Visual Diary of a Virgin Blogger

Just Believe

2011-11-22T21:46:00.001Z

Not the best photo as I'm using my mobile. My camera is all packed for Spain.. OK, dug my camera out and here's a better picture :)

Oh yes, 12 members of my family and 4 family friends are off to Benalmedina for 4 nights tomorrow afternoon.

I'm glad to say I am feeling better than I was a few weeks ago and can't wait for my time away, but won't be 100% till I get back on my eating plan! It's amazing how badly junk food affects my health, I've never really noticed before now... when I have had almost 8 months without an acute migraine attack!

Whilst we are away its my mum's birthday, she's coming with us so I've spent the last couple of hours making her card.

I'd decided a couple of days ago on the gorgeous 'Just Believe' stamp set, which I got as part of my convention bag last year. I've hardly used it since, in fact it wasn't fully mounted!

I wasn't sure on the colours until yesterday when I chose the Mocha Morning Special DSP. These are lush, with a couple of black flocked sheets and a few shimmer sheets.

Then this afternoon I was playing with layering up the stamps and decided on 'Parlor Prints' background stamp, from the new catalogue.

The inks are Early Espresso and Crumb Cake. I've finished the card with the scrummy Victoria crochet trim.

And a close up of the stamping...

Well that's all for now.
Happy Crafting!

Party this Way

2011-11-20T20:43:00.001Z

I just love using last year's 'Party this Way' stamp set with the the new ' Pennant Parade', this new stamp set has given fresh life to the older neglected set.

This card was made using the pennants form the new set and sentiments form the older set, they work so well together, don't you thinks?

I've used Tempting Turquoise, Crumb Cake & Real Red, with the top note die and some of the Brights Designer Series Paper Stack.

That's all for today.
Happy Crafting!

Polar Party Trees

2011-11-16T20:18:00.001Z

Back to the trees from the gorgeous 'Polar Party' stamp set.

I haven't been feeling to well recently so you will probably understand why it has taken me 3 days to make this card... no joke 3 days!

I've ran the Old Olive card base through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions folder. Just the front went in the folder and the folder was fed through sideways so the back of the card wasn't squished.

I've used the blenders again with Lucky Limeade ink to colour and the gorgeous Fine Galaxy Stampin' Glitter to decorate the trees.

The sentiment is stamped on a strip of Whisper White which was curled and shaped with Dimensionals.

I'm hoping my next card won't take 3 days to make!

That's all for today.

Happy Crafting!

Polar Penguins

2011-11-13T10:58:00.000Z

Sorry for the earlier technical hitch, since blogger upgraded it doesn't want to work with picassa! Oh well, photos reuploaded so you should be able to see them now.

It's the turn of the penguins from 'Polar Party' today. I think these are even cuter than the polar bear.

I've used Pool Part again for the card base but picked up my Poppy Parade by mistake instead of Ream Red, but I think it works.

Again everything is coloured using blender pens and ink from the ink pads. There are 2 reasons I colour in this way:

I don't have all the Stampin' Write markers yet (they have been on my Christmas list for 4 years!)
It's a subtler colour than the markers

I've been planning on doing this glitter technique for ages, you can use Versamark ink with heat & stick powder, but I used the new clear double sided Sticky Sheets then sprinkled the glitter on top. You just have to make sure you press it down, I have my Dazzling Diamonds in a clear 'take away' try so after shaking off the excess put the image face down in the tray and pressed the back to permanently stick the glitter down.

That's all for today...

Happy Crafting!

Part this way

2011-11-12T09:00:00.000Z

One of the girls I work with reminded me this week that she had asked for a card for a birthday boy she knows. So today I set to work .

I've used retired Celebration DSP, as I haven't bought the Big Top Birthday papers yet (they are on the shopping list!

The '1' is cut from Pear Pizazz, with a Real Red card and balloons stamped in Real Red, Pear Pizazz and Pacific Point.

I stamped the happy birthday on the base of the '1' also, and edged everything with black ink to make it stand out form the bright paper.

I hand cut the balloons and tied them to the base of the '1' with black embroidery floss.

And on the insert I just stamped 3 candles in the same 3 colours as the balloons, I know he's only 1 but you can never have too many candles!

That's all for today...
Happy Crafting!

Polar Bear Party

2011-11-09T09:19:00.001Z

Another card from my newest favourite set 'Polar Party', this time it's the turn of the oh so cute polar bear in his hat, scarf & gloves.

I've used the lovely new 2011 -2012 In Color Pool Party, this is such a fab winter colour that it's currently out of stock! But do not fear there is more on it's way in time to finish off the Christmas cards.

The panel for the sentiment is cut from the Lots of Tags Sizzlet 4-Pack of dies, I put a bit of 2-way glue on my craft mat and let it dry so that it became a temporary adhesive. Once the glue dried I stuck the tag on top so that it wouldn't move when I lined the Stamp-a-ma-Jig up, I wanted to make sure I got the sentiment in the right place.

I've zoomed in on a corner to show you a few details, I also increased the shadow in Picassa so that the emboss lines will be a little more defined. For the panel with the polar bear stamped in the middle I used one of the 2 frames in the Designer Frames Textured impressions Embossing Set of folders. This is the rectangle frame which fits Mr Polar Bear in perfectly.

I've also put a bit of 2-way glue along the bottom and when it was still wet sprinkled on some Dazzling Diamonds for snow.

I've coloured him in with a blender pen and Real Red ink from my classic ink pad.

That's all for today...
Happy Crafting!

Polar Party

2011-11-06T20:00:00.001Z

I've been playing with my new stamps today, my birthday present to myself!
I just love 'Polar Party', its a set of very cute stamps. Today you are getting to see the trees.
The great thing about clear mount stamps is you can easily do repetition without accidentally over lapping or using a stamp positioner. I've repeated the 3 tree image staggering it and only coloured one lot.
Christmas cards just scream glitter, so out came the cosmos glitter & dazzling diamonds.
Sorry about the poor pictures, I'm blogging from my mobile.
That's all for today.

Happy Birthday Boys

2011-10-27T22:43:00.000+01:00

I don't know about you, but I really struggle for men's cards. There are 5 birthday's at work in this fortnight, Starting on 24th October with Liam, and finishing on 6th November with mine. That's a lot of cake, and a lot of cards for me to make.

I don't mind though, I love each member of our tema getting a handmade birthday card from us all and feel really guilty if I miss one and they go without (sorry Chris!). The struggle is 3 of the 5 birthdays are for men.

I knew it had to involve the Petite Pennant punch, as everything else was flowery and girly, but I wanted to use an old favourite form last year's catalogue that I haven't really used that much as I didn't want to cut the pennants out... and now I don't have too!

I stamped the pennants from 'Party this way' twice in Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Island Indigo & Wisteria Wonder, cut out one of each with the scallop pennant and one with the straight pennant. The scalloped ones I stuck to the card mat and ran through my Big Shot with the Textured Impressions folder, Perfect Polka Dots and the straight edged ones I stamped the letters on to and stuck over the scalloped pennants with a Dimensional.

Oh I forgot to say I stamped the happy birthday too in Concord Crush before the mat went through the Big Shot.

The plan is Liam gets this before he sees it on my Facebook stream.

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting

Mocha Morning

2011-10-26T10:56:00.000+01:00

I've been trying this morning to photomerge this layout from 2 scanned images, however as I have an all in one printer with a side lid and not top lid I can't do it :( Oh Well!

This layout is using the yummy new Speciality Designer Series Papers 'Mocha Morning', with 2 sheets of black flocked designs an brushed shimmer on some of the other papers, they are just to die for!

The layout design is from Sketch Support, and the photos are from my niece's 21st birthday.

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Crafting!

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Join my team this month and as well as getting £250 worth of products in your starter kit for just £119 you will also get a free In Color kit worth £27.95! That's all 5 new In Colour ink pads and a pack of 20 sheets of In Color card 4 sheets each of the 5 new colours! Contact me for more information

Grab your copy of the 2011 - 2012 Idea Book & Catalogue today

£5.95 with free p&p to anywhere in the UK

Parlor Prints

2011-10-23T09:00:00.000+01:00

I was having a look through the catalogue today to choose my next purchase when I say 'Parlor Prints' (122525 £16.95 wood mount), I thought "that' pretty" then remembered I have it already! I bought the gorgeous background stamp used in this card as part of my pre-order for the 2022 -2012 Idea Book & Catalogue from Stampin' Up! (one of the perks of being a demonstrator!). I can't believe I hadn't played with it yet, so I set to work.

I stamped the background in Island Indigo, one of the new 2011 - 2013 In Color Collection (find out how to get your's free) on to Very Vanilla card, and cut the aperture with the exclusive Top Note die in my Big Shot. It's not easy getting it lined up in the centre!

I stamped the tree swing from 'Forever Young' (122570 £23.95 wood mount 122572 £18.95 clear mount) on to a spare sheet protector.The idea was to stamp it on to a Window Sheet, but I'd used my last bit and really wanted to make this card. I have some old 8" x 11.5" sheet protectors that I never used, so I cut one up.

I used Stazon, you have to be really careful it doesn't slide when you put the stamp down, then you have to hold the plastic down when lifting the stamp as it sticks.

