Stampin 'n Stuff

Hooked on Calypso Coral

2012-01-31T15:00:00.000+01:00

I thought Pool Party was my new favourite colour of the moment but it seems to have been taken over all of a sudden with Calypso Coral. With the 'You are Loved' stamp set and a dash of Wisteria Winder I've got the perfect combination!

How about that for a quick post.

Be back soon!

Party Plan Conference

2012-01-29T17:00:00.001+01:00

Well what a fantastic day I had yesterday at the Party Plan Conference and Awards! Julie Spencer, Helen Clifford, Ali Smith and Cath Carey from my team were by my side helping to promote Stampin' Up! as well as networking with all the other Party Planners at the event.

It was a busy day but I had such fun chatting with so many ladies, picking up tips and arranging party swaps with each other, as well as attending some very inspirational, motivational and brilliant seminars. Myself and my team learnt a lot and I can't wait to put what I've learnt into my business.

Unfortunately I wasn't the winner of the 'Best Visual Merchandiser' at the Awards but I'm still very pleased to have been picked as a finalist and I'm very proud of how I present Stampin' Up! with a professional and eye catching display.

Here's a few photo's taken during the day.

Me being a dork!

2 of my fabulous team members - Julie Spencer and Helen Clifford

Some of the other Exhibitors...

Karen and Lynn from Ann Summers.

Karen had a go at stamping which she's never done before and Lynn is hoping to come to my classes.

Terry from Chocolate Craft at Home

Citrus 7

They sell display items. I bought a beautiful shabby chic display stand from them. You'll see that when I take my next set of photos.

Vitabella and Flexible Working Recruitment

Jamie at Home

Fiona and another consultant (sorry I couldn't remember her name).

Now if you fancy a Jamie at Home party then Fiona is the lady to get in touch with. You know when you meet someone and instantly hit it off? Well Fiona was that lady for me. We're doing a party swap and I can promise you, you'll have a lot of fun with her, she's fabulous. She's recently moved to Corfe Castle and would love to meet new people in the area. You can contact her at fiona.bardwell@hotmail.com

Sheila & Liz from Scentsy

Again these ladies were so lovely and Ali is having a party swap with them next month.

I can't wait! Love the sample smells we received in their goodie bags. I so need Snowberry!

And that was just a few of the stalls. There was so much more there.

We held a FREE Prize Draw during the day and the winner was

Joanne Howard from the Hair Party Company.
Joanne was at the Awards last night to receive the prize.

Being a Party Planner is so much fun! If you'd like to discuss the opportunity of becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and join in the fun then please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk
I will give you all the support you require at whatever level and pace you want to take your Demoship.

My next Quarterly Team Training event is 15th April and I've asked one of the presenters at yesterdays Conference to come along to give a talk. This lady has been in Direct Sales for 27 years and has a wealth of knowledge. I was truelly blown away with how inspirational this lady is. If you'd like to join the team or just thinking about joining, the information you'll gain from this lady will without a doubt help with the first steps on your journey to a flying start.

With Sale-a-bration until 31st March purchase the Starter Kit for only £119 and as an added bonus choose an additional stamp set of your choice bringing the total value of the kit to almost £300.

This is the best time to join Stampin' Up!

That's for me today. I've some home life to fit in.

See you very soon!

Party Plan Conference 2012

2012-01-27T14:10:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow, Saturday 28th January, I'm exhibiting at the FIRST Party Plan Conference in the UK. It's being held at the Queens Hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset.

This is an Opportunity Event for those looking to start their own business in the world of Party Plan and to find out what it's all about

There is a huge fear of party plan, I remember so well from the days of Tupperware, but the whole industry has come a long way since then and with high unemployment and the need to earn an income that will fit in with a normal family life, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

The exhibition is open to EVERYONE that may be interested in finding out about becoming a Party Planner and if you're there before 10am you'll be able to attend the first seminar 'Getting Started with Party Plan' with Clare Mutch from Party Plan United.

I'll be in the exhibition hall with some of my team members and we'd love to see you if you can make it. We've a FREE Draw, Goodie Packs, we'll be Demonstrating and there is also a very Special Offer for those wishing to join Stampin' Up! in the next couple of months.

If you're already a Stampin' Up! addict maybe you'd like to know more on starting your own business or even if you're an avid crafter and just like a Fantastic Value Starter Kit with Discounts on all your future purchases,plus more, then this could be a great opportunity for you.

The event is being supported by the Evening Echo and The Job Centre so we hope there will be a fantastic turnout.

I've been nominated as a Finalist in the category of 'Best Visual Merchandiser' at the Awards Ceremony in the evening. Keep your fingers toes and eyes crossed for me!

The Exhibition is open all day from 9am to 4.30pm

Hope to see you there!

Masculine 'Spice Cake'

2012-01-26T18:18:00.002+01:00

It was card class this week and I'd had a request for Masculine cards. We all find 'male' cards hard to design, me included - if only these men they liked flowery things!

I didn't want them to be dull colours, I have to add some sort of colour so I went with the new 'Spiced Cake' papers in the NEW Mini Catalogue. Some of them have flowers on and they're absolultey gorgeous but I tried to avoid those particular ones for this class.

We made 3 cards and a bottle tag using a variety of stamps sets and punches.

The tag used Paisley Prints and Perfect Pairs.

This first card was with Paisley Prints and Perfect Punches

The next we used Motorcycle which is from the A La Carte section on page 15 of the main Idea Book & Catalogue.

And the last one we used Curly Cute for the greeting.

They all feature the most amazing and versatile embossing folder ' Square Lattice'.

That's it from me for now.

See ya soon!

Mocha Morning, 'you are loved'

2012-01-25T10:24:00.001+01:00

I'm finding it hard not to use the 'You are Loved' stamp set at the moment. I'm a very tactile sort of person so the stunning flocked papers in the Mocha Morning Speciality papers are right up my street. We all know how black is a good colour to use with absolutely everything and whilst playing around with colour combo's the other day and I had a scrap of Calypso Coral on my desk and I knew it would work perfectly with black for that striking effect.

It looks pretty classy for a wedding theme don't you think? I've got a wedding to go to in August so I'll re-create this when the time comes.

The box is like the one we made at the Qtrly Team Training which uses the Mini Milk Carton Die.

I've made lots more of these boxes using the Sale-a-bration papers 'Everyday Enchartment'. At long last I've managed to stop stroking them and start using. I think it's to do with the fact I can now replace with more. I just need to get my own Sale-a-bration order in now!

Right, lots to do. See ya real soon.

SALE-A-BRATION IS HERE!

2012-01-24T11:15:00.000+01:00

View the Sale-a-bration Freebies HERE!

Elementary Elegance

2012-01-22T14:46:00.002+01:00

Sale-a-bration 2012

and

'Elementary Elegance'

teamed with

Mocha Morning Speciality Papers...lush!

Plus an 8x8 Scrapbook page.

The crown is from the NEW Mini catalogue - the perfect embellishment for scrapbooking.

Only 2 days to go till Sale-a-bration 2012 kicks off!

Sale-a-bration 2012

2012-01-21T17:20:00.001+01:00

Sale-a-bration has come a little later this year. For all Stampin' Up! addicts out there we all know how special this time of year is as it means FREEBIE TIME!

It all starts this Tuesday 24th January but will last a little longer until Saturday March 31st.

For those that are new to Sale-a-bration and wondering what the heck it's all about you're in for a surprise. During this period everyone placing an order of £45 will receive a FREE Sale-a-bration item. It's not just for Hostesses, although they will be rewarded grandly for hosting a workshop, this is for all customers whether you're placing an order at a workshop or single one off orders. Plus it's for every £45 spent so if you have a wishlist as long as your arm, have a birthday or simply feel like treating yourself and you spend £90 you get 2 items absolutely FREE! If you prefer to pace yourself why not spend £45 in each of the 3 months and everytime you can choose a Sale-a-bration item.

There are 4 stamp sets and a beautiful set of Designer Papers to choose from which are totally exlusive to Sale-a-bration.You can't buy them you can only earn them with a £45 order. When the offer is over you won't see them again so if you fall in love (like I have with the papers and one particular matching set 'Fresh Vintage') then starting making that wishlist.

Sale-a-bration starts

Tues 24th January - 31st March 2012

For now I can only show you things I've made using these products but the Sale-a-bration leaflet with ALL the FREE sets in will go live on Tuesday.

So would you like to see what can be made with these FREEBIES? Later today I'll post some projects I've made using Elementary Elegance.

See ya later!

Create a Cupcake Tutorial & Qtrly Team Training Event

2012-01-18T18:28:00.000+01:00

On Sunday it was our Quarterly Team Training Event which is open to all Demonstrator to attend as well as anyone considering the opportunity of joining the Stampin' Up! family. It was an excellent day as they always are. I only wish I'd had more time to take photos so I apologise for the lack of, apart from the Demonstrator Choice entries (which are amazing!) and samples from the Inspiration Station but I'll post those later in the week though.

These events are always jammed packed with swapping, inspiration tables, display boards, business training, competitions, prizes, refreshments and a superb buffet along with the most humongous cupcakes! Oh, and of course...crafting!

From the feedback I've received it's very obvious that the most enjoyable part is the getting together and sharing of ideas and inspiration, and I have to agree. Everyone is so willing to share their ideas and experiences with each other, it's wonderful.

So, what did we make...

The afternoon project was a class designed for attendies to teach to their customers using the 'Create a Cupcake' set and matching 'Builder Cupcake' punch. I really enjoyed putting this class together and as I'm eating healthily at the moment this was the closest I was going to get to a cupcake - apart from sniffing the air when MIL's cupcakes came out on the buffet table! This class has a few nifty tricks in their too which I demonstrated and they went down very well.

Create a Cupcake & Builder Cupcake punch are on page 22 of the NEW Mini Catalogue.

If you'd like to have a go at this class there are Instructions which can be purchased* on my right hand sidebar, or if you'd like a FREEBIE all you need to do is place an order to the value of £25.

For orders please email jodumbleton@aol.co.uk and I will send you the Tutorial separately.

* Demonstrators wishing to teach this as a class can do so but if you wish to hand out class instructions, please email me for a discounted bulk buy.

My next Quarterly Team Training Event is on Sunday 15th April. If you're a Demonstrator or thinking of joining, this event is open to everyone and you're more than welcome to join in the fun!

Plus!

There's a very special promotion coming very soon for NEW Demonstrators. If you'd like to know more or to discuss the opportunity of running your own crafting business from home then please email for further info.

See ya soon!

Hello from 'My friend'

2012-01-13T17:17:00.000+01:00

Another using this wonderful stamp set 'My Friend' from the NEW Spring Mini.

Inspired by Monica who showcased a New Year's card where she'd used glitter to fill the teardrops - pretty cool idea I thought.

The heart was punched from the Sticky Sheets and sprinkled with that superfine glitter.

Colour Combo: Sahara Sand, Pool Party & Whisper White

Well it's a bit 'post & run' at the moment - I've a ton of things going on.

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Spring Mini - My Friend CaSE

2012-01-11T12:24:00.002+01:00

I saw a card on Splitcoaststampers here at the weekend using the 'My Friend' stamp set in the NEW Spring Mini which I thought was so pretty.

I've CaSE'd it with the same gorgeous colour combo of Pool Party, Calypso Coral & Soft Suede.

A strip of bling down the side with Stampin' Up! Glitter and Sticky Strip adds the perfect sparkle to this card I think. The glitter is from the Fine Galaxy pack on page 113 and boy is it fine, very much like Dazzling Diamonds but in silver.

I'll never get tired of the butterflies made with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit - my most used die I would say.

I've a Team Training Event this weekend and there's lots to do but I'll be back in the next few days with more things to share.

