Hi there

This is a wee bit of an experiment as I am having major issues with Blogger and not at all sure I will get this to post.

I have been such a bad blogger lately but that is because I have been rushed off my feet preparing for  my first 2012 All Day Event which is this Saturday. I have also been trying to prepare for the start of our new Stampin' Up Mini Catalogue which goes live on 1st May. All of you attending my event this weekend will get to view a few samples made with some gorgeous new products coming our way on the 1st. This picture shows one of the new stamp sets called Bordering on Romance. I am loving this set already and can see it being one of those that I will have to force myself to put down. The images are really crisp and the fact that it co-ordinates with other fantastic new products just makes it even more special. For now I will just  show you the bag (made with just one sheet of a brand new 12 x 12 Designer Paper) I will share the cards with you next week after my event ladies have had the first viewing.

Stampin Up Birthday cards for downline and Mothers Day card

Hi there

Here are the other two birthday cards I made for two of my lovely downline. The pink card was for Jean and the other blue card was for Jill (my one team member who truly cannot abide pink in any shade, but does however love all our Stampin Up shades of blue)

The final card was my Mother's Day offering for my lovely Mum. It was inspired by a beautiful "folding" card I found on the internet. I had never even seen this type of card until I stumbled upon it last week on Pinterest let alone had a go......but those card makers of you will know exactly what I mean when I say I had the 12x12 cardstock out within moments of spotting the tutorial and my card was completed before I knew it lol. Glad to say my Mum loved it.

Stampin Up Fresh Vintage meets Everything Eleanor

Hi there

Better late than never are the key words for today ! ! !

Here is the birthday card I promised to show you. I made it for my lovely downline Jennifer and she was so pleased with it. She loves all things feminine and also loves vintage style images I kept this in mind when I decided to go with a Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand and Pretty in Pink colour scheme. I used the beautiful flower flourish from the Fresh Vintage Sale-a-Bration set and teamed it up with the label shape from Everything Eleanor. A small butterfly, little bit of lace and ribbon and an antique brad finished off the front and just a little stamping inside to decorate.

I will be back tomorrow to share one of my other downlines birthday card with you too.

Stampin Up Everything Eleanor

Hi there

Today I am sharing with you a gift and matching card set I made this week using Stampin Up's Everything Eleanor stamp set.

My downline Jennifer asked me to assist her to provide a project for a craft evening for a group of ladies she knows. We went with a simple bookmark and holder in Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo and every one of the 18 ladies who took part were pleased with their finished project. I had a lovely evening sharing my love of crafting and as always, I got a real buzz from seeing even non-crafters achieve a great finish using Stampin Up products AND how easily those same people grasp how nice it is to be able to use matching cardstock, ribbons and inks. A couple of ladies were really taken with the whole concept of Stampin Up and may be coming to classes very soon. I look forward to hearing back from them.

This was a simple little thank you gift for a lady who hosted the craft evening for her group. I made a relatively plain and simple card to go along with the bath crystals gift tub and I know she was thrilled with the unexpected gift. Everything Eleanor is still one of my absolute favourite stamp sets from our main catalogue and I thoroughly enjoyed using it again.

I will be back tomorrow to show you a special Birthday card I made today (once I have given it to the lady in question later this evening and I know it doesn't matter if she comes on here)

Stampin Up Ribbons Storage

Apologies for not sharing a card with you today but that's because I have been so busy this week but not with making new cards. I am attending an event with one of my downline this evening and there have been lots of things to prepare for that. On top of that I am in the initial stages of preparation for my next day event which will be held on Saturday 28th April so have been out shopping for various things I need for that. I have also finally been to Ikea and bought the shelves for my SU ribbon storage, a job that has been in the pipeline for the past couple of years. I first saw this storage idea at my uplines and vowed that I would have the same one day. Well I finally talked hubby into putting the shelves in my cupboards and taaaaadaaaaa here is the finished job. I know that I have lots of gaps still as I don't yet have all of the gorgeous Stampin Up ribbons....but come on! all you crafters out there know that the best storage ideas are those that are "expandable" lol. The little tubs to the right of the picture are another neat tidying up tip. I have used up all those thin strips of cardstock that we all get left with. I stamped mixed sentiments and punched them out using the Word Window Punch and then grouped various ones together in old buttons and brads pots. I now have a nice selection of pre-stamped sentiments ready to use and in the process have put a stop to my over-spilling strips box.

