Stamp Happy - Top New Zealand Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

From the Garden Notecard

Happy summer!  I've been having a bit of fun playing with all the great new products in the Occasions Catalogue AND the SaleABration catalogue and today I share one of my first efforts, using the From the Garden bundle:

I've paired this up with the Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper and the Best Year Ever Accessory pack (both SaleABration freebies!) for a soft, spring look.

The row of burlap along the side?   I cut the burlap ribbon in half and just frayed it a bit . . .

I had a good play and made up different colour combinations as I went along.  Can't wait to use these garden picks with the new Berry Basket die!

Don't forget you earn a FREE SaleABration product of your choice with every $110 you purchase!  I'd love to be your demonstrator!

 

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Occasions Catalogue and SaleABration both Launched Today!

Shop: Earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product for every $90 AUD/$110 NZD you spend between 6 January and 31 March.

 

Host: Hostess Benefits are great during Sale-A-Bration. Your customers can host Sale-A-Bration parties for a chance to earn discounts and extra host dollars!

 

Join: It’s a great time to join Stampin’ Up! as a new demonstrator! New demonstrators can choose one of the following limited-time Sale-A-Bration offers when joining between 6 January and 31 March.

• Option #1: Receive a FREE Simply Created Project Kit from the occasions catalogue with your Starter Kit.

• Option #2: Receive 2 FREE Sale-A-Bration items of your choice with your Starter Kit.

 

PLUS!!

Check out the new Occasions Catalogue - full of gorgeous new, spring and summer products~

What is your favorite product?  So far, I am in love with the Perpetual Calendar Kit!

Come and make one plus 6 birthday cards in my studio in Birkenhead 31 Jan 10am-4pm.  Class fee $50 includes kit and all materials for six birthday cards.

 

 

Circle of Love Scrapbooking Layout

Merry Christmas, Readers!  My posts over the next few weeks will be sparse due to a few large home projects we need to finish as well as just enjoying the summer in New Zealand!  I hope you also have a nice little break from your usual routine over this holiday season.

But today I want to share with you a remake of a scrapbooking layout I did years back - now updated using current products and the latest family photo:

Next time we will coordinate our clothes a bit better, but I got it to work in the end!

And actually, it's a good layout idea for tying all the colours in a particular photo together.

Nevermind my strand of hair.

Each circle is printed papers, embossed scraps, stamped, or embellished with butterfly punches or buttons.

Great way to use up scraps and that last button in the pack!

Taught this in Hamilton a few weeks ago, and it was great fun to see what everyone designed; each of us has a unique twist on any given "template".

Merry Christmas again to all!  Thank you for all your encouragement, support, and time!

 

Endless Wishes REALLY Quick & Easy Christmas Cards

I wanted to make up some quick little cuties to go inside gifts.  Endless Wishes is my favorite stamp set for Christmas this year, so I reached for this one and simplified my previous Endless Wishes card even more!

But it's still a great design!! 

Here I've done it up in Bermuda Bay and Tangelo Twist.  Love the non-traditional!

Or try Blackberry Bliss and Soft Sky

Or Lost Lagoon and Pear Pizzazz.

The Whisper White Note Cards and Envelopes are a MUST for super quick projects!  And 20 cards and 20 envelopes for only $11.95 . . .

Now, I actually need to make some more of these, so will play with more fun colour combinations.

Don't forget I do offer Gift Vouchers for any last minute gifts!

Click below for any of the products featured above:

 

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Project Life Family Album - Playground 6x8 style Christmas Gifts

Recently, we had our step-son choose to live with his mother in Australia, so we had a greater family photo shoot before his departure.     This was the perfect opportunity to create an entire "mini" album using the new 6x8 Project Life albums

And the album contains 24 pages, but here are a few:

The Playground set provides 100 double sided, unique cards to fill any gaps and add the journalling.

Photos can also be split across two smaller pockets.

Many of the cards didn't need any further embellishing.  Here, I just added a simple heart for the man I totally adore.

