Addicted Stampers

A Very Sad Day

2012-01-29T20:40:00.000+11:00

Yesterday a very dear friend lost her hard fought fight against breast cancer. She was an amazing person, wonderful mother and a fabulous friend. I do not know anyone with the courage and determination that she has had to have over the past few years. She has touched so many lives in very special ways and will be missed terribly. Heaven has taken an earth angel far too soon and I can only wish her family the strength to cope with this enourmous loss.

May she rest in peace and know that she will be remembered by many forever in our hearts.

Dropped Out Of Blog World

2012-01-14T22:26:00.000+11:00

I am so surprised how long it has been since I last posted! I knew it had been a while but that is just crazy. Last term really got away from me and then Christmas hit and here I am. We are away on our annual holiday at Port Stephens at the moment and I have just ducked home for a night to catch up on a few things. Our holiday ends next week so all will be home next weekend. Even with the up and down weather, we have had a wonderful time.

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and you are all relaxed and rested.

It is nearly that amazing time of the year again called Sale-A-Bration! From January 24th - March 31st for every $100 you spend you get to choose one item from the SAB catalogue for FREE!!!!! There are some gorgeous goodies in this years catalogue. I will be back on the 22nd January and will make sure you get a copy of the Catalogue to look over.

Classes will begin on Tuesday 7th February and I am looking forward to catching up with everyone, Hopefully some of you have been creative over the break and I would love to see what you have been up to.

Until then, enjoy the rest of the holidays!

Birthday Wishes

2011-08-26T18:53:00.000+10:00

This was a simple bithday layout we did in class this week. I love this colour combo of Baja Breeze, Early Esspresso and Pretty In Pink and think I will have to commit it to memory for other creations.

Card: Baja Breeze, Early Esspresso, Pretty In Pink, Very Vanilla

Ink: Early Esspresso, Pretty In Pink, Baja Breeze

Stamps: Bring On The Cake

Access: Heart Border Punch, Aqua painter, Square Lattice Emboss Folder, Itty Bitty Shape Punch, Linen Thread

Fathers Day Wallet

2011-08-26T18:43:00.000+10:00

My husband often says he feels like he is "just a wallet" to the children so with that in mind I thought of doing a wallet card for them to give to him this Fathers Day. He is a hard person to buy for so a voucher card from Bunnings or the local BCF store wont go astray and will fit into this perfectly.

It also has pockets with little cards to write your messages on and a little window pocket in the back to slip a photo of the kids of in this case a "Free Breakfast in Bed" voucher. Now as he is not my father I keep telling him he has to wait for the kids to get up and do it and with teenagers it sometimes turns into more like Lunch!!!

Card stock: Basic Black, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Ink: Soft Suede

Stamps: Occassional Greetings

Accessories: Square Lattice embossing folder, silver brad, corner rounder punch

18th Birthdays

2011-08-24T20:55:00.001+10:00

It sems that whenever I get around to posting I bombard you all with a back log of postings. This is my last for the night I promise. These were not done for a class but just something that I did for fun. My eldest son has been going to a few 18th birthdays lately and I have had to produce some cards rather quickly. These are two that I threw together about half an hour before he was due to go out. I think I will have to get it together and make a few more to have on hand.

The black and white card is using Stampin Up Designer papers and the other card is from some papers that I have had for ages and really need to use up.

Christmas In August?

2011-08-24T20:42:00.000+10:00

I normally start doing Christmas cards once a month from July but somehow this year, July came and went before I knew it, so we had to start in August. It seems really weird to start so early but if you are anything like me, (horribly unorganised!) if you don't get an early start they never get done. I would be horrified if I had to go out and do the unthinkable and buy Christmas cards.

The idea behind these cards was to make them fairly quick to make so that they could easily be mass produced without looking too simple.

The first card is a bit of a spin off of a card that we did last year.

Cardstock: Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White

Stamps: Snow Swirled

Accessories: Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds

The second card uses one of my fav Christmas colour combos:

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Always Arthichoke, Very Vanilla
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Versamark
Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Baroque Motifs, Contempo Christmas
Accessories: Silver Embossing Powder

It was great to get a start on Christmas so hopefully I can get enough done early so there isn't the usual last minute late night stamping very late in December.

On Your Bike

2011-08-24T20:22:00.000+10:00

This is very similar to another card that I did for a Less Is More Challenge a little while ago but we didn't do in class. This bike stamp is so good for a male card as I think every man dreams of riding down the highway on a Harley. The only real difference to this card from the previous is that I embossed the bike in silver embossing powder to give the "chrome" look of a bike.

Stamps: Motorcycle (mini)

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red

Ink: Versamark, real red marker

Accessories: Silver Embossing Powder

Ornate Blossom

2011-08-24T20:16:00.000+10:00

I have had this stamp for some time now and I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I have even used it. I don't know if that means that I have too many stamps (as if) or I just need more time to stamp - that must be it! This was a quick, easy card to put together and I love Concord Crush and River Rock together but then River Rock is one of those fabulous colours that goes with everything.

Cardstock: Concord Crush, River Rock, Whisper White

Ink: Concord Crush and River Rock markers

Stamp: Ornate Blossom

Accessories: Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Rhinestone Brads

Embossed Frame

2011-08-24T20:05:00.000+10:00

It is difficult to see in this photo but this card has a Frame created using the Petals A Plenty Embossing folder. This is a great technique if you want a pattern around your stamped image. You need to create a template from some thick cardboard. I created a frame with an inch thick border to fit the same size as the actual embossing folder. To run this through the BigShot you need to have all of the tabs closed. You then place your cardstock into the embossing folder as usual. Place your frame template on top of the closed embossing folder, then a cutting pad and run it through. This will give you a border of the embossed image with an unembossed area in the middle. Hard to describe but very nifty!

Cardstock: Concord Crush, Vwery Vanilla

Ink: Concord Crush

Stamps: Style Beautiful

Accessories: Pearls, Petals A Plenty Embossing Folder, Champagne Shimmer Paint

The Retirement List Is Here

2011-08-01T15:02:00.000+10:00

It is that time of the year again and the Retirement List has been released today. I am sure that there were many eager stampers out there checking early this morning to see what MUST HAVE products are going. There are a few things to take note of:

Lots of Stampin Wheels are going so don't miss out and get in quick as these normally sell out fast.
All the Designer Papers are going except the Designer Series Paper Patterns Stack.
Many of our gorgeous ribbons are going so don't miss out on these.
There are 5 punches going and if you don't have them I know you won't want to miss out.
Some items have been discounted so this is a chance to grab a bargain.
A few items are being reconfigured and not being retired.

From experience of the past few years, many items sell out quickly. I suggest if there is anything that you really WANT or NEED that you get in quickly to avoid disappointment. If you have any problems viewing the list, please don't hesitate to contact me. I can also email it to you in page number order if that will make it easier for you to go through.

The best thing about this list being released is that means only 4 weeks until the new Catalogue is released and we will have many new exciting goodies to drool over!

Love & Care

2011-07-29T17:50:00.000+10:00

This is one of my most favourite sets and it is such a shame that it is a Level 2 Hostess Set as I think everyone should have this set.
I got my inspiration for this card from the very talented Teneale Williams as I have to admit I was a little Mojo Low last week when I was doing my class preparation. Although once I go started I didn't want to stop. I don't think I will be able to part with this set when the new Catalogue comes out.

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, River Rock and Very Vanilla

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, River Rock

Stamps: Love and Care, Word Play

Accessories: Rhinestones, Rhinestone Brad, Very Vanilla Ribbon

Birthday Elements

2011-07-29T16:22:00.000+10:00

Although I wasn'g going to do butterflies for awhile one just managed to sneak in this week. The first card we made was a girly birthday card.

Cardstock: Early Esspresso, Rose Red, Pink Pirrouette, Very Vanilla
Ink: Early Esspresso
Stamps: Elements of Style, Curly Cute
Accessories: Big Shot, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Rhinestones
Extras: Nestabilities Die Cuts

Now that I see this, it is not a good photo but it is far too cold to go out and take another one so sorry about that.

A Little Bit Antique

2011-07-29T16:13:00.000+10:00

I wanted to create an antiquey feel for this card and although there were a few steps involved it was actually easy to create.
The photo doesn't actually show it but we did the Faux Mother of Pearl technique on this card so it actually has a gorgeous glimmer to it.
We firstly stamped the En Francais onto Very Vanilla card. We then dabbed Champagne Shimmer Paint onto this using glad wrap and let that dry. Next we brayered Blushing Bride ink over the entire piece and then Crumb Cake over that to mute the colour and age it. We then stamped the flourish from Elements of Style in Rich Razzleberry over the entire piece. The two flowers were stamped onto a scrap and cut out, sponged and mounted on dimensionals. The card was Rich Razzleberry and then mounted with Soft Suede and Blushing Bride and finished off with some Rich Razzleberry ribbon.
The mounting layers were edged using the distressing tool and sponged with the same ink colour. The edges were rolled to make it look like peeling wallpaper.
It is such a pity that the glimmer hasn't photographed well as it looks great.

Corner Fold Cards

2011-07-29T15:58:00.001+10:00

There cards are a bit of a change to the easel fold card and are really quick and easy to make but create a bit more of a WOW than a normal fold card.
In last weeks class we made two of these in different colour schemes.

Card Stock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla

Ink: Basic Black

Stamps: Sweet Summer (Sale-A-Bration set), Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Accessories: Large Oval Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Big Shot, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Basic Pearls

Card Stock: Concord Crush, Pear Pizzaz, Very Vanilla

Ink: Concord Crush, Pear Pizzaz

Stamps: Just Believe, Thoughts & Prayers

Accessories: Large Oval, Wide Oval Punches, Lots of Tags Bigshot Die, Big Shot, Papers from Level 1 Hostess gifts

Extras: Nestabilities Scallop Circle and Circle Die

These were both easy to make but effective. I think I will be making a few more in this style for something different.

Meet Millie

2011-07-15T20:15:00.000+10:00

For years now my husband and I have gone hot and cold on getting a dog. We have never been on the same page at the same time until last Saturday! Hubby thought it about time we bite the bullet and I visited our local pet store and just fell in love with a little bundle of fluff. She was tucked away in a cage in the back of the store and I nearly missed her. I was acutally on my way out of the shop after seeing some other pups and decided to have a look around at all the "extras" available for pets now. Luckily I did as there she was, just the perfect little bundle.

After lots and lots of cuddles, I was torn away as I couldn't make a decision on my own. I had to wait for hubby to see her on Saturday. I went off to work Saturday morning and he promised to go and have a look and that he would call me when he was there. The call never came and I thought he had maybe changed his mind and we wouldn't get a dog.

When I got home I got the most amazing surprise - we had our little bundle of joy! I knew he couldn't resist those pleading little eyes if he saw her.

So meet Millie, our little Schmoodle who is so so cute and very cuddly. She looks at you pleadingly and you just can't resist sitting down and having cuddle time. Well she has done that to me many many times this week and not a lot has been happening around our house this week. Do you think you could resist this face..........

We are having a bit of fun trying to train her to use her piddle pads so if anyone has any tips, I would love to hear them. The upside of this is that I now have the cleanest floors as I seem to be mopping constantly. It reminds me of the good old potty training days with my children and happily I got there with them so at least I know the time is coming where she gets it. Lucky she is so CUTE!

