Welcome Christmas...

Here is a card that I created using this beautiful set Helen came to play a few days ago and this is one of the images that I stamped whilst she was here. I decided to do the card monochromatic as the shadow image lends itself to this really well and I love this scene. To me this is what Christmas is all about.
I inked the edges of the image and then mounted this on black and then white. Putting the layers on to a black card blank. The sentiment is from old fashioned Christmas and is stamped to the top of the image panel, even though the top of the sentiment is missing I don't think that this takes away from the overall effect.
I hope you like this simple card and thanks for looking - Debbi x x x

A navity...

The card that I posted yesterday was one created using a penny black nativity image and I thought that this would create the most lovely candle! For the next Christmas fair that I think that they will make a great set... I have stamped the image on tissue paper and coloured in chocolate chip and some blue and then sealed this onto the candle using my heat gun. Each time I do this technique I am surprised how easy it is to get perfect results. Over this week I will be showing some of the other cards and gifts I have created for the fair!
Many people have asked about this technique and all I use is cheap tissue paper and very cheap greaseproof paper! When packaged up they look great and these have been the most popular of the orders that I have taken.
I love the effect... I hope you like the candle and thanks for looking - Debbi x x x

penny black challenge...

Morning! Today's card was inspired by the challenge that is on the Penny Black Challenge Blog this week the theme was to make your card monochromatic - I love this idea for creating a card it is so simple and makes your stamped images stand out so effectively. The stamp that I have used is the nativity scene and I have yet to make a card using this stamp - each of the images that I have coloured I haven't been happy with, they didn't seem to look good in many different colours and then I found this challenge. I have coloured the image using only my chocolate chip ink pad and an aqua marker. I love the depth of colour that you can create using this method and the may different shades that can also be made just by adding a little water.

I have then inked the edges of the very vanilla panel. I have used a plain white card and inked the edges in chocolate chip and added a piece of chocolate chip Christmas DSP to this with ribbon detail above this with a bow tied to the right hand side.

I have added no sentiment to the front of the card but stamped Christmas Wishes on the inside in the middle, and inked the edges to this also.

I hope you like the card and thanks for looking - Debbi x x x 

CHRISTMAS IS COMING...

Well it seems to be coming very very fast this year - but is this because Joshua is very excited and for the first time in years we are very much on the last minute! So I am making lots and lots of candles at the moment and am  loving doing them - they are so quick to do once you get used to the technique you can create perfect results that will last for years (as long as you don't light the candle!)
Here are some pictures for you!
I love how the effect can be altered by how you colour the image and each time I complete a candle am amazed by how good the results look!
I hope you like them and thanks for looking! Debbi x x x

our support for SU??

One of the other swaps that I did manage to complete - very late I might add at the recent convention was a 6x6 scrapbook page for demo support. Chris and Eileen are the lovely people that we get to phone when we need advice or to speak to them with an order. They are always there when we need them and always take the time to speak to us about the everyday things going on with our lives! So one of the lovely ladies on ILWS organised to make them a scrapbook with pages from all the demos that wanted to contribute. I didn't originally sign up for this but contacted Helen to say that I had enough time to give her a page... This is what I created using a black mat with tempting turquoise and the stamp set vintage vogue. I have used a whisper white panel and written a message to Chris and Eileen thanking them for all they do for me and how much the work that they do means! I have stamped the vine from the set on the right hand side and have added flowers to this making them 3D with dimensionals. I have stamped one of the sentiments from the set in the top right hand corner of the page and love the bright colours!
I hope you like the page I made and thanks for looking! Debbi x x x

recent workshop...

Sorry been absent for a few days - where does the time go??
So at a recent workshop I was asked to do Christmas cards which I love doing any time of the year and also for me to demo embossing... For the card I decided that I would use serene snowflakes which is a set that I have had for ages and rarely used - but it is one of those that you come too and once you begin your project the ideas keep on coming.
The colour combination I used for the card was night of navy and soft suede colours that I have not used together before but when looking at colours I think they go really well together. I love the depth of the blue and the shade of brown is not as deep as chocolate chip and lends itself really well as a contrast to the depth of the blue.
I layered a blue card blank with suede and then very vanilla inking the edges of each layer and random stamped the snowflakes over each layer, adding a ribbon to the top of the card and stamping the sentiment from heard from the heart.

