Happy Easter!

What? Easter already! But we just had Christmas. How scary is that? Time flies so quickly and it seems to go quicker each year. We are almost half way through the year. I have to admit I have not done much for Easter this year because as some of you know already we have been doing a few renovations at home. We have lifted all the carpet from the main areas, lifted the tiles and then our son has tiled throughout. It looks lovely now but you should have seen it while it was in progress. Should I say progress, well perhaps that is not the right word for it. There was dust at least 2mm thick through the house. I have never seen so much dust. Our son told us before he started that there would not be must dust. Well I wont be taking his word for it anymore. Even the cat noticed when she walked on our Jarrah benchtop how thick the dust was. Anyway it was all worth it as it looks great now. They are so lovely to walk on and the tiles are not even cold. I know! Its not winter yet but I thought with the cool nights we have been having that the tiles would be cold to walk on. I love them. I am so glad we have got rid of the carpet. See what you think. And now to some of the cards I have made recently. Of course I had to make some Easter Cards for the family. I found the idea of the little chicken from Laura Lipes website. Thanks Laura for the great idea. Laura had used the 2 step bird punch and cut the tail shorter. (although you cant see the tail on my chick as it is coming out of the shell. The wings were made using the Scallop Oval Punch. As you can see I have used the Top Note Die which makes a nice frame for the picture. I used the scallop circle punch to sponge the clouds. The grass is made with the Inspired By Nature stamp set and the sentiment was made using the Teeny Tiny Sentiments. This is a very easy card to make so give it a go. (if you have time!)

This card was made for a friends daughter who has had a little baby girl.
I have used:- Polka Dot embossing folder, Punch Bunch stamp set(retired), Congrats stamp set (retired), Whisper White & Pink Pirouette cardstock, Whisper White ribbon, SU Pearls and the Eyelet Border Punch. A very simple and sweet card.

This card was made for a wedding I was unable to attend. For this card I have used:- Basic Black, Whisper White & Sahara Sand Cardstock, Bliss stamp set (from retired Mini but who knows it could be in the next Idea Book & Catalogue), Always stamp set, Curly Cute stamp set, Tiny Tags stamp set, Jewellery Tag Medium Punch, Versamark, White & Silver Embossing Powder, Silver Brad. I quite like it. I hope you do too.

Summer Mini Carry Over Flyer

Well the Summer Mini has now closed BUT some of the products are still available to purchase. To find out which ones are available please click on the side panel Carry Over Flyer. These items may be added to the new Idea Book & Catalogue later on in the year.

Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue is out now

Hello once again. How exciting! A new mini Catalogue. Stampin' Up! sure does keep us on our toes with new and exciting products. Please click on the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue icon on the side panel to view the new products that will be available to you from 1st April right through until 31 July 2011. There are some lovely stamp sets, Designer Series Paper, Buttons, Punches and much, much more. For the sewing people out there we have some lovely products for you. Check it out. I am sure you wont be disappointed.

Please see on the right panel the best way of updating your Stampin' Up! products. Just click on the icon Colour Renovation. We have kits available to help you decide. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like any information regarding these kits.

Easter & Mothers Day!

Hello again! I hope you are all enjoying the cooler weather. I was up at 1am this morning because there was a cat meowing outside my bedroom window. I went outside to check it out and had to come back in to get my dressing gown. It was sooooo cool out there. We are definately losing the summer. We still have temps though 32' to 35 so its not quite gone yet.

It was a much cooler weekend than it has been for my workshops this weekend which I enjoyed very much. As usual our lovley bunch of ladies had a lot of fun and laughter. This time I made Blueberry Yoghurt Loaf which was a hit with everyone. Its from the best of Womens Weekly Cake book and it was very moist and tasty. I had two workshops this weekend. I had the usual Saturday one and then another one on Sunday where a group of ladies caught the train and spent the day at my home. I had made some Blueberry Yoghurt muffins but on the ladies arrival I found two of them had brought some lovely slices and cakes. We had a feast after our card making. This workshop we made a rose out of the Fancy Flower Punch. I cased this idea from the lovely Pat Carr at our Stamparoo get together. Pat was kind enough to show us how to make it and then we had the chance to make it ourselves. I must say I was not too happy with mine but once I got it home and had nothing else to compare it to, it didnt look too bad. Remembering how to do it was the key. I looked online and found a site run by Julie Williams (Simi Stamper) which gave step by step instructions. Of course Pat has been making these roses for years and years and was her own design. There is a little difference between the two. One is that Pat uses an extra piece for the bottom layer of the rose. Julie has a different approach to the centre which I found quite easy. Anyway if you are interested please go to this site and have a go yourself. Its very easy and relaxing to do.

http://simistamper.blogspot.com/2010/02/instructions-for-paper-rose.html

Everyone loved making them and were pleased with their results.