Cards For the Boys

2011-07-04T14:48:00.000+10:00

I am always looking for a male orientated card at the last minute for something and never seem to have any. We made these two cards last week in class and I have used them both already so I will have to make a few more. I always find making male cards a little difficult and my sons and husband are always saying keep them simple. They all liked these two cards so I was on the right track.

The first card with the sailing boat was very quick and easy to put together.

Stamp: Seaworthy
Card Stock: Soft Suede, Night Of Navy, Very Vanilla
DSP: DSP Designer Pack in Neutrals
Access: Spiral Border punch, Blender Pens
Ink: Soft Suede, Night of Navy, Stazon Black

I love the Spiral Border punch for male cards as it gives definition to the card without being over obvious.

The second card is with the fabulous Motorbike stamp from the Autumn/Winter Mini. This catalogue finishes at the end of July so don't miss out on any of your favourites. This also was a quick card to put together even though there are a few layers involved.

Stamp: Motorcycle, Occasional Greetings
Ink: Real Red, Stazon Black
Card: Crumb Cake, Real Red, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
DSP: Designer Pack in Neutrals

Floating Butterflies

2011-07-04T14:14:00.002+10:00

Last week was my last class for the term. We had kids sport all weekend so today was the first day that I actually felt like we were on holidays and it feels goooooood! We are not going away for the holidays so hopefully I get some play time to start next term organised - now theres a challenge!

This first card can be done with just about anything. We used butterflies as I am hooked on the butterfly die at the moment but the options are limitless. You could use stars, hearts, flowers, birds, balls, anything that is relevent to the occassion. This card looks so much better in the flesh and will get a WOW from whoever you give one to.

Card stock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Desingner Paper: DSP Pettern Pack in Neutrals
Accessories: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterfly die, Tasteful Trim die, Accetate, Rhinestone gems, Champagne Shimmer Paint, Elegant Bouquet Emboss Folder
Stamps: Curly Cute

Scallop Easel Card

2011-06-23T11:05:00.001+10:00

This week has been a bit of a catch up week with classes so there was only one new project. I have finally got around to trying a Scallop Circle Easel Card after admiring them for months and months. I was surprised at how easy they are to put together and it just goes to show you just have to give things a go.

With all the excitement building about getting a new Catalogue fast approaching, I have had a look at the stamps that I have and haven't used yet! Oh boy, do I have some work to do. This is always a difficult time for me as I still have so many projects I want to get to but feel the clock ticking away and I never want to part with anything - just can't wait to get new goodies to play with.

Stamps: Because I Care (Level 1 Hostess), French Foliage, Great Friend, Style Beautiful
Ink: Always Arthichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Black Stazon
Card: Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Punches: Scallop Oval, Large and small oval
Access: Big Shot, Scallop Circle Die, Circle Cutter, Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals

Now that I have done this one, I want to try out the concept with some of the other Die cuts that we have.

A Couple of Night Owls - Bertie & Bob

2011-06-15T21:49:00.003+10:00

Even though I am not a "bird" person when it comes to craft and stamping, I have to say I just love these owls! A few weeks ago I got to have a play day with a group of very talented ladies and Kez showed us how to make these gorgeous owls. Check out her gorgeous little couple. The talented Lynn Pratt created the template and you can purchase a copy from her by visiting her blog site and clicking on templates.

I had a little play on Monday night and these were my take on the little cuties. I originally set out to do a Bride and Groom set but left it a little late and wasn't up to working out a wedding dress so I settled for a couple "Out On The Town". I really felt that Bertie needed eyelashes and she certainly got some. My original version had shorter eyelashes and no glitter and I just felt that something was missing. This is the updated version and if you can't see in the photo, I sprayed the eyelashes with Champagne Shimmer Paint and they look very GLAM!!!!!

I have used Chocolate Chip, Marina Mist, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla, Basic Black & Crumb Cake card stock. The papers are from the Love Letter DSP set. There were quite a few punches used and I made my eyes larger to create a "doey eyed" look.

Bob's Fob Watch was created using the Clock for Sense of Time and Bertie is blinged up with some clear rhinestones.

I am looking forward to creating more characters using this awesome template and I'd like to thank Lynn and Kez for the inspiration.

Yellow Fairy

2011-06-09T11:00:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago, I had some play time and I had just received Awash With Flowers so I created a few different cards using this set in various techniques. I have had a few requests to do this one so it finally managed to get on the class list. As much as I love yellow as a bright summery colour, I am not drawn to it in my craft so this was my own personal challenge - to use yellow.

Card stock: Daffodil Delight, Whisper Whtie

Stamps: Style Beautiful, Bring On The Cake, All In The Family

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink

Accessories: Daffodil Delight ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, Corner Rounder, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle and 2 1/2" Circle punches

Loving the new Butterflies

2011-06-09T10:43:00.003+10:00

I have to apologise but I am hooked on my new Beautiful Butterflies die and you may see a few more creations using this until my fascination wears off. This weeks class included another card using the butterfly but I did limit it to just the one card.

Stamps: En Fracais, Style Beautiful
Card Stock: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Vellum
Ink: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Die, Rhinestones, Old Olive Ribbon, Champagne Shimmer Paint, Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder

Petal Pizzazz

2011-06-03T16:50:00.000+10:00

Petal Pizzazz was a set that I thought I would use a lot and sadly it has been pushed to the bottom of my huge, make that super huge, pile of stamps and ignored. I love it as the flowers are so easy to cut out and if you can't have a punch to do it for you this is what you need.
The flowers where embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder and then sprayed with the Champagne Shimmer Mist. It is such a shame that this doesn't photograph well as they sparkle beautifully.

Stamps: Petal Pizzazz, On Your Birthday

Card Stock: Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Whisper White

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip

Access: Big shot, Vintage Wallpaper Emboss Folder, Paper Piercing tool, Mat Pack, Basic Pearls,

Beautiful Butterflies

2011-06-03T16:43:00.000+10:00

Can you believe that this is the first ever side step card I have made!!! I have always wanted to do this one but never got to it and when I sat down last week to do the cards for this weeks class this all just fell into place.
I am loving my new Beautiful Butterflies die for the Big Shot and no doubt you will see a few more butterflies in the future. Now the base card is really easy to do and then it is up to you how to decorate it and the options are limitless. Althogh, be aware that this card is not for the wordy as there isn't a lot of room to write much.
As easy as this card was to do, there were a few steps involved. We rollered with the wheels, cut, embossed, sponged and glistened with the Champagne Shimmer Mist but all worth it.

Stamps: Very Vintage Wheel, Sincere Salutations

Ink: Concord Crush, Elegant Eggplant

Cardstock: Concord Crush, Elegant Eggplant, Very Vanilla

Access: Beautiful Butterflies Die, Big Shot, Finial Press Emboss folder, Basic Pearls, Designer Label Punch, Large Oval Punch

One I Missed

2011-06-03T16:20:00.000+10:00

Last week I had someone wanting to purchase some of the goodies we used to make a particular card. I couldn't quite remember what we used so thought where better to look than on my blog site. After looking and looking I realised that I had missed one! Now given how frequently I post (ha, ha) I can see how this happened. So here it is.

Stamps: Tiny Tags, Friendly Words Wheel

Ink: Basic Black

Punches: Boho Blossoms, Jewelry Tag

Access: Big Shot, Island Floral Bigz Die, Clear Rhinestone Brad, Stiped Grosgrain Ribbon

A Great Deal!

2011-05-28T17:32:00.000+10:00

Stampin' Up! have listed an awesome promotion that is too good to resist! Truely any self confessed craftaholic needs to take advantage of this or you really can't be a real craftaholic.

Host a Workshop until June 30th with just $450 in sales and you receive:

A Level 1 Hostess Set of your choice
$40 Free Spend on anything from any of the Catalogues AND
A BONUS $70 Free Spend

That's right - $110 FREE Shopping Money to buy whatever you want from the Catalogues!!!!!!

Now tell me how can you let that opportunity go by. Get a group of friends together and give me a call and book a date before the time runs out!

Thanks for Caring

2011-05-28T17:23:00.001+10:00

Sadly we all at some stage have a need for a Sympathy card and I know I find it very hard to think of one when I really need one. With that thought we made two Sympathy cards this week so that when the time comes we have one at hand. My thoughts of sympathy cards is that they should be subtle and simple and the new Thanks For Caring set is just perfect. It is important to look at this set outside of just a sympathy set as the little flower and butterfly stamps are just gorgeous and can be used for any occassion. A couple of the words can also be used for other occassions.

Stamps: Thanks For Caring

Ink: Black Stazon, Bashful Blue

Card: Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla, Water colour paper

Access: Framed Tulips Emboss Folder, Designer Label and 2 3/4" circle punches

Stamps: Thanks For Caring

Card: Bashful Blue, Whisper White

Ink: Black Stazon, Bashful Blue

Access: Scallop Circle and 2 3/4" Circle Punches, Blender Pens

Emboss Resist Awash With Flowers

2011-05-28T17:13:00.000+10:00

This week we revisited the Emboss Resist Technique. I recently got the gorgeous Awash With Flowers set so just had to use it of course.

Stamps: Awash With Flowers, Tiny Tags

Card: Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Glossy White

Access: Jewelry Tag Punch, White Emboss Powder, Versamark, Whisper White Grosgrain, Hemp Twine

Onsies

2011-05-28T17:05:00.001+10:00

This card has been around for awhile now and I was inspired by a few people. The talented Karen who is on my list of Blogs I visit and Crafters Anonymous both inspired me to give it a go. It is such a cute idea.

Card: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Baja Breeze

Ink: Bashful Blue, Baja Breeze

Access: Lattice Embossing Folder, Designer Label Punch, 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches, Baby Tees Wheel, Blender Pens

A little bit French

2011-05-28T16:59:00.000+10:00

I thought it was about time I got around to posting again. I have made several attempts over the past few weeks but sadly have failed each time so you may be in for a little overdose.

This card is from last weeks class. I wanted to do something that was a little bit antiquey but this wasn't actually what I had in my head but this is what made it out. I have recently become very attached to Crumb Cake card stock. It is not a colour that I have ever used and I have to admit I had the original sheets I got in a mixed pack when I first signed up to Stampin' Up almost 3 years ago! I am now onto my third pack in as many weeks.

Stamp Set: Artisic Etchings, French Foliage

Card: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Crumb Cake

Ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler

Access: Music Notes Wheel, Build A Brad, Daubers

Splash of Summer

2011-05-14T13:32:00.002+10:00

In a complete contrast to the Autumn colours in the previous card I went more towards summer colours and feel. The icecream is created using the Build a Cup Cake punch from the Autumn/Winter catalogue. it is such a versatile punch and can be used for so much more than just cupcakes. The matching stamp set "Create a Cupcake" is also very flexible when you really look at it.

Stamps: Create A Cupcake

Ink: Soft Suede

Cardstock: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Soft Suede

Punches: Build a Cupcake, Modern Label

Extras: Silver brads, Square Latticfe Embossing Folder, Daffodil Delight PomPom Trim ribbon

Autumn Leaves

2011-05-14T13:23:00.000+10:00

French Foliage from the Autumn/Winter Mini is not a stamp set that I would naturally be drawn to I have to admit. After doing a bit of internet surfing I saw some very inspiring creations and thought I should give it a go. Given the weather lately, I also had to stretch myself out of my normal colour range and look at yellows and oranges which I very rarely use. I was really happy with the end result and just love this set now. If you have over looked it, maybe give it another look.

