Christmas Crafting ....

Well I did say I wouldn't do any more Christmas posts, but just to finish off the holiday season, I thought I would squeeze one more in. So what have I been up to over the xmas period? It's been hard to find any time, but Craig went into work on Friday so I tried to get some of my Journal Your Christmas project done. It's quite funny because I thought I would be the last person to do this project, my crafty friends kathy and lesley were really up for it, and I thought, it was nice to be included, but I just don't have the time. Now it appears that I am the only one who has gotten stuck into it! So here is my front cover and I have done about 6 pages so far.

And whilst i had all of my Christmas papers out, making my journal, I made about 8 layouts as well :)

Smash it in ....

Well I apologise for not blogging last week, what can I say, we all have one of those weeks now and again. I have had a few trips to the hospital with dad, and extra work and retreat stuff going on, and Oh it's nearly Christmas isn't it !!! Then on Monday Robyn asks, can Kezia and I come and do our books? What she meant by that was, that while we were in Florida, I bought them everything they would need to create a Smash book. It's a new concept to me too, but as they are young, i thought it would really appeal to them, and would be something they could complete quite quickly. So I was at the hospital in the morning and then in the afternoon crafted with the girls only Robyn didn't want to do her book, and carried on making handmade gift boxes as she is making her Christmas presents this year, and i did my very first Smash book (on behalf of Robyn)!

I always keep tickets, receipt, leaflets and maps ....
So here are a few photo's

Paper Trimmer ...

Stampin Up's very own paper trimmer has arrived, wider base, extending ruler, storage compartment, what more could you want !

Our European trimmer cuts in both Metric and Imperial measurements and cuts a full 12 inches even allowing room for the cutting and the scoring blades you don't need to remove them to get a full cut! Order yours this week and get it in time for Christmas.

 

Howlstooth & Scaringbone .....

Well if you read my blog regularly you will have seen some previous Halloween posts, but on Friday i spent a few hours halloween scrapbooking. I managed to do 5 layouts fairly quickly and that's because i combined 2 collections, a whole stack of halloween photo's and made pages for a few different children's scrapbooks so it didn't matter if there were some similarities on the pages, I copied a few of the elements i was pleased with, and added them to more than one page, take a look ......

Comfort Cafe Scrapbooking

I went to a scrapbooking class yesterday given by my lovely upline Julie Kettlewell. We were using the gorgeous Stampin' Up Comfort Cafe papers and I was excited to be using something that wasn't Chrtimassy. I had promised myself a few days ago that i was going to try and avoid any more Christmas posts as it is still weeks away !!! Julie was nervous as she thinks i am some super scrapper and she is more of a card maker, but her page was lovely and i just added a few twists to Julies page to make it my own. :)

alternate to ornament ....

I was looking for something as an alternate to the Christmas ornament, and another way to use some of my gorgeous cherry cobbler tulle, when i came across this on Karen Trelfa's blog, must have a go, isn't it gorgeous.

 

Having a little play around this week, i made these two cards, the right one is a "case" but i apologise i have lost the blog it came from. Again, i was looking for ideas to use my Tulle ! I think i changed the stamp set used as well but hey ho.

The main sets used are Jolly Jingles roller and Elements of Style.

Candlelight Christmas ...

Last weekend was Stampin Up! convention in Germany, but for those of us who couldn't attend, my Stampin Up mummy set us a challenge on her facebook group/page. One was to make an 8x8 layout, and since last weekend I have put mine on to a 12x12 sheet of cardstock and added a few more embellishments. The papers I have used are the stunning Stampin Up Candlelight Christmas, some cherry cobbler bakers twine and the Snow Flurry Bigz Die. (builder bird and tiny tags punch's) here's a photo ......

November promotion ...

And just as I have posted a picture of the Christmas Ornament Stampin Up have released this great promotion for November

 

Purchase the ornament Stamp set and the Candlelight Christmas designer papers and receive the paper piercing pack absolutely free, here are the various combinations to the offer.

