Inspiring Inkin' with Amanda Fowler Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

at team training with brand new goodies……….!

Thank you so much for all your kind wishes about my injured collarbone and shoulder, I am improving day by day and hopefully will be back at full speed by the New Year.  I have managed to do a little stamping using my new goodies to share with my team at team training last week.

All the projects are made using the Spice Cake suite, Designer series paper, stamps and fabric, it is wonderful and such a beautiful colour combination.  One of the very best things about being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator is that you can order new products a month earlier than customers, this gives us time to prepare projects and samples for when the new catalogues go live.

New catalogue, who said new catalogue? ………………Yes that’s right we will be having not one but two mini catalogues during 2012.  The first starts on the 4th January and runs until the end of April, the second from the 1st May to the end of August.

The card below uses a really lovely new stamp set called Proud Peacock, I love this stamp set so much I have designed a class around it, and included in the price of the class is your own stamp set. You can check out all of  my classes by clicking here, I have just completed a new list that takes us through till the end of April.  I love using the fabric to make matching patterned ribbons.

The inside is decorated too.

Now this second card is a super speedy card using the Spice Cake designer series paper with just a tiny bit of sponge daubing around the edges.  The flower is made with a brand new Big shot die called Blossom Party, it’s really versatile.

A little piece of patterned paper just finishes off the inside.

I found these fun shaker frames at my local Asda on special offer.  They are designed to have photos inside them but I have decorated it very simply with a small piece of designer series paper, some lovely new Velvet ribbon and just cut out one of the flowers from the same designer series paper.

The team love the projects and we had a really fun evening too!

Well that is all for me, I am finishing typing this on Christmas eve so have a wonderful Christmas and I will be back soon.

Happy Stampin’

Right now I should be in full Christmas mode, cooking, wrapping, stamping and addressing cards, making gifts and generally bouncing around full of the festive spirit!

However I am not, last week I hurt my collar bone……..a minor insignificant thing really, not sure when or how it happened, one minute I was fine, the next I had a lump and plenty of pain! A trip to the doctors so far hasn’t answered any questions and although the anti-inflammatories are helping I have been unable to do most of the things I want and need to do for over a week!

Stamping hurts, typing hurts, wrapping presents hurts, I think you are getting the message, everything I try and do hurts and it has made me more than a little cranky! Ask Brian and the kids…….!

So I’m making this a quick post using cards I made a few weeks ago and I will be back as soon as I can with some NEW things to share with you, I think that has been the hardest thing, I have new stamps and products that are still in the box because I can’t do anything with them, and they arrived last week!

So 2 quick cards today, both birthday cards, I love being able to use things in different ways, on the first card I have used the ornament punch and made it into a vase, simple, speedy and fabulous!

The second card uses the same sentiment from Curly Cute.  This time I have used an acrylic block to make a shadow background, looks like a stormy sky!

Now you have until Wednesday to place your orders with me to ensure you get them in time for the big day, I can of course send out gift vouchers for another week after that.

Advance warning, you need to make sure you are on my email – mailing list to hear first all of the information about the new products, catalogues and Sale-a-bration and perhaps a Boxing day surprise !!!!!!!  There is a link on the right hand side or email me and I will add you to the list.

That’s all for me for now, I’ll be back as soon as I can.

Happy Stampin’

Hello, thank you for all the messages about my last post and the extension we are having built. We now have concrete footings and the block work starts today, I will do a pictorial update every week so you can see how it’s getting on.  I haven’t yet even thought about my new room and organising all my things, I guess because it will be the last thing to be done.  I think it will be May time before I’m ready to move into my room, but do please send me links to pictures of great craft rooms I am looking forward to all the planning.

Today’s card is the last one from my vintage class, it was so big it needed a box!

I have used both Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler seam binding which has a lovely vintagy sheen and style.  Don’t the vintage tags look great, they are slightly rusty !

The card is a square easel, very straightforward to make but looks impressive.

We used Everything Eleanor and scrumpled, stamped, embossed, heat embossed and used Champagne Shimmer paint all over.  The flowers are make layering up the doily punch onto the scallop circle punch, scrumpling, stamping and topping off with a pearl.  The ribbon bow is attached using glue dots it keeps the swags looking lovely.

I am currently working on my class list for next year, do sign up for my email newsletter (link is on the right) and you will get to see the list as soon as it is finished.

Happy Stampin’

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’