2012-2013 Idea Book is out now!

The fabulous new Idea book is already out! This is the largest catalogue that we have ever had in the UK and we now have the majority of the products that the American SU! team have! I've already placed my first order and I'm eagerly awaiting lots of new goodies to play with, which I promise to share with you in due course. If you don't already have a copy of the catalogue in your hands, then click on the cover image on the side bar to see more, or contact me for your very own copy.

If you are anything like me, as soon as you look at the new catalogue your wish list is going to be as long as your arm! If so, how do you fancy getting £130 worth of Stampin' Up! goodies for just £99? Plus as demonstrator you will be able to buy products with a 20% discount! You don't need to hold workshops, you don't even need to sell the products, you can just order fabulous stamps that you want at a great discount. You want more? Well how about FREE designer paper for 6 MONTHS too?!

FREE DSP when you sign up!

That’s right! Get FREE Designer Series Paper for SIX MONTHS* when you become a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator during October or November. *You need to place an order (of any value!) each month to receive your choice of free designer paper that month.

As a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, you’ll enjoy exclusive benefits like:

• A 20 percent product discount!
• A free subscription to Stampin’ Up!’s demonstrator magazine!
• Access to a thriving online community of stampers and paper crafters from around the world!
• An open invitation to fabulous Stampin’ Up! events!

Don’t wait to get started—contact me today! You can even sign-up online by clicking the link below, but I would suggest why not contacting me to have a chat first and I can explain it all to you!
https://ida.stampinup.com?demoid=5001322

2012-2013 Idea Book & Catalogue Blog Hop!

It's the 1st October, which means that after admiring it for the last few months, I can now share the super thick new catalogue with you all! As always, there is a blog hop to accompany the new catalogue launch.

If you have arrived at my page after visiting Emma's page, then welcome! If not, you might want to pop back and take a look at the wonderful creations Emma has made. Sarah's blog should be next but Sarah is obviously beavering away at work, so whilst we are waiting for her blog to update why not hop on over to Sandra's blog, who is the blog after Sarah.

I hope you enjoy the blog hop and all of the creative inspiration! 

Now I have to confess that time rather flew away from me and as I wasn't happy with my first attempt, I searched the internet for inspiration, so my card is a copy of someone who is far more talented than I! The original card can be seen on Julie's blog. Hopefully, if I manage to shift this cold, I'll be able to show you some original ideas with this fab new stamp set and punch later this week.

Stamp set & Punch: Make a Mitten
Colours: Pool Party, Nearly Navy and the new In-Colour Raspberry Ripple.

You can't tell from the photo, but I've also sprayed the pool party cardstock with some homemade shimmer spray using Stampin Up! Frost White paint.

Retired list and more...

I've just come back from our summer holiday in Florida and although I am missing the days spent by the pool and beach there is plenty of Stampin' Up! news to keep me distracted for the moment!

Retirement list
Hurray! It's SU sale time! With the new catalogue only just round the corner (be sure to email me if you want your copy when it's released on 1 October) the retired list is now out and already a number of items are out of stock. So if there is a stamp set that you have always had your eye on, make sure you order it qucikly before it's sold out. Items on the list will not be able to buy after 30 September. Postage is £4.95 direct to your door by UPS.

You'll notice that all of the new stamp pads are on the retirement list. Fear not! With the exception of the 2011-2012 in-colours which are going for good,  all your other favourites will be back but in a new format. I'll update you on that over the weekend but I didn't want to bombard you with too much info in this post!

Retired Stamps

Accessories List

Autumn/Winter Mini catalogue

For the first time in Europe we now have an Autumn/Winter mini catalogue, so if Christmas and Halloween are your kind of celebration then you will want to get your hand on some of the lovely new products. Becuase I was away I've not yet placed my order but top of my list is the wonderful new Cherry Cobbler tulle, the fabuluous ornament stamp sets, the gold and silver pens (perfect for gift tags) and I could go on and on!

Autumn/Winter catalogue link

Now is a fabulous time to book a party especially with the new Hostess stamp sets available in the Autumn/Winter mini. So if you want to have a fab night in with friends and free stamp sets then get in touch to book your workshop with me!

Summer Enchantment offer!

