WCC Challenge #19- Hands of Time

Now I really struggled with this one. Boy did i wish I'd previously invested in the 'Sense of Time' Stamp Set from the current SU catalogue. Might've made life a little bit easier?!

Anyways, here is my challenge effort. I'm not too happy with it and considered not posting it. But I joined in with the Wight Craft Circle challenge as I am completely new to scrapbooking and treat every week as a learning process. My scrapbooking is coming on leaps and bounds. But i also know I am NOT going to like every LO I complete. I have set myself two challenges for next week- 1) find new ways of mounting/displaying pics on a LO which doesnt involve too many straight lines and double mounting (like I do on every single LO) and 2) not beat myself up too badly if the beautiful LO I have in my head doesnt translate quite so spectacularly onto the page.

My first card class- Saturday 26th June

My Stampin' Up! display board (my fridge!) featuring my own designs and swaps from the Reading Training and Pink Ladies Mini Catalogue Swap.

The table all set ready to go.....

My punch fan.....

Excellent use of my new microwave- showing off my new scrapbooking skills.....

My Stampin' Up display. Showing the range of colours and products available (or just an excuse to display and play with all my lovely Stamp Sets ;0)

This Saturday saw my first Stampin' Up! card class held at my house in Newport. I spent the afternoon in the company of Chris and Pat and my lovely sister Sophie (who is not a crafter but joined in for moral support ;0) I scouted around a few other demo websites for inspiration and ideas just to help me get started (thank you to the demos who inspired the cards we made).

I saw a card similar to the above (using up retired colour card stock) on Demo Elaine's Blog. I used Barely Banana, Real Red, Taken With Teal Ink and Cardstock with papers from the Sweet Pea Stack. I used the Bird Punch with the Scallop Circle and Stamps from the Tiny Tags Set. I accessorised with Linen Thread. The envelope design is taken from the Tiny Tags set.

This gorgeous use of the bird punch to make the tulips was taken from one of my favourite Demo websites, Julie's Japes. This card demo's Rich Razzleberry, one of the new SU colours paired with Orchid Opulence, a retiring colour. I also used the Vintage Vogue stamp set with Rich Razzleberry Ink (and polka dotted ribbon), Old Olive Card Stock & Whisper White too. This was my favourite card of the day.

The final card of the afternoon was centred around the limited edition Cottage Wall Papers paired with the Vintage Vogue set from the mini catalogue. I again used Rich Razzleberry (Ink, Card Stock and Polka Dotted Ribbon) with Orchid Opulence. The Flowers were stamped in Pale Plum and Rich Razzleberry using the Rock N Roll technique. I finished the flowers with a brad taken from the 'Fire' collection. This was inspired by a card on Jo's blog.

I have completely forgotten to take a photo of the bag we made too. So i'll take pics and post them later in the week.

Having completed my first class and enjoyed seeing the results of other people I have gained a lot of confidence. Next month I'm going to create my own cards from scratch and teach my own inspired creations. I am thankful, however, to all the lovely demo blogs that I regularly read that help me gain new ideas and encourage me to try new colour combos.

For anyone interested in coming along, upcoming card classes will be held in Newport on the following dates:

Saturday July 24th 2010 (1-4pm)

Saturday 21st August 2010 (1-4pm)

Card class is £8 or £5 if a qualifying order of £20+ is placed during the workshop.

If you have any questions about Stampin Up or would like to place an order please do not hesitate to contact me on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 07830 343830.

Wight Craft Circle- Scrap With Us Challenges

I had another lovely day crafting at Paige's on Saturday. As a result i had a very productive day completing 3 LOs for the scrap challenges and gaining inspiration for a fourth which I completed yesterday.

I worked on the two most recent challenges: Week 17 'I'm Feeling Distressed' and Week 18 'Girl Power & the Rule of 3s'. I also completed two earlier challenges: Week 1 'Be Musical' and Week 2 'Use Flowers, Trees or Leaves'.

I have used a mix of old and new photos. I had been wanting to complete a LO for my Great South Run medal for a while but not found the right fit. As it happens I think the 'distressed' challenge worked perfectly ;0) And I managed to coordinate all the papers to match the medal too ;0)

And of all my LOs to date my absolute favourite is my 'Countryfile' LO. This picture was taken of me and Sam with Adam Henson on Friday at the Good Food Live/Gardener's World show. I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to watching Countryfile and I adore the 'Adam's Farm' features each Sunday.

Enough chatting, more photos......

Week 2: Use Flowers, Trees or Leaves

Week 17: I'm Feeling Distressed

Weeks 2 & 18 (Double Layout): Be Musical & Girl Power/Rule of Threes

Blog Candy Result: Congratulations Sorayaquartz

Good morning all,

I have drawn the result for my Blog Candy giveaway this morning. I used a random number generator website (having assigned numbers 1-5 in the order that comments were left on the giveaway post) and the winner of the stampset and ribbon is: Sorayaquartz! I will be in touch to pass on the lovely Stampin Up goodies asap ;0) Congratulations!

