A Few More Fast & Fun Notes

Today's cards are a variation on the ones I've been showing for the last couple of days. These have been double-matted onto a piece of torn cardstock with a length of grosgrain 1/4" Whisper White ribbon stitched across before the panel is stitched to the card base. The flat bow is made by taking a small length of ribbon, placing a glue dot at the centre & then bringing both ends into the middle. The bow is attached over the ribbon strip with a glue dot & a button attached centrally with ... another glue dot! Super-easy but looks great I think. The rhinestone brads would look good atop a flat bow too methinks!
The hedgehog card is pretty quick & easy (or fast & fun! LOL) too. The image is coloured with markers direct on to the stamp & matted right of centre before stitching to a torn cardstock base. The base strip is then stitched in place (I use a li'l bit of tape behind it ... just in the middle to hold it still) & the buttons stuck on with glue dots (or you could stitch them on if you like).
Last but not least, these two cards are again coloured directly onto the stamp, matted & affixed centre top of the card base. I made a faux bow by tying a loose knot in a short length of ribbon & then threading a longer piece through the back of the knot before pulling it tighter to secure. the whole piece can then be attached to your card with double sided tape & trimmed at the ends. 'Tis Done!!
Don't forget to follow Mad Mumma's blog to get the latest updates as soon as they are posted & to be in with a chance of winning a li'l selection of cards handmade my yours truly at the end of the month (wow! this year has just flown by!!)

More Fun & Fast Notes

Here's another bunch of cards, again using the Fun & Fast Notes stamp set & Spot On jumbo roller. I tried using the roller with the standard ink pads as I only had access to the real red cartridge ... it wasn't too bad although a li'l more time consuming than the cartridge was ... ho hum! I'm gonna need to buy all the cartridges now too! LOL. Anyway, I mostly used the Green Galore ink pad for these cards, although I did have a li'l play with the Pixie Pink too .... luuuurve pink! The image on the get well card was coloured directly on to the stamp using SU! markers ... I like the soft, hand drawn effect you get from that.

The next picture is the same card, just in different colours ... wanted to have a play & see howm much using a different combi would change the 'feel' of the card.

Same thing here ... same card design, same image but different colours. So it really is easy to make a whole bunch of cards that are the same ... but different.
If you'd like to buy any Stampin' Up products that I've used, e-mail Mad Mumma & she'll be happy to help, alternatively, why not join the Thursday Top Ten club to build your supplies monthly & grab a few freebies!

All Spruced Up!

It's v. busy here at casa Todd with Christmas preparations underway. Here are the batch made tags & cards that I created on my last playdate with Mad Mumma ... love that she lets me play with her SU! kit - LOL. These were sooooo quick to make ... especially when done conveyor belt style. The cards & tags are from my stash & all the finished goodies are going to be packed up for DS4's school Christmas Fayre on December 5th (I'm helping out all day)
So to make them en masse, start by stamping, colouring & matting the images then set them aside. Prep the card blanks & tags (or cut & fold your own) by rolling the Spot On roller stamp along the right edge (you'll want scrap paper/craft mat etc to protect your work surface & keep it clean). For the cards all you need to do is attach the matted image left of centre & you're done. For the tags, attach the images centrally toward the top & add ribbon/button detail toward the bottom. Et voila!
I probably need to make a few more batches ... particularly of the tags ... wonder how many I can do in a week!

Fast & Fun Notes

I made this li'l Christmas set with goodies from Mad Mumma's SU! starter kit for a workshop next Friday. Really quick & easy to put together! The tag is a manilla luggage label ... I have a ton of these! LOL. The design isn't really mine I guess as it is very similar to one of the ideas on the leaflet that comes with the kit.
I entered a bit of a stampin' frenzy really & made, over the course of a couple of evenings, a total of 24 cards & 6 gift tags (I might even show them to you over the next few days!) ... all from the same stamp set (Fast & Fun Notes) using the Spot On jumbo roller stamp. I tell you, I'm loving the roller stamp ... makes backgrounds & borders fun & super-quick!
Everything you need to make this is in the starter kit ... save from markers (I already have some) & I had to add buttons & ribbon from my own stash ... I don't have SU! ones yet ... but it won't be long! lol. Have you joined the ribbon round up yet? I'm just waiting for it to fill up so I can have all the colours in one go!!
So I guess you'll want the details!
SU! supplies: Spot On jumbo roller stamp & Real Red ink cartridge; Fast & Fun Notes stamp set; Green Galore ink pad; Gable Green & Real Red A4 cardstock; SU! markers
Other: American Crafts red grosgrain ribbon, red button, manilla tag

Follow Me & Everything Is Alright

Those of you who know me will also know that I'm a bit of a monkey for giveaways, RAKs, draws & competitions ... & my behaviour will be no different here! LOL.
So to get mum's new blog off to a great start, I'd love to see lots of new people following her blog. All you have to do is click on the 'follow this blog' link up in the top right corner - if you don't have a blogger/gmail account I think you'll be prompted to start one (it's free ... go on, do it! LOL) & sign up ... then every time either of us update the blog, it'll be there right on your dashboard.
Every month, we'll do a prize drawing from all the followers that are signed up here & send them a li'l RAK ... & for this month, I thought you might like a li'l bunch of handmade cards & matching envelopes. These are soooo tiny - just 3" square. The two shown are both thank you cards but I'll put together a selection of 10 assorted - hows that? (the ribbons/sentiment stamps aren't by SU! & everything else is now retired I think)
Mum put this blog live today ... I wonder how many followers we can get by the end of the month ... please don't make me RAK cards to myself! LOL
Oh! & if you'd like another chance to win a li'l RAK ... Check out my blog on this post (I'd like more followers too! LOL)

