Welcome to the ESAD Christmas in July Blog hop!!

I do hope you’ve come prepared for a wonderful ‘Christmas’ journey so if you havent got your cuppa and some biscuits you’d better go get some now … I’ll wait till you get back to continue.

What is ESAD?

ESAD stands for Extra Special Australasian Demonstrators and it is an online group just for Australian and New Zealand demonstrators for Stampin’ Up!®

We so love what we do and not only do we love to share it with our customers, friends, and wonderful blog visitors but we share our love for what we do with each other as Demonstrators. We run swaps, challenges, tutorials, product know how and cyberstamps and we are always there to help and support each other when its needed. There is also the online chat networking that is available whenever youre online.

So if you are a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator located in Australia or New Zealand then please feel free to click here to join our wonderful group.

You should have come here from Clare’s blog but if you havent dont worry … just keep hopping until you get back to me.

Now, like all good bloggers, we all LOVE comments so please be sure to leave us a comment as we just thrive on them!

I have had one of these Simply Scrappin’ “I Wish” kits for eons – maybe even last Christmas and I hadnt pulled it out to use so I thought I’d better take this opportunity and use it before its retired.

Here is what I created ….

We have ….

• A Christmas planner
• A Gift box with toffees inside
• A Gift Bag
• 6 Christmas Cards with matching Envelopes
• 8 Christmas Tags

Now all of these things I made with just half of one of the kits – oh and I had quite a bit left over that I didnt use including adhesive die cuts, cardstock and patterned paper.

So I could still make a bundle more cards, tags and even a scrapbook layout if I wanted to – or I might even dress up a canvas for the Grannies for Christmas.  So just imagine how much you could make with a full kit!

The Christmas Planner

I love the idea of these planners so when I was making projects for this blog hop I thought I’d love to make one of these so I went looking online for ideas and maybe a tutorial.

After spending half a day (I kid you not!) of looking and not really finding what I wanted I sat down and decided to design one myself!  So I did and I love how it turned out!

The Planner takes one sheet of 12×12 cardstock to create then I’ve just added pieces of the Designer Series Paper and adhesive die cuts from the kit to decorate it.  Easy!

Here are a couple of shots inside the planner ….

Then we have the cards ….

These cards were actually made using the Stampin’ Up!® Notecards.  Using the Notecards made them so quick and easy to put together and they come with envelopes so I just stamped some snowflakes from the Snow Swirled Stamp Set and I was done! Easy!

A Box for the special someone with the sweet tooth!

How cute is this box?  These Acetate boxes are so easy to make and you can put anything in them from toffees to candles!  Oh if you are buying someone a gift card you could pop that inside and then fill it up with toffees or Werther’s Caramel Chocolates – now I did buy a bag of those but they umm disappeared … well one does have to do quality control do they not?? I do know that hubby took two of them – the hide of some people!

A Gift bag …..

How nice is this little bag?  Now you could put just about anything in here too … a CD, stamp set, punch, set of car keys, toy car even (being a replica of the new one in the drive-way maybe? please Santa???)

Not forgetting … the gift tags ….

Now these were fun to make and I will probably make a few more – but how cute is that Penguin??  I do so love Penguins   I’ve been eyeing off this Punch Pals set for a couple of years now and thought why not?? My customers need new stamps for their Christmas Stamp A Stacks!

Wow .. .I apologise this post is so long!  I didnt mean for it to be so if you’ve got this far I thank you from the bottom of my Christmas heart!  It does happen to be my favourite holiday and its a shame its all over so quickly.

Now before I go I do have to tell you that if you do happen to see those Werther’s Caramels to grab one bag for you and one bag for me cos they are D-I-V-I-N-E!

Now that you have got this far its time to hop onto the next ESAD Blogger in the Blog hop being the gorgeous Gardenia Pepworth

Now dont forget to leave everyone a comment

The previous sets I’ve made were the one’s done for our Sale A Bration Spectacular and ESAD Blog Hop with the Rose is a Rose stamp set which can be found here.  I also made some very quick and easy notecards using the Thoughts and Prayers set which you can see here.

Now just recently I participated in the ESAD Secret Stampin Sister Swap and I thought about what to make and one of my sister’s friends said she loves the Pocket Silhouettes and didnt have that set. So in the last month in the Swap you send 2 cards, a handmade gift and a gift to the value of $30 so I ordered the Pocket Silhouettes set for her.  Then I wanted to make something using Pocket Silhouettes (my set not her new one!) so then my mind drifted off to the Notecards and I thought why not. I also thought I’d give some of our retiring subtle colours a bit of a last ‘hurrah’ so to speak.

