May is Scrapbooking Month

Scrapbooking Month is here!

Scrapbooking is a treasured art that Stampin' Up! celebrates every May. Create new possibilities in your scrapbooking and paper crafting with two great offers from Stampin' Up!

1. Buy three packs of selected Designer Series Paper ($16.95 each) and get one pack free.

Choose from the following designs:

ITEM	PAGE	DESCRIPTION
112042	132	Urban Garden Designer Series Paper
112470	132	Haiku Designer Series Paper
113976	132	Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper
112468	132	Sweet Always Designer Series Paper
113992	133	Tea Party Designer Series Paper
113975	133	Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper
113966	134	Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper
112469	134	Holiday Treasurers Designer Series Paper
112041	134	Bella Rose Designer Series Paper
113974	134	Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper
113978	135	Urban Oasis Designer Series Paper
112461	135	Washington Apple Designer Series Paper
112039	135	Windsor Knot Designer Series Paper
113980	135	Candy Lane Designer Series Paper

2. Become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for only $150 with the limited-time Scrapbooking Starter Kit.

Click here for more information or contact me now!

SU Swaps!

Not much to report today. Matthew seems to have come down with some sort of bug which means I've been doing a lot of hands-on mothering tonight! It was also my first day back at work after almost 3 weeks leave (including Easter) which was a real shock to the system. I sure didn't appreciate the buzzer on my alarm clock this morning!

So today, I'm going to show you one of the 'Swaps' I have made for the weekend. This weekend the Stampin' Up! Convention comes to Canberra. We have two days of demonstrations, workshops, make & takes and a bag of goodies to look forward to. Everyone makes 'Swap' cards. Not having been to one before - it's all hearsay to me. The other girls I know have made at least 50. I'll be lucky to get 30 finished by Thursday. Life and kids get in the way of other intentions sometimes (not that I'm complaining!). So here is one of the 'Swaps' I have made using basic colours and techniques:

Stamps: Upsy Daisy & Flight of the Butterfly

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Pink Pirouette & Baja Breeze

Papers: Stampin' Up! Whisper White & Pink Pirouette.

Other: Stampin' Dimensionals, Piercing Tool & Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Tip: I have used Stampin' Dimensionals (foam pads) to "lift" up the white card from the pink!

Voila. I will show you the rest of the cards over the week!

Brrr. Winter is on its way

Brrrr. It is cold today! The wind blew, the rain fell and we shivered! When we dared to brave the outdoors! It was an inside sort of day today giving us a sneak preview of the months of winter not too far away! It was also a great day for sleeping in and having hot showers!! Gotta love that!

It was a day for catching up! The bathrooms are scrubbed, the laundry is done and I've finally sorted my folder of photos that I have taken over the last 2 years and merely uploaded onto the computer! I've even ordered some for processing, so I will finally have some photos for scrapbooking! That's a huge achievement for me this year!

Anyway, I just wanted to show you my birdie tree. Inspired by the picture in the new 2009-2010 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue (page 11 if you're wondering). Stampin' Up! have done so much of the colour coordination for us, and this one is called 'Retro Fresh" which updates a retro style with a fresh twist. It uses bright, vivid colours and bold patterns featuring flowers and birds. The colour scheme incorporates Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip & Pacific Point.

You might also notice that I have added some handmade felt birds (or quack quacks as Baby Matthew calls them). They kind of matched my paper-crafted birds!

Stamps: Good Friend

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Chocolate Chip

Papers: Stampin' Up! So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point & Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper (DSP).

Other: Stampin' Dimensionals & white gel ink pen.

Tip: Use the stamps to make templates for cutting the birds from DSP & CS

As you can see colours are interchangeable. I didn't have Summer Sun CS - so I used So Saffron! I also used the white gel ink pen & Chocolate Chip marker for the eyes!

What I love about this little project - is that I combine different types of crafts. Stamping, collage & sewing/embroidery. A perfect day for wintery weather!

Oh, and by the way. Email me/Contact me if you would like the instructions for making either type of birds. The paper ones or the felt ones!!

Anzac Day - Lest we forget...

Oops, a few days have gone by without my posting! But firstly, it's Anzac Day, an important day in our lives when we remember those who fought for our freedom. This year my BBL was much more appreciative of the importance of the day and watching the soldiers parade on TV, made Anzac biscuits with me and is now playing soldiers. He wants to be a soldier when he grows up! We just had the three fighter jets fly past and he's so excited!

