Stamp Happy - Top New Zealand Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Fresh Prints Quick & Easy Thank You Cards

I really enjoy having a little stack of cute thank you cards to use on my desk. I find it's truly enjoyable to send someone a little love in the mail, especially when they are right there ready and waiting to be sent!

Madeleine helped me make these ones over the summer using our new paper stack, Fresh Prints ( they must laugh when they make these names up!)

We also used the new Scallop Tag Topper, which is a fun punch to make a tag of any length you want!  I just designed a scrapbooking layout using these in a couple of different ways, so keep you eye out for that, too.

These paper stacks come with 48 sheets of double sided paper - tons of prints and plenty there to make stacks and stacks of cards.

The little flower is from the Petite Petals bundle, a lovely set of mini flowers with a coordinating punch.    And who doesn't need some little flowers to fill in gaps or cover a smudge?!

If you are coming to the A&P Show in Pukekohe this weekend, please do come by and say hello!

 

Bird Punch Gift Card Set

One of the many lovely things we got to do this summer as a family was start to make a "man cave" for the boys out under the driveway slab.    First part of the job was to actually dig it out.  Ugh!!  HUGE job!

I'm not a weak girl, but it was totally labourious.  I called in the troops and asked around at church if some men would come help.   It was amazing.   That next night, we had 12 men there digging away.

The progress they made was impressive!

I busied myself making sandwiches and drinks and ice creams.

I also appreciated the wives who allowed their husbands to give us 2-3 hours on a night they'd otherwise be with their families, so I made up a few gifts as they worked away:

This one I put four similar cards in different colour combinations in a plastic sleeve.

The backing is done up with the up and coming "Decorative Dots" embossing folder (released 28 Jan~!)

It's the packaging that makes it all look so wonderful sometimes.  I gave this one to a mother with only boys, so I made it extra girly for her.

And this is why we do what we do!  xx

Too Kind Quick & Easy Thank You Cards

This is a cute and easy project inspired by a card given to me by one of my team many years ago.  We just changed the images and the colours and it's a whole new project!

All the images are from the set Too Kind, a lovely two-step stamping set, perfect for sympathy and general.

I just added a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds to the flowers.  I wanted to keep this one quite "clean".

The Woodgrain Embossing Folder is on the background, which still looks great even though it's a Primrose Petals Wood!   I like it.  When you are the designer, you can have pink wood if you want to.  :)

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Too Kind

Colours: Primrose Petals, Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Other: Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Scallop Trim Punch, Primrose Petals Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

 

JOIN US for a Class!

Wednesday Oct 9 Takanini Scrapbooking  Make a 12x12 layout with a Christmas theme in non-traditional colours!  $15   7:30pm

Thursday Oct 10 Howick Scrapbooking Make a 12x12 layout with a Christmas theme in non-traditional colours!  $15   7:30pm

Saturday Oct 12 Hamilton STamp Class  Make two fancy fold cards tonight in a Christmas & birthday themes!  $15  7pm

 

Six Sided Sampler Sampling!

Every month I do enjoy making some cards for my downline who have promoted and for customers who place online orders!  It reminds me of why I fell in love with crafting in the first place: the pleasure of making something beautiful and the double pleasure of giving to someone you appreciate and care about.

This month I tried out the Six Sided Sampler set and the matching Hexagon Punch:

 

Each one of the cards is a little bit different as I played around and experiemented here. Some are Crushed Curry, Some Pear Pizzazz, and some Soft Sky, too.  It's hard to go wrong with these little hexagons!

I added a bit of glitter to the flower hexagon and some are up on dimensionals, too.    Love tying up that Striped Twill ribbon; it's so luxurious!

I added a Rhinestone to some, too, for a little extra something.  The words are from Million & One, a small set of these two lovely, scripted sayings. I bought it to use for layouts, but they are perfect for this, too.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!  I'm off tomorrow for a fun training day in Christchurch with my team down that way, and then plan to just relax and rest on Sunday with the family.  x

If you'd like the supplies used for this project, please feel free to email me or use the shopping cart to the left!

Supplies Used

Stamps: Six Sided Sampler, Million & One

Colours: Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Soft Sky

Other: Hexagon Punch, Various Ribbons, Basic Rhinestones

 

 

Simply Fabulous and Million & One

One of the great things about being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is all the perks, prizes, benefits, and awards we get!!  At our annual Convention in Brisbane last year, we were given a challenge to 'meet the new' by adding 2500 new customers over AustralAsia by the end of July.

