My many many passions

CONVENTION 2009

2009-11-09T09:51:00.014Z

Hello and I am sorry. Technology cannot be trusted and the last two posts were not supossed to be there for the whole weekend. But that's where they ended up( I will explain later) and I want to thank you for your funny comments. I want to also warn you that this post will be very long and very photo heavy, make yourself comfy and ask a loved one to make you a nice cuppa. You will thank me as you read on but make sure you won't be spilling it over the screen when you come to read a particular piece about my unbelievable experience at Convention.
I have returned form our very first European StampinUp! Convention in Frankfurt and WOW!! What a weekend! I cried and laughed and hugged and cheered and talked until I lost my voice and I loved meeting so many happy and wonderful people that share their excitement about this wonderful company. I met german demos and french demos and they were all wonderful, we were made very welcome by our german hosts, I met the Monacco trip achievers and I am wishing my life away untill June when we can meet again. The highlight however was the Awards night. It was truly amazing and I was honoured and humbled to have been awarded **Demonstartor of the Year* for the whole of the UK.

This is of course a wonderful achievement and it was the result of a lot of hard work over this last year but I loved every minute of it so thank YOU my loyal customers and my wonderful team members for choosing me as your demonstrator and your team leader, I will work double hard this next year to continue to inspire, lead you and serve you . As nice as taking the top spot was I have to tell you that I was even more excited to cheer my wonderful team, there were 6 of us making top 25!!!!
We had Linda Lloyd ranking at number 9, Rebecca Prideaux number 16, Sally Hodder was number 18 and the lovely Tricia Ablett number 20. Just amazing I was beaming with pride that night I can tell you. And what could have topped me getting first place? One of my Passionettes coming second!! and lo and behold my wonderful Yorkshire lass Jules did just that, you should have hear the cheers in the room she is so loved by everyone, a real sweetheart. The next photo of us together on stage shows just how happy I was for her ( thank you JO for your wonderful pictures), click on the pictures to see them bigger.

Here are the top 3 recruiters, Jules came first ( she had such a great year and she worked really hard, I love this girl to bits), I came second and Amanda Fowler took third place( Amanda looked beautiful in her lovely dress and she had this amazing pair of red sparkly shoes, gorgeous!!). All Julie could say on the stage was I can't believe it!!! and then later on I feel like Miss World!! LOL well she definitely looked gorgeous and her beautiful smile showed how happy and excited she was, and I was grateful she was there with me. The top 3 sales spots were taken as follow

The wonderful and ever so talented Jenni Moors came first, I came second and my Julie came third( I was on cloud nine by this point).

Here s the picture of all the European top sales achievers ( the ones that attended Convention of course, I think there are a few missing)

Next we had leadership
Leadership is awarded based on promotions within your team. I ranked 1st, Caroline Counsell came second and Amanda Fowler came 3rd. I was doing a few bearthing excersises at this point hence the wierd photo LOL>

It did all get a bit too much at one point, and yes my mascara ended up all over.

And then they announced their top 3 Demonstrators of the Year.

And here we are the 3 of us. Myself first, Julie second and Amanda third, along with the most wonderful woman that created the opportunity for us to be part of this amazing company, Shelli Gardner co-founder and CEO of Stampin'Up! She is so elegant and the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Her smile touches your heart. We shared a few quick and funny stories as I was running towards the stage each time my name was shouted, not because I couldn't wait to get there but because that was the only way for me to make it safe and in one piece. I was wearing a pair of very high heels and the floor was extremely slippery. She said that I was cute and that I would end up exhausted by the end of the night. Sterling (Shelli's husband) also made a sweet comment and he said that I should stop up there with him to save me doing all that running about. I know this post will bore some of you as is all be about myself and my wonderful team's achievements but please know that I didn't put it on here to boast but to share it with all of you that supported me and to show those that are thinking of becoming demonstrators that it can be done. You can achieve great things running your own business and I am living proof of it. When I joined nearly two years ago I couldn't believe that I would be able to sell £250 worth of goodies and was convinced that I would be my only customer, well I proved myself so wrong. If you are reading this and you are thinking of becoming a Stampin'Up! demonstrator send me an email at telemech01@aol.com, I would love to have a word and welcome you to the most successful team in the UK, take the plunge and become a Passionette!!! you have nothing to loose only a lot to gain, what s even more exciting the starter kit is on special offer right now( you get £240 worth of goodies for only £125 until the 13th of this month and you could recoup your investment in just a few workshops.)

Now before I leave I have a very funny story to share with you. You probably noticed my beautiful outfit (well I thought it was), here I am with the gorgeous Zoe my roomie. She had an amazing night herself, she found out she ranked at number 22 a lovely surprise, and I was so happy to be able to share it with her.

