The Simplest Card Wallet ever!

As promised, here's the matching card wallet for these cards. This is the simplest card wallet you'll ever make. Here's how to do it:

1. With your A4 piece of cardstock ‘landscape’ orientation, score at 14cm and 15.7cm. Now in ‘portrait’ orientation, score 1.7 cm from each end.
2. Snip the 4 shortest score lines.
3. Stamp the front as desired.
4. Fold in the side flaps and secure with Sticky Strip. Punch handles with the Word Window Punch, and add a gift tag and ribbon

I've used the delightful Both Way Blossoms Hostess Set, and inked the images up with my markers, so I could do the stems in lovely soft shades of green, and the flowers in pretty spring colours. The tag is simply an oval punched out with the large Oval Punch, and attached with a piece of pink gingham ribbon.

All of the products used to make this gift wallet are available to purchase from me (except the Both Way Blossoms set...you can't buy it, but I can help you earn it for free when I come to your house and share some new stamping techniques with you and your friends!)

Finding a Perfect Fit

When I joined Stampin' Up (waaay back in May last year), I ummm-ed and ahh-ed, and did all the should-I-shouldn't-I's that I think everyone does when they make this decision. What silly me didn't realise was that I was asking myself the wrong question! Of course I should join...that's an easy decision to make. What did I have to lose? I buy the starter kit, and get all these great products that I really want for nearly half price...it's a no-brainer. The bigger decision (and one that I never even thought to ask myself) was who should I sign up under? Lucky me fell on my feet, and I happen to have the most awesome Upline (Hi Ange!), but I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd signed up Direct to Company (which you could do back then), or under someone else.
So, if you're thinking of signing up, do your research! Some things you may like to think about are:

1. How important is locality to you? If you aren't on the computer a lot, and learn better face-to-face, you'll want to find an Upline who lives nearby.
2. Personality match! If possible, meet your potential Upline in person and see if you click.
3. Stamping Finesse. If you want an Upline that you can learn Stamping skills from, find someone whose style you admire.
4. Business Wise. If you do want to make money from this, find an Upline who has success in her own business, so you have footsteps to follow in.
5. Group Support. If you want to make new stamping friends, look for an Upline with strong team support, such as team meetings or a forum.

I get a lot of emails from other Demonstrators, bemoaning their own lack of Upline Support, so learn from their mistakes, and make sure you find a Perfect Fit!
Oh, and by the way, I have the best promotion ever for signing up this month ;-)

Email me to find out what it is!

This is only available from me, and your paperwork must reach SU! offices (with your ABN) by November 30. Send me an email if you'd like an Obligation-free Information Pack.

How simple are these? This was one of my Stamp-a-Stack designs this month...just what the doctor ordered at this time of year when life is so busy. No layering, no tape, just stamps. To make it even quicker and easier, I've used Stampin' Up!'s Whisper White A6 cards and C6 envelopes. They come pre-cut and pre-scored, so it's all done for you. You get a pack of 20 for $11.50, and you can see them on page 138 of the Catty.
All I've done here is ink up my background stamp (from Looks Like Spring), stamped off once onto scrap paper, and then rock'n'rolled in the same colour ink to get a darker border around the edges. Then I masked off the bottom of the card with a Sticky note, and stamped Both Way Blossoms (Level 2 Hostess set) in Basic Black. I coloured with Markers, and stamped a greeting on the bottom. Done! Next time I'll show you the matching Card wallet I designed to put this set in. It makes a lovely gift.
The colours I've used are Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink, Apricot Appeal, and Barely Banana.

Wild About Bag-a-lopes!

