Little Claire's Designs

Day 2 of Our Brand New Garden Collection and Another Chance to Win!

2012-01-31T10:15:00.002Z

Welcome to Day 2 of our Garden Collection Showcase!

A big thank you to everyone who left us a comment yesterday - we're glad to hear you loved the "Deckchair" stamp as much as we do.

The lucky winner of one of the "Deckchair" stamps is:

Rosemary Lethbridge

who left this great comment:

"Sitting in my garden chair
Feeling sun warming my hair
Wishing I could stay all day
But impatient to get up and start to play.
Ideas flowing in a flood
Starting crafting never seemed so good.
Thank you Claire for doing it again
Huge possibilities with this stamp remain."

Thank you, Rosemary! Please e-mail your postal address to helen@littleclaire.co.uk so we can get your stamp sent out to you.

And now on to today's stamp which is the beautiful "Birdhouse Garland" - another stamp that we are sure you're going to love. It's available here on the Little Claire website.

We're giving you the chance to win one of these stamps - all you need to do is leave us a comment before our next blog post tomorrow morning letting us know what you think of today's stamp and we'll choose someone to receive a stamp.

And here's some more inspiration from the talented Design Team:

Next from Georgina who has separated out the parts of the stamp to make a tag card:

Next from Helen R who has used of one of the "Little Beauties" tag sentiments :

Next from Helen N:

And a card from Heidi again using one of our "Little Beauties" tag sentiments:

from Gaynor:

And finally a card from Donna who has used one of the sentiments from our "At Home" set:

and finally one from Maxine:

Aren't they gorgeous? Don't forget to leave us a comment before tomorrow's post to be in with a chance of winning a "Birdhouse Garland" stamp - we look forward to reading what you think about it!

And we'll be back tomorrow with another showcase and another chance to win!

Day 1 of Our Brand New Garden Collection and a Chance to Win!

2012-01-30T10:40:00.001Z

This week on the Little Claire website we are launching our brand new collection of stamps the "Garden Collection" - five gorgeous designs that we know you are going to love!

Each day this week, one of the stamps will be added to the website and we will be showcasing the stamp here on the blog with a range of cards made by our Design Team.

We're also giving you the chance to win one of the stamps each day. All you need to do is to leave us a comment here on the blog before midnight telling us what you think of the stamp and we'll choose a lucky winner to receive a stamp tomorrow morning!

And so on to today's stamp which is the beautiful "Deckchair" stamp which you can find here on the wesbsite - it evokes thoughts of summer days and birdsong.

And here's some inspiration from our Design Team:

first of all, a card from Donna which also uses the little circular sentiment from the "Sunny Days" set:

next one from Gaynor:

and from Georgina who has also used one of the "Little Beauties" tag sentiments:

and from Heidi again using one of the "Little Beauties" tag sentiments:

from Helen N:

from Helen R:

and finally from Maxine:

Aren't they gorgeous?

We'll be releasing another lovely stamp design tomorrow so make sure you come back to find out what it is and to see some more cards from our Design Team.

Plus don't forget to leave us a comment before midnight tonight for the chance to win a "Deckchair" stamp!

Brand New on the Website - Gorgeous Peel Offs

2012-01-28T16:19:00.001Z

Just added to the Little Claire website are five new sheets of gorgeous peel off designs featuring the Cutie Patootie characters, the Swirly Whirlies, Henny Penny and a couple of lovely floral designs.

Take a look in the 'what's new' section of the Little Claire website here to see the different designs available.

And here are some cards made by Helen featuring the brand new peel offs and also some papers from our new paper packs 'Spring Drop' and 'Back to Basics III'. The papers in these pads are beautiful - lovely colours and small scale designs which are perfect for cards:

And we also have a short video featuring these cards (and a couple more) plus a little tip for adding the facial features to the Cutie Patootie peel offs!

Another Little Claire Video - Claire's Super Six

2012-01-28T15:56:00.002Z

Here's another video showcasing our new range of men's stamps Claire's Super Six with a demo from Helen of one of the cards she made with the 'Going Out' stamp and also showing a range of other great cards made by other members of the Design Team.

Helen uses one of our brand new products acrylic dries clear craft glue - perfect for paper piecing. You can find it here on the website.

Save the Date - More Chances to Win!

2012-01-27T10:35:00.000Z

Can you guess what it is?!

This is a sneak peek of one of the new stamps we'll be launching on the Little Claire website next week - we know you're going to love them!!

Each day on the blog we'll be showcasing one of the stamps and showing you some inspiration from our talented Design Team. There will also be the chance to win a stamp each day so make sure you keep checking back.

See you on Monday morning with our first showcase ......

A Little Bit of Masking ....

2012-01-27T09:55:00.000Z

This week's blog project comes from Helen N who has made a variation of a card from one of the classes she did last year called 'One Stamp Five Ways'. She has used her one of her favourite Little Claire stamps 'Single Flower' and has made a card using masking - she had requests after the class to put step by step instructions on the blog so here they are!

To make the card you'll need the following:

Little Claire 'Single Flower' stamp

large square scalloped card blank

pale purple spotted paper

kraft paper

purple self adhesive gems

white card

Promarkers - Pear Green, Bluebell, Orchid, Cool Grey 1

Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad

corner rounder punch

post it notes

And here's what you need to do:

1. Cut a piece of kraft paper measuring 13cm by 13cm and a piece of pale purple spotted paper measuring 12cm by 12cm. Use the corner rounder punch to round two of the corners on each piece of paper. Attach the pieces to the base card with the curved side towards the bottom of the card:

2. Stamp the Single Flower image on to a post it note, putting the top of the flower as near to the top of the sticky part of the post it as you can:

3. Cut the image out of the post it note - you only need the head of the flower and the top part of the stem:

4. Cut a piece of white card to measure 8.5cm by 9.5cm. Stamp the Single Flower image once in the middle of the piece of card:

5. Stick the post it note flower (the mask) over the top of your stamped image, placing it carefully so it is stuck directly over the base image:

6. Leaving the mask in place, stamp the Single Flower image twice on the white card, once to the left of the middle image and once to the right of the image. Each time, be careful that only the flower heads overlap:

7. Remove the mask carefully from the white card (if it is still sicky enough you can keep it to use it again) and then colour in the three flowers using Promarkers:

8. Mat the coloured image panel on to a piece of kraft paper measuring 10cm by 9cm and stick on to the card:

9. To finish, put self adhesive gems in each corner of the stamped image panel and add either a stamped or peel off greeting:

We hope you like this week's project - masking is a really effective and easy technique - just remember to choose a stamp that is easy to cut out!

We'd love you to leave us a comment to let us know what you think about the card!!

As Featured in Making Cards Magazine ....

2012-01-26T09:22:00.001Z

If you've seen the latest issue of 'Making Cards' magazine, you might have spotted this great card made by Sandra Jordan on page 81. Sandra is one of our club members and has sent us this photo of her card so that we can share it with everyone.

Sandra has used one of our Cutie Patootie stamps, Chimney Sweep Bert and also one of our Little Beauties tag sentiments - these are available as stamps or as die cuts.

It's a gorgeous card with lots of beautiful punched detail and the flowers and buttons finish it off perfectly.

If anyone else has had a card published made with Little Claire goodies or has won a challenge blog with a Little Claire card then we'd love to hear about it. Send us an e-email with all the details and a photo to: helen@littleclaire.co.uk

Our Last Showcase Winner and Some Cards from Heidi

2012-01-24T08:00:00.046Z

Congratulations to Claire who has won one of our 'Going Out' stamps from the last showcase of the new 'Super Six' stamps on Saturday.

And here's what Claire said:

"This stamp is ideal for putting your own 'stamp' on it by choosing your favourite colours, fashions or trends to make the card, by using pens, papers, fabric and other textures. Such a fabulous set or 6 for those Men cards! Thanks to all at Little Claire for their hard work for us crafters!"

Please e-mail helen@littleclaire.co.uk with your full name and address, Claire and we'll get your stamp in the post to you!

We'll have more stamp releases very soon so keep an eye on the blog to make sure you don't miss out!!

In the meantime, we'd like to share some of the cards that the very talented Heidi made when she was demoing at the Esher Show over the weekend.

First of all a gorgeous card made with our Henny Penny stamp and also using Georgina's Buttons and Stitching Stamp set:

Next a beautiful card using one of our Cutie Patooties, Mary Splashing plus a sentiment from the Super Six Sentiments set:

And finally, a card made with our brand new 'Sunday Morning' stamp, Georgina's Buttons and Stitching set and a sentiment from the Claire's Sentiments set:

As you can see, Heidi has used a range of our stamps on her cards showing just how well everything works together! If you want to find out more about the products, just click on the names and you'll link through to the Little Claire website. If there's ever anything you can't find on the website or you need more information, you can always give us a ring on 0151 342 5715.

We love to get your feedback - let us know what you think about Heidi's cards and also if you came to see us either at Esher or at Houghton-Le-Spring over the weekend.

Cutie Patooties - Sweep

2012-01-23T18:15:00.002Z

Had a good weekend? We hope so, just about to go for tea and want to share this lovely card which was sent in by one of our customers, Tracey Chapman.

Tracey made this for her Mum's birthday and as her father was a Chimney Sweep - then our 'Cutie Patootie' Sweep proved to be just perfect, her mum was impressed and very moved!

Don't the blues & browns go so well together?

Final Day of Our Showcase - 'Going Out' and a Last Chance to Win!

2012-01-21T12:51:00.005Z

Welcome to the final day of our showcase of our new Claire's Super Six range of men's stamps.

We really appreciate all the comments we've received from you during this showcase week - it's been great to get such positive feedback about the stamps!

First of all, the winner of one of the 'Later, later' stamps from yesterday's post is:

Helen T

who said:

"More great inspiration from your DT - and another great stamp that could also work for anyone who love listening to the Radio or Music. Keep up the good work :-)" Congratulations, Helen - please e-mail helen@littleclaire.co.uk with your full name and postal address so we can send your stamp to you!

And so now on to our final showcase of 'Going Out' - another great stamp suitable for lots of ages, occasions and techniques. The stamp is here on the Little Claire website together with the rest of the Super Six. Don't forget there's a SPECIAL OFFER PRICE if you want to buy all six stamps. Further details here on the website.

