Yes today is Sale-a-bration time !

Yesterday I told you all about the benefits of joining my team and Stampin’ Up! during Sale-a-bration, you can see that post here. It’s is such a wonderful job and you get over £290 of  products for £119, Over £171 of free products…… I can’t believe why you wouldn’t want to join!!!!

So today I’m going to explain how wonderful Sale-a-bration is if you are a customer or a hostess.

As Sale-a-bration is for EVERY £45 you spend you can get multiple Sale-a-bration stamp sets and Designer series papers too! If you have a wishlist that is huge, or you still have some Christmas money to spend, treat yourself and when you spend £90 you get 2 items absolutely FREE! If your order goes above £150 you would get 3 Sale-a-bration items and £25 hostess pounds to spend on anything in the catalogue as well.

If you are a Hostess, during Sale-a-bration you get extra benefits too when your party total goes over £300, you can choose an extra Sale-a-bration set for free in addition to the amazing Stampin’ Up! hostess benefits of £50 hostess pounds to spend on anything in the main or mini catalogue AND you can choose any item for half price too ! I know that a party total of £300 seems a lot but if you and 6 guests all order £45 to get your free Sale-a-bration sets you will easily hit the magic £300.

You can see the Sale-a-bration catalogue here.

I thought you would like to see some cards made using the exclusive stamp sets and paper pack, so every day for the rest of the week I am going to showcase a different set.

First up my favourite, now okay I know I shouldn’t have favourites but I do !!!  This is Fresh Vintage and the Sale-a-bration Designer series paper pack called Everyday Enchantment matches it, remember there is no limit to the number of sale-a-bration sets you can earn!!!!

This first card focuses on the new 2012-2013 in Colours.

I have used the markers to colour in the large image, using the markers is very quick to do and gives you lots of variations of images from just one stamp.  Because I have used a dark card base, Island Indigo I have put an insert inside.

My second card today is a monotone card, Island Indigo again, sorry can you tell it’s my current favourite colour……..! I love the simple elegance of this, it has quite a lot of dimension to it with the diecut flowers and bling and how can you not love that ruffled ribbon?  The diecut flowers are from a new die in the mini catalogue called Blossom party and in the top right can you see the new postage punch?

I’ll be back tomorrow with Outlined Occasions !

 Happy Sale-a-bration Stampin’

This card continues the theme from yesterday of sharing.

Last November we went the the 2nd European Stampin’ Up! convention.  One of the presenters was the amazing Pam Morgan, she shared lots of things you could do with our paper daisies and this card is inspired by what she shared with us. This was one of the cards we made last Saturday at the Birthday Bash class. The paper daisies have been stamped, sponged and glittered.

Here they are in close up.

Happy Stampin’

Well I am finally finished, the shopping, decorating the house, the Christmas cards are posted, the parcels that needed to be are posted, the Turkey and cranberries have arrived, the kids are off school and Brian finishes work tonight !

We don’t have any snow, although it has disrupted our plans as it is so difficult and dangerous to travel, so we will be having several Christmas’s this year and I am plotting with my lovely sister in law Vicky to move our all family Christmas event to July !!

My to do list is still rather long though………… so how are you doing with your lists?

On my agenda today is wrapping and cake decorating, well actually Kimberley is cake decorating and I am trying not to get in the way and probably being chief washer upper !

I have a few cards for you today, these are my family Christmas cards and the ones we made at card club last week.

I adore the robin made from the Bird punch, I think it is my favourite card of the whole year, thank you Jenny for your inspiration.

This is my super speedy card, I’m not sure it shows but there is a glitter border around the red circle punch out, very sparkly in real life!

Each year I am blessed with wonderful handmade cards arriving through the letterbox, I’m planning on showcasing those over the next few days, and of course Kimberley’s cake creation.

So do come back and visit, there is exciting news on the 30th December too………..but my lips are sealed…….if you want to find out before the 30th you need to email me your address details and I’ll pop some information in the post to you!