My outfit, I felt really good wearing it, it was comfortable but still I thought it looked elegant, the top was from Coast, my silk trousers were Armani (got to love designer outlets) and my beautiful shoes were from LK Benett. Well we got ready on the night, then made our way downstairs for the awards dinner. We got a table we sat down and started talking and enjoying the evening. About 10 minutes in I could feel myself getting quite hot, you need to know that survived the whole week prior to Convention on very little sleep as well as the night before I didn't get to bed till 4am, mix that with excitement and nerves and you've got it. I could feel my arm pits getting wet, my beautiful burnt orange tafetta jacket didn't stick a chance at hiding the evidence and when I asked the girls who sat opposite me they confirmed my fears, I was sporting two lovely wet patches, yukk. So I knew something had to be done and before desert was served I sneaked upstairs to sort myself out. My wonderful roomie Zoe offered to help me and I was so grateful. You need to picture myself with my arms up in the air and Zoe using the hairdryer to dry the patches, it was amazing just how quick that happened and in less than 30 seconds I was dry and with no sign that anything ever happen. However I knew I needed something more than that, if I wanted to secure a worry free night. In a desperate attempt we searched for something that I could use to absorb the extra moisture but we won't having any luck. You see we were missing some kind of sticky tape. I mentioned the word plaster and Zoe said I am a doctor's wife after all, let me see if I can find something in my bag. She disappeared back in the room only to return and say

**I couldn't find any plasters but I have found this...........holding up in the air for me to catch a good glimpse of it, was a SANITARY TOWEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I looked at it in disbelief but quickly realised that this was my only viable option at the time so we got a pair of SU snips (we had the bloomin snips but no glue can you believe it?), cut the wings off, chopped the pad in half and secured it to my pits. I am so pleased to report that they worked just fine and I felt confident the whole night hugging Shelli and the other achievers, no one suspected a thing but can you just imagine if one would have dropped off.......while I took to the stage.

Big hugs and lots of love Monica xxxx

2009-11-05T02:00:00.000Z

Testing

-- Post From My iPhone

Testing

2009-11-05T01:59:00.000Z

-- Post From My iPhone

It wouldn't let me...

2009-11-01T10:28:00.004Z

Hello I'm sorry this post is a day late but Blogger wouldn't let me blog yeasterday so you never got to see that card that I have made for you my blog readers to wish you a Happy Halloween.

I just love the colours on here, click on picture to see it enlarged. Pink Passion, Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery (I wanted Green Galore but I am out of card stock for that one) and a copious amount of Basic Black. The black circle was stamped in white craft ink with the Bella Toile Background. The cute and not scarey at all ghosts were made using the scallop border punch and the oval punch. I thought they look cute grouped together. The dripping goo was made with Crystal Effects and black glitter. the card is an easel card and was made for a challenge over at ILWS. They are so very easy to make and I am sure you all knew this by now, but you know me I like to stick with my plain cards, the most adventurous I get is a square card LOL>

So I am sorry this is late but I hope you had a fab Halloween I didn't do much because I have mountain of swaps to get ready and organized plus some special gifts for my lovely team that are travelling with me at Convention. Have a great Sunday big hugs Monica xxxx

Deck the halls......

2009-10-27T22:23:00.008Z

...... Hello I know, I know is not even November yet LOL> but it will be soon and let me tell you that after that it will soon be Christmas. That s what we have been up to over at Stamp With Us we have been getting ready to deck the halls as my latest class features a selection of tree ornaments that you can make for your tree and even add a treat inside. Click on the picture to see the detail better.

Look at those beautiful ornaments!! I choose the colour scheme to match my guest bedroom which has got a vintage feel to it and is decorated in similar colours. Sage Shadow, So Saffron Very Vannila, lots of Champagne glitter and gold embossing powder. I have used a selection of stamp sets but you could easily keep to one set for continuity, the beauty of SU sets is that they offer more than one image so you can make totally coordinating projects. I wanted to have my cake and eat it LOL. So all those gorgeous things will be used to decorate a little tree in my spare bedroom and I will make sure I fill the boxes with small treats for my guests> The hanging ornaments have been made with the Scallop Oval punch and drenched in glitter, aren't they beautiful? By changing the orientation I ended up with two different looking ornaments. Those will look fab put together to create a bigger ornament. I feel like I haven't talked to you properly for a while well with laptop being dead and with the biggest event in the Stampin'Up! world coming soon ( I am talking about Convention held in Frankfurt next week), Stamp With Us classes time has been of a premium but I have to say I love it being busy the more I have on the more I seem to acomplish so is good but kinda of hard IYKWIM> I am so excited and today I have planned my outfits for Convention. I already now what I am wearing for the Awards Night but saying that I will till take 2 outfits just in case I change my mind LOL, and planned something for the day time. This was difficult because I want to be comfy but smart at the same time, it won't matter too much though as I will be there to enjoy some time with my wonderful team, meet with old friends make new friends and just have a BLAST!! I cannot wait..

