Happy Birthday Mum - a card and a jewellery project!

It's my Mum's 60th today.. so a huge Happy Birthday if you're reading, Mum!

Here's the card I made for her..

Supplies for the card:

Cardstock - Confetti White, Rose Red, Blushing Bride, Concord Crush, Certainly Celery
Dies - Flower: Daisies #2, Beautiful Wings Embosslits
Punch - Build a Blossom (for the leaf)
Stamps - Curly Cute (Happy Birthday), non-SU! tiny stamp set (MUM).
Accessories - Daffodil Delight Button from Brights Designer Buttons set, Linen Thread

And here's Mum's present - it's a necklace and earrings set I made using a kit from The Eastbourne Bead Company. (Actually I made the earrings using a few leftover beads and some earring findings I had in my crafty stash.)

It's not as short as it looks in the photo.. I doubled it up so I could fit it in an envelope! The necklace was pretty easy to make and I managed it in two or three hours. It's made from these gorgeous shiny shell beads, threaded onto pink cord with knots before and after each one to hold them all in place, four strands altogether. In hindsight I would have made it a bit shorter, or perhaps added another strand.. but hey, it's not bad for a first attempt!

While I was at the Bead Company shop, I couldn't resist buying another kit, for a silver charm bracelet complete with LOTS of very similar shell beads attached on jump rings. It'll be fantastic when it's finished but, having started it last night, I can tell it's going to take a LOT longer than Mum's necklace. Those tiny jump rings are slippery little blighters and I keep dropping them..

Have a lovely day!

Sarah :o)

Loving those Long Fellows!

Today is my niece Caitlan's 11th birthday.. so to celebrate I made her a card using the Level 2 Hostess set Long Fellows.. It's a pretty clean and simple one for me..

I coloured in the cat using a Blender Pen (£7.95 for three) and a bit of Tangerine Tango ink.. to do this I squashed the ink pad between my fingers before opening it.. this leaves a smudge of ink on the inside of the lid which you can then pick up with the Blender Pen. The Blender Pen helps you get the ink just where you want it without being too heavy.

Caitlan's present was wrapped with some orange tissue paper and topped with a big flower made using the Flower, Daisies #2 die from the Mini Catalogue (£16.95) and a few layers of hand-made paper in a lovely So Saffron colour. The tag was made with a scrap of Confetti White cardstock, stamped again with the Long Fellows cat. This time I coloured him in using an Aqua Painter (£12.25 for two). I scribbled a bit of Tangerine Tango marker pen onto a saucer and picked up the ink with the Aqua Painter. This gives a more water-coloury, fluid look than the Blender Pen which I really like!

Can you see the difference? LOL.. I've gone over the lines a bit in this one!

Here are the card and present together.. don't they look cute?!

Supplies:

Colours: Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Very Vanilla (card), Confetti White (tag)
Stamps: Long Fellows (level 2 Hostess set - free with £300 in workshop sales)
Punches: Scallop Trim Border - £14.25, 1" Circle - £9.75
Die: Flower, Daisies #2 - £16.95
Embossing Folder: Perfect Polka Dots - £6.95
Accessories: Silver Elastic Cord - £3.95, Basic Pearls - £4.50, Crop-a-Dile - £23.95

Thursday 12th May: Wedding Card Class Sneak Peek

Hi there!

This month's card-making class is taking place this Thursday (12th May) at my home in Eastbourne and we'll be making wedding/anniversary/engagement cards. We'll be using the new Wedding Wheels single stamp from the Mini Catalogue (£6.95), along with sentiment stamps from Tiny Tags, Baroque Motifs and Always Elegant stamp sets.

Here are the cards we'll be making...

 

These cards were made using Confetti White cardstock, a hand-made style of cardstock containing tiny flecks of flower petals.. beautiful for wedding cards! The third card was inspired by a lovely one I spotted on Julie Kettlewell's blog, it's here if you'd like to see.

If you fancy coming along to this class, please let me know by Tuesday. Details about classes are on this page.

Thanks for visiting!

