Today I'm sharing one of my Onstage stamper projects from last November when I had the pleasure of presenting the Bubble Over Bundle to the demonstrators that attended the UK event in Solihull. Onstage events are such fun and I love having the opportunity to create with new sets and share the possibilities with other like-minded demonstrators. Here are a couple of photos of me in action, courtesy of my lovely downline Helen - this is me as I took the stage (as you can see we are sat a long way back!): 

Then a slightly better shot of me in action, talking through the features of this suite:

Lastly, one more of me sharing the first of my projects - the one I'm going to share with you today:

The Bubble Over Bundle is great fun, with lots of bits and pieces and is also a set with universal appeal - a great set for teens and adults alike with a mix of sentiments for lots of different occasions. 

Here's the first of my cards, a clean and simple card that requires minimal stamping and no diecutting - take a look:

I simply stamped the bottles in a variety of bold, bright colours across the bottom of my card front - the stamps are photopolymer, so super easy to align (I used the edges of the labels as a guide) then filled the upper portion of my card with bubbles stamped in co-ordinating colours. I added a simple sentiment banner which I cut by hand and stepped up the decoration slightly by adding a sprinkling of the Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes to the bubbles on my card - they are quite difficult to see on my card as they fit the stamped bubbles exactly, but add a lovely hint of sparkle to the bubbles - if you look really closely you can see them more easily in this close-up shot:

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. 

A super simple card to start off my Bubble Over suite of projects. So one last photo to share with you - this one is of me and just some of my lovely team who attended Onstage with me:

Love these girls! Onstage events are just one of the ways that we spend time together enjoying everything that we love about Stampin' Up!. If you love to craft or are looking for a business opportunity that offers fun, friendship and the ability to earn an income doing something you love, then I would love to chat to you about joining my team and sharing these experiences with you too. If you would like to understand more, there's no better time than during Sale-A-Bration to consider joining. You can read more about the current offer here, call me for a chat or if you are reading this and know it's for you, then simply click here to complete the paperwork.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bubble Over Photopolymer Stamp Set	Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad
Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock

So much for a back to normal week of blogging! I had all good intentions this week, then had issues with my blog for the past few days that left me unable to access it at all. With the kids off on their half-term break too, I was a little limited in what I All sorted now (fingers crossed!) so hopefully I will be back on track from today.

I know how much you've all been enjoying the benefits of the Sale-A-Bration promotion; as if it couldn't get any better I just wanted to let you know that there are some new items being added to the selection of products that can be earned free, both with a £45 order and a bundle that can be earned free with a purchase of £90 or more, take a look:

A fun stamp set and some of the most gorgeous foil-embossed paper, and then a stamp set and embossing folder bundle:

The lovely team at the Stampin' Up! head office have also put together a short video that shows you the bundle items in more detail - you can see that by clicking on the link below:

Like the other items in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue, these items will be available from now until the end of the Sale-A-Bration period, 31st March. You can see full details for each of the new product on the new Sale-A-Bration flyer here.

If you would like more information or to place an order, either go here to purchase from my online store (don't forget to add this month's hostess code 64XZCB29) or you can email me or telephone me if you would prefer. Back shortly with a new creative 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 catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or click on the icon above or on the right to 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 3 January and 31 March. This year for the first time there is also the opportunity to earn even bigger rewards with a £90 purchase. 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 (except for bundles, kits or Sale-A-Bration items) - that could be worth as much as another £90 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!

Here's a fun little video too that showcases some of the excitement that lies within:

If you would like more information on any of the above, please don't hesitate to get in touch! 

Thanks so much for popping by - 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!

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!

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!

I'm a little later posting today - I blame trying to catch up with my latest favourite TV drama last night (The Catch - if you want to check it out - I'm addicted!) Anyways, 152 days until the big 'C' day - it must be time for Christmas in July! Lots of card makers start preparing for Christmas at this time of year, in addition to which us lucky Stampin' Up! demonstrators get to see and pre-order from the new Stampin' Up! Autumn Winter catalogue - which if you're a customer you have to wait until 2nd September for! I've seen some sneak peeks and can assure you there are some new products that you are going to LOVE!!!!

If you would like to get ahead of the curve and be able to see and order these products before everyone else, do get in touch to find out more about joining my team. In the meantime, I thought I would make a card for this week's colour challenge over at Fab Friday, where although a Christmas card is not compulsory the colour scheme this week is certainly festive:

For my card today I decided to go with the new Christmas papers in the annual catalogue and one of the carryover Christmas sets, Perfect Pines to create a simple holiday card:

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

More For You This Christmas - At Stampin' Up! we do Christmas all year round however in your excitement to see everything in the new Annual Catalogue you might have missed a key detail about the new This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper: like the now retired Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper, This Chrismas is printed in lightweight paper - similar to a newspaper print. As a result, you also get 4 sheets of each of the 6 designs in the pack, so 24 sheets in total as opposed to 12 - bonus!

Double-Up - Because the This Christmas paper is not a thick paper, it's tricky to pop up on dimensionals if it's not backed with something thicker. I wanted to be able to tie my baker's twine around my DSP layer, so in order to make it more sturdy, I backed it with a piece of extra thick Whisper White that was the same size, by simply gluing together. Easy! 

Paper-Pieced Perfect Pines - I decided to use one of the Perfect Pines Christmas trees to act as both sentiment and focal point on my card today. I stamped my tree in Garden Green and cut it out with the co-ordinating framelits, then stamped it again in Cherry Cobbler on some scrap cardstock and fussy cut the banner so that I could add the tiniest paper-pieced detail to my tree. This, in addition to a gold metallic enamel star, a sliver of gold glimmer paper and some split Cherry Cobbler baker's twine (I divided the twine into three so that it would add less bulk to my card) complete today's festive masterpiece (even if I say so myself!!) 

One more for the Christmas pile - I guess that means I'm in danger of appearing organised, right? 

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. 

I have a rare child-free day today, so I am making the most of it to get through a chunk of activities on my growing 'to do' list. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

This Christmas Designer Series Specialty Paper	Peaceful Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set	Perfect Pines Framelits Dies	This Christmas A4 Cardstock	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad
Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Gold Glimmer Paper	Project Life Corner Punch	Metallic Enamel Shapes

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'!