The end of an era

I have decided to start a new blog called Emerald Kreations . The reason for this is that my team has grown steadily over the last couple of years and we have decided to call ourselves Emerald Gems  - because it is in keeping with the beautiful country that we live in, Northern Ireland ( the Emerald Isle). So I have decide to move with the times and start a new blog called Emerald Kreations. If you look back over the posts so far you will jotice that I am blogging more regularly and the reason for this is that I now am the proud owner of an IPad ! It's fantastic - I can take photos and load them onto a blog in minutes , no more of the taking a photo with a camera, finding a lead to connect the camera to the laptop etcetera ! I hope you will enjoy my new blog and will follow my Kreations .

Gina x

Male 50th Birthday card

I had to make a 50th birthday card for a friend recently.The greeting is on the tag which is in the pocket on the front of the card. I used the new Traveller stamp set as the guy who received this card loves photography.I went for soft suede as my colour scheme this time - just for a change !

Gift Bag

I made this cute little gift bag for a draw prize at one of my Stampin Up events recently. The lady who won the prize really didn't mind what was in the bag as she thought the bag was so pretty!

I love these Chevron Tag A Bag Gift bags! I decorated it with a Doiley, a little bit of Burlap, some Gold Sequins, Designer Series Paper and a Petite Petal. A cute little clothes pin finishes it off .

Mojo Monday Baby Card

I needed something to help me with my mojo this week! I usually design my cards around my classes or for someone in particular, so now that I am on summer break I want to make cards for my pleasure again. Trouble was getting my creativity flowing again !! So I thought I would go to one of my favourite sketches- Mojo Monday,  for help. This is what I came up with.

 The stamp set that I used is called Baby, We've grown and the designer paper is from the new 2014 annual catalogue called Lullaby. I used Crisp Cantaloupe as my base card .I am so looking forward to receiving my order containing my goodies from the new catalogue!

A Special Birthday Card !

I was asked to make a special card for a lady's 65th birthday, but not to mention 65 ! These is my favourite colour combo at the moment - Crumb Cake, Strawberry Slush, Soft Sky and Very Vanilla .I used the beautiful En Francais background stamp which I am really sorry to see retire .

Baby cards

Its been ages - sorry !! I have had computer problems and life has been way too busy . Its not that I haven't been crafting , I have! My son has gone to university and he is the one I turn to when I need help with the computer side of crafting .I'm not sure if I will be able to repeat this when he isn't here but I will try! It has taken me a wee while to get used to this new computer and I am not very patient with technology so I would rather not put myself through any undue stress.
I had a class last week and we played with the new "Label card framelits dies". They are gorgeous ! You can get 2 cards in an A4 sheet of card , so very economical .There are 9 dies in each packet with various shapes to use .
I will show you more examples another time (maybe next Sunday if Ben is at home ) :)

Christmas Banner All Day Event

Yesterday I hosted an all day Christmas Banner event . We used the Banner Simply Created Kit from the seasonal mini catalogue . The ladies all received a "goodie bag " which contained everything that they would need to create a Christmas banner plus a bonus project . I also made them a treat box containing some chocolates using the Card base pop'n cuts die .

 

 

The ladies had a choice of colour scheme for their banners . They could choose red / green or pool      party / silver . We stamped each pennant all over with Festive Flurry stamp in Baked Brown Sugar    and added little jewels to the centres of the snow flakes to give a little bling . I had pre cut the doilies for the centres of the pennants again in baked brown Sugar card and then the ladies could choose         from their dsp paper which design they would make their rosettes with .  The letters were pre cut in silver glitter  paper . 

 

 

We tied a piece of Cherry Cobbler grosgrain ribbon in between each pennant to space them out . The ladies all worked hard and after lunch we made some quick Christmas cards using the Season of Style Designer Journaling tags .

 

 

This is a close up of one of the  pennants .

                                                                               

Gold Mosaic Madness

This is the alternative colour that we made in class on Monday . The colours are Baked Brown Sugar , Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla .

 

The easel card is lying down compared to the silver mosaic card in my previous post which was sitting on its side . I just love the ruffle ribbon as it creates a beautiful edging .                            

Winter Frost christmas card

This is one of the cards that we made at my Christmas extravaganza day . We used a pattern page from the Winter Frost DSP stack and we did a little folding . The sentiment and the little snow flakes are from the Warmth and Wonder hostess stamp set .The colours that I used were Smoky Slate , Pool Party and Whisper White .

Mosaic Madness

I thought I would share with you what I have prepared for Monday's classes . I love this bundle as it is so versatile , not only can it make beautiful Christmas cards but it can be used for general occasion also . I will be giving the ladies 2 colour choices - Smoky Slate /Bermuda Bay or Cherry Cobbler/Baked Brown Sugar . Either colour combination looks beautiful . We are also making the beautiful little Christmas ornament which we will be doing at the Make and Takes classes in the kings hall in Belfast. I thought I would let the ladies that come to my classes have the opportunity to make them now .Again these ornaments are being offered in either Smoky Slate / Whisper White or Baked Brown Sugar and Very Vanilla . If you are unable to come to my classes but you would love to make these beautiful little Christmas ornaments then please do make sure that you book a slot for our workshop with the show organizers on the day that you are attending the show .(there will be more colour combinations on offer at the Creative Stitch and Craft show in Belfast ). 

