Stampin’ Up Saturday ~ Four Frames Part 2

Here I am with the other two stamps from the Four Frames set and I’ve used the same card designs as last week, but made them with a different colour scheme.

Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake is one of my favourite combinations. In fact Crumb Cake with just about anything, as it’s the SU version of kraft cardstock, which I love. I used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, another favourite, for the background and some more of that gorgeous pleated ribbon.

For the second card I added Riding Hood Red into the mix and used my inkpads with a water brush to colour the flowers.  The sentiments for both cards are from the Petite Pairs set. I think Four Frames is a very versatile set and with the addition of a few sentiment stamps you can make cards for almost any occasion.

I’ve got just one little space left in my Virtual Hostess Club, beginning next month, so if you’re interested in joining that, or would like more information on anything else, drop me a line at angelfishcrafts{at}gmail{dot}com

We’re going to a wedding this evening and I’m hoping to tick #16 and maybe #17 off my list for Rinda’s Summertime Photo Scavenger Hunt. Are you joining in?

Friday Find ~ Screen Prints

You may remember we decorated our lounge a few months ago and I’ve been looking for cushion covers ever since. The walls are blue, the curtains are natural linen and the sofa is chocolate brown leather. I couldn’t seem to find what I had in mind to pull the colour scheme together.

Then I came across Helen Rawlinson’s beautiful screen prints on Etsy and they were exactly what I needed. I bought four panels to make up into cushions and then we’ll be done……at last!

Stampin’ Up {Saturday} Sunday ~ Four Frames

Firstly, apologies for being a day late. I spent most of yesterday lying in the dark, to see off a migraine and haven’t been able to face looking at a laptop screen until now.

I took the same main element and colour scheme that I used on the simple card last week and dressed it up a bit more. By changing the background colour to Riding Hood Red, adding an embossed panel in Basic Black and a strip of red.

For the second card, I used another stamp from the Four Frames set. I punched out an extra shape in black and cut it in half to mat the stamped image. Embossed the red panel with Vintage Wallpaper and added pleated ribbon on top of the black strip.

These are the supplies I used, plus a couple of embossing folders, which proved tricky to photograph. I’m loving the pleated ribbon. If you’d like any more information on the products, then drop me a line at angelfishcrafts{at}gmail{dot}com and I’ll be happy to help.

Next week I’ll show you a couple of cards using the other two stamps in this set.

Friday Find ~ Lego Sewing Machine

Not much else to say really. It’s a sewing machine and it’s made from Lego.

How cool is that? Full instructions can be found at Such Designs.

If you have a real sewing machine and fancy learning some troubleshooting skills, then Craftsy are offering a free online class just now. It’s called Sewing Machine 911 and takes you through all the common problems that arise while sewing and teaches you how to deal with them. Very useful.

I’ll be back tomorrow with my second Stampin’ Up Saturday. See you there.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #159

It’s back to the ironing board for me this week and I have an hour before the children get home to do a bit more to my purse.

I have a lovely friend who I meet up with, every couple of weeks, for a coffee. When it’s time to pay, I get a serious case of purse envy. I get out my battered old Animal wallet, while she produces her beautiful vintage creation with kiss clasp (I’ve been researching) and I want to shove mine back in my pocket a bit quick.

I know exactly how I want my new purse to look, but decided I would have a trial run first. I bought this kit. Not the cheapest way of doing it I’m sure, but I felt in need of a little hand holding on my first attempt. The fabric is just so cute and it all looks fairly straightforward. It’s only the gluing part that scares me, the sewing will be fine.

If you want to see what everyone else is up to this week, you’ll find us all hanging out with Julia. Now where did I put that iron?

The One With the Unfortunate Acronym

It’s been a while since I shared a recipe on this particular day of the week. Of course it has nothing to do with the fact that Time For A Recipe Tuesday has a somewhat unfortunate acronym. Not exactly what I want associated with my food!

I hadn’t noticed it at all, until I was being uncharacteristically organised one day and labelled a folder of foodie photos with the initials. There it was staring me in the face. How could I have missed it?

Anyway, if it’s a recipe you want, here’s one that uses up leftover chicken. It’s not really the time of year for big Sunday roasts around here, but the unseasonal weather has meant we’ve still been wanting warming pies and bakes. I just popped a couple of plump chicken breasts in the oven while I was baking these.

Chicken and Leek Pie

Cooked chicken approx. 300g

2 large leeks, sliced

butter

plain flour

300ml chicken (or veg) stock

150ml single cream

Can of sweetcorn

Puff pastry

Melt a large knob of butter (approx. 25g) and a splash of oil in a large frying pan. Fry the leeks until softened and stir in the flour (approx. 25g).

Cook for a minute then add the stock, followed by the cream. I use Elmlea, purely because it keeps for a long time and I usually have it in.