Anyway, BBL and I have been very busy the last few days making things, and hopefully over the weekend I'll get the chance to upload everything! But first things first! I wanted to show the card we made at a Stampin' Up! demonstration in Melbourne last weekend (hard to believe it's already a week ago). Catering for a group of girls with minimal to lots of card making experience is always a challenge. I've used this card design as a template for those who like to stretch their skills as well as not being too challenging for a beginner! What do you think?

Stamps: Greetings Eight

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Kiwi Kiss & Red Riding Hood

Papers: Stampin' Up! Red Riding Hood, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White & Bella Rose Designer Series Paper (DSP).

Other: Scallop Square Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/16" handheld punch, white gel ink pen.

Tip: Stamp multiple tree images to cover the length of the card.

Don't you just love the Bella Rose DSP. It has got to be one of my most favourite designer papers ever!! I love the colours, the roses, the flowers and that it coordinates perfectly with several of the stamp sets from Stampin' Up! Stay tuned for workshops featuring these!!

I might also mention that May is a big month at Stampin' Up!. Special promotions for Mother's Day as well as May being the National Month of Scrapbooking. We will be celebrating with special promotions with the Stampin' Up! Designer Series Papers. Selected designs will be made available to you at great prices and begins on 1st May. Don't miss that one!!

Anyway, back to the drawing board or should I say scrubbing board? We're trying to get our house ready for sale!

Lovely as a Tree

Another glorious day in Canberra. Driving by the lake foreshores here in Canberra, the leaves of trees were the beautiful Autumn colours of reds, oranges, yellows and browns. I wanted to stop and take a photo but I had run the camera battery flat at the Australian War Memorial with my son BBL. It was our special day today after being a home body yesterday nursing a tender jaw after a tooth extraction. Ouch!

Quite coincidentally I have the pictures of a few of the cards I made in Melbourne last weekend using the Brayering technique. Load the brayer with Autumn colour inks and roll onto glossy card. Roll in all directions and watch the colours blend and merge. No card is ever alike where brayering is used! Here they are:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Close to Cocoa, Yoyo Yellow, Pumpkin Pie & Black StazOn

Papers: Stampin' Up! Glossy white CS & Chocolate Chip

Other: Stampin' Up! Brayer

Tip: Stamp multiple tree images to cover the length of the card.

This second card uses the same colours for the brayered background but isn't it amazing how different the colours are to the first card!

Make your own Cards!

Back home at last. We've had a wonderful whirlwind trip to Melbourne. I can't believe it's over and I'm back at home again. Time goes fast as it is, but when we're in Melbourne it seems to go at least 10 times faster. We never get anything done that we plan to do, let alone hope to do!! As my BBL reminded me, we didn't even get to go to the Victorian Museum to see the dinosaur exhibit. He's disappointed but only a tiny bit as he had a great time catching up with his best friend and cousin, as well as the rest of my family.

While in Melbourne I didn't even get close to using a computer but I did have lots of fun playing with stamps and SU products. On Sunday, we had a SU demonstration and on Sunday night I learned new techniques and methods of stamping, brayering, quilling ane more. As they say, you're never too old to learn! So I have lots of cards to show you over the week, but I'll start with the engagement card I made my sister!

Stamps: Sprinkles & Greetings Eight

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Chocolate Chip, Red Riding Hood & Pink Pirouette

Papers: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Pink Pirouette & Rose Red

Other: Pink Crimped Cardstock (non-SU), Chocolate Chip Double-Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, Taffeta and Gingham Ribbon, and Oval Punch

Tip: Use the Sprinkles 'hearts' stamp as the background print using the red and pink inks. Cut one heart and use as a template for the other hearts. Use Stampin' Dimensionals to 'raise' every second heart.

I was inspired for this card by a picture I saw in a Craft Magazine. I didn't have any of the products they used but was able to create my own. It is easier than you think to make your cards!

