Stondon Stompers Home Shopping Night

Sorry to have been absent for so long but I've been having computer woes! The lesson is to always remember to renew your antivirus protection! So after spending money attempting to fix it, I have a new computer that refuses to work with my old monitor - don't you hate technology sometimes!! So I am around, but only when I can get on to a laptop in the evening.

Stondon Stompers will be having their first ever Home Shopping Night on Thursday 12th May at 8pm in the village hall on Hillside Road, Lower Stondon. Tickets are £3 and there will be lots of lovely stall holders selling products that you can't find in the shops, including of course, Stampin' Up! As well as having a stand displaying some of the the lovely cards and products that we sell, I'll be doing a card class. The class is £5 but is refundable if you spend £15 or more in the catalogue, or if you book a party - refund will be given on the night of the party. I hope some of you can come. If you'd like a ticket then just drop me a line.

Swap frenzy

One of the things I love most about being a Stampin' Up! demo is how supportive and inspiring other Stampin' Up! Demos are! As a prelim to the huge marathon of the mini catalogue blog hop that took place on Saturday , I organised a card swap amongst fellow demos on ILWS. So many gorgeous cards kept falling through my postbox each day! Sadly, I was only able to keep hold of one group of swaps and the rest had to go on to other homes, but I wanted to take a photo of the amazing cards that were made. They are not shown at their best here but I hope you can get an idea of just how wonderful they are. There are a couple from each group that didnt' make it in time but I will try and post a separate photo of them when they arrive. If you took part in the blog hop yesterday then you may already be familiar with some of these cards - aren't they gorgeous!

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part. If you are coming to my Open House on Saturday 9th April, then you'll be able to see some of these lovely designs in the flesh!

Thank you also, to everyone who took the time to visit my blog yesterday, especially if you were kind enough to leave a comment, it really is appreciated.

Mini catalogue blog hop!

It's here! The 2011 mini catalogue has been launched and to celebrate the xx pages of loveliness, some of the demonstrators on In Love With Stamping have decided to have a blog hop. Of course, we all wanted to take part in such a fun event, so there are 3 groups for you to enjoy.

I am taking part in Group One which started with Erika, and you should have come to me from the very talented Gemma. Aren't her designs gorgeous!

Sew Lovely

I loved the Sew Suite set the first time I saw it on the American demo's blogs and I am so excited that we have it in our new mini! Best of all, not only does it come with paper and stamps but there are buttons and wheels as well!

Colours: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie
Stamps: Sew Lovely, Pattern Pieces background stamp
Paper: Sweet Stiches DSP
Buttons: Brights buttons

Birthday Train

Now, if you've read my post from yesterday (or already been blog hopping) then you'll already know our exciting news - we have the Big Shot! And with it are lots of exclusive Stampin' Up! dies. The Top Note die has to be one of the most versatile and I have a couple of projects to share with you. It's my nephew's 3rd birthday party today and I wanted to make him something special. I first saw this train idea on American demo Lisa Young's website, and just adored it. The little carriages are perfect for filling with sweets or little presents.

I've also used the Top Note die to create a really quick party invitation. If you have 15 plus invites to send out, then you really want something nice and quick that is also flat to post, and this is perfect. If you wanted to make it even quicker you could just stamp the train in one colour rather than using the markers to colour it in like I've done. The party detail stamps are from the really useful Cheers & Wishes stamp set.

And last but not least I have one more card to show you, which again shows off the lovely Top Note die.

This time I've used the totally lovely Baby Blossoms stamp set. It's a two-step stamp set so does require a bit more time, but I hope that you agree it's worth it. I love how Cath Kidson it is!

Stamps: Baby Blossoms

Ribbon: NEW Seam binding ribbon in Rose Red
Paper: Subtles DSP pack


Now I bet you're looking at it and thinking, but that's not the Top Note die, ahh, but remember I mentioned how versatile it is! Well here's how you do it:

1. Cut your cardstock using the Top Note die.

2. Rotate the card half a turn. You need to line the points of the cut card up with the pointed parts of the die - the purple card is just there to show you the die cut outline of the die.

3. The end result! You will end up with the lovely pointed square plus two large brackets that would be great for a scrapbook layout or to be used on another card.

