Winter Sale Event Part 2

Hello again, I hope everyone has had the Christmas they wished for and are now enjoying a few days relaxation. The weather is pretty miserable so a good excuse for some crafty time I think.

 

We have extended the in store Winter Sale Event to 3pm on 31 December so you have two more days to pop by the store and bag a bargain. Lots of lines such as Darkroom Door & Linda Ravenscroft stamps are 25% off the original price with many more such as Hampton Art & 7Gypsies with 50% off. And........

 

 

....all these offers are available on line too over at http://www.snazzysstore.com/clearance/

 

We are adding more clearance items online each day so do keep popping back - there will be offers on Hero Arts and Stampers Annonymous next, all with at least 25% off so worth a peek!

 

A new facility online for customers planning to visit the store is the 'Collect in Store' button. You can just browse and buy online and then pick up your goodies from the store, no postage!

 

We also have unclaimed raffle prizes from last week's event so search your bag, purse and pockets for the tickets listed below.....

 

Yellow 31, 36 & 41

Green 73, 80 & 81

 

also winner of the Zutter Goodies was Yellow 37.

 

Finally, without your continued support small independent businesses such as ours could not continue. We do very much appreciate your custom and your friendship so, with all the best for the New Year, here's to a peaceful, healthy & successful 2013 for all of us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reminder - Annual Winter Sale Event

Don't panic, I took this photo of the walnut tree in our garden from my bedroom window early on Wednesday but when we crossed town to the store there was no snow here, I just thought it suited the post title - it's blustery and wet now tho'  so umbrellas at the ready lol!

A quick reminder that our Winter Sale Event starts tomorrow, Saturday 15 December, at 10am and runs until 6pm on Saturday 22 December. This is the only sale we have each year and it is worth the wait, with discounts of between 25% and 50% on all stock we are discontinuing, end of lines and items not going forward into the 2013 manufacturer's catalogues. We would rather sell the stock than count it come the end of year stocktake, and of course we need to make space for all the new goodies coming our way in January.

We have 25% off all Hampton Art/Graphic 45 & Linda Ravenscroft stamps, all Hero Arts clear plates not included in the 2013 Catalogue reduced from £13.95 to £10.00, similarly all clings and wood block stamps not included will be reduced by 25%. Our entire range of 12x12 patterned paper/cardstock at 60p a sheet, and all Tando blanks, all Graphic 45 chipboard sheets & all sticker sheets will be half original price. Wooden block stamps have either 25% or 50% off and all Zutter machines and consumables also have 25% off. Eco Green Craft's ink pads are half price as are all Paperworld and Viva products. We have a limited number of faux leather 12 x12 scrapbooks reduced from £21.00 to £15.00 plus the current Tim Holtz & Dylusions Christmas stamps from Stampers Anonymous reduced from £19.95 to £16.95 or £24.95 to £20.95. Anything currently in our regular sale corner will have a further 10% off.

And of course, alongside our sale, we offer customers the opportunity to rehome their unwanted stamps, papers, tools etc in our Second Hand Stash Sale.....

 

....this year augmented by a massive sale of ex workshop stamps reduced by at least 60% of their original face value - some have never been used. So, if there are stamps you have enjoyed using in Snazzys Studio over the years, pop along and see if they are waiting for you - there are over 400 to choose from!

 

Remember all Second Hand Stash items must be paid for in cash so we can divvy up customers proceeds at the end of each day.

 

New to this year's sale are our Daily Deals with a different current range of products reduced by approximately 25% each day. Saturday 15 December kicks off with 25% off all full size inkpads, and with all the ranges in all the colours available from Ranger & Tsukineko in stock there are lots to choose from. We will post the next day's Daily Deal on Twitter/Facebook and our website shortly after 6pm each evening so do remember to check it out!

 

Back again this year is the daily and end of sale raffle. Simply collect a free raffle ticket as you leave the store and keep it safe! Each day we will give away a book of Snazzy Vouchers worth £15.00 which can be exchanged against the workshop of your choice in Snazzys Studio. The end of sale raffle prize is worth a massive £80.00 and all tickets that did not win each day will be carried forward Saturday 22 December for the final draw of the sale. Each raffle will take place at closing time each day and the winning ticket numbers will be posted on Twitter & Facebook and our website shortly after 6pm each evening.

