Where has the time gone?

Hello fellow stampers,

It has been over a month since I last posted on my blog. I cant believe how the time has flown. I know I always say that but it seems I need to quit work to enable the time to flow slower. Will this work? Who knows! Anyway what a busy month I have had.

But before I go on to tell you about my busy month I have a wonderful special to tell you about. If you have been thinking of having your very own workshop then now is the time. Why? Well because if you host your own workshop and you manage sales of $450 and above you get an EXTRA $70 to spend on anything in the catalogue. This can really boost up your rewards and get some of those products struck off your Wish List. Please contact me ASAP as your workshop needs to be before the end of June.

Of course we had our 2011 SU Convention in Melbourne which was a blast. A whole three days this year and I enjoyed every moment. There is never a dull moment when attending the Convention. The demonstrators & presenters are all so talented and keep us entertained right from the beginning to the very end. I learnt so much as I have in the past two that I have been able to attend. New ideas, new sneak peeks which I am unable to say anything about. We have been sworn to secrecy so you will have to wait a bit longer I'm afraid. Melbourne put on its chilly weather for us with our first full day there being the coldest May day in 70 years. I was so lucky I had my big black coat that my lovely workmates had given me a few years ago for my birthday. I just love my coat. We went out for dinner on the Dinner Tram which was excellent. The food was great and the time went so quickly. I have to say though I did not see much of the scenery due to talking and eating. It was dark outside though so we managed to see street names so that we could look it up on the map when we arrived home just to see where we had been. Its amazing when you dont know where you are and you come back to look at the map to see that you had been in an entirely different direction than you thought. On the coldest day one of my SU friend and I went for a ride on the Shuttle Bus to see the sights while the other ladies did their own thing. Ngaire and a group were lucky enough to travel to the Dandenongs and saw snow. How wonderful that would have been. I saw snow for the first and last time about 12 years ago. The photos looked like wonderland. How gorgeous!

Anyway we had a great time and no doubt everyone was tired on their return home. I know I was and could not get over it for about a week. When I arrived home of course I spent all day in my craft room running off CD's for my fellow Stamperoos of the Convention etc. I had to work the next four days but was so tired that on the Friday I asked to go home early at 1pm. I came home and went straight to bed. I went out that night to a play with a work colleague and actually fell asleep a few times during the play. How embarressing! I drove my friend home and then came home myself not really focusing on the driving and then fell in to bed again on arrival. An hour later my hubby rang on his way home from work to say his car had broken down so I had to go out at midnight to tow him home. Gosh does it ever end. Well I am pleased to say I am feeling much better now.

Now to our workshop last weekend. I had two workshops due to some of the ladies not able to attend the Saturday one so I split them up. We had a lovely couple of days and it was nice to be able to have the small groups to concentrate on not so many. The ladies from the other groups were missed though as they are so use to catching up with each other and have a good old natter.

Here are the projects we made. The first one was a swap from the lovely talented Lynda Winfield. I actually used the one I made at swaps so thanks Lynda:) This card was made using the following:

Cardstock- Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede

Stamp Set - Strength & Hope ($2 of each set ordered goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation)

Ink Pad - Pretty in Pink, Versamark

Accessories - White Embossing Pwd, Brads, Dauber, Heat Gun.

The next project was also a swap that Ngaire Anderson had made only she used Elegant Soirree' but I used Love Letter DSP.

To make this card I used-

Cardstock - Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White

Stamp Set - For You Flower (from Autumn - Winter Mini catalogue)

Ink Pad- Soft Suede for sponging, Riding Hood Red

Accessories - Basic Black Marker, Black Grosgrain ribbon, 5 petal punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Love Letter DSP, Big Shot, Square Lattice Folder.

