Stampin’ Up! have announced their first ever Clearance Sale and you will be amazed at the specials!  Some items are up to 50% off!  Check out these incredible prices! 

Aren’t those alphabet prices incredible?!  I am still writing out my wishlist!  There is no limit on what you order and no minimum purchase required so grab your catalogue and call or email me today with your order.  At these prices you could even order a gift for friend’s birthday present and be super organised for the New Year.

On sale until 24 January 2010 so be quick!

I am so excited to share with you some fantastic new products from the Summer Mini Catalogue which launches today!  I’m also taking part in my very first Bloghop which I’m sure you’ll get a buzz out of too.

I am a member of a Yahoo Group called ESAD (Extra Special Australian Demonstrators) and some of us are taking part in our first bloghop to showcase the great new products in the Summer Mini Catalogue.  ESAD is a fantastic support network for demonstrators and as well as helping each other out, we have challenges, cyberstamps, tutorials and I’ve formed some great online friendships!

There will be 30 blogs to hop to along the tour so you may need to make a cuppa and settle in for a while.  You may have arrived here from Lisa’s blog and seen her gorgeous projects but if not that’s ok too, you can continue on the tour until you get back here if you like.  If you visit all 30 blogs and leave a comment on ALL 30 you will go into the running to win some gorgeous Blog Candy!  Demonstrators from all over Australia are donating all sorts of goodies so you know what they say…. you’ve got to be in it to win it.

First I must apologise for the shadows and lighting in my photos.  I had my projects all ready to photograph in the gorgeous sunlight and then discovered Paul had the camera in his car at work, so I had to wait until the evening and the light just created shadows no matter what I did.

Ok… so here we have a new fun stamp set called Something Sweet.  It has 14 stamps in the set is $44.95.  The images are so much fun and there are so many ideas to chose from, it automatically made me grab the Bold Bright colours.  I know they are not traditional baby card colours but who says we have to have soft colours? 

Stamp set:  Something Sweet (NEW)
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red
Inks:  Tempting Turquoise, Real Red
Accessories:  Scallop Edge punch, 3/4″ Polka-Dot Grosgrain (NEW), Playground Designer buttons (NEW), hemp twine.

Here’s another fun card using the same stamp set, Something Sweet.  This time I have chosen the gumball images and used the exciting new Sweet Treat Cups.  I have filled it with jelly beans and also made a pull tag so that the recipient can actually eat the goodies inside! 

Stamp set:  Something Sweet (NEW), Occasional Greetings (inside sentiment)
Cardstock:  Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Whisper White
Inks:  Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red
Accessories:  Sweet Treat Cups (NEW), 1 3/4″ circle punch (NEW), corner rounder, Crop-a-dile, Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon, 1″ circle punch, 3/4″ circle punch.  

Here’s a pic of how it looks from inside….

This card is also my entry in Keesh’s colour challenge this week, using Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Whisper White.

Last but not least we have a cute little project using the Sweet Treat Cups.  I’ve had these little buckets forever and am always looking for something to use them for and thought this would make a great additon to a party table.  I have used the Die Cut Blooms and the NEW 1 3/4″ inch circle punch to inset my Sweet Treat Cup. I’ve used a kebab skewer as my stem and adhered it to another larger die cut at the back, wrapped some Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon around it for leaves and voila!  Bright, fun, and yummy too! 

Well I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at these new products and of course there are soooo many more.  If you’d like to receive a copy of the Summer Mini Catalogue, please email me or call and I’ll pop one in the post to you.  Or you can check it out online here. 

Don’t forget I’m holding Christmas classes here on Thursday at 7.30pm and a Christmas Gift Ideas class on Friday at 10am.  I still have a couple of seats at each if you would like to come along and then you’ll be able to see the new goodies in the flesh! 

Righto…. off you go now to visit Lyanna and continue on your journey.  Have fun and don’t forget to leave your comments for your chance to win the blog candy! You have until Wed midnight EDST to submit your comments.

Thanks for looking!