To assemble the card, the stamped page protector was fixed with Sticky Strip to the back of the aperture, then I used the sides of my sheets of Dimensionals to stick the aperture to the card base, both in Island Indigo.

I finished off with one of the 'Four Frames' and a sentiment from 'Vintage Vogue'. I'm not sure about that bit though, the top corner needed something but I'm thinking that might be a bit big. Oh Well, it's stuck down now!

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting!

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Grab your copy of the 2011 - 2012 Idea Book & Catalogue today

£5.95 with free p&p to anywhere in the UK

Spread the cost

2011-10-22T09:00:00.000+01:00

Do you just love the hostess sets and getting free products but don't want to host a workshop at your home or place a £150 order all in one go? Well you can, with Stampers 6.

A Stampers 6 group is where 6 people spend £25 (plus 85p p&p if collecting or £3.95 if needing your order posted to you) each for 6 months.

The order each month comes to £150 so one of the 6 gets to be the 'Virtual' Hostess and earns the hostess £s that month! Each month it is someone else's turn to be hostess, and by the end of the 6 months every one has had their free £25 Hostess £s to spend in the Idea Book & Catalogue.

Want some freebies? Then email me to take your space

Contempo Christmas Stamp A Stack

2011-10-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

You probably recognise most of these cards from a few months ago when Bekka came up North for a training day. I remember sharing some of them with you just after the day.

Well I've had a play with the colours and added one other card for this weeks Stamp A Stack. There's still 1 place available for tomorrow afternoon. It's just £15 and we'll be making 12 cards, 2 each of the 6 designs above. The class includes a goody bag of card, ribbon, rhinestones and glitter for completing the projects, worth almost £10! Along with colour photos of the finished cards and full instructions.

Just email me to get that last space!

That's all for today
Happy crafting!

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Grab your copy of the 2011 - 2012 Idea Book & Catalogue today

£5.95 with free p&p to anywhere in the UK

Suffolk Puff

2011-10-20T12:39:00.000+01:00

Or, if you're American (or Diane) yo-yos.

As my post yesterday said, it was my Technique University class last night and we didn't do much stamping. In fact the only stamping we did was the sentiment on the card I shared yesterday.

The theme for last nights class was things we could make to complement our stamping or use instead of (I know, instead of stamping I did have a panic attack!).

For this scrapbook layout of me & lovely hubby (don't worry, everyone else got to add their own photo), we made Suffolk Puffs using the new Stampin' Up! Flirtatious fabric. These are made form a circle of fabric, you stitch around the edge with just a simple running stitch then pull the stitches tight to gather the fabric together. When you have it gathered up you move the fabric about a bit until your underside is almost a circle then stitch a button or other decorative piece to the top to finish off.

A closer look for you (with one of my chins). The make great flower heads.

We made these at Julie's Jems training on Saturday in Pudsey. Once a quarter Julie adopts me as a team member for the day and I get to have a great day of learning and crafting with a group of fab fellow demonstrators. When we made the Suffolk Puffs there we layered 2 up with a piece of ribbon at the back and made a brooch, like this one on Julie's blog.

That's all for today, if you'd like to join a class take a look at the up coming ones here

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Grab your copy of the 2011 - 2012 Idea Book & Catalogue today

£5.95 with free p&p to anywhere in the UK

Punch Art Christmas

2011-10-19T15:08:00.000+01:00

I've become a little obsessed with Pinterest, it's amazing! It's a global pinboard of things you've spotted on the net that you like.

I found Santa when I searched for 'Punch Art' the other day, it led me to Patty Bennett's blog and I had to include him in my technique class tonight.

Tonight's Technique University is all about playing with paper and the fun things you can create.

The layout is from Stasia Sloma's card for this week's Stamping Royalty sketch challenge. I just loved her take on the sketch so much it stopped any other inspiration for using it!

I've used some retired papers from a promotion last December, a sentiment from Delightful Decorations and lots of Real Red.

That's all for today, back to setting up for tonight.

Happy Crafting!

Forever Young

2011-10-17T18:41:00.000+01:00

I have had this card uploaded and saved to drafts since last Friday, so sorry to take so long to post!

I have to confess this was a CASE from the ever so talented Kirsty, who's blog I just discovered! Thanks for oodles of inspiration!

I adore this new stamp set Forever Young (12570 £23.95 wood mount, 122572 £18.95 clear mount) but was really struggling to use it, which is why I love blog hopping so much. There are some many people out there that I wish I had an ounce of their creativity!

I used my trusty brayer to do the sky with So Saffron, Calypso Coral & Tangerine Tango. The background paper is from the fab Regal's DSP.

That's all for today!

You're Invited

2011-10-10T18:46:00.000+01:00

I've been asked by a couple of girls at work to make their wedding invites, which I am very pleased about but also very nervous!!

I ordered the 'Wedding Sweet' stamp set and have been having a play with a few samples, this being my favourite which was run through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Textured Impressions folder...

and added some butterflies form the Beautiful Wings Embosslit die.

Sorry another quick post as I am on my way out to Slimming World... wish me luck!

Flirtatious Greetings

2011-10-09T10:41:00.001+01:00

As promised, but a day late, our make 'n take project from Friday night's launch.

This started out a little different, it had the same background paper, bunch border and stamp set but I wasn't very happy with it, a bit too much empty space. A blog hop later and a little inspiration from Julie & Monica's blog posts and the card was complete.

The paper is from Flirtatious Speciality DSP (122360 £11.50), I love the speciality papers as they each have 2 sheets of paper that's that little bit special. Flirtatious has a sheet each of Melon Mambo & Pumpkin Pie laser cut doilies, which can be used as one big sheet or cut into smaller page elements, oh and the back is white so you can colour it to match any project!

The border is the new gorgeous Lace Ribbon Border (122362 £18.25) This is bigger than the usual border punches and doesn't punch an edge to your card but a complete strip, it's my new favourite punch. Oh and my other new favourite punch... Petite Pennants Builder (122361 £15.50) which I've used for the flags along the top of the card, the little flowers are from Boho Blossoms (119858 £15.50) with a brad in the centre and popped up on a dimensional.

Now for the stamp, that's from the lovely set 'Delicate Doilies' (122590 £20.95 wood mount 122592 £16.95 clear mount). This set has 4 gorgeous doilie designs, it's great for making your own backgrounds and using as a focal image to a design. I've also used 'Tiny Tags' (118091 £21.95 wood mount 118592 £16.95 clear mount) for a little sentiment held with a brad on the doilie, the brad also goes through the centre of one of the flowers on the border.

A little more detailed than usual, feeling very 'wordy' today :) Might get a few posts scheduled for when I'm at work this week, just so you don't miss me too much.

But that's all for today, thansk for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

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Grab your copy of the 2011 - 2012 Idea Book & Catalogue today

£5.95 with free p&p to anywhere in the UK

Easy Events gift set

2011-10-07T13:18:00.000+01:00

I love love love this new set, I think I've said that before! As much as I loved 'Fun & Fast Notes' (now retired) 'Easy Events' is a little quirkier and more fun (IMHO).

I made this set for one lucky raffle winner at tonight's catalogue launch party. It's using the 2010 - 2012 In Colors (didn't use 2011 - 2013 colours as I haven't bought the ribbons yet).

I've made 3" x 3" note cards, 2 each in 4 of the In Colours to make 8, one for each stamp.

Here we have Pear Pizzazz and Concord Crush and below...

... we have Poppy Parade and Peach Parfait.

I'm making the box in Blushing Bride tonight as part of my demonstration.

There's one space at the table left, so if you live in or near WA2 just email me for directions and come join in the fun!

That's all for today, tomorrow I'll share the make 'n take we'll be doing tonight.

Happy Crafting!

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Grab your copy of the 2011 - 2012 Idea Book & Catalogue today

£5.95 with free p&p to anywhere in the UK

Welcome Christmas Cass

2011-10-06T17:54:00.000+01:00

A quick post today to share tonight's class cards.

We're using the 'Welcome Christmas' (118736 £26.95 wood mount or 120597 £21.95 clear mount), with Cherry Cobbler, Old olive...

...Sahara Sand.
We're also using a couple of Textured Impressions folders Perfect Polka Dots (117335 £6.95) and Square Lattice (£6.95 119976).

and a bit of heat embossing.

Off to get the table ready. Tomorrow is my catalogue launch party!

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting!

Ribbon Shares

2011-10-05T07:15:00.000+01:00

I adore the Stampin' Up! Ribbons and love the new designs and the new colours in some old favourite designs, so much so that I have to share!

I have 5 shares for you at the moment, each share you will receive 1 meter of each colour ribbon on offer. You can sign up for 1 or more shares, however I will not be buying or sending the ribbons out until the share is full.

1. Ruffled Ribbon £4.50

8 places

2.Seam Binding £4.50

8 places

3. Scallop Dots Ribbon £7.50

8 places

4. Satin Ribbon £4.50

12 places

5. Striped Grosgrain £12.00

8 places

Let me know which share/s you want to take part in. If you are collecting from me the cost is as above, however you need your ribbon posted please add £1 per share for p&p

Order all 5 shares and only pay £30 for collection or £33 for posting

Glitter Christmas

2011-10-04T19:42:00.003+01:00

No new stamps for you today, just a quick post with one of last month's technique class cards.