But I need to get some sleep so I will catch an early night tonight, well early by my standards LOL

Big hugs and thanks for stopping Monica xxx

ps. Tonight I did something amazing .... I GAVE BLOOD.

Treat yourself.....

2009-10-24T20:54:00.004+01:00

... to an early Christmas present and become a SU demonstrator!!! There is a fabulous SPECIAL OFFER if you sign up NOW and is 10% off your starter kit, this makes it a FABULOUS deal at only £125 not forgetting that you do get more than £240 worth of supplies. To find out what special offer I have for you if you sign up with myself and become a Passionette (our team name)during 22Oct.-13 Nov., and to find out what support, guidance and training I will be offering you please get in touch at telemech01@aol.com. It really is a fab deal what business can you start with £125 now a days?

Our Stamp With us classes are in full swing and everyone seems to be enjoying the projects lots, we had some lovely positive feedback which as always is very well received, it means we are doing something right. My second project went live yesterday and this time I designed a beautiful gift box plus a mock croc purse that is actually a gift card holder. There is still time to join us as all the projects are in a PDF format ready for you to complete as you wish, come and join us and get some fabby inspiration and make your Christmas giving look fabulous this year.

Colour combination is a very classy one. Kraft, Real Red and Basic Black. I used the Whisper White craft ink to overstamp the Kraft card and I just love that new striped ribbon. Stamp set is the beautiful Winter Post.
I feel a bit under the weather not sure whether I am coming down with something, I truly hope not as I have a ton do before the SU Convetion in Frankfurt less than 2 weeks away. Oooh this sneaked up on me and I don't feel ready at all !!
I wish you a fabulous weekend. Big hugs Monica xxx

PHEW!!!!

2009-10-20T10:17:00.008+01:00

...Finally I am up and running. OMG what a nightmare this whole situation was. I couldn't do nothing and I mean nothing AWFUL>
Anyway brand new machine and I am off again. And I know there 's never a good time for it to die but to die just as you're about to launch your two weeks of online classes is deffo the wrong time. Talk about the online classes my first project went live after much hassle.

Hung Up on the Holiday and a fabby colour combo. Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue. A set of 6 cards 2 of each design presented in this unusual box with a sliding lid. Also a cute lipstick or manicure kit package make this the perfect pre Christmas gift for every girl friend out there.

Next I am sharing some pretty thank you's I made for those that took part in my Catalogue launch.

Lots of new product here in fact is all new apart from the silver cord. Kraft card stock which I adore and my favourite stamp from the new catalogue. I am sure you will be sick of me using it, is The Fabulous Medallion background I love, love, love it!! Really do. Simply stamped it in our craft whisper white ink and is just so fab as you can see a really good white impression even though I worked with such a huge and solid stamp. It does stamp white on dark card stock. Fanciful edge provided by the new eyelet border punch and can you spot the new filigree brads? So very pretty.

Got to go now, is really good to be back and I will see you again very soon. Thank you all for your lovely comments and messagesyou rock!!!!!!!! Big hugs Monica xxx

Dead............

2009-10-17T20:04:00.003+01:00

......LAPTOP EQUALS VERY UNHAPPY BLOGGER!
Hello I know you will read this and you will feel for me especially if you've been there yourself. I am so very sorry that you visit me and there is nothing new, I do have loads of yum stuff to upload so I hope it wont be too long now.
My dear laptop is being looked at by my favorite IT geek, and I was horrified earlier when I went over to check on progress only to look at Paul pointing at no less than 5 little piles and referring to them as your laptop. WOT??????????? oh, it looked so wrong but I do hope he will manage to get me back on line by tomorrow. I am desperate as our winter edition of Stamp With US online classes kicks off tomorrow and I need my puter. Send me your positive vibes please, big hugs Monica xxx

Trick or Treat...

2009-10-12T21:51:00.004+01:00

... smell my feet!! ha ha ha Heloooooooooo

How are you? I am ok but my mojo is well and truly gone, I am afraid I have lost it for good. I do have a few things to show you, projects mainly done for my team training last Friday. We went all seasonal and made a Halloween card plus a matching treat box. Firstly the card

and this couldn't be easier to make, perfect as a workshop make and take. Is more or less a total case from this beauty here. The pumpkin is made with the aid of the oval punch, the tendrils are stamped with the Baroque Motifs stamp.

Elegant Eggplant card stock and grosgrain ribbon, Old olive and Eggplant ink, Pumpkin Pie card stock and ink for the edges.