This is the box I designed to pop the notecards into.  Its funny where you get inspiration from as the inspiration for this box came from and skin care sampler kit. One of those lightbulb moments! The paper I’ve used on the box is from Bella Rose Designer Series Paper pack.

These are the cards and envelopes that I made to put in the box … there were 6 in total with envelopes.

I love the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set as it has 4 different flower/leaf stamps plus two greetings and all for just $33.95 so it makes a very cost effect purchase and you can use this set for masculine, arty or feminine cards.  As my good friend Libby says … Your creativeness is only limited by your imagination.

Special Offer #1

Now as a special offer to all my lovely friends who read my blog if you purchase the Pocket Silhouettes and the Notecards from me before 31st July I will also give you the template for this gift box.

Special Offer #2

Now if you’re thinking that you spend too much money on stamps and accessories then have you considered joining the Stampin’ Up! family?  Why would you want to do that? Well as a Stampin Up! Demonstrator you get a 20% discount on everything you order.

Wait!! Thats not all! (sorry couldnt resist!)

If you place your first order withing 45 days from the date you joined then you get a bonus 10% discount – so place your first order within 45 days and you get 30% off that first order! Sweet hey?

Wait!  Thats not all!!

If you join now you will receive the new 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalogue for free and one month before it is officially released.  You would also then be able to order a month before it is released from the pre-order selection.

Wait … thats not all!

Until 31st July you only pay $259 for your Stampin’ Up! kit – thats 20% off or a saving of $65!!  The kit is regularly $324 so look at all the money you’ll be saving – see and this means you can get more from the new Idea Book & Catalogue!  The kit includes stamps, inks, cardstock, accessories and business tools all valued at over $560 – so its a win/win deal for you!

Also, if you sign up with me before 31st July not only do you get all these goodies and a hugely discounted price but you can also select either a Stamp-a-majig or the gorgeous Pocket Silhouettes stamp set as a free bonus from me – so now you will just under $600 worth of products for just $259!

Email or Ring me today to ask any questions you might have or to arrange your free no obligation information pack.

You can even sign up online via my Demonstrator Website so there’s no pesky paperwork to fill out and post off – wow I’ve just saved you another 60 cents!

I am happy to report that Tess has now been shopping and has a lovely Gift Bag with a present inside for her friend.

It lifts the card a little dont you think? and who wants to visit a friend on their birthday without a little something in a gift bag?

The gift bag is simply a small piece of Designer Series Paper with some white tissue paper scrunched up and sticking out the top.  The handle was created using the Word Window punch.

Hope you like my little addition

After deliberating for what seemed like hours (which was really about 20 minutes or so) on what papers to use I finally gave in and went with the gorgeous Cottage Wall Designer Series Papers.

As much as I love the Tote-ally Tess set and ‘had’ to have her I’ve struggled to use her in cards.  So I’m challenging myself  to use Tess more so I hope you will see a few different “Tess” cards over the next few weeks.

Why dont you make a card with Tess too and pop a comment with the link to your blog post or online gallery?

This one is simply a “Birthday Tess” carrying a little cupcake. Looking at the card now I could have added a little gift bag as well – I might even still do that and send through a photo once its done.

Recipe:

Stamps: Tote-ally Tess, Short and Sweet
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence, Whisper White, Cottage Wall DSP
Inks: Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, So Saffron, More Mustard, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Ridinghood Red, Going Gray.
Accessories: Big Shot, Lots of Tags sizzlits, White Taffeta Ribbon, Aqua Painter, Stampin Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive, Mini Glue dots.

One of my favourite ways to colour is to use my Aqua Painter and the ink pads to water colour and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Certainly Celery top went with the Rich Razzleberry pants. 

So who’s for a cupcake?

I could go one right about now!  Why not treat yourself to one today and why not grab a Latte at the same time to wash it all down! In honour of all the birthdays we’ve had lately of course

My apologies for posting late (sorry Carol) we had a spanner thrown in the works last night with a call to let us know that an ambulance had been called for my Mother in Law.  She has had a bad cold and ended up with chest pains last night so everything was just dropped while we attended to her.

Here is this week’s sketch from the lovely Carol.

Diagonals?  What am I supposed to do with that?  So as I do I deliberated and deliberated and then …. I deliberated some more!

Then it dawned on me … pockets.

I have quite a bit of Designer Series Paper that I need to use over the next 2 months so I tried to think what paper I havent used for a while and I grabbed my Candy Lane Papers.  You dont see these pack used so much and I think its really lovely – or maybe I just dont go to the right blogs!