We did a bit of heat 'n stick. This is embossing powder which turns to adhesive when heated so you can make your stamped images all glittery without colouring in with a 2 way glue pen! I love the stuff, especially for Christmas cards with 'Delightful Decorations' stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Crafting!

Easy Events - Birthday

2011-10-03T16:47:00.001+01:00

I love, Love , LOVE this new stamp set! 'Easy Events' is a set of 8 stamps in wood (116958 £29.95) or clear (123225 £23.95) mount with beautiful hand drawn looking images and sentiments. Each stamp has an image and matching sentiment and covers 8 topics, from new baby to belated birthday.

Today's card is the cute little birthday cupcake coloured in Wisteria Wonder & Melon Mambo, did you notice a bit of that Flirtatious fabric again? I love texture so using the fabric in place of pattern paper adds a bit of texture to my card.

Then there is the new Lace Ribbon Border (122362 £18.25) punch, I cut one of the little flowers out for an embelishment with an added bit of bling from the Rhinestone Jewels (119246 £4.50).

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting.

Th F Word

2011-10-02T09:18:00.000+01:00

For me & several of my crafting friends the F word is a little joke, it refers to our friends love of fabric and how she has abandond paper for sewing!

Well I think I might be able to entice her back with one of the new ranges from Stampin' Up! that has been launched in our new 2011 - 2012 Idea Book & Catalogue... and I think I might have to get my sewing machine out!

We have a geourgous range of 5 Designer Fabrics in the new catalogue, for this card I've used 'Flurtatious' which has a matching new Speciality DSP. They go with the new In Color Wisteria Wonder, which I've used here cut with the Top Note exclusive SU Big Shot die and ran though again with the exclusive Textured Impresions folder Perfect Polka Dot. Oh the fabric has been cut using the exclusive Fun Flowers die.

I finished the card with a sentiment from the new 'Easy Events' stamp set, where I masked off the image to only get the Happy Birthday.

Well, that's your first look at the new catalogue.

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Crafting!

Happy New Year!

2011-10-01T15:30:00.000+01:00

No, I've not gone completely mad. Today is the first day of the UK Stampin' Up! year, which means a new Idea Book & Catalogue, a new set of In Color colours, new stamps, new punches, new ribbons, new... oh you get the picture!

Follow this link to see the catalogue online today!

Want a paper copy to ~~stroke~~, erm I mean pure over with a brew? The click on the buy it now button in the left hand side bar to get yours sent out at £5.95 with free p&p.

I will have some samples of some of the lovely new stamp sets and papers to share with you over the next few weeks and a launch party on Friday 7th. If you are in the Warrington area and want to join the party on Friday let me know.

And as if you didn't need a great reason to join Stampin' Up! there's an even better reason this month!

The new 2011 - 2013 In Color range is here! 5 great new colours right on trend. Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder and Island Indigo. They are available in Classic ink pads, re-inker, pens, pens, ribbon, papers and new this year brads!

If you sign up as an independent demonstrator in October you get the In Color kit of all 5 ink pads and a mixed pack of A4 card absolutely FREE! So as well as the new, great value starter kit costing £119 with £230 worth of product, you get an extra £27 worth of In Color products WOW!

Contact me for more information about being a demonstrator.

Nothing pretty for you today, but watch this space.

Sunday Scrapin' Share!

2011-09-25T14:03:00.000+01:00

I've been meaning to blog this all week, but it's ended up conveniently being by Sunday Scrapping Share.

This was the layout we did at this months Technique University for 'Reverse Masking'. Normally masking would be covering part of an image to not stamp it, or covering part of a stamped image to layer a picture up. With this technique you are masking off to leave a shape to stamp inside.

Catherine had sent me a sketch she wanted to use, which I did as the base for this layout. We used Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake & Soft Suede, stamping with 'Flight of the Butterfly' & 'Flower Accent' stamps part way in the circle mask then using a sponge dauber (we used cotton wool balls) around the edge of the circles to define the shape.

I am so pleased with this layout, it's my favourite of my latest ones. Thanks for the sketch Catherine!

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Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 2011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Most products only available till 30th September 2011. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

Only £119 to join my team of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators, you receive £220 of products. Want more information on the many benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, like 20% off products or being able to pre-order new products then email me for more information.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Welcome Christmas

2011-09-20T09:00:00.002+01:00

More teasing with a new In Color and cards I forgot to photograph before bagging and stapling together!

I love the 'Welcome Christmas' stamp set, so glad this isn't going! The background on this card was stamped in Whisper White craft ink.

Some retired papers from a promotion last year here. I love these papers, but now they are gone I can't refill when I run out... which reminds me, there are lots of papers on the Last Chance list to make room for the new ones. If you'd like to get your hands on any of the retiring papers contact me

I love how the Scallop trim border & corner work together to go all the way round a piece of card. I had to add a bit of bling too with the Champagne glass glitter.

Some Jolly Holiday (117159 £8.75) papers here and heat embossed silhouette.

More of the ruffled ribbon here, so glad I finally got the hang of this technique.

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!

Happy crafting

-----------------------------------------------

Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 2011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Most products only available till 30th September 2011. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Season of Joy

2011-09-19T17:36:00.000+01:00

Silly me I forgot to photograph these cards before I bagged them for my sample baggie book!

Most of these cards are C.A.S.E.D. as I speed crafting to get them made for last Saturday's class.

You might notice a few unfamiliar colours, just a little teaser for the new In Colors coming on 1st October.

The ribbon on this card is the Whisper White Organza ribbon which I coloured Using Concord Crush ink. I love this ribbon, you buy the one colour it comes in but can have it in any colour you like with a bit of ink!

I've been playing with my Textured Impressions folders from the Mini Catalogue with a few of these cards. The dots makes the white space not as intimidating!

With this card the background is stamped in Old Olive & Elegant Eggplant before I ran it through the embossing folder. The sentiment is cut with the Decorative Label punch. For the mat I punched 2 more labels from the Elegant Eggplant card, I cut one top to bottom and one side to side and opened them out.

On the last card I used the 'So Swirly' (109683 £8.50) wheel to make the background, now this is on the Last Chance list so don't miss out!

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting

-----------------------------------------------

Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 2011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Most products only available till 30th September 2011. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Sparkly & Bright day 3

2011-09-17T09:00:00.014+01:00

So back to the traditional Cherry Cobbler & Old Olive Christmas colours today.

This is the last of the cards I have for you using Sparkly & Bright.

I stuck lines of Sticky Strip down to the card front, 2 of which got a piece of 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon (109054 £7.25). If you like the 5/8" grosgrain ribbons, be quick as they are all gone come September 30th!

The other 3 lines of tape sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds glitter, I find it really hard to photograph glitter and do it justice, so I hope you can see this.

Now these cards I've shown you over the last few days are for a 'Baggy Book' of samples for showing off at parties & classes. They are to show the stamp sets at their best. I'm doing one of these for each of my stamp sets and am currently working through my Christmas sets. So there are going to be a few of these shown off over the coming weeks.

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting!

-----------------------------------------------

Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 2011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Most products only available till 30th September 2011. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Sparkly & Bright day 2

2011-09-16T09:00:00.001+01:00

So, here's the next 2 cards from my Sparkly and Bright (115346 £16.95) collection.

I went with colours a little less traditional for a change with these 2 cards.

I love the 2011 -2012 In Colors and thought I'd see how Christmas in Pear Pizazz and Poppy Appeal looked.

The background for this card with Santa is using the snowflake stamp from the set which I stamped in Whisper White craft ink then before the ink dried I sprinkled over some Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The glitter dries in the ink and sticks to the card (another fab technique from the talented Bekka).

As for the second card, nice and simple here. The Poppy Parade tree has a little bling on top in the way of more glitter.

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting

-----------------------------------------------

Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 2011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Most products only available till 30th September 2011. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Sparkly & Bright

2011-09-14T18:05:00.022+01:00

I love this stamp set & I'm sad to see it go on the Last Chance List.

Sparkly & Bright (115346 £16.95) is a fun set of 6 stamps and are great for making quick Christmas cards, I've 4 cards to share with you over the next couple of days.

This first card is using the ever so cute Rudolph. I've coloured his nose on one of the images in the Cherry Cobbler to match the paper from Jolly Holiday DSP (117159 £8.75). To then give it a real light bulb look I've covered it in Crystal Effects dimensional glue.

I've finished the card off with a bit of Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin ribbon. I love this technique, which with the help of the ever so talented Bekka I have finally mastered!

I'm not sure if I can describe this well, but I'll try. You need to make sure you have one end of the ribbon well covered in Sticky Strip (double sided tape) and fastened to the back of your work. Then on the free end fray it, and get 1 thread form the centre and pull. Move your ruffles down then pull some more. I started with a piece of ribbon 3 times longer than the space it's covering. Once you have the ruffles all along wrap the free end in Stick Strip and pop some Stick Strip to the card and 'arrange' your ruffles on top, finishing off with sticking the free end to the back of your work. Clear as mud?

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting!

-----------------------------------------------

Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 2011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Most products only available till 30th September 2011. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Simply Scrapin' Card

2011-09-14T18:01:00.000+01:00

Stampin Up do some great scrapbooking kits called "Simply Scrapin'", these kits have 8 sheets of 12"x12" textured card in 4 colours, 6 sheets of 12"x12" double-sided pattern paper in 2 designs and 6 12"x6" sheets of self adhesive die-cut stickers.

