Have you ever thought about becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and having your own business? As my regular readers will know, we have a great joining offer on this month at Stampin' Up! and with a little under a week to go, I thought this would be a good opportunity to remind you of my top 3 reasons why it's the perfect time to start a Stampin' Up! business:

Free Essentials Gift Pack To Get Your Business Off To A Flying Start - This month's recruiting offer is perfect for anyone wanting to build a business. Between 1 and 31 July, every new recruit gets an Essentials Gift Pack (worth £47/63,50€) plus the Carols of Christmas Stamp Set (worth £18/24€) from the upcoming autumn/winter catalogue added to your starter kit for free! This means that you will get products and business supplies worth a whopping £195/262,50€ for just £99/129€ with free shipping!

Benefit From The Seasonal Catalogue Pre-Order And Get Organised - As a new Stampin' Up! Demonstrator signing up in July, you will be able to take advantage of the pre-order period for the new Autumn-Winter Seasonal Catalogue that starts on August 1st and order seasonal and Christmas Stampin' Up! products before anyone else - and a whole month before customers. This will give you lots of opportunities to plan for any parties, classes or events that you may like to host or arrange in the run up to the Christmas period.

A Full 6 Months To Make Your First Sales Minimum - Your first quarterly minimum isn't due until the end of December - so you have a whole 6 months to build a profitable Stampin' Up! business and start reaping the rewards of programmes such as Quick Start, designed specifically to incentivise those who make regular, consistent sales. Alternatively it's six months to simply take advantage of your demonstrator discount and purchase Stampin' Up! supplies at a reduced price and increase your own own stash of craft supplies; either way, it's a win-win!

All this and so much more besides: the opportunity to work with me and other equally motivated and high-performing individuals on my team and be part of the wider Stampin' Up! demonstrator community who live by Stampin' Up!'s Statement of The Heart every day - why not join us at Stampin' Up!, voted Papercraft brand and Retailer of the Year, and love what you do and share what you love and make a difference to your life and the lives of others today? Contact me if you would like to discuss further or alternatively if your mind is made up, sign up by clicking here and filling in your details.

Today I'm here with a post that should have gone live on Saturday but appears to have had some scheduling issues - but it's news that's too good not to share! First things first: BONUS DAYS ARE BACK! Do you remember this promotion from last year? It was so successful, Stampin' Up! have decided to repeat it this year.

For every £45.00 you spend between 1 July and 31 July (before delivery), you’ll get a £4.50 Bonus Days coupon that you can use between 1 and 31 August . Since our new annual catalogue has only been out a month ago, you will probably still have some items on your wish list and this is a great opportunity to shop from it and make savings when you shop again in August with your coupons!

There are some details in terms of small print that you need to take note of, as follows: 

• Promotion period: 1–31 July 2017
• Redemption period: 1–31 August 2017
• An email address is required to participate in this promotion; Bonus Days coupon codes can only be delivered via email.
• It is strongly recommended that you both save emails containing their Bonus Days coupon codes AND write down the coupon codes in a safe place. Codes cannot be resent if the email is lost, and lost codes cannot be recovered.
• Bonus Days coupon codes can be redeemed for any product, excluding Starter Kits.
• There is no limit to the number of coupons you can receive per order or throughout the duration of the promotion.
• There is no limit on the number of coupons you can use on an order during redemption.

This is such a great promotion - I get to buy even more from my wishlist, then as a demonstrator I can use my coupons in August against my pre-order from the new Autumn-Winter catalogue - woohoo!  For customers there is also going to be the early release of a new exclusive Christmas bundle called 'Carols Of Christmas' for sale from 1 August, so you could get started early with some  and use your coupons to get a great deal!

Don't forget if you are placing an order online to also include this month's hostess code JG7PHQKR to receive a free thank you gift from me too!

Here is a sneak peak of the exclusive bundle available from 1st August - you can choose to spend your coupon on this bundle or any other items of your choice!

Can't wait until 1st August to get your hands on this great new stamp set? Well, there's more! All of us at Stampin' Up! miss Christmas so much that we decided to have another one right now with a fantastic offer for anyone out there who would like to join my team this month! 

Between 1 and 31 July, every new recruit gets an Essentials Gift Pack (worth 63,50 € / £47) plus the Carols of Christmas Stamp Set (worth 24 € / £18) from the upcoming autumn/winter catalogue added to their starter kit for free! This means that new recruits will get products and business supplies worth a whopping 262,50 € / £195 for just 129 € / £99 with free shipping!

