Happy Birthday Stampin' Up!

Two years old in New Zealand - and a shiny new catalogue to celebrate! If you preordered a copy and haven't received it yet it shouldn't be far away. If you hadn't preordered, there are still a couple of copies in the bottom of the box, available for $10. Please contact me if you would like one. In the meantime, the catalogue is now available online here, or click on the pretty picture over there on the side bar....>

Now to some random thoughts about the new catalogue....

• firstly, you may have noticed already that the 'recipes' for all the projects shown in the catalogue are nolonger listed in the back. They were apparently left out this time to make more room for goodies. Cannot really complain about that I suppose. The list of materials used is available as a separate file. Contact me if you would like it. I am also hoping that in the VERY near future it will be available on the SU website, at which time, I put a link over there with the catalogue.

• A few typos have been noticed. Annoying, but cannot be helped I suppose (afterall, last year that worked in our favour with super cheap papers all year!) Here is a list, and I am hoping I don't have to add to it in the coming days.

1. Bugs and Kisses - p 60 - the ant is missing from the catalogue, but is still in the set.
2. Dreams du Jour - p 80 - catalogue says it's a two step set, but it isn't.
3. Good Friend - p 99 - a small heart is shown in the catalogue, but is not actually included in the set (but you could cut your own from the rubber scraps?!)
4. In Color striped ribbon - p 126 - price is actually $22.95 (as listed on p 150)
5. Bold Brights Classic ink pads - p 128 - price is actually $13.95
6. Rich Regals Classic ink pads - p 129 - price is actually $13.95
7. Soft Subtles Classic ink pads - p 129 - price is actually $13.95
8. (earth elements, neutrals and in color ink pads were priced correctly - whew!)
9. Love Notes - p 131 - everything was wrong for this one - actually called 'Love Notes', # 111861, priced $16.25
10. On Board Loads of Letters -p 146 - incorrectly listed as 'lot's of letters' in catalogue
11. designer label punch - p 152 - correct price is $35.95
12. missed altogether - the 3/16th (4.7mm) corner rounder punch IS available. #109047, priced at $15.95

and I think that is it on the corrections!

• There are also some great new inclusions. Scattered throughout the catalogue you will find technique reminders - complete with photos and simple step by step instructions. I am also really pleased to see that the colours of the patterned papers are listed by each sample which makes coordinating your projects easier than ever!


• Overall the catalogue seems alot more in line with what is offered in the United States. We have got a lot of great new stamp sets, and also see the return of some favourites from the last spring and summer mini catalogues, as well as both the scallop punches - square and border, and six other new punches.


• Embellishments - what to say - yummy new buttons, brads, clips, ribbons, diecut and felt flowers, gorgeous new glitters, and some fantastic new 'sticky cut' shapes and letters to go with those glitters.... I am planning on organising some embellishment shares so you can sample them without having to spend a fortune - watch this space!


• Simply Sent card kits are back, but with a little difference that I am really liking. While there are a couple of the all inclusive kits (stampset, inks, card, embellishments etc) they have also included some 'mix and match' card elements. You can buy the stamp set and the card/embellishment kits seperately, which is much easier on the budget. Inks aren't included - you can use the ones you have, or just choose to buy the coordinating colour that you like.

And that will probably do it for the minute. You can be sure I will have more random thoughts to share in the coming days! Maybe even a photo or two!

LAST CHANCE!!

Tuesday 31 March is the last day to order product that is on the retiring list. Many of these products have been discounted - mostly 25%, but a couple of the papers have 50% off. To see the complete list of retiring products please use the link on my sidebar. There are a number of products that have already sold out - and I have a list of these over there to the right (and down a bit) ......>

Tuesday is also the last day to order products from the Summer Mini Catalogue. I can tell you that some stamp sets are returning to the new catalogue, as well as both of the punches. Not returning - all of the papers, the rub ons, and the stamp sets and wheels listed below:

Live Your Dream
Friendly Flowers
Lots of Dots (wheel)
Time For You
Perfect Fit (wheel)
Big on Spring
In the Stars
Love Owl-ways
For Father

If any of these sets were on your wishlist, you have until tomorrow to order them. Please contact me ASAP (before 6pm NZ time) to place your orders.

And of course, if you would like to preorder your copy of the new idea book and catalogue for just $10, let me know also - THEY HAVE ARRIVED - and are waiting to be posted out to you! I will have a link to the new catalogue up on my blog as soon as it becomes available (probably from 2pm Weds, but possibly sooner). Look for it right over there .....> where all the retired list stuff is (I will pleased when that retired list stuff is gone from there!)