Stamps: French Foliage, Word Play

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Early Esspresso, Tangerine Tango

Card Stock: Early Esspresson, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla

I Feel Ulcers and Grey Hairs Coming

2011-05-04T19:43:00.000+10:00

After 12 months and a long 120 hours of Learner Driving lessons, my 17 year old son got his red P's on Monday. )Eeeekkk!! I spent all of Monday with a stomach full of butterflies and breathing into a paper bag. Torn between thinking of all that driving I will no longer have to do and the fact that my baby was going to be out there all on his own on the road was excrutiating. Why do those beautiful little cherubs we bring home from hospital have to grow up???

After we both paced the RTA waiting for his turn to do his test, quoting all the things we could remember that would be important, a very lovely, smiling man called his name - a good start. Off he went, a little apprehensive but confident he had done the work. I was left to continue to pace and look at the clock every minute and a half. Finally he walked back in but wasn't sure how he went. Another excrutiating few minutes dragged by until he got called up again. Holding our breath we listened to the instructor and the only words I think Leroy heard were congratulations - everything else was "white noise".

We are so proud of him but now the worrying kicks in. I never realised just how terrifying it would be watching him drive off for the first time solo and not sure how long it will take me to get used to it.

Anyway I just had to make him a card so after a search on the internet, I found this great punch art car on Melissa's blog site. Thanks Melissa for this great tutorial, I was far too stressed to think anything up on my own!

Flowers For You

2011-05-04T19:16:00.001+10:00

Our second card was designed to be suitable for Mother's Day without it actually having the specific words. Sadly we are not all fortunate enough to still have our mothers so I wanted to make it flexible.

Stamps:      Elements Of Style, French Foliage, Teeny Tiny Semtiments
Card:          Old Olive, perfect Plum, Whisper White
Ink:             StazOn Black, Perfect Plum, Old Olive
Acces:        Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Jewelry Tag punch, Hemp Twine, Sponges, Blender Pens, Nestabilities
                  Scallop dies

Every now and again, I really enjoy doing some colouring and the Elements Of Style flower is a great stamp to use for this technique. The blender pens are perfect for smaller areas of colouring. I stamped the image in the Stazon ink so that there was no chance of the ink "bleeding" into the colours.

Fairy Princess

2011-05-04T18:37:00.000+10:00

My holiday was officially over this week with classes returning. It was great to catch up with some of you and to hear about your holidays.

Our first card was a very girly and now that I look at it, I can see that she needs a little wand to finish of the Fairy Princess look.

Stamps:    French Foliage, All In The Family
Card:       Pretty In Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink:          Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Rich Razzleberry, Chocolate Chip
Acces:     Big Shot, Finial Press Emboss Folder, Top Note Die, Beautiful Butterflies Die, Pearls, Dazzling
               Diamonds, Sponges

Posting Overload

2011-04-10T17:46:00.002+10:00

Wow, you must be sick of me by now. I don't post for ages and now I have overloaded your inboxes!

I took part in my first challenge in ages the other day and the posting is now buried below. Anyway that got me to thinking what other challenge could I set myself. Well, last night I thought I should pack up my very messy dining table as I still had the leftovers from classes last week everywhere. Sometimes when I am tidying up, rather than putting away all the little bits of leftover cardstock, I create little gift tags. I try to include these with every order I receive as a little thank you from me. I don't write in them and I try to keep them very simple.
This week, I thought I would set myself an additional challenge. The unofficial ground rules where:
1. Only use what is on the table
2. All products must be within arms reach
3. Cannot even lift butt off chair to reach something
Now my table was pretty messy and there was quite a bit on it but I think I thought I had Go Go Gadget arms when I dreamt up the guidelines. Some things that I would have loved to have used where so close - yet so far away. Anyway it was a fairly rewarding experience and I did come up with 35 new tags for my collection - not to mention that I didn't have to clear up all those messy little bits of card stock.
Why not give this a go next time you are having a play day and see what you can come up with. Little gift tags are always a great thing to have on hand to add to that gift wrapping to make it look a little more special.
I look forward to hearing what you come up with and the rules you set yourself to do it.

Happy Easter

2011-04-10T17:25:00.001+10:00

As I won't get to see any of my lovely ladies until after Easter I just had to share my Chocolate addiction a little early. Everyone who attended classes in the last week received a little pressy.

Thank goodness for the Big Shot and the Fancy Favor Die. If you are constantly making boxes for different things this Die is a godsend.

The hardest thing about doing these was stopping all the little and not so little Dean mice getting into the chocolates.

Have a Happy Easter everyone and enjoy the school holidays. Stay safe and I look forward to catching up next term. Don't forget to bring along any creations you come up with through the break to show and tell.

Must Have Chocolate

2011-04-10T17:12:00.000+10:00

When I first looked through the new Autumn/Winter Catalogue I just knew that I had to have the Eat Chocolate set! Like how can you possibly be a choccy holic and not want this set. Even if you aren't, you MUST know someone who is. This is a gorgeous set that I am sure will be hugely successful. There is only one problem I can see with it and it may be a big one - everytime I look at it, I have an over powering urge to Eat Chocolate which is probably who it was named.

And what a great moto for life - I'm no quitter - so I gues I have to just keep eating chocolate!

Card stock:    Chocolate Chip (of course), Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla
Ink:                Choc Chip, Marina Mist
Stamps:          Eat Chocolate
Accessories:   Decorative LAbel Punch, Scallop Trim Border punch, Marina Mist ribbon

Beautiful Butterflies

2011-04-10T17:01:00.000+10:00

I had a request for something girly for Mothers Day for our last class and I don't think you can get too much more girly than this one. With Sale-A-Bration about to finish I had to incorporate another bit of Bliss before it went and managed to use something new from the Autumn/Winter catty also.

I didn't put any words on the front as not everyone wanted to do Mothers Day as such but for those who did, I used the new Decorative Label Punch with Happy Mothers Day on the inside of the card.

Card stock: Melon Mambo, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Cenlery and Very Vanilla

Ink: Melon Mambo

Stamps: Bliss, French Foliage

Accessories: Big Shot, Polka Dot Emboss Folder, Paper Distresser, Beautiful Wings Die, Rhinestones, Scallop Square punch, Dimensionals

Just In Time

2011-04-10T16:49:00.001+10:00

This first term just seemed to disappear before my eyes and I barely got to use some of the goodies I got from the Summer Mini.
In the last few weeks I tried to use things I am ashamed to say I hadn't even opened so out came Rough Type which is a fantastic alphabet set for card makers - that is once you get the fiddly little labels sorted. I don't do much scrapbooking and find some of the alphabets too large for cards but this is the answer to our problems.
I haven't used the new In Colours much either so this card ticked off two things I needed to use. The balloon looks a bit dirty in the photo but it has actually been stamped with Champagne Shimmer Paint and sparkles beautifully in the flesh.

Card stock:     Concord Crush, River Rock and Very Vanilla
Ink:                 Concord Crush, River Rock
Stamps:           Rough Type, Crazy For Cupccakes
Accessories:    Big Shot, Polka Dot Emboss Folder, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/2" & 3/4" circle punch
                       Concord Crush ribbon, Dimesionals, Champagne Shimmer Paint

How Time Flies

2011-04-10T16:31:00.002+10:00

I had one of those moments that only a parent can understand last week when we started the day singing Happy Birthday to my wonderful first born who was turning 17! I mean when did that happen!!! I am sure that it was only a few years ago that he was just starting out at school fresh faced and full of awe at everything. Now he has whiskers and is ready to take on the world.
We have had a few heart stopping moments of late with the first time your child gets into another childs car - who isn't sitting in a booster seat but who is actually sitting behind the steering wheel! I am SO not ready for all this grown up stuff from my little cherubs. Does anyone know how to turn the clock back or at least stop time. Anyway he had a wonderful birthday.
As usual I was last minute mum yet again and was up late trying to think up a card idea. He isn't into fussy so here is what I came up with.

I kept the colours very neutral with Basic Black and Very Vanilla. I used the Newsprint DSP which very kindly had a 17 amongst the print on one of the sheets. To lift it a little I added Crystal Effects to the 17 to make it stand out and added a clip from the Mini Library Clips. True to the male species he couldn't work out what it was there for if it didn't really do anything. That's boys for you, they just don't get the whole accessories thing!

Luckily this was a quick and easy card and I wasn't up till all hours but - there was no stamping (shock)!

What A Ride

2011-04-06T16:54:00.000+10:00

If you are anything like me, when it comes to boy or man cards, you struggle. When I saw this awesome motor bike stamp I got a little excited! I know crazy aren't I? "Motorcycle" is one of the great new stamps in the Autumn/Winter Catalogue just released and I am sure it will be popular.

I made this card really only to show what can be done for a quick simple male card and one of my lovely downline ladies Karen who is linked on the side bar of my site suggested I submit to the Just Add Red Challenge on the Less Is More site so this is my entry.

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White & Real Red

Stamp: Motorcycle

Ink: Basic Black

Tools: Paper Piercing Mat and Piercer & Real Red Marker

Kimono Cuties

2011-04-02T17:55:00.000+11:00

One of the first sets I had to have when the Catalogue came out was Kimono Kids. I just fell in love with these two gorgeous little dolls. With all that has been happening in Japan lately and with both of my children going to Japan in the near future (OMG, I will be a nervous wreck), I had to do a bit of a tribute. We have been doing a bit of colouring over the past few weeks in classes and this one was done using crayons and Aqua Pens. The images were embossed to make colouring in smaller areas easier.

Stamps: Kimono Kids

Card stock: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White

Crayons: Real Red, So Saffron

Ink Pads: Versamark

Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Aqua Pens, Dimensionals

Mother Of Pearl

2011-04-02T17:45:00.000+11:00

It is such a shame that my camera doesn't take great pictures as this technique looks gorgeous. It is called Mother Of Pearl as when you can see the full effect, it looks like the inside of a pearl shell. I am looking forward to experimenting with different colours and if they take better pictures I will definately post them.

Stamps: Tiny Tags, Elements Of Style

Card Stock: Glossy White, Pink Pirouette, Early Espresso

Ink: Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette

Accessories: Scallop Border Punch, Jewelry Tag Punch, White Shimmer Paint, Daubers, Early Espresso Ribbon

Award Surprise!

2011-04-02T17:25:00.001+11:00

Once again I am behind in updating my Blog. The lovely Kez kindly nominated me for this award and I am only just getting around to doing anything about it. Thanks Kez it was a lovely surprise.

Now this is what I have to do:

Acknowledge who I recieved this award from - Thanks Kez
Link back to the person who awarded me - Done
Nominate 3 of my favourite blog sites with less that 300 followers. Now if you think that is easy, think again as there are so many extremely clever ladies out there that inspire me when my mojo takes leave of my body!

1. Karen - Karen is one of my lovely downline ladies and is very talented.
2. Michelle - Michelle is in the same group of demonstrators as me and also very creative.
3.Jennifer - Jennifer is also within the same group as I am and makes some wonderful creations.

