I promised to keep you updated about the building works of our extension, so I have a few pictures to share with you today. You can see the original post here.

Starting on the 7th December, first they laid sand, then the shiny silver is insulation that will keep the concrete floor nice and toasty under our feet.  Do pay attention to the small wall with the 3 flowery bricks in the centre, it becomes a major player later.

The concrete sub floor was poured and the brick and block laying began, Brian and I kept alternating between our new lounge is going to be too small, no it’s going to be too big…….You just really can’t tell the scale of it from these pictures.

We then had lots of rain and not much building work took place, this was how it looked before work stopped for Christmas.

The day before the builders where due back on site in the new year, this happened……. remember that wall from the first picture, it fell down and landed on top of one of the new walls, Graham our builder was blown of the scaffolding, thankfully he was fine! We also lost 3 fence panels, but compared to many we where lucky.

So after a bit of time removing and repairing the smashed block work, building started again.

The the roof work began, things are moving so fast at the moment, but it is soooooooo noisy !  The angle grinder has been running lots to cut out bricks and of course with all the woodwork at the moment there is a lot of hammering and sawing.  But it is all going to be worth it in the end!

The felt is going on tomorrow and the windows are coming later this week!

So I am actually believing that not only is it going to be finished soon but then I will get my craft room.  Once the family has moved out of our current lounge it will be split into a dining room and my craft room.  So I would love to hear all of your organisational stories, see picture of craft rooms, storage so that I can start designing !  Please leave me some comments and links, thank you.

Happy Stampin’

The Spring 2012 Stampin’ Up! UK mini catalogue launches today and it is fabulous !

It is full of new products including the wonderful Simply Adorned jewellery line, you will be seeing me wearing this at all my events!  I love jewellery and to have the opportunity to co-ordinate and personalise my jewellery to what I am wearing by stamping is so exciting.  The range also includes bling…….crowns, keys and sparkly baubles too.

I have to say Stampin’ Up! UK have really spoilt us with this mini catalogue. The product co-ordination is always wonderful and I adore the product suite Spice Cake, the combination of colours and products is perfect for me. I have already shared some sneak peeks of the products here.

Now you can view the Spring 2012 Stampin’ Up! UK mini catalogue online by clicking on the picture below.

Or if you would like to download your very own copy of the 2012 Spring Stampin’ Up! UK mini catalogue please click on the link here. It will show you a pdf copy for you to save.

If you would like a copy sent to you in the post please let me have your full address details by email.

Enjoy browsing this new mini catalogue, I will be back soon with some samples.

Happy Stampin’ with the new UK mini !

Look what the dog found on our drive this week!  I’m not sure her paws are long enough to reach!

The building work on our extension has started, I may have mentioned before that I run my business and craft at one end of our lounge, which although means I am with the family all the time, my mess does tend to drive everyone crazy! I have had a dream for as long as I can remember to have a craft room and it’s now about to happen.

We are building a single storey extension to the side of the house which will be the new lounge and then the current lounge will be split to make a dining room and an office and craft work room for me !!

I am so excited and will be sharing a bit of a picture diary with you all, so this is how my side garden looked about 3 weeks ago.

Then Brian and my Dad set to work to clear the area ready for the builders to start this week.

And so they did, they have already moved an amazing amount of soil from the garden and today have started digging the footings.  It’s all very exciting!

Happy Stampin’

Last Saturday was a busy stampin’ class day, 4 classes throughout the day 3D projects, scrapbooking, gifts, albums and an extreme cards class !

So what exactly is an extreme card?  These cards are not difficult, but time consuming, lots of layers, stamping techniques, embossing, cutting out, ribbons, crochet trim and the finished cards certainly needed an extra large stamp to post them, or even a box!

This is one of the cards, inspired by my recent trip to Paris !  There are so many components to the card and lots of embossing and distressing too.

