What a weekend - Stampin' Up's 30th birthday - UK (and friends!) demonstrator get together - Birmingham Nov 2018

hello all

well it may look like I haven't been doing too much lately on the Stampin' Up! front but honest  I have been squirreling away in the back ground putting the finishing touches to a card swap or two,  as this weekend saw me, along with a whole host of other demonstrators head towards the Vox Centre at the NEC for Stampin' Up! On Stage Local held here in the UK, in Birmingham.

... and as Stampin' Up! have been in birthday mode all year in honour of their 30th birthday, this meeting promised to be very very special. and Stampin' Up! did not disappoint! Shame I can't say the same for this photo of Yours truly!

but to explain:  'On Stage Local' This was a fabulous theme packed day to help demonstrators get the most out of their business, with amazing fact filled presentations and business hints and tips, crafty makes and takes, fabulous prize patrols, all attendee give-aways,  a chance to congratulate achievers who had managed to attain awe-inspiring business milestones,  product demonstrations and sneak previews of new items including getting our hands on advance copies of the forth coming Spring Summer seasonal and Sale-a-Bration catalogues...
 
Yes - we are all in for a treat!

but back to it - All in all one very very busy day!  -  and when Stampin' Up! demonstrators get together - what do we do - we make a card or a 3D item to swap - how many you do is up to you..
but this is where I came in.. 

and here were mine, well in mid-preparation - I decided to call this - 'All you need is a bit of colour!'  and what  do Stampin' Up! do very very well - they give us colour !! - 4 fabulous colour families, Subtles, Brights, Regals and Neutrals with 3 additional Basic colours of Whisper White, Very Vanilla and Basic Black - not to mention their trendy  2 'In-colour' collections available for 2 years before being replaced.

 but me and my swaps  - ready for assembly in their component piles but yes, all a bit lacking in something!

armed with the following Ink pads: Rich Razzlebury, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie and Crushed curry, some Stampin' Sponges, some protective grid paper and a bit of me time - ta dah I ended up with these!

I was trying to get all my colours to morph together as a seamless colour change a bit like Autumn itself where all the yellows, oranges, reds and maroons just seems to compliment each other as they fall..

and how did I put them all together ?  Like this!

I was really pleased with the final result and here they all are,  bagged up and ready waiting to be swapped !

(watch for a future post when I will share photos of all the delightful swaps I received in return. )

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used

Just click on the items below to easily access the items in my on line store .  Or if you wish me to place an order for you, or have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£8.25)	Colorful Seasons Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies (£31.00)	Big Shot (£102.00)
Magnetic Platform (£37.00)	Stamping Sponges (£3.25)	Multipurpose Liquid Glue (£3.75)	Stampin' Dimensionals (£3.75)	Grid Paper (£11.00)

Til next time - on this, the most eventful and moving of Remembrance Sunday's I leave you with this thought - 'there but not there' 

 we will remember them..

Jan x

Jar of Love Goldfish for challenge x 2

Hello all and hope you have had a great week.

.. Now they say you should try and learn something new every day -
well I Iearnt something - the collective noun for goldfish - in fact there are two in use apparently..
a 'Troubling of Goldfish' or,  and my particular preference,  ' A Glint of Goldfish'

and this set me thinking .. the current challenge this week at Addicted to CAS is the prompt 'Pets'!

Sad to say we don't have any Pets, nor do I have much in the way of animal stamp sets.. but I do have a goldfish stamp.!!  Yeah...

and I used this as a basis for a best 'fishes' card for a lovely friend.

I used some Crumb Cake card stock for my card base, and shimmery white card stock for the inner mat.   I used the little goldfish and the leaf frond from the Jar of Love to make my side border and a sheet of 'Sea-side' themed paper from the Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack made for a matching card topper.