Hey there!  I hope you’ve had a great week.  I’ve had a funny kind of week, really busy but really enjoyable.  I started off the week having lunch with my three sisters and Mum & Dad which is a very rare occurence these days.  I hatched a scheme to make sure Mum was going to be home and then organised that we four girls turn up with lunch.  It was a nice change of pace and a much needed catch up for all of us.  Of course it went way too quickly and before we knew it we were all rushing off to various duties.

Tuesday I had a super quick but lovely catch up with Keesh and her little monkey Jayana (who is always a charmer) then managed to squeeze in my first touch of Christmas shopping and get my hair done!  It’s amazing how good you feel when those greys are chased away!

The past few days I have been busy prepping for a class, a workshop and getting ready for our long weekend in Margaret River.  No, you can’t have a long weekend – we are making our own!  Throw in a bunch of other families in caravans, a bit of off-roading, some camp fire cooking, toasted marshmallows, lunch at a winery and the odd bakery visit and you get the idea of what lies ahead.  Such is life! I may even have to sneak in a visit to the chocolate factory!

I haven’t had much time to create this week at all so I decided to show you one of the cards I made for a recent Christmas card class.

Stamp sets:  Snow Swirled, Best Yet (Level 1 hostess)
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Real Red, Baja Breeze
Inks:  Baja Breeze
Accessories:  Scallop square punch, lge square punch, silver brads, wide grosgrain Real Red ribbon.

Don’t forget you can earn the Scallop Square Punch for FREE when you spend $85 or more on items on the Christmas Extravaganza Gift Giving Guide.  See here for more details.

Well, I’m off to finish the packing.  See you next week. 

Cheers

Hi all.  Another busy week gone by.  Boy it’s just gets a little crazy at this time of the year doesn’t?  Well at least school fete is over and I can concentrate on some other things for a while.  It was a very successful day for our little school and hats off to all those involved.

My stamp club met on Wednesday and I thought I’d share with you this gorgeous little gift box/drawer we made.  I just love it and the girls all did too. This is the one I made to start with.

This box uses Choc Chip, Real Red and Whisper White card stock together with Ski Slope DSP and the Tree Trimmings and Best Yet stamp sets. I have used Crystal Effects with glitter on the baubles and the Crop-a-dile and jumbo eyelets with a rhinestone brad and ribbons to make the drawer pull.

It also has the added bonus of a gift card attached to the top which is kept closed with the silver hodgpodge brad.

 and here is the one we made as a group. 

Here I have used Real Red, Baja Breeze and Whisper White cardstock and Ski Slope DSP .  I’ve made a bauble with the Red Gingham ribbon, Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8″ circle punch and the Snow Swirled image with a Fire Rhinestone brad.  I’ve also used  Warm Words and a  Baja Corduroy Button for the drawer pull which works extremely well. 

Don’t forget the Spring Mini catalogue finishes at the end of this month and a lot of these items will go with it.  I don’t know how I’m going to survive the lead up to Christmas without my much loved Ski Slope designer papers!

Thanks for looking!

Cheers

I enjoyed this week’s sketch so much, I thought I’d have another go at it.  This time with a Christmas card.

Here is the sketch again:

and here is my card:

Stamp set:  Snow Swirled, Spotlight on Christmas
Cardstock:  Baja Breeze, Real Red
Inks:  Old Olive, Real Red
Accessories:  Ski Slope Designer Paper, Old Olive wide grosgrain, Bouquet Buttons, silver thread (retired), large star punch. sponge

Just between you and me I think this is a stunner!  Simple and stylish…. bit like me really!

Have a great weekend.

Hi all.  I haven’t had a chance to play Mojo Monday for soooo long so whilst I’m excelling at procrastinating in other areas of my life I thought I’d sit and play!  Oh well as long at tea is on the table and the washing is done, the rest can wait I say.

Here is this week’s Mojo Monday sketch:

and here is my take on it:

I made this card with a girlfriend in mind and even though it is quite a simple card, the sentiment and the reason behind sending it were all from my heart.  I love the Sweet Always papers and they are quite versatile in that the selection of papers go from super girly to cute, smart, sassy and even masculine if you need.  Of course it also has Choc Chip in it which always helps!!

