Fab Pheasant

Hi there,


It was my DH's birthday yesterday and I had the perfect stamp set to make up his card with. It's the new Autumn Days set from the new SU Catalogue and as he is quite partial to pheasants (both spotting them whilst out driving and also cooking and then eating them) I just knew he would appreciate a card with one on it.

I also got to use the new Window Word Punch for the Birthday Greeting from the Basic Phrases Set, guess I'll be using that set a whole lot more as this punch works really well with it.

Supplies:
Autumn Days Stamp Set
Basic Phrases Stamp Set
Word Window Punch
Vintage Brads (Black)
Cream Square Card Base
Taken with Teal Card & Ink
Naturals Ivory Card
Chocolate Chip Card & Ink
Creamy Caramel Ink



I based the card on a project in the new Catalogue - I inked the bird up in chocolate chip, wiped off a little ink from his tail and head with a kitchen towel and then inked those parts - gingerly - with Taken with Teal ink (and rubbed his tummy with teal as well.) He was pretty easy to cut out and after stamping the grasses and adding some torn card as a background, I stuck him down with 3D foam.

See ya,

Su

SU Convention 2009

Hi,

We are all getting pretty excited as the first ever SU Convention for UK Demos gets closer! It is definately going to be the highlight of the crafting year!

It's open to all European Demos (France, Germany & UK) and this year is being held in Frankfurt, Germany - on Friday 6th & Saturday 7th November. To get a flavour of what we can expect - try searching SU Convention in google. Add the word 'swap' and you'll be rewarded with lots of lovely card photos to give you plenty of inspiration for your next card/project.

As the first for us, it's going to be a somewhat smaller affair than the US one (which I think has around 4,000 delegates - can you imagine getting your swaps ready for that? LOL!) They haven't announced booking figures for our event, but I imagine it will just be in the hundreds.

The Convention is open to all demos - including hobbyists, discounters and those who join SU in the next couple of weeks - so there is still just time to join up and book, if you would like to go.

There is a booking fee (which covers the workshops/make n' takes, demonstrations, special SU Mall, the big convention dinner on the friday night, and also a goodie bag with 2 free stamp sets.) Due to it being in Germany there are extra travel/accomodation expenses - so it is not an especially cheap event. However, I think it going to be worth every penny and I am so excited to be going!

If you are interested, would like to know more about Convention, or find out about joining SU - do please email or ring me on 07906 111796. Convention closing date is early October, so don't hang about! More information about joining SU can be found on my website here.

I am especially excited by all the Convention Swaps I'll be doing - I am in 3 organised swaps, plus the generally 'free-for-all' swap which takes place over the 2 days. I am going to simply make as many as I physically can produce/can carry - that way I know I am going to bringing home loads of lovely ideas from lots of lovely cratfers! (Time to empty my trusty wheel-along crafting tote!)

Of course, I'll also be taking my camera and extra memory cards, so will take lots of photos and get them posted on the blog here when I get back.

bfn,

Su

Open House Crafting Event - Monday 12th October

As it's that time of year again, I will be holding another Open House Crafting Event, again at my house in Gloucester, to showcase the new SU Catalogue and it's new Products - on Monday 12th October 2009 (yes the date has changed!)

Just pop by anytime between 10am-3pm and also later that day from 7-9pm to see the new 2009/2010 Idea Book and Catalogue with October Specials, Samples, new Stamps & Accessories to try out with free Makes n' Takes and a couple of prizes on offer; plus coffee, chat and cakes!

You can stay for as little or as long as you like, and please feel free to bring a friend or two along.

Su

Fresh Cuts Card with Amy's Sketch

Hi,

Whenever I am online, I generally always have a peep at what Amy is doing on her lovely blog - lovely cards of course!

I couldn't resist taking part in her Friday sketch challenge this morning (beats typing up notes for work!) - in fact this is the first challenge I have done this year!

I am pretty pleased with this card. Hope you like it!

