Kristina Werner's Colour Challenge #53

OK - I must confess that when I saw the inspiration picture for this week's challenge I immediately thought of this cute little clear stamp by Sandylion that I have had in my stash for a while, but haven't used before.

I've put Crystal Effects on all the little red dots and in real life the look really shiny. Again, apologies for the poor photography - very overcast this morning!

Recipe:

Stamps: Sandylion (don't know the name), On Your Birthday

Ink: Basic black, real red, pacific point, yo yo yellow, real red marker

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, YoYo Yellow, Pacific Point

Other: eyelets, crystal effects

Circle Circus Congrats

Just a quick post to show the card I made for a friend's graduation from her Nursing Degree recently. I made it out of scraps I had left from prepping the Stamp A Stack, and it came together relatively easilly! The sentiment is from this year's Sale-A-Bration set. The Pink DSP is from Sweet Always. Here's the recipe:

Stamps: Circle Circus, Congratulations

Paper: Sweet Always DSP, Old Olice, Kraft, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Old Olive, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Whisper White Craft ink

Other: Regal Rose ribbon, White embossing powder, dazzling diamonds glitter, 2- way glue, snail adhesive, dimensionals, punches.

Stamp-A-Stack Part 1

Here are some of my lovely ladies looking busy at my home yesterday!

And here is what they made - each person went home with SIX handmade cards. It was a lot of fun, many giggles and lots of chatter, with coffee and Tim Tams thrown in.

If you'd like to join in the fun, let me know!

Kristina Werner's Colour Challenge #52

The last (and first!) time I entered this challenge was #37.....oops, time flies!

The colours to use are:

Baja Breeze, So Saffron, More Mustard, Sahara Sand, Whisper White.

Apologies for the poor lighting (photos taken at night). If I get a chance, I'll take better pictures in the morning.

Here's what I came up with:

The inside:

Another view:

A fairly simple card, it really didn't take long (I was watching Desperate Housewives at the same time, LOL). I'm pleased with it. I decided to leave the sentiment off, so I can add one later when I need the card for something!

I used Upsy Daisy, clear embossed on WW cardstock, sponged with So Saffron & More Mustard ink. The rest is fairly self-explanatory. Oh, and I found a scrap of retired So Saffron DSP to use on the inside edge so it would peek through behind the scalloped edge.

Please check out Kristina's blog and the other entries, it is amazing how many truly fabulous and creative people are out there !

Inks: More Mustard, So Saffron, Versamark (SU!)

Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand, So Saffron, So Saffron Patterns DSP (retired) all SU!

Other: Baja Breeze ribbon, Baja Breeze button, scallop edge punch, glue dots.

Thanks for looking!

Stamp-A-Stack Sneak Peek! plus some distressing pictures.

Here is one of the cards we will be doing this week at my Stamp-A-Stack:

And something that made me cry: My baby (almost 2 years old) went from having a head of cherubic blonde curls like this-

to THIS after Daddy gave him a "grown up haircut":

He suddenly looks like he is ready to put on a school uniform and walk out the door! Waaaaaaaaaaaah! Mummy is NOT ready for this!

Girly Cards

Two little girl's birthday parties this weekend, and I had fun making these girly cards, inspired by the colours in the pretty Always DSP. I've noticed that Garden Whimsey is my "go-to" stamp set when I want to make something for a little girl. It makes it very easy!

I also had my 4 year old daughter help me make the wrapping paper - very cute and a lot of fun. All I do is take some Butchers Paper (buy it by the roll at IKEA), the stamps and inks that match the card I made, and let my daughter go to town on it. The result is a one-of-a-kind cheap as chips wrapping paper that coordinates with the card you spent hours slaving over.

The card base is so saffron, with pumpkin pie , whisper white and pixie pink and the little flower accent is punched out of pink pirouette with the three for you punch. The medallion uses the scallop circle punch, the circle punches and a pretty brad. I used the new eyelet punch and the crimper for the border on the bottom - I like the corrugated effect. I got the idea from Michelle Habib's presentation at Convention.

Same layout, same stamps, this time a Pink Pirouette card base.

I added some sparkle with my 2 way glue pen and dazzling diamonds glitter, and sponged the edges of the butterfly panel.

I hope the girls liked them!

Stamp -A-Stack coming up!

I've got to dash off to the Kindy pickup, but thought I'd quickly mention I'm holding a Stamp-A-Stack class next Thursday 21 May, at my home. We'll make 4-6 different cards (time permitting) at a cost of $20.

Post a comment, or email me to secure your spot (louisesutton@internode.on.net)!

Will post pics later, must dash now.

Convention Make & Takes

Part of the materials I received at Convention was 2 stamp sets - "Circle Circus" and "Trendy Trees." I was very excited about that because they were on my wish list, yay! One of the sessions was a Make & Take session, where we received packets with the instructions and materials for 4 projects using these stamp sets. Of course, I spent most of this time chatting, and had to finish the projects when I got home!

Here they are:

First there is a card made with Trendy Trees: I LOVE this stamp set, but I would advise anyone who purchases it to get the Stamp-a-ma-jig as well so it is easy to line up the little tree trunks and leafy bits. One of the reasons I love this card is that in Canberra, all the leaves were changing colour - a beautiful sight we just don't see in subtropical Brisbane!

Here are the real trees:

Next there is a pack of gift cards, ideal as a little present for someone!

