About Me

My photo
I have been a Stampin' Up Demonstrator for almost two years now, and when I signed up it was just for the starter kit and discount on products........ I never imagined it would snowball into being a business like it has. I am a new Mummy to my little boy, Isaac, who is almost four months old now. I am spending my maternity leave enjoying watch him grow up, becoming his own little person, and also trying to build my business up. Stampin' Up! have amazing products and I would love to share my crafting passion with as many people as possible. I am always putting through orders, so if you need anything, or just want some information or advise, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you want to try before you buy, then check out my classes and get booked on.

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Retirement Update

Hello - so sorry for the lack of posts which actually display SU products and creations, but I have been busy preparing for my open house event this Saturday to kick start the new Stampin' Up! Catalogue with a bang!

For details of this event please take a look HERE
There will be lots of fun, lots of freebies, make and take projects and loads of new products samples to get you feeling creative!

So that leads me onto the fact that there are only 2 more days after this one to order any of the retiring items.  After 30th September they will no longer be available to order.  See what's retiring HERE

Here is the update of items that have now gone out of stock from the retirement list.

If there is anything you have been thinking about getting, then order today!!!!

Contact me - craftybugjules@yahoo.co.uk / 07786266722


Have a wonderful day :o)

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Special Birthday Cards

Hello,
I hope this post finds you all well on this gloomy looking Tuesday.  The sun seems to be trying to make an appearance, but there's a definite feel of Autumn in the air.


At my card class last weekend, my most local crafty customer had a request for two cards for her niece's 1st birthday.  So while she set about tackling the 5 cards I'd designed for class, I started to pull together the cards for her niece.
I'd seen some gorgeous side-step teddy bear punch cards on the internet, so thought I'd try this for her.
She really wanted her nieces name and age on the cards, but I don't have any of the alphabet or number stamp sets yet, so I printed these bits from the computer and punched them out with the Decorative Label Punch and 1" Circle Punch, and then added the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Level 2 Hostess Set - Something to Celebrate.
The card base is Pink Pirouette and the drawers were made with the Modern Label Punch and then a Rose Red Designer Brad was added.
The teddy bear itself was made of various different circle punches and the Heart to Heart Punch and also the little heart from the Two-Step Owl Punch.
There was lots of daubing done on this card to give it some depth. 


The second card was again using Pink Pirouette as the card base, with a layer of Baja Breeze DSP which I thought kind of gave a sky backdrop.  The leaves were from the Two-Step Bird Punch.  The owl was punched from Crumb Cake card and we added a little ballerina outfit using Pink Pirouette card for the chest and Pink Pirouette DSP punched with one of the Itty Bitty Punch Pack for the skirt.  a little string of Basic Pearls were then added.  The balloons were punched with 1" Circle Punch and I again used the little heart from the Two-Step Owl Punch for the tie on each balloon and this gave me something to tie the Silver Elastic Cord to.  


While I realise a 1 year old might not be able to full appreciate these cards, at lot of work went into them and I know my card class lady, the lovely Joan, was very pleased with the results.


While these weren't the cards I actually designed for class, if you love these and would like to take part in a class and make 5 cards for yourself, then please check out my Saturday Card Class page.
There are details of the theme classes coming up over the next few months and the stamp sets we will be using.  Spaces are limited, so please contact me to book your space.

Sunday 18 September 2011

Card Class - Christmas Special

Hi everyone,

I am going to be running an additional card class in the run up to Christmas!
Oh yes, that time is coming around quickly..........
Wouldn't it be nice to be more prepared this year, have your cards and gift tags all made and ready for the wrapping and posting????

Well why not sign up for my 10 for 10 class on 12th November!

Make 10 cards and 10 gift tags all for £10

For more details check out my Saturday Card Class page

Saturday 17 September 2011

Horray - it's almost new catty time!

We are only a few weeks away from the start of the new Stampin' Up! year, which means the launch of a new Idea Book and Catalogue, full of wonderful new goodies, plus lots of our old favourites as well.


If you would like to order a new catalogue (RRP £5.95), to be delivered to you for 1st October (Royal Mail permitting), then I will post one to you for £4.95.