As an award for achieving this, Stampin' Up! sent all Convention attendees the Simply Fabulous Simply Sent kit AND the Million & One stamp set.  Love free goodies!

I made all 8 of these up literally in about 15 minutes.  And they look great!

I've already sent these out to members of my team who promoted on the Stampin' Up! career plan during July.  And I'm pleased 8 wasn't enough, so a few of them got something a wee bit different.  I want my team to know they are appreciated and supported, and am always on the lookout for little things I can do to make their day.

I quite like these two stamps, too. Great for a layout . . . which I feel I must do soon!  :)

Today I am recording tutorials for anyone downloading MDS through my store!  Either the free trial version or the full version for $27.95 will qualify for a FREE 30 day Tutorial Video series! 

Please join me!

Thursday Aug 29th  9:30 am  Birkenhead card Class - Highbury House

Saturday Aug 31  Warkworth Open Day  $5  1pm to about 330pm

Saturday Sept 7 My Digital Studio Tour Auckland -  At the events learn how My Digital Studio can fit in with your life and your style to help you become your own digital designer—creating cards, invitations, photobooks, party décor, recipe books, home décor, calendars and more! Being creative couldn’t be easier! For only  $45 NZD, discover a range of inspirational projects, ideas and techniques through project displays and engaging presentations. Just bring your laptop and digital images and follow along in our classes to create your own designer photobook—capturing your own cherished memories! You’ll go home with several complete pages—which you can then print, e-mail or upload to the Internet. Classes are designed for beginners, to provide you with a basic understanding of My Digital Studio software.  12:30 - 4:30

Register Here

 

Serene Silhouettes Thank You Cards

Happy Tuesday!

I wanted to share with you today a super simple, yet lovely, project using the Serene Silhouettes Stamp set and a little bit of Clear Embossing.  If you make a purchase by placing an Online Order this month, you will receive one of these little goodies in the mail!

Serene Silhouettes

Clear Mount 127324 $40.95

Wood Mount 132073  $51.95

Digital Download 133015  $5.50

 

 

My daughter, Kjirsti, and I made these together using strips of cardstock and a Whisper White base.  Sometimes it's nice to have a Quick & Easy card for that instant satisfaction!

We clear embossed a few of the images in the stamp set for a lovely, subtle look.  And that blue cardstock is the "new" Soft Sky!   Liking it!

Join us for a class or book your own!

Wednesday Aug 7 Stamp Class in Birkenhead- masculine card and a technique card.  7:30pm  $15

Saturday 24 August Scrapbooking Day in Birkenhead - make four layouts and enjoy a relaxing day with like-minded company.  $55 includes all materials (bring adhesive)

Saturday 31 August Warkworth Open Day - Fun afternoon with Stampin’Up! Demonstrations, hands on product play, displays and digital craft presentations.
$5 entry fee.  Aug 31  1pm – 3:30 pm Registration essential

 

 

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Colours: Whisper White, Naturals White, Soft Sky, Baked Brown Sugar

Other: Versamark, Embossing Buddy, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

 

 

 

Mosaic Madness Meets the NEW Colours!

I loved this card when I saw it on Lisa Brown's blog, and just had to recreate this to show off the NEWest and latest In Colours!  I am loving the new Baked Brown Sugar!

The Background here is made using the Mosaic Embossing Folder - yummy!  And each of the mosaic pieces is one of the other four new colours: Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana, and Pistachio Pudding.  I'm beginning to think Stampin' Up! loooooves their food . . .and who doesn't?!

The stamp sets that have coordinating punches or dies make it soo easy to make a quick, cute project.  And the great news is that if you buy the stamp set and the punch together, you get at 15% discount!!

I'm off to start packing up for SENZ - I look forward to seeing those who have booked into my Friday classes!  I have a couple spots left in the Vintage Card Class if you are keen.  I'll post the second project tomorrow with any luck.  :)

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Mosaic Madness

Colours: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Pistachio Pudding

Other: Mosaic Punch, Itty Bitty Punches,  Bitty Framelits, Basic Rhinestones, Linen Thread, Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon, Crochet Lace Ribbon, Mosaic Embossing Folder

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A present for me! Floral District Bag

Epic Day Pocket Mini Album

So Sweet Quick Cards

Last night I had the pleasure of leading a service project at my church where we used up some of the retiring product and made some cards for the women's group to use.  We had a ball catching up and having some laughs.

This one was my favorite, using both our butterfly punches and the retiring Fan Fair papers.  A little ribbon and a pearl and already beautiful!

