It's Time to Party!

I have just logged on to the Stampin' Up! website and what a lovely surprise.  Stampin' Up! are still in partying mood to celebrate their 25th anniversary.  For you, this means they are sharing their party mood with a fabulous chance to earn extra hostess benefits this month when hosting a party.
Read on........

Book a party just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com now. 

Suzanne

Sharing What You Love

This is the sentiment from Stampin' Up! themselves, but this week certainly felt true to this for me.  Firstly I wanted to thank those of you that came to my recent Open House event.  Without the support of customers I would not be able to enjoy SU products and so I made some 'Thank You' cards to show my appreciation.  I left a note inside attached with a post-it note so that the cards could be re-used by the recipient.

The cards were made with the Mosaic Madness stamp set and in the In Colours 2013-2015 selection of colours.  The 'Thank You' is from the Four You stamp set.  I really like the sizing of this and the style of the writing in this set, I wish my handwriting was as artistic as this!  I had a few cards to make, but a little stamping and punching whilst I watched some TV and I had a efficient little production going.  The Mosaic emboss folder gives a great background grid and I then just layered my mosaic tiles in a pattern as I wanted them with a mix of the colours.

Another card for you, this time with Christmas in mind.  Yep, it really is time to start planning those Christmas festivities.  Every year, if you are like me, you say you will start it early so as not to have the big rush on, well now is THAT time to start.

This card was a demo card to show a number of methods and techniques so has quite a bit going on.  There are of course the Mosaic Madness layered in there.  They are mounted on foam pads to raise them off the Label Love stamped images behind them.  I wanted to show that although the Label Love has sayings on the stamps, when layered in this manner they can be used for other occasions too.  The labels are punched with the co-ordinating Artisan Label punch and I then punched the coloured card and cut it in half to create the borders round the labels. 

To create the wavy emboss lines I used the Simply Borders plate for the Simply Scored board.  What an effective background and I think it ties in well with the label styling too.

The flowers were meant to be a little poinsettia-looking by using the Boho Blossoms punch and using just the smallest and medium sized flower shapes (2 of the medium size and then a small one on top) with a pearl to finish. The little 'Very Merry' label to top the middle of the card is from the Very Merry Tags stamp set and punched with the small scallop circle punch (7/8" 2.2cm).

Two cards that hopefully show you how to use your existing, or possible purchases, from the main catalogue as well as the Autumn/Winter seasonal sets to make cards for all occasions, including the festive season.

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime here and check out the clearance rack whilst stocks last.

Best of 25 Years and Christmas Selection Stamps

Is that the jingle of reindeer bells I can hear?  The Christmas best of stamp set is brings back the fabulous Dasher, my very first SU purchase for my first handmade SU Christmas cards!  What a wonderful familiar face.  Take a look at what else there is ..............

Click here to see them bigger.

There is also a new Christmas-themed collection of single-stamps available!  A collection of fantastic value as there are 8 different stamps to choose from, 6 of which co-ordinate with existing punches or dies.  These are available for a limited period until 31 January 2014.

Click here to see them larger.

Order them from the online store or through me.  These are great value, clear-mount stamps so you will need to have the correct sized acrylic block for them (as indicated on the item list) or purchase these separately. They are sent in a cello bag rather than a case (Clear-mount cases can be purchased on code 119105 for a pack of four).

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

New Demonstrator Website for Online Ordering - Coming Soon - Clearance Rack!

For those of you that missed it, you can now order online with me directly through the Stampin' Up! website.  Anytime!  Yes it is 24/7 so if you are late night crafting, or early morning crafting (?) and realise you have run out of that essential embellishment, just pop online and raise an order to your account for it to be posted to you directly. What could be simpler!

Just click on the link at the top right of my blog page here (or click on 'SHOP' if you are accessing my blog already through the Stampin' Up! web page).  First time round you will need to setup an account.  Make sure you select me as your demo and check my name is appearing at the top right on the shop page.

The news for the online shopping today, just as you are getting started, it is getting even better!  Yes, they are going to be releasing the Clearance Rack soon too.  We all love a bargain right?  Well you will be able to order retired and discontinued items at huge discount.  These will be available through the online store so that you can order them quick as stock will be limited.

Of course, you can still order directly through me and we can chat about what you might need and ooh and aahh over the catalogue together too. To place an order via email, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. 

