The Retiral Lists Are Here!

Grab yourself a bargain or just make sure you get your favourites from your wish list before they disappear. 

For stamps you should click here

For the accessories you should click here

The Retiral List period lasts until 1st July but products are only available whilst stocks last. 

Let me know if anything grabs your fancy and you want me to order for you.  Postage is £4.95 or £1 if collecting direct from me.  However orders for collection will not be processed immediately so if you want to make sure your items don't sell out then opt for direct delivery to your home at £4.95.  I would advise putting your order in soon as I think a lot of the items will be very popular and will sell out quickly. 

Thanks.  x

Baby Boy Baby Prints

Good Afternoon.  

We have a sunny afternoon which is lovely to see.  I need a baby boy card for our new great nephew.  We are all so excited because we get to meet him on Saturday!  Yay cuddles!! 

I've followed the colours at Dynamic Duos - Bashful Blue and Midnight Muse.

Aren't baby feet just the cutest?  And these are from a fabulous set called Baby Prints.  I've stamped these in Bashful Blue on Whisper White mounted onto Midnight Muse.  The navy bow was made using my bow maker - see here.  The panel is popped up on Dimensionals.  I've attached some Very Vanilla Designer Paper from the Neutrals Stack to a mat of Midnight Muse onto a card base of Bashful Blue.  The little sentiment is from the same set stamped in Bashful Blue.  You can change it to say girl if you want.  It's punched out with the Curly Label Punch. 

Last day to take advantage of grabbing a starter kit of £155 for £99.  What a bargain!  But better be quick.  Drop me a line if you want to discuss this further and see if it's right for you. 

Thanks for visiting.  x

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - Bashful Blue, Midnight Muse, Whisper White 

Ink - Bashful Blue

Stamp - Baby Prints

Designer Series Paper - Neutrals Stack

Punch - Curly Label

Ribbon - Night of Navy

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Need for Speed Red Car

Speeding in with a masculine Congratulations card.  This is for a young man who has just passed his driving test. 

I stamped Need for Speed in black on Real Red card stock.  Then coloured with a Real Red Stampin' Write Marker.  Then highlighted the lights with a White Gel Pen.  It's popped up on Dimensionals onto a mat of Basic Black after attaching a couple of go faster ribbons in black and white.  I then added a strip of Basic Black and some Designer Paper from the Neutrals Stack to ground it.  The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Banners and I've attached it to look like it's fluttering as the car speeds by. 

Hope your week is or isn't speeding by depending on your mood!! 

So exciting as we draw to the end of May as a demonstrator I'll soon have a preview of the new catalogue which starts in July.  It's one of the many perks and if you have ever thought of being a demonstrator then before the end of May there's a great deal.  Have a look at the promotions and drop me a line if you are interested.  

X 

I'm going to enter this into Freshly Made Sketches

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - Whisper White, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink - Basic Black

Stamp - Need for Speed, Itty Bitty Banners

Stampin' Write Markers - Real Red

Designer Paper - Neutral Stack

Other - White and Black Ribbon, White Gel Pen

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Owl Humour

Less is More card challenge really had me stumped this week as the recipe is humour.  I like a good laugh like anyone else but find it really difficult to put this into a card. 

So much scratching of the head later and I've come up with this.  Using the Owl Builder Punch you can see I've sat him in a tree.  He has his back to us just now. Lovely as a Tree makes great branches as well as super trees.  The sentiment was typed on my PC in Comic Sans.  And the answer to the question is 

Of course he's a Scottish Owl!  Look at his tartan vest.  I stamped this with the retired Solid Stripes stamp and used Stampin' Write Markers to fill in the rest.  The birthday sentiment is from another retired set - Happiest Birthday Wishes. 

Hope this gave you a little giggle. 

A big Hello to my new follower Tavernier.Bell thanks for following me. 

Keep crafty.  x

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up! 

Card - Real Red, Gumball Green, Whisper White

Ink - Real Red, Gumball Green

Stamp - Lovely as a Tree, Solid Stripes, Happiest Birthday Wishes

Stampin' Write Markers - Basic Black, Wild Wasabi

Punch - Owl Builder

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Friend to Friend

I got a lovely surprise this morning when I saw my card on Margaret's blog.  Margaret is in the Card Swap Group I'm part of and she was my recipient for May.  Thanks Margaret for your kind words they really gave me a boost this morning!

That means that of course she has received her card and I can now post it here.   It's quite daunting to make a card for other card makers, especially when they are as good as Margaret and the other ladies in the group.  

