Change your life with a Stampin' Up business!

Picture yourself at an interview where you're being offered a job. You say that you'll accept but that you have a few conditions:

• You'd like to choose your hours to suit your home life - some weeks you might work a lot, some weeks you may work less. You may prefer to work at night sometimes - in short you want to be completely flexible.
• You'd like to choose when you take your holidays and for how long.
• You don't want anyone telling you how to run the business but, on the other hand, you want lots of support when you need it.
• You expect regular training and access to information 24 hours a day.
• You'd like the company to do the marketing for you, providing regular catalogues and special offers to keep your customers interested.
• You'd like to work with top quality products and you'd like to be able to get them at a discount or earn them for free.
• You'd like to be recognised for the hard work you put in with awards, promotions, cash bonuses and all expenses paid holidays.

What do you think the interviewer would say?!

It does sound like a fantasy job doesn't it? But I can tell you that it's definitely not a dream and that if you are hardworking and focused and are prepared to put in some hard work, you can definitely enjoy a successful and rewarding career with Stampin' Up. Are you up for the challenge?

All you need to start your Stampin' Up business is a starter kit. This normally costs £99 but you can get it for £74.25 (OFFER ENDS TODAY!) What do you get for your money? Your choice of products worth £130, free catalogues, free stationery and free delivery. Do feel free to give me a call on 01280 820593 if you have any questions about how this works or click here for more information.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR STARTER KIT
AT THE SPECIAL PRICE OF £74.25

Once you have been accepted as a demonstrator, you will gain access to the demonstrator-only website with its wealth of resources and will be welcomed into the Stampin' Up family. I'll send you my welcome pack, which will get you started on your Stampin' Up journey, and I will be available to help, support and encourage you every step of the way.

Here's a card and gift I made for one member of my team who achieved her first promotion recently.

She's mentioned how much she likes butterflies, so I used this gorgeous one from Papillon Potpourri for her card...

...adding a dash of sparkle for that celebration feel! 

Here's another one of my pouches made using the Gratitude for Days kit (see another one here.) The band that holds the pouch closed features more butterflies - punched ones this time. And yes, the punches DO coordinate with the butterfly images in the Papillon Potpourri stamp set, which makes cutting them out so quick and easy!

Here's a peek inside that pouch! All my team members get a charm bracelet on their first promotion with a handmade charm to attach to it. At each promotion, they receive another charm - which makes a lovely record of their achievements.

I would love to welcome you to my team whether you want to start a business or simply enjoy the wonderful Stampin' Up products at a discount for your own use. Perhaps it could be an early Christmas gift - and I couldn't think of a better one!

See you tomorrow,

Stitched up

Sometimes, when I'm looking for inspiration, I find I need look no further than the snippets box! Of course when rummaging in the box I think of Pixie's Snippets Playground, and when thinking of the playground I think of Mrs A's Butterfly challenge - this week she wants to see butterflies and stitching (real or faux) on a project... so that's why this card happened:

In the snippets box, I found a small card base, a snippet of designer paper which I cut to size, a tag embossed with cross stitching and a butterfly from Papillon Potpourri stamped in Melon Mambo. All I had to do was stamp the sentiment, colour and layer up the butterfly and add a candy dot. Now that was fun!

The sentiments from See Ya Later are gorgeous but quite specific... so, enter the humble marker! Using markers you can ink up just the bits you want and that makes the sentiments really versatile. The stitching was made with the Needlepoint Border embossing folders and I liked the way it underlined the sentiment.

I'll be linking this card up with Make My Monday too where the theme is Beautiful Butterflies.

Would you like to see how I organise my snippets?

This photo is looking down into a tall plastic box under my desk where I store offcuts of card stock. Every now and then I go through it and throw away anything too small or creased but it never seems to either grow or decrease!