 

Finally here are the store opening hours during the sale, and yes, we really are opening on Sunday 16 December.

 

Saturday 15 December       10am to 6pm

Sunday 16 December         11am to 3pm

Monday 17 December        11am to 3pm

Tuesday 18 December        10am to 6pm

Wednesday 19 December    10am to 6pm

Thursday 20 December       10am to 6pm

Friday 21 December           11am to 3pm

Saturday 22 December        10am to 6pm

That's all for now folks, look forward to seeing you over the next week or so and remember to help yourselves to the usual sweeties, chocolates and toffees by the till - every one you eat helps save the Headmaster from himself  lol xx

Quick & Stylish Christmas Cards

If you enjoy making cards you probably make more of the Christmas variety than you do for any other occasion. The need to produce more, divides us between the 'come up with a single design and replicate' ....

 

Stampers Annonymous Classic #10 with Pan Pastels

 

and the 'I can't bear to make two cards the same' schools of thought.

 

 

Hero Arts K5533 Snowman & Snowflakes, K5620 Winter Trees, H5629 Many Branches and the greetings from CL541 Snowman Christmas all with WOW Embossing Powders

 

I am definitely one of the latter but I am happy just to tweak the design/colourway if I have lots to make.

Each year so far Snazzys have come up with a Christmas kit including cards, cardstock, papers, stamps, ribbons etc all already colour matched for you with as many different samples as we could squeeze out of it to encourage you to give it a go.

Unfortunately, this year time has completely run away from me but I thought you might like to see the samples from our recent bumper card making workshops each of which followed a similar concept.

Here are the first 16 from the Teresa Collins Christmas Cottage collection.....

 

 

 

 

.....and, at this stage I hadn't even used a quarter of the paper pack!

 

Over the next week or so I will pop back with the remaining cards I made from this collection, and those I made in less conventional Christmas colorways for the other bumper cardmaking workshop at Snazzys.

 

Happy Christmas Cardmaking to all xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guess who's coming to town...........

We have been keeping a secret for several months and finally we can spill the beans..........

THE Anna Dabrowska aka Finnabair who creates and shares wonderful Mixed Media Art, Journal Pages, Scrapbook Layouts and so much more, who Designs for Prima & Sizzix, and created the fabulous Dreamer, Wonderland and Domestic Goddess collections for 7Dots Studios......

                                                    

is coming to teach at Snazzys, yes really!

The workshops will be held on the Basepoint business park where Snazzys is based and the lovely management team is allowing us to use the main Breakout area, just across the car park from our store, for the weekend. This means we will be able to offer 24 spaces at each of four workshops over the weekend of Saturday 31 August and Sunday 1 September.

Even in the very poor light of a gloomy November afternoon you can see our teaching area will be light and bright with bags of space, a separate area to chill out in and if the weather is fine a lovely patio and small garden, both with picnic benches if you want to take your lunch outside.

Anna is currently working on new projects for CHA in January so we won't know precisely which projects will be in each workshop until after the reveal there. At that point we will have all the relevant information on the scheduled times and prices for each workshop.

Sooo, as Gillian, without whom none of this would have come to pass, covered here yesterday, you need to register your interest in attending these workshops by emailing us at snazzy@snazzysstudio.co.uk with Anna Dabrowska in the subject line and we will then send all the details as soon as they become available straight to your inbox.

Just to whet your appetite, here's my (current) favourite Finn project, the texture and dimension just blew me away

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ca9CUbyN5Vk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Take care xx

It's that time again.......

 

 

Can you believe it's time for another DT kit reveal? Where did the last five weeks go to?

 

Actually, I can tell you. They disappeared in a fantastic flurry of amazing projects from the team using the Teresa Collins Christmas Cottage collection of double sided papers, stamps and brads. Soooo..... if you haven't already had a peek you need to pop on over to http://snazzysdesignteamblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/design-team-project-1-featuring-teresa.html to admire all their wonderful inspiration - I'd suggest a cuppa alongside whilst you enjoy - you may be some time!

 

Another really good reason for following the link is there are goodies to be won, and as it is nearly December we are giving away November's entire DT kit to one lucky person who leaves a comment on Gillian's first post. This was the kit,

 

 

so when you follow the link above, leave a comment before midnight tonight to be in with a chance of winning this lovely stash in the November comment draw.