Take a look at these fantastic blogsites and enjoy.

Happiness Shared and a little touch of Vintage

2011-03-13T14:28:00.000+11:00

Every now and again I get the urge to do some "colouring in". I actually find it relaxing which some find that hard to understand. The Happiness Shared stamp set is a great little set to use forn water colouring, blending or just colour with markers and stamp. This is one of the cards that we did in last weeks classes.

Card stock:   Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla
Ink:                Always Artichoke and Early Esspresso
Stamps:          En Francais and Happiness Shared
Other:            Dimensionals, Daubers and Basic Pearls

This is the other card made at class last week. A little bit of Vintage here was quite a bit of cutting to do in this class which never makes me popular but it is always a good thing to work on those fine motor skills every now and again don't you think??

Card stock: Rich Razzleberry, River Rock and Very Vanilla

Ink: Rich Razzleberry and River Rock

Stamps: Vintage Vogue and Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Punches: Word Window and Modern Label

Other: Dimensionals, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Dazzling Diamonds

Up Up and Away

2011-03-08T15:09:00.001+11:00

A Little Treat is such a cute little set that can be used with the Sweet Treat Cups or on its own. My father in law recently went on a Hot Air Balloon ride that he had received as a gift and had a wonderful time so this was designed around that.

The very first stamp set I bought from Stampin' Up! was before I signed up at the Papercraft Show at Penrith was All In The Family. The sole reason for buying it was centred around the wonderful thing Stampin' Up! was doing with this set. The original Managing Director of Australia had recently passed away and SU was donating ALL of the profits World Wide for this set to his family. How could you not buy it knowing that. I was so impressed with that, I thought this had to be a great company to be part of. So there began my journey.

Card Stock: Pacific Point, Night of Navy, Real Red and Whisper White

InkL Real Red, Pacific Point, Basic Black

Stamp Sets: All In The Family. A Little Treat, Word Play

Punches: 1 3/4" Circle, 1 3/8" Square, 1 1/4" Square

Chocolate Bliss

2011-03-08T14:59:00.000+11:00

My favourite Sale-A-Bration set is Bliss and when I think of Bliss I think of Chocolate so naturally the two had to be combined. This card used the Faux Tearing Technique.

Card Stock: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla

Ink: Chocolate Chip and Pink Pirouette

Stamps: Bliss and En Francais

Punch: Scallop Trim Border

I have been a very bad blogger!!!!

2011-03-08T09:26:00.000+11:00

I have to apologise for not being very consistent with my blogging this year. It is so hard to believe that it is March already. Since Christmas I have been distracted from my business as my father is very ill fighting cancer. At the moment he is doing ok. This is not going to be an easy time and I have thought about taking time off but I think that I need the distraction. I have always said that cardmaking is my sanity escape so now would probably be the worst time to take a break. I will however only be posting occassionally as I get spare time. Thank you to those of you who have enquired about my absence.

This is a card that we made a few weeks ago in class.

Card stock: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede

Stamps: A Word For You, En Francais

Accessories: Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder, Blossom Party Dies, Boho Blossom Punch, Daubers

Wedded Bliss

2011-02-14T18:24:00.001+11:00

I have always admired teh Word Play set and I finally got it so looking forward to creating with this one. I had a quick play and this is a simple wedding card that popped into my head. I have used Basic Black and Vellum. The vellum was run through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wall embossing folder. You can't see it in the photo but I sprayed the Vellum with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint and it looks great. I used the scallop circle punch and the 1 3/8" circle punch and added a clear Rhinestone brad just above the O in Do. Add a bit of white grosgrain ribbon and a quick card done in about 10 - 15 minutes - got to love that!

Been A Long Time

2011-02-12T18:23:00.000+11:00

Wow, I can't believe that I haven't posted since Deccember 17th!! It is now February. We had a wonderful holiday firstly in Port Stephens and then my hustband and I went to Hawaii for a week. That was absolutely awesome and I highly recommend it as a wonderful holiday destination. We came back so relaxed and I think I still have a little "Holiday Head" going on. It has been harder to get back into it all than I thought.

Classes started back this week and it was so good to catch up with most of you. I look forward to seeing everyone that couldn't make it soon.

The first card was designed for Valentines Day as it is just around the corner.

The colours are Real Red and Sahara Sand with patterned paper from the Bold Brights pack. I just love the Owl punch and we also go to use the Punch Bunch stamp set from the Sale-a-bration Catalogue. The hearts are from the Heart to Heart punch and the words are from Short & Sweet.

This card is the same layout as the first but looks completely different. the colours are Rich Razzleberry and River Rock with Very Vanilla. The papers are from the Bold Brights DSP pack. The stamp is from Friends Never Fade and we used the Markers to ink up the stamp. The River Rock layer was stamped with the flourish from Baroque Motifs which is ann old favourite. Add a bit of Rich Razzleberry ribbon and a Clear Rhinestone and there you have it.

These were both quick and simple cards as we all had a lot of chatting to catch up on.

Dasher and Dancer

2010-12-17T11:41:00.001+11:00

Most afternoons I have my two little "lions" sitting on either side of my steps reflecting on their day and enjoying the afternoon breeze. Each year I try to add some new christmas lights and some sort of decoration to my collection. This year I saw these gorgeous reindeer and tried to resist. I managed for several weeks but yesterday whilst driving my car somehow managed to get to Parramatta on its own and before I knew it I was parked outside the Christmas Warehouse!! Now I don't know how that happened but who am I to fight fate, so I thought, if they are there I will have to have them. Well it was obviously meant to be as not only were there a few left but they had been marked down - bonus!!
I rushed home and set up Dasher and Dancer and just as I went to take the photo, one of my little "lions" came out to take up his post. He was a little miffed and certainly gave me a look of disgust as his possy was gone and some strange creature had taken over. I will have to teach him some Christmas spirit.

I want to take this chance to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. A huge thank you to everyone who has attended my classes throughout the year and best wished to all that take the time to pop in and look at my blog.
If you are travelling please stay safe and I hope you have time to relax and enjoy special moments with your family and friends.
I am sure that Santa will visit each and everyone of you as you have all been excceptionally good all year and that you experience a little of the magic that Christmas brings.
2011 is just around the corner and I hope that the year ahead is full of happy times and pleasant surprises. I am looking forward to catching up with everyone and hearing how you all spent the festive season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Peek - A-Boo

2010-12-17T11:17:00.000+11:00

This was just a quick card I put together using one of the little characters I created whilst playing with my new toy. I have punched out a circle from the front of the card and the owl is acutally stuck to the inside of the card. The papers are from the Celebrations pack. The colours are Bashful Blue, Pacific Point. Real Red and Pear Pizazz. The words are from Curly Cute which was a late addition to my modest (ha, ha, I wish) stamp collection.

My Alfred Hitchcock moment

2010-12-17T11:06:00.001+11:00

Birds, birds and more birds! There are greater powers working here to make me get over my bird thing. Hopefully this will be it and I can move on. These were made at the last class of the year which was sad but I was ready for a break and can't wait to come back refreshed and ready to hear everyones holiday stories.

This was created using the Punch Potpourri Level 1 Hostess Set with a little EnFrancais and Medallion background stamps. The colours are Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip which I love together.

I have to thank my friend Kez (thanks Kez) for getting me hooked on the Owl punch but you have to admit that even though it is a 'bird' he/she can be very cute. I say he/she as you can create so many different personalities with this punch it is amazing. I have to admit I have had hours of fun creating different characters with this one.

The colours are Pacific Point, Marina Mist, Real Red and Whisper White.

Christmas Tree Lantern

2010-12-17T10:51:00.001+11:00

One of my lovely customers sent me a link to a very talented lady called Danielle Daws. Sorry I haven't linked you directly to her positing but if you look on the right hand side for Christmas Tree Box you will be taken to the posting.

I absolutely loved what she and her very handy hubby had created so just had to make one. The solid tree in the photo is how the template turned out. I was lucky enough to have a play day so I actually made a few and enlarged the template to get different sizes. Knowing how much I love Christmas I couldn't help but wanting to take this further. I then had a thought that wouldn't it look great with windows and a flickering candle inside. No you don't need to imagine burning curtains, fire alarms and fire fighters rushing in! - a battery operated tea light candle.

I enlarged the tree to 130 percent and cut out windows and inserted vellum. This size makes the base large enough to put a tea light candle in. They look so good at night time.

The larger candle was rolled with So Swirly and Silver ink which sadly has retired but you just have to have silver with Christmas. I added some Rhinestones which are on page 140 of the catalogue and can be missed so easily as they are not displayed very well but are a MUST have.

Thanks Danielle for the inspiration and what a great hubby you have for drawing up the template.

Watercolours

2010-12-17T10:31:00.000+11:00

Watercolouring can be so much fun and this little set is just right for this technique. We used Every Moment which is on page 72 of the catalogue and can be easily missed - I know I missed it the first few dozen times I flicked through my catalogue. The colours are Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Sahara Sand and Watercolour paper. We used the Aqua pens to "paint" the image and of course we had to add a little Dazzling Diamonds that unfortunatley don't show up too well in this photo. Both the butterfly and flower centre dazzle.

What is going on with me lately - another bird!!!! This is also part of the Every Moment set. The colours are the same as the card above and the words are from Elements Of Style.

To give the non watercolour lovers a break we also did this quick but effective card inspired by the Catalogue. By simply changing the colours and embelishments you can adapt this card to be either male or female orientated or adult to child very easily. This one is done in Pear Pizzaz, Concord Crush and Whisper White. We used the Polka Dot embossing folder a punch or two, a bit of ribbon and some bling and there you have it, quick, simple but effective.

I have done this in several colour schemes and also used the layout for several Christmas cards but unfortunately I can't find the photo's I took before I gave them out! That's what happens when you don't do things immediately. Maybe Santa will bring me a personal organisation fairy! Fingers crossed!

Fast and Fabulous Gift Set

2010-12-17T09:48:00.000+11:00

This was a little Card Set we created to either keep on hand for those last minute occassions or to give away as a gift for someone special. The stamp set is one of my favourites but sadly it isn't one that you can buy as it is a Level 2 Hostess Set but even better you can earn it for FREE!!! All you need to do is host a workshop with a few friends and you could not only get this set for free but also earn $60 in free spend. Now there is a great reason to get some friends together.
The folder is made from Soft Suede. The other colours are Whisper White, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry. We made 4 cards with co-ordinating envelopes. The cards were kept generic so they can be used for many occassions. We used Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive grosgrain ribbon and the scallop trim border punch. The stamp set is a 2 Step stamping set so we all got loads of practise using the Stamp-a-ma-jig so everyone should be an expert using this now.

Missing In Action

2010-12-07T16:43:00.000+11:00

I have so many things to post to catch up but have been crazy busy lately and unfortunately my blog site has suffered. Hopefully I will get to post a heap of photo's later next week. Thanks for checking in.

Loads of Extreme Elements

2010-11-23T23:45:00.035+11:00

It has been so long since I posted but hopefully I can catch up now. These cards were from a few weeks ago and it was a week of the Elements.

