Classes THIS SATURDAY!

Hi everyone,

There are still some places available in both my Beginner and Intermediate classes for this coming Saturday, 31st May. The Beginner class will run from 10am -12 noon and the Intermediate class from 2pm -4pm. Call or email ASAP if you'd like to come along. More details about the classes can be found a few posts below.... Ph 9484 9447 email michelle.dyson@bigpond.com

I have been busy trimming new stamp sets today, and can't wait to come back with some new creations, hopefully tomorrow!
Happy stamping everyone!

Super quick card

Here is a card I made the other day as an acceptance to a birthday party my little girl was invited to. It took maybe 5 minutes to make, using some scraps from my desktop, and I made 2 the same in that time. I took a little inspiration from a card made by Jayne Mercer, one of my uplines, in using the "warm words" set as flower stems. Thanks Jayne! It uses Whisper White cardstock as the base and this is sponged with Apricot Appeal around the edges. Two scalloped circle "flowers" were punched from a scrap of Only orange, and some circles punched from Whisper White and Apricot Appeal with the 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches to layer. A bit of Old Olive ink using "Warm Words" to make the stems, a little flower from the "Occasionally" set in the centre of the smaller circle, a dab of SNAIL and it was done! It is nice to create intricate designs when time allows, but it is also handy to know you can whip up something appealing in just a few minutes.

Technique Tip - Wide Grosgrain Ribbon

I love our wide grosgrain ribbon! It adds such impact to a card so easily :) In the Summer Mini late last year/beginning of 2008 we had a few colours to choose from, but with the new 2008/09 Idea Book and Catalogue we have 8 gorgeous colours that match our cardstocks of the same name.

But - here is a trick I discovered when making the card in the picture..... The card used Always Artichoke and So Saffron cardstocks, and the Very Vanilla ribbon just didn't look quite right as it was. So, I grabbed a section of Stampin Sponge (I cut the large sponges into at least 4 slices) and my So Saffron Classic Ink pad and dabbed away. The ribbon accepted the colour beautifully, and while I was wanting a stippled type effect, you could build up the colour to a solid if desired. (You can also use reinkers if you have them handy) Ta Da!! A perfectly co-ordinated colour to match my card. Now I want the wide grosgrain in white so I can match ANY colour! Something to add to the (never ending, always expanding) wishlist!

I also thought I would share how the ribbon is tied to look like this, a little trick I learned from my lovely upline Cass: The back of the ribbon has SNAIL adhesive placed on it, leaving a section of about 1.5" free where I want the tied section to go. The sticky ribbon is then attached to the card. A shorter separate section of ribbon is then threaded behind the adhesive-less (is that a word??) section, and tied into a simple knot. You can twist the knot to have the flat part showing on the top. Then trim the ends and your're done!

This card is one I made for a dear friend, the best neighbour we ever had, who recently moved to warmer climes and semi retirement. Very sadly, he has since been diagnosed with terminal cancer, but knowing him, he will make the most of his remaining time, living life to the full as he has always done. We miss you!

The stamp set used is one called "Natural Beauty" and it is a set where you can easily combine lots of the elements, or choose just a single stamp and build a card around it. Here I have used the large text stamp, colouring it with my Earth Elements Markers to give a multicoloured effect. It is stamped onto Naturals Ivory, and matted with So Saffron, and the edges have been sponged with So Saffron and Always Artichoke. The base of the card is Always Artichoke, and I have stamped the leaf from the set randomly over the background in Always Artichoke ink. The card is finished with my custom coloured wide grosgrain and a piece of Hodgepodge hardware in Antique Copper.

Card Making Classes - Saturday 31st May

On Saturday May 31st I will be running my Beginner and Intermediate Card Making Classes. The Beginner’s Class will be held from 10am till 12 noon and the Intermediate Class from 2pm – 4pm. If you wish to indulge in a jam-packed day of learning and fun, you are most welcome to complete both classes on one day! The Beginner’s Class is suitable for those who have never stamped or made cards before, or who have dabbled a bit. You will make three projects to take away with you, and learn the fundamentals of cardmaking as well as numerous practical techniques for creating stylish cards. The Intermediate Class will build on your basic skills, and will cover Heat Embossing techniques, Crayon Resist, Faux tearing and more. Again, you will complete at least three projects. When and Where: At my home in Cherrybrook, SATURDAY 31st MAY 2008. I have limited spaces available in each class, so RSVP ASAP to book your seat to michelle.dyson@bigpond.com.au or call 9484 9447 Cost: The cost for each class is $15.00, which is redeemable against a catalogue order of $50 or more on the day of the class. The new 2008/2009 Catalogues will be available at the classes for the discounted price of $8.00, RRP $12.95 What’s Provided?: All materials and supplies for creating your projects are included, and you will receive comprehensive written class notes and instructions. Light refreshments will be provided, and there will be a draw for a lucky door prize. If you have basic tools such as a bone folder, paper piercer or trimmer, please feel free to bring them along with you (labelled with your name). Hope to see lots of you there! Happy Stamping, Michelle

Stampin' Up! May Promotion - Palette O'Prints!

My apologies for the lateness of posting this, My May has been thrown into complete disarray, as the surgery I was to have on 13th May has now been rescheduled until 10th June, my poor Doctor is currently a patient himself! Must send him a nice card!

The current promotion is the gorgeous " Palette O’Prints " Limited Edition 6x6” paper pads.

