New Products! and a Design Team Call...

Big post today! First up, lots of new products, I've done a massive update to the shop and you can see all the new products here, but I especially wanted to mention my favourites, firstly... the new stamps in my Journaled365 Art Journaling range, there are 3 sets plus some large (by demand from my lovely DT!) and small texture stamps, I'm totally in love and was playing with them last night, with some Pentel pens and watercolours, here is a sneak peek at what I made from my Instagram feed, I will share the full project next week...

 

Also in today, my new Day Books! Another project I've been working on and perfecting for a while these A5 size mini books make a perfect mini book / journal or day book and have 20 printed patterned pages inside for you to fill up and doodle on! Here is a little peek at those....

As I said, you can see all of the new products including the stamp sets and day books here (and snap up one of the last 2 kit places if you're signed up yet for this month!)

and now, the moment I know a lot of you have been waiting for... I haven't had a DT call for a long time now, almost a year again! but we are now rushed off our feet with lots of new products and projects and we are looking to welcome a couple of new people to our small friendly team!

Please do read the requirements carefully, due to the number of applications we receive we unfortunately won't be able to consider anyone whose application doesn't meet the criteria.

Our team is small, friendly and fun, like a little (slightly odd!) family... We are looking for one or two new members. You must be comfortable with at least one of the following - traditional paper crafting and / or digi scrapping and / or hybrid crafting (i.e. CD's and digi stamps) and / or stamping - card makers, scrapbookers, digi scrappers, altered artists, art journalers are all welcome! to work with my existing range of digi kits, stamps, CD's, paper and other products as well as all of the exciting new products being launched soon. (To view the product range and some samples you can check out my website or Facebook page) If you have other crafty skills in addition to those above, please do let us know, you may be just the person you are looking for for one of the new ranges or products not yet launched!

You will be required to join in our Challenge Blog every month and leave comments for entries as well as making samples for the quarterly Lookbook magazine, the 'A Few of My Favourite Things...' monthly kit club, product releases, marketing purposes, shows and exhibitions.There will also be the opportunity to get involved with tutorials for Craft Academy and other projects. You must have a regularly updated blog with clear photographs of your work and be able to commit to at least a 6 month term.

As I mentioned, we are a friendly team with many of the girls with me since I first launched back in 2010, those who weren't already friends have become so over that time! We regularly have DT blog hops, internal competitions and prizes and opportunities to work with the other companies I am in partnership with.

To apply, please send me an email here with your blog link, a little about you and 2-3 pictures of your favourite work. Please also let me know what your speciality is - cards / scrapbooking / altered and mixed media art and / or other crafts and if you belong to any forums, are on social media or have any galleries i.e. 2peas, flickr etc etc.... If you are a digi scrapper, please let me know what software you work with.

It may be helpful to you to read this post I wrote with my Design Team tips!

The call is open to UK and International applicants and will close at midnight GMT on 31st March - the new DT members will be notified approximately one week later. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me via email or my Facebook page. We are looking forward to seeing your work!!

Let the fun begin! :o)

Sarah x

Promarker Charts & Stamp, Kit Club and DT Call Updates!!

so, an epic post from me today basically! Thank you to everyone who watched the show on Create & Craft on Thursday, I had so many lovely messages and have now got round to replying to them all!

As promised, I'm posting here the updated complete Promarker chart with the new seasonal colours added, free to download, nothing to sign up for, no catch - I'm just nice like that ;o)

Download yours here!

Now, a few updates from me - firstly, I have been working with a fabbo new stamp manufacturer to make my stamps and as a result I've managed to bring the costs down, I'm passing the whole saving straight to you, so my A6 stamp sets are now £1 cheaper!

 

I now also have stock of my stamps for Personal Impressions which are also on my website for you.

Secondly, I've opened up some more subscription places for the next 'A Few of My Favourite Things...' kit club and I have a sneaky peek of the stamps that will be in that kit...

Please do be quick if you want to sign up, sub places went in just a few days last time and the extra kits sold out within 2 days!

