New SparklyShinyStampers!

I'm delighted to welcome FIVE new ladies to my team of SparklyShinyStampers!! Susan, Jayne, Maureen, Alison and Mandie have all decided to become Stampin' Up! Demonstrators, taking advantage of a special offer giving 10% off the Starter kit.
This offer runs until 7th May, so there's still time if you want to join in as well. Check the "Join my team" link at the top to see the starter kit contents, plus the exclusive New Demo kit you get when you join my team.

Host your own Party!

Hosting a Stampin' Up! party is simple and easy, and can earn you fabulous rewards! All you need to do is pick a date and invite your friends, then enjoy the fun! You will receive a free Idea Book & Catalogue as well as invitations to send to your friends. You will get a demonstration of exciting craft techniques showcasing Stampin' Up! products, showing you and your guests how to make simple yet beautiful projects, with everyone getting to join in and make something to take home.

There is no obligation to purchase products, however as a hostess you can earn free stamp sets and free products based on the sales at your party.

Get in touch to secure your party date today!

Join the SparklyShinyStampers!

Are you an enthusiastic crafter? Do you want to share your creativity with others? Ever dreamed of making an income from your hobby? As an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator you can do all of these things.

We all begin with the Starter kit, which contains over £250 of craft and business supplies for the amazing price of only £139. You can customise your starter kit to suit your own style and tastes.

In addition to the Starter kit, every member of my team gets her own "new demo kit" as a personal gift from me. This includes card and ribbon sample sheets, a personalised journal, plus some other little goodies to help you get started, all in a hand-stamped canvas bag.

If you have any questions, or would like a free information pack, please e-mail me today.

April Year in Cards

Here's the project we're making tomorrow morning at the Glasgow Card-making meet-up. The card is inspired by one Charlotte showed us at field training last month, and the pouch is a creation of Elaine's. I will be demonstrating the "rock and roll" technique, as well as faux suede and ink daubers.

This class is available to buy online, costing £10 for instructions and supplies or £25 to add in the stamp set used (RRP £19.95). Each class makes 4 cards and the matching pouch, and even includes a chocolate in the pouch! Email me if you are interested.

Ribbon rose tutorial

This was the project that I made for the technique demonstration at the Stampin' Up! Experience Event in the Pond Hotel in Glasgow. I showed how to make ribbon roses using our 5/8" grosgrain in Real Red.
Cut a 50cm length of grosgrain and fold in half, with the two halves at right angles as above.

Fold one half over the fold.

Repeat by folding the other half on top over the previous fold.

Continue folding over and over on top until the full length is folded.

Don't worry if it slips out of your fingers as you fold. Once its completely folded, hold tightly to the ends and release, giving a twist as shown in the photo above.

Hold tightly at the base and pull on one of the ends, it doesn't matter which one.

You will end up with a beautiful rose on the end of a long tail of ribbon. You may need to untwist the rose a little to arrange the petals.

Secure the rose with a couple of stitches at the base of the flower, then trim the ends of the ribbon. Use the flower to decorate your projects as desired.

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial. Please leave me your comments with links to your own projects.

Ribbon flower tutorial

I've been making a lot of these ribbon flowers recently, so decided to write a quick tutorial. They are so simple to make!

For the small flowers, I've used 10cm 5/8" ribbon in Very Vanilla grosgrain, and Chocolate Chip grosgrain and satin. The larger flowers are made with 15cm 1-1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip.

I normally use invisible thread, but I've used yellow here so you can see the stitching easily. Start at one end with 3 or 4 stitches to secure the thread, then run the stitches along one edge of the ribbon.

Fold the ribbon in half and pass the needle through next to the start of the stitching.

Pull the thread tightly and stitch 3 or 4 times to secure. Then stitch along the ends of the ribbon and secure again.

Open out into a flower and push a brad through the centre, opening out at the back of the flower.

And there you have it! A very simple ribbon flower to embellish your projects. I hope you found this tutorial helpful. If you try this yourself, please leave comments linking to your creations!

Downline journals

I've had a lovely evening making these journals for my lovely downline. They are based on a pin I received at Convention last year. The writing on the pin tells us to "inspire, create & share", which is what we try and do as Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.

If you're interested in joining my team, April is the perfect month to sign up. Email me for a free demonstrator information pack. New demos get the Starter kit, personalised to suit your tastes. After joining, I have my own demo starter kit which I give to all my SparklyShinyStampers, full of little goodies to help you get started. You'll also get all the support and advice you could wish for!