Virtual Hostess Club Mini Easel Gift from Stampin' Up! UK Demonstrator Sarah Poulton

Good morning and very warm welcome from the Isle of Wight on this fine and mild December 1st morning. Today signals the official start to the festive countdown. Already today I have hung my 12 Days of Christmas cross stitch and both the girls are in the first of several (many!) Christmas outfits. I'm also going to be starting my Project Life December album today (pictures to come- woohoo!)

I have a special project to share with you today. This was a bit of a labour of love as I made 10 of these little mini easels for my virtal hostess club ladies to go with their November orders. I wanted a little decorative gift (this was my inspiration). Something a bit different to contribute to their festive preparations. I picked up the mini easels from my local The Works store.

Then came the fun bit, decorating and designing. I used the Typeset Designer Series Speciality Paper as my base. I gave it this antique aged effect with Soft Suede ink and a Stamping Sponge. 

I then stamped the flourishes and leaves (both from retired Christmas stamp sets). 

To create my Punch Art Poinsettia I punched lots of Cherry Cobbler wings from the Bird Punch and glued together in a circle layering on top of one another using Glue Dots (I also lightly daubered the edges with Cherry Cobbler ink). I then punched a Cherry Cobbler flower using the Petite Petals Punch which I curved with my Bone Folder for the top layer. For the flower centre I used three tiny Basic Pearls which I coloured with my Daffodil Delight Blendabilities Markers.

The final detail was the 'Joy' which I punched in Cherry Cobbler on to Old Olive cardstock using my Epic Alphabet stamp set. I then cut this and glued to my canvas. I finished with a bit of doodling with my Basic Black Stampin' Write marker and a mini star punched from Champagne Glimmer Paper.

I sprayed the whole canvas with Smooch Spritz to give it a sparkly festive sheen. However, this has not come out in the photographs. You'll just have to take my word for it that these canvases are lovely and sparkly.

I hope you've enjoyed my festive share today. I am so excited to start my December album with you more in the week. Keep your fingers crossed I can get the girls to sleep early enough to crack on with Day 1.

If you have any questions about today's project or the products I have used, please get in touch on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249. You can order online direct through my store by clicking the product links above or the pictures below. I also have availability in the next few months for your very own crafty party so drop me a line to find out more and get your date in the diary.

Happy Crafting

-X-

Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper

£11.50

Stamping Sponges

£3.25

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

£4.95

Bird Punch

£15.50

Mini Glue Dots

£3.95

Petite Petals Punch

£11.50

Basic Pearls Jewel Accents

£4.50

Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock

£6.25

Epic Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set

£22.95

Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz

£4.50

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Hardwood Garden Gate Card

Good morning and a very Happy Hump Day! I love Wednesdays as it means you are nearly at the weekend (and Grimm is on too which is always something worth looking forward to!).

Great news! Weekly Deals have been extended through May. Today's deals feature some great products. I especially love the Pop n' Cuts inserts (to be used with the Pop N' Cuts base). Pop over to my online store by clicking here or on the picture below to check this weeks deals.

So on to today's crafty project. I wanted to make a special 'Showstopper' special card for my first card class back after my maternity leave. I had seen a similar creation on Pinterest designed to showcase a packet of garden seeds as a gift style card. This type of card is one of my absolute favourites, one that incorporates a gift as an integral part of the card. And this card also gave me an excuse to break out the Bird Punch again. I haven't used this punch in an absolute age.

Here is the inside of the card:

The colour scheme for this card is Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party and Naturals Ivory (for the garden gate). The gate is stamped using the Hardwood background stamp in Chocolate Chip (and edges daubered with Crumb Cake). I secured the gate with Sticky Strip and then stuck Candy Dots to represent the gate hinges.

To embellish I created a robin with the Bird Punch. I punched the body from Crumb Cake, wing from Chocolate Chip and the breast was daubered with Cherry Cobbler. The flower was punched with the Boho Blossoms punch (and finished with a Bright Candy Dot).

Thank you for popping by today. You can order all Stampin' Up! products through my online store by click here or by clicking on any of the product links above. I will also happily order any products for you. Just drop me a line on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249 and I'll happily assist.

Happy Crafting

-XXX-

A little something different

 

Last night my family, some family friends, Sam, Summer and I all went along to a newly opened restaurant local to us in Ryde (Isle of Wight) called The Three Buoys. We took my Dad there for a birthday treat. This a brand new venture for a friend of my sisters and her husband and as the restaurant only opened officially on Friday we went along to show our support (the restuarant is named for their three young sons! Such a clever play on words!).

