Evergreen Core’dinations Card Set What’s better than beautiful cards to send to your friends and family? - Learning a fast way to make those beautiful cards!

When you combine great vintage style with a pop of bright Real Red, you’ve got a look that will please. Creating a set of elegant cards is fast when you know the secret how to. Join me and I’ll show you how a half sheet of stamped card stock transforms into a card box and 3 elegant cards.

Reserve your spot today and join the creative fun! Contact me today at scrappydiva@sky.com OR 07973 856 294 to join the celebration! 

DATE: 21st November '12 
TIME: 7:45 pm 
COST: £10 
LOCATION: Blackwood, Cumbernauld. 

Spaces are limited to 5 people only, so please contact me ASAP to book your space!

Long time no see...

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long! Life well and truly got me down and I seriously considered throwing in the towel. However, you can't keep a good'un down (well, not for long anyway!) so here I am again! I will admit that I haven't been doing an awful lot of creating lately. My crafting space is a tip and it seems that my family have decided that the rest of the room is a dumping ground for anything they can't be bothered to tidy away. I'm working on getting the situation sorted.

In the meantime, I have some details of new CLASSES that I will be running. I will be posting those next! I hope that you are all well and enjoying the new colder, crisper days? I'm freezing, but loving the beautiful colours on the trees too.

Right, I'm off. Keep an eye out for the new class details following tomorrow morning.

Anthea

Stampers 10 Club starting soon!

Everyone loves getting Hostess Benefits - even demonstrators! BUT not everyone wants to host a party or has £150 to spend on their own. So this Club is for those people who are on a limited budget but want the benefits of big spends. Champagne benefits on Fizzy-pop budgets. Bargain!

I have updated the page with details over here. The Club will start as soon as we have 10 people signed up and ready to go. Hopefully that will be in time for the September launch of our NEW Autumn/Winter Catalogue!!

Leave me a comment here or see the Club page for details on how to join!

Speak soon
Anthea

New look!

What do you think of the new look? I think it's fab!... and it's the first of many changes still to come. Keep watching this space!

Anthea

PS. If you're reading this through Google Reader or Networked blogs you'll have to click through to the actual blog see the new layout.

Hopes, dreams and goals for the future!

Good morning! I feel like having a moan about the weather, but I won't. Instead I'd like to talk to you about something that has been popping up on my 'internal radar' a lot lately. I've been reading about it in books, watched videos about it and been chatting to my lovely hubby about it. A lot. What I'm talking about is setting goals. Turning dreams and hopes into a reality. Something that we all want to do but quite a lot of us find rather difficult to put into practise!  In talking to my lovely hubby I realised that the reason I don't succeed in my dreams is because I don't set proper, definable goals. I say 'I would love to build up my SU business' but I don't lay out the steps I need to take to get there. I say 'I want to lose weight' but I don't make any specific goals or deadlines. When I do set myself a proper goal I don't share it with anyone, so it doesn't really matter if I achieve the goal because no-body but me knew I was aiming for it.

I've been reading a book lately on running a Party Plan business. It's by an American lady called Mary Christensen and it's very... American. A lot more in-your-face than I'm used to. It's bold, brash, super-confident etc. This is something that Brits don't do and, although South Africans normally seem to sit half-way between the American super-confident and the British self-deprecating attitudes, lately I have been realising that after 15 years of living here in the UK I have fully adopted the British attitude. However, this book has been good to read as it's taught be a lot about setting goals. One thing the author said was that short term goals have more immediate effect. They are usually more achievable. They light a fire under you to get things done! So, here are some long term personal and business goals I'd like to achieve!

1. I want to lose weight. 
2. I want to get fit
3. I want to build my Stampin' Up business up
4. I want to have SU as part of a larger business
5. I want to have a meaningful career outside of SU.
6. I want to be settled in one place with good friends
7. I want fabulous weather

Okay, I don't think I can really do anything about that last one but it's what I want and I'm not entirely sure what to do about number 6! As you can see, some of these goals are personal and others are specifically related to SU. But they're all a bit vague. So, I need to break them down to manageable short-term goals.

• I want to lose 7lbs every month and be 2 stone lighter by Christmas. 
• I want to go swimming twice a week and follow the swimming plan made for me at Swimfit
• I want to start running classes monthly, hosting more parties and start a stamper club
• I want to achieve Incentive Trips 2014
• I want to go to Convention 2013
• I want to offer crochet, knitting and sewing classes

Okay, I know that this post is turning into War & Peace, but I want to get these goals out there so I can start holding myself accountable to achieve them. I know you will all be watching me and wondering how I'm doing! So, before we go I want to show you two videos. The first one is a bit about why I want to go to Convention 2013. Every year at the US Convention Stampin' Up unveils a song to go with their theme. This year this song was all about 'I am' (talking about goals, hopes, dreams and all the things that you can be as a SU demo) and it ends with the singers coming onto stage at the US Convention. I love the reaction, the upbeat song and the attitude it conveys. Convention is a brilliant event and is so very motivating. I want to go!

Did you spot that all the participants in that lip-dub video were SU staff? No? Well go have another look and see if you can spot Shelli Gardner (our founder), Pamela Wuckert Morgan and Rich (what's his surname?) amongst all the staff members.