Finally, the rumours are true! I will shortly be holding a Design Team call, details will be posted here on my blog next week. I'm so looking forward to adding a couple of people to our lovely friendly team! :o)

I hope you have fun colourful weekends!

Thank you for dropping by today
Sarah x

Design Team Call!

It's been almost a year since I've had a DT call and I've been asked I think every single week when the next one would be, well here it is! :o)

I'm very lucky that all the existing DT girls are staying with me, (we are like a little family by now, lol) but we are looking to add 2-3 people to our existing small friendly team.

You must be comfortable with at least one of the following - traditional paper crafting and / or digi scrapping and / or hybrid crafting (i.e. CD's and digi stamps) - card makers, scrapbookers, digi scrappers, altered artists, art journalers all welcome! to work with my existing range of CD's, digi stamps, collage packs, digi kits etc... as well as all of the exciting new products being launched soon. (To view the product range and some samples you can check out my website or Facebook page)

You will be required to join in our Challenge Blog every other week and leave comments for entries as well as making samples for product releases, marketing purposes, shows and exhibitions.There will also be the opportunity to get involved with tutorials for Craft Academy and other projects. You must have a regularly updated blog with clear photographs of your work and be able to commit to at least a 6 month term.

As I mentioned, we are a friendly team with many of the girls with me since I first launched back in 2010, those who weren't already friends have become so over that time! We regularly have DT blog hops, internal competitions and prizes and opportunities to work with the other companies I am in partnership with.

To apply, please send me an email here with your blog link, a little about you and 2-3 pieces of your favourite work. Please also let me know what your speciality is - cards / scrapbooking / altered and mixed media art and / or other crafts and if you belong to any forums or have any galleries i.e. 2peas, flickr etc etc.... If you are a digi scrapper, please let me know what software you work with.

It may be helpful to you to read this post I wrote with my Design Team tips!

The call is open to UK and International applicants and will close at midnight GMT on 25th June - the new DT members will be notified approximately one week later. If you have any questions please ask via email We are looking forward to seeing your work!!

Let the fun begin! :o)

Sarah x

Design Team Call

The Design Team call is now closed!!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to apply, it is much appreciated. I will be spending the week sifting through all of the entries and looking at everyones samples and blogs. I will be contacting those that are successful early next week and posting the new Design team at the end of next week once I've spoken to everyone.

I can't wait to welcome some new ladies to my wonderful team - exciting times!!

Sarah x

Basically Bare Card

My first Basically Bare blog post was published yesterday showcasing one of my projects for them, so exciting!

I used the Paisley Pieces, altering them in a variety of ways to make this card....

To see all the details click here to read the full blog post.

If you are looking for my Design Team Tips and my current Design Team call please see the post below!

Sarah x

Design Team Tips

I wanted to do a quick post regarding Design Teams, I don't claim to be an expert, however I am on some fab Design Teams and also run my own, so I have seen from both sides the pros and cons of them and seen the mistakes that happen over and over again (on both sides). As my current Design Team call comes to an end, I wanted to take this time out to try and help anyone on the fence about applying or anyone who maybe hasn't been brave enough, or hasn't got round to, sending their application in yet! Even if it isn't my team you want to be a part of, I hope my tips will help you with the one you'd love to be on.

When you apply for a Design Team, don't send a 'Round Robin' type email to lots of Design Teams - the last thing anyone wants to be is one of many! (as a brand owner I want to feel that you specifically want to be on MY Design Team and not just whatever comes along first) Tailor your application to each Design Team, tell the person what you love about their products, show them that you have some knowledge of their brand, look at their designs, and tell them what your strengths are and why they need you on their team. If you have any work with their products, even better! send them over and show them what you can do.

Don't apply for a Design Team unless you LOVE the products, the designs and the work of that team - I know its very tempting to just get on any design team just to get noticed, but it really won't do you any good in the long term. If you don't LOVE the products it will show in your work, and if you work for someone who clashes with a DT you DO want to be on you could risk not being offered a place on the one you really want. Also, other DT's may think you're too over committed and not offer you a place based on that. Remember also, when on a DT you mostly get paid in product, is a few hours of your time worth some product that you don't really want that much? probably not!