Sarah x

Supplies

Card 1:

Colours - Confetti White, Concord Crush, Blushing Bride
Stamps - Baroque Motifs
Punch - Scallop Oval, Scallop Trim Border
Die - Beautiful Wings Embosslit
Accessories - Adhesive Pearls

Card 2:

Colours - Confetti White, Baja Breeze, Soft Suede
Stamps - Wedding Wheels, Always Elegant
Punch - Scallop Oval, Oval
Accessories - Baja Breeze Seam Binding

Card 3:

Colours - Confetti White, Rose Red, Crumb Cake
Stamps - Wedding Wheels, Tiny Tags, So Swirly Wheel
Punch - Jewelry Tag, Scallop Trim Border
Accessories - Linen Thread

Three Birthdays and an Anniversary!

I'm celebrating three birthdays and an anniversary today!

Firstly... Happy 34th Birthday to my dear hubby Gareth...

He's a fantastic drummer and used to be in a rock band called WhiteStar before the little 'uns came along.. for now Gareth has to be content with 'pounding the skins' in my craft room/study/general junk room. Oh yes, it's loud..


Second... Happy 15th Birthday to my nephew Torin...

He is currently collecting apps for his ipod.. I stumbled across this image while looking for a picture of an ipod and thought it would do just fine for his card!


Third... Happy Birthday to my dearest upline and friend, Pat...

Pat, I hope you are having a fabulous day after all the stress preparing for your Eve Appeal event last night.. enjoy!!!

And the anniversary..? Well, today I have been a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for exactly one year. It's been an amazing year, in which I've started running card-making classes, a scrapbook club, expanded my craft collection like you wouldn't believe (unless perhaps you attend my classes..), survived my first Convention, made many wonderful friends, in Eastbourne and way beyond.. Here's to many more years of Stampin' Up! fun.. :o)

Have a fantastic day, everyone!

Sarah x

Supplies

Gareth's card:

Colours: Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red
Embossing Folder: Perfect Polka Dots
Stamps: Basic Phrases 
Accessories: Silver Brads from Hodgepodge Hardware; Clip from Clips Assortment
Photo:  http://www.sodahead.com

Torin's card:

Colours: Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Whisper White

Embossing Folder: Square Lattice

Punch: Spiral

Stamps: Basic Phrases
Accessories: Silver Eyelets

Photo: http://jon.blogs.com

Pat's card:

Colours: Blushing Bride, Early Espresso, Pear Pizazz
Embossing Folder: Perfect Polka Dots
Die: Beautiful Butterflies
Punch: Scallop Oval
Stamps: Sincere Salutations
DSP: In Colors 6"x6" Paper Stack (Hostess Exclusive)
Accessories: Pear Pizazz Seam Binding, Linen Thread, Button from Neutrals collection

Beautiful Butterflies: a Get Well Card

Here's a card I made to wish my Nana a speedy recovery from her recent operation. Sending hugs, Nana!

I used my Colour Coach to find inspiration for a colour combination..

The colours I used were Poppy Parade (one of the In-Colours), So Saffron and Baja Breeze. The butterflies were cut on my lovely Big Shot with the Beautiful Butterflies die - definitely one of my favourites.

Supplies:

Colours: Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Baja Breeze
Die: Beautiful Butterflies
DSP: Baja Breeze from the Subtles DSP stack; Poppy Parade from the In-Colours 6"x6" Hostess stack
Stamps: Sincere Salutations; Notably Ornate
Punch: Decorative Label
Accessories: So Saffron Button; Linen Thread; Baja Breeze Seam Binding

Fun with Stampin' Around Wheels

I really enjoy making cards with Stampin' Up!'s Stampin' Around Wheels - they make it so easy to produce a quick but effective card. Here are a couple of cards I made recently using the Jumbo Wheels 'Very Vintage' and 'Baby Tees'.

This one (above) uses the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel and Tiny Tags stamp set, along with Love Letter Designer Series Paper and Linen Thread. The colour scheme is Very Vanilla, Basic Black and Riding Hood Red. I also used the Jewellery Tag and Scallop Trim Border punches. To make sure my stamping didn't go wonky, I used the Stampin' Around Wheel Guide - an essential tool for straight stamping with the Wheel!

