Incentive Trip Day 1

Sorry about the computer malfunction...I wasn't trying to be a tease...I promise!!
I'm here in Noosa, having an absolute ball. It's actually early on Day 2 at the moment, so I'm a day behind on here already. I was just too busy having fun to fit any blogging in yesterday! I don't have much time now, either, as we're about to head off to brekky and then to our morning activity which is a group cooking activity at a a restaurant...Masterchef here we come!
Yesterday we arrived at the airport at 10am and it wasn't long before we bumped into some other excited Demos. The Perth girls (Ngaire and Makeesha) were already there, and so was Teresa Dabrowski from Canberra with her guest Tanya. I was lucky enough to sit next to Ness on the plane and we had a lovely chat. Linda Higgins, Georgina Martin (her guest), Jayne and her hubby Gareth, as well as Aaron and his wife Karen and Dave Baugh (sp?) and his wife Jennifer and Emma Parkin-Wilson were also on the plane with us.
It's only a 90 minute flight to Maroochydoore, and then a 30 minute bus trip to the Sheraton Noosa. When we arrived at the Hotel, we were greeted with a refreshing drink in a half coconut:

Then it was up to our rooms to settle in...pretty swanky, and sooo spacious:

On the table there was an orchid in a vase, which is actually a water bottle etched with our Stampin' Up! Noosa label.....cool!

This is the view from our balcony....not bad!! Dave and I spent a leisurely afternoon, acquainting ourselves with the surrounding area, and picking up some essential supplies (a bottle of bubbly, cheese, dip and bickies!). We had some lovely guests in our room for pre-dinner drinks, and lots of chats. The lovely Kim Gavarra joined us, along with Robyn Lawton and her guest Sharon, and then Teresa D and her guest Tanya.

This is me, Teresa, Sharon, Tanya and Robyn: Then it was time to get ready for the opening night dinner, which was a casual affair in the Hotel ballroom. We could all mix and mingle and have some delicious nibblies first. This is Jayne's hubby Gareth with his harem...me, Kerri Hunter, Yvonne Campbell and Jayne:

There were pretty nametags on the tables to show us where to sit (mine said Marella LOL)

This was our table Steve and Vicki Dean, Jayne and Gareth Mercer and Kim and Warren Gavarra). We were the loudest table by far (I think they'll stick us up the back next time!!)
I just had to take a pic of the dessert buffet. It was AMAZING. What to choose???

This was Dave's selection...look at that chocolate with butterflies printed on it...almost too good to eat...almost!

After dinner we had a few drinks at the bar, and then Kim, Jayne and Gareth came up to our room for a cuppa and a chat. This is what we found on the bed:
It's an apron, a chef hat, and red mini hat box. But the best bit?? The handmade, hand written card by Shelli! I'll take a closer pic of that later today when the light is better. Her handwriting is just amazing!

So what do you think...is it me??? We have to wear these to our cooking activity today.

or maybe I should go for this look:

I always wanted to be in Little House on the Prairie!

Blog Candy Winner!

And the winner is......


A few of you had correct guesses, so well done, but the first correct answer was Liam on 15/8 at 5:43pm. Congratulations Liam, and thanks everyone for having a go!


Here is what I used to make this card:


Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Upsy Daisy, Fresh Cuts
ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Old Olive
card: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Old Olive
other: White Gel Pen, Brayer, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon

This card was born when I was practising my brayering. I started brayering in Baja Breeze and built up the deeper colour with Not Quite Navy. I then stamped Upsy Daisy in Not Quite Navy, and outlined some of the stems with a White Gel pen. I mounted it on Not Quite Navy, which gave me a lovely panel that needed to be turned into a card. None of the colours that I tried it with worked, I think because I had made an in-between shade of "Not Quite Baja Breeze" with my brayering! I settled on Old Olive and a neutral, Sahara Sand, but it was one of those cards that just felt blah to me.
You were all so kind, saying that my card was fine as it was, but I really didn't like it! So rather than just making a few adjustments, I have given the card major surgery. I ripped off my brayered panel, tossed out the rest of the card, and started over.
This is what I came up with this time:

I'm still not 100% happy, but I think it's better...what do you think??

