Only one more sleep!

Only one more sleep until the new mini catalogue is available for public viewing!! I can't wait to share with you, all the lovely new products,  including something very big and exciting!! So check back here tomorrow, as soon as i can i will put up an electronic version of the mini catty and a few of my most recent craft projects using the new products!!

Today i want to share a couple of projects i have been working on using the 'All in the Family' stampset. They are both on the same theme - babies!! Everyone seems to be having them at the moment!!!

So the first project is a card i have created and plan to send tomorrow to some friends of ours who have recently announced that they're expecting their second baby!!

The cardstock used is 'So Saffron' and 'Certainly Celery' edged with the 'Eyelet border', trimmed with some grosgrain ribbon and a 'designer button' from the 'subtles' range. The baby has been contructed from the 'All in the Family' stampset and has been coloured in with 'blender pens', the sentiment is from the wonderful level 3 hostess set 'Occasional Quotes'.

The second project is a 'brag book' that has been constructed with 'Melon Mambo and 'Regal Rose' cardstock and DSP from the 'brights' collection. I have made this for my cousin who has recently become a daddy to a beautiful little girl, named Summer Marie! (This is a sneak preview as i plan to pop this in the post to him tomorrow!)

The baby has been created using the same method as above, and because i wanted to personalise this project i used my computer to create the sentiment. I have used 'cellophane bags' inside to place the photos:

I hope you like this project, a 'brag book' is quite an easy project to complete. If you would like to learn how to make one then why not get in touch to arrange a workshop in your home? If you're interested in having a workshop drop me an email: amyjtidd@gmail.com.

Anyway, please check back here to see the mini catalogue!! I will be placing an order on the 4th April. So if you would like to make an order please email me! (I will be holding a mini catalogue launch party towards the end of the month - with a free make and take and lots of cake!! Everyone will be welcome!)

Night Night! xxx

Mon amour...is Crafting!!

Hello everyone, i hope you are having a good week!! Today i would like to share with you a card made using the wonderful 'Artistic Etchings' stampset!

The basecard used is 'Crumb Cake', a subtle background has been created using on of the stamp's from the 'Artistic Etchings' using 'Crumb Cake' ink. The central piece of card is 'Very Vanilla', i have used the 'En Francias' background stamp, again in 'Crumb Cake' ink and then stamped the beautifully detailed Eifel Tower stamp from the set, using 'Soft Suede' ink. I have used some 'linen thread' to add an extra effect and then mounted it on the card at a quirky angle. The card has been finished off using the 'Amour' stamp and some 'sponge daubing' around the edges. Both in 'Soft Suede'.

Butterfly Spinner!!

Hi all, It appears that there has been a bit of a theme to my crafting recently!! I seem to be posting a lot of butterfly cards!! Today i want to share with you a card that i made quite a while ago now - but it is just too beautiful not to share!! This card was made under the wonderful supervision of my upline Cate, who taught me the spinner card technique!

The card features a lot of embossing - the background is clear embossed using the 'Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel', the words and the 'All in a flutter' butterfly are in gold embossing powder. The 'thanks' greeting is from the retired SAB set 'So Happy For You', but you could use any sentiment stampset! The cardstock used is 'Chocolate Chip' and 'Rich Razzleberry', which works as a lovely colour combo with the gold embossing! The butterfly is attached to the card with a 'dimenstional' that is attached to a 1p coin so that the butterfly spins along the 'Word Window Punch' layered on the 'Modern Label Punch'.

Flight of the Butterfly!

My lovely friend Sally has lent me her 'Flight of the Butterfly' stampset and Butterfly punch, and as soon as i got it home i couldn't help but have a little play. I created a card (dimensions 6x6) and a little 'outer' box (the idea is that you can fill a 'cellophane bag' with sweets and stick it inside using sticky red tape! It has been made quite simply using a piece of cardstock (dimensions 3x12, scored at 2",6",8" and 10") Here are the results:

The cardstock is the wonderfly versatile 'Old Olive', along with  'Regal Rose', the pink spotty paper is from the 'Brights DSP'. The butterfly's have been created with a two-step stamping technique using the 'Flight of the Butterfly' stampset and 'Regal Rose' and 'Melon Mambo' ink. They have some 'basic pearl' embellishments on them to give them a bit of bling! I have used the 'eyelet border' on the 'outer box' and both projects have been finished off with ribbon ('Old Olive' Satin Ribbon and a (retired) 'Melon Mambo' Polkadot ribbon) Hope you like!

