Off to Convention

Well - after months of eager anticipation - its finally here and this afternoon I fly off to "sunny" Frankfurt for the first ever European Stampin' Up Convention!

I'm told by Roger who has spent more time than he cares to think in Frankfurt while he was working for Deutsche Bank, that the are where it is being held is very nice and the hotel is good - but he's also said that the airport duty free is one of the best he's ever seen. That's just as well - because with a VERY late flight home, I'll have plenty of time to wander round it as I'll be heading back to the airport as soon as the event finishes on Saturday evening.

As usual, Last Minute Libby here was up until 2 am finishing off the swaps I've signed up for. I've done 10 3D items, 80 cards and 8 scrapbook pages - and here's a sneak peek of the the scrapbook page - obviously I have cut the others' names for them to add - but I thought I'd get mine finished so I could show them what theirs will look like once they have added their own photos! I intend to use mine on my display board as the guests at workshops don't always know who I am...... well that's my thinking.....

I'll be back on Sunday with more piccies of the swaps I got from the other super talented ladies.

TTFN

Sign up at a discount!!

Have you been dithering about joining the Stampin' up! family?

Well how about grabbing a piece of this month's special offer - take the plunge and sign on the dotted line and not only will you get the already fabulous value starter kit with just under £250 worth of Stampin' Up! goodies, you will get it for a measly £125 - yes literally half the retail price, because for a month - between 22nd October and 13th November SU are offering new demonstrators their starter kits at a 10% discount (usual price is £139!)

This is the company's suggestions of what you get in your starter kit - but you can personalise it a fair bit - you can change the suggested stamp sets and wheel for ones of your choice of the same or lower value, you can choose what colour of inkpads you get - and you can also choose your own cardstock colours. When the big box arrives, you can dive in and start creating straight away!




Go on - you know you want to - go ahead and take the plunge!! Get in touch if you want to discuss the benefits of joining my team of craft lovers!

Would you like some sneak peeks?

As I'm lucky enough to be a demo for Stampin' Up , we were allowed not only to get our sticky (inky??) paws on an early copy of the new catalogue a month ago, we were also allowed to buy some of the new sets so we could make up some samples for our displays. Jo, one of my fellow demos on the fabulous In Love with Stamping website organised us into a swap so we could get hold of samples using all the available preorder sets. Mine arrived with me on Tuesday and here are some of the gorgeous cards created by me and 4 of the other demos (we were in groups of 5)just to whet your appetite!



Here is the first set featuring L-R and top to bottom Tree Trimmings (see below for details of the class I'm offering using this stamp set)#116722 - £10.95, Autumn Days, #115452 - £19.95, Good Friend #113740-£22.95, Circle Circus # 115778 - £23.95 and Animal Stories #116716- £12.95 - aren't they gorgeous??





Here is the second set - again left to right - top to bottom

Autumn Days (yes its a Christmas card - how clever is that?? and featuring another new set called Spotlight on Christmas #111694 - £18.95), Animal Stories, Circle Circus, Good Friend and Tree Trimmings.




For the first time ever, we were allowed to get hold of some of the new sets which you can earn by hostessing a Stampin Up Workshop. These are very special limited edition sets which can only be earned by hostesses who reach qualifying sales targets. To get a level 1 set, you need sales between £150 and £299.99 and there are 4 stamp sets and a designer paper pack to choose from, you can get a level 2 set for sales over £300 (choice of 3), and a Level 3 set if your workshop sales are over £500 (choice of 2). Here are some samples using the level 2 and level 3 sets.



Group 3 - Queue Up (L3), Garden Dreams (L3), Itty Bitty Buds (L2), Rustic Rooster (L2) and Whimsical Wings (L2)

And here is the final group again the hostess sets Whimsical Wings, Itty Bitty Buds, Rustic Rooster, Garden Dreams and the one in the lower centre is Queue Up.

I have my own order for more of the new goodies already submitted so hopefully I will have a delivery early next week. There are lots of lovely new punches to be had, as well as gorgeous new papers - and some stamp sets too - watch this space!

It's finally here - and a Blog Hop as well!

Well maybe not quite here just yet - its 6 hours or so to go until the new catalogue launches - but woo - hoo I can't wait to submit my first order from it. I asked for SU stuff for my birthday on the 21st Sept, so I have a nice little amount to spend on the new goodies.

Anyway - to mark the launch of the new catty, Stampin' Up have asked 3 very talented UK crafters (none of whom have any connection with Stampin' Up prior to this!) to come up with some designs using the new products. They were sent a box of the new goodies with strict instructions that they were NOT to be opened until 6pm this evening. They have 6 hours to do their stuff and they will be doing a grand reveal on their blogs at midnight. If you want to join in the fun and see what they produce why not pop along to see what they have made.