See ya soon!

Clean & Simple Class

2012-01-10T12:29:00.000+01:00

Back in November I found a new venue to hold regular card classes which I now run every fortnight on a Monday morning and Tuesday evening. Yesterday was the first class of 2012 and we made this card gift box with 4 cards.

The theme was Clean & Simple (CAS) which I'm loving at the moment.

My inspiration for some of these cards came from the 'Clean & Simple Stamping' challenge blog. There's lots of sketches and beautiful cards to look at and help you on your way with your creativivity.

The bottom right card was a CaSE from our main catalogue.

Colour combo:- Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Calypso Coral & Lucky Limeade.

If you'd like to attend one or all of my classes in Wimborne, Dorset, we would love to have you join us.

There's more info on my 'Classes' page or send me an email.

So that's me for today.

See ya soon.

2012-01-08T20:16:00.001+01:00

Stampin' Angels
Weekend Retreat

May 2012

Friday 18th May
to
Sunday 20th May

The Venue:

Holiday Inn Fareham
Titchfield
Fareham
Hants

Would you like to spend a whole weekend crafting?

With a bar/coffee area, spacious restaurant and modern guest rooms plus Spa (including a swimming pool), you won't be disappointed in the Holiday Inn Fareham as the perfect venue for my first weekend retreat in May 2012.

I would love you to join me for hours of non stop crafting, fun and laughter!

Your weekend will include your own space in the main craft room, classes*, challenges, competitions, games and a whole lot of crafting fun!

The excitement starts from 6pm Friday and continues right the way through till 5pm Sunday.

(Hotel check in from 2pm)

What's included:-

Crafting space in our own private room available to you all weekend.

Accomodation either on a single occupancy or twin room basis for the Friday and Saturday night.

All meals:- evening meal on Friday night; breakfast, lunch and evening meal on Saturday; breakfast and lunch on Sunday.

Goodie Bag on arrival.

Unlimited tea/coffee & biscuits, mineral water and sweets all weekend in the craft room.

Prizes for Challenges & Games.

Party night on Saturday.

There will be a total of 5 classes spread over the weekend.

More details of the classes will be available in early April when you'll be able to book your place for each. Class numbers will be limited so if it's something you really like the look of, book early.

Classes will be held in a seperate adjacent room so there's no need to clear your space, just grab your tool kit and join in the fun!

The cost for the weekend is..

£280 Single Occupancy

£240 per person/Twin Room

For FULL details of classes, terms & conditions and payment options, please visit my 'Retreat 2012' page.

Alternatively, email jodumbleton@aol.co.uk

or telephone 01202 880929

to book your place.

I hope you'll join me in what's going to be a fun weekend in May 2012.

Let's bring on the fun!!

Love & Sympathy

2012-01-07T16:39:00.000+01:00

The new year should be full of new beginnings and happiness but sometimes life can be so cruel and doesn't give everyone such a happy start.

A dear friend had some very sad news last week - I shed a tear myself.

The title of this post says it all really.

Thinking of you Sandie.

More from 'You are loved'

2012-01-06T21:11:00.004+01:00

Another card made with 'You are Loved' set which is in the NEW Spring Mini.

I've been trying to do more CAS (Clean & Simple) cards lately and this was a quickie I did at the crop the other night. Along with a lot of chatting....

So, that's a quick card and it's a quick post to go with it!

Have a great weekend!

You are Loved - Spring Mini

2012-01-05T13:24:00.000+01:00

It's a bit blowy out there today but at least it's bright enough to take some photos. I really don't like these dark days but Spring is round the corner... I hope anyway.

Feb 14th of course is Valentines day and although we've only just got over Christmas and I really shouldn't be wishing my life away, I've been playing with the 'You are Loved' stamp set. It maybe Valentine themed but I've been using it for Birthdays too and it's gorgeous.

I love the colour combo used in the Spring Mini to showcase this set so I've stuck with it - Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Pool Party & Real Red. See that glittery heart? That is new Glimmer Paper which is amazing! Wish I'd had that to use when I was doing the reindeer noses on the favour boxes last month! It's sooo sparkly and not an ounce of glitter comes off the card. It's one of those things that has to be seen to fall in love with and I definitely have. 121790 - £3.95 for 2, 12x12 sheets...bargain!

You'll be seeing lots more of the Glimmer paper and 'You are Loved' - it's a winner for me. I can see a class in the making.....

Talking of classes, the fortnightly classes will start back next week with the first one on Monday morning and the same one repeated on Tues evening. The theme is 'Clean & Simple'

Visit my 'Classes' page for more info or email to book your place. And if you'd like a crisp new Spring Mini catalogue to order from, just let me know. Alternatively view all the new products online here or from the image on my righthand sidebar.

See ya soon!

Spring Mini Catalogue 2012

2012-01-04T11:00:00.000+01:00

The New Year has bought NEW PRODUCTS and a

NEW SPRING MINI!

Lots of new stamp sets and accessories and of couse ideas to kick start your New Year into a creative one.

Have a look at NEW Simply Adorned Jewellery on page 7 - so beautiful! A locket style charm allows you to change the insert everyday of the year if you want to. I love mine.

Click on the link above to view the SPRING MINI or if you'd like a hard copy, please send me an email to request yours.

See ya soon with some creativity to share.

Subscribers

2012-01-03T16:08:00.002+01:00

Subscriptions seems to have reappeared - phew! Thank you to everyone that emailed or re-subscribed. Service back to normal now.
Jo

Whilst doing a bit of 'housekeeping' on my blog I've managed to unsubscribe all my email subscribers...eeek! Unfortunately I can't get them back so if you'd like to receive email updates of posts on my blog, please re-subscribe.

That's not such a good start to the New Year.

So sorry everyone and Happy New Year to you All!

Be back tomorrow with the New Mini Catalogue.

Merry Christmas to you all!

2011-12-24T15:59:00.000+01:00

I'm on the last batch or pressies to wrap, the boys are out and all that's left is for me to make the house look presentable with some tidying and cleaning and that's me done! At least for a few days anyway.

I wanted to show you the lovely hostess gift I made this week but time ran away with me as usual and I didn't get to take any photos of it. I will be making another there's no doubt about that and I'll show you next week.

Today though is a page from December's Scrapbook Kit Club.

We used the Simply Scrappin' Kit 'Tickets & Tags' which isn't Christmassy but the colours are very contemporary and it seemed to work. The photo is of my boys taken a few years ago. Scott's birthday is 10th December and it's tradition in our house to have the tree up for his special day. It's usually the perfect photo opportunity but this year that didn't happen. Scott was 21 this year and a night out with his mates was more important than a family get together. That's why scrapbooking is so wonderful. At least I now have a lovely memory of what his birthday's used to be like.

The letters were die cut from my lovely new Big Shot Dies - Alphabet Simple Letters. Covered in chunky silver glitter.

So all that's left for me to say is

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you to all my blog visitors, friends, family, team members and customers for supporting me through this year!

I've big plans for 2012 and it all starts on January 1st.

Have a wonderful time over the holidays and see you next week with some sneak peeks of what's to come.

Enjoy!

'Clean And Very Simple' Polar Party

2011-12-22T12:27:00.000+01:00

With so many cards to send this year I had to keep the majority of them very simple. Time as always is the limiting factor and although I could make Christmas cards all year long, (my favourite time of year) they had to be quick.

Polar Party came to the rescue and although I've seen some fabulous cards made with this set, a bit of stamping and colouring gives just as good an effect.

Quite a few packs of the notecards (they come in a pack of 20 and include envelopes - page. 95, 107311), Polar Party Stamp set, Black Stazon and a few Stampin' Write Marker pens plus the finishing touch of some Dazzling Diamonds, I whizzed through these.

3 more sleeps to go, as Jake has told me what seems like a million times today. Excited is an understatement!

Hope to see you one last time before Christmas but I'm off out now to tackle the shops for a bit of Christmas shopping.

See ya soon!

Pines & Poinsetta's

2011-12-18T16:25:00.002+01:00

The plan was to get all my Christmas cards made in November but with all the Christmas Fairs lately, that hasn't quite happened. Where on earth has December gone? At long last though I've made a huge dent in the list of people to send to with some simple cards and some more intricate.

My card today is the more intricate design using Pines & Poinsetta's. A beautiful stamp set, love the colouring technique used with the Stampin' Write Markers for this.

There's lots of my favourite products on this card - the lace trim, vintage brads, First Edition SP....maybe that's why I loved making it so much?

It's my last workshop of 2011 tomorrow morning and I've a very special gift for the Hostess. You'll want to make one too when you see it - it's gorgeous! (hint, hint)

Right, I'm ready for a cuppa and mince pie.

See ya soon!

Mini Calendars

2011-12-15T17:54:00.000+01:00

At this weeks Class we made mini calendars and a pretty box for it to go in.

Perfect little gifts!

There was plenty of stamping to have a go at which I tried to keep themed to each month.

SOLD OUT

~~I have batches of 20 acrylic cases to purchase on my right hand sidebar through paypal if you'd like to make some yourself.~~

£5

~~(includes first class post)~~

~~Sorry but it's only within the UK, the postage would be much too high to ship overseas.~~

Classes will resume in the New Year on Monday 9th January (morning) and Tuesday 10th January (evening) and from then on every fortnight.

More information is on the Classes Page at the top of my blog.

If you'd like to try a class then please email to book your place.

The cost is £10 and all you need to bring is your basic tool kit.

(Attend 5 classes and get the 6th half price.)

Super Size Reindeer Boxes

2011-12-13T15:15:00.001+01:00

I had an order for some of the reindeer boxes I've been selling at the craft fairs recently but my customer wanted these mini boxes of Roses to give to her guests.

The box had to have a complete transformation but we now have SUPER SIZE Reindeer Boxes!

I designed this box so it's completely encased.

And the final packaged item.

All 8 of these are ready for delivery tomorrow.

It's manic here with Christmas preparations as I'm sure it is with you too, but hope to be back tomorrow with this weeks class.

Stampin' Up! at Wimborne Market

2011-12-09T11:28:00.001+01:00

Another stall today at the local market. Wimborne is a market town and has a huge site with indoor and outside areas. We're in hall 2 of the 5 with a lovely large table.

Although a bit chilly we're doing well.

(uploaded from mobile phone)

And MORE Reindeer Food

2011-12-06T16:57:00.001+01:00

Another 50 Reindeer Food made for a customer order!

Hope Santa's reindeer are hungry...

More Craft Fair items

2011-12-05T16:12:00.001+01:00

After a fabulous time at the Christmas Craft Fairs last weekend, Mum and I are off to another 2 this coming weekend.

I've added these really neat acrylic post-it-note holders to sell.

The idea came from Kerry's Paper Craft again.

This one is using the really lush Hostess DSP - Cheerful Treat and the the butterfly is stamped from the Creative Elements stamp set.

As you can see it's all packaged up nicely - love my packaging.

And this one is for my Jake to give his teacher for Christmas. I've used the now retired Play Date DSP.

These make fantastic Teacher Gifts and I'm hoping they will sell well at the weekend along with all the other stocking fillers we've got.

We'll be at Wimborne Market on Friday morning (9am - 2pm) inside one of the covered halls.

This particular market runs every week - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - and it's absolutely HUGE!Well worth a visit for a few Christmas bargains.

I'll also be at the Merley House Christmas Fayre on Sunday.

12pm - 4pm

Entry £1, children FREE

The Raffle is in support of TeamMax.

Please pop over and say hello if you're visiting either of these events.

We'd love to see you and have a chat, and my gosh, can Mum and I talk!

Pines & Poinsetta's CASE

2011-12-02T15:10:00.001+01:00

I'm beavering away making tons of stocking filler items to sell at a few more events next week, so not much to show you at the moment.