Here's where I keep embellishments I've made or started to make but haven't used. It's a little plastic container that some fruit came in once and it fits exactly in a cubby on my desk. I keep off-cuts of designer paper in with the original packs unless they're very small, in which case they'll go in here or I'll be ruthless (gasp!) and throw them away.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my shop) 

Stamps: Papillon Potpourri wood or cling,
See Ya Later (free with Sale-a-bration) wood or cling

Ink: Melon Mambo classic ink, plus markers

Card stock: Whisper White, scrap of Melon Mambo
Punches: Scallop Tag Topper, Bitty Butterfly

Other: Needlepoint Border embossing folders, Big Shot, Epic Day designer Paper,  Subtles candy dots, stamp-a-majig

Click above to place an order any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

CHOOSE A FREE SALE-A-BRATION GIFT WITH EVERY £45 YOU SPEND (excl. p&p)

If you're a regular reader of my blog you may remember that I bribed encouraged my son to give his room a major clear out with the promise of an executive chair which spins round. He set to work in a pretty impressive way and many, many full bin bags later he got his desire:

This is him looking sinister, stroking a toy dog unearthed from the back of the wardrobe, spinning slowly round in the chair saying: "Ah Mr Bond! So good of you to join me!"

See you tomorrow,

Three minutes of Peaceful Petals

If you've been wanting to know just how to use a stamp-a-majig to get your stamped images where you want them, you're in luck! I have a video tutorial here today! Scroll down to see that, but first, it's Three Minute Thursday here so it's time for a quick card or two. Come and see:

To make the first card I stamped the flower and leaf images along the side and top of the card, then coloured the small flowers and the leaves in with an aquapainter. This doesn't take any time if you just scribble the colour on! I sponged a little ink along the stamped edges of the panel for a bit of extra definition.

The sentiment was layered over the top of the stamping using my stamp-a-majig to make sure it was centred and straight. I chose Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral and Tangerine Tango for my colour palette and you wouldn't want to go any darker than that otherwise the sentiment won't show up.

While making this card I had a sudden idea so naturally I had to make another one!

I stamped another floral panel, exchanging the Calypso Coral ink with Rich Razzleberry for a bit more contrast. Instead of stamping the sentiment over the stamped images, I punched an oval out of the panel using my Extra Large Oval punch. This enabled me to stamp the sentiment inside the oval on the card base itself.

Once the panel was sponged with ink, I attached it to the card base using dimensionals and added a stamped and punched butterfly I found in my snippets tray - it was Rich Razzleberry too so it was obviously meant to be!

So, not only is this a snippetty card, ready to take along to the Snippets Playground this week, but it's covered in flowers and butterflies too (well okay, butterfly!) so it looks like another entry for Mrs A's Butterfly challenge!

I've made a video tutorial to guide you through using the stamp-a-majig. If you have any questions, do feel free to ask away!

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE TODAY'S CARDS
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my shop) 

Stamps: Peaceful Petals wood or cling, Sassy Salutations wood or cling, Papillon Potpourri wood or cling

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Tangerine Tango, Calypso Coral, Rich Razzleberry classic inks, stazon black

Card stock: Whisper White

Other: Extra Large Oval Punch, Bitty Butterfly punch, Basic Black marker, stamp-a-majig

Click above to place an order any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

CHOOSE A FREE SALE-A-BRATION GIFT WITH EVERY £45 YOU SPEND (excl. p&p)

I usually go to the cinema with my youngest son in the holidays and yesterday we went along to see The Lego Movie. We like to get there early to view the trailers and I particularly enjoyed the one where Harrison Ford comes on and invites you to think of a favourite movie you and your family watch over and over again. I exchanged glances with my son, remembering the countless times we've sat down together and watched the adventures of a galaxy far, far away, but before I could open my mouth to say 'Star Wars', my son smiled at me and said 'Tangled' instead! What a sweetheart he is!

See you tomorrow,

Getting punchy with Papillon Potpourri

Have you noticed that it's get well week on my blog this week?! It seems I'm not the only one with get well wishes on my mind as the challenge over at ATCAS this week is 'Get Well' too! I've made a simple CAS design with one or two fun details - come and see:

The card is 10cm square but has had a centimetre removed from the bottom of the front flap. I marked the centre of the card and, pushing the punch as high as it would go, punched a butterfly out of the card front. It's easy to use that one as a guide when punching the other butterflies either side. I pasted a square of Crisp Cantaloupe core'dinations card stock underneath so that it makes a lovely textured border...