So when I started gathering my thoughts two things came to mind - vellum and embossing.  I decided to combine them.   I reached for my Very Vintage Wheel and embossed it in white on Vellum tearing the edges.  I attached a panel of Elegant Eggplant card behind the Vellum and onto a Crumb Cake base.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes stamped in Elegant Eggplant punched out with the Word Window Punch and a mat of Modern Label in Elegant Eggplant.  For the flower I stamped Mixed Bunch on Perfect Plum in Elegant Eggplant and Clear Embossed it then punched out with the Blossom Punch.   I added some branches from the Bird Builder Punch in Elegant Eggplant.  A few Basic Rhinestones to add a touch of glimmer. 

This is actually the third month of the card group so it's about time I got organised and showed you the cards that I've received.  

March

Isn't this a fun card?  I love the red and white, the fun tags and that funky font.  Thanks Ann (I don't think Ann has a blog) 

April

Just look at this gorgeous background!  I love the script, embossed flowers and the gorgeous layered bloom on the front.  Thanks Zoe

May

Wow this is stunning.  Look at the beautiful delicate butterfly on the background of poppies!  Thanks Sue. (not sure if Sue has a blog either)

Thanks for staying with me in my round up.  A quick Hi and Welcome to my new follower Wendy. 

Hope you've found some inspiration here today. 

Supplies Used (on my card)

All Stampin' up!

Card - Crumb Cake, Elegant Eggplant, Vellum

Ink - Elegant Eggplant, Versamark

Stamp - Teeny Tiny Wishes, Mixed Bunch

Wheel - Very Vintage

Punch - Word Window, Modern Label, Blossom

Other - Basic Rhinestones, White Embossing Powder, Clear Embossing Powder

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Online Shopping with Stampin' Up! 24-7

SHOP SHOP SHOP TILL YOU DROP

It's so easy now because I'm excited to announce that you can shop on line with Stampin' Up! 24-7.  Anytime you want you will be able to shop for all your Stampin' Up! goodies and have them delivered straight to your home.  Most of us shop on line at some point so I'm sure you'll love this new resource.  I'll still be here to answer your queries/give suggestions and help you with your creativity by email or on the phone.  Also you can still place your orders through me direct just like before.  This is just giving an extra option.

So how do you place an order?  Well first of all you need to create an account and once that's done you can browse/shop anytime you want.  Make sure you see my name on the top right.  If you don't you can do a search for Aileen Skene and select myself as your Demonstrator.  

Just click HERE to go to My Stampin' Blog then click the Shop Now Button.

Oh my I think I might just give out a Whoop Whoop when I receive my first on line order!  Will it be you?  I love looking after my customers and dropping them a little e mail with some inspiration to use with their new purchases. 

Take care and have fun having a browse.  x

Stampin' Up! Comfort Cafe and Bow Maker

Just popping in this evening to share with you a couple of little cards and a gift.  I made these for my Stamper's 6 Ladies.  I always like to pop in a card and a small gift to say thank you.  This month I made a Bow Makers using Comfort Cafe Designer Series Paper as the decoration.  I found a tutorial that not only shows you how to make them but also how to use them.  You can see it here.

I added a large bow in Crochet Trim which they can attach to their own projects.  The little cards are also decorated with the designer papers and a bow.  This time made with the smaller bow maker.  The templates were attached to a book ring so the Ladies can add their own bow makers in different sizes if they wish to make some up themselves. 

On the cards I added a frame from Four Frames punched out with the Decorative Label Punch and popped up on Dimensionals. 

Interested in becoming one of my Stamper's 6 Ladies?  Drop me a line in ails300@btinternet.com for more info. 

Remember to check out our promotions before they end. 

Hope your week is going well.  Hopefully have some exciting news to share with you tomorrow if the various links work!! 

Take care.  x

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Ink - Midnight Muse

Stamp - Four Frames, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Designer Series Paper - Comfort Cafe

Punch - Decorative Label

Ribbon - Crochet Trim, Night of Navy Grosgrain (retired)

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

"Meow" Have a purrfect day!

This little buddy is popping in to say "Have a purrfect day"!  

I think he's had an extra large saucer of milk!  I found him on pinterest and just had to make him up for this week's Less is More which is cats and/or dogs.  Well he is so cute!  Also I don't have any cats or dogs stamps.  Which is very remiss of me as we have a couple of fab stamp sets in the catalogue just now and they are on my wish list so one day.....

However until then, when you don't have the stamp set to fit, use punch art.  My pussy cat is made up of circles and his ears are from the elegant butterfly punch.  Googly eyes would look good on him too. 

Hope you have had a "purrfect" weekend and got all the cream!  x

Supplies Used

All Stampin Up

Card - Whisper White, Basic Black, Card Base from my Stash

Stampin' Write Marker - Rose Red, Basic Black

Punch - 1 3/4" Circle, 1 3/8" Circle, Itty Bitty Shapes, Elegant Butterfly, Crop a dile

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Perfectly Preserved flowers in a jar

Can't believe it's Thursday already.  I just seem to be continually chasing my tail just now. 

