The Purple Zone

Stamperama

2012-02-17T07:29:00.001Z

We were at Stamperama in Stevenage last Sunday and will be back there again on Sunday 12th August.

As you can see from the photos we had a busy day and the cold weather didn't seem to deter the visitors.

We have the trade show in Birmingham this weekend but no more shows until the Great Northern PaperCraft show in Harrogate next month, although it still doesn't like like I'll get many days off as we have our Cardmaking Weekends coming up soon.

Cardmaking Weekends @ Stamp Addicts

2012-02-15T07:45:00.003Z

You might not know that we host 3 different Cardmaking Weekends a year, Spring, Summer & Christmas.

Our first Spring weekend is approaching (3rd-4th March). If you love rubber stamping and want to come and play for 2 days why not join us?

10am-5pm Saturday & Sunday we teach you approx 15 different cards all with rubber stamps. We use lots of different accessories and techniques and have lots of fun.

We've had 2 cancellations for th 3rd-4th March weekend or we have some spaces on the second Spring Weekend which is 24th-25th March.

For only £99 we provide everything you need including lunch and refreshments and only ask that you bring a paper trimmer and your favourite scissors, tweezers, etc.

If you would like to join us please call on 01234 855833

Swiss Friends

2012-02-10T09:43:00.001Z

Whilst at CHA I met up with friends from Switzerland Jacqueline and Alexandra from Galerie Rageboge. It was Alex's first trip to America so she took hundreds of photos of everything!

Jacqueline has invited us over to Switzerland to teach in her store, I've always wanted to visit Switzerland and this is the perfect excuse - although my husband is none to happy as he wants to go too.

Feb Project Club

2012-02-09T11:48:00.002Z

This week in project club we were making shrink plastic buttons with Translucent Shrink Plastic and stamping on our Daisy background with Stazon. For those that were anti-pink (yes, there are some strange people in the world!) we had a blue version . . . .

The stamp used is from our Ellie & Rhino set.

When Creativity Knocks

2012-02-04T07:14:00.001Z

During CHA When Creativity Knocks stopped by the JudiKins booth to film a short segment for their online shows.

DCWV

2012-02-03T06:43:00.001Z

Die Cuts With A View really made a massive effort with stand this year and they won the award for the best stand at the show. Aren't these fabulous . . .

Calico Albums

2012-02-02T14:37:00.002Z

At CHA this week one of the trends I noticed was Calico covered albums, which also had some calico pages inside. Now I know Calico is fab to ink and stamp and alter but do you really want an album made of it?

If I had one I would never let anyone else touch it in case it got dirty! Is that me being too pernickety?

Tori Spelling Jewellery

2012-01-31T14:13:00.002Z

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to the Darice launch party for Tori Spelling Jewellery which is a customisable line of jewellery pieces that you assemble and configure as you want.Above is David from Activa Products with Tori Spelling, he was under strict instructions from his wife to get a photo of Tori.

After this event we moved across to the International Reception where I met up with lots of old friends and made lots of new ones, assisted by the free wine!

JudiKins Warehouse

2012-01-28T04:17:00.002Z

I've been at the JudiKins warehouse all day today (Friday) helping out with the make & takes for store owners. Although I'm not sure how much help I was as I kept taking time out to catch up with old friends.Joyce (on the left) was teaching all the make & takes. Kat (A Stamp In The Hand) dropped in to say hi.
At the end of the day I caught the 2 Mums (Aikie - Judi's Mum & Liz - Rob's Mum) sitting down and having a good gossip about their children.

Tomorrow we go to set up the booth for the show and hopefully I can have a nose around to see some new stuff before the show opens.

Palos Verdes

2012-01-27T14:00:00.001Z

I am in California for the big trade show that starts this Sunday but I am first spending a few nights with Chris & Aikie (Judi of JudiKins parents). Before we headed in to the JudiKins warehouse yesterday Chris took me on a tour of his local neighbourhood which is a peninsula called Palos Verdes.
As you can see there was glorious sunshine and these were taken at 10.30 in the morning!
In the distance is Catalina island, which is where Rob & Judi got married.

After our little jaunt around PV and San Pedro I helped Judi pack all the kits for her class on Tuesday at CHA. After that I was helping Rob change 8ft lightbulbs. Can you imagine me walking around with something that is 8ft long!