Project Life is designed to be quick and an easy, clean way to preserve many photos in a short period of time. Of course, you can embellish to your heart's content, but I chose here to leave the cards relatively simple.

And on that note -- I made one of these for each of my direct reports (first level downline) in my Stampin' Up! family.   

Of course I did not insert my own family photos, but  did include the embellished cards in each album.

Everyday Adventure

Little Moments

Love Story

Playground

Happiness Is

 

Each card & embellishment pack was fun to work with!   What I loved is that I didn't need much more out on the table than the embellishment pack for each series - how simple is that?!

The girls loved picking out their albums and I made them all promise to actually use them!  I hope to see pics up on their blogs.  :)

If you would like to make one of these albums, click on the links below:

 

Merry Christmas!

 

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Four Feathers CASE

I'm still here, but have been heads down, bum up with Christmas preparations.  Always fun and rewarding!  The season feels so much more festive to me when I have put a bit of service and time into the preparations.

I photographed a lovely sample by Kristine McNickle at one of our team events, changed it a bit, and did it up in three colours.   This is one of the many fun projects we did at the Year of Cards class last weekend.

The above one is similar to the original, done in Silver ink, Basic Grey, and Smokey Slate.

The smaller feather in the background is made by sponging through a mask.  Create the mask using the coordinating feather framelits and scrap cardstock.

Then I started to have a play and changed it up a bit , using Crisp Cantaloupe instead.  This one is my favorite.

And this last one is done using gold and Blackberry Bliss for a more sophisticated look.

It was fun to have a play with some different colour combinations.  When you have a good design, change it up for a nice selection of cards for your stash!

Click on the link to order below:

 

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@TheBeach Scrapbooking Layout

I don't know what I used before the 'most loved' hardwood stamp came along!

I was asked to create a Beach Layout for our emerging summer and Christmas - hence why I made sure to include some red on this one.  I found some great old photos from about four years ago; this was the first time Rob took us out on his jet ski.

The background is created using the Hardwood stamp image and cutting "planks".

I'm giving my students tonight and this weekend a lot of liberty in choosing their papers and ribbons, but here I have used the Flowerpot papers and the Real Red cotton ribbon.   The photos are more of a grey colour, but I wanted to add some bright colour to this happy memory.

Plus the addition of the red makes it very suitable for summer Christmas photos.

I fussed with this element for a long time, but am super happy with the results!   That Perfect Pennants stamp set has certainly also been well used in my layouts . . each one is just so great for loving photos.

The Baked Brown Sugar thick twine was also a good colour match and a good "nautical weight".  The trickiest part will be getting everyone's knot just so!  :)

I do like to add subtle details, while keeping the whole of the layout relatively simple to the eye.   Here I've added a smaller sub title in the corner, as well as drawn some faded, red lines to mimic notebook paper.

Next year I plan to have scrapbooking classes in Nelson, Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga.  I am open to more places - just need a venue and about 6+ attendees.   I am also planning to offer Online Classes for those who just cannot attend a hands-on class!  Stay tuned!

Click below to order any of the materials used above:

 

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Quick Christmas Gift Card - Festival of Trees

This is another version of the Shoebox Swap I did with my team in October and a variation of the sample shown in the Holiday Catalogue.  Coordinating punches and stamps are a winner when it comes to quick and easy!!

The above little ensemble is quick to do thanks to the Crumb Cake Notecards and envelopes plus the Gift Box Punch Board.

Attractive details don't have to be complicated!

And here is even more simple version using Cherry Cobbler this time, if you prefer more traditional colours.

Make up a pack of these in no time at all!!  The Crumb Cake notecards are 20 cards plus 20 envelopes for only $11.95!!  Click below to order:

 

Merry Everything Clear-Mount Bundle

Festival Of Trees Photopolymer Bundle

Natural & Old Olive Two-Tone Trim

Dotty Angles Photopolymer Stamp Set

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

Crumb Cake Note Cards & Envelopes

Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad

Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad

Gift Box Punch Board

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Endless Wishes Quick & Easy Christmas Cards

Saturday I had my A Year of Cards Class here in my studio with ten lovely ladies - lots of fun!  We embellished an organizer box and made 15 cards! What a marathon, but everyone acheived it and had fun!

