I'm still here....

I have been really busy with many different Christmas projects, I think I've had quite enough now!!!!  I still have a few special cards to make and some gift boxes but I have to report that the Christmas shopping is done & most of it is wrapped, the tree is up & the lights are on outside so for once I'm feeling quite organised.  I plan to do lots of baking, catch up with some projects I would like to finish and of course there will be some crafting.

I'm hoping I have some photos still on my camera as I thought I had photos of the 80 boxes I made for the Christmas party for Heel and Toe - a children's charity that provides conductive education based in Durham, Philip has made some lovely progress there especially with his fine motor skills.

Today I thought I would share a quick card made with the beautiful Holiday Frame embossing folder, it is a beautiful design and the embossing is really deep. I used the Tags til Christmas stamp set and punched it out with the extra large oval, the tree is from the Scentsational Season stamp set cut with the matching holiday framelits, I added a small heart shaped button with a scrap of linen thread.

I used Red Riding Hood card for my base with Very Vanilla and Gum Ball Green and a little star cut from the gorgeous Champagne glimmer paper.

I think this week is the "calm before the storm" as next week I have a lot of classes plan for - I'm spending a full day at school with year 5 & 6 helping them make Christmas cards and boxes, an afternoon helping Philip craft and  I will be making Teacher gifts for Philip's teacher for her little boy to take to nursery - its quite an order!!

We also have one of the nicest "Christmas presents" ever a new wheelchair assessment for a lightweight "sporty" chair that will be much easier for Philip to use and a better design overall.  The wheelchair was something I thought I would look in to after Christmas but Philip's teacher and the Head Teacher stepped in and the children and families at school are helping to raise money to get Philip a new chair - I  never expected this nor would I have asked them to help, it was an afternoon of tears & complete shock when I got to know about this. 

I will get my pictures organised and plan some more blog posts later this week, as I have a lot to share with you!!

Angela x

Christmas Workshop

On Saturday I held a Christmas workshop featuring the gorgeous Snow Festival suite from Stampin' Up!  Everyone had their own goody bag filled with lot's of  Stampin' Up! products to make their own Christmas projects.

Gift cards are often difficult to "wrap" to make them look presentable - I designed this "pop-up" gift card holder and it will fold flat to fit a C6 envelope!!  This was a popular project and although it is time consuming to put together everyone managed to get one or two made.

This is the front of my gift card holder, I added one of the large matching tags for the focal point of my card, leaving it blank so I can add a Christmas greeting.

The goody bags also had some of these fantastic Stampin' Up! gift boxes, ready to be decorated and fantastic value too - £2.75 for 4 boxes.

I wrapped some of the paper around my box and added a paper bow and one of the gorgeous faceted buttons.

I shared a lot of ideas for stylish gift wrapping, this one uses a thick paper lunch sack, covered with  paper.  The closure was made using the largest label framelit with a velcro dot to close it

.

I shared a tutorial for these gorgeous Christmas flowers, they look lovely in place of a ribbon bow and the faceted button really sparkles along with some of the new Dazzling Details fine glitter glue.

A desk calendar is practical and can also be useful for small gifts, this one will fold flat and fit into an envelope.  Some of the ladies were pleased I had included another calendar project for them again this year.

In the Snow Festival papers pack there is a sheet filled with a "patchwork" of smaller images, that are perfect for cutting up and making some quick cards and tags.

I will be planning some more classes soon so look out for new dates and themes!!

We had a lovely few days away last week for half term at Chessington World of Adventure but the nightmare 8 hour slow drive home and the usual catching up has "stolen" my crafting time!!  

I am currently finishing cards and gifts from Santa for a children's charity, only another 30 to make (80 in total). I need to get them made so I have plenty of free time for my own projects, hopefully I will be back soon with photos and new projects.

Angela x

Stampin Up Scentsational Season

Today I have another card using more products from the NEW Stampin' Up! Autumn and Winter seasonal catalogue, using the Scentsatioanl Season stamp set with of course matching framelits - no more cutting out!!!!

I have used the gorgeous new Raspberry Ripple and Gumball Green with Whisper White for my colour scheme with some of my favourite Snow Festival papers.  The sentiment is from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set with matching framelits to cut out the banners. They will be available very soon (1st October).