Ranger Distress Markers

2012-01-24T09:57:00.003Z

Do you think we should get these?Press Release
The Palette of Distress™ at Your Fingertips with Distress Markers - Winter 2012
Ranger is thrilled to announce the new Tim Holtz® Distress™ Markers: water-based inks for coloring, journaling, stamping and more. The dual tip markers are ideal for many coloring techniques:• use the brush tip for coloring, stamping and shading• use the detail tip for journaling and drawing• use to color directly on rubber and clear stamps
Distress Markers are available to match theDistress palette of 36 colors and White PicketFence. Coordinates with Distress Inks,Distress Stains, Distress Crackle Paint, DistressStickles™ and Distress Embossing Powders.Distress Markers will appeal to current customers who love the Distress palette and appreciate another art tool to utilize within that palette. For new customers, markers area great way to introduce new crafters to stamping and scrapbooking that beginners feel comfortable using right away.

Tim Holtz® Distress™ Markers
• Available in full set with canister, open stock, or in acrylic display• Use brush tip for coloring, stamping and shading• Use detail tip for journaling and drawing• Acid free, non-toxic

Esther's Dragons

2012-01-19T08:18:00.001Z

Cards by Esther using our Marshmallow Dragon.

Dress-Up

2012-01-18T08:20:00.001Z

This is Dress-Up, one of our new unmounted stamps.

Cards by Kerry

Lion

2012-01-17T09:15:00.001Z

This is Lion, one of our new unmounted stamps.

Cards by by Chris

Marshmallow Dragon

2012-01-16T14:35:00.001Z

This is Marshmallow Dragon, one of our new unmounted stamps.

Cards by Chris

Project Club

2012-01-14T08:48:00.000Z

This is the card we taught in Project Club this week using our Floral Bloom stamp, it has been coloured with Polycolor Pencils and blended with Zest-It and a paper stump. The yellow daisies are one of our new background stamps and the Thank You is from one of our new sentiment sets Special Wishes.Before Project Club we taught a class at a local Lower School, not the students but the teachers! For this card Floral Bloom has been embossed in Gold Detail and coloured with Lyra Aquacolor crayons using a waterbrush.

Star Flowers

2012-01-13T08:50:00.000Z

More artwork from Linda using our Star Flowers unmounted stamp set.

Linda's Wildflowers

2012-01-10T10:05:00.001Z

These cards all feature images from our Wildflowers unmounted stamp set.On this card Linda has masked the moon and sponged the background. The flower is stamped in a burgundy colour and then stamped and embossed in white overlapping the first image.

Artwork by Linda.

Linda's Star Flowers

2012-01-09T13:57:00.003Z

Linda has made this lovely wall hanging using our new Star Flowers unmounted stamp set. Below is a close up view of the panels.

Esther's Wildflowers

2012-01-07T09:03:00.000Z

More of Esther's cards using our Wildflowers unmounted stamp set.
Both sentiments are from our Special Wishes unmounted stamp set.

Brand New - Engraved Flowers

2012-01-06T08:22:00.002Z

These are all images from our brand new unmounted set Engraved Flowers.

Artwork by Brenda.

Brand New - Star Flowers

2012-01-05T14:18:00.002Z

These all feature our brand new unmounted stamp set Star Flowers.

Artwork by Esther.

Brenda's Wildflowers

2012-01-05T08:44:00.002Z

Some more of Brenda's artwork using our Wildflowers unmounted stamp set. You can see more cards on Brenda's blog.

Wildflowers

2012-01-04T10:43:00.001Z

These are some cards that Esther created with our Wildflowers unmounted stamp set.The top card is coloured with Distress inks.
The bottom card is stamped onto acetate with Diamond Glaze, glitter and tissue paper behind.

Brand New Stamps

2012-01-03T12:36:00.003Z

We are releasing 2 brand new stamps sets today Wildflowers and Special Wishes.

This is some of the artwork Brenda created using the new stamps.

Sandown Show

2012-01-03T06:56:00.001Z

We've had a last minute addition to our show schedule 19-21 January 10am-5pm (Thursday-Saturday) we will be at The Creative Crafts Show, Sandown Racecourse in Esher, Surrey.

We will have the full range of our unmounted rubber stamps at the show and will also be demonstrating on the stand.

If you are a Stamp Addicts Member remember to bring your keyfob to receive your 12% discount on our stand.

Last Few Hours

2012-01-02T20:51:00.002Z

Our 20% sale ends at midnight tonight so you have a few more hours to enter Promo Code 'WINTER' under the subtotal (hit the arrow) and the discount will show in red. Don't forget 20% discount applies to every single item on the website, even the reduced ones!

