A White Christmas Star Album Card from Stampin' Up! UK Demonstrator Sarah Poulton

Happy Friday! Do you have anything exciting (and crafty) lined up for your weekend? I have my Autumn Winter catalogue Open House tomorrow between 10.30am and 2.30pm. If you would are on the Isle of Wight and would like to find out more about Stampin' Up! and have a go at a lovely festive make and take, please pop along. I'd love to see you.

Today I have another of my Christmas Craft Day makes to share with you. We all created one of these star album/cards. To create my sample I used this tutorial I found via Pinterest. The tutorial shows how to make a star shaped mini album. However, by adapting the tutorial and by cutting a rectangular window in the smallest layer, I was able to create a multi-scene card instead.

This project would have to be for extra special recipients though as it is fairly cardstock/DSP heavy. To create the whole star I needed 6 sheets of A4 coloured cardstock (I used Whisper White and Garden Green) and 2 complete sheets of Designer Series Paper (I used Merry Moments).

Within each section of the star I created a little Christmasy scene. I used the White Christmas stamp set for ease. I stamped each piece of Whisper White with the trees and then used different elements for each window scene.

I used my ink pads and blender pens to colour each scene. I love the subtle, almost watercoloured, effect of colouring with the blenders. It isn't as bold as colouring directly with markers. I embellished various scenes with glitter and/or sequins depending on the picture I was creating. 

Each star section frame was embellished with Metallics Sequins and other stickers from my retired Stampin' Up! stash.

The whole project folds flat and can be decorated as a traditional card. The reindeer clip is to hold the star open when fully folded for decorative purposes. I love that is a special card or gift that can also become a festive decoration too.

Thank you for popping by today. Please let me know if you have any questions about Stampin' Up! or our products. I would love to help. All items can be purchased online via my shop or get in touch directly and I can order them for you to be delivered direct to your door. I'd also love to Demo for you and your friends at a crafty party. As the hostess you earn lots of lovely freebies and you all get to make a fun crafty project too (no crafting experience necessary!)

 -XXX-

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Watercolor Wonder Note Cards

Good morning crafters and a very Happy Monday to you.

I hosted an Open House this weekend to celebrate the launch of the new Spring Summer Catalogue and enjoyed sharing a selection of new products and crafty projects with the ladies that popped along during the day.

For our Make and Take project I designed several cards using the fabulous Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Note Cards and Envelopes coupled with the Happy Watercolor Stamp Set.

I love these preprinted watercolour effect notelets. They are perfect for adding layers and stamping to.

The colour scheme for our stamping was Daffodil Delight and Tangerine Tango. We added gold detail for the sentiments and dotted background with a Metallic Encore Gold Inkpad.

If you'd like to find out more about the products used for these cards you can clink on the links directly above or on the photos below which will connect you directly to my online store. Alternatively I will be more than happy to place an order on your behalf, just get in contact on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249.

Thank you for stopping by today and for joining me for a bit of Monday morning crafting. I had better publish this now and get on with getting Summer and I dressed ready for our Monday morning trip to playgroup. 

Please do not hesitate to get in contact with any Stampin' Up! enquiries or crafty question, I'm always happy to chat Stampin' Up! ;0)

Happy Crafting

-X-

Language of Love Desk Calendar

Good morning crafty friends.

I am not sure what happened to my crafty post yesterday. It seems to have not published. Another scheduling miss on my part I fear.

So I am announcing our FAB new product today instead (what better way to celebrate the start of the weekend!). Stampin' Up! have launched a sibling to the Big Shot, the Texture Boutique Embossing Machine. If you click on the flyer below it will connect you straight through to my online store for you to find out more about this fantastic new tool.

I love the smaller size and portability of the Texture Boutique machine. It is perfect for taking to craft groups, parties and crops as it is light and easily packed away. It is quick and easy to use and is designed to fit our Stampin' Up! Embossing Folders perfectly.