Remember being on a Design Team is hard work, you are representing that brand and as such you will be expected to make great samples, blog about them and maybe even post tutorials / videos and posts on forums and galleries. You may also be required to take part in challenges and blog hops and leave comments for the rest of your team and other entries - its at least a few hours a week and your responsibility to your own work (you don't want halfhearted pieces on your blog!) and to your team shouldnt be taken lightly - the relationships you form with your team could help you going forward as you don't know what positions they will move on to. if you impress people and they get on to other teams or work for companies and magazines they may well recommend you - you'll be surprised how far your reputation spreads (good or bad!) so protect it.

Make sure not to over commit yourself, it can be hard to turn people away but sometimes you have to do it. Be honest with yourself how many free hours you have per week and how many you want to dedicate to DT work, some people work best on just one others can juggle lots, but be realistic. It's harder to leave a team than to say no in the first place (also, you may be denying someone a place that could really do it!) If its a brand you love but you don't have the time, maybe try emailing for  a guest designer position or offer to do a magazine project for them, you will still get the recognition from the brand you love without being over committed.

Don't change your style - it can be frustrating getting refused for teams, but be true to yourself and don't copy others, your style needs to stand out, I can tell each one of my DT girls projects from another, because each one of them is unique and does something different with the same product. Don't be afraid to be different, as a brand owner, I look for people to be versatile and show the MANY uses for a product, having 10 people make the same thing would be of no use to me.


Do what the DT call says - sounds obvious but you will be surprised at how many people pay absolutely no attention to what you've asked for, if it asks for 3 projects, send 3 projects (simple, right?) I've had some with 20 attachments that completely block up my server which is so frustrating when you are getting 20 or 30 a day! if there are additional projects you are particularly proud of then attach your best 3 and link to the others on your blog or gallery.

Think of the other side - its great to be on a DT, to have your work recognised, to be part of a team, to get free products BUT remember there are two sides to everything, in return you are expected to be an ambassador of that brand or product, to use it in the best possible way, some teams don't like you to use competing products for example - would you be happy with that? You will most likely be expected to have a good looking and regularly updated blog with clear pictures of your work and to participate in social media, whether that be forums, galleries, twitter or facebook. Factor this all in to your available time and make sure you are clear on the expectations before you accept a position. Its so much fun to work for and represent a brand you love but its frustrating and can stifle your creativity if you work for one you only like a bit.

Don't be frustrated with rejection, the hardest one of all! Look realistically at your work, compare it to who got accepted, see if you have any weaknesses (not in style but in quality), be honest with yourself and if necessary improve for next year, it may be nothing wrong with your work at all but just that there weren't enough places or that you were too similar to someone else. Don't be disheartened, everyone gets rejected sometimes, have a little cry, dust yourself down and try again! If you produce great projects that you love and are proud of, others will soon start to notice your talents!

I hope thats helped a little bit and given you something to think about.  For more information on Design Teams and some mroe in-depth tips and things to think about check out Julie's fab 'Tips for the DT Curious' here - especially great if you are thinking of joining a DT for the first time!

If you are looking for my current DT call, you have until 1st September to enter, for all the details click here.

Sarah x

Metallic Rub On's

Recently I was sent some gorgeous metallic vintage style rub-ons from Paper Cellar, I obviously didn't use them for about a week as they had to sit on my desk and have their shininess admired, but now I have finally cut into them *sob* I have to say I love them more. The first card I made is a very very simple one, using a Papermania grid kraft cardstock to make my card blank. I stamped in the corner with a Versamark pad and a tim holtz stamp and distrssed the edges using 'Tea Dye' Distress ink. 

The metallic Rub-ons you simply cut out (remember they are the opposite way round from how they look on the sheet - totally confused me!) and peel off the backing, lay on your paper (make sure you get positioning right as you can't alter them once they have touched the paper) and then rub firmly (a bit harder than you would for a standard rub on)

They make a fab luxurious looking card and are cleaner than embossing as you don't get your little powder flecks. I'll show you my project with the flower ones soon!

