Bonne Année & SAB!

Wishing you a (very belated) happy new year!  In France it is more popular to send New Year's cards (than Christmas cards) and New Year's wishes can arrive up until the end of January - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!  Even though I have just got in by the skin of my teeth!

Stampin' Up! have a fab promotion at the moment - Sale-a-bration (otherwise known as SAB) has returned!  This year it runs from 24 January until 31 March.  For every £45 you spend in one order you can choose from one of 4 stamp sets or a gorgeous pack of exclusive Designer paper absolutely FREE!

This card is one of the make and takes from a workshop I held last week:

Recipe
Card/Paper: Very Vanilla, Poppy Parade; Stamps: Thank You Kindly, Fresh Vintage (SAB); Ink: Poppy Parade; Tools/Accessories: Stampin Dimensionals, Self-Adhesive Pearls

This is the perfect card for the new crafter - very easy to make but looks great!

I have also made another version which takes the card to the next level and the materials for this card would get you 2 free SAB products:

Recipe
Card/Paper: SU Whisper White, SU Poppy Parade, SU Pool Party; Stamps: SU Thank You Kindly, SU Fresh Vintage (SAB); Ink: Versamark, SU Poppy Parade, SU 2011-13 In Color markers (Lucky Limeade, Pool Party & Calypso Coral used); Tools/Accessories: Stampin Dimensionals, Self-Adhesive Pearls, SU Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Clear embossing powder, Heat gun

Did you notice the paper in the background - that is one of the papers from the SAB promotion - Everyday Enchantment - isn't it sumptuous?  It also co-ordinates with the SAB Fresh Vintage stamp set and it inspired me with the colours in the second card.  In fact if you were to buy all the products needed to make this card - you would get both the stamp set and the papers for free!  How great is that?!

Interested?  Why not contact me to find out more?!  I'd love to hear from you!

A la prochaine!  Amitiés!

Nicole

Convention Swaps

I went to my first SU Convention last month which was held in Eurodisney, Paris.  I had a fabulous time, if somewhat tiring! Congratulations to my SU "Mummy" - Michelle Last - who for the 2nd year running was awarded No 1 UK Demo!  Félicitations Michelle!

Firstly I thought you might like to see my swap:

Recipe
Card/Paper: SU Bashful Blue, SU Whisper White, SU Brushed Silver
Stamps: SU Contempo Christmas, SU Tags ‘til Christmas, SU Serene Snowflakes
Ink: SU Night of Navy, SU Bashful Blue, SU Real Red, SU Basic Black
Tools/Accessories: 1 3/8” circle punch, Word window punch, SU Dazzling Diamonds, Stampin Dimensionals

I think my snowman in his snow globe is rather cute - even after the 100 that I ended up making!  Merci beaucoup to my fellow Pink Lady - Jenny - who loaned me the Serene Snowflakes stamp set.

Hopefully you can see the Dazzling Diamonds which I used as snow better in this close up:

I will come back soon and show you the roomie gifts I made as well as the Pink Ladies swap.

A la prochaine! Amitiés!

Nicole

3D Christmas Tree

This card was one of my make & takes at my new catalogue launch party held last month.  And I also showed it to some fellow demos at our monthly training this week with my upline Michelle (I am part of the Pink Ladies/Lads group - please contact me if you want to join my team).  The design is my take on several cards I have seen on various blogs.

Card Recipe
Paper/Card: SU Old Olive, SU Cherry Cobbler, SU Very Vanilla 
Stamps: SU Pennant Parade
Ink: SU Old Olive, SU Cherry Cobbler, SU Soft Suede
Tools/Accessories: SU Petite Pennants Builder Punch, SU Jewellery Tag Punch, SU Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Paper Piercer, SU Rhinestones, SU Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon, SU Linen Thread

To make this card:

