The Final Call

The last day of March is here, and it's your last chance to order anything from the current Idea Book and Catalogue. Make sure you call or email me by 9pm tonight with your order! I'm going to the Easter Show with the kids today, but I'll be back tonight to place any last-minute orders.

This card has been made with a cute and somewhat neglected stamp set, called Fun Filled. The colour combination is Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal and Regal Rose. If you have a look at page 48 of the catalogue, you'll see where my inspiration came from!

3 stamp sets were inadvertently left off the 2007-2008 Retired List, and the sales period for these products has been extended for 15 days until the 15th April or while quantities last.
These stamp sets are:
All About U (108721)
Business Boosters (108761)
Aida Cloth (108769)

Carte Postale Wedding and a Special Offer!

I'm off to Queensland tomorrow for my Cousin's Wedding, so you won't be hearing from me until Sunday.

This is the card I made for Justine and her new hubby-to-be, James. I always make Wedding cards and baby cards with a recipient in mind. It doesn't seem right to keep them in stock, and something about these major life events makes me want to sit down and make a card to mark the occasion.
This was a tricky one to photograph, with all the embossing. I started by wheeling a piece of Brushed Silver Cardstock with 'Leaves a la Carte' Jumbo wheel in Versamark ink. I sprinkled silver embossing powder over it, and heat-embossed. Something about embossing adds instant elegance! I attached this to a layer of Buckaroo Blue (retiring In Colour), and then to my Whisper White card base. Then I mounted a panel of Whisper White and Buckaroo Blue. I've used the floral emblem from Carte Postale, and had lots of fun cutting and punching various layers, and finished off with a Rhinestone brad in the centre (these will be available in our new catalogue on April 1!). The word 'love' has been stamped in Versamark on a strip of vellum, so you can see the scroll motif stamped behind it. I know the bridesmaids are in blue, which is why I chose that colour. I hope they like it!

Since it's the Last Week of the Summer Mini Catalogue, I'm running one last Special Offer. For every $25 you spend in orders from the Summer Mini, you'll go into the draw to win a
$40 Gift Voucher to spend on the New Idea Book & Catalogue!
Orders must be placed by 9pm Monday, March 31

The only products from the Summer Mini that made it through to our new Catalogue are:
Backyard BBQ, Flip-Flops wheel
Bud Basics, Basic Outline wheel
Carte Postale, Leaves a la Carte Wheel
Round Tab Punch, Spiral Punch
Wide Grosgrain Ribbon (Chocolate, Celery, Vanilla)
5x5 Art Journal

That means NO Stem Silhouettes, NO French Flair, NO gorgeous papers, and NONE of the other gorgeous Stamp sets *sob*
Place your order by next Monday if you want any of these products.

Don't forget it's also your last chance to order retiring items too....that includes all the current In Color range. So, if you have in Color inkpads, you may like to stock up on some cardstock to go with them!

Long time Friends

"Long time Friend" is a set in our current Summer Mini Catalogue, and sadly, it won't be in our new Catalogue in April. I was lucky enough to be sent some stamped images of this set from Alisa, so I've been having a play. Something about rainy weather makes me want to stay inside and colour in! This is such fun to colour!! I made one card for the Elite Challenges blog here, and enjoyed it so much that I made another one straight away, with a similar layout, just in slightly different colours.
Here I've used Pretty in Pink (sponged in Whisper white to soften it, and stamped in Linen background for texture), Sage Shadow and Close to Cocoa.
The main image has been stamped in Black Stazon on Watercolour paper and watercoloured with an Aquapainter and my Watercolour Wonder Crayons. I used a Sage Shadow marker for the thin stems. I used the lavender spray from Petal Prints stamped in Versamark on the Sage shadow piece and also on the pink piece. 'Mon Amie' is from the Carte Postale Set, stamped in Close to Cocoa. I've also sponged Creamy Caramel on most of the pieces for an aged look.
I know, it's a bit of a departure from my usual style...what do you think?