Happy stamping everyone!

Sweet Baby Boy layout

So I've updated the photo, and here it is. It's a little bit better. My sweet baby boy, in a photo with me - unheard of!

This layout was inspired by an Ali Edwards layout. Although I had to change it quite a bit. I couldn't find my white 12 x 12 card, so went with blue instead, and my chipboard frames were circles and squares instead of hearts (and yes, I probably could have made my own, but when I started this layout I thought it was going to be a quick one - no time for that!) It probably would have helped if I had have had a photo in mind, before I started painting and stamping, but there you go, sometimes you just have to dive on in.

So after the initial diving in, I got a bit stuck - not such a quick project after all! This is also a little removed from my usual straight lines and simple. Not only did I not use a ruler once, I didn't even use my paper trimmer. Find a straight edge if you can!

The initial idea was more of the 'make your own patterned background' theme. This time I started by roughly painting the bashful blue card with acrylic paint (white with a hint of blue), leaving the blue card visable round the edge like a border.

Over the top of this, to add some interest, I used the super handy 'lots of dots' jumbo wheel, from the summer mini catalogue. I am loving this wheel (even though it is probably kind of boring!) and am really disappointed to find out it hasn't returned in the new catalogue. Apologies in advance - you will probably see this one used again in the future - retired resmired I say!

I inked the wheel up using my bashful blue inkpad (and then a little bit of not quite navy, applied to the wheel with a sponge) rather than a cartridge. Once the wheel has been around once the image will start to fade BUT - I knew the middle would be covered over so could work it so that was where the faded bit was. Also, because I was going for a 'quick and easy thrown together' project, I kind of figured it didn't matter if some dots were lighter than others - it just adds to the interest. I went over it a few times anyway - sorry it doesn't show up so well in the layout photo, but you should get the idea from the closeups.

I also painted over the chipboard frame, and then sponged bashful blue, and not quite navy ink around the edges of the chipboard, and roughly over the rest of the frame.

The rest was made up of bits and pieces. Some yummy wide bashful blue stitched grosgrain from the mini, flowers from the pretties, dyed with night of navy ink (see this post to find out how to do this), some hand cut vellum hearts - with piercing round the edges, and some stamped up images from assorted stamp sets - mostly retiring - but not at my house!

I also managed to throw in a petal from the pick a petal set - see it up there? I didn't ink the smile word on the stamp - instead I left a gap and wrote my own word in, then used the inside of the petal to write the date.

I must confess, I am not entirely convinced that this is quite finished. But I guess that is what happens when you try something new. What I did enjoy was all the playing, experimenting, and DIY. And that another empty sleeve in the album is empty no more!!

Ingredients for this one (ones in bold are retiring tomorrow - several are discounted!):

Bashful Blue., whisper white, and night of navy card, vellum

bashful blue and night of navy ink

On Board Ginormous Pieces chipboard frame

flowers from Pretties kit

Bashful Blue double stitched grosgrain ribbon

Lots of Dots jumbo stampin around wheel (and handle)

ABC Alphabet Lower

Stamp of Authenticity

Office Accoutrements

Pick a Petal

Everyday Flexible Phrases

Expressive Flexible Phrases

I've been hibernating...

...it's been snowing, the schools have been closed, and my initial idea of - yay - stay home and do some scrapbooking, quickly changed to - oh - stuck at home with my three (sometimes two) lovelies - scrapbooking may not be an option!! We did take some photos though. Ideas for scrapbook projects - does that count?!

I had also planned to do a few little projects to show off some more ideas for my stamp pick for this month 'pick a petal'. The month isn't officially over, quite yet, but things aren't looking good. Little projects haven't been happening. Neither have bigger projects. So here is a list instead. And one photo, to pretty things up...

how about flames for a candle? This is from the stamp club project for the month. Tell me you couldn't use that flower petal stamp for a candle flame on a man card if you wanted to? Great for kids cards too - add just the right number of candles and you are all set.

Other ideas I have seen or dreamed about:

• bugs - of course - butterflies, dragonflies, ladybirds (the spotty petal stamp is perfect for ladybirds)
• christmas cards - why yes! Petals turned into christmas ornaments, all strung up. I can see you are not convinced on this one, but believe me, it looked good!
• exclamation mark - a great big one.
• An alternative to arrows - I think these would be great on a scrapbook project
• Little journalling spots, doubled as an alternative to arrows.
• I showed you a funny face already. I saw a really clever bird made with this set. I cannot even begin to do it justice. I plan to replicate this one, one day....
• 101(+) flowers....