I do have this rather lovely card I CASED from Bekka though. Beautiful isn't it! It uses Pines & Poinsetta's with Everything Eleanor.

Sorry to those that live across the pond, Everything Eleanor is only available in Europe at the mo. Love both these sets. The greeting is from Petite Pairs.

I've used Real Red & Lucky Limeade for the colour combo.

The choice for my Christmas cards this year is huge! Now, which set shall I use?...

My reindeer have grown!

2011-11-30T01:50:00.001+01:00

Look what's happened to my reindeer boxes. They've grown from this to this!

Christmas Bags, Tags & Boxes Class

2011-11-29T11:13:00.001+01:00

Yesterday was my first class at the new venue - the Community, Learning & Resource Centre, in Wimborne and it's perfect! This was the class we created, Christmas Bags, Tags & Boxes using the Holly Berry DSP and Pines & Poinsettas stamp set.

I've the same class tonight 7pm to 9.30pm and a few places left so if you fancy coming along, please contact me by 3pm today, you're more than welcome to join us.

The cost is £10 and I've a new loyalty scheme for regulars - attend 5 classes and get the 6th half price.

My classes will be every fortnight on both Monday mornings and Tuesday evenings. Booking is essential. Bring you basic craft tool kit and a mug for a cuppa and I'll provide the rest.

Email me or telephone 01202 880929 to reserve your place.

NEW CLASS DATES

2011-11-28T23:46:00.000+01:00

***please scroll down for newer posts***

NEW FORTNIGHTLY CLASSES
(Morning and Evenings)
STARTING NOVEMBER 28TH

For my NEW TIMETABLE go to my 'CLASSES' page using the tab under my header.

To book your place contact me on 01202 880929 or send me an email.

Back to Convention 2011

2011-11-28T22:37:00.001+01:00

I'll make this the last of the Convention photos as I'm sure you've seen plenty on your travels. This could be a bit photo heavy though - are you sitting comfortably?

Ok, so Momento Mall and the SU! displays...

Gorgeous Evelyn with her stash of goodies

The Awards night...

My little star - Jules

Oops! Must learn to breath in when on stage.

The General Sessions.....

A lovely photo of Jules and Shannon West.

Minnie....

...and of course Mickey!!!

A fantastic night in Euro Disney after Convention with Zoe. The excitement was overwhelming - we were like little kids! My sides ached from laughing so much that night - thank you Zoe and Natalie. x

Tinkerbell!!!!

And on our car journey home, not intentional at all but so very worth it, the sat nav took us right through Paris! We had no idea why everyone was beeping their horns till I spotted the Eiffel Tower!

We even went up the Champs Elysee with me snapping these fabulous pics of the Arc de Triomphe.

These ones in Paris were all taken while hanging out of the car window as Cath carefully manouvered us safely on our journey back to Le Havre.

Convention in Euro Disney was an absolute ball! From the moment I left home it was the best, and mostly because of all the amazing Demonstrators we have here in Europe. Stampin' Up! has such a strong emphasis on family and I'm so happy to be part of it.

Do you fancy coming to next years Convention in Mainz, Germany? Every Demonstrator has the opportunity to attend at any level. I've been a Demo for almost 4 years now and it's been the best time of my life. I have friends all over the world!

To find out more on the opportunity of becoming a Demonstrator, have a read of ' My Story' underneath my header at the top of my blog. If it appeals to you I would love to hear from you and who knows, maybe you'd like to become part of the Stampin' Up! family and my team of 'Stampin' Angels'.

See ya tomorrow!

Horton & Chalbury Christmas Fair

2011-11-28T01:40:00.001+01:00

It was another event today at the Horton & Chalbury Christmas Fair. Mum was there with me again and we both had a fabulous time!

I took some better photos this time.

This first one is of my lovely Mum. She's an amazing support to me and I can honestly say I couldn't do these events without her. Whether it be the catering for an all dayer or promoting my business, she's an absolute super star. Not bad for a lady in her 70's either.

Love ya Mum.

I've more Convention photos to show you later.

See ya then!

Team Max Ladies Evening

2011-11-26T00:10:00.001+01:00

I've literally just got back from a fantastic Ladies Evening for Team Max and I'm pooped! My feet hurt so much (*note to self - don't wear heeled boots to these events) they honestly feel like they're on fire, but it was all worth it.

The whole of the Community Centre was taken over with an array of stalls from nail treatments, fitness, cooking, crafts, oh my gosh, the list goes on. I didn't get chance to see them all, mainly because Mum and I were pretty busy ourselves.

A very nice lady offered to take some photos of us before the doors opened.

We'd sold a fair bit before opening!

There's not much left of this now and I've another event on Sunday...eeek!

Better get my finger out tomorrow and make more. It's going to be a looooong day!

My new classes will be held at the same venue so if you're interested in coming along either on a Monday morning or Tuesday evening every fortnight, please visit my 'CLASSES' page at the top of my blog under the header, for more information.

Right, my feet need soaking before bed.

Have a good one a see ya soon!

At last! Roomie Gifts

2011-11-25T02:51:00.001+01:00

They've made it to the blog at last! My wonderful roomie gifts given to me by Jules and SJ.

First up is this gorgeous mini frame from Jules. Isn't it so cute and pretty? It's pride of place in my conservatory.

And then we have these beautiful decorated pegs in the Beau Chateau papers from SJ.

I love these - the giant peg is brill for cards or photos. I think mine will hold a photo, when I can bear to get it out of the beautiful packaging. The mini pegs are really useful too, especially as I use Tombow glue and the pegs will hold my 3D projects together pefectly for those few seconds while it dries. SJ also gave me a scissor sharpener - how lucky was I!

Thank you Jules and SJ - mwah!

I've a stall for Team Max Charity Ladies Evening tonight. I've made lots of stocking fillers to sell so I hope it wll be a good one. Mum is helping me - bless her. I told her I had an SU! apron for her to wear and she got all excited! Mum's not a Demo, she's not interested in papercrafting, but she loves seeing what everyone makes and LOVES to do the catering at all my events - and flippin lovely it is too. She considers herself part of the team though and I guess she is, because I really couldn't do it without her.

If you're local to Wimborne and fancy popping over, we'd love to see you. Entrance is £3 on the door with a glass of wine.

See ya tomorrow!

Convention 2011, 3D Swap

2011-11-24T08:30:00.000+01:00

p.s. Meant to say - the hearts were made with the Petal Cone Die. Perfect every time!

While waiting for the sun to come out I'll show you my 3D swap.

This was for an organised swap on In Love With Stamping. (The link is on my left hands sidebar.)

There were 11 of us in the group and my gosh, what fabulous swaps I had in return!

This was mine....

....and all packaged up.

Well.....while I had the sewing machine out I thought, why not. The fabric is Candy Cane - loving those spots and stripes!

They're stuffed with very expensive lavender. Not completely though, there's other stuffing in there too.

My return swaps will again follow when that sun appears.

See ya soon!

Stampin' Up! Convention 2011 Bag & Binder

2011-11-23T22:33:00.001+01:00

Although the sun shone today, I literally ran out of time to take photos. So yet another day for something different.

Here's our capacious Convention Bag we all received on Registration.

The detail on the embroidery is beautiful.

And we always get a commemorative key ring.

This bag is much larger than you think. There are pockets everywhere!

Inside we also received 2 stamp sets for our Make & Takes. I've still to make mine as I was too busy chatting and taking photos - and too excited to craft!

We were also given a ring binder with the current Idea Book & Catalogue inside.

Shelli was passing our table so we asked her to sign the inside.

Right then, fingers crossed for a little photography session tomorrow.

p.s. anyone know how to centre my signature??

<------------------------------------------------------------

Convention Swaps

2011-11-23T00:51:00.001+01:00

Well the sun didn't make it out from behind those clouds after all, so no photos of the roomie gifts I received just yet. Instead I've got my swaps to show you.

I made 3 different ones - 2 cards and a 3D item. Wonder if you can guess what it is??

My first design was this card using 'Just Believe'. I will always love this set - it's one I can reach for every time whether I'm doing cards or scrapbooking. A simple design but the added extra comes from the embossed strip of vellum using Vintage Wallpaper.

My second card is a CASE from a recent blog I discovered called Lime Doodle. It's not exact but I loved the idea of using the Decorative Label punch as a border. The stamp set is Button Buddies.

And my third swap was......

Oh yes! It had to be though didn't it? Love making these - they're so cute!

This colour combo is Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade.

Here's another colour combo with Pool Party Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade.

Keep your fingers crossed for a bit of sun tomorow but if not I've got my 3D swap I can show you.

See ya soon!

Roomie Gifts

2011-11-22T13:46:00.001+01:00

ETA - the link to the pattern is on this post here.

The biggest part of Convention has to be the swapping and giving of gifts. We all like to give something extra special to our team members and roomies and as I've had a bit of a thing for sewing lately I decided to make them a smaller version of the bags I'd made here.

Once you get going with these they're very quick to make. I made these 4 in an evening and they're all lined too.

Instead of a strap all the way across I made a wrist strap, sewn and secured with those lovely vintage brads.

I've still to take photos of the gifts I received in return. The weather looks like it's brightenening up out there so that's a job for this afternoon.

So many more posts to come, so stay tuned!

Friday 25th November Ladies Evening

2011-11-22T00:59:00.001+01:00

I'll be at the Team Max Ladies Evening Event with lots of Christmas Stocking Fillers for sale this Friday, 25th November.

7.30pm to 10pm

Would love to see you there!

My Roomies

2011-11-21T13:26:00.001+01:00

My roomies at Convention were Jules from 'up north' and Sarah-Jane. We stayed at the Sequoia Lodge Hotel, where most of the european Demonstrators were and it was wonderful! We had lots of laughs in the room - how could we not with Jules with us!

I'm very proud of Jules. Over the last few years we've become very good friends - phone calls most days, she boots me up the backside when I've needed it, Jake and I've been to visit her and her family in the summer, and she's just brilliant. Not only that she is a very successful Demo, talented dancer and actress and as we all heard during Convention, an amazing singer too.

Jules recieved many awards and recognition over the weekend and I am chuffed to bits for her for being #3 in the UK.

Love ya Jules!

I was even lucky enough to join her on stage 5 times too with my own awards and recognition. I received an award for Sales, Recruting and Leadership, along with recognition for being #10 Demonstrator of the Year, and earning the prestigious Incentive Trip to Vienna next year.

Thank you to all my customers and team members for supporting me and giving me the opportunity to 'Love what I do and share what I love'

Cheesy maybe, but it's sooo true.

Be back later with our roomie gifts.

European Stampin' Up! Convention 2011 was a blast!

2011-11-21T01:20:00.001+01:00

I'm back from the 2011 European Stampin' Up! Convention which was held at Euro Disney Paris and what an A-MAZE-ING time I've had!

I left last Wednesday with the lovely Ali & Cath who are 2 of my fabbie team members and they were the best company I could of had! (This photo wasn't taken at Convention but it's such a good 'n')

We had lots of laughs and stresses on the way down to Euro Disney (the sat nav wasn't the most helpful at times) but we made it in one piece and boy was it soooo worth it!

Thank you ladies for putting up with incessant babble - love ya lots. x

I'll be back later with more of my adventure in France and photos.....

'Get Well Soon' Tissue Holder Tutorial

2011-11-15T23:24:00.001+01:00

I've had quite a few emails requesting a tutorial for the 'Get Well Soon' Tissue Holders so I've put together a 6 page, colour photo tutorial for you to purchase for a very reasonable rate on my right hand sidebar.

The Santa ones would definitely make cute Teacher gifts!