The inside is decorated too, it’s really important to make sure you have enough weight at the back of the card so it doesn’t fall over!  Stampin’ Up! doesn’t sell C5 evelopes but these manilla ones are perfect and the stamping looks great on them too!

The second card I will share with you was inspired by one of my favourite bloggers Teneale Williams, she is a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator in Australia.  You can find her website here, I have put direct links to the cards under each picture.  Her cards are amazing, such attention to detail, I warn you now you will spend a long time looking at her site !!!!

The front of the card was based on this one here.

The inside of the card was based on this one here.

 Happy Stampin’

A little bit late……..

Kimberley was 15 on Sunday. We had a great day of ice skating and a family dinner out at her favourite restaurant.  The birthday girl requested a Red Velvet cake, I’m quite pleased with how it turned out having never made one before!

The stars of the show where her boots, Doc Martins with sheepskin lining and a frog……..

Thankfully the frog just clips onto her ear and isn’t a permanent addition!

More crafting from me tomorrow.

Happy Stampin’

Convention is so many different things, for me the opportunity to share with my fellow demonstrators, meet old and new friends and to grow and learn and be inspired is what ensures I attend each year.  But there are goodies too along the way and I shall share some of them today.

This first beauty is VERY practical, it was the bag we received at check in and it contained a ring bound catalogue, our make and take stamp sets, lanyard, pen, pins and awards letter.  It is fabulous, a real business bag, it’s the perfect size for catalogues and order forms has a mountain of pockets, I love it !!!!

During the awards dinner I walked the stage several times for sales, leadership and recruiting awards, Stampin’ Up! knows how to reward us, look at all these lovely stamps !!

Buried at the bottom is a stamp set that is yet to be released……..very exciting!

Thanks to my amazing customers who love the Stampin’ Up! products as much as me, I ranked 1st in sales across the UK again this year, and I received a very posh bag….

There was a little something on the ribbon that tied up the box, perhaps it could be a sneak peak…….would you like a closer look………?

I am so excited about this but you will have to wait just a little longer till I am able to share.

Another sneak peak is this bag made out of an amazing new fabric called Spice cake, again watch this space !

And then to the shoes, these are the little beauties that carried me across the stage, I had perhaps taken the Disney princess to an extreme with a bright red petticoat to match my shoes!

That’s all for me today, I hope to have some more pictures later on in the week of the team and awards from the official photographer as mine where really blurry !

Happy Stampin’

Did you miss me whilst I’ve been stamping and playing in Paris ?

There is so much to tell, so I’ll break it down over a couple of days.  We travelled on Thursday leaving Southampton very early, a quick flight, coach ride check into the Sequoia Hotel and Elizabeth, Elaine, Nikki, Rhoda and I where in Disneyland Studios park.  Maximum rides and giggles, we watched shows, animations and even looped the loop !

Thursday evening we stayed in the hotel and 12 of the team had dinner, we swappped, held our own Inspiring Inkin’ team awards and where all tucked up by 10pm ready for Stampin’ Up! European convention to start……….

And start with a bang it did !  I’ve stolen this picture from Elizabeth, as mine didn’t come out very well.

Lots of very exciting news, and business talks, we where also wow’d by demonstrators presenting on stage.  I will be able to share the exciting news, but you will just have to wait a little longer……….

I was such a proud Stampin’ Up! mum, 2 of my fabulous team where on stage this year presenting, first up was Elizabeth, with an amazing Scallop Square Origami Christmas ornament, my hostesses will be receiving one of these at my workshops this month and during December.

And on Saturday Hayley shared some amazing workshop hints and tips, lovely projects and business tools too!

They where both a little nervous, but their professionalism on stage was inspiring, they did an amazing job !  During the rest of the day, we stamped and laughed, heard amazing stories, lots of prizes where won too!

We had a quick shower and change and it was off to the awards dinner, don’t the team look fabulous !!!