I've been going a bit crazy making these lately...they're very addictive once you get started, and it's so easy to whip one up in just a few minutes.
In case you haven't heard of them, this is called a bag-a-lope, and you can make one from any sized envelope (this one is a Stampin' Up! C6 envelope). It's simply a matter of sealing your envelope, stamping on it (a Wheel makes it really quick!), scoring 3 sides and cutting off the third, folding along the score lines, forming it into a bag shape (you'll need to tape down the two little triangles that form to the bottom), and voila! So now a little gift bag is just an envelope away!
I've embellished mine with Ellie from "Wild About You". The grass she is standing on is just the flower stem stamped upside down. I've punched a couple of holes to thread ribbon through and hold it closed. The colours I've used are Orchid Opulence, Pixie Pink and Certainly Celery. The wheel is "Petals" from the Spring Min i Catalogue. You can't actually buy a Jumbo wheel in Orchid Opulence, but I like the colour so much that I made my own! It's easy...just buy an Un-inked Cartridge and a re-inker. Use the nozzle of the re-inker to rotate the cartridge and apply drops of ink as you go.
Here's another bag-a-lope in a Christmas theme: Ink: Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue
Stamps: Star Studded Wheel, Terrific tags (Level 1 Hostess set)
Other: Silver Cord, Tag Punch, Corner Rounder Punch (guard removed- for scalloped edge)

Another Candle

This time, instead of stamping on the candle, I've made a little tealight lampshade for a candle. You get a lovely soft glow through the vellum that looks so pretty sitting on a shelf or tabletop.
Here's how I did it:
Start with two 8cm x 27.5 cm strips of cardstock. Score one of the strips at 6.3, 13, 19.5 and 26cm. This will be the inside piece of your tealight shade. Fold along your score lines, and punch tag windows between the score lines. I took a nip out of the corners, to frame my tag window using the Large Square punch. Now take your unscored strip of cardstock and lay it under your scored piece; this is going to be the outside piece of your lampshade. Use the existing folds in your scored piece to wrap the outside piece around it, folding as you go in the same places as your inside piece. Burnish the folds with your Bone Folder. With the two pieces together, mark where your tag windows are onto the outside piece so you can punch them in the same spots. Stamp the inside and outside as desired. Stamp onto small pieces of vellum, colour the reverse side and adhere to the windows. Attach your inside and outside pieces together using Sticky Strip, tucking the ends, and trimming off any excess, so it looks neat.
Hope that makes sense. It's hard to describe without pictures to show you each step. Email me if you have any questions!
Cardstock: Pale Plum A4, Paper Vellum
Stamps: Scribble This
Ink: Pale plum, Black Stazon
Other: Pale Plum Marker, Perfect Plum Marker, Large Tag Punch, Large Square Punch, Bone Folder

Heartfelt Sympathy

Sympathy cards are one type of card that I never keep in stock.... it would feel like I'm wishing bad luck on myself and others to keep any on hand. Not only that though, but if ever there was a "stamp for therapy" card, then a sympathy card would be it. It is a chance to immerse yourself in creating something for someone in need, and at the same time it somehow helps to heal your own grief.
Dave Abbott, the Australasian General Manager of Stampin' Up! passed away last week at the age of 41. I only met him a handful of times, but he was a man in a million. I attended his funeral yesterday and it was so sad seeing his wife and 3 young children grieving, but the service was a true reflection of what a special man he was.

Cardstock: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Watercolour Paper
Inks: Black Stazon, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Sage Shadow
Stamps: Both Way Blossoms, Warmest Regards, Heartfelt Thanks, Paisley
Other: 1/2" circle punch, Small Oval Punch, Pewter Hodgepodge, Silver Organdy Ribbon
For this card, I stamped in Black Stazon, then I wet the whole piece of watercolour paper with my Aquapainter, and then dipped my Aquapainter into a drop of re-inker, and dabbed it on to the image. The colour spreads softly as the paper dries.