Tomorrow we will be back in the shop to de-Christmastise (is it a word?), re-arrange and make room for all the new designs we are producing. I may even be able to release a couple before the end of tomorrow. Our Design Team have been busy playing with the new stamps so I should have lots of lovely samples to show you.

More Blooms

2011-12-31T15:38:00.002Z

Some more of Brenda's artwork using our Floral Bloom unmounted stamp.

3 Wise Owls

2011-12-30T15:04:00.001Z

Esther made this card with our Owl be yours stamp set. Coloured with Promarkers these guys are layered onto a background stamped with Dottiness. The leaves across the bottom are from our Sunday Morning silhouette set.

Crazy Birthday

2011-12-29T16:25:00.001Z

Esther sent us these cards a while ago using our Crazy Birthday unmounted stamp set:

Floral Bloom

2011-12-28T16:23:00.002Z

Brenda popped in to see us last week with lots of fabulous artwork, I can't show you most of it as they are new designs we are saving to release in a week or two but she was also working with our Floral Bloom set :

Winter Sale Now On

2011-12-26T07:19:00.002Z

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas Day and that the festivities are still continuing or are you going out bargain hunting already?

When I get back into the office on Wednesday I'll hopefully have time to post up some more fabulous artwork from our amazing Design Team and then the following week we'll have some brand new stamps for you.

But for now we have our Winter Sale with 20% off absolutely everything online - Enter WINTER in the Promo Code box (just under sub-total) and your discount will show on screen.

Our in store sale starts on Wednesday @ 10am and finished on Saturday @ 4pm. We will have some massive reductions around the store and our Sale Room will be open with wood mounted stamps at only £1 plus lots of other bargains.

Paper Pieced Owls

2011-12-22T10:38:00.001Z

Owl be yours - Esther created this card using patterned papers and then added colour with Promarkers.

Thank you-hoo

2011-12-21T08:01:00.001Z

Esther has been very busy working with our Owl be yours stamps. For this card the Owl is stamped onto kraft card and coloured with pencils. The background was created using an embossing folder and then inked with Distress inks.

This owl has been painted with Distress inks and the background was created with Distress inks too.

Christmas Card from Chris

2011-12-20T09:51:00.002Z

Our DT member Chris McMillan sent us this Christmas card. Isn't it gorgeous and what you might not be able to see is that all the black is sparkly as well as the silver and Angels wings so it is a truly sparkly card.

Thank you Chris.

50% off Wood Stamps

2011-12-17T06:43:00.003Z

Until Friday 23rd Dec we are offering 50% off all wood mounted stamps (even reduced ones), just enter XMAS into Notes/Comments box and we will manually adjust total before despatch - Prices shown on screen will be original prices but your card is not charged until despatch.

Also, we have just opened our Sale Room in store so if you are planning to visit us before we close for Christmas on Friday 23rd Dec @ 4pm you may find lots of bargains.

Our full sale starts on 28 Dec @ 10am.

Velvet Curtains

2011-12-15T07:59:00.000Z

For both of these cards the curtains from the Window Dressing Set have been stamped onto velvet paper. Behind the curtains is the Arch Window.

The top card features Scenic as the view from the window, the bottom card features On The Water.

Water & Alcohol

2011-12-14T07:45:00.000Z

Unmounted stamp set On The Water. This has been stamped using a multi-coloured inkpad onto a background created with alcohol inks.

December's Project Club

2011-12-13T07:42:00.000Z

This is the card we made in this month's Project Club. The holly is stuck to a layer of acetate which is adhered over the top of the card and underneath 'Celebrate', but as you can see from the photo below we adhered the acetate whilst the card was fold flat on the table. This does curve the back of the card slightly when standing but does allow it to fold flat to go into an envelope. The St Nicholas stamp used is available on our website. The berries were stamped onto the acetate with a Promarker and then covered with red Stickles.

This is Lesley's variation on the theme. Lesley has adhered the acetate inside the front fold which allows the card to stand up straight.

But because the acetate then bulges it is not ideal if you are posting in an envelope - great if you are hand delivering. Lesley has also stamped and embossed directly onto the acetate with Twinkle Embossing Powders.

Both cards have a faux stitched border hand drawn with a Millenium Pen. The amount of people in our classes that complain because they can't draw in a straight line - my answer is always 'this is a handmade card, they are not supposed to be straight lines' and rulers are definitely not allowed.