One of the projects was to make a card to mount the rose onto. Here we have used Soft Suede cardstock, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla. The stamp set is Just Believe. I have splashed a little ink using the aqua pen and inking it up with Soft Suede and flicking it off my finger onto the very vanilla cardstock to give it some dimension. Rather than the stark, crisp look. The Soft Suede has been embossed with the Polka Dots Folder. It really makes a difference to your card to emboss it. The leaves were made using the Small Oval Punch and cut with scissors to a point at one end. I have used a bone scorer to break down the fibres and then peel apart the layers and added glue then placed some wire along the centre of the leaf and closed it back down. This gives you the vein in the leaf and also allows you to bend the leaf into a shape of your choice. I have added some Crystal Effects to give it some dew drops. With Mothers Day coming up this would be a lovely card to give to your special mum.

Speaking of Mothers Day. I had someone ask for a mothers day card with Gran on it. Of course I did not have one but had some old alphabet letters here and using my very favourite item in the whole catalogue, the Stamp-a-ma-jig I produced my mothers day card. Here it is below. I have used Vintage Vogue on Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler Cardstock. This is one of my favourite stamp sets. I have also used the Pinking Hearts Corner Punch on two corners and then sponged around with Cherry Cobbler. I have cut around the flowers from the Vintage Vogue set and gone around the edges with Champagne Shimmer Mist for an added touch. I then finished it off with the Pearls. Now what Gran wouldn't like this card.

The last project of the day was a simple one to finish it off. Easter is quickly approaching so I decided to do a theme of Easter. In this one I have used The Nicest Things stamp set and only used the cute little rabbit in the carrot pot. I guess he has eaten all the top cover of the plant, naughty little thing. There is not much to this card but it is still cute. I have used Old Olive, Cajun Craze and Very Vanilla cardstock. I stamped my image five time but colouring in only one of them with a blender pen using Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze and Old Olive Markers. I have used the Happy Easter stamp from the Teeny Tiny Stamp Set. I then went over the pot with Crystal Effects to give it a nice glazed finish. Isnt he cute?I made a few cards when trying to work out which one I was going to use for my workshop and here they are here. The first one is a Mothers Day card using the Punch Bunch stamp set from the Sale-a-bration mini catalogue. I have stamped my image and cut it out with the 1 3/8" circle punch and then using a dimensional I placed it on some Chocolate Chip CS after punching it out with the Scallop Circle Punch. With the actual stamp image when using the Scallop Circle punch it leaves part of the white card showing and I did not want this effect and that is why I cut it out using the circle punch. I went over the flowers with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint and added a pearl for the final touch. I have used Chocolate Chip, More Mustard and Very Vanilla Cardstock and distressed the edges and sponging giving it a distressed look. I have also gone over the cardstock with the lovely large stamp from the Bliss stamp set, also from the Sale-a-bration mini catalogue. If you find you like these stamp sets, you only have until the end of this month to put your order in. Remember you will need to place an order of $100 or more to receive a stamp set for free.

The other card I almost used for the workshop is this cute little Easter Card. The ladies loved this one. I decided not to use this one as when I finished I realised that I had used four different stamp sets. I have used The Nicest Things, Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Punch Bunch (for border) and Bliss (for wallpaper effect) Stamp Sets. I have made exactly the same card as the last one but making it an Easter card. Next workshop we will be making three cards and here is one of the cards below that we will be making. I apologise that I have used a discontinued paper (Cottage Wall) which looks lovely. I am sure it will look just as nice with the current DSP which looks exactly the same except that the colours in that set are in the new In Colours. This card is a Double Easel card which is so simple to make. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that the front panels swivel and you need to have an image that will work in two positions. Usually a round image or like I have done by cutting out flowers which do not matter which way you place them. I love this card pattern and can see myself using it quite a bit. What do you think?

Well thats all for today. I must go and do some of that dreaded housework now.

Catch you next time and thanks for popping by:)

Explore Your Creativity With Stampin' Up!

Well here we are in Autumn! The weather has finally cooled down a bit and we now have the cool evenings and beautiful fresh mornings. I love autumn. The colours are amazing at this time of year as we travel more into the season. Speaking of Autumn, I have just had a browse through the new Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue which begins on the 1st April. There is a lovely set of stamps depicting the autumn leaves. I cant wait to use these. I cannot give you a sneak peak as yet as our Summer Mini is still current. Dont forget if you are interested in anything from the Summer Mini then you dont have much time to order. The Mini catalogue finishes on the 31st March. Click on the Summer Mini picture on the side panel to see what is on offer.