 

Now to the new DT kit, with inspiration from the team starting tomorrow. The paper collection is from Carta Bella, called Christmas Day, and has quite a traditional feel with nine double sided textured papers, plus an Element and an Alphabet sticker sheet. We have combined it with a set of Hero Arts clear stamps, Believe (CL634), and topped it off with Tim Holtz Ideaology Christmas Muse Tokens. 

 

 

You will be able to buy the December Kit for just £31.95 from midnight tonight over at http://www.snazzysstore.com/snazzys-dt-kit-december-2012/ and, as it will be Christmas before you know it, we will be giving away one of these kits too, so be sure to leave a comment as per Gillian's instructions to be in with a chance of winning in the December comment draw too.

 

Now if that isn't reason enough to checkout Gillian's post at the DT blog tomorrow, we have to confess we have been keeping a secret and Gillian will be spilling the beans tomorrow........

 

I will be back on Tuesday with all the details plus I will also be here on Wednesday showing some quick and stylish Christmas card ideas from our recent Bumper Christmas Cardmaking workshops. 

 

Take care xx

Halloween Greetings Part 2

Well, better late than never eh? I totally messed up the scheduling of these posts so I hope you will forgive me for being a little behind the times.

At least both yesterday's project and today's could simply have all the references to Halloween removed and would then make great gifts for the teen with Gothic leanings.

 

As you can see from the photo above this little book is really easy to construct with six pockets and tags for inserting in them made from 12x12 black cardstock.

 

 

Then you just decorate as desired. I added some mini pockets and tags for journalling to the front of each pocket but left the backs blank as 6x4 photo mats.

 

 

The inner tags are a mix of photo mats and journalling spots.

 

 

 

The poison bottles are from Studio 490 European Art set stamped in black, white and Rusty Hinge inks with labels cut from the packaging of the paper pack - waste not, want not and all that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all from me for now.

 

Back soon with previews of the coming month's workshop projects plus news on the dates of our this year's Annual Winter Sale. Keep your eyes peeled you wouldn't want to miss it!

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Greetings

 

Well, I just don't know where the time has gone but I thought it was about time I shared another workshop project or two from Snazzys.

 

 

This was last Tuesday evening's workshop project. A simple exploding box using all the papers and stickers from Carta Bella's All Hallows Eve paper pack - I even used the display sheet from the pack to cover the lid.

 

 

Tomorrow I will be back with a little book that used up all the remaining papers in the pack.

 

See you then xx

 

 

 

 

Another very busy week.......

 

This was the last little bit of calm before the storm that was the Cardiff Craft & Hobby Show last weekend.

 

 

This was the nearest the Headmaster could get to his own till for most of the weekend.

 

 

Cardiff extended a very warm welcome, from the a well thought out build up and breakdown to the lovely Sara who kept us topped up with tea and coffee when she realised we couldn't get off the stand! We caught up with all our Welsh friends, thank you so much for stopping by, watching the demos and sharing lots of smiles and laughter. it was lovely to see you all. 

 

 

This was a great little show for both customers and exhibitors alike. The venue is really easy to get to with a huge amount of free parking right outside, the mix of stitch, beads and papercraft was well balanced with lots of original gift ideas from the artists selling their amazing carvings from coal, jewellery, scarves, cupcakes, cushions, dolls, bags and so much more on the floor above us.

 

Can you tell we had a ball? Well, if you want to join us next time the dates you want for your diary are Friday 24 and Saturday 25 May and you will find us in the same spot.

 

Meantime, back at the store, the October and November Workshop Timetables are up on the website.

You can book by ringing the store on 01793 602470 or emailing us at snazzy@snazzysstudio.co.uk and if you want to buy Snazzy Vouchers to save 20% on your workshop you can order them by email too, we will invoice you via PayPal and you can collect your vouchers in store prior to your workshop.

 

This weekend we are off to the Big Stamping and Scrapbooking Show at Kettering so the store will be closed on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 October.

 

We are looking forward to meeting up with Gillian, Lesley and Hels from our amazing DT - hope to see you there too xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Events, events and, well...more events!

What a busy Autumn we are having.

Two weekends ago we were back at the BS&SS at Ally Pally for a very busy show.

 

The weather was wonderful on the Friday and Saturday but on Sunday the heavens opened so it was very fortunate we could drive indoors to load at the end of the show!

