She is a very talented baker and has made me the most scrummy soft almond biscuits.  Now they hit the spot in all sorts of ways, I adore coffee and my latte always has Almond syrup in it…….If that wasn’t enough she has packaged them so beautifully and used the swirl from Baroque motifs to decorate the box.

I’d love to share them with you……..but I’ve eaten them all!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Inside their bags ( which they made)  is a bookmark, decorated pen, Smarties card, notepad and a pop up chocolate bar.

It was a lovely day, thank you for inviting me Izzy!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Now a swap can be anything, often it’s cards or Scrapbook pages, it can be business ideas or 3D items.  Since the incentive trip to Monaco is a first for the European demonstrators I wanted to make something that could be kept.  I love how these have turned out, I hope the demonstrators that receive them do too!

It’s a plywood heart about 10″ long, I have painted it with a mixture of re-inker and water, then stamped the back with stazon and the En Francais background stamp.  The the front is masked and stamped with Wonderful Words; Fine Flourish; Dot,Dot,Dot and  Vintage Vogue.  The stitching lines have been drawn on by hand and a marker and I’ve sponged the edges in basic black.  The string came with the heart blanks and because you all know I’m bow impaired, my wonderful Mum made the bows and then stitched them on!

I have made some Blue ones too, for the gentlemen attending.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

The butterfly has been 3D’d

And here is the inside.

I’m off to bed, an early start tomorrow for my incentive trip to Monaco, I’ve scheduled a couple of posts so when I’m away, and I’ll be back with loads of pictures and stories next week!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

42 today and having the day off!  I don’t work on my birthday and I’m planning on going shopping and have a lovely lunch, then home to the family for presents ( well maybe if I’ve been good!) and tea!

As it’s my birthday I have a cake to share with you today, I found this tutorial, via a link on the In Love With Stamping Forum ( thanks Rachel !!), and made a cupcake or 2……….I know blue cherries are not often found but the glitter is soooooo pretty!  Thanks to my Mum for the lace and some of the ribbons xx

The best bit is the pull out tag you can write a little note or better still for those teenagers who are impossible to buy for, clip in some cash!

Since it’s my birthday I have some goodies to give away, all sorts of ribbons…………  Now at my team training last week we all made some ribbon resources, I think it’s important at team training we have a variety of projects that help our businesses.  The ribbon resources look like this.  We actually made eight individual sheets, and are now all able to display every ribbon Stampin’ Up! stock.

Thanks to Hayley for the idea, she kindly sent me one several months ago when she made them for her team x

So since I have a mountain of ribbon, I have 5 bags of ribbons to give away, they include a variety of 10m of ribbon included in 1m lengths all you need to do is leave me a comment and tell me what was your best or worst birthday present!!!

Just to confuse you unlike blogs my comments link is at the top of this post under the title to the right of the date……!

I will draw names after the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

This is just one of the projects everyone made, I will share some more along with the swaps I received next week.

It’s a concertina mini book which is designed to showcase all of the new colours, including the ribbon and the Designer series paper !  I have just shown a few of the pages.

This is the clever bit, a concertina spine to hold the pages together.  I love it when you dream something up and then after a few attempts………you make it work!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Confused?   Well bear with me and keep reading……You all know I have the best customers in the world and often they will ring and email me with suggestions, ideas and information which is great, I learn so much from them.  Well a little while ago Pauline emailed me to say that she had discovered something about the Tiny Tag set and the Medium Jewellery punch that matches it.

She was so kind because she was sure I knew this information already………but I didn’t…….and it is super cool and very exciting, and she is amazing to have discovered it !

I could explain in words but here is a picture to explain for me!

The punch fits exactly inside the plastic clam shell case with the stamps!  Super cool, thank you so much Pauline for sharing this with us all!

I must dash, today is my quarterly all day training with my team Inspiring Inkin’ lots of fabby projects and business topics to cover and awards to give out too!  I have the best job in the world.

Have a great weekend.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

When I spoke with Susan about the type of projects she was interested in, she explained she liked Giraffes………..Having been to Susan’s house ‘liking Giraffes’ is a bit of an understatement, the most wonderful display of Giraffes of every type, size and material adorn her home.

I made some cards for her as her hostess gift using the Giraffe from the Fox and Friends Stamp set, but I wanted to make her something using punch art.

I found this card here on Splitcoast Stampers forum and it inspired my Chocolate bar cover below!

I am very pleased to say she loved it !

I would love to come and do a workshop for you and your friends and family, do get in touch and book one soon!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Please do not adjust your monitors there is a bow on this box, yes I have managed to tie a bow ! I am sure it is the magic of the Chocolate Chip Satin ribbon…….!

How to make the box

You need to start with a piece of card 8″ x 11 1/2″  stamp all over the card before you score it.  I have used Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Chocolate Chip  and stamps from Vintage Vogue.