Next a quick box I designed myself, it uses the new Word Window punch to make the clever handles.Basic black, Pumpkin Pie, Orchid Opulence and a hint of Old Olive card stock, neighbourhood wheel and a cute frightful little Casper made from oval punch and the scallop edge punch( isn't he cute?), oh and check out the new ribony lushness.

We had a fab night stamping, sharing, laughing thanks to Susan's rather spicy joke and getting to know each other better. I cannot wait till the next one and if you are thinking of coming along get 10th of November and 8th of December in your calendars. Look forward seeing you.

So I did some stamping at the weekend, I always have thank you cards to stamp so here s an attempt to get things started.

New Flight of the Butterfly stamp set, Ruby Red, Blush blossom and Chocolate Chip, new fancy eyelet border punch and some taffeta chocolate ribbon.

Hope you like and thank you for visiting me today. Hugs Monica xx

AND THE WINNERS ARE................

2009-10-08T01:08:00.003+01:00

Oh WOW!! what a response I had to my new catalogue launch. Thank you so much for shopping with me ladies I hope you will love your new goodies. I nearly messed the second draw up but luckily I spotted it in time. Ok time to watch the video now( it only took me since 22.30 pm to upload and I am falling asleep here), once again huge thanks and CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS!!! but I want you to know that you are all winners as you will get your wonderful new goodies. Hugs Monica xx

Crafting....

2009-10-06T21:55:00.005+01:00

.. at long last. Geez this business has kept me so busy since getting back that I had no time to stamp at all, till yesterday that was. I was chomping at the bit to get back into it, but having had nearly 4 weeks off showed and I was very rusty to start with. I played with a old and favourite set and after the first attempt ended up in the bin, the second one was somewhat improved.

Hydrangeas are my most favourite flowers( you know me anything to do with spheres, domes, rounds), lots of perfect tiny flowers packed tightly in a perfectly round dome, just lovely. So this set was a must have straight away and I have use it to death. Is the one I reach for any time I am not sure what I will use. Colours on this card are Elegant Eggplant, Sage Shadow and Brocade Blue. I have coloured the image with my markers ( have you placed your order for a chance to win a free set?), and the ribbon is Brocade Blue wide grosgrain.

Sentiment from Oval All set, and focal image belongs to the wonderful Bloomin With Beauty.

Made a few more but you will have to wait for them. I have another cake to share though, Again it was a Christening cake to go with those invites . You really get the complete package when you come to me LOL.

The bottom layer was rich fruit, and the top pink sponge with vanilla butter cream. A bit more traditional this one the parents wanted a keepsake so that's why they choose the crib.

Right thank you so much for visiting, see you again soon. Hugs Monica xxx

IS HERE..........................

2009-10-02T10:23:00.005+01:00

THE NEW CATALOGUE!!! Woohooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well it went live yesterday, and if you visited me you would have noticed the new cover in my side bar. Oh I am soo happy that the day has finally arrived. You can now have a look at the new catty, make you wish lists and then get in touch with me.

There is soo much I like and I want. We have the new eyelet border punch ( die), fine glitter, more punches and the WORD WINDOW punch, ribbon, glorious ribbon( check that wide stripy out, swoooon), yummy and I mean yummy buttons and tiny clippy things and filigree brads(Oh my!) not to mention white craft ink and KRAFT 12x12 card stock, I said KRAFT card stock people!! ooooh the words pee, pants and excited spring to mind and all in one sentence LOL. Then the stamps, oh the new stamps not all of my favourites made it in but enough to keep me happy for a long, long time did. Oh and did I mentioned embossing buddy? and piercing template? I could go on, but I will stop now and let you find it all for yourself. I am sure you will have a long list by the time you finished and I have something ready to tempt you to place an order straight away. I am giving you the chance to get your crafty mitts on a full set of Stampin'Up! markers.

Yes you read that right YOU have the chance to WIN this FULL CASE of gorgeous double ended markers. I am giving this away to ONE person that places a qualifying order with me between NOW and Wednesday 7th of October at 10pm, but that's not all, read on is so very exciting!!!

To be in with a chance you need to email me a order of min. £45.00( plus £3.95 postage), I will give away a case for each 11 orders, also with a big order like this come fantastic hostess rewards and I am sharing those out giving you EVEN MORE of a chance to win. For each 11 group of orders I will have the following prizes to give away.

ONE FULL CASE OF MANY MARVELLOUS MARKERS

ONE LEVEL 1 HOSTESS STAMP SET

ONE LEVEL 2 HOSTESS STAMP SET

THREE £25.00 VOUCHERS TO SPEND AS YOU WISH

So really out of the 11 people each with a £45.00 order 6 will stand a good chance of winning a fab prize, REALLY GOOD ODDS but of course you will all be winners as you will have your fantastic new products to play with. I wanted to mention that if you send me an order of £90.00 you double your odds instantly, ISN'T THIS GREAT? I will film my draw adding all the names to the bowl and drawing out the winners so that you can see that is all done fair and above board. So what are you waiting for? email me NOW at telemech01@aol.com to place your qualifying order and GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!! Hugs Monica xx

This offer is from myself and not from Stampin'Up! also the offer is not to be used in conjunction with any other special offer or stampers10/virtual hostess commitments. Thank you for understanding.xx

Oooh BLOG HOP......