Here is what I came up with …

I’ve modelled this card on the Diagonal Pocket card but I’ve just used it for the pockets on the front so only used 1/3 sheet of 12×12 for the front pockets instead of using the whole  sheet as in the tutorial.  I’ve also added a bit of elegance using the Eyelet Border Punch on a piece of Very Vanilla.

Now here’s the card showing the insert.

I couldnt go past doing my “Latte Stack” on the tag with my gorgeous “Share A Cup” stamp.

I’ve left the tag mainly blank so you can put a little note or even attach a gift card for your favourite Coffee Place like Gloria Jeans or The Coffee Club.

Here is the inside of the card for you to write a message to your friend

Now I’ve added the Eyelet Border egde again with some of the stripes from the Candy Lane Designer Series Paper pack for continuation from the front.

Now I could have put another tag in the top pocket but after grabbing my little Pun Fun Latte stamp I thought what better than to put in a sachet for a Latte.  Its a nice way to say hello to a friend and give them a cuppa

I do hope you like what I made for this sketch and now all I have to do is to find someone to send it to!  Maybe you??

Now its time for you to skip along to the next Designing Diva being the loverly Ruthie Burkey so pop over to Ruthie’s blog and see what she has created for this week’s sketch challenge

Thanks for stoppin by

You might remember in my last post the card I cased from the lovely Lynda Shrimpton – well Lynda is such a lovely friend she let me case a couple more cards – aint she sweet.  Most of my cards are my own creations and as I do many Stamp A Stacks I like to give my customers a few different choices when choosing what cards they wish to make so sometimes its nice to not have to think too hard – especially during school holidays!

Here are a couple of very easy cards using the Vintage Vogue stamp set.

How pretty and delicate is this card?

The flowers just trail down the card a bit like Jasmine on a fence or anything that stood still too long and too close!

This has to be one of the easiest cards I’ve made and the ladies on Sunday enjoyed making it too.  It is one of those cards that could be used for any occasion.

Recipe

Stamps: On Your birthday, Vintage Vogue
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, Whisper White
Inks: Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Mellow Moss Stampin Write Marker, Pretty in Pink Stampin Write Marker, Large Oval Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch, Stampin Dimensionals.

Now for the second card – another lovely soft card but in blue ….

This card is the same layout and design as the other just in the landscape orientation. I’ve also added a row of the lovely leafy edge image at the top and bottom of the panel in versamark.  The top and bottom of the white piece is daubered in Bashful Blue and a simple little sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Sentiments set.

Dont you just love the Soft Subtle range?  well if you answered yes and your a regular Stampin’ Up! customer you will know that many of the the Soft Subtle colours are retiring at the end of August.  However we have had a few colours start to run out already so if you’d like to grab some soft subtles before they are all gone I’d suggest you get your order in sooner rather than later.

If the single colours sell out dont forget you can still buy them in the mixed family packs!

Would you like to make these cards?

I still have a couple of places available for my Stamp A Stack here on Saturday 10th July so if you’d like to come contact me today to reserve your spot. Its just $20 for 9 cards – oh and some very yummy coffee … and I’ll even make you a cup in my new coffee cups!

Thanks for stoppin by

In our Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue we have four of these a la carte stamps of which one is the gorgeous All a Flutter stamp.  I’ve had this stamp for some time and managed to make a card this past week that I’d seen a month or so ago and just loved so much I bookmarked it to case.

How nice and rich is this card? The card was originally designed by the lovely Ilina Crouse. I have added just an extra couple of layers to make the main panel pop.

It reminds me of those framed butterflies you can buy which reminds me of a story from my childhood which I might share at a later date – I wonder if my two sister’s remember.

Recipe:

Stamps
• All a Flutter
• En Francais
Cardstock
• Basic Black
• Pumpkin Pie
• Rich Razzleberry
• Very Vanilla
• Watercolour Paper
Ink
• Basic Gray
• Jet Black Stazon
• Soft Suede
• Rich Razzleberry
Accessories
• Sponge Daubers
• Aqua Painter
• Stampin Dimensionals

I love this card and I love this butterfly!

From 1-31st July you can purchase selected 2 step stamping sets at 20% off! What a huge saving!

One of the sets included in this sale is the very cute Cheep Talk stamp set. Its a set of 11 stamps and at the sale price works out at less than $3.50 per stamp – now where else can you get 11 stamps for less than $40??

With this great promotion I set to work on a couple of cards using the Cheep Talk stamp set.

