Iridescent Ice

In this month's Technique class, we had a play with some different embossing powders. This is the card we made using Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder. We made the heart what I called "White Sparkle" (by stamping in White Craft ink and then embossing) and made the 'Love' Sentiment "Clear Sparkle" (by inking the whole piece with Versamark ink and then embossing).
This is the You are Loved set from the Summer Mini. Wouldn't this make a gorgeous wedding or anniversary card?
The colours I've used are Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant, and the card is 13x13cm, the perfect size to fit in our square envelopes.

The Wedding Card

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I had a lovely weekend :o)
I thought you might like to see the card I made for the wedding. I kept it simple and elegant. I pulled out the Bliss Sale-a-Bration set and inked it up in Sahara Sand. I then stamped it off because I wanted the middle to be very pale. I then sponged Sahara Sand and then Rich Razzleberry ink around the outer part of the stamp and stamped it onto Very Vanilla cardstock. I stamped the sentiment inside in Rich Razzleberry ink (the sentiment is from a Level 3 Hostess set). I then sponged the edges of the cardstock in Sahara Sand, and layered it onto another piece of Very Vanilla. I made some embossed stripes on the Rich Razzleberry piece of cardstock using a Scoring Blade in my paper trimmer. Some ribbon and an antique brad just finishes it off.

By the way, I've had a few people asking how I was going towards earning the Fiji Incentive Trip, and I'm very happy to say that Dave and I will be enjoying an all-expenses paid holiday to Fiji in October :o) Thanks to my wonderful team, I earned the trip nice and early this year, so the pressure was off!

Flowers and More Flowers

Happy Australia Day! I really should be showing you something patriotic, or at least green and gold, but I've never made an Australia Day card, so I'll just pull out another Sale-a-Bration card instead!

I've used the 'Botanical Blooms' set and the 'Congrats' set on this one to make a wedding card, but you could switch the greeting and make this for any occasion, really. Who knew that you could say Congratulations for so many things? I reckon you pretty much have it all covered with this set...anniversaries, retirement, marriage, baby, birthday and just a general 'well done'.
To do the background panel of this card, I stamped the leaves first (in Sage Shadow) and then used a Regal Rose marker to ink just the inner part of the flower. You can see the whole flower where I cut it out and attached it, but for this background, I wanted a more delicate bud-like bloom. My trusty markers came in handy again to colour the White Taffeta ribbon Regal Rose. I used the Scallop Edge punch and pierced a hole in each scallop to give it a more lacy feel.

Now, for more flowers! If you're very observant, you'll notice 2 new names on my "Downlines Blog Roll" over there --->
I feel very lucky to have 2 lovely and talented ladies join my team.... Sandy and Fiona both joined Stampin' Up! this month. They both have blogs already where you can see their work. Check out THIS gorgeous Paper Flower tutorial by Sandy and THESE Origami flowers by Fiona. Aren't they clever?!

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Botanical Blooms, Congrats
inks: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose
cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa
other: White Taffeta Ribbon, Regal Rose marker, Scallop edge punch, Paper Piercer and Mat pack.

Bling!

Last month my Technique class was "Sparkle and Shimmer", and we learnt about all things bling-y! There are so many ways to add sparkle to your projects, and i think we covered most of them in this class. Needless to say, my dining room is still glittery!
This is one of the 2 cards we made. Put on your sunnies - have you ever seen so much sparkle crammed onto one card???

We stamped the Baroque Motifs flourish in Gold Encore ink onto Gold Shimmer cardstock. Then, sprinkled with Heat-and-Stick powder, heated with a heat tool until it had just melted, and then sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and re-heated to set the glitter. I just love how this ultra fine glitter has such a gorgeous iridescent sparkle. Next we cut the cardstock into 3 panels, and mounted it on to Very Vanilla cardstock. The floral motif was stamped in Versamrk onto a scrap of Gold shimmer cardstock, and then sprinkled with Gold embossing powder that had some Dazzling Diamonds glitter mixed into it (3 parts EP to 1 part glitter). We heated it to melt the powder, and then cut it out, and mounted it on a Very Vanilla scallop. I pierced each scallop with my paper-piercing tool. Everyone got to choose a Rhinestone brad colour, and then chose cardstock and ink to match. We had some lovely colour combinations, and just about every colour seemed to work well with gold. Lavender Lace and Perfect Plum looked particularly nice, I thought.
Here's a close-up of the sparkle:

I think this would make a lovely "special occasion" card...wedding, engagement or anniversary, particularly.

Baroque Anniversary

I made this card to celebrate our 12th Wedding Anniversary. We don't really do Anniversary presents, but we do make a special effort to write some nice words to each other in a card and spend some "just us" time. It was an extra special effort this year, since our anniversary was smack-bang in the middle of a very busy school holidays!
We went to a lovely Vietnamese restaurant...it even felt like a real date, because we've hardly seen each other or even been in the same state for the past month, so there was lots to catch up on!
I stuck with a monochromatic theme for this card. Soft Sky is such a pretty colour, that it really needs no accompaniment. The background stamping is the gorgeous Baroque Motifs swirl stamped in Soft Sky. The main floral motif is from the same set, as is the word 'cherish'. I used the Spring Silhouettes DS paper for the patterned panel, and added a few special details...it's all about the details when your card is otherwise quite plain.

Here's what I did to give this card lots of added texture and interest:

• I've added a strip of the lovely vanilla taffeta ribbon
• There's a row of dry-embossed dots (done using the Crop-o-dile)
• I've stamped the Floral motif 3 times, and layered it with Dimensionals
• I added a half-pearl from the Pretties Kit to the centre
• Above the patterned paper panel, there's an extra layer of Soft Sky, and I've stamped a row of the smallest Baroque Motif flower so that just half a flower shows along the top
• Finally I've highlighted the word 'cherish' with my white gel pen so it stands out a little more.
  

My hubby has been the biggest support to me. He regularly makes tea and coffee for the ladies at my classes, he served nibblies at my Launch Party (and even took an order or two!), and he often delivers orders for me. Not to mention the wonderful father and husband he is in so many ways...I don't often get soppy on here, but Dave, I'd be lost without you!

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!