Ric Rac Tutorial

Thank you for the emails requesting this tutorial, I have kept the words to a minimum and the pictures will do the talking, a big thank you to my son for taking the pictures.

Happy Stampin'

Amanda

Ric Rac Tutorial

Start with a thin strip of card stock, I have used 1" or 2.5cm.  I always start in the middle when punching so the scallops at each end are even.

For your second and subsequent punches make sure you line it up correctly NOT like the picture below!


Line it up like this one!

Your first edge complete.


Now trim off one edge of the scalloped border, cut straight up between 2 scallops, I just love my new paper snips!


It should look like this.


Now turn the cardstock over and put the straight edge back into the punch, don't line it up like this.......


You need to offset it as the picture below shows half way across a scallop.  This is the most important part.


It doesn't matter where you start once it is lined up.  Then just punch as normal, lining it up to cover the scallops and work your way along the edges of the cardstock, as the next 2 pictures show.




There you have it, play around with different widths of cardstock to get different ribbons.

Time to Celebrate

I have some wonderful news to share with you............

You will have noticed from previous posts that I have a wonderful team of ladies as part of my downline team called Inspiring Inkin' and it's not that long ago I was telling you how we had grown to a team of 7.  Well my team is now 17..........yes 17..........and I had a phone call yesterday to say that is likely to be 18 very soon, which is fantastic !

This wonderful team have been working really hard, they have run more workshops than ever before, lots of them have promoted due to team members and sales which shows you how well they are doing.  I am so proud of them.

My third piece of news is that October has been my very best month with Stampin' Up!  I have had more classes,  more home workshops and more sales than any other month.  But most importantly I am now Silver 2..........

Stampin' Up! has a career plan with a series of titles that you achieve due to sales , team members and team promotions, it is a very balanced plan which means that the team has to grow together, and we have certainly done that.  All of my team have played a part in my promotion but specific thanks have to go to Jane and Hayley who now are both Bronze 3.

Silver 2 is the highest title achieved so far within Europe as Stampin' Up! is not quite a year old, there are only 3 demonstrators in the whole of Europe at this level and only 2 of us in the UK so I am thrilled.

Happy Stampin'

Amanda

PS  Cards to follow later, and the ric rac tutorial over the weekend, so pop back soon.

One of kind!

Another blue card.....sorry but Tempting Turquoise is well so tempting......

I've used the One of a Kind stamp set with the matching Boho Blossoms punch, some of the flowers I have popped up on Dimensionals others I have glued flat, added a brad and a little bit of ribbon and all done.

I've only used Whisper White and Tempting Turquoise ink and Tempting Turquoise card, brad and ribbon.

Happy Stampin' 

Amanda

Thank you candle

Lots and lots of home workshops this month, this is one of the gifts I will be giving to my hostesses as a thank you to them for inviting me into their home and allowing me to share Stampin' Up! products with them and their family and friends.

If you have ever wondered what happens at one of my Stampin' Up! home workshops here is a brief explanation........

• I discuss with the hostess in advance their likes and dislikes and tailor the products and stamps I use to suit her style and taste
  
• I bring lots of samples of projects, cards, 3D items to show, grid paper to protect your table, stamps, inks, card stock and materials enough for everyone to participate ( with lots of spare for any mistakes....) catalogues and order forms
  
• I demonstrate lots of lovely products
  
• I demonstrate a variety of projects, usually a card or two or a scrapbook page and a 3D item
  
• Everyone makes a project, has lots of fun, trying stamping out and being creative, there is always laughter and smiles, drinks and snacks and more FUN !
  
• Everyone has the opportunity to try products out, ask questions, book workshops with me, place orders
  
• Then at the end of  the workshop as long as the sales reach £150, the hostess chooses her free stamp sets and free products

So what are you waiting for, and more importantly think of the FUN and free products you could have!

I still have a little bit of space in my diary for November and December if you want to book please email me    ajpapercraft@btinternet.com

Happy Birthday Brenda

It's my Mother-in-Law's birthday today and it's a very special birthday, I hope she won't mind me telling you how old she is......(just keep it a secret!)

I set myself a challenge this week to go through all of the wonderful Stampin' Up! 48 colours and find those that I haven't used. Now you may have notice I tend to go for vibrant colours, so the Soft Subtles family of colours is my least used except for Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace and Bashful Blue that is. So I got myself a set of Stampin' Spots in Soft Subtles, 12 mini ink pads for £17.50, fantastic for trying out the colours to find your favourites but for me great for travelling around as they come packaged in a little box.