I used Stampin' Up!s Fresh Cuts stamp set for the card. Other Supplies used, all SU: Tempting Turquoise Card Ink & grosgrain Ribbon, Certainly Celery Card and Ink, Taken with Teal Card and Ink, and of course the Scallop Edge Punch.

Brilliant sketch Amy - go to Amy's Friday Sketch post if you would like to take part - she says 'ANYONE can participate- you can use whatever products/stamps/embellies you want - sky's the limit' - so, if you've not done one before, why not have a go? Amy has done most of the hard work - coming up with the idea - it only took me 10 minutes to make the card by following the sketch!

Here is Amy's sketch, so you can see what I followed:

BFN

Su

New Stamps with Mini Catalogue!

I am so pleased we have got our own SU Mini Catalogue at least - and yes it's been worth the wait!

It is of course our first ever Mini Catalogue from SU in the UK - with an all new line of stamp sets and accessories. It’s all gorgeous stuff and if you can’t wait for your hard copy - you can download it here from my Stampin Studio.co.uk site now!

The Mini catalogue runs from April 1st to September 30th - as with all minis, we don't know what stamp sets are going to be limited and what will be in next year's catalogue, so if there is something you really like, remember the end of date.

Do please contact me if you'd like to place an order from the Mini or main SU catalogue.

I have so many favourites from the mini - in fact I wanted them all! At the moment it has to be Fresh Cuts, the 2 oval punches and matching Oval All Stamp set, and the Sense of Time Set.

If you're looking for more cardmaking ideas using Stamps from the Mini, checkout the Splitcoast Stampers SU Gallery - the US Mini has a lot of the same sets as ours, so the Minis bit of the SU gallery is a great browse for Inspiration. And of course, the SCS has the A-Z section for all SU Stamp Sets.

Stampin’ Up! Award

I am completely Bowled Over!

Towards the end of 2008, I was delighted to be named one of the Top 5 Demonstrators in the UK for Stampin’ Up’s first year in the UK, coming 2nd as the top recruiter.

So at the beginning of this year, I was sent a beautiful Tiffany Notes Silver bracelet as a prize!

Thank you Stampin' Up! Since they came to the UK, not only have I been able to at last get my hands on their lovely stamps, but I have also had lots of Free stamps, free training, lovely swaps and now a beautiful bracelet! I can't wait for SU's Annual Convention and then of course there is the Incentive Trip - not sure I'll make that though!

I have had such an amazing time over the last year, traveling and meeting so many nice people and making some great friends – all combined with one of my great joys - stamping and cardmaking!

So I’d really like to thank you all - my team, and each one of my customers - for all your support over the last year, I really do appreciate it.

If you would like to join me on my creative journey - as customer, hostess or team member, do please email me or even give me a ring.

Su

Sale-A-Bration has Arrived!

WOW! The best time in the Stampin Up year has arrived! It's Stampin’ Up!’s biggest promotions of the year and has been running for 10 years now - but a first for us in the UK!

What's all the excitement about you ask - free stamps sets of course! And the ones on offer are so yummy is going to be a hard choice (although there is no limit to how many you can collect.)

There are free, limited edition stamp sets which are available to earn from the special Sale-A-bration catalogue for all of us!
Customers: Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 purchased.
Hostesses: Receive a free Sale-A-Bration stamp set with £300 or more workshop, in addition to the normal hostess benefits.

Have you thought of getting the Starter Kit, joining my team as a Discount Purchaser or Stampin’ Up demonstrator? Because during Sale-A-Bration there is something special in it for you too, those who join during Sale-A-Bration promotion can choose any retail stamp set (a value up to £38.95) from the current catalogue. Fab! Give me a call to find out more!

This promotion is a little longer than usual - lasting until the end of February - but if you wish to book a workshop, do please contact me soon as my diary is getting pretty busy for these next two months. You can also place an order for one or two items direct with me or even collect orders from your friends to gain the additional hostess rewards & benefits if you don't have time for a workshop.

Do please contact me to get your own copy of the Sale-A-Bration catalogue or find out more - and you can also check out more online at: www.StampinUp.co.uk

Su

Christmas Treats!

