Another Sneak Peek

This is the card that I made as my swap for yesterday's Regional Training In Reading. I had a fabulous day, made lots of new friends and re-connected with old ones too.

Sorry for the poor photographs. The bad weather does nothing for the lighting in this house. I ended up having to put every light on in the room hence the shadows.

               

Regional Training was fun and I received lots of fabulous swaps in return for the ones that I made. In fact, I somehow managed to come home with more swaps than I took thanks to the generosity of those who really excelled themselves and made what looked like hundreds of them. I will post photos of a few of them on here but not until after 1 May as the kind ladies and gent who made them may well want to show them first. They will all be on view at the Open House.

I will have a couple of exciting things to share with you on 1 May too, but I am sworn to secrecy at the moment. Needless to say, check back at 10.00 am when the blog hop goes live and all will be revealed.

Sneak Peak - Summer Mini swaps

This week has been unbelievable busy. I have been making projects using products from the Summer Mini Catalogue that releases on 1 May.

Last Sunday I hosted a crafty get together with fellow Blue Angels and the six of us had to design a project that we could all make during the day.  I choose to use one of the new stamp sets from the Summer Mini Catalogue and a couple of others did too. This means I am starting a lovely inspirational collection of ideas that I will be showing at my Open House on 5 May.

I also decided to take part in two swaps and have had to make 15 cards for these - 5 of one design and 10 of another. I had planned to make the same card for both but then realised that there was a couple of people in both swaps and I did not think it fair to send them two cards that are the same.  I finally mailed everything out on Wednesday and promptly made a start on the swaps for today's regional training.

This morning (in 2 hours as I write this) I am off to Regional Training in Reading with lots of other Stampin' Up! demonstrators from the South East.

I have not been to a regional training before, so I am to say the least a little nervous. I know a few people going but the point is to make new friends and swap ideas.  Because training is so close to the release of the Summer Mini we are supposed to use product from this for our swaps.  It is up to each of us how many of the swaps we make but I have chosen to make 25 - in theory I should then receive 25 swaps in return. I will be posting photos of some of the ones I receive early next week so please check back then to see lots of fabulous inspiration or come along to the Open House to see them in person.

In the meantime, here are a couple of photos of the swaps that I made and posted out earlier in the week.

I also used this as my project for our crafty get together.

Because this is a sneak peak, I am not allowed to name all the new product used on these cards. If you haven't requested your free copy of the catalogue I will have to let you guess what is in store for you. However, if you would like a FREE copy of the Summer Mini Catalogue please contact me and I will post one out to you. Alternatively, come along to the Open House on 5 May and see the goodies in person and get to play with some of it. There will be a free Make & Take, lots of ideas for you to see and of course some of the product on display for you to see in person. Please let me know if you are planning on coming so that I can make sure that I have enough material for the Make & Takes.

Cards for Men Class

Last night seven lovely ladies came over for my first class. I had decided that the first one would be Cards for Men. For some reason I always have difficulty making a card for the male of our species. There are lots of lovely stamp sets in the catalogue and luckily there are a few that make great cards masculine cards.

Here are some photos of the projects we made last night.

In all we made three cards and a gift card holder.

I decided to start with the simpler card and work our way to the more complicated ones.

This was the first card we made. It has a Soft Suede card base and we also used some paper from the Mocha Morning Speciality Designer Paper pack. We used one of the smaller stamps from the Spiced Paisley stamp set (only available until the end of this month) and a greeting from the Perfect Punches stamp set.

The second card we made used the A La Carte Stamp called Sail Away. This is a single stamp often missed at the beginning of the catalogue. I combined Pacific Point and Old Olive card stock together with some Pacific Point Designer Series Paper. The image was stamped onto Whisper White card stock with Pacific Point ink and the image popped when it was adhered to a piece of Old Olive card stock.

The third card took a little more time to make simply because there are more techniques involved. The base card is a piece of Crumb Cake and we also used Basic Black, Whisper White and Real Red card stock too. My version  of the card uses the sports car from the Need for Speed stamp set but there are three other stamps in the set (Speed Boat, Jet Plane and Dune Buggy) so everyone's card came out differently.  Two images were stamped onto a piece of Crumb Cake card stock before being punched out using the Postage Stamp punch (only available until the end of April). The Real Red card stock was embossed using the Square Lattice Embossing folder.

The fourth thing we made was not quite a card but a gift card holder. This is a design that I also used at Christmas - click on this link for more info, which was based on a design by Monica Gale. This was by far the most complicated thing of the evening, but only because there was some scoring, folding and punching. It's the usual story that the right tools of the job make the task easier and quicker and Stampin' Up! certainly have these a plenty.

