Happy New Year!

I just love the start of a New Year. New beginnings and starting afresh always give me a burst of energy. It's my favourite part of the Stampin' Up! calendar too - Sale-a-Bration. It's such fun giving away free stamps!

For those of you who haven't experienced Sale-a-Bration before, you can read all about it HERE and check out the free stamp sets HERE. There are 4 gorgeous sets to choose from, and each one is absolutely free when you place an order for $100. And there are no limits to how many you can earn. Look at what you get when you place a $300 order: $300 worth of goodies, plus $30 in FREE merchandise (from any catalogue), a FREE Level 1 Hostess Set, and 3 FREE Sale-a-Bration sets. So that's 4 stamp sets absolutely free!

It's a fantastic time to join Stampin' Up! too, and I have a few ladies doing just that this month. Email me if you'd like some more info.

Now, a card....I haven't had a lot of time to play with the Sale-a-Bration sets yet, but I thought I'd show you a very quick a simple card I made using my favourite set (so far!), Botanical Blooms.

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
Stamps: Botanical Blooms, Congrats
Ink: River rock, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa
Cardstock: River Rock, Whisper White
Other: Corner rounder Punch, Wide Chocolate Chip Double-Stitched ribbon, Linen thread, Dimensionals

We're heading up North tomorrow for a family holiday for a week, but I'll be well and truly back after that!

My Christmas Card

This is the Christmas card I sent out this year. I sent 120 out to friends and family, and I would love to have been able to send out more! To those of you who didn't receive one, consider this your Cyber-card, with my warmest Christmas wishes!
I kept it simple this year and didn't even use a Christmas set, or Christmas colours. The set I used is called "Sweet Sampler". I inked the main image in River Rock, and then rolled the edges of the stamp in Mellow Moss ink before stamping on Naturals Ivory cardstock. I then sponged the edges of the cardstock in River Rock ink. The word 'joy' is actually the word 'enjoy' from the same set. I just inked 'joy' with a Not Quite Navy marker. I tore the bottom edge of the Blue Bayou piece, and sponged the edges in Blue Bayou ink. The ribbon is Mellow Moss Taffeta. I stamped En Francais in River Rock ink for the background, and I designed these cards to have the 'spine' at the top. I know a lot of people hang their Chrissy cards on blinds or tinsel, so this way the card doesn't have to hang sideways.
I probably won't be on here again before Christmas, so I'll wish you all a very safe and merry Christmas, surrounded by those you love!

Finally!

I really didn't mean to have such a long break from posting. Hopefully you've all been as busy as I have and not even noticed that I haven't been around!

BUT... I have good news. I've finally taken those photos so I actually have some new things to show you!

I thought I'd start with a card made using a set that I don't own. My lovely downline and friend Dorothy kindly lent me hers so I could stamp some images. "For Father" is on the last page of the Summer Mini, and I didn't think it was really my style, but I must say I really enjoyed watercolouring it! It's a great set for masculine cards, but this doggie would make a good card for anyone. I was trying to make this one a bit teenager-y. My sister had a pair of Cherry-red Doc Martens when she was a teenager that looked a lot like these!

I used BlackStazon to stamp on watercolour paper. I think watercolour paper is a must to get a good result with these images. You can get so much more depth to your colouring. I used watercolour crayons and my Aquapainter to colour with, and then added some deeper tones by taking colour straight from the inkpad (Ruby Red for the boots, and Creamy Caramel for the dog).

The patterned paper I have used is Ginger Blossom. The other colours are Basic Grey, Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip. I used some Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware to embellish. I wanted the Kraft Taffeta ribbon to look a bit girly and ruffled, but I didn't want a bow on there, so I attached a row of Sticky Strip, and gathered the ribbon along the Sticky Strip.

Here are the colour matches for the papers in the Summer Mini, so you can match your colours exactly:

Bali Breeze

· Old Olive
· Pumpkin Pie
· Rose Red
· Taken with Teal

Afternoon Tea

· Chocolate Chip
· Groovy Guava
· Soft Sky
· Wild Wasabi

Ginger Blossom

· Cameo Coral
· Groovy Guava
· River Rock
· Ruby Red

I'll try and get some more blog posts happening over the next few days. We do have house guests arriving today, staying over Christmas with their 3 kids, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to get on the computer!

Last day to order markers!