Stampin' Up! have really gone to town this month, with 2 great offers:

If you order or host a party/workshop with me between 1st November and 31st December not only will you get the usual free hostess set and free products if the total order is over £150, but you will also get an extra stamp set free (worth up to £24.95) in addition to those usual hostess gifts. Your free set can be any one of the following: Wondrous Gift (page 17), Snow Flurries (page 20), Friendly (page 56), Seasonal Wishes (page 60), Dotted Autumn (Page 91), Cold Play (Page 91) (the last 2 are retired stamp sets and are only available while stocks last.)

You can host a workshop in your own home, or simply just email me your order for £150 or more. (I only have a few dates left between now and the beginning of December.)

The 2nd offer is for Rub-ons and Textured Card - for any orders placed up to 30 November 2008 there is a special price on the rub-ons and textured card packs when you spend £20 or more on other items from the catalogue! Please contact me for more information on this.

Su

Organic Grace Thank You Card

Hi - I'm back!

I'm having so much fun with the new Stampin Up! Idea Book and Catalogue - I love all the new card and papercrafting ideas - and of course lots of fab new stamp sets and punches too.

I spent last night making a dozen of this particular card - for recent customers who have ordered from the new catalogue. I wanted to show them a card using one of the free Level 1 sets and chose Organic Grace. It's my absolute favourite free set at the moment, so I know I shall be making loads more.

I loved the way the pale inks (soft subtles) worked with the plants being in the background, whilst the dragonfly stands out (inked with a richer earth elements colour, night of navy.) I inked the flower in night of navy and stamped onto bashful blue and then roughly cut it out and mounted using 3D foam. Also inked the edges of the white stamped card with night of navy. Of course, I just had to use the new Scalloped Edge punch - not once but twice to give a great finsih to the card.

I used SU Supplies: Organic Grace Stamp Set, Pocket Sillouettes, white cardstock, Not Quite Navy Cardstock and Ink, Certainly Celery Cardstock and Ink, Bashful Blue Cardstock and Ink, Bashful Blue Gingham Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch.

Thanks for looking.

Su

Cardmaking Mania!

Well I've almost been eating , sleeping and dreaming cardmaking parties, workshops and classes these last couple of months. I also have a few special Cardmaking Events lined up for this month - after that, I think I need a little breather!

Tuesday 10th June, 9.45-11.45am - Hucclecote Community Centre (at my monthly club.)
Tuesday 17th June, 9.45-11.45am - Quedgeley Community Centre (at my monthly club.)

Wednesday 25th June, 12.30-2.30pm, Trefoil Centre (Guide Hall next to Dinglewell Schools) Hucclecote, Gloucester

and

Stamping & Cardmaking Day - Saturday 28th June:
10am-3pm - Trefoil Centre, (Guide Hall next door to Dinglewell Schools) Hucclecote.

Join us and raise funds for the Guides - pop in for an hour and make a card or two, (adults £1 a card, children 50p a card) or book a morning/afternoon/whole day Stamping & Cardmaking Workshop (£6/£12).

Proceeds are going towards a much needed extension to the Guide Hall.

Due to limited places, advanced booking is required for all the Workshops. Please ring me on 07906 111796 for more information or to book a workshop; or for details about Stampin’ Up! Home Workshops, Craft Parties, Clubs, Group Demonstrations and Demonstrator opportunities.

Where did March Go?

Hi,

I can't believe we are already in April - just where did March go? I have been working flat out with workshops and planning.

So here are a few of the cards that I have made recently:

The first 3 are cased from Ronnie, and given a watermarked background so that I could make larger cards for Mother's Day:

I really love the Stampin' Up! Doodle That set - as well as being one of the cheapest in the catalogue, it's really versatile and I love doing a watermark background using the same stamp and a versamark ink pad (you could use the same colour card stock and ink pad for the same effect.)