After a delicious dinner it was time to recognise demonstrators achievements, so many of the team where on stage this year, many for the first time, I am so very proud of them.  This year is the last year demonstrators will be ranked in the top 25 for the UK and we found out at check in that 5 of us where in the top 25.

Rhoda 22nd, Kerry 13th, Jane 11th, Hayley 8th and I ranked 2nd for the second year in a row !  Thank you so much to all of my team and customers I am so blessed to be able to do what I love for a career and that wouldn’t be possible without all of you !

I’ll be back with more pictures tomorrow.

Happy Stampin’

I’ve been missing in action for a couple of days attending the wedding of one of my dear friends, Siobhan to Alex in Devon.  So before I share with you news of the world of Stampin’ Up! and the new catalogue I just want to share with you what I have been doing for the last couple of days.

It was a most magical day, if a little stressful at the start……a 2 1/2 hour journey took over 4 hours so we arrived at the church just as the bride was having pictures outside with her dad. Thankfully we sneaked into church before them and all was well.

The service was wonderful and the weather amazing, I have a couple of pictures to share with you, first the bride and me and the 2nd is Mr and Mrs Saunders, don’t they look wonderful!

So onto the world of Stampin’ Up! yesterday saw the launch of the 4th Stampin’ Up! UK catalogue, the biggest (20 pages bigger than last year) and in my opinion the best yet !  We have lots of new stamps, Fabric, lots of extra dies for the bigshot and the amazing doctors bag and the scrummiest 5 new in colours too!

If you want to see an online copy please click here, if you would like to get your hands on a copy there is a paypal link on the right hand side and I’ll post to you your very own copy for £4.95 (RRP £5.95).  Better still you can get a copy for free if you book a workshop with me, please email me.

And if a new catalogue wasn’t enough excitement Stampin’ Up! have announced a promotion running through October when you join the Stampin’ Up! family and my team of Inspiring Inkees you will get a free in colour kit, that’s 5 inkpads in all the new shades and matching card stock, that’s an additional £27.95 of products in your starter kit.

I can email you or call you with further information about this amazing opportunity without any obligation.  You can adapt the starter kit to your colour preferences and stamp style and you will not need to reach the new lower quarterly minimum sales target of £225 net (£270 product price in the catalogue) until the end of March 2012.

I would love to have you join my team, you can find out more information here and here.

Happy Stampin’

Stampin’ Up! UK is preparing for the release of their next Idea Book and Catalogue on the 1st October 2011.

But in order to have a new beautiful book full of amazing products, they need to make room for new stamps, products and so much more!  So, each year they release a list of stamps and accessories that are going to retire.  They will no longer available as of 30th September 2011!!!  That’s right…GONE!

So what does this mean…you need to act FAST!  All products are first come, first serve and some items are 40% off.  Once they are gone, that’s it!  Things could sell out tomorrow, or last the whole month – we don’t know, we only know when they are gone!

You can download the whole list here.

If you are part of my customer mailing list you should have receive a copy already, to sign up for my emailing list please click the link on the right hand side.

As items sell out I will update you, please remember that many of the items from the mini catalogue will retire too.

The owl punch has to be one of the single most versatile punches Stampin’ Up! UK has.  You can make it into a penguin like the bookmark here or a Lion. A ghost, alien, chick and even Rudolph……..watch out for those in the coming weeks!

Today I have used it just as an owl, 2 cards very similar the second just uses different stamps and punches.

Happy Stampin’

Today’s post is not stamping related but does concern one of my other passions………food!

I am lucky enough to have a patch in our garden where we grow veggies and fruit, that is Brian looks after them and I enjoy them!  I do help a little with the watering and weeding but that’s about it, so I am very grateful for the time he takes to tend the garden.

This year we planted cucumbers for the first time, I had no idea they were climbing plants, they have taken over most of the greenhouse, like triffids!

The tomatoes and French beans are scrummy.

and these pears are almost ready for eating!

