Karen Robinson

2010-09-19T16:00:00.005+09:30

Hi there, well my new blog style didn't get me posting did it!! Things have been a bit hectic and we have been away for a lovely snow skiing holiday so I haven't done a great deal of crafting - which is just plain criminal considering all the lovely new Caty product that I have in my house! Hoping for some more crafting time and a return of my mojo soon...in the meantime here are some pics of old projects for you. This first lot are some CD folders and pens that I sent to my downlines and friends from Convention.

This next one is a layout I put together for a class using the Sunny Day simply scrappin kit. You may also notice the decorated jar we made and some little acetate pillow boxes there as well.

Do you like my ribbon rack in the background? Rick made it for me and it's awesome. One day I'll take some photos and give you a proper look.

My New Look

2010-07-31T16:44:00.007+09:30

Wow! How cool is my new look blog!! I love it. I purchased it from the talented Michelle Laycock - there's a link on the side bar if you want to check out her work.

No projects today - I just wanted to try out the new look and say thank you so much to those who have left me lovely comments - every time I get one it makes my day!

I also need to say a big thanks to Leah for awarding me the "Cherry on Top" award:

The rules are:
1. Thank the person who gave you this award.

2. Copy the award onto your blog.

3. List three things you love about yourself.

4. Post a picture you love.

5. Tag 5 people you wish to pass this award on to.

So...three things I love about me...that's hard but I guess I would say... Firstly, that I am lucky enough to have a wonderful beautiful, healthy Daughter; Secondly, that I have had a good education; and lastly, that I have had a lot of experiences in my life - I've been to many places and done lots of things.

OK, now I have HEAPS of photos that I love, but for some reason the first one that came into my head was this one of Breanna and I in Fiji in 2006, I don't know exactly what it is about the photo - I think maybe because it shows a connection between Bre and I - but anyway I love it:

And finally the 5 lovely people I have tagged are:

Testing the siggy

2010-07-31T14:59:00.000+09:30

Write your post here!

Convention Swaps

2010-07-29T17:18:00.005+09:30

Kind of old news now, but here are the cards I made as swaps for Convention 2010 back in May. The first 3 are the same basic layout I just varied the colours, feature and sentiment:

I only made 10 of these last ones - basically just to use up some die cuts!! I really didn't like them and nearly didn't take them at all but surprisingly they were quite popular:

I received some awesome cards in exchange for mine, so if I swapped with you, thanks so much!!
My highlight was swapping with two stampers I really admire - Kirsty Brown & Teneale Williams - their cards have pride of place in my scrap room!

A Couple of Layouts

2010-07-25T16:47:00.004+09:30

Hi, Hope you've all had a fab weekend! I've been trolling back through photos of projects I didn't get around to putting on here and found these two layouts. This first one I did to show a class how you could make the same layout look entirely different by changing the weighting of colours and the photo. You may recognise the layout from the original one featured here. For this version I made So Saffron the main colour and added a sunset photo I took on Hamilton Island...

Love this photo of B but I'm not sure about this lo though...lots of fussy cutting but didn't really get the look I was after...

Drop by again soon, a new look is on the way...Karen xx

It's been a while...

2010-07-17T14:01:00.007+09:30

Wow...its been 6 months since I last posted...it doesn't seem like that long! I needed a bit of a break from blogging but I didn't intend to be missing in action for months. Anyway, sorry to any of you who have been checking in and seeing no progress, especially since I promised at Convention I would be back blogging as soon as I got home!!

So what's news your wondering...well I'm still a demo, I'm still doing the odd workshop and classes every so often. I did consider giving up SU! because of my day job and other commitments, but the fact is I just love it too much to give it away. I love the personal sense of satisfaction I get from creating something, and I love it when I can share that feeling with someone else by teaching them how to make it too!!

My family are all well, although we did have a horrid time a while back when Breanna got Scarlet Fever - an illness I thought was long gone from the modern world. Breanna turned 5 in April - OMG time flies, she's off to 'Big School' next year and cant wait.

On the creative front I have done a fair bit of scrapbooking and card making though I haven't taken photos of many of them. Here is a couple of projects from a while back... I may have cased the cards but it was so long agao I have no idea where from...the first is a card and cash wallet were for a friends wedding, the next is a sympathy card, and lastly a Twilight inspired journal which was a thank you gift for a friends teenage daughter who helped me out with tracking down something I needed for Breanna for Christmas...

As for the future of my blog, I'm giving it a bit of a make over and will be doing my best to post more regularly, I will be aiming for at least one post every couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to trying out some of the challenges that are out there as well. Until next time...K

Claire's Cupcake & Muffin Box Templates

2010-01-11T20:14:00.003+09:30

In my Christmas gift making spree I made this gorgeous packaging using templates generously provided by one of the very talented SU! Demonstrators of the Year - Claire Daly. You can get the templates here. They were great fun to make and can be tailored to suit any theme - I can see myself making a few of these. Thanks again Claire.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-11T18:36:00.010+09:30

Wow how time flies - I can't believe its been so long between posts!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas & and wish you all the best for the New Year.

So much has happened since my last post I don't know where to start...there has been highs and lows, a few adventures and a lot of creating. Sadly I lost my best bud for the last 14 years "Bear". We all miss him heaps but he was very old for a Staffordshire and unfortunately they cant live forever.

On the creative front ...I made quite a few Chrissie pressies this year, I decorated this ribbon box for my Mum...

Breanna had 5 Preschool teachers last year so I made each of them a covered notebook:

We packaged the notebooks and a small bag of chocs shown below (cased from the mega talented Karen Thomas) into these gift bags. They were all a hit with the teachers.

Oh yeah and on the 1 December we got a great new Summer Mini Caty - its awesome - check out the online copy on the right or email me if you would like one posted to you. Just a couple of the highlights are the Butterfly punch and the Circle Scissors - both featured on the notebooks above.

I had planned for this to be a much longer post but blogger is driving me insane (wont let me move the photos around) so I'll be back with another post shortly.

How Cute...

2009-11-18T20:26:00.004+09:30

I am one proud Mum!! Breanna had her first dance concert on the weekend and she did a fabulous job! I was terrified she would freeze or run off the stage, but she was wonderful and oh so cute...Here's a couple of pics - pretty crappy photography but you get the general idea.

Their item was called Rainbows and Friends...here she is

and here with some of her mini movers group (I've pixelated the other girls faces for privacy reasons)

Isn't that just gorgeous!

Now for some other exciting news...I'm off to Sydney for a four day weekend - YAY!!!! That's great in itself, but how good is this....Day 1 -we are going to see New Moon in the Gold Class Cinema in George St, Day 2 a whole day of Stampin' Up! fun at the Sydney regional (Woo Hoo), Day 3 Pearl Jam concert and day 4 Australian Museum to see the dinosaur exhibits!!! And all this while based in a 5 star apartment in Darling Harbour with Rick, Bre and my Mum coming along as our live in babysitter. I am so lucky, and very very grateful. Cant wait!! I'll be back with pics and details sometime next week (when I have gotten over all that excitement!)

More Tree Trimmings...

2009-11-15T06:53:00.005+09:30

My absolute favorite set from the current Spring Mini Catalogue would have to be Tree Trimmings. Its a fantastic set for making quick & easy Christmas cards. Here's a couple of cards to demonstrate...As you can see I'm also a fan of the wide striped ribbon too...

If you'd like details on any of these cards please email me or leave a comment.
The Spring mini finishes at the end of this month so times running out to contact me if you'd like to place an order.

Just a super quick post ...we have Breanna's first dance concert today! and as if that wasn't enough we are also off to see Kate Miller Heidke in concert tonight!!! So off I go to get everyone ready! I'll be back soon with photos...

Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas

2009-11-07T11:41:00.003+09:30

As promised here are a couple of pics of some of the Christmas items I've made lately...The first one is a Christmas Stocking made using Lauren Meaders template using Ski Slope DSP - very cute:

Next is a coffee jar decorated with Ski Slope DSP and filled with Christmas Choccies:

This Bag-a-lope features Holiday treasures DSP and the Soft Holly wheel:

This acetate box also features the Holiday treasures DSP:

Please email me if you'd like more info on any of these projects. I'll be back soon with the Christmas cards...Have a great weekend everyone!

Tree Trimmings

2009-11-01T14:48:00.007+09:30

I couple of weeks back I did another workshop for the Crafty Sisters (waving!) These are the projects we made. The first is a cute little matchbox...

Wouldn't you just love to get something nice and shiny in that for Chrissy! I'm thinking diamond earrings but some of girls thought they'd be ideal for Pandora beads! We used the holiday treasures DSP, Old Olive and Ruby Red cardstock, and the sentiment is from the Best Yet Hostess SS. Thanks very much to the extremely talented Karen Thomas for the poinsettia idea - I've been using them heaps - they are so effective!

The next project was a card using the very popular Tree Trimmings SS. This one is in the Spring Mini caty - so if you don't have this set yet you've only got until the end of November to get it.

The Holiday treasures DSP was used for the background, the card base is Sahara Sand and there is also some brushed gold on there. The holy was done using the Soft Holly wheel in Old Olive then going over the berries with a Ruby Red marker. Seasons greetings is from the Snow Swirled SS and has been gold embossed.

I've done dozens of Christmas cards and gifts lately so I'll be making an effort to get on here more frequently to show you all. Hope you like my first Christmas offering for 09!

I've been scrappin'!!!

2009-10-13T14:58:00.004+09:30

I had a wonderful weekend this one just past, the weather was very conducive to staying indoors, and for once we had no plans... so I took advantage and got some stamping and scrapping done. I've made quite a few Christmas projects but I'll save those for next time, and i completed three layouts:

This first one is of the native Australian marsupial Rufous Bettong (more commonly known as the Rat Kangaroo) they are smallest of all the kangaroos - so there's your nature lesson for today! I captured this cute photo when we were on Hamilton Island earlier this year and just had to scrap it:

This is an all SU! Layout. The papers are from the Urban Oasis DSP pack, the colours are Basic Grey and Kiwi Kiss, I've used some Kiwi Kiss ribbon, a basic grey corduroy brad and some chipboard from the On Board So Tweet set. The title is stamped using the Big Deal Alphabet and both the title and chipboard have been coated in Chrystal Effects for dimension. Its a very basic layout but it works I think.

Here's a couple of non-SU! layouts I did as well. These two photos are also from our Hamilton Island holiday. I absolutely love this first shot of Breanna:

Meet The Commander

2009-10-05T15:41:00.004+09:30

As promised here's a pic of my new big black boy... the awesome Jeep Commander...

He's so cool I'm absolutely in heaven driving this baby! He has everything that opens & shuts and can just about drive himself! Woo Hoo!!

Its a Jeep thing...You wouldn't understand! (You would Bettina. What do you think? Rick cant wait to show it off at the next Cherokee Club outing!)

On a stamping note I haven't done anything for ages but the creative bug is biting again which is a good sign! I'm going to get stuck into making some Christmas projects real soon and I have a couple of workshops coming up - nothing like a workshop to get me motivated! So check back soon and hopefully I'll have something other than my new car to show you!

Forest Friends

2009-09-16T21:04:00.004+09:30

How cute are the animals in the Forest Friends set!! I love them, and couldn't resist using them for the Spring Mini swap that my gorgeous friend Mel Hanlon organised. Here's my swap:

I love receiving swap cards in the mail, they were all gorgeous - I may take a photo and show you them all...later.

I haven't been doing much creating lately - my mojo has been on holidays...too much other "stuff" happening at the moment. But I do have some exciting news (for me anyway) I've bought a new car- brand spanking new (a Jeep of course for those that know me!) I pick it up in a couple of weeks - so I'll show you a photo of my new baby when I get him...he's big and black...

My AMM Vituri Handbag

2009-08-30T11:08:00.004+09:30

For some time now I have been admiring the AMM Vituri Handbags...well a few months back I bit the bullet and decided to spoil myself...here is my cool personalised handbag...

Now the trim and lining is a very nice pale pink - extremely close to our beautiful SU! in-colour Pink Pirouette! See...