Here's what's included in the Essentials Gift Pack:

This is a great collection of basic items that along with your starter kit will enable you to hit the ground running and easily run your first event and share your love of stamping with a friend or two. 

Here's a close-up of the Carols of Christmas stamp set:

There has never been a better time to join Stampin' Up!: we are at the beginning of a new quarter, so you will have a full 6 months before you need to meet your first quarterly minimum, and the run up to Christmas is a great time to build a business if you're looking to earn or boost your income doing something that you love. I am always keen to hear from people thinking about joining my team - why not give me a call to discuss what it could mean for you?

That's all from me today; happy shopping, knowing that you get a spending spree next month too!

Before I share today's project, I just want to give you a reminder that today is the final day for the 'We <3 Hosts' promotion where you can earn an extra £30 of rewards with an order of £300 or more. If you would like to refresh your memory on the details, you can find them here. You can place your order online or alternatively feel free to call me if you'd like to place your order over the phone. It's also the final day for this month's hostess code - if you are placing an order online for between £25 and £150, don't forget to add the code B3C3DUB6 to receive an extra thank you in the post from me.

Today I'm sharing another of the cards I designed for one of my recent team training meetings - you can see one of our other makes here. This one features probably my favourite of the new in-colours, lemon lime twist:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Lovely Words For A Friend - I used the Lovely Words Thinlits for the 'friend' diecut on my card, snipping it away from the oval so that I could use it standalone. These are such great thinlits with so many ways they can be used to create interest on your cards. 

CASE The Kit - The design of my card was inspired by one of the cards in the new 'Hello Friend' heat embossing product kit on page 16 of the new annual catalogue. One of the business topics we discussed at team training was how Stampin' Up!'s kits can benefit your business and our make and takes all included opportunities to practice the techniques and skills required to demonstrate with this kit effectively. There's nothing like being prepared and I'm sure my team would agree that team training is great for this kind of thing. Check out this video from the home office team that shows you the Hello Friend Kit in more detail:

Stampin' Up!'s kits are great for a crafty get-together with friends; if you're reading this and would like to arrange one with me to guide you through the fun techniques, then do get in touch. 

Copper Trim - To tie in with the dip-embossed copper of my diecut sentiment, I finished my card with a length of the new copper trim. This is a really versatile trim option for cards, home decor and gifts; silky smooth, you can use it like ribbon as it ties beautiful bows, but you can also split it and unravel it and use it like net, or even stretch it and use it as a cover for small items such as chocolates (a little like a sock!) 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Lovely Inside & Out Clear-Mount Bundle	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock	Tranquil Tide A4 Cardstock	Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin' Pad	Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper Stack
1/4" Copper Trim	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder	Versamark Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Heat Tool (Uk)

The wait is over - it's June 1st and the new 2016-17 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue is here! I have updated my links on the right hand side of my blog and you will find a permanent link to the new catalogue there, but for today you need look no further than the picture below which will take you straight to the new catalogue:

The catalogue is fantastic, with so many great new products to choose from. The new catalogue is posted above and will be permanently linked via my blog on the right hand side if you don’t have a paper copy and wish to browse. If you have your paper copy and just want to go straight to the shop to place your order, click here. Don't forget to add the hostess code for June B3C3DUB6 if your order is less than £150 and ensure your preferences are set to 'contactable' to receive a thank you in the post from me.

I'll be sharing my favourite items in a blog post later this week, but for now I have news of another very important promotion to share with you:

• Earn Additional Stampin' Rewards with a single order or qualifying party sales  You can earn an additional £30 in Stampin' Rewards when you place an individual order for or reach qualifying party sales of £300 or more during the month of June. Here is a reminder of the rewards you can earn when you host a party, along with the details of the promotion:

Don't forget these Stampin' Rewards can also be used towards a starter kit if you choose to join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator - making the starter kit even better value! I still have some calendar dates free in June so if you would like to host your own Stampin' Up! party and take full advantage of the extra rewards, then please do get in touch! 

• Want To Get Hands On With New Products? Save The Date - I will be holding my Annual Catalogue Open House Launch next week on Thursday 8th June - if you live in or around Northampton this is a great opportunity for you to see some of the products up close, take advantage of my BOGOF sale of retired stamp sets, do a make and take and more! If you would like to put your name down for this exclusive event then do get in touch!

That's a lot of information for one post; if I were you I would put the kettle on, put your feet up and get comfy and settle down with your new catalogue for a browse and start creating that all-important wish list!

Back tomorrow with a new project; until then, happy shopping!