Click for Lousette Ashton's blog
Click for Suzanne Torr's blog
Click for Jenny Cocks' blog

Best of all all 3 of them have got blog candy to give away - visit their blogs before lunchtime tomorrow and leave them a comment and you have a chance to win a stamp set, an inkpad and a punch. Each of the girls have 2 prizes to give away - one for early birds (you need to visit and comment between midnight and 1 am to be in with a chance of these ones) - and one for those who need their beauty sleep - leave your comment between 1 am and 1pm tomorrow.

Go on - you never know you might get your own new goodies for free!

Tree trimmings class coming soon

Here is a sneak peek of a class I am running using some of the scrummishness from the new 2009-10 Idea Book and Catalogue. Whilst I would love to take the creative credits - the class was designed by the very talented Andrea Walford, a Canadian SU demo who designs some lovely classes and workshops. I have several more of her classes in the pipeline so keep an eye out on here for them.

Its a gorgeous set of 4 Christmas cards and a storage/ gift box using the new Tree Trimmings stamp set (116722 - £10.95), the brand new 1 1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon in Old Olive (117385 - £8.95 for 9M) and one of the new sets of Designer Paper - Merry Moments (117366 - £7.75), along with old faithfuls like Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla cardstock, Real Red and Chocolate Chip ribbons, Gold cordand the scallop edge punch.

I'll be offering the class as a real live class at my home for £15.00 at 2pm on Saturday 24th October, which will include light refreshments, or as a "Class by Mail" where you will get the class kit and your own set of the Tree Trimmings stamps for £25.00 including postage and packing within the UK (you will need to provide your own adhesives, greetings stamps and scallop edge punch).

Alternatively, if you would like to make all of your own christmas cards this year, why not order the Stamps, Striped Ribbon and Designer Paper from me for £25 (plus £3.95 P&P) - that's a discount of £2.65 on the goodies, and I will throw in the narrower ribbons and cord and the instructions as a free gift!

If you would like to join in the fun, please get in touch on ExStitch@aol.com or 07973 969153 for more details

Hope to hear from you soon!

New catalogue anyone??

There's only just over a week before the brand new 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalogue goes live!

Hopefully the catalogues I have ordered will get here sometime this week, and as soon as they arrive, they will be winging their way to those of you who have held a workshop for me, ordered one already or have given me orders worth over £150 during the last catalogue. Those of you who buy a catalogue in advance will get the price of it refunded on your first order worth £50 or more!

I have been flicking through the advance copy which came with my Demonstrator pre order goodies - and I have got a wish list as long as my arm! There are quite a few old friends still in there, but there is some lovely new stuff which really needs to come and live at your house!!

There are of course brand new sets of stamps to be had, including some really lovely hostess sets - but there are also some LUSH new designer papers in there, several new punches, and a whole load more accessories including storage for the stampin around wheels... but I'm not allowed to tell you anything else until the 1st October!!

There is still time to order the retiring items - see the last chance list on the Stampin Up website - some items are already sold out but come midnight on the 30th September, all these items will be gone forever. Give me a ring on 07973 969153 or drop me an email on ExStitch@aol.com if you want to place an order.

Watch this space for pics of items made with the new sets in the next few days!

Happy stamping!

Last Chance Saloon

Today was the big day when we all learned which stamps and accessories featured in the 2008-9 Idea Book and catalogue would be discontinued.

I'm gutted that two of my personal favourite sets, Summer by the Sea and Carte Postale have got the chop, but the good news is that there are some lovely new sets coming our way on the 1st October so watch this space for a new piccie appearing on the right side!

Anyway - a couple of things you should all know.....

1. Unlike last year, the retired list will not feature in the back of the new catalogue. You have until the 1st October to get your hands on the discontinued goodies, and with limited stock remaining, its very much a case of first come first served - once they are gone - they are GONE!!

2. There are also a few bargains to be had!
For the first time, there are some price reductions on retiring stamp sets and accessories. Yes, some last chance items are available with a hefty reduction you too can have a set of the gorgeous Carte Postale at 25% off and some items are actually 50% off eg the lovely For Father set

Check out the list or download a PDF of the list complete with the reduced prices on the Stampin Up website and get in touch with me to order.

If you haven't got a paper copy of the retiring catalogues check out the online versions here

As an incentive - I will send anyone who orders £50 or more worth of goodies (excluding P&P) this month a FREE copy of the 2009-10 Idea Book and Catalogue when it launches on October 1st (normally £4.95 + P&P), and of course - don't forget that these orders get you stamps on your loyalty card! You get a tick in the box for every complete £10 spent with me, and once you have collected 10 stamps, you get a Classic Inkpad or pack of A4 cardstock of your choice absolutely FREE!