The first card uses Elements of Style which is a gorgeous set even though it has a bird in it. Believe it or not I have used the bird several times. I was looking for a classic black and white theme. The image is stamped in Basic Black and the photo doesn't show that some of the flowers have been mounted and sprayed with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint. We used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and to create a different look we put Whisper White ink onto the folder before we ran it through the Big Shot. You can just see a white outline of the impressions. When doing this you need to reink the folder each time you run it through and the ink just washes off when you are finished.

The second card uses Extreme Elements and Extreme Surfboard. The colours are Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz and believe it or not Real Red. When I looked at this photo I realised the red looks very orangy but I don't have time to take another photo. The surfer is stamped in Pacific Point. The words are from A Word for You and we used the markers to just pick up the Happy Birthday as 'with a cherry on top" didn't quite fit this card. Markers are a great way of picking out certain "pieces" of stamps giving you even more versatility with your sets.

Just Believe in the majic of Butterflies

2010-11-06T15:19:00.000+11:00

Just Believe is one of the sets I just had to have as soon as I saw the new Catalogue. This is the first chance I have had to use it and I am even more in love with it.
The colours are Pretty In Pink, River Rock (so glad this one came back) and Very Vanilla. We used the markers to colour the stamp. The River Rock layer has been stamped with Wonderfully Worn background to give it a slightly textured look.
We used the Bigshot and the Lots of Tags Sizzlits and the Word Window punch. The words are from Just Believe. We have mounted an extra flower for some dimension and added some Pretty In Pink Grosgrain ribbon.

This is a fairly simple card but looks effective. The main card is Rich Razzleberry with River Rock and Very Vanilla. The butterflies are from the Beautiful Wings Embosslits which is another must have in my books. The Vanilla card was run through the Big Shot with the Finial Press Embossing Folder. The butterflies were sprayed with a Shimmer Mist created from the Champagne Shimmer Paints.
The ribbon is Rich Razzleberry Satin and the tags were created from the Teeny Tiny Tags and Jewellry Tag Punch.

Christmas Purse Box

2010-11-06T14:53:00.000+11:00

I have wanted to make on of these for such a long time and finally got around to doing it as a class. I just love this design. It makes a really cute gift wrap option or use it to put some special photos in as a display.
Now these really are very simple to make and it is then up to you as to how much you decorate them. For some reason the open picture is importing on its side so imagine it being up the right way. I have spend so much time navigating computer problems lately I am just going to accept that this is how it is on this one.

The colours are Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla. The patterned paper is Jolly Holiday and the ribbon is Old Olive. The stamp set used was Delightful Decoratons and the Merry Christmas is from Many Merry Messages.We did some embossing with the Silver Embossing Powder and used the Ornament Punch along with the large and retired small Star Punches.

I am hoping to make a few more of these before Christmas as they are a great quirky packaging idea. Hopefully a few that attended the class will make some more also (I'm giggling).

To relax everyone after making the Christmas Purse we did a few very simple gift tags using the Level 3 Hostess Set, Playful Pieces. This is such a versatile set and these have been copied from the Catalogue. If ever there was a reason to host a workshop, this set is it. There are SO many wonderful things you can create from this set it is incredible!

A Touch of Music

2010-11-06T14:30:00.000+11:00

I have been MIA for some time now with my postings. Sorry about that but life took over and so did the dreaded Tax man and getting my computer back on track. I have had huge wrestles and many hours of hair pulling trying to get my computer back to how it was and I think I have finally won. Now the only thing hanging over me is getting my tax return done so fingers crossed that over the next few weeks I will get on top of that and then I will have plenty of time to play and post!

This card was from class three weeks ago! I just love the new Music Notes wheel and look forward to spending more time creating with this. The colours for this one are, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler (of course) and Whisper White. It is a really quick and simple card with the most time spent doing a running stitch through the grosgrain ribbon to gather it up. You can do the same look by running a strip of tape along the card front and then "tuck it" as you go. Actually sewing it makes it a little more permanent though and you can play with the gather.

The words are from A Word For You on page 110 which is a gorgeous new set, I just love the font.

This second card uses Artistic Etchings which I nearly didn't buy but I am glad that I did. The colours are River Rock, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla. The River Rock and Very Vanilla layer have En Francais stamped in River Rock Ink and have been edged with a dauber in River Rock. It is very hard to see in the photo but we stamped the medallion from Artistic Etchings over the En Francais using the Champagne Shimmer Paint. Now if you haven't got your hands on the fantastic Shimmer Paints yet, what is wrong with you?!!!!!!! These are the MUST HAVE product of the year! You can stamp with them, make a shimmer mist that sparkles or colour them and have a sparkling ink. The options are endless and they can just lift an image giving your cards a whole new look. Make sure you add them to your next order!

Christmas Decorations

2010-10-21T10:59:00.000+11:00

This was one of the projects at my last class of term 3. I didn't get time to do any posting before we went away so trying to do a bit of catch up.

This card and gift tag uses the gorgeous Delightful Decorations set. The colours are Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke. The words are from Teeny Tiny Sentiments and we used the Lots of Tags for the Big Shot and the Ornament Punch.

I also used the new Scallop Trim border for the inside. I haven't been a real fan of Always Artichoke but I think it goes really well with my new favourite, Cherry Cobbler.

Off to (Sunny?) Qld

2010-10-01T13:01:00.000+10:00

Our whole family is off to supposedly sunny Qld today for 2 weeks. I have been looking forward to this break for awhile now so hoping that the weather picks up.
We are going to the theme parks and Australia Zoo and generally for a bit of a look around. This will be our first road trip with all the kids for quite a while so it will be interesting how many times teenagers can ask "are we there yet"?
I have a few girlfriends on speed dial to pick me up from the airport if it all gets too much (ha,ha).
I won't be posting for a few weeks but will be checking emails every so often so if you have any queries shoot me off an email and I will repsond when possible.
Classes will begin back the second week of school term so the first being Tuesday 19th October. I am looking forward to getting back into classes but I have been enjoying my holiday so far.
I knew it was time for a holiday when I was sitting on my lounge having breakfast last Tuesday and the delivery man, that I normally pounce on, arrived with a brown box and slid it onto my verandah. Not only didn't I pounce on him but I also sat and finshed my breakfast before I bothered to get up and bring the box in. Now that is a definate sign that I was ready for a break.
I hope everyone enjoys the school holidays and I look forward to catching up with you in a couple of weeks.

2010-09-27T20:06:00.002+10:00

GIANT CRAFT SALE

Spring is in the air and a group of demonstrators are getting together for the third time and cleaning out our cupboards for a giant craft sale.

This will be the craft sale of the year so make sure you put it in your diaries and come along.
There will be stamp sets, patterned papers, embelishments, ink pads, ribbons and much much more!!!!!

It will also be a great opportunity to pick up some gifts in time for christmas.

So bring a friend or two, grab some bargains and make a day of it. See you there!!!!

When: Saturday 23rd October

Time: 9am - 1pm

Where: The Church Hall

Blacktown East Presbyterian Church

Cnr Heffron Road and Gallop Grove

Lalor Park

New Goodies

2010-09-17T22:32:00.000+10:00

This was the first card I made with my new goodies from the 2010-2011 Catalogue and I dedicate it to my Grandmother. I just love the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. It brings back memories of staying at my Grandmothers house as a child and looking up at her ceilings as they all had elaborate workings. I always find it intersting what things in life awaken memories from our past.

Materials Used:

Card Stock: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Gold - Brushed Metallic
Ink: Baja Breeze, Gold
Stamps: Friends Never Fade, For You Flower
Other: Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Fancy Flower Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1" circle punch, sponge

This was a quick card using the new Baby Tees Jumbo Wheel. This wheel is so cute and makes a quick, easy card and looks just as cute done in girly colours.

Materials Used:

Card: Night Of Navy, Bashful Blue, Whisper White

Ink: Night Of Navy

Stamps: Baby Tees Wheel, Perfect Punches

Other: Scallop Oval Punch, Modern Label Punch

This was another quick and easy card that does not look as good in the photo as it does live. I have to admit I did not think I would like the Greenhouse Gala papers from photo's that I had seen but when I got my pack I was pleasantly surprised! It just goes to show that I really need to see a full size sheet and up close and personal to make a final decision.

Materials Used:

Card: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Papers: Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper

Other: Scallop Edge Punch. Wide Oval Punch, Paper Piercer, Two Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds

A Tough Day At The Office

2010-09-17T21:45:00.000+10:00

This is a self indulgent posting of one of my gorgeous cats - Monty. He started the day hard at work on the computer and just had to take a little cat nap to recharge the batteries. After a little play time there was some tv shows to catch up on which can be more exhuasting than you would think. He is such a shy, modest young man in his sleeping positions don't you think!

Brayer Class

2010-09-17T21:28:00.000+10:00

I love this butterfly from Great Friend as it is so versatile. Sorry about the photo quality but my camera is taking blury photos and I can't work out why.

Materials Used:

Card Stock: Rose Red, Pretty In Pink, Whisper White

Stamps: Great Friend

Ink: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Versamark,

Extras: White Embossing Powder, Jewellry Tag Punch, Linen Thread, Rose Red Ribbon (retired), Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Brayer

I kept this card neutral but many used it as a Fathers Day card and we added Happy Fathers Day from Teeny Tiny Sentiments.

Materials Used:

Card: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Whisper White

Stamps: Seaworthy

Ink: Night Of Navy, Bashful Blue, Versamark

Other: White Embossing Powder, Brayer

Wow, Wow, Wow

2010-09-08T21:26:00.000+10:00

I got most of my first order from the new Catalogue today and I have been like a kid in a candy store ever since. All I can say is WOW, I am so excited! I just can't decide what to work with first and have been walking around in circle all afternoon.

I mounted all my new stamp sets this afternoon and then my children started wanting to know what was for dinner - how rude - couldn't they see I had other ideas in mind! Luckily for me I had some ready made pizzas in the freezer and I am sure that they covered the 5 food groups if I looked carefully!

Now my biggest dilemma is that I have another box due to arrive tomorrow and I have no more pre prepared meals to draw on. Looks like it is time to get closely acquinted with the local take aways. I need one of those majic noses that I could wiggle and freeze frame life around me so I can just play! Anyone know where I can get me one of those????

Hopefully I will have some creations to share with you soon and will post as soon as I can.

Punch Art Class

2010-08-30T15:26:00.001+10:00

This week saw my dining table stacked with punches as I thought it would be a nice change from stamping (not that you can ever have enough stamping) and see what we could create using just punches, well almost!

The first card is a revamped one from a year or two ago. It is a cute little Japanese lady using punches and patterned papers.

Materials Used:

Card:             Basic Black, Whisper White, Riding Hood Red
Papers:          In Colour Designer Series, Riding Hood Red
Punches:        Wide Oval, Large Oval, Small Oval, 1 1/4" circle, 1 3/8" circle, 1/2" Circle
                     Boho Blossoms Punch
Stamp:           Teeny Tiny Sentiments

The second card is a mystery as to what it actually is. I am waiting to get some feedback as to what little children see it as. It kind of reminds me of the Aeroplane Jelly plane from my childhood or a very odd looking rabbit! Anyway I thought it was a fun, bright character for childrens cards.

