Decorative Label Punch Ideas Sheet

I have another Ideas Sheet to share - this one for the Decorative Label Punch. Who knew that you could do so much with one humble punch? You should be able to click on the image to see a larger version.

This punch is in the Autumn-Winter Mini, along with lots of other delectable goodies. Check it out HERE, or email me to get a copy of your very own!

Cupcake Punch Ideas Sheet

I've just finished my last class for the week and now I can just concentrate on getting ready for Convention! Stampin' Up!'s Australian and NZ Convention is in Melbourne this year and it's 3 days instead of 2 for the first time ever, and I am just a tad excited!! I fly down next Wednesday and return home on Sunday. I just love Convention...there's nothing like being in a room with over 500 other like-minded people! It is also the only holiday I take where I only have to look after myself and all the people there just know me as me, not as "mother of" or "wife of"... Quite refreshing really!

My swaps are all done too, so that's one big tick off my list of things to do before I go.

Enough about me. I thought I'd show you an Ideas Sheet that I made up for the Cupcake Punch. Before I held my Mini Catalogue Launch Party I sat down and had a play with this punch. I could see so much potential for not just cupcakes. Here's what I came up with (you should be able to click on the image to see a larger version):


Punch art can be such fun! Coming up with these really stretched my brain :o)

Deal of the Week 1

Throughout the month of May, Stampin' Up! will be offering Deals of the Week. This is the second time we have had this promotion in Australia, and last time it was a HUGE hit. It's so exciting to see what the next week's deal is going to be! The deals will be announced every Wednesday through5out May. Each week there is a new deal, and each deal only lasts for a week...cool, huh?
Deal Number 1 is on everyone's favourite item - stamps!
Until next Tuesday, 10th May, you can take 40% off these stamps:

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
121578	37	Tag Alongs Wood-Mount Set	$31.95	$19.17
120468	59	More Monkey Accessories Clear-Mount Set	$23.95	$14.37
121550	59	More Monkey Accessories Wood-Mount Set	$29.95	$17.97
120003	75	Cottage Garden Clear-Mount Set	$24.95	$14.97
119163	75	Cottage Garden Wood-Mount Set	$32.95	$19.77
121494	98	Compliments to the Chef Wood-Mount Set	$35.95	$21.57

What a perfect excuse to treat yourself to some new stamps!
There are no limits to the number of Deals of the Week you can purchase and no minimum purchase is required.* Now is your time to stock up on your favourite products! Email me to place your order.

Be sure to hurry and purchase each week's deals early on so you don't miss out! When the new week's deals start up each Wednesday at midnight, the last week's deals are over . . . forever!

*There is no limit to the number of Deals of the Week items you may purchase. However, if we run low on product we will return the product to full catalogue price before the end of the week. If this happens, we will announce it on the Stampin' Up! website homepage.

Another Pop-Up!

When I first started card-making, I used to make pop-up cards all the time. My stamping was pretty ordinary back then, so I guess I thought I had to add something impressive! The nice thing about this pop-up and the last one I showed you is that they can be added after the card is made. So, if you have a card that is a little too ordinary, you can just add the pop-up insert to it, and make it a wow.
Here I've used the very cute Look Who's Turning set to make an ordinary card:

into a wow:

It looks complex, but it's really quite simple. The folds are just in quarters, and the cuts are just done with scissors and then folded back in the opposite direction. You can stamp less images if you need more room to write.
This is one card that doesn't end up tossed on the floor by the child who is opening it :o)

The colours I have used are Poppy Parade, Baja Breeze and So Saffron.