Get well soon Kirsty!

Wow! I can't believe how quickly this weekend has gone! But only two weeks left of term and then Easter holidays!! My hubby has had to work all weekend, which has meant that i have been left to my own devices!! and i have to be honest, i have done very little (apart from crafting - i have done A LOT OF CRAFTING!!) and visiting my cousin Kirsty in hospital.

I have been in to visit her a couple of times, unfortunately you are restricted as to what you can take in as a gift, you are not allowed to take flowers into the ward, so instead i made her this little card to cheer her up:

I would love to say that this is an original idea, however i have CASE'd this, unfortunately i cannot remember where i saw this style of card but there are plenty of examples online. The cardstock is 'Soft Suede' edged with the 'Eyelet border' punch to make the flower pot.
Here's the inside on the card:

Because i needed to make this quickly i grabbed whatever i had to hand, and the ribbon and flowers that i used have sadly retired. The sentiment is one from the 'Fun and Fast Notes' stampset. I hope this inspires you!

I plan to have a restful night tonight, in front of the TV! My friends brother (Sam Attwater) is in the final of 'Dancing on Ice' tonight, so i will be cheering and voting for him. So please lend him your support too!! Have a good week!

Getting my craft gear in order!!!

Hiya all! IT'S THE WEEKEND!! Woo hoo!!! and what a lovely Saturday i've had!!

This morning i went to my upline Cate's (Blue Angel Crafts) for some team training!! It was lovely to catch up and get some tips on how to run workshops!! We also had an opportunity to have a sneaky play with products from the soon to be released mini catalogue!! Here's a pic of me and some of the team. Diane (Crafty Ducks) and Katie (Deep Blue Crafting) having a crafty moment:

Unfortunately i cannot show you anything we made quite yet - you will have to be patient and wait until the 1ST APRIL!! (I plan to hold a launch party in April and everyone is welcome - check back at the blog for details!!)

This afternoon i have been have been organising all my Stampin' Up! gear!! I couldn't resist having a play with a new stampset of mine 'Broadsheet Alphabet' to make some labels for my craft storage boxes!!! Here they are all together:

The inks used are all from the 'brights' collection and the mounted cardstock is the lovely 'Tempting Turquoise'

And i couldn't resist punching out some butterfly's using the wonderful 'Butterfly punch'!!

I love the quirky font!! Some of the letters i have slightly masked using a simple little post it note) This has prevented the stamps from overlapping and looking messy. (I learnt this technique recently at Cate's craft retreat!!) You may be wondering how i managed to keep it all straight and neat - well i used the AMAZING 'Stamp-a-ma-jig' which i simply cannot craft without!! (If you would like a demo of how to use the 'Stamp-a-ma-jig' tool, which will allow you to do two-step stampin and lots of other wonderful things why not book a workshop!!)

Well anyway, i'm planning to continue with the craftiness and have a play with some of the mini catalogue products! I can't wait to share these with you!!! Have a great weekend! x

Do me a favour!

Today i want to share with you a quick and simple project shown to me by my upliner Cate, this project is referred to as a sour cream container. They really are quite simple to make. A sheet of DSP and some 'sticky strip' and hey presto!!

The DSP used in this example is from the 'Greenhouse Gala' range! The seniment is from the 'Oval All' stampset, bordered on an 'Old Olive' 'Scallop Oval' Punch, attached with Stampin' Up! dimensionals to give a raised effect.

These little containers are wonderful ... you can fill them with all sorts - sweets, little gifts, or even money (I made 15 of these in 'Jolly Holiday' DSP for my nan to put money in for christmas gifts, they looked really lovely on the christmas tree!) I think they would make lovely (and inexpensive) wedding favours ... what do you think?? If you would like some help designing and creating your wedding favours, invites, table plans or anything else then just get in touch. I'd love to help you out! xx

So Many Thanks!