Esther's Owls

2011-12-12T07:18:00.001Z

To create this amazing card Esther has stamped and masked the owls and then coloured the background with Distress inks. The owls were also coloured with Distress inks.

To create the blue owl Esther reversed the image using a brayer.

In the background of this stamp you might notice the JK Italian Script stamp, which has been coloured with Distress inks. The Owl has been coloured with Promarkers.

Wendy's Owls

2011-12-11T06:07:00.001Z

As you can see Wendy has been having great fun playing with our unmounted set Owl be yours and before you ask I'm afraid I don't know what the lush owl paper is behind the 3 owls.

Brand New - Gorillas

2011-12-10T06:52:00.001Z

Wendy Keenan created these cards using our brand new set of stamps Gorillas.

Notice on the top card the white pen used to highlight the faces and the toes - it makes all the difference.

Brand New - Owls

2011-12-08T15:15:00.001Z

These are from our brand new (launched today) Owl be yours set of unmounted stamps.

Cards created by Lesley. Both are coloured with Promarkers.

Trees, Trees, Trees

2011-12-07T07:49:00.002Z

All these trees are from our Trees unmounted stamp set.

The bottom card is layered onto a background created with alcohol inks.

Pop-Up Boat

2011-12-06T08:46:00.001Z

Unmounted stamp set On The Water. The images were stamped onto the card and then coloured with ProMarkers. The sailing boat was stamped and cut out and attached to the card using a Pop-Block, which is a little acetate cube.

Gold Leaf Willow

2011-12-05T12:44:00.003Z

This Weeping Willow is from our unmounted Trees set.
The Willow has been stamped onto Laminating sheet (which is a sticky backed acetate). The backing was then peeled off and a sheet of Variegated Blue leaf was stuck to the sticky side.

Red Mini Village

2011-12-03T07:02:00.000Z

This is the Mini Snowy Village which looks just gorgeous in red.

Card made by Esther

40% off

2011-12-01T15:21:00.002Z

Why not give handmade jewellery this Christmas? We are offering our 40% off our Wooden Bangles as well as our Patera, Collage Sheets and Transfer Sheets.
Enter Discount Code 'Gift' to receive your discount.

In the above picture the purple bangle was painted with Mica Gloss Purple, the inside was painted with Mica Gloss Gold and the images were stamped with Mica Gloss Gold. The second bangle was painted with water based paint and then stamped tissue paper was applied with PVA glue.

The Patera bracelet was filled with JudiKins Roxs and then filled with glaze or resin. The blue piece is shrink plastic surrounded by JudiKins Micro Glass Beads.

Ballerina

2011-11-30T09:17:00.001Z

These are all images from our brand new set - Ballet Shoes.

Cards by Linda Walmsley

Ballet Shoes

2011-11-29T09:03:00.001Z

This is using our brand new Ballet Shoes unmounted stamp set.

Cards by Wendy Keenan

Snowy Sky Polar Bear

2011-11-28T10:06:00.001Z

This little Polar Bear is staring upto at the North Star in the snowy sky.

Card made by Frankie.

New Stamp

2011-11-26T09:55:00.001Z

This is our new Floral Bloom stamp - great for all those Thank You cards to send after Christmas.

Christmas Cards

2011-11-24T06:41:00.001Z

This is our traditional St Nicholas unmounted rubber stamp, stamped onto kraft card and coloured with Promarkers and a white Polycolor pencil. The tree is JudiKins Snowy Tree stamped in green ink.

And this is our cheeky Snowman Large, coloured with Promarkers and layered onto ColorCore cardstock embossed with Dots embossing folder.

Is it Gnome Time?

2011-11-23T07:04:00.000Z

These images are from our Gnome Sweet Gnome set

Cards by Sharon Goold.

Jumbo

2011-11-22T07:55:00.001Z

This is our Jumbo unmounted stamp set - as seen on TV Saturday 19th November.

Cards by Sharon Goold.

TV Artwork

2011-11-21T09:38:00.007Z

These are the cards that Vicky made in the TV shows on Saturday . . . .These are the Ants, they have been coloured with Promarkers and layered onto torn sheets of ColorCore cardstock. This is Graffitti (Have a GR8 Birthday) which Vicky created with alcohol inks. He was stamped onto the alcohol background and Vicky then cut out his jumper and hat to layer onto the coloured image.

