#1 in an occasional series of craft organisation

I have been trying to tidy up my craft space recently so that I can work more effectively. Last year I had installed some expedit units from IKEA (hasn't every crafter!) but I still wasn't happy with the storage space for my stamps. I decided the clear mount stamps had the edge over wood mount so I have spent the last week changing my wood mount stamps to clear mount. These are the clam shell cases I have emptied. I also have a large mountain of wooden blocks.

OK if you are going to do this yourself DO NOT do what I did for the frst few sets. For those ones I peeled the red rubber off of the foam, remounted on new clingmount, cut them out and added the sticker. That took ages and was very messy!

I then realised that you could carefully peel the grey foam off of the block with the red rubber still attached - way easier! To make it even easier still I zapped each set in the microwave for 15 seconds on full power - put a cup of water in there too. I don't know if that's necessary but hey I didn't want to blow up my microwave. Imagine trying to explain that on an insurance claim.

I then quickly ran over the surface of each sticker with my 2-way glue pen and left them out to dry. This makes it easier for the stamp to stick to the clear blocks and also inside the DVD storage case. You can also do this with any of our clear mount stamps if you have trouble with them sticking to the blocks.

Its also very handy for adding our glitter to projects for a wee bit of bling!

I found a template over on Split Coast Stampers to make inserts for the DVD cases so all my sets would match the Clear Mount sets I already own.

So now my stamps all fit in an old DVD storage shelf like this:

I bought some plastikote paint for under £5 from B&M last week so hopefully I will be able to spray paint the DVD unit white to match my expedit units - just need to wait for a dry day so I can work outside and avoid paint fumes in the house.

In other news the schools broke up for summer on Friday (I think we were later than most of the other schools for some reason) so we have been looking for cheap and cheerful ideas to keep us amused.
On Sunday we visited Portencross Castle which has recently been refurbished as there was an art exhibition on. What a great place for an art show.

 Not my photo - I "borrowed" this one from the internet!

As the Art Exhibition was taking place there were no guided tours that day so we will definitely pop back down at some point over the summer to do that.

Hello Kitty punch art

This card was made for a friend's birthday recently. Yes you did read the number correctly!

 Hello Kitty is made from the following punches:

Large Oval

Five Petal Flower (ears)

Owl punch (teeny circles for eyes and nose)

Small Heart punch (cut in half for bow)

The little happy birthdaystamp is from the Create A Cupcake set that was in our recent Spring mini catalogue and I am hoping that this set is one that carries over into our new main catalogue in October.

I also added some texture to the card by using the heart design from the new embossing set in the Summer Mini catalogue - details belo

 If you'd like to place an order for any of these products please contact me at thefineartofstampin@gmail.com

Remember if you spend more than £45 this month you will get the ribbon and brad Everyday Enchantment set absolutely free!

Everyday Enchantment Offer

 

Well now that the patterned paper offer is finished Stampin' Up! have yet another great offer for July.

For every £45 you spend in July you can earn a FREE limited edition pack of 30 brads and two reels of  organza ribbon in Lucky Limeade and Calypso Coral. (a full 10 yards of each).

WORTH £15.95

Plus, back from Sale-A-Bration by popular demand, for this special offer only, the coordinating Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper--only available while supplies last! 

They can be yours for a limited time only for £9.95.

If you would like to take this last opportunity to purchase the fabulous Enchantment papers, or if you'd like to get the ribbon and brads for FREE, please contact me at thefineartofstampin@gmail.com to place your order.

Happy Father's Day

I made this card for a special dad on Father's Day using the Open Sea set,

 available from the Summer Mini Catalogue.

 I stamped the ship image three times on Naturals Ivory cardstock: 

firstly using Soft Suede, then Riding Hood Red and finally Island Indigo inks.

 This was then paper pieced together and then the whole image was cut out and layered using the new framelits dies.

If anyone would like to place an order for any of the products used please let me know - remember there is also a special offer on the designer series papers packs at the moment as well.

 

During June, get a FREE package of Stampin’ Up!’s exclusive Designer Series Paper—a £9.95 value—when you buy three! Choose from a wide variety of designs and colours available in the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue and 2012 Summer Mini Catalogue.
(NB Offer does not include the speciality paper packs)

When I was at the Tartan Stampers weekend in April one of the shoebox swaps was a gorgeous cascade card. So I decided to make my own version for a special friend's birthday.

And this scrapbook layout (still to add the photo) was based on a class taught by my friend Diane at the same weekend.

And this was my card for the shoebox swap. As usual all supplies Stampin' Up!

Free Designer Series Papers

Even although Sale-A-Bration has now finished Stampin' Up! have given us another fantastic offer again this month and from 1-30 April 2012 you can choose from one of four patterned paper packs with every order over £45 (see attached flyer for details).