Hi all! Another exciting day in my little Stampin' Up! world!! Today i delivered my first customer orders!! All my new customers are taking full advantage the 'March Frenzy' promotion! As a little thankyou to my customers i popped a little thankyou card in their bags!! And here it is:

A simple little card using 'Pear Pizzazz' cardstock. I have inked the 'So Many Thanks' stamp using 'Pear Pizzazz', the hearts have been coloured in with 'Poppy Parade' ink and a 'blender pen' of course!! A little bit of 'Early Espesso' edged with the 'eyelet border' punch, finished of with some 'linen thread'. They have been very well recieved!

Another exciting development is that all my business cards, postcards and label's have all arrived!! Woo hoo! Can't wait to give them out and spread the word!

The Third Craft Retreat Project!

Hi guys, I'm back again with another project made at last weekends craft retreat. A versatile card created using the 'Ornate Flowers' stampset. The cardbase used is 'Chocolate Chip' which has been stamped using the same colour ink. This has been mounted onto 'Very Vanilla' cardstock. The next layer is 'Rich Razzleberry' and embellished with two gold brads. The final layer another stamp from the stampset, gold embossed on 'Rich Razzleberry' and mounted on 'Very Vanilla' cardstock edged with the 'Eyelet Border'. The final finish is a little bit of Stampin' Up! elastic gold cord.

 It sounds very complicated, but really quite simple. A really classy card that could be used for any occassion!! The 'Ornate Flower' stampset is most definately on my next order!!!

The Second Craft Retreat Project!

Hi all! Here is the second project that we created at Cates craft retreat at the weekend!! It's a card created using the stem and leaves stamp ('old olive'), bird ('pumpkin pie') and the 'heartfelt thanks' ('daffodil delight') stamp from the 'Sweetheart' stampset! The cardstock used is 'daffodil delight' and 'pumpkin pie'. The flower itself has been created from a strip of 'daffodil delight' cardstock, which has been edged using the 'Eyelet border' and then crimped several times using the Stampin' Up! 'crimper' and then folded around to look like a flower. The ribbon used is 'pumpkin pie' satin ribbon. I love this bright and cheery card, i hope you do too!

The First Retreat Day Project!

Hi guys, Hope you all had a good Monday! Only four more days til the weekend! Over the next few days i want to share with you some of the craft projects we made at Saturday's craft retreat! The first i'm going to share with you is a matching gift bag and card:

The black gift bag was purchased online by Cate and then we decorated it using 'Greenhouse Gala' DSP, the stampsets used were the 'Artistic Etchings' stampset and the Happy Birthday stamp from the 'Perfect Punches' stampset. The leaves were punched out of black cardstock from the branch of the 'Two-Step Bird Extra-Large' punch and the roses were create by punching 'Daffodil Delight' cardstock using the 'scallop punch' with a circle punched out of the middle and then coiled!! Don't they look beautiful!! The ribbon used is 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain ribbon in black! Here's a close up!

The coordinating card was used using exactly the same techniques:

Hope you like this project, please check back tomorrow for another crafty project!!

Craft Retreat Treat!

Hi everyone! What a weekend!! Yesterday i attended a Stampin' Up! craft retreat hosted by my upline Cate. I was one of her glamorous assistants (and was even given a tiara to wear!) There were 21 of us in total and it was a lot of fun! We made several projects which i will share with you over the next few days. But today i plan to share with you the photo’s from the event itself!! (If anyone wants any copies just email and i will post them over!)

This weekend has also been an exciting one for my little Stampin’ Up! business! Firstly i processed my first order! Thanks to those of you who placed an order, i hope you enjoy your products when they arrive! Secondly my blog has made it officially onto the World Wide Web, so you can now find it on search engines! Woo hoo! I also have another follower, so hello Julia!!

I have unfortunately been suffering a bit today with a sore throat (not that my hubby has been complaining because i have been a lot quieter than usual!) So had a PJ day today and have been taking lots of medicine so I can get through next week. No crafting for me today, but hoping that normal craftiness will resume shortly!!