How cute is this card?  I’ve had the Scalloped Circle die for a while and havent had a chance to use it so I ‘borrowed’ it back from Lisa and made these cards today.

The first one is done in Old Olive and Perfect Plum. I chose these colours as they are two of my favourites and two that will remain after the Colour Renovation happens with the new Idea Book and Catalogue in September.

Here is the inside of the card.

One thing you will ‘need’ to have when you embark on 2 step stamping is the Stampamajig so you will have perfect placing every time.

While I love this card I also wanted to make another that was bright – for the ‘young at heart’ girls.

Hows this for bright?

Again I wanted to use colours that would remain after the Colour Renovation and nothing says ‘girly’ like pink and orange!

This card uses Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie. While I have always loved Pumpkin Pie its taken some time for the Melon Mambo to grow on me. Mind you I received my new Mastercard debit card today and guess what – its Melon Mambo!

I love how this card turned out – so bright and funky!

Here’s the inside – the thinking of you sentiment comes from the ‘On Your Birthday’ set.  All other stamps used in these two cards are all from the Cheep Talk Stamp Set.

Now for the details of the July ’2 step’ Promotion …

• purchase any of the selected Stamp Sets at 20% off
• no minimum purchase
• no limit on how many you can purchase

*From 2010 Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue

**Retiring stamp sets!

Would you like to see the different ways to do 2 step stamping?

I would love to show you just how easy it is to do 2 step stamping and you’ll be able to amaze your friends and family with your creativity. Book a workshop with me during July and I will show you all you need to know about 2 step stamping and you will receive a bonus gift just for holding the demonstration with me. Your workshop is free and all you have to do is invite your friends and make a cuppa and thats it! I can even bring a table if you dont have one!

Ring or Email me today to book in your demonstration or to place your order.

Dont you just love these little deals? I know I do and I’m loving how you all ‘need’ them

This week’s deal is to purchase any (or all) of the following Stamp Sets and receive up to 50% off – yes huge huge savings here!!

Here are some of my cards I’ve made using these sets …. just to inspire you

A happy Heart

A happy Heart

Greetings Eight

Greetings Eight

Remember these sets are only on sale at these great prices until Tuesday 22nd June so get your order through today!  Wouldnt these stamps make awesome birthday or christmas gifts? and at these great prices you can get two! Its never too early to start Christmas Shopping!

I first met Cheryl when I first joined Stampin’ Up! at the first Australian Stampin Up! Convention. A little while later she recruited the very lovely Melissa and she too become a dear friend.

Now there is a saying that there is a no greater friend than one that comes with chocolate … well at this past convention I was presented with this lovely gift and no there wasnt chocolate inside but ground Toffee Nut Coffee from Gloria Jeans – so now I’ve amended the saying to … there is no greater friend than the one that comes with coffee!!

Mel and Chez gave me this awesome little gift for helping them with some computer/blog bits a few weeks back.  I had a lovely time having them here but who can say no to coffee and especially when its packaged so nicely

Thanks girls for spending the day with me and for the awesome coffee!

While on my way to Memento Mall at Convention I ran into the lovely Jane Norrish who after giving me a hug said “Oh I have something for you!” I prayed it wasnt a bill Lol!!  I recently set up a blog for Jane and she brought me a thank you gift. I was overwhelmed as Jane has paid me to set up her blog but look at this ….

How awesome is this gift??

Jane bought a special insulated mug which she could decorate inside and used my favourite DSP – Cottage Wall. She’s also used the same DSP to create my card. Dont you love the quilted effect used on the Top Note Die?

But wait …. there’s more!

This was inside the mug – mind you I didnt realise this till I’d gotten home after convention!

How cool … and sorry Jane I didnt look inside at convention I was sorta sidetracked by Memento Mall and trying to hand out swaps as we got there later than planned.

So as you can see being with a company like Stampin’ Up! changes everything! They have the best demonstrators and customers.  I’ve been with other craft party plan and the other consultants never treated you like this – they wouldnt share anything in case you took business from them – rather scary really!

If you would like more information about becoming a demonstrator and joining my Stamp A Latte Team please dont hesitate to ring or email me.

You can join at the moment for just $259 and where else can you get your own business for that price?

You dont have to do demonstrations or classes – you can sign just to get your products at a discount if you wish. A couple of other bonuses with joining Stampin’ Up! is there are no annual costs to remain a demonstrator and you can swap between hobby and business demonstrator at any time.

So now I not only have an awesome coffee cup but I have coffee to make and chocolates to eat – gotta luv that!!