Thanks for all your comments to Amy. She's loving feeling so popular!
...now, you all know that I really like comments too, don't you? ;o)

As Amy reminded you yesterday, Sunday the 14th (that's tomorrow!) is the last day to order markers individually. I have a special offer for my local customers. If you would like to order some markers, let me know by 9pm tomorrow night (14th December) and you will pay NO shipping, when you pick your order up from me. This means you are free to order just a couple of markers, and you won't get the minimum $5.95 shipping charge! Email me to take advantage of this offer

A card by Amy!

I made this card for my Grandmother's birthday in November. She is my grandmother but I call her Peri. I chose lots of purple colours because she likes purple and so do I. It is Lavender Lace and Almost Amethyst. The stamp set I used is called Petal Prints, and I chose the flower that looks like lavender. I stamped the outline bit and then the other part. Mum said it didn't matter if I didn't line it up perfectly. I stamped Birthday Wishes (from Sincere Salutations) in Elegant Eggplant ink. I wanted some purple ribbon, but there wasn't the colour I wanted, so Mum showed me how to make my own coloured ribbon by using White Taffeta ribbon and colouring it in with markers. I didn't want the ribbon to be just one colour, so I asked her if I could make it rainbow, and she said OK so I coloured one edge in Almost Amethyst, and then the middle in Lavender Lace and then the other edge in Elegant Eggplant. I think it looks pretty. Peri liked my card and I hope you do too (leave me some comments please!)
Mum says there are only 2 more days to buy the markers individually so you can make ribbon like this too.

from Amy Y

NOTHING!

I feel very sorry for my loyal blog readers who come to check what I've been up to, and find there is NOTHING! I have actually been doing a fair bit of nothing, and enjoying it thoroughly!! That's one of the things I love about my job...I can decide when I need a break. I've been looking after my adorable baby nieces, playing games with my kids (Top Trumps anyone??), attending school presentations, and making cards with my new Sale-a-Bration sets (can't show you those yet, but I love 'em, and I know you are going to as well!!). I also (shock, horror!) finished a book that I started aaages ago (after I finished I had to go back and re-read the start, because I'd forgotten it! Anyone read "Three Wishes" by Liane Moriarty? It's a light-hearted fun read, set in Sydney)
So, since I have still not taken those pictures (I keep moving that job to the bottom of my to-do list), I thought I'd tell you about some clever people who have not been doing nothing!
Check out what Kerry has been doing with carousel notes. What a clever chick!
Kirrily has also been busy. Have a look at the cute flower she made and the purse we all admired (and coveted) at our Team dinner.
And Look! Teneale has updated her blog. Yippee!

One more thing I wanted to tell you all - If you have a spare 5 minutes, and if you have an opinion about Stampin' Up!'s colours (who doesn't??), and if you are an Aussie Stampin' Up! customer, you might like to take THIS survey, and let Stampin' Up! know what you think.

Amy is going to pop on here this afternoon and show you a card she made recently, so check back later!

Finally!

I'm not sure where the days have been going! I've been busy catching up on family stuff lately, and all those Christmass-y jobs, so the blog has been somewhat neglected. And I STILL haven't had the long-overdue photo session to take pics of my recent cards. So here's another one pulled out of the archives. Some of my newsletter subscribers might recognise this one (and a couple of friends and downlines might also recognise it as a birthday card they received too!)

I've used "Live Your Dream" from the Summer Mini, and markers to ink it up (Old Olive, Bashful Blue and Brocade Blue). Don't forget, there are only a few days left to buy your markers individually...the promotion ends on December 14!

Here's a close-up of the Rhinestone brad nested inside a pewter Jumbo eyelet. Isn't it purty?!
You can also see the Linen background stamp more clearly:

Stamps: Live Your Dream, Linen, Forever in my Heart
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Old Olive
Other: Large Oval Punch, Small oval Punch, Pewter Jumbo eyelets, "Ice" circle Rhinestone brads, Pewter Jumbo eyelets, Crop-a-dile, markers (Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue)

Now, the answer to my Blog Candy. It was interesting reading your favourite papers. It was pretty evenly divided among the 3 designs, which isn't surprising since all 3 are just gorgeous. Afternoon Tea is a narrow favourite for me, and as many of you guessed, "Embrace Life" is my favourite stamp set. The first eligible guesser was Kerrie. Email me Kerrie with your address, and I'll pop some Felt Fusion flowers in the mail for you!