Materials Used:

Card:                Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Basic Black
Punches:           Wide Oval, Large Oval, Small,Oval, Heart, 1 3/8" Circle, 1/2" Circle
Stamps:             A Little Birthday Cheer
Access:             White Gel Pen

The third card created a lot of chatter and giggles. We created this little bikini card and we had many variations. We had every style of bikini bottom imaginable from boy leg, high cut, low cut, g-string, french knickers, henrietta high pants, you name it! We also had a few variations on the top, anywhere from Dolly Parton to the itty bitty if you know what I mean - some pointed up, down or side ways.  Some where more realistic looking than others. I think everyone had someone in mind while making this one.

Materials Used:

Card:            Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette
Punches:       Scallop Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, Word Window, Small Oval, Large Oval
Stamps:        Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Access:         Big Shot, Pretties Kit, Designer Series Patterned Paper

Last Chance Specials

2010-08-26T20:02:00.000+10:00

Stampin' Up! has released an awesome special today on some of the items on the Last Chance List. I got a huge surprise when I saw this announcement.
There are some fantastic specials on this list so make sure you have a good look and let me know if there is anything on it that you would like. Make sure you look at the punches as they are marked down by an amazing 50%!!!!
I doubt that these are going to go fast at this price so don't wait until the last minute.

(Sorry about format but I wanted to get this news out ASAP and didn't have time to sort out formatting problems)

Item # Page Description Discount Discounted AUS Price

116342 42 Big Bold Birthday 50% $ 26.98

116408 100 Seeing Spots 50% $ 14.98

116344 121 Big Deal Alphabet 50% $ 38.98

116208 126 In Color card stock (A4) 50% $ 7.25

105538 127 Bold Brights Stampin' Write markers 25% $ 43.46

105537 127 Soft Subtles Stampin' Write markers 25% $ 43.46

105540 127 Rich Regals Stampin' Write markers 25% $ 43.46

105541 127 Many Marvelous Markers 25% $ 175.46

105550 128 Bold Brights Classic Stampin' Spots 25% $ 31.46

105551 128 Earth Elements Classic Stampin' Spots 25% $ 31.46

105539 128 Earth Elements Stampin' Write markers 25% $ 43.46

105552 129 Rich Regals Classic Stampin' Spots 25% $ 31.46

112042 132 Urban Garden Designer Series paper 50% $ 8.48

112041 134 Bella Rose Designer Series paper 50% $ 8.48

107305 152 Oval Large punch 50% $ 15.48

113692 152 Eyelet border punch 50% $ 15.48

109043 152 Scallop Circle punch 50% $ 15.48

113694 152 Heart to Heart punch 50% $ 15.48

112082 152 Wide Oval punch 50% $ 15.48

112091 152 Scallop Edge punch 50% $ 15.48

113693 152 Full Heart punch 50% $ 15.48

104310 155 Crafters' Tool Kit 25% $ 58.46

112004 AW28* 1-3/4" Circle punch 50% $ 15.48

116629 CO* Butterfly punch 50% $ 15.48

It's Hear!!!!!!

2010-08-20T12:00:00.000+10:00

I got a very welcome delivery yesterday....... my order of the very much awaited 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue arrived!!!!!!! I normally meet the delivery driver with enthusiasm but he got an extra excited greeting yesterday. He must think I am some kind of crazy lady.
If you want to get your hands on one of these Catalogues don't forget to book into my In With The New, Out with The Old Launch Night next Friday 27th. Take a look at my earlier posts for the details and either call or email me if you want to attend. Please feel free to invite any friends you think may be interested.

I will be busy this week creating some new samples with all the goodies I have managed to get my hands on.

If you can't make it along and still want a Catalogue, let me know and I will arrange to get a copy to you.
I hate to tell you that on my first run through I have a Wish List too long to believe!!!! I will have to work out a way of culling it - just for a short time though. (ha, as if!)

Christmas In August

2010-08-20T11:53:00.000+10:00

It was time to do Christmas Cards again this week and we got to add 3 more cards to our collections. Two of these where nominated as "special people" cards and one was a "mass production" card. This was due to the amount of work in each one.

This first card was the "mass production" card. I have to apologise for the photo as it does not do the card justice. We used the Lovely As A Tree and Heard From The Heart sets. The card stock is Night of Navy and Silver. The tree and words were stamped in Silver ink and we then added Puff Paint which unfortunately is not a SU product but is great to create that snow effect. This was sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds and then hit with the heat gun. It is very hard to see in the photo but the tree glitters and looks stunning. This card could be done in any colour combo and look striking.
We used the large and small star punches for the insert and sadly the small star punch is being retired so don't miss out and order one before August 31st if you NEED one of these!

This card is simple but effective but for some colouring in is not their favourite pass time. I actually find it quite relaxing and theraputic.

We used Old Olive, Real Red and Whisper White card stock. The image is from Holiday Line Up and stamped in Basic Black ink. We coloured in with Real Red and Old Olive markers. Once again we used the large and small star punch for the inside. The small star punch is so versaltile an can be used for birthday cards, male cards and christmas so it is a MUST have in your punch kit in my books. I can't believe that SU are retiring it but we have to have faith that they know what they are doing and perhaps something better is coming. Contact me to order one if you don't have one already.

The third card was some fun Punch Art. We did use quite a few punches to make this adorable Santa but he is very cute! I will try to list them all.

Scallop Square, Scallop Oval, Scallop Circle. Large Oval, Word Window, 1/2" Circle, 1 3/8" Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, 1/4" Circle, Boho Blossoms. (Phew!)

The colours are Real Red, Garden Green, Basic Black, Pink Pirouhette and Whisper White

The words are from Many Merry Messages and the Swirls are from Spotlight On Christmas which is sadly retiring. I am going to miss that set as it can be used throughout the year also.

I am looking forward to Christmas In September as we will have some new Goodies to play with from the 2010-2011 Catalogue which I can't wait for you all to see.

Week 4 Classes - Black Magic

2010-08-13T21:33:00.000+10:00

We got to experiment with the "Black Magic" technique this week. This photo is not the one that we did in class but one that I played with after classes had finished. This is sadly one of the retiring stamp sets so I wanted to do something with it one last time.

The photo doesn't do the colours justice but I am limited to what my camera can do and my photo taking skills - not sure which is the most deficiant.

What I used:

Stamp Set:     Kindred Spirits, Trendy Trees
Ink:               Craft White, Watercolor Pencils
Card:             Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black
Ribbon:          Rich Razzleberry
Punches:       Word Window, Large Oval, Scallop Oval

The second card we did uses my all time favourite stamp set which very sadly is retiring from the Catalogue but I will not be parting with mine. I also used Vellum which I don't use very often but when I do I remember what an effective look it creates. It is a great way of softening bright colours or adding style to a formal card.

Materials Used:

Stamp Set:     A Rose Is A Rose, Heard From The Heart
Card:             Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink:               Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black
Ribbon:          Riding Hood Red Satin Ribbon
Other:            Vellum

The many sleeping positions of Benji

2010-08-13T21:15:00.000+10:00

I have posted a few pictures of one of our two cats, Benji in the past as he has some strange sleeping habits. He is basically a lazy cat and will sleep any where and will often stop half way to where he is going and have a little nap on the way. We have many photo's of his wierd and wonderful sleeping spots and I will try and post a different one occassionally.

He wanted to be close to my eldest while he was doing his homework and when he got kicked off the keyboard this is as far as he got. You would have to wonder if he is comfortable??

Class Catch Up - Week 2 - Gift Cards

2010-08-13T21:07:00.000+10:00

Week 2 saw us making a cute little bag with 4 gift cards. This would make a great little gift or just looks great on the sideboard waiting for an occasion to use the cards.

There was quite a bit in these so I will just quickly list what I used:

Card:
Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Old Olive, Basic Black
Ink:
Black Stazon, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry
Stamps:
Occasional Greetings, Petal Pizzaz, Flower Fancy, Thoughts & Prayers
Punches:
1/2" circle, 3/4" circle, 1" circle
Other:
Melon Mambo ribbon, crystal effects, Dimensionals, brads, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Big Shot

I have to admit, the day before classes started this week, I had a HUGE creative block. I actually sat at my dining room table for 6 hours trying to come up with something. The week prior had been full on and I was tired and not feeling the best so the pressure was on. That is probably the worst creative block I have ever had and it was such a relief when it all came together. I think the end result was worth it in the end but I hope I don't have another day like that for a long long time!!!

Class Catch Up - Week 3 - Brayering

2010-08-13T21:00:00.001+10:00

I have always admired cards that have been brayered but never tried it so after a lesson from the very talented Brayer Queen Kerry, I thought I should put my under utilised brayers into action and get them earning their keep.
Both cards are very simple and quick to make but look like you have spent hours getting the colour just right.

Card 1:
Basic Black, Old Olive, Night of Navy, Whisper White card stock
Bashful Blue, Old Olive and Night of Navy ink
Lovely As A Tree Stamp Set
Versamark and Black embossing powder
Brayer
Brayering is a great way of creating a certain colour card stock if you don't have it. Once you have done a few practise runs it is so much easier than I ever imagined and so much fun creating different colour scenes.

Card 2:
Really Rust, Basic Black and Whisper White card stock
So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie and Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip ink
Inspired by Nature stamp set
1 1/4" circle punch
Brayer
I love the colour combination of this one. It reminds me of the summer we are all longing for.

I really enjoyed brayering and will definitely be doing more of it when time permits me to have some play time.

Class Catch Up - Week 1 - Christmas In July

2010-08-13T20:55:00.000+10:00

Yeah!!!!! I have my computer back so now I can catch up on some postings. The first week back at classes this term was Christmas In July. From now on, one week a month will be dedicated to stocking up on Christmas cards to take some of the stress out of December.

The first card used:
Real Red, Garden Green, Silver and Whisper White card stock.
Large and small star (retiring) punches, 1 3/4", 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches
So Swirly Wheel
Silver and Versamark Ink pad
Silver Embossing Powder
Spotlight On Christmas Stamp Set (Retiring)
Dimensionals

This was relatively easy to make. I rollered strips of the red and green card with the So Swirly wheel and silver ink and punched out the stars. They were then laid out around the circles mounted in the centre.

I can't believe that the small star punch is going as it is so great for Christmas and children's birthdays so if you don't have this one you might want to consider it before stock runs out!

The second card used:
Baja Breeze, Whisper White card stock

En Francais, Medallion stamp sets

Silver Ink, 1 3/4" circle punch and pearl from Pretties Kit

These are 2 of my favourite stamps and ones that I have been using a lot of lately. The Medallion stamp is just so versatile and makes a gorgeous quick card that always looks stylish. If you don't have this one, I just can't understand it!!!!!
This card can be used as a Christmas card or an all occasion card.

The 2010 - 2011 Catalogue Is Almost Here!!!!

2010-08-10T23:10:00.001+10:00

Out With The Old and In With The New - Invitation

It has been 18 months since I last said that but it is finally here!!! The very much awaited new Catalogue is just around the corner. Sadly in order for us to get the new one we have to say goodbye to some of our favourites. So to do this I am having a "Out With The Old and In With The New" Night.

For those of you who haven't been to one of these before it is when I sell off all my retiring sets (well maybe not quite all of them), and introduce some of the new products. You get a copy of the new Catalogue and take part in some make and takes.

It is a relaxed night where you get to catch up with old and new friends, have a drink, some nibbles and maybe win a prize or two!