You can find lots of inspiration in the gallery on the website for this stamp but here are some of the cards made by our Design Team:

from Donna:

next from Gaynor also using 'Georgina's Buttons and Stitching Stamp Set':

from Georgina using one of our Little Beauties tag sentiments:

from Helen N who has paper pieced the coat and decoupaged the scarf and suitcase:

from Helen R:

from Maxine:

and Heike:

and finally Heidi:

Today is your final chance to win one of the stamps - just leave us a comment before midnight tomorrow night (Sunday). We've extended the time you have to leave your comment because it's the weekend and this is our last showcase!

The lucky winner will be announced in our post on Tuesday so make sure you check back then!

Showcase Day 5 - Another Chance to Win!

2012-01-20T10:58:00.001Z

A big thank you again for all your great comments - our new men's stamps are certainly proving to be very popular and we hope you like today's showcase just as much!

First of all, the winner from yesterday who will receive a 'DIY' stamp is:

Lynn

who said:

"Another great stamp and some fab inspirational cards from the DT. I would love to win this stamp as it would be perfect for my hubby and useful for other male cards too (and female if they're into DIY). Thanks for the chance to win."

Congratulations, Lynn! Please e-mail helen@littleclaire.co.uk with your full name and postal address so we can send your stamp to you.

Today we're showcasing the very laid back 'Later, later' - have a look here on the website to see the stamp and the great gallery of inspiration from the Design Team.

Don't forget to leave us a comment before midnight tonight to be in with a chance of winning one of today's stamps.

And here are some cards we've picked out to share with you:

First of all, one from Donna:

Next from Gaynor who has also used one of our Little Beauties tags:

Next from Georgina who has used one of our 'Sentiments Mix' stamps:

Next from Helen N who has paper pieced the middle of the radio:

Next from Helen R who has also used the sentiment from 'Room With a View Tree':

One from Heidi:

And finally one from Maxine:

Don't forget to leave us a comment before midnight tonight to be in with a chance of winning one of today's stamps.

And we'll be back tomorrow with the final day of our showcase so don't forget to check back for another chance to win!!

Little Claire on Tour!

2012-01-19T10:44:00.000Z

If you're coming to the Creative Crafts Show at Sandown Park Exhibition Centre in Esher over the next few days (the show runs between 19 and 21 January) make sure you look out for the Little Claire stand! You can find out more about the show here.

One of our Design Team members, Heidi, will be demoing on the stand today and on Saturday so make sure you say hello to her and have a look at what she's doing - she makes amazing cards! You can see Heidi in the photo above with Clive.

On Sunday Steve will be at the Ross Papercraft Show at Houghton Le Spring - you can find out more details about this show here.

DIY - Day Four of Our Showcase Plus a Chance to Win Again

2012-01-19T09:53:00.000Z

A big thank you once more for all the great comments we received about yesterday's stamp and the cards from our Design Team - we're sure you'll love today's stamp and cards just as much!

First of all, we're pleased to announce that the winner of one of our "In a While" stamps is:

My Name is Wynneth

who said:

"What a fabulous stamp ! Great for a man's card but also fabulous for lots of other occasions too. The DT creations are so inspirational, I love them all but especially those with the picket fence elements on them, what a great idea. I would soooo love to win this stamp, thanks for the chance."

Congratulations, Wynneth! Please e-mail helen@littleclaire.co.uk with your full name and address and we'll get your stamp posted out to you.

Today's showcase stamp is 'DIY' which you can find here on the Little Claire website. It's an ideal stamp for lots of occasions and ages - make sure you take a look at the little sign hanging on the stepladder!!

Once again, we're offering you the chance to win a 'DIY' stamp - all you have to do is leave us a comment on this post before midnight tonight and we'll select one lucky winner tomorrow!

Here's some inspiration from our talented Design Team:

from Donna lovely scalloped design:

from Gaynor who has also used one of our Little Beauties tags and a button from 'Georgina's Buttons and Stitching Stamp Set'

from Georgina using one of our 'Sentiments Mix' stamps:

from Heidi also using 'Georgina's Buttons and Stitching Stamp Set'

from Heike using some great little embellishments:

from Helen N who has decoupaged the little sign:

from Helen R using some great layers:

from Louise using another of the Little Beauties tags:

from Maxine using some great bunting:

We hope that's given you lots of ideas to show just what a great design this is - there's more inspiration on the website where you'll find a whole gallery of card designs for this stamp.

Don't forget to leave us a comment to be in with a chance of winning a DIY stamp.

We'll be back tomorrow with another showcase!

Day 3 of Our Showcase and Another Chance to Win

2012-01-18T09:43:00.003Z

Another big thank you to everyone who left us a comment yesterday about our new 'Sunday Morning' stamp - it's lovely to get such positive feedback!

The lucky winner of a 'Sunday Morning' stamp is:

Mamma Mia (Helen)

who said:

"Great job by the DT - looks great in all the different colour combos! This stamp epitomises the traditional Sunday morning ... coffee, radio, paper! It's another great stamp that's sure to be popular due to the fact that it can be used for so many different men's cards. Thanks for the opportunity to win it."

Congratulations, Helen - please e-mail helen@littleclaire.co.uk with your full name and address so we can post your stamp out to you!

Now on to today's stamp which is called 'In a While' - don't we all wish we could say that sometimes?!

There's another opportunity to win today too - leave us a comment on this post before midnight tonight and we'll choose someone to receive one of the stamps we're featuring today.

It's another versatile design suitable for lots of different occasions and we'd like to share some inspiration from the Design Team:

Today's first card is from Maxine:

Next, a card from Helen R which also uses one of our 'Little Beauties' tags:

Next from Helen N:

And a card from Heike:

And from Georgina:

Next from Gaynor:

from Donna:

and finally Heidi:
Don't forget to leave us a comment to be in with a chance of winning one of these stamps.

You can see the whole range of our 'Super Six' on the website here and don't forget to come back tomorrow for another showcase!

Showcasing Our New Men's Stamps - Day 2 and Another Chance to Win!

2012-01-17T10:37:00.001Z

Good morning and welcome to the second day of our showcase of our brand new six men's stamps!

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who left a comment about yesterday's stamp 'Man Tree' - we really appreciate all that you said!

The lucky winner of a 'Man Tree' stamp is:

Catherine

who said:

"I love this stamp and the inspirations cards are fantastic. A good stamp shows in the many different ways it can be used and this one certainly fits the bill. Would love the chance to win it!"

Congratulations, Catherine - please e-mail helen@littleclaire.co.uk with your full name and postal address so we can send your stamp out to you.

There's another chance to win today - leave us a comment on this post before midnight tonight and we'll choose someone to receive one of the stamps we're featuring today

So today we're showcasing the versatile "Sunday Morning" which you can find here on the website. It's suitable for lots of different occasions and here's some inspiration from the Design Team:

First of all a card from Donna:

Next one from Gaynor:

And from Georgina:

And an easel card from Heidi:

Next a card from Heike:

One from Helen N:

And from Helen R:

And from Louise:

And finally from Maxine:

You can see the rest of the set on our website here and don't forget the Special Offer to buy all six stamps for £29.00!!

Don't forget to leave us a comment before midnight tonight to be in with a chance of winning! We'll be back tomorrow with another showcase and another chance to win!!

Showcasing Our New Men's Stamps - Day 1 and a Chance to Win!

2012-01-16T09:21:00.001Z

Today we're very excited to be launching six brand new men's stamp designs on the Little Claire website. Together, they're called 'Claire's Super Six' and will be ideal for all the men in your lives!

You can see the full set here on the Little Claire website. Each of the stamps costs just £5.50 except for 'Man Tree' which is £6.50. We also have a SPECIAL OFFER if you'd like to buy the whole Super Six which is £29.00

For the next six days we'll be showcasing one of the stamp designs each day and showing you a selection of great cards made by our Design Team. You can see more inspiration for each stamp by clicking on the 'gallery' for each of the designs.

We'd love you to leave us a comment to let us know what you think about the stamps and each day we'll be giving away one of the stamps featured to someone chosen at random from everyone who leaves a comment up to midnight on that particular day!

Today we're showcasing the fabulous 'Man Tree' - perfect for lots of occasions. Here are some of the cards made by our design team.

First of all, a card from Donna:

Next, a card from Gaynor which also uses our new 'Georgina's Buttons and Stitching Stamp Set':

One from Georgina:

Next a card from Louise:

One from Maxine:

Next from Heike:

And finally from Helen N:

We hope you love this design and all the cards as much as we do!

Don't forget to leave us a comment before midnight tonight to be in with a chance of winning one of the stamps!

Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine and a Reminder!

2012-01-15T14:57:00.000Z

Have you seen the inside front cover of the latest issue of Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine?!

As you can see from the photo above, we have the whole page showcasing our January club stamp 'At Home' and showing cards made using the stamp by our Design Team - doesn't it look great?

On the top row, you can see cards made by Georgina and Donna and on the bottom row cards made by Helen N and Maxine.

Further on in the magazine (pages 40 and 41) there's also a feature showing cards made using four of our Swirly Whirlies.

Watch out for us in print again very soon!

And don't forget to check the blog each day next week for the launch of our brand new range of men's stamps plus a great giveaway every day!!

Little Claire Challenge # 17 - 'Anything But A Card'

2012-01-13T20:14:00.050Z

Good morning, what a cold and frosty morning to wake up to! A big thank you to all of you that took part in our last challenge. We had some fabulous entries, as always and wish you could all be winners! Anyway, with a drumroll, the winner of Challenge # 16 is :

Daisy Chain (#16)

This month, the prize is two of our gorgeous stamps 'And so to bed' and 'Rainy Days' (cards are not included, just for inspiration) x

Our challenge rules:

(1) You DO NOT need to use a Little Claire stamp to qualify for the prize draw.
(2) Only those using Little Claire stamps will qualify for a Top 3 badge.
(3) You may enter the challenge UP TO 3 TIMES ONLY PLEASE and you may combine with other challenges.
(4) You must follow the challenge theme and NO BACKLINKING please, new cards only.
(5) Please provide a link to our blog in your post.
(6) Please leave a link (via link below) to your actual card, not just to your blog.

The challenge will close at 6pm on Friday, February 2012, the winner/top three will be announced on Saturday, the February 2012 along with Challenge # 18.

Here are what the Design Team have come up with, feast your eyes!

Donna has made a tag using 'Cutie Patootie - Mary'.

Gaynor has made a mini album using 'Butterfly' image and sentiment circle.

