4 days and counting......

Stampin' Up!'s European Convention is now only 4 days away (well technically 5 but I am travelling up to East Croydon on Thursday so I say 4) and I have been so busy getting everything ready. Hence things have been a bit quiet on the crafting/blogging/scrapbooking front. I somewhat foolishly signed myself up for several organised swaps through the website In Love With Stamping and have been feverishly busying myself along making 90 CMC swaps (which will form a lovely mini album memento of Convention), 10 Business Tools swaps, 10 Card Candy Swaps, Team Swaps and 100+ general demo swaps.  I feel like I've breathed, eaten, slept and dreamed swaps continually for the last month or so. So relieved to finally have put the finishing touches to my last swaps today. They are now all packaged up and ready to go. Goodness only knows how I'm going to get these all the way to Croydon on the train along with myself and my main bag. Think I'll have to come up with some creative packing to protect everything.....

So once Convention is over, normal crafting service will resume. I'm now 4 challenges behind with the Wight Craft Circle's Scrap With Us (which I will be catching up on asap!) and I've got workshops and demos to prepare for. So new cards/layouts will be posted soon. Along with photos of my swaps and hopefully all the lovely swaps I'll receive in return.

I cannot wait to blog again this time next week and let you all know how Convention goes ;0) I'm so excited and yet terrified at the same time (trying not to let my nerves get the better of me).

Right, off to watch X-Factor. Can hear Bon Jovi are on already and I'm missing it (love Bon Jovi! Have some fab memories of seeing them live in New Jersey many moons ago. Thank goodness for Sky+)......

-xxxx-

Happy Birthday Lola

 This is a scheduled post so I hope it goes live as planned ;0) I wanted to share some items I recently made for my lovely friend from MK, Lola, whose birthday it is today. She is about to buy a house so I wanted to make her a little keepsake/useful item for her big move. I took an art journal and covered it with some 'stitched' DSP. I cut some 'handwriting' style letters using my friend P's Cricut which I stuck to the front and covered with glossy accents. I then accessorised with jewels and stamped the corner of each page inside using a variety of 'home-y' stamps.

 I also wanted to celebrate the fact that we've now been friends for 10 years. We met randomly when I moved into a shared on-campus flat at University. She was my next door but one corridor flatmate and we were firm friends from day one. Hardly a day has gone by since then without an email, text or lunch meet up in London ;0) P had shown me how to make this mini fold out album a while ago and I'd tucked it away knowing I wanted to use it for Natalie's 30th (her name isn't really Lola in case this confused anyone?!). I printed a whole load of Uni photos and mounted them into this happy and colourful little album. Hope it jogs her memory as to some fab nights out!

Happy Birthday Natalie! Hope you're having a fantastic day (and work isn't getting you down too much today). Hope you dont mind me sharing your gifts with cyberland ;0)

-XXX-

Yesterdays Christmas Card Class

Yesterday afternoon I had another lovely monthly card class. We were a bit thin on the ground numbers wise but it meant we got to do a lot more chatting as we crafted. And I forced myself to slow down and not get over stressed by rushing through everything (especially with what feels like the startings of flu this weekend).

We made three cards and a gable box using Dasher and Season of Joy. The projects we made today:

 Gable Box made with Season of Joy stampset. Ink colour: Poppy Parade & Pear Pizzazz (yes more shameless use of the In Colours!). Flourish was stamped with Champagne Shimmer Paint and a sponge dauber. Ribbon: Poppy Parade Poly Stitched.

 I cannot help but absolutely love the Paisley Prints stampset. This was the first on my shopping list when the new IB&C launched. I stamped the Christmas Tree image in Early Espresso. The greeting is stamped with the Curly Cute sentiment set. We used the Paper Piercer and piercing mats for the corner of the white panel.

I dedided to try out a new card style for this card so I looked at some online tutorials. I found this triangle folded crossover card with a tagged insert for writing your message on. Again, we used Season Of Joy to make the poinsettia flower on the front (Real Red with red brads for the berry centre). The DSP is the now retired SU Christmas papers. The insert was stamped with the Season of Joy flourish and sentiment, I hand drew on the stitching and finished with a Chocolate Chip Tag and stamped snowflake.

And finally I've been dying to a tri shutter card for a while. For this we used little bits of leftover DSP, Dasher and Season of Joy. I tried to show that this card is very adaptable and can be decorated in any way you like (made easier by double sided DSP which meant each of our cards was completely different). Each end was highlighted with gold embossed images. We also created the stand out flowers with scalloped circles and a button.

So that was my crafty Card Class afternoon. Now onward to planning for the Hospice Craft Day next month. Places are booking up fast, so if you would like to come along and spend the day crafting all in aid if a very good cause, get in touch to book now: 609249 or poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk

-XXXX-

In Colour Thank Yous....