The second video I want to show you is not and SU one... but it's related. This is because on Saturday night as part of the final day of the US Convention we were all treated to a live streaming event from Utah! During this event they announced that the 2014 Incentive trip would be a Western Carribean cruise on board the Royal Carribean 'Allure of the Seas'... and for the first time ever, ALL the markets will be attending the same Incentive Trip!! Can you imagine how exciting it will be to get to have an all expenses paid holiday with thousands of demonstrators from all around the world? Check out the ship in this video, it's making me giddy!




Okay, I've never been on a cruise before so maybe this ship isn't as unique as it sounds? I don't know. All I know is that I WANT to go on this holiday, and for that I need to get things in gear. So, keep a look out for some big changes on here and for some announcement for classes and parties and clubs.

I'll let you go now, and if you've made it all the way to the end.... well done! And thank you.

See you soon
Anthea

Reason to Smile

Good morning! I've been getting all messy this morning. It's been great fun, but I've had to abandon the experiment in the end. I was trying to stamp on canvas using acrylic paints. Unfortunately it wasn't stamping clearly and was just becoming a splodgy mess. I'm a little disappointed because I had visions of lovely, crisp, clear stamping on this piece of canvas and it was all going to work perfectly and I was going to make it into something fabulous. Oh well, Plan B will have to swing into action.... after the blog post.... and after lunch!

Now, onto something that did work well. Yes, I'm still going on about the Jem's training session - but it was fabulous! One last project and then next week I'll switch off the stuck record and do something else. Perhaps the results of this afternoon's experiment? Hmmm, not sure.

These two cards are part of a make 'n' take idea that Julie was showing us. She likes to prep cards that are easy to make so absolute beginners at parties can make them, and then show them a 'stepped up' version that more experienced crafters or lovers-of-bling would appreciate.

The card on the right is the easy one. Just a simple stamp, punch and stick card. The card on the left is stepped up with the addition of some ribbon and some brads. It makes quite a difference, doesn't it?

A closer look at those lovely brads. I've only recently started using mine and I love them! (Am I the only one who hangs onto stash for fear of running out and then never actually using it at all?)

• Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade & Whisper White cardstock
• Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush, Lucky Limeade & Pool Party inkpads
• 1 3/4" Circle, Scallop Oval, Oval, Scallop Border punches.
• Pool Party ruffled ribbon
• Antique Brads
• 'Reason to Smile' stamp set.

Don't recognise the stamp set? That's because it's new! And there's an opportunity to get your hands on it coming soon, so watch this space!

Oh dear, I have a hungry 3-year-old hovering at my shoulder. I shall have to go feed her quick before she gets grumpy. I'll see you again on Monday, so have a good weekend!

Speak soon

Anthea

Christmas Fancy Fold card

Good morning! Is everyone okay today? Well, I'm okay now but this morning wasn't the best start to the day. Yesterday my eldest girly turned 7. She wanted a fish tank for her birthday and wanted to go out to Pizza Hut for her dinner. We did both and she ended up only going to bed at about 10:30 last night! Hubby and I had to sort the fist tank out and got to bed really late too. Consequently we all overslept this morning and it's been a mad rush to get everyone where they should be. However, I'm at home now and Mr Mojo has suddenly kicked in! So, you'll excuse me if I do this post quickly and then rush off to make the most of the mojo returning, won't you? Good!

I promised you yesterday that I'd show you a fancy fold card that Julie had us make on Saturday. I'm not one for fancy folds, mostly because I usually get them wrong. However, this one was really easy to do and I'm completely over the moon with the result! The theme was 'Christmas', so Julie added lots of sparkle and Christmassy colours.... but I think you could do this card with almost any combination of colours and themes.

You can't see it properly in the photos, but this whole project sparkles! It's beautiful! This is the closed card, which fold surprisingly flat.

Here is the card partially open. It's a bit difficult to photograph properly, but I hope you get the idea.

Oooh, I didn't realise this photo was blurry! I was trying to capture the sparkle. Not very successfully, it seems. LOL. Oh well. I love how you can make a Robin out of the bird punch and lovely, full, 3D flowers out of the scallop circle punch. If you want to know the technique for either of these, let me know!

• Crumb cake, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla cardstock
• Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler papers from the Regals stack
• Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon
• Decorative Label & Scallop Circle punches
• 'Curly Cute' stamp set.

I have an idea for the next one of these I'm going to make. At the training session Julie always runs a raffle with some gorgeous prizes, and this time I happened to win! I never win at raffles but like to enter them because they're usually supporting a good cause, so I was really surprised to have my ticket called on Saturday. The prize was a stamp set I haven't purchased yet, so I was doubly happy. 

This baby set is from the current mini catalogue and it's called 'Baby Prints'. I think I could use this set to make a baby themed fancy fold card. It's good timing too as somebody I know has just had a gorgeous baby girl. Keep an eye on this space for the results of that crafty session!!

