Sorry, I disappeared for a moment.....

Phew, back after a couple of days feeling unwell, I am glad that it waited until the Extravaganza was over!!

So I have a few more pictures of the day to share with you:

work in progress!

building up an appetite to fill their lunch tubs!

and not forgetting our special guest who I have to say is an absolute dream, so well behaved and was quite often seen in Jane's arms..

and more projects to complete after lunch..

some of the projects were designed by Jane and I don't have pictures yet but you can view them on Jane's blog here.

We also had a raffle with 3 lovely prizes and of course our usual Prize Patrol where the winners got to choose themselves a free Stamp Set!

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day and from the comments I received from everyone, they enjoyed it too!  Thank you all for your support.

Easter Extravaganza

What a lovely day surrounded by lovely people, full of fun, laughter and creativity.....

The calm before the storm!

Goody bags for everyone on arrival with hidden surprises inside!

Lots of happy crafting!

Creating lots of projects:

With lots of butterflies:

and ribbon ruffles:

More pictures to follow later including one of a special little person who joined us for the day!!

Sweet & Sour

This month's projects at the "Making Gifts & Cards" Class at Alveston were both based on the same colour combinations and a bit of "Sweet & Sour" thrown in!

This was our card with a colour combo of Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red and Very Vanilla which all work beautifully together.  I have to admit I am not a great lover of Pumpkin Pie but I love it teamed with the Rose Red.  The spotty DSP is from the "Sweet & Sour" Speciality pack, these papers have a nice glossy finish to one side of each design, very lovely!  You need to see them in real life to appreciate their true beauty!

The stamp used on the Very Vanilla layer is from "Style Beautiful" stamped in Crumb Cake Ink to co-ordinate with the layer behind.  The Heart Border is created using the Small Heart Punch and then snipping up between each heart to create a beautiful edge. 

The butterfly image is from the "Butterfly Prints" stamp set, inked in Rose Red ink and punched out with the Butterfly Punch.  We used the Early Espresso Marker Pen to colour in the words "just for you" from "Afterthoughts", one of the Level One Hostess Stamp Sets and punched it out using the Extra Large Oval Punch, daubing around the edge with Early Espresso ink.

To finish we made a ribbon ruffle with the 1/4" Grosgrain Pumpkin Pie Ribbon.

Thank you for stopping by, back tomorrow with some pictures of the Easter Extravaganza that myself and Jane held today, too tired to sort out pictures for you this evening!!

A bit of Vintage

I received a swap at the Fareham Training in February with a similar layout and just loved the colour scheme too so had to do something with it, the orignal swap was from Angie Sims.  With my son being in hospital I wasn't left with much planning time for my card class so decided to go with this one which worked beautifully.

Now I know what your'e thinking, Vintage Vogue, hmmm, one of my favourite stamps and used very recently for a Make & Take, don't worry guys, I have put it back on my shelf for the time being, have so many new products to play with at the moment, but nothing to show you yet, but be patient, April will soon be here!!

So our colour combination is Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla and Naturals Ivory (for the base card) and not fogetting a hint of Pear Pizzazz for the leaves!

The DSP is from "Elegant Soiree" which I adore, the colours are gorgeous together and some of the patterns so elegant.

The greeting is from the Level 3 Hostess set "Occasional Quotes" punched out with the Word Window Punch then layered with a Modern Label punch out from Early Espresso cardstock.

We stamped and hand cut extra flowers which we put on the insert sheet along with more foliage stamping.

Pillow Box

Hi everyone and Happy Friday, yayyy!

I thought I would share this cute Pillow Box that I created recently.  These are great for holding little gifts such as chocolate or sweet treats or even Jewellery.

The flower and tag stamps are from "Cottage Garden" a gorgeous "2 Step Stampin' Set" which requires the use of the Stamp-a-ma-jig.  You can find this set on Page 53 of the Catalogue, Item No. 120003 £15.95 for Clear Mount or 117068 for Wood Mount.  It contains 7 lovely stamps one of them being a beautiful greeting "Love Life and it will Love you back".

My colour combination is Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.  The flowers are all inked with Marina Mist and inked only once but stamped three times to create three different shades.  The outline flower image which is the second part of the "2 Step Stampin' Process" is inked with Early Espresso.  I added adhesive Pearls to the centres which are so pretty.

The tag image was stamped and then punched out using the Large Tag Punch (IB&C Page No. 106, Item No. 119876 £14.25), I just love how the punches work with the stamp sets, it makes such light work of everything!

I used the "So Swirly" Jumbo Wheel to create a background pattern on my box, for this I used the same colour ink as my card which is Crumb Cake.

The DSP (Designer Series Paper) around the centre of the box is from the Subtles Stack, of course this is Marina Mist to co-ordinate with my stamped flowers and it was layered with Early Espresso Cardstock.  To finish I tied a knot with Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon.

If you would like to see how this is all put together, why not book yourself a Party, invite your friends around and I will do the rest!  You will also have the opportunity as a hostess to earn some great exclusive free products!

Workshop Make & Take

Do you remember "Vintage Vogue", when it was first released I couldn't put it down and had to hide it for a while as my other stamps were feeling rather neglected!!!

Well I thought that I would rescue it from hibernation and I love it just as much now as I did before!

So here is a Make & Take that was created at a recent workshop.

Our colour combo is Sahara Sand, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive and Early Espresso, teamed with Very Vanilla, gorgeous!