Georgina has altered a notebook using 'Flowerhead'.

Heidi has made a gift box using 'Spikey Flowers' stamp.

Heike has decorated a little bag using a 'Cutie Patootie' image - 'Albert'

Helen N has made a little box and decorated using the 'Single Flower' image.

Helen R has made a tag, using 'Blissful' image.

Louise has made a box using the 'Flowerhead' image as a topper.

Maxine has made a little gift treat tag, using the 'Tammy' Swirly Whirly image.

When entering our challenge, please leave a link (below) to your actual card, not just to your blog.

We have had two email entries

One from Claire

and one from Maggie

The challenge will close at 6pm on Friday, 10th February 2012, the winner/top three will be announced on Saturday, 11th February 2012 along with Challenge # 18.

Good luck!

The Little Claire Team

'Henny Penny' Blog Project

2012-01-12T09:00:00.000Z

Good morning, time for another blog project. This week our Design Team member, Heidi has made an easel topped - drawed box made from matchboxes. She has our little cutie 'Henny Penny' stamp available from the shop Here . A great little box to keep lots of little crafting bits in. It was made using lots of scraps of card, gingham paper and lace.

Products Used :

24 Small match-boxes
White Cardstock
Black Momento Inkpad
Brushed Corduroy Inkpad
Brown Cardstock
Brown Gingham Paper
One metre of cream lace
'Best Wishes' sentiment
Oval & Scallop Punches
Brown Card Candy
Double-sided tape
Small & Large sticky pads
Promarkers : Caramel, Coral, Honeycomb, Ice Grey I, Spice, Tan & Vanilla.

Instructions :

(1) Stick match-boxes together using strong double-sided tape. Ink edges of box with 'Brushed Corduroy' inkpad. Cut a piece of cardstock measuring : 9 x 18cm, score in half and then on one side, half again, making an easel topper. Cut two pieces of gingham measuring : 8.5 x 8.5cm, ink edges of card and paper, stick together.

(2) Stamp 'Henny Penny' image on to white cardstock, cut out using die cut shape and colour in with Promarkers. Ink around edges. Stick image to top of easel using large sticky pads. Stick easel down onto top of box using strong red double-sided tape.

(3) Cut out eight pieces of card measuring : 5.5 x 4.5 cms and eight measuring : 3.5 x 1.5cms . Cut out eight pieces of gingham measuring : 5 x 4cms and a further eight measuring : 3 x 1cm. Ink all edges with 'Brushed Corduroy' inkpad. Stick together and stick to front of box.

(4) Cut out eight pieces of lace measuring : 5.5cms ink all over and stick down to large squres on box. Attach card candy dots to draws. Ink up a larger piece of lace, attach to linen thread and tie in a bow. Attach to image and add card candy.

Voila! Here is the finished box, ready to give as a gift or to keep and admire.

Please leave us a comment below, we will be back with another blog project next week.

2012-01-11T23:13:00.000Z

Save The Date.....

Get ready for Monday 16th January, as this is the first day that we release the FIRST 6 of our NEW 18 Designs!

We are going to show you 6 new designs from the first of 3 new ranges, and we are starting off with a BANG!

........ever looking for 'men' ideas?

You can rely on Little Claire to deliver.....men ideas for ALL MEN.........

So, our first design will be revealed this Monday 16 January, mark your diaries.........

Reminder About Our New Classes

2012-01-10T11:33:00.000Z

There's still time to book on our classes for January and February so here's a quick reminder of what we've got coming up.

Make and Take Using Our Brand New Garden Stamps

Friday 27 January - 6.30pm to 8.00pm

Come and spend a relaxing evening with the LC team making a selection of cards using our brand new range of beautiful Garden Stamps (to be released in January) Be the first to use these new designs! The cards will be suitable for lots of different occasions and we know you're going to love them.

We'll be serving tea and coffee and other treats and there'll be the chance to shop too!!

Cost - £10.00 - all materials provided

Saturday 25 February - 9.00am to 12.00pm or 1.00pm to 4.00pm

Butterfly Tree

This class is all about one of our most successful stamp sets, the gorgeous "Butterfly Tree" set. You'll make a range of cards using the various stamps in the set, suitable for different occasions.

Cost - £20.00 - materials provided

Saturday 25 February - 9.00am to 12.00pm or 1.00pm to 4.00pm

Made for Men

Probably the most difficult people to make cards for - men! In this class we'll be giving you lots of ideas for making men's cards using stamps from the brand new collection newly designed by Red Gingham Designs (be the absolute first in the world to use these stamps)

Cost - £20.00 -all materials provided

SPECIAL OFFER - BOOK PLACES ON BOTH CLASSES ON 25 FEBRUARY FOR THE SPECIAL PRICE OF £35

Please phone us to take advantage of this special offer, don't book online.

In addition to our classes here on the Wirral, we also have classes coming up in May in Harrietsham and Kent.

Saturday 26 May - A Day With Little Claire - Crawley

Come and spend a relaxing day with the LC team at Maidenbower Junior School making gorgeous cards using Little Claire products.

During the day there will be three classes and you will be guided through making fantastic cards step by step by our talented designers.

Our shop will be open during the day for you to stock up on crafting goodies. You'll need to bring your own lunch all materials and lots of refreshments will be provided throughout the day.

Cost - £55.00 (£20 deposit required, all materials provided)

Sunday 27 May - A Day With Little Claire - Kent

Come and spend a relaxing day with the LC team at Harrietsham Village Hall making gorgeous cards using Little Claire products.

During the day there will be three classes and you will be guided through making fantastic cards step by step by our talented designers.

Our shop will be open during the day for you to stock up on crafting goodies. You'll need to bring your own lunch but all materials and lots of refreshements throughout the day are provided.

Cost - £55.00 (£20 deposit required, all materials provided)

Here's a selection of cards made at classes during 2011:

Our First New Video

2012-01-06T10:45:00.001Z

Today we've got two brand new videos for you using two of our new products.

Here's the first one using our brand new January club set "At Home" - Helen will show you how to make the card that's included with the club pack and you'll also get to see lots of other cards made with the set.

You can find more details about the stamp set, lots of card examples plus details of the club here

We hope you enjoy the video and we'd love to hear what you think!!

Our Second New Video

2012-01-06T10:23:00.002Z

And here's another video showing our new stamp set "Georgina's Buttons and Stitching Stamp Set".

Helen has shown you some different ways to use the stamps and you'll also get to see some of the cards made by other members of the Design Team.

We hope you like the video and the stamp set - leave us a comment to let us know what you think!

Blog Project - Butterfly Window Card

2012-01-05T10:54:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to the first weekly blog project of the New Year!

Today, we have a beautiful Butterfly Window Card made by Louise:

Isn't it gorgeous?

Here's what you'll need to make the card:

Little Claire "Butterfly" stamp

Little Claire "Little Beauties" die cut tags

12.5cm by 12.5cm scalloped card blank

green and pink vellum

Swiss Dots embossing folder

Standard Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (largest dies)

clear shrink plastic

Leaf Green and Pale Pink Promarkers

Spray and Sparkle Iridescent Spray

Versamark and Archival Black Ink

Stampendous Kaleidoscope embossing powder

Gems

Collal Glue

Heat Gun

And here's what you need to do:

1. Stamp the Butterfly stamp with Versamark Ink on to the pink and green vellum and emboss with the Kaleidoscope embossing powder. Cut out the butterfulies.

2. Cut the green vellum to 11.5cm by 11.5cm and emboss it using the Swiss Dots embossing folder. Attach it to the front of the card.

3. Cut a circle from the card front, positioning the die inside as show. Then cut out a pink circle and a pink frame (using the largest scallop circle and circle dies).

4. Stick the scalloped frame around the aperture on the card front and mount the green die cut circle and scalloped mat as shown. Layer the pink butterfly on top of the green one and stick on to the circle mat as shown.

5. Stamp a butterfly on to clear shrink plastic using Archival Ink. Cut out when dry and colour the back with Leaf Green Promarker. Use the heat gun to shrink - if the wings get "stuck" turn the butterfly over to heat the underside. Spray the embellishment with Spray and Sparkle.

6. Add gems to the butterfly's body and colour and add sentiment tag. Add gems to the corner of the card front and attach the shrink plastic embellishment as shown.

We're sure you'll love this card as much as we do! We'd love to hear what you think so please leave us a comment.

Brand New on the Website - Georgina's Buttons and Stitching Stamp Set!

2012-01-03T15:02:00.002Z

We've just added details of this year's first exciting stamp release to our website together with some inspiration from our Design Team members.

The set was designed by Georgina who is one of our Design Team and is called "Georgina's Buttons and Stitching Set". There are ten stamps in the set and you can find more details plus a full gallery of example cards here on the website.

The stamps are perfect for adding detail and accents to cards and work really well on their own too.

Here are some examples from our Design Team members:

First of all, a card (above) from Georgina using her stamps to create a very effective background - perfect for using up those little pieces of patterned paper that you've kept "just in case" you can use them!

Next, another card from Georgina using our 'Flowerhead' stamp with buttons for the centres of the flowers and the stitching round the edge of the design:

Next, two cards from Helen N. The first uses our current club stamp "At Home" - the button has been decoupaged:

Next a card using the cross stitch stamp to make a patchwork background and also a border around the page - again the buttons have been decoupaged. The other stamp on this card is our "Daisy Pitcher":

Now, two cards from Helen R, using our "Oh Man" stamp, showing the stamps work just as well with men's designs:

Finally, a really pretty card from Donna which also uses our "Butterfly" stamp:

You can see from these cards what a useful and versatile set this is - we'd love to hear what you think of it and also our cards so please leave us a comment!

Winners of Our Customer Competition!

2012-01-03T14:44:00.000Z

We were so impressed with all the great photos that we received for our Customer Competition that we've decided to award prizes to everyone we featured on our blog!

So if you were one of those who had a card or cards on the blog before Christmas, your prize is any one of our £5.50 stamps - the choice is yours!!

Please e-mail helen@littleclaire.co.uk with your choice of stamp, full name and postal address.

We will also be adding your cards to the gallery on our website very soon!

January Club Set - 'At Home'

2012-01-01T12:34:00.000Z

Hello and a very Happy New Year from everyone at Little Claire!!