Big Pieces Christmas

This is a card that some of you might recognise if you've been to a workshop of mine lately. One of my favourite things to do is take a stamp set that's not a Christmas set and use it to make a Christmas card. I've done this with Looks Like Spring (here) and Scribble This (here and here)and Simply Said too (haven't showed you that one yet!)
This card was actually a Case of this long-ago card by Michele. Thanks Michele!
Colours are Old Olive, Real Red and Sahara Sand. I've also done a Mellow Moss, Cranberry Crisp, Very Vanilla Version which I like better (you know I'm not a red girl!)
I've stamped a background using Big and Little Pieces. Then I punched out a tag from a scrap of Sahara Sand (sentiment is from All Year Cheer I). I've stamped in Versamark on the red strip, just to add a little extra detail, and also paper pierced. A piece of red grosgrain on the tag finishes it off. Don't you love how perfectly it matches!

Jumping on the bandwagon

There's been a spate of criss-cross cards lately, and I'm jumping on the criss-cross bandwagon. It's been on my to-do list for a while, but more important jobs kept getting in the way (don't you HATE that!). You can find instructions here.
They're really easy to do, and fun to add your own little touches to. I've used Sahara Sand as my Cardstock base, and some double-sided Spring Flowers Paper (don't forget about this month's promotion, so you can get some for FREE!). The other colours I've used are Very Vanilla, Choc Chip and So Saffron. I cut out one of the flowers from one of the other sheets of Patterned paper, and used my Looks Like Spring stamp set and punch for the smaller flowers. The ribbon is Cream Grosgrain. I've paper pierced the top of the Chocolate bellyband and also the pocket insert.

A Worthy Cause...

I have a good deed for you to do today...Go and make a comment here...she needs 100 comments, and then she'll donate $100 to Breast Cancer Research! It's the easiest donation you'l ever make!

http://gone-inkognito.blogspot.com/2007/10/going-pink.html

Penrith Papercrafts Festival 2007

I'm getting excited! It's not long now until the Papercrafts Festival in Penrith. If you’re planning on going, please drop in at the Stampin’ Up! stand and say hello. I’d love to meet you! It's going to be heaps of fun...we'll be doing demonstrations all day of some fantastic techniques - but I won't give away the surprise, you'll have to come along and see! We'll also have free make-&-takes, all day every day. You'll be able to make something a bit different this time - a gorgeous box that's perfect to pop a little Christmas gift in - if you can bear to part with it, that is!
Here are all the details:

Penrith Papercrafts Festival
November 2nd, 3rd & 4th 2007
Penrith Panthers
Mulgoa Rd, Penrith

The show will be open from 10am-5pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10am-4pm on Sunday.
Entry is only $10 for adults and it's free for children under 12 years of age
Check the website for more information on classes, etc.

As promised...

I told you I'd have a card for you this afternoon!
Alisa gave us a Colour Challenge on the Elite Challenges blog: Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise and Cool Caribbean. My first thought was GREEN GALORE?? Yuk! After toying with the idea if sneakily substituting Certainly Celery instead , I rose to the challenge. You can see the card I made here. I used another one of Karen's crabbies. And then I liked the colours so much, that I made another one!

I used my beloved Paisley stamp inked in Cool Caribbean, stamped on Whisper White for the background. Then I stamped a flower, leaf and stem from Bodacious Bouquet in Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore onto Whisper White and rounded the edges with the Corner Rounder punch. I've stamped All in a Row along the bottom of the Cool Caribbean piece, tied some Apple Green Grosgrain ribbon above it, and paper pierced along the top edge. I used the corner rounder punch with the guard removed to make scalloped edges, and mounted the lot on Tempting Turquoise and then Green Galore.

It would look nice with Certainly Celery, don't you think??

The other cards made using these colours are here.

Did You Know??

October is the best month to join Stampin' Up!
Why??
It's the start of a quarter, so there are no sales quotas to meet until the end of March
Lots of people are purchasing for Christmas, so it's easy to make your quota
You will be eligible to attend Sydney Regional training in November
You will be eligible to attend the fabulous Stampin' Up! Convention in Brisbane in April
You'll get the new Summer Mini Catalogue mailed directly to you
You'll get the Sale-a-Bration Catalogue mailed directly to you
You'll get the new Catalogue in April mailed directly to you
When it's time to meet your second quota, there will be a new Catalogue out to choose from!