Updated "Sold Out" List

I thought it was time to update the stamp sets and accessories that are sold out, or nearly sold out. Items in RED are gone, YELLOW are almost gone. You can view the full list of Retiring Products here.
Sorry about the dodgy formatting. I couldn't get Blogger to play nicely and do a table for me. It's Item Code, Name and Page Number.
CATALOGUE SETS
108739 ARTIFACTS 92
108766 CHEESECLOTH 106
109074 CLASSIC NUMBERS 121
108771 COLLAGE NUMBERS 123
108824 GLAM GIRL 60
108833 HEADLINE ALPHABET 120
108834 HEADLINE NUMBERS 120
108836 HEBREW HOLIDAYS 33
108848 IT'S SNOW TIME 25
108853 LETTERPRESS ALPHABET 120
108868 MADONNA AND CHILD 26
108885 ON WALKABOUT 82
108897 PURE & SIMPLE ALPHABET UPPER 121
108898 PURE & SIMPLE NUMBERS 121
108901 RENAISSANCE ANGELS 30
108907 SEASIDE SKETCHES
108956 WHIMSICAL ALPHABET UPPER 122
108957 WHIMSICAL NUMBERS 122

HOSTESS SETS
108814 FLOWERS FOR A FRIEND 17
108844 IN ANY EVENT 16
108865 LOVE IT 16

STAMPIN' AROUND WHEELS
104070 BLOOMIN'
105750 BOUQUET* 74
105518 BUILDER BITS 64
103296 CANDY CANE CHRISTMAS 28
102254 LOVE SWIRLS 36
105448 SIZE IT UP 92
104160 SQUARE PEGS* 101
105033 WINGS & THINGS
* Stampin' Around Jumbo wheels

ACCESSORIES
106581 Boxes & Tags Petal Cards B Brights & E Elements 138
107231 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill BUCKAROO BLUE 127
107228 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill CRANBERRY CRISP 127
107230 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill COOL CARIBBEAN 127
107227 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill MARIGOLD MORNING 127
107232 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill VINTAGE VIOLET 127
104328 Craft Stampin' Ink Refill VERY VANILLA 127
104136 Designer Series Paper POOL PARTY
104281 Encore Ink Refill COPPER 144
104280 Encore Pad COPPER 144
103378 Punch CORNER ROUNDER SMALL
104407 Punch NOTCHED CORNER 140
102712 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" BLACK 148
100538 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" BLUEBIRD 148
105372 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" BURGUNDY 148
105373 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" CELERY 148
105374 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" CHOCOLATE 148
100455 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" CREAM 148
101926 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" LIGHT PINK 148
105378 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" NAVY
101156 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" TAUPE
107453 Simply Scrappin' ALL THE TRIMMINGS 135
101492 Spectrum Pad CELEBRATION 144
105579 Spectrum Pad COTTON CANDY 144
101336 Spectrum Pad PUMPKIN PATCH 144
103953 Stamp-a-ma-jig IMAGING SHEETS 143
101460 Stampin' Around Cartridge & Refill Whisper White 141
103017 Stampin' Around Refill Whisper White141
100442 Stampin' Emboss Powder CLASSY COPPER 145
103648 Stampin' Stack 147
107239 Tag Sheets CONFETTI WHITE & VERY VANILLA 138
105812 Write me a Memory JOURNALING FONTS CD VOL I

I'll be back to upload a card later on! :o)

Sunny Boy Tutorial

Here is the tutorial I promised you! Those of you in the U.S. would know these as Sour Cream containers, but here in Australia they're Sunny Boy containers. They are really quick and easy to make, and a great way to package up a couple of little Easter gifts. Enjoy!

1. Cut a piece of A4 cardstock in quarters (14.8 x 10.5cm). You can use a larger piece to make bigger containers, but this size is really cute! I've used almost Amethyst.