Please also remember that items from the Spring mini catalogue are only available to order until 30 April so if there is something in there that you have your eye on I would order now as there is no guarantee which items, if any, will be carried over to the main catalogue.

There is also a new stampers 6 group starting in May (as well as new Summer mini catalogue) so if you are interested in joining up and earning free products please contact me at: thefineartofstampin@gmail.com.

Thank you :-)

Christmas Stamp-a-Stack

Would you like to make your own festive cards for your nearest and dearest this Christmas? Why not come along to my Christmas Card class on Thursday 17 November where you can make at least five different cards, or even more, time permitting.

All are welcome from beginners to advanced crafters.

There will be a variety of cards to make on offer - just chose the five designs you like best and these are included in your initial class fee of £12. Then if you want to make more pay the low price of just £1.50 per additional card.

The class will take place at Dip n Doodle's premises in Gallowgate Lane, Largs from 7pm-10pm on Thursday 17 November.

Please contact me as early as possible to book your place. Payment is required no later than 14 November to secure your place but please book as early as possible as spaces are limited.

Payment can be made via the paypal button below, or by cheque/cash. Please contact me at thefineartofstampin@gmail.com or on 07949 101534 to book your place.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Also look out for details of a Christmas mini album class and a Christmas home decor class - coming soon!

Christmas Card Class 17 Nov

New Team Member

I am so pleased to welcome Alison to my team of demonstrators.

Alison's blog can be found here so do please go and visit as I'm sure she will soon be updating when her starter kit arrives.

If anyone else is interested in joining my team then now is the ideal time as you can take advantage of the in-colour promotion. As well as receiving the usual starter kit stuffed full of stamps, inks, card, paper and business supplies (worth £250) you will also receive all of the new 2011-13 in-color ink pads and cardstock (worth a further £27.95), all for the low starter kit price of £119.

If you are interest then please contact me at thefineartofstampin@gmail for more information.

ILWS New Catalogue Blog Hop

If you have just joined the blog hop here then welcome and enjoy your trip.
If you have arrived from Vicky's blog didn't she show us some amazing products showcasing new items from the catalogue.

Way back at the start of the month I mentioned that as a demo I had the opportunity to order some of the new products earlier and I showed you this sneak peek of something I had made using the new exclusive Stampin' Up! fabric.

Well this is the bag that I made. It uses two complete pieces of fabric. You get three pieces of fabric in each pack and each piece is approx 68.6cm x 45.7cm. This is the Timeless Portrait Fabric (item # 122337) and is priced at £8.95 per pack.
I also used some Basic Black Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (#115615 £10.25) for the handles.

If you'd like to know how to make this bag check back later in the week when I hope to be posting a tutorial.

Also in my pre-order were the new 2011-13 In-Colours, Pennant Parade Stamp set (p37) and the new Petite Pennants builder Punch (p119). And I used all of these to make the following birthday card. The sentiment is from the fab hostess set Happiest Birthday Wishes (p8) and I'll tell you further on about the amazing new hostess benefits that have been introduced.

The new in-colours used on this card are from L-R Calypso Coral, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder.

However as we're talking about in-colours this might be a good time to mention the new recruitment promotion.

Be a part of the ‘In Color’ crowd!

A new Idea Book & Catalogue means new In Colors—a collection of fresh and trendy colours that are introduced each year. And during October, you can get select 2011-2013 In Color products for FREE when you join the Stampin’ Up! family!

Join in October and get the Card Stock and Classic Pad In Color Kit—containing five Classic Stampin’ Pads and an assortment of A4 card stock in Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, and Island Indigo—absolutely FREE!

This kit—a £27.95 value—in addition to the many new and exciting products you’ll receive in the recently updated new-demonstrator Starter Kit (£119, valued at more than £250!) gives you the tools you need to start a successful business or simply support a hobby you already love.

If you would be interested in getting the products you love at a 20 percent discount, in addition to the many other benefits of being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator please contact me for more information. I would love to have you join me in my growing team.

One of the other perks of being a demonstrator is that we get to go to Stampin' Up Training events. These are great fun getting together with other demonstrators and when I attended training in Edinburgh recently one of the gifts we were given was the new Under the Big Top set (p31). Co-ordinating Designer Series Papers and Quick Accents pack are also available.

I used this set to make an easel style birthday card for my friend's son's 5th birthday (and made a couple spare as well).

And the Designer Series papers are from the Just Add Cake pack (p98)

Now about those new hostess benefits! It's fantastic news. Now when your workshop (or order) totals £150 or more you will get at least £25 to spend in the catalogue. You can chose to spend the money on anything at all in the catalogue or in the exclusive hostess section. What's more you get much better value in the hostess section as these items are priced at a lower amount than similar stamp sets. So even with just £25 worth of hostess pounds you could end up with as much as two stamp sets and an exclusive designer series paper pack for FREE!

