Stamp-a-stack-of Christmas Cards

The past few weeks have been very busy with moving house, a trip away for a family wedding, and preparing a stand for the local show. Hence I have not had a lot of time for stamping – and without having an internet connection at the new house for a few weeks, I have not been able to update my blog anyway!

I have managed to somehow find the time to design 10 christmas cards for my upcoming Stamp-a-stack classes. Here’s one of the designs:

The Stamp-a-stack classes are being held on Sunday the 15th of November in Albany, from 1 til 5pm, and on Sunday the 22nd of November in Katanning, from 1 til 5pm.

Choose your favourite design from the 10 designs on offer, and make 10 cards of that design. Purchase several packs if you want to make more than one! Packs range from $13 to $16 for 10 cards, depending on design chosen.

If you are interested in attending a Stamp-a-stack of Christmas Cards class and would like to see the other designs on offer, please email me today!

6×6 Desktop Calendar

Well I am finally back in the land of the technological, complete with a brand new computer! Hopefully I will now be able to update my blog a little more regularly.

Last week I had four lovely ladies come along to my “Christmas Gift Calendar Class” and make 6×6 Desktop Calendars as christmas gifts.

Each lady received a blank 6×6 calendar, the “Calendar Alphabet & Numbers” stamp set, a pack of DSP of their choice, and co-ordinating cardstock and accessories. They attempted (!!) to get 12 pages completed, and while none of them quite got there, they were well on their way and will soon have some gorgeous christmas presents ready in advance!

If you are interested in purchasing a calendar kit to complete a calendar or two for christmas presents, the kit costs $80 and includes the following:

• Days to Remember 6×6 Desktop Calendar (12 pages)
• “Calendar Alphabet & Numbers” stamp set (A-Z & 1-31)
• Pack of Designer Series Paper of your choice
• Co-ordinating cardstock (24 sheets)
• Co-ordinating accessories (ribbon, brads, etc) to the value of $5

Additional calendars can be purchased for $18, and the “Full Calendar” stamp set (contains all the months) can be purchased for the discounted price of $32, when ordered with a Calendar Kit.

Kits will be shipped directly to you, along with photos of 12 sample pages for your inspiration. (Australia only.)

Please “contact me” if you are interested in ordering a Calendar Kit, the first person who orders will win some blog candy!

I won a sketch challenge!

Well the results are in from the sketch challenges I entered a couple of weeks ago, and I won one! The members of the SU demonstrators forum that the challenges were for are able to vote on their favourite entry in each category.  This is the card I created that won one of the categories:

I used the Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper. I didn’t really like this paper when I first saw it (not really my colours, and what’s with the pears? Just weird!) but it is growing on me as I use little bits of it. I really like this particular piece from the pack and I was really pleased with how this card turned out. I also used the Fun and Fast Notes stamp set and the greeting is from the Best Yet hostess set.

Thanks to all the ladies on the forum that voted for my card! And also to everyone else who entered the challenges, it was a lot of fun!

One last Unconvention project

During Unconvention we were issued with daily challenges (actually several a day!), some “make and takes” which we were given the instructions for, and five major projects, which we were able to buy the kit with the instructions and all the materials included.

The major projects are gorgeous but very involved and as yet I have not even started any of them – but I will! One make and take that I did complete was a “Handbag Gift Card Holder” which is a super cute little card in the shape of a handbag, and on the inside is two little pockets to hold gift cards, vouchers, or messages.

I made this one with retired papers but I am teaching the girls in my Stampin’ Up! team how to make them this weekend, so I will be making another one using current papers.

If you’re interested in learning how to make them then why not let me know and I will organise a class or a workshop for you and your friends! Or better yet, why not join my Stampin’ Up! team so you can learn HEAPS of fun and fabulous new techniques and enjoy the benefits of being a demonstrator!

Unconvention Challenges #2

Another challenge that I completed during Unconvention was a Scrapbook Sketch Challenge. I found this particular sketch hard as it featured several large circles and I don’t have an effective circle cutting system – unfortunately Stampin’ Up! doesn’t sell anything to cut circles with – yet!

The lady who ran Unconvention also runs a Yahoo group for Stampin’ Up! demonstrators, through which we can chat, share ideas, ask advice, give each other support and so on. Just last week we were issued with six (!!) new challenges and a week’s deadline. I didn’t get them all done but I did manage to get some completed.