Sarah x

p.s. if you are looking for the DT call please see below...

Overwhelmed!

I'd like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who has taken the time out to send me messages of congratulations via Twitter, Facebook, Text, Email and comments here on my blog regarding my big news last week, I'm so grateful for all of them! This is a very exciting time and I'm so pleased to have so much support (I must give a special mention to my Design Team girls here who have been fabulous and who I would be completely lost without!)

For the last few days I have been working super hard on planning the first lot of products you will see and getting the designs ready for production. B is on holiday this week and yesterday took me out for the afternoon to celebrate, a blissful day in the midst of all the craziness! and today we have been moving rooms round and painting so I can have a bigger studio as I literally have no room at all left now, I can't grow out of this one though as its the biggest room in the house so I have nowhere left to go! LOL

The new things I have taken on (including secrets 2 & 3 which I can't share just yet) means I have have sadly had to give up a few of my design positions, so for all you digi designers out there, the good news is that GallimaufryUK is now looking for someone to replace me, she produces beautiful kits and she's great to work with. She would like someone to create digital (and hybrid if you do that!) projects using the kits and also to run the Twitter account (just a few posts a week) if you are interested please click here to send her an email.

Don't forget my Design Team call is also still open, if you would like to join our friendly little team and be one of the first to get your hands on the fab new things coming then you can view all the details here.

Now I really must crack on with some work, I will be back with a crafty project tomorrow!

Sarah x

Using Promarkers on Wood

As you may know your Promarkers can be used on many different surfaces including wood, glass and fabric - they are so versatile so don't just limit them to your stamped images!

Here is an altered bird house I made recently, the whole thing is coloured and shaded with Promarkers (including the stamped image of course!)

 

So many possibilities! and this project took no time at all as I didn't have to wait for paint to dry before doing the other sides etc etc... quick and easy but very effective, love it!

Now I have some more last minute prep to do for a meeting tomorrow (eeek!) I've been working flat out, so exciting! but I want to try and get an early night tonight (insomnia permitting of course!) as I have to be up at stupid o'clock for my train. 

 A big 'Thank You' to everyone who has entered the DT call so far! and for those who haven't, what are you waiting for?! see all the details here.

 Sarah x

Detailed Die Cuts

Today I'm going to be talking about my Cricut Expression, I have always loved die cut shapes, since I first started crafting, in fact since I can first remember! One of the first toys I remember playing with was Fuzzy Felts, little die cut pieces of felt that you used to make scenes with, I remember making people, animals, farms, loads of stuff, they were my favourite thing EVER! and when I first started crafting and discovered paper piecing it brought it all back, I just love it.

I know loads of us feel the same way, we'd be lost without our die cutting machines! but I know some people feel that paper piecing die cuts can look a bit basic, so I wanted to share something that may make you look at your die cuts in a whole new way!

Die cutting is great for using up all your scraps and odds and ends of paper, but I cut around half of my die cuts out onto white bleedproof paper, this way I can colour them with my Promarkers and add as much detail as I like, it becomes as detailed as your stamped images...

So here is todays card, using the 'Winter Woodland' cartridge, the ice skates and the ice skater are cut out of bleedproof paper and coloured with Promarkers.

I hope my little card has inspired you to dig out your die cuts and try some new things with them! I'll have another die cut project for you later this week :o)

This week I am crazily working on my new ranges which you will start seeing in the next few weeks, I can't wait to share!

Sarah x

p.s. if you are looking for the Design Team call, it's two posts below...

New Letraset Flexmarkers

I finally got some time to have a play with the new Letraset Flexmarkers the other night, I've been dying to try these out!

 

I used them on my 'Alice in Wonderland' digi stamp (printed onto bleedproof paper)I've used a slightly different colour scheme as I have mostly light and bright colours so this is like a candy coated Alice in Wonderland scene!

