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

Alcohol Ink Lift technique with Copic Refills - VIDEO

I've been MICA (Missing In Crafty Action) for a few weeks as I've been working on finishing off stock for my Etsy shop and adding listings. Nobody should ever think Etsy is just take a photo, stick it in your shop and it will sell. You have to know what you are doing and I am very grateful to have the help of Jewellery and Gems with it. Getting my head around all that is needed to get noticed and to get sales on top of looking after the girls and the household just about finished me off last week!

Onwards and upwards! It's nice to be able to switch crafts from time to time, so I had a good play with some Copic refills, acetate, card and some large stamps trying out the Alcohol Ink Lift Technique I've seen in passing - Teresa Morgan's video is very good. I know Ranger and Tim Holtz have come out with an alcohol ink lift stamp pad, but these days all my money goes on fabric, so I decided to try it with my Copic refills and some colourless blender as well as the copic cleaner.

I have a video of how I got on. Of course, during the process, my video camera died, so I had to scrabble around for the charger and the best results I had have been lost, but I hope you still find the other footage useful. Please remember that YouTube is a third party and as such you may want to look at its privacy policy if you have any concerns about cookies being placed on your machine. 

What I've learnt is:

Colourless Blender is best - the cleaner pushes the ink away too much
A detailed stamps works better than a semi solid stamp
Acetate works quite well, but it can take a while to dry, and it does leave it a bit sticky
Don't put foil flakes on...... see video as to why!
Don't put too much colourless blender on your sponge when using with stencils
Have fun making a mess - I know Michelle Short uses gloves and now I know why!!

When it works it works really really nicely and I have three finished projects as you can see. I even made a shaker having seen Lisa's recent fantastic efforts. It's been a while!

Have you ever tried this?? It was a really great session! I've seen people using gelli plates with alcohol ink too, so maybe that's also something to try. Happy crafting everyone!

You make me happy

I bought this adorable piggy set from Stampin' Up at the time of the new catalogue release in June. It's not a brand new one, but I kept thinking about it since I saw it in the last catalogue, and decided it had to be added to my collection. I've used it a couple of times and it's great for colouring and also for just plain stamping. They are just hilarious!

I stamped it onto some Copic friendly cardstock with some light ink - I use Desert Sand - and decided I had to try no line colouring again. I find this incredibly difficult as I have still to grasp the concept of light source and shading, but unless I practice I will never get it!

I have done my best with getting the shading and the particular pink correct, and I'm actually relatively pleased with it for once.

After colouring, I stamped over the sentiment (it's attached to the image) with Tuxedo Black - this is where a stamping press works really well as you can leave it on and then stamp again and know it will be in the right place.

I then cut it down and mounted it off set onto a card blank with some Lawn Fawn Let's Polka paper on it - one of my favourite paper pads ever!

Thank you all of you who visit and leave comments, it is appreciated more than you will know. You make me happy :)

Mermaid Week Day 2 - Stampin' Up

Every month on a Tuesday night I head off to my Stampin' Up class. I've been going since November and am enjoying it, so I decided I would treat myself to something from the new release, including this Magical Day set which had a small mermaid in it, so of course I had to buy it!

I stamped her out several times onto some Winsor & Newton watercolour cardstock that I've had for a while and not used yet. As I wanted to use this sentiment, I decided to just colour in one, so she is really one of a kind. I coloured her in with my Spectrum Sparkle pens, which are very vibrant and very sparkly. You can't see it much on here.

I cut some of the glitter cardstock I also got in my haul and added a strip down the left hand side, trimmed off my mermaid panel and attached it on top with some fun foam. I mounted the sentiment onto another piece of glitter card to frame it and also attached it with some fun foam. 

I hope you're enjoying mermaid week. I feel so good at using up some of my stash! Don't forget to use #ruthsmermaidweek if you want to join in on Instagram, so I can find you. You can tag me too, I'm @craftingwhilethebabynaps. It's just for a little bit of fun :)

Happy Crafting!!