Summer Enchantment offer click here

Do you remember that gorgeous paper from the Sale-a-bration earlier this year? Well, it's back for a limited time only. And not only that, but it's back with a super cute offer. Spend £45 or more in July and you will receive the Summer Enchantment kit absolutely free. What a perfect time to place an order! And if you have been thinking about being a hostess and earning some wonderful hostess pounds to spend across the catalogue, then this offer is another great incentive to have a fun night in!

As if one great offer wasn't enough, we have just heard some exciting news. Stampin' Up! is going to be launching in Austria and the Netherlands soon! So if you are based in either country and are interested in finding out what it means to become a demonstrator or if you just want to get your hands on some lovely products them please get in touch. As of yet, the date has not been announced as to when the launch will take place but hopefully it's not too far away!

Simply Scored

The Simply Scored scoring pad is here! Demonstrators have been asking for a scoring pad for a while now and Stampin' Up! have obviously been listening! It comes marked in inches with an additional plate in cms available to order separately, if you prefer to use cms.

There is also a Simply Scored Diagonal plate (£10.95 available separately). The diagonal score plate goes on top of the Simply Scored board  so that you can score diagonal lines to make your own custom envelopes.  It's a recent edition and didn't quite make it into the Summer mini in time, but if you'd like to order one just send me an email to let me know.

Hopefully, if I have worked out how to embed video, there should be a useful youtube demonstration below of how the Simply Scored Diagonal Plate works. I have mine on order and can't wait to play with it when it arrives.

New Starter Kit!

 New Starter Kit just £99!

Stampin' Up! have re-launched the Starter Kit. Now for just £99 you can have £130 worth of gorgeous Stampin' Up! goodies plus all that you need to become a demonstrator!


With the new, flexible Starter Kit, you can customise your kit - your way! Each kit contains a business supplies pack (valued at £45 )—things that every demonstrator needs to start her business. After that, the choice is yours. You can choose up to £130  worth of any supplies to create a kit valued at over £175  that still ships for free! Stampin' Up! offers lots of incentives and reward programs for their demonstrators but if that's not for you, and you just want a great discount, then you can still order the kit! There is no requirement for you to host workshops or take it any further if you don't want to. If you do, however, I am here to support you all the way.

And if that wasn't enough join Stampin’ Up! during May and you will receive FREE Registration for this years Stampin’ Up! Convention held 2-3 November in Mainz, Germany, worth an amazing £149! I went to the London Convention a couple of years ago and had a blast. It's a wonderful chance to meet up with other demos, do a bit of crafting and just have a whale of a time.

If you'd like to find out more about the new Strater Kit then please drop me a line: emmakray@yahoo.co.uk

Summer Mini Catalogue Blog Hop!

Hi all. One of the things I love about Stampin' Up! is the team spirit that comes from demonstrators all over the country. The launch of new catalogues is always a great example of this and involves the sharing of designs through a blog hop!

If you have come to my blog direct from Laura  then thank you for taking the time to pop by! Laura's designs are just wonderful. It would be lovely if you could take the time to leave a comment so that I know you have stopped by. After visiting here, why not hop on over to Margaret who has some truely gorgeous cards on her blog. There are two groups for the blog hop. I'm in Group 2 and I've listed the first blogs in each group to help you navigate your way around!

Group 1: Alison's blog
Group 2: Emily's blog 

So without further ado, here is my card that I made for the Summer mini blog hop! I hope you like it. I've used the sketch from The Paper Players challenge #92. I'm loving vertical designs at the moment and I just thought this was the perfect sketch to showcase the gorgeous new stamp set Bordering on Romance.

Ohh, and I only noticed when I uploaded the photo but the flowers are pretty darn close to those on my wallpaper!

The colour inspiration comes from the Colour Coach and should have been Baja Breeze, Calypso Coral and Daffodil Delight but I have run out of DD card so I replaced it with So Saffron, which I think works just as well.

Instructions
I stamped the images in Stazon onto Whisper White cardstock. I then coloured the images in using my blender pens to using the fake watercolour technique. This is a wonderfully simple technique. You just need to squeeze your Stampin' Up! inkpad together and then it will leave a pool of ink on the lid. Pick up this ink with your blender pen and colour in your image. I then added further definition using the marker pen in the same colour and blended it with the blender pen. The whole image is then embossed with the square lattice embossing folder. There is a little pearl in the single flower on the scalloped circle.