The current kits can be found on pages 94 & 95 of the Idea Book & Catalogue, and they are all on the Last Chance list so grab yours quick!

As well as being jam packed of scrapbooking yummyness, they are also great for making cards... which I've done here.

The card above is made using the Christmas Jingle kit (117371 £17.75), Real Red 5/8" Satin Ribbon and has a little shaping from the Scallop Trim Corner punch.

Well that's all form me today, thanks for stopping by.

Happy crafting

-----------------------------------------------

Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 2011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Most products only available till 30th September 2011. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Cheers to You

2011-09-08T07:00:00.000+01:00

Had a play with this fab little set the other day. 'Cheers to You' (111037 £6.50) is another old favourite on the Last Chance List. It's a set of 6 stamps great for birthdays and other celebrations, I borrowed this set from my niece Emma (thanks Em).

I've used another Last Chance product on these cards, the ever so scrumptious Rich Razzleberry 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain ribbon (119774 £10.95).

You can't see it very well on this picture, but the 'liquid' in the glasses on the card above is Dazzling Diamonds my favourite glitter ever!

This card I had a play with some bleach painting, which works really well on Soft Suede card. You heat emboss the image then using a paint brush, brush on some bleach to the areas you want to change colour. Soft Suede goes almost like So Saffron with the bleach.

The champagne glasses I thought needed a bit of Champagne Glass Glitter form the Mini Catalogue.

And the last cocktail glass has a bit of Baja Breeze glass glitter (121883 £3.25), also from the Mini Catalogue.

Now a word about the mini, you may have noticed there are no items from it on the Last Chance list that's because the Mini is always only available till 30th just like the last chance list. So, just like the Last Chance List, don't let that favourite Mini item pass you by!

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting

-----------------------------------------------

Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Card box

2011-09-06T12:53:00.000+01:00

Well I mentioned yesterday that I needed a box to keep my cards in when they are made, so I don't go loosing any again. instead of going out and getting one I made one.

The front is 6.5" x 4.5" so plenty of room for A6 cards.

I used Basic Grey card and Elegant Soiree (117163 £8.75) papers, which are on the Last Chance list along with 5/8" Very Vanilla Grosgrain ribbon (109055 £7.25) and a bit of Gold Elastic Cord (109867 £3.95) wrapped around 2 brads to hold the box closed.

There are 5 dividers which I need to label up yet stuck in to the concertinaed pattern paper.

I used 2 sheets of A4 for the outside cut to 6.5" wide, and 2 sheets of A4 for the dividers cut to 4" x 6.5"

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy crafting

-----------------------------------------------

Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Manhattan Chalk

2011-09-05T11:01:00.000+01:00

You might remember last month the card I made for my niece's birthday, well I couldn't find it and the day before had to frantically make another one!

I wanted to use my brand new Manhattan Flower Texture Impressions folder and Beautiful Wings Embosslits. After a few failed attempts and not very good cards I went with something simple, but I hope effective.

I folded the card around the folder to emboss it the using Tempting Turquoise Stampin' Pastel and a cotton wool ball I rubbed on some colour, with a little butterfly to finish.

This morning, whilst tidying the craft room I found the original card which is now going to work for one of my colleagues! Lesson from this is to not tidy the room more often, but to have a box I put all my completed cards in together ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

-----------------------------------------------

Don't miss out on retiring products, take a look at the Last Chance list, products available whilst stocks last and gone for good after 30th September 2011

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Scrapbook Sunday

2011-09-04T16:56:00.000+01:00

I've been staring at this page for 2 weeks, moving things around, adding to it, taking away and finally adding something else. I think it's now done... well it better had be as it's al stuck down!

I've used a couple of retiring products, the papers Sweet & Sour Speciality Designer Series Paper (117390 £9.95), Early Espresso 5/8" Satin Ribbon (119753 £6.75) & Pumpkin Pie 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain
Ribbon (115616 £10.25)

The stamps are 'Butterfly Prints', thanks Kathie for the loan :)

The pictures are of my 2 nieces, Lizzy (15) & Megan (14) with my cousin's daughter Evie.

I chose the colours from Evie's top, I had originally planned Tangerine Tango but wanted to use the Sweet & Sour papers so went for Pumpkin Pie instead, matched with some Regal Rose & Early Espresso.

The title started life 7 days ago as plain chipboard. One morning before work I used a sponge dauber and covered the letters in Whisper White Craft Ink (101731 £7.25). Normally I would dry with a heat gun then put on a second layer, but as I was on the way out the door to work I left the letters to dry. The following morning I did the same again.

Friday I decided I needed a bit of glitter so got out the 2-Way Glue Pen (100425 £3.25) and covered the letters in Dazzling Diamonds (102023 £3.75), again off I went to work and left them to dry.

Yesterday I thought ' not quite right' so I covered the letters in a layer of Crystal Effects (101055 £5.75) which gives that great lacquered look and reminds me of the geli letter stickers you could buy a few years ago.

Well that's all for today, thanks for stopping by!

Last Chance List

2011-09-03T21:51:00.000+01:00

Time to say goodbye to some old favourites and some not so old or not so favourite.

Yep, it's the last chance list. You can find it here with some discounted products.

The items on the list are only available whilst stocks last, and will be gone for ever after 30th September so contact me now to get your hands on them before it's too late!

If you order £50 or more you will receive free p&p (£4.95) and have it all delivered straight to your door! You can still have your order delivered straight to your door if it's less than £50, but p&p will cost £4.95.

Training day cards

2011-08-08T18:18:00.000+01:00

Just a really quick one today to share some cards we made at another demonstrator training day I attended. This time it was the lovely Bekka who came up north to the Wirral at Linda's house. She brought these fab cards for us to make, plus a few more.

They all use 'Contempo Christmas' with different techniques and accessories, in different colour combinations.

Want to find out more about making these cards? Then book a party in September, November or December and get to make one of them.

Want to get in on the action and meet lots of new friends, learn new techniques and attend great training events, then have a look here for more information.

That's all for today, got to go and get the bad news at Slimming World... Wish me luck!
-----------------------------------------------

Come along to our Christmas Class on 17th September. Read this post for more information

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Every Little Christmas Bit

2011-08-06T19:47:00.002+01:00

Hope you're all having a good weekend. I'm a bit late posting today as I got a little carried away playing The Sims 3, yes I am one of them! A devoted Sims fan who spends hours perfecting my Sim's cooking, gardening and charisma skills.

So today's card is using my new favourite stamp set "Every Little Bit" and is inspired by something I saw demo'd by another Stampin' Up! demonstrator at a training day I went to last month.

One of the things I really love about Stampin' Up! is the sharing of ideas and how one team of demos will welcome those of us from other, smaller teams with open arms in to their team training days. Julies Jems are a lovely team of ladies and Julie is just so supportive of any demo even if you are not 'one of hers'. We had a great time at the training day, and I loved Victoria's frames so much I had to have a go.

I've made a 6" x 6" one as our 3rd project for the Christmas Class in September, I'll show you that after the event, but I wanted to make something to share now.

I've used Vary Vanilla, Old Olive & Cherry Cobbler card along with the 'Jolly Holiday' DSP and the cute little 28 piece stamp set "Every Little Bit".

I've coloured the images in with a blender pen, picking the ink up out of the ink pad lid.

On most there is a bit of gold elastic cord, also from SU, the present has the 1/4" Old Olive grossgrain ribbon.

I just love the little penguin, he's so cute!

Well that's all for today, thanks for stopping by!

Happy crafting.

-----------------------------------------------

Come along to our Christmas Class on 17th September. Read this post for more information

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Every Little Bit

2011-08-04T17:48:00.002+01:00

Who would have thought the hardest part of writing a blog is the post title! I gave up today and copped out with the name of the stamp set I've used.

I have been eyeing up this set for ages and thought I could use it in my September class so just had to buy it! The stamp set, as the post title says is "Every Little Bit", it's a 28 piece stamp set in wood or clear mount and has everything for any occasion I can think of!

Actually, I probably shouldn't be posting this yet, as it's my niece's 16th birthday card for later this month. I'm just hoping she doesn't read my blog. I should I be hoping she does read my blog and not mention it's her card? Never sure which is better.

Anyway, back to the card. I've been hopping round challenge blogs again and found the lovely sketch on Creative Sketches and had to give it a go.

Then came the colour combo from Color Throwdown, the combo was for Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Old Olive & Whisper White, however we don't have Pool Party in the UK... yet so instead of Pool Party I used Baja Breeze.

The papers are from the Elegant Soiree DSP pack, and to add a little more dimension I have used Dimensionals to pop the stamped images off the card.

I'm really happy with the way this card turned out as I was more than a little dubious about the Old Olive!

If you would like a go at making this card then contact me to book a home workshop with your friends and family, as this is August's workshop card.

Thanks for stopping by.
Happy crafting!

-----------------------------------------------

Come along to our Christmas Class on 17th September. Read this post for more information

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Technique University

2011-08-02T13:45:00.001+01:00

I realise I don't often share with you what we do each month at the Technique University classes, so I thought it was time to rectify that!

