Stampin' Up! training with Julie's Jems - Fabric Christmas tree

Yesterday it was my SU mummy's all-day training session, so I spent a fantastic few hours getting my craft on with some great friends.

Julie had asked me to do a section using the new Stampin' Up! fabric so I got to share my love of sewing and show some projects that I have been making recently.

The one that got the most "oooohs" and "ahhhs" was this fabric Christmas tree made using a Japanese folded patchwork technique.



I was shown how to make this by some of my good friends at the WI, and I knew the Deck The Halls fabric would be just perfect.



It's nowhere near as complex to make as it looks - it boils down to ten fabric triangles folded like origami then stitched together.



Finish with some buttons, a pot and a loop of ribbon and it's ready to hang on the wall!



By popular demand, I will be putting together a tutorial on how to make this in the next few days, so watch this space!

Finally, here is the yummy cupcake I had after our lunch!

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100 quilted hexagons

I have now made 100 of the quilted hexagons Japanese folded patchwork style.



It doesn't look that many, but they are piled up a bit as I just threw them out of the bag!

The latest calculation suggests I will need 250 to 300 altogether, so about a third of the way through now! I've not properly figured out how wide and long it needs to be, so the total may keep changing!

Here are some of my favourites so far ...



These use some of the new Stampin' Up! fabric.



Some bright colours.



I particularly like this birdie.



And some with flowers.

I think it's time to start sewing them together. I might have the quilt finished by next Christmas!

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Cuptown Girl

That was the name of our October workshop at Buns & Roses WI as we were painting teacups and saucers!

We had the lovely Suzanne from Potterdoodle come along to show us how it's done, and she had all sorts of goodies for us to play with.

I stuck with the simple paints and paintbrush, as my artistic talents are non-existant, but there were also stamps and stencils to inspire.

Here's my cup ...



I went with patchwork hexagons on the saucer.

The colours look rather pale, but once it is glazed and fired they will be all bright and shiny.

I'll have a photo of the finished thing next week when we get them back.

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Cake please!

Nom nom nom. Cake is gooood. Although being a member of the WI hasn't improved my baking skills, I do get more chances to practice my eating skills!

On Saturday, Buns & Roses WI were at the Morley Literature Festival. We were asked to provide cakes and serve tea and bring some of our wares to sell.

Being the master baker, Hayley was charged with creating 70 cupcakes, but she had to use my kitchen as hers is non-existant at the moment!

I also helped by choosing the sprinkles. And licking the bowls.

There were four creations - a chocolate brownie and vanilla cakes with different icings - chocolate, orange and vanilla.

I did the dipping into sprinkles as well. Then I ate the leftovers.

Actually, I did my fair share overall! I made the labels too.









I knew this stamp set would be perfect for something, which is why I've kept it despite the fact it retired at the beginning of this month. It is called On A Pedestal.

I'm still mostly busy with fabric at the moment, but I also have a cold so feeling a bit sorry for myself.

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Changes to Stampin' Up! hostess benefits

With the launch of the 2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue, there have been some changes to the benefits that workshop hostesses can earn.

Now, depending on the total value of the products ordered at your workshop, you will earn a certain amount of hostess pounds to spend.



These can be spent anywhere in the catalogue, including the new hostess-only section.

This area has many new stamp sets and a pack of DSP that can only be bought by hostesses. Best of all, they are available at below retail value. So you get more for your money!

Take a look at the 2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue for full details, then get in touch to book your workshop.

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Become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in October and get FREE goodies

Becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is a great way to explore your creativity, make new friends and earn some extra cash.

If you join my team, Gem's Gems, in October, SU will give you a FREE In Colour kit on top of the amazing value of the Starter Kit.

When you sign up this month, you will not only get more than £250 worth of products for just £119, you also get the card stock and classic ink pads in the 2011-2013 In Colours.

This means five extra ink pads and a pack of assorted A4 card in the beautiful new colours - Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder and Island Indigo.

It's worth £27.95, so sign up now to take advantage!

If you want to find out more about being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator just get in touch, or go here:
In Colour promotion.

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New Stampin' Up! catalogue out now

Hurrah! It's October 1st and that means the brand new Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue is released.



There are so many exciting new products that it's difficult to know where to start. You can see everything in its full glory on the website Stampin' Up catalogue.

