Charity Walk

Well we made it! Despite some pretty atrocious weather conditions.
As we got down to catch the ferry we watched in resignation as the clouds and rain swept in and the Isle of Cumbrae disappeared into the mist!

The first hour or so of walking was not particularly pleasant with rain and wind but we stopped for lunch at Fintry Bay (it didn't look like that yesterday!) and managed to dry out a bit.

Wet and bedraggled at Fintry Bay L-R: Dot, Alison, Louise, Lynn, Me!

Alison and I have to put our wet T-shirts back on (no jokes about wet T-shirt competitions please!)

The second leg of the walk took us round into Millport where we were welcomed by a free cup of tea/coffee and some home-baking provided by the event sponsors! and Alison who joined us in the walk through the town. We made its far as Bobby's bar where we stopped for light refreshments (ie pear cider) before making our way on the last leg of the walk back round to the ferry terminal.

We finished about 5 hours after we started but we reckon we were actually walking for about 3 1/2 hours of that which given the weather conditions wasn't too bad.

L-R: Alison, Dot, Louise, me, Lynn

Once again thank you to all of you who supported me. It really is very much appreciated! Thanks guys!

First Communion Cards

Then on Sunday it was our friends' son Andrew's first communion. Luckily the weather brightened up and we all got to sit outside in the sunshine with some Rosé!

This was the card I made - the stamp is (I think) by Penny Black. The letter stickers were in my pile of alpha stickers so no idea who they are by and the sentiment was printed out on the computer.

I coloured the image in using SU markers and the background papers are the from the gorgeous SU Wintergreen pack (now retired - grab them quick if you want some before they go out of stock - especially with the buy 3 get a 4th pack free offer that is on throughout May).

And last but not least this is the card I made for my friend's daughter who was also making her first communion on Sunday. I adore these Miss Anya stamps from the greeting farm. Coloured in using SU markers and the paper is from the tea Party designer series paper pack.

Card Swap

My upline Dawn organised a card swap recently and these were the samples I came up with. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else made as we have such talented people in our little SU family. The first two use the From the Garden (level 1 hostess gift) stamp. This is a huge stamp and I couldn't decide if I liked it better coloured in using a pretty in pink marker or left "au natural".

Other supplies used:
Paisley Background stamp
Oval All stamps
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in pink, certainly celery
Ink & markers: Chocolate chip, certainly celery, pretty in pink
Punches: Oval, Scalloped oval



My other design (yes we had to make two different cards x8 of each) used the Pick a Petal set - I love this set. It is so versatile. As well as using it to stamp flowers it can also be used to make lady bugs, butterflies, hearts and even surf boards...and lots more as well.

Background Cardstock: certainly celery & pretty in pink
Paper: Green check from Holiday Treasures pack (not just for Christmas!); Assorted pink petals stamped on Sweet Always paper
Sentiment from Best Yet (level 1 hostess set)
Stem from Petal Pizzaz (I think! One of the new ones from the mini anyway - too lazy to run upstairs and check!)

I also had to make a card for my 14 year old nephew's birthday. And as we were giving him money (what else for a teen!) I decided to make a card that looked (a bit) like a wallet.

Twilight Walk around Cumbrae

What will you be doing on Saturday 23rd May?

I'll be walking round the scenic isle of Cumbrae, sun, rain or hail ( I sincerely hope its the former but with the weather recently it could be all three!!!) to raise funds for Breast Foot Forward. BFF is a Scottish charity and its mission is to contribute to making Scotland renowned for excellence in Breast Cancer diagnosis and care. It works to influence the thinking of those who can ensure that projects link up with other activities to establish and maintain a comprehensive breast cancer care environment, no matter where you live.

If you'd like to sponsor me then my just giving page can be found here or if you live in Millport (waves to Alison) you can come and cheer us on :)

I know times are hard at the moment but if you can spare just £2 I'd be very grateful.

If anyone donates £5 or more then I'll email you a copy of my class instructions for my mini magazine file (which I am more than happy for you to use to teach your own class if you like - just give me credit please). Just let me know once you've made your donation if you'd like a copy of the instructions and let me have your email address.

For those donating £10 or more I'll put your name in a draw for some Stampin' Up! goodies including a wheel guide, jumbo handle, Neighbourhood wheel and ink cartridge.

Paper Share

If you haven't yet sampled Stampin' Up!'s designer series paper then this is the offer for you, or if you have then you already know what lovely quality the paper is for cardmaking, scrapbooking and 3D projects and you won't be able to resist.

How would you like to have a 6x6 sample of each of Stampin' Up!'s current gorgeous designer series paper.

I need 8 participants to join in.

You will receive one 6x6 sheet of double sided patterned paper from each of the following paper packs:

Summer Picnic
Haiku
Rainbow Sherbet
Holiday Treasures
Junior Varsity
Sweet Always
Tea & Crumpets
Spiced Cider
Bashful Blue Patterns
So Saffron Patterns
Chocolate Chip Patterns
Rose Red Patterns
Old Olive Patterns
Pumpkin Pie Patterns
Washington Apple (from the mini)
Tea Party (from the mini)
Ski Slope (from the mini)
Brocade Background (retired)
Fall Flowers (retired)

So that is a total of 120 6x6 different designer series paper.

And the cost - well due to the fabulous buy 3 get one free offer I am able to make this available to you at the very low price of only £15.25 (including P&P).

I will place the order as soon as all 8 places are filled.

Please email me or leave a comment below to take part.


I reserve the right to substitute a different retired paper set if either of the retired packs listed above are out of stock at the time the order is placed.

April Class - Now rescheduled to Thurs 28 May

As some of you already know the April class was postponed and is now being held on Thursday 28th May.




This is the project we will be working on in our class.

You will make the folder itself and six cards (two each of three designs.) Envelopes included.
We will be using some stamps from both the Occasions mini Catalogue and from the main catalogue and the Sweet Always designer series paper.


Date: Thursday 28 May
Time: 10am - 12:30pm
Venue: Clark Memorial Church Hall
Cost £10
Registration closes: Thursday 14 May (class fees to be paid by that date please)

Participants may find it helpful to bring along their own trimmer (or metal ruler/craft knife), scissors etc

May Offers

Sorry for the lack of posting - we have changed our ISP and there have been a few teething problems!

Also if you've emailed me recently then I may not have received it - if you're waiting on a reply from me about anything could I please ask you to resend your email to me at thefineartofstampin@gmail.com. Many thanks.

Stampin' Up! has two great offers this month.

Paper Promotion

Dates: 1-31 May 2009

Promotion Details

Buy any three packs of Designer Series paper from the 2008-2009 Idea Book & Catalogue or or Occasions Mini catalogue (£7.75 each) and get one FREE! Includes the retired papers at the back of the 2008-09 catalogue.

Starter Kit Promotion

Join the Stampin' Up! family for only £99 during the month of May, with this special scrapbook-focused Starter Kit This is a fantastic way to start your own business, while finding your own creative outlet.

If you'd like to join my team of demonstrators then do please get in touch, but don't leave it too late as the paperwork must be with Stampin' Up! by the end of the month to qualify for this special price.

Click on the flyer below for more details of what is included in the scrapbook starter kit