In amongst all this tidying and prepping activity I have also got to show you the biggest distractions of all........my 3 Siamese babies. We have had a seriously worrying time with my little boy kitten as he has been very poorly. However over the past two weeks Mr Darcy has been recovering well and is now happy just being a naughty little boy as kittens are meant to be. He plagues the life out of Eleanor now but it is so lovely to see him thriving at long last so even she seems to let hime get away with murder lol. Both the kittens spend all their time out in my craftroom with me and they just love it when the sun is shining. This week we also had a bit of a breakthrough when my older Siamese cat Sapphire chose to get up and sleep with Darcy on their chairs, and she was followed later on by a very tentive Eleanor. As any of you who have added young cats to an existing older cats home will know this is THE picture you all want to capture when you can finally see that the older cat is mellowing towards the interlopers ! ! ! So we have now finally entered a new regime of me opening up the craftroom each morning and them all wanting the best sun chair in the house.

Stampin' Up ! Love Blossoms Wheel

As promised albeit a little late, here are the first two cards created with one of the new wheels from the Mini Catalogue. This wheel is called Love Blossoms and it is designed to co-ordinate with the beautiful "You are Loved" stamp set, also from the new Mini Catalogue.

I have shown that our wheels are versatile as you can ink them up in various ways. You can choose to ink the image in just one colour using either an ink pad or adding re-inker to an un-inked cartridge ( this is perfect if you wish to stamp further than a standard card length ie on a 12x12 layout) Alternatively you can ink the image up in various colours using our Stampin Write Markers (just give the whole wheel a good huff to reactivate the moisture of the inks before wheeling along) The multi-coloured choice really shows off the intricate pattern of the wheel image.I have lots of Stampin' Up wheels and I am the first to admit that I have just realised that I really haven't used them enough lately. I have made a promise to myself that I am going to get them all out of the cupboard and play with them. They are so simple to use and you can achieve simply stunning results in no time.

The other item I have used from the Mini Catalogue is the gorgeous Blossom Party Die for the Big Shot machine to create the 3-D flowers. I have simply layered a few die cuts and spritzed them before scrunching up, re-opening the petals and leaving to dry before adding them to the card. I hope you like the colour combinations.

Stampin' Up Easter Blossoms

Hi there everyone

I cannot believe how time has flown this past couple of weeks and I am pleased to say I have finally got some projects finished and will aim to share them with you over the next few days.

I have been so very busy working on classes but have taken a few days out from that to create a few cards and box sets for selling at an event later this month.

This first boxed cards set I am sharing with you uses the stunning blossom image from Stampin' Up's Easter Blossom stamp set, which has to be one of my favourite sets from our Mini Catalogue. As soon as I saw this set in the catalogue I said to myself I would have to have it as it is soooo much more than just an Easter set. The image speaks of Cherry Blossom to me and therefore is perfect for birthday cards as well as Easter. I have used the Faux Mother of Pearl technique to create a unique background paper using our Frost White shimmer paint and sponged with Pretty in Pink ink. I made four little mixed occasion cards and decorated the little box to match (this could also be used as a gift box once the cards have been used) I am going to make a few more of these box sets in various different colourways and hope they will be popular. This little box also folds flat so is perfect for any of us crafters who make sets for craft fairs as they can be simply packaged flat in a cello bag once they are made.

I will hopefully be back tomorrow to show some more of the individual cards I have been creating using products from the Mini Catlogue.

Sale-a-Bration 2012 is here

Stampin' Up's annual Sale-a-Bration event begins today. Here's how you can earn exclusive freebies for the next 2 months. These stamp sets and papers are not available for purchase but you can earn them in the following ways:

As a customer

Place an order with me between now and the 31st March and for each £45 you spend (before P&P) you can choose a free stamp set (there are 4 lovely sets to chose from) or a pack of Everyday Enchantment Designer papers. There's no limit to how many sets you can earn just spend £45 for each one required.

