A Tantalizing Success Story

At Convention my best moments included seeing the success of some of my team.  Yolande was a runner up in the Demonstrator Design Competition set by Stampin' Up! There was a winner and two runners up from each european country and Yolande based in The Netherlands made this fabulous treasure box all with Stampin' Up! products!

Annette not only achieved the prestigious title of Rising Star which is only achieved by demonstrators who in their first full year as a demonstrator meet recruiting and sales targets that I have to say are a challenge, but she also was fifth in personal sales for the whole of The Netherlands.  She got to walk the stage several times and was presented with a silver star necklace and cash bonus and also gets to choose a yummy prize from a range of items including designer handbags, IPAD minis, Tiffany jewellery to name but a few.  Marrigje also walked the stage for her leadership award and I 'walked' for sales and recruiting.  I'm so lucky to have such talented ladies in my team!  

The sights of Brussels in the sunshine even in October just made it a perfect weekend.

Kinda Eclectic Team Treats!!

stampin' up! kinda eclectic

This shows one of the treats I gave to my team at Convention.  I decorated notebooks for everyone to jot down tips while there.  Again that Kinda Eclectic stamp set crept out and jumped into my hands to use.  I just love it and I hope you can understand why......  I've also added some spatters from Gorgeous Grunge both sets are in the annual Stampin' Up! catalogue.  You can also see some of the new lace trim and gorgeous satin ribbon in mossy meadow.

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon! Zx

Stampin' Up! Convention More Swaps

This is another swap I made for Convention in Brussels last weekend.  It features the Festival of Trees stamp set from the Stampin' Up! UK Autumn/Winter catalogue and sentiment from Endless Wishes.  I embossed in gold one of the trees onto a tag made with the tag topper punch which I edged in gold with a Stampin' Dazzle Marker.  The washi tape Watercolour Wonder held my tag in place and the sequin trim adds the bling!!!

It was such a fabulous weekend you should think about joining me next year again in Brussels - Just a couple of days left to join and gain a free pack of designer series paper every month for six months. At Convention next year you can join in with lots of crafting, party fun and of course chocolate and waffles!!

Glory to the Newborn King

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for ways to make Christmas cards that look good, but are simple to make if you need a few, and are also cost effective to post. I'm resisting the urge to email folks with a festive message, but the postage costs can really take a toll on your purse strings so you need simple but effective. I also like to have some cards reflecting the real Christmas story which led me to this.  As you may have read in my post 'It's Kinda Eclectic' ,  I love the stamp set Kinda Eclectic and have found it so useful. Many of my customers have also fallen in love with it now they have it, but have admitted that in the catalogue it really is an eclectic mix of odd things, but once you see it in use and realise how useful that odd collection of stamps is, you just can't live without it. In this card I've used the large circular star to shine out from the star taken from the Stampin' Up! set - The Newborn King.  A leftover circle of silver glimmer paper and the star is shining brightly with a simply embossed silver sentiment all on a night of navy card base.

You can also see the Nativity scene that is part of this set in my previous post when I joined in the Unique Blog Hop.  I paper pieced to build my simple but traditional Christmas scene.

Happy Sunday!

Zx

Teamie swaps!

Under the Tree Specialty Paper from Stampin' Up!

Convention is such an exciting event. As demonstrators we use it as an opportunity to find lots of inspiration for future crafting when those 'lost mojo' days kick in and let's face it we all have them!

I'm sharing my team and FB group swap today.  I used the Gift Box Punch Board to create mini boxes to hold chocolates. As a child I remember one year we had tree chocolates that were made from little bars of chocolate strung together into a parcel. I've recreated that effect with 3 little boxes made out of the Under the Tree Designer Specialty Paper in the Stampin' Up! winter catalogue.  You can get a closer look of it in my Stampin' Up! online shop.  It's stronger than normal designer series paper and is just about on a parr with our normal coloured card stock in terms of weight and strength and is perfect for boxes made on the Gift Box Punch Board.

Of course a parcel is not complete without a tag and I've made mine very simply by embossing in early espress embossing powder onto kraft card stock using the That's the Ticket stamp set.  Bundle your parcels together with gold ribbon.