So that inspired me to make a co-ordinating notebook to keep in my bag...I used some papers and die-cut stickers from the Sweet Nothings Simply Scrappin' Kit...and of course personalised it with a beautiful picture of my darling girl....here it is:

I also stamped the inside pages using the priceless stamp set and Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette inks:

And of course I couldn't get the handbag without the wallet - so here is a picture of the complete set:

What do you think? If you'd like more info on the AMM Handbags ~ I got mine from www.craftainers.com.au (look under totes and bags - not sure if they have stock right now but they are very helpful so just drop them email).

I wish I got a dollar for every time someone asked me about the bag! We have been away for a short break in Sydney and I had to write the details of where I got it down for a couple of random strangers!! Its a great talking piece!!

Returning from Sydney and finally getting through my emails I got a nice surprise to find that the extremely talented and lovely Cassie (of the circle flowers fame -see previous posts!) has started her own blog - YAY!!! Do yourself a favour and check out her work here - you'll want to add her to your favorites!! I've also added a link to Cassie's blog from my Team members section on the right.

Until next time, Happy Stampin'!, Kaz xx

Shield Your Eyes - This One's Bright!!

2009-08-16T10:21:00.004+09:30

You'll need your sunnies for this one - OMG - I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever used Summer Sun! Not being a yellow fan and all, but despite all the brightness and being totally out of my colour comfort zone, I am totally STOKED with this page - I loooove it!!! So much so I have framed it and put up in Bre's room! (she loves it too!)

So the page came together last night when I was instantly inspired by the Pink Flamingo DSP - I was supposed to be preparing for a workshop I'm doing this afternoon - but I just had to make this page! Lucky it was a quick one! In case you cant read the journaling it's the lyrics of "You are My Sunshine" which I just started singing when I saw the paper!!

All the products are SU! apart from the turquoise felt flower (which was a gift from Dannie who is now in Kuwait - miss you heaps!!). If you would like product details please let me know.

Live Like You Mean It

2009-08-02T12:32:00.006+09:30

Sorry for being such a slack blogger!! I have been SOOO busy!! I have just done 3 workshops in the past 6 days (as well as my day job) which is HUGE for me - I usually do one or two a month!!! Anyway, at one of those workshops (Hi Crafty Sisters!) I demonstrated how to make the cool circle flowers that Cassie taught me (see previous post) on this cool scrap page...

...I REALLY love this photo. I took it when we at the Gold Coast earlier this year and I was just learning to use my SLR. I wasn't trying to do anything fancy here, it was just an absolute fluke that I captured this perfect silhouette image of Rick & Breanna, and how is that shadow for an awesome leading line...

The colours are Basic Black, Riding Hood red, Basic Gray and Whisper White, The DSP is Urban Oasis, and I've used a Build-a-brad for the centre. The Stamps are Bella's Border wheel and Live Like You Mean it (hostess set).

Here's another sample with the layered circle flowers...this time made with Baja Breeze DSP. The Stamp sets used are Fifth Avenue Floral and Wonderful favourites. Colours are Baja breeze, Basic Gray and Whisper White.

How Awesome is Cassie!!

2009-07-05T11:53:00.007+09:30

We had a Happy Stampers team get together for the local demos yesterday, Vicki, Cassie & I had a great time. Cassie is a new team member and she is an awesome scrapbooker...she designed this layout and taught us how to make these cool layered flowers using circle punches and the Circle Circus stamp set - here's a close up:

This is Cassie's layout design which I have CASED entirely (only the photo is different! - it's the first time I have wanted to completely copy a layout and not change a thing!!):

Thanks so much Cassie!!! I Looove this layout!!!

If you love it too leave some comment love for Cassie -which may help inspire her to get her blog up and running!! - no pressure Cassie ;)

My task for the get together was to demo using heat and stick powder. This is the card we made - My first Christmas card for 2009:

Simple but elegant, whisper white and riding hood red, the stamp set is Snow Swirled. It's stamped with versamark then riding hood red, then added heat and stick powder to apply dazzling diamonds to the whole stamped image (I hope you can see that beautiful bling in this photo).

Embossed Creations

2009-07-02T18:04:00.004+09:30

A few weeks back I held a technique class on Embossing. We had a great time, my lovely customers enjoyed learning the cracked glass technique:

I cased one of Shelli's convention demonstrations using Rustic Rooster for this card then made the feature panel cracked glass - here's a close up...

Here's another example of the technique, this time using Fresh Cuts:

We also did the Josephs Coat technique which always gives the WOW factor...here I used the Its Beautiful wheel

And another (stepped up) version...

We didn't do this one in the class, but I just had to case Pam's emerging colour technique card from convention...

Embossing is not something I do a great deal of - I think thats mostly because I usually create in a hurry and don't take the time to get the gear out! But when I do I always love the result and vow to make more of an effort...

Dingo Scrap Page

2009-06-27T14:55:00.004+09:30

Here's another one of the Animal photos I took on Hamilton Island - I love this shot - he looked straight into the camera and I love the focus being on his eyes. Now the photo of the scrap page on the other hand is absolutely terrible! I only took this one shot in a super hurry last weekend before I put the page away in its album - now I've found the picture is blurry (and I cant be bothered getting the page out for another shot)... Anyway, about the scrap page - I did this one to show how embossing can be used on a scrapbook page for a recent class. I've used Circle Circus to do the embossed background at the top of the page and to make the embellishment (which is also embossed). All products for this page are SU!. The papers are Haiku DSP, the colours are More Mustard, Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Tangerine Tango.

I'm having some issues with my photo editing software but once I get that sorted I'll be back with the embossed cards we made...

have a great weekend!

Koala Scrap Page

2009-06-08T14:23:00.003+09:30

You may remember that I mentioned I took heaps of cool wildlife shots on our recent Holiday to Hamilton Island. This is one of my favourites...this super cute fella was at the "Koala Gallery" Boutique Zoo on the Island. Breanna insisted we have breakfast there just about everyday! I didnt argue - it gave me plenty of opportunity to practice my photography skills!

I love this photo so much I just had to scrap it...the paper and rub-ons are non SU but everything else is...

Shaving Cream Technique

2009-06-06T21:13:00.006+09:30

Here's two of the cards we made at my shaving cream technique class a couple of weeks ago.

This first one uses the shaving cream technique piece as a background...

For this one the bird and flower have been done using the faux shaving cream technique, a great effect without the mess...I really love this card and of the three cards we made at the class this was every ones fave!

After the class I had a piece of pink and blue shaving cream technique coloured card and I needed to make a card for my friend Tanya who had just had twins (a boy & a girl). So this is what I made...its a joy fold card, I stamped the teddy and giraffe images onto the shaving cream peices and then cut them out. I also used some of the blue for a background peice. It didn't come out as good as it was in my head, oh well you get that! Tanya liked it anyway...

A Catch Up...

2009-05-26T19:11:00.006+09:30

Busy Busy Busy...that's how its been round here lately. I've had a great time though! I held a class on the weekend with some lovely ladies - we had a great time playing with shaving cream!!! I'm yet to photograph our creations - so that will have to wait till next time. For now here's a couple of cards from earlier this month and the make & takes from convention...

I just had to have a go at these flower pot cards - they're everywhere right now and perfect for Mothers Day...

This was the card I made (twice!) for our twin nieces Jessica & Jade who celebrated their 6th Birthday...

These are the Make & Take projects we made at Convention (or at home after convention!):

Here's the inside of the scrapbook card...The lovely ladies in the top two photos are some of my super talented team members "The Happy Stampers", with my Upline Sharon and my roomies Leah & Julie. In the bottom left photo are the blogging legends Karen & Jean with Mel & I - It was awesome to catch up with these inspirational ladies!

Please email me if youd like any details on any of the above projects.

Scrapbooking inspired by Shelli...

2009-05-17T19:27:00.003+09:30

My favorite project Shelli demonstrated at Convention was her Friends 24-7 card, it was absolutely gorgeous and I fully intended to CASE it!! I grabbed the stamp set and then noticed a couple of photos I had printed of my gorgeous friend Mel Hanlon, I got a little sidetracked from the original card and the end result was this scrapbook page!!! I'm pretty happy with it...I love it when something just comes together...Sorry about the glare on the photo I will try to take another picture with better light and replace this one- but here it is...

I created that page last weekend just before a workshop and i thought it would be cool to show the versatility of the set by showing how different colours can give you a completely different look. Here's the same photo printed in colour and scrapped with brighter coloured cardstock, even though the stamps and punch used are the same, the look is very different!

Convention Swap Cards

2009-05-16T13:29:00.003+09:30

Better late than never...here are the pics of my convention swaps...The first one was my attempt at a masculine card...I liked this but wasn't sure anyone else would - turned out it was definitely the most popular of my swaps!!!. The colours are Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa, Not Quite Navy and Very Vanilla:

These were my 3D swaps - Dreams Clippie - these were pretty popular too:

This one was my personal favorite...I just looove the Inspired by Nature set. You cant tell in this photo but I did some faux clouds with a punched out scallop circle in the background. The bulrushes are made using the slot punch and the butterfly is rock n rolled...Colours are Elegant Eggplant, Lavender lace, Old Olive, Bashful Blue & Whisper White:

Last but not least my "tricky" swap - this was done using the brayer to reverse one of the birds from the Always SS. I like the classic black and white and its something a little bit different. It was quite involved to make though, so I only made 10:

So all up I went with 80 swaps and I came home with 70 something awesome swaps in exchange (I gave a few away!!). I have used some of them for display and inspiration already! So if I swapped with you thank you so much!!!

I wont leave it so long till my next post - I have a scrapbook page I really want to show you, so until I photograph it - Have fun, Kaz x

I'm Back...Temporarily...

2009-05-03T21:24:00.003+09:30

Well I'm back from Convention 09 - I had an absolutely wonderful time, I'm full of inspiration and ready to stamp...BUT... I now have to go to Brisbane for work - What a bummer hey! I think I will try to pack some stampin supplies (probably the make & takes I didn't get finished at Convention!) in case I get some spare time!

I Had the best roomies ever!! Here's a pic of the gorgeous girls themselves - Leah, Julie & Mel. Thanks girls for making it such a great time!

So I'll be away for the rest of the week but I'll be back on the weekend to post my swap cards and few other cards I've been working on lately.

Canberra Here We Come!!

2009-04-28T19:47:00.004+09:30

I just wanted to quickly let you all know I'm off to Canberra on Thursday morning for the 2009 Stampin' Up! Convention!! YAY!!! I cant wait to catch up with everyone, its going to be great fun!! I really need to go and pack my bags now (with lots of warm clothes - apparently its freezing down there -not really looking forward to that part!). So here's a quick card before I go...this is one of the swap card designs I came up with but didn't end up doing. The colours here are Riding Hood red and Pink Pirouette. The sets are Lovely letters and A Happy Heart...

See you soon girls!!! 2 sleeps to go...

Thank You

2009-04-26T16:50:00.004+09:30

Thank You to everyone who sent me get well wishes and who left lovely comments, your kind thoughts really picked me up!

I'm all better now, except I have RSI from using the scallop punch!!! ROFL!!! Yes I have finally finished my Convention Swaps - I've made a grand total of 80 items - 60 cards and 20 clippies! Woo HOO!! I was hoping to do 100 but I'm satisfied with 80 so I'm stopping now! I'm not going to show them just yet - I'll kept them a surprise and post the photos when I get back.

I can hardly believe how much I have managed to make in the last couple of weeks. I've also made myself a card tin, notebook, clippy and bag tag especially for convention using the gorgeous Urban Garden papers. Here's some pics...

What do you think? I'm really happy with how they turned out. I looove those papers - the colours are so me! So if you see me with these at Convention please come and say Hi.

I've also done heaps of other cards lately - I've done two workshops and have two new team members - so I have heaps to share if I can find the time. I'll try to get back here before Convention...

Go Diego Go!

2009-04-14T15:38:00.008+09:30

I'm amazed that time has flown by so fast, but my little babygirl just turned 4 - OMG!
Breanna is a HUGE Diego fan, so her birthday was all about Diego. Here's the card I made featuring said Animal Rescuer:

Here it is with the wrapping paper that inspired the card...My Husband thinks I have a problem with insisting that things co-ordinate - I don't know what he is talking about!...