I positioned a couple more of the fishes and another of the leaf fronds direct onto the paper.  I then stamped my jam jar onto one of Stampin' Up!'s window sheets and die-cut this,  and it's carry handle,  with the matching framelit from the Everyday Jars set.

and with that, have also entered my card for the current challenge over at Happy Little Stampers where this week they want to see  'Anything goes with Dies'.
  
the sentiment made me smile too.. ' Best fishes for you'  from the same Jar of Love stamp set and very apt in the circumstances and know my friend will have a chuckle at that as well!

and remember where I came in...  ' A glint  of goldfish'.. Although a bit difficult to make out, I did use my clear Wink of Stella brush pen to add a little glint to each of my them.!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used

Just click on the items below to easily access them in my on line store

Or if you wish me to place an order for you, or have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock	Jar Of Love Photopolymer Stamp Set	Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin' Pad
Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad	Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack	Window Sheets	Jet Black Stazon Pad
Everyday Jars Framelits Dies	Big Shot	Magnetic Platform	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

.. and don't forget everyone,  it is Stampin' Up!  Sale-a-Bration time - any combined spend of £45 earns you a free item from the special Sale-a-Bration brochure.

 and speaking of 'Sale-A-Bration',  next weekend finds me at a training day, with a lot of my fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators for the group I belong to. .. And one thing Stampin' Up! demonstrators do when they meet - they swap cards/ ideas/ inspiration, and generally fit in a fair bit of crafting makes and takes as well.  

My swap group just happens to be using 'Sale-a-Bration' items. Well, with some fabulous free products  to choose from, all I need do is get crafting and will share,  once they have all been handed over!

so until next time - happy crafting to you all too!

Jan x

Stampin'Up On stage - Telford 2016 and back again!

hello all

Last time I mentioned I was about to depart on holiday - and I have to say I had a lovely break with my parents, sister and extended family, but knew as soon as I came back I needed to put the finishing touches to a card swap or two,  as looming large was the delightful event that is Stampin' Up ! On Stage Local in Telford.

This is a fabulous theme packed day to help demonstrators get the most out of their business, with amazing fact filled presentations and business hints and tips, crafty makes and takes, fabulous prize patrols, all attendee give-aways,  a chance to congratulate achievers who have managed to attain awe-inspiring business milestones, inspiration stations,  sneak previews of new items and maybe an advance look at the forth coming catalogue ...

All in all one very very busy day!  -  and when Stampin' Up! demonstrators get together - what do we do - we make a card or 3D item to swap

Here were mine all ready, about to be packed to go - I opted to use the soon to retire 2014 - 2016 in colours of  Lost Lagoon for my card bases, with  BlackBerry Bliss,  Tangelo Twist and Hello Honey colourways for most of them , but then added Melon Mambo, Watermelon Wonder, Perfect Plum and Wisteria Wonder for some last minute additions.

I used the lovely flourish stamp from 'Everything Eleanor'  for my accent stamping at the bottom of the card, some stamped and punched flowers, from the Flower Shop stamp set, and sentiments from the Crazy About You stamp set  and co-ordinating Hello You Thinlet dies - (both of which are available as 'product bundles' - excellent value with savings of 15% - and a little 'Wink of Stella - Clear' - for a bit of final embellishment on the lettering, which you just might be able to make out perhaps, on this one ?

I hope my 'swapees' liked them..

but oh my goodness...  just look at the fabulous selection I received in return. Thank you so much everyone - am just so sorry my lack of photography skills do not do them justice.!!

All in all a truly amazing day and a huge thanks to everyone for making Stampin' Up! just one very large and very happy family.. You can't help but come away from events such as these all enthusiastic and ready to go..! so here's to the next one in November.

Interested in attending - why not give me a ring and I can explain how it all works..

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used for my swap

Just click on the items below to easily access them in my on line store 

2014-2016 In Color A4 Cardstock & Classic Stampin' Pads Kit	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Everything Eleanor Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Flower Shop Clear-Mount Bundle	Crazy About You Clear-Mount Bundle	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad	Perfect Plum A4 Cardstock	Perfect Plum Classic Stampin' Pad	Wisteria Wonder A4 Cardstock
Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

or please just contact me if you have any questions or to place an order for you, if you would prefer.

Well have a nice week everyone - and if you want to stock up on the 2014 - 2016 In colours product family before they retire,  now is your chance, as they will not be here for  too much longer.

Personally, am about to weep buckets as one of my absolute all time favourites (Lost Lagoon) is in the lineup to go,  but then on reflection  am sure Stampin' Up! won't disappoint us and are bound to have an equally as lovely set of replacements,  just waiting in the wings.

til next time.
Happy Stampin'

Jan x