Join my team before the end of Feb to get an extra free stamp set

How would you like to save or earn money from doing what you love? Become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and get a discount on your crafting purchases and/or income from sales.

Sign up during Sale-a-bration (30 December 2009 - 28 February 2010) and choose additional stamp set from the catalogue* (a value of up to £38.95) to add to the great list of benefits below.

Benefits of becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator:

• Huge discount on the customisable starter kit (£240 of tools and products for just £139)
• Significant discount on all Stampin' Up! products
• Sneak peeks of upcoming products and chance to pre-order
• Free newsletter every month with tips and techniques
• No need to hold a workshop or "sell" if you prefer to remain a "hobby demo"
• Bonuses and incentives available to those who want follow the career plan
• Access to on-line resources and business support
• Ability to drop out at any time, no tie-ins (but you cannot then rejoin for set period)
• Opportunity to attend regional field training events and the annual convention which will take place in London in 2010 (charges apply)
• Ability to earn free stamp sets in your first 6 months

Additional benefits exclusive to joining through me:

• 2 A4 sheets of every coloured cardstock not included in your starter pack (eg. if you choose Bold Brights for your Starter Kit then I'll supply 2 A4 sheets of each card in the Earth Elements, Rich Regals and Soft Subtles colour families)
• 1 m of each 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (11 m total)
• An additional stamp set*, chosen from the catalogue by you, to the value of £15
• Support and training in how to deliver a workshop (face to face if I can travel to you or telephone and on-line if outside travelling distance)
• Ongoing support by phone and email
• Product sample kits (eg. like this card and ink sampler set)

• Sample cards
• Marketing ideas and tips to grow your business
• Project worksheets to use at your workshops
• Exclusive access to a blog just for my downline team

Whether you're ready to sign up now or have more questions you'd like answered, then email me at sarastamper123@gmail.com

* Excludes hostess stamp sets

A vintage male birthday (that's vintage labels stamps - not a vintage male, heehee)

What's that I hear you say, just like buses, no sign of any hardware and then a bunch at once? Lol! I know, I know, I really should use them all more often. I had a card to make for a male friend and figured the Vintage Labels would be ideal. This particular one is not too fussy and teamed with some DSP and hardware, it isn't too plain either.

Recipe

Stamp set: Vintage Labels

Cardstock: Glorious Green, Whisper White

DSP: Groom, Kaleidoscope

Ink: Basic Black, Glorious Green

Other: Hodgepodge Hardware, Clips Assortment, Silver Brads

I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to position the text centrally within the frame. The layers of Groom DSP are raised on dimensionals both for interest and to give room for the hardware to lie flat on the reverse.

I've reversed the text and frame colours for the inside of the card.

Have a great weekend.

Sara xx

Traditional colours for my valentine

Sssh - I'm going to trust that DH won't be checking out my blog over the next few days and risk showing you his Valentine card. He's not a pink kind of guy and I'm a traditionalist so I decided to go with red and black as my colour scheme. I've used the gorgeous Groom pinstriped pattern DSP here. It's ideal for more masculine cards.

Recipe

Stamp set: Love You Much

Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White

DSP: Groom

Ink: Versamark, Real Red, Basic Black

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Real Red

Other: Silver EP

I stamped the Love You Much and heat embossed with silver powder first then masked it before stamping with the large hearts on either side using Real Red ink.

Now don't give the game away and tell him will you? ;-)

Sara xx

A spinning birdcage in a window

Have you got hold of your free Sale-a-bration stamps yet? They're only available until the end of February so don't miss out. Spend just £45 to choose one of the exclusive four sets. Click here for more details or email me to order.

Today's card uses Happy Moments again - with a twist. Click here to see previous cards using this same set.

Recipe

Stamp set: Happy Moments

Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal, Summer Sun, Whisper White

Ink: Taken with Teal, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip

DSP: Pink Flamingo

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Tempting Turquoise

Punches: 1-3/4" Circle, Word Window

Other: Silver Elastic Cord

The birdcage is stamped twice, once with a blue bird and once with a yellow card. The elastic cord is sandwiched between the two birdcages and the mat layers. Once made up, twist the cage around several times before putting in the envelope. When the recipient opens the card the birdcage will spin around.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

February ribbon challenge at In Love With Stamping - take 2

Thanks for all your congratulations yesterday. I did have a few drinks to celebrate last night and I might just treat myself to a stamp set or two as a reward for passing, lol.

Today's card is back again to the ribbons challenge over at In Love With Stamping. The challenge is to use five ribbons or more and they can be all the same or all different.

Recipe

Stamp sets: Animal Stories, Whimsical Words

Cardstock: Barely Banana, More Mustard, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie

Ink: More Mustard, Summer Sun

Punches: Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie

To get the funky shape I started with a standard A6 card, measured 1" down from the top right and cut from there to the top left fold. I then measured 1" in from the bottom right and cut from there to the new corner created by my last cut, top right. For the mats I cut the same shape and then trimmed excess from the fold line edge and the bottom edge only, to keep the funky angles needed. Hope that all makes sense.

The giraffe was coloured direct to stamp with Summer Sun and then I coloured the mane, tail and around all the spots with More Mustard (again direct to stamp).

Sara xx

A happy bunny and a bear for the February sketch challenge at In Love With Stamping - take 2

Hi all. I'm a happy bunny today I can tell you. I got my exam results today and I passed both the papers that I sat in November. Woohoo! Two down! I'm already studying for the next two that I'll sit in June but at least there's no retakes to worry about so far. Phew! On now to the crafting.

