New Year's Resolutions

Like many people, last Christmas I found myself thinking about what I wanted to change during the next year and what I wanted to achieve. Like many people this is something I had done for many years and when I looked back over the lists from the previous year’s many of the things would be the same. Each year I was making resolutions and then not sticking to them.

So as I thought things through last year I decided I was going to do things differently. In my non craft life I am a life and business performance coach so I decided to apply some of the techniques I help other used with great success to myself. I combined them with my love of crafting. The results – well they have been many and positive and I have had a great time achieving them during what has been a year of massive change for me.

I am really excited about being able to share some of this with you in the form of my first on line course. There are lots of reasons that I am excited about this but mostly because of the difference it could make to you when you want to make your dreams a reality, make positive changes in your life and achieve your goals.

As many of us are thinking about the new year at the moment, this is the ideal time of year to start this course, but you could chose to start it whenever you want.

So what does this course offer you? During the course you will learn a process which will position you to succeed in reaching your goals, in creating your dreams.

For the first month you will receive weekly prompts which will help you

• clarify your dreams and exactly what it is you would like to achieve


• work out how you would like to do this and what experiences you would like along the way


• create a system which will support you in making these dreams come true. This system can be stand alone or can be adapted to work with any diary or planning system that you use (either paper based or electronic)
  

For the next year you will achieve a monthly prompt to help you along your journey. Each prompt will contain a fun project which will help you towards your goal and will help you see how far you have already come.

Additionally, you will have access to a special blog on which you will find regular motivational quotes, additional support and inspiration and on which we can share our journeys.

At the end of the year not only will you have had every chance to achieved the things you set out to achieve but you will have learnt a process for creating the reality of your dreams

This course is available to everyone and will cost you just £10.00 so if you would like to sign up to achieve your dreams just email me at

bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk If you have any questions please feel free to ask them

I look forward to sharing this exciting journey with you

Bekka

Seasons Greetings

Have a wonderful Christmas

Bekka

To make you smile

I am loving this so thought I would share ...

Holdman Dancing Christmas Lights

Enjoy!

Bekka

Missing in Action?

Hello! Have you missed me!

With just over a week to Christmas things have been somewhat hectic round here – I hope you are all getting time to enjoy the build up, everywhere I look there are lovely sparkly lights and everything is so pretty.

I have fallen somewhat behind with my Journal Your Christmas Project and hope to be back next week with rather a lot of catch up items.

I have been busy in my craft space getting ready for the Dunstable Christmas Extravaganza this Saturday (20 December). As part of the town’s Christmas preparations they are having a number of events during the day and evening all designed to be a lot of fun and to help people get ready for Christmas. I will be in Priory House (where Tourist Information is) between 10am and 4pm. If you come and see me you will have the chance to make some cards, get a few stocking fillers, win prizes and much more! If you are in the area it would be wonderful to meet you.

I am also going to be running a monthly class at Priory House starting on 31 January 2009. I will post more details soon, but in the mean time put the date in your diary!

I will be back with the journal and some pictures soon

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Crafting

Bekka

Journal your Christmas - Day 7

Hi there

Here is yesterday's postcard for my Christmas Journal. I am going to be playing catch up for a few days due to work committments but more soon ...

The journaling reads

Still to do

This year I made a Christmas Planner in good time
Unfortunately I did not make a plan until last weekend
So I still have lots to do!

Out of necessity we are having a frugal Christmas and I am gong to be making a lot of our Christmas Presents which makes the list longer but the gifts should be all the more special because of it. I have made all but about 20 of the Christmas Cards and have planed what I am going to make. I have almost finished one of the scarves I am making and am a good way through the next.

So I still need to finish the cards, the presents, the wrapping and find something special for Joe. Thats before all the last moment stuff ...

One things not to do is panic!

Thanks for looking - see you soon

Bekka

Journal Your Christmas - Day 6

Here is my journal for today - we were asked to contrast happy and not so happy memories of Christmas.

The Journalling reads

Within each Christmas are contrasting memories. No one Christmas being the best ever or the worst ever, each contains a mix oh highs and lows.

Highs like spending time with wonderful people, the small package at the bottom of the pile which held an something beautiful, a hug, the joy of giving, finding that special gift, delicious food, a touching message from someone - the things which make you feel special and wanted.

Lows like missing people who are no longer with us or just no longer part of my life, lows like being stuck in traffic rather than being where others are, or being too ill to join in with anything

Mostly though the memories make me smile.