So it's nice to stop in past here and share a very calming card with you today. 

This one is destined for one of the ladies in the card swap group I take part in as it was her birthday this week.  Hope you like it, Zoe.

I've stamped the gorgeous jar from Perfectly Preserved in Sahara Sand and also the sentiment from the same set.  I then stamped the stem in Old Olive and the flower heads in Rich Razzleberry.  I attached the Whisper White panel to an Old Olive mat, which had some Crochet Trim Ribbon topped with Rich Razzleberry Grosgrain (retired) Ribbon attached along the bottom.  This was all attached to a Rich Razzleberry base. 

Lots of new things happening at Stampin' Up! very soon.  I'll let you know as soon as I can.  One of the fun things about being a Demonstrator is that it does mean you get all the bizz first.  Want to be in the know before everyone else?  Now is a great time to join before the end of May as there is a real boost to your starter kit with the extra £25.

I'm going to add this into Dynamic Duos which is having a celebration and you can choose any of the past challenges.  You can see I've chosen - 

one of my all time favourite colour combos. 

I hope your week has been more calming than mine and you've had the chance to get crafty. x 

Supplies used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink - Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry

Stamp - Perfectly Preserved

Ribbon - Crochet Trim, Rich Razzleberry Grosgrain (retired)

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Stampin Up's Papillon Potpourri Embossed

Said I had another idea for Less is More and here it is.  The challenge is to create a card which is one layer and to use a coloured card base.  No white, ivory, black or kraft allowed. 

I love seeing white on coloured card and thought Papillon Potpourri would look fab on this pink.  So I embossed some butterflies in White along with the Curly Cute sentiment.  I also embossed one of the little butterflies repeatedly in clear and added some teeny tiny itty bitty Basic Pearls.   

How's your weekend been?  Hope you managed to fit some crafting in.  

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up! 

Card - Rose Red

Ink - Versamark

Stamp - Curly Cute, Papillon potpourri

Other - White Embossing, Clear Embossing, Basic Pearls

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Mixed Bunch gets Spritzed and Sponged

Less is More this week is the dreaded one layer and we've been asked to use a coloured card base.  Yeh I thought, Kraft looks great with embossing or colouring on, but no before you rush in check the small print!  No white, cream/ivory , black or yep you guessed it KRAFT!!

So I've chosen Bashful Blue for my card base.  I spritzed it with some Marina Mist and a little Frost White Shimmer Paint.  I then stamped the sentiment from Curly Cute in Night of Navy.  I chose this gorgeous intricate flower from Mixed Bunch and embossed in silver.  I used my Blender Pen to add some Night of Navy to the centres.  I sponged around the edges with Marina Mist and Night of Navy.  To finish a single a Basic Rhinestone to the main flower.

It's not my usual style but I thought it would be interesting to combine a grungy/vintage look with this sophisticated elegant flower.  What do you think?

I have another idea so may be back before the week is out!

Hope you've had a great day.  Britains Got Talent and The Voice are on tonight.  That's my viewing for this evening all sorted!

Take care.  Will be round to visit you later.  x

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - Bashful Blue

Ink - Night of Navy, Versamark, Marina Mist

Stamp - Mixed Bunch, Curly Cute

Embossing Powder - Silver

Other - Spritzer, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Marina Mist Re inker, Basic Rhinestone

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Some Comfort Cafe for your Birthday!

If it happens to be your birthday then this is for you.  Happy Birthday! 

  I dipped into my Comfort Cafe to make my card.  Doesn't that sound wonderful?  It was actually, it's very comfortable and calming there!  

Ok back to reality.  Summer Starfruit is the card base with Pool Party as the hexagon panel and Midnight Muse as the mat for the Very Vanilla Panel.  Pool Party and some of the Comfort Cafe was embossed with the Hexagon Embossing Folder.  I snipped out the patterned paper with my super sharp Paper Snips.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes stamped in Midnight Muse. 

Hope you have a fun weekend planned.  Take care.  x 

I've made my card today to fit a few challenges. 

 CASe This Sketch

Addicted to Stamps and More - CAS

CASology - Hexagon

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - Summer Starfruit, Pool Party, Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla

Ink - Midnight Muse

Stamp - Teeny Tiny Wishes

Embossing Folder - Hexagon

Designer Series Paper - Comfort Cafe

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Love and Laughter Congratulations

Doesn't the time just fly?  Here we are in May already and finally some decent sunshine.  Even had my shorts on yesterday.  Shocked the neighbours with my peely wally white legs!

I'm catching up with Less is More colour week.  We have to choose two opposites from their colour wheel.  I chose yellow and violet but in Stampin' Up! speak that's So Saffron and Perfect Plum.  Aren't they a perfect match together?  Perhaps that's why I've made a wedding card hee hee!

