Hi ... I am Leonie and I am an Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and Manager. I live in Campbelltown, NSW, Australia with my husband and my gorgeous 2 girls.
Archive for September, 2008
Free Wheelin - last days
Posted by: | CommentsWell its the end of the month again which means the end of a great promotion - Free Wheelin’.
This has been a great month with the free wheels and its always nice to get free stamps! We are staying with my sister and her hubby and they had to go to an engagement on Saturday night. Jo had to go and buy a present and had been staring at card in the local newsagent for 10 minutes before she decided “why should i buy an engagement card when i have a card maker (me) at home??” and she wanted something ‘green’ to match the wrapping.
Now I’d only bought 4 stamp sets with me and three of those are the Simply Sent kits! The other just happened to be Priceless and the So Swirly wheel - I must have known hey??
This is the first one I made using Old Olive and Vintage Violet (2007 In Colour) cardstock.
I wheeled the So Swirly in Vintage Violet on the white cardstock and then stamped the hearts from Priceless in Old Olive then cut them out and using stampin dimensionals placed them over the wheeled image.I stamped one of the flourishes from priceless off the corner in Old Olive and then the sentiment in Vintage Violet and finished it off with a satin ribbon.
This is another one I did using the same layout but using the larger flourish from the Priceless set instead of the So Swirly wheel. I’ve also used Cameo Coral cardstock & ink.
These make a very quick and easy card and they do turn out rather elegant even if i do say so myself. Well they must as even my brother in law commented on how nice they were.
Dont forget you can ring or email your order through if you’d like to take advantage of this great special.
Here is the list of sets & wheels part of the promotion.
Be quick as this promotion finishes tomorrow - 30th September.
..
..
..
Echuca - the old port
Posted by: | CommentsWe left home Thursday morning for our holidays. We left at 9am and arrived at Echuca at 7pm and it really did feel at times that we’d never get to our destination!
We drove to Echuca which is on the NSW/Victorian border and it would have been nice to spend a little more time there learning about the history of the town. The cabin we booked was lovely with a decent bed which made for a good night’s sleep which is always a good thing when your travelling! It was great to sit and relax with my sister Jo, her hubby and a couple that are their friends.
Friday morning we breakfasted at McDonalds (as you do when travelling) and as I’d noticed some rather old churches as we drove in that was our first ‘to-do’ after breakfast - to get some photo’s of some old churches for a scrapbook I’ve wanted to make for a while now.
We then headed to the Old Port of Echuca where there was a thriving business up and down the river in the 1800’s. They still run some of the paddle steamers from that era and no doubt have spent a small fortune in their maintenance. Some of you may remember a mini series on TV called “All the Rivers Run” - it had John Waters and Sigrid Thornton in it to name a couple - well one of the steamers they had in that show was the “Emmy Lou” and is driven by a completely restored 1906 steam engine, and built to the highest world classification standards. She was built locally during 1980-82 in the style of the 19th century paddleboats, and is 30 metres long and 10 metres wide, steel hulled and timber decked.
The port is lovely and have set it so its like stepping back into the 1800’s with the sand roads and cobblestone footpaths. You can taste the local wine and fudge as well! You can stroll through and see how they did wood turning and the original tools the blacksmith used and all his gorgeous items for sale.
There is the stagecoach you can take for a ride through the town and these Clydesdale horses are just stunning animals and so well groomed.
They didnt budge when Caitie wanted to give them a pat and the handler was great and let her pat them but just asked her to stand beside them for their safety and hers!
Down at the old port they have these trees with the signs for the level particular floods got to. Its hard to imagine the water rising so high but it did.
These days the water is controlled from the Snow Mountains therefore they regulate the amount of water over flowing to the surrounding areas.
This photo shows you just how high the floods actually got in previous years. I got the girls to stand in front of the tree to give you an idea - have you noticed the one right up the top which happened in 1874?
We are now staying in Cobden with family till 8th October but plan to do a few ’sight seeing’ trips while we are here.
Although I got a great picture of the Cathedral at Bendigo I need more photo’s of old churches and know there are a few in and around Warrnambool so no prizes for guessing where one of our trips will be to! Hopefully it will stop raining long enough to enjoy a couple of day trips while we are here!
I do hope the nephew is looking after my stamps and fish and they arent missing me too much!
..
..
..
