Just a brief post to let you know that I am holding my Christmas All Day Event on Saturday 27th October 2012.
I now have a strictly limited number of places left so please contact me if you do wish to attend. The price of this event is £35.00 and your gift bag will include a free stamp set for you to take home. Your lunch and all other refreshments throughout the day are included in your entrance fee. Please get in touch asap if you wish to join me and arrange for payment this week..

Autumn / Winter catalogue is here

Stampin' Up! released the brand new Autumn / Winter catalogue on Saturday and it is fabulous.

I was actually away at Reading for our first UK Stampin Up Leadership event and I got to see virtually all of the new products available in this new seasonal catalogue. I am truly delighted with the wide range available and there are TOO many things that have found their way onto my own personal wishlist. As you know when we are away at any SU event we all exchange cards and the samples shown here are fantastic Halloween swaps that I was lucky enough to receive from a few of our amazingly talented Demonstrators.   All of these samples are created with "Googly Ghouls" (a 6-piece stamp set priced from just £11.95 for the clearmount ) We are just missing a super cute Frankinstein image so I will have to create something showcasing him once my own stamp set arrives.

With the arrival of this brand new catalogue Stampin Up has introduced us to a whole new concept and this is the "bundle" idea. Instead of buying all themed items individually you can now buy very special bundle packages at a 15% saving. In the catalogue there is a matching Designer Kit with tags, twine, googly eyes and glassine bags which co-ordinates perfectly with this lovely stamp set. I decided that the kit was a must have as well as the stamps but luckily for me they can be purchased as a bundle so I have been able to buy both at just £15.95 which is fantastic. I am going to have so much fun with this little set making my first ever Halloween cards this year and I am quite sure my little Great Niece would like to join me and make some for her cousins and friends too. If you would like to view the new Autumn / Winter catalogue just click on the link picture on the right hand bar of my blog.

 

And now a brief note to remind you that the 2012 Retired List has now been published by Stampin Up. You will find links to both the Stamps and the Accessories lists on the right hand side of my blog, just click on the pictures and you will be taken to the lists.

 

 

So what does this mean for you as a customer ? It simply means that as of now, all of those items which are NOT being carried over to the new catalogue are now only available WHILST STOCKS LAST. There are quite a number of things that are already sold out so if you spot items on the list that you have been putting off buying for a while then you will need to act quickly if you don't want to miss out. Once they are gone they really are GONE........ I must also mention that there are lots of items that have been significantly reduced in price, up to 40% reduction in some cases so if you have an eye for a bargain then you cannot afford to delay.

 

Well I have 101 things to work on today so I will be back later this week with a creation made with further brand new items.

Stampin Up new Framelits

I thought I would share something brand new from Stampin' Up today.

  
My card features two sizes of the gorgeous new framelit dies which will be available from September 1st when our new mini seasonal catalogue goes live. There are 6 graduated dies in this set and are designed to go through your Big Shot die cutting machine. Stampin' Up have also created beautiful stamp sets to co-ordinate perfectly with their dies and they too feature in the new seasonal mini. Today is the first time I have had these dies out of their storage wallet and I love them already. If you look closely at my card you will spot a sneak peak of another fun item coming our way from Saturday and it is already one of my absolute favourite new tools.

I have a very small class this evening so are having a bit of a change and playing with one of my old Stampin' Up sets "A Rose is a Rose" Sadly this set retired a couple of years ago but it is one of those sets I will probably never part with as it is lovely use on those larger cards we all like to make for those special occasions. My class ladies all adore this set and a few even have their name down if I ever do decide to part with it........they may have a long wait lol. I know my ladies like purples so have used Elegant Eggplant and just used 1st, 2nd and 3rd stamping to get various shades of the same colour for the flowers.