Suzanne
x

Summer Sunshine Siesta

It is Summer still right?  Well the weather outside as I sit here looking out of the window doesn't seem to think so.  I think the sunshine may be taking a little siesta, let's hope it wakes up to give us one last burst! I thought a little Summer Silhouettes were needed for today to help brighten up everyone's day.  Today's cards are some of the lovely samples I took with me to the recent Sandown show and are all based around the Summer Silhouettes stamp set (trickiest one to spell, I just cannot get it right. I am thankful for spell check today).

As a Pinterest user it is so hard sometimes not to pick up on other's ideas and CASE them for your own cards.  I do believe though that it is a great way to start the creative juices flowing for your own unique designs when you can start looking at what other people have done.  This first card, is exactly what started off my Summer Silhouette stamping session.  It is based on a card design by another demonstrator, Julia Carmichael of PaperIntoLove.

I love the inclusion of the border design as this was something I had not incorporated into my designs when using the set.  The colours of Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe and Coastal Cabana were perfect for the "feel better soon" theme of the card.  The actual sentiment I used from the Express Yourself hostess set. A simple layering of the flowers in the set and the additional Beautiful Wings butterfly make this clean card, quick, easy and elegant.

Next was some Pistachio Pudding.  I don't know if I have said this before on my blog, but this catalogue I bought the In Colours 2013-2015 designer paper stack and I am really liking the new designs and the colours.  I have used the papers lots already on my cards and as you get four sheets in every colour there is no need to be thinking you need to use it as sparingly.

Here I have used the paper as a background to a simple single layered card showing the designs in the In Colour collection again.  This was another get well wishes card.  I have used the Stamp-a-ma-jig tool here to create "get well" and "feel better soon" stamps.  The Stamp-a-ma-jig tool is just great for lining up when playing with lettering, numerics and sentiments in this way.  If the words are not quite right for what you want to say, why not make up your own saying true to your own words?

Last is the Strawberry Slush - a lovely vibrant colour without being too pink or too red.  See now the lovely ruffled ribbon just popping out across the bottom border which dress this card up.  The label for this one is from the Label Love set.  This stanp set has instant sayings and labelling for projects when used with the Artisan Label punch, a really great little decorative saying set.

Now if you love the Express Yourself set here, remember it is a Hostess set.  You can order it if you host your own workshop and you get a great set at a value price (subject to sales).  You don't have to have to invite loads of people, why not just host a coffee morning?

If butterflies are what you are looking for, remember also that the Butterflies Bundle offer running currently finishes at the end of the month.  That's only two more weeks to grab yourself the fabulous 15% discount!

To place an order you can now order via the online store (see top right of this page) or of course still email or contact me direct. You can also book a workshop in your home or come to a class I have arranged. Just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com.

Stepping into September

Wow!  September is here, we really are on the countdown for Christmas now!  It has been all busy here as usual with lots of news to share with you all again too. SU seem to be keeping us Demos on our toes with offers, news and new releases of exciting features, more to be revealed as you read on here. 

First of all a big thank you to all of you who came to my Open House on Sat 31st Aug.  We had plenty to share and everyone went home pleased with the card they made and their freebies earnt with their orders from the new catalogue.  Well, all orders have already been delivered so by now I expect they are being well played with at home!

Thank you to all the wonderful ladies too who stopped by at the Sandown Stitch and Craft Show on Thursday 5th Sept.  I had a great day there and really enjoyed stopping and talking to everyone to learn how they craft and what products they like.  We had demos on the stand, a class running in the classroom at the centre and Make and Take sessions  running throughout the day on stand too.  The ladies all loved the products and everyone was so complimentary of the samples on show too.

For my demo at Sandown I was using the Festive Flurry stamps and Dies combo to make this beautiful card.  You may have seen the peek of it last month for the catalogue launch.  The card is a simple layered look with Coastal Cabana (In Colours 2013-2015), Pistachio Pudding (In Colours 2013-2015) and Pool Party (Subtles) colours.

I think the card background of the Northern Flurry emboss folder makes this card really look special and the 'Merry Christmas' from the carryover Greetings of the Season stamp set looks really elegant on it.  The silver ink is the fabulous metallic silver Encore ink pad we have in the new Autumn/Winter catalogue, this is going to get some use this Christmas and even better, it comes in Gold too!