I leave for the European Convention in Paris tomorrow night and my list is still as long as your arm....as always..lol! I've taken photos of swaps that I've made so I should have a few things to show you over the next week or so.

See ya soon!

Flirtatious Fabric Bag

2011-11-13T22:19:00.001+01:00

After last weeks post with the Timeless Portrait Bag I made here, I also made another using the Flirtatious Fabric. I've been trying all week to get some decent photos of this and thankfully the sun shone for me today.

Details of where to get the pattern for this are on the previous post here if you'd like to have a go.

Back tomorrow (fingers crossed) with a tutorial.

Santa Owl Tissue Holders

2011-11-13T13:56:00.001+01:00

The Tutorial is now available to purchase on the right hand sidebar.

A little sneak today of Santa Tissue Holders. I'm busy taking photos whilst the sun is shining plus getting my swaps sorted for Convention. So much to do but will be back soon!

Twinkling Christmas Birdhouses

2011-11-10T12:47:00.001+01:00

Inspired by an entry from Ally at Octobers Team Training Day here, I've made this birdhouse display using the Milk Carton Die from Stampin' Up! The vellum as the window is perfect to give that diffused light from the battery tea lights inside. Boy do they twinkle! The roof is made from the Top Note Die, cut in half and overlapped - this isn't my idea, another very talented demonstrator Joanne Gelnar gave me this idea. The roof is then embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, and the stamp set is 'Pines & Poinsettas.

Apologies for the very dull photography - the days are so dark it's a real struggle to get a good photo at the mo.

Thanks for all the lovely comments on yesterdays Tissue Holders. I'll have more to show you soon.

Get Well Soon Owl Punch Tissue Holders

2011-11-09T15:31:00.000+01:00

I'm off to Convention next week and on my return I've got a VERY busy few weeks. I've 2 craft fairs in one weekend so I'm trying to get myself organised before I go away.

I've made a few of these Tissue Holders. I designed these based back in March as the M&T's for the Charity Event I organised.

The owls have been made to look like nurses - aren't they cute! Jules told me how to do the nurses hat which is the chest part of the owl punch and the cross is one of the itty bitty punches.

Must crack on with some 'male' versions now.

See you soon,

Stampin' Up! Timeless Portrait Fabric Project

2011-11-06T17:03:00.000+01:00

When I was at school, many moons ago, one of my favourite subjects was Needlework. I love sewing -always have done and always will, and I don't know why I didn't take a up a carreer in Home Furnishings to be honest.

Yesterday whilst having my daily fix of Pinterest I found a blog with a FREE pattern for a little handbag. Jake and I were doing a bit of baking at the time so while the muffins were in the oven I downloaded and set to work. Needless to say by bed time and all the other things that were going on yesterday I had completed my project.

Would you like to see?

TIMELESS PORTRAIT FABRIC BAG

Where the strap is attached I've added a Vintage Brad.

And another Vintage Brad to the centre of the fabric rosette.

The bag secures together with a magnetic snap.

And as you can see it's all nicely lined with an inside pocket as well.

I so love this bag and once the party is over tonight the sewing machine is coming back out again.

The blog for this clever and generous lady that created this pattern can be found here. You can make one for FREE with her pattern but if you wish to make lots and sell them she asks you buy the pattern and the licence to sell.

Right, I really must do some cleaning!

See you soon!

Paisley Petal Scrapbook Kit - layout #2

2011-11-06T15:01:00.002+01:00

Ok, so layout #2 has finally arrived.

The Paisley Prints Scrapbook kit is £15 and packed with product. If you'd like to purchase a kit I have 2 left. Details of the contents, how to purchase and layout #1 can be found here.

This wasn't an easy page to photograph with our dark days at the moment. It's much nicer in real life. I've used French Foliage for the stamping and the NEW Bigz Alphabet Simple Numbers for the title. The Full set is a bit pricey at £80.95 but I bought it with 50% off with the NEW HOSTESS PLAN which is amazing!

To find out more on how to get products at HALF PRICE, visit the Stampin' Up! Homepage here and if you fancy hosting your own home workshop and live local to Dorset, I would love to come along and Demonstrate techniques, provide your guests with a FREE make & take and have a fun few hours crafting. Please email me for more info or to book a date which suits you. You'll have a great time - I promise!

We're having a Firework Party at home tonight. The 'arena' is set - so hubs has advised me, the chilli is cooking, jack pots are waiting to go in the oven, so I'd better get a bit of housework done before our guests arrive.

Be back soon with some sewing projects I've been making over the weekend with our NEW Designer Fabrics.

Paisley Prints Scrapbook Kit

2011-10-31T20:05:00.002+01:00

Kit Contents:-

6 sheets of Paisley Prints DSP

2 sheets of First Edition Speciality Paper

5 sheets 12x12 co-ordinating Cardstock

(Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, River Rock, Cajun Craze & Whisper White)

1, 12x12 Window Sheet

1 metre of Whisper White Satin Ribbon

1 metre of Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon
1 metre of Linen Thread

2 Flower Brads

£15

(plus £2.50 postage)

Please email jodumbleton@aol.co.uk to purchase a kit which will be posted on receipt of payment.

Your kit will also include instructions for 2, 12x12 layouts.

Layout #1

Layout #2 coming tomorrow.

Join the Stampin' Up! Family in October

2011-10-31T01:00:00.001+01:00

Become a Demonstrator in October and receive the New In Color Kit worth £27.95 for FREE!

For £119 sign up fee you will receive £278 worth of product, everything you need to start your own Stampin' Up! business. It's a fantastic offer!

To find out more on becoming a demonstrator and the benefits, please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk or telephone 01202 880929 for an informal chat. We'd love you to join the Stampin' Up! family and the team of Stampin' Angels!

Septembers 12 hour Retreat

2011-10-30T23:02:00.004+01:00

You might remember back in September I held a 12 hour Retreat. It was the following week a gremlin got into my computer and I lost everything on the hardrive - all my documents, photos, spreadsheets, absolutely everthing had been wiped. Hubs did manage to retrieve everything but I've 500,000 photos now sitting on an external hardrive ready for me to sort through..can you imagine?!?! And that's why there's been no photos.

Anyway, whilst we were at Tincleton Julie and I were swapping photos and we found some she'd taken from the All Day Retreat. So as I haven't taken the Scrapbook Kit Club photos just yet I thought I'd show you these fabulous pics that Julie took on the day. They're great!

This was our fabulous room with plenty of space to craft.
You can just about see the 'Spin the Wheel' my wonderful Dad made which everyone had a spin of for prizes.

Decorated Tables with their gifts.

And lots of happy faces!!

This was the naughty table...lol.

And love this photo of Ali & Cath.

I'll be travelling to this years Stampin' Up! Convention at Disneyland Paris in a few weeks time with these lovely ladies and I can't wait!

Everyone had their own decorated Journal and pillow box gifts on arrival which was stamped using Everything Eleanor. This photo was pinched from Sam's Facebook page (thanks Sam x)

After such a successful Event I've been talked into doing a whole weekend of crafting so the plans are in full swing for a Weekend Retreat next May!

More details will be coming VERY soon. The classes are already in the planning stage and it's going to be amazing!

There are limited places for this event so if you'd like to be the first to know about it, please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk and I'll add you to my mailing list.

See you tomorrow!

SAS #3 - Beautiful Wings Embosslits

2011-10-28T13:17:00.000+02:00

The last card from the Stamp-a-Stack I chose a very cute card that's on page 124 of the New Idea Book & Catalogue using the very popular Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die. Gorgeous detail on all those tiny butterflies on this die - a real investment to your crafting stash. Such a simple card too but so very pretty.

Love the New Textured Impressions Folder - you get both in the pack @ £7.95.

The colour combo for the first card is Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz & More Mustard. The First Edition paper was die cut with one of the dies from the 'Lots of Tags' Sizzlits - p.125.

And the final card was using Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, Crumb Cake & Daffodil Delight. The First Edition paper on this one was punched with the XL Oval punch and fits perfectly inside.

Right, got to make the most of this sunny day after yesterday's wash out.

Just a reminder that there are only a few days left to get the Bonus Offer of another £28 worth of product in the amazing value Starter Kit. Read more about it here or email jodumbleton@aol.co.uk for further info.

Next up will be this months Scrapbook Kit Club.

SAS - Faith in Nature

2011-10-27T16:45:00.001+02:00

I've just got back from this months Scrapbook Kit Club and home is where I'm staying, the weather is horrible today - rain, rain and more rain! Typical October weather.

Anyway, here's another card combination from last Friday's Stamp-a-Stack (SAS) with 'Faith in Nature'. This stamp set is one of the NEW hostess sets and it's beautiful.

If you like it too, then why not host a workshop and earn it for FREE. It's exclusive to Hostesses and with the NEW revised Hostess Benefits you get even more FREEBIES than ever before! Find out what you could earn for FREE here and please get in touch if you'd like to know more or to book a fun evening with friends.

Ok, so the first colour combo is So Saffron, Perfect Plum & Crumb Cake with a touch of Lucky Limeade.

And my favourite colour combo - Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive & Naturals Ivory. In fact all the stamping for both cards is on the Naturals Ivory and I've used a blender pen to colour the pear. Of course I had to get a bit of the First Edition Speciality Paper in there. Did you know you actually get 24 sheets in a pack? Bargain!

Back later with the last combination and tomorrow I'll have details of this months Scrapbook Kit Club and 2 layouts created with the kit.

See you later!

Stamp-a-Stack with Everything Eleanor

2011-10-26T13:45:00.000+02:00

Last Friday was another Stamp-a-Stack and my gosh was it a busy one! Again everyone made 12 cards, 3 designs in 2 different colour combinations. Rather than show them all in one go I'm going to post them over the next 3 days - mainly as it's half term week and I've got to make this a quckie post before we head off to the pictures this afternoon - we're seeing 'Johnny English Reborn' and hubs has taken the afternoon off especially.

So the first batch was with Everything Eleanor. This set is exclusive to Europe and it's gorgeous!! So versatile for cards and scrapbooking.

The first colour combination is Pear Pizzazz, Wisteria Wonder and Pretty in Pink.

And the second is Sahara Sand, Concorde Crush and Peach Parfait.

Right, must be off to get my popcorn . See you tomorrow!

Rudolph Christmas Favours & Template

2011-10-24T17:38:00.000+02:00

I don't usually do craft fairs but I was asked back in the summer if I would like to do a local christmas event in November. I love making Christmassy things so I decided to go for it and last weekend whilst away I started making a few things to sell, and I that's where these rudolph favour boxes were born. They hold a small box of After Eight Mints. (2 for £1 in Tesco's at the moment.)

They're not complicated so I've put a really quick template together with the dimensions for you to have a go at.

You can make 2 from one sheet of A4 cardstock. The eyes are made using the 1/2" and itty bitty circle punch and his nose is punched with a 1" circle punch and then glittered using the Fine Galaxy red glitter. His antlers are the Swirls Scribbles Sizzlits Die. I finished him off with some gold elastic, which is unfortunately now retired, and added a single gold jingle bell.

This is the back...

I'll be selling these in packs of 6 so I've also made a little box/tray for them to sit in and bagged and tagged them up.

Please feel free to have a go with the template and should you wish to share, please direct them back here for the template.

Stamp-a-stack photo's tomorrow.

Jo

Aviary Swaps

2011-10-20T08:00:00.001+02:00

I was a bit too busy yesterday to take photos of some of the other things I made over the weekend so today I'm showing you the swap I made for the Qtrly Tean Training Event last week.

Anyway, here's my swap using 'Aviary' - page 41. I was inspired to make this from a cute sample at the Regional Training Event last month. I couldn't remember exactly how it looked but it's closes enough I think. I loved the birdcages stacked on top of each other and that's what I ran with really.