Alternatively, if you are able to make my open house launch event on 1st October, you can reserve one and collect on the day for £4.50.
Launch Event details can be found HERE

Please contact me to order or reserve you new Idea Book and Catalogue
07786266722

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Update on Retired Products

Hello,

Just a quick update to let you all know what retiring items have already gone out of stock:


I will update as and when other items go out of stock, but if you want something on that retirement list then order sooner rather than later.

Contact me on 07786266722 or email craftybugjules@yahoo.co.uk

Thanks xxx

Saturday 10 September 2011

Blog Hop - Let's Say Goodbye Together!

The Month of September brings with it mixed emotions for me.  It is sadly the time when we have to say goodbye to many products in the 2010/2011 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue.  But.......  it also means that the sparkly, shiny new 2011/2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue is just around the corner, released 1st October!

Today's mammoth blog hop celebrates all of those lovely retiring products..........

You have probably arrived here from Donna
I hope you enjoyed the creations she had for you.

I have my monthly card class today, and I based many of my cards on the retiring products, so here is what I've made.......... enjoy!

Joy Fold Card

For this little 4"x4" card I used some of the retiring DSP called Sunny Garden and also the stamp set A Flower For All Seasons.  This is just such a cute stamp set, and works great with the Aqua Painters, or just by colouring in with the Markers.  Colouring with Markers is exactly what I have done here.
I went with the autumn stamp that has sunflowers to compliment the Peach Parfait card I used along with Pear Pizzazz and, one of my favourites, Poppy Parade.
Thankfully the lovely In Colours are sticking around for another year.
The flower stopper that holds the card closed was punched with the Boho Blossom Punch and the centre is from one in the Itty Bitty Punch Pack, all held together with a Designer Brad.


Strength and Hope Card

I love this set and I didn't use it enough.  Buying this set also mean you are making a difference as £1 from each set goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
This set was in the mini and will not be available after 30th September, so get it while you can and help a great cause at the same time!
This time I have used Lap Of Luxury DSP for a background on which I stamped the gorgeous butterfly image.  I used the Rock n Roll technique with this one, inking it in Pretty in Pink and then Concord Crush.  The card base is also Pretty in Pink with the swirly image stamped in Concord Crush down the folded edge using a Stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up.  The centre butterfly is popped up with Dimensionals and has a line of Basic Pearls added for it's body.
The sentiment is from the retiring Level 2 Hostess Set - Something to Celebrate.  I stamped it and then punched it out with the Decorative Label Punch.




Top Note Patchwork Card

Again, such beautiful DSP, this time Springtime Vintage from the mini catalogue.
I've assembled squares of the papers over the top of a Whisper White piece of card, glued them all down and then ran it through the Big Shot with the Top Note Die.  I then ran it through again with the Lattice Square Embossing Folder which gives a great quilted effect.
I've simply mounted it onto Whisper White and used the Corner Rounder Punch before wrapping some Rose Red 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon around and tieing a bow.  The sentiment is from Oval All stamp set, inked in Rose Red and mounted onto a Scalloped Oval of Rose Red.  I have used the Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack to add a hole to each of the scallops.
Everything was then mounted onto a Baja Breeze card base.




Plane and Simple - I'm going to miss this one so, so much!

This stamp set was just fabulous for those (what I think are harder to make) male cards!
I have grabbed some more DSP - it's all retiring you know - this time Elegant Soiree which is simply lovely.
I have made an Easel Card with Baja Breeze for the base again.  Strips of DSP have been added to the panels, then the plane image was stamped onto another piece of DSP in Early Espresso ink.  This was cut and mounted before being stuck down with Dimensionals.  The Silver Elastic Cord was threaded through the dimensionals behind the image and looped through the sentiment before being tied in a bow.  I'll miss this cord as tying it was a doddle as it was so stretchy and forgiving!  Sadly, it's already sold out, but you can still get the gold.

