Pretty Pink Circle Circus

I'm not actually sure about this one, it didn't turn out like I had pictured it in my head. But, in any case, here it is, so feel free to comment!
The base is Pink Pirouette stamped in Pink Pirouette with Polka Dot background, and there is as many co-ordinating pinks and pink-toned reds as I could find to stamp in and on for the circles. Circle Circus has a great selection of designs, I think I've said that before - very versatile. I've made the card a gatefold for something a little different, and I've lapped some of the circles over the join, and tied with some white tafetta ribbon. It is intended for one of two new baby girls in my circle of friends, and I plan to make a couple of boy versions too for the two new baby boys! it's been a bit of a baby boom around here. That's it for today, feeling a little ordinary with a rotten headache. But, there is more to show in the days ahead, so do check back soon :D

A gorgeous CASE!

One of the things I love about my Stampin' Crop days (every 4th Saturday) is that my guests bring along their own projects to work on, and can get my assistance where they need it, and can use my stamps and tools. This card was made by Kay, a new attendee (Hi Kay!) She had bought the (now sadly retired) Fabulous Flowers set because of this card, by the talented Teneale Williams, and had saved the magazine article in which it appeared. But she didn't know quite where to start, so we tackled it together. It has Teneale's trademark layer upon layer upon layer effect, and was a lot of fun to re-create, so many steps, so much detail! Kay was thrilled she had replicated it with just a little help, and is ready to delve into the Splitcoast gallery for this set and find lots more cards to make with her stamps! Thanks for the inspiration Teneale :)

FIREWORKS! MARKETS! FUN!

Yes, I DO know, it's been ages since I've had time to update here. I've had a busy and productive week last week with two workshops at customer's homes, and an all-day Stampin' Scrap day. And, I've also been using every spare minute to make things to sell on a stall I'm running tomorrow evening at Schofields Public School for their Annual Fireworks festival. If you're in the area, or would love a kid-friendly afternoon and evening out, then do take the kids along, and drop by and say hello at our stall. Myself and my talented team member Ryn Gibbs will be there with a display, catalogues to browse, and papercrafted treats to buy. There are also Carnival rides, sideshows, entertainment, a BBQ and a Showbag stall, so there is something for everyone!

Where: Schofields Public School - St Albans Rd near Junction Rd

When: 4.30 pm - approx 8pm

Back from Stamp Camp! And - Next Saturday is Stampin' Crop Day

I attended my first "Stamp Camp" Crafty Weekend away at Collaroy over the weekend. Unfortunately the stunning views at this seaside location were somewhat wasted on me, as I spent most of the time head down in a large bright room, creating various cards and altered items. I'll be showing some later after I've had a chance to do some photography. Thanks very much to Gaibrielle and Sue for a wonderful job well done with organisation.

Also coming up this busy week is a workshop tomorrow, Stampin' Crop day THIS SATURDAY (just a few spots left so ring 9484 9447 to book in) and another workshop on Sunday - best get back to it!

Circle Circus - a Convention Make n Take

Um, this is the only one I have completed so far, as we were having so much fun chatting with tablemates that the other project packets were left until later. Also, I was able to attend an optional Leadership session about being a great Upline for my team, StampInkPaper Inc. And, because we received both the Trendy Trees and Circle Circus sets as part of Convention registration, I knew I could complete them later. And I will, someday soon I hope!! Vacuuming and hard floor cleaning calls today, but perhaps I'll get some stamping in when miss Lillian has her nap - down to one day a week now that she is a big 4 year old.

On to the card!!
The base layer is So Saffron, and the middle layer is Bashful Blue, with a thin strip of Pacific Point at the top. The flowers are made with the Scallop Circle and Circle punches of various sizes, stamped with So Saffron, Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango inks and these are mounted on thin strips of Kiwi Kiss to form stems. Brads and a button from the Button Latte collection ad the final touch to the flowers. The base of the card is stamped with the bubble image from the Circle Circus set and the Thinking of You sentiment is from the Trendy Trees set. Kiwi Kiss striped wide grosgrain ribbon was wrapped around the card front and tied to complete.