When: Friday 27th August
Where: 15 Daphne Ave
              Castle Hill
Time:    7 - 9.30pm
Cost:    $10 (includes your copy of the new catty)
RSVP: Monday 23rd August
              9686 4069, 0411 222 501 or thedeans@ihug.com.au

I hope you can make it and please feel free to bring along a friend.

Last Chance List Update

2010-08-04T13:06:00.000+10:00

Well the craziness has taken hold and things are selling out already. I can see it is going to be difficult to keep you updated as it will probably change daily but I will do my best.

SOLD OUT
Sahara Sand A4
Close To Cocoa A4
Sweet Slumber Specialty DSP

RUNNING LOW
A Rose Is A Rose Stamp Set
Playful Petals Stamp Set
Totally Tabs Stamp Set
Short Order Alphabet Stamp Set
Real Red Stampin' Around Cartridge
Basic Black A4 (40 sheet packs)

There are some real bargains hidden in this HUGE list with 6 stamp sets marked down by 50% and 17 others marked down by 25% so make sure you have a good look!

One thing that sold out very quickly last year where the wheels. There are 7 jumbo wheels and 8 standard wheels going this year so if they are on your list, don't wait too long!!

Don't panic about all the punches on the list as most of these are being reconfigured into the new punch style. There are 5 punches not returning however, and they are:
Small Star
Trio Flower
Double Rectangle
Horizontal Slot
Slit

There is so much to take in on this list so if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

LAST CHANCE (RETIREMENT) LIST

2010-08-01T20:29:00.001+10:00

Well I can 't believe that it is August and it is finally time for the much awaited with nerves LAST CHANCE LIST. I have been looking over mine tonight and there are a few things that I am upset about but I just have to remember that the new Catalogue is now only a month away and there will be so many other things I will have to have I am sure.

Please remember that although everything on this list is available until August 31st, some things are selling out and once they are sold out, that's it, there gone forever! I would suggest not waiting too long to order if there are things that you must have as you may miss out. So don't hesitate to contact me and I can place an order for you.

I haven't had any time to post the last 2 weeks classes as yet. I still don't have my computer back and it is really driving me crazy. We have also had a Japanese exchange student staying with us for the past 10 days which has been so much fun and he went home today. Our house seems unusually quiet and we are all trying to get used to him not being here. It gave my eldest son a fantastic oppotunity to work on his Japanese as it is one of his subjects at school. We have all learnt some phrases and naturally, we have sent him home with a few "Australianisms".

Suffering Missing Computer Syndrome

2010-07-21T14:30:00.000+10:00

The past few days have been very stressful in my house. My almost new laptop became very sick over the weekend and had to be taken to the Techo Doctor. The news was all bad - a faulty hard drive. After I lost my breath for a few moments realising that I wasn't going to get my computer back that day, I thought, "No problems", my warranty will cover that. I came home and went to dig out my receipt and warranty certificate and shock horror, I couldn't find them. Now I normally know where almost everything is in this house but Murphy was sitting on my shoulder at that moment. Needless to say I started tearing apart filing cabinets, draws, cupboards, and still no paperwork. There was no stress in this house on Monday, what with this, having to prepare for this weeks class starting Tuesday, a child going away on camp for 3 days and an exchange student arriving for 2 weeks - can you imagine! I spent hours searching, sorting, tidying ( I know have pretty organised cupboards at least) and come Tuesday morning still no joy.
A girlfriend rang me and brought some calm to my situation. She said don't worry, you got it at Harvey Norman and they should be able to print out your reciept! Well I was on the phone as soon as I hung up and a lovely calm young man had both my receipt and warranty certificate printed out within seconds! Now that is a service worth remembering. I am sold on Harvey Norman now - not that I plan on losing any more receipts like this.
I still have the problem of no computer though as I have to send mine in for repair. This means that what little time my teenage children will allow me to get on their computer may limit the amount of postings I get to do in the next week or two so please bear with me and I will catch up with photo's as soon as I can.
If you need me for anything, please don't hesitate to call me on 0411 222 501 as I have limited email access also. I am forever saying to my children that they are far too dependant on computer technology but I now realise that I am just as bad.
I will post photo's as soon as I can, promise!

July Two Step Stampin' Promotion

2010-06-29T22:19:00.001+10:00

For the entire month of July you have a fantastic opportuntiy to get a 20% discount from some the gorgeous Two Step Stampin' sets. A Rose Is A Rose is one of my absolute favourites and sadly it is going to be retiring as at the end of August. If any of these sets are on your Wish List now is the time to grab them.

Item          Page             Description               Regular Price            Sale Price

116386     39                 Loads of Love           $39.95                 $31.96

116342    42                 Big Bold Birthday**     $53.95                $43.16

115860    78                A Rose is a Rose**       $66.95               $53.56

116332   86                Playful Petals**             $52.95                $42.36

115770   98                Cheep Talk                    $47.95               $38.36

115946 115               Wonderful Favourites     $39.95                $31.96

119187   14*              Tiny Tags (wood-mount) $38.95              $31.16

118592 14*               Tiny Tags (clear-mount)   $28.95              $23.16

119163 31* Cottage Garden (wood-mount)      $32.95             $26.36

120003 31* Cottage Garden (clear-mount)       $24.95             $19

** Retiring
* Autumn/Winter Mini

If you NEED any of these sets, send me an email and I will order them for you.

Class Week 9 - Blue Birds and Flowers

2010-06-23T14:22:00.000+10:00

If you know me you know I am not a huge fan of Birds - in any form of craft that is - not the real ones. I did however buy the Two Step Bird Punch from the Mini Catalogue so of course I had to put it to use. I had quite a bit of fiddling to get to the end result on this one but it has grown on me.
I was really upset to see that Brocade Blue was one of the colours being retired in September so it was a main influence in this weeks cards. I am going to miss this colour.
The main card is Bashful Blue and we got to play with the Scallop Circle Big Shot die. The large blue circle is cut with the Scissor Circle. The birds stamped with En Francais background and edged with Bashful Blue.
The flowers are from the Boho Blossoms punch.
I don't often put in photo's of the insides of my cards but I will try and do this from time to time.

Our second card is also in Brocade Blue and Bashful Blue. Using Vintage Vogue we created this field of flowers. The Top Note makes a great background to work with. Now I think that there should be a punch for everything but sometimes you just have to cut out. We did have to do a bit of cutting this week but I think the end result was worth it. Some of the flowers have had Dazzling Diamonds added to the edge of the petals and we also coloured a Dimensional and added some Bling to that. The shape of our Dimensionals are fantastic for flower centres don't you think?

If you are like me and love Brocade Blue now is the time to stock up on inks, card and ribbon as the retiring colours are now on a "until sold out" basis.

It's Not What's In The Box!

2010-06-22T13:58:00.000+10:00

Whenever I place an order I am always so excited when the delivery man arrives with my box of goodies. I can't wait to unpack it and play with any new and exciting things I have ordered. I would normally unpack and then put the box straight in the bin. Today it was cold and I have to go out later so I thought I would put the box out when I left.

Well to some it's not what is in the box that is important but the box itself, priceless!!!

Workshop Bonus

2010-06-18T22:20:00.000+10:00

A common phrase around our house at the moment is - "It's EOFYS" which is directly related to the advertising on television. For those of you blessed to not have heard this, it means End Of Financial Year Sale. When my youngest heard this, he thought it was an actual event and wanted to know how long it went for and what happened at EOFYS.
I got to thinking and thought I will have my own EOFYS of sorts - so from now until the end of July, if you host a workshop and achieve the minimum of $300 in sales, not only will you receive your FREE Hostess set and $30 FREE spend on any products - I will give you another FREE Hostess set. You will also receive a bonus gift from me!!!! That's a lot of FREE goodies.

Now I know a lot of you think workshops are a lot of work - but they needn't be. All you really need to do is invite a group of friends around, have a cuppa or two and a bickie (preferably chocolate, of course). That simple. You can pick a theme for the projects you make and then just sit back and have fun, how easy is that!!!

So what are you waiting for? Give me call or email me and book a date before time runs out!

Inspired By Nature - Week 8 Class

2010-06-16T17:01:00.001+10:00

When I post each weeks class photos it reminds me of how fast the weeks are flying by. It is hard to believe that there are only 2 weeks classes left before school holidays. I don't know about you but I am convinced that the world is spinning faster and the days are getting shorter. Its either that or I just can't fit as many things into a day that I used to.

Inspired By Nature is one of my favourite sets and I haven't used it for a long time. I also got to do a project that I have wanted to do for a long time.

This is an Easel Topped Desk Drawer and I have wanted to make on of these for months. I have seen many people do these but I got my template from Jenny Moors.

This one is done in Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze and the papers are from Urban Garden. The flower is from Inspired By Nature and was punched out with the 1 3/4" circle punch. The other two layers were done with the Circle Scissor Plus. We added Dazzling Diamonds with the Two Way Glue Pen. The "handle" on the drawer is from The Designer Brads.

Instead of putting a stamped image on the top, you could put a family photo and put a Post It Note pad instead of the calendar. You could also put a brad or pearl instead of the calendar as an anchor for the easel.

We did this card to match. The main image was stamped onto a larger piece of card and then cut into 1" strips to create a "tile"effect. To create the illusion of the flowers being in the foreground we stamped off the grass before stamping onto the card. This makes it lighter so it appears to be further away.

We created a 'spotlight" by stamping the flower image onto scrap adn punching it out and mounting it over the main image. Of course we had to add some bling to match the Desk Drawer and you can never have enough bling.

This is the same class but done in Basic Greay and Kiwi Kiss. The papers are also from Urban Garden.

Hubby's Birthday

2010-06-11T22:23:00.000+10:00

It is my dear hubby's birthday tomorrow and I have finally got around to making him a card. I always struggle with male cards and I am on a mission to use more of the patterned papers. This is so far from what I had in my head when I sat down to start but I am happy with it. I stumbled across an unopened pack of Urban Oasis papers (shock, horror) can you imagine not using it as soon as it arrived????? I fell in love with all of the sheets so you will be seeing some more cards using these papers soon.

I just recently got the Circle Scissor Plus and haven't had much time to play with it but it makes cutting cirlcles a breeze and will be one of my new favourite things I am sure.

I have used Basic Grey, Kiwi Kiss and Sahara Sand cardstock. The words on the front are from Heard from the Heart in the new Mini and stamped in Basic Grey. The inside sentiment is from A Little Birthday Cheer.
The colours aren't very clear as I had to take the photo at night and post it before I wrote in it. Hopefully he doesn't pop in and have a look at my blog!

Upsy Daisy Revisited - Week 7 Classes

2010-06-10T15:34:00.000+10:00

As much as I love Upsy Daisy I haven't used it for such a long time. After doing the Stitches & Craft Show and using this set for hundreds of Make & Takes we needed a break from each other. I did make this card some time ago but didn't feel like I wanted to do it in a class. Well this week didn't give me much play time to create so I dug it out and I now have a new desire to dust it off and experiment again.

The colours are Bashful Blue, Whisper White and Night of Navy. I inked up the stamp with Bashful Blue and then with the daubers, sponged Night of Navy just onto the tips of some of the flowers. I then dabbed the Two Way Glue Pen onto the flower petals and sprinkled them with Dazzling Diamonds. Its difficult to see in the photo but the flowers just sparkle and look gorgeous. I punched out a half circle on the side and layered a strip of Night of Navy card stock with Bashful Blue Double Stitched Grosgrain tied around it behind the flower layer. (Hope that makes sense). The Happy Birthday words are from Occasional Greetings. I'm now looking forward to playing with this set again.

