Here's a sneak peek what goes on behind the scenes and if you want to know how you can be part of it simply click here to find out more about starting your Stampin Up journey ....
Ever wondered what happens when thousands of Stampin Up UK demonstrators get together?
Can you imagine what happens when thousands of Stampin Up demonstrators get together once a year to celebrate creativity, see the latest new Stampin Up products, learn business tips & share experiences?
Here's a sneak peek what goes on behind the scenes and if you want to know how you can be part of it simply click here to find out more about starting your Stampin Up journey ....
Here's a sneak peek what goes on behind the scenes and if you want to know how you can be part of it simply click here to find out more about starting your Stampin Up journey ....
Get Nautical with Stampin Up High Tide
Hello Sailor Stamp set
High Tide designer series paper
Essentials Wooden Elements & Hardwood stamp
All Stampin Up products featured today are available to purchase in my online Stampin Up store
Muslin handmade stamped party bags using Stampin Up mini muslin bags
We're back in celebration mode again - this time it was the turn of my youngest daughter who turned 3! We celebrated with a small tea party with lashings of cake, sweets & all sorts of other 3 year old treats overseen by her current favourite Jake & the Neverland Pirates characters :)
As it would seem almost criminal for me to buy party decorations and party favour bags rather than make them this time I used Stampin Up's mini muslin bags which are great for stamping on and personalising, great value for money (just over £1 each for a keepsake bag which doesn't get rip or thrown away after the party!) and also sneakily small enough that you can't cram too many sweets in - although in these bags I got a yoyo, bouncy ball, toy watch, glow stick, bubbles & several sherbert sweets so not bad!
I hand stamped them with stamps pedominately from Cycle Celebration, Notable Alphabet (always a winner for personalising projects!), Pappliion Potpourri butterflies, Sketched Birthday and the dots/bubbles stamp is actually from one of last years Christmas sets!
If you've invested in purchasing the stamps - you got to use them as much as possible!
I used inks in Melon Mambo, Strawberry Slush, Daffodil Delight, Pistachip Pudding & Coastal Cabana to reflect the happy, bright hues of the sherbert sticks :)
The tags were made from Birthday Basics designer series papers, Elegant Buterfly punch, and Cycle Celebrations stamps.
Our wonderful Jake and the Neverland Pirates cake was once again made by the fabulous Rosy Fallick of Cakes for All in Banbury - our go-to cake maker for all occasions :)
Just a few weeks to go now to the next birthday in May - mine ;)
All Stampin Up weekly deals are available to purchase in my online Stampin Up store
How writing less content means more to your craft business fans
Short is sweet. In a nutshell. To the point. Boiled down. Make a long story short.
SuccessSpark#18 Free marketing tips for creative business growth & success
In an age where businesses have embraced the notion of marketing themselves through copywriting, content creation, blogging, podcasting, webinars & story telling words have never been more important in creating an impression.
Contrast this with the constraints on peoples time, concentration, focus, imagination, ability, money & energy and you'll see how short, to the point & insightful, actionable messages are unequivocably necessary, more welcomed, engaging and memorable than ever.
SuccessSpark#18 Free marketing tips for creative business growth & success
In an age where businesses have embraced the notion of marketing themselves through copywriting, content creation, blogging, podcasting, webinars & story telling words have never been more important in creating an impression.
Contrast this with the constraints on peoples time, concentration, focus, imagination, ability, money & energy and you'll see how short, to the point & insightful, actionable messages are unequivocably necessary, more welcomed, engaging and memorable than ever.
#18 Keep your marketing messages short, to the point and
most importantly relevant to your customers
Click here to claim your free '50 free marketing tips' e-book to
save you time & money whilst increasing your business growth, success & visibility!
How to watercolour using Stampin Up stamps & spritzer video tutorial
Pleasantly surprised to see my work was been also picked up by The Lighting Experts in their Easter inspirational interior design blog sites feature earlier this week - here's a snapshot of the article featuring my Easter basket tutorial ...
So, onto today's tutorial - have you ever wondered how you can get watercolour paint effects using Stampin Up inks & stamps? Here's a quick video tutorial to show you just how quick & simple the watercolour spritz technique is! Enjoy :)
So, onto today's tutorial - have you ever wondered how you can get watercolour paint effects using Stampin Up inks & stamps? Here's a quick video tutorial to show you just how quick & simple the watercolour spritz technique is! Enjoy :)
Owl mini milk carton box with Stampin Up products tutorial
Today's cute owl mini milk carton gift box using the Stampin Up Mini Milk Carton Bigz die is a fun gift box that could be adapted to suit almost any occasion - birthdays, weddings, christenings, childrens parties - almost anywhere that requires a little favour box as part of the celebrations!
