Class designs

I haven't showed you the additional tag we made during my recent cardmaking class, so here it is. I've used the My Sweet Pea stamp set with the lovely white stamp pad from Stampin' Up! to create the background with the swirls, alternating the flower in Chocolate Chip ink over the gaps.

(Blogger randomly changes the orientation of my photos sometimes - sorry!). The tag is a simple rectangle and I've punched a small hole in the top to tie some ribbon through. I've used my Stampin Up markers to colour the beak of the bird stamp pink and the body brown, and stamped that onto banana cardstock, then mounted it onto Kraft and raised it using foam pads. Finally a bit of ribbon across it and some handwritten words and its completed.

Here's the kit we used, I always love the reaction when ribbon and buttons are included in the kit, everyone gets so excited, don't they Susan!

Here's a few samples from the lovely ladies...

It didn't take long for them to be adding their own spin on the designs, which I think is a good thing as it shows confidence.

Buttons used in three's of course, to keep the balance. Until next time...

Home decor

I love canvases! Whether they are photo printed canvases, or decorated yourself, I think the boxed frames look great on the wall. As I've no time for crafting at the moment, here is one I decorated some time back. I **think**, from the deepest corners of my memory, it might have been one I made a class at ScrapCanvas (but they are no more).

Two small square canvases are held together using a hook and eye type curtain material (very useful description, I know!). I painted the base brown with cream swiped over it and then I have painted various chipboard and wood embellishements with pink paint and smeared some of the edges brown. There's a tag, bottle top, wooden number and metal word embellishment on there with some stamping and rub-ons. Even though this was quite a few years back now when I was editing a craft magazine that I made this, I still love it! It all hangs with some wide ribbon glued around the outside of the frames and tied into a knot at the top. Perfect for hanging on the wall!

Rich Razzleberry Mania

So after we had a blast at my scrapbook class on Saturday, I realised I forgot to share with you the quick five minute card we made at the end. Well, it was five minutes for me, but I promise you not much longer even for the newbies, and it was made with the scraps we had left from our mini book. What do you think? I love making cards from leftovers.

I didn't have the Rich Razzleberry stamp pad to hand so used a more purple colour, which actually looks quite good surprisingly! We stamped an image from the 'Say It With Scallops' set of stamps onto white card, raised that onto some of our patterned paper scrap squares and layered that using dimensional pads again, onto another scrap strip of paper. A touch of ribbon, a button and some perfectly rounded corners and the ladies loved making the cards!

Talking of the scrapping class, I have one leftover kit if anyone would like it - £10 including P&P - the first one to email me (address to the right) can have it. You get two sheets of the Rich Razzleberry card, 12 sheets (6x6in. size) of the different cottage patterned papers, some Rich Razzleberry spotted ribbon and a whole pot of buttons, all to yourself!

If you this kit to have a go at making a mini scrapbook like ours here, let me know. I have my cardmaking class tonight so I will be back to show you soon the lovely ladies creations!

Don't forget my special introductory 10% discount on orders from the Stampin' Up! catalogue from now until 8pm Sunday night - the perfect chance if you have been waiting to buy a few things. Click here for details.

10% discount - Special Introductory Offer

If you are interested in crafts, you will find lots of different ways to learn techniques and ideas on my new introductory information sheet below, or see the tabs above on my blog. You can host a craft party, come along to one of my craft classes, buy my craft kits by post and most importantly, ways to earn free Stampin’ Up! goodies for yourself! Click on the leaflet or the tabs above to find out more.

As a new Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, I would like to offer you a limited special introductory offer of 10% discount on all orders you place with me* from the Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalogue! But hurry, you only have until 8pm Sunday (25th July 2010) to place your orders.

I had the first of my new craft classes on Saturday – and with the seven lovely ladies we had a ball! We had three hours of fun, each making a Rich Razzleberry Mini Scrapbook and they all did brilliantly and were very pleased with their creations. As this was the first of my new classes, I also threw in some cupcakes for them to add to the occasion! At the end of the class we even managed to squeeze in some time for me to show them how to make a handmade card with their leftover scraps, and they left with materials that will help them to make another mini scrapbook too. I had a great time and am looking forward to seeing them again at another class.