The sentiment is from the same stamp set, inked in Early Espresso again and stamped onto Very Vanilla.  I cut this out into a banner freehand and mounted it onto DSP and cut again to create a border.
Finally I made the stopper for the card.  The diamonds image was stamped twice onto Very Vanilla in Baja Breeze ink and cut out.  I have added it to the card with Dimensionals (quick tip - when you finish with the Dimensionals, don't throw the sheet away, use all those odd little half bits around the edge by snipping them, they are great for smaller pieces of card you want to pop up!)



Well I hope you have enjoyed looking at the cards I made and you have been inspired to take a look at the retirement list and grab some of these great products before they are gone.......

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Please leave me a comment as I love to know what people think of my creations.

From me you can now head on over to Elaine 

If you get stuck, lost or confused along the way, below is a list of all of the lovely crafty ladies taking part in the blog hop today.

1. AlisonP http://craftyalisoninlyon.blogspot.com/
2. Twintrouble (Erika) http://twintroublescreations.blogspot.com/
3. Lauralou http://airingcupboardstamping.blogspot.com/
4. Sarah (IOWhttp://www.stampinsarahiow.blogspot.com/
5. Theresa M http://my-next-chapter.blogspot.com/
6. Rozelle (LittleMoo6) http://thepapercraftsessions.blogspot.com/
7. Valerie (valmoody) http://stampingwithval.wordpress.com/
8. EmmaH http://emma-letsstamp.blogspot.com/
9. Donna (DonnaM) http://www.head-over-heels-by-dlm.blogspot.com/
10. Julie H (The Crafty Bug http://the-crafty-bug.blogspot.com/
11. Elaine (Sassy Stamper) http://www.thesassystampers.blogspot.com/
12. Sandra (Sarnie) http://www.kraftybiker.blogspot.com/
13. Natalie http://www.natalieoshea.co.uk/blog.html
14. Kimf http://kimfeecrafter.blogspot.com/
15. CarolineSkinner http://stampinupandbranchingout.blogspot.com/
16. VickyLou http://www.vickylouscorner.blogspot.com/
17. Michelle (ShellieStamps) http://michellescraftypaper.typepad.com/
18. allyf http://www.serendipitypapercuts.blogspot.com/
19. Maggiemae http://thefineartofstampin.blogspot.com/
20. Evy C http://www.evyscraftycreations.blogspot.com/
21. Niki http://www.mygroovystampinup.blogspot.com/
22. Sarah-Jane www.cardsandacuppa.blogspot.com
23. Tina( Tina Faghy) http://littlewhitehousecrafts.blogspot.com
24. Sally (Pink Sky) http://pinkskysu.blogspot.com

Friday 9 September 2011

Training Make and Takes x 2

Hi,

This past Saturday I went to a training session held at my upline's, upline's home!  It gets confusing - technically I suppose you could call her my Stampin' Up! Gran, but she's way to young for that :o)

The lovely Cate had prepared two make and takes for us all to make.

The first was using the Mini Milk Carton Die with the Big Shot.  We wrapped a piece of DSP around it, and a sentiment was added on a Scalloped Square cut from Whisper White.  The flower is from Vintage Vogue, and the friends is from Just Believe.  A mini library clip was added from the Clip Assortment (part of last months freebie pack!) to hold the carton together.  These are just so cute and would make fabulous favours for wedding tables, or party treats for kids, and in reds and greens they would look lovely on the table for Christmas dinner!


The second make and take was a mini card.
The base is Pear Pizzazz with a 1 3/4" Circle of Whispoer White added.  This was stamped in Pear Pizzazz with the Dot, Dot, Dot background stamp before being punched.  The butterflies are scraps of cardstock put through the Big Shot with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit.
The senitment is inked in Pear Pizzazz and is from Party This Way stamp set.  Finally some Basic Rhinestones were added to give it some sparkle.