Hodge Podge with a difference
Posted by: | CommentsI love the versatility of Stampin’ Up products as I’ve said on many occasions but it wasnt until a recent challenge on our demonstrator yahoogroup that this idea was born!
The challenge was set by the lovely Makeesha Byl from Western Australia. Makeesha and I have become good friends since helping her with her blog sig and watermarks - its amazing how God works in our lives’ for our own good!
Makeesha challenged us to make these gorgeous key rings using Stampin’ Up!’s hodge podge bookplates.
How gorgeous are they?
I’ve used the priceless stamp set with the “Priceless” sentiment and the swirl in caramel. I’ve also done the sponging around the edge to make the edges softer.
Its sealed with crystal effects and has acetate on the outside to protect the stamped area. There is a brad in one end to hold the two pieces together and the key ring in the other end.
On one side I have layered two hearts over the swirly image. I have been making these for my hostesses lately and they just love them!
Dont forget if you order the Priceless before September 30 you will also get the So Swirly jumbo wheel for free being part of the Free Wheelin promotion.
Remember I am away on holidays so you will need to email your order to me or contact me on my mobile.
.. .. ..
..
Swirly Treats
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday I shared the card I made using the Carte Postale stamp set & the Leaves à la Carte wheel which is part of the Free Wheelin’ promotion from Stampin’ Up! for September.
Today I want to share with you the projects we made at Friday’s class and Monday’s demonstration.
I love seeing the peoples’ faces when they realise my projects are a lot easier to make than they look. The joy and the excitement makes me feel I’ve done my job!
These projects are based on the Pull Treats by my good friend Beate Johns on Splitcoast Stampers.
I’ve taken the sachets of chocolate/coffee’s and just adjusted the sizes so ours will fit inside nicely. You will need to use sticky strip when sticking the sides together as it has a much stronger hold than the Snail Adhesive.
This one fits the long thin sachets you can get for coffees & hot chocolates and what a lovely way to present them as a little gift to let someone know you’re thinking of them!
This one was made using the Like it a Latte set (how could you go wrong with a ‘Latte’ set?) I’ve used Close to Cocoa, Purely Pomegranate and Pretty in Pink for the colours.
The little card opens to reveal a message. I have also stamped the ‘froth’ onto very vanilla and given it a little sponging with Creamy Caramel and raised the image using dimensionals to give the foam a 3d look.
You can see in this photo this photo the dimensional froth. Hmmm I can just about smell it - must need another latte!
We also made a Pull Treat for the other sachets you can buy - they are a rectangular shape and again have just adjusted the dimensions to house this sized sachet.
For this I’ve used the Priceless bundle from the Free Wheelin’ promotion.
I’ve used the So Swirly wheel in the Whisper White Craft Ink - it creates an awesome pattern and whenever I demonstrate this at a workshop everyone is wowed at how well it looks.
The feature is done using the swirls, sentiment, butterfly and flower stamps from the Pricless set. Now this set is great value alone - 11 stamps for just AU$48.95 and when you add the free So Swirly wheel during September it makes a great affordable purchase and would also make a great christmas present!
I’ve used creamy caramel, pretty in pink and Purely Pomegranate inks and the “Rock and Roll” technique on the butterfly and flowers. I’ve also used the Purely Pomegranate Satin ribbon from the Spring Mini Catalogue. These work by when you pull the ribbon/bow up the inserted treat/surprise comes out.
You’ll also notice my sponging around the edge of the cardstock as well. You may notice I do that a lot as I love the soft effect it gives to the edges and helps it blend in to the next layer.
I’ve used brads in the centre of the flowers and for the butterfly body. I’ve then used a dimensional to adhere them to the card giving the ‘floating’ look.
You can see by the photo here how they are attached - I know some hate to cut out but it really does give a better look and feel to a project.
I do hope you like these Pull Treats and if you would like to order one of the bundles then just give me a call or send me an email. The Free Wheelin’ promotion finishes on 30th September so you have just under a week left to decide which bundles you want!
Here is another of the pull treats done in elegant eggplant and the plums from the soft subtle range.
These sized pull treats would make great little gifts to those friends and family members with a flu or cold and just adding a cup o soup sachet or the lemsip ones you can get now.
You could also make these and instead of inserting a sachet pop in a tag that you can attach a gift voucher or gift card to. The possibilities are endless.
