Good Morning … and what a lovely Saturday it is – blue skies!! Yes you read that right!!

Its Saturday and that means another Utah Divas Sketch Challenge and here is this week’s sketch …

Sketch #174

I really didnt want to do hearts or valentines and I wanted to use some stamps that I earned for free from the recent Bookathon Demonstrators took part in and this is what I came up with …

Topsy-Turvy Birthday

Recipe
Stamps: Topsy-Turvy Celebrations (Summer Mini)
Paper:  Peach Parfait, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Flirtatious DSP
Ink: Peach Parfait, Regal Rose, Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  Stampamajig, Stampin Dimensionals, Paper Snips, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch.

I just love this cake!! It’s a wee bit funky isnt it??

It makes for a very cute card and it must be ok as my nearly 15yo daughter gave it her ‘squeal of approval‘!

This card is fun and quite easy to make and I’d love to show you how at your workshop – all you need is a few friends and the desire to have a lot of fun!  Contact me today to book your workshop in and start earning free stamps with Sale•a•bration and more when you have a qualifying workshop!

Be sure to check out the Utah Divas Blog for all the other gorgeous creations created by the Saturday Sketch Challenge Design team!

Everyone needs a little Kindness dont you think and yes it matters!!

Have you noticed the Kindness Matters stamp set?? its on page 71 of the Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalogue (AU/NZ) – it is just the sweetest little set with three lovely butterflies, two sentiments and two little motif/decal images – its just gorgeousness in a box for just $22.95 (wood)!

Here’s a card I made to go with the Kindness Matters mini album I shared last week …

Recipe
Stamps: Kindness Matters, Creative Elements
Paper: Beau Chateau DSP, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Inks: Jet Black Stazon, Marina Mist, Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Big Shot, Designer Frames Embossing folder set, Lots of Tags Sizzlits, Pearl Jewels, Stampin Dimensionals, Stampin Sponges, Marina Mist Satin Ribbon

How sweet did this card turn out – I just love it!! The Kindness Matters goes so so well with the Beau Chateau DSP!

I hope you like this card as much as I do and if you’d like to see how to make this card or any others I have shared here on my blog then please feel free to contact me to arrange a demonstration.  Now is the perfect time to be a Hostess as you not only get all the gorgeous Hostess Benefits but you also get free Sale•a•bration sets as well!  You’ll need to be quick as I only have a couple of spots left for February!

Morning all!!

I’m busy finishing off some wedding samples for a customer who’s coming to view them this afternoon – so hard working out pricing as I dont want to charge too much yet at the same time dont want to rip myself off for my work and time!

Its another Saturday – last Saturday of our school holidays here before the girls embark on a new year of schooling and with my youngest starting High School it is a bitter sweet time for me but glad they’ll both be in the same school now so wont need to worry if one is running late on the bus or not!

Being Saturday that means its time for another Utah Divas Sketch Challenge and here is this week’s sketch …

Diva Sketch 173

Easy enough … and look no rotating or anything …

So Sweet!

Recipe
Stamps: Up in the Air (Hostess – Summer Mini), Charming (Summer Mini)
Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Subtles Paper Stack
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Bashful Blue, Peach Parfait, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Scallop border punch, Saleabration Organza ribbon, stampin write markers, rhinestone jewels.

How pretty and ‘springy’ is this card??  and what’s a ‘spring’ card without butterflies??

I love how this turned out and it seriously came about in like 25 minutes – must be one of my quickest sketch cards ever!!  This will be one of the cards for our next Stamp A Stack so if you’d like to make a couple of these be sure to book your spot for the 11th February!

Now be sure to hop over to the Utah Divas Blog and see what lovelies the other Designing Divas have got up to this week!

Wow is all I can say and thank you so much for all the gorgeous comments about my Enchanted Album I shared for the ESAD Sale•a•bration Blog Hop.

Recently we ran a Secret Stampin Sister swap within our ESAD group and I made that same album for my sister using Beau Chateau Designer Series Papers and the Kindness Matters Stamp set

Kindness Album

Those little butterflies from the Kindness Matters fit perfectly into the frame on the Beau Chateau Designer paper dont you think?

I am so in-love with these papers and the colour combinations and the ‘vintage-ness’ of the papers.  The greeting on this little pocket is from the Happiness Shared stamp set – sorry its hard to see.

The blue and soft suede seem to go so well together as well … not sure if you can see them in the photo but I have staggered those tiny pearls within the image stamped on the base page.  The flourish image comes from the Creative Elements stamp set.

I have had such a dilemma using these two pieces of paper but they seem to fit well with this double page spread.  Roosters and wire and the flowers in the rooster paper are on the memories paper but larger so they were perfect to cut out and layer on here with the ‘Memories’ word cut out.  A nice pocket for putting in some journalling or thoughts. Or maybe pop a journalling box on the left page and slot a few photo’s into the pocket – you decide!

