Catching Up On Blog Awards...

Hi all,

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend soaking up the sunshine :) The weather has been really warm here in Essex. Fingers crossed for Bank Holiday weekend next week that the good weather continues!

I've been really fortunate to receive three Blog Awards recently, yes, three - can you believe it! I'm really appreciative and want to thank a few ladies for passing these onto me.

The first one was received by my upline, Carole - thank you so much for thinking of me. Please visit Carole's blog, as she has created some wonderful cards and more recently has lots of baby projects blogged as she's just become an Auntie to baby Alice.


Thank you to Aimes for the below Blog Award. Please visit her blog as she has produced lots of lovely cards that are inspiring and wonderful cute 3D projects. Lastly, I would like to thank Sara for giving me the same Blog Award below - it's really appreciated, and I'm glad to hear that my blog makes you smile :) Please visit her blog as she has just recently created three "A Rose Is A Rose" cards that are truly amazing. I might have to CASE you soon, as these are just wonderful! You've done this stamp set justice :)


Now is the tricky part... passing on the blog awards to five other people, well actually, I think it's 15 now isn't it? Can I cheat please? I can think of 15 other people to pass these awards onto, but believe me, it's really hard to limit my thanks to just 15 - there's so many wonderful blogs saved in my favourite folder it could take me awhile. With this in mind, please accept this Blog Award from me if you're reading this as you deserve to be passed on the award. However, I have made a list of 16 below of lovely blogs I regularly visit - I know I was only meant to have 15, but one for luck as they say :) Please check out the below blogs because they deserve a Blog Award too:

Carole
Aimes
Sara
Kate
Steph
Nikki
Sarah-Jane
Alison
Sarah H
Helen
Monica
Amber
Debby
Sarah B
Tricia
Karen

Have a good week people, I'll be back another time with more photo uploads.

Until then,

Alex

Sunday morning.

Hi all,

What a lovely morning I had yesterday. Thank you ladies for coming to my workshop, it was lovely to see you all and nice to have Val join us for the first time. I had a great time, and I think the ladies enjoyed themselves too.

We made three cards - I think the "Wild About You" card was a winner, especially as some of the ladies have grandchildren, so it was perfect. All the cards made were beautifully created and everyone's turned out slightly different as the ladies chose to colour in the card using "Fun and Fast Notes - Get Well Wishes" stamp differently - it was lovely to see all their individuality shine through with the Stampin' Write Markers. The last card, "Big Bold Birthday" used a new bow technique for them, that I even find difficult to consistently do! (See here for a "Perfect Bow" tutorial by Monica). The ladies did great and managed to do this perfectly! Well done to you all.

Have a good day everyone, enjoy the sunshine.

Alex

New Workshop - Saturday 25 April 09

~ This post shall remain at the top until Thursday 23 April ~

Please scroll down for new posts.

For any of you that live nearby, I have my next workshop scheduled for
Saturday 25th April at 10.30am.

Do you have a few hours to spare and would like to make three cards using different techniques, stamp sets, designer series paper, punches and ribbon?

Email me for more details if you'd like to join some lovely crafters for a few hours of
fun, chat and refreshments a week on Saturday.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Bye for now,

Alex

PLEASE NOTE:
This workshop is nearly full. Please contact me to guarantee your space.
*COMING SOON: A new post detailing next months workshop*

Mini Catalogue.

Hi all,

I'm loving the new Mini Catalogue that was released earlier this month and thought I'd play with a new stamp set I bought called "Greetings Eight". This set features 8 stamps of various themes, so with this in mind, I made a number of different 3x3 cards.

Thanks So Much


Congratulations



Happy Future


You're The Icing On The Cake


Happy Easter


Next I hope to make a little box to keep all the cards in.

Until then,

Bye for now,

Alex

Wednesday already.

WOW: What glorious weather we've been having for the past few days here. Apparently it's reached 20 degrees! The only trouble is, with cardmaking, as much as I want to be out in the garden topping up my Vitamin D levels, I can't because of the glare onto the whisper white cardstock, so unfortunately, I'm stuck inside crafting day in day out! I have a feeling I'm going to be lily white all year round unless I come up with an alternative plan! lol.

Anyway, here's another card I made with "In The Stars" using a slightly different layout than the other day.

In The Stars


Bye for now,

Alex

Glorious Sunny Sunday

Hi all,

I've been busy crafting all day so far and never realised how lovely and sunny it was until I had to take the below card into the other room for a picture. Today I've decided to play with my Level 3 Hostess Stamp Set called "Window Dressing", P.13.

Get Well Soon


After the inspirational Stampin' Up! Field Training put on for the demonstrators last month, I decided to adapt the card made that evening for a Get Well one today. Hope you like.