Thanks for looking

Happy Crafting

Bekka

Journal Your Christmas - Day 5

Here is yesterdays creation for Journal Your Christmas


The journalling reads:

Counting down to Christmas used to be measured with an advent calendar, the first gift I received each year. A Christmas scene with many windows to open, each revealing a small picture, there was always a larger window for December 24th concealing a picture of a nativity scene. The numbers would all be jumbled up and part of the fun was finding that days number.


These days we don't watch Christmas get closer in quite the same way, instead some regular events letting us know its getting closer. Calls from the family wanting to know our plans, getting ready for Panto, Christmas cards arriving (with the one from the local take away always being first), a meal with family early in December, the Christmas Party at the Rep, A get together with friends to exchange presents, a Christmas Eve Curry and of course a mad panic to get everything ready!



Thanks for looking



Bekka

Journal Your Christmas Days 1 - 4

The very talented Shimelle runs a class called Journal Your Christmas which I took last year. I loved it and it helped me enjoy Christmas last year so I have decided to play along again this year.

I am not making a scrapbook page each day - with everything else I have to get done this month it just would not happen so since the only rule of the classroom is no stressing (about the class - I dont promise not to stress about other things!) I decided to simplify lots. So each day I will make a post card - a photo with some journalling on.

Here are the first four days - I hope you enjoy them :-)

Thanks for stopping by

Bekka

I have been thinking

And the good news is that it was not that painful! I am now about three months into my new life and am slowly starting to get used to a new routine – or should that be lack of routine! Things continue to be very hectic which I definitely enjoy but one thing I have tried to do regularly is to review how things are going.

There are many things I am really enjoying and that are going really well, things I am going to continue doing, there are a few things I would like to change and lots I need to refine!

One of the things I want to make some changes to is this blog. I am loving sharing my creations with you all and hearing all your comments and feedback. I have listened to the comments and feedback that I have had and also to how I have felt updating this blog in the couple of months. I decided a little while ago to create another blog Feeling Crafty. The Feeling Crafty blog will be the focus for my Stampin’ Up! Activities. On there you will find all things Stampin’ Up! – information on special offers, product and workshop information as well as tutorials and other features.

That means that this blog can focus on the more personal stuff – projects I have created for friends, life updates etc. I have missed sharing projects with non Stampin’ Up! Stash on them – yes I adore the SU products and they are the ones I use most but I am still addicted to Basic Grey, Bella’s and some other things too! I will continue to share some of my Stampin’ Up! Projects with you but you will need to check out Feeling Crafty to make sure you see them all and know about the latest special offers.

To those of you who have helped me along my journey in recent months - Thank you.

I have just posted some amazing offers for December over at Feeling Crafty so be sure you visit before too long, but I wanted to leave you all with a card I created recently

Thank you for stopping by

Bekka

Run On a Little Happiness

Today is the first day of another very special offer from Stampin’ Up! to celebrate their 20th Birthday and their first year in Europe.

If you place an order with me for £20 or more between now and the 30th November you will qualify to purchase the Rub Ons and the Textured Card stock at a massive 20% off.

The rub ons can be found on page 77 of the current idea book and catalogue and the textured card can be found on pages 67-69. Here are the details along with the amazing discounted prices.

These products are new in the UK, and now is the ideal time to try them, but what on? The rub ons are easy to apply to paper, card, ribbon and any other non porous surface so the possibilities are endless. I have made some samples to show you some ideas – decorating notebooks, candles, mirrors, tea light holders, flower vases, ribbons.

Then there are things like picture frames, Christmas baubles, bottles of toiletries, jars of homemade jam and oh so many more things that would make lovely Christmas gifts.

Oh and of course cards and scrapbook pages! Here is a card I made using them – the large flower, the greeting and the dots on the ribbon were all done with rub ons.

Now if you look closely at this card you will see I have used the textured card – it is a wonderful and quick way of adding depth to your creations and if you have not tried it before it is currently at an amazing price of £7.40 on this offer making it cheaper than the non textured card stock but hurry – this offer only lasts 20 days ...

As if this offer was not already amazing, if you place an order with me on or before Friday 14th November I will make a donation to Children In Need on your behalf and enter you into one of the BBC’s Pudsey Scratch Card Games that I am running giving you the chance to win a small handmade gift from me. You can find out more about what I am doing for Children In Need here.

