Hello hello.  Hope your week is off to a great start.  I had a lovely day at Milleara Market yesterday.  In between chatting with people I managed to make about 15 cards so will have a few things to show in this patch of blogland over the coming weeks.  Congratulations to Betty who won the stamp set and gift cards, and thanks to all the people who purchased craft packs for our fundraiser (more on that later.)

Time for a card.  Here's what I came up with combining the Two Step Bird Punch, some pastel coloured products and Tea Party DSP (patterned paper.)

The Recipe:

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette and Certainly Celery

DSP:  Tea Party

Other: Pink Pirouette ribbon, Rhinestone Brad, pink crystal (non SU)

Punches: Eyelet Border and the new Two Step Bird Punch.  (You can find this one on page 15 of the Autumn/Winter mini.  I wasn't going to get it but seeing all the gorgeous things made with it at the Stampin' Up Convention made it a 'couldn't resist' item.  I love mixing and matching the components.)

Brrrr - it has been chilly here.  Always a good excuse to tuck up in front of the fire with a good book and that is just what the kids and I have been doing.  I think this is the third time we've read the Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton - we all enjoy this classic so much, and it brings me back to my childhood. 

Reading about Moonface and his love of toffee brought back memories of when I was a kid and mum would make toffee.  Hannah and I googled til we found a recipe that matched what we had in our pantry and we made our first batch. 

MMMMMM!

Funny how tastes and smells can whiz you back a few decades isn't it.

Have a fabulous week!  Cheers, Sue

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  I started the day getting a hair cut.  A couple of hours reading magazines and getting degreyed - aahh!  Happy school holidays to all the Vic teachers and mums out there.  I'm looking forward to some relaxing with the kids over the next couple of weeks.

I've got some lovely cards to share with you today, not from me but from 3 special guests.

These first creations are from Julia who I met at my classes.  She has some very creative ways to use the Sweet Treat Cups. 

Isn't that just such a great idea!   Julia hand drew the frame of the bike.   

I love this one too .....

The bubbles are a mix of holes punched in the top layer plus some rhinestones.  Love the little snorkler.

And one more for the footy fans ...

Thanks you Julia for sharing 3 fabulous ideas for using Sweet Treat Cups.  (Hmm and I have a big craving for jelly beans now!) 

This card is from another of my class regulars - Maria.  She's used one of my favourite stamp sets - Pocket Silhouettes. 

 

I love the look of the silhouetted images done in white on the coloured squares.  This would be one of those clean and simple designs you could try in a whole range of colours.  Thanks Maria!

My last guest for today is my daughter Hannah (7).  John and Jack headed off to the footy last Sunday and Hannah decided she'd rather stay home with me and make cards.  We had such a fun afternoon getting inky.   Here are her bright and happy creations.

A big thanks to all my special guest card makers. 

Milleara Market Sunday 27th

If you are a local and you have any Stampin' Up questions, want to grab a catalogue, place an order or look at some samples - I'm at my table at Milleara Market tomorrow from 9am until 3pm. 

Milleara Shopping Centre, Cnr Milleara Rd and Buckley St, Avondale Heights.

Have a lovely weekend!   Cheers, Sue

Goodness - it has been a little quiet in this patch of blogland lately!   Hannah and I had a lovely afternoon of cardmaking on Sunday while the boys headed to the footy, so I have a few things to show you once I find some time with my camera.

Plus 2 special guest cardmakers: Julia and Maria.  They have some gorgeous cards I'm looking forward to sharing with you soon.

It is June and it is Wednesday so we know what that means!  It is time for the final Deal Of The Week from Stampin' Up Australia. 

This time round it is embellishments.

Here's what's on special this week ......

Some gorgeous ribbons and some sparkly bling.  Mmmmm, yum!  You can find all of these items on pages 149 - 151 of the main catalogue.

This special runs until Tuesday evening - Tues 29th June. 

P/H is 5% with a minimum of $5.95.

Local Order:  I'll be placing an order on Monday 28th June for any locals that want to share shipping costs - handy if you're just after an item or two.  Pick up only.

You can use your rhinestone brads to cinch in ribbon like this (a trick I learnt from the talented Nikki Sadler.)

Class Thursday Night:

Here's a sneak peek at one of the projects we're doing in class this month - a battery operated tea light all dolled up, with a coordinating little gift card.

A few spots left tomorrow night (Thurs 7.30pm) if you want to catch a class this month.  $20 includes all materials.  For our other two cards, we're trying a great brayer technique and doing some emboss resist with masking.  Lots of fun!  Call or email to grab a place at the table.  (Avondale Heights, Melbourne.) 

Cheers, Sue

It is challenge time again over at our scrapbooking website StampAMemory.

For Creative Challenge #12, Di is challenging us to scrapbook a layout about a pet.  Do you have some pet photos waiting to be scrapped?  Or perhaps a tale to tell about a childhood pet?  There's a terrific prize up for grabs for taking part.  Find all the details at StampAMemory.