Ribbon Round Up

If you are like me, you'll love the Stampin' Up! 1/4" gosgrain ribbon (pg. 80 in the current catalogue) but maybe unlike me, you can't imagine using an entire spool of every colour. Join the Ribbon Round Up & get just two metres of every colour (including new Chocolate Chip - 11 colours/22metres) for £7.90 (the price of 2 spools) post free.
I can only offer this deal if 5 people sign up but I will offer it as many times as I have sufficient people to run it. And if you'd prefer 4 metres (or 6 or whatever), you can take more slots at £7.90 to get the amount you'd like.
Of course, I can also supply you with full spools at £3.95 each if there are colours (or the full set) that you'd like in larger quantities (13.7m per spool). I think the white is particularly useful as you can dye it with the ink refills to get any colour you desire!
To sign up for the list, e-mail me & I'll be in touch when we are ready to go!

Join The Club!

There are an awful lot of stampin fans out there that for whatever reason can't/don't want to host a workshop - and would love to get some of the fabulous freebies that are only available to hostesses. Well the good news is that this li'l deal is just right for you. The Thursday Top Ten is open to anyone in the UK that would like hostess benefits without hosting a workshop. Sound interesting? Read on:

The Thursday Top Ten will run for a 10 month period & you will need to commit to the whole 10 months to take part. As a member, you will receive a free idea book & catalogue (retail value £4.95) at the start & a project kit every month. If you are local, you'll be able to work on the project kit in a free workshop ... long distance members & anyone else who can't make it to the workshops will get theirs by post. In one of the 10 months, you will receive the hostess benefits: a free, level 1 stamp set & £15 to spend on anything in the current catalogue. Still interested? Let's get to the nitty gritty then:
Your commitment is to spend a minimum £15 each month for the 10 months - that is all. If you think you want to spend £30 every month, you can take 2 slots and get the hostess benefits twice over the 10 months - what you can't do is switch part way through.
If you choose to spend more on one month, that's OK but you can't hold it over for your next month's commitment - and of course, you can take part in any other customer offers that are running (things like the 20% off rub ons running in November 08) if you qualify for them.

Your orders will need to be with me the day before each 'meeting' - please don't make me chase you for them *smiles* & I will e-mail the ten members prior to the start & let you all know which month you will be our 'hostess'.

This club will only run when all 10 slots are taken & we hope to get the first workshop running on January 8th at 10am. After that, they will be the first Thursday of the month. When the first club is full, I'll open a second one if sufficient people are interested.

So if this is something you'd like to do, e-mail me & I'll get you on the list.

Last Chance to Rub On Some Happiness

Stampin' Up! have a tremendous 20% off all rub ons & 12x12 textured cardstock packs when you spend just £20 on other products from the current catalogue right now! You'll have to hurry on this one as the offer closes at the end of the month!
Here's the deets:

Spend £20 on regular catalogue merchandise and qualify to purchase all Rub-Ons and textured card stock at 20 percent off:

Item #	Page #	Description	Regular Price	Discount Price
113659	77	Hidden Garden Blossoms Rub-Ons	£7.50	£6.00
113660	77	Cherished Memories Rub-Ons	£7.50	£6.00
113634	68	Bold Brights 12” x 12” textured card stock	£9.25	£7.40
113635	68	Earth Elements 12” x 12” textured card stock	£9.25	£7.40
113636	69	Rich Regals 12” x 12” textured card stock	£9.25	£7.40
113637	69	Soft Subtles 12” x 12” textured card stock	£9.25	£7.40
113638	67	Neutrals 12” x 12” textured card stock	£9.25	£7.40

Why not combine your personal order with a home workshop/catalogue or virtual workshop & pick up extra goodies from the current hostess offer too! E-mail me for details!!

'Tis The Season To Host

Host a qualifying workshop before December 31 & as well as the usual hostess benefits (free goodies & free money to spend in the catalogue) you can choose 1 of 6 free stamp sets worth up to £24.95. If you are local (Bexley/Dartford & surrounding areas) I can come & do a workshop for you in your own home but if you are further afield you needn't miss out - host a catalogue or virtual gathering & still get the same benefits on a qualifying order! E-mail me for more details
The sets available are:
109467 Pg 17 Wondrous Gift (£19.95)
107930 Pg 20 Snow Flurries (£9.95)
110528 Pg 56 Friendly (£14.95)
110536 Pg 60 Seasonal Wishes (£15.95)
109324 Pg 91 Dotted Autumn (12.95)
105979 Pg 91 Cold Play (£24.95)

Make your Christmas Season Merry & Bright! Contact me today to schedule your workshop!

An Awfully Big Adventure

Look what that lovely man from DHL brought for me yesterday! A whole box full of Stampin' Up goodies to play with.
I hadn't really thought about joining the Stampin' Up family but my daughter, Beverley, is a big fan & can't do it herself (she has an online store ATM) so she begged & pleaded until I gave in. You know how daughters can be - & how us mums do what we can to keep our kids happy. So here I am, on my very first blog, a new independent demonstrator for Stampin' Up.
Beverley will also be visiting this blog rather regularly - she'll post her projects here when we play - & she helped me set up the blog too - I'm a bit computer challenged, you see.
So we hope you'll pop in regularly & leave us a comment, just so we know you are all out there. First sign of madness you know, talking to yourself!