I also did a card class for the kids at church - with the potential of having over 40 kids, I had to come up with something quick and easy and settled for a Die Cut Monogram 'On Mother's Day' Card, giving them the option of a die cut (Sizzix Bigz Sassy Alphabet) M (mum), G (gran/grandma), N (nana) and A (aunt). The left over kits came in handy for my own DD and DS - here are their creations! (They are looking sleepy as they'd only just got up!)

I'll post more later.

BFN

Su

Cheltenham Stitch and Creative Craft show

Here are some photos from the Show held at Cheltenham Racecourse:















Yes this is me - wearing the lovely SU apron! And of course here is Ronnie too, who came up with the great idea of exhibiting at the show. Ronnie was a demo before in Australia, so had loads of great card samples and ideas.


















I made up some cards using the great Office Accoutrement Set and matching Round Tab punch (which I think I'm right in saying isn't sold by anyone else in the UK?) It's just great and I must do a separate post on these cards and punches soon. And as for the spiral punch - that really is the business. I also demonstrated the Crop-o-dile.

The last photo shows a couple of the Door Prizes that we made up. We had one for each day, which included a small stamp set along with a few finished cards to inspire the winners.



Can't wait for my next show now - as long as it's a few months away!



Su

A Couple of Cards

It's been one hectic month with the Cheltenham show and workshops. The Create & Stitch Show at Cheltenham Racecourse earlier in the month was great. I shared a stand with a fellow demo, Ronnie from Swindon and it went really well. We had lots of interest, loads of workshop bookings and several demo leads. People were really 'wow'ed by the demos! So all in all, it was lots of fun, we met loads of great ladies and it was very worthwhile! But a lot of work and effort - as evidenced by my lack of blogging lately, sorry!

So here are a couple of recent cards for you:

- after seeing Ronnie demo the Bold Butterfly set, I just had to get it and this is my first, fast and furious card made with the set. I just used the 2-step stampin' technique with pixie pink, stampin off the bold image first to give a lighter inked image and then stamped the outline in the same ink colour.

This second card was made with a Sizzix Bigz 'J' letter die - for my nephew Joel's birthday.

I cheated with a patterned card blank, stamped a happy birthday sentiment, wrapped some ribbon around the J and stuck it on with 3D foam. Most of the Bigz letters are too big to fit on an A6 card - but the J was a perfect fit.

BFN - I will be back soon, I promise!

Su

Valentine Card

Here is the card I did for this last week's Challenge:

I stamped the large background SU French Flair stamp on red card with Versamark ink.

Then added a small All My Love greeting (SU) in black to the top left of the red card.

Black grosgrain ribbon wrapped around the red. And to finish, the swallow from the SU Carte Postale set was stamped onto white card using black ink.

I love the way these 2 stamp sets work together and can't wait to try out the matching wheel, Leaves A La Carte!

I am now spoilt for choice on what to send my DH on Thursday, as tonight at craft club we made Decoupage Cards and I am definately sending him one of those (Bears in the Bath!) Will post that before then for you to see - it's so cute!

Su

Stampin' Up! Special / Promotion

Hi,

I have an SU Promotion to share with you! It's called the '2-Step Stampin’ Promotion' and will run between 1– 29 February 2008.

So what's the deal? Purchase £35 of Stampin’ Up! products, and get 25% off one of the following 2-Step Stampin’ sets (the prices shown include the discount.)
105755 - Mixed Bouquet - £21.71 (page 42)
109439 - Big Bold Birthday - £20.21 (page 35)
104014 - Shapes & Shadows - £22.46 (page 54)

There is a limit of one 25% off stamp set for every £35 spent. For example, if you spend £35 in regular merchandise, you may purchase one of the three discounted stamp sets. If you spend £70, you may purchase two of the three discounted sets, etc.

'Two-step' stamping is a great, easy technique, which layers one image over another. To try it out, why not book a Stampin' Up! At Home party with me? It's a fun way to get together with some friends and family, do some stamping, make some cards, and earn free products!

Alternatively, you can order any of these sets by contacting me direct.

You'll find all the details and some lovely pictures of the stamps at http://www2.stampinup.com/gb/documents/UK_2step_Promo_0208.pdf. Or check out the SU Idea Book & Catalogue link on the right.

