still running...

Wow it was a busy weekend! 


I had my workshop on Friday night, and although I only had 4 people attend but it still went really well, it was such a nice relaxing evening and really got to just chill and relax with my guests. They all had a good time too! Don't forget my next workshop is on Friday 25th March so come check it out, its sure to be fun! 


Saturday was taken up with chores and getting passport photos done in order to change my name for my upcoming trip to the states for my cousin's wedding. That evening was our kids youth group and we had organised a live board game mystery (like a murder mystery but without the murder bit!) It was really good fun and the kids all seemed to have a blast! 


Sunday was spent at church with meetings pretty much all day so I still haven't had the chance to upload all the cool cards and stuff I've made over the last week or so...


I'm off to photograph them all now so I will be back really shortly with exciting things to show off! 


Hope you're all having a great Monday! 


Amanda xx

catching up

Wow! cant believe how much I have been slacking this week...its been a busy one! So here I am catching up on my week. Most of it was spent decorating candles and making cards to sell. Here are a few photos of some of the candles I decorated and packaged up. They all come packaged in their own little bag tied with ribbon, they are the perfect treat for yourself, or make an excellent gift, and the best bit is they're all ready to give away when you buy them! ...

3 Bliss Votive Candles -- £3

Stamp Set: Bliss (Sale A Bration)

Ink: Elegant Eggplant

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones

Extras: Candle, Heat Gun, Tissue Paper

Branch with Birdie -- £3

Stamp Set: Sweet Summer (Sale A Bration)

Ink:Old Olive, Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red

Extras: Candle, Heat Gun, Tissue Paper,, Blender Pen

Branch with Birdie (wrapped up and ready to sell) -- £3

Stamp Set: Sweet Summer

Ink: Basic Black, Old Olive, Real Red, Marina Mist, Pacific Point

Extras: Candle, Heat Gun, Tissue Paper, Blender Pen

A - Monogrammed - Sphere Candle -- £3 

Stamp Set: Broadsheet Alphabet

Ink: Elegant Eggplant

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones

Extras: Sphere Candle, Tissue Paper, Heat Gun

These can be made to order in the colour and monogram that you wish to have.

Sweet Summer Flowers -- £6

If you see anything that you would like to purchase or know more about, please get in touch! I'll be back a little later with more updates from my week and more photos of things I've made! I'm so excited to show you all! :D 

Hope you're all having a lovely day! 

Amanda xx

for sale

Sorry I haven't been on the blog for a few days, to be honest I've been busy making cards and candles for my husband to take into the school where he works so he can sell them. I'm really excited about this, and hope that it will be the beginning of bigger things to come! It always gives me a little thrill to know someone has bought one of my cards and that they will be giving it to someone else to wish them that special little message, whether it be for a birthday, a thank you or just a thinking of you note! I love knowing my creations are bringing a little bit of joy to another. 


I'll upload some photos of cards etc a bit later (maybe tomorrow) but for now I've gotta get going with these items for Stu. 


Don't forget, if you're free and in the Northampton area, please feel free to stop by my workshop on Friday evening. For more details, get in touch! 


Have a lovely evening,


Amanda xo

marcel...

I just had to share this with you all, I found it so funny and Marshell Marcel is so darling! :) I hope this brightens your day as it certainly brightened mine!

Amanda xo

sale-a-bration candles

Woah, its been a few days! Thursday was an eventful day! The orders from my first two workshops last week came in the morning, at the unearthly time of 9am (well its unearthly for me!). So I had a fun day sorting out all the purchases and getting to play with mine a little! I was really excited to have the Sale-A-Bration sets which were available for every £45 spent 'till the end of February so I just had to have a play! 


It was all going really well and I was enjoying my day, I was even prepared enough to remember to put dinner in the oven to cook for 2 hours at 3:30 so it was ready in time to eat before church. I popped out briefly to the shops to get some salsa for dinner and on the way home managed to trip and fall over some steps near my house. Naturally my first instinct was to protect the glass jar I was carrying and as a result landed and skidded rather awkwardly. I have since learned that steps are not a good place to land as they are pointy, hard and allow one to get battered in several places (shoulder, elbow, hip and knee) all at once! Most of me is better now, just have a very sore and painful shoulder (with limited mobility) and a aching back. I am just thankful nothing is broken!