132260	Christmas Gift Pack (wood-mount) Includes Ornament Keepsakes Stamp Set (wood-mount), Candlelight Christmas Speciality Designer Series Paper, festive Paper-Piercing Pack    Now £42.45
132261	Christmas Gift Pack (clear-mount) Includes Ornament Keepsakes Stamp Set (clear-mount), Candlelight Christmas Speciality Designer Series Paper, Festive Paper-Piercing Pack   Now £36.45
132262	Christmas Gift Pack (wood-mount bundle) Includes Ornament Keepsakes Bundle (wood-mount), Candlelight Christmas Speciality Designer Series Paper, and Festive Paper-Piercing Pack   Now £55.45
132263	Christmas Gift Pack (clear-mount bundle) Includes Ornament Keepsakes Bundle (clear-mount), Candlelight Christmas Speciality Designer Series Paper, and Festive Paper-Piercing Pack   Now £50.45

The bottom two bundles include the framelit dies for the big shot.

http://www2.stampinup.com/gb/eng/8576.asp

 

Stampin Up - Ornament

Well if you've had a look at the Stampin Up seasonal catalogue which was launched in September, then you will have seen this gorgeous ornament on the front. Lesley and Kathy came over on Wednesday for some well earned crafting time, and we were determined to make this ornament, it was surprisingly easy, and i just love the result, here is my finished article .....

I went a bit mad on the Tulle, but i love it !

Scrapstars - In Love

I had a few hours the other day and tried to finish adding photo's to partially made layouts (as I've said, not a great way to scrapbook, but I often do it)! But one that i did complete after 6 months, (which we made at the last Scrapstars retreat), was Emma Trout's "In Love" page. I ended up pulling out one of the very first layouts I ever made, and reusing the photo's the only problem was I had cut them into heart shapes, but I think I managed to work with it ..... take a look at the before and after ......:)

 

Postage Due ....

This week i had the pleasure of doing a Stampin Up workshop at my friend Elaine's house, it was a great workshop with ten people taking part plus Elaine, so we had to do two sittings at her dining table so that everyone could make the little project i prepared.

Firstly the card and then I made a sweety bag, like the ones in the Perfectly Preserved post. For this bag, i stamped all over on to a piece of plain white card and then made the bag, the ladies were blown away by it, but I've seen it done loads of times before !

It's Coming ....... Googly Ghouls

It's October and that means it will soon be Halloween, it's quite a big thing for us, i can see you rolling your eyes now and crying out "It's American". Well i would have been with you at one time. Trick or Treating really started kicking in here when Robyn was quite young, and i didn't agree with it, i used to say "it's begging" and it's not one of our traditions it's American. Having a child i couldn't be mean and not let her join in, so i used to let her get dressed up and i used to drive her around the family for her to go "trick or treating". Over the years, we have embraced Halloween (any excuse for a dressing up party) and I have done lots of Halloween scrapbooking, now Stampin' Up! have brought out this very cute stamp set "Googly Ghouls". As with the perfectly preserved below, it is so versatile, you can use it to make little sweety bags, cards, and I have seen people use the "mummy" in the set as a get well card (because he is covered in bandages) ahh. Below is a photo of some cards i have made and also a sweety bag we made at a shoe box swap day.

Had to add this photo of Robyn and I after this post, it's from our annual Halloween bash :)

Perfectly Preserved ...

Had a great time at Sarah's Stampin' Up workshop on Friday, a big thank you to Sarah for hostessing and a big big thank you to Lesley for the many samples from the new catalogue that you had made while I was away on holiday. These are all from the Perfectly Preserved Stamp Set, and I love the way Lesley has demonstrated that the stamp sets can be used to make many more things other than just cards. Take a look at these cute chocolate bags as well ..... :)

http://about3things.blogspot.co.uk/

New Catty Goes Live .....

Well can you believe it's the first of October and the new annual catalogue has gone live today. So not only do we have the fabulous seasonal (with that gorgeous Christmas Ornament on the front) we also have the full glorious technicolour Annual. On top of that here's the first fabulous offer from Stampin' Up, to entice us all .....



This offer applies to anyone signing up to be a Stampin' Up Demonstrator between 1st October and 30th November 2012, with the starter kit now being £99 and this offer of a pack of free designer series papers every month for six months, there's never been a better time to join. Email me if you would like to learn more :)

Naughty Scrapbooker !

Well I've done it again, I have done a similar post to this before, explaining that when I have little time, i grab one of my famous "baggies" with a few sheets from a scrapbook collection and a few embellies, and I throw together a quick scrapbook page. What takes a long time is finding photo's to match and of course journalling !!! I end up with a pile of partially made scrapbook pages and then one day I play snap with my photo's and try to finish the pages off .....