... and when you open the card, the inside flap is an expanse of delicious colour. But that's not all!

I stamped some solid butterflies on some scrap card stock, added the detail image over the top in a darker ink and punched them out with the same Bitty Butterfly punch. When they were attached over the punched areas on the card front, you just get a glimpse of the textured cardstock below.

I love a stamp set that coordinates with a punch and it's even better when a stamp set has more than one matching punch - like Papillon Potpourri, the set I'm using today. And even better than that when the stamp set and one of its coordinating punches has 15% discount until the end of the month! Click here for more information.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Hopeful Thoughts (sentiment)
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe core'dinations, scrap of Early Espresso
Other: Bitty Butterfly and Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punches, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night, but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help. You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

And as a special thank you for shopping with me, you'll get a free gift and a handmade card when you place your first online order with me during September.


It looks as if I might need another get well card as my poor daughter sounds as if she's coming down with something. She's still quite chirpy though, despite a very sore throat, and made me laugh by describing her voice as 'so husky it could pull a dog sled'!

See you tomorrow,

Postcards, butterflies, dahlias...

This week I'm showing you what I've been up to with the Postcard stamp and today's layered card is one of my favourites of the batch.

It was designed for my lovely Stampers 6 club ladies - except that I'd already packaged two of them up before I remembered to photograph it!

I stamped the Postcard image and cut it out, adding the gorgeous dahlia from Regarding Dahlias in Crushed Curry (wow, what a great choice that is when you need a good pop of colour!) and the little poem from By the Tide in Island Indigo.

Part of the Postcard image was stamped again, cut out and popped up over the first to give some lovely dimension and then the postage stamp added and the gorgeous little butterfly from Papillon Potpourri, stamped and cut out with its coordinating punch. (By the way, if you have your eye on that stamp set and punch, now is a great time to get it as it's on special offer this month with 15% off - click here for details.)

I love making postage stamps! I used the 1" square punch to make a mask, sponged Pool Party ink inside it and overstamped with this beautiful leaf image from Papaya Collage and the number which comes from my Creative Elements set. The whole thing was cut out with the Postage Stamp punch. Normally I'd make these postage stamps on ordinary card stock but I made these using some sticky labels I had lying around. I thought it would make it more authentic but to be honest I don't think it made much difference!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Postcard, Regarding Dahlias, Papillon Potpourri, By the Tide, Creative Elements
Ink: Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Strawberry Slush
Card stock: Very Vanilla
Other: Postage stamp, 1" square and Bitty Butterfly punches, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night, but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help. You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

And as a special thank you for shopping with me, you'll get a free gift and a handmade card when you place your first online order with me during September.


On the last day of last term my youngest son sent me off into an apoplexy by leaving his PE kit at school - and yes, I know it's only a PE kit but the school requires vast quantities of special kit and it costs a fortune! I was expecting to have to replace it but he came home from his first day of school triumphantly holding his bag aloft - hurray! Now, the question is: do you think I can justify spending the money I would've had to spend on PE kit on crafty stash instead...?!

See you tomorrow,

Smile - Papillon Potpourri is on special offer!

My card today is a compilation of some of my current favourite things: Gorgeous Grunge (one of my 'must have' stamp sets from the annual catalogue); a colour combination of Wisteria Wonder and Smoky Slate (oh YES!); my favourite sentiment possibly of all time; and a gorgeous little butterfly that is a bit of a bargain! Come and see:

I stamped one of the Gorgeous Grunge images in Smoky Slate, then added the ink splodge image over the top of it in Wisteria Wonder. Did I mention that I love this colour combination?! I layered the sentiment on top of the background using a stampamajig to make sure I got it where I wanted it.

