Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper

Well I'm only a couple of days late - but here are a couple of layouts done with the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper which is one of the FREE gifts you can get with the Sale a Bration promotion which runs until the end of March. That's right - a whole pack (12 sheets) of double sided patterned paper can be yours when you spend £45 or more on Stampin' Up! goodies - what's not to like about that?

Anyway - here's my first page featuring Roger's cousin Charlotte and her (then) brand new hubby enjoying a glass of champers after their wedding last July. The flowers are die cut using the new die in the mini catalalogue!

And here is number two featuring a very much smaller Katy  enjoying a plouter in the mud at Cape Wrath lighthouse in what passes for summer in the far North of Scotland..... if you aren't being eaten alive by the dreaded midgies - you're being rained on... on balance the rain is preferable as its less uncomfortable!

And just in case you missed it - here's a pic of all 6 patterned papers in the package - you get two of each so you can use all 12 patterns!

As always - if I've tempted you with these pictures - and you would like to get your hands on the papers (or even any of the stamps I've featured in my previous posts), please get in touch

StampaholixUK@aol.com/ 07973 969153

For anyone in the Tunbridge Wells area (or even the rest of Kent and the closer parts of Sussex and Surrey...) I will be running another of my fabulous one day crafting retreats on the weekends of the 18/19th Feb, the 25th/26th Feb and the 3rd/ 4th March. (Reason there are so many dates to choose from is that I limit the places to a maximum of 5 to give everyone enough space and attention!)

We will be using the lovely Spice Cake papers from the Spring Mini Catalogue and your kits will include a WHOLE pack of paper (12 sheets), a whole pack (12 sheets) of Vanilla card, half a pack (6 sheets) of Soft Suede card, lots of A4 card in matching colours, various ribbons and a whole pot of Antique Brads, a pack of Paper Daisies and a pack of Basic Pearls. We will be making 10-12 layouts between 10 am and 5pm and for those you don't finish on the day - complete instructions will be available to you so you can complete them in your own time!

Cost for the day will be £50 to include your kits, all refreshments and a salad or sandwich lunch

If you are interested please let me know as soon as possible as the materials for the kits need to be ordered, and the 18th Feb isn't that far away!.

Thanks

Sale-a-Bration Set 4 - Sprinkled Expressions

Hello and welcome to day 4 of the look at lovely cards to make with the FREE stamp sets you can get with orders of £45 during Sale-a-Bration.  Todays set is the funky Sprinkled Expressions - a set of 6 stamps in three very useful shapes and with 3 nice sentiments to go with them.

Here is the first of 3 cards from Aly and the 4th one in the group - although designed by natalie is inspired by one on Aly's blog!

This one is probablly my favourite of the four cards featured today - great for every occasion - and showing off how you can use the markers to stamp a multi coloured image. The little flowers on the flower and the word smile have been done with markers

 Here's a great one using the heart stamp - wouldn't it make a great valentine - or even a wedding/ engagement card?

 And how abou this one for a congratulations card - very handy to have around at the end of August when the dreaded results come out!

 And if you didn't like that one - how about this version - have you noticed that the embossing folders used on the mats of some cards really add a bit of texture and dimension?

I know I promised some scrapbook pages using the papers for tomorrow - but life got in the way yesterday - and I'm off to the Strictly Come Dancing Tour this afternoon so won't have time to make them today ... watch late tomorow or on Monday for the next instalment.

As ever if you would like to place an order - please get in touch and these lovely stamps could be on their way to live at your house! this week!

StampaholixUK@aol.com / 07973 969153

Sale-a-Bration Set 3 - Outlined Occasions

Well today I'm featuring the versatile Outlined Occasions stamp set which is free with a purchase of £45 during this promotion.

This set features 3 sentiments and 3 "sub- sentiments" to go with them so its a set of 6. As they are outlines - you can use the markers to fill them in, or just colour in the stars, or just leave them blank... so the greetings will go with your cards whatever products you use!

As usual - I'll be showing you the four cards  I featured in Tuesday's main post group photo. The papers featured are the super lush Everyday Enchantment ones which are also a choice for a freebie if you aren't that into stamps.....My set arrived yesterday afternoon - so I will be scrapping them shortly - so look out on Sunday for them!