Anyway for tonight's class I decided we will make a large card and also a little gift box bag made with a set of framelit dies that are in the CURRENT Summer Mini catalogue. Please note that if you want these now (and why wouldn't you, they are gorgeous!) then remember they need to be ordered before end of August otherwise you will have to wait until they re-appear in the new Annual catalogue which will not be available until October 1st. The little box style bag comes from my fab upline Jenny. Look in her blog sidebar for her class titled Reason to Smile and this is where you can purchase the instructions from her. Thanks Jenny for a lovely gift bag idea. 

Well I must dash again as I still have a few bits and bobs I have to get done before this weekend when I head down to Bournemouth to join  my Stampin Up upline and fellow team buddies for our Regionals Training Day. Woohoo to a crazy get together with almost 100 other demonstrators from around the country. Believe you me noise pollution in the Reading area is guaranteed on Saturday, squealing is all part of the atmosphere when we all meet up at events.

Stampin' Up! Pincushion

Well now for something completely different.....................Back in January I told my class ladies that 2012 was the year I was going to finally learn how to sew with a sewing machine. I was kindly given a little machine by someone but when we came to try it out last week we discovered it was no longer working. A quick trip to our local sewing machine guy and I am now the very proud owner of a different machine. It isn't a new machine but I love it already and I am sure it will become my new best friend over the coming months as I finally learn how to sew.

I had my first ever sewing lesson today with friends, and look at what I created, My very own pincushion ready for all the sewing I am going to be attempting from here on in. I know it isn't exactly the most intricate piece of sewing but it was a first for me with a sewing machine and I was thrilled to bits that I managed to make ANYTHING at all. I have also made another small project but that one isn't quite finished yet..... however I WILL have it done by the weekend.

The best thing about my first attempt is that I have used some of my little hoard of Stampin' Up fabric and I know I will be "needing" lots more.

Well off out now so must dash. I will be back by the weekend to share my other stitched project.

French Foliage

Well as promised I have returned to share another new card with you.

I have just prepared a new emboss resist class for my Monday night ladies and I am using a set which is just perfect for this technique. 

The class came about as a result of my showing these ladies the beautiful calendar that was made for me by the very talented Carole you can see her blog HERE 

One of the months featured an emboss resist sample and it reminded my ladies that we had not used this technique in ages so a re-visit to French Foliage AND Resist embossing was called for ! Using Carol's original Rich Razzleberry as a starting point, I have spend this morning playing with ideas and creating the class using Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry. The class features Triple Stamping, Emboss Resist and Joseph's Coat (or emerging colour technique) The cards are striking in these colours to say the least but I have no doubt my ladies will love the combination. Thank you so much Carole for the inspiration and also for my lovely original gift.

Well of course once I had played with the French Foliage set I remembered just how much I like these images so I got sidetracked into blog hopping looking at creations by other talented stampers. I came across a lovely CARD by an Australian Demonstrator called Christine Blain. Her colour combination of Pear Pizzazz, Island Indigo and River Rock just blew me away. I needed a few simple Men's cards so out came the ink pads to go with the stamp set and this little card was created in minutes. I am also going to make a note of that particular colour combo and use it with other stamp sets because it is truly gorgeous.
So thank you Christine for giving me a new colour idea to work with.

Please accept my apologies for my prolonged absence from blogging. I am hoping to get myself back into blogging more regularly so thank you for persevering with me over these past few months.

For today's post I am sharing a set of cards I have made using some images from the ever so lovely Reason to Smile stamp set which is a limited edition stamp set available for this month only.
There are two different ways for you to obtain these gorgeous stamps but only until the end of August. You can purchase them for £18.95 in Wood or £14.95 in Clear or even better you can EARN them for FREE if you place a £60 order from the Main Catalogue or Summer Mini.

Talking of the Summer Mini, this catalogue finishes on the 31st August so if you still have items from that catalogue on your Wish Lists you will need to get those ordered asap especially those items which are not being carried forward to the new Main Catalogue which comes out on 1st October.

Anyway I do hope you like my offering today and I will endeavour to share another project with you tomorrow.