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Upsy Daisy, Oval All
ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Basic Grey
card: Basic Grey, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Urban Garden DSP
other: White Gel Pen, Brayer, Basic Grey Taffeta Ribbon, Baja Breeze Double-Stitched Ribbon, Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Not Quite Navy Marker, Basic Grey Marker, sponge daubers

P.S Now I'd better go and pack!!! I'll be checking my emails while I'm away, and am still able to place orders, so let me know if you need anything :o)

Rosehill Stitches and Craft Show

The biggest Craft Show in Sydney is on again this year!
It starts on Wednesday, and runs through to Sunday. I won't be there, as I'll be sunning myself in Noosa, but some of my team will be!
So, if you are going along, make sure you visit the Stampin' Up! stand - Stand 64 and say hello.
You can join in a free "Make & Take" and see lots of inspiring samples.
The show starts on Wednesday 19th August and finishes on Sunday 23rd August. It is open from 10.00am - 5.00pm and the entry fee is only $10 this year! Parking is free, and so are kids under 10. You can read more about it HERE

Embossed Kindred Spirits

Last month's Technique Class was Embossing. I thought everyone has 'been there, done that' with embossing, but I had a few requests to run a class, and even most of my seasoned stampers (SS) came along. To make the class a bit more interesting for even the SS, I tried to incorporate a few of the more unusual embossing techniques. Most people tend to think gold or silver for embossing, but for this card, we embossed the main image in white. We also embossed on Designer Series Paper, for something a bit different. Don't you just love how the image and papers co-ordinate?! It pleases my matchy-matchy heart. Gotta love Stampin' Up!
For the greeting, I showed my class attendees how to emboss using Dye Inks...just ink your stamp in Versamark first, and then the dye ink, and emboss with clear powder, so the words are raised and shiny.
How nice are these Filigree Brads?? They have to be my favourite brads in the whole catalogue. I love using a Rhinestone brad in the centre of them, rather than just a silver one, for extra bling.

Only 2 sleeps now until Incentive Trip (yes I'm a wee bit excited!!). I'm planning on updating my blog while I'm in Noosa, so you won't have to miss me too much ;o)

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Kindred Spirits, Upsy Daisy
ink: Versamark, Basic Grey
card: Basic Grey, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Urban Garden DSP
other: Corner Rounder Punch, Filigree Bards, Rhinestone Brads, Kiwi Kiss satin Ribbon, White Embossing Powder, Clear Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy

Another Blog Candy Update

One last Update on my Blog Candy to say that no one is completely right yet! There are a couple who are very close, though....
I will say that the colours possibly look a bit brighter on the screen than they are in real life, and that ribbon can sometimes look a little pixellated.....
There are 2 'stamp sets', 3 'inks', 4 'cardstock' and 3 'other' that you need to name. I have used snail and dimensionals, but that's a given, so you don't need to include those!
Good luck!

Three Little Words...No Double Mounted!

We used another bargain stamp set for my other July Stamp-a-Stack design. It's called "Three Little Words", and it's only $24.95 (page 114). Part of the reason why it's such a bargain is that the set is double-mounted. That means that although there are 8 stamps, there are only 4 wood blocks. So each block has 2 stamps on it, on opposite sides. On the plus side, it keeps the cost down, and they also take up less room to store (not much less room for this little set!). On the minus side, double-mounted stamps are harder to position, and it can be hard to read the tiny index stickers on the side of the block, and more difficult to stamp, because you don't have a smooth wood surface to press down on. When I use them in my classes it means people have to wait longer for the stamp to come around, and when it does come around, they get messy fingers from pressing down on the inky rubber! ...Can you tell I'm not a fan?? Personally I would prefer to pay a little more and have individual wood blocks. If you feel the same, Stampin' Up! always welcome any feedback. You may call Stampin' Up!'s Australian offices at 1-800 SUSTMP (787867), or e-mail them at dsau@StampinUp.com (hope the girls don't hate me when they are flooded with feedback LOL)
These are the images you get in this set:

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Three Little Words, Cheer and Wishes
ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Mellow Moss, Pink Pirouette, Pale Plum, So Saffron, Bordering Blue
card: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, Pale Plum, Bordering Blue, Very Vanilla, Whisper White
other: Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Latte Buttons, Linen thread, Baja Breeze Striped Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Marker, Mellow Moss Marker

Flower Power!

If these cards look familiar to you, it's probably because they look remarkably like the ones on page 140 of the Catalogue. I was admiring the colours and designs of the "Flower Power Card Elements" when it struck me that they would make a good Stamp-a-Stack. Now obviously it wasn't going to make for a very economical class to buy a gazillion Flower Power kits, so I came up with my own take on it.

My 'patterned paper' strips are actually 10.5 x 9.9cm pieces of cardstock that we stamped with 'Boho Backgrounds' and 'Wow Flowers' and then cut into 1, 2, 3 and 3.9 cm strips. We made some medallions from the circle designs in the stamp sets, and then assembly was quick and easy.

These 2 stamp sets are such a bargain. Wow Flowers ($24.95) is tucked away at the bottom of page 140.
The 'birthday wishes' stamp fits perfectly in the Word Window punch, and the others work well with the 1" and 1 1/4" circles.
Boho Backgrounds (p 107, $29.95) is also an extremely versatile set. It's great for male and female cards, and the medallion can be punched and layered in so many different ways.