Hope you have all had a great weekend! xx

The Amazingly Versatile Bird Punch!

Hi everyone! I've had such a busy day today! I have been helping my upliner Cate at her Stampin' Up! craft retreat - a full six hours of stampin' fun! We made lots of different projects and also learnt lots of new craft techniques! I hope to upload some photo's from this event tomorrow, as soon as i do i will share these with you on here!!

A really great part of being involved in a craft event like these, is that you can meet likeminded craft thinkers and share ideas and card designs. (Hello to anyone i met there today!) We have a 'share table', where everyone brought and shared their recent craft projects. So today i want to share with you a card i took with me to share. It is using (probably my most favourite) Stampin' Up! punch - the 'Two-Step Bird Extra-Large', although not in the conventional way. The tulips were made using the bird wing, and leaves are the branch part of the stamp! This is just one other way of using the bird punch (and a great way to use up scraps of cardstock!!) The 'Thankyou' is from the 'Because i Care' stampset (available as a Level 1 hostess gift) Hope you're inspired!

March Frenzy!!

Hi everyone!! Just want to remind you of the AMAZING Stampin' Up! sale that is on all through March! March Frenzy gives you the opportunity to save up to 30% off of some of Stampin' Up's best products. (See the March Frenzy flyer to the right of this post for details of all the sale items!)

I'm putting together an order, if you would like to take advantage of this deal then e-mail me your order by Sunday, 6pm: amyjtidd@gmail.com

The amazing 'blender pens' are part of this sale with 20% off a pack of three! So, just to tempt you further here's a card i have made using these wonderful pens (and the 'Fun & Fast Notes' stampset):

Happy St Patricks Day!

Hi all! Just a quick post tonight to wish everyone a happy St Patrick's Day! In honour of this day i have CASE'd a card from the blog Stampin' Pretty. The card stock is 'Glorious green' from the 'Regals' collection, and the yellow paper is from the 'Brights DSP'. The white card used is 'whisper white', the buttons have been punched out of scraps of 'chocolate chip'. I created the shamrock from a retired heart stamp, however there are plenty of heart stamps and punches in the current catalogue that could create the same effect.

Before i go i just want to say a special hello to my latest follower, Hannah! Hope you are enjoying the blog!

Hello Cranleigh Girl Guides!!

Hello everyone, and a special hello to anyone visiting today from Cranleigh Girl Guides! Yesterday i visited the guides and demonstrated some Stampin' Up! products and taught them how to make Mother's Day Cards! It was totally chaotic and so much fun! The girls were so enthusiatic and very creative! It was lovely to see that every single one of them made the design their own and i hope their mum's are very pleased with their creations!!

So today, instead of sharing one of my crafty creations, i'm going to show you some of the girls designs! I hope you are as impressed as i was!! The cards featured are using the 'brights' card stock. To create the flowers the girls used the 'Fancy Flower Extra-Large' punch and the '5 Petal Flower Extra-Large' punch out of 'Brights DSP', the buttons featured are Designer Buttons - Bright. The girls also used a range of other stamps which are all available from the current catalogue (apart from the Happy Mother's Day stamp, which has sadly retired).

Any Girl Guides who are visiting, i would love to know what you thought of our crafty workshop yesterday, so feel free to leave a comment underneath this post! Enjoy the slideshow!

Happy Anniversary Andy and Suz!

Hi all, just a quick post tonight. I've just got back from the Cranleigh Girl Guides meeting, where i demonstrated and helped them all to make Mothers Day Cards!! It was really fun, but very exhausting! I will post some photo's tomorrow!

Today i want to share a card i made for our good friends Andy and Suzanne who celebrated their wedding anniversary yesterday!! Hope you had a great day!!

This card is uses 'soft suede' card and ink, and the wonderful 'All a Flutter' stampset. The background stamp is the 'En Francais' stamp. I have used a 'sponge dauber' to give this card a more antique effect and finished the card off with 'linen thread' I hope you like!! xx

Thankyou!!

Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou!! This post is to thank everyone who has supported me in my Stampin' Up! journey so far! I'm only a couple of weeks into signing up as a demonstrator and still finding my feet, but i'm really enjoying it! I've been working quite hard on this blog and would like to thank everyone who has viewed it so far, and a special thanks to my followers! Hello, especially to my new followers - Suzanne, Lucinda and Knitstress. I hope you are getting lots of crafty inspiration!!

I've had a very busy teaching day today and have a very busy evening planned, i'm just on my way to my Legs, Bums and Tums class and when i get back i have to get all my craft kit together because straight after work tomorrow i'm off to Cranleigh Guide Hall to assist 30 girl guides in making mothers day cards!! This is my first craft workshop, so i'm quite excited - i will let you know how it goes tomorrow! If you run a group or club and would like me to come and assist with a craft project email me for further information: amyjtidd@gmail.com

Before i go today i want to share a thankyou card with you. I made this card a little while ago with my upline Cate. The backing card in 'marina mist'. The image is from the 'Just believe' stampset, i coloured in the stamp using  'old olive' and 'marina mist' 'Stampin' write marker's' and then stamped the image into 'whisper white' cardstock, using the tear effect to achieve a bit of texture. The card was finshed off with a bit of 'old olive' satin ribbon and a 'basic rhinestone' for a little bit of bling!

Vintage Vogue!

Hi everyone! I hope you have all had a fab weekend! I certainly have! My wonderful hubby has really spoilt me this weekend for my birthday!! Yesterday we went up to London and went on the London Eye and then went to watch 'Love Never Dies' at the Adelphi theatre, which was totally amazing!!! Also i want to thank all my lovely friends and family for all their birthday wishes, as well as cards and pressies!!

Today has been much more chilled and i have managed to have a whole afternoon crafting!! Not really making anything in particular but just playing around! I decided to get out one of my favourite (but recently neglected) stampsets 'Vintage Vogue' - this stampset is so versatile and here's a little creation of mine. The backing card is one of the 'in colours' - 'blushing bride', the image is mounted on 'early espresso'. The ink used for the foilage is 'always artichoke' and i've actually clear embossed the flowers on 'blushing bride' and placed a pearl! Hope you like!

For my Birthday Twin!

Today is my birthday! It is also a good friend of mine, Cate's birthday! She is my birthday twin!!! So today i would like to share a card with you i have made for her! It's another card using the 'Crazy for cupcake' stamp set. The card base is 'whisper white', the DSP is from 'brights designer series paper patterns stack'. The ribbon is 'real red' taffeta ribbon and the button is also 'real red'. The cupcake image is stamped in 'basic black', i have used a 'blender pen' to colour it in and have used a '2-way glue pen' to apply the 'dazzling diamonds' glitter.

I've got a busy day planned today! My hubby has organised a trip up to London to go on the London Eye and to go and see 'Love Never Dies' at the theatre!!! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!!

March Birthday's!

Another day in March, and yet another birthday! Not that i'm complaining because i get to make lots of birthday cards!! Today i want to share with you another birthday card i have made using the 'Crazy for cupcakes' stamp set!! This card is not a true original, as i have taken the design from the current 'idea book and catalogue' - which is always great for a bit of crafty inspiration!! This card is for my friend Kim!! I hope you had a brilliant birthday today! xxxx

'Happy Birthday to Stu!'

Hi all, Well it seems that March is the month of birthdays (including my own this Saturday!) So i have been very busy making lots of unique birthday cards for all my friends. The card i want to share with you is one i made for a friend of ours called Stu. I always find it more difficult to make cards for men. I took inspiration for this card from a painting that Stu and his fiancée Kim have hanging in their living room.

The colours are all from the ‘brights’ collection card base is 'tempting turquoise’, the design is ‘daffodil delight’ and ‘tangerine tango’. The balloons are from the ‘Crazy for Cupcakes’ stamp set, which is an incredibly versatile set! I’m looking forward to sharing a few other cards i have made using this set over the next few days!!

Hostess with the Mostess!