Last year you may remember I was very excited on my birthday to recieve a Damson tree, there were only 9 damsons on it at the end of last summer, but this year it has grown well.

Look and the wonderful Damsons, plenty for jam this year!!!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend,

Happy Stampin’

Well Stampin’ Up! UK certainly know how to brighten up our summer!!!!

They have announced a new promotion running throughout August that gives you a gift of gorgeous ribbon and clips and a super cute comestic bag.

Simply place a £75 order, or host a £250 workshop, you will receive a FREE gift from Stampin’ Up!

The gift includes:

A beautiful, exclusively-designed cosmetic bag.

Rich Razzleberry 1-1/4” (3.2 cm) Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.

A 24-piece Clip Assortment.

Contact me to place an order or book a party.

Happy Stampin’

Do you have the Stampin’ Write Marker Pens on your wish list?

If not, why not ? They are wonderful marker pens, a nice size, double ended, with a thick and a fine nib. Helpfully they have a thick and thin white line around each corresponding end so you know which lid to take off ! The pens can be used to directly colour onto a rubber stamp, allowing you to create an image with multiple colours. They are also great for colouring in, water-colouring, doodling and even writing.  They co-ordinate with our colours so you will always have the right marker for your projects !

The markers come in four colour family packs at £23.95 each (Neutrals is £18.25). The complete 38 set of markers (excludes Whisper White and Very Vanilla) comes in a lovely carry case, costing £89.95. In addition we also have 5 In-Colors (£11.75)  and in October 2011 another 5 In-Colors will join them giving us 48 colours in total.

I understand that this is a lot of money to pay out in one go, so I have put together this club to help spread the cost over several months !

I have decided to change this club a little from previous years and will add a pack of matching colour family mixed A4 cardstock along with the in-colors, which means at the end of the club you will have a fabulous case in which to store all your 48 markers and a mixed pack of every colour of cardstock.

AND since this puts the total over £150 you will also receive hostess benefits for one of the 5 months the club runs, that is a level 1 hostess set and £15 to spend on anything in the catalogue.

The important bit:

The marker club will consist of five members, and run for five months cost will be £30 plus postage.

It will start as soon as we have 5 members.

You must commit to participate for the whole duration of the club.

Commitment will require post dated cheques, or a credit/debit card on file.

During the club you will receive:

One colour family of markers per month

One Stampin’ Write storage carrying case

Hostess benefits for one month of the 5 the club runs

One mixed pack of A4 cardstock for each of the colour families.

PLEASE NOTE : Since the new “In-colors” will not be released until October 2011 I will send out the additional markers and cardstock as soon as they are released.

Please email me to book your space.

Happy Stampin’

Well it has been an exciting week for all sorts of reasons, not least of all it was Connor’s Prom on Tuesday.  As he said it’s the end of an era……..I have to say it’s a lot more elaborate than the end of school disco I had in the school theatre, with fizzy pop and a packet of crisps!

Connor’s prom date was the lovely Lottie, a friend from school and her dress was in Stampin’ Up! colours Concord Crush, a very deep purple, so Connor designed his outfit around hers, a lovely grey pinstripe suit with a very fine purple stripe, matching shirt and tie and perhaps the most important accessory, purple Converse boots!

Don’t they look fabulous!

I think Connor and his friends all scrubbed up rather well!

No Prom dress is complete without a corsage, this was the one Connor chose for Lottie.  It is fastened to a stretchy pearl bracelet, so comfortable to wear.

Of course it needed a box, apparently Mums who can make things can come in useful some times!

Happy Stampin’

My tale of a Princess in Prague has reached it’s final day……….

So after the excitement of the night before we certainly needed a bit of chilling time……..

The UK girls decided to go for a wander, now you would think that between us we could make a decision, we are all women of action……… however we were all so chilled, we couldn’t, so it was sometime later, quite a lot later, we decided to take a boat ride !

Frank was very happy about this, although Michelle was slightly concerned he would fall in !

