Posts Tagged ‘coffee’

How many times do you walk to the letter box and your whole being drops when you see all those window faced envelopes (aka Bills)??

Being a demonstrator for Stampin’ Up! I make many sample cards to share at demonstrations or with my loyal blog readers like yourself.  I have quite a few more cards than I need so its nice to throw one in the mail and send to someone ‘just cos I can’ and its always lovely to get one back – how excited do we get when we see an envelope in our letter box that does NOT have a window??

I know I get very excited as do the girls – they want to know who its from and why they sent it to me.

Now being that I’ve been with Stampin’ Up! now for nearly 4 years – ooo its my Stampin Up! Anniversary next month! I’ve met many lovely people and many of them have become friends.  One of these ladies is the lovely Leonie Newman – who also happens to be in my awesome downline – well she’d have to be great with a name like Leonie wouldnt she??

To my surprise Leonie sent me a little gift last week – she had told me during one our online chats that I should keep an eye on my letter box.

This is what I received ….

Leonie did tell me that she saw this Coffee Sleeve and thought of me immediately — not sure where she gets the idea I’m powered by coffee?!?! I do appreciate the thought as how often have you bought a coffee from a take away and its too hot to hold??

Now the card ….

I love the colours and paper Leonie has used.

This type of card is called a ‘swing’ card as the top swings up to reveal the message or greeting as shown below.

If you would like to learn how to make one of these swing cards then contact me today to arrange your demonstration or class

To Leonie – thank you for blessing me with your friendship and your gorgeous gift!

Now if you’d like to become a demonstrator and join my awesome Stamp A Latte team then please contact me as soon as possible if you want to save $65 on the Starter Kit.  This promotion goes until 31st July which is this Saturday and I’d love for you to join my team and reap the rewards (and all the new friends you’ll make) just as I do!

Benefits of joining my team this week are ….

• Save 20% on the starter kit price – you pay only $259 (a saving of $65)
• Earn 30% commission on your first order within 45 days of joining (use this on items in the new catalogue or Big Shot!)
• Join my wonderful team of over 100 demonstrators
• Pre-order from the new catalogue before it goes ‘live’ on 1^st September
• Get a bonus gift from me when you join my team (to the value of $35)
• Gain access to my Stamp A Latte Team forum
• Gain access to the ESAD forum and network with over 500 demonstrators
• Gain access to the Stampin’’ Up Demonstrator website
• attend my team meetings

If you would like more information or have any questions please dont hesitate to contact me.

Thanks for stoppin by

Its Saturday so its time for another Utah Diva’s Sketch Challenge from the lovely Carol.

Today’s is a little different as I’ve combined another challenge in the same card – a colour challenge from Inkspirations4U!

So I thought the title for today’s post is fitting as not only am I sharing two challenges in one card but I’m also using the very cute ‘Share A Cup’ a la carte stamp from the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue.

Here’s the colour challenge from Inkspirations4U …

My card was inspired by some gorgeous little cards that the lovely Bonnie Thurber (the Stamp Whisperer herself!) demonstrated.

Here is my card ….

I wasnt sure about the colours at first but then when I put them together I really like them!  I think they’d be great for boy birthdays too

I love this little stamp – it was so nice of Stampin Up! to make a stamp just for me dont you think? and then to make an actual mug with the image on it just so I could get one at the Manager’s Reception before Convention this year. So very thoughtful!

I hope you like this card as I did enjoy making it – well after I got those cups to sit right!

One definitely needs the Stamp-a-majig and a post it note for this card!

Now its time for you to skip along to the next Diva in the Saturday Sketch Design Team being the very lovely Maxine Conrad and see what she’s done with Carol’s sketch.

Have a great ‘rest’ of the Weekend!

As a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator I’ve met the nicest people not only as customers but Demonstrators who have become good friends as well.

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!!

One of the joys and highlights of Convention is swapping.  Its amazing to watch – and the chatter … wow! There’s nothing quite like making a swap and then realising that you’ve been talking to this person online for the last 12 months or so!

