Clocks with a difference

Hi there

I thought I would share something a little different with you again today. This time I am featuring cute little clocks and matching gift boxes that my class created on Saturday. This was my first all day event in my new classroom and along with the crafting we also had cake on demand ( thank you Jenny and Sheila for your gorgeous contributions) and we did stop for lunch too.

These are totally OTT and very quirky but everyone loves them, they remind all of us of the little character clock in one of the Disney films. I wanted them to have the real vintage feel and they certainly have that along with heaps of character lol

The original clock idea came from a tutorial (still available) I bought from an amazing US demo, Sandi MacIver. I love her work and was totally smitten when I first saw her creations. You can go and view her work HERE so go and be inspired

I gave my ladies a small selection of colours to choose from and it was really amusing that I had two ladies do each of the four colours I offered. The colour mixes were a) Pink and Brown b) Purple and Vanilla c) Green and Brown d) Neutrals ( crumb cake, expresso and soft suede)I was a wee bit apprehensive about this class as my ladies have not really been exposed to paint, sanding, distressing, drilling etc before but I was thrilled to see each and every one of them thoroughly enjoy making their own individual creation from scratch.

Every clock and every box was different and they looked amazing. Unfortunately the light was fading a bit by the time we had all finished so the photos are not fantastic but I did promise my ladies I would pop them all on my blog for you to see. I have just noticed that here is one of the Green ones missing and that one is Vanessa's so apologies to her....she must have put hers away before the photo shoot.She is making others as presents so I will photograph one of those at a later date to show you.

Every person enjoyed what they made and a few of them are already planning their next clock to give as presents. So do you like them or are they just that bit too quirky and OTT ?

Love 'em or hate 'em..........I hope you enjoy looking at them.

Christmas Colour change

I thought I would share my newest Christmas card designs with you today.

I personally love traditional Red and green for Christmas cards and MOST ESPECIALLY our brand new Cherry Cobbler red with Old Olive but as I have used Cherry Cobbler to death lately I decided that I needed to move away from that combination and try something completely different.

One of my other new "favourite" colours from the colour renovation is Baja Breeze and I have gone through packs of this cardstock since the new catalogue launch on October 1st. I have been teaming it mainly with browns ie Soft Suede and Early Expresson but I decided I needed to do something different with it. have now fallen in love with the refreshing combination of Baja Breeze, Real Red and Whisper White and these are the cards I came up with for my Jaunty Ladies to make as part of their Christmas Card stack we have been working on over the past couple of weeks. I love the totally different look I have achieved with this combo and they seem crisp and fresh to me, almost frosty if that makes sense. I now just need to add some Dazzling Diamonds to add to that icy feel I think.

So what do you think, do you like them or have I lost the plot with this combo ?

First Christmas Cards

I have had a manic time since I got back from Convention as I have had a backlog of classes I simply had to prepare for so I apologise for the delay in posting.

The four cards I am sharing with you today were the cards my Jaunty Ladies made on Friday afternoon. I used the beautiful Welcome Christmas stamp set along with the ever popular "Dasher" stamp ( I love both of these) and went with traditional green and red with a touch of Early Expresso ( how gorgeous is this new brown? )

Hope you like this selection and I will try and post some of the others tomorrow or Friday.

Convention 2010

I am finally back from our 2010 Stampin' Up! Convention. I did get back yesterday afternoon but was simply too tired to do anything much than veg out on the sofa........boy did our team have a wonderful (but exhausting) time. I think it may have been something to do with the very late nights and even earlier mornings. This was the first time that many of us had met as a team and we wanted to make the most of every moment. Our team leader is the amazing Jenny Moors and although we are one of the smaller UK teams I know I speak for each and every one of us when I say we are so proud to be part of her team. She is one of the kindest and loveliest people you could ever wish to meet and is an inspiration to us all with her amazing creative talent. We love you Jenny and thank you for making Convention 2010 a place of special memories for all of us to cherish.

Hand on heart I have to say that although I was proud to be part of the first ever European Convention last year the 2010 Convention here in London was made even more special with so many more of our team members present. When they announced that next year's Convention will take place in Disneyland Paris there was pandemonium. I am sure the venue will mean that even more people will want to go.............I see decorated savings tins appearing in every demo's craft space over the next week or so.

If you would like to be part of that unique Stampin' Up! experience in Disneyland, Paris next November contact me today to learn more about coming a Stampin' Up Demonstrator and becoming part of my team.

For now I will leave you with a photo of our team on the main stage