Amazing August offer.......Free ribbons ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Please note that this post will remain at the top of this page until the 31st August when this very special offer finishes.

For more up to date posts please scroll down the page

Do you love ribbon, would you love a FREE ribbon bundle even more ????????????

For the month of August ONLY you can earn free ribbons as a special offer from Stampin' Up!

These gorgeous ribbons are very special as they are not even available in the current catalogue. The ribbon bundle consists of 9.1 metres EACH of Certainly Celery 5/8" Poly-twill Ribbon and So Saffron 5/8 Grosgrain Ribbon.

You can earn this ribbon bundle in 2 ways. As a customer you just need to place an order with me for £45 (before postage)and you will receive one ribbon bundle pack completely free of charge. The other way to earn this set is to HOST a £300 workshop/ party, so if you have a group of friends and would like to host a party please email me to arrange a workshop date asap.

Please remember that this ribbon, as with all Stampin' Up ribbon, matches perfectly with the range of inks, cardstock and marker pens to give that ultimate perfectly co-ordinated look.

Dont miss out on this fabulous offer, email me today to place your order.

December Picnic anyone ?

In my class this week we are all making picnic baskets and in addition my ladies will be rubber stamping on candles for the first time.

Having just finished preparing the materials packs and class instructions for the Pumpkin Pie set we are making on Thursday, I decided to make a completely different one using some of my Retired SU Wintergreen papers and Always Artichoke cardstock. I love the sturdiness of this basket and have decided I am going to go ahead and make a few to house Christmas gifts for family and friends regardless of the fact that you don't usually have picnics in December. It doesn't matter to me that they are called a picnic basket LOL

A picnic basket template by Lauren Meader is available for purchase at Papertrey Ink

Inky Fingers

I thought I would again share something a little different with you today. I haven't seemed to have a lot of time to actually "play/ experiment" in my craft room lately but I did make this card and I am quite pleased with the effect.

I began by stamping the trees on Whisper White cardstock in versamark and basic black ink and embossed them using clear embossing powder. I then tore a sheet of plain copier paper and used it to mask the cardstock whilst I sponged on the Old Olive ink for the grassy area. Using that same mask, turned over the other way to cover the green I had just sponged, I covered the top half of my cardstock with Summer Sun ink. I cut a 1 3/8" circle out of a sticky post it note and used it to create a sun in the sky area, slightly overlapping the far left trees. I then sponged over the whole sky area using Pumpkin Pie blending it softly in some areas with the Summer Sun to create a mottled effect. I finished off by using Really Rust along the outer edges and then using a very soft tissue I buffed up the embossed trees to remove the excess ink. I then over stamped the leaves and flowers all around the edge to give the effect of a foliage frame.

I haven't really experimented a lot with this ink effect but as it has turned out well I will definitely be practising more in the future. NEXT TIME THOUGH I will be using those surgical type gloves as I got my fingers totally covered with ink.

Please feel free to leave your comments and tips

Time out ! ! ! !

Unfortunately I am not sharing a card creation with you today as I have not been able to get a spare moment to craft over the past four days. I do usually get withdrawal symptoms if I don't get into my craft room for at least a short time everyday, yesterday was an exception as we took my Great Niece out for the day which was just a fulfilling.

We went to Lakeland Animal Park in the Lake District for the day. On the drive there we had bouts of torrential rain but luckily we only had one more really bad shower just after we arrived and then it was gorgeous weather for the rest of the day. I took this giraffe photo which shows how sunny it was and how beautiful the blue skies looked with those cotton wool fluffy clouds.

I am hoping to get some serious crafting done later today and tomorrow as I have two classes to prepare for Thur and Fri. I will show the class samples once I have them made.

Baroque Split Negative

My card to share with you today is using the split negative technique.

I started by stamping the Baroque swirl image twice. The 1st onto Whisper White using Versamark and Chocolate Chip ink and then covered with Clear Embossing powder and heated. The second time I stamped using Versamark onto Chocolate Chip card and covered with White Embossing powder and heated. I then slit each image down the middle and joined a piece of each colourways together.

As you can see you get two cards out of this technique by using both sides of each of the colours stamped.

I then made two different cards by added different embellishments to each. I hope you like this technique as much as I enjoyed making the cards.

Pocket Silhouettes Wallet Class

Just thought I would show you what my ladies will be making this morning at class. We are making the wallet and 4 cards and all using the resist stamping technique. This class was requested by two of the ladies as they are relatively new to stamping and have not done the resist method before. This Pocket Silhouettes stamp set lends itself perfectly to this technique.