The colours are Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze and Soft Suede.

The background is stamped with 'Confetti', page 77 which is one of those hidden treasures in the catalogue. It makes really pretty backgrounds

I'll be a bit quiet for a few days now as tomorrow is Stamp-a-Stack night! I love these events - 12 cards in an evening and it can be done! If you'd like to know more about my events, please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk.

I'll be back to show you what was made on Sunday night.

See ya soon!

Holly Berry Christmas Wreath

2011-10-19T14:20:00.002+02:00

Last year I made a Christmas Wreath which you can see here, and was admired by many. Whilst away at the weekend we thought it would be a good idea to have a project which we could complete so 4 of us sat down on Friday night to start our wreaths. Me being me had to finish it in an evening and by the morning it was done.

I used the new Holly Berry Christmas papers mixed with the First Edition Speciality papers.

After seeing

Ally's cute christmas milk cartons from Training the other week I made a little birdhouse to hang in the centre. It has a hole in the bottom of the box so I can switch the tea light on and off.

It looks beautiful at night twinkling away.

The Tutorial on how to make this is on Fiona Duthie's blog here.

Ok, so if you're lucky you might get another project tomorrow. Don't fall off your chair (Katherine)!

Till then...

Nine go mad in Dorset!

2011-10-19T13:37:00.001+02:00

I've have had the most amazing weekend away with 8 wonderful ladies! Talk about gut busting laughter - I have honestly never laughed so much in all my life.

We stayed at Tincleton Lodge which is a gorgeous 5 bedroomed farm cottage in Tincleton, nr Dorchester in a rural part of Dorset. I can only describe it as heaven. The house is simply gorgeous with 4 bathrooms and a wonderful area for the 9 of us to craft. I am surprised we didn't blow the place up though as we all had daylight lamps - the electricity bill was probably a bit higher than usual...ooops!

Who wouldn't want to wake up to this every morning.

It was our second year at Tincleton and after a having such fun last year I never would of thought we'd have the same amount of fun this - but we did! The weather was beautiful, the company the best, food - to die for and I can't wait for next year!

Here we all are in one of our many group shots...

from front to back - Chris, Julie, Ali, Me, Julie, Katherine, Brenda, Ellen & Fleur.

Thank you all for the best weekend ever ladies!

I did actually have a VERY productive weekend and I'll be back later to show you one of the things I made.

See you later!

Birthday Box

2011-10-18T20:14:00.000+02:00

Remember the Christmas Box from the Twelve hour Retreat I did here? I know, you're still waiting and my gosh you've all been so patient. Well the reason it's sooo late is I wanted to do the box with the new Holly Berry Christmas papers and a Birthday Box. The Birthday Box sample is done but I've not yet had the time to do the new Christmas version.

Anyway, to wet your appetites here's the Birthday Box...

And cards - 2 designs, 4 of each.

I've used the Just Add Cake Designer Papers along with Pennant Parade and matching Petite Pennants Builder Punch.

Love these colours together, they're right up my street.

Stay tuned, they are coming soon.....promise!

Under the Big Top

2011-10-13T21:38:00.002+02:00

Back in September I went to a Regional Training Event at High Wycome. This particular training session is organised by Stampin' Up! in the UK and in our goodie bags (oh yes, we get goodies too!) was 'Under the Big Top' stamp set. We were also given 3 different projects to do as M&T's - not that I did them as there was far too much chatting go on for that!

So now I've completed them at home, here are the projects.

First up was this very cute little box of 3x3 cards....

Second was a 6x6 scrapbook page...

And thirdly was a gatefold card. The circle interlocks through the hoop. Adorable isn't it?

There really are so many benefits to being a Demonstrator and running my own business. As well as getting together with other like minded people and doing what I love to do most I couldn't ask for a better job.

If you'd like to what I do and be part of the Stampin' Up! family, now is the perfect time to sign up. For £119 you will receive £250 worth of product, everything you need to get your business up and running, PLUS for OCTOBER ONLY you will also receive the NEW IN-COLOR KIT! 5 Classic Inkpads and a pack of matching In Colour cardstock worth £27.95. Go here to find out more on the current offer or for more information about all the benefits of becoming a Demonstrator, please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk or telephone 01202 880929.

Right, must get packing for my crafty weekend away. The plan is to make a wreath - lets hope I actually get to finish it and there's less chat. Hmmmm...I don't think so some how!

See ya soon!

Jo

More Training Projects

2011-10-12T19:47:00.003+02:00

A quick post tonight as I'm off out for a gossip with the girls. 9 of us away for a crafty weekend this Friday to a gorgeous 5 bedroom farm cottage in Dorset and there's a few bits to plan. It's become an annual event and we had such a blast last year we're doing it all again! You never know, I might even show you some photos next week.

Anyway, here's the morning projects from Sunday. With the launch of the new catalogue and with so much new product I thought it would be good idea for everyone to have a play with some of it.

Project one was the Petal Cone Take Out box. The NEW Petal Cone die has been on my wishlist for such a loooong time! I've seen so many gorgeous projects with it - this being one. So simple and cute.

Project 2 was the Candy Wrapper. Another NEW die exclusive to Stampin' Up!

And for the 3rd Project was Pennant Parade Stamp Set along with the matching pennant punch. Such a versatile punch to make it into a Christmas Tree and we used Heat & Stick with Dazzling Diamonds to give it lots of bling.

Right then, I must be off.

See you tomorrow!

Jo

Demo's Choice Competition

2011-10-11T23:27:00.001+02:00

At Sunday's Training Event I ran a Demo's Choice Competition which I personally absolutely love! The creativitity amongst Demo's and Customers is out of this world and it's fantastic to see what everyone comes up with. It is optional and the standard is always very high but on Sunday the bar was set even higher!

The theme was 'Christmas' and it was actually a big ask as the new catalogue only went live on the 1st October and many of the Demonstrators attending hadn't recieved their first orders yet with the beautiful new Christmas papers in. None the less those that took part made an absolutely fantastic job!

Here are the entries...

And individually.....

Katie Walton's Fabulous Table Setting with adorable Menu (can I come to you for Christmas, Katie?)

Ally Fiddy's giant Sour Cream Pouch and simply adorable houses with battery operated tealights in them. Love, love, LOVE them and they twinkled all day long!

Anna's cute Sledge

Aly's gorgeous Banner!

Julie Spencer cheeky Penguin card

Ali Smith's Elegant Card Pouch with Tags

And finally the winner and runner up was first place.....

Cath Carey's Fantastic Birdhouse

And Jackie Hall's amazin Waterfall Album

Both Cath & Jackie received Pines & Poinsetta's stamp set as their prizes.

I'm sure you'll agree ALL the projects were fantastic. Well done to all of you! If only I could of kept them myself....

I'll definately back tomorrow with the morning projects from Sunday and different colour combo's on the Everything Eleanor card keeper.

See you then,

Jo

Everything Eleanor

2011-10-10T13:31:00.002+02:00

Again I must apologise for my absence lately. We've been away on a little family break and since I got back it's been all go with the launch of the new catalogue and preparations for a Quarterly Team Training Event I held yesterday.

So rather than go backwards on things that I've made and simply haven't had the time to show you, I thought I'd start with the present and give you a taste of 'Everything Eleanor' from the new catalogue. (p.57 Wood -33.95, Clear - £26.95). I love it! I was very lucky to receive it back in June whilst on the Incentive Trip in Prague so I've had to wait a a few months to show you some projects.

This was the afternoon project from yesterdays team training. A card keeper with 4 cards. I've adapted it from a previous project I made here back in January.

Don't you just love the new In Colours? These are Pool Party (my new fave) and Calypso Coral - delish! The new Vintage Brads on the front of the card keeper are stunning too - a' must have' for something a little different.

This set has 4 cards - 2 of each design.

The front of the box and first card features the new Impressions Embossing Frames - Designer Frames. A bargain at £7.95 as you get 2 different ones in the pack -the other being a square frame.

And the new ruffled ribbon...oh my gosh it's beautiful! I've also used the new dotted scallop ribbon border punch on the second card, very cute.

I'm also loving the First Edition Speciality DSP. It's slightly thinner than the usual dsp, just like pages of a book, and it is absolutely fabulous for stamping on. At £11.50 a pack you get 24 sheets (12x12) - a bargain at 48p a sheet!

If you fancy a taster of all the new Designer Papers you might want to try my Paper Share that I have running. I'll put the details up tomorrow along with more photos of yesterdays event and projects.

Would you like the full written instructions of this class for FREE?

For this week only and with any order of £25 or more (plus p&p) you will get a comprehensive pdf file with full colour photos , cutting instructions along with hints and tips sent to you via email of how to.

(offer ends Sunday 16th October)

Email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk.

I really do have so much to share with you of things that are in the pipeline, tutorials and samples and I really appreciate everyone who stops by my blog to see what I've been up to. It may not be as regular as I'd like but I will try my best to keep up. Thank you and hopefully see you tomorrow!

The NEW Idea Book & Catalogue 2011-2012

2011-10-01T14:54:00.001+02:00

Oh yes, it's here! You can start ordering from the

NEW

2011-2012

IDEA BOOK & CATALOGUE

today!

Click on the Catalogue below to see what exciting new Products are available.

For your very own brand spanking new copy of this 133 page glossy catalogue jammed pack with beatiful projects and ideas, the price is £4 plus £1.50 first class postage. (RRP £5.95)

Email jodumbleton@aol.co.uk

to get yours!

Bye Bye Plane & Simple

2011-09-21T22:53:00.000+02:00

Back in July I did a class using the Plane & Simple stamp set. We all find male cards so very hard to do so I was really pleased when this appeared in the Mini Catalogue. Unfortunately it's a set that will no longer be available after 30th September. Such a shame, but if you love it as much as I do get it while you can.

The colours are Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla. Sadly the Jumbo Eyelets and Night of Navy Satin Ribbon has now sold out.

To see the full list of items that will no longer be available after 30th September, click on 'say goodbye' at the top of my right hand sidebar.

Jo

Disaster!

2011-09-19T02:36:00.000+02:00

I must give a HUGE apology for no updates this week. My computer crashed on Thursday evening and whilst trying to restore, which is was I thought was the right thing to do, I lost all my photos, documents, pdf's and spreadsheets. Absolutely everything disappeard. To say I was in a bit of a state on Friday was an understatement. Anyway my very clever hubby has managed to find them. He wasn't hopefully but they're there..phew! The only problem is there are duplications, up to 8 times now on the hardrive and I've 495,000 photos to sift through one by one, only saving what I need. It's going to be a long drawn out process but the fact that they are still there is such a relief. Of course the moral of the story is to ALWAYS backup. I learnt my lesson the hard way, please, please do what you can to make sure your files are safe.

What I now have to do is get a card reader for my laptop so I can at least take photos to upload here and I've loads to show you too!

Again I'm sorry for the delay with the instructions. They will definately be up this week!

See you soon,

Jo

My first Retreat

2011-09-12T03:32:00.002+02:00

Hello! I know my posts have been a bit hit and miss lately but there's been good reason. I've had a few things going on so all my time has been spent organising and prepping for two events that I've had in a week. My wonderful friend and team member, Julie Spencer has worked her socks off to help me this week and I couldn't of done it without her. Thank you Julie...mwah!

The first event was last Friday (2nd Sept) which was the monthly Scrapbook Kit Club followed by a Last Chance Event in the afternoon. I'll show you some pics of that in the week though as I'm still on a high from yesterday. Get me off that ceiling!!! lol

So, yesterday was my biggest event to date which was a 12 hour Retreat - 10am to 10pm. 24 ladies came along to enjoy a fabulous day FULL of crafting, eating, laughing and a few surprises and gifts thrown in too. We went a bit more up market from our usual venue and it was fantastic! From the moment they walked into the room they didn't stop! I've not taken the pictures off my camera yet (a job for tomorrow) but I'll do a post this week with a run down of the day. It was amazing!!!

