Stampin’ Up Sunday ~ Papillon Potpourri #2

Remember these cards from a couple of weeks ago? I made them using two of the larger butterfly stamps from Papillon Potpourri and a matching punch . There are also three smaller butterflies in the set and I’ve used one of them here to layer up.

There are also a couple of sneak peeks from the upcoming Spring catalogue, which launches on the 1st of February. Another butterfly punch to match those smaller images and an embossing folder to make that lovely honeycomb background.

• Papillon Potpourri stamp set
• Elegant Butterfly punch
• Bitty Butterfly punch (coming soon)
• Four Frames
• Decorative Label punch
• Perfect Polka Dots folder
• Honeycomb folder (coming soon)
• Crumb Cake, Pool Party and Very Vanilla cardstock
• Lucky Limeade and Primrose Petals inkpads

If you would like a copy of the new Spring/Summer just drop me a line at angelfishcrafts{at}gmail{dot}com   I’ll be sending them out this week.

Stampin’ Up Saturday ~ Stampin’ Trimmer

You know how it is when you are trying to find a new trimmer, every one that you look at seems to have some little niggling thing that you don’t like, or is missing a feature that you would find really useful. Believe me I have tried many over the years, but the search is finally over. The Stampin’ Trimmer is here.

It really does have everything I’m looking for in a trimmer and makes it easy to put together a project, like this little gift box, in no time at all. Cut and score the card, all without having to change the blades over. They can both stay in place, at either end of the track, without encroaching on the full 12”/30cm cutting area. Cool huh?

I stamped the box lid with my favourite En Francais design, before folding and added a flower made from punched shapes and leaves cut with a sizzlit die. So pretty.

It has a vintage look and is the perfect size for a small piece of jewellery. It would also make a lovely wedding favour, as it’s quicker to assemble than you might think. It can be cut, scored, stamped, punched and put together in around 20 minutes.

• Stampin’ Trimmer
• Naturals Ivory cardstock
• Crumb Cake ink and cardstock
• En Francais background stamp
• Blossom punch
• Little Leaves Sizzlits die
• Pink and green cardstock

Sale-A-Bration is the next big event in the Stampin’ Up calendar. It runs for two months and begins on the 22nd of January. There are lots of lovely goodies to choose from, all free with a qualifying order. Please contact me for details at the usual place angelfishcrafts{at}gmail{dot}com

PS If any of my readers are interested in a tutorial for the box, then I’ll be happy to share one. Just let me know in the comments.

Stampin’ Up Sunday ~ Papillon Potpourri

This is one of my favourite stamp sets and it has a matching punch, which makes it even better in my book. Clean and simple cards can be made in minutes.

I stamped three butterflies in Primrose Petals, punched them out and mounted on the circles left over from this card.

Some embossed polka dots and a sentiment to balance the design, all on a kraft background. Two cards in about twenty minutes. Not bad eh?

• Papillon Potpourri stamp set
• Elegant Butterfly punch
• Circle punch
• Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder
• Primrose Petal inkpad and cardstock
• Pool Party cardstock
• Crumb Cake cardstock
• Curly Cute sentiment stamps

There is a lovely offer at the moment for a free Sealed with Love kit, which makes 10 notecards, complete with envelopes, when you buy the exclusive My Little Valentine clear stamp set. The stamp set costs £9.95 and is only available during this promotion. The free note card kit is worth £8.25, which makes it a very good deal.

You can read all about it here and if you have any questions or would like to place an order please contact me on angelfishcrafts{at}gmail{dot}com

Next week it will be back to Stampin’ Up Saturday, all being well. See you then.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #188

My work space today has alternated between a tray on my lap and the lounge floor.

I needed a couple of quick and simple New Year cards like this one.

I think that’s what is known as short and sweet! If it’s left you wanting more, then head over to Julia’s place, where you’ll find a whole array of crafty goings on.

Storytelling Sunday 3: Pick Your Precious

It’s the first Sunday of the month, which can only mean one thing. We will all gather eagerly at Sian’s place with a story, a memory or a photo to share. This year to ring the changes Sian has suggested a new twist on the theme. Finding something that is precious to you and sharing its story. It was easy to choose this month.

