I've started so I'll finish...

As with many crafty folks, I have a habit of starting things and not quite finishing them. This dates back to childhood and I've never quite managed to shake it. I like trying things out, but when I come a bit unstuck, or a bit bored with the project I'll leave it. Ask me about a skirt I started making in 2003 that I've still not finished, and is very much unlikely to fit me now!

I very much enjoyed the team retreat in the middle of May, and Kylie is always very good at giving us more projects than we may be able to finish, so I came home with several incomplete. 

I was determined this time to not live up to my usual expectations and leave them languishing in a pile on my desk then move them to a drawer for years on end, so yesterday I finished the last two. They were slightly more complicated than your standard card, so I forgave myself for leaving them until I had brain space to do it.

Here's the first one, this amazing folding box card. The theme of the event was my favourite Valley in Bloom Suite and I loved having some more inspiration - I'm very much getting the most out of mine and welcomed getting some more papers as I'm about to run out of mine!

Looks impressive, but in reality it actually wasn't as complicated as I had initially thought. All I needed was some time to sit down and focus. This folds flat to go into an envelope.

I am thinking that I need to adapt this card for some upcoming classes, so I will get some instructions written up soon.

The final card was this extremely large one that was a 'Sampler' of all the different papers in the set. Being an occasional quilter, a sampler felt very fitting and I enjoyed deciding which papers I should use and where to place them.

I also feel like I've found a nice spot in my crafty basement to take photos finally!

So there you have it, I bucked my usual trend and finished off my projects from the Team Retreat. Now to start working on projects for my next classes - Card Café is coming up on 23rd June!

Procrastination is the thief of time and this time, it didn't win. Happy crafting ;)

Fruity Stencils and Funky Colours

I discovered when prepping for the recent Uniko and Stampin' Up! Mash-Up All Day Retreat (there's another one coming on 26th September so save the date!) that I owned quite a few purple inks - not a colour I'd immediately think of to buy, but ones that I have somehow managed to accrue.

I then decided to have a look through what other ranges of inks I had, and use them to ink up this fabulously fruity Uniko stencil, which I'm trying to persuade Bev to get back into stock as I took the last one!

Here they all are, along with the ink colours used. You can find all the products I used in my Stampin' Up! shop:

1. HELLO 

Card base - 14.8 x 21 cm, folded at 10.5cm

Granny Apple Green Panel - 13.8 x 9.5cm

Stencilled Panel - 13.3 x 9 cm

Colours of ink used - Lemon-Lime Twist, Daffodil Delight, Darling Duckling, Golden Glow

I die cut a sentiment from the panel and then 3 others in plain white and layered them all up and popped it back into the card. Love the look.

2. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ORANGE

Card Base - Timid Tiger 14.3 x 21cm folded at 10.5cm

White card - 10 x 13.8cm

Stencilled Panel cut into two cm strips - 10 x 13.8cm

Sentiment: Timid Tiger - 6 x 2.5 cm; White card - 5.5 x 2cm

Inks used - Crisp Cantaloupe, Peach Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Timid Tiger

To make the double vision technique, cut the stencilled panel into 2cm strips and alternate glueing one strip, then using foam pads for the next.

3. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIME

Card Base - Granny Apple Green 14.3 x 21cm folded at 10.5cm

White card - 10 x 13.8cm

Stencilled Panel cut into two cm strips - 10 x 13.8cm

Sentiment: Granny Apple Green - 6 x 2.5 cm; White card - 5.5 x 2cm

Inks used - Lemon-Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Peaceful Pine, Garden Green

To make the double vision technique, cut the stencilled panel into 2cm strips and alternate glueing one strip, then using foam pads for the next.

3. HELLO FRIEND

Card base Strawberry Slush - 14.8 x 21 cm, folded at 10.5cm

Flirty Flamingo Panel - 13.8 x 9.5cm

Stencilled Panel - 13.3 x 9 cm

Colours of ink used - Barely Blush, Pretty In Pink, Flirty Flamingo, Strawberry Slush

I die cut a sentiment from the panel and then 3 others in plain white and layered them all up and popped it back into the card.  I added a small sentiment in Strawberry Slush Ink and popped it up on foam pads.