Here is the result taken from a screenshot of the website generator I used this morning:

Stampin' Up! Blog Candy - Stamp Set Giveaway

***Update*** Being a complete wally I forgot that I am away on Friday in Birmingham so this blog candy draw will now take place tomorrow (Thursday June 17th). I'll post the results from the Random Generator website tomorrow and contact the winner to post off the prize ;0)


I have a blog candy Stampin' Up! giveaway launching today. I am giving away the Whimsical Words Stamp Set (pictured) and a selection of SU coloured ribbons. Just leave a comment on my blog (preferably something nice) and I will randomly select a winner on Thursday June 17th. This post will remain at the top of my blog until then ;0)

So in your comments I'd like to know your favourite stamping/crafting technique and/or your fave SU colour. I'll get you started. I love embossing and glittering and my 2 fave colours are Pumpkin Pie and Taken with Teal. Good luck ;0)

Father's Day Card

My Mum and Dad are off on their holidays tomorrow so we are having an early Fathers Day celebration BBQ tonight. Here is the card I put together using some samples of the designer papers that I had. I decorated the envelope to match and paired it with an England Supporter Gingerbread man ;0)

For this card I used: Cheers to You Stamp Set, Nouveau Chic Designer Paper, Chocolate Chip & More Mustard Card Stock, Earth Elements Stampin' Writes, Soft Suede Polka Dotted Ribbon, Scallop Circle Punch, 1- 1/4" circle punch, Just Perfect Alphabet.

Scrap With Us Week #16- Old Wives Tales & Alphas

Well this weeks effort sort of looks like a ransom note i think. Maybe I took 'mixing up the alphas' a little too far ;0) I would like to submit this as evidence as to why I should not craft while stuck at home with the flu. I have been in bed most of the week and shifted myself to do this yesterday and think it is a slightly odd layout as a result. But actually I'm pretty happy with it. I picked the colour/theme to match my sisters personalities and to put a little piece of them into this weeks challenge.

I did struggle with the 'Old Wives Tales' part of the challenge. I googled looking for new and different tales but went with an old classic instead.... 'Be careful... or else the wind might change direction' ;0)


In other news, places are filling for the Saturday June 26th card class at my house in Newport. If you'd like to reserve one of the remaining spots please email me on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or call/text on 07830 343830.

Crafting with Paige

Having spent a lovely day crafting with Paige I just had to share this gorgeous chipboard mini album I am working on. It took me a good 5 hours to cover and file all the pages and get it all ready to go. I started work on the front cover but was completely exhausted after the incredible amount of time it took me to get it all done. So it is very much still a work in progress. But i love the effect so far. And following Paige's advice I glazed the letters on the front when I got home and absolutely love the look of it (thank you Paige for the Cricut letters! I L.O.V.E. that machine!)

Also, (while not technically completed at Paiges, I did make it when I got home on the same day) I made this Congratulations card for my friend who just got engaged. Its along similar lines to the wedding card I made (I had the card already cut ready to go having used the same colour scheme the other night). I used the Love You Much Stamp Set with Pink Passion & Confetti White Cardstock, I also used two half pearls from the Pretties kit and Platinum Shimmer Paint with a sponge dauber.

WCC Scrap With Us Challenge #15

After a lovely day of crafting at Paige's on Saturday I finally got my head around how to tell the story of my trip to London last week. The theme for this week's challenge was "Tell Me A Story" and I'd been messing around with dozens of photos trying to find a way to lay them all out. After a fantastic mini book tutorial by the lovely Paige I put together this great little book. I have tried to tell the story like a child's mini book. However, I stuck the photos in before doing the writing so its a little bit out of order! (another invaluable lesson learned ;0) To create this I used the papers from the Sweet Pea Paperstack. I love these so much I might just have to order another set just in case they dont stay around in the next main Ideas Book.

Two cards I made last night

I bought myself a few little bits from SU last week and wanted to try them out. So last night i set about making two cards. One was for my lovely friend Francesca who celebrates her 30th today (its OK that the card wont arrive in time- she is currently celebrating the big 3-0 in Sydney having spent the last week doing exciting things like swimming with whale sharks- lucky old thing).

Anyways, I designed this 30 card using: Pink Passion & Green Galore Cardstock, Melon Mambo Polka Dotted Ribbon, Sweet Treat Cup, Cheers To You Stamp Set, Cheer & Wishes Greeting, Cheers To You Wheel, Circle and Star punches, Turquoise Grosgrain Ribbon, buckle fom the Hodgepodge Hardware kit and then finished off with various glitters and glitter pens. The finished card also has jelly beans filling the sweet treat cup (I was going to put a necklace in it as a gift card but the one I bought was far too big for the cup. So sweets it is with the necklace in the envelope!)

The second card is for an old school friend who is getting married tomorrow. Unfortunately I am unable to attend the ceremony but wanted to send my greetings all the same. For this I used Confetti White Paper over Pixie Pink, the Love You Much stamp set, two large

pink rhinestone brads from the Fire set, greeting from Cheer & Wishes and Platinum Shimmer Paint (with a sponge dauber).

Upcoming Card Class dates

Hiya all,

Thank you to all those who responded so positively about starting up a monthly Stampin' Up! card class.

Here are the dates I am looking at holding classes:

Wednesday June 16th- 7-10pm
Saturday June 26th- 1-4pm
Wednesday July 14th - 7-10pm
Saturday July 24th- 1-4pm

I will be theming each session around particular elements of the SU range. I'm thinking of holding classes on the SU wheels, new colours, retiring colours (we should make the most of them before they are gone!) and mini catalogue stamp sets to name but a few ;0)

The cost will be £8 per class or £5 if an order of £20+ is placed at the class.

I will be holding these classes at my home in Newport so space is limited. If you'd like to reserve a place please email me at: poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or text/call me on 07830 343830.