Swap Inspiration

Recently a large group of Demo's met up at Telford for a day of training. As always on these occasions we take along cards that we have designed and made in multiples (I took 80 this time) and we swap them with other demo's. It is a great source of inspiration and a fab way to catch up with old friends and make some new. 

I always manage to find great inspiration in the swaps as well as being able to use them to showcase a wide selection of stamps and products in the catalogue. It is also a good way to demonstrate different styles as we all have our own. Another reason to love the Stampin' UP! way. 

We create what we love and share with others so they may create too.

One of the swaps I received on the day was from the lovely Lynne Fahey of Spiralz and Curlz. I met Lynne at a retreat weekend last year and we soon became friends when we realised not only did we share a love of Stampin' UP! but we also had the same OCD's and love of life. 

Lynne creates the most beautiful cards and demonstrated a FABULOUS technique at Telford. 

Here is Lynne's swap on the day. Isn't it just gorgeous?   

A close up of the stamped detail and some glitter.

I loved this card and when designing for my recent Fancy Fold Class I took inspiration from Lynne's design for this card.

A Four Fold Card which uses the lovely Swallowtail stamp on the front.

Which opens out to reveal more stamping and the centre panel which in this instance I used the design from Lynne's card. I loved the idea of stamping over the Newsprint DSP to give a nice depth to the image without adding bulk to the card.. This means my card stayed post friendy. 

Here is the card fully opened out. 

I'm pleased to say when I sent a version of  this card to Lynne as a Thank You for the inspiration and for being such a good friend she loved it. 

There is no better feeling than making someone smile and what a lovely way to do that. 

If you would like to make some one smile or indeed join in with the swapping then please get in touch and ask about classes or joining the Stampin' UP! family.  

Floral Frenzy

Those who follow my blog will remember I promised photos of the 3D projects I was working on a while back. At the time of creating it was all quite secretive and here's why.

A while ago I was asked by my lovely upline Monica to create a display for our Team Training. I was sooooooo honoured but scared at the same time. I mean this is a room full of my peers, all people with so much talent. Would it be good enough to inspire? 

A close up of the flowers.. 

Some more delicate blooms and a hint of what's to come.

Here's the finished piece. The birdhouse, plant pot, and flowers were all made using Stampin' UP! cardstock. 

As you can see it was quite a large display and I'm looking forward to including it in my displays this year. 

There was a second part to my display and I will be back to share the photos of that later this week. 

I hope you enjoyed the finished project and it inspires you to think big and create big 

Stampin' UP! Regional Training...

Saturday was a day of fun and frolics at regional training for Stampin' UP! demos.

I travelled down with the lovely Zoe Tant and some of her team. We left VERY early and after a slight detour courtesy of my sat nav we arrived just as they were starting.

The whole day was full of lovely presentations by fellow demos and some business thrown in for good measure. 

At all of these days we are treated to make and takes to ensure we get inky. After all who could be in a room full of inspiration and not want to get inky!

The project I'm showing today is the note book we got to make. It is full of detail and scrummy texture.

A close up of the scrunched flower and Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons.

Here is the project in full. I love the pop of colour and the happy feeling this little note book seems to ooze. I will be keeping this with me to capture inspiration as it strikes!

Be sure to pop back to see more of the weekends fun and frolics.

Apologies and Anniversaries

Wow, has it really been almost a month since I last posted? 

I apologise for the absence but it has been crazy busy here with lots of renovation going on and I have been making lots of cups of tea and making sure everything is how it should be! 

We have now finished the first of the attic bedrooms and it looks lovely in Island Indigo and Whisper White - You can take the girl out of the craft room but not the Stampin' UP! out of the girl lol.

We are now busy on Caiden's room which will be River Rock and poss Lucky Limeade.

Back in the room of craft, which seems to be my only haven right now, I have been busy with some commission pieces which I will share with you all soon. 

I took time out though to make a card for a lovely couple who just celebrated their 9th Wedding Anniversary.