I was very proud - she went for the card first and loved it!

And here is one of the gifts unwrapped - baby Jaguar of course!

And then there was the cake...she asked for a Diego rainforest adventure cake with a mountain and waterfall...this is what Rick and I came up with...pretty good I reckon...and it was a hit with all the kids - especially when they realised the rocks were chocolate!

Here's a close up of Diego and Baby Jaguar in the rescue Jeep!

And I even made some Baby Jaguar Cookies...

So all in all Breanna had a great 4th Birthday. I was still sick, but other than that it was wonderful. Urgh I really hate being sick...my little virus turned into a full blown URT Infection which is really not fun...so apart from getting through the Birthday and Easter I haven't been up to doing much...and with only 2 weeks until convention I better pull finger and make some swaps!!

What a Week!

2009-04-05T20:42:00.004+09:30

What a week it's been! Wow, I need another holiday to get over it!! The new Caty was released, I got sick, Rick had his Birthday, had some work issues, and Breanna had her 4th Birthday Party!! HUGE!!

So needless to say there was not much time for creating or posting!

I thought I would just quickly show you the (quick and easy) card I made for Rick:

As usual I left making Rick's card to the last minute...I grabbed Seaworthy (Rick surf's so the surfer stamp was the first thing that came to mind). I also used Outlined for fun and Boho backgrounds. The colours are Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip. I did try one with the images coloured but preferred it like this!

Breanna's party went really well today, I think all the kids had a great time. Her actual Birthday is on good Friday, so sometime after that I'll post pictures of her cake and card.

Have a great week, kaz

New Caty Product Shares

2009-04-01T09:21:00.002+09:30

In the new caty there are some great new products and if you’re anything like me you’ll want them all - so sharing the cost is the ideal way to do it!

I’m offering product shares for papers, ribbons and accessories as follows:

1. Designer Series Papers share (pp132-135):
90 sheets of 6x6 inch double sided DSP – 1 sheet of each design from all the DSP (Urban Garden, Haiku, Pink Flamingo, Sweet Always, Tea Party, Raspberry Tart, Sweet Slumber Specialty-textured, Bella Rose, Bella Bleu, Holiday Treasures, Good Morning Sunshine, Urban Oasis, Washington Apple, Windsor Knot, Candy Lane) 8 shares $34.15each
2. Patterns DSP Share (p135):
48 sheets 6x6 inch double sided Patterns DSP. I sheet of each design in 8 colours (Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Red Riding Hood, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango) 8 shares $17.80 each
3. In-Colour Ribbons Share (p150)
5/8” Striped Grosgrain ribbon in the 6 new in-colours – 1.7m of each colour (10.2m all together) 8 shares $15.35
4. Flower Fusion Too (p144) 1/3 share, $10.50 per share
5. Build –a-Brad (p149): ¼ share – 6 brads, pewter $4.95 per share

NB: all shares include SU 5% shipping charge and will be delivered free in the Newcastle region. Delivery outside my local area will be by Australia Post pre-paid satchels ($5.70 or $9.70 depending on size). All shares will be packed in plastic zip lock bags. Please let me know if you are interested in shares for other ribbons or accessories and I will be happy to arrange them.

SPECIAL OFFER
To celebrate the launch of the new catalogue I am offering a free copy ($12.95 value) with all orders over $100 placed in April! OR for orders under $100 during April you can purchase the caty for a discounted price of $5!

Good Morning Sunshine!

2009-03-30T20:08:00.004+09:30

Well it was great this year to get a sneak peak of the new caty and pre-order some of the items before its release on April 1 (2 more sleeps!). The new DSP that we got to pre-order is called Good Morning Sunshine and one of the SS was "good friend" - a retro type set featuring a cool looking bird. Here's a notebook I decorated using them both:

Notice there's some new colours in there? Yes the paper features the new in-colours - I just love that blue - its called Pacific Point. here's a card featuring some of the other in -colours - Baja Breeze, Tangerine Tango and the ribbon is Kiwi Kiss, nice hey! I received this card from SU! - its an invitation to the Managers reception at convention - wow! I was so chuffed to get this - cant wait to go!

Well must go - I need to make about 6 cards (heaps of birthdays this month!) not that I think I'll be getting them all done tonight - first day back at work was a killer - I really just want to curl up in bed!! hmm maybe the cards can wait...

We're Back!

2009-03-29T17:14:00.005+09:30

Hi everyone, thanks for all your well wishes for our holiday we did have a great time!! As with all holidays though it has come to an end all too quickly - back to work for us both tomorrow - bummer!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time on Hamilton Island. The highlight was probably the boat trip we took to hook island (were Breanna actually snorkeled the reef with us!), and then on to Hill Inlet and Whitehaven beach - the most beautiful beach you can imagine! Thought I'd share a few holiday snap shots with you all...

I love this first shot - we had the cocktail bar tender take it for us - I think its the only shot I'm in (I'm always the one behind the camera!) And before you all start freaking out - don't worry Breanna's was non-alcoholic and she thought we were all having juices - so no bad example set either!!...

This next one is of the view from our apartment with the resident Cockatoos visiting our balcony. The view was amazing, the water the most beautiful blue - this picture was on an overcast day so doesn't show it as well...

This last one is a shot I took of the sunset from one tree hill on Hamilton island...

I took about a 1000 photos and really gave my new camera and new photography skills a workout. I took some awesome wildlife shots which no doubt you will get to see when I scrap them on some of the UNREAL new papers in the new caty...which I have to say is absolutely gorgeous and only 3 more sleeps till I can share it with all my wonderful customers.

I'll try to be back tomorrow with a sneak peak item from the new caty. cheers, kaz x

Signing Off For Some R & R!

2009-03-12T21:16:00.004+09:30

Well we are off to the Whitsunday Islands for a couple of weeks R & R - YAY!!!! I soooo need it! Lets just hope there's no more cyclones!

So I wont be back with any new posts until later in the month - just in time for the new caty release!! Can't wait for that!

Here's a quick card for you all- thought I should post a card since everything has been scrapbook pages lately. This is a card I made for Mel's layout challenge swap. The layout was from page 85 of the caty.

How cool are these little handbags made with the Round tab punch? I think they're awesome. I got the idea from one of my very talented customers (waving Kylie!) who gave me one and I just knew I had to make some!

The handbag is made using the Round tab, small and large oval, and word window punches. if you'd like more info let me know by email or leave a comment.

back in a couple of weeks, kaz x

Memories Project update

2009-03-11T20:00:00.002+09:30

Wow, I am so happy - we now have a grand total of 102 layouts to donate!! Woo Hoo - we did it -we made double my pledge. How cool is that!!! Thanks so much to Vicki, Jackie and Tash who have added to the total.

Some More Layouts...

2009-03-10T18:22:00.008+09:30

Woo Hoo were in the 90's! Jackie has just added 5 pages to our total so we're up to 94!

Here's some more samples - these were made by Ruta, Jodi, Dannie, Kerri-Anne and Shirley, (not shown in that order) Thanks again girls!

I think that will be the last of the lay out samples. I hope you enjoyed them and they inspired you! And I hope that the people in Victoria who receive them like them too, and that they help them to get back some of their lost precious memories.

This is what 89 Layouts looks like!

2009-03-08T13:36:00.004+09:30

Wow, that's a lot! Mum made another 9 and I managed another 7 so we are now at a grand total of 89!! Excellent effort I reckon. There will be more though - I know that Natasha and Vicki are both sending some so you never know we could make it to 100!

here's a couple of layouts I made using the spring showers papers. I also used the looks like spring stamp set and coordinating flower punch - (they are all retiring at the end of the month, and can you believe the papers are discounted to $5.96 for a pack of 12!) on the first one, for the second one I used the Live Your Dream set - both SS support the Bushfire Appeal - which has now raised over $58000 dollars!

Email me if you'd like any more details. Otherwise I'll be back in the next couple of days with the final total and some more samples.

Quick memories Project Update...

2009-03-07T20:22:00.002+09:30

Well the memories project day was a big success thanks so much to Ruta, Jodi, Dannielle, Kerri-Anne and Shirley (aka Mum!) together we achieved an end of day total of 73 Lay outs!!!! Woo Hoo!! Were not done yet though, I'm expecting a parcel from Natasha and Mum took home a simply scrappin kit to put together and I'm hoping to put a few more together as well. But not tonight - I'm exhausted!

I'll take some pics of our layouts tomorrow and hopefully be back to post them here for you all to see. Good night

Retired List

2009-03-03T20:18:00.003+09:30

Well the retired list is out and it’s HUGE!

SU! is having a massive clean out this year, which is sad because lots of my favorites are going, BUT that means there will be heaps of room for lots of cool new products in the new catalogue out on 1st April!!

And it gets even better – this year SU! has discounted heaps of retiring stamps and accessories by 25% and some by 50%!!!

The downside to this is that stocks are limited and once sold out that’s it. Some things have sold out already! So you need to act quickly.

Just a couple of points to note:
* Designer series papers are discounted 25% meaning they are $8.96 for 12 sheets double sided!!!! How cheap is that? There is even two packs that are 50% off $5.98 – Spring Showers and Spring Flowers – these are the ones that were left out of the caty pictures so if you’d like to see what they look like check out the 07-08 IBC or email me for a picture.
* Heaps of other awesome accessories like simply scrappin kits, rub-ons, chipboard and ribbons are also 25% off
* Ink pads will be going up to $11.95 in the new caty. Maybe now is a good time to stock up on a few new colours and beat the price rise.

Click here for the retired list in numerical order by page number (so you can go through the caty from cover to cover and see what’s going)
Or here to view it in alphabetical order by stamp set name.

Below is a list of those products which have already sold out or are in low quantity:

Item Number Product Description Availability
10756 Flip Flops Unavailable
109020 Wild Wasabi Classic Ink Refill Unavailable
109015 Soft Sky Classic Stamin' Ink Refill Unavailable
109016 River Rock Classic Stampin' Ink Refill Unavailable
109017 Purely Pomegranite Classic Stampin' Ink Refill Unavailable
100381 Earth Elements Eyelets Unavailable
100378 Soft Subtle Eyelets Unavailable
109019 Groovy Guava Classic Stampin' Ink Refill Unavailable
108748 Best Friend Numbers Unavailable
107212 Mateys Map Unavailable
105320 Basic Eyelets Unavailable
103195 Gifts Galore Unavailable
107561 Garden Annuals Unavailable
109610 Confetti Simply Scrappin' Unavailable
104279 Leaf Prints Unavailable
110255 Bundle of Joy Unavailable
112402 Short Order Numbers Unavailable
109018 Blue Bayou Classic Stampin' Ink Refill Unavailable
108720 Ahoy, Matey Low Quantity
108740 Bareback Low Quantity
108746 Best Friends Alphabet Lower Low Quantity
108747 Best Friends Alphabet Upper Low Quantity

Please contact me asap if you'd like to purchase any of these retiring products while they last.

More Scrappin'...

2009-03-03T16:26:00.005+09:30

Well the memories project layout total continues to climb, I've added another two to the total and many thanks to Kerri-Anne who has completed 5 for this great cause! So were up to 31 now!! WOO HOO!!

So here's another sample...This one I put together using the Bali Breeze designer series papers (love love love them!) from the Summer Mini Caty which finishes at the end of this month...

I really liked the layout so I decided to make another one for myself with a gorgeous photo I took of Breanna at Jimmy's Beach a few weeks ago. I tweeked the layout a little and added a few more elements...The title "Cherish" is from the Cherished Rub ons - currently 25% off rrp! I've also used some felt fusion flowers and some extra wide rose red double stitched ribbon - also from the Summer Mini. This is how it turned out...

Here's another Bali Breeze inspired layout for the memories project...

And while I was on a roll...I did another layout of Breanna. This time having fun on her slippery dip in the back yard. I also used the Be Happy stamp set for this one - It's a great set for scrappin, I'm very sad to see it retire but its not one I'll be parting with! The title "It's the little Things" is from the Anchored Rub Ons which are retiring and are 25% off - $14.96 for two large sheets!