And this one was also so simple, but oh so sweet with our beloved Bird Punch and an old, old stamp set called Graceful Words.  These ladies fell in love with our little bird.

Although I do love making works of art, it was amazing how in the space of about an hour, we were able to make a huge pile of cards for the church to use.   All quick to do and all just lovely.

I will be having an Open House for the new catalogue 6th of July where I will also have retiring product out for sale (first come first serve!).  1-3 pm Free with afternoon tea and make and take, too.  Please rsvp so I can have sufficient materials prepared.  Would love to have you!

 

Rain or Shine Gift Box for Mother's Day

Mother's Day will be here before we know it, so I thought this month I'd focus on feminine -themed projects.  Some of my classes did a couple of beautiful cards for mother and some did this set of four cards to give to their mothers.  Either gift would be enjoyed!

This project features the Rain or Shine stamp set 126777and the Pinwheel Die  129411:

The case for the four cards and envelopes has little pockets inside to hold the cards. So cute!   The front cover uses the Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP  126922- a happy set of prints.

Two of the cards inside were inspired by a project we had at the last Auckland Extravaganza, designed by Rachael Knight and Sara Falconer and the other two I just made up once the ball got rolling.

These are made using the notecard and envelope  sets 107311  - such a bargain at 20 notecards and 20 envelopes for only $11.95! 

I loved using the Cloudy Day 127022 embossing folder with these ones!  I dabbed just a bit of the Whisper White ink over the top to make the clouds stand out just a little bit more. 

And if you didn't yet notice, I took these pics in my NEW craft room, which is still a work in progress, but I think another week or so and it will be all done.  I need to get some chairs for one thing.

And here is the mess still in one corner of the room:

  I've put a few pics of the rest of the room up on my Facebook Business Page - come on over and check it out if you haven't already!  I'd love to see what you think.  And any great ideas on chairs are welcome, too!

Related articles

Rain or Shine Mini Album

Sunshine and Sprinkles Box Card Featuring the Pinwheel Die

Oh Hello! and Tea for Two

I had fun making this project for my swap yesterday at our Stampin' Up! Creative Inkers team training.  Okay, maybe i was still making them as the ladies arrived. . . . but it did go together quickly and was fun!  I just love those new Vanilla Flower Trim flowers in the Seasonal Mini - so fun to spray and colour!

This idea came directly from Jenny Peterson.

I did this up with a few different patterns from the Tea for Two DSP:

The really fun bit was, as I said above, the flowers! I love these babies and will be ordering more tomorrow.  I spritzed them with my own potion made up of water, rubbing alcohol, and some drops of Calypso Coral ink refill.  Fun!  I love the spritzers, too, and for only $3, they are sure worth having.

Enjoy!  To order any products, please contact me here!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Oh, Hello!

Colours: Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake, So Saffron

Other: VAnilla Flower Trim, Ovals Framelits, Tasteful Trims Die, Basic Rhinestones

 

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Just Be Youtiful Layout

Petite Pockets Coffee & Gingerbread Man

It's been a great weekend!  I got to see many of you at our Christmas events, and that was fun for me and for our entire team!

The above picture is yesterday at the Hamilton Extravaganza.  Shona and I had a great time chatting away and teaching the ladies!

At both events, this is what I taught:

These were fun and quick to put together - perfect for a Merry Christmas gift for co-workers, teachers and the like.

We used the Petite Pockets die (love this!) for the coffee and the Top Note Die for the gingerbread man.  We jazzed both up using the new Scentsational Season stamps and dies - cute!!

You still have lots of time to order these now to make this project or similar up for Christmas!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Scentsational Season, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Colours: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Other: Petite Pockets Die, Festival of Prints DSP, Dazzling Details, Holiday Framelits, Top Note Die, Sugar and Spice Embossing Powder

Upcoming Events:

Saturday Nov 10th Auckland Scrapbooking Day!  $55 for 4 layouts!  If we have extra time, you can work on your own projects 9:30 am to about 5 pm.  Birkenhead

Monday November 12th Christmas Stamp Class in Birkenhead!  7:30pm  2 projects  $15

Wednesday Nov 14th Takanini Stamp Class!  7:30 pm  2 projects $15

Blissful Bird in several color ways

I designed up this project when I was teaching a group of lovely ladies who had not ever stamped before.  This one features an easy, but effective and fun, technique, and is quick to put together.