Gnome Sweet Gnome, coloured with Promarkers and Flexmarkers.

For Ellie & Rhino Vicky covered some glossy card with Black, Silver and White alcohol inks and then stamped Rhino over the top.

And finally the Purrfect Day small cat hanging onto the branch outside the Window with curtains from Window Dressing (curtains are white embossed onto vellum).

Gnome Sweet Gnome

2011-11-20T07:01:00.002Z

I love all these tiny little gnomes - just so cute!

These are all images from our Gnome Sweet Gnome unmounted stamp set.
Cards by Anne Ray

Purrfect Day

2011-11-19T07:58:00.001Z

All these were created using our Purrfect Day unmounted stamp set

Cards by Anne Ray

Have a GR8 Day

2011-11-18T12:22:00.002Z

As you can see Esther has been busy playing with our Graffitti unmounted stamp set ready for tomorrow's TV shows.

This last card has been coloured with alcohol inks which Vicky will be using during the show.

Surfin' Time

2011-11-16T10:05:00.000Z

More Ellie & Rhino

2011-11-15T10:01:00.000Z

Cards by Wendy Keenan

Ants - Brand New

2011-11-14T10:14:00.002Z

Meet our new set . . . Ants . . .

This new unmounted stamp set will be featured in our TV shows on Create & Craft on Saturday 19 November. Find them online here.

Cards by Linda Walmsley

Lesley's Top Tips

2011-11-13T09:28:00.000Z

Well that's the end of my snowman showcase, I hope I've given you a few ideas for your Christmas cards. Before I go I just wanted to share a few tips with you and leave you with a closer look at the gift tags you may have seen in our sneaky peak photo earlier in the week.

Top Tips

Use thin white card with fancy border punches. Colour with the chisel end of your Promarkers to match the rest of your card.
To disguise uneven edges on you card layers (when you trimmer has been misbehaving!) edge with Stickles glitter glue. The wiggly line this creates will disguise any mistakes. Crystal is my favourite 'colour' as it goes with any colour theme.
Have you tried using your Promarker pens on kraft coloured card? The colours will be slightly muted. Add highlights with a white gell pen or white Polycolor pencil.
Every cardmaker should own an ultra-fine Millenium pen! It's invaluable for filling in mis-stamped areas and for creating faux stitching, wavy lines etc.
Often a great card idea just doesn't work out the way you hoped it would. One reason for this could be your colour choices. The use of too many colours can make your work look too busy. For a clean, harmonious look just choose a couple of colours (plus their corresponding tints/shades if you like) for your main image and complement with card layers in matching colours.
The Sakura gelly roll pen in clear star is another must have for Christmas crafting. It's silvery colour adds just a hint of sparkle if you don't like too much bling. I used it on the snowman cards in dots and lines, but I also smudged it onto areas e.g. Rosebud's wings, for a softer look.

Jack Frost

2011-11-12T09:18:00.004Z

Jack Frost (J4075) is the name of our final snowman for this week.This card has been simply stamped and coloured then layered onto a pink dotty paper from Bella Press. The faux stitching has been drawn with the fabulous Millenium pen.

The surprise with this card lies on the inside. To echo the Christmas Hello sentiment, when you open the card up pops a waving mitten (DeNami P95) . . .
This was stamped onto green and pink dotty paper backed with card, cut out and then attached with a FlipFlap (JudiKins) so that is pops up when the card is opened.

Last but not least I thought I'd show you a peek of a stepper card we made on our Christmas cardmaking weekend.

This is the type of card you can expect to make on one of our cardmaking weekends, although we do make lots of less challenging ones too! Places are already filling up fast for the Spring weekends so if you fancy joining us for a fun-filled time book soon to secure your place.

Getting back to Jack Frost, I have also used some of our own unmounted stamps from the Snow Village set and the Christmas Sentiment Circles. The HOTP silver snowflake paper was also used to add to that frosty atmosphere.

Friendship Snowman

2011-11-11T09:09:00.001Z

I hope you're enjoying snowman week here on The Purple Zone, I'd love to hear your comments on which is your favourite snowman.

Today I'll be showing you two quite different cards using the same wood mounted stamp Friendship Snowman (F4080)

The first one uses just the head with the words cut off and I've used the Huge Heart sentiment again instead. The plaid background was created with Promarkers on a piece of kraft card. The die cuts are a Nellie Snellen design.