So - if you've been thinking of booking a party with me - now is a great time to do it!

(I should have also said that this is the 2nd promo that SU UK have run - the first is still current. Until 29 February, 2008 you can get the demonstrator Starter Kit - regularly priced at £155 - for only £139. That’s £265 worth of stamps, accessories and business supplies for only £139! This is the kit/offer that started me off as an SU Demo, so if you want to find out more, please give me a call.)

Su

It's a Challenge!

A couple of weeks ago I had a search around and was surprised that I couldn't find a challenge site for us UK Newbies to Stampin' Up! As we are only on our first stash of SU stamps/first UK SU Catalogue, I thought a weekly challenge would be great to get us going!

Of course, there are a lot of fantastic cards with Stampin' Up! stamps out there, including more and more from UK stampers each day, but it would be nice to have a central blog/challenge showcasing just the Stamps available to us in the UK (so for now, just from the first UK SU Catalogue)? So I set up a separate website/blog for this and you can find it, along with all the details at http://StampinUpChallengeUK.blogspot.com/.

I hope you like it - and that you'll rise to the challenge and join me every week! So - the Card, ATC, gift or papercrafting item will have to use a Stamp or other product from any UK Stampin' Up! Catalogue (of course the first and only one at present!) based upon the challenge.

Naturally this doesn't exclude any of you from outside the UK - and I expect most of the stamps we have in our SU UK Cattie are already out there in America, Australia and NZ, etc. So please join in the fun!

To give you a flavour - here is this week's challenge layout and the cards samples I used for this week's challenge:

The solid flower was stamped onto pink passion card, using a Versamark ink pad - with glitter added in the centres. Wide pink organza ribbon was wrapped around the pink card before it was matted onto the white basecard. Another flower was stamped onto a scrap of pixie pink card using a pink passion ink pad, then cut out and all the lines on this flower were glittered apart from the outer edge. This was then stuck to the card using 3-d foam.

The Elephant card sample uses the cute elephant stamp from the Year After Year Set, along with the greeting from the Birthday Best set - using the same techniques as for the pink card, but using Tempting Turquoise card and ink, with the white grosgrain ribbon.

I have to say I really like this layout, as the possibilities are endless for a lot of the Stampin' Up! sets - especially the Year After Year one, as all the stamps will work (and I got to use my fab new SU Round Tab (109974) punch!

Su

Happy Birthday Samm!

Here is the card I made for Samm, a blogging friend at SBS8. Happy Birthday Samm!



Samm set a birthday blog candy challenge and this is my entry - Samm's blog is at http://samm-l.blogspot.com/ and is well worth a visit.


I used the Stampin' Up! Feathered Friends set, along with a Stampin' Up! Nature's Seasonal Border set.


The images were coloured in using pearlescent watercolours. A white organza ribbon was added before the blue card was matted onto the white base card.


Hope you like it Samm!

Card Blowout Week!

Hi,

I've been kept busy this week as we had our monthly craft night - Hillview Creative Crafters - at church this week, as well as my running a Stampin' Up! workshop/class.

I can't find my stencilled cards at the moment, so will show those another time. So here are the 3 cards that we made last night at my SU workshop/party:

This first one is made with the Stampin' Up! 'Birthday Best' set - it's so cute and really quick and easy to use.

I've used the cupcake with candle stamp, along with the birthday greeting - with the Bold Brights colourways. It's nice and bright and cheery, which makes a change to all the dull and wet weather we've been having. It was really nice to be able to colour in the stamp to the same exact shade as the cardstock - I used black ink to stamp the image and then coloured it in with Rose Red, Green Galore and Only Orange Stampin' Write marker pens, with a thin red ribbon to finish off. I'm really into card tearing at the moment, so you'll see lots of my cards with that!

This next card was also nice and quick and easy, which is ideal for workshops - looks so elegant too!