You already know that one of my favourite new things is the beautiful fabric, so you can expect many more projects using that, but first, a card.



This is the gorgeous Everything Eleanor stamp set which is so versatile with lots of different elements. Definitely a must-have.



The flower is cut out, which is not too fiddly, and decorated with pearls. I also used the new Crumb Cake Taffeta Ribbon, another of my favourite new items.

Once you have decided what to order first, give me a shout and I'll get your new Stampin' Up! products to you ASAP.

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Retiring Stampin' Up! products - Get them before they're gone!

The new Stampin' Up! catalogue is just around the corner, and that means we know that certain products from the current one will be retiring.

Click to see the retiring products list and then call or email me to place your order.

There are some fab discounts to be had too!

Items will be available until September 30th, or sooner if they sell out, so don't delay!

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More fun with fabric

On Monday I spent a few hours with my SU mummy Julie playing with fabric and making some projects for her all-day training event in a couple of weeks.

I'll hold off showing you most of the things I made so as not to spoil the suprise for my fellow demos attending, but here are two mini cushions I rustled up.



This is SU faric but unfortunately not a pattern available over here (its good to have friends overseas!).

The hexagon flowers are so pretty and easy to make. I used a technique called English paper piecing. Basically, you cut out small hexagons of paper (takeaway menus are the ideal weight!) and then tack a slightly larger hexagon fabric over them. Then stitch all the hexagons together into a flower (or any shape you want) and remove the tacking stitches and take the paper out. Not as fiddly as it sounds, but it's hard to describe!

I machine stitched them on to the plain fabric I had (don't ask me what it is or where it came from!) then made that into the front of the cushion covers, with an envelope-style back.



And here they are in situ on my blanket box. I even made proper tiny cushion fillers by chopping up a big cushion pad.

On to the next project ...

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Potty for patchwork and an SU peek

Wow, I really am getting rubbish at blogging regularly! It's the end of September, only 90 days until Christmas and there just aren't enough hours in the day!

As usual, I have been working on several things at once, and card making is still playing second fiddle to sewing at the moment. I have bought so many pretty fabrics recently and my head is swimming with ideas!

But, I have made a couple of things that combine my love for sewing and Stampin' Up! What could such projects entail? Well, here you go ...



Stampin' Up! fabric! Oh yes! I am in heaven! There are five ranges in total, each containing three different patterns. Not long now until the new catty is launched and you will get to see them all, but being a demo I already got my little paws on some samples! Muhahaha.



I have been giving patchwork a go, so I made this star and stitched it on to a cushion cover. There is a name for the style of star, but I'm not yet up to speed with all the lingo!



And I couldn't not do a bag for life while I was at it. These were leftovers so I just created a geometric tower.

I have many more projects planned with the different Stampin' Up! fabrics, so keep an eye on my blog over the next few weeks! Best get on with some stitching!

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A very special day

Yesterday my dad got married at Runcorn Town Hall.

I managed to make them a card before I came back down, using some of the retiring DSP - Play Date, punches and my Big Shot.



I love the Cherry Cobbler red so that was my card blank and the big hearts, with the little ones also in the heart printed paper. I ran the Very Vanilla matting through the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and finished off with some Pearls on the little hearts.



We had a wonderful day. Jacki looked beautiful and they were so happy.

I had to do two readings at the ceremony, which I think went well (the registrar offered me a job so I could have a new career in public speaking!).


We had drinks at the pub then went for a curry. Then more drinks. I bought us some nice bubbly (Moet 1998 I think it was!) and there were plenty of stories and sillyness.





This is the beautiful rose bracelet the florist made for me.



And here's dad and Jacki cutting the cake.

Now the fun is over and I'm heading back to Leeds for a week of WI and work.

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Japanese folded fabric patchwork

One of the things keeping me quiet recently is Japanese folded fabric patchwork.

I learnt about this at the Knitting and Stitching Show last year, and I'll be learning more at a WI workshop later this year.

One technique uses two different sizes of hexagon fabrics, stitched together on top of each other at an angle with wadding in the middle.

I find them quick and easy to do and the best bit is the quilting is done with each piece as you go along.



I've done about 60 so far in all sorts of different materials (I had to do a lot of stash shopping- oh no!).



The plan is to make them into a quilt, for which I will need several hundred!

Each one takes about 30 minutes, so a few more hours yet ...

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