What a Day!

OMG, what a fantastic day Jenny and I had yesterday!

We had 28 ladies attend our first Stampin'Up! Extravaganza which we've been planning since Convention. Jen and I shared a room together when we went last November and one night we stayed awake till 1pm planning this event. So the day finally arrived and it couldn't of gone better. We were a bit strapped for time with setting up but once done I quickly wizzed round and took a few pictures before the doors opened.

We had Registration at 9.45am. Here's the registration table where the attendees were handed a welcome pack.

Each table had a number and everyone a name place, decorated water bottle with a little pouch and some chocolate, there was a very clever box (made by Jen) filled with sweets on every table along with biscuits, decorated tissue box. Everything was co-ordinated. Here's one of the tables set up ready. And one of the place settings...We had two projects in the morning, Jen's class was using 'A Good Egg' which everyone made a stepper card and a treat bag. It's soooo sweet! I've not made this myself yet but I see Jen's put the instuctions on her blog so I'm having a go at that in the week. And my project was using 'Love you Much'. A card/mini album. Everyone worked really hard in the morning, we had no breaks although they could all stop and grab a coffee or tea as and when they liked. My mum and Jen's mum were our saviours in helping out for the day in the kitchen, making sure everyone was well fed and watered. We couldn't of done it without them, and also I musn't forget a special mention to my MIL who very kindly baked for us all to enjoy. She wasn't there but anyone who has been to my open house will know how wonderful her baking is - that's probably why I find it so hard to diet! lol

For lunch everone was given a decorated bag (co-ordinated of course) with their lunch in, but unfortunately I didn't get chance to take a photo, darn! I can assure you they did look lovely though. And then it was onto the afternoon project which we had a little surprise for everyone. Here's the project with a different colour family for each table. Bold Brights... Earth Elements... Rich Regals... Soft Subtles.... And the special surprise??? Only Jen and I knew about this so imagine the reaction when Jen and I announced that we forgotten the 'On a Pedestal' stamp set, only for us to find sets hiding under the table for everyone!!! I think that was the pinnacle of the day, seeing the delight on everyones faces.

Through the day we had other surprises too. Whilst at Convention we had 'Prize Patrol' so we thought we have our own version using the Sale-a-bration sets. As peoples names were called they had to stand up and shout 'I'm a Winner!' cheesy I know but it all added to the fun of the day. We also had fantastic raffle prizes.

So there you go, that was our very memorable Stampin'Up! Extravaganza. Thank you to everyone who came along and we're so pleased you all enjoyed yourselves. We've had so many wonderful emails to say what a great time you had and that's the important part for us - that everyone enjoyed themselves.

Jen and I are planning another so if you live local or even driving distance and would like to come along to our next event, email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk and as soon as we have the details we'll let you know.

I'll leave you with some photos of our ladies beavering away at their projects. Tfl,

Jo:)

Stampin'Up! Extravaganza

Jenny and I are full steam ahead with our preparations for the Extravaganza we're holding this Saturday. It feels like we've been planning and sorting this for months and now it's almost here, I'm excited and nervous at the same time! My camera battery's fully charged so I just hope I get chance to take some photos as it's going to be jammed packed with fun! Watch out next week to hear all about it.

Jo :)

A Little Hello

Firstly I'd just like to thank everyone for stopping by yesterday on the Blog Hop and also for taking the time to add the lovely comments, it's very much appreciated. I made it round both of them and I have to say everyone made a brilliant job of showcasing the Sale-a-bration sets. I definately have a few cards to CASE along with some new techniques to try out. Thank you again and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Ok so today's card is one I made on Saturday using 'Little Hellos' from the main Idea Book & Catalogue. How cute is that flower and butterfly!

Now you may have noticed I've taken a shine to using the textured cardstock packs for my base card lately. Up until now I've not really used it, not because I don't like it in fact it's the total opposite, I've been treating it as 'best' and therefore only cutting into it for special occasions. Well that special occasion has now turned into every occasion as it seemed silly to just keep looking and stroking. Isn't it lovely? I'd better get me some more of that!I used Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink and So Saffron with a hint of Sage Shadow for this card and all the products I use are Stampin' Up! unless I say otherwise. I know I don't always give a full recipe of what I've used but you can always email me if you want to know something and more than likely they will be SU!

Tfl and see ya soon,

Jo :)

Sale-a-bration Blog Hop

Welcome to the Sale-a-bration blog hop organised very kindly by Helen from In Love With Stamping. If this is your first port of call I hope you enjoy the tour as you hop from one blog to another seeing all the wonderful creations made by other demonstrators using the current Sale-a-bration sets and hopefully you will feel inspired to get creating too. If you've arrived from Teri's blog and seen her fabulous creations I'm sure you're already picked up lots of ideas.

I've managed to use all four of the sets in one way or another, so here goes...