I've used the Blissful Bird stamp here, one of our stamps that comes single AND it matches up with the ever popular Bird Punch:

 I also did this cutie up in the new Primrose Petals colour (Pool Party above), just to see what it looked like:

Someone had the idea in one of my classes (I think it was in Nelson) to do this one up in Cherry Cobbler and make it Christmas.  I thought that was brilliant, especially since the words on birdie's tummy are perfect for general, wedding or Christmas.  So after a few times playing around with different variations, this one was my favorite:

I'll be using this one as my swap in Broome next week - can't wait!  I should have made my travel companion help me with these . . . . :-), but I guess the diamond ring will suffice to earn his way this time.  It's my honor to have him there with me. 

I will be taking my computer with me and will check once a day for orders and customer service and things.  Be thinking of you!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Blissful Bird $18.95

Colours: various, but mostly Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Primrose Petals, Certainly Celery

Other: Bird PUnch, Basic Pearls, Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon

What's On:

Monday October 29th Make the Christmas Ornament on the front cover!  $15 7:30pm Birkenhead

Wednesday October 31st Make two Christmas Projects  7:30pm  $15 Takanini

Thursday November 1st Scrapbooking Night in Howick $15 7:30pm

Frosty Friends and the Cookie Press!

My 12 year old daughter, Kjristi, had a great time making these sugar cookies!  She used the recipe included in the Cookie Presses, rolled it into balls, and then pressed with the snowflake press.  Fun!

I kept the topper rather simple as it's likely to get tossed.  (Sorry that's just reality).  Cute, but nothing hugely time consuming!

I've used the new Frosty Friends here, a single stamp in the Holiday Catalogue.  Easy to colour in, too.

 

I used the new Window Framelits shapes for the topper for something a bit different.  And don't forget you get a FREE roll of the stitched satin ribbon with any order of $70 - no limit!  See the Specials and Promotions page for all the details. 

 A cute little gift for co workers, neighbors, or other school mums, for example!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Frosty Friends

Colours: midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple, various markers

Other: Markers, Dazzling Details, Metallic Brads, Window Frame Framelits

 

 

Join us!

Wednesday October 10th Takanini Stamp Class!  7:30pm  $15

Saturday October 13th Tauranga Extravaganza!  Sorry All sold out

Monday October 15th Scrapbooking in Birkenhead 7:30pm  $15

Sweets for the Sweet Altered Tin

My second favorite thing to do with my crafting is altered art!  That used to conjure up images of quite busy art that wasn't my style so much.  But altered art (to me) means repurposing an item. 

In this case, an empty coffee tin!  I should have taken the "before & after" shots. And no, I did not drink 20 tins of coffee.  My good friend and downline Barbara Bicknell of the Chocolate Boutique in Parnell gave these to me.

We did these in the Takanini class on Wednesday, and it was amazing to see how different they all turned out!  Super fun. What a great group they are.

We used the Sweets for the Sweet set, which was perfect for a Lolly Tin.  Some ladies used the Up, Up, & Away, which was equally cute.

And I found my missing lollipops in my desk drawer.  Isn't this soooo cute?!

I love how we can take something that would otherwise be thrown out and make something somebody is going to LOVE!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Sweets for the Sweet, Up, Up & Away

Colours: Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Pretty in Pink

Other: Sweet Shoppe DSP, Black brads, 1 inch circle punch, dazzling diamonds glitter, Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon

 

Twitterpated Quilt Card

This was my swap for the Stampin' Up! convention in Canberra this year - these were a tiny bit more work that my standard swap, but still quite easy to whip together.  And it certainly helped that after team training one day, several of my team sat down for half hour and helped finish them off.

It's so much more fun to craft when you have conversation and many hands!!  Amazing how we got done in a short time what might have taken me hours . . .

I've enjoyed these Twitterpated papers - that they can go both feminine and masculine was quite useful when using it for scrapbooking. 

I used the 1" square punch and used up all the bits and pieces from leftovers and made up this easy little quilted pattern.  You can add some bits and bobs you have extra, like those extra butterflies, the scraps of ribbon, and the last brad in the container.

I like this one, and I think I will be making it up for personal use in different colours!

All orders over $150 in June receive the Reason to Smile set FREE!  Email me to place your order!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Thank You Kindly set of four $29.95

Colours: Basic Grey, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz, Riding Hood Red

Other: Twitterpated DSP, Antique Brads, Organdy Ribbon, White Satin Ribbon, Beatiful Butterflies Embosslits, BAsic Rhinestones

Events:

June 18th Scrapbooking class in Birkenhead  7:30 pm $15 to make this layout

Nelson Classes June 19th!!  1pm and/or 7pm!  $15 in Richmond

Saturday June 23rd Auckland Extravangaza!  Stamp from 1-5pm.  $45 includes all materials and a $10 voucher - just a few seats left!