Some of the many advantages of being a demonstrator are:

• The great value Starter Kit. All of the items are roughly half price, and you get everything you need to get started with Stamping. You can even choose your stamp sets and colours.
• You will have the opportunity to earn lots of Stamp Sets for FREE!
• You get access to the Demonstrator Website, which has heaps of fantastic ideas.
• All the new catalogues and mini Catalogues will be mailed directly to you, at no cost.
• You will receive a full colour monthly newsletter from Stampin’ Up! with lots of ideas in it.
• You'll be able to buy all your supplies at a discount. Your first order over $300 (placed within 45 days of joining) will be 30% off, and then it’s 20% discount after that. Also, for any orders that you place over $300, you qualify for free product and a free hostess stamp set. You will also be paid monthly commissions, depending on the volume of your orders.
• In the first quarter that you sign up, there are no sales requirements.
• There are no Annual fees, and there are no penalties for dropping out.
• If you join my team you will have access to a fantastic on-line forum, Yahoo group and regular team meetings
• I'll do your first workshop for you, to get you off to a great start
• As a bonus, if you sign up with me, you can attend my classes for half price!

Stampin’ Up! is a flexible, fun business that you can build to suit your own needs. If any of these ideas appeals to you, ask me for more information about becoming a demonstrator!
I'm happy to send out a Demonstrator Information Pack at no cost and no obligation.

I'll have a card to show you later on today!

Stamping on Candles

I ran a class last night on candles. We made a vellum wineglass shade, a pillar candle like this one and a tealight candleshade. It's always fun to make some 3D items instead of cards for a change!
Stamping on a candle like this one is as easy as stamping onto white tissue paper, colouring your image with a Blender pen (Aquapainter is too wet), and trimming roughly around it. Then take some waxed lunchwrap or Gladbake; cut a piece large enough to wrap around your candle, and use it to hold your tissue paper image in place. Now use your Heat Tool to gently melt your tissue image into your candle through the Gladbake; you'll be able to see the tissue turn clear as the wax melts. Don't heat too long or you'll have a puddle of wax! You can use the same piece of Gladbake to add images or sayings to other areas of your candle. I tied some Olive Organdy ribbon around my candle, and secured with a brad to finish it off.
Have a go...it's really easy, lots of fun, and makes a great present!

Spring Scribbles

Here's a happy spring card using some *bright* colours. Gable Green, Cameo Coral and Tempting Turquoise. Are you proud of me for using Gable Green instead of Certainly Celery??*grin* I'm making the most of Scribble This before it retires (temporarily, at least) at the end of November.
This was a really quick card to put together. I stamped the flower on a piece of whisper white slightly too small for it (that way you can stamp it off-centre and crooked and it doesn't matter ;-). I've coloured using Crayons and Aquapianter. The white dots on the Cameo Coral strip have been done using the white gel pen and the Paper Piercing Template. I did a swirly background in Versamark. The word "smile" is from Simple Sayings II, and I've framed it using curly brackets made using the Round Tab Punch...a nice way to add a bit of extra colour and definition.
This card was inspired by this long-ago card of Michele's.