Ingredients
Bordering on Romance stamp set (w) 125480/(c) 125482
Card: Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Ink & marker pens: Black Stazon, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Calypson Coral
Other: Pearls
Tools: Blender pens, Square Lattice embossing folder & Big Shot, Scallop Trim border, Scallop Edge border, 1 3/4" scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch.

Coming soon...

If you are browsing my blog today then welcome! I hope you like my designs and if you want to find out more about the products that I have used, or about my workshops held in the comfort of your own home, then please get in touch.

But ... for the really exciting news make sure you come back tomorrow! Not only will we be launching the new Summer Mini catalogue with a blog hop but there will also be some exciting news. If you have often thought about becoming a demonstrator then ... you'll have to wait until tomorrow!

Let it Snow!

Yes, I know that this post is rather unseasonal of me, but seeing as the north of England and Scotland had some snow last week, perhaps it's not that unseasonal! I suddenly realised that I'd not shared these photos with you, and seeing as this layout was done as a challenge from an American friend of mine, that was rather remiss of me (sorry Lindsay). The challenge was to use part of a Christmas card on our layout and to also include green. Now, I have to confess that I've not been terribly successful at including the green element of the challenge but there is green on the card so I hope that counts!

All the products are by Stampin' Up! I forget the exact name of the paper but it was one of the Christmas designs last year. I've also shimmer sprayed it slightly but you can't really tell in the photo. The cute snowflake was made using the 3-layer doily punch and I've also made a banner with the doily border punch. Both have been covered in dazzling diamonds of an added extra bit of bling!

It's a nice and simple layout but I hope you like it all the same!

Spice Cake going ...

I just love the Spice Cake Designer Patterned paper from our Spring mini and I'll be sad to see it go at the end of April. If you love it too, you need to order it quickly before it's gone forever more! Anyway, I wanted to share with you my version of the layout that appears in the Spring mini. I really loved this layout and couldn't wait to make it myself.

I don't have the chipboard circle that they used to mount the letters, so instead I cut a circle using the Circles die for the Big Shot and then punched out the middle using the large 1 3/4" circle. I quite like how my circle is rather lopsided!

The gorgeus velvet trim is the limited release velvet ribbon that will no longer be available after 30 April! It's such a lovely ribbon too, so smooth and the perfect width for cards.

Spice Cake Layout Recipe

Spice Cake DSP 124003 £9.95

Velvet designer ribbon 125637 £6.95

Spiced Paisley stamp set clear £16.95 125817/wood £20.95 127155

Dimenstionals

Perfect Pearls

Designer Brads

Twine

Springtime Offer!

Stampin' Up! have just launched an amazing Springtime offer. All the way through April, if you spend £45 or more, you can choose one of the following sets of Designer Speciality Paper absolutely FREE!

• Beyond the Garden – Idea Book & Catalogue, page 97 (122342)

• Nursery Nest – Idea Book & Catalogue, page 99 (122347)

• Berry Blossoms – Spring Mini,  page 15 (122350)

• Pocketful of Posies – Spring Mini, page 18 (122354)

The papers are perfect for cardmaking or scrapbooking. Contact me if you'd like to place an order.

Fabric Friday

Aren't these bookmarks so cute! I always seem to have two books on the go and yet my bookmarks always consist of a reciept or scrap of paper. I thought it was time to actually have a bookmark that I was proud of! I've made quite a few of them for birthday presents for friends and family. They are nice and simple to make. If you like straight lines in your sewing, then a sewing machine would be good (if you sew anything like me anyway!) but it's not essential.


You will need:

• Fabric cut to 4″ x 8″
• Fusible interfacing cut to 3.75″ x 7.75″
• Fabric strip for flower cut to about 1.25″ x 42″
• Coordinating thread and sewing machine
• Fabric glue
• Coordinating button
• Needle and thread
• An iron!

I got the instructions for these cute bookmarks from Little Birdie Secrets.  The fabric is, of course, from Stampin' Up! The best thing about the fabric bundles is that you get three fat quarters of co-ordinating fabrics which takes the worry out of picking matching fabrics and you can even use Stampin' Up! buttons for a perfect colour match.

