Some ATCs

Just wanted to show the ATC's that I have just finished for the Stamp Happy Group.  This is a monthly ATC swap that you can choose to participate in, I try to join in every second month or so.  For this month, the theme was fibres - material, string, sewing.  And of course, I love sewing.  So I just had to join in.  And wouldn't you know it, Stampin' Up! had the perfect stamp set = Sew Suite!!


I made my own Bakers Twine using the In Colours Stampin' Writers as well as the In Colour inks of Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait and Pear Pizzazz.  With a touch of Chocolate Chip!

I made my titles on the computer/printer - and did a few cross-stitches in the top left corner.  Cute!

More Melon Mambo!

I'm still loving the pinkness of Melon Mambo.  If you haven't guessed already, pink is one of my favourite colours.  I love all shades too!!  I think that's one of the reasons all the bunches of flowers I received this week for my birthday are pink!!

So I made a little butterfly card.  It's so cute, even if it isn't sitting properly in this photo.  These butterfly easel cards are easy to make ...... with the help of a Big Shot of course!!  A bit of sponging, a bit of stamping and bit of bling.  It's done!!


I've also made a few more of these chocolate holders, they are a cute little gift and easy to make once you know how!!  For my dimensions - click here to find the original post with the details.

I've used the Peach Parfait cardstock (another bright colour I love) and the East Chocolate & retired Bliss stamp set with Peach Parfait, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White ink for highlighting!!  Busy girl I am sometimes!!

For instructions on the butterfly card, head on over to the Addinktive Designs blog!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me!!  Yep, it was my birthday this week.  One of the 'big' ones.  It's one of those bittersweet moments.  The realisation that you're not quite so young anymore, but also realising that you're not really that old either!!  I've been blessed with beautiful cards, flowers, wishes and presents from my friends and lovelyfamily.  I"ll share a few of them later in the week.  Today I wanted to show you a card I received from Stampin' Up!.  It's so cute!


I love the little cupcakes with a little bit of bling on each and everyone one of them!


And you know what else it came with for me, a special Stampin' Up! demonstrator discount just for me!!  I'll be buying myself something a little extra special from Stampin' Up!.  It's just one of many reasons for joining!!

Anyway, it's almost time to do the school run, so checking out and see you later!!

My June Calendar page

Hmm, the clock is ticking by this month very fast.  It's one week to my birthday now and I'm not happy.  To help me celebrate or should I say commiserate, look out for a special offer coming up in one week's time!!  I should clarify .... Stampin' Up! have a wonderful special offer coming in July, which is like my birthday present!

So for now, I wanted to show my June calendar page that I made to match my Natural Elegance stamp camp.  The muted colours and the subtle colouring in, is just perfect.  In my humble opinion anyway!!


Of course, the page did require some fussy cutting and some watercolouring, but hey!  I enjoy it, so why not!!

Here's what I used:

Stamps: Nature Walk
Inks: Marina Mist, Old Olive & Daffodil Delight
Papers: Very Vanilla & Elegant Soiree DSP

Simple = Good!

Hello Kitty, hello Jessica!

Today was Jessica's first birthday party.  We  had a lovely afternoon tea with some of our close friends and family.  But I have to tell a secret.  I didn't make her birthday cake for today!!!  Sshh don't tell, but after making in one week 2 x birthday cakes and 2 x cupcakes for school/childcare friends - I just couldn't face anymore cake batter (the drawback of having two children with birthdays in the same week!!).  I did make Apple Cream slice and Caramel Fudge Brownies though!!

Anyway, now that the birthday craziness is over and we can settle again for a little while, I thought I would pop in and share the birthday card I made for Jessica!  Inspired by a Hello Kitty card made over at Lynn Pratt's blog, I made a Hello Kitty card for Jessica as she was wearing a Hello Kitty onesie with overalls on the day before her birthday (sshh another secret - I made her card the night before the birthday!!).



Here's a pic of Jess with the overalls - so cute!!  I caught her in the plastics cupboard, pulling everything out before climbing in of course.  I added a little heart to the overalls on the card, just like Jess' overalls!

She's such a cutie .... and yes, I love her to bits!!

So to make the card I used:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Papers: Perfect Plum DSP, Melon Mambo & Whisper White CS for the card, Soft Sky & Regal Rose for the outfit and Basic Black for the whispers
Inks: Chocolate Chip for sentiment & Sahara Sand for shading, Basic Black & Blushing Bride for face
Punches: Various oval punches, Window Punch & Modern Label Punch, Owl punch for the heart
Other: Melon Mambo pompom trim, pearls & Sticky Strip.

To make this card, click on the links above for Lynn Pratt's Stamp-n-Design blog for full instructions!

A sneak peek!!

If you follow the happenings of Stampin' Up! around Blog-land you may have noticed a few sneak peeks of new Stampin' Up! products over in USA.  But guess what, here in Australia we've got a few sneak peeks of our own too!  Well, I have only one so far but that's a start!

