A little birdy tells me

Where has the day gone... 

I still have lots to do before tomorrow - eek!

So, just a very quick post to remind you that you only have tomorrow left to order any products from the Spring mini catalogue and to take advantage of the April offer of FREE papers with a purchase of £45.

Anyway, a little bird tells me that there are lots of great products coming in the new Summer mini catalogue which will be released on Tuesday, but I can't tell you what these are yet... however, here's a sneak peak of one of the new stamp set's.

I've used the Pocketful of Posies Designer Series Paper (DSP) which is one of the packs you can get FREE this month when you spend £45... 

As well as some new products this card features one of my old favourites, the Bird Builder punch, punched out from Rich Razzleberry to co-ordinate with the DSP and combined with Island Indigo and Pool Party from the 2011/13 In Colour range.

Nursery piggy

So, I'm slowly getting myself organised.  My class schedule is now updated until the end of June, I've booked dates for Come and Craft sessions at my home (GU16) and at my 'during the week' home (CB4) and I've set aside some dates for possible demo's and private classes.

So if you are interested in booking a FREE demo or a private class then check out my Home parties and Classes pages for more details or contact me.

Today I'm out and about catching up with friends, walking and baby sitting, so in the meantime I have a card to share with you that uses some of the Nursey Nest DSP that is on offer for FREE this month when you spend £45 on Stampin' Up! products. 

I've combined the Pear Pizzazz papers with Blushing Bride which is also included in the colour scheme of some of these papers.  And I've created a little piggy bookmark with the Button Buddies stamp set.

There is quite a lot going on with this card so I will just leave you with a list of materials...

Materials:

Stamp sets - Button Buddies, Woodgrain, Teeny Tiny Wishes (sentiment);

Card base - Blushing Bride card stock;

DSP - Nursery Next;

Punch - Word Window;

Accessories - Designer Buttons; Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder;

Book a demo/workshop or private class

Why not book a demo/workshop or private class.  I still have 2 dates available at the end of April (so you can take advantage of the April offer), or why not book for after 1st May when the new Summer mini catalogue will be released?!

Have a FREE demo in your home!

All you have to do is open your home up and invite your friends along to enjoy a demonstration of the Stampin' Up! products.  You and your guests can create something of their own to take home.

See my Home parties page for more. 

What about a private class? 

I also offer private classes/parties that are tailored to your specifications e.g. a particular theme or hen night etc.

Just gather a minimum of 4 people, pick the theme and we can hold a class in the comfort of your own home. The pricing will be dependent on the number of cards and number of participants.  For an indication and/or ideas have a look at the advertised classes on my site.

Or contact me for more information:

Email: jadedcrafter@gmail.com

Telephone: 01252 834132 / 07968 951957

***

I must apologise in advance for the poor quality of the photo of this card... it seems to be a bit green, but I can assume you it's definitely Pacific Point from the 'Brights' Collection which features on the papers I have used from the Beyond the Garden DSP pack which you can get FREE during April when you spend £45.

I think the papers in the pack which feature Pacific Point are my favourites as I'm not generally a very flowery person... 

Anyway, this card gave me quite a lot of trouble... as the flowery theme isn't easy for someone like me to work with!  I think it turned out pretty well in the end.

I've used quite a few punches for this too, as seem to be getting into them a lot recently.  Why not have a look at page 116 to 119 in the main catalogue and start building up your punch collection too...

Materials:

Base - Pacific Point card stock

DSP - Beyond the Garden;

Other card stock - Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White;

Punches - 5-Petal Flower, Bird Builder (leaves), Scallop Trim Border, Word Window; 1'3/4" circle;

You will see I have mounted the flower onto the 1'3/4" circle punched from Pacific Point and then placed this in the centre of one of the shapes from the Perfect Penants die run through the Big Shot machine.  A 1/2" circle punched from the DSP to finish and it's done.

Watch out for the stamp price increase

The Royal Mail has announced that postage charges here in the UK will go up from 30 April 2012.

You can see the new charges here.

Since the increases are quite large you may want to consider stocking up on first and second class stamps this month. The stamps, which do not have prices on, like the ones you get in books of stamps will continue to be valid for the service named on them after the increase.

And don't forget to be careful when layering up your cards, so that they will 1) Fit in the envelope; and 2) Fit within the size guidelines for the postage levels.  I try to keep the layers to 1 or 2 if the cards are going to be posted, but it's hard sometimes...

The card I have to share with you today was created for a commission, and quite difficult to design something to incorporate the photography, allotments and walking theme that I was given.  I managed to get the latter 2 included but didn't want to overwhelm the card or cause issues with the postage so stuck to that.

However, I did manage to feature some of the DS Papers that you can get FREE this month with an order of £45 - see the link on the right of my blog for more details. 

The papers I have used here are from the Nursery Nest paper pack which has a 'baby' theme, but as you can see some of the papers are suitable for other occasions too.

I've created an Easle card type base from a piece of Lucky Limeade cut at 28 x 12.5cm.  The centre piece is the Scalloped Circle die cut from Calypso Coral and then in the centre I have adhere a Very Vanilla circle which I have run through the Square Lattice embossing folder.

The DSP from the Nursery Nest pack features in the background, mounted on a piece of Very Vanilla to make it stand out a little.  I've also used the same paper for the Decorative Label punch where I have inked and stamped the sentiments from the For My Family stamp set in Island Indigo.

The 2 big flowers are created with the medium sized flower from the Daisies #2 die - 3 flowers cut from Calypso Coral and layered up.  In the centre I have added a circle of So Saffron cut from the centre of the largest flower, which has been run through the Square Lattice folder.  The small flower is the smallest one from the die with the medium centre, created in the same way.

The finishing touches are some butterflies cut form So Saffron using the Beautiful Wings embosslit die and some Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon.  Note that the laser cut walking boots are non Stampin' Up!

Nursery flowers

I'm placing an order today so if you want to save on postage (normally £4.95) and live near to my home or work (GU16 or CB4) contact me now at jadedcrafter@gmail.com to place your order.

Yesterday's bad weather kept me indoors so I'm hoping this improves today as I've got the day off and want to make the most of it before going back to work!

I've been having a play with the Button Buddies stamp set and the Nursery Nest DSP pack which you can get FREE during April when you spend £45.

I've had a pack of buttons for a while and finally decided to use them...

Base - Marina Mist card stock

DSP - Nursery Nest, get these FREE during April with an order of £45.

Punches - 1' 3/8" circle, Scallop circle, eyelet border.

Other card stock - Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz.

Accessories - Designer Buttons from the 'Subtles' collection and Stampin' Write markers (Marina Minst and Pear Pizzazz).

Stamp set - Button Buddies, Petite Pairs (sentiment).