 

I certainly don't always scrapbook in this way, I usually have photo's matched with paper in my "baggies" so that I can complete pages as I go, but when you have a lot of paper, it's not always easy to be so organised :)

I'm in Scrapbook magazine .... readers letters :)

 

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time there was a tiny baby with sticky out legs, born to a mother who simply adored her, she could weep at just looking at this beautiful little miracle, who quickly became the centre of her world.

In time the mummy knew she simply couldn't live without her. The years passed quickly until one day, quite out of the blue, 21 years had passed by. The little princess asked mummy and daddy to take her to Florida for a big holiday with her best friend to celebrate.

The highlight, and the way she spent her special day, was at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter were they went on the best ride ever the Forbidden Journey, and they all lived happily ever after ......

New seasonal brochure .....

It's finally live and kicking and you can now get your hands on all the new products in the new seasonal brochure, see them here ....   http://204.228.150.61/catalogs/flash/en-GB/20120801_fg034nvf_AutumnWinter_en-EU/index.html


I'm sure you'll love the new products and find lots of inspiration. On Tuesday I went to my team training event with my very talented "up line" Julie Kettlewell, we were lucky enough to play with the new Perfectly Preserved stamp set which has matching frameleits dies which you can use on your big shot if you have one ....

  The gorgeous ornament on the front of the new Seasonal.....



For anyone who struggles to find the customer home page, try this link to the website
http://www2.stampinup.com/gb/eng/default.asp

Stampin Up Retirement List

Its that time of the year when we say goodbye to some products to make way for the new!!

Here are 2 links to 2 retirement lists, the first one is the Stamp Set list and the second one is the Accessories list.

 

http://204.228.150.61/docs/lastchance/en-GB/Stamp_Availability-UK.pdf

http://204.228.150.61/docs/lastchance/en-GB/Accessories_Availability-UK.pdf

Shoe box day cont ....

I'm afraid this photo was taken in my living room in not the greatest light, but here are some of the projects which we made at the shoe box day, it is a taste of what is to come in the new seasonal (mini) catalogue, out in September and also the new full Annual Stampin' Up! Catalogue, due out in October, we were asked to create our projects from items that would be new or remaining in the catalogues moving forward .....

Shoe Box Day....

It's well over a week ago now, but my Stampin Up mummy arranged a shoe box day, it was a really good idea and a great way to collect a hole bunch of different samples all in one go. Each of the ladies who attended made a project, this could be a card, a 6x6 layout or a small hostess gift, then you cut card etc enough for ten people to repeat the project and added this to a shoe/storage box. When we arrived we split on to two tables, 9 on each, and you passed your shoe box to the left and got to make 8 other peoples projects in one day. It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday and a nice repast from "The Robyn's House Saga". And just to keep my hand in with playing with paper, I then had the pleasure of wallpapering Robyn's bedroom last Monday, and her living room, last Sunday! Only one wall as a feature in each room, it took me 2.5 hours to do the bedroom and 4 hours to do the living room!!!!!!!!! The living room paper was so much harder to work with, but I'm fairly happy with the results. :) Here is my lovely paint covered assistant.


Fox and Friends ...

I love this stamp set and have a feeling it may be going to be on the retirement list, what a shame it is very cute but having said that, it is close to the Kidoodles set too, don't forget it's fast approaching retirement list time (September) and for all of you Stampin Up fans with a wish list for the current annual brochure, perhaps a quick review of things you would hate to miss is in order. I spotted this card on Google, and i loved the idea that the background paper had been made by using the whole of the stamp set. It would make a great sheet of paper for scrapbooking too, I may have a crack at that, i think I'll make a full sheet in multi colours like this one, and then make a strip of say all the animals stamped in brown as a contrast mmmmm watch this space, I'll let you see the results, in the meantime, the card ....by Jane Hignite.

August Offer .....

Did you know, that you don't have to have a workshop, to get your hands on SU goodies!

You can just order your SU stash direct from me and have it delivered direct to your door!

so get in touch with me...

Email: carolinescrafts@hotmail.co.uk

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Augusts fabulous Stampin Up Offer :-

"Reason To Smile" stamp set offer, get it in this special offer only period throughout August. I'm sorry the flyer is so small, but basically you can get this stamp set in two ways, FREE with any order for £60 or over, or just as a regular purchase (wood) £18.95 and (clear) £14.95 plus postage. 