Stamp set:  Occasional Greetings
Cardstock:  Choc Chip, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose
Inks:  Regal Rose (for sponging)
Accessories:  Sweet Always DSP, Stampin’ Write Markers Regal Rose & Chocolate Chip, Build-A-Brad, 1/2″ circle punch, glue dots, Felt Fusion, Felt Fusion Too, vintage brads, Regal Rose wide grosgrain ribbon

Thanks for looking.  Ok I’m off to package up some more craft items we’ve made for the school fete on Saturday.  Whilst it’s been fun, I’ll be glad when its over as it gets a bit hectic with the lead up to such a big day and I’m kinda glad it’s only every second year!  The kids are so excited it’s funny to watch them. They just love it!

Yay I finally got the chance to play in one of Keesh’s Inspiration Challenges!  I haven’t done one for so long but as soon as I saw this week’s pic I knew what stamp set I wanted to use and was determined to get it in on time.

Here is Keesh’s inspiration pic:

and here is my card. 

Don’t ya just love this dude?  Unfortunately he’s from the US Stampin’ Up! catty.  My girlfriend visited from the US a few weeks ago and bought me some pressies which was soooo exciting!  This guy is a single stamp named Extreme Guitar and the other images are from a set called Extreme Elements.  I’m just busting to use them more so I’m saying a little prayer we will get them in one of our catalogues one day soon.  Fantastic for male cards. 

Stamp sets:  Extreme Guitar (US), Extreme Elements (US) and Occasional Greetings
Cardstock:  Basic Black, Taken with Teal, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Inks:  Black Stazon, Taken with Teal, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray
Accessories:  Cutter kit to distress, Silver hodgepodge brads, Word Window punch

Thanks for looking!

Hi!  I thought I’d share some Christmas crafts with you today.  I haven’t really done a lot of Christmas items as yet this year but sitting and playing with these gorgeous Ski Slope papers makes me want to do more straight away. It’s just so beautiful! 

These gorgeous little Tucked Away boxes are just soooo cute in real life and I have since made a few in other colour combos and designer paper which look just fab!  We made these at my Stamp Club meeting last month and all the girls just loved them.  There are two sizes here although it’s a bit hard to tell from this pic but the one in the front with the Baja Breeze ribbon is a tad smaller. 

My Club members also made cute little candy cane holders which are just so cute and I think I’ll be doing them for the kids friends’ this year.  It just adds that personal touch. 

Finally, the container at the back is a small Pringles container which I have covered in Ski Slope DSP.

Here is a close up of the box with a view from the side.  You can see why they are called Tucked Away boxes as the back section of the box wraps over the top and tucks into a slot in the front. 

Items used in top picture: Stamp sets:  Spotlight on Christmas, Punches Three (Level 1 hostess set),
Cardstock:  Baja Breeze, Real Red, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories:  Scallop Square punch, Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8″ square punch, 1 3/8″ circle punch, 1 1/4″ circle punch, slit punch, corner rounder, Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon, Real Red wide grosgrain ribbon, silver brads

I still have 2 places available in my monthly Stamp Club if you’d lilke to come along, join in the fun and make some lovely 3D items like these.  Alternatively if you’d like to book a workshop with me, I’d be happy to come and show you how to make some of these gorgeous Christmas crafts.

Have a good week.

Hi!  Wow what a busy week this has been.  From enjoying the boys Learning Journey at school (where we get to go in and view their work from last term and spend time with them in the classroom) to preparing for the upcoming school fete and I also had the honour of being asked by Stampin’ Up! to present a Workshop Wow at the Regional Seminar on Saturday.  

I had a fantastic time at Regionals yesterday and just love getting together with my stamping friends and learning new ideas and techniques (and a few sneak peaks of products soon to come).  We made some gorgeous make and take projects with a new stamp set and wheel from the upcoming Summer Mini and enjoyed some great presentations from other local demonstrators, and staff from Sydney and the US.

I decided to do my presentation on vellum petals made with the oval punches.  Here are the samples of the cards I presented:

For this card I have used Riding Hood Red, Kraft, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White cardstock with sentiment from Occasional Greetings and the So Swirly jumbo wheel.  I’ve also added dazzling diamonds, 1″ circle punch, chunky glitter and clear rhinestones for the centre of the flower.