Christmas past

I think this is probably the last week that I can get away with using my new Santa mug, so whilst I was still in the festive spirit I wanted to share with you the lovely handmade cards that I received from my friends this year. Notice how they all use Stampin' Up! products! Thank you all!

I also wanted to share with you these cute little table favours that we had on our table on Christmas day. The children all had the Santa pillow boxes with a couple of Quality Street inside them. The cute birdhouses are made using the mini milk carton Big Shot die. This is such a versatile die and perfect for putting a quick gift together.

Right, that's it for Christmas cards but as I am still scrapbooking my Christmas photos I will be back with some layouts later next week.

Spring Mini Catalogue Blog Hop!

It's time for another blog hop! There are so many lovely new goodies in the Spring mini that a blog hop is really such a fun way to see some of them and to get inspired! I always enjoy taking part and seeing all the wonderful designs that the talented demos on In Love With Stamping come up with.

Click here if you'd like to see some of the gorgeous new products available. As always, if you'd like to place an order or want a copy of the catalogue then please contact me.

Welcome, if you have joined me from Hayley's blog.
Aren't her designs gorgeous?

I just love Spice Cake and was so excited to see it in the April mini. I immediately wanted to scrap a layout with it and was inspired by one by Megan Hoeppner. I hope you like it.

I didn't want the embossed letters to be too shiny. I initially covered the chipboard in chocolate chip ink before covering in versamark and then the gold embossing powder. I rubbed off some of the embossing powder and didn't fully heat in patches to give a slightly distressed look to them and to let the chocolate chip show through in places.

Recipe
Spice Cake DSP 124003
Spiced Paisley stamps w127155/c125817
Spice Cake Designer Fabric 124066
Just Perfect Alphabet 115358
1 ¼" circle punch 119861
1/2 circle punch 119869
Distressing essentials 118762
Gold embossing powder 109129
Versmark 102283
Soft Suede ink pad 115657
Crumb Cake card stock 121685
On board Alphabet Soup chipboard letters 119239

Thanks for taking the time to visit, and do leave a comment if you can - it's nice to know you've stopped by. Now it's on to the wonderful Kate.

Here is a list of everyone who is taking part.
1. Alison P - www.craftyalisoninlyon.blogspot.com
2. Daisydaye - www.emma-daye.blogspot.com
3. Sarnie - www.kraftybiker.blogspot.com
4. CarolynUK - www.stampaholix.blogspot.com
5. Tracey R - www.derbyshireducks.blogspot.com
6. Kara M - http://karascraftycorner.blogspot.com
7. Hayley (craftydevils) - www.mycrafthaven.blogspot.com
8. Emma_H - www.emma-letsstamp.blogspot.com
9. Kate - http://stampinupwithkate.blogspot.com/
10. Theresa M - http://my-next-chapter.blogspot.com
11. TinaFaghy - http://littlewhitehousecrafts.blogspot.com
12. Donna M - http://www.head-over-heels-by-dlm.blogspot.com
13. Laura - http://airingcupboardstamping.blogspot.com
14. Charlie - http://craftylittlemoos.blogspot.com/
15. Sara (craftingandstamping.com) - http://craftingandstamping.com
16. Leanie - http://www.beautifulimpressions.co.uk
17. LittleBeckie (Beckie) - http://www.bextiesandstickytape.blogspot.com
18. Jayne (charliemenace) - http://jaynescraftycorner.blogspot.com
19. Julie H (craftybug) - http://www.the-crafty-bug.blogspot.com
20. Fiona W - http://oakfieldcrafts.blogspot.com
21. Natalie - http://www.natalieoshea.co.uk/blog.html
22. Rozelle (LittleMoo6) - http://thepapercraftsessions.blogspot.com

January Scrapbook Club!

Most of you probably know my love of scrapbooking by now, and this year I've decided I want to catch up on all those photos that are waiting to be scrapbooked! So with that in mind, and after requests, I am starting a scrapbook club! January's class will be a Christmas one and we will be making two layouts.

Date: Tuesday 17th Jan
Venue: my house!
Time: 8pm

An email has gone round to everyone who is on my email list but if you'd like to know more than give me a call or drop me an email. Sign up is by Friday 5th January. Sorry about the short notice but I hope some of you will be able to join me.