It's Wednesday already - happy hump day! Today I'm sharing a card that I made for a little challenge that I'm currently having with my team.

My team consists of people from all walks of life and each of them wants something different from their Stampin' Up! demonstratorship: whether they are actively running a business and using it as their main source of income, sellling to friends and family to provide family 'extras' or simply enjoying their hobby and enjoying a discount on their Stampin' Up! purchases, there is one thing that unites us all - a shared love of crafting! I like to set them challenges from time to time and one of our current ones is using the new 'Celebrate Every Day' Project Life memory keeping collection from Stampin' Up!

Each of my team were given a selection of cards in various sizes from the Celebrate Every Day card collection and one of the pockets from the 6" x 8" variety pocket pack and asked to come up with one or more projects that could be shared with the group, adding whatever additional accessories they had to hand. I love the bright, summery colours of this particular collection and so I couldn't wait to use some of mine to make a cheery card for a friend of mine who is going through a rough patch - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Celebrate The Every Day with Project Life - The Celebrate The Every Day Project Life set has some great sentiments to illustrate your Project Life pages and record those special times with loved ones. They can also work as the focal point for a card too: I've used one of the 3" x 4" cards that I cropped to focus on the sentiment, which is perfect for someone going through a rough patch to let them know you are thinking of them. I then backed this with one of the bright floral 3" x 4" cards for a burst of summer flowers and pop of colour. The final element to my card was a Watermelon Wonder Heart embellishment that I cropped out of one of my lined Project Life journalling cards with my circle Stitched Shape Framelit Dies. I love how these framelits add just the right amount of detail to frame a sentiment or image.

Co-ordinating Accessories - One of the great things about the Stampin' Up! project Life range is that it exclusively features Stampin' Up! colours. This makes it so easy to go to your craft supplies and instantly find other items that will co-ordinate. The colour palette for the Celebrate Every Day range looks like this, along with the addition of Basic Black and Whisper White as neutrals:

I chose to use some A4 Daffodil Delight cardstock for my base and mat, along with a punched circle of Watermelon Wonder and two pieces of Emerald Envy 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon on my card. Effortless co-ordination - one of the many reasons I love to craft with Stampin' Up! products!

I'm A Hoot And You Can Be Too - The Hoots are the lovely bunch that make up my Stampin' Up! team (The Crafty Owl - Hoots - get it?! ;-) ) and I would love to welcome you too. If you've ever thought about joining Stampin' Up!, now is a great time time to do so. During Sale-A-Bration, your starter kit is extra special as not only do you get your choice of £130/175 Euros worth of product for £99/129 Euros, but you get to choose an additional 2 stamp sets FOR FREE - that could be worth as much as an extra £93/126 Euros. There are so many ways in which you can benefit from being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator- please do give me a call on 07773 421446 or email me if you'd like to discuss further.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Celebrate Every Day Project Life Card Collection

Ribbon Taffeta 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Emerald Envy

Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock

Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock

Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies

Hello lovely readers! I hope you've all enjoyed browsing the new Spring-Summer Stampin' Up! catalogue and this year's Sale-A-Bration offering and are busy making wishlists and buying those must-have items. Today I'm sharing a card I made with my pre-order goodies back in December for my team Christmas outing. Instead of our usual team meeting, we decided in December to have our very own festive Crafternoon Tea. In addition to enjoying a lovely afternoon tea, we spent the afternoon doing a shoebox swap with each of us creating the cards cards that the others had designed, some using new pre-order items from the spring-Summer and SAB catalogues, thus providing us with lots of new samples. I am loving the new hot air balloons so I just had to feature them on my card:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Up & Away Balloon - The star of today's card is most definitely the layered diecut hot air balloon - isn't it gorgeous? It's made using the new Up & Away Thinlits Dies. This is a great set with three different balloon sizes, clouds and lots of basket and layering options along with this lovely detailed large balloon. 

Your Smiles Lift Me Up - What's better than a great die set? Well, a great die set with a co-ordinating stamp set! the 'Lift me Up' stamp set has some great stamped balloon images, clouds and accessories as well as five varied sentiments for everything from birthdays to congratulations and sending smiles. 

Carried Away For Free - The paper on today's card is from the Carried Away Designer Series Paper pack that can be yours for FREE with a £45 purchase. It co-ordinates perfectly with the Lift Me Up bundle - a selection of pretty balloons, skyscapes and maps in bold, bright colours. Love it!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Here's a picture of some of my lovely team members at our festive gathering - what a great bunch:

I love these ladies, none of whom would I have met but for our shared love of crafting and some of whom joined during previous Sale-A-Brations. Sale-A-Bration is a great time to join Stampin' Up! with one of the best recruitment offers; if you would like to know more about the benefits of joining my team, please do get in touch for a no-obligation chat - we would love you to join us!

