Fun at Training

One of the great things about being a Stampin' Up! demo is going to the Stampin' Up! Training Days. You get to meet lots of fabulous people who like you, just love their Stampin' Up! products, and you also get to see some of the fabulous new products that will shortly be available. Quite often you even come home with something that's not yet available. Now that's what I call a perk.

Two of my downlines, Nicky and Esther came to Telford with me and Esther was lucky enough to win one of the prize patrols.

Here's a photo of the three of us together during one of the breaks.

L to R Esther, Nicky and Me

Unfortunately I can't share a photo of what Esther won as it is one of the stamp sets that will be available in the new Annual Catalogue that is coming 1 July. I can however share a photo of the Prize Patrol gift that I won (on the right) and also my Stampin' Star that Natalie gave all the team members.

Another great thing about going to Training is the swaps. Some people make a hundred and others like me a more manageable amount. As much as I would love to receive 100 swaps I have no idea where I would put them all. Instead I took 25 (actually 26 but one went up on the board) with me, which for me is a more manageable amount.

Here are three of the swaps that I received - these have a bird theme.

Made by Angelique Adams

Made by Tiara Helen

Made by Emma Shelcot

I will be sharing more swaps later in the week. In the meantime, check back tomorrow to see what I've up to today (other than tidying up my wreck of a craft room).

Christmas Birthday

Well Christmas Day is over for another year and my daughter is another year older and now out her teens. Yesterday was her 20th birthday and we have always celebrated her birthday on the day because she has always refused to have a half birthday. I guess it's because my Mother's birthday is Christmas Eve and my father's was Boxing Day so Christmas birthdays have always been big in our house.

Jenny is a huge animal fan and is currently in the middle of applying to Colleges and Universities here and in the USA to study Zoology or Wild Life Conservation. I thought it would be a good idea to make her an animal related card so here is the one I came up with. I have to admit that the idea was CASed from Rhonda Griffin but changed to suit needs and supplies (as I don't have all the same sets that she used).

Not sure why the card looks bowed but it's not in real life

Stampin' Up! supplies used were

Stamp sets : Zoo Review, Petite Pairs and Papaya Collage

Card stock : Whisper White and Pool Party

Ink : Basic Black plus Pool Party and Calypso Coral markers

Accessories : 1/2" Circle punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, 2011-2012 In Color Brads, Whisper White Baker's Twine

Jenny and some of her friends are off to South Africa in March for 3 weeks work experience on a Game Reserve, so I can see me using the Zoo Review stamp set (it also has a Polar Bear, Lion, Giraffe and a Zebra) to make some good luck cards and other birthday cards in the near future.

Today I should be flying to the States weather permitting but I have already written some posts that will appear over the next few days or so. That way I will have time to get myself settled in and my stash out of the cupboard and dusted off ready for a few days of crafting stateside.

I hope you all had a lovely day yesterday and that Santa was kind to you. If Santa had to write an IOU then why not save it until 22 January. Sale-a-Bration starts then and there are some fantastic FREE products to be had for every £45.00 you spend (or multiple of). If you are on my mailing list I will be updating you with details of what's on offer and mailing you a copy of the leaflet if requested. If you are not sure if you are on the list and would like a FREE copy of the Sale-a-Bration leaflet drop me a quick email with your details and I will make sure I put a copy in the post to you when I get back.

Papaya Collage - Totally CASED

I received a panic phone call Thursday morning from a friend needing a 40th Birthday card urgently. I was seeing her later that day and agreed to make a card that she could give to her friend.

I have been wanting to play with my new Papaya Collage stamp set ever since I ordered it from the new Annual Catalogue but being in a rush I decided to have a quick look for ideas on the internet. This is never really a good idea as I can spend hours doing this and forget the time!

Anyway, I saw a card made by Emma Fewkes and once I saw it, I knew that I had to CASe it. Check out her original card at the following

http://ladynthestamp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/uncle-dicks-90th.html

Here is my version - it is a little different because I made it for a 40th Birthday and I also added some pearls to the butterfly! I also didn't trim the flower like Emma had, as I quite liked the leaf albeit in the same colour as the flower.

I know that vintage is an up and coming theme for cards and scrapbooks so I can see me using this stamp set quite a lot over the next few months.

Other than the Papaya Collage stamp set, I also used the Memorable Moments stamp set. This is a great set for adding the extra personalisation that some cards need. You can use it for both birthdays and anniversaries as it has words for both.

Here is the card side-on. As you can see, I popped the flower and the label with number overlay up on Dimensionals. The butterfly only has one wing partly glued down and this way it is possible to lift up the wings to give some added dimension.

Tomorrow is my last Christmas Stamp-a-Stack class for 2012. Check out my blog tomorrow as I'll be posting a sneak peek of the cards that we will be making.