Last month, Stampin' Up! held its annual Convention for all demonstrators and guests over in Melbourne (wish I could have gone but had babysitting issues) and a few of my friends were lucky enough to attend!  So when we had our last Avid Inkers catch up, we were treated to one of the make & take projects that had been shown in Melbourne.  Happy Days.  This product uses a brand new stamp set called Creative Elements.  Sounds fab doesn't it!

This is the gorgeous card we made:


It's so cute!!  And I love how we've even made the coordinating envelope to match!!

A close up of the flower detail:


We've used a couple of techniques including Champagne Mist Glimmer paint and the Colour Spritzer tool.  So here's the detail on what we used, but you'll have to wait until September (including me) to get your hands on this stamp set!!

Stamps: Creative Elements
Papers: Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla & Cherry Cobbler
Inks: Early Espresso, Not Quite navy & Cherry Cobbler
Other: Kraft Taffeta Ribbon (retired), Itty Bitty Punch Set, Paper Cutter, pearls, Champagne Mist glimmer paint and Colour Spritzer Tool

I've used the retired Kraft Taffeta Ribbon as the project at the Convention used seam binding, a product not here in Australia, but it might be come September.  Woohoo!!  I'm in love with this stamp set already and I don't even have it!!

Just popping in...

Just popping in to say hi!  It's been a busy week with two birthday celebrations in my house this week, and boy do I have lots of birthday cards to show, on the go (in the post) or are being made!!  My beautiful little girl celebrated her first birthday yesterday and we are blessed to have my dad and his lovely wife visiting us, so I'm spending every moment with them instead of on the PC!!

So I'll just show a card I made recently using the colour combo's from the other day.  I love it, it's so pretty and has been made that little bit special with the paper-piercing.


I've used Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and a touch of Soft Suede.  Soft colours!

I added some very subtle shading with Certainly Celery (love those sponge daubers) and used the Itty Bitty punches for the flower from the DSP.

So if you're wondering, here's what I used:


Stamps: Just Believe
Inks: Soft Suede & Certainly Celery
Papers: Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake, Regal Rose & Pretty in Pink DSP
Other: Certainly Celery Taffeta Ribbon, Sponge daubers, Itty Bitty Punch set and Paper-Piercing tool.

Hope you enjoy and I'll be back soon with the birthday cards to share!

Time for a Saturday Sketch Challenge! SSC207

You may have noticed that I have been blogging regularly lately!  Not sure why, but I've been on a card-making bender and have been making lots of cards.  And ENJOYING it!!  Yes, I'm still making thank you cards, yes June is the busiest birthday month in history, but I'm ENJOYING it!  With my return to work 2 weeks ago, making cards is about me for me.  I am finding (snatching time really) time to make a card or two.  My craft desk is a mess (I dare not show anyone) but I'm happy :0)

So, it was Saturday night (yesterday), we had just cleaned up and recovered from hosting my son's birthday party for his friends and the kids were all in bed.  My WH and I had the TV on and I sat at my craft table and created.  My WH watched TV or used the computer.  We were together, doing our own thing but happily together.  OK, enough of the smooch!

So I found this sketch challenge from Stamping 411 and decided to put it to good use!  Of course, using the scraps, stamps and colours that I had out before me!!


I have used a few techniques here - watercolouring, embossing & adding shimmer.  Lovely!!

Here's what I used:

Stamps: Growing Green & Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Inks: Jet Black, StazOn, Green Galore & Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight & Basic Grey
Papers: Whisper White & Pink Pirouette CS
Other: Big Shot, Lattice Embossing Folder, Champagne mist shimmer paint, Aqua painter, Certainly Celery ribbon & Stampin' Dimensionals

And the sketch I used for inspiration:

Doing the melon mambo...

I love the names of the Stampin' Up! stamps and colours.  In fact, I think that would be my perfect job.  Being the namer!!  I have always wanted to be the person who named lipsticks and nail polishes growing up, now I want to be the official namer for Stampin' Up!

So if you're wondering .... Melon Mambo is a gorgeous pink colour.  Just Believe is a favourite stamp set of mine.  Put them both together and this is what you get:


Awww, pretty aren't they.  These cards were cased from Nikki Stalker who made some gorgeous cards.  I used up my scraps of pink papers (cardstock and DSP) and mixed them with Melon Mambo.  Perfect!


I jazzed up the images with some embossed butterflies.  Super cute!!


I tried a few colour combinations for my stamped flowers.  Card 1 uses Rose Red & Regal Rose.  Card 2 uses Regal Rose & Blushing Bride.  I think I like Card 2 best.   I think the colours blend together beautifully!

So here's the goss on what I used!

Stamps: Just Believe
Inks: Garden Green, Rose Red, Regal Rose & Blushing Bride
Papers: Melon Mambo, Regal Rose & Whisper White CS, Pink Pirouette Subtles DSP
Other: Big Shot & Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Certainly Celery Taffeta Ribbon, Paper Snips & Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Birthday Luke!