Oh dear, I'm going to have to go! My youngest has just walked in and announced that she has stuck a rolled-up sticker up her nose. I can't see it at all! Not sure if this is going to mean a trip to A&E now. *Sigh* I knew it was going to be one of those days when we overslept!! I hope Mr Mojo is still waiting for me when I've sorted this out.

I'll see you all on Friday with some more crafty-ness!

Speak soon

Anthea

July's Training with the Jems - Swaps

Did anyone else have problems with Blogger yesterday? I saw one or two people on Facebook saying that it was glitchy... if by that they meant that they couldn't even log on to Blogger at all, then yes it was glitchy. I kept getting error codes, which is very very frustrating when you have some piccies ready and waiting to share! Anyway, it seems to be working so far today so hopefully this will post with no problems. Again, I have to apologise for not posting at the agreed time. *Sigh* Now, on to the crafting!

Once a quarter my upling Julie hosts an all day training event for her team, Julie's Jems. I love going to it, even though I have to drive all the way to Leeds to attend. It's a loooooong day for me as I set off from my house at 5:30am to pick up Doreen before we set off. We usually stop at a service station for breakfast and arrive in Leeds at 10ish. Just in time! 

Each time we meet we swap card samples or little 3D projects to use as inspiration - for both demos and customers! This quarter Julie challenged us to make a Christmas themed project, HOWEVER since we don't know which Christmas stamp sets are staying and which are going, Julie challenged us to make our samples using NON-Christmassy stamp sets or punch art. Wow, what a challenge!! 

After a lot of thinking and pondering I finally remembered a card I'd seen a few years ago and decided it would be a good one to CASE (Copy and Share Everything). I made my swap to be a 'One-Layer' card, but in this photo I had to mount it on something to help it stand up. I still don't think it has really added any bulk so this one should be cheap enough to post. 

• Crumb Cake cardstock (mounted on Early Espresso for display purposes)
• Early Espresso ink pad
• Stampin' Pastels Whisper White
• Uniball Signo pen in White
• 'Lovely as a Tree' and 'Curly Cute' stamp sets.

I love how the White pen makes it look like snow is sticking to the tree branches. I also love that this card is so simple, very easy to make and wouldn't cost a fortune to post!

This card is a CASE from another demo, but I can't remember who it belongs to! If you happen to know, or if it's your original design please let me know so I can give credit where it's due. Thanks!

I will be back tomorrow (Wednesday) with some projects that Julie prepped for us to do. I've never attempted a fancy fold card before, but I rather enjoyed this one!  See you then!

Speak soon

Anthea

PS. I got lots of lovely swaps from the rest of the Jems, would you like to see them? If so, let me know and I'll take photos!!

'Just Believe' 5 Ways

Good evening! I'm shattered today. Partly because the kids are off school so their routine is out of kilter and they keep waking up at odd hours asking if it's time to play. Partly because we had to get up with the birds this morning to give hubby a lift to work because his car is in for repairs. But MOSTLY, because Stampin' Up, those wonderful people, put on a sneak peak of the new Autumn/Winter Catalogue that is coming soon! They put it on their Demonstrator site close to midnight last night, and I - of course - had to have a look! And, you can't rush looking through a new catty. Even if it is after midnight and even if it's an online one. Well, suffice to say that I didn't get to bed at a decent hour!! (Oh, and it's all amazingly lush! I can see my bank manager is going to be complaining again!) Anyway, I can't wait now to pre-order my new goodies and make some stuff to show you!

However, before we rush off to new, shiny, sparkly stash - I thought I'd show you an old favourite. I did this project a while ago at a training session with my upline, Julie. But for some reason I have never gotten around to showing you! This stamp set is one of those that I love, but never seem to reach for very often. I really must challenge myself to use it more! I hope that it doesn't retire in September because I definitely haven't used it enough!!

Now, each time we go to Jem's training with Julie (I'm one of Julie's Jems, you see!) Julie does a great mix of business training and crafting. She gives us great kits, some extra products, a buffet lunch and then spoils us with cupcakes! Yum. A few times now, she has had us make this wonderful tool. It's called a 'Baggie Book' and it contains 5 samples using the same stamp set/tool. Here's the one we made for 'Just Believe', have a look!

Each card is placed in a cello bag and then they're bound together like this...

The brilliant thing is that not only does it give my customers a few ideas of how to use a particular stamp set, but because we make FULL cards, we can use them as proper cards when the stamp set retires! Good thinking Julie! I think I should get myself organised and start making Baggie Books for some other stamp sets too. Hmmm, that would take organisation!

I always love seeing what Julie has planned for us at each Quarterly training.... and there's another one coming on Saturday! I'm in the process of making swaps for it and can't wait to see everyone again... and learn loads too! (Oh, and I'm definitely looking forward to cupcakes!)

Speak to you soon!

Anthea

PS. I'm taking bookings now for parties in August/September/October! The new Autumn/Winter catty has a FULL complement of Christmas and Halloween stamps and papers. I'd love to show you!!

Apologies

My apologies for not posting today as I had promised to do! It has been one of those days. That's all I can say! I'm going to sit at my crafting desk now, in the hopes that my calm can be restored. I will post the results tomorrow!!

Again, my apologies for not posting. Thanks for understanding!


See you tomorrow
Anthea