Memories Project Update

2009-03-01T17:42:00.004+09:30

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me and offered to donate pages or come along and help on Saturday.

So far between my Mum and I we have made 24 layouts ready to donate. We have been trying to keep them as simple and universal as possible. We've mostly been using the same type of layout - one that will enable the recipient to have 1 large, two standard or 4 small photos. We were also mindful of leaving space for titles and journalling. Here's a small sample:

I am really enjoying making these - if only I could scrapbook my photo's this quick - I'd be caught up in no time!

I'll be back with more samples soon.

Memories Project - Clarification

2009-02-27T19:14:00.003+09:30

Hi everyone, I just wanted to clarify that the layouts for the Memories projects are 12x12. And the deadline is tight - pages in by 14th March! Let's get scrappin'!!

Memories Project - PLEASE READ

2009-02-26T20:19:00.006+09:30

This looks like lots of text with no pretty cards...but please read...

As you are all aware the Victorian bush fire tragedy has caused significant hardship and heartache for thousands of people. As a consequence of losing homes, many people have lost everything of value, and included in this are their personal memories in the form of photograph albums and keepsakes.

Sarah Gladman, a well known talented Australian scrapbook artist, has initiated a project to collect and distribute Scrapbook albums, including a number of pre-made pages (5 -10 in each), to these families in need. The aim is to provide at least one album to each of the over 1000 families that have lost their homes and possessions. It is anticipated that those receiving them will be able to ask their families and friends for suitable replacement photos they may have to populate these pages and thus recreate, to some extent, their losses.

I am very pleased to announce my plans to join in this project having pledged a group donation of 50 layouts. I am opening my house on Saturday 7th March for anyone who would like to come along and use my supplies to make scrapbook layouts to donate, you can come for an hour or for the whole day, my aim is just for us to make a significant contribution. As I said I have pledged 50 layouts to Sarah, but would be stoked if I can get enough help to make it 100!!

I also feel very proud and privileged to be associated with such a caring community minded organisation such as Stampin' Up! who are supporting me in this endeavor by a charitable donation of retired product! How great is that! Today I received a big box of supplies, including heaps of papers, card stock and simply scrappin' kits to help us make some great layouts to donate. And there's even a few things that will be given as door prizes to those that come along!

If you don't live in the Newcastle area but you'd still like to participate, you can make layouts and either post them to me or drop them off at one of the collection points that Sarah has arranged at scrapbook stores across the country. Check out her blog here for those locations.

I think this is an awesome project, a very heartfelt way to support the victims of this tragedy. If you have some time spare on Saturday 7th March and you'd like to come along and help, please email me.

I'll be back to post some of my sample layouts as soon as I can.

Challenge Entries

2009-02-26T20:06:00.003+09:30

Thank you so much to the 3 girls who entered my challenge, I love all your cards, they are absolutely fabbo! There's no way I could pick just one winner, so you all win!!!!!

Here are the entries, for more detail on these lovely Ladies cards click on their names and it will take you to their blogs:

1. Vicki

2. Natasha:

3. Leah:

Mel's DSP Challenge & A Challenge Of My Own!

2009-02-15T07:50:00.005+09:30

I loved Mel's challenge this week because I looove SU! Designer Series Papers (DSP)!! Any excuse to make a card with them! I thought I'd also have a go at the tag punch flower which was one of the projects in our last Demonstrators newsletter (just another one of the perks of being a demo! - contact me if you'd like to find out more). How cute are these flowers? and so easy to make with just a couple of punches and some DSP (I used Prints DSP in rose red and old olive).

When I was making this I decided to make it a 'no-stamping' card so I used a rub-on for the greeting. This prompted me to decide to run my own challenge this month for all of you! So here it is...

Karen's February Challenge...
Make a card using anything you like except NO stamps or inks!

Please leave a comment with a link to your blog showing your entry or email me a photo of your card by 5pm Thursday 26th February.

Something Fishy...

2009-02-08T20:05:00.005+09:30

I know I'm a bad blogger!! Sorry if you've been checking up waiting for me to post something new and it just hasn't happened...life's been hectic blah blah...anyway, I haven't made anything really exciting to show you so I thought I'd do a quick post with some cards I made back in December with the Ocean Commotion set...

This next one was the design I did for a Summer Mini swap, although the sentiment was changed in this one for Jackie's birthday...

And I call this one the 'stone fish' the background is made using the polished stone technique, I recently did this card at a workshop for the 'Crafty Sisters', they loved it...

Well, just a short post tonight, if you'd like any more details on these cards drop me an email or leave a comment. I'll try not to leave it so long next time, although I am working full time now and time is going by ridiculously fast...

Carousel Notes

2009-01-29T20:06:00.005+09:30

Another gorgeous new product from our Summer Mini Catalogue is the Carousel Notes - Die cut scalloped circles in In-colours Groovy Guava, Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi. They coordinate beautifully with the Afternoon Tea DSP. They really appeal to me for use on scrapbook pages as journalling blocks, backgrounds or photo mats. However they can be used as cards as well and do come with the most gorgeous chocolate brown square envelopes (there worth buying just for the envelopes actually, hey Helene!)

Here's two scrapbook pages I completed earlier this week using the Carousel Notes, the first is a 12x12 page showing photos from our trip to Fiji in 2006 (Yes I'm way behind on my scrappin!) and the second is a 6x6 of Breanna's Preschool photo from last year:

Sorry the photo's are not very good - I really struggle to take photos of scrapbook pages - which brings me to some exciting news...you may have noticed my photos are looking a little better this week (except these) - well I got a brand spankin new fangle dangle digital SLR camera last weekend. AND I'm enrolled in a photography course starting next week!!! Woo Hoo!!! In case you cant tell I'm really excited about that! It should definitely help with getting some more professional looking shots of my cards, and I think its just what I need to inspire me to want to scrap again! Not to mention I should be able to get some great photos when we go on holidays to the Whitsundays in 6 weeks time! Can't wait to get stuck into it!

Oh and by the way I edited the Preschool name out of the photo - the Carousel Note doesn't have an ugly smudge on it IRL! and if you cant read the title it says "You make my life a beautiful thing" - and she sure does!

Mel's One Sheet Wonder Challenge & Nerine's Layout Challenge

2009-01-27T16:25:00.008+09:30

I really enjoyed this challenge of Mel's, one sheet wonders (OSW) are something I used to do a lot of but haven't done for a while, so this was great! So great in fact, I did 3!!

Here's the first one, the one I'm entering for Mel's challenge - just because these colours remind me of Mel!! (Bright & cheery!)

For those of you who are wondering - what the hell is a OSW? The general idea is that you stamp an A4 or A5 page randomly then cut it up to make feature panels on cards. Here's is what the OSW sheet looked like before it became cards...

These are the four cards I made out of that A5 sheet:

Here are some close ups of 3 of the cards (lost the photo of the fourth card somewhere!):

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Its your Birthday

Ink: Pink Passion, Green Galore, Lavender Lace, Brocade Blue

Paper: Pink Passion, Lavender Lace, Green Galore, Whisper White

The next OSW I did featured another Summer Mini Caty set - In the Stars. Here I was going for a kind of masculine look and endeavoring to use colours that I don't usually...here it is...

Here's the cards one by one...

Now with this last card I was trying to kill two birds (so to speak) and do Nerine's layout challenge...but...now that I look at it I think I may have gone two far from the sketch (the whole OSW panel is kind of an add on! oops!) I leave it to Nerine's discretion as to whether it qualifies...

This was the sketch...check it out at Nerine's blog

Stamps: In the stars, Short & Sweet
Ink: Summer Sun, Really Rust, Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant
Paper: Summer Sun, Really Rust, Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant

OK, last but not least, here is a sample card from my third OSW. This one featured the Garden Whimsy set and the colours are Taken with teal, Night of Navy and Close to Cocoa.

I hope you all enjoyed that HUGE post!! I'm sure that's got to be one of my biggest ever! Thanks for the inspiration Mel and Nerine!!

I'll be back in the next couple of days with not one but TWO scrapbook pages I made today!! So come back and visit again soon...

Makeesha's Inkspirations Challenge 3

2009-01-26T16:08:00.003+09:30

Another lot of Challenges I've been wanting to do for a while now are Makeesha Byl's (I'm sure every one's already aware of her awesome website, if not, do yourself a creative favour and go check it out!) So having the extra day off work this weekend, and seeing as it was a rainy (stay inside and stamp) day - I actually got one done!! Here is the inspiration photo...

And here is my card...simple but effective I think...

Stamps:Bud Basics, Basics outline (wheel), Cheery Chat
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Blue Bayou, Sage Shadow, Ruby Red (pad and marker)
Other: Blue bayou double stitched ribbon, mat pack & paper piercer, blender pen

Thank you Makeesha for a great challenge, I really enjoyed it and love this colour combo!

Leah's New Year Challenge

2009-01-26T15:35:00.004+09:30

OK, I've made a last minute decision to post this...

I've been wanting to do one of Leah's challenges since she started them but it just hadn't happened so I made myself do this one, and even though the card is pretty ordinary I'm posting it anyway just to prove I had a go!!! The inspiration graphic was pretty funky but to be honest it didn't really get my creative juices flowing! I found it quite difficult to come up with anything. In the end I just kept coming back to the flashing bright colours and that's when the thought of the Josephs Coat technique popped in my head.

So on a piece of gloss card I sponged Pink Passion, Lovely Lilac, Yoyo Yellow, Green Galore and Tempting Turquoise. I then embossed the tiny stars from In the Stars randomly with clear embossing powder (yes I forgot to use my embossing buddy AGAIN - although I don't mind the effect here because it looks a bit like the milky way!). Then brayered black over the top. I cut the Josephs coat piece into four squares mounted it on Going Grey and whisper white (I really tried but I just couldn't get any More Mustard in there! then I just stamped the large star in Going Grey, mounted it on turquoise and was done.

Sorry about the glare in this photo...

Sorry its not great Leah, but at least I had a go this time! And thanks for the great inspiration on your blog - it's awesome!

Sale-A-Bration Creations!

2009-01-25T15:32:00.006+09:30

It’s Sale-A-Bration time again at Stampin’ Up! and free stamps is what it’s all about!
Every year Stampin’ Up! gives customers, hostesses, and new recruits the opportunity to earn fantastic, FREE, limited-edition stamp sets they’ll enjoy for years to come.

Here’s how Sale-A-Bration works:

Customers When you spend $100 on Stampin’ Up! merchandise, you’ll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward. There’s no limit–for every $100 you spend, you can select another free Sale-A-Bration reward!

Hostesses When you host a workshop of at least $600 (before tax and shipping), you’ll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward–in addition to all of the regular hostess benefits!

Recruits During Sale-A-Bration, anyone who joins as a demonstrator can choose any stamp set–a value of up to $79.95–from our current Idea Book and Catalogue!

The Sale-A-Bration promotion started on 1 January and runs through 28 February, so don’t miss your chance to earn free products!

You can view the Sale-A-Bration catalogue via the link to the right...

Here are some of my creations made with the SAB stamp sets... The first card used the Botanical Blooms:

This next card uses the SAB set Polka Dot Punches

Polka Dot Punches again for the background hearts

This set is Yummy!

This is one of Makeesha Byl's Carousel Bags stamped with SAB set Polka Dot Punches

Lastly, these projects feature Botanical Blooms, Polka Dot Punches, and Yummy. The beautiful DSP for these projects is Afternoon Tea from the Summer Mini

If you'd like anymore info on other products used in any of these projects, or if you'd like to place an order and earn free sets! please send me an email.

Christmas RAK from Sharon

2009-01-18T17:14:00.004+09:30

My very lovely upline Sharon Walsh, who is now located in Tasmania, sent me this lovely gift - a cherish album, and beautiful SAB card...

Sharon doesn't have a blog (yet!) so I thought I would share them with you all on her behalf. Aren't they lovely? I'm very lucky! Thanks so much Sharon.

Jackie Has a Blog!!

2009-01-13T06:38:00.002+09:30

The newest Happy Stamper, Jackie, has started a blog - WooHoo!!
You can check out her beautiful creations here
Thanks so much for sharing with us Jackie!!