We're off to Melbourne

Well it's EARLY morning on Thursday and we're getting ready to go to Melbourne. My BBL was so excited, he was still awake at 11pm and woke up at 6am. Now that's unheard of in this house hold! Matthew is on the ground grizzling, he didn't get enough sleep either. Fingers crossed they fall asleep on the plane or on the trip to my dad's home from the airport :)

Just wanted to show a birthday card I made for my Opa's wife. I really like it and I was inspired by a picture I saw in a magazine and then made my own version. It's completely different of course, the only thing that is similar to the original is that I used vellum and scalloped it's edge. Here's what I mean:

Stamps: Bloom Away & Occasional Greetings

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Chocolate Chip & white gel ink pen

Papers: Stampin' Up! Vellum, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette & Whisper White CS

Other: Stampin' Pastels, Double-Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, white eyelets & Stampin' Dimensionals

Tip: As most glues & tapes show through vellum, stick it down behind the embellishments and elements, for example - under the ribbon and beneath the card. Although the eyelets do a great job too. I have also distressed the edges of the white and pink card which the Waratah flower is stamped on.

The Waratah flower is stamped in Chocolate Chip and coloured in with Stampin' pastels, using pink and red colours. I highlighted the name Waratah with yellow.

I've just realised my greeting 'happy birthday' doesn't look straight. It actually is on the card, as usual I've photographed this card on an angle. I so need to do a digital photography course!!!

Anyway, you may or may not hear from me over the next few days, so have a great week & weekend, and see you when I get back from Melbourne!

School Holidays are here!

I hope you all had a very Happy Easter celebrating with the ones you love the most! I'm sure it would have been a rude shock to the relaxed system going back to work after a nice long weekend. I'm lucky! I'm home with Big Boy Luke as the school holidays have now officially started! So in-between BBL playing with his army men (his latest passion), he's been sitting next to me at the table, doing lots of drawing and finishing bottles of glitter glue :)

I've been quite productive too. I'm getting ready for my 5 day trip to Melbourne which includes an engagement party, one-year old party and a Stampin' Up! Demonstration on Sunday. Sounds like I'll need to come home to rest!! On a really happy note, I'll be catching up with family and friends which I love to do!

If you've been watching this space, you may have noticed that collage is one of my favourite techniques. I don't get to play 'collage' very often (it's a bit more time-consuming) but I took the opportunity to make the May section of my monthly calendar as well as a matching card. I'm so in love with them!

Stamps: Eastern Blooms

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Rose Red & Riding Hood Red

Papers: Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron & Good Morning Sunshine DSP

Other (SU): Double-Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, Button & Stampin' Dimensionals

Other (SU): Paper Flowers, Adhesive Pearls and Rhinestones

Tip: Cut around the edge of the Good Morning Sunshine DSP to make the border of flowers.

As you can see, with a bit of cutting, pasting, punching and a whole lot of patience, you can make beautiful collages. I loved this one so much, I made the matching card using exactly the same format, minus the calendar month of course!

Can you see any differences? They are there! I've changed the scalloped border of the bird house to blue, used a Chocolate Chip ink on my Eastern Bloom flowers and also added flowers from the Fresh Cuts stamp set and stamped them in Kiwi Kiss! Subtle but clever changes!!

Enjoy your Easter

How's your Easter weekend going? We had a quiet family day for Good Friday and treated ourselves to a lunch in Gold Creek. Seafood only meals of course. It was so nice to spend time with my family as in most years gone by either my WH or I would have to work!

Today BBL and I are decorating everything for Easter. Our cookies are ready to be iced and our Easter Table Centre Piece is done. All ready for the Easter Bunny to visit. My boys love all the decorations we have for Easter and Christmas. Although our Easter ones are rather special as most of them come from Cyprus where the Greek Cypriots LOVE to celebrate Easter. I added a few pieces to our "Easter Tree" made out of scraps, bits and pieces!

Use the scallop circle punch and the cut-outs of the Fresh Cut Notes to make bunnies and the 'A good egg' stamp set to make the chick. So easy and so cute!

Just a quick post today, so have a Happy and safe Easter, and enjoy it with the ones you love most, family and friends!

The fuss about ....

So what's the fuss about anyway? The fuss about Fresh Cut Notes? Well, let me have a moment to show you!

These cards come pre-scored and pre-cut from Stampin' Up! All you have to do is decorate them and enhance them! Matched perfectly with the Fresh Cuts stamp set from Stampin' Up!, you can also make stunning cards in moments! Perfect for beginners too!

Have a look and see what I mean...

Here's the project recipe and then you can see how easy it is yourself!