Here are three of the cards we made using the Endless Wishes stamp set:

Coastal Cabana - this version was inspired by a couple of cards on Pinterest. Then I had fun playing with a few other colour combinations.

This one is done in Elegant Eggplant and the base card is Very Vanilla instead of Whisper White. Still clean, but a little more subdued look. 

And last we tried Strawberry Slush for a very non-tradtional colour.  I really like this one - I like "the little bit unexpected". 

You can make up a big stack of these in no time!  Order your Endless Wishes set below:

 

Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set

Frosted Sequins

Silver Foil Sheets

Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad

Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Pad

Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad

Metallic Silver Encore Pad

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Freshly Made Sketches 164 - Serene Silhouettes Clean and Simple

It's been far too long since I've taken the time to just design for the fun of it!  I used the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week as my inspiration:

 

I wanted to use the Serene Silhouettes and the World of Dreams stamp sets, two lovely silhouette-type image stamp sets.

I couldn't decide which colour to use, so tried out three!

This Real Red version was my first attempt and my husband's favorite.   The birds and tree are inked up using the Stampin' Write markers, creating a simple image in two colours.

Next I tried out Soft Sky because I have about four rolls of Soft Sky ribbon here, but didn't end up using it anyway!  I turned the sketch sideways to accomdate this image and used the Venetian Lace as a soft accent.

Who says you can't use Vanilla next to White?

And last a yellow, black and white combo is always classic.  Here I've used So Saffron and added a few pearls to a bold image. 

That was fun!  Thanks for the inspiration and I hope you've enjoyed!

 

Serene Silhouettes Clear Stamp Set

World Of Dreams Clear-Mount Stamp Set

And Many More Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker

Real Red Stampin' Write Marker

Subtles Stampin' Write Markers

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Hamilton Extravaganza Project Parade

It's taken me some time to get back down to where I can see the surface of my desk, but here I am!   I am looking forward to saturday when I have some of you here for my A Year of Cards Class.  I've been cutting and designing all day and it will be fun!!

I wanted to share with you a couple of the lovely projects presented at the Hamilton Extravaganza:

Rayleen Baker and Irene Wardlaw presented this card featuring the Wondrous Wreath stamp set and using the Baby Wipe Technique on the leaves.

 

Personally, I especially liked the inside of the card. I thought this was a very creative use of the wreath "layers"!

Christine Palmer and Alicia Yap shared with the group a fun little book made with the Gift Card Envelope Die.

Each of the envelope pockets contained a fun Christmas tag:

Love this Festival of Trees stamp set and coordinating punch!  A real winner for this Christmas if you are looking for fun, fast, and cute!

Be sure and check out the Weekly Deals posted today!

 

 

Festival of Trees Gift Voucher Card

I had a great evening last night with a small Thanksgiving dinner, which some of my team of demonstrators were able to attend.  Woke up still full!  :)

Was a lovely evening with lots of laughs, tears, and food.

I also wanted to share another version of the Gift Voucher card I posted a few weeks back. This one is the same type of base, but features the Festival of Trees stamp set instead:

 

Love the colour combination in the All is Calm papers, used here as the accent.  Soft blues and greens with silver is classic.

 

Opened, the circle swings around and reveals the second side. Plus the card is extended to include a pocket for a gift voucher or a photo or any other flat gift item.

Join us for a class - a few left this year!