Then I set to make 2 cards for Brenda, usually the children make their own card, but this week has been a little manic with disco's, pop concerts, sleep overs and after school sports and Karate!

I chose Perfect Plum and Pale Plum for their card, I used the One of a Kind stamp set and the Boho Blossoms punch which matches, a super quick lovely card and a fabby colour combination!

Then for our card I chose Apricot Appeal and Mellow Moss, I have no idea why I haven't used these colours before, I LOVE them!

The main card is Apricot Appeal textured card then a Mellow Moss mat and then I have stamped En Francais background stamp onto Apricot Appeal card stock, now I used both the Mellow Moss and the Apricot Appeal ink pads and smooshed (is that a real word?) them over the stamp to give a tonal effect, I hope it shows on the photograph. Then of course my favourite A Rose is A Rose stamp set stamped onto Whisper White cardstock, the stems and leaves are Mellow Moss, the base colour is Apricot Appeal and the outline is Pumpkin Pie to make it Pop!

The 70 is made using Mellow Moss paper from the Tea & Crumpets set over chipboard numbers which have been embossed 3 times with clear embossing powder.

Ric-Rac Joy

This card is one of the cards I will be demonstrating at my home workshops this month, it uses the lovely Season of Joy stamp set and shows off the wonderful scallop edge punch to make ric-rac style ribbon from cardstock.

I'll be posting a tutorial later on this week to show you how to make this ric-rac it is very simple but easier to show than explain!

The colours used are Old Olive and Real Red.

Happy Stampin'

Amanda

Technique Clubs

Would you like:

Free products
Free Catalogues
PLUS…
A free stamping technique class each month?

Then you might want to consider joining my monthly Stampin’ Techniques club!

Technique Clubs start in November !

Stampin’ Techniques Club is a great morning or evening out. We'll have a great time, make some fantastic projects, learn new ways to use our rubber stamps, learn new techniques, laugh a lot and have fun.

We will stamp 2 technique cards, a greeting card and a 3D project every month.

Please contact me if you are interested in becoming a Stampin’ Techniques Club member, so that we can find a date and time that work for everyone. There is no fee to participate. As a Stampin’ Technique Club member you place a £20 minimum order each month for 8 months, plus you receive all the hostess benefits ( a minimum of a Level 1 stamp set and £15 of free products) for one month of the 8 months the club runs.

email ajpapercraft@btinternet.com

Happy Birthday Stampin' Up!

Stampin' Up! is 20 this year and to celebrate they are giving 20% off 3 different stamp sets when you spend £20 during October.

One of the stamp sets in this promotion is Crazy for Cupcakes, a lovely set, it's 2 main images are a cupcake and candle, as on Dad's card and also a stack of Cupcakes with Cherries on the top!

Magazine cards

Just a quick post to give you the link for my lastest publication.........

I'm on page 2 and page 48, 49 of Making Cards magazine it's the November 2008 issue.

http://www.makingcardsmagazine.com/thismonth/

How exciting! 

Happy Birthday Dad

It's my Dad's birthday today, I won't tell you how old he is, but if you want to know count the candles............

A very bright and vibrant card, matches my Dad's personality and Red is his favourite colour, so I hope he loves it!

New stamp sets

When I first saw the new catalogue the stamp set I was drawn to most was A Rose is a Rose, it is one of Stampin' Up! s 2-Step Stampin' sets.  If you have never come across 2-Step Stampin' it is all about giving depth to your images by stamping one image and then stamping again with a different stamp over the original image.........confused........the picture below will explain all, I have used Summer Sun ink stamped the solid part of the rose once onto scrap paper and then onto my piece of Whisper White card and then inked the second stamp, an outline border of the rose petals again in Summer Sun.

There it is a beautiful yellow rose, my favourite flower!

Joyful weekend!

Wow what busy weekend, more than 200 cards were made at my Christmas card workshop on Saturday, with lots of fun and laughter along the way!

Thank you so much to all the ladies who attended, it was a lovely day, and you were all so kind helping with the packing up!

Then onto the Southampton papercraft show on Sunday, Hazel and I met lots of lovely ladies and gentlemen all avid papercrafters, I think we converted some of them to becoming stampers too which is great we gave away lots of catalogues, held a prize draw and collected lots of new contacts who are interested in Stampin' Up! workshops and even perhaps a new member or two for my team...........

