Strength and Hope - Part I

I held a Stamp-a-Stack class over the weekend and this was one of the cards we made. Initially I wasn't that keen on the butterfly in this set, but after using it numerous times (for my three samples and then demonstrating it another three times), it has grown on me and I really like it now. And, it's an easy image to cut around. Thanks ladies for the laughs and great company. 

Stamp Set: Strength and Hope
Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla, Early Expresso
Ink: Early Expresso, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Scallop Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, Basic Pearls, Early Expresso Stampin' Marker.

Unbelievable!

To give you some indication of how fast time is going - my daughter Nicole is returning from her student exchange next week. She would have been away for 11 months. It is unbelievable how fast time has gone, even for those of us who were carrying on with life as usual, here in New Zealand. It just feels like a few months ago I was preparing for her to leave. She has had an amazing experience in the little town of Emmetsburg in Iowa.  And, because she has been so happy, it has been so much easier for me to cope with. More, than I ever imagined possible. Nicole has very mixed feelings about coming home which is totally understandable because she doesn't know when she'll see her wonderful host family and American friends again. I had intended on sharing the little stationery set I made for Linda (Nicole's host mum), but in my haste to post it off, I forgot to take a photo. Don't you hate that when that happens! 

Oh well...here's a photo of some more gift voucher holders I made earlier in the week instead.

 

Stamp Set: Baroque Motifs, Pocket Silhouettes
Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Marina Mist, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry
Accesories: Envelope, Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals

Hope you have a fabulous weekend. 

Deals of the Week # 4

Well, here it is - the last week of the May specials.  This promotion ends on 31st May so contact me HERE if you'd like to place an order.
 




If you don't own an Idea Book & Catalogue click HERE to see the online one. If you'd like your own copy, contact me to order one for only $10 with free shipping, plus also receive the current Autumn/Winter mini catalogue for FREE. What a bargain!!  If any of these items catch your eye - be sure to contact me to place your order. 

Casing the Catalogue

The great thing about the Stampin' Up catalogues is that if you are ever stuck for inspiration, have lost your mojo or you're just pressed for time, there are literally, hundreds of ideas at your finger tips. I've CASEd these from the Autumn/Winter mini catalogue and they were the make n' takes for my catalogue launch back in April. 

Stamp set: Create a Cupcake, Clearly for You
Cardstock: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Ridinghood Red, Old Olive
Ink: Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Ridinghood Red
Accessories: Build a Cupcake Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Neutrals Designer Buttons, Linen Thread

Delectable Sweet Treats

I held a Sweet Treats class a while back and the ladies who attended had a choice for their second card; to make either the magnifying glass card or the mini M&M's card which uses the Something Sweet stamp set. This set is very versatile and costs $42.95 (clear mount) for 14 stamps and the Sweet Treat cups are $7.95 for 12. Contact me HERE if you want to learn how to make one of these cute cards.

For the magnifying glass card, we used the retired Level one hostess set Organic Grace.  I saw a similar idea on someone's blog quite a while ago (sorry, I don't remember who).  I sponged the sky background using a template that I made by using a piece of acetate and cutting scallop shapes randomly around the edges.  Then when I sponged, I moved the template around so the clouds were positioned haphazardly to make it more sky-like.  Here's the butterfly seen through the magnifying glass...

And, here's the mini M&M sweets card.  The little faux M&M's that are scattered at the bottom of the card have been made by punching out coloured cardstock, writing an M on them with a white gel pen and finally, covering them completely with crystal effects to give it a shiny raised effect.  The wonderfully talented Sally from our team, gave me the idea on how to do this and it looks really effective, almost as good as the real thing but nowhere near as tasty, lol.

Weekly Deals #3

During the month of May, Stampin’ Up! is offering several discounted products as ‘Deals of the Week.’ There are no limits and no minimum purchase required. These deals are available from 18 - 24 May while stocks last.

Remember shipping costs are not included in the above price.

If you don't own an Idea Book & Catalogue click HERE to see the online catalogue. If you'd like your own copy, contact me to order one for only $10 with FREE shipping, plus receive the current Autumn/Winter mini catalogue too.

Inaugural Challenge...

I'm excited to tell you that I'm entering this card into my first ever challenge, over at Just Add Ink (JAI 67). I only hope I can follow the instructions okay and link this post. I can be a bit technically challenged at times, so fingers crossed, it'll work okay and it'll be the first of many...

I've been wanting to make some flower embellishments for a while and finally over the weekend, I sat down and made some.  I'm really pleased with how they turned out and they're so easy that you can't really go wrong. Here's a link to Tania Gould's blog.  She has step by step instructions to take the guess work out of making them. Many thanks Tania, for the inspiration and instructions. Now that I see the photo though, I'm thinking that maybe I should have stuck with three flowers the same size because that big one is quite overbearing... What do you think?