This card is another Aly Schilling one which feature SU's lovely basic pearls and the velvet ribbn. Here the outlines have been left bland but you could reverse the sentiment block so the celebrate was stamped on  white and colour in the letters with the matching markers.

I really love this card  - its another Aly creation and a great use of card scraps..... a cheap make but VERY effective. Here the outlines have been filled in to match the card blocks and it really makes the whole card pop!

Another one which shows off the coloured in outlines - here the markers pick up the colours in the paper which has been stamped with the I {heart}   Hearts set! A very quick, easy and effective card, again designed by Aly!

The final offering today is Natalies design - i love the way that she has used the embossed frame to surround the stamped and punched greeting - I hope you have spotted that the two smaller sentiments fitt beautifully into some of the latgers punches to make your cards look even better!

Check back tomorrow for a set of cards featuring the last of the four stamp sets, and as usual - if I can help you with any orders - please do get in touch!

StampaholixUK@aol.com / 07973 969153

Sale-a-Bration Set 2 - Elementary Elegance

Well here is Day two of the features on  the gorgeous stamps which are avaialble for free with every £45 you spend with Stampin' Up! between now and the end of March.


I think Elementary Elegance is my second favourite of those on offer this year. It has a gorgeous frame, the centre of which matches the Curly Label punch perfectly so no fiddly cutting by hand required! There are 7 stamps in the set, including two lovely sentiment stamps which would be useful on lots of cards! That little butterfly and bird are so sweet as well........

Here is card no 1 made with this set . It's an Aly Schilling design again and features lots of lovely layering to create this super stylish birthday card. it uses 3 of the 7 stamps - the very versatile frame, the Happy Birthday and the butterfly! I'd love to open a card like this on my special day  - and I'm sure lots of other peoplpe would too!

Next up is this lovelyfeminine card made with the Everyday Enchantment paper - its another Aly design and again useful for any occasion - and nowhere near as hard to make as it looks! See how changing from the darker palette of colours on the birthday card above to red and cream for this one makes it look totally different?

This one is yet another Aly creation - again there is lots of layering and the papers and velvet ribbon feature again... but the frame this time has got the sentiment stampd , punched and set up on dimensionals to look totally different!

Here is the last one from the group photo I showed you on Tuesday - its Aly again but here she's used embossed and punched card with the papers and velvet ribbon

 And finally for today - is this card made using the frame stamped in white craft ink on a dark background with the wee butterfly stamped in Versamark and finished off with a Rhinestone!

Are you tempted yet?


If you would like to get Elementary Elegance absolutely FREE, just choose products from the Main or Spring mini catalogue to the value of £45 or more and it can be on its way to your house in the next few days!


As a special offer from me - every individual customer order (of £45 or more) placed with me during the promotion will qualify for FREE Postage and Packaging (worth £4.95) - so go on - what are you waiting for???

Sale-a-Bration Stamps 1 - Fresh Vintage!

Welcome to my showcase of gorgeous items made with the SAB stamp sets.... I'm starting with the stamps as I'm hoping that the papers I ordered yesterday will be here in time to do up som scrapbook pages in time for Day 5!

Day 1 is featuring my personal favourite set - the gorgeous Fresh Vintage. This was the only one I acquired (and paid for) on the pre-order.... on the basis that I was going to earn all of the others for free during the promotion.

If nothing else this set is worth acquiring for the lovely floral vine - very classy and useful in so many ways. This set also matches the Everyday Enchantment papers perfectly and they have been used in quite a few of the cards I'm going to feature. As mentioned yesterday - These are made from a kit supplied by Natalie O Shea, and the cards are designed by her and Aly Schilling - I gave you the links to their sites yesterday so scroll down if you want a look!

This one was designed by Natalie - and not only does it feature the Fresh vintage postage stamp and the DSP, it also showcases the lovely new velvet ribbon from the Spring mini - I love this ribbon - its really thick and heavy and good quality - watch for it appearing on one of the layouts I'll be doing when I get my paws on the papers!