My Stampin' Up! order arrived today bearing lots of lovely new bits and bobs. Cannot wait to get started playing with the sparkly paper. I can see my Christmas journal and Christmas cards having a lovely bit of Stampin' Up! bling to them this year ;0)

It also contained the items I ordered for the lovely ladies I met at my Open House at the weekend. So I sat down and made two In Colour inspired thank you notes as I'm really falling in love with these 5 colours (I am working on my In Colour swaps for convention at the moment and absolutely love these Designer Series Papers and Poly Ribbons).

For this little 3"x3" notelet I used Poppy Parade cardstock and Concorde Crush DSP accessorised with the C/C stitched poly ribbon and the Curly Cute Thank You sentiment. I cannot get enough of the new Scallop Trim Border Punch. I use this with all my projects at the moments.

I have so many ideas of things I want to make and do and try out. Hopefully this will mean a busy time blogging everything in the not too distant future. The lead up to Christmas is my favourite crafting time of year. I love putting together all my Christmas cards together and making items to give as gifts. This year, with Stampin' Up! now a firm part of my life, I have the added fun of being able to share Christmas crafting with friends and fellow crafters. I am so looking forward to completing the latest 'Me In 2010' Wight Craft Circle scrap challenge as this year has been full of challenges but overall I have met many new friends and I am now sharing crafting and doing something I really love and enjoy.

If you'd like to host a workshop or place a Stampin' Up! order or even just have a crafty chat, please do not hesitate to get in touch: poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 609249.

Artistic Etchings for a Monday morning...

I'm finally getting a few minutes to have a play with my new catalogue stampsets. I sat down with Artistic Etchings and the Newsprint DSP to create a special birthday card for a friend (who I hope isnt reading this today or else I've just ruined the surprise!).

The colour combo is Crumb Cake and Riding Hood Red. I tore the edges of the DSP and then sponge daubered with Crumb Cake ink. I created the background with the circular Artistic Etchings circle. Some images stamped with ink the others clear embossed with Versamark. I used the Word Window punch for the Amour and layered this onto an oval cut with the corresponding punch (I stamped this for texture with the circle and daubered the edges also).

All in all I'm really pleased with the effect. I've not really tried this sort of vintage themed card before. But it works so well with the Artistic Etchings stamps that I'm pleased I finally sat down and had a go.

For any questions about Stampin' Up! please do not hesitate to contact me on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk.

-XXX-
or 01983 609249.

A big thank you....

Firstly can I just thank all the lovely ladies that came along to my Open House yesterday. I had a really fantastic day and I really enjoyed chatting and crafting with both new and familiar faces ;0) It was a great opportunity to introduce Stampin' Up! to crafters who'd not used the products before and I'm looking forward to demo-ing at workshops next month for all the lovely ladies I met yesterday. And another thank you to Sandy for helping out and getting in some Demonstrator practice for her new Stampin' Up! business (now if we could just hurry that Starter Kit order up.....).

Lastly, a huge thank you to my Mum for all her help with my swaps and for the fantastic Pumpkin Cake she baked for the day.

Here are the projects we worked on yesterday using products from the new catalogue:

Dasher Christmas card: Night of Navy card & ink, Oval Punch, greeting from Season of Joy stampset and my new favourite punch- the Scallop Trim detail punch. We then accessorised the antlers with glitter.

 The decorated envelope using Season of Joy.

 Contempo Christmas Card:
For any other demos you'll recognise this card from the recent High Wycombe training. I loved the effectiveness of the 3D bauble so adapted the card slightly to demo yesterday. The card was created using the Ornament Punch, Contempo Christmas Stampset, new organza white ribbon, White Craft Ink, Wild Wasabi or Cherry Cobbler ink/cardstock.

For any questions about Stampin' Up! or any of the products featured above please do not hesitate to contact me: 01983 609249 or poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk.

New Catalogue Launch Open House- October 16th

I’ve now firmed up plans (and changed the date) for my new Ideas Book & Catalogue Launch so I’m now formally posting the date and details. It will now be held on:



Saturday October 16th 2010 10-4pm




All are welcome. The Open House is free and an excellent opportunity to come along and try out some of the new products from the new catalogue. I will have Make and Takes available throughout the day so please feel free to drop by and have a chat and craft.


On the day I will be offering:

• A free catalogue when placing an order from the new catalogue of £35 or over
• A range of incentive gifts to choose from for anyone booking a workshop on the day
• Chance to win a Stampin’ Up! goody bag door prize

The event will be held at my home in Newport (3 Cross Street), please contact me for further information or to let me know you will be attending: poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 07830 343830 (and from September 27th you can also contact me on 01983 609249).


I hope to see you on the 16th! ;0)

Charity Craft Day for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice- November 20th

 Check out the new Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue by clicking the photo above.

