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.

You Inspire Me! New catalogue and new Stampin' Up magnetic ink pads

There's a new Stampin' Up! Catalogue heading your way soon and shopping can start from May 6th. I love it when a new catalogue comes out - it's a chance to see all the new and inspiring crafty things there are. 

Things have changed this year with the catalogues and instead of an annual catalogue there are going to be 3 catalogues each year. I think this is a brilliant idea because often the annual catalogue comes out and then is forgotten when the mini catalogues appear 3 times during the year. This way things are always fresh. There will be items available throughout the year, though, moving from catalogue to catalogue, so there will still be some continuity. I think it's the best of both worlds.

What I really wanted to chat to you about today was the new In Colors. If you've been watching my Instagram and reading my newsletter for a while, you'll know I'm a big fan of the In Colors - I'm still sad that Shy Shamrock is leaving us this year - and I've really enjoyed the current colours. The new In Colors for 2026-8 are really different though - not just in colour, but in design. 

I'll not lie, I've never been a huge fan of the ink pad mechanism of the current ink pads - I end up with ink on my hands sometimes more than the project I'm working on, so when they started talking about magnetic ink pads, my ears pricked up.

I have them, and I can attest that they are great. I love them! Easy to take the lids off, bigger than the current pads, and back to the old felt pad design they used to have. 

The price point is higher than what we've had, so it does make them more of an investment, but, my Instagram reel shows how to use them and that they are so easy, so it's definitely worth it for me. I won't be rebuying ink pads as they change them over to the magnetic pads, but any new pads, I will be getting them in the new format as they come out.

I'm also a huge fan of Hydrangea Hue in this set of colours. Such a beautiful blue. I'm trying a new technique with two tone cardstock with this using an embossing folder and an emery board. You can read all about it in My Projects over on my Stampin' Up! page.

I'm so happy to be blogging again. I forgot how much I really missed it!

Happy Crafting!

Ruth x

Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee, ah saw thee? [Where Have You Been Since I Saw Thee?]

Not on Ilkley Moor baht 'at [Ilkley Moor without a hat] I can tell you - far too chilly for that! No, since I last posted back in 2023, I have been rediscovering a love of card making and I finally decided to join Stampin' Up! as a Demonstrator and have a new brand for this adventure - Ruth Gets Crafty (I love owls!).

I've joined my friend Kylie's team the Cuppa Crafters and am really enjoying all that it entails. I'm part of a team of other local crafty people, I get a discount on some quality craft supplies, and I've even started to run some classes myself which is a scary and thrilling experience all at the same time. Not only that, but I had someone join my team, Ruth's Crafty Rebels, which is really exciting, as I love the idea of creating that crafty community that we all need.

I have a regular weekly email newsletter, which I've been enjoying writing, and I'm regularly posting on my Instagram, Ruth Gets Crafty (that's my new name), but I really really missed having a blog. 

I spent a great deal of time agonising over setting up a website - I bought a domain which I never used of course - and having a blog that way, but the cost in terms of time and learning were too much for me. I thought I might set up another blog like this one, but I never got round to it. I realised that I  already had a blog and one that had been sharing my crafty journey since I started it almost 12 years ago.

When I first set up this blog it was suggested to me that the name would be come obsolete after some time. True, my girls no longer nap, they just don't get up in the morning, but I felt I wanted to keep that connection going and not lose that link from when I first started crafting back when my 12 year old was 6 months old.

So, after 18 months of faffing, I'm doing what I always should have done. Start writing again on this blog!

I'll be sharing craft projects, mostly Stampin' Up! because after all, it's business, but I will throw in other things I'm doing because I can't just have one focus, no, I need all the hobbies, and I'm still loving sewing in various different forms.

I hope some of you out there are still crafting - I definitely know some of you are! - and that you'll join in the further adventures of Crafting While the Baby Naps, also now known as Ruth Gets Crafty.

If you'd like to join the newsletter where I share weekly what classes there are coming up, and other jolly tidbits of Stampin' Up! fun, I would love to have you!

Flowers are Forever...

How many of you have been with me on my journey from my very first card way back in 2015? Can you remember when I joined The Flower Challenge? A card making challenge set up by one of my very earliest card making buddies, Aileen. Well, don't be shocked when I tell you it was 7 years ago. Truly it is because this month they are having a challenge and a celebration as Aileen and Viv retire.

I was touched when Viv emailed me to ask me to join in with this challenge. I've hardly been in touch and it has been nearly 2 years since I last blogged anything, but I couldn't say no.

I've been getting back in to card making, mostly thanks to my friend Kylie who lives a 20 minute walk from me and is a Stampin' Up demonstrator. I've got back into going to her monthly card classes and now that I'm gainfully employed in retail with a regular salary again, I've been saving up for some new purchases. Watch this space for more cards to come!

This challenge is Anything Goes, which can be a double edged sword really with having to decide without any restrictions and that means endless possibilities with a whole host of stamps I could use. In the end I decided to use the Sweet Floral Friends stamp set from Clearly Besotted to make a couple of Good Luck cards.

In my usual style it's pretty simple with an image coloured using Copic markers popped up on foam pads onto a white background and a coloured card base. I do love the Stampin' Up card stock for their vibrant colours. The sentiment is from the set.

So this is a way for me to say to Aileen and Viv, Thank You for giving me the opportunity 7 years ago to join a great team, I'm glad that it's still around and going strong and Good Luck to you stepping down and to Karren taking on the mantle of leadership.

I hope you'll join in, after all, Anything Goes!

Happy Crafting, Ruth x