For this card I have used the “petals” as buttlerfly wings.  Cardstock is Lavender Lace and Certainly Celery with Washington Apple DSP, wide Celery grosgrain ribbon, the oval scallop punch and the large oval punch with the sentiment from Best Yet, Level 1 hostess set. I have made the butterfly body with clear rhinestone and the head is from the Ice Circle Rhinestones.

For this card I have glued the ovals onto the Sweet Always DSP rather than vellum to give a completely different effect.  Also when I’ve punched the ovals I have made the petals wider at the end to give it a heavier look.  This card uses Regal Rose, Choc Chip, Pumpkin Pie cardstock, the distressing tool from the cutter kit, sentiment from Stem Sayings, wide Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon, choc chip grosgrain, and pumpkin grosgrain, 1″ and 3/4″ circle punches and a fire rhinestone brad.  For the leaves I have punched two ovals from Certainly Celery cardstock and run them through the crimper.

and finally, for my favourite of the lot, I have used the Scallop Oval Punch for this elegant effect on the petals.  I just love this card (if I do say so myself) with this gorgeous combination of Kraft, Choc Chip and Baja Breeze cardstock.   I have paper pierced the edge of the Kraft and also the stem of the flower and then gone over it with my white gel pen.  For the centre of the flower I have used the 1 1/4 ” circle punch of Parisian Breeze DSP and added a button from the Button Bouquet range.  I’ve also used the Curly Label punch and the stamp from the Cute & Curly set and added Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon.

I’m hoping to make a tutorial on this technique over the next few days so don’t forget to come back and visit soon if you’d like to see how to make these.

Well, it’s time to get ready for another busy week!  Back soon.

Well what a fantastic weekend!  The Stamparoos had our annual camp and wow what a great time we had.  My upline and gorgeous friend Ngaire Anderson did a wonderful job in organising our camp and as last year, it was a great event.  We started off on Friday night with a group dinner and then got serious with our swaps.  As there was 30 of us there it certainly made for a long but fun night of stamping.  I remember thinking at about 9.30 we were travelling well and it wouldn’t be that late a night but I think I put my last stamp down at 1am and then of course with 4 girls giggling in bunk beds there was not much chance of a quick goodnight.  My roomies Keesh, Charmaine & Monnie Moo all have a wicked sense of humour and we always have a good laugh and enjoy a fantastic friendship! Thanks again Stampin’ Up! for introducing me to such wonderful friends.

Saturday morning I was first up teaching the ladies this beautiful Christmas Album.  I purchased the class tutorial from Andrea Walford and just fell in love with it.  I can’t wait to have some lovely Christmas pics to put in it!

The front cover

Inside front cover

Another fold

This pic shows the album fully unfolded however it doesn’t do the album justice as you can’t see all the backs of the pages.

It really is pretty spectacular and the colours and papers are just beautiful.  To make this album I have used the I Wish Simply Scrappin’ kit.  It uses only a half a kit so  you can make this whole album plus have enough papers and die cuts left over to make loads of Christmas cards or a second album for a gift. 

I am going to run a class in my home to make this album in mid November so watch this space to find out more details. 

After lunch we were treated to some more classes from the lovely Charmaine and Jan.  Charmaine showed a technique called smooshing which so simple and so effective and makes a terrific background.  It’s also a little bit of fun and so easy to do with just ink and water!  Char had asked us to bring in an old style photo to go with the page she planned and I’m pleased to say my page turned out beautifully.  For this page we used Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Close to Cocoa and Choc Chip ink and the stamp set is Sense of Time from the Summer Mini Catalogue.

I really love how this page turned out!

Next up was a Fantasy Keepsake Box presented by Jan White.  We could choose our own papers and colours for this and it was wonderful to see all the different creations around the room.  This came together really easily once we got the hang of the box making and as I just love the Parisian Breeze DSP in the Summer Mini so am really pleased with it.  I have embellished the top some more of the DSP punched out and topped off with a button from the Button Boquet collection.

Last but not least, here is a pic of the Stamparoos!  What a fine looking bunch and what a great group of women.  Thanks ladies for another unforgettable stamping event!

Have a great week!