Paper Obsession

Everyone loves a hand-made card!

First of all.. thank you SO much for your kind and heart-felt comments on my previous post.. I'm really grateful for your comforting words. I'm still trying to find an extra couple of hours in the day to do as much blog-hopping as I'd like.. so apologies if I haven't yet thanked you personally.. I'll get there.

On to a more cheery subject.. hand-made Christmas cards! Sometimes, when time is running short.. as it always is.. I wonder why (oh why) do I insist on making all my Christmas cards?!! But then, when I receive one that's been hand-made with love and care, I remember it is worth the extra effort! Knowing how much I appreciate a hand-made card, it's nice to think that others enjoy the ones I make for them, too.

This one's from Pat, my Stampin' Up! 'mummy' and friend from Bromley. Love the striking colour scheme.. want that Dec 25th stamp! (and I had to laugh at your message inside the card.. ;o))

This next one's from Linda, a kind-hearted lady and friend who attends my card-making and scrapbooking classes.. she also makes the most wonderful chocolate brownies! The stamp was from Time to Sow and the ribbon from Stampin' Up! Love how she stamped on the ribbon and used the green hand-made paper for the background.

This one is from Jacky - as if you couldn't tell! I mean WOW!!!! The layers, the detail, I LOVE the delicate colour scheme and the beautiful colouring of the stamp.. breathtaking! Thank you so much for this card, Jacky - it's so amazing to savour and touch all of its little details.

 

In fact, I was so inspired by Jacky's card, I 'borrowed' elements of its design in a card I made for both my Mums & Dads..

This one was for Mum & Dad Piggott. The deer stamp is 'Dasher' by Stampin' Up! and the colours are Pear Pizazz, Blushing Bride, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. The one for my parents was the same but I alternated the pink and green colour scheme.. and forgot to take a photo of it.. but you get the idea.

I think I'll do a separate post to document my boys' Christmas creations.. let's just say it'll take til next Christmas to get the glitter out of the carpet..

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!!!

 

Card-making catch-up

Here's the photo that will feature on today's Journal Your Christmas page.. it's a jigsaw we found in the Christmas decorations box from last year (thanks Mum & Dad) - the boys spent a very pleasant ten minutes completing it together - without squabbling - it was a sight to behold!

The journaling part of 'Journal Your Christmas' hasn't quite happened yet.. I've been pretty busy working on samples for upcoming December classes, attending nativity plays (cue floods of tears), even doing a spot of Christmas shopping!

Anyway... perhaps I can share a few recent cards I've made..

Baby girl... made with Fun & Fast Notes and Tiny Tags stamps by Stampin' Up!

Baby boy along the same lines...

Any occasion card using Just Believe stamps and Greenhouse Gala papers (inspired by a lovely card spotted on In Love With Stamping)...

A very simple man's birthday card (the card, that is, not the man..) using the Star and Scallop Edge punches and Sincere Salutations stamps.

All the cards are made with Stampin' Up! cardstock, stamps, papers and punches - if (dare I suggest) you would like to buy any of the products I used - or fancy some Christmas Gift Vouchers to spend in the New Year - contact me and I'll be delighted to help you! ;o)

All my details are on the Seaside Stampers blog.

Have a lovely evening!

 

Sarah x

Oooops... where did the last month go?

Yep, it's been a busy one. I thought I might be away from here for a week or so.. but a whole month?!! I'm afraid 'Learn Something New' fell by the wayside too.. and I SO intended to finish the book this time!

I'll try to explain - briefly - what I've been up to..

Thurs 23rd Sept - my second ever Stampin' Up! home workshop - I spent ALL DAY getting anxious, fretting about my Make & Take etc etc.. All pointless fretting! It was a great evening, the ladies who attended were all really lovely - they enjoyed the workshop, spent some money(!) and one of them booked on to my next card-making class.

Sat 25th Sept - Stampin' Up! Open House Event at Community Wise, Eastbourne - my lovely upline Pat came down from Bromley to help out. Another successful event - we did two Make & Takes, made plenty of great new contacts and had lots of interest in my card-making classes. Hard work but I was exhilerated that we did it!