More about Circle Circus - this set can be found on page 104 of the catalogue, and consists of 10 stamps with various patterns and sizes. It is an extremely versatile set, which can be used for multiple occasions and cards for men, women and kids. The designs vary from geometric patterns, to floral, oriental and whimsical, and it co-ordinates with the Haiku and Patterns Designer Series papers in particular. It's great value at $52.95, so contact me today to add it to your collection!

Happy Mothers Day

I hope all the Mums out there a peaceful and relaxing day, whether you are spending it with your own mums, your children, or just treating yourself to some well deserved special attention. I am lucky to have a supportive family, and was presented with my favourite breakfast in bed, pikelets with butter and plum jam, and hot chocolate, yum! My son chose well from the School Mothers Day stall, and presented me with a mug filled with a bookmark and mobile phone charm. I also got a cute little gift from my 4yo, made with care at Preschool with paper plates, paint and wool. In the pocket of this hand-made treasure was a Pandora box containing a "tree of life" bead that I have been desiring for a while. All good!

Here are two cards, one made for me by my husband Andrew, with layers this time (constructive comments from a previous creation were taken on board!) He even used the colour wheel to select a combination pleasing to the eye. Cute hey! I've put it under the "masculine cards" label, since it was made by one!

The other is one I made for my own mum, who's favourite colour has always been red - Riding Hood Red would be her favourite kind of red, so that's what I picked. I made it a gatefold card using my Scorpal, and added a panel across the front (attached at the left side only) The other colours are Very Vanilla and Kraft. I sponged the edges also for definition. The panel is stamped with Upsy Daisy, a silhouette image - entirely appropriate as mum is a keen gardener. It has been stamped first in Sahara Sand and then the Stamp a ma jig has been used to offset the second image, to create a shadow effect. A piece of Vanilla taffeta ribbon is adhered under the panel, so the opening can be secured at the side. Both cards use the mothers day stamp from the Occasional Greetings set - probably one of the most useful sets to own - check it out on page 112 of the Idea Book and Catalogue.

Look how he's grown! Totally non-stamping related...

Here's Bentley, just to show you how he's grown since the last photo I posted here. He's not quite 6 months of age, and with quite a bit of growing to do yet! He is already considerably larger than Monte, and way bigger than Fudge, our two fully grown Burmese cats. His coat is so plush and soft, and he is a cuddly affectionate cat. He is also the Beagle of the cat world, and will insatiably devour anything left within reach - including the package of mince I left momentarily in the hall while unloading the rest of the groceries... Just as well he's cute hey!

And some new colours - In Color 09-10

In keeping with the release of the new Idea Book and Catalogue, I thought it might be a good idea to re-jig the header and colours of my blog a little. I have used the gorgeous Urban Garden Designer Series paper as the base layer, and arranged various new stamp sets, inkpads and cards made with the new In Colors for this year - primarily Pacific Point, Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss - I love how they look so nice together, yet still co-ordinate beautifully with the existing "standard 48" colours, like Not Quite Navy and Basic Gray. Hope you like it! Please leave a comment!! Do you need a new blog header??? I work for SU product ; ) ROFL! You get a JPEG 900 pixels wide, made to your specifications of colour and style, I get stamps - win win hey?

Brush with Fame - meeting Shelli

The lady in the centre must be the most patient, kind and giving person - if only because of how graciously she stood for everyone who wanted to have their photo taken with her! She's Shelli Gardner, the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!, who comes all the way from the US for each Convention. At the left is Kim Tonnet, my lovely friend and upline, I am at right. This was taken at the end of the Convention Awards night, where Shelli must have been absolutely hugged out, after presenting hundreds of awards on stage, but, no, yet another photo with her adoring demonstrators was no problem! It is nice to finally meet and chat with this incredible person, who's Statement of the Heart truly governs the company as a whole. Thanks for indulging us Shelli, see you next year!