I definitely need some more practice with these as the whole feel of them is very different to Promarkers, you have to have quite a light touch with them as the ink flows a lot more freely through the brush nib and you can quickly find yourself with a lot of ink to move around on the paper. I still need some more practice on this as it was bleeding slightly on some edges despite being bleedproof paper (which is usually fine with Promarkers) you can also get much finer details (although the Promarker fine nibs have helped with this a LOT!)

One of the great things about them was that I noticed the effect of building up shading with just one pen was much easier to achieve, I don't know if thats just the increased flow of ink, but I only had to go over the areas one additional time to get good results, but the thing I loved most about these are the new very pale colours, they are just gorgeous!

One thing I will mention about the pale colours, don't get disheartened with them when you first use them, I started colouring Alice's face and it went grey and I thought 'oh, great, I've got zombie Alice!' and I got very frustrated and put it to one side thinking it had messed it up, but given a few minutes the colour develops into what it should look like - it's just where the alcohol wetting the paper is darker than the colour, once the alcohol evaporates the colour is gorgeous.

This weekend I'll definitely be doing some more practiscing with these (and making a card from this image I've coloured!), if you're used to using Promarkers as I am, it will take a few times to get perfect results but the new colours alone make it worth persevering!

Have a lovely weekend!
Sarah x

p.s. if you're looking for the DT call please see below...

Design Team Call!

It is the end of the term for a few of our Design Team members *sob* so I'm looking for 2-3 people to join our fantastic friendly team! Here are all the details you need:

I am looking for 2-3 crafters (must be comfortable with hybrid crafting (i.e. CD's and digi stamps) as well as traditional paper crafting (card makers, scrapbookers, altered artists, art journalers all welcome!) to work with my existing range of CD's, digi stamps, clear stamps, inks etc... as well as all of the exciting new products being launched soon. (To view the product range and some samples you can check out my website or Facebook page)

You will be required to join in our Challenge Blog every other week and leave comments for entries as well as making samples for product releases, marketing purposes, classes, shows and exhibitions.You must have a regularly updated blog with clear photographs of your work and be able to commit to at least a 6 month term

Please send me an email here with your blog link, a little about you and 2-3 pieces of your favourite work. Please also let me know what your speciality is - cards / scrapbooking / altered and mixed media art and / or other crafts and if you belong to any forums or have any galleries i.e. 2peas, flickr etc etc....

The call is open to UK and International applicants and will close at midnight GMT on 1st September- the new DT members will be notified approximately one week later. If you have any questions please ask via email.


Let the fun begin! :o)

Sarah x

A Quick Post...

Happy Friday everyone!

I was hoping to finish a bit earlier today but typically it hasn't happened and this has been a really really busy day! I had a lovely night out last night, catching up with friends having a cheeky glass of wine or two (ok, it was 3...) what fun, can't wait for the next one now, have been too hermit like recently!

Today I have narrowed down the DT apps as much as I am able to and have sent a few people additional questions, once these are back I'll make the final announcement - yay! This has definitely been the most difficult to narrow down, soooo many talented people, I nearly had the biggest Design Team anyone has ever had :o)

Now I'm going to have the evening off before a manic weekend as I finish off all of my illustrations and work on some craft projects.

Hope you all have lovely weekends!

Sarah x

Thank You!

I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone that applied for the Design Team, we had about 100 entries!! Now I need to go through them all and shortlist them, its going to be very hard to just take on a few (I've had a peek at a few as they came in and they are amazing!) I may be in touch with some of you to ask a few questions, please give me a week or so to sort them all out and get back to you. I will make the announcement welcoming our new DT members ASAP :o)

So yesterday was very productive, I ended up staying up til 3am (birds were tweeting as I fell asleep, LOL) finishing off some craft projects, doing the finals of two of my illustrations (just need to be coloured) and finally because my head was spinning, a couple of art journalling pages to empty out my brain clutter - works a treat, promise! Here is one of the cards made with the Kuretake Alcohol Inks... (will blog the rest another time) just two colours used here, hot pink and yellow.