So, as a result things have been a bit slower the last couple of days, but I have a couple things to show you today. It was a nice day so I took the photos outside on our decking so they look so much better than the last couple candles I did and photographed!

Bliss Candle

Stamp Set: Bliss (SAB)

Ink: Elegant Eggplant

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones

Extras: Candle, Tissue paper

Just a really simple elegant little candle using the Bliss sentiment stamp and two butterflies. 

If you would like further instruction on how to decorate a candle like this, I am demonstrating one similar to this at my workshops this month, Friday 11th March and Friday 27th March. For more details please contact me! 

Sweet Summer Candle

Stamp Set: Sweet Summer (SAB)

Ink: Basic Black, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, Pretty in Pink

Extras: Tissue Paper, Blender Pen

I wanted to have a little experiment with colouring in the images that I put on my candle. I wasn't sure how the blender pen would work on such a thin material as tissue paper but its worked out really beautifully and I am so please with how this candle has turned out! Definitely be making more of these now! I really like the flowers that circle around the entire candle with the cute little butterflies fluttering above, really makes me long for it to be summer now!

For more information on my workshops this month or to host your own please get in touch! 

Please feel free to leave a comment, I really love reading them and they make my day! Hope you're all having a lovely weekend! 

Amanda xoxo

today's offering

Just one quick little card for you all today. I needed to send a Wedding Acceptance card to my friend Kathryn's wedding, here's the result! 

Wedding Acceptance

Stamp Set: I{Heart} Hearts

Ink: Old Olive, Versamark

Cardstock: Kraft, Rich Razzleberry textured & smooth, Old Olive, Early Espresso

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones

Extras: Dimentionals, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Scallop Edge Punch, Brown Pen (I would have used a Early Espresso pen if I had one at the moment)

I stamped the flourish heart in a border pattern along the bottom of the card and then adhered a scallop trim of textured Rich Razzleberry and a thin strip of Old Olive to section off a portion of the card for my sentiment. When it came to stamping the top section, I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do, I wasnt sure I had the space nor wanted to mirror the hearts along the bottom of the card so opted for simply stamping the polka dot heart in rows, going off the page. I also tried along the left hand edge to stamp some upside down, and it failed miserably, enter my repair job...I stamped the solid heart in versamark on smooth Rich Razzleberry and then the flourish heart in versamark on Early Espresso, layered them over the offending area and added a rhinestone for some sparkle! I also added a thin strip of Early Espresso along the bottom of the card to cover up some white stitching I had tried and decided that it really just did not work! Finally, I rounded the top two corners to mirror the curves of the heart. 

Wow, just looked at how long my card explanation was, I was not expecting it to be that long! I just wanted to explain a little more about some of the things I tried and didn't work and how I resolved them! I usually find, unless I have a definite idea of what the card will look like, a card goes through a process of chopping and changing several times before it is finished and I am satisfied. I know some people like to draw out and pre plan their card before they even pick up a tool, but for me that method just doesn't work. I like to get stuck in, play around, experiment and test what does and doesn't work, something will emerge from the ashes! Also, a card is rarely too far gone to mend and can actually turn out even more beautiful for the accident (I was not origionally intending to add the two addtional hearts and rhinestone to the above card but it really works and has really added a little something extra to the card!). I just wanted to share with you all a little of my though process and show that even creative people struggle and make mistakes, but also share ways in which I fixed those problems! 

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings, 

Have a fabulous evening! 

Amanda xoxo

march frenzy

Now that the Sale-A-Bration promotion has ended everyone is busy preparing (and saving) for the release of the mini catalogue on April 1st. So, to help us through this little month between SAB and the mini catalogue release, Stampin' Up is having a March Frenzy! This means its time for a bargain, with select products being 20% and 30% off! Here is a list of the products on sale and the prices they are going for this month! 


These are some lush offers, so don't miss out, buy now! They are only available at this price for this month, and only while stocks last! 


Enjoy these offers and have a good day! 


Amanda xoxo