Stampin' Up! UK Year-End Closeouts i.e. Sale

 

The Sale continues with lots of seriously reduced items in the Year-end closeout at Stampin' Up!.  Don't miss that bargain you've had your eye on as it ends 31 December 2014.  

The stamp set Good Greetings is in there and has year round sentiments in a hand scripted font!

Happy Christmas to one and all

Thank you to all my blog readers, customers, team and family for all your support over the past 12 months.  I couldn't achieve what I do without you all and it leads me to wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful, healthy New Year and look forward to sharing more crafting and creating with you in 2015.

Happy Days!
Zx

Christmas Gifts with Wondrous Wreath

One thing I love about my job as a Stampin' Up! UK demonstrator is being able to bring out others creativity. I love sharing simple ideas and tips to help others create lovely projects. Now on this occasion I've done nothing of the sort as I've wrapped this gift on behalf of Dad for my Mum, but as she now crafts and joins me at the European Stampin' Up! Convention I know she will appreciate having a gift wrapped with love just the present is being given with lots of love by Dad.  It kept him happy too as he's spent time with some of his grand  children and watched the football!!! 

I just know that Mum will love this surprise too!

Here's hoping that your wishes come true too!

Now I need to get mine wrapped and hidden we still have a child who borders on belief!

Zx

Gift Wrapping Stampin' Up! Style

Gift wrapping can turn a simple gift into a treat!  If you have school age children and are like me you've had to buy either   teacher gifts or pressies for your children's friends  that can soon get very expensive.  So if you shop savvy and wrap them really nicely you can turn a gift into something rather more exciting.  Here's a couple I've done. 

Top pic shows boxes that I made in the good old fashioned way of measuring my Body Shop soaps and then scoring and cutting card stock to make the perfect box.  

The second box I made using the Stampin' Up! gift box punch board using the given measurements and instructions on the punch board.  This one is from a piece of card stock 8" x 8".

So are you ready? Have you wrapped?

Zx

Christmas Gift Tags

Are you like me and find it hard to throw any scraps away however small?  I made this tag from scraps and used the tag cut from my previous stampin' post to make a seasonal gift adornment.  The stars, washi and lace trim were all from oddments left on my craft space and the tree was using up a last piece of champagne glimmer paper with the tree punch from the Stampin' Up! winter catalogue.

A variation on the traditional colours of Christmas, but as you know I love a bit of sparkle and hence the glitter!

Hope you are up to speed on your tags and wrapping!

Zx

Christmas Card Club - Non traditional colours

Wow what a busy week. Last weekend my lovely Stampin' Up! friend Emily and I had a stall at the Heighington Christmas Street Market.  We were delighted when a chap came along with a big professional camera and said he wanted to take our picture.  Emily was very excited, but mainly because she didn't hear where he said he was from..........."Sheep wash Times" the village newspaper. 

Well the week continued, but improved on the publicity shots as I drove Olivia to Leeds United Football Club to an awards ceremony for her to receive a Diana Award. The Diana Awards are the only charity to be named after Princess Diana and as you can imagine I was  a very proud Mum to see Olivia receive a champion fundraiser award from the Chief Executive of the charity.   We met some stars of the X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, had lunch and listened to some amazing achievements by young people including the school council from Olivia's school who also received an champion fundraiser award.

We've also attended the school Christmas Carol Concert which was fabulous and in particular because my wee boy Charlie played his cornet with the brass group from school which consists of 6th formers, two teachers and him as a first year and also at a local village church service which was lit solely with candles. Not unusual you might think but there is no electricity to the church and no heating either as some kind person pinched first the oil and then the tank from the church, but a wonderful way to remember that Christmas begins with Christ.  Again a proud time for us as parents.  The days continue to be busy with more concerts and church services not least in our own village which makes me smile every year as it is not dissimilar to the Vicar of Dibley!!! 

Today I'm sharing with you my card for the Christmas Card Club Challenge which was set by Margaret who wanted us to use non traditional colours.  I hope you'll agree that crushed curry, blackberry bliss and cajun craze are most definitely not traditional colours for Christmas, but they work well with my one of my favourite Stampin' Up! Christmas stamp sets Festival of Trees along with washi tape and a back ground stamp from Work of Art.  

 Have a great week. 

Zx

Shoe box swaps and team gatherings Stampin' Up! style

As a team leader for Stampin' Up! UK I run events for my team and other demonstrators to attend so that we can share ideas and inspiration.  We hold a quarterly shoe box swap and share our styles with each other by designing and making a card which we then put into a box along with all the materials and tools required so that each person at the swap can make the card.  The boxes are passed around the tables and each person makes one of everyone else's card on the table. It's a great way to socialise, learn tips and techniques and most importantly have a fun day with friends.