For the first one I used Happy Moments and Whimsical Words. For some reason every time I use Happy Moments I can't help but add some dazzling diamonds. I've coloured the presents with the blender pen and added a drizzle of glitter over the image just to give it that extra special touch - cute! There are three very tiny sweet sentiments in the Happy Moments set but I wanted to use Whimsical Words for this card to show you how beautiful they are - love those scripted words. The second card is using Vintage Labels. The intricate design of the circle label made me want to make it into a flower and thank goodness it fits inside the scallop circle punch....wouldn't really want to cut that one out would you?! The Happy Birthday sentiment is in the set too. And finally, put your sunglasses on for this one, here's Good Neighbors. It is quite bright isn't it?! Ok so that's me done. Hope you liked what you've seen and for more inspiration hop on over to Dawn's Blog here to follow on the tour. There are 15 blogs in this round but if you want to see more, there is also another Hop which starts here.

Right, I'm off to see what everyone has made. Tfl and if you've any questions, please ask.

See you soon,

Jo :)

Make a Difference

Greenhouse Garden 113824 £22.95

Can you help make a difference?

Stampin′ Up! demonstrators have a long history of making a difference in the lives of others--especially when disaster strikes and the need is greatest. So it was not surprising that so many demonstrators have contacted us in the past week asking what the plan is for helping to provide relief for those who continue to suffer from the effects of the earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January. Here is the plan:

From now until 28 February, 2010, £1 from every Greenhouse Gardens stamp set you sell (or buy) will be donated American Red Cross’ International Response Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

Stampin' Up has also been involved in supplying 5,000 hygiene kits which you can read more about on Shelli Gardner's blog here, (Cofounder and CEO of Stampin' Up!).

I showcased this card back in October, CASE'd from the current catalogue using Greenhouse Garden.

In addition to the £1 from SU!, for every set of Greenhouse Garden bought through myself I will personally donate another £1. You can email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk Please support this worthy cause.

Thank you and tfl,

Jo :)

Bright and Cheery

It's very damp, dull and overcast here today so here's something bright and cheery for you. Flight of the Butterfly is the stamp set and the colours are Pink Passion, Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive. The sentiment is from Happy Moments (one of the Sale-a-bration sets). A fleeting post from me today, but don't forget the Sale-a-bration Blog Hop on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone has created! Tfl, Jo :)

Mojo Monday #122

It's not often I do challenges but while surfing blogland last night I saw the Mojo Monday Challenge and loved the sketch which I thought would be perfect for my dear old mum's birthday today - she's 75. I wanted to use the Greenhouse Garden set and the colour inspiration came from this ladies cards here - gorgeous aren't they? I used Lavender Lace, Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive. The patterened papers are now retired but they were from the Haiku DSP pack. Tonight I've got some cards to make for the Blog Hop which is on Sunday (see my post below) but hope to be back tomorrow with another card. Tfl, Jo :)

Sale-a-bration Blog Hop

This Sunday, 24th Jan I'll be taking part in a Sale-a-bration blog hop. The idea is to create a chain of blogs that will lead you from one to another showcasing creations made using the current Sale-a-bration sets. Hopefully it'll get your creative juices flowing and inspire you to get stamping with these exclusive sets. I'm really looking forward to it and hope you manage to stop by all of them. I'll have more details nearer the time.

It's my Mum's birthday today, I've made a card in the nick of time which I'll show you later today.

Have a good one.

Jo :)

Good Neighbors

Good Neighbors is one of the exclusive FREE sets that's currently in the Sale-a-bration catalogue. This is my first card I've made using it and I have to apologise for the plainess as not a lot of thought went into it - I was concentrating more on the colours. The colour inspiration came from a skirt I saw Monica wearing at Convention - thanks Mon, mwah! I've probably got the colours all wrong but this is what I thought at the time....Choc Chip, Sage Shadow and More Mustard - beautiful. Right I need to get on. I have a few birthdays this week and lots of things to do for an event that Jenny Moors and I are hosting on the 30th January. We've planned a Stampin' Extravagaza! We are fully booked for this one with 27 eager ladies attending but there will be more events to come over the year. If you're interested in attending one of our future events, please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk and we will notifiy you as soon as the information is available. Keep a look out at the beginning of Feb for the projects and photos from the day. It's going to be fun! Tfl, Jo :)

A little delivery

Yesterday a little delivery arrived for me which was some dies I bought in a sale. I'm sure all you fellow crafters can appreciate that as soon as you get something new it has to be used...well that's exactly what I did last night. I should of been doing some other stuff but I couldn't concentrate with these 'bargains' lurking in the corner. The cry to be used was that bad that I had to use the stamps which were already on my desk so yes you guessed it....it's Love You Much again!

The frame was larger than I thought so I had to make a 15cmx15cm card base in Kraft. Love Kraft, I don't know how I ever managed without it before.

I'm cropping tomorrow, it's the first one of the year and I'm so looking forward to it! Not that I get much crafting done, I tend to do alot of gassing and drinking tea when I'm there - can't wait.

Have a great weekend and tfl,

Jo :)

Back to Christmas

My best friend Karen has asked me to post a little more often as blogland seems a bit quiet at the moment, so I thought I'd dig out some things from Christmas that I never got round to showing you. So for today only it's Christmas again, without all the trimmings though.