That's all from me; back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Lift Me Up Wood-Mount Bundle	Lift Me Up Clear-Mount Bundle	Carried Away Designer Series Paper	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock
Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

It's time to shake off the January blues, today is THE day - yes, the highlight of the Stampin' Up! calendar, Sale-A-Bration is here! No more sneak peeks - the catalogue is available, the shop is live and from now until 31st March the benefits are yours for the taking. You can click on the icon above or the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or go directly to my online shop to place an order - we are LIVE!

So what is Sale-A-Bration? For anyone who hasn't come across it before, it's Stampin' Up!'s annual promotion that is loaded with offers whether you shop, join or host:

Earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 4 January and 31 March. It's the perfect time to purchase those products you've had on your wish list and earn more products for free! 

It’s the best time of year to join Stampin’ Up! During Sale-A-Bration, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £30 more of FREE products for your Starter Kit. Plus, the kit ships for free! There is plenty of choice and flexibility, whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator and just use your discount to enable you to purchase craft supplies more cheaply, or alternatively would like to build a flourishing direct sales business and sell supplies to others - it's entirely up to you. In addition, you can choose two free stamp sets of your choice - that could be worth as much as another £93 to you!

Earn an additional £20 in hostess credits when you host a party and have party sales of £200 or more (this also applies to individual orders). So for party sales of £200, that makes a whopping £40 of Stampin' Rewards - more freebies! What's more, you can even apply your Stampin' Rewards to a Starter Kit and become a demonstrator yourself - I would love to welcome you to my team!

If you would like to host a party, real or virtual, please do get in touch; my diary is filling up but there are still lots of slots available and I would love to share these great benefits with you. If you've ever thought about becoming an SU! demonstrator, now is a great time to do so - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you about joining my team and the benefits.

As if that wasn't enough, today also sees the launch of the new Spring-Summer catalogue - full of gorgeous new products:

Just click on the image above or in the sidebar on the right to browse the catalogue online, or contact me on 07773 421446 if you would like a paper copy posted out to you and you don't already have a demonstrator. If you are as excited as me and just can't wait, here's the link to my online store - everything is available to purchase from today!

Thanks so much for popping by today - it's always nice to share good news! Back tomorrow with a project showcasing some of the products from the new catalogue. Until then, happy shopping!

Happy Monday everyone! No creative post from me today; with only 4 days left this month, I thought it was a good time to remind you of the two offers that will finish at the end of this month:

• Earn Additional Stampin' Rewards with a single order or qualifying party sales  You can earn an additional £25 in Stampin' Rewards when you place an individual order for or reach qualifying party sales of £250 or more during the month of June. Don't forget these Stampin' Rewards can also be used towards a starter kit if you choose to join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator - making the starter kit even better value! If you would like to host your own Stampin' Up! party and take full advantage of the extra rewards, then please do get in touch! 

• Earn Free Stamps in June’s Promotion for New SU! Joiners.  As a demonstrator on my team, you will belong to a friendly team where you get to be the first to see and order products from upcoming catalogues. You also get to earn a discount on the products you already love – with no risks or penalties if you don't meet your quarterly minimum.  During the month of June when you join, you also earn two free stamp sets of your choice (they’ll be added to your starter kit). These can be any stamps at all from the new catalogue - so if you choose wisely (think alphabets and large sentiment sets!) these two stamp sets alone could be worth £91 or more. The Starter Kit is £99 for £130 of free product of your choice. My team is a mix of both hobby stampers and business demonstrators and I love and appreciate them all.  If you would like to take to me about becoming a demonstrator and joining us, please do get in touch for a no obligation chat about the benefits. Alternatively if you know this is the deal for you, don't delay and click here to join today!

Back tomorrow with a new card project; until then, happy stampin'!

The wait is over - it's June 1st and the new 2016-17 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue is here! I have updated my links on the right hand side of my blog and you will find a permanent link to the new catalogue there, but for today you need look no further than the picture below which will take you straight to the new catalogue:

The catalogue is fantastic, with so many great new products to choose from. The new catalogue is posted above and will be permanently linked via my blog if you don’t have a paper copy. If you have your paper copy and just want to go straight to the shop to place your order, click here. Don't forget to add the hostess code for June R2QV9WE6 if your order is less than £150 and ensure your preferences are set to 'contactable' to receive a thank you in the post from me.