Here are the cards I made for my Convention Swaps …

This is one of my favourite cards and its been a hit with my customers too!

I actually made this card for my ESAD-SU Secret Sister back in March so havent been able to show it until now and the tulips are made using the very lovely Extra Large 2-step Bird punch available in the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue.

Recipe
Stamps: Cottage Garden
Paper: Cottage Wall DSP, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Old Olive, Lavender Lace, Pretty in Pink, Apricot Appeal
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Perfect Plum, Lavender Lace, Pretty in Pink, Apricot Appeal
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, Little Leaves sizzlits die, Polka Dot Impressions folder, Scalloped Oval Punch, Extra Large 2-step bird punch

This is my second card and its done using Pocket Silhouettes stamp set. This has to be one of the best value stamp sets and can literally be used for anything!

Recipe
Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes
Paper: Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Whisper White
Inks: Sahara Sand, Tangerine Tango, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive
Accessories: Stampin Write Markers, Always Artichoke Grosgrain Ribbon

I’ve used the masking & sponging techniques on this card. I cut a rectangle out of a scrap piece of paper to create the ‘window’ then sponged it in Sahara Sand. I then stamped the leafy image in the same Sahara sand ink. It gives a dimensional look dont you think?

Here is my last swap card ….

Dont you just love the Tote-ally Tess set ??  For this card I’ve renamed it Totally Onie as it has all of my favourites on this card – Rich Razzleberry cardstock & ribbon, Cottage Wall DSP, Stamps and of course – coffee!

Recipe
Stamps: Tote-ally Onie Tess , Sip by Sip
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Cottage Wall DSP, Whisper White
Inks: Rich Razzleberry, Jet Black Stazon, Orchid Opulence, Chocolate chip reinker, Going Gray
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, Aqua Painter, Stamp-a-majig, Stampin Dimensionals

I’ve used the Paper Piecing technique for the Tote and used my Ink pads to watercolour with the aqua painter. I must say Tess was rather popular with the swappers.

Now here is a picture of all the swaps I received …

Now I did come home with some swaps of mine so if you would like one of my swaps then send me an email with your address and I’ll pop one in the post to you.

Well I cant believe its been over a week since I posted – I’m so sorry!

We had our annual Stampin’ Up! convention this past weekend in Sydney and I was rather busy getting ready for that and making sure the family had all they needed.

Convention Officially started at 7am on Friday morning however there was a special reception on the Thursday night for those who have achieved Manager level and above.  Stampin’ Up! does this every year though in the past it was held on the Friday evening so it was nice to be treated early

We were then seated  for a hello and update from the very lovely Shelli Gardner. Shelli is such a lovely woman full of grace and so giving of her time.  She expressed her thanks for all we do and how hard we work. We were then ushered into another room where they were serving hot chocolates in these huge cups. It wasnt like any hot chocolate I make at home – they drizzled melted chocolate down the sides of the cups and then filled them with steamed frothy milk – talk about divine!!

Mind you no one wanted to give the cups back as they were so nice and had the lovely image from the Share a Cup stamp set.  This is when we were told that it was OK as when we left we’d be given one of the these very cups of our own complete with the Share A Cup stamp inside!

How cool are these cups?

Now I know that you know how much I love the ‘occasional’ cup of coffee but this is one huge cup! Its probably the size of two soup mugs! So I think I’ll use it on my desk to keep my Clear Mount Blocks in and various other bits and pieces.

Stampin’ Up! really do spoil their Demonstrators and you will see more of that ‘spoiling’ over the next few days with my sharing from Convention.

If you were ever contemplating becoming a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator and joining my team well now is the time!  From now until the end of July you can join Stampin’ Up! and receive 20% off the kit price!  This means you now get $590 value for just $259! Who knows – next year you too could be attending the Manager’s reception and receiving your own free gift from Stampin’ Up!  There are many more rewards you can achieve so please dont hesitate to ring me if you wish for more details.