To see more cards made with the Very Vintage wheel, check out this post.

This card was made using the Baby Tees Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel. I rolled the wheel along a couple of pieces of Whisper White cardstock, then coloured and cut out two of the little vests. I mounted these onto my other stamped piece using Stampin' Dimensionals foam pads. The colour scheme is Marina Mist, So Saffron and Certainly Celery. The card was for twin boys so I typed and printed a personalised greeting on Whisper White cardstock and stuck it in a strip along the base of the card.

Hope you like them!

Sarah x

Tea, Cake & Craft Party make and takes

So here's what I got the ladies making at the Tea, Cake & Craft Party last Saturday..

Cards.. using Springtime Vintage Designer Series Papers, gorgeous Seam Binding, the new Four Frames stamp set and coordinating Decorative Label punch:

Scrapbook pages... using all sorts of Designer Series Papers, along with brand-new Beautiful Wings Embosslits - the ladies were able to choose whatever papers they fancied to suit their photos, and came up with some fabulous layouts! Here's my example:

Gift bags... made with a piece of A5 sized cardstock, scored, folded, punched and stuck together, then decorated with punched out flowers and ribbon:

Thanks for visiting!

Sarah x

Tea, Cake and Craft Party update

A belated update on the Tea, Cake & Craft Party (now I've recovered..)! We had 20 lovely people here, drinking tea, eating the most scrumptious home-made cakes (a HUGE thank you to all who made cakes for the occasion), and of course crafting!

 The calm before the storm..

Another massive thank you to those wonderful ladies who helped out by making teas, washing up the mugs and generally making sure everyone was happy.. you truly made the event a success and I could not have coped without you!

 It was a very busy morning but the feedback I've received from those who attended has been really positive so I'm absolutely delighted that all the work was worth it. We raised approximately £85 for The Eve Appeal - pretty good I think!

There were around ten ladies for each session, making cards, scrapbook pages and finally little gift boxes. It was lovely to see how people used my designs for inspiration, adding their own touches.. or totally went their own way.. fantastic!

The winners of the Prize Draw were...

Janette - 'So Happy for You' stamp set
Eve - Set of six hand-made cards in a box (see picture below)
Claire - Body Shop Coconut Shower Cream (courtesy of Helen Ridley, Body Shop Consultant - thank you Helen!)

Here are those cards that Eve won..

 ..and their little gift box..

The butterfly stamp is from the beautiful Strength & Hope stamp set. Stampin' Up! are donating £1 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation from every purchase of this stamp set.

I'll be back soon with more crafty pictures from Saturday..


Sarah x

March cardmaking class - Flight of the Butterfly

Thank you ladies for coming to today's class - I loved seeing how you interpreted the cards and really made them your own!

I have to admit, having said we'd use Flight of the Butterfly last month I struggled for a while to come up with anything I was really pleased with.. so I turned to some trusty sources of inspiration to help me out! (Sometimes the mojo takes a little holiday, you know?) ;o)

So here are the cards we made today...

This one (above) was cased from the Idea Book & Catalogue (have I mentioned it's full of wonderful card and scrapbook ideas for you to 'borrow' and adapt as you like..?). The colours I used were Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Tangerine Tango and Pumpkin Pie.

 

This one (above) was inspired by a card I spotted on SplitCoast Stampers (another valuable source of inspiration when your mojo fails you!) by justbehappy.. love the different shades of pink all together - they are Melon Mambo and Regal Rose with a bit of Pretty in Pink satin ribbon!

And finally, this last one was totally inspired by another one I found on SplitCoast Stampers - although I changed the colour scheme and added the yellow punched strip across the middle. The colours are Tempting Turquoise, Real Red and Daffodil Delight.

All of today's cards were made using colours from the Brights Collection, along with Flight of the Butterfly stamp set, the Butterfly punch and the Scallop Trim Border punch. The Boho Blossoms punch was also used on the second card.