Here we are, dressed up for a change at the Stampin' Up! Convention Awards Night dinner. It is a nice excuse to wear stuff that doesn't see the outside of my wardrobe very often!! Left to right are Carolyn Gibbs, myself and Clare McIllhatton, the members of my team who joined me at our first Convention. Do we look like we're having fun? A couple of days filled with stamping, fine dining, a touch of dressing up and really inspiring and interesting presentations - it could be you next year, join my team and find out for yourself :)

First Impressions - video now available online, or not?!!

One of the resources available to us as demonstrators is an instructional DVD called "First Impressions". I give it to people interested in finding out more about Stampin' Up in my Joining Kits, and I still have some copies, although it is no longer available from Stampin' Up! in disc format. However, especially good for those of you who would rather look first, ask questions later, the video has now been added to the Stampin' Up! Customer Website
HERE

(it went for a little holiday, but it's back again now!)

It is just a wee bit "american" in style, but it gives a great introduction to how the company works, and how you can make your demonstratorship fit with your lifestyle. There is an even more comprehensive DVD in your starter kit, called "Getting Started" - just another example of the support available to you, along with myself as your upline. So, have a look today, giggle at the accent, then contact me to find out more!

One of the things I love about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that I get to attend 'training days' with my local upp-est upline, Jayne Mercer as the co-ordinator. We make stuff and share ideas. All day. And we can call it work!! Sooooo cool!
We also have awards nights where we recognise the achievements of members of the team,congratulations to members of the INKLings who took out the prizes for this year!

Here is a technique we played with at the most recent awards event, shown to us by Margaret Crawford. She had been experimenting with the "Inspired by Nature" set, and some watercolouring techniques, and brought along a sample and materials for us to try it for ourselves. It uses a diluted reinker solution, lightly misted onto Confetti cream cardstock. Then, the grass and flower images are stamped onto the moistened and lightly coloured background, using markers and inkpads. It creates a very authentic watercolour painting technique, and I can't wait to give it a try again! I took home my proudly-created panel, and turned it into a card by matting on Kiwi Kiss and Lovely Lilac, and mounting on an Elegant Eggplant base. Gorgeous!! Thanks Margaret! Does this sound like a fun way to pass an evening? If so, look below at the latest promotion for joining Stampin' Up! and give me a call for a casual chat on (02)9484 9447

Convention was masses of FUN!

Yes, I have just spent 3 days in Canberra with other stamping-mad women (and several men, 2 of them actual demonstrators!) at the annual Stampin' Up Convention. It was packed with all kinds of inspiration, from a huge packet of Make n Take projects, to on-stage demonstrations of all kinds of stamping talent and fabulous ideas.

For those of us who are business minded, there were heaps of great ideas to make our workshops more exciting and interesting for you, our friends and guests.

One very interesting point I'd like to share with you was the official banning, by Stampin' Up! Head Office, of the term "JUST" as applied in the phrase "I'm JUST a hobby demonstrator" It was made abundantly clear during the event that each and every one of us is valued immensely, regardless of whether we joined to fund our habit or build a home-based business empire, and anything inbetween. All together now, AAAAWWWWWWW! It's always been what I've loved about SU, the freedom to do what suits me, but knowing that the level of support available to me and my small group of lovely girls is the same as to the demonstrators with hundreds in their teams. See the post below for the great sign-up special if you would like to join this fabulous company with heart.

For now, here is a pic of my swap card - the other thing I love about Stampin' Up! events is the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with like-minded people from all around Australia. Swaps are where we each make a batch of a card, and mill around oohing and aahing over the stunning selection, and it's a great way to collect ideas and samples with a wide variety of stamp sets and styles.
I made my card in two different colourways, shown in the image above.