Our new January club stamp set is called 'At Home' and it's now on the website together with a gallery of all the gorgeous cards made by our Design Team members - you can find all the details here. If you haven't heard about our monthly club before, here's how it works:

Each month you will receive a new Little Claire stamp (or set, we vary every month), pre-cut materials & colour project ideas etc. You will be given your own unique, Little Claire membership number which will entitle you to 10% discount from all your purchases with us either online, by phone or at shows (whilst a member). We will also send you a written newsletter each month together with your project.

If you'd like to try this month's set, simply add it to your basket (if you're online shopping) or give us a ring to order - our phone number is 0151 342 5715.

And here's a small selection of the cards made by the Design Team.

First of all, a card from Donna:

Next, one from Gaynor:

And a card from Georgina:

One from Heidi:

And from Heike:

Next from Helen N:

And from Louise:

And finally, a card from Maxine:

We're sure you'll agree that this is a versatile and very useful stamp set - a lovely image and three great sentiments. It's suitable for lots of occasions and you could even be super-organised and start using it to make Christmas cards for later this year!!

Don't forget to leave us a comment to let us know what you think!

Our Final Blog Project of 2011!

2011-12-30T17:07:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to our final blog project of 2011 which, appropriately, is a great desktop calendar made by Heike:

And here's what you'll need to make this project:

Little Claire "Oh Man" stamp set

smooth white card stock

textured cardstock in white, turquoise and black

circle and scalloped circle cutting dies

Tuxedo Black Memento ink pad

Promarkers - Dusky Pink, Tea Green, Cool Aqua, Turquoise, Khaki, Burnt Sienna, Umber, Ice Grey 1, Cool Grey 3, Cool Grey 5, black

black Card Candi

2012 calendar tab

Velco

adhesive (including 3D foam)

die cutting machine

corner rounder

toolbox essentials

And here's what you need to do:

1. Take a piece of white textured cardstock measuring 12.5cm by 25cm. Fold in half to create a 12.5cm square then fold the front in half again. Round the corners of the square section:

2. Cut a piece of white textured cardstock measuring 12.5cm by 12.5cm, round the top corners and attach to the front:

3. Cut a black 11.5cm square and a square measuring 11.1cm from the turquoise cardstock. Round the bottom corners and mount on to the bottom of the calendar:

4. Trim a piece of black cardstock to 11.5cm by 6cm and a piece of turquoise cardstock to 11.1cm by 5.6cm. Mount on to each other and attach to the card front:

5. Cut a circle out of smooth white cardstock and stamp the image on to it:

6. Colour in the image using Promarkers. Mat on to a black scalloped circle:

7. Stamp the sentiment on to a 7cm by 1.5cm piece of smooth white cardstock. Mat on to turquoise cardstock (7.4cm by 1.8cm) and black cardstock (7.8cm by 2cm).

8. Cut a piece of black cardstock that is 0.4cm wider that your calendar tab and twice the height of the calendar tab plus 0.8cm (Heike used a calendar tab measuring 7.4cm by 4.7cm so she cut the blakc cardstock to 7.8cm by 10.2cm). Fold in half, crease well and stick on to the bottom of the calendar. Attach the calendar tab with Velcro (this makes it easier to exchange the tab year after year):

9. Attach the image to the front of the calendar using 3D foam. Add the sentiment and two pieces of Card Candi:

10. Finish off by arranging the Card Candi next to the calendar tab:

We hope you've enjoyed the blog projects brought to you by the Design Team during the past year - we've got lots more planned for the New Year so make sure you check the blog every week for a new project!

We'd love to hear what you think of this week's project too!

Looking back.....

2011-12-27T17:15:00.000Z

With the New Year fast approaching, we thought that we would take a look back on a selection of cards from 2011:

Butterfly Tree designed by Helen Nile

First-off is a lovely card made using our ever popular Butterfly Tree set, this card features the main Butterfly Tree image from the set of 9 stamps....

Catapult Bert, designed by Georgina Sweetenham

Our recent launch of our 6 'Cutie Patooties' saw some gorgeous cards coming through from our DT's and this card featuing Bert & his catapult is just one example of many lovelies!......

Elephants in Squares, designed by Donna Moseley

Here's a card that you may remember made using our 'Elephants in Squares' design, such a lovely stamp with many possibilities, hope you can see on the pic how Donna has decoupaged the elephants and look at the little bow for his tail, aaaaaw!!....

Great Outdoors, designed by Louise Hall

Do you remembere our 'Great Outdoors' set? This was released earlier in the year and is so handy for all those who love the great outdoors! We like the way that the signpost is blank to add your own greeting or place......

Sunny Days, designed by Heike McIntosh

'Sunny Days' features our little hedgehog mowing the grass wearing his knotted hanky....

RWAV - 4 Seasons, designed by Heidi Green

This card made by Heidi uses 2 'seasons' from our 4 Seasons set which gives you an image for every season! Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter - so a stamp set that you can use all year round!

Cats in Squares, designed by Helen Richards

'Cats in Squares' is one of our all time favs, and this pink version is a refreshing change - it's super girlie for all of those female feline fans.....

Claire's Owls, designed by Maxine Norman

T'woo little owls sitting on a branch, what can they be talking about?

RWAV Wardrobe, designed by Gaynor Bloor

Such a lovely card featuring our RWAV (room with a view) Wardrobe stamp set - TIP: if you have this set then a bit of Mirri card on the inside of the wardrobe door makes a great mirror!

And finally we couldn't sign off without showing a selection of our 'Henny Penny' cards, this girl is our favourite design just now, we absolutely LOVE her! Everyone needs a Henny Penny in their stash, how can you resist her, so cute.
We hope that you have enjoyed our little 'look back' and it has given you some inspiration especially on these dark nights, get your stash out and CRAFT!

Happy New Year everyone, with lots of love from the Little Claire Team xxx

P.S. If you would like to comment, we would love to know which is your favourite card or design from us during 2011 x

Happy Christmas and Our Classes for the New Year!

2011-12-23T10:19:00.005Z

We have lots of exciting things planned for 2012 including gorgeous new stamp releases and classes in different areas of the country!

Here on the Wirral, the following events are already on the website:

Make and Take Using Our Brand New Garden Stamps

Friday 27 January 2012 - 6.30pm to 8.00pm

We'll be serving tea and coffee and other treats and there'll be the chance to shop too!!

Cost - £10.00 (all materials provided)

Saturday 25 February - 9.00am to 12.00pm or 1.00pm to 4.00pm

Butterfly Tree

This class is all about one of our most successful stamp sets, the gorgeous "Butterfly Tree" set. You'll make a range of cards using the various stamps in the set, suitable for different occasions.

Cost - £20.00 (all materials provided)

Saturday 25 February - 9.00am to 12.00pm or 1.00pm to 4.00pm

Made for Men

Cost - £20.00 (all materials provided)

**Special Offer - if you book a place on both classes, you'll pay the discounted price of £35 for the two (if you want to take advantage of this special offer, please phone us to book)**

Saturday 28 April - 9.00am to 4.30pm

A Day With Little Claire - Wirral

Come and spend a relaxing day with us making gorgeous cards using Little Claire products.

Three of our talented Design Team members will be there together with the rest of the Little Claire team!

During the day there will be three classes, each lasting two hours and our tutors will guide you step by step through making gorgeous cards.

Our shop will be open for you to stock up on crafting goodies during the day. You’ll need to bring your own lunch but we’ll supply the tea and coffee.

Everyone who comes along will receive a goodie bag to take away with them.

Cost - £49.00 (£20 deposit required, all materials provided)

And for those in the Kent/Crawley areas:

Saturday 26 May - A Day With Little Claire - Crawley

Come and spend a relaxing day with the LC team at Maidenbower Junior School making gorgeous cards using Little Claire products.

During the day there will be three classes and you will be guided through making fantastic cards step by step by our talented designers.

Our shop will be open during the day for you to stock up on crafting goodies. You'll need to bring your own lunch all materials and lots of refreshments will be provided throughout the day.

Cost - £55.00 (£20 deposit required, all materials provided)

Sunday 27 May - A Day With Little Claire - Kent

Come and spend a relaxing day with the LC team at Harrietsham Village Hall making gorgeous cards using Little Claire products.

During the day there will be three classes and you will be guided through making fantastic cards step by step by our talented designers.

Our shop will be open during the day for you to stock up on crafting goodies. You'll need to bring your own lunch but all materials and lots of refreshements throughout the day are provided.

Cost - £55.00 (£20 deposit required, all materials provided)

If you want to book places on any of these classes, have a look at the website here or phone us on 0151 342 5715.

We'd like to share photos of the cards made at our recent Speedcrafting classes with Helen N. Our challenge was to find out how many cards our ladies could make in an hour and the answer was five!! All the cards were made using our beautiful die cuts - three from the Cutie Patootie sheet and two from the Red Gingham Christmas sheet.

And finally, everyone here at Little Claire would like to wish you a very Happy Christmas! We hope you have a fabulous time and we'll see you back here again very soon!!

Final Day of Our Customer Gallery

2011-12-23T09:42:00.000Z

Welcome to the final day of our Customer Gallery! We hope you've enjoyed seeing all the gorgeous cards from our talented customers - it's been great to see what everyone has been making with our stamps. If your card has been featured, don't forget to check back in the New Year for details of our prize winners!

The first of today's cards was made by Maggie Palmer using part of our 'Room With a View - Four Seasons' set - Maggie has paper pieced the curtains to match the backing paper on the card. It's a gorgeous card, Maggie and very neatly made!

And our final card is from Jane Orson using the 'Little One' stamp - a beautiful, clean design which sets off the stamp perfectly.

A big thank you to everyone who sent us photos of their cards - we hope you've enjoyed being featured on our blog and Facebook page as much as we've enjoyed looking at all your cards!

Customer Gallery Day 9

2011-12-22T10:52:00.000Z

It's Day 9 of our Customer Gallery and today we've got two more great cards from Kay Coney which we're sure you'll love!

First of all, a lovely card made with the 'Lots of Fun' set - beautiful colours and a great easel design:

And next, a gorgeous stepper card made with 'The Right Time' stamp set, lovely colours and very neatly made:

We'll be back tomorrow with the final day of our Customer Gallery. We'd love to read your comments about today's cards and don't forget to have a look at our post from earlier today - a last minute Christmas treat box from Maxine!

Weekly Project - Last Minute Christmas Treat Bag!