Border with 'Pearls and Lace'

I love the simplicity of this page! The design is busy enough and if you added too much more it would be too much. So a simply border using the Lace Ribbon Border punch and some of our gorgeous adhesive pearl jewels.  So feminine and so very vintage.

I do hope you like this version of my little album and I do so hope that my sister liked it too!  I will be making a tutorial for this album so stay tuned for that!

Thanks for stoppin by

I did my first workshop for 2012 the other week and it was good to get back into the swing of creating and sharing what I love!

As these ladies were a mixed bunch I thought I’d show how versatile our stamps are and have had the Easy Events stamp set since the pre-order back in August but hadnt actually inked it up so thought this was the perfect opportunity!

Easy Events is a great set with 8 sweet little stamps and all with different greetings so you would have something for any occasion your celebrating!

I made a little set of 8 little gift cards and here is the first four ….

Cute hey?  Wish I’d thought to use the little Christmas one at Christmas!!

Here is the other four …

Cuter still!!

I love that tree Stamp!

This set makes for a great quick and easy card and as I said before – for any occasion.  Now it comes in Clear Mount or Wood and I’ll share a tip with you that I do for these types of sets.  As you have an image and words on each stamp I tend to slice the words off the bottom of the stamp. If I had wood mount I’ll mount the words separately on the side of the block.  This way I can use the image by itself or I can always use my stamp-a-majig to place the words under the image as they should be.  It also gives me the opportunity to mix n match the greetings with the images!  So for example I could use the two birds with the ‘sending you love’ sentiment – now that would make a sweet Valentine card!

I have more projects using this set which you’ll be seeing over the next few days so stay tuned!!

If you would like to see how very versatile this little set is then please contact me today to book in your workshop – dont forget Sale•a•bration starts on 24th January so everyone gets to earn free stamps & accessories!

Good Morning!!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed your time with family and friends.  There is always such a huge build up to Christmas and its all over so quickly sometimes it can be a bit of a let down but this year I totally enjoyed it – well except for a few teary times when I thought of Dad and his first Christmas without mum but after I spoke to him on Christmas day he said he’d had a really nice day with my sister’s husbands family – they included him in their celebrations which is so nice and such a relief.

This was the first year I didnt buy my own presents. I gave a list to the girls and hubby and said ‘go shop’!! Well needless to say they did good and I think I should have done that years ago and now they’ve done it once they can do it again!

My Christmas eve was spent getting the food I needed to be as fresh as possible like fruit and bread rolls and croissants, then it was onto the gift packaging – and yes I have to make my own whenever I can – not really sure why as you can get such lovely bags and boxes these days but as I explained to hubby – I feel guilty if I dont! Silly isnt it??

There are always some we buy gift cards for so this is this year’s gift card pockets …

These little Santa pockets were so so easy to create … just some red and white cardstock and the tasteful trims die. Then you just add some black ribbon and a belt buckle!  Now the easiest way to make a belt buckle is to grab a can of Coke or Fanta or your favourite soft drink and once consumed remove the ring pull from it and thread your ribbon through that and wallah … instant buckle!

Now dont take that pull tab off before you finish drinking from the can or you’ll cut your upper lip and we dont want that! I suppose you could pour your drink into a glass but only creates more washing up and we cant have that!

Here’s the pocket revealing the gift card …

Each year I bundle up some cards that I make during the year to give to the families on Christmas Day and these are the gift boxes I made this year ….

Its a simple design that I got from Splitcoast Stampers but since their paper size is different to ours it means our cards are bigger so after a few adjustments and making the change to centimetres the gift boxes were then assembled with little fuss and quite easy to do. Now you dont just have to put cards in them – you could put bags of biscuits, lollies, coffee beans or bottles of marinades or candles or anything. I’ve used the lovely Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper with some Cherry Cobbler Cardstock and some Vanilla Satin Ribbon for the bow.

Here’s one of the bags up close …

There’s six cards and envies in each box and I try to choose a selection of cards to suite each person. So one family has younger kids so I try to pop in some birthday cards for young kids and to the newly weds I put in a baby card or two but for grandma its mainly birthday, get well and thinking of you.

Now to buy that many cards commercially they’d be paying at least $30 if not more so my work during the year pays off and I dont have to spend time and money in the shops buying something I’m not sure if they would use or not.

Now in saying that in previous years I hadnt had much feedback other than the ‘thank you’ so I was asking hubby if he thought I should keep giving them to which he said yes you make great cards. Now I dont know if he was just saying that to make me happy but on Christmas Day everyone commented on how lovely the cards were – even a couple of the hubby’s mentioned it to me how much work I must put in them each year!!  So that tends to say it all and I thank God for that confirmation!

Stay tuned to my blog or Stampin Up! site for details of special classes coming up in January – we’ll be doing some Valentines Gifts and Packaging as well as a few Back to School ideas.