 

Mon 27th Sept - Beach Belles card-making workshop - I wasn't expecting this to be easy.. and it wasn't! The Beach Belles are a club for retired ladies which meet up in a pub on Pevensey Bay every Monday afternoon. I was asked to prepare for 12 ladies but only seven of them could be persuaded to take part. The rest were disinterested to the point of rudeness..

Sat 2nd Oct - Hailsham crop - So glad I went to this! What fun to spend a day catching up with my lovely crop friends.. and getting a few LSNED pages done too.. and I even won the raffle (again!!).

Fri 8th Oct - Card-making class - we made two cards using the SU! Vintage Vogue stamp set. My Mum & Dad came to stay this weekend and we had a fabulously busy time - and some great sunny weather!

Sat 16th Oct - My first Saturday card-making class - and we made some special Christmas cards using the SU! Delightful Decorations stamp set.

Today and tomorrow - I've been helping the children at Harry's nursery school to make bookmarks this afternoon. What fun! I love seeing the kids just get down to sticking straight away - no agonising over what pieces to use or where to stick things - I could learn a lot from them.. But the best part was seeing their pleasure in showing their mums their feathery, sparkly, stickery creations - and the pride of their mums too!

(Top: Harry's; Bottom: Charlie's)

Oh and another thing on my To-Do List.. catch up with Google Reader, which is currently up to (excuse me while I go check..).. 678 unread items!!!! Oh help..

Thank you Sian - for your comment on my Seaside Stampers blog which prompted me to get back to blogging over here.. and expect a return visit some time soon!

 

Preparation is everything

Today's lesson:

You might think you're well prepared.. but you've probably still overlooked something.

I had my monthly card-making class this morning and felt comparatively at ease in the half-an-hour or so before it was due to start. I had all the materials prepared for each person, stamps, inks, punches at the ready, carpet hoovered, clutter hidden away..

Then a knock at the kitchen door.. it was one of my lovely ladies who I'd thought wasn't coming. I'd emailed her during the week and didn't get a reply, so I assumed she wasn't going to make it. [Of course I could have phoned her to check! But, to be honest, I really dislike the phone.. especially having to phone people.. it's something of a phobia. What if they're busy? In the middle of dinner, or a favourite programme?]

So Joan came through the kitchen, which quite frankly was a total mess, and I felt a bit flustered as I now didn't have enough materials prepared or instructions printed. As it happened, the class went pretty well and it wasn't a problem.. but I made several mental Notes To Self - (1) Make sure you know exactly who is coming, (2) Prepare a spare set of materials, just in case.. (3) Tidy the kitchen.. and check the downstairs loo (you never know with little boys in the house..).

Anyway.. the ladies all went away with five very lovely Christmas cards.. and they are all coming back next month.

Here's a couple of examples of the cards we made..

The reindeer stamp is called 'Dasher' and it's by Stampin' Up! If you'd like to see more, or are interested in how I made the cards, pop over to Seaside Stampers for the details..  :o)

Sarah x

Here's where I'm at...

As you may know, it's been almost three months since I took the plunge and became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. It's been quite a steep learning curve.. And yet, in these last few months I do feel I've begun to achieve something.

On Friday 11th June I held my first monthly card-making class at Community Wise, Eastbourne, for the benefit of just two ladies. I fretted all week in the run-up to that class - but I got through it.. and my ladies enjoyed some creative me-time while producing two pretty hand-stamped cards. 

The following week I gave a stamping workshop to a group of ladies who attend a monthly scrapbooking club in Hailsham. I was a little petrified at first - but my hostess and the other ladies were so chilled out and friendly, the evening was great fun.. and also a success in terms of orders!

I held my second monthly card-making class on Friday 9th July - this time at home. It was attended by three ladies this time - well that's a 50% increase on June's numbers! It was the right decision to hold the classes at home - I felt so much more relaxed, and I hope my guests did too. The ladies each made two stunning cards and had lots of fun in the process. :o)

Meanwhile, September is shaping up to be a pretty hectic month. I'll be doing another card-making class, giving another stamping workshop and also holding an Open House event.

