Squeeeeee! The new annual catalogue is here!

I am so excited that Stampin' Up's new annual catalogue goes live today!  What's even more exciting is that the new book is 70 pages bigger and has ALMOST ALL the same goodies as the US catalogue!  It's so gorgeous, my wish list is already as long as my arm and I'm sure once you've seen it, yours will be too.

Drop me a line or give me a call if  you'd like a copy at a special price of £4.50 (rrp £5.95).

Better still, why not join my virtual hostess club and get a copy FREE!  This is the perfect way to spread the cost of your stamping supplies and get FREE goodies without having to host a workshop.  You simply sign up to make an order of at least £25 per month (plus P&P) for 6 months and on one of the months, you are the virtual hostess and get to spend the hostess benefits (at least £25) on anything you like in the catalogue!  Members of the club also get free copies of any catalogues and mini catalogues launched during their membership, and inspiring projects and free product to make them every month!  What could be better than to receive a fabulous package of crafting loveliness in the post every month!

I will be looking forward to sharing some projects from the new catalgue with you!

Butterflies...flying away

One of the retiring stamp sets I'll miss the most is Butterfly Prints, it's such an inexpensive and versatile little set that co ordinates with the butterfly punch, which is also retiring.  Both items are still available if you hurry! Items on the retired list are only available while stocks last, or until the end of the month, so if there's anything on the list you can't live without, please give me a call ASAP, before it's too late!

Here's a card I made using an elegant colour combo of River Rock and Basic Black...RR isn't a colour I'd normally reach for, but I used it in a challenge over at Stamp Nation.

Stamp sets:  Butterfly Prints, Curly Cute
Cardstock: River Rock, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Tools: Butterfly punch, Scallop Trim Border
Embellishments: Linen thread

Next time, I'll be back with some new items from the seasonal catalogue.  Until then, jolly stamping!

Allie x

Proud Mum moment

I'm proud to share a card with you today that my daughter Daisy designed and made while we crafted together yesterday.  One of the things I love about working for Stampin' Up is that it gives us a chance to spend time together, and that she can share my passion for papercrafting.

Daisy's striking card uses the eyelet border punch, which is on the retired list and only available this month, or while stocks last!  They are selling out fast!  And if you want a wide selection of birthday sentiments, you can't do better than the Happiest Birthday Wishes hostess stamp set, also on the retired list.

She also used the boho blossoms punch and antique brads to create the feature flowers and the modern label punch for her sentiment.  Her colours are real red and basic black.  For the final touch, she's added some basic jewels rhinestones.

Thanks for visiting today.  Back tomorrow with another project!

Do mummies cartwheel? They do now!

I've been having such fun playing with the Googlie Ghouls stamp set from the new Autumn/Winter catalogue!  I love it!  These images are so cute, and are designed to be used with Stampin' Up's new self adhesive googlie eyes!  I don't know how, but Stampin' Up has managed to make them even googlier than usual...just looking at the package of eyes makes me smile :)

This idea popped into my head and I had to give it a go....the idea of the little mummy cartwheeling across the card going boooooooooooooo and popping up behind the windows with his little eye rolling made me crack up!  I've finished the card with a scrap of brand new striped satin ribbon stapled to the side.  That ribbon is so lush and the understated colours make it ideal for man cards too.

Hope you like my ghoulish make today.  Back soon with some more projects from the fabulous holiday catalogue!

Something old, something new

Exciting times in the world of Stampin' Up!  The new Autumn/Winter catalogue is now live.  It's full of gorgeous new products for your Autumn and Christmas crafting.  Click here to view the catalogue online, or contact me for a copy.

Also, the retirement list is now available.  Our new annual catalogue will be launched on 1 October, and those products that won't make it into the new book will be retired, never to be seen again!   Some are being offered at discounts of 25, 40 or even 70 per cent!  So if you'd like to grab a bargain, or if there's anything in the current catalogue you MUST have, check out the retirement list, it could be your last chance.

Retiring stamp sets are listed here
Retiring accessories are listed here

Drop me a line or give me a call if you have any questions, or if you'd like to make an order.

