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French Foliage notebook

Hi there! Bet you wondered where I'd disappeared to... I'm still here but working myself hard in preparation for Diane and my Catalogue Kickoff party next Saturday.

On Saturday I went to team training. It was SO fun although I did get a bit scared when I had to present some projects I'd made!

This is one of the swaps I received made by one of my friends, Steph:


It's soooo sweet and features French Foliage which is just gorgeous. The orange colour is called Tangerine Tango - perfect for this season.

Do you like the ribbon along the top? It's hand-made using a strip of card. The stitching was drawn by hand. You simply draw dots and then join them in a line. Easy peasey and great when you need a particular colour ribbon that's not to hand.

Snowman

Happy Monday! Such a great day today and another sneak peek to share!!!

This is the send card I made to swap last Saturday. These turned out to be quite time-consuming what with the Big Shot letters being cut out individually but hey, they look fab don't they? It's always lovely to get the glitter out!!!!

Munchkin is on the mend and appears to be eating for Britain at present. Love her!!!

Christmas already?

Morning! Yesterday I went to Leadership training provided by Stampin Up. It was fabulous to spend time with fellow crafters, see sneak peaks from the forthcoming catalogue (OMG!!!!) and learn useful tips.

Traditionally at a gathering if crafters you make Swaps. This was one of my swaps that I made:


It's a cute little envelope (cut on the Big Shot) made from patterned paper in the colour family stacks. These are packs of 40 12"x12" double-sided patterned paper that are gorgeous plus amazing value.

TIP: currently these stacks of paper are just £15.50 - that's just under 39p per sheet. BUT they're rising in price with the new catalogue to almost 49p a sheet. Still a bargain but even more so if you order them before the end if September!

Here are all the envelopes laid out ready to go:


This is also a sneak peek for you as they feature a stamp from one of the new Christmas stamp sets, Tags Til Christmas! Gorgeous isn't it?!!!!!

I made a second swap that I'll share with you soon. Have a great Sunday!

P.S. Thanks to the ladies that attended my Clearly for You class this Thursday. Your diagnosis of Munchkin was spot on and she's starting to get better so the understairs cupboard is just a distant memory!

Mini make & take

Hello and thank goodness it's Friday!

I've been cutting, sticking and hot glue gun-ing like mad!! Today I've got a little make and take that I made with my team at my training earlier this month:


It's actually based on a card in the NEW catalogue! It's a small 3x3" card with a Pear Pizzazz base. To make the spotty circle I used the background stamp Dot, Dot, Dot. Love this as polka dots are super cute!

The sentiment is from the set Party This Way. To make the banner you simply stamp the greeting on a scrap of card and then cut a 'V' into each end. Really simple but effective AND you can use up scraps of card.

The butterflies are in Regal Rose, Pear Pizzazz and Pumpkin Pie. They were cut with the Big Shot Beautiful Butterflies die/embossing folder. Such elegant little butterflies! Just a couple of Rhinestones to finish. Easy and cute!

Today I've been privileged enough to be given a Craft Pass from my Mum who is looking after Munchkin (whose still not well - boo) so I can work hard for various events that are coming up. Hope you get a chance to do something you love today.

French Foliage

Hooray hooray it's Tuesday. Today's card was made for my by my downline, Diane. Isn't she clever? It features French Foliage from the Spring Mini catalogue. She made a One Sheet Wonder using many stamps from the set and then cut it up into squares to create the central panel.

Munchkin's been under the weather again today. Meant we couldn't really go anywhere or do anything as she needed me stationary and by her side! Fortunately I started crafting at about 7.30am before her illness had reared its ugly head. I cracked open my SEWING MACHINE!!! Is this a hint about the contents of the new catalogue... you'll just have to wait and see....

Cats & dogs

Just like the weather this morning!


This is another swap card, this time made by Jade. She's used a cute little stamp set that's often overlooked called Every Little Bit. Love the way she's coloured the images and the sentiment cones from Clearly For You.