Hi everyone! I'd like to say a special hello to my two latest followers Laura and Jamie!! Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog, i hope you enjoy what you see! Just a quick post today before i go off to my zumba class!! Today i want to share a card i have made using one of the Level 1 hostess stamp sets called 'Because i care', and yes i couldn't resist using the 'blender pens' again!! If you would like to host a party in your home and potentially earn free stampsets please email me (amyjtidd@gmail.com) to arrange a date! xxx

In LOVE with blender pens!!

Hi all, What a busy (but productive) day!! I've been rushing around all day, but now i can relax and spend the evening playing around with all my new crafty bits, especially my new 'blender pens'!! Oh my god! They are totally AMAZING! Basically they are a way of painting with your inkpads to create a beautiful watercolour effect!! The great thing about these pens is that they come in a pack of three and have a nib on each end, so you effectively have six pens! (They're on page 102 of the catalogue and this month feature in the March Frenzy sale with 20% off!!)

So i would like to share a couple of cards i have made using the 'blender pen' technique:

This first card is using the 'Bella Toile' stamp, which i have embossed using Stampin' Up! black embossing powder and heat tool. I have then coloured it in using Stampin' Up! inkpads and blender pens. The image has been mounted on 'Rich Razzleberry' card. I'm very pleased with the effect!! (The sentiment featured on card is from the recent Sale-a-bration promotion, and is sadly now unavailable.)

The second card i have to share with you is using the 'Happiness Shared' stamp set, the sentiment is from the 'Because I Care' stamp set, which is available as a hostess set. (Basically if you have a craft workshop at your home or having a massive craft splurge of your own and sales reach £150 or more you can earn free stamp sets and more money to spend in the catalogue!! Let me know if you are interested!)

Hope you like both the cards! Just before i go i would like to say hello to my new follower Liz! Lovely having a chat over facebook earlier! I hope you get some inspiration from my blog!! Thanks to everyone you has had a sneaky peek! I'd love to know what you think about my craft projects so please feel free to leave a comment! Until next time take care, Love Amyxx

I'm now officially a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!!

Hi all! Well, what an exciting day! Not only have lots of lovely people visited my blog (including someone from Germany and Morocco!!) but also My Stampin' Up! starter kit arrived today! A massive parcel of Stampin' Up goodies! I don't know where to begin with it all. The kit is such an amazing deal, i can't believe i didn't sign it up before. The kit costs £119, but is worth more that £250, and includes absolutely everything you need AND MORE to get going with crafting!! I'm already looking forward to this weekend, hoping that i will have some spare time to have a play with all my new stamp sets and tools! I can't wait to share some new ideas with you!

But for now, i want to share a card with you that we did for a 'Make and Take' at the Stampin' Up! stall at the 'Make it' show in Farnborough at the end of February - hello to anyone i met there!!

The colour combo is Marina Mist and Certainly Celery. The main image is 'Pocket Silhouettes' and the sentiment is from 'Perfect Punches'. The lovely butterfly is a stamp from the 'Butterfly Prints' stamp set. I've used some 'basic pearls' to embellish the butterfly and thinks this is pretty effective! The card showcases the use of Stampin' Up! punches and ribbon!! I'd love to know what you think!



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Thanks for visiting! Amyxxx

Welcome to my blog!!

Hello!! My name is Amy Tidd and i have just become an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator, operating in the Hampshire and Surrey area! I have been a committed Stampin' up customer for several years and absolutely love all the products, so it seemed only logical that my next move would to become a demonstrator and share my love for Stampin' Up! with all you crafty people!!!

So for my first post i would like to share with you one of my latest creations. Here is a card i made during a recent crafty session with my sister, Jamie. (a newly converted Stampin' Up! addict!!) The card has been made with the 'All a flutter' stamp, which i think  is absolutely beautiful. The wording has been embossed using a stamp from the 'Vintage Vogue' set - another favourite of mine! Let me know what you think, by leaving a comment on this post!

Please be patient whilst i create this site, i hope to post all of my crafty creations on here and i hope they inspire you to think crafty yourself! If you have any questions about Stampin' Up! products, or if you would like to host a craft workshop in your own home or become a demonstrator like me then please feel free to drop me an e-mail: amyjtidd@gmail.com

Thanks for visiting!
Amyxxx