So to summarise – for the next 20 days spend £20 on products, get 20% off Rub Ons and Textured Card Stock.

So what will you do with yours – I would love to hear your ideas and to see what you come up with.

Happy Crafting

Bekka

Christmas Crads

I don’t know about you but I have a lot of Christmas Cards to send and its time I got started on making them so today I am going to share some more cards with you. This first card, – well one card and three colour ways was quick to make so ideal for this busy time of year.

We will be making a card very similar to this at the Christmas Cards for Children In Need next week. There are still places available so if you would like to join us so please let me know as soon as possible. Don’t forget that there are other ways you can join in even if you can’t join us – read all about it here.

These cards were made with the Snow Burst stamp set from Stampin’ Up! and use the fact that the Stampin’ Up! Products all go together so well.

The other card I am going to share with you today uses the Season of Joy Stamp Set.

The final thing I would like to share with you today is a Christmas Decoration made from 12 scalloped squares rolled up to make the cones.

Thank you for looking – if you would like more details of any of these projects please check out my Feeling Crafty Blog

Happy Crafting

Bekka

Christmas Parties

One of the things that many people enjoy about Christmas is the chance to get together with friends. Its also a time when we have a lot to get ready so why not combine the two and get yourself some lovely free gifts?

During November and December Stampin’ Up! Have a wonderful promotion for you. If you host a qualifying workshop you will not only get the usual hostess benefits of free products and exclusive stamps (you can find out all about them on pages 7 to 14 of the catalogue – click here for an online copy) you can also select another one of six sets worth up to £24.95 for Free – Yes Free. At this workshop you and your friends will have a great time making a project or two.

Check out this leaflet!


So let’s just recap – that’s fun with your friends, getting ready for Christmas, being shown how you can make cards and gifts for Christmas, and lots of free gifts for you! What are you waiting for – book a workshop with me today.

There are other ways you can take advantage of this offer . If you place a qualifying order with me (that is an order for £150 or more before post and packing) as well as arranging for your products to be shipped straight to your door I will send you a project sheet with instructions on how to make a selection of Christmas cards and gifts. This offer makes it a great time to order the things on your wish list – or you could get together with a group of friends and share the free stamps and products between you.

If you don’t live near me and would like to find a demonstrator nearer to you let me know and I will help you locate someone.

Why not order all the products you need to get your Christmas Cards and gifts made now and benefit from this offer.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing lots more Christmas Card ideas with you so check back soon for more ideas


Happy Crafting and hostessing!


Bekka

Children In Need

Toady I am revealing one of the projects I have been working on. Children In Need has been raising money to positively change the lives of disadvantaged children for longer than I care to remember and since my student days I have tried to get involved in some way. This year I am taking it one step further and actually organising a fund raising event –Christmas Cards for Children In Need.

If you would like to know more about Children in Need check their website here

As well as raising funds for Children In Need this fun event will help you get ready for Christmas. In addition to learning how to make five different Christmas Cards and a Christmas decoration we will play some fun games together to support our fund raising activities.

Children In Need is on November 14th and that day there will be two chances to attend a Christmas Cards for Children In Need Event, one at 2.30pm and one at 7.30pm. Each event will last between two and two and a half hours and will be held at the Little Theatre in Dunstable Bedfordshire.

If you would like to attend and support this wonderful cause you will need to reserve a place in advance. The minimum donation for each session will be £10.00 and all profits will go to Children In Need. If you have any questions or would like to reserve your place contact me as soon as possible – bekka@feeling-crafty.co.uk

If you are in the UK and would like to play along but can’t make the sessions in Dunstable the good news is that you can! I am also offering you a Pudsey Party in a Box – contact me for the details.

I know a lot of crafters love the chance to give something to someone else or to a good cause so it would be great to know what you are doing for Children In Need or to raise money for a charity that is important to you.

I look forward to hearing from you

Happy Crafting and giving

Bekka

Happy Halloween

Boo!

Just a quick post today to wish you Happy Halloween.

If you would like details of how to make this project just drop me a line.

Check back tomorrow for details of a project I am very excited about – raising funds for Children In Need – that is assuming we survive the fancy dress dinner we are going to tonight.

Happy Crafting

Bekka

Remember me?

Gosh! Has it really been that long since I posted here – the time has absolutely flown by. Things have been really busy and I have been very touched by all the people who have stopped by and asked for copies of the instructions for the Christmas Planner. I hope you are all enjoying making them.