The panel that I demoed embossing on used the shimmer paint and also lovely as a tree again on night of navy card stock. I used a dauber and the shimmer paint to colour the stamp and then add this to the card panel I then added clear embossing powder to the top of this and sealed it with a heat gun. To finish the panel off I inked the edges of the night of navy panel.
The gift that I made for my lovely hostess Bev was a stamped photo frame using the stamp set we used for the make and take and what I had demoed. I have just randomly stamped the frame and stamped some of the images off and I added the beautiful twinkly rhinestones - that I love...
I hope you like the card, demo and frame from the workshop I am sure that Bev and ours friends enjoyed themselves on the night! Want to book your own party?? email me for dertails!
Thanks for looking - Debbi x x x

more pictures...

One of the greatest things that we get to see at Convention is all the card samples that the European demos hand in for the display boards, there are so many talented people that are demos and it is great to see the different tke that they have on a stamp set and the different colours that are available. So much inspiration on these boards they are great to examine!
The display boards were positioned in one of the main halls set to the side so that we had lots of space in between to roomily continue with our swapping whenever we had a break, I will post pictures of the rest of my swaps over the weekend and some of the great swaps that I received in return, some are truly beautiful and have a lot of work in them!
 This picture I am sharing of Shelli and I is of her giving me a cuddle after she heard me talk (with the very husky voice that is still not doing so well!) and hearing that I had missed the gala awards dinner due to being unwell and spending the evening in my hotel room instead of at the party! Bekka very kindly just snapped a couple of pictures as we were talking and I love this shot! (thanks)
Thanks for looking and I hope you are enjoying sharing some of my pictures! Even though I was poorly it was a great time and I cannot wait for next year - Debbi x x x

Some Convention Pictures...

Well the Convention last weekend was brilliant! I was ill which was not but it was great to spend some time with some lovely and talented people... I have taken loads of pictures some of which I will share with you over the next few days, it was really inspirational and has given me loads of ideas of what to do in relation to crafting in my local area in the coming months! Watch this space...
This series of marquees was where the main classes were held for the British demos as there were so many of us! They were really spacious and surprisingly warm.






Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the gala dinner as that was the day that I was ill - I spent that evening in my bed... Wasted was my new dress and shoes - gutted. So here is a picture of where I was when the other lovely dressed up ladies were eating beautiful food.





Here is a picture of all the Convention bags before we had picked them up, I love it and will be using it regularly from now on I love the patent material and all the bright colours - the bag tag that I made to hang from the bag is a perfect match, if you would like to join me next year for crafting fun and classes - email me for further details of how you can x












Here is Shelli on the first day of our get together... I have said this before the greatest thing for me about our Convention is getting to chat to Shelli and the rest of the staff that makes Stampin' Up! the great company it is... There were several occasions that we could sit down and chat with Shelli and the rest of the staff and posing for pictures come second nature to Shelli! Always smiling and looking great - my excuse is the germs that I was carrying around with me!








Here is a picture of us all with Shelli!
More pictures tomorrow!



Thanks for looking Debbi x x x

roomie gift...

So what I am showing you today is the gift that I made for the lovely Sarah who I had the pleasure of sharing a room with. As well as the candle and the card I also made her a bag tag to match the convention bag - which was the same as the ones that I made for my SU sisters and mummy!
The candle I have decorated using the traditional method of tissue paper and a heat gun. As the candle was a coloured one I chose darker colours to stamp in and was more careful when trimming the image before sealing to the candle. I have used the stamp set vintage vogue and stamped the vine in old olive and then the flowers in basic black. I have also added a gem to the centre of the flower for some extra bling! I have made the card to match and have used the colours pumpkin pie, basic black and whisper white. I have stamped the vine in old olive also. The flowers that I have added to the panel are in both pumpkin and black and i have decoupaged these using a dimensional, again I have added a jewel to the centre. This was onto whisper white and then I have inked the edges and this is then mounted onto pumpkin pie and then onto a basic black card blank. On the right hand side of the white panel I have added a tab of basic black ribbon. I put the candle into a clear bag and added some linen thread to tie the top.
I hope you like the card and candle and thanks for looking - Debbi x x x

3D swap...

For this swap I decided that I would make a Christmas organiser with a twist... I used a Christmas stamp set however the colours that I chose to stamp the set in were not that traditional - some of them were but not all I used the brights collection from the new catalogue a must buy for its fantastic value... The set that I used was Sparkly and Bright.
This swap I pinched the idea from a new crafting friend Anne who made the organiser for me on a recent crafting afternoon - I had to alter the size slightly as Anne had used a folder for the base and I used a 12x12 for mine. I used a shopper jotter pad for one side and the print outs are from a website where there are loads of useful ones available for crafting projects.
So the card I used was craft and whisper white for the base textured for the base, and I stamped on whisper white and mounted the panels on card stock that matched the bright i was using at the time! I have stamped the images in the same colour and have inked the edges of each panel. on the front I stamped the sentiment from occasional greetings 'for you'
I loved doing this swap and making them really tested me when under pressure for a project and having to have them completed in time! phew I managed it! and the swaps that I received in return were some of the best that I have ever received - I will post photos of these tomorrow!
I hope you like my project and thanks for looking - I will start to post the pictures of the Convention in the next couple of days - it was great!
Thanks for looking - Debbi x x x

Convention Projects...