Altered Tea Chest

2009-01-11T15:31:00.006+09:30

I picked up this tea chest for a bargain price because some of the painted detail on the glass lid had been scratched off (see bottom right hand side of border). That very fact inspired me for some reason - I thought I could take all the rest of the paint off the lid and then make it into a hair accessory organiser/storage box for Breanna. I had all of her hair things in a box and it was a pain to find anything, so this divided tea chest was the perfect solution.

So on Friday night I set to work with the new Bali Breeze papers from the Summer Mini - such gorgeous colours! This is what eventuated...

All the products I used are Stampin Up! Bali Breeze DSP, Pretties kit flowers, Felt flowers, Rhinestone brads, rub-ons, & ribbons.

Here it is finished off and in use - I know I'm a bit anal - but I looove how organised and coordinated this is!!!

I'm really happy with how it turned out - it's been a great idea - even Rick is putting things away in their correct section!

I'd love to hear what you guys think...

Mel's Challenge

2009-01-11T14:45:00.003+09:30

Well it's been so long since I did one of Mel's challenges I was determined to have a go at this one, although as she said it was a doozy!! The colours made me cringe big time (orchid opulence - urgh!). Anyway the challenge was to use whisper white, orchid opulence, barely banana, certainly celery, the kissing technique and dimensionals. I made two cards - Rick said that neither was blog worthy (I tend to agree) but I'm showing them anyway...

This first one uses the elephant from Wild About You kissed with the Paisley Background stamp. The sentiment is from the Sale-a-bration set Congrats.

The second card uses Bodacious Bouquet kissed with paisley background, and the corner flourishes are from the Yummy Sale-a -bration set.

Welcome Jackie!

2009-01-06T13:21:00.006+09:30

I'm very very excited to announce a new Happy Stampers team member...welcome to the SU! family Jackie Thomas!!!! I've lost a wonderful customer in Jackie, but I'm stoked she's joined the team, she will make a great demo- she is so nice and soooo talented...here's the Christmas card she made for me - isn't it great! (I hope you don't mind me sharing it Jack - and sorry about my crappy photography)

I'm really hoping Jackie will start a blog one day so we can see more of her wonderful work (hint hint nudge nudge - no pressure Jack!!)

Enjoy your SU! journey Jack - I know you'll love it!

First Card for 2009!

2009-01-05T20:14:00.005+09:30

Here is the first card I made in 2009! It's a cute 'onesie' card (original design by Lauren Meader) for Rick's cousin and his wife who welcomed a baby boy into the world on New Year's Eve!

Stamps: Nursery Necessities

Paper: Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Whisper White, Sarah DSP (retired)

Ink: Brocade Blue, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Other: Scallop circle punch, 13/8 circle punch, eyelets and crop-a-dile

Live Your Dream - Regionals Make & Take Set

2009-01-04T19:41:00.003+09:30

Here are some photos of the make & takes we did at this years Regionals. They feature the stamp set Live Your Dream and the gorgeous Afternoon Tea DSP - both from the Summer Mini catalogue - available now!

I'm posting these pictures for Kerynne (Hi!) who spotted these at a workshop I did in December and loved them so much she has booked a class specifically to make these projects - so if you're one of Kerynne's guests these are the four projects we will be making - 2 cards, a love note folder with 3 love notes and envelopes and a 6x6 scrapbook page (you can bring along a photo or add one later).

If your not one of Kerynne's friends but you'd like to attend a class to make these projects let me know by email, I will run another at my house if there is enough interest.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-04T10:36:00.013+09:30

Hi everyone! Thank you to all the my loyal blog followers who have been checking in - sorry I took so long to post. I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and I wish you all the best for the New Year - hope its the best yet!! Wow, I cant believe it's 2009 - does anyone else feel like 2008 was a complete blur? I'm hoping for a great 2009 but I do hope it goes by a bit slower!

So what have I been up to? Well...I had HEAPS of Christmas creations to show you back in December but that went out the window when I got caught up in the Twilight saga - if you haven't read the books do yourself a favour and get them now - However be warned once you start you cant stop and all 4 books will need to be read - you just cant get enough and have to know what will happen next. Apart from the Crosstitch (Jamie & Claire) series by Diana Gabaldon, these are the most compelling books I've ever read. If you're not into books check out the movie - its no where near as good as the book - and I think seeing it without having read the book you would miss a lot of the details - but anyway its a close second that's for sure! You can check out the film trailer here (I downloaded it onto my iPod so I can get my fix whenever I want! - yes I'm a complete addict - I know its sad!) And one other little note of warning - you will fall in love with Edward Cullen and no mortal man will ever measure up again!

Ok, that's my twilight rant. In my real life (as opposed to my fantasy world of gorgeous vampires and werewolves!!! ) I have been really busy with all the usual Christmas and New Year stuff, we've had a few short breaks away and been getting some house and yard work done. Sadly I haven't really done any crafting at all and its back to work for me tomorrow.

Thank you to all my lovely friends, customers, downlines that sent me gorgeous hand made Christmas cards - they are all beautiful.

I made some post-it note holders to send to my downlines for Christmas, here is a picture of some of them:

While I'm in catch up mode...3 lovely bloggin sisters recently gave me awards - thank you soooo much. This beautiful butterfly award from my lovely friend Mel Hanlon and from the very creative Leah Weir

And this one from Sharon at Stampin & Scrappin

Thanks again ladies for thinking of me. I'm not going to tag any other bloggers - I think everyone has already got them (cause I'm so far behind!!!!)

I'll be back with some cards to show you later

It's Summer Mini Time!!

2008-12-02T19:25:00.004+09:30

I love love love this year's Summer Mini Catalogue - its gorgeous!! Not only is it jam packed with gorgeous new stamps there's also new ribbon, chunky glitter, felt flowers, rub-ons and the most beautiful papers ever...check it out - the link is on the right hand side. If you'd like a hard copy to drool over email me and I'll send you one!

I did my first Summer Mini workshop today (thank you Paula!). For our first project we made a scrapbook page embellishment, here's a picture of the page I did as a sample showing its possible use... that's it at the bottom left...

How cute is she? That just goes to show how far behind I am on my scrapping - that's Breanna on her 2nd Birthday (she was a huge wiggles fan at the time and loved her Dorothy tutu!). Here's another picture to give you a better idea of the embellishment...

And here's a similar embellishment used on a card...

To make it we used the Friendly Flowers stamp set, purely pomegranate, pretty in pink, and chocolate chip ink on whisper white cardstock. The bling is the new chunky glitter applied with crystal effects. The chunky glitter comes in a set of 4 colours - we used the pink today and the card sample uses the crystal iris.

The other project we made today was a Birthday card with the new set Eastern Blooms. This is a really cool set, and the Bali Breeze papers that match are divine! This card was inspired by the colours of those papers...

Sorry for the blurry photo. Here's another version...

Hope you like these creations. I have heaps more to show you, so hopefully I'll be back again soon! Damn work for getting in the way of my stamping and blogging!

Dashing Bags in Boxes

2008-11-25T15:15:00.003+09:30

How cute are these! We made these with the Dashing DSP and Season of Joy stamp set at a recent workshop (hi girls!). I liked them so much I've made even more!! Just cant decide whether to give them to all the family on Christmas Day or the preschool teachers...

We Have A Winner!

2008-11-15T18:38:00.005+09:30

I know I said lunch time - but better late than never!!!
Thank you to the lovely ladies who left a comment on my last post. Yes you were right - all the projects featured products from the Spring Mini Catalogue - which as Tash pointed out, you can only get until the end of this month - only 15 days left. So if you'd love to get your hands on any of the beautiful stamps, papers, rub-ons, ribbons, stickers or die cuts, please email me.

I used random org to generate a winner:

Here are your random numbers:

4 Timestamp: 2008-11-15 09:06:29 UTC

Congratulations to Leah who left comment number four. I'll be sending you some blog candy very soon!

Can You Guess?

2008-11-11T20:53:00.007+09:30

I have some Blog candy up for grabs- all you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your answer to this question: What do all the items I've made below have in common? I'll draw the winner at lunchtime on Saturday 15th November. Entry is open to everyone.

OK, here goes...first up we have a 'star box'

Next is a love note gift box set...

A triangle box (recent tutorial at SCS)...

A summer picnic inspired 'bag in a box' and box I made to keep all my Blooms die cuts in...

A very cute 'pizza box' I made and filled with Hershey's for an American friend...

And sadly I needed to make a sympathy card for my Mum last week who lost her much loved uncle...

So can you guess?

PS I meant to enter at least one of the 3D items in KristyJane's 'Anything but a card' challenge - but I missed the deadline - oops - sorry Kristy.

Christmas Windows

2008-11-08T20:45:00.007+09:30

Windows, windows, and more windows! Everywhere I look there's window cards - I'll be happy if I don't make anymore for quite some time!!! Enough ranting...way back at regionals Linda Higgins demonstrated some really cool window cards - I mentioned them in this post here. I was very impressed with how easy these are to make and yet how effective. I thought they'd make great Christmas cards with a bit of a twist to teach my customers. My enthusiasm may have gone a little over the top though - here is just SOME of the Christmas window cards I've made or taught recently...

Sorry some of the photos are really crappy.

If you'd like more info on these cards please leave me a comment or email.

Sandy Claws is coming to town...

2008-11-06T14:57:00.005+09:30

As promised here's a couple more of the Chrissy cards I've made lately.

These are two of the cards we made at my Christmas card SAS last Saturday. Sorry the photos aren't very good.

Stamps: Crab & Co, By the Sea (wheel - retired)

Ink: Sahara sand, black stazon

Paper: Kraft, Real Red, Old Olive, More Mustard, Whisper White

Other: Stampin Write markers, Real red buttons

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Many Merry Messages
Ink: Always Artichoke, versamark
Paper: Holiday harmony DSP, Naturals Ivory, Purely Pomegranate, Always Artichoke

Other: Heat & Stick powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon

I made one of these candy cane holders for all the girls who came along to my class. The Santa made with the scallop punch is so cute! Here's a link to Tinkerin-in-ink with Tanya's tutorial if you want to make some yourself.

Christmas Cards by the truck load!

2008-11-05T18:51:00.007+09:30

I feel like I've made so many Christmas cards lately! I've had a few workshops and classes on lately, and of course it is that time of year! Not that I'm complaining!! I haven't had a chance to take photos of all of them yet, but here's a couple from way back at WCMD!...

This one was one of the cards the ladies at my WCMD class made. It uses the Christmas tree from Fun & Fast Notes. The Merry Christmas label is from Party Punch (hostess set). The colours are inspired by the Holiday Harmony DSP's used (River rock, Always Artichoke and Purely Pomegranate) and I used the crimper to add some dimension to this one.

This one was a super quick 'One Sheet Wonder' I was playing around with for a class but didn't end up using. You just stamp an A4 sheet then cut into quarters to make card fronts for 4 cards. Here I used the poinsettia and swirl from Season of Joy in Always artichoke and Bravo Burgundy on Very vanilla card. You then just tear away the front of the Artichoke card, stick the stamped card front behind it, finish with some ribbon and a greeting and you're done!! I also decorated an envelope for this one.

Thinking of WCMD, I know it was ages ago, but I meant to show you the gorgeous treat baskets I made for the girls who came along. They were made from an SCS tutorial and I just love them! As per my WCMD theme I used the Holiday harmony DSP, no two were the same. Here's one of them...

and here's a pic of some of them on the table when the girls arrived for the class...

I'll be back tomorrow with some more Chrissy cards...

Time's running out for Birthday Specials...

2008-10-23T18:29:00.004+09:30

I'm sure you've all heard by now that Stampin' Up! is 20 years old this month!! To celebrate there are 5 special Birthday sets available at 20% off!! All the details of the promotion are available here.

One of the sets is Pretty Princess normally $45.95, this month only $36.76! Here's a quick card I made using it to make a 4 year old birthday card back in August...

If you'd like to have this set on hand for quick easy girls cards then be sure to email me before the end of the month.