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Wow Flowers, Boho Backgrounds
ink: Perfect Plum, Rose Red, Old Olive, More Mustard
card: Perfect Plum, Rose Red, Old Olive, More Mustard
other: Whisper White Grosgrain ribbon, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch

Blog Candy Update

Just popping in to say.... Keep Guessing! No one has got the materials list exactly right yet for my Blog Candy. Don't forget sometimes computers can make things look a little 'off'. You are allowed to have more than one guess. I'll give you all until Tuesday 5pm to guess (because after that I head off on Incentive Trip!)
Don't forget, anyone is welcome to enter, demos included!

The Big 200!

I told you a big number was coming up....well, it's 200! 200 subscribers to my blog, that is! I remember when I first started this blog, and I was talking to myself for quite some time. It's hard to believe that 200 people receive an email update when I post to my blog. I still sometimes feel like I am talking to myself, because not too many of you leave comments (thank you so much to those who do. I read every one of them, and I love hearing what you have to say. it always brightens my day).

I know one thing that gets the comments up....Blog Candy! I'm not going to make it too easy on you though! There's 2 parts to this one. Normally at the end of each post I write a full list of materials that I used to make the card. This time YOU have to write the list :o)
Leave a comment telling me everything I used to make this card:


Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: ??
ink: ??
card: ??
other: ??
You tell me!

This was the first card that I made with Upsy Daisy, and I dislike it so much that it has taken me this long to show it to you! That brings me to the second part of the Blog Candy. It's a Fixer-Upper....any ideas on how I can improve this card? Tell me your improvements and I'll take them on board and make the new improved version.
I will draw a winner from the correct entries, and they will receive the new, improved card, plus the "Fun Flowers" stamp (page 3 of the Spring Mini).
This is open to anyone in Australia, Demos included.
Good luck!

Tutorial - Sevens Box

This is the little treat box that my Launch party guests got to take home. I filled it with some yummy Coconut Ice (colour-co-ordinated, of course!)

It's been ages since I've done a tutorial on here, so thought I would show you how to make the box. They are really easy, and all you need is 1 A4 sheet of cardstock.

I've called this a Sevens Box, because you need to know your seven times table to make one!
First put your A4 cardstock in your trimmer Portrait Orientation, and use a Scoring blade or Bone Folder to score at 7 and 14 cm:

Then turn it to landscape orientation and score at 7cm intervals: 7, 14, 21 and 28cm (that's where your seven times table comes in handy!):

Now you need to cut off 2 squares and 2 small rectangles from one end, leaving just the centre square and small rectangle:
And use a Bone Folder to fold in at all the score lines:

You should have something that looks like this:

Now you need to cut along the score lines on both sides:

Now is a good time to decorate it:
(now, before you email me with stamping advice, I'm not holding my stamp upside down...it's a double-mounted stamp)

If you like, you can punch a peek-a-boo window in the front or the top flap:

This is what it looks like after stamping and punching:
(you only need to stamp in a "T" shape, as they will be the only exposed sides)

Apply adhesive to one of the middle flaps (I used Tombow glue because I had to make 50 of these boxes, and it was quick, cheap and easy! ...but you could use Sticky Strip if you like)

Adhere the front panel to the glue on the middle panel, and then apply more glue to the back panel:

and adhere that to the middle panel, forming one side of the box:

Repeat for the other side and Voila!

It looks cute with a Curly Label window too:

Don't forget to stamp the Cello Bag with White Stazon to match!

I think I'll be doing more of these at Christmas Time!

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Soft Summer, Elegant Thank You (mini catalogue)
ink: Pink Pirouette, White Stazon (mini catalogue)
card: Pink Pirouette
other: So Saffron Striped ribbon, Curly Label punch, Wide Oval Punch, Designer Label Punch, Crop-a-dile, Dimensionals

Blog Candy coming up soon....I've just realised that I'm about to reach a BIG number of Blog subscribers. Woo hoo!

Challenge #4 - Spring Mini Springboard

We're up to Challenge #4 for August, and anyone can enter! August's challenge is called the "Spring Mini Springboard". You just need to use the Mini Catalogue as a Springboard for inspiration. You can take your inspiration from any of the projects featured in the Spring Mini Catalogue. It could be the colours, a layout, or both!
I've taken my inspiration from the picture frame on page 10, and the colours are from page 14:

Here's a close-up of the chipboard circle and layering:
It's really easy to come up with a design when most of the work is done for you :o)

I can't wait to see what you come up with! The winner will receive a lucky dip of assorted Stampin' Up! bits and pieces from my stash!

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Always, Friends 24-7
ink: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango
card: So Saffron, Tangerine Tango (textured) Riding Hood Red (textured), Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
other: Heart to Heart Punch, Designer Clips, Chocolate Chip Double-Stitched Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Dimensionals, Pop-Up Glue Dots, Washington Apple DSP, On Board Lots of Letters

Edited to Add: You have until September 15 to take part. The Challenge is open to anyone in Australia OR New Zealand
Thanks Kerry. I've added Mr Linky now....must have been having a vague moment!!