The background is stamped with "Sanded" using Sahara Sand ink.  The greeting is from the stamp set "Curly Cute" which is true to its name!  The decorative edge on the Early Espresso layer is created using the Scallop Trim Border Punch, one of my favourites at the moment!

If you would like to find out more information on hosting a home workshop, better known as a "Party" as it is definitely not work, just fun, fun and more fun, email me at stampinkerry@aol.com for further details on how you can earn yourself some exclusive Stampin' Up! products for free!!

Alternatively, if you would like to purchase products so that you can make the above card or would like to purchase a copy of the current Idea Book & Catalogue then please get in touch.

Stampin' Up! Regional Training at Fareham

At the end of February I attended one of the Stampin' Up! Regional Training days which was held at Fareham, these days are open to Demonstrators only and are full of business, fun and excitement, oh and should also mention free products!

I was asked to do a Demonstration using the "Business Basics" stamp set and this is what I came up with, a Post it Note Memo Holder that you can stick on the fridge!!  The demonstration went fine, although a little wobbly to start!!

The Designer Series Paper I used was "Elegant Soiree" and I teamed it with Soft Suede and Baja Breeze.  I couldn't resist using some of the gorgeous 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon as it ties such beautiful bows and the Marina Mist co-ordinates perfectly!

The suspended pen has also been decorated with DSP and I have attached a little tag at the end giving my contact details.

On the back of the memo holder there is a pocket which contains several business cards so that the receiver can hand them out to her friends!

The original idea for this came from a Challenge that was set by Amanda for our last Quarterly Meeting, we were each issued with a Post it Note and the challenge was to make something useful with it!  Here is my attempt:

I have made quite a few different designs but will save those for another time!

Thanks for stopping by,

Making Gifts and Cards Class

After receiving a swap from Hayley at our Quarterly Meeting in February I just couldn't resist having a go for my 3D project at the Alveston Making Gifts & Cards Class. 

So this is my design, Hayleys swap used "Bliss" stamps which was beautiful, you can see it here.   It is so sweet, holding 3 Ferrero Rocher for your loved one or perfect as a gift for Mother's Day and really quite quick to assemble!  Everyone loved it at the class so thank you Hayley for your inspiration! 

I used the large ornate stamp from "Bliss" for the first stamped layer then added the wording from "Cottage Garden" in Early Espresso Ink over the top.  The flowers were inked in Marina Mist, only inking once but stamping three times so that you get different tones of the same colour.  This is a 2-step Stampin' set so you will need a Stamp-a-ma-jig to help you.  You stamp the solid image first in a paler colour, then use the outline stamp with a darker colour ink to complete your image.  The sweet little butterly is also included in the set and it is soooo easy to hand cut!

To embellish our box we added a bow made from the 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in co-ordinating Marina Mist and some of the Basic Pearls which worked lovely with the stamped images.

If you would like to have a go at creating some lovely little 3D gifts and projects then why not give me a call to book in at one of my classes on 07717 068909 or email me at stampinkerry@aol.com.

I'm back......

........and so is my son!

What a relief it is to have him back home again, he now has his appetite back and is managing to get around on his crutches!  Leg is still looking very swollen but off to the Doctors tomorrow so hopefully they will say that everything is looking normal for post op!! 

It has been a very tiring week and half and I have to say I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things so with that in mind here is a card from one of the classes I held towards the end of last month.

This one uses one of the Sale-a-bration sets "Punch Bunch" which is unfortunately retired (boooo) but I know that most of you managed to get this one for free during the Sale-a-bration period and I couldn't not show it to you!  Our colour combination is Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist and Whisper White, very manly colours don't you think?

The Happy Birthday greeting is also from the same set but the "4 You" is from the "Tiny Tags" set, punched out with the Medium Jewelery Tag punch, I love these, they are just so cute!  We tied 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon around in a knot and attached the tag to look as if it were hanging from it.

We used "Sanded" one of the background stamps to create the subtle textured look on the base of the card.

Remember that you will be able to purchase the "2 Step Owl Punch" from 1st April when the Mini Catalogue is released (yaaaay!)

Anyway, I have a busy day tomorrow so I really should think about getting myself organised!

Back tomorrow with some more samples and thank you to everyone for your get well wishes for my son.

Back with you soon!

Still at the hospital, hoping that my son will be discharged soon. At the moment classes this week will run as normal but I will keep you informed if anything changes.

March Frenzy - the latest Promotion

Just blogging quickly before I head to the hospital, as promised, details of the March Promotion Stampin' Up! have for us!!

The March Frenzy is a fantastic new promotion where you can get up to 30% off selected products as listed in the flyer below.

Click on the flyer to the right to view the products in closer detail!

If you would like to take advantage of this great offer just give me a call or email me today to place your order.  Shipping direct to you door is £4.95 or you can collect from me in person.

Hopefully back soon with some samples!

Back with you shortly

Just to let you know that i haven't disappeared off the face of the earth, my son broke his tibia and fibula on Sunday at motorcross and we are still waiting for surgery at Sutton coldfield hospital in birmingham. As most of you are aware I have had to postpone all my classes this week but everything should be back to normal next week!!

I have had a really busy couple of weeks and have lots of projects to show you in the next couple of days, including the march promotion from stampin' up! where you can get up to 30% off selected products!!