Until next time, jolly stamping!

Allie x

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, winter is coming

Today I'd like to share a beautiful project we made at our recent Julie's Jems shoebox swap.  This stunning wall hanging was created by my uber-talented Stampin' Up sister Sally Jo.  I love everything about this project and it was such fun to make.  Ever since I made it, my head has been buzzing with other ideas using this format, so I am sure you will see projects inspired by this one in the future.

NOTE: The gorgeous mixed bunch stamp set (and matching punch) that I've used in the background on this project (cunningly disguised as a snowflake) is from the Summer Mini catalogue, which finishes tomorrow!  If you would like to get your hands on this set, or anything else from the mini, give me a call before it's too late!

Stamp sets:  Letter it, Mixed bunch
Inks: Soft suede, early espresso, crumb cake
Cardstock: Very vanilla, pear pizzazz, early espresso, cherry cobbler
Tools: Big shot, top note die, bird builder punch, itty bitty punch pack.
Embellies: Basic rhinestones, linen thread


The next day or two will be unbearably exciting for me!  Firstly, the new Autumn/Winter mini catalogue goes live on Saturday!  It is packed full of gorgeous brand new seasonal products for Autumn and Christmas.  It's so good,  I can't wait to show it to you, and I'll be sharing some super fun projects I've been making over the next few days. If you'd like a copy of the seasonal catalogue, drop me an email or give me a call!

Also on Saturday, the Stampin' Up retired list is going to be published...our new main catalogue is published on 1st October, and we will find out which items are not going to be carried over into the new book.  So you have one month to order those products, and then they will be gone forever!  Some might even be discounted!  Exciting!!!!

Back tomorrow with a  seasonal sneak peek!

Allie xx

The return of an old friend

A friend of mine commissioned me to make a special card for a two year old this week and I decided an easel card using the Fox and Friends stamp set would be just the ticket.  I haven't inked up Fox and Friends for a long while...I'd forgotten how much I love the cheeky little monkey!  Sometimes we get so caught up in the excitement of new designs that we forget old favourites!

I was inspired by this card by Monica Gale.  Part of the brief was that there had to be lots of pink, so I decided to make the most of some Blushing Bride before it retires next month  I've teamed it with rose red and pear pizzaz, which is sadly also a retiring in colour.  I've made a flat bow with the retiring blushing bride stitched poly ribbon.  The branches are made with the bird builder punch and the little flowers are from the itty bitty punch pack.  I've used my timeless type alpha sizzlit dies with my big shot for the name and number 2.

This picture shows the easel.  It's a simple but effective style of card.  I've added some basic rhinestones for a bit of bling!

I hope you like my make today!  I'm very excited because there is a LOT going on in the Stampin' Up world at the moment.  Firstly, there are only three more sleeps before the new Stampin' Up Autumn/Winter mini catalogue is published!  It's full of gorgeous seasonal products for the coming Autumn and Christmas season.  On the same day, the Retired List is published!  Our new annual catalogue goes live on October 1, and on September 1 we get a list of what products will not make it into the new book.  Many of these products will be discounted, so it could be time to grab a bargain.

As a demonstrator, I get my hands on the new catalogues early, and get the privilege of ordering some of the new products before anyone else can...it's one of the best perks of being a demo!  In the next few days I'll be giving some sneak peeks of gorgeous new stuff from the "Mini".  I look forward to sharing them with you!

In the meantime, if you'd like to order any of the products you've seen here, please get in touch and I would be happy to help!

Until next time....jolly crafting!

Allie xx

Free stuff...a reason to smile

Happy Bank Holiday to you!  It's a very cold grey day here in Cheshire so I'm taking a "crafting in my jammies" day!  I'm sharing some projects today that I made with the beautiful Reason to Smile stamp set, which you can still get your hands on for FREE with an order of £60.  You'll have to be quick though....it disappears forever on 31 August!

This card is a case of this design by Danielle Daws.  I've used whisper white and tempting turquoise and the flowers on the top panel are heat embossed using whisper white embossing powder.  The original card was stitched, but I've paper pierced instead (I don't have a sewing machine yet).  I've finished it off with a lush white satin ribbon bow.

