Happy Sunday to you all!

I had my very first Catalogue launch over the past two days and what fun it was.  Now some may as why I did it two days in a row and it was to allow for people who dont work  could come on the Friday and those who do work could come on the Saturday.  I had two small groups each day so both days were a relaxed experienced rather than one big stressful experience.

I highlighted a couple of new products and demonstrated the ‘inked up folder’ technique I tried the other week which was a wow with them. We made three make n takes on the day – a card, little bag and a bookmark.

The card ….

As soon as I saw the ‘Just Believe’ stamp set I knew I had to have it. I love those silhouette images and the little frames are cute too!  I can see this being a very versatile set.

The Bag …

I just love making these bags – they are just so so easy – oooh a Queasy Bag!  The stamped image on the front comes from the lovely Level 1 Hostess set Silhouettes Sentiments.

The Bookmark

This is another of those ‘must have’ products – the Owl Punch and how cute are these bookmarks??  Caitie actually sat in on both demonstrations and yesterday decided to add Crystal Effects to the eyes of the owl and I must say that looks really good – thanks Caitie for the idea!!

The Specials

I did offer some ‘launch’ and ‘birthday’ specials yesterday which I’m happy to pass a couple on to you ….

• spend $100 with me and receive free postage/handling and receive a free copy of the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue
• book a workshop with me and receive a bonus Classic Ink Pad and when your workshop sales reach $300 receive a bonus ‘a la carte’ stamp
• join my Stamp A Latte team and receive a bonus gift voucher for $35 from me as well as the free In Colour pack from Stampin Up!

I did offer the girls attending a couple more specials for attending my Launch.  These offers are valid until Tuesday 21st September although the free In Colour Pack from Stampin Up is on offer until 30th September.

You can email or ring me if you wish to take advantage of these great specials.

Today I had a workshop for a group of ladies who are new customers and I wanted to make their ‘make n take’ simple but elegant and the hostess had told me they wanted to see the Extra Large 2 Step Bird punch in action.

So this is what the girls made today as their make n take …

How sweet are these cards?

They are so so quick and easy to make. Its also a great way to use up some of that Designer Series Paper that you have in your stash. Actually the ones we made today used the 6×6 paper sheets from the Patterns Pack II Level 1 Hostess Gift. I also used the awesome Stampin Up! Notecards that come 20 to a pack with envelopes for just $9.50!  What a bargain!

These pads of paper are so versatile and great for card making or 6×6 layouts or matting.  In each 6×6 Patterns Pack you get and assortment of 5 colours in 60 sheets of double sided paper – and all for free – just by hosting a Workshop and qualifying for the Level 1 Hostess Benefits.

My cards above were inspired by a sweet card I received from the lovely Genelle Little which is here for your viewing pleasure ….

I met Genelle through the ESAD online forum I run for Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators from New Zealand and Australia.  Its a great group for inspiration and getting ideas from other demonstrators so if youre a demonstrator located in Australia or New Zealand click on the link and join today!

By now I’m sure you are aware of how much I love my job and how much I love Stampin’ Up!® and their products.

I had a Workshop on Saturday night and I wanted to show these ladies how you can make lovely cards quickly and easily. These ladies are all young mums so I know how precious their time is and how the budget doesnt always extend to paying $7 or $8 for one greeting card when purchasing them from a shop.

Last year at Sydney Regional Training for Stampin’ Up! we had a lovely lady visit from the home office in Utah, USA and she was telling us how good the Stampin’ Up! notecards are and you’ve seen me share projects using the Notecards since then.  Well here are three very quick and easy cards using the notecards, Thoughts and Prayers stamp set and 2 punches.

How sweet are these cards?

They are so easy – it was just a matter of stamping the tree from Thoughts and Prayers onto the notecard and then using the trio flower punch to punch out the flowers. I then inserted the brads and attached them to the card using glue dots.  The sentiment is stamped onto a scrap piece of whisper white and then punched out using the large over punch.  I’ve then popped that onto a scalloped oval punch out and stuck it on my card with Stampin Dimensionals. Add the ribbon and its done!  How easy?  Now with these lovely cards you could pop on any sentiment you wanted to as they’d suit birthdays or anything.

The beauty of these Notecards is that you get 20 cards and envelopes in a pack for just $9.50 – thats less than 50 cents a card!

Now dont forget that today is the last day for the Punch Deal of the Week where you can purchase any of the following punches at 30% off!

So ring or email me now so you don’t miss out on this great bargain – this deal finishes at 11pm tonight and I’ll have a brand new deal for you tomorrow!

Hi everyone … I hope you are enjoying this last week of school – well those in NSW anyways.  Dont forget its Easter this weekend so make sure all your Easter Bunny preparations are all done! I’m sure there will be a huge rush on carrots over the next few days!

Here’s a card that I created for my mum as its her birthday on Thursday.

Mum loves roses and I love this rose!

My last two Stamp A Stack groups made this card and they just loved it!  Its quite easy to put together and the hardest part is just the embossing!