Did you know you can buy cardstock in a Brights assortment... 20 sheets of A4 smooth cardstock (2 each in 10 colours) for £6.25? Let me know if you'd like me to order some.. or any of the products used in this class.. and I'll be very happy to help!

See you soon,

Sarah x

February's Card Class

Thank you to the lovely ladies who attended my card-making class today and last Thursday.. it's always so rewarding to see how you get on with the projects I've planned for you!

So here's what we got up to this month:

First, a vintage-style card made using the Bliss Sale-a-bration stamp set (I love this set so much!), inspired by the Sale-a-bration flyer...

Second, a Valentine card (inspired by one I spotted on ILWS by Sarah-Jane) and treat box made using the gorgeous Love You Much set...

And finally... a quick and easy card (totally inspired by Julie Kettlewell) made using papers from the Brights Designer Series Paper stack and the adorable owl from Punch Bunch (another Sale-a-bration stamp set)..

Yes, we had a busy time making FOUR fabulous items in two-and-a-half hours and having lots of fun in the process! If you'd like to join in next month, do get in touch.. we'll be making more cards on Thursday 10th and Saturday 12th March. Check out this page for booking information.

Gotta love these colours!

Today I needed to make six very quick, simple cards with NO greeting on them... so after some deliberation, here's what I came up with: three in each colourway, butterflies in various papers from the Love Letter DSP pack.

 

You really can't go wrong with this colour scheme in my opinion! (In fact, it matches our new lounge decor.. coincidence? probably not!)

Riding Hood Red - Baja Breeze - Basic Black - Very Vanilla

Stamps: Very Vintage Stampin' Around Wheel
Punches: Scallop Trim Border; Butterfly
Designer Series Paper: Love Letter

A New Home card using Neighbourhood Wheel and Aquapainters

Hi again!

Just wanted to share a card I made for my sister- and brother-in-law to celebrate their new home.

I used the Neighbourhood Jumbo Wheel and Stampin' Around Wheel Guide to stamp a couple of rows of houses on Very Vanilla cardstock. I then coloured one of the houses on the 'spare' row using Not Quite Navy, Blushing Bride and Old Olive ink from the Classic Stampin' Ink Pads and my new Aquapainters.

Tip: before opening your Ink Pad, squash it between your fingers and thumbs to transfer some of the ink from the pad to the lid. Then you can use this as a palette from which to pick up ink with your Aquapainter.

I then cut out the painted house and mounted it on foam pads onto the corresponding one on the row of houses. The houses were matted on to Pear Pizazz cardstock which was punched with the Scallop Trim Border punch. The base card is Peach Parfait, one of the In Colours.

Unable to resist adding a bit more detail, I stamped lots of little bees (from So Happy For You Sale-a-Bration set) in VersaMark ink as a background.

The sentiment was done on the computer and printed onto Very Vanilla cardstock.

I enjoyed painting the one little house so much, I'm tempted to go back and paint the others! But I'm trying to stay 'clean and simple' and there's always the risk I'll mess it up.. so I really should quit while I'm ahead. :o)

Have a lovely day!

Sarah x

January Prize Draw winner!

A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to all my lovely customers who have attended my classes and bought some fabulous Stampin' Up! products this past month. I so love this job! :o) I get to meet lots of lovely crafty ladies.. play around for hours dreaming up cards and scrapbook ideas for classes.. and do plenty of shopping for stash! (Even if I'm ordering for you, it's still exciting!)

I would love to see what you make with your new SU! purchases.. and I'd also really like to see your finished scrapbook projects too! If you'd like me to feature any of your cards, scrapbook pages or other projects made using SU! products that you've bought from me.. bring them along to your next class and I'll photograph them for the blog!

Now before I forget... the winner of the January Prize Draw is...

Helen Green!!

Congratulations, Helen - your prize will be included with your current order which is on its way!

The cards at the top of this post were commissioned by one of the parents at Charlie's school. They had to be quick and simple to make, so I used some scraps of Elegant Soiree DSP, along with strips of cardstock punched with the Scallop Trim Border punch, then added the greeting from So Happy For You (Sale-a-Bration set), punched out with the Word Window punch. The colour scheme is Baja Breeze, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla.