2009-10-01T08:23:00.002+01:00

... with Stampin'Up! I am such a dummy got mixed up with days and forgot to update you yesterday about this cool thing. As you know the new catalogues is going live today and to mark this SU has asked 3 very well known designers to participate in a time challenge featuring some of the new fresh and exciting products. Ok those lucky ladies were

Jenny Cocks,

Lousette Ashton

Suzanne Torr

Check out what they did with the kit they've been given and my God I bow down to these talented individuals they have done fabulously well especially with the time they had, I couldn't have done it. Also make sure you leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning some fabulous blog candy StampinUp is offering. And I will see you later today with more news. hugs xx

Home sweet...

2009-09-30T01:22:00.004+01:00

Ahh is so good to be HOME!!! I love spending time away but is always so good to return to your own surroundings and sleep in your own bed (heaven). I mean talk about traumatic times LOL<>Before I lefy for my jolly I got to play with one of the new scrapping kits from the new catalogue, and oh my goody is delish. I took 20 minutes to whip those cards and little box up and 45 min to whip the cracker up LOL> In all fairness I was making it happen as I went along so I kinda had a lot of figuring out to do first.
It looks so very gorgeous and is so easy to work with. I am actually ordering another one for that last minute panic on Christmas Eve, when I realize number 24 have sent us a card this year and we didn't. All festive colours that you can't go wrong with and don't even get me started on the scrapbook pages I am going to make for my mum and my sister featuring our very own star Luca.

Now is been a while since I posted a cake and the week before I left for my holiday I had 2 Christening cakes to finish and boy was I stressing about it, it was when I managed to get that virus that affected my joints so it was a bit hairy at times but I managed to finish them in time thank goodness, and here 's one of them.

It was made for baby Faith, here's the card I made when she was born 9 weeks ago. Bottom tier was a pink madeira cake with white vanilla buttercream, and top tier a very indulging chocolate torte. I couldn't attend the event but I was told it went well and everyone enjoyed the cake. Righty then, I will be back with exciting happenings soon but till then BIG HUGS to you all, I am so glad to be back. Monica xx

ps. Only 4 places left in my new Virtual Hostess club, are you still thinking about it? xxx

Stranded in Rotterdam

2009-09-26T13:06:00.003+01:00

Yiiikes!! Our lovely 2 week break was coming to an end yesterday and what a fab time we had after the week in Cyprus meeting up with friends and family across Germany this last week. Firstly we travelled to Aachen and spent some time with my two gorgeous nieces then we headed up towards Haag in the ever so beautiful Bavaria and spent a few days with my good friend Claudia her husband and their 7 months old baby. Once again we took advantage of Clau's sister Adi and her Husband Felix hospitality in their beautiful home, visited a few lovely towns and Bavaria's biggest lake Chiemsee, indulged in a bit of shopping therapy before heading towards Wurzburg where we spent another day with Mona and her partner Douglas, again being spoilt with yummy food( Douglas is an expert cook and everything that came out of his kitchen was superb, how Mona manages to stay so thin with a cook like Douglas I'll never know. The weather was so nice I could have easily took advantage of their inviting swimming pool in the back garden. Yesterday came and we had to say goodbye to our friends and Germany and we set off to finish the 5.30 hour journey to Rotterdam where we had a lovely cabin booked on the overnight ferry to travel back home. Nearly three hours in and everything seemed fine but as we approached Düsseldorf we suddenly came to a halt. Something bad must have happened about 6km in front of us (the only bit that we understood from the MS 3 signs) and we were parked on that motorway for 3.30 hours. At this point we realized that unless a miracle happened we were never going to make the ferry in time. And we never did!!! we entering the port as the ferry was setting off we ended up being 35 min to late. Boo hooo we spent a night in a hotel nearby and here we are wasting a day doing nothing as we don't want to take any more chances and venture into Rotterdam in case anything else happens. So if you are waiting for me to get in touch with you please note that I am not home yet, and I am struggling with a painfully slow Internet connection. I am itching to get crafting so much. I did some crafting on my lap tray travelling but it was mainly assembling work for the organized swaps I am taking part for Convention next month and boy I'm I ready to go again LOL. So please keep everything crossed for me to make it home safe, hugs Monica xx

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCA..

2009-09-22T22:34:00.007+01:00

Hello how are you? my God I cannot believe that he is 2 TODAY!!! We were back from Cyprus in time to finish decorating his 2 tier birthday cake that featured all his favourite cartoon characters from the *In The Night Garden*.