From 1-31st May, spend $35 on any Stampin' Up! products, and get a 6"x6" pad of Designer Series Prints double sided paper for only $12.95!

This limited-time offer gives you 48 double-sided sheets in these four popular colours, to co-ordinate perfectly with your cardstock, inks and markers:

*certainly celery
*rose red
*so saffron
*almost amethyst

Each pad holds twelve sheets of each colour - two sheets of each pattern in each colour. The prints are a subtle tone-on-tone style, and are incredibly versatile - use them for cards, crafts or scrapbooking - the only limit is your imagination!

The pad includes two colours NOT available in the 12x12 size from the current 08/09 Idea Book & Catalogue - So Saffron and Almost Amethyst Prints. These exclusive colours are only available until May 31st in conjuction with this promotion!
Follow this link to view more details of the designs in this gorgeous pack, then give me a call or send an email to place your order! I have been terribly slack in not getting this newsletter out until now, so remember if you’d like some of this yummy paper, your order must be with me by 6pm May 31st.


Back in a little with some info on my card making classes coming up soon, and some creations that are still trapped in my camera LOL!

Happy Mother's Day!

I know I'm a day late - I was pretty busy being spoiled yesterday, as I hope you were too!
I got served breakfast in bed (pancakes) after a nice sleep in. My sweet little boy chose a great pressie from the school stall, and I also got a new charm for my pandora bracelet and the complete set of "Cold Feet" DVDs - now just to find the time to watch them!

Here are a couple more of the cards I made for Mother's day, both using the Baroque Motifs set(112380, $39.95). This set was my number one MUST have from the new catalogue, and I am looking forward to finding lots more ways to use it. The beautiful swirl stamp is huge - larger than most brands of background stamp (but not as huge as the fabulous SU! background stamps of course!) It lends itself to being used in lots of ways. Both the motif stamps are ideal for solid stamping, and embossing as I have done on the cream card. The flower stamp also fits neatly inside my other favourite of the moment - the scallop circle punch. This set is really versatile, and very well priced in my opinion.

The "Cherish" card is on a base of Whisper White, and I have stamped the swirl background twice in Certainly Celery, without reinking, and overlaying the images slightly. I sponged the edges of a strip of Regal Rose cardstock with Regal Rose ink, and layered a strip of Whisper white over this, with its edges sponged with Certainly Celery. The Cherish greeting was stamped in Regal Rose ink at the bottom right of the Whisper White. A piece of our delectable wide grosgrain in Certainly Celery was mounted using SNAIL adhesive at the top of the white strip. I stamped the floral motif in Regal Rose, punched it out with the Scallop Circle punch and sponged the edges with Regal Rose to give it definition from the background, and finally mounted it using Stampin Dimensionals to pop it from the other layers.

The cream card is quite different in style, more old-fashioned and formal maybe? Not sure if I like it all that much, but hey, you get that!

I used the background swirl and Mellow Moss ink to stamp on the edge of the base card. I sponged the edges of a Mellow Moss cardstock strip with Mellow Moss ink and used a piece of Very Vanilla wide grosgrain ribbon down the centre. I embossed the stylised flower stamp in gold and trimmed around the outside of the shape, leaving enough room to sponge with Mellow Moss Ink. I mounted this using Stampin Dimensionals. The Happy Mothers Day greeting is from the Occasional Greetings set, and this was also embossed in gold.

Let me know what you think!

A Colour Challenge to myself

Hi everyone,

This challenge was born out of the need to make a birthday card for a male relative (who has forgotten all about my recent birthday...) I had a pack of the Outlaw papers on hand which are nice and mannish in their designs. I selected my least favourite sheet from the pack, which was tricky, but I was prompted by the colours mainly, as I am not a big fan of oranges, rusts and browns! The star elements on the sheet lent themselves beautifully to layering and punching, as well as using them as a block. A star stamp from the "Occasionally" set was perfect to use as an accent.

In the large card, I have used a base of Really Rust, and I have stamped the top third of the card in Chocolate Chip ink using the Canvas texture background stamp to add dimension. I then matted a strip of the Outlaw paper on a mat of Naturals Ivory, inking both edges again with Chocolate Chip for a distressed effect. I punched some 1 3/8" circles from Naturals Ivory, and some 1 1/4" circles from the Outlaw paper using the star circles as a guide. Again, I inked the edges. I was able to get a distressed blended look using the Earth Elements markers to colour the star stamp, and I punched the stamped images with the 3/4" punch. All the circles were layered, and the smallest circle was mounted using Stampin Dimensionals foam pieces to make them 'pop' from the page. A greeting from "Its Your Birthday" stamped in Chocolate Chip completed the card. For colours I really don't like, I am very pleased with the final result! It really is a credit to the Colour Family system used by Stampin' Up! - the Designer series papers match beautifully with the cardstocks - just choose a base and one or two accent colours and you're away creating. And it's great to know you can make something you like from even your least favourite colours, they all have their place
The smaller card uses Naturals Ivory as a base, has the speckled background from "Itty Bitty Backgrounds" stamped in Really Rust over the top section. A strip of Outlaw paper is mounted on Really Rust cardstock, and the edges inked with Chocolate Chip ink. This time I layered 1 3/8", 1 1/4" and 1" circles to create the accent, and stamped a different birthday greeting from "It's your birthday" in chocolate chip. A few more of my new stamps used as well! I hope you like them :)