Stamps: Fresh Cuts

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic So Saffron & Kiwi Kiss

Papers: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, So Saffron & Fresh Cut notes

Other : Ribbon & Silver brad

Tip: Stamp the main Fresh Cuts image on white CS, cut to size and adhere behind the 'cut out' card. Adhere a piece of So Saffron CS cut exact to size of the front card and glue behind the stamped image. On the front of the card, layer a Fresh Cut flower stamped in Kiwi Kiss and attach with a brad. Finish with ribbon!

I will be offering a Fresh Cuts Notes & Tote Class this year (see my Stamp with Me Stamp Club page). If you can't wait for it, email me now and have the class early! Choose your own colours and I'll organise the rest for you!

But for now, it's off to work I go!

Lots to show today

Lots to show today (trying to keep up on all my promises!). Usually I take my photos at night (when the lighting is bad) which means they sometimes don't turn out quite good enough to show. This week I'm on afternoon shift - so I can show lots of photos taken in daylight. So much better when the lighting works!

Seeing as we're counting down to Easter, I'll start with the Easter Cards. Yesterday I showed you the stack that I had made, so now I'll show the detail! Both of these cards have a background print which you can easily create for yourself. Choose a colour cardstock, stamp a random pattern with matching ink and then highlight parts of it (like the flower centres). The second card is actually in reverse! I used white cardstock and stamped a colour random pattern over it!

This is my favourite card (you might have noticed that this one was inspired by the Easter Workshop!):

Stamps: A Good Egg

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue & Pumpkin Pie (marker)

Papers: Stampin' Up! Certainly Celery (textured), Bashful Blue & Whisper White

Other (SU): Double-Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Pastels, white gel ink pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

Tip: Use the chalks to colour in the chick and the white gel ink pen to colour in the flowers.

The second Easter Card uses my favourite colour. Pink of course! The 'A Good Egg' stamp set from Stampin' Up! lets you decorate your 'Easter Eggs' how you like. I've used the stripes and circles!

Stamps: A Good Egg

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Chocolate Chip & Bashful Blue, Versamark ink

Papers: Stampin' Up! Pink Pirouette & Whisper White

Other (SU): Scallop Edge punch, Stampin' Pastels, white gel ink pen &Stampin' Dimensionals

Other (Non-SU): Assorted gel/glaze/souffle pens for colouring in, pearls, pink double-stitched ribbon & Kindy Glitz

Tip: I have used Versamark ink to stamp the circles on the egg and then lightly dusted over with the chalks. Use your favourite gel ink pens to colour in the flower centres.

And now I can show you my scrap pages from Sunday and a few weeks ago!! As you might already know, scrapbooking hasn't been 'my thing'. But it was my challenge/resolution for the year, to give it a go. These first two pages I made at Memoranza and are not made with SU products. I have decided to make a page for both my beautiful boys, so these are the front covers:

Big Boy Luke uses pastel colours and the fantastic jigsaw punch:

Baby Matthew (although not such a baby any more, toddler really), uses the funky colours and patterns.

And last, but in not any way least, are the pages I made a few weeks ago at Trudy's. I can't remember if I showed them or not, so just in case, here they are!

Stamps: Wild About You

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Yoyo Yellow

Papers: Stampin' Up! Green Galore, Yoyo Yellow & Blue

Other (Non-SU): Frog & dragonfly punches

Tip: I have fringed a strip of green cardstock to make 'grass' and then manipulated it to curve around the 'water'.

Anyway that's it for me. I'm off to make something before I have to go to work!

Counting down to Easter

We're counting down to Easter in my household. Last night BBL read a story about the Easter Bunny and sat with me making Easter Cards. He has a very important card to make - one for his teacher! I finally finished my cards and here they are. I used the 'A Good Egg' set from Stampin' Up! for both my Easter cards and Easter tags. They are easy to use especially when combining them with Versamark Ink and Stampin' Chalks. BBL loved using the chalks - just have to help him lighten his applications!!

I've taken a photo so you can see what they look like. Hopefully tonight I'll get the chance to upload the individual cards and give you the ingredients (supplies!)

I absolutely adore the little chick stamp and using just the egg shall part to create the 'top' half of the egg. While the pink Easter Egg card uses the different stamps in this pack to 'decorate' your Easter Egg. If only making Easter Eggs that you could eat was this easy!