What I will show you is the first project from the day - a Christmas Card Box with cards made with the Jolly Holiday Designer Papers and Delightful Decorations Stamp Set. I'll have the instructions available during the week for you to purchase if you'd like them.

It's a really sturdy box with a divider in the middle and fits 8 cards & envelopes. Yes, everyone made 8 cards as well.

I've loved the Jolly Holiday Designer Paper this year, I've not tired of them at all. Unfortunately they are now sold out but you just wait till you see what's coming very soon.... I'll also be doing an alternative Birthday Box so watch this space....

Now I'm so behind on filling you in on what's going on I must tell you about the LAST CHANCE LIST.

There are a few items already sold out so if there's something you like and have been meaning to get, or you're after a bargain (some items have been reduced) click on the above picture or the one on my righthand sidebar to take you to it. If it's a must have then get it while you can, these items will no longer be available after 30th September - once they're gone they're gone!

You can email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk if you like to make a purchase or telephone 01202 880929. I shall be placing an order myself this week so if you're local and can collect, why not take advantage of free shipping. Also if you spend £45 you can choose a FREE brand new stamp set from a collection I have available. Bargain!

Right, that's me off to bed now. My body clock is way out of kilter.

See ya soon!

Christmas Stamp-a-Stack

2011-08-29T03:23:00.002+02:00

Where on earth did August go???!!! It's whizzed by for me, what with road trips to Pudsey in Yorkshire to see my fabulous friend Jules and then our family holiday which we just got back from last night. I've almost felt like I've lived out of a suitcase for the last 2 weeks. I'll be glad to get back to a bit of normality this week and some female company too, but saying that I've an absolute chocker month coming up which includes a very special 12 hour Retreat on the 10th September. I could be in for a few loooong nights to make sure it all goes to plan.

Anyway, last thing I remember telling you about was the Christmas Stamp-a-Stack at the beginning of August. It's been a bit of a wait for you but at long last here's the cards that were made.

There were 24 attendees and they each made 12 cards (2 of each design) - that's a whopping 288 cards made in 4 hours!

The next STAMP-A-STACK will be FRIDAY 21ST OCTOBER.

It was a full house last time so if you'd like to attend the next event then please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk to reserve your place.

Springtime Vintage layout #3!

2011-08-01T14:59:00.002+02:00

I'm on a roll with this months Springtime Vintage Scrapbook Kit. This is my 3rd layout and I can still get another 12x12 page and some cards from it! A bargain for only £15.

My favourite stamp set to use for Scrapbooking has to be 'Just Believe'. I've also added the little flowers from the 'Baby Blossoms' set so it blends in with the papers. The stitching with the Linen Thread came to me in a flash of inspiration as I needed something to add to the bottom right hand corner of the page. I'm going to use this idea on my cards and pages more I reckon. Another simple idea that adds that finishing touch.

You can see the full details of this months kit here and the other 2 layouts I've created with the kit here and here.

Next months kit is something a little different. You'll be able to purchase all the supplies to create a Mini Album WITH instructions.

If you're a Scrapbooker, new to it or would like to take the plunge, these kits are ideal as I take all the hardwork out of designing your pages for you. I'll provide inspiration, ideas and new techniques for you to simple copy or change as you wish.

Right, off to tackle my ironing pile yet again.

See ya soon!

Jo

p.s. Don't tell my hubby but I photoshopped out all my wrinkles but left his in....shhhhh!!

Gift with Purchase August Promotion

2011-08-01T01:14:00.000+02:00

We ALL LOVE our FREEBIES and this month Stampin' Up! are giving away a fantastic gift which includes something money can't buy! With an order of £75 or a workshop total of £250 you will be the lucky recipient of these fabulous gifts!

The gift includes:

A beautiful, exclusively-designed cosmetic bag.

PLUS

Rich Razzleberry 1-1/4” (3.2 cm) Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.

PLUS

A 24-piece Clip Assortment.

I'll be after this gorgeous cosmetic bag myself but it won't be used for make-up...it'll be housing my craft tools of course!

To place an order of to book a workshop during August, you can email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk or Tel: 01202 880929

Springtime Vintage Layout #2

2011-07-28T17:04:00.003+02:00

It's was our monthly Scrapbook Club this morning and with the school holidays now upon us we had a fantastic turnout! 13 ladies came along to create 2 layouts using the July Springtime Vintage Kit. This was the second layout they created.

Using Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy brings a different feel altogether to the Springtime Vintage papers but work so well. The beautiful Medallion stamp, although quite large, creates a little something to the plainess of the cardstock and splattered with Baja Breeze ink using the Colour Spritzer.

I demonstrated how to make the Ribbon Roses, how to crumple the Seam Binding ribbon in seconds, and also how to 'rock & roll'!

It was a total technique fest today!

Demand was pretty high for this months kit so another order has gone in and I've another 2 kits remaining. The kits are £15 plus £2.50 postage - all the details can be found here.

(UK only)

Along with the kit you'll also receive instructions on how I've put these pages together and if you've not yet seen my YouTube video on how to create the ribbon roses, have a look here.

Details of next months kit will be coming soon and the next Scrapbook Club date is Friday, 2nd September. This will be an extra long event with something a little different in the afternoon.

See ya soon!

Birthday Boy

2011-07-25T12:03:00.002+02:00

A card for my little star on his 7th Birthday last Wednesday.

It matched the decorations I'd made for his cake.

He hadn't realised I'd made if for him until I told him the next day.
He was pretty impressed! Bless him.

'Sew Lovely' Tin Class

2011-07-24T03:32:00.001+02:00

Yesterday I held a class with the 'Sew Lovely' stamp set and matching Designer Papers from the Mini Catalogue. This class has been a very popular one I created almost 2 years ago now. Since then I've done 3 Christmas Card tins here and here and another I didn't get round to posting from last year, Flight of the Butterfly here and now Sew Lovely. It's a long class but well worth it when it's finished. I've not found one person that wants to give the set away when they've made it! I've still got all mine I've made too.

I'm back to creating with this months Scrapbook Kit 'Springtime Vintage' over the next few days. If you'd like a kit I only have 2 left now. The kit is £15 and postage is only £2.50, first class. For full details of what you'll receive, see my earlier post here or email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk

See ya soon!

Jo

July Scrapbook Kits & Video Tutorial

2011-07-20T10:50:00.000+02:00

JULY SCRAPBOOK KIT

'Springtime Vintage'

£15 plus postage

This months Kit is an absolute corker!

Why not treat yourself to this fantastic value kit which you'll be able to create at least 4, 12x12 pages from.

Here's what you will receive:-

6, 12x12 sheets of Springtime Vintage Designer Paper

6, 12x12 sheets of co-ordinating cardstock

(Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Always Artichoke & Rose Red)

1.5metres of Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon

1.5metres of Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon

1 Full pack of Pearls

12 assorted Flower Brads from the Subtles Collection

It's a great way to sample a little of everything at a bargain price.

My kits are VERY popular!

If you'd like to purchase a kit, please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk

(A 'buy it now' button will go on my sidebar later today once I know how much the postage will be.)

So here's what I've been creating with the kit.....

And some close up's of the Roses.

Better than that, here's my very first Video Tutorial on how to create the beautiful Ribbon Roses that are on my layout.

Be gentle with me - I will get better I promise.

If you are local, why not come along to my Monthly Scrapbook Club and make this page and more!

The class is FREE when you purchase the kit.

Holt Village Hall

Wimborne

Dorset

10am to 12.30pm

Thurs 28th July

Booking is essential so please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk to reserve your kit.

See you soon with another page from the kit and lots more craftiness!

It's my little boys Birthday today and I've a party to organise!

Stamp-a-Stack

2011-07-18T14:29:00.002+02:00

It's been all go round here lately! Last Friday I held my first Stamp-a-Stack Event at Holt where everyone made 12 cards in an evening.

There was 'Sail Away'

Just Believe

and French Foliage

This last one was CASE'd from Dawn Olchelske here

So simple but really lovely.

It was a fabulous event - very relaxed and productive. Thank you to everyone that came along and look forward to seeing you on 5th August for the Christmas Stamp-a-Stack!

If you're interested in coming along to our next event on 5th August, please email me for more details. It's a fun evening with fantastic company, refreshments - including my MIL's homemade cakes, and you get to make a whole batch of cards to take home!

£15

(or FREE with a £45 Order)

Come and join us, we'd love to have you along.

Tomorrow I'll have details of the July Scrapbook Kit PLUS my first Video Tutorial to go with it....eeeek!

Till then...

Prague Day #2

2011-07-11T17:32:00.000+02:00

It's been a few weeks now since my return from the Incentive trip to Prague. I've managed to put a little montage together of some of the photos I took, but they're nowhere near as lovely as I'd of hoped. I'm sure you've seen lots as you've hopped around your favourite blogs, I know I have and I was there! lol So it's a new camera lens and flash on my birthday list this year.

Ok so for those that have been waiting patiently, and my gosh you've been patient, this was our second day. We were up early for breakfast and then off for a tour of Prague with our guide Ivana. The amount of information this lady gave us was overwhelming. She was so passionate abour her city and I can't blame her, it really was so outstandingly beautiful with tons and tons of history. I really do think I was in a dream whilst I was there and wish I could go back again to soak up even more of this beautiful place. Maybe one day...

So our tour took us first on a tram around Prague. It was no ordinary tram either, a very old one that had been specially commissioned from the museum to take us on a tour of Prague and finishing at the Castle. It was wonderful! There was so much to see and take in that I seem to have missed taking photos of the amazing architecture and sights! You'll just have to take my word for it or have a look at the other achievers to see their amazing photos.

After the tour we were then taken to a gorgeous restaurant for lunch. We ate in a beautiful conservatory with a glass grapevine hanging from the ceiling. Each place setting had beautiful handmade menus made especially for us and the food was devine. We had Ceasor salad for starters, Salmon for the main and strawberry jam pancakes for pud. I know it's not usual to talk about the 'ladies' but it gave us a giggle as the dividing walls were opaque perspex! Good job we all knew each other!! lol

The afternoon was left for us to do as we liked and it was so hot Jules, Bekka, Natalie and myself headed back to the hotel to relax and soak up the sun with a glass of wine. Just what was needed before the PJ party in the evening.

My camera really did let me down this time. Such a shame because it was something that had to be witnessed to really understand how mad it was. We started quite calmly swapping with each other, which were amazing, then we were allowed into the room for our make & takes. The squeels of excitement were unbelievable when we realised we all had our very own personalised aprons with Prague 2011 on them!! Such a surprise! Plus we had other goodies packed into a very posh cool bag.

I've never seen such a cool, cool bag! There was an abundance of cake's, sweets and refreshments to keep us going through the evening and then it was back to Nat's room for a little photo session before bed. Again no photo. I could of sworn there was one taken but I can't find it. :(

Was this all really a few weeks ago? I needed to be pinched while I was there and somehow it does seem to feel like it was a wonderful dream. The memories and friendships from this amazing trip will always be with me though - it was out of this world!

I'll be back later with details of this months Scrapbook Kit and a sneaky peak of what can be created using it.

Till later,

Owl Keyring Winners

2011-06-29T03:39:00.000+02:00

If you entered the Owl Keyring Giveaway here, please can you email me your details asap. If they're not claimed by Sunday 3rd July I'll redraw for the remainder.