Making that little list has me feeling all inspired again. Maybe I will have some photos to show you all soon, afterall! But then again, it is a snow day...

Some important dates

Okay ladies, so this post is all about SU stuff, a couple of important dates to be exact.

Tuesday March 31st

This is a day of 'lasts'.

It is the last day on which you can order product from the current catalogue - including all those super specials on the retiring list (see the link on the sidebar). Please contact me ASAP if there is something you would like to order.

It is the last day that you can order from the Summer Mini Catalogue (see the link on the side bar to view the catalogue online). I understand there are a couple of the stamp sets that have made it to the new catalogue, as well as the scalloped edge punch, but the rest are going, going, gone!

This is also the final day of the Victorian Bushfire Appeal promotion. When you purchase one of the stamp sets below SU will donate 50% to the appeal, and I will cover the cost of postage (you just pay the usual price for the stamps).

Priceless 112312 p105 $57.95
Seeing Spots 108909 p89 $35.95
Baroque Motifs 112380 p98 $46.95
Live Your Dream 114261 p3 (Summer Mini) $66.95
Looks Like Spring 108864 p76 $68.95
The Snowflake Spot 108934 p27 $46.95
Bodacious Bouquet 108756 p80 $68.95
Polka Dots & Paisley 110247 p46 $42.95
G'day Mate 111973 p115 $42.95
Be Happy 108744 p51 $46.95

Wednesday April 1

Not just a day for Fool's, this is the day that our new Catalogue is launched. Although I haven't seen it myself yet, boo hoo, I know for a fact that it has arrived, and is looking lovely. If you would like to get a copy for yourself please contact me - Until April 1 you can pre-order them for $10. After that they will of course still be available, but at the SU price of $14.95

If you have already contacted me to request your copy, or are a member of my stamp club, placing an order in April, you will automatically have your copy sent out to you over the next week or so. Definitely in time for April 1.

And a final note on the topic of new catalogues.

On Friday evening I finally got my hands on a copy of the US stampin' up catalogue - it is keeping me going until I get my hands on the new NZ/Australia one. Lots of great ideas, and yummy stuff that I am hoping we will get too. And then I turned the page and saw this....

(excuse that camera flash in the bottom left corner)

Hey! that was my idea!!

Must have been a good one if they thought of it too!

So who has been saving their tin cans?!

pick a petal flowers

Okay, so I have been telling you how versatile this set is, and how great it is for things other than flowers, but it goes without saying, that it is of course great for making flowers!

These cards are cased straight from a very talented Australian demonstrator - Sarah Klass. I saw them months ago, and have been planning to make them ever since. I did change the colours though - wasabi, so saffron and pumpkin pie were used for these thank you cards - and they certainly had a nice sunshiny feel to them.

Once again these were quick and easy - cut a square of white card, stamp the petals directly on, stamp the flower centre on a scrap of white and punch it out with a 1" circle punch, stamp the thank you, and then stick it all together. I put the flower centre on with stampin dimensionals to give it a bit of a lift. Done!

A work in progress

So it is probably not good blog etiquette to show stuff that is only half finished. But too bad. This is what I was working on yesterday, and it would normally be about this point that I would be running to my Mum's to show her what I had been doing. So here it is Mum - what do you think? Cute huh?

A hand bag.

But not just a handbag.

It can also cut frozen steak!!

just kidding about the steak, of course...

for a moment there I just felt like I was talking about Ginzu knives

- BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE...

Inside this super cute little handbag is a mini scrapbook album.

(that bit is true!)

I would show you, but then you would see that it really isn't finished, and instead is actually filled with blank, (soon to be filled!) pages.

so here are some closeups instead...

I used the carousel notes from the Summer Mini catalogue for the top of the bag, and covered soft sky card with some of the afternoon tea paper, also from the mini. Jumbo eyelets were used for the holes for the handle, and the bottom of the bag, and I love them. I love how even the inside looks neat and tidy. The back bit that usually looks like ... the back bit, actually looks almost as nice as the front. I should have taken a photo of that too - maybe next time.