We chatted so much on the boat I don’t think anyone heard any of the commentary……but it was a lovely rest, going up and down the river!

Then my map reading skills where put to the test, do you remember I said we got rather lost on the previous day?  Well Monica and Michelle wanted to return to this fabulous little shop we had seen, so we set off trying to recreate the previous day’s journey.  It certainly was a joint effort and by some miracle we found the shop and our way home again!  Along with lots of shopping naturally.

Then it was on with the posh frocks and boy did we look posh!

Now Frank had clearly decided that he was the centre of attention Lording it on the chair!

I really had better explain the amazing surroundings…….we were in the Archbishops Palace in the Castle grounds, the most amazing venue so much history and character, and very, very elegant!

After canapes, and sparkling apple juice the doors to our dining room where opened to reveal this.

We had music whilst we dined.

I love the next picture, which is a bit of a miracle because it is of me, not sure who took it though, thank you x…..On the back of each chair was a lovely wrap, we all thought it was part of the decor, until someone realised it was a Stampin’ Up! stamp set pattern with a Stampin’ Up! tag, so it was another gift for us!

Now I will let the pictures of the food speak for themselves, each course was a joy to look at and eat, it was the best beef I have ever tasted, cooked perfectly, mmmmmmmmmm!

It was one of those evenings you didn’t want to end, so we agreed to gather together in Julies room for a nightcap, each one of us detouring into our rooms along the way, well the screaming had reached epic proportions………..The poor residents of the hotel!

On our bed was our final pillow gift, a Big Shot Doctors bag !   Woo Hoo !  My Bigshot can now travel in style to all my workshops.  Look at the fabluos Prague logo, along with the Stampin’ Up! logo too.

It was then time to sleep and get ready for our departure and of course another amazing breakfast!

Back to reality now!

Happy Stampin’

Before I resume my tale a quick apology, my website had to move home unexpectedly over the last couple of days, it meant the scheduled posts didn’t happen and bizarrely a post from April was sent out on the google reader today……..

I hope that it is all sorted now and normal service has been resumed.

So we got up bright and early on Friday morning, breakfast was amazing, in fact it was rather tricky deciding what to eat.  Lovely coffee, fresh fruit platter and then my favourite pancakes, bacon and maple syrup, Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmmm.

Now we knew we where going to the castle but of course this is Stampin’ Up! world and nothing is ever as it seems.  We walked a little way and along came two 100 year old trams that usually live in a museum.  We were taken on a tour of the city before we stopped at the Castle.

Ivana was our guide, she had a tough job keeping us all on time and together but somehow she managed it.  Her knowledge was incredible as was every building.

The views from the castle if anything were even more spectacular.

After the most delicious lunch in a restaurant that had crystal grapes hanging from the ceiling we spent some time sightseeing and shopping.  Now I have to say at this point we got seriously lost……….We knew we needed to get back to the river, shame we ended up 4 bridges the wrong way!

A rest, wash and brush up and off to our Stampin’ Pyjama party !

First up was swapping, I am going to do a separate post about the swaps, they were incredible, the best swaps I have ever seen.  So many ideas from so many talented women, I feel very blessed.

The we entered the stamping room, now I am surprised you didn’t hear the screams from here on each chair was a personalised apron, you will see me wearing it at every event from now on !  The screams just got louder as we realised on the table was a bag of goodies for us too!

I can’t show you what was in the bag or the projects we made as they are using new goodies from the October 2011 catalogue, I love them and you will too!

I did manage to sneak in a picture with the lovely Shelli.

More adventures soon!

Happy Stampin’

Stampin’ Up! have announced a fantastic new promotion for June and July, our hostesses can earn £20 extra in free products when their party sales exceed £250.

That means a minimum of a level 1 hostess set and £45 to spend on anything in the catalogue!

Invite your family and friends round for a fun and crafty get together and discover the fun of stamping in the comfort of your own home.  I will demonstrate a variety of techniques, show you how our fabulous products work and more importantly give you the chance to TRY the product before you BUY.