Vanilla Gold Wedding

2008-10-22T18:40:00.005+09:30

A work colleague of mine is getting married this weekend so I volunteered to make a card from everyone in our department. I CASED this idea from Splitcoast stamper "lovestampin!!!", but added a few twists of my own. One thing I definitely picked up from her was the use of the cuttlebug for embossed backgrounds - and now i think I may be hooked! Would you believe this is the first time I have ever used my cuttlebug folders and I've had them for nearly 12 months!!!!!

Everyone at work was pretty impressed - so I'm happy! What do you guys think?

Stamps: Petal prints, All Year Cheer I (retired), Taggers Dozen, Springtime Stems (retired)

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Very vanilla, Gold Metallic

Other: Gold Embossing powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Cuttlebug folder Textile texture

Mick's Birthday Card...

2008-10-22T18:26:00.004+09:30

My Brother celebrated yet another Birthday last week, this is the card I made him...

I was really laking inspiration when I made this, so I did my usual and grabbed some patterned paper! (If I'm stumped for where to start I find that looking at papers at least gives you some colours as a starting point) I was going through my stash and realised I hadn't made anything using the outlaw DSP. Soooo I decided to challenge myself with papers I'd never used AND a stamp set that hadn't seen daylight for a while - Loads of Love was the only one I could find that was sufficiently masculine!! This is what eventuated - not too bad for a quick card on a low inspiration day!!!

Now, my Brother also shares his Birthday with my beautiful Friend Helene (waving) , but unfortunately her card didn't turn out so well, I'm so embarrassed I wont even show it! Helene is so sweet she loved it anyway, but it really is one of my worst efforts ever!

It's Looking a lot Like a Scribbly Christmas...

2008-10-08T19:20:00.003+09:30

Here's another one of the cards we made at my WCMD class last Saturday. This is a really simple card, but I absolutely love it and so did the ladies at my class! This was inspired by some Christmas cards I made last year by embossing the flower from Scribble This onto patterned Christmas paper. Last year it was copper with cranberry crisp & true thyme (check them out here and here)- I thought that was nice, but silver with purely pomegranate and always artichoke is even nicer - the white just makes it so fresh as well. I can see myself making a few of these babies!

Stamps: Scribble This, All About Christmas (wheel)

Ink: Always Artichoke, Silver encore

Paper: Holiday Harmony DSP, Whisper White

Other: Purely Pomegranate double stitched ribbon, silver brad (hodge podge hardware), silver embossing powder, heat tool

You know in hindsight I might have gotten away with entering this in Mel's no layer challenge - as long as she considered the flower an embellishment and not a layer I'd be right!!

Look Mum, No Layers!!

2008-10-07T16:39:00.006+09:30

OMG that was way harder than I thought!! Oh how I longed for just one layer!

In case you hadn't guessed I'm referring to my efforts for Mel's No Layers Challenge. I've made four cards which have no layers at all...one hell of a feat!

This first one is the one I have chosen to submit for the challenge... The technique i've used is bleaching. I started with a peice of pretty in pink card stock (thanks Vicki!), I then stamped the teddy from Bundle of Joy with versamark and added dazzling diamonds with heat and stick powder (thanks Dannie! - in case you're wondering I went stamping with the girls with very little supplies so had to go on the scab!). I then stamped the backgound (stars & moons whicha are a little hard to see) in pretty in pink and stamped the welcome in rose red shadowed in whisper white. I then bleached out the teddy image with a bleach filled aqua painter. Some pink gingham ribbon added the finishing touch. Here it is...

here's a close up of the teddy...

This next one is a case of the fabulous artist Michelle Zindorf (as per the SCS rules for casing my 2 changes were to use a different bird, and off course no layers - hers had several!). If you haven't already checked out her work do yourself a favour - there's nothing she cant do with a Brayer and sponge!

Believe it or not I actually don't mind this next card - it's probably my favourite of the four, but I didn't enter it because the stamp set is retired and I know Mel prefers to stick to current SU! only. How I did this was to stamp the main image, make an oval mask to go around it, then watercolour it. I then reverse masked the image and used the brayer to colour the background with Blue Bayou ink. I then scored 1/2" around the edges and went over the score with a white gel pen. I then tediously stamped the verse along the bottom in black (the verse stamp is four lines - so I used the marker to ink one line at a time and samj to line it up along the bottom).

This last card I made whist stamping with Dannie & Vicki today (waving girls!). I really don't like it that much but I thought I show it anyway...

Well Mel, I hope you like them, now I'm off to make a card with heaps and heaps of layers!

Holiday Harmony Double Pocket Gift Bag

2008-10-06T13:17:00.003+09:30

Here's one of the projects we made at my WCMD class on Saturday... It was a small group of lovely ladies and we all had a great time making these...

We made two love notes and matching lined envelopes to go inside the bag, here's a sample of some of the designs...

All of my WCMD class projects used the Holiday harmony DSP - isn't it gorgeous! Just beautiful colours for Christmas. It's only available until Nov 30 so get your order in before its gone! The stamp set we used for this one was Season of Joy - also in the Spring Mini and only available until the end of November! Email me if you'd like to place an order.

I'm off to do some cleaning now - YAY! not! But I hope to sit down tonight and make a card for Mel's No Layers challenge - be back to show you tomorrow. Have a great night!

SCS WCMD Technique Lovers Challenge

2008-10-05T23:10:00.004+09:30

Ok, this is the last one for tonight! Here is my contribution for the SCS WCMD Technique Lovers challenge - the technique was 'Nested Flowers'. I've never done these before, and I have to admit when I read cutting circles out freehand I was freaking out!! My style is (usually) fairly clean cut so to speak, but this was so much fun! I decided to get away from just papers or card stock and I grabbed a few things out of my craft stash - this is what they inspired...

STAMPS: Baroque Motifs

INK: Night of Navy, Stazon Opaque White

PAPER: Night of Navy, Whisper White, River Rock

OTHER: Ribbon, half back pearl (pretties kit), fabric, felt, hessian, tulle, mulberry paper, lace

SCS World Card Making Day Limited Supplies Challenge

2008-10-05T20:44:00.005+09:30

Here's another card I made for an SCS WCMD challenge - this challenge was a limited supplies challenge called 'No P's Please' - Patterned Papers and Pastels were not allowed.

This seemed like a good opportunity to me to break out that new Nursery Necessities stamp set and make that card I said I would for last months promotion (that was before the FLU!). This is what I came up with...

My intention was to keep it very simple and stick with a monochromatic colour scheme. It really does look much better IRL, but even so I'm not overly happy with it. What do you think?

STAMPS: Nursery Necessities, Nursery letters Jumbo wheel

INKS: Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue

PAPER: Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White

OTHER: Bashful Blue striped grosgrain ribbon, Punches - Scallop circle, 1 3/8 circle, star, dimensionals

SCS World Card Making Day Sketch Challenge

2008-10-05T20:28:00.003+09:30

This was the sketch challenge posted at Splitcoast for WCMD... This is my contribution...

This is the first time I've done a SCS challenge - and I even uploaded my card their gallery!!! I thought it was about time I stopped being a silent stalker and started sharing my work!!

Back to the card...as you can see I decided to turn the sketch on its side. I was inspired by the pile of papers, card stock and ribbon that was left over from my WCMD class i held yesterday (which was Christmas themed and based on the Holiday Harmony DSP - photos soon I promise!). So I looked at the papers and beautiful pomegranate satin ribbon and thought a ha! - and it actually worked out pretty good if I do say so myself! Here's the recipe...

STAMPS: Season of Joy

INK: Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock

PAPERS: Holiday Harmony DSP, Always Artichoke, Whisper White

OTHER: Purely Pomegranate Satin ribbon, half back pearl (pretties kit), theatre ribbon originals, dimensionals, circle punches

What do you think?

I'm Back!

2008-10-05T20:10:00.002+09:30

Well...its been a while between posts...that's a bit of a long story...but cutting it short I've had Influenza B and then in between that I've been madly preparing for WCMD. I've made soooo many cards lately its got to be some kind of record! I've taken photos of most of them and i'm setting myself a challenge to post a card everyday this week!!!! To start off tonight I'll be posting a couple of cards I've made for the SCS WCMD challenges - so stay tuned...

Happy Birthday to SU!

2008-10-01T12:04:00.006+09:30

Stampin’ Up! is 20 years old this month, and to celebrate in true Stampin’ Up! style, they have a fantastic Birthday Promotion for you...

Spend $20 on regular catalogue merchandise during October and get 20% off these selected stamp sets:

Big Bold Birthday pg 37 - reduced to $43.16

Pretty Princess pg 38 - reduced to $36.76

Birthday Best pg 51 - reduced to $20.76

Crab and Company pg 55 - reduced to $42.36

Short & Sweet pg 118 - reduced to $23.96

Click HERE to see the full flyer

WORLD CARD MAKING DAY
Did you also know that Stampin’ Up! have a great promotion for World Card Making Day available from the 4th to 11th of October?

Click HERE to see the full flyer

Celebrated the first Saturday in October, World Card Making Day endeavors to bring together card makers around the world at a time that is traditionally the busiest time of year for card- and gift-making.
Stampin’ Up! is excited to celebrate this holiday with you. During this week, we are offering 20 percent off Simply Sent Card Kits.

I'm also hosting a WCMD class at my house this Saturday. If your interested in attending the class or taking advantage of the great promotions this month, please email me.

Time's Running out for 'Free Wheelin'

2008-09-20T16:43:00.006+09:30

Have you heard about Stampin' Up!'s great September promotion? Its called 'Free Wheelin' and when you purchase a selected stamp set you get the coordinating Jumbo wheel for FREE! Save $15.95!! Here's a few projects I've put together to show some of the wonderful sets and wheels available on this promotion...

This first one features the set Bodacious Bouquet an the wheel Bodacious. You may recognise this photo - I put it up on my blog after Mothers Day when it was taken. It was a very simply scrapbook Page to make. I simply wheeled the background wit Bravo Burgundy ink on Bravo Burgundy card stock. then made the accent flower by stamping the flowers and leaves in Bravo Burgundy, Apricot Appeal and Always Artichoke. These were then cut out and layered with dimensionals. The photo was matted on Always Artichoke, I added some Apricot ribbon and a round tab for the vital details...viola! (Oh, in case you're wondering that's the faux shaving cream technique Ive used on the biggest flower - another really cool way to use the free wheel!!!! - if you're not sure what I'm talking about email me or leave a comment and I'll tell you how to do it!)

This next one was inspired by Linda Higgins awesome demonstration at Regionals. Lind demoed how to make these fantastic window cards. This one Ive made here with Artfully Asian and the Watercolour Vine Jumbo wheel. These are really easy to make too, you just cut an A4 piece of card in half, score it 10 and 20cm, punch out the window with a 1 3/8 square punch, stamp your image on vellum and stick it in between the 2 front layers!

Another window card, this one is a Christmas card with a difference, made with the Priceless set and So Swirly wheel (this has proved to be by far the most popular bundle!). This is one of the projects we'll be making at my WCMD class (I'll b posting more details on that soon).

This next one is a Bag-a-lope made with the All about Christmas Wheel which coordinates with the Merry, Merry Stamp set. The colours are Very Vanilla, Bravo Burgundy and Always Artichoke .

Last but not least here's another bag-a-lope featuring Carte Postal and Leaves a la Carte Jumbo wheel. The colours are Very Vanilla, Always artichoke and Bravo Burgundy.

The only set on the promotion I haven't featured is Nursery Necessities and the Nursery letters wheel - which I just ordered for myself this week - so I just might challenge myself to make something and get it on here before Free Wheelin' ends on 30th September! That's right you've only got 10 days left to take advantage of this offer, email me if you'd like more information.

Have a great weekend!

A Catch Up...

2008-09-17T19:22:00.007+09:30

Hi, I thought I'd post a few creations from back in August that I hadn't got around to posting yet! Better late than never!!!

This first one was the Blog candy I sent to Natasha after her number was drawn first when I did my 5500 hits blog candy while back. The projects were inspired by the Apple Cider DSP and the True Friend stamp set from the Spring Mini Caty...

This next card I made for my Dad's Birthday. He loves all things boat so I had to use Seaworthy. I was happy how the card turned out except for my tearing which was atrocious! but I didn't have time to do it again - you know me do everything at the last minute!