Stampin Up Summer Mini Catalogue Launch

Well my post today marks the launch of a Stampin Up "first" in our European market. For the first time ever we have a Summer Mini catalogue following directly in the footsteps of our Spring mini which ended yesterday. Although I personally loved many of the items we had in the Spring mini I have to say I am completely bowled over by this new catalogue and that's because there are so many new things that we have only dreamed of so far.

Summer Mini Click Here

One of the most exciting items to showcase simply has to be the new Simply Scored scoreboard. The standard board comes with Imperial measurements, 3 marker pegs and the Stylus tool. The board makes scoring so simple and with tracks every 1/8" you can score paper or card up to 12" x 12" with ease.

With one of these amazing new boards in your crafty stash you will be able to join in the fun of making these 3-D papercrafted wreaths. They are lovely to look at and are very quick to make with the aid of this brilliant new tool. The picture above also shows the all new European additional plate which is available seperately for those of us who like to also use metric measurements. This plate fits snugly over the top of the standard board and does not slip.

In addition Stampin' Up ! have also released a brand new Diagonal Plate today 1st May

This fantastic additional plate alows you to simply and easily create standard or customised envelopes, boxes, background designs and more. It really is the "must have" accessory for the Simply Scored board and features at the very top of my shopping list for this month. I am sure this whole new scoring system will revolutionalise your crafting experience. Please click the video below to see a simple demonstration of the new Diagonal Plate in operation.

So if all of this news isn't enough excitement for you then I have some news that will surely be guaranteed to take your breath away.

Stampin Up! have today also announced a complete re-vamp of the kit available if you sign up as a demonstrator. As a company Stampin' Up are constantly looking at new ways to appeal to it's varied audience whether that be customer based or for those interested in joining the company as a demonstrator. They understand fully that some people want different things when they sign up to join the Stampin' Up family. With this in mind they have completely changed the starter kit format and SIGNIFICANTLY lowered the price to just £99.

For this minimal outlay you will get to choose ANY products you like up to a value of £130. Gone are the days when your starter kit items were picked by someone else ! you will now be able to taylor your kit to your own exact requirements and on top of this you will receive £45 worth of business supplies.

With a brand new mini catalogue just gone live today, the chance to create your own bespoke starter kit package and the new low price of just £99 there can be no better time to start your very own Stampin' Up journey.

And just wait for the final bit of news...........................

If you sign up as a Demonstrator during the month of May you will automatically qualify for a free entry pass  to this year's annual Stampin' Up ! Convention  which is being held  in Mainz, Germany in November 2012 ( Convention entrance costs are £149) This is the icing on the cake for anyone who has ever considered becoming a demonstrator as there is no better creative buzz than being part of a Stampin Up Convention experience.

If you are interested in more details about signing up as part of my Stampers with Style team or just want to know more about all the new products available please don't hesitate to contact me for an informal chat.

 

Hi there
 Just a quick thank you to all my ladies who attended my first All Day Event for 2012 on Saturday. It went very well and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment so thank you for joining me for a fun crafting day. I was asked on Saturday if my next one will be my Christmas theme as usual so I will be giving that some thought for July/Aug time. Please let me know if you are interested and I will get back to you with a date.

So here is the little set of cards I made to go with my bag that I promised to share with you all. These cards are made with Stampin Up Whisper White notecards which come complete with matching envelopes. They are a lovely size and it is refreshing to work with something a little different than the standard C6 cards we all tend to make. I love this Bordering on Romance stamp set and although I have used markers for this first set of cards I just know I will be playing with it a lot most especially with my Water Colour wonder crayons which I have recently re-discovered in my craft room and have been using more than I have ever used before.

I hope you like this little offering.


Stamp Set
Bordering on Romance
Inks/Markers
Stazon Black
Baha Breeze
Blushing Bride
Pear Pizzazz
Tools/Other items
SU Notecards and Envelopes
Framelit Dies Labels Collection
Edgelit Die  Adorning Accents
Embossing Folder Adorning Accents

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