A Pinch and a Punch

for the last of the month... I can't believe another month is over with and tomorrow is May already.

It was my girlfriend Robyn's birthday {waving to you Robyn} during the week and this was the card I made for her. I already know that you were very spoilt (this is my jealous face -.- ) and I hope you had a chance to play with your new toys and had a lovely day, all about you!! 

Stamp set: Elements of Style, Curly Cute
Card: Natural Ivory, Blushing Bride, Soft Suede
Ink: Soft Suede, Pink Pirouette and Pear Pizazz
Accessories: Gold Smooch Spritz,Chantilly Crochet Trim, Distressing Tool, Sponge, Top Note Bigz Die, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Dies, Metallic Brads. 

Back to school/work tomorrow {sigh}. I hope everyone is looking forward to a great term ahead.

Just Believe

A very quick post today. This is a clean and simple card which is always good when you're short on time.  

Stamp Set: Just Believe, Curly Cute
Card: Whisper White, Pacific Point
Ink: Pacific Point
Accessories: Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

Have a great day :)

Happy Birthday Oliver!!

A friend of mine's son, turned 5 years old today. I really enjoyed making this card even if it did take me two attempts until I got it right...The first time I hadn't left enough room to put the boy in the balloon and of course, didn't realise until I'd finished colouring and sponging..lol. I got the inspiration for this card from the wonderful Teneale Williams. 

Stamp Set: Bring on the Cake, All in the Family, Create a Cupcake
Card: Whisper White,Pacific Point
Designer Paper: Brights designer pack
Ink: Basic Grey, Pacific Point, Marina Mist, Tangerine Tango, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Daffodil Yellow 
Accessories:Cupcake Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Sweet Treats Cup, Blender pen, Bday Party Rub-ons, Round Tab Punch.  


Oh, and I've been meaning to tell you that since the end of last year, Stampin' Up! demonstrators can now accept credit cards for payment. Wahoo - it's been a long time coming for us Kiwi's and we are thrilled - and I'm sure you are too. There are no fees or additional expense for this service either, which is even better.

ANZAC Day

Did you manage to get down to an ANZAC service today to pay your respect? I attended the parade and service at Hobsonville, which was amazing. Such a great turn out despite the very wet weather. It always makes me feel so patriotic when I hear the bugle and see all the men and women in their uniforms. For those of you who didn't know - I use to be in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, which now seems a life time ago... Funny though, that when I popped into the RSA afterwards it didn't seem long at all. I'm always amazed at how you can pick up with some people as if you've never been away. It was a fun few hours and hopefully, we'll all have another get together, the same time next year.

"Lest We Forget" 

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them"

Happy Wedding Day

I just thought I'd share a wedding card with you, that I made for a work colleague who was married yesterday. It's almost monochromatic because I've only used two colours - very vanilla and naturals ivory. It's a very plain and simple design and I'm quite pleased with the result.

Stamp set: Priceless, Occasional Quotes
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory
Accessories: Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon, Scallop Trim Border punch, Vintage Wallpaper Impressions Embossing folder.

Another year older...

and a year wiser... A good friend and work colleague celebrated her birthday on Sunday. I dropped this card into her letterbox, late Saturday night because I knew that she was out and about early on her special day. I hope you had a wonderful day Tammie.

I've cased this card from a blog I found while blog hopping one day, but I'm sorry I can't remember who. If it was you, please come forward and make yourself known, so I can give you the credit you deserve.

You can't really see in the photo but I've twisted the ribbon around while attaching it to the sticky strip underneath. I've seen this on lots of projects and is something I've wanted to try for a while. I quite like the end result.

Stamp Set: Nature Walk
Cardstock: River Rock, Very Vanilla, Early Expresso
Ink: Early Expresso, River Rock, Ridinghood Red, Regal Rose
Accessories: Early Expresso Satin Ribbon, Distressing Tool (Cutter Kit), Blender pen.

It's a stunning day here in Auckland today which is a vast contrast to the cold and windy day we had yesterday. 

Talk to you again soon :)

Liebster Blog Award

Look what I got!!  I feel extremely honoured to receive this blog award from Juliette Chapman. Thank you so much - it made my day. Check out Juliette's blog HERE as she has many inspiring projects and is one very talented lady. I was fortunate enough to meet Juliette and attend one of her classes last year, while I stayed on in Sydney, after Convention.  If you ever get the opportunity, I thoroughly recommend that you attend a class of Juliette's - they are loads of fun and very inspirational.

Anyway, back to the award...The premise behind it, is to draw attention to new blogs, or blogs with fewer than 300 followers. So, now it is my turn to pass on this award to three other people whose blogs inspire me. This is so difficult, as there are tons of very creative people out there! Here are the three ladies that I've chosen (after deliberating for a very long time and finally making a final decision):

Karen Rogers - my amazing upline who I regularly get inspiration from.
Denise Ibbett - a fellow demonstrator from the Creative Inkers Team in Papakura, Auckland who does awesome work.
Bev Watt - a wonderfully creative demonstrator from across the ditch in the Gold Coast, Australia.

Thinking of You

I've been practising my brayering lately - thought I better, since I'm holding a brayering class soon and have cased this from the amazingly talented Michelle Zindorf.  Michelle has some amazing projects with step by step instructions and makes it look so easy. Pop over to her blog and have a look - you'll be really impressed.  I'm quite pleased with my effort although I've got a  long way to go until I'm even half as good as Michelle. This little bird is from the Silhouette Sentiments set which you can earn for FREE if you host a qualifying workshop. Email me HERE if you want to know more.

Happy Birthday Baby!

My baby girl celebrated her 15th birthday on Wednesday which is unbelievable!  Where did that time go?  It only seemed like yesterday that she was born...{sigh}.