I think that everyone had fun making all of the cards and I know that a few of them are already earmarked for various occasions.

If you are interested in attending a class, check out my Craft Days and Classes link above for details of future classes.

Scrapbook Workshop

A couple of evenings ago I had a lovely time with some ladies in Bracknell. We had loads of fun playing with my Stampin' Up! products and making a mini scrapbook page.

It started with a page that I had made using some Lucky Limeade and Daffodil Yellow card stock and some Island Indigo Designer Series Paper from the 2011-2013 In Color paper stack.

The Daffodil Yellow card stock was embossed using the Square Lattice embossing folder and the edge was then punched using the Scallop Border Trim punch. I also stamped the top portion that I'd not embossed with Island Indigo ink using a stamp from the Every Little Bit stamp set. I love this set as it contains 28 small stamps that can be used for all sorts of events and occassions. The Lucky Limeade was cut out using the Clear Scallop Square die.

I gave each of the ladies the same basic supplies of cardstock and DSP.  There was certainly a lot of stamping, punching, embossing that went on and not surprisingly they all came up with individual designs for their pages.

If you have a group of friends who scrapbook and would like a party please contact me to arrange a date.

I have a couple of other pages to share with you but I will save them for another day.

I quick reminder that you only have until the end of the month (10 days) to get your Free Spring Papers with a purchase of £45.00 or more (excluding p&p). Contact me if you would like to place an order.

Waterfall Album Class

Last night I went to the home of Diane, a fellow Blue Angel, to do one of her classes. We made a Waterfall Album, you may have seen one of hers at the Make It show.

There were six of us who did the class and we had a great time.  Diane found the original idea for the album on Jenny Moors blog.

Here are some photos of the one that I made last night. I have to admit that I did not finish it until this morning, because it was getting late last night and I was just not getting it right. Even so, I think it came out rather well.

Front Cover

Inside front cover and first of four decreasing in size
waterfall pages that you can put photos on.

Smaller page for photo and you can see the
pull tab that is attached to the last page.

Last page of the waterfall for your greeting

Back cover

The album was made using Soft Suede, Marina Mist and Very Vanilla card stock. I also used some of the Designer Series Paper from the Beau Chateau set of papers.

I used Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip and Marina Mist ink, along with stamps from the Everything Eleanor, Baroque Motifs, and Just Believe stamp sets and various punches.

If anyone is interested in learning how to make this album please let me know and if there are sufficient numbers I will put a class together.

Sunny Buttons

Continuing this month's theme of fabric and buttons, I thought I'd share a card that I made for a friend that I haven't seen for awhile.

The card is made with a combination of Pacific Point and Pumpkin Pie. The base card is Pacific Point with the layer of Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White card stock. I used the Posy Punch Hostess Stamp set along with the matching Fancy Flower Punch and also a 1" Circle punch.

I finished two of the flowers with Pumpkin Pie buttons from the Brights Designer Button collection.

The combination of Pacific Point and Pumpkin Pie gives a lovely sunny feel. Something we need right now to chase away the cobwebs and horrid weather that we have returned to this week.

Card Classes - Update

I hope you had a great Easter, and did not over indulge on those tempting Easter eggs. Our house seems to be full of them but I am sure that our son will have finished most of them off (or at least his 5) within the week.

All spaces are now filled for the Cards for Men class being held on 20 April. Please contact me if you wish to add you name to the reserve list.

There are only a few spaces left on the Summer Mini Special class being held 25 May. Please click on the Craft Day and Card Class link above for more details and contact me without delay if you want to book your space for the class.

In case you haven't realised, there is a Summer Mini Catalogue coming- I have already seen a copy and have been lucky enough to pre-order some of the fantastic product that's available. There will be some sneak peaks later in the month. Sadly, this means that all the lovely goodies in the Spring Mini Catalogue are only going to be available until the end of this month. If you still haven't purchased your Spiced Paisley stamp set, Spice Cake fabric, Large Scallop Circle Punch, Postage Stamp punch then don't forget to get your order in by the end of April. What's more because Stampin' Up! is celebrating Spring you are also able to choose a FREE pack of Speciality Designer Paper if your order is £45.00 or more (excluding p&p). See below for more details.

Don't miss out on the class in May, or your last chance to purchase product from the Spring Mini. Please contact me using this link.