We all ended up at Catherine's house last month as the leisure centre we meet in had booked our room out to someone else... not going there again!

July's techniques were-

Masked wheels
Double embossed folders
Split negative

First... Masked wheels

One of the ladies in the group had asked we do a scrapbook page, so this is a new feature of our monthly class.

For the page we made a border using a Stampin' Around Wheel, the one we used was "So Swirly". We cut circles from the sticky part of a post-it note and placed these along the Whisper White card where we were going to roll the stamp wheel. Once the wheel was rolled over the card the circles were lifted off to show patches in the design where we stamped balloons from "Big Bold Birthday", you can just about see one at the top of the page.

The page was finished with Real Red 12"x12" card and Daffodil Delight & Tangerine Tango paper form the Brights Patterns stack, the ribbon is the Christmas 2010 gift with purchase.

I really must use my Stamp-a-ma-Jig when trying to place letters for a title, as that is really not straight at all! The title block is using an exclusive Stampin' Up! Big Shot die, "Top Note" and the "Schoolbook Serif Alphabet".

The second technique was Double Embossed folders, how does this work? Well...

Start by cutting your card to size (I used the Top Note die again) and rub and Emboss Buddy over the card

You take a Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, I used the Stampin' Up! exclusive "Vintage Wallpaper" and on the inside of the folder you cover the top piece (the one with the writing) with Versamark ink, trying not to get any in the de-bossed pattern.

Then lay your piece of card over the Versamark and close the folder, make your Big Shot sandwich and pass this through the Big Shot.

When you take the card out of the folder the 'valleys' will have ink on and the raised embossed pattern won't. Cover the card in clear embossing powder and tap any excess off.

If you heat with a heat gun from below you will get a smoother finish to the embossing powder, I wanted a more textured finish to mimic a leather look so heated from above.

And there you have it, Double Embossed, it's dry embossed with a pattern from the Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and heat embossed with embossing powder

Finally, Split Negative.

2 ways of doing this, but both needs half of the same image stamped on white card and embossed with black embossing powder and half stamped on black card and embossed with white embossing powder.

The way we did it was to line up the black and white cards, ink the "Medallion" stamp in Versamark and stamp the image across both cards at the same time then emboss the two separately in the opposite colour powder.

The other way is to stamp the whole image on the white and emboss in black then half the image on black and emboss in white, once you have the two you lay the black over the white and line up.

We also used Heat and Stick powder in the centre, this is embossing powered which turns to glue when heated and you sprinkle Dazzling Diamonds or other glitter over.

If you live in or around the Warrington, Cheshire area and are interested in joining the Technique University then please contact me. The current 3rd Wednesday of the month class is full, but I will be starting a 1st Thursday of the month class also for £5 at my home, starting September.

Well that's all for today, thanks for stopping by.
Happy Crafting

-----------------------------------------------

Come along to our Christmas Class on 17th September. Read this post for more information

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

It's Gift Time!

2011-08-01T09:37:00.001+01:00

I love Stampin' Up! at the best of times and I love them even more when they give us freebies!

If you spend £75 (plus p&p) in a single order, or host a workshop with sales of £250 (plus p&p) or more before 31st August 2011 you will receive the lovely gift pictured above.

What do you get? Well I'll tell you-

A beautiful, exclusively-designed cosmetic bag.
Rich Razzleberry 1-1/4” (3.2 cm) Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.
A 24-piece Clip Assortment.

I don't know about you, but I think that cosmetic bag is yummy, and you can't buy it anywhere!

If you would like to get your hands on these freebies contact me to book a workshop or place an order.

-----------------------------------------------

Come along to our Christmas Class on 17th September. Read this post for more information

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

So Many Thanks

2011-07-31T16:25:00.000+01:00

Really simple card today, with a couple of may favourite techniques.

I made a stack of these cards for my customers to pop in with their orders, which are are on their way to me as we speak!

I used all 5 2010-2012 In Colours for these little 3"x3" thank you cards, Blushing Bride for the background and Concorde Crush, Pear Pizzaz, Peach parfait & Poppy Parade for the stamped image.

You can get the same affect with Stampin' Write markers and colouring the different sections in, which if you only have one card to do is great, but when you have a few then the Baby Wipe technique is the way to go.

You start with your re-inkers for the colours you want to stamp in, your stamp and ink pad and a baby wipe.

I like to put my baby wipe on my largest clear mount block, or in the lid of a plastic tray.

You start by stamping your imageon the baby wipe in the lightest colour you are using , I've used the single "So Many Thanks" stamp and stamped it in Blushing Bride, but you can hardly see it.

You then colour the sections in with your chosen re-inkers, it looks really messy but makes your own custom ink pad. You can also use felt for this.

You'll get around 10 -15 stamped images from one application of ink on the baby wipe. All you need to do now is use the baby wipe as an ink pad, ink up your stamp and stamp on your card (I made 3"x3" card blanks with Whisper White card). Don't do what I did and get distracted by Bejewlled Blitz and leave the ink to dry on the baby wipe!

To make the background on the card I inked up a clear stamping block in Blushing Bride then, with my card on a foam pad stamped the block on to the card. Don't try to do this without a foam pad or a wad of paper underneath unless you only want the out line of the block.

Once I had my Blushing Bride background I inked up my stamp and added the image to the centre using a Stamp-a-ma-Jig stamp positioner to line it up.

Wee that's all for today, thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting!

-----------------------------------------------

Come along to our Christmas Class on 17th September. Read this post for more information

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Happy Anniversary!

2011-07-30T08:45:00.000+01:00

On the 2nd of August my sister & her husband will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. I don't know about them but it doesn't feel that long ago that I wore my my pink bridesmaid dress (and my first bra!).

They are off to Mexico today to have a second (or possible 5th by now) honeymoon, and I didn't get their card finished in time to drop round before they went, so it'll have to be sat on the door mat when they get home.

This card started life as this sketch from Card Patterns along with another colour I don't use often, More Mustard. In fact it is another ink pad that is still in its wrapping.

Again I grabbed my Color Coach and checked on the combos, I picked Bravo Burgendy & Old Olive to go with the mustard.

The stamp set is "Fresh Cuts" I love the main image from this set, collage without the headaches! The numbers are the "Schoolbook Serif" and sentiments are the same as my last post from "Basic Phrases" and "Happy Moments".

I wanted a bit of silver on the card, with it being their silver anniversary, so I edged everything with Stampin' Up! Platinum shimmer paint. Think I might have gone a tad too far with it!

Using a dauber I sponged the paint on to my number stamps and stamped these in the paint too. It washes off the stamps really easy and is great for a different look to your cards.

Well that's all for today. I'm out with some fellow demos crafting all day, well there will be some buisness training thrown in there too!

Happy Crafting!

-----------------------------------------------

Come along to our Christmas Class on 17th September. Read this post for more information

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Colour Challenge

2011-07-28T09:00:00.011+01:00

I set myself a challenge on Tuesday, to use a colour I had never used. Well seeing as my River Rock ink pad is still in its wrapping I thought that was a good starting place.

I grabbed my favourite stamping tool, my Color Coach (122228 £135.50) and had a look at the River Rock combos. The Color Coach always has two to choose from, and River Rock had either Cherry Cobbler & Marina Mist or Not Quite Navy & Tangerine Tango. I went with the Cherry Cobbler & Marina Mist combination, as I haven't used Cherry Cobbler since last Christmas.

Now it was our wedding anniversary on Tuesday so this card turned in to Lovely Hubby's card. It started life inspired by this weeks CPS sketch challenge, but looks nothing like it now! Can you still see the sketch in there?

Lots of stamp sets on this one, the background is "En Francais", then there is the "Medallion" stamp and in the forefront you have "Artists Etchings". Lets not forget the sentiment which is "Basic Phrases", half of a happy birthday from the Sale-A-Bration set "Happy Moments" and the outline of a tag form "Tiny Tags". I think this is the most amount of different stamp sets I have used on one card!

It's not the best photo, I think I need a new camera!

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Crafting!

-----------------------------------------------

Come along to our Christmas Class on 17th September. Read this post for more information

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Contempo Christmas Class

2011-07-27T10:34:00.005+01:00

I'll be running a class on Saturday 17th September in Warrington. As it says above the class will be £30, this includes a full roll of grosgrain ribbon, a full pot of Glass Glitter, 1/2 a pack of Designer Series paper, a 6"x6" box frame (not Stampin' Up!) and card to complete the projects (worth £20).

There's a buffet lunch provided (please let me know if you are vegetarian or have any food allergies).

If you drive down Cromwell Avenue at all you would probably have seen one of the units with the big OASIS 21st Century Church sign on the front, if you are driving from Winwick Road towards Westbrook it's the round about before IKEA & Toys R Us. The church have been kind enough to let us use one of their rooms for the event.

So, are you joining us? Places are limited so book early. You will need to pay a £20 deposit before 2nd September to secure your place. Click the "Buy It Now" button below to be taken to a secure checkout to pay your deposit, you don't have to have a Pay Pal account to do this, just a debit or credit card.

Don't like using Pay Pal? That's ok, email me for my postal address to post a cheque or pop round with a cheque or cash.

View Christmas Craft All Day Event in a larger map

Newmarket, here she comes!