2011-12-22T00:01:00.037Z

This week's blog project is from Maxine and it's a great treat bag - perfect for any last minute gifts!

Here's what you'll need to make the treat bag:

one of the stamps from the Red Gingham Christmas Text set

black ink pad

white card stock

red 12 by 12 red card stock

ribbon

double sided tape

foam pads

small cello bag

border punch

And here's what you need to do:

1. Stamp the circular sentiment stamp twice. Cut out the sentiment by hand or using a punch and cut the inside circle out of the second stamped sentiment and ecoupage the centre of the sentiment. Add a scalloped corder using the red card stock.

2. Cut a 12" by 4" strip of red card and score at 5" and 7". Punch a scalloped edge:

3. Cut a 4" by 4" strip of red card and score at 3". Adhere this to the end of the 12" strip by sticking the 1" score line to the back, fold over to form the flap on the top of the bag:

4. Fill your cello bag with chocolates and seal. Adhere this to the top of the bag just below the flap:

5. Seal the gift bag using double sided tape and decorate your bag with the sentiment and a ribbon bow:

We hope you like this treat bag - it will make a lovely last minute gift! We'd love to hear what you think.

Customer Gallery Day 8

2011-12-21T14:09:00.000Z

Today we're sharing some great men's cards which were sent to us by Gemma White - we've already featured one of Gemma's cards but she sent us a lovely selection so we thought we'd show you two more of them!

Gemma's cards use different parts of the 'Lazy Days' stamp set:

Both cards show off the stamps really well and are beautifully coloured.

We'll be back tomorrow with some more cards - please leave us a comment to let us, and Gemma, know what you think about today's cards!

Little Claire Customer Gallery Day 7

2011-12-20T10:03:00.000Z

It's Day 7 of our Customer Gallery and there's still more to come!

Today's card is from Stef Adams who has made this beautiful tag card using the 'Flowerhead Stamp' and also one of our tag cards. In the photo above you can see the front of the card and here's the back:

Isn't it elegant? We love the design so thanks to Stef for sending it to us.

We'll be back tomorrow with some more cards but please keep leaving us comments to let us know what you think!

Customer Gallery Day 6

2011-12-19T11:24:00.000Z

Welcome to another week of great cards from our customers! As we explained on Friday, we received so many photos of lovely cards that we've decided to extend our Customer Gallery for a bit longer and the prizes will be announced in the New Year!

The first of today's cards is another from Anne Chilvers - this one using 'Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow'. Take a closer look at the card to see the beautiful background Anne has created.

And today's second card is another card from Beryl Martin using part of the 'Room With a View - Four Seasons' set - Beryl has used beautiful colours and great embellishments on the card.

We'll be back tomorrow with some more customer cards and don't forget to leave us a comment to let us know what you think about today's cards!

Customer Gallery - Day 5

2011-12-16T11:27:00.000Z

We hope you've been enjoying our Customer Gallery this week - we've shared some beautiful creations with you and the good news is that there is more to come next week! Originally we'd intended to run the Gallery for a week but we received so many great cards that we've decided to carry on next week too! Our winners will then be chosen after the Christmas break - a lovely New Year surprise for some of you!!

Now on to today's two cards which were sent to us by Maureen Palethorp. First of all, a beautiful card made using the 'In the Garden' stamp:

And next a card made using the 'Three Owls Stamp' - love the glittery owls on this one!

Two more great cards and there will be more to share with you next week so make sure you keep checking back. And please leave us a comment to let Maureen, and us, know what you think of today's cards!

Customer Gallery - Day 4

2011-12-15T10:22:00.000Z

Today we've two beautiful cards from Maggie Palmer to share with you. For this first card she has used 'Mr Darcy's Christmas Post' - Maggie explained to us in her e-mail that she has two Westies called Ollie and Fin so she had to add an extra Westie to the design!

For her second card, Maggie has used the 'Little One' stamp - another beautiful Christmas design:

We'll be back tomorrow with more great cards from our customers - don't forget to leave us a comment to let Maggie, and us, know what you think of today's cards!

Weekly Project - 'Spikey Flowers'

2011-12-15T09:59:00.000Z

This week our blog project comes from Helen R who has made a beautiful card using the 'Spikey Flowers' stamp which you can find here on the website.

And here's what you'll need to make the card:

Spikey Flowers stamp

white stamping card

purple cardstock - dark and light

patterned paper (Helen has used paper from the First Edition 'Dreamcatcher' pad which we will have back in stock in January)

Tuxedo black Memento ink pad

white organza ribbon

Promarkers - Lilac and Amethyst

purple pearks - small and medium sized

Craftwork Card Top Notch card blank

glue

3D foam pads

And here's what you need to do:

1. Stamp out the image using the black Memento ink pad and colour the circles on the flowers using the Lilac and Amethyst Promarkers. Mount the image on to a piece of dark purple cardstock, leaving a small border.

2. Take a Top Notch card blank, a 11.5cm square of patterned paper, a slightly larger piece of dark purple cardstock and a piece of lighter purple cardstock slightly bigger again

3. Mount the patterned paper on to the dark purple cardstock and then on to the lighter piece. Add 2 pieces of white organza ribbon across the front of this panel, overlapping them slightly. Attach these to the back of the panel and then tie another piece around in a kknot to create the bow, then trim the edges

4. Attach this panel to the card using 3D foam pads.

5. Glue the main image to the card towards the upper left hand corner

6. Add a small purple pearl to the centre of each flower and 3 medium sized pearls to the bottom right hand corner of the card to finish.

We're sure you'll agree that it's a beautiful card - suitable for lots of different occasions! We'd love to hear what you think so please leave us a comment.

Customer Gallery Day 3

2011-12-14T09:46:00.001Z

We hope you're enjoying the cards from our customers - it's been lovely to see all the great cards that you've made using our products and we've really enjoyed looking at the e-mails you sent us!

And so on to today's two cards.

The first one is from Jane Orson who has made a very elegant shaped card using the Red Gingham 'Cold Crisp Kisses' stamp:

And next this card from Kay Coney using the 'Bike Set' - great colours and look out for the bottles in the basket on the front of the bike:

Thanks to Jane and Kay for their photos - please do leave us a comment to let them and us know what you think of today's cards.

And don't forget to come back tomorrow for some more great customer creations!

Customer Gallery Day 2 .... plus sale news!!

2011-12-13T10:52:00.000Z

Welcome back to Day 2 of our Customer Gallery! We really did receive some fabulous cards after our request last week and today we'd like to share some more of them with you.

First of all, a lovely card from Claire Boston using 'Room With a View Tree (great colour scheme which goes perfectly with the image':

And from Gemma White a great card using 'Oh Man' (love the paper piecing on this one):

SALE NEWS!!!

Have a look at the sale section on the website here for lots of great pre-Christmas bargains!! Stocks of the items included are limited so don't delay!!

Customer Gallery - Day 1

2011-12-12T09:52:00.000Z

A big thank you to everyone who sent us photos of the cards they have made using Little Claire products - we've got some very talented and creative customers!

We will be sharing some of the cards with you in the run up to Christmas so keep checking back each day to see if you've been featured! Some of the cards will also be posted on Facebook via our page so you can admire all the lovely artwork there too.

Our first card comes from Anne Chilvers who has used 'Mr Darcy's Christmas Post':

Beautiful design and great colouring on the stamped image too!

And our second card today is from Beryl Martin who has used 'Owlgate':

The card looks beautiful in blue tones and once again, the colouring of the image is great.

Don't forget to check back again tomorrow to see if you've been featured!

We'd also love it if everyone could leave a comment about Anne and Beryl's cards so let us know what you think!!

Little Claire in Print!!

2011-12-11T12:24:00.001Z

Have you seen the latest issue of "Creative Cardmaking"? Our gorgeous Cutie Patootie range is featured in the magazine and we've also made the cover!!

The card on the front of the magazine (above) was made by Georgina using 'Bert and Mary on Swing':

Inside the magazine, there are another four cards. First a card from Gaynor using 'Bert and Mary on Swing again:

Next a card from Louise using 'Catapult Bert':

Next a card from Maxine using 'Oh Mary':

Finally, a paper pieced tag card from Helen N using 'Mary' and 'Chimney Sweep Bert':

There's also a step by step guide to paper piecing using 'Mary' - her pinafore and hat are paper pieced with the pink spotted paper used on the tag.

We hope everyone enjoys the article and watch out for us in print again soon!

Little Claire Monthly Challenge # 16 - 'Family Christmas'

2011-12-09T14:55:00.020Z

Good morning, hope your Christmas plans are coming together? Thank you to all that took part in LC Challenge #15 , we had some wonderful entries for our 'Shaped Cards' challenge. Our winner this month is :

Clairebear

Please contact Helen (helen@littleclaire.co.uk) who will forward onto you, your prize - well done!

Our top three this month are :

Diane - # 72
Susan - #44
Margreet - #24

Please feel free to copy the blinkie and show it off on your blogs.

Now to the last Little Claire challenge of 2011. The theme is 'Family Christmas'. It can be for any member of the family, you can even tell us why you have made it, anything would be great. It would be wonderful if you use one of the fabulous Little Claire images, but you can enter using any other image instead if you don't have one yet.

To enter the challenge, there are a few rules to follow :•

You DO NOT need to use a Little Claire stamp to qualify for the prize draw•

However, only those using Little Claire stamps will qualify for a Top 3 badge•

You may enter the challenge UP TO 3 TIMES ONLY PLEASE and you may combine with other challenges•

You must follow the challenge theme and NO BACKLINKING please, new cards only•

Please provide a link to our blog in your post•

Please leave a link (via link below) to your actual card, not just to your blog•

The challenge will close at 6pm on Friday, 6th January 2012, the winner/top three will be announced on Saturday 12th January 2012 along with Challenge # 17

Our prize for this month, is a Little Claire Gift Voucher for the value of £10.00, wowee!!

Our teamies have made some wonderful cards this challenge, each using one of our very festive stamps, feast your eyes!