I'm almost ready for my afternoon of "ooing" & "ahhing" with the ladies attending my New Catalogue Launch tomorrow!!!  I know how much they will love some of the fabulous new products available in the NEW 2012 - 2013 annual Stampin' Up! catalogue, I have a huge wish list already,

If you would like your own copy of the New catalogue contact me.

Angela x

Stampin Up Christmas Ornament

From the very first glimpse of the new Stampin' Up! Autumn and Winter seasonal catalogue the decoration on the front cover has been something I "had" to make!!

Well here is my version of the decoration.

I stamped the Ornament Keepsake stamp set with Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler ink, I added a vintage brad to the centre of my decoration - not long until I can have some of those gorgeous faceted buttons!!!!!

I love the NEW soft tulle ribbon - I think this will be something that I will use for a lot of my Christmas projects!!

This is another version and it was really quick to make - no stamping as I used the Ornament framelit dies to cut the Snow Festival papers.

Lots of shimmer and glitter - perfect for Christmas!!

I have so many more ideas for the Ornament Keepsake stamp set and framelits.

If you buy them together Stampin' Up! is offering a 15% saving on the individual prices - contact me to place your order.

I'm planning to stay home and craft ALL day so that I have lots of lovely NEW samples to share at my New Catalogue Launch at the weekend.  I will share more projects as soon as I have photos of them.

Angela x

Stampin' Up Owl Occasions

Today's card is a cute one made with the gorgeous NEW Owl Occasions stamp set from the Autumn and Winter catalogue, as soon as Lucy saw this set she wanted me to order it!! The card base is a NEW "in colour" Raspberry Ripple with a length of matching stitched satin ribbon with a piece of  the gorgeous New Snow Festival papers.

I coloured the images with my Stampin' Up! marker pens and then I used the labels framelits to cut it out adding another layer of Pink Pirouette. There are some NEW sets of fabulous templates for paper pricking designs that fit Stampin' Up! framelits - perfectly spaced results every time!!! The sentiment is from the hostess exclusive Mixed Medley stamp set. 

There are 14 stamps in this set and although it has many different images for Christmas there are still plenty of images to make cards for different occasions.

Today I will be tackling the mountain of ironing and clearing as many jobs as possible so I can finish making a few more projects and classes ready for my new catalogue launch on Saturday.

Angela x

New In Colours

I spent a lovely evening with a group of crafty ladies last night making some pretty cards using some of the NEW 2012-2014 "In Colours" from Stampin' Up!

The NEW colours used are Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple and Summer Starfruit with Whisper White and Basic Grey card for accent colours.

The papers are a sneak peak from the NEW upcoming catalogue, I got them FREE as one of the "perks" of being a demonstrator.

 The sentiments are another new product that will be available to order very soon with matching framelits!!

The ribbon is Basic Grey taffeta, tied with a simple knot.  I used the Bird punch for the leaves and the Itty Bitty flower punch with a gem for the flowers.

Here are the cards altogether.  If you would like to get together with a group of your friends for a personalised class contact me for further information.

Angela x

More Perfectly Preserved

As promised here are some more cards made with the new Perfectly Preserved stamps and matching framelits.

I have used some of the gorgeous new Orchard Harvest papers - I think I will be ordering another pack as  they look lovely with the Perfectly Preserved stamp set and the colours are wonderful.

I have used the Bitty Banners framelits to cut the sentiments for my cards.

I love this new Tulle ribbon it is so soft and ruffles and ties perfectly.

I have spent today playing with some of my new Stampin' Up! stash, more pictures will follow soon!!  I am preparing projects and samples for my New Catalogue Launch on Saturday 29th September, if you would like to join the fun I still have a couple of places available, contact me for details.

Angela x

Bordering on Romance Workshop

 Last weekend I had a workshop with a lovely group of ladies, these are the cards we made using the Bordering on Romance stamp set.

The images were all stamped on to water colour paper and coloured with Stampin' Write markers and a blender pen using the 2012-2013 In Colours.

This is the first card we made with a lovely scalloped edge cut with the new Edgelits dies.

There was a little more work involved in making this card as we also stamped the background and added an embossed layer cut with the Labels Collection Framelits dies.