The Pink Pirouette layer is stamped in versamark then clear embossed.  The rose is stamped in Whisper White onto Whisper White cardstock and then clear embossed. Its then coloured using the Aqua Painter and Pretty in Pink Classic Ink Reinker and highlighted with the Regal Rose Classic Ink Reinker.  You will need your Aqua Painter to be very wet for this technique to spread the ink over the whole flower.

I would just love to show you how to make this card and you and your friends could make it for free just by holding a demonstration! So all you need to do is to email or ring me to book your demonstration in.

Now for my special bonus offer ….

The Stampin Up! ‘year’ goes from April to March and during that year you can achieve Sales and Recruiting goals and receive awards at Convention to achieving set goals. The first level Sales goal is $20,000 and I am just $500 short of this amount and am asking for your help so I can walk the stage, receive a special $20k pin and receive a bonus free stamp set at Convention in May.

Now there are only two days left to achieve this goal so I know I’m asking alot but if you would like to help me I am offering some special bonuses for those who place an outside order and pay on or before Wednesday. These offers are only good through me and only available until 8pm Wednesday 31st March and they are ….

1. The first five orders of  $70 or more will receive either a bonus Designer Brad set or pack of Designer Series Paper of your choice
2. The first four orders of $150 or more will receive a level one hostess set
3. Purchase my ‘must have adhesives set‘ for $60 and receive a bonus adhesive remover! This set consists of Snail Adhesive, Snail Refill, Stampin Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive, 2-way glue pen and Sticky Strip. This set is valued at $65.85 and is just $60 plus you get the Adhesive Remover valued at $3.75!

All orders received from now until 8pm Wednesday will go into the draw for a pack of Fine Supernova Stampin Glitter – this consists of 5 jars of superfine glitter and is valued at $26.95

All orders received for $150 or more from now until 8pm Wednesday will go into the draw for a free ‘Wanted’ stamp set.

Payment can be made by bank transfer, cash or credit card and must be receive by 8pm Wednesday 31st March, 2010.

So ring or email me now to place your order and help me ‘walk the stage’ at convention! Remember these offers close at 8pm Wednesday 31st March, 2010.

I’ve been playing this week with some templates and tutorials I got from Lauren Meader at Paper Trey Ink in her Timeless Templates range. She has some very good templates there and they all come with full colour ideas for the templates with lots of ideas and designs with them with full instructions and all for just US$5 – bargain in my book!

Here is a set I made using the “Get a Handle on it” template.

How sweet is this little set? I’ve just printed the templates out onto whisper white cardstock and stamped it in the Soft Subtles using the new Soft Summer stamp set that will be in the upcoming Spring Mini Catalogue.

This great little box is 8.5cm square so you could use it for lots of different gifts and it allows you to tailor it for different peoples’ likes and desires.

You could fill it with ….

• • • candle
    • chocolatles
• stamps
• coffee
• hot chocolate mix
• small mug
• cupcake
• muffin
• cookies
• jewellry
• embellishments

Now I have made this for a special friend so I’m hoping she will like this little box and whats inside!

Here is a small gift card to go with the gift.

I’ve done the white panel the same as the box and adhered it onto Certainly Celery. The oval sentiment is from All Oval stamp set – another great set from the upcoming Spring Mini Catalogue. I’ve used my Stampin Write Markers to colour the stamp direct onto the rubber and then stamped it onto whisper white and punched it out using the large oval punch. The scallop oval you see here will also be available from the Spring Mini Catalogue.

Email or ring me to put your name down on my mailing list for the Spring Mini Catalogue for when I post them out over the next couple of weeks.

HOpe you like this little set and if you’d like to make one of these then please dont hesitate to contact me for further details on this class.

I had a very productive day yesterday which did wonders for my self esteem! I made 7 cards and one of them was for today’s Diva Sketch Challenge so it was good to be ahead even if only for a little while!

Here is today’s sketch.

Alicia provides us with such nice sketches each week and I’m not really sure how she thinks up new ones all the time!

This one has lots of possibilities and can be used for many different cards.

Here is my card for the Sketch Challenge …

I took the opportunity to use some sets that will be in the upcoming Spring Mini Catalogue which starts 1st August – so yes Spring is coming and its lookin real nice!

When I first saw this set this image from Soft Summer it screamed Wattle to me and right now we have a lovely Wattle tree in full flower next to our drive way – well its actually next door’s Wattle but it does look good.

The Wattle is one of our native trees here in Australia and I just love the bright yellow of its flowers and its also happens to be a favourite of my oldest daughter too.

This is a 2-step stamp set so I first stamped the stamp in So Saffron then went over the top using my Mellow Moss and Apricot Appeal markers and used the Stamp-a-majig to position the stamp. The Stamp-a-majig is a definite must for this stamp set and it takes all the guessing out of 2-step stamping and it also has a number of other uses as well – a definite ‘must-have’ tool!

The Scalloped Oval is done using the new punch which will also be available in the upcoming Spring Mini Catalogue. The oval image is from Oval All which is another new set in the Spring Mini Catalogue.

If you would like to see all the new stamps, papers and accessories in action then email or ring me today to book your workshop in and be the first to see these products in action.

Have a wonderful Saturday and see you next time!