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

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

April's Card Class: Easter Cards and Gifts

Thank you to the ladies who attended my Easter card class last week! Just a quick post to share what we made:

So here are the cards:

(This one was inspired by a card I was very kindly sent by Scraphappy Jackie to put on my display board.. thank you Jackie, your cards were wonderful!)

..and here are the Easter basket and gift bags:

The toppers on the gift bags were made using the new Top Note die in the Big Shot (I LOVE my new Big Shot so much!!).. the pink one was then embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. The rabbit stamp is from the Forest Friends stamp set.. a perfect Easter bunny I think!

At last.. the Mini Catalogue is here!

It's been a long wait, but finally I can show you the brand new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue... along with a few special offers... and a couple of the projects I've been working on these last few weeks! To view the Mini, just click on the picture in the side bar.. or get in touch with me and I'll send you a copy.

If you're coming to my Tea, Cake & Craft Party tomorrow, you'll be receiving a copy of the Mini in your goodie bag, along with information on the kits and other special deals I'll be running over the next few months.. details are also here!

Tomorrow there's going to be a Mini Catalogue Blog Hop, in which I and my lovely friends at In Love With Stamping will be showcasing a whole host of projects made using the new Stampin' Up! products. Pop back here tomorrow at around 10am and spend a while getting to know the new Mini and being inspired by all the wonderful new goodies we have to play with!

Meanwhile, I'd like to show you a few things I made at a training event I attended a couple of weeks ago (thank you Natalie - we had such fun!)

This little pillow box was made using the Big Shot and Pillow Box Die, embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. The little butterflies were die-cut with the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Dies (exclusive to Stampin' Up!) - you'll be seeing a lot of these.. I love them! This would make a gorgeous little wedding favour box.. and so easy to make!

And here is a small gift bag made using the SU!-exclusive Top Note Die. The label on the front was made with the new Four Frames stamp set along with the perfectly matching Decorative Label Punch. You know, I'm really starting to enjoy making little boxes & bags!

I took these cards (and 12 others..) to the training day to swap with the other ladies there. We'll be doing a similar design at the Tea, Cake & Craft Party tomorrow! The papers are from the Springtime Vintage DSP pack.. if you like all things vintage and Cath Kidston (and I do), you'll ADORE these! The ribbon is Seam Binding - soft, silky and available in four colours - Pear Pizazz, Rose Red, Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake.. it's lush!

Tomorrow, I'll be showing a couple of scrapbook pages, more cards and some home decor projects as part of the Blog Hop so I hope you'll check back as there're sure to be masses of beautiful work on display!

If you would like to place an order, just give me a call or email me and I'll be delighted to help.

Sarah x