Not only that – I will have a bonus gift for you when you join my Stamp A Latte team. As I have a Demonstrator Business Website its even easier for you to join as you dont have to fill out any forms – you can do it all online! All you need is an Australian Business Number and a credit card – how easy is that? So ring or email me today if you need more information or any help at all with joining my team.

You can join now by clicking on the picture below

Wow how special was it this morning when I started up my puta and found not one but three emails advising me that I’d been given a “Beautiful Blog Award” from three friends.

So a very huge thank you to Linda Craven, Nikki Stalker and Mae Collins for this honour

Thanks again to the lovely ladies who awarded me this award – I am very touched

Here we are at yet another Saturday …. they just come around so quickly!

We have had a change in the Sketch Challenge Coordinator at Utah Divas so please help me in welcoming Carol Marbach as our lovely new coordinator.

Carol has some awesome sketches in store plus a few twists!! As if I dont twist them enough!!

Now because this is Carol’s first sketch I thought I’d be a good girl and not play with the sketch – well not in the first card I made – thats right I made two cards today!

If I didnt have a Class on today I’d probably make some more! So I might get some more done during the week – so we’ll see how time permits.

I havent had much time this week with demonstrations and migraines so havent had as much time for me to stamp.

Now when I first went to do this sketch I pulled out my trusty Fifth Avenue Floral set and wanted to use this paper from the Urban Garden Designer Series Paper and as soon as I grabbed the paper I had a sudden urge for a male card and this tree from Le Jardin Botanique! Well it is hubbies birthday on Tuesday so had to make him a card anyway!

I’ve done a little thumping on the tree and I must say I really do like how it turned out – looks a bit like a Silver Birch I think!  Thumping is a technqiue to do using your Stampin’ Write markers. You colour your stamp in the lighter colours first – I coloured the trunk in in Always Artichoke and then coloured the leaves in Bordering Blue.

I then took my Not Quite Navy marker and tapped it on the leafy area a bit like a drum stick using the side of the brush marker tip. I hope that makes sense – if not then I am more than happy to show you how! If you want it more of a mutted or mixed effect then just spritz very lightly with water.

Here’s the second card I made using the sketch.

I’ve used the flower stem again from Le Jardin Botanqiue which I’ve coloured using the Stampin’ Write markers and using the ‘direct to rubber’ technique. This is when you use your markers to colour in the stamp directly onto the rubber and then stamp onto cardstock. I’ve used the Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink and Rose Red markers on this one. The patterned paper is from the Bella Rose Designer Series Paper pack.

The flower is a little shorter than the tree image so needed to fill in the bottom a little so just stamped a greeting from Three Little Words onto some Pretty in Pink cardstock and then trimmed it to give a banner effect.

These are both very quick and easy cards which can be done as part of a Stamp A Stack so contact me today to arrange your Stamp A Stack for you and your friends.

Best be off to get ready for today’s Class and make sure I have everything I need in my beloved trolley and make time for a Latte before I go.

Have a great Saturday and make sure you make some time for you this weekend!

Today I have a combination of two challenges.

A couple of weekends ago we held a Cyberstamp on our ESAD (Extremely Special Australian Demonstrators) Yahoogroup and one of the challenges for that was a Colour Challenge of Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette. Not a combination I would normally use but boy they are gorgeous together!

Diva Sketch Challenge #26

The second part of this challenge is this week’s Sketch Challenge from Utah Diva’s – Diva’s Sketch Challenge 26.  You can check out the Diva’s blog here. This is another group for Stampin’ Up Demonstrators but is an international group and by invitation so if youre a demonstrator and would like to get ideas from all over the globe then email me and I’ll send you an invitation.

Now for my card ….

I have wanted to use this set again since last time and just havent had the time with my busy schedule and school holidays.

I’ve used the Friendly Words Wheel to do the Baja Breeze strip at the side and tied a piece of Kraft Taffeta ribbon tied around the bottom.

The base card is Close to Cocoa which I’ve stamped En Francais in Versamark then over on the right I’ve stamped the motif in Creamy Caramel. I think you can ‘just’ see it.