This card and chocolate treat I made for all my Stampers 8 ladies. That cute little chocolate face of Father Christmas was bought back in November whilst in Germany at Convention... crumbs that seems such a long time ago. The card was from a sketch somewhere, can't remember where, not when you see the length of my blog feed. Does that make me a bit of a stalker when I have 100 blogs in google reader?? lol Anyway I used Sparkly and Bright for these - I'll definately be using that one again next year.

During December I went to one of my crops and I got everyone to make a gift card holder.

They're really easy to make and can obviously be used for any occasion. We used Merry Moments DSP, Season of Joy and the So Swirly Wheel. So there you are, I didn't get round to taking pictures of all the Christmas cards I made or even the ones I receive, and I had loads, but a belated thank you to all who sent handmade ones, I've kept them all. Tfl and see ya soon! Jo :)

Another 'V' Day card

I'm stuck on 'Love You Much' at the moment and really enjoying it. I've made quite a few V-day cards now which I think must be because of the colour combination. Jake asked me today what my favourite colour was and when I thought about it, I haven't really got just one. My answer was...

1. BROWN - it reminds me of CHOCOLATE of course!
2. PINK - it's very girly and as I'm surrounded by boys, I need a bit of femininity in my life.
3. RED - it's the colour of love and I LOVE my boys (even if they do drive me nuts).
4. TURQUOISE - for clothes it goes well with my eye colour.

So no wonder I enjoy making Valentines cards, not that turquoise fits in that lot! he hee

Anyway onto the card...

I've stamped those love birds again - so cute. The mini brackets were created with the tag punch (I'll have to show you how to do that sometime) and those diddy hearts are from the Heart punch - another one of those invaluable must have punches. I've even incorporated the 'hearts 'o plenty wheel on the base card - love it! Excuse the pun. :)

OK, my bed is calling.

Tfl and see you soon.

Jo :)

Valentine

Only five weeks till Valentines Day, not that I'm wishing my life away but I could do with something to look forward too and with each occasion crossed off on the calender, spring will soon be here. It's my favourite time of year. So with Valentines in mind I had a creative splurge with 'Love You Much' last night. I made a few things but they're for an event at the end of January that myself and Jenny Moors are doing, but I'll show you one of the cards I made.

Colours used are Pretty in Pink, Real Red and Basic Black. The DSP is from the 'Pink Flamingo' colletion and ribbon is the real red striped grosgrain.

Here's a close up of the love birds which I stamped onto pink spotty paper which is in the 'Tea Party' DSP, I then cut them out and popped them onto dimensionals. CASE'd from a beautiful card I saw on Splitcoaststampers. Hubs is out this aftie and Jake has gone to his Nanna's so once I've get some hoovering done I shall be ready to craft in peace..yipppeee!

Tfl, Jo :)

Whimsical Words

Well it looks like I'm on a roll and while the sun is shining (it's still bitterly cold) I grabbed the chance to take a photo. I made some thank you cards last night, all the same but slightly different colour combos and I used another of the SAB sets called 'Whimsical Words'. There's 6 stamps in the set and they're sentiments with one word being in a gorgeous curly script. It's a shame they're only available during Sale-a-bration as they're very popular. Let's hope SU! bring out a similar set for the main Idea Book and Catalogue come October. So here you have it...

c/s & Ink: Temtping Turquiose, Basic Black and Apricot Appeal

...the main set for this card is called 'Whimsical Wings' and is exclusively a Hostess Level 2 set. It's goooorgeous and a must have so get yourself booked to have a workshop and you could earn this set along with 'Whimsical Words' plus much more absolutely FREE!

To find a Demonstrator local to you click here or email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk

Tfl and hopefully see you tomorrow. Jo :)

Happy Moments

Hellooooo!! I'm still alive and I'm so sorry for the long abscence. Hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year, and now braving this very cold front of weather the UK has been under. Living in the very south of England we don't get that much snow and when we do it's gone very quickly. A little disappointing for Jake and myself as we want to go out tobogganing and building snowmen...not for us, at least at the moment. Anyway, a long awaited card for you. I'm sure you all know about SALE-A-BRATION which is the current offer from Stampin'Up! where you can earn FREE exclusive stamp sets. One of these sets is called 'Happy Moments', such a cute little set and fab if you like to do a bit of colouring..like me. The colours are Bashful Blue, Barely Banana and Regal Rose. I've coloured this image with my blender pens which gives it a softer colour. A sprinkling of Dazzling Diamonds to the cake finishes it off nicely.

For more information about SAB and to see all the FREE SAB sets available, click here or find the information on the left hand sidebar. It's going to be a chilly weekend and I don't think I'll be venturing far. Hope I can be productive and produce some more cards for you, after all it's been a long wait for this one! lol

Be safe and tfl,

Jo :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year to all my customers and followers and thank you for your support in visiting my little ol' blog. Hope you've all had a wonderful, relaxing Christmas and feeling refreshed, I know I am. A very quick post for now but I hope to be back over the next few days when life's back to normal and show you some samples using one of the FREE sets from SALE-A-BRATION! Happy Crafting! Jo :)