Practising Mindfulness at coffee and card

After yesterday's posting about our new Stampin' Blends, I though I would show you some of the finished cards the ladies made at coffee and card.

These are all coloured with the new Stampin' Blends - for most people it was the first time they had used this type of colouring, and I think they did a FANTASTIC job. The first photo shows 2 of my samples.

I took along a selection of animal themed stamps for them to choose from, plus the brand new stamp set released at the same time 'Colour Me Happy'. This includes the birds and the flowers in the photo below.

Not forgetting the cute piggy either!

 Don't forget you can join our Blends club for £36 per month for 3 months, and build up your complete collection and get a FREE Memento inkpad in your first month.

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NEW Stampin' Blends available now.

I have to say I am not the best artist when it comes to colouring in images, so when Stampin' Up! announced the release of the Stampin' Blends alcohol markers they caught my attention immediately.

They create a soft layer of colour, which is very easy to blend using different shades and different colours together.

Here is my very first sample using the pens on Whisper White cardstock:

There are 24 coloured marker pens in Stampin' Up! colours, plus an Ivory, a Bronze and a Colour Lifter - perfect for highlights.

You can purchase these from 1st November, and they are available individually at £4 per pen, in sets of 2 (light and dark) for £8 or as a complete set (27) for £108.

If you would like to build the whole set, then I have a Stampin' Blends club you can join, which starts 1st November. If you sign up for the 3 month club, its £36 per month and you'll get the Black Memento ink pad FREE with your first months supply.

Just EMAIL me for more details and to book your place. 

We used the pens at coffee and card this morning - 

I will be sharing samples here later.

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Fantastic new location gets the thumbs up!

The new location for my card classes gets the thumbs up all round. A brand new village hall with fantastic lighting and acoustics I can see Shutford now being on my regular class bookings for next year.

Here's a few photos of the class in progress on Saturday.

I will try and take more photos on the next session - what you can't see is the full length windoes along the whole of one side of the building. Even on a dull and windy day it was bright, and a lovely view looking down over the village of Shutford.

If this location suits you - it is just west of Banbury, Oxfordshire, just let me know and I will add you to the events invitation list.

 You can check my events calendar here anytime.

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More chocolate anyone?

After my recent posting about chocolates, I can share some more cards with you that also include Hot Chocolate as a drink!

From the fun stamp set 'Hug in a Mug' it matched our chocolate themed cards perfectly. Hope you like them!

These cards were all made at one of our weekly coffee and card sessions - held twice per week in Brackley and Towcester. For more details, just ask!

Here are the details of the Hug in a Mug stamp set - perfect for tea, coffee and chocolate lovers alike!

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All-Christmas card classes

I am looking forward to my classes this Saturday and Monday, which are specifically Christmas cards, at a new location in Shutford, just to the West of Banbury, Oxfordshire.

I have put 3 projects together, including one project featuring one of our mini-pizza boxes with 3 cute little cards and envelopes inside. The card design was based on one produced by Helen Griffin on her website (www.helengriffin.co.uk) - so thanks for the idea Helen.

The second project uses a non-Christmas stamp set - 

the lovely Painted Harvest which first appeared in this posting.

Away from the traditional red and green colours, my final card uses Lovely as a Tree - always a firm favourite for a traditional Christmas scene. I will share photos of that card tomorrow.

There is still time to book for Monday's class (Saturday fully booked) on 23rd October. Just EMAIL me to book or confirm your space.

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FREE card design pack with purchase of Painted Harvest.

In addition to my regular weekly and monthly classes, I also run private classes with crafting (and non-crafting!) groups in the local area.  I was delighted to be invited to a friendly craft group in Banbury this week, and the requested stamp set to focus on was Painted Harvest.

We had a delightful evening, and these were the projects I prepared for them:

FREE Card pack to make the above cards*.

If you order the Painted Harvest stamp set from me in October, I will send you the card pack we used for the class, all cut, prepared and ready to go - so all you need to do is choose your colours, stamp the cards and sentiments and you are good to go.

If you order the Painted Harvest bundle (stamp set and leaf punch) from me in October, I will send you a card pack with all the supplies for 2 each of the cards above. (Please note different ribbon may be substituted).

 Online and in person orders both qualify for this offer. Don't forget you can use the October host code: R6HWWHRC for an extra gift from me. 

*This offer is from Jemini Crafts only and not from Stampin' Up!

 

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Chocolate - my best friend

I have to say, that along with a decent Flat White or Skinny Latte, Chocolate is my next best friend; so when Stampin' Up! brought out a chocolate stamp set, I knew it would not be long before I succumbed and bought it!

We used it at coffee and card recently - and it was a big hit. 

I love the sentiments too, which include -
"Chocolate makes everything better"

 "I love you more than chocolate"

"All you need is chocolate"

 

Click on any photo on this page for more information or to order.

Come back soon for some more chocolate ideas!

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Quick and Easy Christmas Cards

On request, we will be starting our Christmas card making in earnest this week at coffee and card. Usually what we do is alternate making Christmas cards one week, and other occasions the following week.

I decided on a nice and simple design - in fact almost taken straight from the catalogue on page 9 of the Autumn/Winter edition.

Here is my version - one in real Red, and the other in Island Indigo. Both stamps are in the Every Good Wish stamp set, which also features 2 nice sentiments for the inside of your card.

 

Every Good Wish £16.00 for the set of 6 stamps

I'll be back to show you some of the finished cards in due course. 

Thanks for stopping by.

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Do you hoard Designer papers? Patterned Papers?