Stamp set: Clearly for You
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Old Olive
Designer Paper: Botanical Gazette
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Circles #2 Original Die, Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Markers, Basic Pearls, Modern Label Punch.

Gift Card holder

I was asked by a friend to make some "gender neutral" gift card holders. The stamp set Circle Circus is such a versatile set and circles never go out of fashion, so it was perfect for what I wanted. I had made a few others in different colour combinations but forgot to take a photo. This will be ongoing, so I'll be sure to get clicking next time.

I'm not sure who designed this gift card holder, but it's a favourite of mine. When you lift the flap there are two little pockets (an envelope folded in half) which you can slip your voucher message into. Too easy!  If you want to learn how to make one, book a workshop with me HERE. 



Stamp Set: Circle Circus, Short and Sweet
Cardstock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Crumb Cake, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Tangerine Tango striped Grosgrain (retired), Whisper White Envelope.

For You

These are some little cards that I made a few weeks back using the Aviary stamp set which was in the recent Summer mini catalogue. I love this set and am hoping that it will make it into the next big catalogue to be released on 1st September. It's still ages away yet, but one can hope...

Stamp Set: Aviary, Great Friend
Ink: Crumb Cake, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Real Red, Tangerine Tango
Cardstock: Old Olive, Real Red, Whisper White
Designer Paper: Brights Patterns Pack
Accessories: Brights Designer Buttons, White Crochet Cotton.

Deals of the Week #2

During the month of May, Stampin’ Up! is offering several discounted products as ‘Deals of the Week.’ There are no limits and no minimum purchase required.

This Week’s Deals (11-17 May 2011 whilst stocks last)

Item     Page     Description                      Regular         Sale 
                                                               Price           Price
120963  142       Stampin Pastels New         $34.95       $27.96
                         Color Kit
115957  151       Thanks Embosslit Die        $26.50        $21.20
114513  151       Sweetest Stem Embosslit  $26.50        $21.20
                         Die
113483  155       Penant Bigz XL Die            $91.95        $73.56

Remember shipping costs are not included in the above price.

If you don't own an Idea Book & Catalogue click HERE to see the online catalogue. If you'd like your own copy, contact me to order one for only $10 with FREE shipping, plus receive the current Autumn/Winter mini catalogue too.

Thoughts and Prayers

Sympathy cards are never nice to have to make, but are necessary. I really liked this one that Andrea Walford made. The only difference is that I brayered my grass and sky area, whereas it looked as though she had sponged hers. It's clean and simple but hopefully will brighten someone's day when I need to use it.

Stamp Set: Thoughts and Prayers
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist, Basic Black
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Brayer, Basic Pearls, Lattice Embossing Folder, Big Shot.

Snip & Tuck

No, I'm not getting any work done...lol, but this is the name of the Fun Fold card that Bonnie Thurber demonstrated at the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference in the States earlier in the year. Unfortunately, I wasn't at the conference (but I can dream..). I've cased this from Julie Davison and she has all the dimensions and instructions on how to make it. It's a great idea to be able to tuck a voucher inside, under the ribbon (I'd use a bit of dotto too just to secure it properly). 

Stamp Set: Clearly For You
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Ridinghood Red, Basic Black
Designer Paper: Newsprint
Ink: Ridinghood Red, Basic Black
Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Basic Black 3.2cm Taffeta Ribbon,Extra Large Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Lots of Tags Sizzlets Die.  

Sail Away..

This card features one of the new single stamps that is in the Autumn/Winter mini. Isn't it great!  It's called Sail Away and costs only $17.95. As mentioned a week or two ago, I had a brayering class last week and so had to get a bit of practice in beforehand. I have cased this card from someone out there in blogland (sorry, I can't remember who) and really like the simplicity of it.

Stamp set: Sail Away
Cardstock: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Basic Black
Ink: Marina Mist, Not Quite Navy, Basic Black
Accessories: Brayer, Post-it Note, White Gel pen.

Happy hump day!

Deals of the Week # 1

Are you ready for some weekly surprises?  Each week throughout May, Stampin' Up! will be offering brand-new deals on select products from the current Idea Book & Catalogue. There’s no limit to the number items you can purchase but each deal of the week is only good for the week that it is offered. Now is the time to stock up on your favourite products. Be sure to hurry and email me here with your order right away!  


This Week’s Deals (1-10 May 2011)

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
121578	37	Tag Alongs Wood-Mount Set	$38.95	$23.37
120468	59	More Monkey Accessories Clear-Mount Set	$29.95	$17.97
121550	59	More Monkey Accessories Wood-Mount Set	$36.95	$22.17
120003	75	Cottage Garden Clear-Mount Set	$31.95	$19.17
119163	75	Cottage Garden Wood-Mount Set	$39.95	$23.97
121494	98	Compliments to the Chef Wood-Mount Set	$43.95	$26.37