Here is my pet layout.   I was rapt when I saw this challenge as I'd started an 8" x 8" album about my tropical fish quite some time ago and it was gathering dust half finished on the shelf.  This was the perfect prompt to get it out and add some layouts.   I decided to make a front page for the album.

Here's a few more details about the page.  I wanted to soften my white layout base so I sponged a mix of blue inks on for a speckledy effect.

Then I used my 1 1/4 inch square punch to punch a bunch of squares in greens and blues.  I crimped some pieces before punching for added texture. 

Colours:  Night of Navy, Brilliant Blue, Bordering Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Not Quite Navy and Garden Green.

I punched some squares from a photo I had of my tropical aquarium too.  Then arranged, and rearranged and rearranged and rearranged them until I was happy, then stuck them down. 

I had some leftover chunks of photo so decided to use my Alphabet Die to cut the letters for my title from these pieces.  I trimmed some Stampin' Dimensionals to attach these so they'd stand out a teeny bit more.  (I tried putting a lighter circle behind each letter but I liked the simpler look of the layout and it made it look a bit busy.) 

A Night Of Navy 'Little Leaves' die cut shape just seemed to finish it off. 

Now that the album is out on my craft desk, time to get cracking on a few more pages to tell the story of how I got into fishkeeping and about setting up our aquarium. 

Any scrapbookers out there??   Hope to see some of your pet layouts over at StampAMemory.

Cheers, Sue  

It is June and it is Wednesday and that means it is time for a new Deal Of The Week.

This week the deal is on stamp sets.  There are 5 stamp sets in this promotion, each of them discounted. 

Here's the details!

Give a holler if any of those take your fancy. 

Postage/handling is 5% (minimum $5.95.)

Local Order

My local lovelies - I'll be placing a local order on the evening of Monday 21st.  Place your order before then if you'd like to share postage costs with other locals.  (P & H will be 5%, no minimum.)   Pick up only.

And here is a card made with one of the images from the set 'Greetings Eight.'

June Class Update:

I'm keeping our cards a surprise this month so no pics to show you just yet, but John and the kids have voted that they are rather gorgeous!  

We're using brayers, sponges, embossing gear, the FABULOUS new hostess set Asian Artistry plus the always gorgeous Medallion stamp.  Emboss resist and brayered backgrounds are our techniques this month.   Plus we're making a cute little 3D item using a battery powered tea light.  

If you're in the mood for some stamping come and join us.

Tomorrow night has just booked out but we have a few spots left next Thursday night. 

We start at 7.30pm and the class fee is $20 which covers all materials. 

Call me on 0417 377 057 or email  [email protected] to grab a seat at the table. 

Happy Stamping!   Cheers, Sue

Time for our second week of this month's 'Deal Of The Week' promotion.

This time the deal will appeal to those of you who love to use our DSP - Designer Series Patterned Paper.

Selected packs are on special for this week - here's the details.

I'll be placing a local order on Monday 14th for any local ladies who are after a pack or two or three and want to share shipping costs with others.  Shipping will be 5%.  Pick up only.

If you're further afield, shipping is 5% with a minimum of $5.95. 

This offer runs from now until Tuesday 15th June.  Get in touch before 8pm Tues if you'd like to order.

Here's a few pics of some creations made with the packs on special ......

Sweet Slumber DSP:

Haiku DSP:

Pink Flamingo:

Raspberry Tart:

Tea Party:

OK I'm off for a hot milo - it is very chilly here today and our heater isn't working - doh!

So Jack and I are snuggled up in lots of layers but I think a nice hot milo might warm the hands! 

Happy Stamping!   Cheers, Sue   

Hello and welcome to our team blog hop.  We're a friendly gaggle of ladies from all over Australia and we'd love to take you on a blog hop on the first Saturday of each month.  This month the theme is Celebrations and you'll find heaps of inspiration for a wide range of  'celebration worthy' events.

Previous Blog Hop Stop:

You may have arrived here from Judy May's beautiful project, or perhaps you are starting from here.  Let's get hopping!

Masculine 50th Birthday Card:

We're off soon to help one of John's basketball buddies celebrate his 50th birthday so I thought a masculine birthday celebration card would be perfect for my blog hop project. 

It is a dress up, black tie, James Bond themed party so I decided to opt for a grey, silver and black colour scheme with a touch of sparkle for a special occasion.

Here's what I came up with.

A few details:

The base card is Basic Gray and I've chopped about 5cm off the bottom of an A4 sheet and used the rest so it is a larger than usual card.

The patterned paper is from Urban Oasis (pg 135.) I love this pack and it has some great patterns for masculine cards. 

The silver cardstock is from the Brushed Metallics pack (pg 130) and adds a nice sheen. 