And it gets even better - if your workshop total is over £300 you can chose any item in the catalogue for half price - so you could even get a Big Shot for only £44 or the full set of Stampin' Write markers for only £45 - the choice is yours.

More details in table below. And hopefully if you click on the table it should take you to a pdf showing you pictures of all the exclusive hostess sets.

Another way to get your hands on the exclusive hostess sets would be to join my stampers 6 group starting towards the end of this month - see top of blog for more information. Places are limited so if you are interested do please get in touch as soon as possible.

My goal this year is to increase the number of workshops I do so if you live in the West of Scotland (I am based in Largs) please give me call or contact me by email if you would like to take advantage of the new hostess programme and earn lots of FREE product.

Now click on the link to Julie's blog for the next stop on our tour. I am sure you will find lots of wonderful ideas on Julie's blog to inspire you.
And in case you get lost or there are broken links just pop back here for the full list of stampers taking part in this hop.

Thank you for visiting and if you'd like to leave a comment I'd be very pleased to hear what you think of the new catalogue and products :-)

Maggie
1. Lauralou http://airingcupboardstamping.blogspot.com/
2 AlisonP www.craftyalisoninlyon.blogspot.com
3 Glittermum http://www.mygroovystampinup.blogspot.com/
4. Theresa M http://my-next-chapter.blogspot.com/
5. SarahLP http://stampingobsession.com/
6. Sassy Stamper (Elaine) http://www.thesassystampers.blogspot.com/
7. Sarastamper (http://craftingandstamping.com)
8. JJ66 http://jan-crippin.blogspot.com/
9. Evy c http://evyscraftycreations.blogspot.com/
10. DonnaM http://www.head-over-heels-by-dlm.blogspot.com/
11. Scrappydiva http://www.stampin-divas.blogspot.com/
12. Natalie http://www.natalieoshea.co.uk/blog.html
13.Dawn http://www.tartanstamper.blogspot.com/
14. Vicky www.vickylouscorner.blogspot.com
15. Maggie (maggiemae) http://thefineartofstampin.blogspot.com/
16. Julie H (The Crafty Bug) http://www.the-crafty-bug.blogspot.com
17. Elizabeth (Stash Fairy) http://elizabethscraftroom.blogspot.com/
18. Michelle (ShellieStamps) http://michellescraftypaper.typepad.com/
19. Keren. http://www.kerenbaker.wordpress.com
20. Emma (Daisydaye) http://emma-daye.blogspot.com/
21. Rachel (Rachel) http://www.stampingurl.blogspot.com/
22. Valerie (valmoody) http://stampingwithval.wordpress.com/
23. Kara (KaraM) http://karascraftycorner.blogspot.com/
24. Sarah (IOW Sarah http://www.stampinsarahiow.blogspot.com/
25. Tracey Rossos http://www.derbyshireducks.blogspot.com/
26. Patricia (Beckscraft) http://stampinbeckscraft.blogspot.com/
27. Sarah-Jane http://cardsandacuppa.blogspot.com/
28. Claire http://stampinupscrapper.blogspot.com/
29. Cupcake http://pinkycardsandcreations.blogspot.com/
30. Kimf http://kimfeecrafter.blogspot.com/
31. carolineskinner http://stampinupandbranchingout.blogspot.com/
32. Emma_H http://www.emma-letsstamp.blogspot.com/
33. Sally - Pink Sky. x http://pinkskysu.blogspot.com/
34. Carolyn http://stampaholix.blogspot.com/
35. Tina http://littlewhitehousecrafts.blogspot.com
36. Hayley (craftydevils) www.mycrafthaven.blogspot.com
37. allyf - http://serendipitypapercuts.blogspot.com

FREE Make & Take tomorrow

It's not often you get something for nothing these days but you can tomorrow!

If you like the idea of making a card like the ones above then just pop in to Dip n Doodle in Largs tomorrow anytime between 11am and 6pm. Even if you just have 15 minutes to spare why not drop in and see what's on offer.

If you've never crafted before but fancy giving it a go then this is the ideal opportunity. There will be plenty of help on hand and absolutely no obligation to buy.

I will of course be trying to tempt you with some previews from the new catalogue that goes live on 1 October.

You will also have the opportunity to reserve for purchase some of my retired sets that I will be reluctantly relinquishing. Although the retired sets can't be sold until 1 October I will be giving catalogue credit on a £1 for £1 basis on each retired item reserved for purchase on Saturday.

Yes that's right! If you reserve a retired stamp set for £20 I will give you a credit of £20 to spend in the new catalogue. Order must be placed on Saturday 1 October to qualify.

I hope you can find the time to drop in and I look forward to seeing some new faces as well as my lovely regular customers.

See you soon.

x