I've used 2 different flowers from the Stampin' Up! 'Mixed Bouquet' set. The first is the solid flower inked with Versamark (a watermark inkpad) onto Pink Passion cardstock - and the flower centres are then glittered using a Gelly Roll Stardust pen. We stamped the larger flower with Pink Passion ink onto a scrap of Pixie Pink card. The inside inked lines of this flower were also drawn over using the Stardust Pen to add extra sparkle. It was cut out and mounted over a piece of organza ribbon, which finished the card off - have to say I changed the width of the ribbon for my ladies as the wider one looked much better than the thin one I used here. Matting the pink card onto a white card base gives the opportunity to wrap and adhere the ribbon to the pink card for a neater finish, before sticking the pink onto the white.

And my favorite Stamp at the minute is this Poppy one, using the Stampin' Up! Hostess Set called 'Oh So Lovely' - which it is!

We stamped the long background rectangle stamp twice on scrap paper to get rid of the excess black ink to give a lighter stamped background. Then stamped the Poppy in black on top of the background. It was very easy to line them up. Using a scrap of white card, 2 stamped images of just the poppy heads were made, again in black. Back to the main poppy flower, all the edges were roughly torn and this was matted onto a piece of Only Orange cardstock, and this stuck onto the white basecard - on the left hand side of the card.

3 of the poppy heads were then coloured in using Only Orange Stampin' Write marker pens. They were then cut out, and the edges gone over with a black marker pen to give a neater edge. The 3 poppy heads were then stuck onto their respective plain flowers on the main card, using 3D foam squares. A message of Thanks was then stamped to the bottom right of the card, using black ink.

And if you live in the Gloucestershire/Cotswolds or Swindon area and would like to host a free cardmaking workshop, do get in touch with me. You are sure to have lots of fun with your Friends learning new stamping techniques, making some cards and looking at all the gorgeous Stampin' Up! products.

My first Stampin' Up! Cards

I finally got the photos to upload! Here are the 2 cards that I made last week.

They are pretty simple and copied directly from the SU booklet as I needed something really quick and easy, having only half an hour or so to make a couple of cards up, after getting all the stamps mounted and my paper and ink organised!

For the birthday card, I just love the combination of tempting turquoise and green galore. I used flowers from the Mixed Bouquet Set - creating a watermark effect with versamark ink on the blue card. Wrapped white SU ribbon around that and then mounted onto the green. Stamped a flower from Mixed Bouquet set in green galore and on top stamped a birthday greeting (from Cheers and Wishes set) in black - mounted this onto the watermarked turquoise.

Thank You card is made with SU real red and green galore card stock. Used the Jumbo Spot On Stampin Around Wheel with versamark ink to create a watermarked border (sorry, it didn't show up well in the photo) down the right hand half of the card (what fun I am going to have with these Stampin Around wheels, they are great!) Then stamped the flower and thank you circle from the Seeing Spots set, in real red and green galore inks, onto a small white square. Mounted that onto green galore card and then stuck onto centre of card.

I love the way these SU stamp sets, along with the card and ink, co-ordinate so that all the hard work is taken out of designing a card, if a quick one is needed. I really need to build up a stock of cards, as it is always a last minute rush making a card for someone - I'll do this whilst having fun, playing around with these new sets.

France!

Wow - what a brilliant weekend we had in France! We had a long weekend there, Christmas shopping in Calais (how that place has changed in 20 years!) Lots of excellent food, supermarket, clothes and speciality shopping!

The best restaurant there is Le Channel, and well worth a visit but you do need to book - http://www.restaurant-lechannel.com/modulosite2/fiche.php?id=537&fr=0 - their shop is a real treat also with wines of varying prices and specialities, along with a great deal of expert advice from Arnaud and tempting gift ideas (the cheeses always look great too, but we never have space in our car for a cool box!)

At Cite Europe, I got a little something for my Stampin' Up! workshops and classes - a very large free standing wire Cat which will display cards, along with a smaller free standing display, with a matching cat theme - I think they are meant for displaying photos. I will try and take some photos of those tomorrow (along with my first SU cards - which blogger refuses to load at the moment....)

BFN!