I have been busy working on a couple of projects that I can’t share yet – it’s all very exciting and I am looking forward to sharing them with you later this week. I spent Friday evening with a lovely group of girlies who were new to stamping *waves to them all * we laughed lots as we made cards and calorie free cupcakes. Don’t forget the Birthday Stamp Special offer only runs until the end of the month so if you are thinking of ordering – contact me NOW – I would hate you to miss out. Yesterday I spent the afternoon with some other Stampin’ Up! Demo’s from the Midlands. What a smashing bunch they are. We made all sorts of things. I will share some pictures of these creations soon.

The picture at the top of this post is something I have wanted to make since I saw something similar on another blog. This would make a lovely Christmas Pressie for a friend and it was fun to make. I used Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip - I love blue and brown together. I took a strip of Bashful Blue Card and stamped the flower from the Season of Joy Stamp with Versamark Ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I then rubbed Chocolate Chip ink all over the panel in small circular movements. I love the texture this gives, shiny blue flowers on a background that reminds me of suede. I then mounted this on Bashful Blue card. I also added the word friendship from the Wonderful Words Stamp Set stamped in Chocolate Chip. A quick scalloped edge and some Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Ribbon with a layer of Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon on top and a length of Chocolate Chip ribbon and it was ready to put in the frame. The finished picture is 14cm square.

To finish here are a couple of quick snaps of a set of invite cards I made to cheer a friend up. Again this idea would make a lovely personal low cost Christmas gift. The invitations could be for anything – going for a walk together, sharing a cup of coffee or something more adventurous if you want! I often treat my other half to tickets to the show of his choice and this would make an interesting way of presenting it.
Back with more exciting things later this week

Happy Crafting

Bekka

The Chrismas Countdown has Started ...

Special Offer Alert – read to the bottom of the post to find it!


How would you describe your approach to Christmas? Are you wonderfully organised and have everything planned for the next Christmas before the end of Boxing Day, or do you spend the whole year thinking its ages away and then end up rushing round like a mad thing on Christmas Eve?



I guess most of us are somewhere in between, but I do have to confess to always being surprised when December arrives and then finding I have left everything to the last moment.


Well this year I would like things to be different. A good friend pointed out to me that Christmas is only just over 10 weeks away (thank you Stacy!). Now that sounded very close to me! So I decided that I needed a plan and that if there was to be a plan there had to be somewhere pretty for it to live so that I would be happy to look at it often.


So here is my Christmas Planner for this year – it is made with elements of the scrummy I Wish kit from Stampin’ Up! The papers are delicious and did you spot the textured card? So lovely to work with and to touch... The elements that come in the kit made this very easy to put together, and I have most of the kit left to make more projects with. If you want to see the full kit it is on page 73 of the catalogue – just click here or on the picture of the catalogue on the right of the blog.

The planner itself is made from one piece of carstock, folded to create the pockets, then stamped and decorated.

In these pockets I have created a range of inserts – Christmas Card Lists, Shopping Lists, To Do Lists, and of course a wish list of everyone! I also have party planner, meal planner and gift list inserts but forgot to take photos of them ...

The planner folds up so that I can carry it round with me and I have added some ribbon to make sure I don’t loose the plot, I mean plan.



If you would like instructions for the planner please send me an email

At the top of this post I mentioned a special offer ... To encourage you to join me on my journey to make this Christmas special, wonderful, crafty and of course affordable, so to help you get in the mood, I have a special offer for you. If you place an order with me for the I Wish Kit, I will send you some co-ordinating goodies and a collection of project ideas that can be made from the kit.


Happy Christmas Crafting!



Bekka

PS: Dont forget that the Birthday promotion is still running - you have to the end of the month to order selected sets at 20% off - check out this post here

World Card Making Day

Tomorrow is world card making day – a special day for card makers globally to celebrate the creativity of handmade cards and the pleasure they bring people.

Stampin’ Up! Is joining in the celebrations by offering you 20% off Simply Sent Card Elements and Simply Sent Card Kits from 4th to 11th October.