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of working out the best colour combinations and the best layering technique - lighter first works the best.

Whatever you are doing today, be bold and have a play!

Seeing Double... Double Vision Cards, the New In Thing!

I'm not usually one for jumping on the bandwagon with new techniques, but when we made some cards at the May Team Meeting using the Double Vision technique, I had to try some more.

They work perfectly for me and my style of card making. Simple and easy to make, and they look very effective. Plus you get to use all the lovely Designer Series Paper (DSP) you have been hoarding for a long time. I used the new Velvet Meadow which has a flocked texture that is just lovely.

Most of the dimensions I found online were for US sized cards which use inches more than centimetres, so  that's what I used for mine, albeit slightly smaller measurements because it meant I could get more than one card out of one piece of A4 cardstock.

We made this card at Card Café this week and I've made others since then because I am really on a roll with this technique. I do hope you get round to trying it out, as it is so simple to use. All of the products are available from my Stampin' Up! shop, and you can find links to them from My Projects.

This is what you will need to make this card:

• Darling Duckling Cardstock 8 x 5 ½ in
• Cloud Cover Cardstock 3 ¾ x 5 ¼ in
• Basic White Cardstock 3 ½ x 5 in
• Versafine Onyx Black Ink
• Velvet Meadow Designer Series Paper 3 ½ x 5 in
• White card ½ x 2 ¼ in
• Darling Duckling card ⅝ x 2 ½ in
• Small Sentiment - this one is from the retired Charming Duck Pond set but the size was perfect!
• Embellishments (optional)

1. Score and fold your Darling Duckling cardbase at 4 in 
2. Glue your Cloud Cover panel on top
3. Cut your DSP into ½ inch strips, keeping them in order
4. Glue the first of your strips onto the 3 ½ x 5 inch white card panel. Place the next strip beside it, but don’t glue down. Glue the third strip next to the second. Repeat the process until the 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th and 7^th are all glued down.
5. Using foam pads attach the 2^nd, 4^th and 6^th strips in between the glued pieces.
6. Attach this panel to your card on top of the Cloud Cover panel.
7. Stamp the sentiment onto your strip of white card and then attach to the Darling Duckling Strip. Glue onto the raised strips.
8. Add some embellishments.

If you do get a chance to make one, please let me know, and if you're on Instagram, tag me at ruthgetscrafty.

Jumping on the bandwagon may not be such a bad thing after all!

Fun Times

On Saturday 9th May I ran my first ever big craft session with Bev from Uniko Ltd. She's a pro at these, so I couldn't have been happier to have her share this session with me. We called it the Uniko and Stampin' Up! Mash Up - two companies, two friends coming together to share a mutual love of crafting with other crafty ladies.

We had 8 projects for our 8 attendees to take part in and I was pleased to see them getting stuck into almost all of them.

I'm really enjoying scrapbooking at the moment as you'll know if you follow me on Instagram. I can't get enough of it. Keeping those memories of those experiences in hard copy rather than on my phone is a real joy. I can flick through my folder and smile.

Of course I had to include one in my projects, and while only a couple of the ladies at the event did them, it won't stop me from including them again in future events - check out my Events page for all the events I have planned in.

I keep them simple because well, I don't really have time or brain space to think about very complicated ones. I also love using the Party Alphabet dies and stencils to make them stand out.

For this one I used Bev's Balloon Bash Stencils, the In Colors for 2025-7 Strawberry Slush, Darling Duckling and Cloud Cover and those nice big Party Alphabet letters to create something bold and memorable, but also simple.

Keeping it simple doesn't mean it's not worth doing, you don't have to overcomplicate your makes, In fact I find it makes me able to do more in the little time I have.

Keep it simple, and you can get more crafts into your day!

Arigato! Thank you!

Arigato! Thank you! 

We're big animé fans in our house. From Studio Ghibli classic films like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind to TV series like Komi Can't Communicate, we enjoy the insights you often get into Japanese culture.