For the bird image I coloured it using my treasured Stampin Write Markers and then stamped onto whisper white. I also sponged around the edge of this piece in creamy caramel. I’ve then layered this onto a Baja Breeze square which I’ve sponged the edge in Baja Breeze and then turned it 90° to that of the whisper white piece.  I have done the same with the Pink Pirouette piece – sponged around the egdge in Pink Pirouette and again turned it 90° to that of the Baja Breeze piece. This panel I’ve then attached to the base card using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I quite like how this card turned out and I hope you do too!

Have a totally blessed day and make sure you find yourself some time for a Latte and to stamp!

Today I popped over to visit my good friend and Stampin’ Up! Sister (we both have the same upline) Lisa today and after convincing the boys to finish their lunch we ventured to her craft room.

I didnt have alot of time to spare as I told hubby I’d be home by 2.30pm and Lisa had shown me what she’d done with Inspired by Nature flower stamp so I got to thinking on making a card with this very stamp – now this stamp is HUGE! so it doesnt take much to make a card with it as it will fill the front of a regular card.

I had originally intended to do direct to stamp with the markers but it seemed the only markers Lisa didnt have were the ones I wanted! Always the way!

So I spotted the Stampin’ Pastels™ and the little “Poppin’ Pastels” light went on in my head so I grabbed the Pastels and the handy dandy Versamark pad and here is the card I came up with.

I just used the daubers and sponges to apply the pastels to where the image had been stamped in Versamark and the ink of the Versamark just grabs the pastels and soaks in the colour.  I also used darker colours to highlight the edges of the petals, leaves and middle of the flower.

The sentiment is from the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set. However it wouldnt quite fit into the Word Window punch so I cut the ‘Get Well Soon’ so it was thin enough to slide one end through the word window punch one at a time to do the edges. Then you do this to each end and you can then make your word window as long as you like. I then attached that to a 1cm strip of Tangerine Tango and just used the scissors to trim around the curves.

A few of my customers and Stamp A Stack ladies have asked for a get well card so I do hope they like this one.

Now as I was reading my emails tonight I found one from Dayspring. Dayspring is a company that makes cards and gifts with a Christian themes. They really have some gorgeous stuff and when I saw this picture of a canvas in their latest newsletter I wondered if they’d seen my Sip by Sip cards from Saturday and how did they know that this is one of my most favourite Psalms?

What do you think?

Happy Easter Sunday to you!

I do hope youre having a relaxing Easter Sunday and not gobbling all your chocolate eggs down too quickly like my youngest did – she is a little over the chocolate right now! I’ve only had one piece and already my head is starting to hurt!

I have seen so many gorgeous cards made with Pocket Silhouettes so when I saw it was in our new Idea Book & Catalogue I just had to have it – and its a bargain at just $33.95 for 6 stamps!

Here is a card that I’ve had on my desk in various stages over the past week.

I dont normally do Emboss Resist and I’ve seen a few doing this technique lately so thought I’d have a go too!

I’ve sponged the background in Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze after stamping and embossing the silhouettes. The Background on the Pacific Point card is the Friendly Words jumbo wheel which makes an awesome background. The sentiment is from the Level 1 Hostess set Best Yet which is reason enough to hold a demonstration! It has six great sayings in it which I’m sure you will see here throughout the next 12 months!

When I had finished the card it looked a bit bare in the top left corner so I went looking for a butterfly to use and can you believe I dont have one set with a nice little butterfly in it so I’m just going to have to remedy that!

I have Priceless which has a whimsical larger butterfly but that wouldnt have suited this card so I grabbed my retired Live your Dream set and just used that butterfly until I work out which set with a little butterfly I should get!

I stamped the butterfly once on Pink Pirouette and once on Baja Breeze cut them out with my awesome paper snips and mounted them on with the thin edging from the wonderful Stampin Dimensionals so it gives the impression they are in flight.

Here’s a close up of the butterflies so you can see what I mean.

Hope you do have a lovely (and safe) Easter weekend and make some lovely memories with family and friends!