The witch stamp is from Lavinia Stamps and the background is part of Tim Holtz stamp, images were embossed (with ultra thick as I could find my regular black, of course I found it this morning when I was tidying up!!) and some distress stickles rubbed over the top. I hadn't embossed anything for AGES!

Today I got all my stuff ready for Stitches (the trade show next week), organised a couple of meetings for next week, set up my Skype (much easier than I thought!) and caught up with the 80+ emails I got yesterday afternoon (see how I get distracted!!) I will probably start colouring in some of my illustrations tonight, yay!

Finally, please pop over to the Challenge Blog, a new one has gone up today and there are some fabulous projects from the Design Team!

Sarah x

Last Chance!

Just a quick reminder that this is the last chance to send your details in for my DT call! If you havent seen it yet you can scroll back a bit or click here to see. I'd love to hear from you! It closes tomorrow (15th February) at midnight GMT.

Also, I had a lovely comment from one of my favourite bloggers / tweeters, Emma, who had given me a blog award - yay! So I officially accept!

In accepting the award I've had to agree to the following conditions:

1) You have been tagged, do you want to accept? YES! then create a post on your blog and post the love blog photo.

2) Link back to the person who gave you the award and say if you accept.

3) Choose 3-5 of your favourite blogs to tag, link these in your post too and tell the lucky people they have been tagged.

The aim of this award is to bring unknown good blogs to light, so we're asked not to tag somebody "with 3000 followers".

Now to pick my favourites.... I've chosen 5 of my lovely DT girls :o)

1. Lisa

2. Clare

3. Melly

4. Amanda

5. Patsi

Its so hard to narrow it down to 5, there are so many fabulous blogs out there but these 5 girls are super talented, very helpful and supportive and deserve a litle 'toot' from me - so thank you!!

Now I'm off to enjoy my valentines day evening, I hope that whether you are single, married, loved up etc.. you are taking time out too. I'm enjoying my 5th lovely Valentines day with B, he even handmade me a card this year, it was very good for a first effort of someone with big sausage fingers (broken too many times playing football and rugby)

Last night on Twitter we were having a little chat about best and worst valentines, my worst was a tick box coupon cut out of 'The Sun' where you had to tick boxes to say you missed it because you were a. in the pub, b. watching football etc.... Needless to say NOT amused!! LOL (that was ex by the way not the lovely B!) What are your best or worst valentines? (please don't let mine be the most tragic!)

Sarah x

Some work.....

Firstly thank you to everyone who has already sent in your application for the DT - you peeps are quick! If you haven't seen the call yet, please see below and send me an e-mail - don't be shy!

Secondly, I have to tell you I've become a complete digi-scrap convert since I started working with GallimaufryUK designs! (not that I'll ever stop loving my paper of course! LOL) Here are a few layouts I've done this week....

These are with the 'Fresh Start' kit which you can get here....

And this one is done with the new 'My Love' kit which you can get here....

I think this one was my favourite! OH doesn't like the funny faces he is pulling in the pics but I think it's cute :o)

Today I finished an illustration, sketched out the outlines for a few more, organised my pooter as I've been working so fast I hadn't put anything in folders and also I've been organising the DT work to upload to our new gallery coming soon (more details to follow!) and then I had a quick hour colouring in in my studio - bliss!

Now I have some emails to answer, letters to type, orders to print off, plan to write, designs to sketch out and then I'm going to bed!!!

Sarah x

DT Call!

I wasn't expecting to this just yet but things are moving rather faster than I expected! So I am looking for 3-4 additional DT members. if you have applied before please do apply again!

I am looking for card makers, scrapbookers and altered / mixed media artists to work with my range of CD's, Stamps, Inks, and new products coming soon. The requirements etc... are as follows:

* You must have your own blog which you contribute to regularly (once a week or more)
* You must be able to comment to our Challenge Blog, both joining in with the challenges and commenting on challenge entries
* You must be able to commit to at least a 6 month term

Please send me an email here with your blog link, a little about you and 2-3 pieces of your favourite work. Please also let me know what your speciality is - cards / scrapbooking / altered and mixed media art and / or other crafts and if you belong to any forums or have any galleries i.e. 2peas, flickr etc etc....