 

Last weekend we were at Port Sunlight for the Autumn HSNW, another very busy event and some stunning weather there too.

 

 

For the first time we had a completely uneventful journey there and back with the M6 behaving itself beautifully, always a relief!

 

So, now to this weekend. After being so disappointed at the cancellation of Artstamps South Wales we have decided a little trip to see our Welsh friends is in order so, on Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 October we will be at the Cardiff Craft & Hobby Show. It is held at a venue very dear to the Headmaster, sons' and daughters' hearts  - Cardiff City Stadium - just hope he remembers what he is there for this time and doesn't get distracted lol.

 

 

All the details can be found at http://www.cardiffcityevents.co.uk/craft-hobby-show/  and with over 40 exhibitors there should be something for everyone. Your ticket to this event includes a free cuppa, free parking and a warm welcome from Sara and the team so I hope you will join us and pop along to stand 20 to say hello.

 

 

Now, the following weekend we will be at the newest show in the calendar when the BSSBS is coming to the East Midlands and will be held at Kettering Conference Centre on the 13 & 14 October. We look forward to seeing you there and you can find all the details at http://www.bssbs.co.uk/index.php.

 

 

Then, to round off our very busy year we will be back at the Creative Crafts Show at Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 October - we love this event, the organisers, the crafters, the hoteliers, the local stores are all just so warm and friendly. A great little show with a great atmosphere (the food is all homemade & pretty awesome too), details are at http://initialj.co.uk/ - can you tell we love going here lol! 

 

The down side of all this going hither & thither is the store will be closed on both the Friday prior, and on the Saturday of each of these events. All the details can be found at http://snazzystampingandscrapbooking.co.uk/ . It also has an impact on the number of workshops we can offer each month and we do understand your frustration with this. I will be back later this week with all the details of our workshop schedule for October, November & December, with some sneaky peeks of the samples 

 

 

 

- there are nearly 25 different workshops so still plenty to choose from.

 

Before I go, several of our Scottish customers have been asking us when we will be back exhibiting north of the border and the short answer is definitely in 2013. I don't know what the plans are for the Artstamps Exhibitions Scottish event but suggest you pop by their website http://www.artstampsexhibitions.org.uk/Edinburgh regularly to check for any updates.

 

Unfortunately we will not be at Hobbycrafts/Crafts for Christmas at the SECC this Autumn as we can't make the event fit in with the children's half terms from school/college/uni but we will look again at coming back to this event in 2013.

 

Right, I think that is more than enough from me for now. Back soon. xx 

 

 

 

 

 

To Spook, or Not to Spook.....

Hello again.

This year is really rushing past and already it's time to reveal the new kit Snazzy's Design Team will be working with in October. We try to offer them, and you, as varied an array of products as possible throughout the year to inspire and get the mojo going so this time we are sending them a fabulous new paper kit from Carta Bella called All Hallows Eve. It features nine heavyweight, double sided, textured papers  plus a 12x12 Element Sticker sheet and a 12x12 Alphabet sheet. As an addicted stamper I must confess I rarely use stickers, but these sheets are textured too and have a lovely fabricky feel to them. Very tactile!

 

Of course, as we are very much a stamping store, they also need some stamps to work with. So, the new Halloween Blueprint set from Stampers Anonymous' Tim Holtz collection has winged it's way to them too. They are sooo cool!

 

 

We know that lots of you in the UK don't really 'do' Halloween but a sift through these papers does offer lots of patterns that aren't overtly Halloween themed, and both they and the stamps could be used to make some great projects aimed at teenagers too.

 

Now, something new starting this month. We will be offering the same DT kit as the DT receive each month, through both our bricks and mortar store and online, with discount of at least 10% on the cost of purchasing the products from us separately.

 

This month, for example, the paper kit costs £15.85 and the Tim Holtz stamps £19.95, but you can purchase both together for £29.95.  

 

To buy the kit online at the offer price you need to look in the 'DT Kits' category of the online store where the kit will be listed as a single product. (Do not click both products separately in their respective categories as you cannot access the discounted price that way.) This kit will be available from midnight tonight. 

