Tags Til Christmas Class

Hello!

I wanted to invite you to my next class and show you some of the items we will be making.

The stamp set we will be using is called Tags Til Christmas (surprise, surprise!!!) but the items we will make will be great to use all year round by just changing the stamp set.

Intregued to see the items in real life?

The class is to be held at the Doghill Community Centre, Shafton, Barnsley on Saturday 3rd December from 10am until 1pm.  The class costs £10 and includes use of equipment, all supplies needed for the class, refreshments, and hire of the room.

There is lots of preparation required for the class so you need to contact me ASAP to book your place.

Jan

Ps.  If you cant make it to the class, I will be producing a kit for purchase after the class.  The kit will include all the cardstock, ribbon, embelishments and full detailed instructions with photographs. (NB. No stamped images will be included),  So watch out for more details coming soon.

Card Candy Swaps from Convention

As I promised, here are the photos of the Card Candy Swap I took part in when I went to Convention.

This is the one I made using Forever Young.

This one was made by Hazel Ford, my lovely downline, using Faith in Nature.  

Its absolutely stunning isnt it!?

Heres the one Sara made, Sara is my SU Mummy.  She used Polar Party which is soooooo cute!

And this one was made by Jeannie Kupsh,  She used Tags Till Christmas

This set is called Simply Soft and the candy was made by Emily Thompson.

Hayley Regan  made this set using I {heart} Hearts

Here is Sarah Poulton's Card Candy.  She has used Button Buddies

Carolyn Exwood used Winter Post 

Here is Abi Bundy's.  She has used a set called Every Little Bit.

And how cute is this!?  Monica Gale used the Owl Punch to make the cutest candy.

Swaps from Convention

Hi there

Well, I think I have just about caught up on my lack of sleep over the weekend.  But I cant believe that Convention has been and gone :-(

Whilst I was away, my hubby decided to sort out a problem we had with our shower.  We had noticed a couple of months ago that the cubicle may have been leaking as there were some strange marks developing on the landing wall so he decided to investigate whilst I was in France.

He was right, we had a massive problem which resulted in having to remove the wall between the bathroom and the landing!  He has been so busy sorting it out, but were getting there now and have replaced the shower with a bath (which I prefer anyway) and have a separate bathroom & landing again!!!

Anyway, enough of real life, back to Convention!  Here's a photo of the one I made - thank you Sara! (I had a problem with the photos I took and Sara rescued me last night by taking some for me LOL).

To start, I had a play with a technique that I really don't do enough.  I'm not really sure what its called but I used a non stick craft sheet and swiped ink pads (Riding Hood Red, So Saffron & More Mustard) onto the mat and then spritzed the sheet with water.  Then you put your card onto the sheet (this is quite messy, but you get some great results).  You then use a heat gun to dry the card and repeat the inking if needed.

Now, one thing with Whisper White is that it DOES NOT LIKE GETTING WET!!!  It is designed to be really absorbent to soak up ink and if it gets too wet it goes all bubbly and the fibres can come off.  However, I found out that even thought this happened on a couple of the sheets after getting it too wet, once it dried the texture it left was really nice.

Once all the sheets were dry, I ran them through the Big Shot using the Leaves #2 die.  This gave me leaf shapes in mottled coloured card.  To make the leaf toppers, I ran some Riding Hood Red cardstock through the BS again with the Leaves die to give me the same leaf shapes and glued them, slightly off set, to the mottled leaves, adding some Linen Thread, tied around the stems.  The 'Paris' image was stamped in Riding Hood Red ink onto So Saffron card and then punched out using the 3/4 circle punch.  It was glued onto the leaf and then covered in Crystal Effects.

I made my own backing paper using sheets of Whisper White card and randomly stamped all over the sheet with images from French Foliage using the Baby Wipe technique (inks used were Riding Hood Red, So Saffron & More Mustard).

Then I cut strips of the backing paper and mounted them onto a mat of Riding Hood Red, scoring lines, really close to the edges (not sure if you can see it though).

