Brand new Stampin' Up! catalogue

The all new catalogue for 2009-2010 is online now - follow the link in the sidebar to browse online or email me to purchase a copy or place an order.

and they're back to school....

The summer holidays seem to have both dragged and flown over this year - either way I haven't had much time for blogging or crafting!! BB has finished at last, X Factor has started, and Strictly is coming next weekend - I'm about to resume my childcare training in Sure Start - to do my NVQ Level 3 CCLD. Plus - it's not really that long till ATDML autumn retreat!

I have a few things to share, lets start with some Stampin' Up! news - a few sneak peeks from the NEW catalogue coming out 1st October 2009 and the 'Last Chance' list for all the retiring products from the 2008/9 catalogue.

Last Chance!!

This year for the first time Stampin' Up! have released a 'Last Chance' list of products you can purchase from today, through till 30th September 2009 - many products at 25% and 50% reductions! To bag yourself a bargain today, check out the list here, then email me for info on how to order - but hurry - last chance items are selling fast!

New catalogue products - sneek peek!

SU! have made a small selection of new products available to pre-order for Demo's so we can get right in to promoting the new stock from day 1 of the new catalogue going live. I have been having a play with a few of those products this week and have a couple of samples to share:


Tree Trimmings is a set of 4 stamps - 3 ornate baubles and a tied string to 'hang' them on - that is perfect for all your cards, tags, wrap and Christmas decor projects. I've used them here on a very simple card in tone on tone ink and cardstock - Perfect Plum, with a little Whisper White stamped, cut out and layered on foam.


Here I have used a single bauble stamp from the Tree trimmings set, stamped on a 'Window sheet' in Stazon and then the back coated with fine glitter using the new 2 way glue pen.

Window sheets are 12x12 sheets of acetate that come in 2 weights - medium and thick. I have used the medium here, and it also goes through a punch perfectly for punching clear shapes. It has a million and one uses - including box making, punching/die cutting shapes, shaker and window cards and clear pages for scrapbooks/minibooks.

Stampin' Up! are now doing gorgeous fine glitter! There are 2 sets of 5 pots - each set having a different colourway. This is the gold from the 'Galaxy' colourway which also has silver, black, red and champagne.

It was Pete's birthday last weekend so I had to make him a card, and as I'm driving him mad with my learning to drive issues at the mo I thought it quite fitting to use the 'Loads of Love' stamp set!


I stamped the truck a few times, once on pattern paper and cut out the body, and onto white card and watercoloured the wheels and the footplates seperately, cut them out and layered them up. That's me in the window!!

Remember....

09/11 - all those who were lost and their families, all those who suffered, and those who tried to help xxx

Free Ribbon!!

From 1-31 August, you can get an exclusive ribbon bundle* FREE when you:

spend £45 on any Stampin’ Up! products as a customer

OR

host a £300 workshop

Please contact me for more details.

*Ribbon bundle includes 9.1 metres each Certainly Celery 5/8” poly-twill ribbon and So Saffron 5/8” grosgrain ribbon.

FREE Stampin' Up! Catalogue!

Get a free copy of the current Stampin' Up! Idea book and catalogue packaged with the September issue of Crafts Beautiful Magazine exclusively through Tesco's - September issue on sale in Tesco's stores at the end of July 2009.

Teachers card

School finishes tomorrow for the summer so it's teachers gifts time again. This year Tom had a male teacher (and next year too) so gifts were a little bit harder to make - in the end we opted for a book instead, and made him a card. I used an apple stamp from Stampin' Up! Tart and tangy set (perfect for a teachers card!), stamped in my current fave SU! colour combo inks onto Vanilla cardstock and cut out, then raised on foam over the same apple image stamped in black onto the kraft card. I also made a matching gift tag for his present, which i wrapped in rust tissue paper and tied with string. I didn't have a SU! thank you stamp that worked with the card so I used a clear stamp from a set of card greetings, and the ribbon is almost perfectly old olive, but not SU! - its American crafts! and its actually the reverse, as it has a pattern on the other side.


Stamps: SU! Tart and tangy, misc card greeting.
Inks: SU! Basic Black, Old Olive, Really Rust and So saffron.
Cardstock: SU! Kraft, Very vanilla.
Punch: SU! Scallop edge.
Ribbon: American crafts.

The Coastal run - a day in the sun.

Been a busy weekend. Saturday we took the boys shopping for new trainers - Jamie needed some new ones for poolside, and Tom needed 2 new pairs, one for every day kicking about, and a proper pair of running shoes for Running club. Sports Direct has a fantastic sale on at the mo (got 2 new pairs of Crocs for Tom there last week) so we headed there first thing. After dropping Jamie back at home around lunch time (he was off to a BBQ at 2pm), the rest of us then went to see Nana, and to Asda to get a few supplies for the picnic needed on Sunday. Then the rest of Saturday afternoon into evening I cooked a couple of Quiches and made some pasta salad for Sunday tea, and prepared a pretend BBQ for Me, Pete and Tom. Tom's friend Jack stayed for tea and the boys ate in the garden in the lovely sunshine. Then we had company for a few hours, Baps and Jac were up North for a family do, and came round to see us for a bit too. We drank lots of Pimms and had a good natter, but still managed a reasonably early night as Pete was running a half marathon the next day and we had to be up and out very early!

Sunday morning we were on the road to Alnmouth by 7.30am. Good job Pimms doesn't give me a hangover. We arrived and parked up at 8.15 and Pete went off to catch the club bus to the start of the race (The Coastal Run starts in Beadnell and ends in Alnmouth on the beach, and they run along - or as near to as possible - the beach the whole way) and Tom and I went for an early morning stroll along the beach till the shops opened so we could by a bucket and spade to play in the sand! We came across this impressive piece of driftwood on the beach.


I asked Tom to stand next to it for scale, and then asked him to pose for me, so he did a 'magazine shoot' pose with moody face and everything - a model in the making! Right after I clicked for this shot he collapsed into fits of giggles so maybe not.


At 9am we walked up the main street and found a shop that sold buckets and spades, then hit the beach for a couple of hours fun in the sand. The day was really warming up by then, and I dug myself a relaxing seat while Tom variously built sandcastles, dug to Australia and paddled in the sea.


We headed back to the car at 11am as we were starving, and ate some of the picnic, before heading back to the beach to wait by the finish line at 11.40 - the race started at 10.30am and the first runners were expected at the finish at about 11.40ish.


Pete finished in 26th place (out of about 1500) and was second Blyth runner home, in 1h 29m. Not his best time but there was a strong headwind and all the runners were slower than predicted because of that, and the extra water on the beach. Thomas wasn't at the finish as he had found 3 girls to chat to and so completely missed his dad coming in. He's such a flirt.


Once Pete had cooled off and changed out of his wet running gear (the beach was very wet this year with the tide and they had lots of water to run through) we finished off the picnic and headed back home. By this point the fresh air and late night and Pimms were taking their toll and I went to bed for a couple of hours to catch up on my sleep! Pete - who had just run 13 and a bit miles after all - was also quite tired!!! and after a soak in the bath, dozed off on the sofa while watching TV. I was very pleased I'd prepared tea the day before so we had a delicious feast when Jamie arrived home from work before heading off for a bath (me and Tom) and to bed for an early night - all of us, even Tom was asleep before 9.30pm. I missed BB on both Saturday night and Sunday night, and also the F1 GP so will have to catch up online!