I have just come across this video of the lovely Shelli Gardner speaking about exploring your creativity with Stampin' Up! When you click on the URL you will see numerous ways of projects that have been created. Some of them not available here in Australia as yet but worth a look.
Please take some time to watch this video. Its only a couple of minutes of your time but worth the look. www.youtube.com/stampinupvideo
I will be back soon with projects from our next workshop.
Until then Happy Stamping and thanks for popping by:)

It's The Thought!

Hi Everyone! I have just received my new stamp set 'Its the Thought' and have had a little play. Originally I was not impulsed to choose this set but decided that it could be quite useful. I am actually becoming quite partial to this set. I have only made two cards so far but my mind has a few more ideas. The first one I will be using for Ngaire's monthly swap. We are always looking for simple cards for our workshops and quick cards to make for friends and family and this is one of them. You see this set is actually a hostess set from the Summer Mini Catalogue. You could earn this set for free just by having your own workshop. For this card I have kept to the Brights collection as our monthly swap is themed as Brights Collection.

Items used:

Cardstock - Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White

Stamp Set- Its The Thought

Stamp Pad - Old Olive

SU! Markers - Old Olive, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories - Paper Piercer, Crystal Effects, Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Scallop Edge Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig.

You can see I have painted his toenails Pumpkin Pie as the sentiment says 'Enjoy the Journey' and to me that means go all out and paint your toenails.

The wedding card is made from the same set of stamps. Using the same idea, I have used Shimmer Paint to stamp my images onto Whisper White cardstock and then giving the middle image some added detail. I used an Aqua Painter dipped into the Shimmer Paint to give the shaded look to the image. I have also used up some scrap ribbon that someone had given to me as part of a wrapped gift. I am sure you all save scraps to use in your projects. You need not have to use the Brushed Silver cardstock as you could always just place some silver ribbon along the edge of the Whisper White.

For this card I have used the following:-

Cardstock - Basic Black, Whisper White, Brushed Silver

Stamp Set - Its The Thought

SU! Marker - Real Red

Accessories - Aqua Painter, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, scrap ribbon

Really there are not a lot of supplies you need for this card. This is why I am growing to love this set as you could imagine how many different ideas you could come up with. Even just one little image in the corner of your card would look lovely. You may not have to purchase any of these item if you have your own workshop as you may qualify for all of them free.

Well I am off now to organise myself as I have the family coming over for a BBQ tonight. Its not often we can manage to all be here at the same time. Yes! and the weather will be just perfect today. A bit cooler than it has been. Hooray!!

Thanks for popping by :)

Never Ending Card

We are almost through February already. Right now I am thinking of the poor people in New Zealand who have been effected by the earthquake. There has been so much sad news this year. It makes one wonder what is coming next!

On a lighter note, our February workshop was rather productive. We made three cards and one of which is shown here. The Never Ending Card using Trendy Trees. This card is one of the easiest cards you can make. The decorating will take time though, especially if it is your first one. I have used the Stampin' Up! pattern which was illustrated in the February Impressions. The instructions did say that we may have to cut the card down a little. I have altered the measurements so that my ladies did not have to cut it down. I have included the url for the instructions for the Never Ending Card. (www3.stampinup.com/au/documents/folding_instructions_AU.pdf )

The changes I have made are as follows:- Instead of 13.5 x 10.5 I have made mine 12.7 x 10.5cm for each piece. On the bottom layer I have changed the scoring from 3.5cm to 3.1cm on each end. When cutting the two pieces in halves be sure to cut exactly in half and not by the measurement that is there. I do hope this makes sense. You can download the instructions or print them off.

Here is the card that I made. I used :-

Cardstock - Cajun Craze, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White

Stamp Pad - Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy

Designer Series Paper Pack In Colour (level 1 hostess gift)

Stamp Sets - Trendy Trees, Afterthoughts

Your Stamp-a-ma-jig is a must for this project and I deliberately used it in my last workshop. The ladies certainly enjoyed using it and now realise how much of a valuable tool it can be to help them along with their projects. Sometimes just using the eye does not work and this is when the Stamp-a-ma-jig comes in handy. It has to be my favourite tool from the whole catalogue. If you have not tried one then maybe its time you did as you will love it just like I do.

For the clouds I used the Scallop Circle Punch to cut out the shape in a post it note and then sponged around it to get the cloud effect. I tore up a piece of paper for the outline in the hilly section and sponged the rest with Old Olive. I just love Trendy Trees. This stamp set is great for any gender and can be used in many ways.

The two blank whisper white sections are for your message in the card. You can change the position of this and put it wherever you like. The choice is yours.

I decided this time not to decorate the back of the card. I felt that what we did in our workshop was enough for the girls. I have heard that three of the girls have already gone home to make another Never Ending Card before the weekend was over. I do hope you will give it a try if you have not tried it before. It really is an easy

card to make. Let me know how you go.

Enjoy and thanks for popping by :)