As if that wasn't enough though, there are also two fantastic promotions that make this catalogue launch even sweeter:

• Earn Additional Stampin' Rewards with a single order or qualifying party sales  You can earn an additional £25 in Stampin' Rewards when you place an individual order for or reach qualifying party sales of £250 or more during the month of June. Don't forget these Stampin' Rewards can also be used towards a starter kit if you choose to join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator - making the starter kit even better value! I still have some calendar dates free in June so if you would like to host your own Stampin' Up! party and take full advantage of the extra rewards, then please do get in touch! Which brings me on to the next 'big news' item for today:

• Earn Free Stamps in June’s Promotion for New SU! Joiners.  June 1 also kicks off a new promotion for customers to become demonstrators.  As a demonstrator on my team, you will belong to a friendly team where you get to be the first to see and order products from upcoming catalogues. You also get to earn a discount on the products you already love – with no risks or penalties if you don't meet your quarterly minimum.  Starting today when you join, you also earn two free stamp sets of your choice (they’ll be added to your starter kit). These can be any stamps at all from the new catalogue - so if you choose wisely (think alphabets and large sentiment sets!) these two stamp sets alone could be worth £91 or more. The Starter Kit is £99 for £130 of free product of your choice. My team is a mix of both hobby stampers and business demonstrators and I love and appreciate them all.  If you would like to take to me about becoming a demonstrator and joining us, please do get in touch for a no obligation chat about the benefits or call in at my open house event next week. Alternatively if you know this is the deal for you, don't delay and click here to join today!

• Save The Date - I will be holding my Annual Catalogue Open House Launch next week on Friday 10th June - if you live in or around Northampton this is a great opportunity for you to see some of the products up close, take advantage of my BOGOF sale of retired stamp sets, do a make and take and more! More details to follow in a separate post but if you would like to put your name down for this exclusive event then do get in touch!

That's a lot of information for one post; if I were you I would put the kettle on, put your feet up and get comfy and settle down with your new catalogue for a browse and start creating that all-important wish list!

Back tomorrow with a new project; until then, happy shopping!

It's time to shake off the January blues, today is THE day - yes, the highlight of the Stampin' Up! calendar, Sale-A-Bration is here! No more sneak peeks - the catalogue is available, the shop is live and from now until 31st March the benefits are yours for the taking. You can click on the icon above or the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or go directly to my online shop to place an order - we are LIVE!

So what is Sale-A-Bration? For anyone who hasn't come across it before, it's Stampin' Up!'s annual promotion that is loaded with offers whether you shop, party or join:

Earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 5 January and 31 March. It's the perfect time to purchase those products you've had on your wish list and earn more products for free! 

Pages 4–15 of the Sale-A-Bration brochure show products available throughout the entire Sale-A-Bration sales period (5 January–31 March 2016); Pages 16–19 show limited-time products available only until 15 February, after which another batch of limited-time products will arrive on 16 February!

Earn an additional £20 in hostess credits when you host a party and have party sales of £200 or more (this also applies to individual orders). So for party sales of £200, that makes a whopping £40 of Stampin' Rewards - more freebies! What's more, you can even apply your Stampin' Rewards to a Starter Kit and become a demonstrator yourself - I would love to welcome you to my team!

It’s the best time of year to join Stampin’ Up! During Sale-A-Bration, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £30 more of FREE products for your Starter Kit. Plus, the kit ships for free! There is plenty of choice and flexibility, whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator and just use your discount to enable you to purchase craft supplies more cheaply, or alternatively would like to build a flourishing direct sales business and sell supplies to others - it's entirely up to you.

If you would like to host a party, real or virtual, please do get in touch; my diary is filling up fast and I would love to share these great benefits with you. If you've ever thought about becoming an SU! demonstrator, now is a great time to do so - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you about joining my team and the benefits.

As if that wasn't enough, today also sees the launch of the new Spring-Summer catalogue - full of gorgeous new products:

Just click on the image above or in the sidebar on the right to browse the catalogue online, or contact me on 07773 421446 if you would like a paper copy posted out to you and you don't already have a demonstrator. If you are as excited as me and just can't wait, here's the link to my online store - everything is available to purchase from today!

Thanks so much for popping by today - it's always nice to share good news! Check out today's creative post to see a card made featuring a lovely new catalogue product that you are going to be seeing a lot of - click here for more details!