2. Stamp as desired (because who wants a plain container??) I've used the Twinkle wheel (retiring) in Lovely Lilac.

3. Score 1cm from each end, with your cardstock in Portrait orientation (my team members know this step really well, because I told them to do it the wrong way in our meeting last week *blush*). I used my trimmer with a Scoring Blade, but you could also use a Bone Folder and a Ruler.

4. Apply Sticky Strip along one of the shorter edges. Sticky Strip is extra-strong double-sided tape...this stuff really does STICK!

5. wrap your cardstock around a cardboard tube (a used paper towel roll or loo roll does nicely!) This is not essential, but makes it easier to form a smooth tube shape. Peel the backing off the Sticky Strip and affix along the opposite edge of the cardstock to form a tube.

6. Flatten one edge with your bone folder. Try and make sure the join is not exactly in the middle, but slightly to one side. Use a piece of Sticky Strip to join this end together

7. Flatten the opposite end with your bone folder, this time at right angles to your other side. You can join the ends together with Sticky Strip, or punch a couple of holes and tie a piece of ribbon through it to hold it closed.

8. Punch a tag using the greeting of your choice. I've used the Bunny Hugs set (retiring) in the Summer Mini. I punched 2 tags, and stuck them together and then watercoloured them.

Attach your tag with some pretty ribbon. I've used Pink Organdy (retiring)

Please let me know by email if any of those steps aren't clear, or if you have any trouble!

Goodbye Stems

I've just heard the sad news that Stem Silhouettes isn't making it into our new catalogue :o( In fact, the list of what's making it though from the Summer Mini is pitifully small. Only Bud Basics, Basic Outline wheel, Backyard BBQ, Carte Postale and Leaves a la Carte wheel will be in our new catalogue. All the other stamps sets and papers will be gone forever at the end of this month. Let me know if there's anything you would like before March 31!
This set has been the one I've reached for whenever I want to pull together a simple, elegant card. It really makes a statement, and you don't have to do anything fancy with it at all.

This card is actually just a card-front, like a postcard, but I've stuck a pocket note (these are also in the Summer mini, and also retiring) on the front. It opens up like this:

The colours I've used are Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa. I've used markers and the Stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the greeting in 2 lines, so it fits inside the pocket note.
I'm working on the Sunny Boy tutorial for you, but in the meantime, check out my downline Kirrily's first tutorial on chipboard here. Isn't she clever? :o)

My Retirement Party!

I had a Retirement Party last night...no, I'm not old or rich enough to retire yet; besides I love SU! too much too retire! But lots of stamps and accessories are retiring, so I thought that was a good excuse to crack open the bubbly! I had 30 people in my house all having lots of fun making cards and chatting. I had lots of Special Offers and Lucky Door Prizes, and they also got a goody bag to take home. It was such a fun night! This is one of the items in their goody bags...a mini Sunny Boy container, with some Easter Eggs inside.


I've heard these called "Sour Cream Containers", but I've never seen sour cream in a container like this (must be a U.S. thing), so I'm calling it a Sunny Boy container instead ;o)
They're really quick and easy to make (thank goodness, since I had to make 30!). I made mine from 1/4 A4 sheet of cardstock. I can make up a tutorial for you to see how to make them, so leave me a comment if you'd like to see one.
I've used Almost Amethyst cardstock, and wheeled it using "Twinkle" (retiring) in Lovely Lilac. I've used this wheel to death...it's great for Christmas and all year round too, for a background that goes with anything!
I used the cute Bunny Hugs set to make the tag. This is such a cute set for only $33.95. It's in the Mini Catalogue, which finishes at the end of this month, and I have a feeling this one may not make it into our new catalogue in April. The basket is stamped separately to the eggs, so you can use it all year round and stamp other things in it. I've watercoloured in Regal Rose, Almost Amethyst and Lovely Lilac, and attached the tag with some delicate pink Organdy ribbon (also retiring).
I hope everyone liked them!
And I have some good news....0 to go! I MADE IT!!!! :o)

Sold Out!