Donna (using 'O Christmas Tree')

Gaynor (using 'Owlgate')

Georgina (using 'The Robin & The Ivy')

Heidi (using 'A Little Bird Told Me')

Heike (using 'Not Long Now' & Red Gingham Sentiment Circle)

Helen N (using 'Deliverying Christmas Wishes')

Helen R (using 'Delivering Christmas Wishes')

Louise (using 'Room With A View Set - Nativity')

Maxine (using Delivering Christmas Wishes)

You have until Friday 6th January 2012 6PM GMT to enter via the link below, when we will be back with the winner/top three entries will be chosen, along with Challenge # 17.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year and thanks for supporting our blog during 2011.

love from

The Little Claire Team - Steve, Gill, Carol
&
Little Claire DT Members - Donna, Gaynor, Georgina, Heidi, Heike, Helen N, Helen R, Louise & Maxine

xxxxxxxxxx

Weekly Project - Cupcake Tree!

2011-12-08T10:56:00.000Z

We hope everyone is managing to keep warm and safe in all this terrible weather - if it's horrible outside, why not stay in and craft?!!

To give you some inspiration, here's our Thursday blog project which this week comes from Georgina - a gorgeous card which would be suitable for lots of different occasions!

Here's what you'll need:

Cupcake Tree stamp set from Little Claire

Sentiment stamp - part of the Red Gingham Sentiments Mix set

Elegant All Around the Edge Card from Little Claire

Smooth white card for stamping from Little Claire

Brown card

Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad from Little Claire

dark brown ink pad

pink ribbon

pink gems

Spellbinders Lacey Circles Nestabilities

brown fineliner pen

Stickles - diamond, cotton candy and platinum

Promarkers - Pastel Blue, Cocoa, Forest Green, Leaf Green, Caramel, Antique Pink, Baby Pink, Cocktail Pink, Vanilla, Pastel Yellow, Buttercup

And here's what you need to do:

1. Cut a 11.5cm by 11.5cm square of smooth white card. Also cut a square measuring 12cm by 12cm and another measuring 7.5cm by 7.5cm from brown card. Attach the small brown card square to the white square card:

2. Using the Memento black ink pad, stamp the cupcake images all around the edge of the white card:

3. Draw a 7cm by 7cm square in pencil on to the smooth white card. Stamp the tree image on the left hand side of the square as shown in the photo:

4. Colour the stamped images with Promarkers.

5. Cut around the edge of the pencil square. Where the tree branches go over the edge of the square then cut around the branch.

6. Attach the tree square to the cupcake frame.

Then attach this to the shaped card blank.

7. Stamp the circle sentiment using the dark brown ink pad on to the smooth white card. Colour the cupcake with Promarkers. Cut out the sentiment and attach it to a Lacey Circle die cut from brown card.

8. Tie a bow using the pink ribbon and attach it to the card. Add pink gems to the cupcakes on the tree, bow and sentiment. To finish, add Stickles to the cupcake frame.

We hope you like this card! Don't forget to leave us a comment to let us know what you think.

And remember there's still time to enter our competition - have a look here for all the details!

Henny Penny - Our Brand New Tuesday Bargain!!

2011-12-06T09:29:00.000Z

Here's a treat for everyone - our brand new Tuesday Bargain just added to the website!

There are lots of goodies in the pack including the brand new gorgeous 'Henny Penny' stamp - perfect for winter cards and lots of other occasions! We've used the stamp on the card you can see in the photo above (made by Helen N) - the cushion has been paper pieced using kraft and gingham paper.

In your pack you will find:

step by step instructions to make the card shown in the photo above

the scalloped card blank and envelope

the die cut scalloped kraft circle and white circle

2m of ribbons

pack of 36 individual circular sentiments

5 peel offs

8 x 6" squares of gingham and kraft paper

5 of our concertina tag cards

small selection of Card Candi

The RRP of the pack is £15.99 and the Tuesday Bargain price is just £10.00 (plus £1.00 P&P).

The pack is already selling fast and will only be available for a limited time so make sure you get your order in quickly.

You can find all the details on the website here or give us a call to order on

0151 342 5715

New Competition - Would You Like to Feature on our Blog?!

2011-12-05T10:42:00.001Z

(card by Georgina)

Announcing our new competition!! We'd love to see all the things you've created with our stamps and we're going to publish our favourites here on the blog for everyone else to enjoy!

We'd like you to send us pictures of any cards or other projects you've made using any Little Claire stamps. We know how creative you all are and we'd like to give you the chance to feature on this blog and maybe also to win a prize!! We will be giving a prize to our overall favourite card but there will also be smaller prizes given away too.

Please e-mail your picture to helen@littleclaire.co.uk by this Friday 9 December and we'll start to feature some of the cards each day during the following week.

And don't forget to come back tomorrow to see more details of our brand new Tuesday Bargain which we know you're going to love!

Keep Warm and Carry On .... Winter Aga

2011-12-02T09:43:00.000Z

(made by Donna)

Our new December club stamp set is now on the website and it's a gorgeous design called "Winter Aga". The set is made up of the main aga and range image plus the circular sentiment 'Keep Warm and Carry On' - perfect for this time of year!

You can find all the details, plus see lots of inspiration for the Design Team members here on the website.

So how does the club work? Each month you will receive a brand new stamp (or set, it varies from month to month) plus the materials/instructions to make one card with the stamp and two more colour project ideas. You will be given your own unique, Little Claire membership number which will entitle you to 10% discount from all your purchases with us either online, by phone or at shows (whilst a member). We will also send you a written newsletter each month.

If you're interested in joining you can either the current set to your basket if you're shopping online or you can phone us on 0151 342 5715 to order.

And now for some more inspiration from our Design Team.

First of all, a card made by Georgina:

Next one from Heidi:

And one from Heike:

And a card from Helen N (this is the project card for this month's club pack for which you get full instructions and materials):

Next a card from Helen R:

Next a card from Louise:

And finally, a card from Maxine:

We hope that's given everyone lots of ideas and inspiration - we'll be back next week with lots more great ideas!

Last Minute Christmas Card

2011-12-01T10:48:00.000Z

Hello from the Little Claire team and a big thank you to all our new followers - it's great to have you on board and we hope you're enjoying the blog!

This week's project is especially for anyone who still needs to make lots of Christmas cards and has just realised that today is the first day of December!!

Design Team member Gaynor has put together instructions for this lovely card which is quick to make but still looks great!

Here's what you will need:

6" square scalloped card blank

piece of patterned backing paper measuring 14.5cm by 14.5cm

border of backing paper punched using Martha Stewart Heart Border punch

Martha Stewart Corner Snowflake punch

Corner rounder punch

Scalloped 2" punch

gold mirri card

7 gold mirri Card Candi

Red Gingham 'Oh Christmas Tree' stamp

Red Gingham Christmas Text sentiment stamp

Marianne Die Flower

Promarkers (colours in photo below)

glitter glue

double sided tape

3D foam pads

embossed snowflake vellum paper

And here's what you need to do:

1. Assemble all the components you need to make the card:

2. Punch the top right corner of the stamped image panel with the snowflake punch. Rounch the bottom left hand corner and top right corner of the mirri card using the corner rounder punch.

3. Layer the torn vellum strip and heart punched border on to the base backing paper layer. Mat the stamped image on to the mirri card. Fix to the scalloped card base using double sided tape.

4. Punch out the sentiment using the scalloped punch and layer on to 2" scalloped mirri punched card. Fix die mirri gold flower and sentiment using 3D foam pads. Fix the punched white snowflake from the corner punch to centre of the mirri flower.

5. Fix the gold mirri Card Candi using foam pads. Colour the tree and sentiment images using Promarkers:

6. Add glitter glue to highlight and add dimension.

We hope this has given you all some inspiration to finish off those last few Christmas cards - or maybe to actually start making your cards for those of you who haven't started yet!!

We'd love to hear what you're doing at the moment - are you still making Christmas cards or are you working on other projects? Leave us a comment and let us know.

We'll be back tomorrow with some of the cards made by our Design Team using the brand new December club stamp - have a look here to see all the details.

New Class Dates!!

2011-11-29T10:24:00.002Z

Our new class dates for January have just gone on the website! We've got an exciting year of classes planned and we also have a great new venue which is very close to Little Claire Towers and we'll provide you with more details when you book classes.

Our first day of classes will be on Saturday 14 January and we will be running two classes which will both run in the morning and afternoon so you can choose the time that suits you.

Our first class will use the beautiful Butterfly Tree stamp set which you can find here on the website. It's a versatile set suitable for lots of different occasions and we'll be giving you lots of ideas and inspiration.

Our second class is called "Made for Men" and (as you might have guessed!!) is all about making cards for men - probably the most difficult cards to make! We'll be using a brand new collection of stamps from Red Gingham and you'll be the first in the world to use them!!

Class times are:

9.00am to 12.00pm

1.00pm to 4.00pm

Each class costs £20 but if you book places on both, there's a special offer price of £35!! You'll also be able to shop during the day too!

We also have classes planned for 25 February and 10 March - watch this space for further details!

On Saturday 28 April we'll be hosting another 'Day with Little Claire'. If you didn't come to the last one in September click here to see what went on and some of the cards we made! There will be three classes during the day, each lasting two hours and the tutors will be three of our talented Design Team members. You'll need to bring your own lunch but we'll provide tea and coffee plus everyone who attends will receive a free goody bag! It's going to be a great day and definitely a date not to be missed! The cost is £49.

If you're interested in any of the classes, please phone us on 0151 342 5715 to book your place.

And now for some cards from our Red Gingham Swirly Whirlies class which Helen N has been running for the past two weekends:

First, a card made using Little Tammy and one of the matching sentiments from the matching Super Six Sentiments set:

Next, one made with the Owl Family set and also some of our Glitter Sparkle sheet:

Then a decoupaged card made with the Cats stamp:

This card uses Little Harry plus another sentiment stamp:

And this one uses the little Tortoise:

And finally, a card made with the Poppies stamp:

We hope you enjoyed these cards and don't forget to book on our classes for next year!!

Let's Create Shop Demo and Birmingham Paper Crafts

2011-11-25T10:08:00.001Z

It's a busy weekend ahead for the Little Claire team!

Steve will be at Jo Channon's shop Let's Create in Coningsby to launch the Little Claire range and will demoing throughout the day. He'll be making cards with the new 'Cutie Patootie' range and also 'Ever So Lovely' and 'Butterfly Tree'.

Let's Create is celebrating its first birthday with celebrations all weekend including refreshments all day and a prize draw! The shop address is:

Let's Create

119 High Street

Coningsby

LN4 4RF

Here's a sneak peek of the cards he'll be demoing:

We'll also be at the Excalibur Paper Craft Fair in Birmingham - it's being held tomorrow (26 November) at the National Motorcycle Museum which is in Coventry Road, Bickenhill. You can find more details here on the Excalibur website.