So the first project that I completed was the card candy and I cannot tell you how long I agonised over this for... I knew the stamp set that I was using - artistic etchings and I had decided that the colours I was going to use were cherry cobbler, black and confetti white.
I made three of the pieces very quickly but the three larger pieces I really struggles with - this is the first time that I had done the card candy and I wanted to make sure that I did all the other talented demos justice. I think that I managed this and was very pleased with the results. I love the colour combination that I have chosen.
I have not used a sentiment in the examples other than the armour that come with the stamp set. I didn't think that it was needed. I have layered up every piece and I think that gives them more depth and the embellishments that I have added reflect the bling needed to add a little sparkle to the pieces and I love the effect of the ribbon - such a simple idea to fold a piece in half and staple it to the project...
I hope you like the examples my group got and thanks for looking
If you would like to purchase this stamp set - please email me for further details! Debbi x

off to convention...

Morning blogland for today's post I thought I would show you something that I have made for some of the ladies I will be meeting up with later today... One of the swaps that I joined was a business ideas swap - this is to showcase various ideas that will help us show the stampin' up! products to their best! I decided to make the ladies in my group a cardstock sampler. This having a sample of every colour of cardstock from the catalogue in each of the the colour families.
It means that when we are at a workshop we can have them to hand highlighting how the card co-ordinates and the quality. The one thing that I have been using mine for though is to see if various colour work together - it is really handy and I have attached mine to my tote.
The packing is done and the swaps are all prepared - this has been a very stressful week trying to organise various crafty items, cards and gifts as well as clean a house and get the boys and pooch ready for me leaving. On top of all this we have all been poorly and hubby has now started with a cold and Aidan is still teething! Be back with many photos on Sunday and some of the crafty swaps I have been involved with - To all my SU buddies - see you later!
Thanks for looking and have a great week - London Baby!
Debbi x

scraps...

Todays post is one that both myself and my friend Steph loved doing at the end of a card class last week we were left with a card blank each and some scraps so we decided to each make a gate fold card. We had a little competition to see who could make the best of the contempo christmas set - still using the same colours as were used in the class and best use of the punch too. I was trying to explain to Steph how I wanted my card to look but this was not coming across - hence the examples of the cards we produced
We used the colours cherry cobbler and night of navy and whisper white.
Step has added two baubles one top and one bottom and stamped the sentiment beside each one of these and a panel of card stock to creaate a mat.
I have stamped and punched 3 baubles and they are added in a diagonal line across the card and added a panel of card stock to each side of the card blank. On the inside of the card I have stamped the sentiment and the bauble from the set.
I hope you like our cards and thanks for looking - I am away now at Convention and if I have time this evening will try and schedule some posts for the end of the week - however previous attempts on this have failed for me!
have a great week - Debbi x x x
not sure why the top pic is the wrong way around sorry!

Here is this month's offer to get you in the mood for making all your Christmas cards and finishing them with something special! If you have any questions please email me... Your qualifying order will have to placed by the 29th November! For the month of November I will be offering free postage and packaging on all orders!

At the end of November I will be doing a stamper stack Christmas class using Contempo Christmas and the co-ordinating punch, this will include 10 cards and co-ordinating gift tags for £12.00 - email me for further details!

Have a good week x

Choose from these bundles:

Description	Wood-Mount Item	Wood-Mount Price	Clear-Mount Item	Clear-Mount Price
Gifted Bundle Gifted Set and Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper	124051	£35.70	124052	£30.70
Welcome Christmas Bundle Welcome Christmas Set and Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper	124063	£36.90	124064	£31.90
Season of Joy Bundle Season of Joy Set and So Swirly Stampin’ Around Wheel	124055	£36.45	---	---
Delightful Decorations Bundle Delightful Decorations Set and Ornament Punch	124058	£37.45	---	---

*Bundles and ribbons available while supplies last
Choose from these ribbons:

Description	Item	Retail Value
Mistletoe Ribbon Originals	116792	£11.50
Sleigh Bells Ribbon	116795	£8.50
Riding Hood Red 1-1/4” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon	113099	£10.25
Real Red 3/4” Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon	115608	£10.25

thanks for looking - Debbi x x x