Team Christmas Dinner

I have a ton of stuff to show you, but I just haven't taken any photos of any of it yet! I need to have a big photo session, but other things keep getting in the way! Most of them are fun things...Last night we had our team Christmas Dinner:

It was the best night! There were 16 of us, and Ruth was kind enough to host us all at her house. She went to so much trouble with table decorations (check them out on her blog), Kirrily did some games for us all (Ruth and I won, but everyone else got the prizes LOL), and all the food was so yummy, especially Liam's Cannelloni! Ruth and I did the other food, and we had a feast! We also had a Secret Santa (isn't it great to get a present that you just know you're going to love?! We gave each other items on our Stampin' Up! wishlist of course!), and a Christmas card swap. I feel so blessed to have a team of such lovely ladies!

Now, a card. I made this card as a sympathy card for a friend a little while ago, and I had some very sad news today that another friend of mine lost her baby boy, so I am feeling rather emotional....

I stamped in Black Stazon on Watercolour paper and used an Aquapainter and my inkpad to colour in. I used the Scallop edge punch to make the Rectangle. Check out THIS tutorial to find out how I did it. I'm so happy we have this punch now. I don't think it has made it back into my drawer since I got it!

Stamps: Paisley, Embrace life, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Versamark, Black Stazon, Purely Pomegranate
Cardstock: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Watercolour paper
Other: wide Double-stitched Chocolate Chip ribbon, sponge daubers, Aquapainter, Scallop Edge punch

A New Month!

It's hard to believe it's December already, but with it brings a new Catalogue, a new promotion, and they've even extended one of the November promotions for a bit longer!

The Summer Mini is LIVE, and isn't it gorgeous?? I just love all those papers, and I have a favourite stamp set already....read on for some Blog Candy ;o)

The promotion for December is just amazing. You can get 20% off 12 great items, just by spending $20. It's not often you can get a set of 6 stamps for just $16.76!

Here's the list of all the items that are 20% off:

Festive Favourites stamp set (page 27) was $45.95 now only $36.76
Crazy For Christmas stamp set (page 28) was $39.95 now only $31.96
Snow Flurries stamp set (page 29) $20.95 now only $16.76
Tag Time stamp set (page 43) $53.95 now only $43.16
Many Merry Messages stamp set (page 111) $64.95 now only $51.96
12″x12″ Days-to-Remember Calendar (page 133) was $20.95 now only $16.76
6″x6″ Days-to-Remember Calendar (page 133) was $18.95 now only $15.16
Winter Bright Simply Scrappin’ (page 138) was $36.95 now only $29.56
Three for You Punch Box (page 138) was $85.95 now only $68.76
Very Vanilla 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon (page 146) was $14.95 now only $11.96
Certainly Celery 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon (page 146) was $14.95 now only $11.96
White Square Aluminium Metal Edge tags (page 147) was $7.50 now only $6.00

The Single Marker Promotion has been extremely popular, and now you have until December 14 to take advantage of it. Woo Hoo!

Now I thought it's about time for some Blog Candy of my own...tell me which is your favourite paper from the Summer Mini - Afternoon Tea, Bali Breeze, or Ginger Blossom - AND have a guess at which stamp set is my favourite? The winner will be drawn at random later in the week, and will get some Felt Fusion Flowers to try. Open to Australian residents who aren't Stampin' Up! demos (but feel free to have a guess anyway, and let me know in your comment if you aren't eligible!)

And now for a card...this is the card we made at my Catalogue Launch night, a nice simple one:

Stamps: In the Stars, Lots of Dots (Jumbo Wheel)
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Night of Navy
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Other: Large Star Punch, Small Star Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Wild Wasabi Double-Stitched ribbon, Wheel guide

Blog Candy

Not not here, over at Kerry's Blog (you'll have to scroll down to the November 17 post...hopefully she hasn't drawn it already!)
Kerry is a very talented stamper who joined my team in October. Check out her gorgeous creations and divine watercolouring while you're there. She has a way with words too, and always gets me giggling!

How do I love thee??

I have just realised (I think I have been in denial) that there are only 2 DAYS LEFT of our beautiful Spring Mini....and I have a ton of things I haven't shown you yet AND it's Jacob's big 8th Birthday weekend this weekend, and so this is my last chance.
So, in the vein of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, here is my Spring Mini "How do I Love thee? Let me count the ways". You might want to grab a cuppa. This is going to be LOOOOOONG!

"Bloomin' with Beauty", such a joy to watercolour

Apple Cider papers, those gorgeous colours and patterns

"Enjoy Every Moment", makes such quick cards with real WOW,

....and that matching Daisy Dash wheel is divine

Die cut Blooms and Summer Picnic paper make a perfect partnership

...and I didn't have nearly enough time to play with my "Always" stamp set!