Thanks so much Cate - it was a great afternoon of fun......  xxx

The Details: 
Card / Paper - Whisper White / DSP Bright Stack - Old Olive / Pink Pirouette / Peach parfait / Regal Rose / Pear Pizzazz
Stamps / Ink - Melon Mambo / Old Olive / Pear Pizzazz / Dot, Dot, Dot background stamp
Embellishments - Clip Assortment / Basic Rhinestones
Tools - 1 3/4" Circle Punch / Beautiful Wings Embosslit / Big Shot / Paper Snips / Dimensionals / Sticky Strip / Tombow / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist

Thursday 8 September 2011

Thank You Lovely Ladies

Hello everyone - I just wanted to quickly share with you the gorgeous cards I received from some other members of the Stampin' Stars team.  
We all met up on Saturday at Cate's house for a team meeting and it was so lovely that they had all thought about me these past few weeks and gone to the trouble of making me cards.

Thanks girlies.............


Left to Right - Cate Blue Angel Crafts - Amy Crafty ThINKer - Katie Deep Blue Crafting

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Happy Birthday Mum!

Yesterday it was my lovely mum's birthday, so I took the day off work and we spent it together..........

Whenever September comes around I always see sunflowers in the shops and I think they are simply gorgeous.  I case'd a card by Andrea Gideon to create a sunflower card for my mum.

I really hope it helped to brighten her day :o)


I used the Flower Daises #2 Die with my Big Shot to make the sunflowers, using Peach Parfait and So Saffron card for the petals, and textured Chocolate Chip card for the centres which was run through the Big Shot in the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.
The leaves are punched in Pear Pizzazz using the Two-Step Bird Punch.
The background is the flower image from Confetti stamp set - inked in Peach Parfait and So Saffron to match the sunflowers.
The card base is Pear Pizzazz layered with textured Chocolate Chip, and embellished with a couple of So Saffron Brads.

The Details: 
Card / Paper - Pear Pizzazz / Chocolate Chip textured / Peach Parfait textured and smooth / Whisper White / So Saffron
Stamps / Ink - Confetti / Peach Parfait / So Saffron
Embellishments - So Saffron Brads
Tools - Flower Daisies # 2 Die / Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder / Two-Step Bird Punch / 1" Circle Punch / 1/2" Circle Punch / Dimensionals / Big Shot / 2-Way Glue / Snail / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack

Monday 5 September 2011

Retiring Products Promotion

Please Note - this post will remain at the top until 5th September.  Please scroll down for new posts. 

 

 

 


Promotion Dates: 1– 30 September 2011 (while supplies last)

Promotion Details:  It’s time to say goodbye! Hundreds of products from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue are retiring, and now is your last chance to get them before they’re gone.


Things to remember
  • All retiring items are only available while supplies last
  • The availability of retiring products will be updated each business day so I can let you know if what you are after is still available
  • Items do go quickly, so it might be the case that what you order is already sold out
  • You can provide alternative items in case the original item is no longer available when the order is placed
Click HERE for the retirement list


To take advantage of this months promotion please contact me
craftybugjules@yahoo.co.uk
or call on 07786266722

Sunday 4 September 2011

August Thank You Cards

I wanted to share with you some of the cards I made for my lovely customers who ordered during August.
I went with the In Colour palette for these cards and made use of the Designer Paper you can get as a Level 1 Hostess gift (it's only available until 30th September!)

The cards are 4"x4", with a layer of DSP, then topped with Whisper White punched from the Decorative Label Punch, and finally an In Colour butterfly, the biggest from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit.


 The sentiment is from Just Believe stamp set, inked in each In Colour used and punched with the Word Window Punch.  The Butterfly was added to the card with Dimensionals and topped off with some Basic Rhinestones.


If you would like to pace an order during September to get your hands on some retiring items - some up to 40% off - then call me on 07786266722 or email me at craftybugjules@yahoo.co.uk, and you will get a lovely thank you card at the end of the month as well!

