2011 Perth Regionals

Hello fellow stampers!
What a day I have had.  We had our annual Stampin' Up! Regionals today in Perth.  The day was fun filled with many WOW demonstrations. The day went too quickly for my liking. Registration was from 8am.  It was so quiet walking through the big double doors of the resort but as we started heading up the stairs we could hear a beehive of activity going on upstairs. Demonstrators doing their swaps and catching up on old friends and fellow stampers. We had two new demonstrators on our table and it is always lovely to meet new friends. Thats what it is like with Stampin' Up! I have never been in a business that so many of us share the passion of the product we sell. I always think it must be wonderful being a singer as their job is to sing and that is what their passion is. This is how I feel about Stampin' Up! It is on my mind almost every minute of the day (in a good way). How many people get to experience that in their everyday life. Anyway back to the meeting we had today. We had the chance to watch and listen to some very talented people today who showed us some very interesting projects. I am sure each and everyone of us today learnt something new. Cate Lynch showed us various ways to use the Wheels. Sarah Klass dazzled us with her glitter and granny plastic lace ideas.  Andrea Buckland showed us her patchwork cards using the new fabric. Miriam Thomas gave us a lot of ideas on how to use the Petite Pockets. Ngaire Anderson gave us a fantastic demo on how to hold a workshop. Cathy Clark gave a fabulous demo on how to make various flowers with the punches. Gorgeous! Then we were shown how to make a bow using a huge garden fork by Amanda Maycock. The bigger the fork, the bigger the bow. Of course we had to use a normal dinner fork and it was very easy. The list goes on. Here are a few pics of the swaps that were doing the rounds today. I have also included my two swaps. The first one is using a few different techniques. I made this card with the following products:-
Stamp Sets: Oval All

Ink: Concord Crush, Old Olive, Whisper White
Cardstock: Concord Crush, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot, Polka Dot & Framed Tulip folders, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stamp Block, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Crystal Effects, 2 Step Bird Punch, Eyelet Border, Scallop Circle Punch, Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon, 1/2" Circle Punch.
The Whisper White cardstock is in one piece. To achieve the result of having the Polka Dot centred on the card you will need to cut some scrap cardstock approx 6cm x the width of the folder. You can use the backing of the DSP but you will need them to be stuck together to form a pad about 1/2" thick. Place your cardstock into the folder and lay the pad over the top of the folder centred and run it through your big shot. I used the Big Shot without the plates. Have a play and you will work out what is best for you. Once that was done I then used my Framed Tulip Folder and lined up one end with the pattern along the last row of dots and only put the card through at that particular point and wound it back again. (hope this makes sense). I then did it again on the other end.  For the flower I punched two pieces of card using the Scallop Circle Punch. I then scored from top to bottom all the way around between the petals and then cut to the centre only once. I then folded concertina style and joined the two together with tape and sponged with Whisper White Ink using a dauber. The rest looks pretty self explanatory.
The next card is shown in three different colours. I even tried Basic Grey and Sahara Sand but I didnt like that one. For this card I have used the following:-
Stamp Set: Creative Elements (one of my very favourites)
Ink: Pear Pizzaz, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Scallop Circle Punch, Tempting Turquoise Marker, Very Vanilla 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Pearls, Dauber, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint mixed with rubbing alcohol.

For the piece using the scallop circle punch I cut a piece of Very Vanilla 10.5 x 4.3cm. I put one end of the card into the actual cutting section of the punch using something sharp to lift up at the end so that it does not catch, punch. Do the same at the other end and you have a lovely double ended scallop. I rock n rolled with the butterfly. For those of you who do not how to Rock n Roll. I stamped the butterfly first witht he Pear Pizzaz and then rolled the edges of the stamp onto Tempting Turquoise. Always start with the lighter colour ink first as you dont want to ruin your stamps and it also gives the image that depth you need. I sprayed the butterfly with the Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint mixed with Rubbing Alcohol (from the Chemist) and then placed some pearls on the body section. I used Pear Pizzaz and Tempting Turquoise to colour my Very Vanilla ribbon. This was done by putting the ribbon onto the stamp pad and using a dauber to hold it down and pulling on the ribbon.
The other two cards were made using Crumb Cake & Sahara Sand. Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight.
Well thats it for now as I am quite tired after a big day out and need my beauty sleep. I hope you have fun trying out these few techniques and I will be back soon with some more.
Thanks for popping by:)

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.