About Me

My photo
My name is Natalie and I love anything to do with card/paper. I have been a papercrafter for many years now and I never get bored playing with all the wonderful products available. I've been married to my wonderful husband Nathan for 35years now and we are still very much in love with each other as the first day we met each other. We have 3 wonderful children and 5 gorgeous grandchildren so we have lots to be thankful for. Since joining Stampin' Up! in 2018 I've grown so much in confidence with myself and I even tackle technology, which for me is a huge step to have taken, but I'm getting there slowly.

Tuesday 31 March 2020

Sending positive thoughts






Hello again everyone.
Not really sure where last week went, it seems to have just flown by.
Thought I'd come on today and share with you all a small project I've made using the beautiful stampset called "Positive thoughts" by Stampin' Up!
I absolutely love this stampset and I think the wordings in it are quite apt for the way things are today. Hugs and prayers I think are things we are all probably missing alot of and saying alot of too, love is something we seem to be sending alot of to each other via texts, facebook etc.

The colours I have used are Purple posy, Soft sea foam, Whisper white and for the ink Highland heather and Soft sea foam.
I've incorporated the co ordinating dies for the stampset which are called "Nature's thoughts dies". And I've also used one of the dies and the embossing folder from the new suite called"Ornate gardens", which is available to purchase from the 1st April, from my on line Stampin' Up! shop.

Measurements:

Whisper white card  4 1/8th" x  A4 length (scored in half)
and from the centre score you need to score a further 1/2" this side is for the inside of the card it helps to stabilize the card when standing (you place ds tape on it and stick it to the inside of the front of the card)
Purple posy card  4" x  5 11/16th" (embossed)

Inside of card:

Purple posy card 4" x 5 1/8th"

The beautiful rectangle shape die cut you need to do some stamping on to, and place on to your card using dimensionals. Stamp and die cut 3 x butterflies, you can blend a bit more ink onto them, using a small amount of ink on to a stamping block and a blender pen.

Hope you enjoy the project and have some fun making a card yourself.
Stay safe till next time.

Big Crafty Hugs
Natalie xxxxxxxx

April Host code for orders under £150
NKJVURMV
You'll receive a small gift from me the following month x

Tuesday 24 March 2020

Ornate Gardens



Hello everyone, this is a card I've made for all my lovely ladies that usually come to my workshops. We should have all met up yesterday, but with all that is happening around our country and the whole world infact, it had to be postponed. So I thought to myself what can I do to take everyones minds of everything, even if just for a short while.

This card is made using a beautiful new suite coming out on 1st April, it's called Ornate gardens and it's completely divine.

I've used Old Olive cardstock, Calypso coral and Whisper White, the paper is Ornate garden speciality dsp. The ribbon and the embellishment are also from the suite. The ink used is Old Olive.
The card base is made using card measuring 8 1/4" x 5 7/8" scored on the long side at 4 1/8". The layers of cardstock and paper are both cut 1/8th" smaller than the underneath layer. The dsp I've mounted onto the normal whisper white cardstock, I think it just lifts it a bit and gives more stability to the front of your card.
The inside of the card has a layer of whisper white card cut again 1/8th" smaller, this then makes the card stable when standing.
Glue your layers inside and out with whichever adhesive you prefer to use.
The front of the card I've cut one of the ornate layers dies from whisper white thick card. The next thing you'll need to do is stamp your sentiment , I've used the Ornate thanks stampset, (you can use whichever stampset you wish),I've then adhered a piece of the gold foil card onto the reverse of this die cut so that it just shows through the small holes.  This is adhered to the card using stampin dimensionals.
You can then arrange your flowers, which are out of one of the Ornate borders dies  (stunning dies). 2 of my flowers I glued flat 3 of them I placed a small dimensional behind, it just gives it a slight bit of dimension. Tie yourself a bow and put your gemstone on, the little pieces are out of the flower shapes which are from the same die that the stems came from.

I hope this has cheered you all up a bit wish I could see you all, but we must all stay safe x

Sending Big Crafty hugs
Natalie xx



March Host code for orders under £150
JCZAT2UD


Saturday 21 March 2020

Inky block technique



Hello everyone what a beautiful day it is here in essex. The wind has a bit of a chill to it, but the sun is shining, hopefully brightening your day up.

Today I wanted to share with you a little project I made using the inky block technique again. I enjoyed this technique so much yesterday, that I had to carry on using it.
I've used the same stampsets as I used yesterday just different colours.
Daisy lane cling stampset
Here's a card cling stampset
Bermuda bay card / Ink
Granny apple green card / Ink
Whisper white card

The small box measures 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" wide and high
1 and 1/4" depth. It holds 6 -  3" x 3" notecards and 6 envelopes.
I've made all my notecards with thanks on them, but you could use whatever sentiment you like.
All the layers in the colours I make 1/8th" smaller so you have a small piece of the under colour showing through.
Hope you like it as much as I enjoyed making it.
Stay safe

Big Crafty hugs
Natalie xx



March Host code for orders under £150
JCZAT2UD

Friday 20 March 2020

Inky block technique



This morning I thought I'd make something to hopefully brighten up your day. The technique I've used is called inky block technique, which is basically placing ink straight onto your stamping block, and you can use as many colours as you like, just take care with your colours, or you can end up with a bit of a muddy colour.
For my card I used for the flowers and sentiments :  So saffron and Calypso coral and for the stems/leaves : Soft sea foam and Pear pizzazz.
The stampsets  I used are :  Daisy Lane cling stamp set from Stampin' Up!
and Here's A Card cling stamp set also from Stampin' Up!.