Add the drained sweetcorn and bite sized pieces of cooked chicken. A good grind of black pepper and that’s your filling done. Simple.

Tip into a pie dish and cover with puff pastry. I buy the ready rolled stuff and use about half the packet, but it’ll depend on the size of your dish.

Bake in the oven (180 fan for 30 mins) until the pastry is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Stampin’ Up Saturday ~ Keeping it Simple

Those of you who pop in regularly will know that I have recently become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator. I’ve mentioned it in passing a few times, but haven’t dedicated any posts to it before . I feel very lucky to have 99 lovely folk following me and don’t want to turn you all off with (what feels like) shameless plugging.

I thought about starting up a separate blog specifically for all the SU stuff and I think that’s what I will end up doing, once I get established. In the meantime I wondered about a weekly post, on this blog, showcasing particular products and perhaps including a technique or tutorial.

I talked to a few friends (blogging and otherwise) about it and one suggested Stampin’ Up Saturday. Thankyou Sian. So here I am, with the first of a weekly series and we’ll see how it goes. All honest opinions welcome.

I was reading Jacky’s blog the other day and she was talking about making cards for men and a lot of people, including me, commented on how difficult they found it. It made me think of the card I made for my Dad recently, which was very simple.

I stamped one of the Four Frames onto Very Vanilla card, using Real Red ink, followed by a sentiment from Petite Pairs in Basic Black. I punched it out with the matching Decorative Label punch and adhered to Crumb Cake card using foam pads to give some dimension.

I faff for ages make my Dad a card every year for his birthday and try not to feel too hurt when it’s put to one side without remark. Not everyone realises how much time and effort goes into it. This took me about 10 minutes to make and was received with the most enthusiasm I’ve seen in years! I’ll be keeping it simple from now on.

OK shameless plug alert. If you don’t have a local SU demo and are interested in ordering anything then please contact me at angelfishcrafts{at}gmail{dot}com          

I’ll be running a virtual hostess club, starting next month, which gives everyone the opportunity to earn free goodies from the catalogue, without having to hold a party in your home. Ideal if you don’t have a lot of crafting friends that live nearby. For more details on this, or anything else, feel free to get in touch at the above address.

If you’re still with me, thanks for reading. Hope to see you next Saturday.

Friday Find ~ Hamburger Cakes?!

I’ve been looking around for birthday food ideas, for my soon to be 15 year old son and came across these inspired cakes at The Idea Room.

They might be a fun thing to make for Father’s Day too. If you don’t have a card yet and would like a quick printable, that will give you a great result, then check out my find from last week. We’ll be making ours tomorrow, while The Mechanic is at work.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend, no matter what the weather is doing in your part of the world. I’ll be back tomorrow with a new blog feature, that I’m going to trial for a few weeks. Maybe I’ll see you there?

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #158

Crafting opportunities have been few and far between this last week or so. Getting everything out, just to clear it away again half an hour later, hardly seems worth the effort. But, I had some envelopes that needed decorating, so out came the ink.

Not very exciting, but there you have it. For more interesting desks make your next stop Julia’s place.

Apparently it’s Saturday….

….which makes me a day late with my Friday find. Half term and Bank holidays always leave me in a bit of a muddle.

It’s Father’s Day next Sunday (June 17th) here in the UK and these brilliant free printables by Kirsty Neale will come in handy if you don’t have a card ready yet.

There is a basic figure, which you can customise with a choice of clothes, quiffs, glasses and facial hair, to make your own bespoke ‘Dad’. Alternatively check out some ‘off the peg’ designs here.

Have fun!

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #157

This is what was on my kitchen table, just before I had to clear it so that we could eat our dinner last night. So inconvenient this having to feed everyone.

I’ve mostly been covering notebooks and assembling owls.

It’s half term here and we all had fun at the beacon lighting on Monday night.

Today we’re off to Southampton and hoping the weather is going to feel something like June. I’ll be round to visit when we get home.

For more crafty goings on, head over to Julia’s place.

Storytelling Sunday 2 ~ Thirteen

I really wanted to share a Jubilee themed story today, but alas I cannot find a single photo of our Silver Jubilee celebrations back in 1977.

There was a celebration of a different kind in our house last month.

                                             Thirteen candles

                                                    One wish

These are the only two pictures I managed to take. You have to be quick to catch her unawares these days. No second chance to get a sharper shot, the blur will have to do. Better to have that, than no photo at all.

I’m linking up with Sian today and everyone else who has a story to share.

 

One Thing I’m Loving This Friday ~ Bunting #2

After the felt dolls last week, something a little more traditional today.

Just in time for your Jubilee celebrations. Printable bunting designed by Rob Ryan. Yippee! The downloadable PDF is available in this week’s online issue of Stylist.

Short and sweet today, but I’ll be back on Sunday with a story to share.