I've matted the grey and DSP with Basic Black for some definition.  Some Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon coordinated well.  Makes it so easy when your supplies all match doesn't it.

Had the idea in mind to use stars so I punched out a few but it looked a little flat. 

So I grabbed out my crimper (pg 155) and that added a nice touch of texture.  I've used the large and small star punch.  (I crimped first then punched.)

When you punch shapes from Designer Series Patterned Paper you can sometimes see white edges so I like to grab a sponge dauber out and sponge the edges.

Now a celebration needs a bit of sparkle I thought so I ran my Two Way Glue Pen (pg154) around some of my large stars and gave them a dip in a pile of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (pg 145.)

I used my Big Shot and Timeless Type Alphabet Dies (Mini pg 10) to cut the numbers - one set in silver and one set in black.   Then I glued them together with Tombow Adhesive so that the black formed a shadow.  Gave the numbers a little more definition that way.

Last step was just to layer the stars.  I used a mix of Stampin' Dimensionals and Glue Dots (pg154) for some varied heights.

Happy 50th Al!  

Blog Hop Details:

Our blog hop this month has 11 stops.  Hmmm - what do you think, a one cuppa blog hop or perhaps two if you browse slowly or drink quickly!?    There's a blog candy draw (non demonstrators eligible for prize) who leave a comment at each stop before Tuesday morning 6am.  Email Nikki at [email protected] to let her know and she'll put your name in the hat.  

Next Blog Hop Stop:

And now it is time to say goodbye to me and head off to the blog of the gorgeous and talented Nikki Sadler.    Au revoir! 

Cheers, Sue

If you are local and think you might like to grab one of this week's 'Deal Of The Week' punches - I'll be placing a local order on Sunday evening. 

Let me know before then if you'd like me to add a punch or two (or four) for you, and would like to share postage costs with some other local ladies. 

(Postage will be 5% - which is about $1 per punch, instead of the regular $5.95 minimum.  Pick up only.)

Click here for details on the special -    Deal Of The Week: Week One - Punches

I think we need a card now don't we!  This one has a punched out window, but I've used the Big Shot die - Curly Label Movers and Shapers to do this one.   

This card might look familiar.   My May class ladies made one.  (You can find details about my June classes here, spots are filling fast:  June Class Info.)   My June newsletter went out on Tuesday and included this amongst the card pics.  (There's a sign up box at the top right of my blog if you'd like to join my newsletter crew.)  And for those people who know their catalogues back to front and front to back - you can find it on page 8 of the Autumn/Winter Mini.  Our catalogues are a great source of inspiration and ideas.  Have a flick through yours next time the creativity needs a recharge.

I made a couple of versions.  Here's some more pics if you'd like a closer look.

The curly label punch fits nicely inside the window cut with the die.  It comes in a bundle with a coordinating stamp set  (pg 153.)  I've used a couple of the different stamps for my cards.

Adding the little heart was handy.  We could tuck the front of the card under the edge of the heart, which held the card closed.  

Tip:  We stamped and punched the curly label for inside the card, popped some dimensionals on the back then closed the card and adhered it straight through the window to make sure it was lined up nicely.

I'll be back again tomorrow.  We have our team blog hop happening Saturday morning.  The theme this month is Celebrations.  So grab a cuppa and swing by the computer over the weekend if you'd like to hop around the stops and get some inspiration for 'Celebrations' of all sorts. 

Hope to see you then, 

Cheers,   Sue

Goodness where does the day go!  The hours just flash by some days don't they. 

I'm back today to show you some cards from a guest blogger:  Leisa.  Leisa is in my marker club and recently showed me these gorgeous creations.  I knew you'd all love them so thanks Leisa for letting me share them here.

Love these colours together and it makes me want to grab out my eyelet border punch too!  The gorgeous flower is from Echoes of Kindness - a hostess set.  The background stamp is Weathered.

And check out this terrific box - using Cottage Garden and Cottage Wall DSP. 

Thanks again Leisa.  I love to see what people have been making with their goodies!

I think Rich Razzleberry is my new favourite colour.  It goes so well with so many colours.  Love it here with Old Olive and it looks great with Kraft and Soft Suede too.  I've got a lovely swap from convention where the card creator teamed it with Pale Plum and that looks good as well. 

I've got another guest card maker with a card to share but I've run right out of day and haven't taken the photo yet so that will have to be another day! 

Happy Stamping!  Cheers, Sue   

Just a quick note to tell you about a new promotion Stampin' Up are running this month for the first time in Australia. 

It is called 'Deals Of The Week.' 

Each week you will get up to 50% off a selection of products from the 2009/10 Idea Book . 

Here's the first one!

*From Carryover flyer

If any or all of those punches take your fancy, you have until June 8th to place your order if you'd like to add to your punch stash at the reduced price of $20.12.

Back later today with those guest card makers!

Cheers, Sue