The gift box takes just SECONDS to make using the Stampin Up mini milk carton Bigz die which both cuts & scores your chosen card leaving you to just need to fold & stick together. As the Stampin Up big shot cuts up to 4 layers of card at each time then it's quick & easy to make multiples of these boxes in a short amount of time :)
The little owl family is straight from the Baby We've Grown set and I've found this to be one of the most versatile sets in the Stampin Up catalogues - it can be used for a variety of occasions which is really important to me when I consider whether or not to purchase a craft product - I need value for money!! the owls have been coloured in using Stampin Up write markers with blender pens to give a seamless almost watercoloured look to them which is one of my favourite ways to use them - see here for some more ideas of how to use!
My little house roof was made using one of the Stampin Up labels collection framelits - another go-to set of mine with Daffodil Delight designer series paper stack paper which is the best value way to buy Stampin Up patterned paper as you get 40 12" x 12" double sided sheets in 10 colours for just £0.48 per sheet! My little bunting was made using my first ever Stampin Up punch purchase - the Petite Pennants builder punch strung with some Sale-a-bration sweet sorbet bakers twine and cute little wooden pegs :)
On a personal note, I had some wonderful news a few days ago regarding a whole team of Stampin Up UK demonstrators admiring and recreating one of my projects en masse - am so honoured to be able to inspire you all and thank you for taking the time to read my blog and create!
All Stampin Up products featured today are available to purchase in my online Stampin Up store
Why only selling your crafts online may damage your craft business success
SuccessSpark#17 Free marketing tips for creative business growth & success
There are estimated to be around 30 million online sellers around the world* all clamouring for sales as a result of the huge explosion in the accessibility of the internet coupled with ease & expectation of purchasing 24/7, the increasing professionalism & credibility of sellers, secure online payments, swift delivery & empathetic customer care policies.
However, when your products are intuitively created from the heart purposefully designed to stimulate four of the five bodily senses - sight, touch, smell, taste - selling online becomes somewhat ineffective.
Granted whilst detailed semi-professional photographs and carefully crafted customer oriented descriptions go a long way to igniting potential customers imagination of the product benefits nothing can replace the authenticity and legitimacy of touching, feeling, smelling, tasting & seeing a real, physical product & talking with a real, live seller with a story to tell.
By all means sell your creative products online through websites, blogs, Etsy shops, Ebay or whichever selling platform you choose but remember the influential role that being able to touch, taste, see & smell the product directly brings to potential customers.
There are estimated to be around 30 million online sellers around the world* all clamouring for sales as a result of the huge explosion in the accessibility of the internet coupled with ease & expectation of purchasing 24/7, the increasing professionalism & credibility of sellers, secure online payments, swift delivery & empathetic customer care policies.
However, when your products are intuitively created from the heart purposefully designed to stimulate four of the five bodily senses - sight, touch, smell, taste - selling online becomes somewhat ineffective.
Granted whilst detailed semi-professional photographs and carefully crafted customer oriented descriptions go a long way to igniting potential customers imagination of the product benefits nothing can replace the authenticity and legitimacy of touching, feeling, smelling, tasting & seeing a real, physical product & talking with a real, live seller with a story to tell.
By all means sell your creative products online through websites, blogs, Etsy shops, Ebay or whichever selling platform you choose but remember the influential role that being able to touch, taste, see & smell the product directly brings to potential customers.
#17 Get out and about with your product even if you predominately sell online.
Nothing can replace being able to touch, feel, smell, taste, use
and see your product first hand .
Click here to claim your free '50 free marketing tips' e-book to
save you time & money whilst increasing your business growth, success & visibility!
*Source Internet Retailer
Quick 2 minute tip to keep visitors on your craft business blog or website longer
SuccessSpark#16 Free marketing tips for creative craft business growth & success
Hooray! You've got a blog or website visitor. Or two. Or two hundred!
Regardless of how many visitors you get to your blog or website each day, there's one thing you'll definitely want to do.
Keep them your site reading through all the great content you produce for them.
How?
It's simple and you can put it into place today, right now!
Hooray! You've got a blog or website visitor. Or two. Or two hundred!
Regardless of how many visitors you get to your blog or website each day, there's one thing you'll definitely want to do.
Keep them your site reading through all the great content you produce for them.
How?
It's simple and you can put it into place today, right now!
#16 Add a list of popular posts to your website or blog side bar to
keep visitors reading through your site for longer
Click here to claim your free '50 free marketing tips' e-book to
save you time & money whilst increasing your business growth, success & visibility!