2011-07-25T13:07:00.000+01:00

My Niece is off to Newmarket today to start her Foundation Course with the British School of Racing. I'm so proud of her getting a spot on this course, which starts with a 9 week residential! She'll turn 16 whilst she is away, and has never been away form either my sister for this long before so understandably she's a little nervous!

Lizzy has always been horse mad and my sister gave in when she was small and let her go to horse riding lessons, which as she got older included being down the local stables before school for mucking out duties. My sister didn't mind this as she thought it would soon put her off and stop her asking for her own horse... the plan backfired! She was super motivated and very talented!

When my sister & niece moved to Lutterworth Lizzy carried on with lessons and got involved looking after a loan horse whilst her owner was away at college. Lizzy just went from strength to strength, and has proven her ability and love for horse riding by getting a place on the foundation course! Well done Lizzy!!

Why am I telling you all this well 1. I'm very proud of my niece and 2. it's got something to do with my scrapbook page today.

This picture was taken on 1st July when we had a leaving party for Lizzy to wish her luck at college. The picture is of all 6 nieces, my nephew and my oldest 2 nieces "other halves".

I've used a sketch from Page maps July 2011 sketches and the Stampin' Up! "Greenhouse Gala" Designer Series Papers, which I adore!

The ribbons are the real red polka dot ribbon from last Christmas's promotion, old olive taffeta and daffodil delight satin ribbon. The title is using "Schoolbook Serif Numbers".

I cut a couple of pieces out of the "Top Note" die for the big shot and a few of lots of flowers from the "Fun Flowers" die & "Boho Blossoms" punch, oh I also embossed the flowers with the "Perfect Polka Dots" Textured Impressions folders.

I'm loving the Big Shot items in the mini catalogue!

Well that's it for today.
Happy Crafting

Peachy Keen Inkspirations

2011-07-02T11:19:00.000+01:00

Long time no blog! How are you all? I've been getting a bit of stick from some friends for not blogging in a while, life has just been a bit to hectic.

Today's card is using a sketch from Peachy Keen Stamps Challenges, and a colour combo from Inkspirations Challenges.

I loved the sketch, but did struggle a bit. The card above was how it started life, then I pulled the stamped image from 'Artistic Etchings' off and replaced it with a Big Shot flower using the Fun Flowers die (thanks for lending it to me Mara) from Stampin Up's Mini Catalogue.

The new version is more fitting for the person it's for, my 15 year old niece who is off to Newmarket Jockey training college in a week or two. We had a big party last night at my sister's house to give her a proper send off. It's a residential college and she will turn 16 whilst she is away.

So the colour combo, it's Poppy Appeal, Baja Breeze, Peach Parfait and Whisper White. I wasn't sure about the Baja Breeze, but once I put the flower together I liked it.

The sentiment is from the Sale-A-Bration set 'So happy for you'.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mini Family

2011-04-07T19:59:00.003+01:00

A quick one today sharing a scrapbook layout I've had on my desk taunting me for 3 days! They are pictures of my younger brother with his family, I took these at my cousin's wedding last May.

I've used Baja Breeze 12"x12" textured card for the base with the Springtime Vintage papers from the Stampin' Up! Mini catalogue.

The reason this has taken me 3 days is I couldn't decide on an embellishment, in the end I've done my least favourite activity of hand cutting and cut out some of the flower clusters from the pattern paper and popped them around the page.

The frame and little flower near the top is from 'Baby Blossoms' stamp set, again I hand cut the frame.

That's all for today, happy crafting!

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The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

Want more information on the many benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, like 20% off products or being able tp pre-order new products then email me for more information.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Mini Scrap

2011-04-05T22:21:00.000+01:00

Oh I love this layout!! Thank you Karen.

I was away for the weekend with my crafty friends the last weekend in March. We had a fantastic time, as always. Over the weekend one of my friends had a play with some of the new Mini products, and did a lovely scrap lift of the layout on page 16 using the Springtime Vintage Suite.

The papers are the gorgeous Springtime Vintage papers, with the 'Baby Blossoms' stamp set and Springtime Vintage buttons. Karen hand cut the frame from the stamp set as it's a little bigger than the frames & punch from page 11. She's layered the label up with a scallop circle punched from River Rock and scallop oval punched from Rose red. The layout was finished with some glittery letters form her stash.

A quick explanation about the heart on Karen's little girl's face, they are going through the adoption process right now and until the judge signs on the dotted line in a few weeks we aren't allowed to show her beautiful little face on the interweb.

Again, thanks Karen you have done a gorgeous job of this layout!

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Crafting!

-----------------------------------------------

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

Want more information on the many benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, like 20% off products or being able tp pre-order new products then email me for more information.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Sunday Scrapping Share

2011-04-03T15:10:00.002+01:00

So have you had chance to look through the 2011 Mini Catalogue from Stampin' Up! yet? Isn't it gorgeous, I'm so excited about getting the Big Shot and exclusive dies.

I'm loving the new stamp sets, punches and embellishments! I have more in a box on it's way from Germany as e speak, good job I'm on holiday next week so I get to play with all the new goodies!

My lovely friend Jo gave me £25 to spend on pr-order sets, which I used along with my demonstrator 20% discount to buy the 'Build a Blossom' clear mount stamp set and Blossom Petals Punch. I've used both on this layout of me & my older sisters.

A little close up for you

You stamp the petals of your choice...

Then punch them out and assemble, with a stamped centre too.

I just love these petals, you can make all sorts of combination of flowers with them.

I also love from the mini...

The Big Designer Buttons, the set I bought is from the Springtime Vintage Suite, I'll share the rest of this Suite with you later in the week.

These packs of big buttons come in a pack of 3 styles in 4 colours. I've used a bit of embroidery thread to tie in the button holes.

The base card is Early Espresso 12" x 12" textured card, with the papers from Sweet & Sour Speciality Designer Series Paper. I chose these papers & the Early Espresso as I thought the Rose Red went great with my sisters outfits.

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting!

-----------------------------------------------

The 20011 Mini is here with the Big Shot for Stampin' Up! and many more new treats. Email me for your free copy or to place your order

Want more information on the many benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, like 20% off products or being able tp pre-order new products then email me for more information.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also email me

Mini post

2011-04-01T09:52:00.001+01:00

Just a quick update, will post properly when I get home.

I'm sat waiting for the bus right now but had to tell you the new Mini Catalogue from Stampin' Up! is here... oh yes!

And what a treat I have for you. The new mini has the Bigshot with exclusive Stampin' Up! dies. We have waited so long for this, I can't wait to share some projects.

Just to wet your appetite is one of the gorgeous projects done by one of the talented team at SU, its using the 'Manhattan Flower' embossing folder.

Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Crafting

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T16:48:00.000Z

Really quick one today.

I took this picture last Wednesday night to blog for you but have only just got round to uploading the picture... my bad!

I've used Regal Rose & So Saffron. The stamps are 'i {Heart} Hearts' from Stampin' Up! It's a lovely set of various shaped ans sized hearts, there are 3 matching punces too.

Ok, off to get ready for Slimming World, oh I've lost 13.5lbs so far... go me!

Thanks for stopping by, happy crafting!

17 days left

2011-02-09T15:49:00.000Z

The best promotion of the year has less than a month to go! Don't miss out on these free stamp sets.

I think I have managed to show you at least one project from each of the sets over the last month and wanted to remind you to get your order in soon, or get your workshop booked!

You can earn a free stamp for every £45 order you place (before p&p) and for hosting a workshop which earns £300 in sales (before p&p). As a Sale-A-Bration treat I am offering free p&p on your first order with me!

If you need a copy of the Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue click on the buy it now button on the left and pay by Pay Pal, you don't need an account to do this. You can view it online here.

To place your order just fill out this form. You can pay by Pay Pal, personal cheque or, if you live locally, by dropping cash round.

Then there is the fab sign up promotion for anyone who joins Stampin' Up! by 28th February....

As well as the amazing starter kit, for only £119 which is packed full of £230 worth of product & business supplies, you can also choose any stamp set up the £44.95 from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue FREE! So that's £274.95 of products & business supplies for just £119! WOW!

To sign up as a demonstrator and take advantage of this fantastic offer email me. Anyone who joins my team gets a welcome pack from me with some handy tools and project ideas for classes or workshops. We have a monthly 'get together' to craft and discuss anything business related you need help with and quarterly training.

Your welcome to join my team if all you want is the great value starter kit and to get 20% off your own stamping supplies or if you want to build a great business meeting new people and sharing stamping with the crafters in your area.

If you have any questions about Sale-A-Bration, ordering, joining Stampin' Up!, holding a workshop or the classes I run please email me

Color Coach, day 3

2011-02-08T09:00:00.001Z

We left off on Sunday with Rose Red, Marina Mist & Perfect Plum. Now this isn't nearly as odd as the combo on the back of the Marina Mist card in the Color Coach...

... Real Red, Marina Mist & Old Olive, oh yes Old Olive!

When I first put tis card together it wasn't quite right, until I stamped the 'F' in Real Red and layered it up.

I've again used 'Vintage Vogue' and a bit of bling from the Basic Jewels Rhinestones pack.

That's all for now, happy crafting!