And especially for Jenny.......I have your gloves ready so you wont get inky lol !

Scallop Square Box

Just thought I would share with you a little decorated box I have made. The stamps are from Playful Petals set and I made the scallop box topper using my scallop edge punch and a 3 x 3 inch piece of Pretty in Pink cardstock. You just line up the centre point of your scallop punch with the centre of each of the four sides and punch out just once for each side.

I think this is so pretty in comparison to just a plain top layer. You can adjust to any size.

At last a card to share

I was up at 7am today and decided it was about time I got a card made....not a class card just a card for my own pleasure.

I absoloutely love the "Mr and Mrs" stamp set so that was the set my hand reached for today. The detail on the flowers is so crisp and clear so I have just randomly stamped on Whisper White in Pale Plum and Perfect Plum. I came across this folded flower over on Splitcoast Stampers. There are lots of samples using designer series papers which are beautiful but I wanted a plain and simple purple flower to go with my stamped background so I used whisper white cardstock ( this is slightly thinner than the coloured sort so easier for the folding) I scalloped one edge with the scallop edge punch, then used my brayer and lightly inked the strip in Pale Plum. I then sponged the edges and the creases in Perfect Plum.
This whole card took me less than 10 minutes to make and I am pleased with it's simplicity.

Hope you like it too

Christmas 3-D Class today

Here are the projects that my ladies are making in class today. They made christmas cards and a wallet two weeks ago and we have now moved on to gift packaging ideas for Christmas. I am addicted to 3-D projects and I am so glad my ladies are too !!!!!

The stamp set used is Season of Joy and the papers are Ski slope which are stunning.

Swap Card

Firstly I must apologise for not posting for a few days.

I've been mad busy with everyday life as we are about to completely renovate our kitchen and utility room, which has meant we have been here there and everywhere looking at kitchens, appliances etc. I have now made up my mind about all of it and are now waiting for my new appliances to be delivered. Hubby has started work on making the utility room bigger ( this has to be done first in order to move 101 things out there instead of in the actual kitchen) I am really excited as we have waited 15 years to tackle this mammoth task but I also know we are going to have a few weeks of uproar whilst it is done. It will soooooooooooooooooooooo be worth it though when it is finished.

Rightio....now back to the proper stuff hee hee

I belong to an internet group called In Love with Stamping . It is a great community and although it does deal mainly with items using Stampin'Up! products there are also places to show your creations for other companies too. There are card galleries, monthly challenges, forums with technique tips etc or just places to chat with like minded crafters. It is a growing community and real fun to belong to. If you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator or simply a stamper who loves to create then head on over and join.... you can find the link HERE

I have recently joined in with my first card swap on this group and it was a swap using the amazing Stampin' Up! wheels. This is my card for the swap. I love these wheels as they have to be the quickest and easiest crafting tool I have ever used. Stamping Up has lots of these and the designs are gorgeous.

If you would like to purchase them or anything else from the current catalogues then please just email me to arrange this.

Wow another blog award

I am so thrilled to show you this beautiful blog award I received today from Sara you can view her lovely blog HERE I have been a regular visitor to Sara's blog for a while and I love her style so I am thrilled to bits that she has given me this award to show she likes my designs too. Thank you Sara.

I now get to pass this award to other people whose style appeals to me. I am going to go on a much belated NEW blog hop tomorrow morning and will pass on this award to new crafters that I find on my travels.

For the past week we have had somewhat a nightmare with power cuts in my area ( we have actually had about 8 so far ranging from a few mins to hours on end) This has knocked off my TV, phone and Internet so I have not been able to get out there and look any new crafting talent. I hate it when I cannot get my daily fix of craft inspiration so will set aside a couple of hours just for me tomorrow. Please keep your fingers crossed that we don't have a power cut again in the morning lol

It's Beautiful

In November I am participating in a large number of very important Stampin' Up! card swaps.

With this in mind I decided that I need to start playing around with different colour schemes and designs in order to find 4 or 5 that have a bit of a wow factor. I will be making about 25 of each card so really need to start making up my shortlist . Over the next few weeks I will be posting lots of different cards and asking for your comments as to whether the colour combinations and / or design style appeals to you.

