be white over and look pretty and I did see a very diddy snowman being made !

Just in case you've forgotten, or are very last minute.com ( who me ? 😉) then I've got a little reminder that it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, although these cards could also be used for other occasions.

Cute aren't they ? I stamped these at Onstage Local at Telford and just mounted them to make larger cards. It's really useful at training events to make samples with products you don't own - although most of them eventually end up on my shelf lol !

Anyway, enjoy , if you get any romantic treats tomorrow - and if not , why not pop over to my store www.juliewade.stampinup.net and treat yourself ! At least you'll get something you know you will like !

Happy Stampin

Julie x

Avant Garden

Oops a little late posting today ! I didn't forget , just got waylaid with other things.

I can take no credit for today's card, it is completely CASED from my very talented friend Amanda at  The Craft Spa....

Wondering which set the palm trees are from ? It's made using the flowers from the Avant Garden set, isn't she clever ? Pop over to her blog, there are some fab tutorials , suitable even for the technically challenged like me !

Loved your swap Amanda, thanks for letting me CASE and my class ladies enjoyed making it too.

For various reasons I'm a bit behind with my crafting this week but hoping to spend some time at my desk over the next few days.

Enjoy the weekend

Julie x

Wednesday again, don't the weeks fly by ?

Today's card is the same Spring like colour combination and was very quick to make using a few different punches. I think the Decorative Label punch is probably the one I use most and a definite essential in your tool box !

That gorgeous little decorative stamp is from the Delicate Details freebie set and don't forget it's only available until the end of next month

Better get organised as its class day today and we are going to use a new stamp set  which I think is about to become one of my new favourites - any guesses which one ?

Back on Friday

Julie x

Gifts from the Garden

Morning, did you enjoy the Jems Blog Hop on Saturday ? There were some fantastic ideas so if you missed it go back to my post on Saturday and start hopping around.

Today's card is very fresh and Spring like, using Gifts from the Garden. I must confess I'm very much a fair weather gardener so it's not warm enough for me to venture out yet but hopefully it won't be too long.

Colours are So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz and Soft Sky and just in case you're wondering the background is done with little flowers from the Custom Tee set - not just for T shirts lol !

Hope you've enjoyed today's make, I'll be back on Wednesday

Julie x

February Jems Blog Hop

Good morning,

Welcome to this month's Jems Blog Hop , hope you've enjoyed looking at all the gorgeous makes on show.
This month the theme is Hearts and I've chosen a romantically themed card but decided to use less traditional colours so it could be for a wedding, engagement or anniversary card....

The stamps are from the Lift me Up set and I cut out the cute little foxes from the paper pack. There is several sheets just of these foxes so you can make lots ...and I did, as I used the design for a swap at our recent team training.

Colours are Basic Grey, Pool Party and Calypso Coral.

Maybe it will be a romantic weekend here this week as we are 'empty nesters' as both my girls are away - or maybe not,  as Hubby is off to football as usual !  At least I can craft in peace lol !

Please give the other Jems some support, we love to read your comments.

Enjoy the weekend , whatever you're up to 😉

Julie x

More butterflies !

Morning all,

Can't believe we've got to February and I'm still sticking to my New Year's Resolution of blogging on Mon, Wednesday and Friday ! Must admit it's still not my favourite activity but I'm starting to get into more of a routine and hopefully you are enjoying the more regular posts ?

Today's card shows of the beautiful butterfly embossing folder which I have then just gently sponged with the sponge brayer. If you've tried a traditional brayer before and found it difficult, I suggest you try this as it is so much more forgiving - and a bargain price too !

Do you like how the butterflies are only attached in the centre so they look like they're fluttering ? I seem to have a thing for flying insects this week lol !

Pop back tomorrow for a bonus post as I'm taking part in the Jems Monthly Blog Hop again and I know there will be lots of inspiring projects

Julie x

Sale-a-bration freebies

Good morning all,

Today's card uses a lot of the sets that are part of the Sale-a-bration offer,  FREE with an order of £45 .

I'm really busy with classes this week and when I design for them I have a lot of constraints - time needed, difficulty, amount of product used versus how much I've got or profitability, whether or not there will be a queue at the Big Shot, how many inkpads I've got, how long it will take to prep all the pieces etc etc, you get the idea.

But this card I made, just because. It's not for a class or an order, I just made it because I could, something I think I don't do enough of these days. Not my usual choice of colours so a bit of a challenge but I really enjoyed my little play and may be I need to schedule in a regular just because card ?

What do you think ? The centrepiece is made with the Inside the Lines pack of colouring papers and coloured with the lovely new watercolour pencils- very therapeutic.

I also used the Delicate Details set for the lacy stamping in Peekaboo Peach and Soft Suede.

The greeting inside and the spots are from Avant Garden and I love how the little bee looks likes he's just settled there !

Lots of my customers have already taken advantage of the Sale-a-bration offers and I think Avant Garden has been the most popular choice so far but I hope I've given you an idea for using some of the others. If you would like any more info about the offers available please get in touch or have a look at my online store www.juliewade.stampinup.net

Happy Stampin

Julie x