I'm on my Holidays!

Huge apologies for not posting for almost three weeks ~ I'm on holiday in England with my family (having a wonderful time!) This weekend, I'm visiting my sister who lives in the Channel Islands. She's an avid crafter but her number 1 passion is quilting, I'd say number 2 is card making ~ she's bloody good at it too so it's a shame she's always quilting (hee hee).

I think that any crafter, whether it be card making, quilting or .... {insert your craft of choice} ... loves to see where creating occurs. So, as a special treat, I thought I'd share the most wonderful crafting location, in my sister's back garden .... it's heavenly, I think all it needs is a loo and a bed and you'd never have to leave!!!

Here's the front, with Monty her Lhasa Apso, waiting to be let in! And here we are enjoying a cuppa outside!

Here's the view from the front door, there's a roll-out cutting table which converts into a massive cutting area for working on larger quilts. Dad made it for Sarah, it's beautifully made and fits perfectly against the back wall.

Moving to the right, here's the work bench, which wraps around 3 walls and gives a huge working space ~ including a piece which folds up with a gate-leg for an extra work surface (Sarah's relieved that she can also 'hide' the not-so pretty stuff behind it)!

I particularly love the seaside fabric for the curtains ~ very apt as the view from the garden is the English Channel, she's located up on a cliff top in St Ouen and the views are stunning (lucky duck ~ beats my gloomy basement!).

Now, prepare yourself for custom-cabinet ENVY!!! Look at these beauties. Here they are closed, and below you can see them open. Mum, Dad, Sarah and I stopped at IKEA on our way to Gatwick on Thursday and found the hanging shoe storage thingies ~ perfect until she gets her shelving put into the central cupboard (which could take her hubby some time)!

Signing off for now ~ I'm back in the USA next week so hopefully I'll get some stamping done before my ever-growing list is ordered on July 1st from the NEW CATTY :) Can't wait for that!

June's Card Class

Saturday June 11th is my next Card Class. These are the projects we'll be doing. This 'double diamond fold' card was inspired by something I saw on Jenny Moor's blog in the UK. I googled the name of the fold and then fiddled around a little with computer paper to see if I could make something work. This is what I came up with! Jenny always has fabulous projects and I love her work (maybe it helps that she's English!).

My 2nd project is based on the engagement card I shared with you last month. Since then, Splitcoast have created a tutorial for this style of card ~ you can find it here. My dimensions are not exactly the same, my card measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" when shut.

... and last but not least, I wanted to make a card incorporating the owl punch as many of my loyal customers have purchased this one. I have seen several variations on the idea of a tree trunk, so I fiddled around and came up with this one.

For the first time ever, I haven't had to advertise a class, this one filled up with all the girls who came to May's class ~ thank you so much to all my lovely ladies, you make my job very rewarding and happy <3

Centre Step Card

In my next class, on June 11th, I'll be teaching you how to make a centre step card similar to this one ~ I wanted to practice it using the new stamp set and DSP, Delicate Doilies. To finish it off, I used a stamp from the new hostess set "Tag Tastic". Love how this turned out!

Recipe
Stamps : Delicate Doilies, Tag Tastic
Cardstock : Wisteria Wonder, Flirtatious Speciality DSP, Shimmery White
Ink : Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories : Lge Oval Punch, White Taffeta Ribbon, blender pen & reinker

I couldn't stop at ONE!

I just had to ink up another new set ... this one is called Delicate Doilies and has coordinating Designer Paper AND this gorgeous punch! I popped the centres of some of the shapes up to give it dimension, the border is popped up too ~ I had to cut those dimensionals REALLY small :)

Recipe
Stamps : Delicate Doilies
Cardstock : Wisteria Wonder, Shimmery White
Ink : Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party
Accessories : Dimensionals, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Trio Punch, Border Lace Ribbon Punch

New Goodies from Stampin' Up

Just got my box of pre-order stamps and new colours from Stampin' Up. Had to throw something together really quickly ... my fingers are itching to play :)

Have you seen the link on my sidebar to retiring stamps and accessories? Hope that helps you decide what you need to get before the beginning of July!

Recipe
Stamps : Pennant Parade, Curly Cute
Cardstock : Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Shimmery White
Ink : Lucky Limeade
Accessories : Big Shot, Timeless Type Junior Sizzlits, Pennant Punch, Twine, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Dazzling Diamonds