The lovely June and Andy run Lady B's Cupcakery here in Mablethorpe and keep me in delicious cakes(almost daily lol) as well as a Champagne High tea for my birthday last week!

The card needed to be soft and slightly vintage. As a fellow creator June has a fantastic eye for colour and detail so no pressure lol.  

Close up of the personalised element

Here is the finished card which I hope they both liked. 

The base card is embossed only on the bottom half with the Honeycomb Embossing Folder and then torn strips of Blushing Bride (a colour I am so happy to see returning) and Naturals Ivory. 

The hearts are stamped and die cut using the Hearst a Flutter Bundle.

The sentiment is from a retired hostess set but fitted the couple so well I just had to use it.

I hope you like today's post and I will try and post some of the highlights from Regional Training yesterday soon.

Spreading the sunshine...

Another Wednesday draws round and its time to hop over to Julia at Stamping Ground and nose around the desks of the creative and this week I even have a completed project to show you! 

It's been a busy few weeks for this little Mermaid and for those of you waiting to see the secret projects please pop back tomorrow when I will be revealing the first - The Wedding Cake.

I finally had some time to play just for me this week and here is my desk while the light was good yesterday. I know lots of you comment on the tidiness of my desk so here it is in working order and about as messy as I can bear to be lol. 

To the right is my scrapbox which is going to be the feature of a new challenge post I will be setting up (more details to follow).

Embossing powders, reinkers, stamps, vellum and a hot glue gun are spread out over the rest and all came together to create.........  

This little hanging. I just have the ribbon to add and this will be the sunny little greeting to all who pop by for a cuppa

I hope you have a lovely week and be sure to pop back for a look at the projects which have been such a secret until now

Its all about the colour...

It's continuing to be a very exciting time in the Stampin' UP! calender. First we had all the lovely free stuff you could earn during SAB and now just as we demonstrators get ready to mourn the loss of 5 amazing colours we have this announcement... 

Stampin' UP! are always bang on trend with their colours and so to keep the palette fresh we are saying goodbye to some old favourites and welcoming some new. 

Now this may seem scary but in fact several of the colours are already in our palette they are just joining a new group of friends as they move families. A couple are like long lost family members and are returning from the In colours that retired last year. A couple are visiting us from over the pond as they are old colours from the US which didn't make it to the new market over here. Lastly we have a brand new addition to the family and this is the one that excites me most lol. A lovely light grey! I know of all the colours we are getting with the new catty I have to go for a grey. 

Sadly this means we have to make room and so we will be saying goodbye to a few of our favourite shades. I will be stocking up on a couple of my personal favourites for personal use and encourage you to do the same as the colours leaving us are now only available while stocks last.

Lastly we will also have 5 brand new colours join us when the new In Colours are added to the family.

I do hope you are feeling as excited as me about the changes to our colour family and the opportunities this brings us to freshen our crafting and explore new and exciting combinations. 

I will be back with more exciting news soon

Stampin' UP! a storm.....

Wow another week has passed and here we are again taking a peek at the desks of the creative curtesy of Julia over at Stamping Ground

As you can see the desk is still looking pretty tidy, I just wish I had remembered to take a photo when it was at its messiest this week. I really do make a mess sometimes honest!

To the left is a scrapbook page of my Nanna and Grandad on their wedding day which I am working on. I reached the point of 'do I need anything else on there' so decided instead of fretting about it I would catch up on some admin and give my brain time to rest lol. I find that the best way to asses things and so busied myself with sorting out my cardstock according to the new colour refresh we are undergoing. It should help me use up cardstock before it retires. 

Also on the desk are 40 (!) swaps for Sun and some booking forms for future craft fairs. 

The eagle eyed among you might have spotted something floral at the back of my desk and this is one of the display items for Sun when I can finally reveal all the Shhhhh! projects I have been working on.

Be sure to pop back next week to see them all revealed.

Till then Happy Crafting and Hopping