I thought some of you might like to know what stamp sets and accessories are sold out, or nearly sold out. Items in RED are gone, YELLOW are almost gone. You can view the full list of Retiring Products here.
Sorry about the dodgy formatting. I couldn't get Blogger to play nicely and do a table for me. It's Item Code, Name and Page Number.
CATALOGUE SETS
108739 ARTIFACTS 92
108766 CHEESECLOTH 106
109074 CLASSIC NUMBERS 121
108771 COLLAGE NUMBERS 123
108824 GLAM GIRL 60
108833 HEADLINE ALPHABET 120
108834 HEADLINE NUMBERS 120
108836 HEBREW HOLIDAYS 33
108848 IT'S SNOW TIME 25
108853 LETTERPRESS ALPHABET 120
108868 MADONNA AND CHILD 26
108885 ON WALKABOUT 82
108897 PURE & SIMPLE ALPHABET UPPER 121
108898 PURE & SIMPLE NUMBERS 121
108901 RENAISSANCE ANGELS 30
108956 WHIMSICAL ALPHABET UPPER 122
108957 WHIMSICAL NUMBERS 122

HOSTESS SETS
108814 FLOWERS FOR A FRIEND 17
108844 IN ANY EVENT 16
108865 LOVE IT 16

STAMPIN' AROUND WHEELS
105750 BOUQUET* 74
105518 BUILDER BITS 64
103296 CANDY CANE CHRISTMAS 28
102254 LOVE SWIRLS 36
105448 SIZE IT UP 92
104160 SQUARE PEGS* 101
* Stampin' Around Jumbo wheels

ACCESSORIES
106581 Boxes & Tags Petal Cards B Brights & E Elements 138
107231 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill BUCKAROO BLUE 127
107228 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill CRANBERRY CRISP 127
107230 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill COOL CARIBBEAN 127
107227 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill MARIGOLD MORNING 127
107232 Classic Stampin' Ink Refill VINTAGE VIOLET 127
104328 Craft Stampin' Ink Refill VERY VANILLA 127
104281 Encore Ink Refill COPPER 144
104280 Encore Pad COPPER 144
104407 Punch NOTCHED CORNER 140
102712 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" BLACK 148
100538 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" BLUEBIRD 148
105372 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" BURGUNDY 148
105373 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" CELERY 148
105374 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" CHOCOLATE 148
100455 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" CREAM 148
101926 Ribbon Grosgrain 1/4" LIGHT PINK 148
107453 Simply Scrappin' ALL THE TRIMMINGS 135
101492 Spectrum Pad CELEBRATION 144
105579 Spectrum Pad COTTON CANDY 144
101336 Spectrum Pad PUMPKIN PATCH 144
103953 Stamp-a-ma-jig IMAGING SHEETS 143
101460 Stampin' Around Cartridge & Refill Whisper White 141
103017 Stampin' Around Refill Whisper White141
100442 Stampin' Emboss Powder CLASSY COPPER 145
103648 Stampin' Stack 147
107239 Tag Sheets CONFETTI WHITE & VERY VANILLA 138
105812 Write me a Memory JOURNALING FONTS CD VOL I

We have a winner!

Well, now that you've managed to spot all the mistakes in my card that even I didn't notice...;o)
I'm going to give the prize to Pamela. She was the first to guess:
"the Umbrella order is wrong (for you only) instead of up down, up, up(arch), down you may have wanted it down, up, down, up(arch), down....."
which is exactly correct, and that's how I re-made the card, to satisfy my sense of order!
Send me an email Pamela, and I'd love to send you some gorgeous Ribbon Originals samples!

Now there are probably a million mistakes is this card too, but I don't want to know about them LOL!

Same Stamp Set, same design, just a change of image and colours. This time I've used Pale Plum, and punched the square twice to make a rectangle window.

for those that keep asking...972 to go! :o)

My favourite things...