Do you see what I mean about this sentiment? I find myself smiling the moment I see it! To emphasise it even more, I added a double pierced border and a brightly coloured butterfly. This gorgeous little  chap comes from the gorgeous Papillon Potpourri stamp set and cuts out in pico seconds with the Bitty Butterfly punch. The best bit is that you can buy the stamp set and punch together and save 15% at the moment!

Punch with wood mount stamp set was £31.20 now only  £26.52
Punch with cling mount stamp set was £28.20 now only  £23.97

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Papillon Potpourri, Happy Day
Ink: Smoky Slate, Wisteria Wonder, Strawberry Slush classic ink, black stazon
Card stock: Whisper White
Other: Essential paper piercing pack, Bitty Butterfly punch, aquapainter, stampamajig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.

The fine weather continues here and provided the perfect opportunity for a barbecue and get together with some old and dear friends at the weekend. Note to self: You are an old lady now and cannot get away with staying up all night chatting... Grow up at once!

See you tomorrow (when hopefully I'll feel slightly less bleary!)

Another Happy Day with washi tape!

Happiness is... a new stamp set and some washi tape I've decided! The possibilities are endless! Come and see my latest creation:

Happy Day is the perfect stamp set to use with washi - a little stamping, an accent of tape, an embellishment or two and the thing is done!

Overlapping is the secret of this kind of collage effect - the washi tape is translucent so placing it over part of your stamping creates some wonderful effects. Here, I started with the doily-style stamp and stamped the flourish over the bottom of it. My yellow gingham tape overlapped that and the grey striped tape added even more depth. Once you have your collage base you can run riot with embellishments! Steady on now!

I added a little birthday tag attached with a staple; the word 'happy' which I fussy cut; a butterfly stamped and punched out with its coordinating punch - I love how quick and easy this is; a punched flower; and a couple of pearls.

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Happy Day, Papillon Potpourri, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Smoky Slate, Real Red, Island Indigo
Card stock: Whisper White, Scrap of Island Indigo
Other: Gingham Garden and Epic Day washi tapes, Bitty Butterfly and Itty Bitty punches, Basic Pearls
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.

We're gearing up for a great weekend of sunshine, surprises and silliness (as well as things beginning with other letters!) as my husband celebrates a big birthday! In fact, as I type this, a rich chocolatey smell is wafting in from the kitchen - better rescue that cake!

Enjoy your weekend and I'll be back very soon.

Hugs,

Three Minutes of care with Papillon Potpourri

I should really give up saying it's been one of those weeks because it seems ALL the weeks are those kind of weeks these days! I couldn't let the week slide by without making a card for the Less is More challenge though - especially as the challenge this week is to make a birthday card for the lovely and supremely talented Jen. Now it's Three Minute Thursday here on my blog today but Jen is a busy lady so I know she'd approve of a three minute card! Come and see what I came up with:

For my background, I used a panel of embossed card stock that I'd made a pigs ear of stamping on earlier! It's embossed with my fabulous brand new Wildflower Meadow folder (which will be available when the new catalogue goes live on the 2nd July - get your copy in my side bar!)

The sentiment from Sassy Salutations is stamped onto a separate piece of card stock that I scored along the long edges for a neat finish. Jen likes butterflies she says, so I stamped this gorgeous one from Papillon Potpourri and cut it out with the coordinating punch. The butterfly is blue because Jen's gorgeous blog is called The Tiny Blue Butterfly of course and I embellished it with one of the retiring designer brads and a pearl!

Happy birthday Jen! Hope you're having a fab time in Istanbul!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Sassy Salutations
Ink: Island Indigo
Card stock: Whisper White
Other: Elegant Butterfly punch, Big Shot, Wildflower Meadow embossing folder (available 2nd July), Designer brads (retiring), Basic pearls, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
• To make way for new items some of our favourites are retiring. Click the links to see STAMPS and ACCESSORIES available, while stocks last, until 30th June.

I may be later than usual for the Less is More challenge this week but I am NOT always late, no matter what my youngest son may think. Yesterday I took him along to his piano lesson and when his lovely music teacher answered the door he greeted her with a big smile. "Hello," he said and then, obviously feeling an explanation was required: "We're on time this week!"

See you tomorrow,