What a finish though, the Frosted Finish embellishment.  It just gives the card the polished sparkle it needs with the looped silver ribbon to mount it on too (quicker and easier than a bow!).  There's more Festive Flurry to come, but if you love this card and want to come along and make your Christmas cards early then take a look at my Events & Classes page (top tab on this blog) to book yourself a place.  You can come and stack your Christmas cards to give beautiful unique cards like this this festive season.  There's still time to book on the first Stamp-a-stack class on the 21st September.

Now, what news does SU bring us, well I can hardly keep it from you now can I.  SU have launched the Online Store in the last couple of days.  What does this mean for you?  You can shop with me directly online and browse the products 24/7. To Shop with me when returning to this blog just click on the image to the top right of this page 'Click here to SHOP ONLINE with me' or click Shop Here now and then when you see my new SU website, just click on 'SHOP'.  Make sure it says Suzanne Tilney at the top of the page and then go through and setup your account with me and start shopping. Simple!

Of course, you can still contact me directly via the phone and through email if you wish to discuss anything before placing an order or you just want to call or chat anyway.  As this is all setup, in the future I will be able to offer you codes (Hostess Codes) to enter when you order online which give you specific offers through me - it might be free product with an order or it may be a draw to win the the hostess benefits for orders between a given promotional period - this is great news for you all!

Other exciting news is the launch of My Digital Studio (MDS), but I will leave that for another post as there is just so much more to tell and I don't want to overload you with too much excitement at once!

To place an order other than through the online store, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

The Autumn/Winter Catalogue has launched!

The new Autumn/Winter Catalogue has launched!!! Here it is online for you to browse through, just click the link below the picture of it here.

Autumn/Winter Catalogue 2013-2014

Just a quick peek this morning at some of the items I have been making with the new products.  The festive Flurry has definitely hit us here.  Snowflakes when there is sunshine outside it seems wrong somehow, but this year is THE year to get more organised for Christmas early.

To see more make sure you come along to one of my events or classes where you will be using the new products for yourself.

Now, not content with a new catalogue launch for today, Stampin' Up! are also offering a great bundle deal today for Customers too. It's a butterfly offer, who doesn't love a buttefly?!!  A saving of 15% off on the Papillion Potpourri and Bitty Butterfly Punch bought together.

 The bundle offer is running from Aug 29th to Sept 30th.  

If you'd like a copy of the catalogues, to place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class just get in touch via email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Making Waves By The Sea

We have been on lots of days out this summer holiday in lieu of flying off somewhere sunny and thankfully the weather here has been worth it.  There are lots of lovely photos of our adventures....I really should get scrap booking to record the fabulous times as I am sure my little one is going to grow up so much faster from here on in. One of our trips was to the lovely West Wittering for a day by the sea.  LO loved it!  He just wanted to wander up and down the sea edge dipping his feet in the wet sand for ages.  Gone are the days where I get sit back on a sun lounger with a good book!

It's a coastal theme too for my post today.  I hope today finds you in sunshine as it is here!  I just love the sea and the By The Tide stamp set from the annual catalogue, which you have seen here on my blog before, is one of my favourite sets.  Well, there are just so many gorgeous new shades of blue to play with in the new catalogue we need some seaside theme to use them all.

The first card is based on the Coastal Cabana colour with Baked Brown Sugar, both from the In Colours 2013-2015 collection.  The lovely embossed Honeycomb background on this card is achieved with the Big Shot emboss folder. I have simply created a multiple tag front with one of the tags from the new Chalk Talk die set.  A must set for Christmas and present tags all year through!  I stamped the images across the tags whilst they were line up together and then just set them off line from each other to give the card a more relaxed look.

Baked Brown Sugar was the colour for my next card - it just conjours up an image of yummy cooking smells doesn't it?  This card is made with stamped images and also the same colour spritzed onto Very Vanilla.  I am pleased with the way the spritzing came out - much better than my first attempts at using this tool!  A tip is to try it out on scrap paper first to get comfortable with your spray distance and make sure you are not going to get any wayward spray on anything else around your work area! I stamped inside this card too for a great finishing touch.

A little more seaside with the last card.  I saved the sparkle to last.  This card uses the same colour collection - In Colours 2013-2015 and has the Coastal Cabana as the background card again.  I stamped the images on the Whisper White Square sheet before cutting it into quarters and setting out on glimmer paper frames.  The label is from the Label Love set and punched with the Artisan Label punch.  See the lovely little strips of the designer stack papers in the matching colours popping out of the label.