My Mum and sister has seen this card on Pinterest and thought it would make a perfect congratulations/good luck card for the couple starting out in their new business so I set about recreating it for them to give yesterday evening. The card is one sheet of A4 Whisper White folded in half. I then created layers using Baja Breeze & Marina Mist to give the card added dimension. The top layer is made from Baja Breeze embossed with the clouds folder in the Spring Summer catalogue. The lower half is Marina Mist (I dragged a Whisper White Craft ink pad over to give the effect of the sea and then drew the crests of the waves using my White Gel Pen). I used some offcuts of Early Espresso Coredinations cardstock which I crumpled and sanded for the posts and tied Linen Thread around the top. The Gull was created using the Bird Punch and a dauber with Crumb Cake ink. All in all a perfect good luck card for a restaurant by the sea.

And as for our meal, well is was just lovely. I am a big fan of eating out and seafood so the combination came together perfectly at Three Buoys. The food was on the pricier side but my Asian Battered Sea Trout with Asian Coleslaw and Sticky Soy Dip was worth every penny! And don't even get me started on my luxury Mojito. I'll definitely be returning for brunch and to try their afternoon tea too. If you are local to the Isle of Wight or just thinking of taking a trip here one day, I'd consider giving the restaurant a visit.

 

Hope you are all having a lovely Bank Holiday and getting time to enjoy this beautiful weather.

Happy Crafting

-X-

Last bit of Christmas Crafting

Well I know it is a little late but I'd like to wish all my blog readers a very Merry Christmas. Thank you all for reading through 2012 and I look forward to sharing more crafty projects with you in the New Year. I have some exciting changes coming up in 2013 and will be structuring my posts so that I update on a regular basis. I have some exciting colour challenges lined up and a regular weekly embellishment tutorial feature planned also. So pop back in early 2013 and I'll have more info to share with you then ;0)

In the mean time, I thought I would share a last bit of Christmas craftiness. I was looking through my computer files and my SD card and thought I would share with you the last crafty projects I found hiding amongst pictures of projects I have already shared with you ;0)

 

This is one of our cards from the December card class. Inspired by an amazing card I saw on Pinterest. I love the stamped background and the white heat embossing over the top. Giving a bit of a swirl with Crumb Cake ink and a dauber over the embossing gives the darkened ink effect.

 

This second card is a stamping only Christmas card that can be adapted for any occasion by changing the greeting and colour (see the original inspiration here on Pinterest). This photo hasn't captured the shadow stamping behind the Garden Green swirls. I stamped the swirls first with my Illuminate Glimmer ink pad to give a bit of glittery bling to the card. The swirls, flowers and label are all stamped from the Everything Eleanor stamp set. The colour scheme is Garden Green and Cherry Cobbler.



 

And lastly, here is a project we made in my December workshops using the fab Season of Sweets Designer Kit from the Autumn Winter catalogue. I provided the gingerbread stars and everyone got to take home a lovely little package with a biscuit and gift label.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you are all having a fabulous festive season and looking forward to what lies ahead in 2013.

And just a quick reminder, I have my new virtual hostess club starting in the New Year. Click here to find out more and get in touch if you'd be interested in signing up ;0)

Happy Festive Crafting and look forward to more craftiness in 2013

-X-

Sale-A-Bration Scrapbooking Part 2

As you can see the Sale-A-Bration papers and stamps have been a big motif in my crafting recently. And upon digging out my bird punch I have been enjoying using the bird as an embellishment on my layouts too.

Again this uses Peach Parfait, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral and Pool Party as the theme colours matched with the Everyday Enchantment papers. The stamps used for the background are the Sale-A-Bration Fresh Vintage stamps.

I've been meaning to create a layout with a bunting embellishment on for months and just never gotten around to it. I love the effect of this free falling bunting on the layout. And it went down well with my class ladies too (although it was a little bit fiddly to get the flags to stick to the linen thread)

If you would like to order any of these exclusive Sale-A-Bration products please get in touch directly as Sale-A-Bration only runs till March 31st and then these products will be retired for good. Take this opportunity to get hold of a free stamp set of pack of paper with a £45 order by either calling or emailing me on 01983 609249 or poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk.

 Thanks for stopping by today and happy Saturday crafting to all ;0)

-X- 

Sale-A-Bration Scrapbooking

Here is the first of our Stampin' Scrappin' layouts for this month.  I used the current In Colours and the Sale-A-Bration Everyday Enchantment papers as my inspiration. I love how the Aviary stamped images and the punched bird match the tiny birds incorporated in the paper design.

The more colourful the layout the more I love it. So this months class was fun for me to design as it used so many big bright colours: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Calypso Coral &  Peach Parfait. The page was embellished with a few basic pearls and a strip of Daffodil Delight ribbon.

I'll share the second layout tomorrow. In the mean time, happy crafting to all ;0)

-X-

Christmas Candle

I have been so busy of late that I'm really beginning to feel craft deprived. I havent had a second to sit and do any original crafting. I did however make a version of a card I saw on Monica's blog. She is such a creative demonstrator and the moment I spotted it I knew I wanted to give it a go. I loved the finished product so much that I'll be sharing this card with my class on the 28th September. So if you fancy having a go yourself, book your spot now (poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249).