I love that combined with a purchase of our 3 most recent Embossing Folder additions (Ampersand, Arrows and Scallops) you can qualify for the new and exclusive Decorative Dots folder for free as part of Sale-A-Bration! What a perfect time to invest in a fab new crafty tool for your craft space and creating.

And it wouldn't be a crafty weekend kick off without a quick project to share with you today.

This is another of our team shoebox swap makes. This project was created by Lorraine and I so enjoyed making this little desk calendar.  Although it wasn't until I came to take the pictures that I realised just how wonky it was! Oops, I'll blame it on the baby brain!

This project uses a Crumb Cake base with Cherry Cobbler layer and stamping. The hearts are from the lovely new Language of Love stamp set which is brand new in our Spring Summer catalogue (please see the sidebar to the left if you'd like to view the catalogue online, or drop me an email on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk if you'd like a paper copy popped in the post to you). I love how these little hearts can be stamped and punched with the Small Heart Punch (a bargain at just £5.75).

I hope you have lots of crafty loveliness planned for your weekend. I am hosting a new catalogue Open House today so I am excited to welcome lots of lovely crafters to mine for a cuppa and a bit of crafting. If you are in Newport at all, please feel free to pop in and say hello.

Happy Crafting

-x-

Stampin' Up! UK Gift Packaging & Class Dates for 2014

Good morning crafty friends.

I hope you've had a lovely Christmas wherever you are or whoever you have been with. And I hope the weather hasn't wreaked too much havoc with you. We've had a lovely one here on the Isle of Wight visiting our families and spending time with one very excited Summer ;0)

I thought I would share a quick gift bag I created from a sheet of 12"x12" Designer Series Paper to wrap a gift for my lovely friend Hayley. I used a sheet of Cherry Cobbler patterned paper from the Season of Style DSP which I cut to create a 11"x12" base. I then used the principle of the 2,4,6,8 gift box/bag to create this tall gift bag (I have seen these bags used widely across the blogosphere). I scored at 2.5", 5", 7.5" and 10" along the 11" side (the remaining 1" becomes the fold around tag that you attach your sticky strip to). On the 12" side I scored at 2" and then cut along the score lines to the 2" mark to create the base flaps that you sticky strip and fold up to create a sturdy base (all four flaps layer on to each other to give a good strong base for your gift inside the bag).

I punched holes through the top of the bag and secured with Cherry Cobbler Ribbon. I created this little gift tag using Crumb Cake Cardstock and I then paper pieced the coffee cup image from the Perfect Blend stamp set using the leftover scraps from the Cherry Cobbler DSP. I deliberately picked this image and the design of DSP to make the cup look like a festive Starbucks mug. Inside the gift bag I had included a bottle of Starbucks Gingerbread Syrup for festive coffees and treats. I was looking forward to treating Hayley to a Christmas coffee in our first Isle of Wight Starbucks. But it is now not due to open until the New Year. So our festive red cup treats will have to wait till next Christmas (hopefully the gingerbread will tide her over to 2014).

And while you are here today I wanted to announce my first two card class dates for 2014:

Saturday January 18th 1-4pm

Saturday February 15th 1-4pm

And I will also be hosting a new catalogue Open House on Saturday February 1st between 10.30 and 3pm. I will have samples of Sale-A-Bration and new cataogue products, as well as door prizes, on the day ordering incentives and a make and take project for all attendees. It would be lovely to see you then, so please pop along to pick up your copy of the new catalogue. Please drop me a line for more info and to let me know you might be popping along: poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249.

And don't forget, for all those lovely crafty pennies you might have received for Christmas, my online store is open 24/7. You can visit my store here:

http://stampinsarah.stampinup.net

Or I am still placing orders so let me know if there is anything you'd like me to add to an order for you ;0)

Hope you've all had a good one and look forward to catching up with you all again soon. Pop back on Monday for a sneak peak look at some of the GORGEOUS new Sale-A-Bration products coming in January (and don't forget, these are products you will receive for free with a qualifying order from January 28th onwards!).