As a Hostess

If you host a home workshop/party and your party total reaches £300 you will earn a free set of your choice.

As a new Demonstrator

If you are considering joining Stampin' Up as a demonstrator and you decide to join up before 31st March 2012 you can choose a stamp set of ANY VALUE from the main Idea Book and Catalogue as an added bonus. The starter kit is already at a great discounted price but this Sale-a-Bration offer makes it a truly fantastic time to join the growing Stampin' Up family. If you would like more information about joining my Stampers with Style team please feel free to contact me for a no-obligation informal chat.

I will be back later with some samples made with the Sale-a-Bration exclusive stamps

2012 A new Start

Hi there Peeps

I know I have been missing for such a long time, thanks to all of you who still visit in the hope that I will eventually get back into my blogging. I can only say I will be trying to update my blog at least once a week and start sharing my projects with you once again

Just before Christmas we lost our old Persian cat Zoe and it was devastating after having her share our lives for some 14 and half years. Our remaining Siamese cat Sapphire was also feeling the loss quite badly, so with that in mind we have been back to Sapphire's breeder. We really wanted a pair of kittens and are delighted that she was able to accomodate our needs. We are now the extremely proud owners of Mr Darcy and Lady Eleanor and they are settling in very nicely. Our Sapphire was horrified by these little whirlwinds to start with but the past few days has seen her allowing the smaller one, Darcy to curl up behind her in the conservatory (even though she still hisses and her language leaves a lot to be desired he just carries on in his determination to make her his friend) I think it will take longer for Eleanor and Sapphire to make friends as Eleanor is quite a feisty madam and swears back when Sapphire forgets her manners and Sapphire really doesn't quite know what to make of that ! ! !

For the first week I didn't even manage to get into my craftroom most days as there was just too much in there for them to be trusted and too many dangers (I had sooooooo forgotten that new kittens are just like having toddlers in the house and that they have no sense of danger) However I made a decision last week that I simply had to get back to work so I had to let them come in with me as I cannot leave them alone with Sapphire as yet. I have to say on the whole they have been brilliant and so long as I have my heaters on full blast and the sun is shining they are content to simply sunbath and sleep. I now have various pussy cat blankets across all my chairs and all three of them get up there and stay put for hours. Darcy has even taken to braving Sapphires wrath to go and curl up with her. She growls and swears at him but he carries on regardless and then she just turns her back on him and allows him to curl up behind her. They then stay there for an hour or so................peace reigns in my craft room.

I have actually spent the last few days preparing a few classes for the next 3 weeks or so and that is no mean feat with the added distraction of these cute little balls of love in here, especially when they do wake up and are into everything............I have so far avoided the inked little paw pads but I am sure it will happen soon and I will no doubt share their artwork with you lol
Anyway they will be needing feeding and then off to bed shortly so I will just leave you with a few images of them and Sapphire for now and be back tomorrow with some actual crafting with a bit of luck

Stampin' Up Convention 2011 Disneyland Paris

Hi there

I am now back home from my 3rd Stampin' Up European Convention. As I told you in my previous post, this year's Convention venue was Disneyland, Paris and I have to say I am sooooo glad I went. I have never been to Disneyland and it was a lovely experience, well worth a visit. I will hopefully return there on a family trip in the future

Stampin' Up Convention is always an amazing experience and this year was made even more magical for me as I achieved placement in the top 25 of demonstrators from the UK. I had absolutely no idea that I was going to win an award until I collected my Convention bag at registration and received my Demonstrator of the Year pin which is awarded to all 25 demonstrators in the category. I was placed at no 20 and couldn't be more thrilled. As my regular ladies and my downline know this is really a massive achievement for me personally.

I don't think I came back down to earth thoughout our whole 4 days in Paris and Stampin' Up have told us about so many new things coming our way in 2011/2012 that I am still on cloud nine. I am going to be working on lots of new ideas over the coming months and cannot wait to share it all with you.