Pop-up Butterfly

Whenever I give someone a pop-up card, it always seems to get a 'wow'....and there's something about receiving a pop-up card, that makes you open and close it again and again, even when you know what's coming!
I had a request to teach a pop-up class for my Technique Classes, and this is one of the cards I came up with. Quite simple on the outside:

I just love the Big Shot Butterflies die. It makes a beautifully shaped butterfly, in 4 different sizes.
Inside is the largest butterfly on a pop-up mechanism:

The pop-up piece is just a triangle of cardstock, and the butterfly is attached to one half of the 'V', so it stands up when the card is open.
Isn't this a gorgeous colour combination? Pear Pizazz, Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla and Early Espresso.
The stamp sets I have used are Elements of Style, Bliss (Sale-a-Bration set) and Afterthoughts (Level 1 Hostess set).

I'll be back soon to show you the other pop-up card!

Easter Treat Boxes

It's been school holidays here, and I've been having a lovely time doing family things. We went camping for a few days in Kiama with some friends, and then had Canberra family visiting with us at home after that. Now Easter is just around the corner, and we have lots more family fun planned! I have no classes scheduled for the school holidays, so it's lovely to just relax and spend time with the kids. I thought I'd better hop on and show you some Easter projects before it's all over and done with! Here are the projects we made in my Easter classes during March: I went with a blue and yellow theme this year - Marina Mist and Daffodil Delight. I think they look Easter-y but could still be used for any occasion. We made an extended pillow box with the Pillow Box Die in the Big Shot, and a cute little basket (so easy to make using the Scallop Square Big Shot Die and only requires an A5 piece of cardstock). To make the basket, just score in a tic-tac-toe pattern every 3 scallops, snip opposite score lines on 2 sides and form into a basket! The third box I call a Clam Shell Box. It is really just a small box with an egg-holder insert and then 2 boxes attached with a brad to each side so they open up.... ta-da!....

A pretty cute way to present an egg, huh?

What do you get when you cross a giraffe with a star?

It's been so much fun reading all your comments over the past couple of days. "Baby Star" was the winner with 26 votes, "Baby Jumpsuit" was a close second with 23 and poor "Baby Giraffe" only got 7 votes, however one of those was my sister's hubby, who voted for it despite it's "disproportionately large head" LOL I think that vote carries a little more weight! Of course the most important vote of all was my sister, who was completely torn! She liked the fat-headed giraffe and the Crumb Cake colour, but liked the red of the star, and the stripey ribbon (Baby Jumpsuit didn't even get a look in!). So, here we have a giraffe-star hybrid!

What do you think??

It's a Baby Shower! (and a vote)

In my family we're all so excited because my sister Yvette is pregnant with her first baby (after many years of trying). She's due in July, and after much persuasion, I managed to convince her to let me throw her a Baby Shower. Of course I sat down to design some invitations right away, before she could change her mind! My brief was "not too cutesy" and to use bright colours. We know the baby is a boy, so I didn't have to stick to a gender-neutral colour scheme. Being the rather excited Auntie-to-be that I am, I got a little carried away and designed 3! This is where you guys come in...I thought I would show you all 3 and put it to a vote. Let me know which one is your favourite!

Number 1 "Baby Star": Number 2 "Baby Giraffe": Number 3 "Baby Jumpsuit":

What do you think?

Strength and Hope

I think this set is going to be one of the most popular sets in the new Mini. I have always found that Crafters have such big hearts, and if we ever needed a good reason to buy a stamp set, Stampin' Up! have given it to us. $2 from the sale of each Strength and Hope set will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which funds worldwide research into finding a cure for this terrible disease. This is the card we made at my Launch party. It's a nice simple one, but I think it shows off the stamp set, and also the gorgeous Framed Tulips Embossing Folder. The colours I have used are Perfect Plum, Basic Grey, Whisper White and Concord Crush. If you would like to purchase this set and do your bit to help cure Breast Cancer, just Contact me.

Autumn-Winter Mini is here!

It's no April fool! The Autumn-Winter Mini is live today. You can view all the gorgeous new products HERE. I'm especially loving the Decorative Label punch and the French Foliage set. I'd love to hear what your favourites are! Just email me with your address if you'd like me to pop a FREE copy in the mail for you (along with a BONUS coupon!) so you can drool over it "in the flesh"!