It was fairly simple but her was delighted to see his beloved Igle Piggle, Upsy Daisy and the infamous Pakka Pakka as he calls Makka Pakka jumping out of the green butter cream covered layers. And of course the card had to match his passion at the minute. I really wasn't sure how I was going to swing this one but after a few head scratches my treasured SU punches provided me with the perfect solution.

A rather odd looking Makka Pakka but hey to a 2 year old he looked just fine. LOL

I used a few colours on here starting with a Night of navy card blank, Summer Sun, Old olive, Brocade Blue, I used the tree stamp from the Forest Friends set to stamp them on my sponged hills, Pocket Silhouettes to stamp the the grass, the little cupcake came from the Level 2 Cause for Celebration set. He had an amazing day with 9 of his closest friends making as much noise as possible, there was dancing and a lot of playing involved as well as eating a yummy finger buffet expertly and freshly prepared by mummy.

He was shattered by the end of it just like anyone should be after a proper party.

We had a lovely week in Cyprus, I discovered a wonderful world of yummy food especial koopes on which I blame my weight gain entirely, in spite of me trying to work them off every day. Just look at this for a laugh.
I always try and do a bit of exercise while on hols and the first thing I did was check out the activities. I was pleased to find a daily gym session at 10.30 am and a aqua aerobic session at 12.00pm. The first day I missed the 10.30 session so I was all geared up for a max 20 min session which is what I experienced nearly everywhere we've been. What a shock I had when 30 min in the session got harder and harder involving water filled water bottles to be used as weights and it went on for a bloomin hour. Geez, I did do it every day religiously but never gave the 10.30 session a go LOL.

Oh and ladies check Marcus out, I have never seen a class that full LOL.
I did tell him that this picture will end up on my blog.

another lazy day...

2009-09-19T08:41:00.000+01:00

by the pool for me. LOL

Hello how are you? sorry I am being really mean teasing you. I will stop that.

What do I have to show you today? Firstly a card I have sent to a very lovely lady who is going through a bit of a rough patch. I am sure she will be just fine but wanted to send her card to let her know that I was thinking of her.

I have used this wonderful stem from Live Your Dream stamp set, and stamped using the markers to add more than one colour to the whole image. I then stamped the heads again and cut them out and mounted them onto dimensional.

The colours used are So Saffron, Regal Rose and Old Olive, sentiment from the Sincere Salutations.

Next I have to show you the cards I made to thank everyone for ordering of the last chance list through me.

I just love this set so much, so much, I think is got to do with my insane obsession with symmetry and everything round. Circle Circus new stamp set available from 1st of October, Almost Amethyst, Elegant Eggplant and Perfect Plum card stock, Elegant Eggplant, Orchid Opulence and Perfect Plum ink pads. The sentiment from Pocket Silhouette was stamped on twill after seeing it on Emma's blog. She is one amazing stamper I just love her work. Those cards are 4x4 inches. Hope you enjoyed seeing my samples today thank you for stopping by. I am off now and will see you very soon with some more cards. Hugs Monica xx

Birthday Passionette !!!

2009-09-17T01:26:00.000+01:00

Yay!! Another girlie in my team celebrates her special day this time of the year. Today is Carole's Birthday. Happy Birthday my love. Carole is a sweetheart, we become good friends since she joined my team and I just love her calm way and also admire her card making style. I am sure you've visited her before, but if you haven't stop by her blog and admire the beautiful projects she makes. Here's the card I have made and sent her.

Queue Up new level 3 hostess set again and what a cutie this set is. I love those birdies in full song and I have imagined that they are signing happy birthday to Carole.

Carole's favorite colour is RED so I have paired it here with Chocolate Chip and Sage Shadow, an elegant combo and I hope she approves. I have also used one of the stamp sets from the Circle Circus on the lower half stamped in versamark to add some interest. Sentiment from the A Bit Of Birthday Cheer set. Have a wonderful day my love I hope the boys spoil you rotten. Big hugs Monica xxx

Birthday Passionette !!!

2009-09-15T08:10:00.000+01:00

Hello how are you? Yesterday was Jayne's birthday!!!!! Jayne is one of my much loved Passionettes and she is just lovely, we are yet to meet but I know she's lovely because we chat plenty. This is the card I made to mark her special day.

oh I just love this combo!! Jayne's favourite colour is Hot Pink so I choose Pink Passion. I paired it with Summer Sun and Chocolate Chip for a really punchy combo, it just fascinates you is so bright. And how about that stamp set? Is the new level 2 hostess set called Whimsical Wings and I lubbe it lots. I used the markers to colour the whole image, sentiment part of the set called A Bit Of birthday cheer, taffeta in chocolate chip and the scallop edge punch used to create a border. Would you like to earn this set for FREE? then why don't you join my new virtual hostess club starting 1st of October? Find more details by clicking on the link at the top of my blog.