Score the card with the 8″ piece at the top at 1 3/4″, 2 1/4″, 5 3/4″ and 6 1/4″.

Score the card with the 11 1/2″ piece at the top at 3 1/2″, 4″, 7 1/2″ and 8″.

Cut away the 4 corners as shown in the picture below.  Save the pieces and use them to decorate your cards as shown below.

Next decorate your love notes and envelopes, I have used the wonderful XLBird punch and the Very Vintage wheel.

Place them inside your box as shown,

Fold over the smaller flaps, stamp and punch out the F – Friends stamp and thread onto the ribbon.

Fold the main flaps in and tie the ribbon in a bow.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

I can’t claim this as all my own work, it was definitely a team effort, we made it at our the Stampin’ Up! training in Reading, using a new stamp set and wheel, Vintage Vogue and Very Vintage.

If you would like to get a close up look book a workshop with me during April and I will demonstrate it for you.

All of my customers have now been sent a copy of the Mini catalogue and my latest newsletter, if you would like to get your own copy please email me your name, address and phone number and I will pop one in the post to you straight away.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Inspiring Inkin’ Challenge Blog

I have used a brand new paper and some amazing felt flowers and tiny tags…….Shhhh………….I can’t tell you about it until the 1st April, but aren’t they yummy !!!!

A close up of the inside.

The basket did take a bit of time to make, I’m a speedy crafter, don’t like going slow……so sponging the edges of what seemed like miles of paper and then weaving  is not the easiest thing to do, but I think the effect is well worth the time don’t you?

There is an on-line tutorial here Woven Basket by Laura Canale with lots of pictures so it’s really easy to follow.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Lovely Colony room fragrance and chocolates, what a lucky lady I am.

And some beautiful cards from Michele, Janet, Teri and Jane.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

]]> http://www.inspiringinkin.com/2010/03/kind-friends/feed/ 1 http://www.inspiringinkin.com/2010/02/team-training-day/ http://www.inspiringinkin.com/2010/02/team-training-day/#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:00:05 +0000 Amanda http://www.inspiringinkin.com/?p=2385 Today is the first Inspiring Inkin’ team day of 2010, I run regular monthly evening meetings for my team but this is a special one as 3 or 4 times a year we spend the whole day together with lots of stamping, training, fun and laughter.  Now is a really great time to join Stampin’ Up! and become a member of my team, please see here for more details.

Here are all their name badges ready to go, I’m having a bit of a purple phase at the moment, the badges are stamped with Greenhouse Garden in Lavender Lace and Elegant Eggplant.

I have a tradition of making notebooks for my team and this time is no exception, these have been decorated with the Sunny days simply Scrappin’ kit and to match I have got them all a Stampin’ Up! Sunny Days pen, well how else will they take lots of notes ?

We will be making several projects and I will share those over the coming days, but today I will show you my new invention, and I’m really excited about it, everyone will be making their own version !

It’s an art journal decorated and designed to showcase all our Stampin’ Up! punches.

Here are some of the inside pages.

Have a great Valentines day I’ll be back on Monday with more projects.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

This is just one of the ribbon bundles that have been parcelled up ready for posting and delivering.

Here they are ready to go.

Each one has a couple of Sale-a-bration stamp included along with 16 1/2 metres of ribbon all just for £13.  If you would like to get your hands on some please check out this post here.  I will carry on this ribbon share throughout February.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

This is the card on it’s way to her, I can safely put it here as she is way too busy to visit my website at the moment!

The little bags are part of the present, some Choccies and English Rose bath melts for Liz, Bailey has got to wait for his pressie till I see him!  But rest assured it has stamping on it and I will post it here soon.

I think it’s important to make sure that new Mum’s have a little something to congratulate them, after all they did all the hard work!!

Below is a close up of one of the tags and the inside of the card, stamped immediately after the front of the card so I got a soft look from the ink.

Stamps : En Francais, Medallion, Whimsical Words, All in the Family
Inks: Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Night of Navy
Cardstock: Whisper White, Ballet Blue, Night of Navy
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, 1 1/4″ circle punch, 1 3/8″ circle Punch, Scallop Circle punch, Scallop Oval punch, Oval Punch, Blender pens, Double stitched ribbon, Paper Piercer, Silver cord, Cello bags

Finally a quick request, I have a workshop booking for Teresa Jones and I cannot get through on the telephone, it is really important that i speak with her, I have written to her as I don’t have an email address, so Teresa, or if you know Teresa please call or email me.  Thank you x

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Each blog will have the birdcage logo and at the end of the post you will see a link to the next blog on the hop, eventually you will come full circle back to your starting point, I hope you have a wonderful time on your journey. Please leave comments as you visit, we would love to know what you think of our projects.