1. Score a piece of Very Vanilla (21cm x 10.5cm) at 10.5cm to make a 10.5cm square card.
2. Using the Big Shot emboss a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock (8.5cm x 8.5cm) with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder.  Tie a piece of Pear Pizzazz seam binding ribbon approx 2/3rds of the way down.  Mat centrally onto the Very Vanilla card base.
3. Stamp the Christmas tree pot towards the bottom of a piece of Very Vanilla card (5.5cm x 7.5 cm).  Mat onto some Old Olive cardstock (6cm x 8cm).  And mat onto the Cherry Cobbler embossing cardstock, ensuring the ribbon knot is at the side.
4. Stamp the Christmas tree image from Pennant Parade 3 times onto a strip of Old Olive cardstock with Old Olive ink and punch out using the scallop pennant from the Petite Pennants Builder punch.  Score down the middle of each scalloped pennant and stick together to create a 3D tree.  Stick the tree onto the Very Vanilla cardstock in line with the Christmas tree pot stamped earlier.  Place a large Rhinestone at the top of the tree.
5. Stamp the greeting “merry” with Cherry Cobbler ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  Punch out using the Jewellery Tag punch.  Make a hole in the tag with the paper piercer and tie onto the ribbon with linen thread.

Et voilà!  By the way: one of the great things about this card is that the Christmas tree folds flat for posting!

Just getting back into the lingo, as I am currently busy making my swaps for the SU European Convention which is being held at Eurodisney, Paris, next week.  This will be first time at Convention so I am both excited and nervous!

Amitiés.  A la prochaine!

Nicole

It's here!

I can finally reveal the new Stampin' Up! catalogue - hurrah!

There are some great new stamp sets as well as fab new products including FABRIC - yes you did read that right we now stock fabric!  There is some gorgeous new ribbon too - scallop dots (squeal with excitement here!) and some lovely new IN-COLOURS that will last for 2 years: Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Island Indigo and Wisteria Wonder (don't you just love the names Stampin' Up! comes up with for their colours?!)

To celebrate the new catalogue I am holding an Open House tomorrow (Tuesday 4 October) - 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm.  Cost is £5.00, but this includes a copy of the new catalogue (RRP: £5.95), a goody bag, door prizes, catalogue treasure hunt, 2 make and takes and some light refreshments as well as the opportunity to drool look at some of the new products!  I also have a special offer, where I will have some retiring stock for sale and if anyone purchases Retired Items which are for sale at the full price they will get the equivalent spend from the new catalogue ABSOLUTELY FREE!!  I am sure you think you read this wrong but that is right girls, for every £ you spend on retiring product you can choose products from the new catalogue absolutely FREE – Buy one get one free!!  So contact me if you would like to come along and I will give you details of my home address.

If you are unable to make it or live too far away, I can post you a copy of the new catalogue for £4.50 and if you order it by the end of this week I will even throw in a goody bag!  Alternatively you can view the catalogue on-line here.

Along with this catalogue is the launch of the new Hostess Benefits. They are so generous and if the order/workshop sales are more than £300 you can choose any item from the catalogue HALF PRICE - yes any item half price!  Contact me for more details or if you wish to book a workshop or place an order.

Finally, have you been thinking about buying the Starter Kit and becoming a Demonstrator??  WELL - This month is definitely the BEST month ever!  Why?  Not only do we have a BRAND NEW KIT for £119 (valued at over £250), but you will also get a new IN-COLOUR bundle of 5 inkpads and some cardstock absolutely FREE (worth £27.95).  Interested?  Contact me for more details about how you can join my team!

A la prochaine! Amitiés!


Nicole

A Cherry Cobbler Wedding!

I was at my cousin's wedding (which was held in a tithe barn in Gloucestershire) a couple of weeks ago and as well as being a guest I also made the place cards, table numbers and table plan using SU's Cherry Cobbler (don't you just love that name?!) card stock and ink as well as the Vintage Vogue stamp set.

Alex and her (then) fiancé (now husband!) had a basic idea of what they wanted as they really liked the engagement card I made for them (shown in this post here).  I made up several designs of the place cards, photographed them and them emailed them for Alex and Nev to choose from as we live 90 miles apart (ahhhh - the wonders of modern technology!).  Once the design for the place cards was agreed, I then carried the theme through to the table plan and table numbers.  We did have a few dramas of additional names and last minute drop outs in the last week, so I decided to leave it until the day before before I finally stuck the table layouts to the plan.  I was even prepared and had a few blank place cards made up in case there were any last minute changes in guest name(s) - and there was!

You can click on the photos to see more detail (I have blurred the names on purpose by the way!)