The Simply Sent Card Elements can be found on pages 74 and 75 of the new catalogue. They contain a mix of cardstock, patterned paper, ribbon, buttons, and self adhesive die cuts. You can make loads of cards from these beautiful sets alone, but why not combine them with the matching stamp sets (which although they are not included in the promotion are good value and have many uses)

The Simply Sent Card Kits were £49.95 in last year’s catalogue and have been reduced to £39.95 in the new catalogue. If you order them between 4th and 11th October they will be just £31.96 – that is a staggering discount of over 36% on last year’s price. These kits contain 6 stamps, cardstock, Stampin’ Spots assortment, Stampin’ Pastels Assortment, ribbons, brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue dots, envelopes and more all packed up in a lovely box. They can be found on page 93 of the catalogue. Just think what a nice Christmas Pressie they would make for a crafty friend...

If you would like to take advantage of these offers get in touch straight away – the offer closes on 11 October.

Happy Crafting

Bekka

PS - dont forget about this month's other special offers ...

Do You Fancy a Bargain?

October is Stampin’ Up!’s 20th Birthday in the US and 1st Birthday in the UK. To celebrate they have a very special birthday offer.

If you spend £20 on anything from the new catalogue you can buy selected stamp sets at an amazing 20% off! The stamps on this special deal are all Birthday Stamp Sets – I don’t know about you but I seem to make a lot of Birthday cards!

The selected sets are

Crazy for Cupcakes (Item number 111618) page 32. This set is great value at its normal price of £20.95, but if you qualify for this offer you can get it for just £16.76 The card at the top of this post was made with this set.

Birthday Best (Item number 105455) page 33. This is a slightly smaller set, again featuring a cupcake and a balloon is normally £10.95 but if you qualify for this offer is only £8.76 – yes you read that right less than £2.40 per stamp!

Cheers and Wishes (item number 110542) page 58. This is a great set of 6 greetings not only for birthdays but many other occasions as well. Greeting include, Congratulations, Warm Wishes, Happy Anniversary, You’re Invited and of course Birthday hugs and wishes. Regular readers will have seen this set in use many times!

To see any of these stamp sets click on the picture of the catalogue.

If you would like a paper copy of the idea book and catalogue send me an email – they are £4.50 including post and packing which is redeemable in full when you place your first order of £50 or more with me. If you would like to place an order please get in touch with me as soon as possible – this offer is only available until the end of October and promises to be very popular!

I will be posting other samples made with these sets through the month so check back to see more examples.

And if that was not enough – Saturday 4 October is World Card Day and there is another fantastic 20% offer available on Simply Sent Card Elements and Simply Sent Card Kits – these offers will only be available between 4 and 11 October. Check back tomorrow for more details.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting

Bekka

Its here

Yes here it is - the new Stampin' Up! catalogue is live ...

Click on the picture to see an online copy

I think you will also need this ...

If you click on it I will email you a full sized copy

Now I will leave you in peace to enjoy!

Have fun

Bekka

The Final Countdown!

The new Stampin’ Up! Catalogue goes live tomorrow – and its fantastic – full of lovely things that will have you drooling. That means from tomorrow you will be able to order the products I have been giving you sneaky peaks of and many more things beside.

Check back tomorrow for more details.

So one last sneaky peak for you – yes its a stamp set you wont be able to get from tomorrow (Garden Silhouettes) but what is that you can see in the corner – yes beautiful stitched ribbon! This was made from a small scrap of ribbon so as you can see even the scraps are lovely and can make all the difference to your cards

Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow to see the new catalogue

Happy Crafting

love

Bekka

Seeing Stars

Oh and Sneak Peak Number 4!

Look who I met last night ...

What a lovely man - we had a great conversation about dyslexia, personal development and of course crafts! I was at an awards dinner and he had lots of people to meet and what amazed me was how much time he had for everyone.

Today's sneak peak is of a set I am really excited about. I have wanted a set with stars for ages and this set is amazing! Great for male cards, my theatre friends, Christmas an of course for days when you are as star struck as I was yesterday!

The catalogue launches on October 1st - contact me for details

Thank you for stopping by, please visit again soon for more sneak peaks!

Bekka

Sneak Peak Number 3

I hope you have all been enjoying a lovely weekend - we have been having some lovely sunshine for the first time in quite a long while!


I promised you another sneak peak and a tutorial this weekend so here goes ... This Christmas Card is very quick and easy to make. It uses the new Season of Joy set - I adore this tree and the swirl so I think you may well see lots more of both of them!

OK so if you want to make one of these here is the tutorial:

If you would like a larger copy of these instructions please email me by clicking here. I hope you are enjoying these sneak peaks - there are more to come :-)

Thanks for stopping by


love


Bekka