Tomorrow we start our trip to country Victoria to visit family and friends. We will be away for two weeks - not sure how I’ll cope with no demonstrations or workshops for that long!
I do love to catch up with my customers regularly and stamp with them.
I can still place orders for you so if you need anything just email me or get me on my mobile!
Stay safe and see you in a few days!
.. .. ..
Soft Wheelin
Posted by: | CommentsSeptember is the ‘Free Wheelin’ month with Stampin’ Up!®. I just love being with Stampin’ Up! as they always give us great promotions to spoil our customers with.
The Free Wheelin promotion has been great to get me to using the wheels again - they sit in their boxes usually and when I noticed them I think yeah I should use those more!
Stampin’ Up have pre-selected six wonderful stamp sets for you to choose from for this promotion. When you buy one of the pre-selected sets you will get the co-ordinating Jumbo wheel for free. That’s a saving of $15.95! How sweet is that?? Here is a list of the stamp sets and jumbo wheels for this promotion.
Lately I’ve had a few friends who have lost someone dear to them or who are going through very trying times with terminally ill friends or family. I love the verses in the God’s Blessing set one of which i used on this card. They say just enough without it being too ’soppy’.
This is a card I made for yesterday’s demonstration. It uses the Carte Postale stamp set and the Leaves a’ la Carte Jumbo wheel.
I have used the wheel to make the background on the base card however in this photo you cant see it too well. I love putting soft colours with chocolate chip or cocoa.
I have also added a half pearl from the pretties kit to give a soft/elegant feel to this card. This image shows you a close up of the flower and how i’ve used the pearl for the centre and flicked up the petals of the flower.
I love getting out and sharing my passion for stamping and creating cards and gifts so if you’d like to see how this card was made - and how easy it is to make then email or ring me today to book your demonstration in!
October is fully booked and November is filling up fast so you’d better be quick!
Pop back tomorrow to see what I made with the Priceless Bundle!
.. .. ..
Oh So Burgundy
Posted by: | CommentsWell its not my usual colour combination but I do like how these cards turned out.
As most of you know I do a lot of Stamp A Stacks and I totally love them. I’ve recently picked up a couple of regular ones and one group is definitely challenging me to go outside my ‘comfort zone’. This week was no different! I dont usually think to use the Kraft cardstock for the base card but think I’m going to have to more often as it really does go with everything. Burgundy is another colour I dont normally use - not that I dont like it I’m just too busy with my Olives, Pinks and various shades of Purple!
I also used my favourite background stamp - weathered along with the floral background (a stamp I dont use enough!) and the circle of friendship set which goes so well with my punches!
I must say though that I do love the Oh So Lovely Hostess set and its such a bonus that you can earn it for free just for holding a demonstration - and who doesnt like free stamps?
So the girls will be doing this set tomorrow and I do hope they like it as much as I do! Actually I think I need to make more of these and send them out as happy mail.
Update … well the ladies loved them!
I thought I’d show you the card closer so you can see the weathered and floral backgrounds.
I just love how I can make my own ‘patterned papers’ with cardstock and the gorgeous Stampin’ Up Background stamps and they are such a bargain for their size. I’ve seen stamps for the same price just a quarter of the size!
The ladies at my Stamp A Stack spoilt me today. I received birthday cards and then out came the birthday cake complete with candles and song!
Such a special treat and they dont know just how touched I was by their wishes today.
Well I’d better get organised for Friday’s Stamp A Stack as I have some ladies coming Thursday to help me celebrate my birthday with stamping, coffee and cake - who could ask for more??
.. .. ..
Christmas Sparkle
Posted by: | CommentsI promised to show you the Christmas cards from Friday’s Stamp A Stack. 
Now you all know how much I love Baroque Motifs stamp set so I just had to try it on a Christmas Card and how nice is this??
This card is just so easy and turns out so elegant especially when you add some lovely Satin Pomegranate Ribbon to finish it off. The Merry Christmas stamp is from Occasional Greetings.
We had 10 show up for the Stamp A Stack so there wasnt a spare seat around the table - it made for a fun night with lots of family stories and laughter by all.
The second card we made was one i made last week and was so happy with it I just had to share it at the Stamp A Stack and it got the thumbs up from all which gave some relief because we are all different and like different things.