Email for orders: carolinescrafts@hotmail.co.uk

Mixed Bunch review

Mixed Bunch

So when I have had some craft time in the last few weeks, I'm afraid I have reverted to type, in other words, I need to stand up and say "My name is Caroline and I'm a scrapaholic". The thing is I can pick out one of my packets of papers and embellishments and put the basics of a scrapbooking page together in about half an hour. I sometimes have to go back to it and add more bits and pieces, and of course find some photo's, but when it comes to cards making, i really have to think, so for relaxation, it's scrapping. I guess most cardmakers are the other way around, and they can complete three cards in the time it takes me to make one, but that's just the way i am :)

A close up on the detail

Almost finished (Lost & Found)

Mixed Bunch

Robyn and Danielle (her roomie)

Mixed bunch might be the name of the stamp set, but I've also had a few mixed weeks, work has been increasingly difficult, which has impacted on my normally chilled husband, this has caused me to be stressed too and on top of that Robyn's house has finally come through. That's a mixed blessing, Robyn is very excited and can't wait to move in, but of course there is a lot to sort out first, a million things to order and to organize. Robyn has never had to make so many decisions in her life, and where we've always found shopping a pleasure, it has turned in to a chore over the last few weeks. Anyway, as we keep saying, it will be lovely when it's finished, but here are a few photo's .....

The bathroom as was ........

The bathroom this week !

Free Ribbon and Brads

THIS MONTHS MUST HAVE

For this months MUST HAVE I have to say that the Mixed Bunch Stamp set and matching Blossom punch are still my top seller! See them here with the Everyday Enchantment papers Back On Sale For The Month Of July ONLY. They can be purchased for £9.95. Hostess a workshop and we can recreate the projects to the right, a gorgeous little folded gift that holds 3 mini cards and envelopes. We use the Simply Scored tool to make it, together with the Diagonal Plate to make matching envelopes!!!! Think about putting a bundle together to ensure you receive your FREE gift on a spend of £45 and over. Mixed Bunch stamp set - £19.95 Blossom Punch - £15.50 Everyday Enchantment papers - £9.95 £45.40 BRAD AND RIBBON PACK FREE

Birthday Break ....

Well I have been very remiss at blogging lately and I apologise for that, I had a wee birthday break last weekend, and have been back to a crazy time at work (yes I did a four day week again, phew, and saturday morning urgh). So, being so busy at work has meant that we couldn't take time off for a proper holiday, so i booked us a long weekend away .... you guessed it, to the wettest place in the UK Wales !!! Only i could do it huh. I used to go to Wales with the girl guides camping and have such fond memeries of the place, and remember (even back then) thinking it was really beautiful. Well even in the rain it didn't dissapoint me, it is still stunning. It was my birthday while we were away, and i just thought i would post some pictures of my cards .....



Cards from my SU friends

Wales

Cards from my friends and family



Special hand made card from Lesley



Everyday Enchantment Is Back ....

Do you remember the Everyday Enchantment Sale-A-Bration papers? Well they are back, and I for one couldn't be happier, they are the nicest Stampin' Up papers I've had yet, so versatile, beautiful coordination, and glorious colours. It wouldn't be Stampin Up without a fabulous offer so here it is ......

For every £45 you spend in July you can earn FOR FREE a limited edition pack of 30 brads and 2 spools of delicate organza ribbon in Lucky Limeade and Calypso Coral! 9.1 metres per spool!!! WORTH £15.95

 

The brads may look very familiar and that's because they match the gorgeous papers. The papers will be back for a limited time only at the price of £9.95 per pack. 

If you would like to get your hands on these goodies then please let me know. Email me or leave a comment :) Happy shopping!

2 Exciting Things

Two exciting things that have happened this week, I had a social visit from Lesley, i haven't seen her for weeks except at the SU training day, but she called over on Wednesday to collect some goodies, and look at what she brought me ..... a gorgeous Twitterpated Owl, isn't she lovely? We had seen this owl made up before in Spice Cake, and Lesley had got the pattern from the lady who makes them and she made this one for me :) The second thing that happened is I received a large envelope today, it was my promotion certificate saying that I am now a Bronze 2 and also enclosed my pin :) this put another smile on my face and went straight on my apron so that i can show it off LOL.