And finally... if you'd like to sign up for one of my February card-making classes (Thurs 10th and Sat 12th Feb), I'm holding the price at £8 until the end of Wednesday 2nd Feb (that's tomorrow night!) - so if you fancy coming, get in quick to secure your place at the discount rate!

Thanks for visiting!

Sarah x

Come and join me in February!

Hi there!

Fancy joining me for a card-making class or scrapbooking session in February? If so, now's the time to book your place.. I've just updated the Class Dates and Details page so you can see what's happening from now til June.

February's Card-making Classes take place on Thursday 10th and Saturday 12th February. These classes will be showcasing two more of the Sale-a-bration stamp sets - Bliss and Punch Bunch - along with the chance to make a Valentine card using the very sweet Love You Much stamp set!

Scrapbook Club this month takes place on Thursday 24th and Saturday 26th February.. and we'll be continuing with the Love theme by making a chipboard album dedicated to someone (or something) special. You will be able to customise your kit using any of the colours from the delicious Subtles Collection - and use the fabulous Stampin' Up! Colour Coach to help you devise your perfect colour scheme!

Just a quick reminder, too, that Sale-a-Bration is now half-way through! You have til 28th February to earn yourself a FREE stamp set.. if you'd like more information, please check out my previous post here - and then click on the Sale-a-Bration label in the side-bar to see plenty of projects made using the sets on offer. If you would like a Sale-a-Bration leaflet, email me with your address and I'll send you a copy!

I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winner of January's Prize Draw.. good luck everyone!

And finally...

A birthday card for a friend's little girl.. happy birthday Rosie!

Colours: Pear Pizazz, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink.
Stamps: Punch Bunch (Sale-a-Bration), Party This Way, Just Perfect alphabet
DSP: Brights Designer Series Paper Pattern Stack (Daffodil Delight)

Thanks for your visit!

Sarah x

11th December Class Sneaky Peek

Here's a little peek at one of the cards we'll be making on Saturday morning using the Notably Ornate stamp set and Love Letter/Newsprint Designer Series Papers. If you'd like to come, please let me know by Thursday afternoon as I'll be preparing resources for the class tomorrow evening.

A Stampin' Up! Christmas

Fancy some gorgeous Stampin' Up! goodies under the tree this year? The very last date for Christmas orders is Monday 13th December - so please don't delay in sending me your Wish List and giving your loved ones my contact details!

If you'd prefer to choose your own goodies after Christmas, you could always opt for Gift Vouchers instead. Please check out the Gift Vouchers page in the side-bar for full details - including information on a couple of very special offers!

Just Believe... cards from Saturday's class

Here's a very quick post to share the cards we made in yesterday's class using Stampin' Up's 'Just Believe' stamp set.

 

The watercolour effect was achieved by inking up the stamp with Old Olive and Not Quite Navy ink pads, then lightly spraying the stamp with water, before stamping on to watercolour paper. I was a bit anxious about demonstrating this card - the technique can be rather hit-and-miss, depending on how much water lands on your stamp from the spray bottle! The results are also very subjective - some might prefer a less watery look but I rather liked this one!

The background was created with the same flower stamp using Baja Breeze ink on matching cardstock for a tone-on-tone effect. The Old Olive ribbon was pleated and laid down on a line of Sticky Strip tape, with tiny pieces of tape holding down the pleats.

In the second card, the two flower stamps were stamped using VersaMark ink, then embossed with black embossing powder. We then used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to align the flowery frame (stamped in Baja Breeze ink) and the sentiment inside it.

Thank you ladies for coming - I really enjoyed the class and it was a pleasure to see how you interpreted the projects!

Next Classes: 

Saturday 27th Nov - Scrapbook Club (Bookings now closed)
Either Friday 10th or Saturday 11th December - Card-making Class (see previous post for details)
Saturday 18th December - Scrapbook Club (kit and project details coming soon!)

Important: Changes to Class Times and Dates!