This first card uses the "It's Beautiful" jumbo wheel which I absolutely love. The colours are not 100% clear in the photo but they are Barely Banana, Elegant Eggplant and Cameo Coral. I have inked the jumbo wheel with ink pads that match the cardstock and this gives a lovely watermark effect on the Barely Banana and Elegant Eggplant. I then just added a strip of ribbon, butterflies from the Live your Dream set, some pricking detail and a punched out sentiment using the plain and scalloped oval punches. All in all this is such a simple card but I am really liking the colour combination.

Christmas Cards in July

This is my card class for this Thursday. We are using the lovely "Old Fashioned Christmas" stamp set which is fantastic for traditional looking cards. We are going to be busy as we are making the box wallet plus the three cards and three tags. I got the box template from Lauren Meader and then adapted it all to fit our standard C6 sized cards.

Some of my regular ladies expressed an interest in making an early start on their Christmas cards after seeing a few bits and bobs I had been making as samples. I have to say I think it is the first time ever that I have been talked into making Christmas cards this early lol

As most of them cannot manage a full day class due to childcare etc we are dividing the Christmas makes into two classes. This week we are making this gorgeous set and in the next Christmas class we are making a bag, a box and a gift card holder as well.

If you are interested in this class, either for this Thursday or at a time to suit you then please do not hesitate to contact me via my email link on the right hand side of my blog. I have no minimum size class so am happy to work on a one to one basis if you prefer it that way. Alternatively if you and a few friends would like to come together then please contact me to see what we can arrange.

My first Christmas card and it's ONLY July

No I have not gone completely nuts......I really have made my first Christmas card for 2009. I have used the gorgeous tree image from the "Old Fashioned Christmas" stamp set and softly coloured it using my wonderful Stampin' Up markers. The base card is Real Red and the ribbon is 5/8" Old Olive.

My Upline Jenny challenged her team to make a Christmas card this week and this is the result. I have to say it did do me a favour as I have the first of my Christmas in July classes on Thursday and Friday this week. We are making a beautiful decorated wallet with three cards and matching tags and this card will now be part of the set.

We are going to be using the beautiful Ski Slope papers, glitter and lots of ribbons and my ladies are loving the idea of starting their Christmas items. I do have a couple of spaces left for Thursday so if you want to join us please email me for details.

Please also email me if you are interested in my up and coming Christmas 3-D class when we will be making gift card holders, boxes and bags. Places will need to be booked and a deposit paid for this one as we will use a large amount of designer papers and other supplies.

Blog award

I am delighted to share with you this award that I have received from Teri You can see her own amazing work over on her blog HERE

I am thrilled to bits Teri that you like my blog enough to pass on the award to me. Thank you very much.

I do believe I can now pass this award on to any others who newly inspire me with their creations.

These 5 ladies are a huge source of ideas and inspiration for me and I visit their blogs virtually every day.

Patty

Angie

Joanne

Carole

Jo

Stampin'Up! Summer Design Challenge

Do you love Stampin'Up rubber stamps as much as I do ? Would you like the chance to own some new stamp sets. Do you appreciate a great opportunity when you see one ?
WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
This summer you have a chance to win fantastic free stamp sets when you participate in the Stampin'Up! Summer Design Challenge.

Simply create a summer-inspired project using Stampin' Up! products and submit it no later than 31 August, 2009 for your chance to win!

Four prizes will be awarded to demonstrators and customers

Demonstrator First Place: £150 worth of stamps sets

Customers
First Place: £150 worth of stamps sets
2 Runner up prizes each for £50 worth of stamps sets


Summer Design Challenge Rules
Projects must be created using only Stampin' Up! products.
Only one project per participant will be accepted.
Projects can be cards, home decor, scrapbook pages, or 3D items.
All projects must be summer-themed.
Projects must be unique, and created for the Summer Design Challenge. Do not just recycle your old projects.
A list of products used must be included with the project submission.
Full contact information, including your full name, demonstrator ID (if you are a demonstrator), address, phone number, and e-mail address must be included with the project submission.
Projects will not be returned as they may be displayed at future Stampin' Up! events or on the Stampin' Up! web site

Ladies I urge you to have a go at this. What have you got to lose ? Just get all your gorgeous SU stash out and create something beautiful. You could soon be the happy winner of one of these 3 amazing customer prizes. I would be so proud if one of my customers were to win If you want any other information please contact me.

Field Training swaps and more

Here is the card I made for my fellow demonstrators for our Stampin' Up! field training day last Saturday. It was the first training event I have managed to attend and the first time I have swapped cards with other demonstrators.