And just look at the cards and gifts I won't be able to make without Holiday Harmony paper, Satin ribbon, "Tags for All" and "Season of Joy":

Box in a Bag

Matchbox Slider

Christmas Card

Gift Card Holder (closed)

Gift Card Holder (open)

Decorated Accents and Elements Tin

Well I've lost count, but obviously I love the Spring Mini in LOTS of ways!! LOL

I'm sorry I don't have time to tell you how I made all these items, but email me if you have any questions.

I'll be taking orders for any products in the Spring Mini up until 9pm Sunday night 30th November!

A Quick one!

I can't believe I only have a few more days to show you cards from the Spring Mini Catalogue! That means YOU only have a few more days to order from it!!
This is a really quick card, perfect for those times when you have to dash out the door, and realise that you need a card for someone.
Just grab a pre-cut and scored A6 card and matching C6 envelope. Wheel the "It's beautiful" Jumbo wheel (from the Spring Mini) in Certainly Celery. Punch out some Groovy Guava and So Saffron flowers using the "One of a Kind"stamp set (from the Spring Mini) and the matching "Boho Blossoms" punch (also from the Spring Mini) and stick them on using the 2-way glue pen. Stamp the large flower from "One of a Kind" (did I mention that this is from the Spring Mini, and it's only $35.95? ;o) in Groovy Guava ink and colour using a sponge dauber, and pop a flower in the centre using a Dimensional. Stamp 'for you' (also from "One of a Kind") in Groovy Guava, and finish with some Groovy Guava ribbon and some Dazzling Diamonds glitter. Just apply 2-way glue where you want the glitter, sprinkle it on, and tap off the excess...no need to even wait for it to dry! How quick is that?

Ribbon flower

I'm not sure where the idea for doing a ribbon flower using the "True Friend" stamp set came from...I must have seen it somewhere and stored it away in my brain for future use! It was really easy to do...I stamped the medallion from True Friend in Night of Navy ink on Ballet Blue cardstock, and cut it out. Then I used the small hole punch of the Crop-a-dile to punch a hole in each point of the medallion, and one in the centre, and then wove the ribbon through it. A pretty Rhinestone brad in the centre just finishes it off nicely. I created a circular hole that just happens to be the right size for this using the Round Tab punch (see how HERE), and popped both my frame and the medallion up on dimensionals. I stamped the background on Bashful Blue cardstock. First I stamped "En Francais" in Bordering Blue ink (I just love this gorgeous greyish blue shade), but I deliberately made it a bit 'patchy' by just lightly tapping the inkpad over the stamp. Then I stamped the 3-bloom flower from "True Friend" in Versamark ink. I sponged the edges in Bashful Blue ink.
Yet another set that will no longer be available at the end of this month *sob*.... Only a week to go!

Stamps: True Friend, En Francais
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Night of Navy
Ink: Bordering Blue, Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Versamark
Other: Round tab Punch, Rhinestone brads, Bashful Blue Taffeta ribbon, Crop-a-dile, Dimensionals

Proud Auntie moment!

Aren't they bee-yoo-tiful?? These are my brand new twin nieces, born yesterday afternoon. That's Rebecca (2.78kg) on the left and Hannah (2.38 kg) on the right. It's my first time as a real Auntie (I had 5 ready-made nephews and nieces when I got married, but these will be the first to call me Auntie Rell!), so I'm looking forward to doting on these little bubs. Lucky my Sister-in-law lives only 2 minutes away :o)

Challenge #31

Another Challenge that I really didn't have time for...but couldn't resist. This one was quite a challenge for me (no green!). It's great to be pushed out of my colour comfort zone.
Another couple of sneak peaks on this card - a new stamp set "Eastern Blooms", and gorgeous new paper "Bali Breeze".
The colours Kristina gave us to play with this week are Elegant Eggplant, Close to Cocoa, so Saffron, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White.
The small punched flowers are from the "Three for You" punch box, and have been adhered with Vintage brads. The ribbon is Elegant Eggplant grosgrain, and White taffeta coloured in with a Close to Cocoa marker. I did the corners on the main image panel using the 1/4" square punch, and taking a 'bite' out of each corner...I thought it kinda went with the Asian feel.
The word Thanks is from another new set "Live Your Dream" and I punched it out with the Word window punch, and then re-inserted it into the punch to make a shorter Word window, and then attached it to a So Saffron Small oval.