Hello ladies!

Just a quick post to let you know of some important changes to forthcoming class timings and dates.

Saturday 27th November - Scrapbook Club: 

Will start at 9.30am so that anyone who wants to visit the Art Exhibition at Community Wise (on until 1pm) will have time to go after the session. I can be flexible on the finish time - we'll say 12 to 12.30pm.

Friday 10th December - Card-making Class:

Unfortunately this is going to clash with my son's Nativity play.. so I'm offering two alternatives:
Friday 10th December - 1pm to 3pm
or
Saturday 11th December - 10am to 12noon.

Please let me know as soon as you can if you would like to attend either of the above sessions... if there's enough demand I'm happy to run the class on both days.

I anticipate the class will involve making a set of Thank You cards using the Notably Ornate stamp set and a play with the new Colour Spritzer Tool!

Apologies for these changes.. and I hope you can join me soon.

Sarah x

Bundle Up with Delightful Decorations!

In a change to the advertised programme, I decided to use the gorgeous Delightful Decorations stamp set, along with its coordinating Ornament punch, in my class today. Why? Well for two reasons... first, it's a fun and versatile set - and the punch makes it SO easy to create fabulous cards in minutes... and second, it's part of the Bundle Up for Christmas promotion - on now and until the end of December.

So here are the first three cards we made today:

 

Recipe:
Stamps: Delightful Decorations, So Swirly Wheel, Basic Phrases, Contempo Christmas
Cardstock: Old Olive,Whisper White,Crumb Cake
Ink: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Platinum Shimmer Paint
Punches: Ornament, Word Window
Other: Sponge Daubers, Silver Elastic Thread, Crystal Effects, Diamond Stickles (non-SU!)

And here are the last two cards we made:

 

Recipe:
Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Contempo Christmas (for the greeting)
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler
Designer Series Paper: Jolly Holiday
Ink: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler
Punches: Ornament, Eyelet Border, Scallop Edge, Boho Blossoms
Other: Linen Thread, Pretty In Pink 3mm Taffeta Ribbon, Old Olive 1.6cm Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones

In case you're wondering about the Bundle Up for Christmas promotion.. you can get your hands on an exclusive package of ribbon for FREE when you purchase a Christmas gift-giving bundle. For example, you could buy the Delightful Decorations stamp set and Ornament punch for £37.45 and choose a ribbon package with a value of up to £11.50 for free!

If you're interested, please check out my previous post for further details.. and remember the bundles and ribbons are only available while supplies last. Do let me know if you'd like to take advantage of this deal and I'll be only too happy to help you!

By the way... stay tuned for information on the kit I'm putting together for Scrapbook Club on 27th November.. and a sneak peek at the project we'll be making!

September Card-making Class Update

Here are a few examples of the cards made today at my monthly Friday 'Five for a Fiver' class...

Yes, that's only four! My other sample card unfortunately fell into an ink pad and is looking a little sorry for itself.. but you get the general idea I expect!

The ladies were given 4x4" card blanks in the following colours: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Rose Red, Kraft and Chocolate Chip, along with smaller squares of cardstock in the same colours and pieces of Very Vanilla for stamping on.

We used the Cuttlebug and embossing folders for the middle layer and used various greetings stamps along with Dasher to create our cards. Although each lady had the same materials, every card they produced was quite unique! After a little practice, everyone got to grips with using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to align their images, using Sponge Daubers to ink the edges, and using punches in conjunction with the coordinating stamp sets.

Stamps:

• Dasher
• Punches Three
• Sincere Salutations
• Basic Phrases
• Tiny Tags

Punches:

• Scallop Square
• Scallop Oval
• Oval
• Jewellery Tag

My next class is on Saturday 18th September - 10am to 12noon and  we will be using 'Serene Snowflakes' to make two to three really special Christmas cards for your very favourite people! The price for this class is £10 and includes all tuition, materials and refreshments. To book a place, don't hesitate to call me or email me without delay.

For all the details on my classes, please check out the Cardmaking Classes page.

Thanks for reading,


Sarah x