A Pretty Princess

I was SO productive today. I finished all my Easter cards that I started last night, wrapped my Easter gifts for my nephews and nieces (I'm giving gifts of books this year ... so much easier to mail then Chocolate Eggs!) and labelled each gift with an Easter Egg shaped tag. I also made a birthday card for my niece Isla who turned one today. And now I'm off to finish my scrap pages from yesterday's memoranza!

It's 9.30pm so I'm fairly confident I might just get it all done. The kids are in bed, school bags are packed, dishes done and clean washing put away. Yep, it's time to play. But here's the birthday card I made for Isla - it uses the Pretty Princess stamp set from Stampin' Up! which was recently retired (sob). But an oldie is just as good as a newbie (especially when I don't have a lot of "little girl" themed stamp sets (comes from having two boys you know!). I've used the new 2009 In Colours - very pretty!

Stamps: Pretty Princesss

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Basic Black, Rose Red & Certainly Celery

Papers: Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette & Whisper White

Other (SU): Scallop Ege, Scallop Circle & circle punches, Stampin' Pastels, white gel ink pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

Other (Non-SU): Assorted gel/glaze/souffle pens for colouring in, red pearls, Kindy Glitz

Tip: I have used the scallop circle punch to cut out of the main white CS and then 'lifted' the centre with a Stampin' Dimensional

So all I need to do is go to the Post Office. One of tomorrow's chores...........

Making the Fresh Cut!!

I finally found out what Memoranza is and where Warrambui is! Today I ventured to the Warrambui Retreat & Conference Centre just outside of Murrumbateman and joined in on a Scrapping Day. Being the procastinator that I am, it took me the whole afternoon to produce two pages - but I am pleased with them and will show them to you tomorrow.

In the meantime I wanted to draw your attention to the new Fresh Notes stamp set from Stampin' Up! This set was designed to coordinate perfectly with these little cards with flower cut-outs. So cute! Here's a glimpse:

You're going to see a whole lot more of these Fresh Cuts products over the next few days. Keep an eye out on that one! It will even feature in the Stamp with Me Stamp Club!!

Fresh Cuts

The end of another working week. It seems to go by so fast these days and it's hard to believe that we've already looking at Easter next week and the end of first term. Today I bought my first lot of Easter Eggs on behalf of the Easter Bunny. So far the kids and husband haven't found them!

It's been a big week in the world of Stampin' Up!. On Wednesday 1st April, Stampin' Up! released their new 2009 Idea Book & Catalogue. So no more sneak peeks, it's here for real and here to stay. It's absolutely gorgeous, the colours are refreshing and the projects are oh so inspiring! I don't know which one to start!

I'm also announcing the introduction of special offers from Stamp with Me too, so look out for your newsletter to hit your inbox soon! But just quickly ....

1. Book a Stampin' Up! Workshop with me during April or May, and you will be rewarded with a special gift from Stamp with Me! Select yourself a new inkpad from the gorgeous 2009 In Colours. Trust me, it will be a difficult choice! Click here for more information.

2. Stamp with Me Stamp Club is here! Starting soon, you can join in the virtual world of Stamp Club with these wonderful projects to try!

I have also been busy clearing my table and trying lots of new things for myself. I'll keep posting them over the next few days. Here is one of the cards I made using the old and the new! Sadly it's for a friend whose mother passed away recently but hopefully the card will be a moment of cheer for her.

Stamps: Fresh Cuts (new)

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Kiwi Kiss, Always Artichoke, So Saffron & Chocolate Chip

Papers: Stampin' Up! Kiwi Kiss (In Colours 2009), River Rock (In Colours 2008) textured Cardstock & Whisper White, Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper (DSP)

Other: Oval punches, grosgrain ribbon, eyelets & pearls

Tip: Use your crop-o-dile for easy eyelet setting!

I've just noticed the colours are not quite right in this picture, the ribbon should be white not cream. But hopefully you'll get the general idea!

That's it for me. I'm off tomorrow to Warrambui for Memoranza. Not sure what it means but I'll find out tomorrow!!

It's Here!

It's Here!

The new Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue is here. If you think the front cover is pretty, you should see the inside! Click here to see the online version of the catalogue or contact me to find out how to get your very own gorgeous copy!