Bye for now,

Alex

Wedding Season...

Hi all,

Well seeing as it's approaching Wedding Season, I thought I'd make a start on some wedding themed cards after getting the bug creating the Silver Wedding Anniversary card yesterday.

These 4x4 cards are perfect for either sending to the couple as a wedding acceptance card, or as a Thank You card from the married couple thanking guests for their gifts. I have created four designs below:

Cuttlebug Wedding Cards

Bride and Groom

Wedding Cake


Bells

Champagne Glasses


Hope you like these cards. Please feel free to leave me a message as I love reading your comments.

Have a good Sunday.

Alex

Silver Wedding Anniversary...

Hi all,

Just thought I'd upload my latest card that I've been making today. It's for a Silver Wedding Anniversary that I have been commissioned for, so I thought a little sparkle here and there wouldn't go a miss! Hope you like :)

Cuttlebug Wedding Anniversary Card


I have used non-SU products to create this card using white pearlescent papers, pink bazzill bling, various cuttlebug embossing folders and small diamontes for extra sparkle in the champagne glasses.

Hope you're having a good weekend.

Bye for now,

Alex

Exam Season...

Hi all,

Okay, so I've been a little busy making more cards and thought I'd start making some Good Luck and Graduation cards seeing as exam season will be upon us before we know it. I was commissioned to make a Graduation Card the other day, so here's my take on them using Stampin' Up! cardstock:

Graduate 2009 - Ballet Blue


Graduate 2009 - Cameo Coral


Recipe (All SU items are available from the current Idea Book & Catalogue 2008-2009).
The two above Graduation Cards were created with various Non-SU products. I did however, create the cards using Stampin' Up! A4 cardstock in the following colours:
SU Cardstock - Basic Black, Whisper White, Cameo Coral and Ballet Blue. P.67-69.

Thanks for looking,

Bye for now,

Alex

In The Stars

Hi all,

Well I've had a lovely long Easter weekend and I spent all four days making cards with my new stamp set "In The Stars". I'm really liking this one and love the colour combos with brown (Close To Cocoa). Hope you like as much as I do:

In The Stars


In The Stars


Not used this stamp set until now, but am loving it :) Just by changing the colours you create a different "look". I've been playing around with the layout and I'll upload another card made by the same stamp set, "In The Stars" tomorrow :)

Have a great day people.

Bye for now,

Alex

Sneak Peek Revealed...

Hi all,

I'm loving "A Rose Is A Rose" stamp set so much I've decided to make another birthday card for a family friend earlier in the week. It's her birthday today, so I think it's safe to say that I can now upload the card in full. I've based the card on the same layout as a previous card, just changed the colours, number and have used Dazzling Diamonds for some extra sparkle!

A Rose Is A Rose


Also, I thought I'd show you my sneak peek card and box in full now as the recipient has now celebrated her birthday this weekend too :) Here goes:


Hope it was worth the wait. I love the Mini Gable Box, it's so versatile and can be adapted for any occasion.

Bye for now,

Alex

Happy Easter Sunday

Hi all,

Hope you have a lovely Easter Sunday today.

Just a quick post to show you what I made recently for when visitors come by. I prettied up a glass jar that was my Nan's with Stampin' Up! accessories. Inside are little Thornton's foiled covered chocolate eggs, mmmmmm, unfortunately, some have already been eaten!

Here it is, inspired by the current Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue:


Happy Easter everyone, don't over do the choccies today :)

Be back later with full pictures of the earlier sneak peeks.

Alex

Long Weekend

Hi all,

Hope you're all having a lovely long Easter weekend. Been cardmaking all day today making a few cards and samples to add to my collection.

Loving the tutorial that Carole put on her blog recently, so after making a Father's Day Gift Wallet yesterday, thought I'd make a Christmas one today.

Christmas - Perfect Presents - Outside


Christmas - Perfect Presents - Inside


Next I decided to follow Monica's instructions on making invitations and came up with the following examples christening new stamp sets I've recently bought since becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Invitation - Baby Announcement


Invitation - Girl's Birthday


Invitation - Boy's Birthday


Hope you had fun today and I'll be back tomorrow with more creations.

Bye for now,

Alex

Easter Weekend.

Hi all,

Well it's Good Friday today, so a lovely long weekend of cardmaking :)

Yesterday I started to make a gift wallet for holding the many gift cards that are readily available at the tills that are so popular nowadays. Thanks to Carole for the tutorial, I have cased her idea and made mine into a gift card for Father's Day - 21June.

Greetings Eight - Outside


Greetings Eight - Inside


Thanks for stopping by.