And it's back again to the sketch challenge today. Here's another little handy tissue pack, this one designed more for a child (or inner child cos I think I might keep this one, lol).

Recipe

Stamp set: Leaves a la Carte

Cardstock: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark, Basic Black

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1" Circle, 3/4" Circle, 1/2" Circle, 1/4" Circle

Other: Gold EP

Non-SU: Handy Tissue Pack

The instructions are here. The main variation with this one is that I haven't used any DSP. I used my Leaves a la Carte wheel with Versamark ink and gold EP along the bottom and back of the pack. Instead of DSP I just used my cutting mat and bone folder to score some decorative lines around the top front of the pack (they don't show too clearly in the pic). The bear is made with the punches and eyes and mouth drawn on.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sara xx

February colour challenge at In Love With Stamping

The colour challenge at In Love With Stamping this month is to use:

Close to Cocoa

Bordering Blue

Old Olive; and either

Whisper White or Very Vanilla

I've used these colours to make a set of 6 small thank you cards (2 each of the 3 designs) with envelopes, in a matching card holder.

Recipe

Stamp set: Trendy Trees

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Bordering Blue, Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Bordering Blue, Old Olive

Punches: Word Window, 1-3/4" Circle

Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon: Whisper White

I've hopped back to an older tutorial on ILWS here for the No Cutting Note Card Holder.

The background for the card holder was made by repeat stamping the leafy tree (without a trunk). I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to position the repeat stamping and for all the trees.

The little thank you cards just rotate the same colours in different combinations for 3 of the Trendy Tree stamps.

A simple set of cards that packaged up make a great little gift. This one's a raffle prize for a workshop I'm giving soon.

I've just got enough diary space to squeeze in another 1 or 2 workshops before the end of Sale-a-bration. Please email me if you'd like to book one.

Sara xx

February inspiration challenge at In Love With Stamping

Our inspiration challenge over at In Love With Stamping this month is this image of recycled silk cushions:

The top left cushion reminded me of the distressed button flowers I've seen on my many travels around blogland. I decided to push beyond my comfort zone and add them to the mix (I don't tend to do shabby or distressed).

Recipe

Stamp sets: Sincere Salutations (sentiment), Circle Circus, Seeing Spots, Circle of Friendship, Whimsy

Cardstock: Real Red, Only Orange, Yoyo Yellow, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

DSP: Pink Flamingo

Ink: Versamark, Only Orange, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise

Punches: Scallop Edge, 1-3/4" Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, 1-1/4" Circle, 1" Circle, 3/4" Circle

Designer Buttons: Playground

Other: Cutter Kit

I used Versamark ink and various stamps (as listed in the recipe) to watermark the yellow, orange and red layers. The button flowers were made by punching varying sizes of circle from Tempting Turquoise card and Pink Flamingo DSP, then distressing the edges with the distressing tool on the Cutter Kit. These were layered up (off centre) and a button added on top using a glue dot. The sentiment was made by stamping Birthday Wishes, then masking it and stamping the largest Circle Circus over the top. This was punched out with the 1-3/4" Circle punch, the edges distressed and sponged gently with Real Red ink. The scallop layer behind it uses the Scallop Edge punch, snipped and curved.

I'm still not taken with distressing. Maybe bright colours and distressing just don't work together or maybe I'm missing an important step. If you know where I'm going wrong then please leave me a comment to point me in the right direction.

Hope to see your own entries to the challenge in the ILWS Gallery.

Sara xx

February ribbon challenge at In Love With Stamping

Today I'm sharing the Ribbons challenge that we have this month over at In Love With Stamping. To play along you need to use at least 5 ribbons on your creation and they can all be the same or all be different.

I decided to use mine to "finish" my buttons:

Recipe

Stamp Sets: Love You Much, Whimsical Words (SAB)

Cardstock: Basic Black, Pink Passion, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Pink Passion

Coloured Buttons: Earth Elements and Neutrals, Soft Subtles

Gingham Ribbon: Black, Light Pink

I picked out the patterns on the large heart with markers direct to stamp and then coloured in further after stamping. The trail of little hearts was tracked using my Stamp-a-ma-jig. All the buttons are stuck with glue dots.

Thanks for looking.

Sara xx

February sketch challenge at In Love With Stamping

Regular readers may know that I recently joined the Design Team over at In Love With Stamping. The introduction of a Design Team was part of some exciting new changes to the site, including swapping to monthly challenges and the start of a quarterly Crafters Cup challenge (next one is in April).

Our first set of monthly challenges have gone live today and I'll be showcasing my own samples for these challenges every day this week (if you just can't wait, then you can head over to ILWS right now, but please come back, pretty please?).

First up we have a sketch challenge:

Now I also happen to be the first new DT member in line to provide a tutorial (we'll be taking it in turns to make sure there's at least one new tutorial on the forum for you every month). Mine is a pocket tissue pack holder and I combined it with the sketch challenge:

Recipe:

Stamp sets: Bella Toile, Vintage Labels

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla

DSP: Bella Bleu

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel

Punches: Scallop Circle, 3/4" Circle

Other: Filigree Brad

Just click here to be taken to the tutorial.

Here you can see the tissue pack inside:

I hope you feel inspired to have a go at the challenge or the tutorial, or both! If you do have a go then please share your piccie with us in the gallery at ILWS so that we can see what you've made and leave you a nice comment.

Have fun.

Sara xx