Inspired by Kerri

Here's a nice simple Christmas card that was inspired by the lovely and talented Kerri. Kerri is a fellow Elite Stampers Demonstrator. We are actually SU cousins. I love having an extended SU family!
This card was actually a combination of 2 of Kerri's cards. This one and this one. And Kerri has even done a great tutorial on Reverse Masking here. I don't own the Lovely as a Tree set, but Kerri has been doing a good job of making me want it!
For my card, I made a mask by cutting a circle from a sticky note. Did you know about this nifty way of cutting a circle using the Round Tab Punch? How clever is that??
Then, I sponged inside my circle use Brocade Blue ink and a dauber. While my sticky note was still in place, I stamped the Crazy for Christmas baubles, also in Brocade Blue. I wrapped some Bluebird Grosgrain around the middle, with some White Organdy tied in with the knot. I stamped "Season's Greetings" from Many Merry Messages (this set sure is getting a workout lately!). Then I gave the baubles some sparkle, with 2-way glue and glitter. A little sparkle always works well on simple cards, I think. The white cardfront has been mounted on a Brocade Blue base.

1085 cards!

Yesterday was World Cardmaking Day, and I made 1085 Christmas cards. Wanna see??

OK, that's stretching the truth a little bit....there are 1085 cards there, but I'm not totally responsible for making them. This was definitely a group effort, and a HUGE thanks goes out to the fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrators who donated all the materials, others who donated their time to come and help me, and others who made cards and sent them to me to add to the collection. Then there are the Downlines and customers who came and gave their time yesterday on World Cardmaking Day, to help me finish them off and package them up. We started at 2pm and I couldn't believe it when it was 4pm and we were all done! What would have taken me hours on my own, with 16 people helping took just a couple of hours.

These cards are for the Haemophilia Foundation of NSW (a cause close to my heart, since my 6yo son has Haemophilia), and will raise money for much-needed resources. I'm so humbled by the generosity of people who gave their time and money so willingly to help...you know who you are, and you have my heartfelt gratitude.

The Same, but Different

I'm back from camping! We had a lovely time. I have to say that camping really isn't my thing...too much dirt and too little sleep, but the kids love it and it's so good for us all as a family that I tolerate it (and then come home to a shower that's mine, and a renewed appreciation for my lovely clean sheets!)

It's been a while since I blogged anything with Bodacious Bouquet. I made these a while ago for two very special people. I started off making 2 identical cards, but then I was agonising over choice of background colours, so I made them each slightly different. I know which one I prefer! .....I'll tell you later ;-)

Bodacious #1:

Bodacious #2:

The large flowers have been made really sparkly with Heat-and-Stick Powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and those are faux brads as the flower centres, with some Crystal Effects to make them shiny. I've wrapped the ribbon around the Rose Red piece and then used a brad to attach an extra little piece of ribbon as an accent. Some Paper Piercing finishes off the "empty" corner.

So, which one gets your vote?
Colours: Rose Red, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White

Scribbly Set

These are the cards that we made last month at my Stamp-a-Stack. Aren't they *bright*!! I usually shy away from bright colours, but I made an effort to use some, because I know not everyone has the same taste as me!
These are really quick cards to put together...the only time-consuming bit was the watercolouring. I gave everyone a chance to try all the different watercolour mediums - crayons, pastels, inkpads and markers (I don't own the pencils), using both Aquapainters and Blender Pens. We stamped in Stazon on Confetti White cardstock (I find it a bit more forgiving than Whisper White to watercolour on).
One thing that struck me, (and I had over 20 people trying this over the course of the month) was how everyone's preferences varied so much. Some loved the Pastels and Blender Pen, others loved the Crayons and Aquapainter, and others preferred the markers. I guess is really is just a matter of personal preference.
For the backgrounds on these cards, we stamped in black and just lightly coloured areas using a white crayon, no blending necessary. It just adds a soft highlight, not as stark as the gel pen would be.
I'm loving my Large Oval punch for a quick and easy way to add a sentiment.
Colours: (starting top left-hand corner, going clockwise) Orchid Opulence, Cool Caribbean, Pixie Pink; Tempting Turquoise, Pixie Pink, Lavender Lace; Yoyo Yellow, Pink Passion, Almost Amethyst; Lovely Lilac, Apricot Appeal, Sage Shadow.
We're taking the kids camping for a couple of days (it's school holidays here), so it'll be quiet around here until I get back!