Happy Festive Crafting

-X-

Welcome to the New Catalogue

Good morning and welcome to the new Stampin' Up! catalogue. 

Here it is in all its new colour shiny glory. If you click on the photo below it will take you directly to the new catalogue and all the loveliness contained within it.

With the start of the new Stampin' Up! crafty year I also have lots of exciting announcements to share with you today.

July sees a brand new 'Best of' stamp set, Best of Butterflies. I am a sucker for a butterfly stamp and I absolutely adore this collection. I really love the small sketchy butterfly. Cannot wait to add this set to my collection.

 And here is the new discount promotion Stampin' Up! are offering on three lovely sentiment sets for July only. Who doesn't love new product and a price saving too. These are a real bargain so get yours while they are 25% off. I'd be more than happy to help you place an order.

If you'd like any more information, to book a party or place an order, please get in touch. And if you are local to me don't forget it is my new catalogue celebration Open House on Saturday 6th July from 10.30am to 3.30pm at my home in Newport. Please pop along for a copy of the catalogue and some crafty fun. Fabulous prizes to be won on the day as well as incentives for joining my hostess club or booking a party. Bring a friend, it would be lovely to meet you.

And finally a little bit of craftiness after all the excitement of a new catalogue and exclusive new sets. Here is a card we made at last months card class using the fabulous Best of Flowers (still available through March 31st) stamp set. 

This uses the white craft ink watercolour technique. We heat embossed the sunflowers with white embossing powder and then coloured using an aqua painter and white craft ink refill (I squeezed a few drops of white ink on to an acryllic block and drew the ink from the ink). Once this was fully dry (we heat blasted with a heat tool to speed up the process) we then coloured over the white ink with Daffodil Delight and Cajun Craze to give this lovely subtle coloured technique. We used the rock and roll technique for the Papillon Pot Pourri butterfly which was then punched with the Elegant Butterfly punch.

The sentiment was stamped and punched using the fantastic Label Love stamp set and coordinating punch, both available as part of an exclusive bundle (saving 15% if you purchase them together!).

Bundle details:
Label Love and Artisan Label Punch

Clear: 132722 £28.95

Wood: 132723 £31.75

I think that is enough information for one day.

Please get in touch for any further information about the products or techniques featured. I would be only too happy to help: poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249.

-XXX-

You Are Invited.....

Evening all ;0)

Let me start by cordially inviting you to join me on Saturday July 6th for my new catalogue celebration Open House from 10.30 to 3pm at my home in Newport.

I will have lots of on the day incentives and prizes to include:

• A free catalogue for all attendees
• Free P&P for all orders collected from me
• Incentive gift for anyone booking a workshop
• A handmade welcome gift for joining my new catalogue Hostess Club
• An extra special gift if you join my Stampin' Up! team on the day
• Entry in to a Stampin' Up! door prize for everyone placing an order on the day (two fantastic new products from the new catalogue)

And just to give you a little sneak peak of some of the fantastic new products available come July 2nd here is a little gift box I recently made for an upcoming party door prize. This uses some beautiful new papers, Gingham Garden, along with Gingham Washi Tape and a fab new Label Punch too (with matching sentiment stamp set).

 This is such a simple and striking mini bag. I love the inside folds which both give it stability and an interesting feature too. To create this box yourself, I found this tutorial online which I followed and then decorated to suit.

Thanks for popping by today. Please get in touch to find out more about my Open House and please feel free to pop along. Everyone is welcome and feel free to bring a friend also.

Happy Crafting ;0)

Quick and Easy Christmas Cards

My apologies for the terrible lighting in this photo. I wanted to share these two Christmas cards with you this evening and had to take pictures with only the night time lighting. 