Bye for now,

Alex

Another "A Rose Is A Rose"

Hi all,

Okay, so I'm loving this stamp set so much I decided to stamp again in different colours and decided on a different layout. Hope you like.

A Rose Is A Rose


Bye for now,

Alex

A Tree For All Seasons

Hi all,

Okay, I know the sun is shining outside and it's nearly Easter, but I just had to make my first Christmas card, lol. I've bought "A Tree For All Seasons" a few weeks back but I've never actually christened the stamp set, so I decided to make some cards with it.

A Tree For All Seasons - Winter


A Tree For All Seasons - Summer


Bye for now,

Alex

A Rose Is A Rose - 80th Birthday Card

Hi all,

Well I'm on a roll here, so thought I'd upload another commissioned card that I've just this minute finished. My Mum's friend asked me to make a card for her Mother's birthday and so I started it last night and finished it off this morning. I'm really pleased with it, so thought I'd upload it as I think it's safe to say she doesn't blog hop!

I've recently accumulated £35 of free merchandise for spending *cough* so much recently, so I thought I'd invest the money and buy "A Rose Is A Rose" as I've seen so many beautiful cards made with this stamp set.

Enjoy!

A Rose Is A Rose - Outside

A Rose Is A Rose - Inside


Thanks to Carole for the idea of stamping the rose inside.

Recipe (All SU items are available from the current Idea Book & Catalogue 2008-2009).
Stamps:-
A Rose Is A Rose (2008-09) - Set of 14 stamps. P.44. I have used various roses and petals.
SU Cardstock - A4 Whisper White, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Old Olive. P67 - 69.
SU Designer Series Paper (2007 Retired Accessories - Available while supplies last) - Certainly Celery. P.93.
SU Ink Pad - Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery and Old Olive. P.68 - 69.
SU Markers - Old Olive for colouring the 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon. P.67.
SU Ribbon - 1/4" (6.35mm) Grosgrain Ribbon - Whisper White. P.80.
SU Punches - Scallop Edge Border Punch. P.86.
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. P.85
3D Foam Pads.

NON SU: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Swiss Dots

Thanks for stopping by, please feel free to leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

Alex

Happy Monday...

Hi all,

Well can you believe it's April already! I've had a lovely weekend, busy making a few cards for myself and for commissions. I'll upload the cards I've been making, but I'll sneak peek the commission one just in case the intended person sees it on my blog. I had a lot of fun making this one, and was just told that the lady likes greens and yellows and that she'd like it personalised with her name. A box was made to match which will hold a gorgeous gift to celebrate a special birthday.

Sneak Peek of the Birthday Card - Outside


Peek of the Birthday Card - Inside


Sneak Peek of the Matching Mini Gable Box


I'll be able to reveal the whole card and matching box after Saturday :)

Okay, the next two cards I've made I used the Level 1 Hostess Stamp set called "A Little Bit of Happiness". This is the stamp set you can choose to own if you reach £150 worth of sales. It's a set of four stamps: friend, hello, love and thank you. Besides a choice of four different stamp sets (From The Garden, A Little Bit of Happiness, Best Yet and Organic Grace) or a Patterns Pack of Designer Series Paper, you get to choose £15 of merchandise from the current Idea Book and Catalogue for free!

A Little Bit of Happiness - hello


I used some designer series papers, Level 1 hostess stamp set and was inspired by Carole for the scalloped flower in the bottom right hand corner. Click here to see her tutorial of the card she made for me back in February for wishing me good luck with my Open House Day.

A Little Bit of Happiness - thank you



Up close of the sparklies


I used some more designer series papers, another stamp from the Level 1 hostess stamp set, Circle of Friendship stamp set and lots of Dazzling Diamonds for a wow effect!

Okay people, thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed the quick post and be back another time with more uploads from me.

Have a good day,

Alex

UK's First Ever Mini Catalogue!!!

THIS POST SHALL REMAIN AT THE TOP UNTIL WEDNESDAY 1 APRIL.
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW POSTS.

WOW: What an exciting time for Stampin' Up! Starting from today - 1 April - 30 September 2009 we have a Mini Catalogue - 23 pages of exciting new products to oogle over.


There's so many new and wonderful products in this catalogue, I've been making my wish list and it's getting longer and longer by the minute! lol. Click on the left hand link to take you to a pdf file of all the goodies in the Mini Catalogue - you're going to love all the new stamps, ribbons, wheels, rub ons, designer series papers, designer buttons and punches :)

I've ordered some Mini Catalogues, so if you would like me to send you a copy, let me know by email and I'll send you out one.

Bye for now,

Alex