Dont forget Sale•a•bration starts on 24th January where you can earn free stamps, papers and accessories just by buying Stampin ‘ Up! products or hosting a workshop or joining my team.  So if you’d like more details about Sale•a•bration ior joining my team please feel free to ring or email me anytime at all!  Contact me to get your free Sale•A•Bration Catalogue today!

A couple of month’s ago my gorgeous friend Melissa Garland asked me to help her with a sample for her Presentation at Stampin’ Up! Regionals and she asked for this Side Swing Card.

So I got to thinking and here is the card I came up with …

this is a sweet little card and uses a single piece of A5 for the card base – its just the score lines that need to be mastered!  I love the flowers in this stamp set and the paper I’ve used comes from the Cheerful Treat Designer Series Paper pack which is available as a Hostess gift.

I made another of these for my recent Latte Project Class with a Christmas theme …

This one uses the Letters to Santa Designer Series paper and the Merry & Type stampset and for the inside I’ve inserted  a little pocket for popping in a gift card.

You can download the tutorial at SplitCoast Stampers here or contact me to book a workshop and I’ll show you how to make one of these to take home.

Dont forget to check out the December Frenzy – just click the banner above!

Thanks for stoppin by

Here’s a little break from all the Christmas Cards I’ve been  sharing lately!

In October we had the special purchase of the Stitched Stockings stamp set and the Stocking Builder punch which is now available through the Summer Mini Catalogue. These two items were specifically designed for each other and no doubt for Christmas.  Now as you know I like to challenge myself and use non-Christmas sets for Christmas cards and items and I wanted to challenge myself to design a card using the Stitched Stockings stamp set and the Stocking Builder punch for anything but a Christmas card!

Here is a couple of baby cards I made using the Stitched Stockings stamp set and the Stocking Builder punch ….

Now yesterday Stampin’ Up! made an announcement regarding the Stocking Builder Punch.

Our occasion-specific mini catalogues allow us the opportunity to share the latest seasonal products with you and your customers, and we often carry over products from our mini catalogues into the following Idea Book & Catalogue. This time, however, we have decided not to carry over the Stocking Builder Punch (item 124095) from the 2011-2012 Summer Mini Catalogue into the next Idea Book & Catalogue. Instead we will offer other great designs in its place–not to mention a trendy, new design planned for next holiday season.

Once the current inventory of this punch has been depleted, it will no longer be available for purchase. We hope many Stampin’ Up! stockings will adorn cards and brighten holiday projects this season and look forward to seeing what you create with the next seasonal design.

So once the current supplies of this punch are depleted it will no longer be for sale.  If you like this punch and have not purchased it as yet then I urge you to place your order as soon as possible so you wont be disappointed and miss out on this awesome punch.

Here is a slideshow of some of the cards I’ve made using the Stitched Stockings stamp set and Stocking builder punch ….

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Remember …

• I have a special from now until 31st December, 2011 – all orders receive free shipping – thats a saving of 5%!  So the more you spend the more you’ll save!!
• December Frenzy is still happening – save up to 50% on products included in the Frenzy – click here to view the flyer

Contact me by email, phone or via my Facebook page to place your order

Friday was the last day of school here in Sydney for 2011 and that means Teacher’s Gifts!

I wanted to do something a little more than just a box of chocolates so I made some post-it note holders and Caitie made some Whoopie Pies to pop in with the chocolates.

Here’s all the Post-It note holders I made using the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper Pack which will be part of the freebies for next year’s Sale•a•bration!

Actually the one of the bottom right uses paper from the Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper pack.  I’ve popped in some Stampin’ Up! pens I picked up at Memento Mall at the Stampin’ Up! Convention in Melbourne.

Here’s a pic of a single Post It Note Holder ..

How nice is this paper?? I’m sorry to say that you wont be able to buy it … but I’m very happy to say that you can earn it for FREE during Sale•a•bration! There is also a gorgeous stamp set that matches the design on this paper – now you’re getting excited arent you??

Here’s the inside of the holder …

Comes complete with 2012 calendar!

The teachers were all wrapped with their gifts and here’s to 2012 and also means both girls will be in the same school with Emily starting High School – now just where did my babies go??

If you would like more information about Sale•a•bration! or to book a workshop in during the Sale•a•bration! period which goes from 24th January to 31st March 2012 then please contact me today to arrange your copy of the Sale•a•bration! Catalogue or book your date.

Here’s another of the cards that I found from my Christmas in July that I hadn’t shared with you.

Eggplant Bauble

This is another very queasy card and I think I’ll be making a few of these today and tomorrow as I’ve found I don’t have quite enough cards to send out.  This card is great and you can do quite a few and in different colours too!

Here is another the same but done in Marina Mist …

Marina Bauble

The greeting comes from my much beloved Many Merry Messages set – this stamp has been used so much since I’ve bought it the wording has rubbed off the label!

The bauble comes from the lovely Tree Trimmings set and you could use any of the bauble’s in this set for this card – I just love the design on this bauble.