One of the challenges was again a Scrapbook Sketch, so I decided to pull out the page I had started for the Unconvention Challenge and do both at once as a double page layout. Once I decided to skip the circles on the first challenge, the pages came together quite nicely. The photos are from my brother and his fiance’s Engagement Party last year.

The first photo is not particularly clear so the second one is a clearer photo of just the second page. I used Bella Rose Designer Series Paper, which is a little hard to see in the photo, but it matched Annabelle’s dress perfectly! I also used the new Blooms die cuts for the flower shapes which are so easy to use as you just pop them out! The stamp in the background is Baroque Motifs and the Alphabet is Schoolbook Serif. The capitals are from a retired set called Letterpress Alphabet.

I am now inspired to get back into doing some scrapbooking!

Unconvention Challenges

Back in May, Stampin’ Up! held it’s annual Convention and Awards Dinner, this year in Canberra. Four demonstrators from our team attended the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I wasn’t able to attend, but I did however sign up for “Unconvention”, an on-line Convention-style event run by a lovely lady called Lisa, a demonstrator in Perth. During Unconvention, Lisa issued us with challenges, projects, make and takes, and a mega-swap. We were able to upload our finished projects and challenges to our forum site so we could see what everyone else had come up with.

One of the challenges I completed during Unconvention was a sketch challenge, where we were given a layout sketch for a card and had to create a card using that layout. This is the card I created:

I used the “Sweet Always” Designer series paper and the dove is from “Special Blessings”. I have added a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the dove.

I will upload some more of the projects and challenges I completed during Unconvention soon!

30th Birthday Card

Recently a good friend of mine celebrated her 30th birthday. She and I have shared a love of stamping and all things Stampin’ Up! for a few years now, and last year she decided to join me in my quest to make money from my passion (or just spend my commission on new products hehehe) and become an SU demonstrator.

So since she makes gorgeous cards herself, (and because she’s such a great friend!) I set out to make her something really special. I found a scrapbooking layout that I loved somewhere in the vast realms of ideas on the internet, and using that as my inspiration I created her card.

I tried to go out of my comfort zone and use the colours that she loves to use – although I just couldn’t bring myself to use pumpkin pie, sorry Emma! I used Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, and Chocolate Chip. The stamp sets I used were Always, Fun and Fast Notes, Boho Backgrounds, Pocket Silhouettes, One of a Kind (and the co-ordinating Boho Blossoms punch – isn’t it great?) and a couple of retired ones – Lots of Thoughts and Classic Numbers. I have sold a lot of retired sets that I didn’t use much, but I kept anything I loved and all the ones that had words or sayings in, as they are so handy! So just a tip, keep your eye out for sets that have great words in as they will be useful for so many things! I also used a little piece of Holiday Treasures paper, Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon,  a Button Bouquet Designer Button, and my markers got a big work-out.

It took me the best part of a day to make this card (the best part being the parts where I could stamp without my kids interrupting me!) but I love the way it turned out and the extra attention to detail was worth it!

New Product Tag Book Class

Hi everyone!

Well I have decided to take the plunge and join the latest craze – having a blog! A BIG thanks to my new friend Jude, a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator in Victoria, who I met during our online “Unconvention”. Jude encouraged me to start a blog and has guided me through the set up process since my computer skills are a bit lacking in this kind of area!

I have no idea when I will get time to keep my blog updated so I’m sorry if you check back here every now and then and nothing has changed! But I will attempt to update it at least once a week…

So I thought for my first post I would attempt to put up a photo of my upcoming class, the New Product Tag Book Class.

Yay! I have managed to figure out how to upload the photos. So now for another one…

This class is showcasing lots of the YUMMY new accessories in the new 2009-2010 Stampin’ Up! catalogue. You will get to use lots of new products, including the new In-Color range of card and inks, new Designer Series Papers, new ribbons, and new accessories like the Flower Fusion and the Build-a-Brad. Cost is $20.

The class is scheduled to be run in Albany this coming Sunday afternoon, the 31st of May. However this doesn’t seem to suit many people so I may reschedule it. I am also running the class in Katanning on Saturday the 6th of June.