Finally, back at home we also have a class on Saturday morning - you'll be able to see the cards from the class next week and we'll also be giving more details of the new classes just added to the website for next year. If you want to see some more details, click here to go to the classes section of the website.

Warmest Winter Wishes ....

2011-11-24T13:17:00.000Z

Today's blog project comes from Design Team member Donna who has made a gorgeous card using our 'Winter House' stamp set.

And here's what you'll need to make the card:

Christmas House stamp set and Good Morning Robin stamp

15.5cm card blank cut down the front at 10cm (Donnas has punched a fancy edge along hers)

Matting - 15.3cm square and 15.3cm by 7cm

Patterned paper - 15cm square and15cm by 6.7cm

White card (for image) 9cm by 11.7cm and matting card 9.7cm by 12.4cm

Sentiment (from Christmas House set) cut with Spellbinders die and scallop circle cut using matting card

Ribbon and embellishments

Glitter

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

Promarkers

And here's what you need to do:

1. Stick down the matting and patterned paper on to the inside and front of the card, adding ribbon at this stage to achieve a neat finish.

2. Stamp and colour image. Add glitter. Stick on to mat. Stamp sentiment, add glitter and stick on to mat.

3. Stick Christmas House image on to card front as shown so it overhangs 1/2cm - NB only put double sided tape or glue on the top half of the image.

4. Decorate and embellish - Donna has used the little bird house from the Good Morning Robin stamp.

Doesn't that look gorgeous?! It's a really effective way to use the stamps and would make a lovely Christmas card for someone special.

Don't forget to leave us a comment to let us know what you think.

Little Claire Classes!

2011-11-18T09:57:00.000Z

Many thanks to Beryl for sending us this lovely photo from one of the Little Claire classes she hosted recently - the photo shows the lucky winner of the raffle prize of Little Claire goodies!

We also had another class here yesterday at Little Claire Towers - "One Stamp, Five Ways". The ladies who came to the class made five cards using our gorgeous and very versatile "Single Flower" stamp.

First of all, we made a 'single layer' card using score boards to create embossed lines on the front of the card and some of the Bling self adhesive gems:

Next we did some paper piecing using one of the tag cards:

Next some masking:

And some decoupage using two stamped layers:

And finally, a little desk calendar:

We have another class tomorrow using the new Swirly Whirlies and lots more classes planned for the new year so watch this space for more details!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2011-11-17T15:52:00.000Z

It's Thursday again and time for another lovely blog project! This week we've got an easel card made by Helen N using one of our Christmas stamps called "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" which you can find here on the website.

Here's what you'll need to make the card:

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year stamp

Red Gingham Christmas Text stamps

Wild Pansy Bazzill Card

Purple Christmas Scrolls paper

White stamping card

Glitter Sparkle Sheets

Silver paper

Bling self adhesive stones

Circle and die cut circles Nestabilities dies

And this is what you need to do:

1. Cut a piece of Bazzill card measuring 30cm by10cm and fold this in two. Open it out again and lay it in front of you. Cut away 3cm at each side of the fold line so your card looks like the photo below.

2. Fold the front narrower panel in half again to form the front part of the easel.

3. Stamp the tree on to the white card and then cut the panel to 11cm by 5cm. Colour the image using Promarkers - colours are shown in the photo below.

4. Cut a piece of the glitter sparkle sheet to roughly the same size and stick this over the entire image. Trim the excess glitter film off the four sides.

5. Attach the image panel on to a piece of silver paper measuring 5.5cm by 11cm and then on to a piece of the purple scrolls paper measuing 6.5cm by 12cm and finally a piece of the Bazzill card measuring 7cm by 13cm. This piece will form the top of the easel.

6. On the inside base of the card stick a piece of silver paper measuring 14.5cm by 9.5cm and fix this to the base and then a piece of the purple scrolls paper measuring 14cm by 9cm on top of that.

7. Stamp the sentiment on to white card and then die cut using the circle die. Die cut a piece of the Bazzill card using the scallop circle die and put this on the base using foam pads - this will form the 'stopper' for the easel.

8. Add the self adhesive gems to the four corners of the base card and the front panel as shown in the photo

We hope you like this card! Don't forget to leave us a comment to let us know what you think!!

Announcing the Winner of our First Blog Hop!!

2011-11-15T10:06:00.000Z

(card made by Donna)

A big thank you to everyone who took part in our first ever Little Claire blog hop!

The correct answer was SENTIMENT and our lucky winner of a full set of the Swirly Whirlies is:

SHEILA

And here's what Sheila said in her comment here on the Little Claire blog:

"Loving all of those fab new stamps so off to try to decipher the letters I have found - stumped so far tho!"

Congratulations, Sheila! Please e-mail helen@littleclaire.co.uk with your postal address and we'll get your stamps sent out to you.

Little Claire Monthly Challenge # 15 - 'Shaped Cards'

2011-11-11T18:14:00.030Z

Thank you for all of your wonderful entries last month, for our 'Christmas' challenge last month, we had a record number of entries.

The winner of Challenge # 14 is :

Karen (# 194)

Well done Karen! Please contact helen@littleclaire.co.uk and she will forward your prize onto you.

Our top three are :

Judy (# 218)
Helen (# 159)
Susan (# 83)

Well done! Please take the blinkie from the side bar for your blogs.

This month our theme is 'Shaped Cards'. You don't have to use a Little Claire image to enter our challenge, but if you do, you will qualify for our top three blinkie. Anyway, all shapes are welcome, just great creative and have fun!

Our prize this month is as below:

To our Design Team cards, they have been busy creating cards in all shapes and sizes. They have all used Little Claire images, all available to purchase via the shop. Enjoy all of the inspiration below :

Donna using 'Cutie Patootie' - 'Little Girl' and 'Tag' Sentiment

Gaynor using 'Poinsettia Cluster'.

Georgina using 'Good Morning Robin' image and Red Gingham Sentiment

Heike using 'Cutie Patootie' - 'Little Girl'.

Heidi has used 'Swirly Whirlie' - 'Cats' and Red Gingham Sentiment

Helen N using 'Flower Pitcher' image.

Helen R has used 'Good Morning Robin' image and Red Gingham Sentiment

Louise has used 'Tag' card and 'Blossom Fairy' Image.

Another from Louise using 'Tag' card and 'Shep' image

To enter the challenge, there are a few rules to follow :

•You DO NOT need to use a Little Claire stamp to qualify for the prize draw
•However, only those using Little Claire stamps will qualify for a Top 3 badge
•You may enter the challenge UP TO 3 TIMES ONLY PLEASE and you may combine with other challenges
•You must follow the challenge theme and NO BACKLINKING please, new cards only
•Please provide a link to our blog in your post
•Please leave a link (via link below) to your actual card, not just to your blog
•The challenge will close at 6pm on Friday, 9th December 2011, the winner/top three will be announced on Saturday 10th December 2011 along with Challenge # 16.

Good luck and have fun crafting!

The Little Claire Team

xxxxx

Friday Fun Day and a Special Offer!!

2011-11-11T10:28:00.003Z

Here's some inspiration for everyone for the end of the week! Today we're sharing some gorgeous cards made by Design Team member Donna when she was demoing recently at one of the shows.

First of all, there are three cards made with our 'Ever So Lovely' stamp. The first one (above) uses lovely pastel colours and also one of the stamps from our 'Claire's Sentiments' set as the 'stopper' for the easel.

This next beautiful card uses part of the image (so that it fits within the circle) and one of the die cut sentiments as the 'stopper on the card.

Finally, a really pretty card which uses just the little bird house from the stamp and also one of the new tag sentiment stamps from the "Little Beauties" set - perfect for adding a finishing touch to all your projects!

Next we have some goodies made using the 'Good Morning Robin' stamp. First of all, a beautiful gift bag complete with matching gift tag:

And next a lovely card made with the same stamp:

We'd love it if you could leave us a comment to let us know what you think of the cards!

This weekend we'll be at the Sincerely Yours Show at Taunton so please come and say hello if you're there.

Finally, a very special offer for Friday Fun Day! The Good Morning Robin stamp used in the last two items and the Ever So Lovely stamp used in the first three projects both normally retail at £5.50 (plus P&P of £1) but if you phone us before 5.00pm today quoting this blog post, you can buy each of them for the special price of £4.50 (plus P&P of £1)!!

Cutie Patootie Buckle Card

2011-11-09T10:42:00.015Z

It's time for another weekly blog project and Design Team member Heidi has designed a 'Buckle' card. Heidi has used one of the gorgeous new 'Cutie Patootie' images, this little couple are called 'Bert & Mary', Boy & Girl on a Swing. The sentiment is one from a new collection called 'Super Six', great little sentiments, which all mix and match with Little Claire stamps.

Items needed to make this card :

Cutie Patootie - Boy & Girl on a Swing
Sentiment set - Super Six Set
Pink Bazzill Cardstock
My Mind's Eye Paper - So Sophie
Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch
Nestibility Die -
Circle Punch
Tattered Rose Distress Ink Pad
Pink Card Candy
Double sided tape
Momentoe Black Ink Pad
Promarkers : Dusky Rose, Tan, Caramel, Satin, Vanilla, Cool Grey 4 & Ice Grey 1

(1) Stamp image onto a white card square and colour in with Promarkers. Cut away 5 x 13.5cms of the white card blank and put to one side. With the distress ink and some 'Cut and Dry' foam, ink around the edges of the white cardstock and leave to dry. Cut pink card into these sizes : 13.5 x 8.5cms, 13.5 x 13.5cms & 9.5 x 4.5cms. Then cut paper, sized at : 13 x 8xcms, 13 x 13cms and 9 x 4cms.

(2) With the white oblong, make a fold at 10cm and then mat and layer card & paper on to larger area. Layer up card and papers onto card using double sided tape, this makes your buckle. Cut through the layers, making an oblong shaped cut on the left hand side of the card, at 4 and 5cm from the edge, this makes your buckle loop.

(3) Using a die cutting machine, cut out nestie shapes, one in pink card, one in paper and then the image, using the smaller shape. Mat and layer together.

(4) Placing the buckle underneath the layers, stick buckle down and then layers on top. Punch out circle and mat and layer the sentiment, stick to right hand side of buckle.

(5) Attach doily edge to flap of card. Add card candy to top of card. Place your buckle inside loop.