Then there is a card with Circle Circus - LOVE how they co-ordinate with so many of our punches. I think this is a really versatile stamp set - could be used for any occasion, male/female, any age group.

Last of all there is a gorgeous little fold out scrapbook page!

Here is is, folded up:

slip off the ribbon and open it out and you get:

Cute, huh? Would make a sweet present for Grandma, or a keepsake for a special trip. This was also the first time I had used the metal-edged tags - fun! I had to then buy some for myself, which arrived today. The little flowers are from the Three for You punch and have silver brads in the middle.

While I was all inspired this week I thought I'd "CASE the CATTY" ie Copy And Share Everything from a card in the Idea Book & Catalogue.

Here's the page from the Catty: (the project is the cover of a Journal)

Here's how I turned it into a card:

First Impressions Video

First, a little commercial about joining Stampin' Up! with the fabulous May special (join for $150). I am happy to send you the documents or chat with you about any questions or concerns you might have at any time - and if you live in Brisbane, we could have a cuppa too!

Here's a link to the Stampin' Up! First Impressions video.

If you would like to talk to me about joining my team - please drop a comment here or email me at louisesutton@internode.on.net .

I'll do another post a little later with more cards!

More Convention Stuff

Swaps, for those who don't know, are BIG at any gathering of stampers. A swap is a card you have made to exchange with other stampers so you end up with lots of different cards in styles other than your own, or using a stamp set you don't have. It is a lot of fun!

Here are the two cards I made to swap (I have to photograph some of the swaps I received to show you - tomorrow, I hope).

I used Pocket Silhouettes in the first and made a reverse mask from the new Wide Oval Punch, and sponged with Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette. I also distressed the edges of the cardstock. Simple, but easy to duplicate when you are making 20 of them!

This was made with the Dreams du Jour set and the Bella Rose DSP.

I will have to finish this topic later as right now my cranky toddler is insisting I do something else.

Ever wondered what I look like?

I don't have a photo of myself in my profile picture because I'm really quite a private person. But I thought I'd show you a couple of photos from Convention of me with some of the fabulous women I met there - "movie stars" from my blogroll!

Here I am with the wonderful and talented Makeesha Byl (I'm the one on the right):

Makeesha was one of the guest presenters at Demonstrator Theatre at the Conference, she was fantastic. Such a lovely person, and so very talented.

Here I am again with the lovely Leonie who organised a brunch the morning after the Convention finished for 46 or so demonstrators from around Australia!

And look! It's me with Lin Mei Yap! Swoon! I was soooo excited to meet her as I am a huge fan of her work and her blog. She's as funny and charming in real life as she is on her blog.

And now me with my friend and upline, Linda Craven:

The Sock Monkey came to Convention! It was a bit of an in-joke at Convention; there is a stamp set in the new catalogue called Sock Monkey that has evoked very strong reactions from people - they love it or hate it.

Here is the gorgeous and talented Leah Weir (another Brisbane girl, yay!)

Lovely Lyanna George with her swaps:

And here's Stephanie Pike with Linda. Steph is Linda's upline, and Linda is my upline. So does that make Steph my grand upline?

I'm posting late at night again and have run out of time. I'll edit tomorrow with links to blogs, etc and some more Convention news.

Want to start your own business for $150 ?

No I'm not joking. You know how on the back page of the Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue they have the fabulous Starter Kit available for only $324 (full of products and business supplies worth $560!)? If you don't know, go now and have a look, the link to the catalogue is over there on the right of my page. I'll wait for you.

OK. Seen it? Well for this month (May 2009) you can purchase a modified form of the Scrapbooking Starter Kit (instead of the full starter kit) become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for only $150! Seriously, if you have ever wondered about joining Stampin Up! just for the 20% discount alone, now is the time to join. You do NOT have to do workshops. You do NOT have to sell a billion dollars a year. You CAN be a hobby demonstrator and be your own customer and fund your passion by selling to yourself, your neighbour and your sister in law.

The Scrapbooking Starter kit contains an alphabet stamp set (valued at $77.95), a Simply Scrappin Kit (valued at $36.95), a pack of assorted 12 x 12 inch textured cardstock ($21.95), an ink pad ($11.95),and craft scissors (valued at $37.95) plus all the business supplies you need to start up your business.

As a Demo I get to indulge my love of papercraft and share that enjoyment with friends, I get to learn fun new techniques, meet new lovely people, have some adult "me" time and make some extra money to help with household bills while I'm at it. I love it!

So what are you waiting for? Contact me for more details.

The other May promotion is just as exciting: buy 3 packs of any of the packs of DSP (Designer Series Paper) listed below, and get the 4th FREE!

Item	Page	Description
112042	132	Urban Garden Designer Series paper
112470	132	Haiku Designer Series paper
113976	132	Pink Flamingo Designer Series paper
112468	132	Sweet Always Designer Series paper
113992	133	Tea Party Designer Series paper
113975	133	Raspberry Tart Designer Series paper
113966	134	Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series paper
112469	134	Holiday Treasures Designer Series paper
112041	134	Bella Rose Designer Series paper
113974	134	Bella Bleu Designer Series paper
113978	135	Urban Oasis Designer Series paper
112461	135	Washington Apple Designer Series paper
112039	135	Windsor Knot Designer Series paper
113980	135	Candy Lane Designer Series paper

In other news, I'm back from Convention, had a lovely time except for a nasty migraine today, and I have heaps to show and tell! I'll have to post tomorrow though as I really should be in bed now.