To add to the general chaos, Charlie starts school in Reception class and Harry will be doing five sessions a week at Nursery. The logistical challenge involved in getting each child into his respective school within a ten-minute window - all before 9am - is going to be taxing to say the least! (And that's assuming they will both go happily into class without tears or fuss.. eeek!)

{Charlie getting to grips with box-making.. a natural talent!}

I'll be back tomorrow with news of a scrapping blog-hop, a fantastic SU! promotion... and maybe even a big stash giveaway?!!

Fancy a quick nose round my other blog..? Pop over to Seaside Stampers to see a few more of my SU! creations.. I'd be delighted to see you over there!

Thanks for reading..

Sarah xx

fantastic persoanilsed cards-r-us

Last week I was browsing the Netmums Coffee House arts & crafts forum and came across a request:

Anyone make fantastic persoanilsed cards?? (sic)

The lady wanted a special card for her other half's 30th birthday so, feeling public-spirited, I said I'd be happy to help. She then got back to me with some frighteningly specific requirements. She wanted 'something like a bloke on a black and red motor bike', and went on to say her OH's 'fave bike is the Honda CBR 600 RR'.

Right then.. I panicked for a minute and wondered what I'd got myself into. Racking my brains, I just couldn't recall any 'blokes on motorbikes' stamps, stickers or even (shudder) peel-offs in my stash. What to do? Admit defeat? Or find a piccie on the tinterweb and add text and such?

To my relief, it was remarkably easy to find a suitable (in fact, perfect) picture.. and the rest came together quite painlessly too!

I made the silver corners with a Diamond Plate Cuttlebug embossing folder. Inside the card, I added an insert which read 'You're not quite over the hill yet'. Ho ho! 

I just hope my customer and her birthday boy like it.. haven't heard back from her yet. Will let you know!

ETA: She liked the card.. and so did her man.. so I'm happy!

Birthday bling..

It was my mum-in-law's 60th birthday on Monday and for a while we had been trying to come up with some special gifts for her.

It just so happened that I recently 'met' online an Eastbourne lady who makes the most exquisite jewellery - her blog is called Lady In Pink Creations and is well worth a look. Browsing Jo's blog, I became really excited at the thought of asking her to make a special gift for the birthday lady! We decided on a necklace and earrings set incorporating Maureen's birthstone, rubies, along with freshwater pearls and swarovski crystals. Jo did a fantastic job - Maureen was thrilled with her gift and looked radiant in the stunning necklace and earrings!

My photo doesn't really do it justice but there's a better photo on Jo's blog here.

And here's the birthday card I made for Maureen...

The card was made with Stampin' Up! stamps, designer papers and punches; further details can be found on my Stampin' Up! blog, Seaside Stampers.

Catching up and sharing some creations

Happy Father's Day to my Dad... here's a sneaky peek at something which really should have dropped through your letterbox yesterday - SORRRYYYY!!! - it'll be there tomorrow :o]

Ooops.. it seems I've let a good two weeks elapse since my last post.. I've actually been really busy on a number of projects which I've had to keep under wraps for a while. I still can't explain myself completely - that'll have to wait until next week!

Meanwhile, here's something I can tell you - it's my second day as guest designer on the Banana Frog blog today and I'm sharing two projects, an altered mirror using the 'Hiya Chick!' stamp set, and a scrapbook page featuring my boys in the paddling pool along with 'Super Dreamy', 'Build a Daisy' and 'Pharmacy' stamp sets. {Eagle-eyed Gauche Alchemy fans will also spot one or two items from their Blue Streak Mixed Media Colour Kit!}

Apart from a bit of trouble with non-crackling PVA glue, I loved doing these projects - so thank you Beverley from Banana Frog for the opportunity and for the lovely stamp sets!

Finally, I hope you don't mind if I share one more layout which has been under wraps since March. This one has just appeared in Scrapbook Magazine in the Activity Pack section and features my little boys on the Dotto train in Eastbourne last summer - way before our plan to relocate here was even hatched!

The flourish frame underneath 'DOTTO' was a print-out from Shimelle's class 'Something from Almost Nothing'.