I was having a play with April's Product of the Month, the Eyelets Bloom Dye, and decided to emboss it onto some of the new Hydrangea Hue card stock. I cut it out and then I left it because I wasn't quite sure where to take it from there. 

Fast forward a week and inspiration came again in the form of embossing it, so I took my Versamark Ink and gently rubbed it over the surface and then used some gold embossing powder and it gave it a lovely sheen, but you can still see the blue background.

I thought it reminded me of the Kintsugi Inspirations papers, so I found what I had left of them (they're still available to purchase, and the stamp set, Inspiring Imperfections is on sale, so definitely worth a look!) and cut out a vase and a die in colours that fit with the Barely Blush card base I'd used. 

I cut the embossed die cut into a 7 x7cm square and then into two triangles and glued them into the corners of a white card panel, popping the vase and bowl on top with foam pads. The sentiment is also in Hydrangea Hue, and is from an old Mama Elephant set and there are lots of 'Thank You' in different languages, including Japanese. Perfect!

Sometimes you just have to start crafting, leave it for a while and then come back to it for the inspiration to finally come.

As we head into a new Stampin' Up! year, with a new catalogue, I just want to say a big Arigato Thank You to everyone who has supported me this past year, by following along with me on Instagram, coming to Card Café, and all the other classes I've run. You keep me going, and I definitely wouldn't be here without you!

Crafting is my happy place, and I know it's going to be a really good one this year!

Lily of the Valley - Clean and Simple

I've been playing with my new catalogue pre-order purchase this past week in preparation for some upcoming classes - take a look at My Events page for what is coming up - and I cannot wait to share them with you.

You have one whole week before you can get hold of all the new goodies in the May - August 2026 catalogue and I know you're going to love what's in it.

I adore the Lily of the Valley stamp and die set, and, as I stepped out of the door to head to work on Friday last week, I noticed that our own Lily of the Valley have popped up by the fence. I leave them to their own devices really, because they are such a simple and beautiful plant, I really wouldn't mind if they took over the whole front garden. 

I've always been a very CAS card maker - that's shorthand for Clean and Simple. I don't have a huge amount of time to spend crafting, and I also want to share quick and simple makes to show how easy it is to do, plus that you don't have to have a lot of supplies to make cards. 

This one that we made at April's Card Café is a good example of making something Clean and Simple, but also classic without needing to break the bank to make - Darling Duckling Cardstock, Basic White Card, an Oval Die,  Lily of the Valley Stamps and Dies and some Granny Apple Green Card, although you could just use white and stamp the leaves too. 

Whatever you are up to this week, I hope it involves a little bit of a beauty and a little bit of simplicity, and a whole lot of joy too.

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Core Memories...

Everybody needs a friend like Justine. I've known her for 25 years and we first met through a friend of mine (Kathleen) who I'd known at Glasgow University and who had moved to Oxford University to do a PhD (I know a lot of smart friends!). She had met Justine as they were studying in similar fields (Classics, it's not a very big world) and as I was working at the University in one of the libraries, she introduced me. 

Like a lot of friendships over the years we've flitted in and out of each other's lives, but this past year or so, we've been back in touch more regularly, and she's popped in to see me in Leeds on her way back further up north, when this photo was taken last October. 

This was one memory I was definitely going to be keeping and so this page was born. As it happens, I've met up with Kathleen early this year in Oxford and so this will eventually become a double page spread.

I've been making good use of the Party Alphabet dies on my pages lately, and stencils from Uniko - this one is the Layering Retro Lines - along with the new ink colours for 2026-8, which I absolutely love, not just for their colours, but because they are now the magnetic closures which makes my life a whole lot easier in opening them.

This year is definitely becoming the year of reconnecting with friends. I have a trip planned to Dublin later on in the year with some other friends I lost touch with, and I will definitely be keeping those memories too.

Justine is definitely one of a kind. A kind, wild, helpful, intelligent and thoughtful person, who has faced challenges and overcome them. I'm very glad that she's in my life, and I am definitely the better for it.

Keep those memories of your friends, they deserve to be remembered.