Happy Stampin’

Okay whilst you are reading this I will be in a coach heading from my hotel to the convention venue, 300 demonstrators 6 coaches…….you can imagine the noise……..!

Today’s projects are my team goodies, they will of course all get one of my general swaps from yesterday as well.

First up a notebook, this is one of my favourite things to do for my team , I really think it’s important that they take notes at any training event and convention is no exception.

Each one is different, not only because of the names but the placement of the images and the sparkly rhinestones, more pink Pirates…….!

Now for bag tags, there will be 300 demonstrators all with the same convention bag, so we need something to stand out from the crowd.  I love these key rings, they take the same beads as my team bracelets so the team can keep them year after year and I can add a bead each time we go to convention and a new tag.

3 beads including a cute fimo butterfly.  I have stamped and clear embossed the Pirates and then gone over the top of it with Champagne shimmer paint, again a Sparkly Pirate!

And finally lanyards, we will receive all sorts of badges and pins when we check in, last year I made ribbon lanyards for my team and decided to do the same again, this time using Pumpkin Pie ribbon.

The darling dragonfly ( our team mascot…….) is a hair clip, that they can take off and re-use. The crystals are very sparkly…….

When we check in we will find out how many of my wonderful team are up for awards and in the top 25 demonstrators in the UK.  I am hoping for lots of them to receive awards, since I don’t have my laptop you’ll have to wait until Sunday for the full report.

Wish me luck for my presentation !

Pop back tomorrow though to see my business swaps, lovely flowers.

Happy Stampin’

Tomorrow I am off to the 2nd Stampin’ Up! Europe convention, it is being held at Addington Palace in Surrey.

Convention is amazing, there will be around 300 demonstrators from the UK, France and Germany all together for 2 full days of stamping, swapping, learning and laughing and on Friday evening an awards dinner.

I am so pleased that 16 of my team will be going me this year and we will be kicking off on Thursday evening with a team dinner, I have a few surprises in store for them but you will have to wait until later on in the week to see them……..

I think I better explain “swaps” when ever Stampin’ Up! demonstrators get together we swap cards, 3d items, business tools all sorts of things.  Sometimes these swaps are organised in teams or on forums we also always have general swaps where we are all gathered together in one place and we swap cards.

I love swaps because I can get so many ideas from them, they help with my planning of classes Yes indeed I copy cards, there are so many wonderful ideas “case”ing ( Copy And Share Everything) is to be encouraged !

This year I have 120 general swaps which you will see tomorrow, my team goodies which I will share on Friday and 10 business swaps which I will share on Saturday.  Today’s share is a cmc swap, I think cmc stands for Convention Memory Card.

These are 9cm square cards, decorated on the front and they have contact details and a photo on the back, Now I have made 90 of these………..Actually I do need to say a big thank you to Kelly and Steph who where a great help with my business, cmc and general swaps, they are amazing!!!!

A couple of close ups of the front and back, you may see a theme emerging…………Pirates who said Pirates……….?

I think this swap is a great idea as I will receive another 89 all with pictures of my fellow demonstrators, it’s such fun!

I’m off now to pack, paint my nails and practise my presentation, yes I’m on main stage again this year on Friday with the lovely Charlotte Harding running a class on Customer service for all the UK demonstrators.  Since I have the best customers in the world, it was a joy to write !

Happy Stampin’

The wonderful new mini catalogue is here, please click on the picture to be taken to an online version or email me your address details and I’ll pop your own personal copy in the post!

This card is perfect for spring, hopefully spring will arrive eventually ! It uses both Vintage Vogue a new stamp set and Very Vintage a wonderful new wheel, you will be seeing a lot of cards with these two !

I’m taking a few days off and spending time with the family, I hope you ahve a wonderful Easter and I’ll be back next week with more projects to share.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

On Thursday we have a new Mini Catalogue launching and this is the first of my sneak peeks…….