I'll be back next week with some news! Meanwhile, enjoy Father's Day and I hope the sun is shining for you.

Thanks for reading..

Sarah x

I've just gone hybrid!

Last Friday I showed you my first 'proper' attempt at digital scrapbooking and mentioned I was itching to try hybrid card-making and scrapping. Well, I'm pleased to say I've had a go.. and it wasn't that difficult!

Here are two very simple cards I made using the FREE 'Dream' mini-kit by Vinnie Pearce:

The kit is available for immediate download from Vinnie's gorgeous blog (which is well worth a look - she is a brilliant designer as well as an inspirational hybrid scrapper). 

Here's a picture of the whole kit, to whet your appetite evern more!

So here's what I did:

• Downloaded and unzipped the kit using Winzip.
• Opened the flowery background paper in Photoshop Elements 7.
• Opened a new canvas and resized it to A4 (210 x 297 mm) size.
• Dragged the background paper on to the new canvas and resized it to 5 inches square.
• Copied and pasted it just below the first one so there were two on the page.
• Printed it out on white A4 card.

To create the butterflies:

• Opened a new canvas and resized to A4 as above.
  
• Opened a butterfly and dragged it to the size I wanted.
• Copied it a couple more times to make a few large and a few small ones.
• Repeated this with the second butterfly and the banner, creating an A4 sheet of butterfly and banner elements.
• Printed it out on white A4 card.

To make the card:

• I cut out the background paper to 4.75 inches square and distressed the edges with a BasicGrey edge distressing tool.
• Stuck this onto a 5 inch square pink base card.
• Cut out a large butterfly and inked the edges in turquoise chalk ink (Colorbox).
• Embossed the butterfly with Cuttlebug and Script embossing folder.
• Inked the raised script with turquoise chalk ink.
• Stuck the butterfly to the card using a sticky dot.
• Added the Papermania vellum sticker greeting.

Hope that makes some sense! If you're interested in trying hybrid scrapping, have a look at Vinnie's blog - she has some incredible examples of her hybrid pages for you to drool over! ;o)

Easter bunnies, a new baby card and crazy blog ideas

Our Easter day started with clouds and rain.. but as soon as the sun appeared I was in the garden surreptitously scattering little chocolate eggs amongst the flower-pots and in the borders. When all was set, out we went, the boys clutching their little Easter baskets, to see if the Easter bunnies had been.

Unfortunately, my scattering of choccie treats in the flower borders was not such a smart idea.. while retrieving an egg nestled in a clump of bluebells, Harry managed to trample heavily on a couple of newly-emerged Allium plants. Oh well... they'll be fine next year, when we're gone from this house!

(That yucky-looking brown thing is a wet leaf, not a slug.)

The boys were delighted with their spoils - six eggs for Charlie and five for Harry - and they have got through the day eating just three each. We didn't buy them any other Easter eggs and they didn't expect any more. Oh, how I wish it would stay that way!

We had a delicious Easter lunch - steak for Gareth and Charlie, Quorn escalopes for Harry and me - complete with roast potatoes, parsnips, broccoli, garlic mushrooms and mini corn-on-the-cobs. Yes, a slightly bizarre combination but it tasted good!

On a crafty note, here's a card I made yesterday for our friends, James and Kate, to celebrate the birth of their baby, Samuel:

The papers are from the 'Ducks in a Row' range by October Afternoon and the alpha stickers are Basic Grey's 'June Bug' letters.

It's so exciting to see that Shimelle has extended the 'Something From Almost Nothing' class with challenges continuing through April. It's been such fun seeing the amazing pages everyone has come up with - so many fresh new ideas to try.

I'm still thinking about the possibility of starting up a new challenge blog, based around finding new ways to use up old stash. I know there are already lots of challenge blogs out there, so I'm going to have to convince myself the crafting world needs another one before I plunge in there. A couple of virtually sleep-free nights have given me plenty of ideas.. this would not be just a challenge blog, I'd like to make it a bit more than that! Once I've turned these ideas into a coherent plan, I'll let you know what I'm thinking.. and then you can give me your honest opinion!

Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of your Easter weekend.. hope the sun shines where you are! :o)