Jayne Happy Birthday sweetie I hope you liked your card and I hope you have a fabulous day. Hugs Monica xxx

Mrs Wonka.....

2009-09-13T08:40:00.002+01:00

...is 21 today!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday sweetheart I hope you will have a wonderful day!
Hello how are you? I nearly forgot to make a card for Zoe's birthday (can you imagine what that would have meant, gosh ) so this was done the night before I left for my holiday.Az fold card done using the Whimsical Wings stamp set,Not Quite Navy, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive colour combo, sentiment from the Circle of Friendship. Zoe I hope you enjoy your day my lov ely and I hope Toni Macaroni spoils you rotten.hugs

Is Sunday and that means that is challenge time over at SWUS.
This week we are taking inspiration from this beautiful quilt set here.

Oh isn't it stunning? I love those bright colours.
And this is my interpretation.
I took the challenge a bit to literally and made a quilt effect on my card. Colours used are Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, and Old Olive. I have white embossed the card stock layers using stamps from the Fall Flair level 2 hostess. the sentiment is from the level 1 hostess set Best Yet. I love how this turned out, you know me I am all out for bright colours. I hope the weather is nice where you are cos is bloomin scorchio here in CYPRUS. Have a great Sunday chat soon. hugs Monica xxx

ps I thought you would like to see the view from our room.

Cheers to you...

2009-09-11T08:09:00.001+01:00

.... and cheers to me, cos I am nearly on my way. Is been hard going this last couple of days as I managed to get myself a virus that affected all my joints so I did feel 98 for the last few days and I didn't like it one bit, so hopefully some sun will do me good. I have a manly card to share I admit I do not like making these half as much but check this out, not to bad even if I say so myself.

>

Fairly simple layout but the combo really stands out, that's why I love SU I can get hundred of colour combos from the 4 colour families, love our colour families to the point where I am obbssesed with them, I translate every colour I see into SU colour names.( I also know that you're probably doing the same thing LOL)

Cheers to you stamp set, Short order alpha, Sage Shadow, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip card stock, twill tape and some original hodge podge hardware that is retiring soon. I coloured the beer mugs with the markers.

Next another sneak peek from the new catalogue this time is the cute bird from the Good Friend set. Now I have to admit starting to work with this set and not loving it straight away, but three cards in and I was hooked. I now LOVE IT!!!

You know who it reminds me of, the birdie on the cornflakes box LOL. Have a look next time and let me know if you think they're related. Aww how tweet is this? Ruby Red, Tempting Turquoise and More Mustard card stock and inks. You get quite a few stamps in this set, varied ones as well like flower heads and stalks etc. Like I said I do love it now. However this was my second attempt, the first ever card I made with it was not as successful shall we say LOL. I will share it anyway for you to see next time. Thank you for stopping by see you again soon. Hugs Monica xx

More sneakies

2009-09-09T19:19:00.004+01:00

Hello are you ready for some more peeks? I had a massive clear out last week and tidied my space out then on Sunday I had a marathon day stamping using my new stamps. I will show you those samples over the next 2 weeks like I said so keep popping by. Here's the first one for today.

Oh this set is fast becoming one of my favorites, I adore this bird with the filigree wings, is called Whimsical Wings and this will be a level 2 hostess set in the new catalogue. This is typically the level my clubs reach every month so if you like what you see and would like to earn this set FREE then join one of my virtual hostess clubs! we start in October and I still have 7 places left. The stamp set contains a beautiful swirl that I stamped all over my card blank and at the bottom of the whisper white layer.

Colour combo is a very pretty one, quite soft even if I have used the bold red. Sage Shadow, Real Red and So Saffron card stock, the image was coloured using the marvellous markers sentiment punched out with the large oval and scalloped oval punch, real red grosgrain ribbon.

Right got tons left to do and need to think about packing so I will see you very soon, hugs Monica xxx

Happy New Week!!!!!!!!

2009-09-07T16:24:00.005+01:00

hello how are you? I had a busy weekend and I am now happy, happy as I am officially on countdown to my holly jolly.Wow thank you so much for all your comments to my last entry I loved reading them and I can confirm that we have one firm winner. A few of you were close ish but none came quite as close as CATH.
cathcrops said...
868 circles ?Good luck with the comp.best wishes Cath x
Cath guessed that my neck piece was made from 868 circles( a wild guess I am sure Cath) but she was nearly on the money as the piece was made from 897 circles, I added an extra one as I am superstitious and believe that odd is better than even LOL. WELL DONE Cath please send me an email with your favorite colour and I will make you a smaller version. Thank you all once again for playing.
Ok I have lots to tell you, firstly the STAMP WITH US WINTER edition is open for registration NOW. It starts 18Oct. and I cannot wait. I have some fab projects already lined up. Registration is only £15.00 and you will get tons of Christmas inspired projects plus gift giving ideas and packaging. To join simply click on the buy it now button below. If you are an International no need for currency conversion Paypal will take care of it.