Here's the inside, which I've treated to a little stamping...

And the arty farty angle ;)

My next design is inspired by the wonderful Victoria Rogers at Blue Jelly Stampin. I love her work.  It's the first time I've tried this technique.  I've embossed the flowers in white on Crumb cake cardstock, and then coloured in using whisper white craft ink and a blender pen.  Then I've used coloured ink (squished direct from the ink pad onto an acrylic block) to colour over the top.  I've used the retiring in colours Blushing Bride and Concord Crush.  I really enjoyed the colouring...very therapeutic!  There are a couple of stray spots of embossing powder because I forgot to use my embossing buddy to remove static from the cardstock before I started. Doh!  I'll remember next time!  I've finished off with some of the lovely stitched poly ribbon in blushing bride.

And a very simple one with concord crush...

Hope you liked my makes today.  If you'd like to order any of the supplies used, or any other Stampin' Up supplies, I'd be happy to help.

Back tomorrow with a commissioned card and maybe some more reasons to smile ;)

Until then, jolly crafting!

Allie x

My first ever shoebox swap!

On Saturday I attended my first ever shoebox swap, organised by my Stampin' Up mummy, Julie Kettlewell, and attended by 18 members of our team, Julie's Jems.  Each person had to design a project and put everything to make it into a box.  We were spilt into two tables of 9 and our boxes were passed around our table, so we each got to make 8 other projects!  How cool is that? It was such a great fun and inspiring event, I can't wait for the next one.

I'd like to share with you the project I designed for the swap, which includes an exciting sneak peek!.  It's a very simple card, but, wait for it - it uses ALL THE NEW IN COLOURS!!!!  One of the perks of being a demo is that we get our hands on the new goodies before everyone else!  Not only are these brand new colours, available from 1 October, but they are also a new style firm foam ink pad, and they are AMAZING!   Get saving, because you are going to want to get them.  You won't believe the quality of image you get with the new pads!  Here's my card, using the Aviary stamp set.

I love the cute little owl, and doesn't he look amazing in Midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit and Primrose Petals!  It might not show on the photo, but I've made decorative scorelines on either side of the stamped panel using my Simply Scored tool.  An on trend banner for the sentiment completes this simple but cute card.  I hope you like it!  I did provide sparkly gems just in case my fellow Jems wanted to bling it up a little, although I stuck with the clean and simple design which seems to be my style :)  Hope you like my make and I'll try to post some of the other girls' projects soon, but obviously I  don't want to do that until they've posted them on their own blogs!

Back tomorrow with another project using the Reason to Smile stamp set, which is FREE this month with a £60 order!

If you'd like to order any of the supplies I use, I'd be happy to help. Please contact me on 0781 4451627 or 01625 470886, or email me at alliejolliffe@hotmail.com.  The new seasonal mini catalogue goes live on 1 September, and if you'd like a copy, please let me know.  It's chock full of gorgeous new products for Autumn, Halloween, Christmas and beyond!

Until tomorrow, jolly crafting!

Allie xx

Supplies (all Stampin' Up):

Cardstock:  Crumb cake, whisper white
Ink: Crumb cake, midnight muse, raspberry ripple, gumball green, summer starfruit, primrose petals.
Stamps:  Aviary, Petite Pairs
Tools: Scallop border punch, Simply Scored

A Reason to Smile throughout August!

Take a look at the fabulous new offer Stampin' Up has for you throughout August.  The gorgeous exclusive two step stamp set Reason to Smile is FREE with a £60 purchase.  It can also be purchased at the RRP of £14.95 clear mount or £18.95 wood mount.  You'd better hurry though, because it's only available this month and then it's gone forever!

If you'd like to make an order, please email me on alliejolliffe@hotmail.com or call on 0781 4451627/01625 470886.

I'll be posting some projects using this lovel set over the coming days.

Until next time,

Jolly crafting!

