Butterflies, butterflies everywhere

Butterflies are my favourite thing at the moment and I have used the Stampin Up Beautiful Wings Embosslit for a variety of cards recently, as it's so versatile.
I love the effect of using lots of different colours which is great for using up small scraps of card, a must for crafters!
The card stock I've used is SU's Confetti White and Island Indigo, Pool Party, Calypso Coral and Wisteria Wonder, amongst others, for the butterflies. The greeting is stamped in Island Indigo with my very much used Curly Cute stamp set.

Elegant Wedding Card

I love the elegant look the black & cream gives this wedding card.
As usual I used mostly Stampin Up products which included Very Vanilla & Basic Black textured cardstock.
I used the Beautiful Wings embosslits die for the gorgeous butterflies and the Basic Phrases stamp set came in handy yet again for the "Mr & Mrs". I finished off by adding a few black gems to the centre of the butterflies for a bit of bling.
I love the finished product so much I intend to make a few more "variations on the theme".

Beautiful Island

Just back from a short break in the Balearics, where the sun was shining every day. The sea was a dazzling blue and the sky bright and clear.

I'm not usually one to complain about the British weather but I have to admit the continually grey skies were getting me down. Fingers crossed there's still time left for our summer to arrive.
I love the island of Mallorca as it still retains it's greenery even at the height of summer where some places look completely bleached of colour.
We were thrilled to have been given a room right on the sea front where it was lovely to relax and soak up the rays, whilst people watching (a favourite hobby of mine!)
The time went far too quickly and we arrived back in the UK to ...you guessed it.... rain! But hey ho at least the garden looks great!

A right Royal Jubilee Street Party

Fun was definitely an the agenda over the Bank Holiday. We had a little street party on Tuesday, which due to the temperamental weather we decided to hold indoors but that did not spoil any of the festivities.
Union Jack table cloths and red, white and blue decorations made everywhere bright and cheerful.
The younger children took part in games and had their faces painted (as did some of the adults!). The older generation watching from inside, tucking into their picnic lunches whilst listening to music from the last sixty years

It was a cracking finish to a celebration packed four day bank holiday weekend and I loved every minute.

Jubilee weekend

Well what a difference in just seven days.  Last Sunday I was sitting out in the sun, this week I have the heating on!    Hopefully the rain will not dampen the British spirits as the jubilee celebrations take place.

I made these jubilee themed cupcakes to take in to work and they went down a storm.
I used the Mary Berry cupcake recipe as it never fails and after baking I cut out a small hole in the top and spooned in a little strawberry jam. When completely cooled I decorated them with a swirl of vanilla buttercream and topped them off with the fabulous red, white and blue M & M's.  I just have to do it all again on Tuesday for our street party. Simples!

My Sun Day

No card making today as I have been enjoying the sun and spending time in the garden having a bit of  R & R.
We went for a drive earlier this morning which took us through the village of Ashbourne...... what a sight..... there was bunting strung across all the streets, it looked fab and I couldn't resist taking a photo.
So here is my Sun Day in pictures ; )

Hearts were on the mind for an engagement card but this design could also be used for a wedding or birthday card, perhaps with a few changes.  I used my Big Shot and my Hearts Framelits Die to cut a heart out of an already embossed piece of card stock. I used some scrap strips of Stampin Up Cheerful Treat DSP and fixed them behind the heart. I then backed this onto some blue card and added some Marina Mist ribbon. I stamped a sentiment, trimmed it and backed it onto the blue card then added a couple of rhinestones for a bit of bling to finish it off.

Everyday Enchantment DSP was the perfect design to use with a Pool Party cardstock base. I used some Soft Suede scraps which I ran through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder to add a bit of texture. The sentiment was stamped onto a label style non SU die cut and I finished it off with a trio of pearls. Really loved this one... and a colleague purchased it the very next day.....result!

 Cheerful Treat DSP was perfect for this card I made for my Aunt's birthday. I used the Stampin Up Pennant Parade Stamp Set (one of my favourites) and the Petite Pennants Builder Punch. The colours in these papers are gorgeous and the bunting can be made out of scraps, as like most crafters I hate waste!

Twitterpated

The cool dull weather means I've been making lots of cards again this weekend.  I was quite keen to get started as I have had some new Stampin Up goodies delivered. Really loving the new Twitterpated DSP, great colours and patterns and also the new edgelits dies. I did get a bit carried away and now have an ever increasing  box of cards "ready to go", slightly overflowing perhaps but keeping a few at home and some at work makes sure I've always got one handy should the need arise.    Here's a couple of this weekend's efforts ....  I'll save some to show later in the week.

Rain Again?

Well it's raining again and although I like all weathers, I really am desperate for some sunshine. 

I would happily sit and make cards all afternoon but sadly, there's no time to craft today so I'll just show you a couple more of the cards I made on Monday.  

 This first one is made using some scraps from the Everyday Enchantment DSP from Stampin Up and the Fresh Vintage Stamp set. I just love these colour combinations. The second one I made using the Pennant Parade Stamp set from Stampin Up and the retired Greenhouse Gala  DSP.

What are Bank Holiday's For?

Yesterday was the perfect card making day, in my opinion. Having had the urge to "create" all weekend I finally got around to it. 
I spent most of the afternoon in my craft haven listening to cheesy music and making lots of cards, mostly using my favourite Stampin Up! products. 
With all the birthdays coming up this month they will go to good use.
Here are a couple of them........ hope you like.  : )