Apologies that things have been a bit quiet on the photo front from me recently. I've certainly been crafting a great deal but cannot post pictures right away due to them being of pressies or for Convention next month. I've been working on some lovely swaps for part of a CMC swap with 89 other demonstrators. I'd never heard of this kind of swap before. Here is the German website where the inspiration came from:

http://scrap-impulse.typepad.com/scrapimpulse/2010/03/cmc-swap.html

I'm also up to my ears in card candy, business tools and general swaps too! I'll need a holiday to recover from convention at this rate ;0)

I have also been putting together a charity event for next month:

Event: A Christmas Craft Fun Day
Where: St Andrew's Community Hall
Time: 10.30am- 3.30pm
Cost: £20 to include all materials and mini craft goody bag

I'll be running this with my new demonstrator friend Sandy. There will be some lovely items to make and take away with you. All proceeds from ticket sales and from the charity raffle on the day will be going to the Earl Mountbatten Hospice. To book your place please phone 609249 or email me on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk. It'll be a great day with some fun projects and techniques.

Its my new catalogue Open House this Saturday from 10-4. I shall look forward to seeing you then ;0)
-XXXX-

Retreat Makes

Well, I've been having a real struggle with my camera this morning. I have been waiting for a dry day to use the natural light outside to photograph my LOs. Sadly, this doesnt seem to be on the cards anytime soon. So I've had to take the pictures indoors. None of these are a true representation of the LOs I completed over the weekend. But wanted to upload them asap.

Here goes....

Week 30: 10 Things About... Me!

Week 31: How I Feel About.... Being a Sister

I was really pleased with this LO until I realised I completely forgotten half the challenge. I completed the title half of Week 31's challenge (the 'How I Feel About...' part) but not the colour challenge part of Kiwi, Chocolate, Baja & White! So I've uploaded this half of the challenge and I'll look at doing a colour themed LO for the other half.

  

Week 32: Could It Be Magic?

This is my favourite LO of the weekend and it is the worst picture. I really couldnt capture the detail of this one. I bought some heat resistant acetate and Versamarked a lovely Butterfly borrowed from P's new stampset and then Heat & Sticked it and set Dazzling Diamonds into the glue. I love having a play with a new technique. And I would never have thought of heat embossing onto acetate. But it turned out really well and fitted the 'Magic' theme of the week.

Non challenge related LOs completed:

Roald Day Day & Inventive Crafting

I completed this double LO to fit my new 8.5 x 11 inch page protectors. Sam and I recently visited the Roald Dahl Story Centre in Buckinghamshire and spent ages in their interactive craft room colouring and sticking the two illustrations included in the above LOs. When we'd finished them we blue tacked them to the craft room wall. But I knew I wanted to theme a LO around them so I photographed them and reprinted them when I got home. For this double LO I wanted to capture the fun and colours of being a child and represent how Roald Dahl made me feel when I was young.

King of the Barbecue:



Smores LO:

I also completed a couple of other smaller projects and worked on my Convention swaps but I'll have to post these at a later date ;0) All in all it was a very productive weekend. But I never knew crafting could be so exhausting ;0)

-xxxx-

New colour combinations.....

Right, I should really get a shift on with my Retreat Makes photos as both Paige and Sam are putting me to shame by having their uploaded already. That'll teach me to put all my LOs in my albums before remembering to photograph them.

In the mean time, I was inspired yesterday by a card I saw on the lovely Vicky's blog using the new Greenhouse Gala DSP from Stampin' Up! Since this paper arrived I have been at a loss to know what to do with it. Then I saw Vicky's gorgeous card and I fell in love with the potential of the papers. I went straight home to recreate the card (with a slight Stampin' Sarah modification due to a lack of Marina Mist cardstock).

The colour scheme for this card is: Marina Mist, Cajun Craze and Pumpkin Pie. The stamping of the 'Thank You' was Early Espresso. When I see designs like this one of Vicky's I begin to really understand the idea behind the Colour Renovation. These colours are so stunning together and make so much sense. I am really beginning to enjoy discovering all the new colour combos. Roll on convention and getting to see so many other new ideas and swaps.

I'm home and new catalogue is now LIVE ;0)

So much to report on... I'm home from the WCC Retreat in Totland. Had a fantastic time, completed some lovely layouts, got slightly hooked on the Paper Dolls cartridge for the Cricut, spent a bit too much on new stash and generally had a lovely time chatting and crafting with likeminded ladies. Got to play with some of my new SU stamps and inkpads and finished some long overdue challenges for Scrap With Us on the WCC blog. Photos will follow, however, my camera is playing up and the light is naff- so will take pics tomorrow to upload.

In other news, I now have the internet at home!!! Finally I've caught up with the digital technology age. I can now blog from home. Makes life a lot easier than trying to fit it in at work.

And most importantly, the new 2010-2011 catalogue is now live. Orders can be placed and new stash delivered direct to your door. Any queries or questions, do not hesitate to get in touch.

Sarah: T: 609249, poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 07830 343830.

Just a taster of one of the layouts I completed over the weekend.