This last pic is of some bunches of lavender from our backyard that Breanna took into Preschool for show and Tell and as a gift for her teachers. I made the tags with the Oh, So Lovely hostess set.

If you'd like any more information on any of the products or techniques I've used here please email me or leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Have a great day!

Regional Swaps

2008-09-09T17:26:00.004+09:30

I'm back from the Sydney regional seminar all inspired (and completely exhausted!!!) As promised I'm back here to post pictures of my swaps. Now they are definitely nothing flash - seeing as I didn't start them until Wednesday night last week I was hardly in the position to do anything real flash. Anyway I made 2 designs, one of which I did in two different colourways, a total of 40 cards altogether. Here they are:

This first one came about after making some flowers with the A Beautiful Thing stamp set for Mel's Punch Challenge card (see earlier post). After stamping the flowers I thought they would look cool on the Watercolour Vine...and this is what I came up with.

Stamps: A Beautiful Thing, Watercolour Vine Stampin’ Around Jumbo Wheel
CS: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Really Rust, Old Olive, Fall Flowers DSP
Inks: Groovy Guava, Really Rust, Old Olive, Sahara Sand Other: Groovy Guava double stitched grosgrain ribbon, five petal punch, ½” circle punch, dazzling diamonds glitter, 2-way glue pen, sponge, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Snail

After 15 of the guava version of this card I was sick of it and had to try out a new colour combo. I'd got lots of feedback from people who loved this combo from an earlier card.

Stamps: A Beautiful Thing, Watercolour Vine Stampin Around Jumbo Wheel
CS: Taken with teal, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White, Old Olive, Old Olive Prints DSP
Inks: Taken with Teal, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive Other: five petal punch, ½” circle punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Snail

At the last minute I decided to do something with Always that was a little different, this was it.

Stamps: Always
CS: Whisper White, Blue Bayou, Real Red
Inks: Blue Bayou, Real Red, Wild Wasabi Other: ½” circle punch, photo corner punch, crop-o-dile (for small circles), crystal effects, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Snail

The Regional Seminar was fantastic and I will post the projects we made for you all to see very soon. The biggest disappointment for me was that I bought most of my swaps home with me :( !!We arrived too late on the Saturday morning to swap and by lunchtime most people had already done all their swaps. So if there is anyone out there who would like to swap a card with me for one of the above please leave me a comment with your email included or email me.

Have a nice night

Love Birds

2008-09-04T23:01:00.005+09:30

Hi again! Wow two posts in two days! I just had to show you this card - its so basic but I think its just so cute! I cant take credit for the idea though, I cased some cards by Jill Geraghty- Groves in the current Australian Cardmaking Stamping & Papercraft Mag.

To make the birds I punched out circles of Spring Silhouettes DSP using the 1 3/8" & 1 1/4" circle punches. Their wings are made by stamping the large flower from Looks Like Spring in Soft Sky on Vanilla cs then cutting out a section of 2 or 3 petals. I then defined the petals(wing feathers) with a black stampin write marker. The marker was also used to draw eyes and legs. I cut little triangles out of Blue Bayou for their beaks. The birds are mounted on dimensionals onto Blue bayou card. The heart and love you are from Short & Sweet stamped in basic black ink.

Don't you think they are just so cute? I was going to make them for regionals but didn't think it was right to do a case - so I've just made up 40 cards in 3 different original designs - I'll try to post them for you tomorrow night - if not I'll put them up when I get back.

Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments on my last card, I'm stoked you all liked it!!

Mel's Punch Challenge

2008-09-03T22:58:00.005+09:30

My gorgeous team member Mel has set yet another fabulous challenge for us - this time to use as many punches as we could!! Now those of you that have talked to me recently would know that I had lost my mojo :(

Well I thought this challenge might help me find it - and it did!!! I'm stoked with how this card turned out, and since making it I have made 4 more cool designs for my regional swaps- YAY! I wont be arriving empty handed!!

Anyway, back to the punch card - its based on a vase of flowers, it uses a grand total of 13 different punches, here it is...

OK, so the punches I used were:

1/16" circle
1/8" circle
1 3/8" circle
1 1/4" circle
3/4" circle
1/2" circle
Word Window
Photo Corners
Tag
Corner Rounder
5-Petal Flower
Scallop Circle
Spring Flower Bouquet

I really wanted to get more in but it started to get messy and look like I was using punches just for the sake of using punches (which I was!). I'm really happy with how this card turned out - it's just as I imagined it, it meets the challenge requirements to use a many punches as I could, and I just think it looks cool! Here's the recipe:

Stamps: Looks Like Spring, In the Spotlight, A Beautiful Thing, Short & Sweet
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, So Saffron, More Mustard, Basic Black
Paper: Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate, Confetti white, Basic Black, Soft Sky, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Old Olive

Other: Punches x 13 (see list above), double stitched grosgrain ribbon purely pomegranate, rhinestone brads

So what do you think?

Sorry I didn't make it back over the weekend to pass on my blog awards or post more cards - I may not get to it before regional this weekend, but I'll definitely be back with bells on after that!

Long Time - No Post...Sorry!

2008-08-29T21:12:00.003+09:30

Hi there, I'm back! Sorry it's been so long between posts but I've had a lot going on.

Thank you so much to all my loyal readers especially those that have left me such nice comments lately - I really appreciate it. I was especially chuffed to find that the extremely talented Nerine has awarded me the "I love your blog award"!! Wow!! Thanks so much Nerine. I'm going to do as Nerine did and bask in the glory for a couple of days whilst deciding who to pass it on to - so stay tuned!

Now I couldn't very well make a come back without a card for you, so here's one I made a little while back preparing for my mini caty workshop (I think I cased it but cant for the life of me remember who or where from, sorry)...

Stamps: True Friend, Party Punch

Ink: Elegant Eggplant

Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Taken With Teal, Whisper White

Other: Stampin Write Markers (Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, Taken with Teal), Elegant Eggplant grosgrain ribbon, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware

I plan to be back over the weekend with some more creations from the True Friend set. See you then...

Yes, You're in the right place!

2008-08-17T12:41:00.002+09:30

I was a bit bored of my old blog template and thought it was time for a change! What do you think? The banner is a section of a scrapbook page I did about 12 months ago using Scribble This. You can see it in full here.

Bloomin' Beautiful!

2008-08-17T10:29:00.004+09:30

Hi again, you might remember back in my spring Mini class post I mentioned that I had made 'heaps' of cards using Bloomin' with Beauty practicing for the workshop...well here is just a few of them:

The pink cocoa version...
Amethyst rose...
beautiful bronze...
purely pomegranate...and last but not least...

Another Amethyst rose - this one was for Dannie's Birthday.

If you'd like the recipes or any more details please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.

Have a great day!

Kaz x

Happy Stampers Watercolour Swap

2008-08-09T19:43:00.003+09:30

I mentioned a while back that I was hosting a team swap featuring water colouring. This was my contribution. This photo doesn't really do it justice - its much much nicer IRL!

Stamps: Natural Beauty, Carte Postale (for the greeting - Mon Amie - it really is there!)
Inks: Black Stazon
Paper: Rose Red, Apricot Appeal, Prints DSP (Rose Red), Watercolour Paper
Other: Stampin Write Markers (Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Certainly Celery), Aqua Painter, Brads (Apricot Appeal), Hodgepodge hardware (Antique Brass)

Thumped Paisleys...

2008-08-05T21:27:00.004+09:30

Mel's current technique challenge is "Thumping" and it has to be used on a Fathers Day card! I thought of doing Lovely as a Tree, but then Mel did it as an example and I really do use it a bit too much for men stuff! So I thought the paisley background stamp would be nice to 'thump', and I'd been planning a Fathers Day card from Breanna using All in the Family - so I combined the two and this is what eventuated...

Isn't it cute? I'm posting this now thinking - I hope Rick doesn't check out my blog before the day (Rick - if you do, act surprised ok!). The colours were inspired by the Spring Break DSPs. Here's the recipe...

Stamps: Paisley Background, All in the Family, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Expressive Flexible Phrases

Ink: Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie, Blue Bayou, Basic Black

Paper: Blue Bayou, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Spring Break DSP (paper pieced clothes)

Other: Markers (Pumpkin pie, old olive), blender pen (to thump the blue bayou ink), Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon 1 1/4 & 1 3/8 circle punches, dimensionals

So what do you think? Is it too girly?

I really like the thumping technique. It gives colour, but its more interesting and and random than just colouring the rubber neatly with markers.

Hope you like it Mel. Sorry its not a great photo (I couldn't wait for natural light tomorrow!!) If you need a better shot I'll take another. Thanks so much for hosting these great challenges to keep us on our toes!!

Always...Engagement, Swap & Challenge...

2008-08-05T19:10:00.009+09:30

The stamp set I fell most in love with when I first saw the new Spring Mini Caty was Always. In particular I couldn't wait to get my hands on that love heart and the bird! Luckily for me my cousin had his engagement party a couple of weekends ago, that was the perfect excuse to break it out! This is the card I made:

StampsStamps: Always, All Year Cheer (retired)
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey, Versamark
Paper: Basic Grey, Pretty n Pink. Purely Pomegranate
Other: Silver embossing powder, satin ribbon (purely pomegranate), stampin dimensionals

Then, I loved the card so much I thought this is what I'll do for Mel's Mini Caty swap, I had to change it a little, this is what the swap card looked like in the end:

Stamps: Always,
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey, Versamark
Paper: Basic Grey, Pretty n Pink. Purely Pomegranate
Other: Silver embossing powder, satin ribbon (purely pomegranate), stampin dimensionals, silver brad

Then after making up all my swaps I had 3 embossed hearts left over. SO I thought - Yay, I'll make a card for Nerine's basics challenge, and I did (but I just forgot to send it to Nerine before the deadline!) You can see all the other entries here and details on the challenge here. Here's my (non) entry:

Stamps: Always, Short & Sweet (little heart)
Ink: Basic Grey, Versamark
Paper: Basic Grey, Pretty n Pink. Purely Pomegranate
Other: Silver embossing powder, stampin dimensionals

And The Winners Are...

2008-08-04T20:42:00.003+09:30

I was a little later than I planned doing my random number draw for the blog candy (Breanna's bedtime didn't go to plan tonight!) Anyway, I jumped onto Random.org and generated a random number...the first one out was:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:4
Timestamp: 2008-08-04 11:08:10 UTC

So congrats to number 4 who was Natasha Murray!!! Yay Tash!!! for those who don't know Tash is one of my wonderful "Happy Stampers", and being a demo was ineligible to win the stamp set, but she does have some lovely handmade candy headed her way!!

So back to random.org for another draw:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:5
Timestamp: 2008-08-04 11:09:59 UTC

The next number out was lucky number 5 - Congratulations to Kylie Crossley!! It's great to see the candy go to such a lovely customer! The stamps will be in your hands very soon Kylie - enjoy!!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered, an thanks again for reading my blog!

Cheers, Kaz

Spring Mini Catalogue Launch

2008-08-03T17:26:00.007+09:30

Hi there! Well it's that time of year again - time for the launch of Stampin' Up!'s Spring Mini Catalogue!! Here's picture of the cover...

And it gets even better on the inside!! You can browse it online here or if you'd like me to send you a copy please email me your mailing address.

So to celebrate the excitement of all new rubber! I held a mini caty launch party compete with gifts and chocolate cake!! It was a small party but we had fun (Thanks for coming Jackie, Kylie, Lyn & Mum!). These are the cards we made...

I love how this card turned out, its simple but so effective. Its a "Joy Fold" card - they are so cute - I'm going to be making a lot more of those! Here's the recipe for this one:

Stamps: True Friend
Inks: Really Rust, Wild Wasabi
Papers: River Rock (textured), Really Rust, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla, Apple Cider DSP
Assessories: Stampin Write Markers (Really Rust & Chocolate Chip), Circle Punches 1 1/4 & 1 3/8, Stampin Dimensionals

At the risk of sounding a bit happy with myself (lol!!!!) I love this card too! I was going for a bit of a shabby chic look with all that distressing and unevenness! The photo doesn't really do it justice, but we added some silver metallic ink refill to the almost amethyst before water colouring to give the flower a bit of shimmer. I made HEAPS of these cards (the same but different) practicing before the class - I'll put these up on my blog too - next time!