This Card uses the Snow Burst set from the Spring Mini Catalogue and has a great selection of different snow flakes in different sizes. I have used the masking technique here and it gives dimension to the top layer without too much effort. The greeting for this card comes from Festive Favourites and I thought it was perfect for this card.
Here is a close up of the centre of the large snowflake showing the glitter on the top of the brad. All you do is pop a mini glue dot on the end of your brad and then dip it into the dazzling diamonds and you have instant bling! and who doesnt love bling?? Well better be off to bed so I can get up and prepare for Monday’s Stamp A Stack! Happy Stamping!
.. .. ..
Rudolph the ‘pink’ nosed reindeer!
Posted by: | CommentsWell I suppose if you had a bright shiny nose its your choice what colour it is right??
You may remember the snowmen pocket Christmas card I posted a couple of weeks ago - well I had a customer ask me to make her up some kits so she could make them in pomegranate!
So here’s the result.
Its the same layout and stamp set as in the snowman card - there is a block with reindeers, trees and the snowmen. So you could make a whole set if you wanted to!!
Festive Favourites is a great set for Christmas and so very versatile for so many different cards.
I’ve used a dimensional to keep the tag in place as this tag is larger than the snowman tag.
I did enjoy making this card and the glitter along the bottom and on Rudolph’s nose just makes the card!
I’m off to do a Christmas Stamp A Stack tonight so I’ll share those cards tomorrow.
.. . .. . ..
Happy Mail!!
Posted by: | CommentsDont you just love it when your happy mail (ie. mail without a window face!) arrives for you and you werent expecting it?? Well I do as so many days the bills outweigh the ‘happy mail’ here - but not yesterday!
I got many envelopes for a swap I’m hosting on the “Aussie” Demonstrator Only group I moderate and I must say the quality in work of these cards is simply stunning!
One package had a birthday card for me in it as well.
How nice is this card from Charmaine?
The Seaside Stamp set makes great cards for all occasions.
The soft tones that Charmaine has used makes it great for any occasion - and her penmanship inside is just stunning. Would love to be able to do calligraphy - maybe one day!
But wait!! There’s more!
Yesterday I had a terrible thing happen when a bottle of Orange Juice popped open while sitting in my handbag (yes its a long story cut very short!) Well we all know how strong the smell of Orange Juice is - all that vitamin C bursting out no doubt. Well imagine it in a hand bag soaking into the ‘man made’ leather and lining and not to mention the tissues, shop dockets/receipts and anything else we have in our bags - it even went inside the barrel of one of my pens! ugh
This all happened while out shopping and lunching with my sister and good friend (and downline) Sharon. By the time I got home I decided I needed to go shopping for a new bag to improve my mood - well after 2 shopping centres I still havent found what I’m looking for!! However I did come home to a box of lovelies from my good friend Steph.
How well does this girl know me?
She put in some bullets (chocolate coated licorice), a bag of coffee from Gloria Jeans (and yes I tested it today and its soooo nice!), a gorgeous birthday card in one of my favourite colour combinations and a little love note box complete with love notes & envies all decorated in the Summer Picnic papers and using the Tart and Tangy set (one that hasnt grabbed me yet) and I just love love love it all.
Can you tell I dont get pressies like this often?? Yes I’m excited!!
Now if you would like to see a close up of the love notes and box then you’ll have to pop on over to Steph’s blog.
Ok my birthday present I ordered in has arrived so I’m off to go pick that up for hubby … how good am I to him!! hehe
.. .. ..
Sharing the Joy
Posted by: | CommentsChristmas Joy that is ….
A link was shared this past week for some Christmas cards on Splitcoast Stampers gallery and they looked so lovely I just had to case them! You will find the cards on Splitcoast here and here are my cards … 
These cards were so quick and easy to make - I had them all done in less than 10 minutes.
Recipe
Stamps: Enjoy every Moment, Baroque Motifs Paper: Always Artichoke, River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Holiday Harmony DSPInks: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, River Rock, Purely Pomegranate Accessories: 1″ circle punch, stampin’ dimensionals, stampin’ write marker - Always Artichoke
As you can see you dont need a christmas stamp set to make Christmas cards - you just need to think outside the square or the stamp box as the case may be!
What stamp sets have you used to make Christmas Cards that arent a ‘christmas’ stamp set?? Leave a comment and pop in a link to your blog
.. .. ..