If you can’t make my classes but are interested, I will be doing craft kits by post in the future, sometimes with step by step instructions if you’d like to do a class in the comfort of your own home! Keep checking back for details.

It’s a very busy time for me at the moment so that’s all for today but don’t forget you only have until Sunday to take advantage of my special 10% discount so click on the catalogue to the right and place your orders today!

I'll be back to sharing lots of inspiration with you soon with things I've made - there's just so much information to share, I haven't had time!

*This order is from me as an independent Stampin’ Up demonstrator, not from Stampin’ Up.

Tagged!

I had time for a very brief play with my new Stampin' Up! starter kit at the weekend as I was going on a hen night and needed an appropriate tag. One of the kits I ordered was the cocktail and beer set of stamps which I thought would be good, so opted for my 'no thought required' colour scheme of pink and brown.

I stamped the background cocktail image in Teal, and the same for the main image which I coloured in with pencils. A bit of ribbon and some decorative edge scissors and there you have it!

A feast of goodies

A quick make birthday card is the only creating I've had time for this week, so here you have it! I've stamped one of my favourite background stamps - Polka Dot - onto Bashful Blue card using the same colour ink pad (tone on tone technique). I've gone for pastel colours so stamped the base from the 'Big Bold Birthday' stamp set in Bashful Blue ink onto white card and cut it out, the top of the cake in Green Gable ink onto white again and cut that out, and the candles in Chocolate Chip colour (you guessed it, onto white and cut it out!). I've raised some of the cake using foam pads so that it stands out from the card. I intend to use this stamp set for all sorts of card designs and will be working on some more detailed versions with this set at some time. Of course, now I am a demonstrator all of the above products are available to order through me so get in contact if you like them ;o)

We enjoyed a lovely couple of days staying in Oxford at the weekend, and then have also made the most of our week off woek by staying in a cottage in Suffolk for a couple of days this week too.

They have some lovely country shops in Suffolk, I could just buy all the gorgeous accessories and furniture if I could afford it!

And when I returned home, I was very excited to be greeted by **this**

It doesn't look very exciting but I knew once I opened it, I would be feasting my eyes on my fantastic Stampin' Up! starter kit and there seemed to be so much in there! It was like Christmas. Stamp sets, packs of card, ink pads, a wheel stamp, chalks, adhesives, business supplies - too much to mention! Because the starter kit is at such a discount when you sign up as a demonstrator, its really boosted the amount of SU goodies I have so I'll be showing them all off very soon!

If you'd like to see some of these in action or would like to try them yourself, let me know as I can come and host a workshop at your house for you and your friends. Enjoy the hot weather!

Last chance to make this mini scrapbook...

If you like the look of this mini scrapbook and have been thinking of how to record your photos and memories together, don't miss your last chance to sign up to this mini book class with me on Saturday July 17th. See the 'classes' tab at the top of my blog for more details... places must be booked by midday Friday (9th July).

Family heritage

Scrapbooking is predominantly about recording our family heritage, right? Sometimes I think we forget that, I love to create pretty pages full of lovely flowers and patterned papers and forget that I am supposed to be recording a history in my albums! This layout - which you may recognise from me sharing many moons ago - was all about that, I interviewed my great uncle about his life and recorded the answers in this text on the layout.

It took me an absolute age to make this page - I'm a slow scrapbooker anyway (give me a card and I can whip one up in ten minutes!) but there was so much detail to include on this page and I was so particular about it (did you know I'm a perfectionist!) but it was definitely worth it, as this is one page of mine that I do not feel has gone out of fashion according to what embellishments and papers are trendy at the time. This is a classic and I still love it!

I've been getting ready for my first cardmaking class in this new series, for this coming Monday so I'm not quite ready with my Stampin' Up announcements to officially mark the fact that I've signed up a demonstrator, but keep checking back as I will be offering a special introductory offer for you all for orders placed from the catalogue, very soon! Do you like my new blog header?

Wahoo! Stampin' Up celebrations

As of 1st July, I am now officially a Stampin' Up Demonstrator! And very excited too. I will be following with more information soon but you'll be seeing alot more of my stamping projects such as this in posts to come!

See here for your last chance to book onto my cardmaking class on Monday 12th July, Barking, Essex.