I hope you all have a great day and please make sure you stay safe,
I'm here if you need any questions answered regarding this card, so please do get in touch, you can drop me a comment and I'll get back to you asap.
Take care
Big Crafty Hugs
Natalie xx

March Host code for orders under £150
JCZAT2UD

Tuesday 17 March 2020

Quick and easy card





Today in light of what's happening around the world, I thought I'd share a really quick and easy project with you all, hoping it cheers you all up.

I've made a really simple card using a sponge brayer, 2 finger daubers and 2 different colour inks, I've used Bermuda bay and Pear pizzaz for this card, but you could use whichever colours you wish.

You will need for this project:
1 x card blank
1 x matt 4mm smaller than card blank
1 piece of  12 x 12 flowering foils speciality dsp (free saleabration item with qualifying purchase until 31st March 2020)
2 x ink colours (your choice)
Sponge brayer
2 x finger daubers
Paper snips (scissors if not)
Scrap paper
Here's a card stampset ( for sentiment I've used)
Clear faceted gems ( or whatever is in your stash)
Adhesive of your choice 

1. Cut a piece of dsp to be the same height as your matt piece of card x 2inches wide.
2. Using your sponge brayer and your ink roll ink onto the dsp ( this is where you need your piece of scrap paper underneath so you don't get ink everywhere), using 1 colour on one side and then blending 2nd colour into this and over the otherside. Leave to dry for a bit.
3. With your finger daubers in a circular motion starting from the centre of your flowers, ink 5 flowers with the ink colour of your choice. Cut them out once dry.
4. Glue your strip of coloured dsp to the piece of matt card, then glue this piece to the front of your card.
5. Stamp your sentiment onto the front of your card.
6. Give your flowers a bit of shape using a bone folder or your fingers, whichever you prefer, glue them into place on the front of your card, add gemstones to the centres of your flowers.

And you have a pretty but simple card made. You could do this for any occasion in any colour. Have fun and give it a go.
All products used for this project are available from my on line shop.


Big Crafty hugs
Natalie xx


March Hostcode for orders under £150
JCZAT2UD

Monday 16 March 2020

Graces garden




Hello and welcome to another blog post, which I hope you like.
This was made this afternoon ready to give to my mum for mothering sunday, which is fast approaching (this sunday 22nd march).

I made this using  the Graces garden bundle from Stampin' Up!
I just love this set it's beautiful the way the die cuts the gate enabling you to have it open, or leaving it closed (your choice).
The main colour I chose to use was so saffron which is a very soft yellow rather than a bright one. I just love the little cat die that is in the set, it's just soooo cute, and the tiny bird stamp that comes with it, letting you add a tiny bird anywhere you wish, on your project.

Pop over to my on line shop where you will find all the products to make this project.
You can even sign up to follow me by e mail so you'll never miss a posting when I make a new project.
Any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks for stopping by again take care till next time

Big crafty hugs
Natalie x

March Host code for orders under £150 
JCZAT2UD

Thursday 12 March 2020

Ornate gardens - triple stamping technique





Good afternoon everyone, after having a morning of not feeling great, I decided to get in my craftroom and have a play.
I think this technique is called the triple stamp technique. It's a really easy but fun technique to do.
Basically your'e stamping onto one piece of card cutting out three rectangles with your dies (could be squares or circles choice is yours) then you mount them onto coloured card I've used daffodil delight from Stampin' Up!.
I've used Ornate gardens suite again as I'm totally in love with this suite.
I've used daffodil delight and granny apple green stampin blends to do my colouring in and then granny apple green card so that it all matches.
Loved making this card and it certainly helped me feel better doing what I love best in my craftroom.
Happy crafting and big crafty hugs

Natalie xx

March Host code for orders under £150 JCZAT2UD

Wednesday 11 March 2020

Ornate gardens

Good afternoon everyone, what a lovely sunny afternoon it is here in essex.
Thought I would share a card I've made today using the really beautiful new suite from Stampin' Up! called Ornate Gardens, which is going to be available to you from the 1st of April.
The card I have used is Old Olive from Stampin' Up! which goes beautifully with the new suite, the daisy flower is made using 3 layers of the daisies punched out using the medium daisy punch, and the centre of the daisy is one of the perrenial essence floral centres, which I think finishes a daisy off perfectly.
Hope you like the card any questions please feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to help you.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Big crafty hugs
Natalie x

Sunday 1 March 2020

Welcome Easter






Good morning everyone and welcome to my second posting.
These are the lovely cards I have made using the really cute 'Welcome Easter'
stamp set by Stampin' Up!
I've loved using this stampset it's a great set to use for easter and for 
welcoming new babies into the world.
The cards I have made are called peek a boo cards and I cased this idea from
a lady called Jennifer McGuire.
The two lamb cards were made using the leftover circles from my main cards
as I don't like to waste things if I can help it.

The papers and coloured card I've used are from the Stampin' Up annual catalogue,
the stampset you will find in the mini catalogue, as you will the beautiful crinkled
seam binding whisper white ribbon too.

I hope you've enjoyed looking at the cards I've shared with you.
Why not pop along to my on line shop and have a look at all the products I've used to create the cards.
If you have any questions please do not hesitata to contact me and I'll be very happy to help you.
Hope you all have a wonderful day

Big crafty hugs
Natalie x