The bag is held closed with punched circles of self adhesive magnetic stuff (what do you call that stuff Isabel? I am having a mind blank!) - stuff I got from Isabel anyway, that I punched into nice neat circles.

It was the first time I had really used any of the stuff from the mini catalogue - what with the chaos of Christmas, and then packing and moving, the summer mini stuff has been neglected by me. But I had had this idea for a wee while, and finally sat down and tried it out. I want to try it out with the ginger blossom papers and guava carousel notes too, so now I have all the measurements worked out, it should be quicker this time. I will keep you 'posted' on how that goes.

And Campbell has requested I make him one - but a boy one. I am thinking maybe a backpack? He asked me where it was just before, so maybe the backpack will get done before the ginger blossom bag?!

A little birdy told me

Well, not so much a little birdy, as a couple of sneak peaks on the SU demonstrator website, and some rumours from those lucky ladies who have managed a look at the new catalogue already. There are apparently a few new birds in the 2009/2010 catalogue, in the form of stamps, chipboard and patterned papers. I for one am getting VERY impatient. Not sure if the sneak peaks and rumours are helping, or making it worse, but hey, I share them with you anyway!

AS for the birds and other stamped images in this little project (which some of you have seen already) - they come from the old faves 'carte postale' and 'rough edges alphabet' which will not be in the new catalogue - retiring at the end of the month instead.

This little accordian album was first shown to me by a clever lady named Rachael Knight. It can be used as either a card with a difference, or a fun little stand alone (and stand up!) scrapbooking project - perfect to make as a gift, or for people who want to try some scrapbooking, but are not keen to get started on an album. Once it is done it is done. No empty page protectors to taunt you!!

Half a piece of A4 card, some scraps of patterned paper and card, and some decorative bits and pieces (stamps or other embellishments) and you are good to go. This is a project that even I can get finished relatively quickly, so you all know that you can too! I have done this project as a class before, so have some instructions filed away somewhere. If you would like them let me know, and I will see if I can dig them up.

New In colors/colours

Okay, so yesterday was a bit of a tease.

And here is another.

This is what I have been doing this morning.

Punching out squares of the new in color card range for my stamp club ladies.

(coming to a mailbox near you soon ladies!)

Aren't they yummy?

How to Colour Fabric Flowers

As promised, this is how I colour white fabric flowers to match perfectly the colours of my project. You can use the same method to colour ribbon too. Best of all, it is very quick and easy!

What you need:

• plastic bag (I use a snaplock one, I think because that is what I had the first time I did this - but thinking about it, it probably isn't crucial to have the snappy lock bit! That said, a small clear bag is preferable to the supermarket bag variety).
• fabric flowers (or ribbon) - these ones are from the Pretties Kit
• a spray bottle with water (although I couldn't find mine this time so put a couple of drips of water in instead and it worked just fine)
• ink pad

Step One:

I turn the plastic bag inside out, put my hand inside, and then pat the bag on the inkpad, transferring ink to the bag. Keep in mind that depending on the colour of the ink, you may or may not be able to see the ink on the bag - hold it over a piece of white paper and this may help.

Step Two:
turn the plastic bag back in the right way and give it a couple of quick little sprays of water (or, as mentioned above, if you haven't got a spray bottle for water, I added a couple of drops off the end of my finger, and this seemed to work fine). You don't want a lot of moisture in the bag - just a bit to help the ink transfer evenly. When you have done this add the flower, and wriggle it all around in there. You don't have to put your hands in the bag to do this, just hold the flower through the plastic - I think I forgot to mention that not only is this quick and easy, but also clean!

To start off the colour may appear patchy, but just keep going until it evens out.

Step Three:

Remove the flower and set aside on a piece of paper, or a paper towel to dry off. Because we have only added a tiny amount of water, the flower shouldn't actually be that wet, so should only take a minute or two to dry off enough to use. If you are impatient like me, you could aways try drying it carefully with a heat gun for a couple of seconds. If the colour isn't as intense as you want you may need to repeat the process above.

The flowers in these photos are a pale pink that you won't be recognising

- fresh from an SU box - introducing...

Pink Pirouette - one of the new incolors that are headed our way!

It is so preeettty! Although I don't think it will seen within a mile of a boys project,

It is going to be just perfect for Bridie Isabelle. Luckily there are a couple of other new colours that will go well for the boys, so they won't feel left out at all.

Now my next challenge is to use these flowers on a project to share with you all

(you will notice I am not putting a timeframe on achieving that one!!)