For those who have joined us from Jane’s Blog… WELCOME!

I have made 4 projects using one of the stamp sets called Happy Moments which I love, it is so useful. I have made 2 cards a notebook and a decorated candle.  I have used the same colours and techniques throughout the projects, I hope you like them.

This first card is a 5 1/2″ square card of Creamy Caramel, I’ve used the eyelet border punch on the front edge and on a strip of Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip, another strip of Chocolate Chip is stuck to the inside so you can just see it through the eyelet holes.  I’ve used the wide Chocolate Chip ribbon to decorate and then stamped the image in Chocolate Chip and used the blender pens to make some lovely Chocolate flowers.  A little paper piercing to finish.

A second card, this time the cake image has been stamped and coloured in with Blender pens, matted onto Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip with a little paper piercing.  The wonderful frilled border is made from Very Vanilla card punched with the eyelet punch and scrumpled………technical term……..I’ve sort of folded and pleated the scrumpled cardstock and then used the fantastic sticky strip double sided tape to stick it to the matted layers.

I’ve decorated this notebook again using the same colours and techniques.  I adore this birdcage stamp it’s going to be used a lot !

And finally a decorated candle, I scrumpled the Chocolate Chip card stock after punching it and it separated into 2 layers which made the pleating around the candle much easier.

And now to continue your journey you will hop to Kerry’s Blog Here !

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

The water sparkles with blue glitter, not Dazzling Diamonds but edible glitter.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Today was the first frost of this winter, I’m so pleased I wasn’t driving and I could stay snuggled up inside.  I do love the frost though, much better than the rain !

Well we survived the inflatable rings on the dry ski slope, it was wonderful, the birthday girl and her friends and even her big brother had a great time, I do think I gave them the biggest giggle when I fell off the ski lift, I have lots of bruises…..!

So back to Christmas, I’ve been trying out all sorts of ideas for a paper based Christmas Wreath and a few days ago I found this idea here. It’s wonderful how people share their ideas, here is my version, it is more rustic and a recycling dream!

I have ironed, yes ironed don’t faint…..( I hate ironing ) the brown paper that comes inside our Stampin’ Up! parcels, the wreath backing is the cardboard from the inside of one of our 12 x 12 designer paper packs.  I have used 1 sheet of designer paper from the Christmas Jingle kit, some ribbon and Dazzling diamonds glitter and lots of staples !!!

Here is a close up, the ribbon is Chocolate chip wide ribbon that I have coloured 2 stripes Real Red and Old Olive.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

If you are a regular reader of my website you may be wondering what is going on, but fear not I will explain all ! Of course you many have arrived here from Elizabeth’s blog if so welcome to Inspiring Inkin’ with Amanda Fowler.

Our cruise is 12 blogs of Christmas, follow the links to 12 websites and blogs and you will find lots of inspiration and ideas for your Christmas paper crafting all using wonderful Stampin’ Up! products.  Please leave comments as you visit, you may find giveaways on your journey, certainly I have one, you need to leave a comment to be entered, details are at the bottom of this post. A big thank you to Carolynne for organising this for us.

So onto my projects, they are both based on the fantastic Simply Scrappin’ kit Christmas Jingle, the first is a set of 7 cards, all straightforward to make, just add a little ribbon and brads to the kit.  I have used only a fraction of the kit to make these cards and they are so quick to do, perfect if you are a last minute Christmas crafter like me!

Here they are in a little more detail

And now to a matchbox advent calendar, a variation of this project was featured in the first issue of Making Gifts magazine ( I’m the Editor and this was one of my projects), it uses 24 match boxes stacked in towers of 3 I have used some more of the Christmas Jingle kit, with it’s diecut stickers it’s a breeze to make.  Some of the stickers have Crystal Effects on them to give them a glossy raised effect. I have used gold brads and a gold pen to detail the numbers 1 -24.

The type of goodies you can fill the drawers with will depend on the size of the matchboxes, mine are perfect for M&M’s, Jelly Bellys ( my favourite) and some small choccies, of course you could use huge match boxes and get whole bars of chocolate in!

And now to my giveaway, to get your hands on a Christmas Jingle kit and a copy of Making Gifts magazine  please leave a comment, I would love to know what is on your Christmas list !

Just to confuse you on my website the comments button is at the top of the post just under the title.

I will draw the names at noon on Monday (UK time).

And now for the next stop on the tour off to Zoe, please click on the logo below

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

My fantastic Mum and Dad visited whilst I was away in Germany.  My kids and Grandma (mainly Grandma I think…….) made these sock owls.  You will find the pattern in Issue 1 of Making Gifts Magazine,  check out the website here to find out how to get your copy.

and here is a close up of my favourite Tempting Turquoise striped owl!!!!

Happy Stampin’

Amanda