The final card has an embossed edge to match the cut edge of the Framelits dies.

Everyone had a lovely evening colouring their pretty flowers, the hostess has now received her orders including £50 worth of FREE products and a Big Shot for half catalogue price!!!!

If you would like to find out more about hosting a Stampin' Up! workshop with your friends and receiving free products, contact me for more details.

Angela x

A Special Birthday Card

Last week it was my lovely Stampin' Up! "mum's" birthday, so a special card was needed!!  I know Jules had a lovely day, and celebrated with some of the local girls form "Julies Jem's" Stampin' Up! team.

I used the Bordering on Romance stamp set, stamping on to water colour paper and coloured with Stampin' Up! marker pens & a "blender" pen. The colours are Melon Mambo, Baja Breeze and Lucky Limeade, I used the framelits dies to layer up the image, running the larger one through the polka dots embossing folder. I added some gorgeous polka dot ribbon and some pearls for the flower centres. I gave the card a spritz with some Champagne shimmer paint to add a bit of sparkle but it hasn't shown up in the photo.

Angela x

Birthday Gift Set

This week it was my mum's birthday and after several failed attempts I finally settled with this set.

I chose a pretty colour scheme of Pool Party, Pink Pirouette and Basic grey. colouring the flowers with a blender pen. I used the gorgeous Apothecary stamp set with the exclusive matching framelits and edgelits.

I love making envelopes with the Simply Scored diagonal plate - so quick and east to do!!  I used a sheet Attic Boutique paper.

I made a matching gift bag using the largest framelit die, just the right size for a small gift.

"Life" is exceptional busy right now!! I have started taking Philip for some extra physio sessions, this is making a huge dent in my time due to the distance and I'm struggling to fit everything else in as most weeks I spend time in school or at other appointments with him. In August we will be in London for two weeks for Philip to attend the Bobath Centre, so its is going to be a really busy summer and I still have so much to arrange including our accommodation.

I  need to make a start on the gifts I need for the end of term and a few special commissions too, so I should have a few projects to share soon. My mojo had disappeared so if you find it please send it back?!  

I have just finished packing for my class tomorrow, so I will share the projects we make next week.

Angela x

A "Shabby" Card

I have tried some more distressing this week and made a "shabby" card with lots of tearing and distressing, I do love this look but it is time consuming and I don't make many as I'm sure my friends and family would not be sure what to make of it??!!

I used the gorgeous new Apothecary Art stamp set and used the framelits to perfectly cut the design out. The image is coloured with Stampin' Up! marker pens, then I used Tea Stain ink from the Distressing Essentials Kit to give the Very Vanilla card an aged/worn look.  The next layer is Soft Suede, I stamped this with the large Wood background stamp, then I tore the edges of the card, I wrapped some Linen Thread around this layer. The base is textured Crumb Cake card, I used Tea Stain ink again, lightly ribbed over the card and edges, I stamped the text from the French Foliage stamp set in the bottom corner. I added a bow with some Crumb Cake seam binding as this ties so easily and holds the crinkles, perfect for a "shabby" style.

I managed to get some flags to put up outside for the Jubilee Weekend - they are slightly longer than I expected?!!  I will go outside today and take some photos, it was just too windy yesterday?!  

One of my neighbours has kindly loaned me one of her DSLR camera's as I have the feeling I "need" one, so I will be "playing" with it to see how I get along - I'm sure I will make it to Teesside Park before it closes at 4pm today though - LOL.

Hope you have a lovely weekend and enjoy the celebrations.

Angela x

Leeds Training Swap

On Saturday I attended a training event in Leeds organised by Stampin' Up! and as usual when demonstrators gather we like to share our ideas and swap cards and projects.

I used the new hostess exclusive stamp set Pedal Presents from the summer Mini Catalogue. The image was coloured with Stampin' Up! marker pens, background clouds are sponged lightly in Bashful Blue ink using a scrap punched from a scallop circle punch, I spritzed the ground below the bike to give a light textured finish.  I used the Framelits die to cut the stamped image out and added a strip of embossed hearts with an Adorning Accent embossing folder (this is from a set of 3).

The colours for my swap are Chocolate Chip, certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and Whisper White.

Angela x