To make the box

1. Cut a piece of card stock 4" x 4"
2. Score on the small start line, but leave out the diagonal line scoring and follow around the card as you would following the instructions on the punch board.
3. Don't forget to flip your card stock once you've scored and punched all 4 sides in order to punch on each side again!
4. Use the reverse of the punch to punch your closure slits again as directed on the punch board.
5.  Add chocolate and secure.

Layer 3 together and tie together like a parcel to form this cute tree hanging. You can add the personal note on the back of your tag or just say simply "For your tree!"

Have fun making yours and if you don't have the Gift Box Punch Board you can order directly from me or from my Stampin' Up! UK online shop.

More convention picks soon!
Thanks for checking in!
Zx

Brussels - Here we come!

Wow I'm so excited today I'm travelling with my Mum to Brussels for the Stampin' Up!  European Convention.  Demonstrators from the UK, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Austria will all attend this annual event. It's fun to travel to another country and Mum and I are travelling on Eurostar for the first time.  Mum hasn't visited Brussels since she went by sea with my Dad before I was born.  They took her Morris Minor with them and somewhere she has a picture of the car being hoisted into the hold of the ship, it's dangling mid air at the end of the crane line!  Gosh how times have changed and my children think I'm primitive!

I'm ready with my swaps which include the one above.  It's kinda loud (that Kinda Eclectic creeping in again),  but cheerful in brights colours with a melon mambo card base.  You can add texture to your card with our broad selection of embossing folders and this one was a 'had to have' as soon as I saw it in the catalogue. It's name by Stampin' Up! standards is not the most exciting Large Polka Dots, but it does exactly what it says on the tin!!!!  Punched circles and one embossed with Decorative Dots (marginally more exciting! sorry SU!!!) make a great frame with glimmer paper for my Just Sayin' sentiment cut out with the matching  Word Bubble framelits.

Tonight I'm at the Managers Reception where we might hear about new products or other exciting announcements and Mum doesn't know it yet, but I've treated her to a card class with some of my fellow demos until I'm free to meet up with them later.

Back tomorrow with another swap!

Zx

Stampin' Bravo to you!

I said I'd come back with another card from my World Card Making Day Charity events.  We raised £132 for the Teenage Cancer Trust which is such a worthy cause.

We made different cards and this was one of the more simple designs. Using a base card from the packs of whisper white cards and envelopes packs you can stamp a sentiment from the Stampin' Up! set called Bravo!, a new photopolymer set designed at congratulating folk, onto a matt layer cut just 1/4" smaller than the base card.  Using the star punch from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, punch stars in brights card stock ( a great way to use up your scrap bits and pieces!) and adhere them with mini glue dots onto your card. 'Simples' as the Meerkats say and you have a fun card for celebrations including birthdays, exam results and more.  It even comes with an envelope!

It's easier than easy!

Zx

The Curvy Keepsake Box - It's addictive!

Stampin' Up! Curvey Keepsake Box

I really didn't want to invest in the Curvy Keepsake Box framelits but my team kept tempting me with lots of lovely ideas and then I saw even more on pinterest and then I made my Robin and I have to say they are without a doubt on of the best purchases I have made from Stampin' Up!.

Before I loaded the last box for my stand at Sincerely Yours Newark on Sunday I had a quick play and made this adorable chocolate box with window sheets and said framelits.  It drew so many comments at the show and was even viewed by a lovely lady who is a baker who was visiting a baking show nearby and decided to drop by and see what was going on at Sincerely Yours. Even her husband perked up with this box and the idea that they could use it for their business to display and sell cakes and treats.  So simple and yet it makes a bag of Vice Versa chocs look amazing!  A teacher, lollipop lady or neighbour treat that would make anyone smile!

I've jazzed it up with some lovely satin real red ribbon and a tag from the same Curvy Keepsake framelits and the Endless Wishes stamp set.

Get ready for Christmas early with table favours made using these framelits and you'll be the hostess with the mostess!