Today's card was designed by my lovely friend and downline Mandy.  She provided us with papers from the mini stack Moonlight in the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue, circle and butterfly punch and gorgeous satin ribbon to make this elegant card.  I changed it slightly and have made this one to send to a friend who recently achieved a goal.  I've added candy dots to my butterflies and the sentiment is part of the photopolymer set Bravo!  you can see where I used it before in another Stamping Scene post.

If you are a UK Stampin' Up! demonstrator reading this and would like to join our event please do contact me as the more the merrier and it's only £5.  Next one is 1 Feb 2015.  Alternatively if you'd like more information about how you can join Stampin' Up! and join our events please do let me know. We have team members all over the UK and in The Netherlands who you can join and enjoy your crafting with a discount!

More soon. Zx

Wondrous Wreath Christmas Card Video Tutorial

Back in October  I shared a picture of a card I made using the Stampin' Up! Wondrous Wreath stamp set and matching Wonderful Wreath framelits.  Last week I was asked by Brenda Quintana if I would object to her making a video tutorial showing how to make the card.  I was honoured and am delighted to share her video with you.




The stamp set and dies from the Stampin' Up! UK winter catalogue are also cheaper when bought as a bundle saving you 15% off the price when bought individually. You can buy them in my Stampin' Up! Shop . The stamps are photopolymer and the framelits can big used in a big shot or other die cutting machine.

Thanks Brenda for your video.

Zx

Birthday cards for the boys!!

We recently joined a friend in celebrating his 60th (oh my that makes me sound old!) He loves to cycle and rather more seriously than this image suggests, but I thought it was just right for him.  The stamp is from the Stampin' Up! UK annual catalogue and is from the hostess set called Life's Adventure and cycling can certainly be one of those adventure's depending upon how and where you do it! 

You can also use any colour combo you want for a card like this and mine is cajun craze, crushed curry and elegant eggplant.  It's really simple, but by adding some thick bakers twine, an essential hardware clip and some designer series paper you can 'wow' it up and provide a really nice card.

I'm never sure whether folk appreciate their age on a card, but I guess at least this doesn't have a slightly jokey verging on offensive comment like 'Look how old you are!'

Do you mind your age on card?

More soon. Zx

Christmas Card Club - Silver Bells

The countdown to Christmas is well and truly on now and it also means another Christmas Card Club challenge. This one was set by Asha with the theme of Silver Bells in line with that lovely Christmas song.

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks 

Dressed in holiday style. 

In the air there's a feeling of Christmas. 

Children laughing, People passing 

Meeting smile after smile 

And on every street corner you'll hear.

Silver belIs, silver beIls 

It's Christmas time in the city. 

Ring-a-ling, hear them sing. 

Soon it will be Christmas day.

Strings of street lights, even stop lights 

Blink a bright red and green 

As the shoppers rush home with their treasures. 

Hear the snow crunch, see the kids bunch. 

This is Santa's big scene. 

And above all this bustle you'll hear.

I panicked a little as I wasn't aware that I had anything remotely like a bell in my stamp stash and punch art wasn't happening for me, but then like many I remembered a stamp set that I earned for free from Stampin' Up! that had sat unused and unloved on my shelf for a rainy day or perhaps for a lovely Christmas card challenge!  It's called Embellished Events and is a great set to cover all events through the year.  Now it's out I'll be using it more for sure.  The bells are from that set and could be used as wedding bells too and don't they look great surrounded by the 3 step stamping Wondrous Wreath set from the Stampin' Up! Autumn/Winter catalogue.  I wanted to add layers to the card, but not just white, but I also wanted some texture rather than smooth foil sheets and so I used my silver metallic encore ink pad to cover the edges of one matting layer and then heat emboss it with silver powder to give a less 'pristine' shimmer.  My sentiment is from the freebie set Good Greetings. 

I offered the chance to win one of these sets on a previous post if you visited my Stampin' Up! Facebook page to like it and comment on the post featuring the Good Greetings set.  

The draw has taken place and the winner is Lorraine Collett. Congratulations Lorraine  I think you wanted clear mount so let me have your addy and I'll get it in the post to you. 

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to visit the other ladies in our challenge club to see their interpretation of the challenge.

Until next time.....

Zx

Challenges

Crafty Hazelnut's extra Christmas Challenge - Anything goes.