Right now would be a perfect time to join me and my team in this amazing Stampin' Up adventure. Sign up right now as a Stampin' Up demonstrator and learn all about the new and exciting things coming to our European markets ahead of everyone else. If you are interested please contact me for a no obligation chat.

I will leave you with a picture of the stage showing the theme of this year's event, one I hope I can be part of as I continue to "GROW" my little team.

Off toStampin' Up! Convention Disneyland, Paris

Just a quickie post today to say I am on my way to this year's Stampin' Up! Convention. I am off to my lovely uplines today and then we fly to Disneyland tomorrow. Swaps are all done, roomie gifts completed and bags all packed.

Looking forward to this annual gathering of craft mad Stampin' Up demonstrators from Germany, France and UK. I will be back with lots of pictures next week.

For now here are piccies of my roomie gifts

Everything Eleanor

Hi there

I cannot believe it is yet again over 2 weeks since I last posted. I have the best intentions in the world for updating my blog regularly but life seems to be making a habit of getting in the way lately and I don't manage to get on here as often as I would like. The card and gift bag that I am sharing with you today are from this week's Everything Eleanor class. Two of my ladies attended the class on Monday evening and hopefully another 6 ladies will be joining me tomorrow to make theirs. My card sample is stamped using Soft Suede ink but my class ladies will be gold embossing the swirls so the cards will be even more elegant looking.

This will be my last Thursday class for a fortnight as I will be away next week at our annual Stampin' Up Convention. This will be my 3rd Convention and the venue this year is Disneyland, Paris. I have always wanted to go to Disneyland and cannot believe that I will be there in just over a weeks time. I will travel to my lovely upline's next Wednesday and then onto Paris on Thursday to meet with others in our team and in time for Convention commencing on Friday morning bright and early. As we are flying I have had to limit the number of swaps due to baggage allowances but I have made all of my general swaps and also some small roomie gifts for the other girls in our team. I just need to print my recipe sheets for my swaps and my nephew is helping me bag them all and then package the roomie gifts and I am done. (of course that is so long as I do not decide to make more general swaps as I do really enjoy the swapping element to our Stampin' Up events)

Anyway I hope you like this week's class as much as I enjoyed creating it. I have to say the Everything Eleanor stamp set was my ultimate first choice in the 2011-2012 new catalogue and I adore using it.

Stampin' Up! Old and New Mum's 70th Birthday

Hi there

I am back today as promised to share with you my Mum's 70th Birthday card. I did feel it needed a tiny tweek after I had taken the photograph so using my SU Timeless Type Alphabet I die cut a "70" in Pink Pirouette and added it to the top right-hand corner. The design layout is not my own, I will have seen it somewhere on the internet and made a little sketch of it in my ideas/ inspiration book that travels everywhere with me.

The "old" of the card is some retired Stampin Up paper that I have had for about 3 years and not brought myself to use until now (come on ladies you know you all have papers stashed away that are for stroking not using) and the "new" is the oooohhhh soooooo gorgeous Antique Brads, Victoria crochet trim and my favourite stamp set from the whole new catalogue Everything Eleanor. The minute I saw all of these items in the new catalogue I knew I would simply HAVE to have them ALL. The part that is really staggering is that I have had these things for less than a fortnight and I have USED some already. Mind you who can be more special than your Mum to use precious things from your stash on ?

Anyway my Mum loved the card, the surprise meal with all the family present and she was also thrilled with the Kindle we all got for her. I get my love of reading from my Mum and knowing how much I have become addicted to my own Kindle which was a present a few months ago, I just knew it would be the perfect present for her. We have put a few books on it to get her going and I cannot wait to see how she gets on with it. We also got her a gorgeous Hot Pink cover for it so she won't lose it hee hee

Anyway off now to prep for my afternoon class. Hopefully I will be back to tomorrow to share a couple of samples from my launch party display.

