Happy Easter to all reading my blog in this beautiful season of Easter, I love Easter as it not only reinforces my faith as a Christian, but it signals better weather on the horizon. Having lighter days is a delight as the flowers and plants slowly emerge from their winter bliss.
I love flowers as they bring a naturalness into your home and surroundings, Stampin Up are retiring the Climbing Orchid stampset and the Orchid Builder framelits dies, and I wanted to showcase them and to encourage you to purchase this set as a staple for paper flower making, for home decor pieces.
I have created a paper vase and paper Orchid display to showcase the set, paper flowers are beautiful for any occasion and you have the satisfaction of making them and being able to see them all year round.
For the centres of the Orchids I used glimmer paper as I feel it just adds something blingy.
I stamped and embossed the orchid images onto whisper white cardstock, I then lightly inked the images with Petal Pink Ink. I gave the flowers shape by using my bone folder and gently shaping them. I attached the flowers to florist wire and florist green tape and then arranged them into the oasis that I had put in the vase. The buds were made using the four petal punch, cutting away one of the petals and glueing the other three petals together. the large leaves I cut free hand.
The vase is made from velum and one of the other papers in the pack of DSP. The Butterflys were from the Butterfly Beauty Thinlits Dies
If you want to make the vase check out this tutorial Enjoy xx
As Stampin Up Demonstrators, we meet together to usher in the new product catalogue, its not current yet, but the Demonstrators that attend get a copy so that project and blog planning and class schedules can be done ahead of the new Catalogue launch.
We also swap little gifts with each other, for inspiration, unfortunately I don’t have one that I made so can’t show it to you, but I have the other ones that I received in return from other Demonstrators. I get so many ideas and always feel inspired.
Yesterday was annual onstage at Telford, we were given some folders and a notebook in our bags, as the day progressed, I felt that I wanted to use my time to craft, so I fussy cut the cover of the notebook as I loved the birds on the cover.
Cover of Notebook
I then took five pages of the dotted paper and five pages of the lined paper and made some booklets tied in the centre with twine, then attached to the cover with the same twine.Here are some of the layouts I created with the fussy cut birds and some wallet photos
Hope you like the layouts, they are simple but I am just showing with limiting supplies you can still create a nice notebook with a few photos. This week I will be kicking off my series on Travellers notebooks, how to make them from scratch to creating layouts.
Two weeks ago, during a visit from the Lord Mayor of Birmingham to my place of work, we started talking about crafting as I support people with Learning Disabilities and people with Mental Health issues. I told the Lord Mayor that I had made a Wedding Album for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka) Prince Harry and the then Megan Markle. I cheekily asked the Lord Mayor if she would present it to Prince Harry as he was due in Birmingham Cannon Hill park on the Monday 4th March 2019. She said she would be glad to as she felt it was nice to give a gift to someone that was handmade just for them.
With my head spinning and knowing that I couldn’t say anything to anyone about the forthcoming visit, I asked if I could put some things from Stampin Up in the box, Stampin Up is the company that I demonstrate craft products for, it was decided that for any follow up information, Michelle Last UK Stampin Up number 1 Papercrafter, would be the only person that would be used as the person to be contacted if any additional information was required, once the boxes were presented to the Duke.
I contacted Michelle straight away and told her about what was happening, and just like her she agreed to send some things for us to put in the box for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, one thing about Michelle no matter what we are doing she is supporting us no matter what, we absolutely love her. I have put photos of what we put in the boxes, which were the ones we got for the November onstage last year, I needed another box so phoned a fellow demonstrator Sugar Wilkinson, obviously for her to part with her box I had to tell her what was happening and she also took a vow of silence as we didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag, and she agreed straight away, we dropped the boxes off to the Lord Mayors office for it to be checked before being presented.
Michelle Last sent these things for the boxes
A letter for the Duchess from Michelle LastFrom Michelle LastFrom Michelle LastFrom Michelle LastCards from Michelle Last that were in the envelopeAn assortment of products from Michelle LastThree Catalogues with Michelles contact detailsThis baby Album was made by Sugar Wilkinson and put in the boxesCover page and page one of Baby Mini AlbumEach page had a month on itPlenty of places for photos and JournalingMy Wedding Album was also in the boxesThis notecard set was also included in the boxes made at one of Michelle Lasts team trainingWe also included a card kit in the boxes
Myself and Sugar Wilkinson attended Cannon Hill park on the Monday for the Dukes visit , we were stood in the cold and rain, but it was worth it as he was presented the bag and even took out one of the gifts, a card set I had made at one of Michelle Lasts team training days.
I hope that the Duchess loves the things that we have made and sent to them and hope that she will want to follow it up and make beautiful priceless mementos for their forthcoming baby and to document all the visits around the world that they visit.
The duke is actually holding one of the gifts that were in the boxes The Lord Mayor with the Stampin up boxes in the Stampin up box
If the Duchess does contact Michelle we all win, as we all belong to this amazing family of people that have a love for all things handmade, enjoy the photos.