Also our dates for the next Stamp With us Retreat have been announced. Our first one was such a success we had to do another, and also we had quite a bit of feedback that it was too far down South for some to travel so I am hoping you will put your money where your mouth is and join us this time as we are holding one in Startford Upon Avon as well as Guildford.

Places are limited to 35max. so reserve your place ASAP. Find more details on HERE
Ok how about some cards?

First up my SWUS weekly challenge, I love those challenges and they end up being challenging all the time cos I always leave it till the last minute and then I end up with cards I am not totally happy with. But I like this one.

Not terribly involved and very easy to make but the colours are good colours together. Not Quite Navy, Really Rust and More Mustard. Loads of Love and accessories was used ( I will never tire of this set, too versatile). Gingham ribbon to act as road( quite clever I thought, even though I know is not so clever). I layered the sentiment from the Sincere Salutations set and made it look like a wheel. Used the tab ounch and both circle punches(1 1/4"and 1 3/8").

Next I have managed a scrap page!!!! I know you're shocked i was shocked myself LOL> I had a major tidy up on Saturday and found some photos of myself in an envelope so I thought, yes I know what I can do, scrap a page for the never ending book of ME that I started 5 years ago and still only has 3 pages in it. Lookie here...

I took this photo myself back in 2007. It was after I got my Big Girl camera and needless to say didn't have a clue what I was doing (I am not saying I do now but I do have a better idea then I had then). So exposure of this photo was so bad my skin resembles that of a snake, but I was soo happy at the time. I really was chuffed with it. I thought that poignant moment was worth recording. So I scraped with Blacks and Ruby Reds and Always Artichokes and Kraft and Rose Red. What? what are you saying? what stamp set is that? Oh that one... err I think this is a new stamp set that Stampin'Up! is bringing over on the 1st od October, yeah that 's the one.

What is called? oh ok is called Circle Circus and I LOVE IT!!! Bad Monica I know.

How excited do you think I am? as a demo you get a chance to preorder early new upcoming stamp sets. And I have a few of them in my greasy mitts( or inky ones), and over the next few weeks I will show you loads of samples to get you all excited for the release on October 1st. There are some fab things coming your way save those pennies, and don't forget to join a club to spread the cost you will want to when you see the new goodies, read more about it at the top of this page. Have a great week hugs Monica xx

Summer Design challenge!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-02T17:19:00.005+01:00

Yay!!! I can finally reveal my entry. It isn't a card and it isn't a scrapbook page in fact it has very little stamping on but I love how it turned out, and I am already making more. Is a fully wearable necklace made from punched out circles. I used nearly all the circles punches, starting with the 1 3/8" then moving outwards the 1 1/4", then is the 1" then the 3/4". And how I love those colours I tell you I had real trouble sending this in to SU. I have used the following colours

Basic Black, Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Orchid Opulence, Almost amethyst, tempting Turquoise, Green Galore and Certainly Celery those two colours were alternated for a brighter green but not quite as bright as green galore on is own. I have simply threaded the discs onto necklace thread and separated the different section with clear crystals from the Pretties kit. Elegant ribbon finishes it off. Here's another view complete with the display stand I made.

It really was quick and easy to make apart from maybe a little taxing on my hands, and i have completed it in 2.5 hours on a lap tray in car while travelling down to London. ***NO I WASN'T DRIVING SILLY ***

So I hope you will love this as much as I do and I have a little game for you to play. Guess how many circles I used for this entire neck piece? The FIRST person to get it right will receive a little prize from me, I might even make a smaller version of this necklace for them. Good Luck !!Hugs Monica xxx

HURRY....LAST CHANCE

2009-08-31T19:21:00.006+01:00

....Order your FAVORITES NOW before they go !!!!!!!!!!!

Hello, well IS HERE!!! Stampin'Up! have published the retirement list. Now while as a demonstrator I am sad to see some of my favorites sets retiring for good (sob, sob) I am also excited at the prospect of new stamp sets. So have a look at what's going then be quick to order your favorite because this list will only be available till the end of the September and I expect items will sell pretty quick with the fabulous deal that's on at the moment, you can get up to 50% discount on some items. That's a fabulous saving and if you have any must have sets and accessories on your wish list be quick because once they're GONE they are GONE for good. To see the retiring list click HERE then email me today at telemech01ataol.com to place your order. Every order placed with me and containing a retirement item will receive a special gift.

Big hugs Monica xx