 

Gillian will be starting the DT off on this month's trail of inspiration over at http://snazzysdesignteamblog.blogspot.co.uk/ from tomorrow, and as usual if you leave a comment during the month, following Gillian's instuctions, you could win some goodies. This month these creepy Adornments fromTim Holtz Ideaology are up for grabs.

 

 

The DT do really appreciate you leaving comments to let them know you have been by, and you never know when one of them might pay you a return visit!

 

I will be back with some very Autumnal workshop samples for October and Novermber later this week.

 

Bye for now xx

 

 

 

Be Still My Heart - A very Studio 490 week!

 

Oh the excitement when this little delivery arrived on Thursday at Snazzys! Mostly all the new Studio 490 goodness from the wonderful Wendy Vecchi, with the new Art for You stamps and

co-ordinating Bugs & Butterflies Art parts at the top of my shopping list!

 

 

For those of you who are not quite sure what to do with all her lovely goodies Wendy has designed the three different Kits for Art you see in the (bad) photo above. Each include all the Art Parts you need to make the illustrated project, and the Be at Home kit (centre) even has her Blossom Bucket embellishments too. 

 

All of the Studio 490 product range, except for the Blossom Bucket embellishments are in the online store now, just click 'online store' to pop over for a peek, and I am working on some samples for the store which I will share next week.

 

The Headmaster has spent two days shuffling all the stamp ranges around the store to make the new bits fit so I thought you might like a peek, and maybe a drool too - no, not at the Headmaster just at the lovely new stamps etc from....

 

 

 

Studio 490 and...

 

 

Tim Holtz - including all the Classic and Blueprint ranges - looking very depleted already, but no worries as more stocks of these are due in next week, .....

 

 

......the new Christmas stamps from Dylusions - we have the stencils and restocks of the ink sprays too plus .....

 

 

 

Hampton Art, which I will try to get into the online store later this week, after the Blossom Bucket embellies, and after the new Christmas Hero Arts, and after the new Chocolate Baroque stamps, and ........ you get the picture lol!

 

I will pop back tomorrow with the new Design Team kit, which the DT will be using from Monday, and which will be available from the online store early next week if you want to play along with the team.

 

I will leave you with the new (re-arranged) view from the front door of the store.

 

 

 

Thanks for dropping by xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So where did the week go?

 

I know, I know but I have no idea where the last week disappeared to! So, to catch up, firstly here's last Tuesday evening's workshop project.

 

 

The triptych is an empress wood blank, painted with Eco Green Crafts Acrylic paint in Orchid and layered with Prima's Fairy Belle papers, distressed around the edges with my trusty Tim Holtz Distressing Tool.

 

 

I stapled some cotton lace to the layers of paper before I stuck them down, ( I borrowed Penny's stapler in the workshop and then forgot to give it back - drop me your address Penny and I will pop it in the post to you!), added a few roses, paper flowers and the frondy bit from TH Alterations Pinecone Die - I've done everything but make a pinecone with it but more of that later! I found an old broken Style Stone frame and some metal bits and bobs then misted the whole piece with Cosmic Shimmer Vintage Mist in Patina. The plan was to mist the finished piece with black ink a la Finnabair, but I lost my nerve. I quite like my subtle take on her work, but next time, courage lol!

 

This week also saw a visit from Nicky Cresswell aka Minxy to teach a couple of workshops for Snazzys. She, unlike yours truly, remembered to take photos during the workshop so here we go! 

 

 

This was her initial project, and here are all the variations

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fabulous aren't they?

 

On Sunday Nicky agreed to run a drop in session making roses from both stamped images and dies, and boy did I need her help, I am all fingers and thumbs with anything fiddly. She used the Studio 490 Accents for Art stamps and the TH Alterations Pinecone Die ( yes, to make roses) and some of her own Spellbinders dies. There was much hilarity, but Nicky was very patient, full of really useful tips and tricks, and a good time was had by all. I'm not sure that Wendy will still be planning a heart made with 40 handmade red roses for her parents Ruby Wedding Anniversay tho'!

 

 

So, a huge thank you to Nicky, who I'm hoping to talk into a repeat performance once she has recovered from an excess of Snazzy seniors and juniors, and I'll leave you with a little video tour of the store taken by Nicky before she left.

 

 

 

Thanks for dropping by. 

Back soon xx

 

PS The Christmas Dylusions stamps are up on Snazzys online store now with the stencils/masks on tomorrow and lots more to follow.