Bella Bleu beeeeautifffful papers!

 

Ok, I know… these are quite girly papers, but I just couldn’t resist them! I had an hour today to make a few cards and challenged myself to make as many cards as I could using just 2 pieces of paper! So here they are…

The first is made with an A6 cream blank covered with Bella Bleu DSP with a scalloped edge and a duplicated scalloped edge made from a small strip of Not Quite Navy. The ribbon is non SU (gasp!!), and the sentiment is from Whimsical words (free in Sale-a-bration set with £45 or more order) cut out using 1 3/8” circle punch and the scalloped circle punch stamped in Creamy Caramel.

Not bad for 15 mins!

The second card is made from a square cream card blank (13.5cm) and then matted with 13cm square of Not Quite Navy and a further 12.5cm square of Bella Bleu.

I then used Very Vanilla ribbon with a fake bow and a scalloped oval from the Not Quite Navy and an oval stamped again in Creamy Caramel with Sincere Salutations.

I think if I was doing this next time, I’d use a larger ribbon as I felt it looked a little lost!

And here is the third… my favourite!

Using all the same ingredients as mentioned before on an A6 cream blank used landscape.

 

And I still have bits leftover!! I just run out of time so that’s all for today!!

Hope you enjoy these…

What sort of card does Jonah 'give' his friends?

Well...

one with a whale on :)

A really simple card as I was in a hurry!

• Whisper white card stock (half A4 folded in half to make an A5 card base)
• Brilliant blue cardstock
• Brilliant blue ink
• Animal stories stamp set from Stampin Up
• Star punch
• Signo White gel pen
• Stamp-a-ma-jig (to help align lettering)

Also as an additional note, I'd been making some cards for my workshop coming up on 26th February (still a few places left - grab yours!), and been stamping on my normal (good quality) non SU white cardstock. The ink was patchy in places and I blamed myself for not inking the stamps correctly! I was loathe to open my precious SU whisper white... anyway I finally gave in and voila! no more inking coverage issues... cliched but true, the paper really does make a difference!

I'm hoping to post later on this week with my seville orange marmalade annual debacle.... so grab some oranges before the season ends!

New Mini IQ catalogue!!!!!!

HI everyone!

Sunday was the launch of the new Mini IQ catalogue

And WOW there are some amazing new items - over 65 things to ooh and aah at!!!!!

Helen, our in house education expert has really sourced some fantastic things and at amazing recession busting prices for everyone! New books from only £1.99!!!

Here are my top faves, but do be sure to have a look on website at the full catalogue or contact me as I am happy to do a pop in (30 mins max!) and show you my selection from the new catalogue!! Just give me a email/ring and we can arrange a time to suit...

Baby: Incy Wincy Spider rrp £12.99 - Mini IQ price £9.99

Bring the classic rhyme to life by simply pulling the extending

string on this friendly spider’s velvety back. His textured legs crinkle

invitingly and are great for early reaching, grabbing & counting.

Concealed within his tummy is a lovely fabric book. The soft pages

feature a collection of garden creatures with satisfyingly

onomatopoeic descriptions that are just right for reading aloud and

encouraging repetition of sounds.

Toddler: Rosie's Walk with story telling and musical CD £5.99

This classic, simple, near-wordless story is rich in propositions and directional

words,. It’s also a delightful book for emergent readers to enjoy with parents.

Children find it easy to memorise and repeat the text whilst pointing at the

words, so building up confidence.

Pre school: Simple First Phonics rrp £7.99 Mini IQ price £6.99

This gentle introduction uses photographic images to and a wipe clean pen to

develop phonic awareness and knowledge of letters. In simple terms it works on

matching the letter sound with the written letter, at the beginning and the end of

words. It touches briefly on simple vowel blending and double letter sounds

sounds as ‘ee’ and ‘ai’. The activities can be repeated time and time again to instill confidence. And the 26 flash cards are a marvelously effective portable learning tool.

Key stage 1: Ask Dr K Fisher £6.99

Dr K Fisher’s animal counseling service has been dispensing nononsense

advice for many years. Using a hilarious problem page format,

he advises all sorts of creatures on confusing matters.Dr K Fisher’s animal

counseling service has been dispensing nononsense

advice for many years. Using a hilarious problem page format,

he advises all sorts of creatures on confusing matters.