This second one is one by the very talented Aly Schilling - a US demo who creates the most wonderful projects - here you can really see how the papers pick up the vine design.......

The third one is another Aly Schilling design and shows beautifully how something "vintage" can look very modern indeed - I think this one is really lovely - and can see it being the thank you card for the Stampers 6 parcels in February!

The last one from the group photo I showed yesterday is another of Natalie's..... here she has used the stamps in a variety of colours on the Newsprint paperslike a one sheet wonder. Add ribbon and pearls and you are done!

Now I mentioned in my post about training that we had made a couple of samples with the SAB sets - and here's the one we did using Fresh Vintage. The ivory card was randomly stamped in Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party and Soft Suede and finished off with paper, ribbonm and a stamped and punched sentiment from tomorrow's set - Elementary Elegance!

And finally - to show I keep my promises - this one was the last card I received from the talented Amanda Bates in the ILWS swap. She has used the Everyday Enchantment paper on the flap on the right - and used that lovely vine on a stamped Everythin Eleanor image - I must admit - i thought she had stamped both - until I realised that she had used the paper!!

So, have I tempted you yet????

If I have, don't forget that this stamp set is abolutely FREE with an order of £45 - so dig out your catalogue and have a look through the lovely products on offer. Let me know what you would like and it can be winging its way to your door in the next few days!

Haven't got a catalogue? Let me know and I will drop one in the post to you for £5 incl postage (fully refundable on an order of £50 or more). It will also include the Spring mini catalogue and the Sale-a-Bration brochure!

StampaholixUK@aol.com/ 07973 969153

#Sale - a - Bration! Come on!#

Whoop! Whoop!

The big day is here and why not come and join in the celebration of Sale-a-Bration...... your chance to get your hands on limited edition Stampin' Up! stamp sets and designer papers absolutely FREE!

Yes that's right - they are available to you with every £45 you spend on SU products from now until the end of March! And yes, you read it right - you get a gift for every £45 you spend - not just one with every order over £45! That means if you spend enough in one order you can add the whole lot to your shopping basket absolutely FREE -

• spend £45 - get one gift
• spend £90 - get two
• spend £135 - get three
• spend £180 - get four
• spend £225 - get all five!! or any combination in between!

So what are the free gifts? Well, they are 4 exclusive stamp sets, and one pack of designer papers (brand new item for this year!) and here they are

Fresh Vintage (this one is my favourite!)

And here is a selection of cards showing off the stamps - and the beautiful Everyday Enchantment papers which are also available to you. I would love to be able to say that these are all my own work - but alas they are the creations of the very talented Natalie O'Shea and Aly Schilling (as indeed are all the cards you will see here today!)

Elementary Elegance

Sprinkled Expressions

Outlined Expressions

And check out this gorgeous patterned paper, Everyday Enchantment.. you get 12 sheets in each pack - 2 of each design and they go beautifully with all the SAB sets!

Check back over the next few days as I will be showing bigger indivdual photos of each card in the various sets.

In the meantime - if I can help you with an order so you  can get your FREE gifts please get in touch.... and don't forget that anyone who signs up as a Demonstrator durinng Sale-a-Bration gets to choose an extra stamp set in their starter kit - and its your choice from the whole catalogue - even the most expensive one!!

StampaholixUK@aol.com / 07973 969153

Training pics!

I know, I know - I promised you some Sale-a-Bration pics today - but silly me didn't realise that it actually starts tomorrow - so while I have some lovely samples of cards to show you, they will have to wait until tomorrow now.....but to fill in the void for those of who who did come back today looking for something, I will share what we did at training on Saturday!

I go along to the bi-monthly training sessions organised by Natalie for her team, but like all of the other top demos - she opens her sessions like this to "orphans" like me who are too far away from their own "mum" to go to our own team training dos (well Crawley is MUCH nearer to me than Aberdeen and and a LOT cheaper to get to - even allowing for the extortionate car parking charges at the County Mall for an all day session.). These sessions are great fun, concentrating more on making samples and getting ideas for workshops and classes, and sharing our knowledge and experience with each other.

However, what we do for the majority of the time is CRAFT and this time the training was concentrating on the new Spring mini catalogue and the Sale-a Bration (SAB) free stamp sets!