Colours used: crimson, ruby, coral, cool grey 2 & blender, tea rose (flexmarker), pear green, tea green, ruby.
I decided to try adding a body to this cute little snowman head, so I cut one out using a 3 1/2" circle punch and added some colour around the edge to match the head. The buttons are white pearls coloured with a Pearl Promarker.

Colours used: Promarkers; cool grey 2 & blender, coral. Flexmarkers; tea rose, watermelon, cadet blue, celestial blue, aniseed, pale citrus.

Here's another placecard made with some leftover scraps. You could colour his scarf in the person's team colours.

Cold Day Warm Heart

2011-11-10T09:02:00.001Z

This wood mounted stamp, Cold Day Warm Heart (K4072) has a lovely folk art feel to it. You can use it all in one piece or cut out elements and rearrange them on a card.I used a kraft coloured tag as a background which has been stamped with Ornate Textile (J4153) using Antique Linen ink and oversprayed with a blue-green pearlised mist. The white lace border and red gingham ribbon add to the homespun theme.

Colours used: grey green, tea green, satin, light fawn (flexmarker), tan, antique pink, crimson. Sakura clear star pen for sparkle.
The cream woodgrain base card and the Olive and Barn Door colorcore distress cardstock lend a nice warm feeling to this card. The elements of the stamp were cut apart and edged with crystal stickles.

Colours used: satin, light fawn (flexmarker), crimson, antique pink, lush green, bright green.

Snowball

2011-11-09T09:25:00.000Z

Snowball (G4211-R) is the name of this cute little fella. He is also on clingmount.

I've coloured him with Satin Promarker and Light Fawn Flexmarker which gives a softer look than grey. The background uses the silver snowflake colorme paper from HOTP.

Colours used: Promarkers; grey green, tea green, satin, coral, antique pink. Flexmarkers; light fawn, tea rose, watermelon. All the die cuts used are from my own crafty stash (erm, mountain).

A good way of using up all your scraps is to make placecards for your Christmas table. This time I've gone for a traditional red and green theme.

Hope you'll join me tomorrow for some more snowman fun.

Big Howdy Snowman

2011-11-08T09:20:00.002Z

A couple of ideas for the fellas today using the Big Howdy (K4210-R) snowman, a cling mounted stamp.

This little cowboy was mounted onto a Kraft coloured tag stamped with our Merry Christmas background. That ultra glitzy snow was created with the new Stampendous Frantage shaved ice flakes. The embossed background was created using colorcore distress card Barn Door.

Colours used: Promarkers; cinnamon, tan, coolgrey 2 & blender, cornflower, blue pearl, coral, cardinal red, ruby, gold, sunflower.

I created a snowy hill from cardstock for this cowboy to stand on. The sentiment is from DeNami (F209) and the embossed background was created from colorcore distress Faded Jeans.

Promarkers used: khaki, sandstone, coral, warm grey 1 & blender, cardinal, ruby, petrol blue, marine, gold, sunflower.

Rosebud (Limited Edition 2011)

2011-11-07T09:16:00.001Z

I love this limited edition snowlady (JB4206). She's called Rosebud and has been selling fast in our store.To accompany her there's a little flower - Rosebud (P4216) and also a lovely sentiment - Huge Heart F4208-R on clingmount. This would be a great message on a Christmas card to send to the person who does all the organising, shopping and cooking during the festive season (yes, you could send it to yourself!) or anyone else you want to thank at this time of year. Here are the cards

The tree was inspired by one I saw in a Magnolia magazine, it makes great use of your border punches. Simply cut a triangle of card and attach your borders which have been sponged with Tumbled Glass distress ink. Trim the ends off to form the three shape. Crystal stickles and mini rosebuds were then added. Snowlady Rosebud has been coloured with Promarkers and Flexmarkers with touches of Sakura gelly roll clear star to highlight. A Zig Millenium pen was used for the faux stitching.

Colours used: Promarkers; satin, coolgrey 2 & 4, antique pink. Flexmarkers; light fawn, blue grey, watermelon, aniseed, chartreuse, tea rose, aquamarine, soft aqua, surf blue.

I like the contrast of the violet with red and turquoise in this card and I love the HOTP colorme paper which has been sponged with Broken China distress ink. The stake for the sign was cut from card which was swiped with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo inks with the addition of diluted white paint over the top. Notice how, as on the previous card, I have added a pattern to her dress with the Promarkers. I think a fairisle jumpber type of pattern would look good too.