Stamps: Bloomin with Beauty

Inks: Almost Amethyst, Always Artichoke
Papers: Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, Prints DSP (Almost Amethyst- retired), Watercolour paper
Accessories: Almost Amethyst Ribbon (Fairy Tale Ribbon Originals)

The other card we made was an Orange "Scratch n Sniff". None of the cards pictured are actually it - but close enough! Here's the recipe... If you want to know how to do the scratch n sniff technique Mel as a great tutorial on her blog here

Stamps: Tart & Tangy
Inks: Pumpin Pie, Versamark
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Summer Picnic DSP
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder, 'Tang' orange drink powder, circle punches and scallop circle punch.

The mini caty was a great excuse for me to make some of these "Sunnyboy" containers. These are so much fun - and so easy! The one in the back with the Thank U is the one I made for all the guests, inside was a sample of the new satin ribbons and a little chocky.

I unashamedly CASED this next idea from my team member Nerine. As soon as I saw her cute strawberry punnet I had to make one! Isn't it gorgeous! It was the lucky door prize and Kylie (who loves strawberries was stoked to win it!). Inside was 4 cute little love notes featuring the four different fruits in the Tart & Tangy set. The papers are from the Summer Picnic DSP.

I hope you liked some of my mini caty projects - I've lots more to show so stay tuned!

And just quick reminder - if you'd like to be in the draw my blog candy - get your comments in quick - I'll be drawing the winner tomorrow night at 8pm AEST. For more details see the blog candy post below.

More Watercolouring...

2008-07-22T16:35:00.008+09:30

Here are another couple of cards I whipped up really quickly using some images I was practising my watercolouring technique on...

Stamps: Natural Beauty & Bloomin with Beauty ( to be released in Spring Mini caty - 1 Aug)

Ink: Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum

Card stock: Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Watercolour paper

Accessories: Stampin Write Markers, Aqua Painter, Gingham ribbon (mellow moss), and taffeta ribbon (very vanilla)

My watercolouring swap cards are all finished and will be in the post tomorrow! Once everyone in the swap has received them I'll post what I did - I'm very happy with what I ended up with!
Cheers,
Kaz

While I'm On a Roll...

2008-07-20T20:21:00.004+09:30

Since I am on a roll catching up with things, I remembered that my lovely downline Nerine had nominated me for this award...

How sweet!! Thanks so much Nerine I really appreciate it, and sorry it took me so long to get it on here! I'm not sure if I'm supposed to award it on - I think so, so I'm sending it on to two wonderful bloggers who always inspire me - Amanda and Leah - Great work girls!

Blog Candy Time!!!

2008-07-20T17:58:00.005+09:30

Well I had intended to do this when my little blog counter turned over 5000 hits, but that milestone has snuck up and been and gone! So now I am celebrating almost reaching 5500!!! YAY!!! I'm so proud that so many of you like to check out what I've been making! So I am giving away a stamp set to a lucky reader. The set is Lots of Thoughts and was one of the sets from sale-a-bration this year. Its brand new and unmounted! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. Just a couple of rules, sorry only Australian residents can enter, and Demo's are not eligible to win the stamp set but feel free to leave comment (please note that you are a demo) and I will have a little handmade surprise candy for a lucky demo. I will use Random.org to generate the winning numbers. Here's a pic of the set...Good Luck!!

eScape Class

2008-07-20T17:36:00.004+09:30

Speaking of old news!! Way back in June I held a class with some lovely ladies (waving!) as part of the escape promotion. Here are some pic's of some of the projects we made... The first pic is of the lucky door prize, although the ladies did make 2 similar love notes themselves...

The card above is a simple one using Boho Backgrounds (love it!) and Priceless. Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla. The two below are made using the gorgeous Garden Whimsy set. These were inspired by cards the MEGA talented Karen Thomas made a while back (Hi Karen!)
These next two feature the Lovely as a Tree set and use the Spring Flowers DSP.

If you'd like more detail on any of these cards please email me or leave a comment.

Poppin' Pastels Swap

2008-07-20T17:11:00.003+09:30

This is kinda old news now but I really liked this card when I made it, so I thought I'd show you anyway! The lovely Mel Hanlon organised this swap - the rules were you had to use the Poppin' Pastels technique and at least one eyelet. This was my offering...

Stamps: Baroque Motifs

Inks: Versamark

Card stock: Chocolate Chip, Petty in Pink, Whisper White, Berry Bliss DSP

Accessories: Stampin' Pastels, sponge daubers, jumbo eyelet (antique brass), 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (Chocolate Chip), taffeta ribbon (Pretty in Pink), slit punch, handheld small circle punch

Simply Scrappin' Kit- Crew Kids Girl

2008-07-13T20:01:00.010+09:30

These Kits are such good value, and make it so quick and easy to put together great looking pages! Here's what I was able to put together with only HALF a kit and I still have enough left overs for a least a few cards...

I started out with a specific project in mind - I wanted to make his little fold out book my friend Lyn from Katherine showed me how to make a while back (Hi Lyn!). I Thought I could probably get two books out of one Simply Srappin' Kit - and the rest! I was so wrong! This is the front cover...

This is what the fold out book looks like opened out...

And just to give you a better idea of how it folds out...
As you can see I didn't hold back on the embellishing and I still had plenty of patterned paper and stickers left so I decided to make some 6x6 pages using the other photos I had taken of Breanna that day. All these pages show different uses of punches... In this first one I've used the 5 petal flower punch, but did you also notice those cute brackets? They're made with the Round Tab punch!

For this next one I used the Round Tab Punch again and punched out 2 tabs in the spotty paper and stuck them together to make a circle - the perfect background for the scallop punch flower and 5 petal flower... Here I showed how to use the round tab punch out folded length ways (it the wild wasabi piece with the love you sticker on it)
And finally this one just shows the round tab used in its usual way (the basic grey tab with darling on it), the 5 petal punch is used here too...
The Simply Scrappin' kits include 6 sheets of gorgeous DS paper (2 designs), 8 sheets textured card stock ( colours) and 6 sheets of die cut adhesive card stock stickers (3 designs). I made all the projects above using less than half the kit!! AND I made them in an afternoon, it is so quick when you know that every piece of card, paper and sticker you pick up is going to coordinate beautifully!

If your interested in any of the projects here or would like to purchase a Kit please contact me.

So what do think? Isn't my girl gorgeous! Not that I'm bias or anything!!!

Watercolouring...

2008-07-13T14:06:00.003+09:30

Hi there! Long time no post! Sorry about that, its a very long story with lots of excuses involving the whole family being sick, time in hospital, workshops, classes, family commitments, blah blah blah!!!! Anyway I've finally found some time to post some pictures of what I've been making lately... I've been trying to teach myself the art of water colouring - definitely not something I have a natural talent for! But I really like the look of it and am determined to at least get a little bit better at it! As part of making myself learn how to do it I'm hosting a team swap featuring water colouring. This means I cant show you all of the cards I've made because I haven't decided what the swap card will be yet! But here is one I did for Sandy's (Hi Crafty Sisters!) workshop last week...

Stamps: Natural Beauty

Ink: Stazon Jet Black, So Saffron

Card stock: So Saffron, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Watercolour paper

Access: Markers, Aqua Painter, Celery Grosgrain ribbon

And here's another I made last night for Mel's colour challenge (Brilliant Blue, Gable Green, Yo yo Yellow,and Whisper White - check it out here), and I have to say Mel it sure was a challenge! I looked at the colours and thought OMG no way, what can I possibly do with that? But it just all flowed together when I got out the Seaworthy set. This is what I came up with...

Stamps: Seaworthy

Ink: Brilliant Blue, Gable Green, Stazon Jet Black

Card stock: Gable Green, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White, Watercolour Paper

Access: Markers (Yo yo Yellow, Brilliant Blue, Gable Green), Aqua Painter

I plan to come bak later today after I clean the house and show you some scrapbooking I've done, and stay tuned for Blog candy!

Salty Seahorses!

2008-06-29T21:17:00.003+09:30

My gorgeous friend Mel has set another challenge - this time to use the "Salted Background" technique. I'd never tried this technique before, and there must be a knack to it, because it sure was a challenge for me! One whole box of rock salt and several sheets of glossy cardstock later, I finally have something to show!

For my salted background I used Taken with Teal, Night of Navy & Brocade Blue reinkers. Then I carried those colours through onto the card. The seahorses are from Fishy Friends (which ironically I don't own but had stamped some of Mel's onto watercolour paper before leaving Katherine and have been waiting the perfect opportunity to use them!). I stamped "Miss You" (from Taggers Dozen) in whisper white craft ink onto Night of Navy punched out with the Rounded Tab Punch and finished it of with some Navy grosgrain.

Thanks again Mel for the challenge, I hope you like my contribution! I'm dedicating this card to You and all my other gorgeous friends in Katherine & Darwin, You know who you are - I miss you all so much!

Kaz xx

Long Weekend Layouts

2008-06-17T19:33:00.004+09:30

As I mentioned last post, I managed to get a little bit of scrappin' in over the long weekend. I know that was over a week ago, but better late than never!! These are the two pages I did...

This first one is photo's of Breanna on her first day at Preschool hence the title "Our Beautiful Preschooler". This layout was done with papers, CS and accents from the Secret Garden Simply Scrappin Kit. I added some Groovy Guava double stitched ribbon and the chipboard P monogram. The title was stamped with the Short Order alphabet. I used an old olive Stampin Write Marker to journal around Breannas silhouette (not sure if you can see that in the crappy photo!) Here's the second layout...

This one features photos from our visit to the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens on Mothers Day. This was a really quick simple page to do, but I like it. The beautiful paper (Brocade Background) does it all - no need to add anything much to it!

Karen Robinson

My New Look

Testing the siggy

Convention Swaps

A Couple of Layouts

It's been a while...

Claire's Cupcake & Muffin Box Templates

Happy New Year!!

How Cute...

More Tree Trimmings...

Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas

Tree Trimmings

I've been scrappin'!!!

Meet The Commander

Forest Friends

My AMM Vituri Handbag

Shield Your Eyes - This One's Bright!!

Live Like You Mean It

How Awesome is Cassie!!

Embossed Creations

Dingo Scrap Page

Koala Scrap Page

Shaving Cream Technique

A Catch Up...

Scrapbooking inspired by Shelli...

Convention Swap Cards

I'm Back...Temporarily...

Canberra Here We Come!!

Thank You

Go Diego Go!

What a Week!

New Caty Product Shares

Good Morning Sunshine!

We're Back!

Signing Off For Some R & R!

Memories Project update

Some More Layouts...

This is what 89 Layouts looks like!

Quick memories Project Update...

Retired List

More Scrappin'...

Memories Project Update

Memories Project - Clarification

Memories Project - ***PLEASE READ***

Challenge Entries

Mel's DSP Challenge & A Challenge Of My Own!

Something Fishy...

Carousel Notes

Mel's One Sheet Wonder Challenge & Nerine's Layout Challenge

Makeesha's Inkspirations Challenge 3

Leah's New Year Challenge

Sale-A-Bration Creations!

Christmas RAK from Sharon

Jackie Has a Blog!!

Altered Tea Chest

Mel's Challenge

Welcome Jackie!

First Card for 2009!

Live Your Dream - Regionals Make & Take Set

Happy New Year!!!

It's Summer Mini Time!!

Dashing Bags in Boxes

We Have A Winner!

Can You Guess?

Christmas Windows

Sandy Claws is coming to town...

Christmas Cards by the truck load!

Time's running out for Birthday Specials...

Vanilla Gold Wedding

Mick's Birthday Card...

It's Looking a lot Like a Scribbly Christmas...

Look Mum, No Layers!!

Holiday Harmony Double Pocket Gift Bag

SCS WCMD Technique Lovers Challenge

SCS World Card Making Day Limited Supplies Challenge

SCS World Card Making Day Sketch Challenge

I'm Back!

Happy Birthday to SU!

Time's Running out for 'Free Wheelin'

A Catch Up...

Memories Project - PLEASE READ