New Catalogue

So sorry I have not been around and haven't updated my blog for such a long time. I am now back and hopefully will keep to my new resolution of updating at least twice a week from here on in. Whilst I have been away Stampin' Up have released the new catalogue and it is stuffed full of new stamp sets and new accessories including antique brads, mini brads, massive range of new ribbons oooh and last but not least FABRIC ! ! ! (how wonderful is it that we can now add fabric to our papercrafting creations) To view the New Catalogue on-line please click on the picture on the side bar

My launch party was a huge success and thank you to each and every one of you who made it that way. Special thanks to my downline Jean for travelling down from the lakes to stay over and for her's and Hilda's help with the refreshments. And I must not forget to say a big thank you to Jenny down the lane for providing beautiful cakes once again. Congratulations to winners of my main raffle and huge Congratulations to Barbara for winning on the Big Shot draw, hope you thoroughly enjoy your prize and it leads you on a new creative path.

I did make lots of new samples for the launch day so will try to find some time this week to take pictures and share those ideas with you.

It is my lovely Mum's 70th Birthday today so we are off out this evening and I'm really busy with bits and bobs for that. I also have a class this morning so feeling a little rushed although I will be far more settled once this evening has gone off successfully. I will share her birthday card with you tomorrow.

I currently have a couple of places free for my new Stampers 10 group so if you have a wish list as long as your arm and would like to spread the cost over 10 months and earn amazing freebies along the way then please do not hesitate to contact me for more information.

New Catalogue Launch Party

Hi there

Sorry for the lack of blog posts. I have been away on holiday, back to my home tome of Poole in Dorset. We had a lovely relaxing break spending time with family and I also managed to attend Jenny's team training day and craft with other Stampin Up addicts from our team ( always so inspiring)

I am now back home and working on samples for my New Catalogue Launch Party which takes place on Friday 7th October. There will be free Make and Take projects for you to play with some of the new products from the 2011/2012 Catalogue and also the option for you to create your own ink colour sampler featuring all 48 Stampin Up colours. There will be heaps of all new samples for you to browse, light refreshments, gifts and a prize raffle (you will need to bring your raffle ticket that was enclosed your invitation to enter)

I am having 2 drop-in sessions 1pm-3pm OR 6pm-9pm. I have posted out the invitations for all of those currently in my Stampers 6 and 10 Groups or on my mailing list. If you do not receive your invite within the next few days and would like to attend please let me know which session you would like to attend. I need to know asap in order to set aside a raffle ticket for you and to create the make and take packs you will require for the projects.

Here are the invitations that are winging their way out to everyone. The flower image is one from a brand new 2-step stamping hostess set ( I love these type of stamps as you can use them for 2-step technique or you can simply colour the outline image in as I have done) This particular stamp set is stunning and I just know I will be using it a lot this year. The card also features the brand new Lace Ribbon Border punch which is beautiful. I have simply layered the punched strip onto a piece of matching cardstock but you can also thread ribbon through which looks amazing.

Anyway must dash as I have 101 things to do this morning and need to clock off by lunchtime today as I need to go out with hubby this afternoon.

Stampin Up Baby Blossoms and Buttons

Hi there

The picture today is my Baby Blossoms and Buttons class. My ladies made three cards using the ooh so lovely Baby Blossoms stamp set and Vintage Suite buttons from the current Stampin' Up Mini catalogue. I used Not Quite Navy, Rose Red and Pear Pizzazz for all of the flower displays and these cards showcase how you can use repeat stamping to achieve a whole array of shades from each single ink pad. Just stamp off the first image onto scrap paper and then onto your project without re-inking for a beautiful pale effect. In the class we also ruffled the Seam Binding and everyone loved the look of the finished ribbons.

The mini catalogue expires on 30th September so you have one more month in which to order from it. There is no guarantee that items from this mini catalogue will have made it through to the new main catalogue which goes live on 1st October so if there are stamp sets or accessories that are "must haves" then you need to order them within the next month.

In addition tomorrow heralds the day that Stampin' Up releases our 2011 Retirement List so all items on this list will only be available "whilst stocks last" so you will need to order any of those items as briskly as possible too. I do still have a few items on my personal wish list from the current catalogue so I will be anxiously checking the Retirement List myself. Even though I am sure a few of my favourite stamp sets will be retiring and that will be sad, we need to make room for lots of new goodies so I cannot wait to see what Stampin' Up! will bring us this year.