Saturday 29 November - A Year of Cards.  Make 15 cards in a day in various themes.  Class inlcudes an organizer box plus dividers, which you will embellish.  $45  10am-5pm

Thursday 4 December - Otahuhu Scrapbooking Class.   We will be creating a 12x12 layout with a beach theme, just in time for summer or your Christmas photos!  $15  7:30pm

Saturday 6 Decmber - Hamilton Scrapbooking Class.  Create two 12x12 layouts plus a Project Life layout today!  $40 includes your materials.  10 am - 5pm

Festival Of Trees Photopolymer Bundle

 

Circle Card Thinlits Die

 

All Is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper

 

Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper

 

 

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

 

On Film Framelits Quick & Easy Card

I work with the girl's youth programme at church, and we sometimes need invitations for upcoming special events.  This time, the girls have made little clips about their talents, so we wanted to have an invitation that would reflect our upcoming, fun, homemade movie showcase!

Inspired by Mindy Backes, this simple design using the On Film Framelits was just the trick:

 

These ones go together really quickly provided you have glue dots on hand.  :)

 

Striking!  Try this in any colour combination!

 

And here we are, hard at work . . . or maybe eating and laughing while Sariah worked . . .

 

Tauranga Extravaganza Project Parade

I've just spent the day power-crafting a 12x12 layout and I'm quite pleased how it turned out!   I'll share that soon.

All our team Christmas Extravaganzas are now complete, so I wanted to share some of the fabulous projects with you over the next week or so.

Created and presented by Bev Poultney, showcasing the Baby Wipe Technique with the ladies.   The Four Feathers stamp set and matching dies are a bargain at only $41.25!

Lovely technique, Bev.

Judy Kilmore taught the guests a simple pull-up card for Christmas with a coordinating box.  These boxes are also a bargain at 25 of them for $14.50!

We went through lots of silver embossing powder on the day, but the effect is stunning.

Rhonda Fawcett shared with everyone this Get Your Santa On card.  The Santa iscoloured with the new Blendabilities pens.

Inside is a hidden panel - super easy to achieve but amazing to receive!! 

 

Well, done, team! xx

Keep your eye out for dates for next year!

 

All Abloom & Flower Frenzy Scrapbooking Layout

Friday night and everybody is out at the Breaker's game except me!  I quite enjoy an evening at home alone once in a while. Once I finish this, it's a hot bath and a facial for me, after a big day of packing for a class in Nelson tomorrow.

Inspired by a much more subtle layout on Pinterest, the All Abloom paper stack was just the perfect match with these fun and crazy pictures Rob, Kjirsti, and I took earlier this year at the Stampin' Up! Convention in Melbourne.

This is actually a quick layout to do because much of the interest is right in the photos.

The background is kept simple with a few Daydream Medallion images stamped on like coffee cup marks.  And the printed paper ties all the colours together.

The flowers were super easy when die cut with the Flower Frenzy die.  I backed them with our Coaster Board for a bit of weight to them.  And I loved the little colored staple in the middle - coloured in with the Crumb Cake Blendabilities pens.

 

The Crumb Cake paper is the reverse side of the Under the Tree Christmas papers - so lovely!  And the little detail at the bottom is from the Striped Scallop Die, one that I haven't used much up to now, but can see the possibilities!

Choose Happiness was one of the first stamp sets I bought and have not used it nearly enough! So I wanted to use it here, and it's a nice saying with those photos, too.

Only Rob would put on a pink wig and take pictures of himself . . . .

Join me for a scrapbooking class!

17 Nov. West Auckland 7:30pm  $15

4 Dec Otahuhu, Auckland 7:30pm  $15

6 Dec Hamilton 10am-5pm  $40

 

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack

Under The Tree Specialty Designer Series Paper

Flower Frenzy Bigz L Die

Striped Scallop Thinlits Die

Label Bracket Punch

Choose Happiness Clear-Mount Stamp Set

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Curvy Box Die - Oh the Possibilities!

We've recently had our team Christmas Extravaganzas and each of them featured some different versions of the Curvy Box die.  Fast becoming a favorite!

Simply cut two of the die and ahere together at the bottom for a self-closing, cute little box.

*** My daughter took these photos for me - can you spot the thing that doesn't belong? ***

Andrea Schweer in Hamilton taught this cute Santa version.  So easy!

The team in Auckland (Kathryn Tyrell, Kath Gabriel, and Angela Palmer) and Karen Williamson in Tauranga taught the vellum version, complete with embossing and an electric tea light inside.