On the left, the card is made with a Sahara Sand base, stamped with Sahara Sand using Sahara Sand ink and the Damask stamp from the Friends 24-7 set. The bird is stamped in Sahara Sand onto Whisper White, and coloured using a Blender Pen and Watercolor Wonder Crayons. This is matted on Kraft and Kiwi Kiss cardstocks. The ribbon is dyed to match, by using the Kiwi Kiss reinker on white Tafetta ribbon - easy to do, look out for an upcoming tutorial. The greeting is from Friends 24-7, stamped in Kiwi Kiss, onto a stamp from the Curly Label punch bundle set. I simply used markers with this particular stamp, to ink up the frame without the sentiment, and added my own using the Stamp-a-ma-jig.

The card on the right is the same design, with some alternative colours. I used Kraft for the background, and changed the matting to Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss. The ribbon on this card is custom-coloured white grosgrain ribbon, and the label frame is inked up in Ruby Red.

I hope my swappees liked my card, I have a gorgeous pile here in return, and I'll show some of them in future posts.

Time to meet the school bus now, back later.....

If you've been thinking about it, NOW is the time!

OK, so the standard Starter Kit is a great deal, at $324 for $560 worth of products and business supplies. This comes along with a special discount of 30% for your first order* and an ongoing discount of 20% on everything from the catalogue. There is also an incentive program called Stampin' Start, where you can earn up to 18 free stamp sets of any value (!!), by meeting any or all of 3 goals in sales and team building over your first 6 months. The quarterly minimums are very low, and there are no penalties for stopping. There is no requirement to actually "demonstrate" anything either, unless you wish. Your demonstratorship can be anything you want it to be - from making your hobby pay for itself, to covering a household bill per month to a fully-fledged full time job. Pretty inexpensive way to start your own business that you can run from home around your other committments isn't it?? *over $300, within 45 days of starting

But, are you any of these people?

1. You have a massive stash of Stampin' Up gear, and may as well become a demonstrator to purchase at a discount, but don't want to have to buy duplicates of stuff you already have by purchasing the standard kit?

2. Would love to give it a try, but can't justify the full cost right now?

3. Are a scrapbooker rather than a stamper, so might not want the stamp component (yet!)

If so, pay attention, because do I have a deal for you!!!!!

Between May 1st and May 31st, there is a perfect opportunity to sign up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in my team. In celebration of National Scrapbooking Month, there is a special promotion, offering all the benefits of a normal demonstratorship with a limited-time Scrapbooking Starter Kit, for just $150!

The Scrapbooking Starter Kit contains the following:

Item Code Description Retail Value

112231 Schoolbook Serif Alphabet stamp set* $77.95

113059 Simply Scrappin’ Petal Party $36.95

108697 Earth Elements Assorted textured card stock (12″ x 12″) $21.95

105216 Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin’ Pad $11.95

103179 Craft & Rubber Scissors $37.95

Please note: Each of the products listed above may be substituted for like items - ie, you can change the scrappin kit to another design, the inkpad colour, cardstock colour and stamp set for a non-alpha set if you wish, up to the value of $77.95 for the set chosen.

The Scrapbooking Starter Kit also contains all the business supplies contained in the standard Starter Kit:

Getting Started DVD

Getting Started Guide

Guest Invitation Postcards (100)

Idea Book & Catalogues (box of 8)

Project Sample Sheet

Customer Order Forms

and other brochures to get you off to a flying start.

Interested? Just send me an email at michelle.dyson@bigpond.com or call me on (02) 9484 9447 for a no obligation chat. I offer each and every member of my small team as much or as little attention as they want or need. You won't be pushed or hassled, but all the guidance you could need is there for the asking. On offer is access to one of the largest demonstrator internet forums in Australia, with a wealth of experience to willingly share, as well as an abundance of the best friends you could find.

If you would like to read through some information, I'd be happy to send you out a packet containing an introductory DVD, brochures and other details.

I hope to be back tomorrow with some cards - my swaps for Convention, and some photos of the occasion!