I will be ordering my boxes of the new Idea Book and Catalogue tonight so please email me if you wish to reserve your copy . (If you are in my Stampers 6 or Stampers 10 Clubs your catalogue is a complimentary one) Check back tomorrow for a link to the Retirement List

Last 2 Classes

Hi there

For today I am sharing pictures of my last two classes with you. The Circle Circus set was such a lovely relaxed class and every one of my ladies has now looked at this stamp set in a different light. The colours I chose for the actual class were Baja Breeze, River Rock and Basic Black but I did make an additional sample set using Pink Pirouette and Sahara Sand with the Basic Black and it looked so different in those colours. There is hardly any cutting out with this stamp set as it matches lots of our circle punches perfectly and the card wallet uses just one sheet of A4 cardstock.

The other class was far more intense as I gave my ladies 4 cards to make and a couple of them were more intricate. This was a totally non-traditional Christmas Class as I used Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede as the colour combination. My ladies loved the use of very different colours and a few of them will be making some of their own cards in the same colours this year as a result. I used a mix of stamps including Dasher, Tree Trimmings, Medallion and Season Of Joy

If you are a group of ladies who like the look of this class then please do not hesitate to contact me to arrange a convenient date for your individual class

Stampin' Up Christmas Day Event

Today I am sharing with you the projects from my August All Day Christmas event.

I have a second group of ladies joining me for this event today and I know they will love these projects. Sadly two of my ladies are unable to come today as planned due to unforseen circumstances and they will be sorely missed. So Sandra and Vanessa I wanted you both to know am thinking of you today and I hope you both enjoy your project packs and gifts that are on their way to you

For this event I chose to use one set of colours and Designer paper throughout for that totally co-ordinated look that showcases Stampin' Up! at it's very best. The colours are Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Very Vanilla and this has been teamed up with Jolly Holiday Designer series papers. I have even matched the table gifts and spot prizes to this colour combination and Christmas theme so hopefully my ladies will be happy bunnies.

If you like the look of this event and would like to join me for a repeat of these projects please get in touch as I do have other ladies who would like to make this set. In addition, if you are a group of ladies who would like me to bring this event to your group venue then please also contact me for more details and to arrange a suitable date.

Vintage Vogue August Class

Hi there

I thought I would share this Thursday class with you even though it is soooooooo late and I should really be in bed. Occasionally my regular Thursday ladies do like to do a nice and simple class which gives them a chance to have a bit of a chat as well as the crafting and today was one such class. We used one of my favorite sets Vintage Vogue and although it has been around for quite a while it is still ALWAYS popular when I give it an airing (and the majority of my ladies do own this set) I decided to go with quite an unusual colour choice for me and that was Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie for the flowers with Old Olive for the leaves. We used the Rock and Roll technique to colour the flowers and everyone loved this way of making every stamped flower look so different. As always we had a fun class both this afternoon and this evening and I cannot wait until next week when I am having my first Christmas All Day sessions with my regulars.

If you like the look of this Vintage Vogue class and would like to make it for yourself please do not hesitate to give me a call to see if we can organise a repeat class for you and your friends. I am currently looking at the possibility of holding an additional sessions of my regular weekly class and this would take place on either a Monday morning or Monday evening. Please contact me if you would like to be part of this new group of ladies or if you would like to join my existing Thursday afternoon class (sorry no spaces on the Thursday evening class at present)

August Offer from Stampin' Up!

Today is the day we start our new special offer from Stampin' Up.

For the month of August every customer placing a £75 order and every hostess with sales over £250 will earn a gorgeous free products pack from Stampin' Up! This selection will include wide striped ribbon in Rich Razzleberry, a 24 piece clips selection and an exclusive Stampin' Up cosmetic bag (and this item only available with this offer and not in the catalogue)

If you have been planning on placing an order with me why not see if you can qualify for these extra freebies and if you are considering a home workshop why not get it booked with me for this month and reap the reward of this offer in addition to the already generous hostess benefits.

Email or call me today !