Key stage 1 and 2: Dictionary and Thesaurus £8.99

Has to be seen to be truly appreciated!

The front section of the book provides dictionary definitions,

examples of usage, cartoons and photographs to make the

meaning of each word abundantly clear. Use the rear (thesaurus)

section to expand your vocabulary, and find out about word

partners, idioms, and opposites. A fantastic book that helps with

school requirements to reduce word poverty (lack of vocabulary!!!)

Key Stage 2: Great big book of computing £9.99

Whether you’re starting from scratch or want to learn more, the generic

step-by-step projects and familiar fun activities found in this spiral-bound

workbook will provide young learners with the opportunity to expand their

knowledge of computer technology, progressing at their own speed.

From communication online, to databases, programs and pictures, handy

hints and friendly tips combine with simple explanations and appealing

illustrations to encourage and excite the most reluctant of students. Also

included are notes for parents and teachers, suggesting further activities to

reinforce understanding.

Seriously there are soooo many others to check out!!!!! do have a look at the website!

www.mini-iq.co.uk

If anyone would like to host a party and receive some of these books for FREE, contact me and have a few friends over and I'll do the rest!! As an extra incentive, anyone who books a party in February can have a bottle of wine as a thank you from me!!!

Take care,

Victoria

My First SU workshop...

Drum roll please.....

I'll be hosting my first Card workshop very soon!

Friday 26th February 7.30pm til late!
Refreshments provided!

We'll be making at least 2 projects, I've not firmed up exactly what yet as I shall tailor this to the 'needs/wants' of the class!

Cost £5 to cover materials which are all provided!

Contact me now if you'd like a space... first come, first served!!!

mcvictorial@gmail.com

Look forward to seeing you all!

Black and White Easel Card

 

I can’t in any way claim the credit for the idea of an easel card, there are many different examples out there… basically as long as the top half of the card folds in half and the attachment is no taller than the half of the card on which it is stuck then, an easel card you have!

In order to make it stand up, an embellishment is needed, preferably 3D so that it traps the top half of the card. I used a scallop circle punch layered with a black punched circle mounted on dimensionals.

List of items used:

• White cardstock for base card (13.5cm x 13.5cm)
• Black cardstock
• Silver Mirri card
• Fiskars Border punch (can’t remember name!)
• Prima flower with crystal brad
• Stampin’ UP Baroque Motifs stamp set
• Papermania Black and White ribbon
• Silver pen for dot detail
• Flat backed gem for dotting the word ‘Kind’ on circle
• Scallop and circle punches (both Stampin’ UP)
• Silver Stickles (detail on flower)

Apologies for the poor quality of the photographs, I need to invest in a flash I think!

 

Anyway… enjoy! Vx

SALES!!!! and a bit of fiddling and messing about going on...

Been trying to get to grips with this blogging malarkey! Managed to put pictures and hyperlinks now into the sidebars, so if anyone wishes to view books or crafty stash then feel free to visit the websites and take a nosey... let me know if there is anything you'd like!

Both Mini IQ and Stampin' UP have a sale on at the moment, Mini IQ's only lasts til 31st January so if there is something you like - get in there quick! Also nearly 60 items from the current catalogue will be going, so again if there is something you've seen and like, act now in case it is too late when the new catalogue comes out on 1st February - I can't wait!

As for Stampin' UP's sale, spend £45 and get a free stamp set from their Sal-a-bration leaflet!!! (on website - I'll get a link on here eventually when I can work out what I am doing...), if you join up to become a demonstrator you get nearly £260 of goodies not including a stamp set of your choice from the ENTIRE catalogue!!! for only £139!! And there is absolutely no requirements to you joining... so...

If you'd like to join my team or put in an order - for either (or both!!), then give me a shout/email/call and we can have a chat over coffee!

Take care one and all... Vx

So... another cute picture of my boy! I'll stop soon, promise. I'm just getting to grips with software! Anyway, this picture was taken by Sally (many thanks!!) on my mad Christmas
open house day - something like 40 people showed up for mulled wine and mince pies... yummy!
So here's Jonah having a break and enjoying some cheese straw!