Last day of Sale-a-Bration!

It's gone by so quickly, but I thought I'd show you one last owl before Sale-a-Bration is over. I'm just starting to love Cajun Craze lately. It's great on masculine cards. Here I've used it with Marina Mist, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso. This was a make-and-take at our team meeting last month, and also at some workshops during February and March. Email me by 9pm tonight if you have a last minute order from the Summer Mini or for Sale-a-Bration!

Punch Bunch Stamp-a-Stack

It's been a busy couple of days for me. I had 2 team meetings on Monday - lots of stamping, sharing, chatting and yummy food, and then my last Sale-a-Bration workshop today. Now I'll be spending the rest of the week getting ready for my launch party on Sunday. I have 50 lovely ladies coming to celebrate the start of the new Autumn-Winter Mini! But, I'm getting ahead of myself. We still have 2 more days to Sale-a-Brate! This was a Stamp-a-Stack I designed using the very popular Punch Bunch set. Bright colours from me for a change - Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Baja Breeze and Pear Pizzazz. Hope you're having a lovely week!

Love Defined

Another Stamp-a-Stack! This one was back in February, using the Love Defined set in the Summer Mini (less than a week to go! *gasp*) We made a set that can be used for many heartfelt occasions - anniversaries, weddings, engagements, Valentines or even birthdays. I love that this stamp set is not overly "saccharine sweet" because I'm just not that kind of person. These cards are actually all shimmery too. We spritzed with a Shimmer Paint and Alcohol solution after the cards were assembled. Love this colour combo - Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla. To get the lighter shade of Cherry Cobbler, I stamped off once and then added some full-strength Cherry Cobbler with a marker.
I just finished "Left Neglected" by Lisa Genova. Loved it, but I think I enjoyed her book "Still Alice" more.
I can feel winter in the air today. Have a great weekend!

A "Blissful" Top Note Set

I designed this Top Note box and this set of 6 cards to go inside it for my Project Class last month.

We used the Bliss set and also the Level 2 Hostess set Cute by the Inch. I used the Lap of Luxury DSP as my colour inspiration, and using DSP and a couple of punches on the cards made them super quick and easy.

Only a week left to Sale-a-Brate!

My Amazing Banner

First of all, I need you to all agree with me that Christmas wasn't that long ago, and it hasn't taken me that long to get these pictures on my blog. OK, great! Now that we've got that out of the way, let me show you what my lovely team did for me in November. It all started when I received one of these in the mail:Along with a mysterious riddle
"This is just one, there are 34 on the way
No clues shall we give, but look every day
For a piece of the puzzle to make you think
Who do you know that loves paper and ink?"
Of course, there was no return address and the writing was disguised! Every day through November I received more and more of these gorgeous creations, all the same size but with different letters.
And then, as if my brain wasn't being stretched enough, I started receiving more, with an extra clue:
"A few latecomers have joined in the fun
There was 34, there is now 41
Pieces of the Puzzle to make you think
Who do you know that loves paper and ink"
Much as I love crosswords and puzzles, it really was very tricky to solve. By the night of our Team Christmas Dinner on the 3rd December, I was pretty sure I had the "Merry Christmas" bit right, and I left the other letters spread out on the table and told everyone that if the letters "just happened" to get themselves in the right order, that would be great! And, what do you know, they did!
So, this is what I had hanging up in my lounge room throughout December (and most of January too, because I couldn't bear to take it down!)"

"Merry Christmas Ho Ho Ho"

Here are some close-ups, so you can see the amazing detail:

And the rest of the message hung in our Big Room: "Thanks for a Great Year xo"

Aren't my team amazing?! I feel so lucky to know all of these lovely ladies. This banner will be gracing my home at Christmas time for many years to come.

The whole banner was organised by Robyn P of Posh Nosh fame (if you haven't tried any of her jams and relishes, you're definitely missing out!) and Robyn also took these photos for me (my camera was doing a lousy job!) Thanks Robyn!