Savings on Stampin Up products weekly deals
Cute Camera mini album gift box tutorial using Stampin Up UK Retro Fresh products
My cute camera box would make the perfect keepsake for the forthcoming summer holidays - and before you think that's ages away it's only 9 weeks until Midsummer! (And just 36 weeks until Christmas ;)
There's another cute wood embellishment on the top of the box too! I'm really enjoying having the wood embellishments in my Stampin Up stash :) The top lid is also decorated with Retro Fresh Stampin Up paper.
To finish I've used some leftover Sweet sorbet bakers twine from the now retired Sale-a-bration free products (if you missed out on the freebies this year I'm sure it will return next year!)
I've used a mixture of Retro Fresh designer series paper over a base of Coastal Cabana cardstock with a hint of Soho Subway paper in for the trims.
To make the camera base simply cut a slim box size to suit your project needs (my camera box is just about big enough to hold a small mini album for photos & journaling which I'll be sharing another day with you :)
My box is 6" wide and only 1" in depth and 4" in height and the lid is made from a separate piece of card which measures 1.5" wide and 6 1/4 " wide and sits snugly on top of the camera box.
I've decorated the box using the grid papers from the Soho Subway collection which I've punched both side with the scallop edge punch for interest & detail measuring 1" wide.
The centre piece is a strip of Retro Fresh measuring 2" wide and has a new wood circle embellishment and calypso coral button as a embellishment.
There's another cute wood embellishment on the top of the box too! I'm really enjoying having the wood embellishments in my Stampin Up stash :) The top lid is also decorated with Retro Fresh Stampin Up paper.
To finish I've used some leftover Sweet sorbet bakers twine from the now retired Sale-a-bration free products (if you missed out on the freebies this year I'm sure it will return next year!)
Don't forget to also claim your free 50 marketing tips e-book!
An easy to fix business blog or website mistake you may be making
Today's marketing tip for creative & craft businesses is really simple and needs no introduction. You may have already considered it and if so, high five to you :)
It's a simple, quick & easy tip that can be automated, scheduled or diarised ahead so no need for extra effort, investment or time.
When you've spent hours, days, weeks & years carefully & consciously crafting and creating your online content, images & readership don't make the simple mistake of not backing up your blog or web site on a regular basis.
It's a simple, quick & easy tip that can be automated, scheduled or diarised ahead so no need for extra effort, investment or time.
When you've spent hours, days, weeks & years carefully & consciously crafting and creating your online content, images & readership don't make the simple mistake of not backing up your blog or web site on a regular basis.
Image credit http://bit.ly/1lvcUiy
#15 Back up your blog or website on a regular, scheduled basis without fail!
Click here to claim your free '50 free marketing tips' e-book to
save you time & money whilst increasing your business growth, success & visibility!
How eating cake creates loyal & engaged craft business blog & website readers
SuccessSpark#15 Free marketing tips for creative business growth & success
I love cake. I'd happily eat cake most of the time. However there are days when cake just isn't as appealing to me. I fancy something a little different. Doesn't mean I don't like cake anymore. Just want to expand my horizons & have a taste of something else. Like biscuits ;)
Still needs to be sweet, still related, still ringing the same bells. Just a little different.
Your readers/fans/likers/followers are no different. They love what you create, produce & serve to them. It's just sometimes they'll probably be appreciative of something a little different. Still on a similar palette, just a different texture or taste.
Expand your horizons and serve them up a different range of flavours from time to time to keep them sweet.
I love cake. I'd happily eat cake most of the time. However there are days when cake just isn't as appealing to me. I fancy something a little different. Doesn't mean I don't like cake anymore. Just want to expand my horizons & have a taste of something else. Like biscuits ;)
Still needs to be sweet, still related, still ringing the same bells. Just a little different.
c. Lisa Barton
Your readers/fans/likers/followers are no different. They love what you create, produce & serve to them. It's just sometimes they'll probably be appreciative of something a little different. Still on a similar palette, just a different texture or taste.
Expand your horizons and serve them up a different range of flavours from time to time to keep them sweet.
#15 Identify what your readers/likers/followers appreciate content wise
the create it, find it & share it with them. Sharing = caring
Click here to claim your free '50 free marketing tips' e-book to
save you time & money whilst increasing your business growth, success & visibility!
How to double emboss your handmade cards & papercrafts with a quick & easy video tutorial
Double Embossing is a fantastic technique to make Wow cards & papercraft projects - here's a quick video tutorial from Stampin Up to show you just how easy and impressive this technique is :)
How to make a Stampin Up Waterfall Card video tutorial
Waterfall cards are one of the most beautiful card designs - but often thought of as being too tricky to make! Here's a quick & easy video tutorial on how to make a handmade waterfall card of your own - enjoy!
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