Botanical Gazette Scrapbook Kit

2011-06-27T03:18:00.000+02:00

I'm still trying to find time to sort my photos from Prague and having had a quick flick through them earlier and then seeing all the gorgeous photos from the other achievers I've realised I didn't take half as many as I should of done, for which I am kicking myself, but hey ho. I will edit some tomorrow and also see if I can 'pinch' a few from everyone else..lol

Now there hasn't been a lot of crafting over the last week, more a case of getting back into the swing of things with planning classes and doing workshops so, I've got a scrapbook page to show you from last months Kit Club - Botanical Gazette.

I try to bring the changes each month and like to do something out of my comfort zone as a challenge. For the Club class we made this double page layout.

French Foliage, Four Frames and Clearly for you are the 3 stamp sets used on these pages. Love them all if you hadn't noticed.

Right, I'll be back real soon and for those that entered the Owl Key ring giveaway, please check this post here to see if you're a winner!

Owl Keyring Tutorial Now Available

2011-06-23T18:04:00.007+02:00

The Owl Key ring Tutorial is now available to purchase on my sidebar for £2.50 via paypal.

9 pages of colour step-by-step instructions and a box template instantly sent to your inbox on receipt of payment.

Jo :)

Owl Keyring Giveaway Winners

2011-06-22T01:19:00.012+02:00

Thank you soooo much for ALL the lovely comments left on the Prague Swap post. There were 110 comments - wow!The winners have been randomly picked from the Number Generator and here are the lucky recipients....

68 - Alex

~~91 - Dawn~~

46 - Migdalia

~~75 - DawnKathleen~~

~~16 - Barbara T from CT~~

~~32 - Cheri~~

40 - JoAnn Porter

~~13 - Stamps & Paper (Anne)~~

~~29 - Ilene B~~

59 - Adeline H

Congratulations ladies!

Please drop me an email with your details as soon as possible at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk so I can pop them in the post to you.

If you would like to have a go at making one yourself, I'll have a tutorial available from tomorrow to purchase.

I'll be back later with more photos from Day 2 of the Incentive Trip.

Day 1, Prague Incentive Trip 2011

2011-06-21T01:38:00.015+02:00

OMG, the last 4 days has been the most amazing trip I have EVER experienced in my life! I have been with the most amazing people. I've laughed till it hurts, cried with happiness, screamed with excitement and been well and truelly spoilt rotten on this fantastic journey -there's so much to share with you! I had to take 2 flights to reach my final destination from Southampton to Amsterdam then on to Prague which all started at 4am on Thursday morning. I'd never done a connecting flight before and I was travelling on my own so was all a bit nerve racking. There were no hitches though and I sailed through each airport finally reaching the hotel just after 2pm. My jaw hit the floor when the car pulled into the courtyard entrance to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel - it was beautiful! My room didn't disappoint either which had a massive bathroom with 2, yes 2 sinks....'his' and 'hers' I presume?? And a telly in there!! I was on the first floor and opposite my room was the door to the gardens - gorgeous! I hadn't actually seen anyone at that point so I went on a little adventure to find everyone. I found Shelli, Paula and Kellie waiting in reception for me. They hadn't realised I was already in the hotel and I'd been there 1 1/2hrs! lol Those Czech's are really efficient you know...;) The weather was absolutely scorching so with a few hours to spare before our evening meal I went for a walk with Pam Morgan and Paula Gorry across the famous Charles Bridge... Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for our evening meal. It was then we ALL got to meet up properly. Poor Jules and Monica had been on a horrendous journey with delayed flights but made it just in time.

(left to right - Amanda, Michelle, Jules, Natalie, Bekka, Me, Monica and Paula) And this was just the start of our fantastic trip! I'll be back tomorrow with more photo's and don't forget, I'll be randomly picking the winners of the Owl Keychains later today. Leave a comment on this post here if you'd like to be in with a chance. See you later! Jo

Prague 2011 Swaps and a Giveaway

2011-06-17T18:30:00.002+02:00

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Oh my goodness, I will be in Prague on the European Incentive Trip as you read this post. From the moment I achieved this amazing reward last September I still haven't been able to fully accept the fact that I'd made it. But here I am, 4 hours before I leave for the airport writing this post still thinking it's a dream! One of the best parts is meeting up with all the other very talented achievers. In the last 3 years of being a Demonstrator I've found some amazing friends through Stampin' Up! and I can't wait to see them again!!! Of course there has to be swapping that takes place so here's what I've made for everyone - my good old owl keyrings in their own little box. Hope they like.

Now I have 10 of these litte cuties to give away. If you would like a chance to receive one then please leave a comment below. I'll randomly draw 10 names next Tues so pop back to see if you're a winner. Good luck!

See you next week with photo's of my trip!

Botanical Gazette Monthly Scrapbook Kit

2011-06-03T01:05:00.006+02:00

Once a month I run a Scrapbook Kit Club and this month we've been using the Botanical Gazette DSP. As you will see over the next week I've taken to these papers in a big way, along with the French Foliage stamp set, and I'll be showing a few things I've made. This months kit has been VERY popular and I've just a few kits left which are available to purchase.

The kit contains:- 6, 12x12 sheets of Botanical Gazette DSP 2, 12x12 sheets of Marina Mist c/s 2, 12x12 sheets of Early Espresso c/s 2, 12x12 sheets of Old Olive c/s 1, 12x12 sheet of Very Vanilla c/s 1, 12x12 sheet of Cherry Cobbler c/s 3 x window panes 3m of Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon 12 assorted Big Designer Buttons £15 plus postage.

(unless you are local and would like to collect.) You will also have access to the Scrapbook Blog where you can view more ideas along with past kits. Please email me at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk if you would like to purchase this great value kit and the chance to sample these fantastic products!

French Foliage

2011-06-02T01:04:00.010+02:00

Sometimes I simply pass something by without a second look, do you ever do that? That's what happened with the French Foliage set in the Mini Catalogue on page 15. My downline Helen was stamping with this set a few weeks ago - I fell in love and immediately ordered it. Well what can I say, it's such a beautiful set. I've used it on a double page layout for the Scrapbook Kit Club, used it over and over on a Mini Album I've been working on and made a few birthday cards too. I'll be showing these projects over the next week. Today though it's Fleur's birthday, and here's the card I made for her. It was a true labour of love this one and I'm really pleased with the outcome. I've included lots of stamping for a change along with the fabulous Music Notes Wheel which I adore! I've embossed the birdcage using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and added Champagne Shimmer Paint daubed onto the raised areas. There's so much detail on this I couldn't stop myself! There is quite a shopping list for this but if you'd like to know about any of the products I've used, please drop me an email at jodumbleton@aol.co.uk

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FLEUR!

You deserve something special.

More Tote's and a Thank you

2011-05-23T14:56:00.010+02:00

June is a busy month for Birthdays but firstly I needed to catch up with some 'thank you's'. Love making these little tote's and thank you cards.

The colours are Regal Rose, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue and Whisper White with Pretty in Pink Ribbon. I'm giving this set away as a gift but I can see I'll be making more of these.

Changing the subject just slightly, if you would like to be in with a chance of winning a FREE stamp set, Stampin' Up! have a competition running here. To enter simply answer the question. You never know - someone's got to win, right?

Top Note Tote

2011-05-22T17:54:00.007+02:00

This was the mini class everyone made from Friday nights Open evening.The idea came from an online class I've been doing with 'UStamp' created by Twila Davis. The original was a bit smaller so I've adapted it to fit 3, 3x3 thank you cards. So easy but a fantastic little gift for someone. Made with the exclusive Top Note Die, Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder and Beautiful Wings Embosslit. These products are only available through Stampin' Up! If you'd like to know how to make this, or you'd like to purchase these items, it will be the Make & Take for next months workshops. Please contact me if you'd like to book a date for a fun couple of hours crafting with friends and you could earn some of these items for free!

Ending on a high.

2011-05-22T00:04:00.004+02:00

What a week I've had! Not the best but it's ended on a high which is better than the other way round. Last night I had a craft evening at Holt with a fabulous turnout. The evening was open for everyone to bring along their stash and craft and have a lovely social evening with refreshments and nibbles. Now I did take the camera along but I was so busy I completely forgot until we were packing up. Not a lot of use then eh?!?! I also did a mini class during the evening which was a big hit - pics will follow tomorrow. This afternoon I had a workshop at Karina's which was definately the highlight of my week. Karina had made these A-MAZE-ING cakes! OMG, they were to die for. No good for the diet but it's rude to refuse isn't it? And I now know the secret ingredient....wavy eggs!!! Yes, 'wavy eggs' is what I thought I heard. We all laughed our heads off when we realised she'd actually said 'weigh the eggs'. Honestly I'm still chuckling over it now. So, so funny. Thank you ladies for coming along and making it so wonderfully entertaining. Crafting, cakes and laughter - what more could I ask for! So, a decorated bag and card for today. My mojo has been a bit absent lately and you wouldn't believe how long it took me to create this, but here it is. Using the Lap of Luxury Designer papers and Clearly for You. Be back tomorrow with the Mini Class from last night. Jo

Thoughts and Prayers

2011-05-19T01:45:00.014+02:00

When you hear sad news from someone you know, there's no better way to let them know you're thinking of them than to send a card. It says it all don't you think? Other than a hug that is. Stamp Set: Thoughts and Prayers

Ink & c/s: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Old Olive and Rose Red

Accessories: Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon, Pearls, Top Note Die and the Lattice Embossing Folder, Ornamental Punch

Shabby Chic

2011-05-17T21:05:00.008+02:00

I've gone all Shabby Chic over the last week. I don't even know what started me off, but I went to a Vintage Fair last Monday and bought myself a bargain printers tray to decorate, and then I went to the local Market on Friday and found some very old scales and an enamel jug. I do live in a country cottage so I suppose it should follow. Whilst on the theme I thought I'd have a go at doing a Shabby Chic card. I made a very similar one for Lesley's birthday on Saturday. It took me all day inbetween chatting and laughing at the local crop, but it was well worth it. This one took a lot less time than the original. My old faithful the 'En Francais' large background stamp definately came in useful here. Do you know that 'en francais' was one of my original stamps I chose as part of my Starter Kit? I hope they never retire this stamp. I've also used 'Artisic Etchings' for the Eiffel Tower and the greetings came from 'Clearly for You' and 'Something to Celebrate'. The colours are Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla, Rose Red and Marina Mist. Although a little fiddly the ribbon roses were made from the Rose Red Seam Binding. Hope you had a great day Lesley!

The Holt Hoot! revisited

2011-05-07T15:45:00.038+02:00

As the weather wasn't quite sure what it was doing today I stayed in and had a long overdue tidy of my craft room. There's no way I was taking a picture of it though, there wasn't even an inch square space to create on - it really was/is that bad. (I write this in the past and present tense as it's still a WIP.) Anyway, I though I'd post a few photo's from the Holt Hoot! last month. My camera battery died part way through the day so there's not as many as I'd like but at least I managed to take the 'Crafters Choice' projects and the food....yum! 'Crafters Choice' is for everyone to bring along a handmade project made mainly with Stampin' Up! products and everyone gets to vote for their favourite. It's a free competition and this time we had 2 prizes to give away. The project with the most votes was from Irene - this absolutely gorgeous 'I can count' book made for her grandaughter. Isn't it gorgeous?!?!?! And here's some of the pages inside... And the second most voted for was Aly's stunning stationery box. Irene and Aly both won themselves a Designer Printed 12x12 Album. Well done ladies!! And here are the other fantastic entries - all of them were absolutely superb!My Mum prepares the 'buffet' at my events and I'm very lucky that she does. Scrumptious is all I will say, along with my MIL's HUGE cupcakes! These are real whoppers and I dare anyone to eat one without getting the butter icing up their nose..lol Everyone sure does get stuck in and I can't say I blame them...And here's my Mum with her friend Joyce who helped with the teas this time. My mum is on the right looking like Mini Mouse ;) I gave up trying to take a picture of the third project we did on the day but you can see the basket on the left hand side of this photo. This was the table with the afternoon sample projects along with the Raffle Prizes. It was a fantastic day, I only wish I managed to take more photos. Sods law the battery went! I must also give a big thank you to Julie for helping out on the day too - you were a great help to me Julie. mwah! I love organising my All Day Craft Events and the next one, as I've already mentioned, is now in the planning. A little different with a change of Venue, more classes and when I say all day I mean ALL day....