The call is open to UK and International applicants and will close at midnight GMT on 15th February - the new DT members will be notified approximately one week later. If you have any questions please ask via email.

So come on, don't be shy!!!

Sarah x

A little box of happiness....

Today I received a little (well, quite big actually) box of happiness in the mail all the way from the USA - my Studio Calico kit - yay! guaranteed to cheer a girl up any day and well deserved I think!

Yesterday I had yet ANOTHER doctors appointment, although this time with a bit of a breakthrough, after almost a year I finally have a diagnosis, not a great one but at least now I know I can deal with it! I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or ME as some of you may know it. It was a bit of a shock as I thought I just had a virus or something I could take some antibiotics for! Anyway... I won't dwell too much as I'm trying not to think about it too much at the moment!

I've been working really hard to finish up the latest CD - they should be going out to the Design Team next week, all being well, I've loved working on this one so much! Details and sneaky peeks coming soon :o)

Don't forget I'm still looking for some DT peeps - see this post - UK and International welcome - thank you to everyone who has emailed me, I will be in touch VERY soon!

I hope you will all join in the challenge this week as we have a wonderful sponsor this week who has donated a lovely prize!! I will post all the info on Thursday with the new challenge (there is still a few days to enter the latest one as well!)

Hugs and Stuff
Sarah x

In case you missed it!

The maths thingy is now finished (thank God!!!) and thats that out of the way FOREVER - yay! Now I only have the funner parts of my course left to do. I have to tell you I'm not actually that bad at maths in that I almost always get the answer right, its just that it takes me a long time to get there. At school you are taught a certain way of working things out and I just can't do it that way - surprisingly I did actually manage a 'B' in my maths GCSE and was in the top class for maths but how I did it I'll never know! I see numbers backwards so it makes things very difficult for me, but I feel proud of myself that I completed a maths module (you were right Mum! LOL)

Anyway, enough of all that! Today I have been finalising some new products that will go into production next week - eeeek! Also, in case you missed it earlier in the week, here is the sneaky peek of 'Christmas Cheer' my newest craft CD which will be available very soon - a few finishing touches (I just keep adding to this one!) and I'll send it off - the Design Team will have their copies next week and will be bringing you lots and lots of lovely inspiration very soon!

On this CD there are 3 collections - Retro (the colours you see on the front cover), Traditional and Vintage. More details coming soon......

The Design Team will be starting our challenge blog very soon with some lovely prizes and projects - watch this space for more news!

I have also been busy looking at all the fab design team applications coming in - this is the FINAL 24 HOURS!!! so get them in quick (it is open to UK and International applicants for those that have asked) and you can see the details here.

I have also been going over the Afternoon Tea Design Team applications (only 24 hours for this one as well now!) details here. I can't wait to show you the kits - I have to say they are FAB! and I can't wait to get my grubby paws on my one!! as well as looking at all the CHA sneak peeks to find fab new products for future kits - I can't tell you how hard it is to narrow stuff down - I'd like to put almost everything I see in there! (but I've been told very strictly that I can't!)

Tomorrow I will be finishing the last few Xmas pics for the CD - I can't tell you how difficult it is drawing penguins and snowy things when its 30 degrees outside and BAKING! But I know everyone likes to get a head start on their cards so I'm persevering!

Finally, did you see Dragons Den tonight? Kirsty Henshaw was AMAZING! she totally deserved that investment, it's so nice to see someone who has worked so hard and achieved so much to get some help, gives us all faith in the human spirit and proves that if you work hard enough you CAN do it! How inspiring!!!

Sarah x

Quick Hello!

A very quick blog post from me tonight as I'm doing one of the final assignments for my uni course and its maths - urgh! I'm totally rubbish at numbers so need full concentration powers!!!

Thank you for all of the lovely comments on my Sneak Peek yesterday!

Just a quick reminder that there are only a couple of days left for my DT call!! please see here for details

Sarah x