The stamp set Blooming with Happiness wins my prize for my favourite Level 1 Hostess set (I'm sure it's very honoured to receive such an esteemed award LOL)
I just love the crisp, fine lines, the little details and the way it lend itself to simple cards like
this and this.
If you'd like to own this set before it's gone forever, you need to place a $300 order by the end of March. It's easier than you think...just show your friends the Retirement List and there's bound to be some things they can't live without! You'll also get an extra $30 to spend on yourself too!My favourite 2007-8 In Color award goes to Cool Caribbean (with Cranberry Crisp a close runner-up)
I've cut my cardstock length-ways for this card. You still get 2 cards from an A4 sheet, but the "spine" of the card will be at the side for a landscape card, or at the top for a portrait. I like having the spine at the side because when you sit your card on the mantelpiece so everyone can admire it for days on end (because of course that's what everyone does with handmade cards, right?!?), it sits up nicely instead of gradually lying flatter and flatter.
It also gives you that "Something Extra" before you've even started. I'm a big believer in Something Extra...I think every card should have something that makes you want to keep on looking. It can be an added detail like Paper-Piercing, a bit of texture, or some sparkle...just those extra details that turn it into something special, and beg the question "how did you do that?"
To make the Arched window here, I used my 1 3/8" square punch (punched in from the side) and then my 1 3/8" circle punch also punched in from the side, to punch out a semi-circle on top of the square. Always use your punches upside down, so you can see exactly where you're punching.
The rest of the card is really easy...a row of Umbrellas stamped in Basic Black. I've attached a piece of Whisper White inside the card, so one of the umbrellas is stamped on that. I've highlighted some of the flowers with my White Gel Pen, and the inside umbrella I've coloured some flowers in Cool Caribbean. I positioned the sentiment on top of the window using the Stamp-a-ma-jig.
The strip along the bottom is made using the Corner rounder punch (guard removed) and the Paper Piercing mat pack.
Now, can anyone spot the mistake in this card?
After taking the photo, I realised, and even re-made the card, but I was too lazy to re-take the photo! There's a little ribbon-y prize for the first person to guess (sorry fellow demos, you'll have to miss this one, so ssshhhh!)

The full set!

Thankyou for all your lovely comments on my latest published work, both here and on email. I've had a couple of requests to show the full set of 9 cards. Here they are...I hope you can see them all!

The colours I used are Barely Banana, Pixie Pink and Certainly Celery, and the stamp set is the bargain set Seeing Spots, which I've used to death. I'm so glad it's not retiring! I've also used my white gel pen to do faux stitching, and the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle punches. The cards are 9.9 x 9.9 cm, which allowed me to get 3 little square cards from an A4 page.
All of the products I've used are available to purchase from me!
Oh, and to answer the other question I've been getting a lot....

1409 to go!

Trumpet blowing!

I got a lovely surprise in the mail yesterday...the latest Stamping and Papercraft mag with some of my cards in it! So, I'm shamelessly blowing my own trumpet here.
This is the original set of cards I submitted, which they accepted, and asked me to make 3 more for the "10 Quick Cards" section (I thought it would be a bit cheeky to point out that it's actually nine cards and a tote bag).
This was aaaages ago (as you can see, this pic was taken before I even had a watermark for my photos) and it was so nice to see them finally in print! You can find full instructions and the template for the tote bag in the mag (Vol 13 No7), but if you have any questions about them, feel free to email me!

Stamp-a-Stack

I've had a few queries about what a Stamp-a-Stack is.....Basically, it's where you come along and make a whole "stack" of cards in one evening. It's a great way to build up your stash for all those occasions that creep up on you! You make 8 cards in an evening, in 2 different designs. The cost is $10 and all you need to bring is a SNAIL adhesive which you can buy from me (or you may prefer to use mine and pay $15 instead).
I run these classes every Tuesday night, and a couple of day times too, and the same class is repeated for a month. This is one of the designs for March, using the very cute Wild About You set:

And the other design is using the Retiring In Colours and the gorgeous Stem Silhouettes set:

I only have a couple of spots left, but you can always book in for a different night and organise your own group of people at your place. Just email me if you have a group of friends who would like to Stamp-a-Stack of cards!