This is one of the very few photos we have in the family of my lovely Aunty, who passed away peacefully in her sleep (and in her own bed) a few weeks ago. It was taken when she was eighteen and my Dad was just a toddler. Wasn’t she beautiful?

Lots of things pop into my head when I look at her smiling eyes. Time spent staying at her cottage, during the Summer holidays, when I was a little girl. Trips to see the pantomime at Christmas time and Holiday on Ice, travelling by Leather’s coaches. Playing Newmarket on a Sunday afternoon and betting with pennies from the big jar.

When I was older and had left home, for college in Devon, she would send me a parcel each term, which would always include a tin of pink salmon and some of her famous rock cakes. I was the envy of my halls of residence when it arrived and it was so special to receive a little taste of home and family.

At her funeral on Friday, the vicar quoted James Peterson, “Tears are the jewels of remembrance – sad, but glistening with the beauty of the past.”

Sleep tight Aunty Kath.

What’s On Your Wordesk Wednesday? #187

One, two, miss a few (four to be precise, but who’s counting?) and here we are on the 187th edition of this jolly blog hop.



I bought the Summersville charm pack a few months ago, because I liked the cute houses, with no clear idea in mind what I would do with it. I browsed around the net looking for a pattern, but most needed at least two charm packs. I kept it safe until I happened across this design, which uses a charm pack and a jelly roll (with the addition of some extra fabric) to make a pair of twin size quilts. Perfect.

As luck would have it Lu Summers had half metres on sale in her Etsy shop and I snapped up a few designs. A jelly roll consists of 2.5” strips and amounts to about 2.5 metres of fabric. I should have enough to cut up. I’ll be adapting the design and adding some Kona solids into the mix. If you are more of a papercrafter and bored of all this sewing talk, don’t despair, there’s something here for you too. Paper tape.


How cute is that? It’s similar to washi tape, only a bit thicker, and you get a whole 50 metres on a roll for £5.95. Bargain! Not that I’m trying to tempt anyone to break their stash diet so early in the year, but it is rather lovely and you could always share with a crafty friend.

I’m heading over to Julia’s place to link up with the rest of the desk hoppers and then it’s into the kitchen to turn all the leftover veg into soup. I seem to have ended up with an abundance of carrots, which I’ll be turning into this family favourite.


Thanks for stopping by.

Today….

….is a brand new day and a brand new year.

Today: Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain.

There will be some of you out there thinking, ‘She shouldn’t have been doing her washing today.’ I know it’s supposed to mean that I’ll be doing it every day for the rest of the year, but with two children, a mechanic for a husband and being a very messy baker and soup maker myself, there’s nothing new there!

Perhaps you don’t do laundry today, because you believe in the more morbid superstition that says you will wash away a family member. Having grown up in a house with an extremely superstitious Father, I don’t subscribe to this theory either. Don’t worry though, this was washed yesterday, while it poured, just hung out today.

I’ve got a few shots of my washing line taken over the last couple of years. It may not seem like a very interesting subject for a photo, but it’s fun to see the different clothes that my children have worn. Clothes which haven’t necessarily appeared in photos taken of them. Especially now they are camera shy teens.

Above is a well loved outfit of my daughter’s: stripy top and skinny jeans. The pink (not a favourite colour but the top is turquoise) just showing, is the bottom half of some new pyjamas, that she had for Christmas, featuring Animal from the muppets. A nickname from when she was tiny (and loud) and had an abundance of wild curls.

Today, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to write about. I only managed two blog posts during December, but I’ve written before about what that time of year usually means for us. This photo a day challenge from Fat Mum Slim was my starting point and I digressed from there!

I’m not committing to taking a photo every single day, but I like the openness of the prompts and I will dip in whenever the fancy takes me. As for other challenges, I declared myself here on my blog last January and have failed epically with most of them, so we’ll see. What are you planning to participate in for 2013?

Wishing all my readers (if I have any left) and friends a happy and creative New Year.