I love good news!

eGood morning on this sunny Sunday.  It's been a long while since I've blogged, my health has been a bit of a challenge lately and I've not spent a lot of time in my craft space.  However, some friends of mine from Church shared some wonderful news this week and I wanted to make a card to celebrate.  Becky and Pete are the sort of lovely couple who you know will make amazing parents, so when they announced that they are expecting their first baby, I was over the moon for them.  Here's my card:

I've used the petite pennants builder punch, because let's face it, this is an occasion that calls or bunting!  The paper is the gorgeous, now sadly retired, Everyday Enchantment Sale-a-Bration DSP.  The Celebrate sentiment is from another Sale-a-Bration freebie, Outlined Occasions, which I've coloured with the In Colour markers and blinged up with some Basic Rhinestones.  The second part of the sentiment is from another retired set called So Happy For You, made into a layered banner.

Inside, I've used In colour mats, some more bunting and a beauttiful sentiment from an American US set which fit the occasion perfectly...we very rarely get Christian sentiments in the UK, sadly.  It reads "Sharing with you the miracle of new hope and new life through the glorious gift of Christ the Lord".  Isn't that lovely?

So, I hope you like it (hope they do too!)  I'm having a little break over Easter and then I hope I'll be feeling more able to spend some time in my craft space on a regular basis.  I'll try to pop back with some Easter projects in the meantime :)

Hugs...Allie x

Cardstock:  Whisper white, lucky limeade, pool party, calypso coral
Paper:  Everyday enchantment
Stamps: Outlined Occasions, So Happy for You, God's Blessings
Ink: Stazon black, in colour markers
Tools: Petite Pennants builder punch
Embellishments: Basic Rhinestones, linen thread

I got an award! :)

I'd like to say thank you to the lovely Angela Dawes at http://sparklycards.blogspot.com/ for my first ever blog award.

Leibster is from the German and means "dearest" and the award is passed to people who have inspired and motivated others.  It is specifically for small blogs with less than 200 followers.

I'm now going to check through all my favourite blogs to find five people I can nominate for this award...so many people inspire me, I shall have to see if any of them qualify!

Thanks again Angela...it's nice to know people are looking, enjoying and  being inspired...it's all about sharing what we love!

Cherry Blossom and cupcakes!

St Valentine's Day can be a bit difficult for we single folks, so I decided to make the best of it this year and do something special with the person I love most in the world - my daughter Daisy.  For a special treat, I took her to the wonderful Cherry Blossom Bakery in Church Street, Macclesfield, for afternoon tea.  And when I say a special treat, I mean SPECIAL!

The bakery tea room is chic, but cosy, with a minimalist decor which allows the cakes and the eclectic mix of beautiful vintage china to be the stars of the show.  I had booked ahead, so when we arrived our table was reserved and beautifully set with those extra little touches that make it such a unique place.

We settled in with a pot of tea and I gave Daisy a Valentine card from Mum.  Rather aptly, the card used the cupcake builder punch, but in a different way.  The card was inspired by our Julie's Jems all day team training, although I used the large heart punch for the balloon instead of a circle punch, to go with the valentine theme.  I used a scrap of the glitter dots paper from the Holly Berry Bouquet paper pack, proving it's not just for Christmas! The sentiment reads "Love is in the air..."

Then our tea was served on a gorgeous 3-tier vintage cake stand.  We had dainty finger sandwiches with egg, cheese and ham, followed by yummy scones with jam and clotted cream, slices of buttery Victoria sandwich and lemon drizzle cake, and assorted prettily decorated cupcakes, all washed down with pots of piping hot fresh tea.  It was divine!  Warning:  the following pictures are drool-worthy!

And here's Daisy getting ready to dig in!

When I was a child, I remember they used to do a similar afternoon tea in the posh tea rooms at Bristol zoo.  We weren't very well off, and a trip to the zoo was a real treat, but we always took our own packed lunch to save money.  I remember pressing my nose against the window to watch the people having tea and thinking how very elegant and fine it was and vowing that one day when I was a grown up, I'd have tea there!  Unfortunately, the tea room was converted into a self service cafeteria before I had the chance.  So I love the fact that Cherry Blossom Bakery is bringing back afternoon tea as an event, like a perfect snapshot of byegone days with a modern twist.  The service is exemplary - friendly and attentive without being intrusive, and you never feel hurried.  This is meant to be an indulgent, relaxed treat, a chance to spoil yourself with a leisurely chat while grazing on delicious titbits and watching the world go by.  It's a million miles away from the noise, crowds and plastic wrapped food of the big chain coffee shops.  And at £10 per head it's much better value too.