First up - lets show you the lovely swaps I got from the other ladies.... I made yet another variation on my perfect postage card

This time I used the little bunny to make an Easter card - although the actual swaps I gave away were slightly simpler - they just had a simple sentiment stamped on the bottom - however this one I had to keep as I managed to smudge the ink on this card - and of course - it WOULD be the last thing I did on the card wouldn't it? Rather than chuck the whole thing - I restamped the greeting on a punchie and covered up the mess!

And these are the lovely bits and bobs I got in return..... look carefully and you will see something made with a SAB set - but I'm not saying what it is just yet!

One of the things we like showing you at workshops is how to "step up" the items youu make by just adding a little bit more to it - and we made a sample to show how with just a couple of additions - a simple card can become a great one. Let's start off with this card......

Pretty colours, ribbon, layering and a simple stamped greeting..... It's a nice card, quick to make and anyone would be glad to receive it! However add a bit of bling to the cupcake icing, a stamped bow around the case, and stamp the greeting on a punched piece of contrasting card..... and you get this one...

The additions just make it a bit more striking with very little effort!

Still on the cupckae punch.... here's a variation of it - use the cupcake case as a hot air balloon basket, and the topping as a cloud. On this one the punched topping was used as a mask and ink was added with a sponge or dauber before adding the balloon made with a circle and oval trimmed with rhinestones.

Finally for now..... (we did make a couple using SAB sets as well - but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for them - LOL!) we made this beautifully simple card....

Natalie based this one on  a card made by the top European demo a lovely German lady named Jenni Pauli. Jenni's beautiful work has meant that she is the first demo in Europe to sell over 100,000 euro worth of SU products - she has been the top German Demo for the last 3 years - but her sales and recruiting actually make her the top demo in the three European markets!! I think this card is gorgeous in its simplicity - and it shows you don't need vast quantities of product to make a fabulous card!

Anyway - that's all for now! Please come back tomorrow for details of the fabulous free stamps and papers you can get during the SAB period!

Swaps and more swaps!

As some of you readers may know, one of the fun parts of being a Stampin' Up! Demo is the fact that we get to participate in swaps of various kinds, most organised through our forum, In Love with Stamping, but basically - any time SU demos get together, whatever the occasion, they swap work with each other. For some of us - its a great opportunity to get our hands on some great samples for display boards (especially those you can get from very talented card makers!), and also - to get hold of samples made from sets we don't have ourselves for whatever reason.

Anyway - the lovely Pat on ILWS chivvied us into a swap making some samples featuring stamp sets in the new Spring Mini Catalogue which launched on the 4th Jan, and the Sale-a-Bration promotion which starts tomorrow!!

To cut to the chase  - this is the card I made for the swap (spot the similarity to one I made for the blog hop in my preceding post LOL!)

I think this is a great colour combo with the stark black and white being lifted by a splash of bright and beautiful Melon Mambo... its a bit closer to traditional Valentine colours than the blue and mustard one I did earlier but it was quick and easy to make - and definitely not beyond the capabilities of the novice card maker!

And here are the cards I got in return...... I can't show one of them until tomorrow as it was made with one of the Sale-a-Bration sets, but check back in the next couple of days and I will show it to you then, hopefully with a load more samples made using ALL of the gorgeous SAB sets as well as the gorgeous patterned paper that is on offer...

At the same time as this one was running, we also ran another swap, this time making inserts for the lovely Simply Adorned locket charms featured in the Spring mini. I signed up for 2 groups, and here are the two I made - this one was done with the Charming stamp set, also featured in the Spring mini, and the heart from Tiny Tags (incidentally both of these inserts are a massive 1" x 1 1/4" in size - a real miniature work of art!) This pic shows both the front and back of the piece!

The second insert was made with French Foliage from the main catalogue - this has to be one of my fave stamp sets at the moment!



I can hardly wait to see what my fellow demos have come up with for theirs - they should be back with me next week and I promise to share them with you then!