Now I'll be back very soon with my Convention swaps.  I'm off to Brussels this week for our annual Stampin' Up! Convention. It's so much fun and I can't wait to hear about all the new products coming in over the months to come!

Catch you later.

Zx

Stampin' Up! UK Festival of Trees is a winner!

This stamp set has been the best seller in the UK Stampin' Up! market on several occasions and when you see how easily you can create beautiful post friendly cards like this you'll understand why.  

You can either stamp and punch one of the Christmas trees or simply use the punch to create a sparkly tree from champagne glimmer paper or your own favourite patterned papers.

Both cards feature the stamp set Good Greetings which is free to hostesses this month with qualifying sales or you can buy it in my Stampin' Up! UK online shop.  I have a couple of openings for workshops still this month for anyone who would like this set free. Please contact me at zoetant@live.co.uk for dates or more information.

Back with more soon.

Zx

It's kinda eclectic!

Saturday was World Card Making Day and to celebrate it I organised a charity fundraiser! Folk came to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust whilst having fun making cards.

This is the first of 5 cards made with everyone making two of each design.  

You can easily overlook the stamp set Kinda Eclectic in the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue, but test drive it and you find just like Gorgeous Grunge you can't live without it! It provides a fab circular star is there is such a thing that is fab on almost any card.  Here you just need to stamp it as a back drop to the rest of the images.  There's also the leaves and butterfly included and if you look at the card below you'll see that the 'dotty' line, mini butterfly and sentiment complete the set.  This one shows all the new in colours for 2014-2016.

Here are some of the ladies that came to the Fundraiser making their cards.  Thank you to everyone who supported this worthwhile cause.  

I'll share more of the cards soon so please do pop back. 

Hugs Zx

Two Wondrous Wreaths for the price of one!

Inspired by a machine made card we received last Christmas I've been playing with my Stampin' Up! Wondrous Wreath stamp set and coordinating Wonderful Wreath Frame lits to come up with this card which is a little different in it's layout.

Closed it looks like an aperture card with a single wreath on the front, but open it and you'll see two wreaths with sparkly bows made with the frame lits and yummy red glimmer paper.  Some cherry cobbler dazzling details and rhinestones coloured with Blendabilities and a spatter of snowflakes and sentiment from Endless Wishes and you have a great card for postage with interest!!

Back soon with cards from my Charity Fundraising World Card Making Day pictures.
Hugs Zx

Stamp, Stock and Save with Stampin' Up!

In honour of World Card Making Day this Saturday, Stampin' Up! is offering you from today until 6th October  a saving of  20% on selected stamp sets and 15% on selected card stock packs, envelopes, INK PADS and fast fuse adhesive.  Visit my Stampin' Up! UK online shop to see the products and shop online with hostess code 4VQE3JTG.

Save a little on your Christmas preparations by buying gifts for crafty friends and family or save on your own supplies.

I'm off to shop see you there!

Zx

Christmas Card Club - Carol Singers

Stampin' Up! UK by Zoe Tant Punch Art Carol Singer

Our challenge this fortnight has been set by Sue . She asked everyone to make a card featuring carol singers.  As is quite often the case I don't have a carol singer stamp in my stash so I set about having a go with punch art and I found  one searching on google images  have adapted it to turn him from newspaper seller to carol singer!  I hope you like him!  I'm sorry I have lost link to the original to credit the owner. 

He's made with a mixture of retired and current punches with smoky slate, basic black and real red card stock.  I couldn't resist a pompom on his Santa hat and his tail is a chopped about flourish from a retired sizzlit!  A bit of smudging (a technical term you understand!) and a few snowflakes stamped from current set Endless Wishes in craft whisper white ink and there you have him.

Regular readers will know that I'm partial to a bit of bling and so I've added some rhinestones which I've coloured with my Stampin' Up! Blendabilities to enhance his tail holly!

Please do visit all the ladies in our club as we all have different styles and offer an wonderful collection of inspiration.

I'm enjoying a day of peace in my house with O away on French exchange and my boys down south visiting grandma. I hope you too are having a peaceful, fruitful Sunday!

Hugs Zx

Challenges
CHNECC - Anything Goes