The last card I saw at the Convention in Melbourne and was made by one of the demonstrators and for the life of me I cannot remember which one made it. So sorry whoever that may be. Anyway at first when I saw this one being made I didnt like it but when I saw the finished product I thought it was lovely. Here it is using -

Cardstock - Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze

Stamp Set - Vintage Vogue

Ink Pads - Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, Cherry Cobbler

DSP - Elegant Soiree

Accessories - 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Blocks, Spritzer, Choc Chip Marker, Pearls, Shimmer Mist mixed with rubbing alcohol.

Well I best get back to work on my up and coming workshop projects.

Hope you are all enjoying this glorious weather and thanks for popping by :)

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:)

SU! Convention 2010 this week

Only two more days for the annual Stampin' Up! Convention. This year it will be held in Sydney. The time has come around so quickly. I cant believe we are almost into June. It has been a very busy year for me and the last few nights have been dedicated to getting my swaps ready for Convention. I have only done 30 swaps this year as opposed to 60 last year. I just have not had the time to do anymore. My flight is tomorrow so I will have to pack sometime so unfortunately I have to try to veer away from my craft room.

This is one of the cards I have made for the swap. I was eating my dinner and trying to think of a design. I had my paper sitting next to me at dinner and when a thought came to my mind I quickly jotted it down. Of course they always turn out a little different to what you have in mind but I am happy with my final choice. I just love this Vintage Vogue set from the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue and of course the new colours I have chosen go well with the stamp set. I have chosen to use Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White.

Also from the mini is the Big Shot Die cut machine which I used to create my little leaves and that is exactly what the die is called (Little Leaves). I used the Eyelet Border Punch for around the outside of my circle which was cut out using the Circle Scissor Plus. I guess you could say that this card was almost all created using the new mini. If you have not already seen the new current mini it is a must as it full of so many beautiful items. I have used the Rich Razzleberry Refill ink to dye my Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon. Refills are available at present from the current mini. I used five drops of ink to three small sprays from my little spray bottle. I had about 10 pieces of ribbon per lot which did not leave any ink behind.

My other two swaps are masculine cards. One of them has already been featured on my blog using Circle Circus. It has been quite a hit so I thought I would do it one more time. I think we all have trouble with coming up with masculine card ideas.

Our May workshop was a lot of fun where we made a little gift box and two cards. One of the cards is shown in the Idea Book and Catalogue on page 72 using the Fresh Cuts stamp set and the Fresh-Cuts Notes. We used Old Olive and Chocolate Chip. I found the idea for the gift box online by the very talented Heather Summers, thank you Heather. This one can be made using the SU! Five in one Template. The original sizing was too big for what I wanted so I adjusted the sizing. The top of the box measures 7.5 x 7.5cm so it is a nice size for chocolates or other little trinklets you might like to give someone. Imagine it done up in Christmas colours and holly on the top. How gorgeous!

The other item we made was a little card that holds a teabag. I had one of these from the Swap at the Convention in Canberra last year. What a great idea and my ladies loved them. If you would like to join in on my workshops please dont hesitate to contact me. Remember if you have been eyeing off some of those goodies from the mini and there is too many decisions then you may like to hold your very own workshop and receive some of them as a gift for doing so. Its so easy to attain. I was amazed when I had my first workshop presented by Ngaire Anderson, my upline. I was so amazed at how quick and simple a card can be made up and how lovely they looked. I was impressed. So impressed that I decided to join Stampin' Up! From a very young age I wanted to open up a gift shop that sold cards. I have always loved the thought. Well now I have my own little shop right in my own home and I am loving it. It is great doing and sharing something you love to do. That is what Stampin' Up! is all about.

Anyway I must go and get some beauty sleep before my trip tomorrow. It will be a long day as we dont arrive until after 10pm and then we have to book into our room. On Thursday a group of us are climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I will admit I am quite nervous at this as I dont like heights but a challenge is good for you and that is why I am doing it. Hopefully I will be a proud one once I make it back to the bottom without chickening out. Wish me luck! I'll be back with some pics and to let you know how I went.

Thanks for popping by.