Today is my son's 8th birthday.  Happy Birthday Luke, you have given me eight wonderful years!!  Still can't believe that Luke is 8 years old, but when I look at him and see how tall he's grown and what a thoughtful, kind and precious boy he is, well maybe the eight years didn't go by so fast after all!

Of course, I had to make a birthday card for Luke.  But of course, making cards for boys gets harder as they get older.  Much easier for the three to four year olds where cute is ok, but what about this 8 year old age group.  Hmmm.  So I flicked through my Idea Book & Catalogue and landed back on the Lots of Bots page.  I've made Luke a card with this stamp set before, so I needed something a little bit different!!


I used the same colour palette that we had used with the Natural Elegance stamp camp.  Which was lucky, as I had lots of scraps left over!!

I used a few techniques in this card.  I used my paper crimper to create a strip of 'corrugated' CS, I used the thump & bump technique on the Crumb Cake CS with Crumb Cake ink and I also distressed the edges with the scissors.  I coloured my robot with inkpads and my blender pen.  It all came together which I'm pleased about!

So here's what I used:
Stamps: Lots of Bots
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Basic Grey, Buckaroo Blue & Peach Parfait
Papers: Marina Mist, Crumb Cake & Very Vanilla CS and Elegant Soiree DSP

Other: Circle punch, paper crimper, blender pen & jumbo brad

It just so happens, that this layout was made for the Avid Inkers Team challenge for May ... yes, I'm running late on that one!

Birthday Medallion

I just had to share this birthday card I made for a friend of mine celebrating her birthday the other week (and yes, she does have the card ...   I'm not running late as I usually am!!).  Anyway, I wanted to do something a little bit special, a little bit different to my usual style and a little bit classy.  Inspired by the Stampin' Up! Impressions newsletter that Stampin' Up! demonstrators receive each month, I decided to give one a go.  It was also about time I cracked open my new Medallion stamp and give it a whirl!


Don't you just love it.  It's so simple but really really, and I mean really, pretty!!  And only three colours, not bad!

Unfortunately the champagne mist shimmer paint that I had sponged over the stamped medallion focal image looks rather obvious, but in real life, it's just a pretty shimmer all over the card!


I also pulled out the Big Shot and die cut all my embellishments, including the tag.  I love this card and hope to make more of this style soon!  These little butterflies are great for using up offcuts too!

Here's what I used:

Stamps: Medallion & Occasional Quotes
Papers: Soft Suede, Melon Mambo & Whisper White
Inks: Soft Suede
Other: Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Lots of Tags sizzlit, pearls, Champagne Mist shimmer paint & sponge daubers

Join the fight against Breast Cancer

Join the fight against breast cancer!  When you purchase the Strength & Hope stamp set, Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® - an organisation dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime.


Make a difference today!  Contact me today to order your set.

Simple Elegance

I just had to pop in and share this card I made, cased in it's entirety (well, maybe not the glitter ....) from my friend Annette and fellow Avid Inkers Team Member.  The other week we had our Avid Inkers bi-monthly get-together and Annette was showing us these cards she had made for the recent Stampin' Up! convention.  I loved it so much, that I made one myself over the weekend.


Speaking of weekends, my weekend was incredibly busy and went by so fast.  We didn't stop! I think it had something to do with all my kids finally healthy and well (yay!) and my return to work, so that every second we had was precious.  But I did manage to squeeze in some card-making time late at night while the kids were in bed!! Over the next few days I'll be able to share all these creations with you, as well as hopefully minding some more crafting time too!

If you want to make this gorgeous inspired card, here's what you'll need:

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral
Inks: Soft Suede & Daffodil Delight
Papers: Whisper White CS
Other: Sponge Daubers, blender pens, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Big Shot & Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder

Promotion Commotion!

Join the commotion! The Stampin' Up! Commotion!! 


There is no better time than to join Stampin' Up! When you join Stampin' Up! and promote to Supervisor level between 1st June and 31st July you will earn $100 in free products!

That's $100 in free products on top of ALL benefits you can earn as an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!

And if you were wondering, you no longer need an Australian Business Number (ABN) when you join Stampin' Up! (this is subject to your own individual taxation status - you may need an ABN once you start earning certain levels of income).  So it's even easier to join!!

Need more info?  Contact me now or just click here!

June - Stamp @ Home available now!

Join the Stamp with Me Stamp Club! 

Are you looking for projects using the new stamp sets and accessories from Stampin' Up!? Each month for $25 you too can make cards, scrap pages, off the page items, boxes, bags, tags (you name it). All the supplies you need and colour instructions arrive at your door, ready to go! Don't have the stamp set? Easy. Reward yourself with your exclusive Stamp with Me discount when you purchase the matching stamp set from Stamp with Me.

Most classes are still available - just contact me for more information!

June 2011 - Watercolour with Growing Green

Use watercolouring techniques to make these beautiful cards inspired with subtle-spring colours to help you forget about Winter!! Make these five beautiful cards with a matching compendium.  You'll love this technique so much, you'll be making more!

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