If you do, then this offer is for you, but it's also for those of us who are lucky enough to be able to cut into patterned papers and use them for cardmaking, 3D projects and memory keeping.

Buy any 3 packs of the listed papers, and choose a fourth one abolsutely FREE.

This offer runs from now until 31st October 2017. You can choose multiple packs of the same papers if you wish - just enter them as individual lines on the order.

 

For the full details, see which papers are on offer. 

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Pink Flamingoes are in the house

Well, not the real thing of course! Pink Flamingoes that appear on cards do - as these are my cards for members of my team celebrating activities in September 2017.

 We do have another stamp set featuring Flamingoes, but this is the first time I have actually inked up the newest set called Fabulous Flamingo. 

The 3D realistic effect is stunning.

PS. I have checked and the plural of flamingo can be EITHER flamingo or flamingoes.

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Simple one (half) sheet wonder technique

The one sheet wonder technique has been around in the papercraft/cardmaking world for some time. It consists of starting with a large piece of paper, either patterned or made by stamping a design onto it; then cutting that design down and using it in multiple ways on multiple projects.

We didn't have time to do the whole sheet at coffee and card, so I designed a 'Half Sheet' wonder - a single stamped sheet, but enough to make 2 cards.

Here are some of the fabulous finished cards from this week - there were too many to photograph all together.

 

On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to be joined by fellow Demonstrators Marguerite and Kate. Here they are enjoying themselves stamping at the Hummingbirds Bistro, Brackley.

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Let's Get Creative launch event a runaway success

Earlier in the year I decided (along with 2 of my team, Karen and Tara) to run a new event, for customers to experience some different classes and an all day crafting experience.

After many hours planning (mostly in the local pub); the event run last Saturday, and was a resounding success. We were so pleased everyone enjoyed it - we certainly did, and everything ran smoothly on the day.

We even had an official photographer - so look out for more photos in due course, but here are a few to get you started.

Here are the classes in full swing - we had 3 tables and ran 3 class concurrently. Each person was able to attend each of the classes in turn, with 7 attendees at each table. Plenty of time was allowed between sessions and for a lunch time break.

Each attendee had a goodie bag full of Stampin' Up! product (over £30 in value) with a separate bag for each class they attended.

A few comments from the day:

"A fun day of play with opportunity to meet new people and have a go with different techniques. Absolutely loved it and can't wait for the next one. " Angela

"A really enjoyable day with lots of friendly people. We completed six projects that were all lovely. I would thoroughly recommend these events to anyone who enjoys crafting and likes learning new techniques."  Margaret

 If you want details of our next event, please EMAIL now.  

Planning is already underway for our dates in 2018.

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World Card Making Day - 15% discount applies

To celebrate World Cardmaking Day, Stampin' Up! are offering 15% discount on selected stamp sets, and our fantastic notecard and envelope packs.  Our really strong Fast Fuse Adhesive is also on offer - buy a new Adhesive pack and you will get 2 refills for FREE (worth £14)

These offers run from 1st-10th October ONLY, so make sure you order before the deadline. Full details on the website.

Two of my favourite stamp sets are included:

Daisy Delight now just £12.75

 

Coffee Cafe now just £16.15

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Would you like a sample of all the new papers?

Stampin' Up! design papers are well known for their quality and colour matching, BUT in my opinion the catalogue does not do them justice at all.  The best way is to see them in person, though that is not always possible if your Demonstrator does not live nearby. So I have a solution for you.

You can order a SAMPLER pack from me which features all of the papers in the new Autumn/Winter catalogue. The packs are just £18 (or £21 including postage) and feature a quarter of every pack of Designer paper, cut to 6"x6" if appropriate.

Full details are on my sampler page, but here is an overview:

 Just one of the 7 paper packs

 Closer details of the amazing Foiled Year of Cheer paper pack

CLICK HERE to order today. 

You can order multiple packs and pay just 1 postage, email for details.

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Pizza boxes without a pizza in sight

Following on from my previous post, here are some more samples from our class featuring the Quilted Christmas Stamp set and dies.  Everyone at class was given some different sheets of the 6x6" Quilted Christmas papers (just £8.25 for 48 sheets).

The designs are so sweet, featuring faux stitching, as well as patchwork (quilt) and gingham designs. You can see three of the sheets on the cards below.

The Christmas Tree card was made using the trees actually die cut from some more of the papers. You can see half the range of papers in this pack below. (It features 12 designs, but they are double sided!). If you want to see more of our papers and try out a sampler pack just look at my sampler page.

 

Finally, a closer look another of the mini pizza boxes, this time using Crumb Cake ink for the flowers, rather than Real Red. The leaves were created with the new Leaf Punch which is such a useful punch to have at home.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing our class creations. If you would like to join us, or find out where our classes are, just email to be popped onto my mailing list.

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September Classes featuring Wood marquetry

September classes were great fun as always, and I love to share some of the finished samples with you.  We used the Quilted Christmas stamp set and dies, and made a wide range of different designs, including non-Christmas !

 Here are the first batch of finished designs:

This first card you can see uses the new Foiled Snowflakes like a doily, with the flowers stamped and layered quite informally to create a topper. A little thin Real Red ribbon finished it off. 

The little boxes you can see are our Mini Pizza Boxes. The toppers made for the card fitted the box tops perfectly! The boxes come flat, which allow you to stamp on them prior to assembly.

 

These cards use the Quilted Frame die. We used self-adhesive sheets on the reverse, to make life much easier - no glue required, just peel-and-stick! These feature the lovely wood textured papers, creating a marquetry effect.

More samples to follow !

 

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