-------------------------------------

Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

Do you want more information on the many benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, like 20% off products or being able to pre-order new products and sneak peaks of upcoming promotions then email me for more information.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

February Sketch Challenge

2011-02-07T16:31:00.000Z

Well it is starting to look like Monday is going to be the challenge day, as I keep forgetting on a Friday! So here it is, this months sketch challenge.

The card above was made using another Color Coach combination, this time So Saffron, Rose Red and Wild Wasabi. I coloured the flowers from the Sale-A-Bration set 'Sweet Summer' (thanks Jackie for dropping this set back off today) using a blender pen and ink from the 3 ink pads. You can use a blender pen, an Aqua Painter or a paint brush and water for this technique.

The ribbon is that white organza agin from page 96 of the Stampin' Up! 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue, this time coloured with Rose Red.

So....

Here's the sketch. Just add a link to your entry in the comments and remember to link back here.

Thanks for stopping by, happy crafting!

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Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

More colour

2011-02-06T09:00:00.000Z

So I got to thinking I would show you a bit more of the colour coach, and how I use it .

Friday I showed you a combo using Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand & Perfect Plum. Next I take one of the colours and use a combo on the flip side of that card, I chose Perfect Plum for the 2nd card.

So the 1st colour combo on the reverse of Perfect Plum had Rose Red & Marina Mist. I haven't used Rose Red in a while, and to be honest I would never have put these 3 all together!

But I love the result! Again using 'Vintage Vogue' with a little bit of bling.

That's all for today, happy crafting!

-------------------------------------

Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

The art of Colour!

2011-02-04T09:00:00.002Z

As mentioned on Wednesday I've been using the Colour Coach from Stampin' Up! for my colour combos and I promised more about this fantastic tool!

Every current Stampin' Up! colour has it's own card, on the reverse are 2 suggested colour combinations you can use. I wanted to use the In Color Blushing Bride as I hadn't opened the ink yet, so I found the Blushing Bride card and flipped it over.

The 2nd suggested colour combo was Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand & Perfect Plum so I went with it...

... and created this card using the 'Vintage Vogue' Stamp set, which I haven't used in a while.

The Friends stamp was stamped in Blushing Bride, then again in Perfect Plum, I cut the 'F' from the Perfect Plum and layered it over the Blushin Bride.

The scalloped circle was using the tutorial from last year here.

That's all for today, happy crafting!

-------------------------------------

Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

Bliss

2011-02-02T21:42:00.000Z

I took photos on Saturday evening for a weeks worth of blog posts then never got round to writing my posts on Sunday as lovely hubby, myself and a friend of ours went out walking. Don't get too excited, it was only 2 miles round the deer park at Dunham Massey near Altrincham.

I'm that behind with this post I can't even remember the challenge it was for, there was a sketch out there that inspired this!

The colours are Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie and Night of Navy. The colours were chosen by looking at what Stampin' Up! pens I had, then looking at the colour combos in the colour coach (more on that next time).

I've used more papers from the Regals DSP Stack, with brads from the brights and regals collections.

Now the reason I needed to start with a Stampin' Write Marker pen that I have is because of 2 techniques I wanted to show you.

The first being the coloured ribbon. You won't find it in the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue, that's because it's the Whisper White organza ribbon form page 96 coloured with the Night of Navy pen, make sure you colour it both sides.

The second is using a great tool on page 103, the colour spritzer. With this you feed in your pen then squeeze the 'air bag' which splaters ink from the pen all over your piece of card. I love the effect.

That's all for today, happy crafting!

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Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

Artistic Bliss

2011-01-27T20:46:00.001Z

Ever since I first saw the free Sale-A-Bration set 'Bliss' I knew it would work well with 'Artistic Etchings' and have been itching to have a play with both sets together

I finally got round to it today, using the Eifel Tower to make a collage with the butterfly & bird from 'Bliss', using the flourish from bliss as a background.

I inked the flourish in Melon Mambo and stamped it off 3 times before stamping on to the Whisper White. I then stamped the butterfly & bird in Rich Razzleberry over the background and on a post it note I masked off the butterfly & bird off using the cut out post it notes.

Make sure when you cut your image out of a post note you cut a little inside the image to stop getting a white halo around the collaged image.

With my butterfly & bird masked off I stamped the tower in Chocolate Chip, then removed my masks. I roughed up the edges of all my pieces with the blade of my scissors, you can use a distressing tool (I'll get round to buying one one day), then I inked the edges with Chocolate Chip

As for my backing paper, it's from a sheet of Melon Mambo scrunched up then sanded over with the sanding block from the Distress Essentials kit, which my Stampin' Up! mummy Shirley bought me!

This card is my example for this months colour challenge, set on Tuesday go take a look!

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by

Happy Crafting!

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Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

January Colour Challenge

2011-01-25T20:59:00.000Z

I promise something crafty on Thursday using the above colours, but for now the promised colour combo.

For now here's this months colour challenge. I want to see your creations using the 3 colours above, it can be a card, scrapbook page, ATC whatever your paper crafting pleasure!

Upload your entry to your blog and link back here then add a link to your blog to the linky tool below.

Happy Crafting!

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Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop

2011-01-23T10:00:00.001Z

As I've been whittering on for about 3 weeks now, it's Sale-A-Bration at the minute, where you get to choose 1 of 4 stamp sets free for every £45 (before p&p) on Stampin' Up goodies!
To showcase these fantastic sets a group of us Stampin' UP ! demonstrators are having a little blog hop. There are 40 of us taking part in 4 groups of ten... My blog is the last stop in group 4.

Now it doesn't matter if you are starting her, or if you hopped from the lovely Donna's blog, just make sure you click on the link at the end to hop to the next blog.

For my project I used a template I bought last year sometime from the fantastic Creations By AR blog, for the sweet little caddy which is perfect for 3" x 3" note cards, with envelopes and a space in the middle for tags (which I ran out of time and didn't make). You can use this little caddy for all sorts!

My note cards are made using the 'Bliss' set of 5 beautiful stamps, perfect for that vintage look.

I used 3 core colours for the note cards, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Chocolate chip. Which is also this month's colour combo... I'll be back with more on that tomorrow (I know late again!).

Now don't forget, all the products used in these projects are available to buy from myself, just email me to place your order or to get more details.

Now hop on over to number 1 in this 4th group,the very talented Kirsteen

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Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

Happy Birthday Katherine!

2011-01-16T15:40:00.001Z

It's my youngest niece's 7th birthday today, which I find hard to believe as she was only born 5 minutes ago! At least that's how it feels!

Right now I am waiting for lovely hubby to come home from work so I can deliver her birthday card which I have just finished.

A week before my nieces and nephews birthdays I'm always thinking it's next week must make a card, then all of a sudden they are here and I have still to make the card! So much so it's quite a surprise when they get their card on their birthday, just ask Carys she will be more than happy to tell you all about it.

On to the card which is peeking out of the envelope in the top picture. I've used the sketch from Cards & Things Challenges for the base design, and the colour combo challenge from The Color Throwdown.

The combo called for Melon Mambo, Early Espresso & Soft Sky. I've had to change it slightly as Soft Sky is a retired colour we never got in the UK and I don't have Early Espresso yet, so I used Marine Mist and Chocolate Chip.

The stamp set is the 2-Step stamping set 'Big Bold Birthday' from, yes you've guessed it, Stampin' Up!

I've run a thread of white embroidery floss through the Marine Mist taffeta to gather it and added a few rhinestones to the card.

The pattern paper is from the Brights patterns stack.

I've used a heart from the Heart to Heart punch, this gives 3 different shaped and sized hearts, along with the Word Window punch and a rhinestobe brad from the retired Pretties kit to finish.

And the front of the envelope I made using a piece of the Brights patterns stack and a heart punch.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Don't forget January's sketch challenge, post a link to your entry here.

Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

Saturday Scrapping Share

2011-01-15T15:34:00.000Z

A bit more of the bright colours for these short winter days.

The pictures are from a cake making session with my 2 youngest nieces about a year ago. We made my favourite... Tiffin Cake, but with a twist, we used Malteesers instead of raisins, it was yummy!

The sketch is from Sketch Support, I had a search through their two-page layouts and found one which suited the photos I had perfectly. It was for 10 photos, but I used 2 larger ones in place of the 4 small photos.

I've used the Brights Patterns Stack adn Blueberry Crisp papres with Regal Rose card.

Anyone who knows my scrapping 'habbits' will know my favourite way of atching buttons is with a brad, so Stampin' Up's coordinationg brads and buttons are just perfect. I've used brads adn buttons from both the Brights and Subtles collections.

I just need to do the journalling then it is ready to go in my album.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Don't forget January's sketch challenge, post a link to your entry here.

Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

Scraptastic

2011-01-13T07:47:00.000Z

I've been doing quite a bit of scrapping lately, this is a layout I promised to show you at the beginning of the year... almost 2 weeks ago.

The sketch I used is from Sassy Lil Sketches, and is their September 21st 2010 sketch.

I've been using the Christmas Cocoa papers again, but I thought I would go with a non-Christmas theme. I've matched the Soft Suede papers up to Basic Black textured 12" x 12" card for the base and the strip of heart punches.

The title I stamped in Basic Black on Soft Suede card using the 'Schoolbook Serif Alphabet' from Stampin' Up!