This absolutely stunning card is from my upline Jenny. She made the card as her swap card for everyone and for each of us in her downline team she made the extra gift of a decorated matching notepad and pen set. Thank you Jenny.

These are the lovely swap cards that I received from the other demonstrators who attended. The variety of styles is refreshing and a swap like this is a fantastic way of getting some totally different creative ideas for stamps you possibly already own. Of course it can also make you realise there are other "must have" sets when you realise what can be achieved with an given stamp set. I received two cards using the "Bloomin' with Beauty" set and both of those cards have made me realise I do actually "need" that set as they are stunning.

This picture shows the projects we each made during our training event. The stamp set is called "A Beautiful Thing" and is a gorgeous 6 piece stamp set.

These ladies are of our UK manager Paula and her assistant Kelly and to me this picture totally sums up the fun factor that is Stampin' Up. Thank you both for allowing me to take this picture.

Stampin Up Training Event

Yesterday I attended my first ever event with my upline Jenny and some of the other members of her team. It was a Stampin' Up demonstrator training event in Taunton. I travelled approx 250 miles to be there and I am sooooooooo glad I made the effort to attend as I had a ball.

I met Jenny's downline ladies for the first time which was lovely, hello again to Val, Jane, Judy, Kate and Jo it was so nice to meet you all. In addition there were lots of other demonstrators from the surrounding areas and it was a real pleasure to meet with you all and also to swap cards with each of you.

I have received some beautiful little pieces of art in this card swap and I will share them all with you in another post (once I have photographed them ) I absolutely adore receiving cards from other card makers as I am inspired so much by their creativity.

A huge amount of my inspiration comes from my upline Jenny. She had obviously been really busy before this event yesterday as she had made each of us in her team a beautiful gift set of decorated notepad and pen to go with the swap card she gave to everyone.

Jenny's set is simply stunning and it has definitely inspired me to make these myself as gifts. However I have to say I am dead jealous Jenny as I do not have this gorgeous stamp set which is so obviously perfect for the job hee hee

The stamp set is a level 3 Hostess Set called "Happiness Always" and is a very special one as it can only be earned and not bought. Click on the online catalogue link and go take a look at the whole set, it really is a beautiful set.If you too love the look of this stamp set and have a few like minded crafty friends why not see if you can gather them together and contact me to arrange a workshop. You could perhaps then earn this set for yourself. You can contact me via my email link on my sidebar.

How lovely is this gift set. Thank you so much Jen I love it.

Summer By the Sea Shadow Box card

Hi there

I am back from a mini camping break in the Lake District. We didn't have the best weather but it was still lovely to chill out for a few days and the bad weather enabled me to get my swap cards all finished for my Stampin' Up field training day this coming Saturday. The field training is for demonstrators and they tend to take this opportunity to swap cards with each other. This training day is the first one I have been able to attend so I am looking forward to joining in with the card swap. I will show all the cards I receive next week along with the card I made to give out.

My upline Jenny gave instructions on her BLOG for a shadow box card today and I just had to try my first one. You can make 2 of these cards out of just one A4 sheet of cardstock and they even fold flat into a normal C6 envelope.

I had to make my card quite simple in design as I am really busy today. I was supposed to be typing up instructions this morning for my card classes on Thursday and Friday but got distracted when I popped over to Jenny's blog and saw this little box card..........so all your fault Jen.....but thank you for the card ideas lol.

I used the beautiful little girl stamp from "Summer by the Sea" stamp set from Stampin' Up! I love this set of stamps. The cardstock is Pretty in Pink and Elegant Eggplant and I watercoloured the image using SU markers and aqua painter.

Anyway hope you like this card for today.

Organisation....almost

I am sharing a little Bind it All book I have made this morning. The image is from the gorgeous Stampin' Up set "Summer by the Sea"

I wanted to create a handy little reference guide for all of the copics colours ( ok so I don't have all of them but my collection IS growing lol) I do have a single sheet blank colour chart that I got from the Copic site and I have been filling that in myself in order to get a "true" colour but I wanted something more substantial.

I thought of a little book with pages of charts of all the colours and I am thrilled to have found a website of a wonderful lady called Gale who created mini charts of ALL the Copic colours and made herself a little book. You can find her website HERE I have added about 12 blank pages at the back of my little book and will use those to show blending combinations that I discover and like.