Bridgette is sporty and outgoing but she still loves all things girly including make up, jewellery and clothes. I was really stuck on what to make her until I came across this beautiful card from Teneale Williams. Teneale has a clean and elegant style which I love. I would have liked to have added a bit of vintage but with time restrictions, I ended up keeping it exactly the same. Why change something so gorgeous?  Bridgette loved her card - so, mission accomplished.

And, here's the inside...

Stamp Set: Butterfly Prints, Flight of the Butterfly, Upsy Daisy
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Fine Supernova Pink Glitter, Basic Pearls, Sticky Strip, Extra Large Butterfly Punch, Corner Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Circles #2 Originals Die, Dimensionals.

TGIF and the school holidays :)

Take a Walk on the Wild Side..

Well, not quite the wild side but a nature walk... I wanted to update my display board and show off some new products from the Autumn/Winter mini catalogue so went blog hopping, and found this lovely card from Jennifer Weide which I have cased. It uses four new products including my fave Nature Walk stamp set and coordinating designer paper, a beveled windowpane and the new framed tulips embossing folder. Check out Jennifer's blog - she's certainly got it going on and has lots of inspiring projects.

Stamp set: Nature Walk, Occasional Greetings
Cardstock: So Saffron, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Designer Paper: Botanical Gazette
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Beveled Windowpane, Antique Brads, Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder.

Happy hump day everyone :)

Technique Samples

I just love this Technique Album we made with Jacque - and I'm sure you will too. It's a great reference guide which you can add to, as you learn more stamping and papercraft techniques.  I'm holding a class on how to make this gorgeous album on Tuesday 19 April, so click here to email me, if you want to join us. It might look complicated but believe me, it's easy to make. More details on the class are to the left.

Once a month, I hold a Technique class where you will make two different projects using that particular technique.  You'll also receive instructions and a sample so you can add it to your album.

Short and Sweet..

Just a short and sweet post today.  This is a card I made for a friend, to thank him for doing some jobs around my house a short while ago. The stamp set Totally Tools makes it so easy and was perfect for what I wanted.

Stamp Set: Totally Tools
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Jumbo Eyelet, Twine, Crimper, Distressing Tool (Cutter Kit), Modern Label Punch, Twill Tape.

If you're coming along to my Autumn/Winter Catalogue launch this afternoon - I'll see you soon.  If you haven't booked in yet and wanted to come, contact me now because there are still a few spots left.

Have a great Saturday :)

Another Year Wiser...

It was my good friend (and wonderful upline) Karen's birthday last week. This was the card that I made using Nature Walk (I told you I was going to get a lot of use out of it). I've inked up a clear block (size D) with Crumb Cake ink to create the background and am quite happy with how it turned out, especially when it was another late night creation.

Stamp Set: Nature Walk, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Victoria Crochet Trim, Vintage Trinkets, Jewellery Tag Punch, Spiral Border Punch, Antique Brads, Neutrals Designer Buttons, Linen Thread.

I hope you're having a great week.

Autumn Days

I played with the new French Foliage stamp set from the Autumn/Winter mini over the weekend. It is a set that can be made into a masculine or feminine card, so is very versatile.  I wanted to use my water colour paper but couldn't find it - (I'd obviously put it in a safe place) so used Very Vanilla cardstock instead. I sprayed this lightly with water and then stamped the French writing and three different leaves randomly over it in Cajun Craze, More Mustard and So Saffron - real Autumn colours. The colours a bled a bit, which was the effect I was after. After I tucked the linen thread behind the collage piece and adhered the brads, I was a bit stumped and didn't quite know what I was going to do next. I'm happy with the end result though and will pop this away in my little emergency stash. 

Stamp Set: French Foliage, Short and Sweet
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Peach Parfait, Cajun Craze
Ink: So Saffron, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Peach Parfait
Accessories: Linen Thread, 1" Circle Punch, Old Olive Designer Button (Brights pack), Old Olive brads (Brights pack), Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots.  

Strength and Hope

Here is a lovely swap that I received at our WOW PaperKRafters team training last weekend. It was made by the lovely Sarah Roche. Sarah has used the new Strength and Hope stamp and although the photo doesn't show it very much, the butterfly is covered in dazzling diamonds glitter and looks gorgeous.

As part of their Making a Difference program, Stampin' Up! is proud to partner with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® (BCRF) in the Strength & Hope Campaign. From 1 April-31 July 2011, Stampin' Up! will donate $2* from the sale of each Strength & Hope Set to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

*Stampin' Up! is donating $2 from this purchase to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. BCRF is dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and translational research worldwide. For more information about BCRF, visit www.bcrfcure.org.

123663 Strength & Hope wood-mount set $43.95
124232 Strength & Hope clear-mount set $34.95

Contact me today to order this beautiful set and support BCRF as they work to find a cure for breast cancer!

Although I don't like the fact that the end of daylight saving signals the end of Summer, I do love, love, love that extra hour sleep we get.

Hope you've had a great weekend :)

Nature Walk

We had our paperKRafters team training last weekend, organised by our illustrious leader Karen. It was a really fun afternoon and Karen taught us two great projects (which I'll showcase at a later time). We also made swaps and for my swap, I used Nature Walk (the stamp set I won at our Regional Training) and the new Framed Tulips Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. I sponged around the edges of the frame, which makes it really stand out.

Stamp Set: Nature Walk, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Cardstock: Early Expresso, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Old Olive
Ink: Early Expresso, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Vintage Brad, Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Jewellery Tag, Linen Thread, Distressing Tool (from the Cutter Kit), Sponge, Framed Tulips Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

I hope you're having an enjoyable Saturday and I'll see you again real soon featuring some more new products from the Autumn/Winter mini catalogue :)