This uses the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder for the Big Shot to texture the candle and background. The colour scheme is Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive. The leaves and flame are punched with the bird punch. The flowers are one of the Boho Blossom three. And the tags are stamped with Tiny Tags and punched with the jewellery tag punch. I finished the card with three of the large basic pearls.

As you can see my thoughts are well and truly turning to Christmas crafting now. I have had a bit of a sneak peak of the new catalogue and I cannot wait to get new products for my Christmas makings ;0) And don't forget that the Last Chance List is now live and products are only available while stocks last. I'm putting an order in over the weekend so get in touch if there is anything you would like me to order.

Happy Weekend Crafting ;0)

-XXX-

Charity Craft Day for the Hospice

Well firstly, I just have to say a big thank you to all the lovely ladies who came along to my Christmas Craft Day yesterday. It was lovely to see familiar faces as well as welcome new crafters along too. It was a great day and I am glad all the projects were a success. I've got a couple of donations to add to the pot before I can give a proper tally of how much we raised. But its looking very good so far ;0)

I've got some photos from Mum's camera to get hold of from yesterday. But for today I'll post some photos of the projects we made.

Project One: Folded Diaper Pouch with matching notecard and sneaky Quality Street half inched from my Dads tin ;0)

I used Elegant Eggplant and Rose Red as my colour scheme (and yes I pinched matching Pink Quality Streets ;0) Season of Joy Stampset was used for the notelet.

 Project Two: Gift Card Pouch

This gift card was demo'd by the fabulous Julie Kettlewell at Convention. I was so enamoured with the colour scheme (Crumb Cake and Cherrry Cobbler) that I had to give it a go and then demo it myself at my event. This uses Contempo Christmas and the Ornament Punch with matching Very Vanilla Ribbon.

 Project 3: Sour Cream Container

I've demo'd Sour Cream Containers before. But for this we had a lovely little twist. My Mum had handmade earrings to donate for the Craft Day. They were beautiful (and I wanted to keep about 10 pairs but since I havent been able to wear earrings for years they wouldnt have been much use to me!) and we sealed them as an early Christmas gift within the container ;0) As the demo was more about the Sour Cream Container I prestamped and mounted the gift tags using the Gifted Stamp Set (Real Red and Old Olive).

 Project 4: Bird House Gift Box

This was based on a swap I received from the very talented Jo Dumbleton at the last Stampin' Up! training I attended. I'd had so many comments about it that I decided to give demo-ing it a bash. Its such a lovely idea and I give full credit to Jo for coming up with such a lovely Christmas demo. It uses: Garden Green, Crumb Cake, Real Red & Soft Suede. Along with the Serene Snowflakes stamp set and Bird Punch. The window is filled with a small piece of acetate and the project was finished off with silver elastic cord and a tiny amount of red glitter on the holly berries.

 Project 5: Christmas Gift Box

 I spent a fair few days perfecting the measurements for this box (hence so many demonstration versions for photographing). I'm really pleased with the final version and the beautiful scallop circle flower on top.

 Project 6: Dasher Embossed Jolly Holiday Card

We didn't get time to finish this card. So I each of the ladies took it home to complete from a kit version. Its a lovely quick but effective Dasher card. You'll notice that Cherry Cobbler is my favourite colour at the moment. I seem to be using it in most of my festive projects this year.

 And the final project of the day....

Project 7: Crimped Envelope Card

This used Serene Snowflakes and Dasher coupled with Tempting Turquoise and Pacific Point. This was a simple but effective card. You seal the envelope and then slice off the top. You then stamp the main envelope and run it through the crimper. The top of the envelope then forms a lid over the crimped section ;0)

As you can see from the photos, it was a very busy day! We also missed out Sandy's Cracker Dasher card which she did a quick run through of so the ladies could take it home to finish there. For future events I'll definitely be scaling back the number of projects we complete so that its a bit more relaxed. Still, we live and learn don't we? ;0)

For all those that asked about the DSP Christmas Tree I posted earlier in the week. I have another cone here that I will use to create a tutorial for you this afternoon. Check back later to see that.....

Thanks for stopping by.

-XXX-

Re-jigged Fox & Friends Card

It is my partner Sam's nephews birthday today. I am terrible at boys/mens cards. I tend to lean towards the girlier/glittery stamp sets and accessories. So a birthday card for a boy always proves a bit of challenge. For this card i decided to slightly rejig a card i have previously made using the Fox and Friends monkey stamp. I added 'Liam' using the Just Perfect Alphabet and circle punch. I was quite pleased with the result. I also went off on a bit of an envelope decorating tangent with the 'Life's a Breeze' stampset, purely because it was open on the table in front of me!! ;0)

I have been super busy craft wise. I am putting together some wedding invite samples for a couple of friends that are getting married. I have been having a lot of fun coming up with new ideas and trying new techniques. I am also keen to post my card class cards as I've been glittering & embossing like crazy at home. Would like to get a bit of feedback. But that will have to wait till next week now.....

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.