I would love to arrange a date, daytime or evening with you so please email me to secure your booking.

Happy Stampin’

For my birthday treat Brian took me to the Chelsea Flower Show, you can find out all about the show here.

Here are a selection of photos from the day, it was amazing, so much to see.

First there where the show gardens

This was the Monaco garden, so elegant!

I loved this garden, right at the end there was a roof terrace, with a fireplace underneath. It was lovely to see so many gardens with fruit and vegetables included.

Now if I ever win the lottery I will be having one of these in my garden…….it’s a very posh hut!  The screens come down to make it cosy, you will see the inside on the following 2 pictures, dining room or lounge?

I found some favourite flowers, when Brian and I lived in Somerset, our flat was a 2 minute walk from the Nurseries of Kelways who grow beautiful Peonies, we often walked the dog through their fields, this is so stunning and will be in my garden very soon!

I’ll be planting it alongside some of these……..I love yellow roses!

One of my favourite stands inside the big Marquee was this one from Waitrose, it was huge and all colour co-ordinated.  They had included lots of fruit and veg in their display, can you see the asparagus?

and finally another option when I make a million…….this amazing bird bath is made of bronze and costs just short of £5,000, I do think my squadron of sparrows at the end of the garden would love it though!

Well that’s all for me today, I’ll be back tomorrow with some pictures of my classes on Saturday, we had a great day.

I hope you had a good weekend, mine was fab, crafting all day with new and old friends, pushed out of my comfort zone with lots of laughs along the way.  I have also been introduced to the joys of crafting whilst eating a Curly Wurly……..delicious!

Okay now in my last post I said I would let you know how rewarding it is to be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, now I’m such a people person, being a demonstrator allows me to craft all day everyday with some amazing people, both my team and my customer friends, that is a huge reward. Crafting for a living is a dream many people have, but I’m here showing you it can be done.   Then Stampin’ Up! rewards us with discounts, free stamps, products and amazing trips.

Last week this arrived………

This is a birthday card from Stampin’ Up! giving me an extra 15% off anything in the catalogue!!!! That’s in addition to my 20% demonstrator discount. If you are on my  newsletter mailing list you will know I have recently started a birthday card program of my own, which includes a voucher………  All you have to do is email me your birthday and mailing address and I will send you a hand stamped card on your birthday too! Email me now to register!!!

Then this arrived…….

I’m so excited, in the middle of June I am off on an all expenses paid trip to Prague, I achieved this trip just over a year ago, see this post here.

And if that wasn’t enough excitement in my world I also promoted to the title Gold 1 and achieved next years incentive trip to Vienna !  The trip to Vienna is 4 days and I can take a guest, so Brian and I can go together, Woo Hoo!

So as you can see things are pretty amazing here right now!  I would love to show you how you can live your dream too! Email me or call me for a chat, check out my information about joining my team here, and  FAQ’s here,

I do have a super quick card for you today, we made this at card club last week, it uses up all those teeny tiny pieces of paper you save but never use…….

It uses the stamp set Fun and Fast notes, I only got this stamp in the last month, and I’m loving it!  I stamped the little chick onto some Daffodil Delight designer series paper and cut it out  and then stamped and coloured the rest of the image, quick and cute and left blank ready for what ever sentiment I need to put on it!  Stamping inside the cards is my latest must do, doesn’t it look cute!

I do need to get stuck into some stamping so I’m going to sign off for now and be back with some projects tomorrow.

Happy Stampin’

I thought it was about time I ran some more product shares so you can get your hands on a selection of the fabulous new products from the mini catalogue.

I am focusing on the Springtime Vintage Suite which you can find on page 16 of the mini catalogue, and the Oh Sew Suite on pages 26-29, if you don’t have a copy please see the online version here or send me your address details and I will pop one in the post to you.

Springtime Vintage Suite