Designer Buttons

In view of the fact that the fabulous Spice Cake designer series paper and the large Designer Buttons are only going to be available until the end of this month, I thought I would share a card with you that I created using both of these.

The base card is a piece of More Mustard card stock and there is also a piece of Soft Suede that the buttons are sitting on.  I threaded and tied some Linen Thread to finish off the buttons. 

This was a simple card to make but it shows off the paper and buttons to great effect.  Don't forget, they are only going to be available until the end of this month, so don't miss out if these are on your wish list. 

Spice Cake fabric card

Not many people think about putting fabric on their cards but I'm busy trying to think of things because I am not too handy with the sewing machine. This is probably because it's just too much of an effort to get it out of the cupboard and find the transformer for it. I can hear you thinking, what?  I bought the machine back from the USA and it only works on 110V so if I just plugged it in over here I would blow it up! Hence the need for the transformer but the problem is that it weighs more than the sewing machine.

Anyway, here's a card with some of the lovely Spice Cake fabric on it.  I love the Spice Cake suite of products, it's one of the sets that I really hope makes it into the new Catalogue but knowing my luck it won't.

The card base is a piece of More Mustard. I ran a piece of Soft Suede through my Bog Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.

I then tied a piece of the Spice Cake designer fabric around the embossed card stock, tying it in a simple knot at the front. The Soft Suede card stock was then stuck onto the base card.

The whole thing was finished off with a greeting from the Sincere Salutations stamp set that was stamped in Soft Suede onto a piece of Pool Party card stock and then punched out.

Don't forget this month's special offer of a FREE set of Designer Series Paper (choice while stocks last of Berry Blossoms, Beyond the Garden, Nursery Nest and Pocketful of Posies) if you place an order of £45.00 or more.  The Spring Mini ends at the end of this month so place your order now and don't miss out on the product only available until 30 April.

Button Flowers

A quick post today with a card that features the Brights Designer Buttons and the For Everything Stamp set.

The base card is Melon Mambo with a piece of Daffodil Delight matted onto it.   The grass is a piece of Old Olive that I cut with a fine pair of scissors to give the impression of grass. Before sticking this to the Whisper White I stamped the three stalk images (in Old Olive) from the For Everything stamp set.

I threaded the three buttons with some Very Vanilla 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon and then glued them to the card as the flower heads.  I added three butterflies that I made from some scrap card stock using the Beautiful Wings embosslit and a Happy Birthday from the Happiest Birthday Wishes hostess stamp set.

April Card Class - Cards for Men

Just to let you know that there are only a couple of places left on the card class being held on 20 April.

The theme for this class is Cards for Men. So many people have said to me that they find it difficult to make a card suitable to send to a man so I decided to put my thinking cap on and now have a few designs to share at this class.

All materials are provided to make the cards, you just need to bring glue/tape (which ever adhesive you prefer), and your favourite scissors or tools that you like to craft with.

Click on the following link for more information or email me if you would like to book your place. Please note that bookings close 10 April so that I can order all the necessary supplies, so if you haven't already booked your spot please contact me.

See what's on offer for April

Sale-a-Bration may have come to an end but there is still a month to purchase products from the Spring Mini catalogue.

What's more, the special offers are still coming. This month, Stampin' Up! are offering a choice of FREE designer papers if you spend £45.00 or more. Please note that it is ONE FREE set per qualifying order. Don't forget to place your order soon to ensure that you are able to make use of this offer.  The choice of papers are:

Berry Blossoms

Beyond the Garden

Nursery Nest

Pocketful of Posies

Berry Blossoms

Nursery Nest

Beyond the garden

Pocketful of Posies

The theme for this month's projects is (if I recall rightly) fabric and buttons. The first project I want to share with you is a card that I made using some of the Spice Cake Designer Fabric and one of the large Designer Buttons both from the Spring Mini Catalogue.

I used a Soft Suede card base. A strip of Designer Fabric was gathered slightly at the top and bottom and then fixed to a piece of Pool Party card stock.  I then used some Linen Thread and wrapped it around the middle of the fabric to gather it tighter and then used the ends of the thread to tie a large Designer Button to the fabric.

The Pool Party card stock was then adhered to the Soft Suede card base. A piece of Spice Cake DSP was added together with a greeting from the Sincere Salutations stamp set which was stamped in Soft Suede onto a piece of Pool Party. The greeting was punched out using the Decorative Label punch and another couple were punched out in Soft Suede and layered underneath.

So why not combine those last minute purchases from the Spring Mini and take advantage of the FREE pack of Designer Series Paper Offer.  Please email me if you would to purchase anything.