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

A very quick post today………I have been really busy this week with Issue 3 of Making Gifts magazine, some home workshops and preparation for classes too.  Who stole this week………..I can’t believe it’s friday!!!

A quick reminder for you to check out my class schedule here I have just added an additional date for the year in a day scrapbook class, this will be held in Fareham.  There are only a few places left on the mini madness class too, so please get booked up soon.

Todays card is using the wonderful Good Neighbours Sale-a-bration set, along with my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig !  I’ll be demonstrating this card at my February home workshops. If you don’t know what a Stamp-a-ma-jig is or you would like to earn this stamp set for free……..book a workshop with me during February.

Have a great weekend.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Today I am in Germany for the first ever European Stampin’ Up! convention.  I’m more than a little excited !  Actually I could probably fly myself there………but I’m taking the conventional route and going on an airplane !

A big part of convention is swapping and I have made almost 100 card fronts to swap with my fellow demontrators from the UK, France and Germany.  The great thing about swapping is you get so many ideas from the cards you receive, it’s going to help when my inspiration deserts me!

This is what almost 100 cards looks like.

On the back of each one is the  details of the products used and how to make it along with my contact information as well.

My convention has a bit of a Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla theme going on as you will see in later posts this week!

Here is a close up of the swap card.

Stamps : Winter Post
Inks: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Chocolate Chip ribbon, 2 way Glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Sponge Dauber

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

I am often asked why is my Stampin’ Up! team called Inspiring Inkin’ there are lots of reasons but the main one is I am inspired by my team on a daily basis, they are wonderfully creative and love sharing the Stampin’ Up! products and opportunities with all those they meet. A close second is my own personal passion to inspire everyone to get ‘Inkin’……..especially your rubber stamps!

The Inspiring Inkees are a team spread from the Shetland Isles to the tip of Cornwall, it’s definitely the very best team and really friendly too. I am in regular contact with my team by phone, email and letter and I am available to them whenever they need me. In addition I have a team website, that is password protected, within it is an online live chat facility for team training sessions, challenges and lots of fun. My class planners and techniques are all available for the team to download and use with their customers.

Within my team I have business demonstrators who are building teams of their own and working on building a business that ultimately will allow them to give up thier 9-5 job and hobby demonstrators who join for the discounts and the social aspect of being part of a team. Most of my team are some where in between, enjoying the income, discounts, workshops, classes, events and the fantastic products that Stampin’ Up! sell.

I have lots more information about joining my team here and here.

Joining Stampin’ Up! was one of the best decisions I have made, why not join me and become an Inspiring Inkee too.   Email me and I’ll call you for a chat.

My card today was inspired by a card Amy made and she brought it along to a team training day we had in July, our quarterly team days are an opportunity for all the team to come together and share and learn from one another. We have business training, sharing good practise, team support and stamping, lots and lots of Stamping!!!!

Winter Post Card

Stamps : Winter Post, Best yet
Inks: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue
Accessories: Love notes envelope, Dazzling Diamonds, Sponge Daubers, Tombow Glue, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Designer Paper – Ski Slope.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Another Christmas card for you today, all in shades of blue and although it may look a little complicated it is a straightforward card to make and better still a one layer card, less postage to pay.

Lovely as a Tree Christmas Card

I have taken an oval aperture and then stamped the long tree stamp and then sponged at the base of the trees.  Using torn paper and both Bordering and Bashful Blue ink I sponged the mountains (or clouds depending on your point of view).  I then lifted off the mask and over stamped the large tree and the sentiment. A little Tombow glue and Dazzling Diamonds finishes the card.

Stamps : Lovely as a Tree, Best yet
Inks: Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Bashful Blue
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, Sponge Daubers, Tombow Glue

Thank you so much for all the emails and messages about my book, I will let you know the on sale date and where to get your copy.  Have a lovely day.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Well I’m not sure where the summer has gone but has certainly left Hampshire!  It’s like an Autumn day here, grey skies, drizzly rain, cool and a very blustery wind.