We hope you have enjoyed our project - leave us a comment to let us know what you think!

Red Gingham Christmas Class Cards

2011-11-08T13:11:00.000Z

A big thank you to everyone who came to see us at the NEC over the weekend - it was a really busy show but a lot of fun and we hope everyone enjoyed themselves!

Today we want to share some of the cards made by the ladies who attended our recent Red Gingham Christmas classes hosted here at Little Claire Towers by Helen N.

This first card was made using one of our new tag cards, some of the Red Gingham die cut sentiments, and the very cute Little George stamp.

This next one uses the Oh Christmas Tree stamp and one of the centre step cards.

Next, a card using one of the Red Gingham Christmas acetates, Glitter Sparkle Sheet and the gingham peel offs.

We have some more classes coming up before the end of the year:

One Stamp, Five Ways - 10 November - only one place left!

Brand New Red Gingham - 19 November - only one place left!

plus our Speedcrafting Day on Saturday 10 December

It's going to be an exciting day so don't forget to phone and book!!

Our First Ever Blog Hop and a Chance to Win!

2011-11-06T14:04:00.011Z

(made by Heidi)

Welcome to the first ever Little Claire blog hop! Our Design Team members have lots of gorgeous cards to share with you, all made with the new Red Gingham stamps which you can find here on our website.

The lucky winner will receive a full set of the new designs!

This is what you need to do to take part in the blog hop:

1. Visit each of the Design Team members' blogs (links below) and leave a comment on their post about the blog hop. They will all have a card to share with you made with one of the new Red Gingham stamps. You will also need to leave a comment on this post.

2. Each Design Team member will also include a letter in their post. Once you have all the letters, you will need to rearrange these to form a word.

3. Once you know what the word is, e-mail your answer to helen@littleclaire.co.uk - PLEASE DON'T POST YOUR ANSWER IN ANY OF YOUR COMMENTS!

4. The blog hop will close at midnight on Sunday 13 November and the winners of the stamps will be announced on Tuesday 15 November.

Enjoy the blog hop and good luck! If you find that one of the DT members hasn't been able to post their card and letter yet then please check back - there's plenty of time to enter!

Wheelbarrow of Flowers

2011-11-03T09:57:00.000Z

This week's blog project comes from Louise and uses the gorgeous 'Good Things, Wheelbarrow' stamp set which includes the main wheelbarrow image plus the sentiment "May your day be brimming with good things" - ideal for lots of occasions.

Here's what you will need to make the card:

13.5cm by 13.5cm gatefold card

one piece of black card measuring 13.2cm by 13.2cm

two pieces of black card measuring 13.5cm by 6.7cm

spare black card for mounting sentiment and image

Craftwork Cards Botanical papers - one piece 12.8cm by 12.8cm and two pieces 13cm by 6.2cm

Good Things, Wheelbarrow stamp

Memento Black Tuxedo ink pad

white card for stamping

Promarkers - Cobalt Blue, Pear Green, Soft Green, Walnut, Tan, Lemon, Pale Pink, Cool Grey 1

Spellbinders Lacy Ovals - largest die

Quickie Glue Pen and PVA glue

Diamond Sparkles Butterfly Trails

Card Candi

Here's what you need to do:

1. Stamp the image and sentiment on to the white card.

2. Colour with Promarkers and outline the image with Cool Grey 1.

3. Cut the black card and Botanical Paper to size.

4. Colour the Botanical Paper with the Promarkers as shown above.

5. Mount the Botanical Paper on to black card and stick the the card blank as shown above.

6. Cut out the image using the Lacy Ovals die and then cut two more Lacy Ovals in black card. Mount the image onto staggered black Lacy Ovals to achieve a layered look. Cut out and mount the sentiment on to black card. Mount the image on to the left side of the card and the sentiment on to the right side.

7. Finally, attach the Card Candi as shown and highlight the flowers and the sentiment with Diamond Sparkles.

Another gorgeous blog project from our talented Design Team! We hope you love this one too - please leave us a comment and let us know what you think!

And don't forget, if you're at the NEC show this week please come to stand A45 and say hello. We hope everyone visiting the show has a fabulous time!!

November Club Stamps and Come and See Us at the NEC!

2011-11-01T09:11:00.000Z

Our club members this month are getting a real treat - two of the brand new Cutie Patootie stamps! Our November club packs include Little Bert (the chimney sweep) and Sweet Little Mary (the cute little girl holding the flower) plus the materials to make the card above (designed by Helen N), instructions for two other cards, lots of news and some very special offers.

Interested in joining the club? Have a look here for all the details. As well as the goodies included in your pack each month, you'll also receive a 10% discount on purchases online, by phone or at shows throughout your membership.

We're all busy here getting ready for the NEC! We're looking forward to seeing everyone and we'll have a great selection of goodies for you to buy including all the new Cutie Patooties, Red Gingham Swirly Whirlies, our two new sentiment sets plus lots, lots more.

Make sure you come and see us at Stand A45!

We Have a Winner! Introducing ..... Bert and Mary!

2011-10-31T10:01:00.001Z

The winner of our competition to name the two Cutie Patooties is .....

Marianne from Marianne's Craftroom who said:

"The chimney sweep reminds me of Mary Poppins so I would go for Bert and Mary. They are so sweet and definitly need more old fashioned names rather than modern ones."

Congratulations! Could you please e-mail helen@littleclaire.co.uk with your postal address so we can get your prize out to you!

Today's card was made by Helen R using Mary and Bert and also one of our tag cards!

Don't forget to come and see us at the NEC later this week at stand A45!!

Brand New Cutie Patootie Stamps!

2011-10-28T10:28:00.000+01:00

As all our gorgeous new Cutie Patootie stamps are all now online - click here to see them all! Today we're showcasing one of the little boy designs, 'Catapult' - isn't he cute?!

The first card we have for you is one made by Georgina (above) which also uses one of our new 'Little Beauties' tag sentiment stamps also Brand New and available NOW on our web. There are 12 little tags in the set for £8.99.

Next we have a card from Donna

And one from Gaynor

Next one from Helen R

One from Louise

And finally, one from Maxine

We hope you've enjoyed our posts this week previewing and then showcasing our new Red Gingham and Cutie Patootie ranges - you can buy them online here and we'll also be at the NEC between 3 and 6 November, stand A45.

Weekly Project - Blissful Rocker Card

2011-10-27T11:44:00.002+01:00

Today we've also got another weekly blog project for you and this week it's this beautiful rocker card made by Heike using the 'Blissful' stamp.

Here's what you need:

'Blissful' stamp

white cardstock for stamping

textured cardstock in white, light pink, burgundy, light blue, dark blue and green

circle cutter

punch or die for small swirls

butterfly dies or punches

flower and leaf dies or punches

corner rounder

Tuxedo Black Memento ink pad

Promarkers - Almond, Blush, Pastel Pink, Burgundy, Cornflower, Tan, Cinnamon, Umber, Marsh Green, Ice Grey 1

Dovecraft Adhesive Gemstones - bright

adhesive

And here's how you make the card:

1. Cut a circle with a diameter of approximately 15cm from white cardstock and a circle measuring approximatley 12cm in diameter from the burgundy cardstock.

2. Fold the circles in half and mount on top of each other

3. Cut a piece of white stamping cardstock measuring 6.5cm by 9cm and round the corners. Stamp the Blissful image in black ink.

4. Colour in the stamped image using the Promarkers listed above.

5. Cut a piece of burgundy cardstock measuring 7cm by 9.5cm and a piece of light pink cardstock measuring 7.5cm by 10 cm. Round the corners and mount the coloured image on to these.

6. Cut or punch out small swirls from the light pink cardstock. Arrange on the front and back of the rocker base then add the topper with the stamped image on it.

7. Arrange the die cut or punched flowers and leaves on the card. Add adhesive gemstones to the centres of the flowers.

8. Finish off with two die cut or punched butterflies.

We hope you love this card as much as we do! A great idea for a card that's just a little bit different - leave us a comment to let us know what you think!

New Red Gingham Stamps!

2011-10-27T10:52:00.005+01:00

We were going to give you another sneak peek today at one of the stamps from our brand new Red Gingham range but ..... they're now online! Have a look here to see the full range including owls, a hedgehog, cats, a dog, a tortoise and elegant poppies (as previewed earlier in the week).

So, instead of just a preview, we're now showing you a range of cards made by our talented Design Team using the owl stamps! The first one (above) was made by Donna who has also used some of the Gingham Peel Offs on her card.

This next card is from Heike

Next we have one from Gaynor

Now one from Georgina

And one from Maxine

And finally one from Louise

So you can see just what a versatile stamp this is - so many different designs and colour ways!

Tomorrow we'll be showcasing another Cutie Patootie stamp and don't forget to enter our competition to name the cute characters featured in the stamps - the winner will be chosen next Monday!

Finally, this weekend we'll be at the Suffolk Papercraft at Bury St Edmunds - you can find more details here - if you're there, please come and say hello!

Xavier's wonderful Pointsettia christmas card.

2011-10-26T18:47:00.000+01:00

Here is a card that was sent today by Michaela, Xavier's mum, he is only 14 but wow does he had a great eye for designing, thank you so much for sharing it with us all and keep up the good work xx

All Cutie Patooties and Swirly Whirlies are now offically online.

2011-10-26T17:27:00.000+01:00

Hi Everyone due to sooooooo many lovely comments and great names for our new releases we are launching them before the NEC next week online, so if you like them you can now take them home and cherish them all xxx We are also launching the tiny new tags and 6 fabulous new circlular sentiments as well, link below

http://www.littleclaire.co.uk/products.asp?page=3&prodcat=62

Sneak Peek Day 3 - Another Cutie Patootie!

2011-10-26T10:34:00.000+01:00

We hope you're enjoying the sneak peeks we've been giving you this week of our new stamp designs!

Today we've got a card made by Gaynor with one of the stamps from the 'Cutie Patootie' range - this time showing both of the little characters together on a swing. Aren't they sweet?! Gaynor has also used one of the sentiments from the Red Gingham 'Sentiments Mix' set together with some beautiful embellishments.

Leave us a comment to let us know what you think and don't forget to enter the competition we launched on Monday to name the two cute characters and win a full set of the 'Cutie Patootie' range.

We'll have another sneak peek tomorrow plus a gorgeous blog project from one of our Design Team members.