I'm afraid we didn't finish everything, but they are happy to box what you don't finish to take home.  And as a special touch for Valentine's Day, we were presented with a gorgeous extra box containing two Valentine cupcakes to take home too.  Daisy is cooking dinner for her boyfriend James tonight, so that's their dessert sorted then!

We don't always get to spend as much time with our teenagers as we'd like, so it was a very special time for me, made more special by the lovely people at Cherry Blossom Bakery...thanks guys, it was awesome! I can't recommend it highly enough.  If you are in the area, go check it out, though I'd recommend booking a table in advance, as it gets very busy, especially at weekends.

Hope your Valentine's Day was as lovely as mine and I hope you enjoyed hearing about my Valentine's Day...back to papercrafting with my next post!

Sale-a-bration is here!

Hands up who loves free stuff?  I know! Me too!  And for every £45 you spend in the catalogue you can now choose from a selection of exclusive gifts....that's FREE stamp sets and paper packs for YOU!

Cllick on the Sale-a-bration leaflet in the sidebar to see the gorgeous FREE product on offer.  If you'd like to make an order and get your FREE stamps and paper, please give me a call.

Sneak peeks and belated birthdays

I'm back with a couple of sneak peeks from the upcoming Sale-a-bration promotion!  These projects feature a beautiful new paper pack that you'll be able to get your hands on for FREE from tomorrow!

First of all, a couple of valentine's cards:

The papers are beautifully distressed, so I've continued that with sponging on my card base.  I've used the Victoria Lace Crochet Trim to continue the vintage style.  I've used linen thread to hang a tiny tag stamped with "love" from the Tiny Tags stamp set, punched out with the tiny tag punch, and a heart embellishment cut with the Timeless Type sizzlet alphabet dies.  I've stamped the heart with a brocade style image from Tiny Tags and covered it with crystal effects for shine.

The second card uses two co-ordinating designs from the same DSP pack.  I've torn one layer for an aged, distressed look, and added a knot in Poppy parade stitched poly ribbon.  A different heart, but also cut from the Timeless Type sizzlets, is suspended from a little safety pin from my stash.

Now on to those belated birthdays.  There have been some birthdays in my team of late, but I've been a bit lax and a couple of them are going out a day late :(  However, better late than never.  And thanks to the fabulous hostess stamp set, Happiest Birthday Wishes, I've got a belated birthday sentiment!

Here's the card I made....

Isn't that paper scrummy?  The colours are pool party, very vanilla and cameo coral...I love that combo.  I've added a peek of scalloped ribbon border punched cardstock at the bottom, and ruffled ribbon at the top, and a distressed lollipop flower cut with the Circles No 2 die for the big shot, finished off with an In Colour printed brad.

I thought I'd make the girls a little gift too, so I threw together some matching skinny notepads.

I've used the new large scalloped circle punch from the mini catalogue, and made a monogram cut with the Timeless Type alphabet sizzlets.

Here are the sets:

And finally, all together....don't you love how easy it is to co-ordinate with Stampin' Up!

Hope you like my projects today...come back tomorrow to see these papers in all their glory, plus the free stamp sets on offer during Sale-a-bration.

Allie x

Getting ready to Sale-a-Brate!!!!

I am so excited about tomorrow!  It's one of the most rewarding times of the Stampin' Up year...the launch of Sale-a-bration!

Sale-a-bration is an annual promotion where for every £45 you spend in the catalogue or mini catalogue, you get to choose from a selection of fabulous freebies!  This special offer has been extended this year, to give you even more chances to earn your choice of four gorgeous free stamp sets.  And for the first time, there's also a free 12 x 12" designer series paper pack too.  I can't show you the goodies until tomorrow, but I can promise they are gorgeous, and bang on trend!