So you've guessed the base is So Saffron along with the popped up panel triple scored along the bottom.  I stamped the cake from Love and Laughter in Perfect Plum on Very Vanilla along with the sentiment from the same set and the little heart.  The flowers were stamped in So Saffron and also popped up.  Some Basic Pearls finished off. 

 So that's it from me today.  Take care and keep crafting!  x 

Supplies Used

All Stampin' Up!

Card - So Saffron, Very Vanilla

Ink - So Saffron, Perfect Plum

Stamp - Love and Laughter

Punch - Corner Rounder

Other - Dimensionals, Basic Pearls

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

Create A Cupcake Thank you's

Here's a quick card for you.  

This is a little thank you I made up for my Stamper's 6 ladies.  I wonder what they will do with their Cute Clips?

I've used the delightful Baja Breeze and the Create A Cupcake set with matching Builder Punch.  I popped the little heart up on a Dimensional.  I used my Paper Piercing Essentials Mat pack to add a little decoration to the Whisper White panel.  Doesn't the Top Note Bigz Die make a super topper?  So easy to do with little effort. 

If you would like to be part of a Stamper's 6 group, take a look at my Virtual Hostess Page to see all the details and benefits.  You can add your name to the next group.  

Want to take your hobby to the next level?  Joining Stampin' Up! at the moment gives you more in your starter kit.  For £99 you choose £155 worth of product.  Just think of all the goodies you could receive for that! 

If you wish to discuss either of the above then you can drop me a line on ails300@btinternet.com and I'll do my best to help you.

A big Hello to Julie my newest follower. 

Hope you have a lovely weekend.  Thanks for stopping in past me tonight. x

If you would like to order any of the above or the other supplies from the current catalogues then please get in touch either by e mail ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  I would be delighted to help you with your crafty projects.  A parcel of lovely goodies could be winging it's way direct to your home in the UK, Deutchsland, France, Nederland or Osterreich.  

Join before end of May and choose a starter kit with £155 worth of goodies for only £99. 

Have a party with £250 worth of sales and receive an extra £25 in hostess pounds.

New This and That Product Range from Stampin' Up!

I'm so excited to tell you about a new product range that will be available in the new catalogue in July - This and That.  But best of all is you can order it now before the new catalogue comes out until the 31st May with a saving of 15% if you purchase the bundle.  Have a look at this video

Your life is: Fabulous. Quirky. Exciting. Perfectly messy. And happening really fast. So we’re happy to introduce our newest product line that lets you capture it all on-the-go. This and That will debut in the 2013-2014 annual catalogue, but we’re giving you the chance to get it now.

Item	Description	Price
131268	Epic Day This and That Journal	13.50 €/£9.95
130814	Epic Day This and That Designer Series Paper	13.25 €/£9.95
131463	Remember This and That Rotary Stamp	6.95 €/£5.50
131271	Epic Day This and That Designer Stickers	5.95 €/£4.50
131269	Epic Day This and That Designer Washi Tape	5.95 €/£4.50
133905	Epic Day This and That Bundle Includes the five This and That products listed above. Only available in a bundle until May 31.	38.76 €/£29.24 15% Off Retail Value!

Did you spot the Rotary Stamp and Washi Tape in the video.  These would be great to use on cards and normal Scrapbooking. 

Smash Books are all the rage just now.  Never heard of them?  Well let me explain -

Smash books are for anything and everything.  It's a place to capture everyday happenings along with big events.  All the little things that we don't want to forget.  The funny things kids say, conversations with friends and family.  Fun days out. Use it as a planner for your next holiday, wedding, new baby, a party. Record moving home, building an extension, your family's everyday events, days out, nights out.  The list is endless but I'm sure you get the picture.  It doesn't have to be big events it just has to have meaning to you.  Jot down your thoughts as you keep momentos like concert tickets,train tickets.  Out with friends, jot down a few words from them on the event.  You'll have fun looking back at all your memories. It's fast and easy and no mess to keep up with your busy lifestyle.  

Wouldn't this be great gift for someone who has one of those big events coming up?

You could even use it as a place to keep your journalling, mementos, photos to help you plan your scrapbook pages. 

I've started a book which I made myself for my husband who has a big birthday coming up and to celebrate we are going to New York, kids too.  Each time I planned something else for the trip I handed him the book with a little card explaining a bit more.  He has been drip fed all the details from flights to hotels etc for the past 6 months!  Now we have the This and That Book I'll be able to record the holiday on the go.  Keeping tickets, jotting down reactions.  When we come back I can use this to make a full sized scrapbook album. 

If you would like to order the Epic Day This and That Bundle or any of the individual products then please e mail me on ails300@btinternet.com or call 07827923123.  Remember until the 31st May you can receive the bundle at 15% off. 

Thanks for your visit.  x