This is a card to hopefully brighten up the day, very simple folds and a little bit of cutting out!

The 5 3/4″ x 12″ piece of Garden Green card is scored at 1 1/2″, 3″, 5″, 7″, 10″ This gives you the ‘M’ shape.  Half of  a carousel note ( scalloped circle) was then attached on the back fold to give height.  Strips of card where sponged and wheeled to make the tracks and the train was stamped and then cut out.

The trees are stamped several times from one inking to give you a shadow effect. Just underneath the red engine you will see scallop bushes, I used waste card from the scallop oval punch as a mask then sponged inside to make it look like a hedge.

Stamps : Choo Choo, Loads of Love accessories, Occasional Greetings
Inks: Old Olive, Mellow Moss, Real Red, Yoyo Yellow, Glorious Green, Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey
Cardstock: Garden Green, Mellow Moss, Whisper White.
Accessories: Stampin’ dimensional foam pads

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

These are the projects I completed at Elaine’s on Saturday.

Jane designed this first card, well something very similar……….you see I was busy chatting ( not like me at all !  ) and stuck my ribbon on too central then the mat layers didn’t fit so I adapted the design……..I’m really pleased with it and the technique, I will be demoing this technique at my workshops during July.

Stamps : Wow Flowers
Inks: Green Galore
Cardstock: Green Galore, Whisper White
Accessories: 1/2″ circle punch, White grosgrain ribbon, Stampin’ Pastels, Sponge Daubers, Paper Piercer, Scallop circle punch

This is a bookmark designed by Vannessa, it showcases the wonderful Season of Joy, a Christmas stamp set that’s not just for Christmas!!!  I love the Summer Sun, Cameo Coral combination, just right for a summer holiday read.

Stamps : Season of Joy, One of a Kind
Inks: Cameo Coral, Summer Sun, Old Olive
Cardstock: Cameo Coral, Summer Sun, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Round Tab Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Brads, Paper piercer

This card was Amy’s make and take with a difference, she gave us all a bag of bits, cardstock, designer paper, confetti white card.  Black Stazon ink, watercolour crayons and the choice of 2 stamp sets, Scene in a Garden or the one I chose Soft Summer.  The ribbon embellishment uses a loop of Linen thread to attach the button, simple and stylish.  Love it!

Stamps : Soft Summer
Inks: Black Stazon
Cardstock and Papers: Confetti White, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Summer Picnic DSP
Accessories: Button, Linen Thread, Bashful Blue Double Stitched Ribbon, Watercolour wonder crayons

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

Lots of home workshops mean lots of Thank you cards, this is my current design, I do like to use single layer cards when I can but I find it really difficult not to add extra bits……..

For these cards I have taken a Whisper White card blank and stamped the Thank you sentiment from Oval all in Chocolate Chip ink.  Then I have taken a scrap piece of card and punched out a Scallop Oval.  Lay the punched out piece of card ontop of the stamped image and using the sponge daubers I have inked over the top in either Bashful Blue or Pretty in Pink ink.  Now a bit of a tip, stamp the sentiment then do the sponging, you can sponge then use your Stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up perfectly but it takes a while, and if you need quick cards do it the other way!!!  I’ve finished the cards with a piece of matching taffeta ribbon.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda

This is the swap card I made for the field training last week, very simple but great for a man’s card or just to drop a note to someone.

I have used one of my favourite colour combinations, Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal and Very Vanilla.

I have stamped the cogs in Chocolate Chip onto the Chocolate Chip card and matted a strip of it onto the left hand side of the Very Vanilla card.  Stamp the clock face onto a square of Very Vanilla in Taken with Teal ink so that part of the clock is missing and sponge around the edges with Taken with Teal ink.  This was then matted onto a piece of Taken with Teal card 1/4″ larger.  The sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip ink onto Very Vanilla card and then sponged.

I love the sentiment, ” an unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth”.

Happy Stampin’

Amanda