Colours used: Promarkers; crimson, antique pink, coral, amethyst, orchid, cool grey 2&4. Flexmarkers: pink pearl, tea rose. Sakura clear star pen for sparkle.

Merry Christmas stamp D2774.

This card uses one of my favourite colour combinations for Christmas cards brown, burgundy and turquoise-green to give that shabby chic look. The background uses the new Kraft colorcore cardstock. I've used light fawn and satin pens to colour Rosebud instead of grey.

Colours used: Promarkers; cool grey 2&4, satin, coral, antique pink, crimson, green tea, grey green. Flexmarkers; light fawn, tea rose. Sakura gelly roll clear star was used for the twinkle.

These stamps are not available online but I will be in the shop tomorrow 10am-4pm if you would like to place an order.

Lesley

Snowman Week

2011-11-05T08:59:00.002Z

Hello, Lesley here.

Whilst Sarah's away next week I'll be borrowing her blog to bring you a flurry of snowmen from the fabulous Printworks range of stamps.

I'll be showing you some ideas for cards, tags and placecards using these yummy snowpeople together with some of our new Tim Holtz Colorcore cardstock.

Here is a sneak peek of what is to come . . . .

See you on Monday

Ellie & Rhino

2011-11-04T08:48:00.001Z

You can find Ellie & Rhino online here.

Cards made by Sharon Goold

Brand New Stamp Set

2011-11-03T08:10:00.001Z

Ellie & Rhino is our brand new stamp set now available online here.

Artwork by Linda Walmsley.

Trees

2011-11-02T10:19:00.003Z

These images are taken from our Trees set as well as Dottiness.

For some reason Weeping Willows are my favourite trees. I'd love to have a garden big enough to accommodate one.

Cards by Anne Ray

Wacky Wednesday

2011-11-01T17:41:00.002Z

We are offering a choice of 3 FREE gifts with orders over £25 for Wacky Wednesday.

The choices are :
Tim Holtz Snowman wood mounted rubber stamp
JudiKins Happy Christmas wood mounted rubber stamp
A Stamp In The Hand Holiday Pack 1 set of cling mounted rubber stamps.

Just add to your basket before you checkout.

Only one free gift per order while stocks last.
Offer ends midnight Wednesday 2nd November.

And the winner is . . . .

2011-10-31T14:14:00.002Z

Tigger78 - Congratulations

Please email me with your address so I can post out your packs of Flexmarkers - sarah@stampaddicts.co.uk.

A Purrfect Day

2011-10-31T11:46:00.003Z

These are all from our brand new set of unmounted stamps Purrfect Day . . . .

Artwork by Sharon Goold.

Keep an eye out for our Wacky Wednesday special which starts tomorrow night at 6pm.

Blog Candy

2011-10-30T14:22:00.000Z

Scroll down for latest posts.

Win all four packs of Flexmarkers worth £14.99 each plus a brand new unreleased stamp set 'Ballet Shoes', made in the UK by Stamp Addicts.

These Flexmarker colours are exclusive to Flexmarkers and are not available in Promarkers pens.

To be in with a chance of winning this blog candy please become a follower of The Purple Zone either on Blogger or Facebook Networked Blogs (if you are not already) and then leave a comment here on Blogger (not Facebook).

Only one comment per follower please.

UK only.

Last date for entries Midday Monday 31st October. The winner will be drawn at random after midday on Monday 31st October.

Brenda's Cards

2011-10-30T08:47:00.001Z

Brenda has sent us a whole big box packed full of artwork but unfortunately Royal Mail have misplaced it so I strongly recommend that you visit Brenda's blog to see her fabulous creations.

You can find Brenda's blog here.

Sunset Trees

2011-10-29T06:05:00.000+01:00

This time Lesley has been playing with our Trees, onto a brayered background.

For this card Lesley has created a background using Alcohol inks and stamped the Trees with a Blending Blox.

Sailing

2011-10-28T06:02:00.002+01:00

We are on air today at 10am and 1pm.
Lesley created this card using our On The Water set. All stamped in one colour.

Curtains

2011-10-27T07:45:00.001+01:00

These curtains are from our Window Dressing set and behind the curtains is the Arch Window.

Cards by Anne.

On the Water

2011-10-26T06:21:00.001+01:00

These cards arrived yesterday from Anne, using our On the Water set. If you can't wait for me to upload more of Anne's artwork you can visit her blog (see sidebar).