Our second card was male orientated using the Seaside set. We learnt how to "Mask" which gives you the appearance of images disappearing behind another image. In this card we have the smaller shells fitting under the large shell image. The colours are Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss and Not Quite Navy. The Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss layers were distressed using the Cutter Kit tool. The words are from Teeny Tiny Sentiments and the back layer of the words is from the Scallop Oval punch trimmed down to give a whole new look with a few brads to finish it off. We also played with some Shrinky Dinks and created a little version of the large shell to hang on the inside of the card.

Cottage Garden Gift Tags - Week 6 Classes

2010-06-10T15:01:00.001+10:00

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile but we have had a very busy few weeks in our household. Sadly we lost Darren's Grandmother last week and had her funeral on Monday. Great, as she was fondly called as she was a Great & Great Great Grandmother was 95 and one of those people that always brought a smile to everyone, always had a kind word and more than enough love to go around her huge family.

Although she no longer suffers she will be hugely missed by us all.

In last weeks class we made a set of gift cards and a box using the Cottage Garden stamp set and Cottage Wall Papers. The cards are 3 x 3 and have been made fairly neutral so they can be used for any occassion or given away as a gift. The cardstock is Orchid Oppulance which is sadly going and Rich Razzleberry. The ribbon is Certainly Celery and the punches used were Eyelet Border and small and large Tags punches. The box was made by a 5 1/8" square and a 5 1/4" square, both scored at 1" around all sides. This enables the base to fit snugly into the lid. You can easily alter the box size to fit any card size.

Vintage Vogue - Week 5 Classes

2010-05-27T10:04:00.000+10:00

This card is the second project from this weeks classes. Using Vintage Vogue and the Very Vintage Wheel we stuck with the Black & White theme. I am not a huge fan of cutting out so this was a little out of the ordinary for me with six flowers to stamp and cut. You can only see 4 here but the other 2 are on the inside.
We used the wheel for the white strip along the bottom of the card and layered the flowers. The large white label is from the Sizzlits 4 pack ( which is really a 5 pack, as you get 5 labels) from the Autumn/Winter Mini.
The words are from the Teeny Tiny Sentiments set and they are layered up with the small and large Oval punches.
Other than the cutting of the flowers this is a really quick and easy card but quite striking.

What a Great Announcement

2010-05-26T20:50:00.002+10:00

20% off Starter Kit Promotion

I am forever saying I love my job and now Stampin' Up! has made it even easier for you to say that too by making a GREAT announcement! If you have been thinking of signing up as a Demonstrator, now is a fantastic time to do it. Until July 31st you can purchase the Starter Kit for an amazing price of $259!!! That is a saving of $65 from the normal price. So not only do you get over $560 worth of goodies but you get to purchase everything at a discount, you can run your own business or just share with friends.

You would also become part of an amazing team of very talented ladies who get the excitement of creating.

If this sounds like something you want to do, feel free to contact me for more information.

Creating Backgrounds

2010-05-26T15:50:00.000+10:00

This card came about today during class. For our second project this week, which I will post tomorrow, we used the Vintage Vogue stamp set and Very Vintage Wheel. One of my customers was going to go home and make some more cards but then realised that although she had the stamp set, she didn't have the Very Vintage Wheel.
Now naturally she could buy the wheel but it is not always necessary. I did a quick sample using the flourish and the small flower from Vintage vogue to create a 'Faux Wheel' image. I could have taken it another step and used the En Francias background but to be honest I just wanted to play with the stamp set and show what could be done.

What do you think???

Shelli Challenge - Wedding

2010-05-24T13:47:00.002+10:00

Shelli Gardner is the CEO of Stampin' Up! and puts up regular challenges on her So Shelli blog. I have never entered one of these in the past but someone mentioned to me that the current challenge is a Wedding Challenge and I should enter my Little Black Dress card.
My first reaction was not to do it but over the weekend I thought, why not give it a go - what have I got to lose. When I looked at the photo today I thought it doesn't really come out like it looks in real life so I put my head around how I could make it photograph better and this is what I came up with.
The dress is something I drew a few weeks ago but today I made a slight alteration and made the bodice slightly longer.
I have cut it from Basic Black and then embossed it with White Embossing Powder, Versamark and one of the stamps from Vintage Vogue. The hemline was done with the Scallop Border Punch. I lined the inside with some Whisper White cut slightly smaller than the dress front creating the white hem. A bit of Whisper White ribbon, a flower from the Pretties Kit and a clear Rhinestone Brad to dress it up and hey presto a new dress!!!
Hope you like it and this is one of the projects for this weeks class along with another card following the Black & White theme.

Week 5 Classes - A bad CASE of the Punches

2010-05-19T19:40:00.001+10:00

Sometimes we all need a little inspiration and this week I drew on the creativeness of two very creative ladies and did a little bit of CASEing. It was definately the week of Punches as I had 12 punches on the table to create both the cards.
Our first card was something that the very clever Kerry created for the Stitches & Craft show last year and I said then that I would have to CASE it one day. Well 9 months later here it is. This was a huge hit and was a lot of fun to make.

The colours are Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, YoYo Yellow, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White, Basic Black and Close to Cocoa. There are too many punches to mention individually but I am sure you can work them out. The words are from Party Hearty and was the only stamping involved in this card, shock horror! Thanks for the inspiration Kerry, this was an awesome card!

Who would have thought that a Butterfly punch could be turned into a Pansy!! If you are like me when I look at a Butterfly punch, I see butterflies. Thanks to being inspired by Gretchen I have been having a ball making dozens of pansies in different colours for the past few days.
The card base was Lovely Lilac layered with Whisper White. I used the very versatile Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder for the white background and this lifted the whole look. The leaves are from Old Olive and punched using the "wing" from the Two Step Bird Punch. The flowers are done with reinkers, Summer Sun, Lovely Lilac and Elegant Eggplant. The words are from Friends 24-7.

Over the next few weeks we will be using punches to create different flowers and putting a little bit of Spring into this new cold weather we are having.

Week 4 Classes

2010-05-19T18:32:00.000+10:00

The first card we did last week was using the Stampin' Pastels which I have to admit, I haven't used for a long time but can't work out why as they are so much fun. This card had a few steps to it. Firstly we used the En Francais background and versamark ink. We then stamped the small flower from Flower Fancy over the top of this and sponged to give it some depth.

The main image is using Flower Fancy with Versamark and Rose Red Stampin Pastels and Old Olive for the leaves. This is mounted on Old Olive cardstock. We did some dressing up on the inside also but sorry, no photo of that.

The second card used the magnificent Medallion stamp. We stamped it on Ballet Blue cardstock with Versamark and then embossed with White embossing powder. We embossed the centre of the stamp twice again on scrap Ballet Blue and punched these out with the 3/4" and 1 1/4" circle punches. We also punched out a 1" and 1 3/8" circle from Ballet Blue and layered all of these. A little clear Rhinestone Brad and some Brocade Blue grosgrain ribbon and it was done! Simple but effective.

What A Life

2010-05-12T12:42:00.001+10:00

After I dropped my children at school today I went around the house putting things away and apparantly (by the look I was given when I turned the light on) rudly disturbed Benji's sleep. I almost felt like I should have asked him did he want me to pull the blankets up.

No wonder people say they want to come back to this world as a cat!!

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-12T12:30:00.000+10:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Mothers Day and you were all spoilt rotten and made to feel special for a day.
I had a lovely day that started by sitting out in the lovely sunshine watching my daughter play soccer. We then drove up to the mountains to visit our grandmother and spent some lovely time with her.
Instead of doing the normal flower thing this year I decided to make Chocolate Wallets for everyone because we all like chocolate don't we! I made three with matching cards for my Mother In Law, Sister In Law and Grandmother.
I'm not going to break them all down as I think they are self explanatory but the stamp set is Flower Fancy which I just got recently and have been busting to use it. I am looking forward to experimenting with it more and it is one of the sets we are using in this weeks class projects.

Week 3 Classes

2010-05-12T12:17:00.000+10:00

SorryI am a little late with this posting. In last weeks class everyone got to make the overalls and a card using the very popular new Cottage Garden set from the new Mini.

The base card is Rich Razzleberry with Old Olive, Orchard Opulance and Very Vanilla. We used Old Olive, Orchard Opulance and Rich Razzleberry ink and the butterfly has been "blinged" using the Two Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds. We used the Eyelet Border to add a bit of "girly" soften the look.

It is easy to forget about the inside of your cards but we should put the effort in to make it part of the card.

This is another set of the overalls and was the first one I did. I used Brilliant Blue, Yoyo Yellow and Real Red. The Bold Brighs are so good for childrens projects. This was almost a no stamp project but I couldn't have that so there is a tiny "BOO!" on the little yellow tag which is from the Tiny Tags set in the Autumn/Winter Mini. The punches used were, 13/4" circle, Large and Small Star, 3/4" and 1/2" circles and the Round Tab Punch. We went around the pocket using the Mat Pack and Paper Piercer to create the "sewn" look . The suit was edged using the cutter kit to make it look a little worn. The faux buttons were created with the 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches some twine and a sewing needle.

I'm not bored with making these yet and luckily for me a few people we know are expecting babies soon so I will have to get some girly ones ready just in case.

A Lovely Surprise

2010-05-05T22:40:00.004+10:00

I had a lovely surprise today. I have had a super busy week and had a few minutes to sit down today to update my Blog. I logged on to do a posting and found a comment from a lovely lady who is a fellow demo and is super creative. Check out Kerry's blog site and admire her fabulous creations.

Anyway, Kerry has nominated me for an award! I was blown away and feel very honoured and it put a little cheer into my day so thanks Kerry.

I have had many moments this week where I have said "I love my job" and it is so nice to know that others enjoy what you do also.

Now I get to share the love and pass this Award onto other talented people who inspire me. This is what is required:

Put the Sunshine Award on your Blog and/or within your post.

Pass the Award onto other Bloggers.

Link the Nominees within your post.

Let them know they have received the Award by leaving a comment on their Blog.

Share the love and link the person who gave you the award.

Now for some of the people who inspire me and believe me this is difficult as there are so many:

Liam

Dawn

Thanks again Kerry and now I will have to come back to do a posting as it is way past when I should have gone to bed tonight

Week 2 Class Projects

2010-04-30T23:09:00.003+10:00

This week we made this wonderful Back Pack. I got the idea from a talented US Demo, Paula Goff. They are fairly easy to make now that someone else has done all the hard work, thanks Paula, and really cute. They would make a great teachers gift with some little treats in them.

I used Rich Razzleberry card and ribbon along with Cottage Wall DSP from the new Mini. The flower is from Cottage Garden also in the new Mini.

I am looking forward to having some spare time to make a few more of these. I wan't to make some in 'boy' colours also.

We had time to make this cute little gift tag as well. I used the Perfect Polka Dot Embossing folder in the Big Shot which gives a great textured effect. The paper is from Cottage Wall DSP and the stamp from Cottage Garden. This was layered using the small and large tag punch with a bit of twine. The tag was mounted with Dimensionals.