The Details: 
Card / Paper - Peach Parfait / Blushing Bride / Poppy Parade / Whisper White / In Colour DSP Stack (Level 1 Hostess)
Stamps / Ink -  Just Believe / Peach Parfait / Blushing Bride / Poppy Parade
Embellishments - Basic Rhinestones
Tools - Word Window Punch / Beautiful Wings Embosslit / Decorative Label Punch / 2 Way Glue / Dimensionals / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist

Saturday 3 September 2011

August Card Class - Pearly Owl

This is the final, and I think my favourite, card from my August Card Class.
There is only one small stamped image and the rest is all about punches!
The base is 4"x4" Certainly Celery card, layered with a piece of Whisper White and a piece of Pink Pirouette Designer Series Paper from the Subtles Stack.
The branches have been punched from Certainly Celery card with the 2-Step Bird Punch, and the flowers from Pink Pirouette card with the Itty Bitty Punch Pack Flower.
We have obviously used the 2-Step Owl Punch here, with Soft Suede card, some Whisper White for the eyes, and the same DSP as before for the chest section.
The sentiment is from Plane and Simple stamp set in Soft Suede ink, punched with the Word Window Punch and layered onto Certainly Celery card punched with the Modern Label Punch.  This was stuck down with Dimensionals.
The flowers have had a tiny Basic Pearl added to the center.

Very simple and very cute!

If you have liked the cards I made for my August Card Class and would like to come to the next class, it is being held at my house on Saturday 10th September.  Click onto the Classes tab at the top of the page for all of the details.  I'd love to see you there!

The Details: 
Card / Paper - Certainly Celery / Whisper White / Soft Suede / Pink Pirouette DSP Subtles Stack
Stamps / Ink - Plane and Simple / Soft Suede Marker
Embellishments - Basic Pearls
Tools - 2-Step Bird Punch / 2-Step Owl Punch / Word Window Punch / Modern Label Punch / Itty Bitty Punch Pack / Tombow / Dimensionals / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist

Friday 2 September 2011

August Card Class - Vintage Style

The fourth card at class this month was inspired by a swap I received at a recent training event from Kerry Timms - visit her blog HERE.  I kept the design and changed up the colours.
The base is Rose Red, topped with a layer of Baja Breeze.  This has been distressed using the Cutter Kit, and also stamped with the butterfly from Clearly For You in Whisper White.  Using this ink gives a very delicate background.
Two strips of Very Vanilla have been punched with the Eyelet Border Punch and then screwed up!  Yes, you heard right, I did struggle with this at first as I'm generally a neat freak, with clean edges everywhere!  It was good fun though...........  The Rose Red centre strip was also distressed around the edges and then screwed up into a ball and then flatten back out.
I used the flat stamp and Teabag Stain ink from the Distressing Essentials kit to age the Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla and Rose Red pieces.  This kit is great, with so many tools for distressing, and four different coloured inks to work with as well.
The images from Clearly For You were inked using Markers in Crumb Cake, Rose Red and Baja Breeze, and stamped onto Very Vanilla and cut using the 1 3/8" Circle Punch.  These were also distressed before being added to the card using Dimensionals.



This card was lots of fun to make, using some great techniques.

The Details: 
Card / Paper - Rose Red / Baja Breeze / Very Vanilla
Stamps / Ink - Clearly For You / Rose Red, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake Markers / Tea Stain / Whisper White
Embellishments - None
Tools - Eyelet Border Punch / Cutter Kit / Distressing Essentials Kit / 1 3/8" Circle Punch / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist / Dimensionals / Snail

Thursday 1 September 2011

August Card Class - Beautiful Butterflies

This is the third card from my August class and it uses the Big Shot for a lot of the elements.
The base is Garden Green, with a layer of Pear Pizzazz which was daubed around the edges and stamped with the script from French Foliage.
The next layer started out as Whisper White, but has been torn and distessed with daubing and stamping in Pear Pizzazz ink.  Again the French Foliage stamp set was used.  The script and water spotches look really good together with the odd postmark image stamped as well.
The butterflies were cut using the Beautiful Butterflies Die and the Big Shot.  The largest in Pear Pizzazz was then embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, and the smaller Vellum butterfly was embossed with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.
Just add some Basic Rhinestones and a length of Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon and your done!


The Details: 
Card / Paper - Garden Green / Pear Pizzazz / Whisper White / Vellum
Stamps / Ink - French Foliage / Pear Pizzazz
Embellishments - Basic Rhinestones / Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon
Tools - Big Shot / Beautiful Butterflies Die / Square Lattice and Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folders / Sponge Dauber / Dimensionals / Sticky Strip / Tombow / Trimmer / Stampin Scrub and Mist