 

The first uses my new favourite technique, the triple time stamping technique, with the Watercolor Winter stamp set. The colour scheme is Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla. This card also uses my new favourite embellishment, the fab Ribbon Sliders.

The second card is Crumb Cake and Real Red with Designer Series Paper from the Be Of Good Cheer papers to create the candy cane (cut using the Holiday Collection Framelits Dies). The greeting is from Curly Cute.

 

I have been busy all day today preparing for a Ladies Night at Ryde Rowing Club tomorrow (event starts at 7.30pm). Please stop by and say hello. I will be demonstrating the cards above using gorgeous products from the new Autumn Winter Seasonal Catalogue. I have also designed a lovely Make and Take using Betsys Blossoms from the new 2012-2013 catalogue. I look forward to hopefully seeing you tomorrow and sharing my Make and Take project with you then.

And please don't forget my Open House on Saturday between 10.30am and 3.30pm. All are welcome and please feel free to bring family and friends. Please drop me and email or give me a call to find out more: poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249.

 

Happy Crafting

-x-

Time to say Goodbye

I always grow so fond of each years Stampin' Up! catalogue and I'm sad to say goodbye to some of my favourite stamps and products (I'll be saddest to say goodbye to Season of Joy- my most used stamp set of the past 3 years!). My catalogues come to bed with me, I read them in the bath, they get tatty in my handbag and I take them on holiday with me too. So as you can imagine, I grow quite attached to the Ideas Book. So today is the last day for ordering from the 2011- 2012 catalogue and from the Last Chance List. Tomorrow I will be back to share the fantastic (and HUGE) new 2012-2013 catalogue with you.

I have just worked out how to add a Facebook 'Like' feature to my blog. So please click on over to my Stampin' Up! IOW Facebook page which I set up a couple of months ago to promote my classes and events. Click on Like below to ensure you are kept up to date with all things crafty and Stampin' Up!

A quick reminder, I am holding another new catalogue Open House next Saturday from 10.30am-3.30pm (October 6th). Please pop by anytime during the day for a new catalogue and a Make and Take (and a Starbucks coffee of course ;0)

And just before I go for the day, I thought I would have a quick reminisce to some of my favourite Season of Joy projects I have made over the years. I love this set, but as of tomorrow I will have a whole host of new favourites I am sure. Roll on the new catalogue.....

And we cannot forget dear old Dasher. He has been a staple of my Christmas makes for the last two years.

Any questions or for a crafty chat please get in touch on poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249.

 

Happy Weekend Crafting

-X-

Lovely day for an Isle of Wight Open House

Thank you to all the lovely ladies that came along to my Isle of Wight Open House yesterday to celebrate the launch of the Autumn Winter Seasonal Catalogue. I had a lovely time chatting about all the lovely new products and showing all my samples and swaps.

 

We made the card above, inspired by this card on the talented Jill Hilliard's blog, using the fabulous Scentsational Season stamp set with the Sugar and Spice scented embossing powder. The little pennants are cut from the lovely new Snow Festival Designer Series Paper. I had my Teeny Tiny Wishes set out on the table so that guests could choose their own greeting as this design works well for many different occasions (by interchanging the greeting it could just as easily be a Get Well Soon or Hello notecard). We embellished with one of the fab Brushed Bronze Designer Buttons.

 

I had a really lovely day yesterday and it was lovely to share the new products (and a tiny sneak peak of new main catalogue too) with crafters just as excited about them as me. Really looking forward to next month's workshops with Charlotte and Sharon.

 

I also have another quick project to share with you this fine Sunday morning. I saw this lovely tags over on my lovely Demo friend Gill's blog a liitle while ago and decided to have a go myself using the new Dazzling Details glitter glue. I love the Polar Party stamp set  as it lends itself beautifully to being coloured using ink pads with a blender pen.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you are all enjoying the lovely weather and having a great weekend.

 

Happy Crafting ;0)

-X-