The card blank was So Saffron and I stamped the En Francais background stamp on one corner (masking off the rest of the card blank) and then used the 'splashes' image from French Foliage to the rest of the card front.

To finish, the strip with the backing paper was adhered to the bottom section of the card blank and the leaf topper added.  I didn't put a sentiment on them as I thought that if the ladies wanted to use them at a later date, they could add their own making them specific to the event.

Thank you for stopping by, I will be posting some photos of the Card Candy swap in the next day or two

Woo Hoo! Convention News

O.M.G. Convention was AMAZING!!!

And just look who we bumped into...

Here is a photo of the craft bag we recieved when we registered.  And inside were our free stamp sets!

Here is the binder with a loose leaf copy of the Ideas Book and Catalogue - and its orange!!!

The swaps I took part in were fab, and I will post some pictures soon, including the ones I made.

We went as a group, Me, Sara, Joanne and Hazel.  It was Hazels first Convention and I was a bit worried that she might not enjoy it as much as I know we would, but she has already decided to start saving for next years!!! Its in Mainz, Germany on the 2nd and 3rd November 2012.  So, come on, join my team and you will get the chance to come too.

Sara revieved and award for Leadership, and also won more freebies in the Prize Patrol (your name appears at random on screen) - well done Sara, you truly deserve it.  You are such an inspiration and I was so proud of you when you walked on stage to meet Shelli.

Here we are, all glammed up for the awards night.

 

Mmmm, what else can I tell you about everything that happened, well...

- we got masses of inspiration and different ideas for using SU products in ways you could never imagine

- the Incentive Trip (an annual FREE trip) was announced - its in Salt Lake City, where the Stampin' Up! office is located!!!  I wont tell you what Joanne said when she heard this!

- recognition for some of the amazing demonstrators across europe,

And the best bit.

LOTS and LOTS of NEW PRODUCTS coming in the New Year!!  I am surprised that there were no reports of an earthquake in Paris on the news on Saturday morning.  When they announced what we were getting, the room absolutely errupted with frantic shouting, clapping and everyone screaming with excitement.  Honestly, I nearly fainted!

Im not going to spoil the surprise, you will just have to wait a while longer!  

But its worth the wait. LOL

Jan

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Have I Told You I'm Going to Convention...?

OMG - I cant believe its here.  I'm travelling to Convention - TODAY!!!

Had a manic day yesterday trying to get all my work done, and almost made it too.  Then had visitors last night so didnt get any more swaps done.  Oh well, Im sure I'll manage...

All thats left to do today is to nip round to the neighbours to warn them of the wild parties my Hubby will be having whilst Im away LOL.  Hardly likely, as hes planning major work in the bathroom while I am out of the way!

I wont be able to access my blog for the next few days but I promise I will post loads of pictures as soon as I get the chance. 

Anyway, as I mentioned the other day, heres a photo of one of the thank you cards I made recently (one of 70!).   The stamp set is called 'Bundle of Joy', not quite what I was calling it by the end of my marathon cardmaking session, but it is a sweet set.

As you can see, I didnt make it easy for myself - but I did manage to experiment with lots of different colouring mediums.  To speed the stamping, I put the tiny stamps onto one clear block and just went around the outside of the card blank, leaving the centre blank as they are going to include a photo.

I marked out the size for a 6" x 4" photo to sit on the front of the card and then secured punched shapes from my Photo Corners Punch (this is retired but was perfect for what I wanted!) and secured them in place.

The little flowers on the right hand side photo corners were just punched out using the 4 petal flower from Itty Bitty Shapes punch with basic pearls added to the centre.  To finish off I stamped 'baby' and 'thanks (so much) from Tiny Tags and punched them out with the Jewelry Tag Punch.
For the colouring I tried lots of different items (with varying results to be honest).
- Copics and Flexmarkers were lovely for shading but the ink bleeds through, spoiling the underside.  The shading took forever and the colours were slighly off.
- SU Watercolour Pencils have lovely bright colours, but it did take a while to get the blending done!
- SU Water Colour Crayons were quicker than the pencils and they are really easy to use, but the sheen they leave on the card looks a little odd (but thats just me being picky!)
- by far the best were the SU Marvelous Markers - really quick and the colours matched perfectly!!