Recipe
Cardstock: SU Whisper White, SU Cherry Cobbler
Stamps: SU Vintage Vogue
Ink: SU Cherry Cobbler

As you can see Alex loves red and this was a theme she carried throughout the wedding in different ways.  Here is a photo of the happy couple just after they signed the (fake) register (as you are not allowed to photograph the actual signing of the (real) register)!  As well as the gorgeous couple you can see the fab flowers - if you are interested more details can be found on the florist's blog.

Also, do look at the amazing wedding cake that my gifted aunt made (you should see the cakes she makes for Christmas each year as well as for any special family occasions!).  Both Alex & Nev LOVE, LOVE, LOVE chocolate so they had a wedding cake with a difference!  As a result my aunt told them they couldn't get married until school had broken up (she is a primary school teacher) as she would only be able to make the cake a couple of days before the actual wedding.  The cake had 3 different layers - chocolate fruit cake, carrot cake, and chocolate sponge cake - all covered in chocolate.  As well as the chocolate roses decorating the cake, there were also chocolate horses (for Alex) and chocolate cars (for Nev).

For making the place cards & table plan, Alex and Nev very kindly gave me a donation for a charity close to my heart - The Eve Appeal (coincidentally they have red in their logo - but it is more like SU Real Red!).  It was certainly a learning curve doing a table plan and place cards for a wedding but having done one I would be happy to do so again, so please contact me via email for any commissions.

Well I am sure my aunt is giving a huge sigh of relief that the stress is now over - her 2 daughters married within 2 months of one another!  And of course I HAD TO HAVE 2 different wedding outfits (well some of the same people were at each of the weddings - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)!  This is the card that I made for the couple (which is based on the last one shown in this post).

Receipe
Paper/Card: SU Whisper White, SU Cherry Cobbler
Stamps: SU En Français, greeting (non-SU)
Ink: SU Cherry Cobbler, Versamark
Tools/Accessories: Big Shot, Butterfly die (non-SU), SU Rhinestones, SU Whisper White organza ribbon, SU stampin dimensionals, silver embossing powder

Best wishes to Alex & Nev for their future life together and also to Tamsin & James (their wedding card was featured in this post here, which I have updated with a photo of the happy couple and another of my aunt's cakes - a more traditional wedding one this time!).

A la prochaine!  Amitiés!

Nicole

July Offers

The Stampin’ Up! Catalogue is jam packed full of craft supplies, from rubber stamps to cardstock, glitters to inks, yummy ribbon and beautiful papers for you to start creating with.

Fancy a party?  Then why not host a Stampin’ Up! workshop at your home and invite your friends.  Depending on sales you could earn FREE product!  Workshops are suitable for those new to crafting and also experienced crafters.

If you are tempted then all you need to do is give me a call and request a copy of the idea book catalogue. Catalogues are £3.00 (RRP: £5.95) or FREE if you book a workshop.  Workshops can be arranged evenings or weekends to suit.

And if you host a workshop in July you will have the chance to earn EXTRA FREE product if the workshop is £250 or more!!!  For example, with a £250 order you get a free stamp set plus £45 worth of free merchandise of your choice!

In addition to the SU promotion, I have my own offers in July:

·           If you place an individual order of £50 or more will you will also get a FREE pack of Rhinestones or Pearls (worth £4.50)

·           All orders in July are eligible for entry into a prize draw to win the Build a Blossom stamp set and co-ordinating punch (value: £35.45)

For full details of any of these offers, please contact me.


This post will remain here until 31 July 2011, so please scroll down for my latest posts.


A la prochaine! Amitiés!


Nicole

July Classes

Just a quick post with details of my latest classes to be held at my home:

Big Shot Class - Tuesday 26 July – 7.00 pm – 9.30 pm

• Come and have a go at using the Big Shot die cutting machine with exclusive SU dies and embossing folders!

Christmas in July - Saturday 30 July – 10.00 am – 12.30 pm

• Get started on your Christmas projects early!

In each class you will make a minimum of 3 items, including one 3D project.  Cost is £7.50 per class including tuition, all supplies & complimentary refreshments.  Alternatively the class is FREE if you place an order of £30 or more during the class.

Booking is essential as places are limited

Don’t miss out!

For full details, please contact me!


A la prochaine! Amitiés!


Nicole