Incidentally - should anyone fancy getting their hands on one of the simply adorned lockets (or the chains, baubles and trinkets) - please don't leave it too long before buying them. We just heard from our SU Sisters in the US last week that the Simply Adorned range is being discontinued there from their main catalogue which launches in July. What happens in the US usually happens here so sadly, I don't think that this range will be in our new catalogue from October, so if you want one - please don't leave it too late! The beauty of these charms is that you can change the inserts to match your outfits - and as well as having a beautiful piece of jewellery to show off, each insert is unique - having made 10 of each of the ones above, I can tell you that no two of them are exactly alike. The images stamp differently and the inked edges are different - so whilst they may be similar - no two are completely identical!

As a special offer - for anyone who orders a locket charm from me during the remainder of the life of the catalogue, I will include a custom made insert for you to start you off!

Anyway please check back with me tomorrow - I will have details of all the lovely Sale-a-Bration offers for you - and hopefully some samples to show you!



Welcome to the ILWS Spring Mini Blog Hop!

Good morning everyone - and welcome to the  ILWS Spring Mini  Catalogue Blog Hop!

As has become the custom, a gang of SU Demos on the Forum get together to showcase all the new product every time we get a new catalogue, and this one is a very special one as it is the very first Spring Mini SU Europe have produced! It contains lots of lovely new product, and there are some very clever ladies taking part in this one so I hope you enjoy all that we have to show you today!


You may have joined me from Sandra's blog (hasn't she got some lovely stuff on there??) and at the end of this post I will hand you on to the lovely Tracey - but in the meantime - here are my offerings!

At Convention in Paris last November, we were all so excited to hear about the new Mini catalogue - and even more excited to find that we were getting the lovely Simply Adorned range of jewellery. This features a necklace, a bracelet and a selection of scrummy charms which can be changed around whenever you like. Shelli (SU founder) and her daughter had made a dozen necklaces for a draw  on the Saturday morning, and although I wasn't one of the lucky winners - I have made myself a similar necklace (#116800 - ££9.95) using the large rectangular charm (1167989 - £14.95), the black bauble (#121011 - £3.50) and some black grosgrain ribbon. Here is the whole necklace showing the mini artwork inside the case.
 

as you can see - it features the Eiffel Tower from the Artistic Etchings stamp set, and the front face of the charm is bevelled..... Turn over, and you have another space to showcase your work, or a photograph or a tiny memento - mine just has a script stamp from the new Charming stamp set (#116519(w) - £17.95/ 125829(c) - £13.95) as I want people to look at the front - but with these - the world is your oyster - and you can swap the inserts whenever you like!

Now - on to some of the other products new in this catalogue! I just LOVE the new Spice Cake Designer papers (# 124003 - £9.95). These are in gorgeous shades of brown, blue green and cream and are a really lovely addition to the range. They go with absolutely anything and to prove it - here are a couple of scrapbook pages showing their versatility.... first with a modern photograph......

and secondly with a heritage one.... the papers work brilliantly with both photos (well I think they do anyway!)

Now onto a couple of cards featuring some of the new stamps sets and punches!

This card is a valentine for my my hubby (shh! don't tell him you have seen it!) made using the new Perfect Postage stamp set (#126111(w) - £10.95/ 126113(c) - £8.95) and the fabulous new postage stamp punch (#122344 - £14.25). I had the cardstock I used for the pages out and continued the Spice Cake colour scheme with this one and used Pool Party, More Mustard and Very Vanilla cardstockand inks to make both cards! The greeting on this one comes from the Delightful  Dozen set!

This second card is made using some of the Spice Cake paper as well as the card and features the new Liebe Love Amour a la carte stamp (#126129 - £7.95) and the fabulous new large scallop circle punch )#118874 - £15.50). I have stamped two images in Pool party and another two un More Mustard and have punched and cout out the various elements to create a card with lots of texture on it! I think this is going to be one of my new favourite colour combos from here on in!

As always, if you would like to buy any of the items I have featured please get in touch - I'd be happy to drop a copy of the new catalogue in the post to you if you either drop me an email at StampaholixUK@aol.com or give me a ring on 07973 969153. I hope to hear from you soon!

Now - please follow the hop round by going to Tracey's blog which is the next stop!