Saturday 10th September

10am to 10pm!

Cobham Sports and Social Club Merley Wimborne Save the date!

A little excited...

2011-05-04T20:45:00.022+02:00

I had a special delivery this morning. I didn't even know what it was as I was too busy chatting with Rich, my UPS man to take any notice of the package. At the time I just thought it was part of the deliveries I was expecting. As I started to open the envelope it suddenly dawned on me.....Oh yes.... details of the Prague Incentive Trip!! OMG, am I starting to feel nervous or what!Inside the Old Olive wallet was my flight details, baggage labels and Itinerary for the 3 days we will be spending at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in June. This is all because of my wonderful customers and team of downline that helped me achieve this amazing trip. I cannot thank them enough for their support and encouragement. I love doing home workshops - showing customers new techniques and seeing their enjoyment from my passion of crafting - it's immensely rewarding. The events I hold may be hard work in the planning and preparation but the end result of happy customers makes it every single bit worthwhile. And my team of downline that also enjoy Stampin' Up! so much, without their hard work, support and love for the product, I wouldn't of received this amazing achievement. Thank you everyone! If you would like to join my team of downline, the 'Stampin' Angels', the month of May is the perfect time to do it! Whether you'd like to treat yourself to a bargain Starter Kit of £230 worth of product for just £119 and then continue to receive discounts on all future orders, or to start a little business earning a little extra towards your monthly income and working up to a Full Time job doing something you may have always wanted to do, now is the time to do it.

The 'Stampin' Angels' are having a Shoebox Swap.

Friday 20th May

7pm

Holt Village Hall

It's a very social evening of crafting, chatting, tea drinking (with cake of course) and the opportunity to find out more about becoming part of the Stampin' Up! family. The cost is £10 but if you decide to sign up during May, this will be refunded.

Plus, for signing up during May you will also receive aFREE pack of 12x12 Designer Paper of your choice! (to the value of £8.75).

That will make your starter kit HALF PRICE ...bargain! If you're interested in becoming a Demonstrator and you'd like to receive a discount on all your crafting supplies, my email is jodumbleton@aol.co.uk. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions and send you an information pack with everything you need to know. No pressure, no hassle, just the bare facts of a win, win situation and a fantastic kit to boot!

Who knows, you could be on the Incentive Trip for 2013!

It's the 'Hoot' in Holt Hoot!

2011-04-26T22:21:00.009+02:00

Another quickie tonight to show you the Owl card we made at the 'Hoot'. I must give a HUGE thanks to Brenda Quintana for allowing me to teach this as it was her original design - tinkered with just a little to come up with this. It's always good to ask when you see these things whilst blog hoppin'..... ;) Now this isn't just a plain old card, it's a pop up! Love him just peeping through the tree.... There wasn't much stamping done during the day but it's fun to do something a little different - all with SU! products of course, and everyone loved the projects...phew! I've more photos to show you soon of the fantastic entries to the 'Crafters Choice' competition. Outstanding they were!

These All Day Events take quite some time in preparing and organising and I like to keep them exclusive to those that come along and pay for the privilege. The time in takes in taking photos, writing instructions is huge and I've had to make the decision that I will keep this to the bare bones even for those that attend. Having myself to hand for guidance and the samples available to see is well worth the experience along with all the added extras I provide to make it a really special day. I hope you'll understand why I won't be selling the instructions or doing tutorials on my blog for any of the projects that I do for these events - I post it on here purely for inspiration. Thanks for your understanding and I will still post other tutorials.

If you like the sound of my All Day Events then read on...

1 Day Retreat

Saturday 10th September

If you fancy a full day of crafting from early morning till late at night, then keep an eye out for more details coming soon.

I've ideas for classes already which you're going to love!

It's going to be fun! See ya soon, Jo

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T23:50:00.010+02:00

It's all been a bit quiet here over the last week and that's because I've been away with my boys re-charging my batteries. After last Sunday's Holt Hoot! we left for Legoland first thing on Monday morning literally throwing a few clothes in a bag, transporting Chaz off to my mum's and away we went. I left the house looking like we'd been burgled! We had a 2 day pass at Legoland so we stayed over at a gorgeous Hotel nearby for a couple of nights and returned on Wednesday evening. I would like to say at this point that I was feeling back to myself but oh no...2 days at Legoland and I was even more exhausted! It was an experience without a doubt... Since I've been back I've stayed in the holiday mood and caught up with sleep and family time finishing off today with an Easter Egg Hunt this morning, a lovely walk on the beach, a relaxing drink at the Marina and then home for a fantastic buffet at my MIL's...heaven! Anyway, back to crafting. Would you like to see another of the projects we made last week at the Holt Hoot!? Love, love, LOVE these super cute treat boxes!! The projects weren't all with the Owl Punch and being so close to Easter I really wanted to make something Eastery. These treat boxes were inspired from something I saw on Maria's blog which was a name place she'd made. When I saw them a treat box immediately sprang to mind. Everyone made both of these boxes along with a basket which I will share over the next few days. The pictures I took of it are pretty poor so I'll get some better ones taken tomorrow and I'll also show you the Owl project. Right, more catching up to do. Enjoy the rest of your Easter! Jo :)

Super Duper Holt Hoot!

2011-04-18T01:18:00.013+02:00

And what a hoot it was! Here's one of the projects everyone made - a cute bag charm. Love him!Just a very quicky post tonight as I'm pooped after 2 events in a week. Thank you to everyone that came along and for making it such a fantastic day. A massive thank you must also go to my wonderful mum for providing us with a delicious buffet as usual and my fantastic friend and downline Julie for helping out - I couldn't of done it without you both! I'll be back later in the week with more photos of what everyone created (the projects have an Easter theme) but for now I'm having a few days off from crafting to spend with my boys. See ya soon! Jo

Is it a Plane?

2011-04-13T21:04:00.011+02:00

Last month I went to a Stampin' Up! Regional Training Event at Fareham which was just before the launch of the Mini Catalogue. I love these events - we get to meet up with Demo's from other areas, swap samples, win prizes, learn lots of new techniques and business ideas as well as hear all about new exciting things coming in the world of SU! At this particular training session it was about the Mini and as you can imagine, we were very excited - we hadn't seen the Mini up until this point. Anyway, there was lots of new samples on the boards using Mini products but one particular card stood out for me using 'Plane & Simple'. I took lots of photos of all the samples and of course I had to re-create this one. My version is almost to the exact original which had a french sentiment. I've no idea who made it but isn't it a beauty?!?! At first I couldn't work out where the map paper had come from but it's in the Newspaper DSP on the reverse of the music sheet. A bit of colourwashing to give it a bit of ageing, a few torn bits plus that wonderful colour sprizter and it was easy.

I'm really pleased SU! have introduced more masculine sets this time. With a house full of boys I think they'd appreciate something like this instead of hearts & flowers which is what they get now, whether they like it or not...he hee.

Thanks for stopping by.

Langside School Charity Fundraiser

2011-04-12T23:35:00.034+02:00

Well it's all over and what a fantastic day we had! Lots of photo's to share, all taken by Julie as Id forgotten to bring my camera - I knew I'd forget something! Thank you Julie for bringing yours along and taking such fabulous pictures! Haskins were absolutely wonderful in allowing us to use this room for our event and it really was a fantastic room - so light, airy and spacious - the perfect facilities, and everyone was so helpful in providing everything we needed. Julie, Helen and myself have been planning this for weeks and it was a bit of the unknown as to how well we would do. We needn't of worried though as it all went to plan. My dear Mum was at the door to meet and greet people - she's such a sweetie and should be on comission for all the help she gives me - bless her. Love ya Mum - mwah! Here were our display boards with lots of samples we'd made ourselves along with others we'd picked up from demonstrators at other events. There was plenty to see.

We had a handmade items for sale table. This photo was was taken before we had finished setting up but you can see some of the items we had for sale. Julie had made some gorgeous little notepads, I'd decorated some rulers, made hairbands and brooches. Julie had also made the oh so cute sheep bookmarks and I'd made the monster ones and froggies. The bookmarks went down a storm! In fact all the handmade items did. We had a Free Door Prize Draw to win an exclusive Stampin' Up! bag, ruler and a stamp set.

There were 15 prizes for the raffle!! ALL donated. A HUGE thank you to Karen & Phillip Kebby of Churchview Joinery, Wimborne for donated the 2nd prize of £40 Stampin' Up! vouchers (you can visit Karen's blog here). Another MASSIVE thank you to Glyn & Lyn Bagley for also donating 4 other prizes to the raffle plus a cash donation and 2 bottles of wine donated by a customer of Karen's. First prize was for over £100 worth of Stampin' Up! Products, second Prize - £40 Stampin' Up! Voucher, Third Prize - £25 Haskins Voucher donated by Haskins, plus lots of other Stampin' Up! and gift items. We held the draw at the end of the day and here are the winners. 1st Prize - Mrs Tarrant, Southampton 2nd Prize - Sandie Smith, Salisbury 3rd Prize - Mrs Vivian, Poole 4th Prize - Anna Keegan, Bournemouth 5th Prize - Wendy Goldsack, Bournemouth 6th Prize - Rachel Tattum, Bournemouth 7th Prize - J Bowater, Bournemouth 8th Prize - Eleanor Clifford, Christchurch 9th Prize - Mrs P Cox, Bournemouth 10th Prize - J Radouis, Dorchester 11th Prize - Joyce Taylor, Bournemouth 12th Prize - G Tics 13th Prize - A Boyce, Ferndown 14th Prize - M Green, Wimborne 15th Prize - Anna Keegan, Bournemouth Through the day we also had a Make & Take table which again all the proceeds went to the charity. Julie was running this table and as usual did a grand job. Here was the Make & Take I designed...

For those that didn't have the time to wait or wanted to make more at home we made up packs to buy with instructions which was our 'Make & Take-Aways'. They went down really well and we sold all 55 of them!

We had an information table with catalogues to browse and order forms, recruitment packs and leaflets on hosting a home workshop and earning FREE products for being a Hostess. And finally we had our Demo table. Here's Helen setting up...Helen and I were demonstrating the Big Shot - our new favourite toy. If you've been following my blog over the past week you can probably guess what I demo'd. The plan was to demo the Milk Carton Die but with my lovely daisies and Bonnet on the table it was rude not to get my Daisy Die out and show how I put them together. If you're new to my blog you can see what I've created here and here along with a tutorial. Helen used the very gorgeous Wallpaper Embossing Folder and Fun Flowers Die along with the buttons sizzlits.

And the final amount we raised for Langside School and their Mini Bus Fund was....

£370!!!

So all in all it was a fantastic day! The weather was absolutely glorious and obviously everyone was out making the most of the beautiful weather in the afternoon but even so, the end result was well worth all the effort we had all put into raising money for such a worthwhile cause.

Myself, Julie, Helen and my Mum would like to thank everyone who came along and supported us on Sunday- customers, fellow demonstrators, Langside School staff & pupils and everyone that came in by chance to see what we were up to. We chatted with so many people through the day and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely!

Thank you for sticking with me on this very looooong post. I'm full swing now for this Sunday's Holt Hoot!!! See you real soon! Jo