If you are still reading at this point, thank you for stopping by my blog, and if you like what you've seen, please leave a comment, it's so nice to know that people have stopped by. Then it's on to the lovely Rachel for more gorgeous cards.

If you've enjoyed the blog hop so far, then don't forget to take a look at the other groups taking part - perhaps with a nice cup of tea and slice of cake to hand!

Group 1 (the group this blog is in)
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4

New Mini Catalogue!

Mini catalogue link

I love April, not only does it mean Spring is here and with it lots of pretty flowers, but it's also the launch date of the 2011 Stampin' Up! mini catalogue. This year's edition is a bumper one with 31 pages of gorgeous new stamps, punches, papers and ... the BIG SHOT!!

You read it right, we now have the wonderful Sizzix Big Shot, and with it lots of lovely exclusive Stampin' Up! dies. I'll be demonstrating it at my workshop on Saturday 9th April but if you can't make it, then why not book a workshop and I'll show you all sorts of lovely cards and 3-D items that you can make with this beauty!

One of the perks of being a demo is that you can get your hands on some lovely new products before they are released. I'm taking part in a Mini Catalogue Marathon blog hop tomorrow, so if you pop back then you'll be able to see what I've come up with and visit lots of other SU demo blogs full of gorgeous cards!

March Frenzy!

After Sale-a-bration, what could be better but another fab offer?! Stampin' Up! are offering up to 30% off a select list of products, but be quick as the discount only applies whilst stock lasts. Drop me a line if you'd like to order anything.

Bliss!

Bliss is the top selling stamp set from Sale-a-bration. I just love this set, that scroll is gorgeous and best of all it is free! If you've not got your set already then make sure you do so by the end of the month! All you need to do is place an order with me for £45 and you can have it free - either as a clear block mount or wood mount set.

I've used one of my all time favourite Stampin' Up! colours, Cherry Cobbler. This colour along with Old Olive and Chocolate Chip is one I turn to time and time again. This time I've paired it with Basic Black and Very Vanilla for a bit of old fashioned elegance.

I've stamped the gorgeous En Francais in Chocolate Chip on to Very Vanilla. I've then stamped the lovely scroll in black on to some of the Stampin' Up! white vellum paper and sewn the two together. I've also distressed the edges using oen of the metal files from the distressing kit. It's mounted on to some Cherry Cobbler which has been punched with the scallop trim border, and again distressed using a metal file. The ribbon is some of the gorgeous Red Riding Hodd ribbon that was available as part of last year's Christmas Cracker offer. I've added a couple of flowers on dimensionals decorated with some basic pearls, and of course the lovely butterfly. I was really pleased with how this butterfly turned out. I've stamped it once on Very Vanilla, and then again on the vellum paper using some crystal effects to attach it to the first butterfly.

Anyway, I hope you like it and come back soon to see some more birthday cards made with this lovely set.

A month of birthdays!

February is a busy month in our household. Not only is there Valentine's day and my own birthday (although fortunately I don't need to make a card for the latter!) but we also have lots of other birthdays to celebrate. Which is when my big box of stamps comes in handy! I'll hopefully be showcasing some of the cards I've made this month over the next couple of weeks - of course, without mentioning who they are for, just in case they are reading!

Here is my first card then. I love tools that make my life easier - especially when I have lots of cards to make. My favourite tool at the moment is the Color Coach which arrived last week and I'm kicking myself for not ordering sooner! This handy little tool makes colour selection a doddle. You just choose the main colour that you want to use, flip the card over and it gives you two colour combinations to choose from. Watch out for Shelli's favourite dream combos. For this cute cat image from the Level Two hostess set Long Fellows, I knew I wanted to use Cajun Craze. So I found the card, flipped it over and went with the lovely colour recommendation of:

Cajun Craze, Old Olive and Baja Breeze.

I've coloured in the funky cat using the blender pen and ink palette technique that I highlighted at my last Open House. I've then matted him, popped him up on some dimensionals to add a bit of depth and added it to the card. I love buttons and these gorgeous olive buttons are from the Brights tub. You get 72 buttons in 6 colours for £7.75.