For more details of all these products and more visit the www.stampinup.com site and look at the catalogues. To place an order, book a party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

Mad For Mosaic

A new post for you today.  Now you may well remember the Sneak Peek I gave you of the Mosaic Madness set, well it is back again today in the In Colours 2013-2014.

The punched mosaic is a lovely little shape and so versatile.  It can be tiled, layered or just stand out on it's own.  Take a closer look at the background to this card, it is the Mosaic emboss folder, it makes a great template to start with and matches perfectly. 

I have used a mixture of punched Small Hearts and Floral Fusion flowers cut with the Big Shot Sizzlit to layer onto the Mosaics. I have finished off the card with some extras - a Vintage Faceted Button - these are my absolute favourite buttons! - pearls and linen thread.

The 'Hello' is from the Four You set in the new annual catalogue.  The set has four fabulous phrases,  'Hello', 'Thank You', 'Birthday Wishes' and 'Thinking of You'.  I love the different fonts of these four stamps too.   At £9.95 for the clear set (£12.95 for the Wood-mount) they are a great starter set or even just a staple for your stamp collection.  I think they will be appearing a lot on my cards!

Now for a lovely mosaic layout in Pistachio Pudding and Crisp Cantaloupe.  I have a simple background of whisper white for this one and have just used the designs from the Mosaic Madness stamps and a 'Happy Birthday' from the hostess set Express Yourself.

The Butterflies are from the Embosslits Beautiful Wings, but the butterfly punches in the catalogue will work just as well for this layout.  This card, for me, works so well as it is a nice crisp clean and simple card and it is the rhinestones which then just add that extra pizzazz.

Remember, to get the Hostess sets from the catalogue, host a party and if the sales reach just a minimum of £150 you are then entitled to hostess pounds you can spend on hostess products only available to hostesses (or other product in the catalogue if you wish).  This set has 12 sentiments in a lovely handwriting style. 

If you choose to spend on Hostess products you get more for your money, purchased with hostess pounds the Express Yourself set of stamps is only £14!!  You don't fancy a party?  Updating your crafting collection?  If you spend the £150 yourself, you can still get the same benefits!

 

This last card, my favourite, I have to admit is based on a card I had seen by another demonstrator, Terri Antoniw.  I switched a few things around and used the Mosaic emboss folder for the background, but this card is a fantastic layout.  It uses the Mosaic Madness and Label Love stamps and the new Mosaic and Artisan Label punches.  

 

I am loving the co-ordinating stamps and punches this cattie and how quickly and easily I can put cards together with them. I hope you love these too.  Come back soon as I have lots more to show you in the coming days! 

Don't forget also to check out my Events and Classes pages for classes using these products.  If you are a customer already, look out for the August Newsletter in your email inbox for my event on Saturday 31st August too!

To place an order, book your own party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com

It's a Paper Party!!

It has been a while since I blogged here, but there has just been so much excitement with the new catalogue launching and lots of new things that I have been using every little spare moment to have a play with all my new catalogue goodies - obviously to test them all out for you first! 

So back at SU head office they just cannot resist giving us great offers to take advantage of and not only do we have the bundle offers throughout the new catalogue to help save you up to 15% on combined items, they are offering a buy 3 and get 1 FREE on selected designer papers.

The offer is running 1-31 August, 2013 and you can buy three packs of select Designer Series Paper and get one for free! The offer is for the DSP papers in the new annual catalogue only which can be found on pages 151, 153, and 154.  It excludes the DSP stacks and any of the speciality papers, but there are so many other packs to choose from you just won't care!  Make sure you take another look at the catalogue now for the great inspirational ideas for how to use papers and what a difference they can make to your cards/projects.

Another month has passed, I cannot believe it either, but with August now with us it means only one thing, another 'Best of 25 Years' celebration stamp set has been released!  Chosen by Shelli herself, the founder of Stampin' Up!, it includes my favourite bird from the recent retired set 'Elements of Style' - amazing!

Remember, all the sets are in clear-mount only, but are available until March 2014.  Take a look back through the older posts to see the June/July sets which are still available too.

Ok, that's enough offers for today.  I am off to draft up a lovely newsletter for all my customers to let you know about all the exciting events I am planning some time soon, so don't forget to check you emails too.......................

To place an order, book a party or come to a workshop email me at craftyinkbuds@sky.com