As usual if any of the ladies who attend my classes would like to purchase this bundle , then there will be a further 10% discount on the bundle .(Stampin up offer a 15% discount if you buy the stamp set and co-ordinating punch together and if you buy it at my class you will get a further 10% discount )

Clearance Rack

If you like Stampin up products and you like a bargain -Stampin up have now provided an easy way for you to shop at home ! Click on the link below and it will take through to my Stampin up web site where you can browse through the various pages of products on offer . These pages are updated daily so it is worth keeping a wee eye on what is available . The most important thing to remember is that the clearance rack is only available on line .

http://www2.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryid=2698&dbwsdemoid=5000583

Papillion potpourri

 

I made this little card for the ladies in my virtual hostess club this month . The colours of each butterfly are the New In Colours . I love the Coastal Cabana card which I used for the base card. It was a coincidence that stampin up have an offer on this bundle until the end of the month .

Gingham Garden handbags

When I first saw the Gingham Garden designer paper I wanted to make handbags using it as it is quite "Cath Kidson y". I had bought a tutorial from Becky Roberts a couple of years ago and it was perfect for these papers . The ladies all made a handbag with their paper of choice and then we made 4 cards using the gorgeous Kind and Cozy stamp set . Isn't this range just beautiful ?

 

 We even got to use the new Washi tape which is just lovely to use !

August Stampin Up Offer.

 

This is Stampin Up's amazing offer this month. If you want to purchase any beautiful designer papers then contact me.

 

 

Offer Dates: 1-31 August, 2013

Offer Details: Buy three packs of select Designer Series Paper and get one for free!

The Fine Print:

 

These items don’t qualify for the offer: 

 

• Designer Series Paper Stacks
• Specialty Designer Series Paper
• Designer Series Paper from the holiday catalogue
• Designer Series Paper ordered through hostess benefits
• Check out our Designer Series Papers in the annual catalogue pages 151, 153, and 154.

Creative Afternoon event

I have had a very busy week so I apologize for not posting these photographs of last Saturday's event sooner, which I co-hosted with Norma Thompson . We had almost 30 ladies joined us that day ,the projects were based using The Embellishments Artisan Kit which they received in their goodie bag . Unfortunately this gorgeous little kit is retiring on the 30th June in the summer mini catalogue .

 The display table !                                     

 

 

 

These are 3 of the projects that the ladies made in the afternoon , a cute little mini album , a card using some of the embellishments and a little handbag . We also made a Pool Party fancy fold but unfortunately I can't put my hands on it at the moment !

 

 

 

 These are some close up photos of the cards that I made for the display table .

 

 

 

 

 

 I had inspiration from Kerry Timms  for these fancy folds . You will definitely see more of these folds as they are so different !                              

 

 

 

 I just loved making these projects , the ribbons are gorgeous and I was amazed at how far I was able to make this kit stretch .

 

  

Best of flowers !

This is the stamp set which Stampin Up have released this month to celebrate their 25th anniversary . I was privileged to be sent this set to make a couple of projects before Regional Training in Telford .The images are so cute .

 

 

This is a little seed packet using the hydrangea image .

 

 

 

I used the sunflower image for this card . This technique is called Reverse Spotlighting .The mini scallop punch fits perfectly around this image !

 

If you are interested in purchasing this set please contact me !

Virtual Hostess Club

I am really excited to be hosting my first Virtual Hostess Club ! If you are interested please continue to read , I hope that I have answered all your questions !

What is a Virtual Hostess Club ?

This is a club where each person agrees to join the club for 6 months and spends a minimum of £25 each month . The monthly order will be a minimum of £150 so therefore qualifies for a hostess benefit of £25 per month .

How does it work ?

Each person who has joined the club will take it in turn to be the virtual hostess and when it's your turn, you will receive the minimum of £25 free hostess pounds to spend as you like . The greater the sales the more you will receive in hostess benefits ! I will allocate each member a month to be the hostess before it starts .


When do I place my order ?

I will place the order on the 24th of each month . It usually takes 5 working days for me to receive it and I will post it out to you as soon as I have received and sorted the order .

Do I pay postage ?

I will cover the initial postal payment from Stampin Up to me but I will charge the cost of the postage from me to you . Your order will be sent first class with Royal Mail .If you live locally Then you are free to collect from me .

How do I place orders ?

You can either ring me with your order or email me (Preferred method ) your order by the 23rd of each month .

How do I pay ?

I will require payment when you place your order, either by cheque or paypal (I will give details of this to those who sign up). Or if you wish you can give me your credit card details to store on file and use each month . All payments are processed securely and I will include a receipt with your order .

I need 6 people to join this club ,and it will run for 6 months.You will receive all current catalogues and any special offers that Stampin Up has on during your time in the club . In addition you will receive a little project that I have designed as if you had been at a workshop !

Stampin Up Team meeting

 

Yesterday I had my first Team meeting at my house . We have a team of 8 ladies now (Angie was unable to make it and Alice was a little late for this photograph but I have included her in another photograph ) and yesterday gave us the opportunity to discuss the way we would like to move forward . It was fun and informative and we all went away having learnt something new !

 

 This is Patricia eating one of Alice's delicious fruit kebabs that Alice very kindly brought with her .

Thankyou ladies for coming I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did !

Northern Ireland stampin up demonstrator brooch

 

I made this little brooch for the team of demonstrators who travelled to the Regional Training event in Telford .I reckon Stampin Up designed this little stamp especially for us ! I used Wild Wasabi as it is a lovely soft shade of green . Of course I had to add a little sparkle !!!

 

And here is the motley crew !!

Everything Eleanor card class

We made this selection at my card class last month . We used the Everything Eleanor stamp set (which I love ) and made this bookmark and cover , card and a pouch for those special little gifts !I love this colour scheme - Rose Red , Pool Party and Naturals white card .