 

Quick card using Scraps

This is one of the projects I showed at Convention last week - my topic being ways to use your scraps.  Which is quite a broad and varied topic.  I loved how this card turned out, and who doens't have strips of patterned paper left over in their packs?

Here is a cute way to use them!

I just scissor cut the strips at the bottom to make the ever-popular banner shape and used my mat pack to create some faux stitching across the top.

I used the framelits die to cut just one side of the sentiment panel, and then inked up one of the stamps from Word Play with a marker, omitting some of the words.  Add those great vintage tags and a glittery heart and done!

Here is a slightly different version I gave to my friend just as I was on the way to the airport to Canberra. Luckily she was still doing well when I returned, but it's so important to show love every day . . .

Love you Fern!

 

 

Join us!  Auckland Winter Extravaganza! 

June 23rd Saturday 1-5pm. Make five beautiful projects and enjoy an afternoon out!  Door prizes, displays, afternoon tea and more!!  $45 includes all materials and a $10 voucher to spend on the day.  Book in today!

Embossed Butterflies

A CASE off the net - Many thanks to the original artist Amy Risary.  I loved the simplicity of the butterflies and the cool use of DSP.  I've used the Paisley Petals DSP here:

AND I like how we've used a few of the butterflies from the Bigz Butterfly Die that I don't normally use. It comes with four, and I have tended to just use the one, so this was great.

A little white embossing on them gives them just that bit more interest and it's quick and easy to do.

This makes a nice Mother's Day card or a sympathy card or a birthday card - an easy design that's quick to adjust for the occasion. 

Now, I'm off to do some work for convention!  Just two weeks and a bit away before we leave!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Just Believe, Loving Thoughts

Colours: Calypso Coral, Soft Suede

Other: Paisley Petals DSP, Basic Pearls, White Embossing Powder, Taffeta and lace ribbon, Bigz Butterfly die

Mouthwatering Swap Card

Well the day I took these must have been very dark in my house!  LOL

These little cuties were my swap for team training on saturday.  My eldest daughter commented that they were more simple than I usually do.  Actually not.

Although there is a lot of white and white space, that doesn't necessarily mean the techniques were simple.  Just that the design is easy for the eye to interpret.

I've used the new set Mouthwatering here, which are some fun, bold images - perfect for the new Scented Embossing Powder!  I've done these up with the cherry scent, which had all three of my daughters' attention when I was heating it.

The background paper is the fun new DSP, Sweet Shop, a specialty pack that features raised embossing on some of the prints.  I'd like to do a scrapbook page using these papers.  I'm sure I have a messy, ice cream or ice block photo in the stash.

And LOVE the baker's twine - all the colours from last catalogue (white, espresso, and cherry cobbler) are still available too!

Order your supplies here!

Stamps: Mouthwatering set of four $41.95, Friendly Phrases set of six $33.95

Colours: Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral, Soft Suede

Other: Baker's Twine, Versamarker, Cherry Scented Emboss Powder

Tonight: Papakura STamp Class 7:30 pm  $15

Saturday 28 April Hamilton Stamp Class 1pm  $15

Thursday May 3 Howick Scrap Class 7:30pm  $15 - masculine theme

 

In Black & White

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a wedding, and look forward to another one next month.  That was my first NZ wedding, so it was a real treat!  Being wedding season, and given the new, beautiful wedding stamp set in the Summer Mini, I thought designing wedding project would be perfect for my first class of 2012.

I struggled with the colours of this one for a while, then just went back to the classic Black & White with a touch of silver.  LOVE the new glimmer paper!!  Just a little bit adds a real wow - so one pack of this product will go a very long long way.

Girls, I added that embossing after the class as I felt it just needed one more thing.  LIke it?  It's a bit better, I think. 

Any questions, orders, or to book into a class, please contact me!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Marry Me set of six $42.95

Other: Glimmer Paper silver, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Oval Frame Embossing Folder, White Satin Ribbon, Scallop Ribbon Border Punch

 

Stitched Stockings Now Available!

Those cute cute cute Christmas Stockings available last month are now available again!

Get these now for Christmas projects - stamp set available in both wood and clear mount and the matching punch makes it a very easy image to use.

Order yours today to get it in time for Christmas tags and projects!

Stitched Stockings set of seven $51.95 clear mount or $64.95 wood mount

Builder Stocking Punch $41.50