Apologies for my blogging absence. It's been a hectic weekend with two parties, deliveries and planning my Catalogue Kick Off party on the 1st October (only a few places left if you've not booked already!). I've also just begun experimenting with my new catalogue pre-order. I'll share projects I've made with these later in the week!

Greenhouse Garden

Morning all. Today I have a card made by one of my downlines, Fiona:


Such a stylish card featuring Greenhouse Garden in Black, Very Vanilla and Regal Rose. The central sentiment is retiring, So Many Thanks. A useful little stamp as you can stamp it in one colour as Fiona or you could use markers to colour with a variety of colours at once.

Hope you are having a good day. My pre-order from the new catalogue has arrived already so I'll be posting some projects made with them soon!

Family scrapbooking

I've had a photo on my craft bench for well over a year. It is the kind of picture that is quite bittersweet to look at but I felt it should be scrapped. It is of my Dad and his siblings at their mothers funeral. Possibly the last time they will all be together.


Last night we had the first of my monthly scrapbooking evenings. They'll be held on the first Tuesday evening of each month. It was a slow start so I managed to make this page while Lesley created hers.

The papers are called Love letter with a small amount of Newsprint thrown in for good measure! Both sets of paper are on the retired list and not available after the end of the month. I used the swirl from Baroque Motifs (NOT retiring!) stamped in Basic Black and some Vintage Rub-Ons - these are also retiring. To finish there were pearls all over and voilà la!

Its would be great if you could join us for scrapbook club next month!!

Clearly for You Class

Hello All! Thought I'd share a class that I've designed and there's still room to book your place!! it features the set Clearly For You (in the Spring Mini Catalogue) and as part of the class you will receive the stamps sets too! (RRP £17.95)

The class will be run on:

Thursday 15th September, 7.30pm-9.30pm
Saturday 25th September, 10am-12noon (NOT 1-3pm as it said on my postal class list if you received one of those!)

Places are £20 per person and need to be paid in advance. Hope you can make it!!!
A full list of forthcoming classes can be seen here.

Yipee for Mondays. It is so nice to be back in our "normal" routine. Munchkin and I had a great DVD afternoon, although Mummy fell asleep instead of Munchkin!!!

For Julie

This is the card I made for my Stampin' Up! grand-daughter who has had a breavement:


The basic card is River Rock and I used my 1/2" circle punch to cut out the corners.

I then ran a piece of Whisper White through the Top Note die and then the Square Lattice embossing folder on the Big Shot. This gave a great base for layering leaves (also cut on the Big Shot) in Always Artichoke and flowers cut with Boho Blossoms punch. Each flower was sponged with Not Quite Navy ink to add depth. The centre of the flowers are basic pearls.

The sentiment is retired already (shhh!) and was stamped on the punched out piece of Very Vanilla card.

It's really hard to make a card for someone about something so personal but I was quite pleased with the result.

This weekend has been hectic as we got back from holiday, had a team meeting (which was fab - thanks ladies!), did some shopping and my lovely husband cleaned our house. Unfortunately I've hurt my knee so I'll just have to sit and do lots and lots of crafting!!!!

Simply Vintage

Morning! Today I have another card made by one of my team, this time it's Amy. She managed to make her swaps with only 1.5hrs before we met up on Tuesday!


As you can see she did a great job. The base is Crumb Cake with some of the gorgeous Springtime Vintage papers and Very Vanilla layered on top. Am SO sad that these papers are retiring at the end of the month as they are my absolute favourites!

Anyway the card is finished with a sentiment in Baja Breeze from a Level 2 Hostess Set and an elegant knot of Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon.

Hope you've had a chance to look at the retired list. Can't believe the amazing discounts on some products, particularly if you want sentiment stamps which are usually quite pricey.

As for me... I'm back on holiday (again). I had to go back to College for a couple of days thus week bur I've been reunited with my family. Last night my lovely husband took me to watch the film version of One Day in the cinema. I've not yet read the book but I was a weeping wreck by the end of the film. Anyone who knows me well knows this is most unusual but the story really affected me! I'd definitely recommend it - even hubby didn't mind it!!


Here's a photo my husband sent me while away. I think she was missing me!!