This is one of the cards we made on Saturday, the class fee included the Snowflake Spot stamp set, I will post the full details after Friday when the second class runs, so as not to spoil the surprise!

Lots more cards to show you this week, my order of new stamps arrived on Friday so come back soon to see what I have made!

Happy Stampin'

Amanda

1 very simple design, 3 lovely cards

Everyone made a variation of these cards on Tuesday, Bashful Blue was the base the background always stamped in Bashful Blue ink but Seeing Spots, Touch of Nature and Simply Said sets where used.  Brilliant Blue was the mat layer and then a focal image was stamped onto Confetti White from either For Father, Simply Said or Summer by the Sea.  The female cards also had the addition of Night of Navy grosgrain ribbon.

Blue Christmas

Today I'm off to Chichester for a Stampin' Up! class, we are making 2 cards and at Linda's request we are making this style of card, I call it a diamond fold but she described it as a cracker fold which I think sums this up much better!  

This card has the same background, and side decorations as the previous card the only change is the front diamond.

Using versamark ink stamp the Christmas tree from Season on Joy and heat emboss using clear powder.  The edges of the Bashful Blue diamond are stamped using the swirls from the Season of Joy set and Bashful Blue ink and then the edges softened using ink and the sponge Daubers.

Classes Update

My Christmas card classes are now all booked but I still have spaces on the following classes in November.

Please email me       ajpapercraft@btinternet.com     to book your place.

Happy Stampin'

Amanda

Emergency Card Class

Make 12 cards and 2 boxes, perfect for a variety of occasions, to keep on standby or great for a gift! We will use stamps, patterned papers and diecut shapes to make beautiful cards. All the materials needed will be provided (except glue).

10am – 1pm £15 Monday 3/11/08 (Booking closes 24/10/08)

Minibook

Have you wanted to start to scrapbook your photographs but not sure where to start? This is an ideal class for you. We will make a 6”x6” minibook and learn about choosing photographs, layouts, products and ways you can preserve your memories. All the materials needed will be provided (except glue).

10am – 12.30pm £15 Tuesday 18/11/08 (Booking closes 7/11/08)

It's a blue week........

For lots of reasons this is a blue week, it's a busy week too, two Stampin' Up! home workshops, an all day Christmas Card Class on Saturday and the Southampton Papercraft show on Sunday so I've set blogger to post automatically so you have some different cards and projects to look at.

This an 18th Card for Annabel, daughter of Julia one of my very first Stampin' Up! customers, now a dear friend and I'm sending them both and their family a very big hug x

This is a diamond fold card see the post here for instructions.

I have used the Swirling Stars wheel in Bashful Blue to get the background.

Bashful Blue card stock stamped with Birthday Wishes from Sincere Salutations and edged with the wonderful scallop edge punch, the edges softened with a sponge dauber and ink.

The poinsettia flower from Season of Joy stamped twice onto Whisper White card with Bashful Blue ink, cut out and the petals bent in towards the centre to give dimension. Attached to the card with a pale blue Ice Brad.

The 18 is chipboard, inked and then double heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

The butterfly (from Touch of Nature) is stamped onto Vellum with versamark, then heat and stick powder then dazzling diamonds glitter, the layer below is the same butterfly stamped in Bashful Blue ink onto Whisper white card and then cut out.

Happy Stampin'

Amanda

Happy New Year!

Yes I know it's not January...............

But today is the day of a new Stampin' Up! year with a new catalogue filled to the brim with amazing stamps, punches a scallop edge, star and scallop square!, inks, textured cardstock, felt flowers, rub-ons........I could go on and on.....

Now the very best way to see the new catalogue is to book a home workshop with me, invite everyone you know to spend and afternoon or evening being creative, I will demonstrate lots of the lovely new products and we will all make a card, 3D project or a scrapbook page, you choose......

The second best way to see to new catalogue is on your sofa at home with a cup of tea or coffee, not quite as creative but perfect for a bit of 'me' time and a chance to write your wish list! Please email me so I can post one to you.

The card following is one that we made at the Stampin' Up! field training at High Wycombe, it showcases the most fabulous  A Rose is a Rose stamp set  111560  £32.95, my order for this stamp set has already gone in and as soon as it arrives I will be demonstrating it!

Now there are lots of offers and new things to tell you over the coming days, so make sure you pop back soon........

Happy Stampin'

Amanda