So, for every £45 you spend from  24 January to 31 March, you can pick a gift...with more than 2 months in the promotion, there's plenty of time to get as many freebies as you like!

Pop back tomorrow to see what's on offer and have a look at some sneak peek projects....I'll be posting links to the Sale-a-bration flyer on line, and as always you can check out the Idea Book and Catalogue and the new Mini Catalogue online, via the links at the top of the page.  If you'd like to make an order, or take a look in person, give me a call!

Get ready to Sale-a-brate! See you tomorrow!!!!!!

Swaps?

I am still not sure which of my latest projects will be my swap for training on Saturday!  I just can't decide!  Here are some more Spice Cake projects.  Are you fed up of Spice Cake yet? lol.  I just wanted to show you how versatile designer series papers can be.  And I still have more than half a pack left, so at £9.95 they are also amazing value for money!  You get an awful lot of bang for your crafting buck.  So first, a little handbag gift bag...

This cute little project uses just one 6" square piece of DSP, some scraps of card and ribbon, and some brads.

As you can see, I've made it deep enough to hold a fair-sized gift or little pack of sweets, so it would make a great table favour.  Next we have...clothes peg magnet calendars...

Yep, a regular wooden clothes peg, covered with a little strip of DSP (I attached it with sticky strip for a good bond) and decorated with a ribbon bow and a bitty button backed with punched cardstock.  Add a magnet to the back and a calendar, and you're done!  How easy?  But very cute!

These would make a great gift.  You could make two or three co-ordinating ones, leave out the calendar, attach them to a stamped card and give them as fridge magnet memo holders.  I'd be happy with that as a little gift.  Finally, here they are all together.

I'm expecting the lovely UPS man tomorrow, with a little box of new goodies...so you might get something that's not made from Spice Cake papers! lol....or...maybe not!  See you tomorrow to find out!

Hugs

Allie x

You can never have too much cake!

Firstly, apologies for the lack of post yesterday, it seems I haven't yet got the hang of scheduled posts!  So, today we'll have a "twofer" :)

I hope you aren't too fed up of my adventures with Spice Cake!  I promised you a 3-d project and here it is...(apologies again for the photos...are we ever going to see sunlight again?)....a lovely bit of Spice Cake gift packaging...

I love these cute little stacks of pillow boxes, which are great for packaging little gifts like earrings, sweet treats or gift cards.  Here I'e used Soft suede, more mustard and pool party cardstock and three co-ordinating Spice Cake designs, all held together with my favourite pool party ruffled ribbon.

For added decoration, I've added a leaf from French Foliage, stamped in soft suede ink onto more mustard cardstock, and cut out.

And because I love a matching set, I thought I'd make a matching card...this one was inspired by a card I saw online.  I could have sworn I pinned it, but I can't find it anywhere, so I'll keep looking and come back and give credit when I find it again!

It's very simple, using another of the leaf images from French Foliage.

I think this could be a more unisex card, so I've used some linen thread instead of ribbon.  I've decorated the inside with a strip of designer paper and punched cardstock.

And here's the set together.

And now for part 2...I thought I'd create another gift and card matching set...so I came up with these.

This time I've used the medallion birthday stamp from Happiest Birthday Wishes.  And to go with it, a matching notepad holder containing a long skinny notepad I got from The Range, and decorated with a monogram cut from my Timeless Type sizzlet alphabet...

And finally, all together...

Phew! That was a long post!  Hope you like my gift sets!  I'll be holding a class based around some of my Spice Cake designs soon.  I'll be back tomorrow with a sneak peak at my swaps for Team Training next weekend.

Supplies Used: (All Stampin Up! Unless Otherwise Stated)

1. Card – Very Vanilla, Pool Party, More Mustard, Soft Suede

2. Papers – Spice Cake

3. Stamps – French Foliage, Happiest Birthday Wishes, Perfect Pairs

4. Embellishments – Linen thread, Pool Party ruffled ribbon

5. Tools – Dotted scallop ribbon border punch, scalloped circle punch, 1 inch circle punch,  circles #2 big shot die, pillow box die, timeless type alphabet dies, big shot

6. Mediums – Soft suede classic ink