My personal favorite is this super cute penguin made punch art style, also taught by Andrea Schweer. 

Karen Williamson in Tauranga and the Auckland team also presented this snowman version, another cute punch art project. Fill his tummy with marshmallows for "snowman poop"!

I have another fun idea for this die which I'll teach on Saturday to the Nelson ladies - will share next week!!

In the meantime, get your Curvy Box die here:

 

Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlits Dies

 

 

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Snowflake Thinlit Gift Voucher Card

Wow it was a super busy weekend, but all in good fun!  I wanted to share with you today the project I taught at the Auckland and the Hamilton Extravaganzas, a Christmas card that includes a pocket for a gift voucher using the Snowflake Thinlit Die:

The card folds up neatly and is held by a simple belly band.

The paper I've used is the All is Calm Designer Series paper, a lovely and soft Christmas series.

The snowflake die images are also include with the base card die.

Open it up, and the snowflake image swing around to reveal a second embellished side, as well as the "card writing" part plus the bonus panel that is a pocket for a voucher or other flat gift.

Extending the die so you can include the extra panels is really quite simple to do by simply bypassing the final cutting edge (placing the cardstock OVER the die instead of under it on that one edge).

Receive any of the supplies for this project in time to make Christmas Cards - click below:

 

Snowflake Card Thinlits Dies

Lost Lagoon 3/8" Silky Taffeta Ribbon

All Is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper

Frosted Sequins

Letterpress Winter Photopolymer Stamp Set

Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper

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25 Days Tiny Treat Boxes Advent Calendar

I loved the fun Advent Calendar found in the Holiday Catalogue and had to make my own!  I wanted mine a bit more detailed, but I've used the same stamp set.  

It's still pretty simple, but all 25 together looks impressive.

The stamp set, 25 Days, has each number in a different style, so each box is a bit unique.  I've used the Trim the Tree Paper Stack, so I also had 24 different paper prints to work with and used the Champagne Glimmer Paper for the 25th day. 

Who wouldn't love to open up one of these little treat boxes each day?!  Small enough for a little treat, but large enough to include perhaps a note or a message each day.

These little treat boxes come cut and scored - ready to go - and are a bargain at only $14.50 for 25 of them!!

** private bookings available or click below to order the supplies **

 

 

25 Days Photopolymer Stamp Set

Tiny Treat Boxes

Trim The Tree Designer Series Paper Stack

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Card Organizer Box - A Year of Cards

You wouldn't believe I don't already have a box to store greeting cards in - but I don't!  It's been on my "to do" list for some time and yesterday was the day!

 I wanted to keep it quite simple both because it will get handled a fair amount and also so it was a bit "timeless" for years to come.

I've created file tabs inside using the new File Tabs die and kept it simple and casual with handwritten labels.

I'm going to make up a second box with 12 tabs, one for each month and make that box exclusively for birthday cards.

A coordianting pen tops to hide inside the box from the rest of the family is the finishing touch.

Would you like to make one of these, complete with 15 cards to start your supply?

Join us!  29 November Saturday $45 includes the box, pen, file tabs, and 15 cards in 5-7 designs.  10 am to about 5pm.  Soup provided.

Email me to book in

 

 

File Tabs Edgelits Die

Perfect Print Alphabet Bigz Die

Natural 5/8" Chevron Ribbon

Bordering Blooms Photopolymer Stamp Set

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Milk Bottles Simple Style for Christmas Extravaganza

Tomorrow kicks off our season of Christmas Extravaganzas in Tauranga!  I had some boxes of cute glass milk bottles here for almost a year, so today is the day they got put to cuter use!

Nice lolly colours with complimenting, fun bows makes a simple, yet attractive, small gift.

Sofie and Rob had fun having races sorting out the lolly colours.

 

A very simple tag worked with the look I wanted so nobody takes anybody else's lollies.  ;-)

Now if it were chocolate . . . .

Looking forward to it!

 

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