2011-10-25T06:56:00.001+01:00

A couple more cards from Esther . . . On the card above Esther has used the big scene from the Scenic set, the swallows from Parisian Chic, trees from Trees set and Best Wishes from Sentiment Circles No.2 set. All stamped with Distress Inkpads.

For this card Esther has used the Trees set, Scenic set plus Dottiness for the clouds. The trees are stamped on an alcohol ink background.

New TV Show

2011-10-24T14:42:00.002+01:00

Artwork from our Design Team has started trickling this week ahead of our live show on Friday. These cards are from Esther and the card above here is using our Trees set which Esther has embossed with Sticky Stuff and covered in gold leaf.

On this card Esther has stamped and embossed in gold the Arch Window onto acetate, then coloured behind the window frame with a black marker. The rest of the acetate is covered with alcohol inks. Behind the window is another tree from the Trees set.

On Top of the World

2011-10-23T07:10:00.000+01:00

Doesn't it look like the little Polar Bear is on top of the world. Or you could interpret it that he is sitting on a giant ball! Great idea Frankie

Snow Church Scene

2011-10-22T07:21:00.001+01:00

Two cards one stamp - the top card is stamped in stazon and coloured with Distress inks, the bottom card is stamped in Vintage Photo and then Lesley used a waterbrush to give it that watercoloured look.
You can find this Snow Church Scene unmounted stamp on our website here.

Field of Snowmen

2011-10-21T06:58:00.000+01:00

Using Snowman and trees from both the Snowy Village set and Mini Snowy Village set Esther has created a whole family of snow people.

Red Kraft Door

2011-10-20T07:03:00.001+01:00

Esther created this card by stamping the Front Door onto kraft card.

Old book Partridge

2011-10-19T07:10:00.001+01:00

As you can see on this card Frankie has stamped the Pear Tree onto the page of an old book. I'm sure no books were hurt in the making of this card.

Snowy White Village

2011-10-17T07:07:00.001+01:00

Frankie has used the large dots and small dots from our Dots and Stars background set to create the wonderfully snowy backdrop for the Snowy Village.

Golden Pears

2011-10-16T07:07:00.001+01:00

This is our Partridge and Pear Tree set and as you can see Anne has stamped the pears in gold. Now why is it I can't grow gold pears!?!

Sentiment Circles

2011-10-15T07:07:00.001+01:00

On this card you can see our Christmas Sentiment Circles and in the middle of one is a Playful Penguin and the other a star from the Polar Bear set.

Card by Frankie.

Polar Hug

2011-10-14T09:35:00.001+01:00

Chris created this card in black and white with a hint of blue, using our Polar Bears. I love the way Chris cut the arms of the big bear to wrap around the baby bear, you may have seen me borrow this technique on our last show!

Penguins @ Play

2011-10-13T12:23:00.001+01:00

I've programmed Blogger with lots of Christmas cards to appear on my blog over the next couple of weeks as I'll be going in for surgery tomorrow. Hopefully by the time I get back we'll have lots of lovely artwork to show you for our new TV show on Friday 28th October. Plus some brand new stamps being released in November.

This card is one Vicky created on our last show featuring our Playful Penguins, coloured with Flexmarkers.

Christmas Topiary Trees

2011-10-13T11:57:00.002+01:00

Taken from our Front Door stamp set, Esther has utilised just one element to create this lovely card.

Bird with Umbrella

2011-10-12T07:23:00.001+01:00

This is a card Vicky made a while ago with our Bird with Umbrella stamp.

I believe Vicky coloured the image with Promarkers. The silver dots on the umbrella are two way glue and silver leaf.

Pop-Up Card

2011-10-07T15:02:00.002+01:00

On the front of the card we stamped and embossed in silver onto Mulberry paper.

To create the pop-up Snowman we used a FlipFlap from JudiKins.

Red Door

2011-10-06T07:00:00.003+01:00

What's behind the Red Door? Oooh I know, I know - it's Chrrrrristmas! (well maybe not just yet)

Card created by Anne.

Free Stamps

2011-10-04T15:40:00.004+01:00

Yes, I did say FREE stamps - a whole A5 set free with orders over £25 - only until midnight Wednesday 5th October - Wacky Wednesday.

Just add the stamps to your shopping basket.

Mini Village

2011-10-03T06:27:00.001+01:00

Anne created this card using our Snowy Village Mini set.