By the time I was about half way through, I had reduced the time to make them from over an hour to 45 mins, which doesnt sound much - until you have to bake 70 of them!

Right, thats me done.  Im all packed and ready to go!!!
See you when I come back.
Jan
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Fab Dabble Day

Have I told you I'm going to convention?

Only 4 more sleeps before we set off and I am getting so excited!

Lots of stuff still to do, including my swaps, and having a quiet word with the neighbours to let me know if any parties are held at home whilst I'm away. Mind you, this is unlikely as my hubby's planning major work in the bathroom!!!

Yesterday, I went to Jeans' Dabble Day at Beighton, which was fantastic - as usual.  Thank you again, Jean.

The projects we made were lovely, and here they are.

This was my favourate, I have seen these letters all over recently, but didnt have a clue how I would use them.  We basically, got EXTREMELY messy using texture paste, PVA glue, tissue paper, acrylic & crackle paints.

Then we made this card.

The last project was making a box which opens to make a Christmass banner.  Here is the front (sorry the photo is a bit wonky!)

And this is the back.  There are two little pockets on the back which hold cute little tags, too!

Thanks to Julie for the fab designs - they have really got me into the mood for Christmas!!!

Ok, need to shoot, I have lots to get done today, but will be back in the next couple of days to show .you the thank you cards I made recently and my little customer gifts.

Jan
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Stampers Club Starts in November

Fancy getting some of the Stampin' Up! Hostess Benefits without the hassle of inviting everyone to your home?
Join my Stampers Club to build your stash a little at a time.

What you need to do
You would commit to a ten month membership, agreeing to spend £15 per month, plus delivery, from the catalogue (That’s £3.75 per week - the price of a magazine!) More is allowed, and if you know that you will want to spend at least £30 per month, then you can take two slots.  Delivery is only 50p per slot for club members!

What are the benefits?
• You will receive a free catalogue from me when the club starts
• You will be entered in to a free prize draw each month for goodies from the catalogue
• For one month during your ten month membership (two if you take two slots) you will receive £25 in free products, including the chance to purchase some EXCLUSIVE Hostess items at fantastic prices!
What I will do
I will collect all the orders, payment and if possible, additional orders leading up to the day the order goes in to help you get the maximum benefits.  If you do want to hold a workshop when its your month to be the Hostess, I will gladly come and demonstrate some of the gorgeous products for you!


When does it start?
The club starts this month - so if you or someone you know who would like to join please email me now. Internet access is not essential for membership.
Please email me ASAP to book your slot - time is running out to grab your place!  Ive only got three places left...
Jan
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Poppy's Card

Hi everyone!

As I promised the other day here is my new 'Great Neice's' card.

The card is an A4 sheet folded to A5 and I ran a sheet of Whisper White card through the Big Shot machine with the Polka Dots and Square Lattice embossing folders.  I wrapped a length of Whisper White ribbon around the join in the embossing and mounted it onto the card blank.

I used the 'Bundle of Joy' stamp set which is really cute and allows you to build up your images from just the pram on its own to having a baby plus lots of other items inside.  Here I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to position Poppy in her pram and used my watercolour crayons to colour the image in.  I used some thin circle dies to cut the image and a mat of Pretty in Pink card out and drew some faux stitching on the pink mat.

The sentiment was stamped onto Whisper White card and coloured the little hearts in before punching with the Decorative Label punch.  I used the same punch to cut some Pretty in Pink card, cutting both shapes in half (one lenthwise, one widthwise) and attached them to create a border around the sentiment.

I had some scraps of ribbon to use up so to finish off, I tied a button around a couple of strips of the ribbon and secured to the satin ribbon.

Well, I have to crack on so Ill bob back soon.
Jan
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