The pictures are me, my sister and their daughters taken at my nieces future mother-in-law's 60th birthday party in October.

Oh I forgot to mention on Tuesday, I went back to Slimming World and am still getting over the shock of what the scales read!

Thanks for stopping by.

CPS 200!

2011-01-11T15:11:00.001Z

I love the sketches over at Card Positioning Systems, this week's being no exception. It's their 200th sketch which is quite a mile stone, well done everyone involed.

Now the focal image came first and I found the sketch later. I was having a play with my ornament punch before I put it away for next Christmas when I remembered something I saw demo'd by Julie at convention. She had cut off the bottom pointy bit of the ornaent punched out piece and made it into a vase! SO don't put those ornament punches away just yet, there are lots of things you can use them for all year round!

I've punched the ornament (missing the pointy end) out of More Mustard and stamped the flowers from the level 1 Hostess set, 'Silhoutte Sentiments' in Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy, using Stampin' Write Markers to colour in sections of the stamp. I've punches the sentiment form the same set with the word window punch, which the sentiments from this stamp set fit perfectly in to.

The papers are from that Regals Designer Series Paper Patterns Stack I go on so much about.

Thanks for stopping by, happy stamping!

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Don't forget January's sketch challenge, post a link to your entry here.

Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

January Sketch Challenge

2011-01-09T15:17:00.000Z

I know, I'm a couple of days late again with my challenge! Life has been a little hectic, and blogging fell to the bottom of the pile, however I am hoping to pick up where I left off in November, with you getting a post almost every day. My New Year's Blogging Resolution is at least a post every other day... let's see how that goes!

I haven't made any other resolutions, I do plan on going back to Slimming World on Monday, as there is a class opening up within walking distance. I'll let you know Tuesday if I went!

Right back to the sketch at the top of this post. You can use more than 3 colours if you like, I used pattern papers for the blocks. You have until 23:59 (GMT) on Thursday 20th January to upload your creation to your blog, or a gallery and link back here. Don't forget to add your link to the linky tool at the bottom of this post.

I'd like to thank my friend Mara for entering the colour combo, but I can't see a bigger version of your picture. So I look forward to seeing your card when I come to play with your new goodies from Oz!

Now my card for this month's sketch challenge is also using the colour combo challenge from Inkspirations Challenges, not a combo I would put together, but oh boy it does look good!

The combo is Baja Breeze, Peach Parfait, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White. I've used the In Color Hostess Level 1 paper pack for my Peach Parfait pattern paper and the Designer Series Pattern Stacks for the Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red papers.

You've probably seen the stamp set on a few blogs by now, it's the Sale-ABration set 'Bliss'. I adore this set, and it will work well with the Vintage Suite on pages 64 & 65 of the Stampin'Up! 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue. Ooh I've given myself an idea now..LOL!

The swirly pattern (really need a better word for that stamp) has been inked in Peach Parfait and stamped off on a piece of scrap paper then stamped on the Whisper White to give a lighter image to stamp the Bliss over in Riding Hood Red.

Thanks for stopping by, see you Tuesday.. if not before!

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Sale-A-Bration is here, email me to place and order of £45 or more from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue and choose a FREE, limited edition, exclusive stamp set.

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

More on Sale-A-Bration.

2011-01-03T15:17:00.000Z

I promise something crafty later, or maybe tomorrow. I have a couple of Scrapbook layouts to share, but for now just a little more on the stamp sets in Sale-A-Bration 2011.

Bliss
wood-mount item 121851
clear-mount item 123217

I love this vintage looking set, it's in a box on it's way from Stampin' Up! as wee speak, so I'll have some samples to show you at the end of the week!

Punch Bunchwood-mount item 121847
clear-mount item 123211

I've lost my scallop circle punch so I've had to order another, I can't wait for it to arrive as I have so many ideas for the scallop circle with the flower in it. As for the Owl... need I say anything at all?

So Happy for Youwood-mount item 121853
clear-mount item 123220

You can never have too many sentiment stamps. I love the font on this set, it's so whimsy and the little accent stamps with it are just so versatile.

Sweet Summer
wood-mount item 121849
clear-mount item 123214

We saw this demonstrated at Convention, I love being a demonstrator and getting to see things first! I just love this build a flower set, I've lent mine to my downline but I may just have to pay her a visit soon to borrow it back LOL.

If you remember you receive one of these sets for every £45 spent on Stampin' Up! products (before p&p, in a single purchase) between December 30th and February 28th. So hurry up, check out the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue here, and place your order by filling out the comments form here with the item code, name and cost. I will email or call you for your shipping address and to discuss payment. You can pay by cheque, postal order, PayPal or Visa debit/credit card or Mastercard credit card. If you live in or around Warrington you can pop by with cash.

If you prefer a copy of the catalogue in your hands then just click on the 'buy it now' button in the left hand bar.

You can also get your hands on a free Sale-A-Bration set by hosting a workshop which has sales of £300 or more.

Have you ever thought about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator? Some of the benefits include;

Discounts off all catalogue products
Exclusive sneak peaks and pre-orders
Great support
Really fun training events, not just in our team but also Stampin' Up! Regional Training & convention.

The starter kit is just £119 and is packed full of £230 worth of goodies.

That's not all...

During Sale-A-Bration you also get to choose an extra stamp set from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue completely free!

Tempted? Then email me for more information.

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Don't forget this month's colour challenge, just add the link to your entry on to the linky tool in this post. You have until 23:59 on 6 January 2011.

The combo, well that's Sahara Sand, Soft Suede and Real Red

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

Free Stamps!

2010-12-30T00:28:00.001Z

Oh it's finally here, one of my favourite times in the Stampin' Up! calender... Sale-A-Bration 2011!

If you have only found Stampin' Up! in the last 10 months then Sale-A-Bration (SAB) will be new to you, but I promise you are going to love it!

When else can you earn free, exclusive stamp sets which are not available to buy? Oh yes that's right, FREE & Exclusive! You will not see these in the Stampin' Up! catalogue... ever. They are only available during the Sale-A-Bration period and once Sale-A-Bration is over that's it!

I loved SAB 2010 stamp sets, and you'll probably notice I sometimes still use them, but I have to admit I love SAB 2011 even more... we even get a sneak peak of something coming in the Mini catalogue, see if you can guess what it is!

I really need to stop going on about how much I love SAB and tell you how to get your hands on the free sets, and a little about today's card.

Today's card is using a colour combination from the Stampin' Up! Colour Coach, a great tool for matching and combining colours (122228 £13.50). I've used In Colors Peach Parfait, Concord Crush and Pear Pizazz, with a dash of Poppy Appeal for the heart. The pattern paper is the In Color Hostess level 1 6" x 6" paper stack, free with product orders, and workshops product sales of £150 and over.

And the stamps... well the owls are from the SAB set 'Punch Bunch', which has 5 stamps to co-ordinate with 5 Stampin' Up! punches, yes I said 5 a little hint as to what is coming in the Mini (I'll say no more). The sentiment is from another SAB set 'So Happy For You', this has 5 sentiments and 5 little embellishment stamps.

So to get your hands on any of the 4 sets available during Sale-A-Bration you need to do one of 2 things:

Spend £45 (product sales before shipping and handling) and earn one free Sale-A-Bration set of your choice . You choose 1 set for every £45 in a single order.
Host a workshop of at least £300 (product sales before shipping and handling), and earn one free Sale-A-Bration set in addition to the generous hostess benefits.

If you host a workshop of £300 or more which includes your own purchase of £45 then that is 2 stamp sets, clear as mud?

So what are you waiting for, email me your postal address for a free copy of the Sale-A-Bration leaflet (UK residents only), which includes images of the stamp sets and some great inspiration for using them or download the online copy here.

If you live in or around Warrington, Cheshire then contact me for information on holding a Stampin' Up! home workshop.

If you don't have a copy of the Stampin' Up! 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue then click the 'Buy It Now' button on the left to get yours for only £3.95 (rrp £5.95, UK residents only).

That's all for today, keep an eye out for upcoming posts featuring more from the SAB sets!

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Don't forget this month's colour challenge, just add the link to your entry on to the linky tool in this post. You have until 23:59 on 6 January 2011.
The combo, well that's Sahara Sand, Soft Suede and Real Red

The starter kit costs £119 and contains £230 worth of products.

To have your email address added to my mailing list for upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions and news of classes in Warrington then also please email me

Me again!

2010-12-24T19:58:00.001Z

Found the charger and charged the camera battery, so here is the layout I was telling you about earlier.

I've used Sunny Garden papers from Stampin' Up! with Daffodil Delight and In Color Pear Pizzazz. My old neglected Quickutz got another outing for this one!

Right off to watch Avatar on Sky Movies Premier +1

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T13:56:00.000Z

As I'm working tomorrow and then off to my sister's house for Christmas dinner and the general festivities, I thought I'd better pop on now.

I have got a scrapbook layout to share with you... however, the battery has gone in my camera and I can't remember where I put the spares and charger 'for safe keeping'. Hopefully I'll find it later as I need it tomorrow afternoon!

In the meantime, the sketch I used for the layout is Number 62 from Inspired Blueprints, a great site I found yesterday whilst blog hopping, I've scrapped the pictures from my cousin's wedding in the summer... bet you can't wait for me to find that battery now!